Cornell University Library HV 7243.U58 1872 Internationa Congress on the Prevention 3 1924 024 864 021 The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924024864021 42d GoNGEESS/l SENATE. -' (Ex. Doc. M Session. / ) No. 39. INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS PEEYENTION AND REPRESSION OF CRIME, INCLUDING PENAL AND REFORMATORY TREATMENT: PRELIMINARY REPORT OP THE COMMISSIONER APPOINTED BY THE PRESIDENT TO EEPEESENT THE UNITED STATES IN THE CONGRESS, IN COMPLIANCE WITH A JOINT RESOLUTION OF MARCH 7, 1871. WASHINGTON: GOVERNMENT PRINTING OPPIOE. 1872. 4 CONTENTS. Page. XIX. Individualization is essential to a reformatory prison discipline. . . 201 XX. Prison officers need a special education for their work 202 XXI. Suitable provision for discharged prisoners is the essential comple- ment in a reformatory prison discipline 202 C. Eepoets of standing committees of the National PkisoN Association. 1. Eeport of the executive committee 204 2. Eeport of the comniittee of prison discipline 207 3. Eeport of the committee on discharged prisoners'. 214 4. Eeport of the committee on j uvenile delinquents 227 D. EeVIEW of the state and condition of PENAX and HBFiDKMATORT INSTI- TUTIONS IN THE United States : '240 Note 240 APPENDIX. The National Prison Association of the United States 241 I. 0£6cerB of the association for 1872 241 II. Board of directors 241 HI. Standing committees 242 IV. Corresponding members , 242 V. Life directors 243 VI. Life members 244 VII. Contributions from May, 1871, to May, 1872 244 VIII. Act of incorporation .'. 246 IX. Constitution 247 X. By-laws 248 INTERMTIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, COM- MUNICATING THE PRELIMINARY REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER TO THE INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS OF LONDON, IN COMPLLINCE WITH A JOINT RESOLUTION OF MARCH 7. 187L To the Senate of the United States : I transmit herewith, for the consideration of the Senate, a preliminary report of Dr. E. 0. Wines, appointed, under a joint resolution of Con- gress of the 7th of March, 1871, as commissioner of the United States to the international congress on the prevention and repression of crime, including penal and reformatory treatment. U. S. GEANT. Washington, February 23, 1872. PRELIMINARY REPORT TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF THE COMMISSIONER TO THE INTERNATIONAL PENITENTLIRY CONGRESS OF LONDONi Washington, D. C, February 15, 1872. As Commissioner of the United States to the " International Con- gress on the Prevention and Eepressiou of Crime, including Penal and Eeformatory Treatment," I .have the honor to submit to the President, and to ask that he wiU lay before Congress, the following preliminary report : The first legislative act of the Forty-second Congress was the pas- sage, on the 7th day of March, 1871, by a unanimous vote, of a joint resolution authorizing the President to appoint a commissioner to rep- resent the United States in the proposed congress. The President was pleased to name the undersigned as such commissioner. The appoint- ment was conferred nearly a year and a half in advance of the meeting of the congress — ^much earlier, therefore, than would have been neces- sary if the intention had been simply to provide for representation in the congress on the part of the Government. It was understood (although the joint resolution did not in terms embody a declaration to that effect) that my appointment included the further duty of arranging the preliminaries of the congress, and made it necessary to open com- munications, either personally or by correspondence, with all the civil- ized nations of the earth. In this view, the honorable Secretary of State kindly furnished me with a letter addressed to our diplomatic and consular representatives abroad, requesting them to afford such aid as they properly might in the prosecution of my mission. As it would be obviously impossible for me, within the time at my command, to communicate in person with the governments of all civil- 6 INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGEESS. ized nations, I sought and obtained permission from the honorable Sec- retary of State to call upon the foreign ministers accredited to this Gov- ernment, with a view to secure, if possilile, their friendly co-operation. This was not found to be a difficult task. The ministers — I believe without exception — entered promptly and warmly into the project, and pledged such aid as they might be able to render toward its realization. Those from European countries gave me letters of personal introduction to the proper ministers in their respective cabinets, and all addressed notes to their governments explaining what was proposed, and com- mending it to a favorable eonsideration. I sailed from New York on the 8th of July, and, returning, arrived at the same port on the 20th of November, spending thus a little more tjian four months in Europe, organizing the elements of the proposed international penitentiary congress. The governments with which 1 was able to -open personal communications were those of Great Britaio, France, Belgium, Netherlands, the North German Empire, Austria, Italy, and Switzerland. The British government, without pledging itself to ofiflcial representa- tion, entertained the idea of the proposed congress with much favor, and promised co-operation in a variety of ways. With Englishmen, however, as with us, the method of voluntary action is much employed, bot^ iri the study of social problems and in the pursuit of social reforms. This characteristic was conspicuously displayed in the present case. Thus, at its annual meeting in Leeds, last October, the British Associ- ation for the Promotion of Social Science took decided action in favor of the congress ; and Sir John Pakington, president of the meeting, in his closing address, gave emphatic expression to the general satisfaction occasioned (he averred) by the presence of the American commissioner among them. Thus, again, at a meeting held in London, on the 3d of November, in which several ex-cabinet offlcers and members of Parlia- ment participated, a large and most respectable national committee was named, to be charged with whatever pertained to preparation for the congress in England. From England I passed over to France. Here, by procurement of Colonel Hoffman, then in charge of the American legation, audiences were had of the ministbrs of foreign affairs and of the, interior, MM. de K6musat and Lambrecht. These gentlemen gave favorable enter- tainment to the idea of the congress; and by them I ^as brought into communication with M. Jaillant, supreme director of prisons for France, a gentleman of great intelligence, and intensely devoted to the problems of penitentiary reform. I was given to understand that a prison com- mission, created by Napoleon in 1869, would be revived and reorganized by the present government, and that it would be named by the govern- ment as the National Committee for France, and charged with the need- ful preparatory work in that country. That has since been done. M. de B^musat further testified his interest in the congress and his desire to contribute to its success by procuring for me from the French Academy an invitatidn to read a discourse on the subject before that illustrious body ; and the president of the Academy, in replying to my remarks, pledged its members to the use of their best efforts in aid of the pro- posed conference. I may state here, in passing, that in my negotiations upon this sub- ject with the different governments, three things were asked of each viz : 1. That it would name commissioners to the congress of London'. 2. That it would name a national committee for its own country. 3. That it would supply certain information relative to its prisons and prison administration. INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. 7 From France I proceeded to Belgium, and thence to Holland. In both these countries the governments had already taken the first steps toward an active participation in the congress, moved to such action by communications on the subject received from their ministers at Washing- ton. This- greatly smoothed my path and facilitated my work. There were no prejudices to be overcome, no indifference to be removed. The official judgment had been gained and the sympathy of the authorities enlisted. In one, a national committee had been named ; in the other, it had been determined upon. Little remained to be done, beyond con- ference and suggestion. My task here was, therefor^, an easy one ; and the progress made since my visits has been such that preparation may be said to be well-nigh completed in the two states. Both will be fully and ably represented in London by government members and others. A difficulty, peculiar in character and of considerable magnitude, has been surmounted. In continental countries a strict line of demarkation is drawn between governments and the public at large, to this effect : that where governments associate for international purposes, private participation is excluded ; and, conversely, where assemblages of pri- vate citizens are convened, governments are not accustomed to send rep-, resentatives. There is reason to believe that this usage will be widely if not universally disregarded in the present instance ; and that govern- ments, as such, will name delegates of their own to the congress, while national committees will designate others. Thus, for instance, Mr. Grevelink, chief superintendent of prisons and state police for Nether- lands, and a member of the national committee for that country, informs me that the minister of justice has, on the nomination of the committee, named two of its members, and will probably name a third, to repre- sent the government in the congress at the public expense, and that, at the proper time, the committee itself will invite such others as it may* deem expedient, to attend the congress as delegates at their own ex- pense. On my arrival at Berlin, Prince Bismarck was not at the capital. Minister Bancroft therefore put me in communication with the honor- able secretary of state, who replaces him in Ms absence, and by that gentleman I was introduced to Count Eulenburg, minister of the inte- rior, who is charged with the oversight of the prisons and penal admin- istration of the empire. After listening to an esxplanation of the nature and objects of my mission, the minister was pleased to express, in very emphatic terms, his approval of those objects, and to promise an earnest support of the congress, and the use of his best endeavors to secure participation therein by all the different states composing the North German Union. This pledge has since been amply redeemed. Count Eulenburg, under instruction from Prince Bismarck, took effective measures to have the interest not only of Prussia, but of all the other governments of the empire, directed to the approaching congress. He called to his aid for this work a distinguished councilor in his own ministry — Herr Steinmann — who is specially occupied with the prison question. Besides charging this officer v^ith the preparation of a report in answer to the questions submitted relative to the condition of German prisons, he directed him to place himself in communication with persons in the several states of the empire, for the forming of committees', with whom he may confer, and through whom representation in the congress of London may be secured from all the different members of the Union. My negotiations with the Austro-Hungarian government were prior to the late change in the ministry, and while Count Beust was still prime minister and chancellor of the empire. Mr. Jay, American min- 8 INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIAEY CONGEESS. ister at Vienna, whose zeal in the cause of the congress has been con-, spicuous, though scarcely exceptional, (for all our ministers have lent prompt and willing assistance,) honored me by a personal introduction to the chancellor, with whom our interview lasted more than half an hour. Count Beust received the idea of the proposed international reunion with much favor, gave his adhesion to it without hesitation, and, the minister of justice being aljsent at the time, placed me in com- munication with Dr. Bduard Eitter Von Liszt, attorney general (the highest law officer) of the empire. This gentleman from the first mani- fested the deepest interest in the movement, regarding it as one of the most important and most hopeful that had been or could be proposed. The crisis through which the government has passed since the date of my visit, resulting in a change of the ministry, has delayed the action confidently anticipated at that time; but it is believed to be only a post- ponement, and not a declension. Mr. Jay has not forgotten the object, nor been idle; and Dr. Von Liszt informs me that the present minister of justice has the most favorable disposition, and he feels confident that, through his interest and efforts, my wishes regarding the partici- pation of Austria will have a perfect realization. Mr. Lanza, president of the council of ministers, and minister of the interior, having in this latter capacity charge of the penal affairs of the kingdom of Italy, entered with all his heart into what he himself has designated "this great scientiflco-social movement." In my interview with him, he unhesitatingly assured me that Italy should be behind no nation of the world in the support it would give to the congress of Lon- don, and in the efforts it would put forth to insure its success. And that promise he has nobly fulfilled. He addressed an elaborate and exhaustive report upon the subject to the King, submitting to him at •the same time the draught of a royal decree, which His Majesty imme- diately promulgated, naming twenty-one eminent citizens as a royal commission, charged with the duty of studying and proposing the solu- tion of the more important questions offered by modern penitentiary science. This commission has a special and most important work to da for Italy; but its labors are intended at the same time to aid the con- gress of London, and it has formed a sub-committee of its own members to act as the national committee of Italy. It is due to Minister Lanza, as showing at once his zeal in this movement and his friendship for our country, to state that he caused the commissioner, during his sojourn at Home, to be entertained as the guest of the Italian government. Switzerland was the last of the European governments with which personal communication was had. Though smallest in extent and pop- ulation, the Swiss Confederation has not been behind any of the JEuropean states in the zeal and earnestness with wl^ich it has accepted the idea of the congress, and labored for its realization. President Schenk, to whom Minister Eublee personally introduced me, at once pledged the co-operation* of his government, and the faith tlius plighted has been kept to the letter. The council of the confederation has created a national conimittee; has named a commissioner to the congress, reserv- ing the right of naming others if it see occasion; has answered the question submitted ; and, in short, may be said to have already all but complfeted the work of preparation for Switzerland. From most of the continental governments visited reports in answer to the questions subniitted have been received touching their prisons and prison administrations ; and from the others I have information that similar reports are on the way, and may be expected within a few days. The undersigned was unable, within the time to which his mission abroad was necessarily restricted, to visit and open negotiations with the INTEENATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. 9 more distant of the European governments, viz'^ those of Sweden and Norway, Denmark, Eussia, Turkey, Greece, Spain, and Portugal. These governments have been addressed through the American ministers ac- credited to them. It Is perhaps a little singular, and will be interesting to the President and the American people to be informed, that the Ottoman government, of those just enumerated, has, thus far, shown most interest in the con- gress, and taken action in regard to it in advance of all others. The Hon. Mr. Brown, American chargS W affaires ad interim at Constantinople, has brought the proposition for tlie congress to the notice of the Turkish government, which at once responded favorably, and will be represented in the conference. He reports the minister of police as feeling so warm an interest in the matter that he has caused the proceedings of the pub- lic meeting in London relating to It to be translated into Turkish for circulation through the empire. The journals publish leaders on the subject, and urge that the various communities — Armenian, Greek, and Mussulman — as well as the government, send delegates to the congress, claiming that the country has of late made much progress in the principles of truth and justice, as well as in intellectual culture, and that this will be a good opportunity to show to the world how great the advance has been. Our ministers to Eussia, Spain, Portugal, and Sweden and Nor- way have, at the instance of the undersigned, Ibrought this subject before the governments of those countries; but as yet no decision has been reported, though the hope is expressed in reference to all, that the decis- ion, when reached, will be favorable. Minister Cramer, accredited to Denmark, writes that, owing to the failure of certain documents to reach him, he had been unable tO formally address the government on the sub- ject, but wonjd do so as soon as fresh copies of the said papers should come to hand, and would use his best endeavors to secure favorable action. 1 have some knowledge of the interest in prison reform which exists to-day in Denmark, and especially of the favor in which the prop- osition for the international congress is held by the able and accom- plished gentleman at the head of the prison administration of that country ; and judging from the facts thus within my knowledge, I have little doubt that Denmark will be present and will contribute her full share toward any useful results that may be reached. Greece is the only country in Europe from which no communication whatever has been received.* In some, at least, of the numerous British colonies scattered over the face of the earth, interesting experiments in prison discipline are going on ; questions of penitentiary reform are keenly studied ; and substantial progress is making in the right direction. It is a pleasure to be able to report that a number of these are likely to be represented in the con- gress, and some, indeed, hav« already appointed their delegates. Turning from the Old World to the New, we find the prospect for a suc- cessful conference scarcely less promising. The ministers of the Span- ish-speaking republics of North and South- America, as also of the Em- pire of Brazil, have taken a strong interest in this movement from the first, and have made active exertion to jiromote its success in their respective countries. Mexico, Brazil, the Argentine Eepublic, Chili, Colombia, and other South American states have decided to take part in the congress, and some of them have already named their commis- sioners. Japan and Hayti will be likely to be present by their repre- * Since the date of this report iuformation has been received from the Hon. Mr Fran- cis, United States minister, tliat the government of Greece has taken the action asked, and has named a commissioner to represent it in the congress. 10 INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGKESS. sentatives. Indeed, tlfe strong probability is that there will be few, if any, of the civilized nations of the earth unrepresented in the approach- ing international congress of London, called for the study, of all ques- tions connected with the repression of crime and the reformation of criminals. As regards the United States, little need be said. The General Gov- ernment inaugurated this movement, and it is freely accorded by other nations the honor which belongs to that position. As the nation itself is to be officially represented in the congress, so, it is hoped, will be each of the States as well. The legislatures of several have already, by joint resolution, authorized the appointment of one or more commissioners. This has been done in New Hampshire, Ehode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, Indiana, and, I think, Michigan ; perhaps in some other States also. It is believed that most of the States will take similar action, and that all, or nearly all, might be induced to do so by the necessary effort to that end. The leading penal and reformatory institutions of the I country, as well as their governing boards, are likely to send delegates to the congress; and so are the boards of State charities. It is believed, also, that the police organizations of our larger cities, and the more im- portant criminal courts, will be in the conference by their representa- tives. It seems a thing much to be desired that the country which originated the congress should be largely represented in it ; and the re- verse of this would be proportionately humiliating. I have thus endeavored to offer a truthful, though brief, sketch of the work done, and the progress made in organizing this great move- ment in the interest of civilization and humanity. Every day now wit- nesses an advance in some part of the flelfl ; every day brings fresh evidence that the movement is gaining strength, and taking on a fixed form ; every day strengthens the hope of large and lasting benefits from a consummation which seems well nigh if not rather quite assured. From the exacting nature of other duties I was unable to examine any great number of prisons and reformatories while abroad, though by great effort I managed to see between forty and fifty in the aggregate. What I have to say on these will be more fitly said in connection with the oflcial reports on prisons, received from the governments of the countries visited ; and I therefore forbear all reference to them in the present paper. I beg to submit to the President, as a part of this report, the following documents, all of them bearing upon the congress, and all intended to. aid the preparations for it, and to promote its success and usefulness, that is to say : I. Sundry official reports of European governments on the prisons and prison administrations of their respective countries ; in connection with which will be submitted a report of the commissioner's personal obser- vations on foreign prisons and reformatories. II. The principles of prison discipline as set forth in the works of Alexander Maconochie, one of the profoundest thinkers and most vigor- ous writers on penitentiary questions. III. Eeports by standing committees of the National Prison Associa- tion of the United States on criminal law reform, prison discipline, juvenile delinquency, and the disposal of discharged prisoners. IV. A review of the State prisons, jails, and juvenile reformatories of the United States for 1871. All of which is respectfully submitted. \ E. O. WINES, Commissioner of the United States to the International Penitentiary Congress of London. ACCOMPANYING DOCUMENTS, A -OFFICIAL REPORTS OF EUROPEAN GOVERNMENTS ON THE PRISONS AND PRISON ADMINISTRATIONS OF THEIR RE- ' SPECTIVE COUNTRIES, FURNISHED IN REPLY TO QUES- TIONS SUBMITTED BY THE COMMISSIONER OF THE ■ UNITED STATES. [Want of time for such a purpose has been an absolute bar to the preparation by the commissioner of any report on the penal and re- formatory institutions visited and examined by him during his Euro- pean tour of last year. He hopes to supply this lack in his final report, to be made after the International Penitentiary Congress shall have completed and closed its labors. The following is the series of questions submitted to the different governments, in reply to which the reports printed below have been furnished.] QUESTIONS. I. Are all the prisons in your country placed under the control of a central authority ? If so, does this authority absorb all the powers of administration, or does it share them with local authorities, and in what proportions ? II. What is the classification of your prisons 1 III. In what proportions are the cellular and associated systems of imprisonment applied in your country? IV. What results have been obtained, severally, from these two sys- tems ? Which of them do you prefer, and what are the grounds of your preference? V. From whence are the funds for the support of the prisons obtained? What proportion of these funds are yielded by the labor of the prisoners 1 VI. Who appoints the directors and other officers of the prisons, and what is their tenure of ofi&ce ? VII. What special abilities and qualifications do you consider neces- sary in prison officers ? Are the qualifications judged requisite actually possessed by the greater part of these officers in your country ? VIII. Have special schools been established in your country for the education of prison officers ? If such institutions do not exist, would you favor their establishment, and why ? IX. What pension is accorded to prison officers who have become inca- pacitated by age or otherwise to fulfill the duties of their office ? X. What is the exact difference between sentences to imprisonment, to reclnsion, and to hard labor? XI. Does there exist in your prisons a system of classification of the prisoners ? If so, how is it applied, and what are its results ? XII. Can prisoners, by good conduct and industry, shorten their terms of imprisonment, and how is this reduction eflected ? XIII. Do your prisoners share in the earnings of their labor 1 If so, in what proportion ? / XIV. What other rewards, if any, are employed to stimulate the zeal of the prisoners ? XV. What prison regulations are most frequently violated ? XVI. What disciplinary punishments are employed in your prisons ? 14 INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. XVII. Is an exact record kept of these punishments ? XVlil. Are chaplains provided in allyour prisons, and for prisoners of all the different religions ? XIX. What, in general, are the duties of the chaplains ? XX. What importance do you attach to religious instruction as a means of reforming prisoners ? XXI. Are persons of both sexes, apart from the administration of the prisons, permitted to labor for the moral amelioration of the prisoners f XXII. Do Sunday-schools exist in your prisons ? XXIII. How often are your prisoners permitted to write and to receive letters ? XXIV. Is the correspondence of the prisoners with their friends found to produce, upon the former, a good or evil influence ? XXV. Are the prisoners allowed to receive visits from their friends ? XXVI. How are these visits regulated ? Is there between the prisoner and the visitor an officer charged with listening to their conversations, or is such officer only employed to observe their persons without interfering with the privacy of the interview ? XXVII. Is the moral influence of these visits good or bad 1 XXVIII. What is the proportion of prisoners who are able to read at their commitment? XXIX. Do schools for secular instruction exist in your prisons f XXX. On what couditions and in what proportions are prisoners per- mitted to attend these schools ? XXXI. What branches of learning are taught in the prison schools, and what progress is made therein ? XXXII. Are libraries found in your prisons? What is the general character of the books composing them ? XXXIII. Do prisoners read much? What books do they prefer? What influence does their reading exert upon them ? XXXIV. Are your prisons provided with a good system of sewerage ? XXXV. How is the water-supply as reSpects both quantity and quality ? XXXVI. Are your prisons well ventilated ? XXXVII. What means are provided to insure the cleanliness of the prisons ? XXXVIII. How is the cleanliness of the prisoners assured ? XXXIX. How are the water-closets arranged ? XL. What system is adopted for lighting the dormitories and cells ? XLI. How are your prisons heated"? XLII. Of what material are the prisoners' beds made ? XLIII. What bedding is provided for them ? XLIV. What are the hours of labor, of recreation, and of sleep ! XLV. Where and how are the diseases of prisoners treated? XL VI. What diseases are most frequent? XL VII. What is the average proportion of the sick ? XL VIII. What is the average death-rate ? XLIX. Is there a distinction made in your prisons between penal And industrial labor ? What kinds of labor are adopted in the different prisons ? L. Is the deterrent effect of penal labor conspicuous, as shown by the diminished number of relapses ? LI. What is found to be the moral effect of penal labor upon the prisoners ? LII. What is the effect of penal labor upon the health of the pris- oners ? - INTEENATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. 15 LIII. Is industrial labor in your prisons conducted by contractors or directed by the administration itself? LIV. Which of these two systems do you prefer? LY. If there are different systems of contracting for the labor of the prisoners, which do you prefer 1 LVI. What proportion of your prisoners are ignorant of a trade at the time of their committal? LVII. Do the prisoners learn a trade while in prison? LVIII. Is it regarded as important that the prisoner, during his In- carceration, be taught the art of self-help, and how is this result sought to be attained? LIX. Is the frequent repetition of short imprisonments for minor offenses found to produce a good effect ? LX. What is the proportion of recidivists? LXI. Are recidivists sentenced to severer punishments than first of- fenders? LXII. Does imprisonment for debt still exist in your country? If so, do imprisoned debtors receive the same treatment as imprisoned crimi- nals? LXIII. What, in your opinion, are the principal causes of crime in your country? LXIV. In what proportion are the two sexes represented in your prisons ? LXV. Is the reformation of the prisoners made the primary aim in the prisons of your country ? LXVI. As a matter of fact, do your prisoners in general leave the prison better or worse than they entered it? LXVII. Are efforts made to aid liberated prisoners in finding work, and thus saving them from a relapse? How is this done, and what re- sults have been obtained? LXVIII. Do prisoners' aid societies exist in your country ? Are they numerous and active? What results have been accomplished by their labors? LXIX. Are you satisfied with the penitentiary system of your coun- try? What defects, if any, do you find in it? What changes or modi- fications would you wish to see introduced ? ANSWERS. [N. B. — The Roman numerals, in all the reports which follow, refer to the questions printed above. It was not deemed necessary to repeat the questions in each individual report. The arrangement actually adopted was thought sufficiently convenient, and is a great economy of space.] I.— FEANCE. [Translation.] I, The prisons of France, with exceptions to be indicated hereafter, depend upon a central power, which is represented by the minister of the interior, and, under his authority, by the director of the administra- tion of prisons. . J §1. Control. The central power exercises its control by means of general inspec- tions, made by special functionaries, viz: inspectors general of prispng. 16 ' INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIAEY CONGRESS. Besides this direct and most important control, there is a local control of the prefects for all the prisons and penitentiary establishments ; of the mayors and commissions of supervision for the houses of arrest, of justice, and of correction ; and, finally, of the council of supervision for the colonies of correctional education of juvenile delinquents. It is necessary further to mention the intervention, though to a very limited degree, of magistrates of the judicial order. General inspections. The inspectors general have two classes of functions, the one accom- plished during their tours of inspection, and the other, as will be here- after seen, in the interval of these tours. They aire charged with visit- ing all the prisons and penitentiary establishments, and they give acqount to the minister of the observations made on these visits, in a special report relating to each establishment. Theprefeets. The prefect represents the central power in the department as regards the supervision and administration of prisons; and it is his duty to visit, at least once a year, the prisons of his department. (Article 611 du Code d'Instruction criminelle.) ' Mayors. It is the duty of the mayor of each commune, where there is a house of arrest, a house of justice, or a house of correction, to make, at least once a month, a visitation of these houses. [Article 612, du Code Wln- struction criminelle.) By virtue of article 613, of the same code, there is, besides the police of these prisons. As a prison is an establishment of general and not merely municipal interest, the authority which the mayor is called to exercise therein partakes essentially of the central administration. It is as its representative that he acts on such occa- sions. Commissions of supervision. The commission of supervision, which is established, in principle, near ea«h departmental prison, e:^ercises, as its name imports, a super- visory action over whatever relates to health, to supplies, to religious instruction, and to moral reform. The function of this commission is limited to the control of the vari- ous services. Its members, having no responsibility, cannot perform any act of authority in the prisons, in which it is important, moreover, to maintain unity of command. As regards the penitentiary colonies of juvenile delinquents, the act establishes {article 8 de la loi du 5 aout, 1850) a council of supervision, charged with the same mission of control in these establishments as the commission of supervision in the houses of arrest, of justice, and of correction. Intervention of the judicial authority. The penitentiary and correctional colonies are, besides, subjected to the special supervision of the attorney general of the jurisdiction, whose duty it is to visit them every year. INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. 17 But this is not the only case in whicli penitentiary establishments are subjected to the control of the judicial authority. By the terms of the 611th article of the code of criminal procedure, the committing magistrate {jugie dHnstruetion) is bound to visit, once a month at least, the persons confined in the house of arrest of his arron- dfssement, and the president of the court of assizes, at least once in the course of each session, must visit the persons confined in the house of justice. § 2. ADMiqSnSTKATION. Criminal legislation being the same for all throughout the entire ter- ritory of France, the same rules ought to control its application, -without exception either of places or of persons. As regards prisoners under sen- tence, inequality of discipline is inequality of punishment. As regards prisoners awaiting trial, this inequality constitutes a grave abuse, be- cause it subjects a man, innocent perhaps, to rigors and privations "Which could not be elsewhere imposed by the administration upon another man in the same condition. To establish and maintain in the same prisons the application of the same principles and of a uniform system, two elements are indispensable, unity of direction and centralization of the financial means of execution. Unity of direction. The director of the administration of prisons is charged with admin- istering, under the authority of the minister of the interior, the i)risons and penitentiary establishments of every class in Prance. Under him, and as a deliberative consultative board, is found the council of inspect- ors general of iprisons, which is called upon, in the interval of their tours of inspection, to give advice on the more important questions of the service. The instructions and regulations emanating from the cen- tral administration are addressed, through the intervention of the pre- fects, who represent the executive power in the departments, to the directors of the different establishments. At the head of each central prison is found a director. His action extends to all parts of the service. He is specially charged with con- ducting the correspondence With the minister of the interior, to whom hfe addresses his reports on the financial, industrial, and disciplinary condition of the establishment, through the agency of the prefects, ex- cept in urgent and extraordinary cases. Directors of the houses of arrest, of justice, and of correction are charged with the administration of those establisltiments in one or more departments. In the prisons situated at the place of their residence their action makes itself felt directly, like that of the director of a cen- tral prison, on all parts of the service, and ifl the other prisons in- directly, through the agency of the principal keepers, who receive their instructions and are required to address to them frequent reports. An important part of their functions has reference to the economical administration of the prisons, to purchases, to the verification of ex- penses, to the control of the accounts, cash, and material ; in short, to the preparation of the various financial documents which they send to the central administration. The principal keepers are the agents charged with the care and supervision of the. houses of arrest, of justice, and of correction. The organization which has just been described is the same in all the S. Ex. 39 2 18 INTEENATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGEESS. departments of Prance, except in one only, that of the Seinfe, an ex- ception which deranges the harmony of the system. The directors of the public colonies of juvenile delinquents are assim- ilated by their functions to the directors of the central prisons. It is. therefore the central power which conducts the administration by their hands. It cannot be the same in the other colonies, which, are private- estab- lishments. The director is only approved by the administration, and this latter exercises such control as it has only through the intermediate agency of the prefects and the inspectors general. The administration of these private establishments has been determined by a general regu- lation of recent date, which explains why they have not yet been able to attain that administrative uniformity which is remarked in the pub- lic establishments of the same kind. The colonies are appropriated to children who have for the most part been acquitted, but have been sent by the tribunals into a house of correction, to be there trained under a severe discipline. There are establishments in which education is made more prominent than re- pression, and the duty of the central power is to see that the children are properly treated, and that they receive, conformably to law, a moral, religious, and industrial education. Centralization of the fiiumeial means of execution. A law of the 5th of May, 1855, which transferred to the budget of the state the ordinary expenses of the houses of arrest, of justice, and of correction, which had previously belonged to the departmental budgets, has accomplished, for all the degrees of imprisonment, the centralization of the financial, means of execution; a centralization which till then existed only with regard to the central prisons. Never- theless this is still a point where the central power is not completely , independent of the local authorities, and where the vote of the general council of the department must lend its concurrence. The department has preserved since 1855 its property in the buildings used as houses of arrest, of justice, and of correction, and has been at the expense of all needed repairs. Penal establishments not depending on the ministry of the interior. Certain establishments for punishment do not depend on the di- rection of prisons iu,the ministry of the interior, to wit : 1. The establishments in which men are undergoing the punishment of hard labor. 2. The prisons appropriated to prisoners of the army and navy. The administration of the bagnios, of the penal colonies, and of the prisons of ports and arsenals, is centralized in the ministry of the navy ; that of the military penitentiaries in the ministry of war. However the case stands with the central prisons, the houses of arrest, of justice, and of correction, and the establishments of correctional ed- ucation for juvenile delinquents, the administration of prisons in the ministry of the interior has an importance which is computed by a bud- get of about 15,000,000 francs, by a personnel of 4,700 employes, and by an average population exceeding 50,000 prisoners. II. The establishments which receive prisoners are : Navy: 1. The penal colonies of Guiana and New Caledonia, and the bagnio of Toulon, for prisoners sentenced to hard labor. INTEENATIONAL PEKITENTIARY CONGRESS. 19 Interior : 2. The central prisons of liard labor and correction. 3. The houses of arrest, of justice, and of correction. 4. The penitentiary establishments devoted to the education of juve- nile delinquents. 5. The chambers and depots of safe-keeping. War and Navy : 6. The prisons devoted to prisoners of the army and navy. 1. Penal colonies. Bagnio at Toulon. (Establishments placed under the jurisdiction of the ministry of the navy and of the colonies.3 The punishment of hard labor has been for a long time undergone in France, as formerly that of the galleys, in certain ports and arsenals. The execution of this punishment, with the open-air labor of the con- victs, in sight of the fre^ population and in contact with it, was charac- terized by defects of every species and by innumerable perils. The law of the 31st of May, 1854, relative to the execution of the punishment of hard labor, brought a remedy to this state of things by substituting for the former the punishment transportation with hard labor. Estab- lishments devoted to transportation, on the territory of one or more of the French possessions, other than Algiers, can be created only in Virtue of a legislative act. Nevertheless, in case of obstacles in the way of the transfer of convicts, and nntil such obstacles shall have ceased, this jjunishment is undergone provisionally in France. As a consequence of the enactment of the la;W of 1854, the bagnios of Eochefort and Brest were suppressed. There' remains, therefore, only that of Toulon as a depot for convicts sentenced to transportation. The most important establishment for prisoners sentenced to hard labor is the penal colony of Guiana. A second was created in 1864, in an island of Oceanica — New Caledonia — which offers, by the salubrity of its cli- mate and the fertility of its soil, conditions propitious to transportation. The transportation of women is authorized by the law, in view of mar- riages to be contracted with the convicts after their provisional or definitive liberation. The administration selected, from among the female prisoners of every class, those who expressed a desire to profit by these arrangements. These women are placed, to undergo their punishment until their provisional or definitive liberation, in a special establishment at Maroni, under the supervision of the religious ladies of Cherry. There is found, already, a certain number of women at Cayenne ; but the majority of females sentenced to hard labor still un- dergo their punishment in the central prisons of the continent, agreeably to the sixteenth article of the penal code. 2. Central prisons. The central prisons of hard labor and corrections receive — 1. Certain persons sentenced to hard labor, namely, women and old men of the age of sixty and upward ; 2. Persons sentenced to reclusion ; 3. Persons sentenced as correctionals to an imprisonment of more than one year. The central prisons, whose origin dates back to the law of the con- stituent assembly of October 6, 1791, were constituted a general system. 20 INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. to extend over the whole country, by an imperial decree of June 16, 1808. Their existing organization dates from the royal ordinance of April 2, 1817, which gave them the name they still bear, of houses of hard labor and correction, a designation in harmony with the penal code promulgated in 1810. 3. Houses of aebest, of justice, and of correction. These prisons are also called departmental prisons, not only because, they are devoted to the exclusive service of the department in which they are placed, but, above all, from considerations of property and of the budget. t)n one side, the property in them, -though they belong to the State, was assigned to the departments by a decree of April 9, 1811, together with the charges thereupon, whether for repairs, enlargement, or the construction of new buildings; on the other side, the current expenses of these prisons were for a long time a charge of the depart- mental budgets. These prisons receive — the arrested ; the accused ; the correGtionnek sentenced to one year and less; persons sentenced to severer punish- ments, who are awaiting their transfer; police prisoners; persons im- prisoned for debts in matters criminal-, correctional, of simple police, and oifisc; juvenile prisoners, whether arrested, accused, or in the way of paternal correction ; and civil and military prisoners en route.. Houses of arrest and of justice are indispensable to each jurisdiction ; consequently they are found in each chief place of arrondissement. To answer to the intention of the law, {article 604 Code d'' Instruction crimi- nelle,) they ought to be entirely distinct from the prisons established for punishment. But the complications which would ensue upon this sepa- ration in the services, the increase of th.& personnel, which it would render necessary in the greater number of localities, in which a single chief keeper is sufBcient for the three houses, and, finally, the difficulty of ob- taining from the departments special places, have led to this result : that the three houses are, in general, but three distinct wards of the same prison. 4. Establishments demoted to the correctional education of JUVENILE delinquents. These establishments receive minors, of sixteen years and under, of both sexes. They are divided, for young male prisoners, into peniten- tiary colonies and correctional colonies. In the first are placed — 1. Young children acquitted in virtue of the 66th article of the penal code as having acted without knowledge, but who are not sent back to their parents; 2. Young prisoners sentenced to an imiprisonment of more than six months and not exceeding two years. These establishments are public or private. Those are called public establishments which have been founded by the state, and of which the state names and pays the directors and employes; and those are called private establishments which are founded and directed by private persons, with the authoriza- tion of the ^tate. The correctional colonies receive — 1. Young prisoners sentenced to an imprisonment of more than two years ; 2. Young prisoners from the penitentiary colonies who have been declared insubdrdinate. The cor- rectional colonies are all public establishments. A similar dassiflcatiou has been established for young female prison- - ers. They are received either into a correctional ward directed by the INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. 21 state, or into ijenitentiary houses connected witli religious establisli- ments. These various establishments were called into being by the law of the 5tli of August, 1850. There are actually counted of them thirty-two, viz : three public colonies, four correctional wards, and twenty-flve pri- vate colonies. Twenty establishments are devoted to young female pris- oners. One of them is directed by the state. 5. Chambers and depots tor sajpe-keeping. The name of chambers for safe-keeping is given to places in which are received prisoners who are being conveyed from point to point in localities where there is no house of arrest, of justice, or of correction. These chambers and depots have the same destination as such houses, and are but places for the temporary coniinement of prisoners en route. The chambers are under the care of the gendarmes of the locality ; the depots under that of the agents pf the administration of prisons. No punishment, however trivial, can be undergone in them. The number of this class of prisoners is about 2,400. 6. Prisons devoted to prisoners op the army and navy. (These establislimentB are placed under the care of the ministries of war and of the navy.) § 1. Houses of arrest and prisons of ports and arsenals. — These estab- lishments receive — 1. The sailors, soldiers, or laborers of the navy under disciplinary punishment ; 2. Persons arrested for crimes or mis- demeanors within the jurisdiction of the several tribunals of the navy; 3. Persons sentenced by these tribunals to correctional imprisonment of one year and under. § 2. Military prisons. — Every military prison, situated in a place which is the seat of a council of war, should be divided into three sections : 1. A military house of arrest, receiving soldiers of every grade sentenced to disciplinary punishment ; 2. A house of justice, receiving soldiers who are being conveyed before a council of war, and convicts awaiting either the execution of their sentence or a commutation of punishment ; 3. A house of correction, receiving officers sentenced to the punishment of imprisonment, and soldiers sentenced to less than a year of imprison- ment. § 3. Military penitentiaries. — These contain persons sentenced to an imprisonment of at least one year. These are persons undergoing a ■punishment of a correctional nature — the only punishment that does not exclude from the ranks of the army. Painful and afflicting punish- ments, such as irons, hard labor, reolusion, involve military degrada- tion and the remission of the convict to the civil authority for the execution of those punishments. III. The question relating to the measure in which the cellular and associated systems are, applied in Prance will be answered with reference to the several classes of prisons. 1. Central prisons. The cellular system is not applied in any central prison. The disci- pline of these prisons is that of detention in common with the obliga- tion of silence. Some of them, howef er, have cellular wards, in which may be confined certain classes of prisoners. 22 INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIAEY CONGRESS. 2. Houses of arrest, of justice, and of correction. A certain number of these establishments is constructed on the cel- lular system. Out of four hundred in all, there are about fifty of this kind. The other departmental i)risons have been constructed or ar- ranged upon plans, the latest of which bears date the 7th of January, 18(53, and which have had for their aim the moral advantages of cellular imprisonment, with economy in the means of execution. In these mixed prisons, then," the discipline is neither that of the cell nor that of imprisonment in common. It includes three kinds of imprisonment, that of w^ards designed for prisoners, whose isolation is required by no special circumstance, and who constitute the greatest number (with com- mon yards, dormitories, and heaters ;) that of common apartments which are capable of receiving certain classes of prisoners not very numerous ; finally, that of individual apartments, designed to secure, in certain cases, private instruction, to protect against injurious or dangerous contacts young prisoners under arrest, who are shielded by a presump- tion of innocence, and also to separate individuals for whom, before or after their condemnation, exceptional precautions of discipline or safe- keeping are necessary. . 3. Juvenile delinquents. Among the establishments designed for youthful prisoners, the prison of la Eoquette, situated in Paris, is the oidy one in which cellular im- prisonment is applied day and night, but this prison receives only mi- nors of sixteen years, arrested or accused, and persons sentenced ibo an imprisonment not exceeding six months. IV. As regards the results of the two systems of separation and asso- ciation, there can be no question in France, except as to houses of arrest, of justice, and of correction ; the only ones, as we have just seen, which have been constructed partly on the cellular system and partly on a system of a different kind. Nevertheless, it is impossible to establish, even for these prisons, a comparison of the results yielded by the two systems. On one side, in effect, the statistics do not make a distinction between prisoners in the ■ cellular prisons and those confined in prisons of the other class ; and, on the other, in a great number of the former, it is only the edifice which is cellular. The system followed is that of association by day, in workshops for labor, and in yards for the hours of rest. i Cellular sep- aration has place only at night. The cellular prison at Mazas, and a part of that called La Sant6, both situated in Paris, form an exception to this state of things. Preferences.— The successive tendencies of the administration as regards the system to be followed in the houses of arrest, of justice, and of cor- rection, may be epitomized thus : 1. Exclusive adoption of the cellular system down to 1853 ; 2. Subsequently to 1853, abandonment of that system from motives of economy, and adoption of a mixed system ; 3. Eesumption of studies, commenced in 1840, on the application of indi- vidual imprisonment. In the first period, the administration began by repelling every pro- ject of reconstruction and of repair of the houses of arrest, of justice, and of correction, not conformed to the rules of the cellular system. The expenses involved in this system, and the impossibility of any great number of departments providing the necessary funds from their own resources, arrested the favorable dispositions of the councils general ; the INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGKESS. 23 iidmiuistration then renounced, for the future, the cellular system, and entered upon a new path, by substituting the separation of classes for that of individuals. It is in this spirit that plans were prepared from 1853 and 1860 for the construction and arrangement of departmental prisons, which comprised, as we have already seen, wards, common apartments, and individual cells. These plans are still in vigor, only care has been taken, in building prisons during these later years, to multiply the number of individual cells. But this system is not the last word of the administration in regard to the i)risons of the departments. The results obtained by the system are far from being satisfactory. We shall see in effect, in the matter of relapses, that out of one hundred prisoners in the central prisons fifty- two men and thirty-one women had been previously confined as con- victs in the departmental prisons. The administration has, therefore, just resumed the studies com- menced in 1840, on the application of individual imprisonment. This system, in effect, appears to be the only one' capable of averting the dangers of promiscuous association, so formidable in prisons which receive prisoners of origins the most diverse — arrested, accused, persons sentenced for at least a year, convicts awaiting transfer, young pris- oners, civil and military prisoner en route, &c., &c. Separation by classes presents no difficulties, but there is a selection "to be made of persons for each class, which requires great discrimination and q^ special study of the cases and character of every prisoner to prevent a corrupt- ing contact with others. Tte chief keepers of the prisons of arrondisse- ment, who have to maintain the order and police of the prison and to watch over the general services of the house, cannot be required to engage in this minute study of prisoners. That is impossible, and it is what renders promiscuous association so dangerous. Individual imprisonment, moreover, it would seem, ought to give to punishments of short duration a character of intimidation, which they now lack, the existing system too often producing only the sad effect of familiarizing the prisoner with the regime of the prison. The considera- tion of economy, which heretofore has been of controlling force, and whose reality has been placed in doubt by recent examples, no longer seems sufilcient to balance the opposite con siderations'of public morality, which recommend the abandonment of the rSgime in common as far as the arrested, the accused, and persons sentenced to short imprisonments are concerned. V. Provision for the cost of maintenance of the prisoners in most penitentiary establishments is made — 1. By the payment by govern- ment of a sum for each day of imprisonment, fixed by contract, for a period, on agreement of the parties, generally of three, six, or nine years; 2. By the right conceded to the contractor, who has made the highest bid, to the product of the prison labor, on condition that he pay to the prisoners a portion of their earnings, the amount of which varies according to the penal class to which each prisoner belongs. The price of the labor is fixed by special tariffs, approved for each industry by . the superior administration. In consideration of these conditions the contractor is obliged to provide for the board and maintenance of the prisoners, in health and sickness, as well as meet numerous obligations specified in a list of charges, which comprises not less than one hun- dred and sixteen articles. Several important penitentiary establishments are administered, as regards their industries, directly by the State. This mode of adminis- tration admits of a practical comparison of the two systems, and affords 24 INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESp. also the possibility of utilizing the labor of the convicts under certain conditions which are qiiite incompatible with the management of the industries by way of contract ; such, for example, as agricultural labors. According to the latest statistics, the product of the labor in the cen- tral prisons, agricultural penitentiaries,* and kindred establishments, brought an average gain of 74.33 centimes (nearly 15 cents) for each day of labor, which was reduced to 53.90 centimes (nearly 11 cents) for each day of detention, or of presence in the establishment. The average peculium,^ assigned to each prisoner on the above-men- tioned gain, was 33.48 centimes (nearly 7 cents) for each day of laber, and 24.68 centimes (nearly 5 cents) for each day of detention. The contractor received, from the tenths conceded to him,<25.73 cen- times (nearly 6 cents) for each day of detention. This sum represents the part which tie prisoners contribute toward their support by their labor. The proportion is the same for the two central prisons and the three agricultural colonies', whose industries are managed by the state. In general, and with the exception of the establishments in Corsica, the cost of support (not including the expenses of supervision and of administration) may be set down at 50 centimes per capita for each day of imprisonment. Consequently, it may be claimed that the convict meets about one-half the cost of his maintenance. It is import-ant to remark that in one of the female central prisons it has been .possible entirely to withdraw the subsidy granted to the contractor, the earnings of the prisoners being sufficient for the support of the establishment. In another prison the contractor, instead of re- ceiving anything from the state, pays to it a centime per day for each convict. It is permitted io hope from this example that the adminis- tration will at length attain the end which it has always sought iu this regard, that of exempting the treasury from the personal expenses of the prisoners who are confined in its great prisons for punishment. In the houses of arrest, of justice, and of correction, as in nearly all the central prisons, the contract system of labor is adopted. The sys- tem is worked upon the same principles in the departmental as in the central prisons. The short stay of the prisoners in the greater part of these prisons, the difficulty of organizing workshops for groups of individuals, sub- divided almost to infinitude, not only because of the small importance of the establishment, but also as a consequence of the necessity of class- ing them in distinct categories; and, in short, the difference in the num- ber of tenthsl assigned to the contractor make the departmental prison proportionally more costly to the state than the central prisons. Since 185,5, when the service of the houses of arrest, of justice, and of correction became centralized in the ministry of the interior, the product of the labor, which, outside of the prisons of the Seine, did not exceed 16,000 francs, rose in 1868 to 1,811,672 francs, (the earnings of about 14,000 laborers, out of a total number of prisoners amounting to 22,998.) The average product of the labor, then, has been, in the departmental prisons, a little more than six centimes for each day of imprisonment, (8,267,764 days.) In 1868 the average expenditure for maintenance of these establish- *Thi8 name is given to the three central prisons established in the island of Corsica. + The part of his earnings belonging to the prisoner. i Persons under arrest and awaiting trial, who ask for work, are allowed seveQ tenths of their earnings. INTEKNATIOSTAL PENITENTIARY CONGEESS. 25 ments was 50.30 centimes, (tiot including the expense of supervision and administration.) To sum up, it results, from the preceding explanations, that the part contributed by the prisoner toward the cost of- maintenanoe may bo placed at 50 per cent, in the central prisons, and at about 17 per cent, only in the departmental prisons. The state, in the public colonies for juvenile delinquents, and the di- rector, in the private colonies, gets, in principle, the total product of the labor of the inmates. 'There is no exception to this rule, save a deduc-i tion to provide for certain rewards, under the title of encouragements to labor and good conduct, and in what relates to children placed, tempo- rarily, with persons outside. The directors of the private colonies receive a daily compensation for the labor of the colons, varying from 60 to 70 centimes, by means of which they ought to meet the expenses of the administration, the cost of maintenance, the expenses occasioned by their primary and religious instruction, as well as the redemption of the original cost of the estab- ment. It is difficult to estimate with precision the product of the daily labor in the penal colonies. The juvenile prisoners are most commonly en- gaged in agricultural labors, or in improving the estate — ^labors whose value can be counted only in the increased value given to the domain which has been thereby improved. The cost of maintaining the convicts in the bagnio of Toulon^abate- ment being made of som^e diminutions of expense — was estimated, for the year 1868, at 65.68 centimes per day for each prisoner. At Guiana the cost per day amounted to not less than 1 franc and 71 centimes, including the proportional expense of transportation and return.. There must, however, be deducted from this cost the value of the work done by the convicts, in regard to which it is impossible for the ministry of the interior to give sufficient indications. VI. In regard to the appointment of officers and their tenure of office: The rules which govern the naming pf the various agents who compose the personnel of the penitentiary establishments are different according as the question relates to — 1. The central prisons, the agricultural peni- tentiaries, and the public colonies of juvenile delinquents; 2. The houses of arrest, of justice, and of correction ; 3. The private colonies of juve- nile delinquents. In the central prisons jand other similar establishments the function- aries, employes, and agents, to whichever service they may be attached, that is, where they are proposed for the administration, properly so called, or for special services, or for supervision, are named by the min- ister of the interior. An exception is made in the case of keepers called residentiary, {stagiaires,) who are admitted by the prefects on presenta- tion by the directors. (Decree of the 24th December, 1869, articles 8 and 9.) As regards the houses of arrest, of justice, and of correction, the functionaries and employes proposed for the administration are named by the minister, and the employes of the other services are named by the prefects, as also the agents of supervision, other than the chief keepers. Still, these appointments do not become definitive till they have received the ministerial approval. As regards the principal keepers, a recent decree of the chief of the executive power, under date of the 31st of May, 1871, reserves their appointment to the minister of the interior. By the terms of the law of the 5th August, 1850, relative to the ■26 INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. education of juvenile delinquents, every private penitentiary colony is governed by a responsible director, approved by the minister of the interior. The employes placed under the orders of the director must be, in liKe manner, approved by the prefect. [Loi du 5 aout 1850 ; Ebglement general du 10 avril 1869.) In the department of the Seine, where the prisons are managed, in many of their relations, under authority of special provisions, the directors are named by the minister of the interior, on presentation by * the prefect of police ; the other employes are named by the prefect. In effect, it is the prefect of police who, in Paris, administers the peniten- tiary establishments. The inspectors general of i)risons and penitentiary establishments are named by the minister of the interior. The duration of the functions of the different employes composing the personnel of the penitentiary service is not limited by any determi- nate time. The agents who have not been gravely derelict in the exer- cise of their functions continue in place till they have reached the age at least of sixty and have been in service thirty years. VII. The seventh question relates to the necessary talents and quali- fications of prison ofiScers. The management of penitentiary establishments requires technical and administrative knowledge of great breadth, and offers, besides, special difficulties, arising out of the complicated organization of the service. It demands, in truth, a profound knowledge of business, of ministerial regulations and details, and an unremitting application, a quality essentially requisite in all directors. The administrator who finds himself face to face with a contractor whose interests are directly antagonistic to those of the state, ought to unite an unceasing watch- fulness with an intelligent control. The principal duties of the adminis- trator of penitentiary establishments — such as the organization of the prison labor, the examination of tariffs of labor, the maintenance of discipline in the midst of a perverted population, the choice and em- ployment of means to awaken in the prisoners thoughts of repentance and ideas of moral renovation— all these duties, and others analogous, demand a special aptitude, fortified by an experience more or less extended. Penetrated with the idea that the direction of the peniten- tiary establishments cannot be confided, without the gravest risks, to agents who do not offer the most.trustworthy guarantees, the superior administration has established rigid rules to guard against the bestow- ment of the elevated functions of the service upon agents whose apti- tude and experience would leave the least room for doubt. In the same order of ideas, it exacts, in the case of all its agents, of whatever degree, the knowledge demanded by the positions which they are to fill, and makes their promotion dependent on conditions of time and experience, varying according to the importance of the trusts to which they aspire. (Bicret du 24 ddcemhre 1869, titre III.) In short, to keep out of the service of the prisons agents unable to offer the guarantees desired, a ministerial decree, under date of the 25th of March, 1867, instituted, in the ministry of the interior, a commission charged with the examina- tion of candidates for employment in the active service of the central prisons and the houses of arrest, of justice, and of correction. The programme of the required examination comprises the following points: writing, grammar, arithmetic, the principles of accounts, history and geography, (principally of Prance,) general notions of the penal system and of criminal procedure, general ideas of civil law, the civil and judi- cial administration, and the most important provisions of the laws INTEltNATIONAI. PENITENTIAEY CONGRESS. * 27 decrees, and ordinances relating to the penitentiary rdffime. The exami- nation includes, in addition, a written composition. Thanks to these various measures, the personnel of the prison service is composed, for the most part, of agents, enlightened, capable, and up to the height of the duties with which they are charged. Many of the higher of&cers unite to all the aptitudes required in the director of a penitentiary establishment a rare administrative ability and an exten- sive knowledge of criminality. In the lo .rer ranks of the personnel, a majority of the agents are upright, zealous, and earnestly devoted to their duties. * VIII. There do not exist in Prance schools specially devoted to the edu- cation of the directors and employes of prisons, and the necessity for establishing them has not been made apparent. The best school, in matters of this kind, appears to be that of practice and experience, and the prescriptions of the decree of the 26th December, 1869, constitute, certainly, sufScient guarantees that positions in the prison service will not be confided to incapable and inexperienced agents. IX. As has been said in the answer to a previous question, prison oiiicers whose commissions have not been revoked, continue the exercise of their functions until the day of their retirement from the service. The different agents of the penitentiary administration are subject, as regards their retirement and the pension that may be granted them, to the rules embodied in the law o'f the 9th of June, 1853, relating to civil pensions. The principle laid down by this law is, that every public functionary, paid directly from the funds of the state, has a legal claim to a retiring pension, when. he fulfills the required conditions of age and of continuance in the service, that is to say, when he has attained the age of sixty, and has accomplished a service of twenty years. It is im- portant to remark that account is made of military services, when there are superadded to them twelve years, at least, of civil services. More- over, a pension can be granted at fifty years of age, and after twenty years of service, to those who have become incapacitated from a longer discharge of official duty by grave infirmities resulting from the exer- cise of their functions. In short, this same law relieves from every condition of age and continued service, 1. Those who may have been disabled from continuing their service, whether as the result of an act of devotion in some public interest, or in exposing their own life to save the life of one of their fellow-citizens, or as the result of a struggle or combat encountered in the discharge of their duties ; 2. Those to whom a grave accident, resulting, n(^toriously, from the exercise of their func- tions, shall have made it impossible to continue them. X. The tenth question calls for an explanation of the difference be- tween sentences to simple imprisonment, to reclusion, and to hard labor. Simple imprisonment is a correctional punishment ; its duration is for six days at least, and for five years at farthest. The individual sentenced to simple imprisonment may be deprived, wholly or in part, of his civil and his family rights. In case of relapse, the duration of the punishment may be doubled. The punishment of simple imprisonment is undergone in the depart- mental houses of correction, in case it is not for more than a year. Sentences to simple imprisonment for more than a year are undergone in the central prisons of hard labor and correction. The convict is employed at some one of the labors carried on in the establishment. {Articles 40, 41 du GodepSnal.) Eeclusion is a punishment afflictive and infamous, Every person sentenced to reclusion is confined in a central prison, and employed in 28 t INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. labors wMch are carried on in the prison. The duration of this punish- ment is for five years at least, and for. ten years at the utmost. A sentence to the punishment of reclusion implies, moreover, the loss of civic rights. Hard labor is an afflictive and infamous punishment. The actual mode of application of this punishment is regulated by the law of the 30th of May and 1st of June, of which mention has already been made. The sentence to hard labor for life implies civic degradation and civil death. A sentence to hard labor for a limited term draws after it civic degradation. The person so sentenced is, during the continuance of his punishment, in a state of civil death. A guardian and subrogate guard- ian are appointed for him to manage and administer his goods. The sentence which imposes the punishment of hard labor is printed and posted in the central city of the department, in the city where the sentenpe was pronounced, in the commune where the crime was com- mitted, and in that of the domicile of the convict. Criminals sentenced to hard labor for a limited term are, at the ex- piration of their sentence and during their whole life, legally under the supervision of the police. XI. In the departmental prisons the prisoners are, as much as possi- ble, divided into classes. Adults and juveniles under arrest and civil and military prisoners en route occupy separate places in a ward which takes the name of house of arrest. The accused, and persons sentenced by the court of assizes, awaiting their transfer, occupy distinct places in a ward which takes the name of house of justice. Pfersous sentenced to simple police punishments, and those sentenced correctionally to punishments whose duration does not exceed a year, are confined in a special ward, which takes the name of house of cor- rection. In the female wards, the arrested, the accused, the sentenced, young girls, and prisoners en route, form distinct classes, and occupy separate apartments, as far as the prison buildings permit. In what concerns the classes of, sentenced prisoners forming the popu- lations of the central prisons, the second article of the royal ordinance of April 2, 1817, directs that persons sentenced by courts of assizes and by correctional tribunals shall be confined in distinct and separate places. Hitherto it has not been possible to apply this rule, but the central administration has for some time had under consideration a project which will.enable it soon to give effect to the terms of -the above-men- tioned ordinance. Conformably to this project, certain central prisons will be exclusively devoted, some to reclusionarieSj others to correctionals. The male and female prisoners undergo their punishments in distinct central prisons. Special wards in the central prisons of Clairvaux and oT Mmes are reserved for persons sentenced to simple imprisonment. Juveniles from sixteen to twenty-one years of age, who from their age are exposed to certain dangers from which it is necessary to withdraw them, are placed in the agricultural penitentiary of Oastelluccio, Corsica, Or in special wards. For a long time the French administration has felt the necessity of creating in the prisons classes base'd, above all, upon the degree of per- versity of the convicts confined in them. Thus, on the 'one side, the dangerous prisoners, those who, before INTEKNATIONAL PENITENTIAEY CONGEESkS. 29 their conviction, had a character which would be likely to expose them to the outrages of their fellow-prisoners, or who might be a cause of dis- order and insubordination, are placed in special cellular wards, called wards of isolation. Wards to which has been given the name of wards of preservation and amendment, have, on the other side, been established in various central prisons and appropriated to persons sentenced for a iirst offense committed under the influence of a sudden impulse, or of some violent and momentary passion. This experiment is still so recent that it would be rash to pronounce upon its results ; but the 'conditions under which it has been thus far conducted are of a nature to encourage the administration to persevere in the path on which it has entered. It can be afQrmed that the pris- oners placed in these wards have shown themselves sensible to the dis- tinction of which they have been made the object, and have exerted themselves to justify it by their good conduct. Tliey have been re- markable for their industrious application to work, and the local admin- istration has rarely been under the necessity of putting them back into the common ward. XII. It is asked whether prisoners, by their good conduct and indus- try, may shorten their punishment, and, if so, in what way ? To this we reply : Prisoners may be restored, by pardon, to free life; they can also obtain commutations or reductions of punishment. An ordinance of February 6, 1818, fixes the. rules to be followed in applications for clem- ency, which is generally exercised in concert with the administrative and judicial authorities. The admission of prisoners on the registers of preservation is not ex- clusively the result of their good conduct in prison. Eegard Is also had to their antecedents and the causes of their conviction. Greater severity and circumspection are shown in regard to recidivists and to convicts whose crimes point them out as specially dangerous, as well as in regard to those who, from their criminal connections, would seem almost sure to fall back into crime after their liberation. As a general thing, prisoners placed on the lists of preservation must have previously undergone one-half of their punishment ; still, this con- dition is not indispensable.' Finally, what is to be said relating to military prisoners will be intro- duced under a special head. XIII. The products of the labor of persons sentenced correctionally, who undergo their punishment in a departmental house of correction, are shared in moietjes between the administration and the prisoners, the administration surrendering its share to the contractors, who, by the terms of their contract, are charged with the entire expense of the economic services. The state pays to the contractors, in addition, a fixed sum for each day of imprisonment. Labor is obligatory only for those who have been sentenced. The arrested and the accused can work when they desire it, and when it is possible to place tools in their hands without having to fear suicides or escapes. The labor of the arrested and the accused, who have a right to the whole of the product, is the object of special agreements. To indemnify the contractor, who has to furnish material and tools, there is made, in his favor, from the sum total of their callings, a deduction of three- tenths. In the central prisons the product of the labor is divided into tenths. A portion of these tenths is assigned to the convic ts, and takes 30 INTERNATrt)NAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. the name of peculium. The quota of tenths granted to the convicts is determined by the nature of the punishments and the number of c 64 INTEEWATIONAL PENITENTIAEY CONGRESS. I Bh o ^ lo oj eo 1-1 i-H Ci . - _ OJ _ _ --^ com . CO i-i o ooiftcicoojinoot-inT- T-ICMrH(OOTmC0COiH CO W m rH tH O . ci •* lo oi o th m . mmoo)- O i-l CO . _ 09 . .in ,.-tuor-i>(MeooicDmcocnuo CN t^ »** OJ "^ ^** ^ ^ CO W lO . OtH — ( C* Ol ■^■V Cs CT O COi-f M . iH 3-§ .11^ ■ ■PS £-R,a p* •d fe"-^ i>.H b9 b-Q Org ftS Of^ pLFTS a « O pro O O O O H ■g S MM© B S S M„ g II gill III H-e si ■gsg «!0 _ to INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. 65 III.— THE KETHEELANDS. [Translation.] I. All fhe prisons in the Netherlands are under the superior direction and control of the minister of justice, and the general inspection of the prisons has hitherto been .made by an inspector, who has his deputy in the bureau of the department of justice. For the inspection of the buildings, an engineer-architect is attached to the same department. Further, according to the provisions of our code of criminal procedure, (article 421,) the courts and tribunals are required to cause the prisons to be inspected, from time to time, by members assigned to that duty, and the same obligation rests upon the attorneys general, and upon the officers of justice, (procureurs du roi.) These latter are bound to make this inspection at least twice a year. The reports of all these inspections are addressed to the minister. The administration of the several prisons is confided to administrative commissions, named in each locality where a prison exists. The mem- bers of these commissions are named by the king, from among the nota- bles of the locality, who receive no salary. Whatever appertains to the local administration, to the internal service, to the discipline, and to the execution of the general and special regulations, is confided to these commissions, or is done through their agency. They are in official re- lation with the minister, either directly or by the deputy of the royal conjmissioner (governor) of the province, their immediate superior and their honorary president. II. There are four classes of prisons: The central prisons, for per- sons sentenced to more than eighteen months of imprisonment; the- detention prisons, in the chief cities of the several provinces, for persons sentenced to eighteen months or ],ess ; houses of arrest, in the chief towns of the several arrondissements, for persons sentenced to three months or less ; and police or cantonal prisons, in the chief places of the cantons, for persons sentenced to one month and under. In some cantons these prisons are united together. Among the prisons there are several on the cellular plan. In the three last-named classes of prisons are also prisoners under arrest, and awaiting their trial. III. The law has left it to the discretion of the judge to award either associated imprisonment or, when the circumstances of the offense or the character of the convict appear to him to require it, or he himself judges it useful, imprisonment on the cellular plan. This power, at first, in 1851, restricted to the case of a sentence to one year's imprison- ment or less, was extended in 1864 to sentences of two years, and after- ward, in 1871, to sentences of four years. In no case, however, can the sentence to cellular imprisonment exce'ed the moiety of the duration of ' imprisonment in association, which may have been pronounced by the judge. The maximum of cellular imprisonment is therefore actually two yeaxs. • To persons sentenced for a violation of police regulations cellular detention is not applicable. IV. To obtain decisive results, results of which a judgment maj'' be formed with some degree of 'certainty on the relative merit of the two systems, it would be necessary that the application of the systems be made in a uniform and not an arbitrary manner, which would permit a fair comparison of the results obtained. Now this application is still made (see the description given under No. Ill) in a manner very irregu- lar and little harmonious. Consequently there yet exists a great dif- ference of opinion on the question of preference, and above all, on the results obtained, and which might be obtained, by a judicious applica- S. Ex. 39 5 66 INTEENATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGEESiS. tion of the two systems. Still it may be said that the cellular system (in itself, and apart from the manner of applying it, and the limits whicjli should be imposed upon it) scarcely encounters any adversaries ; and for imprisonments of short duration the opinion which desires a universal application of this system is gaining ground. As regards imprisonments of long duration, public opinion is still too unsettled and too undecided to even permit a judgment of the direction wliich it will finally take. V. The funds necessary for the maintenance of the prisons and the prisoners are placed, annually, on the budget of the kingdom. The product of the prisoners' labor contributes to them only in a proportion very inconsiderable, because only a part of it is retained for the state. This part is 60 per cent, for those sentenced to reclusion and military prisoners, 50 per cent, for other inmates of the central prisons, and 30 per cent, for those confined in other prisons. VI. As to the appointment of officers : The directors of the central prisons are named by the king; the other employes by the minister of justice. They hold their offices until they are displaced, dismissed, or retire from the service. VII. We hold it to be necessary that the directors and employes of the prisons be men of tried morality, intelligent, and gifted with tact and with the knowledge necessaryto inspire the respect of the prisoners, even without the use of a severe discipline. This respect depends prin- cipally upon the spirit of justice, equity, and humanity which they exhibit in their relations with the prisoners. In the directors, especially, there -is needed a high degree of mental culture and an enlightened understanding of their duties, we might say, indeed, of their mission. A knowledge of the more important foreign languages is necessary, that they may be able to read and study the best writings on prison disci- ipline, and to communicate with the foreign prisoners. Unhappily, we cannot affirm that the majority of the directors and employes of our prisons possess these talents and qualities, a fact which is due chiefly to the circumstance that the salaries are too low, and that the service of the prison officers is, in general, too onerous, and held in too little -esteem. As a consequence, young men of good family and education -refuse to enter upon "this career. VIII. There are no schools specially designed for the education of tprison officers, and we do not regret it.. The best school is a well- organized and well-governed prison, where are offered to the young ^employ6s the means of acquiring knowledge and developing their tal- ents, by the reading and the study of the best writings on the subject of prisons. IX. The pensions accorded to the directors and employes, who have become incapacitated for the performance of their official duties, depend . on their state of service and on the number of their years of service, according to the general rules established by law in regard to the pen- sions of all civil officers. X. This question calls for a statement of the difference between sen- tences to simple imprisonment, to reclusion, and to hard labor. Our penal laws recognize only reclusion' and imprisonment, (without ireckoning imprisonment for a breach of public regulations,) besides the i.punifihment, for Mlitary offenses, of the wheel-barrow and simple deten- 'tion. -Apart from the difference in the retention on the product of labor, {Vide No. V,) the treatment offers little variation, and the labor is the same. We endeavor to find for all some kind of useful and remu- nerative labor, and to teach a trade to all, at least, who are sentenced to an imprisonment of considerable duration.' INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. 67 XI. As regards separating the prisoners into categories : In the central prisons, there is a classification which permits the separation of the more hardened and the more dangerous, as well as of the recidivists, from the other prisoners. The results of this separation may be i egarded as favorable. * XII. Agreeably to a royal decree of 1856, the administrative commis- sions of the central prisons submit every year a proposition for pardons or remissions, to be granted to prisoners who have distinguished them- selves by their good conduct. These propositions, however, include only persons who have been sentenced to more than three years, and who have undergone at least one-half of their punishment, and the re- mission does not exceed six months. . Besides this, all prisoners have the ordinary recourse of applying to the king for pardon or remission ; and since, in general, a decision is made only after a report from the commission on the conduct of the prisoners, this conduct has, generally, a strong influence upon the' decision. XIII. The part of the product of labor not retained by the State (see No. V) is given to the prisoner. Such part is not increased by reason of his good conduct. XIV. No other rewards are given to prisoners besides this participa- tion in their earnings. The distribution of premiums has been abolished for some time, and the industry of the prisoners finds its recompense in the increase of its profits, which naturally results from its zeal and its capacity. Still, the re- establishment of premiums is under considera- tion. XV. The kinds and frequency of the violations of prison rules differs sensibly in different prisons, and often depend on the more or less intel- ligent administration of the chiefs and the employes. Insubordination and quarrels may be regarded as the most frequent infractions. Isolation by night, (which is not yet generally introduced,) has, in this respect, produced good fruits. XVI and XVII. The disciplinary punishments in use are : restriction to bread and water, withdrawal of the privilege of writing and receiving letters, privation of books, the dungeon, fetters ; and, in" the central prisons, isolation in a cell. All these punishments' are recorded in a register, which is consulted in the cases mentioned in No. XII. XVIII and XIX. There are no special chaplains attached exclusively to any prison ; but in all the central prisons, in all the houses of deten- tion, and in the greater part of the houses of arrest, the office of chap- lain and the religious services are confided to one of the ministers of each religion, who is named by the minister of justice. The duties of the chaplain consist in performing religious service on Sundays and feast-days, in making pastoral visits, and in imparting religions instruction. XX. Eeligious instruction, given with intelligence, is considered by us of great importance as an Agency in the reformation of prisoners. In some prisons there has also been introduced the system of proverbs. This consists in hanging on' the walls of the halls and cells pithy moral sentences, and in changing them from time to time. In the opinion of experienced persons, this plan deserves to be recommended for general use. XXI. Persons of both sexes, outside of the administration, are ad- mitted into the prisons to labor among the prisoners, with a view to their moral regeneration. In some citi'es there a,xe private associations 68 INTEENATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. to visit the prisoners,- organized by the general society for the moral amelioration of prisoners. XXII. Sunday-schools have not been established in the prisons of E^etherlands. XXIII and XXIV. The administration of each prison regulates the correspondence of the prisoners as it judges most expedient. There is no general rule upon the subject. All the letters received for or written by the prisoners are subjected to the inspection of the directors, and are withheld when their contents are improper. There is, therefore, no ground to apprehend injurious effects, and, in general, the correspondence of the prisoners is attended with a beneficial influence. XXV, XXVI, and XXVII. The prisoners are permitted to receive the visits of their friends as often, generally, as once a month. A grating separates the prisoner from his visitor, and an employ^ is always present to supervise the interview, which, as a general thing, may not exceed a quarter of an hour. They cannot converse privately. As in the case of the correspondence, it may be said that the general effect of these visits is good. XXVIII. The percentage of prisoners able to read and write on their commitment varies from 62 to 65. The number of prisoners able to read, but unable to write, is not indicated in the ofi&cial statistics. XXIX, XXX, and XXXI. Schools exist in all penal establishments, except in the police and cantonal prisons. In the cellular prisons the •instruction is given in the cells. All prisoners up to the age of forty years, who do not know how to read and write, are obliged to receive that instruction. The branches generally taught in these schools are : reading, writing, and arithmetic. Tet the system of instruction leaves, still, much to be desired. In some of the central prisons important reforms have been already introduced ; in others, they will speedily follow. In the two central prisons for juvenile prisoners, the system of instructii)n leaves nothing to be added. XXXII and XXXIII. There are libraries in all the prisons, which include books oh morals and religion, also histories, travels, &c. The books are specially classified according to the different religions. These libraries are designed exclusively for the prisoners, and not yet for the employes. Most of the prisoners are very fond of reading, and they generally prefer books of history and, above all, of travels. Their reading has a happy effect upon them. XXXIV. In some prisons the system of sewage is still imperfect, but effort is made to introduce reforms. XXXV. The quantity of water, designed for the, use of the prisoners, is nowhere limited. Generally the quality is good, but in some locali- ties it is difficult and expensi.ve to procure it. XXXVI. The prisons are, mostly, well^ ventilated, particularly the central prisons. Where improvements are still needed, means are em- ployed to accomplish them. XXXVII. Eegarding themeans employed to insure the cleanliness of the prisons : The interior domestic service is performed by the prisoners. Earnest endeavors are everywhere made to insure cleanli- ness, which is, for the most part, satisfactory, and is energetically su- pervised. XXXVIII. The personal cleanliness of the prisoners is assured by a INTEENATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGEESS. 69 vigilant attention to their dress and their persons, and by requiring them to bathe at stated periods. XXXIX. The arrangement with regard to water-closets differs in dif- ferent prisons. In a number of them, the system of inodorous portable vessels has been introduced, with a reservoir outside of the building. Preference is generally given to this system. XL. The prisons are commonly lighted by gas or petroleum. Lights are kept burning in the dormitories during the night. XLI. The system of heating varies in different prisons. In some the heating is effected by hot water or steam, in others by stoves. XLii and XLIII. The prisoner's bed is made of straw ; for the sick, of sea-grass or sea-weed. Hammocks were formerly in very general use, but by degrees they have been replaced by open bedsteads. The bed, complete, consists of a mattress and bolster, two sheets, and one coverlet of a coarse material, and one or two blankets, accord- ing to temperature of the season. XLIV. There is no general rule regarding the distribution of time. The hours of labor (including those of school) are ten in summer and nine in winter ; and of sleep, eight and a half in summer and nine in winter. The remainder of the time is at the disposal of the prisoner, for meals, rest, study, and reading ; that is to say, five and a half hours in summer and six in winter. XLV. A , distinct part of the prison building serves as an infirmary. In the cellular prisons, cells of double dimensions are appropriated to the sick. The medical service is confided to a military surgeon wher- ever there is a garrison; to a civil physician in localities where there is no garrison. The entire service is under the inspector general of the medical service of the army, and is performed in a highly satisfactory manner. XL VI. The most common diseases in the prisons, as outside, are dis- eases of the chest, especially phthisis. XL VII. The average of the sick and of deaths it is not easy to give. It differs a good deal in different prisons, depeuding on local circum- stances and the class or species of prison. The difference in the dura- tion of punishments, which is by no means inconsiderable, exercises a great influence on the proportionate number of the sick and of deaths. A comparison of the number of days of sickness and the number of deaths with the days of detention gives, during the period of 1861 to 1868, an aggregate anniial average for 100 days of detention : In the central prisons, 8.14 days of sickness, (varying from 6.35 to 12.57.) In the houses of detention, 6.07 days of sickness, (varying from 4.47 to 7.74.) In the houses of arrest, 6.39 days of sickness, (varying from 4.39 to 8.24.) During the same period the deaths were at a rate of an annual average: In the central-prisons, one death to 8,225 days of detention, (varying from 4,973 to 21,177.) In the houses of detention, one death to 17,896 days of detention, (varying from 10,737 to ?5,204.) ( In the houses of arrest, one death to 10,080 days of detention, (vary- ing from 11,899 to 380,052.) ■ In the central prisons for juvenile prisoners, where the labor is. per- formed in the open air, the sanitary state is highly satisfactory. XLIX. The distinction between penal and industrial labor does ilot 70 INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. exist in this country. Penal labor is unknown. All the labor in the prisons of our country is industrial, with the exception of prisoners em- ployed in the domestic or administrative service of the prisons. Agricul- tural labors are as yet pursued only in the two central prisons for juve- nile delinquents. L, LI, and LII. Penal labor, as has just been stated, does not exist in the Netherlands. LIII. Industrial labor is everywhere directed by the administration. It is performed in part on account of the government ; in part on ac- count of contractors or individuals ; and in some prisons, the contractors are allowed to participate in the control of the supervision of the labor. LIV. It is our belief that the system followed in our prisons deserves the preference. Generally, we give the preference to labor performed on account of contractors or individuals, who offer a greater variety of handicrafts. But the labor done for account and service ©f the state has not the inconvenience of being sometimes interrupted for want of demand. We therefore judge that it is better to retain both systems. LV. Different systems of contracting the labor do not exist here. The contractors furnish the raw material and pay the wages. Fre- quently they furnish, also, the necessary tools. LVI. The percentage of prisoners not having a calling at the time of their commitment differs materially in the different prisons. One in four is, perhaps, the general average. LVII, LVIII. It is sought, as far as possible, to teach prisoners a trade; but in short imprisonments the thing is impossible. We regard it as of the highest importance to impart to prisoners during their incarceration the power of self-help,. and this result is dili- gently sought by teaching to the prisoners, to the utmost extent pos- sible, some useful calling. LIX. We do not think that repeated sentences to short imprison- ments produce any good effect upon the prisoner ; but an equitable application of the penal law forbids the remedying of this evil by along imprisonment for minor offenses. Yet considerable progress would be made in the right direction by applying the cellular system to all im- prisonments of a short duration. LX. In the absence of criminal registers, {caMors judiciaires,) a sys- tem devised by Bonneville de Marsangy, the statistics of recidivists are defective. The proportion given by our imperfect statistics for the general mass of prisons is 25 per cent. ; and in the central prisons, 36 per cent. LXI. According to our penal laws, a relapse may give occasion to an increase Qf the punishment in the ratio of one-third, when the first sentence was for more than a year's imprisonment; and in all cases it is a circumstance which may determine the judge to award the maxi- mum of punishment allowed by the law. LXII. Persons imprisoned for debt are placed in the houses of deten- tion and of arrest, sometimes in the cantonal prisons. They are entered on a special register, and are not confounded with other prisoners. In the greater part of the prisons the best apartments are assigned to them, and a little better furniture. They do not wear the prison dress, unless, indeed, they have no other ; and their food is of a better quality. LXIII. The causes of crime vary a good deal according to the nature of the crime itself. The want of education, drunkenness, and the desire to make a figure beyond one's means, and position, may generally be considered as the principal causes of crimes and misdemeanors. In the case of young prisoners, there may be mentioned, in addition, the in- INTEENATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. 71 fluence, often pernicious, of a second marriage of their parents, whicU not unfrequently, by embittering the position of the children of the first marriage, deprives thenl of the salutary influence of family life. LXIV. The general proportion in which the sexes are represented in the Netherland's prisons is about twenty women to one hundred men ; but this proportion varies, especially in different provinces. LXV. The aim is to make the punishment, as far as possible, con- tribute to the reformation of the prisoners. But the application of this principle, in most of the prisons, leaves much to be desired. LXYI. Although it is very difficult to pronounce, with any degree of certainty, as regards the influence of imprisonment on the great mass of prisoners, it cannot be said, in general, that they leave the prison worse than when they entered it, and numerous cases can be pointed out, in which thci instruction received in the prisons, the habit of labor formed, and the knowledge of a calling acquired there, have exerted a very happy influence upon the liberated prisoner. LXVII. In answer to the question whether efforts are made to aid liberated prisoners in finding work, and thus to prevent a relapse, we answer that, officially, such efforts are not made. But many directors of prisons take great pains to find work for the liberated, and generally they have cause to congratulate themselves on the result of their efforts. The greater part of the directors, however, are too indifferent to con- cern themselves about the matter. Zeal in this direction is an indication of a good director. LXVIII. The Netherlands society for the moral amelioration of pris- oners has for its object not only to visit the prisoners, but also to interest themselves in their welfare , after their discharge from prison, This society counts forty branches, scattered throughout the whole kingdom, and corresponding members in thirty-seven places where there are no branches. To some of the branch societies are attached committees of ladies. As' regards the prisoners, a variety of methods are employed to encourage and help theja. They procure places for them at service; they place them in the merchant marine; they supply them with tools; they obtain for them some little industry or business ; they provide them with the means of emigrating, &c., &c. The results differ, as a matter of course; but it maybe said, without exaggeration, that the society accomplishes much, and often sees its efforts (jrowned with success. Still, it can extend its activity only to a part of the liberated prisoners, and it is to be desired that its benevolent operations should be conducted upon a larger scale. Some time ago certain philanthropists sought to secure the organization of a special patronage, society for juvenile delin- quents, but without success. LXIX. To the question, "Are you satisfied with your prison system as at present organized and administered ? " we cannot return an affirma- tive answer. The greatest defect in our prison system is, in our opin- ion, that there is no system, or, rather, that the two systems of associated and cellular imprisonment are applied without any uniform rule, and without placing them in a harmonious relation to each other. Hence there is a pretty general agreement among us that a reform is necessary, and that it should have mainly two objects in view: a revision of our penal laws, which would introduce a more uniform and more harmonious system of imprisonment; and a serious effort to give greater dignity to the position of the directors and employ^s^ and to open these offices to men of a higher education. Whatever differences of opinion may exist as regards the system to be followed, (and they are great, since all the systems which di^vide savans find their partisans among us,) on these two points there is a very general agreement. 72 INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIAEY CONGKESS.' IY._SWITZEELAOT). [Translation.] I and II. The Swiss Confederation, composed of twenty-two cantons and embracing twenty-five states, does not, by its own power, exercise any control over the administration of penal justice and of prisons, or over the penitentiary rdgime. Military and political penal justice, so far as it is called upon to punish offenses against the constitution and the federal laws, alone comes within its jurisdiction. Each canton is sovereign. It has its own special penal system and places of imprison- ment. Its prisons are thus placed under the, control of the cantonal exec'htive authority, or of the council of state. The supervision of the prisons belongs more especially to one of the departments of the executive power. In certain cantons the prisons are placed, wholly or partially, under the supervision of the department of police ; in others under that of the department of justice or of the interior, according to the stand-point from which the importance of this public service is viewed. In the cantons in which recently constructed penitentiaries are found, the whole or a part of the supervision is con- fided to the director of justice, or to a special department, which gives its 3,ttention not only to prisons, but also to hospitals, insane asylums, &c., &c. , This department associates with itself a commission of super- vision composed of three to seven members, selected from among per- sons experienced in questions of penitentiary reform, of industry, and of commerce. In the cantons where this machinery exists, an official regulation de- fines the functions of the commission of supervision. The detention prisons in the districts and the places of detention for civil penalties are supervised by the agents of the council of state — pre- fects, counselors of prefecture, &c. ! All the cantons of Switzerland, with the exception of Jug, Glaris, and Appenzell, have reclusion prisons, of which the number of inmates rises to thirty-four, without counting a consiaerable number of houses of arrest, and of district or correctional .prisons for persons sentenced tO short police punishmeuts. Of these twenty-four prisons, eleven are reserved exclusively for eriminals, thirteen contain criminal and co;?rectional prisoners, and some receive, in addition, prisoners awaiting trial. Four establishments receive as boarders the convicts of^ cantons "Which, without penitentiaries of their own, have only imperfect and in- sufficient places of reclusi9n. Ten work-houses and houses of correction are exclusively devoted to the treatment of correctionals. There are, besides, in Switzerland several agricultural establishments founded by the state, by communal corporations,.or by societies of pub- lic utility, and designed for th^ education and moral reform of juvenile delinquents, or to that of vagrants and disorderly persons. According to Professor d'Orelli, the prisons of f:^witzerland may be divided into four groups : 1. Those of the cantons of Uri, Schwytz, Obovalden, Nidwalden, and Valais, which are administered in an altogether patriarchal manner by Sisters of Charity. 2. Those of the cantons of Fribourg, B^le-campagne, and Lucerne, which, in every' point of view, leave much to be desired. Baie-campagne, under the pressure of necessity, contemplates replacing its too con; tracted prison by a new structure. ■3. The cantons of Saint G-all and of Vaud possess, especially the first, INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. 73 good peniteptiaries on the Auburn System. The Thurgovian establish- ment of Tobel, and that of Geneva, may be also considered as satisfac- tory. The same is true of Zurich, in which are found, at the same time, the systems of cellular and associated reclusion. Here, above all, on account of constructions in progress of erection, things will be better still. Solure, Grisons, Berne, and Schaffhause are making laudable efforts to reform their prisons, which will soon belong to this fourth class. 4. Finally, and as rising to a higher point of perfection, we cite the penitentiaries of Lenzbourg, (Argovie,) Bale-ville, Keuchatel, and Tes- sin, into which has been introduced, in different degrees, the progressive Irish penitentiary system. III. The cellular system complete is applied only in the penitentiaries of Argovie, (Lenzbourg,) Zurich, Bale-ville, and Neuchatel. In the Au- bjirnian penitentiaries, and the old convict or hard-labor prisons, {mai- sons deforce,) cellular seclusion is an exception. M. d'Orelli, in his work on the Swiss prisons, indicates the following numbers, which we group according to the systems introduced into the different establishments : First group, patriarchal system, cellular reclusion, 1.02 per cent. Second group, old convict prisons, cellular reclusion, 3.9 per cent. Third group, system of Auburn, cellular reclusion, .3 per cent. Fourth group, progressive system, cellular reclusion, 37.5 per cent. The penitentiary of liJ^euchatel alone shows a greater number of days of celljilar reclusion than of labor in association. In this establishment, erected in 1870, separation by day and night is admitted in principle, without, however, excluding labor in common workshops. As will have been seen, the system of congregate imprisonment pre- dominates. Still effort is made to introduce individual separation, at least by night, in establishments in . which common dormitories yet exist. IV. There is a general agreement that the system of congregate im- prisonment by day is favorable to industrial labor, and not unfavorable to the discipline, but incompatible with the moral education of the pris- oners. Association in common dormitories by night is considered espe- cially pernicious, and all that has been said by Obermaier and others on the harmlessness, and even the salutary influence, of this practice, is looked upon as illusory. Imprisonment in common by day and night, condemned in Switzer- land, would already have entirely disappeared if, in a number of cantons, financial questions had not caused the postponement of this reform. Eigid cellular imprisonment is preferable to the Auburn system, with- out classification of the prisoners. Mr. Kiihne, director of the penitentiary of Saint Gall, (Auburn plan,) admits individualization as a principle, and the mixed system, if system Jt can be called, compounded of different elements of the progressive Irish prison system. Penitentiary education imperatively requires cellular separation, at least in the initial stage ; and it is on this sole condition that the pris- oners can effectively enter into communion with themselves, a process which would be impeded by the contact and influence of some, at least, of the fellow-prisoners. After the cellular stage, it is considered expedient to allow those pris- oners to work together who furnish ground of hope that a moral refor- mation has becD accomplished in them. It is under these conditions that we find associated labor in the recently constructed penitentiaries . 74- INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. of Lenzbourg, (Argovie,) Bale, Zurich, and Neuchatel. But in com- parison with the three first named, which have large workshops, Neu- chatel has but small ones, in which only three or four prisoners can work, under the supervision of a foreman. The public opinion of our country shows itself more and more favor- able to the progressive Irish penitentiary system, with revocable libera- tion. The exclusive cellular system should be reserved for houses of preliminary detention. In some of the cantons reforms are needed ia this class of prisons. V. In regard to the method of providing the funds necessaryfor the support of the prisons, the treasury of the state (cantonal) covers the deficit which exists between the entire expenditure and the special receipts of the prisons. (Industrial labor, moneys paid by cantons which x)lace their convicts in the penitentiaries of other confederated states, &c.) The average annual cost of each prisoner is 250 francs in the smaller establishments, and 350 to 400 in the large penitentiaries. The average net gain in the majority of the cantons is from 89 to 90 centimes for each day of labor. In the penitentiary of Zurich the net gain of the prisoners, after deducting the cost of tools and other accessories, has reached an aver- age for the last five years of 1 franc 7 centimes. France. The expenditures for clothing, food, lodgings, &c., were J). 773 Expense of the administration 0. 41 Sum total per prisoner for each day 1. 18 The canton of Argovie gives, as a subsidy, 55 centimes per man and per day. The average daily earnings of the prisoners in the Lenzbourg penitentiary amount to from 88 to 94 centimes to each prisoher. The canton Neuchatel gave for the first year (1870) an annual sub- sidy of 1 franc 90 centimes per day for each prisoner. The cellular system, and the small number prisoners, (70 on the average,) involve considerable of a general character. The net gain per prisoner in this penitentiary rose, in 1871, to 1 franc 25 centimes for each day of labor, a larger gain than had ever been reached in any of the Swiss prisons. In the penitentiary of Saint Jacques (Saint G-all) the earnings of the prisoners sufSce for their maintenance, for their schooling and religious instruction, for medical attendance, and for the administration of the industrial service. The State, in this canton, includes in its subsidy, besides the loss of the interest on the capital invested in the establish- ment, the expense of repairs to the buildings, the salaries of the officers and employes, the maintenance of these latter, and, in short, the sum which is annually granted to the prisoners as pecuUum. VI. The officers and employes "of the prisons are named by the coun- cil of state. In the cantons where penitentiaries of recent construction exist, the officers (directors, stewards, instructors, charplAins, and phy- sicians) are proposed by the department of justice or of police, which takes the advice of the commission of supervision. The employes (the foremen and overseers) are appointed by the commission of su- pervision, on the nomination of the director of the penitentiary. In some cantons the officers are subjected to a re-election every three years, (Zurich,) or every four years, (Argovie,) the employes every year, . INTEENATIONAL PENITENTIAEY CONGEESS. 75 (Zurich,) and in other penitentiaries the tenure of office is without lim- itation. It may be affirmed that, as a general thing, the officers of the Swiss penitentiaries are not exposed to the influence of political changes, and that those whose position may have been endangered by the victory of a party have been effectually shielded by a public opinion which appre- ciated their meritfe and their devotion. In some cantons the position of the directors is made difficult by the ' demands of doctrinaires, who do not give themselves the trouble to ex- amine and weigh the facts which enter into the question. YII. In cantons where efforts have been made to introduce a rational prison system, it has yet been well understood that, under abad adminisv tration, the jprisons, instead of being hospitals for moral diseases, would become seminaries of criminals. For this reason, the greatest import- ance is attached to the choice of officers charged with the treatment of the prisoners. As regards the moral and intellectual qualities which ought to meet in prison officers, there are found on this subject, in the literature of penology, details sufficiently numerous. Whether in Switzerland the administrators possess the necessary tal- ents and qualifications is a question which the writer of the present report cannot and does not wish to touch upon, The governments would be better able to answer the question, although the greater part of them do not take the trouble to examine thoroughly the organization and management of the iienitentiary establishments. The director of a penitentiary does feel inclined to pass judgment upon the merits of his colleagues, and of the other officers, and still less ufion their special aptitudes. At the same time, we judge that this question is one of great importance, and that it ought to have a prominent place in the deliberations of the congress. The speakers, in such an assemblage, occupy a position altogether different. The penitentiaries of recent construction are presided over — At St. Gall, by a distinguished man who, after having completed his university course, devoted himself to the profession of a teacher. After the decease of Mr. Moser, the first director of Saint Jacques, Mr. Ktihne, known as a teacher of great intelligence, was unanimously chosen to fill his place. At Zurich, by a former pastor who, before passing through his theo- logical course, had been an artisan. For a number of years he dis- charged the duties of teacher in a secondary school. He has bedn a member of the legislative council of his canton, and of commissions of education. The directors of the penitentiaries of Lenzbourg and Bale belonged also to the ecclesiastical profession, and recommended themselves by their zeal in the study of social questions. Mr. Miihler, director of the penitentiary of Lenzbourg, has long been president of the commission of education in the city of that name. The penitentiary of Neuchatel is directed by a man who was previ- ously engaged in the practice of medicine, and in that profession, from choice, much devoted to the science of public and private hygiene. He has retained the position of president of the commission of education in "the city of Eeuchatel. The penitentiary of Tessin will be directed by a man who has studied the profession of law. The other officers and employes, foremen, and overseers, should on 76 INTEENATIONAL PENITENTIAEY CONGRESS. their part contribute, by their knowledge, their tact, alnd their example, to the success of the common labors. Each penitentiary establishment (Zurich, Bale, Lenzbourg, and Neuchatel) has a band of intelligent employes, who contribute effect- ively to the mission which penitentiary education proposes to itself. On all sides, notwithstanding, complaint is made of the difficulty which is experienced iu finding for the corps of subordinate employes men possessing the requisite qualities and aptitudes. VIII. Schools designed for the special education of prison officers do not exist in Switzerland. It is generally felt that special schools would render an excellent serv- ice, especially if a just and sound idea should be given in them of the nature and aim of penitentiary treatment. Without wisbiing to exalt one system over another, that is, to dogmatize, a school of this kind would have the immense advantage of preparing the officers who, at present, acquire their experience at the expense of the institution. But this school would not be in a condition to form good officers and good employes with persons in charge who should not have the requisite qualifications, even though possessing the desired degree of intelligence. The education of our penitentiary employes is usually acquired after their entrance upon their official duties, which, for a long time after- ward, will not be regarded as a profession. Directors, when appointed, usually visit the model penitentiaries of ' other countries and study their organization. The employes receive, in their turn, from the directors, theoretical and practical instructions touching their official duties. Perhaps an education for the penitentiary service might be obtained by establishing in some university a chair of penitentiary reform, and by making a course of instruction in that branch of knowledge obliga- tory for all those who intended to devote themselves to the moral refor- mation of criminals. A normal school for the employes might be organized in establish- ments selected for that purpose,. in which candidates might pursue a theoretical course, and might also be practically initiated into all the branches of the service. In a well-organized and ably managed penitentiary we see novices who possess the necessary aptitudes becoming in a short time entirely competent to the discharge of their functions. In Switzerland, pensions are granted only in exceptional cases to pub- lic functionaries. The directors and employ^ of our prisons, when they become incapacitated for their duties, form no exception. There is sometimes granted to a functionary dismissed, because of age or sickness, three months' salary, and in case of death his family receives, in some cantons, the same gratuity. The salary of the director of a modern penitentiary ranges from 3,000 to 3,500 francs, besides a residence ; that of stewards, from 2,000 to 2,500 francs, with or without residence; of the chaplains, from 400 to 600 francs; of the teacher, from 1,000 to 1,800 francs; of the physi- cians, from 400 to 600 francs ; of the chief keeper, from 900 to 1,200 francs ; of the foreman, from 700 to 1,000 francs; and of the overseers, from 400 ' to 750 francs per annum. X. The difference existing between sentences to simple imprisonment, to reclusion, and to hard labor, is greater or less iu the different Swiss cantons. These, as has already beeiji said, have all penal codes of their own, which differ materially from one another. For this reason it is not INTEKNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGEESS. 77 easy to give, in few words, an exact idea of the difference between the classes of imprisonment named above. Simple imprisonment, whether police or correctional, in some cantons varies from a duration of twenty-four hours at least to five years at most. This punishment, when it is of short duration, is in some cantons undergone in the district prisons. The prisoner is permitted, at his own charge, to provide nourishment and occupation for himself, after having paid the damages caused by him, and the expense of his prosecution, without which he receives the ordinary treatment and is subjected to the customary labors of the prison. In other cantons, prisoners of this class undergo their punishments in the same prisons as criminals, from whom they are more or less sepa- rated ; still all are under the same regulations. In other cantons still, there exist special penitentiaries for persons sentenced correctionally. This punishment is not considered infamous; it may even, in some can- tons, be replaced by a fine fixed at 5 francs per day. Eeclusion occupies a middle place between simple imprisonment and a sentence to hard labor ; and the reclusionary undergoes his punish- ment in the work-house, where there is one, or in the penitentiary. A fine cannot be substituted for reclusion. At Zurich reclusion has a duration of from six to ten years, and the convict is compelled to labor, and is subjected to the ordinary regula- tions of the prison. But he does not wear the prison dress, and does not lose his civic rights. ' In some cantons, in Argovie, for example, the law leaves it to the judge to fix, in many cases, the duration of the privation of civic rights. Else- where, the dress alone differs ; and the distinction between simple re- clusion and hard labor is found in this, that the latter i>unishment is considered afflictive and infamous, whereas the former is simply afiSictive. Eeclusion, with hard labor, varies in its duration from one year to fifteen, twenty, twenty-five, or thirty years, according to the cantons, or even to an imprisonment for life. The death penalty is abolished in the cantons of Neuchatel, Zurich, Thurgovia, Geneva, and Tessin. In the majority of the other cantons this puaishment is abolished de facto if it is not by law. In some cantons reclusion, with hard labor, is aggravated by wearing chains, by an ' infamous dress, and by .physical privations. But these additional punishments are gradually disappearing. " XI. A methodical classification of prisoners, according to their degree of morality, exists only in the establishments of Zurich, B&le, Lehzbourg, and Neuchatel, and will also be introduced into that of Tessin. In the other penitentiaries endeavors are also made to classify the prisoners according to their degree of morality ; but frequently the architectural arrangement of the establishments does not afford oppor- tunity to apply this classification methodically and with chance of success. At Lenzbourg, where the progressive system has been for a number of years in use, there is found a first class, which is subjected to the cellular regime, and a second and third class, into which the prisoners, on leaving the first stage, are admitted to associated labor in the work- shops during the day. The prisoners who belong to the higher class obtain an enlargement of privilege, are earliest proposed for admission to the benefit of conditional liberation. Into the penitentiary of Neuch^tel has been introduced the following system of classification : A lower cellular class, in which are placed all the convicts on their entrance into the establishment ; a middle classj comprising the prisoners who have been conspicuous for their good con- 78 INTEENATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGBESS. duct and industry, and their zealous application to learning in the fliat stage. The greater part remain in separation, but if their character, their state of health, their kind of occupation, and the material condi- tions permit it, and if they themselves are not opposed to it, (a decree of the great council leaves them liberty of choice on this subject,) they are admitted into one of the small shops of the establishment. Finally, there is a higher class, (cellular, but with labor in common during the day,) which precedes liberation. Each of these classes corresponds to a relative degree of liberty, of which the prisoner may make use to satisfy, in a larger measure, his moral, intellectual, and physical wants. The principle of conditional liberation, which will sooner or later be admitted into the system, wUl afford the means of conducting the prisoner gradually toward freedom, and of re-introducing him into society without a too abrupt transition. At Zurich, where conditional liberation already exists, the same system of classification is applied, but, as at Neuchatel, only for a time too lim- ited to enable us to announce serious results. In the penitentiary of Zurich the number of prisoners admitted to associated labor is proportionally larger than at Ifeuch§,tel, where the cellular system is more highly esteemed. At Saint Gall the prisoners are divided into four classes. The classi- ( fication is revised and readjusted every three months. As appears from the above statement, the progressive Irish system, where it is applied, is confined in its execution to one and the same establishment. We have no intermediate prisons. The financial re- sources of a single canton would not permit the realization of such a system, at least, unless sevefral cantons should agree to unite in the common execution of a rational plan of penitentiary reform. On the other hand, public opinion, still more or less imbued with the old theory of vengeance and Intimidation, would not be favorable to such a change. XII. In all the cantons prisoners may, by their good conduct, obtain an abbreviation of their punishment by applying for pardon to the leg- islative authority, (great council,) which reserves to itself this right. Such reduction is rarely made conformably to fixed rules. In many of the cantons complaint is made that chance and caprice play too con- spicuous a part, and that commissions of pardon do not always take account of grave and important facts. In some cantons clemency is exercised readily enough, while in others this is done only in exceptional cases. In Certain cantons a decree of the legislative authority confides to the council of state, or to the department of justice, or police, the right of remitting the latter portion of their punishment, (one-twelfth for example,) to convicts whose conduct has been good. There is here, as in the whole penal system, a great want of congruity, vet there is ob- served in the confederated states, where penitentiary reform has made some progress, a tendency to bring down the use of the right of pardon to its minimum, and to substitute in its place the principle of conditional liberation ; m short, to confide this function to the direction of the de- partment of prisons, which, having the supervision of the penitentiary administration, is alone capable of judging whether or not the re- entrance of a prisoner into society offers any danger, and whether a probationary liberation may be safely granted him. 'XIII. In most of the cantons the prisoners have a share in tlie bene- fits of their labor. As a general thing this part has rather the character of a gratuity than that of lawful wages. INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIAEY CONGRESS. 79 In the penitentiary of Argovie the prisoners receive their share in the following proportions : Prisoners whose earnings do not reach 30 centimes a day receive nothing; those whose earnings amount to 70 centimes a day receive 5 per cent. ; 1 franc 10 centimes, 10 per cent. ; 1 franc 60 centimes, 15 per cent. ; exceeding 1 franc 60 centimes; 20 per cent. ; and that whether their conduct is more or less satisfactory. Neuchatel has adopted, provisionally, the same scale. At Zurich the participation in the benefits of the labor is fixed, according to the three penitentiary classes, as follows : In the first class (cellular) it is from 5 to 8 per cent., conditioned upon the fact that the earnings of the prisoner are not less than 6 per cent, of the daily average earnings, obtained in the branch of industry in which he works. In the second class the portion of the prisoner is from 8 to 12 per cent. In the third class, ^vhich precedes liberation, it is from 12 to 16 per cent, on the same condition. Elsewhere a percentage of the daily earnings has been introduced. At Saint Gall the prisoners of the lower class receive no gratuity; those of the second class receive a sixth of their earnings; those of the third class, the fifth part ; and those of the higher class, the fourth part. The director of this penitentiary, Mr. Kiihne, proposes, in a paper on the peculium of prisoners, to fix the rate according to the classes. For example : The day's wages being fixed at a franc, the prisoners of the. lower class would receive 10 per cent., or 10 centimes ; those of the sec- ond clas^, 20 per cent., or 20 centimes ; and those of the supei'ior class, 30 per cent., or 30 centimes. The question of peculium is still in Switzerland a subject of discus- sions, and has not been resolved. It is the order of the day for the ap- proaching meeting of the Swiss society for penitentiary reform. Whatever may be the scale adopted in the different establishments, this gratuity is granted to all the prisoners who, conformably to the regulations, have rendered themselves worthy of it. It is adjusted every month, or at the end of every three months, and placed to their credit in their memorandum of savings. XIV. The other rewards employed to stimulate the good conduct and zeal of the prisoners vary in kind and amount, according to the cantons and the degree, more or less advanced, of penitentiary reform. In well-administered establishments we see granted. to good conduct, to application, to zeal, and progress in labor and school, the following rewards: In the second penitentiary class : liberty to choose books from the library and to attend the lessons given in class ; the use of tobacco, limited, however, to the hours of promenade in the exercise yard ; liberty to have served to them a supplementary or extraordinary ration of .food, .which is granted only exceptionally in the more recently erected penitentiaries, the dietary in these being sufficiently nutritive and varied. In the third or higher class there are added to the above-mentioned rewards the privilege of promenade and free conversation with their fellow-prisoners of the same class, liberty to wear their beard, to work in their free hours for themselves and their family, to adorn their cells and to have plants in them ; the use of a patch of land for a garden ; and admission to places of trust, such as foreman, to superintend their fellow-prisoners in learning trades, or to execute cer.tain exceptional labors in the administrative, industrial, and domestic services. XV. In the cantons where the patriarchal system prevails, and 80 INTEENATIONAL PENITENTIAEY CONGRESS. where the old convict prisons still exist, the most frequent offenses against discipline are disobedience and insubordination; next come escapes op attempts to escape ; then lies ; and finally immorality in acts and words. In the penitentiaries in which the Auburn system has been introduced we find that the infractions* most frequent are dis- order, want of cleanliness, and violation of the law of silence. In the penitentiaries of recent construction the want of propriety and dignity, lying, idleness, and disobedience. , XVI. The disciplinary punishments in use may be divided into three classes. In the prisons whose organization is imperfect, and where the reformation of the prisoners is not the aim of the imprisonment, we find existing the dungeon and corporal punishments. In penitentiaries on the Auburn system, more or less completely organized, corporal punish- ments are gradually disappearing and are being replaced by a diet of bread and water and by confinement in tjie dark or ordinary cell. In the modern establishments, we see coming into vogue a new series of punishments, of a" moral order, among which figure, by the side of the dungeon and the diet Of bread and water, admonition, privation of work, of reading, of visits, of correspondence, and, in general, of all or a part of the diversions, alleviations, and other indulgences above mentioned. Corporal chastisements are passing away, and in their place are sub- stituted the strait-jacket and the cold douche-bath. Those who, through mischief or negligence, destroy or injure the effects, objects, instruments, and raw material placed at their disposal, are obliged to pay the value of the damage done. 'XVII. In most of the prisons are found registers in which the pun- ishments inflicted are fully recorded. These registers, in the modern penitentiaries especially, give complete information as to the occasion, the kind, and the nature of the punishments inflicted. XVIII. Ministers of the Eeformed and of the Catholic religion act as chaplains in all the prisons. In well-organized penitentiaries, where the number of prisoners belonging to each creed is sufficiently large, two ecclesiastics are charged with the duties of their respective chaplain- cies. The rabbi of the nearest locality is invited to visit such core- ligionists as are occasionally found in the prisons. XIX. In the establishments which are imperfectly organized, the chaplains, for the most part, confine themselves to the celebration of public worship. , In proportion as they approach the category of peni- tentiaries that aim at the reformation of the prisoners, we see these officers paying regular visits to them, consoling and counseling them, superintending the religious instruction of the juvenile delinquents, and fulfilling toward them all the duties of their ministry. In some of the penitentiaries it is the chaplain who has charge of the distribution of books from the prison library. XX. Eeligious instruction, as a means of reforming prisoners, is looked upon in Switzerland as of the highest importance and as exer- cising the happiest influence, particularly if the person charged with it possesses the special aptitudes suited to the high mission which he is called to fulfill, and throws aside, as far as he may, mere dogmatic ques- tions. He should preach repentance with power and skill, set forth the divine mercy, and aid the prisoners in that self-communion which is the first step toward moral regeneration. Prisoners in whose heart the religious sentiment is not extinguished at' the time of their entrance are easily impressed by the exhortations of the chaplains ; on the other hand, such as do not possess it offer to the instructions of religion a soil arid and ungrateful. Among prisoners we often encounter self-decep- INTEENATIONAX, PENITENTIARY CONGEESS. 81 tion and a tendency to hypocrisy ; nevertheless, it often happens that individuals who, repudiate or are ignorant of the Bible end by finding in its pages the consolations of which they are in pursuit. XXI. Persons of both sexes, not connected with the administration, are admitted into the prisons to labor for the moral improvement of the prisoners. In the cantons which have new penitentiaries, such persons are authorized to visit the prisoners in virtue of decrees of the legisla- tive authority. This is especially the case* with members of aid societies, who have free access to the prisoners whom they seek to succor. The number of these benevolent visits is relatively few even in cantons where penitentiary reform counts many adherents. Such visits, how- ever, ought not to be allowed without many precautions. In some of the more modern establishments it is only the offlcers themselves who take part in the moral education of the prisoners. In the female penitentijiries lady patronesses are more frequently met with, especially in the cities which were visited in 1839 by Elizabeth Fry, and where, at the instance of that good and charitable woman, ' ladies' aid societies were organized to console, to place, to watch over, and to sustain criminal women. At Zurich, where a society of this kind exists, the lady patronesses give to the female prisoners in the peniten- tiaries regular lessons, and take charge of their religious instruction. XXII. Sunday-schools, properly so called, do not exist. Public wor- ship is, on that day, celebrated in the prisons, or at least the chaplain makes a visit to the prisoners. At Zurich the pastor holds a catechetical exercise in the afternoon, and afterward an instructor gives a lesson in sacred music. ■XXIII. In most of the penitentiaries the week-days are so filled up with labor, school, exercise, and study, and Sunday morning by worship, that it is thought exjjedient to leave to the prisoners the free employ- ment of Sunday afternoon. It is in these hours that they are able to write letters to their relatives and acquaintances. The frequency with which they are permitted to write letters differs in different cantons. XXIV. Jji the establishments where the progressive Irish system has been introduced, prisoners of the middle class can write letters every two ' months, those of the higher class every month. But an extension of this favor is often granted, especially in cases where the correspondence is of such a character as to draw closer the ties of family, to exert a good influence, and contribute to the moral cure of the prisoner. This powerful means of moral reformation is more or less neglected in estab- lishments where the organization is imperfect. As the letters pass under the inspection of the director, his eye some- times detects sentiments which have their taint of hypocrisy ; but in spite of that, the correspondence of the prisoners manifests a strong family affection, and awakens tender household memories. XXV. The visits of relations and intimate acquaintances are per- mitted the same as correspondence, and are most carefully regulated in. the prisons where penitentiary education receives the greatest atten- tion. The internal regulations of different penitentiaries grant the indul- gence of visits more or less frequently, but the average is about once a mouth. As in the case of correspondence, an extension -of this is often accorded when the visits are found to have a salutary effect. XXVI. The visits are received in the presence of the director, or, in his absence, in that of the chief keeper. The design is to supervise the interview. The director or his deputy place the visitors and the prisoners S. Ex. 39 6 B2 INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. IS mucli as possible at their ease, so that these latter may look upon them as friends in whose presence they may converse freely. XXVII. As a general thing, the extension of the privilege of corre- spondence is more readily granted than that of visits, since the latter ao not always have the good effect which might naturally be expected from them. Still, it sometimes happens that they have an excellent influence, especially on prisoners who believe themselves forgotten, ignored, and abandoned by the members of their family, and who see bhem approach in spirit of forgiveness. Besides, the visits enable the director to understand better the char- acter of the prisoner and the circumstances of his family, and sometimes enable him to lay his plans with greater certainty and efficacy m the interest of these latter. XXVIII. Th.e number of prisoners able to read at the time of their Bommitment may be estimated at 17 per cent, of the annual average num- ber of the criminal population. In a number of cantons the convicts are Qot examined upon this point on their entrance into the establishment, 30 that the exact proportion cannot be stated. Mr. d'Orelli gives the following figures : Lucerne, out of 850 prisoners, 119 illiterate. Sohwytz, out of 27 prisoners, 9 illiterate. Glaris, out of 31 prisoners, 1 illiterate. Appenzell, J. E., out of 5 prisoners, 4 illiterate. .Bale-ville, out of 298 prisoners, 3 illiterate. '« • + r 11 i criminals, out of 142 prisoners, 25 illiterate. bamt ijraiJ, ^ correction als, out of 213 prisoners, 1 illiterate. Argovie, out of 316 prisoners, 135 illiterate. , Tessin, out of 40 prisoners, 16 illiterate. •Geneva, out of 42 prisoners, 23 illiterate. This table is incomplete, and the numbers indicated by it cannot be taken as a basis for estimating the degree of scholastic education of the prisoners. We place more reliance on the following figures, furnished by the reports of the penitentiaries of Lensbourg, Saint Gall, and Neuchatel : Places. Si n S i 1 ■ :.i r 4i 1 1 g. 1 o o 1 533 1,286 146 63 668 18 11.8 51.9 12.3 187 104 101 35.1 15.08 60.9 ' 245 34-' 27 46.0 26.9 18.4 38 77 7.1 Saint Gall . . ...j 519 85.3 36.9 30.4 4 3 \ These figures do not show the general state of public instruction in these three cantons, for a considerable part of the prisoners, especially in the canton of Neuchatel, are foreigners. But it is to be observed that although primary instruction is obliga- tory in Switzerland, (with the exception of Uri and Geneva,) and in four- teen cantons is also gratuitous,* it nevertheless happens that a certain *■ Switzerlaud expends each year, as -well for its primary as for its secondary and higher schools, the sum of twelve and a half millions of francs. The expenditures for education form one-seventh of the total budget of the Confederation and the cantons. INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. 83 number of children escape the supervision and control of the school authorities, and reach the age of sixteen years without having regularly attended the lessons of the schools. Many, after leaving school, neglect reading and intellectual recrea- tions to such a degree as to almost entirely forget what they had pre- viously learned. Thus one is astonished to see among the prisoners, who figure in the preceding table, in the "inferior" class, individuals who read with difficulty and in such a manner that reading cannot be resorted to as a recreation, and who can only write their own names. The knowledge of arithmetic is also very limited in this class of "in- ferior," and the knowledge of geography and history is almost nothing, even among those who are placed in the table under the heading of "passable." XXIX. Prison-schools are organized in the penitentiaries of Saint Jacques, (Saint Gall,) Lenzbourg, (Argovie,) Neuchatfel, &c. In many other establishments lessons are given by the chaplain. It even happens that these duties are confided to a prisoner if he is a teacher by profes-- sion, or if he possesses the necessary knowledge and aptitude. In the penitentiary of Zurich the schpol, which has been closed for some time, will be immediately re-opened. Instruction is a good deal neglected in the prisons of some of the cantons where the system is patriarchal, and in others where associated imprisonment by day and by night is still in use. XXX. In penitentiary establishments in which schools are opened, all the prisoners, except those who are excused by age — above forty-five to fifty years — and those subjected to the cellular rdgime, attend lessons in classes. The prisoners receive, on an average, from four to five hours' schooling per week. Those who are in the cellular stage are visited by the instructor in their cells, and there commence their course of instruc- tion. XXXI. In the well-organized penitentiaries, the degree of education of the prisoners is verified at their entrance into the establishment. The result of this examination shows the necessity of maintaining three classes, whose programme corresponds to that of the three degrees of primary instruction. In the lower class the elementary branches are taught, and in the middle class progress is gradually made toward those branches which are taught in the higher class. In the programme of the best-organized penitentiaries we see intro- duced even mathematics, physics, and technology, so far as these sciences are applied to arts and trades; even the modern languages are taught, French in the German penitentiaries, and German in the penitentiaries where French is the vernacular, (Ifeuchatel.) Sometimes prisoners are permitted to take lessons in English, and often in linear drawing. The progress made differs much in the case of different prisoners. Many are remarkable for their zeal and power of acquisition, while others advance but slowly. The organ of thought, little accustomed to being used, has lost its force. The power of memory is often wanting, and the result in these cases is a stupefaction, which leads to indifference. Still, the average progress made is highly satisfactory, especially in the case of juvenile delinquents, for whom, after all, this supplementary and tardy instruction can alone have any very great importance after their liberation, XXXII. Circulating libraries are found in all the prisons. In those of the cantons where prison discipline is little advanced the number of books is limited, and works exclusively religious predominate. In the penitentiaries which are better organized the libraries are composed of 34 INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. moral and religious books, of works of general history and the historj Df Switzerland, of biogxaphies, of travels, ethnography, natural history, af works on, mechanics, agriculture, belles-lettres, &c., &c. Eomances rf a moral character (above all those of the Swiss authors, Bitzins, Gott- fried Keller, IJrbain Olivier, Fritz Berthoud, Louis Pavre) are not ex- jluded. The library of the penitentiary of Zurich, for example, possesses 800 H^orks, consisting of 1,500 volumes ; that of the penitentiary of NeuchS- tel, though of recent creation, counts 500 volumes ; that of the peniten- tiary of Saint Jacques has also a rich and varied collection of moral and nstructive works. This establishment, like that of Zurich, Argovie, &c., las, in addition, a collection of special works, designed for the employes )f the penitentiarj'. XXXIII. The prisoners read, relatively, a great deal, in the peniten- tiaries where they pass Sunday in their cells, and where they have at iheir disposal a variety of works. They generally prefer moral tales, mch as those of the authors just named, and those of D'Erckmann Cha- ;rian and of Henri Tschokke; next come narratives of voyages, Tjiogra- jhies, Swiss and general history, and works of popular science, (discov- iries, inventions, technology, &c.) Eeading is found to have a very beneficial effect upon the prisoners. [t enlarges the circle of their general knowledge, and, by fuller explana- iions of what they had learned in the way of routine, it develops also iheir practical knowledge. It is by keeping their minds continually occupied by labor, or by noral and intellectual recreations, that that self-respect is oftenest iwakened in prisoners which constitutes the best guarantee against ielf-abuse. These elevating and noble agencies calm an ardent imagi- lation, and often put to flight ideas inspired by base passions and by acious and criminal sentiments. XXXIV. The greater part of the modern prisons, and of the old ones yhich have undergone recent changes in their construction, have a sys- iem of sewers which, in a hygienic point of view, are open to no serious )bjection. The system of pits prevails still, and it is only in the recent )enitentiaries (at Lenzbourg and Neuchatel, for example) that we ind a system of drainage that leaves little to be desired. At Zurich, by ;he side of pits and latrines, arranged on the plan of Duspetian, (Archi- ecture des Prisons,) is seen the system of movable vessels and of j)ipes or carrying off liquid substances. XXXV. The water supplied for the use of the prisons is, for the most )art, sufftcient in quantity. The old prisons have each at least one buntain in the court. The penitentiaries of recent construction are ibundantly supplied with water, which is distributed into all parts and o all the stories of the building. At Zurich, for example, the penitentiary, which occupies the buildings if an old convent, has a spring of water which is reputed the best n the city. This establishment is also furnished with pipes by the lompany which supplies the cit^ with water. The penitentiary of Lenzbourg has, like that of Zurich, a spring Fhich enables it to distribute _water ad libitum. That of Neuchatel re- eives its water from the city company, and has at its disposal, for an iverage of seventy prisoners, ten to twenty thousand liters for each wenty-four hours. The quaJity of the water is for the most part good. XXXVI. A system of ventilation other than the doors and windows is ound only in the modern penitentiaries, such as those of Lenzbourg md NeuchSitel. In them the ventilation is combined with a system of INTEENATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. 85 heating. Each, cell is furnished with a ventilation pipe, whose opening is in a recess at the side of the door of entrance at the bottom of the wall ; a recess closed on the side of the corridor by a little iron door, and in which is placed a water-closet, having a hydraulic fastening. Each pipe is in communication with larger condensing conduits, which com- municate directly with the great chimney of the steam-boilers; this draught-chimney, about six feet in diameter and ninety or a hundred feet in height,, incloses an inner one of iron, eighteen inches in diameter, which produces a powerful draught. A special furnace is so placed as in summer to heat the inner iron chimney, with the object of keeping up the ascending current, and increasing, as may be needed, the ven- tilation. The vitiated air thus drawn out from the cells carries off, in passing the recesses mentioned above, the emanations that have, been generated there. XXXVII. The best ventilation would be of no avail, especially in prisons where the aggregation of prisoners is relatively large, and where the cells and dormitories are not spacious, if means were not taken to insure their cleanlines4. In all the prisons one or more pris- oners are detailed to sweep and clean the corridors, the stairs, the courts, the water-closets, the workshops, the doors, and the windows. The special supervision of this important service is confided to the chief keeper. In the cellular penitentiaries, each prisoner is charged with keeping his cell and its furniture in a condition of perfect cleanliness. The flagging of the cells of the penitentiaries of Lenzbourg, Bale, and Neu- chatel is of asphaltum, which makes it easy to keep them clean. The yards of the cells are whitewashed every year or every two years. If their condition requires such a reparation before the regular time, it is done at the expense of the prisoners. ' A clean cell and well-kept premises produce on prisoners accustomed to live in filthy apartments a hygienic and moral influence. XXXVIII. Personal cleanliness is not neglected in the well-organized penitentiaries. On his entrance into the establishment the convict receives a«.bath, and after having been examined by the physician, changes his clothing, often foul and filled with vermin, for the prison garb. The dress of the prisoners, in the modern penitentiaries, has nothing of a degrading char- acter ; the greater part of the cantons have continued, for prisoners, the striped costume. The prisoner finds in his cell a wash-basin and towel ; soap is furnished' gratuitously, or at a very slight cost to the prisoner. A pun- ishment is inflicted on those who neglect to wash the face and hands, to comb their hair, to brush their clothes, &c, The prisoners are shaved every eight days ; their hair is cut once in six mouths. The wearing of the beard is permitted as a reward to those who distinguish them- selves by their good conduct, and who, having reached the higher stage of penitentiary education, show themselves worthy to wear the token of n)anhood. The body-linen, the pocket-handkerchiefs, the workmg-aprons, and the cotton stockings, are changed every week; cravats and woolen stockings every fifteen days ; the sheets every month in summer, and once in six weeks in n^inter. , .^ , ^ , The prisoners take a bath regularly every month, (Neuchatel,) and every two or three months jn other modern penitentiaries. The prisons, which have no heaters to prepare the baths offer, as regards the cleanliness of the prisoners, conditions least favorable. 36- INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. I XXXIX. The privies are still very primitive in the old prisons, where association by day and by night still exists. They are adjacent to the liall, and are separated from it only by a door. In others are; found large glazed earthen vessels, with covers more or less tight, which are regularly emptied into the adjoining latrines. In the cells of the modern penitentiaries we find, in the recess indi- jated above, enameled iron vessels, whose cover closes hermetically. These vases are emptied regularly by a prisoner charged with this ser- dce. They are voided into the adjoining latrines, or into a movable 3it, which is afterward emptied into another, that is immovable, at some iistance from the buildings. Workshops have privies situated in an angle, and isolated by one or ;wo doors, which are sometimes glazed. The water-closets in modern penitentiary establishments are placed m the north side, separated from the cells ; they have basins provided s^ith a deodorizing apparatus, and are abundantly supplied with water br purposes of cleansing. In the other prisons the privies fulfill only ;o a limited degree the conditions required by sanitary science. XL. The method of lighting by gas has been introduced into the Denitentiaries of Zurich, Bale, JTeuchatel, and Saint Gall. Every cell is provided' with one burner, which may be closed by a stop-cock placed )utside the cell. Thus all danger of suffocation or attempts at suffoca- ;ion is prevented. At Lenzbourg petroleum is used for lighting the cells and the work- shops. In winter, during the evening of Sunday, the prisoners are also Dermitted to have light. In other establishments only the workshops are lighted with gas, Geneva and Lausanne.) Finally, in the prisons of an inferior order we find the petroleum amp or the simple candle, as a means of lighting the workshops and ;he common dormitories. XLI. The heating, as the lighting, of the prisons differs very much, IS they are of old or recent construction, and as the system of prison iiscipline is more or less advanced. At Saint Gall, Lenzbourg, Bale, Neuchitel, atfd Zurich are found 'urnaces whic^ warm, by steam, all the cells and other parts of the jstablishment. The detention prison of K"euchat^ is warmed by means )f a hot-air furnace. Heating by steam is, as we" have said, combined yith the system of ventilation. The tube which is designed to warm ;he cell is a simple enlargement of the pipe. It is placed vertically in I recess, and is separated from the cell by an iron plate, perforated with loles, to allow the heat to pass through. On the side of the corridor ;here is an opening, opposite the tube, by ^hich the amount of cold air ;o be admitted may be regulated. Ill the greater part of the prisons we find ordinary stoves, made with varying degrees of excellence, and the heating is effected by means of ivood or peat. The penitentiary of Tessin, which is situated in a warm climate, has 10 system of artificial heating. XLII and XLIII. Iron bedsteads are used in many of the peniten- tiaries. At Lenzbourg, Bftle, Neuchatel, and Geneva they are fastened to the wall on one side, and are movable, so that they can be turned up md padlocked. Elsewhere, most commonly, the beadstead ig of wood. Everywhere the beds are composed of a paillasse, or of a sack filled with cow's hair or moss, of one or two linen sheets, of one or two woolen INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. 87 blankets, in summer, of two to four, in winter, and of a bolster or pillow filled with grass or straw. XLTI,, Ms. The dietary of the prisoners varies much in the different can- tons, and according to the importance which is attached to penitentiary training. Where the moral reformation of the prisoners is not made the principal aim of the imprisonment, the dietary is but little varied, and is not sufficient to restore the losses caused to the bodily organs by hard labor. Meat seldom figures in the bill of fare, (in some prisons the prisoners have it only twice a year.) Prisoners long subjected to such a diet suffer more or less from a deficiency of blood. In proportion as penitentiaries become better organized and administered the dietary is improved, and substances containing nitrogen form a larger proi)or- tion of it. The number of daily meals is three. Breakfast consists, in most of the prisons, of gruel or oatmeal porridge; and the quantity is, on an average, from a pint and a half to a quart. In French Switzerland (at Neuchatel, Lausanne, and Geneva) the prisoners receive from one-half to three-quarters of a liter of coffee, (eafe au lait). At Lenzbourg the breakfast consists on each alternate day of soup and coffee. Dinner consists, once a week or oftener, of a soup (three-fourths to one liter) prepared with bread, pulse, or roots, or, according to the season, with meat. For the preparation of this meat soup, there is allowed 250 to 500 grammes of meat, without bones, per man and per week. In certain penitentiaries (Lenzbourg, Zurich, &c-.) the quantity of meat authorized is spread over several dinners during the week. The meat is cut into little morsels aud is distributed with and in the soup. In other penitentiaries it is given as a ration and by itself. At Lausanne there is added to the half pound of meat four ounces of raw bacon. At Geneva there are given on Sunday 250 grammes of boiled beef, and on Thursday the same quantity of hashed pork, pre- pared with potatoes. The distribution of this meat ration takes place, in certain establishments, on Tuesday and Thursday (I^feuchatel) of each week, so that these more substantial and nutritious meals may fall in the midst of the working days. The evening meal consists of a soup prepared with rice, with barley or oats, with wheat flour, or with sea-moss, with or without the addition of potatoes or maccaroni. .The quantity of bread allowed to each prisoner varies from 750 to 800 grammes a day. Fresh water is the ordinary drink. As a general thing prisoners in health are not supplied with wine. In some establishments there is accorded to those who have reached the higher penitentiary stage an authorization to furnish them at their own expense a ration of milk or of supplementary or extraordinary solid food. Those who are engaged in toilsome labor receive a supplementary ra- tion of milk, (Zurich, Neuchatel,) aud, in very exceptional cases, of wine, (Lenzbourg). The choice and combination of aliments which should form the bill of fare of the three daily meals are but rarely regulated in such manner that the diet of the prisoners is varied as much as it might be, and that the food consumed in twenty-four hours contains the nutritive, nitro- genous substances in their just proportions. ,., ,^ A man insufaciently fed is little disposed to submit himself to the reformatory influence of the better penitentiary education. XLIV. The hoars of labor vary according to the kinds of occupation 88 INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIAEY CONGRESS. introduced into the different establishments. Where a large number of prisoners are engaged in agricultural labors or on public works there is less regularity than in penitentiaries where industrial labor predomi- nates. Still it may be said that the number of houts of daily labor is, on an average, from ten to twelve. In summer (from the 1st of April to 30th September) work begins at 5 o'clock in the morning, and in some establishments a half hour later. In winter (1st October to 31st March) at 5J or 6 o'clock. On Sundays and feast days the signaLfor rising is given a half hour or an hour later than on working days. Work is regularly suspended at 7 or half past 7 o'clock a. m., half an hour for breakfast; at noon, an hour for dinner; and in the evening, a half hour for supper. At a quarter past 10 a. m. there is very generally granted a recess of a quarter to half an hour. After the cessation of work, which occurs at half past 7 or 8 o'clock p. m., the prisoners have still a half to three-quarters of an hour at their disposal for intellectual occupations, but only in penitentiaries where they pass the night in separate cells. An hour of exercise and an hour of school complete the day's pro- gramme. This last hour should be curtailed in those penitentiaries where there is no schooling, and where only an hour or two on Sunday are given to this object. The hour of exercise is accorded only to those who work in the cells or in the shops. In the modern or reorganized penitentiaries, the average number of hours of labor is twelve ; that of recreation (exercise, school-lessons in cell, reading, &c.) is four, to which must be added the hours of Sun- days arid feast-days. These last are more or less numerous according to the religious creed. XLV. In regard to the treatment of sick prisoners : The above pro- gramme is applied only to prisoners in health. Those who are indis- posed or sick are, on the order of the medical officer of the prison, ex- cused from work. Slight indispositions are treated in the cells or in the common dormi- tories ; those more seriously sick receive medical attention in the in- firmary, which is found in the penitentiaries of the two higher classes indicated at- the commencement of this report. The infirmary, presided over by the physician of the establishment, who has under his orders an officer detailed to duty therein, leaves little to be desired, especially in the modern penitentiaries. There is gener- ally found there a small dispensary, and everything that is necessary for medical treatment. Prisoners seriously ill cannot receive attention in the old prisons. The sick in this case are transferred to a hospital. Prisoners who present symptoms of mental alienation are conveyed to an insane asylum. XL VI, XL VII, XLVIII — The diseases most common are inflamma- tion of the bowels, bronchitis, inflammation of the pleura and lungs, rheumatic affections of the joints and muscles, pulmonary consumption, enlargement of the lymphatic glands, and diseases of the nervous sys- tem. Contagious diseases, typhoid fever, syphilis, the itch, &c., are always imported; and their number, especially venereal affections, chronic complaints, and the itch, are relatively numerous in some of the cantons. At Lenzbourg the number of the sick varies between 2 per cent, (light eases) and 1| per cent, (cases more serious) of the days of imprison- ment. During the last six years this penitentiary has registered nine- INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. 89 teen deaths, whicli is about 3 per annum on an average of 370 prisoners. Of the five who died during the year 1870, three owed their death to pulmonary phthisis. In the penitentiary of Bale we find, in 1867, 2.85 per cent, of days of sickness. Of 330 prisoners there were 126 cases of sickness, and two deaths, (apoplexy of the lungs and consumption of the liver.) Zurich, with an annual average of 407 prisoners, has had, during the last six years, sixty-four cases of sickness, which is 15 per cent, of the whole number; or, in other words, 26 per cent, per annum of the aver- age daily number of prisoners, which was 241. In this penitentiary the number of prisoners who died was 6.3 per annum, being 1.64 per cent. of the prisoners present during the year, or 2.61 per cent, of the aver- age daily number. The penitentiary of Geneva indicates 5 per cent, as the proportional number of its sick. That of Lausanne gives 3 per cent, as the aver- age annual number of deaths. Of 307 prisoners who underwent their punishment in this establishment, there were 3,497 days of sickness, out of 63,217 of imprisonment; twelve persons alone counting about 2,000 days. The cases of chronic maladies cited are, phthisis, pleurisy, and scurvy. Four deaths occurred, two having been caused by pulmonary phthisis, and the other two by an affection of the heart and pulmonary oedema. There was one case of insanity. The annual report of the penitentiary of Berne, for 1867, shows, out of an average daily number of 428 prisoners, 176 sick, who were treated in the infirmary, and 14 deaths, three of which .were from pulmonary phthisis and two from pneumonia. The number of deaths in the penitentiary of Saint Gall, from 1858 to 1863, during which years 1,286 prisoners were received into the estab- lishment, amounted to 70. At Lucerne, the average number, of days of sickness was, in 1867, 25 to each pris6ner for the year.. At Schaffhausen, there were 545 days of sickness out of 9,943 days of imprisonment. The frequent catarrhal affections of the organs of digestion (dyspep- sia, diarrhcea, colic, &c.) are, in a great measure, due to the too great uniformity of the living, and the want of suflflcient exercise. in the open air, under the vivifying light of the sun. These injurious influences, added to sadness and remorse, give rise, secondarily, to that prison scrofula which is observed, in proportions more or less marked, in the different penitentiaries, and which often terminates in pulmonary phthisis. During the three years, from 1868 to 1870, two suicides are noted at Lenzbourg, and fourteen cases of insanity, more or less grave, which were ascribed less to the imprisonment than to a hereditary or indi- vidual predisposition and the moral influence of remorse. At Neuchatel there were observed during the year 1870, out of 146 prisoners, two cases of insanity, one of which had already been treated in a hospital, and the other was occasioned by drink. At Saint Gall, from 1858 to 1863, there were nine cases of insanity (six men and three women) out of a prison population of 1,286. If there are observed in the prisons pulmonary phthisis and other diseases in proportions which demand serious examination, these estab- lishments, and particularly those of recent construction, seem, on the other hand, to present a remarkable freedom from epidemic diseases. When the cholera prevailed at Zurich, not a single case developed itself among the prisoners. It was the same at Lenzbourg during an epi- 90 INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIAEY CONGEESS. demic of measles which prevailed in the neighborhood, and by which adults were attacked. At the .time of the entrance into Switzerland of the army of Bourbaki, there was established, close to the penitentiary of Neuchatel, a lazaretto for persons affected with varioloid; and though the penitentiary establishment was required to furnish meals to the sick and to their nurses, and to apply disinfectants to the bedding, no case of small-pox occurred in the prison. It is true that a general re- vaccination had taken place. Similar observations were made in the penitentiary at Bale. XLIX, L,- LI, and LII. The distinction between penal and industrial labor is made, in the Swiss prisons, by law only in the cantons where there still exists the system of the old hard-labor prisons, in which a certain class of prisoners are subjected to public labor, viz, in sweep- ing the streets, making roads, diking rivers, agricultural labors, &c., &c. , This distinction is not made in the penitentiaries in which the refor- mation of the prisoner is proposed as the end. Doubtless many kinds of labor are disagreeable and little attractive, and the persons engaged in such labors would not voluntarily submit to them if they were free ; these labors thus acquire a penal character. In some of the peniten- tiaries .prisoners are sometimes subjected to labors of this kind on their entrance and during the continuance of the first part of their cellular stage, or those are thus employed who, from the intermediate stage, have been returned to their cells ; or, again, the indolent, the intracta- ble, &c., &c. . ' This penal labor is a sort of disciplinary punishment. The labors belonging to this class are : The sawing and cutting of fire-wood, the plaiting of straw, the culling coffee, the manufacture of envelopes and cornucopias, of wooden boxes, &c., &c. E^owhere is there found in Switzerland a penal labor of the character of the tread-mill. Hard, ignominious public labor, such as still exists. in some cantons, is not unfavorable to physical health, but has a bad moral effect. The penal labor introduced into our modern penitentiaries as a light disciplinary labor is applied only temporarily ; it is not injurious to the health of pi^soners, and, as it often produces ennui, they seek to regain the confidence they had lost, so as to be admitted to more interesting and more profitable labor. We find in the greater part of the penitentiaries various branches of industry carried on, among which the more general and the more im- portant are: Weaving, Shoe-making,' tailoring, carpentry, varnishing, upholstery, cooperage, working in wood, brush-making, locksmithing, blacksmithing, working in tin, book-binding, paper -ruling, lithographing, watch-making, turning, basket-making, laundry- work, embroidery, and knitting. For persons sentenced to a short imprisonment : the stuffing of chairs, the making of slippers, the manui'acture of mats, of sieves, of bee-hives, of envelopes, of paper monlieys, and of wire trellis- work. Then, come domestic labors of various kinds, and office occupations. LIII, LIV, and IV. Industrial labor in the prisons of Switzerland is managed by the administration itself. The attempts- which have been made in some prisons to let the labor to contractors for a fixed daily sum have been very speedily abandoned. Orders are received in the penitentiaries. The raw material is furnished by the administration or by those who order the work ; the tools belong to the establishment. The keepers, who act at the same time as foremen, superintend the INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. 91 ■work, and calculate the value of the -wiorkmanship and of the raw material employed. Account is taken in this calculation of the prices current. Everywhere they endeavor to deliver merchandise carefully manufactured; and thus, as a general thing, the industrial products of our prisons are in good repute. Preference is given in the modern penitentiaries to the management of the administration over that of contractors in the interest of peniten- tiary training. The administration, being supreme, can introduce a greater variety of industries, and suit to these latter the different aptitudes presented by the prisoners. The consequence of the distribution of the prisoners on a largeE number of industries is, that each brancji is restricted to a relatively small number of workmen, and hence free labor has no occa- sion to fear an injurious competition. We endeavor to create a demand for the products of prison labor, rather by the excellence and solidity of the manufacture than by the cheapness of the price. Were it other- wise, the penitentiaries which ought to be, at the same time, industrial schools, would be turned aside from their proper end. In Switzerland it is found that penitentiary training is incompatible ^f ith the system of letting the labor of the prisoners to contractors. It is the adminis- tration alone that can feel an interest in teaching a trade to every pris- oner during his stay in prison, so that at the time of his liberation he may be independent, and able to gain an honest living. LVI. The number of prisoners not having a regular business at the time of their commitment is relatively considerable. Nevertheless, the tendency is shown to be toward a diminution, if comparison is made between the results of statistics for the last twenty years in the peni- tentiary of Saint Gall. This belongs, evidently, to the progress of civilization. By including in this category domestic servants, day-laborers, and people without any occupation, without homes, we obtain the following figures : Domestic servants form 33 per cent, of the total number of prisoners ; day-laborers, 9 per cent. ; vagrants, 4 per cent. ; making an aggregate average of 48/per cent. This average varies somewhat in various can- tons, according as any particular industry is there more ox less devel- oped, and the population more or less floating. It must be remarked that among those who, when they enter the prison, are artisans or indus- trial workmen, many have but accomplished an'insufficieht apprentice- ship ; so that, of 50 per cent, who claimed to have learned a trade, there is scarcely a fourth part who can produce a respectable piece of work- manship. LVII and LVIII. The preceding figures show clearly that the want of a trade is not without its influence in the law which controls the causes of crime. Hence it is sought in all the penitentiaries, particu- larly in those more recently built and organized upon a rational plan, to give a trade to the prisoners, and above all to juvenile delinquents, to those who have to undergo an imprisonment of one or several years. In all the penitentiaries, it has been remarked that numbers of the prisoners acquire, in a. short time, the ability to do that which free workmen would be able to execute only after a long apprenticeship. Apprenticeship to a trade, which requires a certain degree of intelli- gence, and is, at the same time, to the taste of the prisoner, is one of the principal agencies in reforming him. Without industrial labor of this kind, no satisfactory result can be expected from a penitentiary- system, and relapses will be inevitable. A trade learned in the estab- 92 INTEENATIONAL PENITENTIAEY CONGKESS. lishment is worth more, as regard's the support and succor of the prisoners, than a patEonage society. It is well understood in the can- tons somewhat advanced in penitentiary science that it is important, in order to prevent relapses, not only to make the prisoner an able work- man, but also to teach him during his incarceration to help himself. In this view, there have been introduced in most of the prison regnla- tions arrangements by which zeal and diligence in labor and the habit of saving are stimulated. The scale of the peculium rises, as has been said above, in many of the establishments with the augmentation of labor. In the better organized penitentiaries the further eftbrt is made to attain this result by a careful apprenticeship to the trade chosen by the prisoner, by making him acquainted with the nature of' raw mate- rials, the places from which they are obtained, and their market value ; also with the tools and machines employed ; the price-current of the articles manufactured ; and by teaching the manner of calculating the value of the workmanship. The prisoners are more or less associated with the administration through their industrial labors. If, by their good conduct apd their aptitudes, they come at length to deserve the necessary degree of confidence, they are called to fulfill the functions of foremen. ' There is thus afforded to every prisoner the opportunity of develop- ing and manifesting his power of initiative. Technical works and journals are placed in the hands of the workmen on different branches of industry. Writings of the character of Frank- lin's Boor Eichard afford material assistance in this system of peni- tentiary education. LIX. Bnt all these salutary influences are lost in the case of prison- ers sentenced to a short imprisonment. The directors of the Swiss pen- itentiaries are unanimous in regarding repeated short sentences for minor offenses as a pernicious judicial practice, which is followed with- out reflection. The sentiment of justice, as well as the moral reforma- tion of the prisoner, requires that the repression be more serious and more adequately protracted in the case of individuals who take on the habit of crime, and who threaten to make it the basis of their character. The effect of these short imprisonments becomes worse on each suc- cessive conviction. The recidivists fall deeper and deeper, and the prison cannot lift them up. During the short stay they make in the penitentiary establishment, it is impossible to teach them a trade, or even to make them apt at work. The recidivists sentenced correctionally have more or less lost the moral sense and self-respect. The influence of the penitentiary education cannot affect the individual of this class who, on entering the establishment, counts the exact number of days which separates "him from freedom. These subjects undergo, more or less patiently, the restraint imposed upon them ; they are indifferent, and little heed the present ot the future which awaits them. On the other hand, too protracted imprisonments (twenty to twentj'- five years) f»lunge the prisoner at last into apathy and despair. LX. The proportional number of recidivists can be given only ap- proximately. The statistics in the different cantons are not made out in a uniform manner. In some establishments, account is made of all prior sentences — police, correctional, and criminal ; in others, they embrace only those which have been pronounced within the canton, or even notice only the punishments undergone in the same establishment. The greater part of INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. 93 the cantons expel from their territory liberated prisoners of foreign birth, and give themselves no further trouble about them ; so that it may happen that the cantons whose penitentiaries contain numerous non-residents of the canton may have fewer recidivists to be regis- tered. In spite of the defective state of the statistics, we may estimate an average of 30 to 45 per cent, as the proportion of recidivists in can- tons where the penitentiary system has made least progress, and from 19 to 25 per cent, as that of the cantons whose penitentiaries are well organized. The efficacy of a penitentiary system may be indicated, up to a certain point, by the number of its recidivists. But this rule has numerous exceptions in Switzerland. The diversity in the modes of -punishment does not allow us to draw from the numbers indicated an indisputable conclusion. It would be necessary to take account of the preventive measures, which are more or less effectively applied in the different cantons. In the canton of Argovie, (Lenzbourg,) where penitentiary education is conducted with care, there were counted, from 1865 to 1867, forty- five recidivists out of eighty-seven prisoners ; and from 1868 to 1870 only forty-four to one hundred and fifty, among whom fourteen were not natives of the canton. Thus the recidivists form 25 per cent, of the criminals of Argovian origin, a,nd 37 per cent, of those not born in that canton, making an average of 28 per cent. So that in the space of six years there was a cheering diminution in the number of recidivists, and it must be attributed, in great part, to the penitentiary system applied in that establishment, and also to the efforts made to aid and protect liberated prisoners. The correctional recidivists form, ia that same canton, 60 per cent. In the canton of Bale-ville (one-third of the prisoners in cellular reclu- sion) the number of recidivists is from 18 to 19 per cent., and that figure is caused, in great part, by women abandoned to prostitution and vagrancy. In the canton of Saint Gall, of 1,286 persons sentenced criminally and committed to the penitentiary of Saint Jacques, (Auburn,) during thefirst twenty-five years of its existence, (1839 to 1863,) the recidivists were 248, being an average of 19.5 per cent. This penitentiary has been, for many years, under the direction of a man as humane as he is enlightened. In the canton of Lucerne, which possesses an old hard-labor prison, the number of recidivists rises, per contra, to 40.4 per cent. The number of female recidivists is 50 per cent, in the canton of Ar- gavie. The woman, more than the man, resists the seductions which lead to crime ; but when she has once succumbed, her moral degrada- tion is greater and more rapid than is the case with man, and her falls more frequent. LXI. The existing codes denounce a severer punishment against pris- oners convicted more than once. Some sentence them to the maximum of the punishment incurred; others add to this punishment its moiety, and even more, in excess of the maximum. Every sentence, for an oijense exceeding six months, becomes an aggravating circumstance in the case of the person who, having suffered it, is prosecuted criminally. In the cantons of Argovie and Zurich, it is only at the third relapse that the aggravation of the punishment commences for criminals, which punishment is then carried to ten years of reclusion in the first-named of these cantons. The recidivists of this class are besides subjected in the penitentiary to a cellular separation of longer duration, and even 94 INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. throughout the whole term of their punishment, if they show themselves" depraved to a high degree. This last system exists also in the cantons of Zurich, Bale, and JNeu,- chatel. , LXII. Prisons for debt exist only in a few aantons, and it may even be said that, where such prisons are still found, the constraint of the body has fallen into disuse. In a number of cantons, the State authorizes the restraint of the body, in default of payment of the expenses of justice ; but this imprisonment is of short duration, and often is not inflicted at all. This punishment is regarded as correctional, and has no character of infamy. , . , , LXIII. In examining the table of crimes and misdemeanors, we ob- serve that the number of those committed against property (petit lar- cenies, thefts, abuses of trust, &c.) constitute 65 per cent, of the total number; that the number of attempts against life (murders, homicides, infanticides) is^lO per cent.; acts of incendiarism, 5 per cent.; and the remainder comprises cases of counterfeiting, false accusations, &c., &c. These figures sufficiently indicate the direction followed by the will of the persons forming the criminal class. Mr. Mtthler, director of the penitentiary of Lenzbourg, makes the following reflections on the causes of crime in the canton of Argovie : The most frequent cause of crime is a malign education, which early gives to the will a fatal direction toward evil, or which, at least, stifles in the character the moral power to resist evil suggestions. Among the correctionals the influence of an evil education is more marked than among the criminals. This is explained by the circum- stance that the . former are mainly recruited in the pauper class, which is deprived of everything that might give to the child a good education. Many of these correctionals have never enjoyed the family life ; they are orphans or illegitimate children, who have been placed by the com- mune (we have in Switzerland obligatory communal assistance) or by philanthropic societies, with one, or, successively, with several keepers of boarding-houses.' In both cases, these children are rarely in condi- tions favorable to their education. We find, on the other hand, among the criminals, a certain number belonging to the higher classes of soci- ety, whose education has been less neglected, who have themselves lived in favorable conditions, and who sometimes had gained an honorable position in society. Sensualism, which has been developed in them by an irrational system of education, is, in the greater number of cases, the predominant cause of their crimes. Next, we encounter other persons who have learned a business and who have not yet arrived at that state of utter indolence which is so often remarked in the correctionals. In a higher degree than these last, the criminal prisoners have ties of family ; either they are able to count on the support and succor of their relatives during their impris- onment and after their liberation, or they have a wife and children. The correctionals, on the contrary, are, for the most part, without family, without relatives, without friends, and possess neither sufficient energy nor sufficient perseverance to-create for themselves a domestic hearth. The predominant characteristic of such a manner of living is levity and heedlessness, which, if other aggravating circumstances come in aid of them, (drunkenness, debauchery, &c.,) as often happens, degenerate into a depravity whose character is that of a stupid indifference, rather than the necessity of doing wrong. ^ Another source of crimes and misdemeanors, nearly as prolific as the preceding, is drunkenness, often accompanied by other excesses. The INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. 95 « • number of criminals, small and great, abandoned to drunkenness, or who at the moment of the criminal act were under the dominion of drink, is by no means inconsiderable, forming at least 60 per cent. of the total number of crimes committed by men, and this proportion is even higher among the correctionala. Governments and societies of pubbc utility, have been occupied, and are constantly occupied, in seek- ing out the best means to combat this vice, but they are very far from having attained the object of their pursuit. The number of misde- meanors occasioned by wine is considerable in some of the cantons, and the liberty of the wine traffic, pushed to its utmost limits, causes, in a number of these cantons, (Neuchatel, for example,) the commission of one crime as the effect of wine to every one hundred and four persons of the population. In others, an impost upon wine drives the pauper class to the consumption of brandy. That which is worst in the vice of drunkenness is not the criminal act which it has directly or indirectly caused, but much more the moral waste which the drunkard gradually suffers, and which causes him to lose all perception of the most elementary laws of morality. Happily, in Switzerland, there are generally few criminals , by pro- fession ; that is to say, who are impelled toward evil as the result of a hereditary moral anomaly, or of a deplorable education. ISTor is the number large of those who have become criminal by a deliberate pur- pose, through hatred of society and its laws, who find a fascination in crime, and who conceive that they have a right to the exercise of their vengeance. In the greater number of cases this criminal tendency is increased by drink and debauchery. It may be admitted that all those criminal natures whose earliest movements are in the correctional domaip reach at length that of crime. Anger, the absence of reflection, in a word, any sudden over-excitement, combined commonly with the influence of drink, is a frequent occasion of crime. In the majority of these cases it is observable that the moral character of the criminal had been previously, to a certain extent, vitiated. Keverses of fortune, domestic troubles, the death of a good mother, may be an occasion of discouragement, followed by prolonged inactivity, drunkenness, and debauchery, vices which prepare the soil in which criminal thoughts speedily germinate. ^ But such cases are less frequent among us than vulgar rapacity, sordid avarice, and the mania for liti- gation, which is also frequently a cause of crime of a kindred character. Poverty and misery do not often, in Switzerland, become direct causes of crimes and misdemeanors. They act only indirectly, since, for the most part, they are the result of bad education, which is the easy road conducting to depravity of a greater or less intensity. It gften happens, again, that clothing, watches, money, are stolen, and that misery is indicated as the cause of these larcenies. But if these cases are carefully examined, it is found that want is rarely the impell- ing cause, and that more frequently the authors of these offenses were leading a dissolute life, and that their notions of morality were becom- ing weaker, if, indeed, they were not already totally effaced. Many of. these petty thieves themselves excuse their crimes by alleging the des- titution and misery in which they found themselves. The following table, extracted from the triennial report (1868 to 1870) of Lenzbourg, and which may be applied to many of the Swiss cantons, gives an interesting view of the causes of crime. We transcribe it, however, under reserve, since it is impossible to classify with precision the immediate causes of crime. 96 INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. Of one hundred and ninety criminals, among^wliom were one hundred • and seventy men, we find ninety-two, equal to 42 per cent, of the men, who were addicted to drunkenness, or who committed their crimes in a state of intoxication. The proportion is 60 per cent, among the correc- tionals. Of one hundred and ninety-two criminals thirty-nine, or 15.6 per cent., were criminals in th,e true sense of the word ; forty-one, or 21.3 per cent,, were in a state of moral decay; eighty-five, or 44.3 per cent., became criminals through levity of character ; thirteen, or 6.7 per cent., became so as the result of the wretched condition in which they lived ; twenty-three, or 12 per cent., committed their crimes in a moment of sudden excitement. Of two hundred and forty-four correctionals nine- teen, or 7.8 per cent., were criminals in the proper acceptation of the word; one hundred and five, or 43 per cent., were in a state of com- plete moral prostration ; one hundred and six, or 43.4 per cent., had committed the fault through levity of character ; twelve, or 5 per cent., in a moment of passion ; and two as the result of unfortunate circum- stances. If the proportion of those addicted to crime, as a profession, is higher among the criminals than among the correctionals, that is compensated by the inverse proportion of correctionals who have lost all sentiment of duty and of honor. The number of crimes would be reduced among us to its minimum if the education of orphans and of illegitimate and unfortunate children were the object of a solicitude more concentrated," more steady, and more methodical. Modes of relief are not wanting in Switzerland ; we have communal assistance; -we have numerous and well-inclosed alms- houses; and above all, we have voluntary aid, which is designed to sup- plement that of the communal corporations. These last are not suffi- ciently careful in choosing the familes to which they confide the educa- tion of orphans and deserted children. Honest families which, from charity and a true Christian devotion, receive under their care such un- fortunates, are still too rare. Old men who need assistance are sometimes placed by the communes at boarding in poor families, where they run the hazard of becoming men- dicants, vagrants, and thieves. Primary instruction is obligatory in all the cantons except two, and gratuitous in several; yet, in spite of this, it happens in these cantons that children escape from control and do not avail themselves of the benefits of instruction. It is the same with mendicity, which is inter- dicted by law, but which continues still in spite of the bureaus of relief and assistance, because many persons cannot refuse alms to paupers who knock at their gates, and make an appeal to their hearts. Gambling-houses may be said no longer to have an existence among us. That which is opened in the canton of Valais is the object of gen- eral censure, and its license will probably not be renewed. The love of gaming exists notwithstanding, and the too numerous idlers who fre- quent the wine-shops seek habitually diversion and excitement in gam- bling. Public houses of prostitution are tolerated only in a few great centers of population. Secret prostitution is by no means wanting. Finally, there ought to be named as one of the sources of crime the defects of most of our systems of penal legislation and the absence of a suitable penitentiary system in several of the cantons. Efforts are made to dry up all these sources of- crime, but this labor of moral hy- giene does not proceed with sufacient concert of action. In the several cantons progress is made with different degrees of slowness. The result INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. 97 is that the success of those cantons which have introduced reforms into their penal and penitentiary systems are compromised by numerous cases of relapse, coming from neighboring cantons less advanced. In order to hasten the realization of progress throughout all Switzer- land many voices have been raised, on occasion of the revision of the federal constitution, to demand, if not the centralization, at least the uniiication of the penal code, the promulgation of federal laws to insure the greater diffusion of education, to regulate the assistance to be given to paupers, to abolish gambling-houses, &c., &c. ■ •^■•- These reforms will be realized some day. But such a work requires time, which indeed is demanded by the general law of human pro- gress. LXIV. In the prisons of Switzerland, the two sexes are represented in the following proportions: The men form an average of 80 and the women of 20 per cent. This average varies slightly in different cantons. In some the \\omea are but 15 per cent, of the total prison population. LXV. Thfe stiidy of social questions, undertaken by numerous societies of public utility, and the reports jireseuted in the meetings of the Swiss society for the reform of the penal system an(l of prison discipline, have enlightened public opinion to such a degree that the legislative .assem- blies of most of the cantons are favorable to the propositions made with a view to the introduction of penitentiary reform into all onr prisons. On the other hand, public opinion declares itself in favor of expenditures designed to improve the condition of criminals only after the state has supplied the country with hospitals, insane asylums, orphan houses, schools, &c., &c., that is to say, with all needful establishments designed for the honest poor. In all the cantons where these institutions are found, the old theory of penal repression, based on vengeance, has given phice to more humane ideas, the responsibility resting on society as regards the causes of crimes is better understood, and the system in- troduced into most of the prisons has for its aim the reformation of the prisoners. It is true that the penal codes of many of the cantons are based on punishment, intimidation, and expiation. But despite the text of the codes, which ^vas often written prior to the reform of the prisons, it is sought in the penitentiaries, particularly in those which we have grouped in the two superior classes, to employ agencies which may com- bine at once repression and reformation. While in some cantons (those of the two inferior groups) the principle of repression is alone admitted, we see the canton of Zurich setting a good example by declaring, in its penal code, October, 1870, that the application of punishment ought positively to have for its object the reformation of the criminal. This principle, which, some day, will be applied in its whole length and breadth, dates only from yesterday. Hence we need, not be sur- prised that the country is found in that transitional period when the principle of intimidation still struggles against the moral reform of criminals. The spirit of vengeance is not entirely extinguished ; it still shows itself whenever any atrocious crime has just been committed. But the moment of indignation is transient, which shows that an im- mense progress has already been realized, and that its development pro- ceeds without cessation, in spite of occasional reactionary movements. LXVI. The favorable results obtained in the moral reformation of prisoners, subjected to thie penitentiary regime oi the modern establish- ments, incite the others to a revision of their penal codes. jSTo doubt there are many criminals and correctionals in whose case the influence of the improved penitentiary system does not make itself S. Ex. 39 7 98 INTEENATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGEESS. felt. As among the insane, there are incurable moral maladies; persons in -whom the moral sense has been completely perverted suffer them- selves to be impressed in a penitentiary only by the evil which they find there, and show themselves insensible to the good which is sought to be accomplished. On the other hand, tlie greater number is far from being depraved, and the moral force of those who form this class increases in the prisons. At the moment of their liberation they feel themselves reconciled to society, and they have the firm intention of regaining, by their good conduct and by honest toil, the esteem of' their fellow- citizens. It is not easy for a prisoner to carry into effect his good resolutions. He has to confront many prejudices, to conquer many obstacles, and to resist many temptations, to which ho would sometimes succumb if some charitable hand were not extended for his succor. LXVII and LXVIII. It is with a design of preventing relapses among liberated prisoners, with or without a trade, that there are form.ed in most of the cantons patronage societies. The canton of Saint Gall was one of the first to give its attention to this suhject. Thirty years ago the resolution was formed in that canton to establish a penitentiary house, organized on the principle of the reformation of prisoners ; but its execution was essentially subordinated to the forma- tion of a society ;which should have for its mission the supervision of liberated convicts. In the autumn of 1838 the penitentiary of Saint Jacques was finished, and on the 24th of November of that same year there was passed on criminal punishments a new law, which declared in article 6 : After his liberation, it will be the duty of every prisoner who is a citizen of the canton, or has his domicile there, to place himself, for three mouths at least to three years at most, under the protection of a patronage society. On the 15th of the same month the grand council of Saint Gall adopted, in regard to the administration of its penitentiary, the follow- ing resolution : • Aeticlb VI. The commission of direction will take care that all the liberated pris- oners find an honest support and be placed under patronage. In this view it will en- deavor to found a special society, to which the minor council will be able to confide the care of the liberated prisoners, in conformity to a rule approved by him. These arrangements greatly facilitated the organization of the patron- age society of Saint Gpill. Thus, on the 10th of June, 1839, the society was organized, and on the 21st of the same month its statutes were ratified by the minor council, which, in its letter missive, expressed the hope that it would accomplish by incessant devotion what the law could not exact. The system on which this society was founded has undergone no modifications down to the present time, and it has even been confirmed anew by a decree of the 16th August, 1860. It is to be remarked that the committee is authorized to hand over to the police of the canton every individual whom it is unable to keep under its supervision, or who has rendered himself unworthy of its pro- tection — an authority which has hitherto proved almost useless. In the canton of Zurich a patronage society was founded in 1865. It differs from that of Saint Gall, inasmuch as it is based on liberty of action, and is subject to no governmental constraint. Its protection is granted, in preference, to juvenile delinquents, and it extends its aid not only to prisoners discharged from the penitenti- INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONOkESS. 99 ary, bnt also to those who have uudergone their punishment in a dis- trict prison. At Sainb Gall the patronage committee receives from the director, six weeks before the liberation of the prisoner, information relating to his age, his conduct, his trade, and the causes of his sentence, and de- cides at that time whether the prisoner is deserving of patronage, and what measures ought to be taken in regard to him ; whereas at Zurich the director and the chaplain of the penitentiary, being themselves members of the central committee, are officially called upon to give it, orally, the information required, and to submit to it the iiropositions which they judge suitable as regards the patronage of the discharged prisoner. When that is done, the president selects from among the members of the committee, for each prisoner, a reporter charged with drawing up a paper in relation to the cases, and, after discussion, the committee takes a definitive resolution. In order that the patron may b^ome acquainted with the prisoner and question him concerning his plans for the future, permission is granted to visit him before his liberation. It is admitted, in principle, that the society is not to bestow its care upon those who, morally and materially, have no need of it, or refuse it, or give no hope of improvement from it. This fact, like many others, shows that there are reforms necessary in our penal legislation in regard to the duration of punishments. The annual reports of the central committee of. Zurich show that the work of patronage is there in full activity. The patronage society of Berne, organized in 1864:, owes its existence to the Society of Public Utility." Its organization does not differ in any essential point from that of the societies of which we have just spoken, and, like that of Zu- rich, it is based on the principle of free action. In the report of the labors of the first year the committee makes the following observations : At first we had in view ouly tlie patronage of prisoners whose previous and present conduct offered sufficient guarantees. It was necessary that the first essays should not be an occasion of discouragement to the society. Our earliest efforts disappointed us. We had no success, and it was ouly when we had the courage to afford aid to re- cidivists and great malefactors that our success became complete. Although Mr. Dick, chaplain of the establishment, did not cease to speak to the prisoners of the many benefits of patronage, both in- thej)ulpit and in his personal visits, we had only now and then an application for assistance. There is occasion to propose this question, which is 'worthy of a serious examination, to wit, Whether it would not be expedient that the patronage society have, by law, an ofdcial position ? In the canton of Bale-ville it is now some years since the Philanthrop- ical Society and the Society of Public Utility have added to their vast and laudable field of activity the patronage of prisoners sentenced: criminally and ■ correctionally. They give their attention specially to juvenile prisoners, whose moral regeneration oifers a better chance of success, and they ta!ce great pains to find places for them as appren- tices. Hitherto the results obtained have been highly satisfactory. In 1835 a patronage society was formed at S'euchatel, and for some years was actively engaged in its appropriate work. Its labors were resuQiedin 1844 by a new committee, wliich had at first the material and moral support of the government, but subsequently had no other resources than those obtained through voluntary contributions. It obtained no moral results, became disheartened, and ceased to exist during the political events of 1848. The principal cause of these disappointments was, as we think, the 100 INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. absence of a rational penitentiary system. Hence at the opening of the present penitentiary, bv a spontaneous movement, many persons residing in- the six districts of the canton started the project of the formation ot a patronage society for liberated prisoners. This society was organized and its regulations adopted the 6th of April, 1871. Like all the voluntary societies, it manifests, at the commencement ot its career, much zeal and enthusiasm lor the object to which its efforts are directed. The cantons of Lucerne, Thurgovia, Appenzell, Vaud, and Glans have also societies organized similar to tliose of which we have just spoken. In the canton of Argovie much zeal is shown in the patronage of liber- ated prisoners, and as in this canton conditional liberty is authorized by law, it has been proposed to charge the consistories, that is, the elders of the churches, with the supervision and care of liberated pris- oners. But as in this canton the principle of the separation of church and state has just been decided upou, patronage will now be confided to the officers of the civil state. Wherever tl^ey exist patronage societies aid discharged prisoners by their counsels, watch over their conduct, shield them from evil entice- ments, and purchase the clothing, tools, &c., which may be needed by them. They endeavor to aid their beneficiaries by procuring work rather than by giving them assistance in money. In spite of all these efforts, the results do not correspond to our de- sires, and, as may be seen from what has been said, there is not sufQcient unity in the organization of patronage. This is a great inconvenience, which the Swiss society for penitentiary reform is seeking to remove, by bringing into mutual relation all those persons who, in the different can- tons, occupy themselves with the patronage of liberated ijrisoners. LXIX. The restricted limits of the present report do not permit us to discuss the imperfections of our penal system, And of the discipline of our prisons. What has already been said gives indications of the re- forms to be desired We therefore limit ourselves to a resume, under the following heads, of the reforms which still remain to be accomplished : 1. The uniiiGation of the penal. code, based on the principle of the moral reformation of prisoners. 2. The reform of our detention prisons for persons awaiting trial. 3. The increase of the number of reformatpries for juvenile delinquents and vicious boys, and also the reform of work-houses and houses of cor- rection for vagrants and idlers. ' 4. The erection of penitentiaries in cantons which have-only the old- fashioned prisons, which are incapable of rational transformations. Two or more cantons might come to an agreement to establish a penitentiary in common, or they might make arrangements with a canton which already has one, or found other establishments to be' used as inter- mediate prisons, agreeably to the progressive Irish prison system. 5. The special education of prison officers and employes. 6. The reform of the disciplinary and educational regime of the peni- tentiaries, with a view to the moral regeneration of the prisoners. 7. The direction and supervision not only of the administration of all the prisons, but also of preventive institutions, (such as public assist- , ance, orphan houses, agricultural colonies, refuges, patronage societies, &c.,) in the hands of special officers of the government. 8. The united action of the State and voluntary philanthropic societies, and societies of public utility. 9. Finally, the perfecting of all institutions whose aim is the preven- INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. 101 tion of crime, whether in the domain of education, instruction, social conditions, &c., or of that of police and of justice. In the name of the committee of the National Society for Penitentiary- Reform, The President-Eeporter, Dr. GUIF Ji^BUCHiTEL, JDecemher 18, 1871. Y.— ITALY. [Tcanslation.] I. Every prison in Italy — whether for the punishment of criiSaaJ^or the safe-keeping of prisoners awaiting trial — is under the immediate ■control of the minister of the interior, who places at the head of its administration a director, who is subject to his own orders. The general direction, besides a secretary atta(.-hed to the office of the •chief, comprises three divisions, which make part and parcel,'with the other departments, of the ministry of the iiiterior. The first division is charged with the direction and oversight of the personnel (the officers) of the prisons. The second has charge of the prison supplies ; takes care that the expenditures of the local administrations do , not exceed the funds assigned to each establishment; sanctions the contracts for supplies, where they are given to private persons, as well as those for the labor of the prisoners made by the directors ; and, in short, exercises in behalf of the state the vigilance necessary to insure, on the part of contractors and officers, the fulfillment of their obligations toward the government and the prisoners, and a faithful observance of the general laws of accounts. The third division is in charge of the prison buildings, and is aided by a bureau of professional engineers, established in connection with the gerteral direction. To this division belong also the distribution and transfer of prisoners to the difi'erent penal establishments, the size of the pri)?ous and the different punishments to be undergone being taken into account. TheSe dispositions are Inade with the special view of pre- venting the removal of dangerous prisoners to penitentiaries which offer facilities of escape, or to avoid overcrowding, which is always prejudicial to health and to discipline. In connection with the general direction there is established a bureau of statistics. This gives information to the country, by the publication of an annual report, not omy of the movement of the prison population, but also of the sanitary, legal, economical, and moral condition of the said population, and places the government and parliament in a position to appreciate the effects of the national penitentiary administration, of which it gives a thoroughly accurate account. In addition to the above-named administrative functions, the director general is aided by a superior prison council. This couiicil is regarded as a consultative body, and its advice is taken in regard to -the construction of new prison buildings and alterations in old one§, as well as in relation to administrative affairs, on which the director general thinks proper to ask their opinion. He consults them also with reference to promotion and measures of discipline relating to the officers and employes in the prisons. This council is composed of the central inspectors— of whom two at 102 INTEENATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. least must be present to insure the validity of its deliberations; of the head of the division to whose jurisdiction belong the matters from time to time brought before the council ; and is presided over by the general director of the prisons. The functions of secretary, without the right of voting, are devolved upon an ofJicer selected by the director general. The directors of penal establishments, detention prisons, reformatory institutions, governmental or private, male and female, as well as the directors and administrative authorities of the judicial prisons of th^ whole kingdom, depend upon the director general, and receive orders from him. H. The classitication of the penal establishments in Italy is as follows : Eor men : bagnios 21, in which are confined criminals sentenced to hard labor for life, or for a limited term ; bridewells, 11, for prisoners sentenced to the punishment of reclusion; establishments of banish- ment 3 ; houses of correction 6, for persons sentenced to simple impris- onment ; special establishments 10, (classed under the general title of houses of punishment,) for persons sentenced to a bridewell, agreeably to the Tuscan code, during the first stage of their punishment. For wftmen : there are 5 of these, in which all tlve different kinds of punishment are inflicted; also, 2 detention prisons for young girls, and 1 for young boys. For youths : government detention prisons, 2. III. There/ are 2 prisons in which a system of absolute separation prevails, containing a population of 362 ; 2 on a mixed system, (partly Pennsylvanian, partly Auburnian,) containing a population of 582; 5 in which the Auburn system complete is used, with 2,105 inmates; 48 in which the system of association by day and by night prevails; ^nd 2 on a mixed system, partly Auburnian and partly associated, with a popula- tion of 600, making a total prison population for the whole kingdom of 21,706. IV. In proportion as the Italian provinces came gradually to form a single nation, the authority of the general direction was extended over the prisons already existing in' the said provinces. From this single fact of the gradual coalescing of the prisons of dif- ferent states under one government, every one can understand that it wa,s impossible at once to introduce a perfect uniformity of discipline into so many and so various penit^tiary establishments. The introduc- tion of a uniform system of prison treatment was obstructed by the dif- ferences between the penal code of Sardinia, of 1859, which extended over almost the whole kingdom, and that of Tuscany, both of which were in force at the same time. It was obstructed, also, by the old style of penitentiary buildings in vogue before the practice had become gen- eral of employing punishment as an agency in the reformation of prisoners. Notwithstanding these differences in the penal codes, the general di- rection holds itself in such a position that it will not be obliged to cause too profound a shock to the service when the new crin/inal code is pro- mulgated ; and, in the mean time, it follows-, as far as possible, those rules of discipline which have elsewhere been put to the test, and which gen- eral experience has shown to be an effective means of penitentiary re- form. It is, therefore, evident that, before rejecting or adopting, de- finitively, auy one of the various systems employed in the several prov- inces of the kingdom, or which have been adopted by foreign nations,, the general direction of the prisons iu Italy has need to collect a greater number of fiicts, to arrange them, and to investigate their causes and bearings. In this view it occupies itself, from year to year, with the INTEENATIONAL PEIJITENTIAEY CQNGEESS. 103 study of statistics. The results of this study will, ultimately, enable it to propose to the Government a penitentiary system, which may be ap- plied to the whole kingdom. For these reasons the general direction does not think that the time has come, in so far as it is concerned, to answer categorically the second part of the present question; that is to say, it cannot declare from mature examination and conviction its own preferences for the system proper to be adopted. If the author of the present series of questions will carefully consider the matter he will see that the very naming of a commission, charged with the duty of studying the questions connected with modern peniten- tiary discipline, and of proposing their solution to the government, shows of itself that the general direction does not regard the results hitherto obtained by its own efforts as all that might be secured by the discipline which it has adopted. But the results of the two systems chiefly practiced by us are readily seen from the character of the numerous facts furnished by our statis- tics. At any rate, in questions of such importance, it is but just to weigh the opinion of the directors of our prisons, which is as follows : Three-fifths of them favor the Auburn system, some of theses however, with modifications suggested -by themselves; the other two-fifths incline to the system of absolute separation, with or without mitigations. V. The funds for the support of the prisons are drawn from the gen- eral budget of the state. The financial results of the prisoners' labor are shown in the statis- tics; recourse must, therefore, be had to the figures to form an accurate judgment. No doubt there is a remarkable disproportion in the eco- nomical results obtained by different establishments; but this is due to the fact that some of the prisons, situated in unfavorable localities, can- not compete with others which are placed in the great centers of popu- lation, where commercial and industrial life has a high activity. YI. The directors and officers of the prisons, whether central or local, are named by royal decree; the keepers and foremen by decree of the minister of ttie interior on the proposal of the director general. The tenure of office for the higher functionaries is for life; nor can they be removed except for causes which would render them unfit for the service, or unworthy of a place among the officers of the State. The keepers are chosen for six years ; and as to the foremen, their engage- ments with the penitentiary administration depend in each case on special arrangements. YII. On the general gifts of mind and character which should dis- tinguish a good prison officer, the general direction cannot express any special opinion. It confines itself to the remark that, as a general thing, it recognizes in its higher officers a degree of aptness and competency which leads it to continue them in their respective charges. It simply adds that, beyond the needful probity, it selects in preference those who had made some attainments in juridical knowledge, who possess a more than ordinary energy and activity in their work, who are endued at once with courage and coolness, and of late those whose personal appear- ance is calculated to inspire a certain degree of respect in the minds of the prisoners. VIII. To th€j present time no special schools have been established for the preparation of good officers to be placed in our penitentiary establishment^. The general direction has thought it sufficient, as regards the qualifications of those who apply for office in the prisons, to comply with the royal decree of 10th March, 1871, and with the subse- quent ministerial decree of 20th of May of the same year, which regulate 104 INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. the examiDations to be undergone by all applicants for the higher peni- tentiary positions. As regards the personnel of the lieepers, tbe general direction has already taken steps to establish, at a few central points, of the state where there exist, in near proximity, detention prisons and female establishments of different classes, certaiii (so to speak) novitiates, or training schools, for keepers, by way of experiment. Here it is to be hoped the pupils will be able to gain a knowledge of every branch of that difficult service with which, from the start, they need to be some- what acquainted, if they would not injure the discipline of the establish- ments to which they are attached as probationers, and do, perhaps, irrep- arable damage to their own future career. IX. The pension to which the directors and officers of the prisons are entitled, after a service of at least twepty-live years, is determined on the same principle as tbat of every other officer in the civil service of the state. Thus, when retired after twenty-five years of service, they have as many fortieths of their salary, when it does not exceed two thousand Italiah iivres, and as many sixtieths when it is more than two thousand livres, as their years of service. But without regard to the tweiity-flve years of service there are cases of pensions granted to all classes of officers, ^yheu any of them become incapacitated by a wound or disease caused by some pxtiaordinary act performed in the discharge of his official duties. X. The differences, not only in the length of the sentences, but also in the judicial consequences, and in the treatment of prisoners sentenced to the different punishments, whether penal or correctional, are deter- mined by the penal code, (lib. 1, title " Of punishments.") Oar peni- tentiary regulations are conformed in their spirit-to the literal provisions of the code, which has fixed the degree of punishment. XI. If by the classification of prisoners is meant their assignment to diflerent penal establishments according to their several crimes and sentences, we must answer that a complete system of classification does exist in our prisons. In the detention prisons the following categories are, as much as pos- sible, separated from eaph other ; the accused ; the indicted ; those sen- tenced for terms of six months and under ; those sentenced for longer periods, who are awaiting their transfer; the arrested, who are at the disposal of the authorities of public safety ; those detained in transit; persons imprisoned for debt ; women ; and minors. In the prisons for correotionals and reclusionaries the classification for different treatment is as follows; the idle; the laboring, including apprentices; boys; masters. In the bagnios there are recognized four divisions, with ■ separate dormitories for each. They are : those sentenced for military crimes or assaults; those sentenced for theft ; those sentenced for highway rob- bery; those convicted of atrocious crimes, such as assjlssination, homi- cide, &c. Each of these four divisions is subdivided into three cate- gories, distinguished by marks on their dress, according to their terms of sentence, from ten years to life. XII. The general regulations of the prisons ordain that, when the council of discipline, legally convoked by the local director, is of the opinion that there is ground for invoking the royal clemency in behalf of any prisoner, and formulates its judgment, it is the duty of the said director to send the application to the general direction, which, after duly recording it, transmits the papers to the keeper of the seals, whose duty it is to submit them to the royal decision. INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. 105 Besides the conditions which naturally limit such applications to the case of prisoners of exemplary conduct, the regulations provide that the crime of which the candidate for the royal pardon was convicted should not have been one of those betokening a profound corruption and per- versity of mind, and that he should have already undergone the one- half of his punishment. Moreover, the applications for pardon made by each director must not exceed the proportion of 5 per cent, of the whole prison population confined in the establishment to which he belongs. XIII. Participation in the products of their labor is not the right of the prisoners, but is conceded to them as a gratuity. Such gratuities commence at one-tenth, and increase in inverse proportion to the gravity of the punishment assigned to the prisoner. These tenths constitute a fund laid up against the time of the prison- er's liberation. Apart from the gratuities just mentioned, the prisoners obtain, by way of reward, a certain amount of food in those prisons in which the labor is managed'hy the administration. Ihstead of this additional food, they have two-tenths of their disposable peculium in prisons where the labor is let on contract; and with these two-tenths they are .at liberty to pur- chase for themselves additional food of their, own choice, always, how- ever, within the limits of a short list of simple eatables, at prices agreed upon between the contractor and the director, and posted in every work- shop. XIV. Other rewards granted to prisoners who are industrious and otherwise well conducted are : permission to receive visits and write letters; the use of tlieir savings up to one-third (provided the two re- maining thirds are not less thian twenty-five livres) tor the relief of their parents, their wife, and tlieir children under •aae; liberty to purchase under-clothing, books, and tools ; and finally, positions of responsibility and trust awarded them by the administration. A reward, justly held in much higher esteeln by convicts distinguished for good conduct, has been recently introduced ; only, however, in the case of those who should have completed a certain part of their sen- tence, provided their offense was not one indicating a profound jjerver- sity, and who shoiild have passed six months continuously without dis- ciplinary punishment; said premium consisting in sending them to an agricultural penal colony, situated for the most i)iirt in some Italian island. XV. The most common offenses against discipline in the bagnios are insubordination and quarrels between jirisoners, (constituting a fourth part of all violations of the rules,) conspiracies, mutinies, and clandes- tine possession of contraband articles. In the ordinary prisons the most common offenses are violations of the rule of silence and refusal to work. XVI. The disciplinary punishments intise are admonitions, isolation in the cell of rigorfrom one to three days \Vith ordinary bread, 'and with soup only once^ isolation with a diet of bread and water; and isolation in a ceil from one to six months, but with the legal rations. Let it be no- ticed that even the punishment cells are furnished with a camp-bed. In the bagnios there are us)ed as punishments — the hard bench; in- creasiug the weight of the drains, (il puntale ;) and the solitary cell. The graver punishments cannot be inflicted by the director alone, but there must intervene a sentence by the council of discipline, com- posed of the president-director, the vice-director, and an officer of the prisou. Oh the invitation of the president, the chaplain, the medical 106 INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. officer, and the superior of the sisters take part in the deliberations of the council, but witliout the right of voting; the lady superior being present only in the female prisons, or in male prisons in \vhich sisters have charge of the kitchen and the wardrobe. If the punishments awarded, even by the leouncil of discipline, exceed three months,- they cannot be applied until they receive the official sanction of the minister of the interior. The punishments most frequently employed in the bagnois are the hard-bench and simple arrests ; in the houses of correction, the cell of rigor, with bread, water, and soup once, and admonitions. XVII. Every punishment incurred by a prisoner is entered at length in his individual register; and an abstract of it is afterward copied into the general register of the establishment to which the prisoner belongs. It is the records contained in this last register which furnish to the general direction the data for the annual penitentiary statistics. XVIII. Every prison, even for persons awaiting trial, has a priest^ who is its titular chaplain. As in Italy, the great mass of the citi- zens are Catholic, there are no ministers of other creeds attached to our prisons. Whoever belongs to a different religious communion is permitted to confer with a minister of his ow.n creed on application to the director, who cannot refuse to admit the individual named by the prisoner, unless he has reason to believe that the safety of the estab- lishment would be thereby endangered. XIX. Besides the spiritual service, (public worship and. the adminis- tration of the sacraments,) the chaplain gives lectures to, or holds moral conferences with the prisoners ; visits them when sick, adminis- ters the consolations of religion to the dying, delivers a sermon to them once a week in the chapel, visits in their cells newly arrived prisoners, and those about to be tlischarged, admonishes and comforts such as are confined in punishment cells, and often conducts the prison school^ or aids the master in doing it. XX. The Italian government attaches great importance to a service such as that rendered by the cha'plains ; to such an extent is this true, that, in order to secure it, the government has not hesitated sensibly to increase the budget of the prisons. XXI. The general direction has kept up the system of volunteer' visitation of the prisons in those provinces in which it found that sys- tem in existence ; and at this moment it makes it the object of a special study whether it would be well to extend the system ; if so, in what manner and whether with a connection more or less direct with the central government, or with the local agents either pf the prisons or the administration. In short, it is proposed to solve the problem whether or not the plan of volunteer visitation ought to be considered as a useful or necessary complement of a good prison system. XXII. Every penal establishment in Italy has elementary schools to which the prisoners, by turns, are admitted three times a week. On the working-days the school continues an hour and a half. On Sunday conferences are held with the prisoners, which sometimes last two hours or two hours and a half, in which a variety of topics, scientific, moral, and miscellaneous, are made the subject of discourse. XXIII. Prisoners are ordinarily permitted to write and receive letters once a month. The regulations suggest the necessary cautions to pre- vent the correspondence from becoming a source of danger to the inter- nal security of the establishment, and from being used as a stimulus to the illicit passions of the prisoners. Hence these regulations prescribe INTEENATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. 107 that every letter of a prisoner (unless directed to the minister, to the director general, or to the central inspectors of the prisons) should pass under the inspection of the director, without which the prisoner is not permitted either to send away or to receive a letter. XXIV. The general opinion of the directors as to the effect of the correspimdence of the prisoner with his family is that it is excellent. They are not so unanimous in their opinion as to the effect of the cor- respondence of the prisoner with persons who are not related to him. The general direction, for itself, is of the opinion that the fruits to be expected from the liberty of correspondence conceded to the prisoner are good or bad, according to the wisdom or tact of the director who grants it. This officer, if he attends assiduously to his duty, ought to know the degree of affection felt toward their families by the prisoners under his care, and how far communications from outside would con- tribute to render certain prisoners better or worse, and to inspire them with sentiments of submission and obedience, or the reverse. XXV and XXVI. According to our penitentiary regulations the con- vict in our prisons, whether for detention or punishment, is not pre- ve'nted from receiving the visits of a few friends. Various provisions introduced into the regulations of the several penitentiary establish- ments add the precautions to be observed in the concession of visits, their frequency, and, in fine, the cases of serious sickness in which the visitor is permitted to see the sick prisoner in the interior of the peni- tentiary. As regards the exercise of vigilance, it is established that the visits take place always in the presence of a keeper or oflicer in the male pris- ons, or of a sister in those for women; besides which, it is positively forbidden to have any communication by signs or conventional expres- sions, which might tend to defeat the object of the continual presence of the ofiScer. XXVII. As regards the good or bad results of the visits of relatives or of strangers to the prisoner, the general direction does not think that it can give'an opinion different from that already expressed concerning the favorable or unfavorable influence of epistolary correspondence; nor, on the other hand, can we doubt the wisdom of the rule which makes the liberty of receiving visits a premium on good conduct, since it thus serves as a stimulus to a constant respect on the part of the prisoner ■ for the discipline of the prison. XXVIII. The proportion of prisoners who at the time of their en- trance are wholly illiterate is as follows : In the ordinary prisons the illiterate constitute 40 per cent, at least ; in the bagnios it is 30 per cent. XXIX. XXX, and XXXI. Schools exist in nearly all the penal estab- lishments of whatever kind. The prisoners admitted to the benefits of the school in the penal pris- ons form nearly 70 per cent, of the total population ; in the bagnio* the proportion is somewhat less. Of those admitted two-thirds are illiterate. In establishments where the premises are too contracted to permit the organization of a school composed of a considerable number of individuals, the young are accepted in preference to those more advanced in age. To the foregoing statistical data it may be added that, in a number of penitentiary establishments, besides the classes of elementary instruc- tion, we have schools of design, of vocal and instrumental music, and of chemistry as applied to soils in our agricultural penal colonit^s. Those prisoners alone are considered deserving of admission to the 108 INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIAEY CONGRESS. school who, besides, the aptness they show for profiting by it, have uniformly conducted themselves well. Attendance on school is not allowed to a prisoner in punishment, and he is always expelled from it when lie is guilty of insubordination to the master. The progress made in their studies by the prisoners forms an element in the annual statistical reports. The subjects taught are the same as those prescribed by the government in the programme of elementary instruction. The schools are under the general care of the school inspectors of the several districts. Should some particular case seem to make it necessary.'instruction may be carried to a greater extent than that specified above ; bat the director must, in each case, receive a special authorization from the minister. In the prisons for juveniles attendance upon the school is obligatory, the prison school being divided into four elementary classes, precisely as the communal school is. Musical instruction in these juvenile prisons receives mucb attention. XXXII. Nearly all the prisons of Italy have small libraries, purchased by the minister of the interior, or given by the minister of public iustruc- tion, or contributed by philanthropic associations. The greater part of the works composing these libraries are- books written specially for prisoners and others selected from educational works, written in a pleasing style, and presenting clear and elementary notions of the national history, mechanics, moral tales, &c. XXXIir. As soon as the i)risoners acquire the ability to read they show a great inclination to it; but almost invariably they seek in books some diversion from their monotonous life or food for the imagination, rather than a fund of solid knowledge ; consequently few of the books read by them are of a didactic character, but the greater part are novels or romances, of course always of an unimpeachable moral tend- ency. XXXIV. In prisons recently constructed the systems of drainage are, without exception, those whicli afohitectural science has shown to be the best. In old prison buildings, providecl they are such as ought to be preserved and will admit the introduction of improved penitentiary systems, new latrines and sewers are introduced of the most recent and l?est construction. In this respect, therefore, the prisons, either recently erected or which have undergone material. alterations; are so constructed and arranged that the health of the prisoners is not endangered. XXXY. In regard to the water supply of our prisons, the general direction has, from the local directors, positive and satisfying assurances both of its sufficiency and its quality. On an average, there are required for cleaning from 8 to 10 liters jjer capita, not including what is needed for purposes of personal cleanliness and for drinking. XXXVI. The ventilation of the old prisons is in a more or less satis- factory condition. In the new ones, and those which have undergone or are undergoing extensive repairs, we require an exact observance of all the rules of modern architectural science for the purification of the air, for its renovation, for regulating the heat, &c., to the end that the prisons be free from all exhalations injurious to the health of the pris- oners permanently confined in premises which, in cases by no means rare, we could wish were larger. ■ XXXVII. Cleanliness is made an object of special attention ;n every prison, and whoever visits our penal establishments, Where the arrange- ments of the buildings are satisfactoi'y, will find their condition, in this INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. 109 respect, worthy of commeudation, as a sufficient number of hauds are detailed for tliis purpose, and tlie floors are swept daily, and even, in those parts \yhich require it, two or three times a day. XXXVIII. Without going into all the njinute particulars, we can aflBrm that the convict, and even the prisoner awaiting trial, (when l^e does not wear his own clothing,) can, in our Italian prisons, keep him- self neat and clean. He has a change of clothing in winter, and in summer he has two changes, of cotton or linen, with the necessary supply of shirts, socks, &c. Every one may satisfy himself of this by examining the list of articles furnished in the detention prisons as well as the penal estabiishmepts, which list is published by the general direc- tion of prisons. XXXIX. lieaffirming what was said above in answer to the thirty- fourth question, we simply add that the water-closets are fixed or movable as the conditions of the building permit; but we always seek to secure in them the quality most desirable, viz, that they be in- odorous. ;, ''I XL. The dormitories and cells are commonly lighted with oii; in some prisons they are lighted with petroleum ; in others, more recently constructed, gas has been introduced. , .■,. >, .nbl XLI. In the prisons of the northern provinces of Italy heaters are used to soften the rigors of winter, and they are constructed according to {he latest improvements of science. XLII and XLIII. All the new bedsteads are of iron. The old ones are made of sail-cloth, and are suspended in the same manner as a hammock. The bed is composed of a tick filled with straw, corn-husks, or moss; a pillow or bolster, two hempen sheets, and one or two blank- ets, according to the rigor of the season. In the infirmaries each bed has, besides, a mattress and a linen or cotton counterpane. XLIV. The regulations prescribe work every .day, with the exception of half an hour in the morning for personal cleansing and another half hour in the evening before retiring. The time of rising varies according to the seasons. In the winter it is at 7 ; in March and October at 6, and from 1st of April to 3d September at 5. Besides the two half hours above mentioned for rising and retir- ing, the prisoners enjoy a half hour's rest at each of the two daily meals, besides which they have an hour for walking in suitable yards ; and if they attend school, they have an hour and a half for this purpose three times a week. On Bungay both exercise and school are continued for a longer time. XL 7. Every penitentiary has an infirmary, to which the sick prisoner is sent at the request of the medical officer of the establishment, who attends him during his sickness. XL VI. The diseases most common are those of the digestive and respiratory organs and fevers. The diseases that cause proportionally the greater mortality are those which attack the organs of respiration. The mortality from fevers is less. XL VII. The number of days passed by the prisoners in the infirmary is in the proportion of 4 to 5 per cent, of the number of days spent in prison by the entire prison population. XLVIII. The mortality, viewed in relation to the average number of prisoners, is about 7 per cent, of the inmates on the first day of each year, while it is scarcely 5 per cent, of the total population for the whole year. XLIX. In our penal estajblishments, unproductive or merely penal labor is unknown. 110 INTEENATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. L. As penal^ labor, properly so called; does not exist with us, the gen- eral direction would be unable, reasoning from the national character, - to express an opinion on the question ' whether, in Italy, this kind of labor would be deterrent. LI and LII. For the reason above stated, the general direction is equally unable to express a judgment as to the possible moral and sani- tary effects of strictly penal labor. LIII. In our prisons, the usage varies as regards the mode of manag- ing the prison labor ; in some, it is managed by the administration, in others by contractors. For the last three or four years the general direction has sought, and with success, to find contractors for the labor of the prisoners ; and already, in many penitentiaries, the labor has been let to contractors, as well as that of a sedentary kind, to wit, that which is done by the prisoners in wdrkshops within the prisons, as that given to agriculture in the open air. LIV. In respect of financial results, labor let to contractors is un- doubtedly to be preferred; no political economist denies that government is, universally, the worst of producers. As regards the discipline, though the general direction is convinced that the letting of the labor to contractors ought not to produce a, bad effect upon the general discipline of a prison, because the director, freed from the numerous cares imposed upon him by the management of the indastries, and by the sale of the merchandise, whether at retail or by . wholesale, has more time left to devote to the moral improvement of the convicts, and -to attend, without other preoccupations, to the internal order and security of the prison ; yet about one-third of the directors, interrogated by the ministry of the interior, have shown themselves in- clined- to continue the system o:^ managing the labor by the administra- tion, or of restoring it, and the remaining two-thirds have approved, and do approve, the contract system recently introduced^ LY. The general direction, before adopting a universal I'ule, feels the necessity of continuing still further its observations and studies ; too little time having, as yet, been given to the trial of the contract system, the experiences gained are neither solid nor regarded as sufficient tb decide, absolutely, whether it is expedient to have a general contract for all the industries, or a special contract for each. LVI and LYII. Very small indeed is the number of those committed to our prisons under the title of idlers, vagrants, or mendicants. Nor is the number great of those who leave our penal establishments without, at least, a rudimentary knowledge of some trade. LVIII. The general regulations, by prescribing that, at the end of the first period of trial, every prisoner shall be introduced into a workshop to exercise some trade, that he shall not change it except in case "of showing himself unfit for it, or the labor proves injurious to him, or he might, through the exercise of- it, put in peril the quiet of the workshop or even the safety of the prison, together with the rewards accorded to the prisoner who goes on perfecting himself in his trade and producing a greater amount of good merchandise, are a clear proof how important it is regarded, among us, that the prisoner, on his discharge, be in pos- session of the power to eairn for himself an honorable livelihood. LIX. The criminal code does not inflict sentences of a short duration , upon recidivists. Indeed, it regards as a recidivist even a person guilty of a minor offense, whenever he commits a new transgression. In that ease, the relapse always brings upon the delinquent a relatively, longer punishment. LX. In 1871, of convicts sentenced to a punishment of more than a INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. 'Ill year's duration, the number of. recidivists was, for the men, 30 per cent. ; for the women, 17 per cent. LXI. Eecidivists always receive severer punishments than one who has committed the same offense for the first time and has not, previously, undergone any criminal or correctional sentence. LXII. In the detention prisons of some size, there are commonly sections destined to the imprisonment of civil debtors. In none of them is there wanting at least an apartment for whomever is impris- oned on the demand of his creditor. Irk Italy, however, the number of those imprisoned for debt is ex- ceedingly small. The maintenance of the debtors is a charge upon the creditors, and therefore his treatment differs from that of other pris- oners maintained at the charge of the state. LXIII. The cause of crimes of blood was, in 1871, the sentiment of revenge; of crimes against property, cupidity. LXIV. Women form only 3 per cent, of the entire prison population in Italy. LXV. When once a convict has been assigned to the prison in which he is to undergo his punishment, the discipline to which he is subjected looks not only to his safe^-keeping, but also to his reformation. LXVI. The general direction of prisons can only repeat, in reply to the present question, what it has already said in answer to the fourth question, to which, therefore, it begs to make reference. LXVII and LXVIII. Certain religious associations possess funds that may be used in aid of liberated prisoners ; an occasional patronage so- ciety exists in some of the cities of Italy. Such societies are what remains of institutions more or less ancient, but prior to 1859, which were religiously preserved and even protected by the Italian govern- ment ; but there are none of any great importance, except at Milan , Turin, and Florence. The government has sought to extend institutions of this kind ; but down to the present time, such institutions are too few in number and too limited in means to enable us to predict whether they will take root in our social soil, or, if so, whether tlieir rules should be preserved or modified in order that the best fruit for which they were founded may be obtained from them. LXIX. We refer for all answer to the present question to the state- ments made and the conclusions drawn in replying to the fourth ques- tion. VI.— GEEAT BEITAIlN^. 1. The convict prisons op England. 1. What is the number of government convict prisons in England, distinguishing between those designed for the different sexes ? ' li-*.^ Eleven ; eight exclusively for males, one mixed, and two exclusively for females. 2. What is the aggregate capacity of the convict prisons, (a,) the males, (ft,) for the females 1 /Males, 8,764; females, 1,239; exclusive of infirmary cells, punish- ment cells, &c. 3. How many of these prisons are wholly upon the separate system? Two, ^nd parts of two others, but separate sleeping cells are general, except for invalids of certain classes, and some of the women. 112 INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIAEY CONGRESS. 4. In how many is there provision, after the lirst period of imprison- ment, for other stages of discipline, including associated labor! All but two of the above are prisons in which convicts are employed in associated labor. 5. How, in each' class of prisons, is separation carried out, as regards work, exercise, (other than work,) attendance in chapel, and sleep "? By the construction of the prisons in some respects, and internal reg- ulations in regard to others. 6. How many convict prisoners are placed (under contract with the local authorities) in prisons not belonging to the government? None. 7. What is the aggregate number of cells ? Nine thousand and fifty-seven cells, exclusive of infirmary cells and punishment cells. This number is beiing added to considerably. 8. What are their ordinary dimensions f In the model prison, at Pentonville, they are 13 feet by 7 feet by 9 feet, but in others they vary. 9. What furniture do they generally contain*? Blankets and bedding ; washing utensils, &c. ; eating utensils ; table and stool ; slate and books. 10. What are the rules, framed according to law, in regard to the cer- tification of the cells, and their visitation by officers ; and in respect to the visits to the prisons by the inspectors of prisons 1 Their fitness for their purpose is certified by the surveyor general of prisons. They are visited by th^e directors of convict prisons, but not by the inspectors of prisons. 11. How far are these rules carried into effect ? Completely. 12. What has been the average number of prisoners in the convicfc prisons in the last five years? Sixty-seven hundred and thirty-three males, and 1,100 females. 13. What are the chief internal regulations of these prisons ? See books of rules. 14. How are the officers appointed, and what' is their tenure of office? By the secretary of state for the home department, on the recom- mendation of the directors. Tenure of office so long as they are effi- cient and are wanted. 15. What qualifications are required, and jn what manner are they tested ? ^ Examination by civil-service commissipmers ; former character and experience, and actual probation. 16. What provision is made foB superannuated and disabled officers? By act of Parliament regulating civil-service pensions. 17. Are rewards employed to stimulate the prisoners to good conduct and industry? If so, of what kinds, and to what extent ? Yes. The mark system. 18. Is there a system of progressive classification ? If so, how is it. worked, and with what results ? Yes ; (see rules for classification.) The results are considered satis- factory. 19. What punishments are used for breaches of prison rules or other misconduct? Loss of marks, degrMation of class, close confinement, reduction of diet, and corporal punishment. 20. Is corporal punishment ever employed? INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. 113, Yes. 21. Is a Ml record of pimislimeQts kept ? 22. What kinds of offenses are most common ? It is difflcult to say. They vary in different prisons. 23. In what convict prison last year was the number of punishments least, and what was it ? Millbank, (males,) Fulham, (females.) ' 24. To what circumstances is this comparative exemption from pun- ishment attributable ? lilo accurate statement can be made on this point. 25. Are prisoners always allowed to make complaints of grievances, real or fancied? If so, to whom; and what attention is paid to their complaints ? And what security is there that the complaints shall be properly examined ? , Yes; to the foremen, and, if necessary, to the directors, or by petition to the secretary of state. They are always investigated. 26. How far are moral forces used in the discipline of the convict prisons ; and what is found to be the comparative efficacy of moral and coercive agencies ? Moral forces are employed in preference to others, but the eff'ect de- pends upon the individual prisoners. 27. Do the inmates of the convict prisons wear a party-colored dress ? Yes,, in certain cases. 28. Is your own opinion for or against such a prison dress ; and, in either case, upon what grounds ? For it, in those cases'. 29. Is the mask worn in convict prisons'? What is your judgment of its utility or the reverse '? No ; I do not think it is of any use. 30. To what extent are chaplains employed, and of what denomina- tions are they ? ' Church of England and Eoman Catholic are employed in all convict prisons. 31. What religious services are held on Sunday, and during the week ? Two services on Sundays and daily morning prayers. 32. Are religious tracts and papers distributed to the convicts ? Books of this kind are supplied by government, and furnished to pris- oners at the discretion of the chaplain. 33. Are volunteer working yisitors, of either or both sexes, admitted into the prisons ? If so, under what restrictions, and with what results ? Not generally. 34. In what spirit do the prisoners receive efl'orts for their moral and religious improvement 1 See the chaplain's reports. 35. What are the regulations relating to the correspondence of pris- oners ? Periodical letters to respectable acquaintances are allowed ; the fre- quency varies according to the class. 36. What, in relation to visits from friends? The same as the above. 37. Are the letters and visits of friends found to be beneficial to the prisoners or otherwise ? They are found to be beneficial. S. Ex. 39 8 114 INTERlSrATIONAL PENITENTIAEY CONGRESS. 38. Wliat proportion of prisoners are found, on their admission, either wholly illiterate or so imperfect in their knowledge of reading as to derive neither instruction nor entertainment from it ? See the directors' annual reports. 39. What provision is made for the schooling of prisoners 1 -" A staff of schoolmasters is provided, and schooling takes place after working hours. 40. What branches are taught, and what progress is made therein 1 Elementary education,' and the progress is considered satisfactory. 41. Is there a library in each convict prison, including secular as well as religious books 1 Yes. 42. What,, about, is the average number of volumes? About three or four volumes to each prisoner. 43. Do many ofithe prisoners show a fondness for reading ? Yes. 44. What time have they for reading 1 (xenerally after work. 45. What, in a general way, are the sanitary arrangements and con- dition of the prisons 1 Good. No epidemic or other diseases prevail in these prisons. They are generally in a high state of cleanliiiess, and the medical ofiQcers are required to examine and report frequently on these points. 46. What are the prevailing diseases ? i See medical officers' annual reports. 47. What has been the average annual death-rate for the last five years'? Per 1,000— males, 13.7 ; females, 14.5. 48. In what prison last year was the rate of mortality smallest, and what was that rate 1 The prisons must all be considered as one ; no trustworthy inference can be drawn from considering them separately. 49. To what ciroumstanbes is this small rate attributable 1 'No answer. 60. Is there a distinction made in the convict prisons between penal and industrial labor 1 If so, what kinds of each are in use? Convicts are all employed on industrial labor, unless oakum-picking, in which a few are employed, is considered penal labor. 51. Is the deterrent effect of penal labor found to be considerable? What is found to be its effect upon, the health of the j)risoners ? What its moral influence ? No answer. 52. Is penal labor utilized in the convict prisons ? If so, what is its average daily value in money per capita f Crank, tread-wheel, &c., are not used for convicts. 53. Upon what principle is the industrial labor of the convict prisons organized ? On a contract system or some other ? Not on the contract system. All work is performed directly under officers. 54. What have been the average annual net earnings per head of the prisoners in the last five years, exclusive of any portion allowed to the prisoner himself ? Annual earning per head, (last two years.) £22 18s. l|d on the average number of prisoners. 55. In what prison, last year, were the net earnings the highest per head ; and what was the amount ? INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. 115 Chatbam and Portsmouth ; annual earning from £38 10s. to £38 18s. on average number of prisoners. 56. What is the average number of prisoners there ? Chatham, 1,586 ; Portsmouth, 1,219. 57. "What are the chief kinds of work there ? Engineering works, brick-making, &c. 58. To what circumstances are the comparatively high earnings attrib- utable ■? Suitability of the work. 59. Is a prisoner allowed any portion of his earnings ? If so, how is that portion determined ? No. 60. Is overwork encouraged by the prisoner being allowed all the earnings so obtained? No. 61. Do the j)risoners work by the hour, or are tasks and piecework employed as far as practicable ? Generally by the hour. . Tasks encouraged when practicable. 62. How many hours each day, as measured either in time or by piecework, do the prisoners generally labor ? About eleven hours in summer and nine in winter. 63. What, during the last five years, has been the average annual cost of each prisoner, including food, clothing, and a proportionate share of salaries, and of the estimated rent, (say at the rate of 5 per cent, on the cost of the building,) and of every other expense what- ever, but deducting the money received for prisoners' work, (if sold to the public,) or its value, if employed on public works belonging to the government, and unconnected with the prison? For the last two years the net annual cost per prisoner each year has been £12 10s. lOd., cost of buildings not considered. 64. How much of this cost is put down for rent ? None. 65. What proportion of the prisoners had not learned a trade or call- ing prior to their committal 'I There is no complete information. See returns in directors' annual report. 66. Is it made an object to impart to them. the art of self-help; that is, the power to earn an honest living on their discharge; if so, in what manner, a^nd with what results ? Yes ; by employing them at suitable trades, &c. 67. What has been the average length of sentences for the last five years? About seven years, 68. What has been the proportion of life sentences for the last five years ? See criminal returns. 69. Do prisoners for life receive the same treatment as other pris- oners ? Yes ; in every respect. 70. What portion of the prisoners committed in each of the last five years had been in a convict prison before ? No regular returns. Eeturn in directors' report for 1869, page 5, gives the necessary information at a certain period, (April, 1869.) 71. What portion had been previously committed to any prison ? No answer. 72. From what data have the recommittals been ascertained ? 116 INTEENATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGEESS. From actual records of men still in prison. 73. What proportion of the prisoner? were minors when committed ? See return of ages in annual report of directors./ 74. Is deterrence or reformation made the primary object ? Both. 75. Are the prisoners able, by industry and good conduct, to shorten their periods of coniinement ; if so, to what extent ? • Yes ; one-fourth of the time on public works. 76. What do you think- of the policy of substituting unlimited for limited periods of imprisonment, to which criminals are sentenced, so as to make the time of liberation depend on the prisoner's moral con- dition, and the reasonable expectation of his not relapsing into crime? Prefer limited periods. 77. Under present circumstances, are prisoners often set free before their liberation can be considered safe to society, or really beneficial to themselves ; whether because their moral cure cannot be deemed com- plete, or because they have not the means of getting an honest liveli- hood, either for want of a sufficient knowledge of some handicraft, or from physical or jpental weakness 'I Probably they are. 78. On the other hand, are prisoners often detained beyond the time when it is fully believed that they can ^afely be liberated ? It is impossible to say. 79. Is the " intermediate system " for gradually preparing prisoners for liberation in use; if so, to what extent and with what results ? The whole system is designed gradually to prepare prisoners for lib- , eration. I 80. Do the mass of prisoners, as a matter of fact, leave the prisons better or worse, morally, than they entered them ? Better, it is believed. See the chaplains' reports. 81. Are female prisoners, needing such instructions, taught to cook and to sew; and, generally, are efforts made to enable a man or wpman, on liberation, to avoid a wasteful expenditure, and to turn their wages to the best account ? Taught to work ; cooking not specially taught in domestic economy. 82. Is any attempt made to give the prisoners good tastes, such as that for music, so as to diminish the danger of their falling, when lib- €srated, into habits of drunkenness, or other debasing pleasures ? So far as church services go. 83. Is any effort made to induce the prisoners, from their share of their earnings, to help to support their families, or to make restitution to those whom they have robbed or otherwise injured ? They devote their labor to the benefit of society, whom thev have injured, and whom they put to heavy expense. 84. If not, is there any other way in which they can practically give that evidence of moral improvement which is afforded by a willingness to forego selfish advantages for the benefit of othe^-s ? No. They have only bare necessaries, and, therefore, cannot forego any advantages. 85. Are efforts made to keep up the domestic ties of prisoners, such as allowing them to see members of their family, from time to time, except when, under the circumstances, these ties must be hurtful ? Yes. 86. What agencies are employed to provide discharged prisoners With work, m order to prevent their relapse ; and with what results ? Discharged prisoners' aid societies. INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. 117 87. Are any other efforts made through prisoners' aid societies, refages, or otherwise, to encourage discharged prisoners, desirous of doing well, and to prevent their relapse ? Yes. 88. What means are taken to trace prisoners after their discharge, in order to ascertain what is their subsequent career ? Kegistration of criminals. 89. General and miscellaneous remarks. ' A view of the English convict system, which embraces the prisons m England only, is in a great degree imperfect, because transportation has been such an integral part of the system, and though no convicts have been sent to Australia for some years, the system has had the effect of withdrawing many of the prisoners who were most likely to reform and have reformed, and left those who were more likely to be again convicted. EEON OARU CAPLEE, Chairman of BirecUrs, and Surveyor General of Prisons. 2. Borough and county jails in England. 1. What is the whole number of borough jails in England ? Thirty-five. 2. What of county jails ? Eighty-seven. 3. What, if any, is the exact distinction between these two classes of • prisons ; and what the specific functions of each 1 I^Tone, except that the county prisons are governed by the county magistrates, and the borough prisons by the borough magistrates. 4. What is the aggregate number of prisoners which the two classes of jails are together calculated to receive? Twenty-seven thousand one hundred and sixty-nine. 5. What, about, is the average period of confinement ? Somewhat under one month. 6.' About what portion of the prisoners are confined for periods not exceeding one month ? About three-fourths. 7. About what portion for periods of from one month to six months 1 About ' one-fourth. 8. About what portion for periods exceeding six mouths ? Less than one per thousand. 9. Is there a separation of the prisoners — complete or partial — in any of the prisons, by day as well as by night ? As a rule, all prisoners are separated by night, where there is suf- ficient cell accommodation. Prisoners in many prisons work to a cer- tain extent in association, but under such supervision as the governors consider sufficient to prevent communication. 10. What, in general, are the dimensions of the cells ; distinguishing cells used during the night only from those used both by day and night? The cells in the several prisons vary from about 400 to 1,000 cubic feet. As a. rule the smaller cells are used for sleeping-cells only, or are certified for very limited periods. 11. What is their ordinary furniture '? » Bedstead or removable hammock, table, and stool, washing apparatus, and chamber-pot, the last utensil being omitted in cases where the cells contain a water-closet. 12. What are the rules, framed according to law, in regard to the 118 INTERN ATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. certifications of the cells used both by day and night, and their visita- tion by oificers; and in respect to the visits to the jails by the inspect- ors of prisons? . . Vide clause 18, prisons act, 1863, as to certificates of cells. The visi- tation of officers is regulated by the rules of the several prisons, and inspectors are required to visit each prison at least once a year. 13. How far are these rules carried into effect? Complied with in all respects. 14. Do the prisoners work in the cells or in association ? Both in cells and association, according to the capabilities of the prison and the character of the wort required'. 15. Is the mask worn in any of the prisons ? In very few. 16. Has it been discontinued in any where it was formerly worn ; if so, with what effect ? Not since the present inspectors assumed office. 17. What is your own judgment as to its utility or the reverse ? We think but slightly of its utility. 18. What has been the aggregate average number of prisoners con- fined in the borough and county prisons, jointly, for the last five years ? We have no records by which to furnish the necessary reply to this query as to a five years' aggregate average. 19. Are the internal rules and regulations of all these prisons the same; if not all the same, do they differ materially ? The rules of all prisons are founded on the prisons act, 1865, by the respective county 'and borough visiting justices, and they do not differ materially. 20. Can you supply copies of some of the best? Copies of rules of three prisons are herewith forwarded. 21. How are the officers appointed ; and what is their tenure of office ? Officers are appointed by the visiting justices, and are retained at their pleasure. 22. What provision, if any, is made for superannuated and disabled officers ? V Vide clause 15, part 1, prisons act, 1865. 23. Are rewards employed to stimulate the prisoners to goocl conduct and industry; if so,. of what kinds, and to what extent? Gratuities may be given under clause 42, same act. 24. Is there a system of progressive classification ; if S9, how is it worked, and with what results? This system obtains in some few prisons, and is considered to work well. 25. What punishments are in use for breaches of prison rules and other misconduct? Vide clauses 50 to 60, schedule 1, prisons act, 1865. 26. Is corporal punishment ever employed for criminal offenses ? Yes. 27. Is a full record of punishments kept in every prison? Yes. 28. What kinds of offenses are most common ? Idleness and insolence. 29. In what large prison last year, and in what small one, were the numbers of punishments least ; and what were they ? Durham County prison, and Lincoln County prison. In the former the punishments for prison offenses, as follows: INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. 119 , Males. Females. Whipping : , 2 ' .. Solitary, or dark cells 29 18 Stoppage of diet 27 2 58 20 111 the latter, solitary, or dark cells, 2 males. 30. To what circumstances are these comparative exemptions from punishment attributable? So many different causes may contribute to this result in different prisons, that it would be invidious to give a categorical reply. 31. Ai'e prisoners always allowed to make complaints ; if so, to whom, and what security is there that the complaints shall be properly examined ? Yes; to inspectors of prisons, visiting justices and governor; on the suijposition that these gentlemen do their duty, all complaints receive attention. 32. How far are moral forces used in the discipline of the prisons, and with what effect? What is found to be the comparative efficacy of moral and coercive agencies ? We believe that the chaplains are, as a rule, very assiduous in their endeavors to improve the minds and character of the prisoners, and that the governors adopt the same course, and in our opinion with good effect. The comparative efficacy of moral and coercive agencies de- pends so much on the individual temperament of prisoners that no con- clusive reply can be given. 33. Do the prisoners wear a party-colored dress ? What is your judg- ment as to the necessity or utility of such a garb ? Vide clause 23, schedule 1, prisons act, 1865. This dress 'is not neces- sarily party-colored, though in many instances it is so. In our opinion, a distinctive dress is all that is required. 34. To what extent are the prisons provided with chaplains ? Clause 10, part 1, prisons act, 1865, is complied with. 35. What religious services are held on a Sunday, and during the week? [This question was passed by the inspectors without answer, no doubt from inadvertence.] 36. Is there a Sunday-school ia any of the prisons ? We are not aware. 37. Are religious tracts and papers distributed to the prisoners ? Yes ; at the discretion of the chaplain. 38. Are volunteer working visitors, of either or both sexes, admitted within the prisons; if so, under what restrictions, and with what results? Not that we are aware. 39. In what spirit are the efforts made for the moral and religious improvement of tte prisoners received by them ? As a rule, the efforts of the chaplain are received in a becoming manner. 40. What are the regulations relating to the correspondence of pris- oners? . Prisoners, as a rule, are permitted to write aud receive a letter (sub- ject to the inspection of the governor) after the conclusion of the first 120 INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. three months, and once during each subsequent three months of deten- tion. In special cases the governor has power to relax this rule. 41. What, in relation to the visits of friends 'I The same rules as above generally apply to the visits of friends. 42. Are the letters and visits of friends found to be beneficial or otherwise? In our opinion they are generally beneficial. 43. What proportfon of the prisoners iire found, on admission, either unable to read, or to read so imperfectly as to derive neither instruction nor entertainment 1 , • Out of the total committals for the year ending September, 1870, viz, 157,223, 53,265 prisoners could neither read nor write, and 98,482 could read, or read and write imperfectly. 44. What are the provisions relating to the schooling of prisoners ? What branches are taught, and what progress is made therein. Vide clause 53, schedule 1, prisons act, 1865, the pro\asions of which are carried out. 45. Is there a library in each prison, including secular as well as religious books ? Yes. 45 bis. Do the prisoners show a fondness for reading? Generally. 46. Wliat time do they have for reading ? The usual time is during the dinner-hour, and after the conclusion of their daily labor till bed-time. 47. What, in a general way, are the sanitary arrangements and con- dition of the prisons ? Satisfactory. 48. What are the prevailing diseases ? \ If one class prevail, it is probably chest affections, a great proportion of the more severe of which cases might be traced to predisposition previous to admission. 49. What has been the average death-rate for the last five years '? Same answer as last. 50. In what large prison and in what small prison was the rate of mortality smallest, and what, in each instance, was that rate ? • We have no data. 51. To what circumstances are these small rates attributable ? Same answer as last. 52. Is a distinction made in any or all of the prisons between penal and industrial labor ? If so, what kinds of each are in use ? Tes. Qlause 19, part 1, prisons act, 1865, which is carried out in all prisons, determines the character of penal labor. Industrial labor con- sists of various kinds of weaving, mat-making both by hand and loom, oakum-picking, teasing hair and cocoa-fiber, and the various trades, viz.: tailoring, shoemaking, carpentering, gardening, blacksmith work, &c. 53. Is the deterrent effect of penal labor found to be considerable, as shown by the fewness of recommittals ? What is found to be its effect upon the health of the prisoners ? What its moral influence 1 We believe that it is so; but to what extent it tends to the " fewness of recommittals " we are unable to state, as all prisoners sentenced to hard labor are, as a rule, (in compliance with 'clause 34, schedule 1, prisons act, 1865,) placed at hard labor for the first three months at least after conviction, and for the whole of their sentence if not exceeding three months. As a general rule, the health of the prisoners INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIAEY CONGEESS. 121 does not suffer by this form of labor. In individual instances where it does, the surgeon of the jail has full power to alter the character of the prisoner's punishment. As to its moral influence, we believe, as stated above, that it has a deterrent effect. 54. Is penal labor utilized in the prisons 'i If so, what is its average daily value in money, per capita ? Penal labor (or hard labor of the first class) is in many prisons turned to account, but is not as remunerative as-hard lal^or, (second class or industrial labor.) We have no means of giving the daily average value per head. 55. Upon what principle is the industrial labor of the prisons organ- ized. Task-work is required in some instances, in others so many hours' labor j)er diem. 56. What have been the average annual net earnings, per head, of the prisoners in the last five yea-rs, exclusive of any portion allowed to the prisoner himself? We have no data. 57. In what large prison last year, aqd in what small prisot), were the net earnings the highest per head, and what were the amounts'? Wakefield County prison, £6 13s. 9%d.; Grantham Borough prison, £5 2s. M. 58. What is the average number of prisoners in each of these prisons ? In Wakefield, 1,290 was the daily average for the year 1870 ; and in Grantham, 9. 59. What are the chief kinds of work in each ? In Wakefield, rope and oakum beating, hand-weaving with heavy looms, stone-breakiug, tread-wheel, the power of which is applied to industrial purposes; mat-making, to which steam-power is applied to a great extent ; industrial trades, &c. In Grantham, stone-breaking, wood- cutting,. and mat-making, &c. 60. To what circumstances, in each case, are the comparatively high earnings attributable? In Wakefield to the employment of steam-machinery principally; and in Grantham to a ready and profitable market for the sale of prison produce.- 61. Is a prisoner allowed ,any portion of his earnings ? If so, how is that portion determined ? As a rule prisoners are not allowed a portion of their earnings, but well-conducted prisoners who have served any length of time generally receive a small gratuity on discharge. 62. Is overwork encouraged by the prisoner being allowed all the earnings so obtained ? Such is not the rule. 63. Do the prisoners .work by the hour, or are tasks and piecework employed as far as practicable "l Both plans are in use. 64. How many, hours each day, as measured either in time or by piecework, do tlie prisoners generally labor ? v Not more than ten hours, nor less than six, in accordance with clause 34, prisons act. 65. What, during the same time, has been the average annual cost ot each prisoner, including food, clothing, and a proportionate share ot salaries, and of every other expense, except rent; but deducting the money received for prisoners' work (if sold to the public) or its value, it done for government ? 122 INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. The average annual cost of each prisoner varies very considerably in the several prisons, ranging from £10 7s. 3^. in the county prison, Mont- gomery, to £128 14s. id. in the county prison at Oakham. 66. What proportion of the prisoners had not learned a trade or calling prior to their committal '? Out of 157,223 prisoners committed during the year 1870, 20,219 had no occupation. 67. It is made an abject to impart to them the art of self-help ; that is, the power to earn an honest living on their discharge ? If so, in what manner, and with -what results ?^ Prisoners sentenced for any lengthened period have generally facili- ties for learning some trade or occupation. 68. What has been the general length of sentences for the last five years ? We have no means of stating. 69. Are rejjeated short sentences for minor oii'enses found to be of much use; if not, what remedy would you suggest"? We are of opinion that rejfeated short sentences for minor offenses are not of much use, and that the length of sentence should, as a rule, be increased on every successive conviction. 70. What do you think of the policy of substituting unlimited for limited periods of imprisonment, to which criminals are sentenced, so as to make the time of liberation depend ou the prisoner's moral con- dition and on the reasonable expectation of his not relapsing into crime ? We believe that the difficulties attending such a policy would be in- superable. , 71. Under present circumstances are prisoners often set free before their liberation can be considered safe to society or really beneficial to themselves; whether because their moral cure cannot be deemed com- plete, or because they have not the means of getting an honest liveli- hood, either from want of a sufBcient knowledge of some handicraft or from physical or mental weakness? Prisoners must be released according to the existinglaw at the termina- tion of their respective sentences. 72. On the other hand, are prisoners often detained beyond the time when it is fully believed that they could safely be liberated? Same answer as last. 78. Are any of the prisoners confined for debt; if so, is the number large? Yes; but only under the provisions of the act for the abolition of im- prisonment for debt. (32 and 33 Vict., chap. 62.) The numbers so com- mitted are small. 74. What is the longest term for which they are held? The length of sentences is regulated by the above act. 75. Are they treated like other prisoners or differently ? Generally differently. 76. What has been the average proportion of recommittals for the last five years, and upon what data have they been ascertained? We have no means of stating. 77. Are senbences increased on reconviction ? ^ot necessarily so. 78. About what proportion of the inmates owe their committal, it is believed, directly or indirectly, to drink? We have no data. 79. What proportion were minors when committed ? Same answer as last. INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. 123 80. What proportion were orphans by the loss of one or both parents ? Same as last. 81. What is the average proportion of the sexes ? In the year 1870 were admitted 116,240 males and 40,983 females. 82. Is deterrence or reformation generally made the primary object? In the shorter sentences, deterrence; in the longer sentences, both systems are combined. 83. Is the " intermediate system" for gradually preparing prisoners for liberation in use; if so, to what extent and with what results? The "intermediate system," as in use in certain Irish government prisons, is not adopted in either county or borough prisons in this country. 84. Do the mass of the prisoners, as a matter of fact, leave the prisons better or worse morally than they entered them 1 We believe that, as a rClle, prison discipline is beneficial. 85. Are female prisoners, needing such instruction, tauglit to cook" and to sew; and generally are eiforts made to enable a man or woman, on liberation, to avoid a wasteful expenditure, and to turn their wages to the best account ? When the length of sentence admits, female prisoners are generally taught cooking, washing, and sewing. 86. Is any attempt macle to give the prisoners good tastes, such as that for music, so as to diminish the danger of their falling, when lib- erated, into habits of drunkenness or other debasing pleasures? JSTot aware of any prison in which music is taught except for devotional purposes. . ' 87. Is any effort made to induce the prisoners, from their share of their earnings, to help to support their families or to make restitution to those whom they have robbed or otherwise injured? !Not that we are aware. 88. If not, is there any other way in which they can practically give that evidence of moral improvement which is afforded by a willingness to forego selfish advantages for the benefit of others? By willing industry and, cheerful obedience to the rules of the prison and the orders of their officers. 89. Are efforts made to keep up the domestic ties of prisoners, such as allowing them to see members of their family, from time to time, ex- cept when, under the circumstances, these ties must be hurtful? Yes. 90. What agencies are employed to provide discharged prisoners with work, in order to prevent their relapse, and with what results ? Prisoners' aid societies, reformatories, training ships for boys, &c., of all of which we believe the visiting justices to avail themselves as far as practicable. 91. Are any other efforts made, by means of the visits of officers or through prisoners' aid societies, refuges, or otherwise, to encourage dis- charged prisoners desirous of doing well, and to prevent their relapse? Yes. 92. What means are taken to trace prisoners after their discharge in order to ascertain what is their subsequent career? To enable the police to carry out such duties, descriptive returns and photographs are forwarded jto Scotland Yard. t HBNEY BRISCOE, T. FOLLIOTT POWELL, ' Inspectors of Prisons. 124 international penitentiary congress. 3. Ebfoematoeies op Great Britain. 1. What is the number of reformatories in Great Britain ? December 31, 1871, 65. 2. What quantity of land is generally attached to each reformatory ? No fixed amount ; quantity Taries from 1 to 400 acres. 3. What is the aggregate amount of land belonging to or rented by them ? . • About 4,000 acres. 4. How are the funds provided for their support ! Allowance from treasury, 6s. per week per head, contributions from county or borough rates, industrial profits, and voluntary subscrip- tions. 5. Is the principle of the reisponsibility of parents for the full or •partial support of their children, while inmates of the institution, recog- nized and enforced ? If so, what is the average annual sum per inmate received from this source ! Parents are chargeable, under the reform-school act, up to 5s. per week for each child. The majority are too poor to contribute. Payments, when practicable, average Is. 6d. iser week. Eate of assessment. Id. in Is. of wages. 6. What is the total average sum! About £4,000 per annum. 7. What is found to be the effect of the practical application of this principle ? It is a check on the parents' neglect of their children, and counteracts the attraction which the advantages of the reformatory might possibly present. 8. What are the ordinary kinds of work in the reformatories ? Farm-work and gardening, taOoring, shoemaking,. turning, carpentry, wood-chopping, and, in some, weaving or printing. For girls, laundry, house, and needle work. 9. What, about, has been the net average annual value per inmate, of the work; distinguishing that of work employed on articles sold to the public from that of work done for the reformatory ? Such a distinction is impracticable ; the same workshops, boys, and teachers being employed for both sorts of work. The average industrial profits will be about £2 per head per annum, (not quite Is. per week.) 10. In what large reformatory, last year, and in what small one, were the net earnings the highest per head ; and what were the amounts ? Of large reformatories. 1870: Highest, Eed Hill, £1,529 profit; lowest, North Lancashire, £237. Number of inmates : Eed Hill, 300 ; North Lancashire, 100. The amount of industrial profit has nothing to do with the size of the school. Many small schqols make a larger return than some of the large ones, from having bettfer opportunities for the employment of their inmates in the neighborhood of the school. Profits depend on the locality of the school, the demand for labor, the quality of the soil, the capital sunk in drainage and improvements, th« market for the articles manufactured, &c. 11. What is th€> average number of inmates in each of these two reforinatories ? * 12. To what circumstances, in each case, are the comparatively high earnings attributable ? See answers to previous question. INTERNATIONAL, PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. 125 13. What has been the average annual cost of each inmate, including food, clothing, and a proportionate share of salaries, of the estimated rent, and of every other expense whatever; deducting the money received for work, but not the payment by the parents ? Boys— England, 1870 : £18 17s. 9(J!. ; Scotland, £17 Is. M. Girls- England £17 17s. IM. ; Scotland, £13 13s. 6^. 14. "What has been the total average annual cost, so reckoned, of all the inmates % 1870. £108,035 6s. 15. Is the family or congregate system in use ? Most of the schools are on the associated system. Eed Hill, North- eastern, Oalder Farm are on the family or distribution plan. 16. For what kind of offenses are the children usually committed ? Mostly for theft ; in some cases for arson and homicide. 17. What is the process of committal 1 Mostly summary conviction before two magistrates ; also sentence by courts of assize or quarter sessions. 18. What are the usual periods of sentence ? The act prescribes a minimum of two years and a maximum of five years. The average period about three and a half or four years. 19. Must the full term be served out, or may the children be dis- . charged, as reformed, prior to the expiration of their sentence ? The inmates of a reform school can be placed out on probation, under a license, after eighteen months' detention. 20. If they can be so discharged, with whom is this power lodged? They can be discharged at any time by the secretary of state for the home department. 21. Are the children, who have been discharged as reformed, consid- ered still, to some extent, under the care of the institution, so that they can be returned to it if not doling well, or is their discharge uncon- ditional? While on license they can be recalled to the school at any time, if they misconduct themselves, or the situation they have been placed in proves to be unsuitable. When once discharged they are free from any further control. 22. Within what ages are children admissible 1 ' Maximum age, 16 ; minimum, 10, except for children who have been before convicted, or who are tried before courts of assize or quarter session. 23. Are both sexes received into the same institution ? ■ No ; boys' reformatories and girls' reformatories are entirely distinct. 24. In what ways are the children disposed of on their discharge ? Emigration, (mostly to Canada;) enlistment in the army; merchant service at sea. The majority to trades or farm, or domestic service. ■ 25. How is the time divided in regard to labor, schooling, sleep, and recreation? School and work about ten hours daily; sleep, meals, washing, prayers, and recreation about fourteen. 26. Is the discipline most like that of a prison or of a family school? Everything prison-like is entirely avoided. There are no wardens, and, in most cases, no walls. 27. Do the inmates sleep in common dormitories or in separate apart- ments ? If in common dormitories, what supervision is had over them? In common dormitories, usually holding from ten to twenty-five, (some are larger.) One of the assistant teachers sleeps in an adjoining room, or in a cubicle parted from the dormitory. The master usually has 126 INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. supervision of one or two of the rooms from his own room by a window. 28. What proportion of the cliildren are found wholly illiterate on committal? Probably about one-third, but we have no exact return. 29. What, branches of learning are taught ; and how far are the children carried therein? Beading, writing, ciphering, In some cases drawing and geography; school-ships, a little navigation. 30. Has each reformatory a library, inclixding secular as well as re- ligious books? If so, do the children make much use of the books? What time do they have for reading ? Most reformatories have a lending library of both sorts of books. They are generally much used on Sundays and on winter evenings. 31. Has each institution a chaplain ? If so, what are his duties, and how much of his time is devoted to them ? Of the Protestant schooFs, three. Bed Hill, Castle Howard, and Woodbury Hill, are superintended by a clergyman. A few others have a chaplain attachedj who visits, instructs, &c., once or more in the week. All Catholic schools have a chaplain to visit, receive confessions, &c. 32. If there be no chaplain, how is his place supplied? • The superintendent, or schoolmaster, or both, give religious instruc- tion. 33. What rewards are employed as a stimulus to good conduct ? Privileges of food or liberty; distinctions of dress, money, or other prizes. 34. Is the principle of iirogressive classification in use ? If so, how is it worked, and with what effect ? The boys (or girls) rise from class to class by proficiency and merit. 35. What disciplinary punishments are employed? For small offenses, fines and loss of privileges, or partial deprivations of food ; for serious ones, confinement in a cell or corporal punishment. 36. In what large reformatory, last year, and in what small one, were the numbers of punishments least ; and what were they ? [No answer.] 37. To what circumstances are these comparative exemptions from punishment, in each instance, attributable? [No answer.] 38. Are the antecedents of the inmates made matter of record ? Yes. 39. How far is their history, while connected with the institution, recorded ? A monthly or quarterly report is usually drawn up and entered in the " register," or each fault is noted in this on the date of its occurrence. 40. To what extent, and in what ways, are a knowledge of, interest in, and care over them, kept up after their discharge ; and with what results ? The managers of each school are required to report for three succes- sive years, after each inmate's discharge, on his (or her) character and circumstances. A yearly return is obtained also from each prison jof any offender iu jail during the year who is recognized as having been in a reformatory. By this the managers' reports are checked. 41. What' proportion of the children are orphans by the loss of one or both parents 1 Of the 1,612 admitted in 1870, 591 were orphans. 42. What proportions are otherwise outside of the normal family re- INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. 127 lation, by reason of having vagrant, vicious, or criminal parents, or from any other circumstances ? [So answer.] 43. What in general is the sanitary state of each reformatory as re- gards food, drainage, ventilation, water supply, hospital accommoda- tion, means and enforcement of personal cleanliness, &c., &c. ! Good. 44. What are the prevalent diseases, and what the average death- rate? Disease is scarcely known. There are a few cases of consumption, and some of scrofula. The average death-rate is under 5 per thousand, (or one-half per cent.) 45. In what large reformatory, and in what small one, were the ratas of mortality smallest ; and what were they ? [No answer.] 46. To what circumstances are these small rates attributable 1 [No answer.] 47. What are the regulations regarding the correspondence of the in- mates and the visits of friends ; and what inilueuce are these found to exert upon them ^ Letters are allowed once in two or three months. Visits usually once a month, or two months. The influence is good, natural affections being kept up. 48. What is the average period of continuance in the reformatories? About three or three and a half years. 49. Is th^re any special arrangement for training officers for reforma- tories ? There is no training institution. But the treasury allows for the train- ing of a man £40, and of a woman £27, for twelve months, if received into a good reformatory. Very few are trained. 50. What proportion of the inmates are believed, on their liberation, to be reformed ; and upon what data is this belief grounded ? About 75 per cent., average. In some schools from 85 to 95 per cent. In some under 55 per cent. The data are furnished by the returns and reports. See question 40. 51. General and miscellaneous remarks. The reform-schools act, the rules and regulations, and the printed re- port of the inspectors for 1870, will supply the above particulars and much extra information in matterg of detail. 1. Eev. SYDNEY TUENEE, Her Majesty's Inspector of Reform- Schools, 15 Parliament Street. 4. INDUSTEIAL SCHOOLS IN GeEAT BRITAIN. 1. What is the number of industrial schools in Great Britain V December 31, 1871, ninety-two. 2. What quantity of land is generally attached to each reformatory ? Most industrial schools are in towns, and have no land attached. Some few are in the country, and have a garden or a few acres of farm land. 3. What is the aggregate amount of land belongmg to them ? Probably about 100 acres. 4. How are -the funds provided for their support? Treasury allowances, English schools, 5s. per week ; Scotch schools. As. M. per week. Voluntary subscriptions. Payments from county or school rates ; industrial earnings. 128 INTEENATIONAL PENITENTIAEY CONGEESS. 5. Is the principle of the responsibility of parents for the full or par tial support of their children, while inmates 6f the institution, recog- nized and enforced? If so, what is the average annual sum per inmate received from this source ? The law makes the same provision as in the case of reformatories. In Scotland the parish is liable to contribute if the child has been chargeable within three months. 6. What is the total average sum 'I Including payments by parishes in Scotland, about £5,000 per annuiQ. 7. What is found to be the effect of the practical application of this principle '! 8. What are the ordinary kinds of work in the reformatories 1 See answer to questions on reformatories. 9. What, about, has been the net average annual value per inmate of the work; distinguishing that of work employed on articles sold to the public from that of work done for the reformatory ? About £1 per annum per head, or less than 6d. per week. 10. In what large reformatory, last year, and in what small one wjere the net earnings the highest per head; and what were the amounts? The children are mostly too young for their work to be profitable. 11. What is the average number of inmates in each of these two reformatories? [No answer.] 12. To what circumstances, in each case, are the comparatively high earnings attributable? 13. What has been the average annual cost of each inmate, including- food, clothing, and a proportionate share of salaries, of the estimated rent, and of every other expense whatever, deducting the money received for work, but not the payment by the parents ? Industrial schools are of two sorts. One class are for boarders only ;, the other for boarders and day scholars who are only partially fed. In these last the cost per head cannot be accurately distributed. In board- ing schools, the cost is, for England: boys,' about £17 per annum;, for girls, £16 ; for Scotland, boys and girls, about £12. 14. What has been the total average annual cost, so reckoned, of all the inmates ? In 1870, £188,788 14s. lOd. 15. Is the family or congregate sysjem in use ? The congregate. 16. For what kind of offenses are the children usually committed ? Vagrancy, begging, companions of thieves, &c., up to fourteen years of age; petty theft, up to twelve years. (See industrial school aot, § 14.) 17. What is the process of committal ? By two magistrates in England ; one magistrate in Scothind. (See act.) 18. What are the usual periods of sentence? From three to seven years, 'or up to sixteen years of age. 19. Mustthe full term be served out, or may the children be discharged, as reformed, prior to the expiration of their sentence ? 20. If they can be so discharged, with whom is this power lodged ? The rules are the same as for reformatories. See answer for these. 21. Are the children who have been discharged as reformed considered still, to some extent, under the care of the institution, so that they can be returned to it if not doing well ; or is their discharge unconditional ? Same as for reformatories. INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. 129 22. Within what ages are children admissible ? The act prescribes no minimum age; but practically very few are sent under six years of age. The Treasury makes no allowance for any younger than six ; maximum age, fourteen. 23. Are both sexes received into the same institution? If so, are tbey kept entirely separate, or is association permitted within certain limits ? ■ Some schools receive children of both sexes, but most are for either boys or girls ; when both sexes are received they usually meet and asso- ciate at meals, prayers, and school hours. 24. In what ways are the children disposed of on their discharge? 25. How is the time divided in regard to labor, schooling, sleep, and recreation ? 26. Is the discipline most like that of a prison or of a family school? 27. Do the inmates sleep in common dormitories or in separate apart- ments ? If in common dormitories, what supervision is had over them? In all these points the answers are the same as for reformatories. 28. What proportion of the children are found wholly illiterate on committal ? Probably Inore than half; we have no exact returns. 29. What branches of learning are taught ; and how far are the chil- dren carried therein? Eeading, writing, ciphering. 30. Has each industrial school a library, including secular as well as religious books ? If so, do the children make much use of the books ? What time do tbey have for reading? Yes; Sundays and winter evenings. 31. Has each institution a chaplain? If so, what are his duties, and how much of his time is devoted to them ? The Middlesex industrial school has a chaplain who officiates in the chapel of the institution, and superintends the school-teaching and corres- pondence. 32. If there be no chaplain, how is his place supplied ? The superintendent conducts the weekly prayers, ahd gives religious instructions. On Sunday the children attend some church or chapel. 33. What rewards are employed as a stimulus to good conduct? 34. Is the principle of progressive classification in use ? If so, how is it worked, and with what effect ? 35. ^Vhat disciplinary punishments are employed ? The same as for reformatory schools. 36. In what large industrial school, last year, and in what small one, were the numbers of punishments least ; and what were they ? [No answer.] 37. To what circumstances are these comparative exemptions from punishment, in each instance, attributable ? [No answer.] 38. Are the antecedents of the inmates made matter of record ? 39. How far is their history, while connected with ,the institution, recorded ? 40. To what extent, and in what ways, are a knowledge of, interest in, and care over them, kept up after their discharge ; and with what re- sults ? Same as for reformatory schools. 41. What proportion of the children are orphans by the loss of one or ,both parents ? 42. What proportions are otherwise outside of the normal family rela- S. Ex. 39 9 130 INTERNATIONAL 'PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. tion, by reason of having vagrant, vicious, or criminal parents, or from any other circumstances ? The whole number admitted in 1870 was 2,599 ; of these were orphans, 398 ; illegitimate, 164 ; lost one parent, 843 ; deserted by parents, 340 ; one or both parents criminal, 165. 43. What, in general, is the sanitary state of each industrial school as regards food, drainage, ventilation, water supply, hospital accommoda- tion, means and enforcement of personal cleanliness, &c., &c. ? Good. 44. What are the prevalent diseases, and what the average death- rate? A large proportion of the children, especially of those sent to Scotch schools, are scrofulous and consumptive ; but the death-rate for 1870 was only 1.75 (Ig) per cent. 45. In what large industrial school, and in what small one, were the rates of mortality smallest ; and what were they ? [No answer.] 46. To what circumstances are these small rates attributable ? [No answer.] 47. What are the regulations regarding the correspondence of the in- mates and the visits of friends ; and what influence are these found to exert upon them ? Same as for reformatory schools. 48. What is the average period of continuance in the industrial schools ? JFive or six years. 49. Is there any special arrangement for training oflcers for indus- trial schools 1 No. 50. What proportion of the inmates are believed on their liberation to be reformed; and upon what data is this belief grounded ? Of 1,729, discharged in 1867, 1868, 1869, we had the following results : December 31, 1870, died since discharged, 44 ; doing well, 1,175 ; doubt- ful, 138; unknown, 270; convicted of crime, 102. The data are the same as for reformatories. 51. General and miscellaneous remarks. The industrial school act, the inspectors' annual report, and the rules and regulations for industrial schools, will afford further details, SYDNEY TURNER, Ser llajesty^s Inspector of Industrial Schools, 15 Parliament street. VII.— IRELAND. The Convict Prisons of Ireland. 1. What is the number of government convict prisons in Ireland, distinguishing between those designed for the different sexes ? The whole number is four — three male and one female. .2. What is the aggregate capacity of the convict prisons, (a,) the males, (6,) for the females? Male: Mountjoy, 496; Spike Island, 712; Lusk, 100 — 1,308. Fe- male : Mountjoy, 547. 3. How many of these prisons are wholly upon the separate system ? 4. In how many is there provision, after the first period of imprison-' ment, for other stages of discipline, including associated labor ? The Mountjoy male and female prisons are on the separate system INTEENATIOJ^AL PENITENTIAEY CONGRESS. 131 but after the first stages of iinprisonmeat, the prisoners are worked in association by day. 5. How, in each class of prisons, is separation carried out, as regards ■work, exercise, (other than work,) attendance in chapel, and sleep? • See copies of the daily routine of the respective prisons forwarded herewith. , ' 6. How many convict prisoners are placed (under contract with the local authorities) in prisons not belonging to the government? None. 7. What is the aggregate number of cells "? Mountjoy, male, 496; Spike Island: ward cells, 688; light puuish- meiit cells, 22; dark cells, 6— 716. Lusk : no cellular accommodation. Total, 1,212. Mountjoy, female, 505. 8. What are their ordinary dimensions ? .Mountjoy, male, 13 feet long, 7 feet wide, 9 feet high. Spike Island: 372 cells are eacb 6 feet long, 3 feet 7 inches wide, 7 feet high ; 316 cells are eacb 7 feet long, 4 feet wide, 7 feet high ; 11 cells are each 11 feet long, 7 feet wide, 8 feet 6 inches high ; 11 cells are 11 feet long, 7 feet wide, 10 feet 9 inches high ; and 6 cells are 8 feet long, 6 feet wide, 8 feet 10 inches high. Mountjoy, female, 7 feet long, 4 feet wide, 7 feet 6 inches high ; and 12 feet long, 7 feet wide, 9. feet 6 inches high. 9. What furniture do they generally contain ? Mountjoy, male: ta;ble, stool, hammock, &c., washing-basin, quart- tin, and plate. Spike Island : hammock, mattress, pillow and bedding, form table, water-can, washing-basin, urinal, drinking-cup, salt-cup, spoon, candlestick, comb, towel, coir cell brush. Mountjoy female: table, stool, bed, bedding, and towel, dusting, shoe, and hair brushes, combs, (2,) quart tin, tin dish, basin, spoon, and chambers, (2.) 10. What are the rules, framed according to law, in regard to the certification of the cells, and their visitation by oflScers ; and in respect to the visits to the prisons by the inspectors of prisons? See copies of rules approved of by the Irish government, forwarded herewith. 11. How -far are these rules carried into efi'ect ? They are fully carried out. 12. What has been the average number of prisoners in the convict prisons in the last five years ? See appendix to annual report for 1870, herewith. , 13. What are the chief internal regulations of these prisons '? See daily routine, and copies of rules for prisoners herewith. 14. How are the of&cers appointed, and what is their tenure of office? They are appointed by the Irish government, at whose pleasure they hold office. 15. What qualifications are required, and in what manner are they tested? Test examination by civil-service commissioners. See candidates' form herewith. 16. What provision is made for superannuated and disabled officers ? Pensions and compensations are awarded by the lords commissioners of Her Majesty's treasury, under the scales laid down by the superan- nuation acts. 17. Are rewards employed to stimulate the prisoners to good conduct and industry ? If so, of what kinds and to what extent ? Yes ; classification,, gratuities, and a remission of portion of impris- onment by release, or license, &c. Fully explained in rules and forms herewith. 132 INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CO'NGKESS.. 18. Is there a system of progressive classiflca/tioH ? If so, how i» it -worked, and with what results 1 Yes. See rules which explain the working of classification. Ilesults are satisfactory. 19. What punishments are used for breaches of prison rules or other misconduct? Privation of diet and reduction in classification. See rules.- 20. Is corporal punishment ever employed? Yery rarely. 21. Is a full record of punishments kept? Tes. 22. What kind of offenses are most common ? Insolence, unnecessary talk, arid inattention to orders. 23. In what convict prison last year Was the number of punishments- least, and what was it? In Lusk. 24. To what circumstances is this comparative exemption from pun- ishment attributable ? Entirely owing to the exceptional circumstances of the establishment and to the class of prisoners sent there. 25. Are prisoners always allowed to make complaints of grievancfesy real or fancied ? If so, to whom ; and what attention is paid to their complaints ; and what security is there that the complaints shall be properly examined ? Yes ; to directors, or governors, or superintendents of the pjisons^ Statement taken down in writing, and decision made accordingly.' See rules. 26. How far are n)oral forces used in the discipline of the convict prisons, and what is found to be the comparative efiicacy of moral and coercive agencies? Bee rules. We are unable to state whether good prison conduct is the- result of the moral or coercive agency of the system. 27. Do the inmates of the convict prisons wear a party-colored dress ? The male prisoners wear frieze, with a distinctive stripe. ■ The female prisoners are, as at all latge institutions, dressed alike. 28. Is your own opinion for or against such a prison dress ; and, in either case, upon what grounds ? Yes ; as a precajition against escape, arid to secure uniformity. 29. Is the mask worn in the Irish convict prisons ? What is your judgment of its utility or the reverse ? . No. 30. To what extent are chaplains employed,: 'and of what denomina- tions are they ? Chaplains of the Episcopal, Prfesbyterian, and Eoman Catjiolic denom- inations ; regularly appointed oflflcers of the prison, who devote their time to th^ religious instruction of the prisoners. See rules. 31. What religious services are held on Sunday and during the week? See daily routine. 32. Are religious tracts and papers distributed to the convicts? No ; but approved religious books are supplied to the prisoners. 33. Are volunteer working visitors of either or both sexes admitted into the prisons? If so, uuder what restrictions and with what re- sults ? Not at the male prisons. Ladies of a religious community visit th© INTEENATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGEESS. 133 Boman Catholic convicts, and ladies of their own persuasion the Epis- copalians and Presbyterians, to prepare them for the refuges. 34. In what spirit do the prisoners receive efforts for their moral and religious improvement? Generally satisfactory. . 35. What are the regulations relating to the correspondence of pris- (Oners ? See rules. 36. What in relation to visits from friends ? See rules. 37. Are the letters and visits of friends found to be beneficial to the prisoners or otherwise ? ' Usually beneficial. 38. What proportion of prisoners are found, on their admission, either wholly illiterate or so imperfect in their knowledge of reading as to derive neither instruction nor entertainment from it ? Males, 21.74 per cent. ; females, 63.22 per cent. 39. What provision is made for the schooling of prisoners 1 Schoolmasters and schoolmistresses are attached to each prison. 40. What branches are taught, and what progress is made therein f See schoolmasters' and schoolmistresses' reports, in directors' annual reports. 41. Is there a library in each' convict prison, including secular as well as religious books ? Yes. 42. What, about, is the average number of volumes ? Mountjoy, male, 592. Mountjoy, female," 290. Spike Island — ^secular books, 380 ; religious books, 4,180 ; total, 4,560. Lusk — library books, 50.* 43. Do many of the prisoners show a fondness for reading 1 Yes. 44. What time have they for reading ? About an, hour each evening, and on Sundays and holidays. 45. What, iu a general way, are the sanitary arrangements and con- dition of the prisons ? The sanitary arrangements of the prisons are excellent, and the con- dition of the prisons satisfactory. 46. What are the prevailing diseases ? Colds, mild febrile and ijulmonary affections. See reports from med- ical officers in directors' annual reports. 47. What has been the average annual death-rate for the last &v& •years ? See appendix, directors' annual report for 1870. 48. In what prison last year was the rate of mortality smallest, and what was that rate 1 Mountjoy, male, ho-death in the year 1870. 49. To what circumstances is this small rate attributable? The satisfactory sanitary state of the prison, as well as the limited periods of detention therein. 50. Is there a distinction made in the convict prisons between penal and industrial labor ? If so, what kinds of each are in use? The only penal labor in use is oakum-picking in Mountjoy Male Con- vict Prison for the first three months of a prisoner's confinement in sep- * The religious boots are chiefly Bibles, prayer-books, and catechisms of the Episco- pal and Roman Catholic Churches. 134 INTEENATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGEESS. aration. The industrial labor in use consists chiefly in making mats, matting, mattresses, and shoes in Monntjoy Male Convict Prison. Tail- oring, shirt-making, and washing in Mountjoy Female Convict Prison. Agricultural work at Lusk Prison, and out-door employment on public works, as stone-cutting, masonry, quarrying, and laboring at Spike Isl- and Prison. 51. Is the deterrent effect of penal labor found to be considerable ? What is found to be its effect upon the health of the prisoners ? What its moral influence 1 Its effect upon the health of the prisoners is not injurious. We are unable to give a decided opinion upon the other parts of this query. 62. Is penal labor utilized in the convict prisons? If so, what is its average daily value in money jper capita ? . Each prisoner, for the first three months of his confinement in Mount- joy Male Convict Prison, is required to pick daily four pounds of oakum, value about 2\d. 53. Upon what principle is the industrial labor of the convict prisons organized ; on a contract system or some other ? See tables of the estimated value of prisoners' labor in the published annual reports. 54. What have been the average annual net e^nings, per head, of the prisoners in the last five years, exclusive of any portion allowed to the prisoner himself ? We are unable to give any further information on this subject than what is contained in the published annual reports for the last five years, herewith. See also reply to query 59. 55. In what prison, last year, were the net earnings the highest per head; and what was the amount? See reply to query 64. 66. What is the average number of prisoners there? Same answer as above. 57. What are the chief kipds of work there? Same answer as above. 58. To what circumstances are the comparatively high earnings attributable? Same answer as above. 69. Is a prisoner allowed any portion of his earnings? If so, how is that portion determined ? The only allowance given to a convict is a gratuity, which is depend- ent on his classification. A prisoner has no claim to' any portion of his earnings. (50. Is overwork encouraged by the prisoner being allowed all the earn- ings so obtained ? No ; see reply to query 59. 61. Do the prisoners work by the hour, or are tasks and piecework employed as far as practicable ? ' Chiefly by the hour; piecework is in use as far as practicable in the female prison. 62. How many hours each day, as measured either in time or bypiece- • work, do the prisoners generally labor? See daily routine. 63. What, during the last five years, has been the average annual cost of each prisoner, including food, clothing, and a proportionate share of salaries, and of the estimated rent, (say at the rate of 5 per cent, on the cost of the building,) and of every other expense whatever, but deduct- INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. 135 ing the money received for prisoners' work (if sold to the public) or its value, if employed on public works belonging to the Government, and unconnected with the prison ? A complete answer to the question cannot be furnished from this de- partment, portions of the expenditure, as for fuel, light, buildings, re- pairs, rents, and taxes, being defrayed by another department. 64. How much of this cost is put down for rent ? See reply to query 63. 65. What proportion of the prisoners had not learned a trade or call- ing prior to their committal ? About 35 per cent. '" 66. Is it made an object to impart to them the art of self-help, that is, the power to earn an honest living on their discharge ? If so, in what manner and with what results ? Th^is can only be done to a certain extent ; the results are satisfac- tory. 67. What has been the ^average length of sentences for the last five years? Males, seven and one-third years and life; females, six years and eighty-five days. , 68. What has been the proportion of life sentences for the last five years ? Males 3^ per cent.; females 1.35 per cent. 69. Do prisoners for life receive the same treatment as other pris- oners ? Tes; excepting that they are not sent to intermediate prisons or refuges. ' 70. What portion of the prisoners committed in each of the last five years had been in a convict prison before ? Year. Males. Females. 1867 .1 n 1868 1869 1870 : 1871 71. What portion had been previously committed to any prison? Year. Males. Females. 1867 . . i n 1868 ■. U 1869 1870 a 1871 ft 72. Prom what data have the re-committals been ascertained ? Personal identification, records received with prisoners from county ■ and city jails, and by photography. 136 INTEENATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGKESS. 73. What proportion of the prisoners were minors when committed ? Year. Males. Females. 1867 8.43 ■ 12.i97 1.3. 66 9.31 15.62 1.81 1868 .75 1869. 2.53 1870 4.63 1871 1.73 74. Is deterrence or reformation made the primary object? Both deterrence and reformation are combind in the Irish system. 75. Are the prisoners able, by industry and good conduct, to shorten their periods of confinement? If so, to what extent? Tes. See scale herewith. 76. What do you think of the policy of substituting unlimited for limited periods of imprisonment, to wiiich criminals are sentenced, so as to make the time of liberation depend on the prisoners moral condi- tion, and the reasonable expectation of his not relapsing into crime? Mr. Murray is of .opinion that, subject to the modifications suggested to the transportation committee of the House of Commons, first report 1856, by Mr. M. D. Hill, unlimited imprisonment would be a wise and most valuable addition to the criminal code of the nation. See, also, Mr. Hill's charge for October, 1855, and the sequel to it in his " Sugges- tions for the repression of crime." Captain Barlow does not approve of such a policy. 77. Under present circumstances, are prisoners often set free before their liberation can be considered safe to society, or really beneficial to themselves; whether because their moral cure' cannot be deemed com- plete, or because they have not the means of getting an honest liveli- hood, either from want of a sufiQcient knowledge of some handicraft, or from physical or mental weakness ? Mr. Murray replies to all the points arising in tbis query ii¥ the affir- mative, and hence one of his grounds of belief, as stated in his reply to 76, are the advantages of unlimited imprisonment. 78. On the other hand, are prisoners often detained beyond the time when it is fully believed that they could safely be liberated ? Some such cases occur. Mr. Murray states that in his opinion such cases do beyond all doubt occur. 79. Is the " intermediate system," for gradually preparing prisoners for liberation, in use ? If so, to what extent, and with what results? Yes; with satisfactory results. Details will be found in annua] reports. 80. Do the mass of prisoners, as a matter of fact, leave the prisons better or worse, morally, than they entered them ? If not re-convicted, it is to be assumed that improvement has taken place. 81. Are female -prisoners, needing such instructions, taught to cook and sew ; and, generally, are efforts made to enable a man or woman, on liberation, to avoid a wasteful expenditure, and to turn their wages to the best account ? Tes; to sew, and, to a certain extent, to cook. Our answer to the second part of the question, is: As far as possible. 82. Is any attempt made to give the prisoners good tastes, such as INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. 137 that for music, so as to diminish the dan'ger of their falling, when lib- erated, into habits of drunkenness, or otlier debasing pleasures '? We should consider anj' such arrangement as teaching music unsuit- able in a prison. 83. Is any effort made to induce the prisoners, from their share of their earnings, to help to support their families, or to make restitution to those whom they ^ave robbed, or otherwise injured 1 The only case in which convicts can assist their families is where they had, on conviction, private property ; this, under certain regulations, they can send to their friends. 84. If not, is there any other way in which they can ijractically give that evidence of moral improvement which is afforded by a willingness to forego selfish advantages for the benefit of others 1 85. Are efforts made to keep up' the domestic ties of prisoners, such as allowing them to see members of their family, from time to time, ex- cept when, under the eircumstances, these ties must be hurtful ? Yes ; such efforts are made ; prisoners are allowed to be visited by friends when their conduct merits it. See rules. 86. What agencies are employed to provide discharged prisoners with work, in order to prevent their relapse ; and with what results 1 An agent in the case of male prisoniers is appointed, with satisfactory results. See reply to query 87. 87. Are any other efforts made, through prisoners' aid societies, ref- uges, or otherwise, to encourage discharged prisoners, desirous of doing well, and to prevent their relapse ? Yes ; by the " Golden Bridge Eefuge" and the " Shelter," for females. 88. What means are taken to trace prisoners after their discharge^ ia order to ascertain what' is their subsequent career? Not beyond expiration of sentence. While on license the convicts are under police supervision provided by fifth section of prevention of crimes act, 1871. (Copy herewith.) 89. General and miscellaneous remarks. .Such fuM details are given of the working of the system, in the annual departs, that we consider remarks unnecessary. PATEIOK JOSEPH MUEEAY, J. BAELOW, Directors. March 6, 1872. * Mount Joy Male Prison. Daily rautine of prisoners in separation and assomatio-n. In gammer — hours. 5L30a.m «to7a.m..- 7 to 9 a. m. . - 9 to 9. 30 a. m S.30 toSp.m S to 3 p. m . - . 3 to 7 p. m — 7 to 7. 15 p. m Disposal of time — prisoners in separation. First bell, prisoners rise, wash, make their beds, and sweep their cells. Exercise Work in cells '. ^ Breakfast hour Work in cells, except one hour's schooling, daily, for first and second schnol olaaaes, and one hour's schooling three dajsin the week for third school class. Dinner hour and school-teaching in cells Work in cells Supper, and double-look prisoners retire to bed at SJ^o'clook, and gas extinguished in cells at 8i o'clock, p. m. In winter — houis. to 8 a.m. to 9,a. m. to 9. 30 a. m. SO to 2 p. m. to 3 p. m. to 7 p. m. to 7. 15 p. m. 138 / INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. Ten and a half hours' work daily in summer and nine and a half hours in the winter months, Eoman Catholic'' prisoners, in separation, attend chapel from 7 to 8 o'clock a. m., on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Prida,ys. Protestant pris- oners, in separation, attend church from 10 to 11 o'clock a. m., on Mondays, Fridays, and Saturdays. Sundays and holidays Roman Catholic prisoners attend mass from 7 to 8 a. m. Eeligious instruc- tions from 12 to 1 p. m. The Protestant prisoners at Divine service from 10 to 11 a. m. ; Presbyterian prisoners from 8 to 9 a. m. The re- mainder of the day is devoted to reading in cells, except two hours for exercise. In snmmer— hours. Disposal of time — prisoners in association. In -winter — ^honrs. 5 30 a. m First bell, prisoners rise, -wasb, mate their beds, and sweep their cells. "Work 6. 30 a. m. 10 to 2 p. m "Work J-O to 2 p. m. 2 to 3 p. m. 3 to 6 p. m: 6 to 7 p. in. 7 to 7,15 p.m. , "Work, except one hour's exercise daily to the advanced class . . . School 6 to 7 p. m 7 to 7.15 p. m Supper, and double-lock prisoners retire to bed at 8J o'clock, and gas extinguished in cells at 8i o'clock p. m. Nine hours' work daily in summer and eight hours' in the winter months. Prisoners, in association, attend chapel from 7 to 8 o'clock a. m., on Tuesdays and Fridays ; with these exceptions, the routine is the same as on the other days. On Sundays and holidays the Eoman Catholic prisoners attend mass from 7 to 8 a. m., and for religious instructions between 12 and 1 o'clock p. m., and the ,Protestant prisoners attend Divine service from 10 to 11 a. m., and the Presbyterian prisoners from 8 to 9 a. m. The remainder of the day is devoted to reading* in their cells and exercise. The Protestant prisoners attend at religious instructions otf Mondays from 10 to 11 a. m., and on Fridays at Divine service from 10 to 11 o'clock a. m., and on Saturdays, for issue and exchange of books, from 10 to 11 a. m. P. N. HACKBTT, Governor. Febettaky 9, 1872. Mount Joy Female Convict Prison, Janxjaey 23, 1872. Daily routine for summer months. Prison unlocked at 6 o'clock a. m. Prisoners' breakfast served at 6.30 a. m. Matrons' breakfast hour, 1st, 6.45 to 7.45 a. m. Matrons' breakfast hour, 2d, 7.45 to 8.45 a. m. Prisoners' dinner served at 11.30 a. m. Matrons' dinner hour, 1st, 11.45 a. m. to 12.45 p. m. Matrons' dinner hour, 2d, 1 to 2 p. m. Prisoners' supper served at 5.15 p. m. Prison locked at 6 p. m. INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. 139 PRAYERS. Eoman Catholic prisoners, probation class, 8.40 to 9 a. m. Morning. Protestant and Presbyterian prisoners, 6 to 6.20 a. m. A, Fjrst, second, third, and probation classes, (morning.) Eoman Catholic prisoners, second and third classes, 4 to 4.20 p. m.. Uvening. Eoman Catholic, first and A classes, 4.45 to 5.5 p. m. Protestant and Presbyterian prisoners, 4.45 to 5.5 p. m. First and A classes, evening. ' SCHOOL HOURS. From 8 to 11 a. m., and from 2 to 4.30 p. m., daily, (Saturdays ex- cepted.) Second and third class prisoners attend daily from 3 to 3 o'clock p. m. Probation class, from 3 to 4.15 p. m., daily. First and A class prisoners on alternate days, frqm 9 to 11 a. m. ; of these classes, the prisoners in third and fourth books, and those em- ployed in cleaning the prison, join the others from 10 to 11 a. m. Eefuge class not employed in laundry, (those employed in laundry do not attend at all,) from 8 to 9 o'clock a. m., daily. Hours of labor, 9| daily. Prayers, exercise, school, and labor go on simultaneously. DELIA I. SID WILL, Superintendent. MoTJNT Joy Female Convict Prison, January 23, 1872. Daily routine for winter months. Prison unlocked at 7 o'clock a. m". Piasoners' breakfast served at 7.15 a. m. Matrons' breakfast hour, 1st, 7.30 to 8.30 a m. Matrons' breakfast hour, 2d, 8.30 to 9.30 a. ih. Prisoners' dinner served at 12 m. Matrons' dinner hour, 1st, 12.15 to 1.15 p. m. Matrons' dinner hour; 2d, 1.30 to 2.30 p. m. Prisoners' supper served at 5.15 p. m. Prison locked at 6 p. m. PRAYERS. Eornan Catholic prisoners, probation class, 9.40 to 10 a. m. Morni7ig. Protestant and Presbyterian prisoners, 7 to 7.20 a. m. A, first, second, third, and probation classes, morning. Eoman Catholic prisoners, second and third classes, 4.30 to 4.50 p.m. 140 INTEENATIOKAL PENITENTIARY CONGEESS.^ Emnimg. Eoman Catholic, first and A classes, 4.45 to 5,5 p. m. / Protestant and Presbyterian prisoners, 4.45 to 5.5 p. m. Pirst and A classes, evening. SCHOOL HOTJES. From 8.45 to 11.30 a. m., and from 2 to 4.30 p. m., daily, (SaturAay ^excepted.) Sec(5nd and third class prisoners attend daily from 2 to 3 p. m. Probation class prisoners attend from 3 to 4 p. m. First and A class prisoners on alternate days from 9.30 to 11.30 a. m. ■Of these classes, the prisoners in third and fourth books, and those em- ployed in cleaning the prison, join the others from 10.30 to 11.30 a. m. Kefuge class not employed in laundry, (those employed in laundry, do not attend at all,) from 8.45 to 9.30 a. m., daily.- Hours of labor, 9 daily. Prayers, exercise, school, and labor go on simultaneously. DELIA I. SID WILL, Superintendmt. Mount Joy Female Convict Peison. Sunday routine for winter months. Prison unlocked at 7 a. m. Eoman Catholic service (1st) from 7.15 to 8 o'clock a. m. Eoman Catholic service (2d) from 8.15 to 9 o'clocik a. m. (Half the number of prisoners attend the first service and the othe^r half the second service.) Projiestant service from 7.15 to 8.15 ^. m. (For all Protestant prison- ers.) Presbyterian service from 10 to 11 o'clock a. m. (For all Presbyterian prisoners.) Benediction for the Eoman Catholic prisoners who attended the first service from 11 to 12 a. m. Prayers for all creeds from 12 noon to 12.30 p. nj. Matrons' breakfast hour (1st) from 8 to 9 o'clock a. m. Matrons' breakfast hour (2d) from 9.15 to 10.15 a. m. Prisoners' breakfast served at 9 o'clock a. m. Matrons' dinner hour (1st) from 11*45 a. m. to 12^45 p. m. Matrons' dinner hour (2d) from 1 to 2 o'clock p. m. Prisoners' dinner served at 12.40 o'clock p. m. Probation, third, second, laundry, and invalid classes, exercised 'be- fore the dinner hour, and the first and advanced' classes from 2.15 ato 3.15 p. m. Prisoners' supper served at 4 o'clock p. m. Prison locked at 5 o'clock p. m. DELIA I. SID WILL, Siiperintendent. Febeuaey 12, 1872. Mount Joy Female Convict Peison. Sunday routine/or summer months. Prison unlocked at 6 .30 o'clock a. m. Uoman Catholic service (1st) from 6.45 to 7.30 o'clock a. m. INTERNATIONAL, PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. 141 Eoman Catholic service (2d) from 7.45 to 8.30 o'clock a. m. Protestant service from 6.45 to 7.45 o'clock a. m. Presbyterian service from 10 to 11 o'clock a. m. Matrons' breakfast hour (1st) from 7.30 to 8.30 o'clock a. m. Matrons' breakfast hour (2d) from 8.45 to 9.45 o'clock a. m. Prisoners' breakfast served at 8.30 o'clock a. m. All the other arrangements same as given in winter "months, Sundav routine. DELIA I. SIDWILL, Febettaby 12, 1872 Superintendent. Spike Island CbNtiCT Prison. Detailed statement of the daily routine. SUMMER. First hell, 5 o^clodc a. m. — Prisoners arise and make up beds ; officers same and collect in the prison from outside. Second hell, 5f a. m.— Parade of ofQcers ; unlock prison, draw rations, and serve breakfast. Third hell, 6^ a. m. — Breakfast, officers and prisoners, the intern guard (second relief) continuing on duty. Fourth hell, 6f a. m. — Parade of day-officers ; prison unlocked, and officers and prisoners attend their respective places of worship. Prayers read for the Protestants and Presbyterians by officers of these persua- sions, the Eoman Catholic chaplain or his assistant officiating in chapel 5 time occupied in prayers from fifteen to twenty minutes. Fifth hell, 7^ a. m. — Parade after prayers. Prisoners marched to their respective places of employment, where they remain until dinner-bell, at quarter to 12 noon. N Sixth hell, quarter to 12 noon. — Prisoners recalled from work for dinner. Prison locked up at 12 o'clock noon, the two night-reliefs (with the ex- ception of those on leave) posted on extern and intern duty during the dinner-hour. Seventh hell, Ip. m. — ^Warders parade and unlock prison. Prisoners marched to labor under their respective officers and remain on the works until 6 p. m., when the recall-bell rings and supper is served out. School- ing is carried on in the prison up to 8 o'clock p. m. WINTER. The winter routine is the same as the summer, exceptthat the unlock- ing in the morning and the locking up at night varies with the light, according as the daj^s shorten and lengthen, and that during the winter months the warders breakfast before going on duty. ' The Prdtestant and Presbyterian chaplains attend two days a week each, viz : Tuesday and Saturday, and on Saturday afternoons por- tions of the prisoners of each religious persuasion ate withdrawn from the works and receive instructions from their respective chaplains for two hours. The entire body of the convicts leave off work two hours earlier on Saturdays than on other week-days for the purpose of bathing and feef- waShing, cleaning shoes, exchanging clothing, &c. 142 INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. Sunday routine. First hell, 6| a. m. — Prisoners arise and make up beds. Second hell, 1 a. m. — Parade of officers ; unlock prison, draw rations and serve breakfast. Third bell, 7^ a. m. — Prisoners parade and attend mass till about 8J- a. m.; they are ftien marched to their respective wards and locked up. Fourth bell, 8J a. m.— Prison officers paraded and dismissed to break- fast, the intern duty being taken up by the first relief of the previous night. Fifth bell, 9 J a. m. — Officers para"de after breq^kfast and Unlock prison, the sick are taken to hospital, the Presbyterian prisoners attend serv- ice, and the others ^re exercised by classes round the prison square. Sixth bell, 10.55 a. m. — ^Eoman Catholic service, which is over about 12 o'clock or soon after, exercise till 12f o'clock. Protestant service fromllf tol2J. Seventh bell, 1 p. m. — Dinner served. Dinner hour from IJ to 2J for both officers and prisoners ; 2J o'clock parade of prisoners, and their persons and clothing inspected by the chief and principal warders. Prisoners at exercise or reading in their wards till lock-up, which is at 6 o'clock in summer and varies with the light in winter. PETBE HAT, Governor. January 19, 1872. LusK Convict Prison. Daily routine of duty for prisoners. 5 a. m. Eing bell ; fold bedding and dress. 5.30 a. m. Eing bell ; officers parade, unlock huts, and roll-call. 6.45 ib. m. Eing bell; prayers. 6 a. m. Eing bell ; breakfast. '6.30 a. m. Eing bell ; parade prisoners in classes to work. 12 p. m. Eing bell ; dinner. 1 p. m. Eing bell ; resume work. v 5 p. m. Eing bell ; return from work, and supper. 5.30 a. m. Eing bell ; to school and lecture. 7.30 p. m. Eing bell ; make beds. 7.45 p. m. Eing bell ; to prayers. 8 p. m.- Eing bell; count prisoners ; lock up. 9 p. m. Eing bell ; to bed. E. GUNNING, Superintendent. liusK Convict Prison. Daily routine of prisoners^ employment on Sundays and holidays. '6.00 a. m, Eing bell; fold bedding and dress. 6.30 a. m. Eing bell ; officers parade; unlock huts. 6.45 a. m. Eing bell ; breakfast. 8.00 a. m. Eing bell ; prisoners let out to exercise. 8.30 a. m. Eing bell ; count all ; Eoman Catholics to prayers, at village chapel. 11.00 a. m. Eing bell;"^Eoman Catholics_from"prayers ; parade all. INTEENATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGEESS. 143 11.45 a church. 12.30 p. m. 1.30 p. m. 2.00 p. m. 2.30 p. m. 3.00 p. m. 4.00 p. in. 4.45 p. m. 5.00 p. m. 6.00 p. m. 7.45 p. m, S.OO p. m. m. Eing bell ; parade all ; Protestants to prayers at village Ring bell ; Eing bell ; Eing bell ; Eing bell; Eing bell J Eing bell ; Eing bell ; Eing bell ; Eing bell ; Eing bell ; Eing bell ; prisoners to read in hut. prisoners let out to exercise. Protestants retarn from prayers ; dinner. lecture. prisoners let out to exercise. general parade. • make beds. supper. to read in hut. to prayers. count prisoners ; lock up. , LusK Convict Prison. -Employment of time in school. Day. Subjects. Reading, spelling, writing, aritliinetic Reading, writing, English gramrfiar. Geography from maps, exercises on ship. Reading, spelling, writing, from dictation. Competitive examination. Simple accounts. Moral lessons. Friday ".. -.. ^ ... Saturdav . .... Hours of instruction from 5J till 7^ p. m. C. DALY, School Instructor. YIIJ.— EUSSIA. [Eo answers were furnished, by the Eussiaa government to the ques- tions submitted ; but Count W. Sollohub, the originator, six years ago, of an exceedingly interesting experiment in prison discipline at Moscow, communicated a paper, detailing the progress and results of that experi- ment down to June 1, 1872. He had previously, several years since, communicated, for publication in one of the annual reports of the New York Prison Association, a more general paper, giving a full description of the prison system of the Eussian empire. The essay now furnished is a sequel to the former; and as that gave an account of the establish- ment and early workings of the house of correction at Moscow, this gives the results of six years of intelligent and earnest work in it ; results which must be regarded as equally remarkable and gratifying. Its perusal cannot fail to interest and instruct all who watch the signs of progress in this important department of social philosophy.] 1. Count Sollohub's report. [Translation.] The paper sent' to the Prison Association of New York was written at the time when the house of correction at Moscow had just inaugurated 144 INTEENATIONAL PENITENTIAKY CONGRESS. a new prison system. That system took for its basis a theory of prison labor till then unknown. It maintained, so fur as the execution of the sentence was concerned, the most inflexible rigor. But it did not lose sight of the day when the prisoner should recover his liberty. In view of that day it prepared for the liberated convict the possibility of ac- quiring habits^of order, useful knowledge, and a capital in money, in- dispensable as% shield against new temptations. The system thus offered a twofold combination — that of preventing relapses and that of augmenting the resources of the administration by giving to the pris- oners an interest in the profits of the establishment. It was necessary to await, from time, the results of this experiment. We are already able to cite some statistics which have a mute eloquencie. The prison entei^ed upon its untried path in 1865, though still embar- rassed by the progress of the constructions, and amid the hesitations which always" accompany a new experiment. A report, published June 1, 1871, furnishes the following results : There were admitted into the two houses of correction — male and female — from 1865 to 1871 : Men. Women- Sentenced for a term of more than a year 1,316 200 Sentenced for a term of Jess than a year 486 207 Imprisoned by desire of their parents 17 2 Total 1,819 409 J 1, 819 I Grand total 2,128 It is necessary here to call attention to the fact that, as the fixing of the minimum of one year for correctional imprisonment is made the object of general legislative measures, the house of correction of Moscow could not be an exception. It is, therefore, only from a population of 1,316 men and 200 women that a judgment can be formed of the effect of the new system. The results of the industrial workshops, shown by the statistics, are as follows : Prisoners recognized in the prison as master-workmen and who have become entitled to wages : Boot-makers 164 since 1865. Hosiers ." 136 since 1865. Weavers pf linen ■.... 84 since 1868. Weavers of woolen stuffs 103 since 1869. Weavers of ribbons 93 since 1868. " Weavers of galloons 110 since 1867. Weavers of belts 50 since 1868. Weavers of scarfs 17 Shoemakers 69 since 1865, closed in 1868. Book-binders 29 since 1865, closed in 1868. Preparers of chips 35 since 1866, closed i,n 1867. Glovers 1 since 1866, closed in 1866. Cotton-spinners 2 since 1866, closed in 1868,. Makers of binders' boards ' 8 since 1865, closed in 1871. Tailors 58 since 1866. Makers of cigarettes 56 since 1868, closed in 1871. Total 1,015 Thus the prison has given back;to society 1,015 artisans, the majority of whom had previously no knowledge of a trade. The following table affords proof that the prisoner, moved by the hope of regaining for himself a position above want, becomes an excel- lent workman, and so is able to break oft' from those vicious habita which were sure to plunge him again into misery. INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. 145 The report shows that the industrial labors thus executed have produced — Boots 15,425 pairs. Hosiery 22,888 pieces. Thread 64,015 archiuos. Woolea clotU 57,363 avchines. Ribbous 1, l.'ie, 192 archines. Galloons 1, 324, 803 archinea. Girdles 36,653 pieces. Scarfs 27,016 pieces. Shoes 41,733 pairs. Binders' boards 9,065 pieces. Cuttings of chips 1,653 pounds. Gloves 1,710 pieces. Calicoes 9,600 pieces. Manufacture of wearing apparel , 4,132 pieces. In addition to the above, the women have knit 20,162 pairs of stock- ings and made 310 nets. Bach workman being pushed on by his own interest and the fear of fines, which have not in the aggregate exceeded 216 rubles 51 copecks in six years, there is no occasion to stimulate his zeal or to have recourse to measures of severity. The earnings of the master-workmen amounted, during that time, to the sum of 10,062 rubles 79 copecks for the day of liberation, and 4,020 rubles 65 copecks spent in the purchase of tea, which the master-work- men distributed to their apprentices. The earnings received by the prisoners have, therefore, amounted to 14,082 rubles 34 copecks. The treasury of the administration has received for its share of the profits only 6,705 rubles 98 copecks, the result of the skilled labor, but it has gained abundantly from the unskilled labor. The washing done for the hospitals and alms-houses in the neighborhood has brought in 7,812 rubles 97 copecks. For the prison itself it has saved an expenditure, which would otherwise have been necessary, of 3,932 rubles 95 copecks, to say nothing of mending to the value of 650 rubles 75 copecks. The products of the kitchen-gardens represent a sum amounting to 6,867 rubles 73 copeks. In addition to the above, there were made 3,949,459 wrappers for newspapers, realizing to the administration 1,036 rubles 50 copecks. In a word, if the value of the unskilled and gratuitous labor of the prisoners had been estimated, they would have represented 135,705 days of labor, amounting in value to at least 9,840 rubles 61 copecks. The sum total of the general revenue of the prison, it will thus be seen, has amounted to 50,498 rubles 70 copecks. If there be added the savings on the expenses allowed on the maintenance, &c., which have amounted in six years to 10,267 rubles 35 copecks, spent in the purchase of linen, clothing, &c., the general balance-sheet will represent a total gain of 60,766 rubles 17 copecks, of which sum about one-fourth will have gone to the prison workmen and three-fourths to the adminis- tration. This proportion seems normal, and it would be difficult to obtain a proportion more advantageous, at least without impeding the reformation of the prisoners and lowering the quality of the work. The treasury of the house of correction of Moscow contained on the 1st June," 1871, the sum of 20,603 rubles 75 fcopecks in vouchers and coin. The administration had not received a stiver in the way of capital for the organization of labor. The state had only altered the old buildings and added some new ones, which involved an expenditure of about 90,000 rubles. Thus it will be seen that about one-fourth of this sum had been re-imbursed in June, 1871. ^ The honor of such a result belongs not alone to the idea of the new system, -but still more to its execution. We cannot pass in silence the services rendered in this regard by Lieutenant Colonel Mertz, immediate director of the prison. It is to his energy, his spirit of order and econ- omy, his extraordinary integrity, and his entire devotion, that the es- S. Ex. 39 10 146 INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. tablishraent under his direction owes its reputation, and has been able to attract the attention of the students of penitentiary science. Do not the statistics cited above go far toward the solution of the most difficult problem in the establishment of penitentiaries, viz, the financial problem ? Who has not heard a thousand times that society, not being able to command pecuniary means for citizens who behave well, has not the moral right to draw upon them, to any great extent, for citizens who behave ill? Does it not follow that no civilized country possesses a complete and rational system of means for attaining the various ends of penitentiary discipline ? Has not every country some prisons which it willingly shows, and others which it would like to conceal ? A correctional prison, such as that which we propose, is no longer an expense to the state ; it is an investment. Nothing is easier than to effect a loan, with redemption guaranteed by the state. Such loan would be largely paid from the labor of the prisoners, when once they saw in that labor not simply a sterile vexation, but the only means of escaping the misery which threatens them in the future. Thus have we demonstrated by figures not only that payment might be effected with- out weighing heavily upon the state, but there would even be an excess of income, which would gradually form a capital for each prison, and would enable it, in time, to become self-supporting. This same calcu- lation would serve as a guide in the case of penal prisons, which, not implying the return of the prisoners into society, would have no need to organize, professional or mechanical labors, but might be devoted to great enterprises, such as improving lands, working mines, &c., &c. Joint-stock companies might, in this case, furnish capital ad hoc, under a stipulation that the product of the prison labor should be set apart to there-i-mbursementof theloan. This would become an unfailing resource, when once the prisoners should have a share of the profits laid up against the day of their colonization, either in the mother- country or on some foreign shore. Perhaps the prisoners ought not, at first,' to have the right of sharing in the profits, and the prisons might, in this view, be organized somewhat after the plan of the Irish system. But this would be a matter to be determined by experience. The general financial plan for the support of the i)risons would have, in all cases, the following solutions : The preliminary detentions to be at the expense of the municipal gov- ernment. The houses of amendment (cellular with a maximum of three months) at the expense of the state. The houses of correction (from one to five years) to stipulate for a loan re-imbursable by the labor of the prisoners. The penal prisons would undertake, on the same principle, enterprises to be managed either by private companies or by the administration of the state. We had expressed the opinion, in our paper on the prison question in Eussia, that imprisonment in the house of amendment should be from one day to a year. This classification was suggested by the existing laws in relation to the jurisdiction of justices of the peace. A prison established on this principle at St. Petersburg has yielded the most brilliant results as regards revenue from the workshops. It appears from this experiment that even the houses of amendment need not be a burden upon the State, and may be established by loan. But the im- prisonment was too short to produce much effect upon the habits of the prisoners. Moreover, they had not time to gain from their earnings a INTEENATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. 147 capital with which to commence a new life. Numerous relapses were the result. Grave disorders ensued. The director barely escaped assas- sination. An event sadly memorable, the death of the Prince of Arem- burgh, was the consequence of a mutiny of the prisoners, of some days' continuance. The conclusion we draw from these facts is, that the state ought to give up the idea of material profits, and establish houses of amendment, rigidly cellular, with a maximum imprisonment of three months. Such, in a few words, is the result of the experiments under- taken at Moscow and St. Petersburg— experiments which have not, as yet, been elsewhere conducted, in Russia, upon a larger scale. No doubt a great many objections, as has heretofore been the case in other countries, will be raised against a system which seems to be too favorable to wretches in revolt against the laws of society. It will be said, "Why give premiums to criminals, while you give nothing to hon- est people who are struggling against misery f These objections will be offered by persons who have never made a special study of penitentiary science, and have never had a near view of prison life. ' This will be the opinion of the great majority, who will find it quite natural that men, made in the image of God, should be buried alive, or confined in cor- rupting dens, should there prepare new crimes and new disorders. Such persons will not admit that a criminal who applies himself to labor, in order that he may lead a new life in the future, thereby performs a meritorious action — the action of an honest man — an action which he certainly would not accomplish with the zeal, the sole condition of suc- cess, if it had been imposed on him simply as a barren task. "With too little reflection, the majority cries out for punishment, always punish- ment, nothing but punishment. But they forget that punishment alone makes the burden greater, and does not arrest relapses. The majority, therefore, defends the principle of excessive and useless expenditures, since the social security gains nothing by them. The interesting little sheets published in London by the Howard Association, cite the almost incredible fact that the same woman had been arrested at Bristol for the two hundred and fiftieth time. Does the majority desire the rep- etition and perpetuation of facts like this ? Is it so flush of money that it can afford to throw it out at the window, all for the barbarous pleas- ure of taking vengeance once, and of reserving the right to revenge itself again? Crime,like misery, is a disease. It should be cured, not propa- gated. Eelapses are but falls, which prove that the disease has not been cured, and that the punishment had no reason for its existence, since it - only produced a new crime. , We do not address ourselves to the majority, but we call the g.tten- tion of specialists to the results of the treatment of crime by discipline, instruction, and participation in the earnings. The house of correction at Moscow has received, as we have seen above, in the course of six years, 1,719 men and 409 women. During the- whole of this period it has readmitted, as recidivists, only eight men and. one woman. Of the whole number there was only one person who had been married, and he had not reached the point at which a share in the earnings is allowed in the establishment. It has been remarked that the most zealous of the workmen were those who had families. They labored with intense earnestness to be able to buy a dray-horse, to build a small house, to set up some little business. Later in the history of the ^institution, we saw a large number who exhibited tokens of intelligence 'in public positions. They were employed as salesmen of the products of the industries which had been taught them jn prison. Many of these liberated prisoners have found excellent places as foremen in factories, ■148 INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. the ordinary workiug class in Eussia notbeingdistinguished for sobriety or for precision of workmanship. We cannot forebear citing tlie following fact : One of our discharged prisoners had made a fortune. He had established the hosiery business in his native city, which, as well as the whole surrounding district, had never seen among them a hosier. Orders rained upon him from all sides. This person passed from misery to affluence. His wife dressed herself in silks ; his children attended school. He rented a house for which he payed 500 rubles, or more than a thousand francs, per year. In short, it was riches, consideration, complete regeneration that he had attained. One fine morning he was seen to arrive at Moscow com- pletely robed in velvet. He came to throw himself at the feet of those whom he looked upon as his benefactors. He recounted his successes, but he added, " I am so happy that I fear I shall become intoxicated." Does not this story demonstrate that the true aim of all education is to form the will? There are many natures, especially in certain nations, in which the will lacks energy. This defect of organization can be sup- plied only by creating an artificial will by the force of habit. On the other hand, everything which is obligatory instantly awakens the desire of revolt and disobedience. The great difficulty in reformatory prison discipline is to attain the end without weakening or discrediting the means. Nothing, certainly, could be more efficacious than the religious sentiment; but we have always feared to enforce the application of it. We have made obligatory only the presence of the prisoners at public service on the Sabbath at morning and everiiug prayers, an-d at grace at the hour of meals. But we have placed in each separate division of the common dormitories an image of Christ for the men, and an image of the Holy Virgin for the women. Nothing is more touching or more solemn than the moment when abso- lute silence pervades the prison in the evening. The bolts are drawn on the cells, the i)risoners have retired, but through the gratings all, or nearly all, are seen kneeling before the symbol of their worship. They make their prayer, their own prayer, which they do not confound with the ceremonial of the discipline. They are not required to do it. It is a necessity of their conscience, of their habits; and it is precisely because there is no constraint upon them that the habit, contracted in infancy, has become a second nature — perhaps a salutary one. We feel a com- miseration for wretches endued with such instincts, and are impelled to ask whether society is not more culpable toward them than they are toward society. We ask ourselves alsp whether personal conference with the prisoners is more beneficial than hurtful, and we think we are not deceived in affirming that it will be efficacious only when confided to ecclesiastics possessing not only large human sympathies, but also a keen penetration and a great knowledge of the human heart. It cannot be sufficiently kept in view that every prisoner is, naturally, always on his guard, always defiant, always in a state of antagonism to whatever proceeds from the constituted authorities. It is the natural reaction of lost liberty against the power that has taken it away. Give to the pris- oner who has a medium br long sentence the means of earning money. That he will comprehend, for money needs no explanation. This is already one form of liberty; but every other measure will awaken ill- will, unless it allows of a comparative freedom. We have made obliga- tory the presence of the prisoners at the service of Sunday, but we have thought it proper, under the circumstances in which we were placed, to ' leave it optional with them to attend or not to attend the school, of which religious instruction is made the basis. We have only determined INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. 149 in principle that the time spent in school should be counted as time employed in gratuitous labors, which tlie prisoners avoid as much as possible. Our experience has convinced us that it is altogether inexpedient to limit the instruction given in prisons to the elementary branches. When onCe you have made it your aim to wrestle with low instincts, to induce better habits, and to strengthen the power of the will, you cannot too much enlarge the horizon of intelligence. Many prisoners, even ia Kussia, bring into the prisons a tnowledge more or less extended. Is it just to carry their civilization no further ? It is a matter of course that thei'e should be no schools in detention prisons, nor in houses of amend- ment, which, in our opinion, ought to be cellular, and the imprisonment should not exceed a duration of three months ; but in correctional, and even penal prisons, it would be highly desirable that progressive pedagogical instruction should, without ceasing, go hand in hand with the skilled and unskilled labors of the establishment. Here the aid of philauthropical societies, might be of the greatest utility. We have been able, in this view, to make only timid essays, but we have had the good fortune to find a dfevoted schoolmaster in the person of Mr. Savenko. We think that the chaplain, who inspires by his noble char- acter a certain reverence, a kind of awe, a principle of salutary author- ity, oughtto be charged only with the religious instruction of the cate- chism, of sacred history, and the like ; but that secular instruotioa should be'conflded to one or more professors, who should be toward the prisoners rather friends ihapi judges. It is this which Mr. Savenko has thoroughly comprehended. He has the air of a person who does not know in whose presence he finds himself. He treats his pupils with the most perfect politeness, and his pupils, knowing that they are not obliged to attend his instructions, flock to them with alacrity and eagerness. He has divided them into three categories: the elementary course, the higher course, and the conferences of Sunday. In the ele- mentary course there are 124 pupils ; in the higher course, 54. The conferences of Sunday, which relate to history, geography, and, above all, the skilled industries carried on in the estabhshment, draw nearly all the prisoners sentenced for a considerable time. They question the professor, to the end that they may be sure that they understand his lessons. Never is the least rudeness permitted in their intercourse with him. Mr. Savenko is an intelligent worker, an enthusiast in his vocation. He writes instructive treatises for the pris- oners His books of elementary instruction are remarkable, and enable the pupils to make rapid progVess. His Sunday conferences are simple and popular. This man is unostentatibusly useful, and we are happy to bear public testimony to his worth. . . ^ -^ j- An attempt has been made to teach choral singing by note, according to the system of Galen-Paris-Chev6. Never, perhaps, has this system produced more surprising results. Persons, unable either to read or write, have become able to read music at first sight. Instruction, how- ever, was confined to the forms and names of the first seven notes, whiJh were learned in a single lesson. Unhappily, the course was teus- pendedfor want of professors. We cannot too earnestly recommend instruction in music for the inmates of correctional and penal prisons. Beyond the fact that singing is a part of worship, t^ere^s in it a reform- atory and tranquillizing principle, which paralyzes the instincts ol de- bauchery, hatred, and rebellion, 'it is an error to suppose that a resi- dence in' a spacious, well-aired, well-kept establishment affording, besides, high wages, with freedom from all care as regards life's neces- 150 INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIAEY CONGEESS. Sities, and offering gratuitous progressive instruction, not even omitting music, becomes a paradise whieh would awaken the desire to commit a crime simply to enjoy the benefits of incarceration. We have encoun- tered in six years eighteen attempts to escape. We are compelled un- ceasingly to keep up the^snost active vigilance against incendiaries who would burn the establishment. There have been registered, within these same six years, one hundred and twenty-two cases of disciplinary punishment. Of this number, seventy-nine cases, nearly two-thirds, belong to the years 1869 and 1870 ; that is to say, the period in which the inflexibility of the discipline was definitively established. The pro- hibition against receiving alms from without, which still defray in Eussia the expense of drunkenness; against peculations in the prisons; against going out with an attendant, either to visit the confessional or for any labors whatever ; against receiving visits except in a grated conversation-room ; the enforcement of separation and silence by night ; pitiless labor during ten hours of the day, (each minute regulated by the tick of the clock; ) a scrupulous cleanliness maintained, by the dread of fines,, military discipline, a monastic diet, punishment al- ways present, always executed, always inflexible, down to the. day of liberation — all this must provoke the most vivid dissatisfaction. Many of the prisoners spoke with delight of those fetid dens in which they swarmed together in numerous apartments. There they were suftbcated with foul air ; they had no labor, no gain to expect, no useful instructions, no care for the future; but they had liberty of low de- bauchery. They related histories to one apother, they formed copart- nerships for thieving while drinking brandy and playing at cards or dice. They even enacted comedies, as shown in a programme which we have actually had in our hands. All that debauchery can offer that is mostfoul, aH that crime can present that is most hideous, is taught in these vulgar haunts. There is found what those moralists wbo cry out against solicitude in regard to penitentiary reforms desire to perpetuate, without giving much thought to the matter. They do not at all comprehend that it is only by measures strictly penitentiary that real punishment is accomplished, that the liberty of doing evil is paralyzed, and that the society which does not accept the Christian duty of turning a feeble man from the path of crime only pushes him further on it, and is as guilty as himself. We expected an open revolt; but nothing of the kind occurred. Those who were most exasperated dared not assail the life of their chiefs, as is often the case in prisons given up to idleness. We attribute this fact to the good sense of the mass, and espepially to the money gained by their labor. The discipline alone, without the alleviation afforded by the expectation of a better lot, would, undoubt- edly, have led to the gravest disorders. It was remarked by us that the most turbulent prisoners were found among the shoemakers, among the tailors, and, in general, among the artisans who work near each other, while the weavers, who are separated from their comrades by noise and distance, have a far more tractable character. Man clings, above all, to life. The privation of life is, therefore, the greatest punishment that can be imposed upon him. But the punish- ment ceases at the moment of its execution. Next to life, man's most precious treasure is liberty. Privation of liberty is a punishment all the more terrible in that it does not cease as soon as inflicted, that it is always intense, always present, and that it would be intolerable if hope, that benefactor of man, did not come to his support. It is not necessary to suppose that the putting of criminals inside the walls of a great edifice constitutes the absolute essence INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. 151 of the privation of liberty. Nothing could be less exact. The priva- tion of liberty does not consist in the mere place of abode, but rather ill the constraint put upon a man during all the hours of the day and night. It is only then that the punishment weighs like an iron ball. We have seen, in many prisons, the semblance of the privation of liberty, but not the real privation. Where the prisoners sleep in common dor- mitories, where labor is not systematically, organized, where the disci- pline cannot, therefore, be rigidly maintained, where the building is not adapted to the special aim of punishment — there are there always in- tervals of relative liberty, which paralyze the action of justice. It has happened to us many times to exhibit the correctional prison of Moscow to visitors. At sight of the long range of dormitories, of their walls stuccoed and washed in colors, of the cells painted with oil, of the floors covered with rope matting, of the church, of the refectory, of the store- rooms, of the flower-gardens, of the court, of the workshops, presenting a scene of animation like a great manufactory, they cried out, " This is not a prison ; it is the land of promise ; a crime would be committed to get here." A «aan came — a man of mark. He looked about him and said, "This is very severe; this must be extremely painful to them." He had comprehended the case. In truth, nothing' is more painful than to be always in a state of constraint, like the machinery which moves a clock. "Else, dress yourself; clean j'our cell, make your bed; the keepers are waiting ; the companies are forming ; forward, march. It is the time of making the toilet ; if you are not clean you will be pun- ished ; forward, march. You will eat bread if you do not become a master-workman, and if you have not the means of drinking tea with your comrades. The clock strikes again. Forward, march. To the workshops, each in his place ; to the kitchen-garden, every one in his place ; the monitor, the overseers, the elders, the sentinels, are at their posts. 1^0 conversations, no songs, no rest. Work, without reward, or strive to earn money for your future. That is your affair. You will work none the less. Don't depart from the regulations. If you do, a fine or the dungeon." And in the prison, as is generally the case in a reformatory discipline, the punishment must be severe, for punishments which are not so, and especially in prison, irritate. Severity alone inspires awe. Work is finished. " Forward, march, to the refectory. You will have meat only on Sundays and festival days. Halt a moment. Forward, march, to work;" and so on to the moment in which the last company enters its dormitory, where silence reigns, and where one would hear the motion of a fly's wing. This constant pressure of the discipline throughout the duration oif the imprisonment would end in making the prisoner mad, if it were not balanced by an anticipation of the time when the punish- ment, once undergone, will no longer have any reason to exist. All constraint is essentially hateful, and it is for this reason that our judg- ment is in favor of admitting a certain degree Of liberty in whatever may be advantageous to the future of the prisoners. We believe it necessary to give freedom of choice between gratuitous and waged labor ; freedom in the selection of trades ; permission to go or not to go to school, or to the Sunday conferences ; liberty to read or not to read. One does really well only what one does of his own will. We think it proper to add some words regarding the sanitary results of the experiment made at Moscow. There were recorded in six years 27 deaths out of 2,128 prisoners, about 4 per cent. This number is considerable, but it is explained by the fact that the greater part of the persons brought to the prisons are already enfeebled by debauchery. 152 INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. Some of the diseases that have been cured have had perhaps their cause in a too restricted dietary, insufficient for men in the flower of their age. We are not permitted to go beyond tlie existing laws on this subject, but it appears to us that a more substantial diet would be desirable. Such, in brief, are the statistics which we have thought proper to add to our memoir upon the, prison question in Eussia, as published iu the report of the New York Prison Association. We were far from expect- ing that tha.t memoir v^ould cause any sensation, or that it would pro- •cure for us the distinguished honor of a correspondence with eminent specialists and the flattering privilege of being enrolled as a member of philanthropical societies of high repute. ' • Among the ideas which our conscience has constrained us to put forth— that which has enlisted universal sympathy— is the proposition to call an international congress to establish definitively the laws of an improved penitentiary discipline. This proposition, however, was but the natural sequence of pre-existing facts. The secretary of the Prison Association of 'New York had already addressed himself to different gov- ernments, with the view of collecting information cpncerniog the modes of prison administration of all countries. This collection of materials should evidently be only a preface. The materials necessitated a criti- cal examination, the critical examination a conclusion, and the conclu- sion demanded publicity. The task undertaken by the association of New York involved, necessarily, the international congress. We cannot sufficiently testify our gratitude to the respectable secretary of the asso- ciation, Mr. Wines, for the energy with which he has pushed the prelim- inaries of the greatest movement for reform of which the prison question has ever been The occasion. Within a period of less than three years, propositions to this effect were sent to all the civilized points of the globe, and received unanimous adhesions. A preliminary congress, held in October, 1870, at Cincinnati, declared itself on thirty-seven questions, founded the national association of the United States, and laid down definitive rules for' the international congress fixed at London for the month of July, 1872. Mr. Wines, clothed with an official character, came to Europe to confer _with the different governments and with specialists of highest renown. Penitentiary science, then, thanks to the indefatigable activity of Mr. Wines, is about to enter upoif'a new phase. The congress, accepted everywhere, becomes an event of the highest importance. This import- ance, nevertheless, depends on the direction which shall be given to the conferences, and on the conclusions which shall be reached. Mr. Wines is devoting himself to this question as well as to all the others connected with the congress. In the midst of his immense cor- respondence and of hi^ numerous voyages', he has found time to prepare a series of questions addressed to the different governmenls, relating to the prisons and prison administrations of their several countries. This series of questions continues the work commenced, and seeks to complete the documents and statistical data on what concerns the pris- ons of all countries. The idea of Mr. Wines, without doubt, is that it will belong to the congress to declare itself as to what ought to be deter- mined upon as definitive axioms in relation to penitentiary science. It is this manifesto of science which we invoke with all our heart. Every country has its exigencies, its traditions, its habits, its routine. Every country has its vestiges of barbarism, li%ang ruins of an ancient order of things ; but these ruins liave not yet been trans- formed into symmetrical edifices. The troubles of war and the labors Qf peace have left them still extant, perhaps from want of time, perhaps INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. f53 from lack of means ; perhaps, also, a little throngh indifference. There IS no country which can boast of being able tt) serve as a model in its penal legislation. There is no country which does not feel the pressing need of important modiflcations in this regard. But we do not suppose that all these sincere confessions, these tardy acknowledgments of na- tional shortcomings, can take the place of, or 'be an equivalent for, a con- gress. Tlvere is no government, however civilized it may be, which can. leel complacency in appearing before such a tribunal to enumerate its faults. Matters of this kind can only be talked of, so to speak, in the ' family at home. We must acknowledge that when we received the invi- tation to prepare for America a memoir on the state of the prisons in Eussia We were singularly embarrassed. We well knew that, on the one side, it was disloyal to disguise the truth, but that, on the other, it was cruel to lay bare before foreigners the bleeding wounds of one's own country. We therefore determined to speak tht truth only in some words; to glide over it, as it were; but to extend our remarks upon the essays that had been confided to us in view of the future. There resulted from this a misunderstanding, for the essay was taken lor the exhibition of a complete system already existing ; and special sheets, published in England, in America, in Italy, praise the organiza- tion of the Eussian prisons; a representation which was, unhappily, premature. There is, it seems to us, another rock still to be avoided by the con- gress — that of falling into questions of detail. Every country having its exigencies and its peculiarities, it will be very difficult to separate great humanitarian considerations from those of a local character, , The direction of the debates, the choice of the principles to be defini- tively established in the name of science, render necessary, as we think, some preliminary understanding, some preparatory labors. We look upon the congress as a tribunal which will have to pronounce judg- ment, after having beard the pleadings of the advocates, but will not have the time to study the questions and to make resumes of general statistics. It should direct its attention not so much to what has been or .what is, as to what ought to be. Our opinion is, that the different governments should send to the congress not official representatives, which might embarrass them, but unoff\(iJal ones, who might take part in the debates, without making the conclusions of the congress rigor- ously binding upon the countries of which they might be the delegates. Such is also the opinion of the English government. An official inter- national congress could be, it seems to us, only political. -The congress of London ought to be an affair quite different from this, if it would be generally recognized as useful. It should be, no doubt, supported, patronized, and its expenses shared by all the powers; but it ought to guard its special character, so as to avoid all embarrassmeut in the debates, and everything that looks like binding the administrations which are represented in it. It is only after the close of the congress that each government will be able, on the report of its delegation, to determine what it will accept and what reforms it will undertake. The form of the questions framed by Mr. Wines seems to us particu- larly happy as a basis of preliminary labors in view of the congress. We also take leave to submit a series of questions, which we offer to the examination of the students of penitentiary science. Our Opinion is that collective reformation is moreimportantthan indi- vidual reformation ; that detention prisons ought to be connected with the centei^s of preliminary proceedings, and with the judicial tribunals, and should be governed by special regulations; that prisons for punishment 15^ INTEENATIONAL PENITENTIAEY COISTGEESS. can be of only three classes, and must be determined- by the duration of the imprisonment ; that the same prison ought not to be used for differ- entobjects; and that the same object cannot properly be soughtin differ- ent prisons. What we would desire above everything is, to establish the system of classification, for upon an exact classification depend the different modes of architecture, of discipline, and of public utility. If the con- , gress does no more than fix the fundamental boundaries of the classes of prisons and the functions which each class is to perform, it will, by so doing, have rendered an immense service to humanity. 2. Questions proposed by Gotjnt, Sollohxjb in tiew of the ap- peoaching international penitentiary congress. 1. Do you consider it the aim of the cpngress to secure, among civ- ilized nations, a unanimous judgment on the most desirable legislative and administrative plan for the general management of prisons ? 2. To avoid the loss of precious time, do you not think it desirable that the congress engage neither in abstract discussions nor in studies relating to what is peculiar to each several country, but that it seek to come to an understanding on fundamental principles, on practical axioms, which every civilized state should henceforth have in view in the managements of its prisons 1 3. Do you not think that these axioms should be divided into — (a) General principles applicable to all countries; (6) Local considerations necessitating exceptional measures ? 4. In determining principles, do you not consider it necessary to avoid confounding (Questions of detail with general questions, so as to avoid confusion in the discussions ? 5. Do you not think that general questions are summarily compre- hended in the principles of classification and organization, and ques- tions of detail in the principles of discipline and practice suited to the different aims which thej should have in view ? 6. Do you think it proper that the congress decline all discussion of the death penalty, as having no_, eonnectiou with its special aim ? 7. Do you judge it proper that the congress decline all discussion on political rights, social order, bail, fines, &c., it being impossible to treat these matters thoro ighly in a first meeting 1 8. Ought not the congress to recognize from the start, as a bind- ing principle, the fundamental proposition of Eossi's Treatise on the Penal Code : '■^Imprisonment is punishm,ent, par excellence, among all civ- ilized people ? " 9. Should not the congress add to this the following declaration : " Preliminary imprisonment is a necessary evil, imposed from considera- tions of social security f'' 10. Should not the general principles, applicable to all countries, lead to the following declarations : {a) A\\ imprisonment ought to have a special aim, and that strictly de- termined ; (6) The same prison cannot serve different ends ; (c) Prisons of different kinds cannot serve the same end ? 11. This being admitted, do you think that all the prisons of a civilized country must belong to one of the four well-marked follow- INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIAEY CONGEESS. 155 ing forms: (a) detention, (&) amendment, (c) correction, (d) punish- ment ? 12. Do you think that detention prisons {maisons preventives) should be made the object of special solicitude, and that pris- oners awaiting trial {Mtenus prSventtfs) ought not to be subjected to the humiliations and servitudes which should be applied only to per- sons found guilty by the courts? 13. Are you of opinion that the .theory of detention of prisons, ought to be made the object of special deliberations and categorical de- * cisfons on the part of the congress? Will you hot give special thought to this subject, which, as being the most difilcult point in penitentiary science, requires the convergence of all the lights that can be directed toward it ? 14. Do you think it absolutely necessary to fix a definite minimum period for the oilstody of arrested persons prior to their transfer to the detention prison ? 15. What would this period be in principle, apart from local con- siderations ? 16. Do you think it indispensable that the examinations be continued subsequently to those of a preliminary character, within the precincts of the detention prison itself, and that, in this view, there be established in all these prisons ofiices of committing magistrates and of deputy attorneys general? 17. Do you think it necessary to establish strict regulations touching the proceedings of committing magistrates, with a view to shortening as much as possible the period of preliminary imprisonment? * 18. Are you of opinion that, detention prisons should be adjacent to the court-rooms, (palais de justice,) so as to spare the prisoners needless humiliation and loss of time, and save to the administration the expense of carriage-hire and police escort? 19. Would you be able to suggest any means to accelerate the progress of justice? 20. What in your opinion are the best styles of architecture and modes of discipline for detention prisons ? 21. Do you not think that a uniform rule for all prisoners awaiting trial would lead to needless vexations, and that we might properly recog- nize three classes of this sort of prisoners : ^ (a) Those who should be in complete isolation ; (6) Those who should be subjected to certain restraints; (e) Those who might properly enjoy comparative liberty ? 22. Do you not regard as equitable the following principles : Every prisoner awaiting trial has the right — (a) To an apartment for himself individually ; (b) To the preservation of his clothing and his ordinary modes of life as tar as possible; (e) To purchase for himself better food than the customary fare of the prison ; (d) To smoke, read, aud occupy himself in manual labors without being subject to a detention of his earnings ; (e) To receive visits authorized by the committing magistrate ; {f) To exercise in the open air, except in cases of absolute isolation, where cellular yards should be provided ; (g) To be free from every privation, every humiliation, every incon- venience, other than those required by the order of the prison and the necessities of the preliminary proceedings ? 23. Do you not think that, nevertheless^ it would be useful to neutral- 156 iSTTEENATIOlirAL PENITENTIARY CONGEESS. ize the evil influences whicli the prisoners might have on one another ? What would you propose to be the best means to this end? 24. Will you please trace the normal plan for a prison construction, uniting the several localities requisite for trial, preliminary proceedings, and detention ? 25. Do you think it necessary to establish separate detention prisons for the two sexes, or may such prisons consist of two separate sections .in the same establishment! 26. What -would be the maximum number of prisoners that might properly be confined in a detention prison 1 27. What are the special exigencies of the country or city in which you happen to reside for the improvement of detention prisons ? 28. What would be the proper discipline to be introduced fbr the maintenance of order in the establishment without being irritating to the prisoners 1 29. Are you of opinion that it is not logical to admit into the codes only two degrees of guilt, when there are three"? 30. Do you not think it necessary to treat this subject in the con- gress in a manner very exact ? Does not it appear to you that confusion in prison discipline has proceeded from confusion in the penal laws, which admit two forms of guilt, misdemeanor and crime, whereas there are three forms of guilt, corresponding to the three forms of compari- son — minimum, medium, and higher — which may be designated as mis- demeanor, crime, and felony, {ddlit, crime et forfait.) Would not this classification draw after it the corollary that against each form of guilt ther^ should be established a special system, which should not be con- i'ounded with the others? The system for misdemeanors would take for its aim amendment ; for crimes, correction ; for felonies, punishment. 31. Do you not think it of great importance to ordain that each degree of penal Imprisonment, answering to a particular aim, be rigidly determined by the minimum and maximum of the duration of detention, so that the classification of prisons shall be controlled by the continu- ance of the imprisonment ? 32. Do you consider it necessary that all existing penal prisons be modified in this sense, and that all those which are not conformed to the above classification be regarded as abnormal ? 33. Do you accept as logical the following propositions : (a) The house of amendment has for its aim to inflict on the prisoner a salutary terror, to arrest him at the moment in which he is entering upon an evil course, and to withdraw him from the bad influences to which he might be subjected as well outside of the prison as among his prison comrades. {!)) The house of correction has for its aim to give to the prisoner a new education, and to prepare him for a return to society under condi- tions which would render his return safe. In this view, the correctional system should use its best efforts to the end that the prisoner on his liberation may carry with him a capital of good habits, a capital of newly acquired knowledge, and, above all, a capital of money, without which the other two might remain inefficacious. This capital woiild be acquired under the form of wages, agreeably to principles to be here- after explained. ' (c) The convict prison (maison de force) or galley (bagne) has for its aim to positively cut off from society its members, recognized as un- worthy to re-enter it, to the end that they may serve as an example, and to protect the general safety. The galleys must not, in any case, be confounded with deportation. Distant or near, they ought to con- INTEENAll'IONAL PENITENTIAEY CONGRESS. 157 tain individually convicted criminals, and to release them only at tlie end of the sentence fixed by the laws for their imprisonment. {d) The system for the convicts would be the same as for the correc- tionals, but the discipline more severe. The money gained as wages -would not be given unconditionally to the liberated convicts as to the liberated correction als, but would be applied to a system of coloniza- tion, based on capital, landed property, and family, the only principles which can assure the future of a colony. The place chosen for coloniza- tion would depend upon the topographical conditions of each country. ■ (e) The architecture and discipline of each class of penal prisons would be determined by special considerations ? 34. The houses of amendment having tor their object to inspire delin- quents with a salutary terror, thereby leading them to avoid pernicious influences, ought they not to be rigidly cellular, although for short im- prisonments'? 35. Do you not think that it would be useful to discuss at the con- gress the following motion : The congress dteclares that cellular imprisonment is to be recom- mended only in the following cases : First. For short sentences in the houses of amendment. Second. As a disciplinary punishment in the houses of correction and convict prisons. Third. It would be desirable that all existing cellular prisons be reor- ganized in this sense. 36. Do you not think that the duration of detention in the cellular prisons of amendment ought not to exceed three months, a term suffi- cient for the end proposed, while a longer captivity might offer serious inconveniences 1 37. Would you not think it necessary to propose to all governments adopting the cellular systemi for houses of amendment, to eliminate from their, legislation all penal detentions from three months to a year, on the -ground that that period would be too prolonged for repressive and too short for correctional action ? 38. Guilt of the first degree being divisible into infractions and delin- quencies, (contraventions et delits,) do you think it necessary to establish, besides houses of amendment, houses of arrest for persons guilty of the first of these offenses, or do you think it would be sufficient to establish, for this purpose, sections in the houses of amendment, or, in short, do you think that such a distinction would be useless, and that a slight degree of culpability should only draw after it a minimum term of de- tention in the house of amendment ? 39. Admitting that the houses of- correction should have for their object the regeneration of the prisoner,, do you think it wise to enact that no one shall be detained in a house of correction less than one year or more than five years, and that the penal laws should be modified to conform to this principle 1 40. Do you think that every penal detention should have in view, above all, the time of the prisoner's liberation, and that the entire dis- cipline of prisons should be organized with a view to prevent relapses ? If by short imprisonments it is important to give an energetic notice so as to hinder the propagation of evil, is it not important by means of sentences of a longer duration to prepare, in a manner more susta;ined and efficacious, the correctional prisoner for his re-entrance into society? 41. Does it not appear just that every penal imprisonment Should be executed rigorously and without the least feebleness, but that the epoch at which the punishment shall end be made the object of a special soli- 158 INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIAEY CONGEESS. citude? In admitting, to the fullest extent, the utility of moral in- struction, it is impossible t'o deny that this alone is insufficient, where a man finds himself, without defense, exposed to misery, scorn, and tempta- tion, when the gates of the prison are opened for his egress. Is not, then, what follows the prison more grave than the imprisonment itself, and is it not true that in nearly all cases of relapse, the cause is found rather in the prisons than in the recidivists ? Is it not the object of cor- rectional detention, while maintaining the rigor of the punishment, to impart to the liberated correctional the raeaps of earning a livelihood, and to aSbrd him the opportunity of laying by such a jjortion of his earnings as will be sufficient for the new struggles which he is about to encounter ? 42. Is it not at the same time highly useful to point out without ceasing to the prisener the end which he may gain, to arouse in him a regenera- tive aspiration, to enable him to gain a constant victory over hiinself, and thereby to accomplish his complete reformation 'I 43. Inasmuch as labor affords a constant occupation to the mind, and constitutes besides the sole source of income possible to prisoners, do you not think that the theory of prison labor ought to be made an ob- ject of special attention by the Congress ? 44. Do you think it would be an error to confound under one general signification the three forms of labor which ma.y serve either as punish- ment, or as a mechanical occupation, or as a means of regeneration ? 45. Are you not of the opinion that this third form of labor should be liberally remunerated in order to form apeculium for the prisoner, since this must serve as a safeguard to him after his liberation ? 46'. Do you regard as equitable the following regulations respecting correctional prisoners : (a) Every prisoijer, received into a correctional prison, is under obliga- tion to work without remuneration, ten hours a day, at rough manual labors, the product of which belongs to the administration. (&) Every prisoner has the right, if he so elect, to redeem himself in part from labor unproductive as regards himself, and to be subjected to the rough occupations only four houBS a day; if he express the desire , to pass to mechanical occupations, the product of which shall be divided in the following manner — one-third for the laborer, two-thirds for the administration. (c) If the prisoner manifests the desire to learn a trade, he is sub- jected only two hours a day to the rough work, but receives no wages so long as he remains an apprentice. On becoming a master-workman, he receives two-thirds of his earnings for himself, and the administra- tiop only one-third. • , (d) The prisoner who is already master of a trade at the time of his incarceratioo receives but a moiety jOf his wages ; the other moiety goes to the administration. (e) No prisoner has the right to touch his money before the day of his liberation. (/) Every prisoner has his little book, in which is inscribed, each week, the sum that he has earned by his labor. (g) The money of the prisoners is placed in a particular case, inclosed within the strong box of the establishment, but the key of the case is in the hands of a cashier, whom the prisoners choose from among them- selves, and who is always present when the money is deposited in the case, and when it is paid out to the prisoners. {h) The trades taught to the prisoners should be simple and not requir- ing any great expenditure of funds, such as tailors, shoemakers, hosiers INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. 159 book-binders, weaver's, &c. The trade should be taught as a whole, and not in part. (i) The wages should be distributed in such manner that the same degree of application would secure the same benefit. {j) The infraction of a disciplinary regulation should involve a fine, to be deducted from the peculium of the workman. (fc) The prisoners should have the right to establish their own tribunal, whose acts must be ratified by the director of the establishment. (1) The cantine should be rigorously prohibited. (m) If the customarj^ rations of the prison are not sufQcient for the support of the prisoners, a fourth part of the wages might be devoted to the expense of a more substantial nutriment, but only on the request of the prisoners themsjelves, and under their inspection. The purchases for this purpose should, nevertheless, be confided to the overseer of the establishment. It is a matter of course that only master-workmen should be permitted to enjoy this privilege. (to) The superintendence of the work should be in the hands either of the authorities of the prison or of manufacturers by profession ; but no contractor should be in charge of several branch^ of business at once ? 47. Might not the congress resolve that in countries which offer vast productive forces and few arms, the labor of prisoners cannot be too much encouraged as an auxiliary to private industry ; but that where population exceeds the productive forc^, it is impossible not to recog- nize the possibility of competition between prison labor and free labor ? 48. What would be your opinion in this last case ? How could the injustice be avoided that would be done to the free and honest laborer in favor of the criminal, whose crime would thus become a title to public assistance ? 49. Do you not think that this question ought specially to engage the solicitude of the congress ? 50. Since the principle of reformation should effect a reconciliation of the prisoner wjth himself, are you of opinion that the cellular system and the law of silence can only lead to a result diametrically contrary to that which is proposed 1 It would ^hen be rational to prevent the irrita- "tion occasioned by both systems by replacing the cells with separation at night in common dormitories, and the law of silence with a discipline by day which would prevent dangerous conversations, cabals, or even orgies. The regulations for the night should require that all the dormi- tories be lighted, that attendants circulate through them, and that silence be enforced in them in order not to disturb the sleep of the pris- oners — an arrangement which in no case could be regarded as a cause of irritation. The discipline of the day should require a triple surveil- lance, viz : on the part of the overseer of the shop, the regular monitor, and an old man chosen by the prisoners themselves from among his comrades. 51. The rations of the prisoners being fixed by law, do you not think that the prisoners ought to have delegates, whose duty it would be to be present at the reception of the provisions, and even to be responsible for their good quality ? 52. Do you think it would be unwise to confine the education of pris- oners to the mere elements of learning, and that it would be desirable to establish in correctional prisons two courses of instruction— one for beginners, the other for prisoners who already possess knowledge of a higher order ? Do you not think it also indispensable that men speci- ally qualified give to the prisoners, every Sunday, lectures on scien- tific subjects, having relation to history, geography, chemistry, physics, 160 INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. the natural sciences, and, ia general, to everything that can enlarge the intellectual horizon of persons who are rather ignorant than guilty ? 53. Do you not think that prison libraries ought to be the object of special solicitude on the part of the congress, and that it would be de- sirable that the congress offer a premium for the best work which might be written for the use of prisoners ? 54. Since the coTigress will contain representatives of different relig- ions, do you not think that it should content itself with resolving that religious instruction ought to be made obligatory in every prison, with- out enlarging on the mode and nature of such instruction'? 55. Do you not think that to establish order in a prison, it is indis- pensable to pay special attention to its architectural arrangements 1 Dp you accept as desirable the following principles :. (a) Every correctional prison should have a large kitchen-garden to serve as the base of a system of labor, b'eing made at once a branch of revenue for the administration and a center of unremunerated manual labor ; (6) Iractice, be successful only in i^roportion as they approach it. For, consider what that principle is, and how it proposes to operate. The basis of the mark system, that on which the entire superstructure is raised, is this simple idea, tliat if we would reform criminals, and really &t them to. re- turn to free life, we should subject them, while yet in bondage, as far as possible, to the same checks and impulses as make men prudent, honest, industrious, and otherwise well-doing in society; avoiding at the same time, as far as may be, treating them as slaves, assured that with what- ever slavish virtues we may endow them, as obedience, submission, and the like, there will always be generated in theitt a superabundant admix- ture of slavish vices too — cunning, falsehood, self-indulgence, subjection to external influence, and so forth. The great point, then, in a reforma- tory prison discipline, is so to arrange and regulate our prisons as to stimulate and call into exercise, in and by them, the motives, impulses^ and habits which make good men and women outside of them, and ear- nestly to discourage and, as far as possible, discard those which generate ■weakness or Ipad to vice. It is peculiarly important that reforipatory principles and processes should be introduced and energetically acted on in county and munici- pal prisons, those minor or, as we may say, elementary penal establish- ments, througli which criminals usually pass when entering on their career of crime — their infancy in it, so to speak — and in which, accord- ingly, it is important that the most strenuous efforts should be systemati- cally made to turn them aside from it. For the repression of crime, very much, aside from the respue of individuals, will depend on the na- ture of the influence exercised by discharged prisoners on the society again receiving them. If really turned from crime, and desirous of avoiding it in time to come, they become each, as it were, an apostle of virtue in the community. Not to lose caste among their fellows on account of their altered conduct, they seek to justify this by such argu- ments as occur to them, many of them the same as were addressed to themselves while in prison, and which had most influence over them there. The good seed planted in them becomes thus widely cast on the waters, and even where individuals fail in their own persons of exempli- fying its fruits, it is not altogether lost; it becomes diffused. o^'ter the whole class usually supplying criminals, and beneficially influences their thoughts and 'manners. While, on the contrary, the influence of pris- oners discharged, unreclaimed, impenitent, and hardened, as they now commonly, arc, is equally extensive, and more than proportionally per-' INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. 175 nicious -, it is a match set to gunpowder. This aim is' most important, it is even fundamental, to the system ; and it throws extraordinary in- terest on the reform of prisoners; but its practical utility will of course depend on the degree in which we may hope to succeed in effecting it. From long experience Captain Maconochie is confident that, by the use of right measures, success may be very great in this endeavor; only, however, by altogether reversing the arrangements now commonly en- forced in prisons. These, having been organized without re^t'erence to reform, and looking only to coercion and example, are almost as if spe- cially intended to be opposed to improvement in moral character — a comprehensive charge, but whose justice is incontrovertible. This view of the susceptibility of criminals to reformatory influences deserves. the most serious attention of all who are interested in the ques- tion of prison discipline, and are duly impressed with its vast and vital importance, morally, socially, politically, and religiously. Considering the interests involved, and how deeply they concern the whole commu- nity, it is deplorable to see existing prison management guided, in the main, by almost diametrically opposite views, and to consider how flagrant the error on which these views are founded. They begin by confounding the opposite aims of punishment, example, and reforma- tion, making it almost impossible, as a rule, to attain either. All that ought to be made contingent on good conduct alone, as food and imme- diate comforts, is made certain and gratuitous, whatever the demeanor evinced by the iirisoners; and that good conduct, which ought to be sternly and even peremptorily required, is left so uncertain, and is in- deed so generally dispensed with, that criminals, in crowds, are daily discharged through mere flux of time, who are proclaimed altogether incorrigible. On the ground of actual experiment, it is denied that there are any such whatever. There are many prisoners weak, and some deplorably wicked ; but so long as Divine Providence is pleased tore- tain men in this Avorld of probation at all, our right may well be dis- puted to regard or pronounce any to be irreclaimable. Our duty is first to try some new method, to try indeed any and all hopeful methods, to reclaim them. But under present notions we reject all rational means of promoting their recovery; and, these failing, we quietly pronounce them irreclainiable, just as an engineer might do who,icl^arged to reduce fb strong fort, should fling away his trenching tools and then pronounce it impregnable. In such a case, with whom really lies the blame, the prison offlcers or the prison inmates'? And which are the irreclaimable while such a system is persisted in 1 It was the opinion of this able writer, and equally able, as well as successful, prison manager, that prisoners could be saved to a man by the application of right principles and methods in prison administration. He feared neither bad habits nor any other difficulties. He believed that, while life and sanity are spared, recovery is always possible, if properly sought. There is infinite elasticity in the human mind if its faculties are placed in healthful action, and neither diseased by maltreatment nor locked up in the torpor of a living grave. It is impossible to overrate the value of reformation as the primary aim of prison management, and difficult to appreciate even its real im- portance. The reform of prisoners has a wide bearing. Its systematic pursuit, apart from the repression of crime by positive punishment, would have a strong tendency to raise the moral tone of the masses. Discharged criminals constitute our most direct channel of communica- tion and influence with-the morally lowest Classes of the community. If oiir prisoners, on liberation, return among these either weak or wicked, 176 INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGKESS. their discourse, and example must tead powerfully to countenance and aggravate tlieir already downward tendencies ; whereas, if they return to them well-purposed and firm in their virtuous intents, they will, beyond a doubt, as speaking the language of experience and deliberate repentance, contribute to check such .tendencies, and to promote the growth of better sentiments and aspirations. VII. — Prison discipline, to he truly reformatory, must worlc with nature^ not against it. This principle has already come into view in several of the previous extracts, but its importance entitles it to a more distinct consideration. In his account of Norfolk, which he found "a turbulent, brutal hell, but left a peaceful, well-ordered community," after a detail of the remarka- ble results accomplished in that most remarkable experiment, Captain Maconochie adds : My task was not really so difficult as it appeared. I was woriing with nature, not against her, as all other prison systems do. _ I w.as endeavoring to cherish, and yet direct and regulate, those cravings for amelioration of position, which almost all pos- sess in some degree, and which are often strongest in those otherwise most abased. Under the guidance of right principle they rose easily to order and exertion. I did not neglect the object of punishment in my various arrangements, but I sought it within the limits assigned alike by the letter and the spirit of the law, not by excesses of au- thority beyond them. The Ijlw imposes imprisonment and hard labor, and these, in the fullest sense of the words, my men endured. Every one of them performed his government task, besides the' labor bestowed, as he could catch the opportunity, on his own garden or other personal interests; but he was saved, as far as I could save him, from unnecessary humiliation, and encouraged to look to his own steady efforts for ultimate liberation and improved position. And this — not the efforts of an individ- ual, zealous as they certainly were — was the real secret of the altered aspect of Nor- folk Island, in my time, from what either preceded or followed it. The principle thus set forth, in its application and issues, is directly to existing systems of convict management. Seeking their ends, what- ever those ends may be, by a species of domestic slavery, this feature alone (even without others of like deformity) sets them aside as media of individual reform. Such a plant never grew in such a soil. This principle is opposed A,o the silent system, which not only groups men for punishment alone, and, through its minute and artificial regulations, demoralizes, by familiarizing them with resistance and evasion; but it acts thus precisely with a view to crush those social feelings which, on the contrary, it is the object of a natural treatment to encourage and train. Such rough-riding over human nature is irreconcilable with every principle legitimately founded on its study. Gardening with a pack of hounds, and thus studiously defacing what we seek to beautify, seems the nearest approach to such folly. Prisons should be great workshops or industrial establishments, where the inmates are systematically trained to be skillful, steady, sober, and voluntarily industrious ; where all the arrangements for labor are at the same time so like real life, so identical with, as fully to prepare for it. The voluntary character of the labor cannot be too strongly insisted on. Compulsory labor is^ as a rule, rude, reckless, unskillful, and therefore unprofitable ; it is free and still more emulative exertion that is in- genious, skillful, and productive. ^ The economical improvement under such a system would be felt almost as soon as the moral ; it is a mistake to suppose that these can ever be successfully dissociated, but it would require great. care and discretion, in the first instance, to organize such establishments. The art employed must be of that high character which conceals itself; which is artful by being artless, and Which is content to sow good seed and wait, without forcing, the corresponding return. In such a situation it will always be easy to. produce immediate results ; INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. 177 the real difQculty will be to be early persuaded that they are likely to prove worthless nearly in proportion as they rise to the surface with a slight compression. It is doubtful if this wisdom will, in any hands, be attained until taught by experience. The unerring test of renewed con- victions after discharge will at length teach it. When the lesson is sufficiently impressed to move forward too fast, to give free agency a large scope, to suffer temptation to assume all its customary forms, to regulate but encourage inuch, then complete success may be hoped for, in what should ever be the great aim of public punishment, the reforma- tion of the fallen. It is argued that, however the combinatioa of prisoners with free per- sons might be advantageous to the former, that of prisoners with pris- oners cannot be so to each other. But tliis is a gratuitous and even demonstrably erroneous assumption. It is much easier to influence numbers together than the individuals separately of wliom they are com- posed, and when moved they will thus go much further ; they mutually assist each other and beget a common enthusiasm. There is, besides,, strange as it may appear, a specific tendency in numbers toward right feeling. The clap-traps of a theater are generally high moral sentiments. The better feelings of a mob are rarely appealed to in vain. In the army and navy the most heroic self-abnegation, even unto death, is often called out at a word. In none of these instances, probably, could the same responses be obtained from even a single individual, which he renders spontaneously when he forms one of a body. On Horfork Island, (Cap- tain M. avers he could have done nothing with 6ach prisoner separately ; the best of them would have remained ouly dogged under his exhorta- tions. In Birmingham he would neither have gained the boys as he did, nor would they have been able to influence each other outside as they did, if they had been shut up in separate cells. And Golonel Montesinos's experience at Valencia was all of the same nature. The use of marks as wages, under this system, would enable its man- agers to make life within prison a close copy of that without, for a re- turn to which it would, accordingly, be the best possible preparation. At* present nothing could be more dissimilar than the two ; and the lessons inculcated in the prison are not only inapplicable in free society, but even, in most caSes, directly opposed to what it is most desirable that men should possess' when they go out. The patience, docility, and ready subservience to external impression, which make an excellent prisoner, equally contribute to make a ready dupe in another sphere. Moreover, prisoners, as at present managed, are clothed, fed, lodged, and even allowed indulgencies, all by regulation, without the least reference to their conduct, and without care or sacrifice on their part to obtain them. The victims of this management are thus kept together without immediate solicitude, and are but as so many automata in a master-mechanic's hand. Surely this is no suitable preparation for returning to a work-a-day world, with its anxieties, its responsibilities, its troubles, its infinite varieties of choice among daily recurring per- plexities; and if some of the difficulty in adequately preparing to en- counter these is necessarily inherent in imprisonment itself, at least it would be much lessened by the introduction of marks and their use as money within the allotted pale. The rigorously coercive systems, by whatever names known or under whatever forms existing, viewed as reformatory agencies, are based on an essentially wrong principle. They pull down, but do not build up; they subdue, but do not reclaim. By their minute and artificial regula- tions they destroy individual character and the power of self-direction, and S. Ex. 39 12 * 178 INTEENATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGKESS. SO hoop prisoners about ia prison that they are ready to fall to pieces afterward at the first touch of difliculty or temptation. Such systems can- not be called good; no system can in which, as in free society and the ordinary conditions of life, men cannot, under a strong, certain, and uni- versal motive, be themselves the chief agents in the work required, that of subduing their evil and nourishing their good tendencies. The mark system will certainly secure such co-operation. Its machinery, though acting chiefly on the will, is more stringent than that of the most coer- cive system. It must be yielded to, and even willingly. But its force lies in appeals to the judgment, feelings, and interests of prisoners, all for their own advantage ; and the most stubborn will thus give way to it. By granting its prisoners some latitude of action, guided by motives, it cultivates the powers of self-direction, prudence, foresight, self-denial, self-command — in a word, all the qualities which enable men td main- tain a purpose once formed. From the foregoing detail it will" be seen that the closest possible resemblance is given, in arranging the form of society, to the type of free life. It is as a preparation for return to this that the whole scheme is organized. VIII. The principle of mutual responsibility, that is, of grouping pris- oners together in small companies, made to resemble as closely as possible ordinary family life, will be found to be highly conducive to their reforma- tion; the social principles and relations of humanity are the great springs of improvement, and of vigorous and efficient exertion, in free society; duly regulated, they will prove equally so in the treatment of persons imprisoned for crime. ~ There are four essential principles of the mark system of imprison- ment. The first is, that instead of sentences for a fixed time being passed on crim'inals, they be required, by diligence and good conduct, to earn, in a penal condition, a certain number of marks of approval. The second is, that the marks so earned be used to stimulate and restrain them, precisely as money is used to. stimulate and restrain free people in ordinary life. The third is, that a reasonable number of marks be credited to tbem daily for work performed, for attention to lessons, and for general good conduct; that a fair charge be made for provisions and other supplies furnished; that moderate fines be imposed fqr miscon- duct; and that the clear balance, the actual surplus accumulation, over and above all deductions thus made, alone count toward liberation. There is a fourth principle, regarded by the author of the system as scarcely less important, viz: that when men are associated under this system, they be required to distribute themselves into small parties (say) of six or eight, with common interests ; so that each man shall be made to labor and refrain for others as well as for himself, and exertion and good conduct shall be thus rendered popular, and idleness and mis- conduct unpopular, in the community, because each exhibition of theni affects, favorably or unfavorably, the fortunes of several together. In the earlier stages of treatment, devoted peculiarly to punishment, the prisoners should not be combined in social parties; and the first stage of all should be, as mentioned under another head, separate im- prisonment, for men will repent best alone. But the object is an import- ant one at an early period to call forth social virtues by creating social ties. This is, indeed, the key-stone of the whole system, the essential principle, without which its other parts would be of comparatively little value. A. prison system must study to make good members of society, or its efforts will be vain, because they will be directed too low, and because they will leave untouched the selflshngss which gives to vice INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. 179 its worst character of malignity, and deprives even good conduct of all pretension to virtue. In modeling the social parties, however, too much strictness should not be exercised. The type of families in ordinary life should be followed, but not exceeded. Thus interests should be com- mon among the members, but not necessarily either occupations or ■dwellings. On the contrary, by admitting separation in these particu- lars, friends will be enabled to combine and support each other, though of different mechanical tastes and powers; their friendships will be cemented, which is precisely the object desired; quarrels will be pre- vented in the several parties ; the educated and uneducated will be en- abled to combine without pain or a feeling of degradation, and conse- -quently without deterioration on either side ; and the influence of each individual on his companions, and of his companions on him, will be more moral and less material by their occasional separation. Prisoners, thus distributed into small parties with common interests, both labor and refrain from generous and social, and not merely from selfish and personal impulses. Great importance is attached to this feature in the mark system, and its value was abundantly proved on Norfolk Island. As before stated, it makes good conduct popular and bad conduct unpopular, since each affects others as well as the ^ctor himself. It thus deprives offense of a great stimulant which it now has, arising from the sympathy, sport, or other excitement which the sight of it creates in the lookers-on. It transfers this stimulus rather to good conduct. It opens the hearts of those who sacrifice a personal gratification to the good of their companions, and thus tends to raise them in the sc^le of being. It gives every man a certain number of custodians — his most intimate friends and companions — all interested in supporting his good tendencies and suppressing his bad, investing him with a right to the same supervision over them. And by giving a social and almost family influence over them, as opposed to a merely gregarious one, it directs a flood of wholesome influences on all. Without some social organization, it is almost impossible to make' a general im- pression on numbers together. Each impulse communicated perishes as it enters, for there is nothing in the man's own position to sustain it ; and •the least improving state of society in which men can be placed is thus one of gregarious assemblage, without common ties, or interest, or con- cert, or combination, among themselves. Instead of bringing prisoners together, and yet endeavoring to keep them separate and uninfluenced by each other, (which is impossible,) the true and natural policy is to combine them in circumstances which will make their mutual influence necessarily beneficial. And few who have not, as our author says he has, tried and proved this plan, will easily conceive the power it gives a superior employing it. The change produced on the convicts at Nor- folk Island under this system was, he avers, most remarkable. He gives the following interesting detail of the process by whigh it was eflfected : The men previously looked np every night in a barrack, in which there -vrere lodged fifty and sixty together in large dormitories, without lights or any immediate superintendence to preveat abuse, were gradually thinned out and hutted in the bush near their field labors. The best men were taken first, and under the check of the . officers they were allowed to choose others as companions when able to accommodate them, on condition that they became severally responsible themselves for their good conduct. A strong field police was at the same time formed of prisoners, but with a considerable value attached to their situations, and who, under the immediate direction of the chief constable and police-runner of the island, both free, behaved generallj' re- markably well. Gradually many men ifrere thus got out. The best conducted were always taken, and, their privileges being much coveted, others behaved well to obtain the eama. Thpy had all small gardens allotted them, on which they were encour- aged to grow ve jetablep, and to rear pigs and poultry, both for their own use and for 180 INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. aaiS among tho Officers, as they were able. Tbey thtis all speedily acquired a little- property ; aud with its possession they also acquired au interest in its rights. Theft hecajne unpopular among them, and at last almost unknown. There was every temptation to it, and every facility for its commission ; yet it was abstained from. The writer had himself a large garden in the midst of them, almost uuinclosed, and with a deep, well in it of peculiarly fine water, which all were allowe'd to draw from at will. His borders were full pf the finest fruits, pine-apples, bananas, grapes, melons, figs, guavas, and the like ; yet nothing was ever taken, and tho other officers' gardens were equally respected. Aif. the same time, the tale of government work required was not abated, and the men were even seen sometimes to work at their little allotments by moonlight in order to do them justice. The scene was a remarkable proqf of the power of mere arrangements to call out the favorable points in human nature, even in the most uufavorable circumstances ; and though some of the facts seem scarcely credible, they are still well attested, and the effect of the discipline was not merely transitory. Two years after he left the penal colonies, the writer obtained returns of the conduct subsequently of these men, both in New South W^les and Van Diemen's Land, which were remarkably favorable. And in a private letter written from Van Diemen's Land, about four years afterward, (May 20, 1848,) are these words: "The conduct of your Norfolt Island men generally has been most exemplary; they have shown that a reformation far greater than has hitherto been effected in any body of men by any system, either before or after yours, has taken place in them. With scarcely an exception, the whole are doing well, and some are in a respectable way of business advancing fast to prosperity. They are a credit to the name they bear of Captain Maconochie's men." Captain Maconochie, in his writings, insists much upon this point, that man is a social being, and that his duties are social ; whence he" deduces the principle that only in society can prisoners be duly prepared /or it. Only thus can a field be provided for the exercise and cultiva- tion of the active social virtues, and for the habitual voluntary restraint of active social vices. To prepare for society in society seems just as requisite as to send men to sea to prepare them to command ships, or, in any case, to accommodate the preliminary education of individuals to their ultimate destination. Penitence, good resolution, moral and religious principle are an excellent foundation — they are, indeed, the only sure foundation ; and if only once really instinct with life, they "will ascend .and pervade whatever superstructure is raised on them. But where their dictates have been originally weak or systematically disregarded, it seems as idle to expect that their mere theoretical inculcation late in life, however enforced by suffering, will be suf- ficient to make them the dominant guides of future conduct, as it would be to hope in this way to teach a trade, or any other prac- . tical application of abstract rules. Moral lessons, to be taught profit- ably, require a field of progressive experimental application the same as engineering does, In the one case, as in the other, if the important element of friction is omitted in the pupils' studies and in their training, if they are only inculcated from books, and their resp'ective truths are notenforced by experience, the end sought will not, ordinarily, be attained. Won vi, sed swpe cadendo — not by violent or artificial machinery, but by frequent failures — moral habits, like mechanical skill, are developed and strengthened. The superiority of such asystem, that is, of a social training over any ascetic or merely individual treatment, may be placed in various lights: 1. It would be more natural. Man is born witii social instincts and tendencies ; his impulses, habits, aud virtues are social ; and hence in society only can they be suitably exercised. Moreover, only in society is hope usually vigorous and exertion sustained. Solitary beings are uncertain in temper ; aud solitariness of feeling, that is, selfishness, is the known and admitted source of every description of vice. Hence proceed, in great measure, the vicious tendencies 'which at present prevail in prisons. But with a social existence a different result might INTEENATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. 181 be looked for. With common interests, their hearts, whicli are uow shut, would open. They would become alive to others' feelings, instead. ot brooding over their own. They would recognize their relation. to society at large, and the obligations involved in it. Eeformers are too anxious to re-create. Instead of following nature they seek to change it. They impute their failure to its perversity, when it is their own that is In fault. TJiey do not seek to imitate natural agencies, but to improve on them. Instead of training and guiding, they try to re- model. Can we wonder that they are, for the most part, so Uttle suc- sessful? 2. Being more natural, this mode of discipline would be also more easily organized and maintained. The opposite of this is, indeed, often asserted. The difficulty of finding suitable agents to work the svstem has been much insisted on. But this idea is a misconception, founded on a superficial examination of the question. The difficulty in other systems of prison discipline arises from the importance attached in t-hem to minute regulation and to mere physical restraints, without any adequate effort being made to gain the prisoners themselves, to control .their wills, and so to change the character, and not merely to restrain the manifestations of their impulses. But the mark system reverses this process. The difference of effort that would be required to overcome the obstacles in its way, as compared with that required in others, would thus be like that between the strength required to confine steam in a highly expansive state and when it is chemically altered by con- densation. U atural agencies assert an immediate mastery, whereas arti- ficial restraints operate with difficulty, and too often with a melancholy ■destruction of material, which, in this case, is men, and not mere material objects. Aspiring after marks of commendation, which they may in turn exchange for immediate gratifications or ultimate release, prisoners, under a social system of training, would be exactly as freemen laboring for wages, and be just as easily managed ; or rather they would be more so, for both their dependence and stake would be greater. And as every description of good conduct would have a marketable value, as well as labor performed, the corresponding habits of order, submission, self- command, and the like, would be more generally formed, and their effects more uniformly exhibited. 3. It is easier to create an esprit de corps in a body of men than to regulate the impulses of any single individual. Man is a social being; nor can he wholly resist any given social tendency, however opposed to it may be his personal inclinatioiis. The cowardly soldier yet main- tains his place in the ranks ; the unprincipled maniyet pays the homage of hypocrisy to virtue. The facility of working a social system of prison management would be in nothing more striking than in the fetters which it would thus throw around even the most hardened; fetters which would be only the more effectual because they would be unseen, and because they would proceed from the prisoner's own class, unconsciously to himself, and therefore unresisted. 4. The next interesting point of view, accordingly, in which the sys- tem here ad.vocated may be placed, is this uniformity of its action. AH would be impressed by it, more or less, and the greater number very much. Goo'd prisoners are now the exception. Under the system pro- posed they might be expected to become the rule ; and the circum- stances being made favorable to virtue, as they now are to vice, the exhibitions would as punctually correspond in the one case as in the .other. The efficiency of an army is in proportion to the discipline, intelligence, and consequent uniform action of all its members, and nofc 182 INTEENATIONAL PENITifilNTIAIiY CONGEESS. to the superiority of a few. Thus virtue is maintained in a community^ not by a few high examples of it, but by an elevated general standard. 5. The superior efficiency of a social school of reform, even for obtaining- a high measure of individual virtue, constitutes another strong recom- mendation. It may aim far higher than any system of individual treat- ment, and may much more confidently hope to compass even the highest. Men are excitable in society. Where one goes another will follow, and he will seek not merely to follow, but to outstrip. It is thus that armies- rush impetuously where the bravest would hesitate to advance alone, and boys at school exhibit, under an impulse of emulation, a patience and self-denial foreign to their age, and which none of them, probably,, •would singly command. Is there any reason why this excitability may not be- enlisted in the service of moral reform, as well as of military or: moral excellence'? It is presumable that, if moral reform were dis- tinctly pursued as the first object of penal management in associations properly combined to promote it, and with those encouragements which, in dealing with ignorant men, are often as necessary to define virtue to their comprehension as to stimulate them to its practice, it would, in the great majority of cases, be attained. Once actuated by any common impulse, uneducated minds are always more entire in their subjection to it than those whose views are more extended through culture; and where they act in the mass, their movement becomes accelerated at every step. ► ' 6. A prison discipline, organized as proposed, would be much more accommodatfed to varieties of temper and character than any that de- pended on mere physical or coercive apparatus. Every man's lot under it would be in his own hands ; his companions woulfl be of his own choice, and on his and their conduct and industry would depend both his daily comfort and the length of his detention. No system, accord- ingly, could be at once so benevolent and .so just. Its object being per- sonal reformation, it would seek such reform by the most agreeable of all means — ^the mutual action of chosen companions on each other. Eising above the justice which aims to accommodate punishment to mere past offense, at best an erring and often a false criterion, it would put every one on a trial of character merely, and deal with him on this only, which is what society has chief interest in. For much more important is it to a community to ascertain, before a prisoner is released, whether he is likely again to commit offense than whether his suffering has been- made adequate, in a vindictive sense, to that which is past. And much more would even abstract justice be satisfied by making penal treat- ment bear a relation to habitual disposition than by accommodating it to that which may have been only an accidental extreme evidence of it.. To! this (juality in the system the greatest value is to be attached. It not only renders punishment benevolent as well as just, but it rests its claims to these qualities on higher grounds than are usually taken in recommending them. The benevolence is not that of inflicting the least possible unnecessary hardship, but of conferring^ the greatest possible, necessary benefit ; and the justice, humbly copying that ascribed to om- niscience, looks beyond one occasional action, and seeks rather to grap- ple with the impulses which may excuse, or in many cases constitute, its demerit. Its language to the criminal would not be, " I will keep you till you have paid a certain forfeit for a past offense," but, " Having ex- acted a certain moderate penalty for that, I now retain you till I have qualified you to meet the requisitioas of society, on your return to it,. that you may not again fall, as you have done." The balance would not be, as now, the uncertain and, to all practical purposes, useless one be- INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. 183 tween crime and suffering, but the higUy practical and useful one be- tween the demands of society and the attainment of the power and will to meet them. ' 7. The proposed system of prison discipline would be almost self-work- ing, which would be another strong point in its favor. Scarcely any discretion is lodged in any part of it ; and its close resemblance to real life would insure the action of the same principles in maintaining it. The only difference is in the circulating medium by which it is proposed to balance its accounts. By making this to consist of marks of com- mendation, exchangeable in the right hands for anything, biit in the wrong utterly without value, a great many good effects would be pro- duced. All occasion of dishonesty would be removed ; attention would be fixed solely on proper methods of obtaining indulgences; these meth- ods would rise proportionally in estimation ; the connection between them and their beneficial consequences would be obvious to the meanest , capacity, and they would thus be imprinted on the habits, as well as made clear to the understand.ing, of all concerned. But in no other re- spect is innovation on the habits of ordinary life sought to be made ; and, under its arrangements, injustice even in this would be scarcely practi- cable, and if it were ever so easy, it would be almost without motive. 8. Such a system would be self-checking — Another great advantage. Its object, ijersonal reformation, being a tangible one, obvious to the senses, the attainment or non-attainment of this end would exhibit wisdom and ability, or the want of these qualities, in its administration, and that without delay or uncertainty. Slow progress in reform, whether through idleness or extravagance, would be the result of one set of errors; renewed, convictions after discharge, of another. At present there is no similar check on any faultsof administration, however grave. This is, doubtless, one of the main causes of the prevailing difference of opinion as to the comparative efficacy of existing systems. It is im- possible to estimate the value of vindictive examples, perhaps because they have none ; and the sad result of general deterioration, with its concomitant of repeated convictions, is overlooked as unimportant. It would be quite otherwise if a fixed object were in view, which could not be mistaken. The very pursuit of such an end, the attainment or non- attainment of which must be at once obvious to every observer, would close the avenues to carelessness on the one side, and malversation on the other, even if the f^ar of detection from missing it were less co- gent than, in such circumstances, it would of necessity be. 9. There is another consideration, which strongly recommends a social prison discipline. It is this : Power in a society, by being under the direction of virtue, naturally increases, and has a necessary tend- ency to prevail over opposite power, not under such direction, just as power, by being under the direction of reason, has a tendency to prevail over brute force. Union, and more especially virtuous union, is power. Men can do jointly what they cannot do singly. The union of minds and hands works wonders. Men become efficient in proportion as they concentrate their powers. Joint effort conquers nature, hews through mountains, rears pyramids, dikes the ocean. Man left to him- self, living without a fellow, if he could so live, would be one of the weakest of creatures. Associated with his kind, he gains dominioh over the strongest animals, over the earth and the sea; and, by his growing knowledge, due almost wholly, to association, he maybe said to obtain a kind of property in the universe. Nor is this all. Men not only accumulate power by union, but they thereby gain warmth and earnestness, which raises and intensifies 184 INTEENATIONAL PENITENTIAKY CONGRESS. power. The heart is kindled by association. An electric commuuica- tion is established between those who are brought into contact and are bound to each other by common labors and interests. Man droops in solitude ; no sound excites him like the voice of his fellow-man. The mere sight of a human countenance, brightened with generous emotion, - gives new strength to do or suffer. Union not only brings into play forces which before existed, and which were ineffectual thtough separa- tion, but, by the interest and feeling which it arouses, it becomes a creative, principle, calls forth new forces, and gives the mind a con- sciousness of powers which would otherwise have remained unknown. A current objection to the system of discipline here proposed and ad- vocated is the alleged necessary demoralization attending the associa- tion of prisoners together. It is readily admitted that if only their worst feelings are called out, as is commonly the case under existing systems, their association cannot but aggravate the evil. But if, in- stead, we will bring their better impulses into play — and it is quite easy to do this under proper combinations, without sacrificing any portion of reasonable punishment — prisoners will 'be found just like other men. They are born social beings, are so fashioned by the hand of the Cre- ator, and it is in society, not in seclasion from it, in the society of their equals, not in exclusive contact with superiors, that their best qualities will infallibly be called out. To say that men can be best fitted to re- turn to society in solitude, or in the company only of their superiors, without any other social relations whatever than that of prisoner to jailer, seems as great a solecism as it would be to say that admirals may be best taught their special duties by being kept on shore, or artists by being debarred the use of their implements. Both instruction and prac- tice must go to fit a man to meet the difficulties an3 temptations of social life ; and if either is omitted, the discharged prisoner must inev- itably go lame and halt. Like handcuffs and strait-jackets, separation lias a good special application, and, as a medicine, is excellent for cer- tain phases of moral disease ; but it is no more fit for habitual diet than senna or ipecacuanha. It is alleged that it facilitates the return of pris- oners outside by lessening the chances of recognition ; and in aid of this property in it, masks have been introduced into many prisons further to conceal the person. But it is a delusion to suppose that such a device can ordinarily be successful ; prisoners rarely fail to know and recognize each other. Besides, is it really desirable or wise to try to qualify men to go forth into the world with a lie'in their mouth? Would it not be better to make prisons so improving, and the principles on which men are discharged from them necessarily bear such testimony to their amended character, that the prejudice against ^receiving them when dischai^ged will gradually fade away, and cease to be an obstacle to their ultimate advancement? IX. It is the living soul which a true system of prison discipline will seeTi to win, not the inert and obedient body ; hence minute regulations should not be greatly valued, and the multiplication of conventional or artificial .offenses is to he sedulously avoided. To make the mark system consistent with itself, and carry out the iprinciples on which it is founded, the head of a penitentiary establish- ment under it must propose to himself a purely benevolent object, and repudiate everything which is merely vindictive, as well as what is . called exemplary. He will not by so doing lose the little benefit that may be derived from any example without principle; but he will raise the character of the example that he sets by making it one of successful reform. Whenever he is in doubt he must refer to the ordinary opera- INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. 185 tions of society as a guide; and, in particular, lie must study bv every means to create a representation of its social ties by diffusing common interests and responsibilities, extending and subdividing these as on experience ho shall find best. He must set no store by minute regu- lation, and carefully avoid multiplying con ventional'' offenses. He must also encourage men to love labor, by assisting it with all the usual aids and appliances to make it productive. There cannot be a greater mistake than to make penal labor necessarily rude and ineffect- ive. His object must be thus to persuade, not coerce ; to create the good will, and reward, without commanding, the good deed. It is the living soul, and not merely the inert and obedient body that he must seek to gain ; and precisely as he attaches value to the latter he will probably be indifferent to the former ; and, conversely, as he comprehends the worth of the former he will appreciate at only its just value the minutely scrupulous eye-serviee which is often rendered by the worst men. Of Ms general success on these principles he need entertain no doubt ; and the more confident he is on this head the better, for such confidence will make him inventive of the methods proper to the attainment of his end. In dealing with prisoners we habitually make a variety of mistakes, to which, nevertheless, professed diseiplinariaus are all zealously at- tached. We draw no proper distinction between moral and merely con- ventional offenses. By minute regulation we multiply the number of these latter, and at the same time exaggerate their importance. We thus wear out the spirits of our men, and exhaust their feelings of sub- mission and obedience by incessant demands upon them for pure frivoli- ties. We also sear their conscience by familiarizing them in this way with petty transgression. We trust altogether to force to compass our ends. We seek to bend men like osiers, or to cast them, as we would dough, in stone molds. We allow the higher principles of human nature to lie dormant in our prisoners; we afford no scope for their ex- ercise; we make our sole appeal to immediate and absolute submission; we give no charge to men of their own destiny; we keep them as au- tomata in our hands ; we treat them as such mainly, if not wholly ; and having thus done everything iii our power to weaken them, we look to make up for our blunders afterward by placing them in " favorable cir- cumstances." Is this a school of virtue 1 Is not the whole process an absurdity ? Nitimur in adversum — a struggle against opposing forces-^ is the real road to improvement; and we give our prisoners neither op- portunity for making this manly struggle, nor the chance of acquiring energy and independence of character through the battle. We make them look and act to order while in our hands, and we wonder and cry •out at their perverseness, when thej^ afterward fall, either through the Aveajiness which we have ourselves induced, or from the want of strength which we have failed to im^jart. The system devised by Maconochie avoids these errors, without falling into others of any great gravity. It may be improved in its details, as it has been by Sir Walter Crofton, but its fundamental principles cannot be advantageously dispensed with. It grants no weak or unmeaning indulgences, but itseeks to gain soiil as well as body; to influence and to mold, not merely to coerce. I,t draws the line of duty under the guidance of religion and morality, not of conventional regulation. It seeks to punish criminals by placing them in a position of severe ad- versity, from which nothing but long- sustained effort and self-denial can extricate them; but it does not aggravate their position by unworthy scorn, hatred, or contemxit; on the contrary, it respects our common, jaature, however fallen or diseased. It does not encourage a man ap- 186 INTEENATIONAX, PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. preaching his freedom by an abatement of task or improvement of diet, the low rewards of existing low systems, which flatter the spirit of self- indulgence, that leads most criminals to their first fall; but it at once proves, stimulates, and cheers him ou by an ever-increasing scope of free agency, with motives to guide it, yet riot unmingled with difficulty to resist its temptations. Seeking thus to train men for discharge into any circumstances, it does not distrust its power to qualify them for even the most difficult; but it seeks this end by strengthening the will, not by fettering it, believing that thus only can men be trained, whether in free society or in prison, who will be able to meet successfully the trials and difficultiesi of active life; for to aim at virtue by fencing it from without, instead of by strengthening it from within, is as perfect an exemplification as can well be conceived of dropping the substance to pursue its shadow. We cannot have worse success by seeking to gain the minds of our prisoners than we have.had by aiming merely to fetter their bodies; and, on the other hand, we may, by using a more rational method, solve a problem which all concur in pronouncing diffi- cult, and which the dispassionate reasoner can scarcely avoid pronounc- ing incapable, on present principles, of being solved at all, viz, how we may so organize public punishtnent as to check crime and yet recover criminals. X. The prisoner's self-respect should be cultivated to the utmost; every- thing tending to destroy this sentiment should be avoided; all unnecessary humiliation of the prisoner is of evil tendency and effect. The principle should be of constant and of universal application in prisons, not to degrade further those who come to them already degraded by their crimes. Self respect is one of the most powerful sentiments of the human miud,for the reason that it is the most personal; and he who ■will not condescend in some degree, according to circumstances, to flat- ter it, will never attain his object by any series of chastisements, the effect of harsh treatment being to irritate rather than to correct, and thus to turn from reform instead of attracting to it. Stripes, the imposition of a degrading- dress, and everything else tend- ing to destroy men's self respect, should be abolished, and instead, the punishment for prison offenses should be the withholding of some privi- lege to which the prisoner would otherwise be entitled, or the forfeiture of a proportion, suited to the offense, of the progress already made to- ward liberation, with or without a period of stricter imprisonment, as the case may be. There is no greater mistake in the whole compass of. penal discipline — fertile as it is in such — than its studied imposition of degradation as a portion of the punishment. It destroys every better impulse. But, on the contrary, no imposition would be so improving, none so favorable to the cultivation of prudence, self-command, self- respect, and a proper deference and respect for others, as that of making every deviation from the required line of right bear on ultimate release. Such a punishment would be as the drop of water that wears away the hardest stone ; and without the possibility, under suitable regulations, of being ever wantonly cruel, would yet speedily subdue even the most refractory. . Captain Maconochie assures us that, while he did not neglect the ob- ject of punishment in his various arrangements on Norfolk Island, he sought it within the limits assigned both by the letter aad the spirit of the lawj not by excesses of authority and of suffering beyond them. The law imposing imprisonment and hard labor he executed to the fullest extent. But, while every one of his men was required to perform the government task allotted him,Avithout abatement, he was saved from all INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. 187 unnecessary humiliation, and was encouraged to look to his own steady efforts for improved position while in prison and for his ultimate libera- tion from It. And this, he avers, not the efforts of an individual, zeal- ous as they certainly Avere, was the real secret of the altered aspect of Norfolk Island in his time from what either preceded or followed it. He sought, by all practicable means, to recover the men's self-respect, to re- instate their manhood, to gain their own wills toward their reform, to visit moral offenses severely, but to reduce the number of those that were purely conventional, to mitigate the penalties attached to these, and thus gradually to awaken better and more manly feelings among them. He believed that needless humiliation, which it is the ikshion to impose on prisoners over and above what is required by law, does more moral injury than all other incidents put together of ordinary prison life. Its tendency is to crush the weak, irritate the strong, and indispose all to submission and reform. It is, in truth, neither intended by the law, nor consistent with the professions made by lawgivers when framing them. It is merely one infirmity of human nature, one exhibi- tion of its worst qualities, aggravating others. It is trampling where we ought to raise, and is therefore at once unchristian and impolitic. No one will ever beneficially influence prisoners, or indeed anyothers,^ who does not cherish and seek to strengthen in their breasts manly sen- timent, which is the religion of uncultivated minds, and perfectly com- patible with their most improved aspirations. XI. MoroX forces should he relied upon both for discipline and reformation in prisons, with as little resort to physical force as may he; the military type- of discipline, particularly, is not suited to the nature and design of public punishment. A broad distinction is to be made between physical apparatus and inoral appliances in prison management. By physical apparatus is to be understood is intended merely to coerce, regardless whether it per- suades or not; by moral appliances is to be understood whatever offers a choice, and thus strengthens the mind even when guiding it. An in- vincible necessity, however produced, may, in this sense, be called physi- cal; it may be caused by moral means, as intimidation, without affect- ing its real character; and, on the other hand, a moral appliance has firequeutly a tsingihle physical form, without losing its proper character. The essential [distinction — and it is a very important one — ^is that be- tween force aufl persuasion, the fitting of the body and the gaining of the will. Whatever conduces to the latter may thus have place in a system of moral influence, but that place will be more or less higlJ, according to its more or less directly persuasive or coercive character. The chief influence at present relied on, both for preventing crime and weaning from it, is fear. Fear is no doubt among the most active impulses of the human mind; we all, in a degree, daily experience it; and it ought therefore to have a place, and even a large place, in every agency directed to repress crime. Yet if we consider it dispassionately and philosophically, there is not an impulse of any kind whatever, whether love, hatred, desire, covetousness — be it what it may— that does not continually overcome it even in the most timid. Is it rational,^ is it feasible, to rest our chief confidence on so feeble an agency in the endeavor to repress crime, to which the promptings usually proceed from the strongest feelings of the human breast? It is unworthy the intelligence of our age to state such a proposition. There needs to be introduced into prison discipline a higher aim, enforcing management that seeks to gain the wills of prisoners, and not merely to confine and macerate their bodies. We must train them to become again virtuous 188 INTERN A.TIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. freemen, not merely for a time reduce tliem to the position of well' ordered bondmen, taught the virtues of a state of slavery — obedience,, submission, punctuality, order, and the like — but necessarily with these a large admixtureof its vices also — concealed but cherished re- sentment, duplicity, evasion, a thicker cloak of hypocrisy, which, how- ever, only conceals with a little more art the continued rottenness within. We too commonly considet criminals as the representatives of crime, and pharasaically fancy that, in being harsh to them, we show our de- testation of it. If we would consider them rather as its first and sad- ■dest victims, to be pitied as well as blamed — to be pitied all the more for being bankrupt in virtue as well as in means, and if we would earnestly seek to raise them from this position, not indeed by pernicious indulgence, but by a judicious course of adversity and instruction, de- veloping their manly and stimulating their moral nature; if we would do all this, we would much more correctly appreciate the whole subject, much better understand our own duties in relation to it, much better exhibit a Christian spirit to our fellow-men, and much more successfully repress crime. Only let us try — try in good faith and with good will, not halting between two principles, but acting steadily and energeti- cally on one. The result would not long be doubtful, and the greatest moral problem of our day would be at length satisfactorily solved. All past systems of prison discipline have been, in the main, differ- ent modifications of force. Whether separation, or silence, or enforced labor, or artificial privation, or whatever else may have been the lead- ing principle, still, authority has been their chief, if not the exclusive reliance ; and, so far as reforming criminals is concerned, they have all signally failed. Let organized persuasion now have a trial — not coax- ing, not coddling, but persuasion with such forces behind it, resulting from a judicious application of motives, as, while leaving the will free, will yet, by a sort of moral necessity, determine it to a right choice. It was charged agajnst Maconochie that the only secret of his man- agement on Norfolk Island was indulgence, and that his prisoners be- haved well because they had all their own way. They little know pris- oners who say this. Mere weakness never yet guided or controlled such men. They behaved well with him because they were reasoned with, not bullied ; because they were sought to be raised, not crushed ; because fhey had an interest in their own good conduct; because the public sen- timent of the establishment was at once a restraining and an impelling fftrce ; and because they knew that if, notwithstanding, thej- behaved ill, they would be otherwise vigorously repressed, y It was objected by a writer in the Edinburgh Eeview that prisoners are selfish, and he argued that the way to cure them is to urge their penal sufferings to the maximum, and so make them feel that "the wages of sin is death;" and he endeavors to illustrate the analogy of such treatment to the doings of the supreme intelligence in the effects of continued intemperance on the body of the drunkard. But what is the real analogy of this case % As long as a druh'kard continues to be- sot himself, his bodily suffering and decay increase ; but if he turn from his infatuation, after the pain of the first effort is over he gains health and ease day by day. Just so it is with criminals under a moral as dis- tinguished from a coercive rdgime. They come in selfish — desirous only of ease, evasion, and self-indulgence, but, under the strong impulse af- forded by the system, they gradually become social,, generous, active, and well-purposed throughout. " They wash and are cleansed." Ee- ligiously they may not be converted. But even in this respect many INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. 189 come, through their temporal good, to see and embrace their spiritual ; and it is beyond all controversy that a right agency will make improved social agents of even the worst ; or if this be considered doubtful, it "will be time enough to pronounce authoritatively to this effect when a right agency shall have been fairly tried. The coercive system of managing men appears to be an essentially vicious one, insomuch that precisely where most perfect, it wiU be found ultimately most unsuccessful. Mind can be gained only by appealing to mind. Fettering the body is even directly opposed to this. It has its immediate and apparent advantages no doubt ; but they are too dearly purchased. If -w^e will actively employ our prisoners, and by suitable means cultivate in them the daily practice of manly and social virtue, they will protect themselves from degrading vices much better than we can protect them by walls and bolts. And the moral triumph thus achieved will be as improving and strengthening to them as the physical triumph, even when achieved, is humiliating and enfeebling. An extravagant degree of importance has been and is attached to the mere construction of prisons, and attention is drawn off by this from what is much more important. A good system in a bad prison is far better, than a bad system in a good prison ; and as no one ever heard of a regiment fluctuating according to the construction of a barrack, so neither is there any sound reason for that of prisoners being more dependent on the construction of their prison. Discipline is. a science of moral much more than of physical arrangement ; and in this department alone is this consideration utterly disregarded. In all other directions influence has in great part superseded force ; here only has force super- seded influence almost altogether ; and the natural result — want of suc- cess — has followed. We cannot have worse success by seeking to gain the minds of our prisoners than has hitherto resulted from seeking merely to fetter their bodies. Little effort is made, generally, to call the better impulses of prisoners into habitual exercise, while much in their treatment tends to keep the worse in activity. Further punishment is denounced if they misbe- have; but no fixed encouragements are held out for sustained good conduct. Their more abject feelings are thus kept habitually active, while their more manly ones are allowed to sleep. Consequently, the powers and impulses most likely, on their discharge, to keep them from again falling, are impaired by disuse, while those of concealment and evasion, the sources, probably, of their first error, are continually being sharpened. Their character beihg thus modified, and themselves sub- jected to increased temptation on discharge, while their powers of resist- ance are necessarily weakened, the expression, " once a prisoner, always a prisoner," has become proverbial, but in a great degree through the training to which criminals in prison are thus habitually subjected. The ability on the part of the prisoner to better his condition while in prison— in other words, a regulated self interes<^is one of the mightiest and healthiest moral forces that can be introduced into prison manage- ment. Captain Maconochie, in one of his publications, refers to the remarkable experiment in prison discipline of Colonel Montesinos, in Valencia, Spain, and makes the following extract from one of his reports : The establishment of one workshop, and the difficulties experienced in managing it, showed me both how to introduce more, and how to Enlarge those already in operation ; and I thus further acquired the intimate conviction that without the atvmilus ot some personal advantage accruing to themselves from their labor, it is diffi»ult to obtain work even from the already skilled, and almost impossible to get the unskilled ■ to learn. Repeated experiments convinced me of the practical lesson involved in thi? Qiaxim of social economy, and that what neither severity of punishments nor constancy 190 INTIJENATIONAL PENITENTIAEY CONGRESS. in inflicting them conld exact, the slightest personal interest would obtain. In different ways, therefore, during my command, I have'applied this powerful stimulant ; and the excellent results it has always yielded, and the powerful germs of reform which are constantly developed under its influence, have at length fully convinced me that the most inefficacious of all methods in a prison, the most pernicious and fatal to every chance of reform, are punishments carried to the length of harshness. Moreover, the love of labor cannot be imparted by violent means, but rather by encouragement and persuasion ; and although it is quite possible to obtain a given amount of work from prisoners by the aid of the stick, yet the consequence is, necessarily, aversion to an employment which involves so many penalties, and of which such a bitter recollec- tion must always be preserved. The moral object of penal establishments is thus also, in effect, defeated, which should be not so much to inflict pain as to correct — to receive men idle and iU-iutentioned, and return them to society, if possible, honest and indus- trious citizens. It was not till after making many experiments of severity that I o?jne firmly to this conclusion ; but ultimately I made the principle the basis of all my oper- ations on the minds of the prisoners, and the extraordinarily small number of recom- mittals to my prison, and the excellent health and perfect state of submission in which those confined in it have always been kept, seem to me to leave no doubt of its sound- ness. The comment of our author on these statements is : The most depraved human nature, the lowest, the most sunk, has yet elasticity suf- ficient to rise at the call of a regulated self-interest, and can thence be made gradually to ascend under the influence of higher motives. One of the moral forces'most confidently relied upon by Captain Maconochie in the management of prisoners is the law of kindness. The kindness proposed, however, is neither morbid nor mawkish, seek- ing merely to alleviate the immediate suffering of prisoners, which they have deserved, and ought to undergo. It is rather a manly, rational, Christian, prudent, forecasting kindness, seeking to raise them again. Such a spirit introduced into our prisons would speedily work wonders, both on the character of prisoners and on the general movement of crime. This spirit once there, the principle admitted, the aspiration after moral improvement recognized by the ofiScers as a duty, it would prove inventive in their hands. It would flnd or maZse'toeans to accom- plish the reform of their prisoners, and when driven from one agency, it would have recoarse to others; it would not be wholly defeated. Further, such a spirit once having found a lodgment in the breasts of prison: ofiicers, and constantly working itself out, would not long be confined within the prison walls, but would follow those who had felt its beneficent power while in bondage into society, after their discharge, and would thus tend prodigiously to repress crime. What a change, what a revolution we might say, would the general possession and manifestation of such a spirit on the part of prison officers make in the tone and temper in which prisoners are now treated in prison ! This is at present supercilious, in many cases even contemptu- ous or denunciatory, whereas it should be rather that in which patients are received into a hospital. The hatefulness of the crime that has been committed should be, indeed, freely expressed; on this, head there should be no compromise; but apart from this the criminal should be sincerely regarded and studiously treated as an object of compassion, sadly fallen, indeed, but yet recoverable, and sent to prison to be re- covered. A tone of hopefulness tfor his case should thus be maintained, and of confidence that, when put in the right way, he will be manly «nough to abide in it. This idea of manliness, as attached to virtue, and of cowardice andabjectness, as shown in yielding to vice, should be especially insisted on. The greatest benefit has been seen to result from* it in dealing with rough and fallen natures. It is an idea that comes home to many bosoms, otherwise hard to be permanently im-. pressed, and to whom, on the other hand, any approacli to whining is distasteful and an object of scoffing. INTEKNATIONAIi PENITENTIARY CONGEESS. 191 And it deserves to be noted here, in passing, that a liberal applica- tion ot the law of kindness to prisoners is not incompatible with a calm, steady, resolute discipline. Tenderness may be fitly and success- lully blended with justice in the treatment of them. It is not a just rigor agamst which the prisoner rebels, fojr that may be wise and kind; It is against capricious harshness, which is cruel and irritating, because It lacks the element of equity. Criminals are not much accustomed to kind treatment, and therefore they are the more readily touched by it. bhow them that you have humanity, that you feel a genuine svmpathy, and their gratitude is at once awakened. This principle appears to keep a hngering hold of our nature, even in the last and lowest degree of human wickedness. When all other generous principles are gone, this still survives, and shows itself even in the most hackneyed and hardened malefactors. There is, somehow and somewhere, a softer part about them, which will give way to the demonstrations of tender- ness. This one ingredient of a better character, this one germ of a dormant virtue, is still found to survive the destruction of all the others, insomuch that, fallen as a brother may be from the moralities which at one time adorned him, the manifested good- will of his fellow- men still carries a charm and an influence along with it ; and in this there lies a regenerative and redemptive operation, which no degrada- tion and no depravity can extinguish. Moral powel" over his prisoners was sought by Captain Maconochie, and attained, too, in a very high degree, by frequent, frank, kindly, iudicious conversations with them. On this point the captain says : I very early adopted, in the penal cqlonies, two practices, to whicli I owed much of the minute information that I gradually acquired about prisoners, and much of the influence that I gained over them. One was that of conversing with them all very freely^ and encouraging them to speak to me in like manner, aijd to give me, without hesitation or reserve, their views and sentiments on whatever was our subject. By this means I was enabled to sound their impressious and the sources of them much more deeply than would otherwise have been possible. I derived infinite advantage, in the beginning especially, from this practice. My second habit was that, whenever a prisoner was brought before me judicially, especially for a moral, as distinguished from a mere disciplinary or conventional offense, I always strictly interrogated him about his early youth and training, his parents, the lessons they had taught him, the example they had set him, and so forth. My immediate object was to call up the associations connected with the days when he was yet comparatively innocent, and thus endeavor to revive in him the impulses which guided his conduct before he became corrupted and seared by the scenes he had subsequently gone through. I was often much struck by the manifestations of tenderness and regret that passed before me ; yet distressed, too, by their too often fleeting character. Still, I had reason to think that they did fiome good, as recurring to the men's minds afterward, and insensibly influencing their conduct. They were sometimes quoted to me months afterward by prisoners as having had that effect on themselves ; but at the moment I certainly was not always convinced of this beneficial effect. At times I had even cause to suspect artifice in the exhibition of them. Again : I carried constantly about me a little book, in which the names and characters of all were entered, by which I was enabled at all times to address them according to their occupations and general demeanor. If they preferred applications to me, as was common, I would immediately reply to them ; and talking freely, almost familiarly, with all, I could both probe their characters and insinuate much useful instruction, especially among the leaders of thera, for I knew that if they were gained, the others ■would follow ; while, on the other hand, this process could not be reversed. I thus especially pressed a distinction, which I was anxious to draw, between what I termed (by comparison) manly offenses and unmanly, including especially among these latter grossness and petty thefts ; and I found generally that I could by no other means so effectually discountenance such faults as by thus pouring contempt on them. I encouraged all to address me with freedom, and would not even listen to a man unless he stood erect and spoke to me like one. I even said to thera frequently that I would rather have a man insolent to me than cringing ; and I encouraged all, if they wanted anything, to come to me theiDBelves with their requests, instead of seeking to make 192 INTEENATIONAL PENITENTIAEY CONGRESS. friends among those more immediately abont me. To faciliteite this, I walked ant! rode about the island generally quite alone, and rather invited than discouraged, con- versation with any who came in contact with me. For every really useful purpose, .the discipline in our prisons is at present-far too military in its whole conception. The objects of military and prison discipline are diame.trically opposite ; and yet the latter is very much modeled on the former. The object of military discipline is to train men to act together ; that of prison discipline, when rightly viewed, is to prepare them advantageously to separate, and to act each , for himself. The purpose of the first is to absorb individuality, to make each man, as it were, a portion of a well-adjusted machine in the hands of a skilled regulator. Its aim is to teach all to look to ordefrs only, not principles, as the guides of their actions. It is precisely the unhappy result of this spirit in existing systems of prison discipline that produces its injurious effect, and shows the false principles on which they are founded. Were it the express purpose of society to destroy the moral strength of prisoners, and to utterly unfit them to regain a place among free and self-acting men, the means could not be more perfectly adapted to the end.* The aim is to reform these criminals. To compass their reformation we must quit the military type, and seek a more suitable arrangement. A military barrack, despite the presumed original innocence of its in- mates, and a high point of honor studiously cultivated i» it — for which no substitute can be found in a prison— yet notoriously demoralizes, and can it be deemed possible that a similar organization can reclaim crimi- nals ? Instead of this, we must carefully copy the incidents of that &ugal, honest, self denying, and laborious poverty, to which we wish to restore our criminals, and for which, therefore, it should be our earnest endeavor to qualify them. No more hot meals without previous exer- tion to earn them ; no more undervaluing of time, nor consequent stimvr lus to skulking or evasion ; no more interest but in industry ; no indulgences save those purchased by exertion and self-command ; no progress toward liberty except through diligence in work, and the exhi- bition of every other description of good conduct, proved not by words but by acts, not by lip submission, but by active, strenuous effort in the fulfillment of all duty. It is thus, and thus only, that the stern school of punishment would be made really reformatory. The military type must therefore be abolished in prison management, and a discipline by moralforces substituted in its place. The objects of military and prison discipline, being directly opposed to each other, can- not be pursued by the same road. The one is meant to train men to act together, the other to prepare them to act separatelj'. The one relies upon force, which never yet created virtue ; the other on motives, the approved agency for obtaining moral ends. The special object of the one is to suppress individual character, and reduce all to component parts of a compact machine; that of the other is to develop and strengthen individual character, and, by instilling right principles, to encourage and enable it to act on these independently. * The Rev. Mr. Luckey, late chaplain of Sing Sing prison, used to relate the case of a man who, being discharged after a~lon,g imprisonment, was unable to walk other- wise than after the fashion of the lock-step ; and, accordingly, he would^ in variably get behind the person with whom he was walking, and laying his hand on his shoulder, tread with the greatest precision in his steps. One day, walking in the streets of New York with a brother clergyman, accompanied by this man, who was following himself in the manneir described, an^ feeling, as he expressed it, " a little wicked," he managed to slip from before the ex-convict and, place him behind his companion, to the great consternation and fright of the latter, and his own abundant amusement. INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. 193 Upon the whole, the questions which heretofore have chiefly occupied public attention — questions of separation, association, kinds and methods of labor, and the like— are but the husk ; the;kernelisfoimdinthe ques- tion, " What shall be the spirit, what the moral apparatus, with which punishment shall be inflicted under any system f External circum- stances have had far too much attentiou. On the principles of the mark system, or, more generally, of systematized persuasion in any form, better results are likely to be obtained in the most unfavorable circumstances than any modification of force will give in the most favorable. And no great advance seems probable or possible in the application of penal science till this truth is seen, acknowledged, embraced, and acted on. XII. Unsuitable indulgence in prison management' is as pernicious as unsuitable severity. The true principle is, to place the prisoner in a position of stern adversity, from tchich he must ivork his ivay out by his own exer- tions — by diligent labor and a constant course of voluntary self-command and self-denial. The writer in the Edinburgh Eeview, cited under the last head, objects to Captain Maconochie's discipline as a system of indulgence and pamper- ing ; but certainly there is nothing in it to warrant such a representation. On the contrary, it proposes, to place criminals in a state of utter pov- erty, destitution, and bondage, from which nothing but their own steady, unflinching, persevering effort can extricate! them. They are to be at the bottom of a well, with a ladder provided by which they may ascend if they will, but without any bolstering or dragging up by other than their own exertions. If they even halt, the effect is to make them go downward again, for their maintenance from day to day is to be charged to them. Are there not here, then, sufficient elements of suffering to produce a deterring effect ? And yet everything is strongly conducive to reform. Why, therefore, go further ? Why introduce, in addition, chains, and dungeons, and factitious offenses, and all the other appara- tus of slavery, so much clung to in ordinary prison discipline, yet so injurious to both officers and men ''. Why stigmatize that system as overindulgent which merely rejects these, while substituting, at the same time, conditions far harder than they to a degraded mind ? A fallen spirit can put up with a little more humiliation, a little more con- tumely, a few more harsh restrictions, which there is always a contem- plated pleasure in evading or resisting ; but to set his shoulder to the wheel, to struggle steadily out of his position, to command his temper, his appetites, his self-indulgent propensities— and all voluntarily, all from an inward impulse stimulated by a moral necessity— this is a far harder imposition. ^ „ ^ , j. In the same spirit the reviewer quotes all his intellectual apparatus as though they were intended as mere solatia, mere devices to wuile away time. But he introduced them for the express purpose ot awaken- ing, stimulating, and keeping the mind active, as well as the body, stor- ing it, at the same time, with better thoughts and images than the impure and disgusting ones otherwise most familiar to prisoners. And in this light thiy cannot, surely, be too highly valued. It is in the inter- vals of entire repose, of an absolute want of occupation which, mord^ nary prison management, are allowed to alternate with severe bodily Sf that such mel corrupt each other. His ^^^^'^^^f^fl'^l^^!: novels, horticulture, and other like machinery, kept out (as they were designed to) many a devil, and let some angels m. Elform by adversity, deter by improving crm^^^^'s-^^^^^J^^i^S damental precept of Maconochie's system; and it cannot be justly charged against it that it is either weak or mawkish. On the contrary, it is ob- S. Ex. 39 13 194 INTEENATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. vious that a much firmer, more consistent, and even more formidable and deterring system may be founded on this principle than on arbi- trary, vindictive punishment. It is substance, not forms, at which it aims. It leaves little to admiuistration, and requires higher sacrifices than lip professions, or mere external, and often hypocritical, submission and obedience. As a rule, reform can be attained only through a course of severe training. It is in well-devised adversity that all the manly virtues are generated. " Sweet are its uses," therefore, to prisoners; though they, like others, would gladly shun its school. It is a consideration here of no little force, that when suffering is inflicted with a benevolent aim the very weakest will enforce it. And all the ends of public punishment may be thus more surely gained. We reform, and deter at the same time and by the same process. The judicious pursuit of the first object will give us also the second. Beyond the restrictions necessary for the order and safe custody of prisoners, every part of their treatment should be directed exclusively to their improvement. Unless this position be distinctly and steadily acted upon, we shall be liable to be constantly drawn aside to the inflic- tion of mere hardship and suffering, which will be quite unnecessary, for if improvement be but wisely sought, there will be enough of these, and even far more than are at present imposed. In truth, nothing could be devised more distasteful to the habitually idle, dissolute, and crim- inal, than an imposed necessity to be, for a length of time, orderly, steady, industrious, and otherwise self-restrained, under penalty of prolonging their detention. The necessity of thus even electing to be weU-conducted, of choosing to mahe effort, and not merely consenting to endure, would be more felt by most prisoners than a much greater amount of physical hardship, incurred under other conditions ; for this would make it evi- dent that their wills were subdued, as well as their persons, and brava- do, then or afterward, would be out of the question. The true principle, then, is, that a man incurring punishment should, like one who has fallen into a pit, be required to struggle out of it, and not be allowed, as at present, simply to endure out of it. In the one case, his more active and better qualities are called into* play, and thereby necessarily improved ; in the other they are all put to sleep, or, to change the figure, they are consumed by rust, if, indeed, others most perni- cious do not supply their place. XIII. The education of prisoiiers is a matter of primary importance as a means of reforming them. To develop the minds and powers of prisoners, schools should be established in all penal institutions; or, rather, such an establishment should be one vast school, in which everything is made subservient to instruction in some shape, moral, religious, intellectual, or industrial. Libraries, museums, and all other appliances calculated to excite and gratify a rational curiosity, should be liberally furnished. But, except in the early stages, when the first start is to be given, and when the treatment should be more like that of k hospital, in which whatever is most suitable is given without regard to expense, Captain. Maconochie wcfuld not have the benefit of these aids extended to any gratuitously. He would liberally reward proficiency where it did occur, but he would, in every case, require a sacrifice of marks to obtain the means of acquir- ing it. These means would be thus valued, and the analogy of ordinary society would be still preserved, a rule of supreme importance in a reformatory prison discipline. The most active means should be taken, the most assiduous efforts made, to expel old thoughts from the minds INTEENATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. 195 •of prisoners, and supply them witli new materials for reflection. The captain devised a curious arrangement in aid of this design.. In a sep- arate prison, which he caused to be built on Norfolk Island, an apart- ment was contrived, in which a reader's voice could be heard in twelve contiguous cells ; and, during the greater part of each day, some de- scription or other of reading aloud was maintained in it. By closing a sliding panel in his door, each prisoner could be absolutely alone, if he wished it, while, by opening it, he was again within hearing of some entertaining and instructive reading. The effect, in a great degree, even through this power of choice, was most beneficial. It is vain to •talk of ignorant, inert, and corrupt minds profiting by their own unas- sisted reflections. They sleep over these, or do worse ; and they can- not be compelled to do better, for what is forced on them soon becomes nauseous, and hence unprofitable. Eeally to serve them, their occupa- tions and progress must be made immediately profitable, a^nd their time thus be rendered important to themselves. They must be assailed from without, also, by continuous, rather than by vehement intermitting ■efforts ; and, being for the most part either adults, or very precocious, they cannot be treated with permanent advantage as mere school chil- -dren. Any progress they so make will be found on trial deceptive, dis- iippearing with the machinery used to produce it. Captain Maconochie, in the management of Norfolk Island, was most anxious to encourage education among his men ; however, as he refused them rations, so neither would he give them schooling gratu- itously, but compelled them to yield marks to acquire it. He balanced this by visiting the schools regularly on the last Saturday of every month, and inspecting them with some degree of formality, examining the men, and distributing prizes, in marks, for attention and proficiency ; so that, with diligence and assidutty, school was rather a source of gain than expenditure, though the idler found it only the latter. Altogether the plan worked admirably. He never saw adult ' schools make such rapid progress or be carried on with greater spirit. He further, on his Saturday visitations, gave prizes, in marks, to the educated prisoners employed to read aloud in the jail, hospitals, dormitories, and larger huts, from which practice of loud readings, very great advantages were derived. It enlarged the minds of even the most ignorant and stupid; and, by showing them the use and value of being able to read, it invited them to diligence in acquiring the power. XIV. Religious instruction and culture are all-important as a means of reforming criminals. Among other agencies for the recovery of the prisoners on Norfolk Island, religious instruction and exhortation occupied much of our author's thoughts, and not a little of his time and effort personally. Besides visiting almost daily the jails and hospitals, and supplying them with books and readers— the latter educated prisoners, mostly infirm and unable to do any work besides this, (and it was marvelous how much they improved both themselves and their companions by this exercise)— he established adult schools ; furnished these also with books and other intellectual apparatus; employed even his own family tutor to teach and to preach in them ; held monthly examinations, at which he distributed prizes to the meritorious; and, in addition to all these efforts, every -Sunday afternoon for four years, after attending morning service with the prisoners on the settlement, he went regularly, attended by some of his family, to a distant station in the bush, where he read the evening -service, with a sermon for the benefit of the shepherds and others whose 196 INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIAEY CONGRESS. arocations made it difficult for them to attend punctually on the service at the settlement. Further, he built two churches in the settlement during his incumbency, one Protestant, the other Eoman Catholic. Previous to his comfng, though the island had been iifteen years a penal settlement, there had not been even one, and the services had been read to the prisoners, often by one of themselves, in a most slovenly and irregular manner, in barns and mess-rooms, as they could be hastily and very imperfectly arranged for the purpose. His church edifices, though plain, were, at least, convenient, and iiever used in any other way ; and the moral benefit that accrued from making the religious observances thus decent, and, in aspect at least, reverential, was prodigious. He" was assisted in all these efforts by a -moderately ^trong clerical staff, consisting of two principal chaplains, Protestant and Roman Catholic, both able, zealous, and even eloquent men, and by two Catholic and Protestant catechists. The men were all (he did not doubt) moral],y and socially improved; the tone of feeling, action, and still more, of opinion, among them was sensibly raised ; vice of all kinds, as well as theft, was discountenanced; scurrilous and reproachful epithets addressed to each ether, which had been previously common, became comparatively rare and even unpopular; evidence in all cases of transgression was -much more easily obtained ; and there was no longer, as it were, a conspiracy among the men on all occasions to defeat the ends of justice. But the captain was constrained to acknowledge that he did not think that any great part of this general and marked improvement proceeded from religious motives, though it was clearly the result of religious teaching. Few, he conceived, could be considered as religiously impressed even in thought, and fewer still, in difficult cii'cumstances, evinced self-denial as the result of religious impression. Still, aft^r citing a variety of illustrative examples, Cfaptain Maconochie adds: From these anecdotes, to which more might be added, it appeared to the -writer that gome important lessons might be deduced, bearing both on education and prison disci- pline. They illustrate the extreme importance, as regards recovery from crime, of ex- tending as widely as possible among our population early devotional teaching, directed to stimulating conscientiousness and instilling an early sense of personal responsibility. It did not^ appear to me of much importance with what specific code of theology this was combined, provided it was instilled early, and thus, almost of necessity, dwelt more on the points iu which nearly all agree than on those in which some differ. In this case, however, the impression may have been overborne for a time under the influ- ence of youthful levity, strong temptation,, or other adverse circumstances ; it was easily renewed, especially if presented under the forms with which it was originally connected. On the other hand, if youth, the season when the sentiments are most ex- citable and retain impressions made on them with the greatest tenacity, has once been passed without any such feelings being kindled, it seemed almost impossible to awa-keu them afterward iu mature years. In this connection may be fitly introduced what Captain Maconochie says in regard to the burial of deceased prisoners. Very soon after his arrival at the island he set himself to improve the prisoners' funerals, previously most disreputable. The attention of prisoners to their sick companions, he avers, is usually very striking; and their emotion, on occasion of a death, far exceeds what is usually seen in either army or navy. The feeling exhibited is not, he thinks, the expression of fear, but rather of sympathy with one who has passed from among them, and from their trials to another audit. He often observed this thought in the minds of otherwise rather hardened men, and in no case did he ever witness a trace of that disgusting levity with which death is sometimes adverted to in military and even in high civil society. Before he went to Norfolk Island only a limited number, not above twelve, were allowed to attend any funeral ; and no head-stone was permitted to be erected at INTEENATIOllfAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. 197 a prisoner's grave. In the belief that a high moral benefit would be the result of an opposite course, he abrogated both these regulations. Two or three hundred men would thus often accompany an interment, all dressed in their best, and walking most respectably in files together ; and a deco- rum, modesty, and even taste (occasionally) were exhibited in their head- stones which were really wonderful. He speaks of one which greatly im- pressed him. It was a low, humble stone over an old man, with the words, " The weary are at rest " above, and the name and date beneath. It seem.ed to him very touching, and at the same time highly characteristic. It expressed that tcedium vitce — weariness of life — which elderly prisoners, who especially feel the discomforts of their position, and have outlived their relish for its palliations, almost always testify. The prison bury- ing-ground was in a somewhat romantic spot, picturesquely placed be- tween a high cliff on one side and a portion of sea-beach on the other, on the bar fronting which a heavy surf broke, even in. the calmest weather. A considerable clump of trees, of stunted . growth, because much beaten by the i)revailing sea-breeze, and hanging low, in conse- quence, over the rear portion of the ground, contributed both to sequester and, with its associations, to give the place a funereal character. A broad gravel walk ran through the whole length of the cemetery. The little "heaving"' mounds rose thickly on either side, with their simply epi- taphed headstones ; and, eventually, the place was seldom without one •or more prisoners "walking among the tombs," scaning the inscriptions, iind meditating on the stern. or touching lessons and recollections thus brought to mind and impressed upon the soul. Anxious to improve the funeral rites in every proper way, and so make them not only more decent but more impressive, Captain Maconochie ■desired to provide th*e prisoners a mort-cloth ; but true to his principle of giving nothing for nothing, on which his inflexibility was as unchang- ing as " the laws of the Medes and Persians," he required three hundred marks to be yielded for one, which thus became the property of the in- dividuals subscribing them, and was hired out afterward as wanted, and much valued, "and in time valuable.'' XV. Industrial lahor in prisons is the only occupation that has an amendatory power ; the tread-mill, cra7il; and shot-drill are deteriorating rather than reformatory in their effect. Captain Maconochie cites a passage from a report of M. Demetz, director of the agricultural colony of Mettray, to the effect that, while in England the crank and tread- wheel are employed both for ordinary and disciplinary punishments, the young criminals committed to his institu- tion universally object to this, and express great indignation at being ,set, as they call it, "to grind the air," {h moudre Vair ;) adding, "We find it of much importance that our occupations, whether ordinary or for punishment, produce a sensible result." Upon this Captain Macono- chie observes, " The difference, in moral effect, between sawing wood or other useful employment, and 'grinding air,' appears to me to be nearly the whole difference between improving and deteriorating occu- pation. Even lunatics are soothed by what they consider useful employ- ment, and are irritated by what produces no useful result. In a reform- atory course it is of much importance to study every point of this kind. Unless a sphere of useful active exertion is provided, I have always found one of the two results— almost equally disadvantageous— to ensue, viz : either morbid irritation, tending at length to insanity or stupid acqui- escence, deriving amusement from frivolous occupations.' We may introduce at this point, though perhaps not exactly fa,lling liere, what is said on the question of the competition between free labor 198 INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIArV CONGRESS. and convict labor : " It has been urged," he says, (quoting from the- committee on criminal law of the Society for Promoting the Amend- ment of the Law,) " against the introduction of useful employment in our jails, that an impolitic competition between convict labor and free- labor will thereby be established. We consider this an utterly futile- objection, and one the fallacy of which has been so often exposed, when^ raised against the introduction of machinery, that it requires no labored . efutation from us ; but we may observe, in passing, that it is infinitely less applicable to convict labor than to machinery, since the convict must be supported, while undergoing imprisonment, from some funds,, and that it is far better for the interests of the community that he should be kept wholly or in part by his own industry than by taxes levied om the industry of others. If every rug, net, and mat used in England ■were made in our prisons no evil results would follow, but, on the con- trary, unmixed good, since the public would be supplied with these ar- ticles at a cheaper rate than at present, and those who now gain their livelihood by rugs, nets, and -mats would, by degrees, find employment in other trades equally remunerative. We have thought it necessary to- allude to this objection, not because we deem it, intrinsically, of the slightest importance, but because we know that at present a foolish prejudice on the subject prevails."* XVI. Arbitrary classification, that is, classification by age, supposed' riminality, identity or similarity of temperament, and the like, is imprac- ticable, and would be useless if it were practicable. On this subject, commenting on an article in the Edinburgh Review,.. Captain Maconochie holds this language: Like all other exercises of mere authority, authoritative alassificatioD, here recom- mended, will prove, I am convinced, a pure delusion ; and, in fact, very fe-w practical' men, I helieve, are not ready even now to pronounce it such. There is no rule by which to regulate it. If hy offense, this is the mere accident of conviction ; if by age, . the youngest criminals, born and cradled in sin, are very often the most corrupt ; if by supposed similarity of temper or antecedent character, no one can certainly pronounce on this, and men are as often and oftener improved by associating with their oppo- sites as with those who resemble them. It is impossible to attain real benefit by such means. One general difference between prisoners, at the same time, does exist, which I thint it would be important, on many occasions, to keep in view, but not with the aim of separating them — I mean the difference between men who have erred from hav- ing more. than an average amount of physical energy, and men who have sinned from- iaving less than an average amount of moral principle. The treatment of the two should very considerably differ, and it might not be impossible or unwise to subject this to regulation. The classification which alone Maconochie approves is based on char- acter, conduct, and merit, as shown in the daily routine of prison life, , * I must enter my emphatic dissent from the position taken by the committee on criminal law, that if all the rugs, nets, and mats in England were made in the prisons, and none outside, nothing but "unmixed good" would come of it; and for this reason, that in that case prisoners would learn a business during their incarceration which would be of no possible advantage to them on their return to free society, and they would be even less fitted to command an honest living after their discharge than they were before their committal. This would be a contradiction to the whole modern doc- trine of a reformatory prison discipline, the very core and essence of which is that the prisoner, while undergoing his sentence, should nave imparted to him th&poioer as well as the will to earn honest bread after his release. The true policy is to mulliply ti-ades ■ in prisons, and to give convicts some choice as to what trades they will learn, thus af- fording them an opportunity to consult, to a certain extent, their own tastes and apti- tudes, as well as enabling them to calculate the chances of success that different trades would give them on their liberation. The error of the committee arises, no doubt, from confounding, in their thought, convicts and machinery, two elements or objeotsi identical for certain purposes of their argument, but differing essentially in other ■ respects.— E. C. W. INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. 199 sucli as that which is fouDd in the Croftou prison system, or, possibly, in some particular prisons managed on the same general principles. XVII. In a reformatory system of prison discipline, the employment of the prisoners themselves as sub-officers, and even as jurors in trying their fellow-prisoners, is attended with good effects. When the object of prison discipline is the moral amendment of the per- sons subjected to it, the employment of these as under-officers is excellent. Bach prisoner, in this case, feels elevated by the elevation of his com- panion, and the self-respect of the whole body is thus cultivated. It is quite different if the object of the discipline is coercion. In this latter case, nothing can be worse, for the sub-oflicers uniformly abuse their petty power, and the in dividual, prisoner is doubly crushed under the tyranny of merelj'^ another but favored slave. When a system of prison discipline is mild, rational, and reformatory^ nothing conduces more to its success than employing those under to it, even largely in conducting it. They serve both as examples and en- couragement to all the others. But when, on the contrary, the system is arbitrary, despotic, coercive, nothing can be more injurious. They always exceed their recognized powers. Captain Maconochie gives the following account of his management, in this particular, of the penal colony on Norfolk Island : One of my earliest cares, after lauding and studying in some degree the details of the establishment, was in a certain measure to disperse and distribute the men. The barracks were very deficient in suitable accommodation, and were much overcrowded. Regard to decency was impossible in them, and the worst offenses had become com- mon. I sought to combat these evils by lights, and by readings aloud each night for a time in the dormitories. But the main evil was not touched by these means. To abate this I selected, under the guidance of the officers, the best and most trustworthy men, camped them out ift the bush, allowed them to choose others as their companions, for whom they agreed to be responsible, gave them huts and gardens close to their work, and ultimately derived the greatest benefit from the whole arrangement. This indulgence was naturally coveted. It became at once a stimulus and a reward for good conduct, its refusal a punishment for bad, and its abuse a most unpopular offense among all. The maxim that confidence begets fidelity was never more strikingly illus- trated. This distribution of the men necessitated a greater employruent of prisoner overseers and sub-overseers, and I was otherwise most favorable to this. In conduct- ing a coercive system such etaployment often leads to tyranny and abuse, but in a re- folminn- one it is most beneficial. It encourages the best men, increases their influence with the others, and makes these aspire to similar trusts. The very possession of such trusts is also itself a reformatory agent. I saw many instances of originally very diiferent men thus, and thus alone, rendered trustworthy. In another place he says : I should never have got on at aH on Norfolk Island had I not largely employed prisoners in my management ; but by having a host of persuaders, for it was thus that I chiefly sought to use them, distributed constantly among the people, most ot them taken from among their own " good men," the manly foundation of whose character recommended them to me, as to their companions, in spite of the crimes too often un- natuially superinduced on it by the circumstances m which they had been placed, 1 prevented much of the evil previously almost boasted of, and to a very considerable extent directed public opinion against what remained of it, even among the old prison- ers, to whom no other portion ot my own peculiar system was permitted to be applied Than the spirit thus imported from it into the old forms of administration. I know that there is a strong prejudice among theoretical reasoners against the employment of prisoner sub-officerl, and the instances of cruelty and corruption that may ^e cited of them in past times in our penal settlements are at once frightful and too true This, however, has not been the fault of the prisoners themselves, but of those who, by their miXken notions of discipline, have infused a wrong «P«i*l"t° t^^"?" « *]i«M raoBerlv controUed and directed, there is no one, I am certain, who has a practical CwleLe of the management of prisoners but will testify to their extreme usefulness. They arf like the pettfand non-commissioned officers of a ship or regiment, who are, also, equally selected from the ranks sought to be controlled. 200 INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. On the shbject of employing prisoner jurors, in trials for prison offenses, Captain Maconochie says : I could have wished to complete the resemblance to free life -which I had established by interesting my overseers and other better men in the administration of justice on the island, making them eligible to act as jurors in our prison courts. I am certain that this vrould have had a great effect on all, but it was beyond my power to do it formally, and I knew that even an application for such power would be ill-received at Sydney. I did, however, make a near approach to it. I opened the doors of our courts, previously closed to prisoners, invited as many to attend them as could be spared from their stated labor, tried every case myself, on important occasions even in the barrack- yard after hours, amid them all ; on questions of coniiicting evidence would refer to them for suggestions; often received important hints from them, on which I acted ; on grave occasions always postponed passing sentence for at least a day after finding a verdict, that I rqight maturely weigh all the concurring circumstances, and thus iu every way sought to beget in them confidence in my desire to act right, and without passion, in regard to them. Nor is there any feeling that it is more desirable to impress on such a community. It is itself improving. As intimated, I would gladly have ap- pointed a select few formally as jurors, but that I feared the innovation might be con- sidered too great at Sydney. I am convinced that in administering summary justice it will be found always beneficial to engage persons of the same class with those sub- jected to it to co-operate therewitl). As it was, besides the measures above detailed, I appointed one man, a very acute and intelligent prisoner, to act as counsel for all ac- cused of offense. He was forbidden to tell me anything that he knew to be false, but, apart from this, his duty was to make the besit case for each that the circumstances would admit. I gained two advantages from this : I was led to investigate more closely what he did not say ; and the stupid and loutish among the prisoners, who are usually much run down by overseers, had an equal ch.ince with the clever to have their stories fairly told. By the means above described I at length completely overcame what had originally given me much vexation — the sympathy of the prisoners with offense. XVIII. Undue restraint on the correspondence of prisoners, and too minute and rigid a s^irTcillance, are both of evil tendency and effect in prison managemeiit. A prison rule, common to many different countries, is that prisoners shall not have any communication with their families till after th&y have been three months imprisoned, and only once every three months afterward — -just as if it could be the wisdom or interest of society to screen them from the knowledge in detail of the sorrow and the suffering into which their crimes have plunged those dearest to them, or to weaken, almostto severance, those ties which, if maintained, would most facilitate their return to society and stimulate their exertions in it. The regula- tion is meant as an aggravation to suffering, but in most cases it oper- ates rather as a relief; and it deeply injures the criminal by impairing, and sometimes almost obliterating, whatever good feeling still survives, when a wife and family, a mother, or sister, is thus bebarred from com- municating their griefs and distresses to the author of them, and from directing to him whatever monitions, counsels, or exhortations may to them seem fit and necessary. Captain Maconochie claims, not witliout reason, that the introduction ■of the mark system would enable the authorities to modify, most advan- tageously, the restriction mentioned in the preceding paragraph — often most injurious in its effect— viz, that on frequency of intercourse, by letter or visit, with fri ends and relations outside. This is prevented altogether, •exceptatlongintervals, generally threemonths, and, asstated above, when the privilege comes to all in their turn, as a right, and always without any special effort or sacrifice on the part of the prisoner to obtain it, and bearing, consequently, like a time sentence, lightly on the worst men, but pressing hard, and often with bhghting effect, on the better and more promising. The heedless, the hardened, and the profligate care nothmg for it ; to many of them it is even a shield, guarding them from ..the knowledge of the tears and reproaches of those whom they have INTE-RNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. 201 deeply injured, perhaps ruined, by their misconduct; while the father, the husband, the brother, still thoughtful and affectionate, is profoundly moved by it ; and all are so far injured that they become partially for- gotten by their more distant friends in these long intervals, and, as a consequence, on discharge, lose their active services to assist them in recovering the means of an honest living. In every way the arrange- ment is thus seen to be bad. But, under the mark system, it could be easily and most beneficially modified by imposing a charge on every prisoner receiving a letter or visit, the reception or non-reception of either being entirely in his own choice. Writing himself, he will have to pay in marks for paper and postage-stamps, his letters, as a matter of course, being always subject to examination. But beyond these checks, there should be none inside the prison, as regards the matter of letter-writing ; and outside, on visits, only one, viz, a proper authentication as to the character and relationship of the visitor. As regards the second branch of the maxim, which serves as heading to the present section, Captain Maconochie remarks : Scarcely any point is more insisted on in modern codes of prison discipline than that of keeping prisoners under a constant and rigorous supervision, a practice which, however plausibly it may he advocated, both generates and fosters that habit of eye- service which so peculiarly unfits a discharged prisooer for the task of self-guidance after release Again : It seems to me impossible to avoid the conclusion that the minute supervision and regulation maintained in our best jails, relaxed necessarily in our inferior ones, im- possible to be maintained in ordinary transportation, and for which I systematically substituted, where I could, a large measure of self-guidance, with a strong motive to direct it right, is, in strictness, unfavorable to the reform of prisoners. It may give the desire of amendment, but it takes away the power. It enfeebles character, makes it ever seek to lean upon direction, and delivers it up, bound hand and foot, to subse- quent temptation. XIX. Individualization is an esseniial principle of a reformatory prison discipline. Prisoners, to insure their highest improvement, must be treated indi- vidually. While they are 3,11 alike placed under a general law, the conduct •of each, as directed by it, should be specially and minutely noted. The improving effect of this would be found very great. It would be a first iStep toward restoring to each that feeling of self-respect without which no recovery will ever be found permanent. Each should be enabled to tnow, even from day to day, the light in which his conduct is viewed in all important particulars by those placed over him ; for thus alone, as Ms good purpose strengthens, will he be enabled to correct that wherein he may be found deficient. To this end a card should be hung in his cell, with four rows of figures constantly kept upon it. The first should indicate thQ prisoner's general conduct ; the second his degree of indus- try and exertion ; the third his attention and improvement, as noted by the chaplain ; and the fourth the same, as shown by the schoolmaster's record. By this means, whenever the governor, or chaplain, or a magis- trate, or any other entitled to make such perquisition, goes round, the -whole .conduct — and thence the character — of the individual would be instantly patent, and censure, caution, advice, or exhortation could be addressed as each might be needed. These marks would also form the basis of those estimations of character according to which prisoners would be passed through the different stages of treatment, rising suc- cessively from grade to grade, until, beginning at the lowest, they should have at length reached the highest. It will be found important that rewards for exertion ajid improve- 202 INTEENATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. ment, other than physical comforts, be progressively added; or even that they should, at the discretion of the prisoner, be substituted for such comforts. ' It is right and fair,' and even improving, that consider- ation for the last should be used as a stimulus in the lower stages of reformatory treatment. Such, indeed, is the arrangement of Providence in human society, and we cannot copy a better type. But in proportion " as the higher nature of the prisoner is developed and cultivated, higher objects of desire should be suggested and made similarly attainable, in order at once to keep the upward tendency active, and to raise the char- acter of its aspirations. For this purpose a longer allowance of gas- light, a wider scope of books and instruction, and increased facilities of communication with families and respectable friends outside, these and other like indulgences will be found powerful and most improving en- couragements. At no stage, however, should any remission be made of the call for continued active exertion. To reward a prisoner, in any part of his course, by permitted idleness, is to undo the improvement that may have been already effected in him by dissociating the ideas of sustained effort and success, which should, as much as possible, be kept inseparably together in his mind. Even when partially sick, employ- ment of some kind should, wherever practicable, be thus given him. The surgeon should be constantly invited to suggest such. j!5^ot infre- quently this will even promote recovery — if not otherwise, yet by making a state of sickness not entirely a state of exemption. If even light em- ployment will impede recovery, the surgeon will, of course, interfere to forbid it. XX. Prison officers need a special education and training for their icorTc, On this subject Captain Maconochie holds the following language : When prisons are made real penitentiaries — schools of penitence and reform — the military type in which so many visiting justices and governors now so much rejoice,, should he sedulously excluded from them, and a clerical type rather substituted. A change in the classes of men from which their officers are usually selected would he also most desirable. The writer's opinion is that governors of prisons should even form a class by themselves, to be devoted to that service exclusively, in which they should, when young, be thoroughly trained in all their duties, which are various. They should serve fixst in the lower oflices ; then as deputy governors ; then as governors of small prisons : thence, according to their ascertained merits, chiefly tested by the small proportion of reconvictions to them, transferred to large ; and thence progressively become disposable for service in the same capacity in any part of the Queen's domin- ions. Thus alone would the details of prison discipline be gradually perfected, and uniformity in its administration be also attained. Only when the administration of punishment is thus made a profession will it become scientific, nniform, and sncceasfal. Promotion in the department thus formed should be much influenced by success in- keeping down reconvictions. When these are numerous, there are almost always faults in the ofSoers as well as in the men. XXI. The essential complement of a reformatory system of prison disci- pline is such provision for discharged prisoners as tcill most effectually hold them to their honest intents and prevent their falling hack into crime. After adverting to the duty, and even necessity, on the part of society,, of taking an interest in liberated prisoners, Captain Maconochie thus averts to his experience as governor of the prison at Birmingham : Since the Birmingham jail opened an effort has been made to realize this portion of the anticipation founded on the whole system. Aided by a small fund raised by vol- untary subscription, more than tbrty women have been assisted over the first difficul- ties of their return to society, at an expense not exceeding frOm twelve to fifteen shil- lings each. The chief expense has been for sending to a distance such as had friends out of Birmingham willing to receive them, and for giving to others decent clothing in which to seek for service, and to all a few shillings, by the aid of which to get over cred- itably the first few days. Very few of these women have been returned to prison, and a fair proportion are known to be doing well. Similar efforts have been also made to> assist the men and boys again into service, and with much the same results. INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. 203- Again : ■nr.^^'^i-'^ I"^^^"""^"^ ^^^ completed his training under this ftbe mark] system— in other- woras, alter he has completed his minimum time and fnlfilled his entire task— it would De very desirahle that he should have, at his own option exclusively, the power of re- maining, up to a given time, in precisely the same ciroumstanoes as before, subject to tne same rules, and in no respect differing iu external appearance from what they were, Dut with the privilege of leaving when they please, and of receiving, when discharged, a money payment (say a penny for each mark) for whatever surplus they may, within 1- *v;'°^®' ^'^ accumulated. Many plans have been lately suggested for the relief of discharged prisoners, but none, I am convinced, would be so elPective as a small fund thus obtained, the fruit of their own voluntary diligence and self-denial, and bearing its own testimony, with probably a concurring one from the governor and chaplain whom they leave that they really possess these virtues, and have exhibited them through the course of, perhaps, a long previous sentence. Still again : An observation may be appropriately submitted here on the essential difference that exists between the mark system and all others that have ever preceded it. Their ele- mentary principle has been, without exception, the suljtigation of prisoners ; the reduc- ing them, by whatever means, to implicit, immediate obedience ; the regulating their every act, almost their every thought, by an arbitrary standard ; the making them thus what are called good prisoners, too much, if not altogether, overlooking the injury so done to their power of acting worthily afterward as freemen. Crushed and degraded as they thus are while in prison into mere machines, they inspire, and can inspire, no confidence on their discharge. Even when they then »profess good resolutions, the sincerity of these is doubted. Too often their expression really is hypocritical ; and morally weak as their treatment has made them, the stability of their resolutions can- not be confided in, even when they are most sincere. They have so long acted under the influence of mere obedience to external direction that when this is removed or re- placed by some evil influence, like children deprived of the support of leading-strings, they totter and almost inevitably fall, for their powers, as well as their purposes, have been thus enfeebled. * * » » * ■► Every shade in this picture would be reversed if the mark system were introduced, in its whole length and breadth, into our systems of public punishment. So neces- sarily reformatory, so industrially, morally, intellectually, and religiously educational is it in its whole structure that it would be scarcely possible for even the worst to pass through an extended course of it without being sensibly improved; while, as the mass of discharged prisoners would be found well-purposed and useful, the present unfavoir- able impression of them would abate ; they would more easily find honest bread ; their difficulties would diminish in proportion as their power of overcoming them increased ; and at length even an esprit de corps might be expected to arise among them, impelling them to consider it manly, as well as right, to overcome temptation and pusillanimity. Their long previous aspiration of improvement, and their habit of voluntary self-denial in prison, would strongly conduce to this, and would be one of the most beneficial results that could be obtained from the plan. I have now completed the design witli whiclx I commenced this paper, namely, that of presenting, in outline, the views and reasonings of Alex- ander Maconochie on the subject of prison discipline. The exhibition, though as far as it goes a faithful reflection of his teachings, has little of the warmth and intensity that glow on every page of the writings of this great social philosopher 5 and especially does it lack those living illustrations from his own experience which impart such animation and power to his productions ; for it must not be forgotten that this great thinker was equally great as a worker. Maconochie was not a mere theorist, sending forth his speculations from the cabinet of an amiable recluse. He was, as well, a man of action, who applied the principles which he developed, with reformatory results as precious as thej^ were remarkable ; first on Norfolk Island, and afterward in the jail of Bir- mingham, though in neithjer up to the limit of his wishes or his convic- tions- for in both he was in a thousand ways hampered and repressed by the prejudices and the pusillanimity of "the higher powers." To- John Howard belongs the higher honor of having awakened mankind to- thought upon this vital question ; to Alexander Maconochie will yet b& assigned the highest honor of having guided that thought to enlightened^. 204 INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. Avise, amd fruitful action. I leave off, then, as I began, witL. the expres- sion of my belief that among prison reformers Maconochie holds the most conspicuous place ; that he stands pre-eminent in the " goodly com- pany." In him head and heart, judgment and sympathy, the intellect and the emotional element, were developed in harmonious proportions ; were equally vigorous and equally active ; and all consecrated to the noble work of lifting the fallen, reclaiming the vicious, and saving the lost- €.-EEPORTS OF STANDING COMMITTEES OF THE NATIONAL PRISON ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATE?.* 1. EEPOET OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. The first annual report of the executive committee of necessity can ■embrace little more than the record of the organization of the association, which was not perfected until the year had considerably advanced. The •chief work accomplished (which was one of no ordinary import to the cause of penal reform and the cure of crime) has been the successful preparation, in European kingdoms and on our own continent, for an International prison congress in London during the ensuing summer. The labor of this vast undertaking has fallen wholly upon the able cor- responding secretary of the association, and his wisdom, perseverance, and executive ability are fully illustrated in the wide and remarkable results of his endeavors, which are set forth in his interesting re- port, as commissioner of the United States, made to the President of the Eepublic. The national association for the United States became a necessary in- cident of the movement to secure an international congress. From a very extended correspondence with leading writers upon penal science, and with prominent magistrates and heads of penitentiaries in this country and Europe, the expediency of a great central public conven- tion for a comparison of views among thinkers, and of a discussion of the vital questions still unsolved, was clearly justified, as promising the best results to tlie cause of penal reform. Such a gathering could not be arranged without long and laborious preparation, and it was ad- judged advisable to hold a preliminary congress in this country, at which definite measures could be taken for the calling of the larger and more august body to represent all the civilized nations of the earth. The congress which met at Cincinnati, Ohio, commencing October 12, 1870, and continuing for a full week, was one remarkable for the num- ber of its representative men and women, the high official and social position of many of its members, the ability and variety of the papers read, and the valuable practical discussions which followed the reading of the essays. One of the chief topics of consideration, suggested in the printed call for the convention, was the question of the expediency of the proposed international congress, and the inauguration of prelimi- nary measures to secure it if its convocation should be deemed desirable. The proposition for the congress being unanimously accepted, it became evident that a national association, as an organ of communication with foreign bodies, would be indispensable to secure unity and efficiency of action; and that, as a permanent corporation, it would bring about a *These reports were presented and read at the first annual meeting of the associa- tion, held in the city of New York, January 27, 1871. INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. 205 i.armony of operation among the various prison and reformatory socie- ties, effect a system of home and foreign exchange of documents, and serve in many ways, quite apparent, the cause of penal reform. Upon a motion, therefore, of Governor Baker, of Indiana, a committee of twelve gentlemen of well-known intelligence and interest in the ques- tions involved, from different portions of the country, was appointed to prepare a charter for such an association, to secure an act of incorpora- tion m either of the States of New York, Pennsylvania, or Ohio,.and to complete the organization by the election of additional members, in accordance with the requisitions of such an act. At the session of the legislature of New York, in 1871, a very liberal and satisfactory charter was secured, which was formally accepted by the incorporators under the act on the 26th of April, 1871. At this, and a succeeding meeting in May, the association was fully organized, a form of constitution and by-laws was prepared and accepted, a list of ofdcers were appointed, and a number of foreign corresponding mem- bers were elected. The full details, with the names of officers and members, will be found in another portion of the report. The name of Dr. E. 0. Wines, as the American commissioner to represent this coun- try in the preliminary measures for the inauguration of the national congress, was the unanimous nomination of the Cincinnati convention, and was the one name thought of for the position of Corresponding sec- retary, when the neAV organization was completed. How well this unan- imous sentiment has been already justified will be made to appear in the work which the secretary has so successfully prosecuted during the portion of the year that has elapsed since the association had an ex- istence. On the very important matter of finance, the executive committee have not an entirely satisfactory report to make. In addition to the heavy labors of his office, with the innumerable details incident to the arrangements for the prospective congress, entailing an absence of nearly five months from the country, the secretary has been obliged to be the collector of all the funds received into the treasury of the asso- ciation. This, added to the other labors of his office, is obviously too much for the strength of any one man ; and it will be indispensable that a financial agent, or assistant secretary, be appointed, who shall devote himself, as far as may be necessary, to gathering the means re- quired for the work of the association, which is likely to increase from year to year, until its dimensions assume a vastness and importance commensurate with the field which it proposes to occupy. The field and objects of the association are thus exhibited in a circu- lar prepared by the corresponding secretary, at the request of the board : As set forth in tlie act of incorporation, it lias the following objects in view : 1. The amelioration of the laws in relation to public offenses and offenders, and the modes of procedure by which such laws are enforced. 2. The improvement of the penal, correc- tional and reformatory institutions throughout the country, and the government, management, and discipline thereof, including the appointment of hoards of control, and of other officers. 3. The care of, and providing suitable and remunerative employ- ment for discharged prisoners, and especially such aa may or shall have given evidence of a reformation of life. , , . ^ ^, . ^ e As regards the first of these objects : There is scarcely a reform more necessary to- day thsm that of the criminal codes of our several States. Everywhere there is needed an administration of justice more prompt, more effective, more humane, more reforma- tory • that is to say, more in harmony with the rational aim of aU repressive legisla- tion^the diminution of crime. It will be the work of the association to study and develop the reforms needed in this department of social science, and especially to seek to impress upon our criminal legislation the great principles of humanity and refor- mation, which alone will render repressive laws at once effective and popular. .206 INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. .As regards tlie second, of the objects named: The improvement of onr penal and correctional institutions, by improving their discipline, is no less important than the reform of our criminal codes. The great aim here is, first, to arrest the increase of crime, which is at once a disgrace and a danger to our age, and then to diminish itsi volume. Two problems, especially, claim our study at this point — the first, a problem, of prevention ; the second, of cure. Preventive agencies need to be more widely and actively applied. The true field of promise, as regards the repression of crime, lies just here ; and if the right methods of working it can but be ascertained and employed, there is reason to hope that the stream of crime may be thus, in great part, cut off in. the fountain. Bufthe second problem is, to redaim and restore those who have fallen. A few experiments of a reformatory prison discipline — less, however, than can be counted on the fingers of a man's hands — have beeici made in different parts of the world ; and the results have been such as to excite not only the hopes but the wonder of those who have been made acquainted with them. When reformation comes to be everywhere made the real aim of prison discipline, as it should be, and all pi^ison officers work heartily and intelligently to that end, we believe that results will be accomplished of which the most sanguine scarcely dare dream at present. A formidable obstacle exists to theintroduotion and use of a truly reformatory discipline in our prisons, in the undue influence of party politics over their'government and administration in nearly if not quite all our States. While this influence remains dominant, leading necessa- rily to instability in the tenure of office and a low grade of official qualification, aU. reforms must be partial, temporary, and uncertain ; and we shall have made but little progress that will prove solid and lasting, until we have overcome this difficulty. It will be the office and work of the National Prison Association to study, with earnest and persistent application, all the problems here indicated ; to unfold the results of such study in their annual reports and other publications ; and to endeavor to reduce to practice the principles reached through their investigations, in improved prison systems and a better administration and discipline in the prisons of our several States. As regards the [third object mentioned in the charter : The problem how to dispose / of discharged convicts, how to hold them to their honest intents, and prevent their relapse, is one of the most perplexed and difficult in the whole science of penology. Yet, to save the released criminal, especially when he has left the penitentiary with a determination to engage in a course of honorable industry, is an object of the highest importance to the community, as well as to himself. The effect of punishment, under the present state of public sentiment, destroys, in great measure, the convict's pros- pect on his discharge. The ignominy of his imprisonment clings to him in his freedom. Society does not trust, and therefore will not employ him. Thus a popular punish- ment, as unjust as it is cruel, follows the legal penalty he has undergone, and the lib- erated criminal is often driven to the hard necessity, whether he will or no, of returning to crime to avoid the horrors of starvation. It will be the high duty, as it wUl also bo the self-imposed labor, of the association, whom we represent and in whose name we speak, to study, and, if possible, to solve the problem, as grave as it is intricate, which we have just stated. ' Beyond the objects recited in our constitution, or rather included therein, wiU be that of visiting the penal and reformatory institutions of the country, especially in States where such institutions are in an unsettled or formative condition, and of aid- ing the authorities in charge by information, suggestion, counsel, &c., in the work of creating or improving their prisons and prison systems. StiU another duty of the association, clearly embraced within its scope, as declared in the constitution, will be that of offering an annual review of tlie progress and con- dition of penal affairs in the several States, as a knowledge thereof shall be obtained by personal visitation, or as the same may be exhibited in the messages of their gov- ernors, in the reports of their prisons and reformatories, in the reports of State com- mittees and prison societies, and in the statements received in reply to circulars that may have been sent out in quest of information ; which review will, as a matter of course, be accompanied with such criticisms, suggestions, and recommendations as may be jvtdged suited to the exigencies of the case in hand, whatever it may be. • Here also will, equally, as a matter of course, fall the most complete exhibition attainable of the penal and reformatory statistics of the States, which will, it is confidently be- lieved, from year to year, improve in fullness and uniformity till they shall have ap- proached, at least, the standard of perfection ; and we shall thus have gathered a body of information in this form, of the highest value as a guide to just conclusions, and as a basis for wide and effective legislation. The coming year will be one of great interest, and will doubtless form an era in the history of penal and reformatory discipline. The gather- ing of practical prison reformers, of writers upon this leading question of social science, and of representative men from the various nations of Europe and America, the collection of the gathered experience and wis- INTEEKATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. 207 dom of a century of thouglit and experiment, will render this one hun- dredth anniversary of Howard's first movement for the improvement of the condition of imprisoned men memorable in the annals of peniten- tiary reform. The condensed and sifted report of the discussions of the occasion, which will be, doubtless, embodied in the second report of the corresponding secretary, cannot fail to be a full compensation for, and justification of, the iacident expense in the organization of the associa- tion, and of the efforts to secure the international reunion of a congress, and it may be hoped and believed that it will. Kew York, January 27, 1871. HORATIO SEYMOUE, CJiairmm. 2. EEPORT OF THE COMMITTEE OiST PEISON DISCIPLINE. The subject intrusted to this committee is a large and rather indefinite one, embracing, as it apparently does, the discipline of prisons of all kinds, in all the States and Territories of the Union. To discuss it properly would demand a volume, rather than the few pages within which we must confine our remarks. Let us begin, then, by stating, as briefly as possible, what the problem of prison discipline is, as it pre- sents itself in this country. In seeking to measure, statistically, the prison population of the United States at any given time, the tables of the national census (even when made up, as they have recently been, under the direction of so diligent and enlightened a chief of the Census Bureau as General Walker) afford comparatively little help. So imperfect is the census law, and so unskilled are the enumerators employed, that, in the tables as made up, no proper discrimination is made between the different classes of prisoners in each State and Territory, and even the whole number in all the prisons is quite inadequately stated. For example, the enumerators for Illinois returned the " whole number in prison " in that State June 1, 1870, as only 430, which was less than the number at that date confined in the eighty county jails of Illinois. The 1,000 or 1,200 State prison convicts then confined in the great castle at JoHet were quite overlooked ; and Illinois, with more than two and one-half millions of inhabitants, appeared to have less than one-third as many criminals as New Jersey, with less than a inillion people. Again, the New York enumerators reported the number then confined in this great State as only 4,142, although the city of New York alone, at that time, held under imprisonment 1,360 persons, while there were about 1,400 at Sing Sing, 1,000 at Auburn, 500 at Dannemora, 350 at the Albany pen- itentiary, and in the whole State not less than 6,500 prisoners in confine- ment. In many, perhaps most, of the States, the enumeration was more exact ; and probably these defects of which we speak have been par- tially corrected in the revised census tables not yet published. From such data as we have we estimate the whole prison population of the country at any one time as varying from 35,000 in July to 40,000 in February. Of this whole number an average of some 16,000 are prob- ably confined in the forty State prisons, while 12,000 more are held un- der sentence in houses of correction, work-houses, district penitentiaries, and jails, and 8,000 more are awaiting trial or are held as witnesses in the jaUs, station-houses, and other places of detention in the United States. Among these 40,000 prisoners are all grades of criminality and 208 INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGEESS. many grades of innocence ; they are confined in some thousand or more prisons, of every style of architecture, and under every variety of dis- cipline except the best ; and in, some of our prisons a close approxima- tion is probably made to the best attainable, if not the best imaginable, system of discipline. The problem is to adapt this best system to the different grades of our prisons and to the almost infinite variety of cir- cumstances that present themselves in a country so vast and heteroge- neous as ours. To do this requires better graded prisons, a more thor- ough classification of prisoners, and an infinite patience and practical wisdom in applying the maxims of a sound theory to the daily manage- ment of these thousands of our fellow-beings, held in confinement under some forty different jurisdictions, and, if we include counties and great cities, not less than a thousand mutually independent prison authorities. The prison reformer, however sanguine, might well shrink from dealing with a subject so formidable in its breadth and the variety of its detail. And yet, thanks to the patient labors of our corresponding secretary. Dr. Wines, and others, who in past years have given their thoughts to this problem of American prison discipline, it by no means offers those difBculties which are conceived at the first sight. A few great classes are found to include these hundreds of prisons, these tens of thonsands of criminals ; while the century now almost elapsed since Beccaria and Howard began to demand the improvement of prisons, has accomplished much, by many thoughtful heads, just and humane hearts, and laborious hands, toward the establishment of a wise and effectual system of prison discipline. The methods in use in our American prisons are reducible to three: the old congregate system which prevailed before the building of the Auburn prison, half a century ago, and still lingers in many places; the new congregate, or* Auburn, or silent system ; and the separate or Pennsylvania system, now in use, it is believed, only in that State, on this side of the Atlantic," though common enough in the states of Europe. Outside of Pennsylvania, the Auburn system, moi'e or less modified, prevails in nearly all the State prisons, and in the better-managed city and county prisons. In Pennsylvania, the separate system prevails at the eastern penitentiary in Philadelphia, where it began at the Moyamensing prison in the same city, and at many of the other county prisons. The old congregate system, or lack of system, prevails in some few of the State prisons, and in many of the ill-managed county prisons. Indeed, the tendency of the Auburn system, when carelessly administered, is to revert to the old method of congregation, out of which it sprang. From the best accounts we can obtain, a great majority of the county jails in the United States, estimated at nearly a thousand in number, are conducted virtually on the old congregate system. Within the past two years oflicial reports have been made, more or less in detail, concern- ing the county jails of Maine, Massachusetts, IJJ'ew York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, and a few other States; and, except in Massachusetts, and a few of these jails iu Maine, Pennsylvania, and New York, the rule is congregation and bad discipline at those periods when the jails are most crowded, and often all the rest of the year. In the States from which we have no reports on this subject, there is no reason to suppose that things are any better. An intelligent com- mission now engaged in examining the prison system of Connecticut, finds its county jails in a sad condition in many respects ; and similar information comes to this committee from New Jersey, Missouri, and elsewhere. In New Hampshire, within the past five years, a great improvement has been made in the county prisons, but they are still INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. 209 far from being model establisbments. . In Alabama we learn that the sentenced priisoners in several of the county jails, to the number of eighty in all, have recently been employed at open-air labor, at a distance from their prisons, by a railroad contractor ; the men work like free laborers during the day, but ^leep at night chained together in gangs of ten. This practice may prevail in some of the other Southern States, but we have not heard of it ; we shall speak of this more at length in another place. We may illustrate the present condition and state of discipline in hundreds of these county jails, by quoting from a few of the official reports above mentioned. The special commissioners to examine the penal, reformatory, and charitable institutions of Michican, through ' their chairman. Judge 0. J. Walker, of Detroit, thus reported early in 1871 : Ours has been the experience of all who have undertaken to examine the actual con- dition of county jails, i^hether in this or other States. Their condition is wretched beyond all power of description, and beyond all conception of those who have not had the experience of their own senses in the matter. The defects in them are not owing so much to the manner in which they are kept, as to inherent defects in their construc- tion, their dilapidated condition, and a fatal vice in the 'omnion jail system. The jails are crowded to excess; two, and sometimes three,, persons are put into a single cell, und a corridor not large enough to accommodate half a dozen is the living and eating room of a score of prisoners. As a rule, continued good health is impossible under such circumstances. The moral condition of our jails is infinitely worse than their sanitary condition, and after a full examination and careful consideration, we have come to the clear and painful conviction that they are the very hot-beds and nurseries of vice and crime, and that the State is directly responsible for a large share of the crime which it seeks to punish. If the wisdom of the State had been exercised to devise a school of crime, it would have been difficult to devise a more efittcient one. Here are the competent teachers, the tractable pupils, the largest opportunities for in- • struction, with nothing to distract attention from the lessons. (Pages 5, 6, and 7.) These are the observations of Judge Walker, of Michigan, a clear- headed and experienced lawyer, and they are fully sustained in the case of Illinois, by the remarks of Eev. P. H. Wines, secretary of the Board of Charities m that State, who says in his first report, made soon after the adjournment of the Cincinnati prison congress : The greatest of all faults in the construction of our county prisons is the absence of any means of classifying prisoners. The sane are not separated from the insane ; the guilty are not separated from the innocent ; the suspected are not separated from the convicted. Hardened crimiaals and children are thrown together ; the sexes are not always separated from each other. The effect of this promiscuous herding together is to make the county prison a school of vice. In such an atmosphere, purity itself could not escape contamination. The prisoners, in nearly every instance, are absolutely without employment for mind or body. There ar,e no libraries in the jails ; even a Bible is ordinarily wanting. Idleness is a fruitful source of vice ; and enforced idle- ness has developed the most debasing passions and habits. No attempt at secular in- struction and education is made in any jail in Illinois. The efforts made at reforiiia- tion of criminals are unsjstematic, unintelligent, fitful, and, m most of the counties, wholly wanting. (First biennial report of the board of State commissioners of public charities, December, 1870, pp. 213, 214.) The Ohio board of charities take the same view of the county jails in that great State. In their fourth biennial report made early m 1871, (page 20,) they say : ■ Our iails are and always must be, as now conducted, nurseries of crime ; but with separate confinement for prisoners awaiting trial, and hard work elsewhere for those convkted and sentenced, it is believed that the jails may be much improved, while their exneuses would not be materially increased, and might, perhaps, he diminished. lUs notSt tharthose who are simply accused of crime both the innocent and .the ffulty the young as well as those steeped in crime, should be doomed to an imprison- SmZ demof alizing and brutal than confinement in the penitentiary ; but such is the fact in reference to most of the jails of Ohio. It is needless to multiply citations to show what is so evident to all S. Ex. 39 14 210 INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. who have any practical acquaintance with prispns managed on the old congregate system. There is no longer any excuse for ignorance on this point; tbe brutalizing, wasteful, and every way deplorable results of such prisons are well known; and it should be the first effort of our association to have them reformed. Along with this effort should go one for the like reformation in city iJrison^, station-houses, calabooses, ' lock-ups, or by whatever name are called those houses of detention where petty criminals, and sometimes those of high criminality, un- dergo their first few hours of confinement. These places are almost always municipal prisons, and are more numerous, perhaps, and con- tain more persons in a year, than all other prisons put together. But ' it must be understood that the period of confinement for each person arrested is very short, ranging from half an hour to a week, but usu- ally less than a day. Hither are brought all persons arrested at night in cities and villages, and a great many of those arrested by day. From one-half to five-sixths of these persons are discharged without conviction, and a great number without trial; the rest are taken from court to the jail, the work-house, or the house of correction, according to the magnitude of .tlieir offense or the convenience of the parties. If the offense is gross, or the trial can be delayed, they are sent to jail to await trial ; otherwise they are sentenced to some convict prison, er, if fined and unable to pay, are detained in jail. If umerous and important as these municipal prisons are, little is known of them by thegeneral public; for they are seldom entered by any save prisoners, ofiicers of police, criminal lawyers, or other persons whose business leads them there. But they are powerful auxiliaries in the work of corrupting the young, and making shameless the older culprits, while they often receive and contaminate persons guilty of no offense, and charged with none.« They are the holes where petty ofQcial fraud and abuse hide and co- quette with monstrous vice; they are the workshops of detectives, where felony is compounded and impunity • is manufactured to order. It is time that some new Howard should enter upon the work of their exposure and purification; but each of our great cities would need a Howard of its own for an undertaking so serious. A few of our county jails and most of those establishments known in different portions of the United States as houses of correction, work- houses, houses of industry, and penitentiaries, (other than States prisons,) are conducted on the new congregate or Auburn system, with various modifications, suited to the time, the place, and the character of the prison of&oers. A comparative! j' small number of this class of prisons are conducted, in Pennsylvania, on the separate system; but this does not include the new work -house of Allegheny County, at Pittsburgh. It is in this class of our prisons that the greatest improvements in penal and reformatory discipline have recently been made. Here, too, are found our most experienced and best prison officers— such men as Amos Pilsbury, at the Albany penitentiary ; 7i. E. Brockway, at the Detroit house of correction; Henry Oordier, of the Allegheny County work- house ; and others who might be named. The management of prisons of this class is, as a rule, more permanent than that of either State prisons or jails; and, as a natural consequence, the best officers are attracted to them. lu some, as the Albany penitentiary, the Auburn system is maintained with much rigor; in others it is greatly relaxed, and there is an approach to the best features of the Irish system, as taught and practiced by Maconochie and Orofton. Were our criminal laws generally and judiciously amended, so as to allow longer sentences for the petty criminals who make up the great majority in these estab- INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. 211 lishments, they would soon display results more gratifying, we believe, than those obtained in any of our State prisons, both as respects reforma- tory, industrial, and pecuniary success. With all the disadvantages of short sentences, the best four prisons of this grade are now self-support- ing, and, to a considerable degree, preventive of crime. New prisons of this class are constantly appearing, especially in the older and more populous States, and always in or near large cities. The tendency is to make them practically district prisons, receiving convicts from a wide area or a great population, and to classify their inmates more and more thoroughly. The new prison commission of Massachusetts has been occupied for the last year or two in developing a working plan for such classified district prisons throughout the whole of that State, which now contains more prisons of this grade than any other State. Coming now to those prisons which it has been customary to reckon as the most important of all the American prisons, because they receive persons convicted of the higher crimes and are managed directly by the State authorities, we find that the number of these State prisoias is something more than forty. Many of them are known by the distinct- ive title of " the penitentiary " in the States where they are located. But this is a name given also to places where lesser criminals are con- fined, under county or municipal authority, and therefore it will be con- venient to drop the word in this connection and speak of each establish- ment owned or mana.ged by the State authorities as a State prison. In most of the States there is but one prison of this class ; in Delaware, aud perhaps one or two of the other States of small population, there is none; in Bew York there are three, and in Massachusetts, Pennsyl- vania, and Indiana there are two. each. The second State prison in Massachusetts, however, (established at Bridgewater in 1866 under the name of a " State work-house,'') receives only persons convicted of light offenses, and therefore belongs in grade rather with the houses of cor- rection previously mentioned, and will not be considered in the remarks about to be made on the class here styled State prisons. This class in- cludes establishments of the most diverse description, ranging in the number of prisoners which they contbin from the huge structures at Sing Sing, Joliet, and Columbus, with mora than a thousand convicts in each, down to the prison of Ehode Island, which combines with it- self a county jail, and the • diminutive prisons of Oregon and Nevada, with less than fifty convicts Hi each. At most of these establishments the prisoners are employed within the walls, but in some of the South- ern States, notably in Virginia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee,, some part of the convicts have been worked on railroads, mines, «&c., at a distance from the prison establishment. We can see many advan- tages in this mode of employing the convicts, provided it were adopted, .as at Lusk, in Ireland, in connection with a well-graded system of pro- moting them from one degree of freedom to another, until they should be prepared for their final discharge and restoration to society. But the experiment in open-air labor in the States named seems to be purely a business operation, by which the State is expected to gain or to save money, and we have heard that it is carried on with very little regard to any care for the reformation of the convict. Just at present the number of State prison convicts seems to be slightly decreasing in the older Northern States, but increasing rapidly at the South and West. The number of colored convicts is much larger than before the civil war, and in many, probably most of the southern prisons, these make a majority of the inmates. We estimate the aver- age number in all the State prisons as about sixteen thousand, and prob- 212 INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. ably all these, except the six or seven hundred now confined in the Eastern penitentiary at Philadelphia, are governed by what is loosely called the Auburn system. In the establishment just named, the sepa- rate or cellular Ksystem is still in force, though the number of convicts is so much greater than that of cells that a considerable portion of them lodge two in a cell. In nearly all the States provision is made for short- eniug the sentence of convicts for good conduct, but, so far as we know, few or none of the prisons have adopted the simple and exact mark systeim for determining the record of a prisoner, which is in vogue in Ireland with such good results. Nor is opportunity given for classifying the convicts according to merit, and for promoting them from one grade to another, as is done in Ireland. School education also, which, in the Irish convict prisons, under the regulations established by Sir Walter Orofton, has played so important a part in the reformation of criminals, is greatly neglected in our forty-odd State prisons. In a few of them schools are maintained, but generally without teaching many of the prisoners or giving much instruction to the small number included in the classes. The number of these schools is increasing, however, and the demand for them is more urgently made each year. The same is true of measures for aiding and supervising discharged convicts, though in this work also our prisons fall very much behind those of Ireland. A strong feature of the American State prisons has always been the amount of productive labor performed in them. Several of them, espe- cially in New England, are self-sustaining, and even return a small revenue to the State in excess of the cost of maintaining the prison and paying all its expenses. , None of the largest prisons, however, except that of Ohio, are thus self-sustaining ; and it may be laid down as a rule that, beyond a maximum of five or six hundred prisoners, it is difflcult to employ them so that their labor will repay the cost of their support. It has been found comparatively easy to make the small prisons of Maine, New Hampshire, and Connecticut pay their expenses by their earnings, with an average, for a period of years, of less than two hundred convicts ; but alfuost impossible tp make the great prisons of New York, Illinois, California, and Missouri do this, even for two years in suc- cession. The Massachusetts prison at Oharlestown, from which we have financial returns for a longer period than from any other prison in the country, is an evidence to the same effect. During the fifty-six years that these returns cover, the Charlestown prison has exhibited a profit above its expenses in eighteen years, a deficit in thirty-five years, and in the three remaining years a balance so small either way as to leave it in doubt whether its expenses were fully met by its earnings. But in the first thirty years, when its number of convicts averaged less than three hundred, the Charlestown prison made an aggregate deficit, during the whole period, of less than $60,000 ; while in the twenty-six years since, the average number having been nearly five hujidred the greater part of that time, the aggregate deficit has been more than $120,000, or twice as much as when the prison was small. Although we do not regard the revenue derived from the labor of convicts as ot much importance, compared with their judicious treatment and their moral improvement, it still seems proper to' note the facts that prisons of moderate size can re&,dily be made self-sustaining, while the larger ones cannot. At tlie same time all the influences of a prison of less than five hundred convicts are more favorable to the reformation of its inmates than the circumstances of the great establishments, like those of Sing Sing, Auburn, Joliet, and Columbus. We believe, therefore, that it would generally be better policy for a State to build a new prison when INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. 213 I - its convicts rise above an average of five hundred in number, than to enlarge the old establishment; unless, indeed, it chooses to adopt some method of conditional pardon, by which the increase in numbers can be kept down. Were this committee to undertake a discussion of the general princi- ples of prison discipline, it could do little more than repeat the ad- mirable statements and arguments laid before the Cincinnati prison congress by Dr. Wines, and in substance adopted by that assembly.' "We cannot omit this opportunity to remark, however, that the lapse of another year, and the added testimony it has furnished to the excellence of the so-called Irish prison system, tends to confirm and deepen the impression that it is the duty of prison managers in the United States to adopt the main features of that system with as little delay as pos- sible. We believe them to be as practicable iu this country as they have proved themselves to be in Ireland; and while they would en- counter here some peculiar difficulties, the circumstances of our com- munity would offer some peculiar advantages for their introduction. The first great want to be met in the United States, however, is something which preceded the establishment of Sir Walter Croftou's system in Ireland, and which is indispensable here to the adoption of any general imi)rovement of our prisons as a whole. We need in every State an inspector or a commission of inspectors, who shall have access to the prisons of all ' grades, and some power of supervision over all. Such inspectors would bring to the notice of the legislatures and of prison officers the actual defects and necessities of the prison system of each State ; they could take a comprehensive, practical view of the whole field of action, and recommend such changes as would correct the glaring anomalies and gross abuses of the existing prison system in nearly all our States. Some of this preliminary work has already been done, but much more remains to do. In the words of an earnest writer in one of our reviews, Provision should be inade in every State for such examinations by an impartial inspector or commission, not chosen by political intrigue or local partiality, but bring- ing to the work a knowledge of the subject and a spirit of intelligent humanity. We hazard nothing in predicting that the tirst recommendation of such inspectors would be a more strict separation and classification of prisoners, for that has always been the first result of careful examinations in congregate prisons. Probably they would next Tirae &s half the wardens in the country do, the importance of "commutation, or conditional remission; that is, the shortbning of sentences for good behavior ; and would insist on some efl:ectual means of aiding discharged , prisoners to find employment. Thev would then call for a better religious and secular instruction of the convicts while in prison, and a systematic organization of their labor. They would demand instruction in reading and writing .for every prisoner in the laud, and would cry out against that enforced idleness which is the curse of our jails. Along with these thinp-s thev would seek to regulate by wise rules and by frequent inspection the saui- tary^condHioTof the prisons? They^ould see that baths were regular that the food was neither too good nor too bad, that cleanliness was made a religion, that the ward- robe of the prisoners was sufBoient and properly changed, and that they should have nn occasional holiday. Tl)ey would demand that the contractor should not stand betweenTstce andthe convict; and that neither the convict nor the public should be defrauded in the payment of wages. They would point out faults m the prison nffiPPrsand specify what qualities and what experience are needful m such establish- ments (NorTh American Review, October, 1866, pp. 411-12.) In the opinion of this committee the members of the National Prison Association should labor in all the States to secure such an inspection and supervision of the prisons, of all grades, and should make the reports of such inspectors the basis of future reforms in prison discipline. In this way without giving up our investigation and discjtssion of the principles of prison administration, we may earlier reach what we all 214 INTEENATIONAL PENITENTIAEY CONGEESS. desire — a practical application of these princiiJles, at least in part, to the present treatment of prisoners. For the committee, F. B. SANBORN, Ghairtnan. New York, January 26, 1872. 3. EEPOET OF THE COMMITTEE ON DISCHAKGED PRIS- ONEES. The question, what can be done for discharged prisoners ? is encom- passed with difficulties, and yet it i^ a question which concerns society no less than it does himself. With tastes depraved, with habits bad, with moral powers originally weak and made feebler by vicious indul- gence, they are sent forth from our prisons with scanty pecuniary means or none at all. But worse than this, they go out with the taint of the prison upon them. Few are willing to employ them ; fewer still to re- ceive them into their homes. Instances are not rare in which men, after years of confinement, have left the prison with an honest purpose, but they have either been refused all employment, or, if they have obtained work, they have been deprived of it as soon as their antecedents have become known. Mechanics outside spurn and insult them, and farmers are unwilling to take them into their families. They have formed acquainta,nce in the prison, if not previously, with the vile and the wicked. Such are always ready to welcome them, and the consequence is that they fall into their hands, and soon return to criminal courses. . The committee propose to consider, in the present report, the needs of discharged prisoners; What has been done for such; what can be done for them. I. — What do dischaeged peisonbrs need? The first and most urgent need of tte, liberated prisoner is human sympathy. Without sympathy life is miserable, even to those most favorably situated. But to one who has been long deprived of it, even though the fault may have been his 'own, it is like a cordial to meet with feome one person who is willing to forget the past, who never alludes to it, and who accepts and treats him as a brother, a man of like feelings with himself, and having a heart from which all traces of ten- derness and truth have not been obliterated. Perhaps no human being ever becomes so completely hardened as to have wholly lost all the bet- ter feelings of his nature. Even among the most hackneyed and aban- doned of criminals, there is still about them a softer part, which will give way to the demonstrations of tenderness and sympathy. This one element of better character survives the dissipation of all the others. Fallen as a brother may be from the moralities which once adorned him, the manifested sympathy of his fellow-men still carries a charm and a power along with it ; and therefore there lies in this an operation which, as no poverty can destroy, so no depravity can extinguish. These bet- ter feelings should, therefore, be developed and cultivated to the utmost degree possible. They furnish ground of hope that even the most abandoned ipay be reclaimed and regenerated. Christian men, and especially Christian women, will find an ample field for labor in this direction. INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. 215 The second need of the discharged prisoner is pecuniary help. Some money he must hare, or a life of crime, becomes a necessity. A portion of the earnings of every convict should belong to him, and should be retained for his use after liberation. Until this provision is accorded, which is equally the dictate of justice and policy, some assistance should be provided by the benevolent, enough at least to enable him to "make a start in the world." Thethird need of the discharged prisoner is employment. Such per- sons should, at the earliest practicable moment after their discharge,* be placed in a position tp help themselves. In this way only can a feeling of independence, which is essential to self-respect, be generated, and their own inward force of character be developed and strengthened. The fourth need of the liberated convict is wise and affectionate counsel. This indeed will be of little value unless his other wants are supplied. It is useless to give a man -advice while you leave him hungry and shivering, with nothing to do; but give him food, clothing, and work, and he will be in better condition to appreciate your counsels, and more willing to act upon them. II. — What has been done for discharged prisoners? The committee would here state that in 1869 the French goveirnment instituted a special commission to study the question how best to dis- pose of discharged prisoners. M. Demetz, founder and director of the agricultural colony of Mettray, one of the members of the imperial commission, addressed a letter of inquiry to the Prison Association of New York. This letter was answered by our corresponding secretary, at that time holding the same position in the New York association. In his communication to M. Demetz, the secretary reviewed at much length the provisions and efforts made in the several States of our own country for the relief and care of liberated prisoners, basing his review on infor- mation derived from answers to numerous circulars sent out to gentle- men best informed upon this subject in their respective States. In the following exhibit, the committee will not hesitate to draw freely from the paper addressed by the secretary to M. Demetz. Massachusetts leads all the States of the Union in the care she takes for her liberated prisoners, and the efforts she puts forth to save them from falling back into crime. In this State there has long existed a society in aid of discharged prisoners, which, with an appropriation from the State, supports an agent to look after such convicts as are dis- charged from the State prison. He also does something for the men discharged from the minor prisons of the counties; but this is only incidental. His chief work is among the State prisoners, and for them he does much good in procuring employment, «&c. This State agency for aiding discharged convicts has existed more than twenty years. It has proved the salvation of large numbers of the class for whom it was created. It is the practice of the agent to call often at the State prison to obtain information concerning the prisoners who are about to be dis- charged. He sees them personally, and confers with them concerning their wishes and intentions. In this way he gains a knowledge of their history character, capabilities, and wants, which aid him essentially in flndiiiff'the right employment for them, and adopting the best means to secure them against relapsing. The number aided during the years 1866 to 1869 was five hundred and sixty-two. Of these one hundred and seven were provided with places ; eighty-nine were Supplied with tools with which to start a little business of their own ; and one hun- 216 INTERN ATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. dred and sixty-seven were furnished with means to return to their friends, or to seek employment in other and more distant parts of the country. It is the policy of the agent to keep trace of the men aided as far as possible. In the majority of cases the results are gratifying. Letters are often received, full of gratitude, and ascribing their good resolu- tions, hopes^ efforts, and success to the help given them by the agency. Employers, also, are generally satisfied with service rendered by these liberated prisoners. In proof of this, the agent mentions several- firms in Boston, who have from a dozen to twenty discharged convicts, each, constantly at work for them, and cases occur in which these convicts are placed over large gangs of men as foremen, a trust to which they are found perfectly competent, and which they discharge in a sat- isfactory manner. Some of his men the agent reports as utterly incapa-. ble, except when under the constant and watchful care of judicious friends, of resisting the temptation to do wrong. Threats, entreaties, counsel, appeal, kindness, rewards, are all lost upon them. Happily such cases are comparatively few. He finds that the great majority, under proper treatment, can be made men among, men, an honor to themselves and a blessing to the community. There are two societies of ladies, one in Springfield and the other in Boston, which provide for a few of the discharged female prisoners. That at Springfield, however, is for friendless women and children in general; not specially for prisoners, of whom it receives only now and then one. It is diiferent with the society at Boston, which is designed for the relief and reformation of discharged female prisoners only. Their establishment, called a Temporary Asylum for Discharged Female Pris- oners, is at Dedham, one of the suburbs of the city. The society has had under treatment, during its six years of existence, two hundred and eighty-seven womeii, all of them outcasts from society, because they had been imprisoned criminals. But at the asylum they find a refuge and a homes. They are neatly clothed, comfortably fed, and treated with a motherly love and kindness. They receive instruction in the common branches of learning, and careful training in the principles and duties of the Christian life. They are taught to work, that they may have the power as well as the will to earn an honest living. And what is the re- sult 'i Some find the restraints of the place too irksome, and leave it in disgust. To others it proves a true Bethesda, in whose healing waters the sickness of the soul finds a perfect cure. Ninety-three families have had servants from the asylum. More applications are received than can be met, so that employers have greater difficulty in securing women than the women have in getting places. The ladies express the belief that but for their timely interposition, scarcely one of these two hun- • dred and eighty-seven fallen sisters would have been arrested in her downward course ; but all would have gone on sinning themselves and dragging others with them — a blot, a burden, and a curse to society. What a noble charity is that which has rescued and saved the major part of them ! Surely these Christian women are treading in the very foot- prints of the Son of God, who came to seek the wanderer and to save the lost — the sinning, the lowly, the poor in spirit, the broken in heart ; the very meanest of whom He named his brother, his sister, his friend ! Such are the provisions made in Massachusetts for liberated adults, male and female. Of late a new officer has been appointed by the State to look after the children who go out from the reformatories and schools for poor and truant children. He is called the visiting agent, and hi-s duties are numerous and important. This is undoubtedly the most ac- tive and noteworthy of the means employed by Massachusetts to provide ' INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY, CONGRESS. 217 for aud shield her liberated juveniles. When the law creating this agency is conapletely carried out by a suitable and efficieiit machinery, it will, beyond a doubt, operate as a powerful check to juvenile delin- quency in that State, and similar agencies established in all our States would constitute a more effective restraint upon youthful transgression than any system known to the committee in this country. In the State of New York there are but two organized agencies which give attention to discharged prisoners of adult age — the Prison Asso- ciation of New York and the Women's Prison Association and Home. The latter was originally organized as a department of the former, during the first year of its existence ; but after a time it appears to have been judged that the work could be better carried on through distinct organ- , izations, and a separation took place. Since the separation, as before, the ladies who constitute the women's association have cultivated their hard field, with diligence, and a fair measure of success. They have "had under treatment at their home, altogether, some three thousand women, the average daily number being about thirty. These have been mainly, though uot wholly, persons discharged from prisons; more, howevei", from prisons of a lower than of a higher grade — misdemeanants rather than felons. One-sixth of those received have either left without per- mission, or been discharged as incorrigible. Of the remainder, the major psyrt have been jilaced at service, and most of these favorably reported of by their employers. ' The entire annual cost of each has not exceeded one hundred dollars, and one-fourth of this sum has, on an average, been met by her earnings. The object mainly contemplated in founding the New York Prison Association was to assist discharged convicts, and encourage them in their efforts to reform and live honestly. But other ends were in- tended as well, particularly the improvement of prison discipline and attention to persons under arrest who were held for trial or examination. The main strength of the association has been given to the last two objects, not from any undervaluation of the first, but from the want of means to prosecute it with due vigor. Still, in the aggregate, much has been accomplished. During the twenty-seven years of its existence, the association, besides relief to still greater numbers in the form of cloth- ing, board, tools, traveling expenses, &c., has procured permanent situa- tions at work for more than four thousand liberated prisoners ; and, according to the best information attainable, not more than a tenth of these have relapsed into crime, while the remaining nine-tenths have become upright, industrious, useful members of society. But this is little when compared with the work to be done. The number annually discharged from the State prisons exceeds one thousand, while the num- ber released from houses of correction, here called penitentiaries, can hardlv be less. With adequate machinery, faithfully, and skillfully worked it is believed that no inconsiderable proportion of these unfor- tunate and criminal men might be saved. The time immediately follow- ing a prisoner's discharge is the critical moment with him. The great point IS to bridge the giilf that lies between him and honest bread. That passed, if he really desire to reform, he is safe. _ As reeards those discharged from the juvenile reformatories : The sentences here are during minority, ^^hich meaifs till reformed. There are four large reformatories in the State— three of them m the city of New York--besides a reform school-ship. They all have what are called • » indenturing comn^ittees." The whole business of discharging inmates from the institutions is placed in the hands of these coinmittees, who either return them to their parents, if their own homes are deemed 218 INTEENATHJNAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. suitable, or, if not, find homes for them elsewhere. The common way is to indenture the boys to farmers,, mechanics, or tradesmen; while the girls are generally placed at domestic service in respectable faniilies. Much pains is taken to And suitable homes for the liberated, where the good work of reformation, supposed to have been well advanced in the refuge, may be carried forward to completion. The customary contract with persons to whom the children are indentured is suitable support as to food and clothing, a certain number of months' schooling each year, and a hundred dollars, (600 francs,) with a good outfit of clothes, on reaching majority, to start in life with. The Institutions keep watch and ward over their Sldves after their departure from their precincts, never losing their grasp and guardianship of them, so long as they remain un- der age. The chaplain of the mother-reformatory of this country — the New York House of Refuge — ^Visits each year, at their new homes, as many of the inmates thus placed as his time will permit ; and particu- larly, when the parents of children, judged to be reformed, desire to have such children restored to themselves, he goes to their homes if they are in or near the city, to learu from personal inspection whether it would be safe and proper to return them there ; and he reports to the inden- turing committee, for their guidance, the result of his inquiries. More commonly than otherwise, the homes of the parents turn out to be un- suitable places for the reception and residence of the children, and other homes have to be sought for them. Two of the reformatories of New York — ^the Juvenile Asylum and Catholic Protectory — have each an agency in the great West, whither large numbers of their inmates are sent, and by which they are dis- tributed through the mighty valley of the Mississippi. These agencies maintain a constant and active supervision over the wards of their re- spective institutions, visiting them at their homes, adjusting difficulties between them and their employers, seeking new homes for those who have been improperly placed, and, in general, shielding them, as far as possible, from hurtful influences, and guarding their interests against the encroachments of injustice. A recent report of the agency of the Juvenile Asylum states that of twenty-eight boys and girls sent to Tazewell C'ounty, Illinois, in 1858, five had returned to New York, four had been killed in the late war for the Union, and the remaining nineteen, who had remained at the West, were all doing well ; and the most of them were married and settled in life. The protectory has a farm con- nected with its agency on which the children work until they are pro- vided with places. New Hampshire, in imitation of Massachusetts, instituted, in 1867, a State agency to aid discharged convicts. It remained in existence for only two years. During its continuance, it appears to have been highly successful in promoting the object of its creation. The agent, in his last report, states that, of the prisoners discharged during the year covered by the report, nearly all had found employment atonce ; that quite a num- ber had obtained work in the town where the prison is situated ; thatthey are earning good wages; that-their employers are satisfied with their service and their conduct ; and that, of the forty- three discharged during the year, only one had been returned to prison; and of the remaining forty-two, but one had *been charged with or even suspected of xirime. Since the abolishment of the State agency, a prisoners' aid society has been organized which, the committee is informed, is doing a good work in caring for discharged prisoners. In Rhode Island there has been, for many years, ah efftcient Sunday- school in the State prison, consisting of some twenty classes, which are INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. 219 taught by a devoted band of volunteer workers, male and female. These excellent ladies and gentlemen do much to aid, encourage, and reclaim tne members of their several classes, not only while they continue under their instruction, but after their liberation. It has often happened that tney take the released prisoner to their own homes, and care for him there till they have found employment for him. But these unorganized and isolated efforts, though useful and praiseworthy, are not found suf- ficient to meet the necessities of .the case. Steps have recently been taken looking to the formation of a prison association for the State. Mr. Woodbury, superintendent of the State reform school of Maine, says that, m his institution, when boys have no suitable home of their own, they endeavor to find one for them ; that henceforth they propose to safely invest for this class of boys a portion of their earnings, so that, when they reach ther majority, they may have a little capital to start with ; and that he is of the opinion that the most eff'ective way to save the liberated from a relapse is to impress upon our penal institu- tions a more distinctly reformatory character, by grading the prisons and .classifying the prisoners, by establishing schools, creating libraries^ institu,ting lectures, enlarging the religious agencies, giving a greater breadth and higher development to industrial, training, and, in general, to cite his own words, by " studying and imitating the life and charac- ter of Him who came to seek and save lost men." Then he would have [<■ only those discharged who showed a fitness to return to society ;" that is, he would have the sentences run till reformation is assured. Mr. Eice, warden of the Maine State prison, writes, that "this State has yet made no provision whatever for aiding discharged convicts." It is remarkable, that he then goes on to sketch a prison system substan- tially the same as that outlined by Mr. Woodbury, and closes with this declaration : " In my opinion, such a course of discipline and instruction would so well prepare convicts to meet and withstand the temptations of the outside world as to obviate, in a great measure at least, the neces- sity of any special provision for assisting them on their liberation." The Eev. Mr. Butler, chaplain of the State prison of Vermont, says that in that State nothing has been done and nothing is proposed to be done, either by the State or by any philanthropic association, beyond the suit of clothes and the two dollars given by the State to every con- vict as he leaves, and occasionally a little private assistance, afforded in special cases. With this meager outfit of clothing, and this miserable dole of money, the released prisoner goes back to society to shift for himself among the people who, at first, will, for the most part, have as little to do with him as possible. Could a more eiJectual method be de- vised to obstruct his reformation, and to give effect to the principle, "once a criminal, always a criminal?" Mr. Butler marvels at the prev- alent apathy on this subject, but says that it is as profound as it is in- expliaable. The committee are not informed what provision, if any, is made in Connecticut to save adult convicts who have been discharged from prison. Dr. Hatch, supfirintendent of the reform school for boys, says: " We return, at our expense, all boys to their homes ; or, if they have yo homes, we find places for them to work, and support them till able to support themselves." What the committee has learned regarding the care, or, to speak more truly, the almost utter want of care, for discharged prisoners in New Jersey, is very sad. While a few excite the sympathy of friends and receive some aid, to the mass no word of counsel or cheer is spoken, no act of kindness done by any benevolent association j and neither State, 220 INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. county, 6t municipality takers any tliouglit of them, till they come again within the clutches of the law. It is a relief to know that, with re- spect to the boys sent out from the reform school, the case is different. When they attain the grade of " honor," which, by continuous good conduct, they may do in a year, they are considered eligible for a situa- tion in society. The superintendent is careful to place them where they will be surrounded with good influences, and where they remain, till of age, wards of the institution. In Pennsylvania, the Society for Alleviating the Miseries of Public Prisons, whose benevolent and useful labors date their commencement from the year 1787, has done and is doing much in aid of discharged con- victs. In a late report the managers say : " Larger provision should be made for discharged convicts. They need pecuniary aid; .they need advice; and they need protection and patronage. Our society has given much attention to this subject. But its plans and efforts have been restricted to its own sphere of action, and the results of its labors have been gratifying, though necessarily limited." One very interest- ing case is cited in the report — that of a man who received his entire education in the prison. On his liberation, aided by the society, he left Philadelphia, proceeded some distance into the country, rented a house and shop, and went to work as a mechanic. To-day he has, in the lan- guage of the report, " A flourishing business, a good run of custbmers, a two-story house, a spring-house, wash-house and garden, feed and pas- ture for a cow, and two acres of ground, and is doing well — working, of course, steadily and earnestly from morning till night." In one of his letters occurs this prayer : " My God bless you all for the kind treat- ment and instruction which I received," which, say the board, has surely been answered, since there is " an abundant blessing in the conscious- ness that the labors of love have been so fruitful." A prisoners' aid association has been for some years in existence in western Pennsylvania, with its seat at Pittsburgh. The committee, though not informed of the details of its work, believes it to be an active and useful organization. •. In Maryland, a prisoners' aid association was established in April, 1869. They employ an agent, the Eev; Mr. Doll, who gives his whole time to the work ; not, indeed, wholly to seeking employment and caring for discharged prisoners, but to that and other appropriate labors for their benefit. At the beginning of every month he goes to the State pen- itentiary and city jail, where he receives the names of all the prisoners who are to leave that month. With each he holds a personal interview, inquiring into their circumstances and purposes. They are given to understand, and, if possible, brought to feel, that they have friends who care for them, sympathize with them, and are ready; if they desire it, to hold out to them a helping hand. Procuring homes and employment is found the most difflcult part of the work, owing to the distrust and pre- judice generally felt toward this class of persons. Sending them out of the city to distant points, either to their own homes, or such others as may be found for them, proves to be the best service that can be ren- dered them, because the most efficacious in saving them. This society is very earnest and very active, and the good it accomplishes is proper* tional. Ohio has no organized agency for the care and encouragement of re- leased prisoners. The convict in the State prison gets, on his discharge, a suit of clothes and five dollars in money ; that is all. The late worthy chaplain, Eev. Mr. Byers, gives some affecting instances of relapse from no other cause, than the lack of the aid and sympathy needed on libera- INTEENATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. 221 tion, He says tliat he has known young men (who left the prison with good resolutions) to return within a few weeks, solely and indubitably because of the inadequate provision made for them by the State. He relates also the case of a reformed convict, who had been pardoned on account of his excellent conduct and the confidence it had inspired, to whom private aid had been given and good employment secured. This man, though laboring faithfully and behaving with the utmost propriety, was turned away from a respectable boarding-house, and driven by derision and ridicule from the shop in which he worked, simply because he had been a convict, " a jail-bird," as the word is. The report is the same from Missouri — nothing done, nothing pro- posed to be done. A former warden of the State prison says : " During a residence in Missouri; of more than the third of a century, I do not remember to have met a single man or woman whose Christian charity has been exercised to any extent in this particular field." A- sorrowful testimony, this. To the present time no organized effort has been made in Indiana for the relief and assistance of liberated prisoners; the consequence of which neglect, the committee have good authority for saying, is that a large proportion of those who are discharged from the State prisons go out to prey upon the community. The house of refuge, which has been in operation only two years, has discharged twenty-five boys, for all of whom good places have been found in private families; and this method of disposal is to be continued in the future. Earnest efforts are making in this State for a general improvement in the prison system, including an organized plan of aiding discharged convicts. I^Tumerous relapses, arising from the want of such assistance, call loudly for improvement in ' this regard. With a good penitentiary system, in which the prisoners should be classified and enabled gradually to improve their condition, the intelligent friends of prison reform in that State are of the opinion that good places might be found in private families for all. In this way, they think, the liberated prisoners would be quietly absorbed into the community, and enabled to take their places therein as upright citizens. California, a State far toward the sunset, being laved by the waters of the Pacific, has a prison commission which is full of zeal and energy, and also, like Dorcas of old, " full of good works and alms deeds done by them." They have done much for the rescue of discharged convicts, yet far less than was needed, far less than they would have done if they had been blessed with an exchequer more amply provided. Owing to the intelligent and indefatigable exertions of this association, the State of California is among the foremost of those which are struggling for an improved prison system. There is now before her legislature two propositions of great interest and importance. One of these looks to such a change in the constitution of the State as will take the adminis- tration of prisons out of the arena of politics, and impress upon it a character of stability and permanence. The other is a bill to create a State reformatory, not ^or juvenile delinquents, but for young crimmals not exceeding thirty years of age, who have committed a first offense, and who, in the proposed prison, shall be subjected to a treatment really reformatory. . „ ^ ,^ ^ . ., . ,. The warden of the State penitentiary of Iowa, Mr. Heisey, has indi- vidually assisted numbers of worthy prisoners, on their release, in ob- taining work. Eecently a prisoners' aid society has been formed, with the same object in view, and it is not doubted that the good work will now be prosecuted more efQciently because more systematically. Ap- plication will be made to the legislature for pecuniary aid, which, it is 222 INTEENATIONAL PENITENTIAEY CONGEESS. believed, -will be granted. Mr. Heisey avers that there is great need of such an agency, since " the discharged convict is not infrequently led to the commission of crime in consequence of his inability to procure employment, through the prejudices which, on account of his incar- ceration in the penitentiary, and which he himself feels has forever dis- graced him." An aid society was, some years ago, formed in JoliBt, the seat of the State prison of Illinois ; but whether itjis still in existence, or what it has accomplished in behalf of discharged prisoners, the committee is not informed. Whether anything, and if anything, what, has been done in Michigan, in aid of discharged prisoners, the committee cannot say, having no in- formation. . ^ South Carolina is the only Southern State engaged in the late civil war from which information has been received upon this point. But what is true of this is substantially true of all the rest. Indeed, this is more than intimated in a letter of General Stolbrand, warden of the State penitentiary. " It is," he says, " with great regret that I must make the confession for my State that it has done nothing to help liberated convicts in their endeavors to sustain an honest life. Since my appointment,, in January, 1869, to superintend this institution, I have, in some twenty or more instances, been instrumental in obtaining em- ployment for discharged criminals ; but, beyond that, I am not able to point to any steps, municipal or otherwise, in that direction. There has been no effort in this direction that I am aware of in this State, and I think not in any other Southern State ; and, although only by adoption a southerner, I feel humiliated to make the statement." Such, in substance, is the sum of the committee's knowledge of what ' has been done, or is now doing, in the United States for liberated prisoners. In the aggregate, it is considerable ; but viewed in relation to the demands of either duty or policyj it is little. III. — What can be and ought to be done for disohakgsd PRISONERS. It is evident, and cannot be successfully disputed, that society has not done its whole duty to the criminal when it has punished him, nor even when it has reformed him. Its obligation does not cease when it opens his prison door and bids him walk forth in freedom. Having lifted him up, it has the still further duty to aid in holding him up. Some sys- tematic provision to this end is the essential complement of all effective reformatory punishment. In vain shall we have improved the convict in mind and heart, in vain shall we have given him a capacity and fond- ness for labor, if, on his discharge, he finds none to trust him, none to meet him kindly, none to offer him the opportunity of earning honest bread. Though willing to work, he can get no work to do. Though yearning to show himself worthy of association withthe good and the pure, he is repelled as if contact with him were pestilential. His good purposes are defeated ; his hope of redemption vanishes. What can such a one do, if he live at all, but live a criminal? What though his reformation be genuine, can it be permanent? Impossible! He will surely be clutched again by his old associates in sin, and drawn back into the abyss of crime, from which he had vainly striven to emerge. So it has been too often and too generally, and so it is still. It is, then, the clear duty of the State as such, or of the citizens in voluntary association, as it is no less clearly their true policy, after liberating their convicts, to estab- INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. 223 lisli some agency whereby they may be strengthened in their good reso- lutions, pro^'ided with work, and, in all suitable ways, encouraged and aided in their eiibrts to reform and lead an honest life, There are several ways in which the required aid may be made avail- able ; not all, probably, equally good, but all having their special points of merit, and all very much better than nothing. There is, first, the plan of a State agency. This has been tried for many years in Massachusetts, and has stood the test of experiment. It was tried for two years in New Hampshire, where it appeared to yield valuable results. Some other States, as Ehode Islaud and New Jersey, have sought, but without success, to introduce the system. It does not, therefore, appear to be a plan likely to take root very widely, and some other, better adapted to "the genius of our people, must be adopted instead. There is, then, secondly, theplan of voluntary associations, which seems better to meet, if not the necessities of the case, at least the tastes and proclivities of our citizens. The results of this system, so far as it has been applied, have been excellent. The system, to a certain extent, has been tried in New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and California. Abroad, especially in England and France, it has been tested much more extensively, and has, both in this country and others, proved the salva- tion of thousands of liberated prisoners. It is the wish and will be the eii'ort of the National Prison Association to secure efficient working or- ganizations in all our States which will charge themselves with the needful attention to this vast and vital interest of society. There is, thirdly, the plan of a refuge or home for discharged prison- ers, to be established by' the State or by private citizens. In the code of reform and prison discipline, prepared for Louisiana by Edward Liv- ingston at the instance of, the legislature of that State, he provided a penal and reformatory system, embracing four classes of institutions, which he named, severally, the house of detention, tbe penitentiary, the school of reform, and the house of refuge and industry. This last was intended as a home for liberated prisoners, where they should find tem- porary employment during the period intervening between their dis- charge and their complete absorption into the ranks of virtuous indus- try in free society. After expressing the hope and belief that the discipline of the penitentiary would, in the case of the major part of the prisoners, issue in effacing previous bad impressions, in creating lasting habits of industry and virtuous pursuit, and in discharging the subject of the discipline from the prison a better, wiser, and happier man, Mr. Liv- ingston adds these solemn aud weighty, words : "But these happy eflfects will be counteracted, the care, labor, and expense of your re- formatory discipline will have been uselessly incurred, if your proselyte to virtue and industry is to have the one exposed to the seduction of his former associates and the other rendered useless by the want of means to exert it. It will be in vain that you have given him the skill necessary for his support if no one will afford him an opportunity of .using it, or that vou have made him an honest man if all the world avoids him as a' villain. His relapse is certain, unavoidable, and his depravity will be the greater, from the experience that reformation has been productive only of distrust, want, and misery. 'Seven evil spirits' will take possession of the mind that has been 'swept and garnished' by your discipline, and the 'the last state of that man shall be worse than the first.' To avoid this result, so destructive of the whole system, an asylum is provided iu the house of refuge and indus- try. Here the discharged convict may find employment and subsistence. 224 INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. and receive such wages as Will enable him to remove from the scenes of his past crimes, place him above temptation, confirm him in his newly acquired habits of industry, and cause him safely to pass the dangerous and trying period between the acquisition of his liberty and restoration to the confidence of society. Independently of this resource, the industrious convict receives at his discharge a proper proportion of his surplus earnings. He receives friendly advice as to his future pur- suits, and a certificate (if he has merited it) of such conduct as will en- title him to confidence. The consequences of reconviction are solemnly represented to him, and his conduct, if he remain in the neighborhood of the prison, is carefully watched, so that if he return to habits of idle- ness and intemperance, his career to crime may be stopped by a com- mitment to the house of industry as a vagrant. The cause, the tempta- tion, or the excuse for relapse being thus removed, it is hoped that instances of return to vicious pursuits will become more rare, and that many will become useful members of society, wlio, under the present system, either burden it by their poverty or prey upon it by their crimes. The house of refuge is rendered the more necessary because a man of prudence will no more receive or employ a convict discharged from one of our present penitentiaries than he would shut up with his flock a wild beast escaped from its keepers. But the reformatory plan, once fairly iii operation, its principles studied, developed, steadily adhered to, improve^! by the light of experience, and its beneficial ef- fects upon morals perceived, the man who has undergone its purifying operation will, in time, be no longer regarded with fear and contempt, and society, by confiding in his reformation, will permit him to be honest. The house of refuge will then become less necessary, and its expense of course diminished."* After the lapse of half a century institutions of this kind are begin- ning to be established in this and other, countries. Two industrial homes, one for male, the other for female discharged prisoners, have been in operation for a number of years in connection with the Wakefield prison, in England. Both are prosperous pecuniarily, and are doing much good. No prisoner who bats been discharged from the Wakefield jail need or can ever return to it again, on the plea that he can get no work to do. The Female Eefuge at Golden Bridge, near Dublin, has had a satisfactory, and, indeed, as Mr. Commissioner Hill, of England, * In a paragraph immediately following the above-cited passage, Mr. Liviugston dis- poses so neatly of a common objection to skilled labor in priaons that, although the argu- ment does not belong strictly to the subject undpr consideration, the committee cannot resist the impulse to transfer it to their report in a note. He remarks : " Before I quit the consideratioil of this establishment, it may be necessary to dispose of an objection sometimes raised to it as well as to the penitentiary — that the products of mechanical operations which may be carried on there will be sold cheaper than they can be af- forded by the regular mechanic, who is burdened with the support of a family, with rent, taxes, and other charges, and thus injure the innocent iu order to find employ- ment for the guilty. This objection could only have weight if all the convicts were employed in one business, and that in a country where there is a greater supply of labor than there is a demand for it. But here the very reverse of this is the fact. , (Again, if all the convicts should be employed in a single occupation it must be be- cause there is an excess of demand for that species of labor over the supply, and while that continues there can be no injury. When that demand is reduced, the business will be abandoned, both within and without the prison. As respects the public in- terest, there can be no doubt, for the question reduces itself to this : whether the con- victs are to be maintained in idleness, or suffered to contribute by labor to their own support ? And even as regards particular classes of mechanics, the same reasoning thalt would prevent their trade being carried on in prison would go to show that it ought to be limited without. But the best answer to the objection is, that experience has never realized any of the evils that have been apprehended." , INTEENATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. 225 says, a triumphant history of twelve years, during which hundreds of liberated convicts have been saved by it from relapsing into crime. In- deed it is, we are informed, a rare thing for any female convict who has passed through it to be reconvicted and sent back to prison. Nearly all are saved. The Carlisle Memorial Eefuge for Convict Women, at Winchester, corroborates the testimony of Golden Bridge. The Home for Discharged Female Prisoners, founded and managed by the New York Women's Prison Association, and the temporary asylum for the same class of persons at Dedham, Massachusetts, under the care of a society of Boston ladies, speak the same language. These facts would seem to prove, beyond dispute, the practicability and utility of such asylums, especially for women. But they should be made strictly tran- sitional. Their whole intent and aim should be to bridge the gulf that lies between the prison and employment in general society, to provide a defense for the critical, and, to the convict who desires to reform, mo- mentous period which follows immediately on liberation. The intermediate prison, atLusk, near Dublin, is an institution of es- sentially tbe same character as Mr. Livingston's house of refuge ; with this difference, that its inmates are still within the grasp of their sentence, while those of the refuge have passed out of the range of its power, and of their own free will have come to enjoy the benefits of a home which has invited them to its hospitable shelter. The advantages which Mr. Livingston hoped from his refuge are, at Lusk, matters of daily experience. The intermediate prison, it will be remembered, is an essen- tial, part of the Crofton prison system, constituting its third or proba- tionary stage. The fourth and most essential agency for saving discharged prisoners ■would be an improved prison discipline, a training ■ while in prison, ■which would issue, wherever such a result is possible, in a genuine and radical reformation of th^ convict. The committee, without going into much detail, would offer an outline of such a system as, in their judg- ment, would be most likely to accomplish the result indicated. 1. The reformation and rehabilitation of criminals — ^not vindictive suffering— should be made the supreme aim of the system. 2, Progressive classification, based on character and merit, and not on any arbitrary principle, such as age, crime, &c., should be made a fundamental principle. No better method has yet been devised to this end than that offered in the Crofton prison system, where there is— I. A penal stage, with separate imprisonment, longer or shorter, according to conduct. II. A reformatory stage, worked on the mark system, where the prisoners are advanced from class to class, as they earn such ad- ^'auce, giving at each step increased comfort and privilege. HI. A pro- bationary stage, into which are admitted only such as are judged to be reformed, and where the object is to test their moral soundness— the re- ality of their reformation. IV. A stage of conditional liberty, (ticket of leave ) in which the reformed convict enjoys full freedom, subject, how- ever, to a revocation thereof, and a return to the prison, for any mis- ^^^ A system of rewards for good conduct and industry should be instituted, -whereby hope shall become an ever-present and ever-active force more potent and controlling than fear in the minds of prison- ers 'such rewards should consist of: a, a diminution of sentence; 6, a share by the prisoners in their earnings ; c, a gradual withdrawal of prison restraints, and a constant increase of privileges, as they shall be earned bv good conduct. >, ,,,,.. 4. Greater breadth should be given to moral and religious agencies. S. Ex. 39 15 226 INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. • 5. There should be a stronger infusion of the educational element in our prison system. 6. Industrial training shouM have a higher development and a greater breadth. 7. Moral must be substituted for material forces in our prison dis- cipline to the utmost extent possible. 8. Prison oificers must receive a special education for their work, and prison-keeping be thus raised to the dignity of a regular calling, so that a scientific character may be given to it. 9. A probationary stage, already referred to in the second specifica- tion above, in which the training shall be more natural, and the moral cure of the delinquent can be adequately tested, must be introduced into our prison systems. This principle does not yet command universal concurrence, though the tendency of opinion sets strpngly in that direc- tion. It is singular, however, that while it has received a wide theoret- ical assent, the theory, so far as we are informed, -has been reduced to practice nowhere except in the Irish convict prisons under the Crofton system. The reason for such a chasm, and that so generally existing, between principle and act, must be sought, no doubt, in the difficidty of bringing the two practically together, and in the further fact that a successful application of the principle requires an adjustment thereto of the other and antecedent stages of a prison system. The principle can- not possibly be incorporated, as an isolated element, into any prison system ; but must, of necessity, come in as the complement of a system, all the parts of which are contrived and adjusted to reformation as the one great end in view. There is no prison system in our country, and probably not elsewhere, other than the one to which it originally be- longed, on which this principle could he ingrafted, without changes so radical as to constitute a new system. Yet it is a principle so essential ' to a true and effective prison discipline, that, sooner or later, the changes must be made which, will permit its introduction. There is a problem of the gravest importance, and as difficult as it is grave, on which the minds of prison reformers throughout the world are now bent with an interest that may be characterized as intense — the problem how to secure the re-absorption of released prisoners into society, without a relapse into crime. Thousands upon thousands, intent on a better Ijfe on their emergence from prison walls, fall back into transgression, simply because the ban of society is upon them ; nobody trusts them, nobody will give them work, nobody will permit them to earn and eat honest bread. The solp^tion of the problem stated above, so vital and yet so hidden, so important, and at the same time so perplexed, lies in the direction of this principle — lies, in fact, in a successful application of this principle, as a living and indispensable part of a prison system. The discharged convict, though reformed and resolved to live honestly, fails to get work ; and he fails so generally that failure is the rule and success the exception. Why is this ? It is not that society is hard- hearted ; that it has no sympathj' with misfortune ; that it is vindictive and cruel ; that it tramples upon a man merely, because he is down. Far from it ; but society distrusts the liberated prisoner ; it has no con- fidence in him ; and, what is yet more to the purpose, it has no guarantee for its confidence. It is this want of a guarantee that builds a wall of granite between the convict on his release and remunerative employ- ment. Conquer the distrust of society, replace that distrust with con- fidence, furnish the needed guarantee that the man is trustworthy, and every difficulty will vanish ; every shop, every factory, every farm, every avenue of honest toil will be open to his entrance. But the prob- . INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. 227 lem is how to abate tlie prejudice wliicli society feels toward the lib- erated convict; Jww to overcome the dread which it has of him; hoio to allay its fears ; how to win for him its confidence and conciliate its regard. There is but one way to accomplish this result. The convict must furnish proof during his incarceration that it is safe to confide in him ; safe to put him at the work-bench ; safe to place in his hands " the shovel and the hoe ;" safe to admit him to the intimacy of the fire- side and the home circle. In other words, he must be tried, his cure must be tested, before he is discharged. But this can never be done where the system of imprisonment is one of material isolation to,the end ; neither can it any more be done where the system of imprisonment is one of moral isolation to the end. There must be a field, an oppor- tunity for the trial. But such a theater and such a chance the separate system can never fupnish ; nor any more can the congregate system, on its presfent basis. Both our existing systems must be in part retained, in part discarded, in part changed ; and so changed that the passage from im- prisonment to liberty shall not be, as now, per saltum, by a single bound; but the change must be such that the former shall gradually, almost im- perceptibly, melt into the latter; such that the latter part of the imprison- ment shall be little more than moral, in which, as far as may be, all the arrangements shall be those of ordinary life, with its trusts, its tempta- tions, its responsibilities, its victories over self and sin, its toning up and strengthening of the character by the friction to which the man is in these various ways subjected. Or, to sum up all in one word, the principle of the Crofton " intermediate prison," in the form which it has in Ireland, or some other, must be impressed upon our system of im- prisonment, where, doubtless, it will yield the same precious fruit that it does in the country in which the idea was first conceived and applied. " The same precious fruit." What fruit ? The conquest of distrust, the implantation of confidence toward liberated prisoners. *And has that result been achieved ? Yes, to the fullest extent. What was thought to be an impossibility— what is yet so regarded by many— has become a living fact. In Ireland the labor of discharged convicts, which, fifteen vears ago, was spurned as a gift, is to-day eagerly sought. Ghainnan. The committee believe that prisoners prepared for discharge under the influences of a prison system such as that sketched above would readilv find employment, and be re-absorbed into free and virtuous society- and thus would be solved a problem which has been regarded as one of the most dififtcult and perplexing in penitentiary science. A T?i7pm?,T OF THE COMMITTEE ON" JUVENILE DELIN- 4. aiuryjax QUENCY. The subiects on which this committee are called upon to, report are so ^ct+an^onrnDlicated, and the time of the convention is so limited, that ifha^efXtSst advisable to present but one portbn of the great work S performed in thecountryin behalf of our unfortunate or crim- • 1 ;,+>. anri that is the preventive measures, which naturally often r^riS's atteSfon S such^assemblies than de more imposing labors "^MorewerTn this latter field, the National Prison Association, or, to 228 INTEENATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. speak more precisely, the national congress, which is the parent of the association, has .already listened, on a lirevious occasion, to very lucid and able papers, and to no less clear and instructive discussions. We shall confine ourselves in the present paper to an examination of certain sources of juvenile crime, not usually much considered, treating briefly of others which have been often and ably discussed ; and then shall give a brief rSsume of certain preventive measures in New York — which may be found of much value if adopted in other cities — and the results-of these extended movements on the records and statistics of juvenile crime. If certain aspects of our subject seem too briefly dealt with, the asso- ciation will consider the brief time allowed for such important discus- sions. THE OATJSES OF JJJVENILE CRIME. The great practical division 6f causey of crime may be made into preventable and non-preventable. Among the preventable, or those which can be in good part removed, may be placed : Ignorance, intem- perance, overcrowding of population, want of work, idleness, vagrancy, the weakness of the marriage tie, and bad legislation. Among those which cannot be entirely removed are inheritance, the effects of emigration, orphanage, accident, or misfortune, the strength of the sexual and other passions, and a natural weakness of moral or mental powers. In treating these in this pajoer we shall pass over ignorance, orphan- age, want Of work, and the veft'eets of emigration, and shall omit entirely the great and twrible source of crime, intemperance, as these have all been so exhaustively and ably discussed in previous, sessions of the Ijrison association. The principal consideration will be given in this paper to " tile weakness of the marriage tie" as a cause of crime ; to inheritance, and to overcrowding, especially in New Tork, as a prolific source of juvenile crimes. "WEAKNESS OF THE MARRIAGE TIE. It is extraordinary among the lower classes in how large a number of cases a second marriage, or the breaking of marriage, is the immediate cause of crime or vagrancy among the children. When questioning a homeless boy or street-wandering girl as to their former home, it is ex- tremely common to hear either, ' ' I couldn't get on with my step-mother," or, " My step-father treated me badly," or, "My father left, and we just took care of ourselves." These ajpparently exceptional events are so common in these classes as to fairly constitute them an important cause of juvenile crime. Wheji one remembers the number of happy secbnd marriages within one's acquaintance, and how many children have never felt the difference between their step-mother and their own mother, and what loye, and patience, and self-sacriflce are shown by parents to their step- children, we may be surprised at the contrast in another class of the community ; but the virtues of the poor spring very much from their affections and instincts; they have comparatively little self-control; the high lessons of duty and consideration for others are seldom stamped on them ; and religion does not much influence their more delicate rela- tions with those associated with them. They might shelter a strange orphan for years with the greatest kindness, but the bearing and for- bearing with the faults of another person's child year after year, merely from motives of duty or affection to its parent, belong to a higher range INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. 229 ^el^con^firnnJ^r ■' ^^ "3.^^"^ *?^^ '"^^°'" ^^^^^- Their o^vn want of true sP^?.nVSi^''' *f ^'^^ ^^^^ ^i*tt<^ understamling of S ImwIZ kl^'l^lT *° ,^«^^? '^nd embitter these relations with doubtleJs Wn m^i?'^'^'^'' themselves have plenty of faults, and have a^SiS on^ nllV^ governed so that soon both parties jar and rub bfnr fiMr .^ *^^''' '^^'^' ^^ °^'*^^^ ^^^*^ instincts or affections to fall them Wb'pTwn ?^"r'^'^ T T^^ «*■ ^^*y i« ^«* enough to restrain ScomeT^sir with SllS''''' °^^'^" ^^ "«^^ '^^^^^^^'^ P— da?lhterSf^il 'P'iu^ ''?: ^^*^«^° «*^P-^OQ ^°d mother or step- l^fSL^.^l*?'^''' the other parent sometimes sides with the child, f Sn^^f 'f ^'^ ^''''*°^'' ^"* *^«^ ^es'^l* is similar. The house becomes 1%^!./*^ pandemonium and the girls rush desperately forth to the wild \]1%I -f l^'^f I' ^'' *^? ^°y^ gradually prefer the roaming existence of the ume city Arab to such a quarrelsome home. Thus it happens that step- children among the poor are so often criminals or outcasts. it needs a number of years among the lowest working classes to unaerstand what a force public opinion is, in all classes, in keeping the marriage bond sacred,, and what sweeping misfortunes follow its viola- tion. Many of the Irish peasants who have landed here have married irom pure attection. Their marriage has been consecrated by the most solemn ceremonies of their church. They come of a people peculiarly laithtul to the marriage tie, and whose religion has especially guarded female purity and the fidelity of husband and wife. At home, in their native villages, they would have died sooner than break the bond or leave their wives. The social atmosphere about them, and the influence of their priests, make such an act almost impossible. And yet, in this distant country, away from their neighbors and their religious instruct- ors, they are continually making a practical test of " free-love " doc- trines. As the wife grows old or ugly, as children increase and weigh the parents down, as the homes become more noisy and less pleasant, the man begins to forget the vows made at the altar and the blooming girl he then took, and perhaps meeting some prettier woman or hearing of some chance for work at a distance, he slips quietly away, and the deserted wife, who seems to love him the more the more false he is, is left alone. For a time she has faith in him and seeks him far and near, but, at length, she abandons hope and begins the heavy struggle of maintaining her little family herself. The boys gradually get beyond her control ; they are kept in the street to earn something for their sup- port ; they become wild and vagrant,, and soon end with being street- rovers, or petty thieves, or young criminals. The girls are trained in beggary or peddling, and, meeting with bold company, they gradually learn the manners and morals of the streets, and after a while abandon the wretched home and break what was left of the poor mother's hope and courage by beginning a life of shame. This sad history is lived out every day in New York. If any theorists desire to see what fruits "free-love" or a weak marriage bond can bear among the lowest working classes, they have only to trace the histories of great numbers of the young thieves and outcasts and prostitutes in this city. With the dan- gerous classes "elective afl&nities''' are most honestly followed. The results are suffering, crime, want, and degradation to those who are innocent. INHERITANCE. A most powerful and continual source of crime with the young is inheritance, the transmitted tendencies and qualities of their parents, 230 ■ INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS, or of several generations of ancestors. It is well known to those famil- iar with the criminal classes that certain appetites or habits, if Indulged abnormally and excessively through two or more generations, come to have an almost irrisistible force, and no doubt do modify the brain so as to constitute almost an insane condition. This is especially true of the appetite for liquor, and of sexual passion, and sometimes of the peculiar weakness, dependence, and laziness,- which make confirmed paupers. The writer knows of one instance, in an alms-house in western New York, where four generations of females were paupers and prosti- tutes. Almost every reader who is familiar with village life will recall poor families which have had dissolute or criminal members beyond the memory of the oldest inhabitant, and who still continue to breed such characters. I have known a child of nine or ten given up, ajppare^tly beyond control, to licentious habits aipd desires, and who in all different circumstances seemed to show the same tendencies ; her mother had been of similar character, and quite likely her grandmother. The " gemmules," or latent tendencies, or forces, or cells, of her immediate ancestors were in her system and working in her blood, producing irri- sistible effects on her brain, nerves, and mental emotions, and finally, not being met early enough by other moral, mental, and physical influences, they have modified her organization until her will is scarcely able to control them, and she gives herself up to them. All those who instruct in or govern houses of refuge, or reform schools, or asylums for criminal children and youth, will recall many such instances. They are much better known in the Old World than in this ; they are far more common here in the country than the city. My own experience during twenty years has been in this regard singularly hopeful. I have watched great numbers of degraded families in New York, and ex- ceedingly few of them have transmitted new generations of pau- pers, criminals, or vagrants. The causes of this encouraging state of things are not obscure. The action of the great law. of "natural selection," in regard to the human race, is always toward temperance and virtue. That is, vice and extreme indulgence weaken- the phy- sical powers and undermine the constitution. They impair the facul- ties by which man struggles with adverse conditions, and gets beyond the reach of poverty and want. The vicious, and sensual, and drunken die earlier, or they have fewer children, or their children are carried off by diseases more frequently, or they themselves are unable to resist or prevent poverty and suffering. As a consequence, in the lowest class, the more self-controlled and virtuous tend constantly to survive, and to prevail in '-the struggle for existence" over the vicious and ungoverned, and to transmit their progeny. The natural drift among the poor is toward virtue. Probably no vicious organization with very extreme and abnormal tendencies is transmitted beyond the fourth generation ; it ends in insanity, or cretinism, or the wildest crime. The result is then, with the worst endowed families, that the "gemmules," or latent forces of hundreds of virtuous, or at least not vicious gen- erations, lie hid in their constitution. The immediate influences of parents or grand-parents are of course the strongest in inheritance ; but these may be overcome, and the latent tendencies to good, coming- down from remote ancestors, be aroused and developed. Thus is explained the extraordinary improvement of the children of crime and poverty in our industrial schools, and the reforms and happy changes seen in the boys and girls of our dangerous classes, when placed in kind western homes. The change of circumstances, the improved food, the daily moral and mental influences, the effect of regular labor INTEENATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. 231 and discipline, and, above all, the power of religion, awaken these hidden tendencies to good, both those coming from many generations of com- parative virtue and those inherent in the soul, while they control and weaken, and cause to be forgotten, those diseased appetites or extreme passions which these unfortunate creatures inherit directly, and substi- tute a higher moral sense for the low moral instincts which they obtained from their parents. So it happens, also, that American life, as compared with Jiuropean, and city life as compared with country, produces similar results. In the United States a boundless hope pervades all classes • it reaches down to the outcast and vagrant. There is no fixity, as is' sb often the fact in Europe, from the sense of despair. Every individual at least till he is old, hopes and expects to rise out of his condition. ' The daughter of the rag-picker or vagrant sees the children she knows continually dressing better or associating with more decent people: she Ijeholds them attending the public schools and improving in education and manners; she comes in contact with the greatest force the poor kn6w— public opinion, which requires a certain decency and respecta- bility among themselves ; she becomes ashamed of her squalid, ragged, or drunken mother; she enters an industrial school, or creeps into a ward school, or " goes out" as a servant. In every place she feels the profound forces of American life; the desire of equality; ambition to rise ; the sense of self-respect, and the passion for education. These new desires overcome the low appetites in her blood, and she continually rises and improves. If religion in any form reach her, she attains a still greater height over the sensual and filthy ways of her parents. She is in no danger of sexual degradation or any extreme vice. The poison in her blood has found an antidote. When ' she marries, it will inevitably be with a class above her own. This process goes on continually throughout the country and breaks up criminal inheritance. Moreover, the incessant change of our people, especially in cities ; the separation of children from parents, of brothers from sisters, and of all ' from their former localities, destroy that continuity of influence which bad parents and grandi^arents exert, and does away with those neigh- borhoods of crime and pauperism where vice concentrates and transmits itself with ever-increasing po\wer. The fact that tenants must forever be "moving" in iSTew York is a preventive of some of the worst evils among the lower poor. The mill of American life, which grinds up so many delicate and fragile things, has its uses, when it is turned on the vicious fragments of the lowest strata of society. Villages, which are more stable and conservative, and tend to keep families together more, and in the same neighborhoods, show more in- stances of inherited and concentrated wickedness and idleness. Itliink we have, in New York, comparatively little of successive generations of paupers, criminals, and vagrants. The families are constantly broken up; some members improve; some die out, but they do not transmit a progeny of crime. - Among those public influences on the young, it has been often a question with some whether the public schools did not educate the daughters of the poor too much, and thus maike them discontented with their condition and exposed to temptation. It is said that these working-girls, seeing such fine dresses about them, and learning many useless accomplishments, have become in- different to steady hard labor, and have sought in vice for the luxu- ries which they firs.t learned to know in the public schools. My own observations, however, lead me to doubt whether this occurs • unless 232 INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. as an exceptional fact. The influence of discipline and regular instruc- tion is against the style of character which makes the prostitute. Where there is a habit of work, there is seldom the laziness and shiftlessness which especially cause or stimulate sexual vice. Some working-girls do, no doubt, become discontented with their former condition, and some rise to a much higher, while some fail ; but this happens everywhere in the United States, and is not to be traced especially to the influence of our free schools. We have spoken of the greater tendency of large cities, as compared with villages, in breaking up vicious families. There is another ad- vantage of cities in this matter. The especial virtue of a village com- munity is the self-respect and personal independence of its members. IvTo benefits of charity or benevolent assistance and dependence could ever outweigh this. But this very virtue tends to keep a wicked or idle family in its present condition. The neighbors are not in the habit of interfering with it ; no one advises or warns it ; the children grow up as other people's children do, in the way the parents prefer ; there is no machinery of charity to lift them out of the slime ; and if any of their wealthier neighbors, from motives of benevolence, visited the house and attempted to improve or educate the family, the effort would be re- sented or misconstrued. The whole family become a kind of pariahs; they are morally tabooed, and grow up in a vicious atmosphere of their own, and really come out much worse than a similar family in the city. This phenomenon is only a natural effect of the best virtues of the worst community. In a largei town, on the other hand, there exist machinery and organ- ization through which benevolent and religious persons can approach such families, and their good intentions not be suspected or resented. The poor people themselves are not so independent, and accept advice or . warning more readily. They are not stamped in public repute with a bad name; less is known of them; and the children under new influ- ences break off from the vicious career of their parents and grow up as honest and industrious persons. Moreover, the existence of so much charitable organization in the cities brings the best talent and charac- ter of the fortunate classes to bear directly on the unfortunate, far more than is the fact in villages. OVERCRpWDrNG. The source of juvenile crime and misery in New York which is the most formidable, and at the same time the most difilcult to remove, is the overcrowding of our population. The form of the city site is such — the majority of the dwellings being crowded into a narrow island be- tween' two water-fronts — that space near the business portions of the city becomes of great value. These districts are necessarily sought for by the laboring and mechanic classes, as they are near the places of employment. They are avoided by the wealthy on account of the population which has already occupied so much of them. The result is that the poor must live in certain wards, and as space is costly the landlords supply them with (comparatively) cheap dwellings, by build- ing very high and large houses, in which gi'eat numbers of people rent only rooms instead, of dwellings. Were New York a city radiating from a center over an almost unlim- ited space, as Philadelphia, for instance, the laborers or the mechanics might take up their abode anywhere, and land would be comparatively cheap, so that that blessing of the laboring class would be attainable, of separate homes for each family. INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. 233 But on this narrow island business ia so peculiarly constructed, and population is so much forced to one exit— toward the north— aud the poor have such a singular objection to living beyond a ferry, that space will inevitably continue very dear iu New York, and the laboring classes will be compelled to occupy it. To add to the unavoidable costliness of ground-room on this island, has come in the. effect of bad government. It is one of the most unpleasant experiences of the student of polit- ical economy that the axioms of his science can so seldom be understood by the masses, though their interests be vitally affected by them. Thus every thoughtful man knows that each "new job" among city of&cials, each act of plunder of public property by members of the mu- ' nicipal government, every loss of income ormal-appropriation or extrava- gance in the city's funds, must be paid for by taxation, aud that taxation always falls heaviest on labor. The laboring classes of this city rule it, and through their especial leaders are the great public losses and wastefulness occasioned. Yet they never know that they themselves pay for these continually in increased rents. Every landlord charges his advanced taxation in rent, and prob- ably a profit on that. The tenant pays more for his room ; the grocer more for his shop; the butcher and tailor and shoemaker and every re- tailer has heavier expense^ from the* advance in rents, and each and all charge it on their customers. The poor feel the. final pressure. The painful effect has been that the expense for rent has risen enormously witb the laboring classes of this city during the last five years, while many others of the living expenses have nearly, returned to the standard before the war. The influence of high rents is to force more people into a given space, in order to economize and divide expense. The latfist trustworthy statistics on this important subject are from the excellent reports of the Metropolitan Board of Health for 1866. From these it appears that the First ward of this city, with a population of 58,963, has a rate of population of 196,510 to tbe square mile, or 16.1 square yards to each person ; the ward, with 31,537 population, has a rate of 185,512 to the square mile, or 17.2 yards to each ; the Seven- teenth ward, with 79,563, has the rate of 153,006 ; the Fourteenth ward, with 23,382, has a rate of 155,880 ; the Thirteenth ward, with 26,388, has 155,224 ; and so on with others, though in less proportion. The worst districts in London do not at all equal this crowding of population. Thus East London shows the rate of 175,816 to the square mile ; the Strand, 161,556; Saint Luke's, 151,104; Holborn, 148,705, and Saint James, Westminster, 144,008, If particular districts of our city be taken, they present an even greater massing of human beings th4n the above averages have shown. Thus according to the report of the council of hygiene in 1865, the tenant-house and cellar population ' of the Fifteenth ward numbered 17 611 packed in buildings over a space less than thirty acres, exclusive of' streets which would make the fearful rate of 290,000 to the square mile In the Seventeenth ward, the board of health reports that in 1868 4 120 houses contained 95,091 inhabitants, of whom 14,016 were children under five years. In the same report, the number of tenement houses for the whole city is given at 18,5^2, with an estimate of one-half the whole population dwelling in them, say 500,000. We qiiote an extract from a report of a visitor of the Children's Aid Society of the First ward describing the condition of a tenement house : 234 INTEENATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGEESS. What do you think of the moral atmosphere of the home I am about to describe below? ' • To such a home two of our boys return nightly. / In a dark cellar, filled with smoke, there sleep, all in one room, with no kind of partition dividing them, two men and their wives, a girl of thirteen or fourteen, two men and a large boy of about seventeefl years of age; a mother with two more boys, one about ten years old and one large boy of fifteen ; another woman with two boys, nine and eleven years of age — in all, four- teen persons. This room I have often visited, and the number enumerated probably falls below rather than above the average that sleep' there. It need not be said that with overcrowding such as this there is always disease, and as naturally crime. The privacy of a home is undoubtedly one of the most favorable conditions to virtue — especially in a girl. If a female child be born and brought up in a room of one of these tenement houses, she loses very early the modesty which is the great shield of purity. Personal delicacy becomes almost unknown to her. Living, sleeping, and doing her work in the same apartment with men and boys of various ages, it is well-nigh impossible for her to retain any feminine reserve, and she passes, almost unconsciously, the line of purity at a very early age. In these dens of crowded humanity, too, other and more unnatural crimes are committed among those of the same blood and family. Here, too, congregate some of the worst of the destitute population of the city — vagrants, beggars, unsuccessful thieves, broken-down drunken vagabonds who manage as yet to keep out of the station-houses, and the lowest and most bungling of the "sharpers.'' Naturally the boys, growing up in such places, become, as by a law of nature, petty thieves, pick-pockets, street-rovers, beggars, and burglars. Their only salvation is that these dens become so filthy and haunted with vermin that the lads themselves leave them in disgust, preferring the barges on the breezy docks or the boxes on the sidewalk, from which eventually they are drawn jnto the neat and comfortable boys' lodging-houses, and there find themselves imperceptibly changed into honest and decent boys. This is the story of thousands every year. The cellar population alone of the city is a source of incessant disease and crime. And with the more respectable class of poor who occupy the better kind of tenetnent houses, the packing of human beings in these great caravanSaries is one of the worst evils of this city. It sows pestilence and breeds every species of criminal habits. From the eighteen thousand tenement-houses comes 73 per cent, of the mor- tality of our population, and we have little doubt as much as 90 per cent, of the offenses against property and person. Overcrowding is the one great misfortune of H"ew York. Without it we should be the healthiest large city in the world, and a great propor- tion of the crimes which disgrace our civilization be nipped in the bud. While this continues as it does now, there is no possibility of a thorough sanitary, moral, or religious reform in our woi-st wards. Few girls can grow up to majority in such dens as exist in the First, Sixth^' Eleventh, and Seventeenth wards and be virtuous ; few boys can have such places as homes and not be thieves and vagabonds. In sjich pens, typhus and cholera will always be rife, and the death-rate reach its most terrible maximum. While the poorest population dwell in these cellars and crowded attics, neither Sunday-schools, nor churches, nor missions, nor charities can accomplish a thorough reform. What, then, is to be done to remedy this terrible evil? Experience has proved that our remedial agencies can, in individual cases, cure INXEENATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. 235 even the evils resulting from this unnatural coudeusiiig of population. That is, we can point to hundreds of lads and young girls who were born and reared in such crowded dens of humanity, but who have been transformed into virtuous, well-behaved, and industrious young men and women, by the quiet daily influence of our industrial schools and lodg- ing-houses. - Still these cases of reform are in truth exceptions. The natural and legitimate influence of such massing of population is all in the direction of immorality and degeneracy. Whatever would lessen that would at once, as by a necessary law, diminish crime, and poverty, and disease. The great remedies are to be looked for in broad general provisions for distributing population. Thus far the means of communication between business New York and the suburbs have been singularly defective. Au underground rail- way, with cheap workmen's trains, or elevated railways, with similar conveniences, connecting Westchester County and the lower part of the city, or suburbs laid out in New Jersey or on Long Island, expressly for working people, with cheap connections with New York and Brooklyn, would soon make a vast difference in the concentration of i^opulatiou in our lower wards. It is true that English experience would show that laboring men, after a dreary day's work, cannot bear the jar of railway traveling. There must be, however, many A'arieties of labor — such as work in factories and the like, where a little movement in a railroad train at the close of a day would be a refreshment. Then as thelaboring class was concentrated in suburban districts, the various occupations i,^'hich attend them — such as grocers, shoemakers, tailors, and others — would follow, and be established near them. Many nationalities among our working class have an especial fondness for gardens and patches of land about their houses. This would be i\u. additional attraction to such settlements; and with easy and cheap com- munication we might soon have tens of thousands of our laborers and mechanics settled in pleasant and healthy little suburban villages, each perhaps having his own small house and garden; and the children grow- ing up under far better influences, moral and physical, than they could possibly enjoy in tenement houses. i There are many districts within half an hour of New York where such plots could be laid out at $500 each, which would pay a handsome profit to the owner, or where a cottage could be let with advantage for the present rent of a tenement attic. Improved communications have already removed hundreds of thousands of the middle class from the city, to all the surrounding neighborhood, to the immense relief of themselves and families. Equal conveniences, suited to the wants of the laboring class, will soon cause multitudes of these to live in the suburban districts. The obstacle, however, as in all efforts at improvement for the workmg peo- ple, is in their own ignorance and timidity, and their love of the crowd and bustle of a city. . ^. More remote even than relief by improved communications is a possi- ble check to high rents by a better government. A cheap and honest eovernment of the masses in New York would at once lower taxation and brino' down rents. The enormous prices demanded for one or two small rooms in a tenement house are a measure (in part) of the cost of our city government. , , ^ , j Anotber alleviation to our overcrowding has often been proposed, but never vigorously acted upon, as we are persuaded it might be, and that is the making the link between the demand for labor in our country districts and the supply in New York closer. The success of the Chil- 236 INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. dren's Aid Society in the transfer of destitute and homeless children to homes in the West, and of the commissioners of emigration in their " Labor .Exchange," indicate what might be accomplished by a grand organized movement for transferring our unemployed labor to the fields of the West. It is true they would not carry away our poorest class, yet it would relieve the pressure of population here on space, and thus give more room and occupation for all. But admitting that we cannot entirely prevent the enormous massing of people, such as prevails in our Eleventh and Seventeenth wards, we can certainly control it by legislation. The recent sanitary acts of New York attempt to hold in check the mode of building tenement houses, requiring certain means of venti- lation and exit, forbidding the filling up the entire space between the houses with dwellings, and otherwise seeking to improve the condition of such tenement houses. There only need two steps further, in imita- tion of the British lodging-house acts, removing altogether the cellar population when under certain unhealthy conditions, and the other limit- ing by law the number who can occupy a given space in a tenement room. The British acts assign 240 cubic feet as the lowest space admis- sible for each tenant or lodger, and if the inspector find less space than that occupied he at once enters a complaint, and the owner or landlord is obliged to reduce the number of his occupants under strict penalties. A provision of this nature in our New Tork laws would break up our worst dens and scatter their tenants or lodgers. The removal of the cellar population from a largo proportion of their dwellings should also be made. Liverpool removed 20,000 cellar occu- pants in one year — 1847 — to the immense gain, both moral and sanitary, of the city. New York needs the reform quite as much. There lieed be no real hardship in such a measure, as the tenants could find accom- modations in other parts of the city or the suburbs ; and some would perhaps emigrate to the country. One often proposed remedy for ills of our tenant-house system — the " model lodging-house," has never been fairly tried here. The theory of this agency of reform is, that if a tenement-house can be constructed on the best sanitary principles, with good ventilation, with a limited number of tenants, ho overcrowding, and certain important conveni- ences to the lodgers, all under moral supervision, (so that tenants of no- toriously bad character are excluded,) and such a house can be shown to pay, say 7 per cent, net, this will become a " model " to the builders of tenement-houses; some building after the same style because public opinion and their own conscience require it, others because competition . compels it. Thus, in time, the mode of structure and occupancy of all the new tenement-houses would be changed by the " model-houses." But to attain this desirable end, the "model houses" must first pay a profit, and a fair one. So long as they do not succeed in this they are a failure, howeverbenevolent their object and comfortable their arrange- ments. ' In this point of view the " Wakelow houses " in London are a success, and do undoubtedly influence the mode, building, and manage- ment of private tenement-houses ; in this, also, the " Peabody houses " are not a success and will have no permanent influence. The model-houses in London for lodging single men have, as the writer witnessed, changed and elevated the whole class of similar private lodging-houses. The experiment ought to be tried here, on a purely business basis, by some of our wealthy men. The evil of crowded tenement-houses might be immensely alleviated by such a remedy. INTEENATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGEESS. 237 THE GEEAT PEETENTIVE MEASUEES OP NEW YOEK. The extended movemeuts for the prevention of youthful poverty and crime which I am about very briefly to note originated in 1853 with the writer and a few other gentlemen, of whom only tliree or fonr are now living, our first treasurer, Mr. J. B. Williams, being our main-stay through al] these years. We had all been deeply moved by the terrible suffering and crime among the neglected children of this city, and resolved to form an organization devoted entirely to this subject. We took an office on the corner of Amity street and Broadway, the whole force being at first the writer and an office-boy. We organized as the Children's Aid Society of New York and were subsequently incorporated, in 1855. ■From the beginning we aimed at four different objects: First and foremost, at removing, after a short probation, the floating and home- less boys and girls of the city to places and homes in the country ; second, at opening induntrial schools and ivorJcshops for the children of the poor, especially for little girls who had homes, but who were too ragged, dirty, irregular in attendance, or .too much in want of food and clothing to attend the public schools, and who were growing up as petty thieves and little vagabonds ; third, we proposed to found lodging-houses for the homeless children, where they could be sheltered, partly fed, in- structed, brought under moral influences, and at length provided with homes; and fourth, to open/ree reading-rooms, as a means of improving and elevating the youth of the lowest wards. For nearly twenty years we have steadily aimed at these various ob- jects, through opposition, under persecution, amid the financial bank- ruptcy of the mercantile community on whom we depend, and during the great war for the life of the Union. The plan as it was first formed, we can modestly say, has been justified by events and blessed by Provi- dence. Our annual income has increased from $4,732.77 to about $175,000. We have now about seventy teachers employed, and various other agents. We have transplanted to country homes over 20,000 poor boys "and girls ; during the past year, 3,386. We have now nineteen indus- trial schools and twelve night-schools, with an aggregate attendance of 9,500 and an average of about 2,900. We have five lodging-houses — four for boys and one for girls — with an aggregate.attendance through the year of 11,928 different children, and ah average of over 400 each night. In one lodging-house alone — the newsboys' — there have been over 50,000 different boys since its opening. There are also five reading-rooms for lads and young men under charge of the society. For all these movements there have been expended since the founda- tion of the society $1,093,923.48. F'rom our industrial schools but the smallest proportion ever turn out criminals or paupers ; probably not five out of ohe thousand. Of the children sent to the country, comparatively few return to the city, and, so far as we can ascertain, a very hopefully small percentage are ever chargeable on the community or Qommit criminal offenses. Great numbers are now filling places of trust and usefulness through- out the country. Some are possessed of large properties, and others are thriving as teachers or in professions. All these various branches of our preventive charity have attracted to them the most humane and enlightened men and women of the city, 238 INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. who have devoted a vast deal of labor and time and means to this work of " saving the children" from crime and pauperism. It is to their co-operation and generous assistance, under Providence, that its success is due. So far as is known, no other large city has founded so extensive an organization for the prevention of juvenile crime. Since our opening, a similar society was founded, at our suggestion, in Brooklyn, which has now several lodging-houses. Newsboys' lodging-houses have also been founded, in imitation of ours, in Toronto, New Orleans, Philadel- phia, Washington, 'Chicago, and other cities. Some of them, however, have not succeeded. A new one has recently been opened in London, in Gray's Inn Court, in imitation of the New York house. At present about one half of the income of the Childrens' Aid So- ciety is derived from public sources and one half from private subscrip- tion. Besides these preventive measures should be mentioned the excellent work of the Home of the Friendless, the well-known labors of the Five Points' Missions, the Howard Mission, Wilson'School, and the various charch and mission schools for the children of the poor. THE RESULTS of all these preventive and educational movements are best shown by the following statistics of juvenile crime, taken from the reports of the city prisons and the police. CRIME CHECKED AMONG GIRLS. We have compared especially those offenses of which children or youth are usually guilty — such as " vagrancy," which includes, undoubt- edly, open prostitution, as well as homelessness and general vagabond- ism, " petty larceny," and " pocket-picking." The date of the year, it should be noticed, is always twelve months in advance, owing to the time of issue of the reports, so that the statistics for 1871, for instance, apply to 187Q. Of female vagrants there were imprisoned, in all our city prisons in-r- 1857. 1859- 1860. 1861. ie62. .3,449 .5,778 .5,830 .3,172 .2,243 1863. T864. 1869. 1870. 1871. .1,756 .1,342 . 785 . 671 . 548 We'have omitted some of the years on account of want of space ; they do not, however, change the steady rate of decrease in this offense. Thus, in eleven years, the imprisonments of female vagrants have fallen off from 5,880 to 548. This surely is a good show ; and yet in that period our population increased about 13J per cent., so that, according to the usual law, the commitments should have been this year over 6,673.* ' The population of New York increased from 814,224, in 1860, to 915,.520, in 1870, or only about 12J per cent. The increase in the previous decade was about GO per cent. There can be no doubt that the falling off is entirely in the middle classes, who have removed to the neighbor- ing rural districts. The classes from which most of the criminals come have undoubt- edly increased, as before, at least 50 per cent. I have retained for ten years, however, the ratio of the census, 12} per cent. If we turn now to the reports of the commissioners of police, the re- turns are almost equally encouraging, though the classification of arrests INTERN ATIONA.L PElSflTENTIAEY CONGRESS. 239 does not exactly correspond with that of imprisonments; that is, a person may be arrested for vagrancy, and sentenced for some other offense, and vice versa. The reports of arrests of female vagrants run thus : 1861 2,161 \ 1869 1,078 1862 1863 1867 .2,008 .1,728 .1,591 1870. 1S71. 701 914 1865 977 1869 9^0 1870 746 •1871 572 We have not, unfortunately, statistics further back than 1861. Another crime of young girls is thieving or petty larceny. The rate of commitments runs thus for females : 1859 '.. 944 1860 890 1861 880 1863 1,133 1864 1,131 The increase of this crime during the war, in the years 1863 and 1864, is very marked ; but in twelve years it has fallen from 944 to 572, though, according to the increase of the population, it would have been naturally 1,076. The classification of commitments of those under fifteen years only runs back a few years. The number of little girls imprisoned the past few years is as follows : 1863. 1864. 1865. 403 295 275 1868. 1870. 1871. 289 2S1 212 CRIME CHECKED AMONG THE BOYS. The imprisonments of males for offenses which boys are likely to com- mit, though not so encouraging as with the girls, shows that juvenile crime is fairly under control in this city. Thus "vagrancy" must in- clude many of the crimes of boys ; under this head we find the following commitments of males : 1,350 1,140 994 1865. 1870. 1871. 1859 2,829 1860 2,708 1862 1,203 1864 1,147 In twelve years a reduction from 2,829 to 994, when the natural in^ crease should have been up to 3,225. ^ . Petty larceny is a boy's crime ; the record stands thus for males : 1857 2.450 18.19 2,626 1860 : 2,575 1865 2,347 1869 2,338 1870 2,168 1871 1,978 A decrease in fourteen years of 502, when the natural increase should have brought the number to 2,861. -, ^, • ..i. Of boys under fifteen -imprisoned, the record stands thus since the new classification : 1864. 1865. 1869. 1,965 1,934 1,872 1870. 1871. 1,625 1,017 Of males between fifteen and twenty, in our city prisons, the follow- ing is the record: -,Jy 2,59211868 'S-SaT; ]l% 2 636 1870 2,876 Jl^ . 2 207 1871 2,936 1861. 2, 408 240 INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. It often happens tliat youthful criminals are arrested who are not im- prisoned. The reports of the board of police will give us other indica- tions that, even here, juvenile crime has at length befen diminished in its sources. AEEESTS. The arrests of pickpockets run thus since 1861, the limit of returns Accessible: 1861 . . . 1862... 1865... 1867... 466 300" 275 345 1868. 1869. 1870. 1871. 348 303 274 313 In ten years a reduction of 153 in the arrests of pickpockets. In petty larceny the returns stand thus in brief: 1870.^ 4,909 1871 3,912 1862 4,107 1865 5,240 1867 5,269 A decrease in nine years of 195. Arrests of girls alone under twenty : 1863 3,132 1 1870 1,993 1867 2,588] 1871 1,820 When we consider the enormous destruction of property, the cqst to the public of their prosecution and support, and the loss of productive energy which all these' youthful criihinals occasioned to society by their offenses and imprisonment, we can approximate the immense saving, even in a pecuniary respect, to the city, of labors which thus reduce the number of vagrants, thieves, and convicts. There can be no question that no outlay of public money or of private charity is so productive, or pays so well, as that for educational and charitable enterprises like our own. D.-REYIEW OF THE STATE AND CONDITION OF PENAL AND REFORMATORY INSTITUTIONS IN THE UNITED STATES. EoTE. — An extended paper on the county jails, State prisons, houses of correction, houses of xefuge, and reform schools of the United States has been prepared for publication as a part of the present report, but such an avalanche of work was precipitated upon the Public Printer, taxing the resources of his ofiftce to its utmost capacity for weeks, and even months, that, it was found absolutely impossible to get the Com- missioner's report out in time for the meeting of the congress of Lon- don on any other condition than that of curtailjng the document by the suppression of that portion of it. This suppression had to be assented to, however reluctantly, upon the principle expressed in the homely adage that " half a loaf is better than no bread." CHAELES L. BEAGE, Chairman. New York, January 27, 1871. INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. 241 APPE]^»IX, THE NATIONAL PEISON ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITBH STATES OF AMERICA.* I. — Officers of the association foe 1872. President.— Hon. Horatio Seymour, Utica, New York. Vice-Presidents. — Hon. James G. Blaine, Speaker United States House of Eepresentatives, Augusta, Maine ; Hon. Daniel Haines, Hamburgh, Ne^ Jersey ; Hon. Francis Lieber, LL. D., 48 East Thirty-fourth street, New York ; General Amos Pilsbury, superintendent Albany Peniten- tiary, Albany, New York ; Hon. Conrad Baker, governor of Indiana, Indianapolis, Indiana. Treasurer. — Salem H. Wales, esq;, 520 Fifth avenue. New York. Corresponding Secretary. — E. C. Wines, D.D.,LL.D.; office, 194 Broad- way ; residence, Irvington, New York. Recording Secretary. — ^Bradford K. Peirce, D. D., chaplain House of Eefuge, Eandall's Island, New York. II. — Board of directors. Samuel Allinson, Yardville, New Jersey. William H. Aspinwall, esq., 33 University Place, New York. Hon. Conrad Baker, governor of Indiatia, Indianapolis, Indiana: Henry W. Bellows, D. D., 232 East Fifteenth street. New York. Hon. James G. Blaine, Speaker United States House of Eepresenta- tives, Augusta, Maine. Eev. Charles L. Brace, secretary Children's Aid Society, 19 Fourth street. New York. , , -r^ . -^ tt or^ ^- -r^ Z. E. Brockway, esq., superintendent Detroit House of Correction, De- troit, Michigan. ,. ^ ^ ..t ^^ i James Brown, esq., 38 East Thirty-seventh street, New York. Charles F. Coffin, president board of directors, House of Eefuge, Eich- mond, Indiana. ^^ ^^ ■ t ,. f^ ^ v n n t Hon. Theodore W. Dwight, LL. D., president Columbia College Law Schooh" 37 Lafayette Place, New York. G. S. Griffith, esq., Baltimore, Maryland. Hon. Daniel Haines, Hamburgh, New Jersey. E. W. Hatch, M. D., superintendent State Eeform School, West Men- den, Connecticut. . Hon. E. B. Hayes, Cincinnati, Ohio. Morris K. Jesup, esq., 59 Liberty street, New York. John Taylor Johnston, esq., 119 Liberty street, New York. Hon Francis Lieber, LL.D., 48 East Thirty-fourth street, New York. A J. Ourt M. D., corresponding secretary board of public charities, 737 Walnut street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. • It -was I)V this association that the international penitentiary congress was first fnrmallv proposed, and by it the work of preparation has been mainly conducted, ttronghits corresponding secretary, who was also clothed with an oificial character by a commission from the President .of the United States to represent the Government in the congress. S. Ex. 39 16 242 INTEENATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGEESS. B. K. Peirce, D. D., chaplain House of Eefuge, EandalFs Island, New York. General Amos Pilsbury, superintendent Albany penitentiary, Albany, New York. F. B. Sanborn, esq., editor, Springfield, Massachusetts. Hon. Horatio Seymour, Utica, New York. Hon. L. Stanford, Sacramento, California. Oliver S. Strong, esq., president board of managers New York House of Eefuge, 61 Bible House, New York. Salem H. Wales, 520 Fifth avenue. , Hon. and Eev. G. William Welker, Groldsborough, North Carolina. A. E. Wetmore, president board of managers New York Juvenile Asylum, 365 Qreenwich street, New York. Hon. E. K. White, Louisville, Kentucky. John E. Williams, esq., president Metropolitan National Bank, 108 Broadway, New York. E. 0. Wines, D. D., LL. D., 194 Broadway, New York.. in. — Standing committees. 1. Executive committee. — The president, treasurer, corresponding sec- retary, and recording secretary, ex officio ; H. W. Bellows, D. D., Eev. Charles L. Brace, and O. S. Strong. 2. Committee on criminal law reform. — H. Seymour, P. Lieber, Daniel Haines, Conrad Baker, James G. Blaine, Theodore W. Dwight, E. B. Hayes. 3. Committee on prison discipline. — F. B. Sanborn, Z. E. Brockway, Amos Pilsbury, A. J. Ourt, G. William Welker. 4. Committee on juvenile delinquency. — C. L. Brace, B. K. Peirce, O. S. Strong, E. W. Hatch, A. E. Wetmore. 5. Committee on discharged prisoners. — Samuel AUinson, Daniel Haines, Charles CofiQn, E. K. White, G. S. Griffith. lY. — OOEEESPONDING MEMBEES. John Stewart Mill, esq., Blackheath Park, Kent, England. Mr. Commissioner M. D. Hill, Heath House, Stapleton, near Bristol, England. Miss Mary Carpenter, lied Lodge Eeformatory, Bristol, England. Miss Florence Nightingale, South street, London, England. Eight Hon. Sir Walter Crofton, C. B., Hillingdon, Uxbridg'e, Eng- land. Sir John Bowring, Claremont, Exeter, England. Frederic Hill, esq., 27 Thurlow Eoad, Hampstead, London, England. Edwin Hill, esq., No. 1 Saint Mark's Square, Eegent's Park, London, England. Miss Florence Hill, Heath House, Stapleton, near Bristol, England. Miss Joanna Margaret HiU, Birmingham, England. Alfred Asplaud, esq., Dukeufleld, Ashton-under-Lyne, England. William Tallack, esq.. No. 5 Bishopsgate street, Without, London, England. Charles Ford, esq., 24 New street, Spring Gardens, London, England. Eev. Sydney Turner, inspector of reformatories, 15 Parliament street, London, England. W. L. Sargant, esq., Birmingham, England. Edwin Chadwick, esq., Montlake, England. INTEENATIONAX, PENITENTIAEY CONGRESS. 24S A. Augus Croll, esq., Putney, England. Miss Francis Power Cobbe,.26 Hereford Square, London, England. George W. Hastings, esq., 1 Adam street, Adelphi, London, Eng- land. T. B. LI. Baker, Hardwicke Court, Gloucester, England. T. L. Murray Browne, esq., No. 4 Old Square, Lincoln's Inn, London, England. Edwin Pears, esq., Secretary of British Social Science Association, INo. 1 Adam street, Adelphi, London, England. Captain E, P. Du Cane, surveyor general of prisons, E^o, 44 Parliament street, London, England. John Lentaigne, esq., inspector of county and borough jails, Dubliii, Ireland. > Patrick Joseph Murray, esq., director of convict prisons, Dublin, Ireland. Captain J. Barlow, director of convict prisons, Dublin, Ireland. M. Bonneville de Marsaugy, 7 rue Penthi6vre, Paris, France. M. Victor Bournat, 20 rue Jacob, Paris, France. M. E. Robin, (pastfeur,) 21 rue Piat, Belleville, Paris, Prance. M. J. Jaillant, director of prisons, ministry of the interior, Paris, France. M. Jules de Lamarque, chief of bureau, direction of prisons, Paris, France. Dr. Prosper Despine, 12 rue du Loisor, Marseilles, France. M. Charles Lucas, member of the Institute, Paris, France. M. le Vicompt d'Haussonville, member of the national assembly, rue St. Dominique, Paris, France. , M. Auguste Demetz, 92 rue de la Victoire, Paris, France. M. A. Corue, sous-prefect, St. Omer, France. M. Berden, administrator of prisons, Brusseles, Belgium. M. J. Stevens, inspector general of prisons, Brusseles, Belgium. M. Auguste Visschers 106, rue Royale, Brusseles, Belgium. Mr. Alstorphius Grovelink, inspector of prisons, the Hague, ISTether- lands. Mr. W. H. Suringar, president of the Netherlands Society for the Moral Eeform of Prisoners, Amsterdam, Netherlands. Eev. Dr. Laurillard, secretary of same, Amsterdam, Netherlands. Mr. B. J. Ploos Vou Amstel, Amsterdam, Netherlands. Dr. Guillaume, director of the Penitentiary, Neuchatel, Switzerland. Mr. Max Wirth, chief of the' statistical bureau, Berne, Switzerland. Signor F. Cardon, director general of prisons, Rome, Italy. Signer M. Bettrani-Scalia, inspector general of prisons, Rome, Italy. Baron Franz Von Holtzendori}', professor of law in the University of Berlin, Charlottenburg, near Berlin, Prussia. Eev. Dr. Wichern, director of the Eauhe Haus, Horn, near Hamburg, M?.^Fr.' Bruun, director of prisons, Copenhagen, Denmark. V —Life dieectoes by the conteibution of- two hitndked dol- LAES OE TJPWAED, A'J? ONE TIME, TO THE FUNDS OF THE ASSOCIA- TION. Timothy M. Allyn, Hartford, Connecticut. James Brown, New York. Morris K. Jesup, New York. W. Soldatenkoff, St. Petersburg, Eussia. ■244 INTEENATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGEESS. YI. Life mbmbbes by the contribution of one hundred dol- lars OR UPWARD AT ONE TIME. "William H. Aspinwall, New York. W. Amory, BostoB, Massachusetts. H. K. Corning, New York. Erastus Corning, Albany, New York. D. Denny, Boston, Massachusetts. Edward Earle, Worcester, Massachusetts. George B. Emerson, Boston, Massachusetts. Mrs. Mary A. Holden, Providence, Rhode Island. Joseph Howland, Matteawan, New York. John Taylor Johnston, New York. Amos Pilsbury, Albany, New York. Jonathan Sturges, New York. N. Thayer, Boston, Massachusetts. E. C. Wines, New York. John David Wolfe, New York. VII. — Contributions to the National Prison Association from May, 1871, to May, 1872. CaUfornia. Mrs. L. HutcMson, Bishop Creek $10 Conneetiout. Timothy M. Allyn, Hartford $500 James E. English, New Haven 25 E. S. Fellowes, New Haven 10 Eev. Thos. K. Fessenden, Farmington 10 Miss M. W. WeUs, Hartford 25 570 Illinois. Geo. W. "Perkins, Pontiap 10 Indicma. Charles F. Coffin, Richmond 10 Keatacky. P. Caldwell, Louisville 10 Mai-ylaaid, W. E. Lincoln, Baltimore 10 Massaohusetts. W. Amory, Boston 100 William J. Bowditch, Boston - 10 Gridley J. F. Bryant, Boston : ;.. 10 John W. Candler, Boston 50 Cash, Boston 10 D. Denny, Boston ,..,■. ^ 100 Mrs. Henry F. Durant, Boston 50 Edward Earle, Worcester 100 Geo. B. Emerson, Boston j 100 Charles O. Foster, Boston 25 A. Hardy, Boston , 25 S. G.Howe, Boston.... 10 Mrs. Julia Ward Howe, Boston , 10 Samuel Johnson, Boston ; 10 H. P. Kidder, Boston...: 50 O. W. Peahody, Boston ., 50 Avory Plomer, Boston » 10 INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIAEY CONGRESS. 245 M. S. Soudder, Boston «„„ E. S. Tobey, Boston .: *^" Nathaniel Thayer, Boston ,5" J. O.Tyler, Boston..... ^0^ Samuel D. Warren, Boston ' in " - — ou „. ,. 1950 Michigan. O. Goldsmith, Detroit ,„ H. V. N. Lothrop, Detroit I " jn E.McLelland, Detroit |^ James MoMillen, Detroit |^ John S. Newberry, Detroit ' "* in C.J.Walker, Detroit ^ ■ ^^'".l\\"'.[[["'.\\][[][][\' \" H Mew Mampsldre. Rev. William Clark, An do ver j/j New Toi-Jc. William H. Aspinwall, New York ooo James Brown, New York ......*...' 400 Stewart Brown, New Yorjs: '] 2qq H. K. Corning, New York !!!". .'J I !..!!!'.! ]"'.."" 150 Erastus Corning, Albany 2qq Wiuthrop S. Gilmau, New York .I!!'.!!!"."." ..^]!'. .'..'. 100 Joseph Howland, Matteawau '.'.'....'.". 150 James Hunter, New York !""'!JJ1!""!!]' 20 Morris K. Jesup, New York '.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'... 200 John Taylor Johnston, New York ' J 100 Henry T. Morgan, New York '..'!!1.'"!!'.!I1'.'.'.".. 50 Amos Pilsbury, Albany .'..'."".'.".' 100 H. F. Phinney, Cooperstown '.."'.'. 25 Guy Richards, New York .: :[.]'.['.['."["'.[[['. 45 Jonathan Sturges, New York '__ 150 E. C. Wines, New York .'.".'.'.".'!..'.'.'.' 200 John David Wolfe, New York '.'.'.".".'...'... 200 Weston & Gray, New York 100 Salem H. Wales, New York '_], 100 John E. WiUiams,New York 50 2, 640 Gr. E. Howe, Lancaster 10 Mrs. R. A. S. Janney, Columbus : 10 20 Pennsylvania. Henry Cordier, Claremont, Allegheny County 50 T, H. Nevin, Allegheny 10 60 Rhode Island. A. E. Burnside, Providence 10 A. C. Barstow, Providence : 20 Jacob Dunnell, Pawtucket 10 W. W. Hoppin, Providence 10 Mrs. Mary A. Holden, Providence , .. 100 Robert H.Ives, Providence = , 60 William J, King, Providence 40 Mrs. Henry Llppitt, Providence 20 Jesse Metcalf, Providence 10 Seth Padelford, Providence 10 Mrs. G. M. Richmond, Providence 30 Miss Caroline Richmond, Providence 20 A. & W. Sprague, Providence 100 James Y. Smith & Nichol, Providence 40 Amos D. Smith, Providence 10 H. J. Steere, Providence - 10 J'ames Tillinghast, Providence 30 Royal C. Taft, Providence ..-. 20 Kev. Augustus Woodbury, Providence 20 5S0 246 INTEENATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. Mussia. W. Soldatenkoff, St.Petersljurg. Total contrilDutions for the year 5, 120' Yin. — ^ACT OF INCORPORATION. The people of the State of New Yorh, represented in senate and assetnbly^ do enact as follows : Section 1. Horatio Seymour^Theodore W. Dwight, Francis Lieber, Amos Pilsbury, James Brown, William H. Aspinwall, John Taylor Johnston, John E. Williams, Theodore Eoosevelt, Morris K. Jesup, Isaac Bell, James G. Blaine, Conrad Baker, Eutherford B. Hayes, Daniel Haines, Enoch 0. Wines, Oliver S. Strong, Bradford K. Peirce^ Charles L. Brace, Charles F. Coffin, Howard Potter, Henry S. TerbelL, Z. E. Brockway, Frank B. Sanborn, Edward W. Hatch, and their asso- ciates and successors in o|Qce, are hereby constituted a body corporate and politic, by the name of " The National Prison Association of the United States of America," whose duty it shall be to consider and rec- ommend plans for the promotion of the objects following 5 that is to say— 1. The amelioration of the laws in relation to public offenses and offenders, and the modes of procedure by which such laws are enforced. 2. The improvement of the penal, correctional, and reformatory insti- tutions throughout the country, and the government, management, and discipline thereof, including the appointment of boards of control and of other ofScers. 3. The care of, and providing suitable and remunerative employment for, discharged prisoners, and especially such as may or shall have given evidence of a reformation of lite. Sec. 2. The principal place of business of, the said corporation shall be in the city of New York ; and the management and disposition of its affairs, property, and funds shall be vested in the persons nam'ed in the first section of this act, and their associates and their successors in office,, who shall remain in office for such period, and be displaced and suc- ceeded by others to be elected at the times and in the manner prescribed by the by-laws. The number of members to constitute a quorum shall be fixed by the by-laws. Sec. 3. The said corporation shall have power to purchase or take by gift, grant, devise, or bequest, real and personal property to an amount not exceeding three hundred thousand dollars, subject to the provisions of chapter three hundred and sixty of the laws of eighteen hundred and sixty. Sec. 4. The said corporation shall have and possess all the general powers, and be subject to all the liabilities, contained in the third title of chapter eighteen of the first part of the Eevised Statutes. Sec. 5. This act shall take effect immediately. State op New York, Office of the Secretary of State, ss : I have compared the preceding with the original law on file in this office, and do hereby certify that the same is a correct transcript there- from, and of the whole of said original law. Given under my hand and seal of office at the city of Albany, this twenty-ninth day of April, in the year one thousand eight hundred and seventy -one. DEIDEICH WILLEES, Deputy Secretary of State. INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIARY CONGRESS. 247 IX. — Constitution. Article I. This aissociation shall be called the National Prison As- sociation of the United States of America, and its objects shall be— 1. The amelioration of the laws in relation to public offenses and offenders, ahd the modes of procedure by which such laws are enforced. 2. The improvement of the penal, correctional, and reformatory institu- tions throughout the country, and of the government, management, and discipline thereof, including the appointment of boards of control and of other officers. 3. The care of, and providing suitable and remunerative employment for, discharged prisohers, and especially such as may or shall have given evidence of a reformation of life. Art. II. The officers of the association shall be a president, live vice- presidents, a corresponding secretary, a recording secretary, a treasurer, and a board of directors, not exceeding thirty in number, of which the officers above named shall be ex officio members. Art. III. There shall be the following standing committees, namely : An executive committee, of which the president shall be ex officio chair- man, the recording secretary ex officio secretary, and the corresponding secretary and treasurer ex officio members; a committee on criminal law reform ; a committee on prison discipline; a committee on juvenile de- linquency ; and a committee on discharged prisoners. Art. IV. The board of directors, of whom any five members shall constitute a quorum — two of said members being officers of the associa- tion — shall meet semi-annually, and in the interval .of its meetings its powers shall be exercised by the executive committee, which shall fix its own times of meeting. Art. Y. Committees of correspondence shall be organized in the sev- ■eral States, as may be found practicable; and the formation of State associations shall be encouraged. Art. VI. Any person contributing annually to the funds of the asso-' elation not less than ten dollars shall be a member thereof; a contribu- tion of one hundred dollars at any one time shall constitute the contrib- utor a life member; and a contribution of two hundred dollars at any one time shall entitle the contributor to be a life director. Correspond- ing members may be appointed by th'e board of directors or by the ex- ecutive committee. The power of electing officers shall be confined to the corporate members of the association. Art. VII. The association shall hold an annual meeting at such time and place as the executive committee shall appoint, on which occasion the several standing committees, the corresponding secretary, and the treasurer shall submit annual reports. Special meetings may be called by the president in his discretion, and shall be called by him whenever he is requested to do so by any three members of the board. Art. VIII. All officers of the association shall be elected at the annual meeting or some adjournment thereof; but vacancies occurring after the annual meeting may be filled by the board of directors, who shall also appoint all committees not chosen at the annual meeting; and all officers shall hold over till their successors are chosen. Art. IX. The executive committee shall consist of seven members of the board of directors— the president, the recording secretary, the cor- responding secretary, and the treasurer being ex officio members— any three of whom shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of busi- .ness. Art. X. This constitution may be amended by vote of a majority of 248 INTERNATIONAL PENITENTIAEY CONGRESS. the members of the association at any meeting thereof: Provided, That notice of the proposed amendment shall have been given at the next preceding meeting. X. — ^By-laws. I. The order of business at each stated meeting of the board shall be as follows : 1. Eeading of the minutes. 2. Eeport of the treasurer. 3. Eeport of the corresponding secretary. 4. Eeports from standing committees. 5. Eeports from special committees. 6. Miscellaneous business. II. The president, corresponding secretary, recording secretary, and treasurer shall perform the customary duties of their respective offices. III. The president shall appoint the committees, unless otherwise ordered by the association. IV. The president shall decide questions of order, subject to an appeal ; and the rules pf order shall be those in Cushing's Manual, so far as they may be applicable. V. No bills shall be paid by the treasurer unless approved and signed by the chairman of the executive committee, or by some other member of said committee designated by him, VI. No alteration shall be made in these by-laws, except on notice of the proposed amendment given at a i^revious meeting of the board. -Date Rue DEC 0^6' P?N 2 f — ^ Library Buieau Cat. No. -^13^