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tallack_w
William Tallack Correspondence
An inventory of
his correspondence at Syracuse University
KM
&su_name;
&su_address;
2001-01-01
[Derived from Summit]
Dec 1988
English
- 28 Aug 2007 - converted to EAD (JPK)
- 19 Dec 2018 - correspondence alphabetization fixed (MS)
Overview of the Collection
&su_name;
&su_address;
Tallack, William, 1831-1908.
William Tallack Correspondence
1830-1907
0.5 linear ft.
Papers of the British social reformer; secretary of the Howard Association, an organization devoted to prison reform. Incoming letters on reform issues in England, particularly prison reform. Correspondents include clergymen (Davidson, Martineau, Stanley, Tait); statesmen (Balfour, R. Churchill, W.E. Gladstone, Parnell); social reformers (Booth, Bradlaugh, Bright, Carpenter, Cobbe, Ouida); philanthropists (Bass, Shaftesbury); and authors (Froude, Houghton, Lecky, MacDonald, Sala).
149285
English
Biographical History
William Tallack (1831-1908) was a British social activist interested in penal reform and heavily influenced by his Quaker faith. Tallack believed that offenders should be offered opportunities for moral education and reflection, so that they could seek salvation and forgiveness in the eyes of God. He advocated for prevention and treatment of crime in addition to methods of deterrence. He pushed for teaching prisoners new skills in order to educate them in personal responsibility and moral rectitude, and believed in isolating criminals in singular cells so that they would be encouraged to repent. Tallack believed that crime was caused by poverty, neglect, and a lack of moral education, so he attempted to eradicate this by campaigning for better schools, housing, sanitation and restrictive alcohol intake.
In 1863, Tallack became the secretary for the Society for the Abolition of the Death Penalty, and in 1866 he became the secretary of the Howard Association, a group named after an eighteenth-century prison reformer. He remained in this position until his retirement in 1901.
Tallack published his views extensively in articles, letters to the press, pamphlets, and books. His most famous books are Defects of Criminal Administration (1872) and Penological and Preventative Principles (1889).
Source: Forsyth, Bill. "Tallack, William (1831-1908)." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (on-line).
Scope and Contents of the Collection
The William Tallack Correspondence is a collection of incoming letters, most of which are in connection with Tallack's position as secretary of the Howard Association, an organization devoted to the cause of prison reform. A tireless social activist, Tallack enlisted the support of authors (James Anthony Froude, Robert Hawker, Richard Houghton, William Lecky, George MacDonald, George Augustus Sala) and clergymen (Randall Thomas Davidson, John Jackson, Henry Parry Liddon, James Martineau, William Pennefather, Henry Richard, Charles Haddon Spurgeon, A.P. Stanley, Archibald Tait, Frederick Temple, William Ullathorne, Herbert Vaughan) as well as philanthropists (Michael Bass, Anthony Ashley Cooper Shaftesbury), social reformers (William Booth, Charles Bradlaugh, John Bright, Mary Carpenter, Frances Cobbe, Ouida), and statesmen (Arthur James Balfour, Joseph Chamberlain, Randolph Churchill, William Gladstone, John Wodehouse Kimberley, John Morley, Thomas O'Hagan, Charles Stewart Parnell).
Most of the letters in the collection are single items of correspondence thanking Tallack for supplying 1) copies of his letters about prison reform which had appeared in various publications; 2) the annual reports of the Howard Association; or, 3) Tallack's own books and pamphlets regarding prison issues, and others of his various religious and political tracts. Responding to the receipt of a reprint of a Tallack letter, Herbert Gladstone writes (3 Oct. 1906):
I hold as strongly now as in 1894 that our efforts shd be to prevent the young criminal from joining the ranks of the habitual; & that the habituals themselves should be dealt with by methods more rational & more deterrent than those now in force. And the very fact that so much has been done to make the prison treatment less repulsive & more hopeful is in itself a reason why hardened old ruffians should not be allowed to reap all its material advantages without the least intention of profiting or endeavoring to profit an the moral side.
A Quaker, Tallack received the support of many of his fellow social reformers who shared his religious convictions (Joseph Bevan Braithwaite, Bright, W.E. Forster). The earliest letters in the collection are from Quakers William Allen, William Forster, Joseph John Gurney, and Joseph Sturge, however these items are addressed to either Simon Horner or John Barry, rather than Tallack.
Arrangement of the Collection
The William Tallack Correspondence consists of 1 box of letters, ordered alphabetically by name.
Subject and Genre Headings
Activism and social reform
Allen, William, 1770-1843.
Argyll, George Douglas Campbell, Duke of, 1823-1900.
Balfour, Arthur James, 1848-1930.
Baring-Gould, S. (Sabine), 1834-1924.
Bass, Michael T. (Michael Thomas), 1799-1884.
Booth, William, 1829-1912.
Bradlaugh, Charles, 1833-1891.
Braithwaite, J. Bevan (Joseph Bevan), 1818-1905.
Bright, John, 1811-1889.
Brougham and Vaux, Henry Brougham, Baron, 1778-1868.
Burns, John Elliot, 1858-1943.
Carpenter, Mary, 1807-1877.
Cecil, Hugh, 1869-1956.
Chamberlain, Joseph, 1836-1914.
Churchill, Randolph Henry Spencer, Lord, 1849-1895.
Cobbe, Frances Power, 1822-1904.
Cobden, Richard, 1804-1865.
Coleridge, John Duke Coleridge, Baron, 1820-1894.
Cranbrook, Gathorne Gathorne-Hardy, Earl of, 1814-1906.
Curzon of Kedleston, George Nathaniel Curzon, Marquess, 1859-1925.
Davidson, Randall Thomas, 1848-1930.
Du Cane, Edmund F. (Edmund Frederick), 1830-1903.
Dufferin and Ava, Frederick Temple Blackwood, Marquis of, 1826-1902.
Ewart, William, 1798-1869.
Farrar, F. W. (Frederic William), 1831-1903.
Forster, W. E. (William Edward), 1818-1886.
Forster, William, 1784-1854.
Fowler, Robert Nicholas, Sir, 1828-1891.
Froude, James Anthony, 1818-1894.
Gilpin, Charles.
Gladstone, Herbert John Gladstone, Viscount, 1854-1930.
Gladstone, W. E. (William Ewart), 1809-1898.
Gurney, Joseph John, 1788-1847.
Hampton, John Somerset Pakington, Baron, 1799-1880.
Harcourt, William Vernon, Sir, 1827-1904.
Harrowby, Dudley Ryder, Earl of, 1798-1882.
Hawker, Robert Stephen, 1803?-1875.
Hill, Rowland, Sir, 1795-1879.
Iddesleigh, Stafford Henry Northcote, Earl of, 1818-1887.
Jackson, John, 1811-1885.
Kitchin, G. W. (George William), 1827-1912.
Lawrence, John Laird Mair, 1811-1879.
Lecky, William Edward Hartpole, 1838-1903.
Lichfield, Thomas George Anson, 1825-1892.
Liddon, H. P. (Henry Parry), 1829-1890.
Lusk, Andrew, 1810-1909.
MacDonald, George, 1824-1905.
Martineau, James, 1805-1900.
Milnes, Richard Monckton, Baron Houghton, 1809-1885.Morley, John, 1838-1923.
Morley, Samuel, 1809-1886.
O'Hagan, Thomas O'Hagan, Baron, 1812-1885.
Osborne, Sidney Godolphin, Lord, 1808-1889.
Ouida, 1839-1908.
Parnell, Charles Stewart, 1846-1891.
Pennefather, W. (William), 1816-1873.
Richard, Henry, 1812-1888.
Richmond, Charles Henry Gordon-Lennox, Duke of, 1818-1903.
Rosebery, Archibald Philip Primrose, Earl of, 1847-1929.
Russell, George William Erskine, 1853-1919.
Russell, John Russell, Earl, 1792-1878.
Sala, George Augustus, 1828-1895.
Salisbury, Robert Cecil, Marquess of, 1830-1903.
Selborne, Roundell Palmer, Earl of, 1812-1895.
Shaftesbury, Anthony Ashley Cooper, Earl of, 1801-1885.
Sharp, Isaac.
Spencer, John Poyntz Spencer, Earl, 1835-1910.
Spurgeon, C. H. (Charles Haddon), 1834-1892.
Stanley, Arthur Penrhyn, 1815-1881.
Sturge, Joseph, 1793-1859.
Tait, Archibald Campbell, 1811-1882.
Tallack, William, 1831-1908.
Taylor, James Hudson, 1832-1905.
Teignmouth, Charles John Shore, Baron, 1796-1885.
Temple, Frederick, 1821-1902.
Thomson, William, 1819-1890.
Ullathorne, William Bernard, 1806-1889.
Vaughan, Herbert, 1832-1903.
Victoria, Empress, consort of Frederick III, German Emperor, 1840-1901.
Wilberforce, Samuel, 1805-1873.
Wilberforce, William, 1759-1833.
Wodehouse, John, Earl of Kimberley, 1826-1902.Howard Association (London, England)
Society of Friends.
Capital punishment.
Prison reformers -- Great Britain.
Social reformers -- Great Britain.
Quakers -- Great Britain -- Political activity.
Great Britain -- Politics and government -- 19th century.
Correspondence.
Social reformers.
Access Restrictions
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Use Restrictions
Written permission must be obtained from SCRC and
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materials in this collection.
Preferred CitationPreferred citation for this material is as follows:
William Tallack Correspondence
&su_name;
Inventory
Correspondence
Allen, William
1831
written to Simon Horner
1 letter
1
Argyll, George Douglas Campbell
1868
1 letter
1
Balfour, Arthur James Balfour
1888,
1907
2 letters
1
Baring-Gould, Sabine
1899,
1905
4 letters
1
Bass, Michael Thomas
1869
1 letter
1
Booth, William
1891
1 letter
1
Bradlaugh, Charles
1888
1 letter
1
Braithwaite, Joseph Bevan
1905
1 letter
1
Bright, John
1865
1 letter
1
Brougham and Vaux, Henry Brougham
1865
1 letter
1
Burns, John Elliot
1905
1 letter
1
Carpenter, Mary
1868
1 letter
1
Cecil, Hugh Richard Heathcote
1905
1 letter
1
Chamberlain, Joseph
1881
1 letter
1
Churchill, Randolph Henry Spencer
1888
1 letter
1
Cobbe, Frances Power
1871
1 letter
1
Cobden, Richard
1864?
1 letter
1
Coleridge, John Duke Coleridge
1872
1 letter
1
Cranbrook, Gathorne Gathorne-Hardy
1872
1 letter
1
Curzon, George Nathaniel Curzon
1898
1 letter
1
Davidson, Randall Thomas
1905
1 letter
1
du Cane, Edmund Frederic
1872
1 letter
1
Dufferin and Ava, Frederick Temple Blackwood
undated
1 fragment
1
Ewart, William
1864,
1868
2 letters
1
Farrar, Frederic William
1876,
1879
2 postcards
1
Forster, William
1831
written to John Barry
1 letter
1
Forster, William Edward
1868,
1869
2 letters
1
Fowler, Robert Nicholas
1868
1 letter
1
Froude, James Anthony
1889
1 letter
1
Gilpin, Charles
1868
1 letter
1
Gladstone, Herbert John Gladstone
1906
1 letter
1
Gladstone, William Ewart
1868,
1877,
1878,
1895
1 letter, 5 postcards
1
Gurney, Joseph John
1830
written to John Barry
1 letter
1
Hampton, John Somerset Pakington
1871
1 letter
1
Harcourt, William Vernon
undated
1 letter
1
Harrowby, Dudley Ryder
1872
1 letter
1
Hawker, Robert Stephen
undated
1 letter
1
Hill, Rowland
1866,
1872
2 letters
1
Houghton, Richard Monkton Milnes
1868?
1 letter
1
Iddesleigh, Stafford Henry Northcote
1872
1 letter
1
Jackson, John
1872
1 letter
1
Johnson, W.S.
1905
1 letter
1
Kimberley, John Wodehouse
1878
1 letter
1
Kitchin, George William
190?
1 letter
1
Lawrence, John Laird Mair
1875
1 letter
1
Lecky, William Edward Hartpole
1897
1 letter
1
Lichfield, Thomas George Anson
1868
1 letter
1
Liddon, Henry Parry
1884
1 letter
1
Lusk, Andrew
1868
1 letter
1
MacDonald, George
1888
1 letter
1
Martineau, James
1896
1 letter
1
Morley, John
1900
1 letter
1
Morley, Samuel
1872
1 letter
1
O'Hagan, Thomas O'Hagan
1867
1 letter
1
Osborne, Sidney Godolphin
undated
1 letter
1
Ouida
1892
1 letter
1
Parnell, Charles Steward
1883,
1885?
2 letters
1
Pennefather, William
1869
1 letter
1
Richard, Henry
1868,
1888
2 letters
1
Richmond, Charles Henry Gordon-Lennox
1888
1 letter
1
Rosebery, Archibald Philip Primrose
1885
1 letter
1
Russell, George William Erskine
1903
1 letter
1
Russell, John Russell
1868
1 letter
1
Sala, George Augustus Henry
1883
1 letter
1
Salisbury, Robert Cecil
1892
1 letter
1
Selbourne, Roundell Palmer
1888
1 letter
1
Shaftesbury, Anthony Ashley Cooper
1876
1 letter
1
Sharp, Isaac
1895
1 letter
1
Spencer, John Poyntz Spencer
1885
1 letter
1
Spurgeon, Charles Haddon
1876,
undated
3 letters
1
Stanley, Arthur Penrhyn
1872
1 letter
1
Sturge, Joseph
1848,
written to John Barry
184?
1 letter
1
Tait, Archibald Campbell
1872,
1875,
1876
3 letters
1
Taylor, James Hudson
1887
1 letter
1
Teignmouth, Charles John Shore
1868
1 letter
1
Temple, Frederick
1870
1 letter
1
Thomson, William
1876
1 letter
1
Ullathorne, William Bernard
1887
1 letter
1
Vaughan, Herbert Alfred
1901,
undated
2 letters
1
Victoria, Empress, consort of Frederick III, German Emperor
1888
1 letter
1
Wilberforce, Samuel
1872
1 letter
1
Wilberforce, William
autographed title page to Jonathan Gray for
An Inquiry into the Duties of Men by Thomas Gisborne
1
Unidentified
1872
1 letter
1
Miscellaneous
1872,
1874
2 items
1
Miscellaneous envelopes
3 items
1