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tion of morals, or to promote habits of idleness, ulti-mately generating crimes: 1200 of these receptaclesof vice in so small a city as New York, are to be con-sidered as an evil of the greatest magnitude. In the metropolis of the British Empire, which containstwelve times the number of inhabitants, the magis-trates do not grant licences to more than about 4000,although, taking in the towns and villages in thevicinity, we have upwards of 5000 in the whole. Ihave been at great pains, in forming and enforcingrules and orders for the proper regulation of publi-cans, in different districts of the metropolis, where Ihave acted as a magistrate—a copy of which I willsend you. The indiscriminate mixture of young andold offenders, in the same prison, I observe, is men-tioned with great propriety in your last report. Ihave always considered this practice (which alsoprevails here) as one of the greatest nurseries ofcrimes; and I am glad to find you have brought it under the review of your legislature. The remedyyou propose, appears to me to be the wisest and mosteffectual that can be devised. Your proposition to authorize the police magis-trates to try, in a summary way, all persons committingminor offences, such as petty assaults, drunkenness,and acts of vagrancy, &;c., will prove a great relief to juries, and will tend much to the diminution ofcrimes. In this country, the legislature finds itnecessary every session, to extend the summary jurisdiction of magistrates; and experience has shown,(as these magistrates are responsible,) that instead ofabridging, it extends the liberty of the innocent partof the community; and I can safely affirm, that hadit not been for these summary jurisdictions, it wouldhave been impossible, in any degree, to have keptthe vices and crimes of the people within any mode-rate bounds. The present state of society and morals,in what is called the civilized world, render a speciesof energy necessary, which can only be attained by