JB/117/095/001

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A Examination of Jeremy Bentham Esqr. June 23rd 1798.

Question. The Draught of an intended Contract, between the Commissioners
of the Treasury and Yourself for the confining maintaining and employing
Convicts, in Penitentiary Houses to be erected by you, being before the Committee;
and it appearing, from Documents that have been laid before the
Committee, that in the year 1794 a Sum of £2,000 was advanced to you,
to enable you to make preparations relative to this business, you are desired
to state whether you have made any such preparations, and to whether
you are not in readiness to Sign, and carry into execution the intended
Contract?

Answer. I am in perfect readiness to do my part in the business,
and have been so little less than fiev years. In consequence of a proposal
submitted to be in March 1798, and approved of matters were so far
advanced, that in July 1793 I was twice called upon and both times in the
same term to "take my arrangements." I had at that time in conjunction
with my Brother Brigadier General Bentham, expended some
Thousand Pounds in bringing to maturity a System of Inventions of his,
for executing by Machinery, and consequently, as to the greater part of the
Business, without the aid either of dexterity or good will, the most considerable
Branches of Woodwork; besides many Branches of Stonework and Metalwork.
Upon the repetition of the above orders, in concert with my Brother I took my
arrangements without Delay. The system was in such forwardship, that we
were upon the look out for a Steam Engine. Human labour, to be extracted
from a Class of Persons or whose part neither dexterity nor good will were to be
reckoned upon, was now substituted to to the Steam Engine; and the System
underwent a correspondent change. Being in daily expectation of receiving
the Sums stipulated for in the intended Contract (the Heads of which were
settled in what was then the proper Office early in August in 1793) and
the demand I had made of the Spot I had found appropriated to the
Penitentiary Establishment (an appropriation since confirmed by the Statute
of the 7th of July 1794) having been accorded to, by a memorandum in my
possession in the hand of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and being under
the necessity of keeping the Work going on, under pain of suffering the
dispersion of a collection of Workmen, who in that event, would not for a
length of time if ever be to be replaces, I made shift to keep up my
advances

Identifier: | JB/117/095/001 "JB/" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 117.
Date_1	1798-06-23	Marginal Summary Numbering
Box	117	Main Headings	panopticon
Folio number	095	Info in main headings field
Image	001	Titles	examination of jeremy bentham esqr june 23rd 1798
Category	collectanea	Number of Pages	4
Recto/Verso	recto	Page Numbering	f1 / f2 / f3 / f4
Penner		Watermarks	j whatman
Marginals		Paper Producer	admiral pavel chichagov
Corrections		Paper Produced in Year
Notes public		ID Number	38712
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