PRISON LIFE AT NOUMEA

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1784, 24 January 1888, Page 2

PRISON LIFE AT NOUMEA

An Interesting acoonnt of the present atatas of notorious French criminals m New Oaledoril* has been fomijhed by an official who has just returned from that penal oolony. Tbe most respectable, aa well as the senior of all the convlo's, Is Berczovski, the Pole who fired at the Emp&ror .Alexander II during the Paris Exhibition of 1867. Frequent applications have been made for the liberation of Barezjvßkl, but they have »U been refused. He is now In the Island of Nou, where he ocoupies a little room apart from all the bad characters, and has even a small garden for himself. He roami about the Island, whioh is one- fourth of the size of Paris, at his own sweet will, and his oondnot has always been Irreproaohable, He reoslves a large quantity of newspaper?, books, and pamphlets from tbe different countries by every mail. Berezovskl Is now old and feeble to an extreme degree. Of a different class are Giles and Abadle, the murderers of the Paris grcoer Luoerlo. These worthies are employed as street scavengers at Noumea, and their occupation is looked upon by their companions m penal servitude, as a good one, for It Is easy, and also enables them to pick up bits of tobaooo and various odds and ends. Including occasional alms. Pel, who poisoned his servant at Montreull, and then burned her remains In a stove, died In the beginning of the year, ai well aa Moyaux, who murdered his own daughter. Guiohard, who murded a bank mes. senger at Marseilles, is doing well ai a store oWrk, and hopes one day, If not to get to Australia, at least to settle down m New Caledonia as a colonist. One of the most comfortable and thriving of the oonviots is Fenayrou, the ohemist of the Boulevard Malesherbes who led the lover of his wife into an ambush at Ohatou and then murdered h'm In a most atrocious manner. This orlmtnal has passed through the various categories until ho arrived among tbe first-olasa criminal*. He has a sharo m a farm whioh he and hie wife superintend, and bo has under his orders some of the lower o ass of criminals. Hie life sentenoe has been commuted to one of twenty yean. The Doctor who was condemned last year for having sent poisoned game to a colleague, Is giving satisfaction to the oolony and hopes to be able to attain the j privileges accorded to Fenayrou. On the whole the eduoated criminals, even those who are undergoing sentences for serious orlmeß, are highly spoken of by the Governor of Noumea, and the ' most unmitigated ratioals are the Parib gamlni and the brutish peasants or laborers, most of whom are murderers. Every year a certain number of these have to be shot down by the warder*. The official who neer his revolver against the oonviots is tried as a formality by a o )urt-martial and acquitted. The number of convicts is ten thousand or more, and there are m addition 240 female convicts who, hotrpver, were sent out to Noumea of their own aooord from tbe'Maisou O.ritrale of Paris for the purpose of marrying first-class misdemeanants. These women are supervised by nonp, There are on tbe island 600 warders. The number of first-pUss conviots amount to 1<)P0, and some of them, like Fenayrou, have been allowed to send for their wives. The State furnish e j them with agricultural Implements, food, and eyep a few heaq of oattle, when they are permitted to begin firming, and they generally contrive to do well. Another class apart from all the others, Is composed of skilled tradesmen and mechanics, musicians and even aotors. ! These have a savings bank of their own, a kind of o T ub, and are almost too prosperous for conviots. The bandsmen are said to be as good as many regimental performers, and they play programmes tf select muslo before the Governor's mansion twice a week, besides giving occasional conoertf. From this it will be eeen that the life of many conviote is far better than that whioh is led by thousands In the slums of Parts, and it lo no wonder thai; Baca being the" pjse, ' numerous^ transgressors against ihe law of the land," including those who commit the most terrible prlines, Bhould view with longing and delight, the'r despatch to New Caledonia by the plemept n>%ndat* of ttg President of the Republic.— P<jrU Ipttef I^udou" Telegraph. "