public come to feel that the punishment meted out is a proper measure of the guilt, convictions will be more certain, there will be less occasion for executive interference, and our penal code will operate as a powerful restraint upon the commission of crime. In 1859, I deemed it due to the importance of the subject that I should visit the several State prisons, and personally examine as well those convicts who had previously applied for pardon, as those who, for want of friends, or other sufficient causes, were entitled to such consideration, and had made no application. In the administration of the pardoning power, there are great advantages in this course, and in my last annual message I referred to this subject in detail. In the month of September last, I visited the Auburn and Sing Sing Prisons, spending two or three days at each, and examined two hundred convicts, pursuing essentially the same plan as before. There were undecided on the 1st of January last, one hundred and eighteen applications for pardon, and one application for commutation; and there have since been received three hundred and forty-six applications for pardon, and two applications for commutations, and fortysix old cases have been reviewed, making in all five hundred and eight. Of these I have examined and decided three hundred and eighty-two; of which number I have pardoned seventy-eight, have denied two hundred and eightyeight, have commuted fourteen, denied commutation to two; two have died, two have been discharged by courts, and the terms of twenty-seven have expired before the applications were acted upon, and ninety-five, in consequence of the delay to perfect the papers, remain undetermined. The number of persons pardoned for every description of offence, including misdemeanors, in 1820, was three hundred and fifty-four; in 1821, there was three hundred and eleven; in 1822, was two hundred and nine; in 1823, was one hundred; in 1824, was one hundred and eighty; in 1825, was one hundred and seventy-three; in 1826, was two hundred and eighty-five; in 1827, was one hundred and ninety; in 1828, was two hundred and thirty-one; in 1829, was eighty-eight; in 1830, was one hundred and thirtyeight; in 1831, was one hundred and fifteen; in 1832, was one hundred and seven; in 1833, was one hundred and sixty; in 1834, was one hundred and forty-nine; in 1835, was one hundred and thirty-one; in 1836, was ninety-three; in 1837, was one hundred and eight; in 1838, was one hundred and fifty-eight; in 1839, was sixty-four; in 1840, was eighty-five; in 1841, was eighty; in 1842, was one hundred and fifty-eight; in 1843, was one hundred and thirty-three; in 1844, was one hundred and thirty-three; in 1845, was one hundred and thirty-two; in 1846, was one hundred and eight; in 1847, was one hundred and twenty-nine; in 1848, was one hundred and thirty-nine; in 1849, was thirty-five; in 1850, was sixty-two; in 1851, was one hundred and sixty; in 1852, was one hundred and eighty-six; in 1853, was two hundred and seven; in 1854, was two hundred and fortynine; in 1855, was two hundred and fifty-three; in 1856, was two hundred and seventy-seven; in 1857, was one hundred and eighty; in 1858, was two hundred and four; in 1859, was eighty-three; in 1860, was seventy-eight. In October last, complaints were made to me that punishments, unduly severe, had been inflicted in one of our State prisons. Though the Constitution places the charge and superintendence of the prisons in other hands than mine, I nevertheless deemed it my duty to call the attention of the agent and warden to these statements, and received from him a denial of the allegations. The complaints, however, are persisted in by responsible persons, and I would therefore recommend the passage of a law providing for the appointment of a Commission, whose actual expenses alone should be paid by the State, to inquire into the sys e Const. 1846, art. 1, § 5. f Const. 1846, art. 5, § 4. tem of our prison management, with reference alike to discipline and economical administration. The Board of Inspectors have furnished the following statement of the earnings of the State prisons, during the year ending with September 30, 1860: This is a gain, as compared with the previous year, as Being a total gain during the year, of... $47,716.04 This sum necessarily differs from the amount stated as earnings, because the contractors are still indebted to the prisons on unfinished contracts. The amount paid from the Treasury for the support of the prisons during the fiscal year was, for Sing Sing, including female prison. $138,135.36 81,317.60 63.252.61 Or a deficiency of $170,078.65 in the revenues of the prisons paid in, to meet the entire cost of the prison system, including the expenditure for buildings and permanent repairs. If we take the difference between the earnings and the total expenditure it will be found to be $153,004.41. It will be seen that Auburn prison has earned within a fraction of sufficient to pay the whole cost of its support, and also to pay $19,336.50 for buildings; that burthened with the female prison, Sing Sing prison has earned within $26,494.44 of its support; and Clinton has made a net gain of $12,827.92 during the year. As will be seen from the following table, the number of convicts is increasing, and it is worthy of consideration, whether persons convicted of the less heinous offences should not be sentenced to the county penitentiaries. The Legislature last winter authorized the expenditure of $20,000 for enlarging Auburn prison, but that, as well as the other prisons, will soon be insufficient to meet the demands upon them; and it is a question which it will be soon necessary to answer, whether we shall not be obliged to build another prison somewhere in the Southern tier of counties. Discipline and economy would seem to discourage the idea of increasing the number of cells in the present prisons. Sing Sing. Auburn. Clinton. Total. Of the above there were in the Sing Sing prison on September 30, 1859, of females... Females received during the year.. Discharged, pardoned and died Female convicts in Sing Sing prison on September 30, 1860.. 136 49 185 48 137 |