The Chronicles of Newgate, vol. 2/2Griffiths, Arthur
History
The Chronicles of Newgate, vol. 2/2
Griffiths, Arthur
Criminals -- Great Britain; Newgate (Prison : London, England); Prisons -- England; Punishment -- Great Britain
It is consoling to find that while officials slumbered, private
philanthropy was active, and had been in some cases for years. Various
societies and institutions had been set on foot to assist and often
replace public justice in dealing with criminals. The Marine Society
grew out of a subscription started by Justices Fielding and Welch, in
1756, for the purpose of clothing vagrant and friendless lads and
sending them on board the fleet. The Philanthropic Society had been
established in 1789 by certain benevolent persons, to supply a home for
destitute boys and girls, and this admirable institution steadily grew
and prospered. In 1794 it moved to larger premises, and in 1817 it had
an income of £6000 a year, partly from subscriptions and legacies,
partly from the profit on labour executed by its inmates.[54] In 1816
another body of well-meaning people, moved by the "alarming increase of
juvenile delinquency in the metropolis," formed a society to investigate
its causes, inquire into the individual cases of boys actually under
sentence, and afford such relief upon release as might appear deserved
or likely to prevent a relapse into crime. The members of this society
drew up a list containing seven hundred names of the friends and
associates of boys in Newgate, all of whom they visited and sought to
reform. They went further, and seriously discussed the propriety of
establishing a special penitentiary for juveniles, a scheme which was
never completely carried out. Another institution was the Refuge for the
Destitute, which took in boys and girls on their discharge from prison,
to teach them trades and give them a fair start in life. There were also
the Magdalen Hospital and the Female Penitentiary, both of which did
good work amongst depraved women.
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