631 ' I 231 ] ' -••..—« make a title to the sdid Samuel'James. Your committee are of opinion that this is a casts r.'.early within the provisions of existing laws, by which the court has power to order the administrator of Joseph Price, to execute a title to the said Samuel James, upon proper proof being made of the formal execution of the written agreement between-the parties. Your committee therefore ofter the following resolution. Resolved, That the committee be discharged from any further" consideration of the subject. f No. 2rt 1. Report of tire commissioners of the western state peni* tentiarv. READ, February 10, 1830. To the Seriate and Ilni^e uf Representatives of the Cnmmonwealtk of Pennsylvania. Gentlemkv, Ue have the honour to transmit to you the annexed report, containing the information relative to the convicts confined in the western penitentiary of Pennsylvania, required by the 1st article of the eighth section of the act of the 23d of April, 1829. And in further obedience to the directions of that law, we beg leave to sub;<-it for y«.ur consideration, the following observations, the re- sult of our very short experience, upon the condition of this prison, and the system oi solitary confinement now pursued in Pentiayl- vania The plait and construction of the penitentiary buddings under _ur superiuendi'tice, is so essentially connected" with this subject, that it seems proper to call your attention immediately to it. The fund of SJ(,00, appropriated bv the 11th section of the lata act, to the western penitentiary, to be appropriated by the inspec- tors in making "such alteration of the interior of said peniten- tiary, as in their opinion will best adapt the same to the provisions of this act," cuino to the hands of the board at so late a period, that it was not deemed advisable to expend it during the last quarter of the late year. Great difficulty, in its application, so as to meet the intention of the law, presents itself to the minds of the board; indeed, it is doubted whether it be possible, by any reasonable ex- penditure, on the present plan of the building, to accomplish any thing more than solitary confinement. This matter will be better understood by a reference to the plan, which it is presumed will be found among the archives of the legislature. There is perhapi.' no trade or occupation, at which a convict could work in any ©f't the cells. Independent of the want of room in a kind of vault,*' t 23i 3 6S5 Ibfwt Tby9 feet in the clear, there is not sufficient !.>J,f} theonlv supply be.ng what can reach the culprit, after passing through *he narrow gratings ot a heavy iron door, hungon stor.e ja-nb* S feet thick, after passing through an. out door, and across a vestibule b feet deep. Constant eontinement in these colls, is found iricmnps- tible with the health of the convicts, and we have found it neces- sary to permit two or three to be out alternately, which -ives an opportunity of intercourse to about 20 in each section, that great- ly diminishes the benefit of solitary confinement. It is proposed to remedy this evil, in the application of the fund bo far as it will extend, by enclosing a vard or court in front of each cell, about 1-2 or 15 feet deep, with a"high brick wall, in which the convict can. have air and exercise. This improvement, neces- sary to the principle of solitary confinement, will make an altera- tion in the present mode of heating the cells, necessary; which will be attended with great difficulty in preserving a uniform tem- perature. They are now heated by stoves placed at suitable dis- tances in the piazza or passage in front, a door opening on each side of the vestibule in front of each cell, in order to transmit th<» * heat along the line, making it practicable for the tenant of each cell to spe,ik to two or three on each side. These doors will have to be built up, and the heat if possible, transmitted in pipes. The most effectual plan, and perhaps ultimately the most economical, would be by the introduction of steam conveyed m pipes, as it is in our cotton factories. The board have taktn some pains to as- certain the expense of this mode ; and find the apparatus lor gene- rating and transmitting heat through the whole establishment, would cost about 8.10,000. Two of the towers, whioli appear to the board to be useless fjr any other purp^;\ might be occupied as places for generating t\e steam. The propriety ut appropriating 85000, the sum nece?vuy for heating half the number ofcelU ir] this way, is respectfully submitted to the legislature. Something of this kind would appear indispensable, in order to carry filly into effect the principle of solitary confinement: a principle of such high importance in the estimation of the board, that it lies at the basis of all their hopes of advantage to he derived from the pe- nitentiary system. How far it may be possible, when the contem- plated improvements are effected, to c-.ninect labour with solitary confinement, will have to be tried. To make it practically useful m defraying the expenses of the institution,, appears to us a hope- less concern. In the attempt to combine and effect th". two objects, (labour ind solitary confinement), an obstacle at once presents itself, and probably, an insurmountable one 5 arising from the circumstances, that but few of the convicts have been taught trades, and only a "nail portion of these are of that kind that can be foilmved in a ''mall cell in solitary occupation. The cpjestion then occurs, how ire you to teach and give trades to the greater portion, without as- sociating them with those; who can instruct, and thus breaking in upwi and destroying the principle of solitirv confinement ? /t- 636 [ 2S1 ' ] It seems to us thut a cell so constructed as to afford the proper personal security of the convict, and to give full effect to (he pu- nishment of solitary confinement, must be totally unfit for the pur- pose of labour, and the occupation of a tradesman or any mechani- cal business. Hence it is, that in giving employment even to the shoemakers (a trade more easily pursued singly than any other), we have been obliged to take them from their cells, and put them to work ; »gether in a large room in one of the towers. Some alterations in the front building, so as to make it afford accommodation for m re than one family, are deemed necessary by the board This huge mass of hewn stone, 120 feet long, and from 30 to 40 deep, and four stories high, iitcluding the basement, has rcom enough in it for at least four families: and yet, such is its construction, that it allows but aR uncomfortable accommodation to the warden's family ; obliging the keepers and other officers of the institution, to live in the towers adjoining, within thepeniten- tiary, which is found very disadvantageous to the discipline of the institution. About g£(J00 would make the only practicable alter- ations, which it is hoped will be authorised. The inconvenience and difficulties arising out of the construction of this building, are to be ascribed to the circumstance, that by the 3d section ot the act of the 3d of March, 1818, the commissioners were directed " to construct the penitentiary upon the plan exhi- bited to the legislature by the inspectors of the prison of the city and county of Philadelphia." This plan was filed in theofficeof the Secretary of the Commonwealth, and furni^ied to the bo^rd here for their guidance : and so strictly were ihey confined to it, that it was found necessary to apply to the legislature and obtainan express law, authorising any. even the slightest variation from it. Apparently, it is a plan, not lor the combination of labour and se- parate confinement, us contemplated bv the present law, but was firmed with a view to ihe principle of solitary confinement only : and such are its defects, that this si: gre object is very imperfectly obtained. It was unfortunate that the building was first put up, and the syste n of punishment afterwards prescribed. In such case, it could not be reasonably expected that the plan would he well adapted to the present combined principle. The provisions of the late act, prohibiting the indiscriminate in- tercourse of visitors from curiosity and worse motives, are found very salutary, and it is hoped they "will not be withdrawn. To provide for the moral and religious instruction of the convicts, without allowing iiny compensation, has been found difficult, it is submitted whether a small sum might not be wisely assigned to this object, to be app'ied at the discretion of the board. A;though every thing may be done within the power of the in- spectors and keepers by b.mks, instruction, caution and advice, to produce a change f-r the b» ter upon the minds of the convicts yet we do not fc-i authorise,i to sav, with an experience of uiily six muuth-N that ign^imniou? confinement and labour will obtain t 231 ] 637 the great and benevolent object of the law, and become «the means of reformation, so that when restored to their liberty, they may prove honest, industrious and useful citizens." It wil1 always be consistent with that spirit of philanthropy which distinguishes the legislator of Pennsylvania, to keep in view and employ all the practicable means for the reform of public offenders; and every good citizen would be happy to witness the success of such laudable efforts—yet we cannot but believe and recommend, that certainty in the punishment is, above all others, the primary object in forming a criminal code, and he one most likely to be the salutary means of deterring others from the com- mission of crime. You may, possibly, in very rare instances, pro- duce reform, by making upon the mind of the convict moral and religious impressions; but let the rule of punishment, the sentence of condemnation be certain and inflexible, and you will deter and thereby save a much greater number from beccming offenders. Vigilance in our officers, together with the strength of the build- in», will render the punishment certain and severe, without injur- ing the health of the convict; and there is nothing which can pre- vent the wholesome benefits resulting from the example and from the terror to others, but the exercise of the constitutional and exe- cutive power of pardon. Clemency, whilst it is an ackno ledged virtue in the breast of the individual, is frequently yielded to by the public officer in c<*ses in which it would be much better for the general good that it should be suppressed, and the law permitted to take its course. It is wise and necessary that the power of pardon should be constiti tionally vested in the chief magistrate ot the state, and cases may occur, but we humbly think they are very rare, in which it should be exercised. In Pennsylvania, such is the benign administration of ihe law, that we have never known an innocent man to suffer as a public culprit, but we have known many guilty to escape. The frequent exercise of the power of pardon destroys the cer- tainty as well as the just severity of punishment. We observe in almost every case, that the ba>s of the cell are scarcely closed upon the culprit, when he begins to talk of a pardon, and his friends and associates out of doors commence the work of impor- tuning (and frequently of deceiving) the Governor, and appealing to all the fine feelings of his nature for a remission of the punish- ment. The prospect of his forgiveness bears up the prisoner, keeps alive his hopes and his spirits so as to lighten the sentence, and scarcely permit him to i'eel the intended weight ot his pun- ishment. . With these impressions upon this subject, in order to avoid the frequent importunities of the associates and acquaintances of con- victs, and the appearance of voluntary interference in their behalf, the board of inspectors deemed it necessary to adopt the rule that they will make no representation and give no certificate of the pnduct of a prisoner, unless specially required by the Governor. 638 [ 2i1 ] These:|observations are made in a spirit of very great respect for that high officer of the government in whose hands the power of pardon is very properly placed. They cannot be intended as riiade for the purpose of confident dictation or obtrusive complaint but are merely given as the result of eur experience and observa- tion as inspectors of this prison, and appear to be called for by the act under which this communication is made. Our experience and intercourse with the prisoners, authorise us in saying, that rigid separate imprisonment, cuttingoflfall commu- nication, even witli the human voice, and not to be relaied upon. any occasion, is one of the severest punishments short of death, that can be inflicted on a public offender. It tames, humble* and breaks down the spirit of the most hardened and desperate felon. And if any thing can be relied on to. bring him over to a proper course of reflection, to repentance and reform, it is this unbending and austere solitary confinement. All the convicts here admit iis distress and severity, and ask for labour. Solitary labour is an alleviation of their punishment. On the other hand, from the same sources of iuforniatioFi, we ate led to believe Jiat the association of the prisoners in common yards or large rooms, however severe and laborious their employ- ment may be, renders the punishment light and of little conside- ration with them, and certainly, if it does not completely destroy* removes to a great distance every prospect of moral reformation. If these impressions be correct, it places before our legislature this difficult and doubtful choice—-to give up the hope of reform, and employ the convicts in a community of hard labour, ami thereby lessen the expenses of public punishment—or, to increase t!ie»e expenses by adhering to the hope of reform in prosecuting the sys- tem of solitary confinement, with a poor prospect of evidently combining it with productive labour. By a reference to the annexed tabular re-ort, it will be seen that the whole number of convicts upon this dav," in confinement in the Western Penitentiary is fifty nine—that the number has more than doubled within the year—that the one half describe themselves as natives of Pennsylvania—and of the whole number, scyenare females, sixteen uegrtes, and seven are know,, to be old offenders, having been the tenants of other penitentiaries, and no doubt there are others of the same character, if the iruth could be discovered. it would be highly satisfactory, and probablv attended with be- nehcial e.dects, if a plan could be adopted to i«,ilitate the means nt ascertaining whether a convict, w|ltn brought to the prison, is an old offender or not. This object might be obtained by an in- terchange ot reports amongst the several pen.tenth.ries, of the Union, descnpuveol the convicts and mvingany other information tending to identity their peons. Tnis interdn.nge, it is pre- sumed could not be enforced by any legislative act, but wmild depend upon the courtesy of the officers of the srve.al institution,, »bic.i might be encouraged by a iaw requiring it to be performed on our part, and a-ifhonsing the payment of tie cxp-,n*I* attend- [ 231 J 839 mg the prosecution of the plan. The accompanying table A]+n shows that but very few of the prisoners are convicted for crimes of great atrocity, 'lhe ordinary and prevailing felony of ourountrv appears to be that of larceny, for by the document now laid btfnre you, out of the fifty nine cases, forty six of them are for the com- mission of that offence, and a great majority of these cases are convictions tor pilfering articles of inconsiderable value. In order to spread before you all the information in our powpr, in relation to the condition and expenses of the institution under our inspection, we deem it our duty further to say to you, tha* the officers of the prison, consist of a warden, at a salary of S6Q0 one overseer, at a salary of R400, one watchman, at a salary of S;>65, a clerk, at a salary of S200. who also performs the dutv of religous instructor, and one physician, at a salary of g300j maliin* the aggregate amount of salaries the sum of gl,S65. The western district consists of twenty-four counties, eleven of which have no convicts in the penitentiary. The accounts which have fallen under our inspection for the "six months, ending on this day, against the remaining thirteen counties, lor "the ex- penses of maintaining and keeping" their several convicts, amount to the sum of S2,"!2 37, cf which tiie county of Allegheny alone pays 8986 01, very nearly the one half of the whole amount. And frr the purpose of covering some trilling and incidental ex- penses, which are hardly worth enumerating j the board found it necessary to charge a very small advance upon the actual cost of purchase of each of the items, thus avoiding the occurrence of a deficiency, for the payment of which, theie is no provision in the law. The attention of lhe legislature is very respectfully called to the mode pit scibed in the ninth section of the law, for ;he payment to be made by eavh county, of the expenses of maintaining and keeping its eomicts. This repaym; ntof expenses by the several counties of the district, constitutes the fund, and only means by which the institution is to be maintained, and the system carried on. The counties can only be called upon annually, on the first Monday of Mav, to pay the orders drawn by the inspectors, founded upon the accounts transmitted up*m the pi eroding first Monday in February. Of course, the p uitentiarv inu^t always be in advance for one intire year, in the maintenance of the convicts fur the whole district. Oar present means of support, until after the first Monday in *!''iy next, depend upon the collection of balances due upon the 1st of July lust, when the new sw-em went into operation—some "f these balances are withheld, and payment refused. Notwith- standing th-se circumstances, as we are now going on, ami if we continue to go on very smoothly, this system may answer the pur- pose, now and then only causing the inconvenience of having a, balance sgain^t us, upon the books of our treasurer, but in case ot »«y unforseen occurrence,, or spcc^l emergency, the institution oight be iimdvcd in difficulties and embarrassment., much to bo 64(1 [ 231 J regretted, and injurious to the public interest It might very readily be rendered unable to provide for its wants and the support of its inmates, by a sudden and considerable increase of convicts; or by a portion o'f the counties disputing their accounts, and ivf„8. in* to make payment, a case .vhich sometimes happens; and it also occurs, that with the best disposition on the part of the county officers to make payment, our warrants are frequently drawn up- on, and presented at empty treasuries. Should it prove practicable, too, upon further experience, to employ the convicts at hard labour, there is no fund provided by law for the purchase of tools, machinery, and the materials of manufacture. If these suggestions should be found to be correct, two inquiries might, with apparent propriety be made. 1st. Would it not be expedient to pass a law, giving a summary remedy, for the recovery of debts due to the penitentiary, by the -several counties, for the maintenance of their convicts—making the accounts rendered, when attested by the warden and cleiK, and sworn to by the inspectors, prima facie evidence ot their cor- rectness? 2d. Would it be safe, in case of any particular emergency, to authorise the inspectors, upon receiving the approbation and warrant of the governor, to draw upon the state treasury, for such sum as might be deemed necessary, not exceeding a limited amount? Recurring to a fact mentioned in a foregoing part of this report, showing how unequally the expenses of sustaining this establish- ment, fall upon the counties of the state, connected with many considerations ot a public nature, an important question, and one which engages the attention of many of our citizens, very fairly presents itself. Ought not the penitentiaries to be maintained from the treasury ot the state, and not by the counties according to the number of their several convicts? To throw the expenses upon the state at Urge, would be equalizing the burden, and making it fall much lighter, if felt at all, upon our citizens Those crimes lor which the guilty are condemned to suffer imprisonment and hard labour in the penitentiary, are public and general in their nature, there is nothing local, or peculiarly affecting, or injurious to that particular county, in which they happen to be committed. The offence consists in a violation of the general laws of the com- monwealth and ought n>t therefore the expense of the punishment of the offender, be borne by the community, complaining of the injury. This inquiry may be elucidated, and the inequality and burden some nature of the present system, may be seen by turning to the case of the county of Allegheny. This county you may say, bears one half the expenses of supporting the western penitentiary. To be sure, it is much more populous than any other county in the district. Hut it is not to this circumstance, nor to the character of its population, that the fact to which we call your attention, is to be attributed. It is owing, in a great measure, to the acciden- tal geographical position of this county upon the map of the state, C 232 1 641 situated upon, and at the confluence of two great rivers, bein- upon the very thorough-fare and great highway, from the east to the west and south west,—many wandering and emigrating va*a. bonds, are brought within its limits, and there commit their"dep*e dations. Why, it may be asked, should the mere accidental cir- cumstance of the commission of a crime within the limits, 01 just across the line ot a county, by the inhabitant of another district, or of another country, impose upon that county all the costs and ex- penses of the punishment of the guilty stranger? In making this report to the gentlemen of the Senate and House of Representatives, we trust we have been governed by the spirit of the law of the last session. If we have passed beyond the provi- sions of that act, and submitted observations not therein required of us, we hope the error will be ascribed to an anxious wish to give what little information we possess upon a system which is now the subject of public investigation, and is deeply interesting to the commonwealth. We have the honour to be With great respect, Your obedient servants, JOHN M'DONALD, WM. WILKINS, JOSEPH PATTERSON, WM. ROBINSON, Jun, JOHN IRWIN. Western Penitentiary, > January 1, 1830. $ No. 232. Report of the committee on corporations, relative to incorporating the trustees of the congregation of Claysville, the members of the Methodist Episcopal church of Bethany and Honesdale, the Methodist congregations of Mount Pleasant and Dundaff, the petition of the Presbyterian church at Dundaff. READ, February fQ, 1830. Mr. Wilkins, from the committee on corporations, to whom was referred the petitions of 1. Trustees of the congregation of Clays- ville. 2. The members of the Methodist Episcopal church of Be- thany and Honesdale. 3. The Methodist congregations of Mount Pleasant and Dundaff. 4. The petition of the Presbyterian church »t Dundaff, made the following report, which was read, viz: F4