THE PRISON ADMINISTRATION.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XCVI, Issue 11048, 28 August 1896, Page 4

THE PRISON ADMINISTRATION.

Bx its vote reducing the salary of the gaoler at Hokitika the House of Representatives has passed a deserved censure upon the officer responsible for the administration of the prisons of the colony, and indirectly upon ’the Minister who is responsible for the officer. It would be absurd to suppose that the House is so illogical as to seek to punish the Hokitika gaoler by the loss of £IOO a year for a fault which is not his, and it would be ridiculous to believe that members carried the motion for reduction out of sympathy with Mr G. J. Smith. A parliamentary majority no doubt includes in most cases men swayed by all kinds of motives, but in the present instance the scandal was so apparent, and provided such clear grounds for an adverse vote, that there is no need to hunt about for reasons for the defeat of the Government on the item. Parliament would have fallen short of its duty if it had failed to take notice of the excessive expenditure when the Estimates werei under , consideration, .and to mark its ’ sense of disapproval. That the discovery was a genuine surprise to the Premier, though affecting a town in his own constituency, we see no reason whatever to doubt. Our Opposition friends affect to see in the fact a proof of Mr Seddon’s paternal solicitude for the West Coast and a further development of the “ spoils to the victors ” theory, which they so delight in elaborating. A man who has the supervision of the colony’s affairs cannot be expected to know all details of administration in any particuiar district. Tbe empty condition of the Hokitika gaol, at a time when tbe Inspector of Prisons is complaining of lack of accommodation elsewhere, is a piece of unpardonable carelessness, for which the Minister of Justice is responsible. A sensitive Minister would doubtless have resigned bis portfolio in face of an adverse vote like that of Tuesday night; but the Hon Thomas Thompson has been such as> short time in, office, and has had so few opportunities of making himself acquainted with the detail work of the department, that he, doubtless, does not feel called, upon to > adopt this extreme course. The official who is responsible under the Minister is, of course, the real culprit; but as he is not in a position to explain matters, it behoves us to put a charitable construction upon his mistake. Ministers ought, however, to profit by tbe lesson of the Hokitika gaol incident. They have been warned pretty frequently of late that the administration of the Justice Department is not satisfactory ; and we trust they will now see that there is some ground for complaint and will take steps to remove the defects.