time, that so much has been accomplished; consider-
ing the object of labour, or no labour, as being, in fact,
the only question in debate, and being of opinion,
for various reasons, that the legislature will be
obliged to resort to the plan recommended by their
commissioners. By this decision, I conceive the great
question of prison discipline, as far as regards the
United States, is finally settled; every other place,
except Philadelphia

, already adopted that plan, there-
by making crime to counteract itself, and repair, as
far as possible, the evils it has occasioned. In no
country has this principle been so well understood,
or carried so far, as in your own, and the relinquish-
ment of it for the Bastile system of solitary confine-
ment, would have grieved me more than I can express;
but, thank God, my dread of that is over; and I shall
now die in peace, convinced that the time will arrive
when my own country will follow the example.

You will not be surprised to hear that our canal
navigations, which have hitherto been very produc-
tive, are depreciated by the completion of our rail-
way from Liverpool

to Manchester; which is shortly
expected to be succeeded by one from Liverpool to
London, and by several others in different parts of
the kingdom; but our small dykes bear no propor-
tion to your magnificent aqueducts, which, I suppose,
set all competition from railways at defiance.

I send you an account of the Liverpool

and Man-
chester road, as just published, by my next neigh-
bour, Mr. H. Booth, the Treasurer of the undertaking,
which, I think, will interest you. I have also added
a copy of my discourse on opening the Liverpool
Institution, and of a work I published some years
since, entitled, Illustrations of the Life of Lorenzo
de Medici, one or both of which you have probably
before seen; but which I beg you will accept, as a
mark of sincere respect and attachment, with which
I am, my dear sir, your very faithful and obliged
friend, W. ROSCOE.