656 



NORTH CAROLINA. 



ers in the Penitentiary at one time during 1885 

 and 1886, was 1,315 ; the smallest number, 

 1,064; and the average for the years, 1,198. 

 There were 565 received in 1885, and 593 

 received in 1886. Present number, 1,315. 

 There were 142 deaths from disease. The cost 

 of supporting and caring for the entire convict 

 population was, $386,816.18; appropriation, 

 $256,282.59 ; earnings, $339,680.49. A large 

 part of the earnings was for work done on rail- 

 roads and other work, for which no cash is re- 

 ceived. " It will be seen," says the Governor, 

 " that the mortality is far in excess of what it 

 should be, and demands a remedy. I would 

 respectfully recommend that all dual govern- 

 ments on railroads be abolished, and that all 

 sanitary management and control of the con- 

 victs, as to when, how, and how much they 

 shall work, shall be committed exclusively to 

 the attendant physicians, and that these should 

 be selected with special reference to their skill, 

 humanity, and decision of character, etc." 



Charitable Institutions. Regarding these, the 

 Governor says: "The noblest work the State 

 has done is the generous provision she has 

 made for her insane, and her deaf and dumb, 

 and blind, of both races. According to the 

 census of 1880, there were 1,691 white insane 

 in the State, and 437 colored, aggregating 

 2,128; deducting from this 750, provided for 

 at Raleigh and at Morganton, and 200 atGolds- 

 boro', leaves 1,178 and deducting, if you will, 

 all such as are incurable, there remain unpro- 

 vided for in our State, without estimating the 

 increase since 1880, not less than 700 helpless 

 insane. . . . These are now scattered through- 

 out the State, in jails and solitary places of 

 confinement, to protect them and their families 

 from the violence of their own hands." 



Railroads. The capital stock of the Atlantic 

 and North Carolina Railroad is $1,800,000. 

 Of this sum the State owns over two thirds 

 $1,266,500. Private stockholders own the 

 remaining one third $533,500. The whole 

 amount of indebtedness on this road is $227,- 

 024 ; of this sum the amount secured by mort- 

 gage on the road, at 8 per cent., is $196,000. 

 The remainder, reduced to a judgment bearing 

 interest at 6 per cent., $31,024. 



The following work was done on the Cape 

 Fear and Yadkin Valley Railroad from March 

 1, 1884, to Dec. 1, 1886 : Number of miles of 

 steel rails laid and completed, 122 ; number of 

 miles graded in the same time, 81 ; number of 

 miles yet to grade, including sidings, to Mount 

 Airy, 17. In addition to this, there has been 

 graded and put in operation in North Carolina 

 with free labor 13 miles ; graded and ironed 

 the factory branch in Randolph County, 6 miles. 

 The average number of convicts actually em- 

 ployed, for the whole time, on the works, is 166. 

 This road is now looking to "Wilmington as its 

 eastern terminus. Within the last two years 

 the Asheville and Spartanburg road has been 

 completed, and 12 miles have been built and 5 

 graded on the Western North Carolina Railroad. 



Phosphates. Four years ago it was not known 

 that there were any phosphates in the State. 

 The following results of the phosphate survey, 

 conducted by the Agricultural Department, 

 show the present situation: Phosphate-beds 

 lie in a belt fifteen to twenty miles wide from 

 the South Carolina line, through Columbus, 

 Bladen, Sampson, part of Pender, through 

 Duplin, part of Jones and Lenoir, to the Neuse 

 river, also in Onslow. Total number of acres 

 explored, 124*98 ; total pounds of phosphate 

 rock excavated, 75,495 ; calculated number of 

 tons of phosphate rock in the 124-98 acres, 

 50,864*58; average tons per acre, 406*98; sam- 

 ples analyzed, 210. This particular 124-98 

 acres will yield enough phosphate rock to make 

 all of the superphosphates sold in North Caro- 

 lina in one year. 



Oyster-Survey. In accordance with a resolu- 

 tion of the General Assembly of 1885, a survey 

 of the natural and artificial oyster-beds, togeth- 

 er with a general examination of the waters of 

 the State, has been prosecuted by the Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture, aided by the Federal Gov- 

 ernment. An area of 1,307,000 acres has been 

 examined, of which 445,000 acres have been 

 carefully surveyed, and 852,000 generally stud- 

 ied. Of the entire area of 1,307,000 acres, 790,- 

 000 acres are reported as possessing, to greater 

 or less extent, the conditions favorable to the 

 growth and cultivation of the oyster, and only 

 needing actual experiment to demonstrate the 

 degree of fitness. Of this area about 10,400 

 acres are occupied by natural beds, and 2,300 

 by artificial beds. Under existing laws only a 

 very small area has been utilized. 



Political. Justices of the Supreme and Supe- 

 rior Courts were the only State officers chosen 

 on the general ticket. The Democratic State 

 Convention met in Raleigh on August 25, and 

 nominated the sitting justices of the Supreme 

 Court for re-election. No platform was adopt- 

 ed. The Republican State Executive Commit- 

 tee, on August 11, resolved to hold no State 

 convention, but mejnbers of the party, dissat- 

 isfied with this actfon, called a convention to 

 meet in Raleigh on September 22. This con- 

 vention met at the appointed time, 54 of the 

 96 counties being represented by 146 delegates 

 out of the 240 constituting a full convention. 

 The delegates were mostly from counties west 

 of Raleigh, and about two thirds of them were 

 white. W. P. Bynum was nominated for 

 Chief- Justice of the Supreme Court, and John 

 W. Albertson and R. P. Buxton for Associate 

 Justices. A new State Executive was cho.en. 

 The following are the essential features of the 

 platform adopted : 



That we oppose the Democratic policy of employing 

 convict-labor wherever it comes into competition with 

 free labor, and we declare that the result of this policy 

 is to degrade labor, reduce wages, and throw honest 

 workmen out of employment. 



That we are heartily in favor of the Blair educa- 

 tional bill, and denounce the Democratic House of 

 Eepresentatives for their failure to pass the same, said 

 bill having been twice passed by a Kepublican Senate. 



