NEW HAMI'SHIKK. 



497 



Hanks. Including the savings de- 



"I tin- trust companies of the State, the 

 the savings institutions aggregate 

 X;:.,<MMMMIU. The tux on these deposits 

 is x;:;n,!)S4.76, of which 1652,314.42 

 -iriliutc.l tn tin- towns, HIM! $78,670.34 was 

 arried to the literary fund. Of the unclaimed 

 --liank deposits there was on June 1, 

 a l.ahmee of $1,604.08. The law passed 

 I >y t lie last Lcgislat ure restricting the invest ineiit s 

 <-f sa \ings banks has hud a year's trial, and un- 

 der its operation the amount of Western mort- 

 held by the savings hanks has decreased 

 to'the extent of $1,785,607.20, while there has 

 been an increase of $2,496,680.39 in the amount 

 of municipal bonds held by these institutions. 



State Library. The Legislature of 1891 

 1 an act for the erection of a State library 

 building; $175,000 was appropriated for the 

 purpose, and the Governor and Council ap- 

 pointed 4 commissioners to superintend the 

 work. By the terms of the contract it was to 

 he completed in September, 1892, but a labor-dis- 

 turbance caused a cessation of the work in May. 

 During the year ending Oct. 1, 1892, 6,630 vol- 

 umes, pamphlets, and papers were received. 

 According to the report submitted by the libra- 

 rian to the Legislature, "from New Hampshire 

 came the earliest legislation authorizing towns 

 to establish free public libraries. To the Legis- 

 lature of 1849 this distinction belongs. The 

 earliest libraries in the State, however, were 

 known as social libraries. The first of these was 

 incorporated one hundred years ago, and out of 

 the large number established in succeeding years 

 a few still survive." 



The World's Fair. The board of managers 

 was appointed under the act of April 11, 1891. 

 An appropriation of $25,000 was made to curry 

 out the provision of the act, $10,000 of which 

 was for a State building, if the committee deemed 

 such expenditure advisable. The -New Hamp- 

 shire commissioners voted to erect such a build- 

 ing, which will be completed within the amount 

 designated. At a meeting of the commissioners 

 in May, it was resolved that a committee be 

 appointed to collect from railroad corporations 

 and hotel proprietors the sum of $15,000, in 

 order to prepare a map of the State, drawing 

 attention in it to the beauty of its views and the 

 attractiveness of the State as a summer resort. 



Cattle Commission. The Legislature of 

 1891 created a State Board of Cattle Commission- 

 ers. The work of the commission has been di- 

 rected mainly toward eradicating tuberculosis 

 fruni the herds of the State. Quarantine orders 

 were established against Massachusetts in Jan- 

 uary. 1892. 



Insurance. The number of authorized fire- 

 insurance companies at work in the State on 

 Dec. 31, 1892, was 86. Forty-seven of these 

 are from other States and countries. The with- 

 drawal of the foreign companies in 1885 and 1886 

 consequent upon the enactment of the so-called 

 Valued policy law, left the property of the State 

 without adequate protection, and though prompt 

 efforts were made to supply the defect by the 

 organization of new companies, there was for a 

 long time a feeling of insecurity. A comparison 

 of the six years immediately preceding 1885 

 with the six years immediately following shows 

 VOL. XXXH. 32 A 



that in the former period the ratio of losses paid 

 to premiums p-rem-d wa 03'6. In the latter 

 period the ratio was 3H-4. The act of Ai. 

 1889, relating to returns and Mali-ties of fires 

 has materially assisted in the good work. Under 

 this law the engineer or the selectmen of towns, 

 within two days of their occurrence, must inves- 

 tigate the causes of tires and make a n-p.,rt 

 t<i the eity or town clerk, who in turn must for- 

 ward the reports in January and July of each 

 year to the lire commissioner. 



Twelve fidelity and casualty and 21 life in- 

 surance companies are in business in the State. 

 The Legislature of 1891 enacted a law placing 

 certain corporations, associations, societies, and 

 orders under the jurisdiction of the insurance 

 commissioner. In these would be included cer- 

 tain so-called bond, indemnity, trust, and en- 

 dowment companies. At the time of the pas- 

 sage of this act 155 of these associations nad 

 been incorporated under the laws of the State, 

 and these, in addition to 56 organized under the 

 laws of Massachusetts and 44 under the laws of 

 other States, were already at work or intending 

 to work in New Hampshire. All these, not be- 

 ing able to comply with the provisions of the 

 law, were refused license by the commissioner, 

 and ceased to do business in the State. 



Penal and Charitable Institutions. On 

 Oct. 1, 1892, the whole number of inmates in the 

 Industrial School was 93 (boys 80, girls 13) ; 

 whole number during the year, 132. From the 

 opening of the institution to the present time 

 the whole number admitted is 1,492. 



There were in the State Prison 157 prisoners 

 (\~>'-\ men and 4 women), a considerable in- 

 crease over last year. The general health at the 

 prison is good. The sanitary conditions are 

 excellent. 



Into the Asylum for the Insane there have 

 been received since its opening, Oct. 28, 1842, 

 5,943 persons, about equally divided as to sex. 

 The number of inmates in January, 1892, was 

 359. 



Agriculture. A potent influence in the ad- 

 vancement of the agricultural interests in the 

 State is the Grange. Of this order there are 159 

 subordinate groups in the State, with a total 

 membership of about 12,000. The act of April 

 10. 1891, provided for the removal of the Agri- 

 cultural College from Hanover to Durham, the 

 will of the late Benjamin Thompson having 

 provided for this. All agreements with Dart- 

 mouth College have terminated, and all real 

 estate at Hanover owned by the college hasten 

 sold. The work of erecting buildings at Dur- 

 ham has been pushed forward as rapidly as the 

 magnitude of the work and circumstances would 

 permit. Five buildings are substantially com- 

 pleted on the outside. The appropriation by the 

 last Legislature was found insufficient to finish 

 and furnish the buildings and for work on the 

 grounds, in order to put the institution in condi- 

 tion for the admission of students at the begin- 

 ning of the college year in SeptemWr. 



At the annual meeting of the Stute Board of 

 Agriculture, in August, resolutions were passed 

 inviting the Grange to appoint a committee of 

 three to co-operate with a like committee of the 

 board to take into consideration some means for 

 bettering the public roads of the State. 



