OUR PECULIAR PRISONS.

NZ Truth, Issue 327, 30 September 1911, Page 5

OUR PECULIAR PRISONS.

EXTRAORDINARY ESCAPES EVERYWHERE.

ffite Mount Eden Gaol— Baxter h*» a Scapegrace.

Who Should be Punished?

Since the fateful S~:**ld.y morning of August 27 last, when Joe Powelka sacceeded m. making: good bis escape from the Wellington Terrace prison, the gentle art of. getting 1 awaj r has become all the fashion throughout New Zealand, though it has to be recorded that m every instance the runaway has been brought back and punished, or is awaiting punishment. Either good luck or trusty friends are at the back of Powelka, because it looks a-3 if the earth has opened and swallowed him up. There are NO TIDINGS OP POWBLKA, i and that is all that can be said of him.. The police are beat, the "demons" haven't a clue, and the pantomime $ong, Our "demons" are clever, as clever can be, Show them the root and they'll find you the tree seems to sum up the situation. "Truth" is, however, m a serions^ mood on the recent escapes from prison, and, coining on top of the recent gaol inquiries at Lyttelton and Auckland, we should like to hear some expression of opinion from Sir John Findlay on the success of his much- | vaunted prison administration. First of all, we want to know if the findings? 1 of the two magistrates at Auckland' are going to be pigeon-holed, and nothing more to be heard of them with) the exception of the dismissal of. Warder Baxter ? We do not go to the -\ extent of declaring that Baxter 'has been too severely dealt with, but we do not hesitate to declare that Baxter^ is being MADE A SCAPEGRACE, and is being punished by being dismissed, to save others. It is true that ■ the evidence is now "on the table of 3 the House'," but from what "Truth": •can gather, it is likely to remain there, , and is not likely to be discussed. The findings of the magistrates show that there was a lot of things done m the? Mount Eden prison which ought to have been tried before a magistrate or a judge and jury. The evidence discloses a state of affairs which cannot be described as other than disgraceful, and that such things could be done m • a prison and afterwards cloaked up by a secret inquiry clearly Indicates -that the Prisons Department Ss ashamed and frightened to have its affairs publicly investigated. There Is much' to be said on THE MOUNT EDEN PRISON ■. . ; , SCANDAL, and much will be said. We indicated some time ago that enough would transpire to justify the community insisting on an open investigation, and, so far, the demand'- for an open inquiry "has been opposed. Sir John Findlay lias intimated that he has no desire to enter -into a public discussion of Mount Eden prison affairs, and this indicates to "Truth" that he is not disposed to have the prison system of ' this country openly inquired into. Where everything is. done m the dark the' Minister can hardly expect the public to-be satisfied that all is well. The fact* that it' is a secret inquiry shows that there was something tohide, arid, to all intents and purposes; ,the truth' is being hidden. That is" all we wish to say on this BmellfuT scandal of Mount Eden. We contend that the facts known justify some other action, even if it must evolve THE SHAPE OF A PUBLIC PROSECUTION. Apart, however, ' from that matter, the escapes from prison all over New Zealand give some idea of how our prisons are being conducted, and the escapes from prison m themselves warrant an investigation m the shape of an open inquiry, where the press and the public can learn the facts. It is beyond doubt that the escape of Powelka from Wellington prison has had a bad effect on prisoners all over New Zealand, and the. inability of the police and the gaolers to recapture Powelka has inspired other lawless individuals with the hope that if they succeed m escaping they will be able to defy the officers of the police and the gaolers to recapture them. This seems to ■ have been borne out by the • escape from the Invercargill prison of a young man named Sim, a sexual offender, ' WHO FOOLED A WARDER, mounted a bicycle, and rode away. The fact that the man was a sexual offender seems to have actuated the gaol authorities m doubling their efforts to recapture him, and after a man-hunt for nearly a week, he was re- taken, and was subsequently sen-: tenced to an additional term of 12 months' imprisonment. A love of liberty is strong m us all, and the punishment of a prisoner for making his escape is a harsh proceeding, though, no doubt, it is m the interests of society that a gaol-breaker' should be punished. What man is there, sentenced to a long term of imprisonment, who would be able to resist the impulse to gain his liberty should a favorable opportunty present itself ? Why punish a man who obeys natural instincts ? • Who created the opportunity for Sim to escape ? Was it the warder ? Was that warder punished ? The escape from prison of a criminal used to be regarded as a serious matter; m New Zealand it is becoming an everyday occurrence, and it is because it is becoming so prevalent that "Truth" asks that there should be some inquiry, and an open inquiry at that. When an inquiry is held m secret there are dangers of FACTS BASING SUPPRESSED, of the evidence being censored and toned down; there are facts which it is not desirable the public, should be made acquainted with. Why ? From Gisborne, close on the news of Sim's capture at Invercargill, came the story of an escape from the "joke" of a gaol m "Jimmy" Carroll's "capital." At the last sitting of the criminal court there a man named Alfred Burnecle, with the aliases of Pearce and Barnicle, was sentenced to 12 months' imprisonment and four years' detention for reformative purposes, on a charge of robbery with violence. There is no mystery, apparently, m connection with Burnecle's break-

V away, because he seems to have SCALED THE CORRUGATED IRON FENCE *which surrounds the Gisborne prison, or, properly speaking, what answers for a prison m Gisborno. Fortunately for "Society" and unhappily for Burnecle, he was not long at liberty, ip.d was captured 20 or 30 miles away, having- been free for a couple of days. Subsequently, he was brought before the Gisborne S.M.s Court and committed for trial to Auckland. There is, however, another escape to be recorded. This time it comes from Westport, where a man named Russell, arrested on a charge of robbery got "out" of the local gaol, which is described as "a very old, wormridden" structure, and opinions are expressed that it is a wonder that many more escapes have not been attempted. No doubt Russell will be PUNISHED FOR HIS "CRIME," but again "Truth" asks why should he be punished ? If the gaols of the Dominion are such ram-shackle affairs from which the inmates can walk out or scale fences with ease, who is going to say that these men are doing wrong? They are m gaol against their will, and it is the duty of the gaolers to keep them m gaol, and to take all sorts of precautions to guard against escapes. If, instead of punishing the poor devils who break away from the prisons that present so many opportunities to the Inmates to walk away, some penalty was imposed on those through whose carelessness it was made possible for a prisoner to escape, true. justice would be meted out.