the co-operative societies organized under the laws of this State, have been notified that no fees, taxes or dues will be imposed upon them this year by the department, the statutory fees collected from the companies of other States and countries being sufficient for its

maintenance.

NATIONAL Guard.

The organization and efficiency of the military department of the State are in a very satisfactory condition. The National Guard consists of four divisions, eight brigades, seven battalions of artillery, fifteen regiments, one battalion and forty separate companies. The whole number of officers and enlisted men on the 30th day of September, 1883, was eleven thousand five hundred and sixty-eight, notwithstanding that under the provisions of the new Military Code all regimental bands, aggregating five hundred and fifty-four members, have been dropped from the rolls, and many enlisted men, physically incapable of doing military duty, have been discharged from the service.

During the last year the Forty-second Separate Company, located at Syracuse, has been formally disbanded, and one new company has been organized in Elmira.

The latest reports show that recruiting is steadily progressing. If the existing organizations should be filled to the maximum strength allowed, the aggregate of officers and men would exceed eighteen thousand, while the whole number permitted by the Code is limited to fifteen thousand. For this reason, and in view of the fact that the funds at the disposal of the department are necessary for present wants, many applications for the formation of new companies and the readmission of organizations heretofore disbanded, have been refused.

The Military Code passed by the last Legislature prescribed service uniforms to be furnished by the State to the National Guard. So far as they have been issued they have proved serviceable. They are neat in appearance and acceptable to the troops. But the lack of an appropriation for that purpose has rendered it impossible to furnish the new uniforms except to a few of the most needy organizations. I recommend that the present Legislature make provision to furnish this uniform to those yet unprovided for, in the belief that after the Guard is once fully equipped the expense of its maintenance in this respect will be less than under the previous

system.

The State Camp of Instruction inaugurated by my predecessor in 1882 seemed productive of such good results that I ordered a similar camp in the summer of 1883. It was opened on the 16th day of June and continued to the 28th day of July. Six regiments and nine separate companies were in camp one week each. The number of the Guard thus allowed the advantage of this important feature of military instruction was three thousand five hundred and fifteen, exceeding by more than one-third those in camp the previous year.

It is quite apparent that the policy which has reduced the number

of the National Guard should be supplemented by every reasonable effort to make it reliable and efficient. Investigation and personal inspection have satisfied me that nothing tends more in that direction than the opportunities afforded by the Camp of Instruction.

The ground thus far occupied, near Peekskill, is admirably adapted to the purpose in every respect, and considerable money of the State has already been expended in fitting it for use. It comprises about one hundred acres, and is now held by the State under a lease which expires May 1, 1885, at an annual rent of $1,000. The privilege is reserved to the State to purchase the property at any time before the expiration of the lease for the sum of $13,000. This price is regarded as reasonable, and I recommend that the purchase be made by the State, with a view of permanently establishing the Camp of Instruction as an element of military education.

The last Legislature provided for the erection of an armory in each of the cities of New York, Brooklyn and Troy, and in the village of Flushing.

Some amendments to the Military Code, which has been in operation since last April, are deemed desirable, and will at the proper time be submitted for the action of the Legislature.

STATE PRISONS.

From a statement made by the Superintendent of State Prisons, it appears that on the 30th day of September, 1883, there were confined in Auburn prison eight hundred and eighty-two convicts; in Sing Sing one thousand four hundred and sixty-two, and in Clinton four hundred and eighty-four, making a total of two thousand eight hundred and twenty-eight; being less than for a number of previ ous years. There were one hundred and forty-four inmates of the State Asylum for Insane Criminals, nine of whom were women. The earnings and expenditures of these prisons during the last fiscal year were as follows:

Two hundred convicts have been transferred, during the year, from Sing Sing to Auburn prison.

I learn, as the result of inquiries instituted on the subject, that on the 1st day of December, 1883, more than fifteen thousand men, women and children were confined in the prisons, houses of refuge, penitentiaries, reformatories, jails and protectories within the State. Of course, all of these are not convicted of crime, but the figures suggest a large convict population, the care and management of which present important and intricate questions.

Of the number above mentioned five hundred and seven were confined in the State Reformatory at Elmira, upon conviction of felonies. Such convicts are required to be between the ages of sixteen and thirty years. No term of imprisonment is fixed by the sentence, but they cannot be detained longer than the maximum time for which they might have been sent to prison. Within this limit, they may be imprisoned until discharged by the rules of the institution. The board of managers may transfer "temporarily" to either of the State prisons, any inmate who, subsequent to his committal to the reformatory, shall be shown to have been at the time of his conviction, more than thirty years of age, or to have been previously convicted of crime or any apparently incorrigible prisoner whose presence in the reformatory appears to be seriously detrimental to the well being of the institution. If after such transfer he is not recalled by the managers, he must remain in State prison during the balance of the longest sentence that might have originally been imposed upon him. The law allowing a reduction of the time of imprisonment for good conduct is not applicable to his case.

On application to the prison at Auburn, I learn that since the Reformatory was established, and up to the 6th day of December, 1883, seventy-five persons who had originally been sent to the Reformatory were transferred, under the conditions above stated, to the Auburn State prison. Of these, fifteen have been allowed to serve in prison the longest sentence that could have been pronounced for their crime; one was discharged by order of the managers of the Reformatory; one was transferred to Clinton prison; four were transferred to the Asylum for Insane Criminals (one of whom was subsequently returned to prison); two died; one was recalled to the Reformatory, and fifty-two still remained in the prison. How many of these were sent to the State prison by the managers because, in their view, they were "apparently incorrigible prisoners, whose presence in the Reformatory appears to be seriously detrimental to the well-being of the institution," is not reported; but it is safe to say that a large proportion were consigned to prison on that allegation. The prisoner thus transferred, who was sentenced to the Reformatory, in mercy, to avoid the stigma of a sentence to prison, and for purposes of reform, because he had maintained, theretofore, a good reputation and standing in society, may meet at the door of the prison his accomplice in the crime committed, who, having made no pretense of character or respectability, has served the sentence te prison pronounced upon him by the court. The worst and most hardened criminals, if originally sent to prison, earn, by good con

duct, a considerable reduction of imprisonment, but the convict from the Reformatory has no such thing to hope or strive for. In my opinion there should be no power vested in the board of managers of this institution to send persons committed to their care to the State prisons; and if convicts are sentenced to the Reformatory, the courts should exercise the greatest care to be satisfied that they are promising subjects for Reformatory efforts, and fix a term, beyond which they cannot be confined. A release before the time thus fixed might well be offered as a reward for improvement, reform or good conduct.

The law in relation to the reduction, for good behavior, of the terms of convicts in State prison should be made more plain and definite, and the power of the prison authorities to refuse such reduction be more exactly defined.

At the last election there was submitted to the people of the State, for the expression of their opinion thereon, a proposition to abolish contract labor from the State prisons. Quite a large majority of the votes cast upon this question were in favor of the proposition'; and the present Legislature will be expected to consider the subject. It should be approached with the utmost care and deliberation. The opportunity of the workingman should not be injuriously affected by the labor of convicts in the prisons; nor, unless to avoid such a danger, or other serious abuses, should the self-supporting feature of the prisons be lost and the expense of their maintenance added to the burden of the tax payers.

CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS.

The following information is furnished by the State Board of Charities and the Commissioner in Lunacy:

The value of the property held by the various charitable institutions on the 1st day of October, 1883, was $42,935,360.04, of which $35,415,555.45 was in real estate and $7,519,804.59 in personal property.

The receipts of all these institutions for the year ending September 30, 1883, were as follows:

State institutions . . .

County and city institutions..

Incorporated benevolent institutions..

$909,221 52

2,363,720 42

7,157,002 15

$10,429,944 09

Of this sum, $719.753.98 was derived from the State, $4,876,519.37 from cities and counties, and $1,520,571.15 from legacies and donations.

The expenditures during the year were as follows:

By State institutions..

By county and city institutions ..

By incorporated benevolent institutions...

$1,435,242 62

2,363,720 42

6,492,431 04

$10,291,394 08

บ

The number of insane in the various institutions on the 30th day of September, 1883, was 11,270, distributed as follows:

Of this number, 5,015 were males and 6,255 females. The total given above is 827 in excess of the insane reported for the year ending September 30, 1882.

The number of State paupers under care on the 1st day of October, 1882, was one hundred and sixty-three. There were one thousand four hundred and twenty-six committed during the year ending September 30, 1883. The number discharged as able to provide for themselves was five hundred and four; adopted into families, four; absconded, sixty-seven; transferred to insane and other asylums, nine; furnished with transportation to their homes or places where they were legally settled in other States or countries, seven hundred and eighty-four; died, forty.

There remained on the 1st day of October, 1883, under care, one hundred and eighty-nine. Of these, one hundred and fifty-eight were in the State alms-houses, twenty-eight in State insane asylume, and three in orphan asylums.

During the year ending September 30, 1883, sixty-nine crippled, blind, lunatic and otherwise infirm and helpless alien paupers found in the various hospitals, asylums, poor-houses and alms-houses of the State, were sent to their respective homes in various countries of Europe, at an expense of $1,603.12 In every instance these persons were without friends in this country, and their infirmities and disabilities were found to have existed before they left their homes. It was evident that they were sent here with the intention, on the part of those by whom they were shipped, of escaping the expense of their care and maintenance. Eighteen of these helpless paupers, of whom several were "assisted immigrants," were sent by counties and towns in other countries, sixteen by organized societies, three by guardians, and twenty-seven by relatives and friends.

Some attention given to the system of supervision of the charitable and reformatory institutions of the State convinces me that it might be much improved.

The State Board of Charities is vested with the power of [SENATE JOURNAL.]

4