One of the courts of the Stadthouse is occupied by the prison, on two sides of which, below ground, are the dungeons, than which nothing can be conceived Inure horrible. It scents very inconsistent with the general mildness of the laws of Holland, that persons accused of trivial crimes, and even sometimes before their guilt is ascertained, should be entombed in these subterraneous cells, " fit only to be the receptacle of the dead." IL is only ten years since the inhuman practice of torturing was abolished in Amsterdam. The unhappy victim, who refused to acknowledge guilt, of which, perhaps, he was unconscious, had his hands bound be hind his neck with a cord, which passed through pullies fastened to a vaulted ceiling, by means of which he was jerked tip and down, with leaden weights of fifty pounds each, attached to his feet, till anguish overcame his for titude, and a reluctant confession was extorted from his lips. Sir John Carr, who visited this city in 1806, saw the iron work by which this infamous process was effect ed, still adhering to the walls of the torture chamber. Yet the Dutch are shocked by the sanguinary nature of the criminal laws of England ; and with them, capi tal punishments are so rare, that from 1799 to 1806, only nine malefactors were executed in their metro polis.
On the ground-floor of the Stadthouse are the strong apartments which formerly contained the vast treasures of the bank, and its various offices. Before the war with France, it was a bank of deposit, and was supposed to contain the greatest quantity of bullion in the world. Its pile of precious metal was estimated at the enor mous sum of 40,000,0001. sterling.
The beurs, or exchange, is a large, though plain building, in the form of an oblong square, constructed of free stone, and founded on 2000 piles of wood. It is about 250 feet in length, and 140 in breadth. Twenty six marble columns support its galleries, which arc en tered by a superb staircase, leading from the gate. The arsenal for their men of war is 200 feet long, and 22 feet broad. On the top of the building there is a conservatory of water, which holds 1600 tons, and from which the water may be conveyed by leaden pipes into 16 different places.
Of the public institutions of Amsterdam, the most re markable are the rasphouse, and the workhouse. In the former, offenders, whose crimes arc not capital, are condemned to saw logs of wood ; and when they are in dolent or refractory, they are shut up in a cellar, into which water is allowed to run, so that if they do not work at the pump, they must be drowned. It is seldom necessary, however, to have recourse to this mode of punishment. An annual report of the conduct of these prisoners is given in to the magistrates, and by that re port the term of their confinement is regulated. The workhouse, or spin-house as it is sometimes called, is an establishment unparalleled, perhaps, in the world. It is a very large building, appropriated to purposes both of correction and of charity. In a large room, clean and well ventilated, women whose offences have not been of a very aggravated nature, are employed in sewing, spinning, or other branches of female industry.
Convicts of the same sex arc confined in another apart ment, which is secured by massy iron railing and gra ted windows, and furnished with scourges, irons for the legs, and other instruments of punishment, which are very readily employed on the slightest appearance of insuboreination. These women are always kept apart from the rest, and under the superintendency of a gov erness are engaged in various useful employments. Young ladies of respectable, and even high families are sometimes sent to the It ork-house, by their parents or Iriencls, for undutiful behavour, or any doniestie offence They are compelled to wear a particular dress, to work a stated number of hours a-day, and even occasionally to submit to the discipline of the scourge. I Iuslyanch„ who have to complain of the extravagaw e or diskipa tion of their wives, may scud them to acquire more so ber habits in the work-house ; while the ladies, on their part, on well authenticated complaints of the misconduct of their husbands, may have them acommodated with lodgings in the same place, 1M• several years together. Their allowance of food is abundant, and its quality good; and there are spacious courts within the building, in w 'licit they are permitted to walk for a certain time each day. The wards are kept locked, and no person can obtain admittance without the special permission of the proper officer. Besides these apartments appropria ted to offenders, there are wards for men, and school rooms for a great number of children, who are main tained and educated under the same roof. The annual expense of the institution is estimated at 100,000 florins.
There is an association peculiar to Amsterdam, and well deserving of notice, which is soinew hat like a nun nery, and is called the Society of the 11( guins.4 The la dies of this sisterhood reside in a large building appro priated to their order, which is surrounded with a wall and a ditch, has a church within, and, in short, resem bles a little town. They are under very few restrictions. are by no peculiar dress, mingle with the inhabitants of the city, and may leave the sisterhood and marry when they please. While they belong to the order, however, they are obliged to attend prayers at stated times, and to be within the convent every even ing at a certain hour. They must_ be either unmarried, or widows without children ; and the only certificate re quired, before they are admitted, is, that their behaviour has been irreproachable, and that they have an inconn adequate to their support. Each of them has a sepa rate apartment, with a small flower-garden ; and, upon the whole, the establishment may be considered as " a social retirement of amiable women, for the purpose eef enjoying life in an agreeable and blameless manner." The hospitals, and other charitable institutions of this city, which are numerous, are maintained partly by vo luntary contributions, and by taxes imposed oft the public diversions. The management of these cha rities is intrusted to officers called deacons, and to gov ernors selected from the most respectable inhabitants, and nominated by the magistrates.