MASSACHUSETTS. 



519 



the Treasurer's report shows a balance of $1,- 

 172.14, so that the $10,000 for an anticipated 

 deficiency has been added to the surplus. 



The demand for the abolishment of the In- 

 dustrial School appears to be based solely on 

 the fact that the average number of girls there 

 is small, being only from sixty-seven to sev- 

 enty-six during the last four years. No one 

 appears to doubt the helpful influences of the 

 school and of its system of auxiliary visitation ; 

 but it is said to cost too much. 



The Liquor Law. The act of 1875 to regulate 

 the sale of intoxicating liquors, as amended 

 subsequently, continues in' force. Under the 

 local-option provisions, the will of the people 

 in the different municipalities is annually ex- 

 pressed for or against the issuing of licenses. 

 From the records in the office of the Secre- 

 tary of the Commonwealth, of the votes in 

 1882 and 1883, we present the following state- 

 ment: 



The total number of votes " Yes " and " No " 

 in the State was 



For license fees the receipts of the Common- 

 wealth amount to 



m . $646,715 93 

 58s! '.!.".'.!!'.."....' 837,108 80 



Fisheries. Notwithstanding the heavy losses 

 the Gloucester fisheries 17 vessels, aggre- 

 gating 1,119 tons there was a substantial in- 

 crease in the fishing tonnage. During the year 

 a number of new vessels were built and added 

 to the fleet, the increase being larger than for 

 any other year since 1875 namely, 46 vessels, 

 aggregating 3,635 tons. The mackerel-fishery, 

 on which great reliance is placed, was attended 

 by a light catch, which was not counterbal- 

 anced by enhanced prices. 



The "Whalemen's Shipping List," of New 

 Bedford, has published its annual review of the 

 whale-fishery. The failure of the Arctic sea- 

 son, with small catches in other localities, 

 brought but small remuneration to those who 

 -risked their capital in the whale-fishery. The 

 fleet now numbers 125 vessels of all classes 

 hailing from Atlantic ports, against 138 a year 

 ago, and 19 from San Francisco, as against ^8 

 last year. The number of vessels engaged in 

 sperm -whaling has considerably diminished. 



Of the 144 vessels now engaged in the whale- 

 fishery, 94 belong in the district of New Bed- 

 ford, 7 in Edgartown, 12 in Provincetown, 4 

 in Boston, 6 in New London, and 2 in Stoning- 

 ton. The other 19 hail from San Francisco. 

 The total tonnage of the fleet is 33,119. 



Divoree. Gov. Robinson, in his message to 

 the Legislature, says : 



for fave grounds only adultery, impotency, union for 

 three years with a religious sect denying the validity 

 of marriage, imprisonment at hard labor for five years, 

 and desertion for five consecutive years to the desert- 

 ing as well as to the deserted party, with the proviso, 

 however, that divorce to the deserting party should 

 be limited to cases in which it was proved that the de- 

 sertion was for extreme cruelty, or, in case of the wife, 

 neglect by her husband to provide. The laws at pres- 

 ent allow absolute divorce for four other causes than 

 those just enumerated: extreme cruelty, gross and 

 confirmed habits of intoxication, cruel and abusive 

 treatmentj and neglect to provide. The laws relating 

 to remarriage have also been so modified that the 

 guilty party against whom a divorce has been pro- 

 cured, even on the ground of adultery j is allowed to 

 marry again at the expiration of a certain period. 



While the number of marriages increased from 10,- 

 873 in 1863 to 17,684 in 1882, or 62'6 per cent., and 

 the population increased 53*4 per cent., the number of 

 divorces rose in the same period from 207 to 515, or 

 147-6 per cent. During the last ten years the ratio of 

 increase in the number of marriages has been 7 '6 per 

 cent., against 14'7 per cent, for divorces. During 

 these twenty years it appears that 36-5 per cent, of the 

 total number of divorces were for adultery and 42*5 

 per cent, were for desertion, or 79 percent. lor the two 

 causes combined. The largest percentage of increase 

 in the number of divorces for the last ten years has 

 been in Dukes and Nantucket counties, and the small- 

 est in Suffolk. 



Women in Office. In the latter part of the 

 year, Gov. Butler undertook to remove from 

 office Mrs. Clara T. Leonard, a member of the 

 State Board of Health, Lunacy, and Charity, 

 on the ground that a woman was not eligible 

 to the office. The Council refused to concur 

 in this view, and the opinion of the justices of 

 the Supreme Judicial Court was asked. On 

 the 19th of November their opinion was given, 

 of which the essential portions follow : 



The statute of 1879, chapter 291, in the second sec- 

 tion provides that " the Governor, with the advice and 

 consent of the Council, shall appoint nine persons who 

 shall constitute a State Board of Health, Lunacy, and 

 Charity." The principal question presented to us is 

 whether under this statute it was competent for the 

 Governor, with the advice and consent of the Council, 

 to appoint a woman as a member of such board. 

 There can be no doubt that it is within the constitu- 

 tional power of the Legislature to provide by a statute, 

 duly passed and approved by the Governor, that wom- 

 en may be appointed members of such board. The 

 question, therefore, is one merely of the construction 

 of the statute and of the intention of the Legislature. 

 The word " persons " in its natural and usual signifi- 

 cation includes women as well as men. Throughout 

 our statutes, and particularly in those relating to the 

 punishment of crimes, it is constantly used in a sense 

 which necessarily includes both sexes. In other parts 

 of the statute we are considering the word is-used in a 

 sense which clearly includes women. The decision of 

 the Court in Eobinson's case, reported in 131 Mass., 

 376, does not, in our judgment, conflict with this con- 

 struction. That decision was that under the statute of 

 . 1876, chapter 197, which provides that a citizen of this- 

 State of the age of twenty -one years and of good moral 

 character may be admitted to practice as an attorney, 

 an unmarried woman was not entitled to be so admit- 

 ted. Then the only question was as to the construc- 

 tion of the statute of 1876 and the intention of the 

 Legislature expressed therein. The Court considered 

 that by the common law, and the unbroken usage of 

 this Commonwealth under it, women were not compe- 



