﻿729 



MASSACHUSETTS. 



MATLOCK. 



730 



handsome buildings, and stands in the midst of a district celebrated 

 alike for the fertility of its soil and the beauty of its scenery. It 

 contains the uiual county buildings, 8 churches, school.s, &c. There 

 are miuiufactories of cotton and woollen gomls, silks, ribands, &c. A 

 fine bridge above 1000 feet long crosses the Connecticut, and connects 

 Northu iiptou with Ha<iley, celebrated for its manufacture of brooms, 

 and for the tobacco and broom-corn grown in its vicinity. PUUfield, 

 the most I opulous place in the extreme west of the state, is built on 

 the right bank of the Housatonic, in the upper part of its course, 120 

 miles W. from Boston : population, 5S72. The town, which is regu- 

 larly laid out, has a square of four acres in the centre, on the sides of 

 which the principal buildings are placed. It contains several churches 

 and schools, the Berkshire Medical Institution, &c. The supply of 

 water-power is large, and there are a cotton-factory, several tanneries, 

 grist- and saw-mills, a brewery, &c. The Western j-ailway passes 

 through Pittsfield ; the Housatonic line terminates and the PittsBeld 

 and North Adams line commences here. Plymouth, a port of entry, 

 and the capital of Plymouth county, is situated on the south side of 

 Plymouth Harbour, 35 miles S.E. from Boston : populati^m, 6024. 

 Plymouth is celebrated in American history as the Ian ling-place of 

 the Nonconformist settlers, or ' Pilgrim Fathers,' as they are now 

 commonly designated, who arrived here on December 22nd, 1620, and 

 farmed the first settlement in New England. The town is compactly 

 built ; the dwelling-houses are chiefly of wood, but some of the public 

 buildings are substantial and handsome structures. Besides the usual 

 county buildings theVe are 6 churches and several schools, and a fine 

 granite edifice called Pilgrim HalL Plymouth has some manufactures, 

 and is engaged in the foreign and coasting trades, and in ship-building; 

 but the principal dependence is on the cod and mackerel fisheries. 

 Q'uney, on the south side of Boston Harbour, 8 miles S.E. from Boston, 

 popolation 5017, is celebrated for its extensive granite quarries, which 

 employ above 1000 men, and furnish granite for the buildings of most 

 of the principal cities of the Union. There are also considerable 

 manufactories. Roibury, 2 miles S. by W. from Boston, with which it 

 is connected by a narrow neck of land : population, 18,364. Roxbury, 

 though incorporated as a distinct city, is so closely uaited with Boston 

 in all respects as to be in effect a suburb of it. Extensive manubc- 

 tures are carried on here of cordage, carpets, worsted and silk goods, 

 patent leather. India-rubber goods, iron-castings, railway-iron, scaam- 

 enginos and boilers, lead, white-lead, chemical preparations, turpentine, 

 shoe*, hata, &c. Salem, a city, port of entry, and one of the capitals 

 of Essex connty, is built on a narrow point of land on Salem Harbour, 

 Massachusetts Bay, 14 miles N.E. by N. from Boston : population, 

 20,264. The city is regularly laid out, and many of the public 

 buildings are substantial and handsome structures. The principal are 

 — the city-hall; the custom-house; market-house; almshouse; jail; 

 mechanics-hall ; museum of the East India Marine Society, which 

 contains an excellent collection of works of nature and art ; atbenajum ; 

 ball of the Essex Institute ; 20 churches ; and numerous schools. An 

 aqueduct supplies the city with excellent water. The m inufactories 

 are on an extensive scale : they consist of cotton factories, cordage and 

 twine factories, iron and "brass foundries, machine shops, chemical 

 works, manufactories of patent leather, boots and shoes, &c. The 

 harbour admits vessels drawing 14 feet of water to unload at the 

 wharfs. There is some foreign trade, though less than formerly ; the 

 coasting trade is important, and some vessels are engaged in the cod 

 and mackerel fisheries. Five lines of railway divei^ from Salem. 

 SprMgfidd, a city, and the capital of Hampden county, on the left 

 bank of the Connecticut, 81 miles W.S.W. (98 miles by railway) from 

 Boston: population, 11,766. Main-street, in which are the principal 

 boaineas establishments, the pubUc bull lings, the leading hotels, and 

 the railway station, is very wide, and runs parallel to the river for 

 above two milts; it is intersected by other streets at right anides. 

 Four of the great lines of railway meet at Springfield, and the city 

 has in consequence become an important centre of travel and traffic ; 

 and numerous hotels, several of them on a large scale, have been 

 erected for the accommodation of travellers. The public buildings 

 ore — the court-bouse and other county buildings; 12 churches, some 

 of which are of elegant design ; several schools ; anrl the United States 

 armoury and arsenal. The manufactures of Springfield consist of loco- 

 motives, railway cara,and rail way machinery; steam-engines and boilers; 

 fire-arms; sheetings, sattinets, Jtc Taunton, on the Taunton River, 28 

 miles 3. by E. from Boston, population 10,441, cuntaiuA a court-bouse, 

 10 churches, several schools, Ac. The place is much resorted to in 

 summer, and there are several good hotels for the accommodation 

 of visitors. Railway cars, steam-engines, machinery, and castings are 

 largely made ; and there are extensive manufactories of printing-cloths, 

 Britannia-metal ware, nails. Sic. The Taunton is navigable fur sloops 

 of 60 tons up to the village. Branch railways connect Taunton with 

 the railway system of the state. Worcetter, a city and the capital of 

 Worcester county, is plessantly situated in the valley of the Blackstone 

 River, and is surrounded by hills of moderate elevation, 45 miles 

 W.3.W. from Boston by railway : population 20,271 in 1853. The city 

 is regularly laid out. the houses are generally well built, and some of 

 the public buildings are of a superior order. The principal thomugb- 

 fore. Main-street, is about two miles long, broad, straight, and lined 

 with trffes ; it cont<>ins the chief public buildings, churciies, hotels, 

 and private residencss. Outside the city are the state lunatic asylum j 



on the eaa'', !>nd the Roman Catholic College of the Holy Cross on 

 the south-west. Manufactures of various kinds are very extensively 

 carried on in the city aud its suburbs. Five important lines of 

 r.iilway meet at Worcester. 



Government, &c. — The first state constitution was framed in 1780, 

 and amended in 1821 after the separation of Maine, which had pre- 

 viously formed a part of Massachusetts. Since that time it has 

 undergone several modifications. By tlie constitution as it now stands, 

 the right of voting is vested in every male citizen 21 years of a'^je 

 (paupers and persons under guardianship excepted), who has resided 

 the past year in the state, and the past six months iu the place of 

 voting ; and who shall have paid any state or county tax within the 

 last two years. The legislative body, styled the General Court, 

 consists of a Senate of 40 members : and a House of Representatives, 

 consisting of members varying iu number according to a certain ratio 

 of representation, but at present (1854) consisting of 356 members. 

 The members of both houses, as also the governor, are elected 

 annually. 



The public debt of the state, absolute and contingent, on the 1st of 

 January 1S53 was 6,685,705 dollars; but of this 5,049,555 dollars 

 represented the " liability of the state for scrip loaned to the various 

 railways," leaving as the debt of Massachusetts on its own account 

 the sum of 1,636,149 dollars. The total revenue of the state for the 

 year ending January 1st, 1853 (including a balance of 76,822 dollars 

 on hand from 1852, and a temporary loan of 550,000 dollars borrowed 

 in anticipation of revenue) was 1,781,703 dollars ; the total expenditure 

 for the same period (including 475,000 dollars, loans repaid) was 

 1,515,559 dollars. The " ordinary revenue " for the year was 598,170 

 dollars, the ordinary expenditure 674,22^ dollars. The st ite militia 

 in 1852 was composed of 122,343 men, of whom 550 were com missioned 

 officers. 



Hittory. — This part of the American continent was probably dis- 

 covered by John Cabot at the end of the 15th century, but though 

 visited several times during the following century, no settlement was 

 made. The first specific account of the country was contained in 

 the accounts of the voyage of Bartholomew Qosnold, who sailed from 

 England in 1602 and discovered the promontory which he calleil Cape 

 Cod. The descriptions of the country, written by John Breretou, 

 Qabriel Archer, aud Qosnold himself, excited much interest, and a 

 company was chartered by James I. in 1606, to which this country 

 was granted under the name of North Virginia. The first settlement 

 however was only formed in 1620 at Plymouth, by about 120 families 

 of Noncouformists, who had fled to Holland, and thence proceeded 

 to Cape Cod. They framed a coustitutiou, and took an oath to keep 

 it. It afterwards became the groundwork of the constitution of the 

 state. The first regular house of representatives was organised in 

 1 630. The progress of the colony was very slow in the beginning, 

 especially on account of the oppression to which the inhabitants were 

 subjected during the reign of the Stuarts, before the time of the 

 Commonwealth and after the Restoration. Though they were relieved 

 by the revolution of 1688, aud thi; increase of the colony was thus 

 promoted, its population in 1730 did not exceed 120,000 individuals. 

 In the revolutionary war Massachusetts took a leading pai-t, by 

 resisting the demands of the English government, and creating a 

 military force. Hostilities were commenced by the battle of Lexing- 

 ton in Massachusetts. Massachusetts formed one of the 13 original 

 states of the Union : it ratified the constitution of the United States, 

 February the 6th, 1788. 



MAt-SIAC. [Caktal.] 



MASSILIA. [Marseille.] 



MASSILIAROUES. [HfesAULT.] 



MASSOWAH. [Abyssinia.] 



MASULIPATAM. [Hindustan.] 



MATAGORDA. [Mexico.] 



M.\TAPAN, CAPE. [Laconica.] 

 .MATARO. [Cataluna.] 



MATELICA. [Maserata-e-Cauerino.] 



MATERA. [Basilicata.] 



MATLOCK, Derbyshire, a watering place in the parish of Matlock, 

 is situated ou the left bank of the river L/erwent, in 53° 7' N. lat., 

 V 32' W. long., diaUut 17 miles N. by W. from Derby, 144 

 miles N.W. from London by road, and 1484 miles by the North- 

 western and Midland railways. The population of the parish in 1851 

 was 4010. The living is a rectory in the archdeaconry of Derby, aud 

 diocese of Liehfield. 



Mutlock Bath, as the town is still frequently called, is xituated in a 

 deep and narrow valley. The town has grown up within the last 

 century and a half. The church, erected in 1842, stands in a con- 

 spicuous situation ; it has aspire 129 feet high. The Independents 

 have a chapel. Visitors are attracted by the beauty of the scenery, 

 the salubrity of the air, and the beneficial qualities of the hut and 

 mineral springs. The hot springs have a teuipera>ure of 68°, aud con- 

 tain much free carbonic acid. The only manufacture is of vases, 

 tazzc, and other elegances uhicb are made from the fluor-spar and 

 Derbyshire marbles. There are several ciives and ' peti ifyiiig springs.' 

 Baths, hotels, and lo 'giug-houses for the accoiiimodatiun of visitors 

 are numerous aud hundsome. Matlock High Tor is a precipitous 

 limestone rook, rising from the river to a height of 300 feet. Matlock 



