PRISON REFORM.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1222, 2 September 1911, Page 14

PRISON REFORM.

-A WARNING TO LOCOMOTIVE ENGINE-DIUVEKS. Sir,—You will remember that a few years ago a somewhat elaborate Teport was issued by tho then lion. Jir. Findlay on tho subject of prison reform. In my opinion there was much moro humbug than homily in this report; but it served the end of gaining the applause of thoso who were, ignorant of the subject, and even ignorant of tho chcap treatment accordcd to it by the semi-scientific American magazines from which tho Jlinister's advisers evidently gained their want of real knowledge of the subject. Tlio wholo difficulty has always lain in tho fact that all reform of the criminal must bo undertaken by the warder, and the profession of gaol waider is such a thankless and under-paid ono that only men of the labourer class are likely to undertake it. Obviously the first step in prison reform is to reform the warder, but tho process is not ono to give tho immediate results that appeal to politicians, nor is it ono that can bo left solely to the operation of Clause A of tho Prison Reform Act, and Sub-clause ,B of the Departmental regulations. Needless to say, it was not attempted in New Zealand. Instead the prison service was declared ono that needed no technical knowledge to control, and was passed over to tho blissful ignorance of a clerical head. Also the criminal was declared one that needed only an indefinite detention in a school of vice to reform, and was passed over to tho tender mercies of an '■ignorant warder. Naturally the clerical" head knew only one test for penal efficiency—a balance in the ledgers he was trained to believe in, and tho warder saw only ono way to give him this—tho capture and detention of only honest, hard-working lodgers in his institution. Tho rc-sult will be printed in joyful italics in tho Jlinister's report this year, and several innocent elderly Legislative Councillors will rather f'ttlsomcly compliment him thereon. And the criminal? Sir, I wish to blame nobody, but I cannot help saying that the truo criminals nro all thoso whoso innate preference for tho easy road allows them to shirk the mental labour newssary to deal satisfactorily with this tremendous problem. It is a truism that no man lias ever been morally Ix-nefited by a sojourn in gaol, that association with other criminals lias never uplifted one unfortunate, that tho ordinary warder becomes hardened and automatic, that onlv the hypocrite and the crafty veteran have any hono of pleasing in the peculiar atmosphere of the gaol. "But this I know, that every gaol That men have mado for you, But straws the wheat and saves the chaff With a most evil fan " And therefore our recipe for reforming tho criminal is more gaol, and our div vico for strengthening the weak link that has shown itself in the unfitness of the average warder to judge and influence beuoficially the average criminal is—to give tho wcrder more power over his charge. Where before lie proved weak, itndisconiing, swayed by illogical moods, and unfitted for psychological treatment, we now lean on Jiim tho mcic. InvoTcargil! Gaol is the theatre of this comedy of reform. The prisoners aro set to useful work, saw limber, reclaim land, grow vegetables, design "town-planning' schemes for extending and beautifying the gaol, add to tho credit entries in the ledger in the head office. The warders learn to separate tho worker fiom the drone, tho useful from the useless, the adder to tho credit balance of things done from the cypher who docs not earn his keep. Tho joke is that the former is naturally tho man who fakes most 1 reforming, ho alone is needed in tho business—lie is tho black sheep at the periodical meetings of the three estimable and kind-hearted elderly gentlemen who try to estimate tho moral reformation of the indeterminate criminal from his appearance and the wnrder's unbiased report. Ono word of more practical import. I understand that there is no indeteiminato criminal at present in lnvercargill capablo of driving the small locomotive they use Tound the sawmill. It is (I hear) a source of sorrow in the Department of Justieo that this should be so, and (I presume) that urgent'efforts will bo mado to fill the ,-acant position with one of the elect. I desiro, sir, your assistance to warn the locomotive dnvers of tho Dominion of their peril, and to impress upon them tho special care they must exert to bo sober, respectable, and obedicut to the law until further notice. Should they lapse they will, find themselves incarcerated indefinitely until biich time (problematical as it seems) when another loeomotive-driver can bo arrested iu flagrante delicto. Especially would I warn them to wear thick rubber gloves on all occasions (in fact, they had better bo sealed on before a J.P., and the key handed to tho nearest clergyman), as the Finger-print Department is*on its mettle, and that is the, only mundane institution that has never been known to fail. It will, sir, be pleasing news to The Dominion staff to learn that there is a plethofti of penmen and shorthand writers at present under reform—so you can mako your political notes willing.— I am, etc., C.3.4. P.S.—A lecent excessive sentence may appear to lessen the dangers of locomo-tive-drivers, but I would still warn them to take no chances.