MASSA('lir.si:TTS. 



tal vote for Governor was 180.720, of which 

 Goaton rui-i-ived 90,876, and Talbot 89,844, 

 making the majority of the former 7,082. The 

 majority of Knight for Lieutenant-Governor, 

 was 12, 01: ;i ; of Warner for Secretory of State, 

 22,4'J; <>f A. lams for Treasurer, 21,842; of 

 Kndicntt fur Auditor, 22,788; and of Train 

 f.-r Atti'iiiuy-Genero), 22,676. The Legislature 

 chosen on the same day consists of 24 Repub- 

 licans, 15 Democrats, and 1 independent in the 

 ; mid i.v> Ki-puhlicans, 79 Democrats, 

 and (> independents in the House making the 

 !:. I'M lilir:in majority 8 in the Senate, 70 in tho 

 House, and 78 on a joint ballot. A majority is 

 understood to be in favor of modifying the 

 liquor laws. 



The congressional elections excited scarcely 

 less interest than that for State officers. For 

 some years the entire representation had been 

 Kr publican, but divisions and dissatisfaction 

 I the probability of a change in that re- 

 Bpect. In the first, second, third, fifth, sixth, 

 eighth, and ninth districts, the Republicans 

 nominated the old Representatives, viz., James 

 Buffinton, Benjamin W. Harris, Henry L. 

 Pierce, Daniel W. Gooch, Benjamin F. Butler, 

 John M. S. "Williams, and George F. Hoar. In 

 the fourth there was considerable division in 

 the party, but Rnfus S. Frost was nominated ; 

 in the seventh James 0. Ayer, of Lowell ; in 

 the tenth Charles A. Stevens, and in the elev- 

 enth Henry Alexander. Against these candi- 

 dates were tho following Democrats: First 

 district, Louis Lapham ; second, Edward Av- 

 ery ; third, Benjamin Dean ; fourth, Josiah 

 G. Abbott ; sixth, Charles P. Thompson ; sev- 

 enth, John K. Tarbox; eighth, William TV. 

 AV.-u-ren; ninth, Eli Thayer; tenth, Henry 0. 

 Hill; eleventh, Chester "W. Chapin. In the 

 fifth district, Nathaniel P. Banks, formerly a 

 Republican, and in the presidential campaign 

 of 1872 a Liberal Republican, ran as an in- 

 dependent candidate, and was accepted by 

 the Democrats. In the tenth district, Prof. 

 Julius II. Seelye, of Amherst College, was taken 

 up by some of the Republicans as their candi- 

 date, with'out a formal nomination, and as a 

 protest against the caucus system of making 

 nominations. The aggregate votes for the reg- 

 ular Republican candidates was 87,699, for the 

 opposition candidates 94,177. Of the Repub- 

 licans, Buffinton, Harris, Pierce, Frost, and 

 Hoar, were elected. Of the opposition, Banks, 

 Thompson, Tar box, "Warren, Seelye, and Chapin, 

 were elected. Banks's majority over Gooch 

 was 6,175; Thompson's over Butler, 969; Tar- 

 box's over Ayer, 1,564; Warren's over Will- 

 iams, 724 ; Seelye's plurality over Stevens 420, 

 over Hill 4,299 ; Chapin's majority over Alex- 

 ander, 6,787. Charles A. Stevens was elected 

 in the tenth district at a special election early 

 in January, 1875, to fill the vacancy in the 

 Forty-third Congress caused by the death of 

 Alvah Crocker. 



At the election in November, 1878, four 

 women were chosen on the School Committee 



of Boston, to serve during the year 1874. On 

 the organization of the committed in January, 

 seats were refused to these women, on the 

 ground that they wore not legally qualified, 

 this action being based on an opinion of the 

 City Solicitor. Protests were made and indig- 

 nation meetings held, but the committee re- 

 fused to recede from their action. The matter 

 was taken up in the Legislature, which was 

 tlu-ii in session, and a bill introduced declaring 

 women not disqualified to act on school com- 

 mittees. The question was first submitted to 

 the Judges of the Supremo Court, whether 

 there was any constitutional objection to the 

 passage of such a bill. An opinion was ren- 

 dered in April, to the effect that there was no 

 such objection, the constitution being silent 

 on the subject of women having the right by 

 common law to hold that office. Miss Lucia 

 Peabody, one of the women who had been 

 elected and refused admission to her place, 

 then brought a suit in the Supreme Court ask- 

 ing for a mandamus compelling the committee 

 to admit her to the seat which she claimed. 

 The court dismissed her petition in June, on 

 the ground that it had no jurisdiction in the 

 matter, the authority of the School Committee 

 to decide on the qualifications, election, and re- 

 turn of its members being exclusive and not 

 subject to revision by any court. The act was 

 then passed in the Legislature on the last day 

 of the session, declaring that sex was no dis- 

 qualification for the office of school committee. 

 The committee did not, however, take any 

 further action in the matter during the year, 

 and the seats remained vacant. At the elec- 

 tion of this year (1874) seven women were 

 elected on the same committee, and no objec- 

 tion made to their admission. 



On the 16th of May a disastrous flood oc- 

 curred in the county of Hampshire, caused by 

 the breaking away of the dam which confined 

 a large reservoir in the upper part of the 

 town of Williamsburg. This reservoir con- 

 tained a reserve water-supply for the factories 

 on Mill River in the villages of Williamsburg, 

 Skinnerville, and Haydenville, in the township 

 of Williamsburg, and Leeds and Florence, in 

 Northampton, and covered 124 acres, with an 

 average depth of 24 feet. It was three miles 

 above the village of Williamsburg, on a level 

 about 800 feet higher, and contained about 

 1,000,000,000 gallons of water. At about 

 7^ o'clock in the morning the dam was dis- 

 covered to be giving way, and, before warning 

 could be sufficiently spread in the villages be- 

 low, an enormous flood rushed down the val- 

 ley carrying every thing before it. A large 

 part of the village of Williamsburg was de- 

 stroyed, including a button-factory, woolen- 

 mill, saw and grist mill, and several dwelling- 

 houses. The rilk-mill at Skinnerville, together 

 with some 15 dwellings, was swept away. At 

 Haydenville the extensive brass-works of 

 Hayden, Gere & Co., were entirely destroyed, 

 and several dwelling dashed to pieces. The 



