spects, in excellent condition, and the superintendent conscientiously endeavoring, under very trying circumstances, to promote the welfare of those under his charge; and, although the discipline is strict as the law requires, and in some cases unnecessarily severe, we do not consider that it has been, or that it will be, either brutal or cruel.

A change in the discipline of this institution was contemplated as soon as the new building should be occupied, and we believe the suggestions herein of fered will render any special legislation unnecessary. We, therefore, report that the accompanying bill ought not to pass.

Three members of the committee joined in a report in which the discipline of the institution was discussed and condemned, and legislation favored. The Chairman of the Committee on the part of the House made a separate report, and submitted two bills, one providing

for a new Board of Trustees, and the other declaring that corporal punishment should be inflicted only under such rules and by such methods as should be prescribed by the Trustees and by direction of the Superintendent, and that in every case a record of the offense and the mode and extent of the punishment should be made and presented to the Trustees. The latter of these was passed.

The Danvers Hospital investigation related to the expense involved in the construction of that institution. A majority of the committee reported that there had been no "jobbery," but there was evidencce of bad judgment and extravagance. They recommended that the hospital be turned over to a Board of Trustees to have charge of its management, who should

also attend to the completion of the building. The minority of the committee justified the action of the commissioners and favored leaving the completion of the work in their hands. A bill passed both Houses in accordance with the recommendation of the majority, turning the institution over to the Board of Trustees in its unfinished condition, but it was defeated by a veto of the Governor. A bill, however, became a law, authorizing the appointment of a Board of five Trustees, to take charge of the government of the institution and all work upon it after the completion of existing contracts.

A Commission for revising the Judiciary System of the State, appointed by authority of the previous Legislature, made a report suggesting a variety of changes. The only one adopted at this session gave general equity jurisdiction to the Supreme Court.

Among the important laws enacted during

the session, was one abolishing the coroner system, and providing for separate medical examinations and legal investigations in cases of death from unknown causes. This provided for medical examiners in each county, with fixed salaries, to make inquiries into the cause of death, and to notify the District Attorney or justice of the local court in case it has resulted from violence. The court is then to prosecute the judicial portion of the investigation, and report when, where, and by what means the death was caused. The justice is also required to issue process for arrest of the person charged in his report with the commission of violence, if he is not already in custody. An amendment of the election law was made, requiring that when the right of a person to vote is challenged, his ballot shall be received, with his name and residence signed to it, and also that of the person making the challenge. An act was passed establishing an Advisory Board

of Women to act in conjunction with the Inspectors of the State Almshouse, the State Reform School, and the State Primary School. Another act prohibits the employment of children under fifteen years of age as dancers, singers, musical performers, gymnasts, riders or acrobats in any circus or theatrical exhibition, or in any public place whatever. Acts were also passed legalizing the use of the metric system of weights and measures, and requiring the State Treasurer to furnish standards to the treasurer of each city and shire-town in the State; incorporating the Adams Nervine Asylum; and providing for Boards of Health in the several cities of the Commonwealth. The invitation of the Governor of Vermont to the State, to unite with Vermont and New Hampshire in the celebration of the centennial anniversary of the battle of Bennington, was accepted, and $7,500 was appropriated to aid in the erection of a monument in commemoration of the battle.

The finances of the State are in a very satis factory condition. It has no temporary loans, and sinking funds have been established sufficient for the liquidation of all bonds at maturity. The following statement shows the condition of the State debt:

1,355,181 4.307,659 6,864,084 2,042,527 1,278,914 2,060,246 1,503,916

4,993,200 7,085,727 5,007,495 7,067,741

1876.

Troy & Greenfield Railroad loan....... $870,000 Danvers Hospital loan..

1,886,144 1,156,785

4,195,175

6,081,319

1877.

1,825,586 954,700

150,000

Total.....

520,000 $34,070,464

The ordinary expenses of the Government show a decrease of about $100,000 from those of 1876, and $200,000 from those of 1875. The extraordinary expenses show a still larger reduction, and the decrease for both classes since 1875 amounts to nearly $1,000,000. The estimated expenditures for 1878, for all purposes, are $4,543,000, and the revenues provided for amount to $4,120,695. To meet the deficiency, and provide for the wants of the Treasury in anticipation of the revenues for 1879, a State tax of $1,000,000 is called for. This is a reduction of $500,000 from that of 1877, and of $1,000,000 since 1875. The total reduction of the tax levy for the whole State, including local taxes, was $861,963 in 1877, and $2,939,957 in 1876. The reduction of the past year was made mostly in the cities. The changes in the valuation of property for the last six years are as follows:

The total indebtedness of the cities and towns of the State is $89,329,485.

Sixty

Only 17 miles of new railroad was constructed during the year, and over 10 miles of this was narrow-gauge road, viz.: 8.63 miles from Bedford to Billerica, and about two miles from Winthrop Junction on the Boston, Winthrop & Point Shirley, to the town of Winthrop. The only addition to broad-gauge road was 6.62 miles, from Franklin to Attleborough on the Rhode Island & Massachusetts. three corporations make reports to the commissioners. They own 2,496.082 miles of main line and branches, 627.514 miles of double track, and 763.858 miles of siding, or 3,887.454 miles of track in all, of which 2,870.638 miles is within the limits of the State. The average cost of broad-gauge roads has been $57,964.70 per mile for construction, and $6,361.63 for equipment. The narrow-gauge roads have cost on an average $18,563.20 per mile for construction, and $4,042.35 for equipment. The cost of equipped roads has ranged from $4,595.96 per mile for the Billerica & Bedford, 20-inch gauge, to $110,215.50 for the Boston & Albany. The aggregate capital stock of the 63 companies is $118,170,201.03, debt $52,914,825.16. This shows a decrease of $9,414 in stock during the year, and an increase of $1,294,450.88 in debt. The gross income of all the railroad companies was $30,008,513.74, a falling off of $998,934.58 from that of 1876; net income, $9,344,088.38, or about 5.5 per cent. on the permanent in

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 being 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 façade at the eastern portal of the tunnel, the stone arch at the western portal, the brick arching throughout, and all other work connected with the line, with the exception of certain improvements in the station accommodations at Greenfield and North Adams, have been completed. A new method of collecting tolls was adopted on the 1st of July, a percentage 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:

739,757, an increase of 468 for the year. Investments in public funds show a large increase, and loans on mortgages or real estate a considerable 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 temporary asylum for the chronic insane." The new hospital at Danvers was substantially

$45,199 95

16,485 26

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 Railroad, 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 Bridgewater, at Brockton, were placed under injunction and compelled to liquidate. Seven others were either suspended or under temporary injunction at the date of the commissioners' report. The total deposits in all the savingsbanks, 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 number of open accounts at the date of report was

APPLETON CHAPEL, CAMBRIDGE.

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 occupied 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 convicts. The receipts of the institution for the year preceding were $85,070.45, expenses $126,978.38, leaving a deficit of $41,907.93. The cost of the support of each convict was $170.57; income for each, $114.34. The Reformatory 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

being the treasurer and steward. The number of inmates of the Industrial School for Girls, at Lancaster, was 104 at the end of the year. The receipts were $29,719.53, and a balance of $1,636.01 remained over. The trustees recommend the erection of new buildings. The State Primary School, at Monson, contained 529 children on the 1st of October; 127 had been placed out in families. The total expenditures were $47,348.87. New

GORE HALL, CAMBRIDGE.

officers have been placed in charge of the institution, whose efforts are commended by the inspector. Larger school-rooms, better ventilation, and improved appliances for instruction are recommended by the same official. The Ladies' Advisory Board suggest that the condition of the school is not creditable to the State, and many changes and improvements are recommended. The Lunatic Hospital at Taunton contained 374 male and 402 female patients on the 30th of September, and the whole number of different persons under treatment during the year preceding was 1,244. The daily average was 727, while the institution is designed to accommodate only 550. The expenditures for the year were $141,694.87. The number of patients in the Lunatic Hospital at Northampton, on the 30th of September, was 475, of whom 229 were men, and 246 women. The whole number treated during the year was 603, daily average 476. The expenditures of the year amounted to $97,573.45. At the Almshouse at Tewksbury there were 919 inmates at the end of the year. The total number for the year was 3,238, weekly average 924. The gross expenditures were $96,576.41; cost of support for each person per week, $2.01. New buildings have been added at an expense of $5,000. The present valuation of the property is $372,174.19. The valuation of prison property be

longing to the several counties of the State is $3,699,421, and the average number of prisoners in county prisons, jails, and houses of correction, was 2,466.

The total cost of pauperism in the State, for the year ending March 31st, is calculated at $1,790,624, of which $1,450,624 was paid by cities and towns. Of the 342 cities and towns in the State, 222 provided for the paupers in almshouses, and the aggregate number in those establishments for the

year was 6,166, and the average number 3,747. The cost of almshouse support was $453,835, the average per week for each person being $2.44. One hundred

and twenty cities and towns kept the paupers in hospitals or families, the number of persons thus supported being 2,505, and the cost of support $343,542, or an average of $3.48 per week for each person." The aggregate number receiving partial support or relief was 74,384, from which, it is estimated, about 12,000 should be deducted for duplications. The expense for relief and partial support was $728,163. The cost for overseers, and miscellaneous items connected with care, of paupers, is put at $82,215, making the whole cost to cities and towns $1,611,755, from which $161,131 is deducted for reimbursements.

The whole number of persons in State lunatic hospitals and asylums, on the 30th of September, was 2,539, and the whole number of cases treated during the year preceding 3,688, representing 3,501 different persons. The whole number of insane persons in the State is estimated at 4,000.

A commission was appointed, under an act of the last Legislature, "to inquire into the expediency of revising the system of administration of the public charities and reformatory institutions of the Commonwealth, and all the existing statutes in regard to pauperism, crime, and insanity, with a view to securing greater simplicity, economy, and efficiency, in said administration." The commission, in making its report to the Legislature of 1878, submitted the following recommendations:

of Trustees of the several State Lunatic Hospitals, of 1. That the Board of State Charities, the Boards the State Reform and the State Industrial Schools, the Inspectors of the State Almshouse, of the State Workhouse, of the State Primary School, and of the State-prison, the Board of Police Commissioners, and the various Advisory Boards of Women, be abolished.

2. That the government of the several lunatic hos

Danvers.

pitals be vested in a board of nine trustees, to be appointed by the Governor and Council; the said board to have full control of the hospitals, with power to select their officers, determine all salaries, to transfer from one hospital to another, and to succeed to the trusts, duties, and liabilities, held or exercised by the present boards of trustees of the hospitals at Worcester, Taunton, Northampton, and 3. That the government of the State Reform School, of the State Industrial School, and of the State Primary School, be vested in a board of seven trustees, to be appointed by the Governor and Council for five years (two for one year, two for two years, one for three years, one for four years, and one for five years); the said board to have full control of the schools, to select their officers, determine all salaries, and succeed to the trusts, duties, and liabilities of the present boards of trustees or inspectors. Three of these trustees shall be women.

4. That the duties now by law vested in the visiting agent be vested in the board of trustees of the schools; and that they shall have the power to select such officers as may be necessary to comply with the provisions of the law.

5. That the State Workhouse at Bridgewater be abolished, and that the buildings be used as an almshouse for men; that all the male paupers at Tewksbury he transferred to Bridgewater, and that the almshouse at Tewksbury be used entirely for women; and that the government of the two institutions shall be vested in a board of five inspectors, two of whom shall be women, and appointed by the Governor and Council for five years, one member to retire annually; that the said board shall have full control of the almshouses, select their officers, and determine all salaries. Álso, that the court at Tewksbury be abolished, and that all cases requiring detention by a sentence be tried before a regular court, where they may have the means of a proper defense; and all cases sentenced shall be sent to the several houses of correction. All cases heretofore sentenced to the workhouse by regular courts shall hereafter be sentenced to houses of correction. Those now in the workhouse, under sentence, to remain until their terms expire.

6. That the chairmen of the Boards of Trustees for the Insane, Schools, and Almshouses (as above), shall be a board in whom shall be vested the authority, powers, aud duties now vested by law in the general agent of the Board of State Charities; the said board to have the power to appoint a general agent, and all officers necessary to enable them to comply with the law, and to determine all salaries.

7. That the government of the State-prison be vested in a board of three inspectors, to be appointed by the Governor and Council, with full control, including power to select their own officers and to determine all salaries.

8. That the government of the Reformatory Prison for Women be vested in a board of five inspectors, of whom three shall be women, to be appointed by the Governor and Council, with full control, including power to select their own officers and détermine all salaries.

9. That annual appropriations be made from the Treasury of the Commonwealth for the support of all the institutions, and that all income be paid into the Treasury; and that an officer be appointed by the Treasurer of the Commonwealth, whose duty it shall be to act as disbursing officer for the several institutions, paying all bills and pay-rolls, thus relieving the superintendents of receiving and paying out any 10. That all the returns now required by law to be made to the Secretary of the Board of State Charities, and the returns from city and county prisons now required by law to be made to the Commissioners of Prisons, be made to the Secretary of the Commonwealth.

funds on account of their various institutions.

The second volume of the census of 1875 has been published, and contains the statistics of mechanical industries in detail. The whole number of manufacturing establishments is 10,915; total value of buildings, $80,997,508; value of average stock on hand, $89,061,506; machinery, $73,434,914. Of the machinery in use, not more than $5,120,488 in value was imported during the decade 1865-75, while during the same period not less than $80,000,000 worth was made in the State. The amount invested in buildings, stock, and machinery, in 1875, was $243,493,923, the total capital invested in manufacturing industry being $267,074,802. The number of persons occupied in manufacturing and mechanical industries was 316,459, of which 233,252 were males and 83,207 females. Of the males, 228,469 were above fifteen years of age, 4,725 between ten and fifteen, and 58 below ten; of the females, 77,238 were above fifteen, 5,863 between ten and fifteen, and 106 below ten. The average yearly wages of both sexes and all ages was $475.76; of males above fifteen, $568.13; females above fifteen, $343.42; of both sexes below fifteen, $146.65. The returns of wages paid are on the basis of 266,339 employés in cities and towns, and show a total for one year of $126,711,583. The highest average of yearly wages in a single occupation is $866.09, in the manufacture of musical instruments; lowest, $249.59. in the manufacture of bags and bagging. In cotton-mills there were 3,859,237 spindles, 80,964 power-looms, and 30 handlooms; in woolen-mills, 1,383 sets of machin