H.—2o

4

When considering the labour value per capita of the prisoners of the Dominion it must be remembered that our prison population is partly composed of derelicts who are unable to work, of old men who are incapable of carrying out anything but the lightest tasks, and of men whose previous avocations unfit them for manual labour until a considerable period after their admission. The really able-bodied competent labourers among the prisoners are working fully as well as, if not better than, men employed at similar work outside; but the large percentage of " drones " necessarily causes the total output of work from the central prisons, where they arc confined, to be loss than would otherwise be the case. The cash receipts and credits brought to charge for the financial year are shown in detail in Table 1 below :—

Table 1.—Cash received and Amounts credited to the Prisons Vote for the Year ended 31st March, 1921.

Value of Prison Labour for which neither Cash nor Financial Credits are received. While the figures quoted in the preceding table indicate that a satisfactory cash return has been obtained from the employment of able-bodied prisoners, much important work is carried out by the Department for which no financial credit whatever is received. Under a standard system of interdepartmental book-keeping a credit equivalent to the labour value of the work would be shown in the general accounts, but under existing conditions each Department has to consider a charge made against it by another Department as if it were a definite increase to the departmental expenditure, whereas such payments arc merely transfers or book entries. In order that a proper record may be kept of the value of all prison labour it has been the Department's practice during the past few years to have the value of the work for which no payment i-i received carefully estimated on strictly conservative lines at the end of the year, and the result embodied in a tabular statement that is published in each year's report. The figures for 1920 21 are contained in Table 2 below :—

Table 2.—Total Value of Prison Labour employed on Roads, Buildings, Reclamation, Wall-building, and other Public Works, for which no Financial Credit has been received, for the Year ended 31st March, 1921.

In addition to the large output of constructional and other reproductive work shown in the two preceding tables, a large amount of prison labour is required to develop the farming properties, to make boots and clothing for the inmates and officers, to carry on the domestic services, and to do the numberless things that are necessary in connection with the management of the institutions.

Prison or Institution. ra£t& Farm- Farm ,,.,„ to 1c P roduM - 8t °<*- Blockf J&t Sale "Kg? 1 and of FircTiioa' Bealiza- wood. 1Ue8 - tions. Boots. Prison Labour on Public Buildings. InverBoad- cargill works. Bine itango. Totals. Auckland Invercargill .. Kaingaroa Napier New Plymouth Paparua Waikeria Wellington Wi Tako Miscellaneous £ £ £ £ 6,682 2,703 6,162 92 120 338 .. .. .. 692 270 ..I 789 967 2,680 212 16 95 1,190 £ £ £ £ £ £ 1,033 £ £ £ £ 7,715 11,533 2,882 338 962 7,640 2,982 1,445 55 3,584 6,162 120 218 2,670 2,450 967 212 95 917 1,062 3,905 1,190 I I I 55 90 33 Totals .. 7,712 6,550 7,556 1,190 7,712 6,550 7,556 1,190 1,135 2,670 166 2,095 3,905 123 2,450 39,136

Prison. Buildings and Walls. Construction and Maintenance of Roads. Excavationwork and Preparation of Necessary Grounds. A I 2 § « •S 9Jrld o '5 » 11 Oh I'llecti'iclighting Drainage- ,., , , Installa- works. j xotals - tion. Auckland tnvercargill Paparua Point Halswell Waikeria Wellington Wi Tako £ 1,547 2,203 1,100 1,120 1,225 £ 1,150 1,074 51 408 156 £ 120 554 £ 520 705 £ 874 £ 165 £ 1,574 £ 3.502 6,984 1,151 1,558 1,774 2,110 3,164 30 61 2,110 650 250 82 1,200 67 557 690 Totals . 2,906 3,495 2,032 874 195 2,346 20,243 8,395