JB/150/309/004

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What Grounds have you for supposing that great corruption of Morals
arises from the System of Hulks?

As far as my observations have been directed to Convicts who have been
discharged from those Establishments I have seldom or ever known an
instance of their return to honest Industry. On the contrary many
of them have been detected immediately afterwards in the commission
of new Crimes, from which it may be inferred that this Species of
Punishment has not answered the intention of the Legislature so far
as relates to the reformation of the Convicts; But the Chief cause of
the general Corruption of Morals which is so apparent may be
traced to the indiscriminate mixture of hardened & irreclaimable
Thieves with country Convicts who under other circumstances
might have been reclaimed, but with so many evil examples
before them, too often become as hardened at the period of their
discharge as the worst Class of Felons thereby rendering the Establishments
a complete Seminary of Evil & Wickedness. In giving however
such a decided opinion against the System of the Hulks I would
wish to be understood as not imputing the smallest blame to the
Contractors. The error is in the System and not in the Management
and the evils arising from it must continue till a better mode is
adopted, Whatever the management may be.

Does the plan proposed by Mr Bentham appear to
you contain an easy & practicable remedy to those Abuses?

It certainly does and its immediate adoption would be a most
important object to the Public not only in a financial, but
also in a Moral point of view.

What are the ramifications of your plan of Police
with respect to the Country. Who do you look to as the Correspondent
of your Central Board & who do you propose should grant the
Licenses to the different Trades in the Country?

Identifier: | JB/150/309/004"JB/" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 150.
Date_1		Marginal Summary Numbering
Box	150	Main Headings	police bill
Folio number	309	Info in main headings field
Image	004	Titles
Category	copy/fair copy sheet	Number of Pages	4
Recto/Verso	recto	Page Numbering
Penner		Watermarks	[[watermarks::l munn [britannia with shield emblem]]]
Marginals		Paper Producer	benjamin constant
Corrections		Paper Produced in Year
Notes public	see note to letter 1329, vol. 6	ID Number	50530
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