B 



ALABAMA. 



eral convicts, it is put down for the most part 

 as "good." Out of 58 employed by the New- 

 castle Coal Company, the conduct of every 

 oiu- is reported "good." Out of 46 employed 

 l.y r. T. Pollard, only 2 " bad " are reported for 

 the I\MI \e.-ii>. Out of 87 employed by Colo- 

 nel T. \Villinins, the report for the two years 

 shows 28 " bad." The number of deaths dur- 

 ing the two years was 60 ; number escaped, 

 Jii ; number discharged by the expiration of 

 sentence, 274 ; number pardoned, 29. Among 

 the deaths was one suicide. A necessity has 

 also ari>eii for the enlargement of the Insane 

 Asylum, and the Legislature appropriated for 

 that object $50,000 for two years. 



The supply of c-oal and iron in the State is 

 comparatively inexhaustible. During the last 

 ten years the iron industry has increased about 

 700 per cent. The production of coal has also 

 increased with great rapidity. In 1874,49,889 

 tons were mined ; in 1878, 194,268 ; in 1879, 

 200,000 tons; while in 1880 the aggregate ran 

 up to 340,000 tons. This growth has been 

 made in the face of many obstacles, the chief 

 of which was the want of railroad facilities, and 

 a general impoverishment of the people by the 

 losses of the war. The value of the output in 

 1880 was $2,000,000, while it is believed the 

 year 1881 will show a product in Alabama of 

 $8,000,000. In various localities of the State 

 the manufacturing industry is rapidly increas- 

 ing, and the abundant water-power brought 

 into use. Numerous cotton-mills have been 

 constructed and are in operation ; likewise oil- 

 works, blast-furnaces, etc. The number of 

 spindles used in cotton manufacture in the 

 State is 55,072, and the number of bales of 

 cotton used during the census year was 14,887. 

 The acreage of cotton in the State during the 

 same year was 2,329,577 acres, and the num- 

 ber of bales made by the crop was 699,576, 

 which is an increase of 62*9 per cent, or 270,- 

 094 bales, over the crop of 1870, that amounted 

 to 429,482 bales. There are 32,000,000 acres 

 of land in the State, of which about 14,961,- 

 175 acres are in farms, 5,082,204 are under 

 cultivation. 9,878,971, owned by individuals, 

 lying idle for want of some one to cultivate 

 them, and 5,200,000 acres of government land?, 

 which yield no taxes. Continuous effort is 

 made^ to have the Legislature publish these 

 facts in the interest of immigration, and as the 

 State had (September 30, 1880) $286,990.14 

 in the vaults of the Treasury, a call was made 

 upon legislators to use part of this sum in de- 

 veloping the agricultural interests now lying 

 dormant. Immigrants in the north of Alabama 

 have increased taxes so largely that they will 

 in a year or two swell the Treasury receipts 

 $10,000. In that section grape-culture is the 

 principal business. An acre of cuttings will in 

 two and a half years yield 200 gallons of wine. 

 The soil, like that of California, seems pecul- 

 iarly adapted to the grape, possessing chemical 

 and physical qualities that insure success. The 

 climate also _ conspires to growth a dry sum- 



mer, with warm rains, and a warm, unclouded 

 tall, which perfectly ripens while thoroughly 

 developing sweetness. The amount of taxes 

 received into the State Treasury for the year 

 ending September 80, 1881, was $562,500. 

 This sum consisted entirely of taxes on real 

 and personal estate. About one half the 

 amount was paid by the eleven counties of 

 Montgomery, Dallas, Mobile, Lowndes, Hale, 

 Bullock, Wilcox, Perry, Pike, Marengo, and 

 Lee. The board for the assessment of the rail- 

 road property in the State increased the valu- 

 ation over the preceding year by $2,068,695. 

 The amount of additional revenue which the 

 State will receive from this increase is $13,446. 

 The assessment made for 1877 was $10,627,- 

 559. For the year 1878 it was $10.297,023. 

 For the year 1879 it was $11,023,389. For 

 the year 1880 it was $14,526,769, and for the 

 year 1881 it is $16,595,462. In the last three 

 years, therefore, the tax valuation of the rail- 

 road property of the State has increased very 

 nearly 60 per cent. The amount of revenue 

 the State will derive from the roads this year 

 will be $120,271, Avhich is about one sixth of 

 the entire sum derived from taxation on prop- 

 erty. If all other property in this State was 

 taxed as near to its value as the railroads, the 

 revenue would be much larger than it is, and 

 there would be no difficulty in lessening the 

 rate of taxation. 



The population of the State, according to 

 the census of 1880, divided into several classes, 

 has not yet been fully compiled at the Census 

 Office. The following is the population by 

 counties. 



The population, valuation of property, and 

 debt, of some of the cities, were as follows : 



Mobile, population, 31,205 ; valuation, $12,- 

 991,795 ; debt, $2,609,250. Montgomery, pop- 



