BREAD AND WATER

Auckland Star, Volume LXXVI, Issue 231, 29 September 1945, Page 7

BREAD AND WATER

PRISONER PUNISHED

GAOL OFFICIALS DEFENDED

Parliamentary Reporter

ThP WE LLINGTON, this day. O'BrL T ° f Patrick J^eph °' ltWaS all6ged ' had hSd thiee terms each of three days on biead and water while serving a S en «H ° f ° ne mCmh in the A " ck Ho Li o?°R was menti «ned in the by Mr A] e ?p % eS t ent^ tives yesterday £ a V Rem uera) during SSSS^?Ss^Sf and Prisons caa r A e o > id he men tioned the question nf U i co . n 9 e ™ed the broad question of administration. There imhlkStv 11 f ?e nsiderabl e newspaper of the case early this year The prisoner was a youn« senrnan ca S d e W hl en th he "J™ tooHStidTtoe somp ™i thou .§ h t there had been ti™ in the administraSI thff fee %^ discipline dealt with by a vFsitine and tlC h e P f lnStead of n anopen Com-t and before a magistrate. th^™£l gie s , aid he had looked into I ? a^ ter , ctosely since that time, and had obtained an opinion from a colleague and fellow member Mr rit^ m, b?, as a barri ster and solicitor. Both he and Mr. Oram were of the view that it was open to the prison authorities to choose the internal prison method or a magisterial inquiry at their discretion, liie former course had been adopted because the penalty was less severe. Mr. Algie said he was satisfied the prison authorities had acted correctly, although under the circumstances he was sorry they had to act at all. The Minister of Justice, MiMason, said that there was a sensational newspaper article about O Brien, but it was incorrect, and he understood that the member for Remuera was satisfied that O'Brien had misrepresented the matter. Actually the youth who told the story had a "pretty interesting experience" on the ship on which he came to New Zealand, and its officers did not find him any more easy to deal with than did the officers of the gaol. "I am not going into the details of the sensational article except to say that it was all incorrect," concluded the Minister.