The Sun.
London, England, 1823-06-03 00:00:00

1113 HI 8

PRISON DISCIPLINE.

Yesterday a numerous and respectable Meet-
ing of the Society for the Imptivement of Prison Discipline
took place at the Freemasons' Tavern, the Duke of GLou-
CESTER in the Chair.

His Royal highness entered the room accompanied by the
Bishop of Chester, Lord Caithorpe, the Prussian Envoy, Sir
James Mackintosh, Mr. Wilberforce, Mr. Buxton, &c. &c..—
The Great Hall was crowded with Ladies, amongst whom were
Mrs. Fry, and a number of others of the ociety of Friends.
The SECRETARY read the Report, which stated, that not-
withstanding the efforts of the Society, many of the Prisons of
England exhibited deplorable instances of the neglect of the
lessons which were so frequently published, that the persons
confined in those prisons were still treated in the most merci-
less manner, the agony of bodily infliction being aggravated by
-the incessant attacks upon the moral principle. The mad, the
dissolute, the suspected, and the calumniated, were mixed to-
gether, uninspected, idle, and almost unclothed. There were
various instances of the confinement of boys and girls for light
offences, and of their return to prison for heavy crimes. There
was no effectual separation between male and female pri-
soners in those prisons, and no religious instruction or visitation
practised, or even recollected. The advantages of the tread-
mill were highly spoken of in the Report, which also described
the powerful influence of the Female AssociationS, and the com-
plete reformation of the Newgate system, as well as the opera_.
uons of the Continental Associations for the same purpose.
The Report particularly dwelt upon the necessity of taking
care of unfortunate boys who were exposed to temptation, and
to the horrible contamination of a prison.
The Bishop of CHESTER moved' that the Report be received.
Lord CALTUORPE second the motion.—Agreed to.
The Earl GROSVENOR moved a Resolution, respecting gra-
tification at the increasing prosperity of the Institution,, but
pain at the fact that a great number of prisons were still with-
out classification or employment, and ,called imperiously for
the interference of the Legislature; and that it was therefore
with solicitude the Society looked for the completion of the.
measures before Parliament on the subject.
. Sir JAMES MACKINTOSH seconded the Resolution, and
urged the necessity of radically correcting the prisons, which
had been alluded to, in his opinion, in toe delicate a manner.
If any were stern enough not to feel, he hoped they would not
be stupid and foolish enough to keep up those schools of de-
pravity for perfecting the rising generation in vice. He wished
the report had stated the names of those detestable places.
which were instituted against the lives and morals of men,
and were infallible in producing all that should be avoided.
—He dwelt upon the number of capital crimes recognised in j
our code, and hoped that all punishments would be cast away 1
that were not adapted to the degree of the offence. He hoped,
that by the efforts of the Society, the character of the nation
would be vindicated, and that good men would find such a
change effected in the state of the Criminal laws, as would Li-
duce them to promote the prosecution of offenders instead of
dropping all thought of it. He concluded amidst loud cheers,
after having stated that the funds required the prompt assist-
ance of the Society.
Mr. WILBERFORCE moved the thanks of the meeting to
the ,Magistracy, for their co-operation. He particularly dwelt
upon the helpless state of the boys who were sent to prison,
where they were infected with a moral disease, degrading them
below the level of the species._

After some observaiions from Sir 'l'. Ac LAND, Mr.
Bus-
TON, and others, the thanks of the Society were voted to the
Duke of Gloucester, who, in returning thanks, expressed a
hope that the objects of the Society would soon be fully accum-
plished.—The meeting then separated.