474 



MAINE. 



been made in the institution in the last two 

 years, at a cost of $22,620.23, which has been 

 paid from its income. The price of board has 

 been reduced from $4 to $3.75 a week. There 

 is a large farm connected with the hospital, 

 which is profitably cultivated. 



The annual session of the Legislature began 

 on the 3d of January, and came to a close on 

 the 9th of February. There were 27 Repub- 

 licans and 4 Democrats in the Senate, 97 Re- 

 publicans, 52 Democrats, 1 " Greenbacker," 

 and 1 Independent in the House, making the 

 Republican majority 23 in the Senate, 43 in the 

 House, and 66 on a joint ballot. There were 

 157 acts and 89 resolves passed. Two amend- 

 ments to the constitution of the State were 

 prepared, to be submitted to a vote of the 

 people at the regular election in September. 

 They were the following : 



ELECTOBS. No person shall vote at any election 

 in this State, unless he has paid a poll-tax within 

 two years preceding the election in which he pro- 

 poses to vote, provided said tax has been legally 

 assessed upon him. 



MUNICIPAL INDEBTEDNESS. No city or town shall 

 hereafter create any debt or liability, which singly, 

 or in the aggregate with previous debts or liabilities, 

 shall exceed five per centum of the last regular valu- 

 ation of said city or town ; provided, however, that 

 the adoption of this article shall not be construed as 

 applying to any fund received in trust by said city 

 or town, nor to any loan for the purpose of renewing 

 existing loans, or for war, or to temporary loans to 

 be paid out of money raised by taxation during the 

 year in which they are made. 



Among the acts of the session, those worthy 

 of mention were: one revising and consoli- 



dating all the laws relating to savings-banks ; 

 one providing for the organization and man- 

 agement of loan and building associations ; one 

 to prevent incompetent persons from conduct- 

 ing the business of apothecaries; one against 

 pool-selling and lotteries; one to encourage 

 the manufacture of beet-sugar, and one increas- 

 ing the annual appropriation for the normal 

 schools to $15,000. The savings-bank act 

 provides for a bank examiner, and carefully 

 guards the interests of depositors, by restrict- 

 ing investments and exacting rigid accounta- 

 bility on the part of officers and trustees. The 

 act in relation to loan and building associa- 

 tions limits t"he capital stock of each to 3,500 

 shares, and the amount to be loaned on each 

 share to $200. Each shareholder is required 

 to pay one dollar per month until the value of 

 the whole fund shall be sufficient to divide 

 $200 to each share, and loans are made accord- 

 ing to the premiums offered therefor by any 

 shareholder, and as security he must assign to 

 the association one share of stock for every 

 $200 borrowed. The act to prevent incom- 

 petent persons from conducting the business 

 of apothecaries provides for three Commis- 

 sioners of Pharmacy to issue certificates of 

 competency, after making examination of ap- 

 plicants therefor. No one is permitted to en- 

 gage in the business without such certificate, 

 and a fine of $50 is provided for violations of 

 the law. The act to encourage the introduc- 

 tion of the manufacture of beet-sugar author- 

 izes the Governor and Council to pay a bounty 

 not exceeding one cent per pound on all beet- 



POKTLAND. 



sugar manufactured in the State, from beets 

 raised in the State, but the-amount to be paid 

 in any one year is limited to $7,000. Rock- 

 land was incorporated as a city and the name 

 of the town of Lyndon was changed to Caribou 

 during the session. 



The action brought against the Maine Cen- 

 tral Railroad Company, for the recovery of 

 taxes assessed in 1875, resulted in a decision 

 in favor of the State, but an appeal has been 

 taken to the Supreme Court of the United 

 States. Other suits for arrearage of taxes 



