[21]
exceeded five dollars to each inhabitant; in Washington, six; in Somerville, seven; in West Cambridge (Arlington), eight; in Leyden, nine; in Longmeadow, ten; and in Belmont, ten.1
The Legislative Report, from which the above extracts are taken, gives the war expenses incurred by the
Commonwealth up to January, 1866.
Since then they have been increased nearly two millions and a half of dollars, chiefly by the continuance of the payment of State aid to soldiers and their families, and the payment of outstanding bounties; so that the total amount of expenditure by the
Commonwealth on account of the war to the 1st of January, 1871, was upwards of thirty-two millions of dollars, or, in exact figures, $32,039,545.20. In the mean time it has been decreased to $16,573,244.00, for the redemption and payment of which the following sinking funds are pledged:—
| Union Loan Sinking Fund | 3,600,000.00 |
| Bounty Loan Sinking Fund | 2,399,980.35 |
| War Loan Sinking Fund | 1,835,803.66 |
| Coast Defence Loan Sinking Fund | 425,690.79 |
| ————-- |
| Total | $8,261,474.80 |
| ————-- |
The extinguishment of the war debt of
Massachusetts is therefore in a fair way of being accomplished in a very few years; and judging from the rapid decrease of the war debt of the cities and towns by taxation during the two years immediately succeeding the war, and the establishment by the largest places of sinking funds, very many of them have already (June, 1871) paid off all the indebtedness which they incurred on account of the war.
We are not aware that the amount paid for bounties in
Massachusetts is larger, or even so large, as was paid in the other
New-England States, or in the
Middle and Western States; but this we know, that, while the volunteer system was the rule
