The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1852-04-23

The address on prison discipline and moral reform,
BIZ the Rev. Mr.. Spear, Of Boston. He had made
some progress with bis subject before we entered
tho Hall. when we reached there, he was speak.
inc of his mission to England to advance the cause
which he had undertaken. He tosk with him let
ters of Recommendation from Daniel Webster, Ed
ward Everett, and other distinguished citizens of
his State to persons Of rank and station In England
Those letters, and particularly the letter from Mr.
webster, secured him an audience with many dis
,inguished persons, and welcome to all the pris.
ons in England and wherever he went He visited
Sir George Gray, Lords Ashley and Lansdowne.
and convsrsed with them on the subject of his mis-
sion. The former answered the letter of Mr.
Webster which is now on file in Washington. He
found more liberal sentiments prevailing in Eng
land towards this country than he had anticipated
There was amongst those whom he visited the ex.
preston Of strong desire that our Union and
prosperity should be perpetual He alluded to the
practice of Eng and sending her criminal and pau
per population to the U. States. II was not done
by the Government but by the wealthy persons of
England and Ireland. The owners of landed es.
tates would send their tenants away rather than
let them remain on their land without paying rents
Lord Ashley is the advocate ofthe system and stands
at the head of those who pursue that policy yet
he found him to be the devoted friend of the poor
and unfortunate, and was indebted to him for much
valuable information. Lord A. would leave his
mansion at late hours of the night and pick up
poor wandering children in the streets, take them
to his home and afford them food and protection.
His mission was not, the speaker said, to shield
the guilty from punishment 1t was to reform
them by the means of education and moral apph-
He was advocate OF education to pre-
vent crime-he was in favor of moral efforts to re-
form the criminal. He of opinion that school
houses should be encouraged as the best means to
avoid the necessity of penitentaries. He wished
to prevent, and not to shield crime. 1t costs less
to educate, in his opinion, than to punish and to
build prisons. Mechanics complain of the unequal
competition created by the conyicts labor. But
what would be the cost of crime, if the convict
were not made to labor and support himselff Isit
not better, asked the speaker, that he should be
made to support himself than that the people
should be made to support him2 Convicts were
obliged to eat and live as well as other people,
But, to avoid complaint on either hand, .pre, ent
crime.
Moral efforts had been made with much success
in England to reform criminals Lord Ashley,
with this view got up thieves Convention in Lon.
don. He had become familiar with many of the
numerous rogues of that large city, and he pro.
cured an attendance of more than three hundred
ayowed thieves as members of his Convention
None were admitted by the dosr-keeper until they
had satisfied him that they were rogSes. Lord A.
was Chairman OF the Convention, the proceedings
of which have been published in the speakers pc.
riodical printed in Boston. He related some in.
cidents OF that remarkable Convention The
Chairman selected from amongst tne members
notorious thief, who declared that he was without
money and had no home, and gave him SIS note
to go out and get it changed, in order to test his
honesty. He promptly returned with it, to the
surprise and admiration of the other members of
the Convention. Improved that there was such
thing as honesty among thieves. Various cues.
tons were propounded to the thieves in reference
to their education habits, &C., in order to elicit
information useful in the work of reformation
and they were appealed to, to answer whether they
would go to work and become good citizens, if
some alu were afforded them in CARRYING out such
purpose. Efforts were made to touch ike their
pride and moral sentiments There is chord in
the breast of every human being that can be touch
ed and made to vibrate VITA noble and generous
impulses. Those chords were touched and with
marked effect. He advocated what he believed to
oe the true system IN producing such results. He
was termed "the prisoners friend" because he
aimed to reform them by kind and moral means
His doctrine he believed to be embraced in the true
philosophy of religion.
While In LONDON he visited some of the "rsp
ged schools" In one school ne found seventy chill
dren who had no home. They were keptthere up.
on scany subsistence, and crowded into little cribs
without those comforts which he believed essential
to moral influence and instruction. If YOU wish to
operate On the mind, you must pay some attention
to the body. To operate effac,ually upon the reli
gious feelings, certain degree of comfort to the
body was necessary. The speaker took to bis
house in Boston, destitute convict Just DISCHARGED
from the Penitentiary. He allowed him to eat st
the 'amliy table, and tried with great degree of
success the effect OF kindness and moral persua.
sion upon him. Alter he left him, he fell victim
to drunkenness, but not to further thieving. He
believed more good could be effected by kind and
moral means. than by corporal punishment. He
was IN favor of regular preaching to prisoners. and
OF visiting them in their silent cells for the
OF imparting moral instruction and advice He was
opposed to sectarianism and bigotry and in favor
OF religious federation in the broadest sense. He
wished to see Catholics, Methodists, Presbyteraus
and all denominations enjoying equal privileges
and all uniting in the work of criminal reformation
he visited the prisons and the hospitals of France
and there saw as many as twelve hundred prisoners
In single prison, many on the tread.wheel. and
oshers moving cannon balls from place to place. as
punishment, or for exercise. The prison houses
OF England and France exceed those of the ITni,sa
states IN cost and proportion, but the people of
those countries admit that their prison discipline
lar inferior to that of this country notwithstanding
they kave officers whose special business it is To
'isit the various prisons throughout the countrv
and regularly report the result of their observa.
nons' III order to obtain knowledge, and to mite
all the advantages of prison discipline. He eu,o
f GG.dA EsLN