“To Our Visitors.
“By gazing at us, sirs, pray what do you mean?
Are we the first rascals that ever were seen?
Look into your mirrors—perhaps you may find
All villains are not in South Boston confined.
“I’m not a wild beast, to be seen for a penny;
But a man, as well made and as proper as any;
And what we most differ in is, well I wot,
That I have my merits, and you have them not.
“I own I’m a drunkard, but much I incline
To think that your elbow crooks as often as mine;
Ay, breathe in my face, sir, as much as you will—
One blast of your breath is as good as a gill.
“How kind was our country to find us a home
Where duns cannot plague us, or enemies come!
And you from the cup of her kindness may drain
A drop so sufficing, you’ll not drink again.
“And now that by staring with mouth and eyes open,
We have bruised the reeds that already were broken;
Go home and, by dint of strict mental inspection,
Let each make his own house a house of correction.
“This morceau was signed ‘Indignans.’”
The following muster-roll of crime, as he terms it, which he obtained from the master of the prison, is curious, as it exemplifies the excess of intemperance in the United States—bearing in mind that this is the moral state of Massachusetts.
“The whole number of males committed to the house of correction from the time it was opened—July 1st, 1833, to September 1st, 1837,—was 1477. Of this number there were common drunkards 783, or more than one-half.
“The whole amount of females committed to this institution from the time it was opened to Sept 1837, was 869. Of this number there were common drunkards 430, very nearly one-half.
“And of the whole number committed there were—”
| Natives of Massachusetts | 720 | England | 104 |
| New Hampshire | 175 | Scotland | 38 |
| Maine | 130 | Ireland | 839 |
| Vermont | 17 | Provinces | 69 |
| Rhode Island | 35 | France | 10 |
| Connecticut | 28 | Spain | 2 |
| New York | 50 | Germany | 2 |
| New Jersey | 3 | Holland | 2 |
| Pennsylvania | 28 | Poland | 2 |
| Delaware | 6 | Denmark | 2 |
| Maryland | 10 | Prussia | 1 |
| Virginia | 20 | Sweden | 8 |
| North Carolina | 10 | West Indies | 12 |
| South Carolina | 1 | Cape de Verde | 1 |
| Georgia | 5 | Island of Malta | 1 |
| District of Columbia | 3 | At Sea | 7 |
| Foreigners | 1100 | ||
| United States | 1241 | Unknown | 5 |
| ÷Moral÷ States | 1905 | ||
| Other States | 236 | Total | 2346 |
He sums up as follows:—
“I have nearly finished, but I should not do justice to my subject did I omit to advert to the beggarly catch-penny system on which the whole concern is conducted. The convicts raise pork and vegetables in plenty, but they must not eat thereof; these things must be sent to market to balance the debit side of the prison ledger. The prisoners must catch cold and suffer in the hospital, and the wool and stone shops, because it would cost something to erect comfortable buildings. They must not learn to read and write, lest a cent’s worth of their precious time should be lost to the city. They may die and go to hell, and be damned, for a resident physician and chaplain are expensive articles. They may be dirty; baths would cost money, and so would books. I believe the very Bibles and almanacks are the donation of the Bible and Temperance societies. Every thing is managed with an eye to money-making—the comfort or reformation, or salvation, of the prisoners are minor considerations. Whose fault is this?
“The fault, most frugal public, is your own. You like justice, but you do not like to pay for it. You like to see a clean, orderly, well conducted prison, and, as far as your parsimony will permit, such is the house of correction. With all its faults, it is still a valuable institution. It holds all, it harms few, and reforms some. It looks well, for the most has been made of matters. If you would have it perfect you must untie your purse-strings, and you will lose nothing by it in the end.”