I. They should be men of unquestioned _probity_. There is scarcely any public office which an ill-disposed incumbent may not prostitute to base or selfish purposes, if he is so disposed; and in the distribution of patronage, the execution of contracts and the furnishing of supplies, it would not be difficult for a prison Inspector to overstep at least the bounds of propriety. There have been not a few cases in which the official demeanor of such bodies or of individual members of them, has been made the subject of public investigation to the great discredit of those concerned, and to the manifest depravation of public morals. To put a man into such an office, whose character and standing are open to reproach, or even reasonable suspicion, is a gross dereliction of duty, and ought to subject the appointing power to severe animadversion. It should moreover be a provision in every law touching the appointment and duties of Inspectors, that they shall not be directly or indirectly concerned or interested in any contract or negotiation connected with the prison, from which any emolument can be derived; and the use of their official position for the purposes of self-aggrandizement or other sinister end, should be punished with exemplary severity. II. Prison Inspectors should be _intelligent_ men. Not only should they be well-informed upon matters more immediately connected with their official duty, but they should have some general knowledge of the various methods of managing penal institutions. There are radical differences in the theories which prevail on this subject and in the systems founded on them. It would be very difficult for the Inspectors of a separate prison, for example, to administer its affairs discreetly and efficiently, if they were not familiar with the points in which it differs from all other prisons, with the dangers and deficiencies which have been ascribed to it, and with the methods of obviating these dangers and supplying these deficiencies, if they really appear. In the selection and distribution of occupations, and in adapting them to the habits, constitution and capacity of convicts, as well as in making the pursuit of these conducive at once to the welfare of the prisoner and to the legitimate ends of punishment, good judgment is required. The warden and other officers of the institution should see enough in their intercourse with the Inspectors to command their respect and confidence. True it is that in the minor details of prison economy, the warden and heads of departments may have most knowledge and tact, but in a comprehensive view of the principles of the institution, and of the most eligible methods of bringing them into efficient and harmonious development from day to day, the Inspectors should take the lead. The proper discipline of a prison population of three or four hundred men, combining employment, instruction, encouragement, subordination, economy, moral influence, and physical