Morning journal and courier., 1881-01-06

directors seem cogent and well founded, and
 should receive yonr serious attention. | cannot omit favorable mention of the Connecticut Prison association, which admin
 lsters State charity and performs an impor- | tant work successfully and economically ] Their reports will show what results have rewarded their efforts. They merit and should
 receive from the State such aid as their mod
 crate necessities require.
 l STATE REFORM SCHOOL
 1 The State Reform School under the direc-
 tion and approval of the Board of Trustees 1 and with the hearty cooperation of the su- l per1ntendent, is entering upon a new system l of management-a system tending to make l the school true reformatory, and not a | Jun1or department of the State prison. With
 the aid granted by the last Legislature the family system has been successfully begun Judging from the accounts of both the trus- tees and the superintendent, it promises fruitful results in all the departments The
 number of inmates in the school is somewhat | increased, there being now present three hun dred and seven. One hundred and forty l eight have been received during the year, and l one hundred and nine discharged The prog
 ress in general has been very satisfactory and
 this institution was probably never in better
 condition What it's present needs are you Will ind fully set forth in the papers which
 the management will present to you. hope
 that you will grant all the material aid which may be reasonably needed to make the | change Tn the management complete and ef- l fectual- An experiment of this kind Gf, in | the light of the result of the family system in l other similar establishments, it can be called | an experiment) should not be allowed to fail for want of sympathy and pecuniary support from the State.
 HOSPITAL FOR THE INSANE.
 At the last session of the Legislature large appropriation was made for the Hospital for the Insane at Middletown. The purpose of
 this grant was to afford additional accommo-
 dation to the extent of nearly doubling the capacity of the hospital. The new build ings have been planned and begun As yet only part of the appropriation has been called for, and there remains tnexpended the
 sum of sixty-eight thousand dollars The year at this retreat has been busy and suc-
 cessful one. The various departments have been very full. Beginning the year with 61O patients, it closes with 528 During the
 year the entire number of those treated has
 been 6G4. As the Asylum has regular &C.,
 commodations for only 45O, it will be seen
 that it's capacity has been overtaxed. How
 exclusively this is a charitable institution is
 shown by the fact that of the 528 patients
 present at the close of the year, 526 were en-
 tirely supported by the State or by the towns
 from which they were sent. No large ap-
 propriation is asked this year. but your at-
 tention will be called to the need for better
 provisions for escape in case of fire. The re- cent disastrous results of fire in a western
 asylum of this character is a timely warning
 THE INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL. FOR GIRLS.
 The Industrial School for Girls completes the eleventh year of it's existence It has re- ceived during this time in all four hundred and thirty girls from eighty-seven towns This year it has received seventy-one has placed in positions of usefulness, or has dis charged, fifty-three, and reports as in the
 school on the 1st of December last one un- dred and sixty. Seventy-five per cent of r1C xvh unv,k o,1fo o&A <,oI gave evidences of permanent reformation The board of directors express themselves pleased with the condition of the school and think that it's usefulness and success have
 been steadily increasing A new building is in process of erection for the older girls. and
 you will be asked for farther help for its l completion, and for furnishing the school with sufficient supply of water, of which
 they are sorely in need.
 THE SCHOOL. FOR 1MBEc1LEs
 The School for Imbeciles at Lakeville con- tinues to demonstrate it's usefulness and the propriety of its establishment. It has this year cared for ninety three pupils, of whom forty seven have been State benefciaries The expense to the State has been &, ,96O. ST, while the entire cost of the school has been $15, 799.91, the balance being paid by the | friends of the other pupils. It has also in cognate department, cared for several harm less Iunatlcs, of whom part have been paid for by the State at cost of $534 The char l ity is deserving of the bounty which it has | hitherto received from the State government. CoNsTITUT1vNAL AMENDMENT AND PROPOSED LAW.
 Since the adjournment of the General As- sembly of 1880, the constitutional amend | ment changing the manner of appointing Judges of the Supreme and Superior Courts has been ratified by the vote of the people, l and has thus become part of our funda- l mental law.
 From the last Legislature you have sent down to you two bills, one concerning in- toxicating liquors, the other establishing a State commission for the designation of oys-
 ter grounds. Both of these will doubtless be ! brought to your early consideration. I have no recommendation to make regarding either A commission, consisting of the Governors | of the thirteen original States, has made ar- | engagements for the national celebration of l the centennial anniversary of the surrender of Yorktown, to take place next autumn and you will be asked, during this session, for
 such action as will enable Connecticut as a ! State to take part in the festival The papers
 relating to this subject, and the details in re-
 gard to appropriations, etc., will be submit
 ted to you at an early day.
 THE REPORT OF THE TAX COMMISSION, Under an act passed last year special commission, consisting of the Treasurer Comptroller, Secretary of State and Commis- sion of the School Fund, was appointed by the Governor to inquire into the condition
 and workings of the tax laws of the State
 and to report to the Governor, for the h. formation of the General Assembly, what
 changes, if any, should be made in such laws.
 This report will soon be before you The char
 acter of the inquiry intended was in truth
 such that 1t could not be fully carried out in
 one year by State officers upon whom other
 duties devolved, and the commission have re-
 alized this difficulty and have made no re-
 port of any general plan of change. They
 do, however, touch upon the leading topics to be discussed in an examination of our tax laws.
 Prominent among these, and in my opin- 1 ion demanding very serious consideration is | that of the taxation of the deposits of sav- | ings banks. It is unnecessary to state the l principle that double taxation is both unjust | and unwise. It is an act of oppression, and 1 when the wide interest of the Common wealth is considered it is mistake. But it is | difficult to see how it is not constantly re- l sorted to in our State method of taxation, and that, too, upon large scale. We tax the depositors of the savings banks in gross Now the greater proportion of these deposits is not in the hands of the bank as property, but it's place is taken by evidences of indebt- it's repayment. The land upon which the loan of these deposits is secured is taxed in the hands of the owner, who is also the bor- rower; but this land represents the deposits. It results then, that the man who is able to loan his money upon savings bank security without the aid of the bank pays no tax up on his evidences of indebtedness; but the poorer or more ignorant man. and the more helpless and less experienced woman or child, who have to employ the bank to loan their money upon the same kind of security, have this tax to pay. Iknow it is an easy tax to collect; know it is honored by time and custom; but ask you to examine the items of receipts of the State as given by the Treasurer, and determine if, all things con- sidered, it is fairly proportionate tax and also if, in view of the other kinds of wealth which are or may be subject to tribute, it is wise to lay so large a direct tax upon the weakest portion of our people.
 Another subject in this connection is that of the taxation of the mutual insurance com panies of the State. You will observe, by the report of the Tax Commission that these institutions which have been highly credit able to our State. and whose contributions to State expenses have been very large, earnest ly ask the Legislature for some relief from the burden which they insist has been so great as seriously to interfere with their suc- cessful competition with the companies of other States The facts which they pre- sent, and the reasons for their request, ap- pear in the report of the commission I