638 



MISSISSIPPI. 



enormous increase. Transportation by railroad 

 when agricultural products are cheap, becomes 

 an item disproportionate to the price received in 

 the market. Commerce then reverts to its old 

 waterways, and demands every facility. The 

 means of water transportation have changed. A 

 single tug carries down a fleet of barges whose 

 cargoes would load a train of 500 cars. One 

 tug carried a tow of barges into New Orleans 

 with 600,000 bushels of coal, a freight for 1,800 

 cam. The export of corn increased from 20 to 

 70 million bushels in the three years 1875-'77. 

 In 1876 there were exported 550 million pounds 

 of pork, worth about $70,000,000, 34 million 

 pounds of beef, and millions of bushels of wheat. 



This question has been often presented to 

 Congress, and committees of each House have 

 reported bills recommending appropriations for 

 the purpose of protecting the alluvial lands from 

 inundation. In these reports they have been 

 unanimous, but none of them have ever received 

 a favorable consideration until this year. At 

 its late session Congress passed a bill for the 

 creation of a permanent commission for the 

 improvement of the river. It provides for the 

 appointment of a commission consisting of sev- 

 en members, a majority of whom shall be army 

 engineers, and one of whom shall be an experi- 

 enced river steamboatman, whose duty it shall 

 be to prosecute and report upon such steps as 

 shall be needed for the greater improvement of 

 navigation on the river. For this commission 

 the following nominations were made by the 

 President : Benjamin Harrison, of Indiana ; 

 James B. Eads, civil engineer, Missouri ; B. Mor- 

 gan Harrod, civil engineer, Louisiana ; Lieuten- 

 ant-Colonel Q. A. Gillmore, Major 0. B. Corn- 

 stock, Major 0. B. Suter, from the Engineer 

 Corps of the Army ; and Henry Mitchell, from 

 the Coast and Geodetic Survey. 



The law creating a Board of Health for the 

 State, and authorizing similar bodies in coun- 

 ties and towns, gave to the latter the power to 

 establish local quarantine. This operated so 

 disadvantageously that, upon the creation of 

 the National Board of Health and the publica- 

 tion of its rules and regulations, they were im- 

 mediately adopted by the State Board and re- 

 commended to the local boards. 



The provisions of the insurance laws of the 

 State in respect to foreign companies were de- 

 fined by Judge Hill of the United States Cir- 

 cuit Court, in the case of the Firemen's In- 

 surance Company us. "W. L. Hemingway et al. 

 After having given a full recital of the statu- 

 tory provisions, as designed to give to insur- 

 ance companies chartered and doing business 

 in other States an opportunity to establish 

 agencies in Mississippi, he proceeded to say : 



But as a protection to our citizens from fictitious or 

 insolvent companies created and doing business in other 

 States, and to give our citizens an opportunity to ex- 

 amine the law of their creation, and their condition 

 every way, the sworn statement of their condition by 

 their principal officers, with a copy of their charter, is 

 required to be filed with the Auditor, and also in the 

 office of the Chancery Clerk, in each county in which 



the companies by their agents may desire to do busi- 

 ness j and where liabilities may be incurred upon poli- 

 cies issued through such agents, that the companies 

 may be sued, judgment obtained, and satisfaction had, 

 without the policy-holder having to go out of the State 

 to obtain it ; hence, the agreement for service of pro- 

 cess and the deposit to be made with the Treasurer, 

 and the mode of reaching the funds so deposited with 

 him ; and that those taking risks may know the 

 amount of the risks for which the deposit IB liable. In 

 other words, it is to give as far as possible these foreign 

 insurance companies the privileges coupled with the 

 liabilities of companies chartered by this State. Such 

 being the case ? the deposit is intended only for those 

 who may obtain their policies through the agents ap- 

 pointed, and doing business in the State and under the 

 provisions of our statutes. No assignment or transfer 

 of the fund so deposited can be made so as to defeat 

 the claims upon it for satisfaction of losses or unearned 

 premiums upon the policies issued by such agents as 

 provided by these statutes. Nor can such company 

 revoke the powers of their agents so as to defeat the 

 remedies provided by the statute, although it may for 

 any other purpose. So that in case such company 

 shall cease to do business in this State, either by with- 

 drawal of agencies or insolvency, any person holding 

 a policy issued through such agent or agents, which 

 has not expired, may cancel the policy or surrender it 

 to the agent, and demand the unearned premiums, 

 which I understand to be the amount of premium duo 

 for the unexpired term of the policy. The agent is re- 

 ouired to estimate and certify the amount due, and 

 tnat the policy has been canceled or returned, which 

 has the same effect. This certificate is by law made 

 evidence of the cancellation or return, and the amount 

 of the unearned premiums ; but if the agent should 

 refuse to do this duty, the policy-holder, I have no 

 doubt, may cancel or tender the return of the policy 

 and make proof of its value ; his redress can not be 

 defeated either by the failure of the agent to do his 

 duty or by the want of such agent. After, ho-'ever, 

 all these demands have been satisfied, the funds in the 

 hands of the Treasurer are to be returned to the de- 

 positor or its assignee. It is the company and not the 

 agent that makes the deposit, although the company 

 acts through its agent, being incapable of any other 

 action. After those are satisfied who have this special 

 lien on this fund, I incline to the opinion that it is 

 liable to other creditors of the depositor or its assignee ; 

 but, under my view of the right of the parties to this 

 suit, the decision of this question is unnecessary. 



By an act of the Legislature, women were 

 authorized to hold the office of notary public. 

 The question of its constitutionality was sub- 

 mitted to the State Attorney-General. He 

 gave his judgment that the law was constitu- 

 tional, on the ground that the office of notary 

 public was not such a public office as was con- 

 templated in Section 4, Article XV., of the 

 Constitution of the State. 



In another case appealed to the United States 

 Circuit Court from the Southern District of 

 Mississippi, it was decided on March 7th that, 

 under the code of Mississippi, in order to au- 

 thorize a judgment against a married woman, 

 her liability must be established by showing 

 that she has a separate estate chargeable with 

 the obligation sued on ; that a married woman 

 is incapable of being bound either by a con- 

 tract or judgment except in special cases au- 

 thorized by law ; and that if a suit is against 

 her and her husband, no judgment will be ren- 

 dered against her unless the liability of her 

 separate property be first established. 



An act of the Legislature passed March 5th, 



