USA > Pennsylvania > The Register of Pennsylvania : devoted to the preservation of facts and documents and every other kind of useful information respecting the state of Pennsylvania, Vol. III > Part 78
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107 | Part 108 | Part 109 | Part 110 | Part 111 | Part 112 | Part 113 | Part 114 | Part 115 | Part 116
PERJURY.
Every person convicted of perjury or subornation of perjury, or of wilfully and corruptly making a false oath at any general or special election under the provisions of the several acts regulating the general elections within this commonwealth, or of suborning any other person to make such false oath or affirmation, or of having know- ingly published, uttered, or made use of any forged or false receipt or certificate, with intent to impose the same upon or deceive any judge or inspector, at any election, shall be sentenced to undergo a similar con- finement; for the first offence, for a period not less than one year nor more than five years; and for the second offence, for a period not exceeding eight years-and be treated as is herein before provided in the first clause of this section.
SECT. 5. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That every other felony or misdemeanor, or offence whatsoever, not specially provided for by this act, may and shall be punished as heretofore.
SECT. 6. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, 'That all definitions and descriptions of crimes, all fines, forfeitures, penalties, and incapacities, the res- titution of property, or the payment of the value there- of, and every other matter not particularly mentioned in this act, be and the same shall remain as heretofore.
SECT. 7. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That the penitentiaries aforesaid, shall be res- pectively managed by a board of inspectors consisting of five taxable citizens of Pennsylvania, who shall be ap- pointed as follows: The judges of the supreme court of the state, shall at the first term of any supreme court, which shall be held in any of the districts of the state, af- ter the passage of this act, appoint five taxable citizens residing in the city of Pittsburg or county of Allegheny, who shall be inspectors of the western state penitentia-
282
NEW PENAL CODE.
[MAY
ry, to serve for two years; and five taxable citizens re- siding in the city or county of Philadelphia, who shall he inspectors of the eastern state penitentiary, to serve for two years, and until their successors shall be appoin- ted; and in case of any vacancy occasioned by death, resignation, refusal to serve, or otherwise, the same shall be supplied by the said judges as soon as conve- niently may be.
SECT. 8. And be it further enacted by the authority uforesaid, That the following rules and regulations for the better ordering and government of said penitentia- ries, shall be and continue in force until altered by the legislature or in the manner hereinafter stated.
ARTICLE I.
Of the Inspectors and their Duties.
They shall at their first meeting, and annually there- after, appoint out of their number a president, secreta- ry, and treasurer, and keep regular minutes of their proceedings. They shall hold stated meetings once a month, and adjourned and special meetings whenever necessary. The treasurer shall give bond with suffi- cient surety in such amount as the inspectors may fix and determine, and shall receive and disburse all moneys belonging to the prison according to the order of the board. They shall semi-annually appoint. a warden, a physician, and clerk, for the institution, and shall fix their salaries, as well as those of the under keepers or overseers, and the persons employed about the pris- on. They shall serve withont any pecuniary compen- sation, and shall be exempted from military duty, from serving on juries and arbitrations, or as guardians of the poor. They shall visit the penitentiary at least twice in every week, to see that the duties of the several officers and attendants are performed; to prevent all oppression, peculation, or other abuse or mismangement of the said institutions. They shall have power if they on confer- ence find it necessary, to make such rules for the internal government of said prison as may not be inconsistent with the principles of solitary confinement, as set forth and declared by this act.
They shall attend to the religious instruction of the prisoners, and procure suitable persons for this object, who, shall be the religious instructors of the prisoners Provided Their services shall be gratuituous.
They shall direct the manner in which all raw mate- rials to be manufactured by the convicts in said prisons and the provisions and other supplies for the prisons shall be purchased, and also the sale of all articles man- ufactured in said prisons.
'They shall cause accurate accounts to be kept by the clerk of all expenditures and receipts in the penitenti- aries, which accounts respectively shall be annually examined and settled by the auditors of the county of Allegheny and of the county of Philadelphia.
They shall on or before the first day of January in ev- ery year make a report in writing to the legislature, of the state of the penitentiaries.
The report shall contain, the number of prisoners in confinement, their age, sex, place of nativity, time of commitment, term of imprisonment during the preced- ing year; noticing also those who may have escaped or died or who were pardoned or discharged-designating the offence for which the commitment was made and whether for a first or a repeated offence and when and in what court or by whose order, and in such return the inspectors shall make such observations as to the effici- ency of the system of solitary confinement as may be the result of their experience and give such information as they may deem expedient for making the said insti- tution effectual in the punishment and reformation of offenders.
They shall have power to examine any person upon oath or affirmation relative to any abuse in said places of confinement, or matter within the purview of their duties, they shall direct in what manner the rations for subsistence of the prisoners shall be composed in con
formity with the general directions on that subject here- inafter continued.
The inspectors in their weekly visits to the several places of confinement shall speak to each person con- fined therein, out of the presence of any of the persons employed therein, shall listen to any complaints that may be made of oppression, or ill conduct of the per- sons so employed, examine into the truth thereof, and proceed therein when the complaint is well founded, and on such visits they shall have the calender of the prisoners furnished to them by the warden, and see by actual inspection whether all the prisoners named in the said calender are found in the said prison, in the situa tion in which, by the said calender they are declared to be.
A majority of the said inspectors shall constitute a board, and may do any of the acts required of the said inspectors; two of the inspectors shall be a quorum for the weekly visitations hereby directed to be made.
The warden shall not, nor shall any inspector with- out the direction of a majority of the inspectors, sell any article for the use of the said penitentiaries, or eith- er of them, or of the persons confined therein, during their confinement, nor derive any emolument from such purchase or sale, nor shall he, or they, or either of them receive under any pretence whatever from either of the said prisoners, or any one in his behalf any sum of mo- ney, emolument, or reward whatever, or any article of value as a gratuity or gift under the penalty of five hun- dred dollars fine to be recovered in the name of the commonwealth by an action of debt in any court of re- cord thereof, having jurisdiction of sums of that amount.
ARTICLE II. Of the Duties of the Warden.
The warden shall reside in the penitentiary, he shall visit every cell and apartment, and see every prisoner under his care at least once in every day, he shall keep a journal in which shall be regularly entered the recep- tion, discharge, death, pardon or escape of any prisoner and also the complaints that are made, and the punish- ments that are inflicted for the breach of prison dici- pline as they occur; the visits of the inspectors and the physician and all other occurrences of note that con- cern the state of the prison except the receipts and ex- penditures, the accounts of which are to be kept in the manner hereinafter directed.
The warden shall appoint the under keepers who shall be called overseers, and all necessary servants and dismiss them whenever he thinks proper or the board of inspectors direct him so to do.
Hle shall report all infractions of the rules to the in- spectors, and with the approbation of one of them may punish the offender in such manner as shall be direct- ed in the rules to be enacted by the inspectors concern- ing the treatment of prisoners.
He shall not absent himself from the penitentiary for a night without permission in writing from two of the inspectors.
Ile shall not be present when the inspectors make their stated visits to the prisoners under his care, unless thereto required by the inspectors.
ARTICLE III.
Of the Duty of the Overseers.
It shall be the duty of the overseers to inspect the condition of each prisoner at least three times every day-to see that his meals are regularly delivered ac- cording to the prison allowance, and to superintend the work of the prisoners.
They shall give immediate notice to the warden or physician whenever any convict shall complain of such illness as to require medical aid.
Each overseer shall have a certain number of prison- crs assigned to his care.
He shall make a daily report to the warden of the health and conduct of the prisoners, and a like report to the inspectors when required.
1829.]
NEW PENAL CODE.
283
No overseer shall be present when the warden or the inspectors visit the prisoners under his particular care, unless thereto required by the warden or inspec- tors. .
The overseer shall obey all legal orders given by the warden, and all rules established by the board of inspec- tors for the government of the prison.
All orders to the overseers must be given through or by the warden.
The overseers shall not be absent themselves from the prison without permission from the warden.
No overseer shall receive from any one confined in the penitentiary, or from any one in behalf of such pris- oner, any emolument or reward whatever or the pro- mise of any, either for services or supplies, or as a gratuity under the penalty of 100 dollars and imprisonment for 30 days in the county jail, and when any breach of this article shall come to the knowledge of the warden or inspectors, the overseer or overseers. so offending shall be immediately discharged from his office and prosccut- ed for the said offence according to law.
No overseer who shall have been discharged, for any offence whatever shall again be employed ..
ARTICLE IV. Of the Duties of the Physician.
The physician shall visit every prisoner in the prison twice in every week and oftener if the state of their health require it, and shall report once in every month to the inspectors.
He shall attend immediately on notice from the war- den that any person is sick.
He shall examine every prisoner that shall be brought into the penitentiary before he shall be confined in his cell.
Whenever, in the opinion of the physician, any con- vict in the penitentiary is so ill as to require removal the warden shall direct such removal to the infirmary of the institution; and the prisoner shall be kept in the infirma- ry. until the physician shall certify that he may be re- moved without injury to his health, and he shall then be removed to his cell.
He shall visit the patients in the infirmary, at least once in every day and he shall give such directions for the health and cleanliness.of the prisoners, and when necessary, as to the alteration of their diet, as he may deem expedient, which the warden shall have execut- ed, Provided they shall not be contrary to the provisions of the law, or inconsistent with the safe custody of the said prisoners, and the directions he may give, whether complied with or not shall be entered on the journal of the warden and on his own.
The physician shall inquire into the mental, as well as the bodily, state of every prisoner, and when we shall have reason to believe that the mind or body is materially affected by the dicipline, treatment, or diet, he shall in- form the warden thereof, and shall enter his observa- tion on the journal hereinafter directed to be kept, which shall be an authority for the warden for altering the dis- cipline, treatment, or diet, of any prisoner until the next meeting of the inspectors who shall inquire into the case and make orders accordingly.
The physician shall keep a journal in which, opposite to the name of each prisoner, shall be entered the state of his health; and if sick, whether in the infirmary or not, together with such remarks as he may deem im- portant, which journal shall be open to the inspection of the warden, and the inspectors, and the same togeth- er with the return, provided for in the first article of this section, shall be laid before the inspectors once in every month, or oftener if called for.
The prisoners under the care of the physician, shall be allowed such diet as he shall direct.
No prisoner shall be discharged while labouring un- der a dangerous disease, although entitled to his dis- charge, unless by his own desire.
The infirmary shall have a suitable partition between every bed, and no two patients shall occupy the same
bed, and the physician andihis attendants shall take ev- ery precaution, in their power, to prevent all inter- course between the convicts while in the infirmary.
ARTICLE V.
Of the treatment of the prisoners in the Penitentiary.
Of the reception of the Convicts .- Every convict sen- tenced to imprisonment in the penitentiary, shall imme- diately after the sentence shall have been finally pro- nounced, be conveyed by the sheriff of the county in which he was condemned, to the penitentiary.
On the arrival of a convict, immediate notice shall be given to the physician, who shall examine the state of his or her health, he or she shall then be stripped of his or her clothes, and clothed in the uniform of the prison, in the manner hereinafter provided, being first bathed and cleansed.
He or she shall then be examined by the clerk and the .warden, in the presence of as many of the overseers as can conveniently attend, in order to their becoming acquainted with his or her person, and countenance, and his or her name, height, apparent and alleged age, place of nativity, trade, complexion, colour of hair and eyes, and length of his or her feet, to be acurately meas- ured; shall be entered in a book provided for that pur- pose, together with such other natural, or accidental marks, or peculiarity of feature, or appearance as may serve to indentify him or her; and if the convict can write, his or her signature shall be written under, the said description of his or her person.
All the effects of the person of the convict, as well as his or her clothes shall be taken from him or her, and specially mentioned, and preserved under the care of the warden, to be restored to him or her on his or her discharge.
If the convict is not in such ill health, as to require being sent to the infirmary he or she shall then be con- ducted to the cell asigned to him or her, numerically designated,bywhich he or she shall thereafter be known, during his or her confinement.
ARTICLE VI. Of the Clothing and Diet of the. Convicts.
The uniform of the prison for males, shall be a jack- et and trowsers of cloth, or other warm stuff for the winter, and lighter materials for the summer; the form and colour shall be determined by the inspectors, and two changes of linen shall be furnished to each prison- er every week.
No prisoner is to receive any thing but the prison al- lowance.
No tobacco, in any form shall be used by the convicts, and any one who shall supply them with it, or with wine, or spirituous, or intoxicating fermented liquor, unless by order of the physician, shall be fined ten dollars -- and if an officer be dismissed.
ARTICLE VII. Of Visitors.
No person who is not an official visitor of the prisons, or who has not a written permission, according to such rules as the inspector may adopt, as aforesaid, shall be allowed to visit the same; the official visitors are the Governor, speaker and members of the Senate, the speaker and members of the House of Representatives, the Secretary of the commonwealth, the judges of the supreme court, the attorney general and his deputies, the president and associate judges of all the courts in the state, the Mayor and Recorder of the cities of Phil- adelphia, Lancaster and Pittsburg, commissioners and sheriff's of the several counties,and the acting committee of the Philadelphia Society for the alleviation of the miseries of public prisons.
None but the official visitors can have any communi- cation with the convicts, nor shall any visitor whatever be permitted to deliver to, or to receive from any of the convicts any letter, or message whatever, or to supply them with any article of any kind, under the penalty of one hundred dollars fine, to be recovered as herein- before provided for other fines imposed by this act.
284
IMPORTANT LEGAL DECISION.
Any visitor who shall discover any abuse, infraction of law, or oppression shall immediately make the same known to the board of inspectors of the common wealth, if the inspectors or either of them are implicated.
ARTICLE VIII.
Of the discharge of the convicts.
When any convict shall be discharged by the expi- ration of the term for which he or she was condemned, or by pardon, he or she shall take off the prison uni- form, and have the clothes which he or she brought to the prison, restored to him or her, together with the other property, if any, that was taken from him or her on his or her commitment, that has not been otherwise dis- posed of.
When a prisoner is to be discharged, it shall be the duty of the warden to obtain from him or her as far as is practicable, his or her former history, what means of literary, moral, or religious instruction he or she enjoy- ed, what early temptations to crime by wicked associa- tions, or otherwise he or she was exposed to, his or her general habits, predominant passions, and prevailing vices, and in what part of the country he or she purpo- ses to fix his or her residence, all which shall be enter- ed by the clerk in a book to be kept for that purpose, together with his or her name age and time of dis- charge.
If the inspectors and wardens have been satisfied with the morality, industry, and order, of his or her con- duct they shall give him or her a certificate to that ef- fect, and shall furnish the discharged convict with four dollars, to be paid by the state, whereby the temptation immediately to commit offences against society before employment can be obtained, may be obviated.
ARTICLE IX.
Duties of the religious instructor.
It shall be the duty of the instructor to attend to the moral and religious instruction of the convicts, in such manner as to make their confinement as far as possible the means of their reformation, so that when restored to their liberty, they may prove honest, industrious and useful, members of society, and the inspectors and offi- cers are enjoined to give every facility to the instructor in such measures as he may think necessary to produce so desirable a result, not inconsistent with the rules and discipline of the prison.
SECT. 9. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That the expenses of maintaining and keep- ing the convicts in the said eastern and western peni- tentiaries shall be borne by the respective counties in which they shall be convicted, and the said expenses shall be paid to the said inspectors, by orders to be drawn by them on the treasurers of the said counties, who shall accept and pay the same, Provided, That the said orders shall not be presented to the said treasurers before the first Monday of May in each and every year. And provided also, That the said inspectors shall annual- ly on or before the first Monday of February, transmit by the public mail to the commissioners of such of the counties as may have become indebted for convicts con- fined in said penitentiaries; an account of the expense of keeping and maintaining said convicts, which account shall be signed by the said inspectors, and be sworn or affirmed to by them and attested by the clerk, and it shall be the duty of the said commissioners immediately on receipt of said accounts to give notice to the trea- surers of their respective counties of the amount of said accounts, with instructions to collect and retain monies for the payment of said orders when presented; and all salaries of the officers of the said penitentiaries shall be paid by the state, and it shall be the duty of the in- spectors to transmit to the auditor general the names of the persons by them appointed, and the salaries agreed to be paid to each of them under the provisions of this act, which sums shall be paid in the usual manner by
warrants drawn by the governor upon the treasurer of the commonwealth.
SECT. 10. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That the several acts of assembly of this commonwealth, and such parts thereof, so far as the same are altered or supplied by this act, be, and the same are hereby repealed from and after the first day of July next. Provided: That the repeal thereof shall in no wise affect any indictment, trial, sentence or pun- ishment of any of the said herein mentioned crimes or offences which have been, or shall be committed before this act shall come into operation.
SECT. 11. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That the governor be and he is hereby au- thorised and required to issue his warrant to the state treasurer in favour of the inspectors of the western pen- itentiary for the sum of three thousand dollars, to be ap- plied by said inspectors to such alteration of the interior of said penitentiary as in their opinion will best adapt the same to the provisions of this act.
SECT. 12. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That for the purpose of finishing the eastern penitentiary, introducing a supply of water from Fair Mt. water works, procuring the necessary furniture & fix- tures for the accommodation and reception of the prison- ers, the sum of five thousand dollars be and it is hereby appropriated for the said purposes, and the commission- ers appointed to superintend the erection of the state penitentiary for the eastern district of Pennsylvania are directed to carry the same into effect, and to draw the sum hereby authorised from the state treasury in the same manner as is by law provided.
SECT. 13. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That the board of inspectors of the eastern penitentiary, who shall be appointed as is herein before provided, be and they hereby are authorised to draw from the state treasury, upon warrants drawn in the usu- al manner, any sums of money which shall not together amount to more than one thousand dollars, to enable said inspectors to support and employ the prisoners who may be committed to said penitentiary, until so much of such sums of money as may become payable by the several counties, from which convicts may be re- moved to said prisons, shall be received by said board, as will enable them to manage the affairs of said prisons without such aid; which sums so advanced by the state shall be re-paid to the state treasurer by the said board, as soon as the funds of said prisons will enable said, board to make such re-payment.
IMPORTANT LEGAL DECISION.
Cope and others, trading under IN ERROR. Supreme Court.
the firm of Thomas P. Cope & Sons, v. Raphael de Cordova.
Philadelphia, March 27, 1829.
This was a writ of error to the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia county, where the defendant in error, who was plaintiff below, had obtained judgment for fifty-nine dollars and forty-four cents upon the fol- lowing case stated:
"The ship Lancaster, from Liverpool,- owned by the defendants, was entered at the Custom House at Phila- delphia, on the 27th June, 1824, and commenced un- loading on the 21st of the same month. The plaintiff was consignee of ten crates of Liverpool ware, part of the cargo of said vessel, (pro ut bill of lading.) All these crates were received by the plaintiff except one, which was known and designated as No. 28. For the value of this crate, which the plaintiff never received, this action is brought.
The ten crates, consigned as above to the plaintiff, were entered by him at the Custom House. As soon as the vessel was ready to unload, the plaintiff sent a por- ter to receive them, with a permit, and a list of the arti- cles as specified in his invoice, and an authority to re- . ceive them and carry them to his store. The porter
1829.
IMPORTANT LEGAL DECISION.
285
delivered the permit to the inspector on board the ship, and asked for plaintiff's crates. On the 22d June, one or more crates mentioned in his list were received by the plaintiff, and one or more on the two following days. The porter did not attend on the wharf during the whole of those days, but called repeatedly each day, and removed them away as received. No. 28 was land- ed on inquiry of the inspector for these crates, and took the wharf on the 23d of June, but was not received by the plaintiff or his porter, and it is unknown to the par- ties what became of it.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.