UC SOUTHERN Rt lllll III lIllllMIIIIIIII ll I II ill III G 000 083 222 Ex Libris C. K. OGDEN THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES PRISON DISCIPLINE ; AND THE ADVAT^TAGES OF TUB SEPARATE SYSTEM OF LMPlUSONi\lENT, WITH A DliTAILEU ACCOUNT OF THE DISCIPLINE NOW PURSUED IN THli NEW COUNTY GAOL, AT HEADING; BY THE REV. J. FIELD, M.A., CHAPLAIN. " Parum est impiobos coerccre pu;na, nisi proboa el&ias discipliiii." VOL. II. LOxNDON : LONGMAN, BROWN, GREEN, AND LONGMANS. READING : R. WELCH. MDCCCXLVin. r CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. Papo TRANSPORTATION. — EVILS OF PAST SYSTEM. — FARLIAM ENTABY EVIDENCE ON CONVICT DISCIPLINE. — DESCRIPTION OF RESIDENT IN VAN DIEMAN's LAND. — OPINION OP ARCHBISHOP WHATKLEY. — MEANS OF REFORMATION NEO- LECTED. — NO SPIRITUAL PROVISION. — EVIDENCE OF A CONVICT. — ERRORS ACKNOWLEDGED. — A CORRECTIVE SYSTEM PROPOSKD. — LETTER OF SIR O. GREY, BART. — CONVICTS DETAINED IN COUNTY PRISONS. — FORTY AT READ- ING. --PLAN PURSUED WITH THESE. --ADVANTAGE OF WITHHOLDING MANUAL E.MPLOYMENT FOR A SHORT TIME. — WHY SHOULD I BE INDUSTRIOUS? A prisoner's REASONS. — REPORT OF TRADES* INSTRUCTORS. — OF SCHOOL MAS-TER. — MORAL IMPROVEMENT. — EVIDENCE OF THE BISHOP OF TAS- MANIA. — EFFECT OF DISCIPLINE AT PENTONVILLE PRISON. — PENALTY INCREASED BY TERM OF IMPRISONMENT PREVIOUS TO TRANSPORTA- TION. — EVIDENCE OF GOVERNOR OF GLASGOW PRISONS, OF A CON- VICT, OF CHAPLAIN OF LEWES GAOL. — SUBSEQUENT LABOUR ON PUBLIC WORKS DEPRECATED. — HUI.K SYSTEM ABOLISHED. — CONVICTS SHOULD NOT REMAIN IN ENGLAND. —EVIL OF NOT TRANSPORTING SHEWN IN FRANCE AND NORWAY. — MUCH DESIRED IN COLONIES AFTER CORRECTION. — EVI- DENCE OF THIS. — EMIGRATION OF convict's FAMILY, ETC I CHAPTER II. STATEMENTS OF A CONVICT, ETC 44 CHAPTER III. OBJECTIONS AGAINST SEPARATE IMPRISONMENT, PUBLISHED IN THE MEMOIU AND LETTERS OF MK3. FRY, ANSWERED 5;J CHAPTER IV. EFFECTS OF THE SEPARATE SYSTEM PURSUED AT READING DESCRIBED IX REPORT, MICHAELMAS, 1845, WITH ADDITIl NAL OILIiVATIONS .. .. 74 3015662 II CONTENTS. CHAPTER V. Page IMP'tBTANCE OF RBPDRTS VHiM BERlvSHIRB PRISON. —ATTENTION OF MANY ATTBACTED.—CHABACTKR OF SUBORDINATE OFFICERS. — N UM BER OF PRrSON- EUS COMMITTED IN 1846 — CAU3E9 OF CRIME. — WAN i' OF EDUCATION. — IGNORANCE ESPECIALLY OF RELIGIOUS TRUTHS. — DEFECTIVE INSTRUCTION IN WORKHOUSE SCHOOLS. — CONTAMINATION IN UNION WOIiKHnUSES — INFLUX OFRAlLW.iY LABOURERS. — BEER Hi USES. — VAGRANCY. — OFFENCES COMMITT D BY VAGRANTS ON SUNDAY. — JUVENILE OFFENDERS. — CHIL- DREN OF CRIMINALS. — EXCESSIVE ALLOWANCE OF FOOD. — PRISONS PRE- FEBRED TO THEIR PARENTS' HOME — EXAMPLES. — SHORT IMPRISONMENTS INEFFECTUAL FOR COHKECTION, AND EXPENSIVE TO THE COMMUNITY.— THE DISCIPLINE PROVED REFOIIMATOKY WHEN TIME FOR TRIAL IS AF- FORDED. — PLEASING TESTIMONY. 139 chaptp:r VI. SPREAD OF THE SEPARATE SYSTEM. —RELIGIOUS EDUCATION PREVENTIVE, BUT PRISON DISCIPLINE REM EDIAL. —COMMITTALS IN 1847. — CAUSES OF INiREASED NUMBER. — DEFECTIVE EDUCATION. — OFFENCES IN WORK- HOUSES. —POVERTY OF CRIMINALS. — INCREASE OF VAGRANCY. — RELUC- TANCE OF PROSECUTORS LESSENED BY IMPROVED DISCIPLINE. JUVENILE DELINQUENTS. — NECESSITY FOR PROTECTING THEM FROM VICE AFTER IMPRISONMENT. — ACT FOR RECOVERY OF SMALL DEBTS. — ITS BENEFICAL EFFECTS ON THOSE CONVICTED UNDER ITS PROVISIONS — SHORT IMPRISON- MENTS DEPRECATED. — THl' I R EFFECTS IN SCOTLAND. — PRISONERS BE- C'.MMITTED. — THEIR FORMER IMPRISuNM 1,NT UNDER SEPARATE SYSTEJSI VERY SH'RT. HAD BEEN hENDERED INCORRIGIBLE BY FORMER ASSO- CIATION IN PRISONS. — SATISFACTORY EVIDENCE AS TO CORRECTIVE EFFECTS OF SEPARATE SYSTEM PROPERLY CARRIED OUT. KiO VARIOUS EXTRACTS FROM EVIDENCE GIVEN BEFORE THE SELECT COM- MITTEE OF THE HOUSE OF I OliDS ON THE EXECUTION OF THE CRIMI- NAL LAW, 1847 iy2 EXTRACTS FBOM EVIDENCE AS TO THE CORRECTIVE INFLUENCE OF SEPARATE IMPRISONMENT 245 EXTRACTS FROM EVIOENCE RESPECTING SEPARATE IMPRISONMENT BEFORE TRIAL 253 KXTRACTS FROM EVIDENCE BESPtCI'ING THE iEPAKATE SYSTEM AS IN- CnEA!?lNU PUNlMIMi^NT 255 CONTENTS. Ill Page EXTRACTS FROiM EVIDENCE AS TO ASSOCIATING CRIMINALS AFTER A TERM OF SEPARATE CONFINEMENT 260 EVIDENCE OF SIR B. BRODIE, BART., RESPECTINO THE BODILY AND MENTAL HEALTH OF PRISONERS AT PliNTONVILLE 263 EXTRACTS FROM EVIDENCE RESPECTING THE SILENT SYSTEM 268 EVIDENCE RESPECTING SNORT IMPHISiiNMENT 274 EXTRACTS FROM EVIDENCE AS TO THE DETERRING EFFECTS OF PUNISH- MENT 285 EVIDENCE AS TO ALLOWING WAGES FOR OVER WORK DONE BY PRISONERS 291 EXTRACTS FROM EVIDENCE ON TRANSPORTATION .. 296 EXTRACTS FROM EVIDENCE AGAINST ASSOCIATING PRISONERS FOR LABOUR ON PUBLIC WORKS 316 EVIDENCE CONCERNING PARKHURST PRISON 331 FOREIGN PRISONS. AMERICA. — PRISONERS associated. — THE SOLITARY SYSTEM. — THE AUBURN SYSTEM. — SPEECH OF MR. G. SUMNER, OF BOSTON, U.S. DESCRIPTION OF RECENT PENITENTIARY REFORMS AND OF PRESENT FEELING AS TO PRISON DISCIPLINE 345 FR.\NCE.— PRISONS OF PARIS in 1778. — humane and wise regula- tions DESCRIBED BY HOWARD. — THE BICETRE. — THE BASTILE. — PRISON OF AVIGNON. IMPROVEMENT IN PRISON DISCIPLINE DESCRIBED BY M. ARDIT, M. MOREAU CHRISTOPHE, AND M. GUSTAVE DE BEAUMONT. — EFFECT OF SEPARATE SYSTEM AT BORDEAUX, TOURS, MONTPELIER AND VERSAILLES. — LETTER FROM COUNT GASPARIN 354 BELGIUM. — VOLUME on correction of criminals by the count VILAIN XIV. — prisoner's CAGE AND TORTORE AT ANTWERP. — MAISONS DE FORCE AT LIEGE, BRUSSELS, AND GHENT, VISITED BY HOWARD. CONSTANT MANUAL EMPLOYMENT DEPRECATED. — l'aTELIEB DE CHARITE AT GHENT. — PRISON DISCIPLINE IJIPROVING. — SPEECH OF M. DUCPE- TIAUX. — THE SILENT SYSTEM CONDEMNED. THE SEPARATE SYSTEM COMMENDED.— SPEECH OF M. LE BAKON DE HODT 380 IV CONTENTS. Puge HOLLAND. —PBisoNS of ust century well managed. — punish- ment UPON RIGHT PRINCIPLES. — CORRECTIVE DISCIPLINE. — HOWARD AT AMSTERDAM. — HE ATTENDS DIVINE SERVICE IN PRISON. — SPEECH OF PROFESSOR DEN TEX. — STATE OF PENAL LEGISLATION IN HOLLAND. — THE SEPARATE SYSTEM APPROVED. — SPEECH OF M. SIIRINGaR, AT FRANKFORT. — FAILURE OF ATTEMPTS TO CLASSIFY CRIMINALS. — INCREASE OF CRIME. NEW CELLULAR PRISONS. — ARCHITECT SENT TO ENGLAND. — EVILS OF ASSOCIATION INSISTED UPON.— DECEPTION. — FEIGNED SICK- NESS AND MADNESS. — AN EXAMPLE. — THE CELL AND THE WORKROOM CONTRASTED. — SPEECH AT BRUSSELS. — THE SEPARATE SYSTEM ADOPTED FOR ALL PRISONERS IN HOLLAND. — WISH OF ELIZABETH FRY REALIZED. — CELLULAR IMPRISONMENT DESIRED BY FEMALE PRISONERS AT GENEVA. — NEW CELLULAR PRISON AT AMSTERDAM. LUXE. MBOURG.— SEPARATE imprisonment adopted. SOME DIFFI- CULTIES IN ARRANGEMENT OF PRISONS 3!)1 PRUSSIA. PRISONS BETTER THAN IN OTHER NATIONS.— TORTURE- BOOMS DESTROYED. — CHAPELS PROVIDED. — DR. JULIUS APPOINTED COMMISSIONER TO AMERICA. — HIS ACQUAINTANCE WITH, AND ATTACH- MENT TO, THE SEPARATE SYSTEM. — VISIT OF THE KING TO PENTONVILLE PRISON, RESOLUTION THERE EXPRESSED. — ACCOUNTS OF NEW PRISONS. — APPROVAL AND PROGRESS OF THE SEPARATE SYSTEM 402 GERMANY. — shocking state of prisons fifty years since. — How- ard's DESCRIPTION OF PRISONS AT AUGSBURG, MUNICH, NUREMBERG, MANHEIM, and SCHWABACH, — TORTURE ROOMS.— SOME GOOD PRISON REGULATIONS. — IMPROVEMENT SLOW. — CELLULAR PRISONS IN GRAND DUCHIES OF BADEN AND NASSAU. BADEN- — SPEECH OK M. DE JAGEMANN. — IMPROVED PENAL JURISPRU- DENCE. PRISONS MUST BE ADAPTED TO IT. — CELLULAR PRISON AT BRUCHSAL. — COMMISSIONERS VISIT PRISONS OF GHENT AND PtNTONVILLE. — CELLULAR IMPRISONMENT PROPOSED FOB ALL CRIMINALS. NASSAU. DIFFERENT KINDS OF PRISONS DESCRIBED. — HOUSE OF COB- RECTION AT EBERBACH. — MARK SYSTEM THERE PURSUED. — SEPARATE CONFINEMENT INTRODUCED IN CONSEQUENCE OF NUMBER RE-COMMITTED, DISCIPLINE, MORTALITY. — PROVISION FOR ORPHANS. — ASSOCIATION FOB PROTECTION OF DISCHABGED CRIMINALS. — ITS PLANS AND RESULTS. — MAISON DE FORCE AT DIETZ. — CELLULAR IMPRISONMENT.— REGULATIONS PROPOSED 108 CONTENTS. V Page FllANKFOllT. — oiiJKcrioNs hf m. sriiiiiEL td sicrAiiATK impuison- MENT. — REPLY OF DR. VARRENTIIAI'P. — NATIONAL PECULlAIilTlIiS NO OBSTACLE. — ADVANTAGES OF SEPARATE SYSTEM. UAVARIA. — MAISON DE FORCI? AT MUNICH. — SYSTEM OF M. OUERMAYER. — IMPROVEMENT UPON AUnuuN SYSTEM ADVOCATES OF SEPARATE SYSTEM. — LE bARON DE CLOSEN. — THE CoRnECTIVK PRINCIPLE INSISTED UPON hs ITALY. — PRISON liUILT BV ANCUS MARTIUS A.U C. 120. " AD TER- ROREM -EDIFICATUR." — THE SAME PRINCIPLE TOO LONG TRUsTED TO. — A liETTER MAXIM ADOPTED. — THE PRISONS OF 8. MICHELE, THE GREAT PRISON, PRISON OF SAN ANGELO. — SHOCKING STATE OF THE TWO LAST. — DISTRACTED PRISONERS. —PRISONS AT NAPLES AND MILAN. THEIR MISERABLE CONDITION. PRESENT STATE OF PRISON DISCIPLINE. LO.MBARDY AND TUSCANY. -increase of crime.— cellular SYSTEM DESIRED AS A REMEDY. — SOCIETY FOR LIBERATED CRIMINALS. — BAD STATE OF PRISONS AT MANTUA, MILAN, AND CASSANO. — SUBJECT DIS- CUSFED IN CONGRRSS OF FLORENCE. SARDINIA. — THE KING IN FAVOUR OF CELLULAR IMPRISONMENT. — QUES- TION LITTLE UNDERSTOOD BY HIS SUBJECTS. — AUBURN SYSTEM PREFER- RED.— LA GENERALA, AT TURIN. — OBSTACLES TO PENITENTIARY REFORM THROUGHOUT ITALY. — POWER OF THE POLICE.w-SICILY. — SPLENDIO PRISONS. — THEIR MISMANAGEMENT. — NAPLES. — SOME IMPROVEMENT. — SEPARATE CONFINEMENT APPROVED OF BY THE POPE. SPEECH OF LE CHEVALIER PERUZZI. — PROGRESS OF REFORM. — NEW PENAL CODES. BAGNES ABOLISHED. — CELLULAR IMPRISONMENT SUBSTITUTED. — ADVO. CATES OF SEPARATE SYSTEM INCREASING. WRITERS ON PENAL LEGIS- LATION 430 SPAIN. — NO IMPROVEMENT OF PRISONS. — SPEECH OF MRAMON DE LA SAGRA 448 SWITZERLAND. — variety of penal treatment. — Howard's de- scription OF PRISON AT GENEVA. —LUXURIES ALLOWED. — PRISONS AT FREYBDRG and BERN. — INFAMOUS PUBLIC LABOUR. PRESENT PRISONS OF GENEVA. — ONE ON SILENT SYSTEM. — RESULTS UNSATISFACTORY. — - ANOTHER ON SEPARATE SYSTEM. — RESULTS FAVOURABLE. — THE PRISON OF ST. GALL. — PROFITABLE LABOUR. MISI AKE OF ENFORCING IT . . 449 VI CONTENTS. Page POLAND. — ANCIENT LAW RESPECTING PERSONS ACCUSED. — CAKE OF SUCH AT PRESENT. — LE COMTE SKARBEK. — LABOUR ON PUBLIC WORKS. NOW DISCONTINUED. — LA MAISON d'eNQUETE AT WARSAW. — CELLULAR SYSTEM EXCLUSIVELY ADOPTED. — ISOLATION MOST SANITARY. —MENTAL ALIENATION RARE. — SEPARATION MOST DETERRING. — MOST IMPRESSIVE AND CORRECTIVE. — MOST MERCIFUL TO THE INNOCENT. — STATISTICS . . 4.5o RUSSIA. — CRUELTY OF PUNISHMENTS. — MITIGATION AND IMPROVEMENTS. — HONOUR OF ENGLAND IN HAVING LED TO THESE. — SPEECH OF M. DE ZEHE. — EVILS OF PAST IMPRISONMENT. THE KNOUT ABOLISHED. — PUNISHMENTS IN SIBKRIA RELAXED. — VISIT OF THE EMPEROR TO ENGLAND. — CELLULAR PRISON ORDERED AT ST. PETERSBUBGH.— SEPARATE CONFINEMENT DETERMINED UPON. — THE KNOUT AND THE PLEITE CONTRASTED 460 SWEDEN AND NORWAY. — the king, an advocate for cellular IMPRISONMENT. — HIS WORK " PUNISHMENTS AND PRISONS." — QUOTA- TIONS. — CORPORAL PUNISHMENTS DEPRECATED. — MENTAL PUNISHMENTS APPROVED. — EFFECT OF THE KING's PUBLICATION. SVVEDEN. — NECESSITY FOR RECONSTRUCTING PRISONS SEEN. — THE CELLULAR SYSTEM APPROVED. — PRISONS ERECTED. — IMPRISONMENT OF FOUR KINDS. NORWAY. — PRISON DEMORALIZATION EVIDENT. — A COMMISSIONER AP- POINTED. — THE cellular' SYSTEM RECOMMENDED AND ADOPTED .. 465 DENMARK. — prison discipline neglected till a. d. 1840. — INTEREST OF THE KING IN THE QUESTION. — DR. DAVID AND COM- MITTEE FOR PRISON REFORM. — CELLULAR IMPRISONMENT RECOM- MENDED. — THE SYSTEM ADOPTED. — PRISONS RECONSTRUCTED. — SOME OBSTACLES IN PENAL CODE . . . 474 RESOLUTIONS PASSED AT THE CONGRES PENITENTIAIRE AT FRANKFORT, IN 1846, AND APPROVED IN THE FOLLOWING YEAR ON RE-ASSEMBLING AT BRUSSELS 479 INDP.X 481 ERRATA IN VOLUME IL Page I GO, for their sanction. All read their sanction, all. 1 84, /or had been subjected read has been subjected. 343, /o>- sourse of misery i-ead cause of misery. 431, for rebus anctis read I'ehcs auctis. 432, for improbus read improbos. CHAPTER I. TRANSPORTATION. — EVILS OF PAST SYSTIiM. — PARLIAMENTARY EVIDENCE ON CONVICT DISCIPLINE. — DESCRIPTION OF RESI- DENT IN VAN DIEMAN's LAND. — OPINION OF ARCHBISHOP WHATELEY. MEANS OF REFORMATION NEGLECTED. NO SPIRITUAL PROVISION. EVIDENCE OF A CONVICT. — ERRORS ACKNOWLEDGED. A CORRECTIVE SYSTEM PROPOSED. LETTER OF SIR G. GREY, BART. — CONVICTS DETAINED IN COUNTY PRISONS. FORTY AT READING. PLAN PURSUED WITH THESE. — ADVANTAGE OF WITHHOLDING MANUAL EMPLOYMENT FOR A SHORT TIME. — ■WHY SHOULD I BE IN- DUSTRIOUS ? A prisoner's reasons. — REPORT OF TRADES* INSTRUCTORS. OF SCHOOLMASTER. MORAL IMPROVEMENT. y EVIDENCE OF THE BISHOP OF TASMANIA. — EFFECT OF DISCIPLINE AT PENTONVILLE PRISON. — PENALTY INCREASED BY PREVIOUS TERM OF IMPRISONMENT PREVIOUS TO TRANSPORTATION. EVIDENCE OF GOVERNOR OF GLASGOW PRISONS, OF A CONVICT, OF CHAPLAIN OF LEWES GAOL. SUBSEQUENT LABOUR ON PUBLIC WORKS DEPRECATED.— HULK SYSTEM ABOLISHED. CONVICTS SHOULD NOT REMAIN IN ENGLAND. EVIL OF NOT TRANSPORTING SHEWN IN FRANCE AND NORWAY. — MUCH DESIRED IN COLONIES AFTER CORRECTION. — EVIDENCE OF THIS. — EMIGRATION OF CON- VICT's FAMILY, ETC. Some county prisons, and amongst them that at Reading, have been recently selected by Govern- ment to receive convicts sentenced to be transported for several months previously to their deportation. The causes which have led to this, the effect of such imprisonment, and the future disposal of the pri- VOL. II. A 2 PRISON DISCIPLINE. soners, as they are subjects of great interest, each call for some brief consideration. In reverting to the past, it is not my purpose to describe either the origin or the progress of the system of transportation. It will be impossible to give a description sufficiently concise that could be satisfactory, and it forms no part of the plan or purpose of my present work. Much less do I pro- pose to enter into those details of enormous crime which have necessarily induced the Legislature to abandon, I trust entirely and for ever, that associa- tion of criminals in our penal settlements by which such awful and horrible vices were engendered and propagated. It has been my painful duty to read the Evidence on Convict Discipline, recently laid before Parliament, and having done so, if its purpose has been accomplished, I could desire not merely to blot the remembrance of it from my own mind, but that such memorials might be obliterated from the annals of our country. In compiling that evidence much laudable discretion has been exercised in sup- pressing sentences most revolting to decency, still enough remains to pollute the reader, and to pro- claim a national disgrace. Long indeed have many vices been known to prevail in our penal colonies — evils consequent upon neglect in not providing spiritual instruction, and in not preventing intercourse of the most de- praving character. But as if distance from the parent state freed their rulers from all responsibility, STATE Ol^ PENAL COLONIES. 3 the vices and the dangers have been alike disre- garded. Some authorities, it is true, have discerned the evils, but have not ventured to interfere with the system which produced them, because they could see nothing better to substitute. Men in power have been too much satisfied with acknowledging the mischief, perhaps deploring the evil, but without endeavouring to apply the remedy. Some expe- riments, indeed, have been tried ; some improve- ments, it may be, effected ; yet no successful plan was pursued. The intercourse of criminals in another hemisphere, not less than at home, produced its certain result; always and everywhere the same, it has contaminated and corrupted all whom it could reach. Thus to the unhappy convict, whose doom was transportation, misery and destruction were almost ensured,* and upon the inhabitants and settlers in the land to which he went, pollution and demoralization were constantly entailed, until at length we might too truly apply the words of the Roman orator — " Exilium ibi, ubi virtuti non sit locus."f With such an influx of impurity, the very offscouring of crime itself, every convict resembling a vessel too full of iniquity to be retained, and there- fore an outcast, what possible result could ensue, but that the soil devoted to be the receptacle of such * " — That awfully destructive punishment of transportation — a punishment which tends in ordinary circumstances to the eternal loss of the soul. — The Convict Ship. p. 109. f Cicero pro Milone. a2 4 PRISON DISCIPLINE. should become a reservoir of abomination and of the most loathsome vice !* And how grievous and disgraceful has been the cruelty and guilt of our country, in thus draining off the dregs of its criminal population, and whilst providing for punishment, permitting the absence of all means of moral reformation or spiritual improve- ment. I write with the letter before me, of a friend, who, in company with the pious Marsden, visited many of our penal stations. He describes the con- victs as destitute of any religious knowledge, and deprived of all opportunity of obtaining it. "We found," he says, "in many instances, the chain gangs without a single copy of the Scriptures, and the whole of the convicts were herded together without any attempt at classification, or the least preserva- * If the convict-servants and their masters have any virtue to lose, no system could have been devised more effectual for divesting them of it. * * * Among all the extravagancies that are recorded of capricious and half-insane despots in times of ancient barbarism, I do not remember any instance mentioned of any one of these having thought of so mischievously-absurd a project as that of forming a new nation, consisting of criminals and executioners. — Archbishop Whateley on Transportalion, p. 37. Long since did Lord Bacon denounce it as " a shameful and unblessed thing to take the scum of people, and wicked condemned men to be those with whom you plant," and in language of equal foice an eloquent prelate of our own day recently deprecated this national vice as " seeding the earth with iniquity." STATE OF I'lCNAL COLONIES. O tlon of decency and order." * We see, therefore, causes sufficient to account for the testimony of a convict, which I here copy, because its truth has been confirmed by other evidence. After a descrip- tion of vices, too horrible to be repeated, he added — "The men had nothing but misery before them, and they cared nothing about their lives." When asked respecting a particular murder, he said — "I have seen so many I don't know which you refer to. I have seen men cut up just as you would cut up meat; and I have seen twenty-one men executed in a fortnight."t Truly, then, there is an awful fitness in the term "Hell's Gates," by which the approach to one Con- vict Settlement | is denoted, and the reason assigned, might to a great extent, be applied to all other Penal Stations — because the prisoners recklessly asserted, that all who entered were doomed to eternal perdition. As some further proof that such assertions have not been without apparent foundation, I insert a * Dr. Browning, in his interesting volume, gives a letter from a convict, in which he speaks of having attempted to read from a Bible, which had been given him, wlien he was assailed with language, which however shocking, might ahnost seem to represent the truth — " You old hypocrite ! There's no God in Van Dieman's Land, nor shall there be." f Evidence before Select Committee uf House of Lords, ou Execution of the Criminal Law. I. 4.53. t Macrpuuie Harbour, 6 PRISON DISCITLINE. description from a resident in Van Dienien's Land, published in the Parliamentary Correspondence on this subject : — " All that the free colonists suffer, even the total destruction of Van Dienien's Land as a free colony, is as nothing to what the wretched convicts are forced to submit to. It is not bodily suffering that I refer to ; it is the pollu- tion of their minds and hearts, which is forced upon them, which they cannot escape from. Loathsome as are the details of their miserable state, it is impossible to see thousands of men debased and depraved without at least making an attempt to save others from the same fate. * * * ,< 'Yo keep a man from bad companions is the first rule of moral discipline. Your rule is that each man shall have the worst companions that can be collected, and that it shall be impossible for him to have any others. " Mark the result — On 4th December last two men from Port Arthur were tried for an unheard-of crime. * * * They were found guilty and were hanged. From the wit- nesses on the trial it was discovered that * * * at Port Arthur is of constant, almost universal occurrence. Every convict knows of it, if he does not participate in it. * 4: .^ :|: " When is this to end ? How long is humanity to be thus outraged ? Are human beings to be still herded together like beasts ? And, while those appetites which nature has given them are stimulated by the climates to which you send them, are they to be forced to become like those who were destroyed by fire from above ? Can any one look for the reformation of these men ? What is to become of them ? What is to be done with the beings whom your system has made what they are ? The present plan is to diffuse their vices ; to sjjread them among the Australian Coh)nies, after they have been corrupted ; to do the work of hell efficiently and completely. * * * STATE OF PENAL COLONIES. 7 " The niiiid is lost in perplexity when it endeavours to conjecture the purpose for which the Almighty has j:>erinitted this dreadful system to come into existence. The oppression of the settlers, the destruction of their property, the state of terror in which they live, in all this we may perceive a wise purpose. In the end they may, though poorer, be better men, even by their sufferings. But for the convicts what can be said ? What ultimate benefit to them can be looked for here or hereafter ? " In altering the system, in disposing of its unhappy victims, there will be labour, anxiety, and expense. But all these must be encountered. The object is too important for such consi- derations. Apart from the higher and holier duty which is to be discharged, neither expense, anxiety, nor labour can be re- garded in freeing England from this system of national crime, which has no parallel in the history of human beings."* The evidence recently given by the Bishop of Tasmania not only confirms these statements, but describes circumstances which even aggravate the enormities referred to. Speaking of the probation gangs, his Lordship observes — " You absolutely prevent the possibility of reformation. I say it, and I say it deliberately, that the vices and iniqui- ties constantly practised in those probationary gangs are of such a character, and carried on to such an extent, that it is next to impossible for a man, however strongly he may be convinced of the sin- fulness of his course of life, boldly to speak of or to act upon his convictions ; he dares not show any sign of repentance or reformation when sur- * Some loathsome particulars are described, which the author has felt it wouhl be improper to insert. 8 PRISON DISCIPLINE rounded by his ungodly companions ; his mind becomes too often utterly brutalized, utterly debased, and utterly degraded, before he leaves those gangs. * * * In good truth you punish the soul as well as the body, and you virtually stretch your penal code beyond the world into eternity itself." With reference to the neglect and mismanage- ment which has been productive of such monstrous evils. Archbishop Whateley, in forcible language, . observes — "It is perhaps fortunate, if we will but use the lesson before us, that the errors of the present system are so very gross and palpable as they are : — that the rocks on which we have hitherto struck, are above water. We have hence some reason for hoping that we may obtain some different results from steering a different course hereafter. And we have also, to a certain degree, a direction pointed out for that course. A chart of shoals and quick- sands is not without its use in navigation; and the plan we have hitherto been pursuing, may, by the rule of contraries, be made to furnish a profitable example. For there is scarcely a feature in the whole system, — scarcely a part, portion, or circum- stance, in the convict's life, which it would not be requisite entirely to reverse, in a well-regulated penitentiary." * * * * "We need not join issue on the question, whether the picture presented be minutely accurate or not. Let any one be left to allow for all the exaggeration STATE or PENAL COLONIES. 9 that can be thought conceivable, and to suppose the evils of the system to be considerably less than they are represented, and the advantages greater. The conclusion, I think, would still be, to any candid and considerate mind, the very same. There are extreme cases, and this T think is one of them, in which no allowance that can reasonably be made for want of strict accuracy, will perceptibly affect the result. It would not be the "easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle" if the camel were half the usual size, and the needle's eye double. And in this case the evils which I have pointed out (though I have passed over no small part) are so multifarious and monstrous, and the' advantages so extremely minute, that if the one were only half what they are and the other double, I could not hesitate about coming to the same conclusion."* It is then well for us as parties in a measure re- sponsible for the wrongs which have been committed, and especially it is well for the injured inhabitants of our penal colonies that gross and glaring errors have been at length perceived by the Legislature, and a remedy proposed. That proposal will be best understood by the insertion of the following extracts fiom a letter by the Right Hon, Sir Geo. Grey, Bart., to Earl Grey, taken from the " Correspon- dence" on Convict Discipline, presented to both Houses of Parliament in 1847 : — " My Lord, — I am desirous of bringing under * Rcinarks on Trans^povlation, p.p. 55, 62. 10 PRISON DISCIPLINE. your Lordship's notice, the present state of the question relating to the punishment of transportation, with a view to the adoption of such measures as appear to be required in order to provide for the altered circumstances under which convicts sen- tenced to transportation must for the future be dealt with by the Government. * * * * " It is sufficient that I should express my conviction that expex'ience has abundantly proved the impossibility of carrying on, for any length of time, the transportation of a large num- ber of convicts from year to year to a penal colony, without l)roducing evils of the most formidable character, seriously affecting the social and moral condition of the colony, and destructive of any rational hope of rendering the punishment conducive to the reformation of the convicts, '' In consequence of the complaints received from New South Wales, it was determined in 1840 to discontinue transporta- tion to that colony ; and this decision was carried into effect by an order in council, made on the 22nd May, in that year, i:i pursuance of the provisions of the Act of the 5th Geo. IV. cap. 84, for the transportation of offenders from Great Britain. " From that period to the present, the places to which con- victs sentenced in Great Britain could legally be sent, in execu- tion of their sentence, have been Van Dieman's Land, Norfolk Island, and Bermuda and Gibraltar, at which latter places, under orders in council passed in pursuance of the provisions of the above-mentioned Act, offenders sentenced in Great Bri- tain to transportation may be kept to labour. "At the time of the disconthiuance of transportation to New South Wales, it had been determined to erect the Model Pri- son at Pentonville, which was subsequently completed in 1842, by means of which, and of the arrangements connected with (he system there to be pursued, it was hoped that the TRANSPORTATION LETTER OF SIR G. GREY. 11 number of persons on whom the sentence of transportation would be carried into effect would be considerably diminished. " In 1843 a further change took place. Pentonville Prison was then open. The practice of sending prisoners sentenced to transportation to the hulks, (except in the case of invalids unfit for transportation) was discontinued, and the number then in the hulks has been allowed gradually to decrease, by the expiration of the sentences, or the earlier liberation of the convicts. The prison at Millbank was at the same time placed, by Act of Parliament, on a new footing. It was converted from a Penitentiary into a Depot prison, under the superin- tendence of three of the Prison Inspectors, to be selected by the Secretary of State, with the ordinary powers of visiting justices. To this prison all persons sentenced in Grejit Bri- tain to transportation, have from that time been sent in the first instance. After a short detention there, the prisoners have been disposed of under the authority of the Secretary of State, on the recommendation of the Inspectors, in the follow- ing manner: — A certain number of adult male convicts have been selected from time to time from among them, and have been sent to Pentonville Prison. They have there been sub- jected to a system of separate confinement for a limited i)eriod, as detailed in the reports laid before Parliament from the Commissioners of Pentonville ; and at the expiration of the period of imprisonment, the maximum of which was fixed at eighteen months, those whose conduct has been satisfactory have been sent to Port Philip, under the denomination of " Exiles," with conditional pardons, to take effect on their arrival there : the only restraint on their freedom being the condition, that they shall not return to this country during the term of their original sentence. The remainder of the Pentonville prisoners, whose conduct has not entitled them to this indulgence, have been sent to Van Diemen's Land as convicts, but in most cases with certain advantages not possessed by oidinary convicts. 12 PRISON DISGITLINE. "Such being the system which has been recently acte^-l on, I come to the present position in which this question is placed. *' The continued annual importation of a large number of convicts into VanDiemen's Land, produced evils of snch mag- nitude, that on representations from the colony of the state of society occusioned by it. Her Majesty's Government deter- mined in the month of June last, to suspend for a period of two years, the transportation of male convicts to that colony. Subsequent information which has reached Her Majesty's Government, has made it in their opinion necessary to break up the penal establishment at Norfolk Island ; and instruc- tions to this effect have been addressed by your Lordshij) to the Lieutenant-Governor of Van Diemen's Land. "The immediate effects of these measures, the necessity for which was too apparent, is to throw upon the hands of the (Government a rapidly increasing number of convicts sen- tenced to transportation, but whose sentences can no longer be carried into effect as they have hitherto been, by their being sent to Van Diemen's Land or Norfolk Island. The mode of their future disposal has received much anxious attention. " The first question which suggests itself is, whether we can look forward to the resumption of transportation to Van Die- men's Land, at the expiration of the period of two years, for which it has been suspended. With the experience of the results of transportaticm to the Australian Colonies, the ex- pectation of recurring to the former system of transportation to Van Diemen's Laud at the end of this period, seems to me altogether illusory. "It is of importance, in considering this question, t > bear in mind the distinction between the fitness of the Australian Colonies as places for the reception of criminals after having undergone their punishment, and as places in which the pun- ishment itself is to be inflicted. The fiivour with which the system of transportation was long regarded, appears to be attributable to this distinction having been in great measure TRANSPORTATIOxX LETTER OF SIR G. GREY. 13 overlooked. There cau be no (li)ubt that new and thinly peopled settlements in which there is a large demand for labour, possess great advantages over a densely populated country, such as Great Britain and Ireland, for the reception of convicts after they have undergone their punishment. In this country, men regaining their liberty on the expiration of a penal sentence, often find great difficulty in obtaining an honest livelihood. In the general competition for employ- ment, character naturally and properly secures a preference to men untainted with crime ; and the discharged convict is liable to be thrown back upon a criminal course of life, from the inability to procure employment by which he can honestly maintain himself In the colonies, on the other hand, where labour is hi great demand, this difficulty is not experienced, and the opportunity is afforded to the convict, on the termina- tion of his sentence, of entering on a new career with advan- tages which he could not possess in this country, and of thus becoming an useful member of society Such was the case formerly to a considerable extent both in New South Wales, and in Van Diemen's Land, though of late, in the last-men- tioned colony, it has ceased to be so, owing to the large num- ber of convicts annually sent there, and the consequent defi- ciency of profitable employment for those who, either on the expii'ation of their sentences, or as holders of tickets of leave, have been thrown upon their own resources, in the midst of a population of which a large proportion has been criminal. " Considering these colonies, however, as mere places of punishment, it is difficult to discover any grounds for recurring to the recent system of transportation. In order to counter- act the impression produced in this country by the favourable accounts transmitted from time to time by convicts in Aus- tralia, of the advantages of which they found themselves in the enjoyment, it was thought necessary to increase the severity of tl'e punishment, and to render transportation more penal in its character. With this object, all convicts on their 14 PRISON DISCIPLINE. arrival in the colony were retained in the hands of the Go- vernment, and subjected to a system of forced hibour. But so far from possessing any advantages over this country as places for carrying out this strictly penal system, the colonies appear to labour in this respect under serious disadvantages. Without adverting to the comparative expense of enforcing this system at home, and in these distant colonies, it is ob- vious that in the most important respects, they offer fewer facilities than exist in this country for carrying out an efficient system of penal discipline. The Government is, of course, unable to exercise the close and vigilant supervision over the practical working of the plans adopted for the management of the convicts which can be secured here ; and there is less opportunity in the colonies of obtaining the services of a suffi- cient number of well qualified officers for their superintendence. " The immediate convenience of removing from our own shores, a large number of criminals to undergo theii punish- ment in a distant colony, has thus been attended by a dimi- nution of the means by which the Government could ade- quately discharge its responsibility in the subsequent care of them ; and has, it is to be feared, led to results equally inju- rious to the interests of the convicts themselves, and to those of the community to which they have been transferred. " On a careful consideration of this question, I am unable to devise or suggest any precautions or regulations by which the transportation of a considerable number of criminals to any of our Australian Colonies, to be there kept under sen- tence as convicts, can be resumed without the certainty of a recurrence of the evils which have heretofore resulted from it ; and I think that the transportation of male convicts to Van Diemen's Land, as hitherto carried on, ought to be wholly abandoned. Should your Lordship concur in this opinion, I would suggest that it should be intimated to the Lieutenant Governor of Van Diemen's Land, that it is not the present intention of Her Majesty's Government to resume the trans- portation of male convicts to that colony. TRANSPORTATION — LETTER OF SIR G. GREY. 15 "I feel it incumbent on me in suggesting this course, briefly to state the outline of the system which I propose should be adopted with regard to convicts sentenced to trans- portation. In dealing with this question, I find considerable facilities afforded for its solution, by the great improvemeiUs which have been recently made, and which are still in pro- gress, in the prisons of this country. The system adopted at Peutonville Prison, and the arrangements for carrying it into effect, have been subjected to the test of considerable experi- ence ; and proper means have been provided in many prisons in the country for the introduction of the same system. It may now I think be assumed, that under careful and vigilant superintendence, the system may, within strict limits as to time, be generally applied with safety and advantage to per- sons sentenced to transportation. "The general outline, therefore, of the plan which I pro- pose should be adopted with regard to this class of persons, is a limited period of separate imprisonment, succeeded by employment on public works, either abroad, as at Gibraltar and Bermuda, or in this country: and ultimately followed in ordi- nary cases, by exile or banishment for the remaining term of the original sentence. "It is not necessary that I should here enter into a minute detail of the arrangements and regulations which will be re- quired for carrying out each of these successive stages of punishment. It may be sufficient that I should state, that it is intended that the first stage, that of separate imprisonment should in no case exceed eighteen months ; and that the aver- age term of such imprisonment should not be more than one year. It is proposed that this imprisonment should take place either in Pentonville Prison, or in such of the prisons in the country as shall be ascertained, on inspection, to have made arrangements properly adapted for carrying out the system of separate imprisonment, and in which spare accommodation exists beyond what is required for local purposes. It is com- 10 PRISON DISCIPLINE. computed, that in aJdilion to the five huiuhed cells in Peu- tonville, there are, or shortly will he, availahle in other prisons, a large numher of cells for the reception of prisoners sentenced in Great Britain to transportation; and measures are in pro- gress for the erection, in Ireland, of a prison on the model of the Pentonville Prison, for the recejition of Irish convicts. It ii further proposed that this separate imprisonment should, tijwards its close, be gradually relaxed, with a view to prepare the prisoners for the second stage of punishment, employment on the public works. " It is intended, that on the expiration of the period of separate imprisonment, the prisoners shall be sent, as at present, to Millbank; and that they shall be sent from thence according to the circumstances of their respective cases, either to Bermuda or Gibraltar, or to other places which may be ap- pointed by Her Majesty in Council, out of England, or to employment on public works in this country, such as the con- struction of harbours of refuge, or works under some public department. *'I am deeply sensible of the imp )rtance, in having recourse to this mode of punishment, of taking tlie most effectual pre- cautions against the recurrence of those evils which resulted from the indiscriminate association of convicts under the former hulk system. Before, however, any convicts will enter ou this second stage of their punishment, they will have passed through a course of separate imprisonment accompanied by a system of moral and religious instruction and of industrial training which, it is hoped, will in most cases be attended with a beneficial effect on their character, and have prepared them for tliat intercourse with their fellow prisoners which is inseparable from any plan for the employment of convicts on public works, and which, under certain restrictions may in itself be made conductive to the progress of their reformation, and to their preparation for a return to society on the expi- ration of their sentence. TRANSPORTATION — LETTER OF SIR G. GREY. 17 "\Yhile ill this stage of their punishment, care will bo taken for providing them with proper accommochition, efficient superiiitemlenco, and adequate means of moral and religious instruction; and it is intended that incentives to industry and good conduct should be furnished by adopting, with such im- provements as experience may suggest, the system recom- mended by Colonel Reid, the late Governor of Bermuda, and already partially tried in that island with considerable success. This system is in principle, though not in all its practical details, very similar to that which has been ably advocated by Captain Maconochie. Its most important features are, that the convicts work by task, and that a regular register is kept of the amount of work done by each convict, and of his con- duct, by which means the labour is no longer exacted by the mere influence of fear or coercion, as in the case of slave labour, but motives of a higher class are called into action by the offer of advantages, both immediate and jd respective, to the industrious and well conducted. "On the release of prisoners from this second stage of pun- ishment, it appears to me of the highest importance that in connexion with the remaining portion of their sentence, they should not be deprived of the advantage to which in a fornu-r part of this letter I have adverted, and which transi)ortatii>n to New South Wales formerly conferred, in the facility of entering on a new course of life, and of obtaining a livelihood by honest industry. As the system proposed to be pursued in the management of convicts will be of a more reformatory character than it has hitherto been possible to adopt on any extensive scale, it may be hoped that a large number, at least, of the convicts who will have been subject to it, will have acquired principles and habits whicli will dispose them, if placed in favourable circumstances, to avail themselves of the opportunity of becoming useful members of society. It is proposed, therefore, that, as as a general rule, and whenever the conduct of the prisoners may render them fit sul>jects fur VOL. il. B 18 PRISON DISCIPLINE. the indulgence, conditional pardons should be granted to tliem after a certain time passed in penal labour; the term of such labour varying according to the length of the sentence, the conduct of the prisoner, and other circumstances. The con- dition of the pardon would be the same as that now enforced in the case of the exiles from Pentouville; namely, that they shall quit this country, and not return to it during the term of their original sentences. " But it is not proposed to caiTy this part of the plan gene- rally into effect in the manner in which it is now acted on with regard to the exiles from Pentonville. To send large numbers of convicts collectively to any of our colonies, though they were to become free on their arrival there, would, if con- tinued for a series of years, lead to many of the evils which have resulted from transportation. While the number was comparatively small, no material inconvenience might arise from the plan hitherto adopted ; but in proportion as the numbers were increased, would be the difficulty of their being absorbed in the general population of the colony, and the risk of their being considered a distinct and separate class, differ- ing but little from the present convict population of the penal colonies. Nor v/ould it be easy to provide against the gra- dually increasing disproportion of the sexes, owing to the conveyance of large numbers of adult males to the colony se- lected for their reception. It is proposed therefore that on obtaining the conditional pardon, the only restriction on the liberty of the persons holding such a pardon, should be the prohibition of remaining in this country; and that facilities for emigration should be afforded them individually instead of collectively, a portion of the earnings of each prisoner during the period of his imprisonment and employment on public works, being applied towards the expenses of his emigration, ©r, in certain cases, reserved towards defraying the expense of sending out his family. " It may be necessary to require, in tlie case of prisoners TRANSPORTATION CONVICTS AT READING. 19 liberated at licrmuda or Gibraltar, that tbcy shouUl not remain in, or return to, eitlier of those places. " In addition to the general plan thus contemplated, there will probably be cases in which the mercy of the Crown may safely be exercised in favour of prisoners, without enforcing the condition of exile, where their friends or other persons of character and respectability may undertake, on their libe- ration, to receive and provide employment for them, or become answerable for their future conduct. " The number of women sentenced to transportation is comparatively small ; and for the present I do not propose that any alteration should be made in the manner of dispo- sing of them." In pursuance of the plan thus explained, an arrangement was entered into between the Secretary of State for the Home Department and the Magis- trates of Berkshire, by which it was agreed that, at first, forty prisoners confined in the Mill bank depot should be subjected, for terms varying from nine to eighteen months, to cellular imprisonment at Reading.* The state of mind in which these convicts were found when brought to the prison, as observed by the visiting justices in their first report upon them, was most " unfavourable." Hardened by repeated transgression, having been most of them frequently convicted ; degraded by previous association in gaols ; ignorant as to the nature of tlieir new * A yearly rental of £6 per annum is paid by the Govern- ment for die occupation of each cell, and the proportion of all expences connected with the gaol establishment. B 2 20 PRISON DISCIPLINE. punishment, and unacquainted with the destiny whifh awaited them ; these, amongst other causes, forbade the sanguine hope of very successful efforts. At the time I write they have been just seven months in separate confinement. I proceed to describe the treatment to which they have been sub- jected, and the results so far as at present shown. These criminals having been entrusted to the au- thorities of this county, have of course been under that penal discipline and corrective instruction which has been pursued with so much success towards their own county prisoners. The learning of a trade and industrial training, although necessary and not to be neglected, was to be held subordinate, and by no means to interfere with that moral and religious education upon which hopes of reformation were founded.* It was stipulated that during the first * The following is an extract from the first Report of the Visiting Justices respecting these convicts : — " It is important at the present moment to notice the fact, that the success of our reformatory discipline hitherto, is attributable, under the blessing of Divine Providence, to the principle of corrective instruction, with which no other occupation is allowed to in- terfere, in a manner so as to counteract or diminish its influence, because the secondary occupation of trade instruc- tion, which is not suitable to county prisoneis, will form jiart of the discipline properly appliea to the Government transports, and will require some discrimination as to the degree in which it .may beneficially be allowed. The magistracy of Berks cannot too clearly and explicitly state, that as by the existing agreement, ' All authority over the Government prisoners is TRANSPOllTATIOX PREVIOUS CORRECTION. 21 month or six weeks no manual occupation should be permitted, but that it should be a term of reflec- tion to the criminal, interrupted only by necessary exercise and correctional instruction. The good effect of this temporary deprivation was so evident that I am sure none could witness it without desiring that such a plan might be universally adopted. The obdurate were subdued ; considera- tion produced sorrow ; many who had previously denied their guilt, then acknowledged it with bitter self-reproach ; advice was welcomed and instruction most thankfully received. Then their attention was first drawn towards, and the mind fixed upon, truths painful and therefore repugnant to them. They were forced to think, and thoughtful ness taught them their folly, and they were told the sad conse- quences of their offences. Remorse seized upon to be exercised by the visiting justices and authorities of the gaol, as iu county prisoners ;' any communication with these prisoners connected with discipline, except through the res- ponsible officers of the county, is to be deprecated. Beneficial as industrial occupation may be rendered for prisoners whose term of imprisonment is long enough to embrace both mental and manual instruction, it may be necessary to withhold the latter for a while until better progress has been made with the former, or to take away for a time the more attractive amuse- ment of handicraft occupation, after it has been granted, in cases in which it is found to interfere with instruction of a higher and more indispensable character. Under any circum- stances, manual labour should be permitted as an indulgence and an encouragement, and not as a })unishmcnt. " 22 PRISON DISCIPLINE. many, and when seeking relief with confession and resolutions to forsake evil, they were directed to an unfailing source of comfort. Repentance followed, and by this discipline I trust the hearts of many of these " disobedient were turned to the wisdom of the just " Several have since expressed to me their sense of the advantages which attended and were derived from this preliminary process, and their thankfulness that such a plan was pursued. When about two months had elapsed* the general behaviour and mental im[)rovement of these con- victs, with only one exception, (see Vol. i. 226) had been such as to warrant that relaxation of punishment, and lessening of the time assigned ex- clusively to corrective instruction, which would result from allowing manual occupations. Still the handi- craft, however profitable, w^as not to prevent the educational process of a higher character. The principles which have been before insisted upon were to be exemplified. These men whilst taught a trade were not to be treated as machines only impelled by force and kept in order by constraint, but to be taught motives and to be supplied with incentives to industry which should render it ha- bitual and permanent. f Instructors in the trades * The term somewhat exceeded that at first proposed, on account of some arrangements vfiih the Home Office, respect- ing the work of these convicts not having been completed. t We thus deal with criminals as rational agents, and in- stead of obliging them bv threats and force, we bring them to TRANSPORTATION PREVIOUS CORRECTION. 23 of tailoring and shoemaking were at this time pro- vided by Government, and al^out five hours of the the use of their reasoning faculties, and require proofs of their exercise. If industry he a duty, we not only teach this, but ascertain that the truth is known, and take care that the lesson is learnt from the Bible as the best instructor. The following is one of many similar papers written by these con- victs on this subject: — WHY SHOULD I BE INDUSTRIOUS ? God never made man to be idle. Gen. ii. 15. The industrious man shall be rewarded, Prov. xii. 11. Prov. xxvii. 23 — 27. — xii. 24. — X. 4. — xxii. 29. Luke xix. 12—22. Poverty and want will follow the idle man. Prov. xix. 15. Prov. xx. 4 — 13 Prov. xxiii. 21. An idle man is sure to get into mischief. 2 Thessal. iii. 11—12. Ephesians iv. 28. He is injurious to his fellow man. Proverbs x. 26. Proverbs xviii. 9. A lazy man is a foolish man. Prov. vi. 6—11. Prov. xxiv. 33—34. Prov. xxvi. 13 — 16. Prov. xix. 24. Prov. xxii. 13. A man is unhapj^y when he is idle. Proverbs xv. 19, An idle man does not love his neighbour as himself. Our duty to our neighbour is, " Not to covet or desire other men's goods, but to learn and labour truly to get mine own living; and to do my duty in that state of life into which it shall please God to call me." An idle man is not a Christian, although he may be called one. Rom. xii. 11 — 17 1 Thes. iv. 11 — 12 1 Tim. v. 8. 24 PRISON DISCIPLINE. (lay were to be spent in one or the other of those employments. The improvement which has been made may be be best shewn by the following : — TRADE instructors' REPORT AS TO THE PROGRESS OF THE CONVICTS. We have had forty prisoners under our care for the last four months to instruct in Tailoring and Shoemaking. When we first commenced they knew no more than a person would on just commencing his apprenticeship. On giving out their work, our directions have been, do not hurry, but do it as well as you can, you have no quantity allotted you as a task, but do your work well, and try and learn. We can state that the men generally have been very atten- tive, and have made considerable progress. Those engaged in Tailoring, can, with a little instruction, make uj^ a Suit of Clothes, consisting of Jacket, Waistcoat and Trousers; and the Shoemakers can do the same with a pair of Shoes. We have had much experience in our respective trades, and having worked for some time in other towns besides Reading, have had many opportunities of observing those engaged in learning; and we can state, that we never saw anything like the progress made by the men now under our instruction. INIarch 16th, 1848. H. B. I Trade G. B. 5 bistructors The amount of knowledge possessed by these convicts wlien first subjected to their corrective treatment, and the progress which has been since TRANSrollTATION PllEYIOUS CORRECTION. 25 made, will be seen by the schoolmaster : — State of Education as repnrtpd when re- ceived August 5lh, 1818. No. Age. 1. 39. Could read and write 2. 34. Ditto .. .. ... 3. 21. Read and write imp. 4. 18. Ditto 5. 23. Ditto 6. 25. Could uot read 7. 31. Read and write imp. b. 18. Ditto 9. 19. Ditto 10. 25. Ditto U. 28. Well educated 12. 21. Read and write imp. 13. 28. Ditto 14. 28. Could not read 15. 25. Read and write IC). 42. Ditto imperfectly ... 17. 21. Ditto following Report of the rrof5ress to March 5lh, 1818, shewing wliat has been learnt by the Convict. The Gospels of St. John, St. Malth., & St. Mark, &c. &c. The Gospel of St. John and St. Matth., Psalms, &c. The New Testament from St. Matth. to 2 Cor. The whole of the New Testa- ment, &c. &c. The Gospel of St. John, Matth. i. to xxvi., Ps., &c. The Gospel of St. John, Matth. i. to xxvi., Ps., &c. St.John, Matth. i. to xvi. The four Gospels, &c. The New Test, to Rom. ix. Ditto to 2 Cor. The New Test, as far as Ep. Philemon, (omitting St. Matth. and St. Mark) The whole of the New Testa- ment, &c. The Gospel of St. John, St. Matth. and St. Mark to iv. Has leurnt to read and write, and committed to memory the Discourses of our Lord The three Gospels, &c. Discourses of our Lord, Ps. li., cxxxix., &c. The Gospel of St. John and St. Matth., Mark i. to xii. 26 PRISON DISCIPLINE. Slate of Education as reported when re- ceived August oih, 1848. No. Age. 18. 27. Ditto ... 19. 27. Could not read ... 20. 18. Read and write . . 21. 20. Ditto well 22. 26. Ditto 23. 34. Could not read ... 24. 18. Read & write imp, ... 25. 21. Ditto well 26. 20. Ditto imperfectly .. 27. 21. Could uotread 28. 18. Read and write well 29. 30. Could not read 30. 38. Read and write well 31. 22. Ditto 32. 24. Ditto imperfectly ... 33. 21. Could not read 34. 27. Read and write well 35. 20. Ditto imperfectly ... 36. 20. Ditto 37. 23. Ditto 38. 28. Could not read 39. 23. Ditto 40. 29. Ditto Progress to March 5th, 1848, shewing what has been learnt by the Convict. Discourses, St. John i. to vi. Learnt to read and write, St. John i. to xi. The New Testament to 2 Cor. Ditto to 2 Thess. Ditto to 1 Cor. Has learnt to read The Gospel of St. John and St. Matth., &c. The New Testament to 2 Cor. Ditto to Ep. Gal. Ditto to 1 Cor. The whole of the New Testa- ment and the Psalms, &c. Very little progress The Gospel of St. John and St. Matthew, &c. The four Gospels, Ps., &c. Two Gospels, &c. The four Gospels, &c. The four Gospels, Ps. li., &c. The New Testament to Gal. Three Gospels, &c. St. John i. to xii. (has heen in bad health) St. John's Gospel, Matth. i. to xii., &c. Ditto, Matth. i. to xiii. Little progress made — can read imperfectly I proceed now to speak of the apparent effect of the syylem to v^llich the criminals have been sub- TRANSrOllTATION — PllEVlOUS CORRECTION. 27 jected, as respects moral reformation and religious improvement. And in describing these results, so far as at present shewn, I desire to write with all the caution which may be proper where observation of only a few months has been afforded ; at the same time to bear a faithful testimony to what I believe to have been accomplished by that correc- tive instruction which has been constantly imparted. There are persons to whom the religious reforma- tion of a convict affords only a subject for ridicule. The very idea of a convert from such a class is in their view a delusion. Regarding themselves witli complacency as possessed of too much discernment to be thus deceived, they look upon any who credit the repentance and real improvement of the heinous offender as men easily imposed upon, and in whose judgment little dependence can be placed. Vain would be the effort to convince persons who are thus supercilious and suspicious — themselves strangers to the spirit of Christianity, and therefore destitute of that charity which is its prominent feature. Be- fore such characters can estimate the power of scrip- tural instruction upon others, they must themselves be subject to its influence ; and if the truth be offensive, it is on that very account the more certain, that they need as complete a renovation of heart as any of the criminals they distrust.* To * The author would avoid more distinct reference to some whose personal attacks in ephemeral pamphlets arc uu- 28 PRISON DISCIPLINE. such men the facts I am about to adduce will ap- pear trifling, because they cannot appreciate their importance. To the christian they will be intei- esting because he can better estimate their woith, and to some extent foresee their effect. The confession of offences, as the first step to- ward forsaking evil, has been very satisfactory. There are few of these convicts who do not acknow- ledge the perfect justice of the sentence which has been passed upon them — none who deny that their past conduct deserves punishment. A spirit of for- giveness prevails amongst them, and the desire to make restitution has been often expressed ; some having small sums in their possession have proposed to remit them to persons whom they have injured, and by whom they had been prosecuted. Sym- pathy towards each other is shewn continually ; their letters abound with warnings to former com- panions in guilt, and shew the most affectionate concern for the welfare of friends and relatives. Private religious duties, so far as I have been able to discover, are performed by many with constancy and much proper feeling ; and in the public services of the Church their devout attention and whole de- meanor is pleasing and exemplary. Nearly three fourths of them profess to have been greatly impressed by the sacred truths which have worthy of notice, except as betraying a melancholy ignorance of the " things which a christian ought to know and believe to his soul's health." TRANSPORTATION — PREVIOUS CORRECTION. 29 been brought before them.* Witli two or three exceptions, I dare not doubt their sincerity. Their * As the circumstances of tliese convicts are so niucli more favourable than those referred to by the Bishop of Tasmania, in his evidence, so I trust the effect of their religious instruc- tion will present a contrast to the description of his Lordship. — "I must own myself, and it is a painful conviction to come to, that with the best intentions, with the highest talents, and with the most assiduous work on the part of religious instruc- tors, they are able to effect very little permanent good. I myself have preached often to convicts, and as often I have been struck with their very great attention during the time of divine service; apparently they have been struck with what has been said; but I could not conceal from myself, that im- mediately after divine service these men have gone back to their huts, or to the mess-room, as the case may be ; there they have been compelled to listen to conversation of the most depraved and profligate character; and if by God's grace a man's heart is a little touched by the delivery of Gospel truths, there is not one out of a thousand, or out of five thou- sand, who dares to exhibit any traces of penitence before his profligate companions. I may state one other reason why so little good is done in the gangs by religious instructors, — and it is an evil which stretches much further than during the time they are under bond, — in all these gangs religious instruction is necessarily of a compulsory character; a man, for example, is compelled to attend the chapel twice on every Sunday, if he evades it or shirks it he is punished. Is it to be wondered at, that, when the time of real or of comparative liberty comes, they should cast off attendance at the house of God with every other mark of their bondage ? I believe I may truly say that all the clergy, although they may be able to tell of many instances of reformed characters amongst the convicts, lament the difficulty they have experienced of bringing these men to church." 30 PRISON DISCIPLINE. conduct accords with their profession. Out of many more candidates, I have admitted seventeen to the Holy Communion. This is the best assurance I can give of my own confidence in the change and correc- tion of these prisoners; because, I am slow in receiving any convicts to that Holy Sacrament, and although I cannot refuse the applicant who is sufficiently in- structed, who professes repentance and faith, and affords no proof of insincerity ; yet I never administer the sacred ordinance to one whom I have not first solemnly warned, and whose conduct I have not most carefully watched. I feel then, warranted, in assert- ing that a very large proportion of these convicts will leave the prison walls as enlightened christian men; whilst concerning the whole body, I am sure it may be said, that as respects knowledge, morality, and religion, they will be vastly superior to the (jlass of unconvicted men amongst whom they had before lived . But though we can only describe the condition of these men as Yexy promising, I refer, with satisfaction and thankfulness to the last Report of the Commis- sioners of Pentonville Prison, as affording pleasing testimony to the reformatory effect of the similar discipline which has been there pursued — "We feel warranted in expressing our firm conviction that the moral results of the discipline have been most en- couraging, and attended with a success which we believe is without parallel in the history of prison discipline." * In the same Report, the Chaplain * Fifth Report, p.p. 15—39. ' TRANSPORTATION PREVIOUS CORRECTION. 31 referring to the exiles who had been under the disci- pline of that prison, observes — " In comparing the conduct of these convicts upon debarkation with the like number of prisoners emancipated from other gaols, it is not exaggeration to affirm that no prison in this country, not on the Separate System, can bear comparison with Pentonville in the great moral and beneficial results with which it has pleased God to crown the noble designs which originated its esta- blislmient, and the efforts of those who from the first were employed ui carrying them out." Some doubt has probably arisen in the mind of the reader as to whether, if the separate injprisonment of the convict is to constitute the punishment for the heinous offence on account of which sentence of transportation has been passed, that penalty is sufficiently severe. I do not here discuss the ques- tion how far the dread of punishment ma\' deter the vicious ; but I do with confidence assert that the fear of transportation is greatly increased by that previous seclusion which is now involved in such a sentence. It has long been the practice of Judges and other authorities to forewarn the prisoner, when determining his punishment for the first offence, that if he be again convicted, transportation will be his punishment. The number of re-committals is evi- dence enough that the threat is ineffectual. The only considerable diminution in the number of this class is found where the separate system is judi- ciously enforced. As to the feeling of criminals on 32 PRISON DISCIPLINE. the comparative severity of the punishment I might adduce much evidence. I insert tlie testimony of two or three. The Governor of the Glasgow Prisons, in a paper lately written on this subject, observes : — "It is allowed that one of the most important objects of punishment is to warn others from imitating the example of the offender, and deter them from the commission of crime. Now the fact is, that, in general, instead of being looked upon with terror, and having a deterring influence, transportation is viewed by a very numerous class of criminals as a kind of " land of promise," to which they have been looking forward from the moment of their first departure from rectitude. I am thoroughly convinced that if criminals were left to choose oetween a confinement of two years in the prisons in Scotland [which are on the Separate System] and transportation to the colonies for seven or even ten years, in five cases out of six the latter alternative would be chosen. However much they may afterwards experience its bitterness, it is plain that they regard it with no feelings of dread while it is yet in prospec- tive." The convict, whose evidence has been before referred to, was asked — " Which has the most terror for a person, transportation or imprisonment ? "A. Imprisonment, upon the separate system? "Do not persons in general feel great dread of being sent out of the country to a penal colony ? "A. No! They have more dread of being confined under this separate system, which they have at Milbank, or some place in London, before they go away." * * Evideucc on the Execution of the Criminal La.v. I. 4-55. TRANSPORTATION — PREVIOUS PUNISHMENT. 33 Bi^fore the same committee, the Chaplain pf Pentonville Prison, stated — "Willi reference to the severity of transportation in itself, or, as compared, say with eighteen months separate confine- ment, and eighteen months subsequent labour in this country, with exile of some sort still to follow, I decidedly think that the majority of convicts would dread the latter sentence much more than transportation, as transportation has been carried on, even within the last few years." And in his last Report, the Chaplain of Lewes Gaol says — *' I have carefully impressed upon the prisoners that, according to present arrangements, a lengthened period of separate confinement will form the first portion of the sentence of transportation. And from the concern with which this information is received, upon the one hand, and the moral ad- vantages connected with such confinement on the other, I am led strongly to hope that the sentence of transportation will act more beneficially than hitherto, both at home and abroad." From twelve to eighteen months having been spent under the punishment of cellular imprison- ment — a punishment, severe, as we have shewn, in proportion to the depi'avity of character, but lessen- ing in severity, according to the improvement which that discipline effected, the subsequent treatment of the convict now calls for our consideration. The frightful aspect of our penal colonies, and the apparent evil of increasing the convict population, has given rise to the plan which has been described VOL II. C 34 TRISON DISCIPLINE. of associating prisoners, and employing tbem on some public works; not, however, we are assured, without a sincere and earnest endeavour on the part of the Legislature, to prevent by diligent supervision, and some continued religious instruction, any recur- rence of those vices and calamities, which have heretofore resulted from similar punishment. Amidst so much, in the proposed measure, whicli must command approval — so many regulations, not merely advantageous to society, but calculated to ensure the lasting gratitude of many a corrected criminal — it is painful to observe anything from which a sense of duty obliges to express dissent; yet, so confident do I feel that, even under the very best arrangements, the companionship and exposure of convicts, would have a tendency to frustrate the benefits of former treatment, that I feel bound to deprecate this part of the plan, and, to express a most anxious desire, that it may never be pursued. Although fully convinced that ihe separate system properly carried out for twelve or eighteen months, will commonly prove corrective, I dare not consent to the assertion that "any reformation is of little value that will not stand the test of association under any cifcumstaiices." I am sure that neither the history of mankind, nor our own observation and experience, will warrant such an inference, whilst the precepts and monitory examples of Scripture plaiidy teach us that "good manners" may be corrupted by "evil communications," and that reformation, though real. TRANSPORTATION GANG-WORK DEPRECATED. 35 is not always proof against seductive intercourse. I will not dispute, but that the instruction imparted, and tlie change effected, rnay be of permanent ad- vantage, although the subject of it may for a time relapse; yet I can scarcely doubt that in very many cases such a falling off must be the effect of suddenly exposing the recent convert to the blighting influ- ence of criminal association; subjecting him at the same time to the withering gaze of public scorn, and blasting all voluntary and virtuous effort by a de- basing plan of compulsory labour. I have insisted in the former volume, on the im- portance of fostering the principle of self respect, but it is difficult to conceive any plan more calculated to destroy' such a feeling than that of forcing one in whom it has but lately been implanted or revived into the company of offenders, each conscious of others' guilt, and all alike degraded. The agreement in opinion on this subject expressed by most of the learned Judges of the united kingdom in reply to the question submitted to them by the Committee on the Execution of the Criminal Law, was very remarkable. The common opinion may be learnt from the answer of the I^ord Justice Clerk of Scotland, which is indeed a brief, but forcible sum- mary of objections. "I look," says his Lordship, "on the piihlic e.rhibUion and spectacle of convict labour as the most objectionable scheme of any system of punishment which can be conceived, — - necessarily hardening and brutalizing the convicts, — c2 36 PRISON DISCIPLINE. revolting to the well disposed, — familiarizing the evil disposed to the utmost that is to happen, (which, after all, is labour, food, and clotJdng,) and tending to engender very bad feelings in the lower orders, who are working luwd (harder often than the con- victs) for daily bread, by exhibiting as a punishment and degradation, that v»^hich is the necessary lot of the great bulk of mankind, — hard, incessant, grind- ing, toilsome labour. Labour ought to be attended with respect: and the man who so earns his bread should be encouraged to feel elevated by that em- ployment. The exhibition of the labour of convicts as a degrading spectacle must revolt the former class; it has always brutalized the convicts themselves."* There is, we may now believe, but little fear of any return to the system of Hulk demoralization. The palpable enormities which were perpetrated by the convict gangs lodged in those loathsome habita- tions of cruelty and guilt, and which no vigilance could prevent, must forbid the re-establishment of such a system. France too is about to abandon her Bagnes, and to abolish her Travaux Forces. Let us hope that no penal treatment will be retained in England which may, either in its operations or re- sults, bear comparison to a system so degrading and disastrous. It cannot be supposed that the detention of con- victs subsequent to the penal discipline of imprison- ment can be desired on the score of economy. A * Report, &c. II. 75. TlUNSrORTATION. 37 question indeed scarce wovtliy of consideration at the risk of permanent correction. But surely the construction of proper abodes, and the cost of superintendence, must more than outweigh any ex- pense attending immediate transportation. An acquaintance with the former homes and con- nexions of the class of more heinous offenders will dispose every humane person to deprecate the pardon of the convict after his term of imprisonment, 7vith pcnnission to remain in this countnj. If intercourse with the gang would probably deteriorate, the return to former companions would expose to almost equal danger. Grievous results I am sure would follow if such a plan should be to any extent pursued. Let it once be known by prisoners under sentence of transpor- tation, that such pardon may be obtained by tempo- rary good conduct, and hypocrisy, with the other evils which have been described, will sadly prevail, and prevent correction. Nor will the consequences be less fatal to many, who, from better motives, may be well-behaved. The most obedient and best con- ducted prisoners are often of the most compljqng disposition, and least capable of resisting temptation. These then would almost certainly relapse if allowed to revisit scenes of former vice, and left within reach of old associates in guilt. Transportation affords to such an escape. Banishment alone gives them the prospect of bettering their condition. In compassion towards them, we plead for it. Confident as I feel that the proposed system of 38 PRISON DISCIPLINE. separate confinement will prove reformatory to a very great extent, unless its influence be frustrated by this expectation and uncertainty, v\4iich I would most earnestly deprecate, yet supposing hypocrisy should be induced, and an apparent but unreal change should cause the liberation of a number of criminals, whilst the submissive prisoner, so easily again seduced, should augment the class of emanci- pated convicts, — then, indeed, although these would be the first victims of mistaken policy, yet our in- nocent population must be deteriorated, and society at home suffer. Such a plan is in all respects inexpedient, and I am thankful that the late Select Committee of the House of Lords have so forcibly shewn this by the condition of other countries, to which they refer. " The evidence," say their lord- ships, "both from France and elsewhere, of the evil effects produced by the liberation of many convicts yearly as their terms of imprisonment expire, would seem strongly to inculcate the necessity of obviating the great inconvenience of setting at liberty in this country on the expiration of their sentences those who had once been convicted of serious crimes. " It appears that Christiania, the capital of Nor- way, is so injuriously affected by the proportion which the liberated convicts bear to the population — nearly one in thirty — that the inhabitants have been called upon by the police to provide the means of their own security from such persons. In France, where between 7,000 and 8,000 convicts are libe- TRANSPORTATION. 39 rated yearly, the superintendence of the police, (Surveillance) and the compulsory and fisied resi- dence of the convict, are found very insufficient, especially since the invention of Railways. The residence of the liberated convicts is found to be a permanent danger to society. The system of im- prisonment (Reclusion), or of the Bagnes or Travaux forces, is of little effect in reforming, or even in deterring from a repetition of the offences punished, and the proportion of those re-committed for new offences is not less than thirty per cent. Thus of about 90,000 persons tried in the whole kingdom, above 15,000, or one-sixth of the whole number, had already suffered imprisonment, to say nothing of the corrupting effects produced on the community even by those vi'ho escape a second punishment. "Looking to these facts, the committee are of opinion that the punishment of transportation should be retained for serious offences; that such punish- ment should in some cases be carried into effi'ct immediately, in others at a later period ; that the first stages of the punishment, whether carried into effect in this country or in the colonies, should be of a reformatory as well as of a penal character, and that the latter stages at all events should be carried into effect in the colonies, the convict being for that purpose retained under that qualified restraint to which, under the existing system of transportation, men holding tickets of leave or conditional pardon are subjected." * * Rcpurt oil ihe Execution ol' the Ciiriiintil Law, ii. 6—7. 40 PRISON DISCIPLINE. Happily for us, the abolition of the former system of transportation does not entail a necessiUj of re- taining criminals at home. Distant lands invite the exile, and colonists proclaim a welcome. I quote on this point from the last Report of the Commis- sioners of Pentonville Prison : — " A desire has been expressed to receive and give employ- ment to the ' Exiles ' at the following places : — Melbourne, Geelong, Portland Bay, and Port Fairy, in the Port Philip District ; at Yass, a place about 200 miles from Sidney, in the direction of Port Philip ; and at Moreton Bay, in the northern part of the colony.* A despatch has also been re- ceived from Lieutenant-Colonel Clarke, Governor of Western Australia, with a memorial from the Agricultural Society in the district of York, requesting a supply of labourers from Pentonville Prison. f Not the slightest difficulty has arisen in the way of the ' Exiles ' finding on their arrival immediate employment; and the Lieutenant-Governor of Van Diemen's Land, in his letter to Lord Stanley, dated the 23rd February, 1846, expresses himself in the following manner: — ' I lose no time in transmitting to you the letter of the Superintendent of Port Philip to your Lordship, as it is important for your Lordshi]! to be made acquainted with the gratifying circum- stance that there will be no difficulty in finding employment in the Port Philip district for any number of ' Exiles ' that jnay be sent to the colonies.;}: It is also highly gratifying to learn that the conduct of the 'Exiles ' has been generally excellent, their habits regular, and free from that intemper^ anee which accompanies too often those who have obtained indulgence.' § * Governor Sir Geoige Gipps to Lord Stanley, 19 Feb. 1845, t Lieutenant-Colonel Clarke to Lord Stanley, 20 May, 1846. t C. J. Latrobe to Lord Stanley, 7th April, 1845 — Sir Eard- ley Wilmot, 23rd February, 1846. § Sir Eardley Wilmot to Lord Stanley, SthAugust, 1845, TRANSPORTATION — EXILES WELCOMED. 41 " It further appears, from the Report of the Select Com- mittee of tlie Legishitive Council of New South Wales on the renewal of transportation, dated 31st October, 1846, that there is ' uniform testimony given in favour of the decent and or- derly conduct of the Pentonville Exiles landed some time since at Port Philip ;' and it is also stated in the minutes of evidence taken before that committee, that ' the Exiles are generally admitted to be a most valuable acquisition to the colony;' that they are 'the best class of men the colonists ever had, and, as a body, superior to the class of immigrants sent from home ; ' that they are ' a young and hardy class of men, and very useful ;' that but 'fev/ instances have occurred of the Pentonville Exiles committing crimes since they have come to Port Philip ;' and that ' if a large number of Penton- ville convicts were introduced into Port Philip, Ihey would immediately meet with employment among the settlers.' * * * * -X- -X- " No greater proof can be shewn of the estimation in which the conditional pardon men are held at Port Philip than that the men were hired from the ship, for about 20/. per annum, with their rations ; one man obtained 35/., and one even iiOl. ; and that, had the Superintendent been intrusted with five hundred, instead of fifty, he is certain that he could have procured them masters in one week. A gentleman who had hired some of the men from the ' Sir George Seymour,' en- gaged ten more from the 'Stratheden.' " Tlie follovving is an extract from a letter of Dr. Robertson, R.N., written about six months since, on his return from Port Philip, whither he had taken a number of exiles : — " During the ninety days I spent in the Port Philip district, I visited various parts of the country within a hundred miles of Melbourne, frequently meeting the exiles in fields, and on the roads, &c., some as shepherds, some as laboiuers in the 42 PRISON DISCIPLINE. charge of wool-carts, aud one as a bullock driver. They seemed to a man satisfied with the treatment they received from the country gentlemen ; and I was glad to find that there was general satisfaction expressed by the latter. * * A petition was being signed for the purpose of inducing the Home Government to continue sending out these servaiits ; and expressing their readiness to bear the half of any expense it may cost to send out their wives and children also. With respect to the number of men that might annually find employ- ment in the district of Port Philip, I should say at least four thousand. I have been told double, by persons of experience — and I have no doubt that in a few years, as the stock in- creases at the rate of one hundred per cent., annually, they will require the larger number. At present the sheep are put into flocks of four thousand and upwards, from the want of persons to attend them in the proper divisions of one thousand each, much to the injury of the feed and stock." * The favourable prospect thus open, and the rate of wages thus willingly offered, suggests another advantage referred to in the foregoing letter. Trans- portation, as heretofore practised, was not only per- nicious to the convicts themselves, but a dreadful calamity and source of crime to those depen- dent upon the victim of such a punishment. The evidence in another part of this volume will shew some proofs of this. Such evils may henceforth be prevented. The earnings of the convict may well enable him to pay a part, if not the whole expense of conveying his family. The cost of this may be required of him, whilst he is under that qualified re- straint \A hich may be for a time desirable, but we may * Quarterly Kcview, No cl.xiii. page 1!»6. TRANSPORTATION. 43 confidently hope that the previous reformatory disci- pline will have so much increased and corrected his atlections, that he will be inclined, at some personal sacrifice, to juomote their emigration. If only a proportion be exacted for this purpose, wisely will the state, or the district to which his pauperized family has become chargeable, prevent crime by contributing the rest. 44 PKISON DISCIPLINE. CHAPTER II. STATEMENTS OF A CONVICT, ETC. The following observations, with some others of less importance, were written by a convict now in the prison at Reading — a man of much intelligence^ whose behaviour in every respect justifies the con- fidence I feel in the perfect truth of his statements, some of which I have ascertained by enquiry to be correct. They not only shew the depraving effect of gaol association, but give an insight into the pri- son ward, which must prevent our wondering that all but the most base and abandoned characters prefer to be confined alone. I have given the facts and reflections in the convict's own words, only omitting the names of places and persons : — "At Gaol I found myself in company with eight others, who, like me, were under sentence of transportation. For the first few days I took little notice of them, the excite- ment occasioned by my trial having brought on illness ; but afterwards I had time to consider the character and disposi- tion of those by whom I was surrounded. There were two for a highway robbery, committed hardly a mile and a half from my own residence, and on parties I knew perfectly well. These not only boldly acknowledged their crime, but gloried in the manner in which they had effected it. 'J'hey also avowed themselves the perpelralurs of a I'obbery which had taken STATEMENTS OF A CONVICT, ETC. 45 place at fair. Others there were who had been guilty of burglary, some pickpockets, and some for petty thefts, com- pleted the number of those with whom I had to associate. "Their language was disgusting. The time which was not occupied in cleaning the prison was spent in relating their different adventures ; in telling of their living without work, often getting 30/. or 40/. by the commission of one crime, and then until that was spent following a continued course of riot and debauchery. Relating tales respecting the different prostitutes with whom they had associated, and with some of whom, under the name of sisters, they still corresponded, and who likewise visited them under that name, — this too was the way in which that portion of the Sabbath not occupied by Divine Service was usually spent. Giving proofs of their dexterity by picking each others pockets was another favourite way of passing time, shewing how easily it was done by lifting up the bottom of the tail of the coat, and then gently but quickly drawing the handkerchief out, saying also that a pocket-book could be removed in the same way. " It soon began to be noticed that I did not join in the laugh with them, in fact that I kept as much as possible aloof. One of them having stolen some soup, a portion was offered to me, and upon my refusing to partake of it, they asked whether if any inquiry was made respecting it I should tell. I answered that if I was asked of the matter I must tell the truth. This brought on me a shower of invectives. I was called a nose (a flash term for one who tells anything of ano- ther), and told I had better not, or it would be the worse for me. Two or three days after this the Governor came into the ward at dinner time, and requested me to follow him into his office as he wished to speak with me. When I returned I found my dinner gone — no one knew what had become of it. But this was the least annoyance. They had taken it into their heads that I was gone in to tell the Governor all that they had bseu doing and saying. It was iu vain that I told tham 40 PRISON DISCIPLINE. that it was on a mattsv wholly concerning myself, and that it did not refer to thein in any way. Tiiey would not listen to nae, but called me every name they could think of, indeed one man told me with an oath that if I said anything respecting him he would smash my head. From that time until my re- moval to I led almost a dog's life amongst them, insulted and having my feelings wounded in every way. This in- deed, when day after day you are forced to endure it, is VERY HARD TO BEAR. Our number before that removal was increased by other prisoners, one of whom was without exception in the habit of using the most filthy and disgusting language I ever heard, and the worst of it was he knew much better. He could read well and was well versed in Scripture, quoting it often to justify his own evil ways. Indeed so foul was his language one afternoon, that the others, bad as they were, told him to desist. He immediately referred them to , asking whether it was worse than was written in the Bible. I told him that was an Eastern figure, signifying great misery and degradation ; he, I believe, knew this very well, as he had been both in Syria and Egypt. "Even in the night it was not my lot to be free, for there slept in the same cell with me two others, one of whom had such a habit of swearing, that he swore in his sleep, and often in the night have I heard the muttered curse and filthy ex- pression proceed from his lips. •''They appeared to be destitute of natural affection towards their relatives and friends. I well recollect one man who when his aged parent wept at the interview with him, swore at him and asked him what he was snivelling at — that he had agreed for fourteen years and should serve it like a man. This on his return to the ward ho related to his companions, who applauded him as " a fine fellow," or as they called him, one having "good pluck." There was one man indeed, who on receiving a letter from his aged mother, did shed a few tears, but he was laughed at, and unable to bear it soon joined STATEMENTS OF A CONVICT, ETC. 47 ill the laugh, tearing up the letter, and was then praised. Another man told me he had a brother and sister in very re- spectable circumstances, his brother he said held a situation in the powder mills at , and had a salary of from two to three guineas weekly. At his desire I wrote to him. For the first few days he was very uneasy at not receiving any reply, nideed on the San;lay following, during divine service, he burst into tears, and sobbed so loud and violently that he was removed from the chapel. After service I asked him what was the matter. He told me he could not help thinking of his orother and sister, and was afraid they had cast him off, for said he, I have led a wicked dranken life. (Ha had been wandering about the country with a prostitute, and had been five times convicted for petty thefts.) I begged of him not to think so, but to endeavour seriously to amend his life, and added that when they saw that he was indeed reforming, no doubt they would gladly receive him. My advice seemed to weigh with him, but unfortunately the others requested to know what was the matter, he told them, and likewise the conver- sation he had had with me, they immediately began to laugh, and one said never mind George, I would see them (meaning his brother and sister) , before I would write to them again— write to your old woman (the prostitute with whom he had been living.) He did so, under the name of sister. — An answer came. See he said, the old woman is better than my own brother and sister. them, I will think no more of them. I have told this almost word for word as it occurred. " These scenes brought to my recollection what had been brought foi'ward in evidence at a trial for burglary at the Quarter Sessions. The prisoner had been previously convicted of robbing his master, and sentenced to six months' imprison- ment, which he served in Gaol ; whilst there it appeared he planned the robbery for which he was then on his trial. A man who was in prison with him, came and gave the following evidence : — I was in Gaol with the prisoner. 48 PRISON DISCIPLINE. 1 was iu gaol for stealing coru for my master's horses ; lie was in the same ward with me ; he asked me whether I was a mind to go and help him rob a house ; I asked him what house ; he said Miss , at ; he said I know the house ■well, for I have been there with my master (the prisoner had been a gentleman's servant), and there is no danger, and ■we shall get plenty. I did not go, said the ■witness, fori was afraid. The prisoner was convicted and sentenced to 15 years' transportation. " The following facts, illustrative of the bad effects of allow- ing prisoners to associate together, and the encouragement they give each other in cherishing vindictive feelings against their prosecutors, and the judge who tried them, occurred during the assize week : — " One of the prisoners on entering the ward in the morning said, ' I saw my master last night (the windows of the cell in which he slept commanded a view of the road in front of the Sessions-House) ; the little blackguard was cutting about (i.e. moving briskly) in the road ; '■■ him, 1 could have robbed him of 300^. only a week before I was taken up, and I only took 30^. in small sums at different times for the use of my family, and now the blackguard has prosecuted me. Serves you right, said three or four more of the prisoners, for not cutting off with the 300/. " Another who had been convicted of endeavouring to extort money under very aggravated circumstances, no less than threatening to accuse his prosecutor of attempting to commit an unnatural offence, said and all prosecutors ; there is mine will swear to any thing, him. I did get a good deal out of him, and I would have ruined the (hero an expression was used too bad to be repeated) if 1 could. . ''A third, alluding to the judge, said, 'Call him a judge ? why he told the jury they would not do their duty unless they brought me in guilty, he was more like a jirosecutor's counsel than a judge.' (One of the turnkeys told me the evidence STATEMENTS OF A CONVICT. 49 against the prisoner was very clear, indeed, from his own tale, I hod no doubt of his guilt.) ' him, I should like to cut his throat with my hog knife.' " ' Ah !' said many of them, ' prisoners will never have jus- tice done all the time prosecutors and witnesses get their expenses paid ; they only come against us for the sake of a holiday, and so transport us poor devils.' " I was particularly struck with the following occurrence : — A man and his son were to be tried for stealing some clothes, the man was a soldier, and his son a lad of about nine or ten years of age. The lad told me that he should plead guilty. I asked why ? he said, if I plead guilty, I shall tell them that I took the clothes, and that father knew nothing about it, because if father is found guilty he will lose all his years of service, and wont be able to get his pension : they will only give me (because I am a boy) a short time in prison, and that I don't mind.' I said, ' Has your father been telling you to do this ? ' He answered ' Yes.' This shallow artifice did not succeed, but was discovered immediately in court ; but still the fact remained — the father had first taught his boy to steal, (for the lad told me that his fiither had sent him to take the clothes, and to bring them to him) and was thus in prison still further urging him in wickedness. " After my removal to , I, of course, saw many others, and although from the increased number of officers, a greater degree of order was observed, still the same evil spirit miini- fested itself. If a man knelt down to pray before he went to bed (for in the ward where I was, they slept eighteen and ten in a room), he was sure to be pointed at, and the sneer and laugh went round amongst his companions. The language also was at times very bad. One incident, shewing how prisoners build up one another in wickedness, I will mention. There slept in the same room with me, nine others ; one of them an old man grey headed, who told me he was above 70 years of age, was asked by one of the others, ' How many years VOL. II. D 50 PRISON DISCIPLINE. have you gut ? ' ' Seven,' he replied ' What for ? ' ' Stcah'ng n goose,' he said; 'and after I get over this, T will steal another one.' 'Bravo, father ! ' thi-ee or four of them said, 'you have got some pluck in you yet t ' The prisoner who slept next to me, and who had been resj^ectable, whispered, ' What a shocking sight, an old man just tottering on the grave, thus glorying in his wickedness, and determining to continue therein ; and the rest of them applauding him ! ' " But I gladly tui*n from this to a consideration of the effects likely to result from the system pursued in the prison at Reading. " The advantages of separating the prisoner must be plain to all who have seen the fearfully contaminating effects of allowing prisoners to associate together. " Another feature is the endeavour to implant correct priu- cii:)les in the heart. This, indeed, must be dependant on the former, as it would be useless to attempt anything of the kind, were not sejiaration strictly enforced. " To the youth who has committed his first offence, such a system will prove a blessing. Cut off from wicked associates, he is prevented from becoming dee^jer initiated in crime, whilst every care is taken to set him forward in the right path. " The man who, conscious of the wrong he has committed, not only against society but against God, and who earnestly desires to forsake that which is evil, will be glad of the quiet- ness and solitude, that he may review his past life, with a view, by the blessing of God, to avoid those rocks on which ha has split, and assisted by His grace to form resolutions for a new life. Although in solitude, he is not alone, for God is with him ; and though he feels the chastisement of his heavenly father, yet he can but remember, that had not God loved him. He would not have brought him where pardon, tlirougli the blood of Christ, is continually offered hiui, but would have cut him off in his sins. " T(^ tbc ignorant criminal it is indeed a benefit; not only OPINIONS OF A CONVICT. 51 is ho instructed in reading, kc, but taught for the future to avoid that which is evil, and to follow that which is good. " Even for the man who is become hardened in crime, it is the best that can be adopted. Deprived of the applause of his wicked companions, he has nothing near the incentive to vice which he formerly had — he cannot now, by minglhig with thom, fly from himself. Conscience, now no longer lulled under the stupifying effects of beer and tobacco, tells him in plain terms of his former wrong courses : for let a man be never so hardened, there arc times, especially in sonruDE, when conscience will speak out. If he becomes convinced of his former wretchedness, every encouragement is held out to him to proceed in the good way : he is taught that there are ways and means of pleasant and profitable en- joyment, viz., by reading, &c., without seeking it in the beer shop, or the company of the profligate, and he has set before him that Saviour who has loved him so much as to die for him, and who, if he will only have fiiith in His blood, and will follow His footsteps, will make him happy here and in the life to come. " The only class of men whom it appears to me this system will bear hard upon, are those who are determined to con- tinue in wickedness, and who obstinately resist all attempts to reform them. And such ought to suffer. For them I can hardly conceive of a more dreadful punishment than to bo deprived of all stimulants of body or mind, and subject to the lashings of a guilty conscience ; though even from this, were the solitary system universally adopted, good probably would result, as fear of the punishment might deter even them from crime. At any rate they would be prevented from corrupting others. " I cannot help contrasting this punishment with that still pursued in many counties ; I mean the treadmill and hard labour system. The former punishment is of a remedial and exemplaiy character, the latter partakes of vindictiveness. d2 52 PRrSOX DISCIPLINE. The one treats a man as a mere animal, the other as an intellectual being and a moral agent. The first aims at enlightening the understanding and purifying the heart, the latter wearies the body and often breaks the constitution by oppression and excessive labour, and leaves the moral agency of man out of the question. In short, the one resembles an attempt to stop the pernicious effects of a polluted stream by damming it up, the other aims at cleansing the spring. In the former case, when the barrier is removed its pollution is found increased and it rushes onward with greater fury, in the latter it becomes a blessing instead of a curse. To sum up all, (he old system has a tendency to make a man ten times worse than he was before, whilst this has restored and will continue to restore many a fallen one, and to render those who were a pest to society useful members thereof. " In conclusion, I would suggest that the first week of any prisoner's confinement should be passed wholly in solitude ; that he should be without employment and have no books but the Bible. This suggestion is not merely speculative, but the result of my own experience. I know the first week I was here was spent in serious self-examination, and earnest prayer to God to assist me in the good resolutions which I formed. The sincerity of those nought but my future life can prove ; but I believe that if God spares me, I, and those nearest and dearest to me, shall have reason to bless God that ever I came here. Under these feelings, I cannot but wish the efforts of those who are promoting this system God speed ; for I believe it will be, under His blessing, the means of turning man/ a poor sinner from the error of his ways." MRS. fry's objections ANSWERED. 53 CHAPTER III. OBJECTIONS AGAINST SEPARATE IMPKISONMENT PUBLISHED IN THE MEMOIR AND LETTERS Ol" MRS. FRY ANSWERED. I have referred in the former volume (p. 149) to the opinions which were entertained on the subject of Prison Discipline by that distinguished female philanthropist, Mrs. Fry. The recently published memoirs of that excellent woman, reviewed as they have been in every periodical of importance, have made known those opinions throughout the world. Yet, unconnected and far separated from each other as they are found in the records of her life, and in the extracts of reviews, few perhaps have learnt what were her real sentiments on this important subject. They know she objected to the adoption of the Separate System, but on what those objections were founded, and how limited their extent, few perhaps have considered. If Mrs. Fry's opinions read, re- membered, and imbibed, were only applicable to the theory of punishments, without the tendency to any practical influence, we might pass them un- noticed and suffer affection to overlook error. But such is the veneration cherished towards one so de- serving, that with numbers her opinion must excite prejudice, and prevent any effort to promote an 54 PRISON DISCIPLINE. object of which she is believed to have disapproved. Hence the duty of exposing errors, and of endea- vouring to correct mistaken impressions is plain, liowever painful. I enter upon the task with reluc- tance, because I seemingly oppose, though less in reality than appearance, one of the most holy, sincere, and devoted persons that ever adorned the Christian name; possessed at the same time of talents superior to most; and if her opinions on some points were unsound, I think we shall discern those to have been the result of some peculiarity of character, of creed, and of circumstances over which perhaps she had little control. The first extract I give from the Memoir of Mrs. Fry, is part of a letter on the subject of Prison Dis- cipline, dictated by herself, but written by her hus- band to M. de Beranger : — "The subject of separate confinement is one presenting many difficulties, from the diversity of views taken by so many persons of talent and humanity; and my wife has thought that I could not better convey her ideas than by simply stating the arguments that appear to her to bear with the most weight, favourably or unfavourably on the question. " The following she considers the most prominent reasons in favour of separate confinement: — 1. "It prevents, with the most certainty, all contamination from their fellow-prisoners. 2. "It prevents the formation of intimacy, or acquaintance, with persons who may prove highly injurious associates in fiiture life. 3. "It affords more opportunity for serious reflection, and should any become religiously disposed, for prayer and mcdi- OBJECTIONS OF MllS. FRY. 55 tation, and being much cut off from tlieir fellow mortals, it may lead to a greater dependence on God, and to having theii' hearts more devoted to Him. 4. "The privacy of ihe confinement may prevent that loss of character, in the estimation of the world, which is the general consequence of imprisonment, as now inflicted. " The following reasons may, on the other hand, be strongly adduced against the system being generally adopted :— "In the first place, the extreme liability to its abuse, and to its being rendered an unduly severe punishment, or the reverse, according to the will or caprice, partiality, dislike or neglect, of the persons who have the management of prisons. 2 "The very great difficulty of obtaining a sufficiency, of either men or women officers, of that high and upright prin- ciple, as by their impartiality and firmness, with proper kind- ness and due attention to the welfare of the prisoners, would bo fit persons to be entrusted with so weighty a charge. This opinion is strongly corroborated by that of the experienced Governor of the Great Central prison of Beaulien, also by the Governor of the House of Correction, at Cold-Bath Fields, in London. 3 "Prisoners so confined, are rendered almost irresistibly subject to the moral contamination of officers, which is the case only in a very limited degree, when allowed to associate daily with their fellow-prisoners. 4. "Although, when the moral good of the community is concerned, expense ought to be a very secondary consideration, yet it ought not to be overlooked. The expense of providing proper cells, and a sufficient number of properly qualified officers, for so large a number of prisoners, would be enor- mous; and the difficulty of so building as to prevent the communication of sound very great, and its attainment uncer- tain, besides the liability of the prisoners not being able to make themselves heard, in case of necessity, arising from sudden illness or accident. 50 PRISON DJSCIPLINE. 5. "Although, for short periods, neither the powers of the mind nor body might suffer essentially, yet after a long and solitary confinement, there is unquestionable danger for both Too much silence is contrary to nature, and physically in- jurious both to the stomach and lungs: and as regards the fiiculties. we are credibly informed of the fact, (in addition to what we have known at home) that amongst the monks of La Trappe, few attained to the age of sixty years without having suffered an absolute decay of their mental powers, and fallen into premature childishness. 6. " That whilst, on the one hand, it affords to the penitent an opportunity for salutary reflection, there is reason on the other hand to fear, that a large proportion of those who are confined in jails, are so deeply depraved, that when left to themselves they would be moj-e likely to consume their hours in ruminating over past crimes and exploits, and in devising and planning schemes for the commission of new ones ; the heart becomes more hardened, the character and temper more sullen and morose, and better prepared for fresh crimes upon their dismissal from prison. 7. " The seventh and most weighty objection of all, is this, that as the vast majority of those who enter a prison, are likely to be returned into the bosom of society, it is a most important and paramount consideration, that as man is a social being, and not designed for a life of seclusion, such a system of prison discipline be adopted, as may best prepare those nnder its correction for re-entering active life, and all its consequent exposures and temptations. This can never be effected in solitude or separation : it can only be achieved by such regulations, brought to bear upon e very-day prison life, as may most easily, and with the best chance of success, be afterwards carried out and realized in daily practice, upon their restoration to liberty. Of course this view embraces all useful labour, and excludes such as (like the treadwheel) can in no way facilitate the future means of an honest livelihood.* * Life of Mrs. Fry, Vol. ii. 308. MRS. Fiiy. 67 Could we erase only two or three assertions from the foregoing extracts, who would entertain a doubt but that the writer must be a sincere and strenuous advocate for a system of separate confinement ? These, however, forbid the belief, and oblige us, reluctantly, to look upon Mrs. Fry as opposed to that imprisonment, for the application of which to all classes it is our duty to contend. Let us observe in the outset that we have here the writing of one, who, even beyond others of her sex, was most distinguished for tenderness and affection, though by no means deficient in talent. Hence, when imprisonment and punishments were the sub- ject of her remarks, we account for much which might otherwise surprise. We see at once why her feelings were adverse to a system for which her arguments were in favour. How it happened that she urged objections against separate confinement, the weight of vvhicli was more than counterbalanced by the admissions which were at the same time made. Her tears of compassion obscured the perception of truth. A wavering judgment and conflicting state- ments were the consequence. And having read the preceding pages we cease to wonder that when the isolation of criminals was the subject of discussion at the late Congres Penitentiaire, at Brussels, both its advocates and an opponent, with equal confidence, asserted that Mrs. Fry entirely agreed with their re- spective and contrary opinions. Having premised thus much, it might seem proper 58 PEISON DISCIPLINE. to consider the arguments and objections vvliich have been quoted somewhat in detail. We should then indeed further see that whilst the former are forcible, the latter are futile. But as respects the advantages referred to, they, with many others, have, I trust, been proved and exemplified in former chapters of this work. The objections alone require consideration, and must be refuted. 1 . The first reason then alleged against the Sepa- rate System is its "liability to abuse." And what is there of all the good under Heaven which man may not abuse — Little knows "Any, but God alone, to value right The good before him, but perverts best things To worst abuse, or to their meanest use." Let us conceive the same objection applied to autho- rity in general. The power to punish is good in itself, for God has given it; but how terrible that power in the hands of a tyrant ; yet where is the man to whom it is entrusted that is not liable to be- come one, and so prone to abuse that trust. And shall we therefore resist the ordinance of God ? God forbid ! And with like sincerity would I de- precate in the same words all opposition to the most corrective, and therefore the best means of punish- ment which lawful authority, directed, I feel sure, by the wisdom and goodness of Him who gave it, ever appointed. Let us assent then to the assertion. Let us concede that separate imprisonment is " ex- OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 59 tremcly liable to abuse," must it therefore be aban- doned ? Must all those blessings for time and for eternity, which are admitted to attend and result from it, be lost, because the means of communi- cating them may be abused ? I trust not. If abuses were certain, the blessings described would more than counterbalance. Justice and Mercy might both rejoice to hold the scales in such a cause, for Wisdom would still decide in favour of a system so satisfactory to both. But may not abuses be prevented ? Is there an}^- thing peculiar in this respect to tills imprisonment ? Is the natural tendency of man as concerns this one point incapable of restraint? Is there no power which can preserve the excellence and counteract the evil ? I return to the former comparison and enquire — why is not every prince a despot ? The answer is plain : because there is a power by which the propensity is controlled. And if there be a like proneness to abuse this corrective punishment, let the same reply silence the objection. There is a power which checks the inclination. The law pro- hibits the abuse, and thus the liability so much complained of is restrained. The precise manner in which the punishment should be applied — the duration of the imprisonment — the dimension of the cells in which it is inflicted — the duties of all con- cerned in its administration — with all other circum- stances, have been the subject of legislation, and are distinctly prescribed. It is theieforc u mistake 60 PRISON DISCIPLINE. to say tliat anything of importance depends upon the will, caprice, partiality, &c., of those who have the management of the prisoners. Against any such evil the law has carefully provided, and every officer engaged in the service and superintendence of the cellular prison, from the lowest turnkey to the Secretary of State, must become lawless and rebellious before the system can be abused, or the severity of the punishment can exceed the sentence pronounced. Though precautions have been taken which eflfectually prevent any cruel aggravation of punish- ment under the Separate System, the same cannot be said concerning other plans of imprisonment. With reference to them, how painfully true are the observations of the Prelate, from whose powerful sermon on the subject of Prison Discipline we have before quoted : — " The restraints and penalties of the law, may be devised with sagacity, and in theory judiciously apportioned to the offences which they are intended to coerce ; and yet since the details of their application must of necessity be submitted to persons sometimes of a less enlarged wisdom, sometimes of a less comprehensive charity than those who enacted them ; it may happen, if provision be not carefully made to guard against the chances of these defects, that the wise and benevolent intentions of the Legislature may be defeated; the season of correction may be made the opportunity of corrupt ion ^ and the prison, instead of a school of discipline and OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. Gl reform, may become the lazar-house of a moral pestilence, in which those who are dying of the plague, and those who are only suspected of infec- tion, are crowded together in one promiscuous mass of disease and death. In this case it is clear that the offender is treated with injustice and cruelty. The punishment which was justly decreed against him is aggravated by unauthorised circumstances of Iiorror ; circumstances which inflict an undesigned but irreparable injury upon his soul, without adding in any degree to the awfulness and exemplarity of his punishment."* We must further remark that Mrs. Fry betrays much want of acquaintance with the subject. Hence the confusion of the Solitary with the Separate System. We are told she " shrank from the abuses to which the solitary system is liable" — Vol. ii., 287. The difference of the system has been already ex- plained, and we must deprecate considering any one as an authority on the subject of Prison Discipline, who could thus confuse them. The distinction was perceived by Mrs. Fry's brother and companion in philanthropy, and his more accurate perception of the benefits of the Separate System caused him, as we have shewn, to write decidedly in its favour.f 2. The second objection is at the present time * Bishop Bloomfield's Serinou — The Christian's Duty towards Crimiuals. t See quotation from " Thoughts on Habit and Discipline," by J. J. Gurney. Vol. i. lf)9. C2 PRISON DISCIPLINE. happily without foundation. The suspicion and distrust of the various officers in prisons, so fre- quently shewn in the writings of Mrs. Fry, however painful to observe, is what might have been ex- pected. At the commencement of her charitable visits to gaols, a spirit of indifference and neglect prevailed amongst magistrates and the superior offi- cers, whilst the turnkeys were a miserably degraded set of men, — savage in their manners, depraved in morals, and often, I believe, as vicious as the worst of culprits. It was from converse with such Mrs. Fry formed her first estimate of prison authorities and servants, and though her lasting benevolence subsequently brought her into communication with some, with whom she could sympathize as a Chris- tian, and whom as a philanthropist she could praise, yet her first impressions seem never to have been effaced ; and some want of confidence, we repeat, is evinced in almost every reference to the character and conduct of those entrusted either with the safe custody or with the spiritual charge of criminals. It is worthy of notice that Mrs. Fry describes her opinion on this point, as strongly corroborated by referring to the governor of a remote French prison, and to a governor of a gaol in England, who has been distinguished for hostility to the Separate System. 3. The observations which have been made on the second objection most of them apply with increased force to this. But surely if ever a mis-called argu- ment furnished its own refutation this most evidently OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 03 does so. Will any one assent to the most unjust in- sinuation that prison officers, even so recently as 1839, the date of these remarks, were more vicious and depraved than the criminals they had in custody, and that consequently there is more dread of de- moralization from the keepers in a cellular prison, than there could be from the asociation of prisoners. Regard for the memory of Mrs. Fry makes one wish that such an opinion had been suppressed. Should it however lead to enquiry as to who are the persons, to whose care prisoners under the Separate System are entrusted, instead of detracting, it may tend to ensure to them that respect to which they are en- titled. Men of education, of the highest character, and of some standing in society, are chosen to super- intend as Governors. (I say nothing of the Chap- lain, although commonly selected out of a large number of candidates) ; but the subordinate officers are men of integrity, and whose moral conduct has qualified them for their responsible places. And here I may mention, as one of the indirect benefits of the Separate System, that men thus trustworthy are not, as under other systems, familiarized with scenes of vice. Their hatred of evil is not thus diminished, and the danger of consenting to it is not incurred. Their good principles are preserved, and their minds and morals are improved. And more than this, the system exercises a corrective effect even on the officers whose manners and morals were almost necessarily deteriorated, whilst they constantly 64 PRISON DISCIPLINE. witnessed the deceit and iniquitous doings which prevailed in the prison wards and workshops, where they were continually irritated, and evil passions were every hour excited.* 4. The fourth objection is founded in the first place upon the expense. This is a point which has been sufficiently treated elsewhere. The difficulty spoken of has been entirely overcome, and the darujer prevented. No uncertainty on these points, or acci- dental circumstances, have as yet warranted the ap- prehensions expressed. * A sense uf duty obliges me to state, though with some reluctance, what has been my own experience as Chaplain, entrusted, not merely with the spiritual superintendence of the criminals, but with a large body of prison officers. I may mention that it is my practice to adminster the Holy Com- munion every month to those amongst our prisoners, as well as to those engaged in the service of the gaol, whom I believe to be "meet partakers of that Holy Sacrament." Whilst prisoners were associated, I never, at Reading or elsewhere* knew a turnkey who was a communicant, or whom (before a great change had taken place) I could wish and invite to be one. But with our change of system, happy indeed is the change in this respect; now, more than two thirds, oft as the Sacrament is administered, come to the " Holy Table," and shew by their life and conversation the sincerity of the feelings and faith they profess. Whilst I very greatly rejoice in this truly heart-cheering result, which (humanly speaking) I ascribe to the plans pursued under the Separate System, and the opportunities of attending the means of grace, which are frequent, and which are not rendered ineffectual by irritation and vicious intercourse. — I give God the praise ! OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 05 5. " After a long and too solitary confinement,'" it is said, " there is unquestionable danger to both body and mind." An observation which has all the force of an axiom, but which is utterly irrelevant to the Separate System as prescribed by law and pursued in England. This system forms really a contrast to that solilary imprisonment which has been described as practised for some months in America ; but proving an entire failure was speedily abandoned. That was indeed a cruel experiment, because the results of such a plan might have been foreseen. They were however so frightful as to afford security against similar treatment in any civilized land. And further, as Separate Imprisonment differs from Solitary, so it is opposed to the Silent System. The prisoner in his cell may, without being noisy, exercise his lungs, and does read aloud.* The reference to the Monks of La Trappe is altogether inapposite. As our prisoners' guilt is not to be ex- piated by any such like gloom, so neither constant melancholy, nor madness, are produced by his punishment. I have shewn various ways by which • This healthful practice is common amongst the illiterate and lower classes in general, and, I think, should always be allowed in celllular prisons, not only as healthful, but I be- lieve the previous habit has rendered it many cases necessary to the prisoners comfort and comprehension. When visiting our prison in the evening, at which time other occupations have ceased, and more than nine out of ten are reading their Bibles or other books, the sound throughout the building may best be compared to the evening hum of a full hive of bees. VOL II. E 66 PRISON DISCIPLINE. the silence of his seclusion is broken, and there are other means by which the dangers appre- hended are averted, and the required indulgence granted — means, indeed, of which our lamented friend but little approved, and could not appreciate. Our prisoners daily attend Divine Service. And the worship of the Church of England consists not of dumb acts of devotion, nor in the cheerless monotony of a single voice : on the contrary, it prescribes the audible response, it mingles prayer with praise, and appoints its " Psalms and Hymns and Spiritual Songs ; " and in all these services our prisoners join, certainly in a manner that is exemplary, with much outward, and I doubt not, in many cases, heartfelt earnestness. Here then, in the services of the Sanctuary, we have a sufficient and effectual preventive to the evils antic ijyaled, but never likely to be experienced. 6. The opinions here expressed afford the strongest possible arguments in favour of the Separate System. We agree that the hearts of many are " deeply de- praved," indeed we assent to a higher authority, and look upon them as "desperately wicked," if left to themselves. But the great advantage of tlie Separate System is, that the prisoner is not left to himself. It is a point on which I have especially insisted.* He is indeed bereft of the companionship of fellow criminals from whom he could learn nothing good. All converse with such was depraving, and * Vol. i. 330, et scq. OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. G7 tlie longer the intercourse tlie more the heart became hardened, until at last the lessons of sin had rendered it incapable of learning ought beside. I have seen such cases. Men whose insensibility has been shocking; who have acknowledged their miserable condition without being able to deplore it. Who would have welcomed grief, but who have told me they only felt they could not feel. Yes, I have known men in this state who have been before asso- ciated in prison, and who have ascribed their awful condition to this cause; and it is then indeed, when the heart by vicious intercourse has become thus cal- lous, and access to it is rendered impracticable, that the prisoner is, in a manner the most painful and the most perilous, left to himself. Having brought him- self into such a state, or to speak more correctly, having had such a condition well nigh forced upon him by the compulsory intercourse with villains worse than himself, what wonder if such a one, filled with his own and others' wicked devices, and reflect- ing upon, but not feeling his guilt, should go forth only to perpetrate fresh crimes, and to fill up the measure of his iniquity! Yet let not the continu- ance in crime of any such be charged upon the Separate System, but rather, I repeat, upon that hardening process of vicious converse, which had previously rendered the heart impenetrable, and the character incorrigible. As I have before observed, I have never known a single prisoner subjected to the corrective influences of separate confinement, e2 68 PRISON DISCIPLINE. whose state of mind has been such as described, and who when liberated has relapsed into former crimi- nal practices, unless that prisoner had been previously depraved by prison fellowship under another system. 7. The arguments which have been urged in favour of the Separate System, as reformatory, so fully dis- prove what is here asserted, that we might be satisfied with a mere contradiction to the statements. But we must observe that the very foundation upon which the fitness of the character for a state of liberty must rest, appears to be entirely overlooked. The prisoner may be trained to industry whilst under restraint. He may be exposed to temptation, and whilst in prison he may withstand its power, or, which is more probable, transgress when tempted, but become too cunning to be often detected. But if there has been no inward change effected, the apparent correction will not be permanent. Sepa- rate imprisonment, according to Mrs. Fry's own admission, and what we ourselves have witnessed, best affords opportunity for applying those means, whereby, with God's blessing, vice is eradicated and good principles implanted and fostered. Indeed, nothing short of this can qualify the culprit for that moral, social, and religious intercourse with others which shall be alike profitable to them and to himself.* * I would by no moans depreciate the good efTected by Mrs. Fry. God in many cases proved the power of his own word, and gave effect to her labours of love ; but with all the order OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. C9 But few as were the arguments given in tliis letter in favour of the Separate System, and though more numerous, yet more feeble the objections alleged against it, we find in other pages of Mrs. Fry's biography, that when seemingly constrained to advocate the system which she elsewhere deprecated, she reasons with a force which may well be con- trasted with the weakness of her objections. We find it difficult to reconcile some statements, and we feel obliged to conclude that Mrs. Fry's opposition to separate confinement was by no means so great as her biographers (unintentionally I am sure) have represented. I quote her own words, which justify this opinion. In her conference with the Magistrates of Edinburgh, she stated that — " Confinement which secluded from the vicious, but allowed of frequent intercourse with sober and well conducted persons, would have been in her view perfcciy Vol. II. 280, And again, when visiting the prison of La Roquette, and outward decency, and apparent improvement in the con- duct of the prisoners she so much cared for, I fear the num- ber in whom a real change, and Listing correction was pro- duced, was very limited. Why l* Not from want of zeal on her part, but because it was exerted under circumstances most adverse ; such as encouraged dissimulation and wickedness in every form, and prevented durable amendment. Let me not be thought uncharitable or censorious, since that best of men — Wilberforce — was of the same opinion. In his journal he one day recorded — " Mrs. Fry called early about a poor woman under sentence of death for forgery — of Ihe set thai ao improved in externals." — Li/e of Wilberforce, vol. iv. 370. 70 PRISON DISCIPLINE. or the prison for "Los Jeunes Detenus," where, as she observes — ''They have no other punishment than solitary (i. e. separate) confinement. The boys under correction paternelle were in cells, where their education was vigorously carried forward. It was to Mrs. Fry's feelings highly interesting and satis- factory." Vol. II. 30.5. The remainder of the letter to M. de Beranger contains so many remarks of value, and which tend so much to confirm the observations which have been written concerning Mrs. Fry's objections to the Separate System, that I am unwilling to curtail it. They fully justify an observation in a letter I have just received from an excellent magistrate well ac- quainted with our system. "My belief is that if Mrs. Fry had lived to v>'alk into Reading Gaol slie would have fallen on her knees and thanked God for what His hund had done." " Having thus briefly stated the reasons fur and agai]ist the separate confinement of prisoners in the day-time, and the result of which is the conclusion that it is inexpedient to bring it into general practice, I will endeavour to represent Mrs. Fry's opinion as to the best line of conduct to be adopted to- wards untried prisoners, not only with a view to prevent the commission of such offences as would subject them to punish- ment, but fundamentally to improve their principles, and regulate their whole future conduct and life, which is the one grand point to keep in view. • " In the first place, from the instant that any individual is placed under restraint, charged with the commission of an odence against the law, the grand preliminary object ought to be, to preserve, by every possible means, the morals of the OPINION OF MRS. FRY. 71 pci-son thus ilctained from beiug deteriorated by the process ; ami that at all events the law itself should not become the instrument of the most cruel and fatal ol all injustices — that of demoralising, by every species of exposure and contamina- tion, the wretched being whom it sooner oi' later may have to consign, as the consequence of its own action, to infamy and punishment. A man — a youth, perhaps— is charged with a crime. He may be innocent : he may be a trembling begin- ner. His education, his previous habits, may have been good. He knows little of crime, and has few or no associates in it. He is now turned loose into a den, amongst the most hardened criminals, and in one short month, all remaining scruples, all remaining tenderness of conscience are gone, too probably for ever. But it is not only one short month ; but in France, and in most English counties, it is many months' opportunity which is thus afforded to the profligate villain to harden, to season, and to embue the mind of his unpractised victmi, for re-entering society depraved, debased, and ripe for the com- mission of crime at which he would have shuddered when the act of the law, by placing them in public detention, first exposed him to irretrievable degradation and ruin. " But let us suppose the case of those, wholly innocent of the crimes laid to their charge, the victims of false accusation, malice, or mistake. Suppose them, by tlie aid of religious and moral principle, to have withstood all the baneful influ- ences to which a cruel and unjust law has exposed them ; and to go out of prison justly acquitted, and worthy to be replaced in the esteem and confidence of their fellow-citizens. What follows ? \Yhy, they go forth blighted and blasted ; their involuntary association, with the companions the law has chosen for them, has for ever destroyed their characters ; they are shunned, and become the objects of most reasonable suspicion ; they have no means, no hope left, of gaining an honest living ; the law has effectually prevented that ; they are driven to dishonest, dishcniourable, or violent means of 72 PRISON DISCIPLINE. obtaining a morsel of bread ; they are again arrested, and the same law that made them what they are, pours forth its heaviest judgments on the victims of it own injurious policy. " Heartily, therefore, should every friend to humanity hail the day, when arrangements are made for the separate con- finement of all untried prisoners, with liberty daily to see some of their own friends, to consult their legal advisers, to improve their own accommodation in their bedding or their diet, to be visited by such benevolent persons as may seek to promote their present and everlasting welfare ; and, joined to this, every practicable arrangement made by the Govern- ment of their country, for the shortest possible period, elapsing previous to their trial, both for the good of the prisoners and its advantage to the country, by lessening essentially the prison-room required, and the many expenses attached to the confinement of prisoners. " If found guilty on their trial, and if their first offence, Mrs. Fry's views are simple, and ai*e given in her own words : — " I believe nothing so likely to conduce to the real im- provement of principle and conduct in delinquents, and to render them fit for a return to society, as a limited number of them being regularly instructed, and working together in small companies — say, fi'om ten to twenty, under faithful, constant, and strict inspection by day, and at night always sleeping in separate cells. The mode of instruction and its subjects should be very simple, and, if possible, be rendered agreeable to them. The Scripture-reading (and reading of the Scriptures ought never to be omitted) should be short and well-selected, adapted to their geneially dark and very ignorant state, and calculated to give them a taste for some- thing superior to their former low and depraved habits. Books of a moral and religious tendency, that amuse whilst they instruct, arc also very desirable, and especially so in the cases of separate confinement. I consider religious instruc- OPINION OF MRS. FRY. 73 tion, given in a kind and judicious spirit, the most powerful and efficacious means of deterring from crime, and inducing good conduct, resulting from improved principles. Some advantage may occasionally arise from this instruction being given privately ; but it is more generally likely to be well received in companies, because very close and cogent advice may be thus given without danger of hurting individual feehngs, as they receive the advice without supposing it to be directed immediately to themselves.* I considei', also, that employment in companies is more likely to be well and industriously performed, as there is a stimulus in trying who can do the best, and who can do the most, in the shortest period of time. " If, after the plan of being associated in small companies has been tried on any prisoner, he returns to undergo the penalty of a second condemnation, a more rigorous system had better be adopted. I think they should then be confined separately, having instruction and employment, and a certain number of visits daily, from the officers of the prison, or persons allowed or appointed for this special purpose ; thus preventing the (now) old offender from associating with the novice in guilt, and suitably proportioning the punishment to the offence. "f * The fallacy of this and the following reasoning has been sufficiently shewn by argument and evidence in the former volume. -f Life of Mrs. Fry, Vol. ii. 308, et. seq. 74 PRISON DlSCirLINE. CHAPTER IV. EFFECTS OF THE SEPARATE SYSTEM PURSUED AT READING, DESCRIBED IN REPORT, MICH., 1848, WITH ADDITIONAL OBSERVATIONS. The de.scription of the Separate System in the former volume, in which 1 have endeavoured to shew the means employed for reformation, tlie various agencies which are called into exercise, and the moral training to which the criminal is subjected, T hope may have so far excited the in- terest of the reader as to produce some desire for fur- ther information concerning the results of the system since its adoption in the county prison at Heading. I believe that I cannot better shew the continuous effects of the plan pursued, than by republishing the reports which I have successively presented to the magistracy of the county. These, which are official documents, I have not felt at liberty to alter in any respect. I propose likewise to insert some extracts from the reports of the Visiting Justices, whose constant and careful superintendence of the working of the system has qualified them to judge of its value, and entitles their decisions to more than usual authority. RESULTS OF SETARATE IMTRISONMENT. 75 The County Gaol, Reading, Michaelmas, 1845. My Lords and Gentlemen, It is my duty at the present Sessions to place before you a Report of what has been the mental and moral condition of the inmates of your County Gaol, daring the period (now about fifteen months) that the present system of discipline has been in operation ; and having carefully watched the effects of this discipline, I beg to offer some observations which. I trust, may not be considered unimportant. In the discharge of this duty, I will be as concise as the circumstances will allow ; and, that I may occupy but a small portion of your valuable time, I propose to confine myself to general statements in the Report itself, referring to an Appendix which will contain details, and such particulars as may establish the accuracy of the remarks I feel called u»)on to offer. With respect to the education received by crimi- nals previously to their committal, I am sorry that I cannot present a Report more favourable than in past years. The ignorance of a very large pro- portion is distressing to witness, and any statement of the extent of such ignorance will appear scarcely credible to those who have not acquired some in- formation by personal converse with our criminal population. Of 833 received into this County Gaol, not less than 352 have been ignorant of the al[)habet 76 PRISON DISCIPLINE. or unable to read the most simple words. But far more to be deplored is the want of information as respects the truths of our holy religion, so commonly the case that it may at once account for the preva- lence of crime. It was found that 278 of our pri- soners were in a state of heathen ignorance when committed ; 484 others understood but very im- perfectly the first truths of the Holy Scriptures ; whilst a very small proportion had received what could be described as a religious education. In as- certaining these facts, it has been painful to discover how very defective had been the instruction given to those who had learnt to read and write. Of this comparatively small number no less than 109 were unable to repeat the Lord's prayer, and were igno- rant of the most simple facts of religion. Had proper education been afforded to these culprits — if, with the elements of secular instruction, religious principles had been instilled into their minds, then, without doubt, in many cases, the character woidd have been different, and crimes had been prevented, and how much to be preferred were such edu- cation in the school to the very best system of correction in the prison ! I feel it my duty to make this remark, since by referring to Tables No. 2 and 3 in the Appendix it will be seen how very large a proportion of offenders under 15 years of age have been committed to prison in a state of the most gross ignorance — a fact which shews the ne- cessity even in the present day for increased means RESULTS OF SEPARATE IMPRISONMENT. 77 of education. I trust, however, that it may prove a present and everlasting blessing to many of these criminals that you have provided in the prison instruction which had not been previously within their reach. Your schoolmaster has been diligently and successfully employed, and comparatively few of those confined for the space of six weeks or two months, who when committed were unable to read, have left the prison without having learnt to do so with tolerable accuracy. Many have also learnt to write, some have been taught the first rules of arith- metic, and their memory, with the mental faculties in general, have been strengthened by such lessons as appeared suitable to their condition. And whilst this knowledge has been communicated it has been my constant endeavour to give such advice and in- struction as might prevent its abuse, and, so far as human agency can avail, ensure a beneficial result. To this end it has been my anxious desire that the very letter of Holy Scripture should be deeply im- pressed on the minds of prisoners; and I have been surprised, as well as pleased, at the readiness and accuracy with which considerable portions have been committed to memory. Several at this time can re- peat the four gospels, and some will, ere long, have learnt the whole of the New Testament by heart — not by any means as a task performed with reluc- tance, and from which there is any wish to escape, but rather as an interesting occupation of time, and, I confidently believe, in many cases with a sincere 78 PRISON DISCIPLINE. desire to obtain tliat "correction and instruction in righteousness," which, with the blessing of Ahuighty God, must accompany the knowledge of His word. Whilst I have been anxious that the memory should be thus stored with Holy Scripture, I have en- deavoured to prevent that wretched spirit of indi.Ter- ence and want of personal application of its sacred truths, with which it is too commonly read and studied, by requiring written answers to particular questions, such, for example, as "Why should I obey one or another commandment?" &c., desiring that the replies given by the prisoners may be proved correct by reference to portions of Scripture, which the prisoner shall be able to repeat. Many of these exercises have been so remarkable as to excite the astonishment of several to whose inspection they have been submitted. — (See Appendix.) Previously to the adoption of present discipline much apprehension existed that the mental faculties would be endangered by such seclusion, and that insanity would be a frequent result. I do not ex- press an opinion as to the probable consequence of solitude long continued, in which neither suitable advice nor instruction were afforded j but I speak from experience when I assert, that under the hu- mane system of discipline now adopted in your County Gaol, so far from the intellectual powers becoming enfeebled, or mental aberration being in any measure induced, the faculties have been im- proved and strengthened, and in no single instance RESULTS OF SEPARATE IMrRISONMENT. 79 has derangement been produced. Witliout doubt the remorse and mental distress of prisoners when first committed — the entire separation from family and friends and vicious companions — is, in many cases a punishment so severe, tliat without constant vigilance and suitable advice from those whose duty it is to superintend the discipline of your gaol, the effect might be most injin-ious, and there have been cases in which I have felt it my duty to recommend some relaxation of ordinary discipline; these, how- ever, have been very few; and although twenty-seven prisoners have been in custody, one or more of whose family have been deranged, or in some cases they themselves confined in lunatic asylums, yet, so far from the treatment to which they have been subjected whilst in custody proving at all injurious, the mental faculties have not only been preserved, but in most cases surprisingly improved.* As respects the moral character of the offendei's subjected to punishment in this prison, although the nature of the particular crimes for which they were committed (which have not certainly been less heinous than in years preceding) might declare the perpetrators to be most unpromising, yet, the amazingly increased number of those criminals who had been in custody before, either in the old Gaol at * I should state that one inmate of the Gaol has been in- sane, — a man who had been previously in confinement as a lunatic, and was evidently deranged when committed. At his tri'il this prisoner was on that account acquitted. 60 PRISON DISCIPLINE. Reading, or elsewhere, amounting to not less than 471, must prove still more plainly that the majority were of a most vicious, depraved, and apparently in- corrigible class. The fact too that not less than 121 were the offspring of criminals — either one or both of their parents having been in prison — who there- fore had been educated in vice, and constantly under the influence of bad examples must confirm the truth of this statement. Of this last unhappy class, I think it important to observe that a large propor- tion were under 15 years of age. Most sincerely do I hope that the day is not far distant when the Government of our land may be sufficiently paternal to provide some asylum into which such juvenile offenders may be received ; thereby pieventing the necessity of their return to those parents, who, by their own crimes, have surely forfeited the right to parental control. An establishment for this object has been formed, and attended with much success at Mettray, near Tours, the two last reports of which I submit to your inspection.* * The following is an extract: — ''On a compris que I'em- prisonnement, dont, avaut tout, le caractere est d'etre penal et de prevenir le crime par I'intimidation, doit, en meme temps, autant que cela est possible, amender le couijable, et, dans tous les cas, ne pas le pervertir. Telle est la pensee qui preside aux projets de reforme que nous avons soumis aux oliambres ; quand nous proposons de separer les criminels eutre eux, c'est pour rendre la peine a la fois et plus efficace et plus morale, plus rcdoutce du criminel et plus contraire ii. la propagation du crime. Mais, pnrmi toutes les classes de EFFECTS OF SEPAUATE IMPRISONMENT. 81 detenus, cello ;\ Irtquellc vous avez consacre Mettray appelait, avaut tout, la ruforine. Ces eiifants, dont la plupart, scion les arrets dc la justice, out agi sans discernement; que (es torts de leur famille ou le mulhcur de lour naissance ont livres h una por\ ersite precoco, la societe doit les corriger plutot que les puuir. Ici. elle ne chorche pas i\ effraycr le crime, elle so propose de contenir et dettouffer le vice. Pour atteindre co but, elle n'em2)loie pas la detention comme chatimeut, mais comme moyen d'amendement et de correction." Respecting the success of this establishment I find the fol- lowing statement in a work recently published — " Benevo- lence in Punishment." Seeleys, Loudon. '* The reformation effected in the colony among children thoroughly depraved is remarkable : all education has been directed to the formation of their morals ; agriculture has been taught, not for its own sake merely, but as being favourable to the inculcation of virtuous habits. Religious instruction and the elements of learning have been communicated to them ; and the children on leaving the colony, have, with ouly/ow>- exceptions, turned out well : they have been placed with masters, according to the respective trades they have learned ; and it is a remark- able fact, that Mettray youths are sought out, as being more desirable than others. This valuable institution is sujDported by voluntary contributions, and the King himself is its ac- knowledged head. The children thus rescued from infamy would otherwise be confined to the ruinous operation of prisons, where they would have been made adepts in crime, and from which they would have emerged, only to phnige with greater eagerness into vice, to become the pests of society, and to reap the bitter fruits of a life spent in wickedness." In a letter I received about a month since from a clergy- man residing at Tours, he states, " Of 138 children who have left the colony of Mettray, they continue to receive gratifying accounts of no less than 128." It is early yet to speak of tlie result of present VOL. II. F 82 PRISON DISCIPLINE. discipline as regards re-committals, but since the large majority of those sent the second time to our Gaol were but a very short time in confinement before, it is mj duty to state what I observe to be the effect of the present system on those criminals who, either from the nature of their offence, or through the clemency of magistrates, are sentenced to a very short term of imprisonment. Of course the conduct of these offenders differs with the variety of disposi- tion and previous habits. The long-practised and hardened criminal submits with a dosro-ed resolution to a punishment which, however irksome, he re- members will be short; and during this time he steels himself against that advice and persuasion which he foresees, if regarded, would prevent the enjoyment of those vicious pleasures to which he anti- cipates a speedy return. On the other hand, the less obdurate offender, in the seclusion of his cell, is overwhelmed with remorse — suddenly separated from his family and evil associates, deprived at once of those stimulating liquids with which he has been accustomed to indulge, and no longer supported by the excitement of a lawless life, — the spirit of such a prisoner is for days, and sometimes weeks, so op- pressed and dejected, that it is almost impossible to arouse him to wholesome reflection, or to convey that instruction without which, I feel sure, no pun- ishment will reclaim the vicious, or prevent the repetitioji of crime. I have appended to this Report a particular description of each culprit who has been EFFECTS OF SEPAllATE IMPRISONMENT. 83 twice in this Gaol, and a reference to Tables No. 8 and 9 will shew that nearly all were habitual offenders, who had been frequently in other prisons, and in few instances did the previous term of con- finement Aere exceed one month, whilst in very many cases it was less than a fortnight. These prisoners^ then, endured the severity of punishment — but punishn>ent alone never has, and I may say without presumption, never will effect permanent reforma- tion,* — 'instruction based on the principles of our holy religion must accompany it, or who will ven- ture to hope that it shall be corrective Pf This in- struction, during such short imprisonment, cannot be imparted ; and the return of these criminals, without shewing any defect in your system of prison discipline, to the corrective, influence of which they have really never been subjected, may tend to con- firm the truth and wisdom of a sentence inscribed on the doorway of a prison J at Rome : " Parum e&t * "Tho example of severe suffering has never been found effective in repressing offences; on the contrary, it has passed into a proverb that 'crime thrives on severe penalties.'" — Capt. Maconochie on the Alanagement of Transported Criminals. -j- " It is education, and that only, wherein the whole posi- tive efficiency lies for a permanent amelioration in the state of the lower orders. Education is the specific ; and the other expedients are at best but the circumstances for a more fit and powerful ministration of it." — Chdlmcr^ on Polilicnl Economy. I San Michole. f2 84 PRISON DISCIPLINE. improhos coercere pcend, nisi prohos efficias disci- pUnd P" With respect, then, to short terms of imprison- ment under our present system, may I be al- lowed to remark, that although the prisoner cannot, as in times past, either corrupt others or become more vile himself through vicious intercourse — al- though he is not subjected to that useless labour which aroused the worst animal passions and ren- dered the character less capable of correction ; yet I believe such punishments rarely effect the purpose intended, — they excite remorse, but the time is too short for repentance to succeed — good resolutions may be formed, but they are not confirmed before the prisoner is liberated, with his character lost : he is assailed with temptations more powerful and more numerous than before, — ^and it surely must rather be expected than cause surprise if, without having learnt to resist, he is again overcome, — an increased mea- sure of punishment is then inflicted, from which it is more than probable he would have been preserved, could a period of imprisonment sufficient for his correction have been before adjudged.* * The correctness of the opiuion I have expressed is con- firmed by the following remarks of the Inspectors of Prisons, " The association of the untried, the continued labour of the convicted under the silent system, and the short terms for wtich prisoners are committed, are all circumstances un- favourable to the operation of instruction. It could not be expected that even if the Chaplain were to devote his whole time to the prison, or if there were several Chaplains, any EFFECTS OF SEPARATE IMPRISONMENT. 85 I proceed to the more pleasing task of describing the effect produced on criminals sentenced to a more lengthened term of imprisonment. Rarely in these cases is there any attempt to brave out the punish- ment inflicted by any shew of indifference, much less of insubordination. The most hardened are in a short time subdued, and for a season, as I have ob- served, almost overwhelmed with sorrow. During this period I feel it my duty to endeavour to awaken a sense of guilt, and to excite that true penitence which I am ever anxious should take the place of the feeling of remorse, which the mere punish- ment itself produces. As the bitterness of grief subsides the mental energies are aroused ; reflection on past sin and folly is cherished, resolutions of amendment are encouraged, and it becomes my pleasing duty to direct the criminal in the use of those means which, with the Divine blessing, shall strengthen him for their performance. I may with confidence state that the moral condition of our prisoners is in general promising. The feelings such result as personal reformation could ordinarily take place. The physical irritation of the treadwheel is peculiarly unfavourable to that frame of mind best suited to receive re- ligious impressions ; nor does the silent system f allow time enough for receiving instruction of any kind." 2nd Report, p. 103. [ f The silent system is that under which prisoners are associated, hard lahour is enforced, and an attempt is made (I may assert never successfully) to prevent intercourse and contamination.] 86 PRISOX DISCIPLINE. expressed, and the conduct observed, are such as become their situation. There is none of that effrontery and contemptuous indifference, which characterised the criminals when associated ; nor do I see anything of that sullen disposition which prevailed amongst them, whilst the mere corporal punishmerit of tread-wheel labour was enforced.* * I have heard an objection frequently urged against our present system — that it does not provide that hard labour v-zhicli the legal sentences against many offenders require. Reference has been made to this fact, in the Report presented by the V^isiting Justices at the late sessions : — " It becomes the duty of the Visiting Justices to notice the fact that, such of the prisoners as may be sentenced to hard labour, have, under this system, been exonerated from such infliction. 4- question thence arises, whether this system, howciver coni:- mendable it may be in practical effect, is really adapted to execute the sentence of a particular punishment which tho law has prescribed for particular crimes. It certainly is not; nor, at present, have any means been provided in Reading Gaol to give effect to the sentence of hard labour," The question having been thus proposed, it was with much pleasure and gratitude that I listened to the follov/ing testi- mony and recommendation: — "The short experience which has yet been obtained of the operation of the systepi in Read- ing Gaol, has yielded every encouragement for the hope and the belief that its contemj^lated benefits will be confirmed by its continued application; and the Visiting Justices are so persuaded of its incompatibility with hard labour, that they are not prepared to offer any suggestions for the supply of mea!)s by which to renew the introduction into Reading Gaol of tliat mode of punishment. On the contrary, if it be jiocessary, {hey would rather recommend that apphcation be EFFECTS OF SEPARATE IMrRISONMEKT. 87 Seldom now do I hear the culprit deny his gniltj or even attempt to exculpate himself by pleading circumstances which might seem to extenuate his crime. On the contrary: with the confession of made to the Secretary of State, that measures be taken to obtain by hiw such a construction of the legal sentence of nard labour, as would provide due authority for its commu- tation by a compulsory moral discipline.' On this subject I beg further to remark, that although it may be true that the letter of the law is not fulfilled, yet surely if any punishment equally severe and more corrective be sup- plied, then the spirit of the law is sufficiently regarded, and the ends of justice better accomplished. " Summa lex, ft^imma injuria " would indeed be verified if such a strict adherence to the letter should interfere with the reformation of offenders, and frustrate a chief object of punishment- If the remorse which is the first effect of imprisonment under the separate system were the only penalty inflicted, it might still be declared sufficiently punitive. " The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmities," of which enforced labour may render him increasingly sensible; "but a wounded spirit who can bear." (Prov. xviii. 14.) The painful sensations to which the offender when separately confined is subjected, have b^cn thus forcibly described — "The violator of the more sacred laws of justice can never reflect on the sentiments which man- kind must entertain with regard to him, without feeling all the agonies of shanie, and horror, and consternation. When his passion is gratified, and he begins coolly to reflect on his past conduct, he can enter into none of the motives which influ- enced it. They appear now as detestable to him as they did always to other people. Me now regrets the unhappy efrecls of his own conduct, and feels at the same time that they have rendered him the ])iopcr object of the resent- o8 PRISON DISCIPLINE. offences committed, there is evident shame felt, and the very frequent acknowledgment, that the punish- ment inflicted is by far less than was deserved. Most gratifying is the thankful spirit with which ment and indignation of mankind, and of what is the natural consequence of resentment, vengeance and punishment. ***** Solilu'le to him is still more dreadful than society. His own thoughts can present him with nothing but what is black, unfortunate, and disastrous, the melancholy forebodings of incomprehensible misery and ruin. Such is the nature of that sentiment which is properly called remorse; of all the sentiments which can enter the humaa breast the most dreadful." — Smith's Moral Sentiments, Vol. i. \7l—]0th Edition. To the sufferer under such mental anguish the hardest labour would be relief; yet any recourse to it under the pre- sent discipline would be applying a remedy — not to the moral disease itself — but rather to the wound which has been wisely made for its removal. The additional medicine would coun- teract the cure ; the malady would remain, and its malignancy would be increased. It would be difficult to prove that any advantages could be derived from compulsory labour beyond what may be required for the pi'eservation of bodily health. If constantly imposed only in a moderate degree, it would but divert the mind from the important duties of self-examination, reflection, repentance, and all other exercises whereby the character is reformed ; on the other hand, if excessive cor- poral exertion be enforced, it must either produce such weari- ness as to incapacitate for those duties, or create that sullen- ncss and moroseness which is most repugnant to the feelings we desire and endeavour to excite. Since the legal difficulty suggested may excite the attention of the legislature, I am induced on a question so important to EFFECTS OF SEPARATE IMPRISONMENT. 89 instruction is received, and the careful diligence with which advice is followed. The anxiety often expressed by prisoners, hot only for their own im- corroborate my statements by the following testimony. Lieu- tenant Hackett, the Governor of Reading Gaol, in 1839, said : — "The labour of the treadwheel punishes the bodily system, but as a punishment I think it unjust, unequal, and injurious in every sense ; it often produces great exhaustion of the physical powers, and in such cases, I have known of prisoners becoming irritable, surly, and reckless ; I believe it sometimes culls their worst feelings into exercise ; it is much more severely felt by some men than by others ; it affords much scope for deception. The prisoners here practise a variety of artifices for the purpose of deceiving the surgeon and obtain- ing admission to the infirmaries. I have known of a prisoner making wounds on his legs ; of another chalking his tongue ; of another having reduced his system by abstaining from food. One of our prisoners once reduced himself to a most emaciated state of body by starvation, although he had saved, and was actually in possession of five loaves of bread at the same time. They also practise various modes of deception with the turnkeys. I therefore think the labour of the tread- wheel is highly unfavourable to reformation ; it hardens the offender ; it renders him more cunning and skilful in the arts of deception; it prevents reflection; and it produces conse- quences which counteract the efforts of the clerg}'man. / have not hiown of a single instance of a prisoner becoming seriously or religiousfi/ disposed ; and the ttirnkeys, one of whom has been here ten, another sixteen, and another tiventy- foiir years, all say they never knew of such an instance. If a prisoner were so disposed, he could not possibly separate himself from the other prisoners so as to escape annoyance." To the above valuable evidence I subjoin part of a report read last week at the Court of Quarter Sessions, in Lauca- 00 miSON DISCIPLINE. provemcnt, but for the correction of their families ami former companions in crime, is another truly pleasing evidence of reformation. " What a blessing shire, by the Chaplain of the Preston Gaol: — "The tread- . wheel was first established in 1825, and certainly effected some little improvement on the previous system — as a means of deterring from future offence ; but when views on prison disciiiliue became more enlightened, and the reformation of a pi'isoner became an object of greater solicitude than his 2">auishment, it was found that the treadwheel was useless, or worse than useless. When the body was undergoing compul- sory and painful exertion, the mind was irritated and harassed by the ever-present consciousness of punishment ; and this irritation found vent in language it was scarcely possible to control. Nineteen years ago it was my duty to report that, though the wheel 'is a means of severe punishment, it would be improper in me to conceal that I am disappointed in the moral effect which I anticipated from its use.' The prisoners' conversation and manners being in a great degree beyond the control of the officers, the bad have no opportunity or induce- ment to amend; while the less abandoned feel no check in their approaches to the depravity of their companions; — calm thought and penitent feeling could have no place under such circumstances ; and after a trial of twenty years the wheel was found wanting in every principle likely to contribute to a prisoner's reformation, especially when it came to be con- trasted with the profound silence and order of the workroom or the ' cncellulcment ' of the corridor. Having witnessed the introduction of the wheel, and so long deplored its inefficiency, 1 am truly grateful that I have been permitted to see its final alwlition." And from the Report of the Chaplain of the Lewes House of Correction, read at the same time as the former, I extiact the following : — " Juvenile felony is rather on the increase ; EFFECTS OF SEPAKATE IMrRISONMENT. »1)1 it will be for my family that I was brought here ! " "What a good thing it will be for my poor ehiklren that I was stopped in my wickedness ; I wish anil a glance at the Table of Recommittals will shew how inoperative the present system is in the deterring of criminals and vagrant youth. The officers under whose eyes these young culpi'its work at the trcadwheel and in the manufac- tory, constantly complain, and the complaint is confirmed by the same prisoners in after life, that the common effect of such imprisonment is to harden the young heart, and prepare llhe way for future visits to the prison." On this subject, so vital to the success of our system, I would suggest further, that sir.ce criminals are generally of iLhat class who, if they obtain an honest livelihood, must do so by the sweat of their brow, the i)olicy on this account, of inllicting hard labour as a punishment, may surely be doubted. Neither the love nor the habit of industry is likely Jo be promoted by any compulsory labour, performed with disgust, and from which the prisoner is ever longing to be released, 'I'he question is thus proposed by Paley. — " As aversion to labour is the cause from which half the vices of low life deduce their origin and continuance, punishments ought to be contrived with a view to the conquering of this disposition. Two opposite expedients have been recom- mended for this purpose ; one solitary confinement with hard labour ; the other, solitary confinement with nothing to do. Both expedients seek the same end — to reconcile the idle to a life of industry. The former hopes to effect this by making labour habitual ; the latter by making idleness insupportable. * * * When gaols are once provided for the separate confinement of prisoners, which both proposals require, the choice between them may soon be determined by experience." — Moral and Political I'hilosophy. — Crimes and Punishmcu/s. Happily the requisite provision has here been made, and 92 PRISON DISCIPLINE. for their sake I had been brought to such a place years ago ! " These and similar expressions are frequent * Only two or three instances of gross misconduct within the prison have occurred, and whilst under our present discipline employment enough is afforded to prevent the risk of habitual idleness being con- tracted, yet aversion to labour is not engendered by exacting its performance. The following remarks of Locke may give weight to the opinion I have expressed. Speaking of a duty that must be fulfilled, he says, " It should not be made a burden or imposed as a task. Whatever is so proposed presently becomes irksome : the mind takes an aversion to it, though before it were a thing of delight or indifferency. * * tt What men do cheerfully of themselves, do they not presently become sick of, and can no more endure so soon as they find it is expected of them as a duty." — On Education, Sect. 73. An illustration of the above is afforded in the government of the Pentonville Prison, " Idleness is never, or rarely ever punished, but the withdrawal of work is a mode of punish- ment, and one which is severely felt." — Third Report of the Commissioners. * At the Quarter Sessions last week the Visiting Justices in their Report advised that an appeal to the Royal clemency should be made on behalf of three prisoners — two convicted of burglary and the third of embezzlement. The father of one had been several times in prison, and he therefore had been instructed and trained up in all kinds of vice; the second had been himself previously convicted ; and the third had for some time indulged in drinking and other disgraceful propensities, whereby most dissolute habits had been contracted. Yet the conduct of these offenders for several months past had been so entirely satisfactory as to EFFECTS OF SEPARATE IMPRISONMENT. 93 the offences under the present discipHne are not only less flagrant, but comparalively few.* Nor are proots of the sahitary effects of the system confined within the prison walls : no vicious inter- imluce tho recommcntlation i-efcrrcd to. It was my duty tliis morning (Oct. 22) to give them tlie iirst iutimation of what had been done in their favour, and to tell them that they were about to be liberated. To the first I said, "Your behaviour since you were brought to prison has been so proper that you are now to be rewarded by being released from longer im- prisonment." The poor fellow looked astonished, but did not express that delight I anticipated, and little indeed could I expect that the first observation of any criminal under such circumstances would be — " Then, Sir, I shan't finish the Testament;" yet this was the first remark made. This prisoner had determined to commit to memory the whole of the New Testament, and can repeat accurately every chapter as far as the 2ud Epistle of St. Peter, and on hearing of his discharge it was evident he felt some disappointment that he could not complete a work in which he had taken so much pleasure. Each of these prisoners vith much feeling and many tears expressed gratitude that he had been subjected to punishment so corrective, and under which he had derived so much advantage. Such pleasing results, which are by no means rare, may truly excite us to thank God and to perse- vere. Cheering indeed is the assurance that on both the sup- porters of our present system, and on those engaged in its operations, it brings " the blessing of some who were ready to perish." * I am deeply sensible of the advantages thus afforded to the Chaplain in the discharge of his duties, and my experience of the former system in this respect enables me to assert the truth of the following statement: —"Punishments super- imposed upon that to which the prisoner was originally sen- 94 TRISON DISCIPLINE. course can now contaminate the innocent, or prepare the prisoner who shall be acquitted at his trial for the perpetration of crime. Those whose general misconduct may have excited suspicion, and caused a charge against them of which they are guiltless, are induced to consider their past folly, and to determine that their future life shall be more reputably spent. Some committed under such cir- cumstances, have not only acknowledged the advan- tages thus derived, but have expressed their thank- fulness that they were arrested in their evil course, and future disgrace and punishment thereby pre- vented.* tenced oppress by sufferings and privations beyoud the awards of law. The prisoner sees that the privations which occasion him most discomfort are not the punishments to which he has been legally sentenced : hence arise mental irritation, a sense of injustice, a forgetfulness of his offence and an unconcioiis- iiess of his guilt, which effectually close every avenue by which admonition might reach his mind, and render hopeless and unavailing the efforts of tlie Chaplain." — Second Report of the Commissioners, p. 3. * In this respect how pleasing is the contrast effected by our present discipline to the consequences of imprisonment, so accurately described both by Howard and Buxton, as the result of association. I quote some of their observations, under the conviction that they apply with almost equal force in the present day to every prison in which the intercourse of criminals is allowed : — " The general prevalence and spread of wickedness in prisons, and abroad, by the discharged prisoners, will now. be easily accounted for. It is often said, ' A Prison pays no EFFECTS OF SEPARATE IMPRISONMENT. 95 The very proper demeanour of your prisoners at their respective trials, has attracted public attention ; and tlie number of those who acknowledged their guilt, when arraigned, is a remarkable proof that the previous custody under the present system, has debts' — I am sure it may he added, tliat a Prison ineuda no morals. Sir John Fielding, in his phui for preventing rob- beries, observes, that ' A criminal discharged, generally by the next Sessions after the execution of his comrades, be- comes the captain of a gang of his own raising' — improved, no doubt, l)y the company he kept in gaol. I scrui^le not to affirm, that half the robberies committed in and about London, are planned in the prisons by that dreadful assemblage of criminals and the number of idle people who visit them. How contrary this to the intention of our laws with regard to these offenders — which, certainly, is to correct and reform rtiem ! Instead of which, their confinement doth notoriously promote and increase the very vices it was intended to sup- press. Multitudes of young creatures, committed for some trifling offence, are totally rumed there. If it were the wish and aim of magistrates to effect the destruction, present and future, of young delinquents, they could not devise a more effectual method than to confine them so long in our j)risons — those seats and seminaries (as they have been very properly called) of idleness and every vice." — Howard on Prisons, p. 13. " For the improvement of the unconvicted prisoner, you should labour, as a recompence f(jr his confinement before trial, that thus you may convert the suspicion of crime into its prevention in future — that thus you may addict him to such habits, and instil such principles, and impart such instruction as may repair the damage you have done him — and that he, behig amerced of one period of his life, may ^pend the remainder more respectably." — Sir T.Fowell Buxton on Prison Discipline, p. 15, 6th Edit. 96 PRISON DISCIPLINE. a corrective influence. The conscience becomes alive to the sin of lying, and many have declared to me before the trial, that they prefer to bring certain punishment upon themselves by confessing the truth, rather than endeavour to escape by such an increase of sin as tellinsr a lie to conceal it. Re- marks similar to these were made by several pre- viously to the last Quarter Sessions, as well as by some about now to appear before you. Although no inducements whatever, excepting those which the Holy Scriptures enforce, were presented to their mind, yet at the last Sessions one half of the crimi- nals from this gaol who were convicted, confessed their crimes when called upon to plead — a circum- stance, I suppose, without a parallel in the records of any criminal court in which so large a number was arraigned. The propriety of confining prisoners in separate cells before their trial has been questioned, and a partial survey of the new gaol, without intercourse with any one of its inmates, has called forth some very erroneous statements on the imagined severity to which the unconvicted were subjected. Their separation and the resemblance of their confinement in this respect to that of the convicted prisoner, is represented as " contrary to the spirit of the English law;" and with reference to their treatment it is said that " there is a despotic* and audacious cruelty f As to the presumed illegality and despotism of detaining the untried apart from their accused fellow-prisouers, the RESULTS OF SEPARATE IMPRISONMENT. 97 in tb« practice, which will inspire all who hear following arguments appear unanswerable : — The State says — " ' Thou hast offended, we must punish.' We grant the right, but the State has no right to corrupt, and it does corrupt, positively, directly, and not accidentally, because the conniption takes place as a necessary consequence of joint imprisonment, according to the nature of man. * * The State has no right to corrujit, and the prisoner can claim protection from prison corruption, and ought to claim it, were he awake to his rights and interests — and society claims it, because it demands to be protected against crime — not to have it increased tenfold by wicked carelessness on the part of the State. Let us rightly understand the matter. The demand is not made on the score of charity, still less of over- strained philanthropy — it is a demand founded on the strictest right. The State, which exposes to contamination, after having become acquainted with the fact, acts criminally if it persist — frequently more criminally than the offender, who may have been led to his offence by want, by utterly neglected education, &c. The State becomes the wilful perpetrator of crime, and, inasmuch as it frustrates the intended effect of its punishment, a cruel offender itself, because it inflicts suffering to no purpose." — Professor Liehig. Although the extract which follows was written when the question was under the consideration of the French Govern- ment, yet, I think, it must appear equally applicable to the case of the unconvicted in our own land: — "No doubt separate confinement, with regard to the untried, should have nothing of a penal character. There is no ground of dispute upon this point. The difference is in the nature of things. But does it follow, that the untried have a natural absolute right to be confined, or to exist together, so that society cannot separate them without injustice, and violating the rights of humanity ? Certainly not. The untried cainiot claim such VOL IL G 98 PRISON DISCIPLINE. of it for the first time with an indignant hor- ror."* The plausible arguments contained in the pam- a right. Society which has a right to incarcerate them — that is to say, to take them from their families — has, by the same rule, the right to separate them from each other. In one case, as in the other, the interests of society is the foundation of rights. Associated imprisonment has the same evils for the untried as the coudemne J, and presents the same opportunities for mutual contamination, for confederacies, and for criminal enterprizes, which follow." — Journal des Debdta, May 3, 1844. In a small work just published, the title of which — "Benevo- lence in Punishment" — describes its character, I met with these judicious remarks: — "Let us beware on what grounds we attempt to oppose the introduction of benevolent principles in our penal legislation. No nation can have a right to punish by a systan which directly tends to deteriorate its criminals ; and no nation can succeed in arresting the growth of crime unless it apply all its energies to the moral reformation of criminals, and thus 'lay the axe at the root of the tree.'" — Paye 18. * In this sentence Sir Richard Vyvyan refers especially to the prisoners being "disguised by masks." The following quotation from the reply of Mr. Merry will sufficiently explain the practice, and if the first hearing should " have inspired feelings of indignation and horror," this further information will afford relief, and it is hoped those morbid sensations will give place to the more healthful feeling of approval and com- placency: — "Wo can pretend to nothing more than a plain ordinary cap, with a peak larger than usual, so large, that is to say, that a prisoner, during tlie minute or two he may be passing from his cell to chapel or the exercise yard, may, by turning it down, conceal his face sufficiently to prevent recog- RESULTS OF SEPARATE IMPRISONMENT. 99 plilet referred to have been so satisfactorily refuted, and the truth so distinctly declared in a reply since nitiou by fcllow-prisoncrs This 'despotic' infliction may possibly in the whole embrace five minutes in the course of the twenty-four hours. Surely it is not justifiable so to mis- apply (not to say prostitute) terms, as to speak of this act of mercy as an ' audacious cruelty.' Who does not see, after a moment's reflection, that if the 'untried prisoner' be innocent, he must only more deeply feel the grief and shame of being seen in such a place and by such companions — persons who, in the chance-medley of after days, may claim his acquaintance out of 2>rison as well as in, and insult and distress him with their hail fellow well met. How real the consolation rather than the cruelty, therefore, of avoiding the coarse stare and passing scoff". The means of thus avoiding observation have been petitioned for as a favour by those, both male and female, not subject to prison dress and discipline. He knows in fact but little of human nature who is not satisfied that not only among those of some character, but even among those of lower gi"ade, there lurks some lingering sense of shame, biazened over perhaps for the veiy purpose of its conccahnent, but very capable of being revived into hcaltliful operation if the right chord be touched. Every man ought to be ashamed of being seen in prison. Every light-thinking man whom a momentary fault may have disgraced, would jDray that as few persons as possible might know of his being there. This feeUng of self-respect may have been dimmed and all but lost in many we have to deal with, but in none perhaps is it ob- literated beyond recovery. It is our part to recall it if possible." "By steady perseverance in the jiath of industry and honesty, a discharged criminal may succeed in gaining the character of a useful member of society; but he will live in constant appre- hension of having his good name suddenly and irremediably forfeited by the recognition of an abandoned fellow-prisoner' g2 100 PRISON DISCIPLINE. published,* that I need not trouble you with any remarks further than to observe, that as to the sup- posed cruelty of this separation, I considered the who may be tempted to expose the past delinquencies of the penitent, of wliom, but for the previous acquaintance in prison, he might never have had the slightest knowledge." — Second Report of the Inspectors of Prisons, The following may further show the policy and great kind- ness of preventing recognition : — " I would entreat those who happen to know of some delinquency in a fellow-being, to keep the secret faithful, as long as his life gives assurance of sincere amendment. A very young man, who is now in Sing Sing, when tried for his second offence, told a story at the bar, which was in substance as follows : — ' My first offence was committed more in thoughtlessness, than with deliberate wickedness. But I felt I was to blame, and was willing to bear the penalty like a man. In prison, I formed the strongest resolutions to atone for my fault by a life of honest usefulness. When my time was out, I succeeded, after a good deal of difficulty, in obtaining employment. I did my best to gain the confidence of my employer, and succeeded. Every day I felt my manhood gi'ow strongei*. But at last a person came into the store, who eyed me keenly, and I turned pale under his gaze. He told my employer that he had seen me among the convicts at Sing Sing ; and I was sternly dismissed. I went to Philadelphia to seek for any honest employment I could find ; but a man who saw me there told me if I did not quit the city in twenty-four hours he would expose me. I came back disheartened to New York. I had spent my last dollar. Christians would not give me a home ; gamblers and thieves would ; and here I am again on my way to Sing Sing.* " — Mrs. Child's Letters from New York. * Observations in reply to a Letter of Sir Richard Vyvyan, Bart., M. P., l)y William Merry, Ei-q. EFFECTS OF SEPARATE IMPRISONMENT. 101 testimony of the prisoners themselves would be most decisive ; and that I might ascertain their feelings on the subject, 1 put the following question to each prisoner awaiting his trial, who had been in custody longer than a fortnight, " If allowed to choose whe- ther you would now be confined in a room with a number of others, or remain alone, as you have been, until your trial, what would you say ?" Whilst they were almost unanimous in declaring their belief that it was far better for them to be alone, there were but three or four, out of about thirty, who desired to be associated. The answer commonly given was, " If I had been asked when I came in, or soon after, I should have chosen to be placed with others, but I can now see 'tis better to be alone."* I have every reason to believe that these were really honest declarations, and my intercourse with all the unconvicted since has tended to confirm this im- pression. Such testimony may perhaps raise a doubt as to whether a system so humane towards the un- tried as to be preferred by them, and therefore so suitable for prisoners who are not the subjects of punishment, is of a sufficiently penal character to suit the case of those who having been convicted are sentenced to imprisonment as a punishment. On this subject I beg to repeat that your discipline is corrective to all classes, and if its severity can be so mitigated, or its advantages made so appa- * See Appendix. 102 PRISON DISCIPLINE. rent, as to render such imprisonment a matter of choice to those whose innocence, though pre- sumed, is rarely proved, then, surely, it is well adapted to such prisoners. It is important, how- ever, to observe that even with these the preference expressed is the result of correction — it is not prompted by any supposition that as a punishment separate confinement is less painful than imprison- ment amongst companions. The accused prisoner prefers it after a time — he would not have chosen it when first committed. There are some exceptions — prisoners of the most depraved character, and in whom there has been no improvement, do not make this choice, yet the separation of such for their own sake, and to prevent the contamination of others is especially needful.* Whilst therefore my intercourse * " There are some separate cells in Newgate. At the time of our recent visits we found some prisoners in the cells by their own desire ; and the reasons assigned by them for this preference were nearly all to the same effect — that they were all unused to such a place as a piisou, and they did not like to associate with so many prisoners as were together in the other wards, or to make their acquaintance — they had rather be alone. Thus it often is with the comparatively uncorrupt. Such characters dread or recoil from the forced companionship with others to which such a prison as Newgate (subjects them ; while the depraved and hardened offenders, on the other hand, cannot bear to be alone, and thus be coinpellcd to make their own conduct the subject of their reflections." — Fourth Rcjiort of the Inspectors of Prisons. " Wherever any sentiment of self-respect remains — whcicvcr sorrow or a sense of disgrace is weighing on the RESULTS OF SEPARATE IMPRISONMENT. 103 with the untried prisoners confirms my persuasion that the separate cell, in accordance with their own corrected desires, is a most merciful provision for them, I submit that the same system of separation, and similar discipline is not, because preferred by that class, less suitable to the convicted inmates of the House of Correction. With these it is a cor- rective punishment, and I may presume that if correc- tion be effected, and the repetition of crimes pre- vented, the law is sufficiently vindicated.* miud, the offer of separation is gladly embraced. On the other hand, the okl offender, the thoughtless, the callous, piefer the workroom and the unrestrained conversation of the yard during meal-hours. — Report of the Rev. J. Clay, Chaplain of the Preston House of Correction. * " The proper end of human punishment is not the satis- faction of justice, but the prevention of crimes. By the satisfaction of justice, I mean the retribution of so much pain for so much guilt — which is the dispensation we expect at the hand of God, and which we are accustomed to con- sider as the order of things that perfect justice dictates and requires. In what sense, or whether with truth in any sense, justice may be said to demand the punishment of offenders, I do not now inquire; but I assert, that this demand is not the motive or occasion of human punishment. What would it be to the magistrate that offences went altogether unpunished, if the impunity of the offenders were followed by no danger or prejudice to the commonwealth. The fear lest the escape of the criminal should encourage him, or others by his example, to repeat the same crime, or to commit different crimes, is the sole consideration which authorizes the infliction of punishment by human laws." — Paley. — Moral Philosophy , chap. ix. 101 PKISON DISCIPLINE. Scarcely sufficient time has yet expired since the present discipline was introduced for me to report much concerninj^ discharged criminals. Out of a class so degraded — the very dregs of the commu- " In judicaudo sive corrigendo hsec lex secuta est, quam priuccps quoquc sequi debet: at aut eum quern punit, emendet aut poena ejus coeteros meliores reddat." — Seneca, de dementia. " As to the end, or final cause of human punishments. This is not by way of atonement or expiation for the crime com- mitted, for that must be left to the just determination of the Supreme being: but as a precaution against future offences of the same kind." — -Blackstones Comment. Book iv. ch. 1, s. 2. " A more recent commentator on our criminal laws has ob- served — 'All jiunishmeut is an evil, though a necessary one. The pain produced by the offence is one evil; the pain pro- duced by the punishment is an additional evil; though the latter is necessary in order to prevent the recurrence of the offence. Consequently a penal system ought to aim at econo- mising pain, by diff'using the largest amount of salutary terror, and thereby deterring as much as possible from crimes, at the smallest expence of punishment actually inflicted; or (as the idea is concisely expressed by Cicero) 'ut metus ad omnes, poena ad paucos perveniret.'" — Pro Cluentio, c. 46. "At present there can be no doubt that the majority of re- leased criminals are active agents for evil: — but to what is this so much owing as to the deteriorating effect of vindictive and purely exemplary punishment on their individual charac- ters ? They are made worse by their penal treatment than they were before; and they go forth like a moral blight on society. But let us reverse this most disgraceful consequence of existing management, and there seems no reason whatever for their not becoming a moral remedy. It is even proverbial that the most effective persuaders from vice are those who have been themselves reclaimed from it, whose wills have been EFFECTS OF SErAUATE IMPllISONMENT. IQo nitv — it can be no wonder that some, of whose improvement I cherished the hope, should have relapsed. Disappointed in a few cases I have been, yet by no means discouraged, since I can with pleasure refer to many whose conduct is affording proof of reformation. Gratifying indeed have been some accounts received from liberated offenders themselves, as well as from clergymen of parishes to which they have returned. I have also myself visited the homes of some of our former prisoners, gained, not merely their bodies restrained. They can speak experimentally of the delusion of its promises, and the far higher rewards of a return to virtue." — Benevolence in Punish- ment, p. 17d. "The punishment of a crime cannot be just (that is neces- sary), if the laws have not endeavoured to prevent that crime by the best means that times and circumstances would allow." — Marquis Beccaria — Essay on Crimes and Punishmenls, ch. 30. "The convicted criminal is entitled to your care. Our law is not, in its true spirit, whatever it may be in its modern en- actment, a system of bloody vengeance; it does not say so much evil is repaired by so much misery inflicted. A merciful and enlightened jurisprudence, like the Author o^ all that is merciful and wise, does not rejoice in the death of a sinner; but rather, that he should turn from his wickedness and live. Punishments are inflicted that crimes may be prevented, and crime is prevented by the reformation of the criminal. This may be accomplished. The prisoner, being separated from his former associates, ceases to think as they think, he has time for recollection and repentance ; and seclusion will humble the most haughty, and often reform the most abandoned." — Sir T Fowell Buxton on Prison Discipline, p. 16. Sixth Edition. 106 PHISON DISCIPLINE. and have been cheered by the testimony given, and the evident signs of improved character which I have there observed.* * Although I do not venture at present to describe the particular cases of prisoners, concerning whose reformation I feel much confidence, because, as I have stated, the time of trial has hitherto been short, yet I can with pleasure refer to some public documents which prove the happy effects of similar discipline in other establishments. The plan of sepa- ration was many years since pursued in Gloucestershire ; and, in 1819, this testimouy was given by Sir G, D. Paul before a Select Committee of the House of Commons : — " It has succeeded in its effects beyond the theory imagined by the original projectors of the system — far, indeed, beyond my most sanguine hopes. It is within my own personal knowledge that many returned from this Prison to obtain a livelihood by honest industry." I have extracted the foregoing from an interesting volume lately published, entitled " Prisons and Prisoners," in which much confirmatory evidence is adduced. The following is the statement of a mercantile clerk who had been confined for some years in the Eastern States Penitentiary : — " I regard my confinement as the happiest event of my life. It has dissolved improper connections, improved my mind, and, I trust, made better my heart. Whatever reformation my im- prisonment may have produced, I attribute it to the separate seclusion from evil example and worse precept, which must necessarily follow the indiscriminate congregation of offenders in a place of punishment." It is perhaps right that I should here add the testimony of one who filled a similar situation, and was confined in our own prison sevei'al months. In a letter I received from him, he says — " My former occupations having been those of activity and bustle, you will easily imagine that sudden secUu EFFECTS OF SEPARATE IMPRISONMENT. 107 During tlie past year I have been called to dis- charge the most painful duty of ministering to one condemned and executed for the crime of murder ; and distressing is my present task in attending two others charged with the like atrocious offence. I refer to the former, because repeated have been the inquiries as to what was the conduct of our prisoners when that execution took place ? I have felt satis- faction in stating that it was suited to so awful an occurrence — a contrast indeed to that of the asso- ciated criminals of Newgate, who, at the time of a late execution in front of that prison, were making sport of the event by the mimicry of its horrors. Respecting the punishment of death in cases of murder, I believe the divine precepts to be so posi- tive, that no man is at liberty to question the expe- sion from all society brought on reflection, accompanied by all the bitter feelings of regret, which are the certain conse- quences of reflection on misdeeds — unless indeed the feelings are hardened beyond the power of remorse — which however was not my case, and you may better imagine than I can describe the anguish of mind which I suffered and the bitter workings which my wounded spirit felt. I deeply and pain- fully feel my degraded position. * * * During my imprisonment, I suffered from physical causes, yet my mental faculties were rather improved than impaired — my disposition and morals considerably improved, inasmuch as those scenes of vice and dissipation, in which I once delighted, are now a source of disgust. My mind has been rendered more thought- ful, and, above all, I trust I feel some little of the corrective influence of religion. I fervently hope that my future life may prove the truth of these remarks." 108 PRISON DISCIPLINE. dienc}^ Yet whether the penalty should be puhUcly inflicted may be a lawfid inquiry -, and whilst I mention the proper demeanour of our pri- soners on the awful occasion referred to, I must add that proofs were not wanting of the demoralising effect of the shocking spectacle on the multitude assembled.* * " Barbarous spectacles of human agony are justly found fault with, as tending to harden and deprave the public feel- ings, and to destroy that sympathy with which the sufferings of our fellow-creatures ought always to be seen ; or if no effect of this kind follow from them, they counteract in some measure their own design, by seeking men's abhorrence of the crime, in the commiseration of the crimhial. But if a mode of execution could be devised which would augment the horror of punishment, without offending or impairing the public sensibility by cruel or unseemly exhibitions of death, it might add something to the efficacy of example. * * * Somewhat of the sort we have been describing, was the pro- posal, not long since suggested, of casting murderers into a den of wild beasts, where they would perish in a manner dreadful to the imagination, yet concealed from view." — Paley on Crimes and Punishments. * * ' The punishment of death is pernicious to society, from the exam'ple of barbarity it affords." — Marquis Beccaria — Essay on Crimes and Punishments, ch. 28. Although the sight of an ignominious death on the scaffold might be supposed to operate as a preventive to crime by those who dread disgrace, and desire that their memory may be revered, yet it is evident that this class are not attracted by the revolting spectacle — the attendants at such a scene are generally characters of the lowest grade, in whom the sense of shame is well nigh lost, and who are less influenced I EFFRCrS OF SEPARATE IMPRISONMENT. 109 I will not presuma to occupy a larger portion of your time by describing many more good efifects of the present discipline, which my constant inter- course with our prisoners has enabled me to dis- cover ; but there is one happy result on which the love of justice, and my duty as your Chaplain, com- pel me to speak. Your present system provides an equitable punishmenl* — by which I mean that the punishment is proportioned both to the jmrlicidar offence and to the general character of the criminal. Remarkable is the difference in this respect to the hard labour of the tread-wheel, or any similar cor- poral punishment, the severity of which depends upon those physical powers which vary in the case of every individual ; and without an acquaintance with which no judge can possibly estimate the mea- by the fear of suffering as they become more familiarized with things dreadful. The mistake of supposing that precaution is necessarily produced by such a sight is thus described by Archbishop Whateley: — " If the exhibition of criminals pub- licly executed tends to heighten in others the dread of under- going the same fate, it may be expected that those soldiers who have seen the most service should have the same dread of death in battle : but the reverse of this is found to be the case, therefore the former is not to be believed." * The keen perception of prisoners on this subject is re- markable. The sentence which the law enforces, and which the conscience of the criminal approves as deserved, will be suffered with patience, and it may be hoped with profit ; but if there be any apparent injustice or want of equity in the punishment, a more sure preventive to any corrective ten- dency can scarcely be conceived. 110 PRISON DISCIPLINE. sure of punishment he inflicts on an oflender. I have known many cases of criminals convicted of the same ofTence, and sentenced to the same term of imprisonment, whose punishment therefore was in- tended to be equal, yet enduring a penalty in which the discrepancy was jmin/ulli/ evident ; and it not unfrequently happened that the more vicious culprit was subjected to the smaller measure of punishment — because, as stated, his bodily strength was supe- rior to that of his companion in crime. By the present discipline these evils are prevented. Whilst the term of the punishment is proportioned to the nature of the crime, the measure of suffering differs according to the moral character of the individuals. The seclusion, and deprivation of all means of sen- sual indulgence, is for a time painful to all prisoners : none, therefore, are without punisliment. But whilst the less vicious ere long find relief in the instruction and opportunities for improvement which are afforded them, the more dissolute and depraved not only feel their punishment to be far more severe at first, but give evident proof that its severity continues so long as their evil inclinations are cherished. Allow me, then, to congratulate you on having adopted a system of Prison Discipline so satisfac- tory to the claims of justice, so merciful towards offenders, so calculated to protect both the property and person, and to improve the character of society. A system of punishment corrective in its applica- tion, and possessing this peculiar advantage, that it EFFECTS OF SEPARATE IMPRISONMENT. Ill becomes less painful in exact proportion to the im- provement of the criminal, and therefore as the necessity for its continuance is diminished. I have the honour to be, My Lords and Gentlemen, Your faithful servant, J. Field, Chaplain. To the Magistrates of the County of Berks. P.S, — I observe with much pleasure that the plan for the relief of deserving prisoners when discharged, which I had the honour to submit for your approval some years since, but which was not carried out at that time in consequence of the proposed change in Prison Discipline, is a subject for re-consideration at these Sessions.* The need for such relief is not lessened,*!' and I believe that the abuse of such * The plan proposed that the Chaplain should recommend any prisoner about to be discharged, of whose reformation he entertained the hope, to the favourable consideration of the Visiting Justices, in order that, if they considered the criminal deserving, they might direct some communication to be made to the clergyman of the parish to which the liberated offender was about to return, requesting him to afford such temporary relief as might appear necessary out of a fund to be provided for that puqiose. f *'The poor acquitted prisoner shall go from door to door asking for work in vain. Is it not to be lamented that every spark of good intention, instead of being cherished, should be thus extinguished ? and that the penitent should by an almost irresistible necessity be driven again, though reluctant, to the practice which soon brings him back to his former mansion ; 112 PRISON DISCIPLINE. charity would now be less frequent. With reference to this subject I may remark, that in every case of the re-committal of prisoners who had been for three months previously confined in this prison, the offence was committed within a week after their dis- charge, and whilst, as they declared, being unable to obtain work, they were in a state of perfect destitution. So great must be the force of temptation under such circumstances, that the repetition of offences can ex- cite little surprise.* anJ shortens a wretched life, that might have been, that fain would have been, an useful one." — Howard on Prisons, p. 25- The observations by Paley are applicable to the present time — "By a rule of life, which is perhaps too invariably and indiscriminately adhered to, no one will receive a man or woman out of a gaol into any service or employment whatever. This is the common misfortune of public punishments, that they preclude the offender from all honest means of future support. It seems incumbent on the State to secure a main- tenance to those who are willing to work for it." — Moral Philosophy, ch. i.v. * The design of this charity is not to interfere with the relief legally provided, but since it cannot be expected, and is scarcely to be desired, that the liberated offender should at once resort to the Poor-house for support, the j)roposal is to afford him some assistance during the short time he is seeking employment, when he must otherwise be entirely destitute. The consequences of such destitution are most forcibly repre- sented in the following statement: — "No Poor Law relief being provided in Scotland, many prisoners, not having the means of subsistence, were allowed to remain in the Bridewell at Glasgow (which is conducted on the separate system) after RELIEF TO DISCHARGED CRIMINALS. 113 their term of punishraent had expired." But in a recent report of the Inspectors of Prisons in Scotland, it is stated that the General Board of Directors have determined, " that, in the present state of the law, there is no authority for apply- ing the prison funds to the support of persons suhjecting themselves to imprisonment," and accordingly gave instructions for the discontinuance of the practice. The result has unfor- tunately heen to convert a number of persons into criminals, who had shown, by their willingness to give up their liberty, to work hard, to live on the plainest fare, and to submit to all the rules of a prison, that they were sincerely desirous of avoiding a life of guilt, and of living peaceably and honestly. Nearly half of those who had been thus rejected from the Glasgow Prison, have already returned as offenders, and some af them under serious charges VOL ir. H 114 PRISON DISCirLINE. APrENDlX. Table No. I. Shewing ihe A{?es of Prisoners. Under 10 years. From 10 to 15 10 to 20 21 to 30 31 to 40 41 to 50 Above 50 Total. M. 6 F 1 M. 52 F. 5 M. 276 F. 35 M. 235 F. 23 M. 100 F 8 M. 51 F. 1 M. 31 F. 3 M. 757 F. 76 Table No. 2. General Education received by the above prisoners previously to their committal. Age.. Under 10 yrs 10—15 10— 20 above21 Total. Total of both M. 5 F. 1 M. 29 18 5 F. M. F. 7 13 14 1 M. 188 110 117 6 2 F. 14 13 7 1 M. 227 F. 25 Sexes. 3105 2 89 352 1 218 203 7 28 21 2 246 Could read and write im perfectly 81 224 Conld read and write well.. 1 1 9 Had received a superior education 2 2 TABLES OF IXSTRUCTION, ETC. 115 Table No. 3. Rcliyioiis knowledge possessed by Prisoners when committed. AOK.. Under 10 yrs 10—15. 10—20. abovo20 Total. Total of both M. F 1 M. F. 2 3 iVI. 103 F. 5 22 7 1 M. F. 6 22 1 M. F. 13 18 13 2 Sexes. CoulJ not repeat tho LonVs I'rayer, ami wore ignorant of the Saviour's naino .... 6 2i 131 200 279 Coiilil repeat llin Lord's I'ru^cr, nml were imperfectly ac- quainted with the simple truths of religion 1 28 157 250 420 484 Had learnt the Creed, the Commandments, and Cate- chism generally, remem- bering the most important parts ., 10 37 2 53 00 Were familiar with the Holy Scriptures, and had been well instructed in religious truths 2 4 Table No. 4. Age. Of the above who could read, or read and write, yet could not repeat tlio Lord's Prayer Und 10 y or rs. 10— 15. 10—20. abovo20 Total. M. 1 F. M. F. M. 45 F. 3 M. F. M. F. 53 1 105 4 Total of both Sexes. 109 Table No. 5. Age.. Under 20. Above 20. Total. Total of both Sexes. M. 11 F. 13 M. 31 F. 9 M. 42 F. Had been confirmed 22 04 II 2 IIG PRISON DISCIPLINE. Table No. 6. Prisoners whose Parents were Criminals. Age .. .. Under 15 Years. Iti— 20. Above 20. M. F. M. F. M. F. 19 2 61 7 30 2 Total. 121 Of the 833 Prisoners described in the former Tables, 471 had been previously in custody either in the Old Gaol at Reading, or in other Prisons, as shown by the following Table :— Table No. 7. Once. Twice. 3 times 4 ditto. 5 ditto. 6 ditto. 7 do. 8 do 9 do. 10 do. Total. 211 127 61 24 33 14 7 1 5 1 471 Of 833 Criminals, 65 have been twice committed to (his prison. The following Table shews how often those 65 Prisoners had been in custody previously to their first committal to this prison : — Table No. 8. Not known to have been in Custody be- fore— 13. Once. Twice. 18 10 3 times;4 ditto. 5 ditto. 6 ditto Table No. 9. Shewing the time those re-committed Prisonei's spent in this gaol when before in prison. Less than 7 days. 10 14 21 One days days days, month. Six weeks Two raunihj. Three months Four months More than 4 monlh> For trial. Total. 2 2 16 10 1 14 5 5 1 1 1 *8 65 * The eit^ht prisoners previously in custody before their trial were but a short time in gaol, and not one of tliein was convicted. Not less than 15 of these re-committed offenders were children of criminals, either one or both parents having been convicted. TABLE 01' IIE-COMMITTED PRISON E US. 117 TABLE No. 10. Further Particulars of the Criminals Recommitted to this Prisou. Iiiilitkli Teiiii ot iDriiitT Reg. of Ago confiiieineiit In custody N... Name. in llii'' prison. before. Co G. W. 15 1 IllUlltll Altlioiigh :o])orfeil officially as re- ciimmilted, tiiis oUV'iidcr was not really liberated after liis first im- prisonment, having been taken in custody from the tjaol, and sen- tenced to longer confinement on account of olfences previously committed. 128 S. L. 20 11 days Infected with itch during his for- mer imprisonment, and confined in a cell iipiiropriated lo prisoners thus diseased, where he couM receive but hltle instructi(jn. Of most depraved character, and wretcliedly ignorant. 528 J. H. 22 1 IllUlltll 3 tiiuos H.kI been trained in vice from in- fancy ; his father had been trans- ported; could not read, and igno- rant of religious truths. 502 H.W. l(i 14 iluys Twice His fallier and motlier abscnnded when he was an infant, leaving him to the care of a gianduiother, by wliom he apjveared lo have been brought up iindei no control, and in most vicious habits. 3»il R. M. 22 14 (Inys Twice 332 W.G. It 21 (lays :«t n. G. 32 21 21 days Hecoirmilted for misconduct ill LamboMrn workhnnse. 431 E. W. 1) i» weeks ■i liims Father traiispoited lor felony. 430 (J.O. l:» 1 nioiitli Ke committed for an ofl'ence com niitted previously to fliat for whith he had bcloro suflered. 11» PRISON DISCIPLINE. Table No. 10 {Continued). lllllluli. Torm of t'uriiiur Reg or Age. confuiomeiit in In custody No. Name this ))risan. before. 473 J. R. 20 weeks Once Re-comrailteJ for misconduct in worklionse. 47-1 T. H. 21 C weeks Misconduct in workhouse ; father several times in prison. 477 S.J. 22 21 Jays 4 times Fatlier had been three times in prison. 599 J. H 22 2 cal. mos. 5 times Re-comrailted for miscondnct in workhouje. 488 G. P. 19 Q weeks Twice Recommitted for trial, but ac- (jtiitled. 489 J. S 17 15 Jnys Father twice in priso^. 611 C.T. 19 14 clays 3 times 170 J. H. 17 21 d lys Twice Both parents have been convicted. 530 H. W. 20 1 month Once 543 H. G 20 21 days Father a convict. 513 E.J. 10 21 days Twice Fatlier imprisoned for felony. 604 11. H. 18 A few days bo- fore trial 4 times Illegitimate. JN|other bus been in prisop. 500 M.B. 19 2 months 3 times 570 J. G. 18 1 month Once 577 U. S. 8 7 duys Once 581 J. li. 20 14 days Once 588 G.G. 48 14 days Recommitted for leaving work- house with clothes of union. 593 G. H 52 14 dnys 3 limes Rc-connnitted for trial — Acqitilte4. 597 G.H. 20 For trial Twice Was before brought from the house of correction at Winchester to this gaol ; committed on charge of felony, but acquitted at his trial. Subsequently convicted of house- breakint;, and sentenced to trans- portation. An incorrigible pro- fligate, discarded and prosecute^ by his own relations. COl A. J. 18 2 montlis 3 limes 003 G J. 16 14 days Once Mother convicted of felpny. 00 1 J. S. 21 21 days Twice Father transported. 009 r.M. 29 For trial 015 R. C. 32 14 duys 6 times Had been twice confined iu d lunatic asylum 617 D N 20 14 days Once 742 C P. 20 1 month 4 times 715 J. s. 29 14 days 4 times Father had been in prison 000 G.S. 41 1 fill. mo. times 074 J. C. 21 1 cul. lUO. Ouco Re-committed for trial — acquitled. His companion whp was con victed, staled that he conimiltB4 the ofl'once alonp. CS8 G.S. 24 1 cnl mo. Oiico Father convicted. G S. 10 21 days Twice 079 T. F. 19 20 9 niuiilhs 5 limes Father \iai\ bper in prison Re couiiiiitted within a week after his discharge, for cutting grass, &c., which ho was tempted to do, bluing in a slate of dcstilulion, and lindiiig uu jiersou would cm- jiliiy him. I MENTAL IMPKOVEMENT. 119 Table No. 10 {Continued). Iiiitiikls Term of lortiier KoK- of Age. contineinent in In custody No. Nome. this prison. before. 720 W.W. 3 cal. mos. Onco Tins criminal was also re-commiU«d a few days after liis discharge, being far from homo, and po*- fectly destitute. 7S7 J.G. 18 11 days Onco Of very weak intellect. 753 M.A L 17 6 weeks 4 limes 809 C. M. 17 21 iliiys Once Fiithor twice in prisoa. 808 E. M. lt» 2 cal. nios. Once Sister of No. 809. 712 C. P. 20 1 cal. mo. 4 times 783 G. A. 32 U lUys. Onco 813 D D. 19 2 C!)l. nios. 3 times 826 S C. 36 For Irial Twice «25 C. W. 18 14 (lays Recommitted for poaching. 870 W. G. 22 1 cal. mo. Twice Father imprisoned. t<7\) W. W. 21 14 (lays 5 times Both parents absconded when Iw was quite youuR ; education olto- gother neglected. S8. EXERCISES OF PRISONERS. 125 2. Because God has threatened punishment in this vvorlJ, antl everlasting punislnnent in the world to come, to those that keep not His holy commandments. Levit. xxvi. 16 to 39. Ps. xi. Cr Rom. i. 18. 1 Kings xiii. 24. Matt. xxv. 41. 1 Cor. vi. 9, 10. Prov. xi. 6. Gah iii. 10. Heh. xii. 25 & 29. — xxii. 22, 23. John xv. 6. 2 Pet. ii. 4. Isaiah i. 28. 3. Because it was promised at my Baptism that I should keep God's holy will and Connnandments. 4. Because God hath promised mercy and eternal life to those that love Him and keep His Commandments. Ex. XX. 6. Ezek. xviii. 9. Matt. xix. 17. Deut. xi. 27. — xxxiii. 15, 16. Johnxiv. 21. 5. Because it will keep me from the disgrace that I am now in, and from injuring my neighhour, and I shall not fear what man can do unto me. Ps. cxviii. 6. Luke xii. 4, 5. So therefore I will pray to God to forgive me what is past, and to give me power to kcej) His holy word and Command- ments f(;r the time to come, as I can do nothing without the help of Almighty God. Isa. i. 18, 19. Matt. xi. 29. Eph. ii. 8. — Iv. 6, 7. John vi. 37. Heb. vi. 1 7, 20. Ezek. xviii. 27, 28. Rom. ii. 10, 11. Matt. vii. 7, 8. James iv. 7, 8, J. L., August 18, 1845. This criminal has been discharged about two months, and the accounts I have received of him have been satisfactory. H. W., 26, Reg. No. 530. — Committed six months since for obtaining money under false pretences, having been three times previously in gaol, and of a character so base as to have 120 PRISON DISCIPLINE. been discarded by his own relations. During the hist three months he has been the subject of intiniso sorrow, and I discover many pleasing signs of sincere repentance. Why should I obey the 8th Commandment ? 1. Because it is part of God's most holy laws. Exod. XX. 15. Exod. xxi. 16. Exod. xxii. 1, 4. Levit. vi. 4, 5. Lcvit. xix. 11, 13. Dout. v. 19. John X. 10. Rom. xii. 17. Rom. xiii. 9. Ephes. iv. 28. 2. And Almighty God has promised a blessing to all that keep and do his holy Commandments. Levit xviii. 5. Levit. xxv. 18 to 21. Levit. xxvi. 3, 13. Deut. viii. 1, 2. Deut. vi. 24, 25. Dout. v. 32, 3, 10. iv. 1. Mark x. 19. 3. And he is a jealous God, and he will surely curse all who do not keep and do his holy will and commandments. Exod. XX. 5. Num. xxv. 3. Lcvit. xxvi. 14 to 40. Levit. xix. 37. Deut. viii, 20. Dout. vi. 15. Deut. v. 9. iv. 24. 4. And the love of God toward us ought to constrain us to keep and do Ilis holy will and Commandments, as He gave His only begotten Son as a sacrifice for our sins. Matt. xvi. 21. Matt. xxvi. 28. Luke ix. 23. Luke xxiv. 46, 47. John iii. 16. John x. 17. John i. 29 Acts iii. 26. Rom. iv. 25. Rom. viii 32. 1 Cor. xv. 3. 2 Cor. v. 21. Hcb. ii. 9 Heb. vii. 27. 5. And our Saviour Jesus Christ offered himself without spot for our offences, that we may serve God. Heb. ix. 14,24,5. Heb. x. 10. 6. And Almighty God is my Creator, from Him I derive my being, this ought to constrain me to obey Him. Cien. i. 27. (ien. ii. 7. Gen. ix 6, Isaiah xlv. 12. EXERCISES OF PRISONERS. 127 7. Aiul likewise I pvomised by my sureties at my Baptism to loiiouncc the devil ami all his works, and to keep and do God's holy will and Couimandmouts, which by God's grace I am now J)ound to perform. Written by T. N. Reg. No. 311, whose character I have described Vol. i. p. 265. Why should I obey the Fourth Commandment ? 1. Because it is God's law. Ex. XX. 8. Levit. xi. 30, Dcut. viii. 2. — xvi. 28. — xxvi 2 2. The goodness of God set apart a seventh portion of our time for a season of rest. Ex. xvi. 29, 30. Levit. xxiii. 3. Luke xxiii. 56. — xxiii. 3. Jer. xvii. 21. 3. Because the love of God should constrain us to keep His Commandments. John iii. 16. Rom. v. 8. Rom. xii. 1. John xiv. 15. And if we keep them there is great reward, Ps. xix. 11, Rev, xxii. 14, 1 Cor. ii. 9. We should think of the vow which we made in our baptism. Matt, xxviii. 19, 20, John iii. 5. Rom. vi. 2, 12. Titus ii. 12. Not seeking our own sinful pleasure, — Isa. Iviii, 13. Because this sin of itself is enough to bring the wrath of God and destruction upon the soul, Ezek. XX. 13. Rom. i, 18. Ex xxxi. 13, 14, Numb, xv. 32, 35. God has given us this day to read and seai-ch the Scriptures. 1 Tim. iv. 13. John vi. 39. Acts xvii, U, Jer. xxix. 13. Ps. cvii. 43. And thus to become wise unto salvation. — 2 Tim. iii. 15, 16. And to go to the house of God, humbly confessing our sins. James iv. 10. Luke xviii. 13. Prov. xxviii. 13. 1 John i. 8,9. 128 PRISON DISCIPLINE. And to hear His most holy word. Acts xiii. 44, Luke xi. 28. And to praise His most holy name. — Ps. xcv. c. xcii. 1. Working out our own salvation with fear and trembling. Phil. ii. 12. Luke xxiii, 40. Ps. cxi. 10. And so to prepare for an entrance into heaven, and for that rest which remains for the people of God. 2 Peter i. II. Isa. hi. 2, 5. Heb. iv. 9. T. N., Oct. 6, 1845. I have never met with a less promising character than the writer of the two following exercises appeared when committed. He had been a most depraved and abandoned profligate ; of a temper so violent and savage, that for some time I visited his cell with reluctance. He was imprisoned for six months for threatening to murder a relieving officer, and had been previously in gaol twice ; once for a similar offence, and again for deserting his family. To such a criminal the seclusion of his cell was a punishment most severely felt, but most cor- rective. He was ere long subdued, and by degrees became tractable, contrite, and so thankful for instruction, that to impart it became a duty as pleasant as the attempt to do so had before been painful. Scarcely could a greater contrast be imagined than was presented in the disposition and con- duct of this offender after a few months confinement. Since his discharge, although he has been in much distress, and exposed to powerful temptations, his conduct has been most exemplary. His wife, who, as may be supposed, was a sufferer through his former vices, recently told me, (I use her own expression), " the change seems as great to me as though the world was turned upside down." The person who has since employed him also gives him a most satisfactory character. The first of these exercises was given with a view to direct his thoughts towards a sin to which he had been especially addicted. The latter was entirely the suggestion of his own mind, and was written on the day before his discharge. I EXERCISES OF TRTSONERS. 129 Give somo^ advice to a drunkanl, supported by texts of Scripture. Drunkards — we shall find it true. Isaiah v. 22. Isaiah i. 28. Then who hath woe, and who hath sorrow ? — The drunkard. Prov. xxiii. 29, 30. Hosea iv. 11, 18. Prov. xx. 1 For what is it that Joel tells the man ? — Joel i. 5. Hear what God says to the drunkard, and be wise. Habak. ii. 15. Nahum i. 10. Prov. iv. 17, & xxi. 17. The more a drunkard drinks, the more he wants. Haggai i. 6. Isaiah xxiv. 7,9, 11. Isaiah Ivi. 12. " Be not deceived : God is not mocked." Then mind what you do. Galat. vi. 7, 8. Dan. v. What is it that the drunkard has ? Galat. V. 21. Proverbs xxiii. 31, 33. Come be a drunkard no longer, and hear what God will do for you. Ezek. xxxvi. 26, 27. St. Peter and St. Paul, they advise us to be sober. 1 Thess. v. 6, 7, 8. 1 Peter iv. 7. 1 Peter v. 8. Titus ii. 2, 4. Drunkards, you will surely be punished, if you don't leave off your ways. 2 Thess. i. 9. Rev. xiv. lO. Deut. xxxii. 32, 33. I Tim. iii. 3. Then, to finish, see 1 John i. 9. Col. ii. 21. Advice from a prisoner who has left this cell to the nexc that do come in. Phil. ii. 14. Ileb. xiii. 17. Search the Scripture, which is able to make you wise unto salvation. 2. Tim. iii. 15. Ileb. vii. 25. Because you must pray to be delivered from temptations. 1 Cor. X. 13. Prov. xx. 22. James i. 13. VOL. II. I 130 PRISON DISCIPLINE. Be wise, and you will sec that the CommauJment is a lamp, and the law is a light. Prov. vi. 23. Ps. cxix. 105. Ezra. vii. 26. Because you must depart from your evil ways. Ps. xxxvii. 27, 28. Ex. xxiii. 2. Prov. xxiv. 20. And you must not let any malice remain in your heart. Luke vi. 27, 28. Ex. xxii. 28. Eph. iv. 31. Because you must cast away from you all your transgressions. Ezek. xviii. 31, 32. Isaiah Iv. 7. Prov. xxviii. 13. There is a way that seemeth right to man, but the end is death. Prov. xvi. 25. Rom. viii. 13. But you take advice, and say — "Evening and morning and at noon will I pray ; " and do so. Ps Iv. 17. Ps. li. 10. Ps. XX. 1. For you will find that the wages of sin is death. Rom. vi. 23. Then pray for that godly sorrow, and prevent that sentence as will be to the wicked. 2 Cor. vii. 10. Matt. xxv. 41. I remain your soul's well-wisher, The Late Prisoneu. The following answers were given by prisoners awaiting their trials, in reply to the question — Whether they would desire to remain alone or to be placed in a ward with others ? They were taken down as nearly as possible, in the precise words of the respondents: — W. VV., Reg. No. 279.— 'The first fortnight," says a prisoner committed for sheeji stealing, "I was very'unkid' till I began to learn to read, but if I had my choice to-day, I should much rather be alone; and I thank God I have been kept by myself since I came to prison. I don't mean to say but that I should sometimes have liked to have had another to speak to, but I would rather be alone than with SEPARATION PREFERRED. 131 five 01' SIX more, and would rather be alouo altogether, than have one with me, unless I could choose who it shouUl be. I know tliat when T came I was most ignorant, and a very wicked man; I knew nothing about what was good; I don't mean that I ever stole anything before, but I used to drink and break the Sabbath, and lived as though tliere was no God, no heaven, nor hell, or either, and 1 am sure I should have been damned if 1 had gone on so. I bless God for what I have learn , I could not have done so if five or six had been with me, and I could not have prayed to God to forgive me then as I have done; and if I had shed tears then as I do now, they would have made game of me. I often think what a blessing it will be for my poor children that I have been brought here, if I should ever be at liberty again, and I wish I had been brought here twenty years ago for their sake." This criminal has been nearly twelve months in prison. He has given much evidence of sincere repentance. His conduct has been so satisfactory as to induce me to admit him to the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper. He has learnt to read and write, and can now repeat the Gospels of St. Matthew and St. John, besides several chapters of the Old Testament. T. N., Reg. No. 311.— A boy 17 years of age, whose father had been several times in prison. Whilst drinking at a beer- house, which he often frequented, ho proposed (to No. 312) to commit the burglary for which he was apprehended. The above question being put to him shortly after his committal, he replied, "I should rather be amongst others — time would pass (piicker — and if they were bad, there is no reason why I should be." Subsequently before his trial this boy gave evi- dence of contrition ; he then expressed his thankfulness for having been kept alone, giving as his reason — that he had read and learnt much of his Bible, which he could not have done if in bad company. He confessed his guilt when arraigned, and his behaviour since has been praiseworthy. i2 132 PRISON DISCIPLINE. He could read but imperfectly when comraitted, ten months' smce, but has now learut to write, and can repeat every chapter of the New Testament, as far as the Epistle of St. James. T. S., aged 17, Reg. No. 312. — The companion of the former criminal, and the victim of his enticement. Father honest and respectable, for neglecting whoso advice he often re- proached himself. Acknowledged his guilt, and shewed much penitence very soon after his committal. " I am very glad that we were found out, because I know that I should have gone on from bad to worse if we had not been. I am very glad that I have been kept apart here in prison, and I wish to be till I go out. I have learnt a good deal, and I hope I re- pent and pray to God, and I am sure I shall always be thank- ful to God for having been brought here." Subsequent conduct most satisfactory. Committed to memory several chapters of the Old Testament, and the whole of the New Testament as far as the Epistle to the Ephesians. J. A., aged 31, Reg. No. 32-5. — A most hardened and de- praved offender, charged with poaching at night with a gun, &c., and had been six times previously convicted. "I should like to be with others, 'tis much more pleasant; though 1 must say 1 think 'tis belter for me to be alone. I never learnt so much when in prison before as I have done this time." This criminal when committed could not repeat the Lord's Prayer, although he could read and was intelligent. He learnt several portions of Holy Scripture, and incorrigible as he at first appeared, yet showed some proper feeling before his trial, when he was acquitted. J. A., aged 21, Reg. No. 132. — Committed for highway robbery. "I am very glad now that I was not put with any other prisoners when I came in. I have learnt a good deal which 1 don't think I should have attended to if I had not 1 SEPARATION SOMETIMES rUEFERRED. 133 l)ocn alouc. If I had my ch(>icc to be alono or in company here, I might perhaps say 'with others,' hut when my time wtis up, I am sure I should be sorry for it. Indeed, I think upon second thoughts I should say ' alone,' for I can see it would be best for me." This criminal was confined five months before his trial, and one month after conviction. During this time his conduct was good, and he committed to memory the four Gospels, the Epistle to the Romans, and several chapters of the Old Testament. J. F., aged 20, Reg. No. 133.— The companion of the former ; a hardened profligate. " I should like to be with others because the time would pass quicker, but I think it is a good thing that I was not put with them at first, because perhaps I should have become more wicked ; and I don't think I should have learnt to read, what I mean, I don't think I should have looked after that so much ; so that I am glad now that I was put by myself at first, and I don't so much mind it now I am got used to it." The profligacy of this criminal had apparently enfeebled his mental powers, he however leai-ut to read and shewed signs of repentance. J. Y., aged 29, Reg. No. 367.— Charged with stealing £80 from a dwelling-house. — Had been twice before in prison, but could neither read nor repeat the Lord's Piayei- when committed on this charge. " I am very thankful for having been kept alone since I was committed ; I was leading a bad life, and this has brought me to my senses, so that if I get out of my trouble, it will have done me more good than if any body had given me £100. I would rather be alone before my trial if I had my choice ; I can learn to read and think about what is right, and I have done so more during the month I have now been in prison, than I should have dune in 12 months, if I had been in a ward, like I was before. 134 PRISON DISCIPLINE. Most men get worse instead of better when put in gaol ti gcJher, fjr what luickeJness one dont know another teaches." Learnt to read, and shewed mucli proper feeling during an imprisonment of about three months before trial, when he was acquitted. T. P., aged 2o, Reg. No. 365.— Committed with No. 367 An ostler at a public-house. Very intelligent, but hardened, depraved, and of most dissolute habits. Had been four times previously in prison. " I should like to be with company, 'tis more pleasant, to be sure not for the good one gets for 'tis very often that one or another is talking about wliat is not Jit to be heard. A man can improve his mind more by himself — lie reflects and gets more good by himself." T. v., 32, Reg. No. 368 — Committed to give evidence, &c. — Very intelligent, but of dissolute habits, and had been four times imprisoned for poaching. " M}' inclination, like that I think of every other man, would lead me to v.ish to be in society, and I should like sometimes to be with others now. Of all things, I think for a man to be always alone would be most dreadful. I am sure, however, that 'tis a very good thhig for me thnt I have been alone, and when I get otit I shall often go down upon mg knees and thank God for having been bronght into trouble. When in company a man doesn't think like he does tchen alone. Most of my past ivickedness I should think has come into my mind, and I have thought upon mg folly, and been very sorry for it." G. B., 30, Reg, No. 388.— Charged with felony ; had pre- viously been confined in prison 12 months, and was brought from thence to this gaol. — " I would rather, veiy much rather, be alone than with others. I was in ^^— gaol seven weeks before trial, and it was horrid to hear the discourse of the prisoners ; and if a man was disposed to SEI'AKATION IMlEFiaUlED. 135 read, or (liiiik about what was good, he could very seldom do so. If I were to have my choice to-day about being alone or in company, I would very much prefer being alone in my cell ; whilst I was with others I certainly liked that very well, because I did not know the difference ; I did'nt feel that evil, or know the good of being alone. I think that if I had been asked when I came in, I should have wished to be alone, because there was not only a great deal of what was most wicked, but so much of ill-will amongst prisoners ;* but I am sure that now I very greatbj prefer being alone. If a man had any desire for what was right he was only laughed at, and it was shocking to think how men corrupt one another. I remember particularly a boy about 16 years' old being with us about six weeks before trial for killing a duck with a stone, which he afterwards took away and hid, because he was afraid of its being seen. The boy was a steady ivell-behavcd lad, and never swore for about a fortnight after coming ; but before his trial he used to surprise us by the way in which he swore and told lies, and seemed one of the ivorst amongst ns." The prisoner was convicted and sentenced to 1 2 months' imprisonment. His conduct has been very pleasing. Ho continues to speak with much thankfulness of the provision made for his mental and moral improvement. He has re- jieated portions of the Old Testament and nearly the whole of the New Testament. The pitiable victim of prison con- tamination referred to, has become an abandoned profligate ; * A nobleman frotn a distant county in which an effort is made to introduce the Separate System of prison discipline, visited our gaol tiiis day (Oct. 28) and hearing from this criraiiial and others sou:e description of tlie liorriblo and fiend-like dispo- sitions and practices \vhich prevailed amongst associated prisoners, he observed to me — " It forcibly keminds .me of hell, where all are vile, and all seek to GRATIFY THEMSELVES BY TORMENTINO THEIR FELLOWS." HoW jUSt the com- parison, and how truly shocking to humanity that any man on earth, however guilty, and much more that any man whuse innocence is presumed, sliould ho suljected to the companionship of those exclusively, who are '* foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts, living in envy, hattful and hating one another. ' 136 PRISON DISCIPLINE. lie has been re-committed to this gaol within the last mouthy and at present gives little hope of being reclaimed. G. II., 31, Reg. No. 391.— Charged with felony and had hecu foiir times previously in prison. His father transported for sheep stealing. "I should like to be with other prisoners, because I now fret so much about my wife and children, and company would put the thoughts of them out of my mind, but I do think 'tis best for myself to be alone, for I pray to God now to forgive my sins more than I did before, or should do now if many were with me." This most unpromising criminal was the subject of much remorse, and gave some hope of improvement towards the close of his imprisonment. He was acquitted at his trial. R. W., 31, Reg. No. 404.— Charged with felony.— An habitual drunkard, and most vicious character. — If I had been asked when I came in, whether I would wish to be put with others or be alone, I should have said to be tviih others ; but if you ask me what I wish now ? I say I should much ?athcr be alone all the rest of my time in prison. I can read and do what I like, and nobody interrupts me ; and I think 'tis a good thing that I have been alone ; I have thought a good deal about my sin in drinking so much, and I have de- termined against it for the time to come ; and if it was only that one good had come of it I should be glad that I had been BO much by myself" This man was convicted and sentenced to two years' im- prisonment. His general conduct has been good. He could read and write when committed. Has learnt considewiblc portions of Holy Scripture. I. H., 30, Reg. No. 409.— Charged with felony.- Had been before in prison for a similar crime. — " As T can't be with my wife and family I should sooner be alunc. There is no good to be SEPARATION PREFERRED. 137 got by being with others iu a gaol; they ouly entice one into furthei" wickedness ; / am learning to read now, but I am sure I didnt learn any good before." This criminal was sentenced to three montlis' imprison- ment ; during which time he learnt to read, &c., and gave much hope of reformation. I have visited his home since his discharge, and found that he was industrious and sober. Tlie gratitude expressed by his wife for the change effected has been most pleasing. W. B., 28, Reg. No. 429.— Charged with felony, having been three times before convicted, his ftithcr had been con- victed of felony. Of most dissolute and depraved hal)its. " 1 should like to be with others, because the time would not hang so heavily ; we could amuse one another, though to be sure we could not read much. I have learnt m(jre in one week than all the time I was in jirison before, and I do think 'tis better for a man's soul to be alone." This criminal was convicted and sentenced to transportation for 14 years. During his imprisonment of three months he shewed many plaasing signs of contrition. G. A., 17, Reg. No. 457. — Parents very respectable agricul- tural labourers ; charged with stealing a watch. The theft was evidently committed on the impulse of the moment; the article being exposed and the temptation irresistible. Tho culprit never attempted to conceal his guilt. " I think 'tis a good deal best for me to be by myself, I can read and attend to things better than as though I was with others. Amongst wicked men there must be a great deal of wicked talking, and if I may be alone whilst in the prison 1 wish to be. / have been quite enough in bad company, and that has brought me where I am, so I don't loant to be with that any more." I have received most gratifying accounts of the good con- duct of this criminal since his discharge. 138 PRISON DISCIPLINE. F. W., 20, Reg. No. 461, —Charged with fehniy. Had been previously convicted of a similar offence, and had been liberated only three weeks. '' Through the first week it was lonely, but when I took to reading I didn't so much mind being by myself. I am quite sure 'tis a good deal better for me, / do learn somethhuj good now, but lohen we ivsre altogether in gaol I learnt more wickedness in those three months than in all my life besides." This prisoner could read and write when committed, and was generally intelligent, yet ignorant of re- ligious truths and could not repeat the Lords Prayer. During a short imprisonment he committed to memory two of the gospels, and other portions of Holy Scripture, and shewed much proper feeling. I might add to these the replies of many other prisoners who desired to be in custody alone, and who gave reasons similar to those described, but I presume that the foregoing must be sufficiently conclusive. I have felt it right to give the answer at length of every criminal who objected to sepa- rate confinement, and it will be observed that these were offenders of the most vicious class. Truly to have associated such with those who preferred separation would have been inflicting an injury on the latter beyond all human compensation. EFFECTS OF SEPARATE IMPRISONMENT. 139 CHAPTER V. IMPOUTANCE OF REPORTS FROM BERKSHIRE PRISON. — ATTEN- TION OF MANY ATTRACTED. — CHARACTER OF SUBORDINATE OFFICERS. — NUMBER OF PRISONERS COMMITTED IN 1846. CAUSES OF CRIME. WANT OF EDUCATION. — IGNORANCE ESPECIALLY OF RELIGIOUS TRUTHS. — DEFECTIVE INSTRUC- TION IN WORKHOUSE SCHOOLS. CONTAMINATION IN UNION WORKHOUSES. INFLUX OF RAILWAY LABOURERS. — BEER- HOUSES. — VAGRANCY. OFFENCES COMMITTED BY VAGRANTS ON SUNDAY. — JUVENILE OFFENDERS. — CHILDREN OF CRIMI- NALS. EXCESSIVE ALLOWANCE OF FOOD. PRISONS PRE- FERRED TO THEIR parents' HOME. — EXAMPLES. SHORT IMPRISONMENTS INEFFECTUAL FOR CORRECTION AND EX- PENSIVE TO THE COMMUNITY. — THE DISCIPLINE PROVED REFORMATORY WHEN TIME FUR TRIAL IS AFFORDED. PLEASING TESTIMONY. REPORT— MICHAELMAS, 1846. Any Report of a Christian Minister concernino- hundreds of immortal souls which have been com- mitted to his charge, over whom it has been his dutv to watch, and respecting whom he must give an account before an infinitely high tribunal, must be a task of solemn interest. It is one which I hope I never have entered upon, and God forbid I ever should, without a sense of awful responsibility. But if in years past I could not regard the duty with the indifference perhnps suit!.'d to iiny act only of con- 140 PRISON DISCIPLINE. sequence because required by law or custom, yet never have I felt the task to be one of such serious importance as at the present time. The noble ex- ample which you have set to other counties of England, and to the various nations of the world, in first adopting a system of Prison Discipline most benevolent in its purpose and most happy in its effects, excites the attention it deserves, and, distin- guishing Berkshire above other districts of the kingdom, attracts numberless visitors from our own and distant lands. Momentous consequences must result from this honourable distinction; for we cannot be insensible to the fact that upon the success or failure of our plans must depend the welfare or the woe of thousands of our offending fellow-men. In obedience to a desire expressed by many Magis- trates, it was my duty to publish the Report I had the honour to read at the last Michaelmas Sessions. I was subsequently persuaded to enlarge that publi- cation, and to give a more full account of the plan of criminal treatment, so evident an improvement on the past, and which promised to be, and had then given some proof of being, really corrective. With the consent of several Magistrates I felt bound to dedicate that work to those who had just adopted a system so humane and just. Allow me at this time to thank you for the very kind manner in which you have been pleased to show your approval of that humble effort to remove prejudice, and to promote the extension of Separate Imprisonment; next to EFFECTS OF SEPARATE IMPRISONMENT. Ill your approbation I value the many pleasing testi- monies I have received from Magistrates of other counties, which encourage a hope that the effort has not been unsuccessful. I have also felt it my duty to prepare a short "Tract for Prisoners on their Discharge," which has been approved and published in a cheap form by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. In the endeavour to discharge my duty during the past year, I have superintended the efforts of the schoolmaster, which have been remarkably success- ful. The plans of instruction before described have been continued, and the mental improvement of our prisoners has been equally satisfactory, and only less surprising because longer observed. No in- stance of mental derangement has occurred, although some inmates of the prison had been previously in- sane, and the near relatives of several were so afflicted. And whilst the mental faculties have been improved, it has been my most earnest desire that moral and religious principles should be imparted, I have, therefore, sought, both by private admoni- tions and more public instruction, to render impri- sonment a means of lasting amendment. Feeling confident that the success of our discipline must depend greatly on the character of the subor- dinate officers of the prison, I am happy to report most favourably respecting them. I hope there is scarcely one amongst them whose conduct is not habitually regulated by moral and religious princi- 142 PRISON DISCIPLINE. pies ; hence their demeanour is most respectful, and their strict performance of duty most praiseworthy. The kind but decided manner in which they enforce the rules of the establishment tends much to pro- mote the correction of its inmates. I cannot give a better proof of the estimation in which I hold these officers, than by stating that every succeeding month I feel much satisfaction in admitting two thirds of their number as, I trust, meet partakers of the Holy Communion. A reference to the Tables* will shew that G57 prisoners were committed during the last twelve months, being 29 less than in the foregoing year. Of that number 297 had been previously in custody, either in this or other counties, as shown by Table No. 7, and of these 76 had been before subjected, I will not say to the discipline, but to some imprison- ment in our new gaol, a circumstance to which I shall again beg your attention. It is gratifying to observe this further decrease in the number of committals ; yet, considering the system of discipline pursued in our gaol, how powerfully it op.^rates in deterring the ill-disposed, and how calculated it is to correct the guilty — I feel convinced that but for some causes, which my in- * It lias not been thought advisable to enlarge this work by the republication of the Tables here referred to. They are given in detail in the Report of the Select Committee of the House of Lords on the execution of the Criminal Law ; and very nearly resemble those appended to the Report for 1845. CAUSES OF CRIME. 143 tercoursc with prisoners has enabled mc to discover, and which, therefore, it will be my duly to submit for your consideration, the diminution would have been to a far greater extent. Foremost of these causes we must describe the want of education. Of 631 persons whom I have examined on this point (tlie prisoners not thus ex- amined are those out on bail, and some who were but a few hours in custody) durinsj the past year, 230 were ignorant of the alphabet, and 204 entirely unacquainted with the first principles of the Christian faith. Possessing that liberty which is the birthright of man, and all the vicious propensities which he more surely inherits, the offences committed by these culprits have been the natural and almost necessary consequences of neglect. But a greater number had received some measure of instruction, yet so wretchedly defective had been the character of their education, that for restraining vice, or directing in the practice of duty, it had been altogether inadequate. Children — or still childish men — have learnt to read and write, but they have not learnt to think about or to understand anything which they have been taught. Words are to such mere sounds ; they are not signs. The ear has heard them, and the tongue has learnt to give utter- ance to them, but the mind has received no ideas or impression from them. Hence these criminals have no realising sense of any important truths which it is supposed they have been taught, and consequently, 144 PRISON DISCIPLINE. although acquainted with terms, they remain igno- rant of motives. Conscience, indeed, once whispered approval, or condemned, but its voice has been stifled, and it has ceased to warn. Thus, men who might be, and, if properly educated, would have been rational, really live without intelligence. Their very liberty is a curse, because their lusts are un- bridled ; neither reason nor religion curb them. Most lamentable indeed it is that even the criminal population of a Christian land should show a pro- portion of one third strangers to the very first truths of our holy religion, yet the tables I have appended prove that in this county ignorance prevails to this deplorable extent. I do not presume to suggest better plans of instruction, or those means of training according to moral and religious principles which must be combined with the teaching in order to constitute sound education ; yet there is one partial remedy within reach to v^diich I feel bound to refer. Our criminals are for the most part paupers, and many, as it will be my duty again to mention, have been the committals from our workhouses. To numerous inmates of our prison no opportunity of obtaining knowledge has been afforded, excepting that which our workhouse schools have furnished. The importance, therefore, of providing suitable schoolmasters, and of imparting the needful in- struction in those receptacles of our poor, cannot be overstated. There are, I know, exceptions, both as respects the persons employed and the plans I WORKHOUSES DEMOUAIJZING. 145 pursued ; but, as one preventive to vice, I have hid sad and convincing proof that great changes are required.* Ill proceeding to describe, as it is my duty, circumstances vvhi(;h I have found to be the occa- sion of crime, I thankfully avail myself of the op- portunity of yet further addressing you, not only as magistrates who have punished the offenders placed under my spiritual charge, but as, ex-officio, the most influential Guardians of the poor, an honourable designation, which, however unsuited to the character and conduct of many, as respects yourselves, I am happy in knowing, it is your desire should denote, not only the preservation of the honest poor from want and distress, but likewise the protection of their minds and morals. Well may we congratulate the county and the kingdom that the penal establishments which are exclusively under your jurisdiction have been subjected to a * When Lord Lansdowue brought forward the government measuie of education in the House of Lords, February 6th, 1847, he observed — " With regard to those schools already established in the workhouses of this country, there have been special grants. These schools were placed under the inspec- tion of persons appointed to see properly carried out the ob- jects for which the large and liberal grant of the last session was voted. Instead of these schools being models of virtue and excellence, he was afraid that theij had hitherto, in many in- stances, been models of ererythiug that was defective, and tvere rather calculated to deter children from rece.ivimj their educa- tion, than to encournqe them to enter them. VOL. II. K 146 PRISON DISCIPLINE. reform which has converted them from schools of vice into real Houses of Correction ; but you must allow me to assert with confidence (for careful in- vestigation has convinced me) that the place of those once demoralizing institutions is now sup- plied by some of those establishments which, as they are intended for the relief of poverty, ought certainly to be preventive of crime. The revolting statements made to me by some prisoners respecting the vicious intercourse of the workhouse, to which they ascribed their misconduct, has induced me to make inquiries, and to visit some of these scenes of demoralization, and although I have not found, in all cases, that the particular assertions have been correct, yet I have learnt and witnessed enough to convince me that, if no other source of moral cor- ruption existed, the polluting converse allowed in our workhouses is alone sufficient to fill the cells of our prison. Of many evils I mention one; and would respectfully ask, what plan could the most subtle adversary of all purity devise to ensure rapid contamination, which should be more suited to effect the cruel purpose than that of associating with other females those notorious as having debased themselves to the lowest depths of prostitution, and others whose oft-repeated crimes, if they would for a time avoid the prison, force them to the poorhouse, because none will employ them, there to pass the time in filthy and defiling conversation, which would otherwise be spent in foul misdeeds, and to talk I WORKHOUSE DEMORALIZATION. 147 about anJ instruct others in the perpetration of vices fro:ii the practice of which they are themselves for a tun>3 restrained. My observation has convinced me that depraved and profligate characters of this description live in a state of constant excitement. The proverb is still true vvhic^h describes them as " like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt." The disquietude and impurity of their mind must find vent in words if acts be forbidden ; if the present gratification of iheir vile passions be prevented, they seek pleasure in recounting the past, and in tempting others to indulge the like. To accomplish this, what oppor- tunity more favourable could be sought for than that which is so culpably afforded, whilst the mas- ters and matrons of our workhouses are compelled to place all the able-bodied paupers, from sixteen years of age and upwards — the innocent and the most vile — ■ the virtuous and the most depraved — in one common apartment, and in one promiscuous company. I purposely speak of these officials as enforced, be- cause I have found them alive to the evil, and lamenting that the law should permit, or the want of space within their buildings should compel them to pursue a system so demoralizing and disgraceful ; and I am bound to add that in one or two instances, with the sanction of authorities, they have made most praiseworthy efforts to avert consequences so easily foreseen, but most difficult for them to prevent. The consideration of circumstances such as those k2 1 IS PRISON DISCIPLINE. referred to may prepare for the statem3at of a fact which might be otherwise amazing, that of the diminished number of criminals committed during the last year, not less than sixty-eight have been sentenced to imprisonment for offences in a work- house.* * Altbough I hope tbe majority of the masters of work- houses in this county are respectable and intelligent men, who lament evil consequences, which they have not power to prevent; yet, as respects this class in general, I am too well assured of the truth of the annexed evidence. I feel convinced that many offences are induced by the irritating language and ill-judged severity of men who are not qualified either by edu- cation or habits of life to be entrusted with the government of their fellow-men. An Inspector of Prisons of much expe- rience observes — " And this feeling (less disinclination to go to prison again) has been very much increased by the bad management of the union houses in this country, which has forced itself upon my observation. I have scarcely met with a single prisoner who would not prefer going to prison to going to the workhouse ; and 1 attribute this, in a great measure, to the inferior description of persons who have been placed in the situations of masters in the workhouses. If we cast an eye to penal establishments we see placed over them half-pay officers and men who have moved in a superior rank of life, and who know how to govern men, not alone by physical but rather by moral means; but if you take the person who is generally employed as the master of a workhouse, you find him, in the majority of cas^s, to be one of inferior stand- ard, who really knows no better how to govern men, than he does — I may almost go to the length of saying— how to govern dogs. These are facts which have struck me very forcibly, and I think that the demoralizing effect upon the humbler class in general has been very great indeed. What can be CAUSES OF CRIME. 140 A reference to the general statement of the year will show that the offences have been of a compara- tively light description, and numbers of them such as may be traced to accidental circumstances. It is true that employment throughout this county has been generally abundant, and, perhaps, on that ac- count a diminution in the number of committals may have been expected. This decrease has oc- curred as respects those crimes which may be sup- posed to proceed from distress consequent on want of occupation. Thus the offences against the game laws, and against property in general, bear a less proportion to those against the person tlian in former years. Reason suggests, and experience proves, that amongst the uneducated, who being destitute of moral and religious principles, are governed by their passions, the high wages which lessen the tempta- worse than to hear prisoners say, 'We would railier ten thousand times be in a prison than in a poor-house ; ' it is a growing evil at the present moment." — Evidence of Caplaiu WUlianis — Committee on Execution of Criminal Law, " I heard the evidence of Captain Williams on the sub- ject of workhouses and their regulations, and 1 entirely agree with him, in the character of the jDcrsous who have the management of them. I have endeavoured to im- press upon all persons whom I have spoken with upon the subject, that in order that men and women might be properly governed they should be governed by people of intelligence and mind; but the persons who have the management of workhouses are generally persons unfit for the management of them. Of course there are exceptions to this remark. — Evidence vf G. L. Cheater ton, Efq, 150 PRISON DISCIPLINE. tion to steal, do but enlarge the means of self-indul- gence. In every district, and at every station where labour is provided, the beerhouse is erected ; in that the earnings are often paid, and as rapidly spent; there strong drink inflames, and violence succeeds. So commonly indeed do prisoners ascribe their mis- conduct to the temptations and contamination of those nests of iniquity, that it may be feared in- creased prosperity will but engender and nourish crime, whilst they are suffered, as at present, to pollute the land. The lines of railway now forming in the county, and the consequent influx of railway labourers, a large proportion of whom are not only most ignorant, but men of dissolute and depraved habits, whose bad conduct has obliged them to forsake their homes, has been another cause of crime. Such an acces- sion to our criminal population, tending to the de- crease of offences elsewhere, must in proportion lengthen the calendar of this county. The number of committals from this class has not indeed been very great ; but the indirect evils produced by them are incalculable. They are addicted to drunken- ness. Sabbath-breaking, lewdness, and general de- bauchery, — vices which are most demoralizing to a neighbourhood, because most infectious ; and many of the crimes committed by our native peasantry have been traced to their intercourse with these igno- rant and most sensual men who sojourn amongst them. CAUSES OF CRIME. 151 Hitherto but little has been done by way of in- structing, and thus restraining this vicious class ; but I have felt pleasure in uniting recently with the parochial clergy of this town in the endeavour to obtain some provision for their spiritual wants ; and I trust that, ere long, suitable means will be supplied. For this purpose the railway company have contri- buted £50, and additional subscriptions will be thankfully received.* That the statement of the year does not show still further decrease in the number of commitments for vagrancy, I believe may also be ascribed to the abundance of labour in the county. The proportion is indeed small in comparison to former years; but such is their avowed dislike to our system of sepa- ration, that very few of the common mendicants, who at certain seasons make prisons mere places of accommodation, will now seek admission to that of Reading. These characters, who for board and lodging break windows, and commit such like wilful damage, are for the most part better acquainted with the Gaols of our country than with its Geography • hence the majority have been committed from quitt the borders of the county ; and several have assured me, with evident disappointment, that when miscon- ducting themselves, " they did not know they were * A Scripture Reader was constantly employed amongst those men, and we had reason to believe with much good effect. 152 PFvlSON DISCIPLINE. in Berkshire, or they would not have done so." * But the legal term of vagrancy is very comprehen- sive, and many who have been attracted with the hope of immediate employment, not having been successful in obtaining it, have been tempted to pilfer, and have then been punished upon a summary conviction, which has caused them to be enumerated in that class. * I extract from my journal the observations made by one of this class recently committed from Hungerford. They shew that these criminals are not only acquaintetl with the general system pursued in prisons, but with particular circum- stances of their government, ike. The dietary at Reading gaol is on the most liberal scale, and but for the deterring influence of the strict seclusion, would prove most attractive to vagrants. This liberal allowance is well known, and no doubt weighs with some of them against the privation of intercourse. The prisoner by whom the following statement was made, was I believe at the time he offended in great distress. And I may remark, that although the mistaken charity of many enables our vagrant population often to indulge themselves in a manner unknown to our more deserving stay-at-home labourers, yet there are times when they endure severe privation, and I have known many cases of desperation in which the refuge and coarse fare of a prison has been sought. The followhigis the statement of one in such condition: — "I broke the windows to get sent to prison, for I had nothing to eat, but I had no thoughts of getting here. I did not think I was in this county for I had often heard of this prison in London and in Buckinghamshire, (the prisoner had been confined in the gaols of Brixton, Aylesbury, Devizes, &c.) I had heard men say the food was very well here, l)ut they did not like the stiiclness, and being alone. I thought I should be sent to Devizes gaol CAUSES OF CHIME. 153 Tlie freciiiency of offences committed by vagrants on Sunday excited my attention; and on inquiring I found that tlie destitute \vho lodge in our work- houses on Saturday night are sent out, in some cavses without a morsel of food, early on Sunday morning, to make their way to the next Union. Whether tliis does not exceed what may properly be a Sabbath Day's journey may be a question of some importance ; but there are evils which must certainly attend upon, and should lead to the discontinuance of such a practice. The hungry wanderer is thus tempted, if not compelled, to violate the law, either by begging on his way, or by some more flagrant offence. The Sabbath is, to say the least, desecrated and mis-spent, and the delinquent must thus necessarily become more depraved. To one board of guardians I have felt it my duty to protest against the evil, and to suggest the propriety of allowing the vagrants to remain during the Sunday, but I was informed that the permission was not granted in other Unions, and that the want of room in their workhouse pre- vented such an indulgence, without associating these strangers with the parochial inmates of the place. The inexpediency of allowing such intercourse must be acknowledged; but as the evil complained of is from Huiigerford, and I would rather go there than to the workhouse. And I would sooner go to Aylesbury again than go to the union-house, and 1 know a good many more would, liut they won't when the new gaol there is finished, for that is to be like this. ' 154 PRISON DISCIPLINE. great, other means of preventing its continuance should be provided. It is painful to observe a continued increase in the number of juvenile offenders. It will be my duty to refer to one circumstance connected with our penal system, which may in some measure account for this fact. But with reference to this class in general, allow me to repeat what I have before stated, that I believe no prison discipline will effectually and permanently reclaim youthful criminals, so long as they are compelled, when discharged from custody, to return to their ignorant and depraved parents, who either have not discretion enough to control their vicious propensities, or perhaps more frequently en- courage a return to crime. The sixth of the tables I have appended shows the very important fact, that of the sixty-four prisoners committed under sixteen years of age, twenty-eight, nearly one half, were children of criminals, either one or both their parents having been convicted. Surely such a statement must excite an earnest desire for some provision whereby the young may be rescued from such per- nicious influence. In France, Prussia, and America, suitable places of refuge have been extensively established, and their success has proved the wisdom and repaid the expense of such a plan. The advan- tage of institutions of this kind is still more apparent, when it is considered that youthful culprits, if they return after a short imprisonment to their miserable homes, are almost sure to entice others in their CAUSES OF CRIME. 155 families to outer upon a like vicious career; hence, as proved by the commitments of the past year, crime is increased and perpetuated in families to an extent which is truly alarming. I feel that I need not occupy your valuable time by any lengthened reference to the mental and moral effects of our improved discipline, having recently described them more fully than would be possible in an annual report; farther experience has tended to confirm the opinions I then expressed, and as respects the working of our system, I have no desire, as I have seen no cause, to suppress any statement I published. There are, however, one or two points to which I but slightly alluded in that publication, which I beg to submit for your further consideration. The merely physical condition of our prisoners might not be a legitimate subject for the comments of your chaplain ; but if questionable regulations, with a view to the bodily health, inter- fere with the improvement of the mind and morals, or have any tendency to prevent suitable religious impressions, it becomes my duty to represent the fact, and to ask that such regulations may be the subject of inquiry. I have referred to the increase of juvenile delinquency, and shown that a large proportion of our young oflfenders are the offspring of vicious parents, whose self-indulgence has exposed their children to hunger, perhaps to starvation, if they would not steal. This cause of their crimes, which has rendered them very truly objects of pity. 156 PRISON DISCIPLINE. it must also be remembered has made them most depraved ; and, with few exceptions, I have found the supposition a sad mistake, that their hearts, because young, are therefore tender and more sus- ceptible of good. Being naturally corrupt, they have become hardened by evil counsel and wicked example, whilst they are insensible to many argu- ments by which those of mature age may be convinced and persuaded. Hence experience has taught me, that contrary to the general opinion, the youthful occupants of our prison are amongst the most difficult of correction. This is not true of children in general, but from the causes I have described, it is true of the particular class committed to our gaols. As these young offenders form the population on whom the future state of society must in a great measure depend, their reformation is of paramount importance, and the least obstacle in the way of effecting it I feel sure you will no sooner discern than endeavour to remove. Whilst then amidst the improvements of our penal system I am often told by young transgressors that they " like being in prison better than being at home," such assertions imply some remaining imperfection. The statement is either true, or the falsehood proclaims that the depraved character has not been corrected. In either case further investigation is required. This it has been my duty to make; and the answer I have commonly received has to my own mind fully accounted both for the avov\ed pre'erence and CAUSES OF CRIME. 157 for the absence of improvement. The sole reason assigned by several may be briefly expressed in the words of one ; " Because I get better things to eat, and more of them." This it may be said is almost a necessary consequence of the imprisonment of these pitiable objects, inasmuch as that health must be promoted and preserved. Admitting this, I would by no means advocate such a diminution in their diet as should constitute the privation any portion of their punishment ; an evil which would greatly counteract that corrective instruction to which their imprisonment is subservient. But whilst I plead for a sufficiency, I pray that excess may be for- bidden ; and witnessing as I do, in my daily visits to their cells, that the supply of food is often not consumed, whilst, with only one exception, all the boys in our prison have become fat, some of them even become gross in their appearance, I cannot doubt but that habits of waste or of self-indulgence are induced, that mental improvement is in a mea- sure retarded, and that moral and religious feeling is much prevented.* Allow me to add that these * I have already described some cases in which this evil has been developed. (See Vol. i, 208. ) I might adduce many more. When compared with the allowance of the workhouse, the better fare of the prison is a great temptation to the pauper. It is a frequent cause of committals and recommittals. I cite the following case from my Journal as some proof: — Three boys were committed on this day for misconduct at Workhouse, one of whom was discharged only a fortnight since after a short imprisonment, having been five times subjected 158 PRISON DISCI P[JNE. remarks are only made with reference to tlie younger culprits. There may be individual cases in which they may apply to others ; but the remorse felt for a time by adults, and which in their case has a to siicli. This was the statement of his companion, the truth of which was admitted by tlie culprit himself. "When came out of prison about a fortnight ago, he said he would soon go back again, he told us so in our ward, for he would every bit as soon be there because they lived so well. When the magistrates gave him ten days, and we told him that but for us he would have had longer, he said he wanted more for he should not have enough of their beef and soup in that time." This manifest evil is not C(mfined to English workhouses and prisons. The following statement is attached to the evidence given by the Lord Chief Justice Blackburue (Ireland) to the Select Committee on the Execution of the Criminal Law. Referring to a case of some boys brought before the Recorder of DubUiK — " The wardmaster stated that the boys were being brought down from the union to the buildings known as the sheriff's prison, and which had been applied to the accommo- dation of the increased number of paupers, when the prisoners went off, taking with them the workhouse clothes. The re- corder asked what object they could have in running away. The witness replied that they were of opinion they would find more comfortable quarters in gaol than in the work- house. The court expressed surprise at this idea being prevalent. The witness said that there had been some boys committed to prison for offences, and when they came out they told their companions that they were better off when in custody. The recorder sentenced each of the four boys to one month's imprisonment with hard labour. They left the dock as if they had been engaged in some transaction that reflected credit on them instead of disgrace. Four other boys who pleaded guilty to a similar oirence received the same sentence." CAUSES OF CRIME. 159 tendency to depress, requires, I believe, that a liberal dietary should be allowed. Many amongst them after a time become more robust; but this is found to be the case when the remorse has subsided, and has been succeeded by those better and more cheerful feelings which attend an improvement of character. It becomes now my duty to revert to a subject on w^hich in former reports you have kindly allowed me to express a very decided opinion. Had I before abstained from doing so when fully convinced of its accuracy, or should I refrain at the present time wdien proofs and experience have confirmed it, I feel that 1 should be unworthy of the confidence you have placed in me, and unfaithful to that Divine Master through \vho3e Providence I have been appointed. Excuse me, if, whilst I desire to speak most respectfully, I speak very plainly on a subject of paramount concern ; but as a Christian Minister addressing Christian Magistrates, I cannot desecrate my own office by doing otherwise ; nor will I de- preciate yours by urging other arguments than those enforced by Him who has delegated to you The following exti-act from a prisoner's letter, to one of his family, which, with the approval of the Visithig Justices, I re- tained, is surely calculated to induce offences: — "What a good thing there is such a place as the union to go to, although people do talk so much about it, although it is not a pleasant place to be at 1 know, but what would you have done without it ? You do have something to eat every day, but you don't have so muck as I do, by a i)ort. And I would also here quote 184 PKISON DISCIPLINE. a sentence from the last Report of the Committee of the Schools of Industry, at Aberdeen, of the good effected by which I presume few are altogether un- informed. That committee observes — " So deie^ riorating is the injluence of short hnprisotnnents that your commiltee have resolved that no child who had been subjected to them should be admitted to the benefits of their institution." The reason assigned for such a resolution is forcible, and fully justifies its adoption, " lest in endeavouring to reform one they should incur the risk of contaminating the whole school." Upon such a determination I would only remark, that it affords one of the many proofs that short sentences are as unmerciful toward the criminal as they are impolitic, expensive, and gene- rally injurious to society,* * The Committee further set forth the melancholy effects of these short imprisonments by describing the case of one out of very many, they say — " During the short period of his first imprisonment, a most unaccustomed care was bestowed upon him — comfortably lodged, clothed, and fed. The Schoolmaster, Chaplain, and Governor paid their daily visits, and an anxiety was expressed about his well-being which quite overpowered him. It was only when he was dismissed that he again found himself the same unfriended, uncared-for, suspected being he was before. But the prison was now divested of all terror, and he became its frequent inmate. Notwithstanding the improvements in prison discipline, short imprisonments did not reform ; more lengthened, after a succession of short imprisonments^ were equally inefficient, and he was soon sent a])road fur his final reformation." RE-COMMITTALS. 185 The subject of re-committdh as closely connected with the foregoing, next claims attention. 297, or one-third of our prisoners, had been previously in custody either at Reading or elsewhere, but the two last Tables shew further that 96 criminals, or a pro- portion of 12 per cent, upon the re-committals of the year, had been before imprisoned under the Separate System. If this proportion apjiear small as compared with the re-committals in Scotland, still I feel that the abstract number, if looked at without observing the peculiar character and circum- stances of the individuals who compose it, would be large enough to forbid self-complacency and satisfaction. Such is my confidence in the generally corrective tendency of our improved system, that I should be disappointed and sorry indeed if annually even 12 per cent, of those subjected to its discipline should be found to relapse. But I am thankful that, as this is really not the case at present, so neither have we reason to apprehend any such result. As I have before observed, it would be unreasonable to calculate upon the correction and reformation of criminals, under any system, in so short a period as three months. It may be effected, and under the favourable circumstances of separate confinement, through the unlimited mercies of Almighty God, we rejoice that reformation is sometimes so speedily accomplished. But humanly speaking it is improbable, and it would be presump- tion to expect it. It is right; then, that we should 186 PRISON DISCIPLINE. exclude from the list of those really subjected to our penal discipline^, all prisoners who were not confined for a period exceeding three months- It would be easy to point out circumstances which might sufficiently account for the re-committal of a majority of these criminals, had their former imprisonment been of longer duration — for instance, 13 were the offspring of criminals, either one or both parents having been convicted. Two-thirds of the whole number had been in prison before their first committal to separate confinement, some of them only once, but many of them several times. Many of the re-committals were for mere breaches of good conduct for which punishment was required, but which by no means denoted guilt which would warrant the enrolment of the offender in the calendar of criminals. No less than six reported as re-committed were really never liberated after their former conviction, but were detained and charged with offences of which they had been guilty before they were first brought to prison. Some were discharged on re-examination, against others in the list " no true bill " was found by the grand jury, and others were acquitted on their trials of the charges for which they had been re-committed. These circumstances cause me to express regret that some more correct method of framing the statistics on this important subject has not been discovered and adopted. Some alteration, and perhaps as much as the case will admit, I am glad to find, has been made in the returns of this RE-COMMITTALS. 187 quarter, still the present plan misrepresents what may be literally true, and often creates adverse and most mischievous impressions against our system of dis- cipline, when really, if the facts were accurately described and understood, the very contrary effect would be produced. If, then, we subtract from the reported number of re-committed prisoners, those who were not previously longer than three months in custody, we shall find that only 13 will remain, whilst of those before in prison above six montlis, the number does not exceed five. Small, however, as is this proportion, yet not one of those five w-as a fair subject for the trial of our discipline. Their several cases, so far from proving any imper- fection in the system of separate imprisonment, will rather prove the corrupting and pernicious efl'ect of other systems, which by then- influence had rendered these prisoners incorrigible. I beg your attention to this fact as most important, that every one of these five had been repeatedly confined in other prisons he- fore their first comniittal to your county gaol. One of them had been twice, two of them three times, one five times, and the other ten times previously subjected either to the degradation of compulsory treadwheel labour, or to the continual temptations and as constantly vitiating process of the silent system, and all of them to the contamination of gaol companionship. The evils thus produced were so deeply rooted that it detracts nothing from the corrective elficacy of the Separate System, if it be 1S8 PRISON DISCIPLINE. admitted that twelve months of its discipline was time too short to eradicate them.* But let me further account for these re-committals by stating that three of these five prisoners were of decidedly weak intellect when committed ; two of them could not during the whole term of their im- prisonment be taught to read even words of one syllable. This circumstance, which rendered them the more pitiable, and more sure victims of former prison association, must have entirely prevented any successful use of those means on which depends the corrective efficacy of the Separate System. A fourth of these was incapacitated by diseased eyes from receiving the usual instruction, and concerning the fifth, who had been ten times before convicted, I offer no further explanation. I conclude these ob- servations on our re-committed prisoners, by remark- ing that whilst the number of those before in prison for less than three months tends to confirm what has been said of the deteriorating effects of short impri- * JVIy excellent friend the Ordinary of Newgate tells us in his last Report, that " the present prisons and the present dis- cipline would do very well if it were not for the ' incorrigibles.' " I wish he had connected with this sentence his description of the " inside of a i^rison and its deep corrvptlons," he would then have transposed some words, and have said — It is our jire- sent prisons and our present discipline which render offenders incorrigible. He shews this in several pages of the same Report, avowedly in the paragraph quoted. Vol. i. p. 61, and surely the re-committals to our prison confirm the truth and proclaim the cruelty. SUCCESS OF THE SEPARATE SYSTEM. 189 sonments, the small number of those who had previously been in gaol longer than six months — the consideration of the character of those few — with the causes of their re-committal, must tend to recommend a system, the result of which has been favourable, I say not in some, but in every case in which fair opportunity has been afforded. Not one criminal concerninsj whom it could reasonably be asserted when he was sent within your prison walls, his character admits of hope, and the time for his correction ought to be sufficient, is found reported as re-committed, or is said to have relapsed into his former vices. A result, the like of which, I feel sure, has never been attested, and I am equally con- vinced never will be, by the most strenuous advocates of any other existing system. In concluding this Report I may allude to the more positive advantages which result from our im- proved system. Already may we point to instances of reformation — of continued and patient persever- ance in well doing, on the part of many once notorious for profligacy and vice. In this immediate neighbourhood, where my opportunities of inter- course with our discharged criminals are more frequent, I rejoice to look around on several who have struggled against difficulties, and have with- stood temptations until their lost character has been retrieved, and they are now prosperous and respected. I seldom visit other portions of the county, but I derive pleasure greater than I can here describe in 190 PRISON DISCIPLINE. recognising some in whom a similar change has been effected. There is not, perhaps, one magistrate on your honourable bench to whose mind the mention of these facts does not recall some instance of marked success in the discipline which has been pursued. The Lord Bishop of this diocese, who has directed his high talents to the subject of penal discipline, who has visited your prison, conversed with the inmates of its cells, and learnt much of its effects in his unwearied labours, has been pleased to pronounce your system " excellent." The clergy of our parishes who, as they constantly watch the liberated criminal, and witness the results of his imprisonment, can perhaps best of all appreciate its benefits, are unani- mous in its commendation. Farmers, whose labourers may be committed, and masters, whose domestic ser- vants are subjected to your plans, not only anticipate good as the effect of such punishment, but so confide in its corrective tendency that they are willing to re- ceive again into their service the very criminals they prosecute, when their term of imprisonment has ex- pired.* These instances, I can assure you are neither * A pleasing instance of this occurred during the very Sessions at which I presented this Report. Two i^risoners were convicted of robbing their master of corn, &c., and sentenced to imprisonment. I requested the prosecutor to give them employment when released if I could recommend them as corrected ; to which he replied, that having now in his service two others who had been in Reading gaol, and had conducted themselves remarkably well, he would willingly sive these criminals a chance too of redeeming their character. SUCCESS OF SEPARATE SYSTEM. 191 sijigular nor few — they are numerous and increasing. That they will continue to increase, past experience warrants the certain expectation. Indeed, to doubt the happy consequences of a system of imprison- ment, based upon religious principles, and which supplies religious instruction under circumstances most calculated to foster its influence, would be to discredit the efficacy of means which, although I, with many others, shall have lasting cause to thank God, who gave you grace and wisdom as Magistrates to apply them, w^e must still remember derive their origin from God himself, and are appointed by Him for the demonstration of His power, in turning men from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan vmto Himself. I have the honour to remain, &c. To the Magistrates of Berkshire. 102 PRISON DISCIPLINE. As further shewing the effect of the Separate System, and expressing the Author's opinion on points connected with the subject of the present work, he inserts the evidence which he was called upon to give, in 1847, before the Select Committee of the House of Lords on the Execution of the Criminal Law. It affords him much satisfaction that he is enabled to annex the statements of many best acquainted with the operation and results of criminal treatment, as well as the evidence of those whose opinions may command attention ; all tending to confirm the ac- curacy of most of the sentiments he has expressed. A Magistrate of Berkshire, who has devoted much time, and constantly observed the working of the system pursued at Reading, as a Visiting Justice, was also examined. Important extracts from that evidence are here introduced, but the answers to questions concerning some peculiarities of discipline are omitted, because the treatment of prisoners has been already described. EVIDENCE OF W. MERRY, ESQUIRE. 193 William Merry, Esquire, is called in, and examined as follows : 4905. You are a Magistrate of the County of Berks ? I am. 4906. And have taken a considerable part in the recent alteration of the gaol at Reading ? From the first construction of the gaol. 4907. And have watched the progress of the reformatory process in that gaol ? Weeklv. 4908. You have reason to think that what may be called the Separate System has been more per- fectly carried out in the gaol at Reading than any- where else ? I think the superiority of Reading Gaol consists in corrective instruction being adopted instead of hard labour. 4913. Are you able to form a judgment as to its effect upon the mind when so long continued? Yes. The effect so far as nearly three years' ex- perience of Reading Gaol goes, leads us to believe, that of all the misapprehensions and mis-statements that have been put forward with reference to the tendency of separation in cells both by day and by night its affecting the mind is the most ground- less. 4914. You have not found that it injures the mind of the prisoner ? I never heard of a prisoner who has not been VOL. 11. N 194 PRISON DISCIPLINE. benefited. In the first year we had twenty-seven cases carefully marked, of prisoners who either them- selves had been in confinement or in whose families insanity was more or less developed ; in the second year we had thirty; all prisoners of whom we re- ceived valuable information from the minister of the parish or from those in the neighbourhood best calculated to give it. We have not had a single prisoner who has not left us benefited in mind really and visibly. 4920. Have you had any opportunities of ob- serving what the effect upon the minds of prisoners of this imprisonment is as to making the prison the subject of dread ; have you had any opportunities of witnessing the deterring effect of it ? The very first effect was a very remarkable one. I happened to be visiting the gaol one day when the Chairman of Buckinghamshire, the Deputy Chair- man, and a Deputation of Magistrates came over to examine our system; they were in the gaol three or four hours, and it finished by their declaring that we had forced them to build a new gaol at Aylesbury, because all the prisoners went to them in preference to Reading. 4921. You found it produced an immediate and appreciable effect as to the re-commitment of prisoners ? Twenty-five per cent, the first year in commit- ments, and twenty per cent, in re-commitments. 4923. It is your impression that the points in EVIDENCE AS TO READING GAOL. 195 prison discipline which make it morally corrective make it also eminently deterring ? Unquestionably. 4924. So that, instead of making a prison more attractive by introducing these moral correctives, you would expect to make it more deterring to others ? Yes. 4925. Can you mention any proof of it ? I took the average of the five years' crime of the whole county previously to the adoption of the separate system in Berkshire. I then carried on a similar scale of crime with reference to the first year of our new system. I asked for the same returns from Hereford Gaol, it being a gaol upon the sepa- rate system, and well conducted, but where they have a treadmill. In the very first year our vagrant class — a class very well acquainted with all prisons, and the treatment they received there, — had a re- duction in it of nearly one half, and Hereford Gaol very nearly trebled its numbers. 4926. Did an instance come under your own observation of a re-committed prisoner who said, that he had committed his offence thinking he was out of the county of Berks or he should have taken care not to do it ? I know the fact ; I did not actually see the man. 4927. So that you have seen yourself instances where though it did not morally cure the man, yet it was eminently distasteful to him ? Yes. n2 196 PRISON DISCIPLINE. 4928. More so than the hard labour ? Yes. 4929. And you consider that this would make it less deterring? Labour will necessarily diminish the success of instruction. 4930. Is it your impression from what you have seen that the adding hard labour to that system would make it more or less distasteful ? I think adding hard labour would make it less deterring. I was in Gloucester gaol this last winter, and there I found an instance of a young lad who had been committed, and insisted that he was fifteen for no other reason than that he might be allowed the privilege of leaving his separate cell to go upon the treadmill. 4933. In what do you think the terror of im- prisonment in the Separate System consists ? In the absence entirely of all the excitement of companionship, and in self-reflection. 4934. Do you consider that a great punishment is the being forced to read ? Undoubtedly. I believe there is not a man that would not escape from the separate cell to go upon the treadmill if he had the option. 4980. Have you been able from your own know- ledge to form any considered judgment as to the reforming result of this design ? Nothing can be more gratifying than the instances which we know round our own neighbourhood EVIDENCE RESPECTING READING GAOL. 197 of the results of those who have been long in gaol. 4981. Wherein would you distinguish between the Separate System and the solitary system ? I am not aware that the solitary system has ever existed in England. 4982. What, to your mind, makes the distinction between the two systems ? In the solitary system a man has been left entirely to himself, like a dog in a kennel ; we endeavour in every possible way to raise those persons into the consciousness of being human and responsible beings. They are constantly visited. 4986. Have you been able to ascertain at all what length of time it takes to produce anything of the effect that you have described ? Have you been able to reduce it to any sort of theory ? Undoubtedly. If a person comes in who cannot read, the first six weeks is very hardly employed in teaching him, and until that is effected we cannot expect much ; and I should think that three months would be the shortest time that we could hope to obtain reformatory influence. 4987. You think that short imprisonments must fail for moral good ? Not entirely ; because, though a man has not been able to learn to read, he may be taught to think. 4988. Have you seen any marked effects? I should consider it unfair to attach any impor- tance to any case of a prisoner who has not been at least three months under instruction. 108 ' PRISON DISCIPLINE. 4995. Do you not conceive that there is in mere work and hard labour, to a person of idle and disso- lute habits, a reformatory influence and effect in the mere working ? None whatever. 5044. You have turned your attention a good deal to the treatment of prisoners discharged after re- formatory discipline in prison, have you ? To their position afterwards in society. 5045. Do you think that, taking them altogether, there is a probable prospect of such men being received again into society after they are discharged from prison ? I believe that in the course of another year or two, when the effects of our system are better un- derstood, that the same effects will result in Berkshire as at that admirable institution in France. The applications for apprentices at Mettray are more than the institution can supply ; and, I think, a man eventually will, in like manner, no longer be held to be a worse man for having been reformed in Reading gaol. 5055. Did you say that your system could pro- duce any good effect if it were a week or ten days ? We could not reckon upon it as a system. 5056. Could it produce an injurious effect on a vicious system ? Yes, it might. A prisoner could hardly escape contamination from gaol association. 5057. Would it injure it P EVIDENCE CONCERNING SEPARATE SYSTEM. 199 Thank God it cannot. Under our separate system no prisoner can be contaminated. 5058. Would it do any good afterwards ? It is impossible to say how far; but so far as our system is concerned we should expect benefit to re- sult in proportion to its duration. 5059. Would you expect much from two months? If a prisoner could write when he comes in, I think two months might do a good deal. 5060. But you think, generally speaking, it must be three months ? I should be glad to have a prisoner for three months, never less. 5072. Do you attribute great reformatory effect as well as deterring effect to your system ? Yes. I attribute the reformatory effect to religious education. 200 PRISON DISCIPLINE. The Author having been in attendance upon the committee, when the Chaplain of Preston Gaol was examined, was asked if he concurred in his opinions. Having replied that he agreed with them so far as they had reference to separate imprison- ment, he thinks it right to prefix the evidence of Mr. Clay to that which he himself gave. He would add, that the superior talent, the high character, and the long experience of his friend and fellow-chap- lain, render such agreement a cause of pleasure, and of increased confidence in the truth of his own opinions. The Reverend John Clay, B.D., is called in, and examined as follows : — 1179. You are Chaplain to the Preston Gaol and House of Correction ? I am. 1180. How long have you been so ? Nearly twenty-six years. 1181. Were you Chaplain to any place of the same kind before ? No. 1182. During those twenty-six years have you performed the duties of that office in person ? I have. 1183. Have you had constant communication with the gaoler and those under him, and with the prisoners themselves ? Paily. EVIDENCE CONCERNING SEPARATE SYSTEM. 201 1184 Have you found that the prisoners are more or less hardened, or are the greater number of them persons having committed first offences ? Formerly the greater number were persons com- mitted for second and third offences. Since the improvement in the discipline, the greater number are persons committed for first offences. 1188. What difference has there been since the reformation of the discipline which you speak of? I find that in the last year's Report, of those under fifteen years of age, the proportion was six per cent, of sessions cases and three per cent, of summary convictions. The comparison of juvenile offenders with the whole number of offenders in the respective years mentioned does not, however, show the bene- fits of the improved discipline, because there was a remarkable falling-off in commitments in 1846, as compared to 1841, of all ages; the relative propor- tions of old and young being preserved. Upon referring to my Report for 1846, p. 10, I find a table showing that, comparing 1841 with 1845-6, the criminal committals generally to Preston Sessions had decreased more than forty-five per cent. ; or comparing 1842 with 1845-6, the diminution ex- ceeded fifty-one per cent. Again, at p. 7 of the same Report, I show that the number of "young persons of both sexes, under twenty years of age, committed to the Sessions, had decreased from 178 in 1842 to 60 in 1846." 1189. To what do vou asciibe the difference? 202 PRISON DISCIPLINE. The improvement of the discipline ; that is, the total prevention of, I may venture to say, the possi- bilit}'^ of contamination. 1 1 90. Do you consider that that has diminished the number of re-commitments for new offences ? I am glad to say it has diminished the re-com- mittals in a degree which, though I was always sanguine upon the point, has far exceeded my ex- pectations. 1191. When did the improvement take place? We acted upon it decidedly in the month of June, 1844; so that we have now had two or two years' and a half experience of it. 1219. Have you found that the training of the prison has done good to many of those persons, [most ignorant prisoners] while they were under you? I am most thankful to say that it has gone far beyond my hopes. 1220. That they have gone out better than they came in ? They have gone out better than they came in, and they have remained better. 1221. They have kept out of the prison for the future ? They have. I have a memorandum here to show that of all the commitments from June 1844 up to the present time, restricting my observation to first com- mitments, throwing out of the question those who had previously been in gaol under the bad system, theic are only six cases of relapse for felony. EVIDENCE CONCERNING SEPARATE SYSTEM. 203 1222. That is, six cases of persons re-committed to the same gaol ? Yes. 1223. They may have been committed to other gaols ? They may; but I am able to compare this gaol with the gaol at a former period. 1224. In what did the improvement of the disci- pline two years and a half ago consist ? The adoption of a system of separation. 1229. Do they very much dread being kept in separate confinement ? I cannot say that they dread it, because they do not know what is about to be inflicted upon them. During the first part of the period the confinement has a great effect upon them. 1230. Are they uneasy under it? Very uneasy. That period of uneasiness varies from two to five or six weeks ; but after that (and it is a remarkable fact) they become not only recon- ciled under it, but I may venture to say in most cases happy. 1231. If they are continued for a long period in that separate state they suffer again, do not they ? I have not been aware of it yet. 1232. That is to say, for five or six weeks they feel it irksome and annoying ? Yes. 1233. After five or six weeks they become more reconciled to it ? 204 PRISON DISCIPLINE. They are perfectly reconciled to it; they are grate- ful ; and their language is — I have heard it expressed to me more than twice — "I do not feel that I should be inclined to go out even were I permitted ? 1238. What is the longest period during which you have ever had occasion to make your observa- tions on a prisoner ? Eighteen months. We have some under sentence for two years, but it has not yet expired. 1 239. Did you find that during the last six months of those eighteen they became impatient of confine- ment ? In no case. But I may explain to your Lord- ship that we look after them very carefully. If I or the Governor see the slightest symptoms of depres- sion of spirits, which we seldom do, we take the man out and put him to a little gentle labour, to cleaning the corridor for instance, or the outside of the place ; he does not know the motive for it. 1240. Have you often observed symptoms of ex- haustion and depression of mind. Very seldom. 1241. Could you say in how many cases in 100 you have seen it ? I have not yet had occasion to observe more than five or six cases of long confinement, that is, of confinement exceeding twelve months. 1242. In those cases how many have appeared to have their faculties benumbed by confinement ? Not one. EVIDENCE CONCERNING SEPARATE SYSTEM. 205 1243. You have seen some instances of it, you say? Of an approximation to it only. 1244. You say that you have observed that the first few weeks they seem to you to be very uneasy, and that afterwards that feeling subsides, and they appear to be even happy ; does that appear to be the result of their merely becoming habituated to the confinement, or is it any moral change of feel- ing and principle ? I am happy to say that it is the result of a moral and religious change. 1245. So that in that case you consider a refor- matory principle has been at work during the first period of the confinement ? Certainly. The returning ease of mind and the reformatory principle come together. 1246. Does that lead you, therefore, to anticipate that when their period of confinement has expired, they will go out better members of society than they were when they committed the crime which led to their being brought there ? I am perfectly satisfied not only that they will go out, but I know that they have gone out, better members of society and better christians, and have continued so for many months, and in some cases for one or two years. 1247. Have you ever had occasion to see those prisoners after they were restored to society and have left the prison ? Yes. 206 PRISON DISCIPLINE. 1 248. In many instances ? Not in many instances, because I cannot go be- yond Preston very well. In Preston I have seen them in twenty cases or more. 1267. What is your opinion of the effect of punishment generally in deterring from committing offences ; do you consider that its deterring effect has been somewhat over-rated ? Its deterring effect, apart from reformation, I have very little faith in. For twenty years or more we have been endeavouring to deter from the commis- sion of crime, but with no success. 1268. The question refers to the deterring effect upon persons who have not yet become criminal ? It did not deter juvenile offenders. The custom formerly was to sentence them to a short imprison- ment and a whipping. In these cases I took every occasion to impress upon them, " If you come here again nothing can save you from transportation ;" but they did come. The young offenders came in again within two years and a half from their first commitment at the rate of fifty-six per cent. I cannot fully impress upon the Committee the value of a system of separate confinement till I show it in opposition to the ill effect of the former mode. I take, for instance, the committal of boys, at and imdor the age of seventeen, in the year 1840 I think it was. I traced those boys for two years and a half, and I found that of those who had come in for the first lime in that year, before that year and another SUCCESS OF SEPARATE SYSTEM. 207 year and a half had elapsed they came in at the rate of fifty-six per cent. Now, as I have told the Committee, during the two years and a half we have been under the improved system we have had altogether only three boys relapsed out of about 110. 1274. You speak of the reformatory system as being beneficial ; will you apply your mind to these two different kinds of case, one a person who has committed a single grave offence, such as forgery, and who up to that time has been a person of good life and character, and the other the case of a person who has committed no great offence, but has fallen into a wicked and vicious habit of stealing for years. It may be understood how the reformatory system should act very beneficially in reclaiming the latter from his bad habits, but do you think it has equally proved effectual in curing the former of whatever infirmity there was in his mind, which made him yield to that one temptation ? I think so. We have no cases so grave as that to which your Lordship has alluded — a case of forgery ; but we have instances of what I may venture to term "incidental offences," whereby, under a sudden ac- cess of temptation, for which a man was not prepared, a crime was committed. I consider that that man will require less of tlie reformatory process than the man who has been habituated to crime. 1275. Should you think the reformatory process would be so effectual as to give you confidence that 208 PKISON DISCIPLINE. the person who had once committed the grave offence by the mere effect of that reformatory process would be led not to commit it again ? I should have great faith in the reformatory pro- cess ; for that man's offence I look upon as being committed because he had been living what I would call a careless life. 1276. His mind has never been awakened? No. 1277. Would not you rather say that the result would be this : that having tasted the bitterness of the punishment he would not like to have it repeated, rather than that the mere reformatory process had altered his nature ? I should be inclined to believe that the reformatory process would alter his nature, always supposing that we had him long enough. 1280. Do you believe whipping to be a punish- ment which ought to be applied to boys ? I think, under the reformed plan of prison disci- pline, whipping should be abolished. 1281. Do not you think it has a great deterring effect? We flogged for more than twenty years, and they came back at the rate I have described. 1282. What do you think of the effect of working prisoners in public, so that they should be compelled to work exposed to the gaze of the public ? I disapprove of it. 1290. How often in a week may you see each of EVIDENCE CONCERNING SEPARATE SYSTEM. 209 those individuals, besides your public exercises with them ? I see some cases almost daily ; some few others I do not see oftener than once in ten days. 1291. You have no curate? No. I may venture to say that if the Separate System is carried more generally into effect, a prison calculated to hold 200 or 300 prisoners will find work for two or three chaplains. 1303. Do you think the Separate System of im- prisonment may be advantageously extended? I firmly believe that, unless you do extend it, no good whatever can be done in the way of prison discipline. I believe it is essential. If you make the reformation of the criminal your object at all, there is nothing for it but a system of separation. 1304. Not solitary confinement? No. I contemplate that which shall effectually prevent contamination and evil association. 1305. So that, according to that, there ought to be no place of confinement without the Separate System existing in it ? Just so. 1306. Do you think, in its influence upon the minds of most criminals, it would be found effectual? I do, assuredly. The results I have given are, that the re-committals, which I look upon as the great test of the value of prison discipline, are scarcely tangible under such a system. 1309. As you appear to consider the association VOL. II. o aiO PRISON DISCIPLINE. of criminals together to be very fatal to their im- provement, should not you consider that tiie sending of a number of criminals together upon public works, where there can necessarily be no separation what- ever, must be very fatal to any improvement of them afterwards ? It would only be fatal so far, as it involved com- munication between prisoner and prisoner. The Reverend John Field, A. M., is called in, and examined as follows : 1316. How long have you been Chaplain to the Gaol at Reading ? Seven years. 1317. Had you ever been Chaplain to any other gaol before that ? No ; but having a curacry in the city of Worcester, I occasionally officiated at the county prison there. 1318. And had occasion to see the prisoners as well as their gaolers ? Occasionally. 1319. How many prisoners are in the Reading prison ? I think we have to-day 156. 1320. What is your average number? SUCCESS OF THE SEPxiRATE SYSTEM. 211 The average number is from 125 to 130. 1321. Are many of those juvenile offenders? I think between one sixth and one seventh portion of them under fifteen years of age. 1322. Is the Separate System adopted in your prison ? Yes. 1323. Since when has it been adopted ? During the last two years and nine months. 1324. Have you had any opportunities of obser- ving the effects of it ? I have, almost daily. 1325. Have they been beneficial ? Yes ; they have even exceeded the expectations I had formed, and those were sanguine. 1320. Have you heard the evidence of Mr. Clay? I have. 1327. Have you attended to his answers? Yes. 1328. Do you generally agree with him in the statements he has made ? Generally ; with reference to separate confinement particularly. 1329. Do you consider that it has produced a beneficial reformatory effect on your prisoners ? To a very great extent. 1330. Have you had the means of ascertaining that ? I have observed their conduct while in prison, and in many cases subsequently. o2 212 PRISON DISCIPLINE. 1331. Were thev restored to society in Rcadiiif? after the period of imprisonment had expired ? Several of them. 1332. Do the bulk of them come from Reading ? We have prisoners from the borough, and from the county generally. There is another house of correction at Abingdon. 1333. Of those whom you have had occasion to observe after they had left the prison, have you found that tlie effect of the reformatory system has been wholesome ? Yes, in very many cases. 1334. Have you had many re-commitments for offences ? Yes, we have. 1335. Can you give the Committee any statement of the proportion of such re-comrnitments ? The first year, out of 630 criminals discharged, fifty-one or fifty-two were re-committed. 1336. When you say re- committed, do you mean prisoners who had been in the same gaol before, or in some other gaol ? They had most of them been in other gaols 1337. Were the fifty who had been re-committed those who had been in the prison under the old system r Most of them. The following Report made by me, if your Lordship will allow me to put it in, will contain all the information which is alluded to by your Lordship's questions. [The same is delivered in.]* * See p. 139, et soq. EVIDENCE AS TO THE SEPARATE SYSTEM. 213 1338. Do you consider that the bulk of those who have been in prison during the last year had been committed before to other prisons ? A very large proportion of them, amounting to about one half. 1339. Were many of them hardened criminals i^ Very many. 1340. Have 3'^ou had any opportunity of com- municating with those hardened criminals respecting their former history ? Yes, in many cases. 1341. Had they been often imprisoned before? Some of them had been as many as twelve, some even twenty times. 1342. Of what age were they? The persons who had been so many times in prison were from thirty to forty years old. 1343. Persons who drove the trade of criminals, so to speak? Yes. 1344. For all sorts of offences ? Yes ; the punishments varying from three days to two years. 1345. Have you had occasion to examine the effect of an imprisonment of as much as eighteen months or two years ? Yes ; we have had several who have been dis- charged, who had been imprisoned for that length of time. 134G. What effect had it had upon their health ? 214 PRISON DISCIPLINE. Not an injurious effect at all. 1347. What effect had it upon their faculties ? Their mental faculties were rernarkably improved, I may say in every case. 1348. Had they not in some cases a tendency to listlessness and w^ant of energy ? I have not observed it. 1349. The separation is made complete, is not it? Yes ; both before and after trial. 1350. There can be no talking ? A prisoner may talk to himself or read aloud ; they cannot communicate with fellow-criminals. 1351. Do you keep the prisoners separate before trial } Yes. 1352. Do you allow no prisoners to speak to their friends before trial ? Only to their friends; they are separated fropi the other prisoners. 1353. You do not allow the untried prisoners to communicate together ? No. I think it is even more important before trial than subsequently that they should be kept separate, 1354. You consider that many of them being ba(J they would contaminate the good ? Yes. Your Lordship is aware that that system of discipline has been the subject of particular investi- gation; and I have endeavoured to trace the prisoners who have been acquitted as well as those who have been convicted. Particular reference was made to EVIDENCE AS TO SErAIUTION BEEOPvE TRIAL. 215 the system in a pamphlet written by Sir Riehard Vyvyan, to wliich, with your Lordship's permission, I should like to refer. He observes: — "The same system of spirit-breaking solitude is applied in both cases to those who may be acquitted after many mouths of this discipline and to those who may be found guilty; and this occurs in a country where it is a maxim that no man is to be considered guilty of a crime until he be convicted in due course of law. To cite one instance of this injustice I need only mention the first then on the list of prisoners for trial at the Reading Borough Sessions; No. 1. in that section of the calendar submitted to you at Abingdon was committed 'for stealing brass plate;' the date of his commitment was 25th October, 1844. He was tried 3rd January, 1845, before the Recorder of the Borough, and acquitted, after having undergone the penalties of the solitary confinement and of the mask whenever he quitted his cell for exercise or attendance at chapel, during an interval of above two months." 135 5. What is the mask which is alluded to:* A cap with a peak falling over a portion of the face, with holes for the man to look through, so that his sight is not prevented, but nobody can recognize him. I had lost sight of the boy referred to in the above extract, and supposed he had left th.e neighbourhood, but about four months ago I was walking through the Market-place, at Reading, when a person came to me and said, "I have a young lad in my employ who would be glad if you would allow him to come and see you ; he says he is under great obligations to you." I said I should be happ}' to see him, and I found that it was tiie very boy referred to in this particular case. I subsequently requested tlie master to send me an 216 PRISON DISCIPLINE. account of him, as he told me that he had been pre- viously in his service. • This lad was acquitted ; but his master gave me this note refei'ring to him . — " Knowing your interest for the welfare of the boy whom you had under your care, I am pleased to tell you he has been with me now nearly two years, and continues to conduct him" self to my satisfaction. It may perhaps not be known to you, that the same lad was in my service previous to his being sent to gaol; and the reason of his leaving me at that time was my detecting him in robbing me; but from his having neither father nor mother I was induced to try him again, and at the present time I have no reason but to suppose he is serving me honestly. From many conversations I have had with him 1 am glad to find he has not foi-gotten your kind instruction." I refer to this case, because we have here an in^ stance of one committed before trial, who was really criminal, though not convicted of the particular charge for which he was sent to prison. This lad was kept separate up to the time of his trial ; and it is a pleasing case in which reformation was effected, where the contamination which must have resulted from associatioji before trial would not only have prevented reformation in his case, but have done much injury to others. 1356. He was never convicted of anything? No ; but the master had previously discharged him on his confession of having robbed him. 1357. Are many of those prisoners whom you have under your care prisoners for grave offences, or are the bulk of them for larcenies p The bulk of them are for comparatively trifling ofiences ; but we have them lor tiie most heinous EVIDENCE RESPECTING CAriTAL PUNISHMENT. 217 crimes also. During the last two years. we have had two executions for murder. 1358. Had you occasion to attend those criminals? I had. 1 359. Were the murders committed in cold blood ? Yes ; and premeditated. 13G0. For the sake of money ? In the former case it was a father murdered his child. It was apparently for money, or that which was equivalent to it; it was that he might retain bis situation of gamekeeper, which if his family had in- creased would not have been allowed. 13G1. How old was the child? About five years old. 13G2. What was the other case? A man foi the murder of his wife; a most atrocious case. 13G3. Was it from jealousy ? No. The man had seemingly married for money ; he hoped to get possession of a sum of money, and had been disappointed. 13G4. Have any other cases of murder passed under your observation ? There was another case, in which the prisoner was not convicted. 13G5. In those cases did they appear to have very great dread of capital punishment? Yes. 13G6. Did they continue to have, during the time before their trial, the hope of not being convicted? 218 PRISON DISCIPLINE. Yes, in both cases. 1367. Do you know upon what that hope was grounded ? Upon the uncertainties of the law. 1368. Did it proceed at all upon the supposed reluctance of a jury to hang? I am not prepared to say that it did, 1369. How soon after they were convicted did the execution take place ? Somewhat more than a fortnight. During that fortnight, did they still cherish the hope of pardon ? One of them ; not the other. 1371. Were applications made for it? Yes. 1372 Were they aware of those applications ? Yes ; 1 believe one of them. 1373. How did thev know of them ? Through the legal adviser who conducted the defence. 1374. Who had access to them after their con- viction ? Yes. 1 375. Did not the rules of the prison prevent that ? It was permitted. 1376. How was it permitted? I do not think the rule strictly prohibits it. It was by the permission of the Sheriff. 1377. In those cases had they made away with their properly before their trial? EVIDENCE RESPECTING CAPITAL PUNISHMENT. 210 The first prisoner liad no property at all, and the latter had made away with it. 1378. Is the deterring effect of capital piinisli- ment great upon criminals, in your opinion ? I think not upon tliose wiio witness the execution. 1379. Upon those who hear of it, do you think it is ? On those who are shut in their cells, and to whom I have spoken concerning it previously, I feel convinced it has had a very salutary effect upon their minds. 1380. In deterring them from guilt? I think so. 1381. In awakening their minds? Yes, certainly. At the time there was a solemn impression produced on their minds, which I hoped would not prove transitory. 1382. Why do you think that executions have no effect upon the minds of the persons who witness them ? We have had various persons committed who have witnessed executions. 1383. The question is not whether it would have the effect of deterring persons from committing other crimes, but whether it would deter them from com- mitting capital crimes? If it does not deter them from committing other crimes, I think the inference is, that it would not deter them from capital crimes. 1384. But they could not be hangtd for com- mitting other crimes ? 220 PRISON DISCIPLINE. »* I think it is the same principle carried a little further. 1385. A man seeing another hanged for murder may not avoid committing a petty larceny, because he knows that he is safe from being hanged for it ; it is not an example to him ? I submit to your Lordships that it is only the vicious principle carried out to a great extent. 1386. Do you think that this is the effect of capital punishment : that a man may go out upon the highway, or ma}^ go to a house to commit bur- glary, and stop short of shedding blood from know- ing that he will be hanged if he does shed it, though he may not be deterred from robbing by the fear of going to Botany Bay ? I conceive that a man who has witnessed an exe- cution once, or at any rate repeatedly, would be more likely to commit murder than one who has not. 1387. Do you think that a man would be more likely to commit murder from having seen one sin- gle execution ? I do not think any good impression would be produced on his mind, but I think the contrary effect would be produced. 1388. Independently of the effect of actually seeing an execution, what effect would knowing that a murderer never escapes have ? I do not wish your Lordships to understand me as advocating the abolition of capital punishment by any means. I do not ^eel that it is a question I am EVIDENCE CONCERNING TRANSPORTATION. 221 at libert}' to spoak of.* I believe the Divine law to be positive on the subject. I speak of the compara- tive effect of public and more private executions."}" 1389. Do you consider that the dread of trans- portation is considerable among criminals ? No, I do not. 1390. Do you think the receiver of stolen goods has no fear of being sent away from his associates in this country ? I do not think it operates upon the lower class of criminals as it does upon those vvho have something to lose. 1391. Upon a banker's clerk who commits em- bezzlement, for instance ? I believe then it is regarded with great dismay. We have not many of those classes. They are chiefly * As to the total abolition of the punishment of death iu regard to the crime of murder, amounting to an assurance that in however revolting a manner that crime might be perpetrated it could never lead to the forfeiture of the life of the murderer, the consequences to the public safety seem to be quite appalling. The present punishment of murder is sanctioned by the laws of Almighty God, and has been adopted by those of most civihzed nations, and I certainly think it would be unwise and dangerous to the best interests of society to abolish it. — The Lord Justice General. t I might have omitted this part of the evidence as not being immediately connected with the subject of this work, but I am induced to insert it because in every report, excepting one, which I have seen of the recent debate in the House of Commons on the motion for the Abolition of the Punishment of Death, I was misquoted as approving of such a measure. 222 PRISON DISCIPLINE. agricultural labourers who come into our prison ; and certainl}^ there is not that dread of it that you would desire to see in their minds.* 1392. What is it that they dread most ? They dread separate confinement far more ; to such an extent, that I have known the case of a pri- soner who, when sentenced by the Magistrates sum- marily to three months' imprisonment, has begged that he might rather be committed for trial, with the hope of being transported. f * " lu general they seem to care very little about it, and quite to expect this sentence. I have frequently been thanked for a sentence of transportation." — Evidence of Lord Medioyn. ■j- I heard with much pleasure the hearty approval of the system pursued at Reading implied in the following answers of the learned and very benevolent Police Magistrate of Liverpool, although I cannot think it to be desired that we should retain all criminals in this country. 1626. Do you think that transportation can safely be dis- pensed with in the execution of our criminal law ? That is a question on which I would speak with great reserve and caution. I am of opinion that if we were ready to enforce other punishments that it might be dispensed with ; but I do not think that we are ready for it in England, not because of the moral state of the country, but because of our incapacity of dealing with a number of convicts every year under the system which your Lordships have heard explained by the reverend gentleman who has been last examined. We have no gaols yet ready for it ; our gaols are not fit for it. We have no gaols in England ready to confine under the Separate System the number of convicts that are every year sentenced to transportation. 1627. Suppose wo had in any given county, say in Lan- EVIDENCE RESPECTTNG READING GAOL. 223 1303. Had that man suffered separate imprison- ment before ? No. 1394. Tlien how couhl he have a notion of its horrors ? From the accounts of others. 1395. Of what age was the party to whom you refer ? He was twenty-eight ; he had been four or five times previously convicted. 1396. What was his trade ? He was an acfricnltural labourer. 1397. A person having a family, or any property, of course would dread transportation very much !* I am not sure that in many cases the having a family would alter his feelings. 1398. Generally speaking, are they not the per- sons who would dread transportation the most ? I think so. 1399. Besides those murders you have spoken of, what other grave offences have you seen in the Reading Gaol ? A few cases of manslaughter and horse- stealing. cashire, a sufficient number of borough gaols and county gaols ready to administer the Separate Silent System of labour, with the other reformatory discipline pointed out by the reverend gentleman whose examination you have heard, should you then say that we should be in a state to dispense more or less with the punishment of trausiDortation '' I should say we should. E. Rushton, Esq., Burrhter-at-Law. 224 PRISON DISCIPLINE. 1400. Very bad manslaughter ? No. 1401. Manslaughter committed in a passion ? Yes. Burglaries we have had a great many of, and eases of house-breaking. 1402. Have you any opinion upon the subject of whipping ? I believe it would be injurious. 1403. Have you any opinion upon the subject of employing men on public works, so that they should be seen by the public ? I believe it would be very injurious. I have seen something of the working of the treadmill, and I know where parties have been admitted into the prison there has been an injurious effect produced, an irritation upon the minds of those men. 1404. So as to prevent that calm which is neces- sary for reformatory purposes ? Yes. We have now no treadmill I am happy to say. 1405. Is it your opinion that the great preventive of crime will be infant training and sound moral and religious education ? Yes; I believe that is what is wanted as a pre- ventive of crime.* * I feel tliaukfiil that I can support this opinion by the more influential answers of many of our learned judges. " Our best hopes rest upon a good and religious course of education fur the people, — an education which shall mainly be directed to the teaching them their duties to God and man. THE EDUCATION REQUIRED. 225 liOO. Not to teach tlicai reading and writing merely, but sound principles and kindly feelings? rather than meiely givhig them iuformatioii. T do not under- value tlie hitter, I only think it of immeasurably less value than the former." — Eiudence of Mr. Baron Alderson. "I am of opinion that goud education, including infant training as well as sound religious and moral instruction, will do more to lessen the prevalence of crimes than any mode of dealing with convicts that can be devised." — Mr. Justice Cresswell. " I cannot answer the question with any precision ; but I certahily think and hope, that such education being extended, it will very considerably lessen the prevalence of crime, espe- cially if the education of the young could, in any way con- sistent with political economy, be kept or taken out of the hands of criminal parents." — Lord Mackenzie. " Certainly, the best chance of preventing crime of every kind is to be found in good education, including infant train- ing, and the instruction of the early youth in sound religious and moi-al knowledge." — Lord Moncreijf. " The Bible is the great instrument for the moralization as well as the salvation of men, and I have no doubt that a sound education on Bible principles, including therein infant train- ing, will by its preventive effect lessen very considerably the prevalence of crimes. And I am equally of opinion, that mere literary or moral teaching can never produce that beneficial result." — Evidence of Mr. Justice Crampton. "I am deeply persuaded that good education, including infant training, as well as sound religious and moral instruc- tion, will afford, under the blessing of Almighty God, the best security for the diminution and prevention of crime ; and I think making adequate and judicious arrangements for this object would be to confer one of the greatest blessings upon our country." — Evidence of Mr. Justice Jackson. VOL. II. P 226 PRISON DISCIPLINE. Yes; reading and writing alone will not deter from crime. 1407. Have you found great ignorance to prevail among the convicts under your care? Yes ; one third of them have been unable to read. 1408. Have anv been so ignorant as not to know the name of the sovereign ? I have not questioned them upon that point particularly. 1409. The names of the months ? I have not put general questions of that kind, but I have no doubt they are as ignorant as that in many cases. 1410. What should you say of their ignorance ia religious matters ? I think I may say a very large proportion — I may say more than a quarter of them — are unable to re- peat the Lord's Prayer. 1411. Are they aware that they are always acting in the eye of an omniscient and omnipotent Being ? They will admit it if questioned, but they do not act under the feeling. It is not such an impression as has any practical effect. 1412. Do they believe in a future state of rewards and punishments? I have found them quite ignorant of that in some cases. .1413. So as to have no fear of hell ? Not the least. Those are comparatively few instances. EVIDENCE CONCERNING SEPARATE SYSTEM. 227 1414. Have they any idea of the personality of the devil? No, not in many instances. 1415. Have you many prisoners committed for poaching ? A great many 1416. Are those who are committed for poaching ever sentenced to transportation, unless there has been violence used ? I have never known an instance. 1417. Are those that are sentenced for a short im- prisonment confined upon the principle of the Separate System r Yes. 1418. All of them? Yes. 1419. You have no other mode of confinement ? No. I cannot say that 1 think correction is often produced by a very short period of imprisonment, even under the Separate System. 1420. Should you have any confidence in the reformatory process reclaiming such a man as the gamekeeper, whom you have mentioned as having murdered his son, supposing he had been confined even for three years, and had been during that time subjected to the discipline of the gaol ? I never have felt myself at liberty to question the propriety of the present law. 1421. When prisoners have been dismissed have you found that they were taken back by their relations ? p2 228 PRISON DISCIPLINE. In very many instances they have been taken back by their former employers. In general, previously to the discharge of a prisoner, I write to his former master, or the Clergyman of his parish, requesting him to intercede with the master to give him employ- ment, and I have generally been able to succeed. 1422. Has that taken place frequently ? Since this new system has been adopted. Cer- tainly, I never knew half a dozen cases in which I could really recommend a prisoner before. 1423. You did recommend it if you met with such a case under the old system ? Yes. 1424. There is less reluctance now to take them back ? Very much less. 1425. How long has the new system been in operation ? Two years and nine months. 1426. You said that you thought a short im- prisonment seldom produced much effect ? Yes ; all we can say is, that they are not the worse for that imprisonment. 1427. What do you mean by a short imprison- ment ? Any imprisonment short of three months. 1428. Could you suggest any other punishment which could be substituted for a short term of im- prisonment ? I am not i)repared to do that. I think if culprits PUNISHMENT ACCORDING TO CHARACTER. 229 were not sent to prison for a less period than six months it would be-desirable. 1429. You must inflict some punishment upon e\ery crime ? I would submit to your Lordships the opinion, that if criminals were dealt with according to cha- racter, rather than according to the particular crime, there would be far more hope of reformation and of benefit to society generally.* 1430. Is there any means given to a Court in judging of the various criminals before them to apportion the punishment according to character ; must not they judge of character by the case which comes before them ? I submit that the more grave offences would indi- cate a greater depravity of character. 1431. Would not there be a tendency, if that were known to be the principle of meting out punishment, to induce every prisoner to have from ten to twenty respectable witnesses called to character? I have no doubt many more would come forward. 1432. In the case of young offenders being tried * The Judge alone, who sees the parties, and has the means of informing himself of their former life or circum- stances. It is impossible to predicate from the depositions in a case what would be the proper punishment. I mean, that if in the terms of the deposition the party is convicted, assuming all the facts to be proved at the trial which appear in the deposition, I do not think any man could undertake to say what the proper punisshment could be. — Evidence of Recorder of London. 230 PRISON DISCIPLINE. for the first time, who according to your opinion are not likely to be improved by a «hort imprisonment even under the best regulation, should not you think the substitution of corporal punishment would be desirable? I have never seen any reclaimed by corporal punishment; I believe it has a hardening effect.* 1433. Might not the fear of corporal punishment prevent a person from committing a crime which would be followed by that punishment, though it might have little effect upon the individual who has committed the crime and has been punished ? I think, referring to the experience of the past, we find that the most severe punishments have not ope- rated to deter, as many have supposed. 1434. Not if administered immediately upon con^ viction ? I think they have not operated in that way. I think they have not had the deterring effect which has been generally attributed to them, March 19th, 1847. 1568. Have you anything to add to your evidence of yesterday ? Your Lordship was pleased to ask me whether I concurred in all the observations made by Mr. Clay, with reference to the Separate System. There is pne point in particular to which I am anxious to * Vol. i. 385. SHORT IMPRISONMENTS. 231 revert. Your Lordships are aware of tlie great ob- jection urged against the introduction of separate imprisonment in different counties, because of the great expense incurred by it, not only in building the prisons, but in the supposed necessary increase of the number of officers of the establishment. Mr. Clay's observation was, that there must be a number of Chaplains. With great deference to him as a senior Chaplain, I must remark that I think one Chaplain may very well, provided he has two school- masters under him, superintend an establishment for 200 ; I would not say a larger number, but for 200. Will your Lordships allow me again to refer to the question of short imprisonments. I will refer to two particular cases, showing the injury that is thus inflicted on the prisoners themselves. At our Assizes on the Lst of the present month, a boy and a girl were arraigned and convicted of felony : the girl was sentenced to six months' imprisonment. I bad some conversation previously with the Judge, and I represented to him that if the girl were sen- tenced to a short imprisonment, on her discharge T certainly could not recommend her to any situation, but the probability would be that she would be libe- rated with her character lost, and with no opportu- nity of retrieving it. His Lordship was kind enough to sentence her to six montlis' imprisonment ; since that time, in this case, I have succeeded, provided I can recommend her, at the expiration of six months, in inducing a Magistrate to take her into his service. 233 PRISON DISCIPLINE. In the other case, the boy was convicted and sen- tenced to one month's imprisonment. The day before yesterday the Mayor of Reading (he was convicted as a borough prisoner) came to me and asked me if I could recommend the boy as a suit- able object for the Refuge at Hoxton ; he believed that money would be found to defray the expense of his being there, if I could recommend him. My answer was — " The boy is sentenced to one month's imprisonment ; I cannot possibly, at the end of a month, express any hope that permanent reforma- tion has been effected, because I shall not have sufficient ground for so doing." Now in these cases the girl will, subsequently to her imprisonment, be provided for, but the boy must go out unimproved, and will in all probability be re-committed in a very short time.* 1569. With respect to the question of the short- ness of punishments, not speaking of juvenile offenders but of persons of older age, do you not think that it is very often desirable to give them a short imprisonment instead of a long one ? I thiiik very seldom. 1570. You are aware that if a prisoner is in gaol above three months they are obliged to increase his diet ? I am. * This has since happened not less than four times. The boy has beconia au expert thief, i have also received state- ments from other boys convicted of felony, which have shewu inc that this prisoner (irsl tempted them to ofi'end, INEFFICIENCY OF MERE PUNISHMENT. 233 1571. Do you not tliink as a general principle that you should let the prisoner leave the gaol when he is smarting under the punishment which he has undergone ? I will suggest that a prisoner ought to leave the prison as an able-bodied man, fit for the exertion to which he maybe immediately subjected ; a little in- crease of diet would, therefore, be an advantage rather than otherwise. 1572. Does he feel the punishment so severe under an increase of diet as he does when he has less to eat? I should look very little to reformation being eftected by punishment. That separate confinement is in itself a punishment more severe than the law would impose under any other circumstances I am fully convinced. The first two months will be a season of remorse, during which time the prisoner will suiTer intensely ; but from that time there gene- rally will be an improvement in the character. Of course there wall be exceptions, but that is the gene- ral rule. 1573. Is it not desirable that a man should leave prison at the end of three months, when he looks unhappy, and speaks with the deepest horror of the punishment he has undergone? Is not his conver- sation when he goes out likely to deter other offenders from placing themselves in the position to which he has unfortunately been subjected ? I submit that it is not punishment to wliich we are to trust for the reformation of offenders. 234 PRISON DISCIPLINE. 1574. Would it not tend to deter others from committing that offence, seeing the man come out of prison very unhappy, and hearing of the little food he has had, the hard work he has had, and the silent system he has undergone ; will not the know- ledge of that deter others from committing offences, to be placed in the position he has been in ? If we are to look upon the law either as vindictive, or merely exemplary, your Lordship's observation will apply. 1575. No man can argue that punishment should be vindictive; but are not the two main principles of punishment, in the first place to deter others from committing offences, and to give the person himself an opportunity of reflection, by which he will be reformed ? I look upon the law, not as ever designed to be vindictive, but most certainly as appointing punish- ment intended to be exemplary to a great extent. I submit, therefore, that we have no right to inflict punishment merely for the sake of avenging wrong, or simply with a view to its deterring effect upon others, without bearing in mind at the same time the reformation of the criminal ; and I should fur- ther submit, that there is no hope of any such reformation of a criminal after a period of only two months' imprisonment. He has suffered punish- ment I am fully convinced, and a very severe punishment, but it is not smarting from that punish- ment that will prevent future crimes. PRINCIPLE OF PUNISHMENT. 235 1576. Not on his part; but might not the know- ledge of it tend to prevent it in others ? It might ; but I believe that the mere dread of punishment as threatened by any law, either human or divine, very seldom prevents crime. Offenees are restrained far more by the correction of a criminal ; but they are increased by the hardening process of ineffectual punishment. 1577. Have you anything further to add ? Connected with this subject I would submit to your Lordships a remark as to what is the principle of punishment, or by what means reformation is to ba effected. I believe that in order to punishment being corrective it must be based on sound princi- ples and accompanied with scriptural instruction ; and it will be perfectly plain to your Lordships that this scriptural instruction cannot be given without some considerable space of time ; and I should despair of reformation in any great number of cases unless there was not only time given to impart the rudiments of scriptural knowledge, but to infuse religious principles, so far as human agency may do so, and for them to be strengthened in the prisoner, and confirmed before he leave the prison, otherwise he is suddenly exposed to temptation ; he goes back to his former companions ; the short committal has not really separated him from them, for his heart has been with them; and the consequence is, as we find by experience, that re-committals take place to a 236 PRISON DISCIPLINE. fearful extent, simply because the former term of imprisonment was too short for correction. 1578. Then you make the length of punishment more in proportion to the time required to reform the prisoner than in proportion to the offence he has committed ? As I stated yesterday, I would again submit to your Lordships, that after conviction the prisonei' has become a subject for correction, and that there is no hope of correction being effected unless time be allowed for the purpose. Our prisons are legally called Houses of Correction ; I infer, therefore, that the law sanctions the opinion that their inmates ought to be corrected. 1579. What is your opinion of the effect of trans- portation ? I stated that I thought it had not a deterring effect upon the class of criminals with whom I have chiefly had intercourse ; but that it has upon a higher class I have no doubt, — the receivers of stolen goods, and persons of that description ; and here I think the apparent discrepancy between Mr. Phil- lips's evidence* and my own would be reconciled. He has had to do chiefly with a very superior class * 1499. Fro u what you have seen at the trials of those offenders (receivers of stolen goods, &c ), and from your com- munication with their families, are you of opinion that trans- portation was a punishment which they dreaded ? 'the most of all, excepting death ; infinitely more than any other, I should say. — Evidence of Charles Phillipf:, Esq., Bar- rister-af-Lau'. TRANSPORTATION, ETC. 237 of ciiminals, as to their station in the world, to those with whom I have had intercourse. 1580. Supposing the Government and the country are of opinion that transportation does not deter male offenders from committing offences, do you think they are justified in transporting women to our colonies ? That is a subject on which I have never before thought ; but I should imagine that the State would be justified in Inflicting such punishment for heinous offences. It would be a matter of expediency, per- haps a remedy, for some horjible vice, and I am not sure that justice would be violated. The pri- soner really becomes, I presume, the property of the State. 1581. Suppose that a man and a woman commit an offence for which they are sentenced to be trans- ported for fourteen years, is it a fair way to send the woman to Australia, and to send the man for a year to one of our prisons, and then to employ him upon public works for a few years ? Is that an equal punishment to the man and to the woman ? If I may l)e permitted to say so, I most sincerely hope that the prisoners may not be employed upon public works after twelve months' separate confine- ment. But in answer to the more immediate ques- tion, if it be admitted that the convict is really the property of the state, I think it is then a question of expediency for the state, but involving at the same time certain duties and responsibilities. 238 PRISON DISCIPLINE. 1582. Have you known many instances of re- formed prisoners after they have been in the house of correction for a year ? Yes ; I am thankful to say that I have, and even after six months in several cases of separate con- finement. 1583. Would you say that a person who went into prison without education had a better chance of reforming, at the end of twelve months, than one that went in comparatively well-educated ? I am not sure that the kind of education which has been given to the class forming our criminal population has tended to prevent crime ; I mean the mere reading and writing ; and we have very few committed who have a knowledge beyond that. A well-educated prisoner would probably be wrought upon in a shorter time than one who had everything to learn. 1584. Have you any thing else to state to the committee ? There is this peculiarity attending the treatment in Reading, — that we have not carried out the sen- tence of hard labour. A prisoner when committed has been placed in his cell, and labour has not been inflicted as a punishment. We can neither say that it has been compulsory, nor that the prisoner has been persuaded to work, but it has been permitted ; and it is a very remarkable fact, to which I would request most respectfully your Lordship's attention, that out of 1,900 prisoners whom we have had in LABOUR A RELAXATION. 230 Reading Gaol, I have only known two cases in which they have refused to work, in which they have not liked the work allowed them; and the particulars of those cases were somewhat remarkable. One was that of a London thief, who came to Ascot Races, one who lived by the light-fingering trade of pocket- picking. This prisoner was afraid that by handling the pump (for we have a crank pump) the iron would spoil his hand for his trade. The other was the case of a boy, whose father was in the prison, and he was unwilling to work at making baskets unless his father might be allowed to work with him. Upon that subject 1 have made two or three observa- tions in a volume which I lately published on Prison Discipline, which I submit to you. [Some Extracts now contained in Vol. i. ch. viii. of this work.] With your Lordships' permission I would press this point most strongly, as involving a principle essential to any reformatory system of Prison Discipline. If I may presume to give an observation made by one of your Lordships in a recent debate, I would appl}^ it as one which my own experience has fully con- firmed. " It is in the nature of Englishmen to hate any thing which is put upon them by force." I am sure, therefore, that industry and consequent honesty will never be promoted by compulsory labour. 1585. Have you any thing to state upon the sub- ject of prison masks ? I have observed very great benefit arising from the practice to which you refer. I believe that while 240 PRISON DISCIPLINE. the prisoners are wearing the mask (or rather the cap with a peak which covers part of the face) in the prison it tends to induce a sense of shame, and that is a corrective process m itself. But subsequently to their discharge I have seen very great benefit from it, because they have not been recognised. I have known one very remarkable case, which 1 will just state. There were two men whom we had in prison, one twelve months, and the other three months. They were in the same ward during the three njonths. They both left, and went to houses in Reading, the one No. 16, and the other No. 18, in the same street. When they had been some months living in those houses I called on them both, and inquired if they knew each other, inquiring indirectly, not giving them any idea of their having been together in prison, and I found they were quite ignorant of the fact. 1586. But tlie public knew that they had both been tried, because they were tried publicly ? Yes. March 22nd, 1847. 1734. Have you any thing to add to your former evidence ? Your Lordships were pleased to ask me respecting the transportation of women. It is a matter which T would submit to you for consideration as a cause of crime, and perhaps a more pernicious cause of crime than any other, the women being left in this CRIMINAL FAMILIES OF CONVICTS, ETC. 241 country, and the children being also left unprovided for. I have continually requests from neighbouring clergymen to know whether I have received any in- formation respecting those who have been trans- ported. The women are wishing to be again married, and do not know whether their husbands are living or dead, and of course I am unable to answer the question. As an instance of the evil, at the present time, in my father-in-law's parish, there is a woman whose husband has been transported ; she has since been married twice by going for a short time to reside in other parishes, where she was unknown, and now her husband, who has been transported, is supposed to be alive. I believe she is not amenable to criminal proceedings, because her husband has been absent from this country for more than seven years, but the moral evil remains still. I am not prepared to suggest any remedy for such cases, whether it should be by a divorce or in what other way. And with reference to the children, my Lords, it is very remarkable that on this very day when the imprisonment of four of our young delinquents expires, the first case is that of a boy fourteen years of age ; he is an illegitimate child. The mother's husband was transported for sheep- stealing fifteen years since; his wife has been since imprisoned, and this young offender was born just twelve months after the transportation of the husband. Since then the woman has given birth to four more children ; one of her children has been convicted VOL. II. Q 242 PRISON DISCIPLINE. nine times ; once for sacrilege. Again, on the last day I appeared before your Lordships there were two ])oys committed to Reading Prison for felony. Their father was transported two years since. The mother has since that time been in our prison, con- victed, and sentenced to, I think, three months' im- prisonment for prostitution. I need not use the words in the commiLment, but it is for prostitution. She has six other children, three of whom have been convicted, one of them repeatedly ; there are indeed four of her children at this time in prison. And then with respect to provision for children of that kind, I submit to your Lordships that really charity does not meet the object at all. They don't indeed seek it ; they can support themselves better, as they think, by pilfering. During the year before last we had sixty-four delinquents under sixteen years of age in the prison, and twenty-one of that number I know, perhaps many more, were the children of convicts. During the last year we had sixty-four also, and twenty-eight of that number were the children of convicts. As I have stated, on this very day we have four leaving the prison under the cir- cumstances I have mentioned ; but in every case the children have either lost their parents, or their parents have absconded. March 23rd, 1847. 208S. Have you any furt'.ier observations to make? Your Lordship is perfectly aware that a prejudice MENTAL IMPROVEMENT. 243 exists, and there is a feeling in the minds of Magis- trates throughout the country, that the Separate System is inapplicable to a very large proportion of criminals. The supposition has been that the morals are improved, but that the mind is endangered. 2090. You are of a contrary opinion ? Decidedly; and if your Lordship pleases I will give you the reasons. 2091. I will draw that opinion from the things that have actually passed under your own obser- vation. Will you state the results ? We have now had nearly two thousand in our prison, and although many of them are for a short period, yet I submit to your Lordships that it is during the first period that the great trial takes place. If the mind gives way at all, it will be in all proba- bility during the time that the prisoner is undergoing the severity of the punishment. In no single case has insanity, or even an approach to it, been induced by our treatment. 2092. The question is, whether or not it has a tendency to weaken, not the understanding, but the energies of the will ? I think certainly not. 2093. You would have expected that to happen rather at the beginning than at the end ? Certainly. 2094. Do you not think that it is possible that a man's energies may stand out against the effect of any thing for three months, and that in eighteen months they will fail and sink; in your judgment is not that possible ? Q 2 214 PRISON DISCIPLINE. I am not prepared to say it might not in many cases; but with the vigilance which would be exer- cised under the Separate System it is not likely. 2095. Do you think that any vigilance would enable the Superintendent to ascertain from day to day that the energies were weakening ? I think we have proved that they are not weakened. 2096. How long have you had experience of that? Two years and nine months. 2097. Do you consider two years and nine months to be a fit time for improvement, or how long ? How long do you think it ought to be, at the outside ? I think eighteen months; we have had some cases of two years. I may state that we have one case now in the prison which is a very peculiar case ; it is that of a man who was tried for sheep stealing, and was acquitted, because he was insane at the time ; that prisoner is now in the gaol, detained of course " during Her Majesty's pleasure," but the surgeon says that the man is now sane. 209y. He is recovered ; in short, the discipline has recovered him ? Exactly so. But there is this anomaly attending the case : application has been made to the Secretary of State for his removal ; but he cannot be removed unless the surgeon certifies that he is insane. He is not an object of pardon, because he has never been convicted. EVIDENCE CONCERNING SEPARATE SYSTEM. 245 EXTRACTS FROM EVIDENCE AS TO THE CORRECTIVE INFLUENCE OF SEPARATE IMPRISONMENT. I have seen the operation of the Separate System at Pentonville; and, so far as I can judge from in- spection of the prison, and communication with the prisoners personally, it seems to me likely to answer tlie combined object of punishment and improve- ment. — 3Ir. Baron Parke and Mr. Justice Pallcson, I think separation very desirable; solitary impri- sonment may with propriety I think be resorted to, but sparingly, and for short periods. I have gene- rally applied it in cases of persons of education, where I have thought that reflection may produce amendment ; e. g. cases of manslaughter committed by such persons in a drunken state, where possibly less intemperate habits may be produced by com- pelled sober reflection on the fatal consequences of their intemperance. But separation, I think, should be the rule of all good gaols; it is the only effective classification. I hold it to be the imperative duty of the state not to let a man go worse out of gaol than he came in, if by any regulations they have the means of preventing it. It is also desirable, I do not know whether it is the duty of the state, to make all criminals belter, if possible ; but I think this ob- ject is to be held subservient to that of preventing crime by the example of punishment; and on no 2iC) PKISON DISCIPLINE. other principle that I can perceive is it possible to defend capital punishments, which can hardly be said to have any tendency to make the individual criminals better, though I think they have a strong effect in repressing crime. It follows from wdiat I have said that my opinion is, that separation should in cases of adult criminals be continued during their whole imprisonment ; but I would encourage as much of society of the good with such criminals as possible. — Mr. Baron Alderson. Separate confinement, distinguished from solitary confinement, being a confinement separate from the convict's fellow-prisoners only, and presenting op- portunities for imbibing moral and religious instruc- tion, and acquiring habits of industry, affords fair ground for anticipating moral improvement and reclamation ; v/hile solitary confinement, destitute of the same incentives to amendment, is more cal- culated to harden than to correct. * * * I have heard from Magistrates and others conversant with the subject, that in some gaols boys as well as adults have been reclaimed by their imprisonment. Of those gaols, Reading Gaol is one.— Mr. Baron Piatt. Do you conceive that " separate," as contra-dis- tingwished from " solitary," confinement, can be inflicted so as to heighten the eflect of the punish- ment ? SEPARATE IMPRISONMENT CORRECTIVE. 217 I think it may ; but I think the great use of sej>a- rate confinement is as one stage of reformalory discipline.— M. D. Hill, Esq., Q.C. 1956. Do you observe a great alteration in the state of mind of the prisoners ? Do you observe a gradual progress during the course of their confine- ment ? The moral condition of the prisoners under separate con- fiuement,— that is, where all the advantages of religit)n arc brought to bear upon it, — is decidedly improved. l"he ex- periment, I may say, has now been subjected to some tnul abroad. I am not speaking merely of the good conduct of the prisoners as it is evidenced by their letters to their friends, showing their advancement in intellect, and also in good feeling towards their friends, and their resolutions to do what they can for their parents in the case of children, or for their children in the case of parents ; but, beyond that, I have seen them on board ship, and 1 am now in receipt of a great many letters from different persons concerning the first men that were sent out in the " Sir George Seymour" and the " Stratlicdcn," and also from many of the prisoners themselves, and impartially viewing the matter altogether, without any bias arising from my own predilections or feelings, I have been quite surprised at the honest conduct of men from whom one could almost have expected nothing. At this moment I recollect two striking cases, which perhaps I may be allowed to mention, — they are two out of a great number ; and I mention these two cases because the prisoners were the most unfavoureble subjects that ever came under my notice. One was designated by our discipline officers " Jack Sheppard," of Pentonville. lie was a man who had been engaged in all species of suc- cessful robberies ; a man who had, according to his own 218 PRISON DISCIPLINE. statements, (and certainly those were the only proofs wc had of that fact), broken gaol in several instances ; but he was a man so clever that I can easily understand it. This individual entered iia Van Diemen's Land upon a course of honest and laborious industry. Further than that. I am in receipt of letters from him, or rather passing through my hands, with liberty to read them, to his wife, who was a very profligate woman. He sent me 6/. to assist in carrying out this woman. Before he left I said, " You are to consider well the propriety of getting your wife out ;" for she is living in a state of wickedness. He said, " I have made her what she is, and I now feel that I ought to endeavour to make her better." I have heard from others about that man, that he continued to pursue the same course. That is one of the cases. The other was a case which would have been considered almost hopeless, and it was so regarded by the officers in our prison. It was the case of a man who had been convicted of theft in our prison. The man had made a profession of religion, and had been admitted by my predecessor to the Communion ; but, upon this occurrence, he was of course debarred from that Church privilege. There was a Cjuestion whether he should be put among the incorrigibles or not. I recommended, having a voice in the matter, that be should bo allowed to go into the probation pass class in the colonies instead of among the incorrigibles. I considered that he was under strong temptation. He stole a book ; he had great anxiety to learn, and he put into his bag a little book which he greatly valued and I recommended ; and our Governor acquiesced subsequently in the recommendation of that mau for the probation pass instead of going away among the incorrigibles- I have heard from a person in whom I have great confidence that that man on being thrown among other men in Van Dieman's Laud has been really doing them reli- gious good. At all events he is valued by his master as an honest servant. SUCCESS OF THE SEPAPATE SYSTEM. 240 1970. You have stated two remarkable cases, and you have also observed that there are a great many eases of decided reformation though not of so marked a character. What proportion of the whole number should you consider to be effectually worked upon by the treatment and by their intercourse with you? It would be very difficult to say the proportion, but all the accounts that I have received go to fix this conviction on my mind, that the great majority have received such benefit as to keep them honest and virtuous members of society, and I should state that not one of our exiles, — that is, not one of those who have gone to Port Philip, — has been convicted of theft in Van Diemen's Land. Of the ticket-of- leave and probation pass men, one man was con- victed of theft, and others of drunkenness and in- subordination ; but even those were the minority in Van Diemen's Land. — Evidence of Rev. J. Kiv(js- mill. Chaplain of Pentonville Prison. 3043. You think they (boys) go out worse than they came in ? Unless they are kept separate. I think that an impression may be made upon them if they are kept separate ; but so long as they are associated together, they go out as bad as they went in, or generally worse. — Capt. Hansbrow, Governor of Lancnslcr Castle. * * * Separate confinement is the best thing. * * * Our female prisoners 250 PRISON DISCIPLINE. have decreased very much, because we confine them now all separately. We have had a corridor built after the government plan, and we put our women in different cells, and we let them out one in the morning and one in the afternoon ; and our number of women has decreased very much in consequence of separate confinement. Before, they were in the yards, and they (congregated in the rooms, sitting at the fire. They do not like the Separate System. — Governor of Portsmouth Gaol. 3570. In the prisons that you have ever examined, have you had occasion to observe what the fear of imprisonment and transportation was among the prisoners ? The establishment of the Separate System is of recent date, and it has had the effect of diminishing the number of prisoners considerably. Transporta- tion, I consider, if carried properly into effect, is the punishment which is most dreaded of any that can be inflicted by Courts, I mean short of death. — Peter Laurie, Esq., Barrister-at-Law. 3894. You do consider that that kind of discipline and imprisonment has a tendency to reform the criminal ? I cannot entertain a doubt on the subject. . 2895. Do you consider that that kind of imprison- ment has a tendency to cure them of bad habits of mind i' THE SEPARATE SYSTEM CORRECTIVE. 251 T should believe so. — Sir B. Brodie, Bari., Com- missioner of Pentonville Prison. 405 0. Did you see any thing of the silent system in the United States? I did. I went to a place there called Sing-Sing, and I heard of a person that was there from New South Wales, and had got a conviction for fourteen years in Sing-Sing. 4651. What effect did that system adopted at Sing-Sing seem to produce upon the prisoners ? They looked just as stupid as if they had been in a madhouse. They got sufficient to eat and drink, but they looked completely stupid. 4G52. Would the Separate Sj'stem produce the same effect ? I should say not. 4653. As far as your experience goes, can you say whether the Separate System has a powerful effect in reforming the persons subjected to it? I should say it has. 4654. Not so the silent system ? No. 4055. But the Separate System, — that is, each man working in his own cell, and seeing the Chap- lain, and Governor, and the Wardens from time to time, — you think has a reformatory effect? Nothing more so, I should say, speaking from my travels through life, and there is not another man in the kingdom alive who has experienced the treatment that I have for so great a number of years in the Colonies. I have been through all the colonicfs iiiid 252 PRISON DISCIPLINE. seen every system adopted in every place; in fact one of the Judges in New South Wales wanted me, previous to leaving, to give an historical account of my life. 4656. Vou think that the Separate System has a reforming effect ? I should think so. 4657. Which has the most terror for criminals, the Separate System or the silent system ? They dread most the silent system ; but still their dread does not prove that it has the best effect. — A. B., a liberated convict. EVIDENCE AS TO SEPARATION BEFORE TRIAL. 253 EXTRACTS FROM EVIDENCE RESPECTING SEPARATE IMPRISONMENT BEFORE TRIAL. 211. Have you any objection to state what is your own view of tlie exi)ediency of applying the Separate System of imprisonment previously to trial and conviction ? I am very much in favour of it. The county of Warwick is about to build a large prison, and the borough of Birmingham is building a large one ; both will have provision for separate confinement ; always distinguishing that from solitary confine- ment. 212. Do you conceive that the restraint which may be put by separate confinement upon a prisoner who may turn out to be innocent is more than com- pensated by his absence from the contamination to which otherwise he would be subject by association with other persons awaiting their trial ? Far more. 213. What distinction do you take between *' separate " confinement and " solitary " confine- ment ? " Separate" means separate from other prisoners; *' solitary " means separate also from all the rest of the world. In some parts of England and Scotland there are respectable persons who make a point of visiting the gaols, with a view to beneficial commu- nication with the prisoners ; going round from cell to cell. 254 PRISON DISCIPLINE. 214. The question refers to untried prisoners ? Certainly ; so I understood it. With respect to untried prisoners, it would seem that all that society has a right to do is, to take means to have them pre- sent for their trial ; but it is bound to take care not to do them a moral injury by forcing them into evil associations. — M. D. Hill, Esq., Recorder of Bir- mlngliam. PUNISHMENT INCREASED BY SEPARATION. 255 EXTRACTS FKOM EVIDENCE RESPECTING TFIE SEPA- RATE SYSTEM AS INCREASING PUNISHMENT. I think separation adds to the terror ; and the greater the time during which it is to continue the greater the terror. — Mr. Baron Parke and Mr. Jus- tice Palieson. I consider that imprisonment, with the certainty of being subjected to the restrictions, discipline, and system of separation, as now adopted in tlie General Prison at Perth, as well as in others of the improved prisons in Scotland, as at least we)! calculated to create terror in offenders, especially when such sentence is to be undergone for a considerable length of time. — The Lord Justice General, I cannot doubt " that separation or solitary con- finement can be inflicted so as to heighten the effect of the punishment" of imprisonment. I should with little hesitation conclude that it must heighten the effect of the punishment, and so increase its value as a check upon crime. It is manifest that imprisonment of that description must be greatly more disliked, and looked forward to with more dread, than one where the prisoner is allowed to pass his time in idleness in the society of other culprits ; but I am not aware that the system has in 256 PRISON DISCIPLINE. Scotland been attended with any important bene- ficial result in the prevention or repression of crime.* — Lord Wood. I have no doubt that it can, and that separation (not solitary confinement) is calculated for a time to increase the severity of the punishment ; and though the convict, from habit, from a sense of its ultimate advantages, and of its opening up a pros- pect of better things, may submit to it with patience and even cheerfulness, I am satisfied that outside the prison it will be always regarded as a state of severe suffering, and especially by other criminals and evil-disposed persons as a kind of punishment most repugnant to their feelings and habits. — Lord Chief Justice Blackhurne. Separate confinement is also very much disliked and apprehended in the very few places where it is used. Separate confinement to be useful ought to be continued, not as a punishment, but as a preser- vative from contamination, and applied as well before as after trial. — Mr. Justice Perrin. I do conceive that separation or solitary confine- ment (that is, solitary in a certain degree,) may be inflicted in such a manner as at once to heighten the effect of the punishment and produce a tendency to reformation in the culprit. — 3Ir. Justice Burton. * Sec reasons assigned, Vol. i. 272. PUNISHMENT INCREASED BY SEPARATION. 257 The question is put to every prisoner who is com- mitted to Newgate, whether he chooses to be l^y himself or not, and we find that only one in one hundred cliooses to be by himself. — The Ordlnan/ of Newgate. Do you consider that separate confinement can be inflicted so as to heighten the dread of the punish- ment? Certainly. — E. Bullock, Esq. 1741. Have you much confidence in the effect of punishment in deterring people of the criminal class from committing offences ? By the Separate System I think there is no question of it. 1742. They dread it very much? They do. — 3Ir. Stephens, Superintendent of Binn'uigham Police. 1832. Have you had an opportunity of knowing in what light the prisoners consider the punishment at Pentonville, as compared with the punishment of transportation ? I think they look upon the confinement in Pen- tonville as a very severe confinement. — Captain Groves, Governor of Millbank Prison. 1801. Have you had any opportunity of seeing any persons who have been subjected to what is called "The Separate System" of confinement for any length of time ? VOL. II. R 258 PKISON DISCTPL[NE. Yes; we have instances of persons convicted of misdemeanors of a certain class who are placed under the modified Separate System in our prison. 1802. What do you consider to be the effect of that system upon them? It is regarded by them, I am well informed, as a most severe punishment, and I have seen no mis- chievous results or tendency attributable to that separate confinement. 2960. Was there any hard labour in the case of the imprisonment in your gaol ? I think not. There is scarcely such a thing, in my experience, as hard labour in the London pri- sons, and certainly not the amount of labour which they are compelled to perform in the Hulks. 2961. But still labour of some sort ? Some occupation, certainly. The treadmill is ap- plied in my prison. 2962. But that sort of imprisonment would be a slight punishment compared with imprisonment that involves separate confinement ? Most decidedly. 2965. How do they describe it ? In many instances, that their own thoughts dis- tiess and pain them beyond measure. When alone, they require excitement; and when they are so placed apart, and must necessarily reflect on and review their position, they feel it intensely. — Lieut. Tracy, R.N., Governor of House of Connections Tot hill Fields, PUNISHMENT INCREASED BY SEPARATION. 259 2011. Have you had an opportunity of learning, by intercourse with the prisoners, whether the pros- pect of imprisonment for fifteen or sixteen months in separate confinement has a deterring effect upon their minds ? I cannot doubt that they fear it as a severe punish- ment, but perhaps more in prospect than in reality. In tlie first period of confinement I think they feel it to be very severe. Those who were first convicted came up to Pentonville with the preconceived notion that it was a dreadful kind of ordeal that they were to go through ; but after men become habituated to to it for two or three months I think it is not so severely felt as it is generally apprehended that it will be. I conceive the looking forward to trans- portation after any lengthened period of confinement on the Separate System renders the mind and body of a prisoner less capable of going through the imprisonment than it would otlicrwise be. — LlciiL- Colunel Jcbb. 3472. Do you consider that separation and silence would make imprisonment much more formidable than it was otherwise ? I have no doubt that the system which has recently been introduced into Scotland, the Separate System, is attended with more terror than imprisonment where the prisoners are left promiscuously together in the gaol. — Graliam iSpeirs, Esq., Sheri/f of the Cuiuihj of EdinhuryJi. r2 200 PRISON DISCIPLINE. EXTRACTS FROM EVIDENCE AS TO ASSOCIATING CRIMINALS AFTER A TERM OF SEPARATE CON- FINEMENT. 576. Do you consider that in punishment a gra- dation of confinement would have a salutarv effect ; that is to say, first, separation for a year ; afterwards, as they appear to be somewhat reformed, then less separation and more association ; and ultimately allowing them to associate with others ? I must here again appeal to my experience for my answer. During the time that I was Chaplain at the General Penitentiary, the system in operation was, separation for the first half of the sentence, and association during the latter half. The association during the latter part was formed in classes of from five to ten ; and, as far as we could, we classed the prisoners according to the opinion we were enabled to form of the character of the individuals during their first period of eighteen months' separation. The results were so unsatisfactory, and so decidedly injurious, that we observed that the prisoners who had become improved in the first period of the separation frequently came either to the Governor or myself, as the Chaplain, and implored that they might be placed back again in separation, because, as they said, they could not retain the moral ad- vantages which they had acquired while in separate confinement, and which they had learned to value. SEPARATION AND SUBSEQUENT ASSOCIATION. 201 The badly-behaved, in many instances, came and preferred the same request, stating that they could not conduct themselves so well in association as in separation, because they were surrounded with temptations from their associates that they constantly incurred reports and punishments, and they could not get recommended for their liberty. Accordingly, from the uniform testimony of both kinds of prison- ers, we arrived at the same conclusion, that mischief invariably resulted from association, and after a trial of a great many years the superintending Committee, of which my Lord Devon was a member, recom- mended the abolition of the second class, in which the association was permitted under circumstances much more favourable than it can be in establish- ments of great extent and with larger numbers of prisoners. There is very important evidence ui)on this subject given by Captain Chapman, the then Governor of the Penitentiary, and other officers of that establishment, before the Select Committee of the House of Commons in 1831 on Secondary Punishments. — Rev. W. Russell. I may here add on this subject, that in a work just published on American prisons, we learn that an evil described in the foregoing evidence was foreseen, and prevented the establishment of asylums for prisoners in connection with some gaols in America. 202 'prison dtscipline. Many benevolent men zealously supported a project for employing convicts placed together after a term of reformatory discipline, but it was objected that such persons could not live together in considerable numbers, having free intercourse with each other, however much they might be supposed to be re- formed, without great abuses. A single corimpl individual among them, corrupting others, each of whom would become a new corruptor, must soon re- produce all the evils of the older prisons. This objection was admitted to be fatal to the plan, and the temporary advantage threatened so much per- manent mischief that the State refused its sanction to any such scheme. SEPARATE IMPRISONMENT HEALTHFUL. 203 EVIDKNCE OF SIR B. BllODIE, BART., RE:.SPECTING TIIK BODILY AND iMENTAL HEALTH OF PRISONERS AT PENTONVILLE. 3860. Is it your opinion that that system has been unfavourable to the health of those who have been subjected to it? All prisons are in some degree unfavourable to health, but I believe that this is less unfavourable than others. It is very difficult to make comparisons between different prisons. For instance, in common prisons the average term of imprisonment is not above seven or eight weeks, and with us it is nine- teen months; in fact it is more than this, because the convicts have been in prison before. But, in spite of that, I believe our mortality is smaller than that of ordinary prisons. 3870. Do you consider that they have any diseases which are peculiar to them ? There is more pulmonary disease than in the ordi- nary population, which is the case with all prisons. In all prisons pulmonary disease prevails, and I believe that we have had rather more of such diseases than most other prisons. 3871 Have you had any other disease which is prevalent in prisons ? No. We have had rather a small pro[)ortion of other diseases. 264 PRISON DISCIPLINE. 3872. Gaol fever is verv little known, 1 believe, now^ in prisons ? We have never had it in Pentonville ; indeed we have had no epidemic of any kind. 3873. What do you consider the effect of this separate confinement, generally speaking, upon the bodily health? Do you consider it unfavourable ? As little unfavourable as any imprisonment, and less unfavourable than most. 3874. Not at all more unfavourable, at any rate, than imprisonment where there is not a separation ? Not as far as I can make out. These are very difficult questions to determine. There are some things which ought to make their health at Penton- ville better, and others which ought to make it worse. The circumstances that ought to make it better are, that we do not admit those who are actually in a state of disease. This ought to lower our average of disease. Then, on the other hand, we have a long term of imprisonment, which ought to raise the average. 3881. What is the effect of this Separate System of confinement, according to your observation and experience in Pentonville, upon the mental health; upon the understanding for instance ? The first year there were three cases of insanity out of three hundred and thirty prisoners; that was at the rate of nine and a fraction per one thousand. 3882. Could they be accounted for in any way ? I think that this excessive proportion during the SEPARATION — EFFECT ON THE MIND. 265 first year might be accounted for; since then the proportion has been very small. 3883. Has the system of treatment been altered since ? The treatment, in many respects, has been dif- ferent since the first year. I have some opinions as to the causes of the large amount of insanity during the first year, but as I could not state them upon oath, I would rather not say any thing on the sub- ject, except that there are circumstances which suffi- ciently explain it. 3884. And those circumstances have ceased during the other years ? Certainly. 3885. What differences in the proportion have taken place? Taking away the first year, I believe that our cases of insanity have been in the proportion of 1-48 per 1,000. 3886. Less than one and a half per 1,000? Yes. There is reason to believe that this is a smaller proportion than that of the cases of insanity which occur in ordinary gaols ; I mean exclusive of those who are insane on admission. 3887. Where the Separate System does not pre- vail ? Yes. 3888. Then is it your opinion that there is not a materially greater proportion of insane cases in the Pentonville Prison than in the population at large ? I doubt whether since 1843 it has been more than in the population at large, and, as T have already 26Q PRISON DISCIPLINE. observed, I have good" reason to believe tliat it has been less than in ordinary prisons. 3889. We have now been speaking of mental disease, positive insanity; will you direct your at- tention to the weakening of the energies of the mind without any disease? Do you consider that the tendency of the Separate System is to weaken the energy of the will and the mind ? There are a certain number of persons who suffer to a certain extent mentally in our prison besides those who are reputed to be insane. We have some who have partial delusions, such as a man thinking that he is sure to be pardoned when he is not, or thinking that he hears somebody calling him at night when he is alone in his cell. We have had about twelve or thirteen of those cases, all of whom I believe have recovered ; but otherwise I am not aware that the system tends to enfeeble the mind at all. 3890. So that you think, as far as you can judge, that those persons liberated after nineteen or twenty months of separate confinement would not be of less energetic mind to earn their bread or to perform their offices in society than if they had been impri- soned in the ordinary mode r I should think not. 3891. Would you not consider that the previous habits of the prisoners would rather tend to place them below the average both with respect to the chances of boililv and of mental health:' SEPARATION EFFECT ON THE MIND. 2()7 I sliould believe so ; and I su[)pose many of those who commit crimes do so from having originally a certain defect of intellect. 3892. At all events the habits of life of those who are in the House of Correction would not be favour- able either to bodily or to mental health ? Certainly. 268 PRISON DJSCIPLINE. EXTRACTS FROM EVIDENCE RESPECTING THE SILENT SYSTEM. The silent system I believe to be impracticable, and very unadvisable if practicable. Strict prohibi- tions may be made, but can never be enforced. — Mr. Baron Alderson. I regard the silent system as radically bad. The association of the prisoners together, under ayiy cir- cumstances, for any purposes, whether of work or instruction, under any restraints or prohibitions, is, in my opinion, utterly repugnant to the ends either of reformation or the deterring of others. There is even on the silent system the society and association of others, — the influence of others, — the means of recognizing each other when liberated, even if un- known before (one great means by which the temp- tations and influence of bad companions operate), —the want of that feeling of desolation, and of that pressure of conscience, through which, under the Separate System, instruction may reach the heart, and the comparison of wretchedness and innocence be forced on the mind. In a prison those incar- cerated ought never to know who have been ad- mitted since their own incarceration, and ought never to see a face, except of the olficers of the esta- blishment. — The Lord Justice Clerk <>/ Scotland. EVIDENCE RESPECTING THE SEPARATE SYSTEM. 269 I certainly have doubts of the Silent System. I fear it is cruel if enforced. It figures as a kind of Sisyphian torment to keep men for months and years in company, and yet prevent all communica- tion by the lash ever suspended over them. On the other hand, I fear it may be very difficult to enforce effectively ; but I am not competent to speak of it with sufficient certainty. — Lord Mackenzie. I entirely disapprove of the Silent System. I saw an example of it in a large prison in Yorkshire, some years ago, which I own I regarded as veiy bad. — Lord Moncreiff. What is your opinion of the silent system, or the having prisoners to work under a strict prohibition of communicating with each other by words or signs? I must confess my opinion is unfavourable to it ; and for this reason, that I think to keep it in action demands such a constant control over the individual by those by whom he is guarded, that his mind is kept in an irritated and hostile state ; and as I look upon imprisonment as mainly valuable for its reformatory powers, I think it is of immense importance that nothing should be done which would place the mind of the criminal in a hostile state, because it is quite evident that if those who are attempting to cure him can form an alliunce with his mind the process of cure is much more likely to go on rapidly and suc- cessfully than where he is striving to go in one direc- tion and they in another. — 31. D. Hill, Esq., Q.C. 270 PRISON DISCIPLINE. Although Mrs. Fry saw too little of the Separate System to enable her to form an accurate jud foment respecting its operation and effects, the same cannot be said with reference to the silent system, which was more generally pursued, and with the working of which cruel and demoralizing plan of imprison- ment she had many opportunities of becoming acquainted. Hence her testimony on this point is valuable. I insert the following extracts from her memoir : — "Who that has reflected much or marked the workings of the mind of man, has not found that without word or action, a spirit may pervade any collection of persons, either of I'e- sistance, opposition and defiance, or of comparative kindliness and subordination. No dehision did she consider greater, than that man can be treated as a machine, and re-modelled, through having his conduct bent to obedience by strong coercion and dread of punishment. To benefit a sentient being, his sympathies must be as much as possible enlisted on the right side, the spirit of opposition never needlessly excited, nor his displeasure roused, against the circumstances he is under, and the authorities over him. Perhaps no scheme could be contrived by the ingenuity of man, more likely to petrify the little remaining softness of the heart, or aggravate his already rebellious passions, than to consign an individual to the comjianionship of others similarly circum- stanced, submitting to an act, but resisting in spirit, the influences they are under. He and they may be so placed as habitually not even to see one another. But who will believe that there are not moments and opportunities when the evil glance can pass from man to man ? When the concentrated mahcc that burns within will show itself in the countenance ? When the mighty power of the human eye can convey mean- ing, or circulate a watchword of mental resistance, without a THE SILENT SYSTEM. 271 sound escaping the lips ? Men are not likely to abhor evil from being driven to abhor the method by which it is pur- posed to bring them to good. The more hateful the restraints of virtue in the aggregate become to anyone, and the stronger his dislike of the authoiities by which they are enforced, the more ready is he for the commission of fresh crime ; for no mere dread of punishment, because a little more or less severe, or under somewhat diifercnt modifications, in the hour of reckless temptation will deter from guilt. To induce an in- clination to do better, something of a taste for better things, a glimmering of light shed on the darkness of former depi-a- vity, were in Mrs. Fry's estimation the great objects to be obtained. As a loving parent mixes tenderness with unilinching and even stern severity, so would she have had the State, the " powers that be," deal with the offender as, ' A father, wliose authority in sliow When most severe, and mustering all its foree, Is but the graver countenance of love' With these views, she could not fail as occasion presented itself to urge her opinions upon others, and deprecate the attempts at enforcing absolute silence amongst prisoners; for though she approved of only partial and guarded nitei- course, varying with their guilt and character, and in no case without the presence and oversight of the officers of the prison, — the endeavour absolutely to close all avenues of com- munication where personal contact remained, was in her estimation, in its practical working, as delusive as the system in itself was harsh and untenable." * Opinions entirely consonant with the above, were ex))iessed by the various speakers at the Congres Penitentiaire, as will be seen more at large in suc- * Vol. ii. 388. 272 PRISON DISCIPLINE. ceeding pages. I would here however insert a few sentences as further evidence of the inefficac y of such treatment, and of the folly of attempting to enforce it. Thus M. Ferriere, the Chaplain of a large prison conducted on the silent system at Geneva, said — " The governor knows that they converse, although he can find out very few communications. But to know how much the silent system is worth, we must listen to the prisoners themselves : there is hardly one who has not owned to me that he talked frequently, every day, many times a day — that they communicated all they wished to say and know — and thijt it was impossible for the director in his room of inspec- tion, and for the superintendent of the workroom in his place to discover a third part of these communications. The greater part of them have given me particulars to make me under-, stand the impossibility of preventing this silent conversation. I have even seen, and this fact is significant, the newly-arrived prisoners to be in less than a week initiated into the tricks of the workroom, and to have learnt of their fellow-prisoners more than I myself knew of the life and faults of the new prisoner." M. Hoffmann, President du Tribunal d'Elberfeld, also said — " 1 know prisons where this system has produced the most vexatious results. If the rule of silence is strictly enforced, the infringements open the way for the most inhuman punish- ments. And it is of no use, for, notwithstanding prohibitions and punishments, the prisoners always converse and get acquainted. When they do not speak with the tongue they speak with the eyes, and by signs; and every thing, even their tools, and the manner of working at their trade, becomes to thorn a sign, a language, a means of communication." THE SILENT SYSTEM. 273 And M. de Jagemaiin, Conseiller da Ministere de la Justice, a Carlsruhe, observed — " You may increase the number of your keepers, but you cannot prevent these communications. It would bo necessary for that purpose that your inspectors shoukl be as Janus — and unfortunately the head of Janus is a mythological fiction. As soon as the inspector's head is turned, the tongue of tha prisoner is turned also. It is the fundamental defect of the system." VOL. II. 274 PRISON DISCIPLINE. EVIDENCE RESPECTING SHORT IMPRISONMENT. Does your Lordship consider that any reformation can be worked on offenders by a short imprisonment, as for three or even six months ? I should greatly doubt it. — 3Ir. Justice Wigldman, I doubt much whether a short term of imprison- ment can operate, except as a punishment simply. A longer period, perhaps not less than six months, is necessary for affording a chance of reformation, by means of instruction and discipline. — Mr Baron Parke and 3Ir. Justice Patteson. I consider it possible, but very unlikely. — Mr. Justice Maule. I believe crime to be a chronic disease, and not curable by a short process, if indeed curable at all. It follows that T disapprove of short peiiods of im- prisonment, as for this purpose useless. I adopt them because in the present state of our prisons I do not think reformation likely to follow from a long imprisonment there, but rather the reverse. — Mr. Baron Alder son. I do not consider that such short imprisonments as are contemplated in this question are calculated to produce reformation, unless perhaps in the case of the first instance of crime in a juvenile offender. — Phe Lord Justice General. EVILS OF SHORT IMPRISONMENTS. 275 Short imprisonments, when the gaol accommo- dation does not admit of the Separate System beiijf^ inflexibly acted upon, I regard as one great source of the increased depravity and more hardened cha- racter of offendei-s. They get linked together with other bad companions ; and, whatever restraint of silence, or otherwise, is imposed, (in itself quite fruitless against the influence of bad companions,) still they have society, and they have the support of the countenance and presence of others, — they have the resource of looks and expressions, and encou- raging glances, — they are saved from the burden of solitude, — so that imprisonment loses all terror for them, and they care nothing for the im[)risonment, and return worse than before they were imprisoned. For trifling offences long imprisonments cannot be awarded , but the short imprisonments ought to be made as burdensome as possible, by the Separate System ; and if tlie time is too short for instruction, then broken only by earnest exhortation, the rest left to solitude and complete inactivity, without any occupation, e. g., as when it is for twenty or thirty, or even sixty days, and for the first offence. * * To continue the Separate System for a sJiort portion of the term of imprisonment, as here supposed, as for a month or two, would render the Separate System quite useless. The separation and solitary confine- ment ought to be enforced for the whole period, as it is done in Scotland, whether a year or a year and a half or two years, and unless it is so enforced it s2 216 PRISON DISCIPLINE. will be useless to act upon it for a short time, whe- ther one regards impression to be produced by the imprisonment on others or on the criminal, or the possibility of conducting with any prospect of suc- cess the discipline, instruction, and useful employ- ment which the Separate System admits of. — The Lord Justice Clerk. I think not. Our criminal practice affords un- ceasing examples of the contrary. * * Still I believe that long separate imprisonment, with work, and instruction in morals, religion, and some mode or modes of industry, must and does reform a considerable proportion of offenders. But three or even six months is too short a time for instruction, or the formation of good habits or feelings, or change in the position of the offender when liberated. — Lord Mackenzie, There are first offences for which short imprison- ments may be sufficient, because reformation is either no part or a very small part of the object. A man of good character may commit a single slight crime. But wherever reformation is wanted, it seems to me to be absurd to expect it from imprisonments of three to six months. A new nature cannot be acquired, nor can old habits and associates be got rid of, in so short a time, even under the very best system of discipline. — Lord Cockhiirn. EVILS OF SHOUT TMnilSONMENTS. 277 Short imprisonments in general have only preju- dicial effects. — Lord Mcilwyn. * * I think that little improvement can be expected from a short imprisonment towards the reformation of the convict. — Mr. Justice CrampUm. I should not suppose that much effect in the way of reformation can be woiked on offenders by a short period of imprisonment, such as three or six months. — Chief Justice Doherty. I think reformation can scarcely be expected (speaking generally) by these very short periods of imprisonment ; at the same time I have no doubt tliat salutary effects have been produced on the cha- racter and conduct of prisoners in some cases even by an imprisonment for six months in a well regu- lated gaol — Mr. Justice Jackson. G^ I do not think it likely that any reform can be effected in prisoners by short periods of imprison- ment, such as for three or six months ; undoubtedly some minds might undergo a very important change within even a period of three months, but, speaking generally, I do not think it likely that reformation can be worked out by imprisonment for such short periods. — ChieJ Baron Richards. If the separation only lasts a month or two, this is far too short, both for severity and for the pro- 278 PRISOX DISCIPLINE. ductioii of any permanent change of mind. — Lord Cockburn. As far as my experience enables me to foi'm any judgment, I think that short imprisonments, accor- ding to the present system, are exceedingly injurious ; they are not calculated either to deter others, or to produce reformation in the individuals subjected to them, and, on the contrary, their effects are in every way generally prejudicial. — Lord Wood. I often sentence a child to a month's imprison- ment, and to be well whipped with a birch rod at the end of the first fortnight, so as to keep the terror over his mind for a fortnight; but I find that those children conlinually come again. * * * * The re-committals are very numerous, and I cannot say that I hive grounds for supposing that many are leclaimed. — Mr. Sergeant Adams. Short imprisonments are worse than useless, they are positively injurious. * * * Convictions for short periods can do no good, and have merely the effect of hardening a child to imprisonment by de- grees. It is obvious that the graduated exercise of our powers of doing and suffering, by which we have to overcome difficulties in the pursuit of good objects ought not to be employed to teach the lesson of setting at nought the punishments inflicted for crime; and y<'t this is the lesson taught by these illusory sentences. EVILS OF SHOUT IMPRISONMENT. 279 Do you consider that any reformation can bo wrought upon an offender by a short period of confinement, as for three or six months ? I rather think it will be found that good has been done by an imprisonment of as much as six months, but short imprisonments I consider as quite illusory. What shall be long, and what shall be short, as measured by months, it would be difficult to say ; nor would that be a short imprisonment to one which is so to another. — M. D. Hill, Esq., Q..C. You give juvenile offenders at first a slight punishment by imprisonment? Yes. How long ? It varies according to the offence, but usually four months at the most. Many of those have come before you again? Yes. Do you recollect how many times ? I can hardly say with respect to some individuals. Some have come two or three times ; and then upon inquiry I have found that they have been summarily convicted two or three times besides. They rarely appear before us more than twice, but they have been summarily convicted before. Do you consider that short periods of imprison- ment, as for three or even six months, would have a tendency to reform the offender ? I am afraid not ; not under six months certainly. — E. Bulloch', Esq., Jn(l(/e of Shcnjf's Court. 280 PRISON DISCIPLINE. 3461. Do you consider that the sending a young criminal to prison for ten days for a very small offence has a bad tendency ? Very bad ; it is perfectly futile. 3402. It injures him when he goes out ? Yes. 3463. Many of those whom you have had under your care in your prison have been several times re- committed ? Yes. — Rev. W. Brown, Chaplain to the General Prison, Perth, The present practice of sending young persons to prison, first for short and then for longer periods, is proved to be a mere system of education in crime which generally ends in the individual being trans- ported, and hence, first and last, causes much con- firmed depravity and expense to the state. — J, Wig ham, Esq. 3673. Do you consider that something is to be expected from a judicious system of reformatory treatment ? If the prisoner is taken early and is not subjected to a series of short sentences, if he gets a tolerably long sentence at first, there is more hope of his reformation, but the number of re-committals is in inverse ratio of the lengths of the terms of sentence. 3683. What is the shortest imprisonment that you think at all tends to reformatoiy effect ? EVIL OF SHORT IMPRISONMENT. 281 I do not think it is worth while to send persons to prison under six months. — Governor of Edin- huri/li Gaol. 3733. Is your opinion ftivourable to short com- mitments by way of punishment ? Quite the reverse. 1 am of opinion that short commitments are one of the great sources of crime in Scotland. 3734. What do you consider to be the shortest period of imprisonment from which any good might be expected r I should be inclined to concur very much with the last witness, that six months is the very shortest period under any circumstances; I may add that I have seen the experiment tried under circumstances which I think were more favourable for the refor- matory process than a prison, and I have never seen it successful in less than twelve months. — Graham Speirs, Esq., Sheriff of County ofEdinbur(jh. 3772. Is it your opinion that short terms of im- prisonment are generally speaking hurtful ? I should think so, unless the boy is very young. A short term with an adult is utterly useless. Un- less the culprit were very young I should be disin- clined to make the imprisonment short. — J . Oyilvie Mack, Visituig Justice oj Edinhuryh Gaol. 4400. Are you in favour of short sentences or long sentences ? Do you find, as far as the eifcct 282 PRISON DISCIPLINE. of the imprisonment is concerned in tlie improve- ment of tlie prisoner, that short sentences or long have the best effect ? I do not think short sentences act very well, and there are other descriptions of punishment which do not act well ; for instance, the punishment of whip- ping does not act well, and acquittals at the ses- sions do not act well. Those who are sent to be whipped and those sent for very short sentences re- turn more frequently than those who are sentenced to six or nine months' imprisonment. — Governor of Wakifeld Prison. The inefficacy of long imprisonments arises in a great measure from the system at present followed of imprisoning for short periods for first, second, and third offences. When prisoners are confined for twelve or eighteen months for a first offence, it rarely happens that they appear again in prison ; opportu- nity is then afforded for striking at the root of the evil j they are secluded and broken off from their guilty associates ; means are adopted for divesting them of their bad habits and propensities, and en- grafting new and better principles in their stead ; mental, moral, and religious instruction is provided; idleness is corrected by labour, some useful trade is taught by which they may afterwards gain an honest livelihood, and they are gradually brought to respect themselves, and to appreciate the advantages result- ing from a useful and regular life. But all these EVILS OF SHORT IMPRISONMENTS. 283 means of reclaiming a prisoner are almost entirely rendered nugatory, \vhen he has previously been confined for short periods. At present when a person commits a first offence he is taken before the police magistrate, and probably sentenced to ten or twenty days' imprisonment ; and what can be done with him in prison ? No progress can be made in such a short time in eradicating bad liabits and creating new ones. On the contrary the short im- piisonment has a tendency to accustom him to confinement, without feeling it as a punishment, and at the expiry of his sentence, with a stigma attached to his name, he returns to his old companions and his former courses, is again detected, and from mis- taken lenity, or with the view of saving expense, is again sent back to prison, for second, third, or fourth offences, for periods not exceeding sixty days. By this time his case is almost, if not altogether hopeless, and the sooner he is sent out of the country the better for himself and the community. As the Assizes just terminated sentence of trans- portation was passed on sixteen boj's. All of them had been previously in prison for short periods, and one of them no less than six times for theft ; on which occasions the sentences ranged from fourteen to sixty days. My decided opinion (formed on an experience of twenty-two years) is, that if a first imprisonment, however short, be not etfectual in deterring persons from committing new ofiences, it is in vain to expect 284 PRISON DISCIPLINE. that repeated short imprisonments will lead to differ- ent results. It would be a mercy to the criminal and an ultimate saving to the public, if every person charged with a second offence were at once sent before a jury, and conviction followed by at least twelve months' imprisonment ; there would then be some chance of reforming him before he be- comes hardened in crime. — Governor of Aberdeen Prison^ DETERllING EFIECT OF PUNISHMENT. 285 EXTRACTS FROM RVIDKNX'E AS TO THE DETERllING EFFECTS OF PUNISHMENT. I do not regard the punishment of transportation as etrectual to llie repression of offences ; but I have no reason to think that it is not as effectual as any other punishment. — Mr. Justice CresswelL Those who liave not been disgraced appear to dread imprisonment ; those wlio are insensible to disgrace appear often to disregard it. — Mr. Jiatice Erie. I think the deterring effect of punishment is not great. Tiie chances of escape are great, if a criminal were to calculate on them. I remember hearing it proved, when people were hanged for uttering one pound notes, that such notes sold currently for twelve shillings apiece. The risk of death was then run for the possible gain of eight shillings on an expenditure of tvvelv^e shillings. But in truth the other difficulty is also very great. The great body of criminals act rather upon impulse than calcula- • tion, and think but little of the probable punishment at the moment of temptation. — 3Ir. Baron Alderson. I wish I could say that the deterring effects of punishment in relation to the considerations em- braced in this question were very great j but I fear, 286 PRISON DISCIPLINE. constituted as human nature is, tliat the deterring effect of punishment is in reality less than could be wished. — The Lord JiiHlke General. From my experience I am firmly impressed with the conviction, that imprisonment generally is a punishment which has no terror for the bulk of offenders, and does not operate in deterring others from the commission of crimes — such as imprison- ment inflicted under the sentences of British Courts, and suffered in British Gaols, must be * * The great end of punishment is to deter; and I am satisfied that even on the Separate System imprison- ment is not adequate to produce any important effect in repressing crime by any terror which it can produce. — The Lord Justice Clerk of Scotland. Even on the Separate System, and for a long period, imprisonment has really no terror for the bulk of offenders ; and the better the system, it is an undoubted result that the dread of imprisonment will and must be diminished. After these offenders are all taught to read, and get books to read at extra hours, if reformation is not produced, at least the oppression of imprisonment is over, to people of coarse minds and living a life of wretchedness out of prison. And hence, I am sorry to say, that with those who are not reclaimed in our prison, the dread of imprisonment seems to have entirely vanished. And 1 understand that among the conmiunity at DETEllllING EFFECT OF PUNISHMENT. 287 large in Scotland, and with magistrates and police oflicers, the feeling is very general, that, owing to the comforts necessarili/ attending a (jood gaol, the Separate System, looked on at first witli alarm, has now no efi'ect in detcrrinij from crime those who are not reformed. * — Appendi.i' to former evidence. A second imprisonment seems to me to be very little feared, and a third one scarcely at all. It is only the first horror that does good. The frequent inefficiency of imprisonment is proved by the great numbers who, after long incarcerations in our very best gaols, return to us for unavoidable transportation. — Lord Cockburn. I fear the deterring effect of punishment is not \ery great. — Lord Medtvyn. I believe that there are some offenders who have great dread of long imprisonment; but in general I do not think that it has much terror for the bulk of offenders. — Lord Moncreiff. No doubt for offenders in comfortable circum- stances, or who being industrious are capable of maintaining their families by their labour, imprison- I have already (Vol. I. 174) ascribed the absence of reform atioii iu the Scotch prisons to other causes. The prisouers do too much work, and they have too little time for more corrective discipline. 288 PRISON DISCIPLINE. ment has its terrors, but these are by no means the bulk of offenders, as I conceive. — Mr. Justice Jack- son. I do not believe in the great deterring effect of punishment generally. I think it is over-rated. I think that a child being taken away by the arm of the law, and secluded from other children, they knowing that he is taken for punishment, and not seeing him again in his usual haunts, would have as much deterring effect as you can expect from punish- ment; but when a child is so dealt with, I should desire that his position should be made such as is best suited to reform him. — M. D. Hill, Esq., Q.C. 481. Do you consider imprisonment to be a punishment which has much terror for the bulk of offenders. I think not at all for the bulk. — E. Bullock, Esq. 726. From your intercourse with offenders, both before trial and after sentence, and even after part of the punishment has been undergone, is it your opinion that the power of penal infliction to deler from committing offences is, generally speaking, in these discussions overrated ? I think it is. 727. Do you consider that the preventive process by training and education, and the reformatory pro- cess, by means of confinement and of discipline in different degrees, is more to be relied upon as likely DETKURINQ EFFECT OF PUNISHMENT. 239 to diminish the number of offences than the m:re deterring effect of punishment? Undoubtedly. It is that which makes me so de- cided an advocate for a reformatory rather than a merely deterring process. — Rev. W. Russell. 1454. Your opinion then is, that the deterring effect of punishment is generally considerably over- rated ? Yes. 1455. You would trust more to the influence of a reformatory and preventive process ? Yes. — Rev. W. C. Oshorn, Chaplain of Bath Gaol. 2356. Is it your opinion that the deterring effect — the exemplary effect of all punishment upon per- sons who have not yet been guilty of offences — is over- rated by most reasoners upon this subject, and that it has not so great an effect in deterring as is supposed ? I think it has not so great an effect in deterring as is generally supposed; but I think there is this moral effect produced by punishments, that persons naturally ascribe a moral delinquency to that which they see affected with punishment. — Mr. Scrgcaiil Manning. 2615. What is your opinion of the deterring effect of the punishment of imprisonment together with hard labour and solitary confinement ? On the whole I slio\dd say that imprisonment has VOL. II. T 290 PRISON DISCIPLINE. very little deterring effect. I would qualify that by saying that in the ease of first offences, or of persons in a somewhat better class of life, it has a deterring effect ; but there I think it is rather a proclamation of guilt, and the loss of character and caste, conse- quent upon it which operates than any fear of the punishment itself. — Right, Hon, F. Shaw, M. P. 3666. What is your opinion generally of the deterring effect of punishment ; do you consider that it has been over-rated, and that punishment really has not so great an effect as is supposed and hoped for in deterring others ? I am afraid that it has not any great effect, looking at the result, at the number of re-commitments after prisoners had been in some of the best prisons ; for instance the number of those sent from the Perth general prison to our prison is very large. — Governo^^ of Edinburgh Gaol. WAGES FOR OVERWORK INJURIOUS. 291 EVIDENCE AS TO ALLOWING WAGES FOR OVER-WORK DONE BY PRISONERS. 3392. From your experience of prisoners, and of the execution of criminal law, do you agree with those who consider that the deterring effect of all punish- ment is somewhat exaggerated in the common belief of people; that without saying that it has no deter- ring effect, it is not to be so mucli relied upon as many people think ? I do not think imprisonment is much to be relied upon ; and I think that the endeavour to com- bine reformation of the criminals with the deterring others has not had the effect of deterring those out of prison from committing crime, because in periods of difficulty in getting work, when those parties know how comfortable the prisons are, they are less unwilling to commit an offence because they may be sent there. And another element that in my opinion has operated rather prejudicially in Scotland is that the prisoners have had a right to what is called their over-work. The labour in all the Scotch Prisons is useful and profitable labour, and the prisoners are employed ten hours a day for the prison; what work is done beyond that is over-work, and the prisoners have had it, as a matter of right, on liberation; whereas any thing that a prisoner can claim as a matter of right, while a prisoner, and because of his labour after conviction, seems to me to be inconsistent with the deterring principle. We t2 2J2 PRISON DISCIPLINE. have had cases of prisoners, calling themselves credi- tors of the prisoners, using arrestment in the hands of the Governor of the Prison. 3391. You think that work being found in the prison at a time when it may be difficult to find work out of doors offers a temptation to parties to commit crime ? Yes. We have, at the General Board of Prisons for Scotland, framed new regulations, which are now before Sir George Grey for his sanction, whereby the right to any over-work is excluded. There was, however, a slight difference of opinion on this point; I believe the Inspector of Prisons in Scotland is rather in favour of continuing these supposed rights of the prisoners, but the General Board came to be of the opinion that it was injurious; and one of the regulations submitted to the Secretary of State, for approval, puts an end to the right to over-work; and we have proposed that the Governor shall have a discretionary power, if the prisoner shall be well conducted during the time he has been in prison, to allow him something in the shape of money or clothes on his liberation. 3397. How much have you known any man re- ceive for over-work when he was liberated? I remember one instance of a lad who was liberated at the time I happened to be on a visit as a Director at the General Prison. We were in the bake of the house, another prisoner was there employed, and he carried on signals with some one going out, and he WAGES TO PIIISONERS INJURIOUS. 293 said "John or Thomas so-and-so has been licie, and he has gone out with 3/. 4.v." 3398. How long had he been in prison? Twelve months at least. 3399. You say that the attenijit to combine those two results, the reformation of the criminal and the deterring of evil-disposed persons, has hitherto failed. Do you think your experience of it has gone on so far as to enable you to give that opinion generally ? No. I would speak with the caution which I feel to be proper in such a case, because we have not had very long experience; but looking to the ex- l)erience of five years, and the result, which shows that sixty-seven per cent, of those who have passed through the general prison have been ascertained to have been re-committed, it does not seem to me that the combined system is producing such good effects as could be wished. 3400. What part of the reformatory system is it whicli you think makes the expectation of the pi ison less hateful to those people who are to be reformed, because our general experience shows us that those people very much dislike that which is reformatory? The feelings seems to be that when they get use- ful and profitable labour, books to read, and the in- struction of the teachers,* and their society for the * In a former part of this cvideuce we find this question— " How many minutes in the day is each taught ? Upon the average seven or eight minutes." The inference then is plain. The profitiihio labour interferes with corrective instruction, and reformation is prevented. See Vol. i. chap. viii. 29 4 PllISON DISCIPLINE. time, the mind is relieved of the tedium of impri- sonment. 3401. Then you consider that useful labour is the reformatory part that is objectionable ? It is a part. The having constant occupation at useful and profitable labour with a view to make the prisoners useful members of society when they go out, combined with good food, better than they can get when they are out of prison, and combined also with education, (for they are taught to read and write,) all those things seem, at present, so far as my experience goes, to diminish the deterring effect. I do not think that our system has worked well with reference to prisoners generally, in so far as that combination of reformation and deterring has hitherto gone. In my opinion all our first imprisonments under police and other regulations, and even some of them under the sheriff's regulations, are most in- jurious. Instead of a lad being imprisoned for the first time, say for ten days, for theft, if he were im- prisoned much longer and kept separate from all others, (which I conceive is a material element), the separation from evil society and giving him the bene- fit of a course of sound education would, I think, have a very good deterring effect upon others com- bined with reformation of the criminal himself. 3402. Then the length of the longer imprison- ments under this Separate System, in which they are not allowed to associate at all with each other, does not compensate for the advantages and enjoyments which the prisoners possess!* WAGES TO PRISONERS INJURIOUS. 205 Separation from society is the only element we have in our prison system of a deterring kind; taking away their work prisoners consider a punishment. — Evidence of II. Wlii(jham, Esq. 3067. Have you had any opportunity of observing the working of the system in the General Prison at Pertli ? Only as far as the re-commitments to the Prison at Edinburgh ; we have sent a large number from the Prison at Edinburgh to the General Prison at Perth ; and a very large number have been re-committed. — Governor of Edinburijh Gaol. 296 PRISON DISCIPLINE. EXTRACTS FROM EVIDENCE ON TRANSPORTATION. * * * Transportation, or exile after a period of imprisonment here under a sentence of transpor- tation, has, in certain cases, been substituted for it. What do you mean by " exile ? " I mean removal to the Australian Colonies for the remaining period of the original sentence. When was that begun ? In 1842. Has that been acted upon to any great extent? Not to any very great extent. Can you state how many in the course of a year? About 200 or 300. Do they all go to one place ? They have all gone to one place — the district of Port Philip, in the southern part of New South Wales. Have you received any information as to the man- ner in which they have conducted themselves there ? Most satisfactory information. Were they under any restraint when they got there ? No ; they had a conditional pardon : they were there as free settlers. The only restriction upon them was, that they should not return to this country during the remainder of the term of their original sentence. Then that system of transportation, after a period of labour and probation, has turned out well, in your jiulgment? EVIDENCE AS TO TRANSPORTATION. 207 After a period of separation, and corrective and reformatory discipline in separation, it has turned out, in my opinion, most satisfactory. Was it accompanied with labour? In all cases with learning a trade, or practising a trade with which they were previousl}^ acquainted ; not what is penally called " hard labour," but such trades as shoemaking, weaving, basket-making, and other handicraft occupations. Do you not consider that with convicts of that kind, in order that the sentence of transportation may have its deterring effect, they ought to be sent away as quickly as possible to their destination in the penal colony ? I am not of that opinion. I think that the deter- ring influence of the sentence would not be much diminished if it was to be carried ultimately into effect; but preceded by a course of corrective and reformatory discipline, in separation, we should thus secure the advantages resulting from the reformatory process without diminishing materially, if at all, the deterring influence of the sentence of transportation. Then it is your opinion that the best way to deal with a man who is sentenced to be transported for fourteen years is first to imprison him for two years and then to send him to Van Diemen's Land for twelve ? Yes. I think the best plan would be, first to im- prison him here, under circumstances calculated to correct and reform him, and then to send him to an 298 PRISON DISCIPLINE. Australian or some other distant colony, not naming any one in particular, but decidedly not a penal colony, and where he should be under no penal restraints, unless he commits a fresh offence. Is that what you mean by transportation ? It is ; and I think it would be much felt by the convict population. Do you believe that a hardened receiver of stolen goods, who has been twenty years in the trade, would have as much dread of being kept two or three years in this country, and afterwards being sent for eight or ten or twelve years among fellow emigrants to a free colony to do as he chose there ? I am decidedly of that opinion. And that that would terrify him as much as being sent away after he was convicted for fourteen years to a penal settlement, worked in a prison dress, and obliged to labour in a penal gang ? I believe that if he were to be placed in strict se- clusion and separation for a period of from eighteen months to three years, according to the length of the sentence, to be followed by removal to a distant colony, particularly of an agricultural character, where he would be removed from tiie town habits, l)leasures, and indulgences to which he has been accustomed, the man would feel that as a punish- ment quite as much as the being sent at once to a penal colony, with a strict penal system. Do you mean to say that your opinion is, that ul'lcr being ktpt Ino years reforming here, the EVIDENCE AS TO TRANSPORTATION. 299 working for twelve years afterwards as he chooses himself, and at perfect liberty, in a colony, would have as great terror in his eyes as the being since the moment he gets to the colony to be put into a penal gang, and worked like a galley slave under the superintendence of a driver ? I can only answer the question from my experience. In the examination of transports for classification, I frequently find that when they perceive by my line of questions that there is a probability of their being removed to Pentonville Prison, it is no unusual ob- servation of theirs to say, " I hope. Sir, you are not going to send me to the model, but that you will let me go abroad at once," though it is now well under- stood that the system enforced in the penal colonies is very severe. You recommend as part of the sentence a period of imprisonment and seclusion for a period of eighteen months to two years ; do you believe from your experience that with the great bulk of convicts it would be practicable to continue the discipline of Pentonville or of Parkhurst for the period of from eighteen months to two years without serious risk ? From close examination of the subject, I believe that such a system of discipline as that at Penton- ville may be enforced with perfect safety for even a period of three years. The period of eighteen months to be applied to sentences of transportation not exceeding ten years ; two years for sentences not exceeding fourteen or fifteen years j two years 300 PRISON DISCIPLINE. and six months for sentences of twenty-one years ; and three years for sentences for life. And I will state the grounds upon which I form that opinion. We have had prisoners at Pentonville as long as from twenty-two to twenty-four months. The Sur- geon-superintendent of the Sir George Seymour, who took out between three and four hundred whose terms of imprisonment in Pentonville Prison had been from fifteen to twenty-two months after dif- ferent terms of detention in other prisons, stated in an examination before the Commissioners, that he saw no difference between the prisoners who had been those terms in the prison ; that he could not observe any difference in the condition of the men, intellectually or physically, between those who had been fifteen and twenty-two months (nearly two years) under that discipline ; that he did not ob- serve any deterioration or loss of strength in them as compared with other convicts ; and that he should say that their faculties were in a more vigorous and healthy condition than any other prisoners that he had hitherto observed (although he had taken out three convict ships previously) ; that they were de- cidedly in a more wholesome condition altogether ; that they were morally better, and physically as well as any other class of convicts. This is one of the grounds upon which I rest my opinion as to the safety of enforcing lengthened terms of separate con- finement, and I could add many others. You say there is nothing (hose people dread so EVIDENCE AS TO TRANSPORTATION. 301 much as being transported, — that they do not dread imprisonment so much as being transported ; would they more dread being imprisoned two years, and then transported to a penal colony for twelve years, or would they dread most being at once, in a week or ten days after their conviction, transported to a penal colony ? I think there is such a dread amongst the crimi- nal class of the system of separation being imme- diately brought to bear upon them, that they wouhl dread the punishment of separation for such a time, followed by removal to a distant colony, as much as immediate transportation to a penal colony. To what class of people do you apply your ob- servation, that some have been obliged to be put in the company of othera for fear of committing suicide ? To those just sentenced to transportation. Would not the sentence tend to have that effect of driving them to suicide, if they thought they were to be transported in three or four weeks after their conviction ? Certainly. Then has not immediate transportation a very powerful effect in terrifying a person ? I have no doubt that it has a very powerful effect ; but I believe that if the sentence were of the other kind (i. e., transportation preceded by eighteen or more months' separate confinement at home), it would have an equally povverful effect. Your notion of a perfect system of penal punish- 302 PRISON DISCIPLINK. ment would be, imprisoned under discipline for a certain time, and then to be sent away to a distant colony, without any restraint whatever, for the re- mainder of their term ? That is so. Take this case : — Supposing a prisoner were to become most cheerfully industrious, and to work very hard during the two years, and never to be guilty of the slightest offence during his imprison- ment, and to give universal and unvarying satisfac- tion to all about him during those two years, should you not think that it was a hard thing if at the end of those two years he was not to be restored to society altogether, the utmost confidence being enter- tained that he was a completely reformed criminal ? Certainly not ; I should feel that to send him abroad would be continuing the course most advan- tageous to himself, and that sending him back to society in this country would be the greatest un- kindness you could do him.* — Rev. W. Russell. * I feel very confident that Mr. Russell was quite right in his opinion here strongly expressed. There are convicts now in the Gaol at Reading whose behaviour has been most satis- factory since their committal, but to whom permission to remain in this country, even under the most favourable circumstances "would be the greatest unkindness." It was but yesterday that the father of one of this class came from a distance to visit his only son, bringing with him a letter from a clergyman, in which he tells me that the father is a man of superior mtelli- gencc, and a religious as well as moral character. I had much conversation with him respecting his son, and certainly never met with a man who shewed more sound judgment, combined EVIDENCE AS TO TRANSPORTATION. 303 My opinion, strengthened by tliat of all my brethren with whom I have had the opportunity of conferring, is, that it would be unsafe and highly inexpedient to dispense altogether with transporta- tion. By the present law I am not aware that there is any offence punishable by transportation which ought not to be so punished. — Lord Dcnman. My opinion is strongly in favour of transportation as a punishment, and mainly upon the ground that it removes the offender from his old habits and associates, and, if properly dealt with abroad, intro- duces new habits and new ideas, under the influence of which reformation may take place. There if? with ardent parental affection. After his interview with the crimmal, I again saw him. The agonized heart of the father for a while forbade utterance; then clasping his hands, with an expression of countenance, not to be described, but certainly not to bo forgotten by him wlio saw it, he exclaimed, "Thank God for what I have seen to day ! I never hoped to sec such a blessed — blessed day as this ! What a change, thank God ! " When the poor man was sufficiently recovered, I questioned him as to whether he would desire the return of his son to his own home. After a moment's hesitation, he answered, "No Sir; I can't wish that. I have got a father's feelings, and he is a very affectionate son, he is perhaps too kind- hearted, but I am afraid his coming home again would be the worst thing that could be for him, his good temper could not resist the temptations of the company he mixed with. 1 must help him with all I can to get a living where he may iro to." 304 PRISON DISCIPLINE. besides little reason to expect or hope that a person who has committed such a crime as is usually punished by transportation would ever obtain such honest employment in this country as would prevent the inducement of want for his relapsing into crime. As far as my experience goes, transportation is generally much dreaded as a punishment, and chiefly, I believe, for the reason that induces me to approve it, — the removal of the offender from all his old associates and habits ; as long as he remains in England, under whatever circumstances he may be placed, he feels within reach of his old associates, and is not without hope of rejoining them. Cases no doubt may and do occur where the separation may be felt with more than usual severity, but, as far as I am able to judge, few families are the better for retaining in this country, after a period of im- prisonment, a father, husband, or son who has been guilty of such a crime as subjects him to transpor- tation. It is also possible that cases may occur when from the station in life of the offender, or some peculiar circumstances, the punishment of transportation may appear more than ordinarily se- vere ; but it is impossible to legislate for individual cases, and they who condescend to commit crimes punishable by law with transportation must not be heard to complain that in their cases the punishment is more severe than in ordinary cases, even if it is so, which, except in some very rare instances, may well be doubted. — Mr. Justice Wi(/htman. EVIDENCE AS TO TRANSPORTATION. 305 I look upon transportation, by which I understand a penal removal of offenders to another country, as a proper punishment to be retained in the case of all criminals. It is a balance of evils, and the less evil is in retaining it. * * * The evil of transportation as it now exists seems to me to fall on the colonies, the mother country, even at present, has much benefit from it. Whether it be just to inflict such an evil on the colonies is quite a different question, and one on which I entertain grave doubts. I am clearly, however, of opinion, that nothing can justify the mother country in sending out such criminals without a previous Penitentiary System being adopted to make them less unfit to become useful members of a new society. I think if such a system were adopted, and those only sent out who appeared likely to behave well, much advantage would follow, as in a new country where labour is at a premium they would have a better chance of permanent amendment. As to the incorrigible, I think the mother country ought to keep them in imprisonment during the term of their transporta- tion. There are some odious offences for which that punishment, even for life, and which should include separation, appears to me the only proper course to pursue. — Mr. Baron Alderson. It is frequently found that off^enders, both lads and particularly women (with the latter of whom trans- portation is generally an object of great abhorrence), VOL. II. u 306 PRISON DISCIPLINE. are heard to heg/or the punishment of transportation rather than imprisonment, and are known to declare that it is the only thing to save them from ruin. But it is a great mistake to suppose that this feeling arises fiom a greater dread of imprisonment, or from trans- portation itself not being regarded as a fearful fate. These unhappy creatures are often persons who would gladly escape, if they could, from the over- powering misery and wretchedness of the life they are actually leading, — especially women; but im- prisonment, (whatever they have been taught in gaol, and even after many good impressions have been produced,) only returns them to the place of their former habits and associates ; they cannot get employment; they are distrusted by all; occupation they have none; their former companions get round them, and they are assailed with temptations on the one hand and utter destitution on the other; and they find themselves against their wishes, and after strug- gles and attempts (which I have often heard of with deep interest) to keep themselves aloof from former guilt, at last gradually dragged back into the habits and the crimes which give the means of a wretched and precarious subsistence, until they are again con- victed and again imprisoned. Such persons often feel the greatest desire to escape from their mode of life, and know transportation to be their only chance. But so far from this feeling, often expressed and often entertained, making against the punish- ment of transportation, it is, in my opinion, the EVIDENCE AS TO TRANSrORTATION. 3()7 Strongest practical proof of the inefficiency of im- prisonment, as to a great class of offenders, as the means of deterring or reforming them. This feeling as to transportation is on the part of the criminals themselves the confession that imprisonment is use- less, and has been found by them to be useless, when respectable employment cannot be secured after liberation, — a result certain to happen as to the great bulk of oflfenders. — The Lord Justice Clerk. I do not think that any measure that can be de- vised will be effectual to repress offences. But I am of opinion that transportation has great terror for certain classes of the community, and that for other classes, who do not well understand what it is, it carries with it very little, if any, terror. It is cer- tainly impossible for any one to say that it has been effectual to prevent the commission of crimes ; but I nevertheless think that it has been in many ways useful in repressing certain offences, and by the re- moval of hardened offenders from the country pre- venting much of the evil arising from their organized associations. And for the young offenders, when they have come to a certain state of irretrievable character in this country, I think that, i/ well regu- lated, it aflfords a chance at least of change of prin- ciples and habits, which would not be obtained by any other arrangement which I have yet seen in practical exercise. — Lord Moncreiff. U2 308 PRISON DISCIPLINE. I think that in a great many cases transportation is calculated to be much more eflfectual for the re- pression of offences than punishment by confine- ment in this country, in the manner hitherto prac- tised, and no other mode of confinement occurs to me to be likely to be attended with materially better consequences. It humbly appears to me, that none could be expected to ensue, if after the expiry of the period of imprisonment such offenders (I mean those who at present would be condemned to trans- portation) were not required to leave the kingdom, and some method devised to secure their exclusion, but at once turned loose upon the country. In any other view, I should conceive that nothing was to be looked for, in the great majority of instances, but a return to their former vicious courses. — Lord Wood. The Separate System as in operation in the pri- sons at Pentonville, Glasgow, and the Penitentiary at Belfast, appears to me to afford a greater chance of reforming culprits than any other kind of punish- ment or discipline that has yet been discovered or suggested ; followed by transportation in cases where that punishment is to be retained it may, I think, be fairly expected to be generally effectual for all the purposes intended to be effected. In Ireland, how- ever, there are not at present any means for carrying on such a system of discipline, except at Belfast ; and I regret to say that there are now a vast num- ber of persons under sentence of transportation for EVIDENCE CONCERNING TRANSrORTATION. 309 crimes of such a character as to render their perma- nent removal from the country absolutely necessary ; and there can be no doubt that if they were pre- viously subjected to the discipline and instruction of such institutions as Pentonville, the same bene- ficial results would be produced as those which, as I understand, have been already experienced from them. The employment of these convicts in public works might be resorted to as a temporary expe- dient, but I believe that the trials that have been made of this measure have not tended to recommend its adoption ; and certainly the employment of Irish convicts on any public work in Ireland would be in the highest degree inexpedient, and in my opinion be most mischievous. The cases in which I would retain the power of transportation (not being able to devise any substitute for it) would be those in which from the nature of the crimes, and the hardened guilt of the offender, it would probably be unsafe, with a due regard to the general safety and interests of society, that the convict should be allowed to be at large in this country. — The Lord Chief Justice Dlaclcburne. I cannot conceive that this country can benefit by giving up such a safety valve as our colonies afford for removing criminals from among our in- creasing population. — Lord Medwyn. The use of transportation, where imprisonment has failed, is, that it breaJiS all the habits and asso- 310 PRISON DISCIPLINE. ciations of the youthful offender, and gives a chance of his coming to a right use of his understanding, for his own present and eternal benefit. It certainly requires much regulation ; but I should not think that this is beyond the reach of legislation or judi- cious arrangement.-— Lo?y/ Moncreiff. Can you state the number sentenced to transport tation in a year ? I have no return with me for Scotland or Ireland ; but in England and Wales, in 1844, there were 3,437 sentenced to transportation. In the year 1845, the number sentenced to transportation was 3,092 ; male adults, 2,427, 278 female adults, 364 juvenile males, and 23 juvenile females, making a total of 3,092. Do you know what is the proportion in Scotland and Ireland ? In Ireland I think there are about 500, and in Scotland perhaps the same number. There has been a diminution in the number sentenced to transportation of late. In 1842, it was 4,229 ; 1843, 4,166 ; 1844, 3,437 3 and in 1845, 3092.^ llev. W, Russell, With reference to the deterring effect of any other serjtence as compared with transportation ; suppose a sentence that a man should be imprisoned for eighteen months in separate confinement, and that after that he should be worked for two years in hard EVIDENCE CONCERNING TnANSPORTATION. 311 labour, and afterwards sent abroad, but that lie should be allowed after being sent abroad to Aus- tralia to go where he pleased, do you conceive that that would or would not have as much deterring effect as the sentence of transportation carried into execution in the ordinary way ? I am inclined to think that what is now describeil would be regarded by prisoners as more severe tlian transportation in the ordinary way. — F. Hill, Esq. 1835. Is it your opinion that prisoners when they eome to Millbank under sentence of transportation would prefer immediate transportation, or passing through the discipline of Pentonville ? Unquestionably immediate transportation. * * I think that a convict would look upon a fifteen months' imprisonment of itself a severe punishment, if the separate system were carried out with the same rigour that it is at Pentonville. — Capt. Groves, Governor of Millbank Prison. 1955. Are you enabled to form any compari- son between the relative impression made upon the mind of a prisoner by a sentence of transporta- tion, supjjosing that it is carried into efl'ect imme- diately, and a sentence of the sort of transportation to which the convict is subjected after having passed eighteen months in Pentonville ? Which do you think would have the most deterring effect upon a ciiniinal ? 312 PRISON DISCIPLINE. The greatest part of the criminals that have passed under my notice would certainly have chosen imme- diate transportation, though under so much greater disadvantages, rather than the eighteen months sepa- rate confinement with all the advantages of exile, as it is called, subsequently. I am quite clear upon that. — Rev. J. Kingsmill, Chaplain to Pentonville Prison. 2720. Do you think that it would be unsafe to dispense altogether with the punishment of trans- portation in those cases in which parties are now sentenced to transportation ? So far as my experience goes I certainly do think it would be very unsafe that transportation should cease in this country. I can only look to what I consider would have been the effect if transportation had ceased some years ago ; I think the state of this country would have been dreadhil at the present moment. I certainly consider that the state of this metropolis and of other large towns would have been similar to that of Paris ; for we know that a criminal population collected together in hordes are always the ready instruments of popular violence. — Capt. W. J. Williams, Inspector of Prisons. 2509. You have stated the extraordinary increase in crime in Norway. What is the opinion in Norway as to the cause of that increase ? There is great difference upon that. Some say that it is want of education; others say that experi- EVIDENCE CONCERNING TRANSPOKTATION. 313 ence has not proved that the want of education increases the number of crimes. The education in our country is not perfect; it is an education which is given to all members of the community. It is compulsory. All persons can learn at least to read; great numbers of them can write also. It is in the great cities principally that this immense increase his taken place; in Christiania principally. There has been, I think, condemned or tried one out of ninety of the population yearly in some years. 2515. Have you in the country many persons living at liberty who have passed a considerable time in prison for crime ? We have. 2516. What becomes of them ? A very great part of them remain in the vicinity of Christiania. It is, therefore, that that city is so infested with offenders. 2521. Is there a great number of bad people at Christiania ? Yes; I think there are 1,000 discharged prisoners in the city and its environs. The great cause of the increase of criminals is partly that the population of the whole country has very much increased of late years, and perhaps more than the means of sub- sistence. The population of the country in 1815 was 900,000 ; now it is near 1,300,000. Heir Munch Rcedev, commissioned bv the Nor- wegian Government to visit this country, for the purpose of examining the working of the system of trial by jury, civil and criminal. 314 PRISON DISCIPLINE. 2900. Including taint of character, do you think it would be very practicable under those circum- stances for even a reformed convict to obtain em- ployment in this country. I am sure that under eitliex" the present state of things, or any contemplated state of things, it would be exceedingly difficult for a reformed convict to acquire an honest living in this country. 2901. During the interval between the discharge of such a convict and his acquiring the power of ob- taining an honest living, would he not be exposed to all the temptations of reverting to his former courses ? Undoubtedly. 2902. Have you any doubt that, in a great com- munity like that of London, he would in that way be driven to new offences and new crimes ? I have no doubt whatever that an adult criminal discharged, after having suffered a period of impri- sonment here, would almost, by the necessity of circumstances, be driven to the commission of crime. 2903. Have you had any means of access to com- munications which convicts have made from abroad to their friends at home ? I have. I believe they were very generally highly coloured as to the advantages of colonial life. 2904. With reference both to the power of his ob- taining employment and to the absence of temptation, assuming that a convict has been reformed abroad, do not you think lie has a better chance of obtaining the means of living by honest industry, and of es- EVIDENCE CONCERNING TRANSPORTATION. 315 caping temptations to crime, than he would if he were discharged in the centre of London or in the manufacturing districts of England? Undoubtedly. A new country presents far more opportunities of regaining a position, or of obtaining one, than can be the case with reference to an old country. In illustration of this, I may mention that I have with me now a Report of the prisons in Mas- sachusetts, in which it appears that 3,500 prisoners confined in fifteen gaols in that country were enabled to maintain themselves, and defray the charges of the gaol during their imprisonment; and they were all readily absorbed by the demand for labour as soon as they were discharged from it. 2905. Does that Report from the Province of Massachusetts enable you to say whether they were absorbed in the labour market of Massachusetts itself, or whether they were induced to go to a new settlement to obtain employment ? I am enabled to give an answer to that question from the fact that Mr. Lewis Dvvight, the Secretary of that society, has given me an explanation of it. He states to me distinctly that they have been ab- sorbed by the surrounding demand for labour. That, in point of fact, their imprisonment in these gaols is attended with so little loss of character from the excellent arrangement of the system, that the citizens of Boston and the surrounding districts have not the slightest hesitation in taking prisoners when they are discharged. — C. Pearson, Esq., M.P. 313 PRISON DISCIPLINE. EXTRACTS FROM EVIDENCE AGAINST ASSOCIATING PRISONERS FOR LABOUR ON PUBLIC WORKS. LiEUT.-CoLONEL Jebb, Suiveyor-General of Prisons, is called in and examined as follows : 2015. Your attention has been recently turned to the point, whether any system of public works could be established in this country ? The Secretary of State directed me to report upon the details of a plan which the Government had it in contemplation to carry out, arising out of the circumstances which led the late Government to suspend transportation for a period of two years, which they had. Of course, in forming my calcu- lations, I had to assume certain data, and assuming that the sentences which heretofore had been seven and ten years' transportation were commuted to periods of three, four, or five years' imprisonment in this country, and that we had by our experience at Pentonville ascertained pretty nearly the period which would be safe for enforcing separate con- finement, (which I took at an average of twelve months), I assumed that four years might be the average period which possibly would be passed by the great mass of the adult convicts in this country ; one year of which would be passed in separate confinement and the remainder on public works. Excluding those who from physical disability were not likely to be sent upon public works, and exclu- CONVICT LABOUR OX PUBLIC WORKS. 317 ding juveniles and females, I estimated that there would be upon the hands of the Government at the end of four years about 8,000 men ; 2,000 of whom would be passing through the period of one year separate confinement, and the remaining 6,000 on public works. In the first instance it was proposed to construct a harbour of refuge at Portland, and about 1,500 men might be advantageously employed there for many years ; then upon the average 1,000 at each of the dockyards would be advantageously employed, and the harbour at Holyhead was talked of, and other great works, besides the works at Ber- muda and Gibraltar. There are also fortifications and other great national works under the Admiralty, which in consequence of the vast expense would not be undertaken by the Government unless they had some available labour to employ. 2020. Is it a part of your plan of employing those 6,000 men that their employment should be, for instance, the dockyards of Plymouth and Ports- mouth, under the eye of the public ? To a great extent ; but they would be under very ditTerent circumstances from the convicts employed upon the old hulk system. As far as I can judge of the moral result of separate confinement at Penton- ville, I think a very great moral result has been accomplished there, and that if they were brought from the Pentonville system into a modified system of association, with a view to their industrial train- ing on public works, and if a small proportion of 318 PRISON DISCIPLINE. wages were given them, and they had the same stimulus to labour which has been applied at Gib- raltar and Bermuda, by the engineer department, with good effect for many years, I think it would confirm in a great measure the industrial training which they had received. 2021. Would they not be known by the public who saw them to be convicts ? Certainly -, they would work in a particular dress. 2022. In public. Yes. 2023. Is it your opinion that it is a wholesome system of punishment, either for the public or for convicts, to work them by compulsion in public ? I do not think that if they are specially degraded in any way it can do otherwise than have a very bad effect. 2024. The question refers to the case of their working in a particular dress ? As a general principle I think it would have a bad effect, and working on public works in convict gangs has been always and very properly repro- bated. 2053. You have given in your plan to the govern- ment for temporary barracks, which are to be erected on Portland Island ? Yes, I have. Sir George Grey expressed a strong opinion against confinement in the Hulks, and de- sired me to report upon some means by which pro- vision could be made for accommodating a large body of convicts at Portland. I found that any CONVICT LABOUR ON PUBLIC WORKS. 319 thing like a pcrmamcnt building would cost so much that it would be out of the question, for a limited period of four or five years, that they might be em- ployed there. I therefore turned my attention to a principle of construction which would secure the advantage of being removable. The building was proposed to be partly wood and partly of iron. The general plan is that 'of large open halls, of which any number might be disposed so as to form a large establishment. Each hall would have small sleep- ing cells on the sides, arranged on galleries, so that every man would have a separate cell large enough to sleep in, and he would take his meals and receive instruction in the open hall. 2051. It would be impossible not to admit inter- communication among the prisoners ; there would be no restraint upon intercourse ? The plan of discipline would, I assume, be this : the prisoners being removed from the Pentonville system, where there is an opportunity of forming an opinion of their characters, would be taken to Portland, or elsewhere, perhaps, 100 of them at a time ; they may so then be divided into gangs of ten or twelve each, which is a convenient number, and a paid officer would be attached to each gang ; those gangs would be marched off, each under the superintendence of an officer, and would be em- ployed on whatever work there was for them to execute. They will in like manner be marched back to their cells at night or to their meals. 320 PRISON DISCIPLINE. According to the plans to which I have adverted, I estimated the expense of providing efficient accom- modation in removable buildings at from £25 to £35 a head for a large body of men. Do you approve a plan of making prisoners for grave offences and hardened criminals labour in public, as by working steam vessels or otherwise, closely confined, but seen by the public r I entirely disapprove of such a mode of punish- ment. — Lord Demnaii. I see no advantage, and some objections. — Mr. Justice Erie. I should think this plan very objectionable. — Mr. Justice Coleridge. I do not approve. — Mr. Justice Maule. This plan may have some advantages, but I think the disadvantages preponderate. — Mr. Justice Cresswell. I disapprove of this altogether. I believe such an exhibition would be very off^ensive to people in general, and would make the criminals objects of pity if the attention of the public were called to it ; and if it were not, it would be of no use whatever. I do not by this, however, intend any disapproba- CONVICT LABOUR ON PUBLIC WORKS. 321 tion of the employment of persons on public works, which I think very proper. — 3fr. Baron Alderson. I do not. I think it makes the convict a worse man, without a commensurate advantage to the public. — Mr. Justice Coltman. I incline to think that the public exhibition of criminals undergoing their punishment is likely to be very injurious, by sometimes exciting undue sympathy, and sometimes hardening the feelings of those by whom the criminals are contemplated. — Mr. Baron Rolfe. I cannot express an approval of any such plan as is suggested in this question, as I am unable to per- suade myself that such a spectacle as it contemplates would be at all suitable to the feelings or hal)its of the British public. If labour on public works is deemed a suitable punishment for certain hardened criminals, it appears to me that it should be under- gone under proper superintendence, but in situations remote from public view ; and that it would be quite sufficient that it was known that certain places were appropriated for the confinement and punishment of a certain class of offenders. — 21ie Lord Justice General. See opinion of the Lord Justice Clerk. — See vol. ii. p. 35. I do not ; by which I mean, that, if practicable, VOL. II. X 322 PRISON DISCIPLINE. I think transportation better. If, from expensiveness, colonial corruption, or any other cause, transporta- tion be impracticable, then making great criminals like public slaves may be unavoidable. But I do not see how it can tend to reform ; and I suspect (and almost hope) that the people of this country would not willingly submit to the spectacle. But though not reformatory, this punishment would, ap- parently, have horrors sufficient to make it terrify. — Lord Cockburn. I think such a plan would be offensive to the public in this free country. — Lord Medwyn. I can only answer to this question, that I regard such a plan of making prisoners of any kind 7vork in public, wider chains or restraint, with very great dread. — Lord Moncreiff. In this country I should think that the plan men- tioned in this query is not an advisable one, and would be generally disapproved of. — Lord Wood. T do not. — Lord Chief Justice Blackburne. I think a total separation of the convict from his family and friends, and from public view, preferable to a public exposure of him in the character of a Galley Slave, and this both in reference to his per- sonal improvement and to the effect upon others. — 3Ir. Justice Crampton. CONVICT LABOUR ON PUBLIC WORKS. 323 I think tho public exhibition injurious. — Mr. Justice Perrin. * * Strongly of opinion that a public demon- stration of criminal sulTering has not been, and is not likely to be, productive of a general beneficial effect. — 3Ir. Justice Burton. I do not think the exhibition of hardened crimi- nals while at work would much affect them; and, upon the whole, I do not see any advantage from the adoption of such a course, but rather the con- trary. — Chief Baron Richards. I think public opinion would revolt against any general public exhibition of criminal suffering. I think it would be injurious to the public, and not beneficial to the criminal. — Lord Chief Baron Pollock. Do you approve of a plan of making prisoners for grave offences and hardened convicts labour in pub- lic, as by working steam vessels or otherwise, closely confined, but seen by the public ? I object to the public witnessing the spectacle of punishment altogether. I think it docs no good to the public, and has a deteriorating and hardening effect upon the criminal. Does not it tend to make them shameless ? It tends to make them shameless. And again it x2 324 PRISON DISCIPLINE. is painful in the inverse ratio of the desert of the criminal. It is more painful to the well-disposed and less painful to the vicious. Does not it tend to make them callous? I think it must tend to make them utterly callous. And hostile to society ? And hostile to society. — 31. D. Hill, Esq., Q.C. 577. What is your opinion of the plan of working convicts during any part of their sentence in gangs on public works in England ? I believe that it would debase the minds and har- den the consciences of the convicts, and that it would have a like effect upon that portion of the public who might be brought to observe them. 578. What is your opinion with respect to making it the first stage, or any stage ? In any stage I believe that it would be impossible to free it from the most unhappy consequences. — Rev. W. Russell. 1041. What is your opinion of the effect of work- ing in public in hardening convicts or reclaiming them ? I think that if convicts are under an exclusively coercive system of discipline, it is most injurious, and tends to harden. And generally I think there is a great mistake in supposing that benefit is de- rived to the free from seeing punishment. I think that punishment should be known to be certain, but not be seen by the public. — CajH. 3Iaconochic, ll.N. CONVICT LABOUR ON PUBLIC WORKS. 325 2354. Are you favourable or adverse to the plan of working convicts in gangs on the public works:* Do you consider that it has a tendency to hardeu the offender, and that it is bad for the public ? I think in many cases it would have a tendency to harden the offender, but I do not think it would be productive of any injury to the public as the spectators of the punishment. 2355. Do not you consider that the seeing it has rather a hardening tendency ? I rather think not ; I think it would rather deter ; although I consider that the frequent repetition of such a sight would tend to harden. — Mr. Sergeant Manning. 2613 What is your opinion of a punishment which should consist of working convicts in galleys or on public works exposed to the view of the public ; do you consider that that would be beneficial or not in its effects upon the convicts? I should doubt the effect being good. I have seen men working in that way in gangs at Woolwich ; and when you see them working industriously and in an orderly manner, with chains round their legs or with any brand of infamy, I think it rather pro- duces compassion and sympathy, than a deterring effect upon the public mind, and that it has a ten- dency to confound industrial labour and criminal punishment. 201 1. Do you think that it has a hardening 326 PRISON DISCIPLINE. effect upon the prisoners, and makes them callous to shame ? Yes, I rather think it has. — Riyht Hon. F. Shaw, M.P. 2718. What is your opinion of the effect of put- ting convicts to public works, in gangs, so as to be seen by others ; are you favourable or unfavourable to that ? Do you think it has a hardening effect on the prisoners ? I can scarcely give an opinion upon that, not jiaving seen how the English mind would take a thing of the sort. I have seen it abroad. 2719. What is the effect upon prisoners; does it tend to make them callous ? I have no doubt of it. — Captain W. J. Williams, Inspector of Prisons. 3044. What is your opinion of the effect of the punishment, either upon the bystanders or upon the men themselves, of making them labour in gangs, exposed to public view ? I have never seen it tried. I am afraid that they would become so familiarised to it, if it were com- mon, that any serious impression would be removed. That is the natural effect when we are accustomed to see a thing done every day. For instance, in the case of flogging in the army some years back, when it prevailed very much, it became a matter of perfect indillerence to the men to witness the flogging when indicted weekly, or twice or thrice a week. CONVICT LABOUR ON PUBLIC WORKS. 327. 3045. What effect do you think working in gangs exposed to the gaze of the public is likely to pro- duce upon the criminals themselves ; is it likely to harden them, and make them shameless ? I consider that all severe punishment is likely to harden the prisoner. 3046. The question refers peculiarly to being ex- posed to the view of the public ? I think it would harden them ; I do not think it would improve them. — Captain Hanshrow, Governor of Lancaster Castle. 3158. Does it fall in your way to know much about the convicts in Portsmouth working upon the works ? Yes ; I see them often at work there. 3161. What is your opinion of the effect of that description of punishment upon prisoners, — the working in public ? I think it depends upon the situation the man had been in previously. Some men would feel very much ashamed, others would think nothing of it. From being constantly seen day after day, perhaps, that feeling would wear off. 3162. Is the punishment the hard work or the exposure ? I do not think they think much of the exposure after a certain time. They feel it at first, but they get accustomed to it. 3163. Do you think they get shameless and hardened r 328 PRISON DISCIPLINE. I think they do after a considerable time. 3164. What effect do you think it has upon the population of the place, upon the bystanders ? I think we are so accustomed to see it that we scarcely notice it. — Governor of Portsmouth Gaol. What is your opinion of convicts working on the different works in Scotland ? I think it would not do in Scotland at all. I think it would be looked upon as interfering with the ordinary labour of the Scotch people, and I also think that the Scotch feeling would revolt against it. 3426. Not only on account of its interfering with labour, but you think the public feeling would be against it ? It is my decided opinion that the public feeling would be against it, not only as an interference with the ordinary labour of the country, but against it on principle, that such an exhibition is a thing that thev would not like to see. 3427. Would it tend to produce sympathy with the criminal rather than with the law ? I think it might have that effect. 3428. Would it have the effect of hardening the criminal P I have not the least doubt that whether they were in steamboats or on public works it would have that effect. — R. Whigham, Esquire, 4105. Do you consider the working prisoners CONVICT LABOUR ON PUBLIC WORKS. 329 upon a penal gang at public works, as at Portsmouth, has a good effect upon the convict ? It is very painful and humiliating to see so many men in chains condemned to labour. 49 1 6. Has it a bad effect in hardening the convicts ? I am not aware. But I am an advocate for trans- porting the whole of them ; not to such settlements as they call penal settlements, under restrictions that have been productive of so much vice. I think they might be sent to various of our colonies with great benefit, being under such regulations as to labour there as would render it inconvenient, or in some degree a punishment, to be transported. I have heard of an intention to inct^rcerate and employ convicts at home, which I think would be extremely injudicious, for many reasons which cannot fail to present themselves to the minds of persons who at all consider the subject. — The Earl of Dundonald. 4378. Have you considered at all what would be the effect in Ireland of employing convicts in gangs working out of prison ? I think it would not be practicable. 4379. On what ground do you entertain that opinion ? I have seen in other countries gangs of persons, and you can only make them work by the appli- cation of means which would be repugnant to the feelings and tastes of the people in Ireland; and if those means were used the [)erson who applied tjiem 330 PRISON DISCIPLINE. would I think have a very short or uncertain tenure of his life. 4380. The sympathy which you have described as being very general in favour of the criminal you think would produce a considerable difficulty in the way of such forced labour exposed to public obser- vation ? It certainly would. — Captain Pollock, Siipendiary 3Iagistrale, Nenagh. PARKIIURST TRISON. 331 EVIDENCE CONCERNING PARKHURST PRISON. Captain Hall is called in, and examined as follows: 2182. You are the Governor of Parkhurst Prison? I am. 2183. How long have you been there? Three years and a half. 2184. What is the average age of the prisoners that are under your jurisdiction? All ages from ten to eighteen. I should suppose I have no boy under ten at the present moment. 2185. Are the lads sent to you afterwards trans- ported, or do they work out the whole of their sentence? They all go abroad, except some few, who, under peculiar circumstances, have been restored to liberty in England. 2186. The general rule is that the system has been considered as working out a part of the sentence preparatory to being transported ? Yes. 2187. Before they go out to what we now call exile ? Yes. 2188. What do you generally find to be the feelings of the lads themselves with regard to their going abroad? Generally they are very desirous of it indeed. There is a great desire to go abroad in a vast majority of instances. 2189. Does it appear to you that they would, in 33*2 PRISON DISCIPLINE. the first instance, be glad to be sent abroad, instead of being sent to prison, in many cases ? I am not able to give a decided opinion upon that point. They generally would prefer going abroad to returning to their own neighbourhood, provided they can get a pardon in the Colony. 2190. Are you enabled to establish a pretty good system of work at Parkhurst ? The boys are taught a variety of useful trades ; they are also employed in agriculture upon the land immediately adjoining the prison. They are taught the trades of shoemakers, carpenters, bricklayers, brick and tile makers, blacksmiths, bakers, as well as tailors ; we make all the clothing worn in the prison. 2191. What is the system of taking a boy ? In the first instance he is placed in a separate cell, where he is not allowed to communicate with any other prisoner, but is visited by the chaplain, the schoolmaster, and the instructor in knitting and tailoring, as well as by me ; he goes to school and to chapel, and is allowed there to be in company with other prisoners, but is not allowed to speak to them ; and after a few months he is passed into the general ward, where he is allowed to go to some trade, and to school in company with other pri- soners, to walk about in the yard, and while there to converse with other prisoners, under the eye of the warder, who would check any irregularity or im- propriety of conduct. EVIDENCE CONCERNING PARKHURST PRISON. 333 2192. And from that state he is sent abroad ? Yes. 2193 How long do they remain in the country? From two to three years in general, but sometimes longer. 2193. Have you observed a great difference in them towards the close of their term of imprison- ment, in point of exhibition, to what they exhibited when they were first put under your care ? Decidedly so ; a great difference between the second and the first year and a still greater differ- ence between the third and the former year ; there is a progressive improvement in the whole disposi- of the boy, I should say. 2195. As far as you could judge from external circumstances you consider that the influence of the system is beneficial? I think decidedly so. 2196. Have you had any opportunity of knowing about Lids that have gone abroad ? I hear from some of the youths themselves; I hear also occasionally from the Guardian under whose care sixty boys were sent to Western Australia. In respect to the boys more recently sent to Port Philip, a Report has been lately received from the Surgeon Superintendent. 2197. Was it a favourable Report? \ery favourable Reports in all the instances. One party sailed only in January last, and of them no Report has, of course, been received yet. 2198. Aie they free from all restraint? 334 PRISON DISCIPLINE. They receive pardons on landing, and if they are old enough to hire themselves out to masters they are allowed to do so. The younger boys were apprenticed. 2199. Are there any arrangements made in the Colony for receiving them ? In Western Australia there is an Officer of the Government, who is styled the Guardian of juvenile emigrants, who is paid a salary for apprenticing these boys, for visiting them once in six months, for seeing that the masters fulfil the conditions of in- denture, and that the boys also conduct themselves well. 1 fear there is no arrangement of this kind in the other Colonies, and it is a matter of very great importance. 2200. Do you conceive that some arrangement of that sort is very important ? Very necessary. If the Master of a Ship who takes out these boys lands them immediately on his arrival in x\ustralia, and if no provision is made for their subsistence, they must either have recourse to dishonest means for procuring subsistence, or to beg- ging, or else they would starve; the settlers in the country may not know of the arrival of a ship for some little time. 2201. Are they sent out as adult convicts are, under the charge of a Surgeon Superintendent ; is that the system ? That is the system. 2202. Are they readily absorbed in the popula- tion when they get there ? EVIDENCE CONCERNING PARKFIURST PRISON. 335 I believe very speedily ; of course there must be some days before settlers in country districts, remote from the Port, can be aware of their arrival. 2203. Do they take with them any certificate of character or conduct ? I have always given to the Surgeon Superintendent a list, describing the boy, his conduct at Parkhurst, and the trade which he had acquired, so that tlie Surgeon is enabled to recommend him to the master who applies for him. 2204. There is no regular classification of them, but you give the character of each individual ? Yes ; from my own intercourse with him, and also from the reports that I have received from various subordinate agents at Parkhurst. 2205. Have you ascertained from the boys them- selves much with regard to their previous life before they had been committed ? I examine every boy as to the state of circum- stances of his parents, the trade or employment, if any, which he has pursued, whether he has been at school, how long, and what has been the effect, every former conviction or case of imprisonment, and how many times he has been in custody. 2206. What has been the general class of people that has come under you ; what has been their pre- vious life ; have they generally been in some trade ? A large number of them have been a short time at school, and have run away from school and got into the compan}^ of idle boys about the streets, and 333 PRISON DISCIPLINE. have been so led into crime ; some few have been apprentices, and many have been in irregular employ- ment at very low wages. 2207. Do they, or a proportion of them, come from towns ? A very large proportion from towns ; extremely few from the rural districts. 2208. Have you had any means of knowing vi^hether, after they get there they are again punished there for offences committed in the colony ? I have the most accurate information from Western Australia. I saw a letter six months ago, from the Guardian there, who, speaking of sixty-two boys, said that fifty of them were first-rate lads, but that twelve were very troublesome indeed, and that great difficulties were felt in the way of disposing of them. 2209. Are the greater number of them orphans ? Several of them are orphans. A very large num- ber have lost one parent ; the surviving parent has married again, and the step-mother or step-father has ill-treated the children of the first marriage. 2210. Do you think that the system pursued at Parkhurst is of a nature to deter other boys from the commission of crime ? I believe that those who are outside the walls are ignorant of the system that is pursued, and therefore perhaps it cannot have much influence in that re- spect. Parkharst is a secluded place, and many persons do not know any thing about it. 2211. Do you think that if the punishment in- EVIDEN"CE COMCSRNTN'O PAllKriUUST PRrSON. 337 flicted upan these lads, at least these older ones, was immediate transportation to a penal colony, that it would be more terrifying to them than the strict discipline of the imprisonment at Parkhurst, and the subsequent expatriation ? I think in many cases it might ; but there is a very mistaken impression abroad with regard to the real character of transportation to the penal colonies. Man}^ boys have told me that they did not fear transportation, because they have seen men who have returned, who told them they had been very comfortable ; and although I have always told the boys that the system is much more strict now than it was a few years ago, they evidently distrust it, and many still think that after all they would not be very badly off. 2215. At Parkhurst is there a provision for good school education ? There is a very good school education indeed. 2216. Have you had an opportunity of being able to form a judgment as to what degree of education the generality of boys who come to you have had ; do you know whether a large proportion have had no education ? The very large majority, ninety-six or ninety- seven per cent., have been at school, but they have learned little or nothing ; they were truants. We have the truants from schools in all parts of the country. It is a remarkable fact, that of between eleven and twelve hundred boys that we have re- VOL. II. Y 338 PRISON DISCIPLINE. ceived into Parkhurst since 1838 there have been only thirty-six who have never been to school at all. 2218. Are they confined separately!* Upon their first arrival they are placed in a pro- bationary ward. 2219. For how long ? Four months is the shortest term. 2220. Do you find that has a tendency to aftect their health or their manner at all ? No, not the least. I never saw any evidence of injurious influence either upon mind or body in tlie appearance and condition of the boys. They are always in good spirits, cheerful and ha[)py. 2221. Although they have no communication with one another ? Ours is by no means a stringent Separate System, because a boy is taken out several times from his cell in the course of a day ; twenty minutes in the morning to wash him, shortly afterwards an hour to go to the chapel, an hour and a half for exercise, at school for two hours, and at evening prayers for fifteen minutes. 2222. And during that time he sees the other boys ? He sees them, but he cannot speak to them. At chapel they sit together. • 2223. How does he pass the remainder of his time when he is alone in his cell ? He is set to knit stockings; he has books; he has lessons to learn ; he is visited continually l)v the EVIDENCE CONCERNING PAliKIIURST PRISON. 330 officer of the ward, by the instructor, by the chap- lain, and by myself. 2224. Do you make it a rule to converse with them at the time, or only to look over them ? I visit them to converse with them as frequently as my other duties will allow, for I look upon it as a matter of great importance that I should gain a knowledge of the character and disposition of each boy. 2225. Do they take their meals together ? In separation ; in solitude while in the proba- tionary ward. 2226. Each boy separate ? Each boy separate; but after having passed through the probationary ward they take them to- gether, 360 in a large hall. 2227. When is the intercourse allowed in asso- ciation ? At certain periods of the day ; immediately after chapel, (before going to work), before dinner, before afternoon school, and before supper, they are allowed to walk about in the yards for a few minutes at each period. They are classed in wards of 100 to 200 boys, there being about three or four warders present to prevent any disturbance, any fighting or quar- relling, or any obscene or profane language. 2228. Are they allowed at that time to speak to each other "- Yes. 2229. Have they any amusements permitted ? During the last winter I permitted the older boys Y 2 340 PRISON DISCIPLINE. to play at leap-frog; the junior lads are allowed to play at various games in their yard; they have also gymnastic exercises, for which they have poles and ropes. 2230. But that is not until a certain time after they have been there ? During probationary time they have no recreation, properly so called. 2234. Have you found it practicable, when they have taken exercise in presence of each other, to prevent their communicating ? There are every now and then cases of boys at- tempting to communicate; they are almost always detected; but I have evidence which shows that there is a certain limited amount of communication. Boys contrive to make signs to each other which are under- stood. 2235. Have many cases come before you which lead you to think there is a recognition of the boys with their associates ? Yes; a boy often tells me that another lad has come from the place which he came from, and has told him about his friends; they converse on those subjects very much. 2236. Are they anxious about intelligence of that sort? Very. I never pass through the yard without many of them coming to me to ask me whether I can give them any information about their relatives. 2237. No correspondence passes between them; EVIDENCE CONCERNING rARKIIURST PRISON. 341 No, it is throiigli me; tlie prisoner does not write or receive any letters. I am permitted to inform tlic friends once in three months that the boy is well. 2239. What has been the state of health at Park- hurst generally ? Remarkably good; there have been fourteen deaths during eight years, out of nearly 1,200 boys. 2240. Can you tell us at all what is the average expense of the maintenance of the boys r It is now about one shilling and three-pence a boy a day; about twenty-two pounds a year, in- cluding all the salaries of officers, the diet and the clothing of prisoners, the tools and implements necessary for their employment, and books neces- sary for their instruction. 2241. It includes every thing? It includes every thing; that is the whole expense, except that of the building. Twenty-one pounds a year in future perhaps will be the whole expense, because bedding has been provided which will last for some years. 2242. Is there any difference made in the treat- ment of those who have been confined for more atrocious offences ? There is not. There is no classification with re- gard to crime. 2243. Do you make any classification at the prison with regard to age ? The younger boys are all separated from the older ones, and placed in an entirely different building; 342 PRISON DISCIPLINE. they have no communication with the other boys at all. The boys of thirteen and under are all separated from the older boys. 2247. Could you give me any idea of the pro- portion of the boys that can read and write easily ; have you considered the proportion of them ? The proportion who could read and write with tolerable readiness would be but small, and the pro- portion of those who have any real understanding of what they have read is very limited indeed. The numbers are stated precisely in the Chaplain's annual Reports. 2248. In point of fact there is a great majority uneducated ? The great majority are uneducated, I should say. 2249. When boys are to be sent abroad is it always for a long period ? They will be at liberty to return after the com- pletion of the sentence, the condition in the pardon being that they should not return to the mother country during that period. 2250. That has not been established long enough to know in what state they do return ? I saw a letter a short time ago from a boy who had been sent out to Western Australia, and ap- prenticed there, and who after the completion of his time had returned to England, but found great difficulty in obtaining employment at home, and was desirous of returning into domestic service in Australia. FOREIGN PRISONS. JVJ3 FOEEIGN PRISONS. The benevolence of the Cliristian is not bound by the shores which girt the land of his birth. Fellow-countrymen may have claims on his aflec- tions, and patriotism may perhaps limit his exertions, but his philanthropy embraces the world. There is no distant suBerer, whom he cannot assist, with whom he would not sympathize. If told that a source of crime is restrained, and, as a consequence, that a sourse of misery has been taken away, he welcomes the intelligence, and though it come from far, it affords delight. The reader, then, I trust, will find pleasure in the short notice of foreign prisons and penal improvements which the following pages may contain. But it is not merely to afford pleasure that I append this concise description. Prison Discipline, notvvitlistanding injprovements, is yet imperfect amongst us, and many a useful lesson may be learnt from the experiments and plans of other nations, although their penal enactments and the state of their prisons may still be inferior to our own. In these respects England indeed shines " V'clut inter igut's J/UiJii luiiiurcs " 344 PRISON DISCIPLINE. Still if we have received and are diffusing the brightest light on this once obscure and still difficult subject, let us not despise the guidance of more distant rays. It is the combination of such which will effectually lessen darkness, will shew where danger lies, and enable us to proceed with safety. In this part of my work I shall extract largely from the speeches of those eminent men from various countries who attended the Congres Penitentiaire at Frankfort and Brussels. The general harmony of feeling, the absence of all national jealousies, and the earnest desire to communicate that informa- tion which might correct errors, and encourage the liumane and judicious punishment of criminals, most happily distinguished the meetings of that philanthropic body. Each member seemed to feel that to impart the knowledge which by experience h'ld been obtained upon such a subject, so far from entailing loss, must tend to mutual advantage-— ** quod ab Ennio positum in una re, transferri potest* — Homo, qui erranti comiter monstrat viam. Quasi de suo Inniine lumen accendat, facit, Nibilomiiius ipsi lucet, cum illi accenderit." * Cicero de Ofllciis, Lib. i. cap. 16. a:\ieiiican prisons. 345 AMERICA. AMKillCA. — PRISONERS ASSOCIATED. — THE SOLITARY SYSTtM. — THE AUBURN SYSTEM. — SPEECH OF MR. G. SUMNER, OF BOS- TON, U.S. — DESCRIPTION OF RECENT PENITENTIARY REFORMS AND OF PRESENT FEELING AS TO PRISON DISCIPLINE. Much has been said in the foregoing pages re- specting the introduction of the Separate System into the United States of America. The contamina- tion of gaols, and the consequent increase of crime became so apparent and so perilous,* that in order *In addition to the particulars before given, the following anecdote, narrated by Robert Vaux, in his description of American prisons, may further shew the necessity for reform, even for the security of those to whose custody the criminals were entrusted ; and it certainly proves how little the keeper refeired to was fit for his office : — " A clergyman believing that benefit \vould result to the prisoners in the prison of Philadelphia from an occasional sermon, called on the keeper to inform him of his intention to preach * on the following Sunday.' This proved most unwelcome intelligence to the keeper, who instantly declared that such a measure was not only fraught with peril to the person who might deliver the address, but would involve also the risk of the escape of all the criminals, and the consequent pillage or murder of the citizens. To this the clergyman answered that he did not anticipate such a result, and for himself he did not apprehend even the sh'ghtcst injury. Leaving, however, the keeper utterly unconvinced, he waited upon the bhcril!' who, on bciug 346 PRISON DISCll'MNK. to avert the evils which it was foreseen must be the inevitable consequence of pursuing the system of associating criminals in prison, the very opposite extreme was rashly attempted. Some prisoners were immured in mere pits (to call them cells would be to confound terms) in a state of uninterrupted still- ness, of constant solitude, without instruction, con- told what had passed, issued a written order to the jailer to prepare for the intended reUgious service. At the appointed time the clergyman repaired to the prison, and was there received with a reserve bordering on incivihty. The keeper reluctantly admitted him through the iron gate, to a platform at the top of the steps leading to the yard, where a loaded cannon was placed, and a man beside it with a match. The motley concourse of prisoners was arranged in a solid column, extended to the greatest distance which the wall would allow, and in front of the instrument prepared for their desti notion in the event of the least commotion. This formidable appa- ratus failed to intimidate or obstruct the preacher, who discoursed to the unhappy multitude for almost an hour, not only unmolested, but as he had reason to think, with advan- tage to his hearers, most of whom gave him their respectful attention, and all behaved with much greater decency than he expected. This sermon, it is asserted, was the first ever delivered to the whole of the prisoners in Philadelphia, and perhaps it preceded every attempt of the kind in any other city. Be that as it may, the duty in this case was performed under very extraordinary circumstances. Not long afterwards, when Bishiip White was about to officiate in the same prison, the keejicr, with similar designs, very significantly advised him to leave his watch on the outside of the gateway, lest it should be junloiued ; but the intimation was disregarded, and the service adminit^tercd without molestation. AMERICAN PRISONS. 347 solution, or advice; deprived not only of all inter- course with fellow-beings, but, as far as could be, of any evidence of things living. Thrust into these dungeons, wdiich were dark and damp, and left to the gloomy reflections of a guilty mind, those frightful results, which men possessed of common observation and forcKsight might have anticipated, speedily ensued. Disease, death, and madness forbade the continuance of such a plan; and so disastrous were the conse- quences that, we may hope, they have prevented for ever the renew'al of an experiment so ill-judged and cruel. This was that soUtary system abhorrent to humanity, the detestation of which survives its abo- lition, and which unhappily still excites a piepidice against that separate imprisonment which, however similar in its name, is, as we have shew^n, so unlike in its nature and effects. This sad result has pre- vailed in America as elsewhere, and the shock pro- duced upon every humane mind has tended to retard the progress of that penitentiary system to which entire seclusion should have given place. Instead of this a plan was proposed and pursued at Auburn and in other places, whereby prisoners were associated, but silence enforced. If this was less cruel, it was as little corrective ; and the results have been so unsatisfactory, that we may rejoice in the prospect of its being ere long abandoned. I cannot better describe the present state of prison discipline in America than by giving the following extracts from the speech of Mr. Sumner, who having recently 348 PRISON DISCIPLINE. visited our prisons in England, attended the late Congres Penitentiaire at Brussels : — " If the cellular system has not made great progress in the United States during the last year, the system opposed to it, the Auburn system, has made a decidedly retrograde move- raeiit, and several prisons, subject to this regime, have greatly modified it. They have almost entirely changed the discipline, and have been obliged, by the force of facts, to abandon the regulation of absolute silence. In the State of New York, where the Auburn system was first adopted, they established a new Penitentiary two years since, in which they abandoned that system. " At Wethersfield there is a prison, which is said to be one of the best, they do not permit free communications among the prisoners, but absolute silence is not enforced. In the prison of Baltimore, intercourse is allowed under the inspec- tion of directors ; but such confusion exists there as it is im- possible to describe. " In the prison of Charlestowu, near Boston, they allow con- versation amongst the prisoners, and have even gone so far as to organise a society for discussion ; a kind of academy of moral and political science. Whether these re-unions, with the facilities which they must offer for communications, often injurious, between the prisoners, are good or bad in their con- sequences I will not determine. It apjiears to me, we ought to rejoice to learn that, in whatever way it may be, they have put an end to the system of absolute silence, maintained, as it was, by punishments so cruel and so degrading to humanity. •♦ They built in the State of Pennsylvania, several years ago, cellular prisons, and have been actively employed in erecting other establishments of the same kind. Among the docu- ments I have ))cfore me, I find the 18th Report of the Inspec- tors of Prisons, and of the Penitentiary of Pennsylvania, the first which was founded on the cellular system. This Koi)ort fully ctufirms what the others contain, that is to say, that the AMERICAN PRISONS. 319 moral and pliysical efTccts arc most satisfactory. These re- ports deserve entire confideuco, because they are revised by honourable and independent citizens, who are not prejudiced in favour of this system more than any other, and who are chosen by the legislative assembly to inspect prisons and make an exact report of their state, and of circumstances which take place in them. Tt appears from this document that the number of re-committed criminals has considerably diminished for several successive years. Thus in 1842 only eleven had relapsed of 142 convicts. In 1843 10 out of 156 1844 10 — 138 184-5 9 — 143 And in 1846 4 — 117 Being a diminution of 8.4.5 per cent, to 3.34 per cent, in the space of five years. This is one of the most remarkable re- sults we have to state. "The Report of the Inspectors of the cellular prison of New Jersey is quite as satisfiictory as that of Philadelphia. Tjio good health and excellent moral discipline of the establish- ment are shown by the very small number of sick and of those punished. There was also, in 1846, only one death in a total of 244 prisoners. Again, it appears, that the financial state of the prison is more favourable, seeing that the receipts from labour for 1846 have exceeded the expenses by more than 25,000 francs. This circumstance will be considered per- haps of only secondary importance by those who think that the state ought not to speculate on the captivity of criminals. But as the great pecuniary profits of the Auburn prisons are so often quoted as a proof of the superiority of the system practised in these establishments, the same point gained in the cellular prison of New Jersey assuredly deserves to be mentioned. "I have also before me another document which, I believe, is as worthy of attention; it is the report of the Penitentiary 350 PRISON DISCIPLINE. association of New York. This document is the most impor- tant, with regard to penitentiary questions, that has been published in the United States, since the remarkable report which gave rise to the penal code of Mr. Livingston.* The society for prisons at New York is exclusively composed of conscientious men of talent, who, from their local position, would be much disposed to speak in favour of the Auburn system. Several of them have been members of the commis- sion formed to reform the penitentiary system of that city ; since, they have been appointed inspectors of this prison, and are perfectly acquainted with the subject. They do not ex- actly say that the Peunsylvanian system is superior to that of Auburn ; but they attack this last in a very severe maimer. • In a pamphlet published by the speaker, in America, he makes some forcible observations in favour of the Separate System, and supports them by a very instructive quotation from Livingston: — " There are some peisons, however, who, anxious to reconcile the old vices of construction with the necessity for reform in our prisons, propose a system of classification of prisoners according to their various degrees of guilt; — and reasonable men have been found to listen to this suggestion — as if it were possible to judge the exact amount of guilt or corruption of each individual, — or to find psychologists for turnkeys, who could fathom and gnage the consciences of men. But the best answer to those who indulge the hope of such classification, will be found in the cogent remarks of Edward Livingston, in the Introduction to his Penal Code. ' Moral guilt," he writes, ' is incapable of being discovered, and, if discovered, so nicely appreciated as to assign to each one infected with it his com- parative place in the scale; and if it could be so discovered, it would be found that no two would be contaminated to the same degree. Secondly, if this ditticulty could be surmounted, and a class could be formed of individuals who had advanced exactly to the sume point, not only of ofl'euce, but of moral depravity, still their association would produce a further progress in both, just as sparks produce a flame when broujjlit togellier, which separated would be extinguished and die. It is not in human nature for the mind to be stationary, it must progress either in virtue or in vice, — notliiug promotes this progress so much as the emulation created by society, and from the nature of the society will it receive its direction. Every association of convicts then, that can be formed, will in a greater or less degree pervert, but never reform, those of which it is composed; and we are brought to the irresistible con- clusion that classification once admitted to be useful, it is so in an inverse proportion to the numbers of which each class is composed, and is not perfect until wo come to the point at which it loses its namo and nature in the coinpkic separation of individuals.' " AMERICAN PRISONS. 351 I will ask permission of the assembly to read one or two ex- tracts from this document, which appears to me sufficiently curious and important to be quoted. The gravest reproach that has been made to the Pennsylvanian system is that of predisposing the prisoners to mental estrangement. Com- pai'isons have been made in the United States between the cases of mental estrangement stated in the Auburn prisons, and those which have taken place in other prisons; now, the numbers which have served as the foundation of the calculations for the Auburn prisons, are not correct. The members of the commission appointed to present a report on this subject express themselves in this manner : ' Whilst in- specting the prison of Auburn, we were struck with the great number of individuals afflicted by mental al)erratiou, the cases of which appeared to have quite escaped the Doctor's obser- vation. A few only where the complaint was the most decided were under treatment.' In their report on the general question of penitentiary systems, we read : 'The experience of the past year, as also that of preceding years, and the facts observed in all our prisons, tend to confirm us in the opinion we have already stated, that cases of mental derangement are much more fi-e- quent in prisons on the Auburn system, than is mentioned in the Reports. Another case is presented of a deranged person whipt with such brutality that his death which followed some days after may probably be attributed to this cruel treatment.' And yet further: 'Every attempt to isolate the prisoners whilst associated, by imposing on them absolute silence, is in opposition to one of the strongest princii)les of our nature, and in fact impracticable.' * * * 'Experience has shown the impossibility of keeping absolute silence in society, and the certain effect of the law of silence is Vj encourage hypocrisy and teach fraud, vices for which the prisoners are placed there, so that the period of imprisonment is a school, not of obedience to the law, but of stratagems and plans for avoiding and breaking it.' It seems to me that it would be 352 PRISON DISCIPLINE. difficult to fiml a more conclusive testinnny than this, especially when given by men who, certainly, would give quite a contrary opinion if they were under the influence of preju- dice, or attended to their private interests. " We may assign many reasons why the system of separation has not made ]more^ progress. First, many very enlightened persons think that the State of Pennsylvania began by a mis- take, inasmuch as that instead of establishing cellular prisons for the convicts, they would liave done better by building prisons for persons before trial. But the district pris(ms are there, as in England, built at the expense of the counties, and not of the Government, which, in some respects, would be in- finitely better. Indeed, among the central Governments of the several States, there are persons who seriously engage in the study of prison reform, whilst the Magistrates of the comities are often persons who, neither from inclination, nor from their usual occupations, are disposed to enter upon such studies. Consequently, either from indifference, or from ignorance, the important commission confided to them is too often neglected, "Having been lately in England, I had the opportunity of observing the remarkable progress which has been made there of late years in the erection of county prisons. They have had to struggle with the same difficulties as the United States; and I heard, (when embarking for Ostend) from the mouth of the Chairman of the Magistrates of the County of Surrey, that the force of facts had at length convinced the prejudiced, and they had determined to build cellular pi'isons at the county expense. "There is another cause which has prevented the extension of the cellular system in the United States; it is, that in the City of Boston, there is a society which, having for its object the study of penitentiary questions, has for several years made repeated attacks on the system of cellular prisons. I wish to think that the opinions of this society are very honest, loyal AMERICAN PRISONS. 353 an.l cousciGntioiis, but T have coiivcrsoJ with persons who are better acquaiuteil with its organ isatioix than myself, who have assured me that the number of members really interested in the important questions which arise out of the study of peni- tentiary administration, is very limited. I think that the re-erection of one, or several cellular prisons, is not so impor- tant a circumstance, as the change which has taken place in most enlightened minds in the United States. Public opinion is shaken; the conviction of the infallibility of the Auburn system is quite destroyed, and that of separation gains ground every day.' VOL. II. 354 PRISON DISCIPLINE. FRANCE. PRISONS OF PARIS IN 1778. — HUMANE AND WISE REGULA- TIONS DESCRIBED BY HOWARD. — THE BICETRE. THE BASTILLE. PRISON OF AVIGNON. — IMPROVEMENT IN PRISON DISCIPLINE DESCRIBED BY M.ARDIT, M. MOREAU-CHRISTOPHE AND M. GUSTAVE DE BEAUMONT. EFFECT OF SEPARATE SYSTEM AT BORDEAUX, TOURS, MONTPELIER AND VERSAILLES. LETTER FROM COUNT GASPaRIN. It has been already observed that in some res- pects France might justly claim the honour of having been amongst the first in the great work of prison reformation. Reverting to the times long past when our own prisons were habitations of cruelty not less than of crime, we learn that many of the gaols of France were in a like condition, but there were exceptions ; and some at Paris especially, when visited by Howard in 1778, appear to have been under many wise regulations and humane superin- tendence. With reference to them that philanthropist observes :— " I was surprised at seeing that none of the prisoners were in irons. No gaoler (I was informed) may put them on a prisoner, without an express order from the judge. And yet in some of the prisons, there were more criminals than hi any of our London gaols. When I was first there, the numher had been recently increased by an insurrection on account of PRISONS OF FRANCE. 355 the scarcity of corn. My reader will pnrhips presently see reason to conclude, thattlie manner in wliicli prisons are con- ducted makes the confinement more tolerable, and chains Ics-s needful. Indeed it was evident, from the very appearance of the prisoners in most of the gaols, that humane attention was paid to them.* * * * * " The nomination of a gaoler belongs to the magistrates. When he has been nominated, he is proposed to the procurear general \ and if, after a careful inquiry into his character, it appears that he has the reputation of a man of probity, he is fixed in the office, and takes an oath of fidelity. i- * * * * "As the best regulations are liable to be abused, prisoners are not thought sufficiently provided for by enacting good laws — the execittiuii of them is carefully attended to. Tbe sub- stitutes of the attorneij-yeneral should visit the prisons once a week, to inquire if the rules be observed ; to hear com- plaints of prisoners ; to see if the sick be properly attended ; and the like. Besides this, the parliament of Paris send to all the prisons five times a year two or three councillors with a suhslitute of the allorney-genernl, and two clerks. "| At the Bicetre, a sort of general receptacle for sufferers from bodily and mental as well as moral diseases, Howard tells us he found about 4,000 confined ; and here many prisoners were at that time isolated, whilst others were subject to that contamination which ever accompanies vicious in- tercourse. " Criminals are confined, some in little rooms about eight feet square, windows thi-ee feet and a half by two feet, with a grate, but not many glazed. By counting tlie windows on one • Foreign Prisons, p. 1:37. + Id. p. 142. + [d. p. 143. z2 350 PRISON DISCIPLINE. side of the house, 1 reckouecl there must be five hundred of those rooms ; there is but one prisoner in each. These pay two hundred livres a year for their board. There are others in two large rooms called La Force, ou the other side of the court (La Cour Royale) which are crowded with prisoners ; in 1778, there were upwards of two hundred. Such a num- ber confined together in idleness, must produce a great cor- ruption of manners. Many at their unhappy end have as- cribed their ruin to the flagitious examples they had here seen, and the instructions here given them.'* Some dungeons in this prison appear to have been little better than those we have described in English prisons : — " In the middle of La Cour Royale are eight dreadful dun- geons down sixteen steps, each about thirteen feet by nine, with two strong doors, three chains fastened to the wall, and a stone funnel at one corner of each cell for air, Src. From the situation of these dreary caverns, and the difficulty I found in procuring admittance, I conclude hardly any other stranger ever saw them ; that is my reason, and I hope will be an apology for mentioning the particulars. "f The horrors of the Bastille have been proverbial ; the following extract from a pamphlet published in France in 1774, the sale of v^^hich was speedily prohibited, but which Howard tells us was reckoned the best account of the structure ever published, may not be uninteresting : — " It is a state prison, consisting of eight very strong towers, surrounded by a fosse about 120 feet wide, and a wall sixty feet high. ^ * * The dungeons of the tower de Liberie extend under the kitchen, &c. Near that tower is * Foreign Prisons, p. 145. + Id. p. 146. THE BASTILLE. 357 a small chapel on the ground floor. In the wall of it are five niches or closets, in which prisoners are put one by one to hear mass, where they can neither see nor be seen. The dungeons at the bottom of the towers exhale the most offen- sive scents, and are the receptacles of toads, rats, and other kinds of vermin. In the corner of each is a camp-bed, made of planks laid on iron bars that are fixed to the walls, and the prisoners are allowed some straw to lay on the beds. These is the greatest scourgu of our prisons." FRANCE PROGRESS OF SEPARATE SYSTEM 3G5 uew regulations, continues fruitless. The corruption and audacity of the convicts have resisted the discipline of the silent system, which was not, and never can be rigorously observed. They withstood frequent exhortations and the con - solations of religion ; the subjection to hard labour, and the pri- vation of tobacco and fermented liquors. Hence they conclude that with whatever rigours they may surround imprisonment in association, it is mitigated more than it ever ought to be by the pleasure of seeing each other continually, and by the possibility of conversing, notwithstanding the most active and conscientious superintendence. The discipline des Bagnes, where 8,000 criminals suffer their punishment of forced labour, is still less corrective than that of les maisons centrales ; it is even more corruptive* than that of imprisonment; and it is melancholy to state, that there are few condemned to the least severe punishment who would not prefer this captivity in the open air to the discipline des maisons de force. " It is then, after repeated trials, that the Government has come to the resolution of demanding the power of subjecting to the Separate System all the criminals des Bagnes et des maisons centrales de force, et de correction. Two more years' experience since the discussion of the first projet de loi on the reform of prisons, have only confirmed this resolution. Go- vernment has entire confidence that the Chambers wiU shew themselves still more favourable to this reform than they were in 1844, and it hopes that, in order to ensure the speediest execution possible, they will consent to place in their hands the necessary powers for the construction of maisons d'arret et de justice, as also for the establishment of all the prisons for punishment. These will require at least 26,000 cells, so that France needs the erection of new prisons for no less than 45,000 prisoners. This will be, without doubt, the work of • M. Borelly, Procureur General d'Aix, (corapreheniling the Depart- ments of tho South of France) is a decided enemy of the system of Bagnes, which in his letter to Lord Brougham he terms ' Reservoirs de Pestilence.' — Second Report of Select Committee on the Execution of the Criminal Law, p. 199. '666 PRISON DISCIPL[\E. many years ; but this is another m itivo Cov beginning imme- diately, for every new cell will save at least one man fi-om a corruption or a disgrace, now almost inevitable." M. Moreau-Christophe, Inspector General of Pri- sons of the first class in France, made the followinsc remarks at the same Congress : — "There is in penitentiary law an important point, that modern legislators appear to have completely forgotten in their plans of prison reform ; it is, that the Romans, from whom we have boiTowed all our laws, did not admit imprison- ment as a punishment in their penal legislation. 1 hey had prisons, but all were preventive ; from hence this definition of Ulpian — 'Career non ad puniendos, sed ad continendos homines haberi debet.' The same in France : before 1790 prisons were instituted only to confine, not to punish ; because imprisonment was no more admitted as a chief punishment in the criminal laws of the ancient French monarchy than it was with the Romans.* Turn to the statute of 1670, v/hich consti- tutes the last register of our penal legislation before the revo- lution of 89, you will see every where the iron collar, the hurdle, the pillory, confiscation, banishment, the whip, torture, ♦Th^s talented speaker was, I think, mistaken in asserting that "the Romans did not admit imprisonment as a punishment." Whatever may have been its general purpose in the time of Ulpian, it is evident that when the first prison was built at Rome, about 400 years before, by Ancus Martius, (to which I shall refer when describing the prisons of Italy) the intention was to deter by punishment ; and the dungeon afterwards formed in it by Servius Tullius could be for no other purpose. We have proof indeed that it was so applied, for the conspirator, Lentulus, was cast into it, though perhaps only for a short time, previously to his execution. Cicero, moreover, in his oration against Catiline, plainly intimates that imprisonment was pitnilii-e in the following passage: — " Sentiet in hac urbe esse consules vigilantes, esse egregios magisiratus, esse fortem scnatum, esse arma, esse atrcercm : quern vindicem nefariorum ac manifcstorum scclcrum majores nostri esse voluerunt.*' — Oral. il. (i. FRANCE SPEECH OF M. MOREAU-CHUISTOPHE. 3G7 death, tlio p;allovs perpetually or for a time, &c. &c. ; hut nowhere will you see iniprisnumfnt as a punishment. Lcs Ofli- cialtcs alone eoukl order it in this way, but only as a canonical punishment; still, in this case, ihe ecclesiastical tribunal was forbidden to use the word pnsoii in their sentences ; the word do monastere, de seminaire poury jciiner, &c., must be made use of. ' It is not the custom in France,' said an ancient writer on criminal law, ' to condemn a guilty person to prison, because the prison is not a punishment, but a place destined ad custodiaiii reoriim during the pi-eparation for their trial, &c.' Thus, before 89, the prison was amongst us only un lieu de depot, a place of security, where they were kept provisionally under the hands of justice till the accused might be brought before the magistrate ; the convicted might be sent to the torture. The prison, properly speaking, was only the vestibule to the galleys, the wheel, or the scaffold. What did it signify fi'om that time that the unfortunate creatures who expected torture, were placed nlltogether whilst awaiting it •* Their union presented no danger to society, since all must quit society or life. * * * What was the idea of our Assemblee Constituante when itfirst instituted imprison- ment as a punishment in our modern penal laws ? The idea naturally was to make this punishment, as all the others, indi- vidual, by applying it separately to each criminal, that is to say, by making them all submit to it in the Cachets, Genes et Prisons, where they were separated one from the other day and night during all the time of their detention. Un- fortunately, the revolutionary distui-bance only permitted the celebrated Assembly to weigh, without completely deter- mining, the principle of separate imprisonment in the three degrees proposed by its Committee of liCgislation, and deve- loped by Lepelletier. And since then, the ancient prisons, that is to say the towers, fortresses, and dungeons which, under the feudal system and absolute monarchy, have served to detain those accused of crimes or offences, served in the 368 PRISON DISCIPLINE. same manner to punish all prisoners condemned either to restraint, solitude, or confinement in prison. From that time the word prison, which had never before had any other signi- fication than that of prisons for persons accused, signified equally and especially prisons of punishment. And from that time the association to which persons were subjected in prisons for the accused, has been common to the convicted in the prisons for punishment. You see how and why this practice has been successively sanctioned, in ignorance of its origin and under the fatal influence of habit and prejudice, by different governments, by diff"erent writers on common law to whom prison reform did not yet appear, so clearly as to us, to be immutably fixed on the only base which can save it from the dangers of the past, the corruption of the present, and mistakes for the future ; namely, that the individuality of the punish- ment suffered should correspond to the individuality of the fault committed. And let them not say that the reform we propose is the re-establishment or the sanction of the dungeon : on the contrary, it is the condemnation of it. The dungeon is the darkness and inhumanity of oppression ; it is the Bastille and Sjjielburg. The cell is the brightness and ma- ternal severity of justice ; it is Cherry Hill, it is Pentonville, it is the twenty cellular prisons that our departments already possess, which they are proud to be able to offer to the imitation of neighbouring countries as the specimen of the Penitentiary System, which ought to be the only one in the civilized world, as Ihe truth is one, as the sun which shines in the firmament is one for all the universe. Neither let them say that this unity of penal principle makes the punishment the same for every case; that is to confound the penal instrument with the punishment, which is not at all the same thing. The instrument may be the same in form for several diff"crcnt punishments, without these punishments for that reason ceasing to be distinct, the difference being, that the instrument varies not in its form, but in its mode of infliction. SPEECH OF M. MOREAU-CHRISTOPHE. 309 It is tlins tliiit tlio cell is the uniform instrument of throe distinct punishments amongst us, imprisonment, solitude, and forced labour ; but these three punishments, suffered in the cell, vary in severity and duration accordnig to the legal distinction proper to each of them. The cell is so small a punishment by itself, that they apply it to those simply suspected. I have already explained myself on this head, in speaking of prisons for the accused.* I will add here, to render my illustration more clear, tliat the cell, which we desire for all prisoners, is only the vessel indispensable to the administration of all peniten- tiary remedies, but not the remedy itself. The vessel may be the same every where and for all, but the medicine that it contains must vary according to the requirements, and the degree of sickness of the person to be cured. This remedy, is the same punishment of imprisonment, a punishment im- possible to adjust under the associated system, or that of classification, but which in the system of separate treatment, may be limited or expanded to a boundless extent, suited to the physical, moral, or intellectual strength of each. You see then, that this system suits all nationalities, since it suits all individualities." * Without being as free as the unenclosed prison of our forefathers, the cellular prison we ask for the unconvicted, will be as humane, as protective as the libera custodia of the Romans. From his home in which he was when ho was arrested in his house, the unconvicted will be transferred to liis home in the cell. There they will sliew hiui all the kindness, all the atten- tions that his confinement will allow. There, he will enjoy every facility, and all the liberty compatible with the interior order and security of a prison, lie will receive in liis private dwelling, under locks, as in his private dwel- ling when out of prison, visits, collective or individual from his mother, father, wife, children, friends, from his lawyer, from persons with whom lie has business — favours that cannot be granted him in the promiscuous com- pany of prisons at present, [n like manner, he will be fed, clothed, and lodged, in his cell according to his own taste and means. The latitude which will be allowed him will receive no limits, except those that the Judge will prescribe as to the course of instruction or the regulation, for the sake of order and morality. VOL. 11. A 2 370 PRISON DISCIPLINE. At the Brussels Congress, in 1847, M. Moreau- Cliristophe made the following remarks : — " Since the Congress of Frankfort France 1ms made less progress than England : she has made but one step — but that a great one, such as France always makes when she does advance. It is a project for substituting a new law for the old. The project of last year appeared to many members very radical ; but it is very moderate compared to the new scheme that Government has presented to the Chamber of Peers. The system of separate imprisonment, ajiplicablc to all classes, untried or convicted ; to all terms of imprisonment, from one day to confinement for life ; to women as well as men ; to juvenile offenders as well as adults, is admitted as a general principle in the new projei de loi. 'J'he only exception which is introduced is with regard to juvenile offenders, that in certain cases auotlier system might be apijlied to them in preference to individual imprisonment. This system, so essentially pre- serving and moralising, cannot be used for young offenders as it is for convicted adults ; but to a certain class of young offenders, such as those who belong to rural districts, it is desirable to apply another system, such as apprenticing them to husbandmen. For this a special provision is made. " What I maintain is, that the system of individual im- prisonment, in all the latitude that it allows, and which was defined at Frankfort, has been adopted by France. " The attention of the Chamber of Peers has been attracted to this project, which has been submitted to a commission composed of the most eminent men. This commission has nominated for their leporter, M. Berangcr dc la Drome, who has laid his report before the Chamber of the 1 7th of April of this year. (1847.) This report is the most clear, concise, and admirable that has been framed on the penitentiary question, which now engages the attention of France and other nations. If this law be adopted in France, as I hope it will be, those condeumcd to the Travaux Forces, cither perpetually or for I*ROVISIONS OF PROJET DE LOI. 371 a timo, will suffer thoir punishment in a colluliir prison. Those condemned to the Travaux Forces will still be sub- ject to their mark of disgrace, le boulet an pied, instead of being joined two together by means of a chain. For the penal code says those condemned to the Travaux Forces shall be attached in couples with a chain, or shall drag a ball to their feet. There is also a difference in the wages allowed for work ; those condemned to travaux forc»5s will only receive three-tenths, those condemned to solitude will receive four-tenths, and those sentenced to simple imprison- ment will receive five-tenths. Lastly, there is a difference in the discipline, which is more or less severe as it is applied to different classes of criminals. Here, then, in few words, is the simple, and, I may say, rational provision of the projet de loi submitted to the French Chambers. You see that it is only the reproduction of the important resolutions passed at the late Congres Penitentiaire (at Frankfort.) " As respects new prisons, some have been built ; but the progress has been stopped by another provision of the new projet de loi not less important. The provincial prisons are built at the expense of the dej)artments. In their impatience to see the system of individual imprisonment applied without delay, many of the Conseils gencraux, without waiting the sanction of law, have taken on themselves to vote funds for the establishment of cellular maisons d'arrel. It is thus that twenty or thirty provincial cellular prisons have been built in a few years, but since the projet de loi has been known, zeal has abated, for this reason, that the Departments will no longer defray the expenses of constructing cellular prisons. Government alone will support the expenses of the Maisons Centrales. ''This new system is perfectly reasonable; for imprison- ment, of whatever duration, is a public penalty, which ought to be at the expense of the public and the state. " If then there has been in the departments a smaller num- 2a2 372 PRISON DISCIPLINE. ber of cellular prisons constructed during this year than in the preceding year it is not because the conxeils generau.v have a less favourable feeling now than formerly towards the Separate System, but because they very naturally hesitate to incur the expenses of building, now that Government is on the eve of making that devolve on the state." M. Giistave de Beaumont after reverting to the provision of the projet de loi, wiiich has been described, observed — "We have therefore to regret the suspension of the building of prisons, which the anxiety of the provinces to adopt the sys- tem led them to erect. However, this change was necessary; for can anything appertain more entirely to the central power than justice ? And is not punishment a part of justice ? But from this regulation an evil has arisen, namely, that the carrying out of penitentiary reform, which was making such rapid progress, is souiewhat retai'ded. We saw a number of new prisons built every year; there has been a sudden cessa- tion of this; you undei^stand now what has been the cause which has arrested the great effort for reform. But would it be correct to say that the moral impulse for reform has been stopped ? No; this has never been more rapid. During the last year it has made immense progress in France " It is true that government has adopted nearly all the re- solutions authorised by the Congress of Frankfort as shewn in the projet de hi presented to the Chamber of Peers. But what is more than the opinion of government, however re- spectable and influential that may be, is public opinion. In France the great repugnance of the public ojiinion to the cellular system is lessened, and the apprehensions felt by those who, like me, were convinced of the excellence of the system have now ceased. In the midst of the petty dissensions not yet entirely quelled there has been nothing important. There exists now a general deeply rooted opinion that the cellular SPEECH OF M. GUSTAVE DE BEAUMONT. 373 ^ystoju of imprisonment is the best. The sharp attacks di- roctcd not long ago against this system by the hbcral and national press of France have not re-appeared. We cannot quote any accredited organ of the French press which shows the same hostility as in time past to the system sanctioned by the authority of the Congress of Frankfort. "Doubtless, there are still some difficulties. There are two which especially prejudice the public mind. The first is the application of the cellular system to very long imprisonments. I am convinced, for my own part, that the more we reflect, the more we shall be assured from the documents of other coun- tries, which will enlighten us in the midst of the prejudices tliat yet trouble us, the more we shall find tliat these fears are chimerical, that the penitentiary system may be applied with advantage to the longest imprisonments. 1 am convinced of it, but as we are only here as reporters we must state facts, und not mislead by fanciful representations. Now, that which ti'oubles some sincere, conscientious minds, is the fear that the application of the cellular system to imprisonments of long duration is dangerous to the reason and life of the jtrisoners. " There is another fear entertained by magisti'atcs and eminent lawyers, it is the fear that the cellular system might produce too much sameness in the punishments, which would do away with the degrees of the penal scale, and thus weaken the means of repression, established to punish criminals and intimidate the wicked. " In my opinion these fears are without foundation. At pre- sent the punishment of imprisonment, which bears different names, imj)risonment, seclusion, compulsory labour, is sub- ject in fact to one regular mode, and nevertheless it wuuld be incorrect to say that the different penalties constitute but one punishment. It will be the same when they shall have the i)unishmciit of separate imprisonment, distinguished by all the gradations of which it is capable. Besides these two 374 PRISON DISCIPLINE. impressions which still exist in France, and which will doubtless be lessened by further consideration, I may be per- m'ltU d to declare that the cause of separate imprisonment is at this hour completely gained in France. " This favourable opinion of the public by which we are su['ported, will henceforth promote the great question which occupies us. If anything can strengthen it, the deliberations of such a congress as that of Frankfort and of Brussels must; do so. These meetings are a gieat and noble institution, which I uphokl with my whole strength. Formerly Govern- ments alone united in congress. At present, enlightened people send their representatives to these great assemblies, there to deliberate on the conduct of Governments, happy to bo able to support themselves on the sound opinions of the country. Yes, gentlemen, I consider what has passed as an important event. I cannot turn my mind from facts which are accomplished not only here, but yet far from us. Whilst we peaceably deliberate here, fJurope on the other side is greatly agitated, perhaps preparing revolutions. Here we enjoy the liberties which revolutions have acquired for us. Elsewhere they labour to found liberty ; they give themselves up to terrible, dangerous conflicts, whilst, enjoying our ac- quired liberties, v/e yield ourselves to the noblest employments it is given to man to pursue, those which have for their obr ject the promulgation in the world of the principles of justice, morality, and humanity." In the former volume I have referred to L{^ Roquette, and some other prisons in France, in which the Separate System is so advantageously and so wisely pursued. The following extracts from recent Reports, justify the sanguine hopes which were cherished, and the attachment now shewn towards this humane and corrective system. FILVNCE RESULTS OF SEPARATE SYSTEM 375 From Bordeaux, where tlie separate prison for 1(38 criminals has been occupied now about five years, the Prefect writes — "'It is now fully established that the health of the prisoners is better under the Separate System than under any other, that they receive with more fruit the consolations of religion, and that, not being excited by the bad example and counsels of their fellows, many reform, while none grow worse.' The physician writes that he was formerly disposed to consider this system as unfavourable to health, but his opinion has now changed. 'Only one original case of insanity,' he says, 'has occurred in the prison, and this was of a convict on receipt of the news of the rejection of his appeal for a new trial.' The Visiting Committee of Bordeaux, write ; — ' For our own part most of us having originally formed opinions unfavourable to the system of separation by day as well as by night, we deem it our duty to declare that experience has proved we had fall en into error ; — m\A that we consider the system of separate imprisonment, accompanied by labour, reading re- ligious services and daily walks, — the system, in short, as it is practised at Bordeaux, — as one of the reforms which reflect the greatest honour ou our age." The authorities of the cellular prison at Tours asseit most positively — "That in regard to the sanitary condition and the moral edu • cation of the prisoners, the system of total separation, so violently and so unjustly attacked, produces the most remark- able results. Of a total number of 162G persons who have entered the prison since its inauguration, sixteen only have been transferred to the hospital, and one only has died; — and this single case of death was of an old man of seventy, who was labouri)ig under a chronic affection of the lungs. If we seek f(n- the influence which it exercises on the intellectual faculties of the priscmcrs, we must recognize that far from 370 PRISON DISCIPLINE. disturbing their reason, it produces on the'r minds tlie most salutary results. In proof of this I may mention that not a single case of insanity has occurred in the prison, and that many who have been condemned for a term, which requires their removal to the maisons centrales, solicit as a real favour, the permission to complete their imprisonment in their cell. Since my last Report, of 17th January, 1845, I have received thirteen petitions to this effect.'' * The Physician of this prison reports that— - " A writer at Bordeaux had attacked the system of separate imprisonment, on the authority of the charges made iu the Jleports of the Boston Prison Discipline Society, against the Philadelphia prison, and having repeated these charges, had continued; 'At Senlis, at Vanues, and at Tours, the same results have been found, constant attempts at suicide, — mad^ iiess, — frightful mortality! ' ' It is not my province,' says Dr, Haime, 'to defend the Philadelphia prison from the attacks of the Auburuian Society of Boston ; neither can I speak of the jDrisons of Senlis and Vannes, — I have not seen them. But for that of Tours, I must declare that this writer has been led completely into error, — imposed uj^on by statements totally false — conceived in party spirit — and which I defy him to prove.' He concludes : ' My own experience of this system serves to confirm the opinion twice solemnly announced by the Royal Academy of Medicine, that far from menacing the existence, either physical or moral, of the prisoners, it is on the contrary, as compared with former systems, eminently proper to fortify and ameliorate both." The Ciiapluin of this prison writes — - " The raillery of the wicked, and the fear which they insju'ro in those less perverse, prevent these last from manifesting that desire for reform, to whicli their consciences prompt them. A.ll therefore turn into ridicule, by words or signs, the coiju- * See Vol. 1. p. 130. FRANCE RESULTS OF CELLULAR SYSTEM. 377 s<'ls of the Cliapliiin, and stupidly mock him during his ah- sonco. But at Tours it is so no longer; and now that the prisoners are entirely separated one from another, the Chaplain is looked upon as their welcome visiter — their friend— their consoler. * ♦ * Among those now in the prison of Tours, he cites the case of a young man, who committed a robbery two days after his discharge from the Maisons de Force, of Fontevrault. This prison is on the silent system, that is to say, the prisoners are supposed never to speak to- gether,* yet the robbery was concerted in the prifton" The Physician of the prison on the Separate System at Montpelier, reports — "There are fewer maladies under the new system than under the old. Pulmonary complaints have above all diminished. The average number formerly was thiity-one cases in one hundred and twenty-one. Under the influence of the new system there have been only seventeen in one hundred and twelve. Rheumatic affections have diminished one half. The epidemics of different seasons do not penetrate the cells, while under the old system, every disease in town was repeated in the prison. The cases which occur are not only less numer- ous than before, but are of shorter duration. Prisoners who were feeble, emaciated and languishing, on arrival, have acquired in a short time all the external signs of i:)crfect health. Can any one doubt, any longer, of the good effects of the system on those who are well, when it aids so power- fully in restoring the health of those who are ill ? Out of six hundred and fifty-eight men and one hundred and sixty- six women received in the prison three men and one woman have been put under treatment for mental derangement, but each one of them had shown signs of insanity before coming * In the Report of M. Demctz upon the prisons of the United States, he niciitions that in that of Sing Sing, on the silent svstem, on the second day of his visit, iiis object and iiis character were known to nearly all tlic prisoners. 378 PRISON DISCIPLINE. to the prison, and experience shows that the system of iso- lation with its attendant visits, instead of increasing, has a tendency to moderate and quiet the predisposition to mental derangement." Dr. de Balzac, professor of the Royal College of Versailles, says of the prison for the department of the Seine — " The sanitary conditioTi of the cellular prison is incomparably better than that of the prison in common. Experience has shown that the system is favourable to the health of the prisoners, that it has no deleterious influence on their intelli- gence, and the most simple observation enables one to satisfy himself, that it is favourable also to their moral education." I cannot better conclude this chapter than by inserting an extract from a letter from Le Comte Gasparin, a Peer of France, and formerly Minister of the Interior, addressed to Mr. Sumner, a distin- guished advocate of the Separate System in America, a copy of which I have lately received from that gentleman, vi'ith other information of which I have thankfully availed myself. "The great advantage, — the inappreciable advantage of cellular imprisonment, — that which should cause it to be adopted in spite of its inconveniences, if it were true that it had inconveniences even greater than those which have been conjured up, — is, the complete separation of prisoners,— the suppression of their mutual instruction in crime, — the igno- rance in which they are of their fellow-prisoners, and in con- sequence the impossibility of their recognizing one another and forming criminal associations on their discharge. "Every Government wliLch in the actual state of society and of the jMogress of social science adopts any other than the FRANCE — RESULTS OF CELLULAR SYSTEM. 370 Separate System, will expose itself to the necessity of having before long to reconstruct its prisons. "Experience has not confirmed the fears which were enter- tained as to the results of this system upon the health of prisoners when it is conducted with the desirable attention and charity, as it is, in short, at Paris in the house of juvenile ollenders, and in many of our departmental prisons, par- ticularly that of Tours where I have observed its effects with care. The health of the prisoners is good ; they work with ai'dour, and do not wish to return to the society of their com- rades. It must be remembered, however, that once within the walls of the prison, the idea of punishing a culprit must (jive place to that of correcting and rejorming a man. Ho should meet only the kindly looks of those who are sincerely occupied with his spiritual health and not the looks of turn- keys and executioners who seek to impose on him an expiation. Confirmatory facts from every side come to the support of our own experience. * * * "I beg you to believe me, Sir, with sentiments of special fcgard, "Your devoted friend, "GASPARIN." 380 PRISON DISCirUNE. BELGIUM. VOLUME ON CORRECTION OF CRIMINALS BY THK COUNT VILAIN XIV. — prisoner's cage AND TORTURE AT ANTWERP. — MAI- SONS DE FORCE AT LIEGE, BRUSSELS, AND GHENT, VISITED BY HOWARD. — CONSTANT MANUAL EMPLOYMENT DEPRE- CATED. — l'aTELIER DE CHARITE AT GHENT. — PRISON DISCI- PLINE IMPROVING. SPEECH OF M. DUCPETIAUX. — THE SILENT SYSTEM CONDEMNED. — THE SEPARATE SYSTEM COM- MENDED. SPEECH OF M. LE BARON DE HODY. The close connection of this kingdom with other continental powers would lead us to expect that the slate of its prisons should be nearly similar. I have not been able to find any description of an earlier date than 1775, when a volume was written by Count Vilain XIV., intituled, " Memoire sur les Moyens de corriger les Malfaiteurs et Faineaus a leur propre Avantage et de les rendre Utiles a I'Etat." The attention of authorities appears at this time to have been very much directed to the improve- ment of their prisons, and the immense Maisons de Force of Vilvorde and Ghent were almost completed in 1776. Some idea of the system of discipline pursued before that period may be formed from the lol lowing statements we have received : — " In the prison at Antwerp there are two rooms foi' citizens ; and up stairs there is a cage, about six feet and a half sf^uarc. PRISONS AT ANTWERP AND LIEGE. SHI into wliich criminals ai-o put before the torture. A criminal, while he .suffers the torture, is clothed in a long shirt, has his eyes bound, and a physician and surgeon attend him ; and when a confession is forced from him, and wine has been given him, he is required to sign his confession ; and about forty-eight hours afterwards he is executed." Howard, in his first book on Foreign Prisons, shews us that most horrible cruelties were perpe- trated in some prisons of this kingdom; respecting that of Liege he says — " In two rooms of the old prison 1 saw six cages, made very strong with iron hoops,* four of which were empty. These were dismal places of confinement ; but I soon found worse. In descending deep below ground from the gaoler's apart- ments, I heaid the moans of the miserable wretches in the dark dungeons. The sides and roof were all stone. In wet weather, water from the fosses gets into them, and has greatly damaged the floors. Each of them had two small apertures, one for admitting air, and the other with a shutter over it strongly bolted, for putting in food to the prisoners. One dungeon larger than the rest was appropriated to the sick. In looking into this with a candle, I discovered a stove, and felt some surprise at this little escape of humanity from the men who constructed these cells. " The dungeons in the new prison are abodes of misery still more shocking; and confinement in them so overpowers hu- man nature, as sometimes irrecoverably to take away the senses. I heard the cries of the distracted as I went down to them. One woman, however, I saw, who (as I was told) had sustained this horrid confinement forty-seven years without becoming distracted. * The dimensions were seven feet by six feet nine inches, and six feet and a half high. On one side was an aperture of six inches by four, for giving in the victuals. 382 PRISON DISCIPLINE. "The cries of the sufferers in the torture-chamher may he heard by passengers without, and guards are placed to prevent them from stopping and listening. A physician and surgeon always attend when the torture is applied ; and on a signal given by a bell, the gaoler brings in wine, vinegar, and water, to prevent the sufferers from expiring. — 'TAe tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.' Thus in the Spanish inquisition, the physician and surgeon attend to determine the utmost ex- tremity of suffering without expiring under the torture." * From the same author we learn that plans which we have since adopted were, when he visited Flan- ders in 1778, there practised. '• At Brussels there were twenty-four felons in the prison La Porte de Halle, which consists of twenty-four chambers, distinguished by the letters of the alphabet. Each prisoner had a separate room : daily allowance, two pounds of broad {vahi de munition) and some soup: on Sunday, except in Lent, a pound of meat." Describing the Maison de Force at Ghent, he says — " In order to the admission of a prisoner, previous notice must be given by the city or province that sends him. When he comes, he is shaved and washed : a surgeon examines him ; and if healthy, he is clothed with the uniform of the house, which is marked with the number of his room ; to it he is conducted by one of the most orderly of the prisoners, who is appointed to that service, and who also acquaints liim with the rules of the house. Commitment from one year to twenty or more.f * * * j revisited this prison in 1778 with one of the magistrates, and found that they were still carrying on a well-regulated manufactory. There were two hundred and eighty men prisoners, and one luuulred and seventeen women. These latter had on the house clothes, * Foreigi-i Prisons, p. 124, +Id. p p. 128, VM, 135. GHENT — MAISON DE FORCE. 383 and were at work. Most of them were spinning or knittinpf, ranged in proper order, attentive and quiet. I was informed that all the prisoners are allowed one-fifth of their earnings for themselves." I have already spoken of the mischievous ten- dency of permitting criminals to spend time which should be devoted to corrective instruction, in mere manual occupation. It was indeed with a lively hiterest that I lately walked throuo;h the wards and workshops of this prison, calling to mind the de- scription of that great philanthropist, who seventy years since had preceded me, and so accurately represented what may yet be seen. But I could look with little satisfaction upon the continuance of a system which experience lias shewn to be so pre- ventive of any reformatory process.* I shall be pardoned if I digress somewhat to add, that after inspecting the Maison de Force, at Ghent, I visited the " Atelier de Charite," which was estab- lished in 1817 '* pour I'extirpation de la mendicite," in which I was heartily pleased to see a large num- ber of paupers, and especially of children, who had spent the earlier part of the day at their books under suitable instructors, then busily employed in spin- ning, lacemaking, and the like occupations, by which the expense of the establishment was nearly defrayed. The institution was on a larger scale, but of a somewhat similar character to that at Bridgenorth, which has been described. I was for- * Sec vol i. ill. viii. 384 PRISON DISCIPLINE. cibly impressed with tlie belief that the workshc^ps provided by this wise charity were far more calcu- lated to prevent crime than the workshops of the prison to improve criminals. The prospects of Belgium, as respects Prison Discipline, are now bright. Under the direction of the talented and energetic M. Ducpetiaux, the Inspector General of its prisons, the Separate System will, I trust, ere long be established throughout the land. Twelve years since did this gentleman strongly recommend it. The following is an ex- tract from his writings of that date : — " The system of solitary confiuement, by day and by night, is destined," he says, " to produce a change of which the consequence cannot fail to be beneficial. It is founded less upon the importance of pecuniary advantages than upon that of moral results. Submitted to its discipline, the convict will perhaps earn less money for the State ; but, on the other hand, the imprisonment acting upon his mind with greater force and intensity, may be abridged in duration, fewer re- committals will occur, and the number of prisoners will be jiroportionably diminished. " The system may be regarded as a sort of protest against the employment of brute force and espionage in the manage- ment of prisons. It admits none but moral agents, capable of leading the culprit to a sense of duty, without adding to his abasement and degradation. The isolated convict does not, I grant, enjoy the mute society of his companions in captivity, but he has frequent intercourse with the officers and visitors of the penitentiary. His mind is not occupied with the active scenery around him, but he finds a sufficient resource in his work, in reading, and in the visits that are paid him. Why, then, should vvc hesitate to make trial of a 1 BELGIUM — 'SPEECH OF M. DUCPETIAUX. 385 systcrn, whose efficacy is more than probablo, for the pur- pose of giving the preference to a system wliose success is doubtful.* I shall best shew the necessity for Penitentiary reform in Belgium, how far it has proceeded, and how much is promised, b}^ quoting from the descrip- tion given by M. Ducpetiaux and by a Belgian Nobleman at the late Congres Penitentiaire. " We claim for the towns of Ghent and VilvorJe the honour of having introduced the system now called Auburn even before that it existed in America. During the long years of war, and even whilst under the Dutch rule, little attention was bestowed on prisons. But since 1830 the Belgic Govern- ment has shewn much concern for their reform. During the last sixteen years they have done all that was possible for the further improvement of prisons, with regard to security, cleanliness, order, diet, clothing, and labour, founding all upon the Auburn system. They have done all that they ought or could have done. So far the criminal establishments of Belgium may be justly compared with those of other countries. Nevertheless, it must be admitted that this experiment, which has been pursued with zeal and perseverance for sixteen years, has completely failed, if ive are to judge of its results by the improvement of criminals, the decrease of crime, or by re-com- mitments. In the year 1843, the Directors of the maisons centrales, together with the Minister of Justice, were asked for the result of their experience on this subject. All agreed in saying, that much as they had increased the severity, the inspection, and the discipline of these prisons, they had not, however, observed any improvement amongst the prisoners with regard to their morals, and that the number of re-com- mitments, far from diminishing, continued to increase ; that this proceeded chiefly from the fact of the intercourse and • Des Progrf-s et de I'elat actuel de la Rpforme Penitentiaire, p. 88. yOL. II. 2 B 386 PRISON DISCIPLINE. association of the prisoners, an intercourse which could pro- duce none but bad results, and essentially impede the moral reformation of the prisoners. The Chaplains express them- selves still more positively on the same subject. Government has for some time been convinced of the necessity of reforming the system of imprisonment now pursued. In the year 1835, thirty-two separate cells were constructed in the maison de force at Ghent, still later 63 in the military prison at Alost, 150 at Bruges, and some also in several other prisons. At length, in 1844, the Government presented to the Chambers a proposition for the introduction of the Separate System into all the men's prisons, (juvenile offenders, as well as females, to be excepted provisionally.) This proposition has not been discussed, but there can be no doubt as to its being adopted. Meantime Government, impelled by the fearful number of crimes and re-commitments, has determined on increasing the number of prisons. For this purpose, it has recently ordered the erection of a new house of correction at Louvaine for 500 criminals ; and, without hesitation, it has adopted for this establishment the Separate System, precisely the same as the Pentonville model. The King immediately signed the necessary decree to this effect. This measure is jierhaiDs illegal, but it shews the degree of favour which the new system of imprisonment has acquired in the public mind. In the forthcoming budget, we shall find a proof of the pro- gress which this system has made amongst us. Thus the positive results of many years* experience as to the prisons of our country, may be summed up as follows : — the complete inefficacy of the Auburn system ; the declaration of all practical men that they could not hope for any moral reformation from the operation of this system ; and that the fact alone of the intercourse of criminals in the prison yard, and in the common workrooms during the day, is sufficient to destroy the small advantage derived from the separation during the night. ***** FOREIGN PRISONS — BELGIUM. 387 In Belgium, we have not been able to decide on this ques- tion, from positive experience arising out of a comparative trial of the two systems ; it is especially by the inefficacy of imprisonment in common that we have arrived at the know- ledge of the advantages of the opposite system. Successively, and in several prisons, we have united to the common impri- sonment all the modifications of which it is susceptible ; we have tried common dormitories and also cells at night — classes according to the nature of the crimes and according to the presumed morality ; we have increased the number of inspec- tors, imj^roved the discipline, employed all means of moralisa- tion compatible with the rule of association ; we have opened schools, multiplied religious exercises. But all these efforts have been pursued without satisfactory results — all these ameliorations have been counterbalanced and neutralized by the incessant action of promiscuous association. To combat the effect of this association we have made new efforts ; silence has been imposed on the criminals, and the persons employed in the prison have been charged to maintain strictly the application of this severe rule. This new trial was not more happy than the former; it seemed only to shew the impossi- bility of foi'cing human nature — the absurdity of a system which, under the pretext of removing the inconveniences of solitude, has the effect of isolating them completely in the midst of their companions, and of continually exposing them to the temptation of breaking the rule ; also the persons em- ployed to watch over its maintenance are not slow in consi- dering this order of things as an inhumanity, a real barbarity. In short, I am convinced that if silence could be stiictly maintained, it would almost inevitably lead to madness and death. * * * The penitentiary system is clothed with a character and simplicity which defies all objections. It may be thus briefly summed up : — It removes the prisoner from all dangerous influence ; it subjects him to every influence favourable to his correction and amendment. 2b2 388 PRISON DISCIPLINE. M. Le Baron de Hody said — " We believe that the cellular system may very well, as was decided by the Congi-ess of Frankfort, be adapted to every class of convicts ; but we think that a law is not merely a dogma, it is often only the application of certain principles to certain local necessities. We should require everywhere new prisons for the untried, two new maisons centrales for convicts, a new prison for convicts sentenced to compulsory labour, and, finally, a new prison for those sentenced to close confinement. Each maison central would require, at least a sum of 1,500,000 francs. In addition to these buildings (and ob- serve, I only speak here of prisons for men,) we should require the keeping up of several prisons for particular classes of prisoners Thus, for example, the prison of Alost, appropriated to soldiers, may very well be kept fifteen or twenty years longer. This is what I had to say relative to our intentions ; but we also think that the cellular system might be applied to all the world. Now, as to new prisons, I will inform the assembly that since last year we have laid the foundation of the prison of Liege, which will contain 860 cells. This prison resembles the fore part of that at Pentonville, including the chapel fitted up, and well contrived for the exigencies of catholic worship. This building will serve to convince certain minds, and to make the cellular system acceptable to them; indeed, many persons consider this system irreconcilable with the performance of catholic worship. Now, I can assure you that after having seen this chapel at Liege, every catholic, every ecclesiastic will take away the conviction that the protcstant chapel of Penton- ville will answer perfectly to all that we require.* The prison ♦ Upon this observation of Le Baron de Hody, I would repeat that the arrangements of the chupel at Vilvorde Prison appeared to me very objec- tionable, as 1 stated at the Brussels Congress. The small part in which Divine service is celebrated formed the centre, from which some long rooms diverged, in which the prisoners were assembled at their meals. The ex- planation of the excellent Inspector General, that at such times the centre PRISONS 07 BELGIUM. 389 of Dinaut will contain forty-eight cells ; it will be built on a circular plan. " At this time they arc laying the foundation of a cellular prison for women at Brussels. For want of space wc have allowed certain common rooms, but hi which there shall be no communication between the prisoners ; whilst we have estab- lished separation by iron plates as existed in the former maison de surele. I do not cite this as a model, but as the example of a prison which it has been possible to improve. The cellular prison of Courtray will contain 180 prisoners. There is a very bad prison at Bruges : wc have tried to im- prove it by adding to one side a cellular building intended for 139 prisoners. This prison is built on the plan of the cellular prison of Tours. A cellular prison will also soon be built at Charleroi, which will contain about 200 prisoners. "Thus, although the law has not been passed, the Govern- ment has proceeded in advance as much as they could; for it cannot enter into the mind of a reasonable man to refuse the cellular system to the untried, whose innocence may be proved. The prison of Ghent is very defective; those who have seen the bridewell to which it is annexed, have remarked that it is very confined : it is indeed only one of the branches of the prison of M. le Comte Vilain XIII. The Government has just obtained apiece of ground large enough to build a prison of -300 cells, similar to that at Pentonvillo. Want of money has hitherto prevented the erection of a cellular prison for convicts at Louvain : the Chambers, I doubt not, will soon grant the necessary sums for building. We have the land : was concealed by felding doors, I could not think satisfactory. The pla* e in which the Almighty is publicly worshipped ought not to be desecrated to other purposes for the mere sake of convenience or economy. I am pleased til add that this opinion was in accordance with the general feeling of the Congress, and that under the second resolution it was determined that it was essential in the construction of cellular prisons, to arrange the ch;ipel in €uch a manner as must cflfcctually correct the evil complained of. — Hcc the. S'jsulutioii. 390 PRISON DISCIPLINE. they have only to build. I will add two words for persons unacquainted with the deliberations of the Congress. Many of them mistake our business in some resj^ects. 1 wish it was clearly understood, that it is not only for the convicts that we labour, but foj* society. As an old lawyer, I think I may speak on this subject with confidence. Well, I do not hesitate to declare myself a partisan of the cellular system, because it is the most corrective, 1 will even say the most dreaded ; but we must, as much as possible, soften its severity, for a man is not a dog. A man should be well treated, even when he is guilty : he must not be tortured. A guilty man is not less a man, and as such ought to live in a healthy and proper condition. He must not escape; but neither must he be ill-treated. I am convinced also that the cellular system offers to society more effectual guarantees for security than the present system, particularly ip. that there would be fewer escapes," FOREIGN PRISONS. 391 HOLLAND. PRISONS OF LAST CENTURY WELL MANAGED. — PUNISHMENT UPON RIGHT PRINCIPLES. — CORRECTIVE DISCIPLINE. HOWARD AT AMSTKRDAM. — HE ATTENDS DIVINE SERVICE IN PRISON. SPEECH OF PROFESSOR DEN TEX. — STATE OF PENAL LEGISLATION IN HOLLAND. — THE SEPARATE SYSTEM APPROVED. — SPEECH OF M. SURINGAR, AT FRANKFORT. — FAILURE OF ATTEMPTS TO CLASSIFY CRIMINALS. — INCREASE OF CRIME. — NEW CELLULAR PRISONS. ARCHITECT SENT TO ENGLAND. EVILS OF ASSOCIATION INSISTED UPON. DECEPTION. FEIGNED SICKNESS AND MADNESS. — AN EX- AMPLE. — THE CELL AND THE WORKROOM CONTRASTED. SPEECH AT BRUSSELS. — THE SEPARATE SYSTEM ADOPTED FOR ALL PRISONERS IN HOLLAND. — WISH OF ELIZABETH FRY REALIZED. CELLULAR IMPRISONMENT DESIRED BY FEMALE PRISONERS AT GENEVA. — NEW CELLULAR PRISON AT AMSTERDAM. LUXEMBOURG. SEPARATE IMPRISONMENT ADOPTED. —SOME DIFFICULTIES lU ARRANGEMENT OF PRISONS. From what has been aheady said concerning the prisons of Holland and some wise regulations in their government which have been noticed, the reader has probably received a favourable impression as to the humanity and sound judgment of the Dutch in their treatment of criminals. Towards the close of the last century, whilst America was trying experiments upon the power of human en- durance, aiitl by schemes of severity seeking in vain to coriect oilenders and to deter the vicious, Holland, 392 PRISON DISCIPLINE. we know, was even then pursuing in several prisons tlie very system whicli, with some improvements indeed, but still the like plan of separation, we now commend. Prisoners were separated, strict order was preserved, not by harshness, but by deci- sion and judicious kindness, and reformation was sought by the only effectual means — that of moral and religious instruction. Howard affords us proof that sound principles were recognized in the treat- ment of criminals, by giving us an inscription which he saw over a doorway where some were confined, and which he thus translates : — " Fear not ; I mean not vengeance, but your reformation^ Severe is my band, but benevolent my intention."* The real delight with which our philanthropist wit- nessed the means of correction employed in Holland, caused him to give expression frequently to an earnest desire that similar plans might be pursued in his own land. Thus, on occasion of his attend- ing Divine service in the prison at Rotterdam, he writes : — " I cannot forbear closing this account, without mentioning the ardent wishes it inspired in me, that our prisons also, instead of echoing with profaneness and blasphemy, might hereafter resound with the offices of religious worship ; and prove, like these, the happy means of awakening many to a sense of their duty to God and man." f * Foreign Prisons, p. 73, 2nd Book. + On conversing with a sensible magistrate, his words were, " I have Known persons who have come out of our houses of correction thoroughly reformed, and have thanked God for their confinement." — Howard's Foniug course of separate confinement. We arc even obliged to ask ourselves whether we could also find a sufficient number of subordinate officers, who would not be a cause of anxiety in their frequent and unpca-ceived intercourse with the prisoners. " I have said that the being sentenced to the second class of punishments in the Hou.'^e of Correction, to which is attached coiiflncnient in a t( parate cell, i*^ an additional penalty 421 PRISON DISCIPLINE. induced solely to meet the case of those who have relapsed" It would be possible now to prepare a change in the law upon this point. Separate confinement is essentially intended to reform ; we might therefore apply it to every class of prisoners in the House of Correction, making every allowance with respect to what has been said above. *' The following regulations appear to us the most conform- able to the penal code, and the usages and customs of our tribunals : — " 1. Sentences to different degrees of punishment in the House of Correction to extend from a minimum of imprison- ment for two months to a maximum for four years. " 2. Every sentence of imprisonment not exceeding six months, to be undergone in a separate cell. " 3. For every sentence exceeding this term, a third part of the time, at intervals determined in the record, to be under- gone in the cells. Nevertheless, no separate confinement to last without interruption for more than a year. * 4. Two months of separate confinement to be etj^ual to three months of ordinary imprisonment. "5. The superior officers, ecclesiastics, teachers, master- workmen, and attendants, to be in constant communication with the prisoners confined in cells. The intercourse of these prisoners with the subordinate officers to be under control ; and interviews with relations, or a third person, to be but rarely permitted. '•6. Each cell to have from 800 to 1,000 cubic feet of respirable air, and to be conveniently arranged after the best model. For the sick, cells to be made large enough to receive, when necessary, an attendant nurse. " 7. Every prisoner confined in a cell to enjoy every day one hour's walk in the open air. A shed to be erected along one of the sides of the space for exeicise, to serve as a shelter in bad weather. " Of course we should keep up those regulations of the old FOREIGN PRISONS — UUCllY OF NASSAU. 425 system, which wore intended to awaken self-love, to excite emulation, to create an interest in the proceeds of labour, &c. 'J'lie society for encouraging released prisoners would have to extend its operations in order to further this object. " These observations will make you acquainted with the jiresent state of the prisons in the Duchy of Nassau. As to the wishes of the Government with respect to the future, these are very near being carried into effect ; and a Govern- ment which has already done so much good, and which is even now preparing more than one amelioration, will not ultimately shrink from effecting reforms which appear to it to be more desirable still." At the Congres Penitentiaire, at Frankfort, some objections against the Separate System were alleged by M. Stiebel, a member of the Senate of that city ; he observed — " We have in Germany a better education, which is more extended through all classes of the population, and which may prevent degeneracy. We are deprived at the same time of those guarantees, without which separate confinement be- comes a frightful thing.* Tliese objections called forth the following reply from Dr. Varrentrapp, the physician of the prisons at Frankfort : — " I live in the same town, I practice in the same profession, I share the same political opinions, as M. Stiebel, and yet, W'hilst adopting entirely the general considerations which make the leading point of his discourse, I arrive at completely op- pt)site conclusions, lelative to the subject which occupies us at this time. Yes! our Germany has the happiness of pos- sessing a better and more generally extended education than that of any other country. Yes, our system of education, from ♦ Liberty oi the jncss, trial by jury, &.c. 426 PRISON DISCIPLINE. tlie primary schools to the uuiversities, is better organised than amongst other nations. But it does not follow from thence, that our methods of teacliing can only suit Ger- many, nor those existing in England and France cannot ex- tend beyond these two countries. Far from that; what a civilised people acknowledge as the best system of instruction, ought to be, from that alone, and is indeed the most suitable for all other civilised people. The university regulations of Austria and France are drawn upon the same model. Can we say that they are exclusively suited to the national character of the French and Austrians, and that we cannot make use of them, because we are Germans, and because our nationalities are different. " It is the same with penitentiary education as with uni- versity education. The method acknowledged to be the best in one country, must be the best in another. The mode of detention, which unites the most completely all the qualities of a perfect penal treatment amongst a people— which corrects the criminal at the same time that it makes him atone for his crime, which prevents the mutual corruption of prisoners, and moralises them by individual separation, which awakens in them, with contrition, the love of labour, and the good feelings which may still exist in the depth of their hearts, — this mode of imprisonment, I say, acknowledged the best here, must be the best everywhere. I do not admit as an obstacle the na- tional differences which are spoken of. Neither do I admit that the number and quality of criminals in France and Ger- many differ as much as is said. Let men only compare with some attention the criminal statistics of England, France, and Belgium, with those of Germany, and they will be convinced that the cause of the present difference which exists in the criujinulity of these nations does not consist in the difference of nationalities but in some outwaid or accidental circum- stances ; that is to say, that crimes differ in number and nature,, according as a counln" presents a mabs ol' densely FOREIGN PRISONS IRANKlOKl. 4'2'i crowded populatioii as London and Paris (Berlin already is not iiHich less), or a niamifaoturiiit'' or agricultural population. As to the trial by jury and liberty of tlie press, it is to 1)C much regretted that Germany does not possess them. But should we have these two guarantees with the present syslem of com- mon prisons, we could do nothing beneficial for the moral reform of the prisoners, whilst, even without them, we may obtain this reform from the system of separate imprisonment — a system, which, organised as we understand it, offers only advantages without inconsistences, without inhumanity, and without the possibility of oppression." Dr. Varrentrapp was supported in his advocacy of the Separate System by the longer experience of his father, who said — " The system of prison association is as fatal to the con- demned as to the unconvicted ; it is even more so to the formal- because of the longer duration of their stay in prison ; and again, because the state which has already corrupted them when unconvicted, in the association of the t/iaisoit 11 had it proved for Switzerland, had this plan been everywhere adopted and steadily pur- sued. But we find tliat in many of its prisons a lax discipline prevailed, even luxuries were allowed, and justice was seemingly trifled with; whilst on the VOL. II. 2 F 450 PRISON DISCIPLINE. Other hand, in others, dungeons and means of torture might be seen, or the miserable victims of an ill- judged economy were compelled to labour in public, with the badge of infamy and the instrument of suffering attached to them. The following statements of Howard have sug- gested the above remarks ; — " In the prison at Geneva, which was formerly the bishop's palace, at my first visit, there were only five criminals; none of them in irons. Their allowance about six pence a day : for which they have a pound of good bread, some soup, and lialf a pint of wine. They looked healthy. For some years past, no capital punishment. If a criminal flies from justice, they call him in form three days; and after trial, execute him in effigy.* "At Freyburg, there were no prisoners in the two towers; one of which is called La Tour Mauvaise, probably from the close rooms of confinement (eight feet by six, and six feet high) and the excruciating engines of torture kept there. In the house of correction there were thirteen men, and seven women; the former are employed abroad in cleaning the streets, &c., the latter in spinning. They have soup twice a day; meat only three times a year; viz., Christmas, Easter, and Whitsuntide. "At Bern, the principal Canton, there were no prisoners but in the two houses of correction. One of these prisons is for citizens, in which the men and women were spinning, for they never work abroad. "In the other (the Schallenhaus) were, in 1776, one hundred and twenty-four galley-slaves; and in 1778, one hundred and ■forty-one. They have not each a room to themselves; but there is some distinction of the more and less criminal, both in their rooms and work. Most of the men are einpl<>ycd in * Foreign Prisons, p 106. FORIiia.S' PRlSO>fS — SWITZERLAND. 451 cleaning and watering the streets, and puMic walks; removing the rubbish of buildings; and the snow and ice in winter. The city is one of the cleanest I have seen. Four or five are chained to a small waggon, and draw; others, more at liberty, sweep, load, &c. These are known by an iron collar, with a hook projecting above their heads: weight ahoiit five pounds; I saw one riveted on a crnninal iu ahout two minutes, f Wliilst then, Switzerland in past times might teach that by imparting religious instruction, we might prevent crime, and tliat by separating crimi- nals, less of guilt would be learnt; yet in the departure from these wise plans we see much to deprecate, and sufficient to account for that increase of crime which has allowed none of its enlarged gaols to be at this time without numerous inmates. The following description of the prisons of Geneva at the present time, was given by the Chaplain, M. Ferriere, at the Frankfort Congress : — " Geneva has two prisons — the penitentiary and the house of detention. The penitentiary has been ccmducted since 1825 on the system of work-rooms and classification. It has had the advantage of beginning under the auspices of a governor of great talent, and of retaining him during seven- teen years. It has, besides, been the object of the continual solicitude of our Genevese philanthropists, who have done, ■with respect to its amelioration, all that it was possible to accomplish in the space of time. The results have been great, certainly, especially when compared to those of the old prison?. Yet we have not been able to extirjiate certain evils, of which ••■ Even women are subjected to this painful degradation, upon wliich Howard remarks, I detest the custom of daily exposing that sex to such ignnminy and severity, unless, when they are totally abandoned, and have lost all the softer feelings of their sex. 2 f2 452 PRISON DISCTPLINTE. I will speak presently. Seeing then that our araelioralions did not lead to the desired end, several amongst us began to wish for a new system, for we gradually arrived at the convic- tion, that the evils of our penitentiary arose from the system itself of associating criminals, and which the rule of silence did not remedy. " When this conviction was produced in our minds, it became urgent on our country to rebuild our prison of deten- tion, which fell into ruins, and afforded besides the disgusting spectacle of one of the bad prisons of the old regime To obtain a reconstruction upon the cellular system became then the object of our wishes. That required a law. A law involves the necessity of a public discussion, and you know the repugnance felt to the Philadelphian system ; seeing in the cells only dungeons, men do not hesitate to heap upon this system the most outrageous abuse. However, we gained the victory; and since the end of November, 1843, we have had a building containing rather more than a hundred cells, and divided into three wards — one for the men, a second for the women, and between those two, a third for young offenders. Besides, we have under the same roof, a division appropriated to debtors who are not subjected to the regulation of the cell. The wards for the women and children have each a workroom ; this workroom is an important part, and has given us signifi- cant results. We have then been provided for about three years with two prisons, representing the two systems, between which the ojiinions of so many able men are divided ; and that in the same locality, and under the same circumstances, in all respects, excepting those which affect the system itself This position has some importance, for we have seen in other countries results attributed to the system, and afterwards .acknowledged to have arisen from some other causes — the healthiness of the situation, or. perhaps, the nature of the administration. At Geneva there is between our two prisons as complete an identity as it is possible to have : the systems FOREIGN PRISONS — SWITZERLAM). 453 nloue difTor. It will then be to the system that we must attri- bute the difference of our results. I just now said complete identity. I made a mistake; our new cellular prison has not begun under the direction of M. Aubanel, which, together with its three short years of existence, compared with the twenty- one years of the other house, gives a difference much to the prejudice of the new establishment. " As to the results of these two prisons, we have little to say on the subject of relapsed criminals, for it requires at least ten years of comparison to know the real number of these from both systems. We have only thirty-four months, and these shew about two and three-fifths per cent, under the cellular system — a number somewhat inferior to that which the same length of time furnishes under the i\uburn system." [Other portions of this speech have been quoted in fore- going pages, all tending to prove the great advantage resulting from the change of discipline, as respects the conduct of the prisoners whilst in confinement ] M. MosER, Director of the Penitentiary of St. Gall, also stated as follows : — " I have some details to give you respecting the discipline pursued in the new Penitentiary of St. Gall, in Switzerland. This prison has been occupied since 1st July, 1839. It will hold 108 prisoners, of both sexes. It is built after the plan of that at Geneva, and regulated according to the Auburn system. The cost of each cell was lUOO florins. The length of imprisonment is from three months to imprisonment for life. 340 prisoners have been in the penitentiary since its opening till 1845 inclusive. The length of time for labour is eleven hours. Four hours are allowed for recreation, and nine for sleep. 132,880 days of labour have produced a clear gain of 40,224 florins, which makes, per head, a profit of 18, 16 kr. The establishment has cost the State during the same period of time only 32,717 florins. Infringement of the 451 PRISON DISCIPLINE. rules is extremely frequent, especially with regard to cleanli- ness and order. The rule of silence is also frequently broken. Two ecclesiastics, one Roman Catholic and one Protestant, are attached to tho establishment ; divine service takes place three times a week for each of the two communions. There is also a school and a library for the use of the prisoners. A society of patronage exerts itself to obtain employment for the liberated on their leaving prison. Out of 215 liberated, 19 have relapsed; which makes 8.83 per cent. In the old prison, the proportion of relapses was 50 per cent." Although the result of the above comparison is (ledidedly favourable to the cellular system, yet if, with the improvements which have been introduced, the sad mistake be committed, of exacting profitable labour from criminals, at the sacrifice of time for reflection and corrective instruction, we may certainly predict, from our own experience, that disappointment will ensue. Switzerland may learn from Scotland, the certain consequence of a plan so impolitic. FOIIEIGN PRISONS — rOLAND. 455 POLAND. ANCIENT LAW REST KCTI MG PERSONS ACCUSED. — CARE OF SUCH AT PRESENT. — LE COiMTE SKARBEK. LABOUR ON PUBLIC WORKS. — NOW DISCONTINUED. LA MAISON d'eNQUETE AT AVARSAW. CELLULAR SYSTEM EXCLUSIVELY ADOPTED. ISOLATION MOST SANITARY. — MENTAL ALIENATION RARE. SEPARATION MOST DETERRING. — MOST IMPRESSIVE AND COR- RECTIVE. — MOST MERCIFUL TO THE INNOCENT. — STATISTICS. Many pages might be filled with a description of tJie atrocities inflicted during the last fd'ty years in the prisons of Poland, but as the subjects of them have been, for the most part, patriots who have struggled for their country and suffered in its cause, and not objects for that corrective discipline which it is the design of this woik to promote, any details concerning them would be out of place. The treat- ment of criminals in Poland has been similar to that pursued in the countries to which it has been an- nexed. It is worthy of remark that an especial concern for accused but unconvicted persons was shewn in the ancient code of this kingdom, and yet survives the changes to which it has been subjected. The old law of Jagellon provided that no individual should be imprisoned until convicted;* and in the * " Neminein captival)imus, nisi jure victumj aut in criuiine depreheusuni." — Fletcher & Palani/, p. 46. 456 PRISON DISCIPLINE. progress of penal discipline during recent days, we discern a like anxious care on behalf of such exhi- bited in the wise precaution of erecting cellular prisons first of all for this class, and so protecting them from that demoralization and disgrace which are inseparable from prison association. The penitentiary reform in Poland has had a most zealous advocate and agent in the Count Skarbek, of Warsaw, to whom about twenty years since was entrusted the improvement of the penal institutions throughout the kingdom. What has been effected, and the state of penal discipline at present in Poland, may be seen from the following interesting and in- structive speech of that nobleman : — " Up Lo the year 1829 the prisons in the kingdom of Poland exhibited all the defects of the old repressive establishments. The penal code of this country admitted three classes of prisons, which differed from each other in the degree of punishments and privations to which the prisoners were con- demned. All the prisons contained not only those condemned to all degrees of punishment, but also those imprisoned during the time of their examination. All, without excepting even the accused, were occuj^ied in the public works without the prisons, as much for the State as for private individuals, who would pay them by the day. " This state of things was modified in the year 1829; the public works were abolished, and they established in the pri^ sons workshops, where the condemned are employed iq manufacturing cloth, Ihien, «8iC., used for clothing and other purposes in these establishments. Some small remuneration, in proportion to the work supplied, is kept in reserve, and paid to each prisoner when discharged. The rules for order and dibcipUjie have put au eud to many abuses, and removed FOREIGN PRISONS. POLAND. 457 the greatest inconveniences of the prisons in which criminals were associated. " In proceeding to a systematic reform in prison regulations Government has recognised the principle, that it was neces- sary to hegin with the mai.sons d'eiiquete designed for the reception of those for trial ; and as this reform could not be made in the prisons where association was allowed, it has ordered the construction of new maisons d'enquete, after the system of separate confinement. It was in consequence of this decision that the maison d'enquete, at Warsaw, was com- menced in 1830, and completed in 1835 ; and experience having proved the advantages of the new system, in the year 1843 a sum of 1,200,000 Polish florins, or 20,000 Prussian erowns was granted for the construction of three new maisons d'enquele in the provinces of the kingdom. ••The maison d'enquele of Warsaw contains 166 cells and twenty wards, of from twelve to fourteen beds, for the pri- soners who have been convicted ; and the three other maisons d'enquele in the province contain cells corresponding in num- ber to the wants of the locality, and only two wards designed for smugglers and those condemned to imprisonment for at least three months, who are employed in the service of the interior of the prison. '• Government proposes to carry out the system which it has admitted, and to adopt it in all places where there are accused to put in confinement ; and, after having adopted everywhere this reform in imprisonment before trial, to put it in practice for condemned prisoners. This manner of pro- ceeding is doubtless slow, but so much the more sure as to success, since it appears almost impossible to obtain satisfac- tory results in prisons for the convicted, so long as those for culprits before trial, and the maisons d'enquete, are not estab- lished on the principle of the Separate System. " What I am about to say explains why so little has at present been done in my country for the reform of peniten- tiary prisons for the convicted. What has been done has 458 PRISON DISCIPLINE. been confined to the improvement of the regime in the pri- sons where intercourse is still permitted ; and they have transformed into a prison, after the Auburn system, some buildings in the city of Sieradz, which formerly contained a cloth manufactory. This last establishment, founded for 166 criminals, separated by night and working together by day, is much dreaded, especially by the elder criminals, who have known the sad indulgence of a common dormitory. However, they have not adopted there the defective system of forced silence. " This short account of what has been done up to the pre- sent for prison reform in the kingdom of Poland, cannot yet shew important results as to the moral influence of the system on the people, for the results cannot be obtained until the system be developed in all its particulars, and put in practice all over the country. Meanwhile, what I affirm, is — 1st. "That the sanitary state in the cellular establishments is much more satisfactory than in the common prison. Last year, during which the typhus fever carried off a tenth of the prisoners in the old prisons, has proved that the cellular system preserves the prisoners from the pernicious influence of con- tagious diseases : for in establishments of this kind, even in those conducted upon the Auburn system, scarcely any have been victims to this terrible disease: and whilst mortality re- mained there, as usual, about three per cent., it increased ten per cent, in the prisons where the inmates were associated. 2nd. " During the last ten years, since the occupation of the Mahoti d'enquete at Warsaw, there have been only two cases of mental alienation, the one of which was declared the day after the arrest of the individual, and the other in consequence of the prisoner having been too soon deprived of his "plica," who, however, has been completely cured. 3rd. " That criminals by profession, leave those localities where there are cellular prisons, and go to those places where they are sure to be confined with others in prisons, when they arc apprehended. FOREIGN PRISONS POLAND. 450 4lh "That criminals, and especially juveuiles. who incur iinprisoiimeut before trial, for the first time, are easily con- vinced of their faults, receive a powerful impression from solitary confinement, and do not repeat their crime if they have not the misl'ortune to be transferred to a prison in which Ihey are associated. 5th. "In short, that those unjustly accused, and especially the better educated, bless an institution which has preserved them from shame, by concealing them from their fellow prisoners, previous to their trial. " In conclusion, I give as a statistic detail, that the kingdom of Poland reckons at the present time, nine thousand accused and condemned, in a population of four million four hundred thousand; that nearly two thirds of this number are composed of prisoners for trial ; that the whole of these prisoners are divided amongst twenty-two prisons, four of which are exclu- sively appropriated to the accused ; five to the convicted, and thirteen containing accused and convicted, separated as much as possible. * * * 'p^e experience that I have had of the cellular Maison d'eiiquefe at Warsaw, during the ten years that this establishment has existed, convinces me that solitary confinement makes a powerful and painful impression on those imprisoned for the first time, and under the weight of con- viction, and especially on juveniles. I look upon this im- pression as very salutary, for it is of the greatest importance that a prisoner, who, for a less serious offence is committed for the first time, should be under the most painful and unhappy impression; the remembrance of which, will be ever present, whenever he may be tempted to fall again into crime. This impression is much less felt, and is gradually effaced in the common prisons, where his companions know how to con- sole the novice, by lessening his feeling of shame, and furthering him in vice. I conclude, therefore, that those im- prisoned for less serious ofrcnccs, and for a shorter period, ought more especially to be subjected to the solitary system." 460 PRISON DISCIPLINE. RUSSIA. CRUELTY OF PUxVISHMENTS. — MITIGATION AND IMPROVEMENTS. HONOUR OF ENGLAND IN HAVING LED TO THESE. — SPEECH OF M. DE ZEHE. — EVILS OF PAST IMPRISONMENT. — THE KNOUT ABOLISHED. — PUNISHMENTS IN SIBERIA RELAXED. VISIT OF THE EMPEROR TO ENGLAND. — CELLULAR PRISON ORDERED AT ST, PETERSBURGH. — SEPARATE CONFINEMENT DETERMINED UPON. — THE KNOUT AND THE PLEITE CON- TRASTED. The vindictive cruelties of Russia, and the still greater atrocities of Siberia, notwithstanding the secrecy with which they have been perpetrated, and the rigorous silence respecting them which has been so constantly enforced, have not escaped the obser- vation of the world, and the censure of every civilized State. A volume would not afford sufficient space for reprobating the severities which disgrace the penal code of an empire, long since and until lately distinguished as much for its cold-blooded cruelty as for the inclemency of its climate. In the treat- ment alike of the accused and of the convict, huma- nity was disregarded, and the very name of justice dishonoured. To inflict vengeance was the end proposed, whilst the correction of the vicious was never sought. Instead of repeating horrors with which the page of FOREIGN PRISONS — RUSSIA. 40 1 history is stained, I gladly enter upon the pleasing task of describing improvements already effected, and of more merciful arrangements now in progress. I cannot forbear to remark before enumeratina: some of these amendments, that if, as already ob- served, it may be the boast of England that she has diffused the light she has received on the subject of penal discipline, it is her brighter glory if she has enkindled a spirit of compassion in the criminal juris- prudence of other lands. We have seen throughout the speeches which have been quoted that the prisons of Britain have been set forth as the patterns for improvement, — that Pentonville is the model every- where recognized, if clemency combined with jus- tice — the prevention of crime by the penal correction of the criminal, be the aim and end of imprisonment. High then, indeed, is the honour which appertains to England ia having caused by her example the most cruel nation of Europe not only to mitigate, but to become really merciful in its punishments by the evident wisdom of her plans. — On his late return from England, the Emperor of Russia ordered the erection of a model prison at St. Petersburgh, similar to that of Pentonville. The information contained in the following speech of M. de Zehe, the representative of Russia, at the recent Congress at Brussels, will be read with pleasure : — " It is not without much hesitation that I ascend the tri- bune before an areopagus of such eminent men, on whom 462 PRISON DISCIPLINE. Europe, the civilised world has its eyes ; for these men, whilst labouring for the good of their country, are devoted to one of the noblest causes of humanity, and in questions such as this upon which we are here assembled, the universe becomes one country, and the human race a single nation. Glorious your work ! Glory to the age which gives birth to the idea of interesting itself for beings, who before only shared repro- bation and contempt, and seeks, even in the mire, the divine sparks which sometimes fall there, to make them come forth worthy of their heavenly origin. Let my feeble voice echo at this moment the opinion of my countrymen, who send to you the expression of their most lively gratitude for all that you have done at the preceding Congress, (of Frankfort) and for all that you are going to do at the present. I am only sorry that Russia cannot at present bring you her share of expe- rience in penitentiary reform. Till lately our prisons had no penal character, as in other countries ; they were rather places of confinement before trial, where the untried and accused were associated. Now, according to the penal code of 1845, imprisonment is, as in other countries, a punishment. The Emperor has felt the inconveniences of the present system of prisons in Russia, a system which is false in its principle and extremely fatal in its consequences. I would remark that the introduction of the penitentiary system in Russia has not been, as many persons think, the effect of fashion. No : it was necessity ; and this necessity has been so much felt, that the Russian penal code has experienced a complete transforma- tion. They have begun with the knout — this word still pro- duces horror. Well, the knout has not existed for two years. " As to Siberia, this word no longer produces on the mass of the people the fear which it formerly inspired. The re- sources of this country are still almost inexhaustible, and the work upon the golden sands makes labour rise to a much higher rate than it is in i\\e mother country, so that workmen are belter rewarded there tlian m other parts of the'emjiire; FOREIGN PRISONS — RUSSIA. 403 and I have seen letters from exiles in Siberia, who wrote to their fellow-countrymen in Russia, and in which they said they were better off in Siberia than in their own country. It arises from thence that the new prisons ought to take the place of banishment to Siberia ; they ought to take the place of the maisons de force, and moreover of the privation of cer- tain civil rights. Jj/ler his return from England, the Emperor instituted a special committee for the reform of prisons, and ordered the erection of a model prison similar to that at Pen- ionville. This committee has adopted the following bases: — It has decided to establish at St. Petersburgh, a prison for five hundred and twenty prisoners, on the principle of sepa- rate confinement; but as there is still in Russia an excessive fear of the effects of a too much prolonged separate confine- ment, it has been thought better to divide the term of im- prisonment into four parts. 1st. Separate confinement without any work. 2nd. Separate confinement with work. 3rd. Separate confinement with work in common and silence. 4th. Separate confinement with work in common and per- mission to speak. This system is admitted for women as well as men, from twenty to fifty years of age; for women from eighteen to forty. " You see that amongst us the question is still in its in- fancy. We shall end by walking with you. We shall replace the gibbet with the cross, and we shall be proud and happy to be able to say that clemency is the inseparable companion of justice." The announcement in the above speech, that the puni.shment of the knout had been abolished, was received with loud applause ; but it called forth the remark that the " pleite " had been substituted, in reply to which M. de Zehe, at another meeting of the Congress, explained that " there was an immense difference between the knout and the '' pleite : — 464 PRISON DISCIPLINE. "The former, said M. de Zehe, was not merely an instru- ment of corporal punishment, but it was also inflicted as a degradation. A person who had suffered the knout, was stigmatized in public opinion. He could never again shew himself in society, whilst the " pleite." which has always existed, is applied for the least offences. The knout, on the contrary, has always been inflicted for the most heinous crimes, such as parricide, murder, and robbery with violence." You see then that the suppression of the knout is a most important fact in the way of improvement, since a punishment extremely severe has given place to a penalty infinitely less. FOREIGN PRISONS — -SWEDEN AND NORWAY. 405 SWEDEN AND NORWAY. THE KING AN ADVOCATE FOH CELLULAR IMPUlSONMENT.— HIS WOUK " PUNISHMENTS AND PRISONS." — QUOTATIONS. — CORPORAL PUNISHMENTS DEPRECATED. — MENTAL PUNISH- MENTS APPROVED, — EFFECT OF THE KING's PUBLICATION. SWEDEN. — NECESSITY FOR RECONSTRUCTING PRISONS SF.EN. — THE CELLULAR SYSTEM APPROVED. PRISONS ERECTED. IMPRISONMENT OF FOUR KINDS. NORWAY. PRISON DEMORALIZATION EVIDENT. — A COMMIS- SIONER APPOINTED. — THE CELLULAR SYSTEM RECOMMENDED AND ADOPTED. Several extracts have been made in the foregoing pages from the valuable and very interesting work *' Punishments and Prisons," written by the Sove- reign of these countries a short time before his ac- cession to the throne; and which has been translated into our own and some other languages of Europe. It has been shewn that this excellent monarch strenuously promotes the cellular system of impri- sonment. The reader of his volume on the subject, will not augur its success from the dignity of the advocate, so much as from the force of his arguments. One or two further quotations from it, will perhaps form the best introduction I can offer to this chapter. The noble author, after urging upon Christian principles that prisoners have claims upon our compassion, — that " they should be considered less VOL. II. G 2 400 PRISON DISCIPLINE. as outlaws, than as fallen fellow-creatures, for whose reclamation ami improvement we are called upon to think and act," judiciously observes in his Pre- face : — "In order not to be rnisunderstood, and to shield the new theory of punishment against a reproach which it is often obliged to bear, viz: — that it takes care of the criminal at the expense of those who obey the laws, I must state, that its tendency is, on the contrary, to render the law more sacred, and to increase the effect of punishment, by founding them on reason and justice. It ought not, therefore, to be mis- taken for that false philanthropy, which has sometimes pretended to plead its cause. The latter ought to be consi- dered only as a sickly excrescence on the healthy stem of the former." * Condemning the vain attempt to correct the cri- minal by mere bodily chastisement, we read : — " Corporal punishments had their foundation in that feeling of revenge, which in former ages was predominant in the exercise of the right of punishment in the state, and in the ignorance which then prevailed. It requires, indeed, no tri- fling degree of enlightenment, to judge of the importance of mental punishments, and to consider them sufficiently expiatory. ***** " Since enlightenment, in its increasingly rapid progress, has driven from our criminal legislation the most barbarous c )rporal punishments, as mutilation, branding, &c., there re- main in our present code whipping and scourging, as the last traces of the views of justice entertained in past times. " Flogging, which is accompanied with indelible dishonour, • is perhaps still more unreasonable than even capital punish- ment ; in the latter case the physical existence of the criminal is destroyed ; by flogging, on the other hand, the possibility * Punishments and Prisons, p. 7. 1 t'OREIGN PRISONS— SWEDEN AND NORWAY. 407 ttiniost of his future improvement. The riglit of punishment in the State, whose object is to restore, by the very applica- tion of punishment, violated justice, and to warn and imjirove, has, then, wandered so widely from its original idea, that it disgraces, renders the return from the path of crime when once entered upon almost impossible, and leaves as a choice only misery and the scaffold. How many examples of this state of things, as grievous for humanity as it is daiigerous for the public safety, has not our country to produce." * His Majesty concludes with the following pam- gra})h :- — " Should the noble sympathy which already begins to shew itself in Sweden, for the improvement of the penal laws and for prisons, be raised by my well-intentioned exertions, and espe- cially by the judgment of those distinguished authors whom I have cited in several places, the object will be gained, and one of my most earnest wishes accomplished. "f Tlie effect produced by the appearance of this work, we are told by the translator, was all that the illustrious writer could have desired : — " The book was eagerly sought and read, and the Diet, inspired by the noble sentiments there developed, appointed the sum of 1,800,000 R:dr to be applied in the manner proposed ; besides which, the different committees were led to discuss the subject in such a way as must lead, at the next meeting of the Diet, to the most beneficial results. "J To what extent the earnest desires of the Sovereign have been realized in Sweden and Norway, may be learnt from the information given by their represen- tatives at the Congrcs Penitentiaire. M. Netzel, of Stockholm, at the Frankfort Congress, said : — "The necessity of reform in the regime and construction of » Punishments and rnsons, p- 5, 15. + Id. p. 155. t Id. p. 155. 2g2 408 PRISON DISCIPLINE. prisons has been long since generally admitted in Sweden. It is now thirty years since, upon a demand having been made to the States General, measures were taken to increase the number of prisons, and to apply in this branch of the ad- ministration, a new and more rational system, based upon principles of humanity, and the moral reformation of the prisoners. At that time, the different penitentiary plans, and the positive effects obtained in Europe and America, were but superficially known: thus, the results of the reform attempted in Sweden, although more satisfactory than those of the old system, did not answer the expectations of the nation; and as at the same time the number of the prisoners fearfully in- creased, it was soon found necessary to go further, iu order to attain a more satisfactory result. "In 1841, agreeably to the proposal of Government, the States General, in expressing the opinion that the cellular system was, whether as respects detention before trial, or as a punishment, the most rational and the most desirable, voted the large sum of about one million three hundred thousand florins, for the erection of new buildings according to this system. By means of this sum they have already built, and will soon have finished building, nine different prisons, con- taining eight hundred and sixty cells, and they are already preparing architectural plans for two other cellular prisons for the provinces of Carlscrona and Wenersberg. These new prisons are in the first place, destined for the reception of the untried and accused, but they will also be used for the carrying out of punishments by short imprisonment. "The special law, on the regulation of prisons, has lately been revised in accordance and perfect harmony with the penal code. But, this law, whilst adopting the cellular system, agreeably to the method called Pennsylvanian, established as fundamental principles: — that separate imprisonment, with labour, should be applied to the convicts, but with mndifi- ca'Jons accoidiiig to the nature of the crimes, and morality of FOREIGN PRISONS SWEDEN. 409 the prisoners, and besides in such a manner, that each con- vict might daily enjoy exercise in the open air, and religious, moral, and industrial instruction; as also to receive regular visits fnun the Priests, the Director, the Medical Attendant, and Members of the Committee of Inspection, and from other respectable persons who should have obtained leave from the Director. Amongst other stipulations, I will only mention one, namely — that when imprisonment is inflicted according to this system, the duration of the punishment determined in the code, should be abridged one sixth. " Meanwhile, as the building of cellular prisons, in conse- quence of the great number of criminals, requires a sum superior, perhaps, to the resources of the country. Govern- ment, further desirous that public opinion, more and more assured of the superiority of this system, should have time to strengthen, as much by our own experience as by that of richer and more advanced countries than ours, has thought right to propose that sejoarate imprisonment be only at first applied in the sixth and seventh degree, i.e., for terms not exceeding two years. But meanwhile, the system of imprison- ment, according to the method called Auburn, should be applied to other convicts. " These principles of the two aforesaid laws have been adopted by the States General, but the discussion of the chief articles that are contained in them, not having been finished at the last Diet, will be renewed at the approaching one ; and I have reason to hope that, though it may fall heavy on the treasury, the law concerning prisons will next receive a sanc- tion, and will be acted upon. "An old proverb says, 'The first step costs most.' We have, as you see, already passed the first step in prison reform. We have voted considerable sums ; we have erected new cellular buildings ; we have adopted the principles of a new criminal code, and of a law for the better government of pri- sons. I am convinced that the good cause we advocate will 470 PRISON DISCIPLINE. at last gain a complete victory, and that the Swedish nation, following the example of the noble and august Prince who is over them, will not rest half way, but will prove on the con- trary in completing t]>e reform that is begun, that it is worthy of being reckoned amongst the most liberal and enlightened nations." The same speaker at the Brussels Congress gave the following additional information : — "I have already, at the congress at Frankfort, had the honour to say that in Sweden they have taken the first step in prison reform, by promulgating a special law on the regu- lation of prisons, the principle of which is based on the ceU lular system, agreeably to the Pensylvanian method. As I said at that congress the princijDles have been adopted by the States General, but the discussion of the articles which they contain, not having been finished at the same Diet, this dis- cussion will be continued at the next. I ask leave to enter into some specific details on the reform of prisons. Prisons in Sweden are of four kinds : prisons intended for those sen- tenced to perpetual imprisonment; those of prisoners sen- tenced to a limited imprisonment ; provincial prisons ; and prisons d'arrondissemenf. For the first two classes they have preserved imprisonment in common, but have ordered in- spection by day and night, and absolute silence. For the other two they have done something more. We have ten new provincial prisons, of which in five, built in the last two years, there are already confined the accused and untried, as well as men condemned to bread and water. These prisons contain 426 cells. The other five are building, of which three, nearly finished, will contain 246 cells : two, which have been begun this year, will soon be finished, they will contain I (59 cells. There is besides, in the city of Stockholm, another prison, which contains 192 cells. FOREIGN PRISONS — SWEDEN. 471 " Thus when these prisons arc all finished there will he in Sweden 1,033 cells. Two thousand will be required to meet the necessities of the provincial prisons. The prisons build- ing to complete this number will probably be finished in six years. The charge of each prison will be entrusted to a governor, chaplain, medical attendant, six or seven warders, and one or two female warders. After the provincial prisons come the prisons iV arrondisxe.mcnt appropriated to the untried. These prisons are necessarily crOwded because justice is ad- ministered by judges travelling through a great number of localities, which causes much delay. A plan will be sub- milted to the approaching Diet, the object of which will be to reduce the number of jurisdictions to 134. Each jurisdiction will have only one city, where will be situated the prison for the district, and a single judge to administer justice. These different prisons will contain 1,500 cells. We think these prisons might be finished in the same time as the provincial prisons. As soon as the reform of the penal code is legalised, and the new prisons are built, they will begin to apply the cellular system to individuals sentenced to short imprison- ment. The prisons d'arrondissement will receive individuals sentenced to two months and less ; jirovincial prisons, those sentenced from two months to two years. lionger puTiish- ments will be suffered in other prisons to which the reform luisnot yet extended. We shall consider them when we have had a longer experience on the comparative effects of peni- tentiary prisons. Bat it is necessary to consider the treasury, which will be greatly in debt if we attempt to build all these prisons at once. When our system has received the sanction of experience, we hope to be able to reconstruct the old prisons after the cellular system. These details will prove to you, that, notwithstanding the smallness of the resources placed at its disposal, Sweden has done much for some years. What she has done already is a sure guarantee of what she will yet do. The wo)k of reform will be pursued with constancy." 472 PRISON DISCIPLINE. Concerning Norway, M. Moinichen, of Christiania, stated at Frankfort : — " The demoralization of prisons, which has successively called nearly all the civilised world to struggle against it, must also sadly affect Norway. There this evil has increased in so alarming a degree, that the necessity of combating it by vigorous measures has appeared urgent in the eyes of the Government, and of the national representation. It is pror bable that the numbers will sufficiently convince you. They leave no doubt of the absolute necessity of doing something to remedy so grievous a condition, " In the year 1837 a Royal commission was named for the purpose of examining into the state of the Norwegian prisons, and to report the improvements which their condition might require. The year after, the Professor Hoist, a member of this said commission, was appointed to visit the principal prisons of England, Ireland, Belgium, France, Swit;zerland, Germany, and Denmark, In the month of July, 1841, the same commission presented a detailed report, and unani- mously agreed to ask for the introduction of the system called Pennsylvanian into the Norwegian prisons. Moreover, they proposed to build successively seven penitentiary establish- ments, according to this system, with 2,1 15 cells, for a sum of 1,500,000 species-thalers. " Entering into the opinion of the commission, the King requested the Storthing of 1842 to grant the sum of 334,020 species-thalers necessary to build a prison at Christiania, capable of receiving 500 male convicts ; but the Storthing (although of the same opinion with Government, relative to the preference they gave to the Pennsylvanian system, and the utility of arranging a prison according to it) have only granted the sum of 182,970 thalers, which the commission judged to be sufficient for the erection of a small prison near to Chris- tiania, intended to receive from 238 to 240 feniiale convicts — a FOREIGN PRISONS NORWAY. 473 prison which, in the place of women, could receive men pro- visiomilly. •' Notwithstanding this decision, which was made by a ma- jority of fifty-three against forty-four, the Government pre- sented a new plan conformable to the first propositions of the commission ; but again the Storthing rejected it. Then the Government named a building committee to execute the decision of the Storthing, authorising the erection of a cellular prison for 240 convicts, near Christiania. " I should remark, in conclusion, that Norway, instead of its ancient penal legislation, become quite unsuitable for the times and circumstances in which we now live, has received, in the year 1842, a new penal code which answers to the requirements of the present times, and in which are sup- pressed all infamous punishments. I will add that we are on the eve of obtaining a law which will apply the cellular system to the untried and accused in all the houses of deten- tion and correction." 474 PRISON DISCIPLINE. DENMARK. PRISON DISCIPLINE NEOLKCTED TILL A. D. 1840. — INTEREST OF THE KING IN THE QUESTION. — DR. DAVID AND COM- MITTEE FOR PRISON REFORM. CELLULAR IMPRISONMENT RECOMMENDED. — THE SYSTEM ADOPTED. PRISONS RECON- STRUCTED. — SOME OBSTACLES IN PENAL CODE. Although the penal discipline of this kingdom has been till recently neglected, and the condition of its prisons appears to have been disgraceful, yet so strong has been the feeling excited on this sub- ject during the last few years, and so vigorous the movement in consequence, that it may yet outstrip other nations in the progress of penitentiary reform. Sympathizing with the neighbouring Sovereign of Norway and Sweden in his humane desire to ameliorate the penal code, and in the pious endea- vour to bring a blessing upon his kingdom by the correction of its criminals, the King of Denmark, almost immediately on his accession to the throne, directed the attention of his subjects to this most important wovk. Amongst those appointed to make the requisite investigation, and to carry out the benevolent purpose, was Dr. David, Professor of Law in the University of Copenhagen, a man whose good feeling, energy, and talent, rendered him emi- FOREIGN PRISONS DENMARK. 475 nontly qii.ilifiod for the task. Tlic following iiifor- niitioii was given by him at the kite Congres Penitentiaire : — "The reform of prisons did not Itegin in Denmark till the year 1840. What liad beeii done before then in the different penitentiary establishments, was chiefly limited there, as every where else, to some ameliorations in the material cir- cumstances of the prisoners, and to the introduction of some measures and regulations to ensure order and discipline; and to obtain at the same time, a larger amount of work in the old, and in general very bad buildings, in which the prisoners were confined. "In this same year, ( 1840) immediately after the accession to the throne of his present Majesty, who had previously taken a greatinterest in the prison reform, a committee was appointed to examine into the state of the penitentiary system through- out the kingdom, and to determine, if a general reform of prisons was required, to decide what plan should be adopted. This reform was considered so much more necessary and urgent, because all the prisons which existed, the principal in the kingdom, (that of Copenhagen) and also the most con- siderable in the Duchies, (the prison of Gluckstadt) had been in great part destroyed by fire. "The committee, of which I had the honour to be a mem- ber, soon decided that the reform of prisons for the accused, should precede that of prisons for correction. It expressed, moreover, the opinion that, whatever system might be adopted, the prisons for punishment could not have a solid principle and satisfactory result, unless they prevented the corruption and demoralisation of the prisoners during the time of their imprisonment before trial. They considered, that the only way to attain this end, was the isolation of the prisoners. They were convinced, that isolntum, fiiiriiifj /he prrpnrofiov for trial, was not less advantu/jcous tv tlic accused, than to Govern- 476 PRISON DISCIPLINE. went. It is, indeed, indispensable that the accused be pre- served from the pernicious influence and the demoralisation that they are subjected to in the maisons d'arret et de justice. "It is also important that the Government enquire into the truth, and as to the object of the arrests that are made. The jiropositions of the committee were approved by Government, and since the year 1841, a royal " ordonnance" has appeared, by which it is decided that all the new houses of detention, built for the untried and accused, shall be arranged according to the system of isolation, and that all the new constructions or re-constructions, which the old prisons require, should be according to this system, thus to fit them for the general adoption of it. "Although our jurisdictions have generally small resources and theconstiuction, and the maintenance of prisons, is at the expense of the Communes, the reform which has been under- taken, has made rapid progress, and many cellular prisons have been constructed, some new and some in the old build- ings. I may hope, after what has already been done, and judging from what is at this moment in progress, that in four or five years the reform may be considered as accomplished. Several of these establishments have been occupied more than two years. It has especially been acted upon in the new prisons at Copenhagen, and I can affirm that we have obtained very favourable results from the separation of prisoners who are waiting their trial. The anxieties which some persons had entertained on account of the adoption of this system, have been acknowledged ill-founded. I can assert, moreover, that the old opposers of this measure are now convinced of their error. " The committee have decided unanimously for the reform of the prisons for the untried, declaring that must precede the system of separation. They have not been so unanimous with regard to tlie establishments for correction. There has been no (liflercnce of opinion upon the necessity of reform, but FOREIGN PRISONS — DENMARK. 477 they are not agreed as to the system they would adopt. Tlie committee is divided ; the majority ground their proposition on their conviction that comjilete isolation, L e. separation by day and night, can alone lead to the improvement of the prisoners, and attain the desired end of punishment. The minority propose a plan which approaches more nearly to the system of classification adopted at Geneva. " During these transactions, I received an order from the King to set off, accompanied by an architect, to visit the prisons in the principal countries of Europe, and to inform myself of the actual state of their prisons, and of the results which had been obtained from them. Aftermy return, and upon the report which I had the honour to make to his Majestv, the royal decision appeared of the 25th of June, 1842, ordering that two new maisons de force should be built for male con- victs, who should have been condemned to forced labour for life, or for a long time, and two houses of correction for those condemned to labour for a shorter time, and where they should apply the system of separation. Consequently, there will be built in the kingdom two new houses of confinement, each capable of receiving 400 convicts, and also two new houses of correction, one for 400 and the other for 300 con- victs. One of the former is in construction at Horsens, in Jutland, after a plan which was prepared in 1845. One of the others, the house of correction at Copenhagen, will be, I hope, soon begun. We may also expect to see built at Gluckstadt, a new house of correction for 320 prisoners. " Nothing has yet been decided to fix what we should understand by the longest or shortest period of imprisonment, or to estabHsh the distinction of punishments between the maisoii de force and the maison de correction. The reason has been that they cannot yet agree on the mode and means of reducing the terra of imprisonment of the present penal code. It is easy to understand that on this decision depends the application of cellular imprisonment. Nevertheless, there is 478 PRISON DISCIPLINE. room to believe that this imprisonment might be extendett, in all cases, to four or five years. As respects the ameliora- tions which have been introduced in modern times hi to the old prisons, 1 think it of little consequence to speak of them, as we can only consider them as measures ad interim, seeing that according to the royal order before mentioned, the projec- ted reform will be applied to all the corrective establishments for male convicts. The punishments of the maison de force and of the maison de correction were in reality the same, although they ought to be different according to the law. Pursuant to the new plan for the organization of penitentiary establishments, the punishment of the maison de force will consist in separation by night with compulsory labour in common during the day, and divided into small bands or sections, according as they are condemned for life or for a time. In the house of correction, where the punishments ■will be shorter, separate imprisonment will be by day and night, conformably to the plan pursued in the model prison at Pentonville." The following additional information was given by Dr. David, at the Brussels Congress : — " I have no very important communications to make to you. In a small country they do not make great buildings in one year. Nevertheless, I have one remarkable fact to tell you. Last year, at the congress at Frankfort, I had the honour to say that our system was nut yet decided as respects les maisons d'arrel et de correction ; that we had decided that all prisons intended for the untried and those sentenced to short impri- sonments should be built after the cellular system, but that I thought this affair would go on slowly, although it had been formally resolved upon, les maisons d'anet being institutions belonging to the Communes, v/ho must provide the funds. But nearly all have willingly voted money to build cellular prisons. I am convinced that in two or three years there will be no FOREIGN PRISONS DENMARK. 479 prison ain;)ngst us that is not cellular. The number of cells that Denmark will have is not indeed several thousand, but twelve or fifteen hundred. It is not a great number, but the votes of the Commuaes that I have just mentioned, show that public opinion is decidedly for the cellular system. For large prisons this is not yet quite agreed ui)on. Government has only decided that in prisons for those sentenced to perpetual or long imprisonment, there should be separation by night, and labour in common during the day. For houses of correc- tion, Government admits the cellular system ; but the law must still establisli the limit from whence the condemnation to long imprisonment commences. However whilst expecting tMs law, they are building a mahoii de force for 400, and a cellular house of correction for 320 prisoners. RESOLUTIONS PASSED AT THE CONG RES PEXTTEN- TIAIRE AT FRANKFORT, IN 18 H?, AND APPROVED IN THE FOLLOWING YEAR ON RE- ASSEMBLING AT BRUSSELS. 1st Resolution. — "That separate, or individual imprison- ment, ought to be applied to those awaiting their trial, and accused, in such a manner that there can be no sort of com- munication amongst prisoners, except in cases where at the request of the prisoners themselves the inspecting magistrates should think proper to allow them certain liberties within iho limits prescribed by law. 2n-d Resolution. " That separate imprisonment shall be applied to the convicted in general, with the severities or indulgencies demanded by the nature of their offences and sentence passed, and the conduct of the prisoners, so that each be usefully occupied ; that he may every day enjoy exer- cise in the open air ; that he may share in the benefits of religious, moral, and scholastic instruction, and in public wor- ship ; and that he may regularly receive the visits of the 480 PRISON DISCIPLINE. minister of religion, governor, medical attendant, and inspec- tors, besides other visits which may be permitted by the regulations. 3rd Resolution — "That the preceding resolution shall especially be applied to imprisonments of short duration. 4th Resolution. — "That separate imprisonment be equally applied to those detained for longer periods, combining with it all the mitigation as the term advances, which is compatible with the maintenance of the principle of separation. 5th Resolution. — " That when the unhealthy state of the body or mind of a prisoner requires it, the authorities of the prison may subject a prisoner to such regulations as they may think fit, and even allow him social intercourse, providing that he does not mix with the other prisoners. 6th Resolution. — " That cellular prisons be so constructed that each prisoner may unite in religious worship, seeing and hearing the officiating clergyman, and being seen by him, — the whole without affecting the fundamental princij)le of the separation of the prisoners. 7th Resolution. — " That the substitution of punishment under the Separate System for that of common imprisonment ought to shorten the period of detention, as decided by the existing codes.* 8th Resolution. — " That the revision of the penal legisla- tions, the appointment by law of an inspecting committee, and the institution of some means of assistance for the liberated, ought to be considered as indispensable to the completion of prison reform. N. B. — The resolutions one to three, and five to eight, were carried almost unanimously ; Resolution 4, was carried by a very great majority." * The reader will have observed that on the Continent criminals are sentenced to imprisorment for many years, and such terms may well be contracted. The resolution| must not be thought a])plicable to the impri- sonments of a few months decreed by our criminal law. INDEX. Abercrombie, quotation from, i. 279 Aberdeen prison, evidence of Governor, ii. 283 Abuse, Separate Imprisonment liable to, ii. 55— objection re- futed, ii. 58. Advice of prisoner to next occupant of his cell, ii. 129 ^schylus, quotation from, i. 55 Agricultural School at Bridgenorth, i. 397 Alderson, Mr. Baron, evidence of, i. 163, ii. 225, 245, 268, 274, 285, 305, 320 America, experiments in, i. 100 — effects of, i. 103 — prisons of, further described, ii. 345 Amusements in prison, ii. 45 Ancus Martins, prison built by, ii. 431 Antwerp, prison of, ii. 380 Apparatus for warming prison, &c., i. 76 Ardit, M., speech of, ii. 359. Aristotle, opinion of education, i. 315 Arnold, Dr., quoted, i, 232 Association of prisoners, evils of, i. 33, et seq. 167, 198, 291, 317, ii. 3, 44— cruelty of, i. 56— 59, 242, ii. 61, 71— ex- pensive, i. 92 — demoralizing, i. 33 — 71, ii. 60, 71, 95, 130—138, 364, 395— destroys self-respect, i. 238— means of grace rendered ineffectual by, i. 64, ii. 29, 50, 69, 387 — sometimes corrective, i. 320 — hardening effect of, ii. 67, 399 —preferred by the most depraved, ii. 130— 138— pain- ful to better class, (see separate imprisonment preferred) — after correction, deprecated, i. 268, ii. 260 L'Atelier de Charite at Ghent, ii. 383 Augsburg, prison at, ii. 409 Auburn System, (see silent system.) Aversion the result of compulsion, ii. 29 Bacon, Lord, quoted, i, 23 VOL. II. 2h 482 INDEX. Bache, Dr. F., evidence of, i. 213 Baden, prisons of, ii. 412 Ba<7— tiiipointed commissioner, &c. ii. 403 - speech of, ii. 404 Jurion. M., speech of, ii. 401 Justice-General, the Lord, evidence of, ii SSS, 274, 286, 321 Justice and Clemency, prison dedicated to, ii. 433 Justice of punishment should be shewn to prisoner, i. 245 Juvenile offenders, sources of many, i 369, ii. 155 — jireventive proposed, i. 370 — encouraj^ed by London prisons, i. 374 — classification of, deprecated, i. 376 — multiplied by impri- sonment, i. 381, 393 — flogging, 385 — correction of, diffi- cult, i. 376, ii. 156 —separate imprisonment with instruction the only means, i. 377, ii. 249 — how disposed of by Re- corder of Birmingham, i. 383 — should be subject to sonie penal discipline, i. 394 — subsequent receptacle for, i. 396, ii. 80, 154, 178 — when "sans discernement," i. 390. — when " incapax doli," i. 393. — dietary for, excessive, ii. 156 — prison pieferred to workhouse fare, examples, ii. 157 — to parent's home, examples, i. 208, ii. 156. Keepers of prisons, unfit, ii. 346 Kindness, criminals subdued by, i. 235 — more efl'ectual than severity, i. 247, 250 Knaresbonmgh, horrible prison of, i. 15 Knout, hardening effect of the, i. 271 — punishment of, abolished, ii. 462 Knowledge, religious, how little possessed by criminals, ii. 76, 115 secular, of criminals, ii. 76, 115, Labour, hard, as punishment, deprecated, i. 163 — aversion from, produced by compulsion, i. 185, ii. 91, 239— prevents correction, ii, 196, 294— forced labour rejected as punish- ment, ii. 86 — would be a relief, ii. 88 Labourers, want of, in Australia, ii. 42 Lafayette at Olmutz, i. 330 Lansdowne, the ^Larquis of, on workhouse schools, ii. 14.3 Lancaster Castle, evidence of Governor, ii. 249, 327 490 INDEX. La Trappe, the Monks of, short lived, ii. 57, 65 Laurie, Sir Peter, testimony of, i. 54 Laurie, P. Esq., evidence of, ii. 250 Law Amendment Society, Report of, quoted, i. 206 Law Review quoted, i. 72 Lauzun, Count de, referred to, i. 266 Leeuwarden, prison of, ii. 395 Lessons in crime, i. 44, 45 Letters of prisoners, i. 297, 352 Lewes Gaol, report of Chaplain quoted, i. 377, ii. 33 Liberated criminals, require relief, i. 365, ii. 480 — small sums given to, i. 366 — should be able-bodied, ii. 233 — employ- ment should be provided for — Paley's opinion, ii. 1 12 — per- sons willing to employ, some ii. 190, 198— provision for in Duchy of Nassau, ii. 422 — in Lombardy, ii. 441 Liege, prison of, ii. 381 Life, convicts reckless of ii. 5 Lifford, the Viscount, quoted, i. 338 Lindpaintner, M., speech of, ii. 418 Livy, passage from, ii. 431 Locke quoted, i. 59, 240 Lombardy, prisons of, ii. 431 — secrecy maintained concern- ing, ii. 436 Lord's Supper, prisoners partakers of, ii. 30 — prison officers ii. 64 Lurasco, M., speech of, ii. 435 Luxembourg, prisons of, ii. 391 Machonochie, Captain, quoted, i. 235 — evideiice of, ii. 324 Mark Ogilvie, Esq., evidence of, ii. 281 Mackenzie, Lord, evidence of, ii. 225, 269, 276 Madness feigned, i. 226, 229, ii. 397 Magistrates, improved feeling vi', i. 86 — whence their autho- rity, i. 335 Manheim, barbarous customs at prison of, ii. 410 — some judi- cious regulations at, ii. 412 Manning, Mr. Serjeant, evidence of, ii. 289, 325 INDKX. 401 Mansfield, Lord, aiicudote of, i. 112 Marrvatt, Captain, quoted, i. Ill, 239 Marshalsea Prison in 1702, i. ■'> Martin, Sarah, an example, i. 3()7 Mask, prison, described, ii. 99, 215, 239 jM aula, Mr. Justice, evidence of, ii. 320 Memory, Scripture committed to, ii. 77 Mental effects of Separate System, i. 219, ii. 56, 65, 70, 243 Mentz, curious bas-relief on prison at, ii. 402 Merry, W., Esq., quoted, i. 35, 90, 98— evidence of, ii 193 Mettray, i. 390, ii. 80 Michele, S., prison of, referred to, ii. 432— present state of, ii. 442 Middlesex, Magistrates of, their plan as to juvenile offenders, i. 374 Milan, prison at, ii. 435 Milbank Prison, i. 125— evidence of Governor, ii. 257, 311 Mittermaier, M., speech of, ii. 437 Moinichen, M., speech of, ii. 472 Moncreiff, Lord, evidence of. ii, 225, 269, 287, 307, 310, 322 Monitors amongst prisoners useless, i 39, 51 Montesquieu, Baron de, quoted, i. 240 Montpelier, cellular prison at, li. 377 Moreau-Christophe, M., speech of, ii. 366 Moser, M., speech of, ii. 453 Munich, prison at, ii. 409— influence of Governor, i. 250, ii. 428 Murders, number in j^enal colonies, ii. 5. Name of prisoner concealed, i. 195 Naples, prison at, ii. 434 Nassau, prisons of, ii. 419 Neave, Miss, foundress of an asylum, &c., i. 366 Netzel, M., speech of, ii. 467 Newgate, vices in, i. 3, 57, 61 — books destroyed in, i. 39— acquaintances formed in, i. 198— vices shock and reform some, i. 321— Mrs. Frys account of, i. 50, 55— evidence of the Ordinary of, ii 25 7 492 INDEX. Norway, prisons of, ii, 465 Nugent, Loid, proposed bill of, i. 138 Nuremberg, prison of, ii. 409 Offences, prison, few under Separate System, ii. 93 OfBcers, prison, difficult to obtain suitable, ii. 55— character in past times, ii. 62 — high character of present, /6.— sup- posed contamii\atioii from, ii. 55 Old prisons, horrible state of, i. 15 — demoralising, i. 16 Omnipresence of God, prisoners reminded of, i. 363, ii. 50 — a prisoner's remarks upon, i. 355 Organ in prison chapel desirable, i. 84 Origin of Separate System, i. 112 — honour of, claimed by France, i. 123 — by America, i. 124 Osborn, Rev. W., evidence of, ii. 289 Oxford, Bishop of, system of Reading Gaol commended by, ii. 19t) Pakington, Sir J. S., bill of, i. 381 Paley quoted, i. I21,ii. 91, 112 Pardon, power of, injury of its exercise, i. 255 Parents of young offenders responsible, i. 371 — how far, i. 373, 394 — encourage crime, ii. 49 Parke, Mr. Baron, evidence of, ii. 245, 255, 274 Parkhurst Reformatory, i. 389— evidence concerning, ii, 231 — 342 Patteson, Mr. Justice, evidence of, ii. 245, 255, 274 Paul, Sir G. O., testimony of, i. 187, ii. 106 Pearson, C, Esq , M.P., plan of, for juvenile offenders, i. 370 — evidence of, ii. 314 Pentonville, prison at, i. 127 — extract from Commissioners' report, i. 223 — extract from Physician's report, i. 215, 224 — evidence concerning, ii. 247, 263, 312 Perrin, Mr. Justice, evidence of, ii- 256, 323 Perry, Mr., on mental effects of Separate System, i. 223 Persecution amongst prisontis, ii. 45 INDEX. 403 Perth, genonil prison roforred to, i. 173— evidence of Chap- lain, ii. 280 Periizzi, Le Chevalier, speech of, ii. 441 Petershurgh. St., cellular prison at, li. 461 Petworth prison, i. 122 Philanthropic institution, i. 3S8, ii. 179 Physician in prison, report of a, i. 214 Pits in American prison, ii, 346 Piatt, Mr. Baron, evidence of, ii. 246 Pleite, The. substituted for the knout, ii. 463 Poaching taught in prison, i. 46 Poland, prisons of, ii. 455— care of unconvicted prisoners in, ii. 456— number of prisoners in, ii. 459 Police, power of, in Italy, ii. 439 Pollock, Lord Chief Baron, evidence of, ii. 323 Pollock, Captain, evidence of, ii, 329 Portland, proposed employment at, ii. 316 Portsmouth gaol, evidence of governor, ii. 249, 327 Poverty, seldom the first cause of crime, ii. 1 75 Prison on Separate System described, i. 73 Prisons, old and new contrasted, i. 6— expence of building defrayed by the State, ii. 371— construction of, retarded in France, ii. 372 Prison discipline, few works on subject of, i. viii " Prison Thoughts " quoted, i. 201 Prison offences, i. 270— an uncertain tost of character, i. 262 Prohibitions increase desire, i. 328 Prosecutions, cost of, i. 94 Prosecutors, revengeful feelings towards, ii. 48 " Proverbial Philosophy" quoted, i. 276, 318 Providence of God, prisoners reminded of, i. 356 Prussia, prisons of, ii. 402— visit of King to Pentonvillo prison ii. 403 Public-house, a prisoner's reasons against frequenting, ii. 122 Pulmonary diseases in cellular prisons accounted for, i. 217— less prevalent in them than in others, ii. 377 494 INDEX. Pump worked by prisoners, i. 77 Punishment its purpose, i. 28, IG4, ii. 103. 429— sometimes inconsistent with its purpose, ii. 162, 182— shouUl be ac- cording to character, ii. 229 —fear of does not prevent crime, ii. 171, 206, 230, 233, 285, 290, 431— does not reform the criminal, ii. 233. Quarterly Review, quoted, i. 216, 225 Railway labourers increase crime, ii. 150, 177 Rational, prisoners treated as, i. 237 Reading, old gaols at, described, i 7 — gaol built 178), i. 115 — new gaol of, i. 73 — some peculiarities in discipline of ii. 193 Reading aloud should be permitted, ii. 65 Recognition of prisoners prevented, i. 195 — advantages of, preventing, ii. 99, 399 — examples, ii. 100 Recorder of Birmingham, his plan with young offenders, i. 383 —evidence of, ii. 247, 254, 269, 288, 324 Re-committed prisoners, table of, ii. 116 — number of, ii. 142 — particulars of, ii. 1 17, 186 — previous imprisonment short, ii. 116, 183 — should be separately confined, ii. 73 — an un- certain test of discipline, ii. 161, 183 — decrease of under Separate System^ ii. 202 Reflection induced by separate confinement, i. 167, 344, ii. 398 Reformation of prisoners, how perceived, i. 265 — possibility of, doubted by some, ii. 27 Reformatory for young offenders, i. 395 Refuge for young criminals, i. 397 Relapse of some prisoners to be expected, ii. 104 Religious instruction, necessity of, i. 325, et seq. the means of reformation, i. 161, 191, 199, 224 Religious duties of prisoners carefully performed, ii. 23 Remorse produced by separate confinement, i. 166, ii. 88, 107 Rental of cells for convicts, ii. 19 Responsibility of prison Chaplain, ii, 138 INDEX. 495 Rhenish Provinces, prisons of tlie, ii. 404 Richards, Chief Baron, evidence of, ii. 277, 323 Richmond, Duke of, his plan of a prison, i. 112 Robertson, Dr., letter from, ii. 40 Rolfe, Mr. Baron, evidence of, ii 321 Romans, purpose of imprisonment amongst, ii. 366 Roquette, La, i. 391 Rotch, Mr., on juvenile offenders, i. 381 Rotterdam, prison of, ii. 392 Routine in Reading gaol, i. 151 Rushton, E., Esq., evidence of, ii. 222 Russell, Rev. W., evidence of, ii. 260, 289, 302, 310, 324 Russia, prisons of, ii. 460 —Emperor of, favourable to Separate System, i. 461 Sabbath, why to be observed, a prisoner's reasons, ii. 122, 127 Sallust, passage from, ii. 431 Sandys, Archbishop, quoted, i. 259 Sardinia, prisons uf, ii. 430 — King of, favourable to Separate System, ii. 438 Schoolmaster's report of convicts, ii. 25 Schwabach, regulations at prison of, ii. 411 Scott, Sir W., quoted, i. 52 Scripture exercises of prisoners, i. 355, ii. 122 et seq. Scriptural instruction welcomed, i. 343. ii. 93 Secret chambers in prison at Rome, ii. 433 Self-examination induced by seclusion, i. 348 Self-reproach excited, i. 278 Self-respect promoted, i. 239 Sentence of prisoner should not be changed, i. 266 Separate imprisonment, legalized, i. 114 — explained, i. 127 — recommended by Howard, i. 116, 148 — by Bishop Butler, i. 120— by Paley, i. 121— by Bu.xton, i. 128 — adopted at Horsham, i. 112— at Petworth, i. 122— at Gloucester, i. 123 — at Pentonville, i. 12G— in other provincial imsons, i. 127 490 INDEX. — design of, i. 14-5, il. 40o — differs from solitary confine-- ment, i. 145, ii. 197 — approved of at C'ongres Peuitentiaire, ii. 479— healthful, i. 212, ii. 263, 338, 363, 375, 377, 458— equitable punishment, ii. 109 — penal in proportion to de- pravity, ii. 363, 458— punishment of, lessened by improve- ment, i. 256, ii. 211 — applicable to all criminals, ii. 370 — may be adapted to circumstances, ii. 369,373— required for young offenders, i. 377 — suitable to all nations, ii. 427 — appropriate treatment under, i. 231 — preferred by the less vicious, i. 135. ii. 44, 101, 130 — 138 -choice should not be allowed, i. 139— duration of imprisonment should be certain, i. 252 — proper term of, ii. 244, 299, 394, 415, ^77 — provides sufficient punish- ment, i. 165, ii. 51, 87, 245, 255 — 259^-punishment lessened by labour, i. 166, 176 — humanity of system, ii. 368 — effect on the mental faculties, i 219, ii. 140, 193, 204, 243, 458— prisoners under, compared with soldiers, i. 225 — mind greatly improved by discipline of, i, 224, 229, ii. 119, ,141, 375, 378 — favourable to religious instruction, i. 327 — indis- pensable to, i. 328— combines punishment and improvement, ii. 245— induces self-examination, i. 348, ii. 398— reflection, i. 167, 344; remorse, i. 166; sense of shame, i. 239; truth- fulness, i. 281; sympathy, i. 289; industry, i. 182 — social disposition increased by, i. 291 ; family affection, i. 293; the same corrected, i. 295, ii. 90 — conscience aroused, i. 245, 274 — God's omnipresence remembered, i. 355 — prevents recognition of criminals, i. 195— objections against the system, ii. 53— is corrective, ii. 167, 189, 203, 208, 228, 246 -252, 363, 377, 390, 398— essential to correction, ii. 209, 477 — decrease of committals under, i. 86, ii. 194; of re-committals, ii. 202, 349 — sometimes ineffectual through former associations in px-ison, ii. 187 — few prison offences • under, i. 270, ii. 93; punishments for, i. 271 — the system extending, ii. 170, 360, 386, 394, 397, 400, 403, 413, 424, 442, 452, 463, 479 Shaw, Right Honourable F., evidence of, ii. 289, 325 Sherlock, Bishop, quoted, i. 258 INDEX. 497 Sliort imprisonments, ineflTicacy of, i. 96, ii. 82, 183, 274, 2S4 — injury and cruelty to criminals, ii 166, 184, 232, 278 — allow no time for corrective instruction, ii. 83— destroy the character, ii. 84 — occasion relapses, ii. 84, 183, 232, 235, 278, 280 — render longer imprisonments ineffectual, ii. 184 —should be past in cell, ii. 275, 480— expensive, ii. 166, 280 — evils of, in Scotland, ii. 183 Siberia, prisoners in, ii. 462 Sickness, feigned, i. 48, ii. 397 Sicily, prisons of, ii. 440 Silent system, not reformatory, ii. 25 1 , 269— does not prevent intercourse, i, 50, 51, ii. 268,377— cruel, i. 129, ii. 269, 387 — effect on health, i. 212 — cause of mental disease, i. 222, ii. 351 — enforced by severity, i. 273 — induces deceit, ii. 351 — crimes concerted under, ii. 377 — impracticable, ii. 268, 271, 351 — abandoned in America, ii. 348— its origin in Belgium, ii. 385; its failure, /^.—improvement upon, at Munich, ii. 428 Skarbeck, Count, speech of, ii. 456 Smith, Adam, quoted, i. 241, 251, 352, ii. 88 Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, Minutes of, quoted, i. 2 — proposed separating criminals, i. 119 Solitary confinement described, i. 145 Solon referred to, i. 253 Spain, penal discipline in, ii. 448 — M. Ramon de la Sagra, concerning, ib. Speirs, Graham, Esq., evidence of, ii. 259, 281 Stael, Madame de, in Bastille, i. 348 Statistics deceptive, ii. 187 Steal, a felon's reasons why he should not, ii. 124, 126 Stiebel, M., remarks of, ii. 425 Stoke, Bucks, depopulated by gaol fever, i. 22 Stretton-upon-Dunsmore, Asylum at, i. 389 Sumner, Archbishop, quoted, i. 329 Sumner, Mr., speech of, ii. 348 Surgeon, evidence of, i. 48 408 INDEX. Suringar, M., anecdotes of, i. 250, 251 — speech of, ii. 395 Suspicion excited by vicious intercourse, i. 287 Sweden, King of, his work on Prison DiscipHne, ii. 465 — quo- tations from,i. 37, 64, 91, 130, 175, 339, 465 Switzerland, prison discipline of, ii. 449 — effect of education in, i. 311 " Tap " in prisons, i. 12 Tap-room, keeper murdered in his, i. 12 Task- work for convicts, ii. 17 Tasmania, Bishop of, evidence of, ii. 7 Taylor, Bishop Jeremy, quoted, i. 345 Thouglits must be regulated, i. 332 Tillotson, Archbishop, quoted, i. 234, 278 Torture, manner of, ii. 381 — instruments of, ii. 409, 450 — rooms for, ii.' 409, 435 — prisoners suffering attended by surgeon, ii. 382 Tothill Fields Prison, evidence of Governor, ii. 258 Asylum, origin of, i. 367 Tours, cellular jirison of, ii. 275 Trade Instructor's report, ii. 24 Transportation, ii. 1 — past system of, destructive to body and soul, ii. 3 — reformation prevented, ii. 7 — Archbishop Whately upon errors of, ii. 4, 8 — evidence concerning, ii. 297 —315 — threats of, ineffectual, ii, 71 — not dreaded by agri- cultural labourers, ii. 221, nor by boys, ii. 337 — terrible to less indigent criminals, ii. 236 — suspension of, ii. 13 — letter of SirGeo. Grey concerning, ii. 9 — outline of future plan, ii. 15 — previous correction should be attempted, ii. 297, 305 — punishment of, increased by previous separate imprison- ment, ii. 31, 298, 311 ; evidence of returned convict, ii. 32 ; of Governor of Glasgow Prison, ii. 32 ; of Chaplain ofPen- tonvillo, ii. 33 ; of Chaplain of Lewes Gaol, ii. 33 — sentence of, should be carried out, ii. 37, 302, 303, 307, 312— recom- mended by Committee of House of Lords, ii. 39— of women, equity of, ii. 237— wife and family should go to convict, ii. 42,24 1 INDEX. 100 Travaux Forces abandoned, ii. 36 Treadmill, punishment of, when introduced, i. 28— evils of, i. 29 — irritating, i. 50, ii. 90 — degrading, i. 50, ii. 51 — un- equal, i. 161, ii. 89, 109— demoralising, i. 162, ii. 91— pre- vents correction, i. 339, ii. 89, 195 — crimes planned upon, i. 163 Truth, a prisoner's reasons for speaking, ii. 123 TuUianum, The, ii. 431 Turner, Rev. Sydney, quoted, i. 185 Tuscany, prisons of, ii. 430, 440, 443. Unconvicted prisoners, separate imprisonment for, i. 132, ii. 70, 479— a privilege to them, i. 133, ii. 360 ; examples, i. 144 — duty of the state to provide, ii. 97, 254— should be first provided for, ii. 475 — advantageous to the state, ib — often corrective, ii. 95, 215 — always preferred by the less depraved, i. 135, ii. 44, 101, 130—138. Vagrants acquainted with gaols, ii. 152 — offences by, on Sun- days, ii. 153 — increased number of, in 1847, ii, 176 — dislike separate imprisonment, i. 177 Van Diemen's Land, evidence concerning, ii. 6 Varrentrapp, Dr., remarks of, ii. 425 Varrentrapp, M., remarks of, ii. 427 Veracity promoted, i. 284, ii. 87, 96 Vices in Loudon prisons, i. 5 — sometimes shock criminals, i. 321 Vilain XIV., Count, his work on " Correction, &c." ii. 380 Vilvorde Prison, defective discipline at, i. 171 Vindictive, men naturally so, i. 377— the law not, ii. 103, 234 Visiting Justices, duties of, once perilous, i. 360 — now plea- sant, i. 361 — advantages of, i. 364 Visiting-room for prisoners described, i. 179 Wages to prisoners deprecated, i. 172, ii. 383— evidence as to, ii. 291—295 500 INDEX. Wakefield Gaol, evidence of Governor, ii. 282 Warsaw, prisons of, ii. 457 Warwickshire Asylum for young offenders, i. 389 Whately, Archbishop, quoted, ii. 4, 8 Whigham, R., Esq., evidence of. ii. 291, 328 Whipping, hardening tendency of, i. 271 — may restrain, but cannot correct, i. 385 — proves want of moral power, i. 362 — condemned by Judges of Scotland, i. 387 — of juvenile offenders, i. 385 — degrading, i. 386, ii. 466 — unsuccessful, ii. 208, 278 Wigham, J., Esq., evidence of, ii 280 Wightman, Mr. Justice, evidence of, ii. 274, 303, 304 Wilberforce, Mr., quoted, i. 19, 92, 114 Williams, Captain, evidence of, ii. 312, 326 Winchester, Bishop of, his opinion of Separate System, i. 71 Winchester Gaol, contamination in, i. 71, 317 Women keepers of gaols, i. 10 Wood, Lord, evidence of, ii. 256, 308, 322 Workhouses a source of crime, ii. 145 — vicious intercourse in, ii. 146 — number of prisoners from, ii. 148 — incompetent masters of, ib. — some improvements in, ii. 174 Works, public, proposed employment of convicts on, ii. 16 — such employment deprecated, ii. 34 — evidence concerning, ii. 35,208,316—330 Yards, separate, for exercise, i. 77. Zehe, M. de., on Penal Discipline in Russia, ii. 461. PRINTED BY R. WELCH, MARKET PLACE, READING. UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY Los Angeles This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. Form L9-Series4939 3 1158 00850 6247