Colored Criminals.—In 1849, the Society entered into an investigation of “what was alleged to be a marked difference between the length of sentences passed on colored convicts, compared with those passed on whites, and also the comparative mortality of the two classes.” For the interesting results of this investigation, see the first number of volume 5th of our Journal, January, 1850.
House of Correction.—The Visiting Committee of the County Prison became early sensible of the imperative necessity for some plan being adopted by which to remedy the great evil to the prison and its proper inmates, and burthen to the community, resulting from sending there a vast multitude for vagrancy, intoxication, and disorderly conduct, of which classes alone, the number committed in 1850 was 4,557. (The number
of these for 1860 was 16,793.) Many of these had sufficient bodily strength and ability to earn their own living, but their idle and dissolute habits would be continued so long as food and lodging were furnished them, either in the almshouse or jail. “To mitigate, if possible, this evil, and to relieve the community to some extent of the burthen it imposes, the Society adopted a resolution in 1851, to inquire as to the expediency of establishing a House of Correction, or probation, intermediate to the Almshouse and Prison, for the reception and employment of this large class of persons; and such measures were adopted by the parties interested, as led to the passage of an act in 1854, establishing such an house. The appropriation for the object was sufficient for an ample experiment, though the details of the bill might be open to some grave objections.” It is much to be regretted that from various considerations operating upon the different parties on whom devolved the duty of executing this law, its provisions were not carried out, and it consequently became inoperative.
Neither the Prison Society nor the public were satisfied with this failure, and the subject being renewedly pressed on the attention of the Legislature, a new act was passed in 1860, under which a Board of Managers have been appointed, and from the character of their preliminary action, there appeared to be ground to hope that this highly important advance in the reformatory movements of our Commonwealth would soon be carried into effect. There is great reason, however, to apprehend that the present disturbance in the country may retard it.
Revision of the Criminal Laws.—In 1857 the Society memorialized the Legislature to appoint a commission to revise and modify the criminal laws of the State; and
in 1858, a committee was appointed to proceed to Harrisburg to promote the passage of the requisite law for the purpose. The efforts of the Society in this behalf proved successful, and resulted in such a revision and modification as must be productive of much good, although the commissioners did not feel authorized by the character of their appointment, to go into all the questions suggested by our Society.
We have now accomplished what we designed in the projected plan of this report, in tracing the history of our Society from its origin down to quite a recent period; yet our sketch, extended as it has been, fails to make anything approaching to a full exhibit of its doings during that time.
It remains for us now to bring into view the principal transactions of the last year or eighteen months, from which we think it will be evident that “The Philadelphia Society for Alleviating the Miseries of Public Prisons,” is still alive to the interests of humanity connected with its sphere of action, as in its early days, and standing as a “watchman upon the walls,” both to detect abuses which may exist, and use efforts for their removal, and to avail itself of every opportunity which may present for furthering the progress of penal reform, not only within our own City and State, but also amongst our neighbors.
Prison at Washington.—In 1860 we were informed that there was a proposition to erect a new prison at Washington City, and our Society immediately took action in relation to the subject, with a view to communicating with the authorities there, and urging upon them the importance of making their arrangements so as to adapt them to introducing the system of cellular separation. Circumstances, however, prevented this communication
from being made, and we believe that no actual steps have yet been taken by them to carry out their proposition, and we have recently had accounts of a most deplorable state of things in their jail. Shocking as the account is, we can only appropriate space to introduce one short quotation, to wit, “In other portions of the building are narrow passages, five feet wide by twenty-five feet long, upon which open three cells. In each of these, only ten feet long by eight wide, ten prisoners sleep, and during the day the whole thirty have merely the liberty of moving through the twenty-five feet of crowded and fetid passage-way, without books, papers, work, or any mental distraction beyond the idle words of their companions.”