The Express.
London, England, 1853-07-08 00:00:00

be the hmeaspetesey se the wilfulness of the officials
• tel to curry them out ? Since the time of
,e en, not only has our penal legislation been
ciametteised by an absence of all those revolting
{sutures which f.rnierly disfigured our statute law,
tat the internal economy of our prisons has been
lade subject to such arrangements as have a
tojeney to limit the power possessed by
nnisoidinate officers. It was thought that the rule of
eonill:t for the..., ttivt rs was marked out with such
preelelen that the prisoners would receive just. the
amount ut pale lenient proscribed by the law, and no
wore. It was hoped that the criminals might be
eai.le to feel that they were undergoing their pu-
si-le.lunt to satisfy the wounded majesty of the law,
on:i to gratify the malevolence or impatience of
a ketper. The events at Birmingham show that in
cue. at least, of our gaols, this is not the case, but
ILA prbunere must be inevitably led to the coneln-
siva that they arc enduring a portion of their suffer-
ings, not bef:ause they have violated the sanctity of
'Octal relations, but as the result of private " dif-
knows" between themselves and their gaolers.
The particular case which drew the attention of
the public to the treatment of criminals in the gaol
at Birmingham was the suicide of a youth named
ANiatesss. The facts stated in the coroner's in-
quest on the body were of such a nature as to excite
sapid:in that the treatment of criminals in the
establishment was generally defective, and Lord
%LI! 10TUN felt it his duty to direct Mr. PERRY, I
the Inspector of Prisons for the district, to proceed nal
Birmingham for the purpose of instituting a rigid
inquiry into the economy of the gaol. The report
of that gentleman, couched in very temperate sad
cautious language, goes far towards corroborating
the worst fears that were prevalent as to a system',
of torture being employed. "Facts (says the In- I
specter) have been brought to my knowledge which
warr..nt me in stating that the Governor is in the
Olt of inflicting en the prisoners, especially those
of the juvenile class, punishments not sanctioned by
law—which, while they are not even effectual in
repressing disorder, are in their nature repugnant to
the feelings of humanity, and likely to drive the pri-
soner 14 ilesperati4n."
If anything could add to the sympathy which has
lately been excited on behalf of the wretched juve-
nile outcasts of society, the miserable "City Arabs,"
it would be the terrible termination to their lives of
crime, which is likely to result from such a system
as that apparently pursued at Birmingham. Turned
cut into the streets the moment he has learned to
walk and talk, the future tenant of the gaol seems
bound, under threats of punishment in case of
failure, to bring home to his parents money sufficient
to give them the means of procuring vicious
inelulgences. His resources are begging and
thieving. He is thrust from his home with
blows, he meets with chastisement from his
older companions, he returns home to stripes and
starvation. Ile begins to feel that ho and society
are at war, and he loses no opportunity of carrying
out the war to a successful termination. He plunders
and is punished. Ile repeats the crime, and receives still
more punishment. The effect of this may be con-
jectured from the following extract from the evidence
of a reformed thief, given before a Committee of the
House of Commons :

" When were you sent to orison?" "About four years
ago," i. e., as appears from previous questions, at between
thirteen and fourteen years of age. " How many times
lave you been in prison ?" " Twice."—" Was your im-
prisonment
youcommitofao nr
usieie to yous n?"
after younot":go,left inethperliwn
least."—
last time " Yes; the same day."—" Did the chaplain
talk to you privately ?" " No."—"eDo you think that the
present way that young criminals, young thieves, for in-
stance, are treated tends to reform them ?" " No, it does
sot."—" When a buy comes out of prison for an offence of
that kind, what generally becomes of him ?" "Well,
some may go home, and some may stop away ; they may go
ea again for a living ; some have no way of getting a living
only in that way, and when once their character is gone
down, they have nowhere to refer to for another character;
that is, they are obliged to carry on the same way for a
livieg."—" What frightens them most from committing the
like effivieve again ?" " I do not know; I n was
frightened."—" Yon have known several that have been
flogged, arid have come out and continued their bad prac-
tices ?" " Yes."—" Yon think that flogging has no effect
in deterring them ?" " No."—By 11r. Milner: "Do you
think it of any good to a boy to be shut up for a time in
solitary confinement to think about himself ?" "No ; I
was shut no for three days in a dark cell, and directly I
came out I had three more, and then three more, making
nice days."—Misiutss of Evidence, p. 243.
Here is a youth who has gone through all the dis-
cipline of a gaol, minus the amateur chastisement
administered at Birmingham. Fancy one of the
class who has received at the hands of society little
but misery, brought back once more by the
strong arm of the law to the scene of his chastise-
ment. stage at the apparent inevitableness of
punishment, the certainty that if he returns to the
world there is no resource open to him but to thieve
and to be detected, and to be brought back again for
a still severer measure of pain,—the feeling that
not a soul around him sympathises with him,—all this
acts upon him as it would act upon any one else in
the same situation. He becomes moody, discon-
tented, disobedient. Ho quarrels with his gaolers,
and it can scarcely be expected that the class of
men who hold these situations will be able
to restrain their passions under insult, unless
they are bound by rigid rules and sub-
ject to constant supervision. In the absence
of these conditions they will retaliate upon
their helpless victim. He is in their power,
and they make him feel it.. The measure of his
punishment is increased until, unable to escape or
to be revenged, the unhappy criminal, driven to
desperation, commits suicide. This imaginary case is
one which has been realised at Birmingham. Mr.
PERRY states in another passage of his report:
I ficd it impossible to riisconnect the large number of
suicides, and attempts at suicide, that have occurred in
this prison, including that of the individual who last
formed the subject of the coroner's inquiry. • • •
After making every due allowance for those cases which
might have been feigned, there will still remain a fearful
number, far exceeding, according to my experience, any-
thing recorded elsewhere.
The youth ANDREWS succeeded in his attempt.
How the prison cruelty acts in general on the minds
of the prisoners may be conjectured from the evi-
dence of JOHN DODSON, who was confined for non-
payment of a sum of 30s. This man, although under
medical treatment at the time of his committal, was,
after very rough usage, set to work at the hard la.
boar crank, being ordered to strip and turn the
crank ten thousand times a day. The attempt to
perform his task occasioned illness, and he com-
plained to the Governor, without obtaining relief.
The only notice taken of the complaint was the admi-
nistration of a strong purgative dose of medicine,
which incapacitated him still more for the perform-
ance of his duty. The following extract from the
statement of a deputation to Lord PALMERSTON will
tell the rest of the tale :

The time-keeper afterwards came, and ordered him to
continue his work. Ile answered that he could not, and
that, without assistance, he should die ; to which the man
replied—" If you are to die, you must die then," and then
locked his cell, where he was left until midnight. Ile rang
the bell five several times at long intervals, as he felt in a
dying state, and after ringing the fifth time one of the
warden came and asked him what he wan ringing the bell
for. Ile replied that he felt he was dying and wanted
anus' tame*, and that be should consider himself a murdered
man. The warder then said—" I tell you what, if you
dare to ring that bell again I will tie you up to that staple
(pointing to one high up on tue wall), and strap your lege
to those irons (which were fastened in the walls for the
Purpose of suspending the hammocks to), and leave you
there the whole night." The warder gave him no assistance,
but locked the door, and he was left alone in his cell. About
half en hour afterwards the governor, as was his custom,
nor his rounds. Being too ill to stand upright, he leaned
aglinit the wall, endeavouring to give the governor the
usual salute as well as he could. Having been seized with
a shivering fit, be had tied the prison handkerchief round
his neck to keep him a little warm. The governor ordered
him to stand upright, which he could not do; the governor