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1 
 
 1 
 
REPORT 
 
 A COMMITTEE 
 
 ON OTE SUBJECT 
 
 OF PAUPERISM. 
 
 Ncw-Forfe : 
 
 PRINTED BY SAMUEL WOOD & 80NB, 
 NO. 261, PEARL-STBEET. 
 
 1818. 
 
AT a meeting of a respectable number of citieens convened 
 at tbe New-York Hospital, on Friday the t6th of December, to 
 take into consideration the subject of Pauperism, General Mat- 
 thew Clarkson was appointed chairman, and Di^e Bethune, sec- 
 retary. 
 
 On motion of Charles Wilkes, Esq. seconded by Wm. Johnson, 
 Esq. it was unanimously .• 
 
 Resolved, That the citizens present, with those who may here- 
 after unite in the measure, be cogstituted a Society for the preven- 
 tion of Pauperism. 
 
 Resolved, That a committee be appointed to prepare a Con- 
 stitution for the government of the society, and a statement of the 
 prevailing causps of Pauperism, \j ith suggestions relative to the 
 most suitable and efficient remedies ; whereupon the following 
 gentlemen were appointed a committee for that purpose, viz. John 
 Griscom, Hrockholst Livingston, Garrett N. BIceker, Thomas 
 Eddy, James Eastburn, Rev. Cave Jones, Zachariah Lewis, and 
 Divie Bethune, who were requested, when ready to report, to con- 
 vene the society for that purpose. 
 
 At a meeting of the society on Friday, the 6lh of February, 
 1818, the following report from the Committee was read : where- 
 upon, it was 
 
 Resolved, That 1000 copies of the Report and Constitution 
 be published for distribution, under the direction of the same cora- 
 mitteei 
 
REPORT 
 
 Oir THE 
 
 Subject of Pauperism. 
 
 To the " New- York Society for the prevention 
 vf Pauperism." 
 
 THE committee appointed to prepa.e a Coostitution 
 for the government of the society, and a statement of the 
 prevailing causes of pauperism, with suggestions relative 
 to the most suitable aad efficient remedies. Report, 
 
 THAT we entered upon the duties assigned us, un- 
 der a strong conviction of the great importance of the 
 subject of Pauperism. We were persuaded that on the judi- 
 cious management of this subject, depend, in a high degree, 
 the comfort, the tranquillity, and the freedom of communi- 
 ties. We were not insensible of the serious and alarm- 
 ing evils that have resulted, in various places, from mis- 
 guided benevolence, and imprudent systems of relief. AVe 
 knew that in Europe and America, w here the greatest efforts 
 have been made to provide for the sufferings of the poor, 
 by high and even enormous taxation, those sufferings were 
 increasing in a ratio much greater than the population, 
 and were evidently augmented by the very means taken 
 to subdue then). 
 
 We were fully prepared to believe, that without a radi- 
 cal change in the principles upon which public alms have 
 
4 
 
 been usually distributed, helplessness and poverty would 
 continue to multiply — demands for relief would become 
 more and more importunate, the numerical difference be. 
 tween those who are able to bestow charity and those who 
 sue for it, would gradually diminish, until the present sys- 
 tem must fall under its own irresistible pressure, prostiat- 
 ing perhaps, in its ruin, some of the pillars of social order. 
 
 It might be long indeed, before such a catastrophe would 
 be extensively felt in this free and happy country. Yet, it is 
 really to be feared, as we apprehend, that it would not be long 
 before some of the proximate evils of such a state of things 
 would be perceived in our public cities, and in none, per- 
 haps, sooner than in New-York. Although these conse- 
 quences are but too apparent from the numerous facts 
 which recent investigations have brought to light, particu- 
 larly in Great Britain, and in some parts of the United 
 States, yet we are very sensible of the dilKiculties attendant 
 upon every attempt to provide an adequate remedy for 
 poverty, and its concomitant wretchedness. 
 
 The evil lies deep in the foundation of our social and 
 moral institutions; and we cannot but consider it as one of 
 the most obscure and perplexing, and at tiie same time, in- 
 teresting and imposing departments of political economy. 
 
 While there exists so great a disparity in the physical 
 and intellectual capacities of men, there must be, in every 
 government, where a division of property is recognised by 
 law and usage, a wide difference in the means of support. 
 Such, too, is the complication of human affairs, the numer- 
 ous connections, and close dependencies of one part upon 
 another, it is scarcely to be presumed, and it would be ex- 
 travagant to expect, that under the most moral, and the 
 wisest civil regulation to whicii human society is suscepti- 
 ble of attaining, partial indigence and distress will not be 
 
5 
 
 expcrieoced to an amount that vill ever demand the exer- 
 cise of Christian benevolence. 
 
 Tlie great and leading principles, therefore, of every 
 system of Charity, ought to be, First, Amply to relieve the 
 unavoidable necessities of the poor ; and Secondly, to lay 
 the powerful hand of moral and legal restriction upon eve- 
 rj' thing that contributes, directly and necessarily, to in- 
 troduce an artificial extent of suffering ; and to diminish, 
 in any class of the community, a reliance upon its own pow- 
 ers of body and mind for an independent and virtuous sup- 
 port. That to the influence of those extraneous, debili- 
 tating causes, may be ascribed nine tenths of the poverty 
 which actually prevails, we trust, none will doubt who are 
 extensively acquainted with facts in relation to this subject. 
 
 The indirect causes of poverty are as numerous as the 
 frailties and vices of men. They vary with constitution, 
 witli character, and with national and local habits. Some 
 of them lie so deeply entrenched in the weakness and de- 
 pravity of human nature, as to be altogether unassailable 
 by mere political regulation. They can be reached in no 
 other way, than by awakening the dormant and secret en- 
 ergies of moral feeling. 
 
 But with a view to bring the subject committed to our 
 charge, more definitply before the society, we have thought 
 it right, distinctly to enumerate the more prominent of those 
 causes of poverty, which prevail within this city ; sub- 
 joining such remarks as may appear needful. 
 
 1st Ignorance, arising either from inherent dullness, 
 or from want of opportunities for improvement. This op- 
 erates as a restraint upon the pliysical powers, preventing 
 that exercise and cultivation of the bodily faculties by 
 which skill is obtained, and the means of support increased. 
 The influence of this cause, it is believed, is particularly 
 
6 
 
 great among the foreign poor that annually accumulate ia 
 Ibis city. 
 
 2dc1, Idleness. A tendency to this evil may be more 
 or less inherent. It is greatly increased by other causes, 
 and when it becomes habitual, it is the occasion of much 
 suffering in fan;iilies, and augments to a great amount the 
 burden of the industrious portions of society. 
 
 3d. Intempfrance in drinking. Tliis most prol'fic 
 source of mischief and misery, drags in its train almost 
 every species of suffering which afflicts the poor. This 
 evil, in relation to poverty and vic6, may be emphatically 
 styled, the Cause of Causes. The box of Pandora is re- 
 alized in each of the kegs of ardents spirits that stand up- 
 on the counters of the 1 600 hundreti licensed grocers of 
 this city. At a moderate computation, the money spent in 
 the purchase of spirituous liquors would be more than suf- 
 ficient to keep the whole city constantly supplied with 
 bread. Viewing the enormous devastations of this evil 
 upon the minds and morals of the people, we cannot but 
 regard it as the crying and iucreasing sin of the nation, 
 and as loudly demanding the solemn deliberation of our 
 legislative assemblies. 
 
 4th. Want of economy. Prodigality is comparative. 
 Among the poor, it prevails to a great extent, in an inat- 
 tention to those small, but frequent savings when labour is 
 plentiful, which may go to meet the privations of unfavour- 
 able seasons. 
 
 6th. Imprudent and hasty marriages. This, it 
 is believed is a fertile source of trial and poverty, 
 
 6th. Lotteries. The depraving nature and tenden- 
 cy of these allurements to hazard money, is generally ad- 
 mitted by those who have been most attentive to their ef- 
 fects. The time spent in inquiries relative to lotteries, 
 
in frequent attendance on lottery olBces, the feverish anxi- 
 ety which prevails relative to the success of tickets, the as- 
 sociations to which it leads, ail contribute to divert the la- 
 bourer from his employment, to weaken the tone of his mor- 
 als, to consume his earnings, and consequently to increase his 
 poverty. But objectionable and injurious to society as we 
 believe lotteries to be, we regard as more destructive to 
 morals, and ruinous to all character and comfort, the nu- 
 merous self-erected lottery insurances, at which the young 
 and the old are invited to spend their money in such small 
 pittances, as the poorest labourer is frequently able to com- 
 mand, under the delusive expectation of a gain, the chance 
 of which is as low, perhaps, as it is possible to conceive. 
 The poor are thus cheated out of their money and their 
 time, and too often left a prey to the feelings of despera- 
 tion : or, they are impelled by those feelings to seek a re- 
 fuge in the temporary, but fatal oblivion of intoxication. 
 
 7th. Pawnbrokers. The establishment of these offi- 
 ces is considered as very unfavourable to the independence 
 and welfare of the middling and inferior classes. The arn 
 tifices which are often practised to deceive the expecta- 
 tions of those who are induced, through actual distress, or 
 by positive allurement, to trust their ^.oods at these pla- 
 ces, not to mention the facilities which they afford to the 
 commission of theft, and the encouragement they give to a 
 dependence on stratagem and cunning, ratiier than on tlie 
 profits of honest industry, fairly entitle them, in the opin- 
 ion of the committee, to a place among the causes of 
 Poverty. 
 
 8th. Houses of ill fame. The direful effects of 
 those sinks of iniquity, npon the habits and morals of a 
 numerous class of young men, especially of sailors and ap- 
 prentices, are visible throughout the city. Open abandon- 
 
8 
 
 ineut of character, vulg;arity, profanity, <fec. are among the 
 inevitable consequences, as it respects our own sex, of those 
 places of infamous resort. Their effects upon the several thou- 
 sands of females within this city, who are ingulphed iu those 
 abodes of all that is vile, and all that is shocking to virtu- 
 ous thought, upon the miserable victims, many of ihem of 
 decent families, who are here subjected to the most cruel 
 tyranny of their inhuman masters — upon the females, who, 
 hardened in crime, are nightly sent from those dens of cor- 
 ruption to roam through the city, " seeking whom they 
 may devour," we have not the inclination, nor is it our 
 duty to describe. Among " the causes of poverty," those 
 houses, where all the base-born passions are engendered — 
 where the vilest profligacy receives a forced culture, must 
 hold an eminent rank. 
 
 9tb. The numerous chabitablk institutions of 
 THE CITY. The committee by no means intend to cast an 
 indiscriminate censure upon these institutions, nor to im- 
 plicate the motives, nor even to deny the usefulness, in a 
 certain degree, of any one of them. They have unques- 
 tionably had their foundation in motives of true Philan- 
 thropy ; they have contributed to cultivate the feelings of 
 christian charity, and to keep alive its salutary influence 
 upon the minds of our fellow-citizens; and they have 
 doubtless relieved thousands from the pressure of the most 
 piDching want, from cold, from hunger, and probably in 
 many cases, from untimely death. 
 
 But, in relation to these societies, a question of no ordi- 
 nary moment piesents itself to the considerate and real 
 philanthropist. Is not the partial and temporary good 
 which they accomplish, how acute soever the miseries 
 they relieve, and whatever the number they may rescue 
 from sufferings or death, more than counterbalanced, by 
 
the evils that flow from the expectatioDs they necessarily 
 excite ; by the relaxation of industry, which such a display 
 of benevolence tends to produce ; by that reliance upon 
 charitable aid, in case of unfavourable times, which must 
 unavoidably tend to diminish, in the minds of the labouring 
 classes, that wholesome anxiety to provide for the wants 
 of a distant day, which alone can save them from a state 
 of absolute dependance, and from becoming a burden to 
 the community ? 
 
 In the opinion of your committee, and in the opinion, 
 we believe, of the greater number of the best writers, of 
 the wisest economists, and of the most experienced philan- 
 thropists, which the interesting subject of Pauperism has 
 recently called into action ; the balance of good and evil 
 is unfavourable to the existence of societies for gratuitous 
 relief: — that effertsof this nature, with whatever zeal they 
 may be conducted, never can effect the removal of pover- 
 ty, nor lessen its general amount ; but that indigence and 
 helplessness will multiply nearly in the ratio of those mea- 
 sures which are ostensibly taken to prevent them. 
 
 Such are the consequences of every avowal on the part 
 of the public of a determination to support the indigent by 
 the administration of alms. And in no cases are measures 
 of this kind more prolific in evil, than where they are ac- 
 companied by the display of large funds for the purposes 
 of charity ; or where the poor are conscious of the exis- 
 tence of such funds, raised by taxation, and of course, as 
 they will allege, drawn chiefly from the coffers of the rich. 
 
 How far these evils are remediable, without an entire 
 dereliction of the great christian duty of charity, is a prob- 
 lem of difficult solution. The principle of taxation is so 
 interwoven with our habits and customs, it would, perhaps, 
 in the present state of things, be impossible to dispense 
 2 
 
10 
 
 ■with it. But while our poor cootinue to be thus supported, 
 to preveut the misapplication and abuse of the public char- 
 ity, deniands the utmost vigilance, the wisest precaution, 
 and the most elaborate system of inspection and oversight. 
 
 To what extent abuses upon our present system of alms 
 are practised, and how far the evils which accompany it 
 are susceptible of remedy, we should not at present, feel 
 warranted in attempting to state. The pauperism of the city 
 is under the management of Five Commmissioners, who, 
 we doubt not, are well qualified to fulfil the trust reposed in 
 them, and altogether disposed to discharge it with fidelity. 
 But we cannot withhold the opinion, that without a far more 
 extended, minute, and energetic scheme of management 
 than it is possible for any five men to keep in constant op- 
 eration, abuses will be practised, and to a great extent, up- 
 on the public bounty ; taxes must be increased, and vice 
 and suffering perpetuated. 
 
 Lastly. Your committee would mention war during 
 its prevalence, as one of the most abundant sources of pov- 
 erty and vice, which the list of human corruptions compre- 
 hends. But as this evil lies out of the immediate reach of 
 local regulation, and as we are now happily blest with a 
 peace which we hope will be durable, it is deemed unnec- 
 essary further to notice it. 
 
 Such are the causes which are considered as the more 
 prominent and operative in producing that amount of indi- 
 gence and suffering, which awakens the charity of this 
 city, and which has occasioned the erection of buildings 
 for eleemosynary purposes, at an expense of half a million 
 of dollars, and which calls for the annual distribution of 
 90,000 dollars more. But, if the payment of this sum 
 were the only inconvenience lobe endured — trifling, indeed, 
 in comparison would be the evils which claim our attention. 
 
n 
 
 Of the mass of affliction and wretchedness actually sustain- 
 ed, how small a portioD is thus relieved ! Of the quantity of 
 misery and vice which the causes we have enumerated, 
 with others we have not named, bring upon the city, how 
 trifling the portion actually removed, by pubhc or by 
 private benevolence ! Nor do we conceive it possible to 
 remove this load of distress, by all the alms doings of which 
 the city is capable, while the causes remain in full and 
 active operation. 
 
 Effectually to relieve the poor, is therefore a task far 
 more comprehensive in its nature, than simply to clothe the 
 naked and to feed the hungry. It is, to erect barriers a- 
 gainst the encroachments of moral degeneracy ; — It is to 
 heal the diseases of the mind ; — It is, to furnish that ali- 
 ment to the intellectual system which will tend to preserve 
 it in healthful operation. 
 
 But can a task of this nature come within the reach of 
 any public or any social regulation ? We answer, that to 
 a certain, and to a very valuable extent, we believe it 
 can. When any measure for the promotion of public good, 
 or the prevention of public evil, founded upon equitable 
 principles, is supported by a sufficient weight of social au- 
 thority, it may gradually pass into full and complete ope- 
 ration, ant! become established upon a basis as firm as a 
 law of legislative enactment. And in matters of private 
 practice, reformation which positive statute could never 
 accomplish, social and moral influence may thoroughly 
 effect. 
 
 The present tranquil state of the public mind, and the 
 almost total absence of political jealousy, indicate a period 
 peculiarly favourable to internal improvement and ref- 
 ormation. 
 
 We therefore proceed to point out the means, which we 
 
12 
 
 consider best calculated to rneliorate the condition of 
 the poorer classes, and to strike at the root of those evils 
 which go to the increase of poverty and its attendant mis- 
 eries. 
 
 We hold it to be a plain fundamental truth, that one of 
 of the most powerful incitements to an honest and honourable 
 course of conduct, is a regard to reputation : or a desire 
 of securing the approbation of our friends and associates. 
 To encourage this sentiment among the poor, to inspire them 
 with the feelings of self respect, and a regard to character, 
 will be to introduce the very elements of reform. In the 
 constitution which we shall offer for the government of this 
 society, the means will be provided for effecting, or 
 endeavouring to effect, the following regulations, as soon 
 as the society shall become sufficiently large and weighty 
 to proceed therein. But we wish expressly to state, that 
 in whatever measures the society shall engage, it will be 
 proper, in our opinion, that the managers endeavour to ob- 
 tain the sanction of the corporation of the city, and in every 
 case which requires it, the authority and cooperation of 
 that body. 
 
 1st. To divide the city into very small districts, and to 
 appoint from the members of the society, two or three visi- 
 ters for each district, whose duty it shall be, to become ac- 
 quainted with the inhabitants of the district, to visit fre- 
 quently the families of those who are in indigent circum- 
 stances, to advise them with respect to their business, the 
 education of their children, the economy of their houses, to 
 administer encouragement or admonition, as they may 
 find occasion ; and in general, by preserving an open, can- 
 did, and friendly intercouse with them, to gain their confi- 
 dence, and by suitable and well timed counsel, to excite 
 them to such a course of conduct as will best promote 
 their physical and moral welfare. The visiters to keep 
 
13 
 
 an Accurate register of the names of all those who re- 
 side- within their respective districts, to notice every change 
 of residence, whether of single or married persons, and to 
 annex such observations to the names of those n ho claim 
 Iheir particular attention as will enable them to give every 
 needful information with respect to their character, repu- 
 ation, habits, &c. 
 
 It may fairly be presumed, that if this scheme of inspec- 
 tion can be carried into full effect ; if visiters can be found, 
 who will undertake the charge, from the pure motive of 
 philanthropy, and if, on the principles of active concert, a 
 reference be always had to the books of the visiters, be- 
 fore charitable relief is extended to any individual, by any 
 of the institutions already established, and due notice ta- 
 ken of the information they afford, a change will soon 
 be perceived in the aspect of the poor. Finding that 
 they have real friends, that their conduct is an object of 
 solicitude, that their characters will be the subject of re- 
 mark, a sense of decency, and a spirit of independence will 
 be gradually awakened, the efTects of which, must even- 
 tually be perceived in the diminution of the poor rates 
 •f the city. 
 
 2nd. To encourage and assist the labouring classes to 
 make the most of their earnings, by promoting the estab- 
 lishment of a Savings Bank, or of Benefit Societies, Life 
 Insurances, &c. The good efTects of such associations 
 have been abundantly proved in Europe and in America. 
 Boston, Philadelphia, and Baltimore have each a Savings 
 Bank. 
 
 3rd. To prevent, by all legal means, the access of pau- 
 pers who are not entitled to a residence in the city. The 
 plan of inspection before described will furnish the means 
 of entirely preventing those disgraceiul encroachments up- 
 
OD the charity of the city, which it is believed have beeo 
 practised to no inconsiderable extent, 
 
 4th. To unite with the corporate authorities in the en- 
 tire inhibition of street begginp. There can be no reason- 
 able excuse whatever, for this practice, mere esupi iaily if 
 the course of inspection, now recommended, be kept in op- 
 eration. 
 
 5th. To aid, if it sliall be deemed expedient, in furnishing 
 employment to those who cannot procure it, either by the 
 establishment of housrs of industry, or by supplying mate- 
 rials for domestic labour. 
 
 Although this mode of relieving the necessitous, may ap- 
 pear to be entirely exempt from the evils arising from 
 gratuitous aid, it will undoubtedly require a judicious 
 course of management, lest it produce a relaxation of con- 
 cern on the part of the poor to depend on their own fore- 
 sight and industry, and the same consequent increase of 
 helplessness and poverty. Yet it must be expected, that nu- 
 merous cases will occur in which employment will furnish 
 by far the most eligible kind of relief. Among the female 
 poor, these cases will be the most numerous. Women have 
 fewer resources than men ; they are less able to seek for 
 employment ; they are more exposed to a sudden reverse 
 of circumstances. Of the wants and the sufferings of this 
 class, their own sex are the best judges. Hence, we are of 
 opinion, that the " society for the promotion of industry" 
 deserve the thanks of the community, and that the disinter- 
 ested and well directed efforts of that society, ought to re- 
 ceive an adequate and extended support. 
 
 6th. To advise and promote the opening of places of wor- 
 ship in the outer wards of the city, especially in situations 
 where licentiousness is the most prevalent. This subject is 
 considered as one of vital importance. If, as we believe, 
 
nine tenths tit the poverty and wretchedness which the city 
 exhibits, proceeds directly or indirectly from the want of 
 correct moral principle, and if religion is the basis oi mor- 
 ality, then will it be admitted, that to extend the benefits of 
 religious instruction, will be to strike at the root of that 
 corrupt tree which sheds dreariness and penury from all 
 its branches. That there is a lamentable deficiency of re- 
 ligous observance, is extremely obvious. It is questiona- 
 ble, whether one man or woman in fifty, of the indigent, 
 enters a place of worship three times in a year. The 
 means are not provided for them, and they are unable to 
 provide them for themselves. Now its has been remarked, 
 that in the immediate vicinity of a church, it is rare to 
 find a house devoted to lewdness or depravity. One half 
 of the sum annually expended in the maintenance of the 
 poor, would be sufficient to build three houses for public 
 worship. 
 
 Further, if wretchedness proceed fiofti vice, and vice, 
 among the poor, be general ly the offspring of moral and 
 intellectual darkneus, is it not a most reasonable, social 
 duty, which the enlightened portions of society owe to the 
 ignorant, to instruct before they condemn, to teach before 
 they punish ? Can there be a more painful reflection in 
 the mind of a humane juror, than the thought of consigning 
 to death, or to perpetual exclusion from the enjoyments of 
 virtuous society, a fellow-creature, for crimes that have 
 evidently resulted from that condition of vicious ignorance, 
 to which he has ever been exposed, without any attempts 
 on the part cf the community to rescue him from it ? 
 
 The committee would, therefore, submit to the society, 
 the proposition of endeavouring to effect, as the means may 
 accrue, the gradual erection of buildings for public wor- 
 ship, in those parts of the city where they are the most 
 
16 
 
 needed, until every citizen may have an opportunity of 
 attending divine worship. 
 
 7th. To promote the advancement of First day, or Sun-; 
 day School Instruction, both of children and adults. We 
 cannot but regard this kiod of instruction as one of the most 
 powerful engines of social reform, that the wisdom and be- 
 nevolence of men have ever brought into operation. 
 
 8th. To contrive a plan, if possible, by which all the 
 spontaneous charities of the town may flow into one chan- 
 nel, and be distributed in conformity to a well regulated 
 system, by which deception may be prevented, and other 
 indirect evils arising from numerous independent associa- 
 tions, be fairly obviated. 
 
 It appears highly probable, that if the administration of 
 the charities of the city were so conducted, as to obviate 
 all danger of misapplication and deception; those chari- 
 ties would flow with greater freedom, and that funds might 
 occasionally be obtained, which would afford the means of 
 erecting houses for worship, opening schools, and employ- 
 ing teachers, and thus direct, with greater efficacy, those 
 materials which alone can ensure to the great fabric of so- 
 ciety, its fairest proportions, and its longest duration. 
 
 9th. To obtain the abolition of the greater number of 
 shops, in which spirituous liquors are sold by license. 
 
 We trust that four fifths, if not the whole of the intelli- 
 gent portion of our fellow-citizens will unite in opinion, 
 that the present extension of licensed retailers is equiva- 
 lent, or very nearly so, as it respects the morals of the ci- 
 ty, to the entire abrogation of the law which requires a 
 dealer in liquors to take out a license. While the number 
 of places in the city remains so excessively great, which 
 afford to the poor and ignorant, not only so many facilities, 
 but so many invitations and temptations to spend their mo- 
 
17 
 
 aey " over the maddeDing bowl," reformation will be great- 
 ly impeded ; poverty and ruin must increase and abound. 
 
 If each of the 1600 retailers in the city, sell, upon an 
 average, to the amount of 250 cents per day, an estimate 
 which we presume all will consider within the truth, the 
 aggregate amount for the year, is $1,460,000. This enor- 
 mous sum, extorted from the sweats of labour, and the tears 
 and groans ol suffering wives and children, would be suffi- 
 cient to build annually, 50 houses of worship at $20,000 
 each, and leave a surplus that would be more than suffi- 
 cient to erect school houses, and amply provide for the 
 education of every child in the city. When, with a single 
 glance of the mind, we contrast the difference in moral ef- 
 fect, between the appropriation of this sum to the support 
 of the buyers and sellers of strong drink, and its appropri- 
 ation to the support of honest and industrious mechanics, 
 employed in the erection of buildings, which would 
 improve and ornament the city, and to the diffusion 
 of religion and useful learning, who will not rise and ex- 
 ert his strength against the encroachment of so mighty an 
 tvil? 
 
 Various other subjects and modes of relief, tending to 
 the same great object, might be enumerated, but we forbear 
 any further to enlarge our report, by the recital of them. 
 
 In the Constitution which we herewith submit for the 
 organization and government of the society, a door is open- 
 ed for the adoption of any measure which the society may 
 deem it expedient to pursue, in conformity to the principal 
 design of its institution. 
 
 To conclude, the conmiittee has by no means intended, 
 in the freedom with which it has thus examined the causes 
 of pauperism, and suggested remedies, to encourage the ex- 
 pectation that the whole of these remedies can be speedily 
 3 
 
18 
 
 brought nithiD the power and control of the society. A 
 work of so much importance to the public welfare cannot 
 be the business of a day : but we nevertheless entertain 
 the hope, that if the principles and design of this society 
 shall, upon mature examination and reflection, receive the 
 approbation of the great body of our intelligent fellow-cit- 
 izens, and the number of its members be augmented ac- 
 cordingly, it will be able gradually to bring within its 
 operation, all the important measures suggested in this re- 
 port. By what particular mode these measures shall be 
 encountered, whether through the agency of large and ef- 
 ficient committees of this society, or by auxiliary socie- 
 ties, each established, for a specific purpose, under the 
 patronage of the parent institution, and subordinate to its 
 general principles, we leave to the wisdom and future der 
 cision of the society. 
 
 On behalf of the Committee, 
 
 JOHN GRISCOM, Chairman. 
 
 New-Tork, Second-month Ath, 1818. 
 
Proposed Constitution. 
 
 ARTICLE I. 
 
 THIS society shall be known by the name of " The 
 New- York Society for the prevention of Pauperism." 
 
 ARTICLE IL 
 
 Its objects shall be, to investigate the circumstances and 
 habits of the poor ; to devise means for improving their 
 situation, both in a physical and moral point of view ; to 
 suggest plans for calling into exercise their own endeavours, 
 and afford the means for giving them increased effect ; to 
 hold out inducements to economy and saving from the fruits 
 of their own industry, in the seasons of g;reater abun- 
 dance ; to discountenance, and as far as possible, prevent 
 mendicity and street begging ; and in fine, to do every 
 thing which may tend to meliorate their condition, by 
 stimulating their industry, and exciting their own energies. 
 
 ARTICLE III, 
 
 Any person signicg this constitution, paying one dollar 
 at the time of signing, and one dollar annually, shall become 
 a member of this society, 
 
 ARTICLE IV. 
 
 The business shall be conducted by a Board of Mana- 
 gers, consisting of thirty members, to be chosen at the an- 
 nual meeting of the society, to be held on the last Tuesday 
 in October, in each year, and nine of whom shall consti- 
 tute a quorum. 
 
20 
 
 'k t , , ARWCtE V, 
 
 Its ofilc«[fpE slialtte a 'President, two Vice-Piejiidents, a 
 ^reasuieij^aDd Secretary,' to be appointed by the board of 
 itianager|f^ 
 
 ^. ' ARTICLE VI. ' / 
 
 •The corporation of this city shall be entitled to appoint 
 any five members of their body, who, when so appointed, 
 shall, ex officio, be members of this board of managers. 
 
 > ARTICLE VIL , ' ; 
 
 This constitution shall not be altered, except at an annu: 
 al meeting of the society, and by two thirds of the mera-'. 
 bers present. 
 
 4' 
 
a Tale of the .Neutral Ground. 
 
 The robber raised it from the floor with a hellish laugh, as he 
 said coolly — 
 
 " Ay, but it shall be to your father in heaven." 
 
 " Monster !" exclaimed Birch, " have you no feeling, no faith, 
 no honesty ?" 
 
 " Why, to hear him, one would think there was not" a rope 
 around his neck already," said the other malignantly. TJ^ere is 
 no necessity of your being uneasy, Mr. Birch ; if the old man gets 
 a few hours the start of you in the journey, you will be sure to 
 follow him before noon to-morro\v^." 
 
 This unfeeling communicatioft had no effect pn the pedlan, who 
 listed with gasping breath to every sound from the room of his 
 parent, until he heard his own name spoken in the hollow, se- 
 pulchral tones of death. Birch could endure n^mof e, but shriek- 
 ing out^ — * « « 
 
 " Father, hush, father, I'come — I come-:" -he darted by his 
 keeper, and was the next moment pinned to the Avail bj the bayo- 
 net of another ; fortunately his quick motion had caused him to 
 escape a thrust aimed at his life, and it was by his clothes only 
 that he was confined. v 
 
 " No, Mr. Birch," said the skinner, " we know you too well 
 for a slippery rascal to trust you out of sight— your gold — your 
 gold." 
 
 " You have it," said the pedlar, writhing with the agony of 
 his situation. 
 
 " Ay, we have the pursg ; but -you have more p%rses. King 
 George is a prompt paymaster, Jhd you have done him many a 
 piece of good service. Where is your hoard ? without it you will 
 never see your father." 
 
 " Remove the stone underneatlu^he woman," cried the pedlar 
 eagerly — " remove the ston^." 
 
 " He raves — he raves," '^aid Katy, instinctively moving her 
 position to another stone than theWne on which she had been 
 standing ; in a moment it was torn froni its bed, and nothing but 
 earth was seen under it. , 
 
 " He raves ; you have dHven him from^his right mind," con- 
 tinued the trembling spinster; "would any man in his senses 
 think of keeping gold u^er a hearth-stone ?" 
 
 " Peace, babbling fool," cried Harvey — " lift the corner stone, 
 ^and you will find what will piake you rich, and me a beggar," 
 
 " And then you will be despiseable," said the housekeeper bit- 
 •terly. " A pedlar without goods and without money— is sure ^ 
 be despiseable."^ 
 
 " There will be enough left to pay for his halter," cried the 
 skinner, as he opened upon a store of English guineas. These 
 were quickly transferred to a bag, notwithstanding the declara- 
 tions of the spinster, that her dues were unsatisfied, and that of 
 right, ten of the guineas should be her property. 
 
100 The. aiiy. 
 
 Delighted with a prize that greatly exceeded their expecta- | 
 lions, the band prepared to depart, intending to take the pedlar \ 
 with them in order to give him up to some of the American jr 
 troops above, and claim the reward offered for his apprehension. \ 
 \ Evei^ thing was ready, and they were about to lift Birch in their \ 
 \ ariiyj'as he refused to move an inch ; when a figure cnTered the i 
 ^ ro(5m^lat appaVled the group — around his body was thrown the 
 sheet jsf the bed "from which he had risen, and his fixed eye and 
 haggarfl face gaf e.him,the appp^ance of a being from another 
 
 tworld.\. EveniKaty and Caesar^Miought it was the spmt of the 
 ' elder'Birch, aldijjft^both fled me house, followed by me alarm- 
 ed skinAers. i " ' ^ 
 jj The excitemeivjp which had given Jhe sick man strength soon 
 jt vanishecL and t]ApcdIar, lifting kim in his arms, re-conveyed 
 ^ ^lim to ms 5ed. re-action ef tl^ system which followed has- 
 
 tened to jiJosA^nKTs't^ne. 
 t 9 .The gl^e^ eya of the father was .fixed upon the son ; his lips 
 \ Vmoved, but His y5ice was unheard. Harvey bent down, and, with 
 \ 'his partin'g breafth, re£»iyed the dying benediction of his parent. 
 \ ifl life of privat^'^n,^plft4;e, aiid of wrongs, embittered most of 
 the futurs'^ours. of' the pedlar. But under no sufllerings— in no 
 AisfortuneHF-flj^^subject of poverty and biting obloquy— the re- 
 membrancelof that bleBsing nevejijeft him. It constantly gleam- 
 ed over th^TOiages of the past,^shlquding a holy radiance around 
 his saddesthQurs of d?spondc3icy. '^t cheered the prospect of 
 the future thef prayers olJi^ious spmt for his well-being; 
 and it brought Assuraii^e^h're soul o^ having discharged faith- 
 fully and truly the sacred offlfc^yof filial' \ov^. 
 
 The language and manncrsJff.the ^merican officers have been 
 censured as coarse and vulga^ W,4ho^t undertaking to decide 
 whether they do not talk a.s'\^ii\gffAtle\nen in a camp — or "free 
 and easy" when at a jo^^ bOTO-d, ard acciistoijjed to converse, we 
 can at least observe, they never disgii^'us with profanity. As we 
 wish to bestow otf ttis accomplished winter all.the.praise that is due 
 y to him — both for the»^edit of our own literature, and in return 
 for the pleasure we hajse received, we •w^l mention one more very 
 rare qifality of his boolv — we mean its to*tai freedom from indeli- 
 cacy in word and thought. We d'o not racollect that a single 
 j^ge is garnished by this unpardonable st^i. If wp were to ex- 
 amine severely, we might point out some pas(^ag^, not altogether 
 to our n^nd. But its faults are very trivial. As to the style— 
 ■we really devoured the whole work with such avidity, that we 
 had-jio time to be fastidious on that score. It may be charac- 
 terized generally as deficient in richness and classical purity. It 
 
 ■ 
 
/' l-'risnn Diacijilitif. 101 
 
 does not posses^ Hjat exuberant and precipitous How which dis- 
 tinguishes work's of original genius. But if it breathe not the 
 warm current of inspiration, if the eye be not dazzled by the pro- 
 fusion and splepi^our which we behold in some of the pages of the 
 mighty masters of song, we should not be the less grateful to 
 that vigorouslg;o'nception which has sketched so animated a pic- 
 ture of scenes which " conle hcwie to the business and bosom" of 
 every Amerijian. , ' . ♦ 
 
 We understand 'that^the author has already projected another 
 . work. Let it not come too soon, but when it does, we hope his 
 countrymen will corftin^Je to pui«/hase and to praise. ' WJjth this 
 wish, which we believe, embraces all that the author cjin reasona- 
 , ^bjly desire, >ve dismiss him, with our warmest thanks foP the ^ry 
 tiigh gratification which we have derived from his pag^s. 
 
 V ' 
 
 FOR THE PORT FOLIO. 
 
 ^ ■' Art.^II^— On the Penitentiary System of Pennsy^lvania. , 
 t. ;' 
 Mr. Oldschool — n 
 
 /^he North' American Review, for October, 1 821, 'contains an -J^ 
 article on the^enitentiary system, upon which it is my intention ^ 
 to make some remarks. 
 • '^ The improvements which the writer suggests, are to confine ju- 
 venile offenders, and all convicts for the first time., and for the /■ 
 lighter kind of offences, in one establishment to ^e called the U 
 Penitentiary ; and the more hardened convicts, or those convict- .« A 
 ed of " heavy" crimes and second offences in another, to be ca4ied • 
 the State Prison. In both, the convicts are to be kept at«*vork, 
 ffand in society, except in particular cases. " Such isjthe on!^ plan 
 . of punishments which he believes can be permanenily adopted in ^ .^^ 
 -tliis country, and to prove this position negatively, he briefly ex- 4 
 amines some of the other schemes that have beep suggested. ".^ ^ .. 
 j^'h^se are transportation ; labour in chains on thejiighway/j the/, '? 
 . re'storation of the " good old system of flogging, branding, p'Ulor- 
 ing, gibbeting, &c. 8cc. ; and exclusive solitary coj^finemjent." I ••• 
 £hall notice these in the order in which they stand ; firsj^bserv- 
 ing, however, that there does not appear to be the Jeast necessity* t 
 £0^ having two separate establishments. Wl*y n^ght«of^fHhe ^ 
 convicts be confined in one prison ? One great recommenda^o^ ^; 
 
I'nxon Uisci/iUne. 
 
 of a single prison, is its great economy, when compared with the 
 expenses attending the erection and support of two. 
 
 The writer in the Review is strongly opposed to transportation ; 
 and his arguments are unanswerable, so far as they refer to the 
 places which he notices as having been pointed out as proper de- 
 fiots. These are Columbia river, and an island in Lake Superior. 
 Both are highly objectionable for the I'^asons which he gives, viz. 
 great expense, and danger of escaping. The first objection,alone, 
 ought to prevent us from thinking of either place, and the conse- 
 quence of escape would be the return of the convicts " to their 
 old haunts," as stated by the reviewer, or, which is as bad, the 
 exposure to their depredations of the people on the frontiers, who 
 are struggling with hardships and privations unavoidably inci- 
 dent to their situation. Besides, the convict establishment at 
 Columbia river would interfere with, if not entirely prevent, the^" 
 success of a settlement at the mouth of Columbia ^-iver, which 
 it is highly probable the American government will make be- 
 fore long; or it might injure the useful enterprise of Mr. Astor, 
 which it is our duty and interest to encourage. I put the pla- 
 ces mentioned, therefore, wholly out of the question. 
 
 Now let us examine the force of the arguments against the 
 general policy of the nieasure of transportation. 
 
 Criminals, it is said, are " a miserable kind of material for 
 new settlements. It is inexcusable in any nation to resort to it, 
 imtil the accumulation of distress, and petty offences in conse- 
 quence, have increased to an inconvenient and alarming de- 
 gree." The idea of " new settlements," implies that we are to 
 hold future intercourse with the convicts, but this is far from en- 
 tering into my views. After having placed them in a secure 
 spot, from which their escape would be impossible, and after 
 furnishing them with the means of temporary sustenance, and of 
 future existence and even comfort by the aid of their own labour, 
 they ought to be left to themselves, and all intercourse wijth them 
 provided against under the severest penalty. The Botany Bay 
 plan must be studiously avoided. An argument in favour of ef- 
 fectually relieving ourselves from certain convicts by the pr6- 
 posed measure is derived from the actual existence of the state 
 of things which, in the opinion of the Reviewer, could alone jus- 
 tify it, viz. " the accumulation of petty offences," and I will 
 
Prison Disci/dine. 
 
 103 
 
 add, of heinous crimes, to " an inconvenient and alarming de- 
 gree ;" for do we not daily see accounts of them in every part of 
 the union, and do not the criminal courts of our capitals ex- 
 hibit abundant proofs of them, from the gentleman-robbers of 
 banks, (who commonly contrive to escape punishment,) parricides, 
 and every species of daring crime, down to the sly pilfering of a 
 fruitstall ? But " transportation" is said to be of all " modes 
 of punishment, the most costly, and of little importance in deter- 
 ing the unprincipled from crime, as they do not see the punish- 
 ment." Now the fact is, that transportation, of all modes, may 
 be made the cheapest that can be adopted : the cost of removal 
 amounting to little more than the annual expense of a convict in 
 some of the states : the first expense moreover will be the last. 
 It is certainly a singular argument, at this day, against the salu- 
 tary influence of transportation upon the wicked, " that they do 
 not see the punishment," because it was taken for granted that 
 the principle was fully established by the experience derived from 
 European penal codes, that " public examples," as they are call-, 
 ed, so far from deterring from the commission of crimes, in- 
 crease their number, and that their enormity is proportioned to 
 the severity and publicity of the punishment. The use of the 
 argument last quoted, is the more extraordinary, considering 
 that the inefficiency of the barbarous corporeal inflictions of the 
 old American, and present European penal codes* is ably and 
 fully pourtrayed by the Avriter himself: and any one who believes 
 in the restraining influence of example, may be satisfied of the 
 delusion under which he labours, by resorting to the next public 
 execution with one end of his handkerchief a little out of his 
 pocket. So fully am I convinced of the ineflicacy of public pun- 
 ishments, in preventing crimes, that it is firmly believed, the exe- 
 cution of a convict, at midnight in the jail yard in the presence of 
 his fellow convicts, and by torch light would have a much 
 
 * I might add, the shocking proposals recently made in the publication of 
 Mr. Beaumonfj'a London magistrate, of " branding on each cheek, and on the 
 forehead ; amputation of oflending members ; and death with previous ampu- 
 tation of the hands." If the progress of mental light had not caused the 
 abolition of the Inquisition in Spain and Portugal, Mr. B. woiUdhave merited 
 a high station in that mild and humane estbalishment for the reformation of 
 heretics, — against the church "as by lavi established." — See the Pamphleteer, 
 vol. xviii. p. 416. 
 
104 
 
 Prison Discifilinc. 
 
 greater effect upon them, and the public at large, than the most 
 solemn and ostentatious parade. But as it is possible that there 
 are some persons who from not .having duly considered the sub- 
 ject, are still persuaded of the admonitory and moral effects of 
 public punishments on society, I beg leave to recommend to them 
 the perusal of the unanswerable observations on it, by our late 
 eminent citizen and philanthropist Dr. Rush, which laid the 
 foundation for their total abolition in Pennsylvania.* He has 
 proved that public punishments make men worse ; that they never 
 reform ; never terrify, and so far from preventing crimes, tend to 
 increase them, by destroying the sense of shame ; by exciting re- 
 venge against the community, and from a strange propensity 
 among fanatics and the miserable, even to commit capital crimes, 
 that they may imitate an heroic death, and draw forth a repetition 
 of expressions of admiration and praise for fortitude and suffer- 
 ing, which they may have heard uttered by spectators of a public 
 execution. 
 
 Instead of " it costing twenty times as much to punish our con- 
 victs by transportation, as it does no^ in the state prisons," the 
 cost would very probably be twenty times less ; for as 20 years 
 might be safely taken as the average term of the life of a convict 
 in his new habitation, their outfit during that period, would not 
 average more than the annual cost at present. Nay, it may be 
 safely asserted, that the general average would be less; for al- 
 though the expense of the first cargo might cause the amount to 
 be a little more, owing to the purchase of many necessary articles 
 of a permanent nature, yet as they would not be required again 
 until after a long time, the cost of the subsequent shipments 
 would certainly be so much less, as to bring out the result of 
 a given term in favour of transportation, on the ground of eco- 
 nomy. 
 
 2d. I have anticipated myself in some measure on the subject 
 of public punishments, by a reference to the essays of Dr. Rush. 
 The plan of punishing convicts by labour on the highways and 
 
 streets was fully tried in the year 1786, and I well remember the 
 
 _ ^ _ 
 
 * See his Essays, literary, moral and philosophical, Philadelphia, 1798. 
 Bradford. — A work that ought to be in the hands of every family in the United 
 States. See also Roscoe on Penal Jiuisprudence, and MontagT.ie " on the pun^ 
 ishment of murder by death." 
 
Prison Discipline. 105 
 
 shocking scenes then exhibited, and the universal disgust they 
 excited among all classes of citizens. The law was intended to 
 continue only three years, and during that period petitions for its 
 repeal, covered the tables of the legislature. It was accordingly 
 permitted to die, and another was passed upon the old principles 
 of labour and confinement.* 
 
 3. The writer in the Review is decidedly opposed to solitary 
 confinement, which he says, " has been recommended by some 
 without even having considered its effects. In the first place, if 
 this should be adopted, the view of the economists must be aban- 
 doned, for the criminals can perform no labour." Now, so far 
 from solitary confinement having been recommended without 
 due reflection, the fact is, that it was seriously brought before 
 the judiciary committee of the Pennsylvania legislature, during 
 the last session,t after mature consideration for several months 
 on the total inefficiency of the system hitherto adopted in our 
 state ; on the good effects of short periods of seclusion expe- 
 rienced in Philadelphia, in subduing outrageous tempers ; and on 
 the equally well known injury experienced by the convicts, from 
 their constantly increasing contamination, the unavailing influ- 
 ence of labour upon their moral faculties, when performed in so- 
 
 • The following relation may not be without use. An act for suostitut- 
 ing labour and confinement for public punishments, had been draughted 
 during the session in which the " wheelbarrow" law was passed ; when, on a 
 meeting of the committee preparator}' to its introduction, it was unfortunately 
 resolved upon the motion of a member, who probably thought they were 
 treading on sacred ground, to refer it to the chief justice, (the late Governor 
 M'Kean,) who it was supposed must be master of the subject, and who 
 would set them right if they were wrong : his approbation was also deemed 
 important to insure the passage of the bUl. He retui-ned the bill, and pro- 
 posed as a substitute the " wheelbarrow law," which met the approbation of a 
 majority of the committee, from deference to the autbority of so great a legal 
 character, and was approved of by the legislature. This information comes 
 from the late Geo. Clymer, who was a member of the first committee, and 
 warmly opposed the reference to the judge. Thus for a short time were sus- 
 pended the happy effects of Dr. Rush's anxious labours for years, in prepar- 
 ing the pubUc mind for the amehoration of the penal code, and in breaking 
 down the strong holds of prejudice and ignorance which supported the de- 
 testable old system. 
 
 f In « observations on the Penitentiary System of Pennsylvania, by Me- 
 dicus." > 
 
 VOL. I. 14 
 
106 
 
 Prison Disci/iline. 
 
 ciety during the day, and their herding together at night. The 
 
 rationale or modus operandi of this grand assuager of the turbu- 
 lent passions was illustrated, and the Penitentiary committee in 
 their report preparatory to the introduction of the late bill pro- 
 viding for the erection of a new prison, with solitary cells, in 
 Philadelphia, and in the counties, went still farther into the sub- 
 ject, and shewed the happy effects that were likely to result from 
 the adoption of the measure. In the remarks already referred 
 to, it was asserted that " labour in society was an enjoyment," 
 and tended to defeat the object of confinement, while on the con- 
 trary, idleness in solitude was highly distressing. Of the truth 
 of these positions, the experience of the Philadelphia inspectors 
 is ample,* and other authorities may be quoted to support them. 
 Mr. Buxton says, that in the Maison de Force at Ghent, priva- 
 tion of work is a penalty sufficient to keep 99 out of 100 orderly 
 and attentive to the rules. t Mr. Cunningham the keeper of the 
 Gloucester jail, says that criminals " dread solitude ; that it is the 
 most beneficial meaus of working reform ; far better than corpo- 
 real punishment, which when severe, hardens them more than 
 any thing else." He adds, " Reflection with low diet, are the 
 causes of the good effect of solitary confinement." Mr. Stokes, 
 governor of the house of correction at Horsley, says, that " soli- 
 tary confinement is a much greater punishment without work 
 than with it. To the question, ' Do you think a convict would 
 go out better, if he had been employed during the month of con- 
 finement you speak of?' the reply is, no, nor half. The prisoner 
 who is employed, passes his time smooth and comfortable, and 
 he has a portion of his earnings ; but if he has no labour, and kept 
 under the discipline of the prison, it is a tight piece of punish- 
 ment to go through. My opinion is, that if they are kept accord- 
 ing to the rules of the prison, and have no labour, that one month 
 would do more than six, [without labour.] I am certain, that a 
 man who is kept there without labour once, will not be very 
 
 * The convicts in the Pliiladelphia prison, have, upon several occasions, ex- 
 • • (sc'Uheir ib tiid ot the intended plan of solitary confinement in the prison 
 .: ; inled to be built Ihisycar. 
 
 f Inquiry whether crime and misery are produced or prevented by our 
 present system of prison discipline. By Th. F. Buxton, M. P. London, 1818, 
 p. 71.^ 
 
Prison Ducifiline. 
 
 107 
 
 i-eady to come there again."* A convict now in the Philadel- 
 phia prison, was recently asked, " Did you stay in Rhode Island, 
 after your release from the solitory cells, there ?" " Oh, no, I 
 gave them wide sea-room." He renewed his depredations, but 
 it was in Pennsylvania, where the cells are reserved for punishing 
 atrocious and turbulent convicts. For such characters, darkness 
 and bread and water for diet, ought to be joined to solitude. 
 The probable increased efficacy of total abstraction of light, must 
 be obvious to all, and as to its absolute effect, there can be no 
 doubt, having been repeatedly proven. The governor of the jail 
 at Devises, says that " he had only one occasion to use the dark 
 cell, in the case of the same prisoner, twice : that less than one 
 day is enough to bring him to his senses." He considered pun- 
 ishment in a dark cell for one day, had a greater effect upon a 
 prisoner, than to keep him on bread and water for a month. "t 
 
 A greater portion of the time of the convicts ought to be spent 
 in the solitary cells than usual, in order that they might be made 
 to suffer; and if solitary idleness be not thought expedient, 
 they ought to be compelled to earn at least gS dollars per year, 
 above the amount of their expenses,^ to prevent the possibility of 
 an excuse which has often been made, for robbing, to support 
 life, until they can obtain the means of emplojTnent after their 
 liberation. Nor should they be permitted to leave the prison 
 without this capital in hand. Convicts, knowing that their re- 
 tum to liberty depended on a compliance with this rule, would 
 redouble their industry, and would never be idle ; whereas, at 
 present not having such a stimulus to work, they often neglect 
 their tasks, and are turned loose without a dollar, and renew 
 their depredations on society to satisfy the calls of hunger, jl 
 
 * Evicjence before the committee of the House of Commons, in 1819 : p. 
 391 — quoted in Edinburgh Review, No. 70, p. 295. 
 
 ■(■Evidence before the committee of the House of Commons, 1819. p. 359. 
 Edinbui-gh Review, No. 70, p. 293. 
 
 i It has always been the practice of the inspectors of the Philadelphia prison, 
 to give the convicts credit for their extra earnings, beyond the small amount 
 vrith which they are charged for their maintenance and clotliing, and some 
 have received sums on their dischai-ge, that might have been of sen ice to them 
 ii^^j^rigup,^alrade, if they had been disposed to work ; but indolence pre- 
 vR's many from doing any thing more than their daily tasks, or from accom- 
 plishing even those, and hence, when leaving prison, they are pennyless. 
 
108 
 
 Prison Discijiline. 
 
 preferable filan is to keefi them in solitude without work, during 
 the whole period of their sentences, and then to present them with 
 5, 10, or 15 dollars, acquainting them at the tirne, that in the event 
 of their being again convicted, they would inevitably be transport- 
 ed for life to Tristan da Cunha, whencetheir escafie would be hope- 
 less. Such a plan would constitute perfection in criminal jurispru- 
 dence, and when adopted, will clear our jails of all old convicts, 
 and greatly diminish the number of first offences. It does not fol- 
 low that " labour must be abandoned in solitary confinement ;" 
 for the cells may be constructed of dimensions to admit of it; 
 and it is believed that the new prison to be commenced the next 
 spring in Philadelphia, will be erected on that principle. Nor 
 cannot it be considered " an abandonment of the views of the 
 economists," if work were wholly restricted, as it is very probable 
 that in the end, a saving to the public would ensue, if the con- 
 victs were kept idle, for, 
 
 1. They would wear fewer clothes than when at work. 
 
 2. They might do well with two meals a day, instead of three, 
 which are now given. 
 
 3. The quantity of food at each meal would be diminished, by 
 reason of the lessened appetite arising from want of exercise 
 in the open air. 
 
 4. The horrors of confinement would be so lasting, that the 
 criminals once subjected to it for a proper length of time, (not 
 a few months) will be effectually deterred from risking a repe- 
 tition of them, by the commission of crimes in a state where 
 such punishment awaits them. Besides, a continuation of the 
 plan of working convicts is the less important at present, and 
 probably for some years to come will not deserve considera- 
 tion, in consequence of the difficulty of making sale of the pro- 
 duct of their labour, and even supposing that they remained 
 wholly idle during their confinement, still economy would en- 
 sue, for it may be taken for granted that from the cause just 
 mentioned, the prison after a few years will contain but a small 
 number of inhabitants. ' 
 
 Another objection to solitary confinement is the fear of making 
 the convicts " maiiiacs, if it docs not destroy them." But this 
 is altogether imaginary, being contrary to experietice Nh'sSAli 
 cases. The records of the bastile of France and of other prisons 
 
Prison Discipline. 
 
 109 
 
 in Europe, shew, that men have been confined for 10, 20, and 
 even more than 30 years in solitary cells without loss of reason 
 or life. Most of us have read the interesting story of the con- 
 finement of Henry Masers de la Tude, who, with but little inter- 
 ruption was immured in the bastile from 1749 to 1784:* and 
 what American youth has not been roused to indignation at the 
 sufferings of the^igh minded but imprudent Trenck, who for ten 
 years groaned in the dungeon of Magdeburg, by order of the 
 Prussian tyrant, whom it is the fashion to call, the great Freder- 
 ick ? Our enterprising felloAv citizen W. D. Robinson was con- 
 fined in the year 1817 in a loathsome cell, an " infenial prison," 
 under one of the arches of the ramparts of the castle of San 
 Juan de Ulua, on the Spanish Main, for eleven months. t Our 
 own prisons furnish additional proofs in point. By a refer- 
 ence to the keeper of the Philadelphia prison, and to an inspector, 
 who has been for 1 5 years almost successively in office, I have 
 ascertained that some of the convicts have been confined for 
 nearly a year in a cell. The diet during part of the time, (about 
 two weeks) of those confined for long periods, is what is called 
 " cell allowance," viz. half a pound of bread per day, with water. 
 Afterwards some soup is allowed ; then a little meat twice a week, 
 and at a more advanced stage, three times a week. It is not 
 deemed necessary to state the particular cases, or to multiply 
 proofs of a fact which is known to all who have had any inter- 
 course with the prison, and of which any one may be fully satis- 
 fied by application to the keeper or board of inspectors. One 
 man now in prison, states that he was confined in a cell of the 
 jail at Providence, of smaller dimensions than those of Philadel- 
 phia, during ten months and twenty one days : that during three 
 months of the time he was chained to the floor, and that he had 
 two meals in a day. 
 
 The inspectors and the keeper of the Philadelphia prison, deny 
 positively that any injurious effect has been observed upon the 
 intellects of those confined in solitary cells, even for the longest 
 period mentioned ; and also deny the accuracy of the statement 
 
 • This account is recorded in a variety of foreign works, and also in that 
 popular miscellany, liie " Percy Anecdotes," part 6th. 
 
 f Memoirs of the Mexican Revolution by W . D. Robinson Philadelphia 
 1820. 
 
Prison Discifiline. 
 
 of the writer in the N. A. Review, that " a week or ten days is 
 generally sufficient to subdue the obstinate temper of a con- 
 vict;" a much longer time being often required. One woman 
 required 52 days confinement in an upper remote cell, and to in- 
 crease her punishment, not a word was spoken to her during all 
 that time. She had previously been some time confined in a 
 lower cell, where conversation was practicable with an adjoining 
 convict, and was permitted with the cell keepers, but had not 
 become penitent. They say further that none are ever taken 
 out of the cells, until completely subdued, unless the attending 
 physician desire their removal by reason of the state of their 
 health; and it is the invariable rule to remand them to their soli- 
 tary abode, whenever they are able to bear it, in order to com- 
 plete the time of their sentence to that punishment. The in- 
 spectors well know the constitution of the minds of criminals, 
 and that to restore one of them to the luxury of working and 
 sleeping in society before their turbulent passions are overcome, 
 would be a victory over the discipline of the prison, and produce 
 the most ruinous effects upon the system. Such a triumph is 
 therefore never permitted. 
 
 The writer in the Review, says he was " assured by the inspec- 
 tors of the Philadelphia and Baltimore penitentiaries that in each 
 of those prisons but one instance had occurred of solitary con- 
 finement failing to subdue the criminal. In each of these cases, 
 after a confinement of a month, and " when the pulse had been 
 reduced to a cambric thread," the criminal was still obstinate, 
 and they were obliged to release him to prevent his perishing 
 under it." The practice of the Philadelphia prison has been 
 stated. Tlie particular case just mentioned, is not recollected by 
 the present inspectors who have been consulted ; but they have 
 no hesitation in saying that a repetition of the experiment would 
 have succeeded. So far from the mental faculties being impair- 
 ed by solitary confinement, it is a fact, that even the muscular 
 powers often apparently suffer very little diminution, and even 
 in cases where debility is perceptible, after the release cf a cri- 
 minal, it is only temporary. Some have actually acquired flesh 
 during their confinement ; one man carried a keg of nails the 
 length of the yard, immediately on coming out, after a seclusion 
 of upwards of a month. The man confined in Providence, says 
 
Prison Diacifilinr, 
 
 111 
 
 he tottered when taken out, but in one month he was as strong 
 as ever. This man was exposed to a highly debilitating cause 
 while in his cell, viz. an almost constant stench from inattention 
 on the part of the prison keepers to the removal of an obvious 
 cause, but once in ten days I 
 
 Mr. Robinson though debilitated by confinements, low diet, 
 and an illness of several weeks with a violent hoemorrhage, re- 
 covered and suffered no permanent injury in his health. 
 
 The writer resumes the subject in the progress of his remarks, 
 and says, that " it is a mistake of some theorists to plan a prison so 
 that every man shall be in absolute seclusion. It is only desirable 
 that the greater part of the convicts, particularly the more atro- 
 cious and hardened should be thus separated. But in many cases 
 a superintendant will find it advantageous to put two or three to- 
 gether, where he perceives a repentant disposition, and that they 
 will sympathise and confirm each other in such a course ?" 
 
 It is a strong argument in favour of solitary confinment, that it 
 is warmly advocated by the most experienced among the present 
 inspectors of Philadelphia, whose knowledge derived from long 
 familiarity with prison discipline, and management of convicts, 
 is far removed from " theory," and is not exceeded by that of any 
 men in this country, or in Europe. There are few — very few of 
 those committed to the Philadelphia prison, who do not deserve 
 the epithets which the writer affixes to those whose consignment 
 to the cells he allows to be proper ; and as to repentence, although 
 " a consummation devoutly to be wished," yet is so rare an oc- 
 currence, as not to enter into the calculation of the inspectors so 
 long as more than one are confined in a cell at a time. Several 
 have successfully played the hypocrite, and one man " fairly 
 prayed himself out of prison," sometime before the expiration 
 of the period for which he was sentenced ; but he returned 
 within the year. It is evident that the writer himself" theorises," 
 for he speaks of " a repentant disposition," as a possible occur- 
 rence, but mentions no instance of this communion of penitent 
 souls, having been successfully allowed in support of the practice 
 he recommends. He may be assured that any useful " sympathe- 
 tic" or moral influence, or "confirmation" in a repentent dispo- 
 sition, derived from the company of " two or three in a cell," is 
 wholly imaginary, and will not be experienced. The greater 
 
Prison Dincijiline. 
 
 probability is, that the discovery of any symptoms of contrition in 
 
 convict, by another in the same cell, would end in his being 
 laughed out of it by his companions, and in the establishment of 
 his old habits. An equally probable consequence of such inter- 
 course would be, the planning of future robberies, or the con- 
 triving the means of escape : of this, I shall say more presently. 
 It must be acknowledged, that although 19 out 20 now confined in 
 Philadelphia have been before in the prison there, or in that of 
 some other city, yet that numbers once released, have not again 
 offended against the laws ; but it is possible that they would have 
 behaved equally well, if they had never been punished ; and it 
 does not follow that any serious reformation has taken place in 
 the heart of a man, merely because he has not committed a lar- 
 cency or other crime, the penalty of which is confinement ; for a 
 dislike to the prison life, and a preference to the enjoyment of do- 
 mestic quiet and liberty, may be the restraining causes, and not a 
 moral impression received during imprisonment. 
 
 The plan proposed by the reviewer, of classifying the prison- 
 ers, and confining them in different establishments, "according to 
 their degrees of criminality, although an improvement upon the 
 present bad plan of an indiscriminate mixture of criminals of all 
 ages, and of every degree of vice, would not however accomplish 
 the two great objects of confinement, which ought constantly to 
 be kept in view, viz. punishment, and reformation of the criminal. 
 Permission given to them to work in society diminishes the 
 first to a very trifling degree, and completely prevents the 
 last. Every one who has had any experience among criminals 
 knows, that very different degrees of vice are perceived among 
 young or first offenders, and that a youth of 16 years of age, will 
 be able to increase the corruption of mind in a man of 40. The 
 idea of vice, or vicious propensities being graduated by age, caa 
 only be entertained by persons totally unacquainted with the 
 inmates of a prison. Hence the absolute impossibility of any 
 useful classification, of which so much has been recently written 
 in England, and again urged by the reviewer. It may be relied 
 on as an axiom in criminal jurisprudence, that whenever two or 
 more criminals are in the same apartment, evil communications 
 will take place among them, and filans of future mischief will be 
 
a Tale of the Neutral Ground. 
 
 97 
 
 Birch, after a narrow escape from a troop of horse, enters his hut 
 where he finds Katy and Csesar at the bedside of his dying 
 father : 
 
 " Is he alive ?" asked Birch tremulously, and seemingly afraid ' 
 to receive an answer to his own question. i 
 
 " Surely," said the maiden, rising hastily, and officiously of- 
 fering her chair to the pedlar, " he must live till day or the tide 
 is down." . ■, 
 
 Disregarding all but her assurance, the pedlar stole gently to 
 the room of his dying parent. The tie which bound this father 
 and son together was one of no ordinary kind. In the wide world 
 they were all to each other. Had Katy but have read a few lines 
 farther in the record, she would have seen the sad tale of their mis- 
 fortunes. At one blow competence and kindred had been swept 
 from before them, and from that day to the present hour, perse- 
 cution and distress had followed their wandering steps. Ap- 
 proaching the bed side, Harvey leaned his body forward, and said, 
 in a voice nearly choked by his feelings— 
 
 " Father, do you know me ?" 
 
 The parent slowly opened his eyes, and a smile of satisfaction 
 passed over his pallid featui'es, leaving behind it the impression 
 of death in still greater force from ' the contrast The pedlar 
 gave a restorative he had brought with him to the parched lips 
 of the sick man, and for a few minutes new vigor seemed to be 
 irriparted to his frame. He spoke, but slowly and with difficultyi 
 Curiosity kept Katy silent ; awe had the same effect on Caesar ; 
 and Harvey seemed hardly to bfeathe, as he listened to the IsAi- 
 guage of the departing spirit. • 
 
 " My son," said the father in a hollow voice, " God is as mer- 
 ciful as he is just — if I threw the cup of salvation from my lips 
 when a youth, he graciously offers it to me in mine age. He 
 chastiseth to purify, and I go to join the spirits of our lost family. 
 In a little while, my child, you will be alone. I know you too 
 well not to foresee you will be a lone pilgrim through life. The 
 bruised reed may endure, but it will never rise. You have that 
 Vithin you, Harvey, that will guide you aright ; persevere as you 
 have begun, for the duties of life are never to be neglected — and" 
 — A noise in the adjoining room interrupted the dying man, and 
 the impatient pedlar hastened to learn the cause, followed by 
 Katy and the black. The first glance of his eye on the figure in 
 the door-way told the trader but too well both his errand, and the 
 fate that probably awaited himself. The intruder was a man 
 still young in years, but his lineaments bespoke a mind long agi- 
 tated by evil passions. His dress was of the meanest materials, 
 and so ragged and unseemly, as to give him the appearance of 
 studied poverty. His hair was prematurely whitened, and his 
 sunken, lowering eye avoided the bold, forward look of innocence. 
 
 VOL. I. 13 
 
9.8 The Spy ; 
 
 There \V>a* a restlessnes^in his movements, and agitation in his 
 . mannery that prbcecded from, the workings of the foul spirit 
 within hfhrt, and which wa,s not less offensive to others than dis- 
 L tressing^^o himself. This'man was a well known leader of one 
 of those gaifes of marauders who infested the county with a sem- 
 j hlance'of- p4P'iotisif(^ affd, \^ere guilty of every grade of offence, 
 from simple theft up' to murder,' Behind him stood several other 
 figuresif.li'd^'a similar majihel*, but whose countenances express- 
 ^ed riRtmng.more than the "011110118 indifference of brutal insensi- 
 bility, 'rhey were all well arm^d with muskets and bayonets, 
 and provided with the usual.implements of foot soldiers. Har- 
 vey kne\y re'sistance to be vain, and quietly submitted to their 
 directions. In the twiij^ling of an eye both he and Caesar were 
 strippe'd of their decent garments, and made to exchange clothes 
 with two "of the filthiest "(jf the band. T hfey were then placed in 
 separate corners of the rbom, and under the muzzles of the mus- 
 kets, l^uired f^fthfully to answer such i#terrogatoriis as were 
 put to them. ' ■ ." , 
 
 " Where is your pack ?" was the first q^estio^ to tjie pedlar, 
 i^" Hear me," said'Birch, treijpbling wjjh agutation; ^ in'tthe 
 next room is my father no« in the agonigs of deuth ;ftt me go to 
 him, receivejhis blessing, Aid plose hisses, land you shall have 
 \ll4-aye, all.' ^ ' f ' ■ ■ < '\ 
 
 " A|iswer me as I put thfr^qAstions, or Ai^musket shall send 
 you to keep the old xirivelle(j/;4mpany-^wher9 is your pick ?" 
 
 " I will tell you nothing unless you*let nn^ gS.tp my father, 
 s^id the pedlar resolutely. ^ • • ^ * 
 
 His persecutor i|[ised hisiarm ^iroa mal^iou^neer, and was 
 
 about to execute his threat, jjvhen j^fof his]^o minions checked 
 ' hitA, and cried — I *• '■ VjC 
 
 " What would you do ? ybu sirely'forge^Therewardp^Jdlus 
 where are your goods, and yj^u^^hall go to'^oufifather/H^H^ 
 
 Birch complied instantly, aiKLa riian was despatched in quest 
 of the booty : he sdon returnec^<nTowtng the b\^dle on the floor, 
 ^ swearing it was as light as featK^rs. \) > 4 
 
 " Ay," cried the leader, " tbeTC must be gold somewhere for 
 what it did contain ; give us yoi^',gold,'4lr. Birch ; we know you 
 have it ; you will not take contintnt^l n^'t you." 
 
 " You break your faith," said Harycjj'' sullenly. 
 _^ " Give us your gold," exclardlffd t^i£ other furiously, pricking 
 ^ifhe pedlar with his boyonet unAl'i^g|^food followed his pushes in 
 'strcan^s. At this instant a sligivfrncurement was heard in the ad- 
 '.joiniVig room, and Harvey crkd irnmoringly — 
 
 " Let me — let me go to myfalh^.and you shall have all." 
 " I swear you shall go ther^' sai^ ^^.e skinner. 
 '■' " Here take the trash," cr^eJ Bircli, as^e threw aside the 
 purse, which he had contrivecTt^klcot^ceal, notwithstanding the 
 
 change in his garments. 
 
Prison Discifiline 
 
 113 
 
 matured. I have elsewhere* referred to a fact in direct proof of 
 this position, on the authority of the late Judge Rush of Pennsyl- 
 vania. The well known Sir John Fielding, so long a police 
 magistrate in London, amply experienced in criminal affairs, and 
 in all the habits and wiles of Newgate, many years since stated a 
 similar fact. A recent occurrence, affords additional proof in point. 
 The Boston Gazette, of December, 1821, contains a letter from 
 a convict in the state prison of Massachusetts, directed to a gen- 
 tleman of that to^v^l, stating that " the late robbery of the store 
 of Messrs. R. D. Tucker & Co. was planned in the prison, and 
 that he had numbered twenty-five stores in Boston, against the 
 proprietors of which conspiracies are planned for their robbery." 
 One of the great benefits which the friends to humanity promised 
 themselves, would result from the confinement of convicts at la- 
 bour in prison, was the acquisition of a trade, or the improve- 
 ment in one already partially acquired, and by which they might 
 obtain a living after their release. Nothing in theory can be more 
 plausible, yet nothing is found more opposite to the supposed 
 consequence of such instruction : for no instance has occurred 
 of any trade having been followed that was learnt in prison ; but 
 many undeniable proofs have been afforded of the manual skill 
 acquired in confinement, being used to enable convicts more suc- 
 cessfully to commit depredations on society after their release. 
 The letter of the convict just quoted, stated further, " that the ma- 
 chinery for the execution of the robberies then planned in Boston, 
 were all prepared in prison, viz. false keys, machinery for cut- 
 ting off the heads of bolts, of a very compact and curious 
 construction, together with instruments for opening window- 
 shutters, the ingenuity of which would command a patent, if ex- 
 ecuted in a good cause. t The machinery for the robbery of 
 Messrs. Tuckers, and for a variety of other purposes equally des- 
 tructive to the peace and welfare of society, were made there." It 
 
 • Observations on the Penitentiary System of Pennsylvania, 1820.^ 
 f Governor Brooks says that in the recent insurrection in the state prison of 
 ilassachusetts, many of the convicts were armed with deadly weapons, which 
 had been forged in the workshops. Communication to Mass, Legislature, 
 Jan. 1822. 
 
 VOL. I. 1 5 
 
Il-i 
 
 'Prison Discifiiine. 
 
 may be remarked by the way, that this letter speaks very little 
 for the discipline of an establishment which permits the convicts 
 thus to occupy their time, and their leaving it with the predatory 
 tools about them. Solitary confinement will be free from all 
 such misapplication of time and talents. Shall we hear any more 
 of the benefits arising from working classified convicts in so- 
 cieties ? 
 
 Another evil arising from convicts working in society, is the 
 ^ murders that are committed by convicts of their fellow prison- 
 ers. Two or three instances of this have occurred in the jail of 
 Philadelphia, (one last year) owing to a suspicion being enter- 
 tained of the sufferer having given information of a plot to es- 
 cape. Another was recently committed in the state prison of 
 Massachusetts from the same cause. What has happened will 
 happen again. Solitary confinement will effectually prevent such 
 occurrences. 
 
 A still greater evil, proceeding from the assemblage of con- 
 victs in workshops or in the prison yard, is their insurrection 
 and attempt to escape. One we have seen lately took place in the 
 Massachusetts prison. In March 1820, a very serious attempt 
 was made in the Philadelphia prison. The convicts had actually 
 reached the outer gate, but were dismayed by seeing through the 
 key hole, the street filled with armed men formally drawn up, and 
 by the entrance of others into the yard from the front. It was ascer- 
 tained that in the case of their having succeeded in breaking jaiL 
 the city was to be set on fire in several places. The consequences' 
 ■ to society of nearly 500 convicts being at liberty, and excited to 
 ihadness, may be easily conceived. Solitary confinement will 
 prevent insurrections. The Reviewer speaks of the alleged anxiety 
 of some convicts to enter our penitentiaries, arising from the ex- 
 cellent fare they enjoy there, as " a stufiid bravado." If such 
 an opinion is to cause the application of those epithets, it will be 
 some consolation to the concerned to know that the persons thus 
 implicated, are by no means few ; for the opinion has been very 
 generally entertained : nor does it follow, that because the crimi- 
 nals do make attempts to escape, some did not commit crimes to 
 entitle them to the superior comforts of the prison ; because al- 
 though they may have been urged by hunger and cold to steal, 
 yet having enjoyed the benefits provided for them in the house, 
 
Prison Discipline. 
 
 115 
 
 for some time, they may forget their former sufferings ; and their 
 constitutional restlesness returning on the approach of warpi 
 weather, they sigh for a change, and for liberty once more to in- 
 dulge in the " sins that so strongly beset them," and are willing 
 to take their chance for bettei- fortune in future, to enable them to 
 live at large on the produce of their vocations, during a succeed- 
 ing winter. Besides, the attempt to escape, which the Reviewer 
 thinks proves the absurdity of the assertion in question, may be 
 made by those .who do not seek a refuge in jail from hunger and 
 cold, and those who do, may have declined interfering ; during 
 the alarming insurrection that took place in the Philadelphia 
 prison, two years since, many refused to join the rioters. But the 
 determination of the point is of little importance : that the ex- 
 pression however has been uttered by a man sentenced for one 
 month's confinement during the winter, to the Philadelphia 
 workhouse, and apparently with great sincerity, there can be no 
 doubt.* The prison has long ceased to have terrors, and to attribute 
 this fearlesness to the enjoyment of protection from the weather, 
 and of warmth in winter, and food, all of which most of the con- 
 victs would be deprived of if at full liberty, is not an unreason- 
 able, much less a stupid idea. This absence of fear will most 
 certainly prevail so long as the prisons shall continue to be places 
 of comparative comfort, and not of suffering, and so long will 
 they be filled by a succession of inhabitants. The sooner there- 
 fore the discipline is changed, and made to assume a proper cha- 
 racter, the better. When the incorrigible who are now existing, 
 shall have finished their evil courses, and gone to their last ac- 
 count, we may hope that by the help of the general diffusion of 
 moral education among the rising classes of society, a diminu- 
 tion of crime will take place. What that does not effect, rigid 
 solitary confinement £ind transportation will complete. t 
 
 *The man shivering with cold, asked the constable, when going to prison, 
 how long he was to be confined ? he was told one montli. — "Oh," said he, 
 shrugging his shoulders, " I wish it were for three .'" 
 
 ■j- " Prisons, says Holford, should be considered as places of punishment, 
 and not as scenes of cheerfid industr}'." — See Ed. Rev. .\'o. 70, p. 279. And 
 in the words of another ^mte^, " no punishment will be found to be wise or 
 humane, or just or effectual, that is not the natural reaction of a man's o-wn con- 
 duct on fas own head, or the making him feel in his own person, the conse- 
 
116 
 
 ' Prison DUcifiline. 
 
 The reviewer recommends to the other States a recent law of 
 Massachusetts, which condemns criminals to a further term of 
 seven years because of a second conviction, and to imprisonment 
 for life, if they come there a third time. Seven convicts are now 
 confined for life under this law. In this way, he says, all those 
 who are incorrigible will be taken away from preying on the pub- 
 lic, and having leanied a trade in the prison, can be advantage- 
 ously employed. The objection to this plan is, the multiplica- 
 tion of such criminals which will result from its adoption, and 
 the inevitable existence of the following evils : 
 
 1. Upon the supposition that the convicts are to be kept at 
 work in society, agreeably to the idea of the reviewer, these in- 
 veterate rogues will serve as teachers to their less accomplished 
 associates, the bad effects of which tuition are well known, and 
 greatly deplored as one of the most powerful causes of prevent- 
 ing a change in the habits of vicious men, which was expected 
 from the substitutioif of hard labour and confinement. If they 
 are kept by themselves, upon the theoretical principle of classifi- 
 cation, they will mutually corrupt one another, and all hope of 
 amendment or change of mind v. ill be at an end. 
 
 2. If confined in solitary cells, they would take up the room 
 that ought to be reserved for first offenders, of whom some ex- 
 pectation of reformation might be entertained. 
 
 3. From their numbers, the expense of the prison would be 
 greatly increased ; and as it would be impossible to sell all their 
 work, unless at reduced prices, the support of honest citizens, at 
 a time when there is little demand for labour, might be interfered 
 with. 
 
 4. The confinement of the criminals must be recommended 
 solely upon the principle of just punishment for crimes, and as a 
 
 quences of tlie injui-y he has meditated against otliers. "—£</. Itev. J\'o. 70, p. 
 346. Working in society prevents such reflections. " The case is different 
 with the prisoner doomed to tlie solitaiy cell. There the hand of justice 
 presses on him with grievous weight. The cold rough walls that encircle him, 
 the unvarying shades that liang around, and the deatlj-like silence, only bro- 
 ken by the clanking of wearying chains, remind him of the violated law, and 
 teach him that "the way of the transgressor is hard." There b\nied in solitude 
 the fire of the spirit may be subdued, remorse may be succeeded by repent- 
 ance, and the punishment may be productive of reform." Emporiian, Dec. 1821. 
 
Frison Discipline. 
 
 117 
 
 safeguard against their future depredations. Reformation is out 
 of the question. As it certainly can do society no possible good 
 to imprison them, merely as a punishment, their long, or perpetual 
 confinement does not seem to constitute a reason sufficiently 
 strong to justify its infliction ; it is, therefore, certainly a more 
 eligible plan to send them away to the place proposed, to which 
 the objections just urged do not apply, where the safety of the 
 public from their future depredations, will be as great as by their 
 confinement in prison, and where there will be some chance of a 
 reformation. They will indeed be in society, but under circum- 
 stances so different from those in a prison, as not to justify the 
 belief that contamination will take place, even on the supposi- 
 tion that an inequality in the scale of guilt prevailed among 
 them, because from the obvious necessity that will appear of de- 
 pending upon their own labour for existence, they will be " ad- 
 vantageously employed," and so constantly in tilling the earth, 
 in some mechanical occupation, or in fishing, as not to afford 
 time to think of mischief. There can, moreover, be no induce- 
 ment to lay schemes for future robbery, or to break prison ; and 
 the severe discipline established by themselves, M'ill insure the 
 enjoyment to every man of his own little property. The crimi- 
 nal will no longer be forced to act at the will of a keeper, but will 
 become a free agent, and one of the lords of the soil which he 
 cultivates. 
 
 If it be an argument in favour of perpetual imprisonment, that 
 " we shall no more hear of a fourth conviction," it certainly is a 
 stronger one in favour of transportation that we shall not hear of 
 a third, or, for some offences, even of a second, and that thus the 
 expense of one or of two convictions, of supporting the criminals 
 in prison for a time previously to trial, and of paying for the ex- 
 cess of the cost of their maintenance over the value of their la- 
 bour, while serving out the periods of conviction, will be saved. 
 It might be added, as a consideration of no small importance, 
 that, by their removal at an earlier date than after a third con- 
 viction, there will be a vast gain, as respects morality, among 
 the inferior classes of society ; for it may be easily conceived 
 that the infection diffused by three or four hundred reprobates, 
 for seven or ten years, during which they may be supposed 
 to be at large before they would commit a third offence, and be 
 
118 
 
 Letters from the We.it. 
 
 finally shut up for life, must be great. He who is not reformed 
 after one imprisonment, or deterred from repeating crimes, after 
 having once experienced the discipline of the institution, will 
 not be affected by a second experiment ; the absurdity of mak- 
 ing it, therefore, must be evident. Besides, on the principles of 
 humanity and moral justice to the miserable wretch himself, it 
 ought not to be repeated, because every new association with 
 criminals in a jailonly tends to increase or confirm his evil habits, 
 and to lessen his chance of reform. Transportation will prevent 
 this wide spread of moral contamination. 
 
 It is pleasing to find that my recommendation of transporta- 
 tion for life is supported by Mr. Harmer, a gentleman who " has 
 been concerned during twenty years in constant trials at the old 
 Bailey, and who is equally distinguished by assiduity, acuteness, 
 and humanity in his profession. ' As to transportation, I think 
 it ought to be for life ; if it is for seven years, the novelty of the 
 thing, and the prospect of returning to their friends and asso- 
 ciates, reconciles offenders to it, so that in fact they consider it 
 no punishment, and when this sentence is passed upon men, they 
 frequently say, ' Thank you, my Lord.' Indeed this is a common 
 expression used every session by prisoners when sentenced to 
 seven years transportation.' "* 
 
 When an Englishman talks of transportation, he refers to Bot- 
 any Bay, which has become, comparatively, to British convicts, a 
 happy residence ; but the place and plan proposed for American 
 convicts are far superior : on these, there is nooccasion to enlarge, 
 as both have been treated of in the publication already alluded to. 
 
 MEDICUS. 
 
 Aht. IV. — Letters from the West. Letter IV^. 
 I had not been long on board of the boat, when I discovered that 
 its progress was frequently so slow as to allow me to make short 
 excursions on the shore. Such opportunities were too precious 
 to be lost ; accordingly, equipped in a light summer .dress, with 
 a fowling-piece on my shoulder, I invaded, sometimes one bank, 
 and sometimes the other, waging war against the squirrels of 
 Virginia, Ohio, or Kentucky, as was most convenient. Thus I 
 
 • Report of the Select Committee on Criminal Laws of England, 1819, p. 
 100,— Kdhib. liei'. No. 70. 
 
Letters from the West. 
 
 119 
 
 gained sport, and healthful exercise, and procured a grateful ad- 
 dition to my frugal meals. In these digressions, I frequently en- 
 countered the inhabitants, and could make enquiries respecting 
 the country. At their cabii\s I would always procure a refresh- 
 ing draught of milk, as well as a dish of conversation ; and if I 
 had found nothing else, I believe I should have been amply re- 
 paid for my trouble, in gazing at the droves of chubby children, 
 who are mentioned in the Navigator, as a staple commodity of 
 the country. They are almost as plenty as the squirrels ; and as 
 plump and ruddy, as health and cleanliness can make them. By 
 welking at a brisk pace along the shore, I could keep ahead of 
 the boat, when the men were not rowing ; thus I could pop over 
 the squirrels, talk to the men, take a peep at the women, and kiss— 
 the children, while I was jogging on my way. 
 
 On these occasions, I had opportunities of examining into the 
 correctness of the assertion, made by almost all the English tra- 
 vellers. They describe our people, in the humbler walks of life, 
 as possessing a Certain surly independence, which they delight 
 to display on every occasion ; which induces them to insult a 
 well-dressed stranger, whenever they get an opportunity ; and to 
 render any services which they may be called on to perform, 
 with an air of doing a favour; so that while they pocket your 
 money they remind you that they are your equals. I shall also 
 notice at the same time, an assertion, made by a writer in the 
 Edinburgh Review ; he says, " They, of the Western Country, 
 are hospitable to strangers, because they are seldom troubled with 
 them ; and because they have plenty of maize and smoked harns. 
 Their hospitality, too, is always accompanied with imfiertinent 
 questions, and a disgusting display of national vanity." If the 
 author of this precious scrap had ever visited the country he li- 
 bels, he would find that it contains as many distinct falsehoods, 
 as could conveniently be crowded into so small a paragraph. No 
 country is more "troubled" with strangers, than this; they 
 swarm the land, spreading themselves over it in every direction ; 
 every stream is traced, every forest explored, and the taverns of 
 every little village, have at times been filled and overflowing with 
 the crowds brought hither by emigration, by curiosity, or by bu- 
 siness. Many of these are needy wanderers from the very land 
 whose writers thus abuse us, who, destitute of the means of sub- 
 
120 
 
 Letters from the West. 
 
 sistence, and of any knowledge of the country, must needs be in- 
 debted to its inhabitants, for food to support, and advice to guide 
 their steps. The hospitality of the West, is best known to those 
 who have experienced it. 
 
 " Meat for keen famine, and the generous juice, 
 That warms chill life, her chai-ities produce." 
 
 But if that hospitality is caused by the abundance witli which 
 Heaven has blessed our prolific country, it springs from that 
 which we suspect seldom troubles these Scotish gentry, and 
 whose charities, by the same rule, ought to be very sparing. 
 The critic might have found a better reason; it is, that their 
 hearts are as generous as they are brave — the latter quality not 
 being denied them even in " the fast anchored isle." The same 
 spirit which glowed at Chippewa, on Lake Eric, and at New-Or- 
 leans, still illumines the shadows of our Western forests; in war 
 it produced daring achievements, in peace it warms the heart to 
 acts of charity and mercy. 
 
 If a foreigner, in passing through our country, grasps at every 
 occasion to make invidious comparisons, sneering at its popu- 
 lation, its manners, and its institutions, and sextoling those of 
 his native land, nothing is said oi national vanity. When it was 
 determined in England to tear the " striped bunting," from the 
 mast heads of our frigates, and to " sweep the Yankey cock- 
 boats" from the ocean, no national vanity was displayed at all. 
 When the very Review in question, tells us that England is the 
 bulwark of religion, the arbiter of the fates of kingdoms, the last 
 refuge of freedom, there is no national vanity in the business— 
 not a spice. But if a plain back-woodsman, ventures to praise 
 his own country, because he finds all his wants supplied, and all 
 his rights defended ; while he is not pestered with tax-gatherers, 
 and excise-men ; while he sees no dragoons galloping about his 
 cottage, and is allowed to vote for whom he pleases to represent 
 him — all of which he is told, and has good reason to believe, is 
 ordered differently in another country — this is " a disgusting dis- 
 play of national vanity." If he ventures to exhibit a shattered 
 limb, or a breast covered with scars, and to tell that he received 
 these honourable marks, in defence of his native land, on an occa-