THE RELEASE OF BAUME

Taranaki Daily News, 15 November 1926, Page 11

THE RELEASE OF BAUME

HOWARD ELLIOTT'S CHARGES MAGISTERIAL INQUIRY ORDERED. WILL BE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. By Telegraph.—Press Association. Wellington, Nov. 13. The Minister of Justice, in reply to demands for an inquiry into Raume's release, says the object of setting up the Prisons "Board was to remove such matters entirely from political or other influence and to bring skilled knowledge to bear on each case. The board had functioned for over 15 years and bad dealt with thousands of cases and never before had been questioned, which should be accepted as sufficient guarantee of the nature of its work. “The Government doe not propose, because some people may think the board has erred, to set up' a commission to inquire into its actions. There is, however, no objection to a public inquiry into the allegation of preferential treatment to Baume by the prison authorities, and if the Rev. Mr. Ellibtt produces his affidavits and formulates charges, a magisterial commission will be set up at once.” In reply to this, Mr. Elliott says that if there is an inquiry it must be into all the phases of the matter and not restricted to preferential treatment. The appointment of the present Con-troller-General of Prisons must be included too, and the board of inquiry must be composed of men independent of the Government and Public Service Commissioner.

The Hon. F. J. Rolleston has issued the following statement: — “Mr. Elliott has made specific charges against the administration of the Prisons Department, and in spite of categorial denials of his statements he has persisted in these charges. The Government does not intend to allow the matter ot alleged preferential treatment to Baume to rest, and therefore proposes to invoke the provisions of section 17 of the Prisons Act (1908), which gives full power for the investigation of the conduct of prisons’ officers and the treatment of prisoners. In accordance with the terms of this section, Mr. Riddell, S.M., in his capacity as visiting Justice to the Terrace Prison, will be asked to conduct an inquiry, which will be open to the publie. Due notice oT the time and place will be given to Mi. Elliot, to enable him to be present if he so wishes.”

In February last Baume was sentenced to three years’ reformative treatment for what Hie Honour Mr. Justice Alpers described as a “very grave, a very clever, and a very’ impudent fraud on the post office.” His Honour said the utmost diabolical cleverness with which Baume had carried through the frauds indicated a definite tendency towards criminality, from which the community must bo protected. There was no whisper at the time that the sentence was too severe. Prisoner, it may be mentioned, is a member of a well-known family’, has had a most successful academical career, and his prospects in the legal profession were promising. There was no apparent reason why he should have stooped to fraud and dishonesty. A few weeks ago it transpired that, after serving seven months of the 36, he had been released, and that he had left for Australia, an undertaking that he would leave the Dominion being a condition of his release, which can be interpreted as an indication that, in the opinirfn of the Prison Board, his room in the Dominion was preferable to his company’. The action of the board has evoked much criticism and some strong allegations have been made to the .effect that influence and pressure have been exerted to effect the release.