lA £. Congress- f-favse. CenW/tit KP* o{ CK^ltrA frt the y£ch f o^W iM A REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE APPOINTED TO INVESTIGATE THE LOCAL CAUSES OF CHOLERA IN THE ARCH STREET PRISON, C»*y.**PkiW«lfKr A IN THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA. TO ENQUIRE INTO THE SUFFICIENCY OF THE LEGAL PROVISIONS FOR THE MAINTENANCE 07 UNTRIED PRISONERS AND DEBTORS, AND REPORT ALTERATIONS AND AMENDMENTS WITH RESPECT TO THE REGULATIONS AFFECTING THEIR CONDITION. Jtir. Gibbon, Chairman. RKAD IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, FEBRUARY SI, 1833. HARRISBURG: PRINTED BY HENRY WELSH. 1833. UsB r 1533 fUw No, OOfl-3 REPORT On the Apartment Jor Criminals and untried Prisoners, in the Arch Street Jail. ' I The committee appointed by the House of Representatives, " to estigate the local causes of the excessive mortality by cholera, the Arch street prison in the city of Phi'adelphia, during the nth of July last — to enquire into the sufficiency of .the legal •visions for the maintenance of untried prisoners and debtors — i to report such alterations and amendments with respect to the ulations affecting the condition of these persons, as may protect m and the public from the danger of similar consequences in ure," Report: That in pursuance of the above resolution, the committee have visited the Arch street prison, and various other public institutions calculated for the reception of criminals and paupers, debtors and untried prisoners in the city and county of Philadelphia, and have procured from various sources of authority the following details: The first case of cholera that occurred in the Arch street prison, was noticed on the 13th of July, which, although prescribed for at the time as cholera morbus of an ordinary character, would, in the opinion of the physician who attended the prisoners in that jail, have afterwards been. considered an undoubted case of epidemic cholera. This disease is said to have first appeared in Philadelphia on the sth of July, but did not fairly make its attack until the 27th or 28th of that month, although several cases were scattered about the city and its precincts. It raged most fiercely there, from about the 4th to the 22d of August. On the 30th of July, the day the epidemic cholera broke out decidedly in the Arch street jail, there were confined in the criminal apartments of that prison, 170 men and 110 women, besides 30 in the debtors apartment, making a total of 310 persons of different ages. The committee are informed, that the general average of committals to the criminal side of this prison, is from 12 to 15 a day. There were 12 new prisoners who entered, upon the 29th July, and 24 were sent in on the 30th. In the month of June preceding, there had been 541 committals to this prison; during the month of July, 598; in August, there were 208; and in September, 437. The disease first appeared in the women's apartments, in the person of a female vagrant who had only been a day or two in the house. Those prisoners who had recently entered the jail, suffered the most, and were generally affected the first by the cholera ; in some cases within twenty-four hours after their confinement. They were, however, principally old vagcants, who were con« 4 tttly in and out of the jail. Some, also, who had been two years' fined there, died of the disease. — The prisoners were princiy untried or vagrants. The other convicts did not exceed it or ten, who were chiefly imprisoned for minor offences; one was a prisoner of the United States, for passing counterfeit money. On the 2d of August there were 13 new cases of cholera in the jail, and 4 or 5 old cases; there had been two deaths, and the number of the diseased appeared rapidly increasing. The rooms used as hospitals became crowded, and the sick were brought into the great hall. There was an interval of several days before the epidemic occurred on the men's side: when it did, it seemed, according to the description of a keeper, " like a shock of electricity." The cries, shrieks andgroatis of the sick and dying; the frantic desperation and agony of those Who were eager to escape, and the difficulty, at the moment, of deciding upon ;:ll the points of most interest to the welfare of the prisoners and that of the public; are described as in the highest degree distressing and embarrassing to those who had them in charge. On the night of the 4th of August, the diseased were so numerous upon the floors of the extensive halls, that the keepers had difficulty to avoid treading upon them, as they performed their duties- About 80 persons were lying dead, dyingor suffering, with this epidemic, in the building. The dead were necessarily kept all night in the jail, because the keepers feared to open the doors* lest the prisoners, for whose security they were responsible, should attempt to escape. 4 On the ." fatal Sunday," as it is called at the prison, the sth of August, the chief keeper, bewildered with fatigue and almost in a state of derangement, called upon the Recorder of the city early in the morning, to report the condition of the prison, and to beg that the prisoners might be released. The urgency of the case was such' that, after consul tiag and arranging with some of the inspectors of the jail, many of the prisoners were discharged upon their own recognizance, with a protest by the magistrate, that he had no legal right to do so. but that, in his opinion, the necessity of the case amply justified the actt Some of the most medicable of the sick were sent to the cholera hospitals provided by the city Councils, in anticipation of the accession of this disease. Thirteen of the most serious offenders were * By act of 4th April, 1807: "If any jailer shall be convicted of hay- Kby his negligence, suffered any prisoner committed to his custody scape, he sh ill forfeit and pay, for every suck offence, a sum not exling three hundred dollars." IBy a law of 10th April, 1799, the judges of the Supreme court, or any of them, are authorised to direct tie sheriff to remove from any pesitial danger, the prisoners who may be confined in the jail of the city county of Philadelphia, to such place of safety as they may think per. by application of a wJority of the inspector?. taken, guarded, to a watch house in the vicinity; some medical gentlemen and others, private citizens, as v/el! as the county commissioners, advanced sums of money to release the debtors, or became surety for them; and as speedily as possible, aid was volunteered or obtained to attend the sick, cleanse the prison, and make other necessary and suitable provisions. The behaviour of the prisoners preceding their discharge, h thought worthy of notice. They twice, in a furious and mutinous manner, rushed towards the keeper to inquire, M if they were to be kept to die there?" He promised promptly to make arrangements for their relief, by which they were in some degree pacified. The keeper remarked to the committee, that it was surprising to Bee the exertions of the prisoners, without hesitation, to assist each, other, " showing they still possessed humanity to a very great degree}" some were taken sick while nursing and rubbing others. The agony of the spasms caused the most violent "screeching, screaming and bellowing;" such was the language of an eye witness, who said they generally cried out excessively when first attacked. There was no shrinking from their attentions to one another, although there was no power during the day to compel those unaffected to relieve the sick, for they could have sought refuge in the yard of the jail ; but the keeper »' never heard an instance ol refusal by a prisoner, during this period, to assist the sick when requested to do so." Five prisoners about to be discharged on Sunday, agreed to remain upon a promise of compensation; one of them received ten dollars, the others five dollars each. These men were confined upon charges of larceny; they were urged by their wants to remain. It was considered meritorious in them tc do so, as they must have been strongly tempted to depart, by their experience of the fatal effects of the disorder. They showed great willingness to aid in the most revolting duties, for this comparatively trifling remuneration; none of them, we are told, became sick of the cholera, although they were generally intemperate. |)f the thirteen prisoners selected as the most criminal, not ene d of the disease; they went out of the jail on Sunday morning, I in some days after were returned again, when the prison hu<; n purified. A robust black man of violent character, confined an assault for six or nine months, and who was described as ting drunk occasionally, was promised his pardon if hetvould pout with the dead, which he did. The Governor pardoned i: he was not aftected by the disease. On the night of the 4th of August, two cart loads of coffins were sent to the jail, by the coroner, whose certificate declares that 4i between the 2d and the 10th of August, he caused to be buried froai the Arch street prison, forty nine persons." This account of the number of deaths, we are assured, is the lowest; for the coroner is not prepared to say there were no more; the grave digger cannot Certify with accuracy ; and the keepers, overcome with fatigue or disease, and the excessive accumulation ofduties, are not positive s 6 Khe number who died. The chief keeper attempted to register m, but was unable to proceed. Prisoners enter the jail at different times by different names, which are placed upon the books, accoiding to their declarations, although they are known to their fellow prisoners by other names. — It was impossible, upon such an occasion, for the usual investigations to be made. We have, therefore, no accurate enumeration of the deaths during this terrible catastrophe. Indeed it could not be expected that the ordinary details of duty should, under such circumstances, be fulfilled. The keepers, nurses and physicians, were generally subjected to the influences of the epidemic, and in a greater or less degree suffered from them. A member of the society for alleviafing the miseries of public prisons, who carefully investigated this subject, thinks the total mortality until the 10th August, amounted to fifty-two, including those sent to the cholera hospitals, those in the prison, and two who were found dead on the roads some distance from the city, having sunk under the disease after being discharged from the jail. About ten died after that date, making, by his estimation, a total of sixty-two deaths Another gentleman of this society states the total number at about eighty, and a third mentions fifty-seven. It is impossible to decide the exact number who died. I The ordinary daily allowance for each untried prisoner, or vaint, and disorderly, profane and intemperate person confined in > Arch street jail at all seasons, is, for breakfast, five gills of lasses and water, and half a pound of bread, made of rye and liun meal; for dinner, one pound of rye bread each, and five Is of soup — the soup is made of five quarts of Indian and five arts of rye meal — and eighteen pounds of beef tor the average mber of prisoners usually confined there, which exceeds two nd"red and fifty. They have no allowance for supper, but they ntthnes retain the bread, to be eaten in the evening. It should mentioned, that two bushels of potatoes are also boiled each y, which, distributed among the prisoners, give them two or cc a piece. At some seasons of the year, seven quarts of rice : substituted in the soup, instead of the allowance of potatoes, c county commissioners allow thirteen cents per day for each Lried prisoner. The supplies are furnished by contract. |>v4bd is seldom seen in this prison; there is ro provision of this d made by law for either sex: In winter two blankets are proed by the county, and although the law declares "that all soners shall have liberty to provide themselves with bedding, d and other necessaries, during their imprisonment." yet very few among the whole number take advantage of it: Some are in daily expectation of going out to trial or by bait^ but a great majority are too destitute to derive any benefit from the permission. There are nine locking up rooms on the men's side and four for the women, the size of which is about twenty feet square — in these rooms the prisoners are confined at night. During the day, two 7 large apartments serve them, in which the blacks are allotted one side, and the whites the other; the sexes being in different divisions of the prison. A yard, surrounded by a high wall, within which Hre the necessary offices, encloses them within narrow limits. I The Arch street jail is the common receptacle of untried priers of every description, and has always been considered one of worst schools of vice. Highway robbers, murderers, burglars, nterfeiters, vagrants, and those committed for petty larcenies, mingled with some confined for the most trivial inadvertencies, vhom are occasionally united those innocent of the offences I to their charge, against whom are to be found men who, in language of a keeper, " will swear for a glass of grog." m a statement of the criminal business transacted in three ot courts of the city and county of Philadelphia, for the year 1829, it appears, that of 434 charges presented to- the mayors' court, only 184 were followed by convictions. In the court of quarter sessions, the whole number of bills was 569, and 204 convictions; and in the oyer and terminer 28 bills and 13 convictions. The principal offences laid to the charge of the prisoners were dlsault and battery, larceny, and keeping tippling houses.. Prisoners, we are told upon good authority, are usually brought in, on the first offence, for some trilling impropriety, the result of misfortune, want, or sudden excitation, as often as of natural propensity to crime, who, although at first highly disgusted with their situation, soon become so easy in their manners and conversation, that the keeper can scarcely distinguish them from old offenders. For the most part, however, those confined in this prison, as vagrants, disorderly or idle, exhibit a state of constitutional infirmity and disease, and are described as having-gcnerally less means of comfort out of prison, than it affords them. Many are preserved by coming to the jail as a home, who often go out at the end of thirty days, apparently much improved in health and appearance, but in a few weeks return again, bloated with intemperance, and to be recogniztd. In summer, such of the vagrants as drunk, lie about the streets, and are taken up by the watch and sent to this prison; in winter, they seek shelter from the cold in stables, sheds, grog shops and cellars, and generally find their way to the alms house. Disorderly persons mostly come in the summer. Those who have ever been confined in this jail for slight offences, will have the finger pointed at them by the hardened villain whenever he meets them abroad; for he takes delight, and conceives it a point of duty, to recognize one he has ever met in the jail. Slight offenders are often indoctrinated by those grown callous in vicious habift, who will practice them in picking pockets, give them an account of the manner in which they enter stores with false keys, and other means; teach them how to n>l> by adroitly knocking down the unwary; narrate the various model of stealing horses; tell of their escapes and adventures, and how 8 to avoid tlie penalties of the law by shifts and contrivance. They interest the feelings prejudices and passions, of those who consider themselves aggrieved by their confinement, and rejoice to prepare them for future depredations upon society. The moat ¦loathsome and unnatural propensities are sometimes indulged by these wretched objects. Schemes for escape, and for the commission of the highest offences, are contrived in the prison. The ingenuity and tact which is exhibited, often prove too seductive upon the minds of those, whose moral and physical condition are alike depraveii, From the sketch we have given, it may be understood how difficult, under all circumstances, it must have been, indeed almost impossible, to have prevented the introduction of an epidemic disorder, of such wide prevalence as the cholera, among such a .population, confined anil crowded within the narrow limits of the Arch-street jail. With the exception of the free use of chloride of lime, and having the apartments in as cleanly condition as pos*it%.\ the committee are not aware of any measures of precaution used *by the inspectors of the prison, to anticipate the cholera, until it absolutely broke out in the jail. We are informed that a few days before the disease appeared, an attempt was made to induce all who entered to wash themselves. Many who were ¦the most miserable resisted this rule.* A requisition for an increase of food was first given on the 2d <»F August, it was for half a pound of meat for each person daily, three days in the we 3 k to be boiled into soup highly seasoned, and salt beef two days in the week. But these regulations, from the eunfuMon at the time, could not be properly attended to. A pint of coffee was ordered for each person at breakfast, and for supper a pint of black tea, sweetened with molasses without snilk. Straw was directed to be made into beds with coarse linen, •In order to prevent the introduction of contagious disorders, according !•» an act of sth April, I^9o, " every person who shall be ordered to hard ! ibor shall be separately lodged, washed and cleansed, and shall continue in such separate lodging until it shall be certified by some physician that he or she is fit to be received among the other prisoners. And if such person be a convict, the clothes in which he or she shall then be clothed, shall either be burnt, or at the discretion of two of the inspectors be baked, fumigated, and carelully laid by, until the expiration of the term for which such offender shall be sentenced to hard laoor, to be then returned to him orher." By a law of 23d Sept. 1791, " the prison inspectors appointed in pursuance of an net in such case provided, and of this act, shall have power, with the approbation of the mayor, two aldermen of the city of' Philadelphia, and two of the judges of the supreme court, or two of the judges of the court of common pleas of Philadelphia county, to make rules and regulations for the government of all convicts confined in said prison, not inconsistent with the laws and constitution of this commonwealth, and to prescribe their allowance of provisions, ascertaining the quantities by weight and measure, and not by piece." 9 but this arrangement was necessarily delayed; the cholera was then raging in the prison, and the precautions came too late. Gin* ger tea was prepared for the prisoners, but they would not generally use it; although the pumps were locked for a short time, in order to urge them to take the tea, they preferred water. Ft is the opinion of Dr. Buck, the physician who had charge of this institution, that nothing could have prevented the introduction of the epidemic into the Arch street jail ; but it may be believed by the experience gained upon that occasion, it would be possible to prevent the same disease from proceeding to the same extent, by preparations for an improved description of food for a sufficient period previously, by attention to personal cleanliness and clothing, and by removing a portion of the prisoners, so as to confine the number within a larger space. The committee do not pretend to offer a decision upon the full efficacy of such a plan in the Arch-street prison ; but in the Walnut-street prison, the Eastern penitentiary and the House of Refuge, where no cases of this disease were reported, (with one single exception, which occurred in the Walnut street prison,) the improved diet, habits of cleanliness, and purer air, were considered the principal means ot exemption. It must, however, be acknowledged, that other causes also operated in favor of these institutions. Many persons in the course of the year, gain admission into the Alms House, soon after their discharge from the Arch street prison, some of whom are subject to a peculiarly low form of typhus fever, requiring the early and free use of tonics and cordials. The physicians there say, that the constitutions of a great majority of the persons who die in the alms house, are so enfeebled by their vicious habits, as to be unable to withstand what, in those of regular habits, would be considered mild diseases. The committee are informed that "very few are sent directly from the Arch-street jail to the alms house; perhaps not more than 20 in a year." The total number of commitments to the Arch-street jail, in 1829, was SOI7, of which only five persons died in prison. The total number of commitments in 1830. was 5932; total of diseases relieved or cured, 751, and 5 deaths. The total number of deaths in 1831, was 15, an amount unusually large, occasioned principally by typhus and billious fevers. The chief keeper informed the committee, that for 7 years the deaths had not exceeded that number, and that the average was not se high as 10 or 12 per annum. The total number ot commitments in 1831, was 4506, of which 2503 were charged wiih being disorderly, idle, and disturbers of the peace, or were convicted as vagrants, or for profane swearing and intoxication. Of the remainder, 1187 were for assault and battery, for keeping tippling houses, and similar charges, while 816 were confined upon charges of burglary, larceny, passing counterfeit money, and other offences punished by fine* and imprisonment to hard labor. In 1832, the total number 2 10 •f commitments amounted to 4515. It appear* that the largest number are usually sent into the Arch-street jail during the summer months. According to the report made to the Consulting Medical Board of Philadelphia, by Dr. Samuel Jackson, " the commencement and progress of the cholera were in the character of a wide spread epidemic, suddenly invading an extensive district, indicating the existence of an active epidemic influence or agency, operating at once on the mass of the population. In almost every case, the disease was called into existence by some exciting cause, most commonly error in diet." The committee are assured, that in the Eastern penitentiary, during the prevalence of the cholera in Philadelphia, many, perhaps all the prisoners, 97 in number, were affected with bowel complaints, some severely. Great and unusual care was exercised , as to their diet and cleanliness, and no case of epidemic cholera occurred within the walls. The prisoners were entirely ignorant of the existence of the cholera in the city, and are so yet! The daily rations of the convicts in the Eastern penitentiary, are, for breakfast, 1 pound of bread, made of 2-3 rye and 1-3 Indian meal, and 1 pint of coffee with milk and sugar, or molasses; for dinner, 3-4 of a pound of beef without bone, one pint of soup made of the beef, and one pound of potatoes; at supper, 1 pint of Indian mush, and 1-2 a gill of molasses. The molasses is given monthly, and the prisoners use it at pleasure. They receive as many potatoes at dinner as they want, and as much mush as they ask for at supper. Particular attention is paid to the cleanliness of the person and clothing — of the cells and bedding. When sick, the diet of the prisoners is varied, according to the direction of their physician, who attends reguln the Walnut-street prison, where about 400 convicts* were confined, but one case of epidemic cholera was reported. This was a prisoner of worn out constitution. He had been confined for 5 years, and for the last three was in a state verging on death, from the effects of previous excessive intemperance. He swallowed about 4 oz of spirits of turpentine, (which had been given by order of the physician, as an external application,) on account of its stimulating effects, and died, in spasms, 6 hours after. The prisoners confined in the Walnut street jail, have ordinarily each lj pound of bread, and 1-2 a pound of meat daily, besides soup, potatoes or rice, mush and molasses. No great variety of food is usual in the different seasons, except that there is generally a larger supply of vegetables in the summer. Outing the last summer, however, being thought objectionable, they were interdicted, and the quality of the bread, "both in material and manufacture," was improved. Molasses and water was denied to the prisoners, and several additional sleeping rooms were opened for their use. •There were confined in Walnut-itreet, when the committee visited the prison, 310 men, 54 women, and 45 boys—total 409. 11 While the cholera prevailed in tht city, affections of the stomach and bowels, as diarrhaea, dysentary, and ordinary cholera of a severe character, became much more prevalent in the Walnut-street prison, than the attendant physician, Dr. Bache, had ever seen among the prisoners, "shewing the operation of the same mysterious cause which was affecting the citizens at large," and which only required a highly fc^wjceptible condition of the prisoners to render it capable of producing the genuine epidemic among them. In the House of Refuge, where a large number of children were confined, with a sufficient quantity of proper food, and among whom cleanliness, occupation and instruction, are suitably attended to, there was no case of epidemic cholera. In the Pennsylvania Hospital, before the cholera occurred, vegetable diet was greatly restricted ; none but potatoes and rice were given, and no fruit was aJ lowed, as has been usual: Molasses was ordered to be omitted, and the patients were dressed more warmly. To those on a low diet, for the treatment of insanity, broth was given, and purgative and emetic medicines were suspended in general practice. The prevalence of diarrhea was also noticed, during this period, among the patients in the hospital, and principally among the lunatics, whose condition rendered them less able to appreciate the necessity of precaution?. Among a population exceeding 100, there were but 6 cases of epidemic cholera, which presented themselves in separate and distinct portions of a very extensive range of buildings, between the 9th and the 14th of August: Two of these cases died — all were insane or idiotic. In the Philadelphia Alms House, where the character and habits of the greater part of the inmates are depraved by excesses and disease, there were 193 cases of epidemic cholera, 89 of which proved fatal. The first case occurred on the 25th July j the cholera ceased on the 23d August. — It was chiefly confined to aged persons and the intemperate — several idiots and lunatics were also its victims. Those who recovered, the physicians state, were not in the collapsed stage of the disease, except 3 persons. The character of those who died, was that common to most of the inftes of the house, — who are 80 out of 100 — intemperate. Many them had labored under various diseases for several years. When the committee visited the alms house, there were in that institution, Men. Women. Children. Tutal. While, 559 408 34 1001 Colored, 69 55 15 139 628 463 49 1140 K?or six months in the year there are about 600 medical and gical patients in the alms house, each month; for the rest of the r, about 400 each month. Ji majority are natives of foreign ntriea. The men are generally laborers, and of various trades. 12 The committee cannot refrain from offering a tribute of respect to those excellent " Sisters of Charity" who, under the protection ef their simple habits and kind hearts, so freely exposed themselves, during the prevalence of the cholera in the alms house, for the relief of the destitute and the diseased who suffered there. These ladies, who came to the assistance of the guardians of the poor from a sister state, made very little cJa.jage in their manner of life, in anticipation of the severe duties they voluntarily undertook to perform. On Fridays and Saturdays, however, as on other days of the week, they ate meat, contrary to the practice of those who strictly conform to the rules of the Catholic church, which upon this occasion were wisely suspended by the Episcopal authority of ij district. They refrained from fruits and vegetables, by the vice of physicians; but they employed no wine or preventive idicines. If possible, they retired to rest at 9 o'clock, their acitomed hour, and rose at half past four in the morning to attend i sick. They were directed to wear a flannel dress, but did tdo so until after the cholera had subsided. One, only, had »ht symptoms of the disease, which were readily relieved. It was remarked to the committee, during their investigations, that the sudden increase of food which was given after the cholera had begun, and which was eagerly devoured by the prisoners, may have assisted the excessive fatality of the epidemic in the Arch street jail, on the 4th and sth of August. But in looking over a statement of the number of persons attacked by the disease in Philadelphia and the Liberties, from the 27th July until the 22d of August, we are struck with the fwt of the very rapid increase of cases and of deaths, w herever the disease occurred or was treated. Thus, on the Ist of August there were 21 cases and 8 deaths reported: on the 2d, that number was nearly doubled} there were 40 cases and 15 deaths. The greatest number of cases reported to have occurred in private dwellings in one day, fviz: 94) appeared on the 9th and 13th of August; while on the Bth there were but 43, and on the 12th, 66 cases in similar situations. The greatest number in the cholera hospitals, was 86, on the 6th of August; on the 5 th, there were only 23 in these hospitals. BL'he largest number in the alms house, (viz: 35) were found re on the Bth of August: on the 7th but 17 cases. The greatnumber in the Arch street prison, reported on one day as new cases, f viz: 4.5 ) were on the 6th of August: on the 4th, there were only 9 new cas^s reported in that jail. The largest total number of cases, (viz: 1 76) is noticed on the 6th of August: on the sth, the total amount was 66: And the greatest number of deaths, (viz: 75) is stated on the 7th of August; while on the sth there were but 26 deaths in the city and Liberties. We suppose these reports to have generally been made one or two days after the deaths. Thus it will be seen that the number of cases or of deaths, in all the different locations and practice, was generally less than one half, only a day or two preceding the dates set down for the greatest mortality. 13 So that whatever effect may be justly attributed to the improved diet of the prisoners, it would seem that a very sudden increase of the number of deaths was universal, wherever the disease prevailed. The committee, besides the observations they have already made upon the crowded condition of the prison and the character of the food afforded to the prisoners during this precarious season, must remark, that the very high wall which surrounds the apartments in which ihey are confined, prevented ventilation. The privy, which almost adjoins the men's day room, was thought very offensive, notwithstanding the efforts made to purify it Some foetid sheep skins & hair,in small amount, were found in the basement story, upon examination after the cholera;& the clothing was deficient, as great demand for flannel dresses was made by the attendant physicians, alter the epidemic had ceased, which were liberally supplied by the prison society. The prison was otherwise well cleansed before the distemperature ensued. The vagrants and disorderly are sentenced to the prison, according to acts of 21st February, 1767, and of the sth Ipril, 1790, "to be kept at hard labor, for any term not exceedg one month, being legally convicted as by law directed." hey have a task given to them in picking hair or moss for the up- Isterers, taking the burrs from wool, and shearing sheep skins, hers who are confined before trial, often voluntarily join in this irk. The keepers say there is seldom difficulty to oblige the isoners to attend to it. It may be here observed, that none of c committee, or of the other members of the Legislature who acmpanied them to the Arch street jail, entered the apartment in lich the untried prisoners and vagrants were confined during the y, without the most marked disgust at the filth, destitution and rsonal misery in which the majority of the prisoners were found, any of the visiters supplied themselves with segars, and some t the necessity of other stimuli to overcome the nausea which the nfined air of the room, fon the 26th Dec,) and the sight of the jects confined there, induced in them. The general sensation s one of desire to escape. I 'he committee areassured,ihat for the purpose of obtaining costs nn many of those who are entitled vagrants, idle and disorderly, ich class composes more than one half of the prisoners in the eh street jail, the same persons have been brought to the prison cc several times during one month; although the first time the soner was sentenced for 30 days! In some other cases, the first imation which the keeper has of the conviction, is derived from i order for the released' a. prisoner, whom he has never seen! Esoon as the individual who has been sentenced, or his friends, any manner procure money to satisfy the rapacity of some magistrates, an order for release is made out, no matter eserving the prisoner is of confinement, for the public welr his own. The keeper of the prison does not think himithoriaed to dispute this order. After a summary conviction rancy, idle or disorderly conduct, for 30 days, there is 14 no legal provision fur the discharge of a prisoner, except by his entering bail to appear before the next quarter sessions or mayors' court. The former keeper of the vagrant department had returned the orders for discharge to the magistrates, without releasing the prisoners, when they were brought back again, endorsed •• security entered." This certificate, that bail had been taken, costs paid and appeal entered, that the individual might appear before the court, the keeper considered himself bound to respect; but here the affair generally ends. There is only on» instance discovered, among several thousand releases, where ah appeal has been pursued, by returning the recognizance to the court. IThe committee understand that a man legally sentenced by a igistiate to 30 days imprisonment, is a convict for that term, d that the magistrate has no right to set him free after the contion. The temptation of the costs, it is to be feared, is too freently the incentive both of the imprisonment and of the release. lln the course of a year, some of the same persons are received to the prison 10 or 15 times; more particularly those charged as sorderly and vagrant. A very considerable number are sent ere 2 or 3 times, often serving but a few days, when the pay;nt of the costs, often procured by means of violence or distress, tains their release. llt has been decided by the Recorder of the city of Philadelphia, on writ of habeas corpus, that the commitment of a prisoner by nagistrate, to answer at the next court of quarter sessions for a ;ach of the peace by '• disorderly conduct," is not a legal comtment. The mode of committal by some of the magistrates, s therefore changed, and the same description of persons are it to jail upon a charge of riot or affray, which are indictable ences, and thus a chance for the costs is still secured. All Ugh the magistrates are not entitled to costs in criminal irges, until the case is decided by the courts, still the expectan of a Javorable result, crowds the jails, and fills the courts :h causes which needlessly increase the amount of wretchedness 1 of offences. ¦ light, then, that we may consider education to be essential and tssary to the, prevention of what are called crimes, which indeed often the exercise of the most simple instincts, uncontrolled knowledge, which is indispensable to exemplify their influence r social life. "Ignorance is thus the greatest enemy of morality.'* It is highly proper that we regard witii attention, not only the jral instincts and faculties which urge men to good actions, but i the perversion of the same faculties, which instigate them to tendencies. The moral law appears founded upon the truth, ; man is incited towards actions prejudicial to his social happisj or why was the commandment ever given, that man should err? If he was not so disposed, the ordinance would appear to innecessary. But the commands, "thou shalt not kill," l( ihou t not steal," "Ihou shalt not bear false witness," &c. plainly lify that 'men are so inclined; that they had committed deeds, eh. exciting feelings of retaliation, led to warfare and disorder: i the law as clearly shews, that the contrary practices, lead to temporal benefit of mankind. Iriiere is another view of this subject, which it is considered per to give. Other animals, besides man, exhibit many pr»o isities of a similar character to those we call crimes in men, ! which we might incline to imitate or justify, by their acts, c moral law draws the line between them, and intimates that n^oes possess the power of resistance, or may arrive at it. j cannot close these observations, however, without referring .he moral law as exhibiting the most distinct evidences that tain physical comforts are. essential to morality. No where the obligations for attention to the temporal wants of the nesitous, insisted upon with more firmness, humanity and policy, n in th.it law; and we cannot think that it was designed in n. An abundance of food, cleanliness, protection from opptesi or injustice, and the right of personal independence, are inly indicated by the moral law, which shows that mutual obliions bind society together, and that injustice towards one por-1 must eventuate in repeated wrong. If, then, at the same tima ;j 18 I: exact the penalties nt the moral law, (upon which our common d statute laws are founded) for crimes it has enumerated, we do t a fiord the facilities of physical, moral, practical and intellecil instruction, which the same law enjoins, to those whose only leritance is the possession of their faculties, and their only means subsistence dependent upon the exercise of them — it must appear ident that society, as well as the criminal, has something to aner for. That proper attention to the physical, as well as the. ral cultivation of persons in the poorest condition, is considered juisite to assist in relieving society from evils and expense which ongly threaten it, appears Irom the numerous, costly, and ju:ious arrangements already made, and preparing, by the various titutions in the city and county of Philadelphia. IFhe committee will point to the great improvements in penitenry discipline, which already begin to exercise a beneficial influ:e in the state j to the establishment o f a House of Refuge for r enile offenders, highly calculated for their instruction and endment, and where punishment forme so slight a share of the ciplire; and to the new county prison erected with reference to itary confinement, to contain those whose condition we have scribed in the Arch street jail, the cost of which is calculated at 3,000 dollars, and is designed to hold 430 prisoners; which mber, it is hoped, a modification of existing laws may diminish. The committee cannot omit to mention the new alms house, building upon the west bank of the Schuylkill, in the midst of a farm of 180 acres, containing a hospital far the sick, a children's asylum, and various work shops. This immense poor house, which is designed to accommodate three thousand persons, should the demands ot posterity require it, will possess separate dormitories for the individual inmates, and is estimated, when finished, to cost upwards of 550,000 dollars. Such vast preparations make us more sensible of the necessity of a system of general and use/ul education, to obviate the causes which so sensibly augment the demands for relief with the rapid increase of our population. And here the committee can give another practical illustration of the advantages of instruction, which they witnessed at the admirably conducted institution of the deaf and dumb. No one who has seen the intelligence and happiness which beams from the countenances of those deprived of hearing and of speech, by 'the education of their other faculties, can doubt the influences which kindness, instruction and occupation, exercise over our race. Crimes do originate from the misery, the distresses, and the ignorance of the poor; to be prevented there must be an improvement in their condition and information. The very sight of the prisoners in the Arch street jail, gives an opinion of the operation of such causes. We fear that too frequently the combined influences of ignorance and of waul have more effect in causing theii offences, than the voluntary desire to outrage the. regulations of souciety. The farmer sees among his cattle some who appear natarally 19 prone to vicious practices, but. it i« mnU certain, that the want of suitable pasturage, aud bad fences, soon teach the most gentle to trespass. It may be inquired whether ignorance of the laws is, in no instance, a justification^ upon equitable principles? — for truth and justice should have the preference over a Roman proverb. The committee have sufficient evidence from their inquiries among the prisoners, that there is often an extreme ignorance, not only ot the crime committed, and of its influence upon society, but ot the time for which the sentence was passed, and the sum of costs, which, in many cases, was claimed as the only charge for sending the individual to prison. Ignorance, in such instances, is a heavier charge to the public than a sufficient education, which would withdraw the individual very much from the operations of these oppressive acts, without referring to the absolute interest which every state has in the intellectual and practical improvement of. its citizens. It becomes the duty of the legislature to regard carefully those great principles of our being which, among all nations, and in lery age, have actuated mankind; and to investigate the causes action which regulate our natural character, and affect so ma•ially our happiness in this life. The arrangements of govern:nt, and of the laws, it is now conceded, influence, largely, ; condition of the people; and we have, in so many historical stances, witnessed the re-action of injustice and oppression, it it becomes manifest that all our interests are involved in pirnting, controling and amending abuses. En our country, where j principles of law are designed to be administered with refeice to the individual obligations and rights of each citizen in j state, it is a matter of the highest moment that every exertion 9uld be made, which it is in the power of those who enact laws, contrive, to overcome the evils which poverty, crime, misery, il disease engender in society. That the physical condition affects the moral character, there can be now no doubt, as well as of the reverse reaction. It has been witnessed in European revolutions, that the ignorant and base have avenged their degradation upon the wise and the virtuous, as well as upon the despotic and the oppressor. We may observe, that the expense incurred to modify evils, when they do occur, is always lessened by judicious anticipations. \\ hile the committee are prepared t<» propose a legislative enactment for an increased supply of provisions and comforts, for the untried prisoners and debtors whom the safety of society and the welfare of the state may require to be confined, and to place such persons at least upon an equal position with the convicts, it must also be arranged that the improvements suggested should not increase the disposition or facilities to misuse the public revenue, by encouraging idleness and profligacy; for it is thought (hat an improvement of the diet of the prisoners by law, would largely aug- 20 Xt the amount of committals, so long as the magistrates have the cr to send such a multitude of minor offenders to jail/or their I'nnecessary delays of justice, cause a real injury to the prisoner; Dine instances greater than the offence he has committed against ety. Some of our laws bear particularly hard against the intrious poor; many of them originated in the most illiberal, desc, or profligate periods of Roman and English history, and we ' allege, that enactments made at the termination of the civil s of Great Britain, when political and religious dissentions had iperated all parties in the state, are not adapted to the present Jition of society, nor to the institutions of this state. Such are laws which affect the minor criminals, and the authority which. ;istrates exercise, in many instances, over the unfortunate, late act of Assembly which provides for the appointment of ernven in the county of Philadelphia, makes no alteration in the i which regulate their actions; and even good magistrates canwell administer bad laws. The intemperate form so large a portion of the prisoners who are committed to the jail, that a remark upon their condition naturally suggests itself. Intemperance does not appear to be justly an aggravation of crime in all cases, but to result in many from disease, misfortune, severe trials, and distress. The habit once contracted, becomes so firmly established, that aid beyond the volition of the diseased individual appears requisite for reformation; and instances have been known where confinement has been, requested by those who felt their incapacity to resist the powerful instigations of the stomach. In some persons, this state of desire for intoxicating liquors, is so nearly allied to temporary insanity, that we scarcely know how to discriminate them; and when we recollect that eminent physicians have declared " the desire to drink strong liquors is hereditary," we are equally at a loss to distinguish the line of voluntary and involuntary offence. In making this observation, we do not attempt to vindicate intemperance; but rather hope that the knowledge of the fact we have mentioned, may cause the exercise of a moral restraint in those whose affection for their offspring still maintains its natural and designed influence. Notk — From the report of the county commissioners for the year 1632, it appears that the amount charged to the House of Correction, for the support, alone, of vagrants and untried trisoners, was 814,900 31 the debtors' apartment, for the support of poor ebtors, and the keeper's salary, 1,996 34 216,896 65 To these sums are to be added various expensive contingencies. 21 The corainittee consider one object Very necessary to be stated, that whenever it is essential to restrain the liberty, tliere should always be afforded the means of industry to th« prisoner. If a prison«r, who was innocent and poor, had credited to him the proceeds of 4iis labour while in jail awaiting his trial, he would be less destitute when discharged, and both he and the public would reap the benefit of such a provision: if found guilty, the county would be advantaged, and the time of confinement before trial might be deducted from the term of the sentence. Those who were guilty would not, it "« thought, generally, object to work if able, because, the refusal to do so, might appear a presumptive evidence The committee, in conclusion, believe, there are causes connected with the moral and physical deficiencies of a large body of the poor, and the ignorant, which will require the assistance of general society to regulate. There arte others iv the character of some of our laws, as well as in their mode of vulministration, affecting, dieadvantageously, the poorer portions of the community, which peculiarly expose them at all times to the influences of epidemic -disease, and unduly increase the number who tenant the jails.