Arizona weekly miner., 1877-01-05

urer, October lst, 1875. Immediately thcr
 after the Board of Prison Commissioner,
 advertised in three newspapers in the Ter
 ritory for bids for the purchase of the bonds
 fixing the minimum price at which they
 would be sold, at SJ cents on the dollar
 X. Luther, of San Francisco. presented the
 only bid, and they were awarded Co him, al s5.l6 cents, which ncttcd S2l ,26j.G9. Thi,
 sale was made in November, 1875 and
 thereafter the Commissioners canyasScd the
 work of constructing the Territorial Prison For detailed information of its construction
 and an itemized account of it's cost; refer to the report of the Commissioner, copies ot
 which will be laid before you. lt will
 seem from this report, that two stone cells ] have been completed; also, good adobe ] building containing two prison rooms with | barred doors and windows, and it is estima- ! ted that sufficient room has been prepared l to safely keep thirty prisoners. In addi- ' ton to the above rooms. others have also [ been construCtcd-a kitchen, dining-room. hall, room for guards a room for the su- perintendent, and an office. \ good en- l zine and boiler and 495 feet af pipe have been purchased, \ reservoir for the supply
 of water to the prison has been constructed,
 also a blacksmith shop, which is furnished
 with punch, derrick and shears for hoist ing goods and stone The walls are
 built upon a solid stone foundation, and
 are ! feet 6 inches in thickness at the ioun-
 dation, and feet at the first floor. In fact
 the whole work seems to have been done in
 the most substantiai manner. and the prison
 is considered by those who have examined
 il as secure n place for the confinement of
 prisoners as can be found in most of the
 older States am pleased to be able to
 state that the money appropriated for Ihe
 construction of the prison has been cNpend-
 ed in an economical manner, and for the
 best intcrsets of the Territory, and l con
 sider the thanks of the people are due tn
 the Commissioners for their services, which
 they have given without pecuniary reward.
 The Commissioners, in their report. ask for
 a further appropriation at your hand. of
 S2O, 900, and of the necessity of this appro-
 priation at this time, you must judge. Ii
 you believe the room will bc sufficient for
 the accommodation of the prisoners tha,
 may reasonably be expected in the coming
 three years, then this expense shall toe saved
 the people at the present time. On the
 contrary, if 1t is thought that the room will
 prove inadequate. then 1t will clearly he
 AF N4 To have good ortler and give security O. life and property. it iS absolutely necessary to punish crime with reasonable certainty. and the completion of this prison affords the first safe place for the confinement ot crimi- nals since the organization of the Territory, and its importance should commend vour mature thought and judgement Every thing necessary should be provided to make the prison secure and of ample capacity to accommodate all criminals. l. should be placed upon the most reasonable basis pos sible. Preparations should DC made Co give the inmates employment, and as far as pos sible make themselves sclf-sustaining, and due care should be given 10 their moral ref 1 ormation. l received Q report from the Commissioners, dated October 2d, 1876. ! copies of which will be laid before you. con l taining statement of the condition !, and management of the prisoners. which | shows that there has been received into the 4 prison eight prisoners, one of whom has ! been discharged, leaving seven at this time {. in confinement. The prisoners have been | employed m assisting in the construction of | the building. The Report show, the total | expense of guarding and maintaining the | inmates, from May lSt, lS.j, to June 30th, 1876, tO have been sS .922 Sa, and the future expense is estimated at SID pcr month. The expenses, no doubt have been large in and systims:izing the manage nent of the Penitentiary, in proportion to
 he number of persons cared for than will Dc required in the future, in fact, it rc- Iuires about thesam expense for employees o guard one prisoner that it will require to ,uard thirty. l am sure that 1t demands he services of truSiy men Co perform these | iuties, and although the prices paid fer abor have in some instances seemed in ex-
 ess of those paid for like services elsewhere. let presume, under the circumstances. the used discression in the prem scs. The law to provide for the erection
 f Territorial prison and for the confne- nent of prisoners therein shouid be amend
 d in several particulars. The mode of lecting the prison Commissioners by the Dint convention of the two Houses k clearly n violation of the Organic Act Section < f said Act provides That all Township. District and County officers not herein therwise provided for shall be appointed r elected, as the case may bc, in such man CT as shall he provided by the Governor ( nd the Legislative Assembly of the Ter tory 7o: New Mexico. The Governor , iould nominate and by and with the con , cnt of the Legislative Council appoint all i ficers not herein otherwise provided for" he office of Commissioner is neither a district, nor county office, there ,re the appointment must be made by the { overnOr, by and with the consent of the [ legislative Council No checks have been { rovided to prevent extrayagant expendi- q tres on the part of the Commissioners. So f, IT as the present management is concerned, :. believe they have honestly and faithfully :. ldeavored to perform their duties; but T lOuld Board be selected who had more t gard for their private interests than for V e welfare of the Territory, as might be l e case. great injury and expense might en- q e before any' power could prevent. I Q ould therefore recommend that the power
 , vested in some office to examine and
 ldit the expenses incurred by the Commis-
 Dners before they arc paid. Under the q escnt law the Commissioners are not re- V nred to report to any ohe. They should e
 required to report annually to the Gov al nor, copies of which reports should be b i'd before each Legislature The present rt W appears to make it mandatory upon the ot to pay the Superintendent q 90 per month and it has so been con- of ued by them. It should read. "that a " ary of not exceeding slO0 per month be 1T Id. There is bill now pending in Con oi