REPORT OF THE PENAL ESTABLISHMENT COMMITTEE.

Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1866 Session I, F-14

F.—No. 14..

REPORT OF THE PENAL ESTABLISHMENT COMMITTEE.

BfiOCGHT UP 20m SEPTEMBER, AND ORDERED TO BE VRIMED. WELLINGTON. 1866.

P.—No. 14.

The Committee appointed to consider and report on the question of providing a General Penal Establishment for the Colony have agreed to the following Report: — 1. Your Committee have carefully considered the matter referred to them, and have collected returns from the several Provinces showing the accommodation now furnished by the gaols throughout; the Colony, their general condition, the number of prisoners confined in these gaols, and the cost of maintaining and guarding such prisoners. Tour Committee have also been favoured with the evidence of seven Superintendents of Provinces as to the extent to which the erection of a Central Penal Establishment would affect the provision now required for the safe custody and maintenance of criminals in their several Provinces. 2. Your Committee find that the cost of maintaining and guarding prisoners in the Provincial gaols is not much in excess of what it would probably be in a central prison, and that at present the labour of the prisoners is generally utilised to a very considerable extent. Your Committee are satisfied, however, that under present arrangements there exists, and must continue to exist, a deficiency in the proper classification of criminals, as well as an absence of such discipline as is calculated to make their imprisonment a reformatory or even an effectually penal process. 8. Although your Committee believe that some saving in expense might be effected by confining in a General Penal Establishment all criminals sentenced to lengthened periods of imprisonment, yet looking to the cost of conveying them to the central prison in the first instance, and of returning them on their release to the Provinces from which they come, as well as to the necessity for still keeping up in the several Provinces proper establishments for prisoners under sentence for short periods and for those awaiting their trial, —your Committee do not think that the real saving to be effected in expense would be considerable in amount, and there would be loss in the amount of value obtained from the employment of prison labour in works of utility. On the other hand, the cost of erecting buildings of sufficient extent and completeness, for a Central Penal Establishment, would be very large, exceeding, as your Committee are informed, one hundred thousand pounds in amount. 4. Several localities have been suggested to your Committee as available and advantageous sites for a large prison, and public works of considerable extent have been suggested upon which the prisoners might be usefully employed. 5. Assuming, however, that the existing financial condition of the Colony is not such as to warrant any considerable outlay of public money on other than indispensable objects, your Committee are not prepared to recommend that the erection of a Central Prison should be undertaken at the present time. G. Your Committee beg to annex a Return showing in a tabular form the information collected by them as to the present condition of gaols throughout the Colony. John Hall, 20th September, 18GG. Chairman. APPENDIX. ■—+■ Questions. I.] Position of Gaol, its state of security, and capability of enlargement ? 2. Cost of present building ? 3." Cost of maintenance and supervision of prisoners per head ? 4. Whether there is any suitable place in the Province for a General Penal Establishment ? 5. AVhether there exists any public work upon which the convicts could be profitably employed ? 6. Number of the prisoners in the Gaol ? 7.] General suggestions ? Auckland. I.] The Gaol is situated at the base of Mount Eden, on its northern side, immediately adjacent to the Great South Eoad, within two miles of the City of Auckland. 2.] There has been an expenditure (chiefly on new buildings) during the last two years of about £3500. The value of the buildings erected previously to these would be about £1500.

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3.] The daily average, viz., 210, of the number of prisoners given by the gaoler, includes the debtors. The annual cost of maintenance and supervision for each prisoner calculated upon that basis was £36 ss. diiring the year ending the 30th June, 18C6. 4.] Yes; Very. At Mount Eden, near site of present. 5.] The convicts can be employed for some years to come ia levelling the site of Gaol reserve, quarrying stone, afterwards to be broken into road metal, clearing some thirty acres of Government land of scoria, road making in the neighbourhood. 6.] Daily average number of prisoners 240, including debtors. The number in the Gaol on the 23rd July, 1866, was 236, as follows: — Convicts ... ... ... ... ... ... 65 Hard Labour Prisoners ... ... ... ... ... 142 Female Prisoners ... ... ... ... ... 12 Debtors ... ... ... ... ... ... 5 Prisoners awaiting Trial at Supreme Court ... ... ... 12 236 These again may be classified as sentenced for life ... .... 14 Above five and not exceeding ten years ... ... ... 17 Above two and not exceeding five years ... ... ... 85 Above one and not exceeding two years ... ... ... 44 For lesser periods ... ... ... ... ... 126 236 Russell, Bay of Islands, Auckland. I.] Russell Gaol is situated to the rear of the Court House and Police Barracks, which stand fronting the sea in a central position on the beach. One room, 12 feet by 12 feet, and two cells, each 6 feet 6 inches by 6 feet, comprise the Gaol, which occupies the centre of an enclosure 60 feet square. The surrounding fence is about 8 feet 6 inches high, which is insufficient, and easily passed over. The Provincial Government own land in the rear of the present buildings, but of no great extent. 2.] The Court House and Police Barracks, which forms the Gaoler's residence, cost £360, nearly twice their worth; the gaol and surrounding fence about £300. 3.] Cost of rations: No. 1, 6d.; No. 2, Is. 4d.; No. 3, Is. sd. Cost of clothing cannot be ascertained. The supervision has- always been effected by the police, and cannot be estimated separately. 4.] I cannot suggest any site in the District of the Bay of Islands. 5.] None. Unless the Government employed convict labour for working the Kawa Kawa Coal Fields. 6.] Average of prisoners two per month. Thirty persons have been in confinement during the last twelve months. Fourteen, chiefly drunkards, before sentence ; of the remaining sixteen, five were sent to Auckland, and the remainder underwent their sentence here. Of these, six were seamen, subsequently put on board their vessels. Average prisoners two. I consider that, with the revival of the American whaling, the number of prisoners will largely increase. I have had seventeen in confinement at the same time. 7.] Nature of suggestions must depend upon whether convicts are to be employed within the walls of the establishment, or without, as at Dartmoor or Portland. If within, site must be so arranged as to give facilities for disposing of fruits of labour, as at "Sing Sing " prison, New York ; if external labour is to be adopted, then, as harbours of refuge afford employment in England, so in New Zealand at Taranaki; otherwise, road making, stone-breaking, canal cutting, or arterial drainage might be resorted to. One of the Provinces might be inclined to contract with the General Government for the employment at a penal settlement of all the prisoners under sentence of penal servitude. Under any circumstances, for long service men, a general establishment would be much better than a number of Provincial ones, admitting of a much better classification of trades and employments, and thus rendering labour more remunerative. New Plymouth. I.] The Gaol is situated in Devon Street, in the Town of New Plymouth. It is in a very insecure state, and escapes are of frequent occurrence, when the prisoners are of that description who will persist in availing themselves of the opportunities there exist to effect that object. 2.] The exact cost cannot be arrived at; the present building is the result of a series of additions. An approximate of the total cost may be estimated at £500 to £600. Tbe site of the building is probably worth from £SOO to £1000 for commercial purposes. It was the intention of the Government to sell the present building and site, and to build a new Gaol at the Sugar Loaves, where the prisoners could be profitably employed, but want of funds prevented the plan being carried out. 3.] The cost for the year 30th June, 1866, was as follows: Supervision ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 10^ Rations ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 22 o :!.vj Clothing, Bedding, and Utensils ... ... ... ... S^7i Total 3-3fg

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The item under the head of rations includes the sum of sixpence per head paid to the gaoler for cooking, with proper gaol accommodation. This could be done by the prisoners. The price of the rations for a large number of prisoners would also be taken at a less sum in consequence of greater competition and the present reduced price of food. 4.] The reserve at the Sugar Loaf Islands is a spot well adapted for a General Penal Establishment, having been determined upon as the site of a Provincial gaol whenever funds could be procured for its erection. By the accompanying plan it will be seen that there is ample room for an establishment of that nature, and abundance of first-class building stone for its erection, namely grey Trachyte rock in the immediate vicinity. The worst class of prisoners might be established on the Moturoa Island, from which escape would be difficult, ordinary precaution being taken to prevent it, and employment would be found in abundance in quarrying and removing the rock of which the island is composed. There is ample room in the Reserve on the main land to enclose land for the purpose of cultivation, and those prisoners not adapted for the more laborious work of quarrying might be profitably employed in. raising the vegetables required for the establishment. 5.] There is abundance of work at which largo numbers of prisoners might be profitably employed, that is in the construction of a breakwater on some such plan as the accompanying tracing. The Island of Mikotati is surrounded with water at high tide. There is abundance of stone on the beach in the shape of detached boulders to form a raised causeway by which it could be reached at all states of the tide. In constructing a harbour this would probably be the first work to be undertaken on the main land. On the Moturoa Island, where the worst class of prisoners might be employed, the first work would be to join the Lion Eock to the Moturoa Island by a stone breakwater, the stone to be quarried on the spot, and conveyed by truck or lines of tramway to its destination in the direction of Mikotati. The work would progress towards completion from three points, if required, namely, from the main land towards the Lion -Rock, from Mutoroa to the Lion Eock, and toward Mikotati, and from Motoroa in an eastward direction. The material for the shore end could be obtained by quarrying the rock on the beach to the North end of Paratutu, and by using the boulders lying on the beach. The most economical means of transit would of course be a question to be decided by the engineers of the work. The value of this has been fully appreciated by the Provincial Government, and entertaining the. opinion that it would tend to advance the prosperity of the Province and the Colony, the services of Mr. Balfour, Marine Engineer, have been secured to survey the locality, and to prepare plans and estimates for the construction of a harbour. It was intended to submit the plans and report to the Colonial Government for its consideration, with the view to its being submitted to the General Assembly. It was considered that the labour of the Colonial prisoners would there be profitably employed, in expiating their offences by rendering important services to the Colony and the Province. The survey of the proposed site for a harbour has been completed by Mr. Balfour, but the report has not been sent in, in consequence of the absence of Mr. Doyal (in connection with whom Mr. Balfour was to report) in the Australian Colonies, so that it is probable that it cannot be furnished to the Committee during the sitting, but Mr. Balfour is in "Wellington, and might be examined on the subject. C] Daily average of prisoners 17^ for the past twelve months. There were eleven prisoners in the gaol on the 4th of August, 1860. Of these one was for five .years, two for two years, and the remainder for periods within that time, most of them for only a few months. 7.] In recommending the Sugar Loaf Reserve as the best site for a Central Penal Establishment, I would recapitulate the many advantages it possesses : — Ist. That the site and ground can be obtained without cost to the Colonial Government, and possession may at any time be taken for that purpose of any land within the reserve. There are forty acres of it fit for cultivation, and on the beach abundance of building stone suitable for the erection of a gaol. 2nd. There is abundant employment of a reproductive character in constructing a harbour. The stone required can be quarried on the spot, and is of a character well adapted for the work. It is believed that on the Lion Eock being joined to the Moturoa, small vessels could lie there in safety, or a small steamer could run there for shelter, one of sufficiently light draught to enter the Rivers Patea, Waitara, Urenui, and Mokau, and which will be absolutely necessary to develop the trade of those districts as they get occupied. 3rd. This work would be of a national character, inasmuch as it would afford shelter to Colonial shipping, and indirectly tend to the financial prosperity of the Colony by the impetus it would give to the occupation of the Waste Lands of the Province, and the consequent increase of the Customs Revenue, produced by an increased population. 4th. Nothing would have a greater tendency to produce a permanent submission to the ordinary course of law on the part of the Natives than the steady occupation of the confiscated territory by a white population. To render this possible a central harbour is necessary, where vessels could receive shelter in all winds, and to which macadamized or tramroads would naturally converge as the outlet for surplus production. The higher price obtainable for the land would enable the administrators of the Land Fund to undertake the construction of the necessary roads and bridges for the transmission of produce while the harbour is in progress, and thus the work of profitably occupying the Waste Lands of the Crown, and providing the outlet for its surplus production would proceed simultaneously. It is an axiom in mechanics that the whole is no stronger than the weakest part of it, and it maybe assumed that the Natives' disrespect for the law in some districts constitutes the weakest point in the social life of the Colony; it is therefore conclusive that anything that tends to impress the Native mind with a growing respect for the law thereby strengthens and benefits the Colony as well as the particular locality where such a change is effected. It is in districts comparatively remote from ordinary trade and from full European intercourse where the Native disaffection had its strongest hold, and where it still lingers. The Natives see that in the battle-field they are inferior in physical prowess to the European, and their continued efforts for supremacy have resulted in their being driven into the least desirable parts of the Colony. 2

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Napiek. I.] The gaol stands on a hill about 400 feet above the level of the sea one side, and the back of gaol yard, an excavated wall fourteen feet high, the other side a close boarded fence nine feet high. It is capable of being enlarged to a considerable extent. 2.] £2,200. 3.] No. 1, Ration, KHd per day; ]STo. 2 ditto, Bd. per day ; No. 3 ditto, 4|d. per day; No. 4 ditto, Id. per day. The supervision of prisoners, 10 id. per head per day. 4.] IS one. o.~] The hard-labour prisoners are profitably employed making and repairing the Town Eoad. There is a large extent of swampy ground in the west end of the town which will, on account of the public health, have to be reclaimed. 6.] The average number of prisoners for the past twelve months was thirty-three per month, and the number is likely to be greater. The total number in gaol on the 25th July, 1566, was twenty-six, including four lunatics. The prisoners may be classed as follows : —For life, 1; four years, 4; two years, 2 ; under two years, 10 ; committed for trial, 5 ; total, 22. Wellington. I.] The "Wellington Gaol is situated on a hill at the Te Aro end of the town. The main portion is built of brick and wood. The cells requiring it are lined with sheet iron. The capacity for enlargement is unlimited. 2.] A portion having been erected before the introduction of the Constitution Act, it is impossible to state the cost precisely, but it must be up to the present date £10,000. 3.] Last year the average cost per head was £30 55., inclusive of the salaries of the Warden and other officials. 4.] So far as present information extends there is no suitable spot. 5.] None. 6.] There were fifty-four prisoners in gaol on the 13th August, 1866, of these four were lunatics, the remainder can be classed as follows : —Debtors, 4; awaiting trial, 3 ; for life, 3; ten years and over, 5 ; over five and not exceeding ten years, 3 ; over two and not exceeding five, 8; over one and not exceeding two, 9; one year and under, 19 ; total, 54. 7.] Reference is made in my evidence already given before the Select Committee of the House of Representatives. Nelson. I.] Position —near the centre of the town, at a considerable elevation above the general level, on a rising ground or hillside, with a northern aspect. Its state of security may be considered sufficient for ordinary criminals, but, being built of wood, cannot be compared in this respect with more substantial structures of stone. In the case of extraordinary criminals, or known desperate characters, extra vigilance is maintained to meet this defect. It is capable of being enlarged to a considerable extent, and such enlargement is now contemplated; but the natural features of the ground forbid any great extension, as well as the limited amount of land by which it is surrounded. 2.] The present value of the gaol and buildings attached is about £2000. 3.] Rations, Is. per diem ; clothing and fuel, £3 4s. per annum ; supervision, £21 Bs. per annum. 4.] The site originally intended for the General Lunatic Asylum would answer well, and many others might be selected, almost if not quite as favorable. 5.] No public work is now in progress on which prisoners could be employed profitably; but the improvement of the present harbour, or the formation of another in connection with the Waimea River, are works on which in future they might be employed to advantage. For the present, the breaking up of rocks and stones for road metal, would furnish constant useful employment to a large number. 6.] Average of number of prisoners for the past twelve months is 25. The probable number is likely to be greater for the future. Marlborough. I.] The Provincial Gaol is situate in the centre of the town of Picton on a Government Reserve, bounded on the north and east by the Waitohi Stream, on the west by the "Wairau Road, on the South by private property. Being of wood and badly built it is far from being secure, and is not worth the expense of making it so. Being moreover erected on a small scale it could not be enlarged without pulling it nearly all to pieces. It consists of four yards, two of them very small and damp ; fences twelve feet high (planked) ; nine cells ; could accommodate 24 prisoners ; two day-rooms very small. 2.] The entire cost of building, including all additions and repairs since erection to the 31st July, 1866, is £1,891 16s. 7d. 3.] The permanent staff of the Gaol, which docs not vary with the number of prisoners so long as that number does not exceed 12, is maintained at an annual cost of £500, with the additional sum of thirty shillings per month for every prisoner. 4.] The town of Picton, or its immediate vicinity, would, in the opinion of the Provincial Government, be the most suitable spot in the Province for the erection of a General Penal Establishment. 5.] The harbour of Picton presents, in addition to great advantages formed by nature, wonderful facilities for being made the most defensible secure anchorage for either a mercantile or Imperial navy, and as the materials for reclaiming part of thejpresent harbours for constructing wharves and docks,

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and forming the approaches to excavations for batteries, are all on the spot, requiring no carriage beyond what can bo accomplished by the barrow, the performance of such works could very profitably be carried on by convict labour. 6.] The average number of prisoners for the last twelve months is eleven, and as the population is yearly increasing, it is to be assumed that the amount of crime will also increase, independent of the possibility of a large increase at any moment to our population by the discovery of fresh gold fields within the bounds of the Province. 7.] The necessity for a General Penal Establishment is one which this Province peculiarly feels. "With a small revenue, and unable to maintain a large police force, or to provide the necessary buildings and staff to keep in security the more dangerous class of criminals, it is so situated as frequently to be the harbour of those men who are notorious aw prison-breakers, and who, taken into custody for some depredation or other, might escape from our gaol with the greatest ease unless we are prepared to go to an expense in guarding them which is more than the revenue will warrant, and which would inflict a great burden on a small, and of themselves a highly moral and well-behaved body of settlers. The Provincial Government would protest against the erection of a General Penal Establishment anywhere in the Province of Marlborough unless upon the express understanding that the convicts shall, upon the expiry of their respective terms of sentence, be conveyed to the several Provinces from which they were at first brought, and there liberated, as it would be manifestly unfair to any one settlement that the refuse of all the other Provinces should be turned out, without any means of subsistence, in any one place. The employment of certain classes of prisoners within the walls of the penitentiary in those trades to which they have been brought up, will doubtless present itself to the Committee, and, in a locality like Picton, where no trades are carried on to any extent, and where so many articles of daily use are imported, this utilising of convict labour would prove remunerative to the Government without giving any cause for dissatisfaction on the part of the inhabitants. Canterbury. I.] Lyttelton Gaol is situated on half an acre of ground on the side of a hill in the Town of Lyttelton. The Gaol buildings with exercise yard occupy two-thirds of the space, and debtors quarters are built on the other third. Though every safeguard is taken that the nature of the ground will admit of, the Gaol cannot be said to be absolutely secure. The Gaol is not capable of being enlarged to any extent. 2.] The cost of the present building cannot bo exactly arrived at; a great deal of prison labour having been made use of during its construction. It has been repeatedly added to and patched up. 3.] During the year ending 30th June, 18G6, the cost of each prisoner was £53, which sum includes all expenses directly connected with the Gaol. 4.] Quail Island, at the head of the harbour of Port Lyttelton, has many features suitable for a General Penal Establishment, —among which may be mentioned its isolated condition, and its being at the same time of easy access by water from Lyttelton; —its close proximity to unlimited quantities of fine building stone. 5.] Extensive harbour works consisting of Breakwater, &c, and upon the commencement of which the hard labour gang is engaged, would afford work upon which the convicts could be profitably employed for some years to come. 6.] The average number of prisoners for the year ending 30th June, 1866, was 76 ; the maximum at any one time being 101, and the minimum 60. The number for future years is not likely to be less, and, looking to the proximity of the Westland Gold Fields and the increase of population, will probably be much greater. On the 21st July, 1866, there were 68 prisoners in the Gaol, under sentences as follows : —Over five years, 3 : above one and not exceeding five years, 36; for lesser periods, 29 ; —total 68. 7.] The erection of a General Penal Establishment would doubtless be conducive to economy, and be beneficial in many respects. A much more complete organization could be effected in such an establishment than in several distinct Gaols, and the systematic classification and punishment, as well as the profitable employment of the prisoners, could be also more effectually provided for. Otago. I.] The Gaol is situated at the east end of Stuart Street, near the jetty; having the Supreme Court House on the south side. Its state of security is good. It is not capable of being enlarged. 2.] The cost of the building is £13,458 Os. 4d. 3.] Maintenance, £31 75.; supervision, £47 155.; total, £79 2s. Average earnings for twelve months, per head, £61 Bs. 7d. 4.] Near Port Chalmers, Oamaru, or the Clutha, these are suitable spots and these are the only places in which convicts could be safely kept and employed on harbour works. 5.] None at present, except for a limited number. 6.] The average number of prisoners for twelve months is 98. In future years it will not be less. On the 23rd July, 1866, there were 64 prisoners in the gaol. These are for the following sentences — life, 2 ; above 10 years, 4 ; above 5 and not exceeding 10 years, 7 ; above 2 and not exceeding 5 years, 14; above 1 and not exceeding 2 years, 13 ; under 1 year, 24 ; total, 64. 7.] It would bo desirable to separate long service prisoners from others, by confinement in a separate gaol, and placing them on different works. Southland. I.] The Gaol at Invercargill is situated on a portion of the Government reserve at the west end of Spey Street, with a frontage to Leven Street of 116 feet by a depth of 113 feet. It consists of a main building fronting the north, two storeys high, supported by a wing on either Bide, uli built of

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brick upon a stone with concrete foundation, and surmounted with a roof of galvanized iron. Can be enlarged to any extent at back. 2.1 Pour thousand one hundred and five pounds fifteen shillings and threepence. 3.] Cost of maintenance of prisoners per day, exclusive of clothing, £1 45., or Is. 2d. per head. Cost oi' supervision of prisoners per day £2 16s. Id. 4.] Moromoro, close to the Green Hill station, on Bluft' Harbour and Invercargill Eaihvay. 5." Stone breaking at Moromoro for making macadamized roads. 6.] Average of prisoners twenty-five per month, and will probably in future years be greatly oh. the increase. On the 9th August, 1866, there were twenty-four prisoners in the gaol, of these the following is an abstract j—Lunatics, 8 ; debtors, 1; for five years, 2; for four years, 4 ; under two years, 9; total, 21. 7. I consider it very desirable that a General Penal Gaol should be established for the whole Colony, or for the Middle Island, for long sentenced prisoners. The economy would be great, and the supervision would become what it never can be in small Provinces, effective and beneficial.

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REPORT OF THE PENAL ESTABLISHMENT COMMITTEE