The Express.
London, England, 1859-01-03 00:00:00

PRISON DISCIPLINIL-TER GAOL OF
zarearz

On Saturday there was made public a very im-
portant report presented by the Rev. John Davis, the ordi-
nary of Newpte, to the Lord Mayor and the Corporation of
the City of London, and by them ordered to be printed, upon
the "abject of the recent important alterations that have been
made in the interior of the prison of Newgete, end the effect
of these alterations upon the premiers. The rev. gentleman
commences his report by stating that he presents it oa this
cooed= with peculiar satiefection, as for more than two
mouths the north side of the prison hat been opened en
the separate system, fur the reception of male prisoners, and
that, although the expense has no doubt been wsrilnocoes,, the
moral effect of the alteration abundantly aompirted for
say
We
waatever. Mr. Davis than premeds to mate
" We have had two sets of inmates in the oelle already, and
the third are now passing through the some ordeal, so that
some oppertnalty has been given oleinertainiag the teal offset
of the system in Noonan. The period that each prisoner
maim in Neweste is on an evens 16 days, sad doom the
remands have been met tar, probebly lam All the experience,
therefore, that can be gleaned in this prism hes, with two
eels of prieonere, been acquired. I find the remelt at present
to be not only the entire suppression ef the corrupt and
demoralising effect of indiecnininets ageociation, bat a
peculiar seriousness of demeanour is pro:dewed by separate
confinetnent,whioh,extept in a few instances, I never witnessed
before. Dishonest persona, and those addicted to crime
en a habit, generally strive under a forced gaiety end hilarity
of manner, so conosall or supper the pastas effects of guilt
on the mind. Nothing is more common among inoorrigible
convicts than the bootie laugh, profane jest, and half-lunatic
grin, that denote to a careful observer the reel uneasiness of
the conscience. But to sleet these symptoms of guilt and
depravity, there is • necessity for othopenions—apere by him-
self the joke is lost, the hero of daring dishonesties bee no
listener, and indeed of being eurrowned by companions
who exult in his mirth and applaud hie narrow excesses,
he has the profound silence of solitude, and the darkness
of night, by himself to think over the errors he has
engendered, and the Injuries he has inflicted during Ms
whole career. The result is a greater degree of sationeness,
Zees betatron. demeanour, and, as far as external appearance
extends, a marked and decided improvement." With refer-
ence to the effect of solitary confinement upon the minds of
the prisoner., the Ordinary says, " There are, however, two
periode of greet anxiety in the case of may prisoners who
are thus confined. The first is, when they ere apprehended
and taken out of their families, and off from all domestic
sympathies, and placed in separate confinement, to
meditate upon their fallen condition. That many
persons would under such circumstances be over-
powered with diem' reflections so es to contemplate des-
perate weenies, is no more than you would reasonably
expect. The mum remark applies with even greater force
to the forty-eight hours after their trial and some unex-
pectedly heavy sentence. Rope never bee bad a more fertile
place to expand in than the breast of a criminal. The
slightest fact that is favourable, the smalls/it discrepancy in
the evidence, the chance that an important witness may be
ebeent, end the probability that some point of law may turn
in hie favour, are quite enough to create a atroog anticipation
of neaps. That too many unprincipled agents or 'elicitors
cherish, feed, end foster these delosione, end become most in-
dignant at a doubt being expreased of their perfect accu-
racy, long experience tells me is too true. The way that
primate am buoyed up with unwarranted expectations
=
out
ry of one, or other, or more of theme caws, is ex-
, sad bence it arises that parties so elated by
fele" entioipstions, feel proportionately disappointed, and
sage with the greatest bee for two or these days after
all them dehisione have been destroyed. A person in sepa.
rags confinement, repine to be welched at both these timer,
and the most solicitous efforts are made to guard spinet any
evil resole from these causes. The Governor of Neogate
pays the greatest attention to them periods, and so far as
time has eloped he has dons so successfully, in carrying out
the new system." With reference to the effect of the system
upon the religions instruction of the premien the reverend
gentleman says—. I perceive with most lively satisfaction
the finessed advantage that the separate system affords for
imparting such ithtruction. When prisoners were kept in •
state of association with each other, whenever any serious
hawse/ion wee produced by the chapel Ignite it was Is-
neatly deetnyed by the levity or mockery of the profane,
• said many and many" time bee a prisoner complained to me
of the total want of the means of meditation and devotion
when kept in constant companionship with the pro-
fligate." Separate confineniont upon hardened criminals
sad old offenders is stated by the Ordinary to be
peculiarly Irksome, as their habits being depraved,
they need the constant conversation of corrupted
minds to keep alive the degraded principles on
which they set, sad any kind of labour, sad almost anything,
is preferred by them to the silent:woe the corridor and the ob.
scurity of the cell. The Ordinary also states Priem
offences are greatly diminished by the Foment mode of on-
fiascoes(; Itotgloats had-tenneed MIS have no one to gamest
with. By evil habits quarrelling became a pert of their
nature ; with no one to blame, no one to emld, no ow to
contradict, peaoefulueee becomes too tame, and their
ilinonceeled disposition would break out against the
turnkeys, but the recollection that there are cells
total, dark and underground makes the incorrigible
convict become prudent. These horrible abodes have
never been required but once, mad that was with as
old returned trannort, just of the character described above,
and a few hours tamed him completely, and dunng the rest
of his stay in the prime be was quite docile and tractable."
The Ordinary then proceeds to recommend, In a moot sense
manner, that the game improvements should be effected In
the women d wing of the prison, and beaming "It would,
indeed, be an anomaly to centime the pool as it stands now,
with all the enlightened Improvements of peace and modern
der, on the one side, and on the other that mode of imprison-
ment continued that lese called doves the severest aninsadvey
eons for • long eyes of years, both in the reports made to
parliament and in the more public channels of information."
The reverend gentleman concludes his report by interring
upon the manner in which prisoners are at present
employed, not only in this but other prisms. Upon this
subject he says, " It is quite time that something should be
substituted for oakum picking; peoner, employed at the
work earn about five shillings for picking • hundred-weight,
and • convict unaccustomed to the work with difficulty pities
two pounds a day ; it will Coke, therefore, fifty nix ',coking
days, or nine weeks, to earn five 'billings. The real price
of • day's work Is one penny end the fifteenth of • penny,
sad in the week the convict oely miss sixpence end two-
fifths. it seems to me the height of absurdity to give sued
employment a. this to men the lowest of whom wages le Ma.
per week outside, and WI highest as mush se 16a a day ;"
tied he then proceeds strongly to urge the necemity of em-
ploying ormericted prisoners in some makable occupation.

ROTAL FREE HONTITAL, OLT'S-MN-110AD.—
Th.) number of patisats relieved at this hospital daring the
weak widow Jew. 1, was 1,972, of which 112 were DOW
OW&