Perceiving from the legislative journal of one of our youngest and most thriving Western States, that steps were about to be taken towards the adoption of a general penitentiary system, we made some modest inquiries as to the probable result, and in reply received the following information: “The Commissioners by whom the plan was got up, were a set of politicians. One of them went East to get a plan, and in talking with him, I found he was loud in his condemnation of the separate system, though he admitted he had never seen a prison on that plan, and was without the slightest knowledge of its nature and operation! His own _greatest objection to it was on the ground of expense_--nor would he believe that the whole resources of the State were adequate to the building of a secure prison on the separate system for one hundred convicts.” At this point we concluded to send, by return mail, a copy of the number of our Journal for January, 1850, containing the plans and estimates for a separate prison, for the reception of one hundred prisoners; but we were estopped by the very next paragraph of our correspondent’s letter. “He would neither receive information nor listen to reason on the subject. A large wooden building was put up, and about forty convicts are in it, cutting stone for the permanent building, which, at the rate they now work, will be finished in about fifty years!” “The office of prison Commissioner (the incumbent of which was originally appointed by the Executive) was last winter made elective on joint ballot of the Legislature. An applicant for the office succeeded, by dint of a close siege, to induce the Legislature to appoint him. But the Governor, knowing that this same man had been guilty of extravagance and corruption in the same post before, exercised the power of removal which was left to him; and when the newly elected Commissioner came to the prison with the certificate of his election in his pocket, he was met by the incumbent with a document from the Governor, removing him from the office, and appointing the old one to fill the vacancy!” “What will become of the convicts while politicians are fighting for the custody of them,” says our correspondent, “is more than we can tell.”