The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1883-04-26

requested TO apply without delay.
Address, B. Nj. BAKER,
Secretary Board of Education.
The comptroller yesterday deposit
ed over fifteen thousand dollars in
the state treasury to the credit of
general revenue, from collections of
1882. Besides this, he has collectors
warrants amounting to 1927, 1927, for
which the warrant clerk, Mr.. r. w.
Finley, has not had time to issue de-
posit warrants.
The comptroller also deposited to the
credit of the sinking fund of the Sher-
man city bonds $5O96, $17O6 to the sink
ing fund of the Harrison county
bonds, and $1,000 to the sinking fund
of the Anderson county bonds.
Yesterday being the last day al
lowed by law for the redemption of
lands bought in by the state for taxes.
a large number of parties who had
forfeited their lands, deposited the
amount of taxes and costs with the
comptroller, so as to redeem their
lands. They will hereafter receive
their redemption certificates from the
collectors of the counties in which
their lands lie.
The county attorney of Brazos
county writes to the attorney general
to know if a clerk in store can be
convicted under existing laws OF sell
ling goods on Sunday. The attorney
general answers that they cannot; but
that the penal code in regard to this
has been so amended by the last
legislature that, after the eX-
piration of the constitutional
ninety days after adjournment,
anyone, clerk or employee, can be
convicted for so violating the Sunday
| law.
The following letter from the at
torney general will be found of in
terest to every man in Texas between
the ages of eighteen and forty-five
years, and we give it in full. II will
explain the nature Of the question
| asked:
Article 4405 revised statutes makes
| it the duty of male persons be-
tween the ages of eighteen and forty
five years to work on public roads,
| except ministers of the gospel and
invalids and members of voluntary
guard companies. Just what charac-
ter of inability was intended to be in
Guided in the word invalid is diff
cult to say. But, in my opinion, it
should include all persons unable to
perform manual labor, whether disa-
bility be permanent or temporary.
And the overseer or person called on
to work the road is better judge as
to whether a person is able to per-
form such work than l.
"JOHN ID. TEMPLETON,
Attorney General"
Messrs. Maddox Bros. g. Anderson,
of this city, paid into the state treas
ry the sum of $17,7S8.55, balance due
on fifty-cent lands surveyed before
the repeal of the law.
All the banks and all the state de-
partments will be closed to-day, it
being legal holiday.
The large number of letters being
received at the post Office. inquiring
about the status of the public lands,
indicates that Tex as lands are not
dregs in the commercial cauldron of
the world. The letters are from every
part of the world.
The penitentiary board met in the
governors Office yesterday to hear the
report of superintendent T. j. Goree,
to appoint financial agent and trans
act other business connected with the
penitentiarles. There were four
names before the board for the Office
OF financial agent, viz: Hon. w. M.
Brown, late comptroller; Mr..
Breeding, of this city; Col.
Chas. DeMorse, editor pro-
prletor of the GAINESVILLE Standard,
and Mr.. Haywood Brahan, bookkeep-
er of Messrs. Cunningham & Ellis.
The latter was elected to the posi-
ton, and is to receive a salary of
$1,000 per year, and is to give bond
OF $4,000. Col. - Larmour was
retained as appraiser at Huntsville.
The report of the superintendent is as
follows:
AUSTIN, TEXAS. April 10, 1883.
To His Excelleney, Governor John Ireland,
President Penitentiary Board:
SIR-For the information of your
honorable board, l respectfully sub
NIT the following:
On the first day of the present
month there were about 2220 cOnYictS,
nearly equally divided between the
Huntsville and RuSk penitentiarieS.
OF the above number about 800 are
contracted for on farms, at SIS per
month; $40 on railroads at $1.25 per
hs
netting, say, Sc per month, and about
TAO in the prisons proper or on farms
Immediately connected with the
prison. There are probably 100 of the
TAO on these penitentiary farms, and
consist of class of conv1cts who can
not well be utilized in walls nor hired
on railroads or outside farm
1t may be safely estimated that the
net proceeds from the 1880 convicts
will amount to at least $500 per
month. The cost of maintenance of
the TAO In walls and on farms will be
at least $12 each per month-$8880.
These convicts confined in the walls |
at Huntsville, with the material on
hand and in position, can certainly be |
made self sustaining from the start. |
AT Rusk there is much work to be |
done in erection of the iron furnace |
and placing of machinery, ETC., that |
will employ quite large number of |
the convictS now confined there.
OF the 400 convicts at Huntsville, |
the old board, after revocation of the |
lease, agreed to hire E. H. Cunning |
ham about 30 lifetime negroes to |
make brick on his plantation. From |
this force may be expected revenue |
of $3.50 per month.
The International and Great North |
ern railroad have applied for another |
force of 40 men, but l do not now |
know whether or not we are in a con- |
dition to supply them.
APPROPRIATIONS.
The seventeenth legislature appro-
priated for improvements, machinery, |
ETC., for Rusk penitentiary $135,0O0.
Some improvements have been |
made with this, and the money paid |
out, and machinery, ETC., has been |
contracted for sufficient to cover the |
amount of above appropriation,
though as yet the machinery has not |
been received.
About $4,000 of the above has al
ready been spent or contracted to be |
spent in building an iron furnace.
The machinery was purchased under |
direction of the old board by Messrs. |
Morrow, Handy s. Co. under terms |
of lease made with them. AS they |
are thoroughly practical business men,
it was thought that whatever ma |
chinery they deemed advantageous to |
nave in their lease would be equally |
advantageous to the state in case of
resumption. They made application
to purchase and have purchased ma
chinery about as follows, viz:
Machinery for wagon and
agricultural department. $35, 1916 20
Furniture deDartmAnt 7fi0 00