The Sun.
London, England, 1850-10-23 00:00:00

N 18,122.] LONDON, WEDNESDAY .
mmaii „Alz 11.7. • .
OCTOBER 23, 1850.
-O

WORD'S WELLINGTON FAMILY and
COMMERCIAL HOTEL, DALE-STREET, LIVERPOOL.
This Hotel, situated in the immediate vicinity of the Exchange,
Docks, and other place s of public and commercial resort, is fitted up
in first-rate style, mid the accommodations for American, Foreign, as
well Its English strangers, will be found everything that is desirable,
while the arratigementl of the "Cuisine" are in the hands of a first-rate
Cook. The Proprietor lather wishes to intimate that his Coffee
and Commercial Rooms, as well as Sitting and Bed Rooms, will be
found second to none hi the kingd,m.
N.B. The charges for set vants are Included in the Bill (except those
who only stay a few hours), viz., Waiter, Porter, and Chambermaid,
and it is rapectfally intimated that all further payment Is unne-
cessary.

ASTERN COUNTIES RAILWAY.
WINTER ARRANGEMENT OF TRAINS.
S',VERAL ALTERA.TIO.I•;S in the TIMES of DEPARTURE and
ARRIVALS of both the Up and Down Passenger Trains will come
into operation on the Ist proximo.
For particulars, see Time-books, which will be ready at all Sta-
tions on and after the 2111 instant.
By order,
C. P. RONEY, Secretary.
Bishopsgate Station, Oct. 22, 1850.

KNOW TH SELF.-Professor ISLE N KIN-
SOP'S method of describing the Character of persona from
their Hand-Iv:Aim; never faits, being founded on phi:osgphica• prin-
ciples A specimen of Dee ordinary Writing, stating Age, Sex, and
Profession, enclosing 13 uncut Post4ge Stamps, will ensure an uner-
ring description of the, mental and moral qualities
.of the writer,
Fointie;.7, out gifts and defects bitherto unsuspected, with their proba-
ble in!lucuce on the future life ; and advice in al cases of distress and
d t y.
Address, Dr. Dlenkinsop, 10, Lancaster-place, Waterloo-bridge,
London.

CIIA.RACTERISTICS of L. HYAM and CO.
Att he numerous and vast ESTALLISIDIENTS of L. lIYAISI
an,t CO., Merctant Tailors, Clothiers, and Wholesale Dealers, the
invariable pr,tc:ice is to PITILCII. 4..5E the RAW MATERIA.LS from
the first manufacturers, and thus sive to Gentlemen and !leads of
Families ho patrot,ise them, all intermAiate profits, viz. :
let Profit arising front manufacturers buying articles in the raw
sta' e.

'roflt ! ! arising from merchants purchasing from mannfac•

turers.
3d. Profit 111 arising from London or Wholesale louses buying
from merchants. .
4th Profit !! ! arising from small retai ers having to purchase
from wholesale houses.
sth Profit ! !! !! arising from small tradesmen's exorbitant charges
to the consumer.
In the Ordered Department the newest and most superior style of
every Garment may be obtained, first-rate talent being employed in
the execution of all orders.
In the Department of ClOthing for immediate wear will be found
the most varied Stock lei. the world. Over Coats, peculiarly a lapted
for travelling and equestrianism.
Dress, Surteut, and Riding Coats; Walking and Business Jackets,
Waistcoats, Trows ;vs, Servants' fon Coats, Pages' Suits, and Wait-
ing Jacltets, enabling the Proprietors (at the shortest possible notice)
to execute all orders for home or foreign consumption.
Private Booms ;.re set apart for tryi:g on Children's Clothing, so
that parents and guardians can et once select the most b:,eorning at-
tire, and likewite ensure a correct and beautiful fit.
L. lIYAM and CO. beg distinctly to state that Goods made by
them can only be obtained at their places of bitaines, 36, Grace-
church-street, and 86, Oxford-street, and at :heir various P.stablish-
ments in the following towns :—Birmiagliam, Manchester, Liverpool
Leeds, Glasgow, Hull, Dublin, Bristol, and Exeter.

prosecuted, and that the board will proceed without
delay to make such arrangements respecting them as
may appear expedient and just. In the Exeter,
Yeovil, and Dorchester line this company holds 35,000
shares out of 56,000 ; there is u sum of 40,0001. and
upwards in hand ; and that in the Exeter and Ex-
mouth line, in which this comp: my holds 4 000 shares
out of 16,000, there remains 5,0001. and upwards.
With these remarks the directors close the subject of
the company's unexecuted lures. The remaining
question for the consideration of the meeting is the
propriety of discontinuing the insurance of the com-
pany's property against loss by lire, at an annual ex-
pmse of 1,2001., and of making provision for casual-
ties of this character by setting apart annually out of
the revenue of the company a sum assumed in the
run of years to be sufficient to cover them. The
directors, on the recommenctltion of their stores'
cemmittee, are of opinion that such an arrangement
would be en economical and prudent one, and that it
is fairly deserving the consideration of the proprietors
at large.

Bellerophon, 78, Captain Baynes, C. 8., has sent
letters from Gibraltar on the 10th inst. She may
now be hourly expected at Davenport. She arrived
at Gibraltar on the 9th.
Fearless steam-tender, Second Master-Commander
Wells, returned to Devonport on Sunday.
Fury, 6, steam-sloop, Captain Wilcox, was at La-
buan August 12, end was to leave for England im-
mediately. Coal operations are steadily progressing.
The agent had a stock of 200 tons on the beach, and
400 at the pit's mouth. The Fury had coaled at
LThuan. The officers state "she never steamed better
since she was a ship."
Harnoaze lighter, Wood master, who has been em-
ployed on moorings at Liverpool for four months,
caving completed the work, went to Holyhead, took
in a cargo of old stores, and returned to Devonport
on Saturday evening.
Lightning steam-tender, Master-Commander E.
Petley, arrived at Devonport on Monday morning
with supernumeraries from Chatham for the Portland.
She took in a supply of coals, and sailed again in the
afternoon on her return to Woolwich.
Meander 44, Captain the Hon. H. Keppel, arrived
et Valparaiso from °nine, Sydney, and Tahiti, on the
23d of August. She is ordered home.
Rattlesnake • surveying vessel, Lieutenant Yule
acting commander, arrived at the Bay of Islands,
New Zealand, from Sydney, May 16, on her way to
England.
POET ;MOUTII, OCT. 22.—Admiral the Hon. Sir
Bladen Capel, K.Q13., entertained a gallant circle at
the Admiralty House last evening in honour of the
anniversary of the battle of Trafalgar, in which me-
morable engagement and glorious victory he com-
manded a frigate.
The Vengeance, 84, Captain Sir Henry M. Black-
wood, moved over to the west shore— yeater,lay,,to lie
at anchor probably for the winter.
The Birkenhead iron steam-frigate, Master-
CAnmander Aylen, fitting out to carry stores to
Ascension, bent sails and had her compasses ad-
justed to-day. She will probably leave the harbour
to-morrow.
The Hecate steam-sloop, Commander Hand, is
ready for sea.
The Inconstant, 36, Captain Sheppari!, sailed from
Valparaiso for Ensrland with a small freight on
merchants' account on the 21 of August. The
Meander, 44, Captain the Honourable li. Keppel,
had arrived at Valparaiso from the East Indies
and New South Wales, and was refitting at the above
date.

UNIVERSITY INTELLIGENCE.
CAMBRIDGE, OCT. 22.
DEATH OF THE PROVOST OF KING'S CoLLEGR.—
Intelligence was received here yesterday of the de,
cease, on Monday morning, at his residence, in \Vim.
pole-street, Cavendish-square, of the Rev. George
Thackeray, D.D., F.L.S., Provost of King's College,
at the age of 73.
The subject of the present notice was born in 1777,
at Harrow. His grandfather was head master of
Harrow School, and the father of a numerous family,
whose sons have achieved distinction in various pro-
fessions. The father of the late Provost became an
eminent physician, and removed to Windsor, where he
was the favourite attendant upon George 111.
The late Dr. Thackeray was entered at Eton School,
where he speedily acquired distinction, and in due time
proceeded to King's College. Here he was created
8.A., 1802, M.A., 1805, and in the same year was
made a Fellow of the College. Ile was shortly
afterwards appointed one of the assistant-masters of
Eton, where he continued until he was appointed,
in 1814, Provost of King's College, on the decease of
Dr. Sumner. lie was created B.D. in 1813, and D.D.
in 1814 (by royal mandate), on his election to the Pro-
vostship, and in the same year ho served the office of
Vice-Chancellor of the University. The same year
Dr. Thackeray espoused Miss Cottle, whom he sur-
vived, and by whom he leaves issue one daughter, who
is heiress to his great wealth. The deceased held the
appointment of chaplain in ordinary to George 111.
and the succeeding Sovereigns, including her present
Majesty. He was an erudite classic, and had the re-
putation of having effected great improvements in the
University examinations and course of studies in that
respect. Dr. Thackeray was in addition an eminent
naturalist, and his collection and library in connexion
with that study are reputed (as private ones) to rank
among the best in England. Dr. Thackeray suffered
for some years before his decease from an internal
complaint, which finally carried him off, and had for
some time incapacita'ed him from taking an active
part in the administration of the affairs of the college.
CORPUS CHRISTI COLLEGE.—Messrs. Saunderson
and Pratt have, after examination, been declared the
successful candidates for sizarships at this college, and
have been elected accordingly.
GEOLOGY .—The Woodwardian Professor will com-
mence his course of lectures on this subject on Mon-
day, October 28, at twelve o'clock, in the Geological
Museum, and continue every Friday.
COMPARATIVE ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY.—The
Professor of Anatomy will commence a course of lec-
tures on comprrative anatomy and physiology in the
Anatomical School on Wednesday, October 23, at one
o'clock. The lectures to be delivered on Mondays,
Wednesdays, and Fridays, at one o'clock, will be 24
for the present term. The course will commence
with a review, illustrated by diagrams and prepara-
tions of the anatomy and physiology of man, as the
term of comparison; and will then proceed to the
anatomy and physiology of animels according to the
ascending series. Gentlemen who purpose to attend
these lectures with the intention of obtaining the Pro-
fessor's" certificate, which by grace of the Senate (Oc-
tober 31, 1848) is now required under certain condi-
tions for the degrees of 8.A., honorary M.A., and
8.C.L., must be provided with the professorial lecture
ticket, for which they are requested to apply to the
rcgistrary, or to their college tutor.
DIVINITY.—The Regius Professor of Hebrew will
resume his public lectures on the Psalms, at the Di-
vinity Lecture Room, on the 26th of October, to be
Professor will resume his
elementary lectures, at his rooms, in
continuedo
noen following Wednesdays and Satur-
e'
same hour on Wedncliday the 30th of October, at half-past
eleven A.M., to be continued at the
_owlTaiirlbe
Downing Professor of the College,
every
Wednesday
ASTaitouri during
he willi. be a meet-
ing
on Monday morning, the 2 8 thet reirnnst
B A. N
n,at t eleveno'clock, at Christ's College Lodge, to consider the
cases of those undergraduates who have degraded,
and are desirous of becoming candidates for honours.
Cases not presented to the Syndicate at the above
meetingnext regular
will deliver his introductoryg.
meetingbe p rec
iund precluded from October, consideration till the
Laws of
Englande
Downing College, on Wednesday, Oct. 23, at half n -
past twelve o'clock. Tickets will not be required for
this lecture, but gentlemen desirous of certificates
may obtain tickets of the registrar. lecture i

THE GREAT PLATE ROl3
Application was made yesterday to Lord
BERMS.
Chief Jus-
tice Jervis, at Judge's Chambers, Sergeants Inn, to
admit to bail Mr. Charles Thomas Sirrell, the silver-
smith, of Barbican, who stands committed by the
Liverpool magistrates on the great plate robbery
charges.
Mr. Bodkin appeared for the prisoner, and after
some discussion,
amount.2.lr. B Bodkin—Perhaps The Learned Judge said— pon again looking into
the depositions I tit' k I shall admit the prisoner to
, In
bail.
are— l'
readyerhap fix the
able gentlemen in the city of London.
The Judge—l will order the prisoner to enter into
hii own recognisances in 2,C00/., and four sureties in
1,000. each. swiythoufrouLroorfdLipmwoisitlrespect.
Mr. C. Lewis—Will your Lordship now take the
bail ; notice has been given, and no opposition made ?
Judge—l am certainly not going to travel out of
the ordinary course in this case; the prisoner must be
brought up, and notice previously given to the prose.
cutors of the day, to afford them an opportunity of
objecting to the bail.
—....---

a s-,
----____—__—_
Sins are like circles in the water, when a stone is
thrown into it; one produces another. When anpgaretrywoars in
Cain's breast, murder was not far off.—Eliza Cook's Journal.
, on the condi-
io for which CLERIC AL ANECDOTE.—A Rev. Doctor, now in
Edinburgh, when minister of Inverbrothock Chapel of Ease,
Arbroath, was as much
si
as
rtleeavmrearpeeenreseinfoe nr t, aaffnigtbility, and humour, as for his public ministrations. Being at
maeliactnoeunoflf-aicNiiirairblerprosa:tthwy,hwaehtreotmhweuercteh assembledable of one of our most emin e n t
the
him for his trouble. This created
not a little laughter at the humour of the Rev. Gentleman,
ftothat
thi elo was ,aswould famed,
pay he at last consented
but they all consented, when Ness John put round his hat,
which in a short time became pleni,lied with gold, silver, and
bank-notes. His reverence received great applause for his
condescension and music, he, at the -same time, bowing his
acknowledgments, and emptying the hat of its contents into
his pocket. Some short time thereafter, the party, think-
ing the "lark" had been carried far enough, began to give
sundry hints as to returning the money, when Mr. L. arose
amidst breathless silence and returned them his most sincere
thanks for their liberality (naming the sum he had received),
which would make a handsome addition to the funds of the
Destitute Sick Society, which were at that time in a very low
condition. Need we add the Rev. Gentleman was not re-
quired a second time to give a specimen of his musical abi-
lities.—Dundee Courier.

THE WEST INDIAN COLONIES,
TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.
SlR,—The West.lndian colonies have seldom pot-
sesied a larger share of public a' tention than at pre-
sent: Scheele after scheme has lately been put forth
for their melioration in their present dilspidatf-d
state. But it is precisely because in all theee schemes
I have seen nothing; which appears to strike at the
great root of the evil, or, indeed, to take cognizance
of it at all, that I venture to trouble vcu at this

time.
A residence of several years in the very interior of
the most important of our West Indian islands, Jas
main, gives me some claim at least to be heard upon
this subject. We have, in this country, been accus-
tomed to hear chiefly the evil reports of the planters
and the West Indian interest generally, and, probably
from this circumstance, the opinion seems to have
gained almost universal acceptance, that the fai-
lure of the emancipation scheme in so far as its
pecuniary results are concerned, is owing entirely to
the inherent indolence of the negro character.
We hear constantly of the iirpsssibility, on free-
trade principles, of the competition of free with slave
labour. We are recommended by one party, as the
only remedy, to put on again the protective duties;
and by another, to do virtually the same thing by
enforcing the slave treaties with Spain and Brazil, a
matter which could not possibly be carried out so
long as Cuba and Brazil enjoy such an extensive and
profitable trade, without the interference of war, to
which the advocates of this scheme are for most
part strenuously opposed. Or, again, we are recom-
mended to pursue a new tide of emigration, as if facts
had not long since proved the uselessness of any such
remedy. What we have to complain of chiefly is,
that we have seen no practical recommendation with
regard to the improvement of the present internal re-
sources of our West Indian islands, in which alone lie
the foundations of all health. It is generally taken for
granted that no such remedies are possible, a conclu-
sion which all our experience most amply contradicts.
It is surely ren,arkable that more inquiry has not
been made into the management of West Indian pro-
perty after the period of emancipation. Every one
who can have any pretension to a knowledge of the
subject at all, must know that property at that period
was involved to an immense extent, so much so that
by far the greater part of the redemption money was
paid to mortgagee--s; so far, indeed, was it involved at
that time, that it is a question, whether, if the old
slave institutions had been maintained in all their
pristine vigour, property would not now have been
nearly in the same state that it really is. The pre-
valence, all but universal, of absenteeism, and the in-
troduction of a most expensive and reckless system of
management, perhaps sufficiently account for such a
state of matters. Bat, leaving these questions out of
view, it is surely our duty to inquire whether, after
the passing of the Emancipation Act, matters were so
conducted by the West India planters as to give that
Act any fair chance of success. This is not a question
which involves only psst interests, and which
it is therefore unnecessary and uncharitable to hives •
tigate ; it is one which must he discussed and decided,
to enable us to act wisely in time to come—it is one
on which binges the whole question of the propriety,
in a pecuniary point of view, of the Emancipation
Act; and, therefore, one which may influence much
the continuance of American slavery at least. It is
especially important at present, as, if it can be proved
that the free negro is unable to compete, under any
circumstances, with the slave, in sugar cultivation,
we may reasonably conclude that an attempt to in-
troduce the cultivation of cotton, or any other new
material, would prove equally a failure.
Now, Sir, it appears to me that any party residing
in the West Indies, with a mind free from prejudice,
during the early operation of the Emancipation Act,
could not but conclude that the method pursued by
the planters was of a kind that could not possibly have
been expected to succeed in any free country.
Every means was used in most cases—for of
course no charge of the kind can be made univer-
sally—to keep the people still ae• far as possible under
a system of oppression ; every petty annoyance that
one could imagine was given, to that one might have
supposed that the managers had some interest in
driving the negroes far from the properties. Exor-
bitant rents were charged fer their huts; the trees,
which they or their fathers had planted, were in
many cases cut down before their doors, or they
were forbidden to touch the fruits ; their gardens
were not unfrequently destroyed ; wages were gene-
rally paid most irregularly, and advantage taken in
numerous cases of the ignorance of the people, and
their powerlessness in the inferior law courts to de-
prive them of them, either in part or altogether.
Such causes as these, as might have been certainly
expected, soon drove all who had industry and energy
enough to lay up capital to procure settlements of
their own, in which to take refuge. Other induce-
ments of a positive class to migrate in this way
were also at this time very great. The
growth of ground provisions for the markets
of the neighbouring towns was found both a more
profitable and more certain method of acquiring
money, than labour on the sugar estates. When the
family was too large for this work alone, the younger
members still continued to cultivate sugar on the
plantations. The natural love of independence, no
doubt, formed also a powerful motive. All these
causes, but especially the :first, the irksomeness of
being exposed to the continual annoyances of the
planters, early induced a most extensive system of
migration, probably extending in a few years to above
a half of the labouring population, and now much
more. This, though seldom taken into account in
any plans of improvement, seems to me the class on
which we must ground almost our entire hopes for
the revival of West Indian prosperity. They have
been constantly misrepresented in this country as
idle squatters, who have betaken themselves to their
fastnesses to spend their lives in indolent and sottish
pleasure. This conclusion seems to me one at utter
variance witu the real facts of the case. Coming in
contact with every class, I have found them, univer-
sally, by far the most industrious, moral, and even intel-
a p.
intel-
lectual part of the population. Rather them be compared
to the wretched squatting peasantry of the south of
happy
Ireland, they should be viewed as the nuclei of such
an i
industrious,
neglect,
oeugsl,e
c t, independent,ari s
arising
m misrepresentation,
f from
0 and
ud
peasantry
as
theinhabit mountains of Switzerland. They may,
indeed,
proximate in time to the former class, but if they do,
it seems to me that not they, but ourselves, will be to
blame. The charge of indolence is refuted by
fact of the purchases of land they have dma e. The
portions may be small and the sums trifling compared
u
with those paid by buyers of land in this country, but
it surely required no small amount of industry and
energy to lay up in a few years, out of wages at the
rate of ls. 6-1. per day, sums
averaging from 101. to
1001., and even upwards. Of course more than 15. 6d.
might be obtained by t askwork, but this only by pro-
ducing more than an ordinary day's labour. And
not only so, but this class, in so far as we were ac-
quainted with the it proceedings, continued year
by year to improve their houses, and to lay
up money to procure more land. Many of their
cottages, which I have myself visited might bear
comparison with the abode of any ordinary
English labourer. The neatly shingled roof,
the well-boarded floor, the number of apart-
ments, all bore witness to the industry and desire of
improvement of the inhabitants. I may say that I
have seen a whole mountain side smile with such
cottages as these. Besides this, almost all these
settlers were possessed of either a horse or mule for
personal use and the carriage of provisions to market,
animals which in Jamaica cost fully the average price
that they do in this country. The desire and inten-
tion of these settlers, at least some four or five years
since, was to extend their properties as quickly as
possible. They were most anxious too to obtain some
article for which there might be a demand in. the
English market, to cultivate for themselves, and thus
to open up limitless prospects of improveme •
nt This
was so much the case . that, When the demand for
ginger had one year suddenly increased, the amount
planted the year following far exceeded the demand.
The charge of sottish indolence seems thus without
ground. It may be believed by many of the planters,
because they are so prejudiced against independent
labour, or rather against the independent labourers,
as to shut their eyes to any of its favourable charac-
teristics.
Surely, then, w e may hope for brighter days by an
entire change of system. It is scarcely to be expected
that the prosperity of Jamaica is to be revived by
anything like an attempt to put down these indepen-
dent settlements, and to force back things to the
position which they occupied when emancipation was
proclaimed. I believe that an attempt to proclaim
such a result, which some writers lave lately recom-
mended, would be generally fraught with mischief.
Besides its manifest cruelty and injustice, the same
causes as ever are to a large extent at work to prevent
its success. I believe, on the other hand, that if the
cultivation be now entirely thrown into the hands of
the negroes themselves, whether on bought or rented
land, the more of the former the better, and if we our-
selves are satisfied to assume the position of merchants
and manufacturers alone, our colonies would soon re-
cover their diminished strength and be able to com-
pete with any slave country in the world.
We all know how much enthusiasm is imparted by
the feeling of working directly for ourselves; all
history, too, shows that an independent peasantry has

always been the most frugal and industrious. Why,
then, should we seek to crush the independent spirit
of the West Indian mgro, and on what principle of
human neture are we to suppose that we will not
obtain far greater results by fostering and cherish-
ing it ?
If a peculier method of cultivation required to be
attended to, the evils of such a system might be easily
warded off by the appointment of superintendents to
see to this, whos.3 services Would speedily enough be
brought into requisition, if necessary, to make the
article marketable.
In sugar I have always thought that such s
system would be abundantly successful. In cotton it
would probahly.be even more so, and surely, when
such Lrge interests are involved, it might be of im-
portance to inquire minutely into t}is matter. If
some of our merchants would begin to establish
depots on the system we have proposed, I have no
doubt that, in a few years, they would reap en
abundant harvest.—l am, Sir, &c., S.
Oct. 10, 1850.

THE PORTLAND CONVICT
ESTABLISHMENT.

REPORT OF LIEUTENANT-CuLONEL JFDR, C. 8., SUR-
VEYOR-GENARAL OF PRIiONS, ON TIIR DISCIPLINE
AND CONSTRUCTION OF PORTLAND rersose.
[Presented to Parliament by command of her
Majesty.]
The subject of prison discipline has for very many
years engaged the attention of philanthropiets and
statesmen, and that higher branch of it which affects
more especially the convict population, has, even of
late, threatened to be a formidable difficulty to the
Government of the country. It would, we fear, be
too much to say that the mild and enlightened prin-
ciples that now regulate the treatment of criminals
are such as to remove every feeling of doubt from
the mind of the philanthropist, or every difficulty
from the path of the statesman, but, after a careful
perusal of the very instructive report which Colonel
Jebb has made upon the discipline and management
of convict prisons, we must confess that we think we
have approached as near perfection in convict disci-
pline as is possible. We have left far behind us the
days when Howard mourned and Hunt anathemised
the old county gaols ; and men, having learnt their
duties to themselves, are discovering that they owe
duties to society. The convicted offender against the
law is no longer flung into the hulks and left to
be swept off by cholera, or infected with
that fearful moral pestilence which made
a convict ship a mundane hell. Even those
whose offences or whose vices have placed the na
altogether ,without the pale of society, are now the
objects of the highest solicitude and care, and—para-
doxical as it may seem—the man who has been
banished for life from his kindred and country, has
now lavished on him the most attentive and consi-
derate kindnesses, that he may be presented, reformed,
and renewed, to that society from whence he had been
altogether expelled.
The Convict Establishment at Portland, in this
county of Dorset, is designed to occupy a conspicuous
part in the grand moral effort that is being made for
the reclamation of convicts. The punishment of
transportation is now divided into three successive
stages, in which punishment and discipline are inge
niouly interwoven with encouragements and rewards.
The first stage is separate confinement, of which every
convict must feel the pangs for a period not exceeding
eighteen months. Here he is first taught that his own
conduct may materially influence his position ; for the
duration of his confinement depends entirely upon
his behaviour. This stage is usually passed in Pen-
tonville prison. The second is undergone at Portland,
where the convict is employed upon public works.
The third and last stage is passed abroad, either with
a ticket of leave or under penal discipline, according
to the character and conduct of the convict whilst in
confin=ement in this country.
To show how very much a prisoner may influence
his sentence, we may state that seven years' transports
may recommend themselves by their behaviour for a
ticket of leave, immediately after serving their proba-
tionary term of separate confinement, and may alto-
gether avoid the second stage; and a prisoner who is
engaged on public works may shorten his term of
detention at the second stage by two, three, or even
four-and-a-half years. The ticket of leave permits
him to remain at liberty within a prescribed district,
and to work for wages, and the families of well-con-
ducted convicts are assisted by Government in the ex-
pense of a passage to the colonies.
We have, however, to deal principally on this oc•
casion with the admirable establishment which is in
operation in this county, and which, as most of our
readers know, was designed for the twofold object
of securing convicted offenders in a situation of soli-
tude, and of usefully employing their labour upon a
work of national importance. The Fortland prison,
is erected upon a very comprehensive design, and em-
braces as much comfort and accommodation for the
640 prisoners which it can contain as could possibly
be blended with rigid discipline. The buildings are
well ventilated and warmed, and the convict is so far
at liberty that he, can control the atmosphere of his
cell. his daily routine is :—rise at six ; work till
eight ; attend morning prayers, occupying ten
minutes immediately before or after breakfast; labour
till dinner (at twelve), and from breakfast till supper,
at six, when evening prayers and the daily lecture are
delivered. Each prisoner is allowed half-a-day a
week in school, besides attending the evening classes.
" The course of imprisonment of the convicts at
Portland—(we now quote from the report of Captain
Whilty, the excellent governor)—consists generally cf
a combination of associated labour by day, with sepa-
ration (by means of cells) during the night end even-
ings, and at meal times. When in their cells at the
above times, strict silence is enforced upon the pri-
soners ; but during the hours of labour (which is al-
ways carried on under the immediate superintendence
of the prison officers) they are allowed to converse to
such an extent as not to interrupt the progress of
their work. The effect of maintaining this greater
degree of restraint while actually within the prison
walls is to cause the convicts to proceed without unwil-
lingness to their daily labour, as relieving them from
the irksomeness of separation, of which they have had
so much experience during the previous probationary
period of their sentences. The frequent recurrence of
this restraint acts also as a wholesome check on the
natural tendency of the labour outside the walls to
relax strict prison discipline."
In order to stimulate the convicts to proper beha-
viour, good-conduct badges are given to the desery •
ing ; and a register is kept of every prisoner in the
" character book." To encourage the men to in-
dustry, a small gratuity is added—the men in the first
class getting 9d., the second class men 64., and the
third class 4d. per week out of the shilling per week
allowed by the Lords of the Admiralty for each con-
vict employed on the Breakwater. The amount of a
prisoner's gratuities are forwarded to the Governor of
the colony to which he is sent, and applied to his be-
nefit in the manner that is considered by the authori-
ties most desirable.
" The inexperience of the officers," remarks Cap-
tain Whitty, ' and generally of the convicts them-
selves (whose trades were not brought into operation),
has doubtless acted unfavourably on the amount of
profitable labour performed during the first year of
the establishment. The, value of the convicts' labour
however, within the year, even under these unfa-
vourable circumstances, has been upwards of 8,0001,
which gives (on the average number of 480 men),
over 161. as the annual average value of the labour of
every convict in the' prison; and I think there can
be no doubt that as the system becomes more per-
feated, the value of the convict' s labour will be con-
siderably
earnings, to the convicts in
power on their parts to in-
crease increased. The allowance of 4d , 6d., or
have
Some a
of veryetn stimulating
have alread
effect
9thje.differentbywayi
t b
y extra
ocflawsseee,exertion, in beginning, I feel satis-
fied,ylearned on
to their
industry.
ap-
preciate the advantage of having a small sum laid by
to promote their future welfare in the colonies ; and
the attention of the convicts generally appears to be
drawn with beneficial effect to the reality of this kind
of encouragement.
" The minor punishments inflicted have been bread
and water (not exceeding three days), stoppage of a
meal, privation of light in the evening, close confine-
ment, work within the prison walls, removal to a
lower class, forfeiture of a month's good-conduct
badge, and separate confinement for a period not ex-
ceeding twenty-eight days in the stone cells provided
for the purpose. This latter punishment is found to
have the salutary effect in making a prisoner feel the
danger of his losingein case of his own misconduct,..the
privileges placed within his reach by the present pro-
bationary system. The most common offences againte
the rules are—speaking in the cells, tricks about foe.
bartering it with each other for books or other ar,
tides, and having prohibited articles in possession.
With respect to the last offence, this establishment is
under considerable disadvantage, as compared with a
prison in which the prisoners are constantly within
the walls. Workmen and others outside the boun-
dary walls wishing for opportunities (often, perhaps,
from mistaken motives of pity) of giving tobaccoolt
other prohibited articles to the convicts, hive iiee;Ae
means of effecting it with lass chance of detection,
and, if they act warily, of evading the law by which
they could be punished for attempting to introduce
such articles within the walls of the prison."
" The present establishment is calculated to contain