Lad. “Booh! yes, sir.”
Governor. “You may go, then.”
And with a countenance almost radiant with his unexpected stroke of good luck, the incorrigible young thief grasped his trouser legs, and scuttled up the long dim corridor till, except for his white tail, he was lost in the darkness.
“They don’t like the dark cell,” remarked the humane governor, as he gazed after the retreating figure; “anything rather than that.”
“The younger prisoners especially, I should say,” I returned.
“Oh, I don’t know that,” said the governor, at the same time, however, shaking his head rather as a man who did know, but did not care to say.
CHAPTER XI.
ADULT CRIMINALS AND THE NEW LAW FOR THEIR BETTER GOVERNMENT.
Recent Legislation.—Statistics.—Lord Kimberley’s “Habitual Criminals” Bill.—The Present System of Licence-Holders.—Colonel Henderson’s Report.—Social Enemies of Suspected Men.—The Wrong-Headed Policeman and the Mischief he may Cause.—Looking Out for a Chance.—The Last Resource of Desperate Honesty.—A Brotherly Appeal.—“Ginger will Settle Her.”—Ruffians who should be Imprisoned for Life.
Regarding the terms professional thief and habitual criminal as synonymous, now that we come to consider briefly what are at present the means adopted for the reformation of criminals and the suppression and punishment of crime, and what the most recent and plausible suggestions for amendment and improvement, we find the work already done to our hand, and naught remains but to cull from the shoals of evidence pro and con that have been lately set before the public.
The total cost of our prisons and prisoners for the year 1867, was £657,129, distributed as follows: (1) Extraordinary charges for new buildings, &c., £177,553 19s. 9d. (2) Ordinary charges £108,218 15s. 11d. (3) Officers’ salaries, &c., £213,285 15s. 5d., and (4) Prisoners’ diet, sick allowances, clothing, &c., £158,071 5s. 3d. The average yearly charge per prisoner under each head of costs, was as follows:—(1) Extraordinary charges £9 17s. 4d. (2.) Ordinary annual charges £6 0s. 3d. (making together £15 17s. 7d.). (3) Officers and attendants £11 17s. 1d. (4) Prisoners’ diet £6 11s. 1d., and clothing £2 4s. 7d. (together £8 15s. 8d.), making a total per prisoner of £36 10s. 4d., or omitting the extraordinary charge for buildings, &c., £26 13s. The average of £36 10s. 4d. is higher than the corresponding average for 1865–6 by £2 1s. 8d. The average of £26 13s. is higher than the corresponding average by 15s. 1d. These averages are calculated upon the total amounts under each head of expenditure, and the total daily average number in all the prisons. The average cost per prisoner naturally shows great variation in different prisons. The highest is at Alnwick, viz.: £114 3s. 2d. against £110 1s. 2d. in 1865–6, £108 2s. 5d. in 1864–5, and £88 15s. 11d. in 1863–4, with a daily average of one prisoner in each year! At Oakham, the average cost for 1866–7 is £80 13s. 3d., with a daily average of 10 prisoners against £93 16s. 2d. in 1865–6, and £87 1s. 9d. in 1864–5, with the daily average of 8 prisoners in each of those years; at Appleby £70 2s. with a daily average of 6 prisoners; at Ilford £51 6s. with a daily average of 20 prisoners. The lowest averages are as follows: At Hull £16 17s., with a daily average of 173 prisoners; at Salford £16 17s. 8d., with a daily average of 568 prisoners; at Liverpool £18 8s. 9d. with a daily average of 952 prisoners; at Devonport £18 12s. 4d., with a daily average of 58 prisoners; at Durham £18 16s. 9d., with a daily average of 433 prisoners; and at Manchester £19 1s. 3d., with a daily average of 631 prisoners. The following are the comparative costs per prisoner for the whole of the prisons for each of the last six years:—£24 3s. 4d., £23 7s. 5d., £23 7s. 10d., £24 3s. 3d., £25 17s. 11d., and £26 13s.