We have taken special pains to provide good soul-stirring and soul-cheering music; and our highly esteemed Agent, Mr. Morris, has, from the first of his connection with the Prison, given his support to these services by his presence with us, and by taking part in the exercises as a member of the choir, and the presentation, from Sabbath to Sabbath, either some appropriate thoughts of his own, or selections from others which he has deemed appropriate and well-timed; and I feel very grateful to him for the support he has afforded me in my feeble efforts to make our Sabbath services both interesting and profitable. Our respected deputy, Mr. Martin, has been at his post every Sabbath, when at home, and has rendered efficient aid in maintaining good order throughout, for which he is deserving and has my hearty thanks, and so do the keepers, whose duty it is to be present at these services, to watch while the Chaplain prays. They are each entitled to credit for their fidelity, and the moral support their presence and attention have afforded your humble servant in these important and yet delightful services of the Sabbath day. They have my hearty thanks, and I pray that God will bless them. Shortly after Mr. Morris entered upon his duties as Agent, I suggested a plan by which the female convicts, together with the Matron, could attend our morning service, which met his approval, and the experiment was tried; and proved so satisfactory that the plan has been continued, and will be as long as it works as well as it has thus far. Our library has been supplied with an addition of 336 new volumes of books, of various sizes, at a cost of $380.26. These, added to the purchases of the last year, put our library in better condition than it has been before at any time of my connection with the Prison. Still, such is the rapidity with which our books go to pieces in the hands of so many men, that it seems next to impossible to keep it in as good condition as seems necessary to meet the demand for good reading. But we are doing the very best we can with the means at our command. Our supply of bibles for the Prison, in number, is equal to the demand, but many of them are becoming so badly worn and mutilated that a new supply of from 75 to 100 will be needed the coming year. In my last report I told you that a book had been purchased and placed in the hands of our Hall-master, for the purpose of gathering some interesting items in the history of each convict entering upon a term of service in our State Prison. From the time this book was procured, on July 2d, 1870, the record required has been as fully made as it was possible to obtain the desired information from the lips of the parties interested, by Mr. David Lane, our faithful and efficient Hallkeeper; and from this record I have been enabled to gather the items found in the following table, which of course includes only those who have been received since the date referred to, the whole number received being 367: Number of Convicts born in each State and Country. Delaware New Jersey. Tennessee.. North Carolina......... Maine Kentucky. Indiana.... Connecticut.. Vermont.. District of Columbia... Virginia... Marylnd Wisconsin.. Rhode Island.. Missouri Massachusetts. Illinois.... Michigan... Pennsylvania Ohio.... New York.... Number who have had an academic or college education. 1 1 1 4 6 5 3 5 2 3 1 9 6 49 14 31 93 2 286 27 43 80 76 54 192 155 Balance were non-committal. I should be glad to be able to furnish a similar table as regards all the rest who are now confined, or have been during the year, but the same difficulty I found in the way of such a report one year ago, I still encounter in the present case, and therefore will not attempt the task, and trust you will excuse me from making the effort, hoping that, by the system we have adopted, the time will soon come when this portion of the history of each convict confined within our Prison can be fully known; and such inference drawn from such statement of facts as may be made serviceable to the State in some form. I should also state that we have purchased 18 singing books, at a cost of $13.50, and 12 note books, at a cost of $15.00, which comes from the library fund, making the sum total of $408.76 paid for books during the fiscal year. In conclusion, gentlemen, I thank you for your kindness to me, and hope to prove myself worthy of your confidence, and never give you occasion to regret your action in appointing me to this responsible position. In reviewing my past year's labor, I can see much that I ought to have done, that I have failed to perform, but learning wisdom from the past, I am resolved to try to do better in the future, and if my life is spared for the year to come, I will try to do more for the reformation and salvation of these unfortunate ones than I have ever done before. Respectfully submitted. R. C. CRAWFORD, Chaplain State Prison. MATRON'S REPORT. To the Board of Inspectors of the State Prison: GENTLEMEN-I have the honor to submit the following Report for the year ending September 30, 1871: Whole number in Prison.. 8 0 8 0 0 8 Pardoned.. Escaped.. Leaving in Prison September 30, 1871. Number of days spent in Prison (except Sundays)... 1,936 |