rally of a profligate description, and one was a criminal, condemned to transportation, but remaining in prison, on account of a loathsome disease. Here there was a woman, comparatively respectable, compelled not only to associate with profligate characters, but to sleep with four in the same bed, one of them a convicted criminal, whose body was almost in a state of putrefaction! "In a prison, not distinguished for negli oldest not more than fourteen years of age, confined, for a long period, in the same room with two hackneyed criminals, who had been tried, convicted, and sentenced to transportation. What rendered the case of been found guilty of any offence; they were these children more afflicting, they had not only waiting for their trial." pp. 38, 34. only that a distinction should be made in the treatment of different classes of criminals, but that their indiscriminate association should be carefully prevented. The end of our public institutions should be, to reclaim men from vice and to pro mote virtue. They are dreadfully perverted when they become means of corruption and nurseries of profligence, I have myself seen three boys, the gacy. Such, however, is the case when all descriptions of persons, from the honest debtor, and the young, perhaps innocent and only suspected, prisoner, to the criminal hardened in transgression, the pro; fligate and ingenious villain, and the shameless and abandoned pros. titute, are not only permitted to associate indiscriminately, but often made to sleep in the same apart ments, nay, in the same beds. Every rising hope of penitence and amend ment is thus crushed, and the mind becomes more thoroughly corrupted, and more determined on vicious pursuits. In the prisons even of the metropolis, crowds, particularly of females, are huddled together in the same room without distinction. Those who only had commenced the career of vice are abandoned to society in which every virtuous principle is laughed to scorn: their minds are polluted with indecency: new arts of iniquity are taught them, and new temptations presented to them. They issue from prison a thousand times more depraved than they entered it. But examples of this kind are not confined to the capital. "In Scotland, justly distinguished for the purity of its principles, and the excellence of its public institutions, still less attention has been paid to the condition of unhappy prisoners than in England. In a prison belonging to this country, a friend of mine informed me, he saw, 'during the last gear, ten women confined in one rodni, where were only two beds. Among these women, was one of a respectable character, contined for debt. The rest were gene In England there is how by law an entire separation of debtors from felons, in every gaul in the kingdom, arising from this source, our author To remedy the unspeakable evils structed of sufficient dimensions to proposes that prisons shall be conadmit of a proper classification of prisoners; and if any city or county should neglect their obvious duty in this respect, the law should compel their attention to it. Not only should there be separate divisions for different descriptions of criminals, but every prisoner ought to have a sleeping-room allotted to himself, to which he might, during the day, at all times retire. Per misdemeanours, might be confined sons imprisoned for a short time for entirely to their own rooms, which would preserve them from the general infection of the prison, and dispose them Dr. Macgill adds,dispose them to sober thought. Every prisoner, at his first imprisonment, should be confined entirely, for some period, to the room allotted for him. This would enable the jailor and superintendant of the prison, to form some estimate of bis condition, and to determine with propriety the class to which he should be assigned. It would remove also the criminal, for a period, from the corrupting influence of his companions in vice. The silence and retirement of his cell would dispose him to serious reflection, and afford leisure and opportunity for indulging it. At such a season, and in such circumstances, he might recal the events of his life, and the consequences of his crimes; compare his days of peace with his present fallen state; carry forward his views to the future consequences of sin; remember the invitation to the chief of sinners; and, with a full and overflowing heart, arise,' like the returning prodigal, to go unto his father. Such have been the effects of seasonable correction, joined to the silence and retirement of solitude, and why may they not also be felt in silence and retirement by the lonely prisoner?" pp. 36, 37. This solitary confinement, however, should not be of long duration; for when too much protracted, it tends to produce dejection or sullenness. Persons of a more sober character may be permitted to meet at stated hours; but the generality of prisoners should be allowed to associate only in the place allotted for work, or in that allotted for exercise. It would then be easy to superintend them, and one of the jailors should always be present. A respectable female should be placed over the female ward. Dr. Macgill proceeds to remark, that prisons should be so constructed as to afford opportunities for employ Inent, and encouragement for industry; and on this subject his suggestions are very valuable. They are founded on the nature of man, and are fully sanctioned by experience. The outline of his plan is this: "Appropriate to the criminals, the same hours of labour which a sober workman vo. luntarily assigns to himself. Be at pains to find those kinds of work which are both profitable and suited to the skill of indi viduals; and where skill in useful arts is wanting, let it be taught. Open an account for every criminal, and let him know, that, after deducting the expense of his maintenance, the whole profits of his labour are his own. Finally, let every convicted criminal know, that he must remain in confinement, till he has paid, by his labour, the expense of his inaintenance. By such means, the most powerful inducements to industry are presented; inducements of a rational kind, and similar to those which are presented in o dinary life; the hopes of gain, the inconvenience of debt, the certainty of advantage proportioned to present exertions. Thus labour is voluntarily and cheerfully performed, habits of industry are encouraged, and expense to the public is saved, while some wealth is acquired, and the sweets of sober industry are experienced by the criminals." pp. 42, 43. He further proposes, that suitable rewards should be conferred on the industrious, and that those rewards should be connected as much as possible with their families. "Draw forth and keep alive, their domestic affections; let the parent see his offspring occasionally, benefiting in the fruits of that employment which you encourage; and convey to his family, with regular attention, that assistance which his labour thus soften and humanise bis heart; you will has been enabled to procure. You will inspire or keep alive those strong affections, which form the most powerful incitements to exertion and diligence. His gratitude for the attentions which you pay to those who are dear to him, will increase your influence, and give new force to your counsels. And he will experience inward satisfaction, from the consciousness that he has been enabled, in the midst of all the evils of his condition, to discharge, in some degree, the part of a which his misconduct or misfortunes have parent, and to alleviate those distresses occasioned to those objects, who looked up to him for protection, Domestic affections, very hardened persons are often observed occasionally to feel. And though sensuality and profligacy tend to deaden and destroy them, yet, sometimes in the season of reflection and retirement, and particularly in situations where vicious habits cannot be indulged, the strong feelings of a parent have been seen, when scarcely any other sentiment seemed capable of moving him, to minal." pp. 45, 46. overpower almost wholly the wretched cri On the means of excluding vice and disorder from prisons, the views of our author are equally sound and practical. Although it is above all things necessary that drunkenness should be excluded from prisons, yet in many cases the men whose duty it is to restrain have an interest in encouraging excesses; the profit of the gaoler being in proportion to the sale of liquors, and this in direct opposition to the spirit and intention of the Act of Parliament; which, however, is so loosely framed, that it depends on the pleasure of the justices whether it shall be enforced or not. After illustrating, by some curious facts, the evils of the present system, Dr. Macgill proposes that the prohibition to sell liquors in prison should be made absolute and universal, and should extend not only to gaolers, but to all persons whatsoever; and that no strong liquor of any kind should be allowed to any prisoner, except such as may be distributed by appointment, and at the expense of the public, with his food. Thus, and thus alone, can the many dreadful evils arising from this source be effectually prevented; and by this system the prevention becomes easy; the opportunity and excuse for abuse is taken away; and, if abuses should occur, they are easily detected. Dr. Macgill proposes also the complete suppression of gaming, and the discouragement of coarse and noisy mirth. The next point to which Dr. Macgill adverts, as connected with the moral and religious interests of the prisoners, is that of furnishing the prisoners with the means of enjoying the blessing of Divine Ordinances and religious instruction. "They, of all classes of men, require the benefit of religious ordinances and instruction, whether you view them as unfortunate or criminal, as involved in calamity or as under the power of ignorance, error, and depravity." "When we consider the temporal evils of a state of ignorance and depravity, the im portance of religion and virtue to the present happiness of individuals and of nations, we may perceive strong motives for spreading and maintaining among men of every class, the knowledge and the power of the Gospel, But when we look forward to eternity; consider the future consequences of sin, the salvation provided by God, and by means of such infinite magnitude, the accumulated evil which may be incurred, the perfection and the bliss which may be obtained; and with these consider the spirit and the character required in the followers of Him who came to save the lost, and call sinners to repentance; we must feel the obligation of furnishing to unfortunate prisoners, the blessings of religious ordinances and instruction, to be of the first importance, enforced, by every consideration which is most sacred in the estimation of Christians.", p. 61. The recommendations of our au thor on this important point are peculiarly deserving of attention. The minister appointed to instruct them must labour, not only in public but in private, to convey some idea of the first truths and obligations of religion to minds sunk in gross ignorance and stupified by vice; to soften the hardened heart; to awaken the dormant faculties; to exercise the conscience to discern good and evil; to warm and cherish into life better principles and better hopes; to excite the feeling and the prayer of penitence; and to open their minds to the awful yet affecting views of the Gospel. To this end a judicious selection of books would be greatly instrumental. Every room should be furnished with a Bible, and with tracts calculated to interest and inform the mind. "With many of these,” he adds, “we are happily furnished, beyond most other nas tions, through the pious and benevolent labours of persons distinguished for litera, ture and talents, but who have not thought it an unworthy employment of their powers, to condescend, like their great Master, to the instruction of the humble. Such are many of the works of Baxter, of Watts, and of Doddridge. Such, also, are some of the works of many excellent persons in the present day. The works of Miss More, in this view, ought particularly to be mentioned; who, in that valuable collection, called the Cheap Repository, has blended instruction with entertainment; and in such a mauner, as is intelligible and interesting to the poor and illiterate, yet, may please and improve the most enlightened and refined.” p. 67. Dr. Macgill concludes this head with some valuable observations on the importance of order and equitable discipline, directed by wise and known rules, in the conduct of prisons; and he exemplifies his own views on this subject by transcribing a part of the rules of the county gaols of Lancaster and Berks, which appear to be very admirably framed. The best plans, however, will prove unavailing without a constant and vigilant superintendance. Much will depend on the judicious choice of a head gaoler and his servants, Opportunities must often arise of eluding the vigilance of magistrates; and opportunities of doing good must also frequently occur to such persons. The very manner and example of a good man are calcu-lated to operate beneficially on the most hardened. Persons of sobriety, integrity, fortitude, prudence, and intelligence, joined to a humane and religious spirit, should there fore be selected for this important office. And to facilitate such appointments, the odium attached to keepers of prisons should be removed; the very name of gaoler should be changed for that of governor; respectable salaries should be annexed to this office, and indeed to all the offices; and fees of every kind should be abolished. A superintendance of a still higher nature must, however, be provided, in order to prevent abuses, and secure the good management of prisons; and this superintendance must be vigilant and regular. In addition to the watchful inspection of the magistrates themselves, Dr. Macgill proposes that they should appoint an inspector, without a salary, whose reward should be the confidence of his fellow-citizens, and the opportunity afforded him of doing good; and whose duty it should be to visit the prison at all hours, and to inspect every part of its economy. Besides this, there may be a yearly list of thirty or forty visitors; one of whom, in turn, shall visit the prison every day, and mark his report in a book provided for the purpose; and on each Satur day the seven visitors of the week may meet the inspector, for the purpose of conferring on the reports of the week, and taking such mea sures as circumstances may require. The trouble attending this plan would be small, excepting to the inspector; but we agree, with Dr. Macgill, that many excellent men might be found in every city and county in Britain both able and willing to undertake the task. In Glasgow plans of a similar mature are regularly carried on; " nor have active and benevolent citizens ever been wanting to accomplish them with ability and success." This great work, however, in order to be properly conducted, should be made a national concern, and with this view, annual reports should! be made to Parliament of the state and circumstances of every prison in the kingdom; and the result of the whole, after having been examined by a Committee, laid, with their observations, on the table of both Houses. The advantages arising from the experience of one part of the kingdom, would thus be made known and communicated to another. The subject would be kept continually in the view of the pub lic; nor would evils, shocking to humanity, be allowed by wise and good men to exist in their neighbourhood, without means being employed to remedy and remove them. No general or effectual remedy, however, will ever be adopted, without legislative interference. "The pow er of the nation alone has energy to overturn and sweep away those inveterate abuses, which have so long and generally prevailed; to introduce a system worthy of a free and Christian country; to set it in operation, and to render it universally effectual." We have thus laid before our readers a succinct view of the interesting pamphlet of Dr. Macgill; and we have no hesitation in saying, that we think he has earned great credit by the good sense, benevolence, and piety which have guided him in this effort to succour the wretched and reform the vicious. At the same time we think it possible, that Dr. Macgill may not be aware of the extent to which the beneficial reforms he has suggested have been already carried in many of our county gauls. In some of them, as in those of Gloucester, Lancaster, &c. there is scarcely any thing left for humanity to desire. Not only has the plan on which they are constructed been framed with a scu pulous attention to all the sugges tions of the benevolent Howard, but the vigilance with which all its move ments are watched and controuled, reflects on the magistracy a portion of his praise. The acknowledged success however, in so many instances, of the improved system so strongly recommended by Dr. Macgill, furnishes, it must be admitted, the most powerful motive, as well as argument for its universal and authoritative adoption; and for the perpetual and wakeful superinten dance of our grand national inquest, by means of the proposed reports, over these receptacles of misery and crime, about to become, we trust, through such superintendance, the means of very largely contributing to diminish the general amount of both these evils. Bat, besides the dne regulation of aur, prisons, there is another large question on which Dr. Macgill has not entered, but which is closely connected with it; we mean, the best mode of employing and reforming Convicts. Our readers have probably beard of a proposal on this subject, which was submitted to the Lords of the Treasury, about fifteen or twenty years ago, by Jeremy Bentham, Esq. That gentleman had turned his thoughts to the Penitenti ary system from its origin; and had contrived a building in which any number of persons might be kept, within the reach of being inspected, during every moment of their lives. He proposed to be himself at the expense of erecting and fitting up a building of this kind, where he would maintain and employ all the convicts now confined on board the bulks or transported to Botany Bay, at 25 per cent, less than it now costs government to do so, deducting also the average value of the labour performed by them; merely on the terms of his receiving the produce of their laboor. On these terms he engaged as follows: 1st. To furnish the prisoners with a constant supply of wholesome food, not limited in quantity, but adequate to each man's desire. 2d. To keep them clad in a state of tightness and neatness, superior to what is usual even in the most improved prisons. 3d. To keep them supplied with separate beds and bedding compe tent to their situations, and in a state of cleanliness scarcely any where conjoined with liberty. "4th. To insure them a sufficient supply of artificial warmth and light whenever the season renders it ne cessary, and thereby save the necessity of taking them prematurely from their work at such seasons (as in other places), as well as preserving them from suffering by the in clemency of the weather. "5th. To keep constantly from them, in conformity to the practice so happily received, every kind of strong and spirituous liquors, unless when ordered in the way of medicine. 6th. To maintain them in a state of inviolable, though mitigated, se clusion, in assorted companies, with out any of those opportunities of promiscuous association, which in other places disturb, if not destroy, whatever good effect can have been expected from occasional solitude. 7th. To give them interest in their work, by allowing them a share in the produce. 8th. To convert the prison into a school, and, by extended applica tion of the principle of the Sunday Schools, to return its inhabitants into the world instructed, at least as well as in ordinary schools, in the most useful branches of vulgar learning, as well as in some trade or occupation, whereby they may after. wards earn their livelihood. 9th. To pay a penal sum for every escape, with or without any default of his, irresistible violence from without excepted, and this without employing irons on any occasion, or in any shape. 10th. To provide them with spiritual and medical assistants, con |