IN SENATE,

January 9, 1833.

Report of the select committee on the petition of Bradley Tuttle and others.

The select committee to whom was referred the petition of Bradley Tuttle, Truman J. McMaster and Joshua Hoskins, commissioners for building a new stone jail in the county of Cayuga, praying for the passage of a law authorising the board of supervisors of said county to raise the additional sum of two thousand dollars by tax, to complete said building, and authorising the said commissioners to borrow from some of the funds of this State the sums directed by law to be raised for erecting such jail,

RESPECTFULLY REPORT:

"An act to

That by an act passed 30th March, 1830, entitled provide for the erection of a new stone jail in the county of Cayuga," [Laws of 1830, page 128,] the board of supervisors of the county aforesaid, were directed to cause to be raised and collected, the sum of $2,500, by a tax to be levied at their annual meeting in 1832, and the further sum of $2,500 to be raised by a tax to be levied at their annual meeting in 1833, which sums were directed to be levied and collected for the erection of a new stone jail for said county. By the said act the petitioners were appointed commissioners to plan, devise, contract for, and superintend the building of the said jail until the same shall be completed. The said commissioners at the late annual meeting of the board of supervisors submitted to said board plans for the erection of said jail, and it was thereupon resolved by the board that application should be made at the present session of the Legislature for a law authorising them to raise by tax the additional sum of fifteen hundred dollars; and in case an alteration of the plan of such jail could be [Senate, No. 13.]

1

made so as to furnish within the same, apartments for the keeper thereof, then the application should be made for authority to raise the sum of $2,000.

These are the facts stated in the petition. The resolution of the board of supervisors, a copy of which is annexed to the petition, is somewhat ambiguous, inasmuch as it appears upon its face to warrant an application for authority to raise the sum of fifteen hundred dollars only. But the resolution limits the whole expense of building to $7,000, while the sums directed by the act aforesaid to be raised, together with the sum of $1,500 mentioned in the resolution, make the expense only $6,500. The committee therefore consider the resolution as authorising the prayer for authority to raise $2,000, being the additional sum necessary to be raised to build the jail upon the plan adopted by the commissioners with the approbation of the board. If there be any doubt upon this point, your committee have sufficient evidence to assure them that such is the construction of the resolution as understood by the board of supervisors themselves. This assurance they have from two of the members of the board now in the city, one of whom is a member of the Assembly, and the same assurance is given by the member of the Senate, and all the members of the Assembly from the county of Cayuga.

The petitioners further ask to borrow the sum of money directed to be raised from some of the public funds of this State. The whole sum directed to be raised including that which is the object of the present application, is $7,000. Of this amount the commis sioners will receive from the county treasurer in February next, the sum of $2,500, so that there will be no necessity of a loan of so much of the means for building the jail. The remaining sum of $4,500, should this application be granted, will be receivable by the county treasurer as follows: $2,500 on the first Monday in Febru ary, 1834, and the remainder on the same day in the year 1835.

The committee are satisfied that an arrangement by which this amount could be anticipated by the commissioners, would enable them not only to expedite the work committed to their charge, but by putting it in their power to make the most economical contracts would be of great pecuniary advantage to the county. Under this impression, your committee have made inquiries as to the practicability and propriety of a loan by the State, and are authori

sed by the gentleman now at the head of the Comptroller's department to state, that there remains now in the treasury uninvested, and belonging to the capital of the common school fund, the sum of $28,048.94. That officer also states that he knows no objection to making the proposed loan. Your committee also are authorised by the late Comptroller, Mr. Wright, to say that he considers the proposed loan as an investment of which it is desirable that the State should avail itself, and that while he superintended the department, he always sought similar opportunities for investment. For the principles upon which such loan should be made, he referred the committee to an act making a similar loan to the county of Broome, passed in 1830. [Laws of 1830, page 18.]

The committee believe such loan would be advantagous to the county of Cayuga, and consistent with the best interests of the State, and beg leave to submit a bill in accordance with the views contained in this report.

All which is respectfully submitted.