Part 5

In such an emergency, we might further suppose that measures would be adopted at once to enlarge the accommodations and to obviate the alleged necessity for thus openly violating the law, as early as possible. With this impression, we are surprised that the Executive of the State, whose particular function it is to see that the laws are duly executed, does not urge prompt action in the premises. So far from any intimation of this sort, he speaks of the administration and management of the prison throughout, as eminently successful and commendable; of the keeper and officers as having sustained their reputation for ability and efficiency--of _five thousand dollars_ of surplus earnings as having been paid into the State treasury during the year--and of about _two thousand dollars_ paid to discharged convicts for overwork, all which he thinks exhibits unexampled prosperity in the affairs of the prison.

He even goes so far as to say, "_that the discipline has been well maintained_," adding (rather paradoxically we think,) that the "large number of prisoners renders it impracticable to observe the law in relation to solitary" (separate) "confinement, and the necessity of association impairs to some extent the corrective regulations of the institution."

We humbly submit that it is not the "necessity of association," but the association itself that does the mischief, and farther that Jerseymen would better understand the case if it were said in plain English, that until cells enough are built to give each convict a cell by himself, the occupants will be more likely to become worse than better, at the expense of the State, and in deliberate violation of its positive laws.

This view of the case becomes quite imposing, when it is considered that of the one hundred and ninety-seven convicts, one hundred and sixty-eight are, or about four-fifths, are in on a first conviction. Of course, every precaution is essential to give the discipline of the prison its most benign and efficient influence. It is passing strange that an enlightened State should pocket five thousand dollars of the surplus earnings of her convict-population, while the accommodations for accomplishing the only legitimate objects of the prison are so narrow as to require a constant violation of the law, and a constant defeat of its wholesome ends. It may be, however, that to violate laws has become the rule, and to obey them the exception. As an illustration, it may suffice to say, in respect to this same New Jersey State Prison, that the use of tobacco in any form is peremptorily forbidden by law; yet we are informed, on indisputable authority, that the prisoners both chew and smoke, and that some of them have taken their first lessons in these arts after their admission to the prison!

We have made these suggestions with much freedom, and we hope without offence. We have hearty, intelligent co-adjutors in Jersey, who are aiming with us to establish the convict-discipline of the country on a truly humane, efficient, philosophical and Christian basis. To this end, we maintain that every prison or place of confinement for persons charged with or convicted of crime, should furnish a suitable apartment for each individual, separate from every other individual suspected or convicted of crime. We have often cited the State prison at Trenton as one of this class, and have uniformly espoused the views of the Inspectors and principal officers, at times when they were opposed by crotchety speculators within or without the prison; and we shall be greatly disappointed, if means are not promptly used to conform the discipline to the provisions of law.

ART. VII.--AN EXTRAORDINARY DOCUMENT.

We have before us a stitched pamphlet, entitled "Report on the Subject of Prisons, by Rev. Alexander L. Hamilton, State Commissioner, to Hon. Austin King, Governor of Missouri--Referred to the Committee on the Penitentiary, and three thousand copies ordered to be printed, January 5, 1853," pp. 24.

The author of this report is, we doubt not, a very worthy and intelligent gentleman, or he would not have been appointed by the Executive of Missouri on so important an agency. That he has fulfilled his mission to the best of his ability, we may also admit; but that his report contains "such information as is necessary to present the subject of Prison Discipline fully to the consideration of the next general assembly of Missouri," we cannot believe. Indeed we do not hesitate to say that it is entirely deficient in every point that a report on such a subject, for such a purpose, should embrace.

Statements are made, which have been disproved over and over again, until the repetition of them is loathsome to those who have been familiar with the subject. Principles are set forth as of present validity, which have been long ago abandoned even by those who once advocated them. The most ultra partisan opinions and doctrines are revived, with such an air of sincerity and confidence, as leads us to believe that the Rev. Commissioner never saw or heard of the oft-repeated refutation of them. He refers to those whose minds are steeped in prejudice, as the most reliable and responsible sources of information; and perhaps we cannot better describe the document, as a whole, than by saying that it is a synopsis of the reports of the Boston Prison Discipline Society and Mr. Gray's book, prepared and printed at the expense of the State of Missouri.

We owe it to ourselves to cite a passage or two from the report, to serve as an indication of the qualities we have mentioned.

As to its rhetoric and logic let the following suffice:

The conviction forces itself upon my mind, that, if the numerous weighty objections already given be correct--this (the separate) system is not only wrong _per se_, but will soon be deserted by its remaining followers. For if it be true, when alluding to it in the least objectionable manner, that this system is only suited to short sentences, as many of its friends and advocates aver, then, "to all intents and purposes," it must soon be subject to one of two consequences; either the penal code of the laws of the land must be so altered as to suit the demand of the system, or the system must be so altered as to fully come within the demands of the law.

As to its facts let the following suffice:

Upon the separate and solitary principle, the prisoner--good, bad, or indifferent as he may be, surrounded by his _Bible_, and such other good books as are given him from time to time, remains all alone in his cell, from the first of January to the last of December, until his term of imprisonment expires; and is thus left to his own reflections by day, and by night--unless paid an occasional visit by some kind officer of the prison, or by the chaplain. And hence it is, that in too many instances to justify the means employed, _insanity_ precedes the work of reformation.

Were we to cite but a single passage from the report to include the logic, the rhetoric, the philosophy, the facts, and the reliability of the statements in a single view, it would be the following:

Upon my arrival in the city of Boston, Massachusetts, so soon as I had visited the State prison at Charlestown, and the Boston new jail, under the guidance of Hon. Louis Dwight, I was convinced in my own mind that said jail, for the purposes for which it was designed, was decidedly the _model prison of the age_.

The commissioner was so fortunate as not only to see "the model prison of the age," but to obtain from the same source "a design of a model prison for the State of Missouri;" and so comprehensive and clear were the conceptions of the commissioner upon the view of these model edifices and plans, that he made up his mind when he "first saw the design," (and his views remained unchanged after his return,) "that it has no superior either in the United States or in Europe."

Among the inexplicable mis-statements which we find scattered through the report, we may cite the following:

As has been proven, beyond all successful contradiction, this system (the congregate) is not only _more humane_, but it is also _far less expensive_ than the separate system.

Nothing is more obvious than that from the very nature of the discipline, the administration of a prison on the separate plan must be the least expensive. The first cost of the structure will probably be greater; but we have supposed it to be conceded on all hands, that a prison on this plan once erected, the expenses of maintaining it were much less than those of a congregate prison with equal accommodations.

While we admit that the first cost of a prison for convict-separation is greater than that of a congregate prison, we must demur to the Rev. Commissioner's broad assertion on this point:

"I speak not unadvisedly," he says, "when I assert, that the erection of a prison for associate purposes, is not half so expensive, as the erection of a prison for the separate and solitary confinement of its inmates--all things considered."

The most zealous opposers of the separate system have not pushed this objection to any such extreme, and to any considerate mind it carries its refutation with it.

As an inducement to proceed on the plan submitted by the commissioner, he assures the executive that "the prison once completed and properly officered, unless in case of some unforeseen accident, will demand of the State treasury nothing more for at least fifty years! And more than that," he says, "after paying for itself during the first few years of its existence, it will thenceforth yield annually a handsome revenue to the State."

The cost of the Missouri "Model Prison" is set down at $250,000, and as a sort of guaranty against any new expense for improvement in after times, the commissioner has the assurance of one gentleman, (which another promptly endorses,) that "the principles of the main building are such as will last for one hundred years!" This gives a chance for a long nap to our Boston friends.

We are not without hope that some of the good citizens of Missouri will get a glimpse of this report of the Rev. Alexander L. Hamilton, and will insist upon a more intelligent and impartial inquiry, before they commit themselves, or suffer the Legislature to commit itself to so large an expenditure, for an institution so permanent, and involving so many interests of humanity and public economy.

ART. VIII.--A PHILANTHROPIC PERPLEXITY.

Will the publishers of the _Prison Journal_, or some one who has access to its columns enlighten an honest inquirer after the path of duty? It is presumed that the combined wisdom and philanthropy of the Prison Society can furnish all needed direction in the case I have at heart and in hand.

Of the grave and multiplied evils that spring from _street begging_, I have no doubt. Indeed I have done all I could in a private way to discountenance it. I have never encouraged a second call by a liberal donation, and perhaps have sometimes seemed harsh and unfeeling. But I am so well satisfied that it is the most inhuman thing we can do for the honest poor, and that it favors the arts and schemes of the dishonest, that I feel constrained to avoid every thing that should look like countenancing it. My neighbor's gate and door are daily besieged by women and children with boys and baskets, and they seldom leave without some token of approval.

But I must hasten to a statement of my case. I was going to my place of business on Saturday afternoon, after dining heartily and happily upon a rare sirloin of beef, and saw a man on the door-steps of a house in Washington Square. He was perhaps forty years old, (more or less) rather shabbily dressed, with a dirty bundle under his arm, and some indications of hard drinking about his face. I noticed that he tried the handle of the door before he rang the bell, and was thus led to no very favorable impression of his design. Stepping behind a flight of steps, I noticed his movements as he went from door to door under successive rebuffs. As soon as he came up to my standing place, I said to him,

"Friend, do you know you are liable to be taken up for begging in the street?"

"I war'nt begging. I only asked for a bit of bread and cold meat."

"Well, you will have a constable after you in a few minutes if you don't stop that business."

He turned on his heel and went from me, and as my eye followed him, and I remembered the well-furnished table from which I had just risen with no very grateful heart, I felt reproached; and quickening my steps, I followed and overtook him.

"Do you say you are hungry, friend?"

"Yes, I am."

"Do you live in town?"

"No, I came in town last night."

"Where from?"

"From Emmettsburg."

"Is that your home?"

"Yes, I served my time there."

"What is your business?"

"Shoemaking."

"Why did you leave Emmettsburg?"

"To get work."

"Well, you had better go to the Mayor's, at the corner of Fifth and Chestnut Streets, and tell him you have no food, no home and no work."

Off he went, and I followed by another route, and reached one door of the office, just as he entered at the other. Unfortunately the Mayor was at dinner, and I could only tell my story to the officer in attendance.

What shall be done with such a man? I asked.

"We can only send him down to Moyamensing for thirty days, or to Blockley," was the reply.

Is that the only alternative--the prison, or the poor house, the latter with 2,700 inmates, and the former so overstocked as to make it a positive nuisance? Is it really so? There is work for one hundred men at this moment, in removing ice from the gutters, making the side walks passable, and the streets decent, and yet this able bodied vagrant must be imposed upon the tax-paying public as a prisoner or a pauper!

As we left the office, we saw the Emmettsburg shoemaker ignobly introduced to the ward room. I hope it will not be said that this is a case not likely to occur often, for in that event, I shall feel obliged to relate half a dozen other instances which have occurred within my own observation, and the details of which are any thing but agreeable.

I am clear in the opinion, that there must be some needless and sad defect in our municipal legislation or administration, if the power and capacity to work is found twenty-four hours in succession, associated with vagrancy and mendicity. Am I wrong in this opinion? And whether I am or not, pray tell me how to treat street-beggars.

Miscellaneous Notices.

VAGRANT CHILDREN OF NEW YORK.--An organization has recently been effected in the city of New York, under the title of the "_Children's Aid Society_," the object of which is "to bring humane and kindly influences to bear on homeless boys--to preach in various modes the Gospel of Christ to the vagrant children of New York."

As an evidence of the need of some such agency, it is stated that in one Ward alone (the eleventh) there were in 1852, out of 12,000 children between the ages of five and sixteen, only 7,000 who attended school, and only 2,500 who went to Sunday-school, leaving 5,000 without the common privileges of education, and about 9,000 destitute of public religious influence!

The views of the founders of this charity are summarily presented in a circular as follows:

A large multitude of children live in the city who cannot be placed in asylums, and yet who are uncared for and ignorant and vagrant. We propose to give to these work, and to bring them under religious influences. A central office has been taken, and an agent, (Charles L. Brace,) has been engaged to give his whole time to efforts for relieving the wants of this class. As means shall come in, it is designed to district the city, so that hereafter every Ward may have its agent, who shall be a friend to the vagrant child. "Boys' Sunday Meetings" have already been formed, which we hope to see extended until every quarter has its place of preaching to boys. With these we intend to connect "Industrial Schools," where the great temptations to this class, arising from want of work, may be removed, and where they can learn an honest trade. Arrangements have been made with manufacturers, by which, if we have the requisite funds to begin, _five hundred boys_, in different localities, can be supplied with paying work. We hope too, especially to be the means of draining the city of these children, by communicating with farmers, manufacturers or families in the country, who may have need of such for employment. When homeless boys are found by our agents, we mean to get them homes in the families of respectable, needy persons in the city, and to put them into the way of an honest living.

It has been stated, in the public prints, that of 16,000 commitments for crime to the prisons of New York during the year, at least one-fourth were minors, and it is estimated that not less than 10,000 children in the city are daily suffering all the evils of vagrancy.

STREET BEGGING IN NEW YORK.--We have had occasion more than once to refer, in terms of high commendation, to the New York City organization for the relief of the poor, corresponding in its main features to our Union Benevolent Association. We regret to notice very loud and frequent complaints of the continuance and increase of street-begging, notwithstanding the laudable exertions of the Society. A leading city newspaper has said within a week or two, that upwards of a _half million_ of dollars is annually spent by the authorities and various societies, in the way of charity, "yet our streets are thronged with beggars of all descriptions, and particularly the avenues and streets up town, in almost any of which, upon an average you can see from thirty to fifty going from house to house, to the excessive annoyance of families, who are often abused and insulted by them, because you do not meet their demands. In fact it has become a nuisance of the worst magnitude."

There is much reason to apprehend that such nuisances must work their own abatement. If our authorities were strong enough and independent enough, to lay hold of the BOYS AND GIRLS who constitute the materials from which street-beggars are manufactured, and compel them (as a matter of public safety) to submit to the discipline of an educational and industrial school, it would make a bright opening in the prospect. Or, if every man, woman and child who is found begging in the street, were transferred at once to some charitable institution, (if they have infirmities which prevent them from labor,) or to some working institution, (if they are able-bodied,) and there put to some wholesome labor in exchange for their sustenance and clothing, we should not be without hope. But we see no way of suppressing the evil, if neither of these methods is feasible.

NEW YORK PRISON ASSOCIATION.--We have seen only newspaper reports of the proceedings at the eighth anniversary of this active and very useful Association. We understand that their condemnation of the yoke and the shower, as modes of punishment, is very emphatic and unqualified, and among the interesting facts which are drawn from their report, we select the following:--

In the city of New York, since 1848, disorderly conduct (in almost every instance the result of strong drink) has steadily increased from 703 to 2,660, or 278 per cent.; intoxication has increased about 75 per cent., and the two together from 5,579 to 11,280. By a comparison of the prison statistics for the last five years, it appears that crimes against property have increased only about 50 per cent.; but that crimes against the person have increased 129 per cent., or from 1,300 in 1843 to 2,920 in 1852.

The increase has been the greatest in the highest crimes. Thus we find assaults to kill were 25 in 1848, and 39, 59, 61 and 75 in 1852, or three-fold. Manslaughter, in 1848, was 3, and then 4, 16, 11 in 1852, almost four-fold. Murder in 1848 was 9, and 9, 15, 21 and 56 in 1852, or more than six-fold.

Ninety per cent. of the whole number committed to this prison during the past year, were intemperate! The returns of sixteen State Prisons, for the year 1851, give us a grand total of 4,507 prisoners, 3,006 of whom were imprisoned for offences against property, and 784 against the person.

It is stated that there is a greater number of cases of bigamy and perjury in the State of New York, than in all the other fifteen States; there being twenty-one cases of bigamy in New York, and only fifteen in the other States; and seventeen cases of perjury to three in all the other States.

The average period of confinement in Connecticut is six years, seven months, twenty-nine days; and in the Eastern Penitentiary of Pennsylvania it is only two years, six months and three days.

NEW YORK STATE PRISONS.--The report of the State Penitentiaries of New York bear date December 1, and show that 129 more convicts were in custody at that time than in December, 1851. Of 1843, the whole number in confinement, 924 were at Sing Sing, 752 at Auburn and 167 at Clinton. One hundred and forty-three pardons were granted, or about 1 in every 12 convictions! The expenses of all the prisons exceeded the earnings by several thousands of dollars, showing the fallacy of the argument so potent with most Legislatures, that by associating prisoners in labor they become a source of profit, while separating them involves great expense. The Clinton prison is going largely into the iron business and wants more hands. We would respectfully suggest, whether there are not many persons at large in New York, and some quite considerable in importance and respectable in appearance, too, who would find appropriate employment there.

There has been some increase in the frequency of punishments by the yoke, the shower bath, the ball and chain, and solitude.

Of 613 commitments, two-thirds confessed intemperate habits. How many of the rest were moderate drinkers does not appear. The average degree of education in the convicts received is less than in some former reports.