300 



CONNECTICUT. 



A very large number of bills acted upon at 

 this session were defeated at various stages by 

 either of the two Houses, such as the following : 

 Acts " to regulate railroad fares " ; " for cheap- 

 er railway travel " ; " to secure the representa- 

 tion of minorities in corporations " ; " creating 

 the office of Attorney-General," with an annual 

 salary of $5,000 ; " to establish a Bureau of La- 

 bor Statistics " ; " regulating the hours of la- 

 bor in manufacturing establishments," limiting 

 ordinary workmen's labor to ten hours a day; 

 " relating to the laying of pipes through the 

 land of adjoining proprietors, for the purpose 

 of conducting water from springs or streams 

 for domestic uses"; "in alteration of an act 

 concerning crimes and criminal prosecutions," 

 the object of which was the abolition of capital 

 punishment; and "concerning the Sabbath," 

 designed to repeal the laws prohibiting trading, 

 driving, etc., on Sunday. 



At the State election held on October 6th, 

 the two constitutional amendments, providing 

 for biennial sessions of the Legislature and for 

 the office-tenure of Judges of the Supreme and 

 Superior Courts till the seventy-fifth year of 

 their age, were both rejected by great majori- 

 ties ; the votes having been, on the Judges' ten- 

 ure of office, 21,321 for, 45,845 against ; and 

 on biennial sessions, 17,843 for, 48,859 against. 



The general election of November 4, 1879, 

 was restricted to the choice of members of the 

 Legislature, namely, all the Representatives 

 and eleven of the twenty-one Senators, repre- 

 senting the unevenly numbered districts, and 

 resulted in favor of the Republicans. Of the 

 11 Senators, the Republicans elected 9, the 

 Democrats 2. Of the 245 Representatives, the 

 Democrats elected 82, the Republicans 163. 

 The political complexion of the Legislature at 

 the January session of 1880 will be as follows: 

 In the Senate Republicans 16, Democrats 5; 

 in the House of Representatives Republicans 

 163, Democrats 82. At the January session of 

 1879 the proportions were : In the Senate 

 Republicans 14, Democrats 7 ; in the House of 

 Representatives Republicans 143, Democrats 

 100. 



The financial condition of the State contin- 

 ues satisfactory. Her public debt at the close 

 of the last fiscal year was the same as in the 

 previous year $4,967,650, in bonds payable 

 within different periods hereafter, and all bear- 

 ing interest. The balance in the State Treasury 

 at the beginning of the fiscal year 1879 was 

 $842,322.11, and the public revenue from all 

 sources during the same year amounted to 

 $1,534,288.48, making a total of $2,376,660.59. 

 The aggregate public expenditures for all pur- 

 poses in the said year, including $287,626 

 paid as interest on State bonds, were $1,534,- 

 513.64. Balance in the Treasury for the new 

 year, $842,146.95. The ordinary expenses of 

 the State in 1879 were about the same as in 1878, 

 except the judicial, which were increased more 

 than $41,000. The total public revenue for 

 the fiscal year 1880 is estimated at $1,550,050, 



and the expenditure at $1,397,246, leaving 

 an estimated balance of $152,804 in the Trea- 

 sury at the end of the year. The amount of 

 the grand list for the value of all the taxa- 

 ble property in Connecticut in 1879 fell short 

 of what it was in 1878 by more than ten mil- 

 lion dollars. 



The savings banks in the State seem to be in 

 a more prosperous condition than heretofore, 

 showing also a tendency-to further progress. 

 During the year ended October 1, 1879, their 

 total deposits increased $326,974.86. The in- 

 crease of interest and surplus for the same 

 time was $11,974.70, and their liabilities de- 

 creased $120,832.88. 



The education of youth in Connecticut is 

 generally satisfactory. The number of schools 

 during the scholastic year 1879 was 1,638, with 

 an average yearly school-time of 178J days. 

 The aggregate number of children in the State 

 of school age, between four and sixteen years, 

 was 138,428, of whom 119,382 attended the 

 public schools, and 11,212 other than public 

 schools; the percentage of children in attend- 

 ance at schools of all kinds having been last year 

 94'2. The total revenue for school purposes 

 from school fund, State, town, and district 

 taxes, and other sources, amounted to $1,300,- 

 972.54. The aggregate amount expended was 

 $1,375,881.01, showing an excess of expenses 

 over income of $74,908.47. The sum expended 

 for the erection of new school-buildings in 1879 

 was about $37,000. The same item of ex- 

 pense in 1878 amounted to $125,000. The 

 school expenditures in 1879 were reduced in 

 the aggregate by about $130,000. 



In the Connecticut Hospital for the Insane 

 at Middletown, on December 1, 1879, there 

 were 510 patients. Their number during the 

 year was 644. All of these, except three who 

 are paying patients, were supported at the 

 charge of the State. Of the three paying 

 patients, two are themselves paupers, their ex- 

 penses being paid by relatives who live out of 

 the State. Besides the above-mentioned num- 

 ber of indigent insane at the hospital, there 

 were at the close of the year four hundred 

 more poor insane persons in the State, kept in 

 almshouses or elsewhere, supported wholly or 

 in part by their respective towns. 



In the State Prison the number of convicts 

 on November 30, 1879, was 251. During the 

 year 137 prisoners were discharged, and 110 

 received. The income of the prison within the 

 year has covered all the expenses of board, 

 clothing, and medical care for the prisoners, 

 the salaries of all its officers, and the incidental 

 expenses, and left a cash balance of $602.79. 

 For repairs and other matters of the Peniten- 

 tiary, the sum of $7,644.95 was expended and 

 paid from the State Treasury. 



The militia of Connecticut is now completely 

 organized, as the maximum of the number of 

 companies allowed by the State law has been 

 reached, and no room left for new organiza- 

 tions. The muster held in November, 1879, 



