| 1902 | 1903 | 1904 | 1905 | 1906 | 1907 | 1908 | |||||||||
| Admitted | 4,514 | 4,649 | 4,615 | 4,624 | 4,426 | 4,212 | 4,431 | ||||||||
| Discharged | 2,847 | 2,922 | 2,827 | 2,666 | 2,935 | 2,792 | 2,282 | ||||||||
| Transferred | 501 | 452 | 514 | 439 | 504 | 464 | 478 | ||||||||
| Absconded | 879 | 1,004 | 1,066 | 1,243 | 1,031 | 919 | 1,055 | ||||||||
| Died | 125 | 108 | 112 | 94 | 136 | 134 | 139 | ||||||||
| Total | 4,352 | 4,486 | 4,519 | 4,442 | 4,606 | 4,309 | 3,954 | ||||||||
| Detained on December 31 | 4,851 | 5,014 | 5,110 | 5,292 | 5,112 | 5,015 | 5,492 | ||||||||
The admissions shown above included the reinstatements (of inmates escaped) after capture, and the admissions by transfer from other institutions. The direct admissions, the admissions by transfer, and the reinstatements after escape are here shown separately for the years 1901 to 1908:—
| 1901 | 1902 | 1903 | 1904 | 1905 | 1906 | |
| Admitted direct | 3,280 | 3,390 | 3,460 | 3,316 | 3,186 | 3,071 |
| Discharged owing to expiration of sentence and Ministerial decision, conducted to the frontier, and deceased | 2,436 | 2,972 | 3,030 | 2,939 | 2,760 | 3,071 |
| Admitted by transfer | 391 | 353 | 305 | 366 | 341 | 431 |
| Discharged by transfer | 530 | 501 | 452 | 514 | 439 | 504 |
| Reinstated after escape | 677 | 771 | 884 | 933 | 1,097 | 924 |
| Escaped | 769 | 879 | 1,004 | 1,066 | 1,243 | 1,031 |
Those "placed at the disposition of the Government" (for commitment to the Merxplas Depot) under the law of November 27, 1891, during the years 1901 to 1906 belonged to the following classes:—
| 1901 | 1902 | 1903 | 1904 | 1905 | 1906 | |
| Able-bodied beggars and vagrants (Article 13) | 4,314 | 4,509 | 4,637 | 4,614 | 4,618 | 4,419 |
| Able-bodied beggars and vagrants for detention supplementary to imprisonment (Article 14) | 14 | 5 | 12 | 1 | 6 | 7 |
| 4,348 | 4,514 | 4,649 | 4,615 | 4,624 | 4,426 | |
| Deduct reinstatements after escape | 677 | 771 | 884 | 933 | 1,097 | 924 |
The following further table shows the frequency of commitment during a series of years:—
| Number of Times Committed. | 1902 | 1903 | 1904 | 1905 | 1906 | 1907 | 1908 |
| For the first time | 674 | 668 | 558 | 517 | 547 | 519 | 720 |
| For the second time | 546 | 585 | 552 | 595 | 522 | 442 | 561 |
| For the third time | 493 | 472 | 582 | 516 | 488 | 433 | 465 |
| For the fourth time | 446 | 470 | 455 | 406 | 420 | 406 | 425 |
| For the fifth time or oftener | 2,355 | 2,454 | 2,468 | 2,590 | 2,449 | 2,412 | 2,260 |
| Total number of admissions | 4,514 | 4,649 | 4,615 | 4,624 | 4,426 | 4,212 | 4,431 |
The whole of the men capable of working, either much or little, are employed according to their aptitudes and physical capacity, either in farm and land work, in the workshops, in domestic work in and around the establishment, or in the service of outside employers. On a given day in 1907, 1,279 men were engaged on the farm and land, 1,970 in industrial work for the profit of the Colony, 811 in domestic work, and 525 were lent to other institutions.
The men engaged in the fields work in gangs of between fifty and sixty, each under a single overseer. Shelters exist for their accommodation in wet weather, and when it is impossible to do outside work they are employed in the workshops.