Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1854-01-05
AN IMPORTANT BILL.

The bill introduced in the Senate on Thursday
by Gen FARouHARsoN and ordered to be printed,
ito provide ajail and penitentiary house for the
State Of Tennessee provides that new Jail and
Penitentiary shall be erected at some point as near
the centre of the State as may be, where iron ore
and coal shall be most abundant and convenient,
and near some railroad or water course navsable
for steamboats,. -
"To raise fund for the erection of the Peniten-
tiary, the Governor is authorized to issue TO the
Bank of Tennessee six per cent State bonds, not
exceeding two hundred thousand dollars which are
to be given in exchange for the ike amount of the
township school land fund, now on deposit with
the Bank of Tennessee, at an interest of six per
cent. -r-. ~.
when the buildings shall be in state of adj
vsncement sufficient for the safe-keepng convcts
such number Of the convicts as can be advantage
ousy employed may be transferred from the old to
the new Penitentiary, to aid in its completion and
the erection Of the necessary machinery &C.
when the institution is completed the whole
of the convcts are to be transferred TO it, and kept
at hard labor in the manufacture Of iron suitable
for railroads, net as mechanics but in doing such
labor as slaves usually perform in coal mines or
iron manufactures. The agentto be authorized to
exempt females and feebled bodied convicts from
such labor Bat no article except Railroad iron
shall be manufactured therein except such shall
be intended for the use of the conycts for cloth
ing dc. @ <rET. (FEt-s
The bill provides for the purchase of coal and
iron or mineral lands sufficient for the purpose,
and the erection of FORCES engines and all necessa-
~ machinery for the manufacture of Railroad iron,
chairs spikes, &C. and authorizes all railroad COM
panes who have or may hereafter receive the bonds
of the State to receive railroad iron from the Pen
itentiary, of the description they may order, and
10 any amount they may have State bonds TO pay
for La fixes the price to be charged for iron at
less than the market price for such iron delivered
in Tennessee and as further inducenent to COM
panes holding the States bonds, to purchase their
iron at home, the bill gives them further time to
Spay the interest accrung the bonds that may be
owned by the Penitentiary, and when the Peniten-
tiary shall have become the owner of a sufficient
amount of tie bonds of the State two hundred
thousand dollars they to be substituted for the
bonds of the State issued for the erection of the
Penitentiary, &C. and the latter bonds delivered
up and cancelled"
The objects which Gen. FARqUHARSoN- seems to
have had in view in drawing up this BILL are to di-
vert the labor of the convicts into channel which
shall not compete with mechanical labor; to devel-
ope the resources Of the State; and TO retain
within the State large sums of money expended
for the railroads about to be built here These are
important and worthy considerations; and, if the
Legislature believe the bill in question viii accom-
plsh them without serious pecunaTy loss it ought
to pass it The idea strikes us favorably at first
glance.