for a term not exceeding three years, or by fine not exceeding $1000 and imprisonment not exceeding one year. If any person shall engrave, form, make or mend any plate, paper, rolling press, or other tool, designed for forging any such bill, or shall have them in his possession for that purpose, he is liable to the same punishment, except that the fine in this case is not to exceed $500. In all prosecutions for offences described in the first section, the testimony of the president or cashier of any such bank may be dispensed with, and the testimony of other witnesses is to be admitted. GUARDIANS.-Judges of probate are authorized to appoint guardians to persons residing on lands, not included in any incorporated towns; and the duties now required of select men relative to the appointment of guardians, are to be performed by the assessors of the several districts, and if there are no assessors, by the selectmen of the oldest adjoining town. The county commissioners of any county, are authorized to establish the whole or any part of any turn. pike road lying in such county, as a common highway, with the assent of the turnpike corporation and of the towns through which it passes. The county commissioners are to have power to allow to the corporation reasonable damages, to be paid out of the county treasury; but a part of the damages, not exceeding one half, is to be paid into the county treasury by the towns, &c. All original writs, writs of error, scire facias, or review, bills in equity, libels for divorce, petitions for partition, mandamus, certiorari, new trial, review, or for a sale by me. chanics and others, having by law a lien upon any buildings or land, if the plaintiff or petitioner is not an inhabitant of the state, shall, before they shall be entered, be endorsed by some responsible inhabitant of the state. If during the pendency of any of the processes aforesaid, the plaintiff or petitioner remove out of the state, the court, on motion, shall order him to procure such endorser; if the plaintiff or petitioner fail to comply with such order, the process is to be dismissed. In case of the avoidance or ina. bility of the plaintiff or petitioner, the endorser of such process is to be liable for the costs to the defend ant. INSURANCE COMPANIES.- Where an insurance company has expired by the limitation of its charter, any stockholder may apply to the supreme court, for the appointment of two or more trustees, to settle the affairs of the company. Eight insurance companies were incorporated, whose united capitals amount to $1,000,000; five mutual insurance companies were also incorporated. LOTTERIES.-Lotteries were prohibited, also the sale of any ticket in any lottery not authorized by the laws of the state, under a penalty of not less than $100 nor more than $2000. All money drawn and received by any inhabitant or resident of this state upon any lottery ticket, &c. purchased therein, is forfeited to the state. LUNATICS.-The judges of probate, in the several counties, are authorized to commit to the hospital any lunatic, who in their opinion is so furiously mad as to render it manifestly dangerous to the peace and safety of the community, that such lunatic should continue at large. Three land companies, with $2,000,000 capital, and nineteen manufacturing companies, were in. corporated; the aggregate capital stock which they are authorized to hold amounts to $2,825,000. MORTGAGES.- Whenever a bill in equity shall be brought for the redemption of a mortgage, the plaintiff shall pay to the defendant his costs, unless it shall appear to the court that the mortgagee has refused or unreasonably neglected, to render a true account of the money due on the mortgage, or has otherwise by his default prevented the plaintiff from performing the condition of the mortgage before the commencement of the suit. An act was passed to prevent fraud in the sale of oils. PROBATE COURT.-After the decease of any alien intestate, in this state, leaving no widow or next of kin therein, administration of his goods and estate shall, within thirty days, be granted to the consul or vice consul who shall have been duly appointed for the state by the government in which such alien shall have been born. Af ter the expiration of the thirty days, the judge of probate may commit administration of such estate to some of the principal creditors, and, in case of their refusal or neglect, to such other person as the judge shall think fit. In all cases in which a person has been or shall be prevented from prosecuting his or her claim to the commissioners of insolvency on any estate duly represented insol. vent, within the time limited by law for the presentation of claims against such estate, the judge of probate may, upon the petition of such person, and notice to the executor or administrator, authorize the executor or administrator to pay the claim; and in case of his neglect or refusal, the judge may empower the claimant to institute a suit at common law for the recovery of the same. In any suit brought by virtue of the provisions of this act, such executor or administrator may prove, under the general issue, that he has fully administered on said estate, or that there is only sufficient remain. ing to pay the said claim in part; and if it shall be necessary, in order to ascertain the amount of the property so remaining, that the same should be sold, the court are to continue the suit until the sale can be made. This act is not to extend to any case, where such estate shall prove to be insolvent, or where the petition is not presented, and notice thereof given within four years from the granting of administration on said estate. RECOGNISANCE.-In all cases where a city, town, parish, or precinct shall be required by law to enter into a recognisance, the mayor and aldermen of the city, the selectmen of the town, and the assessors of the parish or precinct, respectively, may, by an order or vote, authorize any person to enter into such recognisance in behalf of such city, &c. which shall be binding upon such city. RAIL-ROADS.-An act was passed to establish the Andover and Wilmington rail-road corporation, for the purpose of constructing a rail-road from Andover to the Lowell railroad in Wilmington. The western railroad corporation was incorporated, and authorized to construct a rail-road from the western termination of the Boston and Worcester rail-road to Springfield, and thence to the western boundary of the state, towards the Hudson river. An act was also passed to in corporate the Worcester and Norwich rail-road company. A general act was passed to define the rights and duties of rail-road corporations in laying out their roads, &c.; it also prescribes the mode of transferring shares. RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES.-Nineteen religious societies were incorporated. SCHOOLS AND SCHOOL DISTRICTS. Whenever, at any meeting of a school district, a clerk of such district shall be chosen, and no justice of the peace shall be present to administer the oath required by law, the moderator of the meeting is authorized to administer the same. SHERIFFS.-Sheriffs are authoriz. ed to appoint special deputies in any of the counties of the state, to execute those duties only which deputy sheriffs are empowered to perform by St. 1820, c. 52. TRUSTEE PROCESS.-Any party who may be authorized to sue out an original writ, returnable to the supreme court, for the recovery of any sum of money, shall be entitled to the benefit of the provisions in the several acts concerning the trustee process; and an original writ may be issued under the seal of the supreme court. TURNPIKE CORPORATIONS.--An act was passed providing a mode of calling meetings of such corporations, when the regular meeting may have been omitted. WHARVES.-Thirteen acts were passed authorizing the construction and extension of wharves, &c. WIDOWS AND MARRIED WOMEN. Whenever any widow shall waive the provision made for her in the will of her deceased husband, the judge of probate may make to her such allowances from the personal estate of the testator, as he is now authorized to make to widows of persons deceased intestate. When any married man has here. tofore absented, or may hereafter absent himself from the state, abandoning his wife, without sufficient provision for her support, the su preme court may, upon her application, authorize any person holding money or other personal estate, to which her husband may be entitled in her right, to pay or deliver the same or any part thereof to her; and her release or discharge shall be as valid as if made by the husband. The following resolves were also passed. Resolves, In relation to a bill now pending in the congress of the United States. Whereas, The committee of ways and means of the house of representatives of the United States, have reported a bill for the further reduction of the duties on imported goods, the passage of which into a law would materially affect the interests of the people of this commonwealth, and Whereas, It is important that the opinion of the general court should be expressed upon the subject, in order that the senators and representatives of this commonwealth may be better enabled to understand, and give effect to the wishes of their constituents; therefore 1. Resolved by the senate and house of representatives of the commonwealth of Massachusetts in general court assembled, That the pas. sage into a law of the bill for the further reduction of the duties on imported goods, now pending in the house of representatives of the United States, would prostrate the principal branches of our domestic manufactures, destroy our agricultural enterprise, paralize our commerce and fisheries, and comdemn to bankruptcy and ruin thousands of our most industrious and enterprising citizens, and materially affect in the most injurious manner the prosperity of the whole country. 2. Resolved, That it is the usage and the duty of enlightened and prudent governments, to proceed with great deliberation in their legislation on all important subjects, and that no greater political evil can well be imagined, than frequent and rapid changes of the laws, especially such as affect the property and industry of the citizens :-that for congress, after having recently revised the revenue laws with great consideration, and made a new arrangement of them by an unexpectedly large and satisfactory majority, to take up the subject again before the new law has even gone into operation, and at a short session, when the little time at their disposal is plainly insufficient for a careful examination of it, would be a proceeding manifestly at variance with the plainest rules of discretion, and only to be justified by the intervention of some very great change in the po. litical situation of the country. 3. Resolved, That since the passage of the law of the last session of congress, which has not yet gone into operation, no change has occurred in the political situation of the country of a nature to affect the action of the government upon the subject, except the assembling, and acts of the South Carolina conven. tion, by which that state threatens to secede from the union, unless the protecting policy be immediately abandoned; and that these proceedings, far from affording a sufficient motive for new legislation on the subject at the present moment, would form of themselves a strong objection to it; that no moment could well be Imagined less favourable for a cool and dispassionate examination of any general subject, than one in which it should be accidentally em barrassed by a particular incident of a novel, dangerous and irritating character, and that a prudent, firm and patriotic government would on no account expose the great inter. ests of the people to the risk which they would run, by being debated and decided upon in the midst of civil commotions. 4. Resolved, That the bill now reported by the committee of ways and means, is not merely an injudi. cious and impolitic attempt to legis. late, under circumstances unfavourable to a calm and cool consideration of the subject, but wears upon the face of it the aspect of submis. sion, and that it grants substantially what South Carolina demands; that, taking into view, in connexion with its tenor and objects, the manner in which it has been brought forward, and pressed upon the consideration of congress, it amounts to nothing less than a proposal to sacrifice, and that in a precipitate manner, inconsistent with our ideas of national honour and dignity, the rights and prosperity of twenty-three of the states to the menaces of one. 5. Resolved, That while we cannot for a moment anticipate the possibility of the passage into a law of a bill of this description, in a congress, which, within a few months, has, by a large majority, pledged itself to the policy which it is now proposed to abolish, we yet deem it our duty formally to protest against the adoption of the measure proposed, as subversive of the best interests of the country, derogatory to the national honour, and involving a gross and palpable abuse of power in the government. 6. Resolved, That whilst the people of this commonwealth, in the Bills in circulation Debts due from directors Debts due from stockholders Bills of other banks Bank and other stocks Furniture and other property Blackstone canal stock 928,235 06 742,597 80 7,521,013 67 403,696 52 273,934 13 293,564 11 79.862 33 213,794, 41 41,385 70 3,075 155,750 2,250 98 436 25 (1833)-Members of last report Whole number of Votes, Dutee J. Pearce Tristam Burges elected, and no other person. COMMON SCHOOLS.-The whole number of public schools in the state of Rhode Island is 323. This is an average of about ten schools to each town in the state. The whole number of scholars taught in these pub. lic schools is 17,034. This is an average of about 53 scholars to each school. The average time these schools are continued in each year is three months. These schools are all supported without laying any state tax upon the people. 5,350 At a subsequent election in No. vember, Mr. Pearce was elected by a majority of 423 over Mr. Dixon. Feb. Ashur Robbins was elected senator from March 3, 1833. The vote was, for |
