The Press., 1889-01-10
THE RAINFALL OF 1888.

Some of the newspapers have charac- terized the weather of 1888 as the years most remarkable feature; and they may be right. The weather seemed to be eout of joint" from the time of the March bliz- gard to very near the winter solstice, when change came, and instead of cold and wet, we have been treated to half a month of exceptionally mild and mostly very sunny days. The rains, which began about mid September and set ill for regularly "rainy season, :" keeping up till the 18th of December, produced an exceptionally large aggregate for the years rainfall. At the New Haven Signal Station it was 60. 26 This is more than foot above the usual average for Connecticut. In Providence the aggregate was 631 inches. The aver age for Connecticut must be estimated but it must have been about 62 inches On the 21st of August nearly six inches of rain fell in one shower in New Haven.
 The average rainfall for Connecticut is forty-four inches. To exceed this by foot and half is new experience and it means vaster flood of water from the clouds than any of us would be likely to imagine. Think of a depth of over five feet of water covering an area of over five thousand square miles And that, for Con- necticut only. If one adds to this three or four times as much more territory, quite as deeply covered, he would then get by no means all of New England which was but small part of the actual territory which received such good watering in 1888.
 And all this unimaginable quantity of water drawn up (some of 1t more than once) out of the sea by the invisible forces of the sun !-Hartord Times.
 A GREAT CENTENARY.-Lti is one hundrt d years ago that the United States began the experiment of popular government. In February, 1789, the first electoral college met, consisting of sixty nine electors, who cast their votes unanimously for George Washington, and thirty -four votes for John Adams, thus selecting them as our first president and vice president. The oath of office was administered to Washington by Chancellor Livingston, at Federal Hall, " New York city, the 3Oth of April. At the first session of the national con- gress under the constitution, it enacted its first tariff law on the 4th of July. This act discriminated in favor of American ves- sells and initiated the doctrine of American protection to our shipping. Congress also declared that the object of levying duties on imported merchandise was to collect moneys to pay United States debts and to 'encourage our own manufactures" The first cabinet consisted of Thomas Jefferson, secretary of foreign affairs. Alexander Ham ilton in the treasury, and General Henry Knox in the war department John Jay of New York was made chief justice of the supreme court. On the 22d of September congress passed bill for the temporary establishm ant of post off e depar' ment, and Samuel Osgood was made first postmaster general. la the same month Edmund Randolph was made the first at- torney- general. The first cabinet had two members from Virginia, two from New York, and one from the Maine portion of Massachusetts. Preparations for the cele- bration of this great centenary are under way in many of the states. Connecticut, as one of the thirteen original colonies, should not be backward in taking hold of this celebration.
 Hartford Times : If the president really believes that the manufacturers of thls country, or any considerable number of them, are monopolists, he is mistaken.
 The people are not robbed, they are not injured, by just protection to our manu- featuring interests. They are made more prosperous. The statesmen who oppose pro!e ,tion as principle, are led astray by fine theory based on. certain abstract principles or policies The advantages of doing the work here more than compen. sate all of the people, for the advance in the price of flannel blanket or suit of clothes, or blow Or printing press.
 Boston Herald MT. Labouchere says there are at present over a million girls in England who are unable to secure hus- bands. They can fairly ascribe their sad predicament to the superior attractiveness of the American girls, and the deuce Of ii is that this is only just beginning to be appreciated by Englishmen. It is time for the English girls to retaliate by mak- ing raid on the great army of American bachelors.
 The law which provides for the execu- tion of condemned murderers by electrici- ty, in New York state, is singularly incom- plete. It stipulates that the victim shall die by electricity, but no further provision has teen made. A sheriff may take the condemned into field and have him struck by lightning, or he can give hlm an end of broken circuit to hold. The Electrical Review is of the opinion that Electricity is not suited for such work" evidently de- string to retain the fluid for nobler uses. "a / / M A