LYTTELTON GAOL.

Otago Witness, Issue 2996, 16 August 1911, Page 53

LYTTELTON GAOL.

THE LOT OF THE SINGLE WARDERS. A SERIES OF GRIEVANCES. Judging by a memorial recently presented to the Inspector of Prisons, the single warders at Lyttelton are suffering from a number of serious grievances, which naturally have led to much discontent. The memorial, a copy of which has been supplied to the Press', sets out in detail the following grievances:— 1. The food of a prisoner suffering from hydatids was prepared in the single officers’ kitchen, which resulted in frequent visits of the sick man’s attendant, himself a prisoner* to the kitchen window, and the conveyance to and fro of utensils from the hospital to the kitchen, and the use by the siok prisoner of utensils the private property of the warders. Complaint was also mad© that the hospital was only 25ft from the single officers’ quarters, and that infection was feared. A protest to the gaoler led to no redress, although it was understood that the practice complained of would cease. 2. The single officers’ latrine actually formed a part of their dining room. 3. Th© gaslight in the single officers’ quarters was at its best a mere flicker, and at the time the memorial was prepared there was no gaslight whatever, and the men had to manage generally with candle light. Consequently, spending a quiet, profitable evening by reading in th© quarters was impracticable. 4. Some of the mattresses were as much as one man could lift, were too short, and were not fit to lie upon. In fact, one mattress contained nails, and the state of the mattresses generally was such that the warders wanted to have supplied to them the sort of mattresses given to the prisoners. 5. The sheeting in the beds was changed only once a fortnight. 6. No special room was provided for warders on night duty who wished to recoup during the day-time, and in any case it was practically impossible to obtain sleep within the precincts of th© prison in the day-time owing to the noise from th© mat-making shop, which was separated from the quarters by a single wall. The only in the quarters was through windows opening out on to the main yard, and to lessen the noise from the yard the windows had to be dosed. 7. The warders were required to make as little noise as' possible after 8 p.m., and had to creep in on tip-toe after that hour, the enforced silence in the quarters making them feel as if they were undergoing punishment themselves. 8. One of the two buildings at the gaol entrance, occupied by married men, and which were within the precincts of the gaol, should be mad© available for the single officers’ quarters. 9. The men were required to be in the quarters by 10 o’clock eaoh night, except on those nights on which they were granted late leave, and then they were expected to return by midnight. That system prevented the men from attending lectures, etc., in Christchurch, for they had to catch the 9.15 p.m. train in order to arrive back at the gaol before 10 p.m. Late leave was limited to two nights in the week, and was not granted on two consecutive _ nights. Several cases of hardship due to this system were quoted. “ Sir John Findlay’s prison reform scheme,” stated the memorialists, in conclusion “ has been admitted in England to have placed New Zealand in the forefront of th© world in scientific and humane treatment of prisoners, and it is only proper tliaf. the conditions of service of those who have to put that scheme into effect should be considered in order the better to enable them to do so.”

As the outcome of the memorial, an inquiry was held, but the complaint is that the men were not given a fair opportunity of presenting their grievances, and were, in fact, treated as prisoners in the_ matter, being prevented from communicating with each other during the inqpiry. It is stated that as a result of the inquiry the warders were given proper mattresses, and their quarters were properlv lighted with gas, but the remainder of the grievances were not attended to.