604
HISTORY OF ENGINEERING.
Book I.
man : the heights of the divisions up to the top of the reading-desk is 4 feet 6 inches, thewidth of the reading-desk 16 inches, and the height of the doors above the floor of each6 feet. By this arrangement the prisoners on the rear and front are prevented from seeingeach other.
The fastenings for the hall doors are shown in plan and profile with the jointed handle;they are made of brass. When the doors are closed, the handle falls downwards, and whenopen its position is as shown in thefigure to the left. On the plan thefastenings, when the doors of seats areclosed, assume the horizontal direction.
'The cells are each divided by a walltwo bricks in thickness ; the externalwalls are two bricks and a half. Theceilings are formed of half brick arches,worked in cement, over which is laida bed of concrete, about 6 inches indepth ; this is levelled, and on it isplaced the floor of asphalte for the cellsabove. The whole thickness from thefloor of one cell to the ceiling of theother is 12 inches. In the upper cells,for the purpose of greater security, isa brick arch, nine inches thick, workedin two courses in cement, with a layerof hoop iron laid diagonally at intervalsof 4 inches.
The cells are 13 feet in length, 7 feetin breadth, and 9 feet in height to theunder side of the arched ceiling. Thewindow-frame, which is fixed, is ofcast-iron, glazed with fluted glass,having outside two strong iron bars soplaced that they do not intercept thelight. The door has a spring lock, anda small trap is contrived for the intro-duction of provisions; there is anotheropening, covered by a movable flap, forthe purpose of inspection.
These cells are well adapted to carry out the reformation and amendment of their inmates :to such the philanthropic Howard, who did not approve of any suffering capitally butfor murder, setting houses on fire, or house-breaking attended with acts of cruelty, wouldhave consigned all those unhappy wretches who had committed less heinous faults, thatthey might, by regular and steady discipline, have the chance of becoming useful membersof society, .and he ardently indulged in the hope that it was possible, in the course of fiveyears, to effect this ; and with such accommodation and treatment as the prisoners receive,with airy apartments, warmed, ventilated, and plentifully supplied with water, they cannotbut enjoy better health than falls to the lot of many mechanics and day labourers, who,neglecting cleanliness, and not receiving wholesome and proper food, often die at a pre-mature age. In these cells there is ample space for any work assigned to the prisoner,and as a proper degree of labour is conducive to health, he that has led an idle life pre-viously may not only acquire industrious habits, but with them strength of mind andbody: there are many who would fancy the inmates of these solitary rooms far too com-fortable, but they should remember that the object is to reform the prisoner, to obligehim to reflect, review his past life, and form resolutions to amend, which may tend to hisbecoming a better citizen. Punishment, unaccompanied by sympathy for the distresses ofthe offender, is not likely to be a corrective; the human heart is not so to be softened ; onthe contrary, a feeling of anger will be induced, leading to the commission of greatercrimes, until the last dread penalty of the law is inflicted.
Habits of decency, order, and regularity being obtained, the prisoner has advancedtowards the threshold of religion, for which he is infinitely better prepared than he wouldhave been by the most rigorous severity. Experience gives us daily proof that criminalsmay be reformed, and if so, every county and populous district in the United Kingdom should have its penitentiary-house or prison : the hulks and common gaols would nolonger contaminate the young, who are often sent thither for faults arising from a neglectof education, and where they imbibe ideas imparted by the most abandoned, and return tosociety a greater nuisance and dread than before they were committed. The bettering-housesin Holland proverbially benefit those who enter them, and there are few instances in which