OUR GAOLS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume III, Issue 633, 22 November 1865, Page 4

OUR GAOLS.

We took occasion about twelvo months since to the attention of tho public to the conditio,, f H \ gaols in this Province. AVo wore not, i nd J tI (F first to rem irk upon the deficiency of the ex w "" quality of the prison accommodation, for theV legal authority in the colony * dressed the grand jury upon the who made a presjntinent acknowledgi nf , strictures tnado by the Chief Justico, and p r0B; " to do all in their power to ameliorate the coaditi' 51115 the unfortunate persons who had become amen\f to the penalties or restraints of the law. So bid the state of o»r prisons at the time to which werT that one of our Provincial Councillors—.M r . g ff Ke> we believe,—said from his place in the Legislature that it was the greatest piece of A consioa that could be imagined on the part of «,"' desperate men who usually become the inmates tf" prison to ftay for two conaccutire nights ;„ , s ricketty structure which had b;>en misnamed . . ,' Thd gaoler declared that lie was unjustly dealt v in being held responsible for the safe custodv I colonial and provincial felonry, at the same timeV the means were denied him of carrying out an e ff tive discipline. One gaoler was dismissed, w i, ceeded by another, who was rushed, until 8 t l en "iv a s..ene of turbulence occurred which spread al» through tUo city, and convinced tho authorises tM the matter was not to ho trilled with, but wther tuse a common but by no means elegant fi.. ure • speech, "the bull must ha seized by the h oro °! What was to ba done with the bull when he had W fo seized, was not at onco made apparent. Jj ut \ was decided first that the miserable and i mDur receptacle f>r prisoners in (Juccm-stroet, should to substituted by a more substantial and more »h o i some structure at Mount JCden, and that the reproJj upon our criminal jurisprudence implied by petti™ nndi pampering crim% in order to make it quiescent under detention sir uld cease. This new burning ffl ! completed and made ready for occupation ou if,.. day last, and tho tenants in common of Auckland G-aol accordingly " cleared cut" on that evening, w j are now in a more salubrious situation.

Tho authorities weie fortunate in obtaining in lu midi't of iheir greatest difficulty the services of Jn efficient officer, who had eomo to this colour f rom one of the best regulated and most extensive convict prisons in England—namely, Millbanfc I'enitentisr, —who was subsequently thd chief of the Detective Foro in whence he came to this I'rovinm fortified by tho highest testimonials. It was not to bo expected that a person so qualified nnd so eipcrienced would be content with the ancient order of things, and that ho wou.d do l.'ss than demand security from tho Government that his office would he tenable, at tno same time that he undertook to reform the system altogether.

Twilve months a;.;o the Stockade at Mount Eden consisted of two oblong sheds, two store;s in beieht and these had to accommodate about one huud'rti and fifty prisoners. These sheds were surrounded by a boarded fence, of three-quarter inch boards which shook with every blast of wind, and the vard ran the whole way round, without any let ot'hindrance to an occasional game at hide and or ti.at more appropriate recreation known as '■ prisoners' bar." More sentimental rogues i:iipiov t -u the " shining hour" ia cultivating tlowois that grew upon the grave of a person who was hung for murdering his wife. Prisoners -wh so ambitiou nwellci beyond the limits of their confinement, found opportunities of experimenting upon screw bolts an inch louy, and padlocks worthy of no grander purpose than securing a hen-coop, of cou se, they succeeded to perfect! u. lu an exce.-B of enthusiasm, worth? of Archimedes, they cried " Eureka ! " and were discovered next day in Cabb;ige-tree Swamp.

To >;ivo our readers the most accurate notion r.f what has tine- been accomplished, wo will put them, as ire put ourselves,under the guidance of the preient Governor of the Stockade, to whom they are indebted for the increased precautions that hare been taken to keep the bl ick sheep of society within their proper tenfold. 'Of course, it mu->t stiii bo understood that tlio gaol lit Mount Eden is very far from what a county or a provincial gaol should bo. It is true, in a different sense than implied by the learned and unfortunate uuthor of the famous distich that

" Stone walls do not a prison make, Nor irou bars a case" But Rome was not built in a year, and wc mutt be content to accept the g< oi offered to us as an earnest of urcater good yet to come.

It should be premi : ed that taking tho penal prison of Mount Eden us a test, our criminal population has just doubled in two years. This result ii of course not at ail alarming, seeing that it is in accordance with the maxim, that crime increases pari program with social develpcment and population. But it should not fail to be remembered by our legislators hj a guide to legislative action in tho fuiuie. The number of criminals confined two years ago was 100, the number last year was stated to us at 150, while this year at this time it iB just 200. '1 hese figures must be taken in the absence of returns as approximate rather than exact, but they are sufficiuit for oar [.resent purpo-c. A feature of the gaol too which had hitherto, if it existed at all, been over-looked is this slow rising of a hugo stone wall, about four feet in thickness extending round the whole of the stockade, and destined in timo not merely to rr.ak the boundary, but .to enclose from public view the so ial evil, which 'a in a moral sense suppurating within.

S mehow there is a cold kind of melancholy takes possession of a man when he approaches a gaol. The gloomy dingincss of such a place, even in its best aspect, preaches its own peculiar lesson. The feeling is stronger in a new eoun'ry whero enterprise is over rewarded, because tho career of vico is the most responsible, and for preservation sake the most energetic of a'l vocations. It is of little use to pi each that if half the industry was exercised in liviug decently that there is in getting into goal, the pri-ons would have few inmates. This is a homily which our excellent Resident Magistrate bus been dir-pensing for many a year. As you approach Mount Jiden you are to use a very expressive form of speech " pulled up by a pair of scrutinizing: eyes peering over a large beard, only part seen, from tho fact that two largo hands are grasping tightly a bayonet fixed to a musket, of which the butt "end is resting upon the ground. If such a nun were to ask who gees there, one would have eousidoruMo difficulty in pronouncing tho word " friend" without its sticking in his throat. This hiivuto oatlookcr disappears in his sentry box, and you next discern three of his brethren marching up and down upon » platform at three cornels, and level with the top of the stockade, also with loaded muskets en parte. You next come across the " boss" (a name for a man in authority), in glazed wide-awake and " mackintosh, who is as a man of authority exceedingly " civil and tafe" towards you. There i- 1 certainly no appearance of reservation, and you arc conducted through tho prison. Th> establishment, which was all one bef.ive, is now divided into four compartments, named tho convict or penal yard, the hard labour yard, the refractory yard, thudrunkiuds and vagrants yard We should "havo mentioned that a new wooden building was erected about ten inrmtns ago, joining tho oblong sheds which wo have already mentioned. The armed gentries at tho thvei corners of the prison havo the full command of these yards, one yard being under tho eye of each man, so that anything Hkoa disturbance could bo dealt with in a very summary way. You pioceed with your guide through the various yards, which aro kept scrupulously clcan> and almost the first thing you miss is the floral monument which wed to adorn the grave of the murderer Harper. What has become of it ? " Oh, I hare swept it away," is the reply of the matter-of-fact gaoler, " but. you see they will not let the man's memory so easily die out; see here." Tho stouo cutters had marked tho grave with a slab of s-ona, upon which th y had cut a ] • Tgo Boruan 11, as if to testify more than any other fact could, the sympathy'here is in crin-.iral nature with deeds ol violence requited by n violent termination. Having gone the round of tho yards you aro conducted to tho pen .1 cells. In each of those every man's bed is carefully rollod up, and his bed-clothes also neatly folded, laid upon the top. Both the- floor of the cell i<nd bedding are scrupulously clean. 'there I is not the truce of an unpleasant smell, but the cells | aro dark and gl >omy. It was curiom to speculate from email matters upon the character of the occupants. In one or two instances there was nn extra care exhibited in tho process of cl.aning and in the disposition of the one or two articles not prohibited, which denoted a mind more rcflued. and therefore mora unfortunate, than ordinary, "Tho man who occupies this cell,' said my guide, " is somewhat o: a literary turn." We observed a shelf laden with books. They wore a'l neatly oovered. Tho first boob- we turned up was a copy of the Latin Vuls a "

- T~~French translation. Tho next was Professor a touo's "tny* of tho Scottish Osvaliera;" tho twri * oS " C '°W °* BU P oem written in i b'e and Hindostani character. That the soul of ivict should take delight in works of this class—for J* OT " K many more—was something to havo i rued e« n from a T ' sit to a B aol- '■ riie owner of ih"! little library was pointed out to us: ho was 1 >- the heavy hamraor in ono of the gangs. EJZ" ° w ill dare envy hiui the consolation of his The'other wards differ in nothing from those of the nvicts - ,ive t ' ,at " soem * eS3 complete, although ? .. e vident they were no less secure- Hen, were i '.j re n2ase<li n whitewashing and ''puddling,"a pro- ' juj-hre were informed is effected by putting limo Mo the interstices of the board linings for tho older "ortinn °f the S* ' b ooome overrun with bugs. It had been found necessary to keep tho drunkards ' art for a reason more powerful than any advant>e derived from classification, and that is tho filthy fate in whieh some of them aro admitted. It is contemplated to have baths erected for tho purification of these unfortunates. It had been found necessary to place thiir bedding in a sep irate yard under a shed for the preservation of cleanliness. were next conducted to tho new buildings for j,j,( lr3 nn d Ai J .-'»" awaiting trial and women. This buildinsr is about 100 feet long- and 25 feet wide. It is 2 store' hiah, and fitted.up with tho most recent improvements. It D 0 a rer >" grateful change for the inmates. The women are under tho care of Mrs. Andrewsrtlw, and present a far more cheerful appearance than they did in their miserable quarters in Uueen-street. The high pasture grounds lining the Kvber Pass Road can bo seen from the gaol yards. The lislil to all parts of the building is good, so that in some sort the days of detention for trial before euilt is pronounced and when suspense must bo ffrcitcst, is solaced by the sight of external nature. D £:it notwithstanding the advance that lias been mad* in improvement, there are many things which strike the attention as being exceedingly anomalous. One of the first of these is the liberality of the dietsrv convicts. It is certainly better than many honest men trying to make their way in the w-'-rld indulge themselves with. Surely a man wohM have an inducement to oil'etd against the law and give up the un.-ert'iiity of honest life for the certsintv of full stomachs, clean linen, and dry quarters". T : .ie iiist-class convicts get every day lilbs. of breai. 2bs. of potatoes, lib. of fresh meat, a quart of tea and 2ozs. cf sugar, a quarter of an oz. of So3p, salt, -and Sozs. of tobacco a week. For the second chss there is given, a ration of lib. of bread, 2!bs. of potatoes, lib. fresh meat, Joz. soap, and hoz. salt (but no tobiceo.) We see that tho prison regulations are signed by Mr. sewell, who was perhaps) in a serio-comic humour when he passed the following regulation for prisoners in solitary confinement—U-lb. bread—w.iter ,;■! libit'.un. 'Ch s liberal dietary scaie applies to persons who are confined for terms exceedin; four years We should like to know what are the grounds upon which the ration of prisoners con-fin-d f--r four yens or less thould be much less. Thus the ordinary gaol allowance for a prisoner is 1 Jib. of bread, -Sozs. meat, lib. of potatoes, -?,oz. salt, hz. soap /.') and -i.-zs. tlour. Certainly the logic of this diitiiu'tiou is certainly obscure. Does it take bah" an ounce of .-cap to wash a full blown convict, and only half that quantity to wash a ' hard labor " man ? Does a thorough-paced blackguard need four times as much fre-h meat, twice as many potatoes, and halt' as much bread to keep up his criminal respectability as are needed fur a less daring loafer ? And why should pri-oners have tobacco at, all? Is there any prison in England in which its use is tolerated? There is another matter which strikes us as requiring alteration. We observed the prisoners Tfoikinj" in blue shirts and white trowsers, and we observed some contractors' men clothed in th.- same way within two fields of the gaol. Supposin;; an escape effected, would net this throw pursuit off the scent, and might not it- bo the fruitful source of accident. There is also a gTeat deficiency in ve: tilation in sonv of these cells, and we saw some not more than 11 feet high, Si feet long, and ire feet wi ie, in which three prisoners had to sleep. Hire the groat want is of ventilation from below. It •h'.uld le a maxim with the visiting ju=-tices of all pols to provide for the g e itest amount of physical toafott. constant with an efft ient penal discipline. In all other respects the most intelligent and careful concern is manifested for the welfare of prisoners. This i, inost proper, no gaoler should have written upon his door " abandon hope who enter here " We wore much pleased to know that every care is taken to awiken in prisoner.* a taste for refined amusement. A: the same time the most rigid di ciplino ; wardens are mustered in due form, fire-arms are examined prisoners are ordered to fall in, and are marched to and frjra their works in silence, except from the clanking of irons by which some of the more dtaperate are Med. It is a strange sight to see ths gang of shoemakers marching in one direction, the stone dressers ■*ho are preparing the materials for the imprisonment of their sue -ts ors in crime going another, the quarry men dim Ming up the rocks, each gang preceded by the warder with his deadly rifle, who stand" like a ititue watching every movement. And when one tarns to the debtors' and the women's prison, one is still further painfully struck with a thousand ipparent vicissitudes. We might say with Lord Bacon "Itis not well to look too "long "upon the turning wheels of vicissitude lest wo become giddy." But Wore departing we should like to know the reason for one regulation of which we were informed. Some of these debtors appeared to have no mattrass, ttd were lying on a blanket on the floor. "Oh ! " *m the answer to our query, " the Government only supplies pauper debtors with bed, bedding," <£c. ) Eeally, it i 3 very hard to see how greatly aboTe pau- j perism is the estate of auy man who is in prison for I deot. Surely he might be supplied with a mattrass, tf only for humanity sake. There was one very powerful impression made npon our mind bv ou' vi-it to the Stocfctde. 'That tnere is in that place an immense amount of profitable labour, which would make a much larger establishment self-supporting if employed with that Jie*-. It is by no means improbable that under intelligent management—encouraged, of course, by liberal treatment—a great deal of reformatory, as *ell as penitentiary work mijrht be accomplished The ofneer at present in charge is. we believe, atiipiated with a d-sire to this end. We aincerely hope 06 may not only be able to convince the Government taat what is requir. d in improving the interior of prisons and the security of prisoners is not thrown '"ay, tut can be made in a very few years reproductive. Kxt.erimeiits have been "made upon a large which have set the matter at rest, Cut are here too numerous to mention. It is not, ™«r all, so diißr-ult to discriminate between the hopeful and irreclaimable. The measure of the difference being discovered, judicious treatment will do tat rest. J