NEW JERSEY. 



571 



S-iated $12,000, making $37,000 paid to the 

 orae during the year. 



State Prison. At the close of the fiscal year 

 there were 843 convicts in the State Prison, of 

 whom only 370 were employed on the con- 

 tracts in existence. One of the contractors, 

 engaged in the manufacture of buttons, and 

 employing 30 men, failed in July. Owing to 

 the depression in business, the contractors have 

 of late employed no more men than they were 

 obliged to by the terms of their contracts, 

 which, together with the failure of the button 

 manufacturer, has caused a falling off in the 

 receipts of the prison. The total expenses of 

 the prison for all purposes during the year 

 were $132,417.58 ; and the earnings amounted 

 to $61,846.21, making the cost of the state 

 prison $70,571.37. This is $9,805.06 more than 

 in the preceding year. In addition to those 

 employed on the contracts, 52 convicts have 

 been employed in the erection of a wall sur- 

 rounding the prison-grounds. More shops are 

 needed, and also additional cell-room. 



The Legislature, at its last session, abolished 

 contract convict-labor in the prison, and such 

 labor is hereafter to be utilized under chapter 

 158 of the laws of 1884. This act provides for 

 the employment of convicts upon goods used 

 in institutions under State control, and for pris- 

 oners not thus employed the Legislature has 

 designated the " piece-price plan " or the " pub- 

 lic-account system." After the 30th of June, 

 1885, at the expiration of the contracts now 

 existing, all the inmates of the institution must 

 be employed under one of these three plans. 

 It is said that only a small number can be em- 

 ployed upon goods to be used in institutions 

 under State control; nearly all the convicts 

 must be either employed on the " piece-price 

 plan " or the " public- account system." The 

 authorities of the prison are unanimous in their 

 conclusion that the " piece-price plan " is pref- 

 erable to the " public-account system." 



Charities and Correction. An act was passed 

 March 28, 1883, to create a Council of State 

 Charities and Correction, to consist of six per- 

 sons to be appointed by the Governor and con- 

 firmed by the Senate, the Governor being made 

 ex-officio President and member of the Council. 

 No appointments were made under this act 

 until the session of 1884, when the members of 

 the Council were appointed and confirmed by 

 the Senate. There are seventy-six charitable 

 and correctional institutions in the State, so 

 far as appears by the returns made to the Coun- 

 cil, belonging either to the State or to counties, 

 cities, or townships. 



Riparian Commission. The Riparian Commis- 

 sion made grants in fee in 1884 amounting to 

 $8,960.86 ; they executed leases amounting to 

 $294,514.22, upon which a yearly rental is 

 paid of $20,615.99. The board reports that 

 the annual rentals received on leases previous- 

 ly executed, including $25,000 on the Morris 

 Canal lease, amount to $64,173.39. 



The total amount of grants by legislative 



enactment since April 1, 1864, and by the Board 

 of Riparian Commissioners since its creation, 

 by act of March 31, 1869, and of the principal 

 sums for which leases have been made, to Nov. 

 1, 1884, is $3,112,549.49. 



The interest on bonds, given for riparian 

 grants, and the rentals on leases, from April 1, 

 1864, to Nov. 1, 1884, amount to $928,526.85. 



Oyster-Lands. On this subject the Governor 

 says, in his message to the Legislature of 1885 : 



The State of Connecticut received in 1883 over $20,- 

 000 from its oyster-lands ; Maryland over $50,000, 

 and Ehode Island over $11,000. In New Jersey, al- 

 though the oyster-beds are almost exclusively upon 

 lands owned by the State, it derives no income what- 

 ever therefrom, although in the majority of instances 

 an acre of oyster-land is far more valuable in its prod- 

 uct than an acre of land upon the adjacent shore. 



There are in this State over 100,000 acres of oys- 

 ter-land, or land that can be used for oyster-planting. 

 Over 700,000,000 oysters are obtained from the waters 

 of this State. At one point alone, in Cumberland 

 county, at Port N orris, the great market for the Mau- 

 rice river Cove and Delaware Bay oysters, over 500,- 

 000,000 oysters are handled yearly, and in the boats, 

 plant, and appurtenances connected with the business 

 at this point nearly $500,000 is invested, and over 

 3,000 men employed. The nourishing condition of 

 this industry at this point appears to arise, not only 

 from the land under water in this vicinity being par- 

 ticularly adapted to oyster-culture, but also because 

 protection is afforded under the laws of the State by 

 an association which gives a certain degree of confi- 

 dence and protection to those using these beds. The 

 result of an entire want of protection is clearly seen 

 in Barnegat Bay. More than half of this immense 

 bay is available for oyster-planting. Yet its waters 

 have been almost entirely cleared of oysters by par- 

 ties coming from outside of the State with vessels, 

 and taking away the entire product so rapidly that 

 the business is practically destroyed in these waters. 



Child-Labor. The duties of the Inspector of 

 Factories and Workshops, and the provisions in 

 reference to the labor of women and children in 

 factories and other places, are prescribed in the 

 acts of March 5, 1883, and April 17, 1884. These 

 acts prohibit the employment of boys under 

 the age of twelve and of girls under the age of 

 fourteen years in factories, workshops, or es- 

 tablishments where the manufacture of goods 

 is carried on. They also prescribe the hours 

 of labor, and require attendance at schools dur- 

 ing certain periods. The inspector reports 

 that there are over 8,000 factories in the State, 

 and over 15,000 children employed. The con- 

 dition of the children engaged in these facto- 

 ries, as presented by him, is most deplorable. 

 He says that over three fourths of them have 

 absolutely no education whatever, and that 

 a very small percentage of the remaining 

 fourth have the merest rudimentary education. 

 Among the most important of his recommen- 

 dations are those for compulsory education, re- 

 duction of hours of labor of children and wom- 

 en, improvement of the sanitary condition of 

 factories, providing of fire-escapes, and separate 

 dressing-rooms for men and women. 



Civil Rights. The Legislature, at its last ses- 

 sion, passed two important acts bearing upon 

 the rights of colored citizens of the State. The 

 first of these was passed after the Governor 



