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Frontispiece:-
The
Printed by Denovan for Willm Hunter ----------------
Dedication:-
To
THE FOLLOWING LITTLE WORK --------------------------------------- P 114-116 In all cities of any extent, numbers of its inhabitants must frequently be perpetrating such crimes as are deserving of some degree of punishment, but which the law does not consider as possessed of such a degree of enormity as to incur the pains of transportation or death. A house of correction therefore becomes a desideratum of every large town, where petty culprits may, by bodily labour, or occasional chastisement, or both, in proportion to the nature of their offences, make a suitable compensation to that society they have injured, and be in due time worthy of being again admitted into its bosom. This being sensibly felt in Edinburgh, a Bridewell was begun to be built in the year 1791, its foundation sone being laid on the last day of November, by the Right Honourable George Earl of Morton, then Grand Master of Scotland, who had in his retinue the Lord Provost, magistrates and Council, I their official robes, a number of county noblemen and gentlemen, the Sheriff-depute, together with the whole lodges of free-masons in the city and neighbourhood.
Along with the foundation stone were deposited two crystal bottles made on purpose at the glass-house of Leith, into one of which different coins of the present reign were put, so ingeniously enclosed in crystal, that the legends could be distinctly read through their transparent covering. Two rolls of vellum were contained in the other bottle, with the names of the then present Magistrates of the City, and Edinburgh almanack, and a copy of each of the newspapers at that time published in Edinburgh, being only four in number. When the bottles were sealed up, they were covered in copper wrapped in block tin, and on the underside of the copper were engraved the city's coat of arms, those of the Earl of Morton, of masonry, and of the Right Honourable James Stirling, Lord Provost. This fabric was completed in the year 1795. It bears a considerable resemblance to a gothic castle, and is situated to the eastward of the burying ground on the Calton-hill. Its form is circular, having narrow apertures for the admission of light and fresh air, and surrounded by a wall of considerable height, which incloses a large area. The entrance to it is by a strong gate on the North side, and the relative situation of the house, the governor's apartment's, and the porters lodge, give the approach to it all the appearance of a castle that is regularly fortified. No situation it may be fairly asserted, could be conceive better suited for a place of confinement. What may have been the attention originally paid to seasonable correction, cleanliness, health and good order, we will not pretend to say, but since the present governor Mr Murray, was appointed to that office, nothing has been denied to the unhappy persons confined in Bridewell which humanity can suggest, and at the same time consistent with the design of punishment. He always endeavours to reclaim them by merciful means, and never fails to be as much overjoyed when those are found adequate to the production of the intended effect, as if he had thereby acquired some pecuniary advantage of some considerable importance. Tobacco and snuff may rather be considered as the luxuries than the necessities of life yet such is the power of habit, that when these articles have been used for a number of years, most people find it impracticable to relinquish the use of them altogether and would cheerfully want one meal a day for their favourite enjoyment. Of this very circumstance, trivial as it may appear to some, Mr Murray avails himself, to work a reformation in Bridewell, granting the darling pinch out of his private pocket, to many who appear incapable of wanting it, on the express condition that they reform their manners, and be always diligent in the work for which they are respectively qualified. It is amazing what salutary effects have resulted from these kind attentions to the whim or appetite of individuals; and Mr Murray bids fair for being the only governor yet in that house, who will make the product of the work performed in Bridewell almost, if not altogether, equal to its annual expenditure.
In this account of the present governor's conduct, we can assure our
readers that we have by no means been guilty of exaggeration, for it
is no more that a tribute justly due to merit, which we confess at
the same time it very seldom receives. The culprits in this place of
salutary confinement have also the benefit of a lecture or sermon
every Sunday; and although it is frequently a difficult task to make
minds so depraved pay a becoming attention to any thing of a
religious nature, yet we are assured, from what we have actually
seen, that a man possessed of a commanding and energetic delivery,
could have a serious and attentive audience even in Bridewell.
Improper deportment on such occasions is sometime punished by Mr
Murray by withholding the dinner on a Sunday from the most guilt of
the culprits;-a more effectual method of reformation than personal
chastisement, to which a petty tyrant would probably have resorted. |
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