The Telephone. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. GISBORNE, THURSDAY, JANUARY 10, 1884. INHUMAN CONDUCT.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume I, Issue 36, 10 January 1884, Page 2

The Telephone. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. GISBORNE, THURSDAY, JANUARY 10, 1884. INHUMAN CONDUCT.

Thb commitment of a crime of sufficient magnitude to send a man to gaol has the effect, it would appear, of impressing some individuals with the rectitude of the proceeding of forever isolating him from his fellows, —the unfortunate wretch becomes a pariah to society, and such is the “ Christian feeling ” of the self-righteous that, in their opinion, the “ gaol-bird ” must be debarred a chance of ever working himself into a respectable position; To all intents and purposes—in the opinion of some Pharisees—a man who has served a term of imprisonment—no matter how light his crime may have been—must be shut out from associating with those who would give the unfortunate sinner a helping hand, and the finger of scorn is pointed at him; while astute and rich rogues whq.’ may be successful in robbing their fellow-creatures—by steering just clear of the grasp of the law—are petted and looked up to with respect. Such is the way of the world —such are the proclivities of people who would feel greatly insulted if the honesty of their proceedings were questioned ; and society falls down and worships the golden calf —or rather sharper—while the poor beggar and vagabond has not a friend in the world to look to for even a kindly word. This is a sad, but true picture of life in general; and yet a want of feeling for unfortunates—-

or, if the term suits better, gaolbirds—has been carriod to even a greater extent than usual by no less an exalted body than the Government of this Colony. Prom a contemporary we extract the following Two years ago the Government discontinued the practice of providing the prisoners in Lyttelton Gaol with a Christmas dinner. Last year the spread was provided by means of private liberality, but this year preparations were put a stop to by a peremptory telegram from Wellington to tbe effect that no Christmas dinner was to be allowed in the gaol.” Could it be deemed possible that in a Christian community—at the season of the year when friends meet and exchange their joyous greetings—when, according to British custom, the poor are relieved and made to forget, for a day or two at least, their unhappy lot in this world—when the work of charity shines forth like a bright meteor—that the Government in a civilised country would adopt the cowardly, tyrannical, vicious role of preventing a Christmas dinner being partaken of in a gaol ? and yet the assertion that such is the case has been made by a reliable journal, and we must, however reluctantly, accept the report as a true one. " Man’s inhumanity to man " has never, we think, been more clearly exemplified in a Christian land than in this Lyttelton Gaol case ; and yet there are one or two at least, of the members of this God-fearing Ministry who not only attend places of worship, but have the presumption to officiate as elders of a church, and, of course, consider themselves religious men. Out upon the pretenders to the position of worthy men I What harm could the giving of a Christmas dinner to a few pariahs effect ? Would the thought of the rogue and vagabond being supplied with other than his prison diet on Christmas Day tend to affect the digestion of the nobleminded Minister after he had partaken of the rich food that his luck—not his worthiness—placed within his reach ? One would think that, from a Ministry that represents a Christian people, the order would come—if only for appearance sake —to give the prisoners a dinner on a Christmas day ; but no, such a kindly feeling is, apparently, beyond their comprehension, and all the prisoners alike—the light-sentence men, as well as the more expert rogues—are made to bitterly feel their sad lot in the gaol of a Christian country ; while the sycophant, probably, “ lays the flattering unction to his soul ” that he has performed a meritorious act! We wonder what would be the feelings of the gentleman who gave instructions to have the telegram referred to forwarded if he were placed where he should be, and made to suffer the degradation and tyrannical oppression meted out to those poor creatures he has, unfortunately, the power to torture ? Let us hear no more of the Christian feeling of certain Ministers in this “ happy land ’’—let the members of the Government rather openly confess that they have been disgraced by a creature who is totally devoid of feeling, and has, apparently, ceased to remember the beautiful, charitable lessons taught by their forefathers during the time when rich and poor alike meet to commemorate the birth of our Saviour I