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women; in the men's buildings are sixty-two | chapel every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday beds, and in the women's eight beds; on the mornings; sacrament administered six times in debtors' side there are sixty-eight beds in twenty-two rooms, and eighteen other rooms, in which the number of beds varies; the open area of the castle-yard is 6,527 square yards, the unbuilt parts take up 5,345 square yards, the buildings 1,436 square yards, and the whole site of the castle occupies about two acres and three roods.

At the first gaol sessions, held pursuant to the act of the 5th of the king, c. 12, the magistrates then assembled resolved, that the classification required by the gaol acts could not be carried into effect till some enlargements, alterations, and additions were made in the gaol, and therefore that the directions of the 4th sec. of the act of the 4th of the king could not then be complied with.

At a court of gaol sessions, held on the 11th May, 1824, it was determined that an advertisement should be inserted in the newspapers, offering premiums to architects for plans for making the alterations and improvements rendered necessary in the gaol to carry into effect the classification and regulations of the new gaol acts. At another court of gaol sessions, held on the 5th August, 1824, a committee of magistrates was appointed to inspect the several plans given in pursuance of the advertisement, and to award the premiums; and at the same court a committee of three magistrates was appointed, with a power to add six to the number, to make such additions or alterations in the gaol, on the ground which at present belongs to the county, as might make it convenient for the reception of prisoners, in conformity with the several acts of parliament relative to gaols, with a power to appoint an architect.

the year, together with private instruction to prisoners under sentence of death, the sick, and others whose cases might require such attention. The chaplain furnishes books of devotion and instruction to the prisoners, at the expense of the county.

In addition to the chaplain's duties, the prisoners attend the chapel every Thursday morning to hear public prayers and a sermon, which are provided for by the will of the Rev. Phineas Hodgson, formerly chancellor of the cathedral of York: the appointment is vested in the vicars choral of the cathedral, and usually held by one of their own body.

The reverend James Richardson, A.M. is the present preacher, by the will of Mr. Hodgson.

The duties as above stated have been regularly performed by the chaplain and the preacher.

The chaplain cannot report any material change for the better in the moral and religious conduct of the prisoners in general, which he attributes in a great measure to the want of proper classification.

A plan of the present gaol, drawn upon a scale of one sixteenth of an inch to a foot, and a copy of the return directed to be made annually by the keeper of the gaol, in the form contained in the schedule annexed to the act of the 4th of the king, marked (B) are transmitted herewith.

The above report was laid by the clerk of the court of gaol sessions before the court, held this 4th January, 1825, and was then approved. BENJAMIN DEALTRY, chairman.

No. 2. NORTHALLERTON.

The Report of the Clerk of the Peace for the North Riding of the County of York, founded on the Report of the Visiting Justices, on the Report of the Chaplain, and on the Certificates of the Keeper of the House of Correction at Northallerton, in pursuance of Statute 4 Geo. IV. c. 64, s. 24.

The committee accordingly met, and appointed Messrs. Atkinson and Sharpe, of York, to be the architects, and directed them to prepare a plan of a prison for 80 male and 10 female criminal prisoners, and 200 debtors, to be classified according to the acts. The architects have pre- That pursuant to the 16th section of the said pared the plan, and circulated lithographic co-act, the magistrates, assembled at each general pies amongst the committee, which are now under their consideration.

The rules and regulations for the government of the gaol prescribed by the act of the 4th of the king, are observed and carried into effect, so far as the present buildings and accommodations will admit.

No abuses have been observed, nor have the visiting justices reported any in the management of the gaol.

The chaplain reports, that as the visiting justices have hitherto been unable to put into execution the designs of the legislature in the late enactments for the regulation of gaols, his duties have remained unaltered since the 12th March, 1818, the date of his appointment. The duties prescribed to the chaplain at that period were these: public service and sermon every Sunday morning, with prayers in the

quarter-sessions, have nominated certain magistrates residing in the vicinity of the house of correction at Northallerton, as visitors of the said gaol, being the only gaol within their jurisdiction.

That the visiting justices have, at each general quarter-sessions, made a report in writing of the state and condition of the said gaol, from which it appears that the said justices have frequently, both individually and collectively, visited and inspected every department of the gaol, and that they have uniformly found it clean and well ventilated.

The particulars of each visit appear in their journal produced to the sessions.

That the visiting justices have given their best attention to introduce, so far as is practicable, all those regulations which the said statute has laid down as the code of prison discipline.

That in the arrangement of the prisoners, so far as the present accommodations will admit, the visiting justices have never lost sight of the great principle of classification, and in their employment of prisoners have pursued the provisions of the act.

That the behaviour of the prisoners has (generally speaking) been orderly, and the conduct of the officers such as to meet the approbation of the visiting justices.

The court are aware that the present state of the buildings prevents the classification required by the act from being carried to the full extent; but the visiting justices have kept the principle of the statute steadil in view, by removing the juvenile and less hardened from the intercourse

of older and more vicious offenders.

ty's principal secretary of state for the home department.

The General Report of John Lockwood, the Deputy Clerk of the Peace for the East Riding of the County of York, made in pursuance of the Act of the 4th Geo. IV. c. 64, and founded on the Reports of the Visiting Magistrates of the House of Correction of the said Riding, and of the Chaplain of the said House of Correction, and also on the Certifi cates of the Keeper thereof,-who state,

That the conduct of the keeper, and of all the other officers of the establishment of the house of correction at Beverley, has in all respects continued to be highly satisfactory to the visiting magistrates, and that they had received a good The dieting of the prisoners is by contract. account of the general demeanor of the pri The gaoler's accounts are audited by a com- soners; that the work of the tread-mill had mittee (of whom the visiting justices form a been continued without intermission; and that part) previous to each general quarter-sessions, there appeared a well-grounded hope to the the items of which appear in the quarterly re-visiting magistrates, that all the beneficial reports of the committee, and the reports of the sults which were anticipated from the introvisiting justices; the said accounts are pub-duction of that system of hard labour, under lished annually, and a copy sent to each magis-regulations which had been sanctioned by the trate of the riding. legislature, would be realised.

The reverend John Bowness has been appointed by the court of quarter-sessions, and afforded to the prisoners since the passing of Also, that the religious and moral instruction licensed by the archbishop of York, to officiate the above act has been regulated in strict comas chaplain in the gaol, with a salary of one pliance with its requisitions; that prayers are hundred guineas per annum. Since his appoint-read to the prisoners early in the morning by ment, prayers have been read daily in the chapel the governor, at which they have all been in the of the gaol, and the morning and evening ser-habit of attending; that on the Sunday the full vice of the church, and a sermon preached by him on Sundays, and such other days as is required by the said act. The chaplain reports that there is an obvious improvement in the outward conduct of the prisoners; the officers of the gaol state to him that the prisoners shew an increased obedience and civility towards them. The chaplain has kept a journal, in which he has entered the times of his attendance in the performance of his duty, which has been laid before the justices for their inspection at each quarter-sessions.

The gaoler reports, that the rules laid down in the 10th section of the said act, with respect to the government of the said gaol, have been complied with, except so much of the sixth rule as relates to classification. Rule 18th is complied with.

morning duty has been performed, with prayers and public catechising in the afternoon; and that in discharging this latter duty, the chaplain has been in the habit of using Crossman's Introduction, Watts's First Catechisms, and other books of that description; that a school has been established in the prison, which has been regularly attended by the chaplain, from which he has ascertained the progressive improvement of the boys; that the sacrament has also been administered, and it is made known to the prisoners that if any are desirous of receiving it, the chaplain is ready to converse with them on the subject; and that upon the whole the religious and moral improvement of the prisoners is, in the opinion of the chaplain, as great, under all the circumstances of the case, as could reasonably be expected.

And also, that the rules, orders, and regula Provision is intended to be made for rule 10th. tions required by the 21st section of the above The gaoler also certified to each general quar-act, and delivered to the keeper of the house of ter-sessions the number of prisoners confined in correction for the government thereof, have been the said gaol, both male and female, with a de- duly adhered to and strictly enforced the last scription of their several offences, their classifiquarter, except that in one case an untried felem cation and employment. boy, aged 15 years, has been confined with the convicted boys who attend the school. Dated this 23d October, 1824.

WILLIAM WAILES, deputy clerk of the peace for the said North Riding. Examined and approved by the court.

JOHN HEADLUM, chairman.

No. 3.-BEVERLEY.

To the right honourable Robert Peel, his majes

JOHN LOCKWOOD, deputy clerk of the peace, I confirm the above statement, which was submitted to the magistrates at their Michael mas quarter-sessions,

RICHARD BETHELL, chairman, E.R.Y.

HOUSE OF CORRECTION AT BEVERLEY.

The diet table for prisoners in general.

Breakfast.

Dinner.

Supper.

Sunday

One quart of oatmeal One quart of stew of heads and bones, &c. with
pottage, half a pound half a pound of potatoes.......

Same as breakf.

of bread.

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pottage, half a pound
of bread.

Sunday..... One quart of oatmeal One quart of stew of heads and bones, with half

a pound of potatoes, and half a pound of
bread

Same as breakf.

...

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allowed to prisoners sentenced to hard labour, but that the visiting justices be empowered to grant to them such an allowance upon their release as their general conduct may appear to deserve; reference being also had to their distance from home.

That all prisoners previous to trial, who may be able and willing to work, be allowed three pence per day for every day on which work can be supplied to them by the governor, and on which they actually do work :

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At the General Quarter Sessions of the Peace of
our Sovereign Lord the King, held at the New
Sessions House in Beverley, in and for the
East Riding of the County of York, on Tues-
day the 27th Day of April, in the 5th Year of
the Reign of our Sovereign Lord George the
Fourth, by the Grace of God of the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, King,
Defender of the Faith; and in the Year of our
Lord 1824;- before Richard Bethel, Esq.
Chairman; the Honourable Godfrey Bosville
Ralph Creyke, William Beverley, Jonas Brown,
That all such prisoners previous to trial, who
Daniel Sykes, Robert Denison the Younger, can provide such work for themselves as can be
Charles Grimston, Yarburgh Greame, and carried on consistently with the established rules
George Schonswar, Esqrs.; and the Rev. John of the gaol, be allowed so to employ themselves,
Bell, D. D.; John Gilby, Christopher Sykes, and to receive whatever they can earn : And,
Charles Constable, William Harry Edward Ben-
That convicted prisoners, not sentenced to
tinck, Joseph Coltman, Daniel Ferguson, John hard labour, be allowed one half of the allowance
Blanchard, Robert Croft, Danson Richard-made to unconvicted prisoners, on such days as
son Carrer, William Robinson Gilby, George they are employed by the governor, under the
Sampson, and William Canning, Clerks, Jus-direction of the visiting magistrates.
tices, &c. the following order was made:-

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By the court.

JOHN LOCKWOOD, deputy clerk of the peace.

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No. 4.-WEST RIDING.

A General Report of the State, Condition, and Management of the House of Correction at Wakefield, in the said Riding, founded on the Report of the Visiting Justices, on the Report of the Chaplain, and on the Certificate of the Keeper of the said House of Correction, prepared by the Deputy Clerk of the Peace, and submitted to the Justices assembled at the Michaelmas Quarter Sessions of the Peace, holden by Adjournment at Wakefield aforesaid, on the 2d Day of December, 1824, in pursuance of the 4th Geo. IV. c. 64.

and presented to the court at the several quarter. sessions held in and for the said city of Bristol and county of the same city, since the last Michaelmas sessions, and also the several certificates and returns made to the said court during the same period; and thereupon it was ordered, that copies of the said several reports, and also copies of the annual returns from the governor of the common gaol, and keeper of the house of correction in the said city, according to the form of the schedule (B) annexed to the said act, be transmitted to one of his majesty's principal secretaries of state, as the general report from this sessions required by the said act.

To the Right Worshipful John Barrow, Esquire, Mayor of the City of Bristol, and the Worshipful the Aldermen of the said City, Justices a8signed to keep the Peace in and for the said City, assembled at the General Quarter Sessions of the Peace held in and for the said City and County, at the Guildhall in the said City, on Monday, the 12th Day of January, 1824.

The visiting justices state, that they have frequently visited the said house of correction, and have every reason to be satisfied with the management thereof, which is apparent from the general good health of the prisoners, the due observance of the rules, and the general state of the prisoners as to morals, discipline, employment, and hard labour:-That the female prison, which is now completed, affords accommodation for dividing the female prisoners into six classes:-That when the alterations in the chapel, which are now in a state of great for wardness, are completed, the said house of correction will fully answer the purpose for which it is intended, and will allow the means of car-present majesty, intituled, "An act for consorying into effect all the rules laid down in the said act.

It appears from the report of the chaplain, that the general conduct and behaviour of the prisoners has been very satisfactory; their attendance on divine worship regular, and their behaviour during service decent and devout. The boys in the school are attended by a proper master, and are regularly visited and examined; they are carefully instructed in reading, and are furnished with such books as are deemed proper

for them.

The gaoler by his certificate, delivered and filed at this present Michaelmas sessions, states that the several rules laid down in the said act are now complied with in the said house of correction, except rule 9.

(Signed) J. P. HEYWOOD, chairman.

No. 52. BRISTOL. At the General Quarter Sessions of the Peace, held in and for the City of Bristol and County of the same City, on Monday, the 18th Day of October, 1824, before the Right Worshipful Thomas Hassell, Esquire, Mayor, John Noble and Thomas Daniel, Esquires, Aldermen, and others their Associates, Justices, &c. The court took into consideration an act of parliament, passed in the fourth year of the reign of his present majesty, intituled, "An act "for consolidating and amending the laws re"lating to the building, repairing, and regu"lating of certain gaols and houses of correc"tion in England and Wales ;" and, in pursuance of the directions of the said act, examined the several reports made by the visiting justices,

We, the undersigned, being visiting justices of the common gaol of this city, appointed under the authority of an act of parliament, made and passed in the fourth year of the reign of his

"lidating and amending the laws relating to "the building, repairing, and regulating of "certain gaols and houses of correction in Eng“land and Wales," now report, that we have employed the male prisoners who have been convicted, in erecting an outward boundary wall to the said gaol, by which the time of such prisoners has hitherto been fully occupied; and that the female prisoners convicted have been and are regularly employed in making and repairing prisoners' clothes and the ordinary work of the gaol, suited to the employment of females; and that we have made no other repairs, additions, or alterations, in the said gaol, except the building of the said wall; and that we have not observed, nor have we received information of any abuses existing in the management of the prison. And we further report, that the general state of the prison and prisoners is good; and that the morals of the prisoners are attended to, and the observance of the rules, by which the prison is governed, is strictly enforced.

WM. FRIPP, jun.

JOHN NOBLE.
GEO. HILHOUSE. STEPHEN CAVE.

To the Right Worshipful John Barrow, Esquire, Mayor of the City of Bristol, and the Worshipful the Aldermen of the said City, Justices assigned to keep the Peace in and for the sad City, assembled at the General Quarter des sions of the Peace, held in and for the sad City and County, at the Guildhall in the said City, on Monday, the 12th Day of January, 1824.

We, the undersigned, being the visiting magis trates of the common gaol of this city, now re

port, that, agreeably to the directions of the justices at the last Michaelmas sessions, we have examined the said gaol under our superintendence, with a view to determine how far the classification of the prisoners is consistent with the provisions of an act of parliament, passed in the fourth year of the reign of his present majesty, intituled, "An act for the regu"lation of gaols and houses of correction in "England and Wales;" and we find it is in strict conformity therewith, except that persons convicted of misdemeanors are not separated from those who are committed on charge of misdemeanor, but have it in contemplation to make some alterations in the arrangements of the gaol, in hope to accomplish the separation of the class of prisoners before alluded to.

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City and County of Bristol.—To the Right Worshipful the Mayor, the Worshipful the Aldermen, assembled at the General Quarter Ses.. sion for the said City and County, held this 26th of April, 1824.

I, William Humphris, governor or keeper of the common gaol of the said city and county, do hereby certify, that the rules and regulations, made by the magistrates of this city for the well governing of the said gaol, are as strictly as possible acted upon and complied with, without any particular deviation therefrom.

WM. HUMPHRis.

Bristol Gaol.

A Return of all the Prisoners now in the said Gaol, sentenced to Hard Labour by the Court at any previous Assize or Gaol Delivery, for the City and County of Bristol, this 16th April, 1824.

We have also directed our attention to the bridewell or house of correction, which we find wholly inadequate to the classification required, and, from its situation and formation, incapable of being made so without an expenditure of a large sum of money; we therefore beg to recommend the magistrates either to use this prison only as a place of confinement for persons pending an examination on charge of felony, and for vagrants and deserters, in which cases the separation of the sexes appears to be all that is required; and that prisoners convicted of offences at the assizes and sessions, subjecting them to imprisonment, or imprisonment and hard labour, should be sent to undergo their punishments at the common gaol; or, if it should be deemed more advisable, to build a new house of correction on the void ground adjoining the gaol, by which means the greater part of the expense of a second establishment" for consolidating and amending the laws remay be saved.

JOHN NOBLE. WM. FRIPP, jun.
GEO. HILHOUSE. STEPHEN Cave.

Epiphany Sessions, 1824.
City and County of Bristol.-To the Right
Worshipful the Mayor, the Worshipful the
Aldermen, assembled at the General Quarter
Sessions for the said City and County, Ja-
nuary 12th, 1824.

1, William Humphris, governor or keeper of the common gaol of the said city and county, do hereby certify and declare, that the rules, orders, and regulations for the government of the said prison are as strictly as possible acted upon and complied with.

WM. HUMPHRIS.

None.

WM. HUMPHRIS,

Governor of his majesty's gaol. City and County of Bristol.-We, the undersigned, being the visiting magistrates of the common gaol of this city, in pursuance of an act of parliament, passed in the fourth year of the reign of his present majesty, intituled, "An act

"lating to the building, repairing, and regu"lating certain gaols in England and Wales,” now report to the justices in session assembled, that we have not observed or received information of any abuse or abuses in the management of the said prison, and that the general state of the prisoners is good. Dated this 12th day of July, 1824.

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Midsummer Sessions. City and County of Bristol.-To the RightWorshipful the Mayor, the Worshipful the Aldermen, assembled at the General Quarter Session for the said City and County, held this 12th July, 1824.

I, William Humphris, governor or keeper of the common gaol of the said city and county, do hereby certify, that the rules and regulations, made by the magistrates of this city for the well governing of the said gaol, are as strictly as possible acted upon and complied with, without any particular deviation therefrom.

City and County of Bristol.-We, the undersigned, being the visiting magistrates of the common gaol of this city, in pursuance of an act of parliament, passed in the fourth year of the reign of his present majesty, intituled, " An 66 act for consolidating and amending the laws "relating to the building, repairing, and reWILLIAM HUMPHRIS. "gulating certain gaols in England and Wales," now report to the justices in session assembled, City and County of Bristol.-We, the underthat we have not observed or received informa-signed, being visiting justices of the common

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