PRISON DISCIPLINE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLII, Issue 12931, 29 July 1905, Page 6

PRISON DISCIPLINE.

AN AIR OF UNREST AND DEFIANCE. ■ THE USE OF THE "OAT." [Br TELEGRAPH.—-SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT.] "Wellington, Friday. In the prisons' report reference is" made iby Colonel Hume to the necessity for returning to the " eat" as an adjunct to the maintenance of discipline in our prisons. Mr. Garvey, a well-known and experienced gaoler, in his report on the "Wellington Prison, makes reference to. the matter. ."I notice with regret," he says, "that there is an air of -unrest and defiance amongst a certain class of prisoners, principally those from Australia, who urge weaker-minded prisoners to join them in their misconduct. To counteract this state of affairs, much as 1 liavo always sot my face against flogging; 1 would strongly recommend that the "cat' should be legally hung up and ready for use on this particular class and their followers, flogging only to be resorted to for the very gravest prison offences. The present system of aggravated prison offences being tried in open Court encourages crime, inasmuch as certain prisoners purposely commit crime that must be dealt with in open Court. Perhaps it is not 'within my province to suggest that, instead of the open Court business, the stipendiary magistrate should be. summoned to the prison to hear the charges there; also, that the local press reporters be invited, to be at all such cases of aggravated offences." ■ i ■