Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1852-02-28
Returns from Keepers OF JaIIs and Houses
of Correction,

Society may Ice said to in the path Of progress
andimprevement, but still 1t does net rua fast enough
TO escape from the Recessity Of battling Jas and
HOuses Of Correction, nor cana escape from the sad
necessity Of sending persons Go iahabit them
There has always been au unfortunate class Of the
community in insurrecton against the FIRST principles
Of society Aterrible minority, luckily without con-
cert and generally with cowardce aore, bought have
maintained constant warfare on lite, property, and
all the virtues, almost since the origin Of humanity;
and enc Of the great empoyaaeH,s olthe majority has
been TO punish this minority with the hope of res.
training it,
In connection With this idea, the statistics Of our
prisons always command public interest They fur
nish true and definite statement of the known
amount Of crime among us; and they furnish us
with q comparative view of the effects which our
criminal jurisprudence is producing.
We have before Us an absirast Of the returns made
to the Secretary of State, by the keepers of Jas,
and overseers Of the Houses Of Correction, in Mas
sachusetts for ISL There are two distinct tables
ofreturns. That Of the Jals does not include prs-
oners who have been transferred to the House Of
include any prisoner who has been transferred to any
other Jail. The returns from the Honscs of Correc-
tion are Of the particular nature as those from
the as, that the statistics are presented as free
from confusion as possible.
From November Is; 1850, to November LIST 1851,
there we're incarcerated in the jas Of the STATE,
1894 individuals l47l Of whom were debtors, leav.
ing 1928 actual criminals. OF The whole number,
1910 we've males, aud only 1851 females. Six thou
sand nine hundred and twelve had reached the years
Of maturity, and I4f9 were under age. OF these,
5000 were of the Caucasian race, and PSI of the
negro.
The crimes most generally committed were those
offences against property, known larceny; and
that other category, against the person, classed
assaults. The single crime, however, comprising
the largest amount of offenders, is Intemperance,
1851 commitments having taken place for this pest
ferrous vice alone.
The number OF persons confined in jaiIs, charged
with crimes of the first magnitude, were-for muir
der, IL; arson, Is; rape, IA. Fifteen persons had
committed highway robbery, and there were confined
for burglary, 1879; keeping houses Of i'll fame, ~
counterleiters, 40, and Migrants, IS. Among the
prisoners, but 1871 could read and write,-or not
one in four. Eight hundred and two were natives
Of Massachusetts, S54 we're from other States Of the
Uaon, and ALSO were natives of ether countries.
Only 1872 Of them all, were, or had been married
In the returns from the Houses of Correction
almost The same proportions are maintained in the
/ several specifications Oft 1924 persons confined
in them. PASS were males, TAG females; 274s were
adults, 4S6 minors, 30l7 were whites, and 2I7
coored. or the whole number 707 only were natives
of Massachusetts, 552 natives of other States, and
| 1922 natives Of other countries.
| 1t will be that the proportion Of Americans,
who incarcerated, sScomparauvey very small,
/ and that most of our criminals are imported fom
those countries where despotism brushes the in
telectual soul; and demoralizes with its pauperisms,
and other tyranical " sms,'' the people whom il
dominates over. Free institutions destroy crime
Crime has pretext of existence where freedom
reigns.