Year: 1877

employed 10 build them; for a foreknowl-
edge that they were building their own cells
would lead, in spite of all vigilance, to
scamping the work with the hope that they
were thereby favoring their chances OF
escape. Two English prisons have lately
been built by convict Iabor-one at Borstal,
near Rochester, where selected prisoners
in sixteen weeks had so far completed the
building that 40 cells were fit for use when
the building was formally occupied as a
prison; since that time cell buildings have
been-built and nearly completed, so that
the present capacity of the prison is a6out
500. The same system was employed in
building the prison at Wormwood Scrubbs
which is to take the place of Milbank prison.
Free labor was employed only in building
boundary fence at Borstal and. on certain
temporary buildings at Wormwood Scrubbs,
and even then the material had all been
prepared by convict labor. For the prisons
themselves, the bricks were made and the
stone dressed on the spot; the stone
qusTried at Portland and Dartmoor; the iron
castings made at Portland, and the carpen-
ters'. joiners' and blacksmitbs' work done
at Milbank and Chatham-all by convict
labor.


We were all glad to get back the hard half
dollars and dimes, and exc the quarters, but
spurious bit of specie is no better than
rag OF counterfeit currency. We learn from
Mr. J. +. Tandy, sub treasury expert, that
the bogus pieces of which the public should
be particularly cautious are the BALI dollars
composed OF antimony, lead and tin. Ii
should be remembered that these are light
A genuine half dollar weighs 1872 o grains;
the antimony and lead and tin humbugs
weigh only 142 grains. We are sorry to say
that type metal is also perverted FROM its
honest, original purpose by the coiners. Ii
is electro plated first with copper and then
with silver. 1t weighs 1929, ike the real
half dollar, but the color is not good; the
false pieces are thicker than the
and faulty Mr.. Du Bois, assayer of the
mint at Philadelphia, says officially that
there is something about genuine coin which
puts it beyond suspicion, especially when
the new white surface has given place to the
inimitable and permanent "nine-tenths
tint" and generally it speaks well for itself
as to color and sorority. There is a liquid
test of silver which can be put up by any
druggist. 1t consists of "a grains of nitrate
Of silver, Is grains of nitric acid, and ounce
Of water. This, IL the coin be bad, blackens
il at once. Mr.. Du Bois also gives directions
for testing coin by weight. Poise a thin
strip OF wood eight or ten inches long; place
a good piece at one end and the suspected
one at the other; have weight of three
grains at hand; il the difference is more than
that decline TO. receive it," says Mr.. Du
Bois.


In his farewell address the other day the
president OF the Rochester board of educa-
lion delivered himself in the following Wig
orous style: propose now to speak ofsome
Of the abuses, and begin with. what regard
as the representative and colossal abuse,
the free academy. / will say at the outset,
that do not desire any modification of the
course of study in this institution, nor any
change In the personnel Of its faculty l
believe that as long as the city supports an
academy II may as well support good one
and 10 prune out here and there a branch
would only cause the wrong to take deep
er root. arraign the free academy rs a
satire and travesty on the common school
system. There is not fact or principle
which have mentioned as justifying the
common school system which can be In
voked in favor of this monstrosity. Instead
Of holding out the means of education TO
those who would otherwise grow up In illite
racy, IL opens its doors TO tho who pass an
examination which shows them thorough
masters OF all common school branches OF
study. And instead of bringing the masses
OF different social, political, national and
religious prejudices or prepossessions u,'on
one common platform, where they must
become liberalized and homogeneous to
degree otherwise impossible. we bring a very
few members of common social stratum
together and furnish them gratis the means
OF making themselves still more remote
from the common people who are educated
in aud who support the common schools.
This education 10 furnished TO those who
have either literary taste or .ambitioa, and
who would otherwise secure To themselves
the advantages of a higher education IL de-
prived of this means Besides. IL costs at
least three times ~ much per capita'as the
common school education; and IL IA fur
nshed 10 those OF sufficient age and ability
TO engage in productive industry.