Proceedings of the grand juries, magistrates, and other noblemen and gentlemen, of the county of Glocester, on designing & executing a general reform in the construction and regulation of the prisons for the said county ... / by Sir G. O. Paul.

  • Paul, George Onesiphorus, Sir, 1746-1820.
Date:
1808
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Proceedings of the grand juries, magistrates, and other noblemen and gentlemen, of the county of Glocester, on designing & executing a general reform in the construction and regulation of the prisons for the said county ... / by Sir G. O. Paul. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    cjficpropofals, thole identical fpeculations which I have confidently addrefied to you. Errors in opinion affedfc only the reputation of the man who advances them ; w’hilft in carrying opinion into execution, every defedt may operate on the general interefts of fociety. As I underfland that the fyfiem recommended in my late addrefs is, by fome perfons, confidcred as an impracticable theory, we cannot too foon exa- mine if there be grounds for fuch an opinion; for if it fhould be juftified by the nature of the attempt, it ought to be decifive on the bufinefs of this day. I should indeed be infulting your underftandings with a chimera, did I prefume to offer to your atten- tion a plan of reform depending folely for its fuccefs on the principle of conftruCtion of a building; moral means mud be exerted to produce a moral cffe&i and I acknowledge, that, in fiating public reformation as a confequence of my defign, I prefume on a fpirited co-operation of all the powers of magiftracy. I will not aflume that there does exift in the magi- firates of this county fuch an indolence as will pre- vent their confiant attention to the future regulations of the prifons, when built; but I mud take this op- portunity to fuggefi, that if gentlemen are confcious that fuch maybe the cafe,it will be an injufiice to me, and to the fund to be appropriated to the undertaking, not to avow fuch difpofition at this early moment. From the mild fpirit of our government, the efficacy of