We have spent this morning in visiting and inspecting the State Prison here. Although not many years erected it is already celebrated, an establishing, that, by the suitable construction of buildings, and the enforcing a system of strict regulations, solitude and labour can be so united, that the evils attending idle solitary confinement may be avoided and that criminals may be made, not only to support themselves well, so that their health may not suffer, while enduring the sentence of the law, but to defray all the necessary expenses of agent, keeper, and guard, physician and chaplain, and, at the same time, be constantly employed, and subjected to a rigid course of moral and reformataly disci plane.
We found no difficulty in getting admission; a fee of 25 cents is paid by each person, and accounted for, as part of the funds of the prison. One of the assistant keepers was directed to conduct us through the prison, and to give us such information as we required,
A space of ground, 500 feet square, is enclosed by a very lofty external wall, 35 feet high within. The great building of the prison, about 100 feet from these walls, is three-sided ; the front 270 feet long, and 46 feet deep, and the sides 242 by 45. It contains the keeper's house, and necessary offices,-the eating-hall, hospital, chapel, kitchens, and wash-rooms, and the cells, which are 7 feet long, 3.5 wide, and 7 feet high. The windows in each, 4 feet by 6, are glazed, and secured by a strong iron-grating. The only open ing from the cell, except the ventilator, is the door, in the upper end of which is an iron-grate, 18 by 20 inches. The bars of this grate are round iron, three fourths of an inch in diameter, placed about two inches asunder, leaving orifices smaller than a man's hand. Through this grate, all (be light, heat, and air, are admitted to the cells. The ventilator, which is about .three inches m diameter, extends from the back of the cell to the roof of the building. The door of the cell, of which the grate is a part, closes on the inner edge of the wall, two feet deep. This recess in front of each door, increases the difficulty of conversation and communication between the prisoners,-prevents them from seeing into the galleries,-and furnishes a convenient place for an officer of the prison to converse with the prisoner, without being seen or heard by those in the adjoining cells. The area round the cells, which is ten feet wide, is open from the ground to the roof in front of five stories ofcells. Of this area, three feet adjoining thg cells are occupied by the galleries.
The advantages of this description of building, are its security and economy.
The security is obvious. The prisoner must first escape from his cell ; then avoid the sentinel in the open area ; then force the external wall ; and after all, he is only in the yard, the wall of which ia 30 feet high. No escape has hitherto taken place from this prison. .The economy is great in respect to the space occupied, and ia heating, lighting, and guarding. Twelve small stoves, and twelve small lamps, placed in the open area in front of the cells, afford heat and light for 555 cells ; and one sentinel is found sufficient to guard the prisoners. The space in front of the cells is a perfect sounding gallery, so that a sentinel in the open area on the ground can hear a whisper from a distant cell in the upper story.
The shops, or working-rooms, are almost all attached to the outer wall of the prison,-that wall being the outer wall of the shops. They are, when completed, to be about 1600 feet long, 26 feet wide, and 7 feet high on the side towards the yard, and 16 feet on the external wall. The side of the shops on the yard is lighted by a row of windows 4 feet by 3 feet 4 inches, and 2 feet 7 inches asunder. There is also a row of windows in the roof of the shops, consisting of an unbroken line of 7 by 9. In the rear of the shops is an avenue or passway, sufficiently lighted by numerous small openings cut in the partition, which enables the keepers to inspect the convicts without their knowledge, and visiters to pass through without going into the shops.
All the filth is swept through a grated passage beneath tho external wall, into the creek or river of Oswesco, which runs at the foot of it. There are two reservoirs of water for bathing in the prison yard, one fifteen feet by forty-three, and the other eighteen feet in diameter.
The prison is governed by a board of inspectors, residing in the village, who are appointed every two years by the governor and senators of New-York State, and who make such regulations as they think necessary, and appoint the keeper, deputy keeper, physician, chaplain, and all the subordinate officers.
At the period when the prison was erected, the legialature of the state, and the public, had become so dissatisfied with the mode of penitentiary punishment without solitary confinement then existing, which seemed rather to harden than to have a tendency to reform the delinquents, that it was generally believed, that, unless a severe system was adopted, the old sanguinary criminal code must be restored. In the state of New-York, and in other of the most populous states, it should be noticed, that no crimes are punished with death, excepting murder and fire-razing ; and that in all the states of the Confederacy, transportation beyond seas is a mode of punishment unknown. The legislature of New-York State, therefore, in the year 1821, directed a selection of the oldest and most heinous offenders to be made, who should be confined constantly in solitary cells. Eighty convicts were accordingly put into solitary cells on 25th December, 1821. Five of those convicts died during the year preceding January, 1823, while only five died out of 140 convicts confined at the same time in prison, but who were kept to labour. The health of the solitary convicts was very soon seriously impaired. Some of them became insane ; and the effect of this constant imprisonment was not more favourable to reformation than to mental and bodily health.
Before the end of 1823, exclusive solitary confinement was entirely discontinued, and the present successful system, combining solitude and silence with labour, introduced ; a majority of the commissioners, who examined the prison, having reported, that they were entirely averse to solitary confinement without labour, on the grounds of its being injurious to health, expensive, affording no means of reformations and unnecessarily severe. Lafayette, when he was lately in the United States, and heard of the experiment bf exclusive solitary confinement, said it was just a revival of the practice in the Bastile, which had so dreadful an effect on the poor prisoners. "I repaired," he said, " to the scene on the second day of the demolition, and found, that all the prisoners had been deranged by their solitary confinement, except one ; he had been a prisoner twenty-five years, and was led forth during the height of the tumultuous riot of the people whilst engaged in tearing down the building. He looked around with amazement, for he had seen nobody for that space of time ; and before night he was so much affected, that he became a confirmed maniac, from which situation he never recovered."
The details of the management of the prison must be accurately known, in order perfectly to understand the system now acted on.
When convicts arrive, they have their irons taken off, are thoroughly cleaned, and clad in the prison dress. The rules of the prison are explained to them, and they are instructed by the keeper in their duties,-to obey orders, and to labour diligently in silence,-to approach all the officers of the institution, when it is necessary for them to speak, with respectful language, and never to speak without necessity, even to the keepers ; never to speak to each other under any pretence ; not to sing, dance, or do any thing having the least tendency to disturb the prison ; never to leave the places as signed to them without permission ; never to speak to any person who does not belong to the prison, nor to look off from their work to see any one; never to work carelessly, or be idle a single moment. They are also told, that they will not be allowed to receive letters, or intelligence from, or concerning their frimids, or any information on any subject out of the prison. Any correspondence of this kind, that may be necessary, must be carried on through the keeper, or assistant keepers. A Bible is, by order of the state, put into each cell. The bodies of all criminals, who die in the state prisons, are, by order of the legislature, delivered to the College of Physicians when they are not claimed by their relations within twenty-four hours after their death. The state prisons being in the country,-at a distance generally, it must be presumed, from the residence of the relations,- such a claim can, it is obvious, be but rarely made.
For all infraction of the regulations, or of duty, convicts are instantly punished by stripes inflicted by the keeper, or assistant keepers, with a raw hide whip ; or, in aggravated cases, under the direction of the keeper, or his deputy alone, by a cat made of six strands of small twine, applied to the bare back alone. Conviction follows offences so certainly, and instantaneously, that they rarely occur; sometimes not once in three months.
At the end of fifteen minutes, after the ringing of a bell in the morning, the assistant keepers unlock the convicts, who march out in military order in single files to their workshops, where they wash their faces and hands in vessels prepared in the shops.
New convicts are put to work at such trades as they may have previoualy learned, provided it be practicable ,- if not, or if they have no trade, the keeper selects such trade as appears, on inquiry, best suited to them. The hours of labour vary according to the season. In long days, from half past 5, a. m. to 8, p. m. In short days, the hours are so fixed as to embrace all the daylight.
At the signal for breakfast, the convicts again form in line in the shops, and are marched by the assistant keepers to the mess-room, .which they enter at two different doors, face around by their plates, standing till all have got their places, when a bell is rung, and all sit down to their meals ; but, as some eat more, and some less, waiters, provided with large vessels, pass along constantly between the table, taking food from those who raise their right hand in token that they have it to spare, and giving to those who raise their left hand to signify they want more. The tables are narrow; and the convicts, sitting on one side only, are placed face to back, and never face to face, so as to avoid exchanging looks or signs.
When the steward perceives that the convicts have done eating, or have had sufficient time for it, generally from twenty minutes to half an hour, he rings the bell, when all rise and march to their work shops, those going out first who came in last. Twelve o'clock is the hour of dinner. The proceedings the same as at breakfast. Before quitting labour, the convicts wash their faces and hands,-form line, ac cording to the number of their cells,-and proceed, in reversed order, from that in which they came out in the morning, to the wash-room, where, without breaking their step, they stoop, and take up their supper vessels and water cans, and march to their galleries, enter their cells, and pull their doors too. Each gallery is occupied by one company, which is marched and locked up by one assistant keeper.
Assistant keepers are constantly moving around the galleries, having socks on their feet, that they may-walk without noise, so that no convict can feel secure, but that one of the keepers may be at the very door of his cell, ready to discover and report next morning for punishment the slightest breach of silence or order. The house, containing between 500 and 600 convicts, is thus perfectly still. The convicts are required, by the ringing of a bell, to go to bed upon their framed flat, canvass hammocks, with blankets, and are neither permitted to lie down nor to get up without a sig nal. After the convicts are rung down at night, all the locks are again tried by the assistant keepers.
On Sundays the arrangement is the same, with this difference, that, instead of working, the convicts are marched to the chapel, where divine service is performed by the chaplain. Such of them as are ignorant attend the Sunday school, which is admirably taught, and gratuitously, by students belonging to the Theological Seminary at Auburn. The keeper and assistant keepers must be present at divine service, and at the teaching in the Sunday school.
The agent makes contracts for the labour of the convicts, with persons furnishing materials, so that all risk of loss is avoided, and much private capital and enterprise are brought into action. Strict rules are enforced, preventing a contractor from speaking to a convict. His wishes must be expressed to one of the keepers.
There must be at least one assistant keeper in each mechanical department, who is master of the business pursued in it, to instruct new convicts, and to see that the whole make first-rate work. The instruction is chiefly given by showing, and not by verbal direction. .
The convicts are so arranged in the shops as not to face each other, and have their work entirely separate. A shop, and the business of a hundred convicts, are so managed, that hours frequently pass without a word being spoken. Spectators are taken through the inspection avenues in the rear, which surround all the shops, where they have a full view of the convicts without being seen. They are not allowed to speak so loud as to, be heard by them. There are separate shops for carpenters, masons, coopers, tool-makers, shoe makers, tailors, weavers, blacksmiths, machinists, gunsmiths, chair-makers, cabinet-makers, and basket-makers. We saw some cabinet work beautifully finished. Indeed, all the work seemed to us well arranged, and systematically carried on. Carriage-making, polishing stone, and comb-making, have been begun during the year 1828.
The gains of the convicts during the last year averaged 29 cents, or 1s. 2.5d. sterling per day, some of them earning as much as 60 cents, and others not more than 15 cents per day. The amount was sufficient to defray the annual expense, including the whole salaries of the keepers, inspectors, the guard, and all other officers. The keepers have no. doubt that the earnings will increase in subsequent years,-- many of the workmen who are under sentences of long confinement having, from practice, become much more perfect in their trades and occupations. The convicts are never on any pretext whatever, permitted to work on their own account, nor to receive any-food, except the prison fare. Neither fermented liquor of any kind, nor tobacco, are allowed to in brought within the precincts of the prison. Nothing is bought or sold within its walls, so far as the prisoners are in any way concerned, except their labour.
The regulations for the officers of the prison, for preserving it and the cells quite clean, and respecting the dress, cleanliness, and health of the convicts, are extremely minute, and well judged, and seem to be strictly enforced. A very well-informed person, one of lhe assistant keepers, accompanied us through every part of the prison, except the work. shops, which we saw from without, unseen by the inmates. It is, I have no doubt, truly observed in one of the recent publications on the subject of this prison, that " the whole establishment, from the gate to the sewer, is a specimen ol neatness, and that the unremitted industry, the entire subordination, and subdued feeling of the convicts, have probably no parallel among an equal number of criminals."
The degree of health which has prevailed since the intraduction of the present system, probably surpasses any thing ever known of an equal number of convicts,-between 500 and 600 ; the number of patients confined to the hospital being about one per cent, and the number of deaths one and a half.
No convict has been discharged since the present system commenced, who has not, previous to his liberation, communicated details of his previous history,-how he was brought up,-what instructions he enjoyed,-his employment,-his residence,-his general habits, &c. ; and also information respecting his confinement, how he considers himself to have been treated, &c. A very curious body of facts will in this way be obtained, especially as means are taken to procure, as far as it can be done, a knowledge of the after-lives of the convicts. Of l60 convicts discharged from Auburn, of whom accurate accounts have been obtained, 112 have turned out decidedly steady, and only twenty-six decidedly bad. It is generally admitted by the convicts, that their being deprived of all intelligence of their friends-of the affairs of the world -and of all means of intercourse and conversation with each other,-occasions them, more suffering, and tends more to humble them; than every thing else,-that they are necessarily driven to reflection in their solitary cells, and through all the unvarying routine of their labour and rest. They allow, that the desire to converse is so great, and the temptation to it so strong, , that they will risk the hazard of speaking to each other whenever there is any probable chance of escaping detection, but that the vigilance of the keepers is such, that they are never able to carry on a connected discourse. It is not an uncommon thing for a convict, when discharged, to state that he did not know the names of his fellow convicts, who had for months worked by his side, and lodged in adjoining cells.
An excellent summary of the advantages of the manage ment of this prison ia to be found in a report from commissioners appointed by the legislature of New-York to visit the prisons at New-York and Auburn ; it contains this passage :- " The Auburn prison, combining the construction of the pri son with the discipline enforced in it, presonts the following advantages :-That the sentence of the law can be enforced with almost absolute certainty, since escapes must be nearly impossible, and conspiracy quite so, and an attempt at insurrection therefore hopeless; consequently, that the prison is governed with great comparative safety to the lives both of the keepers and prisoners, which, in case of insurrection, are necessarily in danger. The separate cells by night, and the silence preserved, always entirely prevent all contamination among the prisoners-; thus at once is excluded the great question of the classification of convicts, which has so much engaged the attention of benevolent men in Europe and America. By this system, every prisoner forms a class by him self; and to all moral and social purposes he is insulated. The novice in crime may work for years by the side of the most expert felon, without making any progress in the mysteries of criminality. The prisoners are compelled to work diligently and profitably, and are deterred from spoiling their work ; and we may add, as an important feature of this system, that, if any human means can, as it were, enforce repentance and amendment, it is this. The entire separation from all criminal associates,-the sobriety of feelings consequent upon temperance and labour,-and, most of all, the sadness of solitude, must frequently make serious impressions. We have seen manifest proofs of such impressions among the prisoners, and only wish there were reason to expect they would be permanent."