MASSACHUSETTS, 



521 



unsealed, In the Mine manner M If she 



I, , an.l till work and labor performed by her 

 ite than her husband and children lull, un- 

 less there U an express agreement on her part to tho 

 v, l.o presumed to be on her separate ao- 

 ; 'luit In r noparoto conveyance of real estate 

 >o subject to itor husband's contingent interest 

 M, Mini nothing in this act shall authorize a 

 married woman to convey property to, or make con- 

 . with, lar huiibund. 



a. when a deed of land is made to a married 

 woman, and at the sumo time she mortgages tho 

 same to the grantor to secure the payment of the 

 ..r uny part of the purchase-money, or to a 

 third i-urty to obtain the whole or any port of such 

 .tse-uioney, the seizing of such married woman 

 t give lier husband any estate by tho courte- 

 sy as against such mortgage. 



SKO. 8. A married woman may sue and be sued in 



the same manner and to the same extent as if slio 



~<>le, but nothing heroin contained shall author- 



lii-twi ( !! liusoand and wife. 

 4. A married woman may bo an executrix, 

 :i(l!iiinistr:itrix, guardian, or trustee, and bind her- 

 >elf iiinl tli.' citato she represents without her hus- 

 band joining in any conveyance or instrument whut- 

 < vi-r, and be bound in tho some manner and with tho 



tfect in all respects as if she were sole. 

 SKC. 5. The first section of chapter four hundred 

 iin.l nine of the acts of the year eighteen hundred 

 and sixty-nine, and chapter one hundred and sixty- 

 five of the acts of the year eighteen hundred and 



Min-f, are hereby repealed. 



SEC. 6. Nothing in this act shall impair the valid- 

 ity of any ante-nuptial or post-nuptial settlement. 



Among tho miscellaneous business of the 

 session was tho incorporation of the new town 

 of Rockland, formed from a portion of Abing- 

 t<>n. A long hearing was given by a commit- 

 tee to a proposition to provide for better care 

 of the insane by a bill similar to that passed 

 by the Legislature of Maine, but nothing was 

 accomplished on the subject. 



The political campaign of the year was one 

 of unusual interest. Governor Talbot's veto 

 of the bills repealing the prohibitory liquor 

 law and the State constabulary act created a 

 strong opposition to him on the part of those 

 of the Republican party who were hostile to 

 those measures, and made bim the special ex- 

 ponent of the prohibitory policy. He was 

 talked of as a candidate for Governor by the 

 prohibitory element long before the time came 

 for holding the State Conventions, and those 

 in favor of a license law or an essential modi- 

 fication of the existing statutes warmly op- 

 posed the movement for his nomination. Thus 

 the liquor question was forced into prominence 

 as the principal issue of the canvass. The 

 Democratic Convention was held first, and ex- 

 pressed itself clearly and explicitly on the 

 question of prohibition or license, and put for- 

 ward a candidate wbose known moderation 

 and high character were calculated to win off 

 many of the disaffected Republicans. The 

 convention took place at Worcester on tho 9th 

 of September, and was characterized by gen- 

 eral harmony and good feeling. Speeches were 

 made in which the weaknesses and shortcom- 

 ings of the opposing party were freely criti- 

 cised, and the reforms that might be effected 

 througb a restoration of the Democrats to 



power commented upon. The 806 cities and 

 town* of the State were represented by 1,648 

 delegates. No sooner was tho organization of 

 the assembly com pi. t.d than tin- Hon. (Jeorge 

 iirns moved that tho Hon. William Gos- 

 t..n, i-f Milton, be declared tho nominee of the 

 mnvi-iitiiiM for Governor, by acclamation. The 

 motion was put and responded to by every 

 111:111 in tho convention rising to his feet and 

 Diving three cheers. William M. Smith, of 

 Springfield, was then nominated for Lieutenant- 

 Governor, by acclamation. The ticket wa 

 completed by a committee, whose report WM 

 adopted by tho convention without opposi- 

 tion, as follows: For Secretary of State, B. F. 

 Mills, of Williamstown ; for Treasurer and Re- 

 ceiver, General Nathan Clark, of Lynn; for 

 Attorney-General, Waldo Coburn, of Dedham ; 

 for Auditor, 0. Osgood Morse, of Newbury- 

 port. Tho platform, which was adopted by a 

 rising vote and three cheers, was as follows: 



The Democrats of Massachusetts, in convention 

 assembled, hereby make the following declaration 

 of principl' 



1. Unwavering devotion and fidelity to the Consti- 

 tution of the United States as the only guarantee of 

 safety and tranquillity to the Union; equal political 

 rights for all races, colors and conditions of men to 

 this end, and to secure perfect harmony and recon- 

 ciliation, by which only the Union can be main- 

 tained ; we openly denounce any and all Federal in- 

 terference with popular elections in every State, and 

 we heartily condemn the conduct of those who, un- 

 der any pretense or guise, disgrace themselves and 

 their country by lawless acts of violence against the 

 colored race in the Southern States, as also those 

 carpet-baggers who have for years past eaten up the 

 substance of the people whom they have oppressed 

 and deceived. 



2. The speedy resumption of specie payments is 

 alike demanded by honor and recognized oy all the 

 civilized nations of the world as the only sound and 

 healthy basis of currency. 



8. Firm and unswerving opposition to sumptuary 

 laws as founded on coercion and prohibition, the 

 two agencies of despotism and arbitrary power, 

 and we especially oppose the so-called prohibition 

 law and its accessories as impotent for good, and 

 powerful for evil, alike to private and public morals. 



4. A stringent, judicious, and efficacious law for 

 the restriction and regulation of the sale of intoxi- 

 cating liquors, impartially and faithfully enforced, is 

 the only practical, legal restraint against the evils of 

 intemperance. 



6. A proper respect for the will of the people as 

 expressed through their representatives, as opposed 

 to Executive interference and arbitrary power. 



8. A vigorous reform in State affairs ; a reduction 

 of expenses and strict economy ; the abolition of all 

 useless and unnecessary rings and commissions, in- 

 cluding the State constabulary ; and a return of tho 

 old and true principle of the administration of tho 

 government by general laws, and its constituted ex- 

 ecutive and ministerial agents and officers held to 

 the strictest accountability. 



7. To foster with care the interest of labor, the 

 bases of material prosperity, and of the industrial 

 classes on whose moral and intellectual condition 

 must ever depend the character and success of popu- 

 lar political institutions. 



8. We commend to the cordial support of the 

 voters of the Commonwealth the Hon. William Gas- 

 ton, of Boston, our candidate for Governor ; the Hon. 

 William L. Smith, of Springfield, our candidate for 

 Lieutenant-Governor, and the other candidates for 



