The American patriot. (Clinton, La.) 1854-1???, 1855-03-07
THE PENITENT1ARY.

the lessee shall be elected by joint ballot Of the
General Assembly, at its present session, and
every five years thereafter, for the term Of five
years, commencing on the LIST of May next /;
that said lessee shall pay the State the annual
rent of screen thousand dozlars-that he shall
keep register in which shall be entered the
names of all convicts, with the date Of their
imprisonment, and the date Of their discharge
or death, also a record of all punshments,
and furnish the same monthly to the Board Of
Control, which record shall be open to the in
spection of the public. The bill further pro-
vidcs that the Board Of Control shall consist
of five persons, freeholders and citizens, to be
appointed by the Governor, with the advice
and consent of the Senate, who shall have a
general superintendent of the Penitentiary
and report to the Governor, at least once a
year, the condition Of the institution-that the
lessee shall have the power to appoint annually
one physician, whose salary shall be six hun
dred dollars--three chaplains at a salary Of
one hundred dollars each, and all other officers,
except the Board of Control, otherwise pro-
vided for in the act. 1t is further provided
that the convicts shall be employed in the man.
ufacture of cotton and wooden goods, bagging
and rope, coarse negro shoes and bricks, rail-
road cars, wagons, carts, wheelbarrows,
plows, barrels, hogsheads, and such wrought
iron and wood work as may be needed to &C.
company castings"
In addition to the various provisions as
above set forth, would it not have been in
keeping with the business in hand, to have
provided also that the present lessees, who
institution according to their own showing,
should be reelected; for, from the first bud
ding of the subject to its present maturity, we
have been led into the belief that the influ-
ences which certainly would be brought about
would accomplish such result.
And what strange circumstances have trans
pired in connection with the deliberations
on the subject before the Legislature AT one
time and previous to the passage Of this act,
we see responsible party approaching the
Legislature, and making public announce
ment within the walls of the Senate chamber,
that he is disposed to assume the control Of
the Penitentiary, and pay the State for the
same the sum of $4,000 per annum. At
another time we behold the passage of act
requiring only $1,000 per annum from the
lessee of the institution. A wise system of
financiering is thus prcsented-to be admired
by all who may choose to do So
As to whether the Governor will veto the
act or not remains to be SEEN
LATER FROM FLoR1DA.--The Mobile Tribune
! of the oath publishes a letter from Warrington,
dated the 23d, in which it states: sit is pri-
vately rumored about town to day that large
body of men are concentrating at the east end
of st. Rosa Island supposed to be portion of
the Kinney expedition or fillibusters. Rumor
says that the four steamers lately arrived here
have something to do with the transportation
of this large force. A better location could not
have been selected f.I
A few days ago the sword of General Jack
son used at New Orleans, passed through Chat
tanooga, Tenn, en- route for the national arch
ives at Washington. 1t was broken in two
pieces.
1t is said that Minister Dodge has engaged
Professor Dmitry, of New Orleans, to go to
Madrid aud speak Spanish for him as Secretary
of Legation.
THE NT-GENERALsHIP.-An intel
ligent correspondent of the National Intelli-
gencer says:
General Washington was not expected by
any member OF Congress, to accept (as he did,
the Lieutenant Generally; but when it was
found that he could be brought back into the
public service, Congress was in haste to revive
his old revolutionary rank, GENERAL or ,tull
General, and the Lieutenoncy was abolished,
at the instance of President Adams, to prevent
the promotion of the next in rank (Hamilton)
thereto, The quarrel had commenced some
time before"
The Intelligcncer remarks upon the above as
follows:
1t thus appears that the rank of Lieutenant
General was grade between the rank Gene
Acknowledgements revolutionary rank -and
the grade Major General; so that we have
had in our army (and militia too we belicve,)
every rank but that of Fed Marshall
1t would be an interesting incident if the
commission of Gen. Scott as Lieutenant gen.
cral Of the Army of the United States should
bear date on the 22d of February. The hon.
or being one which only the father of his coun-
try held, it would be most appropriately con-
ferred on the birthday of the great chieftain
It is an occasion which draws out our fine mil
itary companies, and they would feel pecu-
liar pleasure in salnting the Gcncra-in- Chief
on the day of his welldescrvcd promotion