III. Legis. 
 
 REPORT 
 
 OF THIS 
 
 SELECT COMMITTEE ON THE PENITENTIARY, 
 
 SUBMITTED TO 
 
 THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 
 
 JANUARY 15, 1839,, 
 
 H. R j 11 th Assem, 
 
 t t 
 
 V 
 
 V AND ALIA: 
 
 William Walters, Public Printer.. 
 
 1839. 
 
EXAMINATION OF THE PENITENTIARY. 
 
 January 15, 1839. 
 
 Read, and recommitted to the Committee, with instructions to report a bill in conformity 
 
 with its recommendations. 
 
 Mr. Craig, from the Select Committee appointed to visit the Peniten¬ 
 tiary, made the following 
 
 REPORT: 
 
 In pursuance of a~resolution of the House of Representatives, adopted 
 December 22, 1838, having for its object the appointment of a 
 select committee for the purpose of repairing to the penitentiary at 
 Alton, and examining into the causes of the recent escapes of convicts, 
 and the condition of the penitentiary and its inmates; and such other 
 facts in relation thereto as will enable the Legislature to make such 
 further enactments for its future government as may be necessary, the 
 undersigned (having been appointed that committee) beg leave to sub¬ 
 mit to your honorable body, as the result of their inquiries, the follow¬ 
 ing report: 
 
 On the 29th of December, 1838, your committee, having arrived at 
 Alton, organized, appointed A. A. Eddy, clerk, and proceeded to the ex¬ 
 amination of the following witnesses, viz: 
 
 John R. Wood, being first duly sworn, deposeth and saith, in answer 
 to the following interrogatories: 
 
 Interrogatory 1. What office do you hold in the penitentiary, and how 
 long have you held that office? 
 
 Answer. I hold the office of superintendent; was appointed agent of 
 the inspectors, August 18, 1837; and superintendent on the first day of 
 September of the same year. 
 
 Interrogatory 2. State the number of cells, and the condition thereof, 
 and the height of the wall around the yard at the present time. 
 
 Answer. There are twenty-four old cells, all of which are secure and 
 in good condition, so far as my knowledge extends respecting their strength, 
 There arc thirty-two new cells; the doors of twenty of them are hung and 
 nearly completed; the doors of all are at the prison; but on putting them 
 up it was discovered that the middle hinge of several would go into the 
 mortar joint between the stone, in which they could not be made secure 
 as the others, and the hanging of them w r as deferred. The height of the 
 wall is from fifteen to thirty feet, I should judge, though 1 have never 
 measured it. It varies, however, according to the unevenness of the 
 ground upon which it is erected. 
 
4 
 
 Interrogatory 3. Please state the thickness of the wall. 
 
 Answer. From three feet to three feet six inches at the top, and five 
 feet at the foundation, except that portion of it which stands on the ground 
 designed to be occupied by the main building when completed. 
 
 Interrogatory 4. How many convicts were there in the penitentiary 
 when you took charge of the same, and how many have since been com¬ 
 mitted ? 
 
 Answer. Eleven when I took charge, and fifty-two committed since r 
 besides two returned who had escaped from former keepers. 
 
 Interrogatory 5. State the number of convicts now in the penitentiary* 
 the number discharged, and the number which have escaped. 
 
 Answer. Twenty-eight are now in the penitentiary; seventeen have 
 been discharged; seventeen have escaped*, two have died; and three have 
 been returned. 
 
 Interrogatory 6. State from winch cells the escapes were made, in what 
 manner they w r ere effected, and at what time. 
 
 Answer. On the 19th of October, 1837, two escaped from the old cells* 
 On the 19th April, 1838, one escaped about four o'clock, P. M. On the 
 night of the 28th June, two escaped, one from the old and one from the 
 new cells. On the night of the 8th August, 1838, five escaped from the 
 old cells. On the 17th of September, 1838, one escaped about four o’clock 
 P. M.; and on the night of the 9th December, 1838, six escaped. The 
 first was effected by one of' the convicts, who slept in an upper cell, con¬ 
 triving to unhook one of the lower cells in which his comrade was confined, 
 between the time of hasping and locking the cell doors, which was not 
 discovered at the time by the turnkey, who was accompanied by myself; 
 by means of which the inmate of said cell passed out and broke the lock 
 on that of his comrade, and, with him, broke the lock of the trap-door of 
 the loft, passing thence out of the loft through a wdndow in the roof, and 
 over that on the wall, the teething of which afforded an easy and safe 
 passage to the ground. The second w r as effected by running away from 
 the workmen who were engaged in repairing that part of the vrall which 
 fell on the 14th of the same month. The third escape was effected by 
 one of the convicts breaking through the partition-wall of the new cells 
 into an open ceil; then, breaking the lock of one of the old cells, hinrwclf 
 and inmate of said ceil passed into the yard through the new door, which 
 was then unfinished, and 'scaled the wall by means of scaffolding used in 
 repairing the wall. The fourth was effected by sawing off the hasp or 
 hook of the hasp of one of the old cells, and so attaching it again as to 
 escape detection. The locks of four other cells were then broken, and a 
 breach then made in the end wall of the main building. The wall was 
 then scaled by means of long rafters left from those used in covering the 
 additional cells. At what time this was done I am unable to say; but I 
 suppose cither on the Sabbath, when, during extreme hot weather, the men 
 were permitted to lay in their cells part of the day, or while hanging the 
 doois of the new cells, which was done by the prisoners. The fifth escape 
 was effected by one of the convicts who was at work in the loft assisting 
 to raise the new doors to their respective places, and, in the absence of the 
 guard, discovered a breach in the roof which had not been very well re¬ 
 paired, out of which he threw a rope, and thereby descended to the 
 ground. The sixth escape was effected by one of the convicts making a 
 
5 
 
 passage through the partition-wall upward into an unfastened cell; then 
 letting two others out who were in the opposite cell; after which a breach 
 was made in the end wall of the building, whence they proceeded to the 
 smith’s shop; and, after taking olF his irons, one of them returned and let 
 out t hre e others. One of the number Then got over the wall, broke the 
 outer lock of the gate, through which those inside escaped. 
 
 Interrogatory 7. Are the cells defective in their construction? If so, 
 point out the defects; and, further, do you consider the new cells equal, 
 in workmanship and finish, to the old? 
 
 Answer. From the escapes which have been made, it has been ascer¬ 
 tained that the floors of some of the new cells, which are composed of 
 from one to two flag-stones, do not meet in the partition-wall, thereby 
 leaving a space near two feet in width, through which (the door above 
 being open) escape can easily be effected. In this respect 1 consider the 
 cells defective. The finish of the new cells is not, in my opinion, equal 
 to that of the old. The masonry, with the exception of the partition- 
 wall, is perhaps as strong as that of the old. 
 
 Interrogatory 8. Do you consider the outward wall of the penitentiary 
 constructed in a substantial manner, and calculated to answer the ends 
 for which it was designed? 
 
 Answer. Judging from the portion of wall which fell down in April 
 last, and which appeared to have been built with a tolerable facing on 
 each side, and the middle thereof filled with small stones, with but little 
 mortar, I do not consider it a substantial wall; and also from the appear¬ 
 ance of the south and east walls, which lean over the yard considerably; 
 and, further, as the surface of the Trail is open in so many places as to 
 afford an easy passage over it by an active fellow, I do not consider it cal¬ 
 culated to answer the ends for which it was designed; and, finally, from 
 the present appearance of the wall, we may reasonably conclude that a 
 great portion of it will fall at no distant period. 
 
 Interrogatory 9. What mechanical branches do you think could be 
 advantageously carried on in the penitentiary; or in what way can the 
 convicts be employed to produce the greatest amount of productive labor? 
 
 Answer. Coopering, chair making, carpet weaving, and tailoring. 
 
 Interrogatory 10. Have you the necessary shops and tools for a success¬ 
 ful prosecution of those branches of business? 
 
 Answer. No. 
 
 Interrogatory 11. What amount of stock and materials would be ne¬ 
 cessary to insure constant employment to the convicts? 
 
 Answer. Five thousan d dollars’ worth; lay it in according to circum¬ 
 stances, depending pretty much upon the supply in market, and the de¬ 
 mand for the manufactured article. 
 
 Interrogatory 12. How much money would you require, and in what 
 manner would you lay in a stock of materia ls:? 
 
 Answer. T hree thous and dollars. (The last part answered above.) 
 
 Interrogatory 13. In what way would you dispose of the manufactured 
 articles? 
 
 Answer. Wholesale and retail, for cash or on short credit, from a ware¬ 
 house attached to the institution, and nowhere else. 
 
 Interrogatory 14. What number of pork or other tight barrels can 
 your coopers turn out, each, per day; and what price can be obtained for 
 the same? 
 
 v 
 
6 
 
 Answer. One pork barrel per day is now the task of the coopers who 
 work thereat. They perform it with ease. One dollar and fifty cents can 
 be had at this time for pork barrels. 
 
 Interrogatory 15. What amount can your blacksmith earn per day, 
 with an assistant, over and above the cost of iron and coal? 
 
 Answer. About one dollar and twenty-five cents. 
 
 Interrogatory 16. What would be a reasonable amount to estimate 
 per day for the' convicts engaged in cutting or in breaking rock for Me- 
 Adamizing; and which of these would be the most profitable employ¬ 
 ment. 
 
 Answer. About forty cents. Breaking rock, if sales could be effected. 
 
 Interrogatory 17. Has it been customary to hire out the convicts to 
 work without the walls of the penitentiary; and, if so, to whom have 
 they been hired; and what has been the amount charged per day for the 
 convicts so employed ? 
 
 Answer. It has pot been customary with me to hire any of the convicts 
 to any one without the walls of the penitentiary. I have undertaken jobs 
 of work for individuals, and generally superintended the performance 
 thereof myself. In the course of last winter applications were made by 
 a number of persons for the use of the convicts to get ice. In three in- 
 stences they were sent out for that purpose, with a sufficient guard, not 
 in any case under the care of those for whom the work was done. The 
 names of those for whom the ice was gathered are, Miller and Fish, 
 Aaron Corey, and John S. Clark. The charge per day was one dollar 
 in the first instance, and one dollar and twenty-five cents in the second. 
 Convicts have also been employed out of the yard, in working at the quar¬ 
 ry for Casswell and Whitaker during the building of the additional cells. 
 The charges were from thirty -seven and one-half cents to one dollar per 
 day. They were also employed in repairing a boat, by Reuben Rey¬ 
 nolds, which lay on the penitentiary landing. The charges in this case 
 were from fifty cents to one dollar per day; at all of which work they 
 were generally under my own eye, with the exception of the time they 
 were getting ice. They have also been employed at work for myself out¬ 
 side the wall, as well as in storing lead for Godfrey, Gilman & Co. 
 
 Interrogatory 18. Has all the labor so perfoimed been accounted for; 
 and, if so, is it so stated in the inspectors 7 report to the Legislature? 
 
 Answer. All the labor performed outside the yard has been accounted 
 lor, and all that done in the yard, except a portion of that done for my¬ 
 self—a portion of the coopering and sawing, which it was impossible to 
 settle for. 
 
 Interrogatory 19. Have any of the convicts been employed as superin¬ 
 tendents or overseers over other convicts; or sent in pursuit of those who 
 had escaped from the penitentiary? 
 
 Answer. One whom I knew was pardoned by the Governor, but whose 
 reprieve had not reached me, w r as employed as a guard for a few weeks, 
 and stationed in the yard, for that purpose, in a proper position. After 
 being released, he was employed as a guard at the usual wages, and con¬ 
 tinued until the 22d inst. The same individual was also sent in pursuit of 
 those who escaped on the 9th inst., and succeeded in bringing two of them 
 back. The confidence reposed in this individual was not misplaced. 
 
7 
 
 Interrogatory 20. Have any of the convicts been employed as guards, 
 overseers, or turnkeys, or in shutting up the cells of other convicts; and, 
 if so, may not some of the escapes be attributed to their connivance or 
 agency ? 
 
 Answer. Except in the above instance, no convict has been employed 
 as a guard, overseer, or turnkey, to my knowledge; but, until lately, some 
 one of the convicts whose fidelity had been tested, and whose term of con¬ 
 finement had nearly expired, was generally employed in shutting up the 
 others, but never in locking the cells. It had been customary, previous 
 to my taking charge, to send one of the convicts in after the others for the 
 purpose of shutting up the cells previous to their being locked; which 
 course was adopted and practiced upon the principle of safety to the guard 
 and keeper; and which custom I continued on the same priciple. The 
 idea of employing one of the convicts to act in the capacity of guard in 
 the yard was first suggested to me by a report from one of the eastern 
 penitentiaries, in which it was stated that a convict had been so employed 
 by them, and had proved himself to be a vigilant and efficient watch; but 
 I have never employed but one in that capacity, and that for only a short 
 time, the convict having been pardoned by the Governor, as before men¬ 
 tioned. My great object, however, in the case above, was to get along 
 with as little expense as possible; but I cannot attribute any of the escapes 
 to their connivance or agency. 
 
 Interrogatory 21. Do you supply the penitentiary in provisions by pur¬ 
 chases, by the quantity, or in small parcels, from day to day? 
 
 Answer. By the quantity, when practicable. 
 
 Interrogatory 22. What constitutes the ration or daily allowance of 
 each convict? 
 
 Answer. In the fall of 1837, the bread used was most generally made 
 of corn-meal; but, at a time when none was to be had in market, we used 
 superfine flour, which we found very expensive; one and one-fourth 
 pound was allowed to a man. We frequently mixed flour with meal. 
 We occasionally used flour through the winter and following spring and 
 summer; when, for a time, corn-meal and coarse or common flour was 
 used regularly. Latterly, corn-bread is the only kind used. The con¬ 
 victs, are allowed as much of it as they want to eat. In the winter of 
 1837* l purchased and put up a quantity of pork, which, when salted, was 
 smoked. This was eaten by the convicts through the summer, together 
 with beef furnished by a butcher of the place, at a given price per pound. 
 One and one-half pound of meat was allowed each man; and, if more was 
 required, it was furnished in most cases. In some instances our rations 
 have been rather scanty, owing to our not having been supplied with a suffi¬ 
 cient quantity; but tKese instances were rare, and not of more than one 
 day's duration. Since the commencement of the present u pork season,” 
 we have used hog_s’ heads and spare ribs, of which the convicts are allow¬ 
 ed as much as they want. In addition to the above, we have used beans, 
 potatoes, rice, turnips, pumpkins, and beets, <fcc. whenever I could pur¬ 
 chase the same by the quantity at a low price. Tea (occasionally coffee, 
 mostly on Sunday mornings) is used twice a day; meat is only allowed 
 twice a day, morning and noon. 
 
 Interrogatory 23. Ha\e cleanlines and conjfort been studied in the ar¬ 
 rangements of your prison, and enforced among the convicts? 
 
8 
 
 Answer. Yes; but comfort has pot been secured in all cases. 
 
 Interrogatory 24. Will you stateThe amount’and kind of bedding fur¬ 
 nished to each convict? 
 
 Answer. One cotton comforter, two and sometimes three blankets, a 
 tick filled with hay, and a cot elevated some twelve inches above the 
 floor. 
 
 Interrogatory 25. Are the convicts supplied with comfortable clothing- 
 adapted to the season? \ 
 
 Answer. Yes, in my opinion. 
 
 Interrogatory 26. Are the clothes of the convicts made with such dis¬ 
 tinctive marks, or the hair of the convicts shaved in such a manner, as 
 that, if at large , they would be recognized as convicts escaped from the 
 penitentiary? 
 
 Answer. Some are and some are not. The hair of some is shaved, 
 done in consequence of a violation of the rules of the prison. 
 
 Interrogatory 27. To what extent have the convicts been educated, 
 and what have been their habits of life,? 
 
 Answer. I have never ascertained to what extent they have been 
 educated. The habits of a majority of them have, so far, as I have 
 been able to find out, been dissolute previous to their committal. 
 
 Interrogatory 28. Have any rewards been offered to induce them to 
 act correctly? 
 
 Answer. No; but sugar, coffee, and tobacco have been given for over 
 or extra labor. 
 
 *Trr—MiiMiui.j • ■ y i 
 
 Interrogatory 29. What is the course of discipline in the penitentiary? 
 
 Answer. All swearing, profane or indecent expressions are prohibited. 
 Talking with strangers and quarrelling among themselves are forbidden. 
 Punishment follows every violation of rules. 
 
 Interrogatory 30. What course of instruction in reading and morals 
 has been adopted, if any; and to what extent has it been successful? 
 
 Answer. None, with the exception of a Sabbath school, sustained until 
 some time last fall, and discontinued for want of suitable accommoda¬ 
 tions: for the success attending, refer to my report to the inspectors. That 
 portion of the report referred to is as follows: 4< A Sabbath school was 
 also commenced in the fall of 1837; and, with some few intermissions, 
 has been regularly sustained, and the result has been that, of seven who 
 were ignorant of the alphabet, four were tolerable readers when I dis¬ 
 charged them; and the remaining three can read in the spelling book.’’ 
 
 Interrogatory 31. Is there a regularly appointed clergyman officiating 
 in the penitentiary on Sabbath days; and, if so, to what denomination 
 does he belong? 
 
 Answer. Clergymen of several denominations have preached to the 
 convicts during the last summer: no regular appointment has been made. 
 
 Interrogatory 32. Are the convicts supplied with Bibles and other 
 books for religious and moral instruction; and, if so, to what extent? 
 
 Answer. Some ten or twelve Bibles are now in use among the convicts. 
 Ten copies of the Illinois Temperance Herald are distributed monthly 
 among them. They are permitted the use of any of the books in my 
 library that they apply for, with few exceptions. 
 
 Interrogatory 33. Under the present system of managment, what is 
 
9 
 
 $ 
 
 the lowest sum that the State must advance annually for the support of 
 the penitentiary? 
 
 Answer. In my opinion it will require $1,250 the first year, and $750 
 s the next. This is based on the supposition that eighty convicts would 
 be in the penitentiary at the end of two years, and all common laborers. 
 In case a proportion of mechanics were among them, the estimate would 
 of course diminish. It is also based on the supposition that the State will 
 supply the necessary shops and tools for their use; and also that the pres¬ 
 ent prices of cooper-ware would remain as it has been for the last year. 
 
 Interrogatory $4. Would it, in your opinion, be for the interest of the 
 State to lease the penitentiary to some person for a number of years? 
 
 Answer. It would. 
 
 Interrogatory 35. On what terms, would you think that you could 
 conduct it on your own capital, and preserve the same discipline among 
 the convicts that is now exercised, for a period of five or ten years? 
 
 Answer. One thousand dollars for each of the two first years advanced 
 to me by the State; and, after that, it would support itself. This is on 
 condition that the State would build necessary shops and furnish tools. 
 
 Interrogatory 3(5. Would there not be danger that placing the con¬ 
 victs in the hands of an individual speculator would cause a relaxation of 
 discipline, or otherwise subvert the objects for which penitentiaries are 
 established. 
 
 Answer. This I think would have a contrary effect. It would lead to 
 inordinate severity on the part of the contractor, causing them to work 
 more than their health or strength might allow; and not giving them suf¬ 
 ficient food and clothing and attendance in sickness. This, however, 
 would depend on the temper and disposition of the contractor. 
 
 J. R. WOODS. 
 
 Sworn to and subscribed before me, this 29th December, 1838, 
 
 JAMES CRAIG, 
 
 Chairman of Committee, 
 
 Dr. B. K. Hart, being first duly sworn, in answer to the following in¬ 
 terrogatories, deposeth and saith: 
 
 Interrogatory 1. How long have you been in attendance on the con¬ 
 victs of the penitentiary? 
 
 Answer. Between three and four years. 
 
 Interrogatory 2. How many persons have been confined there; and 
 how many deaths occurred among them during that period? 
 
 Answer. The number of prisoners that have been confined I do not 
 know; the number of deaths is three. 
 
 Interrogatory 3. How many cases of sickness occurred among them, 
 and what were the diseases? 
 
 ' Answer. The number of cases of sickness I cannot state, though most 
 of the convicts have been sick, owing to their confinement. The diseases 
 were inflammatory, such as pleurisy, inflammation of the lungs, dysen¬ 
 tery, <&Tc.: the common bilious diseases of the climate, bowel complaints, 
 <£c.; in fine, all the variety of diseases, acute and chronic, that one would 
 
10 
 
 expect to find among the same number of people in a similar climafe. 
 There has been no disease among them that was not prevailing at the 
 same time among the citizens of the place. 
 
 Interrogatory 4. Do you consider the city of Alton healthy; and what 
 are the prevailing diseases? 
 
 Answer. I do consider the city of Alton healthy, as much so as any 
 place in the west, and much more so than many. My reasons aie, briefly, 
 these: It is situated on high ground at the extreme upper end of the 
 American bottom. The high grounds extend a great distance above. 
 The river in front of Alton is more than a mile wide, the water always 
 pure, and, on the Alton shore, always confined to its channel. The 
 malaria arising from the low grounds on the opposite shore would hardly 
 affect the city of Alton, owing to the great distance it would have to pass 
 through the atmosphere; besides, at the season of the year when we 
 are exposed to its influence, the prevailing westerly and southwesterly 
 winds drive it away from the city. The bills of mortality would confirm 
 my statement. The diseases are bilious, intermittent and remittent fevers, 
 dysentery, and other bowel complaints in summer; and inflammatory dis¬ 
 eases, such as inflammation of the lungs and pleurisy, in the winter, with 
 the usual variety of acute and chronic diseases, such, I presume, as pre¬ 
 vail generally in the valley of the Mississippi. 
 
 Interrogatory 5. Are the inmates of the penitentiary necessarily ex¬ 
 posed to malignant and contagious diseases prevalent in the city; or are 
 the citizens endangered by contagious diseases prevailing in the peniten¬ 
 tiary ? 
 
 Answer. I should think they were to a limited extent—the danger 
 decreasing in proportion as the communication between the city and pen¬ 
 itentiary is cut off, and vice versa. This danger will ultimately be much 
 greater than it is now, when the city is built up more immediately around, 
 and on the high grounds above the penitentiary. 
 
 Interrogatory 6. In case of sickness, are the convicts attended by you 
 in the cells? 
 
 Answer. Not generally. The sick are usually kept in the basement 
 story immediately under the part occupied by the superintendent and his 
 family. The room is very damp, and very unfit for the sick, but the 
 most appropriate there is about the establishment. 
 
 Interrogatory 7. State to the committee whether or not these cells are 
 not an improper place for persons sick or diseased, necessarily aggravat¬ 
 ing disease, and often making disorders, in themselves slight, of grave and 
 dangerous character; and whether it is not absolutely necessary, in order 
 to preserve the health of these unfortunate victims, that an hospital de¬ 
 partment should be prepared for such casualties? 
 
 Answer. The cells are a very improper place for sick persons; and the 
 air is too damp and confined for the safety of those who are well. Dis¬ 
 ease would unquestionably be very much aggravated by confining the 
 patients in the cells; and, for this reason, I have uniformly recommended 
 their removal to the basement story, which is better ventilated, and where 
 a fire can be built. I should think a hospital department indespensably 
 necessary, if the health and lives of the convicts are to be taken into the 
 account. 
 
 Interrogatory 8. Taking the temperature of the climate, and the open- 
 
11 
 
 ings in the doors and windows of the cells into consideration, are not the 
 lives of the convicts necessarily endangered from inflammatory and other 
 diseases arising from such exposure at night to the influences of the at¬ 
 mosphere? 
 
 Answer. I answer this interrogatory unhesitatingly in the affirmative. 
 The cells are very small, poorly ventilated, if they can he said to be ven¬ 
 tilated at all; and the air is so damp that the moisture collects on the 
 walls to such a degree that it drains from them in warm weather, and in 
 cold completely coats them with ice. 
 
 Interrogatory 9. Have the sick been supplied with proper regimen and 
 necessary nursing and attendance? State the general regimen in such 
 cases. 
 
 Answer. I think the sick, so far as nursing and regimen goes, have 
 nothing to complain of. When the situation of the patient requires it, 
 it is made the duty of some one of the other convicts to devote his time 
 to nursing him; and 1 have always ordered, and they have received, such 
 things as I thought their condition called for. They have had gruel, 
 rice, toast, soups, and tea and coffee, whenever I thought it necessary for 
 them. 
 
 Interrogatory 10. Have they been supplied with sufficient warm bed¬ 
 clothing and other necessaries in their sickness? 
 
 Answer. I have heard no complaint, that I thought well founded, of 
 the want of bed-clothes or other necessaries when sick. From my own 
 knowledge and observation I should think their wants are very well at¬ 
 tended to. 
 
 Interrogatory 11. Has the food of the convicts been sufficient in quan¬ 
 tity and quality to sustain their health and vigor? State as far as you know 
 what is the ordinary diet. Are they fed on salt meat or fresh; and in 
 what quantities or proportion? State also what is the daily amount of 
 vegetables, soups, &c. &c. to each convict. 
 
 Answer. I should think, so far as I have seen, that their food was am¬ 
 ply sufficient in quantity for the purposes mentioned in the interrogatory. 
 Their ordinary diet, so far as I have seen, is meat, salt or fresh, mostly 
 beef or pork; corn-bread or mush; beans, boiled, baked, or in soup of 
 different kinds; and the common vegetables sufficient for the purposes of 
 health in their season. I am not particularly advised, but I think that 
 the only limit assigned to the convict, as to quantity, is his appetite; 
 that is, he has as much as he wishes to eat. 
 
 Interrogatory 12. Do you consider the use of tobacco by the convicts 
 calculated to promote their health; and, if so, to what extent would you 
 recommend its Use? 
 
 Answer. I think not. The deprivation of tobacco to one accustomed 
 to its use is unquestionably a great discomfort; but I should say not pre¬ 
 judicial to health. I judge as well [from] its qualities and medicinal na¬ 
 ture as from observation of the effects upon individuals who have habitu¬ 
 ally used it. but discontinued its use. 
 
 J B. K. HART. 
 
 Sworn to and subscribed before me, this 1st day of January, A. D. 
 1839. 
 
 GEORGE SMITH, Justice of the Peace . 
 
12 
 
 J. C. Bruner deposeth and saith, in answer the following interroga¬ 
 tories: 
 
 Interrogatory 1. What mechanical branches do you think could be 
 advantageously carried on in the penitentiary; or in what way can the 
 convicts be employed to augment the amount of productive labor? 
 
 Answer. Coopering and shoemaking and blacksmithing. 
 
 Interrogatory 2. What amount of stock and materials would be neces¬ 
 sary to insure constant employment to the convicts? 
 
 Answer. I should suppose three thousand dollars to be sufficient. 
 
 Interrogatory 3. In what way would you dispose ot the manufactured 
 articles? 
 
 Answer. By establishing a warehouse on the penitentiary grounds, with 
 a superintendent of the same. 
 
 Interrogatory 4. What would be a reasonable amount to estimate per 
 day for the hands employed in cutting stone, or in breaking rock lor Mc- 
 Adamizing; and which of them would be the most profitable employ¬ 
 ment? 
 
 Answer. A fair estimate per day I think is one dollar; and cutting stone 
 the most profitable. 
 
 Interrogatory 5. Has it been customary to hire out the convicts to work 
 without the walls of the penitentiary; and, if so, to whom have they 
 been hired, and what has been the amount charged per day for the labor 
 of such convicts? 
 
 Answer. It has been customary to hire out the convicts by the day, at 
 eighty-seven and a half cents per day. 
 
 Interrogatory 6. Have any of the convicts been employed as superin¬ 
 tendents or overseers over other convicts, or sent in pursuit of those who 
 have escaped from the penitentiary? 
 
 Answer. Not to my knowledge. 
 
 Interrogatory 7. Have any of the convicts been employed as guards, 
 overseers, or turnkeys, or in shutting up the cells of other convicts; and, 
 if so, may not some of the escapes be attributed to their connivance or 
 agency ? 
 
 Answer. Not within my knowledge, while superintendent. 
 
 Interrogatory 8. Did you supply the penitentiary by purchase, by the 
 quantity, or in small parcels, from day to dav? 
 
 Answer. I usually purchased by the quantity when I had charge of the 
 penitentiary. 
 
 Interrogatory 9. What constitutes the ration or daily allowance of each 
 convict ? 
 
 Answer. No limits, the convicts being allowed to eat as much as they 
 wished. 
 
 Interrogatory 10. Have cleanliness and comfort been studied in the ar¬ 
 rangement of your prison, and enforced among the convicts? 
 
 Answer. 'Yes; by obliging the convicts to change their clothes once per 
 week. 
 
 Interrogatory 11. Will you state the amount and kind of bedding fur¬ 
 nished to each convict? 
 
 Answer. Each from tw r o to three blankets, a good cot, with a straw- 
 bed. V - 
 
13 
 
 interrogatory 12. Are the convicts supplied with comfortable clothing 
 adapted to the season? 
 
 Answer. Yes, while under my charge. 
 
 Interrogatory 13. Are the clothes of the convicts made with such dis¬ 
 tinctive marks, or the hair of the convicts shaved in such a manner as that, 
 it at large, they would be recognized as convicts escaped from the peniten¬ 
 tiary ? , 
 
 Answer. The clothes were made of different colors; but their hair was 
 shaved even. 
 
 Interrogatory 14. To what extent have the convicts been educated, and 
 what have been their habits of life? 
 
 Answer. Their habits were good while under my charge, being gener¬ 
 ally obedient. 
 
 interrogatory 15. Have any rewards been offered to induce them to 
 act correctly? 
 
 Answer. None during my superintendence. 
 
 Interrogatory 16. What is the course of discipline in the penitentiary? 
 
 Answer. In the evening the bell is rung for the convicts to return to 
 their cells; and they are locked in by the turnkey, each in a separate cell. 
 
 In the morning, at the ringing of the bell, they prepare to turn out, and 
 are let out by the turnkey. 
 
 Interrogatory 17. What course of instruction in reading and morals „ 
 has been adopted, if any, and to what extent has it been successful? 
 
 Answer. While I had charge, the convicts were allowed to read the 
 Bible and historical works. 
 
 Interrogatory 18. Is there a regularly appointed clergyman officiating 
 in the penitentiary on Sabbath days; and, if so, to what denomination 
 does he belong? 
 
 Answer. None, except occasionally we had preaching in the peniten¬ 
 tiary. 
 
 Interrogatory 19. Are the convicts supplied with Bibles and other books 
 for religious and moral instruction; and, if so, to what extent? 
 
 Answer. They were supplied with two Bibles, three New Testaments, 
 and several hymn books. 
 
 Interrogatory 29. State if the ground on which the penitentiary is lo¬ 
 cated is uneven; and, if so, what is the difference at the two extremes of 
 the ground enclosed by the outer wall? 
 
 Answer. It is uneven, and I should suppose the difference to be thirty 
 or thirty-five feet. 
 
 Interrogatory 21. From the relative situation of the enclosed ground 
 and the adjacent country, have the prisoners a view of persons without 
 the enclosure; and can they see steamboats plying on the river, or lying at 
 the Alton landing? 
 
 Answer. They can see steamboats in the river, but I think not at the 
 landing higher than the mouth of the Fiasa creek; and they can also sec 
 persons at any place cast of the Piasa creek. 
 
 Interrogatory 23. Is it not dangerous to the safe-keeping of the prisoners 
 that they arc enabled to see and hold communication with persons without 
 the wall? 
 
 Answer. I think it is. 
 
14 
 
 Interrogatory 23. Does not the great unevenness of the ground where 
 the penitentiary is located constitute an insuperable barrier to the con¬ 
 struction of a safe prison thereon? 
 
 Answer. I should suppose so from the fact that the penitentiary wall is 
 considerably sprung already; and 1 should not be surprised should the 
 wall fall down in less than two years, being now cracked near thirty feet 
 in one place at the southeast corner. 
 
 Interrogatory 21. Would not the health of the inmates be consulted 
 by removing the penitentiary one or two miles back from the river? 
 
 Answer. I am of opinion that it would make but little or no differ¬ 
 ence. 
 
 Interrogatory 25. State how much money would, in your opinion, be 
 realized for the residue of the ground donated for penitentiary purposes, 
 if sub-divided and sold in lots of a proper size. 
 
 Answer. In my opinion, the sum of fifty thousand dollars, at least. 
 
 Interrogatory 26. State if the stone and other materials of which tl|C 
 outer wall and buildings are made could not, for the most part, be used m 
 the construction of a new penitentiary. 
 
 Answer. I think they could. 
 
 Interrogatory 27. State if there is not a greater quantity of ground en¬ 
 closed by the wall than is necessary for our State. 
 
 Answer. I think not. 
 
 Interrogatory 28. What quantity of ground do you think would he do¬ 
 nated by individuals, for penitentiary purposes, in the event of its reloca¬ 
 tion within one or two miles of the present site? 
 
 Answer. I am unable to say; but should suppose a sufficient quantity 
 would be donated. 
 
 Interrogatory 29. Can water be procured within the walls of the pen¬ 
 itentiary; and, if not, where and how can it be procured? 
 
 Answer. I think it very difficult to obtain water within the limits of the 
 penitentiary, having made an unsuccessful attempt to obtain water by 
 digging wells. 
 
 Interrogatory 30. Does not that constitute an important objection to 
 the present site. 
 
 Answer. It does. 
 
 Interrogatory 31. Would it not be the better plan to lease the peniten¬ 
 tiary for a term of years; and on what terms could it be so leased? 
 
 Answer. I should suppose it the better plan to lease for a term of years 
 not exceeding six. I should think it ought to be leased free of expense 
 to the State, except the physician’s bill. 
 
 J. C. BRUNER. 
 
 Sworn and subscribed, this 1st January, 1839. 
 
 JAMES CRAIG, 
 
 Chairman of Committee . 
 
 Testimony of Samuel C. Pierce . 
 
 Interrogatory 1. State if the ground on which the penitentiary is lo¬ 
 cated is uneven; and, if so, what is the difference at the two extremes of 
 the ground enclosed by the outer wall? 
 
15 
 
 Answer. It is uneven; and I should suppose the west side to be thirty 
 feet higher than the opposite side. 
 
 Interrogatory 2. From the relative situation of the enclosed ground and 
 the adjacent country, have the prisoners a view of the persons without the 
 enclosure; and can they see steamboats plying on the river, and their 
 arrival and departure from the landing at Alton? 
 
 Answer. Boats can be seen by the convicts plying in the river; but do 
 not know that they can be seen at the landing. 
 
 Interrogatory 3. Is it not dangerous to the safe-keeping of the prisoners 
 that they are enabled to see and hold communication with those without 
 the walls of the penitentiary? 
 
 Answer. I have no doubt they are often induced to make attempts to 
 escape from being able to recognize their friends and accomplices on the 
 outside of the wall. 
 
 Interrogatory 4. Does not the great unevenness of the ground where 
 the penitentiary is located constitute an insuperable barrier to the con¬ 
 struction of a safe prison thereon? 
 
 Answer. I consider that a prison should be built on even ground. 
 
 Interrogatory 5. Would not the health of the inmates be consulted by 
 removing the penitentiary one or two miles back from its present loca¬ 
 tion ? 
 
 Answer. It is generally considered to be more healthy at a distance from 
 the river than directly on the river. / 
 
 Interrogatory 6. State how much money, in your opinion, could be re¬ 
 alized from the residue of the ground donated for penitentiary purposes, 
 if sub-divided and sold in lots of proper sizes. 
 
 Answer. Should property sell equal to that formerly sold by the State, 
 the sum of forty thousand dollars might be realized for it. 
 
 Interrogatory 7. State if their is level and suitable ground, within one 
 or two miles of the present site, for the construction of a penitentiary. 
 
 Answer. I have no doubt that a suitable site can be obtained within 
 one mile from the river. 
 
 Interrogatory 8. State if the stone and other materials of which the 
 outer wall and buildings are composed could not be used in the construc¬ 
 tion of a new penitentiary. 
 
 Answer. The cut-stone can all be used, and many of the stones com¬ 
 posing the wall; also the cell doors can be used. 
 
 Interrogatory 9. State if there is no.t a greater quantity of ground en¬ 
 closed than is necessary for our State. 
 
 Answer. I think not, the size of the present being three hundred and 
 thirty feet by two hundred and sixty feet, which I consider none too 
 large. 
 
 Interrogatory 10. What quantity of ground do you think would be 
 donated by individuals, for penitentiary purposes, in the event of its relo¬ 
 cation within one or two miles of Alton? 
 
 Answer. I do not know of any, to my certain knowledge. 
 
 Interrogatory 11. Can water be procured within the limits of the pen¬ 
 itentiary; and, if not, where and how can it be procured? 
 
 Answer. There have been two unsuccessful attempts to procure water 
 by digging wells. 
 
16 
 
 Interrogatory 12. Does not that constitute an important objection to the 
 
 present site? 
 
 Answer. I think it does, so far as expense is concerned; and also as af¬ 
 fording the convicts an opportunity of escape while the gates are open to 
 admit the water-cart. 
 
 S. C. PIERCE. 
 
 Sworn to and subscribed before me, this 1st day of January, A. D. 
 1839. 
 
 GEORGE SMITH, Justice of the. Peace . 
 
 Testimony of B. F. Edwards. 
 
 ■ Interrogatory 1. State if the ground on which the penitentiary is lo¬ 
 cated is uneven; and if so, what is the difference at the two extremes 
 of the ground enclosed by the outer wall? 
 
 Answer. The ground is uneven. The west line of the outer wall, 
 judging from the eye, is from thirty-five to forty feet higher on the west 
 than on the east. 
 
 Interrogatory 2. From the relative situation of the enclosed ground to 
 the adjacent country, have the prisoners a view of persons without the 
 enclosure; and can they see steamboats plying on the river, and the arri¬ 
 vals and departures from the Alton landing? 
 
 Answer. The prisoners have a pretty full view of the city, with what¬ 
 ever is going on; also of boats on the river, arrivals and departures. 
 
 Interrogatory 3. Is it not dangerous to the safe-keeping of the prison¬ 
 ers that they are enabled to see and hold communication with those per¬ 
 sons without the walls of the penitentiary? 
 
 Answer. It is, as signs might be agreed upon with those out by the 
 prisoners before their confinement. 
 
 Interrogatory 4. Does not the great unevenness of the ground where 
 the penitentiary is located constitute an insuperable barrier to the con¬ 
 struction of a safe prison thereon? 
 
 Answer. In my judgment it does. 
 
 Interrogatory 5. Would not the health of the inmates be consulted by 
 removing the penitentiary one or two miles back from the river? 
 
 Answer. It would; chiefly by being located where it might be better 
 ventilated, and where good water might be obtained. 
 
 Interrogatory 6. State how much money, in your opinion, would be 
 realized for the residue of the ground donated for penitentiary purposes, 
 if sub-divided and sold in lots of proper size. 
 
 Answer. Taking the former sales as a foundation for estimates—and 
 I should think it not all extravagant—the residue of the ground would 
 yield to the State from sixty to seventy thousand dollars. 
 
 Interrogatory 7. Slate if there is level and suitable ground, within 
 one or two miles of the present site, for the construction of a penitentary. 
 
 Answer. Within one mile there are a number of pleasant situations; 
 within two miles they are numerons, high, even, and with water of the 
 best quality, by wells. 
 
 Interrogatory 8. State if the stones and other materials of which the 
 
1 r* 
 
 6 
 
 outer wall and buildings are composed, could not, for the most part, be 
 used for the construction of a new penitentiary. 
 
 Answer. They could. 
 
 Interrogatory 9. State if there is not a greater quantity of ground 
 enclosed by the wall than is necessary for our State. 
 
 Answer. There is more than will be needed for a great number of 
 years, if ever. 
 
 Interrogatory 10. What quantity of ground do you think would be 
 donated by individuals for penitentiary purposes, in the event of its relo¬ 
 cation within one or two miles of the present site? 
 
 Answer. It is not in my power definitely to answer the above inquiry, 
 having made no special inquiries recently; but can say that an ample 
 amount for a penitentiary site would be donated, or obtained at a very 
 trifling cost. 
 
 Interrogatory 11. Can water be procured within the limits of the peni¬ 
 tentiary; and, if not, where and how is it procured? 
 
 Answer. Water might probably be obtained, but at great expense, 
 within the penitentiary, by digging and boring. It is procured by draw¬ 
 ing from the river and other places without. 
 
 Interrogatory 12. Does not that constitute an important objection to 
 the present site? 
 
 Answer. The want of an abundance of water is certainly a most serious 
 objection; and especially the want of sound, healthy water for drinking 
 and culinary purposes. B. F. EDWARDS. 
 
 Sworn to and subscribed before me, this 1st day of January, A. D. 1839. 
 
 GEORGE SMITH, Justice of the Peace. 
 
 Your committee, upon inquiring into the causes of the recent escapes 
 of convicts from the penitentiary, are satisfied that it was owing, in part, 
 to the insufficency of the walls and cells of the penitentiary, and partly 
 to the want of a sufficient and vigilant guard. 
 
 Of the causes of the escape of four convicts in April, 1837, we have 
 not been able to ascertain any other causes than those above stated of 
 the recent escapes, and that assigned by the inspectors in their report of 
 December 8th, 1838, “of negligence on the part of the warden.” 
 
 From the testimony taken by your committee, and herewith submitted, 
 it will be seen that the penitentiary and buildings connected therewith are 
 not in a situation to answer the purposes for which they are designed; 
 and the personal inspection, by your committee, of the same, has satis¬ 
 fied them that the evidence on this point is substantially correct. 
 
 We conceive the location of the penitentiary a very improper one. It 
 stands on an eminence, commanding a full view of a great part of the 
 city, and of the river for a considerable distance; from which the con¬ 
 victs can see the boats that ply upon the river, and even recognize the 
 features of, and hold converse with, persons without the/walls—thus de¬ 
 feating one of the great objects of the law—“punishment by seclusion”— 
 and placing before the convicts all the temptations to escape from con¬ 
 finement that a full view of busy and active life will ever excite in the 
 human mind; and thus inducing the formation of plans of escape, and 
 too likely affording the means of effecting it through the aid of persons 
 without the walls of the prison. The grouud on which the walls are 
 
 2 f 
 
18 
 
 built is so uneven that it would be difficult, if not impossible, to build a 
 permanent wall upon it; and this is, in part, the cause of so much of the 
 walls having fallen, and their present leaning and cracked condition; 
 though it is evident that they were badly constructed or built at first, the 
 sides being faced and the middle filled with loose stones, and with but 
 little or no mortar. 
 
 The cells, from want of sufficient ventilation, are extremely uncomfort¬ 
 able and unhealthy. In summer the water trickles down the sides of 
 them; and in winter they are coated with ice. 
 
 The work-shops now in the prison are not sufficiently extensive to af¬ 
 ford employment to the convicts, or to carry on business to advantage. 
 There should be additional shops immediately erected; ani the erection 
 of a building for an hospital your committee deem of the utmost impor¬ 
 tance, as, also, a suitable shed for the protection of the cannon that are 
 now exposed to the weather. 
 
 Of the ‘‘condition of the inmates of the penitentiary,” we have to re¬ 
 mark that their general appearance indicates health; and that we be¬ 
 lieve they are humanely treated in health; and that in sickness they are 
 well attended, and their comfort secured as far as is practicable, there be¬ 
 ing no room about the prison suitable for the reception of the sick; but we 
 found them illy supplied with Bibles and other books necessary for their 
 moral instruction; and there has been no means employed to insure regu¬ 
 lar preaching in the prison on the Sabbath, though the clergymen of the 
 city have kindly performed service in the prison when their other en¬ 
 gagements would admit of it. 
 
 Your committee, in submitting to jour honorable body “such facts in 
 relation to the penitentiary and its inmates as will enable the Legislature 
 to make such further enactments for its future government as may be 
 necessary,” have to remark, that the result of their investigation has im¬ 
 pressed them with the firm belief that the> interests of the State, and the 
 proper management and welfare of the inmates of the prison, require the 
 rebuilding of the penitentiary, and the adoption of a more definite and 
 energetic system for conducting the same. 
 
 The reasons with your committee for the removal and rebuilding of 
 the penitentiary are those already alluded to—of its too public situation, 
 its commanding view, the facility with which the convicts can communi¬ 
 cate with persons without the walls; and the ground being so uneven as 
 to reder it difficult, if not impossible, to erect a durable wall upon it; and, 
 also, that it has hitherto been found impossible to obtain water, by digging, 
 within the walls of the prison. 
 
 If the penitentiary is continued at its present location, an appropria¬ 
 tion will be required, in addition to the $ 5,000 loaned to Madison 
 county, of a sufficient sum to build a warden’s house, (the house now oc¬ 
 cupied by the warden to be used for an hospital,) work-shops for forty 
 men, a shed for the protection of the artillery, and to rebuild the outer 
 wall, of not less than $12,000 
 
 The cost of the penitentiary has already amounted to about $36,715 00 
 
 To which add the appropriation now required as above 17,000 00 
 
 Making, when finished, the whole cost of the penitentiary, 
 
 for the accommodation of fifty-six convicts - - $53,715 00 
 
f 
 
 19 
 
 The present location is in the most business part of Alton, occupying 
 the best landing at the wharf, with six acres of land; all of which is 
 much wanted for commercial establishments, and would sell, under ordi¬ 
 nary circumstances, for $>60,000 or $>70,000. This sum, with the balance 
 of the $5,000 loaned to Madison county by the inspectors, together with 
 the iron and stone work that will or can be taken from the present peni¬ 
 tentiary and used in the building of a new one, in the opinion of your 
 committee, will be an ample fund to enclose a yard of three hundred feet 
 square with a strong and durable wall, build cells to accommodate sixty 
 convicts, a warden’s house, an hospital, cooking and eating-houses, smoke¬ 
 house and work-shops, and purchase the necessary tools to employ that 
 number of convicts within the walls. 
 
 A good situation can be had within two miles of the present location, 
 free of cost to the State, where water can be obtained; and building ma¬ 
 terials are abundant. 
 
 Your committee are of opinion that the penitentiary is now better con¬ 
 ducted than it has heretofore been; yet they are satisfied that the amount of 
 labor performed by the convicts falls far short of what it should be. This is 
 owing, in part, to the want of necessary shops, tools, and materials; and the 
 embarrassments of the penitentiary may, in part, be owing to the inspectors 
 having loaned to the county of Madison five thousand dollars of the funds 
 of the penitentiary. Your committee are unable to find any law, reason, 
 or excuse for this act of the inspectors, and cannot but condemn, in any 
 public officer or officers, the diversion of the public moneys from the 
 objects of their appropriation. This use of the money your committee 
 conceives to be in bad keeping with the reported want of shops, tools, and 
 materials, and a proper room for the reception of the sick, and the want 
 of suitable sheds for the cannon belonging to the State; and are equally 
 unable to find any semblance of reason for granting indulgence for the 
 repayment thereof, and less still for making “an appropriation of that 
 amount to the county of Madison.” 
 
 Your committee arc firmly of the opinion that the labor of the convicts 
 can, and should, be made sufficiently productive to defray all the expenses 
 of conducting the penitentiary. To secure this object, we beg leave to 
 suggest that the Legislature elect a warden with an increased salary, or 
 make him directly interested by giving him, in addition to his present 
 salary, say ten per cent, on all the nett proceeds of the labor; and, also, 
 a per centage, or commutation of time to the convicts, for all the labor they 
 shall perform over and above a certain amount: that a sufficient appro¬ 
 priation be made to erect (if the penitentiary is continued where it now is) 
 sufficient shops, purchase necessary tools, and to lay in an ample stock of 
 materials, so that the convicts shall have constant employment. To carry 
 on business successfully, your committee would recommend that there be 
 elected or appointed, a superintendent of work, whose duty it shall be to 
 superintend the different departments of business, and to see that all the 
 workmen are supplied with tools and stock, .and that they are regularly 
 at their work. And to secure the more frequent examination of the pen¬ 
 itentiary by the inspectors, increase their pay, or require of them periodi¬ 
 cal meetings, and such others as they may deem necessary, at a liberal 
 per diem allowance. A warehouse should be built, without the walls, fer 
 
20 
 
 the use of the penitentiary, at which all the business of contracts and 
 sales should be done; and this should also be under the management of 
 the warden. The warden should be required to keep an accurate account 
 of tiie labor performed by each convict, of the amount and different kinds 
 of articles manufactured in the prison, of the amount of sales of each kind, 
 and embody the same in his periodical reports to the board of inspectors. 
 
 To prevent the frequent escapes from the penitentiary, a more sufficient 
 and vigilant guard should be employed. Four guards, at a salary of about 
 three hundred dollars each, per year, would be sufficient, in the opinion of 
 your committee, to keep up a constant guard day and night. They would 
 also recommend the appointment of a turnkey, whose business it should 
 be to shut up and let out the prisoners; to lock and unlock the doors of 
 the cells and the prison gates; to have command of and regulate the 
 guards; and to have and exercise, under the law and the rules of the peni¬ 
 tentiary, a general supervision over every thing appertaining to the safe¬ 
 keeping of the prisoners. And we would also recommend the appoint¬ 
 ment of a clerk to the warden. 
 
 For the moral improvement of the convicts, your committee beg leave 
 to recommend the appropriation of a small sum (say one hundred dollars) 
 for the purchase of a suitable library for the prison; and, to secure preach¬ 
 ing every Sabbath in the penitentiary, let the warden employ the differ¬ 
 ent clergy of the city to preach, by turn, to the prisoners; and authorize 
 him to pay to them, each, five dollars per day for the time so spent. 
 
 The question here recurs upon the proportion of the amount to be real¬ 
 ized from the labor of the convicts to the necessary expenses of the peni¬ 
 tentiary. 
 
 In Mr. Wood’s answer to interrogatory thirty-three, he states that it 
 will require, to conduct the penitentiary for the two next years, the first 
 year an appropriation of $1,250, and the second, $750. This is independ¬ 
 ent of shops, tools, and stock, and beside the labor of the convicts. “This 
 is based,” he continues, “on the supposition that eighty convicts will be in 
 the prison at the end of two years.” 
 
 Let us suppose, then, that there will be sixty convicts in the prison, who 
 will be able to perform each two hundred and fifty days’ labor in the 
 year, and that this will be worth, clear of board and materials, seventy-five 
 
 cents per day; and we have for labor $11,250 00 
 
 Expenses . 
 
 Warden’s salary - - - $1,200 00 
 
 3 inspectors, at $100 each - - 300 00 
 
 1 turnkey - - - - 500 00 
 
 1 superintendent of work - - 600 00 
 
 1 clerk .... 600 00 
 
 4 guards, at $300 each - 1,200 00 
 
 To physician and surgeon, say - - 200 00 
 
 Fay of clergy - - - - 260 00 
 
 Clothing, for sixty men, at $25 per man - 1,500 00 
 
 —- 6,360 00 
 
 $4,890 00 
 
21 
 
 Leaving four thousand eight hundred and ninety dollars; which is forty- 
 three and a half per cent, for contingencies and fluctuation in the price 
 of the labor. 
 
 And that the penitentiary can be made thus productive, with sufficient 
 shops and tools, and a supply of materials, under proper management, 
 your committee do not entertain a doubt. 
 
 The cells are quite unfit to be occupied by the prisoners, if their lives 
 and health are consulted; and your committee would beg leave to urge 
 the necessity of having the cells immediately ceiled with plank. 
 
 Your honorable body will perceive, from the testimony herewith sub¬ 
 mitted, that the convicts are frequently hired out and taken without the 
 walls of the penitentiary to work. The objections to this practice are too 
 obvious to require enumeration here, and are conclusive with your com¬ 
 mittee that it should be prohibited , and that sufficient means should be 
 furnished to keep the convicts constantly employed within the walls of 
 the penitentiary. 
 
 We have been unable to elicit, by evidence, any rules adopted for the 
 government of the penitentiary; and hence are compelled to believe that 
 the laws of the prison repose mostly in the breast of the superintendent; 
 and that the convicts are constantly liable to violate laws or rules of 
 which they have an imperfect knowledge, or perhaps, no knowledge at all; 
 and thus become the subjects of a punishment dictated by the impulse of 
 the moment, and meted out for that particular offence. 
 
 Your committee are of opinion that it should be an established law of 
 the penitentiary to shave one side of the head of each convict, and to 
 make their clothes with such distinctive marks as would render them easily 
 recognized as convicts if at large. 
 
 The rules for the government and regulation of the penitentiary should 
 in all possible instances be ascertained by law; and such as cannot be 
 foreseen by the Legislature, and experience may point out as necessary, 
 we would recommend that they be made by the inspectors and warden, 
 and submitted to the Governor; and, if approved by him, that they shall 
 then become a part of the rules for the regulation and government of the 
 penitentiary; and also that solitary confinement be substituted for corpo¬ 
 real punishment. 
 
 To leave in the hands of prison officers, who are exposed to individual 
 prejudices and partialities among the convicts, the power of defining, and, 
 at pleasure, varying their punishment, it is but human that it should be 
 misapplied and abused; and is, therefore, dangerous, inexpedient, and 
 unjust. The penalties of the laws of the penitentiary should distinctly 
 apprise its violators of their punishment; and that punishment, being thus 
 equitably ascertained, should be inflicted without either increase or dimi¬ 
 nution, reducing into practice the long established axiom in theory—that 
 certainty is vastly more efficacious than severity in punishment. 
 
 There yet remains to be paid to Caswell & Whitaker, $3,859, 85 for 
 the erection of the new cells. If this is paid from the amount loaned to 
 Madison county, there will be but $1,140 15 left—a sum entirely inade¬ 
 quate for the improvements that are now needed 
 
1 
 
 22 
 
 The recommendation made by the inspectors to lease the penitentiary 
 to some responsible individual for a term of years, your committee deem 
 worthy of your consideration; and indulge the belief that such a project 
 might be adopted as would be of benefit to the State, and secure all the 
 objects for which penitentiaries have been established. 
 
 All of which is respectfully submitted. 
 
 JAMES CRAIG, 
 
 O. B. FICKLIN, 
 RICHARD MURPHY, 
 Go KERCHEVAU 
 
III. Legis. 
 
 i 
 
 H. R. 
 
 I 
 
 I 1th Assem. 
 
 COUNTY SEAT OF FULTON. 
 
 January 17, 1839. 
 
 Read, and concurred in. 
 
 Mr. Moore, from the Committee on Counties, made the following 
 
 REPORT: 
 
 The Committee on Counties , to which were referred the petitions and remon¬ 
 strance of the citizens of Fulton county , for and against the removal of 
 the county seat of said county , beg leave to report: 
 
 That they have carefully examined the petitions and remonstrance, and 
 find one thousand three hundred and fifty-seven names signed to the peti¬ 
 tions, and one thousand three hundred and twenty-six names signed to 
 the remonstrance; they also find that, from the affidavits of different indi¬ 
 viduals, two hundred and six persons signed the remonstrance, after having- 
 signed the petitions; which number, your committee are of opinion, should 
 he taken from the petitions, and would leave a majority of one hundred 
 and seventy-five in favor of the remonstrance, and against the removal of 
 the county seat. Your committee would also remark that, from the affi¬ 
 davits of sundry individuals, it appears that the persons signing the remon¬ 
 strance were legal voters and residents of Fulton county. From all the 
 facts which your committee are in possession of, it appears that a decided 
 majority of the legal voters of Fulton county are opposed to a removal of 
 the county seat of said county; afid, whilst a law of this State is in force, 
 declaring “that no county seat shall be remove^ without the consent of a 
 majority of the legal voters of such county,” your committee Are of opinion 
 that the prayer of the petitioners ought not to be granted; and ask leave 
 to be discharged from the further consideration of the subject. 
 
 i 
 
1 
 
 
 \