MASSACHUSETTS. 



MENNONITES. 



531 



tercsts, for its failure to provide sea-coast defenses, 

 to enact a national bankruptcy law, to repeal the 

 law making compulsory the coinage of the depreciated 

 silver dollars, for its unwillingness to pass wise and 

 salutary laws, and for its utter incapacity to deal with 

 public questions. 



A sound currency, based upon specie, in conformi- 

 ty to the monetary standard of the world, is of the 

 most vital importance to all the interests or the coun- 

 try. The continued coinage of the silver dollar at the 

 present ratio is a constant menace to the stability of 

 our finances. We again demand the repeal of the 

 law which requires the further coinage of this debased 

 money. 



The Democratic State Convention met in 

 Worcester on September 30, and nominated 

 the following ticket: For Governor, John F. 

 Andrew (son of the war Governor, John A. 

 Andrew) ; Lieu tenant- Governor, Frank K. 

 Foster; Secretary- of State, John R. Thayer; 

 Treasurer, Lewis Warner; Auditor, William 

 F. Cook ; Attorney-General, J. W. Corcoran. 



The Prohibitionists had a ticket in the field, 

 headed by Thomas J. Lothrop. On November 

 2 the Republican ticket was elected. The fol- 

 lowing was the vote for Governor : Republican, 

 123,346; Democratic, 112,883; Prohibition, 

 8,251 ; scattering, 289. Democrats were elect- 

 ed to Congress in the Third, Fourth, Ninth, and 

 Tenth Districts, and Republicans in the other 

 eight. Seven Republican and one Democratic 

 members of the Executive Council were cho- 

 sen. The Legislature consists of 25 Republi- 

 cans and 15 Democrats in the Senate, and 157 

 Republicans and 82 Democrats in the House. 

 The municipal election in Boston on December 

 14 resulted in the re-election of Hugh O'Brien, 

 Democrat, for mayor. The vote was as fol- 

 lows : Democratic, 23,387; Republican, 18,719; 

 Labor, 3,564. There were 20,223 votes cast 

 for license and 16,786 against. 



The Board of Aldermen will stand 7 Demo- 

 crats and 5 Republicans. The Council will 

 stand 32 Republicans, 35 Democrats, and 5 In- 

 dependent Democrats. 



Worcester, Lynn, Salem, Chelsea, Taunton, 

 Holyoke, and Lawrence voted for license. 

 Fall River, Haverhill, Maiden, Newton, New 

 Bedford, Gloucester, Fitchburg, Springfield, 

 Somerville, Waltham, Northampton, Brockton, 

 and Cambridge voted against license, though 

 most of them in 1885 favored license. 



Gloucester Fisheries. The year was unprofit- 

 able and disastrous to the fishermen from this 

 port. The loss exceeded the average. The 

 figures show a total loss of 26 vessels, with a 

 tonnage of 175,126, valued at $152,300, and in- 

 sured for $119,231. The number of lives lost 

 is 137. The Christmas and New-Year gales 

 proved calamitous. The losses from Decem- 

 ber 1 to March comprised 12 vessels, three with 

 crews of 42 men, while 24 other men lost their 

 lives while visiting trawls or were washed over- 

 board. The total loss was 66 lives and nearly 

 $100,000 worth of property in these gales. 

 Fourteen women are left widows and thirty- 

 five children fatherless. 



Cranberries. The Superintendent of the Cape 



Division of the Old Colony Railroad reports 

 that the total amount of cranberries shipped 

 over that division during the autumn of 1886 

 was: In barrels and boxes, 81,506; estimated 

 yet to go, 2,000; total in barrels, 83,506. In 

 1885: Shipped in barrels and boxes, 61,457; 

 unshipped, by estimate, 4,608; total ba'iels, 

 66,065. 



MEMONITES. The followers of Simon Menno 

 Mennonites, or Anabaptists date from the 

 middle of the sixteenth century, being Ger- 

 mans, mostly living in western Prussia, whence 

 they were driven by persecution a century ago 

 to take refuge in southern Russia. As their 

 religion precluded violence, and consequently 

 warfare, the Russian Government, until 1871, 

 protected them and gave them freedom from 

 conscription. In 1871, this privilege being 

 taken from them, they were given permission 

 to leave the country, when large numbers of 

 them settled in the United States and Canada. 

 In 1873 there were supposed to be about 60,- 

 000 in the two countries, of which number 

 seven eighths were in the United States. 



As the Mennonites were known to be indus- 

 trious, frugal, and orderly, they were deemed 

 desirable immigrants, and efforts were made 

 to obtain them as settlers, so that their number 

 largely increased, until there are now as many 

 as 175,000 in the United States, and 25,000 in 

 the Dominion. In this country they are widely 

 scattered, but most of them are in Pennsyl- 

 vania, where they have extensive and popu- 

 lous settlements, and in Minnesota, Kansas, and 

 Nebraska. A few emigrated to Brazil, but 

 these suffered great privations, sickness, and 

 death, until the small remnant of their number 

 were aided by the British consular authorities 

 in that country to return to England, and were 

 afterward permitted to take up again their resi- 

 dence in Russia. 



About 1874 the Government of Canada sent 

 a commissioner to the Mennonites in Russia, 

 to confer with them in regard to emigrating to 

 Manitoba. The idea was received favorably, 

 and, in their turn, they sent agents to that coun- 

 try, who, on their return, made a favorable re- 

 port. The Canadian Government loaned the 

 Russian Mennonites $80,000, at 6 per cent, 

 interest, payable in eight years, the payment 

 being guaranteed by the Mennonites living in 

 Ontario. In 1875 they began to migrate to 

 Manitoba, where they took up land on reser- 

 vations allotted to them near the southern 

 boundary of the province, to the east and west 

 of the Red river, and along the line of the 

 Canada Pacific Railroad. They now number 

 in these settlements about 8,000 or 9,000. 



The Mennonites still speak German, and are 

 Protestants, the peculiar points of their re- 

 ligious faith consisting in their rejection of in- 

 fant baptism, and their refusal to take an oath 

 in any form, or to bear arms. 



In Manitoba they have built themselves neat 

 and comfortable cottages of sun-dried brick 

 (adobe), and, wood being scarce, they use for 



