Page:Statesman's Year-Book 1913.djvu/603

 AREA, POPULATION, INSTRUCTION

481

Portuguese (Western Islands), 20,859. These letuins show that there has been a large influx of immigrants from Italy and Russia since 1900.

According to the United States census of 1910, the population of each of the 33 cities of the State was as follows : —

Cities

Boston (capital) Worcester. Fall River. Lowell Cambridge. New Bedford liynn. Springfield. Lawrence Somerville. Holyoke

Popu- lation

670,585

145,98(5

119,295

106,294

104,839

96,652

89,336

88,926

85,892

77,236

57,730

Cities

Popu- lation

Brockton

Maiden

Haverliill

Saleui.

Newton

Fitchburg

Taunton

Everett

Quincy

Chelsea

Pittsfield

56,878 44,404 44,115 43,697 39,806 37,826 34,259 33,484 32,642 32,452 32,121

Cities

Waltliam.

Chicopee.

Gloucester.

Medford

North Adams

Northampton

Beverley.

Melrose

Woburn

Newburyport

Marlborough

Popu- lation

27,834 25,401 24,398 23,150 22,019 19,431 18,650 15,715 15,308 14,949 14.579

The Registrar's Report for 1911 showed : Births, 88,327 ; deaths, 53,062 ; divorces granted, 2,137. The number of marriages in 1911 was 32,051. Divorce is granted for cruelty, desertion, drunkenness, imprisonment, irapotency, intoxication, non-support, and nullity of marriage.

The total number of chiu'ch members and communicants in the State in 1906 (Special Report, United States Bureau of the Census) was 1,562,621, as compared with a total population in 1900 of 2,805,346. Of the 1,562,621 members and communicants, 1,080,706 were comnmnicants of the Roman Catholic Church, and 449,358 were members of Protestant bodies, while the remaining 32,557 belonged to other religious bodies. The leading Protestant bodies, with the number of members, were as follows : Congregational, 119,196 ; Baptist, 78,165 ; Methodist-Episcopal, 61,626 ; Protestant- Episcopal, 51,636 ; Church of Christ, Scientist, 43,547 ; Unitarian, 35,440, and Universalist, 12,983.

The only provision for religious instruction in the public schools of the State is that a portion of the Bible shall be read daily, without written note or oral comment ; but a pupil, whose parent or guardian informs tbe teacher in writing that he has conscientious scruples against it, shall not be required to read from any particular version, or take any personal part in the read- ing. The school committee shall not purchase or use school books in the public schools calculated to favour the tenets of any particuhir reiigioiis sect. The law provides, however, for moral instruction in the public schools and in the higher educational institutions.

There is a State Board of Education. School attendance is compulsory from 7 to 14 years of age. For the school year ending June 30, 1912, the number of teachers required for the public common schools was 16,408, the total number of pupils enrolled was 546,326, and the average attendance was 457,589 (returns for one town not included). The 269 public high schools had 2,713 teachers and 69,090 pupils. In 1911 there were 401 private schools and academies with 102,910 pupils, and there were 10 State normal schools with an enrolment on October 1, 1911, of 2,365 pupils.

State-aided vocational schools were inaugurated in Massachusetts under a law enacted in 1906. In 1907-08 the number of such schools was six with an enrolment of 1,400. In 1911-12 the number was 24 with an eniolment of 7,164. For the year 1910-11, the State expended 65,784 dollars by way of reimbursement for one-half of the operating expenses of these schools. This amount was expended for the reimbursement of cities and towns maintaining a]iproved day and evening industiial, agricultural and household art schools under the provisions of Chapter 471, Acts of 1911.

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