QUEBEC, PROVINCE OF. Finances. The Provincial Treasurer made his budget speech on Feb. 19. The ordinary receipts for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1888, were $3,738,228.39, and the ordinary expenses $3,365,032.36. The receipts from all sources, including the 1888 loan of $3,378,332.50 and a temporary loan of $400,000, amounted to $7,639,076.11, and the expenditure, including ordinary expenses, construction of new Parliament buildings and court-houses, railway subsidies, repayment of temporary loans, etc., to $6,216,743.25.

The Jesuit-Estates Settlement.--The agitation for disallowance of the Jesuit-Estates Act of 1888, referred to in the "Annual Cyclopædia" for that year, was continued until Aug. 8, 1889, when the period for disallowance expired, the Federal Government persistently refusing to interfere, notwithstanding the numerous petitions presented to the Governor-General in Council asking for disallowance. The Governor-General was also asked to ignore the advice of his ministers, and disallow the act. The only attempt to bring the question of the constitutionality of the act before the courts of law was the personal petition of Hugh Graham, of Montreal, who presented a petition to the Governor-General in Council, asking that the question be referred to the Supreme Court of Canada under a clause of the Supreme Court act that provides for the reference to that court of any question upon which the Governor-General in Council may be in doubt. A check to cover the costs of the reference accompanied the petition, which, however, was rejected. The Minister of Justice, Sir John Thompson, made an elaborate report on the petition. Subsequently the question was referred by the Governor-General to the law-officers of the Crown in England, who declared the act constitutional. The agitation was directed mainly not against the Quebec Government, which was responsible for getting the act passed, but against the Dominion Government, which refused to disallow it. When the Hon. C. C. Colby presented himself for reelection in the county of Stanstead, on his accepting a Dominion portfolio, he was opposed on this issue, but carried the constituency by an overwhelming majority. There is, however, no doubt that the personal popularity of the member, his long connection with the constituency, and his added prestige as a Cabinet minister, contributed greatly to this result.

Franchise. An act was passed to amend the Quebec election act by extending the franchise, and to amend the municipal code respecting the preparation of the valuation roll. Under the new act, the following are entitled to vote: owners or occupants of real property worth $300 in any city municipality returning a member to the Legislative Assembly, or worth $200 real value, or $20 annual value, in any other municipality; tenants paying $30 per annum in such cities, or as far as the value of the farm will permit; sons of real-property owners under similar

conditions; fishermen owning tackle or shares in a ship to the value of $150: the sons of tenant farmers exercise the same rights as the sons of real-estate proprietors, the annual value of the farm being made the basis of the franchise. The absence of a farmer's son from the farm for six months, or absence as a student, does not deprive him of the franchise; $20 in the other municipalities; teachers in any institution under the control of school commissioners or trustees; retired farmers or proprietors (rentiers or annuitants) enjoying at least $100 a year in money or its equivalent; farmers' sons who have worked on their fathers' or mothers' farms for one year, provided the value of the farm, if divided among them as co-proprietors, would be sufficient to qualify them under this act; if more sons than one, they are to be qualified in order of seniority. Civil servants in the employ of the Federal or provincial governments, or the Federal Parliament or Provincial Legislature (the members of the governments and the Speakers excepted), are disfranchised by another act. An act was

Agricultural Distinctions. passed to establish a system of honorary rewards for the most skillful practical agriculturists. The act provides for provincial competitions in which all who have obtained prizes in county or division competitions for the best kept farms may compete. Diplomas and medals are to be granted to the successful competitors in agriculture, market gardening, and fruit culture.

District Magistrates' Court.-The act of 1888 abolishing the Circuit Court and substituting therefor a court to be called the District Magistrates' Court, having been disallowed by the Federal Government, as noted in the ANNUAL CYCLOPÆDIA for 1888, an act was passed at this session establishing a District Magistrates' Court, but without pretending to abolish the Circuit Court.

Montreal. The charter of the city of Montreal was remodeled. Among other important amendments, vote by ballot was substituted for open voting in civic elections.

The

Sorel. The town of Sorel was incorporated as a city. This new city is on the right bank of the St. Lawrence, below the mouth of Sorel river, forty-five miles from Montreal. It is the county seat of Richelieu County, has long enjoyed a large lumber trade, with growing manufactures, and has communications by rail as well as by river. It has a favorite winter harbor, and ship-building is one of the principal industries. The others include manufactures of engines, mill machinery, stoves, plows, bricks, leather, and flour. town is handsomely laid out, with a large public square, and has fine schools and other educational advantages, including a Roman Catholic college. There are also a convent and a hospital. One monthly periodical is published here, and several papers, some in French and some in English. In the seventeenth century the French built a fort on this spot, and afterward the town was for many years the summer residence of the governors of Canada.

REED, THOMAS BRACKETT, an American statesman, thirty-first Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, born in Portland, Me., Oct. 18, 1839. He received his primary education in the common schools of that city, and was graduated at Bowdoin College in 1860, taking the prize for excellence in English composition. Until 1864 Mr. Reed was engaged in teaching and the study of the law, but before his admission to the bar he was appointed, April

THOMAS BRACKETT REED.

19, 1864, acting-assistant paymaster in the United States navy, and assigned to duty on the "Sybil," a "tin-clad " under command of Lieut. Henry H. Gorringe, which patrolled the Tennessee, Cumberland, and Mississippi rivers, without eventful service. Mr. Reed was honorably discharged Nov. 4, 1865, returned to Portiand, was admitted to the bar, and began the practice of law. In 1868 he was elected, as a Republican, to the lower branch of the Maine Legislature, where he served on the Judiciary Committee, and secured during his first term the establishment of a Superior Court for Cumberland County, which reduced from three years to three months the time necessary for bringing contested suits to jury trial. In 1869 he was re-elected, and in 1870 he was sent to the State Senate. While sitting in that body, he received the nomination for Attorney-General of the State, rival candi

dates in caucus being Gen. Harris M. Plaisted, later Governor of the State, and Edwin B. Smith, afterward Assistant Attorney-General of the United States. He was the youngest man ever elected to this office. His incumbency, marked by active and efficient measures, lasted three years (1870-'73), and in 1874, by request of the Mayor of Portland, he became city solicitor, holding the office for four terms. In 1876 he was elected to the Forty-fifth Congress, taking his

seat in December, 1877. On April 12, 1878, Mr. Reed was brought into prominence by a speech to defeat the passage of a measure to reimburse William and Mary College for damages sustained at the hands of United States troops during the civil war. While accomplishing its immediate purpose, this, one of the few long speeches made by Mr. Reed upon the floor of the House, also assisted in defining the policy of the Government on war claims. Mr. Reed also acted in this Congress as one of the minority members of the committee for investigating the circumstances of the election of President Hayes, and took a conspicuous part in the proceedings at Washington, New Orleans, and New York. He was reelected without intermission, and his parliamentary career may be thus briefly summarized: In the Forty-sixth Congress, on the Judiciary Committee, he entered frequently into debate, and defended the presence of United States marshals at elections in the South. In the Forty-seventh, as Chairman of the same committee, he was responsible for and carried through the bill distributing the balance of the Geneva award. In the Fortyeighth Congress his leadership of the Republican party in the House became more strongly marked, and in the Forty-ninth and Fiftieth it was permanently secured, more particularly in the conflicts on the subject of the tariff.

The nomination for the speakership, twice tendered him as a compliment by the Republican minority in the House, proved more than a barren honor on the assembling of the Fiftyfirst Congress, Dec 2, 1889, when, on the first ballot, he was chosen Speaker over the Democratic nominee, Hon. John G. Carlisle. Almost immediately Mr. Reed's determined attitude against the obstruction of public business by partisan methods resulted in an issue between him and his political opponents, which attained wide notoriety, and, it is believed, will largely influence legislation in the future. Pending the report of a committee appointed to draft new rules for the House, embodying contemplated reforms (of which committee Mr. Reed was

chairman), a contested election case brought up in the House Jan. 29, 1890, afforded the Speaker an opportunity to decide against the validity of the principle that a member of Congress who is personally present may, in order to prevent a quorum, refuse to vote, and therefore be accounted absent. Mr. Reed's insistance upon noting the presence of sufficient numbers and declaring that a quorum was present, notwithstanding the refusals to vote, according to his construction of the Constitution, gave rise to fierce opposition, and stormy and exciting debate ensued. The rulings of the Speaker were sustained in every instance, and the question was finally set at rest by the adoption, Feb. 14, 1890, of the new rules, Section 3 of Rule XV. providing that

On the demand of any member, or at the suggestion of the Speaker, the names of members sufficient to make a quorum in the hall of the House who do not vote, shall be noted by the Clerk and recorded in the Journal, and reported to the Speaker with the names of the members voting, and be counted and announced in determining the presence of a quorum to do busi

ness.

Among other reforms covered by the new rules, and advocated by Mr. Reed, the minority gave most serious challenge to that which provided that the Speaker might refuse to entertain motions that were evidently merely dilatory. In controlling the House, Mr. Reed displays executive ability of a high order. His power has not been acquired by the delivery of set speeches-but three of which lasting more than twenty minutes are on record-but lies rather in his brief, clear showing of an argument in debate, pointed often with wit or sarcasm. He has contributed articles to periodicals as follow: To the "North American Review" for January, 1888, “Our Outlying Province" Alaska, which he visited; to the same magazine for July, after the Democratic National Convention, "Democracy at St. Louis," and for October, The President's Letter," a consideration of Mr. Cleveland's letter of acceptance. The Rules of the House of Representatives" in the "Century" for March, 1889, was anticipatory of the course he has since pursued, and in Belford's Magazine" for October, 1889, he discussed the tariff, under the title of "A Protectionist's View of it." In the "North American Review" for March, 1890, he set forth his views and the authorities by which he held himself sustained in the position assumed by him on Jan. 30, regarding “The Limitations of the Speakership," an article presenting the antagonistic view, by ex-Speaker John G. Carlisle, being published in the same number.

REFORMED CHURCHES. I. Reformed Church in America.-The statistical reports made to the General Synod of 1889 give the following numbers in this Church; of classes, 35; of churches, 546; of ministers, 566; of families, 48.772; of communicants, 88,812; of baptisms during the year, 5,238 of infants and 1,268 of adults; of baptized non-communicants, 37,722; of persons enrolled in catechumen classes and Sunday-schools, 103,101; whole amount of contributions for religious and benevolent purposes, $282.052; of contributions for congregational purposes, $970,986.

The receipts of the Board of Domestic Missions

had been $54,294, of which $36,647 were in the Missionary Department, and $17,647 were on account of the Building fund. The Woman's Executive Committee had, in addition to this, collected and expended $4,764. The Missionary Department had a balance in hand, while the Building fund was in debt. One hundred and twenty churches and missions had been aided, comprising 95 pastors, 5,127 families, 7,420 members, and 10,269 members of Sunday-schools; while 626 members had been received on confession of faith. Ten new organizations had been added to the board's list, and five unorganized missions had been wholly or partly sustained during the year.

The Board of Publication had received $1,827 from the churches, and had carried on its busiformed Church," by Prof. David D. Demarest, ness at a small profit. The "History of the ReD. D., was about to appear. The Board of Education had received $19,162, of which $6,598 had been contributed by individuals, Sabbath-schools, and churches. Its permanent funds amounted to $41,665. Ninety-one students were under its The Widow's fund returned a principal of $76,225, and an annuity fund of $2,075. A comparison with the statements of previous years showed that while the principal was increasing at the rate of about $3,000 a year, the annuity fund was steadily decreasing. Annuitants had during the year received $4.626 from the fund. Eighty-seven ministers were subscribers to the fund.

care.

The principal of the Disabled Ministers' fund amounted to $53,775. The receipts for the year had been $9.984. Thirty-seven persons-ministers, ministers' widows, and ministers' childrenhad received aid from the fund. Returns made were of numerous Educational and Scholarship funds connected with the theological seminaries at New Brunswick, N. J., Holland, Mich., and Ascot, India, and Hope College, Mich. The whole amount of the funds as entered upon the balance sheet of the General Synod was $768,836.

The Board of Foreign Missions had received $131,962. From the mission fields in China, India, and Japan were returned 14 stations; 127 out-stations and preaching-places; 23 ordained missionaries; 3 unordained missionaries; 30 assistant missionaries: 26 native ordained ministers; 248 other native helpers; 51 churches, with 5,089 communicants; 762 members received on confession: 7 "male" and 6 "female" seminaries, with 630 pupils; 4 theological schools and classes, with 45 theological students; and 108 day schools, with 3,100 pupils. The contributions made by the native churches amounted to $8,058. The mission in Japan is represented in the Council of United Missions, the administrative organization of the United Church of Japan. This body is composed of the missions of the Reformed Church, the Northern and Southern Presbyterian Churches of the United States, and the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland, and includes 61 churches, 28 of which are self-supporting, with 80,690 members. Of these, about one third are believed to be connected with the missions of the Reformed Church. The Woman's Board of Foreign Missions had received $17,893.

The General Synod met in Catskill, N. Y., June 1. The Rev. Evert Van Slyke was elected pres

Disqualified voters shall be stricken from the list. A certificate of removal from any district is required before registering in a second district. If a voter's name has once been entered on the registry and then erased, he may swear it in on election day.

Missouri. The Constitution declares that the General Assembly shall provide by law for the registration of all voters in cities and counties having a population of more than 100,000 inhabitants, and may provide for such registration in cities having a popufation exceeding 25,000 inhabitants and not exceeding 100,000, but not otherwise. The law of 1883 applies to St. Louis and Kansas City as the only cities having the required population. It provides that recorders of voters shall be appointed by the Governor and be confirmed by the Senate for both cities, with a term of office of four years. Each recorder of voters may prescribe the manner of opening the books and he may decide the times upon which registry may be made. Every voter registering must take and subscribe the oath required of voters that he will support the Constitution of the United States and of the State of Missouri. The recorder of voters shall appoint a board of revision from different political parties, which shall meet with him to examine the lists and to make corrections. The city of St. Joseph comes under the registry law of 1881, which applics to counties containing cities of over 25,000 and fewer than 100,000 inhabitants.

Nebraska. The law of 1889 applies to metropolitan cities, or all having over 80,000 inhabitants, to firstclass cities having between 80,000 and 25,000, and to second-class cities having fewer than 25,000. Cities of the first class are allowed by ordinance to provide a registry and to prohibit all voters not registered from voting. Ordinances may be repealed or re-enacted or amended, but the registration of the last general election is valid for a special election. The mayor and council of any metropolitan, first-class city or second-class city of over 2,500 inhabitants, shall prepare registry books and include minute descriptions of the residences of the voters. There are three supervisors of registration, two of whom on State issues must be of different political opinion from their associates. A general registration shall be made in each election precinct of every city on the Tuesday of the fourth week, the Wednesday of the third week, the Thursday of the second week, and the Friday and Saturday of the first week preceding the day of the November election in each year. For every election held in any of the cities other than such as are above designated there shall be a revision of the general registration, which shall be made on the Friday and Saturday of the second week and on the Saturday of the first week preceding the day of such election. Unregistered votes may be accepted at the election on a sworn statement as to place of residence and qualification and the giving of good reasons for not appearing before the supervisors of registration on any day of registration. A name must be erased from the register in one precinct before it is registered

in another.

New Jersey. The law of 1876, as amended in 1883 and 1886, provided that there should be a registry in all cities of over 6,000 inhabitants; that where a city has fewer than 6,000, and lies adjacent to another city containing more than 6,000, the provisions of the act should also apply to the smaller city; and that the act should not apply to any municipality incorporated as a town. The judges and inspectors of election in the several wards or election districts of such cities constitute a board of registry. Such boards shall hold their first meeting for registry on Tuesday three weeks before a general State election, and they shall register voters who shall personally appear before them or shall be shown to have legally voted in the ward or district at the last general election or be shown to be legal voters therein. The board shall also meet on Thursday preceding the day of general election, for registering and correcting. The voter must appear in person before the board of registry, or else he must

satisfy it with a sworn statement as to his qualifications before his name can be entered upon the list. New York. The first registry law was passed in 1857. It applied to the whole State; but its operation was so unsatisfactory that it was soon repealed. In 1875 the Court of Appeals affirmed the constitutionality of the law of 1872; although the Constitution of the State is silent on the subject of registry. This law, somewhat amended, is in force to-day. It provides that in all cities except New York and Brooklyn, and in all incorporated villages of over 7,000 population by the last census, registry is required, but the voter is not required to appear in person. In all towns adjoining a city of 16,000 inhabitants, registry may be required on the petition of 25 electors. If no such petition is offered registration is not required. In other towns no provision for registration is made. In all the cities and towns, outside of New York and Brooklyn, the inspectors of election form boards of registry. They shall meet on Tuesday, five weeks previous to the general election, and they shall enter minute descriptions of the persons proposing to register. Personal application is not necessary, but the inspectors may copy from the roll of the last election and make such corrections as they think necessary. They shall meet again on the Tuesday of the week preceding the day of the general election, and they shall then revise their lists. Voters who can show that their names were on the preceding registry list may swear in their votes if their names have not been copied upon the list latest in use. A special law of 1882 applies to the city of New York. The mayor appoints a bureau of elections. The board of police prepares the books for registry. It is required that every voter desiring to register shall appear in person. The registry takes place on Tuesday of the fourth week, Wednesday of the third week, and Friday and Saturday of the second week preceding the day of the November election in each year. Another special law relates to the city of Brooklyn. The mayor appoints four persons to constitute a board of elections, which shall appoint registrars of electors. The registrars shall meet on the last Tuesday of September, on the second Tuesday of October, on the Tuesday two weeks before the day of the November election, and on the Thursday preceding the day of election. Every voter that desires to register must appear in person. In New York and Brooklyn voters are not allowed to swear in their votes on election day if their names have not been placed upon the registry.

ron.

Ohio. The registry law of 1885, applicable only to the cities of Cincinnati and Cleveland, was pronounced unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of the State, on the ground that the rights of the voters were restricted by the provisions allowing only seven days in the whole year for registry, thus depriving of their rights all voters who did not register in those seven days. In 1889 a law was passed applying the registry of voters to the following cities: Cincinnati, Cleveland, Toledo, Columbus, Dayton, Springfield, Hamilton, Sandusky, Steubenville, Newark, Youngstown, Zanesville, Mansfield, Chillicothe, Portsmouth, Canton, and AkThe law provides that the Governor shall appoint for each city of the first and second class a board of elections to consist of four electors, not more than two of whom shall be of the same political party. On or before the first day of September annually the board of elections shall appoint for each election precinct in its city two electors to act as registrars and also as judges of election. The two registrars for any precinct shall be not of the same political party. The days for the general registration of electors yearly shall be Thursday in the fourth week, Thursday in the third week, and Friday and Saturday in the second week, next before the day of the general election in November in each year. The secretary of the board of elections may register persons who will necessarily be absent during registration; and if the voter is more than fifty miles distant from the place of registration he may make affidavit that he is entitled to register, and mail it to the board of registry.