The Ashburton Guardian. Magna Est Veritas et Prevalebit. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 1883. The Gaol Enquiry.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume IV, Issue 1044, 10 September 1883, Page 2

The Ashburton Guardian. Magna Est Veritas et Prevalebit. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 1883. The Gaol Enquiry.

The report of the Royal Commission appointed to enquire into certain alleged irregularities in the past management of the Dunedin Gaol, was published last week, and it must be con-fessed-that some of the conclusions arrived at are puzzling. • Messrs Curtis and Whitefoord had no easy task allotted to them, and are to be complimented on the care and impartiality with which they carried out the duty assigned to them. Much of the evidence was given by prisoners, and although such testimony is not necessarily untrustworthy, it is obvious that it must not be accepted unless corroborated by independent witnesses. It was seen from the first that the late gaoler of the prison, Mr Caldwell, was virtually being placed on his trial, and it was this consideration which probably governed the Commissioners when they allowed him to be represented by counsel. Captain Hume conducted what may be called the case for the prosecution, nor can it be fairly said 1 that he showed any animus against one who was clearly proved to have done his best to place difficulties in the way of the Inspector of Prisons ever since The Commission having duly weighed the evidence, have come to the conclusion that the Dunedin Ga«l, which the friends of Mr Caldwell were wont to hold up as a model institution, has been grossly mismanaged, and anybody who has taken the trouble to read the reports of the enquiry published while it was going on, must admit that this conclusion is amply justified. The Commission find that there were numerous instances of prisoners convicted of minor offences remaining in gaol for far longer periods than was just, the additional punishment accorded in many cases being out of all proportion to the offence committed; that owing to neglect one prisoner, who was suspected of malingering, was allowed to die, while the gaoler suppressed certain evidence at the inquest that was essential to decide the cause of the man’s death; that a vicious and degrading system of espionage was encouraged both among prisoners and warders ; and that decided favoritism was shown towards some of the convicts and hostility towards others. These are only a few of the more serious charges which the Commission considered to be proved against the authorities ot the gaol, and in truth the array is formidable enough to show the rottenness of the institution and the urgent need for reform.

Having satisfied themselves of the state of the prison, and having made up their minds as to who were responsible for this disgraceful state of things, one would have thought that Messrs Curtis and Whitefoord would have recogn'sed the need of recommending the Government to show their strong disapprobation. Some of the conclusions of the Commission, however, are lamentably lame and impotent. They recommend that Mr Caldwell shall be allowed to retire on a pension ; that the services of the medical officer should be dispensed with, and that three of the warders should be immediately dismissed. It is difficult to see by what process of logic the punishments have been distributed. Why should the warders be turned adrift, while the arch-offender is allowed to enjoy a peaceful seclusion at the expense of the colony. We do not say that the warders were blameless, but there can scarcely be a doubt that their faults were as nothing compared with those of Mr Caldwell. The gaoler, indeed, was an autocrat, and fevery official from the visiting justices to the lowest member of the service were nothing more nor less than tools in his hand. It is only fair to say that the Commissioners thought that Mr Caldwell had always shown himself zealous in his duties, and that it was the system on which the prison was managed rather than the gaoler himself that was worthy of condemnation. Still, we fail to see upon what grounds an official who had been proved to have mismanaged a public institution has earned a right to enjoy a Government pension, while the warders are summarily dismissed without any compensation. The other recommendations of the Commission deserve careful consideration, and those which have not already been dealt with in Mr Conolly’s Prisons Bill will probably be carried out. The enquiry was a necessary one, and not the least important outcome is that the position of the Inspector of Prisons will be in future more clearly defined.

Mr Baddeley sat at the Court this morning, and fined a first offender 5j for drunkenness. Agnes Campbell, a young woman in the employ of Messrs Friedlander Bros , was brought up charged with the larceny of Bs, the property of the firm. The evidence of Mr Max Friedlander and Mr Tennant, manager of the department to which defendant belonged, showed that the latter had not accounted for the sum of 8< which she had received ] from sales, and when taxed with having j stolen the amount she did not deny it. Messrs Friedlar.dar, however, did not dosire to deal harshly with the prisoner, and the Magistrate said he would exercise I the powers given him by the Justices of I the Peace Act and discharge her. He J added that the charge had been fully I proved, and he hoped that her present 1 position would be a warning to her not to I commit another crime.

On Saturday last Mr Yilliers de Beere 1 exhibited some very fine views of Austra- | lia and New Zealand at the Willowby j School to a large audience. The lecturer I accompanied the different views with ex- I planations of the various localities exbi- I bited t<> the tourist starting from Welling- I ton, passing through the Manawatu j Gorge to Wanganui, thence to Napier, Rotomahana Lakes, Auckland, and thence to Melbourne and the International Exbi- I bition, etc. A number of comic scenes I were also shown, which caused no little I amusement to old and young. Mr de . Beere intends visiting Wakanui on Tuesday, and Tinwald on Wednesday next. At a meeting of the Methven School Committee, held on the 3rd inst., the following members were present: —Messrs 1 Morgan, Patton, Pocock, Quinn, Hitchcock, Compton (in the chair), and McWil- 1 I liams. The minutes of the former meet- I ing having been read and confirmed, Mr 1 McWilliams moved that the chairman be 1 I asked to resign his seat, as he, for one of j I the members, could not work co • fertably with him. Mr Hitchcock proposed, as an j amendment —“ That Mr Compton should I not resign the chairmanship, at least until after the business before the meeting, which was not of a very pleasant nature, be disposed of.” The amendment was I carried by the Chairman’s casting vote. The Committee received the master’s reply j to the Inspector’s late report, which was | I not considered very satisfactory, and he j was accordingly apprised of such by a I letter from the Committee. It was reI solved to instruct the secretary to write [ to the Board of Education asking them to I furnish the Committee with a copy lof certain correspondence that had passed between the Chairman and the Board, that it might be produced at the next * meeting. The secre--1 t»ry reported having consulted a practical I man re the planting of school ground, I and handed the Committee his estimate; I ifc was therefore resolved to apply Ito the Board of Education for a I special grant of Ll 5, for the purpose of planting and sub-soiling. I The following accounts were passed for I payment —MesrsCooksonandCo. for coals, I and Mr King, for fencing. ?At the close J of the meeting, Mr Compton handed in I his resignation, which was accepted and I Mr Geo. Pocock was voted to the chair in I his stead. The meeting adjourned till l he last Tuesday in September. I A series of sp'eoial services, under the auspices of the Ashburton Evangelistic I Committee, will be held during the week I commencing Monday, 24th inst. Mr I Duncan Wright, from Dunedin, who has I conducted evangelistic services in the I South with marked success, will be the I principal speaker at the local meetings, j and united prayer meetings, preparatory for the mission, will take place next J week.

—Kayo tAo JTarald:— The Ajrnv in Timaru has at last been'subjected to the “ persecution ” they seem to glory in—when it is not too pronounced—but it was of a mild type. On Saturday evening a citizen, who by the way took up a position in which he could not be seen, turned a hose on the procession, and wetted a few members thoroughly, some passers-by also coming in for a share of his favors. We were greatly amused by a scene we saw one day Lst week. In one of the quiet streets of the Borough we met a number of toddling youngsters, who had formed themselves into a procession after the manner of the Army. With a kerosene tin for a drum, bits of stick for flutes, and waving their handkerchiefs, they marched gravely along, singing with all their little might. The burlesque was extremely rich.

The account of the football match sent by the Press Association from Wellington is certainly a one-sided report, scarcely a a good word being said in favor of the Auckland men, Iwhile charges of unfairness are freely made against them. A contemporary thus comments on it :—“ From the tone in which it is written, we fancy the reporter would have an unequal and unpleasant match to play if the Auckland team got hold of him. He would probably find himself in the middle of a scrimmage in no time, and be collared and forced down, and whatever the amended Rugby rules may say, would find hacking being indulged in. He would get a few marks, but the o her side would have the free kicks, and the Aucklanders, clever at heeling out, would finish the game instead of beginning it, with a good kick-off.” On the evening of the 28th August the steamer Murray, when leaving Nelson for Wellington, collided with the small cutter Phoenix, but the affair was not reported at the time. Westropp, master of the Phoenix, has since reported it to the Collector of Customs, and an official enquiry was held on Saturday before Mr Curtis, R.M., and Captains Palmer and Carey. Captain Scott, of the Murray, and the second officer, Paul, were called on to deposit their . certificates. The enquiry was a long one. It showed that Captain Scott and Paul were on the bridge. Paul saw the cutter’s lights dead ahead, but did not call the captain’s attention to them as he was also looking out. When the steamer was within about 50 yards, Westropp shouted out and Scott put the helm hard-a-port. The steamer just caught the bowsprit of the cutter, carrying it away.

The steamer went right on without staying to make any enquiries. The Court unanimously decided that the second officer dea rved severe censure for his neglect to report the cutter’s lights to the captain ; that the captain was also to blame for not stopping the engines when hailed by the cutter and saw her lights as well as porting the helm ; also, that the captain deserved censure for not stopping the engines as soon as he became aware of the accident, in order to render assistance if required. The costs were L2 2s, and the captain was ordered to pay two-thirds and the second officer one-third. r l heir certificates were returned. Mr J. S. M. Jacobsen returned to Christchurch on Saturday with a large quantity of so-called diamonds. The Koh-i-noor and Pioneer directors have resolved to send a quantity Home to Kelsey, and have their market value tested and have them sold if possible. On Saturday George Gaukrodger, wellknown in Ashburton, was arrested by Constable Neill The charge brought against him is that he used certain premises as a gambling house. Gaukrodger left here at the beginning of the week and sold his horse and saddle at Christchurch, proceeding north. The constable, however, maintained the pursuit and captured his man at the Hanmer plains on Friday, and lodged him in the Christchurch lock-up on Saturday night. The prisoner was brought up before the R.M. at Christchurch this morning and remanded to Ashburton, where he will appear tomorrow*

The ordinary meeting of the Debating Society, which was to have been held this evening, has been postponed till next Monday. At a meeting of the shareholders of the South Canterbury Refrigerating Company on Saturday, it was resolved to form a company with 2,500 shares, the shares being L 5 each. The memorandum and articles of association were adopted. Over 2,500 shares have been applied for, and the share-list remains open to the end of the month. The provisional directors were instructed to look for a site for the works within five miles of Tiraaru, and to obtain information re plant, shipping, etc., and to report to a general meeting in November.

Considerable anxiety is felt as to the safety of the barque Rewa, now over 150 days out from Timaru for the United Kingdom, and of whose arrival no advices have been received. The burgesses of Ashburton will be afforded an opportunity of hearing the views of the candidates for the vacancies

in the Borough Council, as a meeting convened by the Mayor will be held in the Town Hall this evening. The Merry Thoughts and Happy Moments Company will give their promised entertainment this evening in the Oddfellows’ Hall, when we expect to see a crowded house.

Persons desirous of learning shorthand, etc, are referred to an advertisement in our wanted columns.

Mr Alfred Harrison holds a sale on Friday next of a quantity of blacksmith’s tools, etc, at his rooms.

Tenders are invited by the Public Works department for the flood channel bridge at the Rakaia Gorge; particulars will be found in our advertising columns. The date for receiving tenders for the Melhven library has been extended. Owing to the Winslow people having decided to hold their concert and entertainment, to celebrate their school opening on Friday next, the Ashburton Poultry and Pigeon Society’s concert has bean postponed for a week.