B. ARMSTRONG, Jailer. The number of commit This is a fact worthy of special notice. ments, in this jail, in proportion to the number of persons committed, is larger than I have found in any other; but in every jail I find that many of the intemperate have been committed repeatedly, and always occasioned by ardent spirit. In some intstances the intemperate spend more than half the time in prison solely on account of their intemperance. In consequence of the liberty of drinking which they enjoy and so highly prize, and the liberty which others possess of selling ardent spirits these drunkards are deprived of the liberty of action a great part of the time; and the tax-gatherer deprives the honest, sober citizen of the liberty of disposing of a portion of his money-so much of it as he pays for the support of the drunkard while in prison, and his family in the poor-house!! Here is a question which presents itself for the consideration not only of the christian and the moralist, but for the sticklers for liberty. Is it honest? Is it not the height of coercion to deprive a man of his liberty for drinking that which you gave another man the liberty to sell to him, especially when it is morally certain that he will, while under its influence, com mit acts which will render it inconsistent with the public safety, for him to go at large? You legalize the act of tempting, but punish the tempted!! There was one man committed to this jail who had lately held a very responsible office in the province of Upper Canada: his crime was stealing silver spoons while intoxicated. Poor-House. Whole number received into the poor-house in one I am confident that the keeper was over cautious in his classification. A considerable number of the temperate were Canadians-necessarily strangers previous to their admission Explanation. In collecting the items, which constitute the expenses of criminal justice here, as I had not at that time become acquainted with dissecting them, a number of items were omitted, which I have since found, ought to have been brought into the account. The certificate of the clerk is that the expense exceeds the sum named. From subsequent examinations in other counties similarly situated, I have no doubt that this sum falls far short of the truth. A large and expensive jail also, had been built and was just completed, the cost of which must have been $4,000 or $5,000, and doubtless added so much to the amount of county tax ESSEX COUNTY.-Population 19,287. ful, one was imprisoned for an assault upon a drunkard who insulted him. Three others drank freely. Another makes use of spirit; his father is a drunkard. Another was a transient person charged with rape Among the temperate is one idiot and four deranged persons, and two that drink freely. Six of the doubtful make free use of spirit. ASA FRISBIE, Keeper. Split Rock 23d January, 1834. Expenses. County tax,... $6,600 00 Raised to pay towards the poor-house and farm, 2,800 00 Balance,. $811 56 EDMUND F. WILLIAMS, Clerk of Supervisors. Elizabethtown, 23d January, 1834. FRANKLIN COUNTY.-Population 11,312. Of the temperate, one was a lad, and another was a girl; the other three made use of ardent spirit. Of the doubtful, one was a lad and one was a man that was acquitted on trial. Malone, Jan. 20, 1834. AARON BEMAN, Sheriff Poor-House. Whole number assisted in one year, Doubtful, Intemperance, 111 26 30 55 HIRAM J. DUNHAM, Keeper. Malone, Jan. 18, 1834. Remarks. A considerable number of the temperate, are persons belonging to families, the fathers of which have left them to be provided for here at the public expense; while they have gone to the west, to provide places to which to remove their families in the spring. Here too, as in the other counties, bordering on Canada, many of the inmates are foreigners. Expenses. N. B.-The expense of supporting the poor, is certified to by BENJAMIN CLARK, One of the Superintendents of the Poor of Franklin County. GENESEE COUNTY.-Population 52,147. Most of the 51 were confirmed drunkards, and a large proportion were brought here while intoxicated. One was an Indian, who killed his wife when drunk; one was committed for striking his son with an axe; one was a TAVERN-KEEPER, who killed a drunkard in self-defence; one for whipping his father, and four men for whipping their wives!! NATHAN TOWNSEND, Jailer. Remark. Here is nothing placed to the account of ardent spirits which they do not clearly deserve. Poor-House. The whole No. of paupers received since De cember 10th, 1832, to July 26th, 1833, is... 177 Not from Intemperance, Doubtful, Intemperance, 15 69 93 Explanation.-As this examination was not made when I was present, the keeper did not take the same course that I have usually done. I will therefore give his own words and explanatory remarks: Whole number,... By the intemperance of others, Those of whom no definite knowledge is obtained,.... Not known to be intemperate, 177 31 62 69 15 Note. 1. Of those ranked as intemperate, they were really and positively so. 2. Of those who have been brought here by the intemperance of others, I mean women with families; some insane persons, and orphan children. 3. Of those of whose case no definite knowledge can be had, I should presume from what I have learned and observed, that nearly, if not quite one-half of the cases owe their misfortune to intemperance, directly or indirectly. 4. Of those ranked as temperate, there are four idiots, and three have epileptic fits, which leaves but eight who can with any thing like propriety be called temperate. ASA AVERILL, Keeper. Balance for other purposes, .... $13,374 00 1,546 43 11,827 57 $3,437 75 MOSES TAGGART, Clerk of Sup. GREENE COUNTY.-Population 29,525. Jail. Whole No. committed since the 6th of May last, Doubtful. ... 42 .... 10 8 24 Of the temperate, one was for horse-stealing; three for bastardy; three for threatening to destroy property!! and one was a lad: Of the doubtful, three for assault and battery, one of them twice for that offience, the third for assault and battery upon a female; two of them drink freely. Of the intemperate, one imprisoned for burglary to steal rum; one for abusing his wife; one for threatening to kill his wife; and one other for threatening to kill. was N. B.-After giving me the facts embraced in the above, the jailer declined signing it, not because there was any doubt of the truth of the statement, or from any hostility to the temperance cause, but from an apprehension, as he said, that the feelings of individuals might be unnecessarily injured. The following, however, from the late jailer, which includes one year immediately preceding the 6th of May, will supply the deficiency. Whole No. during the year Temperate,. 26 1 |