Doubtful, Intemperate, 1 24 The one put down as temperate, was a colored lad. DENNIS STOCKING, late Jailer. Catskill, Dec 20, 1833. Poor-House. Whole No. in one year, preceding 2d Oct. 1827, Of the temperate, one was an idiot whose father was intemperate, and in consequence a pauper ; seven others were idiots; four were insane; one was the wife of an intemperate mechanic ; one was a mute, whose parents are not known ; one insane person for safe keeping. Of the doubtful, a number are classed as such, because we do not recollect their person; and one was a lad whose mother was intemperate. JAMES M. SANFORD, Late Super- Cairo, Dec. 21, 1833. The reason that I applied to the above gentlemen for information was, there had been within a few days a change of keepers. The present one could not, of course, give the information required, and the late one was absent on a journey. The reason of our taking a year so far back, was, that these gentlemen had not in their possession, the names of the paupers during any other year. Of the temperate, one was a foreigner, for robbery; two were lads; one man was convicted of horse stealing, but the Governor has pardoned him under the recommendation of the court, from a belief that there was a mistake in the witnesses as to the identity of the person. Of the doubtful, one was a female; two men for want of sureties to keep the peace!! and one other drinks freely. Among the temperate are included all the deranged persons, of whom there are a considerable number. Of the doubtful, all but three or four (and these are from remote towns in the county) are transient persons. German-Flatts, Jan. 4, 1834. JAMES DELONG, Keeper. Expenses. County tax,. $10,606 90 Of this sum was raised to pay for jail and debts, 2,000 00 Of the temperate, ten were lads from 10 to 17 years of age, and one or both the parents of five of them were intemperate. The habits of the parents of four others I do not know. The parents of one only are known to be temperate. Of the intemperate twenty-six were intoxicated when committed. One was committed on charge of arson, and NINE for WHIPPING their wives, or for other abuse of their families. One man who was brought here very much intoxicated, was in a few hours seized with delirium tremens. While laboring under this disease his cries and screams were absolutely frightful. For forty-eight hours they prevented myself and family sleeping. He imagined himself surrounded by devils, and in order to escape them, would spring from one part of the room to the other with astonishing rapidity. He would perhaps the next moment fly up the grates of the cell with the agility of a monkey, and hang there until exhausted. It required a number of men to take care of him; and for my assistants in this service I took three other drunkards, who were then in jail. Such an appalling spectacle of the effects of intemperance did he present-so terriffic and heartrending were his screeches-so wild, so ghastly and agonized were his features, that these men, whose wives and children perhaps had seen them exhibit a similar spectacle, absolutely shrunk back with horror; and I could hear them pledging themselves to each other, that, should they ever regain their liberty, they would never again taste ardent spirits. Supplementary Certificate.-I further certify, that on the 18th December, 1829, I commenced making an examination of every prisoner committed to jail, as to his habits, in regard to the use of ardent spirits, making an entry of the result at the time against each name; and I continud to make such examination and entry, as appears from my book, until the 15th January, 1830-nearly six months. During that time there were thirty persons committed, and I find that I had classed them as follows; Temperate,.. .... 4 7 19 But I have since ascertained that of the seven whom I put down as doubtful, five were intemperate; and with respect to the other two I have no means of ascertaining any thing further as to their habits. Of the temperate, 5 were lunatics-1 a lad whose parents I do not know-also a woman and six children: the husband and father is dead, and his habits are unknown to me-four of a French family-1 idiot, and 1 old colored woman. SETH OTIS, Keeper. These particulars were embraced in the certificate, that it might be seen how much caution the keeper observed, lest it should be thought he was endeavoring to make the number brought to the poor-house from intemperance as large as possible. Whether it might not have been safe to class the lad, the woman and six children, and the French family (making 11 in all) among the doubtful, can hardly admit of a doubt. M. W. GILBERT, Clerk of Sup. N. B. Here, I presume, was some extra item, such as expenses of cholera or poor-house, to swell the amount of county tax. I was in great haste and did not make the inquiry. A fact stated by Mr. Gilbert may be of service to the few counties that have not yet adopted the plan of supporting their poor at poor-houses. Of this I intended to procure his certificate, but he was absent when I called for that purpose. He says, that before the poor-house was erected in that county the annual expense of the poor for a number of years was from 12,000 to $15,000; and that the saving is about $10,000 per year. KINGS COUNTY.-Population 20,535. Number committed in the month of January last,.. Temperate, 31 1 Doubtful,. .. 5 25 ... There were about 200 committed the last year. JONATHAN JACKSON, Keeper of the Cells. Brooklyn, 28th February, 1834. N. B. The jail of this county has been burned, and the cells un der the market are used as a place of temporary confinement. Of a large proportion of those classed as doubtful I do not recollect even their persons-I have very little doubt however that most of them became paupers from intemperance. THOMAS BAISELEY, Keeper. The county fell in debt the same year, and authorized the trea The one put down as temperate has been an intemperate man, but it was supposed had reformed. |