The Press.
London, England, 1853-08-27 00:00:00

AUGUST 27, 1853.

been tried, begin a task of labour, with the prospect of
losing his dinner if he be sullen and refuse to complete it.
Should he ask for a companion, he will be at once nfased.
Between times he may wish to comfort himself with a pipe,
or at least with a pinch of snuff; but no, the rules in•
eaorably and most properly forbid all luxuries, especially
such as foster habits of expense. At dinner be may ask
for at least a little beer; but he is again refused, and he
finds that, however much against his will, he has suddenly
become a member of a total abstinence society. As for
opportunities of gambling, he has neither anything to stake
nor any person with whom to play.

- -
The report from which these lines are ex-
tracted deals with Scotch gaols ; bat those of
England, though in sonic instances comfort.
has been too much studied, are conducted on
the same general system. As a rule it may
safely be assumed that where discipline is
properly maintained, and labour enforced,
there is no fear of prisons ceasing to be places
of punishment.
Three main objects present themselves, in
considering the arrangements of a prison. It
should provide for the safe keeping of the in-
mates ; it should be self-supporting. or nearly
so; and it should be reformatory. The first of
these desiderata is completely secured, es-
capes being now of exceedingly rare &sew-
renee. The second and third are more diffi-
cult of attainment. Hitherto a natural jea-
lousy lest the rights of free industry should
be interfered with have operated to render
prison labour unprofitable. This jealousy is
fast disappearing, under the influence of high
wages and abundant employment. Another
exception to the rule of self-support exists in
the practice of inflicting taskwork of a purely
useless character by way of extra punishment,
such, for instance, as turning an empty tread•
wheel. Mr. Hill, of course, protests against
this as degrading—an objection which will not
have much weight. with men in general. who
consider that degradation is the manna and
just recompense of crime. He lays it down,

8. That the principles of a good systom of prison disci-
pline are simple.
7. That the basis of such a system is work.
8. That, as far as practieable, the work should be both
instructive and profitable.
0. That tread-wheels, labour-machines, and all other con-
trivances by which work is turned to waste, and made
painful and degrading, are erroneous in principle.
10. That, as far as practicable, the rules of a prison
ought to be so framed as to orris the same motives to in-
dustry as exist in the outer world: and that, in addition,
the time of a prisoner's release ought, to a considerable
extent, to depend on his industry.
11. That, in accordance with this principle, a prisoner's
supply of tliod, mid other necessaries and comforts, should,
under ordinary circumstances, depend mainly on his
labour.
It. That he ought also to have an opportunity of earn-
ing a fund to help him for a time after liberation, and iu
some cues to pay the cost of emigration.
He objects to the system of seclusion, long
continued, on the ground that it produces des-
pondency and enfeebles the mind. He would
allow intercourse under due restrictions be-
tween prisoners and their friends out of doors,
such intercourse having a tendeney to hit
manise and encourage in good resolutions.
He thinks that prisoners should be suffered to
earn money by extra work, and thus to form a
fund which may be available at the time of
their release. Lastly, he remarks on the im-
portance of " taking measures for making the
" transition from the prison to the world at
" large less abrupt ;" that is, of giving a par-
tial and gradual instead of an entire and sud
den freedom. All these suggestions are vain
able ; and, except where Mr. Hill's too obvious
leaning to the side of mercy against justice
invalidates the truth of his conclusions, we
know no work on criminal law from which
more instruction may be derived.

Clan Albyn. 13y Mrs. Johnstone. (The Railway
Library.) London : Routledge and Co.

Is this novel Mrs. Johnstone has ventured upon a
story much larger than any of her " lidinburh
Tales," which obtained for her deserved attention
amongst readers of light literature. She is a proti-
tient in the mechanical part of novel-writing; but
" Clan Albyn" wants freshness of costume, originality
of ideas, and intensity of passion. IN construction
is clever, but it is not interesting, and the story
labours under the disadvantage of being spun out
too long. We would r:commend its authoress to
choose fresher subjects, and to treat them at less
length.