of course, be considered by any Commission that means to produce the greatest good of the greatest number.

J. R. C.

COMMUTATION.

Near the close, perhaps at the very close, of the labors of the Legislature of the State, in May last, a law was enacted of which the following is the text:

Be it enacted, &c. That all prisoners who have been or who shall hereafter be convicted of any offence against the law of the State of Pennsylvania, and confined in any State prison or penitentiary in execution of the judgment or sentence upon such conviction, who so conduct themselves that no charge for misconduct shall be sustained against them, shall, if the Governor shall so direct, have a deduction of one month on each of the first two years, of two months on each succeeding year to the fifth year, and of three months on each following year to the tenth year, and five months on each remaining year of the term of their sentence, and shall be entitled to their discharge so much the sooner upon the certificate of the warden or principal keeper of such prison or penitentiary, with the approval of the Board of Inspectors of the same.

Some of those who desire to see the convict encouraged to good conduct by the hope of reward, thought they discovered in the wording of the above cited law an inclusion of "County Prisons" in the words "State Prisons," and that therefore the benefits obviously intended for the convict of the Penitentiaries, were also

available to the convict of the County prison, and a movement in that direction was by more than one person suggested.

But to us it appeared that the framers of the law had in view only the tenants of the two Penitentiaries of this State, and had adapted the language of the enactment to meet the great objection made to the acts of former years, intended to serve as authority for commuting the sentences of convicts generally, and allowing them to shorten the term of imprisonment by good conduct. That law was liable to at least two objections, that are very serious in the estimation of all, viz.: First. Some of the provisions were, in their operation, ex post facto, as they interfered with the sentence pronounced by the Court before the enactment of this law.

Second. That by allowing the inspectors of prisons or penitentiaries to release prisoners before the time announced by the Court, the prerogatives of the Executive were infringed-as the pardoning power is, by the Constitution of the State, vested solely in the Governor.

By the law of May last, it will be seen that the difficulties are removed. For whatever may be the good conduct of the prisoner, the whole power of the inspectors consists in recommending him to the Governor for commutation or pardon, he, the prisoner, having fulfilled certain conditions.

It may be said that the pardon by the Governor may be extended to prisoners convicted before the passage of the act, and would therefore be liable to the same objection that defeated the provisions of the previous act, viz making the law ex post facto in its operation. To

this it is replied, that by referring the release of the prisoner to the will and pleasure of the Governor, the objection becomes powerless, as the Governor had the right to pardon the same prisoner, whether recommended or not. This consideration also removes the second objection to the former law, viz.: That it gave to inspectors power that belongs by the Constitution only to the Governor, as the Governor could pardon these men if he wished, without the recommendation of the inspectors, and without the fulfilment on their part of any of the conditions upon which the commutation discharges are to be founded. If then the Governor of the State could, without the passage of this law, do all which he is permitted to do by its provisions, if no new powers are conferred on the Executive and none could be taken away, it may be asked of what use is the law?

This question we shall answer hereafter.

In the meantime the question has been raised whether the law does not include in its provisions the County Prisons, where there are crowds of convicts who are as much entitled to any benefits which this act may confer as are the tenants of the two Penitentiaries. To that question we have already partly replied that the language of the act, viz.: "State prisons or penitentiaries" indicate that only the penitentiaries of the State were in the minds of the authors of the bill, and we learn that his Excellency the Governor of the Commonwealth takes the same view of the act, and will not for the present attend to the recommendation of inspectors of county prisons, for commutation of sentences founded on this act. He considers, and justly, that the words

"State prisons and penitentiaries" have no relation to County prisons.

Some years since the United States acting on the suggestion of this Society, and influenced by the success in the States, passed a commutation act by which prisoners sentenced by the United States courts could "work off" a part of their sentence, and by good conduct replace themselves in society, to earn an honest living if they desired to do so.

The law of Pennsylvania as has been stated applies only to the penitentiaries, and acting under its provisions the Inspectors of the Eastern Penitentiary made an examination of the sentence-book, and found eighty prisoners entitled to the benefit of this, of whom four were United States prisoners. These were all discharged under the provisions of the acts. The Governor of the State consenting to the discharge of those released under the State law.

Of course the discharges were not all made on one day, though the first application of this law reaches the high number of 38.

We subjoin tabular statements of the condition and sentences of the prisoners, the time saved, and the amount of over work paid for.

The four persons discharged on the 15th July were United States prisoners. The aggregate of their sentences was 12 years. By the law of the United States the good conduct of those prisoners reduced their confinement to 11 years, 6 months, and 2 days, making a saving of 7 months and 28 days.

The other commutations were under the act of Assembly of Pennsylvania, and they were as follows:

The thirty-eight prisoners discharged on the 22d July had an aggregate of sentence of 186 years and 9 months, and they served 169 years, 3 months, and 28 days, making a saving of 17 years, 5 months, and 2 days.

The twenty-one discharged on the 10th of August had an aggregate of sentence of 29 years and 10 months, and they served 26 years, 11 months, and 2 days, making a saving of 2 years, 10 months, and 28 days.

The seventeen discharged on the 9th of September had an aggregate of 43 years, 3 months and 7 days, and they served 37 years, 3 months and 10 days, making a saving of 5 years, 11 months, and 27 days.

TOTALS.

The whole time of the sentences served and saved by these eighty discharges was: