For some flagrant
breaches of trust, or acts of wanton cruelty, criminals have been
condemned to slavery for life time first the of conviction, but not
frequently.
The number of these slaves do not, I am informed,
amount to more than a hundred, which is not considerable, compared
with the population, upwards of eight hundred thousand. Should I
pass through Christiania, on my return to Gothenburg, I shall
probably have an opportunity of learning other particulars.
There is also a House of Correction at Christiania for trifling
misdemeanours, where the women are confined to labour and
imprisonment even for life. The state of the prisoners was
represented to the prince, in consequence of which he visited the
arsenal and House of Correction. The slaves at the arsenal were
loaded with irons of a great weight; he ordered them to be lightened
as much as possible.
The people in the House of Correction were commanded not to speak to
him; but four women, condemned to remain there for life, got into
the passage, and fell at his feet. He granted them a pardon; and
inquiring respecting the treatment of the prisoners, he was informed
that they were frequently whipped going in, and coming out, and for
any fault, at the discretion of the inspectors. This custom he
humanely abolished, though some of the principal inhabitants, whose
situation in life had raised them above the temptation of stealing,
were of opinion that these chastisements were necessary and
wholesome.
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