MASSACHUSETTS. 



449 



by the first Virginia troops which marched to 

 Harper's Ferry. This force crossed the Poto- 

 mac and took a position on the heights on the 

 Maryland side. A protest was immediately 

 made by Governor Hicks to Governor Letcher, 

 of Virginia, and the troops were at once or- 

 dered to withdraw to the Virginia side of the 

 Potomac. 



The commercial affairs of the State suffered 

 the same embarrassment and decline which 

 prevailed through all the Northern States. 



MASSACHUSETTS, one of the six New 

 England States, was one of the original thir- 

 teen of the Union. It has a general surface 150 

 miles long by 50 broad, although the eastern 

 end spreads out nearly 90 miles, and shoots 

 out a long tongue of sand bank into the ocean. 

 On the north are the States of New Hampshire 

 and Vermont ; on the west, New York ; and 

 on the south, Connecticut and Rhode Island. 

 It has an area of 7,800 square miles, and is be- 

 tween 4115' and 4252' north latitude, and 

 6950' and 7330' west longitude. It has a pop- 

 ulation more dense than most of the States, and 

 although naturally one of the least favored 

 soils, yet its wealth is greater per head than 

 that of any other State in the Union. Its man- 

 ufacturing and commercial industry has, un- 

 der protective tariffs, found ample and remune- 

 rative home markets in all the other States of 

 the Union, and its wealth has accumulated in 

 an unparalleled manner. The energy of its 

 people has been conspicuous from the earliest 

 times, and always made itself felt in the coun- 

 cils of the nation. The population has in- 

 creased as follows : 



1790... 378,717 



1800 423,345 



1810 472,040 



1820 523.287 



1830 610,408 



The manufacturing wealth of Massachusetts 

 is very large. The productions enumerated in 

 the State census for 1855, show nearly $300 

 per head per annum for each inhabitant. 



The distribution of these manufactures by 

 counties is as follows, as compared with the 

 population and taxable valuations in 1860 : 



1840 737.699 



1S50 994.514 



1855 1.132,539 



1860 1,881,697 



The construction of railroads wrought a great 

 change in the internal commerce as well as in 

 29 



the manufactures of Massachusetts. They not 

 only offered the means of cheap conveyance of 

 materials to the best factory sites, but also 

 brought away the goods to market at low rates, 

 while they afforded the cheap and easy means 

 of circulating labor. Their extended lines also 

 placed Massachusetts in connection with the 

 most remote sections of the Union on terms as 

 favorable as those enjoyed by any other State. 

 They thus concentrated her energies to pro- 

 duce and at the same time extended the market 

 for the sale of goods. 



The returns of railroads of Massachusetts for 

 the year 1861 were as follows : 



Length of roads, in miles 1,530.60 



double track, " 342.77 



" branches, " 153.28 



Capital paid in $49,367,606.02 



Debt 18,798,035.53 



Cost of roads, &c., equipments 63,272,801.71 



Number of miles run 6,369,474 



" passengers carried 11,252,6X1 



" tons freight 3,521,299 



Total income $9,016,149.12 



Expense, working 5,380,004.04 



Interest 746,389.14 



Net income 2,916,411.80 



Dividends, rent, etc 2,524,519.22 



Thus over $63,000,000 have in Massachusetts 

 been expended in those means of communica- 

 tion, and the outlay itself yields a handsome 

 interest, while it has been the means of in- 

 creasing the State wealth in a much larger 

 ratio. 



The manufacturing industry seems to have 

 absorbed all others. The agriculturists have 

 apparently migrated from the State, while 

 manufacturing labor has been supplied by im- 

 migration from abroad ; nevertheless, the agri- 

 cultural interests of the commonwealth have 

 been highly prosperous during the year 1861. 

 Their products are estimated as exceeding 

 thirty-two millions of dollars. The season was 

 pVopitious, and the crops, with few exceptions, 

 were abundant and profitable. The census of 

 1850, which gave the nativities of the people, 

 disclosed the following facts in relation to Mas- 

 sachusetts : 



Natives of Massachusetts living in Massachusetts. . 695.236 

 Foreigners living in Massachusetts 299,278 



Total population 994,514 



Natives of Massachusetts living in other States. .. 199,c82 



How many natives of Massachusetts there 

 are living in foreign countries is not known. 

 But only three-fourths of all born in the State 

 are living in it. 



The amount of taxable property is large, but 

 official investigation shows that about $150,- 

 000,000 eludes assessment. Hence the real 

 amount is, in round numbers, one thousand mil- 

 lions, or an average of $811 for every soul in 

 the State. The average in New York is less 

 than $400. In other words, while Massachu- 

 setts has 4 per cent, of the whole white popula- 

 tion of the Union, she has 10 per cent, of the 

 taxable wealth, a state of things which strongly 

 illustrates the thrift of her people under Federal 



