III. PRISON DISCIPLINE IN THE UNITED STATES, AS SHOWN IN THE STATE PRISON REPORTS FOR 1868.

BY THE CORRESPONDING SECRETARY.
ALABAMA.

The following communication from Mr. Smith, lessee of the State Penitentiary, with the memorandum of statistics accompanying it, is all we have from this State:

E. C. WINES, Corresponding Secretary, New York:

Dear Sir-I herewith transmit you a statement of facts relative to the prison, etc., as requested, per your communication of an ancient date. Absence from the prison for the past twelve months, occasioned by the superintending of convicts employed on the railroad works progressing in our State, has prevented me from giving your favors that attention which so important a matter deserves. I regret much that such should have been the case, for I was desirous that the statements should appear in the late reports of the Prison Association of New York. Our annual report to the Legislature of Alabama, which is now in session, has but recently been completed and laid before that body, I send you statements compiled from that report, which, being too late for your report of 1868, I hope will reach you in time for that of 1869. I most heartily approve the conference on criminal punishment and reformatory treatment, and will endeavor to attend the congress to be held in Cincinnati. In the future I will be most happy to confer with you and give you any information in my power that will lend aid to the reformation proposed, and one that is greatly needed in our country. Craving your pardon for what may have seemed negligence in the past, I remain your obedient servant, WM. SMITH, Lessee.

The report referred to in the above letter has not yet come to hand. The statistics will appear in the tabular statement, to be printed further on in the present paper. We simply call attention, in passing, to the fact that the total earnings of the prisoners for the year were $85,000; the total expenditures, $75,000; leaving a net profit of $10,000. The productive employments of the convicts are railroad building, and the manufacture of ploughs and wagons. Whipping appears to be the only punishment in use here. Thirtynine lashes are the extent to which the punishment can be inflicted, which must be in presence of officers.

ARKANSAS.

We have no information concerning the State Prison of Arkansas, or the penal affairs of that State for the year 1868.

CALIFORNIA.

As the reports of this prison are made biennially, none has reached us later than that for the years 1866 and 1867. The following extract from the recent message of Gov. Haight to the Legislature of the State shows gratifying progress:

The discipline of the prison and the condition of the convicts have been undergoing steady improvement during the past two years. Within that period gambling by the convicts has been effectually prevented, and a school established for the instruction of such as are disposed to make some effort to learn to read and write. The desire to learn manifested by a large number, and the progress made, have been gratifying.

It has been the earnest endeavor of the Board of Directors to make the prison more reformatory in its character, and at the same time reduce the excess of expenditures over receipts so as to lessen the amount annually required for its support. The prison, however, can never be what it should be, either in economy of management or in discipline and reformatory influence, until the present system is exchanged for one demonstrated by experience to answer the desired ends. The present system places the prison in the charge of officers subject to change every four years, with the lieutenant-governor as warden. The second executive officer in the State, who is ex-officio President of the Senate, has devolved upon him duties as widely distinct as can well be imagined. It is the unanimous opinion of the Board of Directors that the system should be radically changed; that the lieutenant-governor should be relieved of the immediate charge of the prison, and the system known as the "Irish prison system," which is regarded as superior to any other, introduced, with some necessary modifications, under the supervision of a board of commissioners, composed of gentlemen who, from motives of philanthropy, would serve without other pay than their traveling expenses, and who should appoint a warden to serve during good behavior. The warden of a prison should, if possible, be a man with peculiar natural aptitude for the position, who holds by so fixed a tenure as to make the management of convicts and of the prison his permanent occupation.

The Irish system unites kindness with sufficient severity, substitutes confinement for corporal punishment, and establishes a system of marks and rewards for meritorious conduct, which results in many cases in permanent reform.

This system, as necessarily modified, requires two prisons-a primary one, with cells for solitary confinement, where prisoners are first confined for a period of eight months (more or less, according to conduct), and a secondary one, with shop buildings arranged as at San Quentin.

I recommend that provision be made for the appointment of a board of commissioners of five or more persons, who shall be charged with the supervision of the prison, the appointment of the warden (the latter to serve during good behavior), one commissioner to retire every other year, and the subordinate officers of the prison to be appointed by the warden.

It will be observed that Gov. Haight, who shows himself to be an enlightened as well as an earnest friend and student of penitentiary science, has recommended for California the plan which the Prison Association succeeded in causing to be engrafted upon the amended Constitution of 1867, and which, on the failure of that instrument, it now seeks to have incorporated as a special amendment into the existing Constitution.

Gov. Haight's views and purposes are further developed in a communication by a correspondent to a San Francisco paper. This communication comes to us from a quarter which stamps its statements as authentic. We append a few extracts:

Reporter-The object of this interview, Governor, is to have a conversation with you in reference to that portion of your message which recommends the adoption of the Irish prison system.

Governor Haight-As I understand it, there are four divisions-four separate methods of treatment in the Irish system.

Reporter-There are three departments of what may strictly be called prison treatment. The fourth division is that which provides for the obtaining of employment, and for the efficient police surveillance of the person after he is discharged.

Governor Haight-We cannot expect to accomplish that much at once. What I want to do is, to adopt that system as the basis, and to set it going. For the present, all we can expect to accomplish is to adopt two of the divisions of the Irish system.

Reporter-But you will see that that falls very far short of the system you have recommended.

Governor Haight-Yes; but it cannot all be accomplished at once. I propose to lay the foundation of the system, and to see that what further money is expended shall be so laid out that the buildings erected shall be suitable for the working of the system. Then I propose to have a commission, composed of philanthropic gentlemen, who will act without any other pay than having their traveling expenses paid. To this commission I would give the sole control of the prison. This would take the whole matter out of the region of politics. So long as it is there, no permanent reform can be effected.

Reporter-It would be useless to talk of the Irish system so long as the officers go out with each administration.

Governor Haight-Yes; that is why I wish to give the appointments to an independent commission. The insane rush which is always made for offices to which emoluments are attached effectually prevents the executive, as a rule, from dealing with such appointments, irrespective of political pressure and party considerations.

I am convinced that this Irish system is the right thing, and, if I can put it on such a footing as to insure its completion hereafter, I shall deem it one of the greatest reforms of my administration.

Reporter-It certainly will be an achievement worthy of note, and none the less so because it is one of those unostentatious movements which lack the popularity and excitement which are so attractive to ordinary politicians.

Reporter-Then there is the third and last division of the Irish system. Prior to obtaining his liberty, the prisoner is placed on a large and exceedingly well managed farm, near Dublin. Here he is allowed to earn a small sum to serve him when he again goes into the world. Out of this sum he is allowed sixpence per week, and on Saturday he is granted a half-holiday, and may, if he chooses, go into the city and spend it. This is done to gradually prepare him to rightly use his liberty, and to furnish a test by which to judge of his reform. It is found that in the great majority of instances the money is not spent, but saved. What they learn on the farm makes them useful in that kind of work, and the division fully pays its own cost.

Governor Haight―That is without doubt an admirable part of the system, and one that might be easily carried out here. I see much good in it, and there does not appear much difficulty in giving it effect.

Reporter - Do I understand that you propose to adopt at once the first division of the Irish system-that which separates for eight months in a separate cell each prisoner on his entrance to the prison?

Governor Haight - Yes; we must have more cells at once, as we have not room for the men now there. That being so, my idea is that we should erect a number of cells upon the Irish plan, and so begin the system. The separate cell system avoids the necessity of flogging — a reform I am very desirous of bringing about. It has besides many other advantages in its effects upon hardened offenders.

I propose to inaugurate these changes, and to undertake as much as it is possible to perform during the remainder of my term. Let me be understood as to what I propose. First, I desire to make two divisions at San Quentin. The separate, solitary-cell division, for prisoners commencing their term and for those who are refractory. Then the present workshops should be so utilized as to serve for the congregated silent working department. Then, by giving up the whole matter to a Commission, I hope to remove the thing out of the region of politics. This Commission, I hope, will procure employment for each liberated prisoner. That will be one portion of their duty. If I can, by the aid of the Legislature, bring these things about, the foundation will be laid upon which the perfect system may be erected. It is possible, too, that we may carry out the farm system, especially for the young men you spoke of. If I can effect these things, I shall look back upon them as the greatest reforms of my period of office.

Further items of information relating to the State prison, subsequent to the date of the last biennial report, are furnished in the fourth annual report of the California Prison Commission, published near the close of 1869. From this, we learn that a prison school was started during the latter part of the year 1868, which, considering the limited amount of time that could be given to it, and other obstacles, has been highly successful. We quote from the report:

At the next meeting of the board of trustees (after Thanksgiving, in 1868), a committee on prisons and prison visitation was appointed, consisting of Dr. Lucky, Dr. Gibbons and W. O. Andrews. A day or two after that, Dr. Lucky received a note from the captain of the yard, Mr. Gilchrist, who had, and still has, the immediate charge of the convicts, stating that he had just begun the experiment of a school, notifying all the prisoners who could not read or write to assemble in the dining-room for instruction. The first day sixty-five pupils were present. He stated that he was in need of spelling-books, slates, pencils, pens and paper. Dr. Lucky, taking the matter in hand, made an appeal for a supply of books to the pupils of the public schools, through the teachers, at a meeting of the Teachers' Institute. The result was, that a great number of school books of various kinds, slates, copy-books, etc., were contributed, amounting to over 10,000 [1,000 ?] in number. Liberal donations of such as were still needed were also made by several of the booksellers, and, to make the supply complete, some purchases were made with money donated for the purpose. The school has steadily increased, until now it numbers about 160, divided into twenty classes, each taught by one of the more intelligent convicts. Though circumstances at present will admit of holding the school only on Sabbath morning, yet the results, so far, have been of the most gratifying kind. Many who before were entirely uneducated are now rapidly learn ing to read and write. Some, who were compelled to get their letters written by others, are able to communicate with their friends without any such assistance. There has been a large increase in the number of letters leaving the prison, and,

what is more, there is a marked difference in their character, the change in this respect being greatly for the better. Quite a number of the scholars are studying arithmetic. A few are giving their attention to algebra, geography, etc. Nearly all take their books with them to their cells, where they improve the time which they have in study; and some carry them to the workshops, so as to have them ready for use as soon as their tasks are completed. Men of all nationalities participate in the benefits thus offered, none being excluded who prove themselves worthy of the privilege.

An experiment of great interest and hopefulness is detailed in the following extract:

During the summer, quite a number of men are required to work at night, in burning brick. For this purpose free men had been employed, until Mr. Hunter, the present contractor in that branch of manufacture, took charge of the brick yard. He conceived the idea of taking convicts whose terms of imprisonment were about to expire, and placing this labor in their hands, paying them but half the amount that he had been obliged to give to others, the money to be retained until they were ready to be discharged. The directors allowed him to try the experiment, which has worked admirably, and given good satisfaction to all concerned. Almost every prisoner is anxious to have the benefit of this arrangement, and those who are successful in securing the privilege labor as faithfully, and perform their work as well, as any men that could be found. The hope of earning something with which to begin life again for themselves acts as a strong inducement to industry and fidelity; and the moral effect of thus laboring for wages, and to a great extent as free men, with some degree of trust reposed in them, cannot but be good; while the fear, not only of losing the money they have earned, but also of forfeiting all the time which they have gained by good behavior, under the commutation act, and returning to close confinement, in disgrace, in case of an unsuccessful attempt to escape, effectually prevents anything of this kind, and renders the measure one of perfect safety.

The result of this experiment tends to show, as far as it goes, that the Irish intermediate prison can be engrafted on our penitentiary system with ease and success.

Heretofore there has been no place for religious services other than the mess-room, a comfortless and most inappropriate place. Early last year, a handsome and commodious apartment, 60 by 48 feet, was fitted up in a new workshop, for a chapel and school room.

With the consent of the Prison Board, the Prison Commission have adopted sundry measures with a view to the promotion of the comfort, amendment and elevation of the prisoners, which are detailed in the following extract:

A supply of letter paper and envelopes is kept constantly on hand, to be furnished gratuitously to all. We also keep a supply of postage stamps, which are given to every one asking for them. Those able to purchase, and who prefer to do so, are charged at the rate of ten cents for three, or twenty-five cents for eight. This is quite an accommodation, and reduces the expense of postage to most of the prisoners, to much less than it used to be. As the stamps cost us in legal tenders twenty-five per cent less than these rates, it leaves a profit, which is balanced by the donations before spoken of. None are denied who apply for them, whether they pay for them or not, and yet, the six hundred furnished during the short time in which the experiment has been tried, have actually cost us but fifteen cents. Candles to a limited