The Daily Telegraph TUESDAY, JUNE 14, 1881.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 3108, 14 June 1881, Page 2

The Daily Telegraph TUESDAY, JUNE 14, 1881.

Captain Hume, Inspector of Prisons, has forwarded his report on the gaols of New Zealand to the Minister of Justice, by whom it has been laid on the table of the House. The Inspector commences by saying that the chief evils that have come under his notice are, that the prisons, as they at present exist, are neither deterrent nor reformatory. He attributes this mainly to the absence of classification owing to the very limited I accommodation in most of the gaols. He accordingly recommends one large central prison capable of containing three hundred prisoners, to which all male offenders sentenced to penal servitude should be sent, and so kept entirely separate from hard-labor prisoners. We do not know the difference between hard-labor prisoners and prisoners sentenced to penal servitude, but we presume Captain Hume is capable of defining the distinction. The district prisons should then be made large enough, the Inspector recommends, to accommodate all prisoners in separate cells, debtors, remands awaiting trial, and youths. We agree with Captain Hume that the present system that allows prisoners having their meals, and spending their spare time in association, is most detrimental to discipline, and, he , might have added, to the morals of youthful offenders. He next recommends improved washing and bathing arrangements ; the weighing of prisoners on reception, a record of weight kept, and periodical weighing in order to test whether the prisoners are losing or gaining flesh. The report then goes on to say that the foregoing remarks apply equally to female as well as male prisoners, but no reference as to sex is made in connection with the following suggestions, so we apprehend that Captain Hume includes women in the " all prisoners should be liable to undergo personal correction for prison offences, but as the law now stands corporal punishment can only be inflicted for repeated prison offences. A serious assault by a prisoner on an officer, for instance, is a case in which corporal punishment should invariably be resorted to (subject always, of course, to the medical officer's opinion as to the fitness of the offender to receive it) ; and if the law in this respect is not altered, I fear serious results. I would also recommend that the birch rod be introduced in prisons, as it has been found in English prisons that birching, whilst being a safer punishment than flogging, at the same time, by placing the recipients on the footing of boys, has a humiliating effect, and therefore is 'deterrent, and a valuable addition to the cat as a means of punishment." Having recommended, apparently, the birching of all male and female prisoners as occasion may require, our newly imported Inspector proceeds to give it as his opinion that educating prisoners is a mistake, and he " begs to recommend that schooling in prisons be abolished/ But he excepts from the term education the teaching of trades. He would classify prisoners as follows:—(1) Old and habitual criminals who have several previous convictions against them. (2) Those against whom no former convictions are known. (3) Youths-and boys 16 years old and under. (4) Those under remand and awaiting trial. (5) Debtors, &c. Each of the abovementioned classes being kept separate, both on the works, it exercise, and when in the prisons. He recommends a gratuity scale, so that prisoners on dis- ; charge " may not be utterly destitute." We have not the scale before us, but if it be based on an English system it will probably be found destitute of utility, a liberal scale under the existing system being aheady in force. Remissions of hard labor the Inspector holds to be a

great error, except in cases of penal servitude. Tbe prison diets he holds to be too liberal, he having found that prisoners, as a rule, leave prison iiOdvier in weight than they were on reception. Hence the value of weighing them. If it be found that a prisoner is making too -aiucb. flesh, tbe quantity or quality of his food can be reduced to a mathematical nicety, till at length, with careful experiment, it may paradventure be discovered how to keep a man on a crumb a day. Captain Hume puts his foot firmly on the use of tobacco, and begs strongly to urge that every pipe should be put out. He next finds fault with the terra of " gaoler." The term must be abolished, and that of " superintendent," or " controller," substituted ; and the term " prisons" substituted for " gaols." The above recommendations appear so much nonsense, but a "new broom" must of course sweep clean. " The system of gaolers being powerless to punish either officers or prisoners is faulty, and places them in a false position in the sight of both officers and prisoners; and I deem it right to recommend that they be given powers to deal with certain prison offences, submitting weekly to my office a return showing full particulars of all punishments awarded by them. Of course, any serious offence would, as now, be referred to a visiting justice." Here is the thin end of the wedge of a new department, and further useless expenditure, in the shape of " ray office," and " weekly returns." Captain Hume recommends that as vacancies occur superintendents of prisons should be selected from retired naval and military officers, as be is of opinion that ere long the importance of prison establishments will increase. We have not the slightest doubt about it. If Captain Hume is allowed to have his own way prisons will be very important establishments, harbors of refuge for decayed military men, where birch-rod flogging would go on right, merrily and nobody outside the gaol wall any the wiser, the Press being rigidly excluded. The report then informs us that Captain Hume has already submitted a scale of pay for piison officers, which is probably more liberal than the prisoners' diet, as he feels sure that, should it be adopted, tbe Government can readily procure the services of naval and military officers. The report concludes with a few other trivial recommendations to which no notice need be taken here. On the whole we do not think the colony need have gone to the expense, if not the folly, of importing an Inspector of Gaols, for all that has been said by Captain Hume was already well enough known, and the only valuable suggestions that be has made in his report anent a central gaol and classification have been referred to times without number by our Judges and Resident Magistrates.

Some capes of death from cold amongst cattle have occurred in Canterbury. It is reported from Wellington that Meegrs Brogden and Sons have filed a petition of right in the Supreme Court in order to bring to trial their claim of £256,764 against the colony. At the Resident Magistrate's Court this morning Robert Collins was charged with lurking about a cell in the Supreme Court with intent to convey into a public prison Borne spirituous liquors. Fined 20s, or seven days imprisonment with hard labor. The Females Employment Act is being rigidly enforced in Auckland, and a correspondent wishes to know why the same is not done in this town. It is notorious that the Act is no more respected in Napier than if there was no such law on the statute book. To the Editor : Sir, —About six o'olock a.m. on Saturday last I noticed a comet of considerable brilliancy. I saw it again this morning it is seen to the best advantage about an hour before sun rise, and lies nearly due west.—lam, &c, Y. Napier, June 14,1881. Mr Allan McLean has offered an extra special prize of five guineas to be competed for at the next Hawke's Bay Poultry and Canary Association's show for the best pen of three hens and cock of any description of provincial-bred poultry, the bona fide property of the breeder and exhibitor. The Charitable Aid Committee has lately been pretty considerably over-reached. One man, with the aid of aliases and change of costume, suoceeded in getting monetary relief for three different objects, and another got money in his sore distress with which he was enabled to register his dog. By an oversight the advertisement calling attention to the ordinary meeting of the Hawke's Bay Philosophical Institute was " lifted " from our columns last evening, whereby we fear some of the members may have unintentionally stayed away. We apologise to the honorary secretary for our omission. Herr Bandmann informs us that he has been requested by a number of play-goers in this town to repeat his representation of Hamlet before completing his season here. We are certainly not surprised at such a request having been made, as Herr Bandmann's " Othello " is the finest conception that we are ever likely to have in this colony. During the hearing of the case of forgery against, Henare Wairoa, His Honor asked the witness Wylie if he thought it an honest transaction to take £9 10s for simply collecting the amount of a cheque for £29 10s. The witness promptly said " yes," and His Honor remarked that there must be some queer notions of honesty in Poverty Bay. History repeats itself. A publican in this town took a cheque on Saturday from a lodger in payment of board and lodging, and gave the required charge. His lodger left town for unknown country parts early on Monday, and when the banks were opened Boniface discovered that his friend had no account in the bank on which the cheque was drawn. The gi and pigeon match at Petane has been arranged to take place on the 24th instant. We understand that Mr S. Hooper has kindly consented to act as handicapper on the occasion, and that a large number of entries have already been received. An abundant supply of birds has been secured, and there is every probability of this being a most successful meeting. Mr Hooper's "consultation" on the Melbourne Cup, 1881, previously advertised for 500 or more members, has been enlarged to 1000 at the request of several subscribers. There is a general feeling prevailing that it is a decided mistake to send money out of the town for investment in this sort of security. North's swindle at Wellington should open the eyec of speculators, and determine them to place their risk in the hands of a local man, whose stake and reputation in the town are a sufficient guarantee for his honesty. At a meeting of the Hawke's Bay Jockey Club committee to-day, the disqualifications of Mr J. Harding and his mare Miss Domett by the Dunedin Jockey Club, and of Golden Crown by the Auckland Club, were endorsed. A programme for a one day meeting to be held on Tuesday, October 11, was drawn out as follows : —Hawke's Bay Guineas of 105 soys., for three year olds; Handicap Hurdle Race of 60 soys; a Hack Hurdle Race of 15 soys.; a Spring Handicap of 200 soys.; Maiden Plate of 60 soys. ; Hack Race of 15 soys. ; and a Flying Handicap of 75 soys. Nominations for the handicaps to he sent to the secretary by Tuesday, July 19; night of general entries, Tuesday, September 27. The committee arranged to meet on the course at Hastings this day fortnight to consider possible improvements

At a sale of town sections at Attenbury near Timaru, some of the lots brought £1200 per acre, the average price beirig £500. Two comets are now distinctly visible. One gets at seven o'clock in tho evening, and the other ribes about five o'clock in the morning. Two men have been arrested in Auckland on suspicion of having been concerned in the fire that destroyed the Wade Hotel somo months ago. Consigned to Mr M. R. Miller, per Rotomahana, there arrived a yearly Clydesdale entire colt, bred by G. G. Stead, Esq., of CJhristchurch, sire Morley's Fancy, first prize taker at the N. A. and P. show, Otago, and other shows. The Otago Daily Times says that when Morley's Fanoy was shown as a two-year-old " we prophesied that this grand colt would one day rival the fame of his father, the Muir Lad, and the result bears oat our anticipations, the consideration money for which he was exchanged being close on £1000." The colt now imported here is out of an imported mare Mr Stead's Maggie (380), and is intended for future use at Mr Gemmell's Wairoa. Those who are desirous of seeing stock of this promising description can have a view of the colt during the next few days at Mr Waite's stable, Spit.

Herr Bandmann and his company at the Theatre Royal in "The Hunchback" tonight at 8. Monthly meeting of the Victoria Lodge to-night at 7.30. Meeting of the Hastings Prentice Boys', L.0.L., to-night at 7.30. The annual meeting of the St. John's Branch, H.A.0.8.5., will be held on the 22nd instant. Messrs Banner and Liddle will sell to« morrow, on the premises of MrH. R. Gunn, at the Spit, 60,C30 feet of assorted timber, at 11 a.m. Messrs Kennedy and Gillman will sell on the 16th instant household furniture, &o. Tenders are invited for additions and alterations to the Hastings railway Btation, Alterations in Hooper's consultation are notified. A grand concert in aid of St. John's choir will be given on the 23rd instant. Mr Robinson is opening up new drapery goods in Emerson-street. Tenders are invited for making a portion of the Petane and Glengarry road. A grand pigeon match at Petane on the 24th instant. A number of new advertisements will be found in our " Wanted " column.