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cases; they only illustrate what is going on throughout the Colony, and the necessity for adopting strongly repressive measures to put a stop to it. The fact is that the ordinary negro cares very little for merc imprisonment, even with hard labour. In many instances he is better clothed, better lodged, and better fed than he would be outside the prison. Above all, imprisonment in his eyes and those of his friends involves no degradation. When he leaves the prison, he is received by his relatives and acquaintances, not as an offender who has disgraced his family, but as a friend to be welcomed and feasted; in fact, he is looked on more in the light of a martyr than a criminal. It is, therefore, only by making the actual punishment as deterrent as possible that a cheek can be put to crime. It is to be wished, rather than to be hoped, that the recent regulations for enforcing strictly penal labour during a part of every sentence may have a bencficial effect in this direction:

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The system, however, has not been long enough in operation to enable us to hazard. any opinion on this point. The number of floggings actually inflicted by sentences of Courts of Law during the years 1868 to 1872, inclusive, was forty-eight.

Industrial Labour.

28. Industrial and productive labour is carried out to a large extent in the General Penitentiary, though the strict enforcement of penal labour has of late detracted considerably from the profits made by the establishment.

The principal branch of industry is the ballasting of ships in Kingston Harbour, of which the Government has practically a monopoly. The ballast is supplied exclusively by convict labour from a quarry at Rock Fort, about four miles from the Penitentiary. In most cases vessels come alongside the pier at the ballast ground, from which to the quarry a tramway has been recently constructed; but in some cases the ballast is carried by vessels belonging to the Penitentiary to the anchorage at Kingston Harbour, or at Port Royal, and there placed our board the ships. Of these Penitentiary vessels there are four, three schooners and a cutter; they are, with the exception of the captain, manned exclusively by convicts, and are only employed in the conveyance of ballast or stone from the quarry, and occasionally in carrying gangs of prisoners to the Palisadoes. The Penitentiary has also a steam-launch recently imported 40 feet long, It is to be and of eight-horse power (nominal), working up to eighteen. She is used to tow the other vessels as occasion requires, but has no carrying capacity of her own. regretted that a vessel of greater steam power was not sent out, as she could have been

·worked by the same number of hands, and might have been profitably employed in taking vessels requiring ballast up to Rock Fort, or even as a steam-tug in towing ships between Port Royal and Kingston Harbour. This would not only have given a considerable profit to the Penitentiary, but would have been a great boon to the mercantile community of Kingston. In the year 1871, 25,029 tons of ballast were delivered from the quarry, the receipts for which were 2,0751., and in the following year 19,883 tons were delivered, for which, owing to an increase in the price, 2,155/. were

obtained.

29. Another source of income is derived from the brickyard, which consists of about five acres of land, separated from the Penitentiary by a public street, and com- municated with by means of a tunnel running under the road. During the last year the quantity of bricks and tiles of all kinds made in the brickyard amounted to 532,801; 37,685 bushels of lime were also burnt in the yard, and the amount realized by the sale of these articles was to 2,7271. 19s. 1d.; a much larger quantity of bricks might have been disposed of, if there had been hands enough to make them.

30. The other remunerative industries carried on in the Penitentiary are stone- cutting, from which an income of 907. 19s. Gd. was derived in the year 1872. Tailoring and shoemaking rendering a return of 2231. 18.; carpenter work producing during the same period 1527. 158. Brushmaking, on which only one man had been employed last year, from which 217. 4s. was derived. Cooperage producing 2351. 2s. Blacksmith's and tinsmith's shops made during the same year 131. 11s. 6d. There was also received for labour outside the prison, at the Palisade and at the Governor's residence at King's House, 7301. 18. 4d. At the Palisades the convicts are employed in clearing the land for the cultivation of cocoa-nuts and senna, which promises at no distant date to be extremely remunerative. Another branch of industry, which conduces not only to the saving of expenditure but to preserving the health of the prisoners, is carried on by the seine fishery, for which purpose three canoes are from time to time employed. During the last year 22,063 lbs. of fish were caught and served out to the prisoners, under

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the direction of the surgeon, in lieu of salt fish, which forms part of the usual prison dict.

Some pigs are also kept on the Palisades, which are fed from the kitchen refuse of the Penitentiary, and from which, during the year 1872, 691 lbs. of pork were supplied for the use of the Institution.

31. A cornmill is attached to the treadmill, by which about four barrels of country corn is ground ily, which is almost entirely consumed in the Penitentiary itself, the Saint Catherine district prison, and the Middlesex and Surrey County Gaol. It is alleged that there is a prejudice on the part of the general public against meal ground in the Penitentiary, although, in fact, it is fully equal, if not superior, to any which can be obtained elsewhere.

32. It appears that the Penitentiary enter into an annual contract for the supply of corn at a fixed price throughout the year, by which means, as they are large consumers, the article is obtained at a less cost than would otherwise be the case, the contract price for the year of 1872 being only 58. 5d. per bushel. From the evidence adduced, it appears that for some time past your Excellency's predecessor's private secretaries obtained corn for the use of his establishment from the Penitentiary at the contract price, and in addition the corn has been carted to Gordon Town, a distance of nine miles, in the Penitentiary carts, at the expense of the Institution.

This branch of industry, therefore, can hardly be considered as remunerative, and we feel sure that it only needed to be brought to your Excellency's predecessor's knowledge to have insured instructions being given to discontinue the practice.

33. We would here recommend, with a view to meeting the want of skilled labourers, that prisoners sentenced to long terms of imprisonment be taught some useful trade, Bo that on the termination of their sentence they might, if inclined, be able readily to find employment.

31. On the female side of the Penitentiary, washing clothes and beating coir is the only labour enforced. Washing is performed by the prisoners for the Royal Mail Com- pany's steamers, the hospitals at Kingston and Port Royal, for the soldiers stationed at the latter place, and at camp. The returns from this industry during the year 1872 amounted to 3951. 5s. lld.

35. No prisoners in any prison of the island are allowed by the regulations to work for the officers or the gaolers, and we have no reason to think that these regulations have not been carried out.

36. As before intimated, male prisoners from the General Penitentiary are employed outside the prison at the quarry at Rock Fort, at the Palisades, and on board the In addition to this, they drive the carts employed vessels belonging to the institution.

in delivering goods sold or clothes washed in the penitentiary. No private persons are allowed to hire the labour of convicts from the penitentiary.

Of the main roads

37. With reference to the District Prison, it appears that at Mandeville, until a recent period, the prisoners were hired out to perform work, such as cleaning pastures, &c., for private individuals. Recently, this practice has been put a stop to, and they are only employed without the walls in repairing the public roads. which are repaired under the immediate supervision of the Road Department, and at the expense of the general revenue, ten miles are kept in order by the labour of these prisoners, under a contract with Government, by which the prison is credited with a sum of 1501. per annum. Prisoners are also occasionally employed on the parochial roads, and the sum of 8d. per diem is paid by the parochial authorities for each prisoner.

38. At Lucca, the prisoners repair nine miles of main roads, for six of which the prison is credited 157. per mile, and for the remaining three 187. per mile.

39. At Falmouth, ten miles of main road are kept in order by the convicts, for which 15, a-mile is credited to the prison. The prisoners are also employed in cleaning and repairing the streets of Falmouth, for which no remuneration is received by the prison, though there seems no reason why, if the inhabitants avail themselves of prison labour, they should not be called upon to pay for it. It may be mentioned that, during the last few years, the prisoners, under the energetic supervision of the present Super- intendent (Mr. Kidd), have been most usefully employed in filling-up & pestilential swamp in the neighbourhood of the town and immediately opposite the prison, the sanitary condition of which must have been much improved in consequence. Several roads and bridges have also been constructed by prison labour in the former site of this

swamp.

40. Saint Mary's Prison keeps up, by the labour of the prisoners, six miles of main road, for which the prison is credited by Government for the sum of 1021. In consoquence of the utterly insufficient size of the yard in this prison, numbers of the

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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

Reference -

PTT CO. 885

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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO