NEW HAMPSHIRE. 



633 



Senatorial Question," setting forth the reasons 

 of their action at great length. Among other 

 things, they state the sentiment and expectation 

 of the people of New Hampshire generally to 

 have been that no election of a United States 

 Senator should have taken place at this ses- 

 sion ; upon which they say, " To outrage this 

 public sentiment by violating a positive law of 

 Congress, and prematurely seizing a senator- 

 ship two years before the lawful time, seemed 

 to us grossly partisan, highly inexpedient, and 

 in every aspect injudicious and unwise." 



The State finances appear to be in a very sat- 

 isfactory condition. The sura of $139,693 was 

 paid last year on the principal of the public 

 debt, which is now reduced to $3,372,770.05, 

 all liabilities included. State bonds to the 

 amount of $450,000 becoming due on September 

 1, 188-1, the Governor recommends an increase 

 of the annual State tax from $400,000 to 

 $500,000 for the ensuing two years, to the end 

 of canceling the said bonds at maturity. 



The aggregate value of taxable property of 

 all sorts movable and immovable in New 

 Hampshire, and the amount of taxes levied on 

 it for the current year, appear from the sub- 

 joined table, prepared by the State Board of 

 Equalization. The totals for all the counties 

 together were as follows: Polls, $89,171; 

 money, $17,356,505 ; all other personal, $18,- 

 959,343; real estate, $123,511,284; total in- 

 ventory, $168,964,903 ; amount of taxes, $2,- 

 615,684.32. 



The polls enumerated in this table are valued 

 for the purpose of taxation at one hundred 

 dollars each. 



The amount stated under the title of " total 

 inventory " in the foregoing table does not in- 

 clude the moneys deposited in the savings- 

 banks, except that portion of them which is 

 invested in real estate ; leaving $31,913,113 of 

 such deposits to be reckoned apart. By the 

 addition of this sum the grand total of the 

 property taxed in New Hampshire is $200,- 

 878,016. 



The aggregate taxes also, as above given, do 

 not include the savings-banks tax, $319,131.13, 

 nor the railroad and telegraph taxes, $176,792 

 (estimated as assessed in the previous year), 

 which two items being added make the entire 

 amount of taxes for the present year $3,111,007. 



The average rate. of taxation, with regard to 

 property, is $1.46 on $100 of valuation, the 

 preceding year's average having been $1.44$ ; 

 and, with regard to persons, it is little less than 

 nine dollars for every inhabitant in the State, 

 and a little more than thirty-five dollars for 

 each voter. 



A separate table published by the Board of 

 Equalization shows the number, value, and 

 average of certain kinds of live-stock in New 

 Hampshire, of which the totals for the entire 

 State are as follows : Horses, 59,447 ; valued 

 at $3,389,790 ; average value, $57.02.. Oxen, 

 26,751; valued at $1,258,120; average value, 

 $47.03. Cows, 96,574; valued at $2,226,486 ; 



average value, $23.05. Other neat stock, 63,- 

 142; valued at $1,024,946; average value, 

 $16.23 ; sheep, 229,049 ; valued at $650,175 ; 

 average value, $2.84. 



The values and averages given here for the 

 State are quite different from those marked in 

 the same table for single counties; and the 

 counties also vary considerably from each other 

 in that respect. It is averred that even in the 

 same county, and in towns lying close to one 

 another, the difference in the value of the 

 same animals is so great that intentional un- 

 dervaluation to the detriment of the State and 

 other tax-payers is suspected. Of these dis- 

 crepancies, in regard to different counties and 

 to towns of the same counties, the following 

 instances are given : " Horses are valued at 

 $105 each in Milford, and at $31 in Livermore ; 

 oxen at $70 each in Keene, and at $30 in Liv- 

 ermore ; cows at $35 each in Manchester, and 

 at $11.61 in Albany; other stock at $24.28 in 

 Rollinsford, and at $7.80 in Kandolph; and 

 sheep at $5 in Atkinson, and at $1.70 in Ac- 

 worth. These are the extremes, and the val- 

 uations range all along between them. And 

 the extremes in the several counties are nearly 

 as great. For instance, in Rockingham, horses 

 average $85.70 in Portsmouth, and $36.80 in 

 Chester; oxen average $64.65 in Exeter, and 

 $37.10 in Chester ; and so on through all coun- 

 ties there will be found like extremes, and in 

 all these classes of animals." 



The amounts of taxable property held in 

 New Hampshire by the twenty-two railway 

 companies operating within her borders, and 

 the taxes assessed on them, respectively, are 

 stated in the table on the following page, trans- 

 mitted by the Board of Equalization to the 

 House of Representatives. 



The aggregate deposits in the 64 savings- 

 banks of New Hampshire amount to $32,097,- 

 734.17, which is $3,838,126.76 more than in 

 1880. The number of depositors exceeds that 

 of last year by 9,602, they being at present 96,- 

 881. The amount deposited averages between 

 ninety and one hundred dollars for every man, 

 woman, and child in the State, and about one 

 fourth of the inhabitants are depositors. 



The State Board of Agriculture, which was 

 established eleven years ago, has held about 

 400 meetings, given more than 2,000 lectures, 

 maintained an extensive correspondence, and 

 issued nine printed volumes the tenth being 

 nearly ready for the promotion of the knowl- 

 edge and interests of agriculture. To this may 

 be added the service it has rendered by the 

 analyses of commercial fertilizers, and, more 

 recently, by its duties in relation to the licens- 

 ing of venders of various articles essential to 

 the farmer, with a view to the prevention of 

 fraud and imposition. For this the expense to 

 the State has not exceeded $4,000 a year, one 

 half of which was for printing. 



The State Normal School is under wise di- 

 rection. The sum of $3,500 has been appro- 

 priated to this school. The present number 



