BOOK REVIEWS

Dominion, Volume 36, Issue 34, 4 November 1942, Page 3

BOOK REVIEWS

Dominion’s Prison System Condemned “A Parson in Prison,” by Melville Harcourt (Auckland: Wliitconibe and Tombs), How much docs the general public in this or any other country know or care of life inside a prison? Probably very little, and because New Zealand has gained a reputation for advanced social legislation; the ordinary man probably supposes that our penal system has kept in step with modern reforms in this direction. 'Hie Rev. George Morcton, till recently prison chaplain at the Mt. Eden jail, tells a very different story, through the otlices of his biographer, the Rev. Melville Harcourt. The New Zealand prison system is at least GO years out of date, according to Mr. Morcton and his evidence makes very disturbing reading. In fijct, his indictment of our system seems so glaring and irrefutable that it is to be hoped that it. will cause profound disturbance in the right quarters. Every responsible member of the community should read what “A Parson in Prison” tells about our prisons and the suggestions he makes for their reforms, and no effort should be spared to bring our prisons into line with Itnglisil prisons, who now aim to return their inmates to the community converted into useful citizens. Actually, there is a great deal in “A Parson in Prison” which is not about prisons at all. Mr. Harcourt writes his biography ot Mr. Moretou with Mr. Moreton s consent in the first person, so that it is difficult to remember that it is not an autobiography. However, it is a very spirited story of a life spent in active service in the community. From the be■g’iiining it makes interesting reading, but trbni the moment Mr. Moreton becomes a prison chaplain the book becomes so arresting that the earlier pages are forgotten and the reader joins Mr. Moreton's crusade. One chapter contains a survey of the Mareo ease, with- an account of the latest developments, Mr. Morcton being a firm believer in Marco’s innocence. “Stolne and Surreptitious Copies,” a comparative study ot Shakespeare’s bad Quartos, by Alfred Hart (Melbourne University Press). Mr. Hart’s task in this volume is to attempt the solution of rue problem concerning the relationship between the two groups of play-texts, rhe so-called bad quartos and the corresponding good texts written by or attributed to Shakespeare aud first printed in quarto or in the first folio. In presenting his proof that each bad quarto is a derivative of the parallel play written by Shakespenre he shows a wealth of scholarship backed by deep research, his book being the first devoted entirely to tfie problems Surrounding the relationship of the “stolne and surreptitious copies” complained of by Hemiuge and Condell ’ and the corresponding plays which they printed in the first folio. “Better Hearing” (Wellington Branch of the New Zealand League lor the Hard of Hearing). This is a book for those who are themselves hard-of-hearing or who have children affected by deatnessl It deals with the whole problem of defective hearing in an authoritative and up-to-date way. It is written in simple language, aud the explanations of technical points, such as the structure of the ear or the way in which electrical hearing aids work, are so clear that the average person will have no difficulty in understanding them. For the normal-hearing who are interested in the social aud health problems of our times there is in this book a fund of information and inspiration. Probably no other book in the English language deals so comprehensively with the problems of defective hearing, and as the whole work is written with special reference to New Zealand conditions its practical value is greatly enhanced.