MAINE. 



4CT 



THE VILLAGE OF NOSSI-BE, IN MADAGASCAR. 



Madagascar, raising the duty on the principal 

 British imports to 45 per cent, in 1897. In 1898 

 it was made 10 per cent, higher. The duties on 

 foreign goods range from 54 to 79 per cent., while 

 those on French imports are 4 per cent. An order 

 of Gen. Gallieni, the Governor, that the coasting 

 trade must be carried on in French vessels after 

 Jan. 1, 1899, was afterward rescinded, because 

 there were not enough French ships for the needs 

 of commerce and of the troops as well. 



The budget for 1899 shows 11,136,000 francs 

 of receipts and 11,135,000 francs of expenditure. 

 The area of Madagascar and adjacent islands is 

 estimated at 591,967 square kilometres. The 

 population of the island, according to recent esti- 

 mates, does not surpass 3,500,000, of whom not 

 more than 800,000 are of the Hova race. Anta- 

 nanarivo, the capital, has about 50,000 inhabit- 

 ants. The value of the imports in 1898 was 21,- 

 041,000 francs, compared with 18,368,918 francs 

 in 1897 and 13,987,931 francs in 1896. The ex- 

 ports in 1898 were valued at 4,960,000 francs, 

 compared with 4,342,432 francs in 1897 and 3,605,- 

 952 francs in 1896. The chief exports in 1898 

 were rubber, valued at 1,282,000 francs; live cat- 

 tle, 654,000 francs; hides, 637,000 francs; rafia, 

 561,000 francs; gold, 396,000 francs; wax, 383,000 

 francs; preserved meat, 265,000 francs; timber, 

 130,000 francs; vanilla, 113,000 francs. There are 

 2,800 kilometres of telegraph line. 



MAINE, a New England State, admitted to 

 the Union March 15, 1820; area, 33,040 square 

 miles. The population, according to each decen- 

 nial census since admission, was 298,269 in 1820; 

 399,455 in 1830; 501,793 in 1840; 583,169 in 1850; 

 628,278 in 1860; 626,915 in 1870; 648,936 in 1880; 

 661,086 in 1890. Capital, Augusta. 



Government. The following were the State 

 officers during the year: Governor, Llewellyn 

 Powers; Secretary of State, Byron Boyd; Treas- 

 urer, F. M. Simpson; Attorney-General, William 



T. Haines; Adjutant General, John T. Richards; 

 Superintendent of Schools, W. W. Stetson; Bank 

 Examiner, F. E. Timberlake; Insurance Commis- 

 sioner, S. W. Carr; Liquor Commissioner, James 

 W. Wakefield; State Librarian, Leonard D. Car- 

 ver; Land Agent, Charles E. Oak; Commissioner 

 of Fish and Game, H. O. Stanley; Railroad Com- 

 missioners, Joseph B. Peaks, Benjamin F. Chad- 

 bourne, Frederic Danforth; State Topographical 

 Survey, Leslie A. Lee, William Engel, Charles S. 

 Hichborn; State Board of Health, C. D. Smith, 

 President; Inland Fish and Game, Leroy T. Carle- 

 ton; Commissioner of Labor and Industrial Sta- 

 tistics, Samuel W. Matthews; Pension Agent, E. 

 C. Milliken; Chief Justice, John A. Peters; Su- 

 preme Court Judges, L. A. Emery, Thomas H. 

 Haskell, Andrew P. Wiswell, S. C. Strout, A. R. 

 Savage, William A. Fogler ; State Detective. Fred 

 A. Porter; Clerk, W. S. Choate; Census Super- 

 intendents, Elmer P. Spofford, James A. Place 

 all Republicans except Justice Strout. 



Banks. The first Maine savings bank was or- 

 ganized in 1819, and Maine now has 100 savings 

 institutions, with about 180,000 depositors and 

 more than $60,000,000 deposited, paying in taxes 

 one fifth of the State revenue. The number of 

 depositors with a balance less than $1,000 is. 

 172,634; amount of deposits, $51.378.004.77; ap- 

 proximate average rate of dividend. 0.0348 cents; 

 amount of dividends paid, $2,091.543.94: munici- 

 pal taxes paid, $16,942.02; State taxes paid, $402,- 

 738.13. The number of savings banks on Xov. 

 30 was 51, with assets of $67.521,197.05; amount 

 deposited during the year, $13,867.974.87. The 

 trust and banking companies numbered 17, with 

 a capital of $11,802.252.29: number of depositors, 

 16,808; total deposits, $8,658,376.36: interest paid 

 on all deposits, $161,948.21: average rate of in- 

 terest, 6.54. The loan and building associations 

 numbered 32, with a capital of $2.975,716.47; 

 amount paid in interest and dividends, $2,578,- 



