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case with most of the Chatham mutineers; where, indeed, some were exemplary'! This leads us to one of the radical faults of the system, the huge size of the prisons. In Portland, for instance, there are 1400 prisoners; in Chatham as many; in Dartmoor 1100, &c. It is utterly impossible that the governors of these establishments should have any personal knowledge of the individuals of such vast assemblages: thus all actual dealing with these men must be left to the warders. And yet individual influence has been found to be the mainspring of any real reformation, as every manager of a reformatory school will bear witness. Indeed Sir J. Jebb admits this as respects females; but he lays it down that male convicts can only be dealt with in masses. What difference there is in the moral constitution of the sexes which can justify so wide a diversity in their treatment Sir Joshua does not explain.

We cannot help suspecting, with the Yorkshire Magistrates, that the practice is father to the avowed principle.

One very pernicious remnant of the older system ought not to be passed over without notice. We allude to the practice of sending convicts to pass a portion of their time on the public works at Bermuda and Gibraltar, and then bringing them home to be discharged in the United Kingdom. In those settlements the hulk system still exists in all its vileness, and, according to the Parliamentary Reports, the demoralization in Bermuda is fearful; and we have private information to the effect that things are but little better at Gibraltar. In Bermuda, the prisoners find means to buy spirits to add to the quota allowed to them by Government. In 1859, according to the official report of the chaplain, there was actually a faction fight between the English and Irish prisoners in the 'tween-decks of the 'Medway' hulk at night, in which one man was slain and twenty-four desperately wounded. The spectacle,' he says, 'would have appalled the stoutest heart. The hulk was a perfect shambles, and a frightful scene of uproar, excitement, and bloodshed. The mere handful of warders was powerless to deal with the armed mob below decks. All that could be done was to fasten down the hatches, and, when the work of butchery and carnage was over, descend below to fetch up the dead and wounded.' The miscreant Gilbert, who committed the frightful outrage and murder on the young lady at Fordingbridge, had been an inmate of Gibraltar prison, where (as he informed the governor of Winchester Gaol while lying under sentence of death) he was instructed in the art of garrotting. To the demonizing effects of these hells upon earth may

perhaps be attributed the extreme brutality which often characterises the outrages of discharged convicts.

Females on their conviction are placed in Millbank, at first in separate cells, and afterwards in association; thence they are removed to a prison at Brixton; from which the more ablebodied are placed in a Refuge, established by Government, at Fulham, from which, however, it would appear that some are excluded on account of bad behaviour.

The management of the women, of which the interesting and evidently truthful little work Female Life in Prison' gives a vivid idea, seems to be better designed than that of the men; yet here a want of that careful attention to the details of organization, so essential to the success of the best-devised system, is found, and the liberal diet and the general easiness of the discipline cause the punishment to be so little feared, that women, when discharged, have been known to commit offences with the avowed object of returning to the prisons.

As the capital penalty is now so rarely carried into effect upon women, and, indeed, frequently dispensed with as regards men, this defect in the deterrent character of the discipline is a very great evil; and it is high time that the question of the secondary punishment of the worst class of offenders should be seriously considered. Perhaps a prison to be tenanted by murderers only, with a discipline suited to life-long imprisonment, miglit be adopted. The nation does not like to be told that 'penal servitude for life' means only penal servitude for twelve years.

Hitherto we have had little to portray but error and failure. We might, indeed, have said more: we might have pointed to the cases showing how a man may be convicted and reconvicted and yet not contrive, by any amount of evil doing, to forfeit the favour extended to him by the pertinacious and harmful lenity of the authorities; but we now turn to a more agreeable portion of our subject. In the convict management of Ireland, we have to tell of brilliant successattained, too, under circumstances which might have discouraged the most hopeful.

Until about 1853 nearly all prisoners sentenced in Ireland to be transported were actually sent abroad. The Convict Department of that country being, therefore, at that time comparatively small, the management was entrusted to the governors of the various prisons, subject to the supervision of an inspector.

When, however, the refusal of the colonies stopped the outlet, these establishments, which seem never to have been well conducted, became full to overflowing, and in a

short time they fell into a dreadful state of disorganisation. So bad a reputation had their inmates acquired, that the people of Western Australia, although then seriously anxious to receive convicts, petitioned that no more might be sent to their province

from Ireland.

In the latter part of 1853 the Crown appointed a Commission to inquire into the subject, including among its members Captain Knight, the governor of Portsmouth convict prison, and Captain (now Sir Walter) Crofton, a country gentleman of Wiltshire, who, in his capacity of a county magistrate, had for years past paid great attention to the improvement of prison discipline and the promotion of reformatories. This Commission reported strongly upon the state of the Irish prisons, which equalled that of the hulks in their worst time. Idleness and dissolute conduct were the rule. The warders were often seen reeling drunk about the wards; peculations and gross frauds were rife; and it was found that the warders bribed the prisoners with tobacco to refrain from communicating their misdeeds to the inspector.

Government now placed the management of the Irish prisons under a Board of Directors, who at first were, Sir Walter Crofton, Captain Knight, and Mr. Lentaigne of Dublin, Sir Walter Crofton being the Chairman. Two years afterwards the Board had the misfortune to lose the assistance of Captain Knight. His place was, however, worthily filled by Captain Whitty, who had held an appointment in the English convict service. In 1861 Mr. Lentaigne was appointed Inspector-General of Prisons in Ireland; and last spring the state of Sir Walter Crofton's health compelled him to resign, leaving Captain Whitty sole Director.

Early in 1854 these gentlemen set about their duty in right earnest, and in a short time the most flagrant abuses were reformed. This was not done without much opposition and difficulty; and a large proportion of the officers had to be dismissed. For many months the Directors continued to receive daily threatening letters ornamented with death's-heads, coffins, &c., in the true Irish style. However, threatened men live long,' and the Directors succeeded in cleansing this Augean stable.

But to institute a really good system of discipline was a still harder task than the extirpation of gross abuses. Nevertheless, the Directors grappled manfully with the difficulty, and have happily obtained the success which usually follows determination. practice of discharging at home persons sentenced to transportation, being new in Ireland, was regarded with much dread, which

The

was by no means diminished by the accounts which were received of the conduct of the inmates of the Irish establishments. When the Bill of 1853 was before the House of Commons, Mr. Macartney gave vent to the feeling of apprehension which prevailed. He said that

'If this Bill was passed immediately, it would produce the greatest inconvenience in Ireland, where there was not sufficient accommodation for the present number of convicts, to say nothing of the increased number who would have to be provided for under the new system. What Ireland wanted was an improved system of prison discipline, and the Government ought, at all events, to have given them eighteen months or two years to prepare for the change. At the dation in Ireland for no more than 3434 persons, present time there was suitable gaol accomnobut the number of prisoners was actually 5246. Moreover, the ticket-of-leave system would have a worse effect in Ireland than anywhere else, for in that country the state of morals among the labouring classes was very low indeed, and the se 200 or 300 of these convicts among the people were easily corrupted. The turning lower orders was a very serious consideration.'

Before any really ameliorative discipline could be introduced it was necessary, first, to relieve the overcrowded prisons, which was effected partly by liberating a portion of the best conducted of the inmates who had been confined during a large part of their sentences of transportation, and partly by increasing the accommodation.

Having thus cleared the ground, the Directors had to consider how they could solve the great problem of disposing of convicts at home without detriment to the community.

'We have,' said they, 'firstly to punish the convict for the sake of deterring him and others; but this will make him more hostile than ever. He has suffered mere penal infliction repeatedly, and has returned to prison more hardened than before. Punishment alone has failed to deter him. Secondly. We have to amend him; but how can this be effected with his mind in a state of hostility to us? Thirdly. We have to train him before we liberate him, or the public will not value the voucher for his conduct. But how is this to be accomplished without the withdrawal of physical force? The last desideratum appears to be utterly hopeless, as the mind again reverts to the figure of the hardened desperado standing in heavy chains before us.'

To accomplish the desired results, the Directors relied on the following principles: 1st. Reward; by making all advantages, including ultimate release, dependent on industry and good conduct, as shown by a record kept from day to day. 2nd. Individual

influence. To enable such influence to be exercised, the inmates in each prison were not allowed to exceed the number which could be personally well known to the governor, schoolmaster, and chaplains (about three hundred in the ordinary associated prisons, and one hundred in an intermediate prison, being the maximum). 3rd. Gradual approximation to freedom: thus, in every successive stage of the discipline, the prisoner is less and less under restraint, until in the last stage the intermediate prison-he is half at liberty. And 4th. Strict supervision after discharge, and certain revocation of the ticket of leave on any appearance of a relapse. To carry these principles into effect, the Directors have elaborated a system which we will briefly sketch.

A male prisoner on his conviction is placed in a cellular prison at Mountjoy, near Dublin, for the first nine months of his sentence; though by very good conduct here, he may shorten this period to eight months; while, if his conduct is bad, he is detained in separation even longer than nine months. There is nothing new or original in subjecting the convict to separate confinement during the first portion of his sentence; but in Ireland it is the practice to make this state thoroughly penal, both by a very reduced dietary (in- | cluding no butcher-meat) during the first four months of the period, and by the absence of interesting employment during the first three months: indeed, at the beginning he is not allowed any occupation at all except that of receiving instruction, so that he is impelled, by the tedium of his solitary idleness, to beg for work as a favour, instead of looking on it as a penalty, which must be the case where labour is enforced. By the time the convict is required for hard work in the second stage, the improved dietary in the latter portion of the period in separation has rendered him physically able to perform it; and by the end of three months of the first stage the idler will generally have learned to associate industry with pleasure. But the convict is taught something very material to his future well-being in the first stage, when he has the advantage of much time devoted to his religious and secular instruction. He learns the whole bearing of the Irish Conviet System' by means of scholastic instruction, and finds that he can only reach the intermediate prisons through his own exertions, measured by marks in the second stage of the system. As the liberation of the convict within the period of his sentence depends upon the date of his admission to the intermediate or third stage of the system, it is manifestly for his own interest, as it is for the interest of those placed over him, that

he should be well informed upon this point.

The second stage consists of prisons in which the men work in association, but still under very strict discipline. A male convict, if a labourer, mason, or other out-door workman, passes from Mountjoy to Spike Island, in the Cove of Cork, where the Government are erecting fortifications for the protection of that important harbour. The work performed here is principally stone-hewing, masonry, and the attendant branches of labour. Prisoners arriving at Spike Island, whose conduct in Mountjoy has been good, are placed in the third class; the remainder are classed as probationers. At the end of every month marks are awarded to the prisoners for industry, diligence in school, and good behaviour, three marks being the maximum number attainable in each department. On obtaining fifty-four marks, a prisoner is raised from the probationary to the third class, or from that to the second; the attainment of a certain number more of good marks raises him another step; and so on until he has passed through the third, second, and first classes, and has entered the advanced class, when he is distinguished by a peculiar costume. After remaining a certain time in the advanced class, the prisoner is removed to an intermediate prison. Any misconduct is punished by degradation to a lower class. In some instances offenders are reduced from the advanced to the probationary class, and, for very serious transgressions, remitted to Mountjoy.

Handicraftsmen, invalids, and others, not strong enough for the out-door labour of Spike Island, were, until recently, on leaving Mountjoy, sent to the prison at Philipstown, where they were employed in weaving, tailoring, and similar trades.

Latterly, owing to the great diminution of the numbers of convicts in Ireland, Philipstown Prison has been closed, and the inmates removed to a department prepared for them. at Mountjoy, where, however, they are treated on the same system as before, which is nearly the same as at Spike Island.

When a man has passed a certain time (proportioned to the length of his sentence) in the advanced class in his associated prison, he becomes eligible for the intermediate prison-the middle state between incarceration and freedom. If he is a handicraftsman, or too weak for hard labour, he goes to Smithfield, an old-fashioned prison in Dublin, with large working-rooms, and cells roomy enough for four or five men to sleep. Here the men are kept in association, and are employed at their own trades (supposing them to be acquainted with one), such as tailoring, shoe

'making, carpentering, tinwork, &c. Those who are ignorant of any trade are instructed in one, if capable of learning it. Old men and others unable to acquire a trade are employed in the housework of the establishment or in mat making. The men here labour vigorously, and their work is well done. They make the clothes, officers' uniform, &c., for the different convict prisons in Ireland. Strict accounts are kept of the work, which in this establishment gives an average result of about 177. per head per annum and over above the cost of materials. Indeed, had it not been for the number of old men among the inmates, who could earn but very little, the institution would a few years ago have been self-supporting; the earnings of the able-bodied covering the cost of their food and clothing, and their share of the officers' salaries and general expenses of the institution; as it was, expenditure exceed ed income by a small sum only. But at present, owing to the lack of convicts, the prison is half empty, so that the establishment charges have to be divided among a smaller number of prisoners. The inmates are allowed a small portion of their earnings, e. g. to the artisans so much for every coat, pair of shoes, &c., made, apd a weekly sum to those employed in house work. Of these earnings 6d. a week is paid to them in ready money, which they are permitted to spend in tobacco, red herrings, or what little luxuries they will, except drink, which is strictly forbidden. This is done as a test of self-control. Very little money is spent in this manner; it is generally saved for better purposes. The prisoners work in association, and several sleep in a cell, where they have gas-light, and may read or amuse themselves before retiring. They are also employed in turn to go about Dublin as the messengers of the institution. The officers are very few in number, and could be easily overpowered were their charges so minded. Nine and a half hours daily are devoted to work; after which, in the evening, Mr. Organ, the very able and intelligent schoolmaster to the institution, holds his classes. Writing, reading, arithmetic, &c., are taught, with which Mr. Organ contrives to combine moral and other useful training.

wages there, the chances of advancement in life and the means of reaching these fields for enterprise. The object of this is to excite in the men a desire to emigrate, as it is justly thought that in a new country, where work is plentiful and the man is removed far from his bad connexions, he will have every chance of doing well. And, in effect, it is found that a large proportion of the prisoners do emigrate after their discharge, defraying the expense out of the gratuities they earn in prison and their wages after liberation; and thus the advantages of transportation are obtained without any of its evils, and without a farthing's expense to the country.

The out-door prisoners, on arriving at the intermediate stage, were formerly removed, some to the works at Fort Camden or those at Fort Carlisle (the two strongholds at the mouth of Cork Harbour), and some to Lusk Common, about twelve miles north of Dublin. But recently both the forts have been abandoned as convict prisons, for the same reason as Philipstown; and now all men of this class go to Lusk, where they are employed in reclaiming the waste-digging drains, tilling land, and otherwise preparing the ground for an intended agricultural penitentiary for young convicts, analogous to Parkhurst ; which, however, owing to the great diminution of young prisoners caused by the action of reformatory schools in Ireland, it will probably not be necessary to build. They live here in two moveable huts made of corrugated iron and wood, each containing only one arge room (in which the convicts sleep, take their meals, and pass their time when not at work), with one or two small apartments for the stores, and for the accommodation of the officers. A cookhouse and offices of the simplest possible character stand with the huts, in an enclosure bounded by a mud wall a yard high. A few cottages for warders, scattered about the common, complete the whole matériel of the prison. None of the usual features of a prison, it may be said, are seen.

The men, who vary from fifty to sixty in number, are under the charge of five warders, who carry no weapons, but act like the overseers of ordinary workmen. Of more than a thousand men who have passed through the prisoh, only two have attempted to escape.