SECEN DAYS IN PRISON.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XXVIII, Issue 99, 30 April 1894, Page 4

SECEN DAYS IN PRISON.

A DEBTOR'S EXPERIENCE,

II; is not necessary to the purpose I have in hand to know who or what I am. But I may say that I am a professional man ; and I trust there are not many who will have to undergo the penalties of that playful notion called " contempt of court," and spend a few days of quiet solitude and reflection as a debtor in one of Her Majesty's prisons. Buch has been my fate. Among my fellow-sufferers or companions, or both, I found men of all kinds— Home rough, some smooth, some more educated than others, but all of them men with straight principles, and, so far as I could judge, bowed down with misfortune, and, to use that old hackneyed phrase, " circumstances over which they had no control." There was but one exception, and no judge on the bench could have meted out heavier condemnation than was meted out to this offender by his companions. Oil him more presently. And, ere I go further, I should like to say that in the remarks I em about to make I am not going to find fault with the officials with •whom I came in contact. I am about to offer a few criticisms upon a system, or a policy, or a something—call it what you will. On the whole, considering the various types of character with whom they have to deal, the officials were kind and humane. They discharged their duties with zeal, impartiality, and moderation. The higher the official the more pronounced this was. The ordinary warder was something, not quite, like the ordinary policeman. He had a little brief authority, and it was laughable to see the way in which he used it. Bat there was a good, warm, honest heart oeneath the official uniform after all. There was considerable officialism, but no severity. And I am quite certain it is a man's own fault if he not as kindly treated as the unintelligible red-tape rules will permit. The governor was in every respect a thorough, kindly, gentle English gentleman, and if he can discover himself in these lines, I would tell him that there was never anything but the kindest and warmest word towards him on the lips of the unfortunates committed to his care. I was in the position of one who, after a considerable struggle, found himself unoble to comply with the order of a County Court, The amount was not large, and would merely be ridiculed by thousands. 1 was committed for seven days, And for seven days I went ; and, legally, seven days I stayed. That is, i, went in on Monday evening, and came out on the Saturday morning. I will begin by describing my captive life. ON ARRIVING. I arrived on the Monday evening in charge of one of the kindest and best hearted guardians any man could have, and was very hospitably received. True, my very few things were taken away from me— a pen and pencil, a walking-stick, a rug, a comb and 'brush, and a volume of Dickens ; also my money — not much In return I was given a pair of rough sheets, marked with a broad arrow —a symbol which pervaded everything with which I had to do, except the bedotead ; even down to the • wooden Bpoon, which was so flat that you could not, without the skill of a conjuror, get anything into it. In the "cell," or room, as it is euphemistically called, there was a Btool, marked in three places with the Government symbol, one or two simple utensils, an appalling supply of ealt; a plate. ..which I, at least, had never any occasion to use— a little table about 18 inches or two feet square, firmly fixed into the wall, and bedding. I ought to say that I had a bible and prayer-book, both with leaves out — of course where they were wanted— and later on a hymn-book, suffering from the same complaint. In fact, this disease seemed to be epidemic in all the literature of the prison. The few books — 1 think three — that I was enabled to get were, in more senses than one, illustrated with " cuts." Everything excepting the books, was scrupulously clean and well ordered,- -and was bound— as is right— to be kept so. After making my bed — which, in spite of my position, afforded me considerable amusement, for, after all, I got the sheets where the blankets should have been, and vice versa—l turned in. It was a strange peculiar feeling to have the key turned upon you [for the first time in your life. Still, I was weary, and fell asleep and dreamt of " home." At six o'clock in the morning the bell rang out its deep sonorons tones, and some minutes afterwards the doors of the "rooms" were thrown open, gas lighted, and the morning cleaning began. This, I fancy, was made to last aB long as possible, just to vary the tedious monotony, which was the most unbearable thing about the ■whole affair, at half - past seven came breakfast— sixounces of brown broad, and half a pint of cocoa or a pint of gruel. The food was, in its way excellent. I could not help wishing that every poor creature in this great city had as good a beginning to the day It is the fashion. I know, to decry the quality of the food granted to the prisoners. Most emphatically it was not the quality, but it certainly waa the quantity. A little more would have been very acceptable. CHAPEL AKD EXERCISEs After this waa over the k^ i turned on us again. J- wag there was a great. • w .< warders. From- v L a respe . cfc from anotb.*- ■ dI ?T n ?.*i m that ho 1 one we had a little; pj &r . „, -who seemed to think *' . nad a grand chance of dis- ,,, we got none. "Lights out" with the first, when we had a decent chance of seeing the way to our mouths. " Lights out" with the last, •when we could not see anything at all ; and it was done with indifferent grace, that speaks but little for his feeling of humanity. At about twenty minutes to nine tho miserable doors were unlocked, and "Chapel" was cried with an emphatic utterance on tho last syllable. I felt very much inclined to try and claim exemption, and to plead the conscience clause ; but 1 could not, after all. It was some relief from the dreary weariness of the prison life, I went, of course, because I was obliged. A more miserable travesty of a religious service I never attended. It really was a bulesqutf, pure and simple. A parson right up above us, reading a few prayers, picked out here and there, one psafm, a hymn, and then "The grace of our Lord," with a well-bred whisper to close the scene,

and some whistles from the attend- ! ant turnkeys or warders, who had never giveu a moment's thought of the service. Yjs, they threatened the poor unfortunate boys for talking, and talk they did in spite of all the somnolent officiate could do. Then we were looked up till ten. At that hour our doors wore opened, and "Exercise" was proclaimed. We were admitted iuto a yard. The dimensions were not great, and the restrictions were ridiculous andabsurd. We could not walk on|a certain path to the right. We were not allowed to cross into the sacred domain of the first-class misdemeanants. Of course, that was quite right. Foolishly for a moment, and only for a moment or two, I, with a fellow sufferer, tried to go into these sacred precincts. We were instantly stopped. We owed between us less than £8. The man who was walking there, and who could not bo approached save by high offioials, who shook hands cordially with him — as, of course, his defalcations entitled hfm to do—was served with the best of the land. Ho had an attendant to see after his comforts, and everythiug was done that, of course, ought to be done to a man who had only gone wrong to the tune of nearly two millions and a quarter. He was most emphatically a man to be taken notice of and shaken hands with. I envied him. DINNER AND SOCIETY. After a wretched two hours, during we had dinner, we were liberated again from two till five. We were allowed to order our dinners if |we could pay for them. Some of us did, but it was a poor experiment. Anything like a hot [dinner was in a terrible state of " tepidness " when it came in. I had ordered mine the first day, and was hungry; but I could not eat it, and sent half of it away. 1 contented myself, save one day, when 1 " went on the county," with bread and i cheeße and some cold pie, with a pint of beer. The other was a fraud. The soup at the prison was very good indeed, but they feed you like wild beasts, and not like men. JS T o knife or fork— except you paid for your dinner. After " exercise " in the •♦grounds" we were thrust into a common room. I have no reason to complain of the treatment I received there from my brothers in misfortune. We could talk ; we could talk ; but not one scrap of anything to make life bearablejwas to be found. " Beraand " prisoners, most of whom would become convicted criminals, were allowed daily papers (six I think) and the illustrated weeklies ; and we, poor debtors, that £50 would have liberated, were allowed nothing but what we could got— and that was with very great difficulty. I managed to get oue paper in my time, A brother in difficulty kindly lent me his from morning till two o'olock, and a'eo slipped into my hand the sweetest orange f ever afce. Ho waa a naturalised Frenobmanj aod, wherever he be, I blece him. At five o'clock we^wore tamed in aud locked in. For five hours wo had to eudure the misery of that wretched time. Thon a bell rang ligbts out, to be awukened again in tho morniug at six o'clock, with the same senseless monotony as before. SOME HARD CASES, Now I am not complaining, nor did I fiud anyone who did— except one, who had no bueinesß to complain at all. True, I came aorosa a few v peculiar cases. 1 only know of what they said, but, from what I caw of tboir tearful eyes and heavy hearte, I believe what they said. I was thoroughly sorry for mostof them, and their grief made mo almost forget raino. One was a poor tradesman in the picture-frameline. His wife was in the hospital. He had four little children. He started a email Buop in a poor district. For a fortnight all went well, then collapse. Then unable to pay rent, aUo rates— a month in prison. But a fneudly butcher had taken him by the hand and helped his children. On tho Thursday alternoon of my week's "experience" a man waß brought in. He Btood nearly 6ix feet, broad, well-bnilfc, ruddy-faced, with a kind, genial, but thoroughly care-worn aspect. Ho told mo he was " m " for £2 4,3; that ho had been out ot work for six months : that he had left his wife, without being able to tell her where ho was, that mommg with a baby a fortnight old, Ho had got work that morning at £2 a week, as a bottle-flller, and ho had only ' been at work for three hou;a when the county court officer arreßted him and boro h\n away. In answer to my further inquiry he said that he expeoted to lose his place, aud didn't know what to do. He was committed for ton days. At tho end of that time ho would be discharged on the wide, wido world. This system degrades the man and casts him down, It knocks the heart ouc of him. It makes him reckless and casts him into despair. Ifc causes him many needless, weary, wretched houre. In many casee it ruins him completely. It does no good to the creditor, as a rule Vory few men will go to prison if they can possibly pay their creditors' claims. I am sure from what I saw, and from what I felt, and from the orer-enduiiug bitterneßs against the system 1 brought away with me, that thin miserable farce and this detestable cruelty are perfectly useless in recovering debt, and that they can only tend to drive men deeper into ruin.— Pall Mall Budget,