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Convict Conditions
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775. CLOTHING.—At St. Helena every man keeps his own prison suit, even if he is only in for a week. The hats are numbered back and front, and both sides, which facilitates identification of prisoners, when marching or working. 776. TOBACCO GIVEN BY CONTRACTORS.—I have not known the contractors to give tobacco to the men in the cook-house. Thomas G. Anderson, a Temporary Warder, examined. 777. PERSONAL.—Entered service July 27th, 1897. No previous experience. Pay, 7s. a day and quarters. Am receiving and discharging officer. I took my instructions as to duties from my predecessor. 778. TRADE.—I understand mat and hammock making. 779. SUGGESTIONS.—There is not sufficient leave and the hours are too long. I have had seven days' leave since I have been here, but we do not know what we are entitled to. David Hamilton, a Temporary Warder, examined. 780. PERSONAL.—Entered service September 17th, 1897. No previous prison experience. Pay, 7s. a day. 781. SUGGESTIONS.—I would like to see the instructions for the officers reduced to writing and their duties clearly defined. Bernard McCluskey, a Temporary Warder, examined. 782. PERSONAL.—Entered service June 1st, 1898. Pay, 6s. 6d. a day without quarters. Came here from the railway goods shed. 783. TRADE. — Have had experience in looking after men,but have no special trade. George P. Leslie, a Temporary Warder, examined. 784. PERSONAL.—Entered service January, 1898. No previous prison experience. Pay, 6s, 6d. a day. I am revolver guard. I take my instructions from Superintendent. I suppose the Government would be responsible if I fired at and killed an escaping prisoner. My instructions are to fire low and wing a man, if possible; not to kill him. 785. SUGGESTIONS.—In lieu of quarters I think some kind of allowance should be made. I have, out of my pay, to provide 11s. for rent and support my wife and several children. No. 3321, examined. 786. OFFENCE AND SENTENCE.—Unlawfully on premises; six months. 787. PERSONAL.—I only came here this week. Was convicted on the unsupported evidence of a watchman. I had been drinking heavily, and did not know what I was about. No.2215, examined. 788. OFFENCE AND SENTENCE.—Uttering; nine months. 789. PERSONAL.—I would like to be removed to some other prison, as I have incurred the dislike of the other prisoners by giving information about the escape of prisoners in the Perth lock-up. I am a chemist and druggist, and a member of the Pharmaceutical Society of Dublin. Edwin Searle, a Temporary Warder, examined. 790. PERSONAL.—Entered service in January, 1898. Previous prison experience at Woking Convict Prison, England. I was also at Singapore for six months, and afterwards at Chatham Convict Prison, where there were 1,500 prisoners. I was in New South Wales 12 years, at Trial Bay, and other places. I was in the army some years. Pay, 6s, 6d. a day and quarters. 791. RULES AND REGULATIONS.—There is code here,but you cannot go hard and fast by it. 792. LABOUR OF PRISONERS.—At Trial Bay less remission is granted than here, but the prisoners earn 6d. a day for the first three months ; afterwards, 1s., and then it goes to 1s, 6d., but a skilled man could earn 1s. 6d. right away. The maximum used to be 2s. 6d., but it is not so now. In every prison in New South Wales something is allowed to prisoners, of which one-third can be spent in personal extras, one-third must be kept in hand, and one-third sent to the family of the prisoner. At Trial Bay the new arrivals are most likely to try to escape; the others have too much to lose. 793. SUGGESTIONS.—I think the long sentence men here do not get sufficient variety of food. Want of proper employment and the association of the prisoners, are the chief causes of trouble in this prison. There are no padded cells here for the reception of violent prisoners. 794. DARK CELLS.—In New South Wales a three days bread and water sentence does not carry with it dark cells. 795. SEPARATE TREATMENT.—The separate treatment is best for refractory prisoners. More leniency is shown to prisoners here than in any other prison I have seen. 796. CLASSIFICATION.—This could be carried out here with little or no expense, and is bad required. [The Commission adjourned.] THURSDAY, JANUARY 5TH, 1899. [AT FREMANTLE GAOL.] Present : Mr. E.W. Mayhew, Acting Chairman. Mr. H. Stirling, and the Secretary. R. S. Webster, Acting Chief Warder, recalled and further examined. 797. DIET.—The only thing I can say about the food is that it has been good. Potatoes are picked over by the prisoners before issue and bad ones rejected. It is the fault of the prisoners themselves if they get bad ones. There have been complaints about the bread from time to time, especially lately. I do not remember any complaints about the food in the latter part of the year 1897, except one occasion in October when several "men backed the wall " about it. I inspect the food daily, after it is cooked and before. I have done this for some years. I have known bad potatoes to be rejected and meat returned because it was tainted; that was before cooking. The meat is a mixture of hind and fore-quarters, principally the former. The mutton is poor at the best of times, and not so suitable for cutting up purposes as beef. For the last two or three months we have had nothing but beef. The rice is good, although it is not the best Patna rice; it is broken Rangoon, I think. I have never known any of the food destroyed by bad cooking, and I have never condemned any of the cooked food. On one occasion the rice was spoilt by bad water. I have known no complaints about gruel being supplied in the middle of the day, although sometimes the men will not take it because they say it is too heating in hot weather. Greater variety in the vegetable food would be beneficial to the prisoners. 797A. SUGGESTIONS.—I would suggest that classification of the food should follow upon the classification of the prisoners. For some prisoners the food is more than sufficient, whilst for others it may not be enough. George Dimock, Principal Warder, recalled and further examined. 798. DIET.—On Sundays it is part of my duty to ask Mr. Munro if the food is all right, and he answers "yes" or "no." He has told me at times that meat was bad, and he has sent it back. My duties do not bring me much into contact with any matters arising out of the food supplied, except, as I say, once a week on the Sunday. As far as I have seen, I should say the men are on the whole too well fed; but in the case of long sentence men greater variety would perhaps be desirable. Prisoners are fed a great deal better than I was when a private and non-commissioned officer in the army. 798A. SUGGESTIONS.—It would be better to give the porridge in the morning instead of the middle of the day. It has always surprised me that, with the labour and the land available, the prison does not grow its own vegetables. I think the cooking appliances might be modernised with advantage and economy. I should suggest the use of furnace ovens. The library might be better supplied, and with a greater variety of books. I do not think the daily morning church service does the men any good, or is appreciated by them. William Paterson, Senior Warder, recalled and further examined. 799. DIET.—I remember some complaints about the food in or about October, 1897. It was mainly concerning the gruel, which had blueish streak in it which men did not like. I cannot say what caused the streak. The meat supplied is of fair quality, but we get more fore-quarters than hind-quarters. The potatoes are of much the same average quality as one always gets outside of the gaol.
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