BORSTAL INMATES

Evening Post, Volume CX, Issue 79, 30 September 1930, Page 16

BORSTAL INMATES

AMENDED PROVISIONS

Several minor alterations in the control of prisoners in Eorstal Institutions are mado in tho Prevention of Crime (Borstal Institutions Establishment) Amendment Bill, passed by the House of Representatives last night. Moving the second reading, cue Minister of Justice (the Hon. J. G. Cobbe) explained thtU the Bill made provision for the payment of maintenance to the wives of inmates of the Borstal Institutions. There was also provision that those who escaped from the institutions could be arrested at any time without the issue of a warrant charging them ai rogues and vagabonds. Mr. E. A. Wright (Reform, Wellington Suburbs) considered that the amendments wore all in the right direction. He said'that in some-cases the innocent suffered more than the guilty, and the amendment thai enabled authorities to divert money to the maintenance of the dependents of the convicted person was very necessary. Tho . Leader of the Labour Party (Mr. H. B. Holland) said the change in regard to the payment of the wives of inmates was a necessary one. . He thought the time was coming when all prisoners should be given •an opportunity of doing a certain amount of work so that they could decently provide for their families. ,To-day the in soncr was uot the sufferer; it. was the women and. childreu. who felt the pangs of hunger. Ho was glad to see tin; amendment, which did away with the use of tho term:"rogue and1 vagabond," as that was a term which belonged to the days of Henry the ,/ighth and not to the 'twentieth century. He hoped the amendment, proposed in the present Bill would be mado wider iv its application. Mr. H. Hamilton (Reform, Wallace) Sidd that he appreciated the difflculty of helping the inmates of the Borstal Institute in custody. He agreed that a certain amount of liberty should be given to the boys, and said that it was very gratifying to see the fine work that was carried out by the administrator. He thought that the. House should assist the Minister. The Minister said, that was . very gratifying to see that ,'tho1 House appreciated that the amendments would assist in tho'administration of tlie Borstal Institutes. ' '•'.'! '

The Bill was put through its remaining stages and passed.