3> so ^^JAavaaiHv^- ^<9A«vaan-# ^JITVDJO^ ^;^l■llBRARYO/ ^JO-^ ;;0FCAIIF0M|^ \WEUNIVER% o ^lOSANCElfj> o %d3AINn3WV^ ^OFCALIFO^,)^ 6^ "^^^Aavaaii-^^ vlOSANCELfj> 1^ ^^^M•LIBRARYQ<^ a^IUBRARYQ^ ^^WE•UNIVERS•/^ ^/5a3AiNn-3WV^ ^. ''aaAiNa-awv ^0FCALIF0/?4j, ^OFCAIIFO/?,!!^ ^^AavjiaiH^ ^^JAavaan-^- ^WE•UNIVERS/A. o ^lUBRARYO/c u2 i li— ' ^ %a3AINa-3WV^ '^«!/OJIIV0-3O"^ i^OFCAlIFO/?^ ''^Aavaan-i^ aWEUNIVERS/a ^VclOSANGElfj^ o ^OFCAllFO% '%a3AiNn-3Wv >&Aavaani^ ^lOSANCElfj> 33 ■< ^/ya3AiNn-3Wv vim-AUrFlfr. ^ILIBRARYO^ -,^lllBRARYQr^ ^^.MEUNIVEW^/^ ^lOSA "^iSOJIlVOJO^ "^(I/OJIIVDJO^ "^AajAiNnawv fillTt . ^WEUNIVERiyA ' ' OS ANGElfj> ^^l•LIBRA; '^-i/OJ nV3JV3 ■''^UJIlVJ-iO' ^OFCALIFO/?^ ^OFCALIFO/?^ 'JilJJ.'xY'liUl"^' '"^omwf^ •^tyAJivaaiiiv*^ ^^iiiJNViUi-^^ ^WE•UNIVERy/A ^ ^/sa3AiNn-3Wv' ■;Y-a' LIBRARY aOFCAIIF0/?a/^ .^ofcalifo/?^. ' visited them \\-ould see what these schoolmistresses have achieved, for I look upon the improvement as principally due to education. The great desire now with the women is to come to school and be educated and enlightened ; formerly it was their endeavour to keep away from it. The value of a certain kind of education, not a high education, but a moral training, is felt throughout the whole establishments, both by males and females. ** "We first thought ourselves justified in adopting the issue THE IRISH SYSTEM. of tickets-of-leave about November last, wlien wq felt that we bad some grounds to suppose tliat they might be issued care- fully, and under proper safeguards. " The plan is by the institution of intermediate establishments between the prisons and the world, ^^o found that men dis- charged out of the prisons in the ordinary way Avere perfect children ; they did not know what to do ; they had not been thinking for themselves for years, and were dependent upon every person they came near; and whatever might have been their intentions to reform, the moment they were outside the prison they fell into their old evil associations again, and w^re cjuite astray as to ■v\hat they should do. This was partly what induced us to reconmiend a system of intermediate establish- ments. We thought also that we should be enabled to place them in a position in which the community woidd be rather more satisfied with the test of tlieir reformation ; for unless the community would employ the discharged criminal we felt that whatever we might do in prison, the difficulty was not solved. It is q^uite clear from what has occurred in England, and what has been going on for some time, that that has been the great difficulty. The people are not satisfied without a test of a man's character, however exemplary you might term him and consider him in the prison, where he is watched by prison officers and every one around him, still it is not considered by the world as satisfactory as if he was placed in a position M'here he NA'ould be exposed to temptation : we therefore reconmiend the institution of these establishments, where the men would have greater freedom of action." We omit here the details given to the Committee, and proceed with the general principles and the history of the Intermediate Pi'isons : — " In recommending these establishments, we found that there was no new principle to be tested as to the treatment of criminals. AVe Avere merely adopting what had been found successful by philanthropic institutions in tliis country and on 10 OVR CO^-VICTS. tlio Continent. All that was novel was it,s application to the Convict establishments ; and as the success of the philanthropic institutions which had been tested in this country and on the Continent was dependent upon individualising and acting on men in small numbers, through moral agency, oiu' experiment, if I may so term it, was how we could adopt prison machinery, that is, the officers of prison establishments to become moral agents. In consequence of the vacancy of a schoolmaster, we were enabled to make a fresh appointment, which we termed that of a lecturer, to the institution in Dublin. He was a j)erson fortunately with a speciality for the calling, and was practically conversant with the different reformatory institutions here and on the Continent. There was therefore no difficulty in that respect ; but we had to adopt the existing prison officers as our trades' instructors, and, as we hoj^ed, our moral agents ; and there was apparently our difficulty. A shoemaker instructor was put over his class of shoemakers, and told that he was to be responsible not only for the industry of the men under him, but also for their characters ; that he was to make himself conversant "with all concerning them. The same was told to every man in charge of a class ; the tailor of his class, the carpenter, and so on. They were informed that diu-ing the time of instruction at the trades they were to converse T\'ith the prisoners, allude to the subject of the lectiu'e of the preceding evening which they all attended, and in every way to act as moral agents throughout the number of hoiu's that they were with them ; in addition to which, they were to aid in prociu'ing emplo^mient, Avhere they could do so, outside the prison, for the men on discharge. "We find this work extremely well ; wo have now discharged 5 1 males on tickets of license, and 18 females ; 49 males have been absolutely discharged, making a total of 100 males who have passed already thi-ough these intermediate establishments, one at tSmithfield, in Dublin, and the other at Fort Camden, at the mouth of Cork Harbour. I have had a return, and a very accurate one, collected, of those THE lEISir SYSTEM. 11 who have been discharged ou tickets of license upwards of six weeks, and which would afford some test, because the men when fu-st they go out are apt to get into trouble. I have a rotiu-n of the 23 -who were discharged, and who have been out six weeks and upwards; 21 out of 23, I am prepared to prove, from the employers and from themselves, are doing well, and there is every satisfactory idea that they are refonned men. We have 10 or 12 now in Dublin, in employment, who constantly attend the lectiu-es, though discharged from prison, and in many cases then- employers come with them, which I think bears testimony to what the lectiu'es have done for the prisoners. Our lectiu'er has lately, ■s^^thin the last fort- night or three weeks, thought of a plan (and to me it appears a very good plan), of collecting those men who are on licenses in DubHn at fortnightly meetings in the evening, for the purpose of letting them put their saAdngs in the Savings' Bank ; and one meeting has already been held, attended by every man in Dublin who has had a ticket of license issued to him, and a deposit of Is. from his wages has been made by each man to commence with. "That meeting was about a fortnight ago, and was the first meeting, the only meeting that has yet been held; and they all attended, to put down their shilling each out of their wages. Although I have only made a calculation with regard to those men on tickets of license who have been out that time, yet there are many others wlio have been absolutely discharged, and have had the benefit, if I may so term it, of these intermediate establishments, who wo know are doing well, whom I have seen personally many times ; and I am quite sure they are giving satisfaction to their employers, and are going on in an honest course. I have made it my business to have enquiries made respecting them, and I have recently seen the employers of the men myself. " The results, so far as I have ascertained, are most satisfactory. So far as regards the freedom of agency, 12 OUR CO^'VIOTS. which these men have, to do wrong in the establishment, •w'e have on several occasions tried them in this way : I have employed them when public works have required it. A car- penter having been required at the Model Prison for some time, I have tried the experiment, if I may so term it, of sending one of these men every morning to this work, through the city, nearly two miles off, and back again, to return to the lecture in the evening ; and he has done this for nearly two months, every day, by liimself, no warder "with him ; and, passing by the public-houses, he returns regularly, and per- forms the day's work both to the good of the public service and to the satisfaction of the Governor of the prison where he is working. I have sent down other prisoners with mes- sages from one prison to another, and they have retiu-ned ; many men, a week or a fortnight before the time of theii* discharge, I have allowed to go out and piu-chase their tools, so that they may not be out of work for any want of that kind, also their clothes ; they have returned punctually. I have found no aj)pearance of anything like drink on them, or of any irregularity whatever. Each man is allov>-ed to spend a certain portion of his earnings; his earnings, perhaps, would average Is. a week, and he is allowed to spend 6d. of it if he should so desire. There are many who have not drawn a farthing; they prefer keeping the money for the pur- pose of emigrating, in many cases. Others, again, have bought little matters for their breakfast, such as a herring, and their clothes, and their tools as they have required them, and so on. They dine together in a large hall, which acts as a Mechanics' Institute, and their exercise is taken free from suj^er- vision ; they are not watched in any way, and we have found no ii-regularity whatever; it is impossible to find a more orderly establislmaent in every way with regard either to lan- guage or conduct. There were three cases at the fii'st opening of men who were sent from the prisons, ■\^'ith respect to whom, after a fortnight's test, I found, although they came with THE IHISn SYSTEM. 18 exemplary charactora from the prisons, they were not persons that would do to he trusted ; they wanted that sort of watch- ing which we could not give them, and were returned to the prisons. There is always, as will be seen, a sort of nucleus preserved in this establishment ; and though large draughts come occasionally of 30 or 35 fi-om the prisons, in the coiu-se of three or four days they all settle to their places in con- sequence of this nucleus which is left, and the establishment goes on orderly enough. We have had 80 in at a time ; there are at present only 60. It is important that there should be sniall numbers, because it gives greater facilities for indi- ^'idualising. With regard to the work perfcft-med, there is no doubt that considerably more is done than was ever per- formed in the prisons. There is an amoimt of willing industry that we do not find in the prisons generally ; and as the trades' instructors in this establishment were the prison officers, they are very good judges with regard to the willing natiu-e of the industry. In addition to this estabhshment at Smithfield, there are two others ; one has been recently opened ; the other has been open the same tinae as Smithfield ; it is at the mouth of Cork Harbour. It does not present the same ad- vantages as Smithfield for getting employment for the men, one being in Dublin, and the other isolated ; but still I am satisfied that the working of it is good, that the same principle pervades it, and that we have reason to be satisfied vath the officers who are tliore ; of coiirse tliey have boon selected for the purpose from the different prisons, hut we approve of its internal working. "It has been in operation the same time as Smithfield; it commenced in January last ; and Lord C^utuisi.E, who has looked thoroughly through the establishments, and is as prac- tically conversant witli the Smithfield one as I am, from visiting it tiireo or four times a week, and looking over every book and register connected witli it, is so satisfied with its working;- that lie has allowed us to establish others, and 1 14 orR coxviCTs. have just opened another at the mouth of Cork Harbour, opposite to Fort Camden, Fort Carlisle, with the same number of prisoners, namely, 85. In a fortnight's time we shall open another industrial establishment in Dublin to hold 70. "There are 230 prisoners at the present moment on this system; there will in a fortnight's time be 70 more, making 300 in four establishments. We are then going to erect (and they are in the course of erection) eight moveable iron build- ings, the same as there were at the Curragh Camp, or at Alder shot, for the troops, to hold 50 in each, so that the same system can be pursued ; that is, individualising in each prison or tent, -if I may so call it, the 50 prisoners, and keep each sound in itself, with the power of moving these prisons as we wish, or as the public service requires. "These buildings are just like the soldiers' tents; we have, in fact, taken as a model what they had in the Crimea, at Aldershot, and on the Curragh. They are soldiers' iron rooms, lined, with beds in them to hold 50, and an officer's room on each side ; they are inexpensive. The great objection to Convict laboiu" has been that you must find a large pubHc work suffi- cient to warrant the erection of an expensive prison ; and if you combine well-conducted prisoners and indifferently - conducted prisoners, and apjply them to that sort of laboiu*, it is necessary to have a kind of secui'ity which does cause expense. But if we make a good selection for small works, as we are doing, we need not be particular about the sort of security or the number of prison officers placed over them, and therefore it will be inexpensive labour to the public service. The fii'st two Iniild- ings, wliich will be erected in about six weeks, will be on Lusk Common, about twelve miles from Dublin, and the men will be filtered out of tliese two prisons of fifties into the community. They will be employed there in erecting our juvenile prison, or rather in commencing it. Men will be brought up from the forts I have spoken of, -n'here the}- have not the advantages which Smithfield affords, being isolated ; THE IRISH SYSTEM. 15 tliey will be brought up from tlioso estabbsbments to this one at Lusk Common, and as contractors will be doing work close to them, they Avoidd bo in a place to offer these people employ- ment if they deserve it ; their state -n-ill be just the same as that of the free laboiu*ers, so far as having opportunities of com- mitting themselves. The expense of each of these moveable and lined huts, to hold 50 men and three ofEcers, will be £330. *' I contemplate other advantages as likely to result from the system besides those already mentioned ; and in considering that system, it was with a far -^-ider view than merely as regarded tickets of license. ""We believe that it would be a substitute, and a very favourable substitute, for any general system of shortening sentences ; it has been some time generally felt that an uncertainty with regard to sentences is a gTeat evil. However convenient (and I cj[uite acknowledge the convenience) it may be for prison authorities to hold out, as an inducement to good prison conduct, that the prisoners should lose 25 per cent, of their punishment, or be released at the end of the tliird 3'ear instead of at the end of the fourth, I cannot think that such a course will tend to genuine reformation. I should be unbelieving in the reformation of any man who would require so strong a stimulus as to be let off one-fourth of his punishment to induce his reformation ; I slioidd infinitely prefer to see that man, witli a well-modified system of imprisomuent, at the termination of liis sentence (such as that which I mention) in a situation where he can be tested before he goes out. I should hope that that woidd be a sufficiont stimulus for anj- good prison conduct ; if it was not, I sliould be very doubtful of the reformation of tlu- man." Sir "Walter thus expresses his views of the necessity of dealing in our own country with the crime that belongs to us : — "I believe it to be flu.- best plan to retain them in our own 16 ourv co^TICTf^. country, because Ave liave the means of watching them and rendering them powerless "«'ith a proper system of police. I believe that there is no coimtry like oiu* own for dealing with such men ; I think any spot allocated for that purpose would end in a sort of Norfolk Island again ; it would be of no possible advantage. I believe that if we cannot manage those characters with our good police system throughout the country, they cannot be managed elsewhere ; but I do not anticipate that they would be any trouble to us." Wlien men are discharged from the Convict Prisons, in- formation is sent to the police of the district to which he returns. " If a man has been discharged to his locality, with every professed intention on his part to go on in the same coui'se of crime again, the police have been informed that he intends so doing. There could be no possible compunction in notifying that to the police. A confidential letter is sent to the head of the constabulary of the loeaKty to wliich I know he is gone, because I pay his fare to that place, and it is notified to the head of the eonstfibulary that such a man has gone there with the professed intention of carrying on his career of crime. In the case of such a man, I have no compunction in marking him ; but I should have the greatest in the case of a man who I believed was a reformed character." 'We Bhall not here enter into the details of the working of the system, or of the subsequent adoption of the ticket -of - leave system, and the success which attended it when carried out with strict attention to the conditions of the license. These will be reserved for the next cliapter. It is oiu- present object to present a vivid idea of the operation of the system, as derived from the testimonies borne b}' independent ■s\-itnesses -nho have given the subject their personal examination. The first is from Mr. Eecorder Hill, as given in a paper read at the first meeting of the Social Science Association at Birmingham, in October, 18.57 : — THE IRISH SYSTEM. 17^ " Having learut from tlie official reports, and also from private information, that criminals in the Irish Convict Prisons, have been treated from the year 1853 on sound reformatory principles, rapidly developing themselves into an excellent sj-stem, I repaired to Ireland, in the month of August last, to investigate for myseK the results, so far as the limited period during which it has heen in operation permits trust- worthy conclusions to he drawn. "Facilities for the most rigid scrutiny were afforded me in ahimdance. Of these I availed myself to the best of my ability, and I am xmder the impression that the facts which I am about to lay before the Section, merit its entire confidence." Mr. Hill then proceeds to give a full detail of the system, v.hich we must omit, to pass on to his j)ersonal observation of the Public Works Prisons, and of the Intermediate Prisons : — " On the Convict's arrival at Spike Island, he acquii'es the privilege of earning, by diligence and conduct, certain small gratuities, which are placed to his credit in the accounts of the establishment, and he is furnished with a memorandum-book, in which the increase of this fund is recorded monthly. On admittance to the intermediate stage, ho is entitled, in addition to these gratuities, to a small portion of his earnings, which, by imremitting industry during the hours of laboiu", he may raise to half-a-cro-s\ni per week. And further, he enjoys, for the first time since his imprisonment, the privilege of di-awing out of these earnings, for expenditure, sixpence per week ; liis choice of articles for purchase being imcontroUed, except as to intoxicating drinks, which are wholly prohibited. These little books are often called for by a director or superior officer, and a friendly consultation ensues as to the state of the prisoner's funds. When it is found that the sixpence has been regularly added to the savings, an occurrence so frequent as to form the ride (spending being the exception), the man is congratulated, not only on his growing store, but on his power of seK-coumiand. When the allowance has been accumulated for a time, and is c 18 OUll CONVICTS. then spont on some article of dross to be worn on his discliarge, there is still ground for satisfaction, unless a love of finery lias been exhibited. Sometimes, however, the siiperior shews signs of disappointment, as when, on one occasion. Captain Crofton found that a prisoner's weekly sixpences had for some months been wasted iipon tobacco. No expression of disapproval, however, is suffered to escape, as it would lead the individual to the conclusion that, although he had a nominal right to dispose of his money at his own discretion (or indiscretion), he was in truth under such restraint in its exercise as to paralyze his free agency. The Captain began by ashing the man what had originally brought him into trouble. * Drink,' was his reply. * Are you not afraid of again being decoyed into the habit of drinking, when you leave this place.' 'Not at all,' was the confident assurance. * I have now had no drink for years, and I do very well without it.' * But you were for years without tobacco, and although you suffered much at first, you discovered after a time that tobacco is not essential to your comfort. Yet the moment you are allowed to purchase tobacco you exercise the permission. How can you be sure that as you have not been able to resist tobacco, you shall be able to resist drink when you have the power of obtaining it ?' The poor fellow reflected on this conversation, and a subsequent inspection of his book shewed that he had gradually diminished his outlay on the narcotic imtil he had abandoned it altogether ; adding the saving thus produced to his permanent fund. ** When the prison authorities observe that an intermediate man has acquired some capacity for self-control, he is sent out on messages. It is foimd in practice that he does not abuse this privilege, but having transacted his business with promptitude, he straightway returns. A number of such men will then be entrusted to leave the estabhshment, for the piu-pose of perform- ing some work procured for them at a distance from their home, returning every night immediately on the conclusion of the day's labour. Here, again, instances of abuse, such, for instance, as THE lEISH SYSTEM. 19 entering a piiblic-houso, arc rare, if not altogotlier unkno-^m. TliG intermediate man, liaving now establislied a character, is entrusted -with money to make purcliases, or to pay bills on Lelialf of the prison ; and what may, perhaps, he justly con- sidered as a surer criterion that liis character is known to be deserving-, is that such of his comrades as remain at home are in the habit of employing him on commissions to buy for them, and they place in his hands moneys for that purpose. A few mouths ago a messenger so employed, when he retui'ned, reported that he had lost sixpence belonging to one of his fellows. He was in great distress, but was reassured by the unanimous voice of the whole body, declaring that no thought of malversation had entered their minds. Subsequently, one uf the men found the piece of money in an apartment, where it must have been accidentally dropped, "Meanwhile, the studies begun in Mountjoy and continued in Spike Island are far from being neglected, either by teachers or pupils ; and having reference to tlie habits formed by the training in the lower stages, my hearers will not be surprised to find the individual prepared for the task of seK-education, and strongly urged by his approaching change of life to make the best of liis opportunities. From the circumstance of Smith- field being situated in Dublin, I had more frecj^uent opportunities of becoming accjuainted with the men there x^laced, than with those at the Forts or at Lusk. The hundred inmates of Smith- field have for their schoolmaster and lecturer, Mr. Organ, an able, well-informed, and most devoted public servant, whose appointment reflects great credit on the gentlemen who dis- covered his value, as he then occupied an obscure position in life. ]\Ir. OiiGAK possesses the gift of captivating the hearts while he cultivates the minds of his pupils ; and well lie deserves his ascendancy over them. He does not limit his exertions to the appointed duties of a teacher. He has been indefatigable in seeking out sitiuitions for intermediate men, as they became entitled to their discharge. AVith regard to those who quit 20 OUR CONVICTS. on license, they, as I have already stated, are retained until an approved master admits them into his service. " Nor does Mr. Org.vI'^'s kind tutelage come to an end on their enlargement. So far as it is possible he watches over them, even when they are far away. He keeps up a frequent and laborious correspondence with all who desire to avail themselves of his services. His successful laboui's have attracted the atten- tion of the Lord Lieutenant, who not seldom joins the audience at the evening lectiu-es, and takes part in questioning the men on what they have heard. The subjects are multifarious. Outlines of history, sacred and profane ; in particular the history of discovery, illustrated by maps. The study (for so it may be called) of emigration, begun at Spike Island, is continued and pursued into its details. The various forms of government prevailing in the world are canvassed, and the necessity for laws protecting life and property are made evident, even to the understandings and consciences of those by whom they have been violated. Matters of elementary science are explained and illustrated, with a view, among other purposes, to extend the men's knowledge of common things. Principles of political economy are not neglected, especially those which must ever govern the relations between the employer and emploj-ed. The students are thus led to see the folly of strikes, how destructive they are to the permanent welfare of working men, promoting only the interests of cunning leaders, who are sup- ported often luxiu'iously on the sacrifices made by their deluded followers. Saturday afternoon brings a kind of festival, to which the pupils look forward with great interest. The school lessons and the lectiu'es of the prior days form the subject of what is there called competitive examination. The men are divided into two sections, sitting opposite to each other, each division contending for the victory, which is won by the greatest nimiber of successful answers to questions devised by the opponent party. Preparations for this conflict are in progress every night, the inmates of the same dormitor}' exercising themselves THE IRISH SYSTEM. 21 by rehearsals for the coming event ; these clormitories being lighted by gas up to a certain hour. "I Tvas invited to propound questions, and I availed myself of the excellent opportunity thus afforded to test the genuine- ness of the kno-R-ledge acquired by the Smithfield men. Nothing could be more satisfactory. The stock question and the set ans-^er have no place hero. It was evident that the students rcfleelcd on vrhat thfy heard ; so that humble as their learning is, it performs, perhaps, the most important function of know- lege, it feeds the mind with wholesome nutriment, and occupicB it with thoughts supplanting, and, in time, it is to be hoped, utterly excluding, all tendencies to vicious and debasing reverie.^ and conversations. '• At Lusk (jfifteen miles from Dublin), I found a body of intermediate men engaged in forming a garden on open heath land, a large tract of which is to be brought under cultivation by Convict labour. Their dwelling, to be supplied with vege- tables from the garden, is constructed of corrugated sheet iron, with an interior lining of boards for warmth. It comprehends two distinct erections, each consisting of a single spacious room, which, by the slinging of hammocks, becomes at night a dor- mitory. One of these rooms is by day their kitchen and house- place ; the other their chapel, school, lecture-room, and library. Each of these two apartments is calculated to give sleeping room to 50 men. They are capable of removal at a slight cost, being light, readily taken to pieces, and as easily reconstructed ; consecj[uently they are weU adapted for temporary stations like this, which is to be the residence of Convict artificers engaged in buihling a juvenile prison about to be erected in the imme- diate neighbourhood. Iron edifices like these have been some time in use at th.e Forts, and experience has proved them to bo very comfortable habitations. The portabilit}' of these rooms will overcome the difilcidties which have been experienced in emploj-ing bodies of men at tasks which are completed ■\\ithin short periods of time. Not being prisons, liowevcr, they are 22 OUR c•o^-VICT^. only suitaLlo for Convicts wlio can Le lield to tlio spot Ly moral restraints. But intermediate men are striving to acquire such, a character as will recommend them to employers, and thus accelerate their discharge ; consecj^uentl}^ desertion rarely, if ever, occurs. I heard of no instance in which it had been attempted. Bodies of men so trained may surely be tiu'ned to the best account. Thousands of hands might be usefully employed on public works of pressing necessity (like harbom-s of refuge and coast defences), in which neither private capital, nor that of joint-stock companies, will ever be invested, for the obvious reason that, although indispensable to the community, they cannot be made to yield a revenue. War, emigration, and the rapid expansion of our agriciiltvu-e, oiu' manufactures, and our commerce, all point to an approaching scarcity of labour. Beyond a doubt, then, the new application of the labour of our criminals, hitherto so little profitable, which the Board has thus admirably devised, challenges immediate and most earnest attention ; and we have a right to expect that every improvement which can be suggested in the law controlling the treatment of criminals, so as to bring them at the earKest possible moment to the requisite degree of trustworthiness, will be forthwith made. And no amelioration, believe me, will be so efficacious to that end, as enhancing encoiu'agement to work out their own freedom — a motive which ought not to be confined to the cases of heinous offenders like the Convicts whose discipline forms the subject of this paper, but which should carry its stimulating force into ever}' cell of every prison, purging the administration of justice of the lamentable, nay, revolting absurdity, of withholding a priceless boon from the lesser criminal to confer it on the greater." Mr. Hill thus concludes his paper : — '• Thus, then, in my himible judgment, the Boai'd of Directors of Irish Convict Prisons have practically solved the problem which has so long perplexed our Grovernment and our Legis- lature — What shall ivc do ivith our Convicts? The results of their THE ir.ISU 8Y9TE>r, 23 great experiment ans-u'or tlins : — Kekp your prtsoxkiis under SOU:XD AXD EXLianXEXED DISCirLIXE rXTIL TUEY AUE REFORMED— ^ KEEP THEM FOR YOUR OTYIS' SAKE AXD FOR THEIRS. ThE VAST MAJORITY OF ALL WHO ENTER YOUR PRISONS AS CRi:srEN"AI.S CAN BE SENT BACK INTO THE WORLD, AFTER NO UNREASONABLE TERM OF PROBATION, HONEST MEN AND USEFUL CITIZENS. LeT THE SMALL MINORITY REMAIN, AND IF DEATH ARRIVE BEFORE REFOR- M^VTION, LET THEM REM-VIN FOR LIFE." At the next meeting of tlie Social Science Association, held at Liverpool, in 1858, the President of the Section on Punish- ment and Reformation was the Earl of Carlisle, the Viceroy of Ireland. In his opening address he thiis speaks: — ' ' The opening of my recent term of administration in Ireland ^^'as nearly contemporary with the fii-st experiments in the system of Convict discipline, which has excited so much atten- tion in that country. Whatever may be the merits of that system in the main features of its conception, and whatever the success obtained in its practical working, the credit, as the responsibilitj', must princij)ally rest with the Chairman of the Board of Directors, Captain Crofton. He has been largely aided by the practised experience and intelligent zeal succes- sively of Captain Ivnight and Captain Wiiitty, and tlu-ough- out by the benevolent ardour of Mr. Lentaigne ; he has been perseveringly seconded, as I know he will be most ready to admit, by tlie different members of the Irish Executive, and by tlie singidar exertions and adaptability of some of his officers and agents. No one, however, who has watched the progress of the proceedings, will fail to acknowledge the pervading influence and inspu-ation which have been derived and caught from the perseverance, the enthusiasm, the determination to succeed, the disbelief in fiie possibility of failure, AAhich have distinguished the administrator in chief; and looking back, as I now can do, to the series of our conferences and expedi- tions in connexion with this object, as among the most gratifying recollections of my official career, I feel most liappy in having 24 OUR C0XVI0T8, tills opportunity of publicly recording my admiratiou, my re- gard, and my gratitude. "''' '••' ''•' "Feeling, then, a riglit to Le thus encouraged and corrobo- rated by actual residts and by dry figures, I may the more safely seek to convey the imj>res>ions derived from occtdar observa- tion. I never made a visit to Smithfield during the houi-s allotted to the evening schooling and lecture -without being most pleasantly impressed by the propriety and alertness of demeanour, and by the general absence of all siilkiness or suUenness of either countenance or manner, -which distin- guished the prisoners. I may here, perhaps, mention that, although I stood among them on these occasions -with the full power of gi-ving immediate pardon and freedom to any or all of them, and although occasionally anj-thing particidarly striking in the bearing or expressions of some among them might have tempted me to an exercise of partiaHty in their behaK, I never once allovred myself to interfere -with any sentence except in the regular routine, upon the recommenda- tion of the responsible authorities. I almost feel compimction at ha-ring proceeded so far -without ha-dng made mention of the leetiu-er at the Smithfield and Liisk Eeformatories, Mr. OsG^iiN'. I am quite confident that he is one of that privileged number -who vail have left a mark on theii* age, not, perhaps, in the ordinary records of fame or precedence, but in the extent and amount of the quiet, imnoticed good he has accom- plished, and the -wholesome and healing influences he has -wrought upon the dispositions and destinies of liis fello-^-- creatures. Accustomed from his first youth to pursue the occupation of a teacher among the humblest and the poorest, he has no-w given his Avhole heart to the -work of instruct- ing and reclaiming the criminal ;* and, in addition to the higher qualifications of benevolence and zeal for such an office, he possesses, I believe I shoidd say beyond any person I have ever met -with, the faculty of interesting the attention and of making the siibjeet clear to the most obtuse TTfE lUISII SYSTEM. 25 apprehensions. I am quite ■^•illing to bolievo that the ."system now adopted in Irohind rests upon principles so sound and so true to human experience as to make it in a great degree independent of individual qualities, provided that it bo steadily upheld; but I think it "would be singularly ungrateful not to admit that for its early and raj)ld success it was largely indebted to tlie capacity of Mr. OiiG.vx to make powerful impressions upon the minds, sometimes sluggish and sullen, sometimes quick and impulsive, with Avhich he was brought into contact, as well as the wholly voluntary and disinterested tenacity A^4th which he clung "to the discharged prisoner in hi.s subsecj[uent career, diminishing its risks and shielding him from its temptations. With respect to the general conduct of the pi'isouers, it is pleasing to find this testimony given by the Superintendent of Smithiield, Mr. Good, who had been master of works in the same prison for ten years under the old system, and whom I know to be a very deserving public servant. He says : ' "With reference to the conduct of the prisoners, it is gratifying to fijid that the best feeling exists among them ; and, since the introduction of the license sj'stem, only five slight breaches of discipline occiu-red. Most remark- able is the contrast between the men now placed in tliis estab- lishment and those who were confined liero when this was an ordinary Convict Prison. Now they evince a kind, obliging disposition, and a docile spirit ; they take advice in good part ; they go to work with alacrit}- ; are ready to volunteer their assistance wherever they think it may be rec|uired ; they seem to have got a nevv spring of mind, and constantly talk over and ask advice with respect to their future prospects and destinations. Nearly three times the amount of work is obtained as heretofore from the same number of prisoners.' I have referred to the hold A^'hich Mr. Oug^sjs' endeavours to establish upon the after career of discharged prisoners. The law provided a map of Ihe count)' of Dublin, upon whicli are marked the various statirms ^^•here they are employed, or 26 ovn CONVICTS. where tliero is a likelihood of emplojnnent being procm-ed for tliGin. He visits these stations frequently, either for tho piu'pose of inquiring into the conduct and position of the men, or of secui-ing fresh employment. Of sixty discharged prisoners now in tho city of Dublin, not one has been out of employment for more than a few days except from failure of health. In many cases, as might have been anticix^ated, the labour has been of a description not much sought after by those whose previous lives entitle them justly to greater lati- tude of choice, such as vitriol -works and the like. This, however, speaks volumes for those who prefer even such labour to dishonesty and a recurrence of crime; it speaks surely not a little for the system which has thus trained and re- claimed them. As a mark of the influence Mr. Oeg^vx has been enabled to obtain over the men, even after the period of confinement is over, he has generally induced them to place £l or £2 in the hands of their employers as a security, not so much for their honesty, as for their regularity and con- tinuance at work ; and in case of the man ha\'ing no earnings or next to none to his credit, then to consent to a correspond- ing stoppage for a certain time from his wages. "With the men who are further removed, Mr. Okgax endeavours to keep up frequent correspondence. I may very briefly mention one or two of their statements. One man tells him: 'I must let you know that I am what you will like to hear, and that is a non-commissioned officer. I am full corporal, and very soon to be platoon -sergeant. I hope you will tell all the men in Smithfield to do as Mr. Oeg.u:^ will tell them.' Another tells him: 'I am earning from 14s. to 165. a week.' Another whom he mentions ' is also doing well, and turns out very well di'essed, and earns plent}' of money in the coal-pit : he is earning from os. 6d. to 4^\ a day, and wishes you long life and good health.' Another asks for some of Ms gratuity money that he may get a kit. Another is going out to Corfu. The parish priest "s^Tites of one : ' I am glad to be able to xni: iRisTr sTsxEir. 27 make a favoiu*aLlo report of ]iim. IIo is Avell-couductod and industrious, and lias even purchased a boat, in -which he ■works himself at present.' A housebreaker ■wi'ites : * "Words cannot express the g^ratitude I felt ■when I received yoiu* kind letter with the favourable lines contained in it. I sincerely hope I shall never belie tho character you wero pleased to entertain of me. I have been working at hay this short time back.' Tho hay reminds me that I perceived on one occasion a discharged prisoner forming one of a gang of hay- makers on my own grounds in the Phoenix Park. IIo was pointed out to me by the contractor for the job, who gave a good account of him, but I distinctly saw, on my approach- ing him, that ho did not wish for much conversation ; he felt very anxious that his antecedents should not be known to his fellow - workmen, and for my own part I felt cj^viite resigned, all Viceroy as I was at the moment, to be cut by a Convict. I will only cite one more comment which, among other tilings, shows that tho super\'ision of the police is not necessarily considered irksome by the discharged prisoners themselves. Tliis is from a man con-victcd of larceny, it being his seventh conviction: 'I am living with my father CA^er since, and I am going on very A\-ell. The constabidary are doing everything in their power for my welfare. Your lec- tures and advice are as fresh in my mind as when I sat there listening to yoiu* fatherly expressions, and I will always think of the advice you gave before we left jou. No matter who returns 3-0x1 ingratitude after all 3'our trouble, j'ou will always find me grateful, because you acted a father to every one as well as to me. I conclude for tho present, thanking God and you for my deliverance from bondage ; and may the Almight}'' reward you and every benevolent man Avho in the course of time will be an aid in the work of mercy.' " The next testimony is derived from an article on tho "Irish ConWct System," in tho "Cornhill Magazine," April, 18G1. 28 OUR COXVICTS, From this vre are tempted to make copious extracts, they present so vivid a picture of the reality : — " A few weeks since, I found myself, with two friends, traversing a newly-reclaimed common in an agricultural district some fifteen miles from Dublin. A very short time ago the place was all but uninhabited, the heath being in possession of a few scjuatters, on sufferance, who had been tempted to it by the immunity granted to their class, the absence of rent, and the quality of the soil. More recently, however, the gTOund had been required for a particular piu-pose : a body of men, under an energetic leader, were brought to subdue it with the plough, and the old occupants were dispossessed, not entirely without remonstrances or threats of resistance. But the di-ead aiithority of the law was against them ; and their own leader, a bold and clever man, was disarmed by being appointed to a subordinate office. Under the newly-arrived improvers, the squatters disappeared from the scene, the undulating surface of the common was converted into cultivated fields, ' and laughing Ceres reassumed the plain.' The spot has not quite lost its desolate aspect ; although there is a public road through it, and a few buildings are in sight, there is still a broad expanse so devoid of any marked feature that guide-posts are necessary to point the way of the wandering labourer who desires to return home. The work is advancing under the vigorous industry of some fifty men v.'ho are employed on the estate, and who may be seen on any working day of the week at their labours. And who are they that are thus, in our own time, colonizing the ancient soil of Ireland, and annexing it to the conquests of modern agriculture '? They are Convicts imder sentence of penal servitude. Yes, that band of fifty men, clothed in the ordinary garb of rustic laboiu-ers, peacefully obeying the orders of two foremen, clothed not very unlike themselves and working with them, are men whose crimes have subjected them to prison and to the discipline of a transient slavery. There THE IRISH SYSTEM. 29 are, indeed, no chains ; tliere are no militaiy guards — not even gaolers — to restrain them ; no fences Avliich thej' are not in the hoiu'ly habit of passing break the broad expanse of the common, v.ith its widely-separated guide-posts pointing the way to the huts which are the prisons of these men. But there is something else far more potent. " It was while I was engaged in surveying the sj-stem of discipline of which the colony at Lusk forms only a portion, that I learned the revolt in Chatham Prison. The details of that violent outbreak amongst the luxuriously-fed Chathamites, who were in open mutiny and refusing to work, were told me on the very day when I was surrounded by Convicts wholly without chains, and hard at Avork in cold and rain ; and with the Chatliam reports fresh in my mind, I heard the civil officers of this open prison at Lusk telling me how the labourers under them, living as I shall show you, upon hard fare, are steady workmen, regular in their duty, and so zealous that, while they are actually purchasing bread as a luxury, they will pursue their toil after the regular hour, in order to help in securing the harvest. This is the result of a sj'stem which, with the erring man in the iron grip of the law, has subjected him to something stronger than manacles or lash, and yet, substituting a truly correctional for a merely penal handling, has made sweet the uses even of the bitterest adversity, the adversity of the criminal gaol. "If we look abroad, bej-ond the horizon of that strange, unwalled prison, to the general effects of the two systems, English and Irish, we find the same contrast in the broadest results. For instance, in the session before last, a retui-n was obtained by the House of Lords, which shows that of the Convicts out on tickot-of-leave in England nine-tenths relapse into crime, and are actually recommitted to prison for fresh oflences ; while, of course, we cannot assume the merely unaccused tenth to bo virtuous and pure. In Ireland, even iucludino: the criminals released under Iho old law, the men 30 OUR COXVICTS. recommitted are not one-fiftli of the whole number released, and with all the figiu'es before me, I find groat reason to donbt whether they amount to one-tenth. The Chaplain of Millbank has calculated that considerably more than lialf — nearly two- thii-ds — of the men brought to that prison are 'habitual or professional tliieves,' 'possessing,' he says, * great intelligence, but affording little hope of amendment by means of prison discipline.' A Convict of this class said to him, 'It's not likely I'll work for fifteen sliillings a week, when I can get as many pounds.' The remark of the Convict confirmed the opinion with wliich the founders of the EngHsh system started — that 3'ou cannot reform prisoners, but can only export them. We shall see by and by how far the assumption is justified by facts. *' Statistical figiu-es, however, never sufB.ce to show us the true substance and natiu-e of any two things compared; they do not indicate the actual distinction, they only meet it ; and in order to appreciate the sti'iking contrast aflforded to the English system, let us see what the Irish sj-stem is. A very brief recapitulation will bring us into the midst of it. In 1837, Sir AVllliam Molesworth, the accomplished and patriotic pupil of Edw^ved Gibbo]S' AVakefield, demanded that Select Com- mittee on Transportation which reported in 1838, with such force that it became impossible for the Home Government to continue the practice, and, against the will of Australia, trans- portation was abandoned in 1840. Attempts were made partially to continue the use of the Colonies as a receptacle for our refuse population ; but the Cape of Good Hope actuall}" rebelled against such an experiment; and by 1853 Western Australia was the one Colony willing to receive our Convicts, in small numbers. The establishments of Bermuda and Gibraltar remain as State Prisons, to which a limited number of prisoners can be consigned. But since 1853 it has been necessary to promle for the custody of our Comdcts at home. After a laborious investigation in 1850, a Select Committee THE IRISH SYSTEM. 31 of tho House of Commons had stated tlio opinion, corroborated by facts and figures, that the majority of convicted criminals can bo reformed. In 1855, Captain Walter Crofton, who liad been appointed to inquire into tho state of the Convict Prisons in Ireland, addressed to the Government a communi- cation, citing that opinion, and particularly suggesting two conditions to any complete attempt at a redeeming discipline. The fii'st was, intermediate prisons, in which the Convict coidd be subjected to trial before his discharge ; the reformed, as it were, being filtered away from the unreformed ; and the second condition was, such treatment of the whole class as would subject them to the princij)le of individualization, each man's case being separately handled with reference to his antecedents, his character, and his actual state of mind. Captain Crofton was placed at the head of the gentlemen appointed as Directors of the Irish Convict Prisons, to carry out the system which he had indicated, and which I have so lately seen at work. "The system can be best comprehended, as it is administered, upon the principle of individualizing. "\Ve will suppose that the criminal — let us call him Joim Carrol — has already been 'living in crime,' has been before convicted and punished — imprisoned, say, three months for larceny, twelve months for robbery — and is now sentenced for robbery, not to the shortest term of penal servitude, three years, nor to the longest, fifteen, but to the medium term of seven years. Of that period, he must spend at least five years in prison before his release under ticket -of- license. On the 1st of January, 1858, he is admitted to the ordinary prison of Mountjoy, and is at once lodged in a separate cell. As soon as ho has entered, it is distinctly explained to him that the period of his detention in that separate cell will depend upon his own conduct. If lie is perfectly quiet and orderly, ho will be completely isolated even fi'om prison society only for eight months. Should ho bo less well behaved tho period will be the full nine months. Should the criminal fever be upon him in a chronic form, 32 OUR COXVICTS. stimulatiug him to indulge iu the excitements of violence — in brawling, striving to communicate with his neighbours, or even in attacking the gaolers — he is soon made to feel liow utterly- powerless he is, not only by the walls that box him in, but by the reducing of his food to bread and water, and even by flogging. "Usually, by the end of nine months, or very often in eight months, the Convict is sent to the next prison. If he is a labourer, he is sent to Spike Island, near Queenstown ; if he is a mechanic, to the prison of Philipstown. In either case, he is placed in what is called the third class, and is employed uj)on some branch of useful industry. If he is wholly unac- quainted with work he is set to some very simple form of handicraft, such as the making of buckle-straps, or other process equally easy. On his entrance into this class, however, he is again told that his condition Avliile he is in it, and his ultimate promotion to a higher class, will depend exclusively upon his own conduct. No power of 'indulgence' is reposed in the officers of the prison ; the system itself is humane, considerate, careful to seciu-e the utmost amount of hope and improvement for the prisoner ; and his best reliance consists in the most faithful and strict execution of the system. Any departure from it by the officers woidd be to embezzle for the benefit of an individual the moral fund available for the whole class. This is all explained to the man in language adapted to his' state of education and intelligence ; he is made to feel that he is himself the true regulator of his own condition in the class and of the period of his leaving it. "As soon as he is admitted into the third class his conduct is marked down in an account kept for the pxu'joose. The highest number of mai'ks "s\'hich he can attain during the month for ' discipline,' is three ; he is put to school, and the highest niunber of marks which he can attain for ' school' is likewise three; his 'industry' is also marked with the highest number, three — nine in all ; and shoidd he keep up to the highest THE IRISH SYSTEM. 33 standard, as he well may -with common diligence and tract- ability, lie can secnve Lis promotion at the end of two months, having earned eighteen marks. But he may have lived in a false pride ; he may Lo intoxicated with the vanity of vindic- tiveness ; he may think it 'manly' to contemn the opportunity offered to him, and so defy the authoritj^ of the officers ; and he may fail to earn his promotion from the third class to the second in less than six months. While he is in the third class he is allowed one penny a week out of his earnings ; hut for mis- conduct, according to its degree, his marks may be taken from him, his money allowance may be stopped, or he may even be sent back to separate confinement, with the sterner punish- ments suited to that condition. "From the third, the Convict, Joiix Careol, passes into the second class, whore he is allowed twopence a week out of his earnings ; and here he may remain, according to his con- duct and the character which he has acc[uired, as short a time as six months, or as long a time as seven months, or oven longer. In the first class, where he is allowed four- pence a week, his stay may be twelve months, or fifteen ; and in the advanced class, where the allowance is ninepence, it would in either case be twenty months. The better conducted prisoner has passed through the ordinary prison in four years and three months ; the worst conducted, in four years and nine months. "In the ordinary prison all these allowances go towards the money Avliicli he is allowed to lay by as a fund on his dis- charge. Each prisoner keeps his own account to check that of the officers ; and the men in aU classes and of all charac- ters are found to be extremely keen in watching the correctness of the accoimts kept against their name. They haggle earnestly over a single mark which is to be allowed or vatliheld ; contest the accuracy of the record, question the justice of the official falculatlon, ;ind, if their own judgment is not satisfied willi the decision of the officers over them, they appeal to the D 34 OUR C0KVICT3. Governor, or eron, in certain cases, to tlie Chief Director of Convict Prisons. In tlie cell of a young man vlxo liad been confined for robbery, I was told that he had shown his iinder- Btanding of the prison rules and of the opportunity wliich they afforded him, by almost unexceptionable good conduct, having misbehaved himseK ' only once.' " 'Not at all, sir!' he exclaimed, earnestly but respectfully, by way of correction to the official statement. " * You were reported,' said my informant to him. " ' Yes, but I was not ^^loiished ; I was sent to Hospital.' "The man had been charged, probably, with some neglect of duty, and proved that he was more sick than sinning. Thus, even in the ordinary prison, the men themselves become conscious and active coadjutors in carrjdng out the system under which they are disciplined, and we shall see, as we advance, how thoroughly they become imbued with its spirit. In proportion as it is rigorously administered it has been found possible to dispense with some of the merely mechanical restraints. In the chapel, for instance, it was in the old time thought necessary to divide the prisoners by partitions ; a plan which facilitated various tricks and irreverent idlings during di-vdne service. The partitions have been removed. The place of worship is in itself a room simple enough, but not devoid of a certain tastefulness in its arrangements. The sanctity of the occasion and the col- lective example operate in a wholesome, though undoubtedly in a cheerful, manner, upon every individual who attends ; and thus by degrees the prisoner is removed from mere separate detention within the four narrow walls that fonn a kind of live tomb, to live and breathe in the company of his fellow-creatui'es ; he does this with a newly acquired sense of moral necessity, and with the evidences on every side that others as well as himseK appreciate the promotion and comfort derivable from good conduct. "Every circumstance by which he is surrounded, contributes to enlarge and strengthen this influence. As he makes his THE IRISH SYSTEir. 35 progress, whilG yet Tvitliin the walls of the ordinary prison, tlie stamp on his own sleeve indicating his class and the number of marks he has earned, and the numbers on the badge of those with whom he is daily associated, are a memento that he has made only so much progress, but still so much. He knows that his oj)i3ortunitie3 are widening as he goes. He is aware that as ho attains promotion the fund lodged to his account is growing in a higher ratio, and will grow yet more largely and rapidly. At every step in his advance it is explained to him that ho is gradually marching towards the comparative unrestraint of the Intermediate Prison, whose increased comfort and fi'eedom he is able to appreciate from the progressive experience which he has already had in the ordinary prison. Even the coimtenances of the companions around him will speak in the same eloquent sj)irit. " For there is no greater evidence of the change worked in the race by this hard, matter-of-fact discipline, than the altered expression of the general physiognomy. As soon as the man enters the first prison, the most unmistakeable record of his identity is at once registered in the prison books in the shape of a photographic portrait. ' No, no !' exclaimed an eminent thief, when he was placed before the machine, stretching forth his hands so as to hide his face — ' No, no ; you are taking away my bread !' The man was actuated by a prudential regard for his professional interests, when he should once more be released from gaol. As it tiu-ned out, however, that very man obtained better employment than thieving, and he need have been under no fear to leave his likeness with the prison authorities. Yet, on projior occasion, the use he apprehended is made of these photographic portraits. If a Convict or ticket-of-leave should go out of bounds, or if a man previously con%'icted should be arrested, his portrait can be sent to the place where he is captured, and ho can be identified. There is, however, a still broader interest in this strange portrait gallery of murderers 36 OUR COXVICTS. housebreaker.?, thieves, and malefactors in general. You see, upon the face of the class, every variety of clopraved expression. Some few are scowling villains, fit to tread the most melo- dramatic stage ; some cunning enough to satisfy the precon- ceptions of the most self-satisfied scientific physiognomist ; not a few, simple-minded, but somewhat blank in aspect, as though they were entirely swayed by the circumstances of the moment. Not a few, also, wear the gay triumphant expression of extreme vanity, as if they would rather be eminent as thieves than not be noticed at all, and were delighted to stand for their portraits, even though it were to the prison photographer. But the largest number of all have a very peculiar expression. If you will allow the eyelids and Kps to drop as they will with weari- ness and indifference — if you will lot the chest collapse, and the shoidders round themselves with the same listless lack of stamina — and if, while the head is thrown forward, you will slightly lift the face, giving an additional di'ag as it were to the cheeks, the eyelids, and the lips, you will bring over your countenance exactly the same arrangement wliich is the common veil assumed by the majority of malefactors pictured in this strange gallery. It is cunning, covered by an affectation of insouciance. Your thief comme il faiit finds it most distingue, as well as most diplomatic, to conceal his true qualities under a show of being hiase ; and his face indicates — all partly put on, but still more natiu'al than he thinks — a Avant of interest, a want of feeling, and a want of understanding. You see these truly * low ' expressions in almost all the earliest classes of the ordinary prisoners ; but as you advance in the series, the expression improves, the scowl is rapidly displaced. The old villain, at his school-books, acquires almost the ingenuous expression of childhood. The half-idiotical simper of vanity is sobered. The melancholy llase affectation passes off, and the general countenance becomes at once more simple, more steady, and more cheerful ; until, in the uj)i)er classes, you THE IRISH SYSTEM . 37 may find many countenances even atove tlie average out of doors, in placid self-possession, awakened intelligence, and amiable content. " In the first prison the Convict lias acquired habits of industry, either in the prosecution of his OAvn trade, or in some simple occupation afforded to him. He has gone thi'ough a certain amount of schooling, tested under able teachers by periodical examinations, -uliich serve to call forth his own faculties, and the consciousness of them. He is associated with his fellows, under discipline, in the workroom, the school- room, in the class, and in the chapel ; and he has thus been gradually accustomed to i-egularity of life, and to a regulated state of thought. He has been made to feel how completely his condition and prospects depend upon his own conduct ; and at every stage, if he has encountered any difficulties of com- prehension, they have been cleared away for him by the explanations of the prison authorities. But thus far he has felt under coercion. The force at first brought to bear upon him was, in its character, piu'ely penal. In the earlier stages, after his release from constant confinement in a separate cell, the penal element has been largely commingled with tuition and industry; and, throughout, there has been ceaseless restraint and coercion ; the latter, perhaps, of a moral kind, biTt not the less distinctly exercised. According to the old system, even of improved prisons, the Convict was thrown upon society fresh from those coercions and restraints, without character ; he confronted something worse than suspicion — often hopeless repulsion; the newly -restored liberty was accompanied by fearful temptations to relapse into crime, the promptings that way being almost justified by common sense, through the utter despair of finding honest employment. AVas it not possible to meet these difficulties — to soften the transition from perfect restraint to perfect freedom- -to show that the prisoner could continue his boiler habits even with diminished compulsion, and thus to provide him with ' a character from his last place,' (5120S8 38 OUR CONVICTS. though that place shoiild actually be a prison ? Captain Walter Cuoi'TON saw that these questions could be answered in the affirmative. In a communication to the Government, ■written in November, 1855, he again challenged attention to the opinion expressed by the Committee of the House of Commons, that 'the generahty of criminals' are * reformable.' Already the reformatory element had been mingled with the penal, but Captain Crofton proposed to test the efficacy of the reform, by arrangements which should at once supply the prisoner with emjoloyment, and guarantee his character in prison as ' exemplary.' The thing wanted was a probationary stage, to act as a filter in distinguishing the reformed from the tin- reformed. It was calculated that while this trial stage would exercise upon the probationer a most direct and important in- fluence of its own, it would show the employer outside that the quondam criminal had really habits of industry and self-control. And Captain Crofton pointed out the influence which such a system must exercise over the criminal population generally. These suggestions were at once adopted by the Government for Ireland in 1855." We pass over the description given by this writer of the Intermediate Prisons, and his account of the official arrange- ments, and the working of the system, as similar information will be given in the next chapter ; we must not, however, omit some anecdotes, which are valuable as illustrations of the working of the system, nor a statement of the writer's own personal observation. " The occupant of the Intermediate Prison is engaged in useful laboiir ; the product of his industry has a value of which some portion goes towards the expenses of the establishment ; and he is thus really repaying a debt to the community. But some portion is also granted to him as a gratuity-, of which again a fraction is allowed for immediate expenditure. The utmost amount which he can earn in a week is 2s. 6(1, If he be slack in his industry, of which there are few examples, THE IRISH STSTE^Ll. 39 or maladroit-, he may Le imable to earn so mucli. The gi-eater jiortion of this remains in charge of the authorities. (Sometimes it has been spent on articles absolutely necessary for the prisoner's use ; at other times it has been used as an instruction fee to tradesmen ; very fi-equently it has been employed in paying for the passage of the discharged Convict to another country, cither where he ali-eady had connections, or where he saw an opportunity for emi")loying himself at a distance fi'om the scene of his former troubles. Of his earnings he is allowed sixpence a week to spend, witliiu certain limits, as he likes. He must not, for instance, use it to buy intoxicating diinks ; but he may spend it in books, clothing, food, and some other articles. "I think I noticed a variety in the neck-kerchiefs, which I ascribed to that source ; and it is evident that a healthy pleasiu-e would be taken in the variety for the variety's sake, since it contributed to mark the distinction between the homely garb and the old prison uniform. To the library the men contribute a halfpenny a week. The payment is optional, but there is not a single instance of refusal. Nay, on obtain- ing their discharge. Convicts not unfreq^iienthj leave one shillinff, two sIiiUi)ir/s, or haJf-a-crown for the lihrary, as a marlc of resi)ect to that institution, and of goodwill towards the comj^anions they leave hchind. Sometimes, indeed, the dcjmrting Convict will leave a contribution, even as much as ten shillings, towards the fund of some fellow-ioorhman, ivith whom he has formed a friendship. These little acts, which must- be pxu'ely spontaneous, go far to indicate the spii'it that has been awakened in the tribe. *'I have already mentioned one thing in which the residents of the Intermediate Prison not unfrequently spend a part of their sixpence a week — bread. The fact is quite sufficient to show that the dietary is not excessive, cither in C[uantity or quality ; yet the men at Lusk do not grumble, they do not revolt to extort a more luxurious faro, thoy do not refuse to work. On the contrary, if an extraordinary amount of work 40 Qvn coxvicTs. is needed — a.s, for instance, to complete a piece of drainage promptly, or to save the harvest — tliey tlu'ow themselves into the laLour with zeal. On snch occasions they take evident pleasure in j)romoting the interests of the establishment, and in evincing their zealous fidelity towards the head of their department ; and it is at times like these that they are observed to spend a portion of their Httle weekly honorariuui in bread I ' ' Once a week the inmates of the Intermediate Prison are allowed to send one of their own class out of bounds to ptu-chase the articles on which the sixpence a week is to be spent. In all the time since the beginning of the plan, there have been but three cases of default. In one instance the man so employed was a person of weak mind, who ought, perhaps, not to have been selected ; in the other two instances the defaulters had met with old fi.-iends, and had been tempted 'just to have a drink.' But in each of these three cases the man was found waiting outside the gates of the Intermediate Prison, looking very foolish. He had been tempted, he had yielded ; but he retained his conscience, his hope in the system, and his preference of it over the wild chances and the remorse of flight. "Another little incident related to me strikingly illustrates this manly and healthy spirit, and especially shows the insight which the men acquii'e into the laws that so inevitably govern their conduct. When the Chief Director of Convict Prisons was visiting an Intermediate establishment, one of the men approached him, and respectfully challenged inquiry into his request that ho might be liberated a fortnight sooner than the period set down for him. He said that liis time would have exjjired a fortnight sooner if a certain mark had not been withheld fi"om him in the former prison. I have already said that the men keep their own accounts as a check upon the officers, and that any difference of statement is promptly adjudi- cated. The petitioner for an earlier release was reminded of this fact, and he admitted that the mark had been withdrawn in strict conformity with rules ; but, he said, the offence for THE II^ISH SYSTEM. 41 ■O'liich tlie penalty was enforced "was a mere trifle, and ' every- tliing- depended on liis getting out a fortnight sooner.' "WTiat 'everji^liing' meant ho did not state; hut prohahly it was that he had an opportunity of going ahroad with a friend, or of otherwise establishing himself hopefidly out of prison. The Chief Director promised to inquire into the case. He did so, and summoned the man before him again. It turned out to be true that the penalty had been inflicted for something that was in itseK a trifling natiu-e ; but it was a breach of the rules, and when he broke those rules the Convict knew what ho was doing. Still he urged it was onl}- a trifle, and that fortnight was 'everything' to him. Ho was asked to suppose the very common case of a Convict whoso behaviour had been absolutely unimpeachable, and to say how such a man, asking to bo released a fortnight sooner, as a matter of mere favour, could be refused, if another who had broken the rules, however trivially, could claim the indidgence ? The man paused for a moment, and then answered : * No, sir, I see it would not work.' And he walked away with the air of a man who was satisfied in his own judgment. "'•• ••' •■• "I made a tour of Dublin, a hi Haeouk" Alraschid, for the express piir2:)oso of seeing the discharged Convicts actually busy at their daily work. I found them in a great vai'iety of occupa- tions. Some Avere busy in the most public thoroughfares of Dublin, as labourers. They recognised my companions at a glance, but no notice was taken of them openly, and they went on working without any stop or recognition. There was nothing to distinguish them from the ordinary labourer, except, un- doubtedly, in most instances, a more thoughtful aspect, and a countenance that might be described as more awakened. Other workmen wo found busy as labourers in some of the less finished parts of Dublin; and at certain spots they were stationed in no inconsiderable numbers. Others were worldng within doors, at the manufactory of a busy tradesman, in one of the busiest streets of Duldin — a highway not unlike Newgate Street ox* 42 OUB CONTICTS. Bishopsgate Street — tlio tradesman dealing in an article of very general consummation. Otliers "U'ere in a sort of manu- factory, homely in appearance, but on an extensive scale, and situated in one of the lowest neighbourhoods of old Dublin. In all the report was the same : the discharged Convicts prove to bo steady labourers and good workmen; thcii' emj^loyers were quite satisfied, and were ready to employ similar labour again. This evidence was general ; its character will come out more distinctly in a few j)articular instances. "In one of the humbler streets, an industrious woman has opened a small shop, and her business is prospering. "With tears in her eyes, she bore testimony to the regular conduct of her husband, and to the peaceful state of her home : that husband was a discharged Convict, who had been an habitual thief; and, as a drunkard, he had gone to such extremes, that he still bore signs of the dehrium tremens with which he was threatened. He now earns twelve shillings a week as a builder's labourer, and assists his wife in paying for their child whom they have put to school. "Among the very first persons who ventm-ed upon employ- ing a man with a prison character, is an extensive builder. Some of the men whom he thus consented to take have for- merly borne the worst of characters. Their conduct with him, however, had been in every respect satisfactory. He has at present four in his employment; one joined his works in 1856, and that man's wages have risen from ten shillings a week to twenty- foiu- shillings; the others have been in the place for about two years. ' ' The tradesman in the street which I have likened to New- gate Street has in his employment four men, and he made liis report on their conduct with the utmost directness and unreserve. He had no complaint to make ; in some resjieets the labourers obtained through Mr. Oega^^ are more tractable than the ordinary class of Dublin workmen — less inclined to cavil, less ready to take advantage of their employer in periods TiiE inisn sYSTEir. 43 of pressure, more eager to persevere in winning his approval. One of tlie men -wlio liad "been with this gentleman had led a hfo of crime for many years ; another had been known to the Dublin police for the last ten years, and, though still young, had been convicted seven times. These men are surrounded by property, which malice or negligence might injure, to the amoimt of even a hundred poimds. Two of them, including the man who was convicted seven times, are entrusted with the collection of bills to the amount of forty or fifty pounds at a time, and there is not a single instance of inaccuracy. It is to be remarked that, in this instance as well as in others, the employer had had several men in his service at different times, so that he spoke from a varied and lengthened experience. "The owner of the other manufactory, which I might Kken to a leather-dresser's in the midst of St. Giles's, is himself a very intelligent man, business-hko, and sti-aightforward. His transactions are extensive, and he evidently has a keen eye to the main chance. Yet he naturally and properly expressed strong satisfaction at the consciousness that, while serving his own interests, he was engaged in a work really bene- ficial. One of the men employed at this place had been for nine years 'in crime' before conviction. He has been four years in his present place, and every day of these foiu' years he has been steadily earning a good character. The case of the other man has been still more remarkable. He may bo said to have had extensive connexions in the criminal profes- sions, and he was himself distinguished in his calling as a desperate burglar. "With a fine figure, a manly aspect, and an agreeable countenance, he has about him much that is con- sidered to distinguish the gentleman. Ho had for some time been a ' flash man,' and his ambition as a Don Juan in that sphere had been gratified by the most remarkable 'success.' A policeman said of this eminent burglar, that ho * should know his chisel in any window in Dublin.' The hero was so active and reckless that it was impossible to capture him, even with the 44 OVTi CONVICTS, powerful force brought to bear against him, until t^yo of liis ribs had been fractured. Another policeman, a devoted servant of the Irish system, with full confidence in its efficacy, declared that the case of this man, so hardened in crime and so reckless, must be regarded as an exception, in which the ticket -of- license would be inapplicable and unsafe. The fact is, that the man had employed certain qualities which are not bad in them- selves, amid adverse circiunstances, and probably from child- hood, under the influence of a perverse ambition. The thorough discipline of the Intermediate Prison, however, had bent these faculties back into the right direction, and had drawn forth his better facidties. When allusion was made, in his presence, to a brother who had also been convicted, he instantly defended the other's character ; remarked that that other had been con- victed for the only time in which he had gone astray, and that since his discharge the brother's character had stood higher, than liis own. In some sense this is true : there was no evidence against the brother except with regard to the offence for which he was convicted; and under his ticket- of -license he got on so well that he is now engaged in. trade as an employer, with a rising business. But the man with whom I conversed had also behaved unexceptionably during the three years and more in which he has been with his present employer ; so much so that his position has been steadily improved, and he is now selected to sleep in his employer's house. Here he is surrounded by property ready for the market, and quite portable ; he is also placed in the midst of a neighbourhood thickly inhabited by men of the very worst character, who would but too gladly take part in any bur- glary. Yet this accomplished burglar, this man whom the policeman assunied to be incorrigible, whose chisel was known in any v/indow of Dublin, sleeps on the inside of the window, and is trusted by the master without a moment's imeasiness. "As the counterpart and addition to these cases of men employed, I may give specimens of the apphcations made by THE lEISn SY3TEX. 45 employers. At lii'st, of course, tlio initititive "was taken by the earnest and cnorg-otic officers of tlie S3'stem, -who Avere glad to discover men in trade witli sufficient understanding and trustfulness to accept tlio services of tlie Convicts; but even in this short time the employers have learned to take the initiative. Sometimes they make their application Ly simply walking- up to Smithfield, and asking for the men they want ; sometimes they make their application by letter to Mr. Oeg^vk-, asking for workpeople in simple, business-like terms, such as they would use to any well-known agent. I have such letters before mo. One writer, a prosperous tradesman, who is alter- ing his house, says, ' Coiild you send me a decent bricklayer, to build up a wall and do a few other jobs.' Another, a manufacturer, says, *I can now make room for two of your men, provided they are sober and well able to work. "Wages, 10s. a week.' A third, in a large way of business, can employ two or three ' able and willing men.' And so on. "I have already mentioned the report by the chaplain of Millbank, who says that the larger half of the men at his prison are habitual and professional thieves, and that he has little hope of their amendment ; quoting the remark of a Con- vict: 'It's not likely I'll work for fifteen shillings a week when I can get as many pounds.' Many a Dublin Convict, formerly 'an habitual and professional thief,' could tell this Englislmian — and there are some Englishmen in the Irish prisons — that, although he might get fifteen pounds in a lucky week, he cannot possibly pursue that game for any time in Ireland. And the accomplished burglar to whom I have just now referred, could tell the Millbank chaplain that the most ardent and successful in the profession of thieving can be redeemed avIicu proper influences are bronglit to bear upon them." In August, 1861, the Social Science Association met at Dublin, and mauy references to what took place Avill be found in the volume of the transactiou.s of that vear. The 46 OUE COXVICTS. author may bo hero permitted to give lier own personal observations, as made at the time in three successive papers in "Once a Week." VISITS TO THE IRISH COITVICT PEISGNS. No. I. "The meeting of the Social Science Association at Dublin, in August last, afforded to many an opportunity of seeing and examining for themselves what has lately engaged con^ siderable public attention — the Irish Convict System — as developed and carried on by the Board of Directors, of •which Captain "Walter Ceofton is the Chairman. "Even those who have not been called on to pay any special attention to the management of Convicts, and to the principle and plan of Convict Prisons, must be aware that some very radical and important difference must exist between the Ii-ish and the English Convict Prisons. On our side of the channel it would require a very great stretch of philanthropy even to make the trial of taking men into emyloyment, who were known to be just discharged from Portland or other Convict Prisons ; — those who have come under our knowledge have been complete failiu'es ; — the newspaper police reports con- tinually record offences commit'ted by prisoners discharged under license or ticket-of-leave ; and we know that some of the most atrocious crimes have been perpetrated by those who ought to have been reformed characters, if long years of train- ing and instruction in Government Prisons could make them so. The English public does not believe in the reformation of prisoners by the system adopted in this country. "The contrary is the case on the other side of the channel. There is a belief in Ireland that the system adopted in the Convict Prisons does reform those who are the subjects of it > and the consequence of this belief is, that masters are ready to receive discharged prisoners into their employment ; those who at fii'st, doubtingly, tried some, now confidently apply THE IRISH SYSTEM. 47 for more. Tlio knowleclgo that trust-^'ortliy, liard-worldng men are to bo oLtained by application at the prison for those whoso time is completed, is becoming so general, that the grand problem is solved — 'What are we to do with our Convicts?' The bulk of them aro absorbed into the population as honest labourers, and those whose homo connexions make it unde- sirable for them to remain in their own country, emigrate to others, well prepared to become useful and resjioctablo mem- bers of society elsewhere. "What is the real secret of this marvellous difference? "And why is it that, while elsewhere we hear of increase of crime, and of reconvictions of those who have already put the country to great expense by years of public maintenance in prison, in Ireland the number of Convicts has actually dimi- nished from 4278, on January 1, 1854, to 1631, on January 1, 18G0. "We desired, then, to avail ourselves of this visit to Dublin to satisfy ourselves fully on these points, and to verify, by personal observation, what wo had heard of the Irish Convict System. "The Reformatory Section of the Association had received an admirable and lucid statement of the system and its results, from a paper on the subject, read by Captain Ceofton him- self, which was listened to with the deepest interest, not only by an attentive audience, but by the venerable President, Lord BiiouGHAM, who strongly expressed his approbation of it. But wo desired also an inij)artial statement of the whole system, and tliis was given by the Attorney - General for Ireland in his presidential address. After briefly reviewing the history of Eeformatory Schools for juveniles, which are now established in Ireland as in England, he referred to the touching story of the * Yicar of Wakefield,' in which, a hun- dred years ago, Oliver Goldsmith developed the true princijjles which should combine punishment and reformation. * Through- out the whole prison lifo of Iho Convict ' (in Ii'eland), he 48 OUR CONVICTS. contiuues, * tliese guiding principles regulate his treatment. He enters Monntjoy Prison, and lie has there to undergo the hard discipline of cellular incarceration. He works alone, not often visited by any one, and with ample opportunity for meditation and repentance during his nine months of that probationary state. But ho is allowed to have hope of the future, — a hope to be realised by himself. The shortening of this period of his separation depends on his good conduct, and he knows that when it shall have ended he will have still further opportunity of improving his condition by his own endeavours. This expectation produces its natiu^al result in his quiet and orderly demeanour, and his obedience to authority ; in most instances the period of his cellular con- finement is accordingly abridged. Then he passes to Spike Island, or Philipstown, where he labours in association with others, under the strictest surveillance ; there continued good behaviour enables liim to rise from class to class, gaining all the while something for himself from the fruits of his toil, until he becomes fit for an Intermediate Prison, where he has more of freedom and a larger share of his own earnings, and where the same stimulating and sustaining influence of hope still operates upon him. By his own efforts he can lay up a little store for the day of liberation, and by his own efforts he can hasten the coming of that happy day. If he will so act as to obtain good marks it is hastened ; if he fails to obtain them it is postponed. Then, during the period of his detention, in the Intermediate Prison, he has, in a higher degree, the benefit of intellectual and moral culture which has been offered to him continually, with the higher blessing of the religious care of a zealous and instructed chaplain, from the commencement of his incarceration. A lec- turer, a gentleman very competent and very devoted to his duty, addresses to him plain speeches on subjects calculated to arou.se his interest and awaken his faculties. ••' ••' '•'' In very many cases, as part of his penal probation, he is em- THE IRISH SYSTEM. 49 ployed at largo in this city and its neighbourhood on such service as the Convict Directors deem suitable for him, or at Luslr, where you will find him discharging the ordinary duties of an agricultural labourer, without enclosure or confinement of any kind; and it is found that he can be so trusted safely, and that neither the city messenger nor the Lusk workman ever di'eams of escaping fi'om a control which has no apparatus of bolts and bars to make it effectual. And so the man passes from the prison to his place in society — not his old place, but a higher and better place. He does not make the passage abruptly or without reasonable preparation. Generally he is liberated as the recompense of meritorious conduct before the oxpii-ation of his sentence ; and the hberation is conditional, subject to be ended if he falls again. And for a time he is under the eye of authority, and finds confii'mation of his good purposes in the checks which its supervision puts upon him, and the apprehension of the evil consequences of a retiu'n to crime. But, more than this, the continuing guardianship is not at all strongly repressive. To the liberated Convict it is a protection against the influence of those who would turn him back to wickedness, and it gives him a shield against many mischiefs and many misconceptions, Avhich would be entailed by his tainted character, if he had not the opportunity of appeal to the officers of justice, as to his changed life and renewed trustworthiness. ' *' Such is a brief sketch, by so high an authority as the Attorney-General, of the system, the working of which we were anxious, personally, to inspect. "Our first visit was to Lusk Common, one of the Intermediate Prisons, the last stage which the Convict undergoes before receiving liberty. A large party assembled^ among them many magistrates, and other influential persons from various parts of England, and an hour's ride brought us from Dublin to Lusk. "Had we been merely strangers on a pleasiu-e excursion, we should probably have passed by without especial notice what is, 50 OUR COXVICTS. morally coiisldorecl, one of the most ^vonderful spots iu the island, Tliere was notliing to attract any attention. Before us was a large common, part of wliicli had been reclaimed, and gave evidence of much skilled lahoiu- having been bestowed on it. Other parts were perfectly wild, and we saw a number of men working very steadily at the drainage of it. No one woidd have noticed that they were not ordinary labourers ; they wore no prison uniform, but the ordinary peasant dress ; they appeared under the control of no gaol official, and no turnkey was watching them ; they were not handling the pickaxe and spade with the unwilling aii" of men who were imder compulsion to perform a certain amoimt of Grovernment work, but like fi-ee labourers who would gladly do as hard a day's work as they could. It seemed incredible that those men were ju'isoners, and even more, men convicted of no ordinary offences, but who were under long sentences of penal servitude ; such men as those who had burst forth into \-iolent rebellion at Portland, and who had been, more recently, at Chatham, controlled only by extraordinary severity, after the most ferocious outbreaks and outrageous attacks on the officers. Looking at these men, we could hardly, as an English magis- trate remarked, believe what we saw with oiu- own eyes. AVe might have waited to converse with some of the prisoners, for so they really were, and we were C[uite at liberty to do so, but delicacy restrained us. Indeed, once observing a group assembled round one young man, we approached to listen, but we saw that he was hanging dovni his head with evident shame, and foimd that some one was most injudiciously cj^uestioning him respecting" his former life, and his feelings while engaged in a career of crime ; — so we passed on, and gave a coiu-teous greeting to another, who responded -u'ith a manly, respectful air, not as one who had for ever lost his position in life. The directors. Captain Croftox and Captain Whitty, pointed out and explained the few Jind simple buildings. The only dwellingfs provided for from fifty to one hundred Convicts, consisted of two TJIK IKISH SYSTKir. 51 large kuts of corrugated iron, cacli of wliich would contain accommodation for fifty men and one officer, the beds being so arranged that they could be put out of the Aray, and the room converted into a dining and sitting room. There were a few simple tenements for the residence of the Superintendent, and for the cooking and bathing of the men ; but everj'thing was as informal, plain, and inexpensive as possible. Captain Ckoixox pointed out some small houses on the outskirts of the common. Those, he told us, after withdi'awing us fi-om the hearing of the men, had been intended for policemen, as it had been considered quite unsafe for a body of criminals to be left with no iiolice near. The houses had never been used ; there had never been occasion for any police agenc3^ One Superin- tendent only has charge of each hut. The few laboiu'crs employed with the men at work live in separate houses near. "After inspecting all parts of the premises, and satisfying ourselves that everything was as opeu and fi'ee as a common farm, and that the men were controlled onty by the strong moral influence, which, combined ^yiih. strict discipline and steady adherence to well-devised laws, constitutes the essence of the system, we felt desu-ous of learning how far these men were, or rather had been, the same daring criminals who fill our Government prisons in England. Yarious questions on this subject were put to Captain Ckofton by the gentlemen present, who showed us a table of the offences which had been committed by the very men among whom wo had been walking ^vithout fear or suspicion. We were astounded to find that they had been guilty of almost every conceivable offence. There were highway robbers, burglars, &c. ; miu'derers only are not admitted here, but must finish their term of imprisonment under the closer confinement of the prisons. • We were particidarly anxious to ascertain the previous characters of the prisoners, having heard it asserted that the inmates of the Irish Convict Prisons were of « lower grade of crime than those in the sister country. This 52 OUll COXVICTS. is not tlio case, and tlio fuUowing taLIc wliicli lie presented to ns is a satisfactory proof of tliis. SiirrnFiELD axd Lusk Intermediate Prisons, Summary of Convictions of SmithfielJ. 1st Conviction 2nd ditto 3rd ditto ith ditto 5tli ditto Otli ditto 8th ditto 9th ditto loth ditto 11th ditto 14th ditto 15th ditto 41st ditto 45th ditto , Prisoners now in Custody, Aug. 22, Lusk. 1st Conviction 2ud ditto 3rd ditto 4th ditto 5th ditto Glh ditto 7th ditto 8th ditto Oth ditto ... 12 ... 10 ... 12 ... 5 ... 2 ... 1 ... 2 ... 1 ... 2 ... 1 ... 2 ... 1 . ^ 1 ... 1 10th ditto 12th ditto 14th 17th ditto ditto isni. ... 12 ... 10 ... 12 ... 4 ... 7 ... 1 ... 1 ... 2 ... 3 ... 1 ... 2 .. 1 ... 1 Total 53 1 Total 05 Therefore 94 out of the 118 are known " old offenders," some of the remainder being known to the police as had characters, although not known to have been before convicted iu the same county. "It is said, also, that the English are naore unmanageable than the Irish. Oiu* o^wn experience of the criminals of both nations would be directly the reverse of this. There are, besides, many English in the Irish Convict Prisons, and many Irish Convicts in the English Prisons, but their peculiar nationality does not render any different treatment necessary. The objection is futile. The principles and the system which have happily been the means of bringing these outcasts of society into the orderly, respectfid, self-controlled men whom we saw, are founded on universal conditions of himian nature, and if proved true in one place may be readily adapted to another, by men who, like Captain Ceoftox, comprehend them, and possess the personal qualities which are requisite to carry them out. What those qualities are, and what are the pecft- THE IRISH SYSTEM. 53 liaritios of tliG plans, we more fidly ascertained on oiu* visits to the other prisons, which form part of the whole system. On this occasion we were anxious to learn the actual truth, and of that we were fully satisfied. The testimony of the labour-master was no more than we were prepared to expect. " 'I have been engaged on various public works,' he said, ' for tliirty years, yet never before have I had under me a set of men so well-conducted, so free from bad language, so attentive to their dut3^' "Dec. 7, 1861." Xo. 11. "Our next visit was to the Intermediate Prison for those Convicts who had learned trades, the last stage before being discharged, either on ticket-of-leave, or on completion of sentence. Though the principles and object of this establishment are exactly the same as those on which Lusk is founded, yet the development of these is necessarily modified, to meet the change of circumstances. Lusk is at a distance from Dublin, and the grand difficulties to be contended A^ith there are the natural tendency to abscond, and the danger of association with each other under compara- tively little surveillance ; here there is an adtlitional peril from the prisoners being at comparative freedom in the very midst of the city which had probably been the scene of their crimes, and which is filled with every allurement to vice. These added difficulties have been sucessfully surmomited. " iSmithficld is an old prison of the ordinary kind, which, being at libcvty, has l)een adapted to its present purpose, wlxile still retaining the cellular arrangement for sleeping. With this exception there is scarcely anything to remind one of a prison. The worlvshops, the largo simple dining-room, used also for evening lectures and other instruction ; the cheerful open yard for exercise, enlivened by small garden plots — all woidd give one rather the idea of a model lodging-house with associated "work- shops, than anything of a penal character. The n\en were at 54 OTIl COXVKTi^. dinner vrhen wc arrived, and vro requested permission to see them at tlieir meal. As ^o approached the dining-room, vre heard the sound of cheerful orderly conversation ; and, on enter- ing, found to our siu-pise, that there was no superintendent present, but that the prisoners -were conducting themselves with as much propriety as ordinary workmen. They have not even separate rations weighed out to them, hut the whole fixed quan- tity of food being placed on the table, they help themselves with due regard to each other's rights. Those who know what care is usually necessary in prisons, workhouses, and even schools, to give to each inmate the exact portion of food appointed, in order to prevent dissatisfaction, will appreciate the admirable tone of feeling which the possibility of such latitude indicates. The men appeared somewhat embarrassed by oiu- presence, and perplexed at what could be the motive of such a visit ; we therefore requested to see their library, and one of their number, the librarian, showed us with much pleasxu'e a good collection of useful and interesting liooks, to which they have fi-ee access, purchased partly by the contributions of the prisoners themselves. "It was Simday; and after a little friendly intercourse among themselves in the court, the Catholics and Protestants separated into cliiferent rooms, where their respective chaplains gave them an afternoon's religious lecture. We meanwhile gained much information from the Sitperintendent respecting the system adoj)ted : he objects to being designated Grovernor, desmug that the prison tone should be as much lost sight of as possible. Captain Ceofto:n" was not with us on this occasion, which was on the whole better, as we saw ever3i:hing in its ordinary con- dition, without the controlling influence of his presence. Yet his absence only made us more completely perceive how much his spirit pervades the whole. The Superintendent seemed thoroughly imbued with the Captain's principles of management, and spoke in warm terms of their effect on the men. Though all regulations are very strictly carried out, yet, as the prisoners TTIK IRISH SYSTK^r. 55 feel that everything is ordered vritli a reg-ard to their real -welfaro, and administered with perfect justice, they work with their superiors, instead of against them, as is so commonly the case in prisons; their wills are enlisted, and there is very seldom any cause of complaint. On several occasions some of the men liave been employed at work at the prisons in the city at some distance : no difficulty has ever heen experienced in marching them to and fro througli tiio crowded city, with a single officer. (Some of the men who are the nearest to their iinal discharge are even permitted to go alone into the city, to carry messages, or to execute commissions. The prisoners are allowed, if they choose, to spend sixpence a week of their earnings in any innocent indidgence ; they entrust with the purchase these privileged messengers, who have never been Ivnown to be unfaithful to tlieir trust. A man who had been thus sent out on the preceding day was summoned, and gave us an accoimt of thi"ee several expeditions of the kind. The time is of course exactly noted when they go out and retui'n, and the messenger knows that any neglect of duty would be eertainl}' discovered, and would entail on him serious consequences. Still the moral control appeared to us astonishing, which shoidd be more powerful than bolts and bars on one so low and degraded as a Convict ! They had been Convicts, — they were treated as men ; they had been made to feel that they were men not for ever degraded, but who might resume their place in society, or even take one, if they had never yet lieen regarded as other than outcasts. They comprehended the position in which they were here placed, as men who might be trusted ; and tliey proved themselves worthy of it. *' T]ie lecture ended, we were invited to be present at a 'com- petitive examination,' Avhich usually takes place on Saturday evening, but whicli had been deferred for our benefit. Mr. Org^vx, the lecturer to the prison, gives the men evening lectures on subjects calculated to communicate such kno^\ledge as may bo advantageous to them in their futtire life, besides storing their minds with useful information, and drawing them off 56 orR CONVICTS. from improper subjects of thought. He is much more than a lecturer ; ho is a friend in the highest and best sense, to those who, perhaps, never before had a friend worthy of the name ; he sympathises with their difficulties and trials ; and when they are about again to enter into the world, he arranges for their emigration if they wish to leave the country ; does not fear to advance them for the purpose, from his private purse, the money which will be afterwards paid to them for their earnings, and in every way in his power promotes their true interests, and literally gives himself, his time, his strength, his heart, to the objects of his anxious care. In doing so he has had the warm sympathy, not only of Captain Crofton and the other prison directors, but of the Lord-Lieutenant, Lord Carlisle, who has even honoured with his presence some of these evening lectures, and has bestowed on lum in his difficult and trying work that friendly encouragement which is more precious and supporting than any other human help. The subjects of the lectures during the preceding week were as follows : — Smithfield Inteejiediate Peison. Lectures for Week commencing Monday, 12th August, 1801. Monday. — The Sun. What it Is, and What it Does. Tuesday. — Labour. Its Dignity and Eewards. Wednesday. — Emigration. Its Advantages and Disadvantages, Thursday. — Crime. Its Profit and Loss. Friday. — Irish Intermediate Prisons. Their Eise, Progress, and Results, Saturday. — Competitive Examination. "Mr. Organ gave the men on the present occasion one of his forcible familiar addresses, and their coimtenances clearly indicated how completely he touched their experiences. "We had now a good opportunity of studying the characters before us. Some were grey-headed men, evidently ignorant and stupid, if not hardened in crime ; some quite young, perhaps only eighteen; the countenances of some were not impleasant, and had evidently been greatly softened and rej&ned by the discipline they had undergone, while the bulk of them were certainly unprepossessing, thougli not bad, and were responsive to good THE IKISH SYSTE}>r. 57 sentiments or advice. One would not luive imagined oneself in siicli an assemblage — all Convicts of a deep dye. Those of us were particularly struck with, this, who had elsewhere seen so very dilTerent an aspect in a number of Convicts in other prisons, where the hard, dogged, lowering look gives unmistakeable proof of a bad nature checked and repressed, not changed. After the address, the men arranged themselves in two parties, and a man on one side was selected to propose a question to the other. This being satisfactorily answered, the challenge was returned, and each sido seemed stimulated by a friendly rivahy to surpass the oth(ir, to elicit as much information and call out as much real thought and opinion as possible. Sometimes a discussion arose, in which Mr. Organ was called on take a part, which he did, not dictatorially, but with only the superiority arising from his own greater knowledge and better spii'it and judgment. The following are the questions which we heard actually discussed on that occasion, and satisfactorily answered: — 1. — Name the remarkable Moiintaius mentioned in Scripture ? 9. — Repeat Wolfe's Lines on the Burial of Sir John Mooek ? 3. — Point out tlie Disadvantages of Strikes ? 4. — "SVhat Battle confirmed Canada to the British ? 5, — Witli what feojile did the English Sign the First Treaty of Commerce ? fi, — A Captain is obliged to limit the Supply of Provisions to his Crew, owing to a protracted Sea Voyage ; can you show the Wisdom of the Step, and How and AVhen can Merchants act upon the same Principle ? 7. — In the Eeign of what English Monarch was Ireland annexed to the English Crown ? 8. — Itepeat the Lines on the Spread of the Gospel ? 9. — The Qualifications essential to a successful Emigrant ? 10. — To what I'ortiou of her Mineral Wealth does Great Bi-itain owe her Greatness '? 11. — Who gave Australia to Great Britain, and repeat the Words ho expressed on the occasion. 19. — Where, and on what occasion, did our Lord Y>'ork the First IMiracle ? 1 ;J. — Name the Great Naval Battles at which Lord Nelson commanded ? 14. — Box the Mariner's Compass ? 15. — Do the Employers of Discharged Prisoners expect more Fidelity from them than they do from ordinary Woi-kmen '.' 10. — St. .\uorsriNE on Bad Company? 58 nrn fo>rs'iCTf='. 17. — Who establislied the Law of Industi-y, and what were (he Words nsed hy him when doing so ? IM. — How is a Shilling made ? 10. — What are Taxes, and how is eveiy Pound sterling collected in Taxes applied ? 20. — The Lay of the Laliourer, by Hood ? 21. — The IMaritime Counties of England and Ireland? 22.— The Great Source of all Crime ? 23.— Tlie Last AVords of Nelson? 24. — How much Money did it cost Great Britain to ahoilsli Slavery in her Dominions, and name the Men who distinguished Ihemselvcs in advocating the Emancipation of Slaves ? 25. — On what occasion did Christ teach a Lesson of Frugality ? 20. — SIoore's Lines on W^eixingtox ? 27. — The Epitaph on General Woije's Monument ? 28. — When and by whom was Property first Divided? ** These questions are, of eoiu-se, founded on tlie instructions that have been given, and the reading ■which the men have selected for themselves ; tlie variety of them, and the fitness of the answers in the men's own words, often corrected hy each other, sufficiently proved how completely they have made the various topics their ovrn. The subject of strikes esj)ecially elicited a long discussion, some taking part for, some against. One young man, who advocated them, seemed c[uite excited ^^-lien describing all the circimistances that might lead to a strike ; and as he vividly portrayed the feelings and views of the workmen, the means they adopted to obtain their end, and the progress of the affair, we felt thankful that a youth of so much power for good or ill had been brought under such wise and good influences. The manner in which several noble pieces of poetry were repeated by heart, sufficiently proved what fine powers would have been wasted and perverted, if they had not here been well directed. We had noticed on the walls at Lusk and elsewhere a passage from St. AuGUSTLN'E on bad company, as follows : — '• ' Bad company is Uke a nail driven into a post, which, after the first and second blow, may be drawn out with little difficulty, but being once driven up to the head, the pincers cannot take hold to draw it out, but this can only be done bv the destruction of the wood.' — St. Augustine. THK IHISTr SYSTEM. 59 "A g-entleman of ouv party at Luslc liad expressed liis doiiLt Tvlietlier it was not above the compreliension of the prisoners. Wo therefore requested Mi\ Oega:x to ask for an explanation of it ; he had never made it, he said, the subject of conversation, but the passage was at once explained by the youth who had advocated strikes, in a way which showed how completely it had been the subject of thought and self-application. Leaving the prisoners with a few words of encouragement and exhortation, we were taken to an outside waiting-room, whore were a number of men who, Iiaving been set at conditional liberty, came to report themselves as steadily at work, and otliers who had been for many years free, but who kept up this occasional connection with those who had laboured for their good. These results of tlie labour and care bestowed were most satisfactory; and still more so were the visits made by some of the association to (Muployers who had many of the late Convicts at work under tlicra, and who spoke highly of their reformed condition. ""We paid another visit to Smithfi eld with Captain Croftox, and saw the men at work at their several trades. A certain proportion of the profits is alloAved tliem, so that a good work- man may earn his 2s. Gd. a week, which is laid by for his discharge, except the few pence which he is allowed weekly to spend. Captain C. explained to us the very strict regulations whicli are adopted, and the system of marks, by which each prisoner can be certain that on his conduct, whatever it is, will depend his future as well as liis present position. 80 exactly are all marks and accounts kept, that a complete check is pre- served both over officers and men, and tlie Captain can prove or disprove tlio truth of any charge of unjust treatment. So important an element of the system is this regarded by tlie directors, that on one occasion the Captain occixpied full tAA'o liours in investigating the complaint of a Convict, and proving the real state of tlie case ; nor would lie rest with the man's admission that ' the Captain was doubtless right,' and that he supposed lie liad made a mistake. He did not let tlie mattev 60 OUR CONVICTS. drop, until ho had oLtained from him the full admission that he was himself perfectly satisfied. He told us the liistories of many whom we saw now perfectly amenable to order, and obedient to duty. It had been no easy task to bring many turbident and bad spirits to this condition, but the combined powers of personal influence and strict discipline had at length prevailed. "Another visit was paid to SmitMeld before we left the city, and of a most unexpected nature. The Queen and Royal Family spent one Sunday in Dubhn, and her august Consort and eldest son spent a portion of the Sabbath in visiting the jirisons ! It must have been a sight calculated to awaken the deepest emotions, and one worthy of the reign of oiu' beloved Sovereign, who has shown a heart to feel for the lowest of her subjects, to witness the scene that afternoon in the Smithfield Convict Prison ; to see the Lord-Lieutenant of the island visit the lecture-room, with Prince Albert and the Heir Apparent of the Crown, and sit down among those men, who, from being a danger and cost to the country, were preparing to become iisefid and honest citizens of it. "We will not intrude on the scene, but •v\-ill rejoice that our future sovereign has already learnt to consider the welfare of the lowest as much an object of interest as the highest, and that he desires to learn himself, by personal investigation, the real condition even of Convict Prisons. <r. 63 or, it may be, g-rievous Avrougs done to Lis fello-w-creatiu'es, a life wasted, a family ruined. We heard uo groans of agony, no wail of despair ; biit tlio deep unbroken silence in this abode of \dce and sorrow was even more oppressive, more suggestive of a misery too great for words, a concentrated mass of hiunan suffering. No door was opened to ns — we asked not to see the prisoners. Some years ago we had visited a gaol constructed on the old principle, and the Governor politely ordered that the cell-doors should be thrown open as we passed, that we might see ever}i;hiug. And so, after mounting the narrow stone staircase, we walked through that gallery, and as we passed, a prisoner presented himself at the entrance of every cell. Such moui-nful specimens of humanity I Such dogged despaii" ! Such imblushing villany ! Such hoj)eless grief I We longed to. strive to solace it, to have the satisfaction of doing something to help to save the lost ; but we were powerless, and wallced on as unheedingly as we covild, slu-inking from insulting their misery by gazing on it. One drop of comfort and s^nnpathy and advice we did bestow on a young man near liis discharge, and that helped him on, and made him feel that when at liberty his help was at hand. But his was a solitary case, and the sight of the prisoners in that gaol almost certain, — the officials told us, — to return to it again, and to continue a life of crime, left on us an impression of horror which has never been removed. We avoided at Mountjoy asking to see the prisoners, not from a fear of the renewal of such an impression, but because we felt that criminals undergoing a penal separation from all around, ought not to be subjected to curious inspection, and that they also sliould not have any rising shame checked, or even their feelings wounded, by being made the subjects of conmiou observation. But we desired to be assured that the men ^\■]lolu we had seen at Lusk and Smithfield were really criminals of as deep a dye as we had been told, and to leai'u A\hether the crimes of wliich thoy had been guilty were acci- dental, or the result of a continued career of vice. Oiu- minds 64 OUR CUXVICTS. ■were sufficiently satisfied on tliis point Ly an inspection of a book in which is inserted a photograpli of each prisoner on his arrival. AVe could hardly have imagined a collection of heads so low in type, and faces indicating such varied criminality, but uniformly a display of such bad and daring passions. We coidd scarcely have believed that many of these were the very men whom we had seen under so different an aspect, and with countenances so altered. Only one of all of them did we recognise as the clever young man whom we had noticed taking an active part in the competitive examination; his coimtenance "vsas then wonderfully changed from the dogged, lowering, vicious look wliich we saw here. The prisoners, when they arrive in this wicked state, are full of antagonism and hatred to all around, and look with astonishment and often defiance at the strange scene which the interior of this prison presents. Each soon finds that the power over him is more than he can possibly contend against, and he is immured in the cell which must be his abode for nine months. At first this seclusion is absolute and complete, except during exercise, religious worship, evening instruction; and then — though not conducted in separate stalls as at Pentonville — any communi- cation with other prisoners is strictly prevented. It is by degrees felt a great privilege to be allowed to work with the cell-door open diuing part of the day, theu during the whole day ; this slight approach to the society of others is esteemed an extreme privilege, and is forfeited for any misconduct. But, in the midst of this strict and severe discipline, a ray of hope is always lighted on the prisoner, for he feels that justice is tempered with mercy. From the very first day of his entering the prison he is made aware that his future con- dition will entirely depend on liis conduct day by day, of which careful records are kept. The treatment of those who have the charge of him, though actuated by strict regard to duty, still manifests that a concern is felt for the welfare of each one individual, and none but those who have had the care of THK IKISH SYSTEM. 65 persons, citlier old or young, a\1io are under sentence of the law, can tell how marvellous is the effect of this feeling- alone. The medical officer notices not merely the physical, but the moral state and conduct, and if he hears of peculiar irritability and misbehavioui*, he examines whether thei'e is not some physical cause which may be removed. In this he and the Grovcrnor act in co-operation, for all are animated by the same sf)irit. As the Gaol Physician remarked to one of us, 'Jt seemed as if an electric ciu-rent had pervaded all the officers.' This will appear to many visionary ; but we who were in Dublin at a time when Captain Crofton had felt it necessar}^ to tender his resignation, became fully assiu-ed, from our own personal observation, and from conversation with the various officers, that his spirit did animate the whole establishment of Convict Prisons ii-om beginning to end; so we rejoiced with them when it was arranged that he would remain at his very important post. '* The time of separate couJinement being ended, the Con\dcts are transferred to prisons where they execute Government works. If they are artisans, they are sent to Philipstown, where indoor trades are carried on ; if otherAvise, they are transferred to Spike Island, near Cork, to carry on Government works on the fortifi- cations. Here their boundary is the limit of the Island, and they are shut in separate cells at nights. This is an immense change to them ; from their solitude to be placed in association with their fellow Convicts presents great temptations to insubor- dination, which, of coiu'se, requires the strictest watchfulness. But here, too, the system pursued completely produces its effect. Careful records are made of each Convict's daily conduct and ■work, by marks Avhich he himself can check, and wliich he knows will be the means of his rising to higher classes in the Island, and eventually of liis being placed in the greater liberty of Lusk. He has here, also, the advantage of the ministrations of the chaplain and the schooLnaster, the latter of whom gives instructive lectures, as at Smithfield and Lusk, calcidated to prepare the men for their entrance anew into life. The prisoners 66 OUK COXVICTS. do not, when they first come, show tliemselves by any means reformed, and often give great trouble for some time. Occa- sionally parties of Convicts from the Colonial Prisons are sent here in a very disorderly condition after their voyage; but all are soon brought into order -uithout any violent outbreak. "Why is it that under this system there never oeciu' the fearful outrages with which the public have been shocked these last few years ? Eirst, we hear of a tremendous rebellion at Portland Prison, which was with dijQEicidty subdued. Then early last year we read of first one and then a second most fearful insiu-rection, as we must call them, at Chatham, quelled only by an overpowering physical force, and followed by di-eadful punish- ments. Quite recently the public journals give an account of a similar state of things at Dartmoor: — " ' OUTHAGEOrS COSDUCT OF COSVICTS IN DARTMOOR REISOX. " ' Yery serious disturbances have for some ^veeks past [KovemLer 2, 1861], we understaud, taken place in Dartmoor Prison, where the convicts have been displaying scrions symptoms of insubordination and ojjposition to the regula- tions of the prison, coupled, as opportunity oifered, with most outi'ageous assaults on the officers more immediately in attendance upon them. To such an extent has their violence been carried, that the pnson authorities have for some time been obliged to place extra night officers on duty in the association wards, in which from 80 to 120 ol the worst criminals are congregated, without, so far as we hear, any regard to classification or morals. In Dart- moor Prison there are five such wards, where murderers, garotters, robbers, forgers, burglars, and highway robbers, criminals guilty of unnatural offences, and, more deplorable still, youthful thieves anfl pickpockets, are permitted indiscriminately to herd together in open wardV in which they take theii- meals and sleep, without any separation or relpect for common decency; inasmuch as the convicts in tlie wards referred fc sleep in hammocks placed so close together that one inan cannot get in br out without crossing the hammock on his right or Ifft. Tlie moral disorganisation and viUany engendered under such circumstances may be easily imagined, and the results have recently been manifested in a i-hape which calls loudly for remedial measures on the part of the authorities. " ' On a recent occasion the convicts in the association wards concerted a plan for putting out the gas at night, and making a simultaneous assault on the night officers ; but, happily, one or two in the plot divulged the secret to the authorities, and precautions were taken by which the fiendish design was frustrated. Notwithstanding this failure, the officers who have in anv Tin; IRISH SYSTEM. 67 niauucr rendered themselves obnoxious have been, for se\eral weeks past, subjected to murderous attacks froizi these irreL-laimable villains, by whom any official who endeavours strictly and impartially to cany out the prison rules, or who, in the exercise of his duty, may bring under the notice of the Governor acts of misconduct, is specially marked out for vengeance. Indeed, things have arrived at such a pit';h, that those officers, whose conscience will not allow these hardened ruffians to net as they think jiropcr, are certain, at some time or other, to be attacked and maltreated — the time chosen for such assaults being when they get the obnoxious warder or other warder by himself, or at some distance from his brother officers. As an illustration of the working of the convict system at Dartmoor, we may state that two most respectable and inoffensive officers, named Bundle and Mason, wei'e very recently assaulted in the most savage and cowardly manner, the former being attacked by a number of convicts, who came behind him and dealt several violent blows on his head, knocking him down, and while in that position ferociously kicking him with their hobnail boots about the head and stomach, at the same time closing in a circle round the unfortunate man, so that it was some time before Rundle"s brother officers could render him any assistance, and then not before the severe injuries on his head and diflerent parts of hia body had been inflicted. In the case of Mason, who was attacked in the same cowardly manner, he being an unusually strong man, his ruffianly assailants failed to knock him down, and he was enabled to keep them at bay until aid arrived, but not before he had received several severe kicks on the legs and contusions about the eyes, which prevented him for several days from pex'- forming his ordinary duty. The principal warder, Shepherd, was, not long ago, assaulted and hit on the head and face; an officer named Barnes was also attacked by a prisoner, who struck him on the head with a broom-handle ; and, within the last few days, we learn that a most murderous assault was made on an officer named Mules, in one of the association wai'ds, where there were 80 convicts, two of whom struck him from behind several heavy blows on the head with stones, which they had tied up in their handkerchiefs, and with which they beat him most unmercifully about the head and face* inflicting several fractures on the cranium, from the effects of which he now lies dangerously ill, but little liope being entertained of his recovery. Several other officers, Avhose duties bring them into immediate contact with the prisoners, have likewise been the subject of ferocious attacks, and have received serious injuries. " ' Such is the " reign of terror" at present existing in Dartmoor Prison ; and unless the most stiingent measures are promptly carried out, its condition bids fair to rival, or even eclipse, that of Chatham, during the worst phases of the late mutinous outbreak.' "Such fearful outbreaks of an evil spirit raging- within the estahlishment ai'e, of course, followed by the consequences de- Hcril.)ed in the conclusion of the snme urticlo : — 68 OUR COXVIOTS. "'Some steps in the right direction, however have, we hear, been ahead \- taken. Last week, Captain Gambiek, one of tlie visiting directors, arrived at the prison, and, with a view of checking the prevailing spirit of insuTjordi- nation, ordered five or six of the ringleaders to he flogged— a sentence which was immediately carried into efl'ect, three dozen lashes being administered to each of the culprits, who, it may be mentioned, did not evince the smallest signs of contrition for their outrageous misconduct, but, on the contrary, we are told, uttered expressions of savage exultation and defiance. Several convicts, moreover, were ordered to be sent back to the prison at Millbank, where they will be placed in the penal class, and have to undergo very severe discipline. Reduced diet has also been resorted to by Captain Gameier with respect to other convicts guilty of mutinous conduct, who, in some cases, arc compelled to wear chains or cross-irons, which will, for some time at least, prevent them from using their nailed boots on the heads of the warders of the establishment at Dartmoor, with the abuses of which the public are in general very imperfectly acquainted.' "Would it be possible tliat men from prisons like these could be sent to such, places as Lusk or Smithfield. " Only one of our party Avas able to visit Spike Island, and he Tvas most fully satisfied with that, as we all had been with every part of the system. His testimony was fully in accordance with that of Mr. Eecoedee Hill, as given to the Social Science Asso- ciation at its first meeting- at Birmingham, after a recent visit to Spike Island and the other prisons : — '• ' The contrast of expression in the faces of the inmates of Mountjoy and of those of the body advanced to the intermediate stage afifords the most striking evidence in favour of the treatment of which they have had the inestimable benefit. This proof of amendment I had ample opportunity of studying, as in my repeated visits I saw the men in every variety of occupation — at theii- labour, at their meals, during their studies, and in their moments of relaxation. Their countenances, though on the whole inferior in intelligence to the average of free men of their own degree, bore no marks of an evil mind; and Mobile I was being rowed by moi-e than one boat's crew, from island to island, and altogether in their power, it was impossible *for me not to feel as secure of their fidelity, as if they had been Thames watermen. In the manners and general demeanour of the intermediate class the desire to improve themselves and to be of service to others was also very apparent.' "Tcb. 8, 1862." A fuurth visit to the Female Convict Prisons is reserved for a future chapter. TIIK lUISII SYSTEM. 69 Thougli so many extracts liave been already given from the valuable work of the Pour Justices, yet we must copy a short passage fi-om their work, embod^-iiig some of the observations they made after their visit in October, 1861 : — "Lusk is a village about twelve miles from Dublin, Powers were obtained by Act of Parliament to enclose an open common there, previously occupied only by 'squatters.' Two huts of corrugated iron, each capable of holding fifty men, were erected at a cost of £320 a piece. A portion of each hut is partitioned off for a warder to sleep in, and the rest serves both as day-room and dormitory for the con\-icts. A cook-house and offices of the simplest possible character, stand, with the huts, in an enclosiu'e bounded by a mud wall a yard high. A few cottages for warders scattered about the common, complete the whole materiel of the ' prison.' All the usual features of a prison may be said — with something of the idiom of the country, though not without high English authority for the phrase — to be * conspicuous by their absence.' "As to the personnel, we found at the time of our visit about sixty convicts in charge of five warders. The truncheons we saw at Mountjoy, have no place liere, and other weapon or chain there is none. "The obvious c^uestion to ask first is — Do not the prisoners often escape ? Of more than a thousand men, we are told, who have passed through the prison, only two have attempted it. "There is a military guard? No. There are police? The answer is instructive. When the establishment at Lusk was first proposed, the residents in the neighbourhood were, not unnaturally, somewhat alarmed at the idea of having a niimber of thieves and burglars encamped in open quarters near them. To calm these apprehensions, it was proposed that the constabu- lary should have a station on the common. An iron hut which had been erected elsewhere was brought and set up for the piu'pose. But no police ever came, for there has never been found the slightest need for them. Wo were assured bv Mr. 70 orn roxvicxs. OoBBE, a magistrate Laving large property, and liimself resident witliin a fe-w miles, that so unexceptionable h.as been the conduct of the prisoners, that he has never heard any complaint Tvhatever of misconduct on the part of the prisoners, either -within the establishment, or outside. " Is, then, the non-escape of the prisoners owing to the place being made so comfortable to them that they have no wish to leave it? We certainly failed to find any evidence of such comfort. The men sleep in hammocks in the hut, and all that one can say is, that while they are inside it, they have shelter ; but the moment they leave it, they are exposed to every wind of heaven, and to all the rain of that humid climate. In point of mere physical comfort, the advantage is altogether on the side of an ordinary prison, to say nothing of a well-warmed cell at "Wakefield or Pentonville. "VVe found most of the men, at the time of our visit, working up to the middle in drains, than which few employments conduce less to comfort. The diet is stated to be not more than the medical officers consider to be necessary for the maintenance of health, and fitness for the hard labour and exposure to which the men are subjected. "The gratuity is half-a-crown a week, which is rather more than in any one stage at Portland. But it is so much lower in all the previous stages, that a Convict, under a four years' sentence, in Ireland, can only earn haK the amount wliich he could earn, under a similar sentence, in England. "The men at Lusk are allowed to spend sixpence a week of theii" gratuity ; and we were told that many of them buy bread with it, — an indication that the diet allowed to them is not excessive. " On the whole we saw no appearance of any indulgence to induce men to remain, as they do, without physical restraint, and submit to strict discipline. " "We have mentioned one independent soiu-ee, from which we heard of their general good conduct. Another was the rector of the parish, who informed us that the Protestant prisoners attend THE IRISH SYSTEM. 71 seiTice at the village ehureli, and coiuluet themselves with a.H much propriety as any others of the congregation. ' ' The aspect of the men whom we saw confirmed the infoi*- mation we received. Neither in di-oss nor appearance were they distinguishable from ordinary labourers, except, perhaps, aa having a somewhat more subdued and staid demeanour. The bailiff, who was superintending their work, told us that having had charge of gangs of labourers in many parts of Ireland, he had never found men more tractable or willing to work than these prisoners ; adding, what would rarely be the case with free labourers, that an oath or indecent expression -nas imheard among them. This statement was confirmed by the other officers. It was difficult to conceive that these were men of the same class as those whose scowling or knavish visages we had seen in photograph or in flesh, in the first stage at Mountjoy ; yet undoubtedly they had passed through that prison, [pp. 22, 24.] *' A doubt having been suggested, by what we heard and saw of prisoners in the later stages of their imprisonment, and after discharge, as to whether they really were of the same criminal class as our English Convicts, we examined such specimens of the raw material, so to speak, on which the Irish system has to work, as this prison presented. Photographs have been taken of the prisoners on their admission ; and cer- tainly, making every allowance for the well-known fact that the photograph does not flatter, a series of physiognomies expressing more unmitigated ruffianism than the volume of portraits which we saw presents, it were difficult to conceive. The living sj^ecimens, whom we visited in their cellfl, had no less the aspect of knavish cunning or sullen brutality, with which our experience at Wakefield has made us fiimiliar. Wo saw men with whom a tete-a-tete interview produced a sensation decidedly disagreeable, and whose look afforded some excuse for flio precaution, objectionable as it seemed to us, by which the warders are armed with truncheons, 'in case,' as was said, 'of an attack by a wicked prisoner,' 72 oru coxvicT!?. ' ' The records of the ofiences for which the prisoners were convicted, also show that they are persons of much the same class as those with whom we have to deal in the English Convict prisons, thieves and burglars forming a large majority. "Our experience as regards the Irish prisoner in English prisons, has not led us to believe that he is of more amiable character, or easier to manage and reform, than his ' erring brother,' born on this side the Channel. ** The character of the Irish Convicts previous to the intro- duction of the improved discipline, was so exceedingly bad, that a special request was sent fi'om "Western Australia, September, 1854, that no more of them might be sent to that colony, though it was willing to receive English Convicts. "After such testimony as to the past, and our own observations as to the present, when we find the remarkable extent to which it has been foimd practicable to carry the abandonment of 'coercion,' and the substitution of 'moral agencies,' in the later stages of the Irish Convict discipline, and the satisfactory results which have followed, we feel boimd to attribute those results to good management, and the excellence of the system, rather than to any antecedent superiorit;)' in the character of the Irish Con\-ict. "No doubt, in England, the to"\vns are larger and more numerous, and crime is more highly organised, than in Ireland. But human natiu-e is the same, and criminal perversion needs to be dealt with on the same principles, in both. It is remarkable that, when it was first proposed to established the present Convict System in Ireland, it was said, 'This might do very weU in England, but it is wholly inapplicable to the ' peculiar character and circimistances of the people here;' which, mutato nomine, is just what we sometimes hear said in England now.'' [pj). 14, lo.] It is not only in our own country that the Irish Convict System has elicited the highest admiration and the strongest testimonies to the success of its working. On the Continent, in Australia, in Canada, it is well known and appreciated, As in this chapter, TTIK IRTSTI sysTF.^r. 73 however, we limit oiirselvs to testimonies from personal observa- tions, we select only that of Baron Yox Holtzexdorff, Professor of Law in the University of Berlin. The following extracts are from a translation of parts of a work of his, made by Mrs, Lentaigne, of Dublin : — **In consequence of an invitation to join the meeting of the Social Science Congress, wliich was about to assemble in DubHn, I i^roceedecl to Ireland in the beginning of August, in the year 1861. As was to be expected, the Convict System of that country held a prominent place amongst the subjects discussed, and by means of that Congress, what Jiad prei-iousli/ been deemed incredible, ivas made evident to all icJio chose by jjersonal investigation to become acquainted tvith the Irish institutions for the rejjression of crime. " There being much scepticism and jealousy amongst those who had earnestly studied the Irish blue books, a comprehensive critique on the Irish Convict Prisons, and a careful comparison between them and the corresponding institutions In England were necessarily looked forward to, when the discussions of the Congress commenced in Dublin, on the 11th of August, 1861. Besides, every one kiiow that on this side of St. George's Channel, the Irisli System had met with adversaries wlio had employed their special talents in arguments against the general adoption of that system. But the field of discussion was left open even to them, and every opportunity for the acquirement of information and the discovery of deficiencies was placed at their command. " The expression of every opinion was allowed in Dublin, and, on that account, the meeting of the Congress there was considered an event, whicli, in its effects, would not remain without influence on public opinion in England, relative to the existing prison system of that country. For a foreigner, there certainly could be no better opportunity than that presented by the Social Science Congress, of incj^uiring into the actual condition of the Irish Convict Prisons, and of comparing his 74 OT'U CONVICT!?. own ideas as well as the animadversions of others, with the experienced opinions of competent judges, thus enabling him by the criticism of different individuals to arrive at a correct and definite conclusion on the subject. " In order that my opinions might not be altogether influenced by the observations of others, and that I might see and inquire in person, I arranged my arrival in Dublin so as to have some days of leisure, before the commencement of the business of the Congress. Sir Walter Crofton was prevented by illness from conducting Baron Von der Goltz and me, through the penal institutions of Dublin ; and though I had much reason to regret the circumstance, I could not conceal from myself that his absence contribvited to insure the independence of my observations, and an unrestrained freedom of inquiry ; for there is a great difference between an object being shown off by a friend, and carefully searched into and examined by an impartial incj[uirer. On the first day of my presence in Dublin, I visited the cellular prisons of Mountjoy, under the guidance of Captain "Whitty, who is at present a member of the Board of Directors, having previously rendered important service at the Prison of Portland. I also repeatedly visited the Intermediate Prison at Smithfield, and saw the agricultural estabKshment on the commons at Lusk. I inspected at Grolden-bridge one of those refuges, which, for Female Convicts, take the place of Inter- mediate Prisons (this one is managed by Sisters of Mercy), and, finally, before my retu.rn to England, I went to Cork and Queenstown, where I had an opportunity of observing the external arrangements of the Convict Depot at Spike Island." The Professor's details of the system we omit, and proceed to the concluding observations : — "I conclude my report mth a settled conviction in favour of the Irish system, formed after careful examination, and without prejudice. The facts which I have detailed are incontestable, while the interest I felt in the cause did not permit me to neglect any opportunity for calling attention to defects, if I had THE ir.isn sYsTE^r. to observed any, or giving utterance to objections, if I had felt any doubt. I have no object in secrecy ; and the Irish Convict Directors are men -who, far from shunning criticism, have on all occasions been anxious that public opinion should express itself without reserve. In Ii-eland there is no mystery, there are no secret proceedings ; nor is there any biu'eaucratic arrogance or red-tapism, which meets the opinions of others vrith the over- bearing contradiction — * we imderstand that better.' How little Sir Walter Crofton and his colleagues were influenced bj' blind dogmatism, is shown by the fact that superior to the pride of office, and careless of the praise that was awarded them in the course of their administration, they, when they saw it nocessar}^, efi'ected several alterations in their own work. *•' ^' "All the objections to the Irish System may lead to one question, namely : Are the results which have been undeniably obtained in Ireland to be considered only as phenomena forming exceptions to general rides, but suited to the special circum- stances of Ireland, or does the Irish System contain a general truth, as applicable to Anglo-Saxons, Scandinavians, Italians, and Germans, as to Celts ? If the general value of the principle followed in Ireland be acknowledged, it woidd be acting unrea- sonably not to imitate what has been there proved to be so excellent, for in great social reforms there is just as little principle of nationality as in natural plulosophy. "In England it is asserted that the Irish System is only suitable for Ireland, because the Irish police are better than the English, because the Irish people sympathise with the criminal, and because English Convicts are of such a natm'e, that in case of deficient supervision, finding a cessation of the strictness with which they had hitherto been watched, they woidd run away from the Intermediate Pi-isons, the very day after being placed in them. " I do not feel myself called upon to decide witli regard to the first of the reasons cited, as my knowledge in that respect is not sufficient ; but as to the inference to be drawn, I cannot 76 OUR CONVICTS. he inistaken. If the English police, -^hose united numbers are estimated at 20,000 men, are inferior to those of Ireland, it must only follow that they should he improved. That the Irish pattern cannot be equalled, is an assertion that can scarcely be proved, and against such an assimiption learned and expe- rienced Englishmen have repeatedly entered their energetic protest. It even seems to me that in some respect Ireland is more unfavoiu-ably circumstanced than England, for in consequence'^ of the opposition of parties in Ireland, and the struggle of pohtical passions, the Irish police are not confined, like those in England, to the limited sphere of operation, which, regardless of politics, simply includes the maintenance of public order; and I believe that where the repression of crime is in question, the English police might justly reckon on the appro- bation and support of the public, at least as securely as those of Ireland. ' ' With regard to the pretended sympathy of the Irish people with discharged criminals, I must consider such a reproach as more offensive than true. I have abeady shown the opinion held in Australia with regard to Irish Convicts, but for my own part I have found a deep religious feeling, and a lively sense of morality, amongst the very poorest of the lower classes in Ireland; and during the famine time, thousands preferred to starve, rather than avail themselves of the opportunity to steal. " Einally, the differences of national character between English and Irish criminals have been referred to, and in order to give a sentimental coloring to the objection arising from this point, it has been alleged that if an English Convict were placed in an Intermediate Prison, his attachment to his family woiild over- come his resolution, and that he would make use of the favorable opportunity to escape to the society of his relations. Eecorder Hill expressed himself most decidedly in contradiction to this opinion, at the meeting of the Social Science Congress, in Dublin, and observed that not only in theory the argument THE HUSH SYSTEM. 77 was unsatisfactory, biit that experience liad proved it was contrary to fact ; because, in all tlie wretchedness of Ireland, family ties were held more sacred than they are in England. The strong attachment of the Irish to their families and rela- tions was, as Mr. Hill explained, shown by the gi-eat amount of small snms sent home from America by Irish emigrants, in order to enable their families to follow them, or to relieve tliem in their distress ; and although poor and destitute people went in numbers, the sums sent back, according to Mr. Hill's uncontradicted assertion, far exceeded the amount of money similarly remitted by English emigTants. '•' "^' '"•' ** Men have ceased to consider the Irish System as an experi- ment which requires any longer trial. The plans of Captain Macoxochie, who, by his mark system, obtained such brilliant success in Norfolk Island, were wrecked by the indifference of public opinion, and the cold opposition of an administration that believed itself too wise to think that any reform coidd be necessary. At that time an opinion prevailed that criminals must be got rid of by transportation ; but at present the Convict question is one, with regard to which every educated person in England will form a judgment for himself, and every citizen is considered by the Government entitled to an opinion. When an article in favoiu' of the Irish Convict System apj)eared in the Cornhill Magazine, Sir Joshta Jebb took advantage of the opportunity to have a similar popular account di'awn up in praise of the English system, for the readers of that periodical."' I cannot now foresee Avhether a settlement of this question will be brought about by a voluntary decision of the English Prison authorities, by fresh outbreaks in the Convict Depots, or by the matter being brought before Parliament ; but I feel convinced that a decision must be eventually come to, and I am warranted in this opinion not only by the moral force of public opinion in England, but also by that consideration of economy, whicli sees in the repression of crime a saving to every household. * Cornhill Mcujauiie, Juuc, IBOl. 78 OUR COXN'ICl'S. "In a few words, the Irish (System unites iu itself all the correct principles of previous yysteins of prison discipline, forming a thoroughly re-modelled general organisation, by means of which the Convict, after a series of gradations, is led to liberty, but vstill kept in check by the deterrent principle of supervision. By tills means are reconciled the punishment of crime for the infraction of the laws, and the requirements of society, with the theories of benevolent and compassionate individuals, and the associations which have been formed for the assistance of the discharged offender. Only thus can be obtained the true con- sciousness in the Convict's mind, of the great injustice which he has entailed on society by his guilt. There still exists much ignorance as to the requirements of justice, audits relations with the object of reformatory discipline in carrjdng out punishment. Originating in, and founded on justice, the nature of piuiishment consists in discipline, and should never be otherwise used, than so as to serve the further development of the better qualities of humanity. The cause of punishment can alone be considered as an evil, and its effects should never produce any but good results. A system of punishment which produces torpor and inaction in the mental faculties, is just as uni'easonable as the old exploded coercive treatment of the insane. The accompKsh- ment of justice consecjuently requires the reformation of the offender, by such a system as enables the criminal to perceive the necessity for his punishment, and the amount of his guilt ; and it is only by penal discipline that the influencing motives of the judicial sentence can be reproduced in the minds of the Convicts. The reformatory treatment of criminals is indeed not always required, for there are some cases of formal breaches of law, not otherwise criminal, in which it woidd be imnecessary to reqiiire a reformatory treatment. In such cases it is only necessary that the punishment should be a manifestation of deterrent justice, but it oiight to be such as would neither prevent moral progress, nor entail the danger of corruption by association. Any punishment producing by its forms of discipline, THE IRISH SYSTEM. desi^air revengeful and uiigiy feelings, or wliicli Llunts the moral perceptions, or produces listlessness, is the greatest crime -^-Iiich a government can conmiit, and is an outrage against religion, morality and la'w. "It is not rny object to sot forth, here hoAV the means of reformation must always vary in their extent and ai^plication for different individuals, according to the nature of the cruninal's perceptions. " The Irish system, resting on deep psychological truth, exhibits, in my opinion, those forms of punislmient -which in affording the greatest number of reformatoiy means, alone seems efficacious to bring about a transformation of the moral feelings that have become depraved by serious and habitual crime, so as to become rightly disposed to will or wish for what is good and just, and this change must be effected through the free agency of the criminal, who voluntarily submits to the punishment which justice requires, and so gives up the power over his will which no prison bars can control, accepting willingly the restraint in which he is kept, as an atonement for his guilt, and feeling it a duty to submit to the punishment he has deserved. "It can 1)0 of no consequence whether the external arrange- ments of the Irish institutions be copied, and that associated penal labour for the second stage, precisely as in Ireland, be adopted. It is probable that in a continually modified and gi-aduated system, originating in separation, other forms would, after a time, be arrived at ; but the principles embodied in the progressive and graduated mark system, in intermediate prisons, in discharge on license and police surveillance, seem to me quite indispensable ; and oven when we examine what was effected by the Italian physician, Girolami, as related by MiTTERjr.viKR, there appears nothing more tliau tlio same principles on which the Irish System is based. ' ' There is one circumstance which 1 must not forget in taking leave of my subject. Forms of government, and prison systems in their effects, and in tlieir execution, are alike dependent on 80 OUR COXVICTS. human weakness and Iimnan power ; uud on this account I must acknowledge that the results obtained in Ireland bear witness to an amount of zeal and activity beyond all praise on the part of the Irish officials, from the Viceroy to those whose duty it was to carry out the system. I have seen how Sir AV-iltee Crofton almost every day took anxious trouble about the condition and complaints of individual Convicts, how nothing seemed too insignificant for liis attention, and how perfectly impressed he was with the sublimity of his task. On one occasion he spent an hour in trying to convince a Convict that he had no right to complain. To him the Irish system is principally indebted for that spirit of humanity, and truly Christian charity which, behind bolts and bars, respects the rights of even the most fallen human natures. "When Sir Walter Crofton, in the summer before last, announced in Dubhn his intention, on account of impaired health, to withdraw from liis position, the Social Science Congress gave loud expression to their regret, and Lord Brougham declared his belief that the continuance of the convict system wou.ld be endangered by the carrying out of this resolution ; but as I am deeply impressed with the truth of the principles on which those institutions are founded, I am of a difi'erent opinion. * ' That event, which many saw approach, with pain and sincere regret, has since taken place. Sir Walter CROFTOisr has retired from the management of the Convict Prisons ; but before doing 80, the honoiu* of knighthood was conferred on him, in consi- deration of his services, by the Lord Lieutenant. He is fondly remembered by many who have been raised from the dark paths of depra\'ity to the light of knowledge ; and I believe that the monument he has founded will survive him, while his fame will be as great, as the modesty with which he estimates liis own merits." CHAPTER II. THE lEISH CONVICT SYSTEM: ITS WOEKING. The testimonies wliicli liave been presented to the reader in the former chapter, given at different times during the last seven years by persons totally unconnected with each other, ■will, probably, leave no doubt in the mind of any unprejudiced person that a groat social problem has been solved in the Irish Convict System, — that important principles have l)een demonstrated to be capable of satisfactory application to one of the most perplexing and difficult parts of the government of our country, — that the great and merciful law of the moral government of the world, revealed to us by the Savioui', that suffering must follow sin, but that the repentant and returning prodigal should be received and forgiven, can be and ought to bo the law and guiding spirit of every Christian country ; — this has been proved to have been actnally accomplished. Among our witnesses are persons whose high judicial position and acquaintance with the Convict class render their testi- mony most valuable. Many more, who woidd gladly vouch for the marvellous success of the system, miglit be brought from the country itself; — gentlemen whose knowledge of the criminal part of the community rendered them hopeless of any true reformation in them, but who have now groat satisfaction in acknowledging themselves mistaken, as they see facts before them ; — employers of labour, who formerly shrank from the G 82 orn convicts. very idoa of giving a Convict work on their prcmison, but "wlio now oven go to tlio prison doors to solicit their labour, because they cannot be more faithfully served than by thoso very men who were once the destroyers of the peace and property of society ; — and last, not least, the Convicts them- selves, who having undergone the just penalty of their evil- doing, which was inflicted with justice tempered by mercy, and having learnt within the prison walls to desire to tread the straight and narrow way, leave them with strong resolve to go and sin no more. It was probably fortunate that this great experiment, for so it was at the commencement, was tried in an island of no great extent, and under circumstances which permitted the free execu- tion of the plans devised for its accomplishment. But the diffi- culties to be surmounted in Ireland were probably much greater than would exist in our own island, or elsewhere. These aroso not only from the previous mismanagement and bad condition of the Convict Prisons there in existence, as evidenced by the fact of the Commission of investigation sent over by our government, as well as from the extremely low degraded state of the criminal population, testified by the Governor of "Western Australia ; — but also from the very divided state of society in Ireland, arising from violent religious differences, and from the suspicion and jealousy of the proceedings of the government among a lai'ge portion of the inhabitants. If such difficulties as these could bo surmounted, in addition to those inseparable from the work itsoK, the same system and principles would have a still more comx)lete success, when carried out with the experience abeady gained, and without the serious and peculiar obstacles which were to be encountered in Ireland. They have been completely and triumphantly surmoimted there, and the success of the system in that j^fii't of the empire, inspires a certainty that the adoption of the same principles, developed in a manner equally adapted to the circumstances of the country, and carried out with the same zeal and devotion, vnil always produce similar results. THE IRISH SYSTEM : ITS "WORKING. 83 Tho present aclmlra'ble condition of the Irish Con\-ict Prisons described in tho last chapter, was not produced without long and patient eflPoi'ts on tho part of all concerned in the work, nor without the most unwearied and zealous labour in the Directors, warmly cooperating as they did with theii' chairman, Sir Walter, then Captain Crofton ; but it is doubtless to him that the very existence of the system is duo. Ho it was who applied to it tho principles wliieh have proved so beneficial; and though ho was somewhat shackled by the machinery already existing, he modified and extended it so as to carry out the intentions of the Government, as expressed in tho Act of 1853, and gave a unity of action to all tho Convict Prisons in Ireland, But the fact of his having planned and developed the system, by no means renders it impossible that other persons shoidd carry out a similar one, if only they act on tho same principles and adopt tho samo moans. It is true that he effected much by his own personal influence, both in tho development of the system and in tho reformation of tho prisoners. Yet, greatly as he stimulated the officials by his own strong faith, and inspired them with confidence ; much as ho excited the Convicts to exertion, and awakened in them hope for themselves by tho perception of his hope for them, and by the personal interest which ho took in each individual among them ; he himself had always greater confidence in the principles on which he worked, than on his own personal sliaro in tho execu- tion of tho work, and always expressed a certainty that others might produce the same results by tho samo means. Hence, when in 1862 ho was compelled to abandon tho work to which ho had dedicated his strength and talents, because his health broke down under tho increase of laboiu' which fell upon him through tho removal by tho Government of ono of his feUow directors, — ho felt sure that tho Irish Convict System, being now firmly established, would remain on tho samo basis as before his withdrawal from tho practical development of it. Ho was right, for it is now conducted as formerly, receiving still tho full coufidonco of the public. 84 OI'K C(>N\'ICT3. Wo sliall, then, now proceed to a close examination of the actual working of the system, deriving onr account of it from pamphlets published at different times by Sir W. Ceoittox, and from his evidence before the Eoyal Commission, with that of Captain "Whitty, at that time sole director.^ The general principles which govern the Irish Convict System, are thus very briefly stated by Sir W. Croftox : — " 1st. That convicts are tetter and more reliably trained in small numLers, and by their being made to feel throughout their detention, that their advance- ment depends on themselves, through the active exercise of qualities opposed to those which have led to their impiisonment. "3nd. That the exhiliition of the laboT;r and training of the convicts in a more natural form, before their liberation, than is practicable in ordinary prisons, is a course obviously calculated to induce the public to assist in their absorption, and thereby to materially diminish the difficulties of the com-ict question. " 3rd. That the institution of appliances to render the criminal calling more hazardous will assuredly tend to the diminution of crime; and, there- fore, that ' Police supervision,' photography, and a systematic communication ■with the Governors of county gaols, Avith a view to bring, in all possible cases, former convictions against offenders, and entail lengthened sentences upon them, are matters of the gravest importance, and deserving of the most minute attention." To illustrate the actual process which each Convict passes through, we may take the case of one, J. B., who may be regarded as a type of the class : — "J. B. has lived in antagonism to the law, and to all who carry out its biddings. He arrives at his prison chained and scowling at all who approach him — he is angry with himself for not having again been able to elude detection, and for no other cause whatever. "J. B. is stated to be twenty-eight years of age; his life of crime has given him the appearance of thirty-five. He is now convicted of burglarj-, and has four former couAdctions recorded against him. He has received what is termed a certain amount of penal infliction for his different crimes, and lias * "A few remarks on the Convict System,'' 1857; "The Immunity of Habitual Criminals," 1861 ; " Convict Systems and Transportation : a Lecture delivered at tlie Philosoi3bical Institution, Bristol," 1802; "A Brief Description of the Irish Convict System," 1802; "Convict Systems and Transportation," 18C0. ; all bv Sir ^VALTEn Cuoriox. THE IRISH SYSTEM : ITS Vn'OKKIXG. 85 been ou the treadwhcul more than once; solitude ami durkuess also, he has exj)erienced from time to time. He has been violently insubordinate in prison, and has been flogged. He is known to be one of a notorious gang of robbers infesting one of our populous cities. You scan his countenance and there is not one hopeful lineament apparent. You elicit from him that his parents died in a workhouse, from which he absconded. Ho never had a home." Wliat do la-^', liiinianity, the -svelfarc of society, and of this individual himself, who still has a claim ou a Christian com- munity not-withstanding his past misdeeds, — what do all these require from us in our treatment of him ? " 1st. We have to punish him for the sake of deterring him and deterring others ; but this will make him more hostile than ever. Ho has suffered mere penal infliction repeatedly, and has returned to prison more hardened than before. Punishment alone has failed to deter him. " 2nd. We have to amend him ; but how can this be effected with his mind in a state of hostility to us ? •' 3rd. We have to train him naturally before we liberate him, or the public will not value the voucher for his conduct; but how is this to be accomplished without the withdrawal of physical force ? Tiie last desideratum appears to be utterly hopeless, as tlie mind again reverts to the figure of the hardened desperado standing in heavy chains before us." Tlio fii-st and second of these conditions are to he fidiilled in tlio first and second stages of J. B.'s detention in the Convict Prisons. From the time of his entrance into them, it will be perceived that everything tends to diminish liis hostility, and to lead him to cooperation Avith the efforts of those who are set over him in preparing him for advancement in his present abode, and final restoration to society. The last condition wUl bo fulfilled in the Intermediate Prisons, which are the pccidiar feature of the Irish System. Those who are acquainted Avith the English Convict Prisons, may not perceive any great difference in external arrangements between those and the fii-st two stages of the Irish Prisons ; it is, there- fore, important to observe in these the progrcsaive nature of all the arrangements, and the efforts made from the very first to treat the prisoner as a rational being, to make him understand 86 OUIX CONVICTS. liiy real pooition, and to stimulato liim to self action. The following id a general outline of the different stages : — " First Stage. "Separate imijrisoument in a cellular prison at Mouutjoy, Dublin, for the first eight or nine months of the sentence. Whether the period is eight or nine months, or even longer, depends upon the conduct of the convict. If his conduct is quite unexceptionable, he would be entitled to be removed to an associated prison (the second stage) in eight months. " In Ireland it is the practice to make this stage very penal, both by a very reduced dietary during the first half of the period — viz., four months — and by the absence of interesting employment during the first three months. By the time the convict is required for hard work in the second stage, the improved dietary in the latter portion of the period in sepai'ation, will have rendered him physically equal to perform it ; and by the end of three months of the first stage the idler will generally have learned to associate industry with pleasure. " The convict learns something very material to his future well-being in the first stage — he has the advantage of much time devoted to his religious and secular instruction, "He learns the whole bearing of the 'Irish Convict System' by means of scholastic instruction — that ho can only reach the Intermediate Prisons (a special feature and a third stage in the system) through his own exertions, measured by marks in the second stage of the system. As the liberation of the convict within the period of his sentence depends upon the date of his admission to the intermediate or third stage of the system, it is manifestly to his own interest, as it is the interest of those jilaced over him, that he should be well informed upon this point. There is a strong mental impression made consequent on this information. "As the convict attains knowledge of the system, he feels that, within certain limits, he is made the arbiter of his own fate. Antagonism to the authorities placed over him gradually disappears, and in its stead arises a conviction that there is a cooperation where he had formerly anticipated oppression. ■ " The first stage v.'ill have done good work if it has succeeded in planting in the mind of the convict that there is an active cooperation existing between himself and those i^laced over him. " At the end of eight or nine mouths, as the case may be, the convict is moved, if a labourer, to Spike Island Prison, to be employed on the fortifi- cations, and if a tradesman, to Philipstown, t^e employed at his trade. "The Second Stage. " The peculiar feature of the Irish Convict System in the second stage ia the institution of marks to govern the classification. The • Mark System ' THE IRISH SYSTEM : ITS WOMOKG. 87 is a minuto and intelligible monthly record of the power of the convict to govern himself, and very clearly realises to his mind that his progress to liberty, within the period of his sentence, can only he farthered by tho cultivation and application of qualities opposed to those which led to his conviction. " There are different classes to be attained in the second stage, and a certain number of marks are required to be obtained by tho convict before ho can be promoted from one class to another. " The maximum number of marks each convict can attain monthly is nine, which are distributed under three different headings — viz., three for discipline, i. e., general regularity and orderly demeanour; three for school, i. c, the attentionand desire evinced for impi'ovement, or industry in school; and three for industry, i. c, industry at work, and not skill which may have been previously acquired. " There are four classes in the second stage — viz., the thii'd (in which the convict is placed on his arrival from the first stage), the second, first, and advanced, or A class. " It will be possible for a convict to raise himself from the third to the second class in two months, l)y the acquisition of eighteen marks ; from the second to the first in six months, if he has attained fifty-four marks in the second class; and from the first to the A or advanced class in twelve months, provided he has acquired 108 marks in the first class. When the convict has reached the A class his progress is noted monthly as A 1, A 2, &c. I\Iisconduct causes reduction, suspension, or the loss of marks. " When the convict attains the A class, he is employed (although still in the second stage of his detention) on special works, and kept apart from tho other convicts. His school instruction and lectures take place in the evening. " It will be intelligible that the most successful in combating self, and in climbing the ladder of self-control and industry, will the soonest obtain the required number of marks, and the goal to which they lead — viz., ' The Intermediate Prisons,' — and thence the liberty, for which the convict is supposed to have been made fit, by the lessons of those good schoolmasters, industry, self-control, and self-reliance, succeeded by a very special and natural training. "It will bo seen by the following scale and regulations for carrying out sentences of penal servitude under tho Act of 1S57 (20 and 21 Vict., c. 3) how much each convict becomes the arbiter of his own fate. Tho earliest possible periods of removal to Intermediate Prisons apply only to those of the most unexceptionable character, and no remission of the full sen- tence will take place, unless the prisoner has qualified himself by carefully measured good conduct for passing tho periods in the Intermediate Prisons prescribed by the rules ; and any delay in this qualification will have tho effect of postponing his admission into the Intermediate Prisons, and thereby deferring to tho same extent the remission of a portion of his sentence. 88 OUK COXVIGTS. Class and No. fif Marks to l)c gained tor Admission to the Intennediate Prisons for different Sentences. Class 1st '^g8 " C A or I " "''O'^t'^^ 1 ' ( in A class ) " 14 A, or U " 17 A, or 17 " 20 A, or 20 " 28 A, or 28 " 44 A, or 44 " 59 A, or 59 " 68 A, or 08 8Iinile.st rt'iiods of Imprisonment. Sentences of I Penal ' Servitude. | In Ordinary Prisons. Shortest Period of detention m Intermediate Prisons. 3 years Yrs. Mths. Yrs. JVItlis. 2 2 4 10 12 15 2—1—0 2 10 3—1-3 3 4—1—0 3 9 9 4— 4 1 3 5—1-3 4 8 114 V ^, ^ 6—1—0 16 7 3 — 1 9 8 V 9— — 2 ^ 10—1-0 Period.s of Remission on License. ■1^ <:i > cj tn oj o ^ ■— ' a o a o a g -2 o o — 2^3 a-? " I o '- cs 2 'Ti r-i -^ a ^ S S o CO e were led at oueo to tlie necessity of having i^olice supervision in the country. We were in a very false jiosition as to the public in general, from not being able to account for the ticket-of-leave convicts. We felt that we must be able to say where these men were, or it would i^roduce such a panic that the men would never get employment at all. With regard to the supervision in Dublin, nothing can be more strict, for when anything bad is heard about a man his license is revoked immediately, and there is this lortuightly official list kept as a check. This is merely a portion or extract from the ]ist(J/ic same being handed in); extracts from Mr. Organ's usual fort- iiightly reports ; he has not couAned himself simply to tlie prisoners discharged on ticket-of-leave, but he has habitually visited, also, other men who have been discharged under the Penal Servitude Act of 1853, whose sentences had expired, but who still resided in Dublin, over whom we have no legal check, but obtain this information. He has visited them and placed them on our reports as well as the others; it is of course clear that any of these men unconditionally discharged could have closed their doors against him if they liad wished, but this visitation has extended over some 400 or 500 people of this class in Dublin. It is of importance because it brings a certain know, ledge of these people to us that could not be attained in any other way, both as to the result of our system and the lives they were leading. This report refers to what are called the old Act men— that me'ans men Avho had been under sentence of transportation, and this document is with reference to men who were under sentence of transportation. The llrst case that I come to is that of a man whose crime was burglary, there were former convictions, he had been bad in crime for eight years ; there is his name, his residence, his employer's name, and his employment, and his wages. The date of his conviction was in 1852, and he was discharged from the Convict Prisons the 9th September, 1857, he is still reported upon; he commenced to work at 8s. a week, but now his wages are much higher. He had been sentenced to ten years' transportation ; he was convicted in 1853 and his term expired in 1802, he is still on this list. In the next case the crime was burglary, former con- victions, and for years in crime ; he was employed under a public body, his name is given, his residence, and wages ; he has been out since the 5th J uly, 1857. That was a case of ten years' transportation. It also gives the general conduct of those men; there are observations to every one of them. I think tliat there are something like 110 men under the supervi'-iou uf ^Ir. OnoAX, in Dublin, at this moment. " I had, when in office, constant communication with the detective officers in the Dublin police, who were assisting Mr. Organ in the supervision of these men. They were a very material assistance to me in carrying out the super- vision. They took a considerable amount of trouble when a case required it. " Mr. Organ always went to the house of the employer and saw the man and the employer. The nuau was sent for and Mr. Organ then spoke to him. '' I never heard that the circumstance of his going to visit these men so frequently was a means of discovering to their Hdlow workmen who they were. 98 orn coxvirrs. The employers themselves, so far from objectiug to his visits, encouraged them, nnd considered them to a very great extent a protection to themselves. " The slightest infringement of the conditions of the license leads to a re- vocation of it. I do not believe — and I have often put this forth when I was in the department — that any case could he proved of a man breaking the conditions of his license in Ireland, and remaining at large ; he was sure to be put back to separation, and his license revoked. " If we found that a man was within a fortnight of the expiration of his sentence, and had infringed some of the conditions of the ticket-of-leave, we sent that man hack to prison, for the sake of the principle. I do not know that it has ever occurred in a case so close as a fortnight, but it has done so close as a month or three weeks. The circumstance of his sentence being so nearly expired did not interfere with that in the slightest degree. " They were generally easily caught. They were put in the 'Hue and Ciw,' a warrant was issued, nnd there were very few cases in which they baffled us. At first there were a great many shifts and trials to evade, but ultimately and before long, when they found that many had their licenses revoked, and were brought back, they did not even try to baffle us as they did at first. " In the county prisons, when prisonei's are suspected or known to have been convicts, they send up a form containing particulars, with a description of the person suspected or known to be a discharged convict. That comes to the convict prison office, in order that the man maybe identified; and very often when it is necessary, if a man at all demurs to his identification, a prison officer is sent down to identify him, and if found guilty of any crime, a letter is in all cases placed on the table of the judical officer, which has been written to the governor of the gaol, the letter being in these terms : — ' Govern- ment Prisons' Office. — Sir, — The enclosed pai-ticulars of have been compared with the books of this office, and are correct. In the event Of his being found guilty of the present charge the directors of convict prisons request that the notice of the judge may be particularly called to the circum- stance of his being au 'habitual oifender,' with the view of his receiving a sentence proportionate to his perseverance in pursuing a course of crime. Please to notify the result of the trial to this office, and return the enclosure at the same time.' This is a case which actually occurred. A man was convicted for picking pockets. He was a convict, and this course was pursued with him. It entailed upon him a sentence of ten years' penal servi- tude. His character as an habitual criminal was taken into consideration by the judge. I am able to speak confidently on two most important points — information with regard to habitual ofienders being sent in each case to the county prisons: and in the case of ticket-of-leave men that their licenses have been always revoked for an infringement of the conditions. " It is not very difficult for an officer in Dublin to recognise a man of whom a description is sent from a provincial town. He has had this man perhaps within the last four or five years in his custody, and besides the general description, and the aid of photography, there is a margin left for TiiK iiasir sYSTEir : its ■\vorki>'g. 99 oLservations ; prnctieally it is foaiul that very few come into the ConviL-t Prisons who have not been known in some way, and whose identification has not been made. The result is that the practice succeeds in a very great majority of cases, and operates very beneficially upon the minds of the convicts. " Tlie supervision of convicts in the country is thus carried on through the constabulary. There is a notification made to the inspector-general of the oonstabulary the moment a man is liberated, stating to what district he is going; the man then registers himself with the head of the police, states what lie is going to do, where he is going to be employed, and reports himself to him once a month. If he removes from tliat district, his registration is transferred from the district he is in at that time, to the one to which he goes, so that he is traced from one place to another. If be does anything to infringe the terms of his license, the constabulary report him, and his license is revoked at once. " He must come himself once a mouth, and report himself to the police' but it is evident that the police do not confine themselves to that, for, knowing wliere he is, they would look after him a little oftener, without interfering with him. I can state from my own experience that there is no undue espionage or oppression practised by the police. " In the first instance I had a very large number of complaints from the convicts generally ; they came almost in a body, stating that they would rather be kept to the end of their sentences than go out with such a stigma; but as it was quite evident that they would have had to remain to tlie end of their sentences, as they could not get out on any other terms, that feeling very shortly vanished, and they preferred being placed under police supervision. I liave seen some hundreds of these people after being subjected to supervision, and with the exception of two cases, in which I recollect complaints being made of interference, nothing detrimental occurred. I state distinctly that in my ojnuion there has been no undue interference on the part of the police. It is quite probable that some man, when doing wrong, would state that he had been interfered with ; but I know in general practice it is not true. " I am quite sui-e that if police supervision were withdrawn to-morrow from the licensed convicts in Ireland, you would find but little employment for tliem, and you would have very serious trouble. I have no doubt that it is a very great protection to the public in Ireland.'' Sii' Walter Croftox's mature opinion respecting tliis system, is expressed in tlio following statement to tlio Commissioners. After speaking of the Intermediate Prisons, he says (3151) : — "Another great point of difl^erence between the English and the Irish Sys- tems was tliO institution of supervision after liberaticm, and hero I at once acknowledge what has been adduced against us, ' that there must have been very weak fuith on the part of the directors in their own system, when they 100 orn f'OXVTCTs. thought it necessary to supplement it by supervision after liberation.' I acknowledge, and I am sure that my colleagues would do the same, that I have a weak faith in any mere prison system, and I think it is far better, both for the public and the convict himself, to check his prison conduct and the pi-ison system by the infallible test of observation when he is at liberty. During the pi'ocess of classification I had taken the pains to go through somewhere between 2,000 and 3,000 convict cases, and I satisfied myself from their antecedents, and from other points brought to my notice during this examina- tion, that a very great majority belonged to the criminal class, and would in ordinary course return to thieving. It therefore made it imperative, according to my mind, that we should not treat persons as casual offenders, who are in the convict prisons, but expressly as criminals living in crime by habit and repute. It was therefore necessary to surround, by every possible means, the commission of crime by obstructions. It was quite clear that if you could impress upon the minds of this class that if they pursued a course of crime after liberation, they would be brought back to prison again and have length- ened sentences entailed upon them ; if you could tell them confidently that the conditions of the licenses would be enforced, it would serve in a great measure to indoctrinate them with the idea that crime would be unprofitable. I am quite sure that the success of the Irish System has been indebted mainly to a feehng on the part of the convicts from the commencement of their sentences, that they could not follow crime as a vocation with impunity. I beUeve firmly that the great evils which have occurred in England, and the very great expenditure consequent on crime, has arisen from our believing that the majority of the convicts in the government prisons were casual offenders. I am satisfied that there never was a greater delusion. If the police were taken into consultation, as I have always made a point of taking them into consultation in Ireland, the antecedents of these people would be reliably ascertained, and speaking of England I feel sure that the Commission- ers would find that from 70 to 75 per cent, at least live by crime. It is with them a vocation — a business ; and I assert that we have no reason to assume that they are only waiting for employment in order to live honestly ; on the contrary, we are bound to assume, from their former lives, that they will not do so, and therefore should take such precautions as shall protect society against them ; and in the process of jirotecting society against them, we shall also protect them against themselves, and that I am, from practical experience, prepared to prove. These are the main features of the difterenee between the two systems, which start from ditfereut bases; but it will observed that the Irish Convict System in its procedure makes c:ises against itself, and therefore its statistical results cannot be fairly compared with any other system." These extracts from tlie evideuce of tlie Cliairiuan of the Board of Directors of the Irish Convict Prisons will have given some idea of the principles on vrliich they are conducted, THE IRlyll SYSTEM : ITS WOKKIXG. 101 aud of their g-eiieral managemoiit. The most miuute details in the system having been the subject of deep thought, and the result of long experience, the evidence of Captain "Whitty, at that time (March, 1863) sole Director, respecting the dietary, gratuities, &c., •will be valuable. It will be remembered that Captain Whitty had been formerly Governor of Portland Convict Prison. Of his management of that prison the l\ev. J. "W. MoKAX, who was Chaplain there for five years from its com- mencement in 1848, speaks in high terms. He says, in his evidence before the Commission (4745) : — " The discij)line at Portland during the years I "was there, "was in every -way satisfactory. The discipline was such that it was most remark- able and pleasing. Captain "Whitty and I laboiu-ed together there. He was the Governor, as also was Captain Knight, both of whom are very superior men, and everything was in the most satisfactory state when I left the prison. There was nut the same number of prisoners then as there is now — viz., about 1,500— but between 900 and 1,000." Captain Whitty was therefore in a position to perceive and point out the dilferenccs of discipline between the English and the Irish Convict Prisons. Of this he says, generally, — " I think that the earlier stages, up to the time that the men come to the Intermediate Prisons, are certainly more rigid than in England. That the whole period of confinement in Ireland, up to the time when they go into the Intemiediate Prisons, is a severer system of punishment than in England." The following are extracts from his evidence : — " I think the points iu ^^■hic■h the Irish System is mainly cUstiugnisheJ from the Euglisli System are, lirst, the greater stringency in the first period of the sentence; that is, in the stage of separate confinement, in which the prisoners in IreUmd receive no meat diet for the first four mouths, and have no occupation during the first three months but the distasteful labour of oakum-picking ; they receive no gratuity during the i)eriod of separate con- finement, and that generally extends to eight or nine montlis. The second distinction is, a moi'e minute jdan of classification on the public works as tho second stage. It consists in the use of u greater number of successive classes through wliidi the prisoners have to climb, and can thus be more ettectuallv 102 OUK cox VIC IS. sifted ill their progress, for the purpose of dealing Avith thern individually. Thirdly, there is a lower scale of gratuity in the earlier stages in the Irish Prisons, the higher rates being reserved for the later and superior classes, which makes this an important object of attainment to the jirisoners, inducing in them the habit of looking forward, and of exerting and controlling themselves for a future benefit. Fourthly, the Intermediate Prisons, which are a special means of mental improvement, and of preparing the prisoner for the transition from confinement to liberty, and also of testing this preparation. Pifthly, there is a more rigid enforcement of the conditions on which the prisoners are set at large on license; there is a regular supervision, during the period of such licenses, either by the poUce or by an oflicer specially employed for the purpose. Sixthly and lastly, there is a process of tracing back, and placing before the judges, &c., the cases of habitual ofi'enders. These appear to me to be the principal points on which the two systems difier." (3087.) He thus states tlie system of gi*atiiities in the Irish Prisons : — '•I am afraid I cannot correctly give you the English gratuities; as to the Irish gratuities, I have prepared a memorandum, but one distinction between the English and the Irish classification I should mention. In England, if a man's conduct is good in separate confinement, on being removed to the public works, he goes immediately into the first class; we require our men who go from separate confinement to commence in the thii-d class, but we make this distinction, if they come with a good character they remain for only two months in that third class, whereas, if they come with a bad character they may be nine mouths in that class ; but they all begin in the third class. I will now state what is the largest amount of gratuity which is attainable by a convict under a sentence of four years' penal serdtude. I will take a man of the best character; he would be two months iu the third class on public woi'ks ; and eight weeks at a penny per week would amount to 8d. Then he would be for six months in the second class, or 20 weeks, and for those weeks he would get '2d. a week, maldng is. -id. Then he would be in the first class twelve months, which are divided into two parts ; for the first six months, or 26 weeks, he would receive M. a week, and during the second six months in the first class, or 20 weeks, he would receive -id. a week; the first six months at 3d. yielding Gs. Gd., and the second six months at id. yielding 8s. 8d., and the two together for the year making 15s. 2d. Then this man would get into the advanced class, and a four years' man without any prison ofiences, his conduct being satisfactory, would be iu that class 20 weeks; he would here receive dJ. a week, which in 26 weeks would amount to 19s. Od. By that time he ought to have reached the Intermediate Prison. A four years' man is supposed to remain therein for five months before his discharge, tliese five mouths, or about 21 weeks at 2s. Gd. a week in the Intermediate Prison, giving ,£2 12s. (id. ; the total for a four years' man having a claim to a license would be .£4 12s. 27. (3095.) '• The total amount of gratuities that a man can receive in Ireland with THE IRISH SYSTEM : ITS WORKIXG. 103 a four years" seuteucc is about lialf the amount that he could receive under the same sentence in England, supposing that in both cases he earns th e maximum." (3698.) The dietary is a striking contrast to that in the English Convict Prisons : — " I have an account here of the (Uetai7 for one convict at the Mountjoy Male Prison. On reception, for four months, he gets no meat; he gets in a week 3i lbs. of oatmeal, lOj lbs. of bread, I'^J pints of milk, 2 ounces of rice, and 4 ounces of vegetables ; they also get soup which is made of ox heads, but they get no actual meat given to them at all. They get no potatoes. The solid food in this case is only the oatmeal and the bread, and they would be together 14 lbs., 3^ lbs. of oatmeal and lOJ lbs. of bread in a week. The oatmeal is made into porridge.'' " In the next stage at Mouutjoy the ordiuaiy diet for the second four months in separation is oatmeal 8. J lbs., bread 10 lbs., milk 12 J pints, beef IJ lbs. (weighed before cooking), rice 2 ounces, and vegetables 4 ounces, that is merely for the soup. The meat is boiled and made into soup ; they get the meat only on two days in the week, Thursdays and Sundays, and that is at the rate of three-quarters of a pound each day, two days in the week. This dietary has been in force since 18(j0; it began experimentally; for some time it was tried for one mouth, and then the medical officer nj^proved of its being tried for two months, and then for three mouths, and now it is the practice for four months. There were no ill effects produced by that diet. In the case of the small number of prisoners who are confined beyond eight months at IMountjoy, they get 19i ounces of oatmeal, 12^ ounces of rice, 11 pints of milk, and they also get coffee for breakfast, and some molasses for sweetening it, Hi lbs. of bread, 2 lbs. of beef (weighed before cooking), 4 ounces of vegetables, and 8 ounces of potatoes, that is after the eight months, but those men are put into association, and they work out of doors until they are removed; it is a small number only. There is no other diet given at Mounjoj-, except to prisoners under 2'>rison discipline, who have bread and water." " I will now give the dietary at Spike Island. The ordinary diet at Spike Island is 24.J ounces of oatmeal, 24 i ounces of rice, 12^ jiints of milk, 13 lbs. of bread, 2 lbs. of beef (weighed before cooking), and two ounces of vegetables. They get meat four times in the week, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays, halfapound each day. On the other three days they only get stirabout, bread and milk, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. In the penal class at Spike Island they get no meat at all. We have two classes there, one called the penal class, and the pi-obation labour class. These last are men who are exceedingly idle, and do nothing but pick oakum. They have a diet without any meat in it at all. They mind their deprivation so much that at present out of 700 men we have only four in that class. A reduction in the diet is very effectual in keeping up the discipline of the prison. I think that the diet at Spike Island is sutliciout for the labour tliat the men 104 OUR CONVICTS. perfoiiu, to keep tliein iu health ami streugth. The medical officer uever bijggests any addition to be made to it. I believe that we have at this time eight iu the jjenal class, four in the probation class, 90 in the third class, and 180 in the second class, 213 iu the first class, 115 iu advanced class, and 88 in a special class preparing for Intermediate Prisons. "At Lusk and Smithfield the dietaries are fjuite difiereut from the others- The Smithfield dietary is 12J lbs. of bread, I of an ounce of tea, 5^ ounces of sugai', 3,*g pints of milk, 'M ounces of beef (weighed before cooking ; they have 5 ounces of oatmeal, 5 ounces of vegetables, 10 i lbs. of potatoes, l-j^ ouuce of cofiee, a proportion of chicorj-, and 8^ ounces of molasses. That is the Smithfield dietary, and these quantities have all been fixed by the medical officer. The dietary for Lusk is ^ of an ounce of tea, J of an ounce of sugar, 21.i ounces of oatmeal, 21j ounces of rice, 11 J lbs. of bread, 7^\ pints of milk, 24 lbs. of beef (weiglied before cooking), they get that divided iu in three days iu the week), li lbs. of potatoes, five ounces of vegetables, Vg ounce of cofiee, a proportion of chicory, and 9 J ounces of molasses. I think a higher dietary is not given in any imson in England, but I cannot exactly compare the two. We tried to get it lowered, but the medical officer interfered and said that the men were out all day upon an exposed common, and got very wet, and therefore we had to raise it to that. The medical officer said that the health of the men was failing in consequence of their previous diet, and he said that the men reformatory Schools were fii'st proposed. "Where," it was asked, "shall we find persons Avho will undertake so unpleasant and difficult a work, or who will have qualifications fitted for it? We 106 OUE CONVICTS. know that there are individuals who possess special gifts, and who have had wonderful success in reforming young persons. But where will be found a Demetz, a Wiciierx ? How can we multiply the very few in our own country who have shown equal zeal, and who have had similar success? The Eefor- matory Schools will be a failure, for we know none who will be able and willing to give themselves to the work." It was answered then, that the work itself would raise up labourers, and prepare them, if faithful and zealous, to be equally successful with those who had first shown them the way. AVe had confi- dence in the existence in oiu' country of a sufficient number of able and Clmstian men and women to afford such help, and our expectations have been realised. The work itseK has trained the labourers in it, who humbly desire to be always learners as well as teachers, and who have applied themselves to it with loving hearts and devoted spirits. We cannot then doubt that whenever the Government of our country shall be ready to adopt the system which has been so successful in Ireland, persons will be found to work it with equal zeal and ability, who will encounter fewer difficulties than those which had to be surmounted at the commencement of the new work, because they have the advantage of the experience already acquii-ed. Mr. Organ's exertions have obtained for him the esteem of all who are acquainted with them, and we trust that many will be found in our own country to emulate him. We will now, then, tui'n to his evidence before the Royal Commission. He tells them that he is known in liis official position as lecturer to the Irish Intermediate Establishments, an appointment which he has held for more than seven years. His previous occu- pation was that of Superintendent of the adult evening schools in Dublin. "From early boyhood," he says, "I have been accustomed to appear as a teacher of adult laboiu-ers, who, after the close of their daily toil, repaired to the night schools over which I presided, and I have seen those men anxiously THE IRISH SYSTEJI : ITS T70KKIXG. 107 embracing tlie opportunity they had in an evening', but I have never seen greater anxiety or eagerness displayed to improve themselves by men of the non-criminal class than amongst the men from Smithfield and Lusk. Although they do hard work diu'ing the day, I have found no difficulty in inducing them to receive instruction for a certain limited time in the evening. They look forward to my going in amongst them with a kind of delight. My duties are to bring before the Convicts of Smithfield and Lusk subjects that are calculated to make them thinking beings, I speak to them upon social questions, such as taxes, strikes, combinations, illegal societies, industry, and honesty ; what they have to gain by the com- mission of crime, and what they have to lose, that is, in a temporal point of view, because I do not allow myself for a moment to infi-inge upon the duties of any of the respective chaplains. I have before me a copy of a little work of mine, containing the lectures which I deliver to the men, both at Smithfield and at Lusk. The subjects in this little book are — Air ; Water ; Plants ; Canada and her resources ; the Ocean ; Temperance and Self-control; Australia, past and present; Life, its battles, and how to fight them. My duties are not confined merely to giving lectures, but I exercise a supervision over the discharged Convicts. Li addition to that I endeavour to prociu-e employment for these men." To understand the nature of Mr. Organ's work, and his mode of executing it, we must follow him in his details of it : — " At the outset it was a labour of great difficulty to procure emi)loyraeut for those raen on their discharge. I commenced my duties in February, 1856. I drew out a map of the county of Dublin, dividing it into baronies, laying down upon this map the different post towns, also the mills, and factories, and farms, showing the names of the proprietors, the nature of those works, and so on. Having done this, I set out to see such and such employer. Some- times I was scofled at, and on more than one occasion the hall door was closed in my face. Still I persevered, and I was very well salislled, if, after going a distance of 4.0 or 50 miles, I should meet with one employer wlio would give one of my Smithfield men a chance to work out his character once more. 108 Ol'K COXVICTS. AVheu I secured one, I visited liolli the cmi:)loyei- and the euipluyed, and I continue to do so down to the present time. The employer would ask me what control I had, or the government had, over the men. I, of course, explained, but I will give a case in point. Some five years ago I w^nt to a geutlemuu who was a very large employer, and I saw him. I explained to hira my mission. I was a long time in inducing him to give me a chance, but after many repeated visits I did succeed. He took one man. I visited that man once a fortnight, although he had removed from Dublin a distance of ten miles, and I visited the employer. That man succeeded in giving the employer satisfaction, and the employer afterwards applied for another, afterwards for another, and previous to my leaving Uubliu this employer wrote the following letter, dated 21st February, 1H03 : — 'Dear Sir, — In reply to your letter, I beg leave to state that it was at your earnest solicitation that I was induced to take convicts into my employment, in the first instance. I have now had fully five years' experience of them, during which time they have given me universal satis- faction. I have one at present in my employment, in whose honesty 1 have such confidence that I have made him a sort of watchman, and he has for the last few days detected parties robbing me. Another saved enough to enable him to emigrate to Australia. A third, in shovelling up some manure, found a silver spoon, which he at once gave me. In conclusion I can only say that Avlienever you have an able-bodied man whom you can recommend, it will atford me much pleasure to give him employment.' This employer w-as one whom I secured, I assure you, after a great deal of trouble, through the character and conduct of the first man he had employed. I found great difiiculty at first in procuring employment for them, but that difficulty has diminished since the employers have had experience of the men. Since such employers as these have been found, the difiiculty, of course, does not exist now to so great an extent; but I think that, if I were to go over the same task again with other employers, I should have the same difficulty to encounter. " My bi-monthly visits are valued very much by employers, who frequently say to me, ' I do not hke to speak to the man for doing so and so. You had better do so : he will attend more to what you say than what I say.' I have frequently, in a country place, got 9 or 10 of these men behind a hajTick, and advise them w'hat to do ; in many cases they take a greater interest in their employment than ordinary workmen do, because they know that the employers have taken them out of prison, and thrown, as it were, a cloak of protection over them. "I do not!_find that there is any sympathy with the criminals amongst the honest classes in Ireland, that would induce them the more roaiUly to take these convicts into employment. " In my supeiwision of the convicts who are placed under my charge, I communicate Avith the detective poUce on some occasions. I will explain the nature of my supervision, showing how the detective police and 1 work hand in baud. This letter which I am about to read explains the matter fully : — THE IRI8n fi\f^TT.y[ : ITS WORKIXO. 109 •10, Ricliraond I'iiir Yiow. Co. Dublin, '.rauuary 10, 1803. ' Sir, — In reply to your inquiry as to my opinion of tlie working of tho ticket- of-leave system in Ireland, I beg leave to submit the following statement of my practical experience day and night of the Smithfiekl men dischai'ged on license and otherwise, and working and residing in the city and county of Dublin. It is perhaps necessary that I should state that I have been a detective police officer for eleven years, and therefore had an opportunity of making myself acquainted with the working of the new and old system of convict management in Ireland. ;My e.xperience of the old system was of a most painful character, for the criminals came out of prison worse in fact than they entei'ed, whereas on the other hand I have known very bad characters Avhen discharged from your Intermediate Prisons to engage in steady labour, earning their bread, and absorbed amongst the honest members of the working com- nmnity. It must have been only by perseverance that any Irish employer of respectable position could be induced to take into liis work men who had been habitual thieves and burglars, for the aversion of all men of respectability in Ireland to employ convicts is very great. By this constant intercourse ^nth the directors and yourself, I have on very many occasions been enabled to prevent the commission of additional crime, by visiting the abodes of the persons we had reason to believe intended doing wrong. I have never known a man discharged, and under your supervision, to be convicted of any act bordering upon violence on the person. I think the fact of a numerous and influential cla«s of employers who have many of your dischai-ged convicts in their establishments, is a proof of the great good which has resulted from the working of the Irish Convict System. I am prepared and willing at any time to give information in detail whenever circumstances may require me to do so. ' T remain, itc, ' Timothy Mlephy, ' To .James P. Organ, Esq., ' I.ate Acting Inspector, Detective Depart- 5, Mespil, Co., Dublin.' ment, Dublin Metropolitan Police. " I divide my visitation reports into three parts, one showing the number under the old Transportation Act ; the next showing the number uncondition- ally discharged, over whom the Government have no control: and the next relates to the Penal Servitude Act of 1857, that gave those short sentences- I will now explain the nature of my supervision. In the visitation form of report there are columns showing, first, the date of a man's conviction, the length of his sentence, the date of his discharge from Smithfield or Lusk, the nature of his last crime, the number of former convictions recorded against him, his name, his residence, the name of his employer, the nature of his employment, the wages which he receives per week, the date if on tieket-of- leave, the date of his time being fully up, and in the margin is a remark- upon each man which is made by me. Here is a case, for instance, of a man who 110 OTTK CONVICTS. was sentenced for ten years for receiving stolen goods, and having nnder his pillow a blunderbuss; his foimer character is this, — 'A terror to the neigh- bourhood in which he resides'; his residence is about four miles from Dublin; his emploj-er is Mr. So-and-so ; he has remained with that employer since the 0th of April, 1S5C ; he has been from that hour under my supervision ; and my last remark was this, — ' A man of sober and settled habits, with Mr. So- and-so for the last seven years, wife sober and industrious, has a pig and fowl.' With that kind of connection that exists between me and the discharged convicts, we are not ashamed to know one another, provided no one sees us. I provide employment for all who cannot secure it for themselves. " Now I will refer to the men under the Act of 1857. The first man on my list was discharged on the Cth of Februaiy, 1801 ; felony was his last crime . he had been 13 times convicted before, and had been known as a thief since 1845; his name and residence are here put down, and his employment, as before ; he was last sentenced to four years ; the observation is ' Keeping from crime, contrary to the opinion of many who knew him before.' He has been dischai'ged two years and more now. He is in employment. I know his antecedents, that he was an habitual thief, but in the eleventh hour he gave it up. "Eeferriug to the connexion between the police and myself, when I find that a man is not going on according to my liking, and he has something suspicious about him, I go to the director, and I either bring the man up if within reach, or tell him about it. I say, ' I do not like the way in which this man is going on;' he may have too smooth an appearance for a hard-working man, or he may be lounging about, or I might find him in his home when he should be out working, or out when he should be in ; then the director takes a note of that ; at the same time, if it happens that my suspicions are aroused at night, or when the director is not in the office, and the case is an urgent one, I do not wait for the director to come the following morning, but I go straight to the detective ofiice at the castle-yard ; I there tell the officiating inspector my doubts, and he, as a matter of course, has a close eye upon that man. Then in cases of suspicion I inform the detective authorities; they know that it is their interest and my interest to work hand-in-hand ; and I point out to them sometimes, when I have my documents convenient, the last observation I have made uj^on the man." It is very important to observe the manner in -u-liicli vokm- tary benevolent effort may thus cooperate vrith police agency. Mr. 0. gives also a valuable testiinony to the value of the control thus exercised over the Convicts to the men themselves, by enabling them more easily to get employment. He says : — " The emi^loyers invariablj' i)refer the ticket-of-leave men to convicts who are unconditionally discharged, because they are under more control. The TTFK IKIsir SYSTEM: ITS WOrvKIXO. Ill 4uestion generally put by employers who have wealth aud loose property lying about is, 'How long have the Government control over these men?' They are always led in a very great degree by the number of years yet to run. Among the list of persons who have employed men who had been dischai'ged from the Intermediate Prisons there are EngUsh employers in my district, and they are more generous, in fact, than the Irish. I have found no diffi- culty in getting English employers to give employment to these men, much less than with the Irish. "With regard to any Englishman that I came across, I must say, although I may seem to speak against my own country, that he deals with me more generously. Among those men for whom I have obtained employment there were habitual criminals who had been committing crime for years. I have a case here in which there are 15 reconvictions against man, and many cases in which there had been varying numters of previous convictions. Now these men to whom I have referred are not all robbing ; 1 see them every day at hard work. I keep up a regular visitation, and in point of fact I have never done. Those who are released on license are bound to report themselves to me in the same manner as those who are in the country are bound to report themselves to the constabulary. But I do not confine myself to the reports which arc made to me by these men. I prefer visiting them at their own homes, and speaking to their employers. I always wish to obtain the opinion of the employer of a man from the employer himself. The police do not exercise any supervison over the convicts in Dublin, except what I have mentioned in the suspicious cases. " I explain to the persons who employ these men, the control Mhich the Government has over them whilst they are holders of a ticket -of- leave. I always lay the facts clearly before the employers, hecause if I were not straightforward with them, and I was once detected, I should never be able to show my face again. So that the employers are aware that these men whom they take into their service have been previously in the Convict Prisons. But the men with whom they work are not always aware of that fact. It is the interest of the employers to keep the other workmen in ignorance of the fact; aud there is another thing, that if the honest workmen Avere to know this, I am sure they would take objection to it, and make tlie place too hot for a discharged prisoner. No difficulty has been found in keeping the matter concealed from the other Avorkmeu. The employer always does so. He communicates with me privately, and the other work- men are not acquainted with the characters of the men or their previous mode of life. " I do not find any indisposition on their part to continue this intercourse witli me, which they were obliged to keep up while under their tickets-of-leave; on the contrary, they appear to be grateful lor what I have done for them. The success of the system vciy greatly depends upon ils being possible to prevent the men who have been disehai'ged from being recognised as former 112 .oun coxviCTs. convicts, but in every case to let the emjjloyer know all about them. Also it proves that the Ii-ish are not more tender in their feelings towards criminals than the English, " The subject of industry very frequently engages our attention, and it is my duty, at least I think so, to exijlain the state of the home labour market and the foreign market. We never induce, compel, or urge any men to emigi'ate, and no man emigrates except through a matter of choice ; but how does he emigrate ? In Smithfield, across the rafters, I have the model of a ship and sails, and I get my young fellows more or less up in the practical working of a ship, and give them a knowledge of the technical terms of the rigging, and so on, and this cultivates in them a taste for the sea ; and if they emigrate, they emigrate in this way, that some of them pay part of their passage, and work out the remainder. Some work their passage out. They do not emigrate except as a matter of choice. I do certainly point out to them, as far as I am able, the great advantages of breaking with their former companions, of concealing their shame, and of going where their antecedents ai-e not known. I have a letter here in which one of them writes home for the pui-pose of bringing his brother and sister out; his brother is a convict at the present time; he himself worked out his passage to some ■part of America, and he has been writing home now for the purpose of bringing out his brother, and offering money to help the brother out. '■ Those who go into the country and have their own friends or tbeii' own relations procure employment, I suppose, through them. We have the means of knowing what they are at because thej- write for their gratuities, and when they do that, or for the balance, they state with whom they are working, and they get no part of their gratuities imless the poUce authorities, or the head constable to whom each convict reports himself, certifies on the back of the letter that the man wants the money for a useful puiiiose, that his conduct is good, and that he is being employed by so-and-so. I have nothing to do with the payment of the gratuities except to recommend. For example, suppose 1 knew that a man wanted to purchase a pig, or to buy a bed or a suit of clothes, I write and say, ' I beg respectfully to I'ecommend that this man may get so- and-so,' knowing that he intends to apply it to a useful purpose. This would apply to the men under my supervision ; the police do that with regard to those men who are under theii" supervision. To those who go abroad the gratuities are paid at once, when it is fully understood that they are going. " I have known cases in which the old associates of convicts have endea- voured to use their power over them, and from a fear of being betrayed to extort money from them. I have seen their former companions waiting in knots on the morning of their discharge, and endeavouring to induce them to go with them. I have known their former associates to come up 100 miles from different parts of Ireland in order to meet them on the morning of their discharge, and induce them to follow them. When men are THE IRISH SYSTEM : ITS'TTORKING. 113 on the point of leaving mc, I impress upon them to the greatest possible degree the danger that will arise to them, and which thej' will have to meet amongst their old companions ; hecause, if a well-disposed convict on being discharged is anxious to earn his bread honestly, and goes in amongst his former companions he is sneered at and he is tormented, in fact he has not any power to resist. I have known also in my tours amongst these people, where there has been a badly-disposed con^ict, much harm to be done. 'What- ever improvement might be made in the system of prison discipline, it would still remain very desirable that convicts, after their discharge, should go to some new place where it Avould be more easy for them to pursue an honest course of life, for I think that the advantages to a man in a new place would be more numerous; at the same time I would not liave con\'icts after tlieir discharge when they were free in the world link themselves with one another, or associate together. I would prefer to separate them and scatter them as much as possible. " In case a license holder changes his place of re=!idence without reporting himself, I consider that that is a breach of the conditions of the license; he may be robbing. In such a case. Captain AYniTXY would notify the case to the police. I believe that he gives a certain time for a man to turn up, say a fortnight or so, and if he does not turn up he is then put in the ' Hue and Cry,' and his license is revoked, for leaving his place of residence without notifying it in the proper manner. The license is always revoked in the case of a man who leaves his place of residence without notifying it to the proper authorities. If they go away from their residences without giving notice, so that we cannot find them out, their names are handed over to the police, and they are put into the ' Hue and Cry ; ' their license certainly is revoked. Suppose a man remains in his residence in Dublin, but we are aware he is associating with bad characters and frequenting public-houses, that man's license would be revoked." Mr. Organ illustrates, by the following anecdote, the great strictness exercised in revoking licenses, ■when the terms of them are violated in the smallest degree : — "An employer, in the county of Dublin, asked me for a trustworthy man. I sent him a man who I tliought was a trustworthy man. Driving through a village some ten miles distant from Dublin, on a Sunday evening, I heard some singing in a kind of public-house. I may mention that I am not ashamed, at any hour of the night or day, to go in anywhere. I went into this house to see if there were any of my men therie — not that I should have recognised them, if I had seen them. jMy man was not there. I had a gentleman with me who went to see the working of the system, who was outside, and we saw three men, rather jolly, they were singing a song, and I saw that the centre man was my man. IMy friend said, 'These fellows IH pi'rt coxviCTs. seem to be in very good spirits.' ' Yes,' said I. I would not recognise the man; but I drove into town, and on the following Monday morning I went down to Sir Walter Crofton's ofiBce, and told him the circumstance, and said, 'Remember, sir, that our character is at stake.' And I wrote to the employer asking him to send him the man, which he did. I then brought down the man before Sir Walter Crofton, and if it had not been that the employer of the man and his brother came to intercede for him, that man certainly would have been taken up for a violation of his license. This man went back, and what has been the result? An article that was used in the trade of his employer was sent in by a contractor, it was not equal to the sample submitted before the contract was closed; this man told the porter that it would not do, and that the next time he brought in anything of the same kind he would send him back. About a month afterwards another supply of the same article was brought just of the same inferior class, and 5s. wer3 handed to the man as a kind of induce- ment to him to let it pass, and at the same time a iDromise was made to him of a Christmas-box. My man then went in deliberately to his employer and said, ' Here are 5s.' The employer gave the man the 5s., and told me that as long as he had employment to give, he should never want it. The man got married, and the employer gave the man and his wife work." Mr. Organ truly calls the prison a kind of moral hospital ; he sho'^s how completely those established on the Irish Convict System have answered their piu-pose, by the following testimony : — " The men at Lusk are lodged all together in one apartment. We have never had a case of complaint from the time the Lusk Prison was opened. There is supervision over them ; one man can see the whole. There is a partition, and in it is a window, which, when pushed back, enables you to bring all the men under your eye at once. Of course the men are taught a certain morality, and a very moral tone pervades among them. We trust more to the influence of the men over each other. The officer governs ; but I really think the public feeling amongst the men, for they have a public feeling, and a strong one, is equally powerful. In fact, in these convict prisons there is a kind of morality that is understood amongst the convicts, so that one would be likely to bring another to justice if he violated the privileges of the place." The valuable effects of this moral tone can be fully developed after leaving the prison walls, only by such a system as that adopted in Ireland. When asked by the Commissioners (4699), "Whether, to work the system effectually in Ireland, it woidd TUK IRISH SYSTEM : ITi^ WORKIXO. 115 not require some person like himself to be always cognizant of each i:)articular case, and to be watching it when a man came out on ticket-of-leave ?" Mr. Org^\J!^ answers — "By bring- ing them in small numbers previous to their discharge j'ou can y^ individualise. You can convert a prison into a kind of moral hospital ; you know each man's disease ; you know his ante- cedents, his connexions, and liis inclinations ; and so you know more or less of liim with respect to recommending his discharge ; and after discharge it certainly would be desirable, for I cannot overrate the importance of mpervisionP Such is the working of the Irish Convict System. If its results are asked for, reference need only bo made to the grand fact that in Ireland there is such general belief in the reformation of Convicts, that they are received back into society, and able to gain an honest livelihood ; that employers are not afraid to give them work, and even place them after suitable probation in situations of trust. Tangible proofs of its success can also be given in the very remarkable reduction of crime in the Island, and the very small proportion of relapses. The statistics of the English Convict Prisons were not brought forward, nor the official reports of reconvictions and revocations of license quoted, because, in the first place, however correct these may be according to the data in possession of the Directors, abundant proof was given, that according to the present mode of working the system, it is impossible that aU cases of reconviction shoidd be recognised, and the actual number of relapses known ; and next, because the licenses have not in England been revoked whenever the conditions on which they were granted have been violated. But the statistics of the Irish Convict Prisons are reliable, because adequate means are steadily adopted to identify Convicts who again fall into crime, and very strictly to enforce the con- ditions of the licenses. We may, then, regard with confidence t]ie statistics of the Irish Convict System, and view with 116 ot'h oonticts. satisfaction the following table given in the Eeport of the Directors in March of the present year: — In custody in Year. Government Prisons January 1st. Convicted. Discharged. 1854 *3933 710 658 1855 3427 518 820 1856 3209 389 1107 1857 2614 426 910 1858 2277 358 946 1859 1773 323 595 1860 1631 331 524 1861 1402 308 561 1862 1314 592 317 1863 1575 +511 326 186i 1768 — — This tahle does not contain the nuniher of reconvictions and revocations of license, which alone should be required as an indication of the success of the system. Even if the number of jir&t convictions increased, uninfluenced by the Convict Prisons, this could not necessarily be attributed to any defect in the system. Yet we perceive in the table that a very striking de- crease of such crime as would entail a sentence of penal servi- tude, has actually taken place in Ireland since the commencement of the system, and this steadily for seven consecutive years, until the year 1862, when there was a remarkable rise in the number of convictions. But this increase, the Report for that year justly states, ' ' may fairly be attributed to the prevalence of distress in many parts of the country ; in corroboration of which it can be stated, from information obtained from official sources, that the numbers confined in the County and City Prisons also increased in that year, and that there was a considerable increase in the number of paupers receiving relief throughout Ireland. The figures in the following table exemplify this statement : — * In addition to this number there were 345 convicts under detention in the county prisons, and several hundred in Bermuda and Gibraltar, who were subsequently discharged in Ireland. t Four of these are military convicts. THE IRISH 8TSTEM : ITS VORKING. 117 Prisonsrs Paupers receiving In Convict Prisons. Teara. lU County Gaols. In-door or Out-door Relief. January. 1851) 2814 41.800 1773 1800 2535 44,020 1031 1801 2488 50,(i83 1492 1803 2!)1C 50,584 1314 1863 3055 05,817 1575 "As miglit be expected," says Capt. AVhitty, then sole Di- rector, "under the circumstances above referred to, the number of reconvictions within the past year shows a considerable increase over the previous years, when the country was in a diiferent state. If the pressure of want leads into the com- mission of serious crime some who have not been known to have previously thus offended, it is not to be supposed that others who have already been known as criminals would be proof against such an incentive. The practice, moreover, in this country (as described in previous Reports), of systematically bringing to the notice of the Judges and Assistant Barristers full particulars of the antecedents of habitual criminals con- victed before them who have previously been in the Convict Prisons, leads directly to such cases being returned to those prisons, instead of being only sentenced to imprisonment in the County Glaols. As this part of the system becomes more developed, and all discharged Convicts come to be subjected to supervision for some period after discharge, it may reasonably be anticipated that but few of them who may return to a course of crime will escape identification and consequent increased severity of sentence upon reconviction." Hence, the increased number of convictions in the year 1862 cannot in any degree show a failure in the system. It is also very satisfactory to perceive that while the number of paupers and of prisoners in County Gaols increased during the next year, 1863, that of serious offences, involving penal servitude, decreased. The numbers actually within the prisons of course 118 OUR COXVICTS. clepeucis on tho numbers dischargecl, as well as on those ad- mitted ; and as the number of discharges greatly depends on the length of the sentences awarded by the judge, the numbers actually in conj&nement must fluctuate accordingly. During the six years previous to 1862, which was a very exceptional one, the per centage of relapses was only 9-9, not one-tenth of the number discharged. When we know what confirmed criminals, and persons guilty of daring crimes, were in those prisons, this per centage is remarkably small, and of itself an absolute proof of the success of the system. Including 1862, the statistics stand as given in the following table, which we copy from the Ninth Eeport : — "The following are the total numbers of convicts discharged from the beginning of 1856 to the end of 1862 :— On License. Absolutely. Totals. »m^ij- -u A (Males 1,388 2,369 3,7577, o«n "Total discharged, I p^j^^l^g __^ 'g^O 'gc,3 1,203^'^^^ " The numbers returned of the above to Convict Prisons were as follows : — Ee-sentenced 510 Licenses revoked *107 Total » 617— out of 4,960 or 12.44 per cent." We may conclude this account of the working of the Irish Convict System with the testimony of the Directors to their continued confidence in it, as given in their Tenth Eeportj that of the present year :— " The number of reconvictions has not increased within the year, nor has there been any matter connected with these reconvictions to call for remark, except that the practice of registration and supervision of discharged convicts, the continual communication between the authorities of the city and county gaols and the Dii'ectoi's, concerning prisoners suspected to be convicts with a view to their identification, and the notification to the Judges and Chairman of Quarter Sessions, after conviction, of prisoners thus identified, all continue to work advantageously for the protection of the public, by helping to bring these ofi"enders, as known habitual criminals, under lengthened sentences of penal servitude, instead of being dealt with in many cases by sentences of ordinary imprisonment. * Viz., 81 males and 26 females. Of these the licenses of 34 males and 21 females were revoked for irregularities— not criminal ofTences. THE lEISH system: ITS "FORKING. 119 " The successful working of the Intermediate Prisous, and of the registra- tiou and supervision of convicts after discharge, appears indeed to have been so generally admitted in Ireland, that it would under any circunstances have been almost uunecessaiy to have now enlarged upon it, or reiterated what has already been presented on the subject in the Directors' Annual Eeports. "They have satisfaction in stating with regard to the registration and supervision by the constabulary of the discharged convicts in the country districts of Ireland, that during the many years that this portion of the Irish Convict System has been in operation, no instance has come to the knowledge of the Directors of persons subjected to this control ha^■ing had cause of complaint against the constables who had to perfoi'm the duties connected with it. " Of eight male convicts whose licenses were revoked during the year, two only were thus dealt with as the consequence of their commission of criminal offences : the remaining six had the privilege of being at large on license withdrawn, in consequence of their breaking the conditions on which they had thus been liberated for a portion of their sentences. " The conduct of the prisoners generally, both male and female, in all the Convict Prisons, has been good tbi'oughout the year, the most unfavourable exceptions being chiefly in the cases of individual prisoners of known evil temper and habits; and there has been no instance of any attempt at com- bined misconduct in any of the prisons. In large prisons one practically beneficial effect of a consistent and plain system of denoting progress towards known advantages, by means of the attainment of marks for good conduct and industry, is that it operates directly to prevent tendency to combina- tion among the prisoners, even when in continued association ; individual interests being clearly defined, as well as the certainty of danger to those interests from any intermeddling or combination, on the part of those who have the desire to maintain them, with other prisoners of an unsteady or actually evil disposition." We have hitherto given the testimony of eye witnesses only^ to the excellence and success of the Irish Convict System. It may be sufficient to convince any impartial person to refer theni to the volume of evidence before the Commissioners, a portion of ■which has been given in this chapter, and to ask them to contrast the effects of the English Convict System, which are patent to every one who gives attention to the subject, with those of the Irish System, which are so universally appreciated in that Island. The Royal Commissioners express in their Ecport decided ap- jiroval of the plans adopted in Ireland, after the closest scrutiny. Such approval, followed as it has been already by important 120 OUK CONVICTS. changes in the English System, cannot but have great weight. It is valuable also to have the testimony of Lord Brougham, in his inaugural address as President of the Social Science As- sociation at Edinburgh, in 1863; it expresses, as he always has done when alluding to the subject, high appreciation of the Irish Convict System : — " The attention of our boily at the last Congress was, and indeed ever since has been, mainly occupied with the great subject of convict treatment; and we have found fully confirmed by all the inquiries to which it has given rise, the opinion formed at the Dublin Congress, 1861, from a close examina- tion of Sir W. Crofton's whole proceedings. The regret universally felt at his retirement, owing to ill-health, has been materially lessened by the choice, as his successor, of his friend Captain Whitty, who had been under him for years, and who has amply justified the selection. The great opposition which the introduction of the system into Great Britain encountered, and the manifest leaning against it of persons high in oiEce, filled all the friends of Social Science with alarm. This has happily been dispelled by the inquirj- — first, of the Commission under Lord Gkey, and again of the Committee under Lord Caenarvon, in the House of Lords. Unfortunately, some of the most important -witnesses were not examined — as Mr. Balme, of Leeds, in neither inquiry, and Mr. Shepherd only in the Lords', and our distinguished colleague, the Recorder of Birmingham in neither ; but both Reports, and especially that of the Lords' Committee, gave the most signal triumph to the principles, which, for years, both on the Bench and in the National Associa- tion, he had been zealously, though temperately, inculcating. We are not therefore surpised that he should have heartily joined the Bristol Association (foiTned for obtaining an amendment of convict discipline) in petitioning the Sovereign to promote such measures, both executive and legislative, as may carry into effect, without delay, the great improvements so fully sanctioned by seven years' experience in Ireland. The principles are shortly these — every mitigation of a convlcfs sentence, whether in treatment, diet included, or in duration of the punishment, must be earned by himself, not only in abstaining from offences, but more especially in pursuing a couVse of industry. On obtaining a ticket- of-leave he must be placed under constant superintendence, and the ticket revoked, not only on his misconduct, but on his leading a vagrant life, and not supporting himself by his industry. Convicts whose sentence has expired ai'e photographed, so as to be recognised in case of new offences ; and this, which had been originally suggested by Mr. Hill, and adopted by Sir W. Crofton, has been favourably mentioned in the Lords' Report, and confirmed by the Governors of the Bristol, Wakefield, and Leeds jails, as well as by the experience of the Irish prisons. The convict is deterred from relapse into crime by the certainty of his being recognised wherever he is committed, the photographs being circulated to all jails." THE lUISK SY&TEM : ITS "SVOnKIXG, 121 The Hon. Lord Neaves, President of the Department of Punishment and Reformation, made, in his opening address at the same Meeting of the Association, the following excellent remarks : — " The next question that may be considered is : whether the term of penal ser%'itude contained in the criminal's sentence shall be subject to remission during its curi'ency, and if so, on what grounds ? " A very important difference of opinion here exists, and it cannot be denied that the Memorandum of the Lord Chief Justice of the Queen's Bench, dissenting in this respect from the majority of the Commissioners, is entitled to the greatest weight as an individual authority, and is rested upon grounds deserving of the most serious consideration. I think, however, that the public in general will go along with the views of the majority of the Com- missioners, who recommend that prisoners should be allowed to earn a remission of their sentences, by industrj* recorded by marks, as specially explained in their Eeport. It will probably be the general opinion that by no other influence could prisoners be induced to commence and persevere in those habits of industry which afford the only hope of their reformation. I regard it as a secondary, or rather as quite an irrelevant matter, that the hope of this remission may make the prisoners more tractable in confinement, and thus lighten the task of governors and warders, or diminish the expense of proper custody, or the necessity of prison punishments. But if reformation is an object at all, and if remission of the sentence is the only or the best means of promoting that end, this seems a legitimate and sufficient reason for adopting it. " But then this remission, in order to do good and not to do harm, must be bond fide earned by the prisoner by those very habits of regular labour which it is the object to create. " To give any remission as a matter of course, which is done in the English and Scottish Systems, appears to me to be wholly at variance with the essential spirit and principle of the plan, even although this remission be liable to be afterwards forfeited by misconduct. In Ireland the remission is not given until it is positively worked for, a most material difference in the operation, or rather in the principle, of the two systems, and I cannot help thinking that much of the failure of the English plan is nscribable to that difference. On this point the Commissioners have arrived at what seems to me a just conclusion. " Two other great questions are here raised as constituting the main difference between the English and Irish Systems. First, whether there shall be what is called an Intermediate Prison ; and second, whether after the license or remission is granted, it shall be made subject to the supervision of the police, till the expiration of the period of the original sentence. These points have been the subject of much discussion, and I ought to mention 122 OXJR CONVICTS. tliat I have recently received the last statement of his views prepared by Sir Joshua Jebb, and edited by Lord Chichestee. This pamphlet I have no doubt will receive every attention, but it does not appear to have materially altered the state of the controversy ; and I shall only here express my belief that, looking to the success of the Irish System where the arrangements referred to exist, and to the failure of the English System where they have never been attempted, the public mind will not be satisfied without a trial of the experiment, as it has been made in Ireland. The Royal Commissioners have recommended their adoption. " It cannot now, I think, be denied that the Irish System is a great and almost unexpected success. Thei'e may at one time have been reason to suspect that its results were mainly owing to the personal energy and character of Sir Walter Ckofton, by whom it was organised and worked. But I am sure that gentleman will not grudge that the compliment which would thus be due to him iudindually, should rather be transferred to the system itself, which under the superintendence of his successor. Captain Whitty, has shown no diminution of its beneficial effects. I am quite awai'e at the same time, and prepared to expect, that a similar system may not be equally available in England as in Ireland. There may be specialties in the character of Irish crime and Irish criminals, and in the state of public feeling on that subject, as Avell as in the organisation of the Irish policci that may make a difference in the operation of the plan in that country, as compared with England and Scotland ; but we are not as yet entitled to say that these distinctions are so great and vital as that we shall not attempt to assimilate the two systems. After we have done so, we shall be able to judge by experience, and perhaps find adaptations and modifi- cations which may suit the different elements with which we have to deal. It seems impossible to suppose that the English System can be made worse than it is by any alterations that can be borrowed from the Irish. "The Intermediate Prison seems to afibrd the fairest prospect that can be suggested for helping the prisoner by these leading strings to stand and go alone, and for giving him a fair chance of his share of employment in the labour market. " The subsequent supervision of the police is naturally not relished by prisoners, but some questions may here be put with regard to it. Why is it made a condition of the ticket-of-leave, if it is not put in practice ? What good can come of convicts who obtain employment only by concealment or false pretences, and who, according to an idea contained in a popular drama, may be kept in terror by their old associates, and thus concussed into conduct to which there would otherwise be no temptation ? " It is impossible to suppose that in the ordinary labour market the liberated convict can ever compete on equal terms with the man of good character. It is not desirable that such should be the case, or that a well- behaved man should have to say that he was refused a situation because liis character was good. But the best chance for a convict seems to be THE IRISH SYSTEM : ITS "NVORKIXG. 123 the safeguanl and test of tlie Intermediate Prison, and the fair and open recognition of his true character, with a proper supervision as a check and security against relapse." It is not iu our own country only that the Irish Convict System has long been known and appreciated. In the Second Annual Report of the Board of Inspectors of Asylums, Prisons, &c., in Canada, for 1861, Mr. Meredith thus speaks, after detail- ing changes which he recommends to be made iu the Provincial Penitentiary or Prison: — '*I wish it to be understood that the suggestions which are submitted in this memorandum, for the improvement of the Penitentiary System, are not original. They are taken (modified somewhat to suit the circtmistances of the country) from the admirable system which has, for the last eight years, been enforced with such signal success in the Irish Convict Prisons. As an Irishman, I feel proud to think that Ireland should have given birth to a system of discipline which has already done so much towards reforming her criminal population, and which seems likely, with Grod's blessing, to do so much for the criminals of other countries. Some years ago the Belgian Government adopted the Irish Convict System in their prisons, and the same system has more recently been established in the new kindgom of Italy, under the auspices of the late Count Cavour. It w^ould be a source of sincere and lasting gi'atifica- tion to me, if the Board of which I am a member, shoidd prove instrumental in introducing into Canada a system pregnant with such important blessings to the criminal population, as well as to society at large." Wc have already seen that the system adopted in "Western Australia, is founded on the same principles as those established in Ireland, and that the Mark System, an Intermediate Stage and Supervision after discharge, are there employed with the greatest success. On the European Continent the Irish System has received warm approbation. In France, M. de Mars^^gy, whose work has been ali-eady quoted, thus speaks of the Ii-ish Convict System, p» 126 :— 124 OUR COXTICTS. " Tandis que, dans son incomprehensible aveaglement, I'administration anglaise semblait prendre a Ulche de discrcditer une des plus precieuses institutions du droit pouitentaire moderne, I'lrlaude heureusement lui menageait une eclatante rehabilitation. Comment y etait-elle parvenue ? En executant religieusement les prescriptions du bill de 1853 et 1857, et en y appliquant cet esprit de prudence, de sagesse et de sollicitude, sans lequel les meilleures lois sont steriles, si meme elles ne deviennent funestes. " En Irlande, disait recemment la Revue de Dublin, la mise en pratique du systeme des tickets of leave pent etre appelee un clief-d'ceuvre de sagesse ; en Angleterre, c'est une pure folie. — {Edinburgh Review, 18C3, p. 240). " En Angleterre, dit la Revue trimestriellc, nous n'avons eu a, montrer que des erreurs et des fautes. En Irlande nous n'avons a mentionner que des succ§s bi-illants, obtenus dans des circonstances qui etaient de nature a decourager les plus confi.-mts. — {Quarterly Review, p. 161 : West- minster Review, p. 10; North British Review, p. 12). " Quelles etaient ces circonstances si decourageantes et si defavorables ? Tout le raonde les connait. Tandis que I'Angleterre jouit d'une prosperite inouie, grace a ses immenses richesses agricoles, commerciales et iudustrielles, rirlande vegete, accablee sous la plaie devorante du paup^risme. L'ignorance et la misere y poussent incessamment sa population pauvre, tantot a I'expatriation, plus souvent au crime ; et sans I'appui consolateur des idees catholiques, on ne salt ce que serait devenue cette malheureuse contree. " Ses malfaiteui'3 6taient les plus dangereux du Eoyaume-Uni. Avant 1853, on en transportait dans les colonies 1000 a 1500 par annee. Leur reputation etait telle que, lors du refus par les colonies de recevoir les convicts de la Grande-Bretagne, I'Australie occidentale ne consentit a en recevoir encore 'qu'a la condition qu'ils ne fussent point Irlandais.' {Quarterly Review, p. 16; Edinburgh Review, p. 216). "Dans cet etat des choses, on comprend que I'application du systeme des tickets of leave en Irlande ait dd exciter, en 1853, une vive terreur, et que M. Magautney ait pu, avec une apparence de raison, declarer au sein du Parlement que. 'par suite des penchants vicieus des masses dans ce pays les etfets de ce systeme seraient pires en Irlande que partout ailleurs.' (Quar- terly Review, p. 162). " Or, ce systeme de liberation prepnratoire, dout nous sommes liers d'avoir 6te les promoteurs, a, par lui-meme, une telle force reformatrice, que, bien qu'introduit en Irlande dans les conditions les plus defavorables, son application dans ce pays n'a cesse depuis dix annees, de douner des resultats vraiment merveilleux. Aussi sommes-nous en droit de conclure que cette experience est la plus eloquente confirmation de I'efficacite de ce systeme !" M, de Maesajs^gy devotes several chapters of liis work to a very close examination of the whole of the Irish System, particxdarly of the ''Liberation Preparatoire," as it is there THE IKI8H SYPTEM : ITS WOKKINO. 125 tei-med ; he strongly contrasts the defects of the English System and the lax administration of existing regulations, -vrith the supervision and strict fulfilment of the conditions of the license in Ireland, In Grermany, Prussia and Belgium, and even Italy, the Irish Convict System has long attracted attention, and won admiration among those who have made the principles of prison discipline and of punishment their study. The lamented Count Cavour had entered fully into the system, and was about to have it adopted in his country, when death frustrated this, as well as many other nohle intentions. The celebrated Professor MiTTEKMAiEK, of Heidelberg, gave it his warm approbation, and his writings extended the knowledge of the system, as well as excited others to the study of it. The late much esteemed M. L. Davesies de Pontes prepared an article for the Eevue des Deux Mondes, of September, 1858, which entered very fully into the Irish Convict System, then newly established, and his clear explanations and warm approbation of it excited consi- derable attention. Above all, the Baron Von Holtzexdorff, whose personal narrative has been already cited, did much to di-aw attention to the important principles wliich were being developed in our Sister Island. His position as Professor of Criminal Law in the University of Berlin, as well as his extensive knowledge and European celebrity, gave gi'eat weight to his exposition of the Irish System in various countries. Among others, his works attracted the attention of M. Van der Brugghen, Ancien Miiiistre de la Justice des Pays-Bas. In 1856 this gentleman became Minister of Justice in Holland, and after having given in that high position close attention to the effect of various systems of prison discipline, he devoted his time, on retiring from public life, to the preparation of a work on "Punishment as a Means of Moral Eeform." On becoming acquainted with the Irish System, through M. do Poxtes' article in the Eovue des Deux Mondes, he saw the solution of many difficulties. He states in the Introduction to his work : — 120 oim CONVICTS. " Quoiquc pen favorahlement dispose envers tout esprit et tout uom de sys- teme daus une matiere, qui, comme j'en avais acquis la couviction, se prete si peu a des regies generales, a des prineipes absolus vrais partout et pour tous me defiaut meme d'avance des resultats que chaque novateur en ce genre salt faire valoir en groupant les chiffres et les donnees statisques en faveur de sa theorie, j'avoue que mon premier mouvement fut de mecrier qu'ici la solution gtait dounee du i^robleme de la combinaison de I'emprisonnement solitaire et coUectif, pour les faire concourir an but de la repression penale, et de la reforme morale de ceux quelle doit atteindre. Je me sentais tout joyeux d© reconnaitre dans les idees de Mr. Ceofton des prineipes aussi simples que vrais, parcequ'ils sent fondes sur la connaissance du coeur humain tel qu'il est en realite partout le meme. J'apjilaudissais surtout a 1 'idee domiuante de tout ce regime penitentiaire Irlandais, tel que les pages eloquentes de ^Mr. Davesies DE Pontes me le faisaient counaitre, I'idee qui en est Tame, pour ainsi dire, d'ou 11 tire toute sa force, et que Lord Stanley a exprimee si bien dans ces belles paroles : ' The reformation of men can never become a mechanical pro- cess' ; et que le Baron de Holtzendoeff, dont j'aurai a parler bientot et beaucoup, n'a pas moins bien formulee dans ces termes: 'II est tout aussi impossible de conduire les individus que les peuples par I'oppression a la liberte.' L'estimable auteur de I'article de la Eevue des deux Mondes, que je viens de citer me semblait egalement avoir fait ressortir tres bien cette impor- tante verite, en s'exprimaut ainsi : 'II paratt rationncl de chercher la reforme des coupables dans des procedes semblables a ceux qui guerissent les fous, c'est-a- dire, dans une continuelle gymnastique des facultes morales, dans des epreuves sans cesse renouvellees, qui leur rendent la force initiate qu'ils out perdue, ou qui leur donnent celle qui 7i'a jamais ete en eux.' " He did not live to give to tlie world liis enlightened views, but his manuscript was placed for publication in the hands of Baron Yon Holtzexdoeff, from whom he had largely quoted in developing the Irish System, or, we should more justly say, that of Sir "Walter Ceofton. M. Van der Beugghen thus briefly but comprehensively states the principle on which that system is founded, and which the author of this work fully endorses : — " Nous allons voir comment cette idee, eminemment simple et eminemment pratique, que la reforme morale consiste avant tout dans I'affermissement de I'honmae interieur, et que cet afi'er- missement depend de 1' exaltation du sentiment de responsabUite morale, qui lui-meme est inseparable de la liherte de determina- tion morale, a ete con9ue et mise en pratic^ue dans le regime des prisons d'Irlande par 1' Honorable Sir Waltee Ceofton, avec un ^ucces c^ui a depasse toutes les previsions," THE IT1ISII S\\sTE>[ : ITS WOrjCIXG. 127 The greater part of the volume is occupied with a description and close analysis of the Irish Convict System ; it concludes with this admirable statement by the Baron Von Holtzendoeff : — " Mais le systeme Irlandais a ce trait particulier, qu'il cherche a developper progressivement ot au plus haut degre les facidtes intellectuelles et morales du condamno, poiu* lui faii-e envisager les dangers de I'avenir, tout en lui montrant dans I'cmigratiou volontaire le chemin le plus court vers le bien. " Lo probleme, dont il s'agit pour les sciences socialos, consis- tera toujours a recherchcr pour la repression penale, le moyon le plus propre de combiner avec le maximum d'energie dans les forces morales des condamnos le minimum des chances, que la position sociale des liberus pourrait offrir a la recidive. Ce pro- bleme, a-t-il ete conduit plus pres de sa solution par I'auteur du systeme Irlandais? C'est ce que nous croyons ! " AVe do indeed share the belief of the Baron that this great problem has been solved in the Irish Convict System, and trust that no long period will elapse before it will be adopted by the whole United Kingdom! CHAPTER III. THE lEISH CONVICT SYSTEM: ITS HISTOEY. In tlie two preceding chapters some account has been given of the actual condition and working of the Irish Convict Prisons, and of the system upon which they are founded. This system has ah-eady attracted so much attention, not only in many countries of Europe, but also in other quarters of the world, and the full comprehension of it is so important to all who desire to adopt it, that we shall now proceed to trace its history from the commencement, and observe the gradual development of it. The history of the rise and progress of the Irish Convict System as it now exists, is contained in the Reports of the Directors, which are from the commencement peculiarly full and luminous. The early Eeports are now out of print, and a series of them is consequently inaccessible to the public ; — no apology will therefore be needed for presenting in this chapter fidl extracts from them. We have already learnt from Sir W. Crofton's evidence, the peculiarly low and degraded condition of the Irish Convicts, their condition, both intellectually, morally, and physically, being very far inferior, as testified by the Governor of Western Aus- tralia, to those sent out from the English Convict Prisons. The Directors perceived the reasonableness of the refusal of Western Australia to receive si;eh Con-^ncts, and accepted the refusal with THE IRISH SYSTEM : ITS HISTORY. 129 a determination on their part to endoavoiu- to raise the subjects of their care to such a condition as to make them good colonists, if not ti-ansported felons. They say in their First Annual Eeport, dated April 26th, 1855 : — "We are quite aware of the great interruption which must arise to the prosecution of the course of treatment tlie prison authorities in Western Aus- tralia are so laudably desirous of caiTying out, by the arrival of Irish Convicts in the state described. We cannot for the present, therefore (however desirable it would be on account of our limited accommodation for prisoners), consistently advise the deportation of Convicts from this country to any colony. Those wo hope to be enabled to send early in 1850, will, we trust, have given such evidence of reformation, as to induce us to recommend them specially as colonists, when their penal term shall have expired. We sliall endeavour to make such deportation a reward for good conduct, and feel assured it will operate as a powerful auxiliary in the cause of reformation." In every department of the Convict Prisons the Directors had to encounter great difficulties, owing, not only to the inefficient arrangements of the buildings, but fi'om the ineffi- ciency of the officers. " We have found it necessary," they say, " to cull for special reports on the character and capabilities of the different officers of the prisons, witli a view to remove those who are not qualified for so important a position ; and regret to add that we have boon compelled to recommend the dismissal of several warders for drunkenness, a crime that cannot be tolerated for an instant in a prison where a good moral example should operate as one of the principal elements of reformation. * ' Wo have endeavoured to assimilate the treatment of the Irish Convicts as far as possible to those of England — /'. e., immediately after conviction tlie male adults will bo subjected to separato imprisonment at Mi)imtj(.)y, Dublin, for a maximum period of nine months, though wo hope to be enabled to recom- mend that un average shorter period should be recognised. K 130 OUll COXVICTS, Before iindorgoiiig- this stage of iinprisonment, tliey are medi- cally inspected, and owing to the diseased state of the Convicts of this country, we regret to say the rejections are very large. "VVe are in hoj)es, however, and are disposed to believe, from the assurance of one of our Board, well conversant with medical subjects, that we may in most cases be able to carry out some portion of the term by judicious treatment on the part of the Medical Officer at Mountjoy. * ^ " We have altered the arrangements that existed in this prison before oiu- Board was formed, and, as we believe, with beneficial effects. ^•- "''■' *' Having adverted to the fii-st part of the system and treat- ment of the Convicts, which is passed in separate confinement, and devoted almost exclusively to their moral and religious instruction, it remains for us now to describe the manner in which efli'ect will be given to the latter portion of their sentences, while they are employed in labour on the public works, or in the prosecution of trade, when it will be necessary that the utmost care and attention shovdd be paid to strengthen and confirm any improvement that may have been effected during the first period of their confinement ; and at the same time to make every exertion to establish habits of industry, and inculcate that decree of moral feeling and self-reliance ichicli will enable them successfully to struggle against the temptations and difficulties they must encounter in their future connexion witli the Korld. "The condition of Spike Island Convict Prison having been detailed in the several Eeports of the Commissioners of Convict Inquiry, previous to the appointment of the present Board of Directors, it is unnecessary again to enter very fully into that subject. It is desirable to say that a further and more intimate acquaintance with the discipline and management of that j)rison does not give us any ground for altering the opinions ali'eady submitted to the Government thereon, viz., that imder such a system as that hitherto in force, it would he hopeless to look for any improvement or moral reformation of the prisoners. THE IRISH SYSTEM : ITS IIISTOEY. 131 " One of tlie principal defects has been tlie inefficiency and unfitness of many of tlie officers for tlio performance of the duties required, wliicli in a Public Works' Prison are of a very arduous and responsible nature, and demand (in order to be satisfactorily carried out) men possessing a high moral standard combined with an amount of energy and physical strcngtli found only in persons in the prime of life. "Heretofore, officers who had boon guilty of drimkenness, or Tvho had otherwise misconducted themselves at other prisons, were frec[uently punished by being sent to do duty at Spike Island, a practice calcidated to degrade the character of the officers generally, to lower them in the estimation of the Convicts, and lessen their authority and control. Many of the warders were men much advanced in years, and infirm, therefore totally incapable of efficiently performing any duties requiring either much exertion of body or energy of mind. "Further, the nature and disposition of the buildings apj^ro- priated for prison accommodation at Spike Island, together -svith the general association of tho prisoners, necessitated thereby, must, under any circmnstances, prove highly unfavom-able to the attainment of the same moral improvement and discipline which have been arrived at in the prisons of late established for the execution of public works in England, and demand a larger staff than has heretofore been employed in this prison, or than woidd be necessary in siutably constructed buildings. ••' ''•• "The numerical insufficiency of tho staff heretofore employed has been such, that it has boon foimd impracticable to have tho same officers daily in charge of the same prisoners on tho works, the evils arising therefrom must be Jipparent to all : the olFicers being, of course, comparatively but littlo acquainted with the character of tho prisoners under their charge ; tlie dilllcxdty of fixing tho responsibility for the proper execution of any works in progress on any individual officer, and the impossibility of keeping an efficient record of tho conduct and industry of the 132 OUR COXVICTS. prisoners, causing ci total absence of all stiniulug to industry or good conduct on their part. *' The moral and religious improvement of the Convicts have not certainly been made matters of great or sufficient importance, nor has their school instruction received much attention. The chapel, used also as the schoolroom, has heretofore been veiy little better than a temporary shed ; only two schoolmasters have been employed for the instruction of the entire body of the Convicts, which in number has even exceeded 2,000 ; consecjuently a large proportion of the prisoners have not attended school at all." The Board having been, in office only since 29th November in the previous year (1854), could not of coiu'se be in a position to state that they had rendered the organization of the prison sound and effective in so short a time ; but, dating their Eeport in April, 1855, they are able already to state — "that some considerable and marked improvement has been effected, even to a greater extent than we could have ventured to anticipate from the necessarily partial and very imperfect arrangements which it has as yet been found practicable to make." The efficiency of the staff being essential to the improvement of the prisoners, the Board at once directed their special attention to this. It will be evident in the following extract that while in the first place they adopted the machinery then employed in the English Prisons, and made the same Act of Parliament the basis of their operations, yet from the very fia-st they were guided by the same principles, which were eventually developed so successfully. " Proper means are at present taken to ascertain whether candidates for employment in the Convict service are duly qualified, previous to their selection, which is now made on probation for the first six months, during which period the Governor is required to observe carefully and report to the Directors at least every month on their qualifications, abilities, general character, habits, temper, and disposition. Should THE IRISH SYSTEM : ITS HISTORY. 133 tliese reports not prove satisfactory, and should tlio Directors bo convinced that snch persons will not eventually prove fitting and desirable to bo intrusted T\'ith the charge of prisoners, their services will be dispensed with, and their appointments not confirmed. " We are establishing a stricter system of diseij)line among the officers, while at the same time we are endeavouring: gradually, as far as circumstances will admit, to remove many discomforts and minor evils under which they have heretofore laboured. Wo have taken measures to ensure a careful super- vision of their conduct, character, zeal and ability, and to cause such records thereof to be kept, as will enable th a Directors at all times to form a correct and soimd opinion of their respective merits. We hope, further, by making the rewards and pro- motion of the officers contingent solely on their o'wn good conduct, ability and faithful service, to raise their character and elevate their position generally, and thus to render the situations of warders in the Government Prisons more generally sought for by a superior class of the community. " We have prepared rules for the government of this as weU as the other prisons, which have been submitted for approval; thej have been framed on and are in accordance with those wliich have for some time past been advantageously in operation in England, altered and extended in some respects as required by local circimistanees, and by the recent alterations in the law substituting 'penal servitude' in lieu of 'transportation.' " These rules provide for a careful classification of the prisoners, according to their general conduct and character ; and their removal from one grade to another is made contingent on their conduct, general demeanoiu", industrj-, and the desii-e evinced by them to profit by the instruction offered, and to derive advantage from the efforts made for their moral and religious improvement. "A system of gratuities analogous to that which has long 134 OUR CONVICTS. hson established in the Convict Prisons in England, has been adopted here as an encouragement and reward for good conduct, and also as a stimulus to industry, which we api^rehend to ho one of the most important elements in the reformation of criminals, for if stead// and determined habits of indmtrtj have not leen formed hj them, no reasonable hope can be oitertaincd that after they have been discharged from prison, tliexj will be able to gain an honest living, or ever obtain a respectahle position in the ivorld, or that any reformation and imjjrovement effected in prison would prove of a permanent nature. *' We have taken some pains to devise a plain and effective method of concisely recording all the particulars connected with the conduct, character, and industry of the Convicts, and to show the nature and degree of any offences which may be committed by them ; and farther, in order that they shoidd bo made aware of their position and progress in the prison, and of the records which are made concerning them, and also with a -view to impress on their minds the importance attached to their good conduct, we have directed that a badge calculated to effect these objects shall be awarded to each Comdct every month. The system of classification, gratuities, badges, and the records of conduct and industry, are fully detailed in the rules of the prison, and therefore need not be further dwelt on here. "The Convicts have been partially classified by the Governor, a work which has been attended with some difiiculty, owing to the absence or imperfect nature of any documents from which an opinion could be formed of tlieir respective characters. A stricter system of discipline is now enforced, a carefiil record of the conduct of the prisoners is kept, and their industry on the works is duly supervised ; attention is j)aid to convince them that by good conduct and industry on their parts, they can alone look for favour or reward. The phj'sical condition and appear- ance of the Convicts is already ameliorated, and some aracamt of THE IlUSn SYSTEM : ITS HISTORY. 135 industiy aud energy is novr displayed by them. On tlio "vs'lioie, a marked improYcinent, apparent eYen to a casual oLserver, has taken place." At the same time that great attention was paid to discipline, much consideration was given by the Directors to the physical condition of the ConYicts. Considerable alterations were made in the prisons which were unhealthy. They say : — "We subjoin a table showing the mortality in the Irish ConYict Prisons during the past year, by which it will be seen to how low a state the physical condition of this class of prisoners has been redviced. "We therefore felt it to be our duty to pro^dde a higher scale of dietary where necessary, which will give the Convict sufficient strength of constitution to enable him to resist disease ; that when his time of penal servitude shall have expired, he will bo restored to society with an unimpaired constitution, and with sufficient health and energies to enable him to take a respectable place in the com- munity, and engage in such industrial pursuits as his moral and religious training Y'hilo under our charge -will, we trust, prompt liim to foUow ; wliile at the same time we have been careful to deprive the Convict of every article which could be considered a luxury, not absolutely necessary for health."' The grand object to bo obtained, the restoration to society, is strongly before them in tliis fii-st Eeport. *' These objects being, as wo hope, obtained by the reforma- tory system adopted towards the Con\'ict dmung his detention, it remains to oiTer him facilitios for securing a respectable social position, by affording him the opportunity to exercise the habits of industry which ho has acquired, and confirm the reformation effected in his character. "That it is necessary to afford such facilities to the Convicts on their release arises from the fact, novr being proved by daily experience, fJuii persons are gcnorallif most imiviUimj to emj)loi/ iltcui. The Convict having been for a lengthened period with- drawn from all intercourse with tho world, finds himself, on his 1,36 orn con^'icts. release, imless lie returns to his former Lad companious (too often the only persons tcilling to receive him), in an isolated position, without friends, thrown on his own resources, and deprived of all means of exercising that industry by which alone he can obtain an honest livelihood. It cannot therefore be a matter of much surprise if an individual under such circumstances should be drawn back to his old haunts, and thus, falling again among his former associates, by degrees resume his original habits and career of crime. " We deem it to be the duty of all who desire the reformation of the criminal classes to obviate this result — one much to be regretted, and which, we are compelled to admit, tends in a great measure to defeat the efforts made, and the ends proposed by the present Convict System. " It cannot be denied that difficulties may offer to the adoption of such addition to the system already pm^sued; at the same time the advantages, both in the diminution of crime and the saving of expense to the country ultimately, which would accrue therefrom must be kept in \aew. " In conclusion, we state it as our conviction that a large proportion of the Convicts, when thus tested, will prove them- selves steady and industrious workmen, men of good and honest character, and respectable members of the community. We are satisfied it only requires their reformed condition to be generally known and understood, to overcome the prejudice at present existmg against employing them among other labourers, and thus enabling them honestly to earn their livelihood, and obtain a respectable social position." In the First Eeport of the Directors, the want is strongly expressed of some means of providing employment for the Convicts on their discharge from gaol. But the grand solution of that difficulty, as afforded by the Intermediate Prisons and the subsequent supervision of the Convicts v.hen at liberty, does not appear yet to have occurred to them. It is very interesting and instructive to observe this, because we thus perceive the THE iRisn system: its history. 137 gradual development of the system iu tlieir minds, and we learn liow a thorough devotion, heart and mind and powers, to any work, prepares for the discovery of the best means of accom- plisliing it. Such devoted zeal evidently existed in the Dii'ectors, and they communicated it to those who were working under them. "When speaking thus of the Directors, we cannot of course forget that it was their Chairman, Sir W^vlter Ckoftox, who was the main spring of the whole, and that tlie system in its completed state must be considered his work. But he was most fortunate in having as his follow Directors such gentlemen as Captain IvNiGHT and Mr. Lentaigxe, who fully entered into the spirit of the undertaking, and brought tlieir own special qualilications and experience to bear on it. Nor was it a less fortunate circum- stance that Captain "Whitty, whose evidence has been already quoted, succeeded Captain Knight ; and after working zealously with Sir Walter, then Captain Crofton, when left sole Director, devoted liimseK to sustain the system, as ho has done, in full efiiciency. It is a matter of gi"cat satisfaction to all who regard the working out of this admirable system with the deepest interest, to know that Captain Whitty has now a coadjutor, Mr. P. J. Mthiray, whose intimate acquaintance with the system, and warm sj^mpathy with it, give confidence that he will form an efficient Director. After this explanation, wo continue our history. A year's experience brings the Directors nearer to the solution of their grand difficulty. They say in the Second Eeport, p. 23, "Wo arc of opinion that the omplojnnent of Convicts, selected on account of their general good conduct, &c., in small bodies on public woiks in various localities, under circumstances of exposure to the ordinary temptations and trials of the world, when the reality and sincerity of their reforma.tion may be fairly and publicly tested, will present the most favourable chances for their gradual absorbtion into the body of the community." This is of course the grand object Avhich, if attained, may be considered the crovrning success of all prison discipline. As we 138 OUK C0XVICT6. proceocl, year by year, wo shall find tliat tliis idea is steadily kept in view by the Directors, until at last society has become so willing to readmit to the labour market the former culprit, who has given reliable proof of repentance, and of a desire and an ability to lead a new life. It is extraordinary that this very willingness has been misunderstood by some persons, and instead of being regarded as a proof of the success of the system, as it should be, is explained by a supposed disregard on the part of the Irish people of the sigma attached to guilt, and to a judicial sentence. How little foundation there is for such an explanation, is proved by the very next sentence in the same Report : — " The public feeling is too general that all Convicts are alike, and they are judged by the standard of the lowest and most degraded. Such being the case, it is not to be wondered at that all re- spectalle classes sJin'nlc from contact with them 07i their release from prison, as indeed they may well do, so long as they have a 'prison character' only to refer to, earned under a strict discipHne, surveillance and restraint. It is doubtless an estab- lished fact, that many of the worst and most hopeless criminals will behave well under such circiunstances, and will consequently obtain on discharge a good ' prison character ; ' therefore, what guarantee can any one have, that in giving emploj'ment to a released Convict, he is not harboui-ing a dejDraved and unreclaim- able criminal, if he has no means beyond this prison character of learning anything about him. It is well known to all who are acquainted with the class to be found in our Con^'ict Prisons, that they present every description and shade of character, and very various degrees of guilt, crime and depravity; that many of the inmates have fallen from weakness, distress and force of circumstances, rather than fi-om absolute and innate natiu-al vice; some are more hardened by a longer career in vice and crime, though still not destitute of all proper feelings, nor without some good ground for hope of their ultimate sincere repentance and permanent reformation ; while others, it must be admitted, are, humanly speaking, altogether vicious, almost THE IRISH system: ITS IIISTOrvY. 130 dead to any good impressions, and hopelessly irreclaimaljle ; but tliis last class is comparatively small." The task, then, whicii was undertaken by the Directors of the Irish Convict Prisons in 1855, -Nvas not easier than that "^'hich is still to be accomplished in England. There Avas in that Island, as there is in our own now, a general dislike in society of contact with any person bearing the Convict brand, and a profound distrust which we all feel now of any so called "prison characters." That distrust was founded, as ours is at present, on a disbelief in the reformatory natiu'o of the system adopted with Convicts, and on a perception of the impossibility of any "prison character" being a real one, because it is formed under a condition in which the will of tlie prisoner is absolutely restrained, and in wliich artificial appliances enable, and even stimulate him, to present an appearance of reformation which does not really exist. This description of the different classes of prisoners, and the varied grades of criminality, probably corresponds exactly to what has been the previous history of the prisoners in all Convict Prisons in every part of the empire. Some have endeavoured to make it believed that Irish Convicts are a less hardened race than English ones. "We have never heard those who have practical experience of the management of Convicts, or even of juvenile delinquents, single out the Irish from tlio English, as more amenable to discipline, or less hardened in character, but rather the reverse. One very essential difference certainly may be pointed out between these Irish Convicts of '55, and those in our English Convict Prisons of '03 ; the former had never undergone any steady, well-arranged discipline in the ill-managed prisons which the Commissioners found there ; the latter have boon for years subjected to a system calculated to strengthen their vicious nature, and to send them forth into society a band of hardened ruffians, as they have proved themselves, " AVo hope," continue the Directors, "by means of a careful selection of Convicts, according to their general, as well as * prison cha- racter,' by their employment in small bodies in various localities, 140 OI'R CONVICTS. coniimratively as freemou (thougli luidor .surveillance), that the public will gradually become convinced of tlio difference to ■vrbich we have alluded, tliat many of these men are not utterly irreclaimable, and that by degrees they will become willing to extend a helping hand to such as may really prove themselves deserving of their aid and encouragement. Wo believe that a general desire is felt by the community at large to aid in the restoration of these fallen members of society, though all, or nearly all, shrink from personal contact with them." The Directors entered on their work with a full knowledge of the difficulties they would have to encounter. "We antici- pated," they say, p. 4, "that on the commencement of the new system, whilst in a transition state, both as regards officers and prisoners, many subjects of jarring disappointment and discontent would be likely to arise and cause troubles in the prisons ; this was the case to some extent, and called for the exercise of great discrimination and firmness on the part of the local prison au.thorities. We regret to state that many violent and turbulent offences having occurred in the early part of the year, it became necessary to resort to severe punishments, which, however, were carefully watched by the medical officers ; these occiu'red prin- cipally during the disorganization of PhilipstoMTi Prison. We are happy to state, however, that the system is now thoroughly understood and appreciated by officers and prisoners, who are aware that although the evil disposed will assiu-edly receive the treatment their conduct merits, those who have chosen a dinerent course will meet with every encouragement." It has been sometimes said that the Mark System is good in theory, but that practically it is bad, involving constant disputes between officers and men. The Tenth Eeport of the Directors confirms this, their (Second, that when once well established, it is practically excellent. The Directors perceived that it was essential to the success of their work to raise the Convicts from their very low and degraded intellectual condition ; they knew that this was no easy task, and THE IRISH SYSTEM: ITS niSTOKY. 141 that it was not sufficient to estabKsli sclioolmasters in the gaols, unless they took other measures both to stimulate the teachers, and to rouse to exertion their very ignorant scholars. They thus speak in the same Eeport of the steps they took, p. 3: — "In oiu" last Eeport we complained of the inefficient state of the Educational Departments of the Convict Depots, and stated the importance we conceived should be attached to them in this country, recommending at the same time that they shoidd be placed under the Inspectors of the National Board of Education. Experience has proved that we were correct in our opinion ; the report of Mr. M'Gaueajs", the head schoolmaster at Mountjoy Prison, shows, that after a very careful examination of the prisoners at that establishment, he foimd that 96-2 per cent, were abnost without any education at all ; a fact, we submit, calling for every exertion to rcndev the educational machinery as perfect as possible, in order to open the minds of the prisoners, by a system of training as well as teaching." The distinction here made is a very important one. The mere teacher is generally satisfied that the work is done, if the learner is enabled to master the rudiments of reading, writing and arithmetic, and if a large amount of knowledge is commu- nicated to them ; residts of this kind may indeed be more easily tested than any other, and therefore are usually deemed sufficiently satisfactory ; but they are comparatively useless to persons in the condition of these prisoners; experience has also proved that they are very inefficient as a reformatory agency, and arc indeed often soon lost after the teaching is discon- tinued. They no more satisfy their real wants, than would large quantities of rich and stimulating food nourish anyone, when a diseased state has deprived his digestive organs of their power of assimulation and nutrition. It is the opening and training of the mental powers, which is the great need of those whose whole intellectual and moral natiu'e has been imcultivated and perverted. Throughout the history and the working of the Irish Convict System, it will be observed that 142 om coNTicTS. llio great oLjcct of awakening', training and directing aright the intellectual powers of the Convict, has been steadily kept in view as an important means of reforming him, and preparing him for society; — to steady persovoranco in this object must much of the success bo attributed. " Sensible of the very great importance," the Directors con- tinue, "of establishing a proper system of education in the prisons, through -which, unfortunately, thousands of human beings must pass, "who are in turn subjected to its influence, we are gratified at being enabled to state that, although much of the past year has been taken up with arranging schoolrooms, classifying prisoners according to their attainments, appointment of schoolmasters, &c., a great desire has Icen evinced l>j the prisoners to receive instruc- tion ; and this is more remarkable, as proceeding from some advanced in age, •^■ho, at the commencement of the year, attended school with the greatest reluctance. This applies both to males and females, and we believe so desirable result has been achieved through great exertion on the part of the teachers. Lectures have been estabhshed, and attended with visible success; the great stumbling block to improvement has been the low and depressing opinion that prisoners in general hold of their own qualification, believing it to be impossible that they are suscep- tible of improvement. The exertion required fi'om the instructor to remove an impression so detrimental of progress, can be of no ordinary kind, as his constant labour should be that of illustrating and pictimng out to the minds of the instructed ; but this is no light task, and few there are, however gifted they may be in knowledge, who can really give effect to this deside- ratum of all education, but more especially that of the pauper and the criminal. Mr. Coyle (an Inspector of the National Board of Education), has recently visited the Dublin Convict Prisons' Schools, and made many valuable suggestions, which we feel confident will advance the cause of education. It is by the constant visits of the Inspectors, and adopting their sugges- tions from time to time, that we may hope to render the Prison THE lEISir SYSTEil : ITS HISTROY. 148 Schools wliat tlioy .shoiild be, one of tlie primary elements of reformation." Here, as elsewhere, vre observe a fi-ank avowal on the part of the Directors of their own shortcomings, and of their willing- ness and even desire to avail themselves of help and suggestions. Thus, in the same Report, wliich, issued in the third year of their office, represents the state of the prisons in only the second, they frankly acknowledge that they cannot yet venture to adopt the ticket- of-le a ve system, which had already been established in England. They state (p. 26) : — " The tickei-of-Ieave system has not as yet been brought into actual operation in this country; so largo a number of Convicts having remained in the various prisons, who, according to the present state of the law might be considered entitled to their free discharge, on the ground of having served, with good conduct the full period under a state of penal servitude, ostabKshed in lieu of their respective sentences of transportation, that it has not heretofore been deemed safe or expedient to add to this niunber by discharging still more on tickets of license. This class of Convicts had accimiidatcd in this country to an extent quite imknown in England, owing partly to the want of system which existed formerly in the selection of Con\icts for dejDortation, and partly fi-om their physical unfitness for transportation, which, imtil lately, existed among so largo a portion of the Ii-ish Convicts. Subsequent to the appointment of the Commission of Convict Inquiiy in 1853 (that is, since April 20th, 1854, when prisoners who had more than completed the proper equivalents of their sentences of transportation were first discharged), there have been 960 released. The class of prisoners who have served over the period of penal servitude established by laAV, as the equivalent for their sentences of transportation, has been dis- posed of, and it has become necessary that the system of release on license shoidd now be brought into operation, Avliich, we believe, with due care, may bo commenced without giving rise 144 OUR COXVICTS. to any serious evils to society. We foresee tiiat a great diffi- culty Avill arise in tlic disposal of Convicts sent liomo from Bcnniida from time to time in large numl^ers, with a view to being discharged on tickets of license ; we cannot feel justified in piu'suing any different course, with regard to recommending them for this indulgence, than what we follow in our own prisons, under the sanction of the Lord Lieutenant. The conduct of several of the prisoners on their passage home, and since their arrival in this country, appears to render them fitter subjects for a course of separate imprisonment, than dis- charge on license. We trust that in future only those whose conduct throughoiit their imprisonment warrants such an indul- gence, will be sent home with that view." During the next year two Forts had been employed as an Intermediate Stage previous to discharge, and in other respects great progress had been made. The Directors say in their Third Report: — "Generally speaking, the industry of the Convicts has been very satisfactory, especially of those in the Intermediate Stages at Smithfield, and at Forts Camden and Carlisle. The record of industry heimj hxown io affect their progress in the advantages of dassificatioti has beei-i a constant stimulus, which we hope will become still more powerful with the men now under sentence of penal servitude, when we are entitled to place before them some more tangible reward than is aiforded by the mere increase of earnings, consequent on their attaining higher classification." It will usually be found that steady industry is a fair indi- cation of good conduct. Idleness and self-indulgence are the ordinary characteristics of Convicts. It is therefore satisfactory to learn from the Directors that after so short a trial of their system they can thus report. They thus continue: — "The conduct of the prisoners gene- rally is shewn by the diminished number of ofi'ences committed by prisoners on the public works to have considerably improved, THE lEISlI SYSTEM : ITS IIISTOKY. 145 as compared with previous years. It is mtisfadonj to know that this diminution has not arisen from any practice on the ^^(trt of the subordinate officers of overlooking or not reporting offences. The rides require that no officer or servant, on any pretence whatsoever, through favour or mistaken notions of kindness, shall fail to make an immediate report to the Governor of any misconduct or wilful disobedience of the prison regulations, and it is only by a strict enforcement of this regulation that any steady s^'stem of combined rewards and punishments can be thoroughly carried out." It is evident here that no bribes are held out to the prisoners to induce good behaviour. Eeliance is placed by the Directors on soimd principles, and a steady undeviating sj'stem of dis- cipline. AVlien we remember the state in which the prisoners were found at the commencement of the new system, and that diu'ing the year a number of Convicts had been brought back from Bermuda, who were full of dissatisfaction at a supposed breach of faith by the Government respecting the term of their sen- tence, and who endeavoured to excite the same feeling in others, it is a grand triumph of the system, that an improvement rather than tlie contrary vras observable in the prisons. AYith great candour the Directors mention, however, some painful excep- tions, which show the difficulties they had to contend with at the commencement of their administration : — " There have been, imhappily, some isolated instances of violent and revengeful assaults by Convicts on prison officers and fellow prisoners during the past twelve months, one of wliicli, at Spike Island, in tlie month of September, terminated fatally for the officer assaulted. In this case several prisoners were ascertained to be implicated with the Convict accused of striking the fatal blow, and have been committed for trial at the next Assizes fur the murder, which appears to have been deliberate and prompted by revenge. In this case the Lords of the Treasury have sanctioned the grant of an annuity to the widow of the deceased prison officer. Fevr of tlie other cases of assault L 146 oru CONVICTS. appear to havo originated in any coniLination of even a small numher of j^risoners, while in many of them effective assistance has been rendered by other Convicts to the officer attacked." " The progressive classification and consequent attainment of higher rates of gratuity and other advantages, according to conduct and industry, recorded and denoted by the estab- lished badges, continue in general to have excellent effect, and we hope to be authorised to bring the system into more direct application to the cases of penal servitude prisoners dui'ing the present year. Hitherto, the fiLsed period of duration of sentences of this class of prisoners has placed them in a different position from their fellow prisoners under sentence of transportation, and the actual reward attainable by them has been limited to the prospect of acquiring a large amount of gratuity or earnings at the termination of their sentence. When, from misconduct, this hope is lost to them, the badge becomes of little value in their eyes, and the fear of present punishment their only remaining motive of conduct." It was under the same feeling of disaj)pointment that rebel- lions and mutinies^ occurred in the English Convict Prisons ; — none occurred in these. "The more strict enforcement of discipline has led to the collection at Moxmtjoy Prison of a number of badly conducted prisoners, returned to separate confinement as having proved themselves unfit for association at Spike Island and PhiKpstown; and this class of Convicts (denominated the penal class in the former prisons) has been the cause of some trouble to the authorities, from their recklessness and unsubmissiveness to discipline. It is actually necessary to have recourse to this means of preventing the evil example of such characters from producing serious bad effects among the Convicts associated on public works, while at the same time the delinc|uent is visited with a severe pimishment, it gives him the opportunity of reflection on the consequences brought on himself by his misconduct ; on the whole, however, there has been reason for satisfaction THE IRISH SYSTIM : ITS HISTORY. 147 at tliG niiniLer of prisoners of this troublesome description not being greater than it has proved to be." The following remarks on the kind of officers adapted to such service, "will be valuable to all who are concerned in the manage- ment of prisons : — "It has been necessary during the year to discharge several officers from the Convict service, as having proved themselves unfitted for the arduous and responsible duties of prison officers. This is to be expected in a service in which the qualifications are to a certain extent peculiar, and iii which, therefore, it is difficult, if not impossible, to decide, without actual exj)erience (whatever may have been a man's antecedents^, whether he will eventually become fit for the duties. An extraordinar}' degree of intelligence is not absolutely necessary in a discipline officer of a Convict Prison ; but good temper and a fiiir degree of discretion, com- bined with strict moral habits and quiet firmness of character, are qualifications without which he cannot succeed in the dis- charge of his duties ; — and as the want of them is sure, sooner or later, to bring discredit on any person entrusted with the cliarge of Convicts, as well as injury to the ser-vice itself, it becomes absolutely necessary not to overlook such deficiencies, whatever good qualities may otherN\ise be possessed b}^ a person whose fitness for such duties is imder consideration. "It gives us great satisfaction to report that the general body of officers in the different prisons have steadily persevered in a zealous and efficient discharge of their duties, and supported our efforts to establish a just and fair course of discipline, and a conviction in the mind of the prisoners that their own advantage- ment and improvement is cared for, as well as the inliiction of the punishment awarded by their sentence." Having given these extracts from the Tliird Eeport of the Directors, which contain only general statements, wo now turn to those of the officers for the same year, wliicli strikingly show the results of the adoption of a good system, even at its commencement. r<8 oun coxviCTs. All wlio aro familiar Aiilli the effect of tlio mental state on the pliyf-ical condition of prifioners under separate confinement, the extreme care required to exclude from this severe trial of the constitution persons of infirm health, and to watch the symptoms •which may arise, lest the health of the prisoners should be j)er- manently injured by the ordeal, or, still worse, lest insanity or even suicide should be the termination of this punishment, — will perceive in the facts stated by the officers a striking proof of the wisdom of the system adopted hy the Directors, and the truth of the principles on which it is founded. " It gives me pleasure to report," says the medical officer of Mountjoy sepa- rate prison (Eeport iii., pp. 08, 6d), " that the state of the prison during the past year has been comparatively healthy ; this is mainly to be attributed to the continuance of the system adopted in the previous yeai*. * * It will be in your recollection that under the former arrangements of this prison, and previous to the alterations adopted by you, it was found necessary to subject the prisoners to a rigid examination, to test their mental and physical fitness for the severe and protracted trials they wei*e in course of being exposed to, T/hieh led to very large rejections. But a worse consequence than this en- sued ; for althougli every precaution was taken in the original selection, many became enfeebled, and their health gave way eventually under the effects of the prison discipline. I am liappy to report that these evils have been com- pletely removed; every adult prisoner brought here during the jjast year, sen- tenced to transportation or penal servitude, has been received without a single exception, and subjected to the reformatory and separate treatment; and what is still more satisfactory, this important extension of the operations of the system has been unattended by any deterioration of health. From the statis- tical results stated in the annexed table the sanitary condition of the prison is shown rather to have iinjiroved. * * Two cases of insanity appear in the hospital returns; in neither case was the disease induced by tlie discipline of Mountjoy. One prisoner was insane when committed, and had been sent home from Bermuda in an insane condition ; the other had been a patient in the liichraond Lunatic Asylum previous to conviction, after liis committal here he got fever and the derangement reappeared. TLey have been removed to the District Lunatic Asylum. During the period Mounljoy has been open for the reception of prisoners, there has not been a case of in-ani!y attribntnble to the discipline of the prison." The following extracts from the Eeport of the Medical Officer of Smitlifield Government Prison point out the bearings of the system on the physical condition of the prisoners. It will be borne in mind that these results are the more remarkable because THE IRISU SYSTEM : ITS IIIoTOilY. 149 they occur in cases where the preceding injurious condition may have left, and probably did leave, very injurious effects on the constitution : — " Any oue conversant with the medical statistics of Convict Prisons in Ireland will see from the preceiling Hospital Returns alone that the sanitary state of the piison during these eleven months was very satisfactory, and indeed exceptional. This becomes more manifest, however, when we consider that all the prisoners in confinement here, 251, had previously undergone long periods of confinement, varying from three and a quarter to six years, and hence belonged to the class of convicts enfeebled by long confinement, among -whom the serious illness and mortality of former years chiefly occurred. It is true they were a select class of such prisoners, but very few of them were strong, many were delicate, and all bore the traces of long confinement, and moreover they were constantly employed at such trades as shoemaldng, tailor- ing, mat making, d'c, and worked more steadily and assiduously than the convicts here at any former time. "But the sanitary state of the prison was in reality more favorable than could be infeiTed from any mere numerical results, and was most remarkably majiifested in the character of the sickness that prevailed. I would not attach undue importance to the total absence of vwrtalitij, which was probably an occidental circumstance ; but what was really remarkable and significant, all the diseases of the period occurred so much modified and mitigated in cha- racter and form, as clearly indicated that the health of the prisoners was sus- tained by some peculiar sanitary influence. Thus the cases of fever (six only) were of a mild and simple type, and they were the only cases of acute disease that occurred. The bronchitic and catarrhal cases, forming nearly half of all the cases treated, were mez'elj- common cclds of more or less seventy, and requiring only a few days residence in hospital for their cure. It was however in the cases of consumption and scrofula that this modification of morbid action was most strikingly manifested. These kindred maladies have at all times been the peculiar scourge of the Convict Prisons in this country, and probably will long continue to occupy a prouiinent place in their hosjutal records, even under the most enlightened and humane management. Even these intractable comxdaiuts, which, w];eii occurring in prisoners wliose health has been gradually deteriorated by confinement, almost invariably run a con- tinuous and rapid course, were during this period so remarkably modified in form and character, that except in two or three ca'?e:7 of long existing disease, they made but little progress, were moi'e amenable to treatment, and in several instances were completely arrested in their course. Ophthalmia, in all its forms, is also generally an unmanageable afiectiou in prisons ; the cases in hospital, chiefly of a strumous character, w-ere, like the other forms of scrofula, unusually mild. The other chronic ailment^-, with the excci>tiou of one case of epilepsy, were slight and unimportant. 150 our. coxviCTs, " To what cause can we attribute this modification of disease and immunity from serious sickness in a class of convicts whoso constitutions had been more or less impaired by long confinement? Many causes might be suggested to account for this result. " Thus, it may be said, the city generally was unusually healtliy during the past year ; no epidemic disease prevailed ; the prison was not over crowded as in former years, Tliese and similar circumstances may have had some influ- ence, but they are inadequate to account for the facts obsened in hospital, or for the improvement which was remarkable in the health of the prisoners who worked so steadily and laboriously. " Tliis improved sanitary state of the prison dates from the introduction of the reformatory system; and, in my opinion, is attributahle to the agency of several concurring salutary influences which this system brings to bear upon the criminal, and ivhich produce as remarlcable an improvement in the mental and moral condition, the temper, feelings, character and conduct of the prisoner, as in his general health. In whatever circumstances the prisoners here are ob- served, this improved state of feeling is very apparent. In the workshops it is manifested in the cheerfulness, alaci'ity and assiduity, with which they apply themselves to their laborious occupations, and furnishes a striking contrast to the listlessuess, sullenness and gloom, so commonly exhibited by the ordinary convict in similar circumstances. In the school, the earnestness and vivacity with which they engage in their studies, after the fatigue of the day, and the anxiety they evince to acquire information and excel one another, afford still more satisfactory evidence of mental and moral improvement ; though at the same time it must be acknowledged that much of this was attributable to the agreeable and skilful manner in which instruction is imparted to them in this prison, by lecturing, diagrams, maps, &c., and to the judicious selection of subjects suited to their capacity, and supplying the kind of information which is attractive and interesting to persons in their condition. In the hospital, also, an improved state of feeling has been equally manifest. It is a common practice among the convicts to endeavour to get into hospital, or to remain there after they are perfectly recovered, in order to avoid the prison duties; very few cases of this kind have occurred under the neic system. Another, and by no means unfrequent occurrence observed in the Convict Prisons, and more especially among the prisoners whose health has suffei-ed from long confinement, and who have been anticipating their approaching release from prison, is that when the prisoner is attacked with any serious disease, he is at once j)rostrated in body and mind ; comes into the hospital with the gloomy foreboding that he will never leave the prison alive; and lies down, as it were, to die, hopeless and desponding, thus rendering all the resources of art unavailing. A very different spirit prevailed among the prisoners here since the change of management took place. In fact, they appeared to me, in most cases, rather disposed to underrate the seriousness of their sickness, and to rely too much on their improved health, and were only anxious and eager to retuiu to those duties which have ceased to be distasteful to them. THE IRISH SYSTEM : ITS IIISTOllY. 151 "Those who have had opportunities of observing the powerful influence, for good or evil, that mental feelings and emotions, hope and joy, grief and despondency, exei'cise upon the human body in sicL'uess and in health, as •well as in the woi-ld outside as within the walls of a prison, will have no difficulty in comprehending that this buoyant state of mind and hopeful spirit of the prisoners must have largely contributed to produce the improved sanitary condition of the iirison during the past year. " It is almost unnecessary for me to observe that with prisoners in this state of mind, remunerative labour, and the acquisition of interesting and useful knowledge in the school, are, in themselves, sanitai-y inliuences of no shght importance. " Indeed this system of treatment may be regarded as not only reformatory but sanitary to the prisoner, and is brought to bear on him at the period of his imprisonment when he most needs it; so that he is, as it were, prepared, as the period of his liberation from prison approaches, to return to society in such a state of health as will enable him to make good use of the skill and information he has acquired in confinement. "The observations I have ofiered are applicable to a great majority of the convicts that were in prison during the past eleven months ; there were, however, several who, from obtuseness of miod, or natural de^^ravity, appeai-ed to be little affected by the salutary influences with which they were surrounded. There were also some few committed here in such a weak state of health, that they were unable to avail themselves of the advantages the reformatory system affords to the prisoner. " I have the honour to be, Gentlemen, " Your obedient servant, " The Directors of Convict Prisons." " TnoiiAS Brady. The opinion of tlio influence of the mind over tlio body here spoken of by the medical officer, as the result of one year's experience of the Irish Convict System, -was confirmed by lengthened experience. This is expressed in the following letter, "written after an interval of more than six years from tlie Report just f[Uoted : — "0, Temple Street, Dublin, 4.th May, 1803. "MATJA:\r,— I have great pleasure in being able to assure you that the remarkable improvement whicli took place in the sanitary state of the convicts in the Intermediate Prisons, on the establishment of the refor- matory system, has beei:i fully sustained ever since. " The diseases that have occurred, without almost an exception, have been of a simple character and mild form, such as might occur in any fuuiily, and requiring merely a few days' residence in hospital for their cure. "I have observed that the prisoner begins to improve in health IVuni the 152 OUK C0XY1CT8. moment be passes the tbiesbold of the Intermediate Pjison, even though ho be Aveakly and shattered by previous coufioement, and in most instances bis improvement in health is so i-apid as to excite the astonishment of those who have seen liim at the time of bis admission. I may observe that the facts stated here have been repeatedly put forward in my Annual Reports. " I have the honour to be, Madam, "Your obedient servant, " Thomas Brady. " Miss CAiirENTEn." The pliysical improvemeut of tlie Convicts, after only two years working of tlie newly adopted system, was not greater than their intellectual and moral progress. How completely the system which had been adopted, approved itself Ly its results to the various officers, and how much their cooperation aided in the working of it, we may learn from extracts fi-om their Reports to the Directors. The head Schoolmaster of Fort Camden thus writes : — " Of the wisdoiu and prudence of classifying the con^•icts, and separating the well disposed from the viciously inclined, I think oui" prison here afibrds convincing evidence — if evidence were wanting to convince any who have led the Apostle's admonitions, ' Brethren, be not deceived, evil communications corrupt good manners.' For a month or two after the exemplary men were sent here, a casual observer would say that they ill deserved the character, ■were he to perceive all their foibles and murmui'ings ; but the man who studies human nature is well avrare that these faults occur, and may be found among society in general, and yet, on the whole, we do not, nor should not pronounce the community wicked in consequence. About the 7th of February last (1856) some exemplarj'^ men came here from Spike Island, who had been sent home from Bermuda, under the impression that they were to obtain immediate liberty, but being detained they murmured and complained that faith had been broken with them ; these murmurings seem to have arisen more from miscon- ception and defective training than from any wilful perversity. The elements of dissatisfaction thus generated were beginning to insinuate themselves into the minds and acts of the other prisoners (whose conduct in general contrasted forciblj' and favourabh' with those from Bermuda) ; but the religious instruc- tion and admonitions of their chaplains, the good sense and forbearance of the principal warder, and the other warders in charge of them, together with the moral and literary instructions imparted in the school, soon con- vinced them that all connected loitli their management had their welfare at heart; the feelings of discontent abated, a better spirit was evoked, and they became more susceptible of moral and religious impressions, so that they are now governed by the finer feelings and by the aflections more than by Till; lUI.sH SYSTEM : ITS IIISTOllY. 153 rostraiut or ofScial coutroul ; — they labour well and cheerfully, they pay atten- tion to their school duties, and are punctual in attending morning and evening prayers and other religious obligations. I have frequently stolen unobserved under their v.indows in the mornings and evenings when they were not under the restraint of an oflicer, and was edified at their attention to their prayers and books. I might hear a coarse or vulgar expression, but nothing culpable; in this respect their conduct is far more reserved than very many among society even of a better grade." — Thii'd Keport, p. 45. To those wlio Ivuow tlie extreme difl&ciilty of the teaclier in avrakening the intellectiial powers of those in -u-hom they have been deadened and perverted from childliood, and the irksome and oven painfnl effort required in the adult to master the rudi- mente of knowledge, the following- statement from the report of the same Schoolmaster will bo most satisfactory. It will prove that the great end had been already attained, — that of inducing the prisoner to vrork with his instructor for his ov.ii improve- ment ; of enhsting his will, and bringing it into harmony with that of his superiors : — • " ^Yere they," (the prisoners) the Schoolmaster continues, " sulyected to a rigorous examination in literary subjects, their pi'ogress might apisear slow, for many of them were aged men of blunted intellect, and speaking only the Irish language; but this would be an unfair test, for most of them have acquired much useful information, though incapable of answering correctly for want of expression. Those who cannot read or write, so as to gain information from books, have been taught orally and by lecture something of life in general, aud are partially educated. It is both amusing and edifying to hear tliese old men teaching each other geography by pointing out ou the maps the several countries, under the Irish names for the different colours that mark thL-ra. Those who have learned to read, and who also speak Irish, very generally translate the subjects aud substance of their lessons into Irish for those who have failed to learn to read. There was a remarkable instance of tlie flFects of application aud perseverance in tlie case of S. C, an old stoUd man, scarcely able to utter a word of English, and not knowing the letters of the alphabet; yet such a desire had he to learn to i-ead, that he applied him- self day and night to the task, and though extremely dull and slow, in the course of a few months he could read a first and second book, aud was reading the sequel when he was discharged ; not only did ho improve himself, but he liccame the medium of improvement to a man named A — , and other aged men, Vi'ho baffled all attempts to teach them in liuglish, for he translated to them at night what he had learned during the day." — U'hird Iveport pp. -17, is. 154 orii CONVICTS As much difficulty is generally experienced in making prison instruction interesting and really beneficial to tlie prisoner, it will be useful to observe tlio method pursued, as described by the Schoolmaster in the same report. " Tlie development of tlae intellects, and tbe turning of aged and almost inflexible minds from their natural bias, must be a task of some magnitude, yet I have succeeded in rendering my instructions efficient in that way by consulting the several tastes, by analysing and explaining the simplest and most familiar subjects, and by selecting that kind of instruction most likely to be practicable and useful through life ; but above all, showing by conclusions and morals drawn from the simplest lessons in our national school books, how perverse and grossly mistaken they have been in most of their preconceived opinions,never omitting, when expedient, to place before them the beneficence of Providence, the admirable mechanism and just arrangement of all tbe works of the Creator, the necessity of regular government, tbe evils resulting from its want in savage countries, and the iniquity of violating the laws of society, thereby thwarting Providence and paining and injuring our fellow- beings. These principles I do not very often inculcate by a formal lecture, as I find, by experience, it would be attributed to interested motives, being an officer in the pay of the government, and would not have the desired effect, but I do it rather incidentally ; for in reading the lessons contained in the national school books (which we use) the explanations wai-rant and admit of such con- clusions ; they ai-e not therefore questioned, but very generally received and treasured irp in the mind. Tbe mode of teaching or conveying instructions which I generally pursue is that approved of by Dr. Whately in the preface to his ' Lessons on Pieasoning,' viz., first preparing questions and ascertaining what the prisoners knew of the given subject ; secondly, giving instructions and explanations; thirdly, examinations; and lastly, recaintulation of the instructions in a very concise form, summing up the essential principles neces- sary to be impi'essed on and retained by the mind. The time allowed for school during the day is employed in teaching the several classes spelling, reading, explanations of lessons, arithmetic, grammar, geography, Tl .SY8TE>[ : ITS UTSTOIIY. 157 influenced even ordinary and routine teacliiug, planned as it was ' with scientific skill, and witli admirable adaptation to the wants of the subjects of it : — " The education which should be imparted," he says, 3rd Eoport, pp. 7-4-5, " in order to he refurmatory in its tendency, must liave for its ohject the implanting right principles in the breasts of the convicts who come within its sphere of action. Its aim must be to engender self-respect, so as to induce shame; to teach the arts of reading, writing and arithmetic, — a knowledge of which is necessary to fill even the humblest situations in life ; to infuse a love of honest industry, to cultivate and exercise the reflective and reasoning power.?, to foster kind feelings, to instil sound principles, to uproot perverted notions of ' right' and ' wrong,' and to promote good habits. * * ♦ Eeading, writing and arithmetic, are taught accord- ing to the 'National School system,' with this difference, that the prisoners are treated with all the respect due to mature years, and at the same time all the pains and trouble necessary for infants are taken with them. The jirisoners are, in fact, overgrown infants, possessing all their foibles and little V)-hims, without that innocence and simplicity peculiar to childhood, but perfectly childish as regards the desire to be praised in order to gain coui'age to persevere. * * * I have constantly impressed on each teacher that to be efficient it was essential for him to bo at all times cheerful with the prisoners, painstaking and yielding, — yielding without losing his position or compromising his principles; that he should be always on the alert when a prisoner is exerting himself at his lesson, however ludicrous his efforts should appear ; to supjiress with a resolute disapprobation any attempt on the part of the others to laugh at, or turn into ridicule the prisoner so engaged; and above all, to be particulmly cautious himself not to set such nn example." The Chaplains of the Convict Prisons bear a testimony efjually strong- with that of the Schoolmasters to the effects on the Convicts of the S3'stem now adopted ; and thej- also in their Eeports indicate the spirit in A\hich the various instructions and ministrations are given, — a spirit of respect for the fellow man and sympathy with his human nature, while they have no fellow- ship with evil doing, or tolerance of misconduct. "NVo shall, therefore, present an extract from the Eejiort of a C'haplain of each of the three denominations, commoncing ^^•ith that of the Protestant Chaplain of tSmithfield I'rison, dated January 7lh, 18o7. Its importance will excuse its length. "Early in the \ear ISijO a change was made in the class of prisoners sent lo8 OITR CONVICTS. to this depot, and since the firHt of February last we have bad only tbose who, having reached the 'Exemplary Class' in other prisons, were considered deserving of being placed here, in a state of i^robation, previous to their being deemed eligible for tickets-of-leave. The number of my congregation was, by this change, considerably reduced ; but my duties, though rendered of a more pleasing nature, were not at all diminished, either in the time they occupied or the anxiety they involved. The great advantage to be expected from a reformatory institution, which this may now be termed, depends on the indi- vidualizing of the men; the acquiring a knowledge of the history, state of mind, past and present, of each, and of his hopes and prospects for the future, as well as the grounds on which be calculates for their realization. Possessed of such intimate knowledge of each case, the chaplain finds the data upon which to work, in a way impossible where a number must be instructed in classes; and the permission granted to men in this establishment of writing frequently to their friends, affords, by the inspection of the letters, an excel- lent clue to the state of their minds, and also gives some index as to the cir- cumstances and characters of those friends with whom, on their liberation, they ^^■ill be placed in association. " Feeling deeply the importance of this, I have always placed myself in communication with the cleigyman in whose parish tlie prisoner's friends live, and under whose ministry he will be placed on his discharge ; and I feel thankful that, in every instance, my application has met with a kind and cor- dial reception. In some cases it was recommended that employment should be sought for the man in some place other than that in which his character had been lost, and to which special circumstances rendered his return impru- dent. In others, it apj)eared that all his family had left the neighboui'hood, or were undesirable companions for a reformed man; while, in the majority of instances, kind hearts were ready to receive the returning prodigal, whose sincerity had been tested, not by the ordinary discipline of a prison, but by the peculiar system which can be carried cut only in such an establishment as now happily exists here. " Since the change of tliis prison to a reformatory institution, in February last, fifteen of my congregation have been liberated therefrom, most of them on tickets-of-leave ; several of these have been now at large for six months or upwards. I have kept up frequent correspondence with them and the neigh- bouring clergy: and in no instance has any one of tJiem been reported for any misconduct. Cf those fifteen, there is one from whom I have not heard since his liberation; but his antecedents forbid me to be in the least doubt of his good conduct. Of one other 1 have had rather discouraging private informa- tion ; but I still hope well of him. "With the remaining thirteen I have fre- quent communication ; and truly tliank'ul do I feel to hear how happily most of them are circumstanced. " I have been for 29 j-ears engaged in ministerial work in parishes in Dublin where the population were chiefly of the lower classes. For 24 years I have been chaplain to prisons in Dublin ; and, with that experience, I TTir: IRISH SYSTEM : ITS HISTORY. 159 imhe.-itatingly say tliat the men who liave been discharged from this prison, under the present system of reformatory training, are, on an average, far superior to most of the same class in life, in cultivated intelligence, moral feelings, and respect for, if not a deep sense of religion. " I see in the public papers great complaints of the result of the system of tieket-of-leave in England. I do not know whether the system of testing each one through varied stages is the same there as in Ireland, nor do I feel it to be within my province to offer an opinion on the general question ; but I stale only tlie results of facts within my own knowledge when I say that, placed as I am in contact with the convicts in the last stage of the process of restoring them to the society of their fellow-men, my experience is, that the results in Ireland are such as the most sanguine hopes of the supporters of this system could have scarcely anticipated. It is easy for one in my position to trace the effects of the system under which such happy results have been attained. A man, on conviction, is sent first to solitary confinement for six or nine months; there he learns to reflect. He then passes to a course of hard labour in a prison where he mixes with his fellows for two or more years ; there he learns order, discipline and industry, and his progress is recorded in monthly judgments, on the quality of which depends his ultimate promotion to the 'Exemplary Class.' Thus hope is awakened and becomes a stimulating principle to his mind. Should he, under the operation of those agencies, prove worthy of being in'omoted to Smitlifield Depot, his hope dawns into reality; he feels himself on the threshold of liberty, and liis best energies and feelings are called into action. Then, in this establishment, those energies are stimulated, and those feelings cultivated, by the most ample provision for religious and secular instruction, combined with constant industrial employment; and the convict, who felt himself an outcast, begins to feel himself a man again. "It appears to me to be a very important feature in this system that, as each man advances a stage in his course towards reformation, he is at each stage removed to another prison. The very fact of his being thus transferred to a new abode gives to him tl;e idea of rcalitij in progras, which no nominal promotion would make him feel while he remained in the rame i)rison. Every such removal he feels to be a real sensible stei) towards liberty; and the results are obvious. I would add one fact; you have for some time past caused Camden Eort to be appropriated to a special class, selected from Spike Island Prison, and those have been placed under a reformatory system of instruction nearly similar to that established here. Very lately a detachment of prisonei-s was brought up here from Camden Fort, and it required little experience or observation to see how far superior in mental cultivation, discipline and moral training, they were to even the best men we have hitherto received from the ordinary Government Prisons. " Such has been my experience during the past year — the first in which this system has been tried in Ireland. I su])pose it will receive the con- sideration of those more fitted to judge of it than I nm. One improvement 160 OUll CONVICTS. would certainly be most desirable — a facility for the eniigration to some other land of those who liave no homes, or friends willing to receive them here. Such men, however refornaed, are obviously placed in circumstances of great disadvantage in seeking employment at home. Wanting employment, they are exposed to great temi)tation; and I am sure that, if they could reach another country, most of them would, there take that place in the scale of society which advei'se circumstances, rather than any moral incapacity, renders it difficult for them to attain in this counti-y. " I have the honour to be. Gentlemen, "Your obedient servant, '• ThojIas H. Shoke." Mr. Shore's opinion has remained unaltered by lengthened experience. After six 3-ears he thus write'', May 4, 1863 : — " In every annual Report I have endeavoured to give my vie"ws, based on progressive experience, of the worhing of the Convict system hero ; so that those Eeports, read consecutively, give a full exposition of all my experience. •"■' -•' ••' To the 8th Report I would especially refer you, which explains and illustrates, as far as I could do it, the happy effects of this system, with every phase of which I have been so intimately conversant since its first establishment." After referring to particular Reports, he continues : — •' To those views I still adheie, as avoU as to those quoted in ' Observations on the Treatment of Convicts in Ireland,' by Mr. Wheatley E.u:,iiie, and three other Visiting Justices, who did me the honour to consult me on several points; so that I most nnqualifiedly endorse all the views put forth in that book." We next have the Roman Catholic Cliaplain's Report, and then that of the Presbyterian Chaplain : — " Gentlejiek, — ■\Yith your request to state my opinion concerning the Sniithfield Prison during the last year I willingly comjjly. "Though it is not my custom to' ja'aise, I must in justice sny that the men committed to my care during the year 1850, called 'exemplary,' were so in reality. Tor the short period they remained with me, in confinement> their conduct was marked by strict regularity, they attended their religious duties, and exhibited towards each other kindness and charity worthy of imitation. Nearly all, as soon as Ihcy obtain liberty, knowing the sad effects of intemperance, spontaneously take the pledge against all intoxi- cating liqitors, and I am delighted to learn from various sources have observed it faithfully, and have proved tliemselves industrious and good members of societv. THE IRISH SYSTEM : ITS HISTORY. 161 " In conclusion, I beg to state that the Superintendent, ^Ir. Good, and the other officers of the prison, deserve my thanks for their kindness to me, and the anxietj' they have manifested to procure anything required for the spiritual wants of the prisoners. " I remain. Gentlemen, your obedient servant, " Thomas Nolan, Eoman Catholic Chaplain." " Gentlejien, — My duties as Presbyterian Chaplain to the Smithfield Government Prison, during the year 1856, have been similar to those of the previous one; the usual Sabbath series have been conducted in the prison chapel every Lord's Day ; regular weekly visits have been paid to the prisoners ; and in my public ministrations, as well as in my private interviews with the men under my care, I have endeavoured to impress upon theii" minds those instructions which appeared to me most conducive to their temporal and spiritual well-being. As a matter of duty, I take this opportunity of publicly acknowledging my personal obligation to the Governor, to jMr. Br.u)field, and to every subordinate officer in the prison ; having been received by them, on all occasions, in a manner both gentle- manly and courteous. I also consider it my duty further to state that the prison officers of every rank have cheerfully endeavoured to facilitate my effijrts in seeking to promote the moral improvement of the men for whose reformation 1 am chiefly interested. " It is exceedingly gratifying to me to be able to report the decided change for the better which the arrangements recently made in this establishment have produced upon the prisoners generally. The air of heartless apathy and careless indifference, which, generally speaking, was manifested by the men in my public and private interviews with them on former occasions, and which were often to me a source of regret and discouragement, are now, I am happy to say, exchanged for feelings of cheerfulness and hope, and an air of self-dependence and self-respect, the all but certain guarantees of a promising future. " The employing of the prisoners in acquiring some useful trade appears to be an arrangement exceedingly beneficial ; as by this means, not only is the expenditure of the service materially liquidated, but I am able to testify that, under the faithful training of the difierent superintendents, many of the men have acquired, or are acquiring, industrious habits and useful avocations, which, if persevered in, will, it is to be hoped, prevent temptation to crime, and afford them the means of earning an honest and a competent livelihood in after life. " Of those under my care whose exemplary conduct justified the Govern- ment in mitigating their term of punishment under the ticket-of-leave system, I am not aware of a single instance in which good faitli lias been violated. On the contrary, I am gratified to learn occasionally, by letters from the north of Ireland, whither some of them have gone, that such parties continue to mani- fest the same excellent deportment which marked their conduct while in prison, and which justified the authorities in the act of clemency referred to. M 1G2 OUK COXVICTS. '■ In conclusion I liave only to add Unit the present arrangements in Smith- field Government Trison appear eminently calculated, under tlie Divine bless- ing, to secure the object intended; and did the public at large, instead of looking with suspicion upon the liberated prisoner, endeavour to second the eflforts of Government in promoting his reformation, I am convinced there •would be few cases indeed in which it could be said that labour and strength had been spent in vain and for nought. " I am. Gentlemen, yours very respectfully, " James Edgab, Presbyterian Chaplain." The folloTring are a few among tlie many letters wliich have been received respecting discharged Convicts by the supei'in- tendents and other officers of Smithfield Depot. They show, not only the satisfactory condition of the Convicts who ai-e now maintaining themselves honestly, but the warm interest still taken in them by those who had before the custody of them. " T , February Q2nd, 1857. " Sir, — I am glad to inform you that Mr. B and his family are doing well. He is in the employment of Mr. S . He is living soberly, quietly and honestlj', and treating his family affectionately. I have seen him ot K on the 3rd ult., and have heard dii'eetly from him on the 19th inst. " Yours faithfully, " M. K." "N , Jan. 27111, 1857. " Sm, — From your laudable anxiety about B. Q., you will be glad to hear that he is going on well. He is iu the employment of a respectable fai-mer near B , where he attends his religious duties with punctuality; indeed even before his conviction I never discovered more than the one crime in him, and I believe hunger was the cause ; for he applied to his old, bad father for the means of taking him to America, but was refused, though he could give it. " Faithfully yoiu's, "J. B." " L , 2or(l January, 1857. " Dear Sir, — I received your letter and hasten to reply. The young man mentioned in your letter is at iireseut living with his father, and he purposes commencing the coopering trade towards spring ; and as regards his character it is unimpeachable, and is strictly honest in the smallest matter. " Yours very truly, " E. K." " C , lith Novcmlcr, 1850. " Sir, — "NY. McE., who is still in my service, has requested mo to write to you. His brother J. left this for Canada early in May last : and in a few days THE lUISII SYSTE>r: ITS HISTORY. 163 after he arrived at Montreal, where my sister has been residing for some years, he was employed by a gentleman in the immediate vicinity of the town, and he has continued in his service since that time. He has written two letters to his brothers, giving a favourable account of the country, and stating that he is quite well and happy. From the time that he arrived here from Dublin till he left Ireland, he was in my employment, and he conducted himself -nith the strictest propriety. " Yours faithfully, " J. H." " My Dear Sie, — The five men you sent me from the Smithfleld Refoi'matory some months ago, are most willing and industrious poor fellows. You said you would send a few more hard-working fellows; if they are such you describe, the sooner you send them the better. " On no account send me any man who is not well-conducted and willing. " I am, my dear Sii', yours faithfully, "J. M'D." In tlie Foiu'th Report the Directors speak with satisfaction of the continiianco of improvement in the prisons, notwithstanding the difficulties which have been occasioned by the extremely violent and ungovernable spirit of many of the Convicts, which made the work they desired to accomplish one of peculiar diffi- culty. In the former Eeport, Ports Camden and Carlisle, at Cork, and Smithfield, in Dubhn, were spoken of as Intermediate Prisons. In the present one we first hear of Lusk : — '* We have the satisfaction," they say, p. 11, " of reporting, that during the past year wo have found the results of the special treatment of Convicts in Intermediate Prisons, on a system explained in our two former Reports, to have quite equalled our expectations. The conduct of the j)risoners, both imdor detention and after liberation, confirms tliis statement. "We believe that it would bo difficult to find any body of men who would behave themselves more submissively to the rules, or give their labour more freely to the public service, than we have found to be the case with the Convicts, who, since the commencement of this system, liave boon placed in the Intermediate Prisons. "In April last wo located as many Convicts as were at our disposal for the purpose (60), in two iron huts, on Lusk 164 OUR COXVICTS. Common. They wero at first employed in levelling the portion of the common on which the huts stand, and forming it into a parade ground and vegetable garden. When this T^as finished, they were employed in draining the commons, and at spade labour in the fields ; the former work, about which they will yet be occupied some time, is excessively heavy, and the Super- intendent of Drainage reports most favourably of the willing labour of the prisoners." Of the disposal of the Convicts after discharge, they thus speak : — " When the will to emigrate, and, in most cases, to join their friends, is accompanied by the power afforded through their extra industry, it is not surprising to fi.nd that a large and an increasing number have left and are leaving the country, the limited amount of their means alone being the impediment. '■'' Altliough we cannot too Idghly prhe, as an imj^ortayit element of reformation, the vohmtary emigration of the icell-disposed criminals when free, to lands ivhere lahotir is scarce, or advocate too strongly its beneficial effects, we are aware that a large number will still remain in their own country, with equal intention of well doing. The experience afforded by two years of many prisoners on license in this city, and of the whole number at present under supervision, induce the most satisfactory conclusions. The fact of employers of high respectability, after long experience, retaining those men in their situations, and still offering work to others of the same class, is the strongest, and perhaps the most satisfactory testimony we can adduce in favour of the system. Many prisoners, sentenced to penal ser-\dtude, and discharged from Smithfield, liave, by means of their gratuity, bound themselves to tradesmen to be made more perfect in their calling. Although these men are free, a system of \'isitation, volvm.tarily submitted to by them, has been kept up, which has been found to be productive of good." The conclusions to which the Directors have now arrived, are thus stated at the end of their Eeport : — THE IRISH SYSTEM : ITS HISTORY. 1 65 "In conclusion, vre believe the prison system now piu'sued in the Convict Department in this country to be as opposed to any encouragement of the e\'il-doer, as it is favoui'able to the assistance of the criminal who has suffered a sufficient penalty for his offence, and who desu'es henceforward to live on the proceeds of his own industry, instead of on that of the com- munity. He needs but the means so to do, and these are acquired through the extra industry, and by the sweat of the brow, of the offender. " The objection to the system of its offering a premium to crime, if ever made, can have no place here. The early stages of discipline are sufficient to convince an inquii'er that the objection would be quite invalid. The dietary, from the com- mencement to the termination of the sentence, is the lowest the Medical Officers will permit. The enforced order, cleanliness and regularity, however impressive of an air of comfort to the casual observer, is, be it remembered, most repugnant to the previous hahits of the criminal, and most thoroughly opposed to his ideas of enjoyment. We have stated that about seventy-five per cent, pass through the Intermediate Prisons ; twenty-five per cent, are at present discharged directly from the ordinary prisons — misconduct and offences having precluded their removal. It is satisfactory, however, to us to be able to observe that this per centage of prisoners cannot be deemed incorrigible. We have many reasons for knowing that after their discharge, when too late, many of these have seen their error, and have endeavoured, though often in vain, to regain the path of honest livelihood. They have left the prison under the ban of misconduct; they have neglected their opportunities, and have joined the world without means to exist, or to obtain employment. "These may be called an unimpressible class, which will decrease in number as light advances into the prisons, and as the prisoner's futm*e career becomes an object of anxiety to him. "A portion, however, of the twenty-five per cent, may fairly 166 OUR COXVICTS. be called ineorrig-ible. Wbetlier in prison, or at large, their object is the same ; tlioy pui-sue an unmistalcable line of conduct, which must be dealt with strictly and vigorously. The public mind is shocked, from time to time, by the commission of some outrageous crime. If a capital sentence is not carried out, the offenders are, for the most part, to be foimd in the Convict Prisons, and it will require but little argument to prove, that as with the impressible, so tvith the incorrigihlc, S2)ecial treatment must le used. We are of opinion that they should, whilst in prison, be employed, as far as possible, at such labom- as will not give them the means of injiu-ing their fellow-prisoners and officers. They should be placed imder the special and continual watching of their Chaplain. It may be that the supposed incorrigible may become, and prove himself to be, con-igible. If not, he should be retained to the last hour of his sentence, and -^^hen discharged should be placed under such observation as will protect the public from his outrages." Appended to this Eeport are memoranda by the chau-man respecting the Intermediate Convict Prisons. These enter into very minute details respecting their management and results; space forbids ouj.- inserting here more than an extract from a communication to the Government, dated November, 1855, wliich shows what a unity of design and what a steadiness of principle characterised the Irish Convict Prisons, from theii' very commencement. " The reformability of the generality of criminals has been admitted, after a laborious iuvestigatiou by a Select Committee of the House of Commons in 1850, and their opinion has been corroborated by facts and figures in abund- ance. The ackuoTvledged object of all prison treatment being so to direct its deterrent and reformatory course as shall best conduce to the required results, viz., the diminution of crime, it is considered that this result is obtained by a judicious combination of penal and of reformatory treatment. The present system commencing with the deterrent, is followed by a course of penal, and of refonuatory discipline. The success of this system it is proposed to test, previous to the release of any prisoner, by the institution of a third stage, in which the reformatoi-y element shall preponderate, as does the deterrent ele- ment in the first stage. This course, it is maintained, will protect the com- THE lEISir SYSTEM : ITS HISTORY. 1G7 muuity. It will also tcud to the prcaciit as well as to the fiitare improvcincut of its guilty raembcrs. " The great difficulty with which discharged prisoners have to contend, is ' the want of employment ;' and so long as this difficulty exists, so long will the criminal jiopulation, reformed and unreformed, remain a distinct portion of the community ; and so long will their absorption be a matter of impossibility. It is obviously, therefore, a primary object to endeavour to remove this obstruction, by considering its cause, and by proposing its remedy. "We ha\e been asking the community to receive, and to employ tlie reformed portion of our discharged criminals; the guarantee for such reformation being, that their character in prison has been exemplary. But the community do not consider that a character obtained under an absence from the temptations to which prisoners would be exposed in the world, a fail' test of reformation. They therefore decline accepting this evidence ; and refusing to employ such crimi- uals, thus reject the really reformed, who are included in tlie category as untested. " The proposed stage of reformatory treatment places a prisoner where he can be assailed by temptations, and where the public will have an opportunity of judging of his reformation, of his industrious habits, and of his general fitness for employment. I firmly believe that it needs but satisfactory evidence of this fact to bring together the emi^loyer and those meriting and seeking employment. I firmly believe that this probationary stage, acting as a filterer between the prisons and the public, may be made the means of distinguisliing Mie reformed convicts from the unreformed, before and after leaving their several places of confinement ; and I believe the separation, operating as an important channel for amendment and prevention, will exercise an inliuence over the criminal population, the value of which cannot be too highly appreciated." Tlie following memorandum will not be "\^dtllout value : — " Memokandum. " Dublin Castle, 1st January, 1857. " Eegistration and Supeetision of Coxvicts on Ticket of License. " His Excellency the Lord Lieutenant being desirous of accurately testing the practical working of the Ticket of License System, by a well-organized system of registration of licensed convicts, whereby they may be bi'ought under special supervision, and a check be laid upon the evil disposed, has been pleased to sanction the following regulations, whicli are, therefore, circulated for the information and guidance of the constabulary. " 1. When an ofier of employment for a prisoner is accepted, a notification thereof will be made by the Directors of Government Prisons to the Inspector- General of Constabulary, by whom it will be transmitted to the constabulary of the locaUty in which the employment is to be given, with all necessary pai-- ticulars for the purpose of being entered in a register at the Constabulary Station. " 2. Each convict so to bo employed will report Ijimsclf at the appointed 168 OUR CONVICTS. Constabulary Station (the name of wLich will be given to him) on his arrival in the district, and, subsequently, on the 1st of each month. " y. A special report is to be made to Head Quarters by the constabulary whenever they shall observe a convict on license guilty of misconduct or lead- ing an irregular life. " 4. A convict is not to change his locality without notifying the circum- stances at the Constabulary Station, in order that his registration may be transferred to the x)lace to which he is about to proceed. On his arrival he must report himself to the nearest Constabulary Station (of the name of which he is to be informed), and such transfer is to be reported to Head Quarters for the information of the Directors of Government Prisons, " 6. An infringement of these rules by the convict will cause it to be assumed that he is leading an idle irregular life, and therefore entail the revocation of his license. " 6. Further regulations may hereafter be added to the foregoing should they become necessary. "It will be obvious that as the employer is in every case made acquainted with the antecedents of the prisoner he wishes to engage, any inquiries that may afterwards be discreetly made, as to character, conduct, &c., cannot in any way affect the prospects of the convict. The managers of the refuges for female prisoners favourably account for ninety-six out of ninety-seven female convicts up to the 3Ist of August, 1857 (the license of one has been revoked). It appears that on the whole number of 559 convicts on license up to the 30th September, 1857, seventeen licenses have been revoked. It will be observed also that in addition to the stringent observation exercised over forty-two men who are, many of them, exposed to the temptations of the city of Dublin, thei'e is also the very efficient and general supervision of the constabulary. Yet the results, though slight irregularities are always noted, and the terms of the license most strictly enforced,* prove the revocation of rather more than three per cent." In the Fifth Eej)ort of the Directors, — that for 1858, — they are able to speak from the experience of two years of the system they had adopted of Intermediate Prisons and supervision after discharge. They thus speak, p. 10 : — "The 'ticket of license' is not now considered to be a mere indiscriminate discharge after short periods of imprisonment, with a character earned in an artificial state ; but a system which protects the pubhc, in employing a convict who is obliged to * As corroboration of tlie practice pui-sued, I may add that two of these revocations of license have been on account of irregiUarity in reporting themselves ; three for keeping bad company ; one for losing his employment through drinlc ; one for fighting and brawling in the streets ; one for defrauding tha railway company by travelling without taking a ticket. THE IRISH SYSTEM: ITS HISTORY. 169 register, and one nnder wliicli, as carried out in this country, it is scarcely possible that a holder of a ' ticket of license' can per- sist in a course of crime, and remain at large. The public are acquainted with this, appreciate it, and hence their confidence. We stated that we had a further view than the mere amelioration of the system of issuing * tickets of license ;' we considered that the training of Convicts in intermediate establishments would equally work for good towards the termination of penal servitude sentences, under the Act of 1853. We had good grounds for this statement, because the priaciples on which the system was based tended in the first place to improve the criminal, and then to test his improvement, and thus generate the confidence of the public. We have had nearly two years' experience of Convicts so sen- tenced, and who had not the prospects of early liberty to induce an artificial or hypocritical coiu-se of conduct. We are glad to have had experience to test in different phases the real worth of the system. It has proved of inestimable value to this class of prisoners, and no greater or better proof can be given than the fact that for upwards of two years they have been employed without guards in detached localities on public works, the few warders with them directing their operations, and themselves working and contributing to their support. We state, without the slightest reservation, that the conduct of these Convicts has been most unexceptionable, and quite equal to that of any body of labourers employed for similar purposes. Many of these prisoners have been upwards of a year in the intermediate stage. It woidd be very difiicult to exceed the amoimt of voluntary industry given hj the Convicts : much has been expected fi'om them, and much has been accorded by them. These establish- ments are not places either of indolence or of indulgence. The dietary has been fixed with the conciu'rence of the medical oflicer, as only sufficient for the proper performance of the work re- quii-ed to be done ; that it is not excessive, is evinced by the fact of many prisoners expending their gratuity to purchase bread to add to their allowance. Thi-oughout the whole of their prison 170 OTTE COXTICTS. treatment, the circumstance of their being criminals has not for one moment been lost sight of ; no better testimony can be pro- duced than the fact that so feio return to the 2^1'isons. * *' * We are enabled to state, that we have no cause of complaint whatever, and that the conduct of the prisoners in association has been of the most orderly and quiet description, and of such a nature as both to recommend them for employment, and to do the highest credit to their prison discipline, as well as to their special training. It is not to be supposed that the Convicts so located have been merely casual offenders, or so selected as to give little room to anticipate anything but amenability to the rides. The exce^Jtions are the casual offenders ; nearly the whole of the Convicts have been of the class called ' habitual offenders ;' they have been trained to crime, and have followed it as their vocation. Many have passed through these establishments whose early prison conduct has been of the most reckless and desperate description, but who have subsequently changed their course, and by the attainment of a certain number of marks, representing the value of their industry and conduct, have become entitled to enter the Intermediate Prisons." In this Eeport the Du-ectors also enter fully into the subject of the treatment of female Convicts, "to whose reformation," they say, " we attribute more importance even than to the males." The consideration of this subject is reserved for a special chapter. The reports of all the officers show so much comprehension of the principles of the system, intelligence, zeal, and hearty cooperation, that it is difficult to make a selection from them. The following passages indicate not only the great difficidtic-i vnth. which they had at fii'st to contend, but the manner in which these were siu-mounted. Mr. McGrAUii.VN, the head Schoolmaster of Moimtjoy Prison, thus speaks : — " Two years ago uo prisoner, as a general rule, to which there was scarcely an exception, would venture to report another, no matter how much he detested THE IRISH SYSTEM : ITS HISTKOY. 171 his actious ; it would be as much as his life was worth to do so. Since then the custom has become more and more general, the feeling gradually dill'using itself amongst the juvenile prisoners. The adults are not detained sufficicntlj' long in this prison to pi-ofit so much by our system of teaching and training. " I found at that time the workshops no better than demoralizing schools ; every sort of moral filth and corruption thriving ajiace ; slips of paper, written upon, which I found here and there, proved conclusively that their authors were steeped in the lowest depths of pollution ; it utterly beggars description. The hoarse hollow laugh, so frequently elicited, told me but too true, that the conversation indulged in was quite in keeping with the horrible expressions written uiion the slips of paper v.hich I had met with. To mj' mortification I had to endure this state of things for some time, because I could not discover an effective remedy. Never did I feel myself in so great a dilemma. I was fully alive to the danger of using one imguarded word to the juveniles about the heap of moral nuisance I saw daily accumulating. A general could not use more diligence and assiduity, though he might use a higher order of intel- lect in organizing his plans, or use more of his caution in the carrying out of his operations, than I did in mine. It would take up too much of my report to go into the particulars of this moral siege. * * * To produce the results it is my pleasure now to report, cost me many a sleepless night, and anxious day of toil, but I have been well repaid in witnessing the good effects of my labours, which, had they not the hearty cooperation I was afforded by the local authorities, would have pi-oved utterly inadequate. * * * " In a schoolmaster's yearly report it is expected that the piisoners' progress should be shown by means of facts and figures. I have given some of the leading facts, but, before I introduce any figures, I beg to make an observa- tion which may not be quite unnecossarj' to some readers. Figures cannot be used to measure the i^rogress of prisoners in their inward change of character. In an institution of this nature, where all are corrupt, and where reformation is the chief aim, and where everything is made subservient to this great end, the schoolmaster's attention is taken up with more than the teaching of the mere arts, which, taken together, form but the groundwork of education — I mean reading, writing and arithmetic, &e. These important branches are far from being neglected ; they arc taught upon the most improved principles, and in the most skilful manner, as is admitted by able visitors to the school; but the great object is to reform ; these are merely part of the means employed ; these are the only ones in my department that can be measured by figures. Conversational lectures of an argumentative nature are frequently employed, at which discussion is freely allowed, Avheu the prisoner is upon an equal footing with the teacher, as far as open discussion goes, and only under restraint when a forgetfulness of the bounds of proper order and decorum is exhibited by him. All our lectures are not argumentative, but any lecture or lesson may become so, when an objection is raised, or when a fact is ques- tioned by a prisoner ; a privilege which is never suspended beyond the time which good taste and good sense requires— that is, until the teacher is in 172 OUB CONVICTS. readiness to answer it. I need scarcely remark that such lectures or lessons, whichever people fancy to term thom, afford considerable scope for the teacher's skill and tact, besides furnishing admirable exercises for the mental culture of the prisoners. " An energy of manner in teaching is just as essential as a vigour of expres- sion, to produce a deep lasting impression upon the minds of "prisoners ; the vigour of expression brings a truth home with convincing force, while the energy of manner, being reflected back, through sympathy, by the hearers, absorbs their attention, sharpens their perceptive powers, and invigorates their judgment. People of intelligence and education are able, without much effort, to bear up against the drowsy influence of an unenergetic but instruc- tive discourse, because the desire to get knowledge, with which they are possessed, creates an effect opposed in its tendency to that exercised, through sympathy, by the unenergy of manner in the speaker. Besides, such minds, from being often actively employed, have acquired a degree of buoyancy which renders them less likely to sink under the pressure of external influences, and, from being used to exercise, are less likely to be jaded by a tiresome disquisition. An audience of respectable people anxious to be instructed, and an audience of i^risoners panting for liberty, and not caring for any thing else, is not a distinction without a difference; means found sufficiently effective in one case, will prove iitteidy impotent in the other. Hence, I lay great stress upon an energetic manner of deliverj^ as well as the employment of vigorous, sledging expressions iu an instructor of prisoners. " This sort of instruction may be termed our under-ground operations. Our sapping and mining work cannot be seen on examination by a school insjiector. Eeformation is the ultimate object of all teaching, training and discipline. Education would have no place in a prison, were it not that it is considered a means of attaining that great end ; and that particular part of _education which is calculated to further this object I aim at, and labour to diffuse. Hence, instead of being the mere schoolmaster, I endeavour to be a refor- matoiy agent. If my object were to show great progress in reading, writing and ai'ithmetic, &c., I could easily do it, by aiming at nothing else, but then I should neglect the principal part of the siege — the sapjnng and mining operations." The head Sclioolmaster at Spike Island, and Forts Carlisle and Camden, Mr. Haeold, appears to have had at first still greater difficulties in these associated prisons. He thus com- mences his Report : — "FoET Cablisle, January 1st, 1850. " Gentlemen, — I will preface this Eeport by a short narrative, for the purpose of exhibiting the striking contrast between Spike Island Prison now, and on the 31st of December, 1855. " On the 10th of August, 1855, I first came to Spike Island Prison, and THE IRISH SYSTEJr ; ITS HISTORY. 173 having presented to the Governor my letter of appointment, I was conducted by a warder to the school, and placed in charge of it. About a dozen juveniles were in attendance, under the tuition and keeping of two school- masters and a warder. The schoolmasters and warder were pacing the floor, the boys were seated at desks, with a spelling book in the hand of each, evidently indifferent about learning, and prepared to give the most unqualified impudence to any one who would dare to urge them to their lessons. I was bewildered by this little scene, for, though comprised in a very limited space, it called into my mind reflections that were not the happiest. After the lapse of a few hours the Local Inspector and Governor informed me that the school was to be remodelled, and that all ages and classes should attend and receive instructions in the school for four hours weekly at least ; they also explained to me that an-angements were in progress for dividing all the prisoners into eleven school parties, two of which were intended to be sent alternately to school (one in the forenoon and the other in the afternoon) on each of five working days, and the remaining, or eleventh party, was to attend on the forenoon of Saturday. Each section numbered over one hundred. Captain R. Knight, then a distinguished member of your Board, visited the prison, and pending the general school arrangements, he ordered me to Mountjoy Prison, in order that, previous to entering on active duty, I might obtain some information on convict management, and the mode adopted there of imparting instruction to adults. After having spent a week in Mount- joy, and paid special attention to the system established, I returned in very depressed spirits; having there witnessed the vitiated dispositions of the juveniles — exhibited on one or two occasions — which confirmed the opinion I had pre\'iously formed, that my life would be miserable in endeavouring to educate men of such a caste. On the 3rd of September subsequently, preparations being made, over one hundred of all ages and classes were ordered to the school, the eSicicnt chief warden, Mr. Sporle, and I addressed the prisoners assembled in the 'square' on the advantages they would derive from attending to instructions, but to ' all this' they were morbibly insensible. An incident in the first day's proceedings is not unworthy of notice. An assistant schoolmaster distributed books to the several classes, and, by my order, kept an account of the number delivered, but when the tolling of the bell announced a call for dinner, a first book of lessons was missing. I reported the circumstance to the chief warder; every prisoner was stripped to his shirt and searched, and yet the book was not found ; this scene of sti'ipping and searching a large number of men, and the apprehension that such would be of frequent occurrence, so disheartened and disgusted me, that I feared my gloomy forebodings would be more than realised. After this occurrence, I had an interview with the chief warder, and we resolved never again to have recourse to a similar search, unless we were satisfied beyond doubt that no mistake could be made in the reckoning of the books. This instance of strict discipline was not without its telling cifccts, as it showed that nothing coiild bo abstracted from the school without subjecting 174 OUR CONVICTS. the whole party present to a trying ordeal, wliich contributed to preserve the school property in the after times. During my first five mouths in the convict service, I was so overworked in arranging, classifying, teaching, jirying into character, keeping hooks of accounts, and withal so anxious for the success of my undertaldug, that little more would have caii-ied me off the stage of existence. In the Spike, Carlisle and Camden Prisons, there were then 1,435 of all ages, and with this great number the work of education and reformation was a serious undertaking. In my former reports I detailed the system established, the rules laid down, the exertions made, the difficulties encountered for the promotion of the slow but steady progress of these mis- guided people. I also di'ew some real pictures of them in the different stages of their servitude, and showed clearly the salutaiy effects of Carlisle and Camden as Intermediate Prisons. " On the 31st of December, 1855, there were 1,435 convicts in Spike and the two Forts, whose conduct, appearance and bearing, were more forbidding than I have described ; but the number in these prisons on the 31st of December, 1858, is only 5G5, and their conduct, with few exceptions, improved beyond the most sanguine expectations ; so that notwithstanding my original misgivings, I am now proud of being the very humblest of the instruments employed in this great moral reformation. Let it be granted, by way cf ai'gument, that the discharged convicts have not been reformed, as a con- sequence they must have come back to Spike, then our prisons would still be as full as they were in 1855 ; but they are less by 870, therefore they have not come back, and we may justly and safely infer that they have been amal- gamated with, and have become good members of society. Should this reformation continue successful, both in prison and out of it, Ireland will soon be as free from crime as history represents her to be in the days of Bryan Boroijihe — A single gaol, In Bryan's reigu, Did all the criminals contain. " The moral reformation that has been effected in these prisons during the last three years is decidedly attributable to your system of management, and particularly to your strictness in the following cases : — " The attention you have paid to the selection, training, and imiu'ovement of your officers, who are, with few exceptions, a superior class of men, most of them well-educated, all of them fairly so; most of them believing in the ' moral force' principle — for, if not, and therefore acting contrary to their convictions, their zeal would be only apjDarent, and consequently unsuccessful most of them sensible of the importance of their charge, conversant with the exact nature of their duties, impressed with the necessity of showing good example, patient and persevering in their efforts to lead those intrusted to their cai'e to the path which turns away from evil and leads to good. When wilful and perverse violations of the laws and rules of the prison deserve and require punishment, it is inflicted calmly-, disjiassionately and judiciously, by your order, or by the order of the Local Inspector or Governor, and not by THE IlITSTI SYSTEM : ITS HISTullY. 175 tbe warders at their own tliscretiou, as was the case formerly, iu too many instances. There is something peculiar in the Irish character, capable of being changed from evil to good by kindness, which could never be accom- plished by harshness. There is something also iu the very mode of uttering or conveying a rebuke or command that touches the heart and begets feelings for or against authority. During my long experience in public institutions, I have observed that kindness and clemency invariably succeed iu bettering the conduct and condition of the inmates of those institutions. Severity may, through fear, curb for a time the fierce passions of the irritated, and thereby spare the authorities trouble ; but those suppressed passions ultimately explode like an ignited powder-mine, the eruption being the greater in the ratio of the pressure. The total absence of religloun bias in the administration of the prison laics and rules, both as rer/ards officers and prisoners, and their promotions, has not failed to secure that respect and obedience ichich seldom attends partiality, especially in Ireland, where the people are very sensitive in religious matters. An instance of this came under my notice in the beginning of the year 1856, on interrogating a number of convicts who had returned from Bermuda. Though they attended school there, they made no improvement; this they regretted, and appeared sensible of their folly, but urged as a cause that the schoolmaster was a proselyte, and that they feared to leani anything from him ; which is a proof that unless the prisoner entertains some respect for the officer placed over him, his teachings will be ineffectual. I do not hear any objections raised by any of the parties that have since aiTived ; and those who have lately returned arc much improved since the new arrangements there became proi^erly developed. The punishment of dismissal invariably inflicted on auj' of j'our officers who were so unfortunate as to indulge in spirituous liquors is an admirable corrective; for if the rule in this case were less exemplary, and if in the wards or schools, or on the works, any officer, be he schoolmaster, warder, or other functionary, should so far forget his duty as to have even the scent of liquor upon his person, he thereby contributes to undermine the foundation laid for progressive improvement, and renders null and void all exhortations and lectures against intoxication, that fruitful source of crime. " Tlie utility of requiring the men iu the Intermediate Prisons to keep and make up weekly accounts of the respective amounts of their gratuities, cannot be overrated, and the good eflect it produces on their minds, shows at once the wisdom of the conceptions of him who originated the idea; without due con- sideration, this may appear insignificant, but liy a little refiection and obser- vation, one is convinced of its importance and iniUieiice in exciting in the prisoners a desire for the possession of more money. Tliat it stimulates to provident and economical habits I feel assured, from the many instances that have come under my own observation of men who had previously laid out their throe pence weekly on tobacco, now leaving it in reserve to increase the small sums that will be coming to them on discharge, when they may be able to convert it to some good use for their future sujjport. They are maldng calcu- 176 oi^R coirvicrrs, lations daily ; the young to know if they would have as much as would take them to America or the Colonies ; the more aged speculating on some indus- trial pursuit in which to invest their slender reserves when they get home. Here let me ohserve that some of those formerly set no value on their gratui- ties ; but now, if through mistake any of the warders are short one penny in his calculations, the prisoner at once reminds him of it and has it rectified. Thus, by telling them frequently the amounts of their gratuities, they are reminded that they have so much money, and it naturally begets a desire to have more, which is evident from their eagerness to add to whatever they have to their credit already. " In Fort Camden I have frequently stood with each of the warders for the space of an hour watching the men at their work, and I never heard him speak to any of them to urge them to work better : nor was there the slightest necessity, for they worked with a uniform steadiness and diligence worthy of approbation, more like men of the world working for their employers than prisoners influenced by the fear of punishment. The furtive glance which the prisoner in the earlier stages of his confinement casts at his officer, to know if he is watching him, is abandoned here, and he is led to believe that a certain amount of confidence is reposed in him, which stimulates him to industry. This training gradually leads to trustworthiness and integrity, •which will be of the utmost importance to the prisoners when they are cast upon the world again. " An intimate acquaintance with the habits, feelings, failings, and even the virtues of a large number of congregated conA-icts, enabled me to make some suggestions in my former reports on subjects to which I need not now advert, as they have been all ably discussed by your chairman in his ' Memoranda,' and other papers ; neither will I enumerate the lectures and instructions each and every day delivered and imparted by myself and my assistants through the year, as such a course would be ostentatious ; they are all recorded in the 'Daily Report Book,' which, with the Register and other books, may be con- suited by those who are interested in the reformatorj' movement: they form part of the annals of the prison, will remain in its archives, and a succeeding generation may not think them unworthy of a glance. It is now an aphorism that systems of improvement look well on paper, whilst practical results are not commensurate with the display. But the inogress of reformation in the Convict Prisons has exceeded all and every one of the written and 2'>ubUshed anticipations. " More than three-fourths of the Camden prisoners have been transferred to Smithfield and Lusk during the year; with every party a school classification sheet was forwarded, together with their copy-books. Amongst them there were many educated men, but the following — W. H., J. M'G., and J. B. — I mention v.'iih. pride and pleasure, on account of their extensive acquirements, good sense, and unexceptionable conduct. The following extract from a letter to me of the last-mentioned will show his high sense of propriety and the purity of his intentions : — TITE IKTSTt SYSTEM : ITS TIISTORY. 1'77 \ " ' Dublin- Citv, December 20, lSo9. " ' T>E\v. Sir, — I was discharged oa yesterdaj- morning with five pouuds, and am now waiting for to-morrow, when, with God's blessing, I shall start for Liverpool; when I get there I shall wait for the first opportunity of sailing for Kew Orleans, of which I have heard a very good account, and where, I have no doubt, with the assistance of God, and the lielp of these testimonials, I shall get good emjiloynient. I am extremely thankful, sir, for your verj' generous solicitude for my welfare, as also to those reverend gentlemen who liave been so kind as to give me a starting point again to work by ; and I now solemnly promise, in the face of Heaven, that sooner than betray the great confidence which you placed in me, I shall die from whatever cause it may please God to send me. " * M. Haeold, &c.' " J. B. " I have closely observed the attention paid to their rehgious duties by the men in Carlisle and Camden, and I have only to say that the fervency of many of them often caused me to blush for my own remissness. I will close this part of the subject by repeating an extract from my last report. If a Christian element is not infused into, and mixed up with educp.tion, feeble indeed will be the good influences of other teachings; this is the province of the several chaplains who have all laboured incessantly to promote it; consequently those who are truly influenced by religious motives are not few, and their examples and advices to their fellow-prisoners are most salutary. As the Christian Sabbath is specially dedicated to God, any lectures or instructions I could impart to all, would not be well adapted to the sacred solemnity of the day; I therefore assembled the Eoman Catholics, who are 90 per cent, of the whole, and read for them some chapters in pious books with which we are supplied, and which explain in the simplest and most eflective manner their duties to God, to themselves, and to their neighbours, with the awful conse- quences of neglecting them." After speaking of tlie zeal and diligence of the officers, warders, and Schoolmasters, Mr. Harold thus concludes : — " To yon, gentlemen, I feel grateful for your kind indulgence and other favours; I also thank the Local Inspector, Governor, Chief Warder, and Chaplains of every persuasion, for their kind attention. " I am, gentlemen, your most obedient humble servant, " MicHAET, Harold, Head Schoolmaster. " To the Chairman and Directors of Government I'risons, Dublin Castle." Mr. Eyan, one of the Assistant Schoolmastors, mako". ni hi'^ Report the following judicious remarks : — "Having before made a passing allusion to the conduct of the men, I shall not dwell longer on the subject here, except to state briefly my views of the influences whi^li arc here brought to bear with a view to reforming them. In N 1^8 oun CONVICTS. the first place, then, the number of iirisoners being so small, each working party is small in proportion ; the officer over same has thus an opportunity of making liimself thoroughly acquainted with their dispositions and habits. Their failings are as well, if not better known to him than to themselves; he observes every deviation from the path of duty, reasons the delinquent into a formal compliance, and thus the prisoner is compelled to suppress, for a time at least, those irregularities which are too often the results of an ill-regulated and unsettled mind. This surveillance continues ; the prisoner is watchful to guard against those failings to which he is most prone, and the habitual absti- nence from such faults produces a certain power of self-controul, which acquires strength with time, causes a desire for an indulgence in such out- bursts of passion to die away, becomes instrumental in the formation of habits of industry and perseverance, and secretly impels him to a continuance in the practice of an upright line of conduct when the restraint has been removed. The warders, too, are not quite so formal as they need to be in Spike Island, nor yet so familiar as to Aveaken in any way that obedience which it is their duty to secure. Their conversation and example have a humanizing influence over the prisoners, and effect, to a certain extent, a refinement of minds and morals which in a j)rison conducted under more strict regulations would be iitterly impracticable ; thus we see that every officer, and everj' employment, become instrumental in promoting the good work. "In the school Ave find another and very potent auxiliary : here all restraint is set aside, obedience and order are secured more by appeals to their good sense than by rigid discipline. All are nnder the teacher's eye; he knows each and every one, calls them by their names, and for the time carefully avoids numbers, badges, and everything calculated to awaken in their minds a sense of their unhappy situations, unless in cases Avhere it is necessary to refer to such as a reminder of the misfortunes they have brought upon themselves by their thoughtless indiscretions. Teacher and pupils recognise each other, have a mutual dependence on one another, and by a little forbearance and encourage- ment on the pai't of the former, a reciprocity of action is established, which in many instances is attended with the most happy results. The lessons which they read have all a moral tendency, and serve the double purpose of per- fecting them in their leading, and of fostering within their breasts a love of the great Author of our existence, by giving them more extended notions of his l)ower, wisdom, and goodness, of his concern for his creatures, and of the ingratitude of sinful man in defying his hol^- law. Thej also point out their duties towards themselvs and their fellow-beings, inculcate a love of industry and labour, the necessity for patience and fortitude under trials and sufferings, a deference and submission to the laws of the country: in fact, they lay before them, as in a ma^i, all their duties, social and moral, and with the expositions repetitions, and interrogations of the teacher, they can hardly fail to make some impression even on the most obdurate heart; and if to these agencies you add the sacred ministrations of the Chaplains, the efficacj' of which in an undertaldng of this kind is so obvious as to need no comment from me. vou THE IRISH SYSTEM: ITS HISTOKY. 179 cannot avoid the conclusion, that a prisoner subjected to such discipline for a period of five or six months, must be very callous and bereft of eveiy feeling of Christianitj', who is not somewhat reformed on discharge from Carlisle." Full extracts have already been given from Mr. Org ax's evi- dence to tlio Commission, still it may bo nscfnl to gather from his Report to the Directors some of his early experience. The importance of supervision to the men themselves, he illustrates by the case of one of the license-holders who was accused of murder, and thrown into Naas Gaol. Mr. Organ knew where- the man- was lodging, and believed that he was steadily at work. He at once made the necessary inquiries, wi'ote particulars proving an alihi, and arrived at the gaol almost simultaneously with his letter, in order to recognise the prisoner, and ascertain if he held a ticket of license. The suspected man was discharged soon after his A-isit, there being the clearest and most perfect alihi. This could probably not have been obtained by the man, at any rate without much difficulty and lengthened detention, had not the supei'A-ision, regularly exercised, enabled Mr. Organ thus to prove it. The Lectiu-er continues in his Report, p. 119, — ''• This circumstance suggested to me the proprietj-of calling a meeting of all discharged prisoners in my district, with a view to point out to them the necessity and importance of making known to me at all times their intentions to change their residence, whether within or without mj' district, and to caution them against the selection of low lodging-houses. " Accordingly the meeting was convened ; and if there existed no other proof of the results of the training of these m.en previous to their discharge, that which manifested itself in each and every cue of the men assembled was, in in my mind, sufficient to remove the doubts and prejudices of those having no confidence or belief in the reformation of the adult criminal. " The men cheerfully attended, and wore the appearance of hard work and contentment. No gaudy dress or outward show, bordering upon tlie ridicu- lous, was visible amongst them. Their wages rated from bs. with, to 24;.>'. per per week without food. The meeting iucluded scavengers, paviers'-attendants, bacon-curers, factory, agricultural and building laboui'ers, shoemalcers, tailors, masons, carpenters, and stone-cutters. Their ages varied from seventeen to forty-five years. Amongst them were many who heretofore were trainers of burglars and pickpockets. The former highwayman, once the terror of the locality in which he resided, was to be seen there now content and happy ou weekly wages merely sufficient to keep the wolf from the door, — a sura be thought it beneath him to steal, much less to work for, in days gone by. 180 OUR COXVICTS. " I lia<], previous to the meeting, prepared a paper entitled ' Crirae, its causes and results,' which I then and there read; and, having exhorted them to per- severe in honest industry, pointed out to them the manliness and comforts of their present position, and dwelt upon and contrasted the miseries of their past lives with the comparative hnppy independence of their present station. The meeting was adjourned until such time as I may deem prudent or ad\-isahle to convene a similar one." Mr. Organ next speaks of his efforts to procure employraent for the men, — " Let it ^ever he supposed that finding employment for discharged prisoners can ever be accomplished without great exertion, quick observation, and a regular organized plan of action, together with a fair know^ledge of the sources of employment in the surroimding distncts. " Some years must elapse before emjiloyers can generally be induced to apply at a reformatory prison (although many have done so) for men to till their farms, build their houses, or work their mUls. But they can and have been induced to give employment to prisoners upon the recommendation of responsible and respectable persons. What then to be desired is a helping hand from this class ; but, as I have just observed, in no country is it more difficult to enlist the sympathy for a convict, or to obtain the means to assist him lohen discharged, than in Ireland. This may appear startling, but it is true ; and it will be admitted by the reader that there are few more practically qualified to offer an opinion upon the matter than the writer of this report, whose experience in the reformatory world is entirely practical. " Let those who suppose that the jDroviding of employment for discharged prisoners is an easier task in Ireland than elsewhere, know, perhaps for the first time, that I have frequently ridden, and on a Sunday too, twenty miles and upwards to provide employment for a single man previous to his discharge; and, perhaps, in endeavouring to obtain the employment, I had to meet disap- pointment, contumely, or downright insult. And again T have known men frequently to walk from fourteen to twenty-six miles in search of honest emploj-nient, — men who heretofore were the curse of the community in which they resided. I do not mention this with a view to enlist praise for my exer- tions in training or providing employment for the Sraithfield men. I have never yet made known the diffi^nilties with which I had to contend, and which I had to overcome; nor do I intend to do so; but I mention these facts for the sole purpose of removing the eiToneous impressions which have been published in an official report in England, and which I regret you have prohibited me from noticing in detail. * * » " Daring the past year the circle of employers increased considerably. In order to procure the assistance of these good-hearted men, much was to be done to remove their prejudices and allay their fears. I have frequently sat hours with some of them whose assistance I valued most, explaining the prin- ciples of our convict management and the training of our prisoners. THE IRISH SYSTEM : ITS HISTORY. 181 " 1 may here mention a case -where force of truthful ai'gument, and represen- tation of authenticateJ facts secured for me the assistance of one of the best emiiloyers it has ever been my good fortune to number amongst the friends of our cause. " Returning one morning last October from Xaas gaol, where ray oflScial duties led me, I happened to meet a gentleman of business-liivc appearance, whom I had never before encountered. I thouglit I could do no harm by introducing myself to him. He turned out to be what his benevolent coun- tenance indicated — a good and generous-hearted man — and what was more, a very liberal employer. I opened the discourse as prudently and as cautiously as I could, and endeavoured to elicit from him his opinions upon the stale of the country with regard to crime. As usual, the ticket-of-leave question turned up, and he told me what a horrible class of beings ticket-of-leave men were, and of the appalling crimes committed by them, and that one of them was at that time imprisoned in Naas gaol charged with the crime of murder. This was coming to the point which I desired most, and to which I eageily looked forward. It was my turn to reidy ; so I did. "^Vhat I said is unneces- sary to rejieat here; but whether I succeeded in bringing the gentleman over to my views may be judged from the i'act, that five of my men were in his employment in about a fortnight afterwards. A copy of his letter to me relating to these men I have already inserted. "It is in this way, and by availing myself of every opportunity \Yhich offers that the demand by times for our prisoners exceeds the supply. "I could record several similar cases did space admit, or circumstances require it. "Employers, such as the gentleman just mentioned, when made aware of the conditional liberty of our license men, and what is expected from them, together with the supervision which I exercise over them, feel comparatively secure from acts of dishonesty or bad conduct on the part of our men, though their fears and misgivings have hitherto led them to suspect, and frequently to prematurely and unjustly condemn." Tlie Sixtli Eeport of the Directors, for the year 1859, contains the following very important statement : — "Wo do not, in this Eeport, consider it to be necessary to rccapitiJate the merits and tho details of the ' Intermediate System.' We have stated them very fully in our Eeports for 1856, 1857, and 1858. To the latter Eeport we particularly invito attention, as a compariaoii is there drawn between tho anticipations expected in our earlier reports, and the residts which had been attained at the cud of 1858. We now, after another year's experience of lliese results, extending over 182 OUK C0N-VICT8. 2,300 prisoners, arc able comi)letcly to confirm the strong opinions wo have always expressed of their value. We would not for one moment withhold the credit due to those in our department who have laboured unremittingly in promoting the reformation of the criminal and liis well-doing on liberation ; but we feel bound to repeat ouj: opinion that the system pui-sued would be incomplete in its action if unaccompanied by the powerful adjuncts of * conditional liberation' and registration until the expiration of sentences. We have found them to operate as wholesome checks on the criminal, to protect the public, and to be the means — the only means of which we are aware — of effectually scattering 'the criminal class.' "By their use crime may, for the first time, be rendered a hazardous and an unprofitable calling. "All authorities agree in the importance of making punish- ment more certain. Without registration tliis is scarcely possible; and it is of daily occurrence that 'hardened offenders,' not identified by the police-officers, escape with very tritHng punishment. This immunity from the consequences of crime enters very fully into the calcidation of the criminal classes, and tends more than any other cause to recruit their ranks. So long as this immunity is suffered to exist so long shall we fail to reap full benefit from our very heavy expenditure, inciu-red for the purpose of arresting the progress of crime. " On the one hand, the State pays £55,000 per annum for the maintenance of juveniles in Eeformatory Schools, and it is an expenditure which is well and zealously administered by the managers of these establishments ; but, on the other hand, it suffers the adult and hardened offender to train the young to his own calling, the immunity with which he is enabled to do so forming no slight element in the recom- mendation to his pupil of the advantages of a criminal course. "Without some measures of a more aggressive nature are taken against persons known to belong to the ' criminal class,' in vain may we hope to reduce the vast Convict expenditure THE lEISII SYSTEM : ITS IIISTOKY. 183 with Avliicli the United Kingdom is now burdened, amounting* to £370,154 per anuimi for Home Service, and £209,399 per annum for Colonial Service (Civil Ser\-ice Estimates for 1859), in addition to a sum of £530,285 for county and borough prisons (Judicial Statistics, 1858, i^age 34) ; in vain may we hope for results proportionate to our police expenditure, amounting in England alone to £1,447,000.-" In the second volume of Judicial Statistics, published in June, 1859, it is estimated that crime costs England ten millions annually, and it is stated that there are many heavy items omitted such as Judge's salaries, cost of Convicts in the Colonies, &c., which show this sima to be an under-estimate. It is, at all events, sufficiently alarming to call for the adoption of the most stringent measures to repress crime, and to prevent the very dangerous aggression upon our social state, which will otherwise be infallibly caused by the liberation in the United Kingdom of thousands of criminals formerly sent out of the country. We have now had some years' experience of the registration of criminals in Ireland, and of their habits and conduct both witliin and without the walls of the prisons. We feel that we should not be performing our dutj^ if we failed to record as oiu- opinion, that by having recovu-se to conditional liberation and registration, and by thus giving effect to the tweKtli, fifteenth, and sixteenth Hesolutions of the Committee of the House of Commons, which sat in 1856, on those points, crime and its cost might bo very materially reduced throughout the United Kingdom. "We have stated that Intermediate Prisons would, without the assistance of conditional liberation and registration, be of themselves incomplete ; so, on the other hand, without the preHminavy treatment of Intermediate Prisons, conditional liberation woulel be incomplete and unsatisfactory in its results. The system must bo taken as a whole to bo of fidl value. It should be felt that each criminal, previous to * Judicial Slatistics for li^'SS, poge 3J. 184 ouii co:xviCTs. his liberation, lias Leon invited to cooperate in lus own im- provement, and that ho has been made aware of the stringent course which will be pursued towards him after his liberation. "If ho then fails and again follows crime as a vocation, no possible sympathy can be felt for him. It would bo unjust to the public that sixch a criminal should receive any sentence but that of a very long term of servitude. "The results of closing the opportunities of committing crime, by th.6 early re-incarcoration of the offender who still intends following it as a vocation, will very frecj^uently be to cause the pursuance on his part of a very outrageous line of conduct when again placed in prison. Disaj)j)ointment at his career of crime being suddenly checked, and anger at having been detected, have combined to conduce to such a result. We have several instances of the kind, and are glad to find that instead of preying upon society the offenders are within the walls of the prisons. " The greater part of our pi'ison offences are committed by this class of prisoners, and it is well that it should be so. " This appears to be the proper time to disabuse the minds of many persons with regard to the type of criminahty in this country for several years past. Out of Ireland all that is heard or heeded of her crime is connected with agrarian outrages, and it is therefore assumed that the crime of the country for the greater part takes that form. " Nothing can be fui-ther from the truth than this assumption. For many years past, the criminals whom we have discharged, and of whom we write, have been for the greater portion mem- bers of the criminal class, burglars, felons, pickpockets, &c., known to the police as following crime as a vocation. It is necessary that this statement should be distinctly made, and as clearly understood, or a full appreciation cannot otherwise be felt of the success of the Convict System pxu-sued in this country." The following testimony to the improved health of the Con- THE ipasH system: its hisiobv. 185 victs at Philipsto-^-n, "wliere Convicts are sent whose state of health renders it tmdesii-able to expose them to the bracing climate of Spike Island, is given by Dr. Cakr, the medical officer of that prison : — " The mortality per-centage of l^Jgj iu the year's amount of prisoners — the numbers and ordinary nature of the cases (as compared with former years^, treated iu the hospital, which contained onbj 13 patients on olst December — the diminished applications of trivial descriptions at the dispensary — the evident decrease of invalid admissions into this prison, my disbelief of such class being retained in other prisons — all point out that the leavens of phthisis, scrofula, and other deadly afflictions, that carried such former disastrous sway, have almost entirely disappeared — that the convict com- munity at large has attained a healthy position, superior to that of the general population of Ireland (provable by the dilference of mortality in those two classes) —while the remarkable diminution of crime, together with the im- proved condition and circumstances of the people who heretofore supplied the pabula of Convict Prison mortality, portend the great improbability of future recurrent consequences of revolting disease so painfully developed on former occasions." The Seventh Report, for 1860, contains no new features, but satisfactory statements respecting results. While the numbers for whom there was accommodation in the Government Prisons amounted to 3000, the Convicts actually in them on the 1st of January-, 1861, were only 1076 males, and 416 females, — total, 1492, or not half the nimiber for whom accommodation was pro- vided. Would that such a statement could be made respecting the English Convict Prisons! AVhy should we be content to continue a system, productive of so much evil to the Convicts themselves, and to the country, when a way so much better is opened to us ? Why should the country be content to see in England one Groverument Prison added to another, and even the Coimty Gaols called into requisition to contain the thousands annually added to our Convict population ? After giving the number of annual discharges up to that time, which is contained iu the table copied in the last chapter, p. 116, the Directors refer to the fact, that all the Convicts have been disposed of in Ireland, or by froo emigration. Not to speak of the moral triumph thus achieved, the pecuniary saving to tlio 186 OUR COXVICXS. country -was enormous, considering the expense of transporting every Convict. Tlio Directors say, — " "We also append a return of tlie number of Convicts sent from Ireland to penal colonies from 1849 to 1853, and state at the same time tlio fact that since the latter year no deportation has taken place. We believe, that by giving this return, and making this statement, an opinion will be better formed of the success of the Irish Convict System. Traxspoeted FEOii Ieelakd. In 1849 " 1850 " 1851 " 1852 " 1853 15J=3 775 1082 1296 004 "In gi'V'ing these figiu'es, and in stating that the Irish Convict System has been enabled to dispose of its own Convicts without deportation, we are far from wishing to convey that we are opposed to a well-regiilated system for the removal of Convicts to Western Australia. On the contrary, we believe that such a course would tend to amend the criminal, and be advantageous both to the mother country and the colony. *•' ••' -•' " We have reason to be satisfied with the state of the prisons, and consider that the Eeports made hj the Grovernors of the desire on the part of the Convicts to attain high classification, and the confirmation afi'orded of this opinion by our own con- stant communication with them, evinces that it answers the piu'- pose for which it was intended, and is the means of promoting industrj^, self-reliance and self-restraint, on the part of the Con- victs. The marks which govern the classification, and are the rewards of certain desirable qualifications in the Convicts, are obviously the best means of realizing to the mind of the in- dividual his actual progress, and the cause of that progress. We have many years' experience of the system, and are, there- fore, qualified to give an opinion. We observe, by the latest reports from the penal establishments of Western Australia, that THE rRISn SYSTEM : ITS niSTOKY. 187 marks liave been recently introduced into tlio Convict System carried on in that Colony, and with the best results." The following passages in their Eeport are also important : — ''We have reported a diminution in the number of criminals in the Convict establishments for some years past. "We do not think it probable that a further decrease can take place for some time to come, until the results of the Reformatory Schools, and other means of arresting crime in the germ, can bo felt in the community. The appliances in force in this country for bringing old offenders to justice, the rigid enforcement of good conduct on the part of those liberated on license, the very great difficidty with which an old inmate of tho Convict Prisons would be sur- rounded in carr;yT.ng on crime without detection ; the systematized manner of proving former convictions, in order to again bring an old offender imder a sentence of penal servitude, are all reasons which very obviously conduce to fill the Con\T[ct Prisons. " AVe stated in oiu* last Eeport that — " 'Under any successful prison system the inevitable result of a diminution in the total number of prisoners will be, that as that total number decreases, the proportion of incoiTJgibles included in it must become greater. It may bo compared to a sifting process, by which the refuse would only be left at last.' "In dealing with this class, therefore, which will bo mainly composed of old offenders, we feel it to bo absolutely necessary to record that ' time' can alone enable us to present reliable hopes of their amendment, and to earnestly plead that for this purpose, as Avell as for tho protection of the pubKc, longer sentences may be given to them than has heretofore been the practice. ••' '^' ■■• "Although 5, 5 GO Convicts were discharged from the Govern- ment Prisons between January, 1851, and January, 1861, there remained only 1,-192 in them on the 1st January, 18G1 ; 1,4G2 out of tho 5,5G0 were discharged on license, and only 89 have l^ecn revoked, which does not amount to 7 per cent. Included in tliis number are the cases of 30 Convicts whoso licenses were revoked for irregularities not criminal. AVc give additiuiud 188 OUK CONVICTS value to these statistics by stating, that wo do not Lcliove a case can be proved of a Convict having been rej)orted for infringing the conditions of his license, and still remaining at large in this country. ^^ *>' * *' Concurrently mth the appliances for the detection of old offenders, we are enabled to point to the very small number of Convicts in our establishments ; and when we further state that we are enabled to employ our Convicts before liberation, for the public service, in a state almost analogous to that of freedom, and thus to illustrate the system which has led to this final stage of training, we submit that we shall have done more to evince success, than conveying it by a very lengthened report. What the Intermediate Prisons have been to the male Convicts, the Kefuges have proved to be to the females ; and we cannot be too thankful that, some years since, ladies were found willing to undertake this very grave and responsible charge. Success has attended their labours in even a greater degree than could have been expected." The Reports of the Officers are as satisfactory as in former years. They all indicate earnestness, interest in their work, and satisfaction with the system. A great cordiahty appears to prevail among all the officers, as indicated by the frequent thanks expressed by the Chaplains and Schoolmasters to the other officers for their kindness and cooperation. Catholics and Protestants are here on a perfect equality, and all share the feelings expressed by the Protestant Chaplain, Mr. Shoke, at the conclusion of his Eeport : — " I desire to express my grateful acknowledgments of the unremitting kind- ness, attention, and assistance I have received from the Governor, the Deputj'- Governor, the Chief Warder, anil, vvitliout exception, from every officer of the estahlishment ; and if Providence has vouchsafed a hlessiug on my labours here, I am sensible how much 1 am indebted for it to their cooperation. " To youi'selves, gentlemen, I have so frequently had occasion to express my grateful sense of the courtesy and kind assistance I have experienced from you ever since the Government Prisons have been placed under your direction, that I need now only say, that during lhepa:-t year, I have found that courtesy and kindness just the same as ever. " " THE IRISH STSTEil : ITS HISTORY. 189 The following vivid picture derived from the Report for the next year, 1861, of Mr. Harold, the head Schoolmaster of Spike Island, shows the degree in which the officers enter into the system pursued : — " Let me suppose that any gentleman of intelligence and discrimination had visited Spike Island previous to the introduction of the present system. What would he behold? By day, a number of men dressed in the uniform garb of degradation, sullenly and reluctantly tugging at the ropes by which they were harnessed to a truck, laden with stones or other materials ; others sinking the shaft of a mine, or levelling the hills and filling the hollows ; all obeying through fear, unmindful of any other but the basest of motives. Should this visitor be permitted to take a night view of the prison, — peeping tlirough the circular apertures in the doors, what would he behold? A solitaiT lurid lamp in each apartment, a number of men stretched upon their straitened beds, like a dead mass, devoid of animation, the monotony only relieved by an occasional murmur or morose complaint, and a corresponding reply of 'silence' from the vigilant turnkey. I now leave this gentleman to draw his own conclusions, and to record them in his memory. " The month of December, '61, arrives ; the same gentleman incidentally arrives at Queenstown, recollects his former visit to the island, has heard of the great reform in convict management, and crosses the lee channel in order to ascertain wliether report speaks truly or not. He sees a strong party of men at tlic pier, embarking for Haulbowline, dressed in a garb uniform in appearance, but bright and cheerful-looking also. They are supeiintended by warders, only needing the weapon of ' moral force ' to secure obedience. Pro- ceeding through the island, he meets several parties employed as formerly in the various Government works, but indicating by two distinct garbs, and by blue and red facings on one of these garbs, that the different degrees of merit are recorded, and exhibited, and rewarded. Visiting the several workshops, he will find some articles well executed by convict ai'tizans. Entering the day-school he will behold three teachers, with all the essential appliances, earnestly and actively communicating instructions to a largo number of atten- tive jirisonei's. Night approaches — the bell tolls — the sections are gathered — and those witli the gray, the blue, and the red collars, are conducted indi- vidually to separate apartmesits, clean, well ventilated, and supplied witii a f w rude necessary articles of furniture. Conspicuous in every little dormitory may be seen a small library, consisting of about a score of the most approved and useful books, publi-slied by the Commissioners of Education, with rehgious and other approved works. After a spare but wholesome supper, each prisoner — being supplied with a light — sits down to his library, in which he finds something to interest and instruct him until eight o'clock, when, after prayer, he retires to rest. Let our visitor be now conducted by the Sergeant of the Guard to the D and B associated iirisons, he will see them well but cheaply lighted, with IGO men in one and 80 in the other, either sitting in an attentive 190 OUR C0XVICT8. attitiulc, lieariug short moral lectures from their respective teachers, or care- fullj' api^lying themselves to reading, writing and arithmetic, and other useful educational studies. The two hours evening school time terminates, all retire to their dormitories, where those who desire to read may assemhle around the tables and prosecute their studies under the presidency of an edu- cated and judicious warder ; those who wish to go to rest may do so, study or reading not being compulsory further than the school-hours. Our visitor may now be reminded to 'look on this pictui'e and on that;' but, as before, we leave him to form his own opinions ; yet, in reply to his inquiries, we must inform him of the nature of the changes, and of the objects contemplated and effected by them." After explaining the system, he adds : — " I now leave it to this visitor to say whether this course of discipline and moral training will be likely to render them better members of society hei"e- after than they were previous to conviction." It is clear that the Schoolmaster's hopes were realised, from the folloTving letters written by employers who had given work to the Convicts. They are all addressed to Mr. Oeg^^" : — " March 3rd, 1801. " Dear Sir. — You have asked me to state my opinion of the men you sent me from Smithfield in the course of the last five years; I have no objection to do so. " I have found them to be industrious men, and anxious to give satisfaction- I have four of them at present in my emjiloyment, and one of them has been acting as foreman for the last two years. " Yours very truly, &c. " J. P. Oegax, Esq. " P.S. — I can give employment to a few inore good men just now.'' " Sth Feb., 1861. " Sir, — I can now make room for four good willing labourers, at lOs. per weelc, if you know of any honest inclined men. " i'ours trnlv, "J. B." "Feb. 25, 1801. " Dear Sie, — I believe I have about 100 of your men at present employed, and as far a? I can see they are all sober, hard-working fellows. They are very attentive to their work, and appear very sober men. Some of them have been employed by me upwards of two years ago. " Yours truly, "Jxo. D. "J. P, Organ-," THE IRISH SYSTEM : ITS lllSXOKY. 191 " My Deak Sir, — Please semi me two or three of your best men in tlie morning. See that you send none but sober industrious men. " Yours faitbfullv, " A. L. " J. Organ, Esq." "City Hall, Dublin, Teh. 2oth, 1801. '•Dear Sir, — I believe I have about 10 of your men at present employed, and so far as I can see tbey are all sober, haixl-workiug fellows. They are very attentive to their work, and appear very sober men. Some of them have been employed by me upwards of two years ago. " Very truly yours, .fcc. " To J. P. Organ, Esq." " Tobacco and Snuff Manufactory, " 3, Francis Street, Dublin, Feb. 2Gth, 18C1. "Dear Sir, — I have at present in my establishment four of your men, some of whom have been with me for two years ; they continue to give me satisfaction, in consequence of which I have recently raised their wages. T consider them trustworthy and sober men. I must say they have it in their power to rob me, at any time, Init 1 have never known them to do so. " I remain, dear Sir, yours respectfully, &q., " Mr. Organ." " 12, Bull Alley, Feb. 2Gth, 1801. " 3Ir, Organ— Dear Sir, — The two men you recommended, one about four years ago, are doing well. I feel no hesitation in pronouncing them honest, as I have tested their sincerity on many occasions, both of them being in the habit of delivering my goods through town and receiving payment for them often to the amount of forty to fifty pounds. I have raised their wages from time to time, as I considered them deserving of any kindness I could con- scientiously show them. "I remain, your most obedient servant, &c., 2, Bath Avenue, 27tli Fcbrnar)/, 1801. "Dear Sir, — The men you sent mo arc still working for me. I have four of them employed close by myself, and I must say their conduct is satisfactory. D., who came to me four years ago, has 21s. a week now; he had only 12s. when he first came. I have kept them nil through the year, though I dis- charged some very good workmen. The two labourers have lis. a week each, and the last bricklayer you sent me lias been raised from 18s. to 2(!s. per week. Yours truly, S:c., " To J, P. Organ, Esq." 192 OTJR CONVICTS. In the Eighth Rej)ort wo learn that already two prisons had been closed, Forts Carlisle and Camden, which had been cm- ployed for the intermediate stage. The Directors say : — " It will be observed by the Reports of the Local Inspector of Spike Island, and the Grovernors and Superintendents of the different Convict Establishments, that they are in a very satisfac- tory state ; that the prisoners continue to appreciate the * Mark System,' and evince a great desire to attain high classification. 'Marks' are obviously very simple and intelligible means of realizing to the mind of each Convict his progress in industiy and self-control. In the separate or first stage of imprisonment at Mountjoy, in Dublin, the marks, classification, and entire Convict System, are made the subject of explanatory lectures on the part of the Schoolmasters ; the Convict thus becomes per- fectly aware both of the importance of endeavoiiring to amend himself, and of the little chance with which, when liberated, he can prosecute a criminal calling without incurring very great hazard. After seven years' experience of the ' Mark System,' we are entirely of opinion that it has been most successful in its results. * ' In our Annual Reports for the last six years we have so constantly stated the importance we attach to the institution of 'Intermediate Prisons' for male, and 'Refuges' for female Con- victs, and the good results which have attended their adoption in this country, that we need scarcely now do more than confirm these statements, and reiterate our opinion of the intimate know- ledge of each Convict, which is afforded by training him under a more natural coiu'so before his liberation. * ••• * "Since January, 1854, 6,121 Convicts have been liberated in Ireland ; and since the establishment of Intermediate Prisons, upwards of six years since, only ten per cent, of all classes of Convicts liberated from the Government Prisons since that time hare returned to them. To give value to this statement, it is especially necessary to note the appliances in Ireland for bringing old offenders to justice, and that, in addition to these appliances, the THE IRISH SYSTEM : ITS HISTOEY. 193 period named is uot sufficiently long to make recognition impos- sible in small establishments. •''' Witli regard to licensed Convicts, •vrho are included in the above nimibei', we can state that all cases of proved infringement of the stringent conditions attached to such licenses have been followed by their revocation.]- * * " Our prison expenditure is very low. According to our present estimate, the Convicts in our different establishments do not cost more than £24 106\ cach,| without deducting the value of their labour, which it will be seen by the Reports of the Governors, &c., is very considerable and satisfactory. It must be borne in mind that the reduced number of Convicts in the establishments causes the charge per head to be greater than if the number was larger ; because the salaries of the superior officers remain the same, and are spread over a smaller area. AVhen our establishments were more filled the cost per head of each Convict was not so much as it is now." A reference is here made to the proceeds of the work of the Convicts. In Mountjoy Prison, containing men in the early stages, work is not performed which can be reported as profit- able, though a large number of articles are made for prison use. At Spike Island, the second stage, the Governor states the daily average of men at work during the year, to be 475 ; the estimated value of their work is £12, 540. At Philipstown there are 104 effective and light-labour pri- soners, employed on trades and other skilled labour. The profit on these is £1,684, being about £10 a head on every prisoner. At Smithfield and Lusk Intermediate Prisons, where the average number of prisoners for the year was 90, the profit on " * The altered appearance r.ad different age of these men renders personal recognition in large jpiisons after a lapse of time almost imirossible, and statistics formed on such data most unreliable. The Irish regulations are therefore of the greatest importance." " + Not 7 per cent, liave been revoked, and these are included in the 10 per cent, given above." " I luelusixc of buildings this charge would bo raisod to £35 IJjx.' o 104 OUil CONVICTS. labour amounts to £l/)7l 14.s. lOcL, malcing' the average earn- ings of cacli effective prisoner £21 18s. 2(1. It is worthy of remark that in pro];)ortion as there is greater liberty, the profit on the labour of the prisoner increases, until, in the Intei-mediate Prisons, each man nearly pays the expense to which he puts the country l)y his incarceration. The number of C'on-sdcts discharged during the operation of the new system was stated to be above 6,000 ; of these many had left the country, but those who remained requii-ed constant supervision ; the system of registration of crime, the revocation of sentences, and the other means which had proved so success- ful in reducing the number of convictions, required constant and vigilant personal attention on the j)art of the Directors. Even those who emigrated were a sotu-ce of anxiety and care. Hence the diminution of the nimiber of Convicts within the prisons did not materially lighten the amount of personal laboiu' of the Directors, as the development of the system beyond the prison walls v.'as proportionally increased. It was thus a matter of great surprise and grief to all interested in the system, that the Board which was carrying out so admirable a work was about to be distiu'bed, by the removal from it, Ijy the Government, of one of its number. " In May last," we read near the close of the Eighth Eeport, " our late colleague, Mr. Leis^taigke, was appointed to the office of ' Inspector-General of Prisons.' It was with great regret that we received the notification of his transfer. AVe felt not only that the department would sidfer thi'ough the loss of a Director, but that it would especially do so through the loss of a gentle- man who had devoted himself unceasingly to the improvements connected with the 'Irish Convict System.' " Since that period this department has been conducted, therefore, with materially reduced power of direction and sujjer- vision. The Irish Convict System has been much indebted for its success to the very minute attention paid to its details. Unless ccmerued in it.') ]^ ractical working, it v\ou\l be ditficult THE IRISH SYSTEM : ITS lIISTOIiY. 195 to realisG tlio importance and value of this attention being given, and of the occupation of time tkereby entailed upon the Directors. •>' "It lias not been possible to attend to these details as well as heretofore, and it is therefore to be expected that the system ■will sufi'er in its results." It was doubtless the anxiety expressed in the last sentence, together with the over-strain of work caused by the removal of one of his coadjutors, which finally compyUod Sir W. Crofton to resign his charge, owing to the serious injiuy his health was sustaining. In doing so he had the satisfaction of having proved, as stated in the last paragraph of the same Eeport, "that the Irish Convict System, after many years of trial, has resulted both in efficiency and economy. 'Efficiency,' proved by the orderly conduct of the Convicts, and by the empty state of the prisons, notwithstanding the strict appliances in force for bringing old offenders to justice. 'Economy,' by the very low cost of the Irish Convict Establishments, although it is obvious that the supervision of a small number of prisoners is always proportionably more expensive." Captain Whitty was then left the sole Director of the Irish Prisons, and thus speaks, in the Ninth Eeport, of the change which had been made, and its probable effect on the Avorkiug of the system : — ' ' In referring to the important change that ha% taken place within the year in the arrangements of superintending the Convict Prisons Department in Ireland, it Avould be unnecessary for me to enlarge on tho groat loss that the public service has sustained by the retirement, on account of ill-health (in May last), of Sir AValteu Cr.'Ftojs", C.B., the late Chairman of tho Board of Directors, who with his first colleagues, Capt. IxJNionT and Mr. Lentaigne, founded and developed tho Convict System, "* Tho refuges fuv Icmale convicts, tlio arraugements of the funn at 'Lusk Interinccliato EstablisbineuL,' aud the prouoediiig.s with regard to liberated (Jonvicts, fall uuder the supervision of the Directors." 196 OUK CONVICTS. wliich is allowed to have worked so satisfactorily in Ireland, and has attracted so mncli public attention and favourable notice in other countries. " The change referred to consisted in the present abolition of the Board of Directors, and in leaving the superintendence to the charge of myself, the only remaining Director, with the aid of two Inspectors, Captain Baelow, previously Local Inspector of Spike Island Prison, and Mr. Nettervtlle, previously Grover- nor of Mountjoy Male Prison. The closing of Philipsto^Ti Prison had reduced to a certain extent the duties of general superin- tendence, and the change above described caused a saving in the expense of superintendence of over £500 a year ; but the nature of the Irish Convict System required such constant and minute attention on the part of the Directors themselves, to the indi- vidual cases of the prisoners in the progress of classification, and in otherwise adjusting the process of marks for the right use of the Intermediate Prisons, that it may be considered as still experimental whether only one officer, with the power of a Director, can carry ou.t those objects and perform the general duties as efficiently as was practicable under the former plan of superintendence . " Alterations have been proposed in the rules, for the pui'pose of giving increased powers to the Inspectors ; but in the possible continued absence of the Director from illness or other cause, inconvenience to the service might still arise ; and I feel also called upon to state that I have already experienced the result of the change in the heavy increase of labour and responsibility that must fall upon the person entrusted with the duties of sole Director, however zealously the Inspectors may perform the visiting and other duties that properly belong to their office." But there was no relaxation of effort on the part of the officials, because the Director who had stimulated and helped them on had been obliged to leave them. Mr. Okga^ thus writes re- specting the Lusk and Smithfield Intermediate Prisons in his Report, dated January, 1863 : — THE lEISTI system: ITS HISTORY. 197 " Simplicity of life and cheerfulness of dispositiou, even when engaged in the most severe and menial labour, characterize the refonuatory system of prison management, as carried out upon the Lusk Farm. The food of the men is coarse but wholesome, yet sometimes iusuflicieut. Their work is most laborious and irksome at some periods of the year, so much so, that I have frequently heard them say that they toiled harder upon the commons of Lusk than in any prison through which they had previously passed. I have often paused to admu-e the once -vicious, destitute town-thief pljing his spade and pickaxe as he stood in drain or ditch, cold and wet, reclaiming the barren common. At the most unpleasant and laborious work, cheerfulness shows itself in the man; and though, perhaps, heretofore sulky, repulsive, and sullen, yet here we find the same man amenable to every rule, obliging and obedient to eveiy officer, hopeful and willing under every circumstance, and hypocritical under none. The vice and wretchedness of their former lives they only remember to avoid ; for, imbued with the spirit of self-dependence, animated with hopeful confidence in the future, and cheered and stimulated by the liappy success of their former prison comrades in the honest labour market at home and abroad, they appear unmindful of everything save the two great and guiding motives, the hoi)e of liberty and hope of honest employment, when discharged. "The course of instruction pursued with the men of this prison is similar to that carried out in Smithficld. The anxiety of all to improve is highly edifying and encouraging. Few men have had greater experience in the field of adult education than myself, for I have devoted my whole lifetime to the insti'uction of the labouring poor. I therefore may venture to offer an opinion upon the subject. Now, I have always considered it as natural for a man to attend school iu the evening as it is for a cJiild to attend school during the day. The mind of the adult is most composed after the day's toil, and useful and interesting instruction iu the evening is prized by him as a great boon. " During a practical experience of twenty-three years, I feel myself justified in stating, that I have never known men to have embraced the opportunites afforded for their mental culture more earnestly than tlie prisoners of Lusk and Smithfield. " I know the}' appreciate my lectures, and I also know they have a kind regard for myself; hence it is they repose in me their coulidence, and, to a great extent, permit mo to shape their destinies. I cannot well express the relation shii', if I may be allowed to use the expression, which exists between the men of the Intermediate Prison and myself. It may suffice to say, that their after vicU-being is, and ever has been, to me, since my connexion with them, an absorbing thought. I have laboured to raise their minds and hearts from the vicious, warped, and prejudiced condition in which I found them ; and, after a long practical experience, I can only say, that I have, iu many instances succeeded, and in other cases failed. i\ly own especial position in the scr\iceisa very wracking, wearying one, over chequered with hope and fear, 198 orn convicts. joy and sorrow, perpetual solicitucle, occasional despondency, but unbroken confidence in the ultimate success of that arduous but good and useful causo in which it is my piide to be engaged. " Lusk is a grand preparatory stage for prisoners to fit them for their after occupation in life, whether they return to the country districts from which they came, or enter upon the adventurous career of an emigrant — as many of them do. There is something very hopeful in the way the prisoners at Lusk take to their labour, and the great interest they evince in having everything go right about the farm. Should an animal be ill, or the weather be unfavourable to their work, they manifest as great an anxiety as if they themselves were personally concerned. This is a very admirable trait in their character, and one, too, which has won for many of them the respect of their employers, when they exchanged the restraint of the prison code for the independent freedom of honest occupation." The following letters show, also, that the confidence of the public in the system remained unshaken : — " 2, Bath Avenue, 2ith January, 1863. "Dear Sir, — After repeated solicitations, I took into my employment one of the men you recommended. Finding him to be steady and correct, I took another of them, and being satisfied with his conduct, I took in as many as I had an opportunity of employing — sometimes five or six, and found every one of them to give great satisfaction, being attentive to their loork, and acting soberly and honestly. "I have but one of them employed at present. But I hope soon to be able to take in more hands, aud could not desire better than those men you recommend. Your obedient servant, etc., " To J. P. Organ, Esq." " . " The National Manure Company Office, " 15, Lo^vEK Oemond Quay, Dublin, 28th January, 1800. " Organ, Esq., Smithfield Prisons. " Sir, — In answer to your inquiries respecting the various men I have had fi'om you during the past five years, it affords me very great satisfac- tion to be able to state that in all cases I have found the men most attenti^'e to their work, aud most tractable to manage ; ever willing and ready to do whatever is required of them, aud most anxious to make themselves useful: the training they have received previous to being sent to those willing to employ them seems thus roughly to have broken them into discipline, such as j'ou do not find amongst the ordinary labourers of the country, and you know I have had some considerable experience in the management and direction of large numbers of workpeople of all kinds both in this country and in England. I may add that having occasion to go a good deal Tire IBISir SYSTEM : ITS mSTORY. 199 in the neiglibourhood of the huts at Lnsk, I have Leeu astonished to see from 00 to 40 men at work over the Comimuy's farm, with so few warders to look after them, " I remain, yours obediently, &c., " Blackiiock, Jan. SOth, 180:3, " Organ, Esq., " Dear Sir, — 1 feel great pleasure in speaking most favourably of the discharged prisoners who have been in my employment from time to time. " Of course I took them solely upon your recommendation, and, indeed, for upwards of twelve mouths one of your men had charge of my building materials — lead, paints, tools, &c., &c. I found him strictly honest and faithful. I have no objection at any time to lend you my assistance in your good work, for I am convinced of the great necessity of assisting the convict after his discharge, and above all keeping a friendly eye over liim. A long license over a man seems to me a great protection to honesty to his employers, "I am, dear Sir, yours very truly, &c., It is fortunate for the stability of tlie Irish. Convict System til at another Director now shares with Captain Whitty his great hibours, which, as we Jiave seen, are not of a mere routine kind, but involve a clegree of personal influence and responsi- bility wliich cannot be supplied by any subordinate ofReer. The Tenth Eeport states (p. 8) : "With reference to the observations made in the last Annual Report by the then solo Director respecting the difficulty of providing for the due performance of the duties that formerly devolved on a Board of Directors, further experience having shown the necessity for the appoint- ment of an additional Director, and Mr. Murray, the Inspector of .Tiivonilo Reformatories, having in November last been ap- pointed to tliat office (still retaining cliargo of the duties of his former appointment), we are enabled hj the experience of some months to report that, witli the aid of Captain Baulow and Mr. Netteiiville, as Inspectors, the duties of supervision and management of the present Convict Prisons can be etrcHitlvelj' conducted." The present satisfaotor}'- state of tlie various establishments has already been quoted from tiu^ same Report, pp. 118, 119, in the last chapter. 200 OTTR CONVICTS. The foregoing simple narrative of the actual progress of the work will, we trust, give a feeling of absolute reality to those who, after reading the various accounts of the Intermediate Prisons, which have, from time to time, come before the public, may have been disposed to believe them an illusion, a pleasing fiction, something too wonderful to be entitled to belief. It could not be imagined that the solution of one of our chief social difficulties had been effected in that Island which, in other respects, has been so great a source of anxiety to our rulers. Yet it is actually the case. Eminent continental jurists who had arrived at philosophical conclusions based on deep principles of government, and on the laws of human nature, found to their surjprise and pleasure that these principles had actually been developed in Ireland, and acted on for a sufficient number of years to prove their soundness. It is not probable that the Directors of the Irish Prisons had any philosophical system before them when they began their work. They came to it with a full appreciation of what had been already done in England. They had the same Act, that of 1853, as the basis of their operations, and they determined to work out the principles of that Act to the utmost of their power. They found peculiar and unexpected difficulties in their way, which they had to sui-mount. The disposal of the Convicts by trans- portation was suddenly cut off from them, and henceforth they must discharge their prisoners at home. An especial aversion existed in the Irish mind to contact with those who had endured a penal sentence. The unfortunate men themselves were in a very low state of degradation, physical, intellectual and moral ; hence they were not in a condition to enter the labour market, even if it had been ready to receive them. The Government Prisons were in a most unsatisfactory state, both as regarded arrangement, accommodation, and even sanitary condition. The officers also were very ill adapted to their work, and it was necessary to train almost a new staff of subordinates. This was not so easy a matter ; for though it has THE IRISH SYSTEM : IT>^ HISTORY. 201 been asserted tliat it -was more easy to adapt the ne-w S3'stem to Irish tlian to English prisoners, experience proves that peculiar qualifications are required in controlling the Irish. Many officers, many schoolmasters, may be very efficient with the English, who would be totally incapable of acting satisfac- torily with the Irish of the lower classes. The Irish are excessively sensitive to wrong and injustice, whether real or imaginary ; yet they are equally susceptible of kindness and sym- pathy, and extremely grateful for them, especially when received from persons in a higher rank, and where there can be no possible suspicion of a sinister motive. It is not, however, always easy to meet with officials who possess such moral qualities as will thus obtain their confidence, and secure their willing obedience. The Directors indeed state in the First Report that they apprehend greater difficidties than have existed in England, with regard to the character of the prisoners, especially as a large number of those who were at that time in the prisons were brought into their criminal position by want of work and extreme distress. We have yet to learn that the Saxon is less amenable to reason and to moral influence than the Celt, and if the means adopted to surmount the difficulties which were adopted with the Irish Convicts were permanently successfid, there can be no doubt that they would be so with the Convicts of Great Britain. The means employed were not mere outward appliances, "When the Irish Convict System is spoken of, mere mechanical arrangements are not intended; those might bo adopted else- where and fail, if the spirit were not infused into them wliich animated all concerned in working it in Ireland. There, from the first day of his entrance, the Convict was taught and gradually led to feel, that though ho had, through his ovra misdoing, lost liis personal liberty, yet that it was for himself to controid his ov>'n will and bring it into conformity with law and duty ; and though he had apparently lost the i)ower of sliaping his own 202 orn cottvicts. destiny, yet that in reality ho still possessed it, and that liis future, whether for good or for evil, would depend absolutely on himself. The Convict, by degrees, felt hopes of himseK and remembered he was a man, a member of society, one who might fill an honourable place in it, because he per- ceived that those put in authority over him remembered it too, and had hopes of him, and confidence in him. How could those Convicts fail to comprehend that there was a true human sympathy with them, when the Chief Director devoted his time and labour to converse individually ■s\'ith each one of the four thousand thus incarcerated, learn his difiiculties, trials and temptations, study his character, and thus be pre- pared to give him the friendly advice he needed when again in the world ? Combined with this sjonpathy was strict jus- tice ; to every one the inevitable consequences of his own ac- tions were certain to follow, whether good or bad. Here was a law established foi;nded on right and equity and truth, and every one was bound to obey it, whether officer or prisoner. There was no favour, no partiality, no bribery, no indulgence for any one, whether high or low. How could the Convicts do otherwise than respect this justice, and feel willing to obey a righteous law, when they knew that any one of them might appeal to the Dii'ector if he thoiight himself aggrieved, and that his case would certainly receive an impartial investigation ! A perfect freedom from religious ditierences constitutes another important feature in the Irish Convict System. This is at all times difficult to attain, wherever persons of different religious denominations are working together in the same establishment ; it would be particularly so in Ireland, where, uuhappil}^, glaring instances of hostility, arising from religious difierences, are continually occiu-ring. The true spirit of Christ should dis- play itself in mutual forbearance, and in that respect for the religious opinions of others which we desire for oiu'selves. Such has been found in the Irish Convict Prisons, where judicious regu- THE lEISTI SYSTEM : ITS IIISTROY. 203 lations, strict justice, and mutual courtesy liave euaLled Catholic and Protestant officers to work in their resjiective spheres, with- out interference in their duty, and with mutual coiu-tesy. This is evident in the E-eports of the officers ; — we have personally witnessed it. The effect of such genuine religious toleration can- not he too higlily estimated. May these be ever the features of the Irish Convict System, and may it continue, as it has done, thus to blend justice with mercy, and to bring bach the erring and wandering into tlio fold of Christian society ! CHAPTER IV. FEMALE CONVICTS. The treatment of Female Convicts is a subject of great importance and of peculiar difficulty ; yet it has not Mtlierto received that full consideration which it requires, if any hope is to be enter- tained of arriving at a solution of it. It is frequently imagined, even publicly asserted, that Convict women are so hopelessly bad that it is useless to attempt any reformation of them. Such an opinion is founded on the know- ledge of such cases as those which have been presented at the commencement of this work, and which are frequently occiu'ring in the public prints ; on the very painful exhibition of female vice in police-courts among the ujihappy women who are lost to all sense of shame ; and, not least, n-om the descriptions of the scenes that occur in the Convict Prisons, which have been given to the public by the Prison Matron. We acknowledge that the reformation of such women is a very difficult work, but at the same time believe that the difficulties are not insm-mount- able, if a right system is adopted ; we believe, too, that the strong impression which prevails as to the impossibility of re- forming women who have once ente*ed on a career of crime, arises more from the exhibition to the pubKc of the extraordinarj- excess of female Con-viets who have been forced into an unnatui-nl state of excitement by injudicious treatment, than fi-om the real conviction of experienced persons who have judiciously and per- severingly endeavoured to reform them. FEMALE CONVICTS. 205 It is umieccssary in this place to dilate on the influence wliich every -woman exercises, for good or for evil, in the sj)liore in which she is placed; it is too generally acknowledged to need proof. The incalculable benefit conferred by the early influence on her children of a good mother can be attested not only by those who have risen up to call her blessed, but by society generally. And, on the other hand, no one can estimate the evil which is caused to society, both directly and indirectly, by a ■udcked one. The importance of the work of female reformation cannot in- deed be doubted, for no one can calcidate the amount of crime which may be saved to the country by the rescue of a single woman from a vicious life. The actual cost to the public of a bad mother, in the punish- ment and reformation of her children, is sho^vn by the follo-\ving cases, which came under the writer's personal knowledge a few years since : — " We will cite two instances whicli prove the enormous cost to society of a bad woman mIio is a mother. Mrs. L was left a widow with three sons and three daughters. We saw the latter in gaol together, some ten years ago ; — the eldest brother was then under a ten years' sentence in Parldiurst Juvenile Prison; the second boy was in prison; the youngest was in the Workhouse ; the mother was liviug as she chose. This was the eighth conviction of her three girls, the youngest of whom was only fifteen ! They had lived together in London by picking pockets, at which they were adepts; once it was attempted to get them into a Refuge, but the mother soon removed them. The eldest daughter was then luider sentence of penal servitude. She completed her time at Brixton, but was soon in gaol under another name, and is now again in Brixton Convict Prison. A conditional pardon was obtained for the two others in diffei-ent voluntary institutions. After many disappointments, and much perseverance with them, they emi- grated — one to Canada, one to the United States, as female servants, and reports were heard from each as doing Avell. The youngest boy was main- tained for some years in a Workhouse Industrial School, then ran away, and was lost siglit of; the second, after five or six imprisonments, was placed as a voluntary in a Reformatory, from which he emigrated with a fnir character to Australia, and has been heard of as doing well. The eldest was discharged with a ticket-of-leave from I'arkhurst, his conduct having been good there, his fare was paid to emigrate with the gratuity he received on his discliarge; but he left the ship, roturned to tho scene uf liis former life, and alter living 206 OUK coxvicxs. at large on tho fruits of ciime for some weeks, be was taken up for burglary, convicted, and sentenced to fourteen years' penal servitude. How mucb has that one woman cost to the Government and to society through her children ! " Again. — About seven years ago, two young girls were brought from gaol, to be, if possible, saved in a Eefuge under the care of benevolent ladies, from an abandoned mother who came to claim them. They were useful to her, and she considered that she had a right to their senices, for she had paid a high price to have them trained in the most approved modes of picldng pockets, by a professional London thief. Her husband was in a respectable way of business, but she had driven him from her by her dissolute practices, and he was in America. The younger daughter, a bright, clever girl, was sent as a voluntary to a distant Reformatory, but the mother speedily followed and removed her. This girl and her brother, pursuing, with their mother, their unlawful calling, were soon arrested, and sent, under sentence, for five years to Reformatories. Even there the mothei''s evil influence pursued them. Constantly did she defeat all the efforts that were made to reclaim the poor girl, insinuating drojDS of fatal poison into her soul ; and when at last her time of detention was expired, she carried her off to plunge her again into crime, from which she has been only stopped by a sentence of six years' penal servi- tude. The elder daughter, in the meantime, first corrupted all the ghls in the Refuge where she was received, teaching them the various modes of picking pockets she had learnt, and then went out to practise them again. After two years' imprisonment, which only served to teach her caution, she l)ursued her unlawful trade so successfully, that, being a good daughter, she six times, as she onoe told a lady, set u^) her mother in business ! This wicked woman, the mother, has not only been bringing up her own children in crime, but, as she herself informed a lady, had trained at least fifty young girls to thieving, travelUng with them in first-class carriages and living at inns. She'was just then professing penitence for these sins, and got admittance into a London refuge to spend the winter comfortably, "^^'hat did she teach the inmates there ?" These two women had probably never been in prison. They were too artful to rim the risk of detection themselves. The police of various towns were frequently endeavoui-ing to discover the track of the last mentioned woman, hoping- to obtain a sen- tence of transportation for her, but unavailingly. There was no possibility of making any effort to reform these wi-etched beings, because they were free, they had no desu'e to alter their course of life, and would not submit willingly to the restrictions which wotild be rec^uisite, if any hope of improve- ment could be entertained. Hence the pecidiar importance, not only of using every effort to elevate the female sex generally. I'EJIALK CONVICTS. 207 especially those of a low and degi*adecl condition, but of availing ourselves of tlie opportunity of reformation which is presented hy a long term of detention being awarded to a woman who has broken the laws of her country. Such an opportunity is opened to the Grovernment in the Female Convict Prisons. There appears hitherto to have been a complete failure in them, as to any such result as might have been hoped, — the reformation of the women committed to them. We shall in this chapter consider the Eughsh Female Convict System and its results ; we shall then endeavour to point out the cause of these, and show the effect of different principles of treatment in the Irish Female Convict Prisons. Let us first inquii'e ■\^'hat is the work which is to bo done in the Female Convict Prisons ? The system and arrangements in them must necessarily differ from those for male Convicts, for there is a very great difference between the inmates. Female Convicts are, as a class, even more morally degraded than men. As a general rule, it will be found that Avomen are not brought before a public tribunal except for vei'y aggravated crimes, or for a long coui'se of vice. Wo may attribute this partly to a degree of forbearance which usually exists in the stronger towards the weaker sex ; and partly to the fact that they are, when engaging in crime, most commonly the accomplices of their male connections, or shielded by them. From these causes, we learn that in the United States it is rare ever to see women in prison ; in our country the proportion of female Convicts to males is usually not one-third of tlie whole number. But for these very reasons they are especially bad, more deeply hardened than those of the other sex in the same position. They generally, perhaps always, spring from a portion of society more completely cut off from the honest and resi^ectable portion of society, and therefore more lost to shame. At the present day we find in our Convict establishments men a\]io have moved in the higher Avalks of lifi', as well as among the luA\'er, middle, and the mechanic class. Thev liave know n how, by a plau.sible hypo- 208 OUR CONVICTS. crisy, uot incorrectly called a "homage to virtue," to keep up a character, and to associate with the rspectable portion of society ; such persons appreciate to some extent, if not the true value of reputation, at least its uses. They know the feelings and prin- ciples acknowledged as good in the world; and if they have not the spirit of religion in their hearts, they are at least acquainted with its teachings, which may at a future time come with power into their souls. But Convict Avomen usually spring from a por- tion of society quite cut off from intercourse with that in which exists any self-respect, and they are entirely lost to shame or reputation. During an acquaintance for more than a quarter of a century with two or three hundred families of the labouring class, some of them very low in character, and living in the worst parts of a crowded city, a case has never come before iis of a woman being even brought before the magistrates, still less sent to prison. Since, during the last sixteen years, that acquaintance has been extended to the very lowest families that could be brought under the notice of the City Missionary or the master of a Eagged School, only one case of a woman being in prison has ever been heard of among them. A much shorter acquaintance with girls in a Reformatory has disclosed various cases of wretched mothers being in prison, whose progeny had sprung up as much cut off from all Christian or civilized influ- ences, as if they had been born in a heathen country. These X^oor women, these female Convicts, will then, we believe, usually provo to belong to a pariah class, which exists in our state as a something fearfully rotten and polluted, and which diffuses its upas poison around, undermining the very foundations of society. The women of this degraded portion of society will be generally foimd to differ in many respects from those belonging to a higher sj)here. Their intellectual powers are low, and from having been left uncultivated, are in a state of torpidity fi-om which it is very difficult to rouse them. Without discussing the comparative intellectual powers of adults of the two sexes in FKMALl:; COXVICTS. 209 general, experience of tlie education of the youtli of each in various ranks of society enables us to state confidently, that while in the upper classes, with equal opportunities, the intellects of girls develop more rapidly than those of hojs, in good schools for tlie labouring classes there is an equality between the two sexes ; but in the lowest class, that below the boundary line which the decent labouring poor never willingly pass, the girls do not in general display the slightest interest in learning, and it is indeed extremely difficult to incite them to any degree of mental applica- cation, while boys of the same class, and even of the same family, readily receive it, and show positive pleasiu'e in the culture of their minds. This jieculiarly low intellectual condition in females of the lowest social grade is accompanied by a very strong development of the passions and of the lower nature. Extreme excitability, violent and even frantic outbursts of passion, a duplicity and dis- regard of truth hardly conceivable in the better classes of soei('ty, render all attempts to improve them peculiarly difficidt. And if, added to all this, what is holiest and best in woman has been per- verted and diseased by 'unlawful intercourse with the other sex, as is very frequently the case, there is engendered in her a hard- ness of heart, a corruption of the whole nature, which would seem to make absolute reformation almost impossible. "We hava heard one who had had large experience in the temperance cause declare that he never yet had known a refoi*med female di-unkard, though ho could point to multitudes of men who had been rescued from the sway of intoxicating liquors. Most seldom is any real change observable in a woman who lias arrived at maturity in so degraded a condition. "Wo need not say hov.- strongly such experience points to the necessity of rescuing young- girls ^^•ho are growing up under such contaminating inlluences before it is too late, and placing them, with legal controul, under circumstances where they may become useful members of society. In order to have any prospect of success in the reformation of women in this very degraded and, we may say, abnormal condi- r 210 orn CONVICTS. tion, for tlioir cliaracteristies differ essentially from those of the labouring, middle and upper classes, there must exist, in the first place, firm steady controul, against which it is evidently hopeless to rebel, combined with a strict and vigilant discipline, administered with the most impartial justice. This is a primary condition of reformatory work in general, but absolutely essen- tial in this. We well remember the violent outbiu'sts of passion, the rebellious spirit, the deception, the svispicion, the constant annoyance with which we had to contend in the early days of oiu' Girls' Eeformatories ; these have given way to willing obedience, perfect confidence in their superiors, and a general openness, since a thorough steady discipline was established in our Schools ; until tliis was accomplished, httle permanent im- provement could be anticipated. In the next place, to provide abundance of active useful work is absolutely necessary. The restless excitable nature of these women requires a vent in some- thing ; they should have full employment, of a kind which will exercise their muscles and fully occuj)y their minds, so as to calm their spii-its and satisfy them with the feeling of having accomplished something. The importance of tliis also we have fully proved in our Eeformatories for girls ; — it is even more essential in establishments for women. These two primary conditions having been arranged satisfactorily, consider- able attention must at the same time be paid to the culture of the intellectual powers. These, we have ah-eady stated, are more deadened, or perverted to a bad use in women than in men. There is far greater difiiculty in stimulating girls who have passed their childhood in neglect, than boys. The effort of learning to read is to such often positively painful, and without the greatest skill, kindness, and fii'mness combined on the part of the teacher, the young person would succumb to the difficulty. The efi'ort once made and a triumph achieved, an important step in reformation is attained, for stores of inter- esting information are now open which will fill the mind, instead of the pernicious thoughts which formerly harboured l-EI^rALK CONVICTS. 211 tliero. Intellectual effort, wliicli -^-ould he very easy and pleasant to a cliild of six years old, is extremely difficult and unpleasant to a girl of sixteen, still more so to a ■woman of thirty or up'wards ; — a mastery over it once gained, not only an intellectual but a moral power is acquired, both, of T^'hich facilitate the work of reformation. Another essential part of the -work of reforming such -women as have been described, is the healthy development of their affections. These are peculiarly strong in the female sex, and may bo made the means of calKng out the highest virtues, the most genuine self-devotion ; when perverted, as wo saw them in Jane Cameron, they may be and are frequently made an instrument of much evil ; but in a woman they can never be utterly lost. It will then be essential to the success of any system which has as its object the reformation of women, that scope should be given to the affectional part of the woman's nature, and that this should be enlisted on the side of vii'tue. That all these conditions should be fulfilled in a Convict Prison does certainly appear very difficult ; yet, if they are essential to success, no labour, no expense, should be deemed too great to develop a system which should embody tliem all, and do the work required, — reform female Convicts. The expense which a bad woman is to the public who comes forth from a length- ened confinement in a Government Gaol unroformed, is far greater tlian any possible cost which might have been incurred in reforming lior ; the evil she has done within the prison to those around her is very great, and extends the poisonous in- fluence to a widely-extending circle, when the women she has corrupted go out into tlie world ; on her own discharge she emerges from her seclusion only to plunge into greater excesses than before, and to perpetuate and intensify the pol- lution of the moral atmosphere from whicli slio liad been tem- porarily withdrawn. We shall now proceed to describe Iho sj-stem adopicd in England for female Convicts, as derived from official sources. 212 OUR CONVICTS. The h-oatmont of female Convlrt.s is tlius stated by 8iv .< J. Jebb in liis evidence to tlie Eoyal Commission (662) : "All female Convicts are iirst sent to Millbank, where they go through t-wo stages of discipline; then they go to Brixton, whore they go through three more stages of discipline, and then a proportion of them come to Fulham, and go through two stages." (661). "I should not like to have them there for more than a year if I could help it, hut the exigencies of the service required them sometimes to he there for 16 or 18 months; it depends upon the nimiber coming in under sentence of penal servitude and the number of those who are going out by the expi- ration of their time. "We must relieve Brixton ; all however go to Millbank first." It appears, then, that there is no system on wliich female Convicts can absolutely rely, and which will afford a steady stimulus to them in their prison , progress. Their removal from Brixton to Fulham depends rather on convenience and circumstances, called the " exigencies of the service," than on a settled principle, and on their conduct and diligence. In reply to a cjuestion (665) whether there is any absolute rule as to the time for which a female Convict is sentenced? the answer is "No. We have adhered as nearly as we can to 12 months. It depends upon the vacancies wlxich occur. The three prisons, Millbank, Brixton and Fulham, all work together." It will be observed, that though Fulliam is generally called a Refuge, it is absolutely, as here desig- nated, a j;;'/«oH. The principle of it is a slight improvement in the condition of the Convicts, and a variety of employments, ■wdth a nearer prospect of release. They receive also rather larger gratuities, and somewhat better diet. It is, however, strictly under prison management, and the prisoners there are not under license, but absolutely under sentence. The Fiilham Eefuge was opened in May, 1856, and is thus described by Sir J. Jebb (657) : " The number of women accommodated there is 180. The discipline is somewhat relaxed from what it is under penal servitude at Brixton, and they are ITil^VLE COXVICTS. 213 engaged in every kind of industrial employment, such as washing and needlework, but especially in washing. There are upwards of 100 women employed daily in the laundiy, and they thus acquire the knowledge of a very valuable occupation by which to obtain theu- living on being released, and they realize a con- siderable amount for the Government." — 659 ''•' '^' * "Some of these women have earned as much as £20 a year, paid into the Exchec[uer. This is the return for 1862 : — Fulham Refuge Washing Account for the year ended Dec. 'ilut, 1802. £ s. d. For private families, 41,004 doz. and 7 (a, 1/- ... 2050 i 7 For the establishment, 15,050 doz. and 8 @ 1/- ... 752 10 8 2802 15 3 Cost of materials 1'601 18 11 Paid for carriapre of liueu 109 10 C — 711 15 5 Balance in favour of the establishment ... £'20i»0 19 10 Ninety women being employed in the lainidry, the average earnings of each, calculated from balance £2,0S0 19s. lOd., is about £23 -is. 7|fZ." It is explained by the Lady Super- intendent, in her Eeport, that more than 90 are employed, but as the routine of the day does not allow them a fidl day's work, the computation is made for the work as done by 90 full-time women. This computation does not of course include rent of premises, the wages of skilled insti-uctors, the use of apparatus, &c., and therefore cannot be regarded as clear profit. Still it is very satisfactory that the women Avork so well as to have cleared so large an amount towards their maintenance. The Chief Director having thus stated the system adopted with regard to the female Convicts, says that upon the whole there is more trouble with them than with the mules. " I tliink so," he says (765), " because they are not so amenable to punishment, and their offences are of a different character, and depend very much upon impulse. If they cj[uarrol one ■with another, they will set to work and break the windows; in tlicir 214 OUR CONVICTS. cells, and tear up their clothes, all without any assignable reason, and then tlioy will sit down and burst out crying. They are difficult people to manage." Such a condition as is here described by the Chief Director, surely is an unmistakable sign of extraordinary mismanagement. That such violent bursts of wilful violence and passion should be fi*equent among the inmates of any establishment, indicates a bad tone pervading it, and a want of due controul; but that it should occur in a Government gaol, where all needfvil appliances are accessible, is su.rprising. Still more so is it to hear the Director conclude his statement by simply remarking, '' They are difficult people to manage, hut on the loliole tee have been successful, for which we are mainly indebted to the admirable character of the officers." Such a state of things would usually be considered a glaring failiu-e, rather than a success ; nor can we imagine any reforma- tory influence pervading an establishment where scenes of wild excitement have any frequency. The number of prisoners at Brixton is about 600, the number of officers is about 40, or one officer to every 15 prisoners. In our Reformatories we consider one to every ten inmates a fair staff : as the adult criminals are necessarily far more difficult to manage than our Reformatory boys and girls, and require far stricter surveillance and discipline, we may easily imagine what hard and difficiLlt work these officials must have to tindergo, and how it must tell upon their health and strength, as well as power of exertion. y The Chief Director believes that the female officers perform their duties admirably; he acknowledges that they have "hard work, but not more than they can get through if in good health. The hours," he says (766), "are necessarily long. The officers are forced to get up at haK-past five, or a C[uarter to six o'clock. The Convicts are not locked up until five or later. Some of tho Matrons are kept on till eight o'clock, but some of them are relieved from duty about six." Captain O'Briex, the Director who has especial charge of the Female Prisons, states (2223) : TEM.VLE COXVICXS. 215 " Tlie female officers and warders arc ou duty at Millbank on alternate days 12 lioiu-s, and 15 hours including their breakfast, tea, and dinner time. They are not allowed to go out during the day, unless on special dutj'. " On being asked (2230) : "Does it not strike you that it is too great a strain both xipon the body and the mind of the female warders to keep them so constantly on such severe duty?" — he replies, "I do; the number of officers that there are both in Millbank and Brixton Prisons is small ; and in Millbank, both for the males as well as the females, the hoiu's are very long, and they cannot get out so often as I think they ought to get out, the consequence is that towards the close of the day I am told that some of the officers get iiTitable and extremely cross with the prisoners, and that other officers get so tired out, they really do not much care v.hether the prisoners about them conduct themselves well or ill : that is what I am told." The same witness also says (2232): "I have no hesitation in saying that the prison is rather under-officered than otherwise ; the fact is that the rule which has been piu'suod has been to keep the number of officers as low as possible. I have occasionally asked for a greater number of officers, and I have been answered, ' No, they cost too much, we must look to the expenses;' upon the whole we should do better if the number of the officers was increased." We learn from the evidence that Brixton Prison is very health}', that there are very few deaths ; the Convicts in the infu'mary are many of them invalids who came from Millbank in tliat state. The frequent indisposition of the female officers .j*^ is therefore owing to overwork, of which the Chaplain thus speaks (4809): "I think that they are decidedly overworked; tlie hours are too long for an efficient staff, because, if illness happens to overtake three or four of the Matrons, the duty thus becomes excessive ; and, of coiu'se, as to leave, a Matron may be looking forward every other night to leave from six o'clock, but she cannot have that indulgence if some one else is ill, — she must talce her place." (-1810). ^^ They arc, a •y ^/ 216 OUR COXVICTS. great manij of the:,i, laid iq) icitli ilhi?is, and tli''>j look very i/iKch tvorii oaf at times. If the staff was larger, perhaps the (Super- intendent might be able to give an earlier leave of absence once or t-wiee a week, and in that way give them a little time to recruit." After hearing the account of the work imposed on the female warders, and that of a most wearing kind, it is not surprising that they are frecxuently ill. The inquiry was made of Dr. Guy, the medical attendant of Millbank (3123) : " Whether the strain on the minds and bodies of the female warders, from the amount of work expected from them, is greater than it ought to be?" His reply is important. " I think it is greater than it onght to be. I know that theiy ivorh is extremely dijficnU and sometimes dangerous, it is very wearying work that they have to perform, and I think I am bound to sa}^ that I think they are not alwa^^s sufficiently considered; I have oftentimes thought it right to make recom- mendations for an improvement in their quarters ; and I do not think that these recommendations have been so promptly con- sidered as I think they would have been if they had been prisoners and not warders. I consider it right to say this, though I know there are difficulties in the way." AVe have seen elsewhere that the cells of the female warders are in some cases near to those of the prisoners, and exposed to the disturbing noises maliciously made by those wi-etched women. Under female officers so overworked by continual strain, and constant contact with Con\dcts so depraved, it will easily be perceived that strong daring women feel that they have the power in their own hands of exercising annoyance to their superiors, and disturbing the order of the prison. Captain O'Br.iEjf says that these are a minority among the whole, and that many of the women go through the prisons without any report at all ; but ho candidly acknowledges that he does not think that there are many cases in which anything like reformation take place dimng their confinement at Brixton. Yet he says that he thinks that the system of trGatment there is judicious and well regidated I FJMAIE CONVICTS. 2l7 Tho general regulations are tlie same in tlio female as in tlio malo Convict Prisons, -vv^tli a sliglit alteration as regards remission of sentences. The punishments inflicted appear to be quite inefficacious in oven preserving discipline, and to be defied by the women. Captain O'Brien says (2112): ''When the vromen who are thoroughly had misconduct themselves over and over again, it is impossible to punish them any more, for their health will not bear it, and it does them no good. I think it sometimes renders them worse than they were before, and they become so utterly depraved, and so detestable in every way, that really I can scarcely speak of them with common magnanimity." The following occurs in the same evidence : — "2104. You have stated, I think, that in your opinion the women defeat you in the matter of punishment, that is, that no punishment that you can inflict lias any effect upon them? — Yes, to a great extent. " 21G5. And no punishment has heen tried, so far asl liave understood you, of a diflorent kind from that which is applied to the men, excepting in degree? — No. " 2100. You have stated that confinement in a dark cell, ujion bread and water diet, is the only kind of punishment that has been applied to the women, and that that has totally failed? — Yes. " 2107. And the only suggestion that it has occurred to you to make is tho village stocks ? — Yes." Captain O'Erien has had the supervision of the female Con- victs since 1849. He further says : — "21T.'l. I was aware that the mode of punishment was ineffectual; I was always aware of that, but it has only been lately that it has occurred to me that the use of the stocks might be a good addition to the jiresent rules. "2174. That was the special mode in which you thought of changing tho punishment ?— Yes. "2175. I'ut at what period, since you lirst cojnmenced tlie supcrvisiipeciallij if she knows that the oncers are sleeping near her, or that there are sick prisoners at hand. I think, therefore, that the Governor should have the power of ordering such a prisoner to be carried bodily away, and put where she could disturb no one. "3109. I thought you had at 3Iillbank Prison cells which were out of healing? — No, we have no such cells; they are out of hearing of the neigh- bourhood, but they are not out of hearing of the prisoners. I have often wished that there could be such separate cells, but I have always been met by the 1-EMALE COXVICTS. 219 Btatement tbat the expense would be too great. I mean cells that would be so isolated that a woman might know she was alone and disturbing no one. " 0120. It has been stated that a very common offence on the part of the female convicts is to tear up their blankets, and that invariably when they have done that, new blankets are given them ? — It was so at ^lillbank until lately. " fM'21. Is it not desirable tbat they should feel the bad effects of tearing their blankets? — I think it desirable that a prisoner should always feel the effects of his own misconduct, wilfully brought upon himself, hut this he does not do at pi'cscnt, for the theory is that we medical men are bound to do all we can to prevent a prisoner from hurting himself; more than that, we have before us the fear of a jury, if anything should happen, which juiy would pro- bably consist of the petty tradesmen of Westminster, and would be apt to contain at least some friends of the criminal class." In the morbid and unnatiu-al stato in wlucli the Convict women evidently are in the Grovcrnment Prisons, we are not surprised that deception is carried to a remarkable height among them, that being one of the very prominent features of -women of a degraded condition. Dr. GrUY gives us the following illustration of it in the conduct of female Convicts : — "It may be important," he says (3142), "that the Commissioners should know, and that the public should know, the extraordinary cases that we have to deal with. A short time ago, at one of my monthly inspections, I observed a woman who was looking ill, and putting on an expression of great depres- sion. She seemed to be low spirited, and asked to see me. Those who wish to see me are always able to do so, and to speak to me. I saw this woman ; slie was looking low spirited, and she had rather a weak expression of counte- nance. She was taken into the Tnlirmary, and innnediately pretended to be imbecile. She put on a look of imbecility, and never spoke except in mono- syllables, or in very few words at a time. If she was washed iu cold water, she would ask for more, and in a very idiotic, foolish way. All our tests failed to show whether she was of sound or unsound mind, although we were convinced that she was not ; but we could not say that she might not be of unsound mind. In live months that woman voided her own excreta on her own person, having another prisoner to wash her; and at the end of five months slie got tired of it, and confessed that she had deceived us ; that she had been putting this on all the time, and she hoped she should not be punished. These are the cases that wo have to deal with." A counterpart of this is found in the pages of tho " I'rison Matron:"— " One woman in Milll)ank Infirmary took a fancied neglect of the doctor so much to heart, that on his next appcaiaucc she sprang from her bed and > / 220 OUR COXVICTS seized the poker with the intention of sjilitting liis head opei:. ' I'll learn you to say I don't want any arrowroot, you beggar,' she screeched forth. The same woman, in the days of her convalescence, and probably to prolong her stay in the Infirmary, feigned a trance with such excellent effect as for a time even to puzzle the surgeon in attendance. It was more a state of coma than of trance, and necessitated the administration of beef-tea with a tea-spoon. After the surgeon was perfectly convinced of the trick, and had read her a lecture on her wickedness as she lay on her bed, in as rigid and death-like a liosition as she could assume, she maintained her inflexible position for two days, and was only brought to reason by the mixture of a little' assafoetida with her beef-tea, at which fresh insult she sprang up in bed and assailed the attendant with a torrent of invective, only to be heard in its true strength and richness in the wards of our Government Pi'isons," The frequent effort to escape from work by sliamming sickness is a feature of the Male Convict Prisons, wliere the inmates do not take an interest in tlieir occupation, or feel a moral stimulus to try to do their duty, whether they like it or not. Yet, generally, there appears to be no complaint in the Female Prisons of xmwillingness to work, hut rather of a want of occupation for them. Mr. Moean says that there are 600 prisoners there ; about 100 are occupied in baldng for the different Convict Prisons, some are employed iu the kitchen and in baking, and the others in needlework T\'heu they can get emplojonent from the great houses, but this is very uncertain. Thus a large proportion of all the female prisoners in Millbank and Brixton have no active occupation ; nothing whereby they may learn habits of diligence, and acquii'e the means of obtaining an honest livelihood when their term of imprisonment expires. This want of active exertion is a serious hindrance to any beneficial effect which might otherwise arise from the training and instruction intended to be given to the Convicts. It appears strange that the means of remedying this very serious defect did not engage the attention of the Commissioners. The state of education among the female Convicts is very low ; far inferior to what it is among male prisoners. This will not be a matter of surprise to those who are accpiainted with the con- lE>rALE COXVIOTS. 221 (lition of the lowest grade of -women in our countiy, and of tlio ordinary educational state of tlio convicted girls who arc admitted into our Eeformatoriep, three-fourths of Avhom are usually desti- tute of the simple elements of education. Mr. Moeax tells us — (4771): "Out of 1,706 female prisoners who entered Brixton Prison from 1853 to 18.38, 851 of them were entirely uneducated, 615 could read and write; hut they had learnt that in other prisons before they came into our prison ; 50 of them coidd read a little, and 10 might be said to be tolerably educated out of that number. Their religious knowledge was very limited indeed; they vrere hardly acquainted with anything ; at all events nothing to serve as a principle to guide them." AVe find, then, that all the female Convicts, except a few isolated and excej)tional cases, were without any education but what the}' had received in the gaols to which they had been previously committed. This reveals a fearful state of things, and is suggestive of the most serious reflection. The deficiency in reading and writing may not, it will be thought, indicate absolute dense ignorance and degradation ; various circumstances may have operated to pre- vent these women from having had, when 3'oung, the opportunity of receiving instruction ; their parents may have been too poor to pay for their schooling ; or they may have been compelled by the size of a rapidly increasing family to retain at home their older girls to help in family cares. The painful fact is that they have been so isolated from all Christian sjanpathy, that it was in the gaol that they had to learn the simplest rudiments of religion. Four schoolmistresses are employed in tcacliing the Convicts at Brixton, and there are two lady Scripture-readers, whose visits are much valued by the prisoners. The record of punishments for 1861 in Millbank Prison pre- sents some very remarkable results. It will be remembered that this prison is intended for the reception of Convicts, both male and female, in the first stage of punishment, and in separation. The followin"' is an abstract of the return : — OrU CONVICTS. Adults. 58 309 Juveniles. 4 3 Total. 58 403 12 400 416 7 2 473 418 8(-i2 9 891 ArALT: coxvicTS. 223 severe cliaracter of tlio punishments of the women, leads to the conclusion that such punishments are in themselves quite inefiB.- cacious, and that some different system ought to be adopted. Very possibly a largo proportion of the punishments may have been inflicted on a comparatively small number of persons. "When these are passed on to the Associated Prison at Brixton, the mischief they do among the other Convicts is incalculable. * The Superintendent at Brixton Prison states, in her Report, — "We have, as usual, had a great many reports among the apparently incorrig-ible, who were comparatively a small number, yet too many for the discipline which without them would prevail in this prison. * ••' *" It is much to be regretted that, reformation being so important an element in tliis prison, with the further object also of preparing many for the Eefuge at Pulliam, there should still exist the necessity for our recei\dng and retaining some incorrigible prisoners, whose influence and example decide many for evil who appear just on the verge of becoming improved." Another important point in this return of punishments is the largo number of punishments of (jirls in the ConA-ict Prisons. Since young persons up to the age of IG can now bo received under sentence in Reformatories, it certainly is a very remarkable fact, that while only seven punishments of male juveniles are recorded, there are as many as 172 for young femalo delinquents, 127 of these punishments being of handcuffs and strait waistcoats. Such punishments have no place in Reformatories. If they are needed in establisli- ments where there are the means of controul which do not exist in Schools, the inference may siu'cly be dra-«n, that a system which requires so much punishment is not likely to produce any permanent moral effect, either within tho prison walls or beyond them in the world. In the year 18G2 tho Supcrintondent's Report states that tliG punishments have been fewer — 79G. Out of 021 prisoners who had been in tho prison during tho year, ;3Go had not 224 oiJR coxvic'js. been reported for any offenco, more than lialf tlio reports (1305) liaving- been incurred by 59 prisoners onlj-. Very few observations are usually made respecting the ■women in the general Reports ; Mr. De Eenzi makes this remark respecting their intellectual culture, in his Heport of Millbank Prison for 1862 : — "In the case of the women who are taught individually in their cells, not like the men, col- lectively in school, not only is there the absence of any powerfully stimulating motive to quicken their perceptions, and awaken their interest and attention, but there is a strong counter motive in the weekly gratuity allowed for work, which varies in amount according to the quantity of work done." The desire for work and interest in it does not seem to arise solel}' from the stimulus given by the gratuities. The Convicts appear to have an absolute pleasure in occupation, thus differing from the male prisoners. The Superintendent of Biixton Prison writes in her Eeport for 1861 : — " The prisoners are always very anxious for employment ; it is only tlie Aery bad -nho are disposed to be idle, and even some of these have asked and been supplied with work while in punishment cells. The invalids have been industrious; some have persevered in endeavoni-iug to do needle- work, when hardly equal to the exertion ; but of the invalid prisoners we receive from Millbank, many are wholly incapacitated from working at all ; and as our Infirmary is always full, our work return is thereby lessened; still a great deal of work has been done, and as a body the prisoners are very industrious." This feature in the women is a valuable one, which might be turned to very great advantage if an effective system were adopted. Great difficulties arise in this prison from the presence of the refractory Convicts, when thus placed in association with the better disposed. Complaint is made on this head in several of the Peports, as well as in that of the Lady Superintendent of Brixton Prison already cj^uoted. The Chaplain of that Prisoa tlius speaks on the subject ; — I'EM.vLi: cuxvicxs. 225 '• Those who have passed through the discipliue at Millbank determined to set at defiance all who were disposed to help them, and all means used for their improvement, cannot be spoken of hopefully. Great difficulty is experienced in dealing with such refractory women in an associated prison. " It is much to be regretted that they are ever removed from Millbank tnitil they have exhibited some signs of amendment, and gained such a standing in the prison as good conduct can alone secure. This, obviouslj-, • is the design of the established regulations, the departures from which I apprehend have been occasioned by the state of health of the prisoners, either mental or phyi>icnl, or both. " If I may venture to repeat what I have more than once expressed, it does seem most important that women of this class should be treated in a special manner and in a special place, and that they should be placed under medical treatment, as their presence among other prisoners operates most injuiiously upon those around them, and cc;:stitutes one of the chief dilliuulties in carrying out the discipline of this prison. I trust, however, tliat the evil may soon be remedied, when the new establishment at Broadmoor is completed. " The difilculty of dealing with such refractory women can be understood by those only who have experii-uce in such matters. And few can conceive the lengths to which thoy will go, and the stratagems to which they will resort, in order to try and have their own way. Nevertheless, even among tills class, kind, patient, firm and Christian eflbrt has not been unattended with success, and several can be pointed out taldng their places among the orderly and well-conducted, in the first and second classes, who were once as bad as can wxU be conceived." Very great iineasiuess is expressed by the Superintendents of this and of Fulliam Eefuge, or Prison, respecting the fate of the women under their chiirgo when again in the worhl. The Superintendent of Fiilham Eefuge says, in lier Eeport for the same year : — " In my general remarks under tliis head I trust that I may be permitted to digress a little. " The most desirable way of disposing of our v,omen on discharge has lor some time past occupied my anxious and serious attention, and more so since the 'Discharged Prisoners' Aid Society' has been compelled from want of funds to relinquish its valuable labours on behalf of female piisouers. " As it is iu)possible for tlie Superintendent of a prison, from the very ^ nature of her duties, to bo possessed of the facilities for procuring situations or employment for prisoners upon their discharge, that are at the disposal of a Society Avhi;;h for so many jcars Las been what I niuy term n nio^t imporlant an 1 needful being done to the country at large." Of tlie coudiict of niauy uf the wouieii \\'lio are advanced to Ftilliani, and allowed to remain tlieve, Tve may form some opinion from tlte fact, tliat tlioiigli tlie Superintendent states that the conduct of the prisoners has been generally very satisfactory, yet there is a record of o7 punishments, — nine having been punished twice ; two three times ; one foiu* times ; and one even live times. It might have been imagined that women who were in this last stage, which is supposed to test their fitness for freedom, ought not to have required absolute punishment to keep them under controul, and that if they once so conducted them- selves as to require correction, they would be sent back to Millbank. It is not a matter of sirrprise that the public should be unwilling to trust women ■v^■ho require such severity to keep them from serious misconduct. >Such is the only insight which we can obtain into the general working of the female Convict Prisons from official sources. Vague rumours of course, fi'om time to time, give some insight into the " secrets of the prison house ;" the volumes of the Prison Matron give a vivid picture of their internal working. Respecting tlie reliable nature of this Avork ^\■e cannot entertain any doubt, as it is referred to by the Eoyal Commis.sioncrs in their interroga- tions of the Chief I>ire(tor, and no doubt is expressed by them or 228 ouii coyiviCTS. by iiim of tlio trutli of the statements it contains ; no suspicion ai)pcars to be entertained in it of serious faults in tlxe system, and tlie greatest deference and respect is everywliere shown to the Directors, to one of whom the book is dedicated. In doing so the author says, — " That I have written very earnestly — to the utmost of my power, very truthfully, — a record of prison life, I trust may form my excuse for dedicating this work to you. Much that may appear strange herein, I pray you to believe, is devoid of all exaggeration. Much that might have been more highly coloured and effective, through the agency of fiction, is related after the simple manner of its occiu'rence." As the work has reached a tliird edition, without any doubt being- thrown on the accuracy of its statements, a few extracts will here be given, which serve as an illustration of the various official statements that have been ali-eady c^uoted. The Prison Matron gives this painfvil description of the women generally : — " To see some of these women hour by hour, and listen to them in then- mad defiance, ragn, and blasphemy, almost constrains one to believe that they ai-e creatures of another mould and race, born with no idea of God's truth, and destined to die in their own benighted ignorance. " As a class, they are desperately wicked — deceitful, crafty, malicious, lewd, and void of common feeling. ^Vith their various temperaments there are various ways of humouring them into obedience, and sometimes a chance of inducing them to act and think judiciously; but it can be readily imagined that all the vices under the sun are exemplilied iu these hundreds of women, with but a sparse sprinkling of those virtues which shoild naturally adorn and dignify womanhood. For racu at most difier as Heaven aud earth, But woinen, v;orst and l^est, as Heaven and hell, asserts our greatest living poet; and no two lines, I fear, are more true to human nature. '• In the penal classes of the male prisons there is not one man to match the worst inmates of our female prisons. There are some women so wholly and entii-ely bad, that chaplains give them up iu despair, prison rules prove failures, and punishment has no effect, save to bring the iii-isoners to ' death's door,' on the threshold of which tlieir guilty tongues still curse and revile, aud one must let them liave their v.ny, or see them die. Some women arc less easy to tame than the creatures of the jungle, and one is almost sceptical of believing that they have ever known au innocent ciiildhood or a better TEM.AXE CO>'VICTS, 229 life. And yet, strange as it may appear, these ■women are not always in for the worst crimes : thei'e are fsw, if any murJeresses amongst them ; they have been chiefly convicted of theft after theft, accompanied hy violence, and they are satanically proud of the offences that have brought them withiu the jurisdiction of the law. * * * " The great difference between the male and the female prisoners is this love of display under difficulties. It is a subject almost inexhaustible, and on -which a -whole volume could be -^N-ritten. Personal appearance is almost -wholly disregarded by the men ; by the -women it seems never forgotten for an instant, inciting them to breach of discipline and defiance of all rule, and maldng them bold and stratagetic. Checked too roughly, it leads to violent outbursts of temper that will throw a whole ward into confusion. " To check this vanity, to baffle the many means which prisoners find for their gratification in the indulgence of it, is one of the most trying and incessant tasks of the prison matron. There are times even, when, with a very vicicTns woman, who has no self-controul, and whom physical restraint transforms into a wild beast rather than a human being, a little harmless variation in the arrangement of tlie hair or tiie style of the bonnet is tacitly overlooked. " There are some women at Millbauk and Brixton Trisons wlio h-ive under- gone every method of punishment, who have defied, fought against, and worn out those that inflicted it, and who, with health impaired by constant severity, are still as reckless and dangerous as in the days when prison rules were new to them. Kindness, severity, moral reproof, have all been tried and failed , and disciplinarians of the strictest school can do no more with them. Such women are at last humoured by thoughtful prison matrons; there remains no other Avay to keep them quiet. This may be subversive — is to a certain extent subversive — of true discipline, but a strict observance of the i-ules would inevitably kill the woman, whose indomitable spirit would last till h r dying day." The same author has shown its in " Jaxe Camerox," that even such women as these may be softened and subdued b}- the influence of one of her own sex of a higher and better nature, which throws itself into s^inpathy with her own. It is evident that to work ofiectivcly with women such as here described, however, requires, in officials, no Kttle firmness, experience, tact, and, above all, dee^D Clu-istian love ; but they shoidd bo aided in this difficult work by a system wisely planned and firmly supported. The Prison Matron thus speaks of her fellow-workers, in " Jaxe Camehox," vol. ii., p. .38 : — 230 oT-ij roxvTf'Ts. "In our female prisons it inny be easily imagined there is a sprinkling of these hard, nnsvmpathetic officers, — good officers, in the main, so far as dis- cipline is concerned, but possessed of no tact with the women ; unable, after years of service, to understand them, constantly exciting the prisoners by those little exhibitions of authority, which ai'e according to rule, but which have been quietly 'dropped' by the majority of their fellow workers. Such matrons do more harm than good, gain but a sulky obedience from the well- behaved prisoners, and elicit passionate outbursts from the unruly. They are the Javerts of female prison life, making no eflfort to study the characters or the temperaments of their women, and keeping up a confusion in the wards that is inexplicable to the authorities. Orderly and precise matrons, but nothing more ; they are like the orderly and precise mothers whom we meet with sometimes, who regulate their children's lives on a similar prin- ciple, and whose children invai-iably turn out wrong ; — after all their trouble, all their care. " And if children Avith harsh mothers, or with mothers of the v5ry opposite chai'aeter, who have never a will to exert, go wrong, so those children of a larger growth, female convicts — but children in so many things — do not exhibit any great improvement when a strict disciplinarian, or an easy, foolish matron, has the management of th.em. To hit the happy medium is the good fortune of not a few, however : experience will always teach the right way to a perceptive mind.' Thus we perceive tliat a system of temporising, or liiimouring the individual feelings of each -woman, is regarded as absolutely necessary under the existing system. It prohably is so simply to carry on the existing general order, without continual violent out- bursts of passion. But that such is the case proves a great defect in the system adopted. We know by painful experience in the early days of oiu* Girls' Eeformatories, that such a course is absolutely subversive, not only of all real discipline, but also of all hope of reformation. A daring and rebellious girl was once overheard to say to her companions, *' The more we stands out, the better they treats us." She gave her teachers a lesson which they never forgot. "We have known a Schoolmistress, acting on the principle recommended in the foregoing extract, tolerate the impertinence or constant petty disobedience of some bad and wiKul girl ; — this produced the most injurious effects ; — the girl felt that she had established for herself the privilege of acting as she chose, provided she kept within due limits, and PKJr.VLK C'OXTICT.S. 231 imagined that slie had infused a dread of provoking liev into tlie mind of her instructress ; — the other inmates learnt a lesson that they had only to he sufficiently daring and intolerable, to obtain the same privilege for themselves. "We are told that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of vrisdom ; it is true, also, that there is no commencement of reformation until a fear of disobedience, and a principle and practise of duty are thorouglily established. This uncertainty of the course to be pursued with her, leads the woman to stiU greater lengths, for she finds that she can, by management, carry her point Avith the Director liimself. The Convicts have the privilege of seeing the Du-ector, if they request it, on one day in the week. The following is a specimen of such an interview, as given by the Prison Matron : — "'Well, JoKF.s, what have you to sny to me?' possibly inquires the ]")ireetor. " ' If you please, sir,' dropping a curtsey, ' I waiit to stop away from Fiilham. I hear, sir, as how I'm to go on to the Refuge, and I'd rather not go, if you please, sir. Oh ! I'd so much rather stop !' " ' For what reason ?' " ' Why, sir, I've never had a report here, sir ; and I likes my ollicer, aud knows 'em all like, and am very comfor'ble. And you see, sir, I've a bit of a temper, and shall be all strange and woiited in a new place, and sure to break out, sir, aud be sent to Millbauk, sii-, again. And if you'll only be so kind as to let me stop, sir.' " The Director mentions the advantages of Fulliam over Brixton ; but the woman expresses her objection more firmly, and perhaps there is a little conversation between the Director and the Lady-Superintemlent o" the merits of the case. " In a matter of this description the issue is doubtful ; now and then a woman receives permission to remain; at times, Bri.^ton is full of women, and Fulham the reverse, and, nolens volens, the prisoner must go. " When permission to stay has been refused, a woman will occasionally break her windows, and thus, by the laws of the prison, prevent her transfer to the I'efuge. This act is invariably punished by the removid of the l>risoner to Millbauk, to the silent system and coir-pickiug again. • • ♦ "Occasionally a woman, bursting with her imaginary wrongs, enters into n full detail of the ill treatment she has received from Jliss ]\., or Jliss ^V^, or the principal, who may be standing at her side. Such a report on lier conduct is unjust or exaggerated, or wholly false; she has been always ?et upmi. whilst iithcrs just as bad — 'fifty limes wuss, sir, — have been let oil". 233 orK cr/XviOTs. or wioked at. Then] there's lot of favourites 1 — and hecause she don't care to follow suit and curry favour, she's served so, aud reported on, and trodden under foot. And all she's got to say is, that it had better be altered, that's all — she's stood enough of it ! ' " One woman who pleaded for an investigation into her report, and was refused, went back to her cell and hanged herself." The outbreaks are now well known as a peculiar featiu-e of these Convict Prisons. They are a natiu'al consequence of the excitability and bad feeling of the women under the system prevailing there. " In prison," our author says, " the example of breaking out is displayed so often, and the monotony becomes, to a wild spirit, so wearisome and heart- breaking, that to disturb the stillness of their dreary abode and to give some animation to the unvarjdng round of their enforced duties, the offence is committed, and the glass is shivered by the pewter pints ! " One break out is almost sure to be followed by another; for the pulse beats high in these caged natures, and their blood is soon warmed by tumult and excitement. " One matron, of a somewhat impulsive disposition — who has since left the service — once told me in confidence, and with a comical expression of horror on her countenance, that she was afraid she should break out herself, the temptation appeared so ii-resistible. " ' I have been used to so different a life — father, mother, brothers, and sisters, all round me, light-hearted and happy — that it's like becoming a prisoner oneself to follow this tedious and incessant "occupation. I assure you. Miss , that when I hear the glass shattering, and the women screaming, my temples throb, my ears tingle, and I want to break something, dreadfully !' "I believe I have ali'eady remarked that some of these 'breakings out' are parts of a cool, deliberate attempt to obtain removal to a dark or refractory cell, adjacent to a favourite companion who has recently committed a similar offence. At both prisons madness is very often feigned, and windows and tables are broken for the sake of fellowship both night and day ; and occa- sionally there are suspicions of unfair treatment, slights and jealousies, to render the woman's actions som.ewhat consistent with her feeUngs. With the malicious, it is a morbid satisfaction to destroy piison property. ' 1"11 seiwe 'em out for putting me in here !' is often the remark with which an act of wholesale damage is accompanied. "In one year at Millbank Prison, one hundred and fifty- four cases of destruction of prison property oecui'red; that there are some women so des- perately wicked — so resolved to resist all efforts to make them less abandoned or intemperate than Ibiy have always been— that it is often necessary to lay four or five reports in the course of the week, for two mouths in succession. PE3I.VLE COXVICTS. 233 before tlio Supeiiutendcut, in order to keep up anjtliing like a semblance of discipline in the wards to which these women belong. " In former days women were contented with tearing their blankets into a few sti'ips ; but as these fragments were available for 'prison flannels' it became a general rule to devote a little more time to the work of demo- lition, so as to make quite certain that the infinitesimal portions should render no further service to the State." Though the official testimony already given, fully proves in general terms the violence of the outbreaks, yet as it is well to realise the kind of evil involved in them, and the difficulties the officials have to contend with, we copy the following scene from "Jane CIuieeox." It is evidently sketched from life. " She had become naturally enough, perhaps, a more thoughtful woman, and even then she hesitated. "When the cell door was closed, prayers hod been said, and the gas put out, she arose and softly paced the limits of her cell in the darkness, until reflection vanished and a wild determination set in. Slie had been imposed upon, and was thought an easy woman that would stand all manner of nonsense. She — Jane Ca^ieeon, who had been one of the worst of Glasgow girls I She gave up trying to be good ; she could not stand remaining any longer quiet and passive; life was liorrible; any thing was preferable, for variety's sake. She laughed once or twice at the sensation there would be created in the wards presently, when the officer was on night duty, and all was hushed and at rest. " She thought herself into a mad stale ; — it is easy for a solitary woman to do this— and she regretted the absence of her broom, which had been given out according to rule when she had received her gruel supper in her ' pint.' When all was still, Cameron proceeded to tear her blankets and bedding; after the first rip or two it became an easy and gratifying task; she began to sing over it after a M'hile. Then she leaped on her table, aud sprang up at the window, 'pint' in hand, and hesitated. Tt was her first grave offence; should she do it, or should she not? She stood there and trembled for a while, then thought of her wrongs again, and of her fellow- convicts, who would laugli at her if she halted half way. and finally with a wliirl of her hand she battered at the glass with her 'pint,' and screamed. " The death-like stillness of the ward was over ; the spell was broken ; the matron came hurrying to the scene; the outer bell was rung for assistance; the prisoners turned out of their beds and began hammering against the doors for information ; one woman cried forth, ' Bravo, Gajierox ! Give it 'cm, my gal and another swore that the next time she got a chance Cameron had better look out, for waking her from her first sleep in lliat fool's way. 'If you wanted to break out, why did'nt you comn it in the day-time'.'' slio grumbled. "The excitement of entrenching on the stillijcss of her life, the quiescence 234 orn con^'icts. of licr ilaily existence, was now in full force; she was proud of the uoise she had created, and of the attention she had drawn upon herself; she i-egretted the absence of more windows, and tried hard in the few minutes that intervened to break up her table for defensive purposes. And when the door was flung back by the male officers, she made a rush at them like a tigress, and fought them, scratched their faces, and tried to bite them, till, overpowered, she was borne away to the ' dai'k.' " In the dark cell she proceeded to stamp with her feet, beat the door witli her hands, and scream after the approved convict fashion, until startled almost out of her life by a hoarse voice at her side. " ' Give it 'em. I have schreech'd myself hoarse, and now its your turn.' " ' Wha be ye '? ci-ied Cameron. " ' HiTCHixsoN. I smashed yesterdaj '; we're half on the smash, and they'll be obliged to fill it now. I thought some one had been here before. You're Cameron ?' "'Ay.' " ' Thought you were a quiet un,' was the observation ; ' no good being quiet in Millbank. I like a row ; and I've rowed till I've lost my voice. I can kick still, though. Hoo ! Hark here ! ' '•And away went the heels of Hrxcuixsox on the slanting wooden boards which formed, and still form, the place of rest for the ' dark ' inmates. " When the blankets and rug were passed in to Cameron, she tore them up after the usual fashion, and received hearty plaudits from her companion, who had torn up hers at an earlier hour of the night. " ' Keep it up, Cameron !' said the woman. ' We'll do a song now. I'll sing; I've a beautiful voice. The screw sleeps above — your screw— and we'll keep her frisky.' " The news was satisfactory to Cameron, who sang and kicked her heels during the rest of the night, or the early morning, in the hoije that the uproar would reach from the cell to the ears of the mati'on above her. In the morning came bread and water, which Hutchinson accepted, being hungry and which Cameron flung back at the matron through the trap. In the morning came news of the sentence ; tliree days in the ' dark,' with bread and water. But the ' dark' was a change; there was no work for her, but she had found a companion, and they could talk together of the ' bonuie days' when they were free. They compared experiences, took notes, told each other much of their respective lives, promised to consider themselves 'pals' from that time forth, and to write to each other, passing the epistle on from hand to hand in the airing ground or the chapel. When there was a chance they would break out together again, and perhaps be shut up together just as they were then.'' These fits of iiueontrollcd and desperate passiou sometimes end in insanity ; attempts, either real or feigned, at self-de- striiction are not uncommon. One dreadful instance occurred, F■R.^rAL"E ^o^-vIf■Ts. 2.3.5 in wliicli a Avomau, in a fit of wild jealousy and desperation, threw herself over a parapet and was dashed to pieces on the pavement helow. Sometimes their excited feelings, and the vain attempts made by the officials to controid them, bring on a fit of illness. But even this has little effect in subduing their evil spirit, which remains with them until death closes the mournful scene. The Prison Matron says : — " The same ingratitude, and selfishness and callousness are evinced towards each other; and to the prison officers, the same dui^licity, craft, and vindictive feeling. There are women whom nothing will soften, whom no kind- ness will affect. "'Breaks out' occur even in the infirmary- ; the passion of jealousy, to which all prisoners are prone, leading tliem to imagine that too much atten- tion has heen shown to one invalid, and too much neglect to their own selfish requirements. A woman will break out at a supposed slight, and struggle from her bed to wreak her vengeance on the crockery near her- One pidsoner ill Millbank Infirmary took a fancied neglect of the doctor so much to heart, that on his next appearance, slie sprang from her bed, and seized the poker with the intention of splitting his head open. 'I'll learn you to say I don't want any arrowroot, you beggar !' she screeched forth." We will not copy any more of these revolting scenes, nor describe the deliljerate attempt of a woman to miu'der a ]\ratron, or other wild outbreaks, the dangers to which the officials are exposed in the discharge of their duty. In the Eeport of the Superintendent of lirixton Prison for 1863, two assaults on Matrons are spoken of in one year, which sufficiently indicates the risk of health, if not of life, which they incur. Yet there are interspersed in these volumes many tender and beautiful traits, which show how much might have been done to soften even these women had the right means been adopted, had il been made a part of the system to call out the better parts of the nature. One of these Convicts made literally a bosom friend of a mouse she had siucceded in taming, and her grief at its death was inconsolable. Another lured a sparrow to her cell, and almost broke her heart when the little creature came to an untimely end. One is reminded by these incidents of the 236 orii C0XV1CT3. prisoner in tho Bastillo and his spiders. Sometimes a T^oman will run tlie risk of a report, and even piinisliment, to possess herself of a flower. " I have a remembrance," the Prison Matron sajs, " of looking through the 'inspection' of a cell some years ago, and perceiving a prisoner, with her elbows on the table, staring at a common daisy, which she had plucked fi-om the central patch of grass during her rounds — one of those rude, repulsive, but not wholly bad prisoners, from whom no display of sentiment was antici- pated. Yet the wistful look of that woman at her stolen prize was a gleam of as true sentiment as ever breathed in a poet's lines. A painter might have made much of her position, and a philosopher might have moralized con- cerning it— for the woman wept at last, dropped her head down on the table between her linked hands, and shed bitter tears silently and noiselessly. The prison daisy must have spoken of the old, innocent times — of the fields she crossed once with old friends — perhaj^s of daisies like unto that before her, which were growing on a mother's gra\ e. " Six mouths afterwards I saw that flov,er pressed between the leaves of her Bible — a little treasure I sliould not have had the heart to take away, had there been any laws of confiscation concerning daisies in ' the books.' " The romantic and devoted attachment of the Convicts to their "pals," individuals for whom they, have conceived a prison friendship, is generally very injurious ; but the same power of affection, if rightly directed, might be the means of great good. A Convict has been kept from a violation of the rules, or even from an outbreak, by regard to some particular Matron who had given her a kind look or word. Jane C.^iiEEO]^ was saved from moral destruction by such influence. Humouring and indulgence are very injurious to these women, — but Christian charity is never without its power over them. To one more point we must allude, the Prison Schools. It has been already stated tliat the instruction of such women is a very difficult task, and that the intellectual nature of females, both young and old, in this degraded condition, is far more obtuse and difficult of culture than that of males. But this very fact renders it doubly important that every effort should be made to awaken their deadened powers, and to supply them with mental food wliich may take the place of the garbage which had hitherto l'EM.\XE CONVICTS. ii37 been tlieir nurture. But it lias not been so in these prisons, as we liave gatliered from the official evidence ; vro have also the folio-wing account from the Prison Matron : — " In justice to my subject, I must say, that the schooling system is far from a perfect one — does not work well, even irritates the women. Perhaps it would be hard for most of us to sit down late in life to learn school lessons . to these woman who have known no lessons in their childhood, whose minds are set to ignorance, and ou whom a ray of light is torture, the prison school is almost uueudurable. " I cauuot think that so much attention has been given to the schools as the subject is deserving of. The machinery to do good is existent, but it appears to me that it is not fairly Avorked. There is no incentive to learn, and the women sit down to their lessons with more doggedness and moroseness than they exhibit when they turn to their daily labour. "'What's the good of learning at this time of life?' one woman will say. And I have often heard another exclaim, 'I'd rather have six months — nine months — longer sentence, than this sort of work. It's awful hard !' " They sit at their desks, a posse of unruly children, more ignorant and unteachable than any child can possibly be, growling discontent over their lessons, and seeking to evade them. Over such a grisly array of pupils the two schoolmistresses in attendance possess httle, if any power. * » * * '• The r.-omeu are taught once a- week in classes of fifty at a time ; the wing v/omeu generally of a morning, from ten till half- past twelve j the old prison women, and consequently the worst behaved, of an afternoon, and for a period of time somewhat less than woman of the second or first class. The slight alteration of teaching the women in smaller classes has been recently tried with satisfactory results." The length of time here allowed fur schooling is evidently insufficient to produce any sufficient effect, or even to enable the Schoolmistresses to accLuire any influence over their inapt scholars. To seciu-e tolerable order, a Matron is obliged to watch the classes while the lessons are being given by the two Schoolmistresses. The following is the residt : — " The schoolmistress appeals to the matron ou duty if there be too much talking, and the matron calls to order and reproves the unruly. Bible ]-oadiiig in classes is adopted by tliose who liave a fair knowledge of tlieir letters, and a strange gabble of sounds it is proceeding from tlieso women. There is, however, an objection *o reading aloud amongst them, and it is only liy the matron's continual remonstrance that the majority of the women can be induced to read at all. Those who have yet their letters to learn have sjiecial lessons given them, and great is the difiiculty to surmount the first barriers in the way of education. Women more ignorant and stupid tlian 238 OLTv COXVICTS. these prisoners it is impossible to conceive ; teaching them becomes a hope- less task — the little progress made one week is entirely forgotten the next, and has to be re-learned, with the same stolidity of manners and vacuity of countenance. Teaching for two hours, or two hours and a half, once a-week, with no lessons to learn in the interim, is a burlesque of teaching with such indocile pupils. " Heading in Bible-class and a writing lesson constitute almost all the school duties required of the Avomen. Originally copy books were given to them, until the leaves began to disappear, and to be used for furtive corres- pondence; latterly a single slieet of paper is laid before each woman, and collected at the end of school hours, the performauce thereon being duly criticized. " At one period an attempt was made to teach the elementary rules of arith- metic, a variation which unfortunate^ proved a signal failure. It was the last feather on the camel's back, and the women w'ould have nothing to do with such arduous mental exertion. To do them justice, they made the attempt; but the extraordinary answers that were returned to questions the most simple, and the shouts of laughter from the women at the desks at the blunders of those who had found courage to respond, were subversive of good order, often of good temper." It is evident that seliooliug' so couduetecl is worse than useless, and cannot have the effect of elevating- the condition of these women. After such pictures of prison life, we cannot wonder at the unwillingness displayed by the public to take into their house.s women from the Convict Prisons, however well they may have submitted themselves to the discipline required. No one wotdd A^sh to admit into a well-ordered household any one who had been even cognizant of such proceedings, though she had taken no active share in them. Besides, coming as most of the female Con\dcts do from very degraded homes, they are totally uniit for ordinary civilized life, for Avhicli the mechanical routine of a prison does not aiford the slightest preparation. In fact, even if placed in domestic service through the special interest and effort of some kind lady visitor, they find themselves wholly unpre- pared for it. The Prison Matron gives us instances of their suddenly leaving comfortable places of service, through a yearn- ing after their old life. The present state of the Female Convict Prisons does not. i'E-MALE COXVICXS. 239 then, alibrcl lis the fsliglitest jiupe of any iuiprovemeut in the Female Convict.s. Indeed, the Eev. Geo, De Rekzi, Chaplain of Millbank Convict Prison, states in his Report for 1861, (p. 74) : "The most discoui-agiug feature in our criminal returns of late years has been the sad, but too certain, evidence which they contained of an extensice and extending danoralization of the female portion of the eomntnniti/.''^ Though ho expresses a hope that this is some-\\liut decreasing-, yet there does not ajipear any ground for such expectation while the penal establishments ■wliich ■were intended to diminish crime are so completely failing in their object. AVe now proceed to bring forward some distinct proofs that the Female Convict Prisons are not reforming women and decreasing the crime of the country, but the reverse. The Peport of the Directors for 1863 contain some important state- ments. AVe learn from them (p. 6) that "316 Convicts were discharged on license diuing the year 1863, and 39 on expiration of sentence, t\vo received pardons, six were removed to lunatic asyhmis, and 20 died, making a total disposed of in the year of 383." The number of cases of death and insanity appear remarkably large, considering the attention paid to dietary and medical treatment. Such results woidd lead to attribute much of the evil to the mental condition of the Convicts which might be remedied by a change of system. Those who are accustomed to the care of morally diseased females are well aware how much the health is affected by restlessness, excitement of the bad passions, and that dreadful void in the nature wliich is produced by the want of interesting occupation, and of a natural scope for the allections. 437 Convicts were received, the Peport tells us, into the Goverment Prisons during the year 1863. "Of these 127, or 29 per cent., were reconvicted; 39 of them were recon- victed during the currency of their former sentences, and 88 subsecpicnt thereto, and, in addition to these, 15 licenses were revoked, making a total of 1 1_* i-econvictions or revocations of licenses." The li'reater number of these 142 ofl'ences of women 240 OUE C0>'VICT3. wlio had already undergone penal servitude were such, as did not involve any very serious legal offence, 119 being cases of larceny. But though the crimes for which these women have received a fresh sentence of penal servitude do not themselves imply any deep depravity in them, yet they do incontestably prove that these discharged Convicts have resumed their former criminal mode of life, and that they are again the centre of the most baneful influences. So the Directors e\'idently perceive, for they continue : — "But though the retui-n of crimes for which women are sent to prison under sentences of penal servitude would seem to show that, so far as they are personally concerned, they do not belong to what may be called the dangerous classes of society, there can be no doubt that their male associates do, and experience goes far to show that it is female influence exerted in some way or another, and not, as is often supposed, intoxication, which is the source of so much crime." We cannot accept, as the real origin of the evil, the following reasons which are assigned: — "The large increase in the nimiber of reconvictions arises partly from the rapid discharge of the women imder the effect of the comparatively short sentences of recent years, the want of means for assisting and supervising them on discharge, and in some degree, perhaps, from defective prison arrangements . ' ' The adoption of an entii'ely wi'ong system of treatment appears to be the true cause of the bulk of those reconvic- tions ; a longer detention in the Convict Prisons would probably not have reduced them eventually, but only postponed the evil. The large proportion (29 per cent.) of reconvictions which have been recognised cannot, of course, be regarded as the actual per-centage of relapses into crime of those who have passed through the Convict Prisons. "We have already seen how many escape recognition, and this v.'ould be particularly easy as regards women. The police state that they find it more difiicult to fix in their minds the lineaments of women than of men ; indeed, the attempt is sometimes almost ineffectual FEMALE COXVICTS. 241 to discover a female Convict "wlio lias cndeavoiirecl to conceal her identity. It will, besides, be observed that the committals to County Prisons are not included in this return. The actual per-centage of female relapses probably more nearly approaches that given by the four Wakefield Magistrates, viz., 50 per cent, of the women who were sent into penal servitude from Wakefield Graol. This is no new condition of female Convicts after their treat- ment in the Govermnent Gaols ; Caj)tain O'Brien states in his evidence to the Committe of 1856, '*I am sorry to say that the conduct of the women released on license is very bad. I believe that a great many of these women, especially the older ones, uill sooner or later find their way back to imprisonment" (749). Mr. Bkennaj^, Police Inspector in the Metropolis, states to the same Committee that he does not know one woman who has been released on ticket-of-leave, and is doing weU (3302). IIow little it is possible to fonn a judgment of the actual results of the Convict treatment ox females, from the statistics of those gaols, is shown by the following statements made in the evidence of the Chaplain of Brixton Prison. lie tells the Commissioners (4832), that since the establishment of that prison, 2320 female Convicts have been discharged, and only 227 recommitted ; this would be not quite 12 per cent., a very moderate number, considering the bad character of these women. He states that this number fairly represents the number who have been reconvicted, because these prisons receive all the prisoners who are reconvicted. When asked (4838) : "A much larger proj)ortion than those have probably fallen into crime?" he replies : "I daresay it woidd bo so, but, at the same time, as most of the prisoners return to their homes, and as they woidd be kno'SMi in the neighbourhood if thoy liad committed ofl'ences before, they would probably receive sentences of penal servitude." From such statements avo shoidd naturally infer that this number of relapses of neai'ly 12 per cent, nearly represents the truth. What is our astonishment to learn iVoin R 242 orn co^'•VICTs. a pamphlet in tlie hands of the Commissioners, the hist Report from the Liverpool Gaol, — "it there appears," reads the O'Connor Don (4840), " that out of 207 female Convicts released between the years 1856 and 1859, 73 have been recommitted, or about 35 per cent !" The Eeport of the Governor of the Borough Gaol, presented to the Maj^or, Recorder, and Magistrates of Liverpool on November 3, 1862, gives us the following appalling facts re- specting the state of female crime, as indicated by the gaol statistics. The total nimiber of commitments of female prisoners during the year ending September 30, 1862, was 4440 adults and 78 juveniles. " The number of persons committed last year," he adds, " are more than have been committed during any year since we have occupied this prison, except the year 1857." '■■• '■-' ■'■ "Up to the 18th of August last, the num- bers of cells on both sides of the prison were sufficient for the separate confinement of all prisoners in custody here, and for all the past year the cells on the male side of the prison have continued sufficient for the male prisoners ; but on the before-mentioned day, and for several days afterwards, the number of female prisoners became greater than the number of cells on that side of the prison ; so that I have been occasionally compelled to place two women together in such a number of cells as the excess of numbers required." The excess of adult females committed over the preceding year, he tells us, is no less than 712, while there is a decrease in the juveniles of five, indicating the continued good effect of reforma- tories, without v,-liicli, as in former times, the juvenile convictions would probably have shown even a more rapid increase thau the adults. " The nimiber of adult females, who were committed here last year," he adds, " exceeded the number of adult males by 21, viz., 4440 adult females against 4419 adult males." Such facts deserve careful consideration, and especially as the pro- portion of female commitments to male throughout the kingdom, does not generally exceed one-third of that of males, certainly PEM-ILE CONA'ICTS. 243 not one-half, M'liile here iu Liverpool there is not only a groat increase over former years, but the actual number of women in gaol exceeds that of men, instead of being one-third or one-half. All large towns present numberless temptations to vice, and in Liverpool dens of iniquity of the most dangerous character abound ; and seaport towns, especially one so situated as Liverpool, are much exposed to be the residence of large numbers of dissolute characters. Besides, the very elaborate Police, as well as Graol Reports, which are prepared in Liverpool, do not often in other places come before the pubhc eye, to startle it with an enormous amount of female depravity. Liverpool must not therefore be held up as peculiarly entitled to unen- viable notoriety, and v,'e must endeavovu- to ascertain some special reason for this immense increase of female crime there. AVe are enabled by the Report of the Chaplain of the Graol, Rov. T. Cakter, to form some idea of the share of this ■\A'hich may be given to our Female Convict Prisons. " The large number," lie says, " of recommitments of adults of both sexes cannot but have attracted your notice: and those gentlemen who havo been more immediately connected with the administration of justice, in your police and sessions courts, will no doubt have had their attention drawn from time to time to the great number of offences committed by returned penal servitude prisoners and holders of ticlvets-of-leave. The full extent of this evil, how- ever, does not lie upon the surface. Some little investigation is needful to discover its proportions. I have not gone very minutely into the question, nor am I able to state in precise figures the number of returned convicts who have been committed to this gaol during the last yeai". Some idea, though, may be formed, when I say that of the sessions casts alone 71 (40 males and :)1 females) were returned convicts, in many instances holders of tickcts-of- Icave even at the time of their further conviction ; aud on the last day ot tlie ■ official year there were under conviction iu this gaol 55 who were recognized as belonging to that category. "Further, I have inquired into the present doings and mode of life of all the females who have been sentenced to penal servitude between the 1st of June, 185(), and the 31st May, 1859, and I beg to submit the following as the result: — 241 were sentenced to various periods of penal servitude during those three years, of whom 34 are still under detention in convict prisonsi leaving 207 who are supposed to have undergone their sentences; of these 207, 97 cannot be traced, because many have only just received their liljorty ; others may in all probability have emigrated or passed to other localities 244 OUR CONVICTS. beyond the reach of my inquiry;* 7;3 have hesn rcoommittci], several sub- jected to second like sentences ; 17 are known to be living disorderly lives and maintaining themselves by crime; 7 have been pardoned on medical grounds, dead, or lunatics; 4 are known to have migrated to other localities, and all trace is lost ; 1 is in a refuge in London ; whilst only 8 are known to be so far doing well. "Now, these figures exhibit a fearful state of things. I give them as plain facts, and leave others to draw their own deductions from them. One con- clusion, however, 'cannot be evaded, namely, that the present mode of treat- ment adopted in our convict prisons is a complete failure. Nearly the whole of those women — certainly a large proportion of tliem — have been returned to Liverpool to mix again with our population, and to spread the leaven of their jjernicious influence vA\h this condition in their hands endorsed on their license — ' To iJi'oduce a forfeiture of the license it is by no means necessary that the holder should be convicted of any new offence. If she associates ■with notoriously bad characters, leads an idle or dissolute life, or has no visible means of obtaining an honest livelihood, &c., it wiU be assumed that she is about to relapse into crime, and she will be at once apprehended and recom- mitted to prison under her original sentence.' But this intimation is a dead letter — a mere idle threat. I do not know of a single instance wherein it has ever been enforced ; indeed, how is it possible that it should be carried into effect where there not only exists no machinery, no organized arrangements for enforcing the condition, but whilst the heads of the convict department, with singular inconsistency, discountenance all interference." Here, tlien, we have one most important cause of tlie great increase of female crime iu Liverpool. In the figures given us by Mr. C-Vetee. there can be no mistake, because they are founded, not on vague report or supposition, but on positive information obtained through a well-organised pohce and other official aids. The conviction he expresses of the "complete failure " of the present system adopted in our Female Convict Prisons is not one founded alone on the conclusive statistics just quoted, which show that only eight women are known to bo doing well out of 241 sent to the Convict Gaols; they are based on very long and close personal observation of the results, as well as the causes of female crime, and all who have been working at the reformatory cause know well how important and valuable have been the contributions he has made to it from the very first. Mr. Cauteb's statements are " * Of those ' not luiowa ' otiicra were cominitteil shortly after this Report was writteu." FEJrALE COXVICTS. 245 always "based on the experience ho has gained from his daily work in the Liverpool Borough Gaol for a long course of years. This testimony, and the conclusions ho has arriyed at, are founded on actual restiUs. Such extraordinary failiu*es cannot arise from any inefficiency in tho officials of tho Convict Prisons, respecting whom high testimony is borne by tho Directors in their Reports ; it is tho system adopted which must be completely ivro7ig, and can never do what is intended, ■i.e., reform female Convicts. Tho statistics of other prisons where the samo careful investigation has been made would support this conclusion. Numberless cases might bo cited from Police Reports, whoro peculiarly accomplished thieves and female pickpockets prove to be ticket-of-leave women, or some that have received a long training in a Convict Prison ; they are, indeed, of such fi'equent occurrence as to attract little attention. Two instances wall suffice : — " SHOP-I.tFTING IN BE.OADMEAD. " Ann Baenes, alias MuRriiY, a respectably dressed and modest-looldng young woman, but an old offender, was charged with stealing two pieces of riband, collars, and other articles, value £1 10^. 5d., the property of Miss HuTCHiNGS. The complainant, in partnership with her sister, keeps a haber- dasher's shop in Broadmead, and from her statement it appeai'ed that on Monday the prisoner, in company with a man and another female, came into her shop at about five o'clock in the afternoon. The man asked to be allowed to look at a necktie, which he pointed out in the window. This was handed to him, and he ultimately purchased it. While ho was examining the necktie the prisoner and the other female inquired respecting some riband, and tho complainant's sister showed them several descriptions, which they turned over a great many times before they said how much they required, and at length, being jjrcssed as to the quantity they would have, tho prisoner said that she only wanted three quarters of a yard with which to trim her child's hat. The sister of the complainant observed that it was a small order, and at length cut off the quantity named from a piece of riband woith Is. a yard. The pair of females next asked to look at some collars, and accordingly a box containing them was produced. Each of the women look up tUe collars, threw them down, and turned them about for a considerable time ; and, after much consultation, they selected a collar at TJd., and that concluded their purchases. "Whilst they were standing closo to the counter before leaving the couipldinant's sister perceived the end of a ])ioce of liband hanging from 246 OITR CONVICTS beneath the prisoner's jacket, and she charged her -n-ith having the riband concealed, which the other indignantly denied. The sister of the complainant upon this caught hold of the end of the riband and pulled out a quantity, which had been secreted beneath the prisoner's jacket. In addition to the riband two new pocket-handkerchiefs were exposed, which appeared likewise to have been hidden. The complainant, who was in the shop, perceiving the turn which aft'airs had taken, ran round the counter and caught hold of the accused by the shoulder, and whilst she had her thus, she noticed some collars hanging out of the prisoner's pocket, and she charged her with stealing them. To this accusation the prisoner said that she did not know they were there, and that some one else must have put them in her pocket. The complainant drew out the collars, and in doing so saw that the accused had another piece of riband in her pocket. She then became exceedingly abusive, and whilst the complainant caught firm hold of her in order to detain her, she (the prisoner) pulled her head and hurt it veiy much. The com- plainant keeps a young man to assist her in the business, but he happened to be out at the time, and she therefore ran into the shop of Mr. Coopek, shoe- maker, next door, to ask him if he would helii her in securing the accused. The prisoner seized the opportunity to run away, but in leaving the shop she dropped three silk handkerchiefs. The other two persons who accompanied her to the complainant's shop had already taken themselves off. P.O. 4G stated that he was on duty in the Horsefair, on Monday evening, when he perceived a crowd, and in the midst of the people was the prisoner, who was then -uithout the hat and jacket which she had worn when she robbed the complainant. She darted away from the mob, and ran up a court near ; but was at last apprehended, and her hat and jacket found in a water-closet. Mr. Williams remarked that the accused had only been home on a ticlcet-of -leave for u fortnight. She retorted that she had served her full time for the offence of which she had been convicted. Mr. 'SVilliahs stated that she was appre- hended some time since for a robbery, and whilst in gaol v\'as confined of a fine child, which, through the kind exertions of Mr. Alderman Ford, had been received into a Eoman Catholic establishment, the mother being of that persuasion. The prisoner protested that she was innocent of the present charge; but the Magistrates said a jury would require to be convinced of that. For the present they remanded her, that if possible her companions might be apprehended." — Bristol Daily Post, May 20, 18G3. If -^e mentally follow this -svretclied woman to her home, and see around her the companions and accomplices of her crimes, wo may form some small conception of the baneful influence she must shed around her, and shudder at the life to which her infant must be destined, if not removed from her keeping. All this daring crime, it will be observed, is shortly after the training she has received in a Convict Prison. FEM.VLE coxvirxs. 217 Here is anotlier instance extracted from tlie same paper, of June 17, 18G1:— " ATTF.JIPTING TO PICK POCKETS AT THE AGmCULTUEAL SHOW. " John and Sarah Williams, two well-dressed individuals, were charged •with being concerned with others in attemiHing to pick the pockets of several persons in the Agricultural Show, Durdham-down. A detective oflScer of the metropolitan police force, named Coathupe, stated that he was on duty at the Agricultural Show, on Duivlliam-down, on the previous day. At four o'clock he saw the two prisoners there, and, suspecting them, he followed them. He saw the female prisoner place herself beside another female, and put her hand into her pocket. The male prisoner was close to her. He inquired of the lady if she had anything in her pocket, and she said she had not. Afterwards he saw the female prisoner put her hand into another lady's pocket. On inquiring of the latter she said she had only a pocket-handker- chief in her pocket, and that had not been taken. Saw the accused make several other attempts, and the male prisoner was with her the wliolo of the time. They walked arm in arm. A detective from Liverpool proved that he had known the female prisoner for the last fourteen years. She u-as a thief and had leen twice sentenced to penal servitude. Prisoner : It's false. Mr. Alman, who appeared for the accused, contended that there was no charge proved against the prisoners, inasmuch as it had not been shown that there was any property on the persons alluded to. The Magisb-ate considered it a clear case, and sentenced the prisoners to six weeks' hard labour." It does, indeed, seem useless to sentence tliis woman again to penal servitude on tlie existing- system, but is it just to society that she should he at large to prey upon it after an imprisonment of only six weeks ? The evil done by these women who have passed some years in the Convict Prison is not limited to their injury to society when at large. They carry their contaminating influence into the County Gaols to wliich they are committed, and there attempt to incite insubordination, by a repetition of the daring insolence to which they have been accustomed. " I will show you how they carry on at Brixton," said a woman who had been committed to a Coitnty Graol, after being in penal servi- tude, and she suited the action to the words, endeavouring to create distui-bance where there had always been good order and discipline. From numerous official quarters liaA'e wo lu'ard 248 OUR, coxvrcTs. tliat the scenes never do occur in well-ordered gaols wliich the evidence before the Commission proves to he frequent at Brixton. The very same women who have been well-conducted prisoners, and have gained the favourable opinion of their warders, while in County Graols, have returned to them, after being at Brixton, violent and coarse in the extreme, attempting to enact scenes such as they had witnessed there. The follo'w'ing is an instance of this from the Chaplain of the Bristol City Gaol, dated July 20, 1864 :— " In answer to your inquiry, I am very happy to be able to assure you that I have never seen but oue specimen of a planned insubordination on the part of female iirisoners in this gaol, during the five years that I liavo been Chaplain. The circumstances were these, — " Three women — Ellen S — , Emma M — , and Mary Akn B — , were tried at the last October Sessions for extensive shoplifting. They had all only just arrived in Bristol, having previously been convicted together for a similar offence in London, and having undergone together a sentence of four years penal servitude, passed upon them in June, 1860. They were thus all three on ticket-of-leave when they came to Bristol, ' travelling,' as they termed it. Ellen S — was 24 years old, and had already had two sentences of four years' penal servitude. Emma M — was also 24 years of age. Mat.y Ann B — was 44 years old, having been several times convicted, as far as I could ascer- tain. At the October Sessions in Bristol they vrere convicted and sentenced, M — to seven years ; S — to six years ; and B — to five years' penal servitude. "At the same Sessions, Elizabeth F — , aged IS, was also sentenced to four years' penal servitude, after two previous convictions. " These four prisoners were placed near together in our gaol, awaiting the time of their removal to Millbank. After locking-up time, viz., between eight and nine o'clock on the night of the 17th of December, the three prisoner's, S — , M — , and F — , began to sing and shout, and call out to one another as loudly as they could. Upon being remonstrated with they were very violent, and threatened to injure the female v.arders if they endeavoured to restrain them ' from having their fun out.' They proceeded to tear up their bedding, and threw a great portion of it into the yard below through their cell windows. This disturbance amongst them continued all night, and so threatening was their manner that it was considered desirable to send for one of the male officers to put their hands together in haudculfs. "When I saw them early on the following morning they were still very noisy and irritable, but they received my remonstrances with tolerable civility ; and F — and M — promised to desist from their ill-behaviour. S — v/as still deiinnt, and declared that nothing should stop her. However, in the after- 1 PEMALE COXVICTS. 249 noon all three were perfeetlj' quiet, and on the following day they seemed really sorry for their outbreak, and thanked me for what I had said to them. They gave no further trouble during the remainder of their stay in Bristol Gaol. " I remain, dear Miss Carpenter, " Yours very faithfully, " Charles Brittax, Chaplain. " P.S. — The motive these prisoners assigned for theii* misconduct was rage at the length of their sentences. S — , it appeared afterwards, had further l)lanned a disturbance in chapel, intending to scramble out of her own pew, and then to let the other women loose, merely for miscliief sake. " At the time F — was convicted, her mother and her sister were also in the gaol." 5 -rvu^ It is possible that many of the evils which have been 'p-^>f enumerated may be referred by those connected with the Convict Prisons to the difficulty experienced by these women in getting employment ; — but how can it bo expected that the public should be willing to take them into employment, when they know so many instances of their again plunging into crime very soon after the discipline they had gone thi'ough ; not only so, but when they hear of the " smasliings" and numerous punishments even in Fulham Refuge, which is appropriated to the best women. In the last Eeport of the Convict Prisons the Chaplain states that, " In the montli of August, 1863, several of the first-class toomen who had been transferred from Brixton (to Parkhurst Prison) manifested a very insubordinate sj)irit ; they become very riotous." It is true that the Chaplain adds that in a few days they all settled down again, but, nevertheless, the disorder was of so serious a character that ho makes it a subject of praise in the male prisoners in the neighbouring promises, that they showed no symptoms of sympathy " during the great disturlanco in August last, among the female prisoners who had been transferred from Brixton." None will now probably hesitate to acknowledge that the system adopted in the Female Convict Prisons fails in any reformatory effect. Lot us now endeavour to point out th(.^ causes of this. 2oO OUR CONVICTS. iJ^-U,'"---^ >Y-^"-^ First. — In the penal stage, there should Lo siich firm and steady discipline as Avonld soon remove from the prisoners the temptation to these violent outbreaks ; their savage wildness ought to be subdued, and must be so before there can be any reformation. As long as a woman in so wicked a state finds that she can create an excitement in the prison among the officers, gratify her malignant spirit by the destruction of prison property, and enjoy the society of some one as wicked as herself in the dark cells, the outbreaks described to the Commissioners will continually occur. At tchatever cost, cells shoidd be made separate from each other, where two prisoners should never be together under any circumstances, and where they should not have the power of annoying the officers. An occasional isolated fit of passion easily subdued will then take the place of planned outbreaks. When these have somewhat subsided, which they will do when the prisoners know that they cannot effect by them their wicked intentions, the work of the Matrons and "Warders will be much lighter and less wearing to their health and spirits, and they will be more able to thi'ow the necessary spirit and power into their labours. But, to keep up a steady discipline, it is necessary that there should be a sufficient staff of able officials. It must always be remembered that the nature of women being much more susceptible than that of men, female offi-cers are much more easily prosti-ated, both physicall}^ and mentally, than males ; — consequently it is of the greatest importance that they should have no more laid on them than they can bear without injiuy. The staff should be sufficiently large to allow this ; the houi'S of duty should be shortened, with intervals of relaxation beyond the prison walls, and arrangements made for regular and fi-equent holidays, by which they may retain the tone and vigoiu- of their minds. Experience has proved to the writer that it is only by such means that officials can be retained in a condition adequate to their ardiious work. Justice to faithful officers FEM-VLE COXVICTS. 251 requires this ; the puLKc service will receive wliat is of more value thau pecuniary outlay, by granting it to them. Secondly. — The -women should, from the very first, be made clearly to imderstand that their future pi-ospects depend on themselves alone ; — such arrangements should be made as will secure this, and impress on their minds a feeling of strict justice. The Mark System, described as adopted with so much success in the Irish Male Convict Prisons, has an equally valviable effect in those for female Convicts, and would doubtless be equalty valuable here. The regret expressed by the Chaplain that the women had less interest in their schooling, because it occupied the time in wliich they might have earned marks for work, clearly indicates this ; if marks were awarded for lessons also, the same stimulus would aj)ply to both. Expe- rience has shown that this Mark System is the most certain and effective means of stimulating to seK- exertion, and inspiring a sense of justice. But under no circumstances should women be removed from their separation in the first prison, imtil they are really prepared for association with others. AVhen the change is made to Brixton, they should always be sent back into separation, if their conduct proves that they are unfit for society. The Brixton Prison might then become as well ordered as the Superintendent desires. The women would thus have no excuse for complaints of favouritism, nor would they endeavour to make their o's^'n will, as is now so often the case, decide in what prison they shall bo. Thirdly. — There ought to be full and active employment provided for the women when they have passed through the lh"st and solitary stage ; in this, coir-picking and shirt-making may be sufficient occupation, but afterwards, something very diiTereiit should bo arranged. In this respect tho female Convicts labour under a great disadvantage, as compared with the inmates of the Public Works Prisons. The men have varied labour in tho open air, calcidatod to exercise theii* muscles, to occupy their minds, to give them the healtliful influences of 252 OUR COJTV^ICTP. nature, and to prepare tliem. to gain an honest liveliliood. Nothing is wanting for them in this respect. But the "svomen have no suitable occupation thus to occupy them, and prepare them for future life, to give a natural and healthful character to their actual prison existence, wliich is one dreadful, monoto- nous roittine. Even the very Matron felt it at times difficult to controul the painful irritability which was engendered by the dreary sameness ; what, then, must these women experience who have been accustomed to an exciting and imrestrained life. Many sink under it, we have already seen ; others, if not abso- lutely insane, become idiotic in their deportment, or perfectly childish. All efforts to vary their life by the exercise of their ingenuity in making various little articles, are repressed by the prison regulations; their only change is the monotonous walk in the prison yard, where the sight of a flower is hardly ever enjoyed, and the possession of one an irregularity connived at. The eagerness of the women to have the privilege of yielding domestic services to the Matrons, and generally to do any active work, shows what they might become were suitable arrange- ments made. But without such provision, who can wonder at the amount of ill-feeling displayed by women thrown back for years on their own vicious thoughts. Fourthly. — The numbers should never be so large in an Associated Prison as to prevent the possibiKty of a personal influence being exerted by the officers over the Convicts. Until such is the case, no moral tone can pervad.e the establishment, and until this does exist no improvement can be anticipated. If a right principle is infused at the commencement, and the Convicts have learnt that they are treated with justice and with kindness also, when they find that those set over them are actuated by a desire to benefit them instead of to punish them, they will be ready to receive the good influences which may be exerted over them by the Matron. But while the numbers are so large, without any absolute separation, it is quite impossible that any real influence should be exerted. We have seen in the I'EM^LLE COXVICTS. 253 Irish Convict Prisons how strong a feeling of individual interest exists between the male officers and the Convicts ; women would he still more easily influenced by this. The Prison Matron has shown us how sensitive these poor women are to kindness, and how strong are their yearnings for personal affection ; these characteristics of female natiu'e might be made subser- vient to the highest, purposes if due advantage were taken of them. Fifthl}-. — Considerable attention should be paid to the intel- lectual cultui-e of the women, as a means of raising them from their present degraded condition. That this can be done, if right measures are taken, experience elsewhere has proved ; and that it will be an important element in their reformation, no doubt can be entertained. In the existing state of the Female Con^-ict Prisons, it is inevitable that the women should bo totally careless of intellectual improvement, but if the altera- tions here proposed were made, they would gladly welcome the opportunities presented to them. Sixthly. — The assistance of male warders should be called in as little as possible. The mere fact of the employment of such in controlling females has a most injiu'ious effect. The women become excited and maddened almost to frenz}^, and put foptli a strength perfectly incredible to those who have not witnessed it. From the Prison Matron's narrative it appears certain, that to produce a scene with the male warders, is the direct object of many of the worst women. Though it may be necessary to retain the possibility of employing the gi-eater strength of men under pecidiar and rare circumstances, yet generally, -vN-ith judi- cious management, it would be far easier to controul violent women by female than by male officers. The Cliaplain of a weU-ordered County Gaol for women has stated that there never has been need of employing male officers in the prison, and ho believes that it would bo most injurious to do so. Yet extremely bad ^\•umen arc brought there ; on one ocoasiou one was di'Uggcd with didiiully to the gaol by three police- 254 OUK CONVICTS. men ; — tlioy were not admitted within the walls, and the woman soon yielded to the firm discipline, and to the moral influence of which she was at once made sensible. Cases are very rare in well -managed gaols in which such agency is employed. We have not here entered into details, because those can best be planned by those who are actually developing the principles. But in all, there should be that careful study of the effects of treatment which alone can guide to improve- ment. No preconceived theories, or mechanical arrangements, or desii'e of economy, should interfere in the execution of a work, which, in its indirect, as well as its direct residts on society, yields in importance to few others. The grand object to be aimed at, however, is not to make good prisoners, but to send out into the world reformed women. Even if, by the changes here suggested, these prisons were made models of good conduct, and wei'e per- vaded by an excellent influence, no confidence could be felt respecting the futiu'e of the Convict women, when -ndthdi'awn from the artificial condition and the supporting influences under which they have been living. The Superintendent of Fulham Eefuge laments that some of the most promising prisoners turned out failures. This must alwaj's be expected under any purely prison system ; — no one can be trained for freedom in bondage. The best prisoners, — those who can completely yield to the discipline enforced, and who can keep quite clear of reports, — such even may bo thorouglily bad women. Some degree of freedom of action alone can test the true character of the individual. "What, then, is to be done for the female Convicts ? The Intermediate Prisons, which we have so stronglj- advo- cated for male Convicts, and which have been so successful in Ireland, cannot, it is evident, be employed for women. Nor indeed, if it were possible, would they answer the end intended, as they cannot prepare for domestic life, Avhich will be the FEMALE CONVICTS. 255 destination of most of the womou. This difficulty Avas very strongly felt by the Directors of the Irish Convict Prisons at the commencement of their work. We shall do well to follow them in the progress of the experiment they tried, and having learnt how they succeeded, we may perceive the way to similar success in oiu- treatment of English female Convicts. The condition of the Female Convict Prisons in Ireland waa even worse than that of those for males, when the Directors first imdertook the charge. The female Convicts who had been transported to Western Australia had been so bad that the Colony absolutely refused to receive any others. The Directors say in their First Report : — ' ' Our proportion of female criminals is very large, and it is much to be deplored that such is the case, considering the influence for good or evil that women must exercise on the rising generation. This large proportion may, in a great measure, bo ascribed to the circumstances of the country, and want of industrial employment. A prison is now erecting at Mountjoy for the reception of 600 female Convicts ; which will, we trust, enable us, from its construction, to carry out such penal and reformatory treatment us will induce habits of reflection and amendment, and will also relieve the County Gaols from the great inconveuienco to which they are subjected through the reception of Gfovernmont prisoners. Pending its erection, however, we are endeavouring to ameliorate, if possible, the condition of those confined in Grangogorman and Cork Prisons, which, unfortunately, can only hold a portion of our Convicts. Towards attaining this object, education adapted to the wants of that class, and engendering habits of industry, are the great adjuncts to the religious influence inculcated by their chaplains. AVith regard to education, the Female Prison Schools, in com- mon with the others, will be placed under the inspection of the National Board of Education. Heretofore instruction lias been limited to those under twenty-seven or twenty-eight years : wo 256 ovn CONVICTS. have given (lii'ections that thero should Lo no limit as to age provided there is a disposition to acquire information. " Respecting industrial training, "vre have desired that all the Convicts should, in turn, receive instruction in cooking, laundiy, "^V sewing, knitting, cleaning, &c., instead of confining a certain number to a particular occupation ; although this plan tends to the "work not being so 'vrell performed, we prefer it on account of the advantages gained by the individuals receiving general instruction. " It has been a custom to admit Convicts into the prison with their children sometimes at the age of five or six years ; we cannot consider such places, with their necessary associations, advantageous for education of the young, and recommend its discontinuance, excepting in cases of children under two years of age." In their Second Report they show that immediate good results have followed the adoption of their plans. They say : — "With regard to female Convicts, we have devoted much attention to carry out the plans proposed in our last year's Report concerning them, and have observed a manifest improve- ment in their general demeanour and conduct. This we attribute in some measure to the efibrts made by oui* teachers to open their minds by education, and to engender habits of self- controul. Many, instead of sullenly brooding over their past life, now look forward mth hope to the future. Even women advanced in life, who have spent most of their career in prison, and who at first would not attend school, and seemed incapable of understanding the advantages of education, are now amongst the most assiduous in their classes. A difierence in their conduct is ah-eady apparent ; they are more orderly and obedient to the rules, and make efforts to exercise that self-command, the want of which has so often led them into crime. 'SVe trust that under the new arrangements in the prisons, and a system of Refuges and patronage on discharge, which we are now advocating. FEMALE COXVICTS. 2o7 many Convicts formerly considered irrecltiimable, ■will linish their career as good members of societ}-. "On the subject of education, Mrs. Lidwell, the Superin- tendent of the Cork Depot, expresses herself as follows, — * I find that the effect of school instruction has been, in most instances, to awaken, as it were, the minds of the prisoners, and improve their natural comprehensions, to make them more docile, more easily brougiit to see the value of cleanliness and order, and to inspire them with a considerable feeling of self-respect ; many of them seem by education to have become better able to imder- stand the folly and wickedness of their previous lives, and experience a strong feeling of repentance. I have observed, too, that as they make progress in school education, their conduct in the prison proportionally improves ; and that some who have come from the County Gaols with very turbulent characters, and apparently of very violent dispositions, become, under the influence of education, conformable to discipline. " Mr. Synis'ott, the Grovernor, and Mrs. Eawlixs, the (Super- intendent of Grangegorman, both dwell on the importance of this training. Prisoners are subjected on conviction to four months separate confinement, as far as the acconmiodation at our disposal will admit, after which they are removed to the industrial classes, and employed in work suitable to their sex. The system of badges and gratuities work particularly well as applied to the female Convicts, and calls forth good qualities which would otherwise have lain dormant. Mr. Syito'ott says, — ' Classification and the badges have already proved to bo of great moment, and arc well calculated as auxiliaries in producing happy results, and a I'urtlier and more healthful development of individual merit.' Mrs. Ea"^t.ixs states, — ' The prisoners in the higher classes have exhibited much anxiety to keep their position, while those in the lower endeavour, in many instances, to raise themselves, and have tried to overcome dispositions which bring tlicia into blame.'" Tlic minds ui the Directors were even tlicn awakened to th<> 258 OUR cox^'icxs. importance of devising some plan for the gradual introduction to liberty of the female Convicts, while at tlie same time they should be brought into personal contact of ladies uncon- nected with the prisons, who would devote to them their voluntary benevolent effort. They continue : — " Grreat difficulties present themselves in the final disposal of female Convicts. A man can obtain employment in various ways in out-door ser\-ice, not requiring, in all cases, special reference to character, and at work which is not open to females in this country'. A woman, immediately on discharge from prison, is totally deprived of any honest means of obtaining a /^ livelihood. Persons of her own class will object to associate in labour with her, even if employers were willing to give her work ; and the well-conducted portion of the community object to receive with their families, or domestic servants, persons so circumstanced, without a stronger guarantee and proof of their real and permanent reformation, than Avould be afforded by a prison character." How to effect this was the grand problem to be solved. The difficulty is thus concisely set forth by the Directors. "A Government Institution would answer for a mere Refuge, hut not as a medium through ichich the individual icill he estahlished in society; for under any rules it will be looked upon as a prison, and on the discharge of the inmates the same difficulties ■will be felt as at present in our Convict Depots." To give such confidence to the public in the reformation of these unhappy women, as to make families willing to receive them into their domestic circle, it Avas necessary that the female Convicts should not only have gone through some such intermediate stage as the men, but tliat the^^ should have had some kind of trial of the sincerity of their reformation without the restraint of the prison walls, or the guardianship of government officials. Tlie plan proposed by the Directors admirably combined these objects. "For this reason," they continue, "instead of increasing the exi;"^{iug Government FEMALE COXVICIS. 259 Prison Establisliineuts — a plan uttendod with much expense, delay, and difficulty — we proposed, in December last, to the Irish Government, that Con^'icts whose conduct had been exem- plary should bo drafted into existing private charitable institu- tions ■willing' to receive them, where the disposition of each inmate woidd be studied, and the certificate of character founded on that study, together with recommendations, which would then be considered sufficiently satisfactory to obtain her <'mploy- ment ; the ])risoners, in all such institutions, should l)e under the general supervision and inspection of the Convict Dii'ectors. In order to carry out this plan, a certain number of exemplary Convicts should be selected from the Grovernmeut Prisons, at periods varying according to circmnstances, previous to the time when in the iisual course they would become ehgible for discharge, and be sent to such private establishments, and not released therefrom imder at least three months ; and not then unless immediate and proper employment should offer, excepting, liowever, cases where prisoners become regularly entitled to their discharges, from having completed their sentence, and special cases to be determined on by the Directors and sanctioned by the Executive. Should, however, a prisoner misconduct her- self, she would bo liable to recommittal to the Convict Depot, to undergo her original sentence. It is obvioush' most desirable to enlist public sympathy ami interest in any scheme fur the em- ployment of discharged female prisoners; this object wo consider wiU be best attained in the manner proposed." Ilere we have the first sketch of a j^lan which has .succeeded admirably. Mrs. LiBWELL, the Lady-Superintendent of the Cork Female Prison, thus alludes to the same need in her Report : — " A great difliculty under ■which I lahoiir in the management of llio prison, is the want oi' suitable employment with wliich to keep the prisoners in constant and useful occupation. The store is now crowded witli shirts and socks niado by the prisoners, of which I hare no means of disposal. The .shirts have the convict stripe on them, and tlicrefure could not bo sold to any Init a Government Prison. Turty women arc const.intly employed in t!ie 260 ■ OUR coxvicxs. laundry, who, in addition to the ordinary worlc of the prison, also do the Avashing of the Spike Island Dcjiot. Then in cooking, cleaning, and assisting in the stores, there is einploymeut for ahout fifty more,; and the rest, then, when not engaged in school, I am forced to employ in sewing and knitting^ in which hranches, as I have said, there is already a large accumulation of work done. " I have to state to the Directors that I am greatly impressed with the advantage to the prisoners of transmission to the refuges, previous to heing finally discharged. Those who are well-conducted fear to leave the prison directly, as they feel conscious they cannot obtain honest employment, with the disgrace of conviction attaching immediately to them ; and it would he very desirable that the same advantage should be granted to the prisoners sentenced to penal servitude. I have now in the piisou some of that class, who are extremely well-conducted, and would, I make no doubt, prove excellent members of society. "I have the honour to be, gentlemen, your obedient servanf, '• Delia J. Lidweix, Superintendent. " The Directors of Convict Prisons, Castle, Dublin." On the 20th of September, 1858, the new Female Prison at Mountjoy was entered by Mrs. Lid well with 20 Convicts; the remainder followed in drafts in charge of the constabulary, always attended by some of the female officers. The prison was in a very unfinished state, yet Mrs. Lidwell is able to state in her Report : — " I am happy to be able to say that, notwithstanding the drawbacks incidental to an unfinished prison, the conduct of the jnisoners has been, on the whole, good, and I estimate their progress as decidedly satisfactory. The system of classification, by marks earned through good conduct, industrj- at Avork, and attention to school, has produced most excellent results upon, not only the habits, but it is not too much to say, upon the very characters of the prisoners. It is the most powerful incentive to good that in my cxi^erience has yet been tried. " Great benefit, too, has been eflectcd by the change from association to cells, inasmuch as it prevents the communication amongst the prisoners that was not merely idle but most injurious, as the chief burthen of their con- versations frequently consisted of allusions to their past ill-sjient Jives, and these not always of a repentant character. Many of the prisoners them- selves acknowledge, and I believe sincerely feel, the benefit they have derived fi'om this change. I have heard them thank God for it, as it weaned them from sin and evil companions. This may, of course, be affected in some eases, but I have reason to believe that it is in general a genuine exjiression of feeling. rEM.VLE COXVICTS. 261 " A great deal has been effected for the moral improvement of the prisoners by the attendance of the Chaplains, and by their exhortations ; much is also duo to the religious instruction imparted by the Sisters of Mercy to Roman Catholic prisoners, and by Protestant lady visitors to those of their own persuasion, jMy experience, however, leads me to disapprove of visits by the ladies of either creed, paid individually to the prisoners in their cells for the purpose of affording religious instruction. It has a tendency to impress the prisoners with an idea of their own consequence, and incline them to become presuming. They look upon it rather as an opportunity of talking than one of learning, and after a little time there is a decided tendency on the part of the prisoner to seek to become too familiar with her instructress. In time they begin to regard the attendance of their kind teachers rather in the light of visits of condolence than as admonitions to prevent them from a recurrence to their evil ways ; while, therefore, I am most anxious to have the religious instructions continued in the different rooms set apart for the purpose, I am of opinion that it has been for the advantage of the prisoners that the cellular visits have censed. "The school has wrought immense benefit : it has given healthy occupation to the prisoners' minds ; and while it has developed an amazing amount of intelligence amongst them, seems to have given a better tone to their mode of thinking. Those Avho are remarkable for attention at school are seldom to be found amongst the ill-conducted or disorderly. The alteration in the school routine, devised by Captain Ceofton, has effected most important results for the better. By the former system the prisoners went but t^dce a- week to school, remaining there from three to four hours ; now they are at school every daj', though but for one hour. This new arrangement has the effect of keeping the attention of the prisoners more alive; they learn with a great deal more rapidity, and have got rid of the disposition to waste, in talking, any portion of the time allowed for school. I think it right to state tliat these arrangements have been zealously and efficiently carried out by the School Matrons. " I should bo glad to liave all children over the age of four years (even though the mother's period of imprisonment be not expired) removed to some juvenile reformatory institution. Their ijresence is injurious to dis- cipline, while they are themselves liable to be contaminated by the bad example and iiossibly bad teaching of their mothers."' These Refuges -v^-ere establisliod. It required some moral courage, or rather a strong faith and a devoted love in theso ladies, to undertake the custody and care, tmaided by means of punisliment, of pliysical restraint, of wonion who had sprung from '*a class so depraved, and hitherto deemed so incorrigible," continues tlio Report, "as to be absolutel}- r(\jected by the colonists of Western Australia, a CuloJiy -wlioso vitality at tlie 262 orPv CONVICTS. present moment depends on an increase of the female sex." But they did undertake the cliarge, and here are the results up to the close of 1858. Vide Fifth Eeport, p. 18 :— Entered Kefuges from the Convict Prison 2.")iJ Still remaining 88 To be accounted for 144 Emigrated 40 Sent to situations, or returned to husbands and families... GO Returned to parents and friends (six of these are likely to relapse) 24 Married 3 Sent to Magdalen Asylum ■) Sent back to prison to complete their sentences 11 Escaped (the only one up to the present time) 1 144 Those who were sent back to the Convict Prison from being unprepared for the Refuge cannot be considered as relapses. "Only two," the Directors say, "have been reconvicted and sent to the Convict Prison, and the information with regard to these cases may be considered positive, and therefore satis- factory ;" — positive, on accoim.t of the complete system of super- vision of the police and registration of offences established by the Irish Government. "It is a subject of sincere gratification to us to be enabled to report results far exceeding what we ever anticipated. By means of ' individualization,' a large nimiber of women far advanced in criminal courses have been thus returned to the community to lead honest and industrioiis lives. T^Tien at liberty a protecting hand has still been with them ; the weak have been protected, the over-confident cautioned." The success of these Refuges has steadily increased. It is not confined to the individuals enjoying the benefit of them ; for the indirect effect of them on the inmates of the prisons is very great. The Convicts not only look forward with hope to obtaining the pri\dlege of entering the Refuges through their own steady efforts, but a feeling is imparted to them all that I'EMALE coxvicxg. 263 benevolent interest in their welfare is felt, not only by those ■whom duty places near them, but beyond the walls, among those who have no connexion with them, save that which the Samaritan had with the wounded and perishing traveller. These Refuges form also a valuable link to society, for they are accessible to tlie public, whoso cooperation is so important. Many from England who, in 1861, attended the Social Science Association in Dublin, closely inspected them, and received every desired information as to their working. All were struck with the changed look and manner of the women from what had been noticed in the earlier stages. There was nothing to remind one that they had even been in prison ; and they were ready to converse with visitors with fidl assurance of sympathy respecting their future prospects. In the autumn of the same year, the four Yorkshire Magistrates who went over, closely scrutinized this important part of the Irish Convict System. In their published " Observations," they say : — " We visited two Refuc^es in Dublin — a larger one for Roman Catholic women, who are the most numerous, at Golden Bridge ; and a smaller one for Protestants in Heytesbury-street. The former is conducted by Sisters of JMercy, some of whom were ladies of high social position. • * • The women are generally found exhibiting the most willing obedience to discipline, and among them misconduct of any kind is extremely rare. Considering that many of them are women who have been convicted over and over again, the fact speaks volumes for the salutary effect of tlie training they have previously undergone in prison. No difficulty Avas said to be found in pro- cui'ing situations Tor them, which shows how well the Refuge answers the purpose for which it was intended. The Protestant Refuge is under the charge of a Matron, superintended by a committee of lady visitors. "We were much struck by the apparent industry displayed in the washhouse and lauudry. * * * That, under these circumstances, women — and those women convicts — should be found to work as hard for the benefit of the institution where they are detained, as they would for themselves out of doors, appears to us a result of veiy high import, in a moral as well as in a finnucial point of view. It shows that an intlueuce rjet tuiknown on this side the channel lias been brought to bear on the correction of that fault which is the special cliaracterislic of the criminal class, viz., dislike of hard work." To this may bo added the jiersonal testimony of tlio writer, as given in "Once a Week," June 7, 1862. 264 . oru ooxviCTi?. •'IRISH CONVICT SYSTEM. FE3LVLE PEISOXf?. No. IT. ''It is always a painful sight to see degraded -women; but, on our recent visit to Dublin, Ave determined at once to en- counter it, and our fii'st visit in the capital of our Sister Isle was to the Mountjoy Female Convict Prison. "It was the Sabbath, and it was an appropriate employment of the day consecrated to Him who came to seek and to save the lost, to worship with the prisoners. There are tlu*ee dis- tinct places of worship in Mountjoy Prison. The largest is for the Eoman Catholics, adapted to the performance of tlie rites of their religion. A very plain, simple apartment is occupied by those attending the ministry of the Presbj-terians, and a large chapel is simply arranged for worship, conducted according to the custom of the Church of England. "In many prisons the Convicts are arranged at pubKc worship each in a separate cell or partition, so as to see and be seen by the minister only, — as if even in the presence of our Heavenly Father, and engaged in His worship, the prison idea must still pervade the service, and everything social be banished. In other gaols, where there is not this separation, but all worship God together, as an absolute separation between the tv/o sexes is necessar}-, the women are out of sight in a gallery. Thus have we worshipped under the ministry of the late lamented Rev. JoHX Clay, whose services in the Preston Gaol were most impressive, and who carried with liiin to the Throne of Grace the hearts of all his hearers. Here, however, the women were alone in the chapel with the clergjTaan and female officers, without any ajiparent formality or restraint. A painful histor}- might be read on many of the countenances before us ; — vice dreadfully disfigures the features of a woman, and no one could haA'O been here without haAdng gone tlu'ough a long course of crime. But all were joining with apparent devotion and interest, every one who could do so following FK>rALE CON-TTCTS. 265 the service in the prayer-books ; the earnest practical exhor- tations, which were adcli'essed to them in the sermon, were received aj^parentl}' with self-application and intelligent interest. ** The service concluded, the Lady-Superintendent of the whole prison (who had not been present, being a Roman Catholic), showed us the general arrangements of the establishment, though of course we were obliged to defer our observation of the ordinary working of it to a Aveek day. One feature of it struck us particularly. In England the difficulties seem insuperable to the admission into gaols, workhouses, and even infirmaries, of benevolent lady visitors of different religious denominations. In Ireland, where parties run liigh, we antici- pated still greater difficulties ; yet liere — in tliis Convict Prison — the grand problem is solved, for not only are the female oflO-cers of different religious denominations all working harmoniously together — but Catholic, Chiirch of England, and Presb}i:erian Indies all visit the prisoners, with excellent effect, and no inter- ference with each other interrupts the harmony of the establish- ment. All there are engaged in one great work, and sj-mpathise with each other in it; judicious regulations being laid down, which no one attempts to interfere witli. Each prisoner on entrance states lier religioiis profession, and is expected to keep to it ; and the ladies of each denomination visit only those of the same religion : they meet them in class, and, as occasion presents itself, gain such knowledge of them as enables the visitors to lend a helping hand to the women when discharged. A good influence is thus obtained : there is no proselytism ; the motives of the ladies cannot be questioned by the prisoners — they come only to fulfil Clu-istian duty ; and these wretched women, who are cut off from society through their own crimes, here can feel that there are those who care for tlieir souls, and wlio arc desirous of giving them Christian sympatliy. Xono but those who personally know it, can compreliond tlie deep import of the words, ' I was in prison and ye visited mo.' "We had been told to lie sure to see tin? Infant School in 266 orii CONVICTS. the gaol ! We were startled and shocked at the bare idea. Are there even infants round whom the prison walls are closed ? Had not our Reformatory and Industrial Schools been successful in preserving young children from such an unnatiu'al condition ? And then we remembered a di-eadful sight which we had once witnessed. In an Associated Gaol, we had been taken to a large room appropriated to niu'sing mothers with their infants ! The room was fidl, and the spectacle awful ! The faces of those mothers can never be forgotten, for they exhibited every species of hideous vice and degradation. And these were to give the first impressions to the young immortal beings who were un- happily their childi'en, and who were imbibing from them the tainted streams of life. And not only from its own mother would each child derive its early impressions, — her face might perchance be softened by a smile of maternal love, — but all around there were other wicked mothers, whose looks and voices would be bad and even fiendlike at times : and the poor little child woidd catch its first notions of life from the worst speci- mens of hiunanity. A convict mother miist entail misery on her offspring, and we foimd that in Mountjoy Prison an attempt was being made to mitigate the evil. All women are by law allowed to have with them very young cliildren in the prison ; if the sentence is long, the poor child may have di-eary years to spend in this abode ; — for what mercy would it be to it to send it forth into the world uncared for, improvided for? Hence this Infant iScliool, to which we were nov,' conducted. It was not indeed as cheerful and happy a looking place as we should like to see young children in ; — ^we could not but notice strong thick walls outside the school-room, which spoke clearly to us the dreadful word 'prison.' But the officials told us that these poor little things were not conscious of their peculiar position, and did not consider that they were in gaol, but in 'Mrs. Lidwell's workhouse,' as they called it. They looked cheerful, happy, healthy, and clean, in their Sunday pinafores ; and their teacher seemed fond of them, and so did the worthy TKMALF. COXVIf'TS. 267 8uperintondent, Mrs. Lidwei.l ; and tlioy oortaiiily looked better and more cared for than did the poor children ■we after-^ards saw in one of the Dublin worlihonses. We were told, and readily believed it, that it produced an excellent effect on the mothers, who were unhai:)pily there as Convicts, to know that their children were within reach, and that if their conduct was good they would be allowed the Sabbath pri\dlego of having their 3'oung ones under their own care for a time ; — perhaps there they first began to think of their solemn responsibilities as mothers. Under existing circumstances, this Infant School in a Convict Prison is good and beneficial, — the best thing that can be done for the child : but surely it ought not to be so. Surely no young child should enter on life's training under such a stigma as having been .bred in a gaol ! — surely society should take care that its young members shoidd be properly edu- cated somewhere, when the parent is removed by the arm of the lav/ ; — surely a workhouse school should be a more appro- priate and happy liomo than one in a gaol. It is not so at present ! May it be so ore long ! "Wo next visited Mountjoy on a week day. This prison contains both the first and second stages of the female Convicts. In consideration of the greater susceptibility of women, the time of entire separation is four months instead of eight, conditional of course on good conduct and industry ; if these are not satisfactory, the time is extended. Tlie general arrangements and system are similar to those of the men, and throiigh all is there the same individual watchfulness and care, combined with strict regulations ; a sense of justice blending with all in the mind of the prisoners. Wo visited the second stage, the associated work-room, where a large number of women were engaged in ncedlewt)rk, under super- intendence. It was well for them to have this occupation to draw off their thoughts from tliemselves. One hour in every day they receive a lesson in the schoolroom. There wo found intelligent schoolmistresses engaged closely, each witli a class 268 OUR COXVICTS. which sho received in rotation. It was a strange sight to see elderly women in spectacles standing in class, spelling out the Irish lesson books, which are so familiar to our children. But we were much astonished at the proficiency which some, even of these, had made. We know the extreme difficulty which is experienced by young persons, who have been early neglected, in overcoming the mysterious combina- tions of letters into syllables, and the connection between these fornis and the corresponding sounds. It was, therefore, a remarkable and significant feet, that only one hour a-day, well and actively employed with real goodwill to learn, should have produced such results. The women greatly appreciate this hoiu''s instruction ; faculties before dormant are excited and exercised ; and thoughts are opened to them which excite new ideas and aspirations. Some of the classes had attained considerable proficiency, and their teachers were evidently proud of them. More advanced stages of the women were engaged in various kinds of house-work and cooking, and a nimiber in washing and ironing. These occupations seemed more calculated than the needlework to rouse their energies in a right direction, and to di-aw off their thoughts fi-om themselves ; consec[uently their countenances look better, and indeed as the stages advanced it was easy to trace an improvement in expres- sion. Hard work is a most important element of training, and a great aid in subduing bad passions. One M'omau, of stalwart appearance, was working with great zeal at a vrashing- machine : she had been guilty of manslaiighter I One shuddered to think of AA'hat she must have been capable when her passions were wild and unregulated. But though the faces of many were bad, yet we could perceive, as we advanced, a great softening of expression, and in none did we observe that sullen, dogged, and rebellious look, which indicates that the governed and the governing party are not working harmoniously. The most advanced at Mounijoy are placed in a 'preparatory class.' " Now the establishment of an ' intermediate stage' for women. FEMALE CONVICTS. 269 corresponding- to the Lii.slc and Smitlilield for men, was long a difficidt and perplexing problem. Yet it was necessary to solve it. Wliy are the public iinwilliug to take into their emploj'ment persons wlio have come straight from prison, however good those prisons may bo ? Simply because they do not believe in the reformation of the prisoners, and with justice; for, where the ^^dll is absolutely entlu-alled, it is im- possible to tell how an individual will act when the restraint is removed. It is one of the grand secrets of the success ( f the Irish Convict Prisons, which is acknowledged by all who personally study the subject, that this principle is understoood and acted on. But the women could not with safety be allowed the same liberty as the men. Not only would the dilference in character to which wo have alluded prevent this, but the dangers of the streets to females, especially of this class, would render such liberty most imsuitable. Under these perplexities, the Directors availed themselves of the voluntary zeal and devotion which offered to take charge of the women who should be considered worthy of the priAilego of an intenncdiato stage. The nuns of Golden Bridge, who had already considerable expe- rience in the care of a Ponitentiar}-, undertook the charge of such Catholic Convict women as should be sent to them. They arc there still under their sentence of detention, and subject, as at Lusk and Smithfield, to be sent back to Mountjoy should their conduct prove unsatisfactor}-, and they are under the con- stant inspection of the Directors ; but, in other respects, they are uiuhn* the management of the nuns. There we saw them, and remarked a most favourable change in their appearance and deportment ; indeed had wo not been aware that the}- were Convicts, we should not have imagined 'it from anytliing wo observed. The women wore chiefly engaged in laundry-work, cheerfully and actively. Wo conversed with several of tliem, and found them all anxious to lead a new life, and preparing for it. Golden Bridge has largo grounds connected with it, which 270 OL'R COI^VICTS. afibrd to llio women tlie salutary infiueiices of out-door occupa- tion ; there are tlie garden and potato-gi'ound to be cultivated, find the pigs and poultry to be attended to ; the care of animals is generally beneficial, and intercourse with nature always is so. These, combined with the religious and moral influences exer- cised by the nuns, and their Christian interest in them, afford an excellent pre2:)aratiou for future life. There is also a Protestant institution of a similar kind in Heytesbury-strect, superintended by ladies ; the number here is small, but the same object is in view ; and here, as at Grolden Bridge, the ladies who imdertake the charge keep a friendly watchfidness over the women when they go out into the world. The plan has answered admirably. The women fully appreciate the kindness which is shown them, and the efforts which are made for their good, and they go forth again to the world in a very different position from what they could have done from any prison. The public, too, place con- fidence in the characters wliicli they receive from the ladies who have the management of these institutions, and know to what influences they have been subjected. Hence they are not unwilling to receive these women into domestic ser\dce ; and many are satisfactorily placed out, while others emigrate. This plan has not been in operation as long as the Intermediate Prison for men, but hitherto it has answered admirably and gives good promise. The same principle is in operation here as at Lusk, and produces the same results. " ' Individualisation,' says Captain Ceoftox,'-' ' is the ruling- principle in these establishments. The result of the self-dis- cipline effected by the attainment of marks is here to be tested before the liberation of the Convict. The training is special, and the position of the Convict made as natural as possible ; no more restraint being exercised than would be necessary to maintain order in any well regulated establishment. The Com id * Vide •• A Brief Description of the Irish Convict System." By Cajitain ■\V. CnoFxoN. Printed and published by E. Faithful & Co., Victoria Press. lEMALK COX^nCTS. 271 is cooperating in his own amend ruenf.'' Most satisfactory is it that Caj)taiu Ceofton' has been able to add (p, 21) : 'After nearly six years' experience, it has been found that the public are satisfied with the tests afforded by the modification of prison life evinced in those Refugof-, and are well disposed to cooperate with the managers and sisterhoods in their kind and charitable work.'" Of the effect of those Refuges, and of the conduct of the women in them, a sufficient proof is given in the folhjwing table, contained in the Appendix to tlie Report of the Com- missioners, p. 204 : — SiTPi-KMEN'TAi, Eetuhn of the NuMBER of Female Convicts released ixnder Okders of License from the Year 1800 to the Year 180^ iuclubive, sbowiug the Number rotui'ned to the Convict rrisons, either by having had their License revoked for trifling Offences, or being sentenced to Penal Servitude or Transxjortatiou. Years. 1850 1S57 1858 185!! 1800 1801 18G2 40 11;! lUO 75 08 510 Total Number of Female Convicts who liavo been rc-con^'icted or Licenses revoked from 1856 to ISfil inclusive, detailed in previous Return, l', funiislied on 2nd January, 1803. Revoked. 19 Re-con- vieted. Kumber of Female Convicts who have been reconvicted (u- Ijicensos revoked in 18(52. Revoked. Re-con- victed. 20* Pcr-centajie. 1 2 5 4.3 8 7 ;) 2 -1 5.a 8 11.7 1 1.7 3'J 5 C.5 1 ' Of this number 21 have had their liceiLscs ruvoked for niiseonduet in (lie liefngc:'. t Cases in which the Convict has been reconvicted, and the licen.sc also revoked, ace included under the fonnev head. (^Signed) 1. h-'. WurrTV, I'cbruary 11, 180:?. Director of Convict rrison.i. 272 OUR COXYICTS. 'We must also co})y from the same source (Kejiort of Commissioners, p. 240) tlie following important letter : — "Letter fkom Miss Kirwan as to the Heiuges foe I'euale Convicts IN Ieelakd. " St. Vincent's Eeformatoey, "Golden Beidge, Dlblin, Jprii 2, 18G;3. " Sir, — Having heard that evidence has Leeu received by the Eoyal Com- mission to the effect that I was of opinion that we laboured under a great disadvantage iu the management of female convicts in Ireland, in conse- quence of their having to look forv.ard to detention in a refuge instead of absolute liberty, and having been asked to give my opinion on this point, as well as to explain our general management, I beg to offer the following remarks. I have never found the convicts discontented either here or at Mountjoy Prison (which we visit three times a week) in consequence of not being discharged at the same period of their sentence as the men are sent on license; nor have I ever heard the authorities at the prison complain of disorder arising there because the women have to look forward to the refuges, as they have been made to understand the object for which the refuge was established, and they are fully aware that their future position iu life depends on the habits and character they acquire here. Those we receive under long sentences are discharged by an extension of license at the same period of their sentences as the men (under the same sentence) are discharged from the Intermediate Prisons ; but those who have been sentenced to three or four years i^enal servitude have to be retained longer in the refuge than the men in an Intermediate Prison, for the following reasons : — " 1st. It is generally admitted that it is more difficult to reform a woman than a man, who has the additional check of supervision when liberated. " 2ndly. The public would have no confidence in their reformation unless they spent a considerable time under our care in comparative liberty and iu offices of trust. Men are more frequently employed at outdoor work, whereas women are generally engaged in household duties, often with valuable in-operty under their charge, therefore they require more time for training and testing them. " Srdly. The females of the criminal class are essentially idle and ignorant to helplessness, consequently it takes time to enable tl^em to conquer their former habits, and to acquire new ones; heart, head, and hands have to be taught, or rather first untaught, and then retaught. It is not enough to let them see the evils of a life of crime, but we must teach them how to earn their bread honestly in future, and put them in the way of doing so. " The women are sent here from the Government Prison at the same period of their sentences as the male prisoners become eligible to be transferred to an Intermediate Prison, and they are selected iu the same maunei', -^vilh a few exceptions, since tlie short sentences came into u-^e. lEMALE COXVICTS. 273 " For iustanuc. women advanced in life, who have boeii convicted, in some cases a hundred or a hundred and fifty times, and who only become eligible by marks for the refuge near the close of a three years' sentence,— these we do not take, as humanly speaking we could not expect to find, alter long habits of crime, a permanent improvement to take place in a few mouths, and feeling doubtful of their reformation we could not recommend them to the employment of our honest neighbours; therefore no good could be effected, " This will bi'ing before you the great disadvantage we have been labouring under since the long sentences of transportation were changed for the present short sentences of penal servitude. As well as I can observe, the prospect of a short sentence does not deter an habitual offender from a life of crime ; but, on the contrary, the regular life in prison, rest, uud good medical cai'e are sometimes an advantage to her. She does not devote herself to self-improve- raent and exert herself to gain her marks, as she knows she must soon be discharged, when she returns to her old habits with i-enewed vigour; whereas when a woman is sentenced to seven years' i)enal servitude, no matter what her antecedents may ha\e been, she gets subdued, and begins to ' Lay down her mind to be good' (as they usually say) being fully aware that the tei-m of her imprisonment, within certain limits, entirely depends on her conduct, and she sees it is her interest to earn her marks. She is removed to the refuge at the apjjointed time, where she is taught all the duties of a domestic and farm servant, and when she acquires habits of industry, self- controul, and self-respect, she is pi'ovided with suitable employment and perseveres in a good life for the future. " I am, &c., " (Signed) Sister Maey Magpalen Kir wan. " To the Secretary to the " Penal Servitude Acts Commission." In Ireland, tlie public lias fully cooperated in the work undertaken by the managers of the Eefug-es, in restoring these women to society. Increased experience only confii-ms the truth of the principle on A^•llich they are founded. The ladies who take an interest in these Eefuges have full oppor- tunity of judging of the competency of the women, and the sincerity of their reformation ; they are therefore in a position to recommend them, and the public place confidence in tlioir recommendation. The women also find themselves still, on their actual discharge, imder the friendly surveillance of those who have ah'eady proved their true interest in them, })}• their earnest efforts for their reformation. X 271 our. CONVICTS A similar system would surely be very Ijcuolicial in our own country. It is true that in Ireland peculiar facilities existed for commencing tlie A\'ork for the Convict women, through the instrumentality of ladies in monastic institutions who rejoice to devote themselves to it, and who were aided and encoiu-aged by their own religious organizations throughout the country. But Protestant ladies were also soon found ecj[ually zealous in the work, and who carried it on equally well. There are in England many benevolent institutions supported by the benevo- lent zeal of ladies ; surely a sufficient niimber would be found to engage in the work, and enter into a generous rivalry with the Sister Isle, in seeking to save these lost ones. The Christian women of England are those who must exert themselves to save their fellow women, the female Convicts. It is no easy or amateur work which we call on them to undertake ; but it is one which is worth much toil, — much per- sonal sacrifice, — much devotion of heart and soul and strength ; and those who do so devote themselves to it will feel that they have not laboured in vain, if they are made the blessed instru- ments of saving only a few women, and enabling them to lead those around them in the ways of virtue, instead of luring them on to vice. What then do we propose ? "\Ye must endeavour to awaken those who have the controul of the Female Convict Prisons to the evils which are now exists ing in them, and urge their being placed on an entirely different system, so that each vromau may feel that she is working onward in cooperation with her officers towards her own amendment. It is essential that this should be done before any hope can be entertained that voluntary effort will be effectual, whether made through the instrumentalit}' of Prisoners' Aid Societies, Patronage Societies, as on the Continent, or Refuges, as in Ireland. To attempt to work with women such as we know that many of the inmates of the Convict Prisons are at present, woidd be followed by almost certain failure, discourage future attempts, and infuse TEMALK CONVICTS, 275 disljelief of the principles of voluutary benevoleut effort iu luter- iiiediate EstaLliskments, It is uuuecessary here to recapitulate what changes ought to be made iu our Female Couvict Prisons, to insure for them any reformatory influence. We have but to work our existing prisons on the principles which have been proved true in Ireland. They are founded on the grand and universal laws of human nature, which must therefore be adapted to England as well as to our sister isle. The Convict Prisons having been placed on a right basis, aiithority must be obtained from the Secretary of State for the transmission of prisoners from the Convict Prisons to the voluntary Refuges, under license, with an allowance for their maintenance, as in the Irish Eefuges. Such authority fi'om the Government is absolutely necessar}-. AVithout it any persons are, of course, competent to establish Refuges for the reception of discharged prisoners, when quite at liberty, but there would then be no hold over them ; and it is certain, from past experience, that svich efforts would be of little avail to lielp in the reformation of female Con\'icts ; the bad would not wish to submit to such furtlier restraint, and it is probable that only a few, even of the well-disposed, would be willing to stay so long" as to prepare them to do Avell at libert}^ The detention imder license, which would be strictly revoked for misconduct, is essential to the success of such a plan. How complete that may be, wall, of course, depend on the previous training of the women in the Convict Prisons, and on the manner in which the Eefuges themselves are conducted. But witli an earnest desire to do good to those unhappy women, and with the adoption of judicious means, there need bo no serious doubt that s\ic]i Eefuges will pruve an inestimable boon conferred on the female Convicts of our country, and, througli them, on society. It is imnecessary here to enter into any details respecting the management of Eefuges. These can best be ascertained by tlu^sc who propose to establish them, from direct communication 276 OL'll C0XTICT3. with ladies y,lio Lave alrcaJy gained experience in conducting similar institutions. The work itself "will also instruct those who are humhly anxious to learn how to do it, that they may be the instruments of saving their fellow-creatures. We trust that the time is not far distant when the needful preparatory steps having been taken by the Government, the women of England and Scotland will come forward to put their hands to this great work, and never turn back, until, with Grod's blessing, it is accomplished. CHAPTER V. IMPEO YEMENI 8. The position at present occupied by the ci-iminal portion of our commiinity must arouse the anxiety and excite the serious consideration of all "vrho du-ect their attention to it, — while it inspires a painful feeling of insecurity in society, and exposes the unwary and unprotected to frequent injury of property, and even of life. It is impossible, in our country, to defend oixrselves against the attacks of those who make crime theii" profession. If we live in regions infested by brigands, and where the Govern- ment is unsettled, we anticipate exposure to danger and act accordingl}' ; wo dare not go out unarmed and undefended against the ruffians whose very garb indicates tlieir calHng, whose demeanour at once points them out as disturbers of the public peace. But here, in civilised England, in tlie central part of that Empire, which assumes the position of the most free, the most enlightened, and the best governed in tlie world, peaceable citizens are not able to pursue their honest callings, or go about their lawful avocations in peace and safety, — tliey are perplexed by the extraordinar}' inconsistencies which the most didl must perceive, in the laws of tlioir coimtry or in the administration of them, — they find by painful experience that instead of living under a powerful government, capable of protecting them against enemies both external and internal, their rulors even stand aghast in utt<^r perplexity when assailed 278 OTK coxvK'-rf!. by the foes of their own household, — the Conviets whom they had so luxuriously fed, carefidly nurtured, niagnifieently lodged, and from whom they thought they might reasonably expect, at least, a grateful return in good conduct and C[uiet demeanour. These enemies who are the plague and disgrace of our land are not those against whom we can easily defend ourselves, because they do not appear among us with any outward indica- tions by which we can at once discriminate them. The ordinary inmates of our provincial gaols come from our midst, and return again to their place in society, whatever it may be, not fiu-ther contaminated by their abode there, unless it be their ill fortune to be incarcerated in a prisou where separate confinement has not yet been adopted. They iisually spring from a class of persons with whom respectable la.bouring persons cautiously avoid any contact, their external appearance clearly indicates them, and their low dissolute lives at once point them out as persons not to be trusted. Those who are accidental offenders, who have been " overtaken in a fault," usually return to their own connections, and are absorbed again into society in the same position from whence they left their liomes, or, at any rate, provision is made for their re-establishing themselves elsewhere. But the case is very different with those who arc discharged from the Grovernment Convict Prisons. The}' cannot be easily distinguished from the general mass of the jieople. The expe- rienced and penetrating may indeed occasionally detect them, by observing the strange contrast of their good clothing, and excellent physical condition, with a liearing evidently not that of a hard-working man, and may feel suspicioiis of a peculiar cut of the hair, and a kind of prison gait. But these indica- tions soon wear off; — and when we see besides us in a shop a respectable-looking young woman, we little suspect that she is one of a gang of accomplished thieves who have learnt their art in the Government establishments, and that she will shortly hand the contents of our pockets to her friends in the street. The auditor at an instructive lecture, at a club IMntOVEMEXTS. 279 for working-men, Ids mind absorbed iu scientific details, Little anticipates leaving- tlie lectiu-e-liaU Avitbout liis purse, which has been abstracted by one whom he supposed to bo a fellow listener, but who was really a professional pickpocket. Nor should the congregation, retii-ing from their worship, have to learn, as they do, that they cannot safely lay upon the plate of offerings a portion of the gold and silver they carry with them, ■udthout the remainder T)t>ing artfully abstracted bj^ some one who had seemed to be a follow worshipper ! It is impossible to defend oneself against such insidious marauders, except by living in a state of perpetual suspicion and most inconvenient caution. No ordinary care can protect respectable houses, supposed to contain property, from the attacks of burglars, and from the destruction of legal docimicnts more valuable than gold. And when, in all these cases, the culprit is brought to justice, then wo hear, to our surprise, of " a genteel-looking young man," of "a young woman of respectable appearance and pleasing demeanoxir," but eventually discover either that they have been long pursuing a course of xmdetected vice, or that they have not long retiu-ned from a Convict Prison. Such is the insecurity of our country, — such the immunity of crime, — such the result of oiu- present treatment of it. No one can have thoughtfull}^ road the facts brought forward in tJie first volume of tliis work, or studied the bearing of the extracts from tiie evidence laid liofore the Eoyal Commission, Avitliout feeling painfully impressed with the nature of the crime existing in our country, and witli the worse than uselessness of the method adopted of dt,\nling with it. It is also very alarming to know that we cannot by an}- j)ossible means gain a knowledge of the numbers or strength of oiu* enemy, or oven make an approximation to the real amoimt of crime in the countrj-. The published statistics give only the nmubers of apprehensions, of commitments, and of convictions. They may show the numbers of imprisonments wliiili have IjiKcu pl;i( e 280 OITK fOXVTC-l'S, dixring the year, but do not give the very slightest knowlecTge of the number of ^^^rsons who have lieen summarily convicted of crime. In these, and the returns of convictions, some persons may have been counted several times over, having incurred several punishments. It is perfectly impossible to ascertain this by the existing machinery ; because, even if the nimiber of reconvictions in a year of ono individual can be ascertained in one county or district, it is impossible to prove that the same person may not have been convicted in several other counties or districts during the year. This will be easily understood by referring to the histories given by the pickpockets under sentence of transportation in Preston Gaol ; those persons took care to move from one locahty to another, where their previous criminal history would not be known. Less possible is it to form the slightest conception from the statistics how many of the offenders have been convicted year after year, and how many are newly enlisted in the ranks of crime during the year. Again, the num- ber of apprehensions during- the jeav throughout the country are even less rehable as indications of the actual nimiber of offenders against the lavs', but they do very clearly indicate some approximation to the actual amount of deeds committed which are injurious to the well-being of society. In a large number of the instances in which persons are brought before the magistrates, the individual is acquitted from insufficient evidence, or the complainant does not appear, or the offender is "cautioned and discharged." Yet it is probable that in no cases, except those simply involving breacli of police or municipal regulations, is any one brought before the magistrates without being a suspicious character, or without having been guilty of some serious ofPence, if not of this identical one. The nimiber of commitments cannot give any chie to the nimiber of ill-disposed persons or habitual offenders in any place, but they certainly indicate whether or not there is a large amount of crime there. It is of great importance that we should know both this, the IMPKOVEMEXT!^. 281 peculiar nature of crime in each district, and the real number of offenders in the country, with the number of theii- reconvictions, if we may hope for any effectual repression of crime. The improvements we would suggest in this chapter are> first those directly connected with our Convict Prisons, and next those which appear desirable, with a view to the general repres- sion and diminution of crime in the country, and the consec[uent protection of society. The evidence brought before the Eoyal Commission led them to pass various very important resolutions relative to the actual state of Convict treatment. After analyzing the criminal statistics, they say (par. 30, 31) : — • * "But, allowiug for the influence of other causes, from the eviJeuce we liave received there seems reason to beheve that the recent increase of oflences is at least partlj' attributable to defects in the system of punishment now in foi'ce, and to the fact that there has been an accumulation of discharged convicts at home, owing to the comparatively small number seut to a peual colony since 1853. '■ Penal servitude, under the present system, appears not to be suflk-ieutly dreaded, either by those who have undergone it, or by the criminal classes in general. That many of the former arc not effeitually deterred from pursuing a course of crime by the fear of incurring this punishment again, is shown by the fact that a large per ceutage of those disi'harged from convict prisons are known to be reconvicted, while many more probably are so, but escape detection fi'om the absence of any effectual means of ascertaining the previous history of those convicted of offences : and the accounts given of penal servi- tude by discharged convicts, and the fact that they generally come back so soon to their former haunts, tend to prevent it from being regarded with fear by tlieir associates. It appears, indeed, that in some (though doubtless very exceptional) cases, crimes have even l)cen committed for the sole purpose of obtaining the advantages which the oflfL'nders have supposed a sentence of iienal servitude to confer." It appears surprising that they should report in the next paragraph tliat this "want of sufficient efficacy in tlic pri'sent system of punishment, does not arise from any error in its prin- ciples, or from its general arrangements being injudicious;" still, other parts of their Ixeport fully endorse tlie system adoijted in Ireland, in flie pavliiular })<)iHls on wliiili i; dillrvs from the English Convict System. Tlius, ilic gcnrral principle is )C ^ 282 orR CONVICTS, adopted hy the Commissioners that Convicts should earn the remission of part of their sentences by their OAvn industrj^ and efforts, which are to be registered by marks. They say (par. 38) : — * * " The experience, both of this aud of other countries, has demonstrated that it is impossible to compel couviets to work hard by mere coercion, the attempt to do so having invariably failed, while it has produced a brutalizing effect on their minds, and increased their previous aversion to labour. On this ground the late Captain Maconochie, many years ago, recommended that the punishment to be inflicted upon criminals should be measured not by time, but by the amount of labour they should be compelled to perform before regaining their freedom, and he devised an ingenious mode of recording their daily industry by marks, for the purpose of determining when they should have a right to their discharge. Tliis proposal met with so much approval from the Government of the day, that Captain Macosochie was sent to Norfolk Island for the purpose of trying the system he had recommended in the management of the convicts detained there. The exiieriraeut did not succeed, for reasons which were sufficiently obvious, but into which we need not now enter. The failure, however, did not afford any reason for con- demning the principle on which the scheme was founded, and, in fact, that principle has been adopted, to a greater or less extent, in all the various schemes of penal discipline which have been tried in the last twenty-five years. The result has been to establish the conclusion, that the hope of earning some remission of their punishment is the inost powerful incentive to good conduct and industry, which can be brought to act upon the minds of prisoners." The difference between this pnheij)le and that in practice in the English prisons is clearly stated in the next paragraph : — * * " Referring to the account we have already given of the regulations in question, we have to observe, that those now in Iotcc in England seem to us to be needlessly complicated, and to have the fault, that tJieij do not hold out to convictn a partial remission o/ their 2}unishment as a reicard to be earned by flood conduct and industrij, but assume that this remission tcill be granted vnJfss more or less of the profered advantage should be forfeited as a penalty, in consequence of the convicts having failed to deserve it. The distinction between this system, and that of making whatever remission of punishment is allowed to a convict something whicli he must earn, we consider to be one of great importance. We also think it an objection to these regulations, that they allow a part of the time which a convict has been ordered to lose for misconduct to be afterwards restored to him. The Irish rules requiring convicts to gain a certain number of marks in order to establish a claim to a remission of piinisbment, make a nearer approach to what we think would be the best svstem," iMrnoTEMEXT?!. 283 Closely connected ■with this principle is the Mark System, and the importance of letting the remission of tiane be earned hy the Convict's own exertions. On this subject they thus speak in par. 38 : — " Such is the oi)iiiion unanimously expressed by all who have had the opportunity of observing its etfcct, while employed in the mangemeut of convicts, whether at home or in the colonies. Their opinion is confirmed by the experience gained in carrying into eft'ect the Act of 1853, under which convicts were made to serve tlie full time for which they were sentenced. Under this system the convicts were found to bo more sulky, more difficult to manage, and much less industrious, than under the opposite one. Attempts were made to provide a substitute for the hope of obtaining an earlier release, by granting various other advantages to prisoners as a reward for good conduct, but none of the indulgences which were granted to them with this view, proved to have nearly so powerful an effect upon their minds as the prospect of olitainiug an abridgment of their punishment."* The Commissioners highly approved the more penal character ' " In the Report on Convict Prisons, l>y Sir Joshiia Jebb, lately presented to Parliament, tlie effect of tlie refusal of all remission of punishment to eonucts uniler the Act of 1S53 is thus deseribed (p. IS): — " ' The consequence was, that a.s hope diiiiiuishf d a dnirj;!.! and discontented submission to discipline arose among the eonviets, very difteivnl from tlie eheerful and ready obedience "of former times, and the example of those who were suflerinj^ under disappoint- ment spreane(leially in the management of the latter, will be w.nnting, and it is to be ap)u-ehended that the penal servitude men will become generally leckless and indillerent, and that the incorrigible class, which has been almost extinguished under the system of the last few years, will comprise a very large ]iroportion of the whole number. " 'Hitherto the moral influence of the .system in force, by whieli leward for good conduct and improvement has been combined with due piniishnient for the reverse, has enabled the jirison authorities to emjiloy the eonviets on the public works with confidence and good eil'ect ; but if the fear of iiuni.shment alone is to be the motive to obedience .and exertion in tlie mind of the eonviets so employed, an entirely new system of guarding and coercing the jnisoners will become necessary, and it is much to be appreheuilcd that any such system, though necessarily expensive in its maehineiy, would be unin-otltable in all its results.'" 284 OUR coNvicxf?. given to the first stage of penal servitude. They find that the period of separate confinement has been so much diminished from want of suitable premises, as to make the average time of this, which is the real period of punishment, on an average only seven months and twenty days. With respect to this they say (par. 48) : — * * it Arraugements ought at once to be ruaile for remedying this. We are of opinion that convicts ought to be kept in sepai'ate confinement for the full period of nine months, except in the case of prisoners who are found unable to undergo it so long without serious injury to their bodily or mental liealth. No considerations of expense, whether connected with the necessity for addi- tional buildings, or with the loss of the labour of the convicts, ouglit to be allowed to pi'event this stage of jjimishment from being continued for the time prescribed by the regulations. We think, too, that though separate con- finement, even under the present system, is, as has been said, extremely distasteful to convicts, this wholesome effect on their minds might be in- creased. It has been already mentioned that in Ireland the diet is lower during the first four months ; and that no work is given to the prisoners for the first three months, except such as is of a simj)le and monotonous character, in which they require little or no instruction. This practice has been adopted because it has been found that by far the greater number of convicts have no knowledge of any trade, and when first taught one, must necessarily be constantly visited by their instructor, whose visits tend to miti- gate the irksomeness of separate confinement. There appears to us to be much force in the reasons which induced the Directors of the Irish Convict Prisons to adopt these means of rendering separate imprisonment more for- midable, and we therefore recommend that attempts should be made, with due caution, to give a more deterrent character to separate imprisonment in the English Prisons,'" The mode of classification in the Irish Associated Prisons they miich prefer, tlius avoiding the danger of parading together a whole army of Convicts, whose great united physical force must be a strong temptation to rebellion. They also recommend the system of schooling adopted in the Irish Prisons. They thus speak (par. 54) : — " There is no reason vihy the convicts in Public Works Pjisous should not have their schooling after working hours, as is the case in Ireland. Two hours' schooling on alternate evenings might, without difficulty, be given to each convict, and an endeavour ought to be made to improve the quality of the instruction. For the purpose of having school in the evening it would be necessarv to build additional class rooms, and an increase in the statf of IMPKOVKMKXTS. 285 officers would also be required. Such au increase is, liowever, wauled at all events, as we shall have occasion to mention later." These are all very valuable improvements recommended by the Commissioners. The evidence brought before the Commissioners respecting the •forking in England of the Ticket-of-Leave System is most important. They do not, however, abandon the principle on which it is founded, because the working of it has hitherto been so imsatisfactory and, indeed, so dangerous to the public in this country, for they perceive that the evils have arisen from the neglect of the conditions on which the licenses have been granted. On this subject they make the following statement, in the 42nd and 4;3rd paragrai^hs : — " We see nothing in the result of the experiment of discharging convicts under license, as it has been hitherto tried, to lead us to anticipate that such a system would fail if canieil into eft'ect in a difterent manner. "\Ve believe, on the conti'ary, that this system, coupled with a general prolongation of sen- tences of penal servitude, and arrangements for placing convicts when so dis- charged under efiective contrcul and supervision, would afford the best pros- pect of giving to society a real protection against ciirainals, without subjecting them to undue severity. No doubt there would he much difficulty in securing au efiective supervision of convicts discharged at home under license, but the object is one of such extreme imirortance that it ought to be attempted. With this view, Ave are of opinion that license holders ought to be placed under the supervision of au officer of the convict department, who, witli prosier U'^bistauts, should discharge with respect to them the duties performed in i)ublin by 3Ir. Or.GAN. As in Dublin, the support of the police ought to bo given, when required, to the officers entrusted willi this task, but in other cases the police should abstain from any interference with the license holders, in order not to increase the difficulty of their obtainiug employment. Some changes in the law would be necessary, in order to enable the Government to exercise a proper authority over this class of convicts. In the jirst place, in order that a license holder may be compelled to preserve his license, it ought to be made an oflence for him not to produce it when duly required ; aud there ought to be a power given to apprehend license holders believed to have been guilty of misconduct before the actual revocation of their licenses. Pro- vision should also be made for enabling magistrates to hear evidence upon oath, as to any breach of the conditions indorsed upon the license, imputed to a license holder, and to adjudicate upon the fact, with a a icw to the revocation, or, in trivial cases, the suspension for a longer or shorter time of the convicts license, .\bove all, it ought to be provided, that if a license holder 286 OUR CONVICTS. is convicted of auy berioiis offence, this shall be coasidered such a hrcach of the coDtlitious of his license as to cancel it, making him liable to bo ri)manded to a convict prison for the whole portion of his original sentence that remained unexpired when he was discharged, to ivhicli should he added the term of any new sentence he might have incurred. This last provision v.'ould remove one of the causes which has most tended to render nugatory the conditions indorsed upon licenses. * * * We ai-e of opinion, that by the arrangements we have now suggested, the discharge of convicts at home, under license, might be so guarded as to render them less dangerous to society than heretofore, since those among them who attempted to resume their habits of crime would speedily lie sent back to punishment." Tlie Commissioners coutimie, however, to express their fears that men itnder these conditions will not find it easy to obtain an honest livelihood. It is quite certain that in the present condition of the English Convict Prisons, such "N^-ould be the case. The public have no confidence in the training given in them. The Chief Director himself considered that it would be unsafe to attempt any Intermediate Prisons, similar to Lusk and Smithtield in Ireland, for the English Convicts ; he well knew that they were not fitted for such an approach to Uberty ; how, then, can the pxiblic trust them in the labour market ? It was this very difiiculty that led the Irish Directors to tr}- the .experiment of the Intermediate Prisons, which at first appeared a "\'ery daring one, but which was justified by its entire success, for they are an essential link between absolute imprisonment and conditional freedom. Without this link, the system falls to pieces, and no subseciuent appliances of police super\T.sion or voluntary benevolent efi^ort can supply the want of the missing link, can obtain puldic confidence, and make a prison character a reliable one. The Intermediate Prison (System was approved by some of the Commissioners, and the following paragraph was adopted to follov\' paragraph G4 (pp. 113, 114); at a subsecj[uent sitting, iiowever, on the motion of the Recorder, it was omitted. "A system of labour in association, accompanied with as sroall an amount of restraint as is necessary to secure discipline and industry, has been tried in the later periods of detention in Ireland with couh^iderablc succesSi Its chief i-ccoiuuicndatiuns are, that the scmi-libertv Mhieli it nifcrs is a test IMrKOVt.MEXTS. 287 of improvemeut, aud lits llie couvict (wli') lias undergoue a severe autl tlepressing course of punisbmeut) for re-eutry into life, while it affords au additional inducement to good conduct and industry in the earlier stages of imprisonment. lu its nature this intermediate system somewhat resembles the mode of treatment adopted towards the road parties in Western Australia. At Lusk, fifty men work at every description of agricultural labour in open fields, under the care of five warders. At Smithfield, in Dublin, they work at trades, and one of their number is emjiloyed daily in carrying messages through the citj'. Insubordination in these prisons is unknown, and though tliey have been established for some years there have only been three attempts at escape. Seventy-five per cent, of convicts released in Ireland have jiassed through these prisons. We see no reason why a system which appears to have had considerable success in Ireland, should not at least be tried in England, for those convicts who cannot be removed to Western Australia." The Commissioners saw tlie great evil of tlie present system of gratuities, Ijy -wliicli the worst prisoners, having the longest sentences, may obtain tlu> largest sums of money on their dis- charge, and recommend, in this also, an approach to the Irish System. On various other points they recommend improve- ments. On the subject of. transportation the Commisioners state strongly their opinion that no new penal settlements ought to ho formed, and that the proposals wliich have heen made to establish one on some wild inclement climate is perfectly imtenable. The evidence respecting "Western Australia, from M hich copious extracts have been made in a preceding chapter, leads them strongly to recommend a continuance of the transfer of a large number of our Convicts to that country. With respect to the improvement of the Female Convict Prisons, the Commissioners find themselves unable to offer any suggestions, hence there appears, at present, no prospect of any attempt at change in those abodes of vice. Many of the suggestions of the Commissioners can be carried out without any change in the law of the land ; but as it was conceived that those respecting the licenses, or tickets-of-leave, required fresh legislation, to confer on the Government sufficient powers, an Act of Parliament ^Aas passed i^July 2o, 1864) to 288 OUK COXVICTS. amend the previous renal Servitude Acts, containing the following important clauses : — "Alicehse granted under the said Penal Servitude Acts, or any of them, may he in the form set forth in Schedule (A.) to this Act annexed, aud may be written, printed, or lithographed. If any holder of a license granted in the form set forth in the said Schedule (A.) is convicted, either by the ver- dict of a jury, or upon his own confession, of any offence for which he is in- dicted, his license shall be forth v.ith forfeited by virtue of such conviction ; or if any holder of a license granted under the said Penal Servitude Acts, or any of them, who shall be at lai'ge i'.i the United Kingdom, shall, unless iirevented by illness or other unavoidable cause, fail to rejiort Idmself personalhj, if in Great Britain to the Chief Police Station of the Borough or Police Division, and if in Ireland to the Constabulary Station of the locality, to which he may go, within three days after his arrival therein, aud beiug a male subsequently once in each month, at such time and place, in such manner, and to such person as the Chief Officer of the Constabulary Force to which such station belongs shall appoint, or shall change his residence from one police district to another without having previously notified the same to the Police or Con- stabulary Station to which he last reported 'himself, he shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanour, aud may be summarily convicted thereof, and his license shall be forthwith forfeited by virtue of such conviction, but he shall not be liable to any other punishment by virtue of such conviction. " If any holder of a license granted in the form set forth in the said Schedule (A.),— " 1. Fails to produce his license when required to do so by any Judge, Justice of the Peace, Sheriff, Sheriff Substitute, Police or other Magistrate be- fore whom he may be brought charged with any offence, or by any con- stable or officer of the police in whose custody he may be, and also fails to make any reasonable excuse why he does not produce the same ; or " 2. Breaks any of the other conditions of his license by an act that is not of itself punishablo either upon indictment or upon summary conviction ; He shall be deemed guilty of an offence punishable summarily by imprison- iisent for any period not exceeding three months, with or v.ithout hard labour. " Any constable or police officer may, v.'ithout .warrant, take into custody auy holder of such a license whom he may reasonably suspect of having coni- uiitted auy offeuce, or having broken auy of the conditions of his license, and may detain him in custody until he can be taken before a Justice of the Peace or other competent Magistrate, and dealt viith according to law." In tliis Act are embodied other important changes in the administration of onr criminal lavr. These are so set forth Ly the Secretary of State in a Circular addressed to the Judges and Eecorders. The suhstance of these alterations and their IMriiO\TiMENT3. 28D beariug on the adiuinistratiou of the law are so luminously stated by Mr. Recorder Hill, in his recent Charge to the Grand Jury at Birmingham, that we cannot do better than present extracts from it. Speaking of the Circidar, Mr. Hill says : — "'The principal change,' writes Sir Geoege Geey, 'in the law which is eft'ected by this statute is the abolition of sentences of penal servitude of four and three years, leaving the sentence of five years as the shortest that can be passed in any case, and authorizing it in those cases where only sentences of four or three years could have been passed before. This will have the efiect of increasing the severity of the penal law, which, owing to the very frequent use of the short sentences referred to, had, in the opinion of the Eoyal Commissioners, who lately investigated this subject, become too much relaxed. 'With the same object, another very important provision is added ; that a person convicted of a ci-ime, punishable with penal servitude, after having been previously convicted of felony, if the judge in his discretion thinks that the punishment of penal servitude should be inflicted, shall not be so sentenced for a shorter lieriod than seven years. It will be observed that in all these cases the alternative sentence of imprisonment is not interfered with. In that respect the law continues as it stood before the passing of the late statute. The remainder, and by far the larger portion of the Act, refers to the granting to convicts under this sentence licenses to be at large before its expiration, and introduces various regulations for the purpose of prevent- ing the misconduct of such persons between the time of their release and that at which they would have been by law entitled to their liberty. I do not think it necessary to occupy your time with any obseiwations on this part of the subject, except to remark that, among other safeguards of llie public, it is enacted that the conviction of a license-holder upon indictment for any olience involves not merely a revocation of liis license, but it remits him to his original sentence as it stood when his license was granted, and this in addition to any punishment to which he may bo sentenced upon such indictment. In accordance with the strong lecommendation of the Fioyal Commissioners, an important modification is about to be introduced into the Convict System, in reference to the granting of remissions. Instead of these being granted as a reward of general good conduct, as heretofore, they are now to be earned by industry alone. General good conduct — such as implicit obedience to all prison lilies — will be as indispensable as before, but will of itself count as nothing towards the obtaining the remission of a portion of the sentence. That can only be gained by steady and laborious industry, the degree of which will be measured and recorded every day by the assignment to each convict of a certain number of marks. A maximum amount of remission is fixed U 290 OUR CONVICTS. as hereinafter stated, as the utmost which can he attained by perfect industiy, and the number of marks is so regulated that a convict must obtain the maximum number of marks every day, without any deduction for misconduct, in order to get the maximum remission. The sentence therefore is absolutely certain up to a certain point, but may possibly extend beyond that point and will inevitably do so unless the convict persistently and strenuously exerts himself.' " The principle adopted in the scale of remissions for industry and good conduct, gives a maximum reduction of somewhat less than one-fourth part of the sentences upon men, and onethii'd part of the sentences upon women. Wholesome restrictions have been introduced, it appears, in the quantity of food allowed, and also in the amount of gratuities given on their discharge to convicts adjudged to i^enal servitude. Thus, gentlemen, you will perceive that the new provisions are characterised by augmented severity, and when you learn that they are made in conformity with the views not only of the Legislature and the Executive Government, but that they echo, as it were, the opinions of pubKc bodies charged by authority, or who had charged them- selves with the duty of careful investigation into the working of our criminal law, I think you will agree with me that our new Penal Servitude Act forms an epoch in our legislation." Mr. Hill tlien adverts to tlie extreme severity of the criminal law in past times, and the reversion to excessive consideration of the personal feelings of the criminal which have recently characterised its administration. He thus continues : — " The impulse which MTought the mitigation of our criminal code was one rather of sentiment than of reflection. We revolted from the pain inflicted on ourselves through the sufierings of the criminal, and our own feelings once relieved, Ave forgot to ask ourselves whether we were treating the object of our sympathy so as to iDromote his permanent advantage. We forgot that to discharge him from prison while under the influence of false principles and the coercion of evil habits was to leave him in a state of slavery more surely incompatible with his welfare here and hereafter, than any state which could result from the harshest visitations of human jurisprudence. If, then, the changes which have been lately made are such as to promote his reformation, and ensure his persistence in the light path after it has been recovered, true and genuine mercy will be far from receiving any shock by what has been done. And this, I humbly believe, Avill be the conse- quence should the new spiiit breathed into the treatment of criminals per- manently actuate all who take part in gi\ing effect to our laws. You must have been struck, gentlemen, -uith the complete change of principle on which remission is henceforth to be granted. Passive obedience to prison rules, however indispensable it may be to good order, has little tendency to reform the character, and will therefore do little to eusuie an honest IMPllOVEMENTS. i891 course of life after diseliavge. InJustry is the gi'ouml on which we must buikl, anil in order that industry practised in the gaol may continue after the prisoner is at large, it must be willing industry, and hence the value of the remission which is held up to him as its reward ; whereas industry produced by fear of punishment, even in the comparatively few instances where it is so produced, will, by the painful associations with which all memory of it must bo accompanied, relax itself and fall into desuetude, when, by regaining his liberty, the con\-ict has left his fears behind liim. The extended duration of liis sentence will afibrd him a sufficient time to make his industry habitual, and it is to confirmed habits we must mainly look to protect him against relapse. Thus the interests of the criminal have been, we see, as carefully considered as the interests of society; both moving onwards hand in hand. But the benefits to each do not rest here. The hour of discharge arrives, and the well-disposed prisoner, having now to meet his greatest peril, is not abandoned. He takes his gratuity, which preserves him for a time at least from the overwhelming temptation produced by want. He has to report himself to the head of the police in the district to which he resorts, and he theieby establishes a relation between himself and a public officer, who, both by duty, and, speaking from experience, I will say also by inclination, will befriend him, so long as his conduct deserves it, and who will exercise over his nclions the powerful influences of hope and fear. It is often assumed that the vigilance, which it is the duty of the police to exercise over discharged offenders, is necessarily of a hostile character ; but that is not so. A ticket-of-leave man, when his ticket becomes what it always uught to have been, a testimonial that the holder is a person who has given evidence of his earnest desire to do well, and of his possessing the requisite qualifications for pursuing an honest course of life, will find the head of the police in his district a protector against ill-founded suspicion, to which an ex-convict is naturally ever obnoxious. And when, in addition to the testimonial which the ticket-of-leave man brings from his prison, he can safely refer to the police for a certificate that he has continued to deserve the remission which has been granted to him, surely he must thus obtain facilities for procuring employment which will constitute a new and invaluable privi- lege ; while, on the other hand, his consciousness that any breach of the conditions on which he holds his license to be at large, will, the moment it becomes known, ensure his being forthwith deprived of his liberty, must give additional force to his good resolutions. The interval, then, between his discharge on ticket-of-leave, and the expiration of the sentence pronounced upon him by the Judge, is made a season of regulated responsibility. It is an additional stage of probation, furnishing motives to good conduct which will only cease to act, when, such probation being fully accomplished, he regains the footing of his neighbours, who have never fallen into that miserable adversity which is the olispring of crime." — Birmingham Daily Post, Oct. 25, 1804. "NVc rejoice, then, tluit a decidecl step has been takou towards 292 OUH COXVICTS. improvement in our criminal legislatui'e. Our machinery is improved in some important particulars. We begin to perceive our errors, and to desire that they shall be corrected. This is doubtless a matter of congratulation. But our rulers do not yet appear to see the radical cause of the great injuiy wrought by the vast number of discharged criminals in oiu' midst. The Commissioners lament the difficulty -which these men find in obtaining employment, and yet do not appear to have dis- covered that the whole system of the Government Prisons is totally unfit to prepare them to do so. They heard from the Western Australian witnesses that the longer men are trained under their system, the more unfit they are to earn their living by hard work, even in another country where they are carefidly guarded from temptation, and have every stimulus to exertion. They had the testimony of the Government officers themselves, who, apparently quite imconsciously, have revealed to the public VN'hat, indeed, was vaguely known before, the immoral condition of the Convicts, the state of chronic antagonism in which they live with their officers, so that every precaution requires to be constantly adopted to prevent an outbreak or serious injiuy to the officers, — yet they do not perceive, they state in their Report, that the principles on which the English Convict System is founded is wrong ! The very fact that the system adoj)ted in Ireland appears to an ordinary observer to have a general resemblance in its early stages to the English System, while its results are so marvellously different, — clearly points to the conclusion that it is founded on a totally distinct principle. The various alterations in the machinery- of the Convict Prisons, and in points of detail, which are proposed by the Com- missioners, are in accordance with the Irish System, and are valuable as part of the system ; yet, taken alone they may make the English Government Prisons somewhat safer, but cannot reform the criminals. The reformation of the Convicts ought, however, to be a fundamental object. The good organization of extensive Con\'ict establishments is not an end, but a means, TMrP.OVEMKKTS. 293 and if it fails to accomplisli the great objoct — tlio reformation of the ofFender, after he has suffered the punishment due to his crime — it is useless. The principles on which punishment and reformation should be blended, are so clearly set forth by M. Van BmrGGiiEN in the work already quoted, that we offer a translation of the passage [Chaj^ter I., p. 33] : — " The State or society being obliged to use compulsory jiriva- tion of the liberty of natural action as the chief means of penal retribution, repression, and penal intimidation, thereby contracts towards those who are the subjects of it an absolute obligation to provide, not only for their physical existence, but to fm-nish them the means of supplying the wants of their intellectual and moral natiu'e, which their dependent condition pi'cvents them from procuring for themselves. "This duty of the State, put in general terms, and without exactly analyzing its source or its nature, will now hardly meet with any opposition in the jniblic opinion of modern societv. It is chiefly owing to the generoi:s efforts of a Howard and an Elizabeth Fry that it has acquired tliis conscience. All that for a century has been effected in Europe and in America under the influence of religious sentiments and Christian philanthropy, to improve in every way the condition of prisons, and to soften the lot of those who must there atone for their outrages against the peace of society, — sufficiently proves that the public con- science has long been awakened on that point, and requires no further proofs. We desire here only to discover the real foundation of this social duty, because it is on the just appre- ciation of it that the judicious choice depends of the means which the- State ought to employ, and which are at its disposal. It is to the ulterior development of this fundamental principle that tlie following paragraph relates. " The obligation of the State, which is here discussed, is not founded on the moral duty of society to exercise collectively through its government the Christian virtue of charity, of 294 ovM roxviCTs, brotherly love, or, in otlier terms, of philanthropy, more or less Christian. For, although every society rests on a moral basis, and every society is more or less impregnated -with Christianity, through the fact of its historical development on the religious and moral basis of the Grospel, yet this society, considered as a moral personage, is destitute of that real per- sonality which alone can be the spring and centre of the feelings, and of religious and moral acts. " Nor does the dut}^ of which we are speaking spring directly from the interest of society in its own preservation, which should lead the State to consider as an advantage the moral reform of individuals dangerous to its peace, with whom it must, in proportion as other more inhuman means of repression fail, always fill its prisons in greater number, to release them, after a fixed time, more corrupt and more furious, to be the terror of the population. " But this obligation arises, in the fii'st place, as a positive and absolute right, belonging to those towards whom retribu- tive justice is exercised, from the very nature of the right of punishing, which political power is called upon to exercise. For this right, embracing the difi'erent motives of penal repres- sion, retribution, as well as the intimidation and protection of society, has its true basis only in that law of moral order, founded by the Supreme Legislator, and impressed in the natm-e of man created after His own image, that suffering must always he the necessary and inevitaUe consequence of evil, in order to change this evil into good. ' "VVe suffer,' says Vixet, ' because Grod has made punishment the inevitable companion of sin ; we suffer, because suffering is the needful road to lead us to Him who cleanseth from sin.' It is only under this aspect that the right of punish- ing, placed on its true moral basis, loses the odious character of simple vengeance, or of egotistic violence, which is exercised by most only to secure their own protection. "The distinction here established is very important. It gives I.MI'UOVKMKXXS. 295 at once a sure foundation to the absolute obligation wliiuh rests on the State, not only to attend to the moral grants of the prisoners, but to make theii* very punishment conduce, as it. ought to do, to the amendment of their moral life ; — an obliga- tion from -which it cannot withdra-^-, ■«-ithout abusing the riglit of punishment AAhicli belongs to it, in order to make it degene- rate, by losing its moral character of justice, which is at the same time retributive and restorative, into a simple act of violence, exercised by the strongest against the weak." Now it cannot be doubted that it is the intention of those who have the controul of the EngHsh Convict System, to make it conduce to the ends here so clearly and forcibly stated. But practically it has not had that effect. The punishment of the Convicts does not conduce "to the advancement of their moral life ;" that has been sufficiently proved by the cdfndition of the prisons, by the aggravated criminality of those who iiave experienced their discipKne, and by their frequent recon-« victions ; the high moral character of justice is thus seriously lowered in our country, Pubhc opinion has long decided that it it is not restorative. It is not even retributive ; our highest secondary punishment cannot be an object of di*ead, if crimes are perpetrated for the express object of obtaining admission to Convict Prisons. Captain Caktweigiit, the Governor of Grlou- cester Gaol, mentions, in a letter to the Commissioners, the case of ten men who were convicted of arson at the Gloucester Winter Assizes, and sentenced to six years' penal servitude. !Many of these men made distinct statements that their object was to get a sentence of penal servitud(>, as they should thus " learn a trade, and get plenty of money." ^' All of these men," Captain Cartwright concludes, after giving particidars of their cases, "gave themselves uj) to tlie police after committing the offence, and I entertain no doubt whatever that their sole object was to get a long confinement in the Government Prison. AVhen I spoke to thom, on admission, of the heinousness of their crime, they assiircd me thoy had no malice against the unfortunate 296 OTT. roxvTfT.'. owners of the property they respectively destroyed." Thus the country was put to the expense of at least £2000, in the punish- ment and maintenance of these men, through the temptation presented by the premium on crime held out by our present penal system. Nor can it be a subject of wonder that men tramping from one place to another, as these were, and sleeping in "Workhouses, should listen to the representations of those of their number, who had been in Convict Prisons, as to the superior comforts of a penal establishment. One who had experienced them gave such a description as is contained in the following. A correspondent of the Times writes : — " Soon after my appointment to Fiddington a released convict retiii'ned to his home in my parish. As I had known him from my hoyhood, and as he had been foi' some time my father's servant, I was anxious to act the parson's part towards him. Accordingly I lost no time in giving him suitable emplo\-ment, with good wages. One morning, while thus engaged- he requested me to sign a 'bit of paper' for him, as he wanted to draw some money. ' Draw some money, Charles ! and what money can you have to draw ?' ' Why, you see, sir, we are enabled to earn somewhat in prison, and when we are released we can claim our allowances.' ' Well, Chaeles, I will sign your paper ; but, first of all, tell me a little about your prison experiences ;' and from his lips I wrote down the following : — " ' March 29, 1859, — I have been convicted of jioaching five times, of petty felony once, and of felony once. Upon my last conviction, at Taunton, I was incarcerated eight months at Bath. From there I was removed to Dartmoor Prison, where I remained three years and four months ; and during that period I have earned ^12 9.s. 'id., for steady conduct and work. Our prison life is as follows: — We attend chapel twice a day, and the hours of work are from seven a.m. to half-past four or five p.m. But we are not required to work hard, nor are wo allowed to do overwork. Our cells are comfortable, and our fare very good ; for we get roast mutton twice a week and roast beef twice a week. We are, too, allowed to mix and converse together during the hours of work, but not within the prison walls. Now, sir, I don't want to get there again, but I may say I am certain of tLis, that no man in this parish can live as 1 lived in Dartmoor Prison during the last twelve months — reckoning lodging and clothes — upon 10s. a week,' " I could not refrain asking him, ' If thirty lashes v.'ere inflicted upon the second conviction, do you think men would go on oftending as you have done ?' ' Well, you see, sir, that would alter the v»holo thing, uncommonly, and make them keep clear as much as possible, no doubt.' I need scarcely add that Chat.les was soon 'wanted;' for, as prison discipline possessed no terrors for him, he was soon back at his old quarters, 'living as no iMT>r>ovE>ry.xTR. 297 mail in tbo 2^al•i^ill could live ou 10s. a week' at the public co>.t. I am, sir, your obedient sen-ant, ]'\ S. IIawlixos, late Eoctor of Fiddington, Somerset, Netley, Aug. 19, 18G1. " Such evils can never exist in the Irish Convict System, -whicli lias been proved to be both "retributive and restorative," and thus to accomplish the highest objects of justice, both to society and to the individual. The principles of this have been so fully stated, that it is imnecossary here to recapitulate tlicuu. The expressed approbation of the Commissioners of so many points of the system, and the public attention drawn to it, will, wo trust, at no distant period, load to the thorough adoption of its principles in our English Convict Prisons. These principles are especially adapted to the female jirisons, as shown in the former Chapter. To the treatment of EngHsh Convicts, we trust the Irish System will be speedily applied. The necessity of radical change in our liitherto ineffective penal system is urgent. The possibility of our any longer throwing the burden of tlio crime of England upon our Colonists in Australia, appears now to be finally settled. The strong expostulations and determined opposition on the part of all, except Western Australia, to the reception of C'Onvicts on an}' part of the shores of that grand new Continent has produced the effect which was to be anti- cipated. The following announcement has just appeared in a leader of the Times of November IStli: — "We have now the pleasure of stating what is no longer a secret, that no such policy" (of resisting the public opinon of those largo communi- ties respecting transportation) " is contemplated by her Majesty's Government, and that, subject to the approval of Parliament, ir(/iif2)('yf(ition to the Amfralian Continent trill ceaf^e irithin a liinifcd period^ Thus wo are suffering the punishment ■v^o have brought upon ourselves by so long disregarding- their remonstrances as to the kind of Convicts who should be sent, and the condi- tions under which thov should be there. Yet f-hould Ave be 298 ovn co^"•TICTS. prevented from ever again sending our Convicts from our own shores, wo sliall be only in the same position in which Ireland was, when she applied the noble remedy of reforming her criminals, and allowing them to go to another country only as free men, and at their own expense. AVhen the right principle is once established in our Convict Prisons, there will not be the same difficulty in dealing with those who appear incorrigible, both from their conduct within the prison and from their frequent reconvictions. From these the public ought to be protected. AYhy should such a man as the following be allowed to draw" others into crime, and to prey upon the public : — "AN INCUEABLE THIEF. " At the 5Iiddlesex Session last week (August, 1864) an elderly man, named John "WiLLLiiMS, was sentenced to ten years' penal servitude for burglary. Inspector Potter said he had known the prisoner John "Williams, alias Thomas Doemer, alias Johnson, for about 15 years, and he was one of the men concerned in steaUng the Queen's plate from a van on its route from the Great Western Railway at Paddingtou to Buckingham Palace, about eight years ago. The driver to whom the van was intrusted was induced by the prisoner's companions to go into a public-house and take drink till he became the Viorse for liquor, and while he was in this state four men abstracted the chest containing the plate from the van. From the muddled state the driver was in he was unable to identify either of the men, but there v.'as no doubt that they were the persons who committed the robbery. He was also charged with being concerned in several jewel robbeiies, and amongst them one on the premises of Mr. Matwood, in whose house his son was employed. The prisoner was apprehended and tried for this robbery and acquitted, but two men with him were tried at the Central Criminal Court in January of the present year, and each sen- tenced to be kept in penal servitude for ten years. Witness then appre- hended him. He was convicted seven years ago at the Central Criminal Court for burglary, when he was indicted for stealing a large quantity of silk from a warehouse in Covent-garden, and he was sentenced to be kept in j)enal servitude for six years, of which sentence he served five years, u-lien he was liberated loith a ticket-of -leave. Since that time he had been enqaged in burglaries, and was the constant associate of returned convicts." And why should society be injured by one who is justly desio-nated (like one who was tried at the Somerset Epiphany Sessions, 1864) "throughout his life a bad fellow:" — iMrKOVEMrxTS. 299 '•John" Buook, 4.4, labourer, ploadeJ guiUy to stealing a small quautiiy of bread aud pork, the property of Ann ."Mizex, at Westou, on the 23rd November. It appeared that he had spent most of his life in gaol and in penal servitude, aud for this offence he was sentenced to seven years' penal servitude." The Recorder of Birmingliani made important remarks on a number of cases of this kind, wliich were brought before him at the General Quarter Sessions, April 11 th, 18G1 : — " Of our 1^8 prisoners, C8 have been previously convicted, and all but seven convicted of felony. Of the Gl convicted of felony, 10 have had to endure penal servitude, tlr.ee of the IC having twice experienced that punishment. One of the three has received a sentence of six years, and afterwards one of five years. Another, two sentences of six years each, and a third has been visited with a sentence of fifteen years' transportation, and again of six years' penal servitude. The career of the last-mentioned prisoner is melancholy indeed. Eleven convictions stand against his name. In March, 1850, be was sentenced, at the Maidstone Assizes, to fifteen years' ti-ansportation for steal- ing a watch, and yet he was ready for conviction at the Bedford January Sessions of 1857, when six years and three quarters only of his long term had expired, for stealing 15 lbs. of cheese, for which of!euce he was awarded six years' penal scivitude. And he is now to be indicted before you for another felony ; that is to say he has been in trouble for two distinct felonies, both committed prior to the expiration of that sentence of 1850. Gentlemen, ecu this be right? Could such a state of things have existed if the piisoner under the first-mentioned sentences had been hept in snUitary aud well- conducted training, until he had worked himself out of prison by industry aud good conduct. Under such treatment he must either have given satis- factory evidence of reformation or he would have been detained in confine- ment at home or abroad until the year 18C5. If, then, he had been discharged on the ground of his merits, and had enjoyed the privilege of a Avell-conduetcd supervision, the probability is that the community would have been spared his two latter detected olilnces, forming, it is not rash to believe, only a small portion of the undetected crimes committed duiing the period of his libera- tion. On the other hand, if he had not manifested improvement sufiiciently marked to justify his conditional discharge, in that case these iutoimediate offences could not have been committed, and the public would have had the benefit of what the celebrated jurist Jekemy Bentham calls incapacitation; to which he justly attiibutes great importance. * * * Nine of our prisoners have recorded against them each five or more convictions ! Again I ask if this can be right? Ought we to shrink from the duty of permanently incapacitating by imprisonment malefactors who have given such conclusive evidence that their being at largo must be inconsislcnt with public safety? Not that I v.oulil deprive them of all ]ioj)0 of eventual restoration to freedom. 300 OTJR COX^'IOTS. If by a long probation tliey cau yet prove that they rnay be entrusted ^vith self-guidance, let them go; but, gentlemen, you cannot but feel that their chance of liberation would be, as it ought to be, very remote, and that in the great majority of instances their fate would be sealed for life. Let no parsi- monious feeling interpose between lis and such a safeguard for our families and our property. Depend upon it, however expensive a prisoner in con- finement may be, yet it is better, even in a strictly financial point of view, to dole out to him the necessaries of life by the hand of authority, than to permit him to roam tlie country and help himself — to say nothing of the cruelly unequal burden which falls on the individuals who happened to be plundered ; and not to mention the fear of outrage which we know by experience from time to time spreads abroad alarms, the pain and misery of which are indicated by panics rising to a height but little justified by the facts which have produced them." Sui'ely, as Mr. Hill remarks, expense ouglit not to liave any consideration wlien tlie safety of society is in question ; no length of detention can be too great to seciu-e from fresli acts of violence sucli persons as those referred to in the following leader in the Times of December 1, 1862 :— " The November session of the Central Criminal Court in the year 1862 will long be memorable in the annals of crime. In this month alone twenty- seven persons have been indicted, and twenty-four convicted, of savage outrages in the streets of the metropolis. In almost all of these cases there was evidence of an organized plot in which others besides the prisoners were implicated. In some of them the violence employed was such as to endanger life ; in some it was aggravated by the most gratuitous brutality after the robbery had been effected. One at least of these crimes was committed by day-light, several in the most j)ublic places, such as PTolborn and Cockspur-street. RufBaus as they were, many of the prisoners had ostensible callings or trades, and seem to have banded themselves together for predatory expeditions on a system resembling the Indian ' thuggee.' Most of them exhibited an im- pudent and defiant demeanour ou the trial, and not one, so far as we know, expressed or betrayed the slightest contrition. Like the sanguinary fanatics of the French Eevolution, they showed to the last every symptom of a repro- bate conscience, and seemed to accept their doom as a fatality incident to an ambitious career. Need we add that the majority of them, however young in years, were veterans in lawless depravity. Of those who were sentenced on Saturday, one had undergone a nominal term of four years' penrd ser\-itude, a second of three years, he^^vles fourteen other convictions, a third of six years, eighteen months of which had been remitted; a fourth had been convicted three times, and had been knov.-n to the police for years as the 'constant associate of the worst of thieves ;' a fifth and sixth had been ' for many months hanging about the night houses in theHayniaiketon the lor.k nut for drunken IMPKOVEMEXIS. 301 persons; a seventh had been 'the constant associate of thieves, and sum- marily convicted several times;' an eighth had been ' twelve times in custody for felony and assaults;' a ninth, his accomplice, had been four times in the bauds of the police ; a tenth was believed to be the same person who had been condemned to four years' penal semtude, and had left Portland but a few months; au eleventh was a thief by trade; a twelfth was ' knowu to have been in the House of Correction ;' a thirteenth was a ticket-of-leave man, sentenced to ' seven years' transportation' (we presume, penal servitude) in April, 1857 ; a fourteenth and fifteenth ha.l pre^aous convictions for felony proved against them, and a sixteenth hud been ' sent to a reformatory' for four years." Sucli men as these, placed among- the ordinary inmates of a gaol in any degree of association, must diffuse around them a most dangerous influence ; and, wliile the safety of society requires that they should be detained in conhnement until they have given reliable proof of reformation, the reformatory character of the Con\'ict Prisons demands that the}' .should not be permanent inmates of them, impressing their own character on the inmates, and making absolutely necessary restrictions Avhich otherwise might have become less penal in the advanced stages. Prisoners of such a class were formerly sent to people a new colony ; now they must remain at home, and it becomes very important that they should be placed in a separate and more penal Convict Prison, where arrangements shoidd be mada to provide more penal restriction, where they should be debarred from many of the advantages which they enjoy in the other Convict Prisons, and yet where the same principles of management which have been advocated in these volumes, should have fidl force. There should still bo the possibility of the amelioration of their condition, and still a stimulus given to self-improvement, even if they should bo destined never again to live at large in the world, condemned for their crintcs to incarceration for life. Such a separate establishment has been strongly advocated by many per.sons highly experienced in Convict treatment. .Such a prison, conducted on the principles here advocated, and containing within its boimdarics a sufficient enclosure of land, might be made to contribute very largely 302 orr. coxvicxs. to its own expenses, as we saw was the case in the later stages of the Irish Prisons ; those persons who are under life sen- tences might be safelj^ detained there, and the public no longer witness the anomaly of crimes being actually committed by those whom they beheved from their sentence to be for ever prevented from injuring the public. The Commissioners make some very important observations on this subject (par. 83) : — " Sentences for life should, we think, be only passed on men guilty of veiy aggravated crimes, but -when passed, they ought really to imply that those Avho have incun'ed them, shall never again be allowed to return to society, either at home, or in a colony, unless the mercy of the Crown should be extended to them on special grounds. After a certain time, if they behave well, the severity of their punishment might properly be relaxed, but they never ought to regain even the qualified freedom of the holder of a ticket-of- leave. If, hoicever, they are to he kept in perpetual confinement, this punisJt- vient may he inflicted more safely and more conveniently at home than in a colony. Should this rule as to the enforcement of sentences for life be adopted, the courts before which offenders are tried would naturally make a distinction between the most atrocious criminals, and those whose guilt, though aggravated, is one degree less, by passing sentences for life on the former only, and on the latter sentences for a definite, though in some cases, a very long term of years." Should such arrangements be made by the Government, we may hope that a very important step has been taken towards removing that great blot on our criminal legislature, the punishment of death. It is, indeed, a hideous remnant of our antiquated draeonic code, and its continued existence in our country springs from a servile obedience to the law of them of old time, " an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth," from which the Saviour came to set us free. This is not the place to enter on a discussion of that topic, which is, indeed, at present the subject of parliamentary inquiry. The public mind is beginning to revolt against it ; juries dread the responsibility of giving a verdict which may pre- maturely cut off an innocent person ; all the pleas on which camtal punishment has been defended are gradually droj)ping away ; and the various cases which have occiu-red, even diu-ing the present year, must have made the Government see, as the lilPllOVEMEXTS. 303 people do, liow very difficult it is to di'aw the Hue where uiercy should be exercised, or remissiou of the seutence granted. At the present moment, -when the young foreigner, against whom popular indignation had been so strongly excited, and whose guilt of a heartless and atrocious murder none doiibted, excites groat sympathy, now that a legal verdict has been found against him, and his numbered days are fast flj'ing, thousands would gladly unite to obtain his reprieve, were there the very smallest chance of such effort proving successful ; — for though the circimi- stantial evidence against him seems complete, yet is there not a possibility, the merest possibility, that he has spoken truly, that some of the witnesses have given false evidence, — that he did 7iot commit the foul act ? ••' Multitudes of such cases have occiuTcd where an innocent man has died the felon's death, and there has been no recal ! Many, on the other hand, who were really guilty, and who ought not to have been again in society, have been allowed to go at large on a verdict of not guilty, simply because the jury feared to bring on the cidprit an irre- vocable sentence, while there was the slightest shadow of a doubt of his guilt ; thus justice has been defeated by the severity of its enactments. If, however, there were such a prison as was indicated by the Commissioners, where the criminal under a life sentence should be always confined, unless liis innocence should be proved, there would cease to be one of the strongest reasons for continuing the awful punishment at which humanity shudders, and from which the public feeling of our country increasingly shrinks. We now proceed to consider some of the improvements Avhich appear necessary to put an cfToctivo chock on the crime of the country. In the first place, there is a great want existing in the country of any general and imiform system of the registration * Since this was written, the uuluqipy luau Las met Lis futi', aud at the last moment confessed his crime. 304 OUIl CONVICTS. of criiuiuals. Careful records may be, indeed, kept of tlie number of committals aud convictions, but as we have before remarked, tliis gives no information respecting the number of individuals wlio have been engaged in criminal acts, still less does it indicate the number of recommittals and reconvic- tions. From time to time an experienced eye may detect the same individual as an old offender, and sagacious efforts may lead to discovery of the antecedents of the culprit. But there is no recognised and established means of ascertaining these. Mr. Weatheeiiead, Governor of Hollo way Prison, states to the Commission: — "There is," he says (526), "extreme difficulty ia discovering previous convictions, particularly in case of the old incorrigible thief, or the clever thief. He escapes the former conviction bettor than a man who has been seldom in prison, and that class generally travel from covmty to county, or from one prison to another, and their former convictions are never brought to light against them." Out of the 20 or 30 whom Mr. Weatiierhead ascertained to ]iave been in Convict Prisons only about four were known at their trial to have been previously under sentence of penal servitude. We have seen that in the Irish Convict System photography was found a most valuable help in this. Even before it was employed there. Captain Gaedxee, Crovernor of the Bristol Gaol, had made important use of it, and stated it in a circular addressed to the Governors of Gaols in December, 1854 : — '•The aJvaDtages wliie'h I have myself seen tlerived from tlie use of photography, as an aid to the administratiou of crimiual justice are such, that T am induced to make an efibrt to procure its general adoption throughout the kingdom. " The importance of being enahled, in the cases of all hardened criminals, to prove previous convictions must be self-evident to dwell upon, neither does it require argument to show that the difficulties hitherto in the way of such proofs have been always nvuuerous aud often insurmountable. " When the convict has been sent back for a second time to the same gaol, the required evidence has been easily procurable, but it is well known to all who have been concerned in crimiual administration that the most cun- IMPROVEMEXTS. 305 niug, the most skilled, aud the most dan'ng ofteuders are migratory in their habits ; that tliey do not locate themselves in a paiticular town or district, but extend their ravages to wherever thei-e is the most open field for crime, or wliere tlie chances of i)lunder most present themselves ; that this is the case will be attested by the iiolice of almost every large city, whose experience will tave failed to connect the most extensive and best planned robberies with their resident known thieves, "A knowledge of, the foregoing truths induced me, a few years ago, to desiderate some mode by which descriptions of committed prisoners suspected of previous convictions might be circulated among the Governors of leading gaols, but numerous difficulties at first present themselves ; periodical visits of inspection might be useful, but they would have two great disadvantages : first, they would withdraw the Governor or confidential officer too frequently from his gaol duties; and secondly, they would entail expenses which the counties could not bear ; written descriptions, in very marked cases, might be effective, but as, in the great majority of instances, it would be found impossible to make them sufficiently precise, they would only tend, where parties were sent to identify, to frequent disappointments and useless expense. " Photography then suggested itself to my mind, and it became at once apparent that if I could devise some means of making the operation suffi- ciently sudden, I might in scores of cases, even without the knowledge of the prisoner, procure his likeness, a very icon of himself, of which, being capable of multiplication to any extent, I might transmit a cojiy to wherever it might promise to lead to useful results. '' Twelve months' continuous study of the system has enabled me to perfect it. I have now an apparatus in my gaol which I use daily. I have rendered it most subservient to the object for which^ it w'as designed, and through its use have brought to justice several hardened offenders who, being unknown in my neighbourhood, would otherwise have escaped with inade- quate punishment. " J. H. came into the Bristol Gaol upon commitment for trial, a perfect stranger to me and my officers. He was well attired, but very illiterate ; the state of his hands convinced me that he had not done any hard work; whilst the superiority of his appai'el over his attainments led me to suspect that he v.-as a practised thief. I forwarded his likeness to several places, and soon received information that he had been convicted in London aud Dublin. The London officer, who recognised him by his porti-ait, was subpojnaed as a witness, picked him out from amongst thirty or forty other prisoners, and gave evidence on his trial in October last, which led the Uecorder to sentence him to six years' penal servitude. " J. D. came to the gaol wholly unknown. His person and manners induced me to suspect that it was not his first appearance in a place of confinement, aud having made several copies of his portrait, I sent them round to the Governors of difierent prisons. He was recognised as having been convicted 2. 306 OT-n coxviOTs. ixt Wells; the uecessary witness was subpcoucaed, his former conviction proved, and bo was sentenced to four years' penal .servitude. " I could mention several instances in which some most notorious thieves, strangers to this part, have been brought to proper punishment. " Such having been my own experience, I now appeal to the Governors of other gaols to aid rae in carrying out the system upon a broad and national scale. The cost of an apparatus complete will not exceed ten pounds, and it may be worked at an expense of about five pounds per annum. " I have only to add my wish that you should bring this communication under the notice of your Visiting Justices, and to say, should the authorities of any district consider that I can help them by instructing their ofBcers in the exercise of this most useful art, I shall be happy to do so free of all expense." This general system lias not yet been adopted in our country, but ■^h.erever pbotog'rapliy lias been tried, it has proved very valuable. The Grovernor of the Bedford County Graol, in a special report on its employment, says: — "I feel convinced that tramps and vagabonds who wander from town to town, committing petty depredations, will, as far as they can, avoid those prisons in which photography is employed." Again, the Grovernment Inspector of Prisons for the Southern District, Mr. John Gt. Perry, in his return to the Home Secretary, says, speaking of the employment of photography : — " Its application, as might be expected, is distasteful to prisoners, and probably acts in some measure as a check on future misconduct, as the prisoners, being conscious of the use that is made of their portraits, have a great dread of exposure from their agency." By the general emplojTiient of photograjihy in connection with a well-devised and steadily executed system of registration throughout the country, it would be easy to ascertain which are our casual offenders, and which the habitual criminals, who now so often escape detection or incur only a sHght punishment, by passing from one county, where the^' are known, to another, where, under a fresh name, they pass for first- convicted transgressors. It is most important to the country that this system should be adopted if we would repress crime in the land. To the criminal himself it would be an act of IMPHOVEMEXTS. 307 mercy, for what can bo more mistaken kindness to any one than to allow him to continue in a sinful course ? The Christian minister is here at perfect harmony with the administrator of justice. "Let us now infer from this," says F. Eobertsox, "a great truth, — the influence of non-detection. They who have done wrong congratulate themselves upon not being found out. Boys sin by disobedience; men commit crimes against society and their natui-al impulse is to hush all up, and if what they have done is undiscovered to consider it a happy escape. Now the worst misfortime that can happen is to sin and to escape detection ; — shame and sorrow do Grod's work as nothing else can do it. We can readily conceive that, if this shame and scandal had been hushed up, then the offender woidd have thought it a fortunate escape, and sinned again. A sin undetected is the soil out of which fresh sin will grow. Somehow, like a bxUlet wound, the extraneous evil mmt come out in the face of day, he found out, or else be acknowledged by confession."'^- It is thus most important, both for the ends of justice and for the reformation of the offender, that every means should be adopted wliich may make crime a difficult calling, and which may lead to the detection of those who require, for the safety of society and for their own benefit, a long and reformatory treat- ment. Besides, we have seen, from facts stated in the early part of this work, what erroneous ideas have been formed of the effects of particular systems, from the want of such certainty of ascertaining former convictions, as would test the effect of treatment which was supposed to be reformatory. Surely a complete system of registration of offences would be one of the first gi'eat improvements. Secondh', the great xmcertainty of judicial sentences, and the very different punishment awarded to the same offences by (lilferent judges, has a most injurious effect on the j)ublio mind, and especially on that of the criminal class. Sir Uiclluid • I''. IIodertson's "Lectures ou the Coriiitliiuii':," p. 4r>7. 808 OUR COTTV'ICTS. Mayne's opiniou is founded on a long experience as Com- missioner of the Metropolitan Police since the foundation of the force in 1829, and is therefore very important. He says (1659) : " I believe it is not too strong a word to use to say that the administration of the law with regard to the widely varying degrees of punishment at the present day is a scandal. Some of the judges, I think, pass sentences of eighteen months for an offence that another judge would pass a sentence of five years or more of penal servitude. " 1660. — The law gives them almost unlimited discretion whether they will pass a very long sentence of penal ser^atude, or a very short sentence of imprisonment ? — Yes. " 1661. — You are of opinion that that latitude is imiversally large ? — Yes. " 1662. — Does it aiot make it perfectly imcertain and a species of lottery ? — Yes ; the police consider it so ; they often report to me with regard to a case, — So-and-so will be tried before such a Judge, and he will get a very light punishment." Illustrations of Sir E. Mayxe's opinion are common. In the Central Criminal Court of December 4, 1863, as recorded in the Times of December 5, wo find a man, Chaeles Weight, 26, indicted for a burglary. The Jury found the piisoner guilty, and the Eeoorder sentenced him to nine months' imprisonment with hard labour. In the next case we learn that " The jury having convicted West, a police constable was called, and deposed that the jjiisouer had spent about six years in a gaol within the last twelve years. He was con\'ieted in October, 1850, at Maidstone, of stealing cloth belonging to the London, Chatham, and Dover Railway Company, and sentenced to eighteen months' imprisonment. In July, 1861, he was sentenced to two years' imprisonment for uttering counterfeit coin. While in prison on that conviction, he attempted to commit suicide by cutting his throat. He was then removed to a lunatic asylum, from which he afterwai'ds escaped, taking with him some of the property of the institution. He had been previousl}' under confinement in the gaol of Hertfordshire, and while there he assaulted and garotted a warder, for which he afterwards underu eut eighteen months' imprisonment with hard labour, IMPROVEME^-TS. 309 " The Eecordei; sentenced the inisoner to be kept to penal servitude for six years." Thus a long career of crime, indicating a settled habit of vice, with repeated acts of violence, has a sentence of only six years. But vre next find that a man who has nearly murdered another is restrained only for eighteen months. " Dasiel Henright, 48, a labourer, was indicted for feloniously ifounding Patrick Eiley, with intent to do hini, some grievous hodihj harm. " Mr. Nicholson was counsel for the prosecution ; and JNIr. Moxtague ■\ViLLiAJis for the defence. "The Eecorder, in summing up the case to the jury, said it was a serious matter and not be treated lightly. He would not do Irishmen the injustice to suppose that such barbarity was at all common among them. To strike an unarmed man, sitting quietly at his supper, with a weapon such as had been described, was in the last degree disgraceful. The question for the jury, however, was whether the prisoner intended to do the prosecutor some grievous bodily harm, and they would judge of the intent by the weapon which had been used. " The Jury, without hesitation, returned a verdict of guilty. '• The Eecorder, after commenting on the cowardice of striking a man on the head with a hammer and disabling him before he could turn round to defend himself, sentenced the prisoner to eighteen months' hard labour." In the same paper vre find in the Western Circuit, at Winchester, that a soldier, V^vlextixe Bambrick, -was indicted for violently assaulting and robbing a man. The offence was proved, and the case was aggravated. The law had been recently passed awarding corporal punishment for such an offence. '•The learned Judge having summed up, " The Jury found the prisoner guilty. " The Judge said he should defer passing sentence till the morning. " BATaERicK : It is of no consequence what you do now. I don't care nhout losing mj' pension ; but I have lost my ijosition. I don't care what you do witli me. You may hang me if you like. " This morning his Lordship passed sentence. He said, — Vai.e.stine Bajibeick, I don't know that I ever had a more painful duty than in con- sidering your case. I liave felt great anxiety about it, and have considered everything you urged in your defence; but tlie evidence which sati§fied the jury has satislied me, and it does appear to me to be as clear a case as ever was tried. You say you had a witness, and that witness might have put some other coustrut'.inn on the matter. If you had made an appUcation 310 OUIX CONVICTS. to have youi- trial postponed, I should have heeu the first to listen to j'our application, and I can't help thinking, from the intelligence you displayed, you must have been aware that you could have made such an application. I am bound to say that I don't think any witness could have altered the facts. You were found in a deadly struggle with another man. He was under you, and the witness said that when he found you Kcssell was almost choked and suftocated by the pressure of your hand ou his throat. It is perfectly clear that he was robbed of his medals, and some of them were found at the house where the woman lodged. How could they have come there? How did they come from the breast of Eussell? I have no doubt you liave exhibited great gallantry and gi-eat courage, and have well entitled yourself to the A'ictoria Cross. Had it not been for your character, I should have put in force the provisions of a recent statute, and subjected you to personal castigation, but, as it is, I deal with your case with great regret. I should have been delighted if the jury could ha\e seen their way to a doubt. I believe that you must have been under the influence of drink, for there was no adequate motive for your act, for the medals are only of trifling value. Your 2^unislvnent must he very severe. It must be penal servitude for three years. "Bambrick: There won't be a bigger robber in England than I shall be when I come out." Is tliree years' penal servitude a very severe sentence for almost murdering a man ! Are the lives of the public of so little value '? The following- is a still more striking illustration of the uncertainty of punishment, extracted from the ITorning Star, Feb. 24, 1863 :— THAMES. " Anxe Stephens, a servant girl, about 17 years of age, was brought before Mr. AVooleych, charged with committing several robberies. " After these were proved, and it appeared that they were of a very daring kind, other evidence was given, from which it appeared the i)risoner was ^•cry unmanageable in the Refuge where she was sheltered, and that she had been in the sen'ice of a gentleman, who took her out of the Refuge, and in return for the kindness of the gentleman and his wife she robbed them of clothes and other property. " The prisoner's mother said the prisoner always was a very unmanageable gill. '• The prisoner pleaded guilty. " Mr. WooLHYCH said the prisoner was a most hardened offender, an ungrateful and incorrigible thief, who had repaid kindness Avith ingratitude, and shamefully plundered her benefactors. All attempts to reclaim the prisoner had been in vain, and he ivould try what the severe but wholesome IMrEOVEMEXIS. 311 discipline of a gaol would effect. He seuteuced the prisoner to be impri- soned for four months in the House of Correction and kept to hard labour." The prisoner's conduct is truly cliaracterised by her judge. But is an imprisonment of four months a punishment at all commensiu-ate with the enormity of her offence. She had committed three distinct and separate crimes. Emboldened by her success in the fii'st serious breach of trust, for which alone she merited a severe punishment, she abuses the con- fidence of her benefactor and robs her, and thus commits a very serious robbery on her mistress ; this alone, we might have supposed, would have sent her to trial and brought upon her a sentence of penal servitude, especially taken in connec- tion with her previous instruction and training in a Refuge. Many young girls are made Convicts for what woidd appear far less crimes. But this bad and daring young woman, with whom crime was evidently a settled habit, and who had already become an adept in the commission of it, has only four months' imprisonment, Avliieh can neither reform nor deter her, and whence she will probably go forth to prey with greater impunity on society. In all these cases the judges were doubtless iniiuenced by excellent motives and wise reasons ; — but the public can perceive only the inconsistencies and uncertainty. A very striking case of this uncertainty of punishment is mentioned by Mr. Avoky, Clerk of Ai-raigns at the Central Criminal Court, in his evidence to the Eoyal Commission. He says (1910, 1917) :— "I have been shown an instance, which is fresh upon mj- memory now, of two judges sitting at the same time in the same assize town, in different courts, and who tried cases of poaching accompanied with violence to game- keepers ; in the one case tlie prisoner was sentenced to ten j'ears' transporta- tion, and in the other to one year's imprisonment. The circumstances were as identical as they could well be. Some judges give them a week in a case of that sort. In the absence of violence, a week is not at all an uncommon thing for night poacliiiig, armed. And other judges pass a severe sentence if there is no violeuce. 312 OUE COXVICTS. " In the sentences of persons convicted after a previous conviction for felony, when that is charged in the indictment, I have known a prisoner to have a smaller sentence than on the first occasion. That may arise from various circumstances. In the first place, the former conviction may have been many years before, and the accused may have behaved himself well for ten years, and then liave fallen into some small crime." The possibility of siicli glaring inconsistencies must be highly injurious, and must certainly have a tendency to diminish that reverence for law which is so important. Mr. Sidney Gueney, Clerk of Assize on the Western Circuit, gives a similar testimony in his evidence (1867, 1871) : — " There is great variety in the sentences passed by the different judges for the same offences, and committed under similar circumstances, without any reason for the difference that I can discover. I believe that rape is an instance in which some judges pass a very severe sentence, and others a moderate one. I have found that that discrepancy applies to all classes of crimes. It has existed to such an extent that while for the same offence one judge would inflict im])risoument, another judge would inflict penal servitude." It can hardly be doubted after such evidence as this, and much more might be easily adduced, that it would be most important to give some greater certainty to the- awards of the law, without interfering with that discretionary power in judges which is so important a feature of our legislature. The third improvement here suggested is, that sentences should be cumulative ; — that is, that a frequent repetition of offences, though not themselves serious, should be followed by long reformatory treatment. The subject of cumulative sentences is \dewed thus by Sir B. Mayne: — <• 1703. — I think that the repetition of very small short sentences i-s greatly increasing, and is a very great evil. I think that it might be reasonably made an indictable offence, and punishable after a certain number of times when there was a repetition of small offences for which the punishments are now summary convictions. Take that remarkable case to which I have referred many times in which the men were convicted who attacked Mi'. PiLKiNGTON ; one of the parties had been convicted nine times, and at last he received a sentence of penal servitude; he had just been released when he committed that oflbucc ; the two men were released at the end of May, and I think that in Julv the offence was committed. IMPEOVEMEXTS. 313 " 1701 i. — What I understand you to suggest is that it would be a good thing that several summary convictions should be made cumulative? — Yes, and make them an indictable offence punished accordingly." The reason and justice of this seems obvious. If a person is pursuing a eoiu'se of conduct which is contrary to law and injurious to society, and if repeated punishments fail to pro- duce any effect, or to check the individual in his vicious career, the perseverance in such illegal course and, as it may he regarded, defiance of law, ought itself to he regarded as a crime involving a long course of punishment and reformatory treatment. It is almost impossible to calculate the evil to society caused by the presence of individuals who thus live in a manner regardless of law; the evil to the individual is not less of allowing him to continue such a course, and thus become callous to the disgrace and punisliment of the gaol ; and the cost to the public of his continual apprehensions, comdctious and imprisonments, is far more than his incarceration in a prison, where he would be made to earu a portion, at least, of the cost of his maintenance. As the law at present stands the same person is sentenced repeatedly, becomes habituated to a month's imprisonment in a gaol where his comforts are attended to, and he returns to his old haunts and associates, nothing daimtcd, as in this case : — " EoiiEirr ScuRUY was bruught up on remand charged with stealing a cow-heel, value id., from the stand of Mi-. jNIaksii, in the High-street Market, on Saturday night. A Avitness named 'Wilson deposed to seeing the prisoner snatch the coic-heel of the stand, and run away. P.C. May found the prisoner a few minutes afterward.s surrounded by four or five comjianions. Suspecting tliat sonielhiiig was wrong, he went up to them, aud found the prjsoHcr in 2^ossession of the cow-heel. He took him to the market, where Wilson pointed out to him the stall from which be had seen the i)risoner steal it. He asserted that he did not tnkc the cow-heel. He had beeu before the magistrates on three or four previous occasions, and was seutoaced to oiio month's imprisonment." — Bristol Post, April ;1'J, 1804. It should not be considered an excuse that drunkenness is tlie cause of crime, or even of disorderly couduct. Many of the most serious crimes are perpetrated by persons under the 314 OUE CONVICTS. influence of liquor, and excessive annoyance to the public caused by persons in tliis degraded condition. If sucb persons as tlie following know that they should receive a long incar- ceration, and compulsory abstinence from diink, they would be more cautious : — 'ANOTHER INVETERATE TOPER. "James Kelly, a dirty-lookiDg old man, was charged with heing drunk and incapable of taking care of himself. P.O. 152 found him at &is o'clock on Sunday evening lying down in Old JMarket-street. Mr. Castle : He has been here before? Mr. "\Villl\ms: At least two hundred times. You told him when he was last here that you would call upon him to find sureties. Prisoner : Just give me one trial more. If you'll let me off I'll go into Wales. Mr. Williams said he had promised that a score times. Mr. Castle said the magistrates must keep their word with him, and they called upon him to find tno sureties iu ^£10 each to keep the peace. He would be committed to gaol till he found them. Piisoner : Can't you let me go to Wales ? Mr. Williams : No, you must go to gaol. You were there for eleven months out of twelve before. The prisoner was then removed." For women such a com-se would be particularly useful. Such degraded beings as the following might thus be saved : — "Joanxa McGeath for the Sixteenth Time. — This notorious and in- corrigible tcoman was brought up charged with being drunk and incapable. Defendant now begged Mr. Alderman Homfray to ' forgive her jist this once, and she wouldn't do it again.' She was committed to prison for one month's hard labour, and said, on leaving the dock, ' Oh ! sure, then, Mr- Homfray, isn't that too bad, anyhow.'" — Bristol Post, Newport Sessions, December 24, 1803. ■•AN INCORRIGIBLE. " Martha Caxsso^, an old woman who has been repeatedly before the Bench, Avas charged with having been found drunk and disorderly in Glouces- ter-lane. P.C. 1rrnovKMEXTs. 310 out of 100, wbcu even the surface appears fair, nud tlie character good, the man is not really reformed, hut only rendered cautious, and on his return to society, he soon hecomes an item in our recommittals." Mr. Shepheed then proceeds to exaniiuo tlie statistics of crime connected with his prison, and proves tliat there has been an actual increase of recommittals during the last 12 years, especially of persons recommitted four times and upwards : — " This would seem to shew that the maximum of our prison discipline has the minimum of reformatory or even deterring success. "Then I say, advisedly, there is a necessity for inti'oducing a reformatory system in to our county and local prisons. " We cannot be told that it is impossible to reform the adult and hardened criminal; we know what has been done in Ireland, and what has been done there can be done elsewhere. " Limited as we are by the present conditions of the law, the Visiting Justices resolved to tiy in the West Fading Piison an experiment which should introduce such of the features of tlie Irish System as under the circumstances could be appropriated. " This alteration in the discipline was introduced in November last, and I will limjt myself to such statements as will simply illustrate the working aud the general principle sought to be carried out. "All convicted prisoners on their reception are placed in the probation class on the lowest diet, and kept as strictly separate as the law will allow. " After 1-4 days of continued good conduct some alteration is made in the severity of the discipline, a different employment and out-door exercises arc given. These slight relaxations are intended to show the prisoner that he has advanced one step. " After a further probation of a month's continued good conduct, other indulgences are granted in increased exercise, a greater vaiiety of books, educational instruction, and an improved dietary. This latter seems solely an animal one, but it must be considered that those to -whom it is applied are often little better than animal beings, whose appetites have the ijrincipal lule over thffm, and if we can induce these to subserve their moral good ^\e are turning them to a worthy use. This pi-ivilego of better dietary is likewise requisite when we recollect that for the lowest class the minimum has been given (or rather, I should say. ought to be given) that is compatible with health, nud that the active employment in labour iu the next classes requires also f:u improved diet. "The machinery by which n prisoner raises himself from a lower to a higher class is the same as we saw in active oijerntion in Ireland, namely, the system of marks. 13y this system n prisoner is no longer treated iu the mass, his imlividual cliaracter comes under obseivation. A notice is 320 OUR CONVICTS. given to him shewing the indulgences he will receive on his advancement to the next higher class, and an explanation of the marks, by what such advance can he obtained. • » » " A prisoner soon understands and appreciates the value of these marks, and when he finds he has received only one mark for his work, he at once determines to exert himself to gain more, and as my daily experience shews, he takes especial care that no mistake is made against himself. " It is when I come to speak of results, that I must apologize to the section for introducing an exjierimeut to their notice which has been for so short a time in operation. The first noticeable fact is an increase in the labour of the prisoners, but the most observable effect of the experiment is the improved conduct of the piisoners. " The average number of misconduct reports of a nature so slight as to require only a caution, was in the year 1860, 140 per month on population of 560, or 25 per cent. In the five months in 1862, that is since the introduction of this new discipline, there have been 106 reports per month of a like nature on a population, averaging 695, or 15 per cent., but it is when the prison ofiences are repeated, or when they are of a more serious nature, requiring actual prison punishment, that the great difi'erence of conduct shews itself. In the year 1861, 91 prisoners were punished monthly, or 10 per cent, on the population, and since January last 11 per month, or only 6 per cent, have been punished. " But the good eftects of the new discipline are shown more markedly by the progi'essive decrease in punishments monthly. In January last 84 prisoners were punished, in February 40, in March 43, in Apiil 95, and in May only 14, and this on a population of above 700.'' We may liope to see a great change iu the Criminal Chiss if the three improvements which have been snggested are carried into effect, viz., — 1st. Strict registration of criminals, aided by photography ; 2. Gfreater certainty and uniformity of judicial sentences ; and 3rd. Cumulative sentences ; and if, at the same time, there are the changes in County Gaols desired in the Report of Lord Caenartox's Committee, and Tvhich have been adopted "with so much success at Wakefield and Winchester. The Criminal Class may be di"sdded into — 1st. Casual Oifenders. 2nd. Those who are leading an idle and dissolute life, and who are iu the frequent commission of petty offences. 3rd. Habitual Offenders, who make crime their calling. IMrUON'EMEXTS, 32 1 The Casual Offenders will, it may be confidently expected, be more commonly checked than at present by a short but severe imprisonment, when this is duly registered against them, and their identity secured by photographs, so as certainly io entail on them a more severe punishment for a future offence. The Second Class, if awarded, on a second offence, a sentence long enough for reformatory treatment, will bo checked in the evil they are doing to society, and will have the opportunity of reformation. If they do not avail themselves of it after at least a year's imprisonment, being now well known and suspicious cliaracters, their next conviction will bring on them a sentence of not less than five years of penal servitude. The Third Class, imdor an effective administration of the present Act of Parliament, on a fresh con\'iction, will be recognised as old offenders, and instead of a few months' imprisonment, as so often at present, will receive not less than seven years' penal servitude. The public will thus be protected, and they them- selves have an opportunity of reformation. But if they again offend, the time must still be leng-thened, and they must never be at large imtil they have proved it is safe for society that they should be so. A lengthened or even a life imprisonment in the case of obdurate offenders is in accordance with the principles advo- cated at the Committee of 1856. Captain Macokociiie, in his evidence to that Committee, says (3728): "If he did not become good with one such i^unishmont, he would become better with a second, and better still with a third, and pro- gressively he would be an jiltered man, I am confident. He would cither be an altered man, or (which is another point that I wish very much to impress upon the Committee) he u'ould he shut i/p, through his otvn fault, for life ; because in the administration of punisJnnent I would show extreme severity to freq uen t recon victions.^ ' Mr. Recorder IIill forcibly sots forth this princiijlo to the same Committee : — " You must bo content that they shall he T 322 OUR C'OXVICTS. retained until habits of industry are formed, — until moderate .tkill in some woeful occupation is acquired, — tmtil the great lesso7i of self-controul is mastered, — in short, until the Convict ceases to he a criminal, resolves to fulfil his duty to God and to ma)t, and has surmounted all obstacles against carrying such resolutions into successful action. But as no training, ho"svever enlightened and vigilant, -will produce its intended effects on every individual subjected to its discipline, tchat are tee to do with the incur- able ? "VVe must face this question : vre must not flinch from answering, that tee projJose to detain them in 2^>'i-^on until they are released by death. You keep the maniac in a prison (which you call an asylum) under similar conditions ; you guard against his escape until he is taken from yoii, either because he is restored to sanity, or has departed to another world. If innocent misfortune may and must be so treated, why not thus deal with incorrigible depravity? ••' '^•' ••' It is my belief, that if long terms of punishment, even to perpetuity, were placed before the public mind, as iudissolubly connected with the privilege to the Convict of working out his own re- demption from thraldom by proving himself fit for liberty, it would require no great lapse of time to produce the change in opinion which I contemplate." ■•' Many years of painful experience have elapsed since the Recorder uttered these words, and since the Committee of 1856 supported the principles of punishment, which, where they have been adopted, have been proved to be so sound, and so important for the repression of crime, the security of society, and the reformation of the offenders, three ends equal in importance and in imity with each other. The public has suffered much in that interval, from the increase in their midst of crime of a peculiarly audacious and dangerous description. "We have learnt that no laws. * Appendix to Second Report from the Select Comraittee ou Transporta- tion, 185(i, p. 187. IMrROVEMEXTS. 323 however excellent, — the adoption of no principles, however sound, — are of any avail, unless there is a vigorous adniinis- tration of them. "We have discovered what are the errors and defects which have brought upon us the enormous and incalculable evils which we have endured. Let the public now join in hearty cooperation with the Government in enforcing the energetic administration of the law in the repression of crime, and in such treatment of Om CoxviCTS as may return a large proj)ortion of them to society reformed. CHAPTEE VI. PEEVENTION. The treatment of oiu' Convicts is entirely in the liancls of the Government, and society has no poT\-er of changing it, except throngh the influence of public opinion, ^vhich it is the object of this work to awaken. The prevention of crime rests, to a great extent, with the commnnit}- ; — in this a Government cannot do more than make such enactments as may be necessary to promote the welfare of society, and to second individual effort ; — it is the duty of every man and of every woman to do something, either by direct exertion or by example and influence, to weaken the power of evil, and to prevent the enormous criminality wlaich exists in oiu* land. Those who have carefully studied the evidence adduced in the course of this work, will, it is presimied, fully admit that it is most important, both economically and morall}', that every possible means should be adopted to check the supply of Convicts to our prisons, by using preventive measiu'es. Under the system which has been adopted diuing the last ten years this has been impossible, because the prisons them- selves have increased the enormity of the crime of the country, and because the numbers of imreformed persons thrown into society under the shelter of a ticket-of-leave, have given little hope that any efforts would be availing to stem the torrent of crime which was inundating oiu- nation. But now that a new PKEVEKTIOX. 325 system is, wo hope, l3clng' inaugurated, and that liaLitual offenders will no longer enjoy tlie immunity Avliich has hitherto been accorded to them, it is for society to do its part in aiding in the great work of the re2)ression of crime throughout the coimtr3\ There are already in oiu* land many movements and agencies which have for their direct object the diminution of immorality and the incentives to crime. Some of these we shall briefly indicate, leaving the advocacy of them to those who devote themselves specially to each object. The Temperance Cause stands fii'st in importance. Every one who has paid any attention to the causes of crime, or even to the ordinary police reports in the pubHc press, must be fully aware how many crimes of violence are committed under the influence of intoxicating liquor. All who notice coroner's inquests well know how many persons annually sacrifice their lives to strong drink. The testimonies of medical men, the declarations of Judges, the evidence of Governors and Chaplains of gaols, all point to the same cause of a large proportion of the crime of our country. It sui*ely, then, is the duty of all who know these things, and desire to benefit their fellow-creatures, to help those who are weak to stand against temptation ; it behoves all to give aid and sympathy to those who are endeavoiu-ing to promote this great cause. The marvellous change produced in Ireland when Father IMattiiew enlisted his thousands and millions in the ranks of temperance, sufficiently proves what might be done in England were a sufficiently united effort made throughout tlie country to discountenance drinking usages, and thus to undermine the causes of drunkenness. The efforts made to check the great Social Evil open another large field for moral effort. It cannot be doubted that with this is connected some of the most degraded immorality of our times, and that the infamous houses which are suffered to exist among us supply many cases of felony to our pohco courts, 326 OUll COXVICXS. and a large amount of crime to our Convict Prisons ; and none can tell how many murders have been jierpetrated in them. Laws do exist which might be j)ut in operation for their sup- pression, if there were a sufficiently earnest and determined spirit in society to enforce them. If the law is not sufficiently strong, let effi^rts be made to have it amended. This would be a more effective check on the ciying disgrace to oiu- land, than any number of institutions to receive the unhappy \dctims of this permitted evil. The following extracts from the Eeport of the Police Establishment of Liverpool, for the year ending 29th September, 1864, sj^eak volumes on these two causes of crime : — "Drunkenness, and the offences consequent thereon^ are large. (See table) : — Drnukeuness Assaults on Police Couimou Assaults.. Totals 1801 1802 1803 1804 9832 1105 1733 12076 1283 1942 13914 1389 1707 14002 1398 1805 12730 15301 17010 17205 "The figures of the above extract show what the police have to contend with ; and in order to suppress the sale of liquor within prohibited hours, I have for some time past doubled the number of men to do duty in plain clothes on Saturday night and Sunday (p. 7). "Table No. 6 gives the class of persons apprehended or proceeded against, either b}^ indictment, as per Table No. 1, or dealt with summarily, as per Table No. 2. Of the former class, 299 males and 255 females were known thieves, 258 prostitutes, 1 male was a vagrant on tramp, 24 males and 15 females habitual drunkards, 7 males were of former good character, and the characters of 821 males and 445 females imkuown to the police. Of the class proceeded against sum- PEEYEXTIOX. 327 marily 680 males and 461 females were known thieves, 2580 prostitutes, 7G males and 10 females were tramps, 20 males and 1 female were suspicious characters, 1G03 males and 1346 females habitual drunkards, 29 males and 2 females were of previous good character, 23,011 males and 6624 females of character unknown : most of the last numbers would doubtless be of good character, having been proceeded against by information. " Table No. 7 gives the depredators, offenders, and suspected persons at large, and includes, imder the different classes specified, all those who have habitually frequented the district, the calculation being based upon the ascertained number in the month of September. Known thieves and depredators under 16 years of age, 41 males and 21 females; 16 and above, 154 males and 117 females ; receivers of stolen goods, all above 16 years, 47 males and 29 females; prostitutes under 16 years 27, above 16 years 2316 ; suspected persons 16 years and above, 62 males and 54 females; vagrants and tramps under 16, 30 males and 5 females; 16 years and above, 231 males and 35 females. "Table No. 8 gives the number of houses of bad character; receivers of stolen goods, 39 ; public houses, the resort of thieves and prostitutes, 234 ; beer-houses, do., 96 ; coffee-houses, do., 72 ; other suspected houses, do., 45 ; brothels and houses of ill-fame, 906; and tramps' lodging-houses, 126; making a total of 1473 houses of bad character within the borough." — p. 9. While there is no effective repression of these enormous evils in our large towns, crime must alound. IIow long must the police proclaim these awful facts, -vN'ithout moving the citizens to preventive action? The Diffusion of a Pure Literature, affording both enter- tainment and instruction at a cheap rate to the labouring popidation, is another valuable agency. It may gradually take the place of the immoral and sensational reading \Ahich has led so many astray, and has directly incited to deeds of 328 ova CONVICTS. violence, as ■^ell as to a life of vice, as we liavo already proved. Societies for Improving tlie Dwellings of the Labouring Classes, and in many ways for promoting their elevation and comfort, are doing a good work for society, but they cannot be relied on for producing any but a very remote and indirect influence on the criminal class. These efforts are most excel- lent, and it is certainly right that those who are blessed with influence and means should so employ them. But let not the superior attractiveness of these efforts blind any to the great need which exists, even for the sake of the respectable portion of the community, of using active and vigorous efforts to subdue, by moral and Christian means, the criminal class, which has attained such enormous strength in our country. Much may be done by the means which have been indicated, at least to check the aggressive natui-e of the criminality which is around us, and to protect from outrage the respectable portion of the community. If the improvements are carried into effect which were indicated in the last chapter, and if such action were taken as would repress the two enormous evils spoken of at the commencement of this, a great change woidd be apparent. But we cannot anticipate in adidts any such radical change as may be hoped for in the young. It is no less the interest than it is the duty of both the Government and of society to take care that due training and education shall he given to the neglected atid destitute children of this generation, who will become the men and women of the next. It is to the consideration of this branch of the subject that the present chapter will be devoted. A neglected and ill-trained childhood is usually the commence- ment of a felon's life. The consideration which has been given in this work to the question, — "How are oiu* Convicts made?" must have proved to the reader that, in a large proportion of cases, the child was led into a life of crime by cii'cumstances over which he had no controul ; — that, in others, a want of PREVEXTIOX. 329 right parental guidance failed to clieck the couimencemcnt of evil. Children and adults formerly -were punished alike. Though the great inconsistency and evil of this treatment of children had forced itself strongly on those whose official duty had brought them into contact with such cases; yet the attention of the Legislature was not called specially to the stibject until, in the year 1847, a Select Committee of the House of Lords directed its attention to the "Execution of the Criminal Law, especially respecting juvenile offenders and transportation." The two subjects would not, at first sight, appear to have any close connection with each other, and yet there was a deep significance in their imion. The subjects of transportation were found, in a large nimiber of cases, to have begun their career of crime as juvenile offenders. How to deal with these two questions was the subject of long and anxious discussion, and the examination of many witnesses of high judicial experience. As the residt of their deliberations they thus speak in their Eeport :' — " That the contaniiuation of a gaol, as gaols are usually mauaged, may often jirove fatal, auJ must always be hurtful to hoys committed for a first offence, and thus for a very tiifling act they may become trained to the worst of crimes, is clear enough. But the evidence gives a frightful picture of the effects which are thus produced. In Liverpool, of fourteen cases, selected at random by the magistrates, there were several of the boys under twelve who in the space of three or four years had been above fifteen times committed ; aud the average of the whole fourteen was no less than nine times." The Committee recommends for such offenders the adoption, by way of trial, of Beformatory Institutions. There was much difference of opinion on other topics, but perfect imanimity on one — the last resolution. The Report says: — " Upon one subject the whole of the evidence and all the opinions are qnit« unanimous, the good that may be hoped from education, meaning thereby a sound moral and religious training, commenciug in infant schools, and followed up in schools for older pupils ; to these, wliero it is practicable, industrial training should be added. Tliere seem<, in the general opinion, to be no other means that afford even a chance of lessening the number of offenders, and diminishiug the atrui.ity uf their crimes." 330 OUR CONVICTS. This Committee was followed by another in the House of Commons, in 1850, on Prison Discipline, before which was brought much important evidence respecting the effect of im- prisonment on juveniles, in addition to that which had been tried before the Committee of the Lords. The unanimity of opinion among these as to the necessity of an entirely nevr course of treatment to be adopted towards criminal and neg- lected children, led to the assembling of a Conference at Bii'mingham, interested in the object, in December, 1851. The following circular, which had been signed hj all those who convened the Conference, was the basis of its dehberation, and the substance of it was embodied in resolutions, which were unanimously passed by the Meeting : — "A CONSIDKEATION OF THE CONDITION AND TeEATMENT OF THE ' PeEISHING AND DaNGEEOUS CLASSES ' OF ChILDEEN AXD JuYENILE OFFENDERS, ^VITH A VIEW OF rEOCUEING SUCH LEGISLATIVE ENACTMENTS AS MAY PEODrCE A BENEFICIAL CHANGE IN THEIE ACTUAL CONDITION AND THEIE PE0SPECT9. " The children whose conditiou requires the notice of the Conference are,— '•First, — Those who have not yet subjected themselves to tlte grasp of the Jaw, but whOj by reason of the vice, neglect or extreme poverty of their parents, are inadmissable to the existing School Establishments, and consequently must grow up ^dthout any education ; almost inevitably forming part of the ' perishing and dangerous classes,' and ultimately becoming criminal. " Secondly, — Those who are already suhjecting themselves to police interference, by vagrancy, mendicancy, or petty infringement of the law. " Thirdly, — Those ivho have deen convicted of felony, or such misdemeanour as involves dishonesty. " The provisions to be made for these three classes are, — " For the first, Free Day Schools. "For the second, Iiidustrial Feeding Schools, with compulsory attendance. " For the third. Penal Reformatory Scliools. " Legislative enactments needed to bring such schools into ojieralion are, — " For the Free Day Schools, such extension of the present Government Grants, from the Committe of Council on Education, as may secure their maintenance in an effective condition, they being by their nature at present excluded from aid, yet requiriug it in P. far higher degree than those on whom it is conferred. PRETEXTIOX. .331 Fox* tbe Industrial Feeding Schools, autlioritij to Magistrates to enforce attendance at such Schools, on children of the second class, and to require paijment to the supporters of the School for each child from the parish in ichich the cliild resides, ii-ith a power to the parish officer to obtain the outlay from the parent, except in cases of inability. For the Penal Reformatory Schools, authority to Magistrates and Judges to commit juvenile offenders to such Schools instead of to prison, n-ith poicer of detention to the Governor during the appointed period, the charge of maintenance being enforced as above. *' In this statement of the object of the Conference, it is assumed that society has a right to protect itself from the injury and loss which it at in-esent suQers from this class of children ; — that the existing system does not so deter or reform as to protect society; — and that Education, including both instruction and training, is the only means of effecting any material diminu- tion of juvenile crime. " Also, that in all the Schools above named, the object in view is, not so much to gi^'e a certain amount of secular knowledge, or to enforce a tem- porary restraint, as to train up useful and self-supporting members of society, acting on a religioiis principle ; hence, they icill be best conducted by individual bodies, with close and rigid inspection by the State as to their effective ivorking. " The parent has a double duty to discharge towards his child ; first, to supply him with the means of subsistence ; secondly, to train him in the way he should go. It is, therefore, further assumed that, by neglecting the second i^art of his responsibility, he ought not to be i)ermitted to escajie tbe first." Tlie first result of this Conference was to draw public attention to the enormous expense to the country, and evil to the childen, of the system which had been adopted towards them. The statements of Judges, Eecorders, Governors and Chaplains of gaols at that Conference demonstrated, what we briefly indicated in tJiu former part of tliis work, that a suc- cession of criminals is being provided for the country by the existing system, and that a cruel injustice was being done by it to the children. But no remedy coidd be applied to this state of things without the authority of Parliament. Two Eeformatory Schools, one at Eed Hill, the other at Stretton- on-Dunsmore, were then in successful operation; but they 332 OUK CONVICTS. covild not grapple with tlio evil, as they had no legal deten- tion of the inmates. Children could not be sent to them hy a magisterial sentence. Hence, though much good was un- doubtedly being done by those schools to the individuals under their care, and who were willing to remain there, they could exercise no influence over those who most requii-ed such guidance, but who would 7iot be willing to remain under controul. Besides, it would be unreasonable to expect that voluntary contributions would be adequate to the support of a suflicient number of such schools to meet the wants of the country ; and, indeed, it would not be right to thi-ow on private benevolence what should be a national work, as it would be a national benefit. Again, without legal authority, it would be impossible to levy contributions on the parents towards the maintenance of their children, and this was an important part of the plan, in order to prevent these schools from becoming a premium on the neglect of ill-disposed parents. And yet, while the schools could not be established without legislative enactments, it was considered essential to the success of them that they should be under voluntary management, and that combined with good industrial training, and a sound moral, intellectual and] religious education, there should be the kindly influence of a home. As a preliminary measure, those members of Parliament who had taken an active interest in the Conference, and promoted the movement, obtained the aj)pointment of a Select Committee of the House of Commons to inc[uire into the condition of criminal and destitute children. The sittings of this Committee continued diu-ing 1852 and 1853, and it examined a large number of witnesses ; not only those who had had practical experience of the results of training on criminal and destitute cliildren, but Governors and Chaplains of gaols, and other persons whose ofiicial position had enabled them to form a judgment on the subject. The resolutions rREvi:>'Tiox. 333 of the Committee respecting criminal children, were as follows : — "1. That it is the opinion of this Committee that a great amount of juvenile destitution, ignorance, vagrancy, and crime, has long existed in this country, for which no adequate remedy has yet been provided. "2. That the existence of similar evils in France, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, and the United States, has been met by vigorous efforts in those countries ; and, in the opinion of this Committee, sound policy I'equires that this country should promptly adopt measures for the same purpose. " 3. That it ajipears to this Committee to he established by the evidence, that a large proportion of the present aggregate of crime might be pi-e- vonted, and thousands of miserable human beings, who have before them under our present system nothing but a hopeless career of wickedness and vice, might be converted into virtuous, honest, and industrious citizens, if due care were taken to rescue destitute, neglected, and criminal children from the dangers and temptations incident to their position. "4, That a great proportion of the criminal cliildren of tliis countiy, especially those convicted of first offences, appear rather to require systematic education, care, and industrial occupation, than mere punishment. " 5. That the common gaols and houses of correction do not generally provide suitable means for the educational or corrective treatment of young children, who ought, when guilty of crime, to be treated in a manner different from the ordinary punishments of adult criminals. " 0. That various private reformatory establishments for young criminals have proved successful, but are not sure of pei-manent support; and are deficient in legal eontroul over the inmates. " 7. That penal reformatory establishments ought to be instituted for the detention and correction of criminal children convicted before magistrates or courts of justice of serious offences, " 8. That such penal reformatory establishments ought to be founded and supported entirely nt the public cost, and to be under the care and inspection of the Government. " 0. That ]-eformatory schools should be established for the education and correction of children convicted of minor offences. " 10. That such reformatory schools should be founded and supported partially by local rates and jiartially by contributions from the State, and tliat power should be given for raising the necessary amount of local rates. "11. That power should be given to the Government to contract with the managers of reformatory schools, founded and supported by voluntary contributions, for the care and maintenance of criminal children withiu such institutions. " 19. That the delinquency of cliildren, in consequence of which they may become subjects of penal or reformatory discipline, ought not to re- lieve parents from their liability to maintain theni. 334 oun CONVICTS. " 10. That iu any legislatiou upon this subject, it is essential that power should be given, under such restiictions as may be necessary to prevent hardship or injustice, to recover from parents the whole or a portion of the cost of the maintenance of their children while detained in reformatory institutions. " 14. That it is also essential that power should be given to detain chil- dren placed in such institutions so long as may be necessary for their reformation ; provided always that no child be so detained after the age of 16. " 15. That the summary jurisdiction, with respect to criminal children, given to magistrates by 10 & 11 Tic. c. 82, has had a beneficial tendency, as far as it has been exercised. " 16. That, in addition to the discretion which is given by that statute to any court before which a child is charged with any minor offence to dismiss such child on sureties being found for its future good behaviour, a power should be given iu such cases, in default of such sureties, to send the child to a reformatory school. " 17. That if during any child's detention in a reformatory school satis- factory siu'eties should be offered fur its future good behaviour, there should be power to release such child from further detention. " 18. That, irrespectively of the high moral considerations which are involved in this subject, this Committee desire to express their beUef, that whatever may be the cost of such schools and establishments, they uould he prochictive of great pecimianj savinf/, by the effect which they icould have in diminishing the sources from which our criminal population is now con- stantly recruited, and thereby reducing the great cost of the administration of the criminal law." This Comuiittee was followed by another Eeforinatory Con- ference at the close of 1853, and in the follo"v\dng summer, mainly throngh the persevering efforts of the Eight Hon. C. B. Addeeley, M.P., the Eeformatory School Act (17 and 18 Yict. c. 86) became the law of the land, on the 10th of August, 1854. This Act is permissive and experimental ; it gives the power to all Magistrates, Eecorders and Judges, to sentence to these Eeformatory Schools children who have committed any act punishable with not less than fourteen days of previous imprisomnent, but does not require them to do so ; it leaves the establishment of these Schools to voluntary benevolence; they are to be inspected by some person appointed by the Secretary of State, and on being certified by him as fit and PRETEXTIOX. 335 proper for the ])urpose, cliiklren may be sentenced to tlieni by Magistrates or Judges for a certain number of years. The chief provisions of this and three subsequent Acts-"' are as follows : — The School remains under the sole direction of the voluntarj^ managers ; but the Secretary of State may inspect it hy his inspectors at any time he pleases ; if the state of the School is not satisfactory he may ■v\'ithdra'w the certificate, and the School then ceases to be a Reformatory School under tlie meaning of the Act. The Secretary of State thus acts in loco parentis to the child, and when placing him in a School satisfies himself that it is fit and proper for his training. The Secretary of State makes a grant for a fixed sum per head for each child sentenced to the School, as long as he is in it. In addition to this, counties or boroughs may, if tliey think fit, raise a county rate, and make an agreement with the managers of any School to contribute towards its support. The Secretary of State has the po"\\'er of discharging- the child at any time ; this is frequently done when the managers make appKcation on the score of good conduct. The manager of the School may grant a license to any inmate, half of whose time of detention has expired, to be at large on trial, imder the responsibility of the School. The parents of the children are comj'jelled to pay wliatevcr may be ordered by the Magistrates towards the expense of the child while in tlie School, and this contribution relieves the treasury. Tliis is a general outline of the conditions iindcr ^\•hic]l children are placed in Keformatory Schools. Of the working of the Reformatory Schools the Education Commissioners thus speak in their Report. After giving full details of their working from the Report of H.M. Inspector, Rev. S. TuiwEE, fur 1859-60, they say :— "A considerable diminution of juvenile crime has also taken placo since 18, 10 Vict. c. 87 ; 10, 20 Vict. c. 100 ; '^U, 21 Vict. c. 05, 336 OL'R CONVICTS. the establishment of the system. Mr. Turner mnkes the followiug state- ment on this subject.* '"It may probably be fairly urgetl, that some portion of the diminution which has taken place in the number of juvenile delinquents may be attributed to other and more general agencies than reformatory schools, or the legislation which they have carried out. Increased employment, active recruiting, more diffused education, ragged schools, &c., have no doubt all contributed to absorb into honest life, or to wean and prevent from criminal courses, many that would else have been inmates of our prisons. But having now observed for many years the ebb and flow of our juvenile criminal statistics, and watched their connexion with the changes of our social circumstances and position, I confess that I do not find any traces of so marked, so steady, and so increasing an im- pression on the criminal population as we find during the four years for which the reformatoiy system, properly so called, has been at work. "'It must be remembered, also, that in those four years the population at large, and therefore the class from which young offenders are mainly supplied, have steadily increased, so that we might have expected an addition to their numbers of 5 per cent, in 1859, as compared with 1855, instead of a decrease of 80 ; that the police of the country has been put upon a much more effective footing, and the discovery and apprehension of oftenders made more certain ; that the tendency to resort to summary convictions and short sentences would necessarily multiplj- the amount of commitments in each year, by allowing the offender to appear twice or thrice in the same or different prisons during the twelve- month; and, most of all, that the number of commitments of criminals of older age rather increased than deci'eased in the three years 1856, 1857, 1858, and has only lessened materially in the year 1850. "'I am brought, therefore, to the conclusion that the marked decline Avhich can be traced during the last four years in that youthful delin- quency which was spreading so much previously has resulted more es- pecially from the operation of the Acts of 1854 and 1855 (the 17 & 18 Yic. c. 86, and the 18 & 10 Yic. c. 87), and that the principles which these statutes recognized, and which have since been so steadily carried out, may be safely relied on as the true instruments for the repression and prevention of juvenile crime.' " Upon the whole," the Commissioners conclude, " none of the institutions connected Avith education appear to be in a more satisfactory condition than the Eeformatories. We have no recommendations to make respecting them, as apart from the excellent manner in which they appear to be v.orking, their establishment is still so recent that the time for such alteration as may be required has not yet arrived.' It is unnecessary here to enter into the system generally • Report 1S59-G0, pp. 15, 16. Pr.KVKNlION-. adopted in Eeformatories, as it has frequently been before the pubKc; -we may refer any who desire information on tlie subject to a small work by the present author : " Suggestions on the Management of Eeformatories."* Mr. Tuener's subsequent Eeports arc by no moans less satisfactory than that quoted by the Commissioners, and there is every gi'ound for hope that as the managers of Schools become more experienced the results will imj)rove. Without referring to figures, we can point to the fact that public con- fidence in the Reformatory System is steadily increasing, and that society is -^villing to receive children who have been trained in these Schools and to give them employment. They are even sought for in domestic service. The natiu-e of juvenile crime is also greatly modified ; instead of our boys and girls coming to the Schools after six or even eight imjprisonments, as was frequently the case ten or twelve years ago, they are usually sent to us before they have been so greatly hardened by familiarity with the gaol and frequent crime ; thus an ofi"ending member of a family is removed, before all the younger branches of it are contaminated. Cases of juveniles who have been con- victed several times can now hardly be met with in the country. Formerly it was no unusual thing for two, three, or even four, members of the same family to be in Reformatories, now it is a case of rare occurrence for a second to be received from tho same hoiisehold. The fact of a son or daughter being forcibly removed is now regarded as it ought to be, as a great calamity, especially since the parent is compelled to make a weekly payment ; many cases have occurred in which parents liave become in consequence more careful of their other children. There cannot, then, be a doubt that tho Reformatory Schools are doing an important work as a preventive measure, and as arresting the progress of the siipply of crime to the country; they also confer a great benefit on tho young persons themselves, who seemed destined, witliout such help, to a life of crime. But • Pnblished by the Reformatory and IteFuf^e Union, Suflblk Street, Pal Mall, London. Z 338 OUR CONVICTS. the entrance to the Reformatory is through the prison ; to be received in one, the cliikl must have committed a ci-ime, and must have received the brand of the gaol. It Tvas the desire of the promoters of the reformatory movement that children never shoidd have in early life that stigma attached to them, and that the school should take the place of the prison. Under the existing Act, however, that cannot be the case, and it therefore appeared increasingly important that the second object of the Birmingham Conference shovdd be obtained — the Certiiied Industrial School, to which yoimg persons may be sent, under a Magistrate's warrant, without having received the stigma of a gaol. Such a measure was at length obtained, and on August 17, 1857, the Industrial Schools' Act was passed, 20, 21 Vict., c. 48. The class of children is thus described in the last amendment of the Act, passed August 6, 1861 (24, 25 Vict., c. 113) :— *' I. — Any child apparently under the age of fourteen years found begging or receiving alms, or being in any street or public place for the pur- pose of begging orreciving alms. " II. — Any child apparently under the age of fourteen years that is found wandering, and not having any home or settled place of abode, or any A-isible means of subsistence, or frequents the company of reputed thieves. " III. — Any child apparently \inder the age of twelve years •who, ha%dng committed an offence punishable by imprisonment or so'me less punish, ment, ought nevertheless, in the opinion of the justices, regard being had to his age, and to the circumstances of the case, to be sent to an Industrial School. " IV. — Any child under the age of fourteen years, whose pai'ent represents that he is unable to controul him, and that he desires such child to be sent to an Industrial School, in pursuance of this Act, and who, at the same time, gives such undertaking or other security as may be approved of by the justices before whom he is brought, in pursuance of this Act, to pay all expenses incurred for the maintenance of such child at school." The tenth section provides that any person may bring before Justices any child that is hereinbefore declared to be liable to be sent to an Industrial School. With respect to the maintenance of such children, sec. 17 provides that the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury PRv:\'F.XTiox. ;i3'.) ]iiay oontributo toward it out of tho iiionlos provided l)y i'ar- liament; — and section 18 enacts tliat Justices committing- tlie cliild, or Justices having jurisdiction "«'ithin the district where the School is situate, or where the parent of such child shall reside, upon application of any person appointed by the Secre- tary of State for that purpose, shall have authority to make an order on the parent of such child for payment towards the expenses of his maintenance. In this Act, then, as in the Eeformatory Schools' Act, parents are compelled to pay towards the maintenance of the child, and there is the power of licensing ; here, the Magistrates, instead of the Secretary of State, may discharge tlui child, provided there is suffi- cient security of his being able to maintain himself. No children can be sentenced to a Certiiied Industrial School v.]io have ever been in prison, or who are above foiu'teen years of age. The value of these Schools is very great, and, as far as they have become known, they are much appreciated by the public. No stigma is attached to any boy who has been in an Industrial School, and as the inmates are less hardened, greater liberty can be allowed them, and they can more easily lind their place in society than from Reformatories. They remove the cliild who was in danger of becoming criminal, before he has actually joined tho ranks of crime, before lie knows the interior of a prison, wliich may now remain an object of awe and dread to him. Unfortimately, however, those Schools have not yet become general; being regarded by the Government as experimental, the Act extended only to January 1, 18G7, a circumstance which imposed a natural obstacle to the establishment of institutions which might eventually bo abandoned. We trust, however, that of this thei'o is no danger, for as the class of children diminishes v/ho have undergone imprisonment, tlie Reforma- tories may bo diminisliod in number, and reserved [for the more hardened and the older offenders, as they receive young persons up to the age of sixteen. Many children are now sent to Reformatories who might have been placed in Industrial Schools without a prison brand, simply because no Certiiied Industrial 340 "XK COXVK'TS. tSehool was at hand tu recoivo tliom. It cauuot Ijo doubted, however, that as there has been no difficulty on the part of the public in establishing- a sufficient number of Eeformatory Schools, the call will be responded to whenever the necessity is felt. If we compare Eeformatory and Certified Industrial Schools, it is evident that the latter should be preferred whenever a child is admissible under the conditions of the Act, sujjposing, of course, that both are under equally good management ; because he does not receive any criminal stigma, and will be more quickly prepared to enter into the world. The expense to the public is also much greater in the case of a Eeformatory than of an Industrial School. In the former, the allowance from the Treasury is six shillings per week for each inmate, with an allowance, in many eases, of two shillings per week from county or borough rates ; in the latter, the Treasiuy allowance is only five shillings, without any addition from rates. In each case the expenditure is of course supplemented by voluntary contri- butions. The actual cost of Eeformatories is necessarily greater than Industrial Schools, because the character of the inmates requires a larger and more expensive stafi", to conduct the School efficiently, as well as more costly arrangements in various other respects. Both Eeformatory and Industrial Schools having thus been shown to answer the purpose intended, wherever they have been efficiently conducted on sound principles, and the Government having made all the enactments required for their maintenance, it is a matter of siu'prise and sorrow that so little progress has yet been made in arresting the frequent imprisonments of young children, which were shown in a former chapter to be the sure means of perpetuating a succession of Convicts, Abimdant testimony was brought forward, and inueh more might have been adduced, to prove that, however well regulated a gaol may be, it is not, by its very nature, a fit place for a child, a young- person of immature age ; tlud it does not j)yodi(ce the intended effect of deterring from crime; that committal to one stamps a niKVEXTIOX. "41 cliild lor life ; that it is, tlierefure, au expensive procedure. Surely to affix a stigma wliich can never be effaced on a young child "wlio has not a legal right to controul his own actions, is an enormous inconsistency, and a cruel injustice. The lave of England carefully guards parental rights, and to a certain extent enforces parental responsibility. The child of 14 has no right, however much he may deem it for his future advan- tage in life, without the consent of his father, to apprentice himself to a trade, whereby he may secure for himself the power of obtaining an honest living. If he may not do what is right, because he is imder the responsibility of his father, why is he to be punished because his father has so neglected his duty as to allow him to do what is wrong ? In some places, we have beard that parents are punished, if, through their neglect, their children are injurious to society; and so they ought to be. The ordinary treatment of children is never the same as that of adults ; we do not expect from a boy or girl the knowledge of life, the wisdom which can be alone derived from experience, the power of guiding his actions, the develop- ment of conscience, or the physical condition of a man or woman. The vagaries of boys are never looked upon in the upper classes with a serious eye ; and if they commit actions which are legally criminal, parental correction is administered. And yet a contrary course is pursued as soon as a young boy of the lowest class of society proves by his conduct that he is ignorant of his duty, deficient in principle, and totally unfit to guide himself. Then the massive prison -walls are oj^ened to receive him, ponderous ke3's are turned on him, an officer M'^aits on him, he has rights Avhich he can assert, ho is treated as a man. The late City Solicitor, Mr. CiLiiiLES Pearso^^, stated to the Lords' Committee : — "I think that the law of England is not fairly dealt by in its adminis- tration as regards cljildreu. By the common law of England, a cliild under years of discretion is not taken to be capax doU. By tho theory of our law it is neeessaiy that you should prove against u cliild charged with crime, a precocious ■apacity for evil, oi', as Lord Hale describes it, a mis- cliievous discretion. I iiross with firent suhmissji.n upon yoiir Loidships, 342 OUR COXVICTS. as legisldlors, the i»r()])ii('iy of apiilviiiiT this principle of the