THE LYTTELTON GAOL.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 3266, 11 July 1911, Page 6

THE LYTTELTON GAOL.

ALLEGATIONS OF “COMRADE” COOKE.

DENIED BY VISITING JUSTICE

[FEE PEESS ASSOCIATION.] CHRISTCHURCH, July 10. • Some new light was to-day thrown on the allegations made by “Comrade” Cooke regarding Lyttelton gaol, by Mr W. W. Collins, who, for fifteen years, has been visiting justice at Lyttelton. . Mr ‘Collins has made a study cf prison reform, and is strongly of opiniqn that the whole system should be directed towards the reformation of jprisoners. He does not defend, and indeed is against the present system, but he said, however, that there were ,statements made by Comrade Cooke which were absolutely incorrect. It ,was .untrue that the. barbarous punishment of solitary confinement in a dark cell was one of the punishments meted put at Lyttelton. There was no such thing as a dark cell, and no such punishment as solitary confinement. A man might be confined to his cell for a gross breach of prison discipline, he would be deprived of his night light and also of his'tobacco. The confinement, however, could not be described as. “solitary.” The man had to be allowed out to the. c> excise yard every day, -but the punishment, as he had said, was not inflicted unless for exceedingly serious breaches of discipline. It. was absolutely incorrect to say 11. at visiting justices -based their punishment on the recommendation of the gaoler. A man charged with an offence had a trial as he would before a court, and he was entitled to call witnesses. It sometimes happened that the gaoler would ask that leniency he observed towards a man who had committed an offence on the ground that his previous conduct had been good. Comrade Cooke’s detailed description of the man suffering from pleurisy, being put into a dark and solitary ceil was next touched on. Mr ‘Collins said that the cell was not dark or solitary, and was not even in the punishment yard.. The man was put into the cell at his own particular request, as lie wished to be in a place where lie would get quietness, and lie able to sleep better than he would in his own cell. Mr Collins sympathised with Comrade Cooke’s condemnation of lack of classification. He said he considered it absolutely wrong that first offenders should have to associate with hardened criminals. It was wrong that Comrade Cooke, whose offence was not a crime, should have to associate with criminals. Classification, however, would net be possible until the Government dealt more generously with the Prison Department.

In some general observations, Mr Collins said that it was incorrect to say that twenty per cent, of the prisoners were suffering from bronchial troubles. The men were well fed with meat and vegetables, and the food men got in gaol was better than manv of them got when they were not there. The prison system had no terrors for the criminal, and lie had never once, during his fifteen years’ experience, heard a complaint as to-insufficiency of blankets. He agreed that there was much to.be done in reform of the prison c-system. iiie lights m the cells went out at S p.m., and made the nights very Ion"', and something should be devised to enable the prisoners to spend their spare time m self-improvement. Their nights might he brightened ud bv self-instruc-tion. ~