PRISON CONDITIONS

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 850, 19 December 1929, Page 11

PRISON CONDITIONS

CONTROLLER-GENERALS RETORT COURTEOUS ANSWER TO REV. C. CHANDLER I The retort courteous has been given by Mr. B. L. Dallard, Con-troller-General of Pr.sons, in a letter to THE SUN, to the indictment of the system of punishment and conditions of prisoners in the Mount Eden gaol recently by the Rev. C-has. Chandler, assist-ant-city missioner. j The original condemnation of tho I prison system made by Mr. Chandler appeared in The Sun on December 10, | and was followed by a. letter from the | assistant-city missioner last Saturj day to Mr. l»iekeson, superintendent of tho Mount Eden prison. In this comi munieation Air. Chandler did not apoloi or retract any of his statements ; on tho ground that lie was fighting: for tho •bottom dog.” lie was lighting; principles, not personalities, he said. | and made some terse comment uppn tho lack of consideration shown by the I superintendent during the w riter’s twn years’ association with the prison. On the letters, tho 1 of Prisons now writes: 1 attention lias been drawn to an artielo published in The Sun of December >4 purporting to bo a reply bv tho Rev. Charles Chandler to exemption alleged to bo have been taken by the authorities regarding criticism of the Mount Kden prison by Mr. Chandler and recently published in your paper. REMOVING AN INJUSTICE “Hitherto I have ignored Mr. Chandlers criticism as being unworthy of comment, but now write solely with the object of removing an injustice done to thoso who liavo no right of reply themselves. “It i« regrettable that your reporter j should liavo been misled into tlie belief that the Superintendent had written to Air. Chandler complaining of tlie latter’s statements. No exception either verbally or in w riting was madn to Mr. Chandler. On December in. the letter from Mr. Chandler, which you have published, was received by the Superintendent, and liis reply in the following terms speaks for itself:—

T have your letter of December 12. and am at a loss to understand your motive in writing me. ’No apology has been asked for by me, and it would thus seem that your conscience ha<s prompted you to anticipate the necessity for <>no arising from yotZT article in The Sun on December 10. ‘Tour letter lias been forwarded to the Controller-General of Prisons, so that, if necessary, your remarks concerning my personal animus may be dealt with officially.*

“On a former occasion, Mr. Chandb r published a sweeping and utterly ridiculous cond«\nnation of the Auckland prison, alluding particularly to the ‘utterly Impossible sanitary con ditions.* The Medical Officer of Health (Dr. Hughes) inspected the prison in company with Mr. F. K. Hunt, S.M., and reported as follows.

“Tho whole place was exceedingly clean. There is no evidence of any unsanitary arrangements and no fault could be found with the drainage. Every care was taken by the prison authorities of tho persons who came under their charge. An excellent hot-water system was installed, while basins of water were in all cells. Ilot showers were available for the prisoners . . . Bed clothing used by each prisoner was ■well sterilised beforo being used by another inmate. . . . Sanitary facilities were most up-to-date. . . . The medical records were such as to show that thero had been very little disease. “Mr. Chandler’s criticism now extends to prisoners* clothing, which he describes as ‘grotesque,’ and the prison diet, which he considers to be ‘coarse and uninteresting.* Ho goes further and condemns the staff for its ‘crawling, cringing and intimidating* propensities, and he is unable to call to mind one consideration that the superintendent had shown him during the two years he has been in association with the prison—cheap criticism that is as unbecoming as it is unwarranted. “HAPPIEST RELATIONS” “I have before me the annual report of the Auckland City Mission for tho years 1927-28 and 1928-29. The following is an extract from Air. Chandler’s report for the year 1927-28: “I am much indebted to the Prisons Department for its courteous treatment, and also to the superintendent and staff at Mount Eden Gaol for their repeated kindnesses which have greatly facilitated the work. “From the samo gentleman’s report for 1928-29. I quote as follows: “The happiest of relationships exists between myself and the officers at the and my especial thanks are due to the superintendent for his friendly co-operation in all matters that pertain to the chaplaincy.” e