IN THE NICK.

NZ Truth, Issue 180, 28 November 1908, Page 8

IN THE NICK.

fWZ INVERCARGILL WERISp.

The Death of Patrick Troy,

4 Brutal System and Brutal Warders.

XBy "Ex-

Falricis vEroy was an old man and a goba, sfteady Worker. He fell ill one day and wanted to hty up. Bully Ha^ldns threatened if lie did not go to worK he Iwould locn him up' and' bring .m the visiting Justice. Faddy went to work, but came bacx never to go again. He was laid' up on half rations (anyone on *ue sick list gets, only half rations), and his Cell became a veritable stink-pot. TStie jJDor old chap started bleeding from t&e nose, and ears, and mouth. He had knocked over bis pot during the ■ niglrt, after lie had used it (for he was now on Opening medicine). The mattrass was covered with blood, the blankets stained, .the floor filthy. ■■■Ail this m a singletell i For three days that ccii wai frever cleaped out and this poor old man lying at death's door therein. He begged, prayed, and cried with tears rollifig flown his cheats, "'tor Gads saKe gfag. file a clsan cell and clean «lothes, as •thine are stinking," tie called. No. He Md to wait till the dignified gaoler would sit m state and consider his case. •After several . days, and' -when t'bp end •'was sear, he "was put into another cell-, nut the old, dirty, filthy and; . stained-,with-blcad nwittrass was givea, to him, and into No. 10 he was thrown, As he. teas so disppsted with this raiittrass he' Would not sleep upon it and slept every iiflbt and day upon "the bare floor, and xTss m the cell whette 1 there are plerlty : 6f cracks and whioa ! is v so cold and' J&raugßty; Warder ifcibson saw Mm, but jtot a Word of Wihdnoss and sympathy' did he utter. He* left nim and remarkefl' to "aeazWj" ■ . " CADDY'S /GONE A MILLION^ . bud ia two fait* faddy did join the millions, for Ihafeu^h tine' timely in^erv^nriion of a {jiMsi, Faddy was taken to,: jfos PuUic .Hasjital onr<a Thursday" ni^rt wune l£), on the foliowSng- Suuday (Juke ■M) lie W&s dead. As soon as the old' man left tie prison, one Would have thoUjjßft that his matlrass would have be>i tgiien away ; but no, it was -lift .these for four aays 'oelere being remav-. Wii «uifl ih«i the straw VM B u^ an? |vUief covt^iagj As the prisoners see £}} titia kind &j /treatment, going on, is rt;i afcf woniSer that they are ready at any moment ik> rise? -I 'will noiK tte surpfis-id-to liwvr .*ai any tiSue 61 some muxdecbus assault on some officer m the pjpwen at -Invero/ix .Jll'. . $he new feaol is a construction of conerele, and Warder UiLson parsed a- rejiaask' to. the ta^rier who brings the ce-. nieat, '.'iftat will complete the order for £§000 of cement." ' They say that a fcfift. wall is to he built around this gael aad is to be of concrete. Those taxpayers who 1 are always, howling and 4r©wling at. some, paltry v expenditure AtuuM find a good field m the prison now \iolus J)«ilt to give vent to •their leeliags, Bi . As, soon as a new man arr rives, if he mows how to hammer a < bail and says he id a. carpenter, Boss tiß^kins seeds along " another, new kit of ' toek witii a damn u the-«xp,ens'e i air.. The.i Jaieet earyeotjir: on the go finds 150 «jfcj«is o! i6fr. 5 x 2 timber- lying idle; Ba4 says he cannot use It, the old carputter (these carpenters are all prisoaeas, cf course) ordered these ISO piecesPmovrk liowi Hawkins and now they' ace waiting 'to be condemned— about #20 ° woisfch. Ijn the shed one can see toots Ih galore— sfeves I counted 96 and only Vba.ee were being used at the time, and 3>c total of men working on the gaol is. rairfy 26, The vegetable trarden covers. s&ave sis acres, and the expense, to Say cutting 'of the labor, that has been put mto iV should bring £oxt,h a : golden harvest. -They have everything that is fciritted m "the way of fancy implements lac the diS Jvot sections, and m• appearaace the gar<S»u -is wanting for nothing, bost even for j/the' inevitable Chow, for he te alrosys at- "bis post. The 'barbed wire viidah is abound, the front of the garden Jp ©j the irrpt quality, and is m ttyo . eews. TJhis is tuuKcessary. , Timber is used at every pointf--to beautify HAWKIWS' LITTLE HOBBY, bnt thbn see what returns they get from we gax<leQ. Let Hawkins snow this, and Pll guarantee that they have not as much as paid for the plants and timHr, ami manuxe. Labor is hot counted, tieds qi vegetables are dragged Up and tb»tfwn away. There is something WMng— either planted- too late or too w^j. However, they are slung out, ■■'jni tbis heap of rotten stuff produces s&Hse more of that queer smell so well hnriwn about the gaol. . . A drain and a stinking, filthy pool »f water is m the centre of ,the grounds around which- the men are working. , The heap: of f dtten vegetables on. '-the right; piles ■f stable manure on thre left," a stinking #60l of water, a goo^f ■; fever breeder, m front, and a. warder /With his vomiting and spi'iting-at yourt back. This /is indeed God's Own Cqositry ;! Another step '•f. "Mister Hav/kinsf was' to put a prisoner named . Me— * — (that's his name when he works for the Government) over. other prisoners. This M<j •is a quick-tempered ffjlowy and, if put oiit, ; be is lilfc a bull at a -gate. The prisioners cannot stand- to be bossed by ■ a fellow prisoner, but- one — ——did this, and was instrumental m getting one prisoner named P kept iri prison for a day or" two longer, but when Me started bnlly-ragging another, prisoner named fc.^— i- ( ],c UP WITH A SHOVEL, land made straight .for Mc-^- — -s head. !A crowTjar affd "a shovel waved m the air until a peace-maker came along. I mention this to show that Hawkins should not be allowed to put one sprisoner over another. Me — - — ■. is a great pet of "Mickie's" . aud the former petitioned and got six months off, while another Me , who is quite a gentlemanly felv low, got tjme put on, for meeting with an accident and a permanently useless finger into the bargain. If you want to hear any more of these tales go down to this hell and. see for yourself. Go m for on 3 week only. You will never repret it all your life if. you want to see alt sides of life. . "Bismarck" is the title that Warder Horman is known by, and he is m charge <of the "Plying Squadron." THE FLYING- SQUADRON comprises broken-down drunks, v sundowners, remittance men, etc., etc, and bhe : hears' "Bismaick" at these creatures all day long, "Hurry up, now," "I want to get thia done at once," and SO' on, and the nest minute he will take them away from the task and put them on to somethings else. At first the men feel that they are being made perfect fools of and consequently grumble, but after a day or two under "Bismarck" they declare one and all that he is. mad; they go about whatever task he sets them to in' a disinterested manner. Hence their term, "The Flying Squadron." This Horttan started on Gibson's game, saying, ''I'll report you and you'll be taken before the J.P.,'-' and so on and so on, but when lie pot "shook up" by two different prisoners he dropped his reporting threats. He lias always , a .small papetf bag cf lollirs v;iih him, andyto see him pull out this l:ag and take put. ;a lolly jn Trent cf the men appears very chil'dlikc. ITcrmnn was en the bridge as sent'rv till ' -lie pointed the gun at one of Hie r'i oners enc day and another day ■threatened 1o shoot another prisoner unless he called out where he /was going. These prisoners reported this madman andiHawkins shifted him. Surely that act m itself is- enough tjo show that if

..Prisoner,");

Hawkins thought' He ites » lunatic he , 'must -be,- as Gaoler Hawfilns is the ALMIGHTY OF THE PRISON. / Nothing can happen unless he autihoriseS it; not even a prisoner make a cigarette.in preference to his pip.c, unless he first gets permission from Hawkins. On rainydays you may* see the prisoners walking back to their quarters soaked through-; With wet. Gibson keeps them out tvorking m the rain like Hawkins keeps them out m the wet yards, . and unless it comes on a real storm, then, and not till then, will he allow them the protection of the tool sheds. When the. prisoners are lined up at a-quarjer to twelve o'clock (this is to get inxo the< gaol by twelve o'clock) many times —ey have to carry sacks; of vegetables into.: gaoler Hawkins' yard— for his fowls, I .presume. (Fowls \ a*nd the kitchen gajcden is his hobby, "and to see him view* ing the cabbages, he looks Itke a Canad* ian farmer viewing his wheat crop.) Loads of wood are taken away from thfe; works- A carter, too, has taken sever-i al loads away. . This wood is from oneto -three feet' long, and should not be taken away till the building is finished >-a& pieces of wood are always wanted. (Concluded.)