Sec. 4. That the Governor upon the receipt of the reports of the Commissioners, as above prescribed, shall appoint, with the advice and consent of the Senate, a suitable person as superintendent. whose duty it shall be, in connexion with the Directors herein provided for, to procure and submit a plan of the Penitentiary to the Governor; which plan, if approved of by him, shall be deposited in the office of the Secretary of State; and immediately thereafter, the Superintendent shall be required by the Governor to prepare for the erection of the Penitentiary upon the plan approved of, and upon the site selected: and the Directors shall be authorized to employ as many mechanics and laborers as they shall deem necessary, in connexion with the convicts delivered to the custody of the Superintendent, to put up so much of the building or buildings as will secure the prisoners and answer the immediate wants of the State; which building or buildings shall be so constructed and arranged as to form a part of the main buildings of the Penitentiary; and upon the erection of said building or buildings, the Superintendent under the direction of the Directors, shall discharge the hired mechanics and laborers, and the building of the Penitentiary shall be continued by the convicts until the same is completed. The Penitentiary shall be built of substantial materials, and shall be surrounded by a secure wall, to be placed at such a distance from the main building as to enclose a yard of sufficient dimensions to allow room for the erection of workshops and the employment of the convicts at such kind of labor as may be deemed most profitable and useful to the State, and will the least interfere with the general mechanical industry of the country: the Superintendent shall cause to be erected cells for the solitary confinement of the convicts at night, and at such other times as the Superintendent and directors shall direct; the Superintendent shall make an annual estimate at the commencement of each year, of all the materials necessary for carrying on the business in the various departments of the Penitentiary, and submit the same to the Directors; and he shall employ, under the direction of the Directors, a sufficient number of overseers and guards for the safe keeping of the convicts.

Sec. 5. That the Governor shall appoint, with the advice and consent of the Senate, three discreet persons as Directors, any two of whom shall constitute a Board to transact business. The Board of Directors shall make such rules and by-laws as

may be necessary for the government of the Penitentiary and punishment and control of refractory prisoners confined therein: Provided that no cruel or unusual punishment shall be inflicted. They shall cause the rules and by-laws to be printed and put up in some conspicuous place in the prison: they shall prescribe the uniform to be worn by the convicts, which shall be comfortable but of coarse material; and the provisions that shall be furnished them. which shall be in sufficient quantity, and of common but wholesome quality: They shall employ a suitable person to furnish the proper food and clothing for the convicts: they shall visit the Penitentiary at least once in each month: see that the convicts are humanely treated and sufficiently clothed and fed: they shall inquire into any cruel treatment or improper conduct alledged against the Superintendent, overseers, or guards; and if they discover any grievance, or cause of grievance, they shall see that the same is remedied; for which purpose they shall have power to discharge any overseer or guard from their employment about the Penitentiary; and in case of improper conduct in the Superintendent, they shall report the same to the Governor, for which purpose they shall have power to call before them witnesses, administer oaths, and take such other necessary steps as to arrive at the truth of the matter: they shall cause a distinction to be made in the treatment of the convicts, by extending to such as prove orderly, obedient and industrious, certain comforts and privileges according to their merit: Provided such privileges shall not conflict with the provisions of this act or endanger the custody of the convicts: they shall report annually to the Governor, or oftener if he require it, a comprehensive view of the government, discipline and transactions of the Penitentiary during the preceding year, which report shall particularly set forth the number of convicts in the Penitentiary, the age, sex, and place of nativity of each, their term of imprisonment, the offences for which they were committted, from what county they were sent, the number of convicts that have died, escaped, or have been discharged by expiration of their term, or pardoned, during the preceding year, the various branches of business in which they have been employed, and the number employed in each branch, with an account of articles manufactured and for sale, the articles that have been sold, and the amount of sales, the cost of materials, and the materials then on hand; which report, together with the report of the Superin

tendent, shall, by the Governor, be laid before the Legislature, at each session thereof, within ten days after its organization. If the work to be done in the Penitentiary, or any part of the same, is of such a nature as to require previous instruction in its performance, proper persons for that purpose may be employed, to whom a suitable allowance shall be made by order of the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors shall also direct the manner in which materials to be used by the convicts shall be purchased; but it shail in no case be lawful for any director, superintendent, or overseer of the Penitentiary to purchase supplies of any kind themselves, or be interested therein; and said Board of Directors shall employ a physician for the Penitentiary, whenever it may appear to them to be necessary.

Sec. 6. That the Superintendent shall cause the clothes of each convict to be carefully preserved during the time they are confined therein, and returned to them on their discharge therefrom; and the Superintendent shall give to each convict, on his or her discharge from the Penitentiary, the sum of ten dollars: Provided the Superintendent shall be satisfied that said convict is without money and is otherwise unprovided for.

Sec. 7. That every convict, when received into the Penitentiary, shall be carefully searched and deprived of every article by which an escape might be effected. The description of every convict when received into the Penitentiary, shall be entered in a book to be kept for that purpose, in which shall be entered the name, sex, age, height, color of eyes and hair, place of nativity, previous occupation, time of conviction, nature of crime, and period of confinement: Said books shall be kept by the Superintendent, who shall also discharge the duty of Clerk of the Penitentiary. And in case of the escape of any convict, the Superintendent shall be authorized to offer a reward, not exceeding the sum of one hundred dollars for the apprehension and return of such convict, and whereever any person may be entitled to such reward, the same shall be certified by the Superintendent and paid out of the appropriation for the Penitentiary, on the warrant of the Comptroller.

Sec. 8. That it shall be the duty of the Superintendent to take charge of all convicts who may be sentenced to the Penitentiary, and to keep them employed at all proper hours for labor; and until the Penitentiary shall be erected, and ready for the reception of convicts, it shall be the duty of the Superin

tendent to employ all of the male convicts during working hours in chained gangs in getting out and preparing materials for the erection of the building.

Sec. 9. That all convicts sent to the Penitentiary, shall be conveyed thither by the Sheriff of the county where the conviction was had, or his legally authorized deputy, at the expense of the State; for which purpose, the Sheriff or Deputy shall be authorized (should he deem it necessary) to employ on his own account a guard of not exceeding two persons, except in extreme cases, and such extremity or necessity to be judged of and passed upon by the Superintendent, on the delivery of the convict or convicts into the Penitentiary. The Sheriff shall be entitled to two dollars and fifty cents for every thirty miles travel in going to the Penitentiary with a convict and returning from the same, the distance to be computed over the most direct and usually travelled route. In case one or more persons are employed as a guard, the Sheriff shall be entitled to the sum of two dollars for every thirty miles travel of each person of said guard, in going to and returning from the Penitentiary, the distance to be computed as aforesaid; and in addition, the Sheriff shall be entitled to receive for the conveyance and sustenance of each convict he may take to the Penitentiary, the sum of five cents per mile for each mile that such convict may travel in going to the Penitentiary, the distance to be computed as in the other cases herein provided for: and said several sums provided for in this section, shall be certified by the Superintendent, in the name of the Sheriff, or his deputy, as the case may be, and shall be paid out of the appropriation for the Penitentiary, on the warrant of the Comptroller.

Sec. 10. That it shall be the duty of the Clerk of the Court in which any person shall be convicted and sentenced to the Penitentiary, to furnish the Sheriff with a certified abstract of the record, setting forth the name, age, and previous occupation of the convict, and the term for which such convict was sentenced; which certificate shall be delivered to the Superintendent, who shall receipt to the Sheriff for the person of the convict; and the Sheriff shall deliver said receipt to the Clerk of the Court, who shall file the same with the verdict and sentence of the Court in the cause.

Sec. 11. That the Governor shall have and exercise the

removing and appointing power herein, when the Legislature is not in session, as in other cases.

Sec. 12. That the convicts of the different sexes shall at all times be kept separate and apart.

Sec. 13. That the Superintendent of the Penitentiary shall receive an annual salary of one thousand dollars, and rooms and offices shall be reserved for him and the other officers in appropriate places in the Penitentiary. Each of the Directors shall receive three dollars per day for each day they are actually employed: Provided the aggregate amount paid any one of said Directors for their said services, in any one year, shall not exceed the sum of one hundred dollars. The accounts of the Directors and inferior officers and employees of the Penitentiary, for their salaries or otherwise, shall be certified by the Superintendent, and paid quarterly upon the warrant of the Comptroller. And the accounts of the Superintendent for his salary, and expenditures on the account of the Penitentiary, shall be certified by the Directors and paid quarterly upon the warrant of the Comptroller, all of which shall be paid out of the appropriation for the Penitentiary.

Sec. 14. That an act entitled "an act to establish a State Penitentiary," approved May 11th, 1846, be, and the same is hereby repealed, and that this act take effect and be in force from and after its passage.

Approved, March 13, 1848.

CHAPTER 81.

Joint Resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the State of Texas.

Section 1. Be it resolved by the Legislature of the State of Texas, That the Constitution of the State of Texas be so altered and amended, that the Judges of the Supreme Court, Judges of the District Courts, Attorney General, District Attorneys, Comptroller of Public Accounts, Treasurer of the State, and the Commissioner of the General Land Office, shall at the expiration of their respective terms of office, or in case a vacancy