496 



NEW HAMPSHIRE. 



flames seized it, the crash of the falling roofs, 

 the terror depicted in every face, women drag- 

 ging away their children, men making frantic 

 but useless efforts to arrest the flames all com- 

 bined to form an appalling scene. Stone and 

 brick buildings were consumed almost as rapidly 

 as the wooden structures. The beautiful cathe- 

 dral of the Church of England, which had cost 

 nearly half a million dollars and was supposed 

 to be'in vulnerable to any fire from outside, was 

 soon a blazing mass. St. Andrew's Presbyterian 

 Church, a massive stone and brick structure, 

 shared the same fate. The fine Athenaeum build- 

 ing, the courthouse, the Commercial Bank, the 

 Atlantic Hotel, St. Patrick's Hall, and all the 

 other halls, went down. It was found that 

 1,622 buildings had been destroyed, and about 

 300 stores, stables, and outhouses. The massive 

 stores, filled with valuable goods, the fine shops 

 in the business part of the city, the schools, 

 colleges, halls, and hotels constituted the heavi- 

 est losses. The value of the property destroyed 

 is estimated from $15,000,000 to $20,000,000, 

 of which a fourth was covered by insurances. 

 Temporary huts and tents were erected, and a 

 large committee was named by the Governor to 

 take charge of and distribute the relief which 

 was forthcoming, for a stream of charitable 

 donations flowed in from all quarters. Food, 

 clothing, and money were forwarded with a de- 

 gree of liberality that was marvelous. The con- 

 tributions exceeded $400,000 in value. At the 

 close of 1892, 1,000 houses were either erected 

 on the burned area or were in course of erection. 

 Plans are made for rebuilding the public edifices 

 and churches, as well as the large mercantile 

 houses. 



Political. The settlement of the French 

 shore question seems as distant as ever. The 

 Legislature passed an act legalizing the pro- 

 visions of the modus vivendi till the end of 1893, 

 but declined to pass a permanent measure that 

 would enable the British Government to enforce 

 the treaties on the French shore. This will 

 necessitate the passing of such an act by the 

 Imperial Parliament, to enable the British Gov- 

 ernment to keep faith with the French in regard 

 to the observance of the treaties. Meantime the 

 proposed arbitration regarding lobsters is in 

 abeyance. 



Newfoundland and Canada held a conference 

 composed of delegates of their respective govern- 

 ments, in Halifax, in the autumn of 1892. The 

 result of its deliberations was a satisfactory set- 

 tlement of all outstanding difficulties regarding 

 bait supplies and tariffs, and a return to former 

 peaceful relations. 



NEW HAMPSHIRE, a New England State, 

 one of the original thirteen, ratified the Con- 

 stitution June 21, 1788; area, 9,305 square miles. 

 The population, according to each decennial 

 census, was 141,885 in 1790; 183,858 in 1800; 

 214,460 in 1810 ; 244,022 in 1820 ; 269,328 in 

 1830 ; 284,574 in 1840 ; 317,976 in 1850 ; 326,073 

 in 1860 ; 318,300 in 1870 ; 346,991 in 1880 ; and 

 376,530 in 1890. Capital, Concord. 



Government. The following were the State 

 officers during the year: Governor, Hiram A. 

 Tuttle, Republican ; Secretary of State, Ezra S. 

 Stearns ; Treasurer, Solon A. Carter ; Attorney- 

 General, Ed. C. Eastman, whose term began in 



April, 1892 ; Superintendent of Public Instruc- 

 tion, James W. Patterson; Insurance Commis- 

 sioner, John C. Linehan ; Railroad Commis- 

 sioners, Henry M. Pultney, Benjamin F. Pres- 

 cott, and Thomas Cogswell. Chief Justice of the 

 Supreme Court, Charles Doe ; Associate Justices, 

 Isaac W. Smith, William II. H. Allen, Lewis W. 

 Clark, Isaac N. Blodgett, Alonzo P. Carpenter, 

 and William M. Chase. 



Finances. According to the reports of the 

 State Treasurer, submitted June 1, 1892, the 

 liabilities of the State on that date were $2,859,- 

 033.86, while the assets were $707,129.97. The 

 net indebtedness was $2,151,903.89. The reduc- 

 tion .of the debt during the year was $108,136.75. 

 The total revenue, amounting to $715,242.29, 

 was derived from the following sources : From 

 the State tax, $500,000 ; from the railroad tax, 

 $122,583.23 ; from the insurance tax, $14,618.19; 

 from interest on deposits, $5,061.07 ; from license 

 fees (peddlers), $1,050; from license fees (fertil- 

 izers), $1,050 ; from the telegraph tax, $2,697.33 ; 

 from the telephone tax, $2.697.33 ; from fees of 

 insurance department, $6,529.60. The rest of 

 the tax was from miscellaneous sources, the 

 Benjamin Thompson estate, the income for two 

 years to Jan. 30, 1892, amounting to $38,547.50, 

 registration fees, etc. The total expenses of the 

 State amounted to $607,105.84; the ordinary ex- 

 penses being $220,628.91, and the extraordinary 

 expenses $203,629.49, the excess of revenue over 

 expenses being $108,136.75. The total interest 

 charges on the several trust funds during the 

 year amounted to $182,847.14 ; the net interest 

 being $139,238,57. 



There were paid during the year of the princi- 

 pal of the State debt, State bonds, series 1872, 

 $197,000; series of 1879, $100,000; State note 

 (temporary loan), $100,000 ; total, $397,000. 



Education. The number of public schools in 

 the State in 1892 was, according to the report of 

 the Superintendent of Public Instruction, 2,226, 

 a decrease of 9 since 1891 ; number of graded 

 schools, 648, an increase of 21 ; town and district 

 high schools, 57, a decrease of 3 ; schools aver- 

 aging 12 pupils or less, 660, a decrease of 16; 

 average length of schools in weeks of five days, 

 24-32, a gain of -58. The number of boys at- 

 tending school two weeks or more was 31,223, 

 an increase of 200 ; girls, 30,048, an increase of 

 876; average attendance of all pupils, 43,508, 

 an increase of 1.412 ; ratio of average attend- 

 ance to the whole number, 7'16, a gain of '01$ 

 number of pupils not absent during the year, 

 4,719, a decrease over 1891 of 590; number pur- 

 suing higher branches, 7,321, a decrease of 480. 



The number of male teachers employed dur- 

 ing the year was 290. a decrease of 15 ; number 

 of female teachers, 2,814, a decrease of 15 ; aver- 

 age wages of male teachers per month includ- 

 ing board, $48.02, a decrease of 97 cents ; of fe- 

 male teachers, $26.09, an increase of 20 cents. 



The number of schoolhouses in the State is 

 2,073, which is 2 fewer than reported a year 

 ago. Those unfit for use is 240, an increase of 

 16. Thirty-two were built during the year, 

 which is 10 more than were built in 1891. 



The teaching of physiology and hygiene, with 

 special reference to the effect of stimulants and 

 narcotics upon the human system, has been made 

 compulsory in all schools except the primary. 



