in Cranston, and to reset the wall on the north side of the said highway as agreed with the said Wilbur, and to fulfil the contract of the State with the said Wilbur in all respects in reference to said walls, and that the sum of four hundred dollars be and the same is hereby ordered to be paid to the said Job Wilbur, from the general treasury upon the order of the State auditor, provided that upon the receipt thereof the said Job Wilbur shall execute a release to the State of all claims and demands which he may have against the State for or on account of any non-fulfilment of the agreement of the State to erect said walls according to its contract. CHAPTER 646. AN ACT FOR THE PUNISHMENT OF TRAMPS. Passed June 1, 1877. It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: SECTION 1. Every able-bodied man who shall go from house to house, or from place to place, begging, or who shall otherwise seek the means of subsistence by begging, shall be deemed to be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof, before any justice court, shall be sentenced by such court to hard labor upon the public highways, or other public work of the town in which he shall have been convicted, for a term not exceeding ten days; such labor to be performed by such offender in the custody and under the direction of any surveyor of highways, or officer discharging the duty of surveyor of highways, or such other public officer or contractor as may have charge of any public work for such town. SEC. 2. Every able-bodied person who shall apply to any overseer of the poor of any town for relief or support, may, by such overseer of the poor, be provided with work upon the highways or upon some other public work of the town where such application shall be made, and (*such overseer of the poor may) put such applicant at work for a term not exceeding ten days, under the direction of the surveyor of highways, or the officer discharging the duty of such surveyor, or such overseer of the poor may put such applicant to work upon some other public work of such town under the direction of the officer or contractor having control of the same, for a term not exceeding ten days; and such applicant, and any person convicted under the preceding section of this act, shall be supported and relieved by such overseer of the poor while such person is employed and faithfully labors upon such highway or public work, or is in the execution of a sentence imposed under the preceding section hereof; and if any person neglects or refuses to perform the work assigned him under the provisions of this section of this act, he shall be deemed to have committed the misdemeanor described in the first section of this act, and may be convicted and sentenced for such offense as is in the said preceding section provided. SEC. 3. Any surveyor of highways, or officer having charge of any public work to whose custody any person convicted of violating any provision of this *The words in parenthesis are not in the official copy of the act. act shall have been sentenced, may employ any means to compel such sentenced person to work, authorized to be employed by the superintendent of the State workhouse and house of correction to compel the inmates of that institution to labor, or he may use such means to make such sentenced person labor, as may be employed by any keeper of the asylum for the poor in the town where such sentenced person shall have been convicted. SEC. 4. Every person convicted for a second time of violating the provisions of this act, shall be sentenced to the state workhouse and house of correction for thirty days. SEC. 5. The overseer of the poor for any town adjoining another State shall cause a copy of this act to be posted in some conspicuous place, on or near every highway leading from an adjoining State into such town. RESOLUTION to authorize the board of State charities and corrections to exchange land of the State farm for adjacent land. Resolved, That the board of State charities and corrections are hereby authorized to exchange land of the State farm, adjacent to or near the land of Samuel Burlingame, for land of said Burlingame, for the purpose of providing a better entrance to the grounds of the new State prison, and a more advantageous distribution of the sewage therefrom; and that the general treasurer is hereby authorized to make and execute a deed of such land as the board of State charities and corrections may have agreed to exchange. RESOLUTION for the repair of the road leading to the State farm and making an appropriation therefor. Resolved, That the board of State charities and corrections be and they are hereby authorized and directed to repair and improve the road leading to the State farm from the line of the city of Providence, using the labor of the inmates of said institution as far as practicable therefor, and the gravel in front of the new State prison for the purpose of filling up such portions of said road as may require it, and the sum of two thousand dollars is hereby appropriated for such purpose; and the State auditor is hereby authorized to draw his orders upon the general treasurer for such portions of said sum as may be required from time to time, upon the receipt by him of properly authenticated vouchers. REPORT OF THE JOINT SPECIAL COMMITTEE TO SELECT A SUITABLE LOCATION FOR THE STATE INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL. (Presented January 30, 1878.) To the Legislature of the State of Rhode Island: The joint special committee appointed to select a suitable location for the State Industrial School, respectfully report, that soon after their appointment they organized by the choice of A. O. Bourn as chairman and S. P. Colt as secretary. Notice of a public hearing was then given, in pursuance of which they met in the Senate chamber, and were addressed by General A. E. Burnside, Hon. Thomas A. Doyle, Mayor of Providence; Hon. Jonathan Chace, of Lincoln; Hon. Nelson W. Aldrich, of Providence; Rev. Mr. Rugg, of Providence; Mr. Martin L. Elldridge, Superintendent of the Providence Reform School; Mrs. E. B. Chace, of Lincoln; and many others, all of whom heartily concurred in the expediency of the proposed institution. There was some diversity of opinion as to how it should be established and conducted, but all agreed that it should under no circumstances be located on the State Farm, or be connected by its management with that institution. The committee advertised in several newspapers in different sections of the State for a suitable location. In response, many localities were offered, most of which were visited and carefully examined. Mr. Whipple, of Georgiaville, who has taken a great interest in the establishment of the school, generously proposed to give to the State several acres of land for that purpose. While the committee fully appreciated the liberality of Mr. Whipple, they felt obliged to decline the offer, as the location was not such as, in their opinion, was best adapted for the school. Some places were rejected on account of the quality of the land, but most of them on account of their inaccessibility. Among the latter class were the Lapham Institute in Scituate, the Mount Hope and the Poppasquash Point farms in Bristol. The Lapham Institute would be a very cheap purchase, taking the first cost only into account; but its great distance from any railroad station prevented the committee from recommending it favorably. The Mount Hope farm, of 170 acres, valuable for its historical associations, its admirable location and the richness of its soil, and the Poppasquash Point farm, of 160 acres, which the committee unanimously agreed to be most beautifully situated, and precisely adapted to the wants of the school, were also rejected, only on account of their distance from the railroad centre of the State. The land which the committee recommend to the Legislature for the State Industrial School, is situated mostly in the tenth ward of the city of Providence, near Fruit Hill, and comprises the estates owned by Mrs. George W. Chapin, 45 acres. . $24,000 3,500 $27,500 in all seventy-four acres. The land is all of good quality. The Chapin farm is under the highest possible state of cultivation, is thoroughly drained in every part by porous tiles, under the direction of one of our most skillful engineers, has a pond with a good supply of water, a large stone house, two very good cottages, a large barn, extensive green-houses, hot-beds, and all the appointments for suc |