NEW MEXICO. 



565 



can Swedenborg Printing and Publishing So- 

 ciety, to be used for the gratuitous circulation 

 of the Latin editions. 



The English Conference. The seventy-sixth 

 meeting of the English Conference of the New 

 Church was held in London in August. The 

 Kev. Chauncey Giles and the Rev. Louis Tafel 

 were present as visiting delegates from the 

 United States. Reports were presented of 

 sixty-three societies, having 5,490 registered 

 members of more than twenty years of age, and 

 6,597 Sunday-school pupils, with thirty-five or- 

 dained ministers and fifteen licentiates. Mis- 

 sionaries of the church were working success- 

 fully in Germany, Poland, Denmark, Sweden, 

 and Switzerland. The present meeting of the 

 Conference was attended with especial inter- 

 est, because the year was marked by the one 

 hundredth anniversary of the foundation of the 

 New Church in England, which occurred on the 

 5th of December, 1783. The fact was remem- 

 bered in the Conference, and was commemo- 

 rated in a special service. 



NEW MEXICO. Territorial Government. The 

 following were the Territorial officers during 

 the year: Governor, Lionel A. Sheldon; 

 Auditor, Trinidad Alarid ; Treasurer, Antonio 

 Ortiz ; Secretary, William G. Ritch ; Commis- 

 sioner of Immigration, Gilbert Scudder. Su- 

 preme Court : Chief -Justice, Samuel B. Axtell; 

 Associates, Joseph Bell and Warren Bristol. 



Present Condition. According to the census 

 of 1880, the Territory had a little over 119,000 

 people. Since that time the increase has been 

 large. Along the lines of railroads the old 

 towns show considerable growth, many new 

 ones have been founded, and all have the ap- 

 pearance of activity and thrift. Ranchmen 

 have settled all over the Territory in large 

 numbers. New mining camps have been es- 

 tablished, and reduction-works are being 

 erected. The law imposes a poll-tax on each 

 able-bodied male inhabitant over the age of 

 twenty-one years, and the returns of the as- 

 sessors of the various counties show the num- 

 ber of such persons to be over 32,000. About 

 three fourths of the population are natives of 

 the country, and speak the Spanish language. 

 But the spread of the English language is 

 rapid, especially in the towns. New Mexico 

 has an admirable climate, great natural re- 

 sources, an orderly condition, and a population, 

 especially the natives, kindly and hospitably 

 disposed. It lacks a thoroughly systematized 

 government; the methods in vogue are an ad- 

 mixture of common and civil law systems. 



Resources. There are 8,000,000 acres of land 

 adapted to the production of fruits, vegetables, 

 and cereals, and water is convenient and suffi- 

 cient for purposes of irrigation. These lands 

 are highly productive, but the methods of cul- 

 tivation are far behind the times. Wheat of 

 the finest quality can be raised. The greatest 

 wealth of the Territory lies in its minerals. 

 These comprise gold, silver, copper, lead, iron, 

 and zinc, and coal is abundant. Development 



has been slight, and reduction- works are few, 

 though recently a greater impetus is manifest. 

 During the year 221,270 tons of coal, of an 

 average value of $3 a ton, were mined. There 

 were nearly 500 men employed in coal-mines. 



Finances. In 1881 the taxable property of 

 the Territory amounted to $14,088,554; in 

 1882 it advanced to $20,441,395 ; and in 1883 

 to $27,137,903. Except the Atlantic and Pa- 

 cific, all the railroads in the Territory are ex- 

 empt from taxation for a period of six years 

 from completion, and none have been com- 

 pleted for so long a time. One per cent, is 

 levied upon the taxable property one half for 

 the Territory, one fourth for county purposes, 

 and one fourth for schools. At the end of the 

 year the Governor expected the Territory 

 would be out of debt, and would have a re- 

 spectable surplus on hand. 



Railroads. Some progress has been made in 

 the construction of railroads. The Atlantic 

 and Pacific is finished across Colorado river, 

 which furnishes an additional connection with 

 the Pacific coast. A narrow-gauge road has 

 been completed from Deming to Silver City, 

 in Grant county, 46 miles ; another from 

 Lordsburg, on the Southern Pacific, to Clifton, 

 Arizona, 30 miles of which are in New Mexico ; 

 and a third is partly constructed from Santa 

 F6 to Espafiola, 34 miles, connecting with the 

 Denver and Rio Grande. 



Education. The greatest want of New Mexi- 

 co is a proper school system. A law passed at 

 the last session of the Legislature authorizes 

 the establishment of charitable schools for in- 

 digent orphan children, the management being 

 confided to the Governor and the archbishop. 

 Schools are established for nearly one hundred 

 children, which make no distinction on account 

 of religious opinions, and are divided between 

 Catholics and Protestants in substantially fail- 

 proportions. The Legislature at the same ses- 

 sion also passed an act authorizing the creation 

 of separate school districts in seven of the coun- 

 ties of the Territory by a vote of the people. 

 Under this law the districts may regulate their 

 own schools. The law contemplates compul- 

 sory attendance for five months of the year, but 

 it is not executed. The census of 1880 shows 

 that the greatest percentage of illiteracy in the 

 United States is in New Mexico. 



Land System. On this subject the Governor 

 expresses the following views: 



New Mexico is largely plastered with grants of land, 

 real or pretended, made by the Spanish and Mexican 

 Governments. By law these grants are segregated 

 from the public domain, and must continue in a con- 

 dition of practical mortmain until final action is taken 

 to determine their validity. The claimants do noth- 

 ing to develop, or improve, or pay taxes on them, and 

 a satisfactory title can not be acquired by others. In 

 some cases the grants overlap, which leads to disputes, 

 and occasionally to acts of violence. Confirmations 

 have been carelessly made, and it is generally believed 

 that errors and frauds have been practiced, and ap- 

 parently legalized, through want of knowledge of, or 

 attention to, the subject. Grants have been confirmed 

 of greater dimensions than the Spanish or Mexican 



