MEMORANDUM OF A LATE VISIT 
TO THE 
AUBURN PENITENTIARY; 
PREPARED 
FOR THE 
Philadelphia society for the alleviation of, the miseries of 
PUBLIC PRISONS. 
Printed by order of the Philadelphia Society for Alleviating the Miseries of Public Prisons. 
PHILADELPHIA) 
J. HARDING, PRINTER. 
1842. MEMORANDUM, &c. 
To the. Philadelphia Society for Alleviating the Miseries of Public 
Prisons. 
Gentlemen:-A few weeks since, I spent two or three days at Au- 
burn, in the State of New York; and by the kindness of one of the in- 
spectors, and the courtesy of the officers, I was permitted to visit the 
Penitentiary established there, and to examine its various departments, 
though with much less care and minuteness than it deserves. 
The immediate supervision of the prison is entrusted to two general 
officers, viz. the agent, who has the sole management of the business 
operations, (such as providing food and fuel, making contracts for con- 
vict labour and the raw materials for manufacturing) or, in a word, 
the economy of the prison; and the keeper, whose special province it is 
to have the custody of the convicts, and to supervise the police of the 
prison. These gentlemen have separate apartments and clerks, and 
are able to keep their respective functions entirely distinct. 
There are no females in this prison; much better provision being made 
for them in a separate building, appropriately constructed and govern- 
ed, at Sing Sing, on the Hudson. 
The food of the prisoners at Auburn, is evidently of good quality, 
well cooked, and abundantly sufficient, if it is furnished at the rate and 
of the quality that I saw and tasted. 
In the interior of the prison a very decided improvement is in pro- 
gress. It consists of an entirely new range of workshops. Indeed the 
plan, which has been adopted and partially executed, embraces nearly 
seven hundred feet in length and thirty-six in breadth of new shop-room. 
Those who are familiar with the arrangement of the buildings, will re- 
member an old range of shops at the base of the south wall, quite dark 
and inconvenient. Being at the foot of a wail thirty or forty feet high, 
the circulation of air is obstructed, as well as the admission of light. 
Their leaky and decayed condition, and "the quantity of filth accumu- 
lated during the period of more than twenty years, under the floors and 
elsewhere," are supposed to have been very injurious to the health of 
the inmates. This misplaced and offensive range is to be removed as 
soon as the new shops are completed, and this the agent believes will 
not be later than January, 1844. The new shop, (208 feet by 36) fin- 4 
ished last vear, is occupied by the coach-lace weavers, harness makers, 
shoemakers, and tailors. This shop, which is of brick, and two stories 
high, cost but little more than $6000, including the labour of 33 con- 
victs and a master builder. 
The introduction of the manufacture of silk, constitutes quite an era 
in the history of the Auburn prison. The success which has attended 
the experiment thus far is very encouraging. Looms are now in the 
process of construction, and there is every reason to believe that the 
whole operation of spinning, weaving and dying, will be completely suc- 
cessful. 'Fhe importance of this business to the prison is greatly en- 
hanced by local circumstances. The Legislature has restricted the em- 
ployment of convict labour to those arts, trades, and manufactures, the 
products of which come to us chiefly by importation. This measure was 
forced upon the Legislature by the popular cry, against suffering involun- 
tary punitive labour to come in competition with the common labour of 
the vicinity. It is obvious that the class of pursuits in which convict la- 
bour may be profitably employed is greatly reduced by this restriction; 
and that the introduction of the silk manufacture, in these circum- 
stances, is a most happy measure. The weaving was not commenced 
at the time of my visit, but a specimen of the thread silk, which 1 have 
the pleasure to send with this memorandum, will show to what perfec- 
tion the spinning and dying have been advanced. 
Perhaps the most important changes in the management of the pri- 
son respect its discipline. It is freely admitted that very cruel and ex- 
cessive severity has been practised in past years; and instances are 
minutely given, by those who were personally acquainted with the facts, 
fully justifying the worst apprehensions that were ever entertained of 
the existence of such abuses; and proving conclusively that the power 
to inflict corporal suffering upon convictscan never be conferred with- 
out imminent hazard. Perhaps it may be safe to affirm, that the in- 
fliction of stripes is a species of punishment which cannot well fail, of 
itself, to lead to cruelty- It is in its very nature an incentive to cru- 
elty, especially where the party subjected to it is equal in age and 
strength to the party inflicting it. I need not say that I was made happy 
by the assurance, repeatedly given to me by the officers and by one of 
the inspectors, that this mode of punishment is wholly laid aside in the 
Auburn prison, and that not a blow has been struck, for any cause, for 
several months. In lieu of this, (and 1 know not but of all other punish- 
ments) they have adopted the cold slioicer bath, and find it, thus far, 
fully adequate to all punitive purposes. Perhaps you are familiar with 
the process, as it is not confined, I believe, to this prison. 
There is a box, formed somewhat like an easy chair, in which the 
patient (so to call him) is seated, unclothed. His ankles and wrists are 
securely confined; and the two halves of a board, cut out to fit the neck, 
are brought together under the chin, and thus confine the head, or at 
least allow it only a rotary motion. A tin tunnel, with a large or small 
tube, as may be expedient, is held at a proper distance above the head; 
and water, of the ordinary temperature, is poured through it in a steady 5 
stream directly on the top of the 
head. The quantity of water is 
regulated by its effect on the con- 
vict. As I feel much interested 
in any expedient which may avoid 
the necessity of resorting to vio- 
lence in the discipline of a prison. 
I have described the process of 
the cold head-bath, as well as I 
can from recollection; and with 
the help of an artist, who relies on 
my description, I have succeeded 
perhaps in giving a tolerably cor- 
rect idea of it. When the expe- 
dient was first employed, it was 
regarded by the convicts as a very 
trifling affair, but it was soon 
found to be a most effective me- 
thod of correction. Cases occur- 
red in which considerable fortitude 
was displayed through the use of 
a gallon or two of water; but not 
an instance has been known in 
which it was not, after a few minutes, utterly subduing to the most stub- 
born. One man. whose incorrigible temper had occasioned much trou- 
ble, resisted twelve pailsfull, but the thirteenth constrained him to cry 
out like a blubbering boy, that "he would be good, if they would let 
him go." In the case of a very obstinate youth, on whom many severe 
methods of correction had been employed without effect, two pails of 
water were completely victorious. 
I inquired particularly of the physician of the institution (Dr. Joseph 
T. Pitney) if no danger was to be apprehended from this process. He 
seems to be immovably settled in the opinion that it is perfectly inno- 
cent, and perhaps conducive to the health of the subject. It will be 
admitted on all hands, that if the physician's views are sound, and the 
effects not exaggerated, the substitution of such a mode of discipline for 
the cruel, degrading, and exasperating use of the cat-o'-nine tails, is a 
a most happy improvement. 
I was present in the hospital when the physickin was in attendance. 
About thirty persons were on the sick list, and his examination of them, 
so far as 1 could judge, was sufficiently minute, while his manner was 
entirely patient, humane, and judicious. The opportunity for the con- 
victs to converse while they were seated side by side, on the benches 
in the hospital, was as favourable as they could wish. 
It was gratifying to observe the regard that was paid to the comfort 
of the convicts, in matters not essential to the course of discipline. 
Those whose occupation was entirely within doors, and to whom thick 
leather shoes would be a painful incumbrance, were provided with cloth 
shoes, or socks. The food was, as I have remarked, well cooked, and 6 
made palatable to the most fastidious, and was also served in a cleanly 
and comfortable style, and their cells were well white-washed, ventilat- 
ed and swept. 
There is no concealment, or palliation of the defect which has ever 
been regarded as prominent in the Auburn system-I mean the opportu- 
nity of acquaintance and communication. I was at the prison on Mon- 
day, and on the preceding Saturday night two convicts had made their 
escape. The circumstances, as stated to me, were briefly these: seve- 
ral of the convicts were employed upon the range of shops which have 
been already mentioned as in the process of erection within the walls. 
A sudden and violent shower drove the men to a place of shelter. The 
officer, who was.stationed upon the wall, hastened to his box, and his 
view of the south wall was intercepted by the walls of the new build- 
ing. Two of the convicts seized a ladder, at the moment the gang turned 
from work, and fastening a rope to the end of it, ran to the wall, and 
throwing the rope over, let themselves down upon the outside. It was 
said that not three minutes could have elapsed after they left their 
work before they were clear of the wall. 
On Sunday, a horse, saddle and bridle were stolen, at some distance 
from the prison, as it was supposed, by the fugitives; inasmuch as there 
seemed to be no doubt that they had gone into Canada, and would na- 
turally pass through the place where the theft was committed. I was 
curious to know what rendered the keeper so confident of the route 
they had taken, and he stated that one of the convicts had told him that 
day, "that he overheard their conversation some time before, and that 
was their plan." In reply to my inquiry, whether there was not con- 
siderable undetected intercourse between the convicts, he replied, 
"How can it be otherwise? See them scattered upon this new building, 
or engaged in the kitchen, or passing from place to place. How is it 
possible to prevent intercourse?" In an interview which I had a day or 
two afterwards with a highly respectable citizen of Syracuse, N. Y., 
he stated to me that he was well acquainted with a man, then residing 
near him, who was confined five years in the Auburn prison for forgerv, 
and that he was entirely satisfied from his account, that the prisoners 
very generally knew each other's names, residence, crimes, sentences, 
and even the courts by which they were sentenced. I could not but 
contrast this statement with a fact which I had from the late Warden 
of our Penitentiary (S. R. Wood) that he once saw three men, occupied 
in different parts of the square formed by Market and Arch streets on 
two sides, and Second and Front streets on the other two. They were 
all in the Eastern Penitentiary at one and the same time-each of them 
recognised him as he passed them; and yet neither of them knew the 
other, and could not have had the remotest suspicion that they had ever 
been so closely associated! 
I conversed with several intelligent gentlemen, who, either from their 
official relation to the prison, or their local interest in it, have been 
led to compare the two systems of solitary and social labour with more 
or less attention, but all with evident prejudice in favour of the latter. 
The only objections they urged to the Pennsylvania system are reduci- 7 
ble to two classes, with which you are perfectly familiar, the inhu- 
manity of solitary confinement, and the effects of it upon the 
mind. One of the officers of the Auburn prison, who lately visited our 
Eastern Penitentiary, candidly declared that he could perceive no dif- 
ference in the appearance of the inmates of the two prisons, as it respects 
health and cheerfulness; and he moreover admitted that our keepers 
have a great advantage from the circumstance that they can converse 
freely and alone with the prisoners, without being seen or overheard by 
others. Any interview of this kind is quite impracticable at Auburn. 
It is observable that both the objections that have been specified are 
entirely abstract and theoretical. Not a particle of evidence has yet been 
furnished that would influence the mind of an impartial and well-informed 
inquirer on either of the points; while reason and analogy combine to 
establish this one great principle, viz. that the first step in the process 
of reformation must be to separate the offender from the sight and 
intercourse, and, if possible, from the remembrance, of his evil asso- 
ciates. And as to the assumption that solitude is unfavourable to 
health, (I mean the modified form of solitude which obtains at our Pe- 
nitentiary) it is not incumbent on us to meet it, until some valuable 
testimony is offered to make it at least a plausible assumption. As to 
the general merit of the Auburn system, it is worthy of remark that 
the discrimination in the shades of discipline which must be so import- 
ant in the punitive treatment of 700 or 800 men, embracing such a va- 
riety of physical and moral constitution, education and habits, can have 
no place where the convicts are associated all the day. The Pennsyl- 
vania system allows unlimited scope to this essential principle. 
In respect to the extent of religious influence in the prison, I was 
considerably disappointed. So much superiority has been uniformly 
claimed for this system over the other, in this point especially, that I 
anticipated a very obvious peculiarity. To my surprise, I learned that 
only one service is observed on Sunday. The Sunday school commences 
immediately after breakfast, and is usually attended by about half the 
convicts-two keepers being present. At 9 o'clock the public service is 
held, and the keepers (to whom Sunday is the only leisure day of the 
week) are impatient to have it over, while the prisoners, who dread to 
spend the live-long day in their cells, are anxious to have it protracted. 
During the Sabbath, the chaplain may visit the convicts, but as he is 
not admitted to the interior of the cell, and can only converse with 
them at their cell-doors, it is difficult to make a visit, under such circum- 
stances, either pleasant or useful. The prisoner on each side can over- 
hear what is said, and this, of itself, would greatly embarrass the inter- 
view. The hour for locking up at night is six, and after that time the 
chaplain may visit the cells daily, but the men are weary, the hour is 
inconvenient to the chaplain, (who does not reside in the prison) so that 
after all, the Sabbath, slighted as it is, is the principal opportunity for 
official service in this department. 
The New York prisons labour under very great disadvantage from 
the political influences that are continually interfering with their su- 
pervision, discipline, economy, &c. 1'hc fluctuation which must pre- 8 
vail in the policy and management of public institutions, where each 
political or party revolution gives them a new supply of officers or n 
new set of regulations, must be clearly injurious to the interests of all 
concerned. 
The effect of the undue exercise of the pardoning power is also felt • 
in the New York as well as in the Pennsylvania prisons. There is no- 
thing, I am persuaded, that contributes more to the discontent, irrita- 
tion, and indocility of a convict than the constant anticipation of a par- 
don, and of course almost constant disappointment. The hope of par- 
don is embraced with sufficient eagerness even when it comes to only 
one in a thousand, or even one in a hundred; but when it is afforded to 
one in twenty, as it was last year at Auburn, no one can fail to see that 
the effect must be altogether mischievous. 
In concluding this hasty memorandum, 1 may be excused for saying, 
that though my opinion of the Auburn prison is much more favourable 
than it was before my late visit, 1 am strengthened in the conviction 
that our own system is decidedly, and in the most important respects, 
superior;* while I am greatly surprised to find how indefinite and un- 
founded are the objections which prevail in some sections of the country 
against it. 
Very respectfully, 
Your friend and fellow citizen* 
FRED. A. PACKARD. 
Philadelphia, September 24th, 1842. 
P. S. I enclose a copy of the Rules, &c. of the Auburn prison, and 
also an abstract of the last Annual Report; for it appears that the Le- 
gislature declined publishing any larger number of copies than were 
needed for their own use, though it was suggested that courtesy and 
utility would be promoted by putting a few copies at the disposal of the 
prison, to be exchanged with similar institutions. 
• Since writing this letter, the report of the Inspectors of the New Jersey Penitentiary, 
at Trenton, has been published. The tenor of one or two of the reports of the medical of. 
fleer of that institution may have led some to suppose that the system of solitary labour, 
which has been adopted there, as well as in Pennsylvania, was not so successful as with us. 
But the last report of the Board contains the following explicit and emphatic testimony to 
the contrary: "In our intercourse with the prisoners, we have seen no reason to recommend 
a change from the present system of solitary confinement-but arc still better satisfied of 
its efficiency as a mode of punishment, and belter calculated to produce reformation than 
one more social."