We presume the prevailing sentiments of this passage, will meet a hearty response from all our readers. We are in no danger of attributing too much efficacy to the power of the truth over the mind when it has access to it. It may be questioned, however, whether its influence is not greatly hindered, and sometimes completely obstructed, by the debasing vices of convicts. We are not quite prepared to admit, that the lower the human mind sinks, the more commanding is the influence upon it of Christian doctrine and Christian character, though we would regard no case as beyond the reach of such an influence. “The _combination_ of pious Christian zeal with good judgment and a knowledge of human nature, in the head of any prison establishment, we are convinced is more likely to lead to the reformation of its inmates, than any _system_ of discipline _without it_. It has the blessing of God, “without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy, nothing is perfect.” But, whatever may be thought of the influence of separate confinement, as _a means of reformation_, there should be no doubt about its utility as a punishment, if not carried to an extreme. It is a most severe one, certainly; but this is not without great advantages, even in an economical point of view; for in proportion as it is severe, the sentence may be abridged, and its heaviest pressure is upon those who deserve it most. Criminals, of all men, can least bear to be alone. A thoroughly bad man, by himself, is the greatest coward, and without his accustomed stimulants, the most wretched of beings; we have no hesitation, therefore, in stating, that such a man would prefer even the scanty food, the vermin and the sloth of such a place as Newgate, where he might gamble for his supper, learn new tricks or instruct the novice, sing, play, and quarrel by turns in the night-room, than the very best treatment and the most abundant diet of a prison on the new plan. The _reformatory character_ of such a gaol is, to such persons, an object of real terror. A visiting justice of the gaol of Reading, stated before Lord Brougham’s Committee (p. 478-9,) that full 50 per cent of the vagrant class had actually fled out of Berkshire, lest they might be immured in so horrible a place. It is however, an expensive plan for the treatment of criminals; its _individuality_ and severe pressure creating a necessity for better occupation of the mind and body, a more liberal diet and a greater number of teachers than where prisoners are associated.”