JUDGE JOHNSTON ON GAOL CLASSIFICATION.

Tuapeka Times, Volume VI, Issue 299, 23 October 1873, Page 5

JUDGE JOHNSTON ON GAOL CLASSIFICATION.

Mr Justice Johnston, 4n charging the Grand i Jury of Wellington, spoke ©n the above snb-f jeet as follows : — "' ' ' I believe that I may congratulate the Colony' on the passing, during the recently closed s«k? sion of the Legislature, of an Act for the regu« lation of piisons, which I hope will be foundr to be a step in the right direction, respecting »• matter too long neglected and far more vital to the welfare of the community than it iar generally acknowledged to be. lam not yet in-/ formed of the definite shape in which this measure has come out from the successive processes? of legislation ; but I trust that besides consoli-, dating the law on the subject, the Act, a«f passed, will be found to contain sufficient provisions for enabling the Executive Government to adopt practical measures for tbe speedy introduction of a system of classification, industrial education, and personal amendment of prisoners, without which the Colony must contmue, in this respect, to lag in the rear of modern civilisation. The time seems to have arrived when further delay would be culpable, ihe necessity for large and prompt supplies of population, universally acknowledged, seems to render it necessary to look forward to the probabilities of the future, as regards crimes and , punishments ; for it scarcely can be deubted that with a substantial and rapid increase of numbers— however admirably the process of' selection may be conducted, and whether prosperity may cheer our onward endeavors or temporary adversity may try our mettle— there, must be some increase in crime, and some increased apprehension of the establishment of criminal and dangerous classes among us. 111 1 allude to this subject on the present occa-, sion— though some persons in the Colony (from ' whom I entirely differ) think that it is ne business of Judges to speak in their charges to Grand Juries about anything bivt the. particular cases in the calendar— because I cannot help feeling a strong and sincere desire that the Colony should profit by the admirable practical lessons emanating from a most remarkable assemblage which took place last year in London, and which, it has been said— l think almost without exaggeration - inaugurated a new era in the history of civilisation. The scheme for a great International Penitentiary Congress, originally suggested, and in its preparatory stages mainly carried out by the Government and officers of the United States' of America,' eventually comprised the representatives of' twenty-two nationalities (including every European nation except Portugal), together' with the United States, Mexico, Brazil, and Chili These were represented by official delegates, the directors general of the prisons of most European countries, professors of criminal law, members of legislative assemblies, and other competent persons. From the United States alone sixty representatives attended,.including two Judges of the Supreme Court. ' Ihe Right Honorable Sir Walter Crofton was chairman of the English Committee ; and the Earl of Carnarvon presided at the Congress, which met in the ancient hall of the Middle Temple. A series of questions had been some considerable time previously prepared by the United States Commission, and sent to the different Governments ; and the answers- to those questions, with papers contributed relative to the principal subjects, discussions in departments, and reports thereon, are embodied in a volume of " Transactions " of the Congress, which probably contains the amplest and most valuable collection of the experience of the civilised world on a great social question which has ever yet been brought together. The general result of the labors of the Congress, as apparent from the evidence and the reports, ma y h * shortly stated as follows j— , (]/ '-The protection of sopiety is admitted to be the object of all prison laws and prison sys- , terns. (2) To this end the moral regeneration of the prisanefs ought to be a primary object of sys-' 1 terns of punishments. (3) Hope is found to be a far more efficient agent than fear. (4) Hope is to be kept alive by rewards for good conduct and industry, such as diminution of sentence, participation in earnings, and gradual withdrawal of restraint or enlargement of privileges. ( 5 ) A progressive classification of prisoners should be adopted in all prisons. (6) Moral forces and motives must be relied on. Unnecessary pain and humiliation should be abolished, except in ! extreme cases ; breaches ; of discipline should be punished by diminution' of comforts or forfeiture of privileges.- But undue indulgence is a* pernicious as undue severity. (7) l- The true principle," says the general reports, " is to place the prisoner— who must be taught that ne has sinned against society, and owes reparation— in a position of stern adversity, from which he must work his own way out by his own exertions. To impel a prisoner to this self exertion should be the aim. of a system of prison discipline which can never, be truly reformatory unless it succeeds in gaining the will of the convicts." (8) Work, education, and religion are the great forces to bo omploypd — steady, active, and useful labor being the basis of discipline. (9) Individualisation is necessary to work out these principles. Each prisoner must be individually treated with a view to his peculiar circumstances and mental organisation. (10) Prison officers must be obtained who believe in the system and have their heart in their work. They should have special training and much encouragement in respect of promotion, emolument, and leave. • fll) Prisoners ought to be systematically assisted to obtain employment on their discharge ; and police surveillance should not be made a burden, but an encouragement to dis- ■ charged men anxious to earn their livinghonestly. (12) The TBport of course acknowledges the _- paramount importance of the great preventive agency^of general education, and especially of industrial and ragged schools. The " Transactions" contain a vast amount of detailed experience with regard to such ques- "* tions as the construction of gaols, the cellular system (with and without association of labor), forfeitures, and other cognate subjects. All *■ these combined to prove that such a system as hitherto has (perhaps almost of necessity) ex- * isted in this Colony, is utterly inadequate for the universally recognised purposes of criminal prisons. At the risk of being thought tedious, , I should like, before concluding, to give you a short summary of a paper contributed .to the Congress by Sir Walter Crofton, probably the most eminent practical authority on the subject, whose experiments in Ireland seem to have been crowned by remarkable success, and whose system has met with universal commendation and * general acceptance. After the panic which was created some twenty years since by the ticket-of -leave system, - Sir Walter set himself to consider how ' he could make prison tests and training as natural as possible, keeping in view the twofold objects of amendment and example. He has found from experience at Pentonville that & strictly artificial system did not duly prepare the prisoners for the battle of life in which they had to take part after their discharge ; and ' at the same time he saw that a more natural •" system, such as he afterwards introduced, for the final and intermediate stages in Ireland, if adopted at the commencement of the sentences, would prevent the punishments from being exemplary. ' He therefore resolved to combine the two systems, so that one should lead up to the other. In order to achieve tbe great objects of amendment, Sir Walter saw that it was indispensable to gain the co-operation of the ' criminals- themselves, and that in order to do this, it is necessary to make them understand that it is not merely retributive, but_haa an aim of advantage to themselves. Long experience enables him to state without hesitation, that if this point be only made clear enough to the mind of a criminal at the beginning of his ieipm, he will not be hostile to those who are orer him, even during the * necessary penal and severe stages of his punishment, for he will look forward to the end, aad have hope ever present with hinL . i "The solution of this problem," says Sir ■ Walter, "to my mind rested in the institution - of a classification which should, lead, by dif- , ferent stages, from very great strictness, and sovere discipline to a state of semi-freedom, in which the good and industrious conduct of the criminal could be 'satisfactorily tested, through, the absence of the artificial restraints necessary ■- in the earlier stages of detention.'* He' said' • " th>t self-control and self-reliance must be developed, ia this process, so tha,t the idle and.

ffl-cßsdplined should become industrious and I ■ orderly.' To this end, he introduced the •'mark*' system for numerically recording diligence at labor (not skill). This system, at first much misunderstood, was introduced by him in Ireland in 1854, and was afterwards' adopted in English convict prisons in 1864; and has had great success in both countries. Industry was made a privilege to be earned, on account of its absence in the earliest stages of Mclusion, and its gradual introduction ; and it was found that — slowly at first, but surely — it Supplanted idleness in the breasts of the majority of criminals. Sir Walter says :— " lam not a mere theoiist upon this point. I have watched the treatment of tie same individuals under different systems, l have been told by criminals, on entering gaols, that they preferred being in their cells without employment, but I have invariably found the same persons begging for it before the expiration of a month." The system introduced in Ireland, founded en the principles to which I have been alluding, has three stages — (1) The stage of penal and stringent discipline with seclusion. ■' (2) The stage of associated labor, with separate dormitories, in which there is a progressive classification governed by marks. In this stage tbe criminal discovers that he is to a great extent the arbiter of his own fate. This deprives the punishment of the aspect of vengeance, and ensures co-operation. (3) The third (called intermediate) stage commences when the other two have been satisfactorily passed, the criminals having obtained the required number of marks, and is a state of semi-freedom, a stage of probation in a more ' natural state, precedent to liberation. The system thus introduced has stood the test of sixteen years' experience, and has proved a very great success. It applies equally well to females as to males, except that " refuges" are adopted for the final stage for the former. There are two points to which Sir Walter draws attention, which would seem specially deserving the notice of the Government of the ,Colony. Alluding to ,the inauspicious circumstances in respect of buildings for the second stage with which he had to deal in Ireland, he says that the results under great disadvantages, " teach us how much a well-considered classification, based on sound nnd intelligible principles, may do, independently of expensive prison construction." He further states : — ' There is a feeling in which, I believe. Count Sollohub (the representative of the Bussian Empire at the Congress) shares, and I certainly do, that your prison construction should in a great measure be governed by the classification which, upon consideration, you think it best to adopt.- It is, I believe, quite obvious that a very great saving cojM be effected by taking this course. 1 ' In concluding my observations at present on this important subject, I would respectfully recommend to the consideration of the Government, the Legislature, and the people of the Colony the extremely valuable body of matter, both theoretical and practical, to be found in the " Transactions" which have suggested these remarks.