466 



MISSOURI. 



Governor requested the General Assembly "to 

 take prompt action, and, when such college is 

 provided, have Congress properly informed 

 that such general legislation may be had as 

 will make valid the selections of land already 

 made under the grant, and entitle the State to 

 select the remainder." 



The charitable institutions of the State 

 appear to be in a satisfactory condition and 

 managed by efficient officers, and their in- 

 terests carefully attended to. The average 

 number of convicts detained in the State 

 Prison, during 1868, was 702; in 1869 it was 

 734; at the close of the year there were 740 

 (males), all of them confined at night in cells 

 originally intended for 356. A new cell-build- 

 ing has been in progress of erection, and will be 

 covered this year with a roof. A necessity of 

 enlarging the prison-yard wall, and building an 

 adequate number of workshops within, exists. 

 By this means the establishment will be made 

 self-sustaining through the accumulated earn- 

 ings of the convicts, as all of them might then 

 be working for compensation, either by hired 

 contractors, according to the present system, 

 or otherwise ; whereas, now, only a part of 

 their number can be thus profitably occupied ; 

 though the others also have been usefully em- 

 ployed in various works for the State, which, 

 however, does not appear among the figures of 

 income from convict-labor in the books of the 

 Penitentiary. The receipts from the labor of 

 convicts hired by contractors were $33,489.27 

 in 1868, and $34,716.19 in 1869. The finan- 

 cial condition of the prison on December 6, 

 1869, as stated in the Factor's report, was: 

 "cash on hand and other assets, $23,588.54; 

 and the amount due to individuals, $59,595.17," 

 leaving the establishment in debt at that time 

 $36,006.63. 



A Reform School for the confinement and 

 correction of young offenders seems to be much 

 needed, but not yet established, in the State of 

 Missouri. 



Prize-fighting is apparently not favored but 

 rather discountenanced in Missouri. On Janu- 

 ary 19, 1869, a member of the Lower House 

 introduced a bill " for the suppression of prize- 

 fighting in the State, providing that partici- 

 pators, seconds, umpires, and spectators, shall 

 be deemed guilty of high misdemeanor, and 

 punished by two years' imprisonment at hard 

 labor, or a fine of $1,000, or both such fine and 

 imprisonment." The bill was referred to the 

 Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence, who 

 modified it, especially as to the persons to be 

 punished ; these being " the prize-fighters for 

 money or other valuable property," and the 

 penalty, " imprisonment of from six to twelve 

 months, or a fine of from $500 to $1,000, or 

 both." The bill was so reported to the House 

 on February 8th, when it passed with a unani- 

 mous vote. 



The original seal of the State, which had 

 disappeared from the seat of government in 

 1861, when those who had it in custody joined 



the secession, was restored to its proper 

 place last year by ex-Lieutenant-Governor 

 Thomas C. Reynolds, after his return home 

 from Mexico, where he had resided since the 

 close of the war. A correspondence took place 

 on this occasion between him and Governor 

 McClurg, as follows : 



ST. Louis, Mo., May 26, 1869. 

 To His Excellency J. W. McClurg, < 



Governor of the State of Missouri. 



SIR : Any hesitation formerly felt on principles of 

 general public law, or on account of conflicting opin- 

 ions within the State, to deliver to its existing 

 government the original great seal of the State of 

 Missouri, was removed by the fact that in November 

 last, for the first time since 1860, State officers were 

 chosen in profound peace, at an election held through- 

 out its territory. I therefore to you, as the chief 

 magistrate chosen at that election, herewith trans- 

 mit it. 



Now of no official valuCj it is still interesting as a 

 relic of the time when civil war had not yet divided 

 the Missourians. May its return be an augury of the 

 speedy oblivion of past strife, and the complete res- 

 toration of fraternal feeling among us all ! 



I remain, sir, with great respect, your obedient 

 servant, THOMAS C. KEYNOLDS. 



STATE OF MISSOURI, EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT, ) 

 CITY OF JEFFERSON, May 27, 1869. ) 

 To Hon. Thomas C. Reynolds. 

 DEAR SIR : The good old seal of the State and 



>ur accompanying letter were received this morn- 

 g. I believe I will express the feelings and senti- 

 ments of every good citizen in saying that it is gratify- 

 ing to witness not only the return of the old seal to 

 its original and legitimate place from which it had 

 unwarrantedly strayed, but the return of an old and 

 influential citizen to his legitimate duties. 



We will preserve and respect the seal as the origi- 

 nal government seal of the State of Missouri, and 

 admire it for its value, being founded in law, and will 

 respect you for your manly and honorable expres- 

 sions, and will reasonably expect from you the 

 reflection of the character of one tried as pure gold 

 in the refiner's fire. Such expressions from such a 

 source^ being a virtual candid acknowledgment of the 

 authority of the government, do more for a speedy 

 oblivion of past strife than volumes of abuse. 



Be assured the present State administration desires 

 such a restoration of fraternal feeling that the day 

 may be hastened for the restoration of every political 

 privilege consistent with State and national safety. 



I have the honor of transmitting the seal to the 

 Hon. Francis Kodman, the Secretary of State, its 

 legal custodian, together with your letter and a copy 

 of this acknowledgment. 



I am, very respectfully, 



Your obedient servant, 



J. W. McCLUEG. 



Much of the attention of the General Assem- 

 bly at the last session was given to political mat- 

 ters. The fifteenth amendment to the Constitu- 

 tion of the United States was ratified, but the act 

 is regarded as defective, by reason that the , 

 joint resolution of both Houses adopted for 

 the purpose, "in reciting the words of the 

 amendment, does not include the second sec- 

 tion." On this account, the Secretary of State 

 of Missouri, by a letter dated January 4, 1870, 

 requested the Secretary of State of the Fed- 

 eral Government " to cause an official copy of 

 the fifteenth amendment, as passed by Con- 

 gress, to be transmitted to his office," to the 

 end that the General Assembly might duly 



