The voice of freedom. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1839-1848, 1845-02-06
Letter from Mrs. Child.

society towards criminals IS suoJecl 90
d.ep,v Interesting 10 my mind and heart,
maj [ could not Otherwise than attend
though the weather was iucIement. The
Biz oflhe audience indicated more gen.
eral interest than had venlured to hope ;
and the amount of intellect and social in>
duence arrayed in favor of the association
was most encouraging. The officers ard
committees appointed comprise many oil
our hest and most hoEored citizens, of all
sects and parties. Vice Chancellor Nc
Coun, Theodore Frelnghuysen, John
O'SuIivan, Professor TeIkampt, Theo-
dore Sedgwick, Rev. DR.. Spring, William
Fl. Claiming, John Jay, etc.
Few people attach less value than l do
10 an array OF names. mention them
merely because il is a cheering indication
in the social barometer, when such men
promp,ly and publicly acknowledge their
faith in ths law Of kindness, as wise, as
we'll as humane. substitute for the law OF
force.
The chairman ofthe meeting, John W..
Ednonds, Esq. is President OF the Board
of Inspectors at Sing Sing Prison, and a
lawyer ia Wall greet. Under circum>
Sta, ces so iiule caculal to increase his
confidence in his fellow.men, it is highly
honorable that he has kept alive strong
faith in human nature, and the omnlpo>
tence of Christian love. Monroe Ed
wards employed him as counsel, and, with
his ruling passon strong 10 the last, paid
his services with forged check. AS
president of the inspectors. he night have
increased the hardships of this prisoner;
but he forgave the treachery, and has uni
formiy treated him with all the kindness
thatlheir relative situations would possibly
admit.
Thi, gentleman opened the meeting
with an excellent and very effective
speech, in which he pleaded for the be.
nevolen, objects Of the institution with real
carnesness of heat, and brought forward
abundance OF statistics, careful Iy prepared,
10 show the need of such an association,
and % prove that crme always diminishes
10 proportion TO the smeliorhton of the
laws. He urged the alarming fact that
from two hundred TO two hundred and fl
ty convic!s year. from Sing Sing were
returned upon society, nearly without
money. without friends, Except among The
viclous) without charactef aud without
employment. Of these, more than hall
belong TO the cities of New York and
Brooklyn; without taking into account
the numbers that pass through, and often
stop for a season, on their way to other
destinations. Poor, unfriended. discour>
aged, and despised, in stale of hostility
with the world, which often has in reality
done them more grievous wrong than
they have done the world, how terribly |
powerful musl be The temptation 10 the !
commission Of new crimesl
In answer to the common plea that IL os |
Of these wretched people were old offend. |
ers, hardened in vice, aud not likely to be |
res.orrd by ChrIs,lan efforts. he stated !
that Of The nine hundred and thry>iour |
now in The prison, only one hundred and |
twen!y-tour had been in prison before
Five hundred aud nine,y.uine of them.
about lwo-lhirds of the whole number, |
We're under thirty years OF age,-oue
hundred and ninety~lwo were under TWEEN.
ty>one years OF age and twenty seven
were not seventeen when they were sen.
fenced. Vi th'rIy.one now confirmed lu- |
natcs, twenty-five were 80 when they were
committed
He spoke with much feeling of the evil
influences which had mostly surrounded |
them from childhood, ard the extreme des.
utltion which had driven many of them
10 reckiessness and sin. In references to
their condition in prison, he quoted DR..
Johpson's remark that Man lives little ia |
the present, but almost entirely in the pas, !
and The future And these poor human
bto!hers at Sing Sing. driven to their dliv
silent toll, how dreary was their past, how
blank their futurel
He said he had no faith whatever in
the system of violence. which had so long
prevailed In the world; the system OF tor
menting criminals into what was called
good order better than the base sentiment
of fear. He had seen enoug h. ia his own
experience to convince him that degraded
as they were, they still had hearts that
could be touched by kindness, consciences
that might be aroused by appeals to reason,
and aspirations for a better course of life,
which often needed only The strengthening
voice ofsvmpa,hy and hope, to be strength.
ened into permanent reformation.
He gave sickenng account of The
cruelties that have been practised.
and deemed necessary. Six thousand
lashes with cat~of-six-taiIs, have been
inflicted in one month, at Sing Sing
They are now reduced, think, to one
hundred month and the conviction is
constantly growing stronger, that it will
be the wisest, as mere matter OF policy,
TO dispense with corporeal punishment all
together This lie somewhat gained in the
eighteen centuries that have rolled away,