HETRENCHMENT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume IV, Issue 1215, 7 October 1867, Page 4

HETRENCHMENT.

To the Editor of the New Zeaxaot Heeaid. Sir, —In your leading article of the 27th ult. you state that while the cost of the Resident Magistrate's Court, and its officers was £1,757 in the year of 1865, the amount- of fees &c., received was £2,569, thus leaving a clear profit of £812. Again you state that great saving might be affected in respect to the police expenditure, which is £8,051. Now I would ask you whether it is solely owing to the acumen of the fteBident Magistrate, or partly to the vigilance of ths police, that the Court pays so well! Is it not a fact that the police are the means of contributing, largely to the funds of that Oourt ? Yes you do n. ot credit them with a single penny. Again you stat that the gaol costs £8,661 per annum. In vulgar p e rase that statement is " very like a whale." Do you give the gaol crcdit for the thousands of yardß of road metal which the prisoners break, or the thousands of feet of hewn stone ; you appear to forget all about that. You also state that there has been no attempt made at reducing tho expenditure at the gaol beyond the discharging of a warder or two, or placing policemen to do warder's duty, which latter is no saving at alt. Now since the downfall of the Tucitccll administration salaries have been done away with, to the extent of at least a thousand pounds. Is that nothing ? Moreover I have the authority of the foreman of works for stating that under the present regime, there is more work done. "Sou also state that prisoners ought to be nble at least to earn sufficient to feed and clothe themselves, having nothing to pay for lodging. Now rations cost about 9d per day, and allowing 3d for clothing that would make Is. per day. At the present time there «re many prisoners who break more than a yard of road metal per day, which labour at the least is worth 3s per yard. Again, there aremany employed preparing stones for the gaol wall that is being built. This wall, if carried all round with hewn stone, will require about 100,000 cubic feet, which at about 5s per foot would amount to £25,000. Of course it will take several years to finish it, but then it will be an everlasting job when done. You also state that a greater variety of labour is required for the prisoners. I quite agree with you in that. Some simple spinning machinery might be introduced to good purpose, as well as a few hand-looms. Prisoners might thus spin wool and weave it into cloth; as well as spin flax, and make it into ropes, cords, &c., or weave it into sacking, canvas, &c. A gang of prisoners might also be profitably employed in opening up the different freestone quarries in the Province, so as to have them thoroughly developed. It would also be cheaper to march out a gang of prisoners for the purpose of breaking road metal some three or four milos from the gaol, than to pay cartage for that distance. As a general rule, prisoners ought to be put to that labor which would provo most remunerative. A different mode of treatment, however, is indispensably necessary for that class of prisoners called " gaol birds.'. Again, in the Police Court this morning a prisoner was brought up, having no less than sir previous conviections against him; another had four, and it is only a few days since a man was sent to the Stockade for the seventh, time. The frequency of such cases imperatively demands a change in the system.—l am, &c., Bhtosgam. Ootober 4,1867.