538 



NEW HAMPSHIRE. 



indigent blind, or partially blind persons of 

 the State at the Institute for the Blind in 

 Boston." All such persons are to be elected 

 and approved by* the Governor. 



Governor Harriman praises the manage- 

 ment, discipline, and financial condition of the 

 State Prison, stating that it earns at present, 

 " and will continue to earn, a thousand dollars 

 a month above expenses," and that its work- 

 shop, having lately been extended by authority 

 of the Legislature, "is now one of the best 

 shops to be found in the country." He asks 

 an 'appropriation "to pay off an old debt 

 against the prison, and to pay for certain fix- 

 tures recently put in ;" and recommends "the 

 addition of eighteen cells " as pressingly want- 

 ed. These wants are also spoken of in the 

 report of the warden and inspector for the 

 year ending May 1, 1868, and in those of the 

 chaplain and physician, furnishing some not 

 uninteresting facts relating to the State Prison 

 of New Hampshire, as follows : " The number 

 of convicts at the date of the report was 135, 

 five of them females. From the tables of 

 prison statistics, it appears that the present 

 roll of convicts is the largest ever recorded. 

 The whole number committed since the open- 

 ing of the prison in 1812 is 1,406 ; number dis- 

 charged, 669 ; pardoned, 473 ; removed to the 

 Asylum for the Insane, 6 ; died in prison, 91 ; 

 escaped, 19. Of those now confined three are 

 committed for life, three for thirty years, one 

 for twenty-five years, and one for twenty years. 

 A majority of the remaining terms vary from 

 one to seven years. Five of the convicts are 

 Government criminals. 



"The expectations, in regard to the advan- 

 tages to be derived from the new contracts for 

 the labor of the prisoners, are fully realized. 

 The committee from the Governor's Council 

 state that a careful estimate for the last two 

 months goes to convince them that, the prison, 

 for the next year, will earn $8,000 above its 

 ordinary expenses. 



"The commutation law passed by the last 

 Legislature has been productive of the most 

 favorable results. By this enactment, every 

 month of exemplary conduct on the part of a 

 prisoner gains him a certain amount of time 

 to be deducted from the term of his sentence. 

 It is thought that nine4enths of the inmates 

 will so deport themselves as to secure the 

 whole amount of commutation allowed by the 

 law. Every convict who avails himself of the 

 benefits of this provision is released in advance 

 of the expiration of his original term of im- 

 prisonment and thus retains the rights of citi- 

 zenship." 



The Governor speaks well of the State Re- 

 form School, affirming that it continues to do 

 the good work for which it was instituted 

 twelve years ago, in reclaiming the erring 

 youth from their wayward course, and educat- 

 ing them to become useful members of society 

 to their own advantage as well as that of the 

 whole community. He earnestly recommends 



its wants to the favorable consideration of the 

 Legislature, which, by a joint resolution ap- 

 proved June 24th, appropriated for it the sum 

 of $12,000. It appears that "the State Re- 

 form School at Manchester has cost $17,236 

 during the year, a balance against the estab- 

 lishment of $7,718 above all resources, except 

 State appropriations. During the last school 

 year there were 111 boys and 24 girls in the 

 school, and the average time each spends is a 

 little more than two years." 



As to banking institutions, Governor Harri- 

 man informs the Legislature that they are gen- 

 erally sound and carrying on a profitable busi- 

 ness. He dwells particularly on the condition 

 of the savings banks, of which there are in 

 New Hampshire thirty-one, their deposits 

 amounting, in the aggregate, to $14,250,000, 

 $3,250,000 more than in the previous year. A 

 motion having been offered and advocated by 

 many members of the Legislature, at the last 

 session, to increase the tax on deposits in these 

 banks from three-fourths of one per cent., as 

 it now is, to two per cent., the Governor warns 

 them against the probable dangers of such a 

 measure, lest it should drive the money out of 

 the banks and out of the State, or so disperse 

 it as to elude the vigilance of the tax-gatherer. 

 He recommends an increase of the rate of said 

 tax no higher than one per cent., which would 

 secure to the State an income of above $140,- 

 000. He also recommends a graduated scale, 

 fixed by legislative enactment, regulating the 

 percentage allowed the savings banks treas- 

 urers in lieu of salaries, as these now swell in 

 some cases to seven, eight, and nine thousand 

 dollars a year, to the detriment of depositors, 

 whose dividends are diminished thereby. 



The Board of Insurance Commissioners state 

 in their annual report that there are twelve 

 mutual insurance companies now in opera- 

 tion in New Hampshire, doing a safe business, 

 the increase of which they anticipate. Besides 

 these, there are thirty-two foreign fire and 

 twelve foreign life insurance companies doing 

 business in the State. Their agents have com- 

 plied with her laws by presenting to the com- 

 missioners the detailed statements of their re- 

 spective assets and liabilities, " the amount of 

 capital stock actually paid in, the outstanding 

 risks, and the premiums thereon, the amount 

 of premiums received during the preceding 

 year in the State, and the amount of losses paid 

 therein during the same period." The reports 

 of the several fire insurance companies of other 

 States show the aggregate amount of cash pre- 

 miums which they received in New Hamp- 

 shire the past year to be $223,804.44 ; the ag- 

 gregate amount which they have paid in this . 

 State for losses during the same time is $213,- 

 859.59, showing a balance of premiums of 

 $9,944.85. The report of the several life in- 

 surance companies located out of the State, 

 but doing business therein, shows an aggregate 

 amount of cash premiums received in New 

 Hampshire for the past year of $370,701.91 ; 



