An essay on separate and congregate systems of prison discipline : being a report made to the Boston Prison Discipline Society / by S.G. Howe.

  • Howe, S. G. (Samuel Gridley), 1801-1876.
Date:
1846
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: An essay on separate and congregate systems of prison discipline : being a report made to the Boston Prison Discipline Society / by S.G. Howe. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)

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    was appointed in May, 1846, to do what the committee of 1845 had not done acceptably. The composition of this committee is remarkable in several respects. First, parliamentary usage required that Mr. Charles Sunnier, who moved the resolution, should be chairman ; but, instead of that, Mr. Bradford Sumner, one of the wannest of the Secretary's party, was put at the head of the committee. Next, parliamentary rage required that a majority of the com- mittee should be composed of persons known to be favorable to the object of the resolution; but, instead of that, the majority were known to be unfavorable. Further, not only parliamentary usage, but common impartiality, indicated that the Secretary, whose official management was called in question, should not be on the committee; but nevertheless he was placed there.* It appeared to me, that, after such inaction and one-sided action, I was justified in concluding that those who managed the Society would never allow the merits of the Pennsylvania svstem to be set forth upon the pages of its Reports. It seemed that I was mistaken in supposing that the Society ought not to be the pledged advocate of any system, but should set forth all that was good in each one ; for it had been pledged by a formal vote to uphold the Auburn sys- tem ; it had opened the pages of its Reports to all that could be said against the Pennsylvania system; and it had virtually refused to print my Report, which contained what could be said in favor of that system. Therefore, believing that Report to contain many truths which would be new and useful to the Society, Messrs. Charles Sum- ner, Horace Mann, and myself, resolved to print it ourselves. I accordingly applied to the Secretary for the manuscript; when, to my utter astonishment, I was told, in a written communication, that I should not have it. This extraordinary refusal to print the document, or to let us print it, placed us in an unpleasant dilemma; I had no copy of it, — and the only alternative seemed to be, to give up the thought of publishing it, or to bring an action at law for the recovery of what I considered to be my property. After several attempts to over- * I have not the slightest suspicion of any intentional unfairness on tin- part of the President, who made the appointments. b