572 



NEW MEXICO. 



had communicated by message the fact that 

 burial had been refused the bodies of the dead 

 on account of color. A supplement to the 

 Crimes Act was passed, which made such a re- 

 fusal a misdemeanor. The Legislature also 

 passed an act to protect all citizens in their 

 civil and legal rights, so that no distinction 

 should be made on account of race, color, or 

 previous condition of servitude. This act makes 

 it a misdemeanor to deny to any citizen, on 

 account of race or color, the rights provided 

 for in that act, and also makes it a misdemean- 

 or in any officer or person charged with the 

 duty of selecting or summoning jurors to ex- 

 clude any citizen on account of color. 



Legislation for Cities. The Governor urges 

 upon the Legislature the adoption of a consti- 

 tutional amendment that will prohibit any city 

 from creating any debt, under any legislative 

 power, that shall exceed a certain percentage 

 of the ratables. 



One of the most important acts affecting 

 cities was the act providing for raising revenue 

 to carry on certain public duties in bankrupt 

 cities, which duties they had failed or refused 

 to perform under their charters. This act has 

 been decided to be constitutional, and has ena- 

 bled the city of Elizabeth to continue its schools, 

 protect its property from fire, preserve the pub- 

 lic health, support the poor, maintain a police 

 force, and keep its streets in safe condition for 

 public use. The city authorities and creditors 

 have not yet been able to reach a satisfactory 

 adjustment of their difficulties. 



Political. Besides Presidential Electors and 

 Congressmen, only members of Assembly and 

 a third of the Senators were chosen at the 

 election of 1884. The vote for Presidential 

 Electors was as follows: Republican, 123,366 ; 

 Democratic 127,778; Greenback, 3,356; Pro- 

 hibition, 6,153. Four Republican (First, Sec- 

 ond, Fifth, and Sixth Districts) and three Demo- 

 cratic Congressmen (Third, Fourth, and Sev- 

 enth Districts) were elected. The Legislature 

 of 1885 consists of 11 Republicans and 10 Demo- 

 crats in the Senate, and 36 Republicans and 24 

 Democrats in the House. 



NEW MEXICO. The following are the Terri- 

 torial officers : Governor, Lionel A. Sheldon ; 

 Secretary, W. G. Ritch; Chief-Justice of the 

 Supreme Court, Samuel B. Axtell; Associate 

 Justices, Joseph Bell, Warren Bristol ; Attor- 

 ney-General, William Breeden ; Auditor, Trini- 

 dad Alarid ; Treasurer, A. Ortiz y Salaza. 



Legislative Session. An act of Congress, ap- 

 proved Feb. 14, 1884, provided that " the legis- 

 lative proceedings, records, and laws of said 

 Territory shall be printed in the English lan- 

 guage ; that the members elected to the Terri- 

 torial Legislature of New Mexico in November, 

 1882, and all vacancies legally filled since that 

 time, if any, are hereby declared to be the legal 

 members of the Legislature hereby authorized, 

 subject to all valid contests; the said Terri- 

 torial Legislature shall convene on the third 

 Monday in February, 1884, and shall not con- 



tinue in session exceeding forty legislative days. 

 The next Territorial Legislature of New Mexico 

 shall convene in the year 1886, at such time as 

 may be fixed by the Legislature." 



In pursuance of this act, the Legislature met 

 on Feb. 18, and adjourned April 30. 



Besides the school and assessors' laws, and 

 the act authorizing a quarantine against the 

 importation of diseased cattle, many useful acts 

 were passed, as follows : 



One compelling the people to work on the 

 roads, which never received much attention; 

 an act requiring agricultural lands to be fenced 

 in certain localities ; a stock law, prepared by 

 a committee composed of representatives of 

 the several stock associations in the Territory, 

 which is satisfactory to the stock-men ; a val- 

 uable act on the subject of habeas corpus, 

 mandamus, and prohibition, and one authoriz- 

 ing the compilation of the laws, which had not 

 been attempted since 1865, and never had been 

 done intelligently. An act was also passed reg- 

 ulating private banks, which had been shown to 

 be a great necessity, as recent failures of un- 

 regulated banks had caused serious losses to 

 the people. After the most strenuous efforts 

 had been made for years, without success, to 

 secure property-rights to married women, a 

 very liberal act was passed on that subject, 

 and also a most comprehensive and proper law 

 on the subject of municipal corporations. 

 Many acts were passed simplifying and im- 

 proving the practice and proceedings in the 

 courts, and settling the estates of deceased 

 persons. Excluding those for the penitentiary 

 and Capitol buildings, the appropriations were 

 less than usual, and general expenses were con- 

 siderably reduced. 



General Condition. The Governor, in his re- 

 port to the Secretary of the Interior, dated 

 October 6, says: "In almost every respect it 

 is apparent that there is progress in New Mex- 

 ico. This results from a more general inter- 

 course among all classes of the people of the 

 Territory and with those of other localities, 

 and from a better understanding of necessities 

 and resources. Railroads have opened the 

 country to the spirit of advancement. The 

 barriers of distance and differences in lan- 

 guage have been practically removed." 



Agriculture. This year there has been a con- 

 siderable increase in agricultural productions. 

 The production of cereals, vegetables, and 

 fruits is nearly, if not quite, sufficient to supply 

 the home consumption. 



Mining. There are no statistics on the sub- 

 ject of mining from which an accurate state- 

 ment can be made. Ores are reduced in con- 

 siderable quantities at Socorro, Lake Valley, 

 Silver City, and Georgetown, and to some ex- 

 tent in other localities, and large quantities are 

 transported out of the Territory for reduction. 

 There is no law requiring reports on the sub- 

 ject, and the miners have not so generally 

 perfected their organizations that, through 

 them, information approximately accurate can 



