Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIII.djvu/274

 264 PENNSYLVANIA posits, $20,961,262 ; aggregate liabilities, $35,- 732,021. In 1873 Pennsylvania paid $15,601,- 717 for fire and marine insurance, and $8,016,- 236 for life insurance. A bureau of insurance was established by the legislature in 1872 ; an annual report concerning the insurance com- panies doing business in the state is made to the legislature by the commissioner of insu- rance. Under the amended constitution of 1873, which went into force on Jan. 1, 1874, the general assembly consists of 50 senators elected for four years, and 200 representatives chosen for two years. Eegular sessions are held biennially, beginning on the first Tuesday of January in odd years. Extra sessions may b convened by the governor, but annual ad- journed sessions are prohibited after 1878. In case of a vacancy in the office of United States senator from this state when the legislature is not in session, the governor is required to convene that body on notice not exceeding 60 days. Members of the legislature receive $1,000 for each regular session not exceeding 100 days, and $10 a day for time, not exceed- ing 50 days at any session, necessarily spent after the hundred days ; also 20 cents a mile for going to and from the capital. There are strict constitutional limitations on special legis- lation. The executive department consists of a governor, who receives a salary of $10,000 ; lieutenant governor, who acts as president of the senate, $3,000 ; secretary of the common- wealth, $4,000 ; attorney general, $3,500 ; au- ditor general, $3,000 ; state treasurer, $5,000 ; secretary of internal affairs, $3,000 ; and su- perintendent of public instruction, $2,500. The governor, lieutenant governor, and sec- retary of internal affairs are elected by the people for four years, the auditor general for three, and the treasurer for two years. The attorney general, secretary of the com- monwealth, and superintendent are appoint- ed for four years by the governor, with the consent of two thirds of the senators. The governor is ineligible to the office for the next succeeding term ; he may grant commutations of sentence and pardons only upon the written recommendation of the lieutenant governor, secretary of the commonwealth, attorney gen- eral, and secretary of internal affairs, or any three of them, after full hearing upon due public notice and in open session. In addi- tion to the ordinary veto powers, he may exercise a partial veto on appropriation bills. The secretary of the commonwealth keeps a record of all official acts and proceedings of the governor. The secretary of internal af- fairs succeeds to the duties of the surveyor general, which title is now abolished. His de- partment embraces a bureau of industrial sta- tistics, and he is in addition required to dis- charge such duties relating to corporations, and to the charitable institutions, the agricul- tural, manufacturing, mining, mineral, timber, and other material or business interests of the state, as may be prescribed by law. He must report annually to the general assembly. The judicial power is vested in a supreme court, courts of common pleas, of oyer and terminer and general jail delivery, of quarter sessions of the peace, orphans' courts, and magistrates' courts. The supreme court consists of seven judges, who are elected by the people for 21 years, but are not eligible for reelection, and receive an annual salary of $7,000 each. The judge having the shortest term to serve be- comes chief justice. This court has original jurisdiction only in cases of injunction where a corporation is a party defendant, of habeas corpus, of mandamus to courts of inferior ju- risdiction, and of quo warranto as to all offi- cers of the commonwealth whose jurisdiction extends over the state. Annual sessions of the supreme court are held in Philadelphia, Harris- burg, Sunbury, and Pittsburgh. The judges of the supreme court, as well as those of the com- mon pleas, are justices of oyer and terminer and general jail delivery in the several coun- ties. The state is divided into 43 judicial dis- tricts, in each of which one or more common pleas judges are elected for ten years. Judges of the courts of common pleas are also judges of the courts of oyer and terminer, of quarter sessions of the peace, of general jail delivery, and of orphans' courts where separate tribu- nals of this kind have not been established. They also act as justices of the peace in crimi- nal matters in their respective districts. There are special courts in Philadelphia and Pitts- burgh, which are described in the articles on those cities. The state is divided into two districts for holding United States courts. In the eastern district, courts are held in Phila- delphia; in the western, in Pittsburgh, Wil- liamsport, and Erie. The right of voting is given to every male citizen, not under 21 years of age, who has been a citizen of the United States at least one month, and a resi- dent of the state one year and of the election district two months next preceding the elec- tion; if 22 years of age or upward, he must have paid within two years a state or county tax assessed at least two months and paid at least one month before the election. The gen- eral election is held annually on the Tuesday next following the first Monday of November. Property owned at the time of marriage, or thereafter acquired, may be held by a married woman as her separate estate, and is not liable for the husband's debts. Her property is lia- ble for debts contracted by her, and for neces- saries for the support of the family of her hus- band and herself. She may dispose of her Property by will, without the signature of her usband. By petitioning the court of common pleas, she may hold her separate earnings and income for her sole benefit. The grounds of divorce are impotence, adultery, desertion for two years, cruel treatment or indignities that render the condition intolerable and life bur- densome, fraud, force, or coercion in pro- curing the marriage, sentence to two years'