Surrey Sessions.
The Times, 1824-01-15T00:00:00

sA most numerous metmng ot- the ltagistrates for the county of Suey took place at the Seassons-..ouse at Newington yesterday. The members for the county and upwarda of 40 msagistrates were present; Thoma.q Harrison, Esq., in the chair. The reports of the Guildford and Brixton Houses of Correction wvere brought up, .nd read in the Clerk of the Court. By the re- ports, whicb were nearly similar it appeared tbat the visiting ma. gistrates had strictly attended to tie opeations of the tread-mfll upon the heAlth of the prisoners, moral aud physical, and that they were convinced that with respect to the pbysical condition of the-prioners the greateat improvement had been derived from the application of the mill as a punislhment. They vw're also satisfied that the habits of those in confinement had been materially benefitted--a fact wibch 'was apparcnt from the diffcrence in the behavlour of the prisoners on the first day of their probation and bn the last. The report added, at in ever other respect the prisonswere improvedby the intro- duc'tiof this mode of punishment. \ Air. BRISCOE, one of the Magistratcs, thtsave iwa report which he had himself drawn up relative to the injurious effects of the tread-mnilL It stated that the tread.mill was calculatcd to do esten- tial mischief to the constitutions of those who were sentcuted to work at it, and itpartioularly deprecated the-pract/ceof compelling feutales to ltibour at so dreadful an engine-Afterbotlh reportshad been tead. Alr. BRuscoE said, he ro!e ender very great chmbarrastimcnt fu state his sentiients to the Court. This embarrassment arose par- tcularly from dte various severestricturcs which had bcen made out of doors, very generally against the part he wasknown rolaavetaken upon the subject of the application of the tread-nmill as a punishbnnnt, Insirimiations had been thronvn out reflecting upon his motives, but it w. '1 unnecessary to take any more notice of them than merely stating that thiey were undeserving of his 4ttention,and required no refutation. He ;Ae pot irepute to tIle M agistratees by whonm he was surrounded any:9-r the most honourable intentions. The most serious a3lega- A~gf4bowre~,had been made against him, having for theirf source --se govcmo of( Cuildford an.d Brixton Honses oft!orrcitios. -W en he vibltcd thos prisons for the iurpoac of ascertaining the grotunds of the suspicion thiat an improper and injurious punishment was hourly inflicted upon tlhoce conine d under sentence of bard labour, be bsd pursned course of e2verijnent the bestcalcuj4ted tQ arrive at the truthi. He wa shw o bdec of the prisons. and ;~fter hiav. ingquestioned tbem uson the ethpctoftheurnegulatioan prssonupov their constitutions any 4ength. rereivel the information contained in therport which had been read in his name. He denied that he had ever used any inflamumatory language upon the occasion, or that e hadencouraged any spirEt of insubordination amongst those whose ses hc considered iabletobjection on thescoreof severity. He was nerelyinfluencedby thedesire to reniderservice to thosewhowere con- fined, byadapting the pulusEnmeat to their ability to endure: and to Xe. move tbesttrafromthose 43P0wer,of assigningwh4tappeared tohinm andtootaer6wh hadnisdetl'e most minute inquirieapia thesub- ject, an atrsry andunsanctione4penalty. Tbeputsisfmentofthe -, b -was covinced, operated to the permanent injurir of the pnsoners. Re had himself wotked Pt this-engie of torture, and hbd learned that the <xnplaints of tsb individuals whose eases had becn read in Court were esteblished. apon the firmest groundza Tn tbe course of the painful invesegatimf tebad-see4 several unfortu. nate percons removed fom. the toil of the traAInillinto the infir- mary. W1ith respect to the case of 'the women Hal- and. Laden, which had appeared in the public prints, although he bad seist -then while they were undergoing the punishmett of the tread- nill, he bad not alluded to them. The iction of.thewhcel, which -co:npelUd the iersen at work to exercrise the whole weight of the body-upon the upper part of the feet, proved that the work viaa of a na=ure which should not be a"ssFed even to those whose sttrength defied ordinary labour. In his own person belbad proved that the trced-.mll was the Most overpowering engine that ever had been worked. The substitution of any other punishment would scan 'alter the tone of health -of the risners witheut tend- ing to injure their morals, which Zersitily could mot be tx- pected to- imnprove -under a syatem whih was calculated to ex- citc the feelings of reyenge and obstinacy. He had collected the testimony. The crink OT eapatanrisiin would. in his opinion, be the nost desirable substitute. - He had seen two of tthose mils latdly in operation ii t incbestev. gal, and was surc that- the exercise, in;tead of inflicting diseases wps beieficia to the prisoners zad forumed thbe-st mode of pzion dicipUiie. Mt Br;A ,coe then both &r feu orrection teohiabioit2hei iiagszac *bg hjs tonedau thehetre trziesd.niWtb d good IXBaTWo; *%p?gme"a; of ma&:gap 3g3*5be .appmintea toii i e r: t e M 4 a thestrthth5.and healtErof thep>" -. -< hir. RAitbLz Jicsba Iros& p ote#theition of lle. *fi co. 'Ofthaadvanteges deivti :ftomt-etTcadXuill theiie -* it4d not the sliRhtest doubt,, and al-that bad be' stat d-ijit aia mode of prison discipHlne was iufioundeE iean- ejsm d In- veiated the cases of the-womeI HIanssd'i c : ish aicer. taine4i that instead of beinginjured by tbe'worF Sth mill, tbeir health haduimprovedand t:elr strength had increaed beyond all calculation. When thes-. entered theprison their pmons were completely emaciated. One of thppiifor leave to work at thc soil after laving been removed faon it, and she soon received an addition in weight of nine pounds. The other also was greatly benefited by the exerrise, which in no case was greater than the prisoners could endure. For the vagrant there was no punishment like that of the tread-mill, the Strongest proof of which was, that those wbo were longest in prison were in the best condition. Air. Jackson then moved an amendment._.." That in the opinion of the court the tread-mill has in an eminent degree aniwe the purpose of its institution, both moral and judicial ; end that the reports this*day made by the visitiny magistrates of the re- spectivehouses of correctionare highly satisfactory, as well as the reports of the surgeons attached those establishments, in whose opi- nions no effects injurious to the health of the prisoners have yet oc- curred " Air. HIOLaE SUMrNER said, that in consequence of the direction of the Secretary of State, he had caused an inquiry to be instituted into the cases of the two women alluded to, and had received a communication expressing that the health of neither was in the slightest degree affected. The good operation of the punishment upon the morals of the prisoners, as well as upon their health, had been ascertained beyond all doubt. A month's labour was sure to remove numbers of diseases, and those who had to un- dergo a long spell of discipline, were sure to leave the prison in a niost enviable state of health. Certainly, in those prisoners who were accustomed to drink hard. the suddenness of the change caused a temporary faUing off; but the admirable nature of the exercise soon restored them to a vigour of bodv which surprised themselves. All sorts of attacks have been made upon the mill, and there appeared in the Medical Adviser lately, an article of the most inflammatory tendenet, but he disdained to read it, as he con- sidered it unworthv of public notice, on account of the tissue of false- hoods it contained. 'Thehon. member concluded by declaring, that the prison communications respecting the prisons gave rise to a very dangerous spirit of insubordination,and he would support the amend- ment. Mr. DErrsou spoke strongly in favour of the treadamill, and denied that any otherdisciplinc atpresent in existence could exceed *tas an instrument of punishment m prisons. Mr. ALLaN (the magistrate of Union Hall) said he had the stronjeat grounds for concuring with those gentlemen who approv- ed of the tread-mill, as a mode of punishment combining physical and morad -effect. The surgcons who were in the habit of attending upon the prisoners hatL., most unequivocaUy asserted that aU the in. siats-wer inan excellent-stateof health, and-that theLabour was calculated to preserve that health; and it was manifest that the active employment in which the prisoners were engaged was far preferable to the sedentary occupatian of picking oakum, by which they were furnished with opportunities of engaging in idle and im- moral conversation. Several other magistrates spoke in favour of thetread-mill. Mr. Briscoe's motion had but his own support. Air. Jackson's amend- ment was carried with the approbation of all the magistrates, except the mover of the original resolution. The Surgeon of one of the' prisons was asked by the Chairman whether any of the statements made by the prisoners to Ar. Briscoe were correct ? The Surgeon replied, that all the prisoncrs alluded to had been benefited in health by the tread-mill, instead of being injured by it. The tread-mill has tbus received the complete sanction of the Sur- rey magistrates. * The ludterou3 contradictions in this sentence need not be pointed outt: tlhe candour of x man Avho abuses vhat he has not read Is cer- tainly peculiar. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ SURREY SESSIONS. THE TREAD-MAJll.