The New Zealasnd Herald. WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 1870.

New Zealand Herald, Volume VII, Issue 1899, 16 February 1870, Page 3

The New Zealasnd Herald.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 1870.

SfKOTJEMUa AGENDO. Give every man thine ear, but few thy voice; Take cach man's censure, but r6serve thy juuipcent This above all, —To thine own self be true And it must follow, as the night the day, Tliou cans't not then be false to any mail."

The discussions on the estimates iu the Provincial Council give a capital opportunity, sometimes eagerly if not wisely embraced, -for members to deliver,themselves of pent up opinions on various departments of the Government. A. careful observer- "will perceive that it is very seldom indeed that these discussions lead to any wide and general views being put before the Council on any particular department. Where opportunity arises for an interesting and important discussion on principles which should guide, we have a quantity of talk on some minor matter, or in other cases, personal feeling seems to cause important principles of action to be overlooked. Hence it is that the records of the debates of the Provincial Council show so little enlarged knowledge, few attempts at grappling with principles aaid defining modes of action. "We might give numerous instances of this kind of thing, but at present content ourselves with referring to a very costly, but necessary establishment, the gaol. The discussion of that portion of the estimates relating to that department gave honorable members an opportunity of discussing the mode of manage- , ment of that institution, and compar- ! ing it with the most recent and enlightened methods of prison management in other parts of the world. It ia easy to perceive that such a discussion, were the members fairly acquainted with the subject, might be of very considerable value, and might prepare the way for considerable improvements in connection with the gaol at Mount Eden. But nothing of the kind was attempted when the prison estimates were under consideration. The highest flight attained during that discussion was to dismiss the governor or gaoler, and to put one of the subordinates in his place. This was the utmost stretch of prison reform imagined by any of the speakers in the debate in question. The reason urged was, not that the present governor was inefficient, not that any of the subordinate officials had shown any extraordinary knowledge or ability in connection with their particular duties or with gaol management generally, and so were exceedingly well fitted to take the entire management of the gaol. Nothing of this kind was attempted to be shown ; the only reason being given was, that one warder less would be employed in guarding the prisoners. But the great cost of guarding the prisoners is not because there is a governor of the gaol paid a lew pounds a year more than the officer below him. That is not the great cause of I large expenditure on wardens for the purpose named. "Why did not our Provincial Councilors make themselves acquainted with the real facts of the case, and then they would have been able to have gone to the root of the matter and to have provided a proper and sufficient remedy without any suspicion that • efforts at small economies were really dictated by a feeling against a person. The great cause of the large cost of the Warder department is the want of a wall round the jail.

J That fact is very patent, but there J comes the further question .how can. | that wall be most quickly and most ; efficiently made, and this should have been ventilated in the Couucil. The present practice, initiated in Mr. Weaver's time, is to use only very smooth-dressed stones in the erection of the outer wall. This is the great reason why thatwalladvancesso slowly. For first, it prevents a largely quantity of stone being used for the erection of the wall, which otherwise would be : used; and, secondly, the prisoners able to dress stone being very few in number, they can only get through a small portion of the work as required by the present system. These are the two direct causes of the slow progress made in the erection of the gaol wall, and the remedy, so far, is very plain and very easy. Build the wall of stones not so finely dressed as those now used. They will servo the required purpose of being a barrier to prisoners, for small inequalities on the surface of the stone of which the wall is built will be of no avail whatever in lessening the difficulty |of a prisoner scaling the wall. At the present rate of construction it will take about thirty years to erect the gaol wall, and if a calculation be made of the saving' which would be effected in the expenditure on tho salaries of warders were that wall completed, we might then form an opinion as to whether it would be even advisable to employ free labour on the work.

But we maintain, that very much greater progress might be made by the alteration we propose, and if other changes were made, still greater progress would be secured. Stone-dress-ing is an art at which several of the prisoners are really expert, and others of the long-sentence men could doubtless be easily taught it. The work would be of an exceptional and really profitable character, and we would make it a sort of prize work for which certain privileges should be granted. That we have so often insisted upon, viz., reward for industry and good conduct might be especially connected with the work to which we are referring. Hope sweetens the toil of all men, in whatever station they may be, or in whatever capacity they may labor, and whether they are bond or free. Give the prisoners this ray of hope to encourage them in industry and good conduct. Let not the iron hand be for ever pressed upon them, so that they be made to feel that there is no hope for them, aud therefore no inducement to give play to their better feelings and aspirtions. There are few men sunk so low as to be entirely beyond the influence of hope, of reward for well doing. Even a prisoner may have these feelings strong within him. : Appeal then, to these better feelings, and that appeal can be most easily,' and indeed economically as well as effectively made. The promise of some indulgences in the shape of extras as regards food and clothing, and the luxury of a little tobncco to the smoker, would work as good effects at Mount Eden as they have among prisoners elsewhere. And surely this appeal to the better feelings of the prisoners, and to their higher instincts is more humane than the present system more likely to effect good. Hence we would adopt a system by which special or extra work should have a special and extra reward in the manner to which we have alluded. And this system, while it would be generally applicable, would be so in a special manner to those engaged in stone-dressing. The amount and commercial value of their work could easily be ascertained, and we would say to these men, dress so many feet of stone per Aay, or week as your allotted task, ana all beyond that shall be credited to you at so much per foot, and you Khali be able to draw against it to a certain extent for certain extras, such as those we have enumerated above, while a fixed portion shall be reserved until you leave the gaol, when it shall be handed to you to enable you to start fair in the world.

This system introduced in the gaol would be greatly to the advantage of the province, and to tbe prisonei's. Various industries might be introduced, and treated in a similar manner. Sewing machines, for instance, should be largely used in making shoes, and all the articles of dress for the gaol.