PAMPERED PRISON PET.

NZ Truth, Issue 144, 21 March 1908, Page 5

PAMPERED PRISON PET.

THE REMARKABLE TREATMENT OF HENRY STRATTON IZARD.

Why Didn't He Don the Prison Garb? Curious Consideration for a Champion Crook.

The name., of Henry Strattbn Izard is beginning to get on the nerves , of this paper, which doesn't love to:kick a man when h^s down. Henry S>trat-. ton Izard is, as everybody knows, the.fornicating fraud and legal shark and low-down robber of. trust funds, who thieved principally from widows, ., orphans and struggling settlers and got five years- gaol for his crimes, which, had they been 'laid at the door of any : other weak-headed fool,' outside jthe, Costs profession-/ might have run into a life stretch. Now, this detestable wretch Izard, whose downfall brought disgrace and dishonor to an hitherto honored and unsullied family name, was a lawyer, a member of the learned and honorable legal profession, and the judge who sentenced, performed "a painful duty" which was distinct from "the public duty" , which entwined itself, round ,ithfir,lq.; years' • stretch ' ; which:;.Wellington; bur-; glars Hamilton, Ferris and . Sinclair are now serving. There was much shedding of Saurian '< tears , and a lot: of things said which showed !that ; successful thief, as vizard was, his fault .was m being found out, and what made the ■matter still worse was when he was- found out ho was proved- to be a lawyer and a disgrace to that honorable profession, and because he jbrought discredit on the pro. he had to' pay the penalty. :Now, "Truth' 7 pointed out at the . time Izard was that he wasn't going into a' convict's garb for being a thiefi a fraud, a humbug; and a fornicator, or anything like that, ; but simply because he imperilled • • THE LEARNED; LEGAL LEECH trade, which seeks/because it's an "honorable" trade, to get the public to trust it" with its cash and its valuable securities, or anything ,tha,t is commonly, called wealth. In this democratic Dominion there isn't, fortunately, a system which, grades pris- ' oners, and 'the ternv" first-class mis : demeanant" is Only known m Britjain, where Britain s degenerate \;and rotten , aristocracy have to be '^often gaoled for all sorts of crimps from bigamy, to the , confidence trick': v Al- ' though jfchere is' supposed to be no distinction m our gaols, the marvellous and merciful treatment which Ifcard; the thieving legal leech, has received and is ,re.oeivirfg m the various penitentiaries where he is! detained has forced from ."-Truth" a most emphatic protest. . One must not imagine that. Izard, is being hounded down,' even while m 'gaol , associated';: 'with" other criminals, just because "he js Izard, the thieving' lawyer, the, awful example that . other legal, leeches should ever -have pointed out .to them. "TruJ?h" isn't. bitter on that' , scare. If every thief, every carnal offender, every hook and crpbk that is doing a term, aye! and for the first time, too, received half the consideration that this .pampered pet is shown, there., wpujj}.. be, ,jib cause for - complaint. Izard is'just'as dangerous a criminal "because of his Knowledge and his legal, training, as the most thickskulled and brutal assault and', robbery, man. m, any of our gaols.' 1 His crimes were far more heinbiis than those of any, other ;thief or defaulter, now eating his heart out m the SOLITUDE OP A CONVICT'S : ■!■ CELL, but it has not fallen to the fortunatelot of every embezzler, every trustbetrayer, the w«ak-headed and the ! strong-willed alike, to be .petted and pampered tiy his gaolers .. Izard has been made a cook, ngt because his 1 egal acumeh' fitted him for the p osi- j tion of chef. Everything that could be done to 1 soften the bitterness ; of his downfall' has been, and is being, accomplished: Fowl for dinner, ■■ because "skdlfjt" was distasteful and indigestible, ,is what Izard has ' received, and 1 it is pertinent to ask; is it any wonder that 'other prisoners, no bet- i ter, certainly no worse, than ' this Greytown "grey-nurse," loudly complain, and even from their dingy dungeons, eVen^fr cm the tree-planting stations, manage to either, elude the . vigilancei. and perhaps; '• with the connivance of warders to pencil their protests to "Truth ?" If, however, easy jobs, ' /delicate dishes and a damned fine ' time generally was all that cb'uld be urged agaiftst this wretched ' d i stinction' 'between grey; or brown arrowmarked suits, this paper "might not so loudly, and noisily protdst. That, unfortunately, is not all. The other day ,'^here was litigation m Wellington's Supreme Court where Izard's presence as a witness was imperative. Mafk what happened !; Not only was Izard hot ' attired m convict garb, out a judicial respect for the captured shark'sv harrowed and crestfallen feelings actuated the 1 Court not |o hear Izard's evidence from the witness-box m open court, where he wotild be viewed by vulgar but hon-; est eyes, but nothing else than that Izard should- tell portion of? his wick-r sid doings- m an. ante-room,' to. which the press representatives were admitted with very bad grace. Why all bhis unparalled consideration for a criminal, the present prisoner of the Law? Do any. such fine -feelings : actuate the authorities of the Terrace Gaol when the poor devils m their custody are marched through Wellington's thoroughfares ? ■ Of course not ! The unbending sternness of the penal system kills that feeling. , The offender against our Laws has : FORFEITED HIS RIGHT TO FREEDOM and officialdom m gaol knows ho sentiment. , There, however, seems to exist, as far as Izard is concerned, some drresistible influence which seeks to break down that stern system, and one would imagine that Izard was a . tender, delicate hothouse plant that would fade, and die if contaminated by* the foetid atmosphere of • penalism. He is, a criminal who .ieliberately worked his way into gaol, and from Judge downwards I)e has received, and continues to receive, a ; consideration •' that is both condescendimg arid curious. Indeed. "Truth" marvels that during his stay m Wellington he was not put up at one of our leading hotels, and if he had the manage-

ment /would. no doubt have experienced a sinisterly strange feeling of insecurity. It is a w.onder, indeed, that the Terrace Gaol was class enough for this pampered* prison pet. More, however, follows m this para-, pering business. Izard had to betaken back to, ,the Haaimer tree-planting, penal establishment. Izard was not the only convict that had to be sent down per ferry steamer. Izard was accompanied on his journey by a man named Carroll, presently serving ; a sentence of five years for assault and robbery. Carroll was sent on board m his prison garb. He x was there to lie gibed and gazed at and to be gloated over, but Mr Izard, the crook;" the thief, the formca/tor, the welsher of widows, the seducer of an orphan, the scoundrel?// betrayer of .trust, was > not submitted to any such . indignity. Me Izard , certainly travelled steerage, certainly a warder was- handy, but 'Mr Izard was attired m the clothes of a free man, being' , thus ; uiilikely to attract attention. - THIS 'LANTERN- JAWED PRIG, this' legal leech, now, happily, a gaol bird,: has nothing m the way of good looks to commend him, , and no doubt poses m prison as a singularly superior sort of scoundrel , denied nothing but his actual freedpm, but be is no better than a man. like Carroll and/ gaol-bitdvS- -generally, and therefore not entitled to any such marks of distinction, This scandalous and shameful show of difference between: prisoners is'given this, publicity'because it honestly 'deserves it. The , persons responsible for this gross violation of prison .rules should be called on for an explanation, and "Truth,',' moreover, thinks that the matter should be mentioned m Parliament W"h eii 1 it next assembles. This paper regrets bedause of the pain this protest , causes the' unhappy and respected . relatives of this pampered prisoner,, that tlie' name of Izard should v be mentioned, ; but, nevertheless, this paper promises tha-t , so long as -this 'unptecedented favoritism to a prisdner 'of the Law exists, so long as' crocodile tears are -■ shed, and misp^Jaced sympathy shown this champidn criminal; ',' so long then will "<Truth" : continue to protest, and protest in' no. mild manner either.