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deep rooted prejudices, founded on the blindness andwickedness of our species, that are clearly contraryto the laws of God and our own reason, will cometo an end. The slave trade, and the general aboli-tion of slavery, is a striking proof in support of this sentiment. It is now almost certain that the trade,and slavery itself, will not exist many years longer.Equally against the laws of God and right reason, areall laws relating to crimes and punishments, enacted on the principles of a vindictive spirit; such laws arecalculated frequently to violate common justice, andall distinctions of morality, and, in many cases, tendto debase the mind, and by the undue severity they inflict, aim to make fear the motive of obedi-ence:—in short, these laws are more calculated forslaves than freemen, and seem intended to punishdelinquents, rather than to prevent crimes. It is true,a course of improvement has been commenced oflatter years, which claim the approbation of the justand the sanction of the wise, but no radical reformcan take place, until the public mind is more fullyconvinced of the absurdity and wickedness of vindic-tive punishment. In proportion as this evil governsour public laws, so the difficulty is increased in form-ing wholesome laws for the support of prison disci-pline, calculated for the government and reformationof convicts. I am exceedingly mortified to find thatmy friend Captain Lindes, keeper of Auburn prison,advocates (and practices) inflicting corporeal punish-ment, for violating any part of the prison discipline.I the more regret that this man should entertain suchsentiments, because, on the general subject of penaljurisprudence, and the government of a penitentiary,I esteem him superior to almost any other man thatI ever conversed with:—he formerly was in the army,and had only had the advantage of a good commoneducation, but possesses a good share of understand-ing, great integrity, an amiable disposition, and an extensive knowledge of human nature, as regards