Poverty Bay Standard. PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY, THURSDAY AND SATURDAY MORNINGS. GISBORNE : TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 1883.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume XI, Issue 1354, 11 September 1883, Page 2

Poverty Bay Standard. PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY, THURSDAY AND SATURDAY MORNINGS. GISBORNE : TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 1883.

The report of the Dunedin Gaol Enquiry Commission cannot be characterised as anything but most disappointing in the extreme. All those who have foliovd the evide ce cannot fail to see that the Cc imissioners by their report, wish to smooth over some of the most glaring fau’ts and disgraceful actions on the part of booh the prLoa i.athorities and the Visiting Justices, which cannot be condemned too strongly, and which, for the sake of example, deserve to be dealt with in the severest manner possible. The Commissioners admit that “ several prisoners were continually treated with special indulgence,” and we can come to no other conclusion than this indulgence was found necessary to the effectual carrying out of the brutal sentences passed on other prisoners, and that these special favorites, who were regaled with wines and spirits, and amused with operatic performances and debating classes, and who received special gratuities in excess of the maximum sum allowed by law on their discharge, were criminals of the very worst class, who had earned these indulgences by a cowardly system of espionage over their unfortunate fellow prisoners. The Commissioners likewise admit that minor offences had been punished by the Visiting Justices with undue severity, the sentences in many instances amounting to far more than the original sentences, and which were “ entirely without the authority of the law ” ; that one prisoner died whilst under punishment “in the shape of reduced diet,” and that evidence relating to this fact was suppressed at the inquest. What are we to understand by this ? Was the poor wretch starved to death ? If not, why the need of suppressing any of the circumstances attending his decease ? We suppose the official way of saying this would be that the wretched victim’s death was “ accelerated by the want of nourishment.” But, however we may put it, the glaring fact unfortunately remains. A number of other disgraceful irregularities (we shall call them crimes) are admitted proven, and yet in spite of all these acknowledged scandals the Commissioners, evidently actuated by a desire to screen the Gaoler—state th-t “ Mr Caldwell has throughout given most zealous attention to his duties.” The whole report is reduced to an absurdity when, after reading the above, the same report states that the Gaoler obstructed the Insp ctor in the exercise of his du y, and in one instance persistently disobeyed his instructions ; and at other times gave evasive an swere, and showed throughout a hostile spirit towards all enqui ies The Visiting Justices are dea’t with in the same manner After stating that Captain Fraser, Mr LOG'N, and Mr Brown have been unremitting in their attention to their duties, the Commis-ioners say “ We are reluctantly compelled to state that in our opinion that those Visiting Justices are responsible, not only for the manner in which they have dealt with prison offences but also in a grout measure for the breaches of regulations which we have pointed out.” We utterly fail, even by the terms of their own report, to see where they or the Gaoler have been “ remitting in their attention to their duties,” and can onlv say that although the report falls far short of awarding that amoun' of censu r e which the evidence adduced justly warranted, yet it contains sufficient data for the Government to meet out punishment of a very different description to that advised by the Commissioners, and which is, as far as MrCALi'WELL is concerned, nothing else than a reward The scale of punishment which is recommended to the different d. liquents is much in the inverse ratio to which prize money is awarded. In the latter ca*e those who run the most danger ar.d do the largest amount of service get the smallest amount of reward, whilst those who simply look on receive the lions share: when it. comes to censure or puni-hment, as m t* e former case, the tables are turned, and ’hose who do the greatest amount of wrong are either let off altogether, or what is better for them, are allowed to retire prematurely up n their pension, whilst the subordinates, for whose actions the Chiefs were responsible, are ignominiously dismissed the service— Vivat Justitia !