The Greenville times. [volume] (Greenville, Miss.) 1868-1917, 1886-03-06
The PenItentiary investigation.
memphis Appeal

I
minority of the Senate Committee
on the Penitentiary.
All papers aud information
cheerfully furnished by lessees.
Find that estimates and con.
tracts for work done or properly
made and approved as required
by law relating to the same; that
the lessees, by the terms of their
contracts with the State, were not
required to pay money into the
State treasury-the law expressly
providing that the amount due on
the lease should be expended for
no other purpose than the i'm
provement of the penitentiary
property. This opinion Of the
committee is concurred in by such
attorneys as Messrs. Nugent and
Melville and Judge s. S. Calhoon,
whose written opinions are sub
mitted, and who have no interest
in or connection with the matter.
The report further claims that
the lessees had a right to withhold
the payment of money into the
State treasury, and to require that
they be permitted to make i'm
provements or repairs to the
amount of the rent or hire due the
State; the making of contracts
with lessees was contemplated by
all the legislation on the subject
for the past ten years; that the
terms of their contract conferred
on the lessees authority to with.
hold tor eleven or twelve months
amount due the State, and to hold
the same until they have made re.
pairs and improvements to the
amount of the entire hire due the
State TO the expiration of their
lease; that the lessees have been
contractors for tho work OH the
prison property since 1887, and it
was never intended nor expected
that it should be otherwise. They
have paid into the State treasury
SOS, 800 in cash, which they could
have worked out in improvements
had they deemed proper, and they
cannot be held on their bond for
payment in any other manner !;
that settlements for all amounts
due the State up to the date of
transfer to the Gulf and Ship
Island acknowledgements approx.
ed have been allowed and balances
paid into the State treasury-that
is to say, for 1888 and 1SSi-to
cover the full amount Of contracts
with the State for said two years ;
that the Gulf and Ship Island Rail
road Company has assumed the
contract with the State, as author.
lied by law.
In the matter of allowances
made the lessees for unfinished
contracts, as set forth in the ma.
jorlty report, the minority say that
precisely the same state Of affairs
existed in 1880 aud 1881, as shown
by the report of a former supcrin.
tendent made to Gov. Stone, stat
ing that up to that time improve.
ments and repairs bad been made
to the amount of $25,897 6S, the
amount completed being S14,.
972 Is, and the amount unfinished
and on which work was then go.
ing on, being $10,925. Other in.
stances of like character of the
above are cited from the report oil
a former superintendent, showing
that these lessees, in this particu.
lar. have followed the usual Gus
tom of former lessees under for
mer Administrations; that these
contracts were made by the SUI
perintendent and approved by
Gov. Lowry, precisely as was done
by Gov. Stone on similar contracts
made by former superintendent
Under the contract of lease the
lessees bound themselves to carry
out the provisions of the existing
law in reference to the penitentia
ry and to carry out the laws ther
in force, and by the terms of the
contract the law of 1877 (afterwart
repealed iD 1884 was made par
of the contract. The committed
state that It is their opinion thai
any act of the Legislature passed
during the continuance of sale
: contract. which impaired or abro
gated any clause of the same lex
cept for police purposes), woult
be nugatory and of no force or eff
feet during the time such conlrac
was in force. That the superin
/. tendent is authorized to contrac
for repairs and improvements b,
the act of 1877 and by the act o
March 10, 1884, the same bein.
explicit on the subject. They sa,
!, that the Governor approved th,
estimates and contracts made b,
the superintendent IA gentleman
elected by the Legislature and an