CAPTAIN HALL'S TRAVELS IN NORTH AMERICA.* LITERARY SPECTATOR.

WE do not remember ever expecting the appearance of any work with the same anxiety that we have for some time waited for the Tra- vels of Captain BASIL HALL in the United States. The former works of this writer were distinguished for their good sense, and for the ability with which the author described the things he saw and the characters he met with in countries of considerable interest. His for- mer undertakings were, however, accidental and slight compared with the more formal resolution to draw up a report on the condition and character of the great North American Republic, with the asowed object of at last producing an honest book of travels in that land ; and proportionably were we excited to hope great things from the design. These three thick, closely-printed, and elaborately-compiled volumes,. have greatly disappointed us ; and that too from a cause which one woulddiave hoped to lead to a different result—the over anxiety of the author.

Preceding travellers have been charged with so much prejudice and dishonesty—so much unworthy satire and personal derision—that Captain HALL, actuated by the best of determinations to avoid all for- mer errors, labours so perpetually under the fear of offending, that positively it is almost impossible, amidst so much apology, qualification, and hair-splitting, to get at what he really does think. He is like a witness in the box, who is so anxious to speak the truth, that he tries the patience of judge and jury, first by his professions of veracity, and next by perpetually drawing timid distinctions between what be sup- poses to be the truth and that which he may be supposed to mean. The Americans, moreover, have insisted so much with him, as they do with all others, that he should do them justice,—and they have be- sides backed their instances by so many acts of courtesy, kindness, and good-humour,—that our author is perpetually placed in a dilemma: he will not offend his American friends, but he cannot like their coun- try ; so, in order to avoid telling us what he really thinks, in a straight- forward manner, he sets to work reasoning upon the causes of plimno- me n a, and without ever distinctly describing tl pheenomen a themselves. In short, Captain HALL has not written us a sailor's book : perhaps few sailors could have written it, such as it is ; but we should have much preferred one of his former straight forward cruises.

One fact is however clear,—Captain HALL'S report is extremely unfavourable to the United States as a nation : but it is only by very great pains we are led to infer why it is so. We have discovered the secret to be, that Captain BASIL HALL, a King's officer, and a true British patriot, liad in his mind's eye one perpetual beau ideal with which he compared every thing he saw—that is. England and her

Constitution, her Church Establishment, and hex King, Lords, and Commons. We do not mean that he is a vulgar John Bull admirer

of these things ; but he has reasoned and mystified himself into the idea of the existence of certain causes of prosperity being inseparably combineawith our institutions, very much after the manner of the in- genious writers on government and reform in the Edinburgh Review ; in which school we suspect the naval officer has been educated. finds that there is nothing in the United States which resembles the least ; and being an able man, and starting with the conviction oC every thing being for the best on our side of the question, he sets about showing how wrong the Americans al.% all .the, time_esbillitbLasid:: professing the fairest intentions.rfiTraptiriTHALL Rio acute t.C■ifoil

this with the easy assurance of 'a shallow fellow : he writes as if con- scious he were treading on hollow ground, but without suspecting the

real state of the case only feels a grand difficulty in satisfying-him-

self of the justice of his reasoning, and consequently hesitates, defines, and works away at his argument till he has produced any thing but a satisfactory conclusion. Thus is the writer hampered—in his reports

of facts, by a timid apprehension of offending persons who have indi- vidually and collectively shown him every kindness, and at the same time displayed a most anxious desire for his favourable Opinion; in his reasonings, by a shallow and imperfect theory of government, by taking as a model what he does not thoroughly understand, and more- over by applying it where it does not apply at "all.

We are not surprised at any well-informed and well-educated English gentleman returning from a short residence in the United States in disgust, for the political Jonathan is beyond doubt a dis- agreeable fellow ; but we lament to see the frank expression of dislike stifled under a heap of laborious, wire-drawing hair-splitting disser-

tations on government. Captain HALL'S whole theory of politics, par- ticularly as regards republics, is stated by himself to be absolutely changed by this visit to America. It might be supposed, from such a

change having taken place, that he had found affairs ill-managed, the best interests misunderstood, government corrupt and oppressive, and the business of the state neglected or mismanaged. Not a word of

all this as a state America is prosperous beyond all possibility of com- parison with other countries. What then is the crime ?—it is utterly unlike England; and an English gentleman is continually shocked at seeing what he has been taught to revere at home, held in the Union at nought.

The distinctions of ranks are confused—this weighs heavily wit'd our naval Captain ; the least-instructed persons interfere in the ness of the state—in fact, the actual power rests with the mob, or thei' bulk of the population ; then again, young men betake themsely so early to the active business of life, that there are few persons who! ; possess information of that kind which is gained in our schools ; and r. in short, our model of a gentleman, which it certainly requires an WI: * Travels in North America, in the Years 1827 and 1528. By Captain Basil Hall, Royal Navy. 3 vols. Edinburgh, 1828. Cadell and Co.

country, where wealth is accumulated, and occupation subdivided, to produce, is nowhere to be found, at least as a genial and natural pro- duction. Beyond all this, there is another horror—there is not only a complete equality of ranks, and an offensive familiarity in all persons , of low condition in the United States, but menial service is held in conteroptI consequently a gentleman finds it almost impossible to procure good servants ; vagabonds, and persons unworthy of any other situation, fill the places of domestics, where there are any—for why should one man serve another when an independent livelihood invites him in every direction? The boy even will not endure the discipline of the school, much less of servitude: the moment that he feels manhood in his filmes and sinews, off he starts for the rich south, or the wide west ; and whosoever can fella tree, or drive a gang of negroes, can maintain himself, a wife, a family. Thus it follows, that there is much difficulty in getting together powdered lackies, ob- sequious valets, rosy-faced butlers, and smirking chambermaids. Your footman takes to the woods, and your lady's maid is called on to breed citizens by the dozen. No man, be he a man of an ordinary number of inches, possessing a protuberance between his shoulders com- monly called a head, need hesitate one moment about the future : he may marry with half a dollar in his pocket, and he and all that may eventually call him father are sure of ample provision—wealth even

if they wish it, protection of property, freedom of thought and action, a share in the government of the state, and the consideration of a

citizen. Is not this a proud thing to be said of a state ? The worst of it is, and it is an evil that Captain HALL severely felt, the citizens of the United States are not content to be prosperous, but they must

be esteemed so: " We are a grand nation, I guess—you will allow that at least: we are making gigantic strides, treading fast on the Old Country," &c. usque ad nauseant. No one could he better-natured,

courteous, or obliging, than Captain HALL; but he could not satisfy their demands for praise, and they succeeded in worrying him most effectually. It is this circumstance upon which he dwells more than upon any other, and we can conceive how very teasing it must have been to be perpetually told that "no one does justice to our country," and to be asked in all possible forms whether the Union was not several degrees beyond perfection and all human hopes. In the article of manners, Captain HALL has been very sparing ; for the same reason that has almost denuded his work of interest—the fear of offending ; the wrath of well-meaning and friendly persons with whom he made acquaintance in America being always before his eyes : he trill tell us nothing that may expose lam to the el taracter of a spy. In his report of morals, even public morals, he is almost equally reserved. It is clear, however, to see what he thinks of the American character. Brother Jonathan has a failing, which will doubtless render him disagreeable, if it do not end in more serious consequences : he is desperately given to tippling—not drunkenness, be it observed, but dram-drinking: his hand is perpetually raised to his head at all hours of the day—dram—dram--dram! The consumption of ardent spirits all over the Union is enormous: and yet Captain HALL, during all the year and upwards he was in America, never saw an instance of

drunkenness. The sobriety of Jonathan is as unimpeachable as his

seriousness: the more he drinks the steadier he becomes : the taverns are filled with tipplers, who have rather the air of methodists than of drunkards: an eternal silence reigns, broken only by political discussion, —that is to say, who is to be elected for parish clerk oi president ; or else the excitation of drink innocently evaporates in some enormous national boast. Every thing is a serious affair in America. Like young tradesmen, they have no time to be gay : shop open early, shop open late—business must he attended to—customers will not be ne- glected—keep your stun) and your shop %yill keep you: so it is with the Yankee—he never ceases to mind one or other of the great objects of life, the turning over his dollars, or the election of public officers. A Yankee ,fair seems, by all accounts, to be the gravest thing in the world, churchyard not excepted. The women never appear at such solemnities; it is too serious an alfair. Individuals plough for prizes :

perhaps twenty candidates furrow up a hill-side for glory and a prize of dollars ; and the crowd of spectators, with lon,, faces and their hands in their pockets, follow in procession, with a gravity, says Captain HALL, more profound than if they were going to a funeral.

Our conclusion, from a careful perusal Of Captain HALL'S labo- rious work, is simply this, that as CHARLES the Second said of Pres- byterianism, a democracy is no government for a gentleman. If the republicans of the Union are grieved—as they no doubt will be, for they are the most thin-skinned people going—that Captain HALL'S report is anything but favourable, they must attribute the sentence solely to his having been unhappily fraught with the prejudices of a gentleman and a scholar. Considered as a book of travels, and with reference to those por- tions of the work which describe the very extensive tour made by our author entirely round the Union, we have every reason to speak well of this work. The style and manner of description of Captain HALL are well known and esteemed; and his attention, while in motion, is always turned upon the subjects most worthy of it. We wish he had been more copious and more free in these descriptions ; and that he had not harassed himself so much with his dissertations on the reasons why he did not like America, la hich, after all, only amounts to the reason of the bate borne towards Dr. Fell in the epigram.

Those who are interested in ascertaining the exact state of the in- stitutions in America, generally will find a very sufficient report in

these volumes: for the really philanthropic inquirer, it is replete with satisfaction. The accounts of the different experiments on solitary punishment, and on the establishment of penitentiaries, are particularly interesting. It is from the description of one of these ad- zuirably-conducted institutions that we shall make our only extract. THE PENITENTIARY OF SING SING, ON THE EAST BANE OF THE HUDSON.

" The prison at Sing Sing when completed, which it probably is by this time (1829), will contain eight hundred cells, four hundred of which are on the side facing the river, and a like number on the side next the land. The block or mass of building, formed of these two sets of cells placed back to back, may be compared to a long, high, and straight wall twenty feet thick perforated on both sides with four parallel and horizontal ranges of square' holes. This again is encased on all sides by an external building, the walls of which are ten feet distance from those of the inner work, or honeycomb of cells. These outer walls are pierced with rows of small windows, one being opposite to each door, and so adjusted as to afford abundant light and fresh air, but no means of seeing out. Stoves and lamps are placed along the area or open space between the external wall and the inner building, to afford heat in winter, and light to the galleries after sunset.

" As soon as the prisoners are locked up for the night, each in his separate cell, a watchman takes his station on the ground floor abreast of the lower tier, or if he thinks tit he may walk along the galleries past the line of doors. His feet being shod with mocasins, his tread is not heard, while be himself can hear the faintest attempt at communication made by one prisoner to another ; for the space in front of the cells seems to be a sort of whispering or sounding gallery, of which fact I satisfied myself by actual experiment, though I do not very well know the cause. In this way the convicts are compelled to pass the night in solitude and silence ; and I do not remember in my life to have met before with anything so peculiarly solemn as the deathlike silence which reigned, even at noon-day, in one of these prisons, though I knew that many hundreds of people were close to me. At night the degree of silence was really oppressive ; and like many other parts of this curious establishment must be witnessed in person to be duly understood.

" The convicts are awakened at sunrise by a bell ; but before they are let out, the clergyman of the establishment reads a prayer from a station so chosen, that without effort he can readily make himself heard by all the pri- soners on that side of the building, that is to say, by -100, or one-half of the number confined. The turnkeys now open the doors, and a word of com- mand being given, each of the prisoners steps out of his cell into the gallery. They are then formed into close line, and made to march with what is called the lock step, with their eyes turned towards their keeper, along the passages to the work-shops. On leaving the building, the different divisions or gangs under the several turnkeys, make a short halt in the outer yard to wash their hands and faces, and also to deposit their tubs and water-cans, which are taken up by another set of prisoners, whose duty it is to attend to the cleans. ing department of the household. Another party of the prisoners attend to the cooking ; another to washing clothes; in short, the whole work is done by the convicts. The main body of the prisoners are then marched to their fixed tasks ; some to hew stone, or to saw marble, some to forge iron, seine to weave cloth ; while others are employed as tailors, shoemakers, coopers, and in various other trades. Each shop is under the charge of a turnkey, of course not a convict, but a man of character, and known to be trustworthy, who, besides other qualifications, is required to be master of the business there taught ; for his duty is not only to enforce the closest attention to the rules of the prison, and in particular that of the most rigorous silence, but he has to instruct the men under his charge in some trade. The prisoners when in these work-shops, are placed in rows, with their faces all turned in one direction, so that they cannot communicate by looks or signs. Each turnkey has not less than twenty, nor more than thirty men under his charge ; and it is found that one man, stimulated by a good salary, or by other adequate motives to do his duty, and who is duly supported, can per- fectly well enforce these regulations upon that number of persons. " The general superintendent of the prison has a most ingenious method of watching not only the prisoners, but also the turnkeys. A narrow dark passage runs along the back part of all the work-shops, from whence the con- victs sitting at their tasks, as well as their turnkeys, can be distinctly seen through narrow slits in the wall, half an inch wide, and covered with glass, while the superintendent himself can neither be seen nor heard by the pri- soners, or by their keepers. The consciousness that a vigilant eye may at any given moment be fixed upon them, is described as being singularly efficacious in keeping the attention of all parties awake, to an extent which no vi:.‘ible and permanent scrutiny, I am told, has the power of commanding. " At a fixed hour, eight I believe, a bell is rung, upon which all work is discontinued ; the prisoners again form themselves into a close line under their turnkey, and when the order is given to march, they return back to their cells. Each one now stops before his door, with his hands by his side, motionless and silent like a statue, till directed by a signal to stoop down for his breakfast, which has been previously placed for him on the floor of the gallery. They next turn about, and march in, after which the iron doors of their cells are locked upon them, while they take their comfortless meal in solitude. At Auburn, where this system was first put in operation, it was the practice, at the time of my visit, to allow the prisoners to eat their meals in company. But experience having shown that even this degree of socialn- lity, trifling as it was, did some harm, and that much good was gained by compelling them to mess alone, the plan above described has, I believe, been introduced in all the other similar establishments in America, of which I am glad to say there are now a great many. " After twenty minutes have elapsed, the prisoners are marched to their work ; which goes on in the same uninterrupted style till noon, when they are paraded once more to their cells, where they take their lock-up, unso- ciable dinner, and then pace back again to their dull silent round of hard labour. On the approach of night, the prisoners are made to wash their hands and faces, as they did in the morning on leaving their cells, and then, as before, at the sound of the yard-bell, to form themselves into lines, each one standing in order according to the number of his night's quarters. As they pass through the yard they take up their cans and tubs, and proceed finally for this day to their cell doors, where their supper of mush and mo- lasses, a preparation of Indian corn meal, awaits them as before. At ati.xed hour they are directed by a bell to undress and go to bed ; but just before this, and as nearly at sunset as may be, prayers are said by the resident cler- gyman. It is very important to know from the best qualified local authori- ties, that the efficacy of this practice, considered as a branch of prison dis- cipline, and independently of its other valuable considerations, has been found very great."