Chap. 174.—JOINT RESOLUTION authorizing the governor to hire
convicts to the Abingdon Coal and Iron railroad company.

Approved February 23, 1888.

1. Be it resolved by the house of delegates (the senate con- '
curring), That the governor be and he is hereby authorized |
to hire for a period not exceeding twelve months from the '
date of the contract, to the Abingdon coal and iron railroad
company, convicts, not in excess of two hundred and fifty in
number, on the terms prescribed by law as to wages, safe-
keeping, treatment and discipline, whenever he is furnished
with satisfactory evidence that the town of Abingdon, in its
corporate capacity, has subscribed for and made provisions
for the payment as called for, of twenty thousand dollars to
the capital stock of said railroad company. Convicts so
hired to said company to be employed exclusively in Wash-
ington county, in grading fifteen miles of railroad from
Abingdon, southeastwardly to the vicinity of the vast de-
posits of iron ore and manganese in that part of Washington
county, and the adjacent county of Johnson, Tennessee, and
Ashe and Watauga counties in North Carolina, which will
thus be made available for manufacturing in this state: pro-
vided, that nothing in this resolution shall interfere with the
right of any county to preference in obtaining convicts for
working its public roads under the general law relating
thereto: and provided further, that this resolution shall not
be construed as giving the said company any right to pre-
ference over other railroad companies which have already
made application under the general law.

2. This resolution shall be in force from its passage.