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Article REVIEWS OF NEW BOOKS. Page 1 of 2 →
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Reviews Of New Books.
KEVIEWS OF NEW BOOKS .
[ Publishers are requested to send works for review addressed to the Editor of the Freemasons'' Magazine , 74 .-5 , Gre ^ i Qu een - street , Lincoln ' s-Inn-fields . ] " The Purgatory of Prisoners ; or , An Intermediate Stage between the Prison and the Publicrleing some account of ike practical working of the neio ^ ystem of Penal Reformation introduced ly the Board of Directors of Convict Prisons im Irelcmd , " by the Rev . Orby Shipley , M . A ., Deacon in the Diocese of Oxford . London Joseph Masters ; Oxford : J . H . and J . Parker , —However cleverly the author
may argue in favour of the extraordinary title which he has chosen for his work ; and although we will not " attribute to the writer any design to use the title in a vain , trifling , frivolous , scoffing , or irreligious spirit , " yet we must be permitted to say that , in our judgment , it has been unhappj ly chosen . Surely , possessing the powers of imagination and composition which are evident in no common degree throughout the work , the writer might have conceived a happier , more expressive , more appropriate title . However , he has chosen it ,
and there ends the matter . Tnat the question of the reformation of criminals during the process of their punishment , is one demanding the highest consideration of the Christian philanthropist , and one in which the nation at large is in the profoundest degree concerned , does not admit of a moments doubt . I he modus operandi is the difficulty . On this weighty matter so much has been said and written , and so many schemes have been tried—or rather so many alterations have been made in a variety of ways in the schemes which ? have of late years
obtained- —that we have been at times fearful ( to use a homely phrase ) of ' too many cooks spoiling the broth . " We have not space to enter into a digest of the schemes which have been in operation for criminal reformation . Be it enough to say that the system as at present adopted in Ireland is explained by the warmhearted writer to work remarkably well ; and that it has secured the great interest and anxiety , support and sympathy , of the late and the present lord-lieutenants of that country . The adaptability of this system to England , seems to have
occupied a very large share of the writer ' s attention ; and he evinces vast zeal in prosecuting his belief . Without , therefore , entering into the details ofthe working of the system referred to , we may , in a few words , state some of its results . It appears that the system has been adopted in Irish prisons for some twenty months ; and that during this time between 1 , 300 and 1 , 400 criminals have been brought under its influence . Of this number upwards of 1 , 000 have passed
through the prescribed course of discipline , and the remainder are still under probation . Of the 1 , 000 , upwards of 500 prisoners have received absolute discharge , and between 500 and 600 have received " tickets of licence ; " and of the latter , under the strictest supervision , under the most stringent rules , and for the slightest breaches of privileges , only , in round numbers , three per cent , have caused their licence to be revoked . We are decidedly inclined to agree with the writer , that such results amount to what may , with great truth and fairness ., be
called real success . He is much to be praised for the zealous and earnest manner in which he advocates the principles of the system , and their extension . There is breathed throughout the pages of this capital pamphlet a tone of high Christian feeling , and of marked and honest sincerity , which renders it exceedingly gratifying to peruse . There is no unseemly straining , no painful labouring , in the effort to call the attention of the public to this weighty and most important subject .
But , on tho contrary , with a warmth quite cheering , and , withal , a smoothness quite refreshing , the reverend writer pursues his " labour of love' * from beginning to end ; and we repeat , that such an excellent work , designed to explain and uphold the system of " purification [ of prisoners ] in intermediate establishments , between the prison and the public , " would have been more welcome , and would have been more readily taken up , with a more appropriate title . Notwithstanding this title , our recommendation is—read the work , and you will not regret the time so spent *
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Reviews Of New Books.
KEVIEWS OF NEW BOOKS .
[ Publishers are requested to send works for review addressed to the Editor of the Freemasons'' Magazine , 74 .-5 , Gre ^ i Qu een - street , Lincoln ' s-Inn-fields . ] " The Purgatory of Prisoners ; or , An Intermediate Stage between the Prison and the Publicrleing some account of ike practical working of the neio ^ ystem of Penal Reformation introduced ly the Board of Directors of Convict Prisons im Irelcmd , " by the Rev . Orby Shipley , M . A ., Deacon in the Diocese of Oxford . London Joseph Masters ; Oxford : J . H . and J . Parker , —However cleverly the author
may argue in favour of the extraordinary title which he has chosen for his work ; and although we will not " attribute to the writer any design to use the title in a vain , trifling , frivolous , scoffing , or irreligious spirit , " yet we must be permitted to say that , in our judgment , it has been unhappj ly chosen . Surely , possessing the powers of imagination and composition which are evident in no common degree throughout the work , the writer might have conceived a happier , more expressive , more appropriate title . However , he has chosen it ,
and there ends the matter . Tnat the question of the reformation of criminals during the process of their punishment , is one demanding the highest consideration of the Christian philanthropist , and one in which the nation at large is in the profoundest degree concerned , does not admit of a moments doubt . I he modus operandi is the difficulty . On this weighty matter so much has been said and written , and so many schemes have been tried—or rather so many alterations have been made in a variety of ways in the schemes which ? have of late years
obtained- —that we have been at times fearful ( to use a homely phrase ) of ' too many cooks spoiling the broth . " We have not space to enter into a digest of the schemes which have been in operation for criminal reformation . Be it enough to say that the system as at present adopted in Ireland is explained by the warmhearted writer to work remarkably well ; and that it has secured the great interest and anxiety , support and sympathy , of the late and the present lord-lieutenants of that country . The adaptability of this system to England , seems to have
occupied a very large share of the writer ' s attention ; and he evinces vast zeal in prosecuting his belief . Without , therefore , entering into the details ofthe working of the system referred to , we may , in a few words , state some of its results . It appears that the system has been adopted in Irish prisons for some twenty months ; and that during this time between 1 , 300 and 1 , 400 criminals have been brought under its influence . Of this number upwards of 1 , 000 have passed
through the prescribed course of discipline , and the remainder are still under probation . Of the 1 , 000 , upwards of 500 prisoners have received absolute discharge , and between 500 and 600 have received " tickets of licence ; " and of the latter , under the strictest supervision , under the most stringent rules , and for the slightest breaches of privileges , only , in round numbers , three per cent , have caused their licence to be revoked . We are decidedly inclined to agree with the writer , that such results amount to what may , with great truth and fairness ., be
called real success . He is much to be praised for the zealous and earnest manner in which he advocates the principles of the system , and their extension . There is breathed throughout the pages of this capital pamphlet a tone of high Christian feeling , and of marked and honest sincerity , which renders it exceedingly gratifying to peruse . There is no unseemly straining , no painful labouring , in the effort to call the attention of the public to this weighty and most important subject .
But , on tho contrary , with a warmth quite cheering , and , withal , a smoothness quite refreshing , the reverend writer pursues his " labour of love' * from beginning to end ; and we repeat , that such an excellent work , designed to explain and uphold the system of " purification [ of prisoners ] in intermediate establishments , between the prison and the public , " would have been more welcome , and would have been more readily taken up , with a more appropriate title . Notwithstanding this title , our recommendation is—read the work , and you will not regret the time so spent *