The Sun.
London, England, 1853-08-29 00:00:00

effects, to enable us to form our own conclusions upon the
subject.

For myself, I had previously expressed them in my se-
cond report, 1847, to the following effect :—,
"My own independent conclusion, fou.. on a close
observation of the system as carried out at Pentonville,
Wakefield, and other prisons, is that separate confinement,
with very few exceptional cases, and with ordinary pre-
caution may be safely and generally adopted for periods
extending from six to twelve months, or rather more.
" Beyond 12 months I think it requires greater care and
watchfulness than would, perhaps, be ensured under ordi-
nary circumstances. And there are grounds for believing
that it is neither necessary nor desirable to extend it.
"It is not the use, but the abuse of separate confine-
ment that is to be guarded against ; that is, pressing it
beyond the limits within which advadtage is to be derived
from placing a prisoner under favourale circumstances
for reflection and seceiving instruction, or of continuing to
enforce it in the case of any individual whose health of
mind or body appears to suffer under separate confinement
in a greater degree than he would under a system of asso-
ciation."
Under any circumstances, however, the experience of
1848, as already detailed, would naturally have led to the
adoption of any precautionary measures which afforded
hope of mitigating the evils. This responsibility was espe-
cially forced upon our attention from the circumstances
that it had been determined by the Government to subject
all prisoners to a period of separate confinement, instead of
the very small proportion which, up to that period, includ-
ing 1848, had been selected for the purpose.
The first report of the new board is for 1849, and is
dated 25th February, 1850. Some extracts from a subse-
quent report, bearing on the question, are inserted in the
appendix, page 102.
The experience of the year 1849 was such as to call for
increased watchfulness and precautions ; for we had com-
menced dealing with a description of prisoners far less
able to bear separate confinement than those who
were made the subjects of the orignal experiment; and
this discipline was about to be enforced under the
responsibility of the Secretary of State at Wakfield,
and in other prisons where cells had been rented by the
Government for the purpose. U top the end of 1839,
however, no alteration in the routine, of any consequence,
had been made, although prisoners of good conduct, who
had been six months in the prison, had been previously
selected for employment in the kitchen, bakery, and in
other work, chiefly with a view to economy.
Mr. Bradley, the medical officer, in his report for 1851,
observes on the general question f health under the less
favourable circumstances in which the discipline was
carried out :

" The admission of ordinary convicts for the purpose of
undergoing punishment would naturally tend to increase
the proportion of both mental and bodily disease. This
anticipated result, however, has not obtained, as the medi-
cal statistics show, with regard to mortality and disease in
the prison ; while, if the condition of the prisoners at the
expiration of their imprisonment be regarded, and a com-
parison in this respect be made between those formerly
embarked on board the convict ships, and the men who
have been sent during the last two years to the public
works, the observation will be in favour of the latter as
being more healthy in appearance, and possessing, for the
most part, unimpaired strength and activity of both mind
and body.
" The circumstances which has been mainly instru-
mental in counteracting the tendency to disease and in
maintaining health will be found to be that the term of
imprisonment in Pentonville has been shortened ; the time
to be passed in separate confinement having been reduced
from 18 to 12 months."

With regard to mental health, he observes that it may
be considered to have been highly satisfactory, whether the
diminished number alone be regarded, or the character of
the cases themselves.