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 VERMONT

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VERMONT

$62,658,741; the numbrr of wago-camers employed in the several factories was 33,106, and the total wages paid them was $15,221,059. The total value of the manufactured products was $63,083,611.

Population. — The first census taken in 1791 showed a population of 85,499, which had nearly doubled in 1800. Rapid gains were made in each succeeding decade up to 1850, after which the increase was smaller owing to emigration to the western parts of the Coun- try. In 1910 the total population was 355,956. The state contains six cities and two hundred and forty organized towns.

Legislature and Judiciary. — The Legislative Assembly consists of a senate with thirty members, apportioned among the counties according to popula- tion, and chosen by the voters of the several counties; and a house of representatives, in which each town and city has one member. The governor, members of the Legislature, state and county officers are elected biennially, in the even years, in September, and the sessions of the Legislature convene in October follow- ing. The Supreme Court of the state consists of five judges, elected for a term of two years by the two houses of the Legislature in joint assembly. Regular terms of this court are held at Montpelier in January, February, May, and October, with one session each year at Rutland, St. Johnsbury, and Brattleboro. In each county is a court which holds two sessions an- nually, the presiding judges being elected by the Legislature in joint assembly. Associated with the presiding judge in each county court are two assistant judges, elected by the freemen of the several counties. Probate courts are established in the several counties, being divided into two probate districts for each. The state is represented in the National Congress by two senators and two representatives. Since 1903 the liquor traffic has been regulated by a local option law under which the voters of each town or city determine its policy at the annual town elections in March.

HisTORr. — Starting from Quebec, in the spring of 1609, Samuel Champlain ascended the St. Lawrence and Richelieu Rivers, accompanied by two French- men and about sixty Algonquin Indians. He entered the lake which bears his name on 4 July, and upon seeing the mountain range extending along the eastern shore, he exclaimed "Voili les monts verts", thus giving their name to the mountains and the state. A month w.as spent in ex-ploring the lake and the adja- cent country. Proceeding southward, Champlain reached another large lake, now called Lake George, to which he gave the name of St. Sacrement. The Srst settlement by white men, within the borders of the state, was made by the French on Isle La Motte, in Lake Champlain, in 1666. It was called Fort St. Anne, and was occupied until about 1690. The French claimed the territory as far south as the south ?nd of Lake Champlain, and forts were built by them ?arly in the eighteenth centurj' at Crown Point and Ticonderoga, on the west side of the lake. At about the same time they established a settlement on the fast shore at Chimney Point, in the present town of Addi.son. This settlement together with one in what is now the town of Alburg, Vermont, flourished until Canada was ceded to the British. The first English settlement within the present hmits of the state was made about 1690, in the present town of Vernon. This was an extension of the settlement of Northfield, in Massachusetts, which a later survey showed to be north of the boundary of that colony. In 1724 Fort Dummer was built on the west bank of the Connecti- cut River near the present village of Brattleboro. This also was supposed to be within the territory of Ma-ssachusetts, but a survey made in 1741 established the northern boundary line of the colony several miles south of the fort.

During the period covered by the Colonial wars, the country was the gateway through which the con-

tending forces advanced to attack each other, the troops of each side being generally accompanied by savage allies. Raiding expeditions were frequent, and the country was so exposed to attack as to make set- tlement and development practically impossible; but after the final conquest of Canada by the British in 1760, this feature being practically removed, settle- ments increased very rapidly, the rich lands of the valley being much sought after. In 1761 a settlement was made in Bennington, under a charter granted by New Hampshire in 1749, and others grew up near it in the next few succeeding years. Newbury on the eastern border of the state near the Connecticut River was permanently settled in 1762. Before the close of 1765, 150 townships lying west of the Connecticut River had been granted by Governor Went worth of New Hampshire to purchasers from the New England colonies, and the country became known by the name of the "New Hampshire Grants". In granting charters, the Governor of New Hampshire had acted upon the theory that the western boundary of that colony was an extension of the west line of Connecti- cut and Massachusetts, substantially 20 miles east of the Hudson River, but in 1765 claim was made, by the Governor of New York, that the easterly boundary of New York was the Connecticut River. Several townships were granted bj' New York in the disputed territory, regardless of the authority of New Hamp- shire, and the titles of purchasers from New Hampshire were declared to be void. The di.spute was carried to the courts of New York, whose decision was adverse to the settlers, and in 1770 a convention at Bennington declared that the inhabitants would resist by force the claims of New York. For defence against the aggression of New York, committees of safety in several towns were estabhshcd, and a regi- ment of mihtia called "Green Mountain Boys" was organized with Ethan Allen as colonel commandant. Few of the settlers complied with the demand that their lands be repurchased from New York, and the officers of the latter colony found it impossible to exe- cute the judgments of the courts of Albany.

In spite of an order made by the British king in council on 24 July, 1767, prohibiting all further grants by the Government of New York pending the settle- ment of the questions involved, the colonial Govern- ment continued to make grants, to press its claims, and attempted to organize counties in the disputed territory, with courts and county officers. Indict- ments were filed against many of the settlers in the courts at Albany, but the principals could not be ap- prehended nor brought to trial. A convention of the settlers prohibited the holding of offices and the ac- cepting of grants of land under the authority of New York, and obedience to these orders was enforced. The only legislative authority recognized was that of the conventions of settlers and the country became in fact an independent state, which it was formally declared to be by a convention held at Windsor on 4 June, 1777, and it continued as such until its admission to the Union in 1791. Upon the outbreak of the Revolu- tionary War, the Green Mountain Boys gave valuable aid to the cause of the patriots. On 10 May, 1775, Ethan Allen in command of a small party captured the fortress at Ticonderoga and made its garrison prison- ers. On the following day Crown Point was cap- tured by troops under Captain Seth Warner. A large number of settlers joined the expedition of General Montgomery against Canada and participated in the capture of St. Johns and Montreal, and in an unsuc- cessful as.sault upon Quebec. On 7 July, 1777, the rear gu.ard of the American army, retreating from Ticonderoga, gave battle to the advancing British forces at Hubbardton. Colonel Warner commanded the patriot forces, composed largely of Green Moun- tain Boys. After an obstinate struggle, the patriot forces were finally greatly o\itnumbered and forced to