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System has failed to answer, fully, the end and pur-poses for which it was intended, particularly as it regards reformation. I now shall respectfully offer for the consideration of the commissioners, my views of the most effectual system for the protection of society against crimes, and the most certain means to promote the reforma-tion of convicts. First. The great preventive of offences is doubtless an early attention to moral and religious instruction, and thus to fortify the infant mind with good princi-ples. The observation made by John Locke, is re-markably appropriate and excellent:—I think, I may say, that, of all the men we meet with, nine parts of ten, are what they are, good or evil, useful or not, by their education. That a careful attention to educate the children of parents in low circumstances through-out the State, would go far towards the prevention of crimes, is demonstrated by the fact, that in cons-quence of a diligent search being made by a com-mittee of the New-York Free School Society, it was ascertained that but one boy of those who had re-ceived their education in the schools of that institu-tion, had been convicted of a petty crime, although several hundreds who had not been at the Free Schools, had been tried at the Quarter Sessions, and been committed to the City Penitentiary, for vagran-cy and various other offences. We are told by high authority—Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it. The great error of all governments has been, not affording instruction to the lower class of society, and inflicting punishments often very disproportion-ate to offences. It is evident, that civilization has not effected all the moral changes and improvements that can be produced in the constitution of human society, nor have laws and government been carried to the utmost limits of perfection. It is, therefore, highly incumbent for us to cherish the firm and unshaken