New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1858-01-27
TIE SING SING STATE PRISON

Courspondeuce 4 The n. y. Tubuas.
SIsG sing Jan. %. 1864.
The result Of the las, State election has len the caro-
of the Prison equally divided between the three exs.
ing political parties. The Auburn pr.on is nov -
charge of Inspector Rhodes Democrat. elected last
November. Clinton Prison ia assigned 10 Inspector
Russell, American while Inspector Bailey. Repabi-
can is in charge at Sing Sing. This even distributes
OF power il is to be hoped will be productive OF soms
special benefit 10 our three penal institutions at lea
during the reign of the triumvira,e. Only single
change has been made here since the beginning ofths
year. and that is the appointment of WIN. c. Howe.
editor of The Hudson Rire7 Chronicle TO the position
OF Sorekeeper in place Of Richsyd Lowe, removed.
The duties of the incumbent mainly consist In the in
specios OF all provisions Stores &C, purchased 70.
the use of the prison. touching their quality AMI
agreement with invoice.
At 10 previous period has there been 40 lsrges
number OF convi,s within the walls Of this institution
As now. There about go males, and ~ females.
The nomii al capacity of the cells of the main prison
il for 600 inmates but as the average number IN the
hospital ranges from ~ 10 80 few more than Q
thousand might be accommodated Some OF the celia
are untenantabe and will need repairing. II is prob
able that large accession to the stock hand will
be received during the next thirty days, chiefly nom
the Court of Sessions, Newiork, 80 that the estab-
lishment may be actually full TO overfowng BIZ
Spring and require additional cells.
Tie number of Convicts now unemployed Is not Ter
from 300. The prosraon Of business CO nsequent on
the panic of last Fall has been the Of this hav-
ing fed to the failure of contractors and the tenn
porary ss pension of Others All the contractors arc
in arrears for labor and have been unable TO pay Tor
the last two or three months The aggregate amount
due from them will hardly fall short OF fp,ooo The
accounts however are considered good as IN the lew
instances here contractors have failed their bonds VIII
cover the loss The course pursued by the inspectors
in giving credit 10 contractors was undoubtedly
wise one as had the latter been compelled to pay up
at the usual time, every one of them must have stop
ped long ago. 80 =.
During the present week the Inspectors will put ell
the idle convict labor into the market per advertise"
ment There is to let contract for making ,arpesr
one for making shoes one for stove FOUNDRY, snd
another for the manufacture Of wooden cloths Chas
Watson the hat contractor, resumed work to-day ont
not with full force. Previous to October last ne
employed l65 male and 80 female convicts.
Huntingdon of Wall street notoriety, IA sun actne
as bookkeeper for r. Woodruff, the furniture coo.
tractor and has now spent ayear here, having arrived
ON the "a of January, 1851. He is still careful OBJ.
server of prison rules and has gained rather than oes
the favor of the prison officials
ohauncey johnson, lately sentenced to o term 81
four years and three months, for taking part in the
5000 burglary at the corner OF Duane and Church
streets brought here last Friday, and will be put
into the hat shop, there to cut hat inings &c. lie
gives his age as 90, and has already served out two
terms of six years in the aggregate. When hero
last he occupied Huntingtons present position, and
is said To be very excellent accountant. Chaun-
cey's career since he left the prison last July has
been somewhat eventful He relates that ne was
offered situation in the furniture warehouse 'of
Messrs. Phelps, kngsland Co., partners oil Mr.
Woodruff, the contractor at Sing Sing and continued
with them for some little time, when he perceived
OF imagined that the firm distrusted him, from
knowledge of his previous professional character He
then resolved to leave them and proceeded 10 turn
his attention TO the liberal occupation Of taking other
peoples money. In the course OF a few months he
had obtained and spent about $1,000 nearly all Of
which he gambed away at faro being an infatuated
admirer of that game At the time Of his last unfor-
iuDate exploit he was dead broke, and though Q
"crac was out of his line, be agreed TO take part
in it from motives of necessity He expectedto mako
81 900 out Of the Job but instead Of finding himself in
funds found himself candidate for another turn st
hard labor in his old quarters. johnson IL said TO b.
afflicted with consumption, and is hardly likely to live
through his term OF confinement
At the last session Of the Legislature an act was
passed providing for the construction Of q highway
from point near the railroad station AZ Sing Sing To
the small village of Sparta, one mile south, and pass
ing through the Prison grounds Thomas Smuli,
Henry Austin, James Is. Swain and the Inspector ia
charge of the Prison, were named Commissioners To
locate the same. by this act Il il made the duty OF
the Agent and Warden of Sing Sing Prison to con-
struc the portion Of the road included within the prs
bounds, but no special appropriation was
made tor the purpose. At the instance OF
the Commissioners the Agent and Warden
time since inserted in his monthly estimate OF
Prison expenses submitted to the control OF the State,
a small sum intended to be applied to the commence
ment Of the highway. The Controller, however,
struck out the item, and there the matter ended One
OF the Commissioners VINO hOius property IN q
direction to be benefited by the highway in question.
u.s. il is said much dissatisfied with this turn OF things,
and will probably secure an amendment OF the act tho
present session, calculated to obviate the difficulty. It
Is stated that the Commissioners have laid out tho
highway in direction different from that contsm-
plated by the act, with a view to favor tbs
erection OF railroad Station-House at the village ~
of Sparta. II successful in this maneuver, the two
or three parties interested, probably hope to make the
Sparta above named land classic in NO other respect
but name the focus of railroad communication with
New-Yor for that vicinity, and reduce sang Sing TO
the level of sub-station.