Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XI.djvu/42

34 ers ply regularly between the larger cities and Boston. Steamers also ply between Portland, New York, St. John, H. B., and Halifax, and during the winter between Portland and Liver- pool and Glasgow. The number of national banks in operation in 1874 was 64, having a paid-in capital of $9,840,000, and a circulation outstanding of $7,946,576. The circulation per capita was $12 67, while the ratio of cir- culation to wealth was 2.2 per cent., and to bank capital 80.8 per cent. Savings banks are well distributed throughout Maine, and are managed with great care. In 1874 there were 58, with $31,051,963 deposits and 96,799 de- positors, the average amount on deposit by each being $320. The deposits in these in- stitutions amount to nearly $6,500,000 more than the circulation and deposits of the na- tional banks of the state. The number of fire, marine, and fire and marine insurance companies doing business in the state, Jan. 1, 1874, of which 41 were Maine com- panies.—The government of Maine is founded on the constitution of 1820. Every adult male citizen of the United States, not a pauper or criminal, who has resided in the state three months, is entitled to vote at elections. The legislature is composed of a senate of 31 mem- bers a house of representatives of 151 members, all elected annually by the people. The general election is held on the second Monday in September, and the legislature meets in Augusta on the first Wednesday in January annually. The governor (salary $2,500) is also elected annually, and is assisted in his executive duties by a council of seven members, elected on joint ballot by the legislature. The secretary of state (salary $1,500) and the state treasurer Salary $1,600) are also elected by the same body and in the same way. Other state officers are the attorney general, adjutant general, su- perintendent of common scnools, land agent, insurance commissioner, bank examiner, three railroad commissioners, superintendent of pub- lic buildings, librarian, two assayers, inspector of beef and pork, inspector general of tfish. two commissioners of fisheries, industrial statistician, and two Indian agents. The gov- ernor appoints, with the advice and consent of the council, besides certain judicial officers, attorney general, the sheriffs, coroners, registers of probate, and notaries public. The judiciary consists of a supreme court of eight judges who are appointed by the gov- ernor and council for a term of seven years, and receive a salary of $3,000 a year each; the superior court of Cumberland co., held in Port- land one judge appointed in the same way and for the same term ; probate courts county, the judges being elected by the people for term of four years; municipal and police courts; and trial justices, appointed governor and council for seven years, with jurisdiction where the amount does not exceed $20. The state is divided into three judicial districts, eastern, middle, and western, in each of which the supreme court holds annual session as a court of law. Trial terms are also held in each county for civil and criminal business, except that in Cumberland co. the superior court has exclusive criminal jurisdiction. In each county there is a judge and register of probate. There is a state board of immigration, consisting of the governor, secretary of state, and land agent, who are re- quired to appoint a commissioner of immigra- tion. The board may give to each male adult immigrant 100 acres of the public land on which to settle. It is the duty of the industrial sta- tistician, which office was created in 1873, to collect and publish statistical information con- cerning the manufacturing, mining, commer- cial, agricultural, and other industrial interests, together with the valuation and appropriations for various purposes of the several towns and cities of the state. Maine is represented in congress by two senators and five representa- tives, and has therefore seven votes in the electoral college.—The laws for the prevention of intemperance in Maine have always been of a rigid character. The present law vests the sale of intoxicating liquors in special agents appointed by the state, and prohibits all other persons from selling such liquors, including ale, porter, strong beer, lager beer, and other malt liquors, wine, and cider, as well as all dis- tilled spirits. The manufacture of intoxicating liquors for unlawful sale is also forbidden. The provisions of the law, however, do not extend to the manufacture and sale of unadul- terated cider or wine made from fruit grown in the state. The lawful sale of liquors is un- der the direction of a commissioner who is ap- pointed by the governor, and who is required to furnish municipal officers of towns in Maine, and duly authorized agents of other states, with pure unadulterated intoxicating liquors, to be sold for medicinal, mechanical, and manufac- turing purposes. If an authorized agent vio- lates the law, he is subject to a fine not exceed- ing $30, and imprisonment not exceeding three months; while the penalty for a violation by a common seller is $100 fine or three months' imprisonment for the first, and $250 fine and four months' imprisonment for the second and each subsequent offence. Any one having been injured by an intoxicated person may maintain an action for damages against the person who sold the liquor; and the owner or lessee of the building in which the liquor was sold is jointly liable if cognizant that it was used for such purposes. A married woman may hold in her own right real and personal estate acquired by descent, gift, or purchase, and may convey or devise the same by will, without the consent of her husband, except such real estate as has been directly or indirectly conveyed to her by her husband or his relatives, in which case the husband must join in the conveyance. A wo- man does not lose and a husband does not ac- quire rights to her property by marriage. The husband is not liable for the debts of the wife