MAINE. 



509 



There were passed at this session 352 acts 

 and 97 resolves. Among these measures were 

 the following: 



Prescribing that, unless otherwise provided in the 

 resolve submitting it, every constitutional amend- 

 ment shall take effect on the first Wednesday of 

 January following its adoption by the people. 



Providing for greater security against fire in build- 

 ings used for public purposes, prescribing fire-escapes, 

 the opening of doors outward, etc. 



Providing for an annual examination of the accounts 

 of the State Treasurer. 



To provide for the establishment of titles to lands 

 among the Penobscot Indians, and for the preservation 

 of evidence of such titles. 



Kelative to the taxation of horse-railroad companies. 



To prevent deception in sales of butter and cheese. 



For the prevention of cruelty to animals, prohibit- 

 big cock and dog fights, and prescribing the manner 

 of transporting cattle and other animals oy rail. 



Providing for the granting of conditional pardons. 



Amending section 2 of chapter fifty -nine of the re- 

 vised statutes by striking out in the first and second 

 lines the words following : " No white person shall 

 intermarry with a negro, Indian, or mulatto, and," 

 so that said section, as amended, shall read, "No 

 insane person or idiot shall be capable of contracting 

 marriage." 



Kestoring the death-penalty for murder. 



Providing for the taxation of telephone companies. 



Concerning trade-marks and their registration. 



The following constitutional amendment pro- 

 hibiting the liquor-traffic was proposed, to be 

 submitted to a popular vote : 



Resolved, Two thirds of both Houses of the Legis- 

 lature concurring, that the following amendment to 

 the Constitution of the State be proposed, viz. : 



The manufacture of intoxicating liquors, not in- 

 cluding cider, and the sale and keeping for sale of 

 intoxicating liquors, are and shall be forever pro- 

 hibited. Except, however, that the sale and keeping 

 for sale of such liquors for medicinal and mechanical 

 purposes and the arts, and the sale and keeping for 

 sale of cider, may be permitted under such regulations 

 as the Legislature may provide. The Legislature shall 

 enact laws with suitable penalties for the suppression 

 of the manufacture, sale, and keeping for sale of in- 

 toxicating liquors, with the exceptions herein specified. 



The divorce laws were amended so as to read 

 as follows : 



SECTION 2. A divorce from the bonds of matrimony 

 may be decreed by the supreme judicial court in the 

 county where either party resides at the commence- 

 ment of proceedings, for causes of adultery, impotency , 

 . extreme cruelty, utter desertion, continued for three 

 consecutive years next prior to the filing of the libel, 

 gross and confirmed habits of intoxication, cruel and 

 abusive treatment, or on tne libel of the wife, where 

 the husband, being of sufficient ability, grossly or 

 wantonly and cruelly refuses or neglects to provide 

 suitable maintenance for her: provided the parties 

 were married in this State, or cohabited here after 

 marriage ; or, if the libelant resided here when the 

 ' cause of divorce accrued, or had resided here in good 

 faith one year prior to the commencement of proceed- 

 ings. Either party may be a witness. 



SEC. 3. All decrees of divorce shall, in the first in- 

 stance, be decrees nisi, to become absolute after the 

 expiration of six months from the entry thereof, on 

 the application of either party to the clerk of the 

 court, and on such application the clerk shall enter a 

 final decree ; unless the court has for sufficient cause, 

 on application of any party interested, otherwise or- 



SEC. 4. After a divorce from the bonds of matri- 

 mony, the party on whose petition the divorce was 

 granted shall not marry again within two years after 



the entry of the final decree, except on permission 

 granted oy the court. The party against whom the 

 divorce was granted shall not marry again within two 

 years from the entry of said decree, and not afterward 

 except on permission granted by the court. 



Several acts were also passed for the protec- 

 tion of salmon, landlocked salmon, trout, her- 

 ring, lobsters, moose, caribou, and deer, restrict- 

 ing the pursuit of them. 



The Legislature reassembled pursuant to ad- 

 journment, received and accepted the report 

 of the committee on the revision of the statutes, 

 and adjourned sine die. 



Temperance and Greenback Conventions. A 

 Temperance Convention was held in January, 

 which put forth resolutions declaring that 

 prohibition has been successful in Maine ; that 

 alcoholic liquors are unnecessary for medicinal 

 purposes, unchristian for sacramental uses, and 

 not indispensable for mechanics and arts ; and 

 asking for a prohibitory amendment. 



On September 19th about fifty members of 

 the Greenback party met in Lewiston, and after 

 vigorous opposition adopted resolutions reaf- 

 firming the national platform adopted at Chi- 

 cago, June 9, 1880, and calling a State Conven- 

 tion in May, 1884. 



Common Schools. The State Superintendent 

 of Schools reports that the year 1883 was a 

 very satisfactory one. The amounts of money 

 available for educational purposes were in- 

 creased $46,145, making the total resources of 

 the State $1,079,015, of which amount $706,- 

 843 came from tbe town treasuries, $33,554 

 from local funds, and the balance from the 

 State treasury. The ,sums expended amount 

 to $1,001,470, an increase of $49,121, which 

 leaves a balance of $77,545 unexpended. The 

 average wages paid to male teachers, exclud- 

 ing board, were $31.81 a month, au increase of 

 $2.28, and tbe average wages paid to female 

 teachers, excluding board, were $15.36 a month, 

 an increase of 76 cents. The whole number of 

 pupils in the State is returned to the superin- 

 tendent's office as 213,877, an increase of 870, 

 but the number of different pupils attending 

 school was 146,916, a decrease of 1,072. 



Sayings-Banks. The number of savings-banks 

 and institutions of savings doing business in 

 the State is 54, the Pembroke Savings-Bank 

 during the year having voluntarily surrendered 

 its charter. The present number of depositors 

 is 101,822, of whom 80,982 have to their credit 

 a sum not exceeding $500 each, and the aver- 

 age of the whole being $308.10 to each de- 

 positor. The aggregate amount of deposits 

 Nov. 1, 1883, was $31,371,868.87. The num- 

 ber of depositors Nov. 1, 1882, was 95,489 and 

 the amount of deposits $29,503,889.71, show- 

 ing an increase during the year of 6,383 ac- 

 counts and $1,867,979.16 in amount, and a de- 

 crease in tbe average of each deposit of 77 

 cents. Regular semi-annual dividends were 

 paid by all the savings-banks as follows : One 

 bank 6 per cent, per annum, four banks 5 per 

 cent., five banks 4 per cent., four banks 4} 

 per cent., forty banks 4 per cent. 



