MASSACHUSETTS. 



485 



vestment. Twenty companies made no net 

 income. The amount paid in dividends was 

 $5,429,183.31, for interest $3,437,026. Only 

 28 of the companies paid dividends, and these 

 ranged from 1 to 10 per cent., the average be- 

 ing 7.17 per cent. The average earnings per 

 mile was $11,735.22, average cost of operation 

 $8,494.18. 



The Troy & Greenfield Railroad and Hoosac 

 Tunnel remain under State management. The 

 facade at the eastern portal of the tunnel, the 

 stone arch at the western portal, the brick 

 arching throughout, and all other work con- 

 nected with the line, with the exception of 

 certain improvements in the station accommo- 

 dations at Greenfield and North Adams, have 

 been completed. A new method of collecting 

 tolls was adopted on the 1st of July, a per- 

 centage of two-thirds of the gross receipts 

 being charged instead of a fixed rate per ton. 

 During the three months following, the receipts 

 and expenses were as follows : 



Gross Receipts : 



From Fitchburg Bailroad $36,858 80 



From Troy & Boston Bailroad 8,846 15 



$45,199 95 

 Expenses for the same period 16,485 26 



Net receipts for three months of 1877 $28,714 69 



Net receipts for the same months, 1876 7,296 50 



Gain in 1877.... $21,41819 



739,757, an increase of 468 for the year. In- 

 vestments in public funds show a large increase, 

 and loans on mortgages or real estate a con- 

 siderable decrease. Loans made at 7 and 8 

 per cent, show a large decrease, and those 

 from 4 to 6 per cent, a corresponding increase. 

 Dividends are limited to 5 per cent., and many 

 of the banks have reduced them to 4 per cent. 

 The public institutions of the State are in a 

 flourishing condition. The new State-prison 

 at Concord is far advanced toward completion, 

 and it is expected that the property will be 

 turned over to the authorities about April, 

 1878. The new Hospital for the Insane at 

 Worcester has been finished and occupied. 

 The cost of construction was $1,102,417.44 ; 

 of furnishing, $26,556.99. At the end of the 

 year it contained about 400 patients, most of 

 whom were removed from the old hospital in 

 the same city, which is retained as "a tem- 

 porary asylum for the chronic insane." The 

 new hospital at Danvers was substantially 



The net receipts for nine months, from January 1 



to October 1, 1877, were $68,966 47 



Total net receipts from January 1 to October 1, 



1876... 28,89486 



Gain in nine months over preceding year $35,572 11 , 



The State also has an investment of $3,600,- 

 000 in the New York & New England Rail- 

 road, arising from a conversion of what were 

 known as the Berdell mortgage bonds of the 

 Boston, Hartford & Erie Railroad, held by the 

 State as security for loans, into certificates of 

 stock of a like amount of the New York & New 

 England Company. The State also holds a note 

 of the same company for a loan of $250.000. 



On the 1st of November, there were 176 

 savings-banks in the State, an increase of three 

 for the year, though there were three which 

 went out of business. One of these latter, the 

 Jamaica Plain, voluntarily closed its affairs and 

 paid depositors in full; the other two, the 

 Mechanics', of Boston, and the North Bridge- 

 water, at Brockton, were placed under injunc- 

 tion and compelled to liquidate. Seven others 

 were either suspended or under temporary in- 

 junction at the date of the commissioners' 

 report. The total deposits in all the savings- 

 banks, October 31st, amounted to $244,596.- 

 614.18, being an increase of $1,255,971.45 for 

 the year; the amount of surplus was $5,182,- 

 570.86. The amount deposited during the 

 year was $42,595,232.58, or $7,181,538.50 less 

 than during the previous year. The amount 

 of withdrawals was $47,918,238.87, or $4,202,- 

 285.15 less than the previous year. The num- 

 ber of open accounts at the date of report was 



APPLETON CHAPEL, CAMBIIIIXJE. 



completed on the 1st of October, when it was 

 transferred to the trustees. It cost $1,423,- 

 843.52 for construction, and the appropriation 

 for furnishing was $50,000. It was not occu- 

 pied at the end of the year. It is said to be 

 the most perfect institution of its kind in 

 America. In the old State-prison at Boston, 

 there were, on the 1st of October, 771 con- 

 victs. The receipts of the institution for the 

 year preceding were $85,070.45, expenses 

 $126,978.38, leaving a deficit of $41,907.98. 

 The cost of the support of each convict was 

 $170.57; income for each, $114.84. The Re- 

 formatory Prison for Women, at Sherborn, has 

 been completed, and was opened on the 7th of 

 November. The superintendent, physician, 

 and chaplain are women, the only male officer 



