MASSACHUSETTS. 



527 



There was the usual large number of de- 

 mands for new or increased water-supplies, 

 and among the companies incorporated are the 

 Braintree, Stoughton, Saugus, Hassanamisco, 

 Cohasset, Plainville, Turner's Falls; and new 

 supplies or enlargements granted to Abington, 

 Brocton, Canton, Chicopee, Cottage City, 

 Everett, Grafton, Hingharn, Hudson, Maiden, 

 Marblehead, Northampton, Norwood, Quincy, 

 Fall River, Kockland, Whitman, Wakefield, 

 and Ware. 



The session was exceptional for labor legis- 

 lation. The General Court passed an arbitra- 

 tion bill, one for weekly payments, another to 

 limit the hours of labor of women and minors 

 in manufacturing establishments, acts to bet- 

 ter protect the safety of employes by establish- 

 ing communication to insure the speedy stop- 

 ping of the machinery, and to require reports 

 of accidents of a certain degree of seriousness, 

 and to empower corporations to issue special 

 stock to be held by employes only. 



Of matters relating to the town divisions, 

 but four of the large numbers of petitions met 

 with success. The most notable instance was 

 the incorporation of the town of Hopedale. 

 A large part, as far as concerns population, of 

 the town of Salisbury was annexed to Ames- 

 bury, and a very small portion of Leyden au- 

 thorized to be annexed to Bernardston, if the 

 inhabitants shall so vote. The town of South 

 Abington was allowed to change its name, and 

 that of Whitman selected from the four from 

 which choice was allowed. 



A question of interest was the Field claim 

 on the New York and New England bond 

 sale, which resulted adversely for Mr. Field 

 and his associates. 



The telegraph and telephone companies were 

 the objects of many attempts at legislation, 

 particularly the telephone companies. The 

 American Bell Company has been limited in 

 its future holdings of stock in sub-companies, 

 which, with a bill to put telephone companies 

 under the general taxation laws, is practically 

 the only resulting legislation. 



The liquor laws were not materially changed, 

 despite several attempts so to do. An act was 

 passed to regulate the size and description of 

 ballots used in voting on the liquor question. 



The sale or gift of tobacco in any form to 

 persons under 16 years of age was forbidden. 



An act was passed to carry into effect the 

 constitutional amendment allowing precinct 

 voting in towns, and another to provide for a 

 recount of votes cast in towns for national, 

 State, district, or county officers. 



The Health Department has been separated 

 from the State Board of Health, Lunacy, and 

 Charity, and a separate Board of Health es- 

 tablished. 



An important matter of the session was the 

 drainage question, but, except passing meas- 

 ures to require the city of Worcester to adopt 

 some system to prevent its pollution of Black- 

 stone river, and to give the protection of the 



purity of inland waters to the charge of the 

 Board of Health, the general subject was re- 

 ferred to the next General Court. 



One new savings-bank was incorporated, 

 the Shawnee, of Sandwich. The amount to be 

 deposited by any such bank in any one national 

 bank or trust company was limited. Treas- 

 urers' bonds must be renewed as often as once 

 in five years, and the time was extended dur- 

 ing which the savings-banks may hold real es- 

 tate taken under foreclosure of mortgage. 



Evening high-schools in cities of 50,000 or 

 more inhabitants were authorized, and the 

 petitioners for a teachers' tenure-of-office bill 

 were successful. 



The Winthrop Elevated Electric road was 

 incorporated. 



The city of Holyoke was exempted from the 

 operations of the municipal indebtedness and 

 rate of taxation acts of 1885. 



The biennial sessions amendment to the 

 Constitution failed to receive the indorsement 

 of the House. 



The Legislature redivided the State into 

 councilor and senatorial districts, and made 

 a new apportionment of the representatives 

 by counties. As a consequence of this work 

 it was discovered that all new divisions of 

 cities into wards, made between the census 

 and the redistributing, were illegal for redis- 

 tricting purposes, and the ward lines in all 

 cities were re established as of May 1, 1885. 

 This was brought about by the attempt to set 

 aside the Boston division, made by the City 

 Council in 1885. 



Finances. The following is a summary of the 

 financial affairs of the Commonwealth, as ex- 

 hibited in the statements of the several de- 

 partments : 



DEBT. 

 Funded debt Jan. 1, 1886 .................... $31,432,680 90 



It has been reduced during the year by 

 the following payments from the sink- 

 ing-funds: 



Coast-defense loan bonds due July 1, 

 1883 ............................... $2,000 



Bounty loan bond due July 1, 1833 ____ 1,000 



- 8,000 00 



Funded debt Jan. 1, 1887 ............. ... $31,429,680 90 



SINKING-FUNDS. 

 Amount of sinking-funds Jan. 1. 1886 ........ 



Reduced by payment of coast-defense and 

 bounty loan bonds ........................ 



Amount of sinking-funds Jan. 1, 1877. 



Increase 



Actual expenses, 1885 



Actual expenses, 1886, so far as can be ascer- 

 tained 



ESTIMATES FOR 1887. 



Payments for all purposes 



Receipts, including cash on hand, but exclu- 

 sive of direct State tax 



$18,182,672 44 

 3,000 00 



$18,179,672 44 

 18,964,412 62 



$7S4J40 18 

 4,915,303 43 



5,017,647 71 



$5,068,726 87 

 3,951,081 31 



Deficit ................................. $1,117,645 56 



The Legislatures of recent years have neg- 

 lected to raise, by the annual direct tax levy, 

 a sum sufficient for the needs of the gov- 

 ernment, the result of which has been a 



