PRISON METHODS.

Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 26, 1 February 1926, Page 9

PRISON METHODS.

WHAT REFORM HAS DONE. CONTROLLER-GENERAL RETIRES. MR. HAWKINS' CAREER. No man has done more for prison reform in New Zealand than Mr. Michael Hawkins, the kindly and popular Controller-General of Prisons, who retires to-day after 41 years' service in the Prisons Department. During his long career Mr. Hawkins distinguished himself in many way?, but his greatest work was-in connection , with Borstal institutions, for the introduction into the Dominion of which he was partly responsible, and with the probation system. Right from the time when Mr. Hawkins commenced his service, the idea that wa? ever uppermost in his mind was not, "How can I punish the people sent to prison?"' but ""How can I help them to improve themselves—tn assist them to become better being= and return to the outside world good and worthy citizens':" A firm believer that no man should be sent to prison except as a very

Mr. Michael Hawkins, Inspector of Prisons, who is retiring after forty

years' service in the Department.

last resort, hp furthered all manner of reformative schemes and built up a lasting monument for himself by identifying his career with the admirable prison reform methods that are in existence to-day. Born in Bangor. County Down. Ireland, in December, Mr. Hawkins was apprenticed to the building trade shortly after lip left school. "Hp completed his apprenticeship at the age of 19, but was dissatisfied with tradp conditions in his own country, and determined to try and do better for himself elsewhere. While still only 19 years of age he sailed for America. He latrded at Cleveland. Ohio, with four dollars in hi? pocket. After three days he obtained work as a bricklayer.

Arrival in New Zealand. Mr. Hawkins spent, two years in America, and then returned to Ireland. He was unable, to settle down, however, so in ISR4 he came out to New Zealand, landing in Lyttelton in October of the same year. He found the building trade extremely slack, arid was unahle ro find work. Finally.he was offered a position in the prison department a> a warder— building instructor in connection with the erection of a new prison at Mount Cock. Wellington. He was sent to Invercargill for 12 months' training. While there the system of prison building was altered, and he found that his services were no longer required for the purposes for which he was engaged. He was then transferred to Dunedin and placed in charge of building operations there. Prior to taking up those duties he was placed at Otago Heads, where about fifty prisoners, on an old gaol hulk, were* building a breakwater. Plot to Mutiny.

During the twelves which he spent I in Dunedin, Mr. Hawkins saw mfti.v stirring incidents. One of the most sensational was an attempted outbreak j on the part of the .30 prisoners on the ■ hulk previously mentioned. The men . had plotted to mutiny, tic the officers up and take the boats, including a steam launch, out to sea. The scheme to overpower the seven warders reached their ears, however, and they prepared for trouble. The prisoners mutinied as per plan. The hulk was built like a house, the upper part being a large room This the convicts stormed and completely wrecked it. smashing the furniture* and damaging every thing upon which they laid hands. Mr. Hawkins and another young officer were placed at each end of the room, and, with loaded repeater-rifles. kept the men at bay. with orders to shoot any who attempted to. leave the room. Pandemonium reigned for about half an hour, and the senior officer lost his nerve. Another young warder took charge and gave the mutineers two minutes to get into the ship's held. Mr. Hawkins and his companion retained their positions and were instructed to shoot to kill if any man remained in the room at the end of the given time. They were to "drop"' the ringleaders first, and deal with the others " afterwards. The principal warder took out his watch and began to count the seconds. A minute went by. without any movement on the part jof the prisoners. Again the officer repeated his warning, and the other officials were instructed to place their rifles at their shoulders and remain I ready to fire. Another forty seconds parsed, and the men were given their final chance. They stood their ground until but ten seconds remained, and then the least courageous made a dive for the hatchway. The rest followed like sheep, and it was a case of falling, rather than walking, into the hold, which was locked down until the arrival of reinforcements from the town. The j mutineers were each sentenced subsequently to various terms on bread and I water. ! A Champion Deceiver.

After IS months in Dunedin. Mr. Hawkins wits transferred to Timaru. where he remained for three and a-half rears. He went then to Lyttelton. While there, he came in contact with a man who must go down in history as one of the best deceivers ever known. He was serving a sentence of 15 years and was supposed to have suffered a r-erious injury to hi? buck while workin"- in a q»'arr_ v shortly after his adnifssibn. For 18 months he baffled the doctors. lor in those days X-rays were unknown, and there were no scientific methods of determining the extent of

an internal injury. The man walked on crutches, and eventually, after 18 months, it was decided that he was an incurable cripple, and to release him. On the day that he was to leave the <raol, he hobbled painfully across the yard. Mr. Hawkins opened the gate for him. and was about to re-close it, while the man now on the footpath of freedom, stayed him. The *"cripple" straightened up, and handed iiis crutches j to the gaoler. "These things are no good to mc. They.may be of some use to some other poor devil," lie remarked, and walked away ■ down the street. An Important Conversation. Mr. Hawkins went back to Intercargill in IS9I as principal warder. He remained there for 23 years, ami was promoted to second cla3s and then first class warder, and was eventually promoted to the position of Superintendent of the Invercargill Reformatory Prison, during Dr. Finlay's term as Minister of Justice. The Minister was very much concerned with prison reform, and it was largely owing to a conversation between him and Mr. Hawkins that I up-to-date methods of prison reform were introduced. While on a visit to Invercargill, the Minister asked Mr. Hawkins what he had been doing dur- | ing his 2o years in the Department. I'Do you rcaily want to know?" asked I the "superintendent. The latter was I emphatic. "'Then, sir," said the officer, ■ "if I may be allowed to forget for the time that you are the Minister and I am the gaoler. I'll tell you. During , the last twenty-five years' I've been assisting in * the manufacture of criminals!" Dr. Findlay was astonished, and asked for an explanation. Mr. Hawkins gave j him one. He told him how he had seen youths, between ages of 16 and 20, committed for first offence*, thrust into the hold of the old hulk at the Heads with 40 or 30 hardened old criminals, where they saw and heard nothing but evil, and where they had no opportunity for physical, mental, or moral improvement, and where they learnt every evil they did not know when they went into prison. At first, the young men kept aloof from the old criminals, but it was not long ■ before the older ones seemed to acquire an influence over them, and set out to teach them as much evil as possible. Mr. Hawkins told the Minister that the only thing to save the youths from contamination was to segregate them from the hardened criminals. Reformatories Established. And the result was that the Invercargill institution was set apart for the treatment of youthful offenders between 'the ages of 15 and 25 in the South ! Island, and Waikeria was made a reformatory for the North Island, for first offenders over the age of 25 years. This was the real beginning of i the movement of providing separate prisons for the treatmenr of special I classes. The next pioneer in this direction was Mr. Justice Herdman. and it I was largely owing to his efforts as j Minister of Justice, that many of the ] splendid systems of reform now in j existence were made possible. He took ! a keen interest in anything connected with the introduction of more up-to-date reform methods and the various j Ministers who followed him continued the ' good work.

Further Appointments. In 1914. Mr. Hawkins was promoted to the position of Director of Prison Works, and transferred to Wellington, but he still continued to exercise supervision over the Invercargill institution, where the inmates were engaged in reclaiming 2600 acres of estuary swamp . land. Shortly afterward?, he was made a deputy-inspector in addition to Director of Prison Works. A few years later, on the late Mr. Matthews being appointed Controller-General. Mr. Hawkins was appointed Inspector of Prisons m his *tead but continued to net as Inspector and Director of Work, up till the time of Mr. Matthews' death at the end ot 10-24 when Mr. Hawkins was appointed Controller-General and chief probation ! officer for the Dominion, which positions he ha- hold since. He decided not to wait to receive notice of retirement, but !to resign. He has always felt that at I the conclusion of his service, i.c would like to spend the rest of his lite in ~nd. and he will come to this city to reside in a few weeks, alter he has completed arrangements with his departI ment in Wellington. j Old Time Criminals.

In outlining his career to a "Star representative to-day, Mr. Hawkins made reference to the type 01 prisoner) dealt \?ith in the old days, compared i to that of to-day. Forty yeara ago the officials dealt with hard old convicts from \ustralia. such as navvies brought into the country to work on railway construction. They were the real, hardened type, to whom nothing but brute force' appealed. The warders were always armed with revolvers and batons. When they went on duty in the moraine, they "were served with revivers or repeating rifles, with an extra of ammunition, and batons were fastened to their wrists. The orders were that no prisoner was allowed within ten paces | of an officer armed* with a revolver, or j within five yards of a warder with a baton. The o"fficials had orders to shoot or club when these regulations were infringed. Xor were the officers allowed Ito converse with prisoners. This was f regarded as a very bad breach of duty, ami Mr. Hawkins, was once ''on the mat" ! for answering .a perfectly legitimate ! question put to him by a convict. •'The whole idea •in those days was that the men were sent to prison for punishment: , said Mr. Hawkins, i! and that the officers" sole duties wen to look after their safe custody. A man's moral. physical, or mental welfare was not deemed any concern of the department. The prisoners were allowed one book to read per week, and if any man was found exchanging with his neighbour, he was deprived of reading matter for a month. There were no such thing? as schools or lectures, such as exist to-day." Mr. Hawkin's complete experiences would fill a good-sized book. In closing it should be mentioned, that in his j official capacity he attended every hang- ! ing that took place in New, Zealand i during the past 15 years. The first I execution, at which he was present was that of Minnie Dean, the notorious baby farmer, who was the only- woman who ever paid the supreme penalty in Xew Zealand.