H,— 2o.

Quarry and roadworks revenue which in the previous year amounted to approximately £33,000 were also reduced in 1930-31 by approximately £4,000. Prospects for the current year indicate a further heavy drop due to circumstances outside the Department's control. The following gives a brief survey of the progress of industrial activities at the various institutions. At Auckland Prison the main industries continue to be quarrying, bootmaking, and tailoring. Laundering for the Defence Department for several years past has provided useful employment, but curtailment of the Defence programme has reduced the work to a negligible quantity. Bootmaking for the Mental Hospitals Department suffered a drop in output, but in this the reduced revenue is compensated by an equal reduction in the expenditure of the other Department concerned. Quarry operations were of necessity called upon to absorb an increased proportion of prison labour without any additional output. The recently increased railway tariffs for metal caused loss of business from the more distant customers and made the local city competition keener in a restricted market, resulting in a decline in the year's output of the prison quarry. Addington Women's Reformatory is principally engaged in gardening and laundering, but here also the curtailment of the Defence programme resulted in lessened activity. To partly compensate for this and the slackening-off in railway laundering, arrangements have been completed"to undertake laundering for several other Government Departments in Christchurch, At the Invercargill Borstal Institution farming principally for vocational purposes and reclamation work are the main industrial activities, and much useful work has been done. At Napier and New Plymouth the quarries are earning a small but profitable revenue. Their gardens produce surplus vegetables for sale after supplying institutional needs. Paparua Prison inmates are mainly engaged in mixed farming and market-gardening, but the revenue from these has naturally suffered along with all agricultural activities. Work in the gravel-pit engages the surplus labour-supply, and the returns from the sale of metal from the prison pits continues to substantially reduce the cost of upkeep of the prison. The Point Halswell Women's Reformatory and Borstal Institution is principally devoted to laundering for Government Departments. The laundry is now reasonably well equipped mechanically, and is undertaking railway laundering to replace the diminution in Defence work last year. Gardening and poultry-keeping are also carried on successfully. The Waikeria Borstal Institution and Reformatory is wholly a farm institution engaged principally in dairying and sheep-raising, though practically every branch of farming is carried on for vocational purposes. The dairy herds maintain a high average level of butterfat production and continue to be substantially ahead of the district average in this respect. This year the increased production has not compensated for the decline in prices, although the returns have been good. At Waikune Prison, near National Park, road construction and maintenance has been continued. Construction-work has been curtailed and the muster of prisoners reduced in consequence. At Wanganui Prison cottage gardening and wood-chopping are the main activities. At Wellington Prison the building-work is now completed and activities of a miscellaneous character such as gardening, dairying, and manufacture of floor-polish, sandsoap, and lead-headed-nail making, are carried out. The Wi Tako Prison at Trentham continues to increase its main activities of sheep-farming and market-gardening, in an area that is steadily being converted from what was a waste swamp-area into a fertile farm and garden. Total Departmental Expenditure and Revenue. Early in the period under review a serious drop in departmental revenue was forecasted and after the record revenue year of 1929-30 the drop of £13,000 in 1930-31. was not unexpected. Early steps were taken in an endeavour to meet the anticipated loss of revenue by effecting rigorous economies in expenditure and by exploiting additional avenues of revenue, and it is pleasing to report that while the daily average number of prisoners in custody showed an increase of one hundred over the previous year the actual gross cash expenditure was reduced by £1,150. Taking into consideration this increased number of inmates in custody, the actual economies effected are estimated at approximated £6,000. J

Summary of Payments and Receipts on Account of Prison Vote from 1924 to 1931.

4

Daily Average Gross Expenditure. Credits. : Net Expenditure. Year. Number of , — — . Total. , Per Head. Total. j Per Head. Total. | Per Head. £ £ | £ £ £ i £ 1924-25 .. 1,227-81 144,4-84 117-67 ! 68,118 55-56 76,366 62-11 1925-26 .. 1,340-13 152,794 114-00 79,099 59-02 73,695 54-98 1926-27 .. 1,397-25 148,766 106-47 70,915 50-76 77,851 55-71 1927-28 .. 1,489-62 161,199 108-21 66,979 44-95 94,220 63-26 1928-29 .. 1,501-82 j 163,451 108-83 73,994 49-27 89,457 59-56 1929-30 .. 1,425-54 172,248 120-83 83,806 58-87 88,442 ! 62-04 1930-31 .. 1,525-32 1 171,382 112-36 70,669 , 46-33 100,713 j 66-03 I I