19

H.—2o

A small addition has been made to the power-house in the shape of a lean-to shed in which to store kerosene and oil. Covers for the tanks have been made, and the engine-room fitted with cupboards and shelves. The inner walls of the power-house have been painted and calcimined. A large number of blocks, pipes, and posts have been made, and blocks trucked to the site for the building. The windmill that was sent from Wellington was erected at the blockshed to pump water for the blocks. Good progress has been made on the farm, and a dairy has been erected. The dairy is considered by experts to be the most up to date in the Waikato. A. large amount of work has been carried out around the dairy, consisting of fencing the calf-paddock, laying down lawn, forming paths and gravelling same. We are now milking twenty-seven cows. The number of cattle on the farm is as follows: Cows, calves, and steers, 71; sheep and lambs, 134; horses and foals, 29; pigs, 72. There have been 140 acres cleared and stumped, 15 acres sown,in barley, 46 acres in oats, 7 acres in potatoes, 2 acres in maize, 58 acres in grass, 2 acres in pumpkins. A. large vegetablegarden has also been kept in good order. Thirty acres have been sown down in grass for hay, and a start has been made to cut and stack. Four and a -half acres of swedes and 9 acres of mangolds have been sown, and they appear to be making good growth. About three miles of fencing has been erected, and 7 acres of orchard were ploughed and harrowed. All the trees have been pruned and sprayed. The ground around the outside of the orchard to the distance of a chain has been cleared and burnt. A large amount of wattle-seed has been planted on the hills at the back of the prison : this will prove very useful in a few years. All the walnut-trees planted on the line of the main road have been fenced. The apiary has been increased from six hives to twenty-nine hives. Several of the hives were brought from Waipa and re-queened. Good progress has been made with the poultry. We now have 200 ducks, 100 fowls, and a number of turkeys. We hope to have a good return in eggs next year. The cash returns for the year (January to December) are as follows: Honey, £2 4s. 7d. ; vegetables, £61 18s. 2d.; tomatoes, £6 145.; pigs, £113 7s. 6d.; bread and meat to officers, £68 3,5.; onions, £62 Bs. lOd.; butter-fat, £31 4s. ; skins, £177 15s. 7d.; tallow, £41 16s. Credits for vegetables, £73 12s. lid. All the land on the south-east end of the farm from the river to the boundary has been drained. The work of clearing the Waikeria Stream is now under way, and one mile is finished. Great difficulty is being experienced as the banks on each side close in after the work has been finished. The same trouble was experienced when draining on the south end of the farm. Divine service was conducted for Protestant prisoners on Sundays from 2.30 to 3.30 p.m., and for the residents from 3.30 to 4.30 p.m., by the Revs. Olphert, Shaw, and Henderson. Services for Roman Catholics were conducted by Father Lynch. The ministers of Te Awamutu have started to form a Prisoners' Aid Society, which will be very beneficial in assisting prisoners to find work on discharge. The conduct of the officers on the whole has been good. i WELLINGTON PRISONS. The health of the prisoners has been excellent. It is to be regretted that persons suffering from the effects of alcohol are still remanded to prison for curative treatment. In their boisterous moments they disturb the quiet of the institutions, and consequently prevent their fellow prisoners, who have to work on the following day, from obtaining their night's rest. The conduct of the prisoners has been very good with the following exceptions: 115 of the 1,575 prisoners dealt with were reported for having committed 174 offences. On the 17th April an escape of one prisoner took place from Mount Cook. After an absence of fourteen days the escapee was recaptured and returned to the custody of the Gaoler. The merchants who have supplied the rations and other articles for prison use have given entire satisfaction, and no complaints were received as to quantity and quality of the rations issued. No contracts for rations were entered into during the year. Clergymen and lay preachers of the various denominations—viz., Church of England, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Wesleyan, and Salvation Army (quarterly with their band to Terrace) — have visited regularly the prisons at The Terrace, Mount Cook, and Point Halswell. At Point Halswell the following work was carried out: Grass on magazine mounds cut every eight weeks; cottage for officer in charge completed; 2 acres of ground prepared and planted with potatoes; the road from foot of hill to Prison was re-formed and metalled and the sharp curves eased; 20,000 yards of spoil were excavated and removed to the filling; 101 chains of the Beach Road were re-formed and metalled with 6 in. of hand-broken metal; several tons of wire and iron rods were taken off the beach and prepared for use in other prisons; and a firebreak has been maintained round the trees planted some time ago. All trees have been kept clear of grass and weeds. The prisoners were supplied with vegetables grown in the garden attached to this Prison. At Mount Cook the brickmaking industry was carried on as formerly, 709,848 bricks being made. Of that number 528,650 were disposed of to Government Departments, to public institutions, and other prisons.