NEW SERIES] [NO. 2.
THE JOURNAL
OF
PRISON DISCIPLINE
AND
PHILANTHROPY.
PUBLISHED ANNUALLY
UNDER THE DIRECTION OF “THE PHILADELPHIA SOCIETY FOR
ALLEVIATING THE MISERIES OF PUBLIC PRISONS,”
INSTITUTED 1787.
JANUARY, 1863.
PHILADELPHIA:
HENRY B. ASHMEAD, BOOK AND JOB PRINTER,
NOS. 1102 AND 1104 SANSOM STREET.
1863.
CONSTITUTION
OF THE
Philadelphia Society for Alleviating the Miseries of Public
Prisons.
When we consider that the obligations of benevolence which are founded
on the precepts and examples of the Author of Christianity, are not
cancelled by the follies or crimes of our fellow-creatures; and when
we reflect upon the miseries which penury, hunger, cold, unnecessary
severity, unwholesome apartments, and guilt, (the usual attendants of
prisons,) involve with them, it becomes us to extend our compassion to
that part of mankind, who are the subjects of those miseries. By the
aid of humanity, their undue and illegal sufferings may be prevented;
the links which should bind the whole family of mankind together,
under all circumstances, be preserved unbroken; and such degrees
and modes of punishment may be discovered and suggested, as may,
instead of continuing habits of vice, become the means of restoring
our fellow-creatures to virtue and happiness. From a conviction of
the truth and obligation of these principles, the subscribers have
associated themselves under the title of “THE PHILADELPHIA SOCIETY FOR
ALLEVIATING THE MISERIES OF PUBLIC PRISONS.”
For effecting these purposes, they have adopted the following
CONSTITUTION.
ARTICLE I.
The Officers of the Society shall consist of a President; two
Vice-Presidents, two Secretaries, a Treasurer, two Counsellors, and an
Acting Committee; all of whom shall be chosen at the stated meeting to
be held in the first month (January) of each year, and shall continue
in office until their successors are elected; but in case an election
from any cause shall not be then held, it shall be the duty of the
President to call a special meeting of the Society within thirty days,
for the purpose of holding such election, of which at least three days’
notice shall be given.
ARTICLE II.
The President shall preside in all meetings, and subscribe all public
acts of the Society. He may call special meetings whenever he may
deem it expedient; and shall do so when requested in writing by five
members. In his absence, one of the Vice-Presidents may act in his
place.
ARTICLE III.
The Secretaries shall keep fair records of the proceedings of the
Society, and shall conduct its correspondence.
NEW SERIES. NO. II.
THE JOURNAL
OF
PRISON DISCIPLINE
AND
PHILANTHROPY.
PUBLISHED ANNUALLY
UNDER THE DIRECTION OF “THE PHILADELPHIA SOCIETY FOR
ALLEVIATING THE MISERIES OF PUBLIC PRISONS,”
INSTITUTED 1787.
JANUARY, 1863.
PHILADELPHIA:
HENRY B. ASHMEAD, BOOK AND JOB PRINTER,
NOS. 1102 AND 1104 SANSOM STREET.
1863.
ANNUAL REPORT.
In accordance with the present arrangement which requires that
an Annual Report should be prepared of the proceedings of “The
Philadelphia Society for Alleviating the Miseries of Public Prisons,”
the “Acting Committee” now proceed to exhibit to the Seventy-Seventh
Annual Meeting, such matters of interest as have resulted from the
action of the Society, or have come under its notice during the year
just past.
_Law Shortening Sentences._--As the proceedings of the Society in
procuring the passage of a Law shortening the sentences of prisoners
for good conduct, occupied considerable space in connection with the
last Report, which announced that the provisions of this Law had not
then been carried out in the Eastern State Penitentiary, it seems
proper that we should again advert to the subject, that those who
feel an interest in it may understand its present position. As the
authorities to whom the execution of the Law was delegated, declined
acting under it, for reasons which they deemed sufficient, the Society,
upon consultation with their counsel, concluded that the most amicable
mode of proceeding for the purpose of testing its constitutionality,
and the obligation resting upon these authorities to extend to the
prisoners the proffered boon, would be by _Habeas Corpus_, they
therefore had the cases of two prisoners believed by them to be
entitled to their discharge under the Law, brought before the Judges
of the Supreme Court. The decision was adverse, and the prisoners
were remanded to serve out the entire term of their sentences. The
ground taken by the Judges in their decision, was so broad as to make
it very difficult to frame a modification of the Law which would not
contravene the objections raised, and yet retain what were deemed to
be some of its most valuable features. Under all the circumstances,
it has been thought best to let the matter rest for the present. It
is hoped, however, that by the joint action of the Prison Society,
and the Inspectors of the Penitentiary, we may yet procure a Bill to
be enacted into a Law, which shall be so framed as to enable us, in
some measure at least, to effect our desired object. We should have
freely acquiesced in some verbal amendments to the Law, but much
regret that all of its provisions should thus have been rendered
inoperative, as we feel assured that the _principle_ contended for is
founded in justice, and that its practical effect on the prisoners
would be salutary as a part of the Prison Discipline,--not only by way
of prompting to obedience to the established rules, and to habitual
good conduct while in confinement, but also in aiding to promote their
actual and permanent reformation, by practically showing them, that as
it is evidently to their interest to conduct well while there, it must
doubtless be equally so when they are at large in the community; and
the habit thus acquired of looking to this motive, and practising this
restraint on their heretofore comparatively unbridled propensities,
must be of great service to them, on again going abroad into the world.
If this is the practical effect of the Law, it is plain, that it is
not only a boon to the prisoner, but that the community is equally
interested in its operation, as fewer of the prisoners will resume
their depredations on society after their discharge. Besides, is it not
the part of wisdom at least, if not of duty, in framing laws for the
temporal government of society, to follow the example of the Divine
Law-giver? We do not find his code to be a system of punishment only,
but also largely one of reward. If we have there placed before us a
fear of punishment for breaking the Divine Law, we have also exhibited
to our view, in most attractive form, the hope and assurance of reward,
if we do that which is right.
_Employment for the Prisoners._--Owing to the derangement of the
business affairs of the country, resulting from the existing Rebellion,
it seemed probable for a time, that many of those confined in the
Eastern State Penitentiary would be very much without work. The subject
of suitable and constant employment for the prisoners has therefore
claimed our attention during the past year, as one of considerable
importance. We have had under appointment, a Committee, whose special
duty it was to attend to this matter, and to devising means by which
healthful exercise might be secured, especially for the benefit of such
as might not have sufficient work to occupy their time. We view labor,
in connection with the prisoners, in a two-fold light. The possession
of it is a positive good, not only as a comfort and companion in their
solitary hours, but also as a reformatory agent. And the want of it
is not only a negative, but a positive evil, especially with those of
a low order of education and intelligence, who, being unable to read,
and possessing very little matter for reflection, have no resource
with which to occupy and interest the mind, and consequently there is
danger that by constantly preying upon itself, it may become diseased.
Besides, as idleness has been said to be the parent of crime, it would
be no small matter, if by furnishing employment, we could do nothing
more than establish habits of industry, which probably very few of
those confined in prisons had ever practised in their previous lives.
While at large, plotting or practising mischief and crime, labor has
appeared to them repulsive, and never having enjoyed its rewards,
they have shrunk from it,--but when their evil career has been thus
suddenly brought to a close, and social intercourse of every kind with
their fellowmen is very much restricted, and that with their former
associates is wholly cut off, labor is soon sought after, and is found
to be such an alleviation to their present condition, that they cherish
it as a blessing. And when to this is added the “hope of reward” which
it is most truly said “sweetens labor,” which the credit for “over
work,” granted to the prisoners in our Penitentiary, presents to them,
a powerful additional motive to application is brought into action
with most salutary results. One of the prisoners in the Penitentiary
recently informed a member of our Committee, that he had earned in one
month $17, by over work, after performing his allotted task,--that is
to say, $8 50 for himself, and the same amount for the Penitentiary,
for the use of the County from which he came, and he added, with an
appearance of much interest, that he expected at the end of the three
years he had yet to serve, to take out with him between three and four
hundred dollars. Many of them are thus soon brought to see and feel
that labor instead of being repulsive, as it had formerly appeared to
them, greatly alleviates the necessary discomforts of their present
condition, and also that it is a reliable resource for the maintenance
of those who apply themselves to it. Many also, who on entering had
no knowledge of any kind of trade, on leaving, take with them, not
only habits of industry, but also a pretty thorough acquaintance
with some one or more of the mechanic arts, such as shoe-making,
cane-seating of chairs, weaving, &c. They are thus qualified, upon
again going forth into the world, to take a reputable position in
society, and secure a livelihood without resuming their depredations
on the community. Estimating the value of labor for the prisoners as
we do, it is gratifying to us to know that they have recently been
pretty fully supplied with it. It is the intention and direction of
the Law, that it shall be thus supplied; and we believe, as will be
seen by our foregoing remarks, that it is a valuable adjunct in the
Pennsylvania or Separate System of Prison Discipline. In the early
period of the introduction of this system, some men, of undoubted
talent and philanthropy, strongly advocated separate confinement,
_without labor_, as being the true system, and this plan was actually
introduced and practically tested at the Western Penitentiary of this
State, established at Pittsburg; but it was soon found to be wrong,
and to have an injurious effect, both upon the mental and physical
health of the prisoners. It was also tried in the State Penitentiary at
Auburn, New York, in 1822, under accompanying circumstances however of
great cruelty, and of unfairness so far as it was intended as a test of
the effect of the Separate System on the mental and bodily condition of
those subjected to it.
William Crawford, who visited this country in 1833 and 1834, under
appointment by the British Government, to inspect the several
penitentiaries in the United States, with a view to applying at home,
any parts of the systems on which they were governed, which might
appear desirable, in the report of his labors and inquiries, which
he published after his return, makes the following statement: “In
America, the opponents of this (the Separate) System, have produced
very erroneous impressions by the publication of certain experiments
made a few years since, of solitude without labor; statements which
have also been widely circulated in England, to the great prejudice of
solitary imprisonment of every description. Having carefully inspected
the prisons in question, I feel bound to state my conviction, that
the fatal effects which have been described, were not the result of
solitude, but of the contracted dimensions and unhealthy condition of
the cells in which the experiments were conducted. A trial of solitary
confinement day and night, without labor, was made at Auburn in the
year 1822 for ten months, upon eighty of the most hardened convicts.
They were each confined in a cell only seven feet long, three feet and
a half wide, and seven feet high.[1] They were on no account permitted
to leave the cell during that long period, on any occasion, not even
for the purposes of nature. They had no means of obtaining any change
of air, nor opportunities of taking exercise. The most disastrous
consequences were the natural result. Several persons became insane,
health was impaired and life endangered. The discipline of the prison
at that period was one of unmixed severity. There was no moral nor
religious instruction of any kind communicated within its walls, nor
any consolation administered by which the convict was enabled to bear
up against the cruelty of this treatment. Nor was a trial of the
same description, which took place in the State of Maine, conducted
under more advantageous circumstances. The night rooms or cells at
this prison are literally pits, entered from the top by a ladder,
through an aperture about two feet square. The opening is secured by
an iron grate used as a trap-door; the only other orifice is one at
the bottom, about an inch and a half in diameter, for the admission of
warm air from underneath. The cells are eight feet nine inches long,
four feet six inches wide, and nine feet eight inches high. The gloom
is indescribable. The diet during confinement was bread and water
only. Thus immured, and without any occupation, it will excite no
surprise to learn that a man who had been sentenced to pass seventy
days in one of these miserable pits, hung himself after four days’
imprisonment. Another condemned to sixty days, also committed suicide
on the twenty-fourth day.” Our author goes on to speak of similar
experiments having been made in Virginia, where the cells were in fact
mere dungeons, being in the basement, and so dark as to require a lamp
in visiting them. They were not warmed at any season of the year, and
a prisoner’s feet were actually frozen during the confinement. In damp
weather the water stood in drops on the walls, &c. He then adds: “From
experiments of this character no just conclusions can therefore be
derived, unfriendly to solitary imprisonment of any kind, especially
when accompanied by employment, in large and well-ventilated cells, the
arrangements of which have reference to the preservation of the health,
regular employment, and the improvement of the mind of the offender.”
We are aware that the disastrous results of the treatment of the
prisoners, as set forth in these extracts, was not wholly owing to
their being deprived of labor, but it is evident from the manner in
which the subject is treated by the author, that the evil was greatly
aggravated by this circumstance. We here see, however, what monstrous
cruelty has been practised in the name of the “Separate System,” and
these deplorable but inevitable results were immediately seized by its
opponents and spread abroad through the length and breadth of the land,
both in Europe and America, as conclusive evidence, that these evil
consequences were necessarily inherent in, and a part of the system
itself. The consequence was, that many philanthropic and well meaning
persons beyond the limits of Pennsylvania, became prejudiced against
it to that degree, that there was no opening in their minds to hear
the truth, and on merely _naming_ the system to them they would almost
turn from you in disgust. This prejudice is largely operative to the
present time, and the much to be regretted result has been that this
system, truly humane as it is, when properly carried out (of which the
Eastern State Penitentiary of Pennsylvania may be taken as a practical
illustration), and superior, as we believe, to all others, has not made
one tithe the progress in the world which we feel assured it would have
done if its true character had been understood.
_The “Separate” and the “Silent” Systems compared._--It may be thought
that we have dwelt long enough on this branch of the subject; but as
its discussion has in some measure brought into view our particular
prison system, that of the entire separation of the prisoners from
each other, day and night, during the whole term of their confinement,
and by inference, if not directly, contrasted it with the “Auburn”
or “Silent” System, where they are separated only at night and at
their meals, but at other times are congregated in their workshops,
&c., under a peremptory rule of silence. We avail ourselves of
the opportunity to introduce two or three short paragraphs from
high authority, with a view to assisting those who may read this
report beyond the limits of our Society, in arriving at a correct
understanding of the important question at issue.
William Crawford, from whom we have already quoted, a commissioner
of the British Government, and a man distinguished for his humanity
and intelligence, who during more than twenty years had devoted his
time to visiting the prisons and penitentiaries in the United States
and England, in a report on the systems just referred to, made to the
British Parliament, places them in contrast in the following manner,
to wit: “In judging of the comparative merits of the two systems it
will be seen, that the discipline of Auburn is of a physical, that of
Philadelphia of a moral character; the whip inflicts immediate pain,
but solitude inspires permanent terror. The former degrades while it
humiliates, the latter subdues but it does not debase. At Auburn the
convict is uniformly treated with harshness, at Philadelphia with
civility; the one contributes to harden, the other to soften the
affections. Auburn stimulates vindictive feelings, Philadelphia induces
habitual submission. The Auburn prisoner when liberated, conscious that
he is known to past associates, and that the public eye has gazed upon
him, sees an accuser in every man he meets. The Philadelphia convict
quits his cell secure from recognition, and exempt from reproach.”
He also says, “It is a curious fact, that some of the strongest
testimonies in favor of individual separation, may be collected from
those who are the best acquainted with the operation of the Silent
System. We can assert with confidence, that there is not one of the
best conducted prisons, in which the Silent System is effectually
enforced, that we have not repeatedly visited and closely inspected;
and we can truly state, that with one exception only, the governors
of those prisons have acknowledged, that had they to decide upon the
merits of the respective plans, they would unquestionably give their
unqualified preference to the Separate System.”
The enlightened and excellent Count Gasparin, in a letter to George
Sumner of Boston, then in Paris, in commending the system (with the
practical operation of which in France he was perfectly familiar),
says, “Every government which in the actual state of society, and of
the progress of social science, adopts any other than the Separate
System, will expose itself to the necessity of having, before long, to
reconstruct its prisons.”
_Insanity._--In a short paragraph in our last Annual Report, we think
that we fully met and refuted the charge frequently made by the
opponents of the system, that its discipline is liable to produce
insanity, and relieved the humane feelings of those who were under a
sincere, but mistaken apprehension of this result, by referring to the
close and systematic observation which had for many years been directed
to this point, in the Eastern State Penitentiary of Pennsylvania,
which established the fact, that instead of the mental health of the
prisoners having been injured, it had in the aggregate been decidedly
improved during their confinement. We propose now, in support of
this position, to introduce the testimony of two acute observers of
the operation of the same system in France. First, the distinguished
Physician, _Dr. Lelut_, known in America as well as in Europe, by
his important work on Insanity, &c., in speaking of the results of
an examination of the prisons on the Separate System, which he had
made by direction of the French Government, states that there were
then in France twenty-three such prisons, and that he had examined
about half of them,--and goes on to say, “In all these houses, I have
confirmed _de visu_, what was previously declared by theory, that the
Separate System, independent of all the facilities which it offers, for
elementary and professional instruction, for the moral and religious
education of the prisoners, for religious exercises--independent of
the circumstance that it alone prevents prisoners from associating
with each other, and from corrupting each other--_that it causes
infinitely fewer cases of death and insanity than any other system
of imprisonment_. The actual condition of our cellular houses, their
history, which covers already a period of three, four, and five years,
the testimony of their directors, of their physicians, of their
visitors, do no leave any doubt upon this important point.”
The Prefect of the Department, in enclosing to the Government the
Reports of the Chaplain, Physician and Directors of the Prison of
Tours in France, writes thus: “These Reports establish in the most
complete manner, that in regard to the sanitary condition, and the
moral education of the prisoners, the system of total separation,
so violently and so unjustly attacked, produces the most remarkable
results. Of a total number of 1,626 persons who have entered the prison
since its inauguration, 16 only have been transferred to the hospital,
and one only has died,--and this single case of death was an old man of
seventy, who was laboring under a chronic affection of the lungs. If we
seek for the influence which it exercises on the intellectual faculties
of the prisoners, we must recognize, that far from disturbing their
reason, it produces on their minds the most salutary results. In proof
of this, I may mention, that not a single case of insanity has occurred
in the prison, and that many who have been condemned for a term which
require their removal to the _Maisons Centrales_, solicit as a real
favor, the permission to complete their imprisonment in their cell.”
_M. Moreau Christophe_, Inspector of French Prisons, _Dr. Julius_,
who visited the Penitentiaries of the United States as a Commissioner
from the Prussian Government, and _M. Ducpetiaux_, Inspector General
of the Prisons of Belgium, with many other eminent foreigners,
who had facilities for closely observing the working and results
of the Separate System, and of comparing it with the “Silent” and
other Systems of imprisonment existing in different places, have in
their various Reports given very interesting and instructive views,
confirmatory of the superior value of the system adopted by us, but we
must pass them by, and proceed with our Report.
_Tobacco._--The subject of the use of Tobacco in the Penitentiary has
again claimed our attention and care during the year now coming to a
close, as it did during the one which immediately preceded it. It will
no doubt be acknowledged by most, that the practice of using it is of
no real value to those who indulge in it, unless it be in the character
of medicine, in a very few cases, and consequently, if there was no
moral or physical evil resulting from it, its use should be discouraged
on the score of economy, and with a view to lessening the number of the
wants of individuals, and therefore, making it more easy to satisfy
them. But when, in addition to this, its use is very often attended
by serious physical and moral evils, such as impairing the bodily
health, and exciting a craving for the use of intoxicating drink, it
seems especially desirable that those who are clear on entering the
Penitentiary, shall not there be permitted to contract the habit, and
that an effort should be used to break the habit with those who have
brought it with them, and in fact, that it should be made a part of the
Prison Discipline, in teaching them habits of economy for their own
future good, during the period in which the law makes them subject to
the control of the prison authorities. Our care of the subject, which
has heretofore been in the way of moral suasion, with the prisoners,
and those who had the control of them, and which has been exercised
verbally, as suitable opportunities offered, has finally resulted
in the adoption of a Resolution, respectfully asking the Inspectors
wholly to prohibit its use in the Penitentiary, (as the Inspectors of
our County Prison have done there, with highly satisfactory results,)
unless it be in cases strictly medicinal. The quantity at present
used in the Penitentiary is much reduced, but this is done, as we
understand, as a matter of economy in conducting the Institution, as
the cost of the article has latterly been much enhanced.
_Pardons._--The very important subject of Pardons, and the manner in
which the power is exercised, (not only in our own Commonwealth, but
in most places where it exists,) has at different times occupied our
attention, though not specially within the past year, with desires
that some result might be reached by which the acknowledged evils of
the pardoning system might be at least in part remedied. It is a power
which should exist somewhere, and be exercised sometimes; but the good
of society, and even of the parties on whom it is to operate, requires
that it should only be applied to exceptional and rare cases, and with
great caution. We have not yet succeeded in maturing any plan which
it is believed would be likely to remedy, or materially lessen, the
existing difficulties.
_Abuses by Committing Magistrates._--We have again had under the care
of a Committee, the abuse of power by the Aldermen or Committing
Magistrates. This is an evil of great magnitude, and has claimed the
attention of the Society almost from its origin, but without yet making
much advance towards its suppression; nor do we hope to effect it, till
their mode of compensation is changed from fees to a stated salary from
the Public Treasury. As we shall have occasion to refer to this matter
again as we advance in our Report, this short notice may suffice here.
_Better Accommodations needed by the Society._--The books and papers
of our Prison Society are accumulating to such an extent, as to make
it difficult, with the accommodations we possess, to take proper care
of them. Many of them are so valuable as to make their preservation
almost an object of public interest. An ample and secure fireproof
would be very desirable, and also much more extensive book cases than
we now have. Our funds, however, are so limited at present, as to
be barely sufficient to meet our current annual outlay, such as the
appropriation towards the support of the “Prison Agency,” that to the
Prison “Association of Women Friends,” and for the aid of discharged
prisoners, and the amount required to meet our Room Rent, the
publication of our Journal, and various necessary incidental expenses.
We therefore have nothing to spare towards procuring a suitable
building or room of our own, which we think would be very desirable.
We would therefore commend the Society and its various interests to
the kindly notice of our many benevolent citizens who are blessed with
ample means, as being deserving of their consideration and attention,
both when making their current distribution from time to time of
surplus income, and when through the medium of a will, they are making
a final appropriation of their estates.
_The Prison Agent._--William J. Mullen, the Prison Agent, acting
under appointment and authority of the Inspectors of the County
Prison, and also on behalf of our Prison Society, has continued his
services in investigating cases of alleged oppressive and illegal
commitments to the County Prison, with unabated zeal and singleness
of purpose. He has, with the co-operation of the proper authorities,
succeeded in liberating during the year 1,223 of these from prison.
Amongst them were many very interesting cases, where the common
rights of individuals would have been successfully outraged, if they
had not been inquired into and relieved by the action of the agent.
And it should be remembered that the wrong and suffering in these
cases is by no means limited to the individuals who are incarcerated,
but that it often extends most cruelly to others connected with the
prisoners. What must be the situation of the poor wife and helpless
children, when the husband, the father, and provider for their urgent
necessities, is thus wrongfully torn from them? Some are arrested and
committed under mistake, but much of the wrong-doing in relation to
such commitments, arises from the cupidity of the Police-aldermen,
or committing magistrates, who many times, on the most frivolous
charges, and sometimes without sufficient evidence against them, commit
individuals to the prison from motives of gain. In some instances they
are content with the fees established by law, but there is ground to
believe that extortion is not unfrequently attempted to be practised,
and sometimes with success. The mode of compensating the aldermen, by
fees to be derived from the individual cases in which they act, gives
them an interest in thus oppressing the helpless, and has long been
a crying evil. Under this system, and in actual practice, there is
good reason to fear, that much of the income of many of them is not
merely “the gain of oppression,” but that of extortion also. There are
no doubt upright and honorable men among them, but until all fees for
such cases are taken away, and a fixed salary substituted, we need not
expect to find them as a class to be governed, in their official acts,
by high-minded and disinterested motives.
We propose here giving a synopsis of a few of the cases contained
in the monthly reports received from the agent during the year, of
individuals liberated through his investigations and attentions.
One was that of a venerable old gentleman, for many years President of
the Board of Commissioners of the Northern Liberties of Philadelphia,
who had retired from business, being worth a handsome independence.
He was in the habit of spending much of his time at the office of a
relative of his, a merchant on the wharf. The clerk of the merchant on
returning from bank, where he had been to make a deposit, found three
five dollar United States notes, which he handed to the merchant, who
advertised for the owner to come forward and identify the money, and it
would be given up. The merchant authorized his relative, the prisoner,
to act for him during his absence, and if anybody properly identified
the money, to take it from his desk and return it. Among the claimants
was an ignorant woman, who said that she and her husband had lost
$50 between Frankford and South Street, and they did not come up any
further in the city than Second Street; that the money they lost was
in one, two, and three dollar notes. The prisoner informed her that
neither the money she had lost, nor the place where she had lost it,
agreed with that which had been found, and therefore she could not have
it. She immediately went to an alderman and swore that the prisoner
said he had her lost money, but would not give it to her. Upon this
statement, accompanied by an affidavit from her husband (who had not
heard the prisoner say anything on the subject), a warrant was issued,
and he was arrested. On the hearing, the prisoner denied ever having
said what had been testified against him, and informed the alderman
that he had never seen the lost money, nor even either of the five
dollar notes which had been found. Upon a commitment being made out, he
asked the constable to go with him to get bail, which he refused to do.
He also informed the alderman that he was abundantly able to go his own
bail, which, however, he refused to take. The agent, seeing him in the
prison, procured bail to be entered, and soon had him released.
A second was that of a woman who was committed for larceny, being
charged with having stolen a box of jewelry of but little value. Upon
investigation of her case, the agent ascertained that her prosecutor
had previously robbed her of some bed ticking, and had brought this
charge against her to defeat the ends of justice. She was arrested
and imprisoned at the very time when she was required to be at Court
to testify in reference to her stolen property. Careful examination
enabled the agent to prove in Court that instead of the prisoner having
committed a larceny, the prosecutor had entered her house during her
absence, ripped open a pillow, and after placing the jewelry in it,
sewed it up with a peculiar kind of thread, such as the agent found in
the prosecutor’s house. In confirmation of this, when the officer, in
company with the prosecutor, was searching the prisoner’s house for the
jewelry, and could not find it, the prosecutor pointed out the very
pillow which contained it, and asked to have that searched.
A third case was that of an innocent woman who had been convicted
and sentenced to three months on a charge of “false pretence.” The
charge consisted in her having applied to a member of the St. Andrew’s
Society, of which her husband had been a contributing member, for
money to pay the funeral expenses of her deceased child, which had
been buried the day before. A police officer, who was near at the
time, arrested, and caused her to be committed, saying that she was an
impostor, and he did not believe her story about the child. When her
case came up for trial, the agent supplied her with competent counsel
who explained the case and defended her. She was, however, convicted
on the testimony of this officer, although she herself addressed the
Court, and protested against the testimony, explaining her case in a
simple, earnest, and truthful manner. Judge Ludlow, seeing her great
distress, humanely sympathized with her, and directed an officer of
the Court to accompany her to her home to ascertain the facts, see
the sexton of the ground where she said the child was buried, &c.,
promising to release her yet, although convicted, if her story proved
true, but if false, to increase her sentence. The officer, after going
a short distance with her, took her back to the Court, and reported
that she was unable to direct him to a single person who had known her
to have buried a child.
The judge then sentenced her for three months to the County Prison.
After this, the agent investigated the case, and found that every word
she had said to the Court was literally true, as to the death, and the
time and place of burial, &c. The physician was seen, who at the time
of its death had given the certificate; the sexton who had buried it
was also seen, and the clergyman who had authorized the burial, and
paid the charges of the undertaker, with the understanding that she
was to pay him again, he having perfect confidence in her promise to
do so. When the agent had given to the Court satisfactory proof of
these facts, Judge Ludlow reconsidered her sentence and discharged her
from prison. Thus, through the services of the agent, this poor but
respectable woman was saved not only from the pains and privations
of a three months’ imprisonment, but also from the odium of being an
impostor and a convict, which would probably have been attached to her
character during the remainder of her life.
We shall introduce one other case, for the purpose of illustrating
the value of this agency, beyond the mere liberating of persons from
prison, which is that of a “peacemaker” between the prosecutor and the
person whom he had procured to be committed, which is a frequent result
of the settlement of cases.
This was that of a German soldier who borrowed money from two different
persons for the purpose of getting a commission as captain in the army,
and promised to pay them as soon as his commission was obtained. He
failed, however, to procure one, and having expended the money, he was
unable to repay them. They therefore had him committed to prison on
the charge of “false pretence.” The man had a wife and seven children
in New York depending upon him for support. He had an abundance of
recommendations of good character. The agent saw his prosecutors, and
succeeded in getting them to go to the prison and talk with him. They
soon became very much interested in him, gave him some money, went to
the District Attorney and asked for his discharge, and paid all the
Court charges and expenses, becoming satisfied, upon reflection, that
nothing wrong was intended by the prisoner. They invited him to their
houses, and proffered him their friendship for the future.
Many other cases are almost equally entitled to a place in this Report,
as strikingly illustrating the value of the agency to the cause of
humanity, and also to the community, in the large annual saving of
expense to the County, resulting from the discharges effected by
it, before the cases reach the Court. The cost of maintenance and
of prosecution, thus saved in the year 1861, amounted to upwards of
$11,000. Its value is fully appreciated by the public authorities, as
the following paragraph from the Presentment of the Grand Jury for the
June Term, 1862, will testify. In speaking of their visit to the County
Prison, they say: “During a part of their visit through the prison they
had the company of the prison agent, William J. Mullen, and were glad
to find that he still continues in the discharge of his arduous duties,
thereby saving great expense to the County, as well as affording
protection to the rights of the poorer classes of society.”
_Lunatics._--We last year referred to the practice which prevailed of
committing lunatics to the County Prison, to the great disadvantage
of that institution, and stated that this Society was co-operating
in an application then about being made to the Legislature, which,
it was hoped, would result in relieving the prison of this class of
its inmates. The contemplated application was made, and a Committee
attended at Harrisburg to make such explanations as might secure the
favorable notice and action of the Legislature, but without success.
Subsequently, however, the prison agent, after considerable effort,
succeeded in inducing the Board of Guardians of the Poor to rescind
instructions which had been issued to the officers of the almshouse,
prohibiting the admission of persons sent from the County Prison,
so far as to give their President power to admit (under certain
restrictions) such persons as he might deem proper, on application of
the Inspectors of the County Prison, to that effect.
Under this arrangement, thirty-one insane persons, some of whom had
been imprisoned for years, have been sent from the prison to the Insane
Department of the Almshouse within the past year.
_House of Correction._--The establishment of a House of Correction, (an
institution intermediate to the almshouse, and prison,) was referred to
last year, as an object of much interest to the community, and a hope
was expressed that this highly important advance in the reformatory
movements of our Commonwealth, might, under the Act of March, 1860,
be soon carried into effect. It is cause for regret, however, that no
substantial advance has yet been made. The delay in purchasing the
ground, and erecting the necessary buildings, is understood to be
occasioned by the City Councils having failed to make an appropriation
of the requisite funds. The measure is so important, that we earnestly
hope that the different parties having the control of it, may, by
hearty and united action, be enabled to bring this long desired
establishment into early and successful operation.
_Prison Society’s Visitors and Visiting._--We propose now to refer
to the subject of visiting the prisons and the prisoners, the duties
of which we feel to be of constant obligation, and if faithfully
discharged, under right qualification, we believe to be of importance,
second to nothing else, which devolves upon the Society. As heretofore,
the Acting Committee, (consisting of the officers of the Society,
_ex officio_, and forty-four other members), has been divided into
two sub-committees: one of them being allotted as visitors to the
Eastern Penitentiary, and the other to the County Prison. These
Committees have been regularly organized, and each of them has held
Stated Monthly Meetings, at which Reports have been received from the
individual members, as to the character of their services during the
month, and these Reports, or a summary of them, have been transmitted
to the Monthly Meetings of the Acting Committee. From the accounts
thus received, there is reason to believe that the interest in this
service has in no degree abated, and that the duties of the visitors
are discharged with increased efficiency. Owing to the long continued
indisposition of one or two of the members of the Penitentiary
Committee, and the protracted absence from the city of others, the
aggregate number of visits paid there is not quite equal to that
reported last year. There have been, however, 175 written Reports
received from members of this Committee, by which we are informed that
656 visits were paid by them to that institution during the course of
the year, in which 7,031 interviews were had with the prisoners, 4,728
of which took place within the cells, and 2,303 at the cell doors. We
have no doubt but that many other visits were paid, but omitted to be
reported.
The manner of meeting the prisoners is in a kindly spirit, approaching
them not as convicts, but as men, the consequence of which is, that the
entrance of a member of the Committee into a cell proves, with rare
exceptions, a source of real satisfaction to the inmates; confidence
being by this means established, an avenue is opened to their better
feelings, and on being inquired of, they freely give a history of their
past lives, and state what were the immediate influences under which
the crime was committed, which resulted in their being confined in a
felon’s cell. The information thus obtained, has fully convinced us,
that a very large proportion of the vice existing, and of the crimes
committed, if traced to their root, will be found to spring from
Intemperance.
It must be remembered that this baneful influence is not limited to
those individuals who commit crimes while under the immediate effect
of the intoxicating draught, nor even to such, and those who by
their ruinous habits, have brought themselves into such a state of
destitution and degradation, that their necessities present strong
temptations, and at the same time their sense of the obligations of
integrity and the rights of their fellowmen, is so weakened, that the
fatal step is easily taken. But to these two classes must be added
the children of such, who, growing up under the influence of the evil
example of the parent, feeling the degradation which he has brought
upon his family, and suffering from the destitution which he has
entailed upon them, and at the same time, being without the benefit of
any sound moral and religious instruction, and permitted to roam the
streets in idleness, without the knowledge of any business, are easy
victims to the attacks of the tempter. When will the proper authorities
of the land, by the enactment of suitable and effective laws, lay the
axe to the root of this giant evil?
In these interviews with the prisoners, such counsel is given, as seems
suited to their condition, so far as the visitors feel themselves
qualified, not unfrequently, as we trust, seeking for Divine aid in
the performance of the service. We believe that _many_, during their
confinement, are improved in their _moral_ perceptions, and reach the
conviction that “honesty is the best policy,” and are thus brought to
resolve to endeavor to lead a correct life from the time of their
discharge, and we hope that not a few of these, with the Divine
blessing on their efforts, have not again relapsed into their former
course of vice and crime, and that some, even amongst those who may not
have yet attained to the true ground of reformation, an abhorrence of
themselves in the sight of God, may, through Divine mercy, before the
close of life, experience that change of heart which will render them
acceptable in His sight. And we feel assured, that we have witnessed
some instances of _true conversion_, which have resulted through the
co-operation of Divine grace, with the instrumentalities connected
with our prison system, and we cannot doubt but that the labors of our
Prison Society have had some agency in effecting this happy change.