Fifth. Is he or she married or single.

Sixth. His or her native country.

Seventh. The degree of instruction he or she has received; whether he or she can read and write, or can read only, or whether he or she be entirely uneducated. What opportunites he or she has had of religious instruction. Eighth. Whether his or her parents, or either of them, are living, and which of them.

Ninth. Whether he or she has formerly been imprisoned for any offense; if any, state it.

Tenth. His or her habits in respect to the immoderate use of ardent spirits. Eleventh. Any other fact or circumstance in his or her condition, habits or circumstances that you may deem useful to communicate.

This return must be made within twenty days after the adjournment of every criminal court of record held in the county, and according to the annexed tabular form marked A, and it should be signed by the sheriff in his official character, and dated at the time of signature.

The opportunities which the jailers and turnkeys have of conversing with the prisoners will generally enable them to acquire the knowledge necessary to make out the statements; and the sheriff should instruct them accordingly, to enable them to do so.

A copy of this pamphlet should be kept in the jails for the information of their keepers. Constables who bring prisoners to the jail will often be able to communicate information upon many of the subjects. The friends and relatives, also, of the convict may have no objection to do the same; and during the trial of the cause, the witnesses will be able to inform the sheriffs generally on all the desired particulars.

With all these means of information, the results will, doubtless, sometimes be imperfect. Still they are ample, and, if faithfully improved, the returns will be almost universally full and accurate. Second. To the sheriffs named in section 945 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, to-wit: in counties in which a city (or cities) is situated.

In said section 945, it is provided that the sheriffs of the respective counties in which incorporated cities are situated, shall also transmit a statement of the number of persons convicted in Courts of Special Sessions, City Courts and Police Courts in those cities, together with such specifications in each case, as are required by said section. Such returns must be regularly transmitted to

the office of the Secretary of State, on the first day of every month, in order that the same may be fully entered in the annual report required from this office.

This duty, it will be seen, relates to convictions in certain minor City Courts, Courts of Special Sessions and Police Courts held in the various cities of the State. The reports, which should be transmitted to this office on the first day of every month, will be in tabular form, like the annexed, marked B. The form should be printed on ruled paper, the ruling directly opposite the printed matter on the left margin of the report, in order that a systematic report may be had from all the sheriffs alike.

66

(A.)

FORM OF REPORT CONCERNING PERSONS CONVICTED IN COURTS OF RECORD.

REPORT of the Sheriff of the County of

to the Secretary of State of the State of New York, respecting the persons convicted of criminal offenses at the Court held in and for the said county, on the

Procedure.

day of

188, made pursuant to the 946th section of the Code of Criminal

(B.)

FORM OF REPORT CONCERNING PERSONS CONVICTED AT COURTS OF SPECIAL SESSIONS.

REPORT of the Sheriff of the county of

to the Secretary of State, respecting the persons convicted of criminal offenses at the Courts of Special Sessions, held in and for the city of 188, pursuant to section 945, Code of

Criminal Procedure.

,for the month of

Question-What religious instruction have you received and in what relig. ious denomination have you received it?

Question Are your parents living or dead?
Answer

Question -- Are you temperate or intemperate.
Answer

Question-Have you been before convicted, or not, of any crime; if you have, of what crime and where convicted?

Answer

Sheriff of

County.

This form is suggested for convenience of sheriffs and justices of peace, etc., in procuring information respecting convictions in Courts of Special Sessions, and in eliciting the information indicated.

The Code of Criminal Procedure, in section 948, prescribes a penalty for neglect of duty upon the part of any county clerk, or sheriff, or magistrate, and the manner of enforcing the same, which the Secretary of State sincerely hopes there may be no occasion to enforce. With an intelligent and prompt compliance on the part of the officials charged with the duty of making reports upon criminal convictions to the office of the Secretary of State, whether in courts of record or Special Sessions, it is believed that a complete and valuable report upon criminal statistics may be annually made from this office to the Legislature.

Respectfully submitted,

FREDERICK COOK,
Secretary of State.