GAOL INQUIRY.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XV, Issue 211, 4 September 1880, Page 2

GAOL INQUIRY.

David Atkinson was the first witness examined to-day, and in reply to the prisoner, Thompson, he said-, I Was formerly a warder in tKfd Nelson gaol, I have never been present at any other enquiry concerning this matter. I have never been questioned, by the Magistrate as to the ill-treatment you received. I heard you had applied to Mr Hunter Brown that you might address the Minister of Justice; I was a warder in the Wanganui gaol for. about two years, f never knew a prisoner to spend tinte ofgr in : the prpbation. clftssi The gaoleiK'afc Wanganuiinformed me that a prisoner was on marks whilst he was on the sick list. To the best of my belief he did part of his probation in the hospital. I was on duty on the Ist of March last. The night you were handcuffed you made some noise afj.er.you iad.been. locked up, which is unusual when a man is in solitary confinement. I did not hear what the gaoler said when he came up to your cell alone. I have never seen you viblent siuce. I have always found you a quiet" man. Your legs were fastened with, a rope hot with iron, your legs were . not crossed. Constable,;, Withers said, " don't pull that rope so tight." Sergt. Njvsh rebuked \yithers for interfering withjhiih whilst he was tying you. He then drew the rope up until the ankles and wrists were touching. The gaoler did not offer to release you if you were quiet ; he did not speak at all. .-I opened the door, this was when we first went up. I spoke to the prisoner and asked him what lie was, makingLthe? noise about. I took Ids bucket away. . Thompson said is this the way to leave a man with only two blankets and no mattress. I do not recollect Sergt. Nash kneeling on you several times. When we left the cell the last'time, Sergt. Nash made the remark "he will be all right till morning, IK or something to that effect. ' Constable Withers put the gag in your mouth. Ido hoi know who rolled the rag round the. gag; I believe it was Sergt; Nash. If Sergt. Nash had not rolled the rag round the wood, it was the intention to gag you with the bare wood. The reason T the rag was rolled round was to prevent you from being heard. Ido not know if it was the gaoler who suggested -the gagging. I have been used to hearing a noise in the " dummy " consequently I did not pay much attention. It is a common occurrence to hear a row in this gaol. You were shaking the door. There were three other prisoners in solitary confinement the same night as yourself* They were all close together, one swearing at the other, in fact they were| making a great row. You shook the door tremendously. The practice now in this, gaol is to give a man a sleeping draught! whilst in solitary confinement. They are not! treated like human beings at all, not to my; idea. I heard some of the prisoners call out for the officers to come to your assistance. I: then came into the cell and removed the gag.i I also loosed the rope (previous to this Mr; Shallcrasß gave me instructions to release} him as. soon as he was quiet). -■- I-askedthej gaoler if I should remain at Thompson's., cell, he jreplied, " I could go to any.roomi"! and as soon as I Heard, liim quiet, to go to. his cell and ask him if he would give in.; The reason why I asked the gaoler this' ques-j tion was because I could see the man was mi extreme suffering. You were in a terrible' stato at the time I released you, you cbuldj hardly speak. I could hardly understand' you asking for water, you were bathed withj perspiration. After taking- the gag out of { your mouth, I loosed your legs -from your;! wrists. I ran as fust as I could down stairs j and procured a pannikin of water. I brought j the water up. ycu cfrank with great eagerness! and directly you swallowed the water youj vomited'it up again. I then took off the rope \ with much difficulty, which was bound round j legs, and also, took the handcuffs, j The gaoler told me to bo quick and" take' them off when he saw you vomioing ; your' wrists were in a fearful state there was aj deep indenture where the handcuffs were and your ankles were very much swollen. in ( fact you were nearly dead. If they had! been on two minutes longer I believe he ( would have died, he was terribly exhausted. | You had been in. this position for .three l quarters oE an .hour, I, came to visit you be- 1 fore I finally went to bed. You were ih : a ; helpless 'state. If . you had. fallen ; over ; on j .your face you were bound to have be'en! smothered, you could not straighten yourself ; I asked you if you felt all right you replied ■ the cramp was very bad. In ' fact I did not , expect to see you alive next morning. I. and ; Warder Bourke came to your cell the second | morning after, you had been ironed, I than : found you in 'the same position as I left you. : I passed the remark that; you ; were; in : the . same position as you ' we're the night before. The blankets wer* not used. Ido not remember if you were in the .same; position as when I had left you the night before. I asked you on one or two occasions : why you could not , eat you bread: .You -made some remarks about your mouth .being spre, I have noticed you frequently ; putting your hands and feet under the tap. In fact I passed the, remark; to , Warder Bourke that you were not fit- to be .at work. I thought you were not. in your proper mind. I have known you since you were first committed for trial. ' When .. you . were in the Wanganui gaol you. were put in solitary confinement, and afterwards brought before the doctors who pronounced you insane. Directly you came out, of solitary confine- ; inent you showed .symptoms of insanity. You were put in solitary confinement for'refusing to work. I never saw you before you came into gaol, you Bpoke to me for a few minutes when you came back from the Nelson Lunatic Asylum, I called you from the door. That was in the presence of the other warders and prisoners. They could hear what I was saying there was no. secrecy about our conversation, I never spoke to. you in. Maori at all, I. would not allow you to do so whilst in prison. I have never made an offer to aid you in getting to the King country if you escaped from this gaol. I. never took., any notice of the remarks made by prisoners whilst in the mess room. I had prisoner Brooks punished whilst the gaoler was absent. I believe he lost a few marks, harder White told me that if the gaoler ,was here Brooks would not have been .punished. Warder White was glad it happened whilst the gaoler was absent, because if\ he L had been here he would have ' , smoothed it all over with the Justices.' The .officers at Wanganui considered you a^qmetanan, L .,X°u have no business to retaliate when you are a prisoner. I do ? not know, whether the gaoler was angry witli' you -for 'making remarks about . him, respecting^ marks. All prisoners- ard not treated' alik^ibztoiis^risjDn. I canned tell whether' the ; gaoler I ' shows preference with ' ; prisoners. , . who . \ .eridqaVjor to curry favor with' him.' 1 S6me F prisoners are allowed £0 go out of tso gftol, whilst no officers arc looking out for

them, and when they 'Want to come in- at meal time or at night they kick at the gate to be allowed admittance, and whilst Warder White was allowiug one of the prisoners t6 come in the prisoner Carter was assaulted. When I reported prisoner Dencker" for striking prisoner Mercer the gaoler informed me that if prisoner Mercer did not complain himself I should take no notice of it, and since that time I have frequently seen fighting going on in the gaol, Ido not know whethfei 1 the gaoler* protected btliet jh-istineis whonv I reported. When I reported' prisoner Carter about three months ago the case came on before the Visiting Justices and was, adjourned; b,ut J. have never heard their decision. The Magistrates came to the gftttl, but never called on the case. I should think the gaoler and Watdel; White would lister to complaints made by jmsoriej-Sjin a ptojier and respectful manner. I nave known prisoners brought up by Warder White for frivolous offences. The witness here remarked about the system carried ou at tHe gftdt of giving marks, which he c'ohisidoi'e.d inflicted a hdrdsliip on soliie prisoners. He said that tfien Hot. dbie to gd ( to lidi-d work j ■were .mado wiiv'dfetueii aiid i-o^cired eight marks a day, whilst those on the labor gang, even if they worked at oakum picking as well, could not make more thanseven. Their Worships said that it' was no use going Into that matter, which was tt^Uestion as' to the present gaol rules; Tile witnesfvSaid : If the piisoh was con-diictejprbpetljr.-tlioie.jttifett wqW/1 not have had nine months added to their sentences. They were so treated that they were driven to do almost anything. Examination continued : I recollect reporting Carter about six months ago. The gaoler called me and Carter into his office, and after Mi' White spoke on the jtnatter I withdrew the chafge. , The gaoler ySver had, you or any other prisoner brougiit before him in that way and dealb with privately. The gaoler did not stop Carter's marks when he was reported. The manner the marks are administered here is quite different to that of Wanganui. I remember reading in the paper a paragraph to the., effect that an inquiry was held in this gaol. .1 furnished ;no information to t\\& editoi' concerning that paragraph. My Jded, wds jbhat thajb p^dg-raph-wa*-publisW \vith a vieW of hushing up the matter, and also to keep the public in the "dark. lam aware that prisoner Wilson, made^furniture for Warders Bourke and. WhiieV'in fact he was always making furni- s tui-e. He worked at it sometimes in his own time, also in Government time. Warder ~ White i fold me he was going to give Wilsonthree or four pounds when he was released from prison. My ■ opinion was , that jrou: should be allowed yom' matks Jor the time you weie laid up. I, do not think it -was necessary for the gaoler to put you in irons,' especially as you were in such a state of mind. I consider the way you were tied up "was very, cruel. J have never known a policeman or warder to gag anyone in their 1 charge. The> gaoler did not interfere with -prisoner Price when he was making a noise. I think it was the last time he was in soli-; tary confinement the gaoler sent for a sleeping draught' for -Mm, which was.adminiß-i tered, fiffcei' which he fell asleep.: and we .did; not hear any more noise till, morning;;, he; was quiet when it was given to him. I have! never known any other prisoners to be ; cruelly treated ; they have been treated cruelly ! indirectly through the wardsmen. I have i known water to be thrown into a prisoners dark cell, and the light thrown upon him suddenly. I have known a prisoner sentenced to 48 : hours confinement in the dark cell kept there ; 50 hours, and also for prisoners to have been detained beyond their term. I have hear£ the penal clauses of the prison regulations read, over by Warder White outside the dark cell; for the purpose of annoying and irritating; the prisoner within. (The witness again, made a statement regarding the usual prison discipline, but as it affected more particularly t prisoners waiting trial the evidence was not ; •accepted). A man in solitary ■ confinement is not permitted to wash himself till the fourth day, a man sentenced to li days j solitary confinement has to keep the same clothes on all the time. „„,,, The inquiry then adjourned till Monday morning.