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 OUR CONVICTS. 
 
 BT 
 
 MAEY OAEPENTEE. 
 
 IN TWO YOLTMES. 
 Vol. 1 1. 
 
 LONDON : 
 
 LONGMAN, GKEEN, LONGMAN, llOBERTS & GREEN. 
 
 18G4.
 
 EREATUM. 
 
 Vol. II., page 339, lines 10 11, omit "and there is a 
 power of licensing ; " line l\, for "instead of," read "as 
 well as."
 
 riv 
 CONTENTS OF VOLUME II. 
 
 PAUK. 
 
 Chapter I. 
 The Irish Convict Syste^i 1 
 
 Chapter II. 
 The Irish Coxvkt ISystem: — Its Workiku - - 81 
 
 Chapter III. 
 The Irish Coxtict System: — Its History- - - 128 
 
 Chapter IV. 
 Female Convicts 105 
 
 Chapter Y. 
 Improvements - - - 277 
 
 Chapter YI. 
 Prevention - - - - - - - -324 
 
 Chapter YII. 
 Cooperation of .Soptety - - - - - - 362 
 
 312098
 
 OUE CONVICTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE lEISH CONYICT SYSTEM. 
 
 TuE English and the Irish Convict Systems -were both founded 
 on the Act of Parliament of 1853. The object of that Act ^vaa 
 to make such changes in the s^^stem adopted towards Convicts, 
 as would prepare them for discharge in oiu' own country, since 
 our Colonial provinces were virtually closed against them, 
 "Western Australia only consenting still to receive a small 
 number annually. "We have seen that in England the system 
 has liitherto been a failure, but have traced that failure, not 
 to the principles on which that and the subsequent one of 1857 
 wero founded, but to certain omissions and additions which 
 were incompatible with the successful working of the prin- 
 ciples. "We now proceed to the examination of the Irish 
 Convict System, v»-hieh has fully developed the i:)i'inciples of 
 both those Acts. The results of the ten years during wliich 
 it has been in operation demonstrate, bej'ond any possibility 
 of doubt to an impartial observer, not only the truth of tlio 
 principles embodied in the Acts of Parliament, but also of 
 those moral principles which are so embodied in it as to 
 constitute its peculiar features, and of the excellence of the 
 
 B
 
 2 OVK CONVICT.S. 
 
 machinery by wliich these are brought into action. The won- 
 derful combinations of all these by the founder of the system, 
 Sir Walter C'rofton, demands from us very close investiga- 
 tion of its principles, and examination of its details. 
 
 We cannot obtain a more succinct and lucid account of the 
 rise of the Irish Convict System, and the circumstances imder 
 which it was established, than from the e\idence of Sir Walter 
 (then Captain) Crofton, to the Transportation Committee of 
 1855-6. As on other occasions, the questions and answers will 
 be blended together so as to form one continuous narrative : — 
 
 " I was appointed Chairman of the Directors of Convict 
 Prisons in Ireland under the Act of the 17th and 18th Victoria, 
 in 1854. In 1853 I was on a Commission of Convict Inquiry in 
 Ireland, and for some years previous to that, as a County 
 Magistrate in England, I had given great attention and con- 
 sideration to the subject of the treatment of criminals generally, 
 and the prevention of crime. I mention tliis to the Committee 
 to show that any opinion which I may give is not alone derived 
 from my official connection with the subject. 
 
 "The state of the Irish Convict Prisons, at the time when 
 this Act into which we are now inquiring was passed, was as 
 deplorable as it is possible to conceive ; the prisoners were 
 morally and physically prostrate in. every way. There was 
 a want of the element of hope in them, of education, and of 
 everj^ihing one would wish to find in prisoners, and which 
 exists in the Convict depots in England. The prisons were 
 overcrowded to a great degree, and my statement will be cor- 
 roborated by my reading a despatch from the Grovernor of 
 Western Australia, who had just received a large nimiber of 
 Irish Convicts. 
 
 " The prisoners had left Ireland before our Board was formed. 
 I will read an extract of a iev^' lines from oiu* fii'st Eeport, which 
 introduces this despatch : — ' The deplorable aspect and apparent 
 destitution of the Irish Convicts appeared to us to require imme- 
 diate attention, and we have endeavoured as far as possible to
 
 THE IRISH SYSTEM. 
 
 remedy this state of things, -uiiieh contrasts strongly with, the 
 condition of those in England. Oiu* opinion is corroborated 
 by extracts appended fi-om the Reports of the Governor, Comp- 
 troller- Greneral, and Superintendent of Convicts, &c., in Westera 
 Australia, dated lltli September, 1854, and forwarded for the 
 information of the Secretary for the Colonies, — extracts from 
 a despatch from Ciroyornor Fitzgerald to the Eight Hon, Sir 
 GrEORGE Grey, Bart. : — " 11th September, 1854. Some of the 
 Irish prisoners, per ships Plmhe JJunhar, and Robert Small, have 
 proved in many instances, I regret to say, an excej)tion to this 
 very gratifying state of things ; the result of recent experience 
 and close observation of these men, you will perceive, induces 
 the Comptroller-General to hope that men from the Irish prisons 
 will not he sent to this Colony with ticl;ets-of -leave. If, therefore, 
 future drafts be sent, I fully concm- with the Comi^troller-. 
 General in thinking that this class of prisoners, more especially 
 than any other, should remain inmates of the prison at Fre- 
 mantle, imder rigid conti-ol, for at least twelve months, to give 
 any hope of sending them forth into the community trained to 
 habits of industry and self-reliance, which they appear to be 
 somewhat indisposed to exercise in general." ' Theii there is 
 an extract from the Report of the Superintendent, under date 
 of January 10, 1854, which was two or three months afterwards, 
 with reference to the same subject : ' In the instances of the 
 Irish prisoners received per the ships Rohert Small and Rhoehe 
 Dunhar, it was held by judicial and medical authority that their 
 prostrate condition, physically and morally, the result, it was 
 conjectured, of long imprisonment, low diet, and had training, 
 rendered it necessary that they .should be subjected to a coiu-se 
 of preparatory discipline, arbitrary in diu-ation in some cases, 
 but relative and proportionate to the term of sentence in others, 
 priur to their being exposed to the trials of a strange climate 
 and novel society ; and certain compensating allowances in these 
 arbitrary cases were then discussed and decided upon.' It then 
 says, 'But it may be remarked as a noticeable feature in the
 
 OUR COX^'ICTS. 
 
 idiosyncracy of the Irish prisoners, that is to say, those who 
 arrived direct from Ireland, and who had not undergone the 
 present discipline held applicable to Con\-icts sentenced in 
 England, that there appears a simjular inaptitude to comprehend 
 the nature of moral agencies, or to he affected hy them ; neither do 
 they seem to understand the desirableness, we will say, of 
 self-reliance, or the necessity for the exercise of habits of pro- 
 priety, industry, and prudence, as a means towards extricating 
 themselves from the consequences of former errors.' I am 
 reading this corroboration of what I have stated to lead the 
 subject to the reason why tickets of license were not issued 
 in Ireland until recently. Wliat the Governor of Western 
 Australia thought that he could not do in Western Australia, 
 viz., to give them tickets of license, we felt, for similar reasons, 
 as Directors of Convict Prisons, we could not recommend in 
 Ireland. These reasons have been pretty Vv-ell explained fi-om 
 his letter and from what I have stated. I will, however, read 
 a few additional lines from our Eeport : ' The same feeling 
 which prevents oiu' inflicting on a Colony Convicts who have 
 not been subjected to a proper course of prison discipline, 
 also precludes our bringing forward prisoners for discharge 
 in this country on tickets of license, as in England. IFe consider 
 such ticket of license to be a sort of guarantee to the community, 
 that in consequence of a prisoner having been subjected to a proper 
 course of prison discipline and reformatory treatment, he is con- 
 sidered a ft subject to be received and employed by those outside 
 the prison. Such reformatory course not having hitherto been 
 pursued in this country, we have not felt ourselves justified 
 in recommending the issue of tickets of license.' " 
 
 Two points hero require special attention. First, the pecu- 
 liarly low condition of Irish prisoners generally,-— and especially 
 of those \^•ho had been subjected to the discipline, if sueli it can 
 be called, of the Irish Convict Prisons then existing. Pro- 
 foundly ignorant, deficient in any self-reliance, in a state of 
 physical and moral prostration, and unable even to comprehpud
 
 THE IRISH SYSTEM. 5 
 
 the nature of moral agency, nothing could bo apparently more 
 hopeless than the attempt to raise such persons by any kind 
 of prison discipline. And it must be observed that this de- 
 scription of the Irish Convicts as they were does not come from 
 the Director who had the work assigned him of endeavouring 
 to improve them, and who might have been supposed likely 
 to wish to heighten his success by exaggeration of the difii- 
 culties he had overcome, but from a high official quarter where 
 a desire existed to receive Convicts in greater nimibers. The 
 other point to which we should direct attention is the respon- 
 sibility which the Directors felt resting upon them, not to 
 release any Convicts on license unless they had good ground 
 for believing that they could safely send them forth into society. 
 
 Sir Walter Crofton thus continues: — "The fii'st steps that 
 we took were to establish a proper system of discipline to enable 
 us ultimately to carry out the Act. The fii'st part of that system 
 was to remedy the overcrowding which existed. There were 
 upwards of 1000 more in the prisons than they could properly 
 hold, and the Lord-Lieutenant (Lord St. GEEM^visrs) considering 
 that the best coui-se to relieve this overcrowding was to take the 
 Penal Servitude Act as a basis \^-ith regard to the pimishments, 
 in which a four years' sentence of penal servitude is considered 
 adequate to seven years' transportation, and six as the maximum 
 of ten years, &c. ; we were then instructed to prepare a list 
 of prisoners so circumstanced, and recommend the best con- 
 ducted tkat we coidd find of them for discharge from time to 
 time, absolutely. This was done, and at last the prisons were 
 reduced to some sort of order, so that we could arrange them 
 and establish a proper course of discipline, taking care that 
 the system of separate imprisonment was commenced with, and 
 then following out the English system with regard to public 
 works afterwards, establishing gratiuties to give Convicts the 
 element of hope, and induce them to conduct themselves 
 properly. 
 
 "There were no Acts of Parliament relating to Ireland
 
 6 OVR CONVICTS. 
 
 similar to tliose regulating tlic management of Pentonville, 
 Millbank, and the prisons here. In fact there was no legal 
 authority till August, 1854, for the management of the Irish 
 Convict Prisons. 
 
 "I must trace the matter up to that time, in order to show 
 how it has worked gradually to the present. "We found that 
 there was no separation for the juveniles ; the juveniles and 
 adults were all together in the Convict Prisons. Our first act, 
 therefore, was to recommend the erection of a Penal Reforma- 
 tory, I call it a Penal Eeformatory to make it as distinct as 
 possible from the general character of a Penal Prison. There 
 are now in the Irish Prisons, out of a number of 2600 males, 
 700 (I am speaking in round nimibers) convicted under 17 
 years of age. I found, on examination of, perhaps, 180 or 
 200 of these, that, from bad training and ignorance, they 
 required a certain system to be piu-sued, which should partake 
 a great deal more of the reformatory element than the penal ; 
 therefore this prison was recommended to be of a penal refor- 
 matory character, in order to introduce that element. This 
 has been approved, and an Act passed for inclosing Lusk 
 Common for that purpose, wliich is within eleven or twelve 
 miles of Dublin. In the meantime we separated the juveniles 
 from the adults, and pxirsued a proper system with them, so 
 far as we were enabled to do so. We then found, by exami- 
 nation in the different prisons, that the educational departments 
 were extremely neglected ; that, though there was some teach- 
 ing, there M'as no training ; and that really the ignorance was 
 the most deplorable thing which could be imagined, not the 
 fault, probably, of the prisoners themselves, but of those who 
 were teaching them. \Ye at once selected two schoolmasters, 
 whose antecedents gave us hopes that they would effect good 
 amongst the prisoners. One was a ragged-school teacher, and 
 the other had been a schoolmaster in a large imion, where he 
 had had a great deal of experience. "We recommended their 
 being appointed head ."ichoolmasters for the prisons, and also
 
 THE lEISn SYSTEJr. 7 
 
 being sent, at the exj^eiise of the Goverunieut, to visit the 
 different penal and reformatory establishments in this country, 
 for the purpose of seeing the sort of principle which wo ex- 
 pected them to act upon, and carry out in the prisons. This 
 they did, and, I am happy to say, with the most gratifying 
 results ; for, notwithstanding the state of things wliich existed 
 formerly, we have been able -nithin this short time to report 
 A'ery differently, and the alteration with regard to the prisons 
 is obvious to any one who visits them. We have been enabled 
 to report now, that 'In our last Report 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 inspection of the 
 National Board of Education. Experience has proved that we 
 were correct in our opinion ; the report of Mr. M'Gaue^us^, the 
 head schoolmaster at Mountjoy Prison, showing that, after a 
 very careful examination of the prisoners at that establishment, 
 he found that 96-2 per cent, were almost without any educa- 
 tion at aU; a fact, we submit, calling for every exertion to 
 render 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. Sensible of the very great im- 
 portance of establishing a proper system of education in the 
 prisons thi'ough which, xmfortunatol}', thousands of human 
 beings must pass, who are in tiu-n subjected to its influence, 
 we are gratified at being enabled to state that, although 
 much of the past year has been taken up in arranging school- 
 rooms, classifying prisoners according to their attainments, 
 appointment of schoolmasters, &c., a great desire has already 
 been evinced by the prisoners to receive instruction ; and this 
 is more remarkable, as proceeding from some advanced in age 
 who, at the commencement of the year, attended school with 
 the greatest reluctance,' and that is quite true ; it was with
 
 -8 OUR CONVICTS. 
 
 tho greatest reluctanco we could get them at first to come to 
 school, but afterwards they came willingly, and the progress 
 which the prisoners have made within the last twelvemonth 
 is perfectly marvellous. But then, the schoolmasters have had 
 their hearts in the ivork, and have led these men's minds, such 
 as they were, to the utility of education; and certainly the 
 fruits have been much more than coidd have been expected. 
 
 " One master, I am sorry to say, left us for Australia a few 
 months ago ; the other is at the Model Prison of Mountjoy. 
 We trained several other schoolmasters under these two persons, 
 so that a uniformity of system might prevail throughout the 
 prisons, and which therefore told, not only -^-ith regard to those 
 prisons which these two masters were in, but throughout the 
 establisloments. 
 
 " The coui'se which we adopted with regard to female 
 Convicts was somewhat similar. "We were fortunate in getting 
 two schoolmistresses, and certainly have attained the greatest 
 possible results from their appointment. The state of the 
 female prisoners Avas really deplorable, and we have large 
 numbers of them, for in the Convict establishments we now 
 must have nearly 700 female prisoners. 
 
 ** The results there have been quite extraordinary. "Women 
 who seemed so lost, that ■s\"lien you entered the prisons, you 
 felt there was a character about them which was in every 
 way to be deplored, are now totally different, and persons 
 who nov>' 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)ec. 13, 1861." 
 
 No. III. 
 " Our last visit to the Irish Convict Prisons for male Convicts 
 was to the first stage in them at Mountjoj'. On the Sunday 
 preceding, that also had been visited by his Poyal Highness the 
 Prince Consort and the Prince of "Wales. Little did the wi'iter 
 of this imagine, while penning the record of their visit to Smith- 
 field Prison, that the illustrious subject of it Avas on the bed of 
 sickness, which was in a few short hours to be the bed of death ! 
 Thus the nation which for more than twenty years had rejoiced 
 not only in the unbroken domestic happiness of their beloved
 
 THE iniSir SYSTEM. 61 
 
 Sovereign, Lut in tlio support and liolp she received from 
 Lis Tvise counsels, has been plunged into deep grief, — a grief 
 ■which is more than an outward show of ceremonial condolence, 
 the true-heart feeling of a personal loss, and of warm and 
 even affectionate sympathy with oiir beloved Queen. Such 
 visitations forcibly remind us of the shortness and uncertainty of 
 life, and warn us all to work while it is day, discharging in our 
 several stations the duties to which we have been called by the 
 Supreme Euler of the Universe, our Heavenly Father. The 
 following tribute to the memory of Her Majesty's august father, 
 the Duke of Kent, extracted from a sennon delivered on the day 
 of the funeral of His Majesty Geoege III., February 18, 1820, 
 by the writer's father, the late Eev. Dr. L.vkt Carpextee, 
 is so strikingly characteristic of her illustrious Consort whom 
 we now so truely mourn, that we may be permitted to insert 
 it here, as harmonising with our feelings at our recent 
 bereavement : — 
 
 " ' Suddenly, in tlie vigour of heaUli, and in the enjoyment of the purest 
 sources of temporal happiness, was he removed from the scenes of time. 
 He regarded them in the aspect of responsibility; cherished the charities 
 of domestic life; employed the influence of his rank to effect those purposes 
 whicli the benevolent Sovereign (his fatlier) would have contemplated with 
 peculiar satisfaction, engaging in the labours necessary to accomplish them 
 with men whose names were not adorned with earthly titles ; pursuing tliem 
 with enlightened zeal and persevering industry, and bearing up under disap- 
 pointments and discouragements, with a firmness which we may regard as 
 a decisive proof that he had nobler objects in view than the praise of men ; 
 that he was infiueneed by a sense of religious duty, and that he had the 
 strengthening supports of religious principle.' 
 
 " Such was the tribute, then, paid to the father of our 
 Sovereign, and such ^A^ords may bo applied to the noble and 
 esteemed Prince whom wo lament. ••' 
 
 * Extract from a Sermon preached in the Chapel of Smithfiehl Prison, Dublin, 
 
 hy the Kev. Geokge B. AYiieeleu, X.'Sl., Chaplain, oh the day after the 
 
 Prince Consort's death. 
 
 " Many of you remember that three short months since the Prince Consort 
 
 of England stood amongst you. He devoted some hours of his short sojourn 
 
 in this country to visit the prisoners in this place, lie brought with him the
 
 62 OUR CONVICTS. 
 
 " "Wliilo at Lusk tlie prison character of the establishment 
 has been carefully avoided, and at tSmithfield very few traces 
 of it exist, at Moimtjoy we saw the same general arrangement 
 and system which characterised Pentonville, and gaols built 
 on that model. The ordinary visitor is struck with the extra- 
 ordinary cleanliness of every part, the brightness of the brass 
 fittings, and the polish of the metal staircases, so fine as to be 
 dangerous to the incautious step. There is a certain beauty 
 in the symmetry and regularity of the whole which, at first 
 sight, removes from the inexperienced observer the anticipated 
 awe and terror. The long galleries, tier above tier, give one 
 the feeling of perfection of adaptation to some special object, 
 which is not unpleasing. The arrangements to save the labour 
 of the ofiicials, and to seciu'e to the inmates of the place a 
 supply of their wants, and a certainty of proper attention in 
 case of sickness, are admirable. AVe heard no sound. Nothing 
 would have informed us that those small doors on each side 
 of the long galleries were entrances to solitary cells, in each of 
 which was a wretched criminal, to whom for nine long months 
 those four walls shut out the world, and all society save his 
 own gloomy thoughts, — who would there have no retrospect 
 but of his own misspent time and neglected opportunities, 
 
 heir to the greatest monarchy iu all the earth, and the heir, we confidently 
 trust, to the virtues of both his parents. He Lrought that younger i^riuce, 
 who clung to him so lovingly, and whose sparldiug eyes were yet imdimmed 
 by tears iu life's early daj' ; and thus he taught his children to he considerate 
 and examining. You, my men, can never forget those hours of that Sabbath 
 afternoon. You were witnesses of the deep interest the Peince felt iu all that 
 concerns humanity. You heard his acute questions. You marked the close- 
 ness of his obsei-v-ation, the patience with which he examined all the details of 
 the system instituted here. At that time you were unconscious of his exalted 
 rank. Only two or thi-ee knew that our visitor was the nearest to the throne, 
 and had left loyalty to visit us, shut out from the woi'ld and by almost all the 
 world forgotten. Let it be remembered here — angels have recorded it else- 
 where — that the last public act of the Prince Coxsoet in Ireland was to set 
 apart some hours of a rare and precious holiday to a thorough and searching 
 examination into the condition of oiu' prisoners here."
 
 THE IIMSTI SYSTE>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 <U ^ "l^ 
 
 o a 2 ^ 
 
 
 <D 
 
 «? S o 
 
 " The class and number of marks to be attained by each convict (according 
 to his sentence) before he can be removed to the Intermediate Prisons is 
 shown in the first columu. It is evident, therefore, that the time of detention 
 of the convict in the ordinary prison, within the minimum term named 
 in the scale in the third column and the limit of his sentence, depends 
 upon himself; and as he must pass a certain period (named* in the fourth 
 column) in the Intermediate Prisons before he can obtain his conditional 
 liberty, the stimulus which he has to overcome self becomes very intelligible. 
 
 "Now, however trifling this "Mark System" may ajipear to those not 
 conversant with its operation, it will be found in practice to realise to the 
 mind of each individual very clearly and fully liis progress in self government 
 and in other desirable qualities. There is not an iutelligent oflicer in the 
 Irish Convict Department who will not bear witness to the intense interebt
 
 THE ir.ISH SYSTEM : ITS V.'ORKIXG. 89 
 
 tal%en by each Convict in the attainment of liis marks, and the jealous care 
 with which he notes them. 
 
 " The Third or Intermediate Stage. 
 
 '• In this stage there are no marks. The result of the self-discipline eflected 
 by their attainment is here to be tested before the liberation of the convict* 
 
 " ' Individualization ' is the ruling princiiDle in these establishments ; the 
 number of inmates should, therefore, be small, and not exceed 100. 
 
 " The training is special, and the position of the convict made as natural 
 as is possible ; no more restraint is exercised over him than would be necessary 
 to maintain order in any well-regulated establishment. At ' Lusk Common,' 
 within fifteen miles of Dublin, there has been for the last five years and a-half 
 an InteiTuediate Establishment for employing convicts in the reclamation of 
 the land, and for carrjing out principles which have proved so beneficial to 
 tliemselves and to the public. 
 
 " The ofiicers in the Intermediate Establishments work with the convicts. 
 
 " At ' Lusk ' there are only sis, and they are unamied. Physical restraint 
 is therefore impossible, and if possible, it would be out of place, and incon- 
 sistent with the principles which the establishments were instituted to 
 enunciate. 
 
 " 1st. You have to show to the convict that you really trust him, and give 
 him credit for the amendment he has illustrated by his mai-ks. 
 
 " 2nd. You have to show to the public, that the convict, who will soon be 
 restored to liberty for weal or for woe, may upon reasonable grounds be con- 
 sidered as capable of being safely employed. 
 
 " How does this become possible ? 
 
 " The reply is, that the convict is cooperating in bis own amendment. He 
 cannot ignore the conviction, sooner or later, that the system, however penal 
 in its development, is intended for his benefit ; and that, moreover, it has by 
 its stringent regulations and arrangements after the liberation of the Convict, 
 and this is most important to note, made the vocation of crime very 
 unprofitable and hazardous to follow. 
 
 " He hears lectures of an interesting and profitable descriptit)n, which not 
 only point out the wickedness and the danger of criminal pursuits, but show 
 Iiim the course which he should take in order to amend his life, where his 
 labour is required, and his antecedents not likely to entwine him to his ruin. 
 The mind of the convict is in alliance with the minds of those placed over 
 him, and what at first sight might have appeared to be impracticable has 
 become for many years a recorded and gratifying fact. 
 
 " It is not averred that the mind of every convict is, in these establishments, 
 bent upon well doing, but that the tone of general feeling is that of desiring 
 to amend, and is in the closest alliance with the system. 
 
 " It is evident that this result is the attainment of an enormous power, 
 which it would bo impossible to sccui'c by mere routine or mechanical 
 appliances.
 
 90 OUR COXVICTS. 
 
 " The Convict has felt the intention of the sj'stem, the scope of which has 
 been made clear to his mind — that he is an individual whose special case and 
 progress is noted, and very carefully watched in its development." 
 
 Having gone through these stages, Sir W. Cbofton says, — 
 
 " It is now time to inquire how stands the case of the repeatedly convicted 
 roLber J. B., who stood before us scowling and in his chains when last we 
 pictured him. His sentence was fortunately long and in proportion to his 
 criminal career. His prison conduct was for some time reckless and ungovern- 
 able ; he defied the authorities, and repudiated the marks which chronicled 
 •what he could not, or woxild not obtain. 
 
 " Time, however, coupled with reflection and example, had worked a change 
 in his case, as in that of many others ; and although his misconduct caused 
 his detention many years longer in the second stage than it need otherwise 
 have been, before he could attain the requirement fixed for the Intermediate 
 Establishments, he at last reached that goal. 
 
 " It was difficult to recognise J. B., scowling and defiant at all around him, 
 in J. B. in the Intermediate Establishment, cheerfully and willingly giving his 
 labour, after the ordinary hours, to save the harvest for the State which had 
 not only imprisoned him, but, in its strict requirement, had detained him for 
 years after his better conducted fellow convicts. 
 
 " Eeader, why was this ? The reason is plain. J. B. was at last cooperating 
 •with those who were desirous of amending him. He had realised that the 
 system •which governed him, and under which he had for some time struggled 
 and suffered, was innately just, although necessarily severe. 
 
 " J. B. has been employed since his liberation at honest industry. 
 
 " There are many cases similar to that of J. B., although some greater and 
 some less in degree." 
 
 Such is a brief sketch of the Irish Convict System. 
 
 The third or Intermediate Stage has been so fully described 
 by the various witnesses whom wo have ah'eady quoted, that it 
 ■will be unnecessary to enter into more detail respecting them; 
 but it will be useful to have before us some details of the fii'st 
 and second stages, given by Sir W. Ckofton to the Eoyal 
 Commissioners; as in previous extracts, the questions and 
 answers are blended, and extraneous matter omitted, so as 
 to form one continued narrative : — 
 
 "In Ireland this first stage is made very penal by the omission of meat 
 from the dietaiy for the first four months. This was at first tried as an 
 experiment. It was my own opinion that the convicts had a larger dietary, 
 when in separation, than was necessary for them. There might bo some
 
 THE lUISn SYSTEM : ITS VTORKiyO. 91 
 
 roason for giving them a better dietary when tliej' were in association on 
 the public works; but in separation it diJ not appear to me to bo necessary. 
 I called upon the medical officer to try an experiment for two months with 
 an absence of meat from the dietary ; he tried that experiment ; and then 
 I had another experiment tried for three months; and at last we attained 
 four months; when I left Ireland, four months without a meat diet had 
 been in use for some years. I am not at all persuaded in my own mind 
 that four months need be the maximum for the absence of meat. My own 
 opinion is, that if the convicts were given meat one month before they go 
 to the associated labour prisons, it would be quite sufBcient for them. 
 
 " The absence of interesting emijloyment during the first three months 
 is a feature which is peculiar to the Irish system. I will give the reasons as 
 clearly as I can, and exj^lain why the absence of interesting employment was 
 necessary. "What I mean by interesting employment is, the teaching of men 
 trades when they come into the prisons. BIy observation was, that I found 
 them all at work in their cells, learning shocmakiug and all kinds of trades — 
 and requiring, because very few of them in proportion were tradesmen, the 
 attendance of the trades' warders to have constant intercourse with them, in 
 order to obtain instruction. Now we have erected these prisons at an enor- 
 mous cost for the purpose of creating, as I hope, depressing influences upon 
 the minds of these men, before you work upon [them in other ways. I 
 felt that if they could converse, as they must converse in order to receive 
 instruction, with the warders, during nearly the whole of the day, the warders 
 coming backwards and forwards whenever they were required, the effect of the 
 liunishraent of isolation would be very materially sacrificed. A change was 
 made, and they were given, for the first three months, oakum to pick, and 
 nothing else. To the public there could be no gain in trying to teach these 
 employments, for what is done with these men afterwards ? They were senti 
 nearly all of them, to the public works prisons — and these men were imme- 
 diately to be made stonecutters and labourers, whom we had endeavoured to 
 make cobblers at a sacrifice of material, and, still worse, of the depressing 
 influences for which the prisons had been built. 
 
 " That in most cases a decidedly depressing effect was worked upon the pri- 
 soners by this treatment, in the first three months, at Mountjoy prison, I have 
 no doubt ; and not only from my own observation, and from the observations 
 of the governors and officers of prisons, but from information obtained from 
 tlie convicts after their liberation; a natural consequence I think of less diet 
 and the absence of what I have called interesting employment, which had the 
 effect of keeping the separation more distinct for a period of time. After 
 three mouths, those who had been tradesmen, that is shoemakers and tailors, 
 who did not require any special iustructioil, were set to work at their trades ; 
 others, who had no trade, were employed in mending the slieets of the prison 
 establishments — in mending clothes, and in boot-closing, employments that 
 do not require any supervision on the part of the officers ; but they were not 
 taught any tiade.
 
 92 OUR COKVICXS. 
 
 '■ A prisoner duiiug Iiis stay at IMoimtjny prison is one hour cvei'y diiy at 
 school ; but there is a great deal more taught him at Mountjoy than oi'diuai-y 
 school instruction; he learns the whole scope of the convict system in Ireland ; 
 and when I say that he learns the whole scope of that system, it is an 
 important matter that he should know everything that will be done with him 
 with reference to his marks, — bow his progi-ess is recorded, — and how much 
 depends upon his own exertions in everj' stage, to improve his position. 
 
 " This is made the subject of school lectures. The convicts are called up, 
 and on a black boai'd are required to illustrate the mark system, and to explain 
 what will be done with them after they are out. They are made perfectly 
 aware of the police arrangements of the country, and I am satisfied that 
 these arrangements being impressed upon their minds at the commencement 
 of theii" sentences, induces on their parts a feeling of cooperation with the 
 system; they feel that they cannot pursue crime to the extent which they did 
 formerly with impunity ; and I am sure that this knowledge makes a very 
 great impression on the general body of prisonei's. 
 
 " The system of marks was introduced by Captain Knight, who was at one 
 time governor of Portland Prison, and who afterwards established Portsmouth 
 Prison, and had had considerable experience in organising military prisons. 
 
 " The principle of marks was introduced, I beheve, in the first instance, by 
 the Archbishop of Dublin or by Captain ]\Iacoxochie ; I am far from thinking 
 that the Irish system of marks is perfect, but it answers the purpose. I know 
 that Captain Knight, who had had the experience I have mentioned, was the 
 jjerson who found a want of record in the English Prisons, and instituted this 
 system in Ireland ; and also that Captain Whitty, who was a director of 
 prisons in this country, after being governor of Portland Prison, a gentleman 
 of great experience, believes it to be a very satisfactory system. I believe 
 that he had thought of a similar scheme before he came to Ireland. Now 
 these mai'ks appear very trifling things in themselves, but they are of the 
 greatest importance to the convicts, and they feel it so. Their position is 
 better realised, and is made more intelligible to them. 
 
 " The maximum number of marks that each convict can obtain monthly is 
 nine, but they are distributed under three diflerent headings, namely, three 
 for discijjline, that is, for general regularity and orderly demeanour; three for 
 school, that is, for attention and a dcbire for improvement or industry in the 
 school. I should mention that it is not for a degree of attainment, but for 
 industry in school. It is quite possible for an ignorant man, if learning his 
 letters, to learn his letters industriously, and in that case he would get his 
 maximum number of marks, Avhile another man who could read vei-y well 
 perhaps would not get them ; the marks are divided into three, two, and one, 
 three being the highest under eaelihead; three for industry, that is industiy 
 at work, not skill, Avhich may have been previously acquired. 
 
 " The three heads are discipline, school and work. Now a convict inust 
 attain a maximum of marks during his detention to justify his obtaining a 
 full remission of the term authorised by the regulations for the ticket-of- leave.
 
 THE IRISH SYSTEM : ITS VORKIXG. 93 
 
 " Tliis is the notice that is given to tlie convicts when thej- enter the piison 
 (handing in tJie same), and if a man does not accumulate enough marks in 
 the time it is his own fault, and he is kept back till he does. Take the case 
 of a man who is sentenced to three years' penal servitude, he must produce 
 his document, and show tliat he is in the first class, with 90 marks made, 
 before lie can pass into the lutermediate Prison ; if he has been longer than 
 the usual time in attaining them, he would not come into the Intermediate 
 Prison until later, but that would be his own fault and not ours ; he must then 
 remain a certain time in the Intermediate Prison in proportion to his sentence, 
 and therefore it not only delays his coming into the Intermediate Prison, but 
 it postpones his obtaining his ticket-of-leave. A proportion is laid down for 
 each sentence, and w^hen yon examine the sentences you will find the number 
 who have been sent out on tickets-of-leave, and the periods of remission will 
 show how this system has Avorked. I should also explain the classes in the 
 stages; there are fom* clashes in the stage at Spike Island, the third, the 
 second and the first, and the advanced or A class. This class was called 
 ' exemplary ' for two or three years, but we thought that the term exemplary 
 was not very applicable to convicts, and it is now called the advanced class. 
 It is possible for a convict to raise himself from the third class to the second 
 class in two months. "When they leave the separate prison they go into the 
 third class; they begin low down in that class, on the ground that in sepa- 
 ration there is little opportunity of doing much amiss, it does not aflbrd the 
 same test as the other prisons. It would be the highest number of mai'ks 
 attainable (18) by a convict that would get him from the third to the second 
 class in two months. He could get from the second to the first class in six 
 months, provided he attains 54 marks in that period ; nine is the maximum 
 for a month, if not attained, the convict gets delayed in each class before 
 he is moved, in consequence of this want of marks telling against him ; 
 then lie can get from the first to A or the advanced class in 12 months, 
 provided he has attained 108, that is nine marks a month, 12 times nine 
 making 108. AVhen a convict has reached the A class his progress is noted, 
 as A 1, A 2, and so on ; any misconduct causes a reduction and suspension or 
 a loss of marks. 
 
 " A convict has no gratuity in separation, but he has Id. a week in the 
 third class, 2c?. a week in the second class, and 3d. and Ad. in the first class, 
 which is divided. That is reserved for the convict to receive when he goes 
 out of prison. It is from 7d. to 9d. in the advanced or A class. Now I will 
 call the attention of the Commission to the lowness of the gratuities in this 
 system, because it is considered that the convicts should have a long up-hill 
 career for some time as a test. The Directors believe them to be thus better 
 tried before they give them a higher gratuity, which T b'hall explain when I 
 come to the Intermediate Prisons. In the .'hd class it is hi., in the second 
 class 2d., and in the first class 3d. and 4(7., and in tiie advanced class it is from 
 Id. to Od. Taking the whole of the gratuities in the Intermediate Prisons, 
 and all otiier prisons, the average amount of llio gratuities in Ireland is nliout 
 (ine-half of what it is in England,
 
 94 oun CONVICTS. 
 
 "When men attain the A class oi' the aclvanccrl class in that stage, they are 
 moved by the system to another part of the establislimcnt, and are employed 
 on special works ; the men who are idlers are kept by themselves in a class. 
 The men who are dangerous are kept by themselves also, and withdrawn 
 altogether from the general labourers of the prison. They are subject to very 
 strict treatment ; for instance, the idlers, who do not do their work and inter- 
 fere with the general class, are put by themselves and employed, with very 
 little food ; the dietaries are altered specially for them. 
 
 " There is another class of men who assault the officers — violent men — who 
 are kept in what is called the dangerous class. They are kept in chains to 
 prevent them doing further mischief, and also only upon such dietary as the 
 medical officer thinks is absolutely necessary for them ; but it is very low. 
 
 " There is a class of dietary for the idlers, and a class for the dangerous 
 men, and they arc kept perfectly separate; their dietary is reduced until they 
 show, by theii- future conduct, that they deserve to be put into the ordinary 
 labour classes. Now, I attribute to this minute classification of these men 
 the being able for the last thi'ee and a half years to do without flogging, 
 although I may add that I have no objection to find flogging retained as a 
 punishment. yFe have not resorted to it during the last three and a half years, 
 proving, I think, that this kind of classification, under stringent rules, is very 
 advantageous; it is satisfactory to know that although at the commencement 
 there were several in these classes, very few are in them now. 
 
 " I can record from actual experience that the marks are of the utmost 
 value ; that they are the means of acting upon a man as an individual, and of 
 realising to him his own position and his own means of progress; I know of 
 no other way in which you can equally produce that effect upon him. I am 
 quite satisfied that wherever the system of marks is tried it will succeed. 
 
 " There are four persons who are connected •with the appointment of the 
 marks ; viz., the officer of the gang, the schoolmaster, the principal warders, 
 and the governor ; and with regard to the convict, he has the means of seeing 
 the director as to anything which he believes to have been unjustly noted 
 against him. 
 
 " I have already called attention to the advanced class ; the moment that a 
 man attains a position in that class he is put into a detached portion of the 
 prison, and kept there under a diflerent system. That class have their meals 
 and work together, they are employed on special works at Ilaulbowline, and 
 have more work, because they have school in the evening ; they are dealt with 
 specially in every way; the 1st, 2ud, and 3rd are worked together. They ai'o 
 in a distinct building." 
 
 The prisoners are thus prepared for their increased liberty in 
 the intermediate stages in Liisk and Smithfiekl ; there they are 
 fitted for their absolute discharge from the Convict Prisons, or 
 for their conditional freedom under license, or ticket-of-loave. 
 This is the most critical period, and that which is the final and
 
 THE IRISn SYSTEM : ITS TVORKIXG. 95 
 
 absolute test of tho effect of the treatment they have received in 
 the Convict Prisons on these persons who had been living a pre- 
 datory and la-^lcss life. "We have seen that in England all real 
 supervision of tho Convict ceases after he has loft his place of 
 confinement ; while, theoretically, his release is conditional, prac- 
 tically he is nearly in tho same position as if he had completed 
 his sentence of pimishment. In somo respects he is even more 
 at liberty to commit crime, since, in the mctropoKs, tho police 
 have special orders not to exercise the same supervision over him 
 as over suspicious characters in general. Wo kno"w what the 
 consequences of this procedure have been in England. In 
 Ireland the same Act of Parliament is in operation as in England. 
 Every Convict liberated receives a license endorsed with the same 
 conditions which have been already stated, vol. I, p. 187. These 
 are in Ireland very stringently enforced; a course which has 
 proved to be most beneficial, both to the public and to the 
 Convicts. Attached to the license is appended, in Ireland, the 
 following instructions to the Convict : — 
 
 " 1. Each con^•ict will report himself to the Constabulary 
 Station of his locality on his arrival in the tlistrict, and sub- 
 sequently on the 1st of each month. 
 
 " 2. A convict must not change his locality without notifying 
 to his Constabulaiy Station, in order that his registration may 
 he changed to tho locality to which he is about to proceed. 
 
 " 3. An infringement of these rules, by the convict, will causo 
 it to be assumed that he is leading an idle and irregular life, 
 and thereby entail a revocation of his license. 
 
 " Cliairman of Board of Directors, Government Prisons' Office, 
 Duilin Castle. 
 
 " Constabulary Station at which 
 to report himself." 
 
 The system of photography, and the careful registration of 
 every offence, mate it almost impossible for any Convict at largo 
 to commit an offence, -without his being at onco detected as an
 
 96 OUR CONVICTS. 
 
 old oflfender, and receiving a sentence proportionally longer. 
 Since tlie absolute certainty of detection and punishment is tlie 
 most reliable deterrent, the knowledge that crime is thus made 
 a hazardous calling, proves a very strong stimulant to the 
 Convicts to abandon it, and to lead a very different life. 
 
 The supervision of Convicts at large on ticket-of-leave, is 
 carried on in the country by the police. In Dublin there is 
 a fortnightly visitation of the Convicts by Mr. Organ, and a 
 return made of their employment, conduct, &c. There are about 
 150 so visited, many of them having been liberated from prison 
 upwards of five years. Inquirers from England, Scotland and 
 the Continent, have repeatedly tested this fact ; and have after- 
 wards satisfied themselves that the antecedents of those visited 
 by them have been " Habitually Criminal." 
 
 The nature of this supervision is so unicj^ue, as well as suc- 
 cessful, and has not only been the subject of so much discussion, 
 but has excited so much cavil and scepticism, that it will bo well 
 to take Sir W. Crofton's own account of it, as given to the 
 Eoyal Commissioners, in reply to their very close examination: — 
 
 " The Dublin supervision commenced in the year before the supervision of 
 the constabulary, viz., in January, 1850 ; the supervision in the country began 
 in January, 1857. The plan of the Dublin supervision was that the lecturer 
 should visit every man who was out on ticket-of-leave officially, and bring in a 
 fortnightly return to my office, and go into each case with me, and show in the 
 return the employer's name, the standard of wages, and the conduct of the 
 men ; this fortnightly return was filed in the office afterwards. I alv/ays had 
 this information cliecked, when necessary, by a detective inspector of police. 
 I used to call him in in every case that presented difficulty. If ]Mr. Organ 
 found in his visits that there was any obstruction to his obtaining from the 
 convict full information, he was at once handed over to the observation of the 
 police, in order that they might see very closely whether there was any chance 
 of his infringing his license. 
 
 " Mr. Oegan saw these men individually eveiy fortnight, and reported on 
 them to me, with the names of their employers. This detective inspector 
 attended at my office two or three times a Aveek, and when he had any notice 
 of failures, as he had sometimes, he used to tell me of them ; he consulted 
 with me, and then made a return immediately of the exact state of the case. 
 We had thus a direct police check upon Mr. Organ's reports. Finding in 185G 
 that some of the men might go out into the couutiy from Dublin and defeat us
 
 TlIK ITJTSir SY^;TK^I : ITS AVOltlClX*;. 97 
 
 aliogethei', v>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 re<iuired this to keep up their strength." 
 
 "With respect to the laboiu-, Captain Whitty says : — 
 
 " We have very little labour done that is capable of measurement ; it is 
 principally dififereut lands of quarrying work, filling up holes, and paring 
 down the surface of the rock to the sea, to shape the fortification, and 
 there is very little of that kind of work that is capable of being measured. 
 We keep the men steadily at work, and we know what the cost of hired 
 labour would be on the spot; we think that we are fairlj^ justified in going 
 near to that sum. Some of the work can be measured, and that is done 
 by the Eoyal Engineers' department. We have no clerk of the works, as 
 they have in English prisons, and we depend upon the Eoyal Engineers' 
 department and their clerk of the works, under Avhom our men are employed, 
 for the measurements. They report to us if the work is not satisfactory. 
 I think that the men work very fairly there, quite as well as the free 
 labourers. We keep a little under the amount given to the free labourers. 
 We value the labour of each man about Is. 6d. a day. A trifle under the 
 wages of an crilinary labourer for that sort of work. We find out what 
 labourers are employed for at Spike Island, when a contractor hires them. 
 An able-bodied labourer would earn Is. 8f?. a day at Spike Island. 
 
 Captain Whitty is able to state from liis personal official 
 knowledge the very important fact, that since he has been
 
 TlIK IIIISH SYSTKM : ITS "WOKKIXG. 105 
 
 Director of Convict Prisons in Ireland, tliero Inis never been 
 anything in tlie shape of a mutiny or outbreak in them. He 
 also saj'S : — "I have not noticed any mutinous spirit general 
 among them ; we have had once or twice a little sjTuptom of 
 dissatisfaction ; there have been violent acts done by individuals 
 or by a few, but no combinations or outbreaks. Thera have 
 been threats made by the men of one county against the men 
 of another, of a sort of faction fight, but we have alwaj's 
 managed to put those things down." 
 
 It is unnecessary to qiiote Captain Wuitty's description of the 
 supervision of the licensed Convicts, as that is in every respect 
 similar to -^^hat has been already stated by Sir "VVvVlt^r Ckoftox 
 in his evidence. But our account of the working of the Irish 
 Convict System would be incomplete -odthout the personal testi- 
 mony of Mr. Okg^vx, to Avhom reference has been so often made 
 in connection with the Intermediate Prisons. The cooperation 
 of a person of zeal, Christian spirit, and sj'^mpathising heart, 
 was indispensable in the new and difficult work of super- 
 vision over Convicts on license ; and at the same time it was 
 essential that such a person should be an official who ■\^■ould 
 strictly conform to the prison regulations, and ■\^■ho, in his 
 labours, Avhich might in a certain sense be termed voluntary, 
 would be still guided by the siiperior wisdom and judgment 
 of the Directors. Such an indi\'idual they were fortunate in 
 finding in Mr. Organ, and tlu^y have always shown themselves 
 ready to acknowledge his merits. But it would be very 
 erroneous to suppose that he possesses unique qualifications, 
 to M'hich arc diie the success with wliieli his efforts have been 
 followed, and that it were in vain to hope for the same results 
 if the system were adopted by any other person. Such 
 objection was made, sucli difficulty started, when E(>formatory 
 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, <!i."c.; 
 and the hour every evening is applied to simultaneous instructions, or 
 lecturing and writing alternately. The subjects for which they have most 
 taste are reading, writing and arithmetic; and as these are the most likely to 
 be beneficial to them through life, I have encouraged that taste, and paid 
 much attention to those branches. The maps of the world, and of its several 
 countries are not used for the mere purpose of teaching geography, but serve 
 as great books of history, chronology and morality; because, by their means, I 
 bring vividly and practically before the mind the rise and fall of empires, 
 nations and individuals ; the manners, customs, failings, virtues, resources, 
 industrial pursuits, itc, of the diilerent nations exhibited on them ; the 
 advantages arising from international intercourse and commerce; the mutual
 
 THE lEISH SYSTEM: ITS niSTORY. 155 
 
 dependence of nations and individuals, and the folly of national and personal 
 antipathies." 
 
 Tims the Schoolmaster does not confine himself to mere educa- 
 tional routine, or to simple cultui-e of the intellectual faculties ; 
 ho connects them by a natural and easy process with topics 
 bearing on their moral character, and he makes them interesting 
 to themselves personally, because he has a true interest in the 
 ■welfare of each one of them, and he desires to employ his own 
 superior knowledge and culture for their benefit. He does even 
 more' than this,- — 
 
 " I frequently stimulate the men here," continues the Schoolmaster, Mr. 
 Harold, in the same report, " to the future practice of provident and indus- 
 trial habits, by bringing under their notice the great things accomplished by 
 such persons as 'Williaji Hutton, and others; by i)ointiug out the necessity 
 of self reliance, as all other expectations of aid from friends or dishonest 
 courses become failures in the end; by recommending cac/t to apply himself to 
 some pursuit for which he evinces a taste ; by explaining the necessity of hus- 
 banding our time properly; by making the changes from one occupation to 
 another sene as so many recreations ; and by various other instructions which 
 every day's experience suggests. In teaching agriculture, I adopt a method 
 which is rather the converse of that usually followed, as I introduce first to 
 them the unskilful mode of farming pursued in the neighbourhood of the 
 prison, and the improvements that could be effected by levelling ditches, 
 draining, deep digging, rotation of crops, house feeding, drilling, and a care- 
 ful preservation of manures. I next proceed to the ininciples of the science 
 of agriculture, explaining by illustrations and instances the simple compound 
 organic and inorganic substances, the volatile and fixcil ingredients in vege- 
 tables ; the substances that the atmosphere and rains supply, and those which 
 must be added to the land in consequence of the exhaustion caused by crop- 
 ping. It may not be amiss to state here, that if it were expedient to employ 
 the convicts in general at trades and agriculture, I am convinced it would 
 contribute to humanize, improve and ineparc them, for the sort of labour 
 they will have to perform when liberated." 
 
 The views here expressed are so different from those enter- 
 tained by ordinary school teachers, and indicate a scope of 
 attainments and knowledge so varied and superior, that the 
 reader will probably imagine that Mr. Harold is a very unique 
 and peculiar master, whoso services the Directors were fortunate 
 in sectiring, but who should not be considered a type of what 
 should be expected in Convict establishments. But throughout
 
 1.56 oun coxviCTs. 
 
 the prisons tho same priuoiple and spirit pervade those engaged 
 in tlxo different departments. Long extracts of an interesting 
 and instructive cliaracter might bo made from the Reports of 
 tlie other teachers, but space forbids, yet Ave must not omit 
 the following remark in the Report of Mr. Bourke, the 
 Assistant-Schoolmaster of Spike Island Convict Prison Schools, 
 because it indicates a condition of the Convict mind, very 
 important for the consideration of those who desire to reform 
 it:— 
 
 " lu the course of my iustructious to these men during the past jeai-," 
 he says, 3rd Eepovt, pji. 57 and 5S, " I could not help heiug frequently struck 
 with the vast amount of indifTereuce as to purely scientific or abstract 
 knowledge which existed among them. This I attributed, in the great 
 majority of instances, to two causes : first, their total ignorance of the pratical 
 bearing of even the commonest and most useful branches of science ; and, 
 secondly, a certain absence of moral energy or elasticity of character, which 
 would have led them to look beyond their present degraded posiuou to one 
 of future usefulness and respectability, in which knowledge might be applied 
 to beneficial pui-poses. The removal, therefoi'e, of these causes, and with 
 them of their necessary and immediate effect — the indifference above men- 
 tioned, — was a duty to the performance of which I felt the necessity of 
 directing my best and most earnest efforts. Accordingly I have omitted 
 no opportunity of pointing out to these persons the advantages of a good 
 elementary education, the various ways in which it may be and has been 
 useful, and the folly as well as wickedness of despairing to do good because 
 of mere temporary reverses or privations. By these means, as well as by 
 popularizing the subject of instructions so far as to bring it within the 
 easj' comprehension of those for whom it is intended, I have succeeded 
 to a great extent in not only removing the obstacles to, but even creating 
 a taste for, useful knowledge. Of this result, the extensive and increasing 
 demand for books, for the purpose of self improvement in the wards during 
 the evenings, leaves little room to doubt." 
 
 If the teachers in the intermediate and advanced classes found 
 the minds of the prisoners in the dull intellectual condition which 
 has been described, we may imagine what was their state of 
 dense ignorance when first received in Mountjoy Prison. Tliis 
 Third Report of the Irish Convict Prisons contains full state- 
 ments of the methods adopted there ])y the Schoolmaster, 
 Mr. M'GrAUBAK', and enforced by him on tlie assistant teachers; 
 we wUl extract a passage showing tlie spirit and motive wliich
 
 THE IKIf>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 supcrvisi<jn of 
 the female prisoners, diil you come to the conclusion that the existing mode of 
 punishing tho females was altogether inefiicient? — Yeiy soon after I came to 
 have anything to do with thcni. 
 
 "2170. But no formal notice of the opinion you entertained has been given 
 either to Sir Joshua Jekb or to the Home Oflice? — It has appeared in tho 
 leports made to rarliament, although I cannot at this moment lay my hands 
 upon them, and to this eiroct, that i)unishments when carried to a great extent 
 with tiio vciy bad women become absolutely useless and cannot be carried out,
 
 218 OUH CONVICTS. 
 
 for Avitli women who deserve punishment over and over again, the punishment 
 we give thcni does not stop them from committing the prison offences for 
 which we order the punishment." 
 
 Surely, then, if the joi'esent system has totally failed, there 
 must be somethiug radically wrong in it, and it ought to be 
 changed. Ftiller particulars respecting the punishment of the 
 women are given by Dr. GuT, the Medical Attendant at 
 Millbank Prison, in his evidence, — 
 
 " 3107. Some iujuiy to health arises from the repeated punishments which 
 the worst class bring upon themselves, both of the men and of the women. It 
 is impossible to shut up men or women in dark cells on bread and water over 
 and over again without producing some effect upon their health. I may state 
 to the Commission that I am a sti-ong advocate for flogging, on medical grounds' 
 and because I consider it the most merciful punishment of which I have an^' 
 Icnowledge. Unfortunately it applies only to the men. As to the women who 
 are given to tearing their clothes and smashing their windows, if they are put 
 Jf into a dark cell, they shout and sing and make merry. They know that there ai-e 
 prisoners not very far off them, who can hear their noise, and they like to go 
 on in that strange way; and I think that if it were possible to inflict upon 
 them some short bodily pain, it would be much more merciful. In the case of 
 the man, I think that flogging is particularly advantageous. 
 
 "3108. ■\Vhat do you think of the stocks? — Captain U'Brien told me in 
 conversation that he thought it would be well to introduce the stocks, and 
 I think it essential that something of the kind shoiiLl be adopted. Our difli- 
 culty now in the case of a woman is this, that the worst p)unishmeut we can 
 inflict upon her is to put her into a dark cell for three days with bread and 
 water, and she comes out at the end of that time, and very soon goes back 
 again. But she is always conscious that there are people in her neighboiu'- 
 hood who will be worried by her noise, and you cannot unfortunately' put her 
 anywhere where she will not be heard. She knows that the prisoners near 
 her are rather interested in hearing her shouting and singing, and what is 
 wanted is to keep her in a cell where she will not be heard, or place her in the 
 stocks. And yet another thing is wanted. If you put a woman into the stocks, 
 so as to prevent her from following her favourite ainuscment of lying on the 
 9k floor and drumming with her feet against the dooi-, she still retains the use of 
 her tongue, and will make a great disturbance, e>ipeciallij 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 
 
 A<lults. 
 
 41 
 
 287 
 
 509 
 
 Juvenilps. 
 
 11 
 
 116 
 
 45 
 
 Total. 
 52 
 403 
 614 
 
 897 
 574 
 
 172 
 73 
 
 1009 
 C47 
 
 1471 
 
 945 
 
 1710 
 
 M.\LES. 
 
 .HaucTciifFs 
 
 Dark & Refractory Cells and minor punishments 
 Whipped with a Cat or Birch 
 
 Total of punishments 
 
 Admonished, and not punished 
 
 Total ... 
 Females. 
 
 Handcuffs 
 
 Straight Waistcoats 
 
 Dark & Eefractoiy Cells and minor piinishments 
 
 Total of punishments 
 
 Admonished, and not punished 
 
 Total ... 
 
 The number of male prisoners, Dec. 31st. was 560. Daily average, 515 
 female " " 423. " " 4C9 
 
 It thus appears that Trhile the number of punishment.s of 
 the male Convicts during the year, 473, did not amount to an 
 average of one each, the pimishments of the females, 1,069, 
 amounted to more than two for each individual. Again, there 
 are only nine eases of corporal punishment among the males, 
 ■while the severe and very degrading punishment of a straight 
 "waistcoat has been inflicted on the females 403 times, or, on an 
 average, more than daily! These numbers do not call forth any 
 special comment in the Report of the Directors, nor do any pe- 
 culiar exciting causes appear to exist on the part of the women. 
 On the contrary, very serious offences were committed on the male 
 side of the prison during the year ; — two miirderous assaults on 
 officers occurred ; three Convicts escaped by the exercise of much 
 and long ingenious effort ; four suicidal attempts were made by 
 two Con-victs ; ten men were removed to lunatic asylums, and 
 only two women ; there were seven deaths of men, and only two 
 of women; the admissions of men to the Infirmary were 515, 
 while those of women were only 22G. This remarkable disparity 
 in the punishments inflicted on the two sexes, and the peculiarly
 
 FE>rALT: 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 <jiaxiliiii:j to this piison, I (rust that some means 
 
 a
 
 A 
 
 226 OUIl COXVICTS. 
 
 will be de\incd us a hubstilule lor Ibe lub.s wc lia\c sustaiued. As au 
 expeJieut I tbiuk that a matron miglit, -with advautagc, be engaged whose 
 special duty it would be to procure employment and temporary lodgings 
 for such cases as have hitherto been received by the Discharged Prisoners' 
 Aid Society. 
 
 " I think this might be tried with eveiy hope of success, either under 
 the Prisoners' Aid Society, or in more immediate communication with this 
 establishment. Such au agency would necessarily be circumscribed, as it 
 would 'only meet the cases hitherto provided for in London through other 
 means. I would gladly impose iipon myself any additional labour which 
 such a plan would involve. * * * 
 
 " The reconviction of some of the iiiost promising women who have ever 
 been in this prison, and of whom we had formed the highest opinion, whilst 
 it proves how little reliance can be placed on characters acquired when under 
 any kind of restraint, has made me think very seriously for some time past 
 of various plans to prevent a relapse into crime. Those I have named appear 
 to me very simple and practicable. Thei-e are doubtless some ' missing 
 links' yet to be found before there will be a commensurate amount of good 
 for the means used and exertions made on behalf of inisoners." 
 
 The Reports for tlie next year, 1862, confii-iu tlie same expe- 
 rience. The Superintendent of Brixton Prison says : — 
 
 " My ex]5erience satisfies me that female convicts, as a body, cannot 
 bear to be idle. The present iniblic distress shows it more particularly, as we 
 cannot obtain an adequate supply of needlework. Unless actively employed 
 they become restless and desponding, and brood over the wretchedness their 
 crimes have entailed on husbands and children ; that this is the case with 
 many I am quite sure ; therefore it appears to me that although sedentary, 
 monotonous, and uninteresting employment, with separation, is a right and 
 salutary punishment for a considerable time during the first stage of imprison- 
 ineut, it would, if jpersisted in for a more lengthened period, augment cases of 
 Insanity and of suicide. 150 have been reported for slight offences arising 
 from irritability, such as a hasty word or action, soon repented of, but not to 
 be excused, it being highly necessary to enforce strict discipline ; hence the 
 benefit of badges, and of remission of a portion of their sentences ; they are 
 great accessories to t!ie rigid fulfilment of the end of penal servitude ; take 
 these away, and we should have to deal with two extremes, stubborn, 
 iniimiiressionable logs, or furies, giving as much trouble and doing as much 
 mischief as can be imagined by spirits actuated by no other motive than sullen, 
 uess or revenge; and so unimproved and friendless, that all hope would be at 
 an end of their ever desiring to lead better lives upon their discharge." 
 
 Though Fulliam Eefuge is intended for the most promising of 
 the Convicts, the Eepurt of the Superintendent is not more hope- 
 ful than Leforc. She suy;i : —
 
 FKMALE COXVICXS. 227 
 
 " 1 ain glad to say thai there has beeu a decrease of reports aud puiiish- 
 nients this year, -nliilst the daily average of prisoners has been the same, viz., 
 174. Last year tliere were 115 report:^, 75 prisoners reported, and C-i 
 punished. This year there have been 99 reports, 07 prisoners reported, 
 ■1-] punished, and 55 punishments. 
 
 '• Having frequently beeu struclc with the low and depraved class of women 
 which now come under my charge, I am surprised at being able to give so 
 satisfactory a report of their general conduct. At the same time. I cannot but 
 be aware that the duties of the officers are far more trying than informer years, 
 and that it is only by tmtiring exertions on their part that such a degree of 
 order can be maintained. Often have I to encourage the officers, aud myself as 
 well, with the hope that the worst of our criminal class is being brought under 
 the power of the law, instead of being at large to exercise their evil influence 
 over those less depraved and criminal than them elves; and thus we trust 
 that, although our labours are more arduous, good i:> 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 sprea<ling to others who had no such grievance to complain of, ereated great 
 difliculties. 
 
 "'Successive stages of diseipline, eacli having some amelioration, were substituted for 
 the remissiiiu of sentence ; Imt these were insuflieient to re-establish the good feeling 
 which hail prevailed ; ancl until every man sentenced between 1853 and 1S57 (altogether 
 about 10,000) were disposed of, the st;ite of the Convict Prisons was nuieh less satisfactory 
 than previously, or than it is at jircsent.' 
 
 "And the following passage is (piote<l from a memorandum by Captain M'mriv, dated 
 LOth July, 18')3 :— 
 
 "'The question of dealing on public wnrli with the convicts tuider sentence of penal 
 servitude is becoming a very serious one, and jiresses f(n- innufdiate consideration and 
 settlement. 
 
 " ' If their sentence of penal servitude is to be considered as one of aetu.tl imprisonment 
 for the whole perioil awarded, their position becomes entirely dilferent from that of men 
 under sentence of trans] lortatiou with whom they are associated; the main inducement to 
 good conduct and industry, which has hitherto ojierated so ln>ne(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. 1<S0 found her at one o'clock iu the morning sitting on a door- 
 step with hor clothes half-stripped from her person, and cursing and swearing 
 vehemently. In her defence, she said a friend gave her a share of a few pints, 
 which overcame her. Some persons then followed her, and, knowing that 
 she had money in her pocket, attacked her. and tore her clothes. P.C. 180 
 said that there was not a dag in the week tliat she teas not dnink, and the 
 Magistrates fined her five .shillings and costs, or seven days' imprisonment." — 
 Bristol Post, July, 18G3. 
 
 "TWO HUNDRED TIMES IN PRISON. 
 "A little old woman, answering to the name of Anse Hayses, came curt- 
 seying into court and took her place as defendant, as though she did so
 
 mPEovEMEXTS. 315 
 
 by force of habit. Mr. Br.KE : This is Mrs. Haynes. The aged defendant 
 acknowledged the introduction by another curtsej', Mr. BracE : Why you are 
 a good deal more decent than usual. Defendant : Yes, sir. Mr. Williams : 
 She has not been in prison for some little time. Defendant: No, I have been 
 deputy-nurse at the workhouse, but they stopped my butter and tea, and 
 I came out. Mr. Bhice : 'Well, you must go back again, for if you don't, and 
 can get any money or credit to-night, you will be here on another charge of 
 drunkenness to-morrow. It is no use to commit her, — she has been two 
 hundred times in prison. The old woman curtseyed to each of the Magis- 
 trates, and, taking her dismissal, retired." — Bristol Post, July, 1803, 
 
 Persons of tliis class are a coustaut annoyance and expense 
 ill every large town ; most Magistrates M'ill recognise the des- 
 cription given of tliem by Mr. Smith, the Governor of Edinburgh 
 Gaol, in his evidence to the Commissioners (5075, 5083) : — 
 
 " The number of short sentences is so great that it is quite possible for a 
 prisoner to undergo twelve sentences in a year; I have known that to be 
 the case for being drunk and disorderly, and oflences committed on the 
 street. I do not haiijieu to remember the number of recommitments at 
 this moment, but it is large, and will always be large, because there arc 
 such a number of short sentences for offences of that class, — street oflences, 
 drunkenness and assaults. I think it exceeds 40 per cent. There is a 
 class of drunken and disorderly people who are continually taken before the 
 magistrates. There are also persons who are very frequently convicted of 
 petty thefts. Those persons, after several convictions, are still only 
 sentenced to imprisonment for short periods." 
 
 A large proportion of such as these eventually enter the Con- 
 vict Prisons after having completed their curriculum of crime, as 
 it has been aptly called. Mr. Weatiieeiie^U) states (5214) that 
 out of 382 prisoners, he has 60 who have been from two to sLx 
 times in Holloway Prison. One-sixth of the whole have usually 
 been persons who have been there before, and many others have 
 been before in other prisons, though how many cannot be accu- 
 rately ascertained from want of an}' general method of registering 
 offenders. Altogether about one-third of the prisoners who arc 
 relapsed Convicts have had from two to ten previous convictions 
 (5210). 
 
 This principle of cumulative punishment woidd be particu- 
 larly important in its influence on the female sex of the criminal 
 class. When a woman has once undergone imprisonment she
 
 31 fi OUR COXVICTS. 
 
 has lost her position in society, feels herself degraded, and 
 becomes more and more reckless and hardened until she enters 
 the Convict Prison. 
 
 Eev. J. MoEA2f, Chaplain of Brixton Convict Prison, states in 
 his evidence hefore the Commission (4778, 4784) that it is gene- 
 rally after repeated convictions and confinement in the County 
 Prisons that vromen are sent to the Grovernment Prisons. Some 
 have had 14, and some as many as 40 previous convictions. 
 One woman from Liverpool had had 47 con\dctions, and when 
 she now received a long sentence of penal servitude, it was not 
 in consequence of the previous convictions, hut on account of 
 the nature of her crime. 
 
 What will be the condition of the wretched woman mentioned 
 below when eventually she arrives at the Convict Prisons? 
 
 " Catherine O'Beiex, 20, was indicted for having feloniously wounded 
 Edwaed Thompson Downes, with intent to do him some grievous bodily 
 harm. « * * 
 
 " The jury found the prisoner guilty of unlawfully wounding. 
 
 " It was then proved that she had been thirty or forty times in custody 
 for robberies, violence and drunkenness, within the last seven years, and 
 that she was a M'oman of the worst class. 
 
 The Common Serjeant, in passing sentence, said the jury bad certainly 
 taken the mildest view of the case, which was one of misdemeanour. This 
 was one of a class of offences deserving the severest punishment, because the 
 treatment sailors received in houses of this description was grievous in the 
 extreme. The unfortunate men were inveigled in, then the door was fastened, 
 and because they insisted on going out the clothes vrere torn off their backs. 
 It was the act of Proridence that the man had escaped from death, and it was 
 fortunate for the prisoner that she had not been found guilty of the felony. 
 She had thought him helpless because he had been drinking, and had evi- 
 dently thought that she might commit the greatest atrocities upon him. As 
 it was, the sentence was that she be imprisoned and kept at hard labour in 
 the House of Correction for eighteen calendar months." — T lines, Dec. 5th, 
 1863. 
 
 Surel}^ such an offence as tliis woman has now committed, 
 after her 30 or 40 offences, might have obtained for her a suffi- 
 ciently long sentence to give a prosj^ect of reformation. 
 
 The subject of cumulative punishment ■N^dll, it is hopocl, receiA"e 
 the attention of the Legislature. Taken in connection with the
 
 IMPROYEMEXTS. 317 
 
 registration of offences, aided by photography, it Avoiild ho a 
 most important means of diminishing the numbers of the crimi- 
 nal class, and of the repression of crime in the country. That 
 it may produce that great end, however, it is evident that it will 
 be necessary, not only that our Convict Prisons should have 
 undergone an entire change, but that the County Gaols should 
 all of them be established on sound principles. This subject 
 does not come within the scope of the present worlc, but it is 
 one especially requiring the attention of the County Magistrates. 
 The revelations made last Session before Lord Carnarvon's 
 Committee in the Lords must have surprised many that such a 
 state of things could have existed in our country. The prin- 
 ciples which have been foimd true in the Irish Convict System 
 might be applied to the commoii gaols in a manner adapted to 
 their special requirements. They have already been embodied 
 in a Report on Prison Discipline adopted at the Hampshii'o 
 Quarter Sessions, January, 1864, and have been subsecjuently 
 carried out with excellent residts in Winchester Gaol.-" 
 
 The same principles have already been tried ^nih. great suc- 
 cess in the Yorkshire West Riding Prison at Wakefield. Mr. 
 Edward Siiepukrd, the Governor, whoso long experience in that 
 important post has led to his haA'ing been more than once 
 summoned as a witness on prison discipline before Parliamen- 
 tary Committees, accompanied the foiu" Justices to Dublin in the 
 autumn" of 18G1, on their important mission of thoroughly inves- 
 tigating the Irish System. On his return, with their sanction, 
 he introduced the system into his prison, and at the following 
 meeting of the Social Science Association, at London, read a 
 paper on the subject, froui which we will introduce the following 
 passages, which are valuable, not only as being the result of 
 long experience, but as showing the effect of a tried principle:^ — 
 
 " AlUiougli tlie discipliue carried out in our couuty nud local prisons is 
 as various as Uie prisons themselves, — from unrestrained coniniunicalion to 
 
 * The Report is contained in a pamphlet by the Earl of Cabnarvon ou 
 
 rrisiui l)i'~(jiplii!L'. Luudim : Mrnn.vv.
 
 olS OUR CONVICTS 
 
 tlie strictest separate oonfinemeut, yet there is one principle common to all, — 
 2)unishment. 
 
 " What is the raw material to be wrought upon ? It is often a sad mass of 
 coarse and unclean stuflf, and must undergo many processes of purification. 
 The antecedents of an old offender are generally marked upon his features. 
 His evil passions have left their trace upon his countenance. His idleness 
 or hatred of labour is visible in everj' movement. 
 
 " Having never acquired self-controul, be has no idea of regulating his own 
 will, or submitting to the will of others. Living in crime, and adding vice to 
 vice, losing all habits of cleanliness and decorum, and recklessly cai-eless of 
 liimself, he is brought as a criminal to prison ; degraded in body and mind, 
 deservedly to be punished ; but surely, also, to be pitied, and surely likewise, 
 if possible, to be purified and reformed. 
 
 " Such a criminal as I have described, then, is brought to prison habitually 
 lazy, bad tempered and insubordinate. He is punished for every manifesta- 
 tion of these vices, and for every infraction of the prison rules ; and, if the 
 ordinary prison ijuuishment fail in controlling him, he is frequently further 
 punished and degraded by Hogging. The motive presented to his mind is not 
 hope, but fear. Punishment has gradually less and less influence over him, 
 and he becomes hardened to it. What can be expected of such a man when his 
 imprisonment expires, but that he will commit further crime, and be again 
 sent to prison. Ought such a man, with a chai'acter so thoroughly depraved 
 and hardened, to be ti*eated in prison exactly the same as the incidental 
 criminal '? It is, I consider, one great fault of the present disciiiline that 
 it deals with both alike, — it applies its discipline not only without regard 
 to individuality, but without respect to class — first offenders and habitual 
 criminals— prisoners for long, and those for short sentences. Prison inmates, 
 whose conduct is good, or whose behaviour is bad, are alike under the rule of 
 identical disciphue. 
 
 " Every Governor of a prison can bring forward instances whei'e a criminal 
 is undoubtedly influenced for good. He learns to controul his temper, to 
 render willing obedience to the prison rules, and to the order of the officers. 
 He becomes industrious, cleanly in person and habits, anxious for instruction, 
 and grateful for kindness. His sullen, defiant look and manners are gone, 
 and are rejilaced by a cheerful and comparatively happy expression of coun- 
 teuance. This is no ideal portrait, every manager of a reformatory knows its 
 truth, and we noticed this change of countenance in many of the convicts in 
 the Intermediate Prisons in Ireland. * * * 
 
 " The superior motive of hope is neglected in our present discipline. 
 There is no privilege or reward to stimulate to healthy action ; there is only 
 punishment to deter from wrong-doing, and whilst penalties are arranged for 
 every possible infraction of prison rules, it must appear hard to the iirisoner 
 that there is no indulgence awarded for persevering obedience to them. 
 
 " What may naturally be expected, almost invariably ensues. The prisoner 
 so far studies the rules of the prison as to avoid punishment, and in 00 cases
 
 i>rrnovKMEXTs. 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 <iiiniiioii law 
 in this respect to poor, uegleclecl, and destitute children." 
 
 But this course is still pursued in our Police Courts ; young 
 boys are still so frequently sent to gaol for trifling offences, 
 that it -\^-ould appear tliat no impression has been made by 
 all the efforts to awaken public opinion on the subject. For 
 robbing gardens of apples, for breach of police regulations, 
 young boys are constantly sentenced to short imprisonments. 
 The Eev. "W. C. Osborne, the Chapltxin of Bath Gaol, who, 
 for a long series of years, has especially devoted his attention 
 to the condition of juvenile delinquents, has frequently called 
 public attention to the great evil which is caused by the im- 
 prisonment of children; he calculates that about 10,000 children 
 are annually sent to prison, and states, in a memorial to both 
 Houses of Parliament in 1860, that "during the last three 
 years the number of juvenile offenders committed to prison 
 has been 31,758 (one-sixth being females), of whom only 
 2890 have been at the expiration of their prison time removed 
 to Eeformatory Schools." 
 
 As long as this system continues, no permanent effect -will 
 be produced on the juvenile crime of the kingdom. Isolated 
 individuals who are sent to Reformatories may be saved, and 
 may be enabled to lead an honest life, instead of that of a 
 Convict, but the mass of crime remains comparatively untouched, 
 and for ever recruited by new additions. In November, 1862, 
 the Governor of Liverpool Gaol states in his Report, that 
 there were committed to liis prison diu-ing the last year 537 
 juvenile offenders — 459 males, 78 females. Of these only 108 
 were sent to Reformatories. In 1863 there were 562 com- 
 mitted, and only 122 sent to Reformatories. As Liverpool has 
 always taken a prominent position in the Reformatory move- 
 ment, and the excellent Chaplain of the Gaol, Rev. T. Carter, 
 has borne an active share in it, we may anticipate still more 
 unsatisfactory returns from the whole country. 
 
 The Report of the Liverpool Gaol for this year contains iui- 
 ■|)ortant statistics. The Governor presents tlie foUoAviug table : —
 
 PREVEXTIOX. 
 
 343 
 
 RF.xrnN OF ihe Numim-.u oi- Committals ro the I-ivkupooi, Bokouoh Gaol 
 
 DtraNf, THE LAST MINE YEARS, EXDINil OOtH SePTE5IBER, 1804. 
 
 
 Males 
 
 Females 
 
 Total 
 
 
 Years 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Gran'd 
 Total 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Achats 
 
 Juveniles 
 
 Adults 
 
 Juveniles 
 
 Adults 
 
 Juveniles 
 
 
 1850 
 
 4010 
 
 710 
 
 4134 
 
 285 
 
 8144 
 
 095 
 
 9139 
 
 1857 
 
 4;{:20 
 
 016 
 
 4538 
 
 177 
 
 8864 
 
 793 
 
 9657 
 
 1858 
 
 4075 
 
 387 
 
 31)2.-! 
 
 00 
 
 7103 
 
 480 
 
 7589 
 
 1859 
 
 3857 
 
 404 
 
 3713 
 
 8H 
 
 7570 
 
 492 
 
 8062 
 
 180O 
 
 388: 
 
 203 
 
 3064 
 
 OH 
 
 7051 
 
 301 
 
 7412 
 
 1801 
 
 3558 
 
 335 
 
 3728 
 
 83 
 
 7286 
 
 418 
 
 7704 
 
 1802 
 
 4410 
 
 45!) 
 
 4440 
 
 7H 
 
 K859 
 
 537 
 
 9306 
 
 1863 
 
 5010 
 
 481 
 
 4024 
 
 Si 
 
 0034 
 
 502 
 
 10406 
 
 1864 
 
 4740 
 
 273 
 
 4828 
 
 07 
 
 0574 
 
 330 
 
 9013 
 
 We here see that while adult crime has increased, juvenile 
 crime has diminished nearly one-third of what it was before 
 the commencement of Refoi-matories ; the girls, indeed, are only 
 one-sixth in number. Yet but a revy small proportion, not 
 one-fourth, have been sent to Keformatories, as we learn from 
 the following table from the Report of the Rev. T. Caeter : — 
 
 Table of the Number of Juveniles of Both Sexes committed during 
 the last ten years, s^0^v1ng the proportion remanded for inqflry, 
 and the number sent to reformatories after such inquiry. 
 
 Year 
 
 Committed 
 
 (Jf whom 
 Remanded for 
 
 Seut to 
 
 Eeformatories 
 
 after such 
 
 
 
 iuquiiy 
 
 iuquiiy 
 
 1855 
 
 990 
 
 27 
 
 10 
 
 1856 
 
 995 
 
 254 
 
 133 
 
 1857 
 
 793 
 
 407 
 
 233 
 
 1858 
 
 486 
 
 287 
 
 117 
 
 1859 
 
 402 
 
 277 
 
 103 
 
 1800 
 
 301 
 
 277 
 
 112 
 
 1801 
 
 418 
 
 388 
 
 103 
 
 1802 
 
 537 
 
 473 
 
 108 
 
 1863 
 
 502 
 
 524 
 
 122 
 
 1864* 
 
 033 
 
 547 
 
 132 
 
 ' From tlie 25tli Jainuii) in IliU yo;u- all rciiKiiHli^d rasos Ikivo boon detained in Bridc- 
 wi^H ami lint sent, as in former years, to the jaol ; hcneo a lar^-e proiKirtion of thes-: 
 iiuiiiliirs will not be fi'imd in the gaol returns.
 
 344 OUU CONVICTS. 
 
 Eefonuutories cannot check tlie supply, but reform those sent 
 to them, and it is very satisfactory to leaini from Major Greig, 
 the Chief-Constable of Police, that the committals of juveniles 
 above 1 6 have been on the decrease ; as that is the most 
 dangerous age, it is evident that Eeformatories have ah'eady 
 had their influence in checking the supply of daring, reckless 
 young persons, notwithstanding the enormous incentives to 
 crime in Liverpool. 
 
 What, then, remains for the Grovernment to do, in order to 
 give full effect to present enactments, and to arrest the progTess 
 of juvenile crime ? 
 
 The real effect of Reformatories cannot be proved while these 
 constant imprisonments of children continue, nor is it just to 
 them that they should be so treated in their immature state. 
 
 The experience of the last ten years has shown that it cannot 
 be expected from Magistrates, when children are brought before 
 them, to weigh all the varied arguments which may be adduced 
 resj)ecting their disposal. Some Magistrates may be disposed 
 too readily to send children to Reformatory and Industrial 
 Schools; others may not have attended to the subject, and 
 be too unwilling to do so. It is a short and ready way to send 
 a boy to prison, and this is therefore often done without con- 
 sideration of the future consequences. The next time he appears 
 before the Bench the boy receives another short sentence, and 
 thus the same course is repeated which has so long been depre- 
 cated; he may not be remembered, and other Magistrates may 
 be sitting. There can be no uniform sj'stem adopted without 
 legal enactments. 
 
 The law at present leaves it in tlie power of Magistrates 
 to deliver over oliildren to their parents for chastisement, or 
 to caution and discharge them. A child may also be remanded 
 for further consideration of liis case, and examination of his 
 circumstances. He should, however, under no circumstances 
 bo sent to prison if imder 14, except as a preliminary to a Re- 
 formatory. If the child has been guilty of some misdemeanour
 
 rRETEXTIOK. 345 
 
 wliicli indeed requires correctiuu, hnt wliirli does not imply 
 serious wickedness, let hiiu Le handed over, as icoidd he the case 
 in the higher classes, to parental chastisement, the father being 
 warned that a rej)etition of such misdemeanour, or continued 
 neglect of his child, will be followed with serious consequences. 
 If the child has been previously brought before the Magistrate, 
 or is proved to be habitually in a state of incipient crime or 
 transgression, coming imder the proN^sions of the Industrial 
 Schools' Act, let him. be sentenced to one, the parent being 
 compelled to pay the utmost his means \nR allow towards 
 his maintenance. The child thereby will have no taint of crime 
 aifixed to him, and after good training of a few years will 
 probably come out a hard-working boy, easily finding employ- 
 ment. Should the case be still more serious, the Eeformatories 
 can receive him; the character obtained there will decide his 
 future prospects in life. The expense of the Reformatory will 
 be far less to the Gfovernment than a continued career of crime, 
 terminating in penal servitude. 
 
 A system of this kind steadily pursued would throw the 
 responsibility of the child (where it ought to be} upon the 
 parents, and is entirely in accordance with the recommendations 
 of the loth and 16th resolutions of the Select Committee of 
 1853. 
 
 Let, then, efforts be made to obtain a short Act, rendering 
 it unlawful to send any child to prison under the age of 14, 
 except as a prehminary to a Eeformatory. This Avould not 
 lie a ''premium on crime," for cases arc rai'e in wliich parents 
 do not esteem it a great misfortune to be deprived of all right 
 over their children ; nor do wild unrestrained boys and girls 
 think it a privilege to be confined in a school, iuul obliged 
 to conform to regulations. 
 
 When the Reformatory System for children has thus had 
 a fair trial, then, and not before, may we expect to find a 
 sensible effect produced on the population in the diminution 
 of juvenile crime.
 
 346 OUR CONVICTS. 
 
 Anotlier Jiiost iniportant preventive? measure, if -we desire to 
 check tLo progress of crime, and to diminish the great here- 
 ditary pauper class from which springs so large an amount 
 of criminahty, is a complete change in what are called Pauper 
 Schools. The present system, both indirectly and direct^, leads 
 to crime. In the third chapter of the former volume we saw the 
 miserable boys taken from the workhouse before the Bench of 
 Magistrates because the master was \mable to induce them to 
 work. And then they were introduced to the gaol, and per- 
 haps learnt, as this was a second offence in one case, that tliis 
 was a more desirable abode ; — they were enlisted in the criminal 
 class. This is no isolated case. 
 
 The subject of the treatment of pauper childi-eu is too exten- 
 sive for more than a passing consideration in this place. Of 
 the direct effect of the present system in fostering crime, 
 abundant testimonies might be cited. The Select Committee 
 of 1853 entered fully on this subject, and passed the two 
 following resolutions : — 
 
 " 10. That the educatiou given in workhouses, although irapi-oved of late, 
 has not been sufficiently directed to industrial training, which the Committee 
 deem to he of especial value, as affording the best means of enabling children 
 to provide for themselves the means of independent supjjort upon leaving the 
 workhouse. 
 
 " 20. That it is essential for the future welfare of children in workhouses 
 that such arrangements should be made as will prevent the possibility of theii- 
 intermixing with the adult classes, to the moral detriment of the children." 
 
 The late Mr. Nassau Senior, one of the Education Com- 
 missioners, speaks thus of the Workhouse at Southampton, 
 which he visited, " The paupers, they (the master and mistress) 
 said, are a tribe, the same names, from the same families and 
 the same streets fill the Workhouse ; it sometimes contains 
 three generations!" — Eeport of Education Commissioners, p. 
 358. 
 
 The Assistant Commissioner, Mr. Cumin, thus speaks of 
 the AVorkhouse Schools which came under his obsei*vation, 
 " I knoA\' riothing more })athetic than a Workhouse School. * ''■'
 
 PREVEXTIOX. 347 
 
 Doomed by necessity never to kno^\■ the ineauiuj^ of the fuiuiliar 
 word home — cut off from the exercise of the ordinary affections — 
 many of them diseased in body and feeble in mind — these poor 
 cliildi-en exhibit little of the vigour and joyousness of youth. 
 Zisiless (Old sulservient in manner, they seem to he broken down 
 by misfortune before they have entered into life." — p. o56. 
 
 The jirison authorities can now testify, as Mr. Davis, the 
 Ordinary of Newgate, did some years ago, to the Lords' Com- 
 mittee, that "there is a close connection between the scum of 
 a Workhouse and juvenile offenders." The general voice of the 
 public assigns to the "Workhouse boy or girl one of the lowest 
 places in the commimity; this fact is too notorious to need 
 proof. But ought this to be so? What have these poor 
 children done to incur disgrace ? No child can be a pauper 
 2)er se. By the order of Pro-videnee, young childi-en, immature 
 beings, are unable to provide their OAvii maintenance, or to take 
 care of themselves. The parent is the uatm-al guardian of the 
 child ; if that som-co fails, society must undertake the charge, 
 but is the child to be a sufferer on this account, or should 
 he incur odium? No one can supply to the child the love 
 and fostering care ^\hich a good parent avouIcI give, but on that 
 very account should not every effort be made to supply the place 
 of this to the unoffending child? But it is not so in our 
 country ! 
 
 The pauper condition itself presents dilficidties which cannot 
 be removed fi'om Workhouse Schools under the existing Poor 
 Law regulations. The paujjer stamp is impressed on young 
 children who ought to be rising freely into life ; — they have 
 a sense of bondage ; they are cut off from ordinary Hfe, and 
 their ignorance of it makes them enter it unprepared, from 
 Schools which might be otherwise good. They cannot possess 
 property, for paupers have none, and tliis deprives them of the 
 possibility of learning some of the most important lessons to fit 
 them for society. How can an orphan child brought up in a 
 \Vorkhouse School know what are the rights and duties of
 
 348 orn convicts. 
 
 property ; tlie iisu ;md value (jf iiKjiu-y ; the necessity of provi- 
 tlence and economy to maintain an independent position in tlio 
 world? And lie must, therefore, go forth into it unprepared! 
 And what can there he in a Workhouse School in any way to 
 supply the influences the Creator designed to exist in a home ? 
 The recipients of public charity, as such, have nothing to sui^ply 
 the child's craving for affection, and they feel no gratitude for 
 what is given grudgingly, and to ^-hich they know they have a 
 right. There are " inherent and ineradicable evils," in Work- 
 house Schools. Independently of these, the Schools cannot 
 materially improve while they continue under the management 
 of a body of persons who are elected for qualifications by no 
 means indicating fitness for the education of the young, and 
 whose very duties are often antagonistic to it. 
 
 " An intimate experience," says Mr. Symons, in bis Eeport for 1854, " of 
 the views and tendencies of the guardian class satisfies me that it would 
 be difficult to select men who are less friendly to it or more unqualified 
 by sympathy or aptitude to take part in the work. Neither is there anything 
 in the functions or objects of poor-law administration in the slightest degree 
 germane to education or the moral training of children. The chief office 
 of the guardian is at once to repress and relieve adult pauperism. The 
 tendency of his duty is to maximise prevention by minimising relief; to 
 stimulate self-exertion and deter dependence by the smalluess of the succour 
 and irksome concomitants. He has to apply a discipline sufficiently penal to 
 probe poverty, test its reality, prevent fraud, and discriminate between the 
 claims of helpless indigence and wilful idleness. 
 
 " No one of these duties or requirements applies to the pauper child. He is 
 seldom, if ever, a pauper by choice. His dependence is always his misfor- 
 tune ; his pauperism is an hereditary ailment, not an acquired habit ; his 
 condition is not his fault. So far from meriting correction, the penalties 
 of poverty, which fall pi-operly on the adult, would be causeless cruelties 
 if inflicted on the child. We have no right even to deter his possible lapse 
 into the same category by embittering the dependence which he cannot help, 
 and limiting the alms which he has a right to have. The veiy principle 
 which in the one case suggests the economy of relief, requires in the other 
 liberal benevolence, generous sympathy, and the kindest reformatory appli- 
 ances. Such a work is not akin to that of awardiug labour tests, limiting 
 dietaries, scrutinising claims, protecting rates, inspecting supplies, and 
 superintending the current administration of a workhouse. I do not scnq)le, 
 therefore, to say that the placing of pauper children under the local povernment
 
 of a hoard constituted qitite diji'ereiitly in one oj the ntain nere^sitie!i m' tlu- 
 cdse." — ' Suggestions on Popular Education,' by Nassau Senior, p. S'S. 
 
 Commissioners, Inspectors, all agree in lamenting in Guardians 
 "a rooted distrust of any plans invohdng outlay;" and "a 
 morbid dread of "wliat is termed 'over education,'" (iwVe Edu- 
 cational Eeport.) Individually they may be estimable and 
 benevolent men, but eolleetivoly, \\'ith a few honourable excep- 
 tions, this is their general character as Boards of Gruardians, — 
 a character completely unfitting them for the care of children, 
 and precluding the introduction into the Schools imder their 
 management of that voluntary benevolent and Christian influence 
 which is essential to the accomplishment of the object intended. 
 This, we have seen, is strongly the opinion of the late Mr. 
 jELrN'GER Symoxs, Her Majesty's Inspector of Workhouse 
 Schools. 
 
 There are, indeed, some TVorkliouse Schools where there is 
 as much a home feeling as can popsiblj' be given to the establish- 
 ment. Biit these are exceptions. A dreary listlessness, a want 
 of the brightness and energy of youth, is usually obvious among 
 the inmates. These faults are apparenth' inseparable from the 
 present system. The efforts of the Workhouse Visiting Society 
 have done much, and, where permitted, will do much more to 
 .shed a kind influence into the Workhouse. But this is merely 
 palliative, the radical e^sdl remains. 
 
 The following suggestions as to an entire separation of the 
 children from Workhouse associations were made in evidence 
 to the Poor Law Committee of 1861, and are in accordance 
 with a plan proposed for the establishment of District Schools. 
 They are offered hero for consideration : — 
 
 "First. — It should be made unlawful for an}' children under 
 sixteen years of age to be taken into the Workhouse, or into 
 any establishment connected with the Worlchouse within three 
 miles of it. 
 
 "Secondly. — The management of all pauper children shoidd 
 be placed in the hands of a School Committee, to be annually
 
 350 OUR COXVIOTS. 
 
 chosen by the ratepayei's. The School for girls must be under 
 the immediate management of a Committee of ladies. 
 
 " Thirdly. — All Schools intended for resident pauper children 
 should be certified as fit and proper for their purpose by the 
 Secretary of State, to whom their condition should be annually 
 reported, and who should have power to withdi-aw the certificate. 
 
 "Fourthly. — Where no School exists in any district fit for the 
 reception and proper training of pauper children, the Guardians 
 should vote a sum for the erection and suitable furnishing of 
 one, under the direction of the School Committee. 
 
 " Fifthly. — The Gruardians should pay to the School Committee 
 a weekly sum, not more than 5s., for the entire maintenance 
 and instruction of each pauper child. 
 
 "Sixthly. — All Pauper Schools must be industrial in their 
 character ; should the School Committee think fit, the Pauper 
 Industrial School may be certified by the Secretary of State for 
 the reception of vagrant children, under the regulations of the 
 Industrial Schools' Act. In like manner any School Committee 
 may contract with the Managers of a Certified Industrial School 
 to receive pauper children with the payment from the Guardians 
 of 55. a week. 
 
 "Seventhly. — The Guardians shall be obliged to pay for the 
 schooling of all cliildren receiving out-door relief, imder the 
 provisions of Denison's Act. The parents may select what 
 School they please, provided it is one imder the inspection 
 of the Committee of Council on Education. The payment for 
 the schooling of out-door pauper children is to be in addition 
 to the relief, and their regular attendance a condition of receiving 
 rehef." 
 
 On such a system the enlightened and benevolent efi^ort of the 
 coimtry would be enlisted in the work of raising the children 
 of paupers, and the destitute orphans of England, into a seK- 
 supporting and independent position. England has given these 
 children food and clothing, and education and shelter. Wliere 
 these are afforded in abundance, where there are even handsome
 
 rr.KVEXTiox. .'lol 
 
 edifices erected l<»r the purpose, M'hicli seeni to mock, Ly tlu-ir 
 splendid exterior, and by the refinement and convenience of the 
 interior, the poverty of the inmates, even then there is in these 
 abodes a sensible lack of all that can make opening life joyous ; 
 the faces, the manner, the very bearing of the childi-en show 
 that they want that love which is the essential of their nature, — 
 that they can never be happy there. The call has been 
 responded to on behalf of the criminal children, and will surely 
 be so when the nation summons the benevolent, the Christian- 
 hearted men and women of England to watch over the pauper 
 cliildren, and establish for them schools calculated to give them 
 a good training for future life, with the independence of spirit 
 which should be found in every Briton. 
 
 Our preventive measui-es must not, however, pause here. 
 Much will have been done when wo have learnt how to arrest 
 the progress of future pauperism and crime in the young persons 
 who are actually in our hands. But this proceeding will leave 
 our purpose only half effected, if there remains below these a 
 whole pariah class from which others will constantly siipply oxw 
 Eeformatories, our Certified Industrial and our AYorkhouse 
 Schools ; — as well may we expect to infuse a sanitary condition 
 into an unhealthy and badly-drainetl locality, by erecting hos- 
 pitals for the cure of those who are in a state of disease imbibed 
 from the polluted miasma. Wo must endeavoiu' vigorously 
 to bring elevating influences to bear on the portion of the 
 community whence criminals are supplied to our police coiirts, 
 our gaols, oiu- Convict Prisons. 
 
 The very existence of this class may be unknown to the upper 
 and middle portion of society, as they are to be foxmd in parts of 
 the great cities unfrequented by respectable persons ; but they 
 may be seen in large numbers when a great exciting cause 
 arises, whether a mob, or a trial of some of theii- associates, 
 or an execution (a scene which should inspire a .sickening liorror 
 into any person of common humanity), when their wild yells 
 and heartless demeanour reveal the worse tliau lieaihcn liar-
 
 352 ouii coxv'iCTs. 
 
 barisin wliicli is in our midst. Let lis mentally follow these 
 
 wretched beings to their homes, if such they can be called, 
 
 and form some conception what the childi'en must be who are 
 
 brought up under such influences. 
 
 The testimony of the present writer three years ago at the 
 
 Birmingham Conference is, unhappily, still true : — 
 
 " To perceive the existence of this class, it is necessary only to walk, 
 as I have done, through whole districts of Liverpool, endeavouriug to dis- 
 cover among those squalid courts and alleys some of the families wheuce 
 children have been rescued as brands from the burning, and sent to a Eefor- 
 inatory ; — to go into the swarming by-streets of the old town of AVarrington, 
 and there find the wretched children so unaccustomed to even the casual 
 notice of one of the civilised class, that they stared with astonishment when 
 I addressed to them words of kindness. It needs but to walk, as I have, 
 at all hours, through the Lewins' Mead district of Bristol, unhappily by 
 no means unique in its character in that ancient city, to perceive tlie fearful 
 evil, and see year after year pass without any material alteration in it. 
 Decades of years glide by, and it is still the same. Half a century ago its 
 infamous character was such that a respectable labouring man, whose road 
 lay through it to convey a lady home on Sabbath evenings from her place 
 of worship, declared that the language and scenes to which he was exposed 
 made him feel as if he were going ' out of heaven into the bottomless pit. 
 When, soine years ago, I gave a lesson to a Eagged School in this district 
 on the destruction of Sodom, the wickedness and riot described in the 
 Scripture narrative appeared to the children merely a portraiture of familiar 
 scenes ; and they all acknowledged that if Lewins' Mead had been the subject 
 of the patriarch's prayer, to save it from destruction, not ten good men 
 could be found here any more than there. Nine years ago I stated in my 
 evidence before the Commons' Committee the condition of this part of the 
 city, which is such as to render it seldom visited by the police, who dare 
 not singly cope with so vicious a population. Within this very month, as 
 I walked through it, the whole thoroughfare was crowded ^uth combatants, 
 leading no space for passengers ; and a iDolieeman at hand angrily refused 
 me to interfere, until supported by several others." 
 
 Such scenes as these are familiar to persons who are ac- 
 quainted with the back slums of the metropolis. 
 
 Let us realise the eonsec^uence to the community of whole 
 districts remaining in this state of isolated barbarism, and reflect 
 how impossible it is for the children to emerge from it unhelped. 
 Not only imist they grow up to be no better than their parents, 
 and perpetuate such a condition of things, but there is a con-
 
 rnp.VEXTiox. 3^8 
 
 stant tendency in them to drag do^ni others from the class ahove 
 them, whose natural dispositions or circnrastances indicate a 
 proclivity to crime. Workhouse Inspectors have long perceived 
 the existence of this untaught and imcivilised class; from 
 observing the condition of the inmates of the Workhouse, they 
 have known that tliis class was not reached by the educational 
 agencies of the country. This jiortion of our population is 
 nearly untouched by any institutions of our country, — except the 
 poorhouse, the police-force, and the gaol. They are in a state of 
 semi-barbarism. They are slaves of their lower instincts and 
 passions ; they have no care for what does not immediately 
 concern their present needs ; nor will they sacrifice their con- 
 venience or their money to obtain education for their children, 
 for they no more comprehend its true value than a man blind 
 from birth can understand the nature of sight. They live in 
 a state of ignorance of all that constitutes civilised society, a 
 practical ignorance of man's immortal nature and destiny, — an 
 ignorance which degrades below the brute creation, that ioei 
 fulfil after its kind the end for which the Creator gave existence ; 
 which chains the sense and debases by sensual indidgence ; 
 which makes men hunger only for the bread which perisheth, 
 and not for that which is the nutriment of true life ; which 
 makes them thirst only for that which stimulates to maddonning 
 frenzy, preventing them from receiving the waters of life. 
 Such is, in faint and few words, the meaning wliich is really 
 hidden under the simple word '•'■ i(jmrance^^'' but which is too 
 often lost sight of in our anxiety to convoy rudiments of book- 
 learning, which we most falsely suppose will be an antidote 
 to crime. And the effect of such ignorance is not only that the 
 individuals labouring under it are utterly unfit to hold any 
 social position in the State ; not only that thoy are without such 
 inadical acquaintance with the laws of God and man as will 
 withhold them from the crime into which thoj' are continually 
 led by the desire of sensual gratification ; but that thoy live in a 
 
 2 A
 
 354 OUK COXVICTS. 
 
 state of entire isolation from the comparatively virtuous and 
 respectable portions of society, and consequently more or less in 
 absolute antagonism to it. The consequence of this necessarily 
 is that our Workhouses are filled with them, as our Inspectors 
 testify, and that oiu' Reformatories are recruited from the same 
 sources, as we ourselves are fully aware, — children in the lowest 
 depths of ignorance, who have never received any Christian 
 sympathy or instruction. The Chaplains of our Convict Prisons 
 bear the same testimony : — 
 
 '* The religious and moral condition of the prisoners may be 
 shortly but truly and accurately described, in apostolical lan- 
 guage, as that of men 'living without God in the world,' '^ •-' * 
 In most cases there has been an utter and habitual neglect 
 of all the requirements commonly regarded as essential to even 
 a nominal Christian life." 
 
 So speaks the Chaplain of Millbank Prison, in the present 
 year, and in the former one the Chaplain of Dartmoor Prison 
 testified : — 
 
 *' Many demand our pity as much as our censure, considering 
 their extraction, and the deplorable circumstances which have 
 overshadowed them from their birth. Not a few of them first 
 saw the light in the * guilt-gardens' which disgrace our gi'eat 
 cities. It would have been little short of the miraculous if 
 these unfortunate ones had turned out better than they have. 
 What would have been the career of any of us, had we been 
 born in a community of thieves and depraved beings, breathing 
 an atmosphere of oaths and obscenity, looking upon everything 
 we could grasp as our spoil, and regarding eveiy one whom we 
 could overcome as our prey." 
 
 The Police Report of Liverpool for this year shows the 
 following alarming amount of ignorance in that town : —
 
 rnTVKXTiox. 
 
 825 
 
 " EDUCATIOX. 
 
 ** Comparative statement for four years : — 
 
 Years. 
 
 Read ami Write 
 well. 
 
 Read and Write 
 
 iiiiperlVcjtly. 
 
 Read only. 
 
 Neither 
 Read nor Write. 
 
 18G1 
 
 706 
 
 0890 
 
 1S73 
 
 71S7 
 
 1863 
 
 616 
 
 115C0 
 
 •2->H\^ 
 
 0178 
 
 1863 
 
 477 
 
 13111 
 
 2799 
 
 9842 
 
 1864 
 
 32S 
 
 1!2637 
 
 2604 
 
 10280 
 
 "This is the lowest degree of education compared with any 
 preceding j'ear, and quite in keeping with the ligui'es contained 
 in the foregoing taLles (p. 8)." These tables give the nature 
 of the crimes committed, the number of persons appx*ehended, 
 the arrests for drunkenness, the thousands of juvenile offenders, 
 "painfully on the increase," under the age of sixteen. No 
 wonder is this, while ignorance and drunlcenness prevent the 
 moral growth of the rising generation ! 
 
 A great and glaring wrong is being done to the children 
 of ova' land in being thus suffered to grow up in heathen 
 ignorance. It is no fault of theirs that they are so situated. 
 Each 3'oung being that enters this world is a child of the same 
 Heavenly Father with ourselves, and has an immortal spirit. 
 The State protects its body from starvation, but " man livcth 
 not by bread alone." The children who grow up tmtaught and 
 uncared-for in om' Christian and civilised country do not owe 
 restitution to society when they have infringed its laws, which 
 they have never been taught, or when thoy become dependent 
 on it for physical support, from never ha-\dng had a proper 
 training of the powers which the loving Creator has given them. 
 Socisty owis restitution to tJivn for having left them in this 
 condition, — passed b}', as it were, on the otlier side of the 
 world's highway. This tlie pr<'Ni'nt writer can forcibly state
 
 866 OTTI{ COXVIOTS. 
 
 from Iier own exporionce, liaving ibr eighteen long years been 
 ■watcliiug tlie fearful odds with, which these poor children are 
 compelled to fight the battle of life, who spring into existence 
 in the midst of the dense ignorance which has been here 
 faintly poiirtrayed. 
 
 The education of this class of the population was the subject 
 of the resolution already quoted in the Lords' Committee of 
 1847. No steps were then taken by the Grovernment, or have 
 been taken since, to carry out the intention of the resolution. 
 
 The onl}^ agency that has ever attempted to grapple with 
 the difficult w^ork described in the Eeport of the Lords' Com- 
 mittee, and indicated by the foregoing extract, is that commonly 
 called the Ragged School, a movement which began about the 
 year 1846. Its object was to afford the very kind of education 
 described in the resolution already quoted. The founders of 
 Bagged Schools sought out the very lowest and most neglected 
 children they could find, endeavoui'ed to give them moral and 
 religious training, to civilise them, to teach them honest in- 
 dustry, and to let them know practically that they were not 
 regarded as the ofiscouriugs of the earth, the refuse of society, 
 — that there were those who cared for their souls. The work 
 was a difficult one, but they persevered in it, and eighteen 
 years of long and painful experience have only convinced them 
 more and more forcibly, that this is the very work most wanting 
 in England. They began as a doubtful experiment, regarded 
 with sceptical eyes by those who took an interest in education 
 generally; they were not sympathised with by those devoted 
 to the interests of their peculiar churches, and who desired 
 especially to augment their numbers. Hence, there has always 
 been a great difficulty in obtaining funds for the necessaiy 
 expenses of such Schools, which have often been inefficient 
 from want of proper machinery and teaching powers, and 
 which never have existed in the numbers necessary for the 
 wants of the population. 
 
 Such was the position of the question at the first Birmingham
 
 PREVEXTIOX. 867 
 
 Conference. The Eagged Schools had iudced led the way in 
 the case of many of its promoters to the perception of the 
 necessity of further agencies for those chiklren whom they could 
 not reach, owing to their being too deeply sunk in crime, though 
 still young, to be voluntary attendants at a day school. They 
 had done an imj)ortant work in penetrating the dark places 
 of our cities ; even if they could not remove the darkness, they 
 led the way to more extended and effective efforts. The Com- 
 mittee of Covmcil on Education was at that time cncoiu'aging 
 voluntary effort by grants in aid of Schools, imder certain con- 
 ditions ; but these, however well adapted to the labouring 
 portion of the population, were totally unfit for such ignorant 
 and semi-barbarous children. Not only so, but a strong dis- 
 inclination was expressed by the Council to give any portion 
 of the grant to this most neglected and destitute part of the 
 community. A memorial was sent by the Conference to the 
 Committee of Council, setting forth the need of help, and the 
 reasons why the present provisions were unavailable for Eagged 
 Schools, — but in vain. 
 
 The Select Committee of the House of Commons in 1852-53 
 thus spoke in the 23rd and 24th resolutions : — 
 
 " 23. That the Ragged Schools existing iu Englaud ami Scotland, and 
 recently introduced into Ireland, especially the ragged industrial feeding 
 schools, at present supported liy voluntary subscriptions, or, as in Glasgow, by 
 local rates, have i^roduced beneficial effects on the children of the most 
 destitute classes of society inhabiting large towns. 
 
 " 2i. That voluntary contributions have been found inadequate to supply 
 the number of such schools at present required in the metropolis, and other 
 cities and towns ; and therefore they should not be excluded from the aid 
 of the National Grant, under the distribution of the Committee of Council for 
 Education ; great care being necessary in framing the minutes applicable 
 to this description of schools, so as not to fetter private exertions, or to 
 exclude men eminently qualified to fill the laborious and difficult position 
 of teachers, by the requirement of too high an educational certificate." 
 
 But the Government of oiu' coimtry has never yet acknow- 
 ledged this responsibility to protect the child from ignorance as 
 well as from starvation ; it has never ollectually aided, stiU less 
 btimulated to exertion, the largo numbi'r of voluntary labourfv*
 
 358 orK coxvicTS. 
 
 Avho liave shown llicmselves willing- to give devoted effoi-ts to 
 this -work. If only thej' could obtain sufficient pecuniary means 
 to sustain Schools foi* this class of children in due efficiency, they 
 were ready to go to the high- ways and bye-ways, search them 
 out, and invite them to come in, holding them there by the 
 bonds of Christian love. Instead of welcoming such help to 
 do for the country what the Lords' Committee could only 
 recommend, and what no government machinery could possibly 
 effect, the educational grants of the country have been most unac- 
 countably directed to help those abundantly who could well help 
 themselves ; the Educational Council have not only ignored the 
 very existence of this large portion of the popidation, but, until 
 the present minutes have been passed, by their regulations 
 have actually cut them off from receiving any direct educational 
 help. The Government has built gigantic prisons, and spent 
 annually enormou.s sums to maintain and controul those who 
 have been brought. to this desperate condition by early neglect ; — 
 by spending a jjound annually in educating the child for a few 
 years, the expense might have been saved of maintaining him 
 for many years in a Convict Prison, at a rate of more than 
 forty pounds per annum. 
 
 Remonstrances and entreaties for suitable help have been 
 frequently addressed, but in vain, to the Committee of Council 
 on Education. Once, and once only, in June, 1856, was a 
 minute issued sjDecially adapted to the real wants of this class 
 of Schools, and calculated at the same time to stimulate to 
 exertion. But, unfortunately, it was burdened with an allow- 
 ance for food, which was evidently out of place in an educational 
 grant, and which exposed it to great abuses. Hence, conditions 
 were afterwards annexed which nidlified its operations, and it 
 was withdraw^n before the end of the next year, another minute 
 being substituted which gave no help, except for industrial work. 
 
 But the need of help was increasingly felt in the country. 
 
 Considerable difiieulty existed, however, in obtaining a xmited 
 effort on the part of the Managers of th^ Ragged School?:.
 
 PK^EVE^-TIO^^ 359 
 
 Those in London, and others connected with theii* Society, hare 
 generally expressed an unwillingness to receive aid, from a fear 
 of interference with the religions influence which they desired to 
 exercise on their children. Besides, they never aimed at any 
 high scholastic standard, and feared that any attempt to make 
 their Schools conformable to Government requirements might 
 prove injurious to them. But the question was not whether 
 the Managers of certain Schools wished to obtain help, but 
 whether it was an important general principle that help should 
 be given by the Government in the education of that portion of 
 the population which must otherwise remain uneducated. A 
 third Conference was held at Birmingham in January, 1861, 
 founded on the principle, — ^^ That it is the duty of the State, 
 both as regards society in general and each individual composing it, 
 to 2^i'ovide education for those who cannot obtain it for themselves.^* 
 The principles of this Conference were supported by Lord 
 Brougham, by Lord Shaftesbuky, whose name has ever been 
 foremost in all that concerns the education and elevation of 
 this class of the community, Sir J. S. Pakington, who pre- 
 sided over the Conference, Sir Stafpoed Noiithcote, Eev. Dr. 
 GuTHiUE, who had so forcibly and practically supported the 
 claims of this class in Edinburgh, Sheriff Watson-, of Aberdeen, 
 and a number of noblemen and gentlemen whose position or 
 professional duties led them to a deep conviction of the neces- 
 sity of providing for the education of the perishing and 
 dangerous classes. 
 
 Thus a very strong and united testimony was given to the 
 principle that if any class of the population is to be helped 
 to obtain education, a 2^riori this class should receive especial 
 help, for the welfare of society, as well as for the individual. 
 
 But no change was made by the Council. 
 
 The Royal Westminster Education Commission proposed 
 questions on the subject, tlu'ough the late Nassau Senior, Esq. 
 
 The following answer given respecting Ragged Schools by 
 the writer, is a sample of their general results.
 
 360 OUK C0XVICT3. 
 
 "A whole district has hecn improved. Twelve years ago, Lewia's Mead, 
 Bnstol, aud the neighbouring courts and alleys, swarmed with juvenile 
 thieves ; it was not unusual for two or three in a single family to he known 
 dei)redators and convicted thieves; it was considered an honour for a boy to 
 be the acknowledged head of a gang; twenty-five Avere iu one year in prison 
 who were occasional attendants at the Eagged School. The neighbouring 
 National, British and Infant Schools, bordeidng on this district, exercised no 
 influence over it. But now, for more than ten years no child has been in 
 prison iu attendance at this Ragged School, and though the district is still 
 very low, being chietiy inhabited by the jioor Irish, yet juvenile crime is most 
 rare in it, a convicted thief being almost i;nknown in it. The shopkeepers 
 have expressed their great satisfaction at the increased security of property. 
 In some districts of Bristol, as well as of London, Gloucester, and other 
 places, the bulk of the scholars have been so far improved as to be drafted 
 into National Schools. The possibility of this dei^ends on the nature of that 
 part of the population. The parents of the children have often been induced 
 to make an effort to improve the condition of their children, by the combined 
 action of the school discipline on the scholar's, and the home visitation and 
 influence of the master and managers. Numberless children who were 
 growing up iu ignorance and vice, have, through the influence of Eagged 
 Schools, become useful and self-supporting memhers of society." 
 
 In the spring- of 1861 a Parliamentary Committee investigated 
 tlie condition of tlie neglected and destitute children, and strong 
 evidence was brought before it, showing the necessity for 
 education for this portion of the population. 
 
 The complete change introduced by the Eevised Educational 
 Code rendered it expedient that we should suspend for a time 
 our efforts to obtain aid for our Schools, until we had given 
 a fair trial to the effect of its provisions. 
 
 The present position of the question is this : — 
 
 The Government has not yet recognised the necessity of 
 directing the educational grants of the country to the portion 
 of the population which requires aid the most, and which 
 has been proved unable to obtain it, by voluntary effort only. 
 
 Nor has the Groverument practically acknowledged the duty to 
 society, nor the advantage to itself, of arresting the constantly 
 increasing sources of crime, by the preventive measiu-e of educa- 
 tion of the class which chiefly supplies the criminal ranks. 
 
 The Government has now, in the EeA'ised Code, withdrawn the
 
 TEZVEKTIOX. 361 
 
 regulations ^^liicli j^rcccnted the Eaggecl Schools from the possi. 
 bility of receiving any portion of the aid given to other Schools- 
 But the regulations -nhich are framed for a higher class of 
 children, are necessarily quite unfitted for these. We willingly 
 accept "results" as a fair test of the efficiency of a School, 
 and its claim for aid, but we contend that the results to be justly 
 rcciu.ired from Schools for this class of children are of a dif- 
 ferent kind from those to be expected from the higher class 
 of the labouring population. If the results required in the 
 latter case are purely intellectual, those in the former should 
 embrace the moral and physical training of the children. There 
 is, however, another circumstance ^\■hich prevents Eagged Schools 
 from obtaining aid under the existing minutes. "While the 
 Revised Code bases its grants upon results, it requires, we must 
 be allowed to say, with great inconsistency, that these results shall 
 bo obtained only with a partictikir machinery, which it defines. 
 It is not sufficient that a master shall have raised his scholars 
 to the required standard, and conducted his School in a perfectly 
 satisfactory manner ; no grant will be awarded unless he himself 
 has gone through a prescribed course of training, and has under- 
 gone a certain examination which does indeed test the knowledge 
 he possesses on certain subjects, but not his power of teaching, 
 nor Ids moral influence. If this limitation is felt to bo injurious 
 in the higher Schools, as is proved by the strong remonstrances 
 on the subject made in Parliament, how much more must it be 
 injurious in these Schools, for which the certificated teachers 
 rarely possess qualifications. The effect has already practically 
 been to exclude excellent Eagged Schools from the small help 
 they before received, and to leave others in their previous 
 xmaided condition. The 10,000 in Liverpool and the thousands 
 elsewhere remain imeducated, still to swell the criminal class. 
 
 Thus the portion of the population most requiring educational 
 aid, both for their own salces and for that of society in general, is 
 still practically excluded from receiving it iVum the Government 
 of the country. Tlieve must be special provision inad<' for thciu.
 
 362 orn coxvicxs. 
 
 These children are not paupers ; thej cannot rccoive education 
 from the Workhouse Schools. Parliament annually grants 
 £30,000 for the education of those ^vho are so ; why should 
 there be any hesitation in affording it to those who are 
 thoroughly neglected and falling into crime, or who are 
 struggling to keep themselves from dependence, but unable 
 to pay for education. They cannot be placed in Certified 
 Industrial Schools, as some have suggested, for what have 
 they done that they could come under the provisions of the 
 Act, and be placed under magisterial sentence ? They are 
 running wildly in the streets ; their training is neglected, — 
 that can be given them at a comparatively small expense to 
 the public, perhaps sixpence per week, in a Ragged School; 
 but they have not committed acts which would bring them under 
 the provisions of the Industrial Schools' Act; — why, indeed, 
 should we wish unnecessarily to remove them fi'om their 
 parents, and charge the Treasmy with five shillings a week 
 for each one under magisterial sentence ? 
 
 It is to be deeply regretted that those who interest themselves 
 in the education of the labouring population of the coimtry, and 
 extend their efforts to the middle classes, which ought to be able 
 to help themselves, — that such persons should entii-ely overlook 
 the crying wants of these neglected ones, who, unhelped, must 
 continue to remain in dense ignorance. It must be, then, for 
 those who are striving to carry on a Christian warfare against 
 the crime of our land, it is for them to take xip the cause of those 
 who are perishing for lack of knowledge, and to endeavour to 
 induce the Government to take this preventive measure, which 
 yields in importance to no other in oiu* countr}^, for on it 
 depends the diminution of crime, and the well-being of the 
 present generation, — the highest weKare of the next.
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 COOPERATION OF SOCIETY. 
 
 Our task is well-nigh completed ! It lias been a painful one, 
 probably, both to reader and to writer, to follow our Convicts 
 in their lawless career, living in defiance of God and of man ; 
 to see them dogged and defiant in incarceration ; to behold them, 
 when in partial libert}'', only more daring, more hostile to 
 society, gathering strength for now outrages ; to find them again 
 in the world, schooled to new modes of wickedness, corrupting 
 all within their sj)here, jDroying on the peaceful part of society, 
 and, as it were, licensed marauders, until thoy should, by some 
 extraordinary deed of wickedness, again put themselves within 
 the grasp of the law. It was necessary to know the evil, in 
 order to seek for a cure ; — to learn the causes of it, that we 
 may discover means of preventing its constant recurrence. 
 
 We have not, however, been exclusively occuj)ied with scenes 
 of vice. We have had the happiness of contemplating order, 
 diligence, a spirit of brotherly kindness and Christian obedience, 
 succeeding a life of recldess lawlessness, — and tliis in a Convict 
 Prison. We have poen the men who fomncrly were ruffians of 
 various descriptions, skilful house-breakers, men who pveforrcd 
 a life of dishonest idleness to one of honest labour, — we have 
 seen these very men, after their time of penal servitude had 
 been completed, go forth in voluntary subjection to the law 
 of the land, engaging in luimble laborious work among tln'ir
 
 364 OUR CONVICTS. 
 
 fellows, atoning to society fur their past misdeeds by their 
 present virtuous lives. 
 
 We trust, then, that faith in human nature, and in the power 
 of the good and the true, has thus been strengthened, not 
 shaken by the foregoing survey, and that many have been 
 incited to put to themselves the question, — "What shaRwe, — 
 shall / do?" It is the object of this concluding chapter to 
 point out some of the ways in which society may thus cooj)erate 
 with the Government. 
 
 Belief in the possibility of the amelioration of every human 
 being as long as he remains in the world, is essential to any 
 efforts that are to be made for the improvement of that portion 
 of our fellow-creatures who are the subject of our consideration. 
 Without this, all our plans for their benefit will be devoid 
 of that spirit and vigour and hopefulness, which are essential 
 to their success. With this confidence, appealing to the better 
 nature of our fellow-being, showing him that we regard him 
 as a child of the same Heavenly Father as ourselves, that we 
 recognise the immortal natui'e within him, which his sins had 
 caused him to forget ; efforts for his good, which might other- 
 wise be poor and insignificant, become fraught with a power 
 which astonishes him who makes them, and inspires the convic- 
 tion, " Not I, but the grace of God which is in me." With this 
 strong faith, disappointment and failure do not discoiu'age, 
 but only incite to new and better efforts. None could have 
 come in contact with more degraded characters than Captain 
 Maconochie, but we have seen that his confidence in the pos- 
 sibility of elevating them never left him, and that he found 
 gratitude and improvement, where the reverse was anticipated. 
 So with MoxTESixos and Obeemaiee. So with Sir Waltee 
 Ceoetox. After having come in contact with so many thousands 
 of Convicts, his faith in their susceptibility of improvement has 
 been unshaken, and he has been heard to say, "I should 
 hesitate to pronounce any Con\dct incorrigible." He men- 
 tioned in illustration the following instance :-
 
 riOOPKRATIOX. 366 
 
 " Some years ago there was a coiivirt in the Irish Government Prisons 
 who had sprung from a criminal family and passed his life in acts of daring. 
 For some time his conduct in the prisons was very audacious, and he resisted 
 all efforts to improve him. At length, however, he began to endeavour to 
 do well, and by slow degrees worked his way through the various stages and 
 classes, until he acquired the privilege of going out on ticket-of-leave. A 
 situation was procured for him. But on mentioning this to the Superinten- 
 dent of Police, he entreated that so dangerous a step might not be taken, 
 as he considered it impossible that a man with such antecedents and such 
 connections could live in safety in the very scene of liis former misdeeds. 
 But the prison authorities felt more confidence, and the man was released, 
 Sir W. Ckofton requesting him to call at his office once a fortnight, and 
 let him know of his well-being; the police being also desired to observe 
 him. For some time all went on smoothly, until one morning the man 
 appeared in great despair, exclaiming that he was undone, and could never 
 show his face any more. Sir Walter was alarmed, and inquired the 
 cause of his trouble. The poor man explained that as he was working a 
 gentleman rodo by, whose house ho had broken into when he was con- 
 victed of burglary. The gentleman had evidently recognised him, and 
 eyed him closely. He would henceforth be a marked man, and no longer 
 able to continue in his place of work. His friend, the Director, reassured 
 him, and promised to communicate with the gentleman, whom he satisfied, 
 on the authority of the police, that the man was evidently leading an honest 
 life. The man persevered : after a time rescued a younger brother from a 
 bad course, and took him to work with him ; he subsequently married re- 
 spectably, and trained up his children in the way they should go." 
 
 This was tlio man who had beon pronounced incorrigible. 
 
 A striking- example of the susceptibility of even the most 
 apparently hardened and liopeless to tho influence of Christian 
 love appealing to their inner nature, is found in the records 
 of Dr. TucKEEMAJS", of Boston, U. S., who, in November, 1826, 
 originated the ''Ministry at Largo" in America, or, as we term 
 it, "Domestic Mission:" — 
 
 " Early in the year 1827, as I was one morning on my way to tho nortli 
 part of this city, my attention was arrested by a crowd about tlio door of 
 the United States Court House; and uiion inquiry into tho cause of it, T 
 was informed that two pirates were about to receive sentence of death. I 
 immediately entered the Court, and was soon very near and in front of the 
 prisoners. Here a spectacle was brought befiirc mo more painful than 
 language can express. Nothing can bo more unlike than was tho counte- 
 nance of each of these prisoners to that of the other. That of one expressed 
 fill the rage of a demon, and tliat of the other the strongest possible contempt,
 
 366 OVR CONVICTS. 
 
 Judge Story arose, and asked them if they liad any cause to assign why the 
 sentence of death should not be pronounced upon them ? The first to whom 
 I have referred, at once, and in all the madness of the most murderous 
 rage, poured out a torrent of the most profane and revengeful language 
 upon the District Attorney and the Court. The other with a sardonic 
 grin — for it could hardly be called a smile — replied only, ' the sooner tho 
 better.' Judge Stoky said that he had witnessed many very affecting scenes 
 in the discharge of his judicial duties, but never one so painful as on that 
 occasion. The sentence having been pronounced upon them, they were 
 remanded to prison. It was quite impossible that I should take the course 
 I had marked out for myself for the morning; and having followed these 
 men to the prison, and obtained admission, I asked the turnkey to beg of 
 one of them permission to enter bis cell, Avith a view only to any services 
 which it might be in my power to render him. The turnkey entered a cell, 
 hut very soon retui'ned and said to me, ' he will not allow you to enter.' 
 The door was on a jar ; and I entered the cell, saying to the turnkey, 
 ' please to come for me in an hour.' He adjusted the bolts, turned the 
 key in the lock, and left us. I offered my hand to the prisoner, which I 
 think he did not take. I assured him of my great desire to serve him. 
 His reply was : ' I only wish to he in hell, where it is hot, and not in this 
 cold place.' The hour passed, and the turnkey returned. Not the smallest 
 appai-eut moral progress had been made in that hour, except in the circum- 
 stance that this unhappy man had consented to my request to pass an hour 
 of the next day with him. He had said, in reiily to my request to visit him 
 again, ' you may come if you choose. I care nothing about it.' I w^ent the 
 next day, and the next, and the next ; and endeavoured by every means in 
 my power to get at his heart, and to make some impression there. I also 
 closed each visit with prayer. It was now, however, quite perceptible that 
 a change of feelings had begun in him. He had a father and mother 
 living, and I had addressed myself in every way to his filial sensibilities. 
 There seemed to be no other chord in his heart from which a moral vibra- 
 tion was to be obtained. I think it was on the fifth or sixth day of my 
 visits to him that ho said 'amen' at the conclusion of my prayers. He 
 WES now desirous and glad to see me. The remembrance of his parents 
 was the great restorative of his sensibilities. On about the tenth or 
 twelfth day of my visits he fell upon his knees, when we prayed 
 together. He had now a very deep sense of his guilt, and the character 
 of his penitence was most peculiarlj^ filial. God was revealed to him as 
 his Fathei', and his heart was penetrated and bowed as the heart of a 
 greatly guilty hut sincerely repenting child. Every thought and care and 
 interest was absorbed in the single desire of the mercy, the forgiveness of 
 his Heavenly Father. I passed an hour with this man every day during, 
 I think, thirty-four or thirty-five days; and never have I heard such sup- 
 plications, such entreaties for mercy as I heard from his lips. In the 
 midst of one of my prayers he broke out in such impassioned and impor-
 
 fiJOPERATION'. 867 
 
 luuate cries to Goil that it seemed to me as if the very stoues of his cell 
 might have responded to them. My owu heart was well nigh broken by 
 his aoguish. And he died, apparently the most contrite being I have ever 
 known. Whether other modes of appeal to him might have been as 
 effectual, I know not. It is enough, and I bless God that this to which 
 I have referred was at least a jirincipal means of his moral recovery." 
 
 Let sucli faith and hopo and love for the soul of the most 
 obdurate be carried into our Convict Prisons, and the results 
 will be proportionate. 
 
 The Select Committee of 1856, after hearing what might 
 have been regarded as very discouraging evidence respecting 
 the result of- Convict training in the Government Prisons, were 
 yet so satisfied with the evidence of others who had adopted 
 a different system, that they made the following statement, as 
 the nineteenth resolution of their Peport : — 
 
 " That the Committee concurs with some of the most experienced wit- 
 nesses they have examined, ixi the opinion that a great majority of convicted 
 prisoners are open to the same good motives and good impulses which 
 infliieneo other human beings, and therefore that a system of encouragement 
 to good conduct, and endeavours to inspire feelings of self-respect, self-reliance, 
 and hopefulness for the future, which have been tried in some of our largest 
 establishments, ought to ho adopted, so far as is practicable, witliout impairing 
 the penal and deterrent cliaracter, essential to any system of imprisonment." 
 
 Now this resolution is a recognition by the Committee of the 
 very important principle, that no mechanical means, but the 
 introduction of human sympathies and spritual influences into 
 a prison system, constitutes the real reformatory power. It 
 is through human agency that a renovating influence is to bo 
 introduced into our Convict Prisons, and into society at largo. 
 '* Man cannot be reformed by mechanical means," our states- 
 man has said, and the words found an echo in distant lands; 
 they point to no new truth, and express a very old cxpovionco, 
 but they aro important as an acknowledgement of a great truth 
 in a higher quarter. 
 
 It is, then, essential to enlist voluntary uiibrt in tlio work of 
 reformation. When we use this term, wo wish to indicate a will- 
 ing heartfelt effort to promote the welfare of our follow-boings.
 
 868 OTTB COX\'ICT$. 
 
 We are all perfectly aware tliat Avliatever we do of our own 
 free will, throwing- our lieart and soul and strength into it, 
 we accomplish far better and more effectually than what we do 
 compulsorily. No slave under the lash, no prisoner fearing the 
 eye of his jailor, will do the work of a free labourer, stimulated 
 only by his own spirit ; no mere officials, however well paid by 
 their superiors, will ever toil by night and by day, in season and 
 out of season, like those who, animated by the love of God and 
 of man, voluntarily devote their powers to their work, and are 
 willing, if need be, to sacrifice themselves to it. Probabty in no 
 country does there exist so large an amount of this voluntary 
 action as in our own, because in none is there so great a 
 degi'ee of freedom combined with a reverence for law. But that 
 this individual voluntary effort should be successful, it must be 
 united with knowledge how best to work, power to effect what 
 is good, and pecuniary means to provide the necesssary 
 machinery. If all these are combined in those persons who 
 desire to aecomphsh any work, the most valuable results may 
 be anticipated. A close relation is established between those 
 who thus give their time, their labour, and their means, and 
 those who receive benefits of the most important natiu-e. The 
 receipt of alms, or maintenance at the public cost, is degrading 
 to the nature, and never inspires gratitude, but is received with 
 insolent dependence, or even with arrogant assumption as a 
 right. But unpurchased efforts, and self-sacrifice for the good 
 of our fellow-creatures, are more calculated than an}i:hing else, 
 if judiciously directed, to awaken and strengthen the better 
 parts of the nature, and to make it even doubtfid which is the 
 most blessed, to give or to receive. 
 
 There is besides a deeper and even more important element 
 in voluntary and benevolent effort, which, from its very nature, 
 cannot be absolutel}^ defined, and which, if genuine, shrinks 
 from observation, — the religious element. This is not an in- 
 culcation of creeds, or even the communication of religious 
 triith; these may, of course, be intrusted to an official paid
 
 COOPERATION. 369' 
 
 to give routine instruction in tlieui. But we mean that 
 awakening of the religious principle within, which is eflfected 
 through Divine grace, by the spiritual action of one soul upon 
 another ; that Divine sjmiDatliy wliich, viewing in every human 
 being, however mean or low to outward viovr, hoAvever young 
 or however old, an immortal soid, and a child of the same 
 Father, will be ready, following in the steps of the Saviour, 
 to feel his weakness and bear his burden, and to draw him 
 towards holiness " with the cords of a man." This is the true 
 voluntary element; this is the "water which can be obtained 
 only " without money and without price," and is the best 
 restorative to those who are thirsting for the waters of life. 
 
 Now, we would by no means be supposed to say that this 
 voluntary and essentially religious element cannot co-exist with 
 an ofl&cial position ; it can, and frequently does so ; — it has, in- 
 deed, peculiar power when it is found there. Without it, those 
 who are paid to do certain duties in Gaols, Workhouses, or 
 other institutions, may perform them with scrupulous exactness 
 and zealous fidelity, as regards their instructions and tlie wishes 
 of their superiors, and yet establish no friendly relations 
 between themselves and the objects of their care. If the duties 
 they have to perform are itnpleasant ones, there will exist an 
 hostility and antagonism between them, or at best a sullen 
 acquiescence, to avoid punishment. But if the same duties 
 are performed with the spirit just described, which is full of 
 healing virtue, then the driest routine is fraught with interest, 
 and painfid drudgery is even trausformod into a labour of 
 love. 
 
 The remarkable union in the Irish Con\ict System of volun- 
 tary effort and a wiselj' directed sympathy, with a judiciously 
 planned system of routine work, constitutes its peculiar feature, 
 and the grand secret of its success. And it was because every 
 one working in it, from the Director to the most subordinate 
 official, was animated more or less by the same spirit, and 
 made the work a personal and voluntary, as well as a paid 
 
 2 li
 
 3|'?0. OUR COXVICTS. 
 
 and official one, that the admirably planned system has had 
 the success which has attended it. 
 
 Seldom have we met with a mure sti-iking instance of daily 
 and voluntary self-sacrifice in an official position than in the 
 late Eev. John Clay, who, as Prison Chaplain, gave to his 
 work an amount of devoted labour, with warm sympathy and 
 spiritual help, which eventually exhausted his physical frame, 
 and the full results of which only the last day can reveal. 
 Truly, as his son has beautifully said in the dedication of his 
 father's memoirs to Mr. Eecorder Hill, "He spent and lost 
 his life in the holy war against sin and ignorance." 
 
 It is to this element that our Reformatories and Industrial 
 Schools owe their peculiar excellence, and their influence on 
 the wayward and misdirected children who are placed in them. 
 In a well conducted Institution, the officials, whether male or 
 female, regard not their own personal comfort, nor keep within 
 the strict terms of "the bond," but go beyond it in time and 
 laboiu", and do not find it wearisome, because they love it, feel 
 a personal interest in it, and desire above all the true welfare 
 of their young charge. They are fellow-labourers with those 
 to whose responsibility the cliildren are intrusted by the Govern- 
 ment, and the children feel that they are under the care of 
 friends who love them. These are paid officials, yet they do not 
 their duty as hirelings, but with the zeal of voluntary workers. 
 
 Even among the police of our country, a body of men who 
 are usually considered so hostile to the class of persons before 
 us, may be found, and we have om-selves observed it, as genuine 
 a desire and efiort to benefit their fellow-creatures, as can be 
 met with anywhere. We have heard a Superintendent of Police 
 rejoice, with a very excusable pride, in the hoj)e that his town 
 was better than it would be without him, for that he not only 
 prevented much crime by a strict attention to duty, but helped 
 those in difficult}', who sought him as a friend for aid and 
 council. The young boys whom he had been the means of 
 sending to a Eeformatory, have come to him on their discharge
 
 f'OOJ'EHATIOX. 371 
 
 as to a father, for advice aud encoiirag-emeiit ; and when lie sees 
 a poor young- girl driven into crime by tiie circumstances of her 
 home, he spares no pains to get her placed in a suitable Eefor- 
 matory. We have kno^vn another exert himself to save from the 
 prison brand young boys and girls who were wandering through 
 his county uncared for, and bog, as a personal favour, for their 
 admission into an Industrial School. Many instances of kindness 
 and earnestness to assist those who have gone astray may be con- 
 stantly found in the police force, where even ordinary officials 
 have been glad to give a helping hand to persons who had been 
 marked characters, but had shown a desire to begin a new life. 
 Such has already been the result of the supervision of license- 
 holders, where commenced under the provisions of the new Act. 
 
 Let us now consider some of the ways in which the voluntary 
 cooperation of Society with the Government is needed in the 
 great work of the repression and prevention of crime. 
 
 By the recent legislation a way is opened by the Government 
 in which tlie unofficial and purely voluntary aid of Society 
 is not only required, but even invited to assist in the re- 
 storation of our Convicts, helping them on their discharge to 
 obtain work, and giving them encouragement to lead a better 
 life. "When the Government has done its part in adopting 
 the best possible means for the reformation of our Convicts, 
 and has proved to the public that they may again be trusted, 
 since they have done well in partial liberty, it is for Society 
 also to do its part in giving them kind and Christian help. 
 
 Much has already been attempted in various parts of the 
 country in aid of j)risoners discharged fi*om the common gaols. 
 We know how valuable were the labours of the Rev. J. Clay, 
 of Preston, in this respect. Without any Society or "Refuge 
 for Discharged Prisoners" to assist him, he enlisted in the 
 9er-\'ice many voluntary helpers, and the police also ; obtained 
 work for tlio men on their discharge, and kept a friendlj- 
 surveiilance over them which proved most valuable. At Wake- 
 field, the Governor of the Gaol, Mr. E. Shepherd, himself
 
 ;}'72 ■ OTT! COXVKTS. 
 
 orgauised an liKlustrial Home for diboharged prisoners. The 
 men lived as in a well-ordered lodging-house, and paid their 
 expenses by their own work, so that the Institution had tho 
 rare merit of being self-supporting. Mr. Shepherd thus speaks 
 of it in his farewell address to the Magistrates, on his resigna- 
 tion, after thirty-eight years of service : — 
 
 "I have also given considerable time and thought to the subject of the 
 reformation of criminals. About seven years ago I established in the 
 vicinity of the prison an ' Industrial Home,' whereat released prisoners 
 might obtain employment, and earn a livelihood until they had an oppor- 
 tunity of meeting with other occupation. This Institution, though entirely 
 independent of the prison, has proved a most useful and beneficial auxiliary 
 to that establishment. I received kiud offers of pecuniarj' assistance fi'om 
 several of the Magistrates, Avhen I first opened the ' Industrial Home;' but 
 I am happy to say that I have not found it necessary to avail myself of 
 their offers, but have managed to render it self-supporting. It has, in 
 short, been successful in every respect. Its value, as a Eeformatory 
 Institution, is proved by the fact that 734 released prisoners have been 
 inmates since the opening, and of that number at least 300 are now known 
 to be honestly earning their living by various occupations, the majority 
 of whom are settled iu Wakefield or its neighbourhood.'' 
 
 In July, 1862, an important Act was passed (25 & 26 Yic, 
 0. 44) to second the efforts made by individuals in aid of dis- 
 charged j)i"isoners. This Act enables the Visiting Justices of a 
 prison to make a grant, not exceeding £2 in any one case, to the 
 Treasurer of a properly certified Discharged Prisoners' Aid 
 Society, upon an undertaking being signed by the Secretary 
 that such money shall be expended, in accordance with the 
 requirements of the Act, in behalf of a prisoner discharged from 
 such prison. 
 
 The following is the mode of its operation in Birmingham : — 
 " Upon an application for assistance being received, the amount of gratuity 
 due to the applicant, and his wish as to how it is to be expended, are first 
 ascertained. The agent visits him at the address given, and reports as to 
 whether the general circumstances of the case look promising or otherwise. 
 If the man has no home, the first object is to see him respectably lodged; 
 or if the neighbourhood he has selected for himself appears to be undesirable, 
 an endeavour is made to induce him to change it. If these preliminaries 
 cannot be satisfactorily arranged the case is dismissed. But if the man 
 seems likely to benefit by the assistance rendered, then the gratuity is
 
 CcioPEBATIOX. 373 
 
 applied lor iu his^ behalf; and, wheu lliis has been received, the society 
 becomes responsible for the way in which it is expended. A home having 
 been provided, and suitable clothes obtained, the next object is to see him 
 employed. Work is either sought out for him, or he is encouraged to seek 
 it for himself. If the man is a labourer there is comparatively little diffi- 
 culty in the matter, but in other cases a considerable delay is frequently 
 experienced, the want of a good character being a great barrier to his 
 getting employment. It is here that the friendly offices of the Society are 
 chiefly called into requisition. His former employers are applied to, places 
 of work are suggested to him, or else he is provided with the means of 
 setting up for himself. From time to time he receives the friendly visits 
 of the agent, whose duty it is to report what the convict is doing, and, 
 under the direction of the Committee, to assist him in every way tliat lies 
 in his power. These visits are continued even after the convict has drawn 
 the whole of his gratuity from the society ; and it is gratifying to report 
 that while the agent has never had cause to complain of rudeness or 
 incivility on the part of any 2')risouer assisted by the society, he has fre- 
 quently found them most grateful for the advice and the assistance that 
 they have received. In some instances, especially where the discharged 
 convict is accustomed to, and is capable of, rougli manual labour, or where 
 a man's past career, and the companionship of former associates, seem likely 
 to prove an hindrance to him in carrying out his good resolutions in this 
 country, the Committee have recommended emigration. 
 
 " When a discharged convict expresses a readiness to emigrate, an outfit 
 is provided for him, and he is sent to Liverpool with as little delay as 
 possible, where he has to report himself to the Society's Emigration Agent. 
 His passage is paid; and on his reaching his destination, the balance of 
 his gratuity is made over to him by the captain of the vessel in which he 
 sails. In almost all other cases the society withholds for some time a portion 
 of the convict's gratuity, as a guarantee for his good behaviour." — Fourth Eep. 
 
 The London Prisoners' Aid Society in London state in their 
 Seventli Annual Eeport that the number of cases annually 
 entertained Ly the Society has been as follows : — 
 
 1857 1858 1859 18G0 1801 1803 1803 Total. 
 r-il...7G9...CBy...451...315i 
 Of Avhom there have" 
 
 been assisted toWS... 07... 05 ... 107 ... 9^3 ... 254.,.1C3...1011 
 
 emigrate 
 
 49., 
 
 ..315., 
 
 ..•±40 
 
 12.. 
 
 ,. 07.. 
 
 . 05 
 
 37., 
 
 ,. 918., 
 
 . 3-15 
 
 ^'inJlfeTw'a^"!'!''! \ '^' - '^^ ■• ^^-^^ - '^'^ - ^-"-^ - ^33 -..288 ... 9443 
 From the 1st January to the 31st Maj', in the present year, 
 165 cases have been entertained by the Society, of ■whom 71 
 have been assisted to emigrate; malcing- a total of 3619 cases 
 entertained, of whom 1082 havo emigrated.
 
 S74 OUR CONVKTS. 
 
 Man}' other societies are in opei'ation tlirougliout the country 
 to effect the same excellent objects. 
 
 Of not less value are the efforts of individuals, of whom the 
 excellent Thomas Wright, of Manchester, stands foremost in 
 the present day; his exertions on hehalf of his suffering and 
 sinning fellow- creatures are too well known to need more than 
 a passing allusion. The name of Elizabeth Ery will always be 
 foremost among those who have visited the prisoner, and striven 
 most effectively to ameliorate the condition of our gaols. But 
 the humbler one of Sarah Martix is no less deserving of record, 
 and her labours were more calculated to stimulate to emulation, 
 because without any advantages of talents, position or wealth, 
 the results of her labours showed what might be effected by 
 a sincere desire to serve her fellow -creatures in the spirit 
 of Christ. She died in 1843, at the age of 52, at Yarmouth, 
 where a memorial window was erected to her by subscription 
 in the Parish Church. The following is extracted from an 
 interesting memoir of her in "Our Exemplars, Poor and 
 Eich :''—'=■' 
 
 "Bravery, self-clevotiou aud ioiloniitable perseverance, were needed to carry 
 her through the scenes she witnessed, and to win for her the marvellous 
 influence she acquired over even the most depraved. The confidence she 
 inspired in the sincerity of her purpose, — and here lay the secret of her 
 success, — is shown hy her having, during the whole period of her ministra- 
 tions, met with insult but from one prisoner; though for some years, it is 
 grievous to state, a trunkey, by his bad character and conduct, greatly 
 distressed her. 
 
 " She was not long in perceiving the necessity of giving religious instruction 
 to the inmates of the gaol, of separating the juvenile from the old offenders, 
 of providing schooling for all, and what was more important still, regular 
 employment, by which, besides removing the fatal snare of idleness, means 
 could be afforded to the prisoner of earning a small sum for his support when 
 discharged ; aud the vital importance of not abandoning him at this critical 
 moment of his career also impressed itself early upon her mind. These tojiics 
 were then gradually attracting attention: but while, year after year, the 
 various methods by Avhich such improvements might be accomplished were 
 under discussion outside our gaols, Sarah Martin had applied herself single- 
 handed to the taslc, and at Yarmouth had actually wrought those ameliorations 
 in prison discipline which public men were baffled in their efforts to achieve. 
 
 12mo., CASSELt, London.
 
 COOPEBATION. 375 
 
 "Eeading the Scriptures daring a short visit was -what she first attempted. 
 Fiudiug that there was no Divine worship or observance of Sunday in the 
 gaol, her next step was to organise services for that day ; the duties of both 
 reader and preacher soon devolving upon herself. Of the afternoon service 
 she was relieved in 1831, but she continued it in the morning until her last 
 illness obliged her, in 18i3, to give it up. Captain Williams, the Inspector 
 of Prisons, who speaks of her in terms of the highest appreciation in several 
 reports, writes in the second of these, — ' Sunday, November 29th, 1835 ; 
 attended Divine service in the prison ; » * « a female, resident in the town, 
 officiated; her voice was exceedingly melodious, her delivery emphatic, and 
 her enunciation exceedingly distinct. The service was the Liturgy of the 
 Church of England ; two psalms were sung liy the whole of the prisoners, and 
 extremely well, much better than I have frequently heard in our best ap- 
 pointed churches. A written discourse, of her own composition, was read by 
 her; it was of a ^lurely moral tendency, involving no doctrinal points, and 
 admirably suited to the hearers.' " 
 
 Women sliould always be those to cany Christian sympathy 
 to the helpless and sinning of their own sex. Saeaii Martut 
 began her ministrations in the Workhouse. The dreary depths 
 of those establishments have now been penetrated by many 
 zealous and devoted women, who have organised themselves into 
 a Workhouse Yisiting Society The result of this voluntaiy 
 effort has already been excellent. In the Dublin Workhouse 
 the women were formerly in so daring and violent a state that 
 it was not deemed safe for ladies to' go into the female wards 
 without protection from the inmates ; on one occasion fourteen 
 female paupers were tried for setting fire to the Union, and 
 were condemned by the Judge to penal servitude. Yet, after 
 the visiting of the ladies commenced, in a short time a softening 
 effect was produced, and the time of tlio visits was anticipated 
 by the inmates with the greatest delight. Tlie effect of the 
 cooperation of ladies in the Kefuges in Ireland for female 
 Convicts has already been spoken of. Many Eefugos and 
 Homes for those women who require Cliristian help to restore 
 them to society after their fall from virtue or their imj)risonmcnt, 
 are in successful operation in our counliy under the manage- 
 ment of ladies, but as yet no eli'orts have been made for dis- 
 charged female Convicts. Probably hoplcssness of success has 
 been the caixse of this. But wo trust that ;^uih a cbiinoM •wJH
 
 37B OUR CONVICTS. 
 
 ere long be effected in our Convict Prisons, and siicli arrange- 
 ments made by Grovernment, as will render possible tlie estab- 
 lisliment of sucli Refuges for our female Convicts as have been 
 carried on so successfully in Ireland. Then we may feel a 
 confidence that the Christian women of England will respond 
 to the call, and will devote themselves to the restoration of 
 their erring sisters. 
 
 But our whole work will not be done when v^^e have com- 
 pleted the arduous task of restoring our Convicts, or, rather, 
 when we have made every possible effort to restore such as 
 are willing to return to the path of duty. It is not enough 
 to help those who have already become Convicts, we must 
 give a timely helping hand to those who are in danger of 
 becoming so. "We must increasingly use our best exer- 
 tions to restore those who have taken the first step in the 
 ordinary gaols, and, above all, we must devote ouj.- especial 
 efi'orts to the improvement of the class from which the criminals 
 spring. But to produce the needed effect on the criminal 
 portion of the community there must be not only isolated 
 efforts but a general cooperation of society in the work. The 
 dying words of Judge Talfouhd, coming to us from the seat 
 of judgment as the last testimony of a great and good man, 
 should never be forgotten. But the warning has not yet 
 been attended to. There is not yet sufficient sympathy existing 
 in our country between the different classes of the community ; 
 "they that are strong" have not yet learnt to bear with those 
 that are spiritually weak, and lighten them of their burden, 
 or help them to bear it wisely and well. The '' respectable" 
 classes have rejoiced that they are not as other men are, thieves, 
 pickpockets, burglars. Convicts; and go down to their homes 
 from the house of prayer, or dwell in intellectual refinement, 
 justified in their contempt and repugnance for them. It has 
 been said that one-half the world knows not what the other haK 
 suffers. It is true, and until the upper half does know, from the 
 exercise of genuine sympathy, the sufferings of the lower from 
 sin and ignorance, these will not be materially diminished.
 
 COOPERATIOX. 377 
 
 Let, then, every one, wliether in a wide or narrow circle, 
 resolve to do something to promote the welfare of others, by 
 2)ersonal ejfort. The giving- of money is not enough. There 
 are multitudes who will gratify their kindly feelings by 
 pecuniary sacrifice ; the enormous sums raised in our country 
 for the support of foreign missions, and of the various benevo- 
 lent institutions, sufficiently testifies to this ; but these are not 
 enough, nor do they purchase for the donor an indemnity for 
 the neglect of the more precious charity of personal kindness. 
 There are multitudes of charitable societies conducted by a few 
 real workers under the patronage of persons of rank, with a 
 long array of names which conceal their small amount of 
 action. Institutions and Societies are valuable instrumentalities 
 in aid of personal effort, but cannot take its place ; in reality the 
 true value of these institutions is the amount of true Chi'istian 
 charity and personal influence of which they are made the 
 medium. This personal effort may develop itself in a variety 
 of ways. It is not in the power of all to become visitors of the 
 poor ; they may be unfitted for the work, or prevented from 
 engaging in it by higher claims of dutj--. All cannot teach the 
 young, but they may give encouragement to those who do so, 
 and enhance the value of this by their sjTupathy which, if truly 
 felt, may find various ways of expressing itself. Every one may 
 avoid placing temptations in the way of their fellow-creatures. 
 When we offer up for ourselves the daily prayer, "Lead us not 
 into temptation," it is our bounden duty not to lead others into 
 them. How many of the frauds which have recently been com- 
 mitted on a gigantic scale, have indii'cctly been caused by the 
 want of close and regular inspection of accounts by Directors, 
 who have thus helped to fill our Convict Prisons. How large a 
 number of young persons have been first led into crime through 
 their employers placing too great a confidence in them, and 
 thus taxing their honesty beyond its strength to resist. How 
 many domestic servants have been led into theft and lost 
 their character through the culpable neglect of their mistress
 
 378 ouii CONVICTS. 
 
 respecting money or articles of value. The Recorder of Bir- 
 mingham has enlarged forcibly in his Charges on the duty 
 of society in this respect. None, indeed, who see the very 
 unguarded exposure of goods in shops, can wonder at the 
 numerous thefts which are caused by the practise. Surely 
 persons who throw such temptation in the way of the young 
 or unj)rincipled, are themselves answerable for the sin. We 
 knew a youth who, falling before such a temptation, was led, 
 almost from the door of the School, to the cells of a Convict 
 Prison. In this way, then, does it behove society not to add to 
 the burden of crime in the countiy, but to cooperate with 
 the G-overnment in its efforts to repress crime by remo"ving 
 the causes of temptation. 
 
 Another, among many other ways, may be mentioned in which 
 individuals may do great good, and much strengthen the hands 
 of Grovernment. There are various important laws which have 
 been made by the Legislature for the suppression of houses 
 of ill-fame, receiving-houses of stolen goods, and others of an 
 immoral character, which remain virtually a dead letter through 
 want of cooperation on the part of society in carrying them into 
 effect. It is evidently the intention of the Legislature that no 
 direct incitements to be evil should be tolerated. Yet all these 
 criminal resorts and open allurements to sin flourish among us, 
 and remain unblushingly in our midst in the face of day. They 
 must be connived at, or this could not still continue to be the 
 case. Everj^ one who knows of the existence of such places is 
 bound as a Christian man and a good citizen to do all in his 
 power to suppress them, and thus cooperate with the Govern- 
 ment. If existing legislation is not sufficient, let efforts be 
 made to improve it. 
 
 The condition in which the young of our country are growing 
 up, or as it has been truly expressed, are dragged x;p, to take 
 the place of the j)-esent generation in the ranks of crime and 
 pauperism, should especially engage the attention of Society, and 
 enlist extensive voluntary effort. It is not known to the bulk
 
 COOPEEATIOX. 379 
 
 of the middle and upper classes of society ; — it cannot be known, 
 for no words can give an adequate idea of it to those who 
 have not personally witnessed it. The back slums, the poverty- 
 stricken lanes and alleys, the dons of vice, the hundreds of 
 houses of sin, which the police of Liverpool and other towns 
 know to exist, are hidden from the gaze of those who frequent 
 the better portion of crowded cities ; for only a few solitary 
 individuals from them dare occasionally to obtrude their 
 wretchedness on the well-dressed public. This is no new state 
 of things. Nearly thirty years ago Dr. Tuckerman wrote : — 
 
 "I have seen a boy in our House of Correctiou for the third time for in- 
 temperance, -when he was only fifteen years old. I have also seen ono at 
 fourteen years of ago broken down by infirmities induced by the same cause, 
 And often, even at that age is the deep and strong depravity within most 
 distinctly shown in the eye, the countenance, and the whole air and manner 
 of boys. Such boys are to be seen upon our wharves, and about our markets. 
 But are they observed ? Or what interest is excited in respect to them ? I 
 remember that when I was once dining in London with a circle of as intel- 
 ligent men as I knew in that metropolis, some of whom were baristers, I asked 
 them, if in their way to Westminster Hall, or to any of their Courts, they had 
 never particularly regarded the appearance of very great numbers of ^\ild. 
 ragged and filthy boys, almost constantly to be seen in certain streets; or if, 
 when seeing them, they had never thought of the probability that sooner or 
 later these boys would be arraigned as criminals, for or against whom they 
 would plead, and who would be transported or hung for crimes ? The reply 
 was, that they had but casually noticed them ! Yet utterly neglected as were 
 these many hundreds of children by those who might have been their 
 saviours, and educated as these children were in crime and for crime, their 
 moral responsibility for the condition in which they are, and for the oflences 
 for which they will be condemned, seems to me much smaller than is that 
 of those whose disregard of them is a cliief cause of tlieir condition." 
 
 There are "very great numbers of wild, ragged and filthy 
 boys, almost constantly to bo seen in certaiu streets" of the 
 metropolis now as then. The ignorance of their existence, and 
 of their spiritual Avants, is as great now as it was then. If those 
 who do know them entreat for some adequate lielp for the 
 education and even the civilization of these neglected children, 
 it is refused by the dispensers of the Educational Grants of 
 Parliament, and they are told that the "Workhouses and In- 
 dustrial Schools are for these, not the education whirh i.s
 
 380 OUR CONVICTS. 
 
 destined for the labouring classes. How, indeed, can the Work- 
 houses and Industrial Schools contain these myriads ? Or how 
 can they he compelled to enter them ? Ten thousand make 
 known their ignorance annually in the Liverpool Police Courts, 
 but the Legislatuj-e does not attend to their cry; — who shall 
 proclaim the wants of the other tens of thousands who do not 
 make known their ignorance through their crime ? It is the 
 ujiper portion of society, bound to them by Christian sympathy, 
 who should discover their need, comprehend the dreadful 
 ignorance which exists in our land, and never cease from their 
 personal efforts and their appeals for help, until such 2:)rovision 
 is made for them as was shown by the Lords' Committee so 
 long ago to be needed, if the progress of crime in our counliy 
 is to be arrested. 
 
 -Not until then, not until all our children are educated, and 
 the criminal class is brought under Christian influence, will the 
 duty be fulfilled by society, which was so forcibly laid before 
 us by the lamented Prince Consort, at the close of his address at 
 the Educational Conference : — 
 
 "It is our duty — the duty of those whom Providence has 
 removed from this awful struggle and placed beyond this 
 fearful danger — manfully, unceasingly, and untiringly |to aid 
 by advice, assistance and example, the great bulk of the peoj^le, 
 who, without such aid, must almost inevitably succumb to the 
 difficulty of their task. They will not east fi-om them the 
 aiding hand, and the Almighty will bless the labours of those 
 who work in His cause." 
 
 Thus may all labour together. Government and people, for 
 the regeneration of the misguided and neglected in our country, 
 and for the restoration to society of " Om Co^mcTs." 
 
 December 17, 1864. 
 
 AEnOAVSJIlTH, rEi:\'rET!, QfAY STREET, BRtSTi
 
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