168 REPORI—1863. 
could read or write imperfectly, leaving less than 5000 who had acquired a very 
moderate amount of education: this ignorance extends also to any occupation they 
may have followed, however humble. 
It is clearly the duty of society to provide asylums for orphans, and enforce 
the education of all classes for some useful future course in life. 
Labour is the true foundation upon which any plan of prison discipline should 
be based; it should have been one of a prisoner’s earliest lessons, and should 
form one of the leading features of his education ; by habitual industry, the mind is 
more likely to be fitted to receive religious impressions. If reformation he the ob- 
ject sought, prison discipline to be the means, some provision must be made for 
the employment of prisoners when discharged; this has been successfully tried in 
London, Wakefield, and Birmingham. No prison of any importance should be 
without a workshop outside, where men could, after discharge, if willing, fit them- 
selves for the labour-market; thus, in a practical form, would the element of hope, 
too long excluded from our systems, be introduced, and remove the prisoner’s 
ready excuse of not being able to find employment. With reference to the treat- 
ment of prisoners when in prison, any one who will take the trouble to examine 
the subject thoughtfully, will be satisfied that the popular notion that prisoners 
are pampered is, generally speaking, a mistake ; at the same time, it does appear 
necessary that the law and the executive power should be shown to be strong 
enough to deal with the monster evil, and prevent panics such as we lately 
witnessed. 
In managing a great number of convicts, two things are absolutely essential as 
a foundation: first, that they should be so completely separated from the world as 
to make escape almost impossible; secondly, that they should be so subdivided as 
to prevent dangerous conspiracies. This could be effected by planting convict depots 
on islands off our own coasts, the prisoners being placed in a number of small’ 
prisons, all subject to one governor, who, from a central residence, might have 
telegraphic communication with each, and thereby be enabled, in case of neces- 
sity, to concentrate upon any given point an overwhelming force. The separate 
prisons would also be useful for classification, in some of which a severe discipline 
could be brought to bear upon the worst class, while the others might be arranged 
for testing different kinds of discipline, and to suit the different stages of the pri- 
soners in their progress towards reformation ; by this plan the deterrent and re- 
formatory principles may be worked out in their integrity with very little increased 
cost, except at the first for the buildings. None should leave the island, except by 
the gate of reformation, until their sentences were expired. It would be a mere 
to the sick to keep them, whether they live or die, where they could have both 
spiritual and medical assistance, rather than allow them to return to the corrupting 
scenes of their vile haunts. 
It will scarcely be denied that a responsibility rests upon society with regard to 
this question, and that the public should be prepared to help the penitent, as well 
as to punish the incorrigible. 
On the Pavis Improvements and their Cost. 
By W. Tits, M.P., FRS., &e. 
After some general remarks upon the necessity that existed for the alteration of 
the communications in the centre of Paris, and upon the strategical motives that 
had led to their adoption, the author of this paper proceeded to consider the ques- 
tion of the cost of those improvements, which he had been informed had been 
less than that of similar operations in this country. He stated that his impression 
was, that town improvements could never be executed at a less cost than 70 per 
cent. of the total outlay; and the result of his examination of the accounts that 
were presented by the Prefect of the Paris improvements had only confirmed him 
in that opinion. Instead of yielding a profit to the city, as had been pretended, 
they had in all cases involved it in great and serious loss. 
Mr. Tite dwelt upon the encouragement that the Government of France had 
thought proper to bestow upon the course that the city had entered into in this 
matter, by undertaking a portion of the expense, and by authorizing the raising 
