Missouri Penitentiary.—

On the 20th of December there were 232 convicts in custody, of whom 146 were from the county of St. Louis. Of the countries of their nativity, Ireland furnishes the largest number, and Germany the next largest. Of the States of the Union, Pennsylvania furnishes the largest number. We are happy to learn that the physician is a decided advocate of convict-separation.

IT IS SAID,
(AND WE PRESUME ON GOOD AUTHORITY,)

  1. —That, on the 12th of November last, notice was given in the British House of Commons of a bill for the codification of the criminal laws.
  2. —That, in the Massachusetts Legislature, the Committee on Prisons have reported against allowing the families of convicts a portion of their earnings.
  3. —That, the London Society for improving the condition of the Insane, have offered a premium of twenty guineas for the best essay that shall be presented, showing the progressive changes since Pinel’s time in the moral management of the Insane, and the various contrivances to dispense with mechanical restraints.
  4. —That, the Emperor of France has decided, that out of ten millions of francs appropriated to the improvement of the lodging-houses of the laboring classes, three millions shall be put at the disposal of the Minister of the Interior to procure plans!
  5. —That, the inmates of the Cincinnati House of Refuge are 235, and that the number of juvenile culprits at large is fearfully increasing.
  6. —That, the three State prisons of New York, (containing 1783 convicts, of whom only 80 are females,) will require a considerable sum beyond their earnings for their support, viz.: for the Auburn prison, $14,000; for the Sing Sing Prison, $7,000; for the Clinton Prison, $27,000. Yet the Clinton Prison is not regarded as an unsuccessful experiment!
  7. We hope this important fact will be known to the Missouri Legislature before they determine to adopt the congregate system, on the ground of its economy. “As a general thing,” says the report of a commissioner of Missouri on that subject, “the prisons employing this” (the associate system) “support themselves.” It is wise to look before we leap.
  8. —That, very favorable commencement has been made in the establishment of an institution in or near Philadelphia, for the instruction of idiots and feeble-minded children.
  9. —That, the Deaf and Dumb Asylum at Jacksonville, Ill., admitted during its last term 100 pupils, 94 of whom were from within the State. The whole number of mutes in the State is estimated at 500.
  10. —That, the Illinois Asylum for the Blind has in it 25 pupils. The whole number of the blind in the State is estimated at only 60. A building is nearly ready for their accommodation.
  11. —That, the Illinois State Lunatic Asylum admitted during the year 138 patients, of whom 38 were restored to sanity, 50 were discharged, and 82 remain under treatment.
  12. —That, the rite of confirmation, as observed in the Established Church of England, was lately administered by the Bishop of Manchester to 28 prisoners in the gaol in that town, varying in age from 14 to 55 years. The whole scene is represented as having been very impressive.
  13. —That, the number of idiots in the State of New York is not less than 2,800, of whom one-fourth are under 14 years of age. There are 42 pupils in the State institution for idiots, 30 of whom are supported by the State. The trustees recommend the purchase of a building having accommodations for 100 pupils, of whom 64, (eight from each judicial district,) it is proposed to support at the expense of the State; and the remaining 36, by friends. The estimated cost of a suitable building is $20,000; and the annual appropriation necessary to maintain the establishment will be $10,000.
  14. —That, a new organization of the police of New York contemplates the total release of the policemen from all political influence, as it provides that they shall hold their offices during good behavior, and shall only be removed for neglect of duty or the violation of police regulations. That the Chief of Police shall be appointed by the Mayor, with the approval of the Board of Aldermen, and not the Common Council, as has been the law hitherto; that every policeman appointed must be a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the ward for which he has been nominated. He must also present to the Mayor, with his certificate of nomination, another, signed by twenty-five reputable citizens, two-thirds of whom must reside in the ward at the time of signing the certificate, certifying that they have been personally acquainted with him five years last past, and that during that time he has borne a good character for honesty, morality and sobriety. He must also present to the Mayor a certificate from the Chief of Police, certifying that the said applicant can read with ease, and write legibly the English language, that he well understands the first four rules of arithmetic, and that he is a proper person to appoint to said office.
  15. These rules if faithfully observed, would probably exclude some of the present incumbents in most of our cities.
  16. —That, the whole number of convicts in the Illinois Penitentiary is 227, and the whole expense of conveying convicts from the counties in the State to the penitentiary, is $14,990.05! The Governor thinks it unwise to have a very large number of convicts congregated in one prison, and he submits to the consideration of the Legislature, whether the public interest in regard to this subject would not be better subserved by building another penitentiary, to be located at some eligible point in the northern part of the State.
  17. We hope one of them, at least, will be established on the Pennsylvania system.
  18. —That, a little ragged urchin, begging in the streets of Detroit, was asked by the lady of the house (where his baskets had been well replenished,) if his parents were living? “Only dad, marm,” said the boy. “Then you’ve enough in your basket now, to feed the family for some time,” said the lady. “Oh! no I haven’t neither,” said the lad, “for dad and me keeps five boarders; he does the housework, and I does the market’n.”
  20. —That, a new edifice for the New York Deaf and Dumb Institution is to be built, the present location having been rendered ineligible for such a purpose, by the opening of new thoroughfares. The site selected is in the vicinity of Fort Washington, near the line of the Hudson River Rail-road, and the cost of the site and building is estimated at $120,000.
  21. —That, on the 1st day of January the population of the New York City Almshouse was 5557; out-of-door paupers, 1332; total, 6909—sufficient to stock a large village.
  22. —That, the practice prevails among certain of the magistrates of the county of Philadelphia, (names not given,) of committing to the county prison persons known to be guiltless of any offence to justify their commitments—that such persons are sometimes retained in prison for weeks, and it is added, that this reprehensible system puts the county to an increased expense, merely to place costs in the pockets of the committing magistrates.
  23. —That, instruction on the Phonetic plan has been given with much success in several of the penal institutions abroad, among which are the Preston House of Correction and the Glasgow Bridewell.
  24. —That, not a single case has yet been known of a convict’s losing his reason as a necessary and natural consequence of being separated from other convicts.