S. If confined in solitary cells, they would take up the room that ought to be reserved for first offenders, of whom some expectation of reformation might be enter tained. This last argument alone, ought to prevent our having recourse to perpetual confinement. It must al ways be borne in mind, that it is only from first offenders that any reasonable expectation of reform can be enter tained.
4. The confinement of the criminals must be recom mended solely upon the principle of just punishment for crimes, and as a safeguard against their future depreda tions. As it certainly can do society no possible good to imprison them, merely as a 'punishment, their long, or perpetual confinement does not seem to constitute a rea son sufficiently strong to justify its infliction ; it is, there fore, certainly a more eligible plan to send them away to the place proposed, to which the objections just urged do not apply, where the safety of the public front their future depredations, will he as great as by their confinement in prison, and where there will be some chance of a refor mation. They will indeed be in society, but under cir cumstances so different from those in a prison, as not to justify the belief that contamination will take place, even on the supposition that an inequality in the scale of guilt prevailed among them ; because from the obvious neces sity that will appear of depending upon their own labour for existence, they will not have time to think of mis chief. There can, moreover, be no inducement to lay schemes for future robbery, or to break prison ; and the discipline established by themselves, will insure the en joyment to every man of his own little property. The cri minal will be no longer forced to act at the will of a keep er, but will become a free agent, and one of the lords of the soil which he cultivates.
If it be an argument in favour of " perpetual imprison ment," that " we shall no more hear of a fourth convic tion," it certainly is a stronger one in favour of trans portation, that we shall not hear of a third, or, for some offences, even of a second, and that thus the expense of one or of two convictions, of supporting the criminals in prison for a time previously to trial, and of paying for the excess of the cost of their maintenance over the value of their labour, while serving out the periods of convic tion, will be saved. So long as the convict is confined at home, there will be reason to fear his liberation, and the renewal of his crimes, owing to the misplaced lenity of governors, or their disposition to gratify the friends of the criminals.—Transportation secures us from all appre hensions of this sort. It might be added, as a considera
tion of no small importance, that, by their removal for a second, in place of a third conviction, there will be a vast gain, as respects morality, among the inferior classes of society ; for it. may be easily conceived that the moral infection diffused by three or four hundred reprobates, an nually, for seven or ten years, during which they may he supposed to he at large before they would commit a third offence and be finally shut up for life, must be very great. He who is not reformed after one imprisonment, or deterred from repeating crimes, after having once ex perienced the discipline of the institution, will not be af fected by a second experiment ; the absurdity of making it, therefore, must be evident. Besides, on the princi ples of humanity, and justice to the miserable wretch him self, it ought not to be repeated, because every new asso ciation with criminals in a jail, only tends to increase or confirm his evil habits, and to lessen his chance of reform. Transportation will prevent this wide spread of moral con tamination.
The author of the pamphlet, and the reviewer, think that the only improvement necessary to perfect the peni tentiary system, is, to have separate cells for criminals to sleep in.—But I do not hesitate to say, that those who ex pest reformation in criminals from this, will be disap pointed. It is only a half-way measure. Nothing short of entire separation, one front another, day and night, will have the desired effect of producing that great moral revolution in the constitution of their minds, which is es sential to their reformation.
A more decided opposition is made to the plan of trans portation. It was early seen, that the novelty of the mea sure, imperfect and crude ideas of the difficulties in carry ing it into effect, arising from want of reflection or infor mation on the subject, would give rise to objections ; they were therefore provided for in the details of the plan as given above. Thus " the want, by the United States, of Colonial establishments : the supposed necessity of purchas ing, seizing, or conquering a foreign island, and dispos sessing the natives, the expense of retaining it ; the necessity of organizing and supporting a military establishment, and civil government, and the admission of principles foreign to the Federal Constitution ; the difficulty of fixing upon the necessary officers, and rules for the government of the set tlers, and in apportioning the expense among the states ; the expense of voyages round Cape Horn, and the cost of the establishment of New South Wales to England," are all anticipated.