Summary
“In the prison of Coldbath Fields, in which the silent system is believed to be brought to the greatest degree of perfection, under the management of a highly intelligent and able governor, who has at his command every possible advantage for working the system, there were in the year 1836 no less than 5138 punishments ‘for talking and swearing.’”
—Second Report of the Inspectors of Prisons of Great Britain, 1837.“Silence and Secrecy! … Do thou thyself but hold thy tongue for one day; on the morrow how much clearer are thy purposes and duties! what wreck and rubbish have those mute workmen within thee swept away, when intrusive noises were shut out!”
—Sartor Resartus.I have shown in my account of Society in America that, after visiting several prisons in the United States, I was convinced that the system of solitary confinement pursued at Philadelphia is the best that has yet been adopted. So much has been heard in England of the Auburn prison, its details look so complete and satisfactory on paper, and it is so much a better system than the English have been accustomed to see followed at home, that it has a high reputation among us. But I think a careful survey of the institution on the spot must lessen the admiration entertained for this mode of punishment.
The convicts are, almost without exception, pale and haggard.
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- Retrospect of Western Travel , pp. 199 - 227Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2010First published in: 1838