sentenced to six months or upward. Of that class there were in all the prisons of Scotland 936, whose total earnings for the year was £4,473 168. 6d., averaging £4 158 7d. each. In the General Prison, that is the Penitentiary at Perth, the average was £5 0s. 3d. each prisoner. It will be seen by the above that each prisoner costs £21 38. 1d.-about one hundred (100) dollars in gold. In the Perth prison, or Penitentiary, where work is regular, and the average duration of imprisonment ten times longer than in most of the other prisons, the cost of maintaining each prisoner is £25 0s. 2d. about $120 00 in gold, and that, too, when almost every article, as well as salaries and wages, is much lower than in this country. There are in Scotland seventy-three (73) prisons, and the total amount of salaries of all kinds of officers that govern and keep them, is £26,419 58. Zd., about $130,000 in gold. Of course some of these prisons are only "lock-ups," but they cost. Arbroath, Brechin, and Montrose, each expends £2 28. in salaries. The General Prison, or Penitentiary, at Perth, pays £7,665 1s., and has a total expense of £18,381 4s. 11d. while the total cost of all the prisons in Scotland for salaries, food, furniture, contingencies, &c., is £62,708 138. 4d. We notice one good feature in the statement of current annual expenses, viz., £607 8s. 11d. for retired allowances to good officers, who, having given their best days to the service of the institutions, are not, when physical power fail, to be turned out of office and home, with no means of living, and no power to earn those means. Scotland, yet the It is somewhere stated in these reports that the number of imprisonments decreases in tables do not so present the case. commitments in the year 1861 were 18,575; in 1866, 23,423; in 1867, 25,726; in 1868, 26,843; certainly a steady increase. And the number of sentenced prisoners (felons) increase in the same ratio. Juveniles, sentenced to be whipped in 1867, amounted to 86; in 1868 over 135. In 1867, there were sentenced to transportation and hard labor for life, 176, and in 1868 the number was 223. The number who had been previously committed to the same prisons is very considerable, and constantly increases; in 1867 it was 12,700, and in 1868 it was 13,574. Of these "repeaters," or as the French denominate them, "Recidives," there were in 1867, 329, and in 1868, 335, who had been committed fifty times or upwards. We have said that the tables show an increase of commitments for almost every kind of offence, and of persons of almost every age, while the Reporters say that crime diminishes. This opinion may be correct, notwithstanding the augmentation of the number of commitments. Perhaps a more vigorous police is employed, and a more careful and severe prosecution of offenders is adopted. In that case the number of offences may well be diminished, while the number of punishments of offenders may be increased. Indeed the former is a probable result of the latter. In noticing the ability of one of the large prisons to accommodate the prisoners, the Report intimates that the prison is likely always to be full so long as the number of those sent thither is sufficient to fill it. It would appear that something less than the usual acumen of a Scotchman was required to make that discovery. In looking over the table of commitments we find that of the whole number committed for crime in all the prisons of Scotland in 1840, a little more than half were females, viz., males, 1,264; females, 672; the difference diminishes so that in 1859 there were 1,098 males, and 1,093 females. The prison of Ayr is one of considerable rank among the penal houses of Scotland, especially because it is larger than the wants of the county, so that it is made a sort of general prison or penitentiary, for the relief of other prisons. Many, indeed most of the prisons of Scotland are crowded, and as commitments are on the increase, there is likely to be less of separate confinement than is now possible. The prison of Ayr seems to be the favorite for female convicts. It must be noticed that the prison department of Scotland is independent of that of other parts of the United Kingdom, for which Parliament makes special annual appropriations, amounting to £38,534 98. 2d., while the County Boards assess for these prisons, £40,762 38. 2d., making a total by Parliament and counties of £79,316 128. 4d. Separate confinement is the general rule of the prisous of Scotland, but there are circumstances which lead to associated confinement. These changes are under the direction of the resident physician, and are of course referable to the health of the prisoner. Of these, thirty (30) cases are given. The unhappy persons were idiotic, epileptic, imbecile, insane, blind, weak minded, &c. One person we notice was allowed a companion, because he was a Highlander and could speak no English; the Highlanders knowing no English suffer mentally unless associated. It is gratifying to notice that great care is given to the case of persons charged with criminal acts who are suspected of insanity, and ample report is made of all such, with the final disposal and condition of the prisoner. The trial is sometimes suspended, often the prisoner is not brought to trial, but placed where he can do no harm. If he is declared insane on trial, he is not, when acquitted on the ground of insanity, discharged on evidence of soundness of intellect. The Report states that the number of insane criminals is constantly increasing, and demands enlarged accommodations, that there may be applied some alleviating process and treatment. WEIGHING. It seems that every convict is weighed when received into the prison, and again weighed on being discharged. Of 735 females who had served out long sentences, 46 on leaving had neither lost nor gained in weight; 346 had gained, and 343 had lost, 53, five per cent. Of 532 men, 15 remained stationary, 394 gained, and 123 lost in weight, 76, 8 per cent. SALARIES. The salaries at the Perth prison are worth noting: Governor, maximum, £550; Deputy Governor, £300; Chaplain (Presbyterian), £300; Visiting Roman Catholic Priest, £70; Visiting Episcopal Clergyman, £50; Bible Reader, £130. The wardens, clerks, &c., get much lower salaries than the Governor, but all have residences, with gas, and the salaries increase with the length of service. The salaries of females, wardens, &c., are £53 and £45. PERTH GENERAL PRISON. The sentences in Scotland are much more severe than in this country-transportation for from fourteen to twenty-one years and for life. The penal servitude, that is, imprisonment and hard labor, is from four to twenty-one years and for life. By far the largest number is for seven (7) years. The relations of the sexes in the different prisons is worthy of note. Of those who are simply imprisoned, and with short sentences, for nine months to two years, there are 567 men and 290 women. Of those who are to be transported for from fourteen years to twenty-one, and for life, every one is a female, and those for life are the most numerous. There are undergoing sentences from four years to twenty-one and for life, 454, viz., 270 females and 184 |