570 



MISSISSIPPI. 



the operations of the civil engineer. Sir David 

 Brewster, in his own illustrations, shows a dis- 

 placement of forty degrees an angle of refrac- 

 tion which a chaDge in the density of the earth's 

 atmosphere to that of glass could not come any- 

 where near producing. The engineers of the 

 Suez Canal were never for a moment affected 

 by changes of atmospheric refraction, though 

 the mirage of the desert was of frequent occur- 

 rence. 



MISSISSIPPI. State Government. The follow- 

 ing were the State officers during the year : 

 Governor, Kobert Lowry, Democrat; Lieuten- 

 ant-Governor, G. D. Shands ; Secretary of State, 

 George M. Govan ; Treasurer, W. L. Heming- 

 way ; Auditor, W. W. Stone ; Attorney-Gen- 

 eral, T. M. Miller ; Superintendent of Public 

 Education, J. R. Preston. Supreme Court : 

 Chief-Justice, J. A. P. Campbell; Associate 

 Justices, J. M. Arnold and T. E. Cooper. 



Legislative Session. The Legislature met on 

 January 5 and adjourned on March 18. Among 

 the acts of the session are the following : 



To provide for the payment of levee taxes by rail- 

 roads in the levee district of this State. 



To provide tor the care and disposition of the church 

 property of parishes or missions of the Episcopal 

 Church' in Mississippi which have no organization, or 

 have ceased to exist. 



To require State Treasurer to cover into the treas- 

 ury any cash balances remaining from appropria- 

 tions. 



To abolish the Board of Immigration and Agricult- 

 ure, and to reduce the salary of the Commissioner of 

 Immigration. 



For preventing the evils of intemperance by local 

 option in any county in the Statj by submitting the 

 question of prohibiting the sale of intoxicating liquors 

 to the qualified voters of each county, to provide pen- 

 alties for its violation, and for other purposes. 



To provide for the election of Kailroad Commission- 

 ers of the State. 



To incorporate the British and Mississippi Valley 

 Freehold Land and Mortgage Company, limited, ap- 

 proved March 16, 1884. 



To incorporate the Natchez Street Eailroad Com- 

 pany. 



To secure the manufacturers and owners of railroad 

 equipments and rolling-stock in making conditional 

 sales, and contracts for the lease thereof. 



For the preservation of the archives of the State in 

 the office of the Auditor of Public Accounts. 



To incorporate the Pensacola and Memphis Railroad 

 Company of Mississippi. 



A^ resolution to investigate the management of the 

 Penitentiary, and inquire into the legality of certain 

 contracts therein mentioned. 



To provide for the extension of time of payment of 

 certain railroad bonds of the county of Adams. 



Joint resolution to appoint a committee to investi- 

 gate the affairs of the \ azoo-Mississippi Delta Levee 

 Board. 



To prevent stock from running at large in certain 

 counties. 



To repeal chapter 151, acts 1884, relating to hunting 

 upon the lands of another with dogs or gun, in certain 

 counties. 



To encourage the planting of oysters and for other 

 purposes. 



To define and punish the crime of teaching polyga- 

 mous doctrines and principles, and of persuading per- 

 sons to adopt or embrace the same. 



Supplemental and amendatory to an act to regulate 

 the practice of dentistry in this'State, approved Feb. 

 25, 1882. 



To create and define the Pascagoula timber district, 

 and for the election of a timber inspector therein, com- 

 posed of certain counties. 



To incorporate the Kansas City, Memphis, and Bir- 

 mingham Kailroad Company. 



To encourage and facilitate the construction of tele- 

 graph and telephone and other like lines in the State 

 of Mississippi. 



To amend the law in relation to receivers. 



To create a beard of control for the Penitentiary. 



To provide for an efficient remedy for the exercise 

 of the right of eminent domain, and to give the citi- 

 zens an impartial hearing in such cases. 



To authorize the issuance of bonds to raise money 

 for the cancellation of the indebtedness of the State 

 contracted in the establishment of various educational 

 and charitable institutions. 



To authorize the consolidation of the Louisville, 

 New Orleans, and Texas Kailway Company with the 

 Memphis and New Orleans Eailroad and Levee Com- 

 pany. 



To amend an act entitled an act to provide for the 

 abolishing of the Liquidating Levee Commissioner, 

 and the suspension of liquidating levee tax, as soon as 

 it will be ascertained that the debt for which said tax 

 was imposed has been paid. 



To require steam boats ? tugs, and other vessels pro- 

 pelled by steam, navigating Pascagoula and Dog riv- 

 ers, to provide spark-arresters. 



To incorporate Natchez College. 



Relating to the competency of witnesses. 



In relation to passengers on railroad trains paying 

 full fare and purchasing first-class tickets and riding 

 in first-class cars. 



To secure the assessment of lands purchased from 

 the United States. 



To provide the manner of selling the sulphate and 

 other preparations of morphine. 



To provide for amendments in criminal proceedings 

 in regard to appeals from justice courts. 



To incorporate the Vicksburg, Yazoo-Delta, and 

 Northeastern Railway Company, and to declare its 

 powers. 



To amend sections 557 and 585, Code oM880, so as 

 to increase the public revenue, and provide for the 

 faithful collection of the same (new privilege tax 

 law). 



United States Senators J. Z. George and E. 

 C. Walthall (Democrats) were re-elected. On 

 March 12, William McWillie, J. F. Sessions, 

 and J. C. Kyle were chosen Railroad Com- 

 ] 'issioners, to succed the former board, which 

 consisted of John M. Stone, "William McWillie, 

 and W. B. Augustus. 



The principal provisions of the general local' 

 option act are the following: 



That, upon application by petition, signed by one 

 tenth of the voters who are qualified to vote for mem- 

 bers of the Legislature in any county in the State, 

 addressed to the board of supervisors of said county, 

 it shall he the duty of the board of supervisors to 

 order an election, to be held at places of holding elec- 

 tions for members of the Legislature in such county, 

 to take place within forty days after the reception of 

 the petition to determine whether or not such spirit- 

 uous liquors as are mentioned in the sixth section of 

 this act, shall be sold within the limits of any such 

 county : Provided, That no election held under this 

 act shall be held within less than two months of any 

 county. State, or national election held in such coun- 

 ty, so that such elections as are held under this act 

 shall be separate and distinct from any other general 

 election whatever: Provided, further. That the board 

 of supervisors shall determine upon the sufficiency 

 of the petition presented by the county registration- 

 books of the year before. 



That, if the result of any election held under the 

 provisions of this act shall be for or against the sale. 



