thousands of these wretches, of both sexes, and of all ages, daily employed in depredation and plunder, to the great loss, annoyance, and terror of the industrious part of the community; who are not only stripped of their property, but frequently compelled to become prosecutors at their own expense, and to attend distant courts of justice, without the prospect of any compensation ?-If instead of being whipped and discharged, these culprits had been detained in custody, and set to labour till they had acquired a habit of industry, and had been compelled to repay to those they had robbed the amount of their losses; if, instead of disseminating through the land every species of wickedness, they had themselves received the instructions of compassionate and patient friends, and been restored to society under circumstances of credit and decency, can there be a doubt that the public would have been benefited by such a change? Let us attend

be pitied, you should turn your talents to a better account, and you should really leave off this bad course of life. Yes, that is better said than done; for where is there any body to take these wretches. I will take upon myself to say, that I have known this to be a clear case, which they have said to me, Sir, we do not thieve from disposition, but we thieve because we cannot get employment; our character is damned, and nobody will have us; and so it is. There is no question about it.”—Minutes of Evidence, p. 264..

for a moment to the plea of reason and justice on behalf of the unhappy wretch, who is condemned to death for a repetition of his offence. “I had no means, nor incitements," he might say, "to gain a little reputation, because a stamp of ignominy had been indelibly fixed upon me, before I was thrown back upon an injured and incensed world. I fled from solitude and reflection, because the past afforded me no satisfaction, the present sustained my sinking spirits by no consolation, and the future cheered me with no hope. I associated with wicked companions, because good men shunned me. I wandered, because I had no home. I loitered, because no man would employ me. I stole, because the importunate and irresistible cravings of nature would not permit me to starve. A suspected vagrant in every lonely village, a detested outcast in every crowded city, cold and naked, hungry and thirsty, I no longer can desire to live, nor fear to die. These excuses, so generally disbelieved and rejected by man, may be true, and if true, they are important, and if important, they may plead, trumpet tongued, against the revilers of the unfortunate, when they meet together before the tribunal of heaven."*

Of all the terms of odium and reproach

*Characters of C. J. Fox, by Philopatris Varvicensis, notes, p. 397.

which nations so liberally bestow on each other, there are none more deserved than those which are founded on the infliction of imprisonment. Of the cruelties exercised by the Dutch in the East, of the French Bastille, and the Spanish Inquisition, we speak with horror; but when we peruse the faithful narrations that have been given of the dungeons of our own country, we shall find little cause for exultation. Instead of boasting of the name of Howard, we ought rather to blush at its recollection, when we reflect that it is upwards of forty years since the publication of his work, and that so little improvement has yet been made; whilst in many places, our prisons became rather worse than better; as may appear by a comparison of the work of Mr. Howard, with that of his indefatigable successor, Mr. Neildso ineffectual have been their labours, to excite the attention of their countrymen to the correction of the evils which they have so feelingly and so truly set forth.

The public attention has, however, of late been powerfully called to this subject in the work of Mr. Buxton on Prison Discipline, a work which, by describing the abuses that yet exist in some of our places of confinement, and contrasting them with the improvements that have taken place in others, has demonstrated the practicability of a general and improved

system of management. Of the injustice and inexpediency of imprisonment, as at present inflicted in this country, the most clear and satisfactory proof may be found in the introduc tory chapter to his work, in which he has shewn, from the highest authorities, that the law extends its protection to prisoners, no less than to other subjects; and that their rights are grossly violated by the treatment at present inflicted upon them. To this excellent tract I earnestly recommend the reader's attention, and shall only observe, that in the plain estimation of common sense, there can scarcely be a more absurd or injurious proceeding, than to con fine a person within the limits of a gaol, to brood over his own distracting thoughts, not only without any useful employment, but too often in the midst of riot, disorder, and wickedness. In this proceeding there is not a pretext of any advantage to the prosecutor by compensation, or to the prisoner by his amendment; the only motive that can be discovered, is the gratification of a barbarous and disgraceful spirit of revenge; which, as society continues to improve, and better principles are established, cannot fail to meet with the odium it deserves.

Frequently combined with imprisonment is another species of punishment, which has of late been carried to such an extreme, as loudly

to call for regulation or restriction. This is the practice of loading prisoners with irons, under the pretext of safe custody; but often, it is to be feared, to gratify the indolence, or the malice, or to promote some undue advantage of the gaoler. This practice is the more indefensible, as the maxim of the English law declares" that no prisoner shall be put in chains, unless he be unruly, or attempt to escape;" but as the keeper is the sole judge as to the construction he may please to put upon his conduct, the prisoner is left at his mercy, and is frequently obliged to purchase his exemption from being "bolted by his neck or his leg to the floor of a prison, at the expense of his last shilling."

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"Raise your walls," exclaims one of these spirited advocates for the oppressed, " Strengthen your gates, make your gaol a place of security, and no longer oppress your prisoners with unlawful chains for the worst purposes of corrup tion, under the miserable subterfuge of a pretended county economy.

* Neild on Prisons, Preliminary Dissert. p. 64.