14. After having carefully considered the subject submitted to them, they beg to report, that the Gaol is at present overcrowded.
15. That as a temporary measure to relieve in part this overcrowding they suggest that,
(a.) Early arrangements be made with the West End Reformatory to receive all the Juvenile Offenders.
(b) That an enquiry be instituted into the cases of the 39 prisoners sentenced for gambling and that such as are not gambling house owners, or keepers, shroffs or watchmen, be forthwith liberated.
(c.) That an enquiry be made into the cases of the 46 men committed in default of finding security and that the least aggravated cases be forthwith liberated.
16. With respect to the future the Commission are of opinion that it is most undesirable in the present state of the finances of the Colony and with such heavy expenditure in view as the Fortifications, completion of Tytam Waterworks, Victoria College, and Sanitary works will entail, to embark on such a large and expensive work as the erection of a New Gaol unless the necessity of it has been fully demonstrated; and the Commission are of opinion that such a step should not be taken until other measures have been tried.
17. Respecting those other measures the Commission are unanimously of opinion that the present system of imprisonment is altogether inadequate as a means of punishment.
18. They would again strongly urge on His Excellency the Officer Administering the Government the facts:-
1. That in Hongkong we are exposed to the depredations and incursions of numbers of the criminal classes of the two Kwang provinces including the large city of Canton.
2. That short terms of imprisonment are no punishment at all for the ordinary Chinese.
3. That some other kind of punishment is urgently required for cases of petty larceny and for the offence of returning from banishment.
19. That they are unanimously of opinion that Solitary confinement by itself would not meet the evils complained of: wherefore they recommend that whipping be allowed as recommended by Mr. Wish, for all cases of petty theft and for returning from banishment.
20. At present the only punishment for returning from banishment is one year's imprisonment and the Committee have good reason for believing that such a punishment is not sufficient and does not prevent many from returning.
21. That the scale of diet be reduced as recommended by the Sub-Committee.
22. That if these suggestions be carried out the Commission are of opinion that the numbers in the Gaol would almost immediately be considerably reduced, as not only would there be a very sensible reduction in the offenders sentenced to short periods of imprisonment, but those of the long sentenced convicts who have not been guilty of any serious crime might receive conditional pardon and be banished.
23. Space would thus be obtained to adapt gradually nearly the whole of the present Gaol to the separate system, which should be carried out as soon as possible.
24. The present Gaol would then be sufficient for all ordinary wants, and the measures which they suggest would give within a very short period the relief so much needed, whereas if the alternative measure viz.: the building of a new Gaol be resolved on it would take at least two or three years to build and in the meantime the present state of things would continue.
25. Moreover the Commission are unanimously of opinion that even if there was ample accommodation in the Gaol the Punishment of whipping should be introduced for the offences above mentioned. They feel very strongly that in presence of the peculiar circumstances existing in Hongkong stringent measures are necessary to meet the exceptional dangers and evils to which the Colony is exposed.
26. The Commission cannot but feel that the taxpayers of Hongkong should not be called upon to provide the prison accommodation required by Western ideas for the criminal population of a province long notorious for turbulence and piracy. The only way to avoid this is by a rigorous system of repatriation and, by the logical sequence of that system, which the Colony has never yet been allowed to carry out, the infliction of whipping for the mere offence of returning from banishment.
27. All attempts at dealing with this question have hitherto been defeated, and the Administration of justice crippled by the hesitation to grant that one indispensable requirement, viz., the power to whip moderately for returning from banishment a criminal who, in his own country would be beaten unmercifully simply as a preliminary to trial. This, with the separate system throughout the existing Gaol, should afford a practical solution of the whole question.
28. Lastly they beg to state that, should any of the above suggestions be carried out and imprisonment made more deterrent either by reduction of the diet or otherwise, they are of opinion that it will be necessary to increase the disciplinary powers of the Superintendent of the Gaol, and they beg to recommend that the powers conferred on the Superintendent of the Gaol by Section 11 of Ordinance 4 of 1863, viz., to punish by moderate corporal punishment not exceeding 12 strokes of a Rattan, any prisoner guilty of the offences in that article mentioned, be restored, in order to maintain discipline under the altered conditions of the Gaol.
29. Since writing the above, the Commission have received information on the Law respecting whipping at Singapore.
30. They note that whipping is allowed there for a great many offences for which they do not ask that it should be applied here; and in presence of the Singapore Legislation on this subject they trust that the restricted recommendation which they have made on this point will be considered most reasonable; and that it will receive from the authorities that consideration which the extent of the evil it is sought to check requires.
(C.S.O. No. 72.)
76
EDW. J. ACKROYD, Chairman.
A. LISTER, Treasurer.
J. M. PRICE, Surveyor General.
A. GORDON, Superintendent, Victoria Gaol.
E. MACKEAN, Acting Police Magistrate.
PATRIC MANSON, M.D., Justice of the Peace.
C. P. CHATER, Justice of the Peace.
(Enclosure 2.)
Superintendent of Victoria Gaol to Acting Colonial Secretary.
COLONIAL SECRETARY,
GAOL SUPERINTENDENT'S OFFICE,
HONGKONG, 30th March, 1886.
I feel I must again and urgently bring to the notice of Government the congested state of Victoria Gaol.
For some time past the number of Prisoners has been steadily increasing. To-day there are 674 Prisoners; deducting 7 females in a separate house, there are therefore 667 Prisoners now confined in this building.
I have in my annual Report pointed out the danger to discipline, the danger of moral contamination, and the great provocation and temptation to Prison offences, occasioned by the overcrowding in associated wards of so many Prisoners.
But now, as the warm weather is coming on, I must draw particular attention to the Sanitary dangers of the present overcrowding.
The cubic contents of the different cells have recently, at my request, been re-measured by the Surveyor General's Department; but as I have not yet received the measurements I assume the correctness of the old measurement, and beg to draw attention to the following alarming facts.
The cubic measurement of all the cells combined is reported as 138,948 cubic feet. This with 667 Prisoners distributed in the cells gives only 208 cubic feet per Prisoner.
ela
14. After having carefully considered the subject submitted to them, they beg to report, that the Gaol is at present overcrowded.
15. That as a temporary measure to relieve in part this overcrowding they suggest that,
(a.) Early arrangements be made with the West End Reformatory to receive
all the Juvenile Offenders.
(b) That and enquiry be instituted into the cases of the 39 prisoners sentenced for gambling aud that such as are not gambling house owners, or keepers, shroffs or watchmen, be forthwith liberated.
(c.) That an enquiry be made into the cases of the 46 men committed in default of finding security and that the least aggravated cases be forth- with liberated.
16. With respect to the future the Commission are of opinion. that it is most undesirable in the present state of the finances of the Colony and with such heavy expenditure in view as the Fortifications, completion of Tytam Water-works, Victoria College, and Sanitary works will entail, to embark on such a large and expensive work as the erection of a New Gaol unless the necessity of it has been fully demonstrated; and the Commission are of opinion that such a step should not be taken until other measures have been tried.
17. Respecting those other measures the Commission are unanimously of opinion that the present system of imprisonment is altogether inadequate us a means of punish-
ment.
18. They would again strongly urge on His Excellency the Officer Administering the Government the facts:-
1. That in Hongkong we are exposed to the depredations and incursions of numbers of the criminal classes of the two Kwang provinces including the large city of Canton.
2o. That short terms of imprisonment are no punishment at all for the
ordinary Chinese.
3o. That some other kind of punishment is urgently required for cases of
petty larceny and for the offence of returning from banishment.
19. That they are unimously of opinion that Solitary confinement by itself would not meet the evils complained of: wherefore they recommend that whipping be allowed as recommended by Mr. Wish, for all cases of petty theft and for returning from banishment.
20. At present the only punishment for returning from banishment is one year's imprisonment and the Committee have good reason for believing that such a punish. ment is not sufficient and does not prevent many from returning.
21. That the scale of diet be reduced as recommended by the Sub-Committee.
22. That if these suggestions be carried out the Commission are of opinion that the numbers in the Gaol would almost immediately be considerably reduced, as not only would there be a very sensible reduction in the offenders sentenced to short periods of imprisonment, but those of the long sentenced convicts who have not been guilty of any serious crime might receive conditional pardon and be banished.
23. Space would thus be obtained to adapt gradually nearly the whole of the present Gaol to the separate system, which should be carried out as soon as possible.
24. The present Gaol would then be sufficient for all ordinary wants, and the measures which they suggest would give within a very short period the relief so much needed, whereas if the alternative measure viz.: the building of a new Gaol be resolved on it would take at least two or three years to build and in the meantime the present state of things would continue.
25. Moreover the Commission are unanimously of opinion that even if there was ample accommodation in the Gaol the Punishment of whipping should be introduced for the offences above mentioned. They feel very strongly that in presence of the peculiar circumstances existing in Hongkong stringent measures are necessary to meet the exceptional dangers and evils to which the Colony is exposed.
26. The Commission cannot but feel that the taxpayers of Hongkong should not be called upon to provide the prison accommodation required by Western ideas for the criminal population of a province long notorious for turbulence and piracy. The only way to avoid this is by a rigorous system of repatriation and, by the logical sequence of that system, which the Colony has never yet been allowed to carry out, the infliction of whipping for the mere offence of returning from banishment.
27. All attempts at dealing with this question have hitherto been defeated, and the Administration of justice crippled by the hesitation to grant that one indispensable requirement, viz., the power to whip moderately for returning from banishment a criminal who, in his own country would be batten unmercifully simply as a preliminary to trial. This, with the separate system throughout the existing Gaol, should afford a practical solution of the whole question.
28. Lastly they beg to state that, should any of the above suggestions be carried out and imprisonment made more deterrent either by reduction of the diet or otherwise, they are of opinion that it will be necessary to increase the disciplinary powers of the Superintendent of the Gaol, and they beg to recommend that the powers conferred on the Superintendent of the Gaol by Section 11 of Ordinance 4 of 1863, viz., to panish by moderate corporal punishment not exceeding 12 strokes of a Rattan, any prisoner guilty of the offences in that article mentioned, be restored, in order to maintain discipline under the altered conditions of the Gaol.
29. Since writing the above, the Commission have received information on the Law respecting whipping at Singapore.
30. They note that whipping is allowed there for a great many offences for which they do not ask that it should be applied here; and in presence of the Singapore Legis- lation on this subject they trust that the restricted recommendation which they have made on this point will be considered most reasonable; and that it will receive from the authorities that consideration which the extent of the evil it is sought to check requires.
(C.S.0.
No. 72.
76
}
EDW. J. ACKROYD, Chairman.
A. LISTER, Treasurer.
J. M. PRICE, Surveyor General.
A. GORDON, Superintendent. Victoria Gaol.
E. MACKEAN, Acting Police Magistrate,
PATRIC MANSON, M.D., Justice of the Peace.
C. P. CHATER, Justice of the Peare.
(Enclosure 2.)
Superintendent of Victoria Gaol to Acting Colonial Steretary.
COLONIAL SECRETARY,
GAOL SUPERINTENDENT'S OFFICE,
HONGKONG, 30th March, 1886.
1 feel I must again and urgently bring to the notice of Government the congested state of Victoria Gaol.
For some time past the number of Prisoners has been steadily increasing. To-day there are 674 Prisoners; deducting 7 females in a separate house, there are therefore 667 Prisoners now confined in this building.
I have in my annual Report pointed out the danger to discipline, the danger of moral contamination. and the great provocation and temptation to Prison offences, occasioned by the overcrowding in associated wards of so many Prisoners.
But now,
as the warm weather is coming on, must draw particular attention to the Sanitary dangers of the present overcrowding,
The cubic contents of the different cells have recently, at my request, been re- measured by the Surveyor General's Department; but as I have not yet received the measurements I assume the correctness of the old measurement, and beg to draw attention to the following alarming facts.
The cubic measurement of all the cells combined is reported as 138.948 cubic feet. This with 667 Prisoners distributed in the cells gives only 208 cubic feet Prisoner.
per
550
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