Washington telegraph., 1852-12-08

J j
! The Interest of the State seems to require
that these lands should be selected without
further delay. l therefore recommend that
a law be passed, authorizing the Governor to
have all such lands, to which the State may
be entitled, selected and that provision be
made to defray the attendant expense. I
recommend that law be passed to ausAor-
ize the Land Agent to sell the 500 900 acre,
the Seminary and such of the Saline lands
as shall not be inclued in the $40 acre re-
servation embracing each Salt Spring, in
forty acre lots, should purchasers SO desire
to take them.
I recommend that the Secretary of State
be made er-o6fcao superintendent of the
common schools Of the State: and that the
act emitted ian Act to amend the common
school system in the State of Arkansas" ap-
proved JAM llth, 1851, and other laws up
on the subject, be amended so that the super
intendant shall have power, and be required
to obtainfrom all the counties in the State,
reports showing the true condition and the
whole amount of the common school fund
in each county, from what sources derived,
and the amount derived from each source,
also, all other information relative to the
common school system, which may be
deemed of practical Importance that the
superintendent be required to make full
and detailed report thereof, to the Gen
eral Assembly, at the commencement of
each regular session. SO that it may have all
necessary information in its possession, to en-
able it to legislate understandingly. The
superintendent should have power, and be
required to prescribe forms, for returns to
be made to him. He should be vested with
all other powers to enable him to give eff
cheney and vitality to the workings of the
system, which now seems to be in a state of
torpor.
With regard to the Penitentiary I re-
commend that section two Of the act ap-
approved January 11th. 1851, be for the
present suspended, and that the act be in
other respects amended, SO that the Inspec-
tors shall have authority to make contract
for the performance of all the work desig-
mated by the act, except the buildings pro-
vided for in section two; and that an
appropriation, amply sufficient to pay for
the same, be made, and payable to the con-
tractor. from time to time, as the work pro-
gresses and that he be entitled to full pay
ment whenever he shall have completed the
work in accordance with the contract.
On the first day of March, 1851, in ac-
cordance with provision 20 of the appropria-
tion act, of the l1th of January, 1851, the
Auditor issued warrant in favor of the in
ternal improvement fund for S33 ,344 IL,
which warrant has not yet been fully paid.
l recommend that the provision of law, under
which the warrant was issued, be amended
SO that the amount, which shall be applied to
redeem this warrant, be specially appropriat-
ed to pay the contractor, who may undertake
to do the work about the Penitentiary, and
that the State pay to the internal improve
ment fund interest on the amount until re-
paid. Should this suggestion be adopted
the contractor could be paid in par funds
and having that assurance, he would under
take the work for much less than he would,
if paid in deprecated State scrip. The
State is now paying about $500 month for
keeping the convicts, and the only way
to avoid such expense, and render the
prison secure, is, to have the work recon-
mended completed; then the Penitentiary
could be leased to advantage.
The present keeper has voluntarily per-
formed some work about the Penitentiarv,
deemed essential for the safe-keeping and
health of the convicts, and has rendered a
bill therefor. amounting to S2l8 06, which
[ transmit for your examination, SO that an
appropriation may be made to pay what you
may allow him, as there seems to have been
no special contract.
The title to the property referred to by
an act entitled IAN act making appropria-
tons to pay costs in the case OF Robson
Lytle and others against the State of Arkan-
sas and Others" approved December 30th,
1850, is still in litigation. This property
includes the eastern part Of the city of Little
Rock, and as the State is deeply interested
in maintaining the titles made by the Co.
vernon of the late Territory OF Arkansas to
individuals, for this property, recommend
that an appropriation be made to defray the
expenses, which have been, and may, from
time to time, be incurred in taking deposi-
tions, and in doing all other necessary things
for the proper management of the case.
The property involved is so valuable that
the State should have the suit strictly attend
ed to by the ablest counsel.
A suit is also pending, in which the title
to the banking house and lots Of the State
Bank, in this city, is involved. If these
cases should be properly attended to, | con-
fdently believe that the State will secure
the property. and avoid the loss of, at least,
a hundred thousand dollars worth of proper
ty; therefore recommend that liberal ap-
preparation be made for the compensation of
able and efficient counsel to attend to these
two cases; and also, to another suit, which l
understand, has been brought against the
State, by the late contractor of the Peniten-