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On the more intensive farming side of the Department there has been an increase in dairy cows from 673 in 1939 to 899 at 31st March, 1947. It is of interest to note that in 1939 the total sheep flock of the Department was some 12,600, whereas to-day this has been increased to 16,500. The diversified range of farming activities not only provides a healthful form of employment, but? it affords opportunities for training men in an avocation from which the primary resources of the country are drawn and stands them in good stead on release. Not only is practical training given, but by means of educational films and instructional classes the lads at Borstal are given an insight into the theoretical side. The practical value is evidenced by the following extracts from a stock firm's report on the Waikeria wool-clip this year: When the clip was opened for sale we made a careful examination of it and hare to advise that, in our opinion, the clip was well got up . . . the skirting was well done, but nothing had been removed which should have been left on the fleece. The lambs' wool, graded into two sorts, Down lambs and Romney lambs, were both very even. We were also pleased to note you had removed all the cotts and baled them separately. So many growers go to the trouble and expense of skirting their wool and neglect to bale the cotts separately. We would like to congratulate whoever supervised the get up of your wool for sale . . . As mentioned earlier in this section of the report, owing to shortage of staff for supervisory purposes at Auckland Prison it has not been possible to work the Auckland Quarry except on a few odd occasions. Even so the quarry credits for 1946-47 have totalled some £10,500, as against £8,375 for 1945-46. This increase has been due entirely to a considerably increased demand for the products of the quarry pit at Paparua. A new mechanical shovel was provided at Paparua to assist in loading carriers' lorries, and this has enabled a much greater output to be handled. The other industrial activities of the Department, such as road-construction, bootmaking, tailoring, laundering, and work for the Post and Telegraph Department, have been carried on as usual. A modernized steam cooking-unit, mechanized laundry, and improved bathing facilities are being installed at Waikeria, and a new kitchen. Plans have been approved and authority given for the reconstruction of the kitchen and lavatory blocks at the Invercargill Borstal. GENERAL As stated in earlier reports, the aim of the penal administration is not to punish—prisoners are not sent to prison for punishment, but as punishment. The primary objective is to effect the rehabilitation of the prisoner through a carefully devised individualized programme of treatment and training so that he will emerge with the minimum of psychic weals and at at the same time be better fitted to resume his place as a lawabiding and self-reliant member of society. This involves a carefully devised and balanced round of activities —work, education, and recreation —designed to ensure that a prison shall not be a place of comfort and enjoyment, but make rigorous demands on each prisoner's physical capacity and be a positive challenge in so far as his social and moral attitude is concerned. Basically, the dictum of the Gladstone Committee, written in 1895, holds true to-day: . . . prison treatment should have as its primary and concurrent objects, deterrence and reformation . . . effectually designed to maintain, stimulate, or awaken the higher susceptibilities of prisoners ... and wherever possible to turn them out of prison better men and women, both physically and morally, than when they came in. It is generally agreed among progressive penologists that individualization of treatment is the first essential. The extent to which this can effectively be carried out depends to a large extent on the facilities, the suitability of buildings, and the availability of staff. The Department takes the view that the greatest hope of reform lies with the younger offenders, and, in consequence, provides the widest range of socializing activities at institutions where younger prisoners are detained.

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