PRISON REFORM.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 9008, 15 August 1907, Page 4

PRISON REFORM.

MR LAURENSON'S VIEWS. A CONFLICT WITH THE CHAIRMAN OF COMMITTEES. [From O un Correspondent.] WELLINGTON, August 13. The member for Lyttelton once more demanded prison reform in the course of the debate on the Estimates this evening. His remarks were additionally interesting in that he came into conflict with the 'Chairman- of Committees (Mr It. M'Kenzie) and did not yield. Mr M'Kenzie'- rulings have been giving, a good deal of uissatisf action in '■ • the House of late. The vote for the salaries and allowances of prison officials was under consideration and the member for Dunedin North had endeavoured to speak on the subject of prison reform. He "was promptly ruled out of order by the Chairman of Committees and sat down. Then'&lr Laurenson rose, " I intend to epeak on prison reform, and we will see who will stop me," he said. Mr M'Kenzie: " I must ask the hon gentleman not to discuss my ruling." Mr Laurenson: "I'am not going to discuss your ruling. lam going to discuss prison reform." Mr M'Kenzie: " There is no reference in the vote to prison administration." Mr Laurenson: "There is reference to tree-planting, gratuities and such iter_6, and 1 am going to discuss prison reform. I 6ay that so that there may be no misunderstanding between us. The idea that prisoners are put into gaol in order to punish them has long been abandoned by all thoughtful people. There are lots of people who cannot be appealed to on sentimental or humanitarian grounds at all, but they can be appealed to on a cash basis, and I am endeavouring to prove that it would pay us as a colony to go in for | reform treatment in connection with our prisoners instead of punitory treatment. Last year there were received into our gaols 2676 prisoners of whom 629 were first offenders, 418 .had been convicted twice previously and I*2l had been convicted tnree times or oftener. In other words, the bulk of the people passing through our prisons are convicted and re-convicted until the process becomes monotonous. My idea is that when a man is put into gaol for a crime he should either be cured of his criminal tendencies or kept there for the rest of his life. I am not a sentimentalist in the matter at all. I si mply want to deal with the matter on apractical basis. / I would point out to the Minister what has been done m Ameri Mr M'Kenzie: "Tlie system of othe. oountries cannot be debated. Mr Laurenson: "I am dealing with the question of prison reform. Mr M'Kenzie: "You were dealing with the question of prison reform in America." ,_. , „ „-. Mr Laurenson: "I was dealing with prison reform in New Zealand I suppose that even with tho limited amount of liberty now allowed us we oan illustrate by reference to other countries. In the Elmira prison in New York, eighty-five per cent of the prisoners discharged do not eWe back again. Here in New Zealand a man who passes through a prison goes out seven times worse than he came in. Last year the prison population of the colonj. was 10 per cent greater than in the previous year. That does not seem as if our penal system was hearing good fruit. I am not criticising ot condemning the administration of the present system. The gaols are models of cleanliness and the food is good and wholesome, but the system, ac a system, has broken down completely here as it has elsewhere. In the no -th wing of the Lyttelton prison it is dark at 4.30 p.m. The prisoners are put into their cells a little before five, and are kept there till seven the next morning, a period of fourteen hours. About elev_n hours of that time they are in solid darkness, and the effect on the prisoners, both mental and moral, is most disastrous. Our prisoners should not he marched through the streets or otherwise d£ graded. They should be encouraged to retain what vestiges of self-respect they have kept." Mr M'Kenzie :"•" Tlie honourable gentleman is discussing a. question of policy.'* Mr Laurenson : "I don't want to get the Speaker in again and have another i scene in regard to your rulings. I just want to emphasise the fact that our system of dealing with prisoners should be in the direction of reform, not punishment. Give the prisoners useful work, some incentive to improve themselves and to get into a better position, and they will leave prison I better men instead of worse men."