The Nelson Evening Mail MONDAY, JULY 10, 1871.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VI, Issue 161, 10 July 1871, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail MONDAY, JULY 10, 1871.

The DujteddoG-aol is the largest, and enjoys the reputation of being one of the best conducted in the colony, and we have therefore much pleasure in giving a few extracts from the annual report recently furnished to the Provincial Council, for a copy of which we are indebted to the courtesy of the author, Mr. Caldwell, the Governor of the Gaol. He begins by stating that the expenditure for the year amounted to £8055, of which sum £5224 was spent on the European, and £2801 on the Maori prisoners, while the value of the prison labor, the estimate of which has been approved by the Government Inspector of Works, amounted to £8136. On this Mr. Caldwell remarks :— " This affords me the greatest satisfaction, and if an equally favorable result can be obtained in future — and I see no reason why such should Dot be the case — I will have cause to consider that I have been enabled to make the offender against the laws not only bear the cost of his punishment, but also pay tribute to the community he ha 9 outraged." The remarks of the governor on the class of prisoners who are most frequently placed under his care — namely, drunkards — are worthy of notice. He says : — " For the most part the same female prisoners are received into the Gaol over and over again for petty offences, consisting principally of drunkenness, and contraventions of the Vagrant Act. Experience has shown that this state of things is unhappily the same to a .greater or less extent iv every settled community; and the number o£<convictions agaiDSt some of these women shuts out all reasonable hope of their reformation, although if they could only be induced to exhibit wheu free anything approximating to the same amount of industry, temperance, activity, and cleanliness which they are compelled to do when, in Gaol, they would be both useful and. respectable members of society. Under existing circumstances, efforts for, the reformation of prisoners must, in my opinion, be mainly directed to those who are undergoing punishment for the first time, and, having that object in view, I am careful in preventing such prisoners from associating with the others ; this, however, I am unable to do, to as great an extent as I desire, iv consequence of the very limited anaou n't of space at my disposal ; but the fact that, of those who pass their first sentence in this establishment, few ever return to a similar place, shows that my efforts in this direction are not altogether unavailing. Drunkenness continues to exist to v very considerable extent, and defies all the efforts of the police to check it. The drunkard, as a rule, is not averse to a few days detention in Gaol, and .is conscious of the benefit he derives from the cleansing and medical relief he obtains there, and the worst portion of the punishment falls on the Gaol officers who have charge of these filthy person?." Mr. Caldwell's opinion of the popularly received idea that education tends to diminish crime is a little startling, and we are inclined to believe that he has rather under estimated the effects of early training upon the individuals upon whom it is bestowed, but he appears to have devoted considerable attentiou to this question, and his remarks are clearly those of one who has thought much on the subject, while he has had special facilities for making observations, the results of which he communicates as follows :— r" We have no evidence that education, as commonly understood, is a prevention to crime. Those perpetually reiterated newspaper paragraphs, in which the ratios of instructed to uninstructed prisoners are so triumphantly stated, prove just nothing..' Before any inference can be drawn, jit must be shown that those instructed and^ uninstructed ( prisoners come from two equal sections of society— alike iv all other respects but that of knowledge. So far, indeed, from proving that morality , is increased ;by education, the, facts, pr.oye, i Jf| anything^ the Reverse.. Thus we are 1 told 9in the _reportß* :( ;6f^tito^>pi*lB6iii Tl lb'' i Great Britain^ and the-Uriited and Continental States, that the proportion borne by the

educated to the uneducated convicts, is frilly as high as that which exists between' the educated, and the.uneducated classes, in. the general population. Where the char-.'* acter is defective l intellect — no matter how high — fails to regulate rightly, because predominant desires falsify its estimates. Nay, even a distinct foresight of evil consequences will not restrain, when strong passions are at work. How else does it happen that men will get drunk ? though they know drunkeuness will entail on them suffering and disgrace, and, as with the poor, even starvation. How else is it that medical students, who know the diseases brought on by dissolute living better than other young men, are just as reckless and even more reckless ? How else is.it, that the professional thief who has been in Gaol a dozen- times will steal again as soon as he is at liberty ? How is it that people who have all their lives been taught Christianity will not behave as Christians, though they believe that dire penalties are entailed by behaving otherwise ? Is {litre some parallel between the habitual criminal aud the habitefal drunkard — so that crime becomes an omnipotent passion which must indulge itself, at whatever risk of seen and dreadful consequences." The following paragraph from this very interesting report shows that the convicts at the completion of their terras of imprisonment are not turned adrift without care or thought as to their future, but that every encouragement is afforded them to return to a life of honesty and morality, a matter which, it is to be feared, is too often overlooked in our penal establishments. "Special attention, "we are told, " is paid to the prisoners previous to the expi^ of their term of imprisonment, to discover, if possible, whether there is any disposition to strive after an amendment of life, and when there is satisfactory evidence of this, mdmey is provided to purchase tools to euable him to commence working at his trade ; and if ther4 be any particular, place where he wo^lil^esire to reside,, it is only necessary for him to mention it, and he will be furnished with the means to accomplish his object. . Prisoners released from confinement can thus commence life afresh in places where they are not known.. It is the opinion of the most distinguished Jurists in Great Britain, Ireland, Continental, and United States, and a priori reasoning leads to ; tlie same conclusion, that the beat field for such persons must always be an entirely new country, where they make, in , all respects, a new start in life; and it may often be made the means of complete reformation in character. There should be no returning to the scenes of former temptations, and the inculcation of this truth upou the minds of should form part of the Reformatory training. They should have the advantage of a new birth, .with every possibility of escaping from the recognition of all who had previously known them. When men went off into a new country, they attained that self-respect which was necessary to reformation.'' • The total number of prisoners received during the year into. the Dunedin Gaol was 450 males, and 196 females, the largest number of inmates at oue time having been 191, and the smallest 155, so that it will be seen that the governor's office is no sinecure. Judging from his very comprehensive report, the establishment under his care appears to be ,so excellently managed as to be, a real credit to the Province of Otago, which is certainly most fortunate in possessing so efficient and painstaking an officer as Mr. Caldwell.