PRISION DISCIPLINE IN THE COLONIES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume X, Issue 3623, 21 June 1873, Page 3

PRISION DISCIPLINE IN THE COLONIES.

A BEStAItKiBXE letter appears in the Melbourne Telegraph, from the per. of a late prisoner, who appears to bare been but recently discharged. The subject of the letter is prison discipline, and the writer, from his point of view, treats of the nature and causes of crime, and then goes on to deal with the present system of punishing the crimiral. This, he insists, id a mistaken one, chan cterising it as a simple attempt to degrade the man, not only in his own eyes, but iu ihe gentral estimation. He says : —" It is impossible to conceive of (k more unphilosophical notion than that of reforming people by degrading them ; yet, so iar as I could this is the leading idea c*£ penal discipline. s?rom the tine that a mam is apprehended to the day of his discharge from prison, the better instincts of iiis nature are steadily suppressed, his self-respect is crushed, all honorable ambition i-> i!isec"ura"ed no inducement is held out. to him to practise industry or virtue; and yet there are people so simple as to complain of the impossibility of reforming criminal*. Why, sir, if men do reform, it is in spite of the deb,ising treatment undergone while in prison, and in spite, too, of a hostile "public feeling which is perfectly appalling." He charges society not only with the mistake but with the crime of treating men in prison as brutes—as dangerous animals. Sotno of his remarks about the absence of proper classification are forcible as well a< truthful. JTo doubt, this is one of the worst features of criminal treatment. Ho remarks : —■" I suppose that everybody is aware that there is hardly any attempt made at the classification of prisoners, and that consequently a uniform system of treatment prevails lor every prisoner and for every sort of crime. Boys and v>eu are indiscriminately herded together. Bleu who have been convicted of embezzlement or forgery, thieves and murderers, persons guilty of bestiality, rape, or perjury, vagrants and burglars, accidental sinners and hardened erimina.s, innocent and guilty—all alike are mixed u;j together, and meet with Ihe same treatment, and as a consequence it fo.lo'.vs that, while i:j the man who has graduated in crime life ir. prison may be endurable enough, to others nctso experienced it is altogether intolerable ;" and he inveighs strongly against the exposure uf mere boys in prison to the piTiiieious influence of the hardened criminal. There is probably much truth in his strictures oil another feature of prison discipline, ami one which has been a fruitful topic of discussion for years past— namely, the want of a profitable utilisation of the prisoners' labor. He says Lhat while workshops, material, and overseers are provided, the cultivation of industrious habits among the men is treated as of miaor importance, lie insists that no suißeient encouragement is given to those who would be industrious, as the hard workers and the idle receive the same treatment. The rule, therefore, of prisoa life—a sort of axiom among the men—is to be " civil and lazy." Here is another paragraph on this part of the subject:—"There is no reason whatever why prison labor should not be as productive as free labor. There may be difficulties of detail in providing suitable and profitable occupation for men subject to the condition of safe custody, but these difficulties could be easily overcome, and a system adopted by which a man would be benefited in proportion to the amount, of work done. Adopt tile principle of industry as the basis of reformation as it is in nature, upuly this principle thoroughly to prison life, make tile comfort of the men while detained in custody, and Llie period of their ultimate liberation, dependent on the amount of work actually done, and the problem is solveil of how best to neutralise the evils of a criminal population. Jfay, more, by the adoption of this simple principle, crime might be utilized, aud the criminal made not only to provide for his own support and that of his family, but to assist also in providing for the wants of the poor and destitute." Thie " voice from a prison" is evidently deserving of thoughtful attention on the part of those who desire to promote gaol reforms.