Kenosha tribune & telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1856-1859, 1859-01-20

proper subject of such punishment b.
reason Of insanity, to cause the said in
sane person to beremoved and kept il
some safe and convenient asylum, eithe
i'll or out Of the State, where such in
sane person might receive proper med
ical treatment until he should be re
stored to reason or his term of impris
onment had expired" uC ra.
The second section authorized tn
appointment of commission of tire,
licensed practicing physicians to en-
quire at the State Prison into the fac
of the insanity of any prisoner. II
pursuance of the aforementioned act
on notice from the State Prison Com
missioner, [ appointed commission O
three licensed practising physicians t.
make inquiry Of the fact of the insanity
of two prisoners, and report was mad,
showing that two prisoners were in
sane.
There being no suitable place in thii
State for the confinement or treatment
of such prisoners, I made earnest effort.
with the Superintendent and officers
Of large number of Insane AsyIums
of other States, but have been unable
to procure any place for such prisoners
The uniform objection has been, thai
while they received and treated insane
persons from other States in ordinary
cases, yet they could not consent to re
ceiye insane criminals. I have been
unable to provide for their keeping and
treatment as contemplated by the act.
STATE PRISON.
Tho very full and able report of the
State Prison Commissioner will also be
soon laid before you.
The number of convicts in the Prison Jan. LIST,
1858 &c
Received dnring the year 1858 b. s..r l27
Total No in prison during the year, 2s7
No. discharged on expiratioa of sentence, 81
No.pardoned, Ii
Discharged on writ CT Bapoas Corpus, !
Deaths, .E
No. in prison Jan. LIST, 1859, 20s
The appropriation necessary for past Indebtedness:
is stated at 81, 88S, 05
And for current expenses for the
year 1859 10000 90
The recommendations and sugges.
tons of the Commissioners are entitled
to grave consideration. They look fel
the reformation of a very numerous, vi
cious, and the unfortunate class of men
The prison has been kept in good order
and its affairs conducted in a manner
creditable to the Commissioner and his
assistants. Provisions should be made
at once for building a stone wall around
the Prison yard. The prisoners should
be, and must be, constantly employed
and all the heavy labor of building the
prison wall could beperfonmed by them
The expense of the necessary guards
for the prison in its present exposed
condition, with only a weak wooden
fence around it, for five years would
pay for the necessary outlay for the
erection of the necessary Prison walls.
There is no economy in the State in de-
laying improvements so necessary.
SURVEY OF SWAMP LANDS.
The Governor was authorized to
cause to be surveyed the islands in the
Mississippi and Wisconsin Rivers, and
the unsurveyed lands adjacent thereto,
and the island,i any of the rivers, lakes
or bays, and the swamp and oyertiowed
lands adjacent thereto, not before sur
veyed, within the jurisdiction Of and
belonging to this State, granted by an
act of Congress, approved 28th Septem-
Der, A. A. 1850. Such surveys have
been commenced and prosecuted to
some extent. But question arose be-
tween the Land Department and the
State about the right of the State
to any swamp and overlooked
lands, except such as were designated
as swamp lands and entered on the
plats Of the Land Office upon the re-
turns of the Government surveys. Gov
ernor Dewey selected the lands under
the act of 1850, from the plats and sur
veys. All the swamp and overfowed
lands in the State had not been returned
and plated, so that by this process Of
selection large amount of such lands
might be lost to the State. I visite
Washington during the past season up.
on this and other business, and in an
interview with the Secretary Of the In.
teerior, discussed fully the question Of
the rights of the State. [ insisted that
by the act of 1850, the State was emit.
tied to all the unsold swamp and over.
flowed lands in the State at the time OF
the passage of the act, and that the de.
partment could prescribe no arbitrary
rules for selecting those lands, which
would or could deprive the State of any
portion of them, and that the fact that
Governor Dewey had made his selection
from the plats, instead of employing
agents to examine ndreport the amount
of snch lands, to which the State was
entitled, could not conclude the State
as was suggested by the Land Depart
ment. The rights of tina State were
finally, virtually conceded as | claimed
though the Secretary desired carefully
to consider the subject. I have nc
doubt but our claim will be fully allow
ed, and l am satisfied from the partia
surveys and examinations already made
that the State viii recover nearly one
millions acres of land more than twas
selected from the plats.
1t is necessary, however, if it is in
tended that the necessary examination
and surveys are to be further extended
to provide some means Of paying thu
expenses as they accrue. The Law
might be amended to authorize the pay
ment out of the General Fund, whe1
there is no money in the Treasury be
longing to the Swamp Land Fund, to b.
reimbursed from the Swamp Land FunC
as sales are made.
FIVE PER CENT FUND.
The FIVE per centum of the net plo
ceeds of the sales of public lands in tn
State, is still Withheld by the Genera
Government. employed the Secretar.
of State to visit w ashington and Ell
deavor to secure the payment of tn