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66

Philadelphia County, Dec. 26, 1798.”

"N. B. Previous to the election, two citizens are to be chosen, to preside as judges of said election."

CATHARINE FRITZ kept a little dirty grog-shop in the skirts of the city; and FREDERICK WOLBERT, who signs this notice, was a 'Squire, which after what I have already said of American 'Squires, is sufficiently descriptive of his character.

These circumstances will enable the reader to judge of the description of voters, who would be assembled at this election, and also of the rank and character of the man, whom they would be likely to fix on as their Lieutenant Colonel. But, lest there should be any doubt as to this last point, I have a Colonel ready to exhibit.

The reader has seen that I had the honour to be "enrolled in the 7th company of the 2d regiment "of the militia of the city of Philadelphia." My Colonel was the taylor of my clerk, at whose recommendation he was promoted to be my taylor also. As he kept no journeyman, he came to measure me himself, upon which occasion I gave him a note, of which the following is a copy, and which he did not think it at all beneath him to carry open in his hand to my draper.

66 SIR,

"To Mr. WAGNER.

"Please to let my Taylor, COLONEL SCOTT, have 2 yards of blue cloth, 1 yard of Kerseymeer for breeches, and 1 yard for waistcoat, with

as

as many buttons as he may want for the coat, and send a bill of the same to your

"Philadelphia, 15th June, 1798."

"Most humble,

"And obedient servant,

"WM. COBBETT."

I must, however, do poor Scott the justice to observe, that, though a whip-stitch, he was a man of most delicate honour, of which he gave a singular proof. Having managed his matters so well as to become insolvent, and being apprehensive that the cruel law, which then existed, would compel him to go to jail for a few months, he went to the Governor, MIFFLIN, who was, ex officio, his commander in chief, and asked him, whether a short confinement in jail would injure his honour as a soldier. "By no means," replied MIFFLIN, who, was, for many years kept from similar durance, oh a similar account, by nothing but the circumstance of his being Governor! And are there, can there be, wretches impudent enough to extol republican governments?

The prison of Philadelphia, which has been so much praised by BRISSOT, WELD, and other superficial travel-writers, and which has been so much boasted of even by the Philadelphians themselves, has always appeared to me to be a dangerous innovation upon the laws and customs of our forefathers. I have not time, at present, to enter into a full examination of the evils resulting from this invention of the benevolent Howard;", but, there is one anecdote that I must record in the following exB b 2

66

tracts,

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tracts, which are taken from a narrative, published in the city of Philadelphia, in 1799, by one Patrick Lyon, a Scotsman, who was imprisoned for several months, on suspicion of having robbed the Bank of Pennsylvania, but who was honourably acquitted of the charge, the crime having been committed by an acquaintance of the CASHIER's, which acquaintance, upon refunding the money, was suffered to escape without even an hour's imprison

ment !!!

LYON came forward with a complaint against those, who had so barbarously treated him, and, in the course of his complaint, he takes occasion to reveal the "secrets of the prison house." His statement has never been contradicted, and is, most certainly, correct.

"There is not, (if a man may be permitted to speak his opinion), a better school for villainy, than the convict yard of Philadelphia prison. At this school I believe a prosecutor might make himself acquainted with more than he ought to be if he was a constant visitor there. It is customary in every room when the prisoners are locked up at night, to have a bucket; and the rule is, whoever makes use of the bucket first, must carry it down in the morning: it happened one night, that the bucket had been used by some of the prisoners; but by whom, it was not exactly known; however to end all disputes, the Bible was got, and every one in that room swore, he did not use the bucket that night. This is a specimen of what an ingenious criminator might effect amongst such a set of worthy disciples, especially if he carried the means of feeing with him; and a just specimen of what you will find in Philadelphia prison. But this kind of false swearing was not confined to the prison; but others (their) accomplices out of doors, true bro

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thers in iniquity, endeavoured to effect the purpose.*

"I have related the nature of the Philadelphia prison in several parts of this work; the advocates of which, cannot believe that such treatment is exercised on the prisoners, in any part of the prison; but these people that will not believe that the Philadelphia prison is as bad as any other prison, that is to be read of, my only wish is, that they may have a fair and speedy trial of it: it is impossible, say these unbelieving advocates, that any man can be twenty-four hours without a morsel. When it can be proved, that a prisoner some time back, was starved and disfigured by the rats; and I suppose those advocates cannot deny that a keeper can at pleasure take the unfortunate women out of the west wing, and keep them in the cells-for what purpose I suppose may be easily guessed at. A man taken to

* He alludes here to an attempt that was made to procure false witness against him.

This is a well-known fact, though no one but LYON ever had the courage to state it in print. The man was committed to jail on a charge of assault and battery, brought by his wife. The offence was bailable, but the man was refused liberty to look for bail. When in prison, he certainly ought not to have been shut up in the cells, provided for convicts; but this was done, and when after having been left several days without food, he was found dead, and gnawed by the rats, the excuse of the keeper was, that he had forgotten him!!! This excuse, however, was, it seems, admitted as sufficient; for the keeper never was either punished or tried for the offence, nor was he even dismissed from his place. So much for HOWARD and HUMANITY!

This shameful fact was communicated to me, in the Autumn of 1798, by a person, who had been a witness of the truth of it, and who signed his name to the communication. He named particular women, some married ones, who had not only been rendered subservient to the lusts of the keepers, but had become pregnant, and had submitted, in some instances, to the use of means for procuring abortions !-Howard and bumanity again!

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the cells for God knows what, sometimes at the request of his prosecutor, or persecutor, I cannot say which; and kept several months on half a pound of bread, and a quart of water every twenty-four hours, until he is so weak that he has been known to gnaw the plaister from the walls, and could not stand to evacuate his urine. After such a reduction, the unfortunate and sometimes innocent victim, is conducted to the sick room and breathes his last and if it is asked what he or they died of, it is answered (sometimes) of an inflammation of the bowels, or a consumption, or any thing but the real thing. I say no prisoner has a right to be put to the cells by the orders of the prosecutor, or persecutors, to extort any thing from him, or to satisfy their savage barbarity: why rail at the rack or the inquisition, if similar methods are pursued, to extort by means of force, the frantic exclamations of suffering innocence, for the purposes of self-condemnation? I only mention these things, to let my fellow-citizens know a little of the two much boasted of Philadelphia prison; and as this is but a small specimen, I shall likely take more particular notice of many things in a publication I may think proper to make hereafter."

From a series of letters and other documents, published by authority of the Court of Chancery of the state of New-York, it appears, that JONATHAN DAYTON, who was, in 1796, Speaker of the House of Representatives of the United States, had, at that time, set on foot an extensive land-jobbing speculation, and that he made every exertion to pass a law, which law was calculated to render his speculation profitable! It further appears, that this speaker, gave his vote in favour of the British Treaty, and used all his endeavours to induce

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