Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 05.djvu/359

CONNTECTICUT. of a county attached to any other county, and 252 Representatives, elected from the towns, each town being permitted one or two members, according as its population is below or above 5000. But towns which had two Representatives prior to the amendment of 1874 still retain that number without regard to population. Senators and Representatives are elected for a two years' term, and receive for the regular session $300 each and mileage. Only mileage is allowed for extra sessions. The Assembly convenes on the first Wednesday after the first Monday in January of each odd year.

Executive.—The Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, Secretary, Treasurer, and Comptroller are each elected for two years, and have their salaries fixed by law. The Governor's veto may be overcome by a majority vote of each House. The Lieutenant-Governor presides in the Senate.

Judiciary.—The judiciary consists of a supreme court of errors, with a chief justice and four associate judges; a superior court of six judges (all the foregoing are nominated by the Governor and appointed by the Assembly for eight years); courts of common pleas for Hartford, New Haven, New London, Fairfield, and Litchfield counties, each with one judge, except in New Haven County, where there are judges respectively for the civil and criminal sides; a district court in Waterbury; various city and borough courts, and justices of the peace.

Local Government.—The counties elect sheriffs who serve for a term of four years. The towns annually elect selectmen and other local officers.

State Laws.—Real estate acquired by a married woman's services, or conveyed to her for a consideration, may be held for her own use. The husband is trustee of a wife's personal estate, which upon his death falls to her or her devisees, legatees, or heirs, as though she had never been married; and married women may convey by devise the same as single persons, except that a husband (if he have not abandoned her) must unite in conveying by deed. Divorce may be had for fraudulent contract, adultery, desertion, and neglect of duty for three years, habitual intemperance, cruelty, for imprisonment for life, and for certain crimes; previous residence required, three years; either party may remarry. The sale of liquor is regulated by each town in accordance with local-option laws. The registration of voters is required in this State. Women may vote in an election for school officers. The legal rate of interest is 6 per cent. Judgments outlaw in seventeen years; notes and open accounts in six years.

Militia.—There is a total organized militia of 2774 men—infantry 2589, artillery 128—organized into one brigade and four regiments. There are 207,600 men of military age, of whom 106,500 are liable to military duty.

Finances.—The receipts for the civil-list funds during the fiscal year ending September 30, 1900, aggregated $2,876,856 and expenditures, $2,528,514. The largest items of expense were the common schools ($454,652) and humane institutions ($365,684). The largest sources of income were tax on railroads, $975,143; tax on savings banks, $418,780; tax on mutual life insurance companies, $291,066; and inheritance tax, $165,930. The total State debt, less the civil list funds, was $2,108,873. The total indebtedness of all towns, cities, boroughs, and counties of the State was $27,624,827, much of which was incurred in the

support of schools and in the construction of roads.

On October 31, 1900, there were 103 national banks within the State, 84 of which were in active opcraticm. The capital stuck aggregated $20,546,000; circulation outstanding, $10,390,000. On September 5, 1900, the deposits amounted to $44,304,000 and the reserve, $12,933,000. On October 1, 1900, there were eight State banks, with resources amounting to $10,279,000; capital, $2,340,000; deposits, $6,937,279; and 14 trust companies doing a banking business, whose total resources aggregated $11,408,583; capital, $1,775,000; and deposits, $8,484,690. There were also 89 savings banks, with 410,342 depositors and $183,781,000 deposited.

Population, in 1637, 800; in 1688, 17,000; in 1755, 133,000—3500 slaves; in 1787, 202,000; in 1800, 251,002; in 1840, 309,978; in 1860, 460,147; in 1890, 746,258; in 1900, 908,420. It will be seen that the absolute increase during the last decade exceeds that of any previous decade. Almost two-thirds of this increase was among native whites of foreign-born parents. This class, together with the foreign-born (238,210), constitutes almost three-fifths of the total population. Of the latter class, almost half came from Ireland, the next most important nationalities being Germans, English, and Canadians. For several decades the large emigration of the male population to the West resulted in an excess of females within the State; but the 1900 census shows that the sexes are almost equal in number.

Being of a manufacturing State, the population shows a strong tendency to congregate in the cities. In 1900, 53 per cent. of the population was in cities of over 8000 population. According to the census of 1900, New Haven had 108,027 inhabitants; Hartford, 79,850; Bridgeport, 70,996; Waterbury, 45,859; and New Britain, 25,998. Hartford is the capital. The State has five representatives in the Lower House of Congress.

Connecticut has always been one of the leading States in educational matters. From the earliest colonial period primary education was provided for at the public expense, and the establishment of Yale University in 1701 afforded opportunities for higher instruction. For more than a decade before 1901 the school term exceeded 180 days, although the average for the whole country is only 134 days. Almost five-sixths of the school population attend the public schools, and in 1900, 94 per cent. of all children between the ages of four and sixteen were registered in some school. The expense of education per registered student was $17.58. For the twenty-five-year period 1875-99 the school expenditure was drawn from the following sources: permanent funds, 7.8 per cent.; State taxation, 14 per cent.; local taxation, 67.7 per cent.; and other sources, 10.5 per cent. There were 4079 public-school teachers, of which but 9 per cent. were males. There are 77 public high schools and three normal schools. School districts not having high schools must pay the tuition for such students as may wish to attend the high school of some other school district. The administration is vested in a board of education, or town committee, or board of school visitors, while the general educational supervision of the State is in the hands of a State Board of Education.