mere dungeons, being in the basement, and so dark as to require a lamp in visiting them. They were not warmed at any season of the year, and a prisoner’s feet were actually frozen during the confinement. In damp weather the water stood in drops on the walls, &c. He then adds: “From experiments of this character no just conclusions can therefore be derived, unfriendly to solitary imprisonment of any kind, especially when accompanied by employment, in large and well-ventilated cells, the arrangements of which have reference to the preservation of the health, regular employment, and the improvement of the mind of the offender.” We are aware that the disastrous results of the treatment of the prisoners, as set forth in these extracts, was not wholly owing to their being deprived of labor, but it is evident from the manner in which the subject is treated by the author, that the evil was greatly aggravated by this circumstance. We here see, however, what monstrous cruelty has been practised in the name of the “Separate System,” and these deplorable but inevitable results were immediately seized by its opponents and spread abroad through the length and breadth of the land, both in Europe and America, as conclusive evidence, that these evil consequences were necessarily inherent in, and a part of the system itself. The consequence was, that many philanthropic and well meaning persons beyond the limits of Pennsylvania, became prejudiced against it to that degree, that there was no opening in their minds to hear the truth, and on merely _naming_ the system to them they would almost turn from you in disgust. This prejudice is largely operative to the present time, and the much to be regretted result has been that this system, truly humane as it is, when properly carried out (of which the Eastern State Penitentiary of Pennsylvania may be taken as a practical illustration), and superior, as we believe, to all others, has not made one tithe the progress in the world which we feel assured it would have done if its true character had been understood. _The “Separate” and the “Silent” Systems compared._--It may be thought that we have dwelt long enough on this branch of the subject; but as its discussion has in some measure brought into view our particular prison system, that of the entire separation of the prisoners from each other, day and night, during the whole term of their confinement, and by inference, if not directly, contrasted it with the “Auburn” or “Silent” System, where they are separated only at night and at their meals, but at other times are congregated in their workshops, &c., under a peremptory rule of silence. We avail ourselves of the opportunity to introduce two or three short paragraphs from high authority, with a view to assisting those who may read this report beyond the limits of our Society, in arriving at a correct understanding of the important question at issue.