RELIGION IN GAOL.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXVII, Issue 149, 23 June 1906, Page 11

RELIGION IN GAOL.

a On March 28 last there were confined in the prisons of England, Wales, and Scotland 21,550 people of both sexes, and on that particular day it seemed good to somebodj' with a mania for statistics to take a religious census of His Majesty's unwilling guests. It was found that close upon three-quarters of them— 16,089 to be precise—claimed to belong to the Church of England; but as it is not unusual for people who are entirely indifferent to religious matters to affirm, when questioned, allegiance to the Established Church, the figures given are probably of little value as a guide to the proportion of criminality to be found among Established Church adherents as >?ompa.Ted with professors of other faiths. Next in importance, so far as numbers are concerned, were the Roman Catholics, of whom 4370 were being entertained at the expense of the State: whilst the avowed Wesleyati3 numbered only 352, and those of the Jewish faith 207. Of Baptists there were 132, of Presbyterians 79, of Primitive Methodists Go, and of CongregationaJists only j53. Twenty-nine claimed to be Caivanistio Methodists, eight to be Bible Christians, 11 to be Salvations. 13 posed as Unitarians, three claimed to be Mohammedans or Buddhists, six and twenty declared that they had no religion, 22 avowed themselves Atheists, and one called himself a Spiritualist. Four denominations had each only one declared adherent, namely, the Plymouth x ßrcthren, the Quakers, the Christian Brethren, and the. Waldensians. Only one prisoner out of the 21.550 failed to enlighten the census takers as to his cread or want of one. but he may safely be put down as a Bacchanalian, for, according to a footnote attached to the Parliamentary paper from which the above figures are extracted., he was at the time suffering from "D.T.'s." The usefulness of such figures is difi ficult' to perceive at sight, especially in 'view of the essentially "floating"' character of the population of the majority of H.M.s free hotels, and the fact that many, if not the majority of those to be found in them at any date, are more nr less habitual criminals, who are considerably more familiar with the insides of police courts than churches, and have a vastly better knowledge of_ the rules i and regulations of H.M.s prisons than iof the contents of their bibles or prayer ! books.