596 



MARYLAND. 



MASSACHUSETTS. 



ment of the Republican financial policy. Followed by 

 the returning national prosperity, improved credit, a 

 refunded debt, and reduced interest, it adds another 

 to the triumphs which prove that the Republican party 

 is equal to the highest demands. Our whole currency 

 should be kept at par with the monetary standard of 

 the commercial world, and any attempt to debase the 

 standard, to depreciate the paper, or deteriorate the 

 com, should be nrmly resisted. 



8. All unnecessary and superfluous offices should be 

 abolished, and the salaries and fees of others be re- 

 duced and restricted by law. In view of the present 

 high purchasing power of money, this may be eifected 

 without injustice or hardship to officials, and with 

 great advantage to the State. 



9. The next Legislature of Maryland should, in defer- 

 ence to that spirit of economy which BO thoroughly 

 pervades the popular mind, and which the times so 

 urgently demand, institute such legislation as will se- 

 cure necessary reforms, and reduce the expenditures 

 of the public money to such a degree that the outlay 

 shall be commensurable with the services rendered. 



10. That the Legislature has it in its power to save 

 a large sum of money every year by the passage of laws 

 to enforce a more rigid compliance with the require- 

 ments of section 1, Article A V., of the Constitution of 

 Maryland, relating to clerks of courts, registers of wills, 

 and all other officials whose pay_ or compensation is 

 derived from fees or moneys coming into their hands 

 from the discharge of their official duties, or in any 

 way growing out of or connected with their offices, 

 and to require a rigid compliance with the provisions 

 of the Constitution and laws of the State by the pay- 

 ment of all excess of their receipts into the Treasury 

 of the State. 



11. The laws relating to the inspection of tobacco 

 should be repealed, to relieve the producers and the 

 State of what has become a burden to the producers 

 and a reproach to the State. 



12. The public-school and jury laws of Maryland are 

 capable of great improvement, and should be amended. 

 All political considerations and influence ought to be 

 rigidly excluded. 



13. Proper legislation should be instituted to reduce 

 the expenses of the courts throughout the State, which 

 have increased in the last few years to such large pro- 

 portions as to add materially to a burdensome taxa- 

 tion. 



14. That we demand that Democratic juggling with 

 the registration of voters shall cease, and that the next 

 Legislature of this State shall in good faith pass such 

 laws as will secure an honest registry, a free vote, and 

 a fair count. 



A census of the voters in the city of Balti- 

 more was taken by the police in August, with 

 the following result: "White, 61,133; colored, 

 10,368 ; total, 71,501 ; total in 1877, 66,525. 



The Independent Democrats of the city or- 

 ganized and held a convention, which they said 

 " was called into existence by the urgent de- 

 mand of the people for the redress of griev- 

 ances consequent upon the corruption of party 

 politics and the frauds practiced in the nomi- 

 nation and election of unworthy officials." It 

 recognized "the great necessity of purification 

 and reform in the State and city government, 

 and of lessening the heavy burden of taxation 

 which oppressed every branch of industry and 

 all classes of the community." 



A convention of dissatisfied Eepublicans was 

 also held to protest against the management of 

 the party in the city. 



The election was held on November 4th, and 

 resulted as follows : For Governor Hamilton, 

 Democrat, 90,771 ; Garey, Eepublican, 68,609. 



The Legislature was divided as follows : Sen- 

 ate Democrats, 19 ; Republicans, 5 ; Inde- 

 pendents, 2 ; total, 26. House Democrats, 63 ; 

 Republicans, 21 ; total, 84. 



MASSACHUSETTS. The State Legislature 

 assembled on January 1st, and adjourned on 

 April 30th. It had been in session 120 days, a 

 period equal to that of the session of 1849 and 

 also of 1862, but shorter than any other since 

 the latter date except that of 1876, which con- 

 tinued 115 days. There were 306 bills and 53 

 resolutions passed, all of which were approved 

 by the Governor, except one which he allowed 

 to become a law without his signature and one 

 which he vetoed. 



One of the subjects first considered by the 

 Legislature was that of retrenchment. A joint 

 committee was appointed which investigated 

 every department of the government, and the 

 reduction of salaries and fees which it recom- 

 mended and which were adopted amounted to 

 $269,632. 



An act was passed to establish a Board of 

 Health, Charity, and Lunacy, to consist of nine 

 persons, who should serve without compensa- 

 tion, and have charge of all matters previously 

 under the care of the Board of Health and 

 State charities, and also perform the duties re- 

 quired in the management of the hospitals for 

 the insane and prescribed in the laws relating 

 to the commitment of the insane. (See "An- 

 nual Cyclopaedia " for 1878 MASSACHUSETTS.) 

 This act abolished the State Board of Health, 

 the Board of State Charities, the Board of 

 Trustees of the State Reform School and the 

 State Industrial School, the Advisory Board 

 of Women, the Inspectors of the State Alms- 

 house and those of the State Primary School, 

 the Trustees of the State Reform School, and 

 the Visiting Agency. The duties thus imposed 

 on the new organization are immense. One 

 branch of the duties of the Visiting Agency 

 alone was during the last three years the visi- 

 tation and care of more than 6,000 children, 

 and the placing of them in private families. So 

 far as known, in after life about 70 per cent, of 

 offenders of all classes do well, and nearly 95 

 per cent, of the dependent children. The sta- 

 tistics show that from July 17, 1869, to Octo- 

 ber 1, 1878, there were before the courts 17,136 

 complaints against juvenile offenders, of which 

 the Agency had notice, the hearings of which 

 it attended, and of which it has records. The 

 hearings on the complaints resulted in the 

 commitment of 205 to the State Nautical 

 School, 774 to the Board of State Charities, 

 1,088 to the Reform School, 290 to the Indus- 

 trial School, 660 to the local institutions of 

 Boston, 415 to local and private institutions in 

 the various parts of the State, 121 to the 

 houses of correction ; 5,340 paid money penal- 

 ties; 4,392 were placed on probation; 2,945 

 were discharged; 67 were committed to com- 

 mon jails, 4 to the Reformatory Prison for 

 "Women; and 835 cases were disposed of by 

 placing them on file, indefinitely continuing 



