The National Register.
London, England, 1818-06-08 00:00:00

STATE cr PRISONS.

Lord LA NSDOWNi called the attention of the House to Cie
increase of crime, and said he should have The painful task
of calling their Lordships' attention to the returns 011 the
table of the House, front which it appeared that crime had
increased in a three-fold degree in the last to years; the
r.iiiiiber of convictions in 1813,16, and 1;, being 19,736; and
in lee!), 6, and 7, only 7865. This increase of crime might
Le imputed to different causes by different persons. Souse
nf. edit impute it to a long continued war; some to the state
of our revenue lam s, and sortie to a large paper currency.--
Indeed, it might be the result of all these causes united; but
whatever might be the cease of crime, every one would
Lgree that the fact of their increase or diminution depended
r.i;ch on the state of our prisons; and here he would only
slate shortly the variety of crime and charges of crime which
:night be found in one prison • namely, charges of felony,
p^tty theft, niansliteghter, fraud, against the Excise,
Game Laws, proceedings in t lie Ecclesies lica I Courts, charges
of bastardy, and various other descriptions of crime. Now,
svhen it was considered that there were annually upwards of
t,OOO persons committed in the course of the year, 13.000 of
whom at least were again returood to society, the House would
not fail I. see that this practice f mixing offenders, without
considering the different shades !*their offence, was an evil
of the greatest magnitude. From all the works published
on this subject, it would appear that the system prevailing in
the primes of the metropolis, was the very opposite of that
which would prodnce reform. To prove this, be need only
read an extract from Mr. Buxton's hook, who, speaking of
the Borough Compter, says, " every sort of profligacy pre-
-wailed there, the tried and the untried, the ('hauled and those
at liberty, all mingle together in one common la erd." And
the keeperof that prison, a most humane man, stated, that in
nine years he had never known a single it:tut:ire of reformation take
play in the prison. And further, that if he were to illteharge
peisonen, he was persuaded he should in a few weeks see :ro of them
back again. Even the prison of Newgate was not free iron objec-
tion on this head. ln that prison there was acsomonoclation fot only
to persons when under sentence of death. In this prison, profligacy
of mariners prevailed till very lately ; here however an extraord:nary
reformation had been brought about by a most extraordinary aud
'amiable female, who, notwithstanding the disadvantages she had :a
snuggle with, had done much to introduce morality into the prison ;
and what might not her progress have been, bad the proper regula.
riots elisted in the prisons, and had it been possible to have aided
her irier good work, as she deserved to be. To girt the House in
possession of information on the subject was the object of his present
meson. and to obtain that object, he would move an humble Ad.
• arms to the Prince Regent, preying that his Royal Highness would
be graciously pleased to direct an enquiry to be entered into on the
Rate of the different prisoas in the kingdom, and a report thereon to
he laid before the House. The Noble Lord concluded by moving an
Address to that effect.
Lord Curium's expressed his satisfaction at the section of the
Noble Marquis. to which he would give his support. The measure
of crimeln this country, in the space of the last eight or nine years,
had indeed been alarming j and that increase certainly arose out of
venous combined circumstances. It was, however, a consolatory
eofketion, that the increase of crime had not been proportionably
peat within the last four years as it was in the preceding, though,
in that wield, we had had distress at it highest. provisien at its high-
est psitee,anAle had had • transition from war to peace, and a re-
duction beyond 'precedent. both in our army and navy. Another
airrionstance of a most consoling nature also. was, that though the
ramher ofiebotro had increased. the number of capital punishments
had deoreased. The Noble Lord then went into a comparative view
of the nuraberof capital punishments in different periods, from t;so
to the present time, by which it appeared that the executions were
much more numerousen the early part than in the latter years of
that period. Only two means of remedying the evil remained, one
cf which most 'be adopted. either to introduce greater severity of
punishment. or to adopt such a system in our prisons, by classifies-
von, iestreetioa, and other means, as might produce reGorinatios,
ar.rl that, decrease crime. He was happy the Noble Marquis had
breaglit this subject forward ; the result would be, most probable,
the appointment of a Committee, from whose labours and SOCIXILIOGI3-
dation' he anticipated the greatest benefit.
The POST Laws Amendment Bill was returned from the Moment
Commons.
lord CASSARVIIV observed, that lie still retained his opinion
that it was desirable the clause respecting th:nturent of the prior-
iret, try y the owners of Imperil? might be am lie thought the
sum mould be sitned horn el. to 61., and that cottages under 61. i-
leac should be exempted.