LIFE AT PORT ARTHUR.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XL, Issue 2, 4 January 1905, Page 3

LIFE AT PORT ARTHUR.

THE " BESIEGED 'HARRISON'S TRIALS, DATS AUP NIGHTS OV AGONY, cbtteapondent of the London "oa\\y -Mail " Bends to hia paper an interesting: tetter which he has received frbm a Russian stationed at Port Arthur. Irtfer4dia, the wfitor of the letter says :— -awf dlneßß of the siege would require tho patt of a Zola or the brush of a Vefo&bafcfB tb picture. The forte were vtoibwo^ytDinos, wire entanglements, and . mnd to capture these our foW devoted time tod concentrated effort. B^^aifojSauß bbmbardmenf-, $ith its inMoilS^raio of she'la, strewed the and filled our already Cto6rdedilibßpitalß with ~men^ suffering feojp-itfokeniiigJ^punda, while benight a iteatea^TOnpeiiotilf place, marked by the blue flicker o* electric wires as they serttlscoWpft ?s& advancing enemy to > /j Tiii>€ia|j6ahny part of all fc^iis is that thete mfen meet; death in utter silence. 'i$0&^:$&!& fig btß « bat hews no -goon'i'" :r '?fr'-- :: ' > ''' -'"- : •••' ' '■ ■ ' ?: Oi»^if<>ia%bfr nighta at Etßcshan J ol a ghostly mass of moving fipfres; through which continual i^o^^mSi^y pur ktxob, admitting itho'Bceneß behind. These ti^aflg^BurgeWbnr^rd, while oa» : men, fotsaWng the tretohes, sought tna.saeiter <jt^p>ii& On they came until close up exploded, and the eartb bpeiiei I bodiiea were hurled high into the afe«id then sank again to earth, Hands I»»utcsßed nfles, and in the moonlight tayoueta lWksd li^e fireworks shooting Jup*a^-to4V*jgcefi point • down.fwSida intb^e body of a man. I dream Mfee Biglijb^yett now. • ; '^f j^lieTO'^afc all the invenUona of.mihifert'ig^niua are unable to dannfc these 3B^ie^W»att> incapable of roco^niaine "tha^iiJ long aa we have ammunition the impregnable, for still they vcome against us. , ".:.' ■■■■■ ife^WeliayeViii)t a single bottio Uf t of anaeiitheticßi Just think what agoby the endure. The fppjaisof tfaf^a^^^and even thafe in beginiong lo be scarce; vvhile there U muob disease, v But we are alt animated with the rej soTve; t^HotUl out, : come What wiW: Our trials; hardshipi, and 1 ' terrors are indesn (OTb^le'e^lß which hav^ made wwme. •" thing moreilian humao. The Jaganeaa rouiid us b£^n fight with 1H lamp ■Uni for eveiy man we lose our foIBS wt UR^tiieipsa pt a hundred. if : ■: -: fZyffifry&Uitt^ b;ehfnd us the membfließ ttrehistorio watfe-io. -ispmbgMM^elterß which everi^d won are penptai^d by Bhell 1 . Out ■oldiWß ar^gladiatio»B«ft< ireat-beattcd heroes. Diflaators by lan< End .'worae; dlsaaterß by *ea d>ju>fc|»ecjr them except for^a.moment. JheitjLumK |»r^ aj» tbißned>*ub they are not afraid that^ief^ilV^oboom e -^ v \, ' > will c<jme a time wheu;fchere ■mti tjoonbitearing the mconvenitf nces € ■'Sue siege" due to sickness^scaic ty ottopd, and cramped quarters, lib enduring the unceasing hell cf bursting sheila shjitterf Jinff'hbtweß, r kiilink ttnf«)rtunate itmoa, "aM tearing huge i holes in the«rp^i J .tp ioy hbttiiittgijf the miaiioa arwmg from a on-flw hi^afld m the ravinea. Bound the forte, the stenoU^rtdfiieß, the " red heads," wliobo i^p^ispiapiiß, ate increasing mjnum ? --^ately the bombardmenia hayo,"iu;(^^.itt^^;and^he fiery mesßengere at : h^be {*s. awtruiption greet us every ttiihijtp/ livetobe^a hundred there m ; my^ears theflplenin ; niußi^i*hUw»ng ;|^)6 &nd Barog^heU

Morftrt asd Oato, a well-known firm of Melbourne grocers wen charged at the Carlton Court, Melbourne, recently, with selling contended milk, which had abstracted frofhitr 90 per cent of its original fatty solids. For the prosecution it was stated that there was no suggestion that defendants knew thl vile quality of the stuff they were selling. Almost every particle of nutriment had beentaken from the milk in. question. They might as well murder an infant right away as starve it on such stuff. Br Morris, Medical Inspector to the Public Board of Health, said the milk would be admirable for the purposes .of baby farmers. He had never, come across a worse sample of condensed milk, Dr Robertson, Assistant Medical Inspector, said he could not recommend any food more calculated to murder infants than the milk. produced. Defendants were fined £9«. .with costsx In American penalogy the dominating principle is severe punishment forhopelessly cooflnned criminal®— terms of twenty-five years, thirty years, and even life, being frequently awarded professional ''bad' men — combined with the system of making easy the path of reform to the first offender, an American correspondent writes. In iconsoamnce, with tMs spirit, the superintendent of prisons in New York State, Mr Cornelius, V. Collins-, has just promulgated a new rule that first term men shall no longer wear striped clothes. Amongst reforms previous- 1 ly introduced by Superintendent Collins was the abolition of the tack-step and of the dose cropping of Prisoners' hair. In explanation and defence of his latest innovation he states that anything tfoait will tend to elevate and instruct a first offender rather than degrade and humiliate him is worthy of adoption. The idea of abolishing 1 espe' cially distinctive raiment has been carried out in reformatories for boys, and the superintendent sees no reason why the same principle should not be applied to alii first offenders, even when the prisoners are advanced in years. Replying to an argument that the reform may create a class, in prison and tend to create jealousy. SupfJi'inumoient Collins saysi:— " This is true to a certain extent, but I wish it to be true. It will impress the firstterm man with the idea that the Sfate has some consideration for him, that even if he has made a mistake in life an opportunity is to be given him to reform without entering the class of old offenders. Ha will know that hia conviction tor a second offence moans lower gmade with striped suits. Striped suits have also been abolished in Nebraska, and it is stated thero that tine good effects of the reform are <b& 'be seen in better discipline and a growing manhood on tho part of tiwj prisoners. '