PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
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Reference :-
C.O-885
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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC-
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principles of Captain Maconochie's' system, and of the points in which I believe him to have been mistaken.
Captain Maconochie considers the reformation of the offender to be the primary object of punishment; and punishmentwhich has not this reformation in view he calls vindictive, as if it were inflicted from a mere spirit of retaliation.
I differ with Captain Maconochie in that I consider the primary object of punishment to be to deter others from committing the same crime, from a dread of subjecting themselves to the same condemnation.
Next to this, but in complete subordination to it, is the reformation of the offender. Captain Maconochie proposes that a certain period at the commencement of the sentence should be passed in seclusion, and that the convict should be prepared, by moral and religious instruction, for mixing again with his fellow-men. After this period is passed the convict enters into active life and is taught to look upon himself as a debtor to the State for a certain number of marks, which debt he is to pay off by his labour, the value of a day's work being estimated at so many marks; good conduct is also to tell in his favour, being credited to his account for a certain number of marks, according to some rule laid down. Any mis- conduct is punished by the withdrawal of a certain number of marks from his credit, or rather by the addition of that number to the debit side of the ledger. By degrees the convict, having accumulated the amount of marks in which he is indebted to the State, will resume his place in society as a free man. This is, I think, a fair statement, divested of all its details, of the system proposed by Captain Maconochie. To the first part, viz., that where he proposes to place each prisoner in strict seclusion for a definite time, there can be no objection, indeed it should be the prelimi- nary step in every system of prison discipline; but to the remainder of the plan there is this most important objection, that all punishment is lost sight of: the system is one of reward only.
Captain Maconochie proposes, for any act of disobedience, or any act deserving punishment, to debit the offender with a certain number of marks; and the result of this would be merely to add another day or two to the length of the sentence for each offence. Now the convict, from his position, has shown himself to be more insensible than other men to the operation of these principles,—which tend to make a man deny himself a present indulgence for the sake of some future or contingent benefit. Is it therefore likely that those principles which have too seldom any effec- tual action upon others, should operate so far upon the convict as to make the prolongation of his sentence (a punishment not coming into operation it may be for years) effectual in deterring him from the commission of any offence to which he may at the time be tempted? Certainly not; and inasmuch as Captain Maconochie's system is based entirely upon one feeling that of hope-throwing the antagonist feeling of fear altogether out of consideration, it will fail, as indeed it has failed.
The system of Marks, upon which so much stress is laid by Captain Maconochie, is only in effect an inferior system of task-work, or a mixture of task and day-work by giving a definite value in marks to a day's labour, instead of to the items of work executed, any inducement to the convict to exert himself is done away. I see no reason why marks should be used at all, or why a money-value should not be placed upon every description of work; indeed, Captain Maconochie himself when carrying out his plan in Norfolk Island, complained very much that a definite money value was not placed upon the marks, and stated that the absence of this definite and fixed value was one great reason why the convicts showed so little anxiety to procure these marks.
Having made these remarks upon Captain Maconochie's system, I will proceed to detail the modifications I should wish to see introduced into the present system.
Each convict should, on first landing in Van Diemen's Land, be sub- jected to confinement-upon the Separate System for a term of not less than six months, and as much longer as the circumstances of his case may appear to require; in no case however is the period of confinement to exceed twelve months. During this period he will be allowed to work at
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his trade, if he have one, or he will be taught one if he is willing to learn; and great attention will be paid to his moral and religious instruction; he will in fact be treated altogether upon the system adopted at Pen- tonville.
When he issues from this preparatory imprisonment, he will be employed at first on such work as will give him air and exercise enough to keep him in health; but he will be allowed as little communication with his fellow-prisoners as possible;-in fact, the Silent System will be adopted as far as compatible with the execution of the work on which the convict is employed. Separate cells will be provided for every prisoner at night, and no communication allowed.
After a certain time, the prisoner will be allowed to work in company with and communicate with his fellow-prisoners; and now will commence the Probation System. He will have to serve, as at present, a defined number of days in the probation gang, but these days will be mea. the sured by work; a system of task-work similar to that adopted among convicts at Bermuda will be put in operation; a certain quantity of every description of labour is to be considered a day's work-the amount will be carefully considered and arranged in tables, so that each convict will be able to ascertain the amount of labour expected from him during a day of a certain number of hours; and this amount shall be so regulated, that a man of average power, by working hard, shall be able to complete one-and-a-half or one-and-three-quarters day's work within that time. Should the convict thus prove industrious, he will be credited with one- and-a-quarter or one-and-a-half day's work, instead of only one day; and thus reduce the period during which he is to serve in the proba- may tion gang.
It is to be understood, however, that the convict is to labour for a certain number of hours on each day; so that if he finishes his task he must still continue to labour-the extra time being credited to his account.
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When the convict has worked out the period of his service in the pro- bation gang, he will become a pass-holder-that is, he will be allowed to hire himself out to private individuals or public bodies, under the same regulations as at present; but in case he is not hired, he will have to work for the Government, by task-work, under similar regulations to those which were mentioned as applicable to the probation gangs. For the daily task he will receive his ration, and for any extra work he may perform, a scale of remuneration will be settled; and the convict will receive a portion of this remuneration, if he so choose, in what may be called luxuries-that is, in tea, sugar, or tobacco; the remainder will be laid up for him, a regular account being kept; so that at the end of his sentence he will, if industrious, have a sum of money to receive, which will enable him to support himself when he receives his ticket of leave, until he finds employment. Should he prefer to leave this money in the hands of the Commissariat, it might be as well to allow him an interest upon it, to establish a species of savings' bank, where these small sums might accumulate, to be paid over to the convict upon obtaining his conditional pardon.
I do not think that it would be desirable to allow mere industry to shorten the period during which a man is to remain a pass-holder: this period should be fixed; and nothing but good conduct, and attention to moral and religious duties, should have any effect in shortening this portion of the punishment.
The regulations at present in existence as to ticket-of-leave men, need not be altered, except, perhaps, in so far as to allow the Governor, in certain cases, to place the holders of tickets of leave, who are in dis- tress and cannot find employment, in the hiring gangs, so that they may earn a subsistence by their labour.
The system detailed above depends very much for its effectual working upon the adoption of Task-Work. There are some objections to this which I will now proceed to consider.
It is said that task-work puts too much power in the hands of the inferior agents or overseers, and that it is unequal in its operation, as it
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