534 



MONTANA. 



tion of license revenues to the counties, there 

 was an increase of receipts of revenue over 

 1882 of $7,852.43, and a surplus in tbe treas- 

 ury of $26,508.59 over all registered liabilities. 



The expenses of 1884 exceeded the revenue 

 by $28,558.77. This excess is partly due to 

 the Constitutional Convention. 



The balance in tbe general warrant fund, 

 Dec. 31, 1882, was $01,514.42; receipts, $99,- 

 121.72; paid to redeem bonds, $45,000; for 

 otber purposes, $85,494.41 ; balance, Dec. 31, 

 1883, $30,141.73. There were also paid from 

 other funds, chiefly to redeem bonds, $28,- 

 011.90. The amount of revenue proper col- 

 lected in 1882 was $90,863.47 ; in 1883, $98,- 

 715.90. The surplus in the treasury over regis- 

 tered liabilities Jan. 1, 1883, was $14,005.90 ; 

 Jan. 1, 1884, $26,508.59. The aggregate net 

 indebtedness of counties March 1, 1882, was 

 $658,974.32; March 1. 1883, $843,897.82. 



The assessed value of property in 1880 was 

 $18,609,802 ; 1881, $24,040,806.30 ; 1882, $33,- 

 211,319.12; 1883, $44,698,461.28. The fol- 

 lowing are the items of assessment for 1883 : 



Acres of land and improvements, 1,149,888-79, 

 $8,111,877.01 ; town lots and improvements, 16,887 i, 

 $6,898,478.45 ; horses, 89,311, $3,601,518 ; mules and 

 asses, 3,126, $219,813; sheep, 465,667, $1,323,802.50; 

 cattle, 376,811, $8,222,154; hogs, 10,037, $63,423; 

 -wagons and carriages, 10,412, $598,851.25; watches 

 and clocks, 4,516, $116.563.49 ; pieces of jewelry and 

 plate, 77, $42,870 ; musical instruments, 708, $79,650 ; 

 shares of stock. $982,350 ; merchandise, $3,939,930 ; 

 capital invested in manufactures, $1,300,480 ; mon- 

 eys and credits, $4,780,134.56; household furniture, 

 $127,953 ; all other property, $4,424,613.02 ; total, 

 $44,834,461.28 ; less reduction by Board of Equaliza- 

 tion and widows' exemption, $136,000; total, $44,- 

 1.28. 



Education. The following is a general com- 

 parative statement for two years: 



Statistics. The following statistics for 1883 

 are compiled from abstracts returned by the 

 county assessors: Births, 967; deaths, 389 

 natural and 32 violent; wheat raised, 556,076 

 bushels, on 24,528^ acres; rye, 2,215 bushels, 

 on 72 acres; barley, 62,589 bushels, on 2,060 

 acres; corn, 6,604 bushels, on 265 acres; oats, 

 2,023,992 bushels, on 58,788| acres; peas, 38,- 

 415 bushels, on 1,497J acres; potatoes, 412,- 

 681 bushels, on 2,902| acres; buckwheat, 328 

 bushels, on 12J acres; cabbage, 1,242,710 



pounds, on 129 acres; rutabagas, 1,020,035 

 pounds, on 120J- acres; turnips, 223,500 

 pounds, on 31 acres; onions, 496,380 pounds, 

 on 106 acres; hay, 187,802 tons, on 128,772 

 acres; number of milch-cows, 8,377; pounds 

 of butter and cheese, 593,384; sheep shorn, 

 364,390; pounds of wool, 2,157,768; number 

 of ranches, 4,660; bushels of apples, 1,173; 

 gross receipts of placer-mines, $457,655.04; 

 number of quartz-mills, 50 ; gross receipts of 

 same, $3,864,848; grist-mills, 19, producing 

 152,600 sacks of flour; saw-mills, 99, turning 

 out 77,736,000 feet of lumber ; coal-mines, 17, 

 yielding 78,600 bushels of coal ; reduction-fur- 

 naces, 37, producing 27,111, 677 pounds of bull- 

 ion, valued at $3,430,305.83; land cultivated, 

 90,513f acres. 



The totals of live-stock in 1884 reported to 

 the Commissioner of Agriculture by his statis- 

 tical agent for the Territory, are as follow : 



The yield of gold, silver, copper, and lead, 

 for the last three years, has been reported by 

 the Superintendent of Wells, Fargo & Co., as 

 follows: 1882, $8,004,000; 1883, $9,879,000; 

 1884, $11,862,000. 



The shipments of wool in 1883 amounted to 

 848,225 pounds; in 1884, to 1,258,034 pounds. 

 Of hides, pelts, and furs, 427,000 were shipped 

 in 1883, and 863,213 in 1884; of cattle, 30,- 

 418 head in 1883, and 85,300 in 1884. 



Constitution. The Constitutional Convention, 

 consisting of 26 Democrats, 17 Republicans, 

 and 2 Independents, met on the 14th of Janu- 

 ary and adjourned on the 9th of February. 

 It framed a Constitution, which, on the 4th of 

 November, was ratified by a popular vote of 

 15,506 against 4,266. Provision was made by 

 the convention for the submission of the Con- 

 stitution when adopted to Congress, and for 

 asking the admission of the Territory as a 

 State under it. The prominent features of this 

 instrument are given below : 



It guarantees perfect freedom and toleration, with- 

 out discrimination on account of religion, but this 

 does not extend to or include the practice of polyga- 

 my. It was deemed prudent to leave no room for 

 misconstruction upon this point. 



The present grand-jury system is retained, with 

 the modification that 'it shall consist of twelve men, 

 nine of whom may find a "true bill." The right is 

 reserved to the Legislature to abolish the grand-jury 

 system. Two thirds of a jury may render a verdict 

 in civil causes. In civil causes and misdemeanors the 

 jury may consist of less than twelve. 



State Senators are elected for four years, Kepre- 

 sentatives for two years, and provision is made that 

 one half the Senate shall be chosen biennially. Short 

 sessions are provided for ; hence the limitation of forty 

 days, in all sessions after the first, which shall not ex- 

 ceed sixty days. No special law can ever be passed. 





