prison; that it is an advantage to the prisoner to fit him for
usefulness and to make more easy his reform; that it will help pay the
cost of his conviction and imprisonment; that upon release, he will be
better armed against relapse into crime, as well as much better prepared
to obtain an honest living than those whose labor has been merely penal;
that the pains and privations necessarily attendant on the process of
moral reformation are so great as to make it unnecessary, for the
maintenance of the principle of deterrence, to superadd artificial pains
and penalties.

Colonel Colville, Governor of Colbath Fields Prison, one of the largest
London prisons, spoke very strongly against the tread-mill system of
punishment which is in nearly all the prisons of England, and almost
unanimously condemned by the prison officials.

The general opinion of the Congress was in conformity to views expressed
by the speakers mentioned.

Under the question touching the moral value of visitation of the
prisons by women, we find the following sensible views expressed:

"While the character of the visiting women depends upon chance, they are
as likely to be indiscreet, and to interfere unwisely as otherwise. If
they were selected as men are, or ought to be, for their fitness, their
work would be done with good judgment and discretion. Then, again,
criminal men separated from their families and from all gentle
influences, need the ministry of good women for their reformation. The
motherly influence of pure, gentle women will sometimes control and
subdue the violent, when even blows would fail to do so."

The whole force of the International Congress went in favor of the idea
of _reforming_ the prisoners. For this the body advocated stimulating
the prisoners' self-interest, thus:

"In this way, the prisoner's destiny during his incarceration should be
placed, measurably, in his own hands; he must be put into circumstances
where he will be able, through his own exertions, to continually better
his condition. A regular self-interest must be brought into play. In the
prison, as in free society, there must be the stimulus of some personal
advantage accruing from the prisoner's efforts. Giving prisoners an
interest in their industry and good conduct tends to give them
beneficial thoughts and habits, and what no severity of punishment will
enforce a moderate personal interest will readily obtain."

They also advocated using the moral force: