The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1868-01-03

OF THE
Crane Jury,
asssas. On the Condition of the
AL NJ S H o u s E A ND J ALL.
NOVEMBER TERM, 1867.

ITO the Honorable the Judges of the
Il Circuit Court for Hartford county:
In accordance with the requirement of
law, the Grand Jury report, that they vis-
bited the Aims House. .superintended by
Mr.. John, Paea, who politely conducted
them through the several apartments. in
which were twenty-seven inmates, viz: tif-
teen whites and twelve colored, who APP
peared to be as comfortable and as well
cared for as the dilapidated state and I'M
suitable arrangement of the buildings will
allow, except one old white man. who is
insane and requires constant attention, they
would recommend that he be placed in some
INSANE Asylum, where better care could
be taken of him. ' D'''' i''' 4
The Farm, also, looked to be in tolera-
BILE condition, and to be worked in hns-
bandmanlike manner. and the neighbors
! agree in saying that the present incumbent
has managed it better than it has. been done
for several years. The products Of the past
season have, been enc hundred and sixty
barrels of corn, one hundred and Seventy
five bushels Of wheat sixty bushels of po-
tatoes, three hundred and seveuty-Gve
bushels of oats, seventy! FIVE bushels Of
4 buck wheat. aud some hay and live stock.
They recommend supply Of manure,
which would greatly increase the crops,
and if the farm was properly managed il
would become nearly nearly orqaite selfsuppor-
ting .--s.sd,o lnr i.ntgroj--sr,o'3 BIZ
lila pursuance of an Act of Assembly al
ready obtained they would urge the sale
of that part Of the farm lying on the east
side of the road passing through it, which
is in an unpreduetiye state and would re-
quire much labor and expense to improve,
and appropriate the proceeds thereof and
as much more as may be necessary to erect
good 4 substan. ial building with modern
Improvements, commodous and suitable to
accommodate Il more comfortably those
thrown on the charities of the county, one
that woald remove the iMputation that ours
is the most miserable aims house i'll the
State except, one,1E. w n
They also visited the jail, and were po-
Elitely shown sthroagR the same by Mr.
Young the present efficient Sheriff, and
hope their duty may never call them again
to visit such a place. There were twenty
{ persons in confinement, for various often
ces, one Of whom is insane and has been
confined for six years. He is q foreigner,
and has not been naturalized. and should
be returned to his friends in his native
country. The condition of the prisoners
was asJgood as could be expected in such
contracted and lily ventilated ebdMing as
the county has provided and denominated
Jail. - 49,. - ....,.,,
/ The Jury would.reeommend, in order to
enlarge the very small, contracted kitchen
in the Sherif7s house, the erection of
d shed building at the southeast end of the
same, say IL by 20 feet, (which would give
more room for preparing the food for the
!, prisoners and make ii much more conve-
nent. This Should be attended to at once
On examining the Jail they foupd the
timbers much, decayed, part Of t;r onnr
very unsafe, the stairway and pass. >o,v
I contracted, the cells badly venti.&;J4G,
: arrangement for cleansing the con. juits We.
ry imperfect and calculated touengendc,
disease. To fne,the whole building Is uor.
suita bic for seaging 8 Weld beastsstham keep
q ing in custody these awaiting the action of
the law, whetfei. guilty or innoeegt. A
Z Jay sh,qpiqa pot be, entirely A pihFd Of cor
pdreal punishment, but prison FOR safely
: keeping those arrested f6r crime until the
!. charactergef the offence is ascertained. 1t
is, very. evident Il at the, present building is
!. wholly unfit! f. the purpose intepd9 Cd, and
the Grand jury would earnestly recon-
mend that the unsightly, unwiselyseontri-
ved,siLeopstrueted and badly arranged old
building. BE- taken down and replaced by IL
= new, one more in aecordapoe with the pro-
:. .gre$ BoftheGagea and better Gale al.ited to
promote the comfort and health nofothosc
confined therein. ,am1l' 14sH2 ss9I
n hShalleit be said that our county, which
has been making such wonderful progress
in Improvements within the astthrtyyears
i and which, too, entered the sisterh6od of
counties so long agoas 1773,, has thssmea-
" nest and most badly arranged, Almsrhouse
and Jail of any county ia the STATED save
one, aud very few inferior in the United
States? 9'booi.' ID g e,''nag' , ~" ~ ''q
Former Grand Juries have repeatedly
reported unfavorably of these buildings,
:. yet no action has been taken to remedy the
r complaints. The Jury, therefore, you'd
!, respectfully urge your honors, to bring
$ this matter before the proper authorities,
that these regular semi-annual complaints
may be silenced and this stigma removed,
and our county placed in her proper posi-
ton, and these institutions no longer4con-
tinued to aggravate the sufferings Of hui
manity; but, on the other hand, promote
} the comfort and health Of those who may
} be so unfortunate as to become occupants
: of the same. s .t. Lrs '=.. II
An early attention to this matter will,
they think, receive the appreciation of
! great majority of the tax payers Of this
county. -... s.a.5I'.'l ..s ti.w
BENZ. SILVER, Foreman0
CHEYNEY HOSKINS,
JOHN MOORES, 10 r 51Uomnlttee.
. 10 AII : DAMN u ~ q ~ y