before I shall be able to sado. I have the honour to be,
Sic
Your Most Obercent Servant,
(Siques) F. Gutkeley Johnson.
Reply of the Howard Association
to
Mr. F. B. Johnson.
?
The Howard Association, 5, Bishopsgate Without,
E.C., Landos, Jan. 10.
Dear Sir,-Your letter from Hong Kong, dated Dec. 8, reached ms yesterday, and I have at once looked up various papera and autho- ritics on the subject, so as to be able to reply promptly. But, in the first place, it may be remarked that it is waiter for sur- prize that we should have received any letter at all from Hong Kong, written under an apparent impression that the ponal system of that colony had not been open to serious objection. For it is a matter of world-wide uctorieis. Have you not seen the prin- cipal English journals of the past few years? Have you not read the Parliamentary and other State papers in which this subject has been treated of by his Excellency Governor Pope Hennessy, Earl Kimberley, and others? Have you not read the letters to the English newspaper on the question by Mr. Peter A. Taylor, M.P., and others? Perhaps, however, in your distant part of the world yea have not seen or read these statements. And even if you have, you might, and perhaps not altogether unreasonably, object that general statements in the public Press are not a sufficient authority for grave imputations upon any sya- tem or upon any community. Well, lat us at once assume this to be so, and set aside all the newspaper correspondence and statements, and confine the matter to official reports. In the autumn of 1879 there was published an official correspondence between the governor of Hong Kong and the Colonial Office. In that Correspondeuce Governor Hen. nessy gave an account of what had come under his personal observative, and which indicated a very grave and objectionable state of thinge in the local penal system. For example, he found two prisoners who had been flogged nine days previously, and who were still bleeding from the wounds occasioned by those fluggings-one of the prisoners having eight and the other twelve such wounds. It further appeared that prisoners previously to being flogged were placed on a very weakening diet of ries and water, whereby their floggings were rendered still more penal. Also in about a year and a half more than two hundred foggings were inflicted upon the prisoners in Hong Kong Jail. Governor Hennessy reported to the Secretary of State for the Colonies that "this is probably without a parallel in any part of the civilised globs of the same amount of popu lation. From farther official correspondenes published in August, 1881, it appears that the butoane Governor'a interference had already been followed by a material decrease both in grave and in minor crimes, in spite of the decrease or disuse of Logging. The newa from the colony received from time to time has shown that much opposition by sume of the colonists has been manifested to the Governor's Christian and philanthropic exertions. But here, in Great Britain, there appears to be a general concurrence of public opinion in support of the Go- vernor's action, which is regarded as that of a noble-hearted and coura- geous man, and was worthy representative of the illustrious and merciful Sovereign for whota audiu whose name he administers the afflurs of your colony. Anil it is to be hoped that among the European, as certainly amongst the Chinese, population of Hong Kong there are many persous who cordially support and honour the Governor's wise and humane pros cedure; though it is evilent that some, on the other hand, have endea. voured to thwart and discourage him. Doubtless, neither Governor Hennessy nor those who in this country admire his course of action wouki desire to encourage crime or to pamper prisoners. On the contrary, they would promptly admit that it is no true humanity to render prisons either attractive or insufficiently penal. The proper fauction of a prison is to tend permanently to empty itself. And all experience shows that this is best secured by a due combination of reformatory with deterrent, and of preventive with repressive treatment. The prompt but sloth- ful resort to mere wholesale dogging has, whenever it has been sorted to, tended to crush men bito permanent shams and crime. They have had to be fogged again and again, and imprisoned time after time. I speak now of flogging a general feature of any system. Experienced criminal administrators who do not wish to see flogging abolished, but mainly held in in terrorem for resort in extreme cases, have reportedly stated their conviction that in this sparing infliction, and on rare occa sions, consists its only merit. But even the recent official statistics of your own colony now prove the failure of the former fogging system and the more repressive as well as preventive efficacy of Governor leu- nesay's wiser substitute. I shall lay this correspondence before our committee, and meanwhile I reunain, Sir, yours very respectfully,
WILLAM TALLAOK, Secretary of the Ioward Association. F. Bulkeley Johnson, Esq., Member of Legislative Council.
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