IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I 1.25 W IIIM IlilM ■ 50 -.it, J.^ lU •14 1.4 M 1.6 Photographic Sciences Corporation s V ^ ^9> V :<:i: endorses the recrtmniendaiibjl'i'.as presented by the As.sQcia:_ tion. Governors (irecn, of the Toronto Gaol, Cameron, of Woodstock, Kitchen, of Brantford, Cook, of Berlin, and. Cpidsqn of VVelkmd, have i^^s9, r^^^pressed ,thejf,ap,p^y^ai,.gf, these propo-sedretdrms. » -^ ♦•". '....-.>,•,,'■ .-..,.•. A circular from the Chairman of the Prison Reform Com- mittee asks, on behalf of the Prisoners' Aid Association of Canada, the co-operation of all good citizens in the cause of prison reform. The Association has memorialized the Ontario Government on the subject, and desires that organ ized societies and private citizens as well, should join in this endeavor to effect these most needed reforms, 'i'he Ontario Government has been asked to api)oint a Commission of comj)etent gentlemen to collect information regarding pris- ons, reformatories, houses of correction, workhouses, etc., with a view to the adoption of the most approved methods of dealing with the criminal classes. The circular further commends to the favorable consideration of the Oovern ment a series of re.solutions, embodying a number of much- needed reforms, having the endorsation of the leading penol- ogists of Canada and the United States. These recom- mendations include the cellular system for county jails, industrial schools and reformatories, conducted solely with a view to the reformation of character, for youthful convicts ; indeterminate sentences, with industrial employment, for tramps and habitual drunkards, etc. The praiseworthy efforts of the Committee deserve, and we trust they will receive, the sympathy and co-operation asked iox -Thf Week, March 15th, 1889. The Prisoners' Aid Association of Canada has issued a circular in which it askb the sympathy and co-operation of the public in its efforts to secure certain important reforms in the management of the prisoners and penitentiaries of the Dominion. These reforms will, if adopted, cure some serious evils that at present exist. They prevent the use of county jails for the permanent confinement of convicted prisoners They will, by the adoption of the separate or cellular system, do away with the monstrous wrong of throw- ing prisoners of all classes promiscuously together in the cells and corridors, thus compelling the young and compara- tively innocent often to associate with the vilest and mo<;t hardened offenders. They will aim at securing industrial emyloyment for all convicts, will send tramps and habitual drunkards to an institution where they can be brought under reformatory influences, be put to regular work, and detained under indeterminate sentences until evidence of reformation is given. These and other recommendations of the Com- mittee will, we are sure, command the warm sympathy and approval of all who have given any thought to the great question of lessening crime and reforming criminals. — Cma- dian Baptist^ March ai, 1889. The Prisoner^' Aid Association has done a [JiiljHr (till)' in directing atiention to the urgent need that exists for prison reform, even in enlightened Ontario. 'I'he letter, in another cokmin, indicates the lines upon which the reforms sliouhi be made. They will commend themselves, we feel con- vinced, to the good sense of the piil)lic, alike by their moi'er- ation and by their practicability, ^^'e siiall refer to this subji. ct agam, but in the meantime would bespeak for thi> letter the careful attention of all our readers. -Kvan^^elical Chitrchinan. We are glad to see the efforts made by the Prisoners' Aid Association of Canaiia in tlie cati.se of prison reform. We believe that the series of resolutions recommended by the Association to the consideration of the Ontario ( Government contains the jiilh of beneficent ciiiinge wliich is most desir- able in prison di.scipline in this country. It would be hard to mention a reform which has a firmer basis in the needs of the existing system, or which has so long been deprived of the effectual .miiathy of philanthropists. The disastrous results of allowing young iriminals to associate with old and hardened ones have made classification the strongest plank in the platforni of prison reform. Having separated the prisoner from his companions, the way is made clear for the influence of motives which appeal to individual man- hood, and for the character-reformation which is the ultimate object. The good resulting from industrial emiitoyment is a most important means of attaining that object. The pris, oner's bodily and mental powers are directed to useful work- and consequently away from the thoughts and associations in of criminality. More especially with regard to the young, dustriai employment and educational inlluence comljined pro- mise to remove such ott'enders from the surroundings v>'iiich are a defect in the present system. We trust that the com- mission asked of the Ontario (Government by the Associa- tion will be appointed, and that it will result in the adoption of imjirovements on the line laid down by the resolutions endorsed by the Association. — Christian Guardian. The thoughtful reader of these recommendations must have been struck with two things': 'I liat very ranch in our system of prison administration needs to be reformed ; and that hitherto so little .systewi has characterized prison admin- istration in Ontario.' The .Association has got to the root of the matter, when if. points out that no sufficient means are at present taken to prevent the co^ntinual recruiting of the criminal class from among the waifs and strays, anil the vicious among the youth of our communities. If crime i-> tf) l)e lessened, if the criunnal class and it is now, alas, a wellrecogni/cd class in society- is to be al>olished, or- nearly so, then we must not go on muki/ii;; criminals, either by neglect or otherwise, 'i'he only way to decrease the number of ( riminals is {v prevent boys and girls trou) growing up in crime. It is easier far to rec!;iim boys and girls from vicious ways than it is to reforn^ the hardened man or woman, steeped in crime. Stop re- cruiting the criminal class, and the army of the vicious and abandoned will soon be disl)aiided. There is no lle.\bilit\ in our penal system, no di.scretionary power given to judges or lo wardens, no account taken of circumstances, of mental and morid differences between privoners ; all are treated alike, and little or no inducement is lield out for reformation. 'l"he criminal class know and realize this ([uite well, and when convicted are content to serve their sentences and l)ide their time, when they will be free ag;iin to prey upon and torment s(;ciety. \V'hat is the remetly for this ? Clearly one remedy, as pointed out by the Association, is : the inauguration, especially in the case of juvenile criminals, of the system of inHicting indeterminate sentences. As Dr. Rose))rugh says: "There should be uni- fication in our prison system. The prisons should be graded, and the reformatory {jrinciple in its most improved form, and after the best models, should be incorporated with said system." We heartily endorse all these recommendations of the Association. It is almost unnecessary to add anything by way of com- ment to the mere statement of the reforms and ("hanges a4vocated by the Prisoners' Aid .Vssociation ; they will commend themselves, we feel convinced, to the good sense of the community. The great wonder is, that we have managed to get along without them thus far, and that they were not introduced long ago. The very projjosal of these somewhat radical changes in prison administration, coming as it does from a body of men exp-ericnced in the practical workings of our present system, shows that some reason, and indeed, an urgent one, must exist for the inauguration of the reforms referred to ; and that it is plainly the duty of the government to look into the matter seriously and care- ful!). -Evangelical Churchman. His Honor next referrec! to the ^^aol system. • He said it was a great mistake to put p.Axor in the hands of a police officer by which he might apprehend citizens ami confine tlK-m in the cells ulien tlu-y arc charged with wiy trivial offences. Vounj^ men are often C()n\icte(l oi otfenees which do not reall\- ->how moral ^;ui]t. In thi' jf.iol they consDr* with hardened criminals and so are educated in criuie. If, he con- cluded, the dei^raded and the \icious were to meet to dc\ ise a scheme f(;r the |)ro[)aL;ation of crime they could ailopt no system to serve their jjurposi- more fully than the present ^aol system. He notetl with pleasure that a society had been formed in the cit\' to improM.! our prison system, !on reform recommends the general education of the youth of both sexes in industrial pursuits, employing and training the facuIlKs of both inind and bodv in |)roducti\i; labor, as an efKicient means of preventing crime So also with iMlucation in all its lines whetlur moral, intellectual or industrial - there is no difference of opinion as to its necessitv, and they believe that under its intluence the time is coming, anil now is, when a large majority of the prisoners within the formative period of life may be returned to liberty as law-abiding and self-supporting citizens. .So again, ujion the subject of prison labor, there is no dif- ference of opinion among us as to its necessity. \\ ithout it tin re can be no discipline, no progress, no reformation, nothing of an intelligent prison administration. We believe, also, that prison labor has no appreciable effect on free labor, either in the prices of jiroducts or wages. How can it have, when the produ(-t of convict labor in the United States, as compared with convict labor in the same indus- tries, is less than two per cent-, ;ind the tcjtnl ])roduct of convict labor as compared with the total product of free labor is only fifty-four one-hundredthsof one per cent.? As to the systems of jirLson labor, there is doubtless a divergence of opinion among us, but that is only a matter of detail, to be determined by the circumstances of the locality in which the prison is built, and the class of prisoners to be emi)loyed. In Ohio, where we are grading our prisoners so as to have life prisoners and inconigibles in one prison, and young men under thirty convicted of their first offence in another, we are inclined to adopt for the first prison that system \,hich will make the most money for the State, and in the .second whatever system >vill most conduce to the reformation of the prisoner. In our n fortnatories for boys and in our reforma- tories for girls we consider the question of laboi the same as in om- common schools— no more and no less. In the matter of |irison labor, however, we are satisfied that more depends upon the efficiency of administration than upon the system adopted. Under an efficient partisan administration, where reformation of the pri.soner has no place, the contract system is undoubtedly the best, for it will make money without any lisk ; i)ut if the reformation of thi' |)risonir is to be the main ohjt'ct, then some other system must !)<• adopted, anil trained iifficers and a eivil sciviee administration is a necessity. Prison retorm is not sentimenlalism. It does not make aiartyrs of condemned murderers, or heroes out of convicted felons. It does not send women to the cells of the justly con n in this I'oimtry, having an ofiicinl and legalized existence, that is sc 'i a reproach an 1 <:urse 'o our civilization. Eui^ene Sinilh. A More of tlie vice and crime ihat prcv- upon 'the com munity can be directly traced to the corrupting infli"nces of the county jail, than to any other cause, not excepting ,!ic use of intoxicating liquors. Sinclair Ti>use\. Vice is more infectious than di.se.ise, and it would be more reasonable to put a man into a pesc-house to cure him of headache, than to confine a young offender in one of our common jails, organizeil on the common [)lan, to effect his xc{oxmAX.\on.Eti!vard Livingston. If it were the deliberate purpose to etsablish criminals in all that is evil, and to root out the last remains of virtuinis inclination, this puriiose could not be more effectually accom[)lished tlian by incarceration in county jails as they are now, with few excei)tions, constituted and governed. - Dorothea L. Dix. What is condemned on all hands is the indiscriminate overcrowding of the corridors by neophytes in crime and the hardened wretches who have grown old in wickedness. This should not be suffered to continue. The prison, instead of becoming a deterrent, is virtually a seminary of crime, where experts indoctrinate the juveniles in all the dark and devious ways that lead to wasted and ruined lives. — Canadian Presbyterian. lO CLASSIFICATION. Wherever rhese methods have been fully and fairly tried, crime has decreased and society in all respects has been largely benefited. Deterrence has not been weakened, but reformation hjs been largely increased. Among the means that have been proved to be of most service, the following are considered by the best authorities as being the most important : Classification, industrial em- ployment, indeterminate sentences, education, and prisoners' aid societies. The most important requirement in the reformation of prisoners is classification. Very little can be accomplished' in the reformation of prisoners while old offenders are allowed to associate with other prisoners. There is but one remedy, and that is the absolute separation of the prisoners, so that no prisoner shall come in contact with any other prisoner. No half measures will suffice, and (as well put by Dr. Meredith, of this city) "the choice must be between separation and contamination." This is known as the cellular, the individual, or the Philadelphia system. The separate system was recommended in England by a Select Committee of the House of Lords as far back as in 1835, again in 1847, and still again in 1850. In 1855 copies ui the " Report and Evidence of the Committee of the House of Lords " just referred to, were transmitted to the then Governor-Ceneral of Canada, by the Secretary of State for the Colonies, accompanied by an exhaustive circular despatch, in order, as the despatch exj^lained, "that the colony should have the benefit of the experienc of the Mother country and of the eminent men who have made that exjjerience their study, for the purpose of effecting any Amendments which may be needed in the prisons and system of prison discipline in use in Canada." And in urging the adoption of the separate sy.stem in Canada it is added : " You will bear in mind that no ordinary difficulties, nor, indeed, any difficulties, should be allowed to stand in the way of the establishment of the .system." Regarding the ne- cessity of industrial employment for prisoners, there is no difference of opinion among prison managers. There ran be no reformation or proper discipline without il. T/ie Mail. THE INDETERMINATE SENTENCE. Dr. E. C. Wines, one of the most emment of America's penologists, and the originator of the International Prison Commission, speaks of the Indeterminate Sentence as fol- 1 1 \ lows : " A criminal is a man who has committed an offence, and deserves punishment. Hut he is also a man morally diseased, and needs a cure. The prison is intended to effect both these ends the punishment and the cure ; nay, to effect the cure by means of the punishment. Now, as it is clearly imi)ossible to predict the date of a sick man's restoration to bodily health, so it is no less impossible to foretell the day when a moral patient will be restored to moral soundness. So that, by fixing the duration of the sentence in this latter case, we run a double risk, namely, on the one hand of turning the criminal loose on society before he is cured, and on the other of detaining him after he is cured. So that by maknig his release depend on the mere lapse of time, we are almost sure of committing a wrong on one side or the other -a wrong to society or a wrong to the ])risoner. Still, again, the protection to society is at once the end and the justification of imprisonment. But society is not protected by the criminal's imprisonment, unless he is reformed by it. 'I'here is the .same rea.son, therefore, for keeping as for putting him in prison until there is a moral certainty that, if set at liberty, he will not go out to prey upon honest people, and to desjioil them of their property. In such a case the end for which he was iinj)risoned (the protection of society) fails utterh. The State is cheated of its due benefit, and receives absolutely nothing for all the trouble and expense it has incurred in the apprehension, trial, conviction, and incarceration. We do not set the madman free till he is cured of his madness. Neither can we safely, nor even justly, set the criminal free till he is cured of his proclivity to crime. As the satety of society and the good of the lunatic reejuire that his confine- ment should be regulated upon this principle, so equally do the safetv of society and the good of the criminal require that his detention .should be adjusted upon the same prin- vi[)Ie." In the able paper on "Prison Ref'irm" read by Dr. A. M. Rosebrugh, before the Canadian Institute, the subject of Indeterminate Sentences was dealt with. The main idea ol this system is that a person frecjuently convicted of crime is in the same category as an insane person, and should be, when convicted, sent to prison and detained until apparently cured. This plan has been ably discussed and advocated by the late Hon. F. Hill, Inspector-Oeneral of Prisons for Scotlan(l. In 1836 the system was adopted on Norfolk Island, and is now approved by experts the world over. Conditional liberation of criminalij naturally follows the mm 12 adoption of Indtterminnte Sentences. The system origin- ated in England as the ticketof-leave plan, and there the authorities are steadily improving and extending its ojjera- tions with the most beneficial results. Britain has also set another good e.xample in the almost universal adoj)tion of compulsory education of every illiterate criminal coir.mitted to prison. The whole aim of prison discipline should be toward reformation of the criminal nnd deterring him from future crinii'. T/ie Mail. From the report of the standing committee of the National Prison Association on the reform of the criminal law : 1. The substitution of indeterminate sentences in all cases of conviction, even for minor offences. This indeterminate sentence is now almost universal in reform and industrial schools, where the offence is often only nominal, and it could be easily introduced in all ihi; minor prisons. ^ 2. The extencion of this indeterminate sentence into perpetual confinement for incorrigible offenders. If the offeiu:e proves to be the result of insanity, epilepsy, habitual drunkenness or the like, then let the continement i>e suffi- cient for restraint and the protection of society without tjeing penal. Projessor IV'aviand, who was one of this committee, followed the reading of the report with some general remarks in the same line : " The treatment of a prisoner naturally divided itself into two aspects. I^ither he must be reformed or incapacitated for i'urther crime by the depriva- tion of his life or his liberty. If a {)risoner was to be released merely because an arbitrary period was at an end, that was deliberately throwing society into danger. For such continually recurring dangers indeterminate sentences were the only alternative. In the matter of the indeterminate sentence, the National Prison Congress is steadily and surely growing up to ihe conviction of its absolute necessity, if any great progress is to be made in the reformation of criminals. In fact, I be- lieve it is safe to say that that conviction has already been reached, so far at' least as to sentences of young men Vmder thirty years of age, convieted of their first offence. It be- lieves also that prisoners who have indicated, by a third coiiviction, that they are incorrigibly criminid, should be senitehced for life, and' should not be paroled, at least till 13 they have served the maximum period fixed by law for the crime for which they have lieen convicted. In the matter of city and county jails, the National Prison Congress has never had but one opinion since 1 have attended its annual sessions, and its belief is that the average American jail is an offence against God and hu- manity, and that no large results can be attained in checking the- rising tide of crime until it is abolished. We believe there is but one remedy, and that is the absolute separation of prisoners, so that no prisoners shall come in contact with any other prisoner. In Ohio we are building all our new jails- to secure this result. We believe also that the county jail should be solely* a place of detention for prisoners awaiting trial, and that convicted prisoners should be sent to district workhouses or to the penitentiary, as the gravity of the offence may indicate. 'I'his result has already been secured in part by authorizing counties to send their misde- meanants to the workhouses at Cleveland and Cincinnati, and (piite a number have availed themselves of the privilege. — Gen. Bn'nkerhojf, of Ohio. PRISON l.\bOr. Extracts from addresses made at the Annual Meeting of Prisoners' Aid Association, February 26th, 18S9, The President, Hon. S. H. Blake, spoke as follows : — " We should have had a member of the Government here to-night to condescend to listen to the matters that will come up, and to reforms for which we want legislation ; they were invited." A commission should be issued, he said, to investigate these questions. It was a monstrous wrong to put a man in {jrison and keep him in compulsory iclleness. The prisoner's labor should be productive. I'urn- ing to the question of classification of criminals, he said places of detention were wanted. He did not think there were so many difliculties in the way of prison lal)or as labor unions contended ; but, anyway, a coniniission should be appointed to investigate. He advocated indeterminate sentences for second offenders. Returning to the question of classification, he pointed out the danger into which the State threw youn^, offenders by herding them with the har- dened criminals, and concluded by calling for a loud voice to go from that meeting for a commission to '00k into the present system of prisons, and for remedial measures. mm. Rev. I). J. Macdonnei,l made a forcible speech, in which Ke emphiisized the efficacy of home influences as a i)reven- tive against crime, and referred as follows to the cjuestion of prison labor: " I am amazed at the folly of workingmen who object to prisoners working in prison. 1 do not know how far they can see beyond their noses, but it is so mani- festly in the interest of the community that I cannot see how they can object." Dr. Lavell made a speech that was full of touching in- stances'of the reformation of criminals, and dealt with the evils of the present system. He did not think the State .should consider its whole duty to society done when it placed criminals in a prison and provided for their j)unish- ment. The present system tends to the manufacture rather, than the reformation of crimnals, simj)ly because of the ab.sence of classification. When he left Kingiiton there were in the penitentiary 544 criminals, from sixteen years of age upward. Sixty per cent, are under thirty years of age ; forty- five per cent, are under twenty-five ; and over fifteen per cent, under twenty years of age. Of the 178 j)risoners received in 1888, twenty per cent, were repeaters. He con- tended that the prison should be a school to fit the prison ers to take a place in society on their release. The State should consider them as wards. If they cannot read and write, they should be taught. They should be educated morally, mentally and physically. The men must be trained to industrial pursuits. The men who are " repeaters " are not those who have been trained in industrial pursuits. Work in prisons, to be reformatory, must be intelligent. He had no sympathy with the argimients of labor unions against prison labor. WHITTIER ON IDLENESS IN PRISONS. A great meeting is to be held in New York this week to protest against the enforced idleness of prisoners. The prisoners themselves are .said to be anxious for work. ']"he views of the Quaker poet on the subject are given in this len«r: — ._ • „■■::..'::■.'■■ '■■"''-. — v?^* • "' , '' Uasvers, MASi)., A/>fi7 J, iSSq. ■ ^Mv Dear Mr. Round, — I am glad a public meeting is to be held in your city to protest in the, name of Christianity arid human'ity against the enforced idlent^ss in prisons, perili' »5 ous alike to body and mind, which can only result in filling your prisons with maniacs. My sympathies are with the laboring class in all their just demands, and 1 would tavor every legitimate measure which promises to benefit them. But the suppression of labor in the prisons is too small a gain for them to be purchased by the transformation of prisons into madhouses. I trust further reflection and knowledge of the dreadful consequences of the slow torture of brooding idleness will ere -long induce them to forego what must be a trifling benefit at the best. With my best wishes for the success of your philanthropic endeavors, I am truly thy friend, loHN O. Whittier. We n^ust press for a commission. A good report on ttie subject will give the Government something to act upon, and remove, to a large extent, the fear which, ut present, ()re- vents their interfering with the C'ounty Councils in the man- aj:;ement of the gaols.- v7?;«. ii'. //. Blake. You will accomi)lish more thro .gh a Government com mission than in any other ^.v^. -Warden N. I.avell. A practical difficulty in prison reform is the divided con trol of the County gaols. In many cases the (rovernmenl Inspector makes certain recommendations with regard to a particular gaol. This recommendation is ignored by the County Council. The recommendation is repeated, and is again ignored, and so on, year after year; and the Govern- ment declines to coerce the County Council, for ear of endangering their popularity. The remedy is for the Ciov- ernment to assume complete control of all tlu; gaols of the Province.— _/. Cameron^ Gaoler, Woodstock. The remedy is in anut-shell,- a central prison in thC east and a central prison in the west, — both on the I'Llmira reformatory principle, and large emuigi to completely relieve the gaols of all prisoners under sentence, just what I rcf f)m mended to the (iovcnment years ago.- y. W. Langmuir, late InspecU)}- of Prisons. Oommunications on the subject of Prison Reform should be directed to Dr. A. M. Rosebrugh, Chairman of the Prison Reform Committee, 121 Church Street, Toronto. Id )n