CRIME AND CRIMINALS;

OR, .

t .* REMINISCENCES

OF THE

PENAL DEPARTMENT IN VICTORIA.

HENRY A. WHITE,

SECOND OFFICER OF THE BALLARAT GAOL.

$allanit : Berry? Anderson & Co., Printers, 20, 22, and 24 Ly diaid Street South

M'DCCCXC.

all lights reserved. BEERY, ANDERSON & CO., PRINTERS AND PUBLISHERS, BALLARAT 430200

To

Colonel William Thomas Napier Champ

(Late Inspector-General of Penal Establishments in Victoria)

Whose Impartial Administration

of THE

Penal Department Stands Unrivalled,

These Reminiscences of a Warder’s Life

Are Most Respectfully and Gratefully Dedicated

by the Author.

PREFACE.

The author of this work has not resolved to launch his little craft on the great sea of literature without feeling that the winds and waves might handle her very roughly, but he trusts to the generosity of the public. His only qualifications for so difficult and important a task as that of recording 30 years of the history of penal establish­ ments are intimate knowledge as a subordinate officer of its details, and an honest desire to state impartially what he believes to be of interest to the public, and of undoubted fact. The accumulation of the materials of this work, involving much research into documents of the past, has occupied his leisure hours for many years, and as life is short and the present seems to be a time when there is no burning question before the public respecting the treatment of criminals, he deems it best to delay no longer its publication. He trusts that those who differ from his opinions as here expressed will yet overlook any imperfections in his style of narration, and that all his readers may have as much pleasure in reading these pages as he has had in compiling them. He tenders his most hearty thanks to the many ex-officers and other friends who have assisted him with nmch valuable information, to the members of the Press, and especi­ ally to those connected witli the Melbourne Argus.

table of contents.

------+------

CHAPTER I. Introduction.—Influx of Criminals in 1851.—Foundation of Pentridge.— Mr. Barrow, First Superintendent.—Escape of Prisoners.—Black Trackers. —Two Careers of Crime...... 1—16

CHAPTER II.

Opening of Hulks.—Insecurity of Pentridge and Colling wood Stockades.— Increase of Crime.—Warder Adams Dismissed from the Service.—A Kush from the Quarries.—One Prisoner Shot Dead.—Marching Prisoners from Pentridge to Melbourne.—Description of Collingwood Stockade.—A Rush from it.—Two Warders Suspended —Insubordination on Board the Hulk “President.”—Sergeant Graham’s Nose Attacked by Melville.—Connor and Brady...... 19—30

CHAPTER III. Death of Mr. Barrow.—Dangers of Employing Convict Labor on Roads.— First Workshops at Pentridge.—An Ex-convict made Superintendent of Convicts.—Thompson’s Attempt to Escape.—Assault on Mednyansyky.— Clever Escape of Edward Rider.—Father O’Hea Swims for His Life.— Captain Harrison. Prisoners’ Devices to obtain Tobacco. Mr. Price’s Peculiarities.—Description of the “ Crystal Palace.”—Ballarat Rioters.— Convicts’ Conversation.—Attempt at Night to Escape from “ Crystal Palace.”—McGuire.—Tools Missing.—The Kingstone and the Wheel.— Mr. Price’s Cow.—Sergeant Mathie and Mr. Kilmartin.—An Adroit Special.—Records of Ten Prisoners.—Humanity Mongers.—Causes of Crime in old Countries absent from this...... 33^—70

CHAPTER IV. Gisborne’s Rush.—The Citizens’ Committee.—Attempts of Convicts, headed by Melville, to Escape from Hulks.—Murder of Owen Owens and Death of Turner and Stevens.—Trial of Melville, Sentence of Death.—Public Meeting of Sympathisers.—Resolution Forwarded by Citizens’ Committee to the Executive.—Appointment of Select Committee of Legislative Council. Evidence given before it by Mr. Price, Dr. McCrea, Mr. Ronald Smith, Dr. Youl, Dr. Singleton, Mr. C. Tighe, Mr. McPherson, Dr. Webster. —Result of Evidence Favourable to Mr. Price.—Good Intentioned People. TABLE OF CONTENTS.

—General -Insubordination Resulting from Outside Sympathy.—Murder of Mr. Price. Trial of the Murderers. Opinions of the Press. 73—104

CHAPTER Y. Public Opinion Modified by Recent Tragedies .—General Disorganisation.— My First Impressions of Pentridge—Night Alarm.—Warders’ Sleeping Accommodation.—Mr. Champ Introduces Milder Penalties forwarders’ Offences.—Death Bed of Sergeant Ellison.—I am Transferred to Colling- wood.—Firmness of Chief Warder Turnham.—Captain Payne Resigns.— Life on the Hulks.—Experience of Hulk u Success.”—Attempt to Commit Suicide.—Description of Hulk “ President.”—Early Career of Colonel Champ.—Appointed Inspector-General.—Improvements Effected on all Sides by Him.—His Retirement from Office...... 107—133

CHAPTER YI. Improvement of Discipline in 1858.—Colonel Champ’s Second Annual Report.—Description of C Division.—The Enforcing of Silence.— A Night of Horrors.—The Colonel Shows that he can Rule.—More Crystal Palace Yarns.—Bernardo’s Lungs.—Unsuccessful Stratagem.—Great Rush of Prisoners...... 137—160

CHAPTER VII. Mr. Claude Farie Appointed Inspector-General.—His Early Death much Regretted.—Mr. Duncan Succeeds Him.—Want of Fitness for the Re­ sponsible Position.—Dissatisfaction of Warders.—Warm Meetings.—I am Reprimanded, and Forfeit a Month’s Pay.—Mr. Duncan’s Retirement.— Trafficking—Mr. Buck and Mr. Gardner.—Mr. Castieau is Appointed Inspector-General.—Mr. Gardner Retires on Pension.—Subsequent Dis­ organisation on all Sides.—Tobacco.—Correspondence and Other Luxuries. —Chaos in C Division.—Dr. Singleton wants to Shake Hands.—The Smoking Yard.—Daring Attempts at Escape.—Boys in A Division—The Argus Turns on the Bull’s Eye.—Warders’ Statement to Chief Secretary. —Mr. Castieau Receives Six Months’ Leave of Absence.—His Retirement. —Mr. Brett Succeeds Him.—The Separate System.—Conclusion...... 163—184

APPENDIX. Malingering.—Assaults by Prisoners.—How “ The Vagabond” became Dispenser to Pentridge Ga-ol.—Sketches of Remarkable Criminals.—Poems by Prisoners.—Employment of Pi^soners.—How He got the Tobacco.— The Australian Larrikin.—Swagmen.—Reformation of Criminals...... 187—248 CHAPTER I.

1851.

CRIME AND CRIMINALS;

OR,

REMINISCENCES in the penal department OF VICTORIA.

------»------

CHAPTER I. '

Introduction.—Influx of Criminals in 1851.—Foundation of Pentridge.— Mr. Barrow, first Superintendent.—Escape of Prisoners.—Black Trackers. —Two Careers of Crime.

The questions which interest all classes of men in the present day are, without doubt, social questions; those which affect the moral welfare and social comfort of our fellow-men as citizens. How to help the poor out of their poverty; to break up monopolies of all kinds; to give every man a fair chance in the race of life; to shorten the hours of labor, without injury to commerce; to educate all, that they may rationally enjoy those additional hours of leisure; the greatest good to the greatest number. These are the questions of the day, and both science and religion are valued in proportion as they contribute to a solution of these problems. Unfortunately, it is not only these bright and hopeful subjects which enter into our social questions. All our fellow-men are not temperate, industrious, and amicable; so largely, in fact, does the dark side of life enter into our social' questions that the very word social at once reminds us of what is called the “social evil.” Civilisation, alas, brings with it in­ creased vice as well as increased powers of good, intellectually and morally. So the treatment of criminals becomes a necessary subject of thought to all who wish well to the community; as we are 4 CRIME AND CRIMINALS. told that “the poor shall be always with us” by the Highest Authority, so it is a fact that our criminals, from generation to generation, still tax our revenues, lessen our social strength, and supply the philanthropist with food for sympathy, the economist with food for deepest reflection. What is the best mode of treating criminals ? Which system tends most to the re­ formation of the hopeful ones ? Is it not possible to make this class of men in some degree self-supporting ? These and many other questions will be answered in different ways by men of different temperament and degrees of experience. To some the thought of ‘any man being irreclaimable by kindness may seem an insult to our humanity, if not to the Great Creator of it; all these questions will, to such, seem easily answered, and their own panaceas irresistible ; to others with longer experience and, perhaps, less natural sympathy, all efforts for a system of reformation may seem Utopian, and they can muster a host of hard facts to prove that it never has been done and therefore cannot be done. Without attempting to solve these and other problems connected with penal establishments, the writer of this experience of 33 years in the penal establishments of Victoria desires to give as impartial a sketch of his own recollections as possible, leaving the facts for others to make use of and form their own conclusions from. Among the various places in the colony set apart for the deten­ tion of criminals, Pentridge Stockade is one of the most famous. It was founded in the year 1851, and proclaimed a house of correction on April 24th, 1852. Those were stirring times in this colony; the discovery of the goldfields caused the worst class of convicts to immigrate from Van Dieman’s Land and Norfolk Island to these shores. The result was that bushranging, horse stealing, murders, and in fact the whole catalogue of the most heinous crimes quickly prevailed throughout the whole of the colony. But this was nothing but wrhat might have been expected from the class of criminals that then formed so large a proportion of the population. While holding them in restraint, inspired as they were by dreams of easily gotten wealth, the Government of the day could afford but CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 5 very limited protection to life and property, and the commission of the most serious offences in the community, from this time until 1856, will ever form the darkest chapter in the history of the colony. The arrival of escaped convicts, generally of the most degraded type, contributed more to the disorganisation of society than any other cause ; for, almost immediately upon their landing, and to avoid detection, they formed themselves into gangs of bushrangers, and, to an alarming extent, prevented safe commercial intercourse with the diggings, thus rendering the country roads dangerous to both life and property. Owing to this unsettled state of affairs crime con­ tinued to increase with fearful rapidity, so much so, that the Government were compelled to find other places of detention for convicts besides the Melbourne Gaol, which then contained more prisoners than it could safely accommodate and keep in a proper state of sanitation. • But there was another idea which subsequently influenced the Government in the treatment of criminals, namely, that of utilising their labour to the best advantage of the colony. In those days the road from Brunswick to Pentridge was of the most wretched descrip­ tion, especially in wet weather. It consisted of a mere bush track through gum trees and stumps, which obstacles sadly interfered with the progress of the teamster on his way to the diggings. On many occasions, when endeavoring to extricate their loads from some obstruction in the road, the blasphemy of the bullock-driver, accom­ panied by the cracking of whips, resounded through the air, and it was nothing uncommon to see a number of drays bogged together, many of which had to be unloaded before they could proceed on their journey. This being the principal thoroughfare to the gold­ fields, traffic on it was daily increasing, and the Government then conceived the idea of employing convict labour for the purpose of placing it in a substantial condition. At this time there was a great number of able-bodied prisoners in the gaol at Melbourne, where no suitable employment could be provided for them, and it was decided to erect a temporary prison or stockade at the small township of Pentridge, five miles due north of the metropolis. It was not at 6 CRIME AND CRIMINALS.

first intended to have made this locality a permanent penal settle­ ment, for, after the completion of the road in question, some other place would probably have been selected for the purpose ; but as time advanced, extensive bluestone quarries were discovered on the ground, which could be profitably worked for many.years by large gangs of prisoners. It was this prospect of a continuous source of labour that influenced the Government in their intentions, and caused the establishment of a prison, which, with its extensive buildings, now forms the Pentridge Stockade. . There was nothing very remarkable in the architectural design of the prison, everything connected with it being of the most primitive description. The prisoners were confined in wooden huts I built on wheels, and closely resembling carriages used for the con­ veyance of wild animals. These huts were originally intended to be moved to different parts of the country, wherever prison labor could be usefully employed in making roads, and quarrying stone for building purposes. It was on the site of what is now known as the “ old C division ’’ that the first foundation stone of the Pentridge Stockade was laid. The huts referred to were enclosed by a wooden fence, about twelve feet in height, which afforded but doubtful security for the class of prisoners confined therein. The first gang of convicts, numbering 75, all of whom were accustomed to the daily toils of a rough life, were marched from the Melbourne gaol to Pentridge under a strong escort of police. Mr. Barrow was the first superintendent appointed, and held that position until the beginning of 1854, when he resigned in order to undertake the duties of immigration agent, but was unfortunately drowned in Hobson’s Bay on the 6th of April in the same year ; particulars of which are given elsewhere in this volume. The guards over the prisoners were mounted aboriginals, armed with revolvers and short-barrelled rifles. Here, amidst a forest of gum trees, was commenced the formation of the road from Brunswick to Pentridge, which was the first public work constructed by convict labor in Victoria. In the early days escapes of prisoners were of common occurrence, and the best means for their re-capture were the black CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 7 troopers. They were excellent horsemen, most of them having gained their experience whilst following the occupation of stock-riders for squatters ; but they were certainly not qualified to be placed in authority over civilised men. Not possessing any of the better feelings of our nature, their form of government was to rule by “ Lions’ law,” hence they had not the least hesitation in taking human life, and would delight in shooting down a prisoner upon the slightest pretext for so doing. However necessary this duty may have been then, in connection with the control of prisoners, time has shown that other qualifica4ions are requisite besides the brute courage to take life, even in cases of justifiable homicide. It is of paramount importance that prisoners should, at all times and in all places, be led to believe that any attempt to escape from legal custody would render them liable to be shot. But now that our pnsons are substantially constructed, and other means adopted for their security, the fact of a prisoner being shot while attempting to escape has, of late years, been of rare occurrence. Nevertheless, whatever reluctance there may be on the part of the officials to perform this unpleasant duty, it is most essential that prisoners should fully understand the probable fate that awaits them for the infringement of this rule. That the black troopers regarded the taking of human life with about as much concern as that of a kangaroo, the following incident, related to me by the late Mr. Kilmartin, will afford ample illustra­ tion :—In the year 1852, two notorious prisoners escaped from Pentridge, and their plan was so well concocted and carried into effect that they were not missed until the evening muster. As both of them had served long terms of imprisonment in Van Dieman’s Land, and were known to be dangerous criminals, Mr. Barrow con­ cluded that their return to freedom would, in all probability, be accompanied by a repetition of their nefarious practices. He was, therefore, the more energetic in using every effort to effect their re-capture. At this time Mr. Kilmartin was one of the most active officers in the department, and also possessed considerable personal courage and coolness in time of danger. Mr. Barrow accordingly 8 CRIME AND CRIMINALS.

instructed him to take two of the black troopers and go in search of the prisoners. The party, who were mounted on first-class bush horses and armed with revolvers, went in the direction of Campbellfield, a township about five miles from Pentridge. As they were riding at a quick pace through a paddock, one of the black troopers suddenly sprang from the saddle, and pointed to the tracks of men’s shoes in the grass, at the same time indicating to Mr. Kilmartin the direction in which they were going. He was also of opinion that the fugitives had quite recently passed that way. Mr. Kilmartin ordered the troopers to draw their revolvers, as the prisoners might be armed, and if so, would make a desperate resistance should they be overtaken in their flight. The search party continued-their exertions, but could find no further trace of the men, and as it was getting dark, all chances of their re-capture, for that day, appeared hopeless. However, they still kept on reconnoitring, the keen eyes of the troopers being attracted by every moving object, in expectation of gaining some intelligence of the runaways. This anticipation was shortly afterwards realised through a merely casual circumstance. It appears a mob of young horses were standing near to an old log fence, and looking in a frightened manner towards one particular spot. The aboriginals, who knew well the habits of these animals in the bush, at once predicted that this occurrence was of no ordinary kind ; so, taking a hurried survey of the locality, they put spurs to their horses, and in jumping the fence they observed two dark objects concealed under it. The next moment they had these objects, which proved to be the prisoners, covered with their revolvers, and were about to fire when Mr. Kilmartin called on them to stop. This was extremely fortunate, for the runaways, recognising Mr. Kilmartin’s voice, offered to surrender, and did so. They afterwards confessed that they intended to have made a rush for the bush, and hoped in the darkness of the night to have succeeded in escaping from their pursuers. They were handcuffed together and ordered to march between the troopers, while Mr. Kilmartin rode behind them But the aboriginals showed evident signs of dissatisfaction with this arrangement, and proposed to their superior, as a safe and far more expeditious way, to shoot CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 9 the men, and cut off their heads, conveying the latter to the superin­ tendent for the purpose of satisfying him that the prisoners had been re-captured. However, after some little ' expostulation from Mr. Kilmartin on so unnecessary and inhuman a proposal, the fugitives were marched back to Pentridge, much to the surprise and satisfaction of Mr. Barrow. There are sad particulars connected with the earlier career of these two criminals which tend to show that although they exhibited many of the vicious propensities of their class, still they possessed some redeeming qualities, from which one might reasonably infer that had they received an elementary education and moral training, they might, in some capacity, have become useful members of society. But their precarious way of living and bad examples of boyhood, coupled frequently with the want of even the bare necessaries of life, had completely obliterated any prospect of an honorable future. The history of these men is indeed a melancholy one, but *t is only an instance among the many thousands that have been reared to a life of sin and misery, ultimately to spend the greater portion of their lives in a felon’s cell. The prisoner B------was cast upon the world at the age of 16 years. His father and mother are said to have been hard-working &nd industrious people, and, until their death, were able to provide for the wants of their children. The subject of this narrative was Hie eldest of the family, having one brother and a sister, to both of whom he appeared fondly attached. At the death of the parents these children were left in charge of a drunken uncle, who took no interest whatever in their physical or moral condition. The boy in question was sent to work in a woollen factory, the hours of labour being from 16 to 17 per diem, and the pay so small that it was not enough to supply the thr^e with food, although the brother and sister were much younger than himself. One evening, as this lad was returning home with his week’s wages in his pocket, he met his uncle in a half-drunken state. He asked the boy for some money which the latter at first refused, as he said he wanted to buy bread for his brother and sister. Notwithstanding this pathetic appeal, the inhuman uncle'compelled the lad to give up his hard earnings. 10 CRIME AND CRIMINALS.

When he got home he found his brother and sister, the former nine and the latter eleven years of age, anxiously waiting for the long- expected bread, neither of them having tasted any food that day ; but the poor boy had only his pitiable story to tell as to how shamefully he had been treated by their uncle. The children, on hearing this, burst into tears, and urged their brother to try and find them something to eat. The boy left the wretched home, as he said, thoroughly downhearted, and suddenly became utterly reckless as to his future actions. “ Up to this time,” he said, “ I knew but little of God or his attributes, still I felt within me that it was wrong to take from others without giving an equivalent; but the appeal from my brother and sister, to satisfy the cravings of hunger, was ever present in my mind, and I resolved to hazard an attempt to do so. As I was walking up one of the streets I went into a baker’s shop, on the pretence of buying a bun, and while there I stood for a few minutes waiting until the man behind the counter had served a customer. I saw an opportunity of surreptitiously taking a loaf of bread, which I did, and immediately left the shop, as I thought, unnoticed.” The next few moments, however, marked the crisis in this boy’s life ; for he, while endeavoring to alleviate the sufferings of the hungry children, was suddenly arrested by a policeman, and next day sentenced to six months’ imprisonment. From this time forward he was destined to commit a series of crimes, to cross the seas as a convict before he was 18 years of age, to experience the hardships and miseries incidental to criminals in Yan Dieman’s Land, and later on in Victoria. While serving the six months his lot was cast among some hundreds of youths, the majority of whom had been schooled from their very infancy in theft and immorality. Their conversation was always of the most demoralising character, and consisted of rehearsing past deeds of crime and teaching those who wTere not yet sufficiently artful how to obtain a living in the public streets. Amongst this crowd there was a lad who was reserved in his manner, and never took part in the sports or conversations of the other prisoners. The prisoner B------formed the acquaintance of CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 11

this youth, named R------, who was about 19 years of age, and likewise undergoing a sentence of six months’ imprisonment. He was the son of a farmer in the County of Limerick, whose fore­ fathers, for many years, had rented a few acres of land from a gentleman of large fortune. In the year 1837, the family became reduced in circumstances through unavoidable misfortune ; the rent being due, the agent pressed daily for payment. To make matters worse, the landlord was, at the time, residing with his family on the continent of Europe, and therefore there was no appeal from the mandate of the heartless agent. The father of R------was advanced m years, and the mother had been confined to her bed by illness for some months. There were in all four children, three of which were unable to assist in the support of the family, the subject of this story being the eldest, and on whom the means for their miserable sustenance mainly depended. He interviewed the agent and begged for time to see if he could manage to raise the amount due for rent,! but the tyrant declined to accede, continued pressing his claim, and notified that in the event of the money not being paid forthwith, ejectment would immediately ensue. Regardless of the cries of hunger from the children, or the appeals for mercy from the djing mother, the house, which had descended from father to son for more Ihan a century, was pulled down about their heads. The mother was borne from the ruins on a stretcher and taken to the cottage of a neighbour, where she died shortly afterwards, and the father, with his three younger children, sought shelter in the workhouse. The eldest boy tried, for some weeks, to obtain employment in the City of Limerick, but without success ; and at last he engaged with a drover to take cattle to Liverpool. Upon arrival at that port his employer paid his wages and discharged him. He then wandered about the streets for several weeks looking for work, but seeing no prospect of obtaining any, he resolved to proceed to Manchester. When he reached that city he found himself penniless and without a friend to whom he could apply for assistance. However, one day as a lady was stepping into her carriage she dropped her purse, and —, who was passing by, picked it up and ran away, but was closely 12 CRIME AND CRIMINALS.

pursued and arrested. The purse, which contained £10 Os. 5d. and a gold ring, was recovered, and the culprit sentenced to six months’ imprisonment. Shortly after B------and It------were liberated from gaol, B------called at his old home to see his brother and sister but in the meantime they had been taken away by a kind person, and carefully provided for. This knowledge comforted him, and he, with his companion, then determined to quit Manchester for ever, and return to Liverpool. Arriving there in great distress they again sought employment, but with the same result as before. On the 20th of June it was generally known that His Majesty King William the Fourth had expired, and consequently there was a great commotion in the town. There happened to be a large crowd of people at the Exchange, admiring the celebrated monument to the memory of Lord Kelson, then but recently erected. The lads noticed a gentleman engaged in describing the beauties of the various figures around the base of it to a number of ladies, take out his purse, and give a shilling to a beggar-woman, and then return the purse to the pocket of his overcoat. One of the boys at once pro­ posed to steal it, the plan being to get close to the railings near the gentleman, brush against him, take the purse, and then hand it to his companion, who was to move away as quickly and quietly as possible. The purse was adroitly extracted from the pocket, and the thieves left the place with their booty, unobserved by the crowd. As soon as they reached a secluded spot they opened the purse, which, to their delight, contained £85 18s. 9d., and one of them being able to read, a card therein disclosed the fact that the owner was an officer in the guards. The lads were aware that it would be dangerous to change any of the notes in Liverpool, and accordingly set out for London on foot, arriving in the metropolis after travelling for 20 days. Their first object was to purchase some expensive clothing, in order to make a respectable appearance. They next provided themselves with watches and chains, put up at a good boarding house, frequented places of amusement at night, and during the day visited the principal sights in the city. According to their own account, as long as the money lasted they enjoyed some of the pleasures of London life. CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 18 But they soon experienced the fall which so often awaits those ^ho have suddenly risen from abject poverty to comparative affluence, aftd at the beginning of 1.888 nearly all their ill-gotten gains were expended. They now felt a repugnance to perform any kind of labor, and continued to struggle for a wretched existence by thieving; somehow managing to avoid detection until about the middle of June. Emboldened by their success they determined to turn their attention to pocket-picking, an art in which they had become pro­ ficient. . At this period an important event occurred in the annals of the nation. The young Queen Victoria, who had this year succeeded to the throne of England, was shortly to be crowned, and London was consequently the centre of attraction for a host of distinguished Visitors from all parts of the United Kingdom and the Continent. Bor several days prior to the royal ceremony all the public parks and places of amusement were thronged with strangers. One afternoon the Duke of Wellington, Marshal Soult, and Sir Robert Peel were lading in Hyde Park, all of them being loudly cheered as they passed along by the large number of people assembled there. B------and ——■ pressed into the crowd, and the former was in the act of putting his hand into a gentleman’s pocket, when he was detected aud handed over to the police. For this offence he was tried and sentenced to ten years’ transportation to Van JDieman’s Land. His companion K------>, after several months’ privation, managed get back to his native country, Ireland, where he afterwards remained for nearly two years. He had not forgotten the misery that his family suffered through being ejected from their home, and lie bore an inveterate hatred against anyone who would rent land where the former tenants had been dispossessed of what lie considered their rights. In the County of Limerick a farmer had rented some land from which the original tenants had been ejected a short time previously. R------, with some companions, met this farmer on the road one night and gave him a most unmerciful beating, at the same time telling him that if he persisted in keeping possession of the land, they would cut off his ears when next they chanced to meet him. 14 CRIME AND CRIMINALS.

Three of the party, It------being one of the number, were shortly afterwards apprehended and sentenced to 15 years’ transportation to Van Dieman’s Land. It------in his account of the passage, in after years, stated :—“ There were about 150 convicts on board the ship, guarded by two companies of soldiers ; but nothing remarkable transpired until they got into the South Seas, when a pirate vessel was sighted, and from her suspicious movements the captain thought she was preparing to bear down on them. That night the troops were kept under arms, and other measures adopted for the safety of the convict ship, in the event of an attack being made by the privateer. However tkese precautions happily proved unnecessary, for at sunrise next morning, the stranger was observed, with all her canvas set, steering an opposite course, and soon disappeared from view.” E------had been some six years in Yan Dieman’s Land, during which he appears to have conducted himself as well as could be expected under the rigid system of penal servitude that prevailed at the time. One day he was informed by another convict, recently arrived from Ireland, that one of his relatives there was in very straightened circumstances. E------had saved a few pounds which he at once determined to send home, remarking that as he never expected to be a free man again, the money was of no use to him, and therefore it was better to give it to feed the hungry. This circumstance, he said, was the only remembrance of all that remained of his boyish days, and it brought back to his mind the recollection of fond parents and friends. E------now resolved to try and make his escape, intending, if possible, to reach the more hospitable shores of Victoria. He succeeded in getting away, and was about ten days in the bush before being captured, for which offence he was sentenced to an additional term of imprisonment. He subsequently made several attempts to escape which caused his removal to the penal settlement at Port Arthur, where he remained till 1849, when he was again transferred to Hobart Town. At this time it was very difficult for prisoners to escape from the Island, the only available plan being to bribe some of the crew of a CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 15 vessel trading to Melbourne or Sydney ; and even this was unsafe to attempt, as captains were liable to heavy penalties if convicts were found concealed in their ships. However, an opportunity of this kind occurred soon after R------returned to Hobart Town, and of which he eagerly availed himself. As a party of sailors were taking a walk in the neighborhood where E------was working, one of them, who had formerly sailed in the renowned barque, “ Jane Black,” of Limerick, recognised him by a scar he bore on the right cheek. This man had no chance of speaking to E------that day, so he returned the week following, when a long conversation took place between them. The sailor agreed to take him on board, and stow him away in the ship until they reached Melbourne. He then supplied E------with a change of clothing, and told him not to come on board until they were ready for sea. During the week E------contrived to secrete himself in the vessel Avithout being observed by ai*y of the officers, and next morning she left her anchorage and sailed for Melbourne. On the evening of the 14th January, 1850, six days after leaving Hobart ToAvn, the ship arrived in Hobson’s Bay, and although a sharp look-out Avas kept for runaAvay convicts, many of them succeeded ln landing on Victorian soil. E------, Avith the assistance of his sailor friend, managed to reach the shore unobserved by the authorities, and then, he said, “ he felt as free as mountain air.” In Melbourne he soon found employment, and remained there ..until the discovery of the goldfields in 1851, Avhen he joined a party of six who were going to the diggings. They had only one tent between them, but Avere able to provide themseDes Avith sufficient food and cooking utensils tor the journey. The oft told experiences of a digger’s life need not he repeated here, suffice it to say that the party were, as is usual in raany cases, disappointed at first, but ultimately succeeded in making ^500 each, and then returned to Melbourne. Here four of them, including E------, immediately plunged into all the dissipation and debauchery incidental to the sudden accumulation of gold in a neAV colony, Avhere drinking and gambling Avere the besetting sins of hundreds of lucky diggers. But the other two acted far more 16 CRIME AMD CRIMINALS. prudently than their companions, by placing most of their money in the bank and separating from them. In course of time they returned to the diggings, and at the end of twelve months came back again to Melbourne with over £2,000 apiece. They afterwards left Victoria in the well-known steamship 44 Great Britain,” and settled in England, where they became prosperous farmers. R------, having spent all his money, was now doomed to experi­ ence some of the severe discipline exercised in the early days of the Pentridge Stockade, for only a short time had elapsed when he was arrested on a charge of highway robbery, committed on the St. Kilda road, and sentenced to seven years’ penal servitude. With reference to the prisoner B------, I have never been able to trace his further career beyond the fact that he served a portion of his sentence in Van Dieman’s Land, and in 1850 came to Victoria. In July, 1851, he was convicted of highway robbery and sent to Pentridge, where the two prisoners met again after being separated for 18 years. Unfortunately, I have been unable to ascertain the date when these two prisoners, B------and R------, made their escape from Pentridge, but were afterwards re-captured by Mr. Kilmartin and two black troopers, near the township of Campbellfield, as already related. CHAPTER II.

1853-

CHAPTER II.

Opening of Hulks.-—Insecurity of Pentridge and Collingwood Stockades.—» Increase of Crime.—Warder Adams Dismissed from the Service.—A Rush from the Quarries.—One Prisoner Shot Dead.—Marching Prisoners from Pentridge to Melbourne.—Description of Collingwood Stockade.—A Rush from it.—Two Warders Suspended.—Insubordination on Board the Hulk “President.”—Sergeant Graham’s Nose Attacked by Melville.—Connor and Brady.

The advent of the year 1853 was marked by some of the most striking incidents in the annals of crime and criminals in Victoria. At the commencement of this year several desperate convicts escaped from Van Dieman’s Land, and made their way to this colony, and their subsequent career in bushranging and murder surpasses in atrocity the criminal records of almost any other new country in the world. This serious state of matters soon caused some important reform's in the penal department, one being the introduction of prison hulks as the only secure places for refractory convicts, which were for many years the centre of numerous tragic scenes, especially while moored near to Williamstown, in Hobson’s Bay. Early in this year the notorious Captain Melville, one of the worst specimens of humanity to be found in the long catalogue of criminals in Victoria, terminated his career of freedom by being sentenced‘to 31 years’ penal servitude. He was immediately after­ wards transferred to the hulk 44 President,” where he and his nefarious schemes were confined within the limits of a solitary cell. The warders in the habit of guarding this ex-bushranger while at exercise on the decks were always on the alert to prevent his attempting to escape, as it was well known that he entertained the idea, even at the risk of his life. On the 19th of January there were 307 male and 29 female prisoners in the Melbourne gaol, 63 of whom were for trial, 20 CHIMB AND CRIMINALS. principally on capital charges. In addition to these unsatisfactory statistics, every week brought intelligence of the arrival of escaped convicts from the different penal settlements in the other colonies. These lawless characters soon became acquainted with the geography of the up-country districts, and were thus enabled to baffle the efforts of the police in their attempts to arrest them. As a rule they were too indolent to work for an honest living, having spent the greater portion of their lives in gaol; consequently they never felt the necessity of self-reliance nor of the application of all those energies with which man is endowed. The dangers and difficulties en­ countered by some of the runaways in their efforts to escape from penal servitude would, if related, appear more like a romance than a reality. I have heard several tell of the mental and physical toils they have undergone, which, if employed in a better cause, would have placed their names honorably before the world. One of my informants says that they have frequently concealed themselves in the bush for many weeks at a time, suffering all the privations of cold and hunger while waiting for a favorable opportunity to stow­ away in a vessel, or seize a boat and venture on the ocean with the hope of eventually reaching some other shore. An instance of this kind occurred on the 20th of January, when eight escaped convicts from Van Dieman’s Land, after being several days at sea in an open boat, finally succeeded in landing at Brighton beach. This boat was about 20 tons burden, and for many years afterwards was used in Hobson's Bay in the legitimate pursuits of commerce. Among the number of these runaways was the notorious “ Gipsy ” Smith, whose career of crime, his imprisonment on the hulks and in Pentridge, and later, on his return to the world, when he was employed by Mr. Lang (son of the Rev. Dr. Lang of Sydney), and entrusted with large sums of money which lie faithfully remitted to his employer, presents traits of character which are seldom found in a man, the greater part of whose early life had been passed in prison. On the 28th of January there were 808 males and 84 female prisoners in the Melbourne gaol. Such was the increase of crime that before the commencement of the Sessions there were nearly 150 CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 21 prisoners awaiting trial, and of this number , about 90 were charged with capital offences. This state of affairs necessitated the superin­ tendent of Pentridge (Mr. Barrow) pointing out to the Government the inadequate accommodation at the stockade for this class of prisoners, whose sentences ranged from one to thirty years’ penal servitude, and accordingly, on the 3rd of February, the hulk “ President” was* moved to the north of Hobson’s Bay, off Gellibrand Point, and proclaimed a public prison for the reception and safe custody of convicts. It was notified to mariners and the public that no person would be allowed to approach within a distance of 150 yards of the vessel. The hulk “ Deborah ” was also proclaimed a prison under similar regulations, but for some years was used as a depot for refractory seamen. It was now at least a consolation for the public to know that this class of desperate criminals were in safe custody, by being com­ pletely isolated from all chance of communication with the mainland. But this could not be said of the security of prisoners either at the Pentridge or Collingwood Stockades, for the exciting news from the goldfields increased the love of liberty to such an extent that on the 3rd February a well-known convict, named Thomas Grushaw, succeeded in effecting his escape from Pentridge. A reward of £10 was offered for his apprehension, but before lie was re-captured he had committed several daring robberies, for which he was sentenced, under another name, to ten years’ imprisonment on the hulks. The alarming accounts from all parts of the country, caused by the depredations of bushrangers, rendered it unsafe to travel un­ less in company and fully armed. During this month crime of every description was fearfully on the increase, and on the 8th February there were 118 prisoners for trial at Melbourne, and, as on former occasions, a large number of them were on capital charges. On the 14th of this month a singular capture was made of a prisoner named McGuire, who had absconded from the Melbourne gaol eleven years previously, and whose further record is remarkable, as lie was one of the greatest scoundrels that ever wore the prison uniform. A detailed account of his proceedings will be found hereafter. n CRIME AND CRIMINALS.

At this time there were some strange stories told of both warders and prisoners, which can only be explained by the fact that there was no properly organised staff of disciplined officials. In many cases men were appointed who did not possess the requisite qualifications for the position. The possible reformation of criminals I had never entered their minds, how to keep them in subjection being ' then the principal-object of penal discipline. I may here relate an affair that occurred at the Melbourne gaol, at which Senior-warder Adams was the principal actor and aggressor. This officer had a salary of £800 a year, and his wife one of £50. Upon one occasion he ordered a prisoner named Allen to do : some kind of work, but as it was not finished to his satisfaction an altercation took place between them, which resulted in Adams stabbing the prisoner three times with a bayonet. After this the prisoner asked the officer for writing materials for the purpose of communicating with the sheriff, which were refused. He then asked permission to see that official, which was also refused. Allen evidently felt the gross injustice of this treatment, and was determined in some manner to make known his grievance. To accomplish this, he by some means obtained a sheet of paper, and making an incision in his arm, he wrote with his blood a brief note to the sheriff, requesting an interview. This caused an enquiry into the case, which terminated in the immediate dismissal of Adams from the public service. He was thus very justly punished for his arbitrary conduct, aggravated considerably by his refusing to allow the prisoner to complain to the head of the department. About this time matters in connection with the Pentridge Stockade were assuming a very complicated aspect, caused by the difficulty in finding secure accommodation for the long-sentenced prisoners, and as the hulks were already filled with the worst class of convicts, the remainder had to be sent to the prisons at Pentridge, Collingwood, and Richmond. In many respects these prisons were then totally unsuitable for the safe-keeping of convicts, and their insecurity frequently involved the necessity of taking human life. The confinement of prisoners within the prescribed bounds depended entirely upon the vigilance and integrity of each individual warder. CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 23

In many cases special supervision was necessary, especially when gangs were employed on the public roads, but even then they were only guarded by a chain of sentries, which was not very reliable in the event of a number of desperate convicts making a rush, with the expectation of gaining their liberty. This temptation to escape was often open to prisoners at Pentridge, as there were large gangs of them constantly employed in quarrying stone and road-making, which caused the township to appear somewhat civilised. On the 7th of March, as a number of prisoners were at work in a quarry, not far from the Stockade, two of them attempted to rush past the sentries. One of the warders called on them to “ go back,” but this official warning seemed of no effect, beyond increasing their speed in making off. As soon as they had passed the sentries, the limit on occasions of this kind, and which then placed their lives in jeopardy, a warder immediately raised his rifle to the shoulder, and sent a bullet through the body of one of .the runaways, who fell dead. Several shots were fired at his companion, but none took •effect, and he escaped into the bush, although closely pursued by the offioials. However, he was arrested shortly afterwards on a charge of horse stealing, and sentenced to twelve years on the hulks. At the inquest on the body of the prisoner that was killed, many severe comments were made, both by coroner and jury, on the want of increased supervision, in order to prevent as far as possible the sacrifice of human life ; especially when it was well known to the authorities that prisoners would usually take advantage of the slightest opportunity to escape from custody. The absconding of convicts had become such a common occurrence that the Government found it necessary to offer rewards as inducements for obtaining any informa­ tion likely to lead to their arrest. On the 10th of this month a reward of £10 was offered for the capture of John Smith, an old Yan Diemonian, and at one time connected with a gang of bush­ rangers, who escaped from Pentridge. While at Pentridge he was the instigator of several contemplated rushes, which were generally frustrated by some of the conspirators giving previous information to the authorities. Having been so often betrayed by his companions 24 CRIME AND CRIMINALS.

lie determined to attempt the venture alone, and succeeded in getting, away, although several shots were fired at him by the warders, one of which passed through his hat. He was subsequently arrested on a charge of highway robbery, and sentenced to 15 years on the roads, but served some time on the hulk “President.” On the 22nd of this month 17 prisoners were marched from the Melbourne gaol to Pentridge under a strong escort of police, the amount of whose sentences, when added together, formed a total of 120 years. Scenes of this kind were the occasion of much unseemly conduct on the part of the crowd assembled along the road, composed, as it was, of the idle and curious, whose jeering and vulgar, remarks, coupled with the rattling of the prisoners’ chains and their fearful profanity, very nearly represented a perfect Pandemonium. To see human beings chained together like wild beasts would, doubtless, arouse feelings of sympathy towards them in their degra­ dation ; but when it is taken into consideration that 15 of them had already spent the greater portion of their lives in prison, and were guilty of some of the most atrocious crimes imaginable, it might reason­ ably be inferred that their safe custody required the most stringent measures. These reasons will, perhaps, extenuate in some degree this barbarous practice of marching prisoners from one station to another ; besides in those days it was necessary in the absence of the police van, or “black Maria, ” as it is styled at present. In this year the stockade at Collingwood was built and proclaimed a prison for the reception of criminals ; but it was only intended for prisoners undergoing short sentences, viz., from one to five years. It was constructed of timber and situated north of the Carlton gardens, near to the new cemetery. The building stood on about an acre of ground, enclosed by a wooden fence ten feet high and painted black. The situation was somewhat grotesque, being in close proximity to the forest, in which large gum trees, with their umbrageous foliage, were still standing just outside the fence. In these trees were frequently to be seen and heard magpies, laughing- jackasses, and other birds, filling the air with their various notes as though scoffing at the so-called lords of creation confined below them. CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 25

Adjacent to this prison were 35 acres of a reserve, on which there were excellent quarries capable of affording employment to hundreds of prisoners for many years, and being in the vicinity of Melbourne, a ready market could always be found for large quantities of road metal' and stone for building purposes. A serious rush of prisoners took place at this stockade on the afternoon of the 19tli of March, under very peculiar circumstances. It was thus reported by the Superintendent to the Inspector- General :— “Collingwood Stockade, “19th March, 1853. “Sir,—I have the honor to report, for your information, the following circumstances :—This morning, as the labor gang was going round the end of the stockade to work, the six undermentioned prisoners made a rush to escape, on which Kain, the sentry at the corner, after challenging them, fired one barrel. Warder Goldsmith then fired both of his barrels. Harper and Lobe also fired, but I am sorry to say that their fire was not effective. Corporal Luss apprehended Thomson, the quarry overseer brought in Mollison, Mr. Shepherd brought back Davis, and Warder Dowling brought back Johnson. The prisoners Stewart and Percival are still absent. I will furnish you with a more detailed report of the affair, but I will not now detain the constable, deeming it necessary to apprise you as speedily as possible. “ I have, etc., , “Malcolm H. Smith.” The following is the second report:— “ Collingwood Stockade, “ 19th March, 1853. “ Sir,—I have the honor to inform you that, in compliance with your instructions, I suspended the warders as directed, and would respectfully suggest that they be dismissed ; and also that you will inflict such fines upon them as it may appear to you they deserve. I feel confident that had these constables done their duty, the two prisoners now absent could not possibly have got away. The warder 26 CRIME AND CRIMINALS.

(Lobe), I have not suspended. He fired two shots, but, from the distance, I am of opinion that no blame whatever can be attached to him. I enclose the report of the visiting Justice on the matter, which saves Mr.------(?) the necessity of making a more exhaustive report. “ I have, etc., - “ Malcolm H. Smith.” “P.S.—I would wish to bring under your notice the conduct of Corporal Luss and Warder Dowling, who acquitted themselves creditably this morning, each capturing a prisoner.—M.H.S.” These constant rushes of prisoners were instrumental in bringing before the public the system of employing them at work in public places, where both facility and temptation were offered them to escape. For instance, on the afternoon of the 20th May, 11 men attempted to escape from the Collingwood Stockade by making a rush. In this affair one of the fugitives was shot dead, and the other 10 were captured soon afterwards. On this occasion a number of civilians rendered very important assistance in apprehending the runaways, and amongst them Mr. Reilly, well known subsequently as the city surveyor, arrested one after a severe struggle, in which Mr. Reilly showed a considerable amount of courage. This rush of prisoners drew from one of the leading journals of the day the following comments :—“ When will the Government see the impossibility of keeping men in safe custody on the roads without being ironed? The coroner’s jury should express a decided opinion on the subject, and enquire why they may not justly accompany their verdict with a strong censure on the Government for allowing prisoners to be kept in this insecure position.” But even in the face of this condemnation no alteration was made in the system, and prisoners continued to make their escape from both Collingwood and Pentridge Stockades. But all these incidents on land were eclipsed by the reports of insubordination among the prisoners on board the hulk “President,” in which the incorrigible and long-sentenced men were confined. This vessel was brought prominently before the public on the 4th of June, in consequence of a determined attempt made by “ Captain^” CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 27

Melville to bite the nose off Sergeant Graham. Melville, when arrested in 1852 on a charge of robbery under arms, boasted that he had 80 men in his gang, and was, as already stated, sentenced to 31 years’ penal servitude. This notorious convict, who had kept the up- country districts in a constant state of alarm for nearly two years by his daring exploits, as might be supposed, would never be contented with confinement in a prison cell for any length of time. There have been various accounts of this assault upon Sergeant Graham, but the correct one was given by Chief-warder McPherson in his evidence before a select committee of the Legislative Assembly, on the 8tli of December, 185G. He says, “I find from an entry in the books that Melville formed one of ten at exercise on the decks on the day in question, and Sergeant Graham had relieved me for a few minutes. While Graham was in charge it appears that he ordered Melville to ‘ close up,’ that is, to keep at a regular distance from the other prisoners when at exercise. This statement was made in the presence of the visiting justice (Mr. Pascoe), and which I then understood to be correct. When Melville was told to ‘ close up,’ he stepped out from the ranks, and said to Graham that he would be treated with more respect, and that he wished him to treat him more respectfully. I was not present at the time, but Mr. Horne and myself immediately afterwards came forward to where the prisoners were at exercise, when Melville stepped on one side, and Graham then stated what had occurred. Melville was on that occasion very .insolent to Mr. Horne. When the prisoners went down below Mr. Horne observed to me that he thought, from Melville’s excited manner, there would be some mischief done, and therefore he (Mr. Horne) decided to follow and see him put in his cell. Pie accordingly did so, and I accompanied him. When Graham took the handcuffs off Melville, the latter sprang at him, and catching him round the neck attempted to bite off his nose. Mr. Home immediately jumped on the prisoner’s back, and Graham gave him a blow with a ‘ necldy,’ • and they all came down together, Melville being severely handled.” The chairman asked Chief-warder McPherson if Graham was cool? To which he replied in the negative, adding “That a man 28 CRIME AND CRIMINALS.

within an ace of having his nose bitten off would scarcely be very cool!” On this charge Melville was brought before the visiting justice the same afternoon and sentenced to 20 days’ solitary confinement on bread and water. He then became so violent that it. was necessary to chain him to a ring-bolt at the side of his cell. The first night he could not lie down, and next day he refused any attention. On the third day the chain was lengthened to enable him to lie down. During this time the other prisoners were shouting and hammering at the doors of their cells, their noise being heard at a considerable distance from the hulks. At a subsequent period Melville made a statement of this affair, which was a tissue of falsehoods from beginning to end ; but it was nevertheless credited by a certain portion of the public. This, and other matters in connection with the treatment of prisoners, led to the formation of the citizens’ committee, which was directly constituted for. the purpose of censuring the administration of Mr. John Price. The following is an extract from the superintendent’s inspection book :— ' “ H.M. Hulk ‘ President,’ “ 7th June, 1858. “ Inspected the hulk this day. Arrived at 5 p.m. in consequence of a report from the superintendent in charge. Found, on arrival, the prisoners on the lower deck noisy, and declined to visit them on account thereof. Enquired into the circumstances connected with the riotous and violent conduct of Thomas Smith, alias Melville, and am satisfied that the measures adopted by Mr. Horne were fully called for, and carried out with judgment and firmness. The conduct of Sergeant Graham will be duly noted. “(Signed) Samuel Barrow, “ In spector-general.” Of all the bloodthirsty villains that ever landed on these shores, Die escaped convicts from Van Pieman’s Land, Connor and Brady, CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 29 put all others in the shade. The circumstances in connection with the manner in which they effected their escape from that island are without a parallel in the records of criminals. This daring act was surrounded with many examples of undoubted courage and coolness in execution ; but it appears almost impossible to imagine that ’their victims- should have been so devoid of personal courage and manliness as to allow themselves to be kept in a state of servitude and terror for nearly three weeks. Their escape from Van Dieman’s Land, and their short but terrible career in Victoria, would indeed form a very dark chapter in the annals of crime. It seems that they had made attempts to abscond on several occasions, but hitherto without success. However, as they were determined to get away, they conceived the novel idea of forcibly boarding a vessel and setting sail for Melbourne. This they ultimately accomplished, and for three weeks these two men kept watch by night and day, no effort being made by the crew to release themselves from their extremely unpleasant position. The fugitives were well armed, and they had no sooner landed on Victorian soil than they commenced their in­ famous career of busliranging and murder. They appeared to think that there was a pleasurable excitement in taking human life, an instance of which was related to me by a prisoner at the Pentridge Stockade, who was a witness to a most diabolical and unprovoked murder committed by them. This took place near Kilmore, the victim being a farmer engaged in ploughing his field. These wretches happened to be passing along the road, when, without any cause whatever, one of them deliberately fired at the farmer and sent a bullet through his body. My informant, who came up to the spot shortly afterwards, said he could hear the air passing in and out of the wound when the poor man breathed. After lingering in great agony for a few hours he expired. In one week three men were murdered, several more shot at and otherwise brutally ill-treated, the majority, if not all, of which offences were committed by these two ruffians. A writer of the day remarks :— “ It seems to us about the most extraordinary narrative of villainous ruffianism recorded in history.” 30 CRIME AND CRIMINALS.

But tlieir murderous sway was shortly terminated with credit to the police, and also with a feeling of relief from the inhabitants of the country districts. Information was forwarded to the authorities that these men were in the neighbourhood of Kilmore, and had “ stuck up ” a farmhouse. Several constables (one of whom was Mr. Nicholson, afterwards superintendent in the force) were sent to arrest them. The place was surrounded at night, and after a desperate fight, in which some of the police were badly wounded, the villains were compelled to surrender. Soon after this occurrence they were convicted and hanged. On the 1st of August in this year, a prison was opened at Richmond, capable of containing about 45 inmates. It was situated at no great distance from the Hawthorne bridge, in a delightful spot on the banks of the River Yarra. The buildings were constructed of timber and galvanized iron, but they were not substantially built, and when more suitable places were erected for the reception of convicts it was broken up. For some years afterwards the site was marked by the ruined walls and the dilapidated quarters of the officers and warders. CHAPTER III.

1854.

CRIME AMD CRIMINALS. 38

CHAPTER III.

Death of Mr. Barrow.—Dangers of Employing Convict Labor on Hoads.— First Workshops at Pentridge.—An Ex-convict made Superintendent of Convicts.—Thompson’s Attempt to Escape.—Assault on Mednyansyky.— Clever Escape of Edward Rider.—Father O’Hea Swims for His Life.— Captain Harrison.—Prisoners’ Devices to obtain Tobacco.—Mr. Price’s Peculiarities.—Description of the “ Crystal Palace.”—Ballarat Rioters.— Convicts’ Conversation.—Attempt at Night to Escape from “ Crystal Palace.”—McGuire—Tools Missing.—The Ringstone and the Wheel.— Mr. Price’s Cow.—Sergeant Mathie and Mr. Kilmartin.—An Adroit Special.—Records of Ten Prisoners.—Humanity Mongers.—Causes of Crime in old Countries absent from this.

At the commencement of this year two remarkable incidents occurred, which materially influenced the future administration of the Penal Department, and were also the origin of those eventful . episodes which follow for three successive years “ for better or for worse.” The first event was the loss of Mr. Barrow from the position of Inspector-General, which position he held since the 21st of April, 1852, the year the institution was opened. He was afterwards- appointed immigration agent, which office he retained until the 6th May, 1854, when he was unfortunately drowned in Hobson’s Bay, a more detailed account of which sad accident will be given later on. The second event was the appointment of Mr. John Price as suc­ cessor to Mr. Barrow, on the 27th January, 1854. Of Mr. Barrow’s 2$ administration I have been unable to obtain any very important- information other than the fact of his laying the foundation of the Penal Department in Victoria, which, at the time, was attended with innumerable difficulties and dangers. He was considered an able administrator, but did not introduce changes which subsequent Inspectors -General have adopted, as, unfortunately, he had not the means, nor the class of convicts to successfully bring his experiments to a prosperous issue. A great portion of the time he held office was stormy and unsettled, caused principally by the constant insubordina- u CRIME AND CRIMINALS. tion of the convicts, often resulting in rushes of prisoners, in which many fell victims to warders’ rifles. His successor, Mr Price, had an equal share of the responsibilities and difficulties inseparable from an institution of this kind, and the interference of a certain section of the community in the internal' management of the institution in those and subsequent years was the cause of the most disastrous consequences. Viewed in this aspect the Government of the day could not have selected a more efficient officer than Mr. Price for controlling convicts. In consequence of the committal of the most dangerous offenders against law and order, society at this period was placed in a most perilous state, the result being that Mr. Price found it necessary to make considerable changes for the better security and discipline of the long-sentenced prisoners. The practice in vogue of employing convict gangs on the roads was, for many reasons, objection­ able. In the first place, it required a large staff of officers and warders as guards, and even then the constant dread of a rush of prisoners was experienced, in whicli some desperadoes might effect their escape, and before being re-arrested add largely to the list of atrocious orimes at this time so prevalent. It also had the effect of creating a feeling of insubordination and discontent in the minds of the other prisoners. For such obvious reasons Mr. Price was determined to confine their field of labour within certain limits, such confines to be guarded by chains of sentries and stone walls. The workshop^ commenced by Mr. Barrow were completed by Mr. Price. They were of rude design and unsightly, appearance, but we must remember they were the embryo of the various useful workshops which have in. subsequent years grown to be such extensive industries, and for which Pentridge has since become Celebrated. The shops consisted of carpenters’, blacksmiths’, shoemakers’, tailors’, and tinsmiths’, over­ seers being appointed to supervise their respective trades. The enterprise proved highly satisfactory. Prison clothing and boots were made by prison labor, which at this time contributed considerably to­ wards defraying the expenses of the department, which were yearly on the increase, and in consequence burdening the taxpayers of the eolony. At this period Mr. Price represented to the Government of CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 35 the day the necessity of building a more substantial prison at Pentridge, where the worst class of prisoners could be securely engaged in some profitable employment. The classification of prisoners introduced by Mr. Champ in subsequent years never appears to have been entertained by Mr. Price, but even if such were the case he had not sufficient accommodation at his command to attempt an innovation of this kind, especially at a time when society was so disorganised by the influence of ex-convicts and their sympathisers. Considering the class of prisoners, and the frequent attempts at an outbreak, it is not to be wondered at that Mr. Price found it necessary, for the better protection of the community, to introduce that strict system of discipline which his opponents have converted into a species of barbarity, thereby casting a reflection on his memory ; and this unfavorable view of his conduct and character is still believed in by a great number of people in this part of the world. In order to form some idea of the class of persons who were admitted into society in those days the following will, perhaps, take precedence for successful ruffianism and audacity that either reality or fiction has given in the history of crime and criminals in these colonies. This is taken from one of the Melbourne papers of the day :—“ It turns out that Frederick Waller, late superintendent of convicts at Adelaide, from which colony he absconded, taking with him three or four hundred pounds of the Government money, originally arrived in Yan Pieman’s Land in the ship ‘ Emily,’ under sentence of transportation. He escaped from bondage and reached Melbourne, where, in August, 1851, he was apprehended and sentenced to three years’ hard labor on the roads. At the close of the year 1852 he was discharged from the main depot at Pentridge, being allowed a ticket-of-leave, but he ran away from his district and went to Adelaide, where, by means of forged certificates of character, he succeeded in obtaining the responsible post of superintendent of convicts, and embezzled a large sum of money which was intrusted to him by virtue of his office. It is said he is in Port Phillip, having reached Melbourne in the ‘ Sea Witch,’ and as he has considerable knowledge of the province of Victoria his apprehension by the police will probably be a matter of 86 CRIME AND CRIMINALS.

some difficulty.” This occurred on the 8th of March, 1854, and he was last seen in a hotel in Melbourne with a fashionably dressed young lady. I have been unable to trace the further career of this extraordinary swindler beyond the rumor that he went to Sydney, where he committed several forgeries, and was sentenced to a long term of imprisonment. On tlie 5th of March of that year, a most daring and preconcerted attempt to escape from Pentridge was made by a number of desperate convicts. The principal instigator of this affair was a man named Isaac Thompson, a most determined character, and undergoing a sentence of eight years’ imprisonment for horse stealing on the 25th of October, 1858. His previous history is one of daring crimes, committed both in Tasmania and Norfolk Island, where he made several attempts to escape, for which he was flogged and placed in heavy irons, and sent to Port Arthur. He landed in Victoria in 1852, and, like most of his class, commenced a career of bushranging, combined with horse stealing. Thompson, in a general way, was most suitable for those exploits, possessing a dis­ position daring and remorseless, and having no scruples in sacrificing human life in his efforts to attain his ends. One Sunday morning Thompson, with eight other prisoners, rushed the prison gates and endeavored to take the keys from the warder on duty, but the guard was quickly turned out, and one of the prisoners received a ball in the leg. This affair occupied but a few minutes, as all the prisoners were at once secured and placed in irons, and resulted in the removal of Thompson to the penal hulks in Hobson’s Bay for safe custody, his ticket-of-leave to be withheld for two years and six months, accom­ panied by imprisonment with hard labor. Another prisoner named Jones, an accomplice of Thompson’s, was sent to the hulks to complete his sentence ; the other prisoners, who were induced by Thompson to join in this unsuccessful attempt at escape, were discharged. Notwithstanding the severe punishment inflicted on prisoners for attempted escapes in those days, private information of attempted rushes contemplated by prisoners was given to the prison authorities weekly, accompanied by the unpalatable fact that the murder of a warder yras by no means to be hesitated at when such CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 37

an act was considered necessary for the accomplishment of their object. It was fortunate for the authorities that in many cases information was given by prisoners concerned in these plots, who, by turning Queen’s Evidence, hoped to secure a mitiga­ tion of their sentences. As a natural consequence this often prevented serious loss of life and precluded for a time the influx on society of savages in human form. If anything should be wanting in confirmation of what I have written in reference to the state of society in those days, the following incident will convey some idea, although it was only one among the hundreds of annual occurrences :—On the 4th of April, 1854, a Hungarian named Mednyansyky was stuck up on the road to Richmond at 11 o’clock at night by a man who presented a pistol and demanded his money. The Hungarian struck aside the pistol and endeavoured to escape, when the ruffian fired and shot him in the left arm, just below the shoulder. He was scarcely aware of the wound at the time, and he struck his assailant a blow in the face, knocking him down, and the latter then made his escape. The Hungarian walked home, but the arm had to be amputated next day. The papers commented on the affair as follows :—“The poor sufferer is doing well, but crippled and maimed for life he remains a lasting testimony to the effects of the failure in the proper administration of the law, and of the manner in which peaceful and unoffending colonists are still handed over to the mercies of a blood-thirsty band of assassins. We repeat for the thousandth time, and we say it to the public with some emphasis, while the groans of this disabled man are freshly ringing in our ears, that if the Convict Immigration Act were honestly administered we should have but few of such murderous deeds as these.” I subjoin a short biographical sketch of this brave foreigner, whose sad fate was caused by the bullet of a cowardly assassin, and which will rouse a feeling of indignation in the breast of every upright citizen against the maudlin sympathy expressed by a certain class of society, which produced the most disastrous results during the three following years in the Penal Department. He was descended from a long line of ancestors, who had dis- 38 CRIME AND CRIMINALS.

tinguished themselves in the wars of Hungary in the struggle for their national independence. One brother was a bishop, and another a general in the Hungarian army. I have never been able to learn that the villain who wounded the unfortunate subject under notice was ever apprehended for this dastardly act. When I was on duty one day on board the hulk “Success,” in November, 1857, a prisoner was pointed out to me as the supposed man, and, from the outlines of his head and face, I concluded he was fully capable of committing an offence of this kind. This man was a native of Ireland, and at the age oi 18 he was transported to Yan Pieman’s Land for having nearly murdered a man who had rented some land from which the former tenant had been ejected. He escaped from Yan Dieman’s Land in the beginning of 1858, and in 1855 was convicted on a charge of highway robbery and sentenced to 15 years on the roads. The last time I saw this scoundrel was at the “ Crystal Palace ” in 1859. He was always regarded by the authorities as a dangerous criminal, and although he would never openly take part in any act of insubordination he would always be urging his fellow prisoners to do so. I must now turn to some of the transactions that were taking place at Pentridge, where Mr. Price had, among other matters, con­ templated several important changes for the better security of the prisoners. One of these was to build another prison close to the main depot. To this much needed addition the Government agreed, and shortly after the foundation of the celebrated “Movable Stockade,” or the “Crystal Palace,” as it is better known, was laid, where it was intended that the most refractory convicts should be confined. This prison was not opened until the 25th of November, 1854, of which an account will be given hereafter. Notwithstanding all the vigilance that was observed by Mr. Price for the security of the prisoners, several most daring schemes to escape from prison were daily in contempla­ tion. A rather amusing instance of the escape of a prisoner took place on the 23rd of May, 1854, when a notorious convict named Edward Eider escaped from Pentridge. This prisoner was serving a sentence of seven years for horse stealing. He was employed as a servant for CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 39

Mrs. Price, and in that capacity had mere advantages in devising plans and carrying them into execution than prisoners who were always under close observation. By some means he procured some of Mrs. Price’s clothing. Taking a small black bag, which Mrs. Price was in the habit of carrying, also a parasol, and wearing a veil, he left the quarters and went in the direction of the prison reserve, where it was customary for Mrs. Price to take a walk in the evening. As he had to pass the sentry on duty there was the danger that he might be subjected to some pertinent questions, as it was a strict order to the warders to challenge all persons passing their posts, in order to ascertain who they were, and it was customary to address a few words of recognition for this purpose. On this occasion the sentry wTas so confident that the person who was approaching was Mrs. Price that he accordingly shouldered his arms and stood to attention out of respect to, as he supposed, the wife of the Inspector-General. The only ex­ change of recognition between the disguised prisoner and the officer was a slight bow from the former as he passed the warder, who was as im­ movable as Lot’s wife. No further notice was taken of the matter until the evening muster, when one of the servants was missing, and Mrs. Price was engaged in her usual domestic occupations at her quarters. As usual the alarm was given, and several of the warders went in search of the prisoner, but no account could be. obtained as to the direction he took on that day. It was subsequently ascertained that he did not change his dress until he reached Collingwood, a distance of five miles. Several attempts were made in various ways by prisoners to escape from Pentridge during this year, but whenever a number were concerned in the matter the authorities received timely infor­ mation, which, as may be conjectured, prevented serious consequences, although adding to the difficulties in maintaining a strict system of discipline and the safe custody of the prisoners. After this period an order was given and read to the warders on parade that no stranger would be permitted to enter or leave the establishment until the sentry satisfied himself who the person was ; and if the officer had any suspicion in the matter the person had to remain in charge of the sentry until the sergeant of the guard came to release him. 40 CRIME AND CRIMINALS.

As prisoners were frequently escaping from Collingwood and Richmond^ Stockades, and as these prisons contained their full number, Mr. Price was urged to hasten the completion of the movable stockade, where the long-sentenced prisoners could be con­ fined, and where a larger amount of supervision could be exercised than was possible in any of the other prisons. Nothing further of any importance occurred until the 6th of May, 1854, when Mr. Barrow (late Inspector-general), lost his life through the unfortunate capsizing of a boat in Hobson’s Bay. From what I have been able to learn of this sad occurrence it appears that His Excellency Governor Latrobe was leaving the colony for Europe on board the “Golden Age,” which was anchored a consider­ able1 distance from the St. Kilda shore. Mr. Barrow, who had only recently been appointed immigration agent, was proceeding down the bay in his boat, accompanied by several other gentlemen, to inspect the vessel and take leave of'* the Governor. As there were at the time some contradictory accounts given of the accident I will submit the statement of Mr. Cooper, the Argus bay reporter, who witnessed the occurrence from his boat the “Janet.” Mr. Cooper says :—“ I will now lay before the public the facts, so far as I know, relative to this calamity, feeling as I do, that all who knew the deceased gentleman will eagerly read any legitimate statement calculated to throw light upon the sad affair. About half-past one o’clock, a short time before the ‘ Golden Age ’ sailed yesterday afternoon, the wind blowing from the S.W., a foresail boat, belonging to the Immigration Department, and containing nine persons, left Sand ridge Pier, having to leeward the ‘ Golden Age,’ and being unable to weather the barque ‘ Janet,’ belonging to the Argus office, passed close under the stern of that vessel. The boat was now heading right out to the Bay, and when about a mile and three quarters from the barque, in attempting to tack, she several .times missed stays, and owing, no doubt, to some mismanagement, capsized, all hands being cast into the water. A bit of a squall had risen, but of no conse­ quence ; the wind was not high, neither was the sea rough. I instantly ordered the Argus express boat to be manned, and sent her off CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 41

under a very efficient man, the coxswain, to render all possible assistance. There was, at this moment, a mist lying over the Bay, and all sight of the capsized boat was lost, and as there was not the slightest possibility of seeing her at any distance from the boat I despatched, I remained on board the ‘Janet’ to look out for the lost boat, and to give such directions as to where she was by signals to my crew, as circumstances would permit. I sent the cook into the fore-rigging to look out, remaining myself up on the poop ; by the aid of the glass I speedily discovered, at a distance of at least two miles, what I conceived to be the main mast of the boat, about a foot out of the water, the rolling of the sea giving me occasionally a glimpse of what I concluded to be the heads of several persons raised slightly above the waves. The unfortunate men were almost instantly caught sight of by my crew, and the boat’s head directed to the spot. At this moment a ship’s crew under sail and running for the beach was hailed by my coxswain ; she lowered sail, and followed in the wake of the Argus' boat. However, as the hailed boat was pulling only two oars, whilst the one I had despatched was manned with four, the latter was close to the sunken boat and had taken one or two parties aboard before the former got up. At this time three of the persons in the water were clinging to the gunwale of my boat, and the coxswain, seeing the Rev. Mr. O’Hea and Mr. Barlow floating, sent the other to pick them up, which was done. Six individuals were taken from the sunken boat into that of the Argus, and at once conveyed to the ‘Janet.’ Unfortunately the parties who had picked up Mr. Barlow pulled to the beach, and thus occupied more time than would have been consumed had she made direct for the ‘ Janet.’ During the time this assistance was being rendered, I had large fires made up in the galley and cabin ; boiling water was in readiness before the boat came alongside, and blankets and every necessary were at hand that are usually required in cases of this description. The whole of the six brought to the ‘ Janet ’ were much exhausted, with the exception of Mr. Paterson ; so much so, that we had to haul them on deck by means of a line. Mr. Highett, Mr. Russell, and Capt. Harrison were much prostrated ; 42 CRIME AND CRIMINALS. indeed the latter gentleman was so much exhausted, that, although I had been rubbing him with a coarse towel for some time near the region of the heart, I deemed it advisable to send for medical assist­ ance, and Dr. Plummer quickly attended. Happily the sufferers by this time were going on as well as I could have hoped for under all circumstances. The whole of my boat’s crew, with commendable alacrity, did all in their power by rubbing, &c., to give relief to those whom they had so praiseworthily rescued from what riiust inevitably have been in a few minutes, without their timely assistance, a watery grave.” This is, I believe, the most correct account that has been given of this sad accident, which resulted in the death of a valuable public servant. The upsetting of a boat, and often the loss of all the crew are of common occurrence, but the heroic courage and presence of mind of the Rev. Dean O’Hea, have added an interest to this sad affair, which for many years kept the story alive among mariners in Hobson’s Bay. When the boat upset the rev. gentleman. had on a heavy pair of boots and overcoat, so with great presence of mind he said a few cheering words to those struggling in the water, and seeing no hope by clinging to the boat, he soon divested himself of his boots and overcoat, and at once struck out for St. Kilda, about a mile and a half distant, which he reached after a desperate struggle with the waves, which were running high at the time. The rev. gentleman was well known for his personal courage and activity in danger, and when asked by a friend in after years if he did not feel afraid of the sharks he replied in his usual jocular manner, UI knew they would respect the cloth.” There was another gentleman, Captain Harrison, P.M., R.N.* whose early career as an officer in the Royal Navy is connected with an important historical event. He was a midshipman on board the “ Bellerophon,” when Napoleon I. surrendered to Captain Maitland. He came to Victoria in 1851, and was for many years police magistrate at Castlemaine, and subsequently visiting justice to the Pentridge Stockade. In the year 1882 I was introduced to him in Collins Street, Melbourne ; at that period he had long passed the CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 43

age allotted to man, but he still possessed all the dignity and appearance of a British officer. I was so struck with his eventful public life that I wrote the following short narrative for one of the Melbourne papers at the time “ From the length of time that has elapsed it may be presumed there are but few persons still living who have seen the first [Napoleon, or what would still be more remarkable, who have conversed with him when in the zenith of his power, or when a prisoner under the flag of England. To find one who had this dis­ tinguished honor in the Antipodes, in the full enjoyment of good health, is perhaps an isolated case in the great continent of Australia. There is at present in Melbourne a Captain Harrison, who was a midshipman on board the 4 Bellerophon ’ at the time the fallen emperor surrendered to Captain Maitland. Although he had, but a few days before, witnessed the destruction of an army that had marched over all the military powers of the age, and the fall of an empire greater than that ever raised by the hand of a single man, on the . plains of Waterloo, he was still conversant, and even agreeable with the sailors, while the officers could not but feel admiration for the man 44 Whose game was empires, and whose stakes were thrones; Whose table, earth ; whose dice were human bones.” Captain Harrison still retains a vivid recollection of the great [Napoleon, and his conversations with the officers and the interest he took in the management of a British man-of-war, that arm of England’s defence which had a few years before, under Lord [Nelson swept the French flag from the seas, and which was subsequently one of the causes which exiled him on the rock of St. Helena.” Captain Harrison lived to over 80 years of age, and has left behind him the reputation of being one of the most upright magistrates that ever sat on the Victorian bench. There were prisoners at Pentridge in those days, many of them remarkable for their daring deeds of crime as bushrangers, not only in this colony but also in Van Pieman's Land. There were others who, from long incarceration, had acquired the art of cunning which 44 CRIME AND CRIMINALS. they applied and oftener carried out with that surprising success which baffles all the detective abilities of the most experienced officers over convicts. I may here mention that it was one of Mr. Price’s peculiar characteristics, if possible, never to be outdone by either bond or free, by word or deed, but whenever he was outwitted, he was honorable enough to admit it, and to forgive even serious offences. As an illustration of this class of prisoners, there was one whose grandfather was among the first batch of convicts that landed at Botany Bay, on the 26th day of January, 1788. He is described as being a man of astute habits, and after his emancipation had acquired a considerable fortune. His property was divided among his children, all of whom he stated, prospered in life, except the father of the prisoner, the subject of this anecdote. After having squandered his portion of his father’s property, he commenced bushranging, and was sentenced to a long term of imprisonment. When he was liberated he settled down in Sydney, and commenced business as a hawker, by which he obtained a scanty living for his family, numbering seven children. But one of his sons appears to have been destined for a criminal life, for after committing a series of crimes in Sydney, he was ultimately sent to Norfolk Island for seven year3, but before he had completed his term of servitude he was removed to Yan Dieman’s Land. In 1851 he obtained his freedom and came to Victoria, shortly before the discovery of the goldfields. As labour was scarce, and the sub­ ject of this narrative too indolent to obtain work, he commenced horse stealing. In 1852 he was arrested and sentenced to eight years on the roads. He was sent to Pentridge to serve his sentence, but was constantly in trouble for having tobacco, which in those days was considered a serious offence, and frequently received an additional term to his sentence of from 10 to 20 days’ solitary confinement. He used to conceal the tobacco in the soles of his shoes, and also to cut it in small pieces and place it in the waistband of his trousers. How he obtained the tobacco was always a mystery, but he said he would have it, let the consequence be what it would After Mr. Price was appointed Inspector-general, he was determined, if possible, to CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 45 solve this mystery ; not so much with the object of finding out how he got the tobacco, but how he managed to conceal it. On one occasion he was sentenced to 10 days’ solitary confinement for some breach of the prison regulations. The solitary cells at this period numbered eight, and were constructed of slabs of timber placed on the ends. There were small crevices by which a mouse could visit this abode of solitude, and the involuntary occupant of this chamber of silence would share a few crumbs of his scanty allowance of bread with a mouse who had from custom learned to emerge from his hiding place. Before the prisoner was placed in the cell Mr. Price had every part carefully searched, his clothing changed, and every means adopted to prevent him from having tobacco. The following is the account I subsquently wrote of this anecdote :—“ There is an amusing story related of a prisoner and a mouse in one of the gaols in England, in which the inmate of a felon’s cell formed an attachment to one of the little creatures, which of all others are of so little use to man in household affairs. But there was a still more singular story told of a prisoner and a mouse at the Pentridge Stockade some years ago. The facts of the case are illustrative of what a mouse can be taught, and also the strange devices convicts adopt to secure tobacco when undergoing punishment, and secluded from the world. At the time the late Mr. John Price was Inspector-general, there was a prisoner who was considered one of the most ‘ artful dodgers ’ among the men. On one occasion he was in solitary confinement, and it was known that he had tobacco, which if detected, would subject the offender to additional punishment. Every means were tried to find out how he got the tobacco, and he was constantly searched. In case he might have it concealed in his clothing, that was constantly changed, but all to no purpose, and the officers were baffled in their object. In those days the solitary cells were of the most primitive architectural design, being constructed of rough pieces of timber placed on the ends. One morning Mr. Price visited the cells, and placing his glass to his eye, as was his usual custom, scanned the prisoner for a few moments, and said, ‘ Come, man, tell me where you have got the 46 CRIME AND CRIMINALS. tobacco and you will not be punished V ‘All right, sir/ replied he, at the same time opening a small crevice in the wall of his cell he gave a low whistle, when to the surprise of those who stood by, out walked a mouse with a piece of tobacco tied to its tail. At a given signal the faithful mouse, quite unconscious of the service it was rendering to the prisoner, would instantly disappear to its hiding place again. Mr. Price kept his word with the man, who was per­ mitted during the remainder of his time to enjoy the companionship of his mouse in a solitary cell.” There is also another story told of a prisoner at Norfolk Island, at the time when Mr. Price was military commandant there. It appears that a prisoner who had been for several years on the island, was employed driving bullocks from the forest with wood for the station, and Mr. Price knew well that this man was never without tobacco. He was constantly searched at the station, stopped on the road and subjected to the same treatment, but nothing could be found that would enlighten the officials as to where the tobacco was secreted. But Mr. Price was determined to ascer­ tain the place of concealment. He accordingly placed two figs of tobacco in the bush, where the prisoner was likely to find them. The man was carefully watched, and was seen to pick them up and put them in his pocket. As soon as he returned to the station with his team of bullocks, Mr. Price had him searched, but to the surprise of all, no tobacco could be found. It was also observed that there was no place to conceal it, either about the waggon or the wood, and Mr. Price had to admit the superior devices and low cunning dis­ played by the prisoner. At last Mr. Price, putting the glass to his eye, and surveying the old bullock driver, said, “ Come, John, tell me where the tobacco is, and I will forgive you.” The next moment the prisoner stepped up to one of the old bullocks, and putting his hand up the side of its mouth, he pulled out a piece of cloth in which was wrapped the two figs of tobacco. Mr. Price, afterwards, never permitted any of the officials to interfere with this man during the time that he was on the island. The prisoner subsequently explained to Mr. Price that he had trained the bullock to carry tobacco as described. The following incident was related to me by CRIME AND CRIMINALS.' 47 an ex-warder named Brown, who was stationed at the Collingwood Stockade, and employed as clerk in the superintendent’s office. Shortly after Mr. Price was appointed Inspector-general, a rush was made by prisoners at Collingwood, in which one of them wa3 shot, and Mr. Brown Avas sent with a despatch to Mr. Price at Pentridge, informing him of the occurrence. When he arrived at the station, he was directed to the back of the Inspector-general’s quarters, and there he espied a person sitting, tailor-like, under the verandah. Without waiting to take a proper view of the individual, who aj>peared quite absorbed in his work, Mr. Brown said in a colonial­ like fashion, “ Say, old fellow, can you tell me where Mr. Price is ? ” The tailor-like person looked up in a careless manner and said, “ What do you want the old fellow for ? ” “ Oh! ” said Mr. Brown on perceiving his mistake, “I beg your pardon, sir.” “Never mind my pardon,” said Mr. Price, for it was he, “What do you want? ” Brown stepped forward and handed the despatch, and so the interview ended. The next day when Mr. Price went to Collingwood, Brown was writing in the office. Placing the glass to his eyes, he said, “ I say, old fellow, what are you doing here? ” “ Well,” said Brown, “ I am assisting in the clerical work whenever my services are required.” “Don’t you think,” said Mr. Price, “that there are some of the warders who could do the work as well as you?” “I am quite certain of it,” replied Brown, “ and much better than I can.” “ How is that? ” said Mr. Price. “Because,” replied Brown, “I have only a plain educa­ tion, and there are some of the warders who have received a superior one.” Mr. Price smiled in a manner that conveyed his approval of Brown’s honest replies, which prevented Mr. Price from turning him out of the office. Had Brown said that he was the only warder that could do the work, in all probability Mr. Price would have replied, “Well, I can find a man that will do the work ; you may go on warder’s duty.” Mr. Price would frequently dismiss officials at a moment’s notice, and often without any formal enquiry into the merits of their cases. In some instances the parties were the cause of their own punishment, and Mr. Price only acted towards them as they intended 48 CRIME AND CRIMINALS. to have acted towards others. An instance of this occurred in the following manner :—One day Mr. Price visited the Richmond Stockade, the storekeeper at which place was allowed the assistance of a warder named S------in the clerical work whenever there was a pressure of business. This warder had, for some time, endeavoured to usurp the position of the storekeeper by making underhand com­ plaints against him to the superintendent. Mr. Price was aware o f these reports, and considered they were subversive of a proper system of discipline. On the day in question the warder, in the absence of the storekeeper, told Mr. Price there was only sufficient work for one person, and in proof of his assertion he said that he was half his time idle. “All right,” said Mr Price, “ you are discharged from the service, as I do not want idle persons about the station, for they show a bad example to others.” This episode has been often quoted against Mr. Price, as unnecessary severity, but the impartial mind, which weighs all the facts of the case, will pronounce the common judgment that the “ fox was caught in his own trap.” Another instance of Mr. Price’s peculiar turn of mind may be related here :—One morning, shortly after the gangs had commenced work, it was observed that the prisoners were surveying the chain of sentries which surrounded the prison. A warder, who had lieen a soldier in his early days, was stationed in rather a responsible posi­ tion, not far from where a gang of prisoners were at work. A large hawk happening to pass over his head, at a considerable height, the warder raised his rifle, and with unerring aim sent a ball into the terror of the feathered tribe, and the next moment it fell from its serial height close to the warder’s feet. Of course, there was a great commotion on the station; the guard turned out, as it was expected that there was a rush of prisoners, and Mr. Price was the first person who arrived at the place. He at once enquired why the shot was fired, and he was referred to a warder who was coolly pacing back­ wards and forwards on his post. Mr. Price was struck with the quiet demeanour of the man, and asked him how he came to discharge his rifle without orders ? The warder replied, “ I saw the blackguards looking at me, and I thought they were going to run away, and so I CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 49 only wanted to show them what they might expect if they made the attempt, and to let them see what I could do with a riHe, and I can assure you, sir, while I am here, a man of them will never attempt to pass my post.” It would be difficult to know which Mr. Price admired most, the accuracy of the man’s shot or his coolness in the matter. With a shake of his head Mr. Price said, “ All right, but mind, if you had missed the hawk I would have dismissed you on the spot.” In August of this year Pentridge was kept in a state of excite­ ment by the frequent attempts of some daring convict to escape. Prominent among the number was the notorious Christopher Farrell,, who was undergoing a sentence of 10 years for highway robbery under arms. On the 29th August he escaped from the works, but was re-arrested and sentenced to 100 lashes. Nothing daunted by this punishment, he again made the attempt in November of the same year, but was unsuccessful, and he was ordered to be placed in heavy irons and sent to the hulks in Hobson’s Bay. After he was liberated from Pentridge he went to New South Wales, and was sentenced to a long term of imprisonment in that colony. At this period, Pentridge and Collingwood Stockades were almost daily furnishing illustrations of their unsuitableness for the safe custody of prisoners, and the hulks were full of the long- sentenced men. This state of things was bad enough, but with the increase of the worst classes of crime throughout all parts of the colony, it was found necessary to increase the accommodation at Pentridge, particulars of which I shall now give, and the system of discipline adopted at that time. Among the most noticeable, and. not amongst the least singular, of the many structures that have done duty as prison houses in this quarter of the world, in the earlier days, this prison takes a foremost place. Although there was- nothing in its external appearance that was in accordance with the modern style of architecture, or in any way designed to represent works* of art of other nations, it was called in derision, the “ Crystal Palace,”' and by that title it will be transmitted to futurity. From the in­ formation I could collect, it was designed and built by Mr. Price,, 50 CRIME AND CRIMINALS. with the object of keeping the convicts in safe custody, and also utilising their labour to the best advantage, namely, in quarrying bluestone for building purposes. However, it became a standing monument of the style of architecture prevailing at the time in con­ nection with colonial prisons, and was representative of the system of prison discipline in the earlier days of the colony of Victoria. Up to this period our colonial legislators did not appear to have entertained the idea of any feasible scheme for the reformation of criminals, but this was, however, in a few years afterwards, successfully accomplished by the able administration of Colonel Champ. During the long period that had elapsed since the first introduction of convicts to this part of the world, no attempt appears to have been made to •encourage their possible reformation. In those days everything con­ nected with prison discipline was made subservient to the one idea of keeping them secure from the outer world. With rude prisons like the “ Crystal Palace,” it was impossible to have introduced, with any degree of success, a system of classification. The prisoners worked in chains, they slept in chains, and they were fed in chains. Their moral condition was something disgraceful, as no clergyman of any •denomination ever visited the prison, and their minds evidently contained but two ideas, which were, how to escape from bondage, and how to procure tobacco ? The “ Palace ” was commenced in the beginning of the year 1854, and opened for the reception of prisoners on the 25th of November in the same year. It was situated about 150 yards from the main establishment, and in the highest spot of ground in the vicinity of the station. It was built where, in subsequent years, the first model prison, the great panop­ ticon, was erected by that most competent of all prison officers, ’Colonel Champ. Besides this, the site has an important historical association, for aborigines had previously made this very spot their chief camping ground, and occupied it as such until 1851, when the great wave of English goldseekers swept them from the locality. Here they celebrated their wild corrobborees, their war dance and other amusements. Here, also, are bu:ied some of their chiefs, without a stone to mark the spot, the representatives of an almost CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 51 extinct race, whose unwritten history would, perhaps, be but of little interest to mankind, beyond the fact of the mysterious arrivals of their ancestors on the shores of this continent, which will for ever remain a mere matter of speculation. This movable stockade, or the “Crystal Palace,” will always be inseparable from the history of the Penal Department, as it was built during one of the most eventful and exciting periods in the history of the colony. Foremost among the remarkable events of the day were the Ballarat riots, when the inhabitants of that town nobly defended their civil rights against the aggressive policy of the Government of the day. Shortly after the “ Palace” was opened Mr. Lalor collected his army of civilians at the Eureka Stockade, and a battle was fought with the soldiers of the 40th regiment, which terminated so dis­ astrously for those engaged, but ultimately so gloriously for the rights of the diggers. It was anticipated at the time that the prisoners who were taken, if found guilty, would be sent to Pentridge. In the event of this taking place it was intended by Mr. Price to have some of them confined at the “ Palace,” while others would be sent to the hulks in Hobson’s Bay, for which purpose the “ Sacra­ mento” was brought up from Geelong. The “Palace” was certainly a most unsightly and repulsive building. The walls were constructed of hardwood planks, 1^ inch in thickness, and 12 feet in height. These were supported from the outside by a strong framework of timber, and to add to its gloomy appearance it was painted black externally, so as to make it, as indeed it was, a terror to the convict element. In connection with the “ Palace” there were four platforms for the sentries, so placed as to command an entire view of the interior, when the prisoners were at labour. The space enclosed within the walls was in the shape of a quadrangle, and covered about two acres of ground. But the most objectionable part of this prison, from a moral point of view, was the sleeping accommodation, which consisted of eight huts of the most primitive style of workmanship, and quite in character with the remainder of the prison arrangements. These huts were 14 feet long, 12 feet wide, and were built upon wheels. They were supposed 52 CRIME AND CRIMINALS. to be capable of accommodating 84 persons in all, but the number seldom came up to that figure. The prisoners' slept in hammocks, in two tiers, one above the other, like bunks in a' cabin on board a vessel. At the end were spy-holes, so as to allow the sentries to view, the interior of the huts at any time. As may be supposed, the dis­ cipline was very severe at the “Palace,” and in many respects this could not well be avoided, though it would not be tolerated in a more- enlightened age with proper prisons for this class of criminals. But it must be remembered that there were, within these walls, some of the most dangerous criminals that were to be found in any part of the British dominions. Still it must be admitted that there was, in some instances, unnecessary severity shown towards them, which crushed out the last spark of humanity, and endowed them with the ferocity and remorselessness of tigers. . The rules and regulations, as may be supposed, were very strict, and were enforced in some cases with what must be admitted undue severity. The slightest dereliction of discipline was punished with either solitary confinement or additional imprisonment, and never, perhaps, was a prison in the Australian colonies opened under more unfavorable auspices than was the “Crystal Palace” in 1854. Here were the long-sentenced prisoners, who in many cases had but little regard for the lives of those who held them under control, so long as they could accomplish their own ends. The only dread to the convicts in those days was the warders’ rifles, which, on the first appearance of insubordination or attempt at escape, were pointed at them from the platform, with orders to make their fire sure and with deadly effect. Notwithstanding, however, all the artificial means that were adopted for the safe custody of the prisoners, it required the vigilance of the officers and warders by day and night to limit their portion of this earth to the four walls of this prison. Here were to be seen men from Norfolk Island, Van Pieman’s Land, New South Wales, and South and West Australia, the majority of whom had spent the greater portion of their lives in prison; here also, as Carlyle would say, could be formed the “ Devil’-s regiment of the line,” as many of them bore on their bodies the ‘ CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 53 terrible effects of floggings ; others had contracted deformities from the constant practice of wearing heavy irons on their legs, while some bore the marks of gun-shot wounds, probably received in some bushranging exploit with the police, or in attempting to escape from legal custody in some of the other colonies. The notorious “ Gipsy Smith,” one of the most remarkable prisoners, was confined at Pentridge at this period, and also F. Clarke, who had spent over forty years in prison. In the same ranks were to be seen the bushranger Morgan, one of the most bloodthirsty villains that can be found in the long catalogue of criminals of Victoria. In many cases the blessings of freedom were almost unknown to these men, because they had entered prison before they had arrived at man’s estate, and the consequence was that when set at liberty they were totally unfit to battle with the difficulties of what was a new world to them, so that nearly all returned to a criminal life again and terminated their days in prison. But there was one, a mere youth, whose future career of crime, and remarkable genius as a sculptor, will subsequently have special reference. As may be supposed with men who were shut out from all social intercourse with the world outside, their manners and conversa­ tion were in unison witli their whole character. When at labor the strict discipline kept them within the bounds of decorum, but when assembled together or in their huts, their conversation was a rehearsal of crime committed in times past, or suggestions as to how some terrible crime could be accomplished, no matter if it involved the loss of human life or not. Many a long night have the warders listened to the prisoners, who, seated on the side of their hammocks, would relate to their comrades the particulars of some dreadful deed com­ mitted in some of the other colonies, or in the earlier days of the goldfields in Victoria. If some of these hideous stories were collected in a volume it would give to the world the darkest chapter in the history of these colonies. Here could be heard the often told adventures on the goldfields ; how some unfortunate digger was stuck up and robbed of his gold on his way to Melbourne, or, perhaps, 54 CRIME AND CRIMINALS. murdered in the silent hours of the night, his absence from the world causing .no anxiety or enquiry. Another would give an account of life in Melbourne; how men were robbed in the public streets in day­ light, while passers-by were afraid to render assistance for fear of sharing the same fate. Another would follow with the description of a long night of debauchery in Melbourne ; how they went to the theatre, and, in the excitement of the times, how they threw their nuggets on the stage, some of the party being finally arrested, and sentenced to long terms of imprisonment for offences common in those days. Some of these crimes would be worthy of record, as they illustrate the state of the people at that period, caused by the facility with which the precious metal was obtained and its unappreciated value. There is a frightful incident related by a well-known prisoner at the “Palace”:—One dreary winter’s night he appeared to interest hi* comrades in the hut, by relating how he had murdered his mate for his money on the diggings. He said he had no personal dislike to his victim, and they were always on the best of terms ; but as he wanted money he was determined to have it at any cost. They had accumulated a considerable amount of gold, and were returning to Melbourne to enjoy the fruits of their hard labor on the goldfields. When they had reached a lonely part of the forest he watched a favorable opportunity, and shot his mate from behind with a revolver; he then made a fire and burnt the body, so as to destroy all traces of identification.— . “ He calmly talked and yet he talked of blood.” While he was relating the details of this terrible deed, his comrades appeared to enjoy the tale, and some would interject remarks such as, “ How fortunate he was to have escaped detection,” which to them appeared the most interesting portion of the narrative. But the scene in the hut was calculated to make an indelible impres­ sion on the minds of the warders, not easily to be forgotten. There was the dim glimmer from the lamps, just sufficient to reveal the faces of men who were saturated with crime from their youth, and when the conversation became too loud, the sentry would knock at the side of the hut and call “silence.” Next would follow some un- CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 55 mentionable epithet, hurled against the sentry who had incurred their displeasure by discharging his duty. While this scene was being enacted, some of the prisoners would crawl under the lower hammocks to have a smoke, at the same time others of them endeavoured to attract the warders’ attention elsewhere. The following is an account of a night spent at the “ Palace ” by a warder :—“ There were three sentinals on duty from 5 p.m. to midnight. This was in June, 1855, and -the night was cold and rainy, the wind roaring as it spent its force against the sides of these dens of crime, and the chains rattling on the prisoners’ legs as they moved in their hammocks. They occasionally started from sleep, as if they fancied they were engaged in some deeds of crime in the world of reality, but were roused from their slumbers, only to find that they still wore their chains, and that the outer w >rld was a blank to them. “Every hour (says the narrator) we had to make a careful examination of the exterior of the huts, and in connection witli this duty we had to go down on our knees and with a bull’s eye lamp- inspect the floors of same, which were about two feet from the ground,, in order to see that the prisoners were not cutting their way through,, and while performing this duty, the rain was descending on our heads in torrents. At 8 p.m. the ‘ silence bell. ’ was rung, and then each sentry, taking the time from the officer of the watch, gave the num­ ber of his ‘post,’ with the concluding ‘All’s well.’ “Shortly before 11 p.m., one of the warders remarked that it would be a favourable night for the prisoners to make an attempt to ‘ cut out ’ of the huts, and, to ascertain if all were right, a warder looked attentively through the spy-hole. He observed that blankets were hanging over the side of one of the hammocks, and also that they extended to the floor, and he at once expressed his suspicions to his comrades that there was something wrong going on in the hut.. On taking a second glance into the ‘ Chamber of Horrors,’ he noticed some of the prisoners cautiously peeping from under their blankets,, and also that they had on a portion of their clothing. Besides these indications another warder remarked that the usual rattling of the 56 CRIME AND CRIMINALS. chains worn by the prisoners had ceased. There was also something more than the usual hideous countenances as they exhibited their half-covered faces, while steadfastly looking at the spy-holes, to see if the warders had them under observation. “On perceiving this state of things, a warder happened to look under the hut, when he saw a faint ray of light, and in making a closer observation he found that a hole had been cut in the floor, sufficiently large to admit the body of a man. The word was passed to the main station, and a guard of warders was soon in attendance. The door of the hut was opened, when it was found that most of the prisoners were dressed and ready to make their exit through the aperture. Those who were in chains had strips of their blankets wrapped round the iron, so as to deaden the sound, and several of them were armed with different kinds of weapons. It was therefore evident that their intentions were to have murdered the sentries, and then to have effected their escape. This must at least be surmised, as they were all of the worst class of criminals, and were shortly afterwards transferred to the 4 Hulks ’ to complete their sentences.” This narrative was related to me by Mr. Mattie, who was an officer at the “Palace” at that time, and I believe it to be quite correct. As none of the officials belonging to other portions of the establishment were permitted to interfere in the management of the “ Palace ” or discipline of the prisoners, Mr. Price visited it every morning, when he heard any complaints from the prisoners, and dictated the mode of punishment for the delinquents. Sometimes he • would stop and converse with any of the prisoners who desired to see him, and on one occasion, when he was inspecting the “ Palace,” he visited a notorious character named Patrick McGuire, who was then confined in a “solitary” cell for some misconduct. This man had torn up all his blankets into narrow strips, and was coolly sitting in a corner of his cell, apparently quite unconcerned about the matter. Mr. Price asked him why he had done it, and McGuire replied “For you to stick up------.” “ All, right, Paddy,” said Mr Price, “ but mind you will not get another blanket since you have thought proper CRIME AND CRIMINALS, 57

"to destroy the one you had, but I will give you a needle and thread, and if you don’t sew the strips together, I will punish you again.” The following day Mr. Price visited the “ Palace ” to see what progress Paddy had made in his new avocation, and when he entered the cell Paddy was sitting quite composed in the corner. Mr. Price said, “Well, have you mended your blankets as I ordered you?” 4 Oh! yes,” replied Paddy, “here they are! ” and with words suited to the action, he held up a bundle of strips, the ends of which wxre sewn together, and if in a straight line would extend over 300 yards. “ I told you to sew the blankets together,” said Mr. Price. “ So I have, sir,” replied Paddy. Mr. Price was anxious to punish the prisoner for so serious an offence, still he could not help feeling a little amused at the cool manner of the man, and accordingly forgave liim. McGuire was certainly one of the greatest scoundrels that ever donned the prison uniform, as the following incident will illustrate :— One day he had a dispute with another prisoner named McCabe (the prison barber), and Corporal Mattie advised the sergeant not to put them in the same hut during the night, as there was an ill- feeling existing between them which might lead to serious conse­ quences. The sergeant, however, appeared to think differently, and the men were accordingly locked up in the same hut. Shortly after 11 p.m. McGuire got up, and while McCabe lay asleep in his ham­ mock, McGuire bit his nose off. There being no medical man nearer than Melbourne, the resident dispenser, with the assistance of Corporal Mattie, stitched on the nose, which still hung by a piece •of skin, and the injured portion of the nose ultimately united with the sound part. There was an offence which was very common at this period, and which Mr. Price was compelled to punish with severity. This was, whenever there was a combination among a number of prisoners to attempt to escape, or had designs against the authorities, and on more than one occasion a departure form the ordinary mode of punishment had to be adopted. One day a small hammer and chisel were missing, and it was suspected that some of the prisoners were cognisant of the fact. A 58 CRIME AND CRIMINALS. careful search of the works had been made for the missing articles,, but without success. It was, therefore, evident to the officials that the tools were taken by the prisoners, with the object of cutting their way out of the huts at night, and perhaps murdering the sentries in endeavoring to escape. The matter was reported to Mr. Price, who- at once gave orders that all the prisoners should be locked up in the- huts until the tools concealed were given up. As there appeared to be no inclination on the part of the- prisoners to divulge the secret, they were all accordingly locked up in the huts and placed on short allowance of rations, those who were in light irons being put in heavy ones, and those who had not previously worn them were placed in light ones. During the contest* in which the authorities were determined to uphold the discipline of the prison at all hazards, the prisoners swore vengeance against the officials so soon as they were released ; but Mr. Price stood firm* although the prison had become like a besieged fortress. He said he would keep them locked up for a month if the missing articles were not produced. At length one of the prisoners offered to find them if he was let out. This request was granted, and the hammer and chisel were discovered in the cook house. Although the prisoners were very defiant in their manner before being locked up, yet at the end of the week they showed quite a different disposition. This system Mr. Price felt compelled to adopt for the safe custody of the prisoners, but the punishment was con­ sidered severe and unjust by a certain portion of the community* who, alo.it this period, roused public opinion against his adminis tration. However, when it is considered that had this desperate- band of the lowest class of criminals broken out of prison, and travelled the country to rob and murder unoffending people—as no­ doubt they would have done—would not the loss of one of these have been of far greater consequence to society than the punishment inflicted on those convicts, and which they brought upon themselves, by their own misconduct. There was also another mode of punishment adopted by Mr. Price at the “ Palace” and which is mentioned by his opponents as- CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 5$> one reason why he was disqualified for the position of Inspector- General of penal establishments in Victoria. It gave rise to the most exaggerated statements, not only at the' time, but it has fixed a stigma on his public character which can never be effaced. The facts are thus related to me by Mr. Mattie :—Whenever any of the prisoners became refractory and unmanageable, Mr, Price would chain them either to a large stone or to the wrheels of the huts. With reference to this stone, in the year 1882 it was still to be seen, with a large bolt in the centre, at the quarries in the reserve, which caused me to write at the time the following account for one of the daily papers:—“There is a remarkable relic in the form of a stone at the Pentridge Stockade, which has an important historical significance in connection with the early days of the department, not only from the fact that it was at one time used as an instrument of punishment for refractory convicts, but because it was connected with the administration of the late Mr. John Price, over a quarter of a century ago. This stone is nearly a ton weight, flat on one side, and with a bolt in the centre about 18 inches in length. Although of unsightly appearance, it will long remain an interesting relic of bygone days, and will also illustrate the revolution that has taken place in the discipline of convicts since that period. The stone was first used at the old ‘Crystal Palace,’ where the worst class of convicts were confined, and it was intended to subdue some of the more insubordinate when other means had failed. The mode of punishment was as follows :—The stone was placed close to one of the wooden huts, the prisoner being chained to one of the wheels and fastened behind to the bolt. In this position he was kept until he promised to conform to the rules of the establishment, and whenever this promise was made the prisoner was at once released. There is one prisoner at Pentridge at the present time (1882) who, it is said, sat upon the stone during the greater part of nine months, and is the last of that class of prisoners in the department.’' I have had two other accounts of this singular mode of punish­ ment, one being from the Rev. Dean O’Hea, who was the Roman Catholic Chaplain at Pentridge Stockade at the time. ^ “ One 60 CRIME AMD CRIMINALS.

morning,” said the rev. gentleman, “ I met Mr. Price going to make his daily visit to the 4 Palace.’ He said, 4 Come with me I want to speak to these prisoners in your presence.’ When we arrived at the place where a notorious prisoner was chained to one of the wheels of the hut, Mr. Price said, ‘ How, Father O’Hea, I wish to speak to this man before you as a clergyman.’ Then, turning to the man, he said, 4 Will you promise before Father O’Hea, to go to work and conduct yourself properly for the future ?. If so, I will have you re­ leased immediately ; for would it not be advisable to complete your ^ sentence as soon as possible, and so be your own master again ? Then you could have good beefsteak and onions for breakfast, instead of being chained to that wheel.’ This advice was declined by the prisoner, who used most insulting language to Mr. Price, when the latter said, 4 How, Father O’Hea, what am I to do with prisoners of this kind ; it is not my wish to be unnecessarily severe with them, but in my position as head of the department, I must not allow any of them to conquer me ? 7~ Qy-'How it must be presumed from what transpired at this inter­ view, in the presence of a clergyman, that Mr. Price was actuated by no cruel motives towards prisoners ; and the suggestion with regard to the breakfast was, perhaps, an awkward way of conveying —though very illustrative—the. means by which this convict could more speedily obtain the blessings of freedom. fC/ Mr. Mattie, who was a sergeant at the time, has also given me a more detailed account of this affair. He says he has seen as many as fourteen prisoners chained to the wheels of the huts and the stone at one time. Every morning Mr. Price would visit the 44 Palace,” and as he passed by the prisoners, he would place the glass to his eye and scan each one in succession. There was one of them named John Proctor, a sailor, and Mr. Price would occasionally stop in front of this man, addressing him thus :—44 Well, Jack, there is a southerly wind in the bread-basket this morning.” This is a nautical phrase in use among sailors at sea, when short of the staff of life. At interviews of this kind there was always an abundance of 44 choice slang ” made use of on both sides, but nevertheless Mr. Price CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 61

would endeavour to leave an impression on the minds of the men, that it was simply their own conduct which caused them to be placed in so degraded a position. It may be conjectured that posterity will hardly justify these actions of the Inspector-General, but when the numerous difficulties that surrounded the institution are considered, and when it is remembered that he held almost supreme control during an un­ paralleled period in the history of this colony, the generous critic will pronounce the common judgment that after all he was only a son of “ Adam.” At this period a very trivial incident would throw the station into a state of alarm, and then the first thing was to rush to arms. On one occasion a case of this kind occurred at the “ Palace,” which was very nearly ending disastrously for one of Mr. Price’s cows, which no doubt was quite unconscious that she had incurred the suspicion of one of the officers, who mistook her in the darkness of the night for a number of discharged prisoners that he supposed were coming to 44stick up” the “Palace.” To understand the facts of this rather amusing affair, I must mention that the quarters occupied by the officials at the 44 Palace” were contiguous to the outer walls, and not far from the residence of the Inspector-General. For months previous to this incident it was rumoured that an attack of this kind would be made on the place. One night Sergeant McEvoy returned from leave about midnight, but unfortunately he had indulged in too much stimulant which had quite upset his mind, consequently his head was filled with all sorts of tragic events, over which he had been pondering during the day. On the night in question he entered his quarters in a state of great excitement and commenced to grope about for his firearms. Mr. Mattie who was sleeping in the room adjoining, happened to hear him talking to himself about 44 the slaughter he was going to make among the ruffians, ” as he called them. Mr. Mattie then asked him what was the matter—44 Why,” said the sergeant in a low whisper, 44dom it mon, there’s a gang of ‘ discharged prisoners outside going to stick up the place, but if I can find my revolver I will have tlie first shot!”' 62 CRIME AND CRIMINALS.

Mr. Mattie, who was a cool-headed man, told the sergeant not to fire, as it might be Mr. Price taking a walk round the station to see if all was right. The sergeant in reply, said “Mr. Mattie, just open the door quietly and as soon as they come near, I will slaughter some of them.” On opening the door Mr. Mattie saw a dusky object at a short distance away. “There’s one of them,” said the sergeant; “let me blow out his brains.” Mr. Mattie could hardly refrain from laughing, as he suspected the cause of the alarm, so taking up a small stone he threw it at the object, when a favorite cow belonging to Mr. Price moved away into the darkness of the night. There were always some sensational reports in circulation about the “ Palace ;” either a rush was contemplated, some of the officers were to be assaulted, or some incorrigible prisoners were to be sent to the hulks to complete their sentences. With such a class of convicts it required a peculiar selection of officials, not only to maintain dis­ cipline, but also to get as much work as possible out of the prisoners. The two principal officers from 1855 to 18G2 were Sergeant Mattie and Overseer Kilmartin ; the former possessed considerable judg­ ment and coolness in the management of prisoners, while the latter was remarkable for his strength and activity of body, and also for the extraordinary amount of work he returned to the department, whicli no other overseer would attempt to accomplish.. These two officers were responsible to the Inspector-General alone for their actions. If a warder was sent to the main depot by the senior chief warder to assist Sergeant Mattie, and the sergeant considered him unsuitable, he was immediately sent back and another applied for. A case of this kind occurred in 1856. Sergeant Mattie required a “ special ” warder, that is one whose duty was to assist the overseer in the various workings of the gangs, and also to protect that officer from assault. The senior chief warder (Mr. Gardner) sent to the sergeant a warder named B------, who had only joined the department a few days previously, and who was dressed in plain clothes. This man had formerly been a sergeant in the Irish con­ stabulary, and it was said that during his term of service he had oaused the dismissal of about 150 men. At any rate, as soon as he CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 68

"was admitted within the walls of Pentridge, he was recognised by several of the warders who knew his antecedents in the Emerald Isle. Daring our limited acquaintance I formed the opinion that lie was one of the most detestable characters I ever met. This man the senior chief warder selected and sent to the “ Palace.” When he had reported himself to Sergeant Mattie, he did not forget to remind the sergeant that he was specially selected for that important •duty. The sergeant glanced hurriedly at the man, who was already assuming an arrogant air, and said, “ Do you see the warder on that tower? Go and relieve him, and send him to me.” Next day Warder B------complained to the senior chief warder of the way he had been treated by Sergeant Mattie. Mr. Gardner evidently thought his authority was slighted, and meeting the sergeant exclaim 3d, “I selected a ‘ special ’ for you yesterday, and he complains that you put him on a post where he had to carry a gun ! ” “ Quite true,” replied the sergeant, “ but I must have a voice in the selection of a warder to fill a post of this kind, especially as my life and the overseer’s are constantly in danger ! ” This seemed conclusive, and Mr. Gardner found it was useless attempting to take any further action in the matter, as an appeal to the Inspector-General would most certainly have resulted in favour of Sergeant Mattie. A few days after this affair a warder, who was on a post over­ looking the quarries at the “ Palace,” by some means accidentally •discharged both barrels of his rifle, which was a very serious matter when committed within sight of so many desperate convicts. As usual the alarm was raised that there was a rush of prisoners at the “ Palace,” and Mr. Gardner was hastening to ascertain what was the matter, when he met Sergeant Mattie proceeding to the lower stockade, apparently quite unconcerned. “ What’s the matter ? ” hurriedly •enquired the senior chief warder. “ Oh, nothing of any consequence,” replied the sergeant, “ only your ‘ special ’ has discharged both barrels of his gun ! ” This rebuff sufficed for Mr. Gardner, and lie never afterwards interfered in the management of the “ Palace.” Although little notice was taken of this occurrence at the time, it might have terminated disastrously, and in all probability with loss 64 CRIME AND CRIMINALS. of life, as one of the prisoners present subsequently informed me that- several of the worst of his companions imagined for the moment that they saw an opportunity of effecting their escape before the warder had time to re-load his rifle. It has invariably been found that prisoners, however desperate- they may have been when pursuing the lawless life of bushranging, etc., would never face a warder armed with a loaded rifle. In nearly all attempts to escape, prisoners have watched a favorable opportunity,, such as the case previously mentioned, where the warder discharged, both barrels of his rifle. Had not some of them been in chains at that time they would probably have rushed in a body, and before the warder could re-load many would have scaled the walls of the prison. In the latter part of this year the difficulties in the management and safe custody of prisoners were daily increasing. This was caused by the Ballarat riot, which brought the Imperial troops in contact with, the populace, being the first instance of the kind in this portion of Her Majesty’s dominions. Among other exciting reports it was- rumored that an attempt might be made to “ stick up” the Pentridge- Stockade, and fears were also expressed for the safety of Govern­ ment House—the Governor being very unpopular with a certain class- of the community—and a number of the warders from Pentridge and Collingwood were sent to protect it. The prisoners were aware of the disturbed state of the country, and, in addition to this, the “ humanity mongers” had struck the first blow against the penal, system of discipline in Victoria, and circulated the most exaggerated, and absurd reports respecting the administration of Mr. John Price. The latter was one of the most unfortunate circumstances that could , have happened at this particular time, because the penal settlement at Norfolk Island, containing about 300 convicts, had recently been discarded, some of them being set at liberty there, while the remainder were sent to Van Dieman’s Land to complete their sentences. It was generally anticipated that numbers of them would ultimately find, their way to Victoria, and thereby add to the already large influx of’ criminals schooled in almost every description of crime. From this- state of things it will be seen that the utmost vigilance was necessary CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 65 for the safe custody of prisoners. About this time a number of the long-sentenced men at Pentridge had banded themselves together to escape from the lower stockade, and consultations were held by them as to when and how the attempt should be made. In these councils of war one of them was selected to suggest the most advisable plan to be adopted, but should they not all agree with the proposals, then the conspirators would hold other meetings. Before any concerted arrangements were finally decided upon the conversation would probably be overheard, or some of the party turn informers, and then the authorities would be fully prepared to meet the contemplated rush. On one occasion, when five or six of the band were walking in the yard, the warder on the wall above saw one of the party pass a piece of paper to another of his companions. The warder took the number of his trousers, and before the prisoners were locked up for the night he was searched and the paper found concealed in the lining of his jacket. The contents of the note, written in thieves’ slang, which only prisoners could decipher, ran thus :— “Dear Ned,—It is likely some of the bees will attempt to escape from the hive ; you know the time. The b------y ‘dogs’ will be on the wing. But never mind, if the shooting irons are left where you mentioned all will go well The ‘weed’ is very scarce. The ‘beak’ slung C------six days last week for having a ‘ chew,’ and I was b------y near getting a heavy dose myself for giving cheek to one of the 4 dogs.’ ” The prisoner upon whom the paper was found subsequently gave all the particulars to Mr. Price, and, from what was afterwards learnt of the intended rush, it would in all probability have terminated in loss of life had it taken place. Ten of the prisoners’ records in Norfolk Island, Van Dieman’s Land, and Pentridge, were of the worst description. Five had been transported from the old country under sentences ranging from 15 to 20 years, and all had been flogged in both islands ; four confessed to having committed murder at various times, but under what circumstances was never known ; and seven were convicted of highway robbery. The following is a brief sketch of the records of ten prisoners in Victoria :— 6G CRIME AND CRIMINALS.

H------G------escaped from Van Dieman’s Land. He arrived in this colony in the early part of 1851, and soon after was engaged in several cases of “sticking up,”.in which it was said that some of his victims were nearly murdered or maimed for life. He was convicted on July 23rd, 1851, and sentenced to six years’ hard labour on the roads. While at Pentridge he received, on August 14th of same year, two months’ additional inprisonment and forty days’ solitary confinement for bad conduct. C------F------. This notorious criminal was one of the most daring and dangerous convicts at Pentridge in those days. He also came to Victoria in 1851, and was convicted on June 20tli of that year, and was sentenced to ten years’ on the roads, with the first three years in irons. While at Pentridge he kept the station in a constant state of anxiety and ferment, as he was always instigating the other prisoners to acts of insubordination. His restless disposi­ tion, and his desire for the excitement of a lawless life, could not be limited to the walls of Pentridge, for even the heavy irons on his legs did not prevent him from attempting to escape from custody. On August 14th, 1851, for refusing to work, he was sentenced to two months’ additional imprisonment; September 1st, escaping from the works, 100 lashes ; for attempting to escape from the sleeping ward he was placed in heavy irons. On May 10th, 1854, for having a knife in his possession, lie received seven days’ solitary confinement. E------G------, for highway robbery, was sentenced to ten years’ hard labour. He was convicted on February 10th, 1853, and while at Pentridge he received the following additional sentences :—On May lltli, same year, for ovaling his irons for the purpose of slipping them, twenty days’ solitary confinement, on bread and water ; on October 29tli, seven days’ solitary confinement and one month’s additional imprisonment for insubordination and threatening language. ' J------B------, for highway robbery, five years on the roads, July 22nd, 1851. While serving his sentence at Pentridge his record was also bad. On August 14th, same year, for refusing to ■work, two months’ additional imprisonment; and on August 31st, CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 67

for attempting to escape from the sleeping ward, one month’s imprison­ ment with hard labour and to wear heavy irons until further orders. W:------B------, sentenced March 18th, 1854, to ten years on the roads, with the first two years in irons. This prisoner had maimed one person for life, besides having robbed several others of their hard, earnings under circumstances that would have justified any Government in keeping him confined in a gaol for the term of his natural life. j------T------, for robbery, received a sentence of five years on the roads on September 20th, 1852. This convict was implicated in a rush of prisoners at Pentridge, and placed in heavy irons. He was also punished on several occasions for insubordination. C------F------was sentenced February 7th, 1850, to six years*' hard labour on the roads for highway robbery and shooting with intent, &c. This prisoner was transported from Home for 15 years, which were spent between Norfolk Island and Tasmania, and had made a most deliberate attempt to take the life of an unoffending citizen. He absconded from the Stockade November 28th, 1851, but was appre­ hended again on July 4th, 1853. When at Pentridge he was implicated in planning several rushes, and on two occasions it was arranged to murder any of the warders who chanced to come in their way. S------H------, for highway robbery, was, on April 22nd, 1854, sentenced to ten years on the roads. During his career in the colony he had “ stuck up ” several persons, and robbed them of large sums- of money. At- Pentridge he was charged on several occasions with misconduct. For being drunk on February 11th, and causing a disturbance in the gaol, he was sentenced to ten days’ solitary confine­ ment on bread and water. F------P------, for highway robbery, was sentenced to eight years*' on the roads, August 13th, 1852. This prisoner was charged at Pentridge on December 31st, 1853, with setting fire to some bedding in ward No. 2, for which offence he wras sent to the hulk “President,”' with one month additional imprisonment. . 68 CRIME AND CRIMINALS.

W------W------, for assault and robbery, was sentenced on October 23rd, 1852, to seven years’ on the roads. These ten prisoners were all transported from Home and had completed several long periods in Norfolk Island and Tasmania. During their short career of crime in Victoria, three men were murdered, several maimed for life, and numbers of industrious people were robbed of all they possessed. But these were only specimens of numbers of the criminal class confined at Pentridge and the hulks in 1851. There were hundreds of the same type who, when at liberty, were a terror to society. A gentleman who had been on the diggings, and travelled the roads to and from Melbourne, informed me that no man’s life was safe in any unprotected place if it were thought that he had any gold in his possession. A well-known criminal, who had served long sentences both at Pentridge and the hulks, told me that when he “ stuck up ” people on the roads for their gold and they resisted, he thought no more of putting a bullet through them than he did of shooting a kangaroo. From what X have briefly stated it will be inferred that all these men were criminals by nature, or perhaps, more properly speaking, from choice, for at this time no country in the world could offer such numerous facilities as Australasia, not only for people to obtain an honest livelihood, but also to make a fortune. Much has been said and written on the subject of the possible reformation of criminals in these colonies under a speculative system of punishment; if employ­ ment could be found for them, they might become useful members of society. Now, if ever there was an opportunity offered to this class to abandon a life of crime and adopt an industrious one, it was at this very period. A large majority of them had been criminals from their youth, and had experienced all the hardships and miseries of a convict life in the earliest days of the colonies. When they landed on these shores they had separated themselves from their former associations, and nature had extended her hand of plenty to all classes of society. No hereditary monopoly of land in those days prevented the honest and enterprising man from settling on the soil, and making a homestead for himself and his successors. In addition CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 69 to this there were the goldfields, where any adventurer had a prospect of discovering the precious metal. But in the face of all these advantages, no sooner did these ex-convicts place their feet on Victorian soil, than they at once banded themselves as bushrangers, and kept the country in a constant state of fear and alarm. The farmer experienced the uncertainty of his horses being stolen while he slept, or perhaps his homestead destroyed by incendiarism. This state of things existed during 1854, and continued until the latter part of 1856, when a certain section of the community, led on by Dr. Singleton, had declared open war against the administration of Mr. John Price, and endeavoured to promulgate the doctrine that under a soothing system of treatment, or a sort of “ religious thunderclap,” these men would become useful members of society. In speaking or writing on the general system of the reformation of criminals, many persons have erroneously compared the prisoners of the- United Kingdom with those in Australia While all have transgressed the laws of their country, there is a vast difference as to the circumstances under which the various crimes have been commit­ ted, and I have endeavoured to show in the foregoing pages that there should be less crime in these colonies than in any other portion of the British dominions. In the United Kingdom are many cities with over-crowded populations, contaminated from their infancy by all the surroundings of vice, and could a large majority of these get constant and remunerative employment, then there would be some hope of reformation and repression of crime. These are the principal causes which have hitherto filled, and are at present filling the prisons in the old country with criminals. I once witnessed a trial in the city of Limerick, where a man was sentenced to seven years’ transportation for stealing a sheep* The prisoner stated in his defence that he had six children starving, and their pangs of hunger compelled him to commit the act. Had this man found employment sufficient to enable him to procure the staff of life for his family, in all probability he would never have been the inmate of a felon’s cell. There were thousands of cases of a similar nature to be found in the prisons of the United Kingdom, and 70 CRIME AND CRIMINALS. these prisoners, comparatively speaking, were not criminals by nature but merely by force of circumstances. The over-crowded populations in many parts of the civilised world bear a melancholy testimony to this fact. But, nevertheless, it is a consolation to know that, through the exertions of philanthropists, much has been done to mitigate the severity of prison punishment of former years, which at the present day, is both humane and productive of satisfactory results. CHAPTER IV.

1856-7.

CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 73

CHAPTER IV.

G-isborne’s Rush.—The Citizens’ Committee.—Attempts of Convicts, Headed by Melville, to Escape from Hulks.—Murder of Owen Owens and Death of Turner and Stevens.—Trial of Melville, Sentence of Death.—Public Meeting of Sympathisers.—Resolution Forwarded by Citizens’ Committee to the Executive.—Appointment of Select Committee of Legislative Council.—Evidence given before it by Mr. Price, Dr. McCrea, Mr. Ronald Smith, Dr. Youl, Dr. Singleton, Mr. C. Tighe, Mr. McPherson, Dr. Webster. —Result of Evidence Favourable to Mr. Price.—Good Intentioned People —General Insubordination Resulting from Outside Sympathy.—Murder of Mr. Price.—Trial of the Murderers.—Opinions of the Press.

The year 1856 may well be considered as the most important era in the records of the Penal Department. A rush of prisoners in the month of March, when one of them, named Gisborne, was shot through the body, and subsequent acts of the authorities for the maintenance of order brought about the formation of the Citizens* Committee. This body forwarded a report to the Government, in which they totally condemned the system of discipline adopted by Mr. John Price. But the conflict of opinion between the public and the Government was brought to a climax by the following events, which happened in the latter part of 1856. On the evening of October 22nd, a daring attempt was made by a number of convicts to escape from custody at Williamstown. About 5 p.m. between 40 and 50 prisoners (among whom was a notorious criminal named Melville), having been employed in breaking stones at Gellibrand Point, were mustered for embarkation and entered the launch provided for their conveyance to the hulks. A small boat containing Owen Owens (a warder), John Turner, and other parties was ahead of the launch for the purpose of towing her to the hulk “ Success.” Mr. Jackson, ship-keeper of the “Lysander,” was in charge, and observing the convicts crowding to the bow of the launch, 74 CRIME AND CRIMINALS. he ordered four or five of them aft, so as to trim the craft. When the launch was about 200 yards from the shore, some of the prisoners seized the rope by which she was being towed, and hauling her up to the boat, nine of them, headed by Melville, rushed into the boat and cut the tow-line. Mr Jackson had been previously seized by Melville and thrown overboard. The nine convicts were soon in possession of the boat; Owens was at first knocked into the bottom of the boat by Melville, and Turner and the other sailors forced overboard. Pulling away they soon came within range of one of the hulks and were fired upon, one of them named Hill being shot through the neck. Up to this time Owens was still holding on to the boat, when Melville (as sworn to by two witnesses) smashed the poor fellow’s head with two fearful blows of a heavy hammer which had been used in stone breaking, and he was thrown overboard. Melville then, flourishing the weapon twice around his head and throwing it into the boat, called out, “Adieu at last to Victoria.” The whole attempt came to a most impotent conclusion, for on the water police boat, after a short race, coming up with the convicts they at once surrendered, and were taken on board the “Success.” By this outbreak was caused the death of Warder Owens as just related, that of a sailor named Turner, and that of a convict named Stevens, supposed to have been shot and fallen overboard. At the inquest held upon the bodies of the murdered men the nine convicts implicated were found guilty, and committed for trial. Their names were Melville, Henry Parker, Terence Murphy, Henry Johnstone, John Harris, John Felder, Matthew O’Donald, Patrick O’Ready, and Robert Hill. At the trial Mr. Sewell prosecuted for the Crown and Dr. Mackay defended the prisoners, with the exception of Melville, who elected to defend himself. His defence displays as much ingenuity as his previous career displayed of daring and violence. His main effort was to prove that the warder Owens had been murdered by the convict Stevens, who was drowned, and to this end he called as witnesses five of the other convicts, whose evidence was strikingly unanimous, so much so in fact as to convince any impartial listener CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 75

that the tale had been carefully concocted beforehand. Melville also, -as was usual with all convicts, endeavoured to palliate his violence by .statements of harsh and brutal treatment; that he was confined in a small dungeon not two feet six inches in height, and1 then kept in irons for five days and six nights ; his food placed within view, but not within his reach ; and that he did not know of the intended attempt to escape until three minutes before leaving the wharf. The trial resulted, as far as Melville was concerned, in his being sentenced to death. And now the popular feeling against the penal system as then enforced found public expression ; so good an opportunity was not lost by the section of the community, who seemed to regard all criminals as martyrs, and to be utterly indifferent to the risks or loss of life incurred by those whose duty it was to keep them in order. While this felon, Melville, was under sentence of death, a public meeting, convened by the Mayor of Melbourne, was held at the Mechanics’ Institute. At that meeting a resolution was passed expressing its belief that “ The majesty of the law, the ends of justice, the interests of humanity and the honor of the British name were imperilled by the contemplated execution of the prisoner Melville, and that the disclosures made during the course of the trial of the treatment of prisoners-in the several penal establishments demand an immediate and searching investigation.” The following are the names of the Citizens’ Committee:—Sir George Stephen, Rev. Dr. Shiel, Rev. A. Ramsay, Dr. Cairns, Dr. Singleton, George Mackay, L.L.D., George Elliott Burton, William Little, J. Gourlson Burt, Henry Jennings, and Adam Anderson, The Melbourne Argus of the day says :—“ Several of the speakers addressed the meeting at some length, and inveighed with great bitterness against the discipline employed oh the hulks, and we are compelled in candour to add, with more earnestness than was warranted by the very slender and unreliable character of the information on which they were proceeding. Dr. Singleton, who was the originator of the meeting, brought fonvard the case of his pet convict Michael Ryan, whom he described as an exemplary character, 76 CRIME AND CRIMINALS. and one who was persecuted by Mr. John Price. [The real facts connected with this man’s criminal career will be found in the report of the Select Committee of the Legislative Council further on.] Dr. Singleton also stated that he had been in the habit of visiting Pentridge Stockade for the purpose of instructing the prisoners, ,and the men had become exceedingly fond of him, but after going there for two years he was suddenly stopped by Mr. Price. He believed that it would be seen that Melville had not told one-tenth of the barbarities practised in the hulks and penal establishments. Mr. D. Blair, M.L.A., spoke of the sad condition of these poor men, shut out from the light of heaven, comparing them to the flowers, and also expressed his belief in Mr. Price’s unfitness to be the head of the Penal Department, because his ex­ perience had been acquired in Norfolk Island and Tasmania. The other speakers followed in much the same strain, fine sentiments being more remarkable in their utterances than any knowledge of the facts. The immediate result, however, of this meeting was that both Melville and the other sentenced prisoners were acquitted. The Government being aroused to the necessity of a searching enquiry into the general working of the department, a Select Committee of the Legislative Council was formed for this purpose, consisting of the following :—Messrs. Harvey, McCoombie, Hood, Mitchell, Miller, and Cruikshank. The first sitting took place on the 5th December, when Mr. John Price, Inspector-General of penal establishments, was examined. As his evidence throws much light on subsequent events it is subjoined here as briefly as possible. Mr. Price prefaced his evidence by giving a general account of the Pentridge and Collingwood Stockades, and also of the Penal Hulks. He showed how prisoners were received there, and the various grades of discipline through which they had to pass ; the advantages to be gained by good conduct, and the penalties awarded for the reverse. He also explained the ticket of leave system, expressing his distinct conviction that it was advantageous to the prisoners themselves. CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 77

In reply to question 12 Mr. Price stated that the weight of irons put on prisoners varied from 71b. to 401b.; the latter being only used for the most refractory criminals. In reference to the hulk “ President,” he said, “ I know all the prisoners on board that vessel, and I know what they have done elsewhere ; I have known many of them for the last 18 years. There are men down there whom I have known sentenced three times to be hanged, and who are at this time absconders from Tasmania. In every case I receive the authority of His Excellency the Governor for what I do.” In reply to ■question 24, respecting the necessity of prisoners being confined and ironed on board the hulks, where the water would prevent their escape, he said, “ I can adduce evidence to show that the prisoners on board the “ President” concocted a scheme to seize upon the doctor’s boat, some of them undertaking to feign sickness, and when their irons were off to rush upon the sentry arid take the boat. If these men were not in irons I could not keep them for one week.” By the -chairman : “ Are any of the warders, or officers, or overseers, men under sentence ?” “None whatever ; I would not stop if there were prisoners set over prisoners. It was in consequence of a suggestion of this kind at Norfolk Island that I refused to remain there.” Mr. Price’s evidence with regard to Michael Ryan, a convict whose cause had been championed by Dr. Singleton, who represented him as a free immigrant, was as follows—“ I knew this man by the name of Mick Pheeny in Norfolk Island ; he was sent to Westbury Proba­ tion Station in Tasmania, where his conduct vras so violent against the officials and the visiting justice that he was transferred to a separate treatment cell at Fin gal. The officers there lost all control over him, and he was sent, to me at Norfolk Island to complete his sentence. He was one of the most fearful ruffians I ever encountered. He was sent from Norfolk Island, in the ‘ Lady Franklin,’ to Tasmania ; on board that vessel he became so violent that they would not take him further than Sydney, where they landed him, out of which arose some unpleasantness between the two Governments.% Tn his evidence respecting statements made by Melville as to a species of torture used on board the “ President” and his own treatment of 78 CRIME AND CRIMINALS.

tliat prisoner, Mr. Price stated that Melville would not assert that the punishment described had been inflicted since he (Mr. Price) took office ; that he had spoken quietly to Melville about his general bad conduct, when the latter promised improvement, and from that hour was not reported for misconduct, and in consequence was sup­ plied with a book and a slate when he asked for them. The chairman of the Select Committee informed Mr. Price that,, according to the statistics of crime at home, only one percent, of the criminals there were considered irreclaimable, and asked if lie 'considered a large per centage were irreclaimable here. Mr. Price replied that it was not a fair comparison, since the English irreclaim- ables were sent to live at Norfolk Island. He was questioned at considerable length as to the probability of a Reformatory system succeeding at Pentridge. He said that it could not be accomplished without the erection of suitable buildings. He showed that he had been perpetually urging the Government to build a Penitentiary, and that a number of prisoners were employed in quarrying and cutting stone for that purpose ; that workshops and warders’ quarters were being built up to the end of 1854, but that the needful funds for con­ tinuing the work were not granted until March 1856, when the foundation of C division was commenced (completed by Colonel Champ in 1858). Mr. Price stated that to complete the needful buildings would cost about £80,000 if done by prison labor, but that there was no prospect of obtaining that amount from the Government. Question 101 : “Do you think that there would be a proba­ bility of reforming prisoners if they were in a Penitentiary.” Answer : “ I must say that my hopes of reforming prisoners are gone. I started with the expectation of doing so, and I have now many men who, in all probability, will not come back as criminals,. but they are not reformed.” ' Question 108 : “ Do you not think that employing the men in various trades tends to give them industrious habits ? ” Answer : “I have men who could earn their pound a day if they pleased when out of prison. I do not think that it is from want of CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 79 knowing how to labor that they have taken to thieving. I believe that in another 30 years there will be a very different class of prisoners, but the class we have now must be kept down by a strong hand.” Question 135 : “The use of irons in the ‘President’ is for the purpose of breaking the spirits of the men, so that they may become tractable ?” Answer : “ Yes, some men are more like wild beasts than men when they come to us.” Question 139 : “ The ‘President’ would retain the men, would she not, without their being placed in irons ?” Answer : “Not a week.” Question 140 : “ What is the use of putting a man in irons when he is in a cell almost below water mark ?” Answer : “ You would scarcely imagine it possible that in the the case of Melville, the day after he was confined for the last out­ break, a long knife was found on the top of his cell. Men’s lives would not be safe unless the prisoners were ironed. In my opinion that knife was left there by one of the convicts engaged in cleaning the ship, with a view to enable Melville to kill one of the warders.” The result of the careful and lengthened examination of Mr. Price by the Select Committee was to bring out prominently the enormous difficulties of dealing with such violent desperadoes as wrere then in custody in such buildings as were provided ; also to shew that Mr. Price had used his utmost endeavours to obtain an improve­ ment in the buildings from the Government, and that the charges of cruelty brought against him were not supported by trustworthy evidence, but were contradicted by the medical officers, visiting justices, superintendents, and other officials. To show this more clearly the evidence of a few men of high position and undoubted character and experience is here submitted. Evidence of Dr. McCrea.—“ Have you ever been an eye-witness of any extreme cruelty exercised on the convicts ? ” Answer : “ Never. If any cruelty involving injury to health had taken .place I think that the medical officers of my department 80 CRIME AND CRIMINALS. would have represented it to me, as it was their duty to do. Since I joined the department there has been no cruelty to lead to injury to any man.” Question 2167 : “Have you ever known, within your personal knowledge, that Mr. Price has acted with the greatest consideration to prisoners when they have been unwell ? ” Answer : “ I have known of several instances.” Question 2170 : “You know from your own knowledge that he has been extremely kind to the convicts, and attentive when he has thought the convicts deserving of it ?” Answer : “Yes, no doubt about it.” Evidence of Mr. Ronald Smith—“Were the crimes common to convicts in Norfolk Island at all checked by Captain Maconochie’s system, which has been sometimes called ‘ the soothing system ?’ Answer : “I think the reverse, and I may add that it led to insubordination. They were obliged to alter the system.” “Who was sent to Norfolk Island to initiate the new system ?” Answer : Major Childs, of the Bengal Marines. He remained less than two years and was succeeded by Mr. Price. I was under him there, as an officer, for six yearg.” “ Can you tell this committee as to Mr. Price’s conduct there ; whether he was an efficient officer, and as to his treatment of the convicts ; what the opinion of the Government was ?” Answer : “My opinion is that he was a strict and able officer certainly severe both with the men and officers in carrying out the principle of strict obedience to regulations. I believe that the Government gave him the highest credit for his management of the Island. When he left, an address expressive of their satisfaction with his tenure of office, was signed by every officer on the Island and presented to him.” “ Do you consider him to have been unnecessarily severe and tyrannical, or otherwise ?” Answer : “I consider that Mr. Price is a man who habitually acts from rule and not from caprice.” “Is it a fact that Mr. Price and his officers are bent upon CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 81 endeavouring to entrap the convicts, and to invent punishment of an extraordinary and tyrannical description, in fact as far as you have seen are they actuated by the common feelings of humanity ?” Answer : “ As far as Mr. Price is concerned I am satisfied that he never acts arbitrarily nor would he suffer an officer to do so. I believe that the greatest temper and judgment are shown in the treatment of prisoners, and that there is much more difficulty here because we have no means of keeping them in separate confinement in solitary cells.” “ Can you give the Committee an instance of any act of tyranny committed by Mr. Pi ice ?” c Answer: “I have known Mr. Price for eight years, and have known him adjudicate upon at least 3000 cases (I was clerk of the Bench at Norfolk Island), and I never knew a more patient man with respect to prisoners ; if they had anything to say he was alwavs- ready to hear them. I have known him refer a case from court-day to court-day, to give them every opportunity of producing evidence.” Evidence of Dr. Youl.—Question 2321 (by the Chairman) : “ You are one of the Visiting Justices of Penal Establishments in this colony?” Answer : “ I am.” By Dr. Teerney—“I believe you have in some cases sentenced prisoners to six months’ imprisonment in addition to their original sentences. Will you state for what offences these additions were made ?” Answer : “If you will tell me the instances, I will state whether these sentences were for insubordination or fighting, or something- likely to lead to an escape of the prisoners ? ” “ You never sentenced anyone yourself for insubordination ?” Answer : “No, there were always two magistrates, and in those cases I merely sat as chairman.” “ Do you think it would be advisable to have an open court for investigating such offences ? ” . Answer : “I think if there were an open court, the friends of 82 CRIME AND CRIMINALS. tli3 prisoners and persons disposed to philanthropy would be constantly representing the sentences passed as excessively severe and unjust, and would so keep the prisoners in a constant state of excitement.” “ What objection is there to having a court open to the press ?” Answer : “I see no objection to having a court open to the press at all, so long as it is confined to the press.” “ Have you known men sentenced to sit on a stone from morning to night as a punishment ? ” Answer : I have never known them so sentenced. When men would not work, Mr. Price ordered them to sit upon a stone, but they always had two hours’ exercise every day. I have known a man to be tied to the wheel of a cart, but this was not a magisterial sentence.” “We have it in evidence that a man was chained to a stone for twelve hours, in fact from sunrise to sunset, for six weeks.” Answer : “It never took place.” “ Do the regulations under which the Inspector-General acts authorise him to order such punishment without the intervention of a magistrate ? ” Answer : “In the first place I am satisfied that it never took place ; further, I know of no rule that would authorise the Inspector- General to inflict it.” “ But you know of a man being chained to a wheel ? ” Answer : “I know that he was, and I reported the circumstance at once.” “If it were given in evidence that a man was so chained, in a burning sun, during an entire day, would it be true or false ? ” Answer : “It would be false. Four hours was the time, and it was in the morning.” “ Have you ever known of violence being used by warders or •others ? ” Answer : “ I Lave only known two instances.” “There is one subject I should like to hear your opinion of; that is, the indulgence of tobacco to prisoners. A very large pro­ CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 83 portion of the cases that come before you as visiting justice arise out of their having tobacco surreptitiously ? ” Answer : “A great many of them.” “ Do not you think that would be completely avoided if a small indulgence, to the extent, say, of sixpennyworth a week were allowed them ? ” Answer : “ I do not. Mr. Price very much objects to any such indulgence ; he said it would lead to trafficking ; the prisoners were never satisfied with that allowed by the Government, and the fact of tobacco being allowed led to trafficking with the warders in it, and then in other things ; I think if you had a different class of prisoners you might make use of tobacco as an indulgence, but with those we have, it would lead to endless trafficking and greater punishment.” “ With respect to the selection of the place of punishment, the Inspector-General can, irrespective of you or the doctor, or anyone, send any man to any particular hulk or prison without considering what the man’s conduct was ? ” Answer : “He does consider the man’s past conduct and career. Mr. Price had knowledge respecting the prisoners which no previous Inspector had, for he knew the history of all the old offenders from their first transportation, and therefore he had a power of selection which no other man had.” “ Do you think the present classification is good ? ” Answer : “It is most defective. Mr. Price did all he could for classification. If you get a man, originally transported for life from England, who has been once or twice sentenced to be hanged, and has been a long time at Norfolk Island, and that man is convicted here under the Vagrant [Act, you are not justified in putting that man among the ‘ Lysander ’ people, who are convicted of a first offence.” “ I understand from your evidence that you admit there are serious objections to the present system of dealing with convicts ? ” Answer : “I think the present system is the only one possible so long as the present buildings are in ex’stence. A better one can 84 CRIME AND CRIMINALS. only take its place when proper buildings for classification are erected.”

u Have you ever seen a man throttled or half choked to get tobacco out of his mouth ? ” Answer : “I have known many men taken by the neck when they have attempted to swallow something, to get it out of their mouths.” (Question and answer 571, in Duffy’s evidence, read). “Do you believe this ? ” Answer : “I am satisfied that Mr. Price never struck a prisoner in his life.” “ He never struck a man so as to knock him down ? ” Answer : “If he struck a man you may be sure he would knock him down ; he was one of the most powerful men in the country.” “Is it true that Mr. Price was a violent man.” Answer : “I never saw Mr. Price violent with prisoners. I have known him a long time and I do not think he was a violent man. He was the best tempered man I ever saw ; the abuse of Melville and those fellows would drive almost any man to violence.” (Question and answer 630—631) Duffy’s evidence, read, “I 'would ask you were such cruelties encouraged by the overseer ?” Answer : “ The word ‘overseer’ would distinctly tell that,v except in self-defence, they were not to strike the men. If a man were struck I reported it to the Colonial Secretary, and if he was con­ sidered to have exceeded his duty he was dismissed. As far as Pentridge and the gaols are concerned, I have never known men better cared for. The 40th regiment are not so well fed. The prisoners are better cared for than the free laborers in the country.” “ You have stated that nearly all that has been brought against Mr. Price and yourself could be disproved. Is not that a reason why the Government should appoint a commission to complete this enquiry ?” Answer : “I do not place the least reliance in the evidence of prisoners ; for a fig of tobacco six men would swear that a thing CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 85

never took place, and six would swear that they saw it. There is t one case published in the Age newspaper, in which two men gave , evidence of ill-treatment at Pentridge and at Collingwood. Now, on referring to the books, it is found that at that time one of them was in Melbourne gaol, and the other was never in Collingwood Stockade, and they both swore that they saw the man ill-treated. The excite­ ment caused by these enquiries is subsiding, but if it is kept up I have no doubt that we shall have more murders committed. Previous to these enquiries my trials were from eight to ten a month, they rose to over sixty, and the moment this is published there will probably be a fresh outbreak. I have never inflicted a sentence that was not in strict accordance with the Act. I took charge from Captain Harri­ son. Twenty-four men were brought up before me on the first day, and all for breach of discipline. The men used to say they would take twenty-four hours, for he gave them twenty-four hours on bread and water, and they did not care. I punished them severely, and punishment decreased. I never punished one-sixth of the number punished by any other magistrate. I invariably reprimand a man if brought up, and in case of a second complaint I punish him. They know I will punish, and in consequence I do not punish so much as Mr. Pascoe.” “ Have you much solitary confinement in your Stockade ?” Answer: “ We have not the means.” < “ What do you call the punishment on board the ‘ President ’ hulk ?” Answer: “It is not solitary confinement (separate treatment we call it) for they are allowed to talk all day to each other. Strictly speaking, we have no solitary confinement except in the main gaol in Melbourne. In Pentridge there were six log cells built of slabs ; that is the only accommodation for solitary confinement. I have written every month and represented strongly the state of these cells at the stockade, and so has Mr. Price.” Evidence of Hr. John Singleton, the chief instigator of the sympathy which resulted in the formation of the citizens’ committee. Hr. Singleton in his evidence before the Select Committee stated that 86 CRIME AND CRIMINALS. he had been connected with prisoners in Ireland for 26 years. When asked to give his opinion as to the system of discipline pur­ sued at Pentridge, he stated that he considered it very bad, but admitted that his visits to that prison had been few. When asked to state any case in illustration of his opinion, he said : “ There are two cases that have come before the public which I think are very striking. The cases are those of Michael Ryan and Thomas Bourke, at the Collingwood Stockade.” Dr. Singleton’s account of the former man was that at one time he was a private in the 60th Rifles, then stationed at Corfu, and that he and others were transported under the Military Act for some breach of discipline. According to Dr. Singleton’s account, this man, though a great drunkard, and exceedingly hasty, might be easily led by kindness. He believed him to be a honest man, but not very strong in his intellect through having been struck by a “ neddy” behind the ear, whilst on board ship. The same man’s record while in Pentridge, shows that he was a most incorrigible scoundrel, and that he was sent to Williamstown for safe custody, from whence, for refusal to work, he was sent to the hulks for two and a half years in heavy irons, and never saw the sun rise or set during that time. Question 068 : “ It would be very desirable if you could suggest any improvement on the present system ?” ■ Answer : “I have heard prisoners complain very much of the brutal manner in which they were treated. A man told me that he had been caught by the throat, and nearly suffocated in order to prevent his swallowing tobacco, which he was suspected of having in liis mouth.” “ Did you see any acts of brutality ?” Answer : “I was not present. I have been told by prisoners after they came out.” “What would you do with'the men who were refractory and refused to obey orders ?” “ Answer : “ I do not profess to be a doctor of penal disci­ pline.” “Do you consider that when men have forfeited their liberty, CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 87 solitary confinement is too great a punishment ?” Answer : 44 Not for a specified time, if they have light and exer­ cise, books and instruction.” ■ Dr. Singleton also suggested the silent system and short sentences, the appointment of a general commission of control over prison matters, the appointment of all officers to be in their hands ; and dwelt on the advantages of prisoners being taught a trade as in America. \, Evidence of Mr. Charles Tighe, ex-warder, in the case of the f>|*isoner McGuire, who bit off the nose of another prisoner (McCabe) at the “Crystal Palace” and whose subsequent treatment was severely commented on. Question 1015 : “Will you state to the Committee what you actually saw of this case ? Were you at Pentridge when McGuire was suddenly taken ill ?” Answer : 441 was. He was placed in solitary confinement. He was taken from there and a handcuff was placed on both his hands. After he was taken ill lie was examined by Dr. Webster* when they handcuffed him down to an iron-bedstead'; his head was shaved, and there was a liquid (something I think connected with vitriol) put on his head witli a feather and all down the spine of his back, and on his cheeks, and the calves of his legs. This was done ky the doctor’s orders.” “ What effect had this on the skin ?” Answer : “As soon as it was put on it became a blister, which broke immediately, and the man could not lie down anywhere.” The witness stated further that it was nearly a fortnight before it was healed up, and then the treatment was repeated. When questioned as to the sanity of this prisoner, the witness replied that the doctor believed him to be feigning madness, which was also the opinion throughout the prison. He added that he was over prisoners in Gosport, Portsmouth, Bermuda, and Gibraltar, but never saw such cruelty exercised there. He admitted having been dismissed from the service for drunkenness by Mr. Price. 88 CRIME AND CRIMINALS.

Evidence of Mr. McPherson, senior chief-warder, as to the cir­ cumstances attending the shooting of prisoner Gisborne :— “ On the morning of March 31st, 1856, between eight and nine o’clock, Mr. Price told me that he had received information that a general rush of prisoners was likely to take place, and ordered me to have warders thrown out to intercept them or go in pursuit. Two warders were accordingly posted, one to the right and the other to the lofd of the quarry gang on the Merri Creek, about a quarter of a mile to the rear of. the stockade. Sergeant Ellison with three more were sent round the upper stockade, to line the Merri Creek to the left. Sergeant Henniker with one or two more were posted outside the boundary wall to the right. Warder Mcllroy at the upper stockade was also in readiness with his men to act. No signs of a rush were shown until about 4 p.m., when five men first walked and then ran from where the stone cutters were at work, towards No. 7 sentry. He ordered them to stop and go back. They, however, continued to run, and got tlirough an open-barred gateway between him and No. 6. Both sentries then fired, but without effect. No. 5^ and Mcllroy, one of the night guard, who was posted outside with Sergeant Henniker, then fired, and Gisborne dropped wounded ; another convict, Brewer, also dropping, but unwounded. Gisborne when hit was at least a hundred yards outside the boundary wall and line of sentries, and about 180 yards from the places where No. 5^ and Mcllroy were posted. Graham and Jones continued to run, but Graham soon gave in and was captured by Mcllroy at the Merri Creek, about half a mile from the stockade. Jones was captured in the bush, about four miles away, by Mr. Price.” This witness was subjected to a rigid examination to ascertain if it would have been possible to have prevented this rush by placing sentries where the prisoners could see them ; also about a prisoner named Lewis, who was supposed to hare got up the rush and then have given information to Mr. Price. The witness did not think that Lewis gave the information, but admitted that Lewis was made a barber the day after the rush, which the prisoners regard as a snug billet. He stated that the warders had strict orders to fire with sure effect, and that, therefore, Warder CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 89

Mcllroy, or.whoever had shot the prisoner. Gisborne (respecting which much doubt existed), had only done his duty. Evidence of Dr. Webster—Question 1185 : “ Of course, as far as your treatment of prisoners indirectly is concerned, you are ■entirely guided by your own judgment ; you do not refer to Mr. Price ? ” ' Answer : “ I do not refer to him at all.” Question 1187 : “Is any obstacle thrown in the way of providing any comforts you may order for the sick prisoners.” Answer : “No, every facility is afforded by Mr. Price in the way of comforts ordered by me and paid for by Government, and also any extra things, as milk, eggs, tea, or coffee, have always been furnished when I asked for them.” Question 1142: “Is there any hospital at Pentridge at pre­ sent ? ” Answer : “No, there is one in course of erection.” Question 1148 ; “ Is the room which is used as a hospital in the day time used as a ward at night ?” Answer : “It is both hospital and ward at night.” “ Then the healthy men sleep with the sick.” Answer : “Yes.” “ Is not that bad ? ” Answer : Yes, but the whole establishment is only in embryo. You have not got accommodation for the prisoners until you build it ; whenever I have had any man very sick, Mr Price has, at my request, had him removed to the officers’ quarters.” . “ Have you any there now ? ” Answer : “I have a man there, Gisborne, who has been there for six months, and I had a man there ill of dropsy who died after being there a long time.” “During the last six months have there been no bad or contagious diseases ?” ' Answer: “No, there have been very few deaths, and none from deficient accommodation. There has been less mortality among the prisoners there than in any body of men I have had to do with.” 90 CRIME AND CRIMINALS.

“Have you any difficulty in distinguishing between real and simulated sickness ? ” Answer : “ I have had an apprenticeship of between fifteen and twenty years in that branch of my profession. In military service men come to the doctor feigning to be ill, in order to escape parade or going on guard ; generally speaking, I can tell when a man is feigning sickness, because I have had to do it all my medical life.” “ Is it quite common for the men to hurt their fingers, or bruise themselves in the quarries ? ” Answer : “ Yes, they often do so, but I have only known of one man being maimed by it ; I had to take off his finger.” “Is it not the case that a great many of the charges brought before the visiting justice are connected with tobacco ? ” Answer : “ I believe that is the case.” * “ D° you not think that it would be a good arrangement to allow each man sixpenny worth of tobacco a week ? ” Answer : “ The object of not allowing it is that it is part of the punishment ? ” “Does it help to reform them ? ” Answer : “ There are some men whom you might reform by kind actions, but there are many that you could not, and if you gave any prisoner a luxury you would do away with part of the punishment awarded to him.” “Are you aware that the prisoners in Bermuda and Portsmouth, and so on, are always allowed tobacco ? ” ' Answer : “ Hot in prisons. I had charge of the military peni­ tentiary in Quebec, and if one of our convicts ever saw the inside of that lie would wish himself back at Pentridge.” “ Have not you found Mr. Price very tenacious of right, not willing to be interfered with ? ” Answer: “ Ho. Mr. Price has always been very anxious to explain to me why lie would not do what I asked him. His knowledge of convicts I consider very superior to that of most men. He would always satisfy me with his reasons. The greatest consumption of medical comforts has be3n in wine, porter, arrowroot, sago, tea, sugar, and CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 91

lime juice. If it were not for the low diet the medical officer would not be able to do anything at all with the men when they complain of illness without having anything to complain of. If there were separate hospitals (cells are being built now) there would not be nearly so many men to treat for sickness. I visit the men who are in solitary confinement every time I go to Pentridge.” “ If it has been stated now that you ordered a blister to be put on a man from the top of his head, down his back and on his hips, would that be true ? ” Answer : “ I had to blister a man named McGuire, down the spine and on the back of his legs, and it had a most salutary effect, for the man was feigning madness and he became sane. His back was regularly dressed ; the dispenser was ordered to do it every day, and it had no prejudicial effect on the man’s health.” “ How long was the blistering continued ? ” Answer : “I could not say. He, perhaps, was blistered twice. I did not adopt this course until I had reported that the man was sane, and it was referred to me to deal with. I said the man is sane, I do not think I ought to have to punish him. They said the way usually was that the medical officer had to cure such cases, and so I blistered him. I have had four cases of prisoners feigning madness.” “Could you suggest anything of a reformatory character in prison discipline more than at present ? ” Answer : “ The first tiling I think is to get proper accom­ modation for the prisoners.” “ If the authorities were more lax in their punishment at pre­ sent, do you not think that it would bring about a bad state of things and lead to more punishment ?” Answer : “ Yes, and to say the least of it the convicts now are very much more cheeky and inclined to be more insubordinate, know­ ing that public sympathy is excited in their behalf.” The foregoing extracts from the evidence laid before the Select Committee of the Legislative Council may appear somewhat tedious to the general reader. The fact is that they have been carefully culled from an immense mass of so-called evidence, in some cases 92 CRIME AND CRIMINALS.

containing the crude opinions of penal affairs of witnesses entirely without experience, in other cases of vague impressions without a single fact being brought forward in support, and the carefully sifted residuum compels us to affirm that, considering the entire unfitness of the penal buildings for classification, arid for carrying out the solitary system; considering the awful class of criminals, many of them classed as incorrigible before they left England; and last, but not least, considering the acquaintance these men had with the misplaced sympathy of the public outside, the marvel is that the tragedies resulting were so few, and the discipline so little abused. Out of the whole investigation the character of Mr. John Price comes out clearly as that of a resolute and efficient officer, of vast experience and of unflinching faithfulness to the rules of the department by which he wras bound. Now that Victoria has cleared herself of the imputation of sympathy with criminals, so that no criminal escaping will find shelter anywhere he flies to, it does seem amazing that the public opinion should have been so misled by good intentioned people as it was in 1856. But the old saying is true in more than one meaning, “ The way to hell is paved with good intentions.” Owing in a great measure to the sympathetic movement of the Citizens’ Committee and the failure of justice in the case of the murderers of Owen Owens, the authorities at Pentridge and Colling- 'jwood Stockades had, during the months of January and February, B857, the greatest difficulty in maintaining discipline ; and on board the hulks “ President” and “ Success” the convicts frequently defied the warders when spoken to for breach of discipline. The common reply on such occasions was “ you had better mind what you say, the eyes of the Citizens’ Committee are watching you.” Altogether the general insubordination wras more marked than ever, and very soon the tragedy which might have been expected in some form or other took place. In the month of March, complaints were / made by the convicts on board the hulks respecting their rations, and a desire was expressed to have the matter investigated by the Inspector-General. Mr. Price accordingly visited the works at Williamstown ; he arrived about 3 pan. on Thursday, the 26th. \ CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 93

, Captain Blatchford, inspector of hulks, accompanied him, also Chief- warder Hyland and the overseer, Wilson, all unarmed. Mr. Price had just spoken to one or two of the men when suddenly a rush took place, and a mob of convicts flung themselves upon him. They dragged him down the earthworks, out of sight of the guard, felled him to the ground, and battered his head with stones, pick handles, and shovels, to such an extent that his face was imbedded in the mud. They then left him for dead and joined their mates. How­ ever, four or five of the better disposed ran to his assistance, and after bathing his face conveyed him in a handbarrow to the light­ house, where he received every possible attention until medical aid arrived. Although alive Mr. Price was quite unconscious, and no hopes could be entertained from the first of his recovery. He ling­ ered in an insensible state until 4 p.m. next day, when he expired in the house of Dr. Wilkins, whither he had been removed. Just before j' this murderous assault upon Mr. Price, Warder Gleeson was ordered tojj conduct some of the men to the boats for the purpose of conveying1 them to the hulks. He told one of the convicts named Kelly to go to the boat, but he replied that he would see him d------d first, for he did not intend to leave the place. Gleeson then looked round for a well-known desperado named Taylor. This man, he saw, was speaking to Mr. Price, and the next moment the attack was made. Gleeson and the overseer (Wilson) rushed to the assistance of the Inspector-General, but they were both knocked down. Chief-Warder Hyland retreated, and Captain Blatchford was knocked down and partially stunned by a stone. Overseer Wilson received no less than twelve wounds, while Warder Gleeson escaped with a gash in the head. The volunteer artillery and the police were quickly on the spot, and kept the convicts, many of whom had knocked off their irons with their quarrying tools, hemmed in on Point Gellibrand. They had strict orders not to fire on the prisoners. For some time al»l was excitement among the convicts ; they ran about seeking for means of escape. Had not the few warders who were there retired and given the alarm, the probability is that the whole of them would have been massacred, and two hundred desperate ruffians left at large 94 CRIME AND CRIMINALS.

to pillage the country. As it was, all the convicts but two were . induced in an hour or two to return to the boats. The two missing men would have escaped for a time had it not been for information given by some of their comrades. They were most ingeniously hidden near a hollow, formed by the quarry men ; a hole like a shallow grave had been dug, which was covered over with transverse planks carefully concealed with earth. Six holes had been bored through to the hole, but so as not to be noticed from the outside. So cleverly was it managed that anyone might have walked over it without sus­ pecting anything. When the two men were dug out they had with them a bottle of water and some biscuits, and were, no doubt, wait­ ing for the dead of night to force up the top of their uncomfortable hiding place and escape. There appears to have been no cause for the complaint lespecting rations, but that the complaint formed part of a deliberate scheme for entrapping the unfortunate Inspector- General. There can be no doubt that the convicts were fully aware | of the sympathies of a portion of the public, as several copies of the j report of the Citizens’ Committee were found concealed on they works. 1 The inquest was held on April 1st, when Dr. Wilkins, Captain j Blatchford, Warder Gleeson, and four of the convicts (not engaged * in the affray), were examined. The coroner having summed up, the jury retired, and after an absence of an hour and forty-five minutes, returned with a verdict of wilful murder against Thomas Maloney, •Henry Smith, Thomas Williams, Bichard Jones, Francis Brannigan, John Young, John Williams, John Smith, Bichard Bryan, William Jones, William Brown, James Anderson, John Clusky, James Kelly, Daniel Donovan, and reserved for the opinion of the Attorney General, John Edwards and James Burns. The following rider was added to the verdict—“ After carefully reviewing the evidence brought before , them, the jury cannot but express their opinion that one cause at f j least of the unfortunate occurrence has been the misplaced sympathy j exhibited by a portion of the public, wThich has by some means become known to the prisoners ; and they conclude that the guard has not been sufficiently strong at the time to check the rising spirit of in­ CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 95

subordination shown to exist among the prisoners since the trial of Melville in November last.” A ^ The trial of the prisoners before His Honor Judge Barry began on April 14th, lasting till the 20fch of that month. The following is reprinted from the Argus of the da :— “ His Honor, in summing up the evidence to the jury, said the prisoners had been indicted for having feloniously and wilfully, and of malice aforethought, killed and murdered one John Price. He dared say it would be unnecessary for him to explain to them the law with regard to the definition of murder, for unfortunately they were too familiar, as jurors, with the nature of that crime ; but he would say, however, that voluntarily killing any person under the King’s peace, of malice aforethought, either expressed or implied, was murder. It did not appear that there were any grounds for finding the prisoners guilty of homicide or manslaughter, for there was no evidence to show that the death of Mr. Price was necessary or desirable. If they found that Williams and Maloney were active agents in the death of Mr. Price, still if Smith was engaged with them in one common intention (the evidence of which they must look for in his - actions) he was equally responsible in the first degree. The inten­ tion appeared from the evidence, which pointed to the desire of a great body of the prisoners to secure the attendance of Mr. Price on the ground by complaining of their rations. So long as these com­ plaints were peaceably and quietly made, all was proper ; but if a riot resulted, all that were concerned in it that could be distinguished were responsible to the law for the consequences. He said it advisedly, because they were in a position to discriminate from the evidence that some of the men were not responsible for the results, as a body withdrew after making their complaints, and another party, with a humanity which is much to be respected, assisted Mr. Price when he was down. He called attention to this at the outset of the case, because they had been called on to consider the case of Smith, as differing from that of the other two prisoners. The prisoner Smith had relied, in his defence, on the circumstance of his not having struck any blow ; but if the jury came to a conclusion that 96 CRIME AND CRIMINALS.

the intention was a common one, all concerned in the result were equally guilty, for in cases of organised resistance against constituted authorities, all parties concerned in such resistance were responsible for the consequences, even if such results followed as were not at first contemplated or premeditated. It was for them to say, however, if in the case of Smith he was so far acting in concert with the other two prisoners as to render him responsible for the consequences which followed. His Honor then went through the evidence, and pointed out the material portions which affected the prisoners ; and concluded by observing that the jury should look at the evidence as a -whole,, and say whether or not Mr. Price had been killed by the prisoners at .the bar themselves or in concert with others. ^Smith’s case was different from that of the other two, inasmuch as; he had not been proved to have inflicted any blows, but with respect to Williams and Maloney, there is nothing in the evidence which could reduce the charge against them to one of manslaughter. The jury then retired at half-past six o’clock, and at seven o’clock returned with a verdict of guilty against all three of the- prisoners. Smith they strongly recommended to mercy on the ground that it had not been proved that he had struck any blows. The prisoners were then asked if they had anything to say why the sentence of the law should not be passed on them. Thomas Williams asked His Honor to defer the sentence until after the trial of the remainder of the prisoners, as he thought it' likely it might be proved before the trials were concluded that he was- not the man that struck the blow. He said Chief Warder Hyland and other officers had contradicted each other, and that the witnesses had contradicted each other throughout. If they had had money to employ counsel, the result might have been different, but if it was the will of God that he should die, he was content to die, for during the past four years and a half, he had lived a miserable life, and therefore- would as soon die as not. Smith said he had been found guilty of wilful murder, but he was not guilty, as he never lifted a hand, or rushed Mr. Price, as he- CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 97 liad a soul to be saved. He trusted that his Honor would act upon the recommendation of the jury in his case. Maloney said that enough evidence had been given against him to hang any man, or twenty men, but when he looked at the perse­ cution which the Saviour suffered, what other could a wretch like him expect. He called on Almighty God to witness that he had never lifted a hand against Mr. Price or any of the officers on the day in question. If he did, may the Almighty God never receive his soul, but if his life would be an atonement to Almighty God for the sins he had committed, he would be satisfied, and he hoped he should prepare for death in the best way he could in the short time allowed him to live. He had placed his trust in Almighty God on the previous day and that morning before entering the Court, that he might not be found guilty of a crime which he had never committed. If his Honor would grant that his execution might be public he would be very glad, that the public might hear, at the last moment, his confession. Williams said there was a young man named Brown in the gaol charged with taking a spade out of his (Williams’) hand and striking Mr. Price with it. He declared to God that Brown never did so, and he hoped the jury would consider this when the lad was on his trial. He had been picked out by the officers of the hulks because if they had not pitched upon somebody to charge, they would have lost their situations. All of them had sworn falsely. His Honor then, passed sentence upon the prisoners in the following words :—-“Thomas Williams, Thomas Maloney, and Henry Smith, you have been found guilty of the crime of wilful murder ; the offence is one which, committed under the circumstances detailed, is of a character most dangerous to the society in which you live. Surrounded as we are in a country of vast expanse, by characters, who, unhappily Tike yourselves, have not profited by the previous punishments which you have received, such crimes are additionally dangerous. I have before me a table which shows that all three of you have before suffered the sentence of the law ; one of you has been three times convicted of highway robbery, another of aggravated 98 CRIME AND CRIMINALS. robbery, and the third of larceny. You could not have been left without severe punishment, but it was not alone in order that you should receive that punishment that you were sent to the places where you have been imprisoned, but also for your security, having, as it were, bid defiance to all the rules which are necessary for bind­ ing society together, and not only for your own sakes, but by example to prevent others of the same dangerous class from proceeding to such extremities as you have done. Many of the inhabitants of this country who have come to it during the last three or four years are totally unacquainted with the class of men you represent ; living in the security of peaceful England, in her rural districts and quiet countie?, they know nothing more, and hear nothing more than of the- proceedings of their well-regulated county gaols, where poor yagranfcs or other objects of pity are confined who have been led into the commission of some trifling larceny or other inconsiderable crime by sheer poverty. That is not your case, nor that of hundreds like you. Here wealth abounds on all sides ; there is no restriction to your becoming—by the exertion of only ordinary labor—enriched beyond the dreams of such poverty as that which you were originally acquainted with. Abundant opportunities for honest labour surround you ; and persons are willing, in this country, to overlook those secessions from the paths of honesty and rectitude which in England prevent those who have once sinned from obtaining employment. Here the great necessities of the country cause the people to look with a lenient eye upon those who have been convicted, and it rarely happens that they are themselves debarred from following an honest course of livelihood in consequence of their misfortune. The present case is, therefore, not one which demands pity or sympathy ; and with reference to the mode of defence which you have adopted to-day, and especially two of you, it is one with which I think if the public sympathy is directed aright it will not hold much communion. You have brought forward instances of ill-treatment and hardship, the truth or falsehood of which I have no opportunity of deciding upon. Some of the complaints made by two of you appear to me to be frivolous in the extreme, even were they true. First with reference to CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 99 the food, the scale of rations is "fixed bv the Executive Government here, and is in excess of that eaten-by Her Majesty’s troops. Many a free man, obliged to live by hard labor, would be but too glad to procure such rations as you object to. I felt. some surprise at the class of objections which were raised, and I must observe that I re­ ceive them myself with more distrust than I otherwise should, inas­ much as although you appeared to regard them as a material feature of your defence, you omitted to ask a single question of one of the warders or officers, or even of your fellow prisoners, with a view to substantiating the truth of them, hoping to create an improper in­ fluence by them on the minds 'of the jury. It is my duty to say that I do not believe the reports at present—if they be true they should be inquiredfinto and rectified, and no doubt they will be, but as they stand at present, levelled as they are at the officers in charge, unsubstantiated by ph>of—where every opportunity and every latitude were .afforded you—they must be received with the utmost dis­ trust. You seem to me to view your case as if you were injured, completely forgetting the aggression which you yourselves have made upon society. It is not my duty to dwell further on this part of the case, and I have done so thus far, not with the intention of reproach­ ing you, nor of recalling the ,painful scenes, both of vice and of punishment which you have gone through—far from it—but to beg of you to use the little space of time which is now allotted to you, to make all the reparation which you %say you believe to be necessary, not only to the society whose laws you have outraged, but to a higher Being. I must guard one of you from what I conceive to be the impiety of your language. Your life, unfortunate man, can afford no sufficient atonement for your crime. It is from the death of another that you must hope : your own life is in the hands of your Creator, and you can gain no merit from any offering of your own. It is not my duty to attempt to lecture you : that duty I will leave in the hands of abler men,—those whose profession it is to instruct you in. the paths in which you ought to walk, but I again earnestly request you to devote the time which is left you to the spiritual 100 CRIME AND,' CRIMINALS. advantages to which these gentlemen will teach you to apply it. One of you has asked that you might be allowed the privilege of being executed publicly ; lamentable it is to me to hear such a request. I deplore it most deeply, for notwithstanding the expressions of simulated piety which have been uttered by you, I cannot believe that there is anything whatever in the request but the miserable gratifi­ cation of displaying the last feelings of exultation with which an un­ repentant man wishes to leave the world. The Legislature of the country has deprived me of the power of granting that request, and in this instance I think I may say that I rejoice in not possessing the power, for I fear that the last hour of your life would be employed either in an exhibition of profanity or of attempted justification. I entreat you to employ it in a manner more befitting your awful position. Henry Smith, I shall forward, as I am bound to do, to the proper quarter, the recommendation of the jury to mercy which accom­ panied the verdict against you. I can imagine the merciful feelings which have actuated the jury in their humane view of your conduct, whilst they have so far regarded their duty and their oaths of office in finding you guilty. That you were a participant in the crime there can be no doubt, although probably you possess sufficient dexterity and cunning to excite others whilst refraining from being an active agent yourself. Some further enquiry must be made. That the recommendation to mercy will be effective, or that the extreme penalty of the law will be carried out in your case, it is not for me to say ; my duty consists now in passing sentence and making my report; for myself I hold out to you no hope of mercy, I cannot do so. You Thomas Williams desire to have your sentence postponed until after the conclusion of the other trials, in the hope that it may appear that you are not the person who struck the blow ; you have sought to throw distrust on the testimony of the other witnesses ; your case has been left to a discriminating and painstaking jury who have found you guilty. I have already explained the law to them, and I now repeat to you that if you think that even were that so, you are under a most erroneous impression ; even if it were proved that, as you say, you did not strike the blow ; and in the face of such full CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 101 and respectable testimony, I cannot doubt it. I feel convinced that the jury have been perfectly right in saying that you were implicated. It remains now only for me to admonish you once more to make the best use of the little time that remains for you in this world. The sentence of the Court is, that you Thomas Williams, Thomas Maloney, and Henry Smith, be each of you taken from the place where you are, and thence removed at such time, and to such place as his Excellency the Governor with the advice of his Executive Council may direct, and that you be hanged by the neck until you be dead, and may the Lord have mercy upon your souls.” The prisoners wore then removed from the dock, Maloney saying as he left it, ‘ I hope the Lord will have mercy upon my soul; I am not afraid to died The following admirable article also appeared in the Argus of April 28th, 1857:— “After all that has transpired, most of our readers will doubtless be surprised to learn that a petition to his Excellency the Governor has been concocted, and we believe, presented, praying him to exercise the royal prerogative of mercy in favour of those condemned persons whose, guilt is not placed by the evidence on which they have,.been convicted beyond the possibility of serious doubt. * “ The arguments put forth by the petitioners are of two classes First, those relating to the alleged insufficiency of the evidence, and second, those based upon the alleged provocations which the men received. We shall advert to these in their order. “With reference to the evidence, of course the general public who sign such petitions cannot possibly be enabled to express an opinion more likely to be correct than the jury and judge sworn to do justice, who have seen and heard the witnesses and the criminals. It is not at all probable, therefore, that his Excellency the Governor will be influenced, in reference to the value of the evidence, by the peti­ tioners. The rule, indeed, in cases where any doubt is entertained, is to take the opinion of the judge who tried the prisoners. Most of our readers will have examined with some .interest the report of what 102 . CRIME AND CRIMINALS.

the judge said in passing «entence on the several prisoners, and they will have observed that his statements entirely contradict and refute the allegations in the petition. In that document it is alleged that the verdicts were arrived at on the testimony of twice and thrice con­ victed felons. On the 20th of April, his Honor Judge Barry alluded to the evidence on which the prisoners that day had been found guilty, which, he said, was of two classes—the evidence of the free officers, and that of their fellow convicts ; if the conviction of any of them had depended solely on the evidence of any degraded or suspected member of society, he should feel much remorse in seeing the sentence of the law carried out; but it did not depend upon such evidence. The verdict was most fully justified by the evidence of men unaffected by 4 any such taint.’ In this particular, therefore, the statement of the petition is, to use a very mild term, incorrect ; and we shall be justified in regarding all the oilier statements of it with some suspicion. It is true that the juries recommended two of the men to mercy ; but from the remarks of the Judge in both cases it is evident his Honor considered they did so under misapprehension. In reference to Henry Smith, the first man so recommended, his Honor said there could be no doubt he was a participator in the crime, and that he, the Judge, could hold out no hope of mercy. In reference to Brannigan, the other man recommended to mercy, his Honor said he had been con­ victed on unimpeachable evidence, which fully justified the verdict. The| petition makes particular reference to the case of John Chesley, but on turning to the report we find that his Honor had as decided an opinion of his guilt as of that of the others. He said expressly that he was not disposed to put the prisoner’s case favorably before Her Majesty’s Government. “As another reason for mercy, the petition urges ‘the exasperation felt by the prisoners at the extreme severity of discipline ’ and the caprice with which extrajudicial punishments were inflicted. It alleges that the provocation to violence was lamentably great, that this would be proven by the reports of the Committees of both Houses of Parliament now sitting, and it prays that no sentence whatever may be sanctioned until the reports of these committees CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 108 are before liis Excellency and the Executive Council, “ This last portion of the prayer seems rather superfluous. As members of the Executive have sat on both committees, there is no doubt that Government is in possession of full information. We do not, however, understand how the concoctors of the petition could possess information, as the members of the committees are bound at present to withhold the evidence from the public. In truth, we believe the petitioners have no such information, and the statements they have male on the subject are expressly contradicted by the evidence elicited on the trials. It is a remarkable fact mentioned by the Judge on the first trial, that though the prisoners brought forward instances of ill-treatment, and regarded them as a material feature of their defence, they omitted to ask a single question of one of the warders or officers, or even of their fellow prisoners, with a view to substantiate the truth of them, and he expressly stated that he did not believe the reports of ill-treatment. Indeed, so thoroughly did he disbelieve them, that on another trial he expressed the hope that the successor of Mr. Price, ‘for the sake of the convicts he would have under his charge, would be equally considerate and humane. Redress had always been given them when it could be given, and when it was refused, it was refused without harsh severity, or unkind rebuke.’ The above observation fully contradicts the charge of ill- treatment made in the petition, and it is to be presumed that his Honor would not make such a statement without having before him the most satisfactory evidence of its truth. “But surely the petitioners do not mean to put forth the monstrous doctrine that men are entitled to commit murder because they have been treated with severity in prison. Yet this appears to be almost the principal ground on which they claim a reprieve for the prisoners. “ The copy of the petition sent to us bears no name, and we know nothing of its concoctors. We presume, however, that it has been ‘ got up ’ by some members of the Citizens’ Committee, who have for some time past made themselves conspicuous in matters of this sort. For our own part, we are anxious for the arrival of the period 104 CRIME AND CRIMINALS.

when capital punishment shall be abolished. But at the same time it is important these persons should bear in mind that there is a wide difference between an agitation to procure the repeal of a law, and a constant interference with the operation of that law. In the case of punishment for crime, it is a well understood principle that for the purpose of ensuring its object, certainty is necessary. It is agreed by all authorities on this branch of jurisprudence, that whenever the infliction of punishment becomes uncertain, its efficacy ceases. Death is the most formidable of all punishments. In certain states of society it lias been found the only cure for crime, and then only when the penalty was prompt and sure. “On this principle we are of opinion that the Government would betray the interests of the community, and in all probability cause the sacrifice of many lives if they were even to hesitate to carry the law into execution. In justice to the inhabitants of this country, and for the prevention of still more frightful atrocities, we consider that the Government are bound in the present instance to execute the sentence on the unhappy men who are now awaiting their doom. We are, therefore, not surprised to learn .that the executions will take place on this and the two following mornings.” The execution of the condemned men commenced on April 28th,

V* Vvi^/3 Maloney, Smith, and Williams being the first to suffer ; on the 29th / Chesley was executed, and on the 30th, Brannigan, Brown, and Bryant. Brannigan alone admitted his guilt, and that he was the J ^ \ ( first man to attack the Inspector-General, whom he caught in his arms and threw to the ground when the rush was first made; he . . I also stated that it was Williams who struck Mr. Price on the head /Cc with a shovel, and that Brown and some others were quite innocent an3r direct act of violence.in the attack. f/ij®> J 4

1857-

CRIME A ND CRIMINALS. 107

CHAPTER Y. . Public Opinion Modified by Recent Tragedies. — General Disorganisation.—* My First Impressions of Pentridge.—Night Alarm.—Warders’ Sleeping Accommodation.—Mr. Champ Introduces Milder Penalties for Warders’ Offences.—Death Bod of Sergeant Ellison.—I am Transferred to Colling- wood.—Firmness of Chief Warder Turnham.—Captain Payne Resigns._ Life on the Hulks.—Experience of Hulk “ Success.”—Attempt to Commit Suicide.—Description of Hulk “ President.”—Early Career of Colonel Champ.—Appointed Inspector-General.—Improvements Effected on all Sides by Him.—His Retirement from Office. The terrible scenes which surrounded the murder of Mr. Price had to some extent allayed public opinion, and among the better classes of society a re-action had commenced in favor of supporting constituted authority, and also of lessening that kind of morbid sympathy which in those days was calculated to overthrow all legal control in the management of convicts. The attempt to introduce a reformatory system of treatment into the prisons at this particular period required no ordinary efforts for its accomplishment, especially as the convicts had just previously gained two signal victories against the authorities. The first of these was the boat rush in Hobson’s Bay, on October 2Gth, 1850, headed by the notorious Captain Melville, and in which the boatman Owens was barbarously murdered. All of those implicated were subsequently arraigned on the capital charge, but they were acquitted on a technical point of law being- raised by the counsel who defended them. This failure of justice on the part of the Government, together with the sympathetic action of the Citizens’ Committee, ultimately led to the murder of Mr. Price, for which crime seven of the accused paid the penalty on the gallows at the Melbourne Gaol. . 108 CRIME AND CRIMINALS.

Blit even this fearful example did not thoroughly extinguish the spirit of insubordination existing among the most turbulent of the convicts. It became necessary to guard those on board the hulks “ Presi­ dent ” and “ Success ” by a detachment of the 40th Regiment of the line, and the conduct of the prisoners on board these “ floating hells ” for several months after the murder of Mr. Price has never been brought before the public. For several days and nights they were in a continual state of excitement, and their yelling and shout­ ing could be heard even on shore. At one time it was feared that a serious outbreak would have been attempted, and accordingly H.M.S. Victoria was ordered to anchor in the vicinity and, if required, to render assistance to the prison officials. At Pentridge, also, matters were in a most unsatisfactory state. When I arrived there on Aprils? 1857, the scene presented to view, over a large area of land connected with the stockade, can only be realised by those accustomed to the primitive days of the colony. Close to the main entrance, a company of the 40th Regiment were under canvas, with orders to be in readiness at a moment’s notice, in the event of any disturbance arising among the prisoners, Here was the wall, built of loose stones, which enclosed the stockade reserve. There, a half constructed bluestone building, being about the only object to remind one that the science of modern architecture (save the mark !) was not altogether forgotten in the construction of colonial prisons. Further away stood the “ Crystal Palace,” with its sombre appearance, the terror to evildoers in those days. In another part of the prison reserve were to be seen hundreds of prisoners at various kinds of labor, some cutting stone, others harnessed to carts conveying stone to the building in course of con­ struction, and which the late Inspector-General had intended for a hospital. After taking a panoramic view of the place, there was one peculiarity which certainly surprised me, viz., how so many hundreds of prisoners could be held in safe custody by a slender chain of sentries, and it was only in after years that I learned by experience that the brute courage, which urges many criminals to commit even CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 109 daring crimes wlien at large, is not sufficiently powerful to induce them to confront a solitary sentry, armed with a loaded rifle, especially as they are fully aware of their liability to be shot should they attempt to escape. While in contemplation of the strange scene before me, a sentry close at hand enquired if I had any message for any of the officials. I replied intimating my desire to see the senior chief warder, and after a short interview with that official, the sergeant was instructed to place me on duty at 8 o’clock that night. The post assigned to me was a responsible one, as this sentry had charge of the guard-room and the officers’ quarters ; besides which, all persons entering or leaving the station had to be challenged in the following manner :—“ Who comes there.” If it were one of the officials, he would answer accordingly to his rank. The sentry would then say, “ Advance all’s wall.” But if the sentry had any suspicion of the person chal­ lenged, and this person was advancing on his post, then he was in­ structed to protect himself, from any sudden attack. An instance of this kind occurred just before I joined the department, and which wras very nearly terminating fatally. A sort of half-witted fellow, who had only entered the service shortly before, was posted on a high platform on night duty. His post was at a considerable distance from the road which led to the main entrance, where another sentry was stationed, who was responsible for all persons coming to and going from the prison. However, on this particular occasion the sentry on the platform saw two of the warders going in the'direction of the main gate, He, therefore, challenged them, but as they did not suppose it was intended for them, they took no notice of it, but proceeded on their way. The sentry, without any further warning, then tired both barrels of his rifle, the bullets passing unpleasantly close to the bodies of the unoffending warders ! This noise, of course , caused some little excitement in the station. Mr. Price was the first to arrive on the scene, and after enquiring from the sentry why he had discharged his firearm, the latter said the sergeant on parade told him that if any person, when challenged, did not answer, he was to fire upon him. The sergeant was sent for, but he totally denied 110 CRIME AND CRIMINALS. this statement. However, Mr. Price appeared to think the sentry could not have fabricated such a story about the matter, and thereupon dismissed one of the most efficient officers from the service. About the same time a rather amusing incident occurred, in which Mr. Price was one of the principal actors. A warder hailing from the Emerald Isle, who, perhaps, had never fired a gun in his life, was posted at the main entrance, and amongst other matters, his instructions were to present arms to all the officials entitled to that salute. On this occasion Mr. Price happened to be passing through the gates, when the warder in question raised his rifle and deliberately pointed it at the head of the Inspector-General. The latter, who possessed great presence of mind, looked at the man for a moment, to ascertain if he were drunk or mad. As he still kept Mr. Price covered with his rifle, the Inspector-General said, “ What do you mean? ” “ Sure, sir,” replied the warder, “I was tould to presint arms to all the gintlemin passing my post, and I thought I couldn’t presint arms to a better man than yourself.” Mr. Price at once took in the situation, and saw that the man had not been instructed in his duties, so taking the rifle from him, he showed him the manual exercise. Afterwards Mr. Price sent for the ser­ geant of the guard and said to him—“ Have you instructed this warder how to present arms ? ” The sergeant replied—“ He is a very stupid man, sir, and I cannot get him to learn his drill.” “Very wreli,” said Mr. Price, “ I will take the man and give him a few lessons in the manual exercise, and if he is then able to go through it I will reduce you to the rank of warder.” The erring warder was then put through the various motions by the Inspector-General, who turning to the sergeant, said—“ This man has evidently never been taught the use of his firearms, and you are therefore reduced to the rank of warder.” ' The first night I was on duty, being in the act of handing my arms to the sentry who relieved me at midnight, I was startled by the report of seven shots. It soon transpired that Corporal G------had been sent to arrest a discharged prisoner, who, it was supposed, would return that night for the purpose of concealing a “ swag ” of CRIME AND CRIMINALS. Ill prohibited articles for his mates on the works. The corporal, who was on the look-out in the sentry box, observed the delinquent ap­ proaching the spot, and called upon him to stand ; but hearing this unexpected command the intruder on the domain immediately heat a quiet retreat, in the darkness of the night, and the official, seeing no likelihood of effecting a capture, discharged his revolver in the direction taken by the fugitive, the result of which was never known. • It should be mentioned that at this time, the sleeping accom­ modations in the prison for the night sentries was simply a disgrace to any government institution. There was a small room near the gates which led into the gaol yard, where the prisoners exercised during the day. On my asking one of the officers where I should sleep, he pointed to a heap of dirty blankets in a corner of the room, which from their appearance had not been amenable to soap and water for an indefinite term. “ Please, where is the mattress ? ” I next -enquired, with a feeling of some uncertainty that such a luxury of domestic comfort had ever entered the room. The uncouth official then directed my attention to a number of dilapidated, dirty old oilcloth capes in a corner, and exclaimed, “ There is your bed, don’t ask any more questions.” To make matters worse, one set of bedding had to suffice for two warders (a la Box and Cox). When the sentries were changed at midnight, those relieved had to occupy the bedding just vacated by their comrades on duty or go without any. This state of things continued until Mr. Champ took charge of the department, when he gave orders that each warder should have a separate set of bedding ; and this was one of the first beneficial actions of the newly appointed Inspector-General. The duty of the night sentries was very severe, as they only had. ■on an average, about six hours’ rest out of the twenty-four, and this was enough to impair the constitutions of the most robust young men if continued for any length of time. The duty of the day sentries was also somewhat unneccessarily irksome, especially during the winter months, when the first guard paraded by lamplight and remained at their respective posts until sunset. In addition to this, the discipline 112 CRIME AND CRIMINALS. was very strict, and for the most trivial infraction of the regulations a warder was placed in the defaulters’ book, and either subjected to a very humiliating lecture and fined, or dismissed the service. But this practice was discontinued very soon after Mr. Champ assumed office and had made himself acquainted with a necessary system of discipline for the benefit of the officials and the prisoners. An incident happened shortly after the arrival of Mr. Champ which produced an excellent effect on the minds of the warders, and caused them in future, to regard the decision of the Inspector-General with every mark of respect. The details of the affair are as follows.— A warder named B------, who had only been a few days in the service, inadvertently left the bayonet of his carbine in the exercise yard. One of the prisoners subsequently brought it to' the corporal on duty at the gates, who in turn reported the matter to the senior chief warder. It was generally considered that no excuse could be offered in mitigation of what was then thought to be a serious offence, and the culprit was advised by the majority of his comrades to resign, as dismissal would probably be the result of his carelessness. On the other hand, I told him to place the facts clearly before the Inspector-General. In the meantime he was suspended from duty, and charged in the defaulters’ book with “ gross negligence.” When the case came before the Inspector-General, the bayonet, which was the innocent cause of all the trouble, was placed on the office table, and the senior chief warder stated the serious nature of the charge,, viewing the weapon with as much horror as though it had been the sword of Damocles. The Inspector-General glanced at the impounded side-arm and then addressing his subordinates in office, said :—“ Well, a bayonet is a very formidable weapon on the battle-field, but I cannot' see anything more dangerous in a bayonet than in any other sharp instrument approaching its dimensions. I suppose the prisoners have knives in the cookhouse and chisels on the works, and these are equally as dangerous as this bayonet.” Then turning to the warder he said, “ Be more careful with your firearms for the future.” Soon after this occurred, orders were issued that for trifling breaches of the regulations, the men were not to be entered in the defaulters’ book, CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 118 but to be punished by confinement to the station for a certain number of nights. , The warders on day duty slept in a room 40 feet long, and in this dormitory there were crammed from 35 to 40 men. It was well ventilated and the beds were comfortable, but still it could not possibly be healthy where so many men massed together in such a small space. The warders’ mess-room was one of the most com­ modious in the establishment, and it was the only place on the station that served to remind one of the advantage of social comfort. Here would be assembled from 40 to 50 warders, who while listen­ ing to the songs of their comrades, and indulging in various other amusements, soon forgot their own troubles and the dangers to which they were so frequently exposed. The culinary arrangements were all that could be desired, the food being excellent and well served up, in fact equal to that of a first-class hotel. The cooks and waiters were all prisoners and selected for their fitness, having followed these occupations when at their freedom. . The number of all ranks of the service at Pentridge at this time was 71, the aggregate amount of their salaries being £14,520 per annum. Amongst these men there were observable a strange diversity of birth and subsequent station in life ; from the hardy fisherman who knew little more than the alphabet, to the military ex-captain who, perhaps, had graduated at one of the Universities in the mother country. Here, also, was to be found the broken-down spendthrift who had only now learnt the value of money through the hard experience of the long hours of duty in all weather, both by day, and night. In a small room used as a hospital for the warders lay Sergeant Ellison, dying of consumption, who in his earlier days had held Her Majesty’s commission as captain in the 46th Regiment of infantry. The poor fellow died a few days after I joined the service, and each of his comrades subscribed a day’s pay, wherewith was erected a suitable monument over his grave in the Melbourne Cemetery. In another room on a narrow bed lay the prisoner Gisborn, who was shot through the lungs by a ball from a warder’s rifle, while attempt- 114 CRIME AND CRIMINALS.

ing to escape from prison on March 31st, 1856. At that time he was considered one of the most active and daring prisoners at Pentridge, but when I saw him in April, 1857, he was merely a walking skeleton. I slept one night in the room with him, and he showed me his wounds, which were still open and discharging. He told me a sad story of his life, and said he was then undergoing a sentence of eight years for horse-stealing. The next night I asked Sergeant Maxwell to relieve me of my charge, which he did, but I could not help feeling sorry for this unfortunate prisoner who, although lie had broken the laws of his country, was nevertheless a human being possessed of an immortal soul. It was over this case that Sergeant Mcllroy obtained his first promotion. Several wrarders who fired at the prisoners when in the act of absconding, also claimed what they considered to be a distinguished honor, and which in those days would entitle them to advancement in the service. However painful and necessary this duty is to perform, yet as a subject for exultation I have always regarded it with abhorrence, and especially so when it is utilised as a rung in the ladder for promotion in the service. - After serving three months at Pentridge, where I obtained rather more than a glimpse of the vices and miseries which form one of the darkest pictures of our race, I was transferred to the Colling- wood Stockade. In those days this was considered the “ pet” station, and certainly it was a most agreeable change, not only with regard to the duty, but from its vicinity to Melbourne. At this period (1857), there were about 300 prisoners and 37 warders. The only occupation for the prisoners was quarrying stone and breaking road metal, the proceeds of which annually contributed nearly to the entire support of the station. The chief warder (Mr. Joseph Turnham) was a most efficient officer ; the prisoners worked as well as any free men could work, and the strictest discipline was maintained in all ranks, both of officers and prisoners. The greatest danger of an outbreak was at night, when the men were confined in buildings of timber requiring no great labor to cut through. On one occasion three of the prisoners feigned sickness, and obtained permission to CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 115 absent themselves from school and remain in the sleeping ward. Thereupon they commenced cutting a hole through the roof, and in less than half-an-hour had succeeded in getting out and lowering themselves by a rope into the yard. They were armed with weapons, and evidently determined to use them on the first warder they met. Fortunately the warder on duty observed a dark object moving cautiously along a narrow passage, and calling upon him to stand, presented his rifle, upon which the fellow begged for mercy. A large knife was found upon him. The other two escapees were found concealed in the yard, and they all received a sentence of twelve months’ additional imprisonment. It can be well understood that the many changes introduced by the Inspector-General (Mr. Champ), were not effected without much resistance on the part of the prisoners, and great firmness on his part. But as he was known to be always ready to hear and redress any real grievance submitted to him by the prisoners, a general feeling of confidence was engendered. The following is an instance of the effect of firmness upon an excited body of men.—On the morning of August 18th, some of the prisoners complained to the chief warder (Mr. Turnham) about their rations, and a number of the most turbulent made use of threatening language, though not within hearing of the principal officials. The men, however, went to labor as usual in the morning, but were observed by the overseer not to be working with their usual energy. As soon as they entered the mess room for dinner, indications of a disturbance began. A potato was thrown violently across the room, but without hitting any of the officials. At 1 p.m., when the bell was rung to “fall in” for labor, the men refused to obey the summons, and collected in gangs about the yard. When any of the overseers spoke to them, they shouted and yelled. The excitement increasing, it was thought unsafe for the officials to remain, so they left them. In the meanwhile the guard had taken up their posts surrounding the prison, some of them over two hundred yards from the station. A warder was also placed in the guard room, where there were several stands of arms, with orders to shoot down any prisoner attempting to scale the walls. This 116 CRIME AND CRIMINALS. post also overlooked the yard in which the prisoners were congregated. The Superintendent, Captain Payne, was sent for, and upon entering the yard he addressed the prisoners in a manner not likely to cool the excitement, and he had to beat a hasty retreat, all idea of restoring discipline being abandoned by him. To deal with the prisoners in this humour required a man of remarkable personal courage, coolness, and knowledge of convict character. Fortunately, Mr. Turnham was eminently gifted in this way, At the beginning of the disturbance he was away. On his return he immediately' donned his uniform, and placing a brace of pistols in his pocket, entered the yard ; taking no notice of the noises which the prisoners were making, he just waived his hand to a warder to ring the bell to “fall in” for muster. In a moment he called upon the prisoners to “fall in.” At first a few reluctantly obeyed, but very soon every man was in his place in the ranks. He then called the roll, during which the men were most orderly. They formed three sides of a square, and after the roll was called, the chief warder, facing them, said—“Any prisoner who objects to go to work, let him step to the front.” Thirty-six at once stepped out from the rank, and the remainder were ordered to close up. Turning to Sergeant Wilson he said—“See that the posts are all manned, and send the men to work.” This order was carried out without any reluctance on the part of the prisoners, and so, by the presence of the right man at the right time, a very serious riot was probably prevented. The Inspector-General drove up in his carriage soon after. The thirty- six refractory prisoners were still parading the yard. He ordered them to be marched in single file to the front of the mess-room, where he inspected the rations at once, which certainly were not of the quality specified in the contract. Mr. Champ then calmly addressed the prisoners as follows :—“ The Superintendent has in­ formed me that you have refused to go to work this afternoon in consequence of some complaint about the quality of your rations. IsTow, whatever prisoners have to complain of, it does not justify them in disobeying orders. I visit the station every week, and every prisoner is aware that he can see me if he has any complaint to make, CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 117

and if there are just grounds, I am always ready to redress the wrong. If prisoners refuse to go to work and otherwise conduct themselves as you are reported to have done, I will send them to the hulks for punishment. If any man has anything to say, let him step to the front.” One of them said:—“ Sir, if the Superintendent had spoken to us in a proper manner, we would not have acted as we have ; he compared us to a parcel of schoolboys, and dared us to act as we have done.” This statement was denied by the Superintendent, where upon several of the prisoners exclaimed.—“ Oh, sir, how can you deny it; you’re no gentleman.” Mr. Champ said he would not per­ mit such remarks to be made to the Superintendent, but promised to enquire further into the matter. What transpired afterwards is unknown, but during the following week, Capt. Payne resigned, to the evident satisfaction of all connected with the service. The thirty-six refractory prisoners, ironed and handcuffed, were marched to Sandridge, and thence conveyed to the hulk “President.” Among the many modes devised for keeping criminals in safe f custody in Victoria, perhaps the penal hulks were the most objection­ able. The want of exercise for the body, so necessary for health, and of useful occupation of the mind, so needful for happiness, on board these floating cages, was in itself sufficient to make the hulks an abode of terror. Limited by the walks of his cell, except when at exercise for an hour daily on the deck, there seemed to be nothing for these men to think about but the long years of a misspent life, with little prospect of ever again enjoying freedom. Without doubt they must have possessed an amount of fortitude and dogged endurance, which used aright would have raised them in the social scale. Such were my first impressions of life in the hulks after my stepping on board the hulk “ Success” on November 15th, 1857. The Inspector-General in his first annual report says—“ The men on board the ‘ President’ are of such a character that it is not considered safe to allow them to go on shore to work, and they have no employ­ ment on board. They are confined each in a separate cabin, being let out for one hour every day for exercise on the deck, but com­ munication between them cannot be prevented, as anyone raising his 118 CRIME AND CRIMINALS.

voice can be heard by all the others. The number of officers is twenty, and their pay amounts to £1,160 per annum. On board the hulk i Success,’ sixty men are treated in the same manner and for the same reason. The remainder are landed daily, and are employed in constructing a wharf, and otherwise improving the harbor at Williamstown. The expense there for twenty-seven officers is £5,683. In the ‘ Sacramento’ twenty-three men are closely confined, and the remainder are employed in the harbor improvements. There are twenty-six officers, whose pay is £5,500. The convicts lodged in the ‘ Lysander’ are all allowed to work on shore. The annual expense for thirty-two officers is £6,680. On all the hulks the convicts are lodged in cabins between decks ; of these cabins 151 contain only one man each, and the remainder from two to twenty-two men each. A religious instructor of the Church of England is appointed to visit the hulks, and does so about twice a week, attending the prisoners in their respective cabins. He also performs divine service every Sunday on board the ‘Sacramento’ and ‘Success’ ; a Wesleyan minister also visits the ‘ Sacramento’ every Sunday. Ho other clergy­ man attends any of the hulks.” It would be almost impossible to convey in words a description of life on the hulks ; some idea of the class of men confined there may be gained by reading their history as printed on the card affixed to the door of each man’s cell. Here is a sample :—“ Y------B------. Condition on arriving in the colony, bond. Transported from England to Yan Dieman’s Land in the year 1835. Absconded from latter place in 1852. Apprehended in Victoria on charge of high­ way robbery and sentenced to 20 years on the roads of the colony.” Another man’s history with whom I met on board the “Success” at this time may be thus summed up :—Born 1815 ; transported from Ireland in 1832 for being engaged in faction fight, when two men were killed ; he had, according to his own account, committed no less than three murders. He made several attempts to escape from Yan Dieman’s Land, and was, therefore, sent for security to Horfolk Island, where he remained till 1854, when the settlement was broken up, and he was returned to Tasmania. Ultimately he succeeded in CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 119

escaping from thence and landing in Victoria ; at once commenced horse stealing and bushranging ; he was at this time serving a sen­ tence of fifteen years. , The life of the warders on hoard the hulks was one of untiring vigilance. In addition to those in charge of the prisoners, there were always two sentries posted on the upper deck who were respon­ sible that no boats approached within 100 yards of the vesssl, the boundary being marked by buoys. Every night the police guard boat visited the hulks. The sentry would hail “ Boat ahoy.” The officer in charge of boat replying “ Guard boat.” “Advance guard boat and give the countersign?” If satisfactory, “ Pass on guard boat : all’s well.” I am confident that during my time of service on board the “ Success,” no violence was used by the warders ; they were necessarily strict in demanding obedience, but the rule of having no altercation was carefully adhered to. Shortly after I left this hulk a prisoner, while taking exercise on deck, succeeded in slipping off his handcuffs, and made a run for the side of the vessel. The sentry called on him to stand. In a moment he would have been overboard with fourteen pounds of iron on his legs. The sentry fired in his face, which without wounding him, arrested his career, and he was apprehended. On being examined he stated that he was tired of life, and made sure that the sentry would have shot him as he wished, to such a state of utter desperation this life of close confinement without occupation had reduced him. On the 15th January, 1858, I was transferred to the hulk “ President,” which was then anchored off Williamstown, at a short distance from the shore. The discipline on board this vessel was similar to that of the “ Success,” but the class of convicts were far more desperate and unmanageable by ordinary means. Although they were confined in separate cells, they could converse freely with each other, and the most revolting tales of crime were related con­ stantly, with the violent expressions and with supreme indifference as to the warders overhearing them. On this subject, and with reference to the benefits of real solitary confinement, the Inspector-General (Mr. Champ) in his first annual report, speaks very forcibly He says : 120 CRIME AND CRIMINALS.

—“ I have before stated that communication between the inmates of the hulks cannot be prevented, and recently on board the ‘ President’ as is already well-known, unremitting conversation between the whole of the men, accompanied by offensive and obscene language to the officers, singing, shouting, yelling, and noises indescribable were kept up for many days. To prevent this is impossible ; it is true that the most turbulent might be subjected to corporal punishment, but I am no advocate for corporal punishment when any other can be employed, believing its tendency to be brutalizing, and its beneficial effects very uncertain ; it is more than probable that every man thus selected for punishment would be regarded by his comrades as a martyr and hero, and would do his best to sustain that character and brave every penalty. But place the same man in a solitary cell, where he can neither be seen nor heard by his companions, and the main induce­ ment to- insubordination is at once taken from him. No longer encouraged bv the approbation of others, and kept back from submission by the fear of their taunts, he feels that the only possible result of continued misconduct must be continued restraint* Detain him there in silence and solitude until he is thoroughly sick of idleness and want of companionship, and to the greater number of men any kind of employment will then be a welcome release from the dreary monotony. It is quite probable that if he is then supplied with work, he may learn to regard labor with a healthy satisfaction, and that is at least one important step towards reformation.” On the 18th of March, I took leave of Hobson’s Bay and the notorious “ President” or “ floating pandemonium” as she was often styled, not however, without some pleasant recollections of the time spent among a number of jovial comrades, and of many a pleasant smoke and chat together on the quarter-deck after the day’s duty was over. It is now time that I introduced to the reader more formally the Inspector-General, whose name (Mr. Champ) has already appeared frequently in my narrative, and whose strenuous and successful efforts to reform the penal system of Victoria will be given in detail further on. Among the public men of Victoria, the name of Colonel Champ Colonel ¥illibm Tmqmbs Nbpier Chbmp.

CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 121 must ever occupy a prominent place ; for it was lie who, when Inspector-General of the penal department, first introduced a refor­ matory system of discipline in the treatment of .convicts, and he may, therefore, be said to have been the originator of the first important method. William Thomas Napier Champ, the subject of this memoir, was a son of Major Champ of the 43rd Light Infantry, and was born at Maldon, Essex, England, on the 15th April, 1808. He was educated at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, but the incidents of his college life, like those of most young fellows, were not particularly remarkable, and therefore afford very little material for biography, but he made fair progress in the various subjects taught there, and by the time that he was 18, passed the final examination—entitling him to a commission in the army without purchase—very creditably ; and further, it should be mentioned that he reached what was called the scale of distinction, that is, he was promoted to the rank of “under officer.” Very soon after passing the ordeal examination before half a dozen general officers and as many professors, he quitted Sandhurst, and about a year after leaving college he was gazetted to an ensigncy in the 63rd Regiment of the line which had just returned from Portugal, having formed part of a force sent to that country on account of a threatened invasion by France, but which ultimately came to nothing. There is little in his military career that concerns this nanative beyond the fact that he was considered a smart and intelligent officer ; a reputation which he maintained in later years when in command of the Victorian Volunteers. . He arrived in Hobart Town, Tasmania, with his regiment in 1829, and was not long there when he was ordered round to the great penal settlement at Macquarie Harbor, on the west coast of the island, then guarded not only by a host of convict constables, but also by about 60 soldiers under the control of the military com­ mandant (Captain Briggs), and a subaltern officer, the latter being relieved by the advent of Ensign Champ. Mr. Champ continued at this wretched place of banishment for twelve months, when he was, in turn, relieved by Ensign Stubbman. At this abode of misery and 122 CRIME AND CRIMINALS.

despair, he must haye witnessed many of those extreme acts of severity then so commonly practised on the convict classes, and above all on men under coercive treatment, at those terrible places of torment, the old penal settlement. These dreadful scenes passing daily before him, could not be without their effect on a heart naturally indisposed to the infliction of pain, and which in long after years when he was commandant of one of these punishment stations himself, he would never permit. His firm but merciful treatment of the unfortunates whom the severity of the old class of magistrates consigned to his charge, when contrasted with the heartlessness of others of his class, drew down on him the highest encomiums from the excellent Bishop Wilson ; who, having himself witnessed the terrible and half murderous severity of Norfolk Island, which almost broke the old man’s heart, concludes a despatch to Sir William Denison (produced in one of the Blue Books, House of Commons, 1853), by imploring him to place the “ Ocean Hell,” as that Island was then called, under the just and discriminating commandant of Port Arthur. On the departure of his regiment from Tasmania to India, Mr. Champ retired from the army, and was shortly afterwards offered the position of assistant Police Magistrate at Hobart Town, which was in those days considered an important appointment in the Civil Service. He at once accepted the offer, and held the office for several years. It was in this capacity that he acquired that know­ ledge of criminal character which afterwards so well qualified him for a more responsible position in the management of convicts. In his new office of magistrate, it was soon seen that while prompt in his decisions, as military men usually are, yet unlike a good many of his brethren on the Bench, he was seldom wrong, and he was generally spoken of by the convicts themselves, scores of whom he tried every day, as a most impartial man, whose sentences were sure to be just ones. These were critical times in the history of the island, in con­ sequence of the number of convicts and the danger and difficulty of keeping them in subjection. At that period the principal penal settlement was at Port CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 123

Arthur, on Tasman’s Peninsular, about 40 miles from Hobart Town. There were confined in bondage some of the worst criminals on the island, or in fact in any part of the British dominions. There were also on the Peninsula four other convict stations, and a boys’ es­ tablishment at Point Puer ; the total number of prisoners being about 4,000, with a guard of two companies of soldiers, a large posse of constables, and a numerous body of other officials, civil and military. For many years Captain O’Hara Booth was the commandant of the Peninsula, but in consequence of failing health he applied to be relieved of his command in .1844, Mr. Champ was at once offered the appointment, and ofter some hesitation on account of the arduous and harassing nature of the duties, accepted it. As soon as he had taken charge of the station, he introduced many salutary reforms; and while maintaining to the utmost the strictest system of discipline, he based it on more equitable principles of justice and moderation than had been practised by any of his predecessors. Up to this time the severities practised at all These places of banishment were excessive. Punishment amounting to positive cruelty was actually enjoined on the magistrates and commandants of these stations by Government orders, one of which, having escaped from the archives of the Government House, fell into the hands of the printers of Hobart Town. These mischievous fellows having once got hold of it, it quickly appeared in all the papers published in the island. This playfully written document was dated January 25th, 1833, and will be found in any of the public prints or almanacs of the time. In Boss’ Annual for that year it is given in full, and occupies ten of its pages. Between pages 105 and 115, it enjoins the officers of the settlement generally, “to see that the most un­ ceasing labor is exacted from the convicts, and the most harassing vigilance over them observed” (page 106), while the police magistrate of the settlement is directed in his official dealings with the convicts, “ to assign such punishments as will inflict the requisite amount of pain and misery within the shortest period of time,” and “he shall take care that when flagellation is ordered, it is executed with due 124 CRIME AND CRIMINALS.

severity in the presence of the surgeon, &c.” (page 109). Orders such as these and others equally brutal, whose final execution was left to the lowest of the criminal class, were not likely to soften the asperities of the convict character, or to produce any amendment in the victims of punishment, but rather to sink them to the lowest depths of social and mental degradation ; leaving them without hope, or an idea unconnected with speedy death. This diseased condition of the convict mind, after debasement produced by continuous and excessive punishment, is described by Dr. Ullathorne, at that time ‘Vicar-General of New South Wales and Tasmania, as something horrible. He writes thus after a visit to the condemned cells of Norfolk Island, where he found numbers waiting their coveted doom —death, and to some of whom he was the bearer of a most undesired reprieve :—“ I said a few words to induce them to resignation, and I then stated the names of those who were to die (13) of them, and it is a remarkable fact that, as I mentioned those who were to die, they, one after the other as their names were pronounced, dropped on their knees and thanked God that they were to be delivered from that horrible place, whilst the others remained standing mute. It was the most horrible scene I ever witnessed,” &c. The foregoing is extracted from the report of the Select Com­ mittee of the House of Commons, dated August 3rd, 1838. And this was just the frame of mind in which many of the men at Port Arthur were when Mr. Champ assumed charge. But with his assumption of the office of commandant, things gradually changed for the better. The cruel codes of instructions that had descended to him from his predecessors were no longer to be rigidly enforced; but boldly acting for himself they were very generally disregarded. Justice, if so it might have been called before his time, was no longer administered mercilessly, but with fairness ; and such trumpery infractions of the regulations as using tobacco—when they could get it—or looking offensively at a convict constable or overseer, were no longer punished as before with extreme severity, but were dealt with as trifles, and usually dismissed with a reprimand. Under such a system as this was, in which rigor and favoritism were replaced by CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 125 impartial justice, the men began to breathe more freely, and even the worst of them ceased to despair of some day regaining their liberty. But this state of things was not to last long after the death of the first comptroller of convicts on 6th June, 1846, and the shameful depositions from his government of Sir J. E. Eard'ley Wilmo?f Bart, in September following. These events were necessarily followed by the arrival of a new Governor of the colony, and a new chief for the convict department in the persons of Sir William Thomas Denison, and Dr. John Stephen Hampton, K.hT., respectively. It was the general opinion that these changes were not happy ones for the welfare of the colony. The former, though highly extolled by those who knew him only at the table, or in the hunting field, was viewed by many of those under him, as the most imperious of Governors and insolent of masters ; though, consistently with the character of men of his stamp, in which the bully and sycophant ever unite, he was submissive and even abject to his own superiors in Downing Street. In confirmation of what has been said of Sir William, it was told by a clerk in the comptroller’s office, when the Governor’s voluminous despatches were licked into shape, and copied for transmission to the Secretary for the colonies, that having written off one of these copious documents he ended it with the complimentary finish of, “I remain, etc., your very obedient servant,” which so displeased the Governor that he sent it back in a passion, with directions to re-write it and conclude with 4 4 your most obedient, etc.” Trifling as such a matter as this may seem to some, by others the character of the man for domination and subserviency will be seen as plainly from it, as would appear in the meanest act of personal humiliation. Of Hampton it may be said that he possessed in a magnified form all the bad qualities of the Governor, but none of his good ones* Until the day of his appointment to an office of responsibility here, Hampton—whose proper place was the cockpit of a man-of-war— had no previous experience to fit him for the control of the gentlemen who officered 80,000 convicts then in Tasmania ; so, like all common­ place men, when suddenly exalted to positions for which they are not qualified, he entered on his new duties with all the insolence of an upstart 126 CRIME AND CRIMINALS. official. His oppression of his subordinates was intolerable. With­ out the slightest pretext for their removal, men were dismissed from their posts by scores or even hundreds, and replaced by favorites of his own. In these shameful acts of oppression, which evoked nearly universal censure, he was backed up by the Governor, who, to the last years of life, spoke approvingly of them in an autobiographical sketch of his own career. Having introduced all sorts of reforms (as these worthies styled them) into the convict department, and ruined many a worthy official with their accursed innovations, they next tried their hands on Port Arthur and Mr. Champ, expecting to find in the latter the same meekness and capacity for bearing castigation, of which they had already seen too much elsewhere. But in this particular instance they reckoned too hastily, for the commandant was not the man to submit to injustice, or put up with insult. To expel such a man from the service without good reason—or any at all, as they had served hundreds of lesser note than he—was too much for them even to attempt, so they compromised the matter by leaving him his emolu­ ments and some petty duties to justify his detention at Port Arthur, but divested him to a great extent of the authority appertaining to his position as commandant ; and at the same time appointed a successor in command, but with the more humble designation of “ superintendent ” only, in the person of Captain Courteney, late of the 60th Rifles, as poor a creature as ever one met. But these arrangements were not likely to please a man of Mr. Champ’s mould, who would not stand an insult even from the Governor, and whom he took occasion to confront soon afterwards in his own den (or office), when he delivered himself, though in digni­ fied language, still in a tone that the Governor was very little accus­ tomed,to hear. At this interview they got to very high words, and at the close of office hours parted with a very slight interchange of civilities, excepting that Mr. Champ said “ he would see him again in the morning,” an intimation which the Governor did not appear to relish. Punctually as the clock struck ten, Mr. Champ was an­ nounced to Sir William, and he found the Governor, who had slept CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 127 off the ill-humour of the previous day, in the best of tempers. Eising with some alacrity from his seat, he saluted him with a very familiar “ Ah ! Champ, how do you do ? ” and a merciless shake of the hand. Directly afterwards, a long and rather pleasant conversation followed on the old subject; which, ended—they parted in great good humour with each other, but with what promises on the part of the Governor were never ascertained. Mr. Champ then returned to Port Arthur, but the changes that had taken place there were not to his tastes, and he remained no longer than suited his own convenience. He shortly afterwards retired into private life, having held the appoint­ ment of commandant during five years with credit to himself and all concerned, and he ultimately received a pension from the Home Government. It was not long, however, before another opportunity presented itself to him to re-enter the service of his country, in a still more important position than any previously held by him,—namely that of Colonial Secretary,—being the highest appointment in the administration of the government of the Island. He held this office from November 1st, 1852, until the beginning of 1857, when in consequence of an adverse vote on an Imperial question, after the adoption of a representative form of Government, Mr. Champ and his colleagues in the Ministry resigned. He declined to return to office and resolved to retire altogether from public life; but an incident happened in Victoria in 1857, which was destined to revolutionise the whole system of penal discipline in that colony, On the 26th March, in that year, Mr. John Price, Inspector- General of penal establishments, was murdered by convicts at Williamstown. This event caused such a sensation throughout all the Australian colonies, that it was difficult to find a suitable person to discharge the duties of so responsible a position. In addition to the dangers and difficulties, which at all times surround institutions of this kind, these latter were still further increased by the sympathy shown for the convicts by a certain class of the community, and also by a section of the public press, which condemned in no measured terms the administration of the late Inspector-General. To find a 128 CRIME AND CRIMINALS.

successor to Mr. Price gave rise to much speculation among members of the Government. In those days Mr. (afterwards Sir John) O’Shannassy was Chief Secretary of Victoria, and Mr. Champ was recommended to him by a gentleman who had known him in his public capacity for many years. He was accordingly communicated with, and agreed to accept the office, but a change of Government took place in Victoria, and nearly two months elapsed before any further action was taken in the matter ; indeed, Mr. Champ had given up all idea of the appointment, when on the 24th May, as lie- was about to attend the levee in honor of Her Majesty’s birthday, he received a letter from the new Chief Secretary (Mr. Haines) stating that his appointment had been confirmed. He arrived in Melbourne on 4th June, 1857, and immediately proceeded to the prison at Pentridge. When Mr. Champ entered upon his duties as Inspector-General,, he found himself in a dilemma. Every portion of the, department was in a most unsatisfactory state, and the officials were thoroughly disorganised. The prisoners being in a state of mutiny were only kept in custody by fear of armed sentries, who surrounded the gaol when they were at labor. The prison was of the most wretched- description, and the materials of which it was constructed, almost offered a premium for prisoners to attempt their escape therefrom.. Mr. Price had laid the foundation of his intended penitentiary in a hollow, close to the old workshops, about the most unsuitable locality that could have been selected for the purpose. A portion of the- cells were built, but when Mr.. Champ took charge he abandoned the- idea, and subsequently these were converted into pigsties for the use- of the establishment. Soon after commencing his duties, he with the engineer, Mr. Buck, made a survey of the land belonging to the- department. The “ Crystal Palace,” which stood on the most elevated spot, he decided to remove to the centre of the prison reserve, which, comprised about 140 acres. There were excellent bluestone quarries, where the prisoners could be profitably employed quarrying, preparing stone for building purposes, and breaking road metal. In a fortnight after Mr. Champ’s arrival at Pentridge, the “Crystal Palace” was* CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 129

removed from where it was first built, and in a month was re­ erected in the reserve, where it remained until 1868, when it finally ceased to form any portion of the prison. Mr. Champ saw that with the style of prison buildings at Pentridge it would be impossible to attempt to carry out any reformatory system of treatment, and he accordingly designed and drafted the plans of the Panoptican and other buildings, which are a lasting monument to perpetuate his memory as a public servant of the colony. He also commenced the great wall around Pentridge paddock, which was completed in 1866. This wall is 2^ miles in length and 10 feet high, and is built of stone cut entirely by convict labour. In connection with the old “Crystal Palace,” a railway was constructed for the purpose of conveying stone to the ground where the Panoptican stood, surrounded by a wall 20 feet high. . By the commencement of the year 1859, Mr. Champ, who was well supported by the Government, had effected a reduction in the annual expenditure of the department in salaries alone of £13,218 12s 6d. The works atvl Williamstown were abandoned, all the hulks removed to Sandridge, and before the end of the year the “ Presi­ dent” ceased to enclose within its wooden walls the class of criminals which gave it the memorable and very suggestive title of the “floating hell.” The “Lysander” was also struck off the list of prison hulks. Both of these vessels lay at anchor in Hobson’s Bay for some time, the sport of winds and waves, and the abode of sea­ gulls the solitude within their deserted cells, which but shortly before had contained Captain Melville and his gang—the murderers of the boatman Owens and Mr. Price—contrasting strangely with the inharmonious sounds that frequently emanated from the former occupants. In the year 1859, the high wall which enclosed the Panoptican, hospitals, cells, and officers’ quarters at Pentridge was completed, and all the long-sentenced prisoners were removed thereto. Then commenced, for the first time in this part of the world, classification in the management of criminals as introduced by Mr. Champ, and which was so successfully carried out during the long period he held the office of Inspector-general. In the same year 180 CRIME AND CRIMINALS. the large bluestone building which was commenced by Mr. Price, and intended for a Hospital, was finished, and accommodated 860 prisoners. But this prison was never approved of by Mr. Champ because no method of classification could be carried out there. There were 8 wards, the prisoners slept in hammocks, and in every way the building was comfortable and well ventilated. In the year 1860 Mr. Champ visited Sydney for the purpose of inspecting the woollen factories there, with the object of introducing the manufacture of cloth and blankets into Pentridge, and which has since become a great source of industry in that institution. In this year also he ‘completed a large portion of the designs that he contemplated when he first took office, and it was admitted by everyone who visited the institution that it had attained the highest state of prison discipline, so far as the colonies were concerned. As head of the department he showed to his subordinates, by his rectitude of conduct, that from him all rules and regulations should emanate ; strictly impartial in the administration of the duties of his office, combined with a generous feeling for those ipider his command, he was held in the greatest respect by all ranks of the service. One of the marked features of his public character was the kindness he invariably showed to the officers and warders when suffering from sickness. Whenever he was informed that any of the men were ill he would either visit them personally, or else give directions that they should receive all necessary care and attention. In 1869 Mr. Champ resolved to retire from public life, and it was said at the time that this was in consequence of some disagreement with the head of the Government of the day. If such were the case, never did the Victorian Govern­ ment commit a more imprudent act than when they accepted his resignation, for he re-organised the department, and placed it in a state of efficiency that none of his successors have, as yet, been able to accomplish. Since he retired from the service, time has verified the fact that he left behind him the finest disciplined body of men of' all ranks that were to be found in any of the public institutions of the colony. As an illustration of this fact it may be stated that during the eleven years he held office, no board of enquiry was ever' CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 131 appointed to investigate charges against any of the officials; the management of the department was never questioned, nor did any comment appear in the public press unless in praise of his public career. . ; It must not be forgotten that in the year 1859, Mr. Champ was commissioned by the Government to raise a corps of volunteers to be called the Pentridge Eifles. This he readily accomplished, by permitting the officers and warders—who were all well drilled men—to enter the ranks. He also encouraged young men from the neighbor­ ing districts to join, so that in a short time he had one of the best drilled and disciplined corps in the volunteer service, and was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. Although a strict disciplinarian, the Colonel never resorted to severe measures. By his kind and persuasive manner he held such dominion over the minds of others that ho never had the ill-feeling of a single member during the nine years he commanded the corps. When he resigned the office of Inspector-General, the officers and warders of the prison presented him with a farewell address, and a handsome silver tea service valued at £74, and on the same day, the members of the Pentridge Eifles gave him a beautiful claret jug as a mark of the high esteem in which he was held by all ranks of the corps. It may be truly said that Colonel Champ was a soldier born and constituted to command. Never, perhaps, did any commanding officer experience from the members of his corps the same amount of loyalty and respect, as did Colonel Champ during the time that he commanded the Pentridge Volunteers. His fine military appearance, combined with his martial word of command, imbued his men with -that regard which, either in peace or war, tends to cement the bonds of union and strength in the profession of arms. When taking his final leave of the Pentridge Volunteer Eifles on parade, the gallant old Colonel said:—“A period of 42 years has elapsed since I first entered the service of my sovereign, and this will be my last.” The Colonel then read the following address,—“Lieutenant-Colonel Champ being about to remove from the district of Pentridge, has considered it his duty to tender to His Excellency the Governor, his resignation 132 CRIME AND CRIMINALS. '

of the command of the Pentridge Eifle Corps, which will now, pending; his Excellency’s decision, devolve temporarily on Captain Grylls, to whom all reports are to be until further orders addressed. In making this notification, Lieutenant-Colonel Champ desires to convey to the officers and members of the Pentridge Eifles, his extreme regret that circumstances have rendered it necessary that he should retire from a corps with which he has been so intimately connected since its formation more than ten years ago, and the pride and gratification which he has always felt at commanding a body of men, whose general characters and conduct, whose appearance and subordination on parade, and whose invariable attention to their self- imposed military duties, have always reflected the highest credit on themselves and on their commanding officer. In taking leave of his late comrades of the Pentridge Eifles, Lieutenant-Colonel Champ assures them that he will never cease to feel an interest in their welfare, and that it will always afford him the greatest satisfaction to hear that they have maintained the high character for discipline and efficiency with which the name has been hitherto so deservedly associated.” As soon as he had spoken these words, feelings of regret were evidently experienced, not only by the volunteers, but also by the inhabitants of Coburg, who then felt they were losing a man that had always interested himself and who was most energetic, in all matters appertaining to the welfare of the surrounding district. During the many years that Colonel Champ resided in Tasmania, he held successively the following appointments, viz:—Assistant Police Magistrate, Chairman of the Board for investigating titles to land, Surveyor-General, Coroner, Commandant of the Penal Settlement of Tasman’s Peninsula, Comptroller-General of Convicts, and finally for several years those of Colonial Secretary and senior member of the Executive Council. He was also Chairman of the Education Board, and Commissioner of the Lunatic Asylum. In Victoria he was Inspector-General of Penal Establishments, a Justice of the Peace, and a Lieutenant-Colonel in the Military Forces, -commanding for some years the North Melbourne district, and retiring finally with the rank of Colonel. In the year 1871 he CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 133

was chosen to represent the East Bourke Boroughs, in Parliament, but he resigned before the end of the sessions. When in Tasmania he married Helen Abigail, daughter of Major James Gibson, formerly of the 15th Light Dragoons, and had issue by her, three sons and five daughters, most of whom are married and have families. In private, as well as in public life, the Colonel was invariably polite to everyone, and in years to come he will always be respectfully remembered as one of the most perfect gentlemen that ever frequented the highest circles of society in this his adopted country. He was incapable of a mean action, and would never listen to tales carried to him by his subordinates reflecting on the conduct of their comrades, unless all parties concerned were present. Readers of this brief biographical sketch will probably ask:— “ What has become of Colonel Champ ?” I can happily reply that the grand old officer is still to the front, though ailing and somewhat feeble, being now (May, 1888) in his 80th year. He resides in a quiet way on his estate at Darra, near Meredith, in this colony, and is at present engaged in pastoral pursuits. And there, at his peaceful country retreat, let us leave him with a firm belief that when his earthly career is ended, he will be found fully prepared and ready to stand in the presence of his Maker.

CHAPTER VI.

1858-9.

CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 137

CHAPTER VI. Improvement of Discipline in 1858.-—Colonel Champ’s Second Annual Report.—Description of C Division—The Enforcing of Silence.__ A Night of Horrors.—The Colonel Shows that he can Rule.—More Crystal Palace Yarns.—Bernardo’s Lungs.—Unsuccessful Stratagem.—Great Rush of Prisoners.

During the early part of this year the Inspector-General (Mr. Champ) was busily engaged in carrying out the various alterations in the Penal Department suggested by him to the Government in his first annual report. The purport of these alterations was first to protect the interests of society by ensuring the safe custody of prisoners, while at the same time subjecting them to such an amount of discipline and punishment as might tend to deter them from a . repetition of their crimes ; secondly, to effect as far as possible a reformation in the convict ; thirdly, to reduce the expenditure of the department and to render the labor of the convicts as reproductive as possible to the State. The much desired innovations, as suggested by the indefatigable Inspector-General, were not long in making themselves felt, for on my return to Pentridge in March, material alterations had been made in the general appearance of the Stockade. Especially striking were the alacrity and smartness displayed by the prisoners when called on to muster in the yard attached to the prison. There were usually between five* and six hundred men present, forming three sides of a square, and they were as steady on parade as soldiers of the line. A warder at this time had more control over a hundred prisoners than in former and later years he had over fifty. In the messroom, which was large enough to accommodate all the prisoners, school was held, and in order to 138 CRIME AND CRIMINALS.

prevent any conversation or disturbance, a sentry box was placed at either end of the building, so that the warders under arms could observe everything going on. If a prisoner was seen misbehaving in any way, his number would be at once noted, and next day he would be brought before the Superintendent and duly punished. By these means the most perfect order and regularity were maintained; the majority of the men used the time allotted for study to the best advantage, and many who were very deficient in the mere rudiments acquired sufficient knowledge of “ the three R’s” to qualify them for employment in any of the ordinary occupations of life. In subsequent years the discipline became so relaxed that the messroom was looked upon as the place where nearly every scheme of insubordination was concocted, but in Colonel Champ’s time the strict order and the evident interest on the part of the men made the messroom or schoolroom one of the happiest and most easily managed spheres of discipline. In his second annual report, Colonel Champ says—“ The condition of the prisoners has been ameliorated ; the discipline main­ tained is unquestionably strict, no violation, however slight, of the prison rules being permitted to pass unnoticed, but though firm, it is mild. On the other hand, striking or pushing the convict, except in self defence, and the use of harsh and irritating language by the warders are strictly forbidden, and no breach of this order has been brought under, my notice. The supply of clothing and bedding is ample, the provisions are good, well cooked, and fairly distributed, and any man who desires it can see his portion weighed immediately. The daily ration is, in fact, greatly in excess of that allowed in the prisons in England, and in the adjoining colonies of South Australia and Western Australia, and at my suggestion a Board is now engaged in revising the scale. The regulations under which remissions of sentences are granted, of which the irregularity and uncertainty in former times afforded just grounds of complaint, have been revised, modified, and made more certain in their operation. Every man is made to know and feel that it depends on his own general conduct and industry whether he be restored to society at the minimum or at the maximum period.” In reference to the ref or- CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 139

mation of prisoners, he also says :—44 The experience which I have gained in the last two years, together with a careful study of the report of Inspectors of Prisons in Great Britain, and the opinion of others who have made penal science their study, have confirmed me m the opinions I have always entertained and expressed, that the efficiency of any penal system must depend on the means afforded for separating the convicts in confinement. In June, 1857, I recom­ mended that the criminal should pass through three stages. First, absolute seclusion at all times. Secondly, association only when at labor. Thirdly, proper supervision at all times without isolation.” By this extract it will be seen that the Inspector-General was endeavoring to introduce a system of ruling prisoners by moral influence instead of physical force. As a natural result, assaults upon the officials became less frequent although the introduction of the 44 silent” system in the 44 C ” division at Pentridge was the cause of a stubborn resistance by some of the most turbulent prisoners, an account of which will be given in the description of the opening of the C division, to which we will now proceed. The latter part of the year 1858 witnessed the completion of the large building whicli had been commenced by Mr. John Price. This portion of the prison was designed to accommodate 552 prisoners, and has in subsequent yeais borne the reputation of being one of the most ill-designed and inconvenient structures of its kind in this part of Her Majesty’s dominions. It still exists, but is not at present in use. There are eight wards in the lowrer, and the same number in the upper tier. The prisoners slept in hammocks, and there were three tiers, one above the other. This arrangement was not only objectionable from a sanitary point of view, but wras also conducive to misconduct of the most horrible and disgusting kind on the part of the prisoners. The very structure and arrangement of this large dormitory were such as to exclude all idea of reforming the prisoners. The tendency was, in fact, entirely in the opposite direction, for it is an acknowledged fact amongst all who have had sufficient experience of the internal working of prisons, that complete isolation during the night is the only efficient means of bridling the pernicious 140 CRIME AND CRIMINALS.

\ habits and immoral conversations so common amongst prisoners, and : of preventing the planning and maturing of schemes of violence within and without the prison walls. It is a well known fact that prisoners avail themselves of every opportunity of conversation with each other to suggest schemes of daring and depredation for future execution, and these suggestions occasionally fall upon the ears of some who would otherwise have been disposed to turn over a new leaf, and become honest members of society on their discharge to freedom. In order to initiate and carry out a strict system of discipline, such as had never before been attempted in this colony, and such as was not likely even then to be accomplished without considerable difficulty, and even personal danger to the officers and warders of the establishment, Colonel Champ brought his active brain and long experience to bear upon the task, under circumstances about to be narrated, and with lasting benefit to society at large, and to the penal establishment in particular. During the 18 months which preceded the adoption of the new system about to be referred to, the prisoners had gained over the officials at least one signal victory. I have in mind more particularly what was known at the time as “the Melville rush,” in which a number of prisoners at the hulks had seized a boat, and had attempted to escape. In this affair the boatman Owen Owens was mur­ dered. The prisoners were brought to trial, and in consequence of some technical point of law raised by Counsellor Ireland, all the men were acquitted. In March following Mr. John Price was murdered, and these acts had stimulated the prisoners to the commission of further deeds of violence and bloodshed upon the first favorable opportunity, their object being to compel the Government to redress some of the grievances, real or imaginary, which had been for some years rankling in the minds of the prisoners, and which had unfor­ tunately found advocates amongst a certain class of the community outside. The prisoners also found a champion more zealous than discreet in one of the Melbourne daily newspapers, which never missed an opportunity of holding up to the public gaze the supposed wrongs CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 141

of the prisoners, and the alleged shortcomings of those in charge of them. In the presence of this kind of pandering by the outside world to the views of the prisoners within the walls, and of the manifestly insubordinate tendencies of the prisoners themselves, most persons would have hesitated before attempting to introduce any innovation of a disciplinary kind, and particularly one of a stricter sort than existed in the system then in practice, and especially amongst such a gang of desperate convicts, “the scum and off­ scourings of society in Great Britain,” as they were justly called. But be this as it may, it will be seen from what has been stated, that the department was in a very disorganised state when Colonel Champ was appointed to the supreme command in 1857. The task he had to compass was truly Herculean in its magni­ tude. To reform -long-standing abuses, to tighten the reins of discipline, and to place an institution of such a kind in a position to command the approval and confidence of the Australian public, at a period when it was the subject of comment and animadversion not only in the colonies, but throughout the civilised world, demanded qualifications of no mean order, and a mental grasp such as few men possess. But the new Inspector-General was an officer in whom these qualities were eminently combined. He was first and foremost an excellent and determined disciplinarian ; he possessed a high sense of justice, a keen insight into character, and his mode of dealing with all ranks of the service was thoroughly impartial. Exact in the administration of the minutest details of his office he restored confidence amongst all his subordinates, which was one of the principal elements wanting at this period in the management of convicts. The prisoners well knew from personal experience that he was a strict disciplinarian. They also knew from similar experience that if they comported themselves in accordance with the rules laid down for their governance, they would receive at his hands that even-handed justice which had for years before been denied them. On the other hand, Colonel Champ was not an officer to be intimidated in the discharge of his public duties by the threats of convicts, or by the bowlings of a corrupt press. His main object 142 CRIME AND CRIMINALS.

was so to re-organise the prison system of this colony as to place the penal department in a position that, in point of discipline, would compare favorably with any prison in Her Majesty’s dominions. Upon entering on this task he soon perceived that one of the first and most effective changes to be wrought was to impose what is known as the “ Silent System” as far as was practicable, and especially after night, muster. Hitherto it had been found impossible to carry out the silent system, owing principally to the construction of the prison, and to the little heed that was given in those days to the reformation of criminals, so that, wholly unchecked, the system of unrestiained conversational intercourse between prisoners under detention at the various penal establishments had grown into one of -the most pernicious indulgences ever sanctioned in the management of the various prisons in Australia, and it had to be remedied. Although the prisoners were permitted to converse when at labour, which could not well be avoided (since they all worked in association), yet even this is considered by experienced officers to be highly objectionable from a reformatory point of view. But this practice was carried to ,a climax in the dormitories when 60 or 70 prisoners were huddled together, and when, as may be supposed, the conversation . which was carried on between them was of the most demoralising nature. Besides, it was well known to the authorities that it was during the night time all the attempts to escape and other breaches of discipline were concerted. Many have been the contemplated ‘‘ rushes” of prisoners, deferred from day to day for want of a few minutes unobserved conversation with each other, to enable them to arrange the details of some crude but daring scheme for overaweing the , warders and attempting to escape, in which some would fall victims ,to the warders’ rifles, and perhaps be recaptured before they got beyond the walls. Colonel Champ was too experienced an officer not to observe the necessity of adopting more repressive means which would to a certain extent, and within certain limits, restrain the demoralising state of I things here referred to. He accordingly issued an order that strict j .silence should be observed in the dormitories from lock-up in the CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 143 evening until the men were let out in the morning. As soon as this order was read to the men on parade there were unmistakeable manifestations of intended resistance and insubordination. This was especially noticeable amongst the “ old hands,” who always acted as the ringleaders in all scenes of lavdessness, and who made it their constant habit to imbue the minds of the most peaceable and tract­ able with discontent and disobedience. The authorities had received information that the majority of the prisoners had determined to resist the carrying out of the new regulation order, and intimation was plainly given by the prisoners that if attempted to be enforced it would terminate in another affair like that of Mr. John Price. On the other hand the Inspector-General was quite as determined that the order should be put in operation; he had also given the necessary instructions to Mr. G. 0. Duncan and the Chief Warder, Mr. Gardner, to be prepared for any emergency that might arise, as there was reason to believe that a number of desperate ruffians had planned together to “ rush ” the chain of sentries and make their escape. To guard against any such a contingency additional sentries were placed on the line which surrounded the prison. The warders were armed with double-barrelled rifles, which were carefully insj3ected every morning on parade by the chief warder, to see that each man’s arms were in a proper state of efficiency before he took up his post. Sergeant Maxwell, of the guard, visited the chain of sentries at frequent intervals during the day to see that the men were on the alert at their various posts. The first day after the order had been read to the prisoners, the overseers observed that something was likely to take place on the following night, which would decide the issue of events. It vras not without substantial grounds that the officials apprehended a desperate and violent opposition on the part of the prisoners to the enforcement of the new rules, and it wras even feared that it would involve loss of life on both sides. Immediately after the men had mustered in their ward for the night, and the officers had left the building, the prisoners commenced yelling and making use of the most horrible and threatening language to the warder on night duty stationed in the 144 CRIME AND CRIMINALS.

corridors. In a few minutes all attempts to maintain order had to be abandoned, and until the ringing of the silence bell at 8 p.m., the disorderly conduct of a large portion of the prisoners transcends all descriptive power, at least within the walls of a prison. The next day some of the ringleaders appeared to think that the authorities were afraid to have recourse to extreme measures, and that they would ultimately have to rescind the obnoxious order, but in this they were disappointed, for a scene occurred on the night of that same day, and on the following morning, which forms an important epoch in the history of the department, and is consequently worthy of being carefully recorded. On the evening in question, as soon the prisoners were marched in from labor, and were mustered as usual in their wards, Sergeant Maxwell came into the guard-room, where a number of the warders were assembled after the day’s duty, and gave orders for eight of the men to hold themselves in readiness for special night duty. I happened to be one of the number, and was shortly afterwards informed by a corporal that we were to be locked up for one hour and a half in the wards with the prisoners, for the purpose of enforcing order, and to take the numbers of any prisoners who might be dis­ orderly. Several of our comrades strongly advised us not to obey the order, as it seemed pretty certain that we should be murdered by the prisoners. It was, on the other hand observed that we should all be dismissed from the service if we refused, but it was pointed out that even that alternative would be preferable to being butchered by the convicts. Had we paid any serious attention to these counsels (which we did not), it might have proved most disastrous to the future discipline of the establishment, especially at so critical a moment as that. However, one of the officers advised us to obey the order, as it would be rightly regarded as cowardice on our part to refuse. It was moreover considered that any hesitation or want of determination on our part would strengthen the hands of the prisoners, and would afford direct encouragement to them to pursue their insubordinate conduct. At length the order was given to fall in as if on parade, and the sergeant then addressed a few words to us, admon­ CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 145 ishing us to be cool, and neither to ask or to answer any questions of the prisoners. As I passed through the gate which led to the interior of the prison, I remarked to one of the officers who was close by’ “ Mind, I never expect to come out alive.” No answer was given to this remark, as the person to whom it was addressed, felt conscious of some foreboding of the disaster that seemed imminent. At the time appointed each warder took up his allotted post in the dormitory and was locked in for the night in the midst of a seething mass of yelling, howling, and threatening convicts, men who were probably the worst and most desperate ruffians that were ever held in bondage in any civilised country, or at least under the flag of England. In a few minutes after the officers had left the building the shouts, the oaths, and the threats of personal violence against the warders became deafening. There was a passage through the centre of the ward, and on each side of it there were three tiers of hammocks up, containing in all 64 convicts. My duty was to pace up and down this passage, and to take down the number of any prisoner who might make himself conspicuous by his conduct being more turbulent or outrageous than that of the other men. This rendered me a butt for every kind of insult that the perverted ingenuity of those unhappy men could devise, especially from the top tiers of hammocks, from whence a continuous shower of tobacco juice and saliva descended on my unfortunate head, and in no way added to the elegance of Her Majesty’s uniform which I had the honor to wear. The awful noise and confusion became worse confounded, however, when Sergeant Caldwell came to the iron gate and handed me a piece of paper with the following heading, namely:—Received from the Penal Department. This was the signal for increased disorder amongst the more turbulent of the prisoners. Before the sergeant left, I told him, as indeed his own observation must have convinced him, that the men were in a very excited and mutinous condition. He told me not to be alarmed, as there were 10 warders in the corridors armed with rifles, and that if the prisoners attempted any assault they would be riddled with bullets. Cheering as this intelligence might appear to those who were outside the ward, I could not help thinking that I 146 CRIME AND CRIMINALS. miglit have been one of those who would share the same fate as the prisoners if a volley had been fired into the ward. However, one incident occurred which nearly cost me my life. A few minutes before the time arrived for me to be relieved from my arduous and withal perilous duty, my attention was attracted to the upper end of the ward by the conduct of four of the prisoners, whom I well knew to be the instigators and leaders of these disturbances. I observed two of the number making signs to each other across the ward. When I had arrived at the spot in the central passage of the ward, which was immediately beneath the hammocks of the desperadoes, a blanket was flung down over my head, and the signal was given for a number of the prisoners to jump from the top tiers on the top of me, but before they were able to carry out their amiable manoeuvre I suddenly seized the blanket and tore it from their grasp, and thus perhaps saved my life, which otherwise might have adorned a Pentridge tale, instead of my becoming the author of one as in subsequent years. During this momentous night all the other wards were comparatively orderly, at least no report was made of any misconduct therein to the superintendent next day. On the morning of the next day, Mr. Gardner, the senior-chief warder, sent for me to the office and informed me that the Inspector-general was highly pleased with my conduct, and that it would be placed upon the records of the establishment, but whether or not this was done, I know not; all I can say is that it was the last I ever heard of it. But the sequel to the foregoing episode is one of the most important events in those critical times, and in the subsequent history of the department, and afforded irrefragable proof of the superiority of Colonel Champ’s system, and of his being one of the ablest officers that held an appointment involving the management and control of convicts in this or any other country in the world. On the morning following the events of the night of horrors above described, the prisoners had taken their breakfast, and had been ordered to fall in for labor. They one and all refused to obey the order, and commenced to use threatening language to the officers and warders. Instigated by the threatening language and gestures of CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 147 some of the worst conducted, in a few minutes the whole of the men were in a state of insubordination, and the officers had to leave the yard for the sake of their lives. It was quite evident that matters had now arrived at a climax. The prisoners then assembled in groups about the yards discussing and deliberating what course they should adopt. Others were yelling and hooting and making use of all sorts of threatening language, and the turmoil was such as to be heard all over the township. Whilst these scenes of disorder were at their highest within the yard, the Inspector-general appeared at the outer gate which led into the prison. Here he was met by Mr. Duncan, the superintendent, and Mr. Gardner, the senior-chief warder. The former addressing him said, “ The prisoners are greatly excited, and I think it would not be safe for you to enter the yard.” “ Oh,” was the reply. “ I don’t mind that, I have a certain duty to perform and I must do it, let the consequences be what they may.” The gate was then opened, and the Inspector-general accompanied by some of the officers passed through the corridors which led into the yard where the prisoners were still raging. The colonel led the way and stepped into the yards as cool and insouciant as if entering a ballroom. For a moment he surveyed the moving mass of heads before him, and raising his hand, and with a look which many of the prisoners, remembered for years afterwards, exclaimed in that clear and commanding voice, which was peculiarly his own, “ Silence.” In a moment the eyes of all the prisoners were turned towards him, his. tall and commanding appearance, and his cool and determined attitude, so well known in former years to most of the men who had. served under him at Port Arthur, in Tasmania, recalled to their minds, the force of discipline. For a moment the voices of the prisoners were subdued, but in the next there broke forth from some of them a: yell and a shout of defiance, particularly from the lower part of the yard. The Colonel stepping a few paces further down the yard again proclaimed in an imperative tone the word “ Silence !” This- was indeed a critical moment, inasmuch as upon it hung the issue of the day, the question being whether one resolute man was able to over-awe and command obedience by force of his own personaL 148 CRIME AND CRIMINALS. character, or whether it would be necessary to enforce submission at the point of the warders’ rifles, and with loss of life on both sides. After this proclamation of “ Silence” the prisoners voices were all suddenly hushed, and the Inspector-general then ordered them to fall in, and addressed them to the following effect : —“I have been informed” said he, “that your conduct has been most disgraceful, and that you have refused to go to work. Now, whatever complaints prisoners may have to make there is nothing to justify them in disobeying orders. I have also been informed that threatening language has been used towards the officers. Don’t imagine for one moment that I am to be intimidated in the discharge of the duties of my office by threats of violence. I am sent here to see that the sentences which you are now serving are duly carried into effect, and you may rely on it that I shall do so, even if it be at the sacrifice of half your lives and my own into the bargain.” The last sentence was spoken with great force and emphasis. “ I have,” continued the speaker, “ officers and warders under me on whom I have the most implicit reliance in carrying out my orders, and if this misconduct continues I shall certainly be compelled to resort to extreme means to maintain discipline. I have no doubt that many of you have served under me elsewhere before to-day, and you know what I am. If you conduct yourselves as men, I will treat you as men, but if not you will be dealt with accordingly, and if any further complaints are made to me about your conduct I will at once send in irons to the hulks as many as the ship will hold to complete their sentences. Now go to your work, and bear in mind that though I cannot make you work, I can stop your rations, and if there is to be no work there shall be no dinner.” The die was cast, and 500 convicts stood cowed and subdued, who but a few moments before had been in a state of open mutiny. Before the Colonel left the yard the prisoners requested that a deputation might be permitted to wait on him to see if he would make any modification in what they called the severity of the order. To this he assented, and at nine o’clock a.m., three of the men who had been deputed as delegates were brought to the office, CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 149 where a long dialogue ensued, the result being that no alteration was made in the order, and the Inspector-general expressed his firm determination to see it properly carried into effect. Here we have an example of peisonal courage, coolness of judgment, and decision of character exhibited at a most critical period in the management of convicts. In the Inspector-general’s address there was nothing of the bully or tyrant; on the contrary, it was evidently prompted by a conscientious desire to discharge one of the most important duties of his office, and by so doing he demonstrated very clearly to his subordinates that the initiation of all matters appertaining to the discipline of criminals should emanate from the head of the department. To the prisoners he showed the inevitable consequences of disobeying the rules and regulations laid down for their guidance. And lastly he deprecated the folly and injudiciousness of the outside public in attempting to interfere unnecessarily with the control of prisoners. On the day following, the visiting justice (Dr. Youl) and the police magistrate (Mr. Hackett) attended at the stockade, when the nine prisoners reported by me for insubordination were brought before them. They all pleaded not guilty, ” and endeavored to prove that they were not more culpable than the others in the same ward. But Dr.. Youl remarked that this plea could not be considered in extenuation of the individual bad conduct of the nine prisoners charged with openly defying the authorities. He also added that he hoped the sentence he was about to pass upon them would act as a warning to the rest of the prisoners, because in every case of insubordination he would inflict the heaviest punishment in his power. Accordingly five of them were sentenced to 90 days on bread and water, and to be sent on board the penal hulks to complete the remainder of their sentences, and the others to 60 days’ solitary confinement. Thus er.ded one of the most determined and premeditated attempts to intimidate the officials and overthrow all legal authority. It was extremely fortunate that an officer of Mr. Champ’s ability was then at the head of the penal department, for had not such been the case, in all probability this serious affair would 150 CRIME AND CRIMINALS.

not have terminated without fearful loss of life. Many years after­ wards, I learnt from a discharged prisoner (who had made himself most prominent in causing the disturbance, but at the same time was cunning enough to avoid detection) that it was decided amongst them to have murdered me that night, but three of the prisoners were serving long sentences, and these men were prepared to turn informers in the expectation of getting some of their time remitted, consequently this design was frustrated, and I was not molested. Shortly after this occurrence it was rumored that firearms were to be secreted by prisoners in the mess-room, and when they were let out in the morning to wash and prepare for labor, an attempt would be made to seize the officers and warders ; and then, by some kind of stratagem which was never clearly ascertained, to get the key from the warders on duty at the gate leading to the guard-room, procure all the arms, and liberate the prisoners. I must confess that I have always considered this plan one of the most impracticable that was ever concocted in the prison or elsewhere. The yard and mess-room were enclosed by a stone wall 20 feet high. It was reported that some discharged prisoners intended to have ascended at night to the platforms where the sentries were on duty during the day/and .then, to have descended by a rope ladder to the yard for the purpose of secreting contraband articles. In order to prevent any attempt of this kind, the night sentry who had the key of a small gate opening into the yard, had to visit it every hour and report to the corporal of the guard. The only foundation I ever heard for this rumor was that four discharged prisoners were seen outside the boundary wall of the prison, but it was never known what their intentions might have been. In October of this year the 44 Crystal Palace ” was in full operation, situated in the centre of the prison reserve. It was about 600 yards from the main depot, and from its isolated position, there appeared a far greater prospect of success in 44 sticking up ” this than the other portion of the establishment referred to. The various extraordinary attempts to escape in those days demanded the constant attention of the officials. It was my first experience in doing duty CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 151

at the “ Crystal Palace,” and while there, the scenes I witnessed in that den of infamy, and the pleasure expressed by prisoner at the rehearsal of deeds of crime of the most depraved nature, engraved indelibly on my mind the utter hopelessness of reforming criminals of this class. This will, doubtless, be considered a rather severe opinion to pronounce, even upon the most depraved criminals, but those who have learned their histories, studied their characters, and heard the terrible crimes committed in the adjacent penal settlements related by them with expressions of exultation, will coincide with the poet when he says :— “ Sad were such tales and wondered much did we, Such hearts of stone there in this world could be.” One summer evening I was listening very attentively to two notorious prisoners relating some of the incidents that had occurred at Port Arthur, Tasmania. One of them was Garrett, the Ballarat bank robber ; and the other Roily, who afterwards committed a murderous assault on Overseer Kilmartin at the Crystal Palace. I am not aware that either of these men ever served a sentence at Port Arthur, but nevertheless they appeared to be quite familial with the principal occurrences at this and other penal settlements in the different colonies. The particular episode they were referring to was an illustration of the terrible depravity of some criminals in those days, and the absence of all moral restraint in their actions, or dread of any punishment that might ensue. The story is as follows :—At Port Arthur, two prisoners were working together on a stone-heap. One of them had a “quid” of tobacco in his mouth, when his companion, asking him for a portion of it, was refused. The latter then waited quietly for a favorable opportunity, and deliberately struck his mate a violent blow on the head with a stone-hammer, killing him almost instantly. The culprit then rushed at the dying man, opened his mouth, took out the tobacco, which he at once transferred to his own, remarking with an oath that it was a “good chew.” On this charge he was tried and acquitted in consequence of some discrepancy in the evidence. Shortly after this he was charged before the military commandant with a breach of the prison regulations. He pleaded 152 CRIME AND CRIMINALS. earnestly for a lenient sentence, when the commandant remarked that only a short time since he had been arraigned for murdering his comrade. “True,” said the prisoner, “but I was honorably acquitted!” “That may be,” retorted the officer, “but take 100 lashes on this charge.” The truth of this story might appear improbable, but a warder at Pentridge informed me, when I first joined the force, that he was in the Government service at Port Arthur at the time of the occur­ rence, and verified the facts of the case, adding that the same prisoner had committed several murders, and was ultimately sent to Norfolk Island. Deeds of this description usually formed the topics of conversation among the convicts from the time they were locked up until the ringing of the “ silence bell,” when they would turn into their ham­ mocks until the “ rouse bell ” in the morning. One night I was somewhat amused at a prisoner telling a story about Mr. John Price, when police magistrate at Hobart Town. I have been informed that Mr. Price would occasionally take a nocturnal stroll through the city to ascertain—it was said—if any of the convicts on probation were misconducting themselves. Upon one occasion he was walking along an unfrequented street in disguise, when he met a discharged prisoner, who after passing him called out, “ Aye. ” Mr. Price turned round quickly, when the fellow, placing his thumb to his nose, said in a jeering manner, “ That slues you mate.” . A few weeks afterwards this same man was brought up in custody before Mr. Price, and charged with petty larceny. As soon as he appeared in the dock, Mr. Price, placing the well-known glass to his eye, and scanning the prisoner for a few minutes said, “ Three months’ imprisonment and so many hours in the tread mill.” The delinquent, who seemed somewhat surprised at the sentence, after glancing wickedly at the bench, left the dock, but when passing out of the court,Mr. Price arrested his attention by calling out, “Aye,” and repeating the prisoner’s impudent salute on the night previously mentioned, he added, “ That slues you mate.” CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 153

At the conclusion of stories of this kind, and others very probably of a questionable nature, a general criminal conversation would follow, with comments on the circumstances under which the various crimes were committed. I can state from what has come under my personal observation, that a few months’ schooling in th’s foul atmosphere of vice would make anyone familiar with the darkest deeds of convict life. But this state of things is nothing more than what might be supposed, because nearly all of the prisoners at that time had been transported from the mother country, and had already spent the greater portion of their lives in gaol, surrounded by all the contaminating influences of the vilest criminals. The responsibility of the night sentries in guarding convicts of this class was both wearisome and dangerous, as the most constant watchfulness had to be observed during the long hours of the night, especially in winter. The severity of the duty was sometimes increased by the disorderly conduct of the prisoners in raising false alarms. If it were a cold rainy night when the sentries were obliged to seek shelter in the sentry boxes, these villains would generally create a disturbance, compel;ing the unfortunate officials to turn out instantly, often amid torrents of rain, in order to make a close examination of the exterior of the huts. This nuisance would invariably be committed during the night, and therefore with very little prospect of detecting the culprits. However, upon one occasion a warder named Bernardo said he would cause them as much annoyance as they were in the habit of giving the sentries, and he rightly conjectured that the prisoners would eventually retire from the contest. This warder possessed the most powerful lungs of any man I ever met, and it was currently reported that when he was on duty at Pentridge and called the number of his post with the usual accompaniment, “ All’s well, ” he had been heard at Collingwood—a distance of five miles. On the night in question, immediately after the “ silence bell” had rung, the prisoners commenced operations by making a grating noise in one of the huts. Bernardo made several attempts to detect the guilty parties, but failed to do so. He then placed himself close to the hut, from whence the sounds pro­ 154 CRIME AND CRIMINALS.

ceeded, and when the time arrived for him to call the number of his post he gave a roar that awoke all the prisoners on the station. The fearful yells of blasphemy and profanity that ensued utterly defy description. This continued until 12 o’clock, when Bernardo was relieved, greatly to the satisfaction of the prisoners, who never after attempted to make any unnecessary noise. In those days the projected rushes of prisoners pervaded all their conversation. When the warders were paraded in the morning, every man’s rifle and pouch were examined to see if it had the requisite quantity of ammunition prior to proceeding on duty. Before breaking off on parade the chief warder would usually address a few words of warning to the men to be alert on their post; and at the same time nominating the warders who were to go in pursuit in the event of a rush taking place. At 10 a.m. the sergeant of the guard would visit all the sentries on the line, and the oft-repeated report of a rush of convicts would generally be the subject of his talk with each of them. , One day, however, a smart stratagem was nearly being successfully carried out in the following manner:—Shortly after the “Crystal Palace” was removed to the centre of the reserve, several prisoners were employed with handcarts conveying stone to the new buildings. These prisoners were short-sentenced men, while those working at ;the new building and the shops had longer terms of imprisonment. About three o’clock in the afternoon a clever exchange of prisoners was made (unknown to the overseer) by the men engaged at the building exchanging with the men at the carts. As the prisoners in two carts were passing down to the “ palace, ” one of the sentries on the line noticed that they kept their caps over their faces and their heads bent towards the ground. This circumstance attracted his attention, and he called on the men to go back. A short consultation among the prisoners ensued, and one in the foremost cart, who was evidently the most daring and apparently the ringleader, turned to his com­ rades and said, “ Now are ye all ready ?” But the stern command from the warder had its effect, and they rightly concluded that their CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 155

■scheme had been discovered. “ Come on you b------cowards,” cried their chief, “the sentry can only fire one barrel, and before the others can come from the guardroom we’ll be across the Merri Creek, so here goes!” And with this, down went the pole of the cart, but the time for united action had passed, as the warder had raised his rifle to the shoulder. The prisoners hesitated for a moment, looked at •each other, and were about to retire to their place of labor, when they were suddenly met by the overseer. At the commencement of this year the Pentridge Stockade presented a very different aspect from what it had done hitherto. Substantial blue-stone buildings had taken the place of old wooden huts ; the cut-stone wall, which in subsequent years enclosed some 140 acres of land, had been completed in the front of the stockade facing the Sydney road ; the railway from the “ Crystal Palace ” {which then stood in the reserve) to the Panoptican, was daily ■conveying its thousands of tons of rough stones from the quarry to be dressed by the long-sentenced prisoners for building purposes. In every portion of the establishment were to be seen the marks of progress and useful employment for all classes of prisoners. As a matter of course, the men had to be distributed over a much larger area of ground than before, and consequently were offered greater temptation to attempt to escape, although they daily saw the outer wall gradually ascending, which when completed, would reduce their chance of absconding to a minimum. Since the beginning of the year, several daring schemes had been planned to get away ; one of which was, that a number of prisoners who had hourly to pass the guard-room were to make a rush, and before the warders, who usually numbered five or six, could get their arms, they would be overpowered, and those who resisted would be maimed or murdered—it mattered little which—with some small hammers concealed about the clothes of the prisoners. But this venture did not appear to be regarded favorably, as the chances of its being successfully carried out seemed very doubtful, and it was therefore abandoned. Another was— that when two of the liand-carts, to which were attached twelve prisoners, arrived opposite the guard-room, one of their number should 156 CRIME AND CRIMINALS. fall down in a protended fit, and another of them should rush down to the guard-room to apprise the warders. It was surmised that in the excitement the door would have been opened, and the warders would have ran out to see wliat was the matter, and while thus engaged, a rush was to be made at the guardroom, and if the door was found closed, they expected to have forced it open, seized upon the firearms, and then have become masters of the situation. But had any attempt been made to carry these designs into execution, it would have proved abortive, as there was an order from the Inspector-General that a warder should always be posted inside the guard-room armed with a loaded rifle and revolver and the door locked, which would be sufficient security against any contemplated attacks. It was afterwards ascertained that the prisoners had been informed of the exact state of things, and they therefore resolved to adopt another device. For several days previously they had led the authorities to suppose that the intended rush was to be made at the side of the reserve facing the Merri Creek, while it was also reported that an attempt might be made to scale a high gate leading to the Roman Catholic Chapel. However the long expected event was soon to result in a tragical end. On the 18th January, the senior-chief warder (Mr. Gardner) came to the guard-room and asked Sergeant Maxwell for the names of the warders there ? * I was mentioned amongst others and immedi­ ately sent for. Mr. Gardner said to me “ Get a rifle and revolver,” and after carefully examining them he continued, “ there is likely to be a rush of prisoners this afternoon, and it is expected that they may make an attempt at the green gate. Post yourself behind the stone wall so as to command a good view of the gate. Be cool and steady, go and do your duty.” After receiving these instructions I placed myself in the position indicated by Mr. Gardner and remained at the spot for nearly three hours, under an almost tropical sun, the thermometer registering nearly 100 degrees in the shade. I was parched with thirst, when fortunately two of the Misses Champ ' happened to be passing with a quantity of fruit in a basket, and of which I was invited to partake. After thanking them for their kindness, I told them to hurry past, as I did not know the moment CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 157 there might be a rush of prisoners to the gate, and it would be dangerous for them to be in the vicinity. At 5 p.m. I returned to the guard-room, and the excitement of waiting for the rush passed off for that day with the usual comments on occasions of the kind. But next day little attention appeared to be paid to the reports which had formerly kept the establishment in a state of perpetual ferment, and even in the guard-room the warders were amusing themselves with some interesting conversation on the topics of the day. However, at about 3.30 in the afternoon the prison bell rang out an alarm, which only persons who have experienced the sound can fully understand. In a moment every man sprang to his feet exclaiming “a rush.” The armoury being above the guardroom, some little time was lost in getting the arms, and as I looked over the balcony in the direction of the Panoptican, I saw a number of prisoners running under the high wall towards the Merri Creek. When we left the guard-room we proceeded in the direction of the Inspector-General’s house. Mr. Duncan, the superintendent, was standing near by, and as we passed him he said a few words of encouragement, and then the race commenced in earnest. The nearest sentry had already discharged both barrels of his rifle, but the shots had failed to take effect. As soon as we had reached the higher ground, which commanded a view of the creek, we counted nine prisoners close under the steep banks, and partly protected by a thick scrub. Sergeant Maxwell called out, “ Fire your rifles,” and I fired the first shot, which struck the bank about four feet above their heads. At this time 17 warders had joined in the pursuit, and it was independent firing, every man blazing away and reloading. Three of the fugitives had now hidden themselves in the scrub, and the remainder had dscended the high bank of the creek, and were proceeding in the direction of Cambell- field. At this time six or seven of the warders fired again, myself among the number, when one of the runaways was seen to fall. Several of the warders exclaimed at once, “ I shot that prisoner.” As I passed close by the unfortunate man he was lying on his back, his head being supported by Dr. Singleton, who, with his hand pointing upwards said, “ Look to Christ the Saviour of sinners.” But it was 158 CRIME AND CRIMINALS.

too late to appeal to that invisible but omnipresent Being whose laws he had transgressed, for the ball had pierced the brain ; he was never again conscious, and died the same night. A short distance from this tragic scene another prisoner was lying on the ground with Warder Minnis standing over him. I asked if he was shot, and the warder replied in the negative, but added that he had knocked him down with his baton, which I saw was broken by the force of the blow. The chase by this time had b icome dreadfully exciting, as the country people were assembling from .all parts of the neighborhood, several of whom volunteered to assist the warders in capturing the runaways. All the houses passed bj the fugitives were carefully searched, as it was reported that two were* seen to enter one of them. Upon some of the warders asking- permission to ascertain if they were inside, admittance was stubbornly refused by the landlady, and a forcible entrance had to be effected,, during which a warder was threatened to have a kettle of boiling water thrown over him. It was now reported that seven of the* prisoners had been taken, and that the other two were being closely pursued by the Tvarders. These latter were young men named respectively Nelson and Jones, who had got about a mile from the* stockade, and concealed themselves under a cleft of rocks on a bank of the creek. On the opposite bank a great number of people were* congregated, together with a warder named R------. The prisoners seeing no chance of escape then emerged from their hiding place and surrendered, but Warder R------deliberately discharged one barrel of his rifle at them, and was in the act of firing the second when Jones- shouted to me, “ We have given ourselves up and that warder is going to fire.” I called out, signalling at the same time, “ Stop firing, the prisoners are secure.” Had that warder shot one of the men, I should have considered it nothing less than wilful murder, and he* would most certainly have been arraigned on the charge. Mean-* while, most exaggerated accounts of the affair had reached Melbourne; one being to the effect that there was an outbreak of prisoners, and that several of the officers and warders were murdered. A number of the Victorian Volunteer Cavalry and mounted police had already CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 159 reached the township and were proceeding rapidly in .the direction of Cambellfield, when they were met and informed that all the prisoners had been recaptured and escorted to the stockade. Thus ended the last concerted rush of any importance at Pentridge until the year 1884, when prisoner Kelly was shot by Warder John Leary, while attempting to escape over the boundary wall near the main entrance. The Inspector-General in his annual report for 1859, when referring to the outbreak, says :—“ Attempts to escape have become gradually less frequent as the chances of success have diminished, the last having occurred in January of this year, when nine of the prisoners engaged in the erection of the boundary wall, then just commenced at Pentridge, rushed past the sentries, but being pursued and fired upon were all re-captured, though not, I regret to say, without loss of life on the part of one unhappy man who was shot in the head and died soon afterwards.” On examination of the prison clothing worn by the runaways, it was discovered that several of .them had had very narrow escapes, one having a bullet through his hat, and in two other cases the bullets' passed through their jackets and trousers. This episode, which terminated so satisfactorily for the future discipline of the department, appeared to destroy all further hope of escape in this manner even among the most turbulent of the prisoners. On the day after the rush it was the topic of conversation among them in the yard, and the notorious Garrett (who had gained an unenviable reputation by sticking up the Bank of Victoria at Ballarat, and robbingit of £16,000), made himself most conspicuous haranguing some of his own class of prisoners in the mess-room. His remarks were to the effect that the warders ought to be tried for wilful murder, and that the Almighty God had no jurisdiction beyond the equator (?) and consequently people in this part of the world could do as they pleased. For this speech he was reported by one of the warders, and sentenced by the visiting justice to 20 days’ solitary confinement on bread and water. This seems to have acted as a salutary warning to the rest of the prisoners, for in a few days things had settled down again to their usual level. A circular was afterwards£read to the 160 CRIME AND CRIMINALS. warders on parade from the Inspector-General, thanking them for the prompt and creditable way they had acted on the occasion in arresting all the prisoners within so short a space of time. The warders who arrested a prisoner received from £1 to £3 apiece. The eight prisoners recaptured were brought before Dr. Youl and Mr. Hackett, and each sentenced to two years’ additional imprisonment with the first 12 months in irons. CHAPER VII.

1869-84.

CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 163

CHAPTER VII.

Mr. Claude Farie Appointed Inspector-General.—His Early Death much Regretted.—Mr. Duncan Succeeds Him.—Want of Fitness for the Re­ sponsible Position.—Dissatisfaction of Warders.—Warm Meetings.—I am Reprimanded, and Forfeit a Month’s Pay.—Mr. Duncan’s Retirement.__ Trafficking.—Mr. Buck and Mr. Gardner.—Mr. Castieau is Appointed Inspector-General.—Mr. Gardner Retires on Pension.—Subsequent Dis­ organisation on All Sides.—Tobacco.—Correspondence and Other Luxuries. —Chaos in C Division.—Dr. Singleton wants to Shake Hands.—The Smoking Yard. Daring Attempts at Escape.—Boys in A Division.—The Argus Turns on the Bull’s Eye.—Warders’ Statement to Chief Secretary. Mr. Castieau Receives Six Months’ Leave of Absence.—His Retirement.— Mr. Brett Succeeds Him.—The Separate System.—Conclusion. Colonel Champ having, as has been said, resigned his office of Inspector-General (much to the regret of the whole service), was succeeded in January, 1869, by Mr. Claude Farie, formerly high sheriff. His term of office was unfortunately a very short one, as he died at Pentridge, after a brief illness, in August, 1870. Although Mr. Claude Farie did not possess such an extensive knowledge of the management of convicts as his predecessor did, he had many of those tine qualities of character which make any man in authority deservedly popular among his subordinates. Full of sympathy for any real distress, intolerant of any action of a mean or questionable nature, he was, in short, an accomplished gentleman. His death called forth many expressions of sincere regret from all ranks. The appointment of his successor, which was a matter of very great responsibility to the Government of the day, was eventually conferred on Mr. G. 0. Duncan, at that time inspector of industrial and reformatory schools, and formerly ‘ superintendent of the prison at Pentridge. It would have been well if this gentleman had 164 CRIME AND CRIMINALS. declined the appointment, as although an excellent superintendent he was not qualified for the highest position. His want of discrimi­ nation of character, as well as his too evident love of popularity often placed him in undignified positions, and so entirely failed to secure the good will of his subordinates that an antagonistic feeling soon arose both towards himself and Mr. Gardner, the superintendent* Similarly with respect to his treatment of prisoners ; as superin­ tendent he was severe, but just in punishing them, but when be became Inspector-General he descended from his position (so to speak) to preach to and sing hymns with them. The old adage, “ Familiarity breeds contempt,” was somewhat frequently exemplified in consequence. In the latter end of September the warders forwarded a statement to the Chief Secretary (Mr. Huffy) complaining of the long hours of duty, and Mr. John James, member for Ballarat West, was also asked to bring the matter under the Chief Secretary’s notice. When Mr. James asked if a reduction of the long hours of duty would be made, the Chief Secretary replied that he had received a statement from the Inspector-General to the effect that the warders’ duty only averaged nine hours and four minutes per diem. Mr. James naturally felt annoyed at being, as. it then appeared, furnished with wrong information. On the following day the Chief Secretary and Crown Prosecutor (Mr. Dunn) paid an unexpected visit to Pentridge. They were, of course, accompanied over the institution by the Inspector-General and the Superintendent. On reaching the hospital they separated, Mr. Huffy and Mr, Huncan inspected the lower portion of the building, while Mr, Hunn and Mr. Gardner proceeded to the upper. In one of the wards upstairs lay the notorious criminal Weechurch, who invariably asked permission to interview any distinguished visitor. After Mr. Hurin had left the ward, Weechurch said to me, “I wish to speak to that gentleman,” upon which I immediately followed Mr, Hunn down the stairs, and informed him. Mr. Gardner said, “ Who is it.” I replied, “Weechurch.” Mr. Gardner, turning to Mr. Hunn, said, 0 yes, he is a very troublesome man, he wants to speak to everyone who comes here.” Mr. Hunn, without noticing the CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 165 remark, went back to the ward, when Weechurch said, “I wish to ask your opinion, sir, upon a point of law in my case. I have been sentenced by the judge to six years’ imprisonment, but while doing this sentence I have had several months additional imprisonment from the visiting justice. I wish to know if the judge’s sentence will stop while I am doing the magistrate’s sentence; if so, I think it is illegal.” “ I understand,” said Mr. Dunn, “that you want to know if the sentences are concurrent: I will send you an answer in a few days.” The result was that it was decided that the judge’s sentence could not stop, and that any other sentences were additional. It was on this point of law that Weechurch imagined he was illegally detained at Pentridge and justified his murderous attacks upon the officials there, which ultimately led to his being hanged. Before the Chief Secretary and Crown Prosecutor left the office, two of the warders and myself decided to interview them. When we entered the office, a prisoner named Kerr, an incorrigible scoundrel, was making a series of infamous charges against Mr. Duncan, and concluded with a request that he should be allowed to address a letter direct to the Chief Secretary, which Mr. Duffy rather unwisely granted. As soon as Kerr left I stepped forward and addressing the Chief Secretary said, “ I regret, sir, that the statement sent you by the Inspector-General in reply to our application for reduction of hours of duty is so inaccurate as to be likely to mislead the political head of the department. It states that the warders are doing little more than nine hours’ duty per diem, whereas they are actually doing from twelve to eighteen hours. The books containing particulars of the warders’ duty can be produced, and you, sir, will find that my statement is perfectly correct.” “ I am glad,” said Mr. Duffy, “that you have mentioned this matter to me, and I will make every enquiry ; should I find your statement correct, I will afford you all the satisfaction in my power. As I have not time to visit the station again at present, you can bring some of the warders to my office and I will hear what they have to say.” After their departure the three officers before mentioned held a consultation as to the best course for them to adopt. Mr. Donald assured Mr. Duncan that he 166 CRIME AND CRIMINALS.

could manage to introduce the eight hours’ system with the staff then available, and it was introduced, much to the satisfaction of the warders. But Mi*. Duncan felt that he had been coerced into this course of action by the resolute attitude of the warders, and in a fortnight the eight hours’ system was abolished and one of his own adopted instead. The antagonistic feeling of the officials was much intensified by this, and on the Inspector-General’s next visit to Pentridge (he was residing at Caulfield at this time) he was met by the warders, who respectfully asked to know why the hours of duty had been so suddenly changed. The talk became warm on both sides, and to put it mildly, descended to the unseemly. Amongst other things Mr. Duncan said, in rather an excited tone, that the duty should be carried out according to his wishes. Whereupon I exclaimed “ In this case, sir, we will fight it out.” I had no sooner made use of this expression than Mr. Duncan said, “I shall recom­ mend your dismissal from the department. You are suspended from all duty until I settle this affair with the Chief Secretary.” A board having been appointed to investigate this case, their decision was read to me by the Inspector-General. It was, that I should be severely reprimanded and should forfeit a month’s pay. I must add that Mr. Duncan’s manner of making known this decision waa most gentlemanly, expressing a hope that the affair would soon be forgotten, and a better feeling pervade the service. Nor do I for a moment attempt to justify myself, as I am fully of opinion that no subordinate should address his superior officer disrespectfully, however excited, otherwise all discipline would soon be at an end. Ultimately most of the warders’ grievances were remedied, but principally through the influence of the members of the district. This mode of redress is open to much abuse and tends to encourage the officials to make grievances and regard rules and regulations as only temporary. The superintendent (Mr. Gardner) was ill-fitted to pour oil on the troubled waters. Being a man of remarkably austere manner and ascetic life, he was not likely to have much influence; moreover, his orders were frequently accompanied by a threat, as though addressed to ' convicts. Thus we see that in three years time after Colonel CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 167

Champ’s resignation the prison was in such an unsatisfactory state as frequently to be the subject of severe comment by the Metropolitan press. The principal events in the Penal Department during the year 1880, were the retirement, on the 15th October, of Mr. G. 0. Duncan, Inspector-General, and on the 81st of-December of Mr. P. F. Donald, Assistant Superintendent of Pentridge, and of Mr. A. Buck, Inspector of Works there. Mr. Duncan and Mr. Gardner had both become so extremely unpopular during the past twelve months’ that the state of ill-feeling in the Penal establishment was brought under the notice of the Government by Mr. Cook, M.L.A. for the district. The particular causes of Mr. Duncan’s subsequent retirement from the service would be of little or no interest to my readers. Clearly he was not the right man in the right place, though most valuable in private life, being always foremost in promoting any charitable movement, and devoting much of his energy to Sunday School and other religious work. The practice of allowing tobacco to prisoners of a certain class was partly due to his ^ influence, and time has verified the belief that it is one of the most unwise innovations ever introduced. Tobacco is the current coin of the prisoners ; its permission has greatly nullified the dread of prison life, and been the cause of much trafficking among the prisoners with the officials inside the gaol, and thieves and receivers outside. It would be interesting to know the annual value of the new moleskin trousers, fancy boots and shoes, bone carvings, old brass work, new shovels, &c., &c., exchanged by prisoners for tobacco. Whatever diversity of opinion there may be as to tobacco being allowed to prisoners as a reward for good conduct, there still remains the question, “ Why should the industrious portion of the community be taxed to pay for luxuries for those who have broken the laws of their country.” As already stated, Mr. A. Buck also retired at this time, on a pension. For over 25 years he was inspector of works, and his retirement from the service was undoubtedly a great loss to the department. The services of Mr. P. F. Donald were temporarily dispensed with, owing to a reduction in the staff of officers, but six months after he 168 CRIME AND CRIMINALS.

was reinstated. The selection of Mr. J. B. Castiean (Governor of Melbourne gaol) as successor to Mr. Duncan, proved in the end a most unfortunate one, as he possessed but few of the qualifications requisite for so high a position, and it was also a matter of notoriety that he was of unsteady habits. At first, indeed, his appoint­ ment gave great satisfaction, for it was thought that his kind and agreeable manner would at least smooth over, if not do away with, the dissatisfaction which had so long existed among the officials. And in this they were not altogether disappointed, for he made several concessions with respect to their duty which for years they had sought for in vain. During the. nine months following Mr. Oastieau’s appointment, the discipline was thoroughly maintained at Pentridge by the superintendent, Mr. Gardner, but at the end of June, 1881, this gentleman retired on a pension, after 45 years of a somewhat chequered career in the service of his country, thirty of which were spent in Victoria. He enlisted in the army when little more than a youth, and served with the 96th Regiment at Norfolk Island and in Van Dieman’s Land. While in Hobart he gave up a military life and accepted an appointment under the Government. For some years he was in charge of the cells in which the refractory convicts were confined, but shortly after the discovery of gold in this country he resigned his appointment to come to Victoria., After trying the diggings for a short time he returned to Melbourne and joined the Penal Department as a warder at the Melbourne gaol. In 1854 he was appointed by Mr. Price sergeant at the Richmond stockade, and on the breaking up of that prison transferred fio the hulk “ Success,” where as chief warder he satis­ factorily performed his arduous duties during a very critical period. In the beginning of 1857 he was promoted to the position of Chief Warder of Pentridge Stockade, a most responsible position in those turbulent times. In 1866 he was sent to take charge of the hulks occupied by female prisoners and boys in .Hobson’s Bay. At that time the Government had decided to construct a breakwater from the mouth of the Yarra to Williamstown, and the hulks “Deborah” and “Sacramento” were taken up the river and moored CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 169 opposite Yarraville, where a gang of prisoners were employed in quarrying stone for that purpose. On the death of Mr. Malcolm Smith (superintendent of Pentridge) in February, 1870, Mr. Gardner was appointed his successor, which position he held until his retire­ ment, on a pension, in 1881. Under Colonel Champ, Mr. Gardner was one of the most zealous and careful officers, and it was in a great measure owing to his excellent discipline that the warders were brought to such a state of efficiency. It gives the writer great pleasure to speak thus in praise of Mr. Gardner in memoriam, as he was one of his bitterest opponents in the service during his life-time. Mr. P. F. Donald returned to his duties as superintendent of Pentridge on 1st July, and from this date to July, 1884, may be considered one of the darkest chapters in the history of the Penal Department. Every rule and regulation were in their turn ignored.-V The prisoners lost all respect for the officials, and the warders complained that they were quite unable to maintain even a semblance of discipline. The primary cause, though painful to relate, cannot be disguised in this endeavour to write a truthful history. So lax was the management in every direction, that the officers’ children were allowed to associate unreservedly with the prisoners, thereby the daily papers were supplied to the latter almost as regularly as their rations, and trafficking was carried on in the most systematic manner. One lad boasted that he made as much as £75 from bone carving (executed by the notorious prisoner Joseph Clarke), which he paid for in tobacco. Fancy work boxes and other knick-knacks were made in the carpenters’ shops, and when the makers were brought before the Superintendent they were seldom punished. But a fuller account of the disorganisation will appear further on in the petition forwarded to the Chief Secretary, but for the present we will turn our attention to the C division at Pentridge. The prisoners confined in this division are, from its construction, under less restraint and are consequently more difficult to manage than in either the A or. B divisions. It consists of three yards, each containing 120 cells which open directly into these yards, and there­ fore, from a sanitary point of view, are more healthy than other 170 CHIME AND CRIMINALS.

portions of the prison. The prisoners muster in their respective yards in the morning prior to going to labor, and as there is always a large number of them here, it is imperative for the warders to enforce the strictest discipline. When Mr. Gardner was superin­ tendent the prisoners in this division were in comparatively strict discipline ; talking in the ranks or any other irregularity was never permitted, and any prisoner brought from hence to the office for misconduct was summarily punished. But from 1881 to 1884 almost every semblance of discipline had vanished, and at muster continued talking and unsteadiness in the ranks were a matter of course. When I was on duty there in 1883 I had occasion to report 16 prisoners for various offences, but the punishments awarded by the Superintendent were of so trivial a nature that I felt it useless to report them for any future misconduct, and several of the most experienced warders were of the same opinion. It was at this time that Dr. Singleton gave an address to 300 prisoners in the messroom, which struck me as singularly inappropriate. The whole tone of his remarks was of so soothing a nature that they were better suited for veterans worn out in the service of their country, than for a number of scoundrels who had, many of them, broken eveiy command­ ment in the Decalogue, and a few more. As a conclusion to his effusion he pronounced the Benediction, and then said, “ My dear friends, I shall not be able to recognise you all outside, but if any of you meet me in Melbourne, don’t be ashamed to speak to me, for I will give you the hand of friendship.” The hands thus invited were in more than sixty cases the hands of ruffians who were sentenced for outrages on women and children and other unmentionable offences. The practice of allowing lay persons to visit prisoners for religious purposes (when there are regular chaplains) is at all times a very doubtful one. The prisoners take liberties with them in the way of sending and receiving messages, which they would never think of doing with the chaplain, and as a rule common sense is the only thing in which these well-intentioned lay people are most deficient. Let us look now at the smoking yard in C division. Time, 2 p.m. on Saturday. All the prisoners have dined and bathed and are at CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 171 liberty to pursue their own sweet pleasure for the next three hours. “ Birds of a feather flock together.” The larrikins collect at one end of the yard, where they play marbles ; even some of the old men will join in this game and seem to be as absorbed in it as a lot of school boys. I have seen an accountant, a tried and'trusted servant, who in his palmy days was a dandy in Collins street, “ knuckle down” among the younger ones for two hours at a stretch, and knock the marbles about with as much apparent satisfaction as he did the billiard balls before that “ little investigation” took place. In yonder corner, in close confab with the notorious gold robber, who gave the detectives such an exciting chase through the Gippsland forest, sits an old bushranger with hair and beard white as the drifted snow. They are evidently discussing a matter of no little interest, probably some episode in the bushranger’s life, which he maintains has been misrepresented in the papers, for it is remarkable how keenly sensitive criminals are to what the paper says about them. He was at one time the terror of squatters and settlers, his very name being spoken with bated breath. Now he is in the sere and yellow leaf, and all that remains to mark the man are the clear unflinching eye, the determined mouth, and the all round “ stand and deliver ” which he gives when challenged by the warders. Most of the prisoners are walking up and down the yard, two or three together conversing and smoking their pipes ; some of the pipes are of a superior description, but the majority are the ordinary clay pipes served out by the authorities. It is hardly worth while to enquire how No. 108 be­ came possessed of a meerschaum, or No. 266 of a silver-mounted briar, as no doubt “ the powers that be” know perfectly well how those little matters are managed. Here and there you see men sitting alone in solitary sadness, perhaps thinking of a wretched home, a young wife, and a blighted future. Some even prefer the seclusion of their own cells, though the yard is large and airy, while the cells are close and dark. I have known many a prisoner spend all his time in his cell rather than mix with the crowd. But who are the eight in yonder corner ? They are sitting down smoking and the conversation is evidently of intense interest to them. Seven 172 CRIME AND CRIMINALS. of them are young men, the eighth an old Yandemonian convict, who is instructing his companions in the higher branches of housebreaking. Four of the young men have been already sentenced for this offence, and the other two for robberies in the public streets. The movements of the warder, as he slowly paces the yard, are keenly watched by this fraternity, and should he happen to steer in their direction there is a quick shuffle of something, and the next moment all is concealed. The officer in passing takes a glance at them, but nothing being visible he quickly moves on. At 5 p.m. the bell rings for supper, and the proceedings are adjourned for a week. To return to our history, during Mr. Donald’s term of office there were no less than thirteen daring attempts made by the prisoners to escape, while the planting of swags of tobacco, and its importation in other ways into the gaol, became a continual nuisance. If a prisoner gave information (as was frequently the case) that a “ swag ” would be “ planted ” at a certain place and time, it was all in vain ; some of the officers’ children would hear of the information being given, and being well acquainted with the whereabouts of “Light-fingered Bob” or “ Chokeem Charlie, and Co.,” a letter would be sent to them. It was quite evident that this sort of thing could not last much longer, and some of the experienced warders anxiously awaited the climax. The A division is also worthy of our attention at this period. In this division the boys (who in some respects were the most difficult of all the prisoners) were confined. So turbulent were they at this period, that' it was dangerous for any single warder to take charge of them. At night for hours after they were locked up in their cells, the prison resounded with their shouting, yelling, and filthy language, and when brought before the superintendent he would merely say, “ Oh, boys will be boys! ” or at the most award them the loss of a day’s remission, or 24 hours’ solitary. Such punishments were simply ludicrous to boys who had, most of them, already graduated at the Jika Reformatory, which, I regret to say, was but a stepping stone on the road of crime. The crisis came sooner than was expected, for in April, 1884, a scheme concocted CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 173 by several of the long-sentenced prisoners employed in the stone­ cutters’ yard, was discovered. These men intended, on the first chance, to rush through the back gate leading to the paddock, seize the guard-room and arms, and if so far successful, they would liberate as many of the other prisoners as were willing to abscond. Skeleton keys which, when tried, were found to open several cells in the C division, were also found hidden in the stone-yard. Only by the extreme vigilance of the warders was this plan nipped in the bud. In July things had become so notoriously bad that the papers took the matter up. Under the heading of “ Serious disorganisation at Pentridge,” the Argus says :—fc‘ There appears to be a good deal of justification for the complaints that have been made from time to time respecting the disorganised state of affairs at Pentridge. The residents of Coburg recently forwarded a numerously signed petition to the Chief Secretary, drawing his attention to the unprotected and dangerous condition of the stockade, and requesting that an investi­ gation should be held at an early date into the present system of administration. A still more emphatic document was, about the same time, forwarded to Mr. Berry from the warders, urging the desirability of a thorough re-organisation being initiated without delay, for the protection of life, and the safe custody of the prisoners.” The article in the Argus goes on to say that ’the evil complained of did not consist of disorganisation only—a serious enough fault in a large prison—but of drunkenness, corruption, and favoritism of a most pronounced character. Everything in the shape of secresy has come to be dispensed with, and the traffickings said to be carried on within the walls of the stockade are now openly discussed in the streets of Coburg. A prisoner can now practically obtain anything he may fancy. Correspondence has been passed in and out of the prison to a surprising extent. On several occasions one of the overseers, whose name can be mentioned, has not only been found stupidly drunk while in charge of gangs of prisoners, but has been sent home as unfit for duty, and on being brought up for mis­ conduct has been let off. One of these overseers, a few days ago, was so helplessly drunk that some of the prisoners pulled him out of 174 CRIME AND CRIMINALS,

a trough into which he had fallen, and carried him to his box, where they locked him in until he had slept himself sober. Some officers are constantly on tenter-hooks in consequence of the constant irregularities, fearing an outbreak of the prisoners, and the residents of Coburg are agitating with the view of having an enquiry held and a general reform effected.” The foregoing, which appeared on a Saturday, caused a great buzzing in the official beehive at Pentridge. It was succeeded by a trenchant article injdie Argus of Monday, headed “ The disorganisa­ tion at Pentridge.” After confirming and enlarging upon the former statements it goes on to say:—“A meeting of prison officials was held at the Stockade at noon on Saturday to consider what steps should be taken in reply to the statements made in the Argus. The meeting was called by the Inspector-General, who presided, and was attended by a reporter from a metropolitan contemporary. Ko notice of the meeting was given to us. There were present Mr. Castieau (in the chair), Messrs. Donald (superintendent), Latchford (clerk), Stack (storekeeper), Wilson (schoolmaster), Richardson, Warwick, and Kelly (chief-warders), and Bird, Mattie, Greenwood, Cherry, Dunstan, J. P. Smith, Carroll, and John Carr (overseers). The officers formally denied that any disorganisation existed in the prison which, without entering into details, they stated was never conducted better than afc present. A committee, consisting of Messrs. Wilson, Stack, Warwick, Kelly, Dunstan, and Greenwood, was appointed to draw up a reply to the Argus, and on the re­ sumption of business at 8 p.m., these submitted their report, which is to be forwarded to the Chief Secretary. It denies, in general terms, that corruption, venality, or disorganisation exist in the prison, admitting that some irregularities had occurred, but unani­ mously affirming that the discipline and organisation were satis­ factory. It is to be observed that several officers refused to sign this document. Subjoined is a copy, as near as possible, of the statement recently forwarded to the Chief Secretary by the warders, through Mr. Pearson, M.L.A. . CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 175

1. “That there are a large number of prisoners of a dangerous class at Pentridge who have made several attempts to escape by cutting out of their cells. 2. “That it is well-known by the authorities that several desperate convicts have it in contemplation to rush the guard-room, seize the arms, and overpower the warders, which, if carried out, would certainly entail loss of life. 3. “ That the reduction in the number of warders from time to time has so weakened the efficiency of the service that in the event of any emergency sufficient force to cope with it would be wanting. 4. “That the nominal number of warders is 57, but that five are filling the positions of acting-overseers (2), dispenser, clerk, and armourer, leaving practically only 52 warders. 5. “That so far from this number being sufficient, there is an absolute necessity for placing three additional sentries on night duty in the B and C division. 6. “That the practice of allowing the officers’ families to mix with the prisoners, and to escort visitors through the prison without a responsible officer’s presence, is most injurious to proper discipline. 7. “ That several discharged prisoners have been arrested for planting tobacco and other prohibited articles, and the same facilities exist for planting dynamite or other explosives. 8. “ That the condition of the towers, where the warders have to perform duty is most injurious to health, they being unprotected from the weather at all seasons. The warders, having in vain used all legitimate means to induce the authorities to commence this work, request the Chief Secretary to be pleased to send an officer from the Board of Land and Works to inspect the towers. 9. “That the warders also request that they may receive .the same amount of Sunday’s leave of absence as the chief and senior warders, as no just cause can be shown, for the invidious distinctions now made, and they have caused much ill-feeling.” . The statement concludes with the following paragraph:—“That as the Superintendent’s conduct has been open to severe censure, not only in the presence of the officials and prisoners, but also of the 176 CRIME AND CRIMINALS., public, and as he has passed the period allotted by the civil regula­ tions, he be compelled to retire on a pension.” The outcome of the whole was that the Government resolved to hold an enquiry, and for the purpose of securing an unbiased report as to the general working of the Penal Department, and more par­ ticularly at Pentridge, gave Mr. Castieau six; months’ leave of absence, the final result being that it was decided to remove Messrs. Castieau and Donald from the service. Although the greatest blame fell rightly on Mr. Castieau, a general feeling of regret was felt that one so kind-hearted and generous should have terminated a long and useful career in the service so ignominiously. For the Superintendent little sympathy was felt, especially when it was known that he was suspended in consequence of his allowing a number of long-convicted prisoners to draw up a statement highly eulogistic of his own conduct for presentation to the Chief Secretary, —a most outrageous proceeding, giving prisoners a voice in matters utterly above fheir position. To fill the vacant positions, Mr. W. G. Brett (then sheriff at Castlemaine) and Mr. John Gale (governor of Sandhurst gaol) were appointed Inspector-General and Governor of Pentridge respectively. We have passed more or less rapidly over the twenty or thirty years in the history of penal establishments in Victoria. During that time how wonderful has been the progress of the colony politically, commercially, and socially ; perhaps such rapid progress has never been made in thirty years by any other city as was made by Melbourne in that time. Indeed, when we look around in every direction, we feel that no part of the British dominion affords more opportunities for the industrious to thrive than Victoria does at the present time. Possessing almost every variety of climate, with a fair proportion of good agricultural land, and railways to the farthest end to bring produce to the seaboard, with millions of acres of good grazing ground, untold mineral wealth, education free to the very poorest, and political freedom of the highest kind, Victoria ought to be the paradise of the working man. Yet crime does still abound* Many of the natural causes of crime which exist in old and CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 177 settled countries are almost entirely absent from our midst, such as extreme life-long poverty, and the being born and educated of necessity among the criminal class to be a criminal. On the other hand the crimes of bushranging and horse stealing are almost extinct 'among us, owing to the greater settlement of the country and the strong, many-handed arm of public opinion. Yet crime does still abound. For one bushranger or horse stealer we have twenty convicted of forgery and embezzlement ; for one veteran convict imported from other lands we have fifty native larrikins. Crimes of violence to women and children, mostly committed by young men*are terribly on the increase, and in addition, we have the whole army of strolling pilferers, of prostitutes, and drunkards. It would, in short, almost seem that as our national prosperity increases—as there is less and less excuse for poverty, without sickness or misfortune—so our crime increases, and there can be no doubt that the sudden acquisition of wealth by persons utterly ignorant of how to use or enjoy it, together with the high wages given to mere boys, have contributed to swell the ranks of the drunkaids, gamblers, loafers, and dangerous classes. But I may perhaps be permitted to say what I believe to be the chief causes of crime in this young and free country. First among these causes we must no doubt place that of heredity. As a rule the old convict does beget sons and daughters with special propensities to his own crimes (though they may, and often have, overcome these temptations and become useful, in. some cases noble, members of society), and the drunkard does hand on to his sons and daughters a craving for drink. -Everyone who has had his eyes open for thirty years in this country can remember plenty of instances in proof of this. With respect to the heredity of crime, our laws against the importation of criminals have so far been so successful in preventing an influx of the poison into our community that we have only our own breeding to cope with, and vre may reasonably hope that in another generation the taint of the old fiendish convicts will have almost entirely passed from us. While . in Pentridge I took pains to ascertain the antecedents of 70 prisoners, and of that number I found that 178 CRIME AND CRIMINALS.

either the fathers or grandfathers of 35 had been transported from the old country. A remarkable case came under my notice, that of the notorious Brady, who was hanged in Melbourne with the bush­ ranger Connor. This man was descended from a highway robber and outlaw in Ireland named Fitzpatrick. About the year 1795, Carlow and the adjacent counties were kept in a constant state of alarm by the daring deeds of this Fitzpatrick and another highway­ man named Corcoran. The Government offered large rewards for their capture, but owing to the sympathy which they met with in the mountain and forest districts, it was a long time before their whereabouts could be ascertained to any purpose. At last infor­ mation was received by the commandant of a troop of yeomanry stationed in a small village, that they were concealed in a wood near at hand. As the soldiers drew towards it a woman was observed giving the alarm, but the desperadoes resolved to tight it out. After tlie first shots were exchanged, one of the soldiers was found to be wounded, while Corcoran had received a bullet in his hips and Fitz­ patrick had his right arm disabled. Spite of their wounds they still continued to fire, and at last fell riddled with bullets. In hundreds of other cases crime has proved itself hereditary, and apart from the social loss thus transmitted, it would be well if all parents were made acquainted with this scientific and certain fact. The second cause which most assign to crime is that of drunkenness. Without doubt it is one of the causes, but in my opinion it is placed in too prominent a position as a cause of crime simply because its effects are observable by every one ; while by far the greater number of crimes now committed are of the nature of forgery, embezzlement, and cleverly contrived fraud, requiring men to have all their wits about them. Drunkenness cannot be credited with the great mass of crime. A far more powerful cause is that of gambling, which is eating out the heart of our people. Every manly game—cricket, rowing, football, and even lawn tennis—must now be betted upon. The mere lad in the shop getting his 10s. a week has his betting book, and knows the name of the favourite horse and its chances. Fathers and mothers, church-going leading citizens, encourage it, teach it in fact to their CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 179 children by taking part in sweeps and lotteries, and the Victorian natives are fast becoming as gambling a race as the Italians or the Californians. Hence spring the greater number of our educated criminals. The gambling may in some cases take the form of reckless speculation in shares, but it all ends in the use of other people’s money, the use of dishonest means to tide over a difficulty, always of course intending to replace the abstracted sum; then suspicion, detection, the trial and the felon’s cell,a good life blighted,a father’s or mother’s or wife’s heart crushed, all for the silly, cowardly excitement of gambling. If some of our temperance orators would devote their talents and energies to scourging this vice, it would be much more to the purpose, but then it would be less easy to find striking and mirth- pro voicing- examples. Heredity, gambling, and drunkenness, placing the causes of crime in this order, there still remains a large proportion of crime unaccounted for. The sons and daughters of truly worthy parents, without ever taking to gambling or drink, yet may be found, alas, the former in Pentridge, the. latter either there or in Collins street at night, in the way that endeth in hell. I have no hesitation in saying that the fourth great cause of crime is the craze of despising hard or subordinate work and running after any employment which is “ Genteel.” The labourer, the mechanic, and the farmer, will not think of his sons following his own occupation; they must be clerks in banks, public servants, school teachers; and the daughters, instead of going into service, as their mothers did (with honour to themselves and benefit to their families afterwards),must learn dressmaking, play the piano, execrably or not, and if at all persuaded to do anything for their own living they must teach music, or take a telegraph office, or look pretty behind a counter. Our climate tends to encourage this dislike for work, and" our young people are not as robust very often as their parents, but for all that, this craze for genteel employment is ruinous to any nation where it prevails, and lias already been in Victoria a prolific cause of “genteel” crimes. The love of work and the contempt for the idle is one of the characteristics which has made our British race feared and honoured all over the world. Dishonesty, profligacy and 180 CRIME AND CRIMINALS. crime spring naturally from the want of this characteristic. It would to those young gentlemen and ladies seem, I fear, very insulting to compare them with the travelling swagman, roaming from farm to station, from township to township, asking for work but doing as little as possible, and often finding themselves in gaol for petty pilfering; yet the evil at the root of both is the same hatred of work, and my long experience tells me that where that is, the soil is specially fitted for crime to grow, and the perception of right and wrong is radically defective. That any or all of these causes of crime can be cured by legislation is not supposed by any one, though the law, if faithfully carried out, can do much to stamp out open vice and to make the way of transgressors harder. An improved public opinion, wiser and less selfish home training, and our secular edu­ cation leavened and elevated by practical Bible teaching every day of the week, these, and nothing less, may be looked to for the gradually cutting off of our supply of criminals, and the real social progress of our nation. On the difficult question of the reformation of criminals, and the many systems that have been tried in the old countries and here, I will just state my opinions briefly. I believe from my ex­ perience that of first-sentenced prisoners a fair proportion do reform, of tlie twice convicted I am not able to remember any instance that has come under my eye ; they seem to sink at once into the class of habitual criminals who have little or no dread of the gaol as at pre­ sent regulated, and to whom it becomes at last their home. It seems to me that before any system for reformation can be effective three things must be secured. 1st.—A uniform system of discipline and punishment throughout the department. In the army, when by death or otherwise the general or colonel’s post is vacant, and a new officer takes command, there is no change; everything goes on as before, very little affected by the individuality of the new com­ mander. iSTot so in the Penal Department of Victoria; this brief history of 83 years in the Penal Department shows us how much depended on the wisdom and force of the Inspector-General for the time being; it is in fact a history of experiments, and although it may fairly be said that it could not be altogether otherwise in a new CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 181 and unsettled country, with buildings unfit for the purpose, and many things of a mere make-shift character, it must also be said that it is quite time that all this was past, and some carefully thought out system finally established. 2nd.—The classification of prisoners should not be confined merely to keeping first-sentenced prisoners from contact efficiency of this system of treatment. While writing on the subject 184 CRIME AND CRIMINALS. of gaol management I must take the opportunity to pay a tribute of respect to the Governor of this gaol, who will soon close his long public career in the service of his country. No officer I have served under was more zealous and careful in the discharge of his public duty, and impressed the same on all officers under command.- The result has been that the discipline maintained at Ballarat Gaol will always compare favorably in every respect with any of the gaols of the colony. ' In conclusion, I would hope that wiser heads than my own, and younger hands, may find some help from the facts I have related, and that every reader may be stirred to do something more for the pre­ vention of crime. Home influence, home example, home discipline, without which there is no true love, from the earliest childhood to the time when each can be trusted to obey ; good principle and affection, these, with the blessing of God, are the only effectual means of emptying our gaols. Without the use of these means our religion, whatever its form or creed or negation may be, is only a name. APPENDIX.

CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 187

APPENDIX.

MALINGERING.

Among the many difficulties connected with the management of prisoners, one of the most intricate is that of the detection of what is called malingering. This practice consists either of feigning sickness to avoid labor, or simulating insanity with the hope of being transferred to a lunatic asylum, and thence ultimately escaping. On this matter Colonel Champ says, in one of his reports :—“ One great difficulty presented itself in the enormous amount of malingering which formerly existed. Various expedients were resorted to to counteract the schemers, but the impossibility of distinguishing in all cases between real and simulated illness defeated every attempt until a regulation was passed providing that whenever a man was absent from his ordinary labor, on the plea of sickness, the period of such absence should (except in cases specially.recommended by the medical officer), be added to the period at which otherwise the prisoner wonld obtain his discharge. This rule has, I am happy to say, been attended with great success, as appears from the fact that while, during the twelve months ending May, 1858 (the date at which the order was promulgated), the number of exemptions from labor on the plea of sickness at Pentridge and Collingwood was 4.5 of the whole number of prisoners, during the succeeding twelve months these cases have only reached 2.3 of the whole, showing a decrease of nearly 50 per cent, on the first issue of the order.: Some dissatisfaction was expressed, but on its being calmly explained to the prisoners that remission of term of sentences weredependent on .■ 188 CRIME AND CRIMINALS.

work as well as good conduct, and that if they were at work as free men outside they would not he paid for the days they were idle through sickness, remonstrances ceased, and the men have quietly, and I believe cheerfully, submitted to it.” It has invariably been found that the best method of detecting those supposed to be feigning insanity, is to seclude them from the other prisoners, and keep them on low diet. One of the most extra­ ordinary cases which came under my own notice was that of a prisoner named F------, who was serving a sentence of ten years. He was one day detected in the act of surreptitiously making a piece of furniture supposed to have been intended for a certain warder, who had been suspected of trafficking with the prisoners, but had escaped detection. The visiting justice gave him the option of revealing the name of the warder, or being severely punished. He chose the latter, and was accordingly sentenced to one month’s solitary confinement on bread and water. Soon after this he began to show symptoms of insanity, and refused to take his food. He would sit all day, apparently quite unconscious of all that was going on around him, repeating the word “ tuno.” Strict watch was kept over him by day, and yet it was believed that by some means he was being supplied with food by the other prisoners. Dr. McCrea, the chief medical officer, gave directions for his removal to the Collingwood Stockade, that he might be under his own immediate observation. There the prisoner was placed in a small yard in charge of a warder, and at night was locked up in a separate cell. The warders were particularly instructed to ascertain if his rest was broken during the night, and for several months it was not. This, with other symptoms, convinced Dr. McCrea that the prisoner was only feigning insanity, and he therefore adopted more stringent measures. At Collingwood there were eight separate cells with a small yard attached to each, enclosed by a wall eight feet high, on the top of which was a platform for the sentry, who commanded a view of all these yards. F------was placed in one of them, and duly provided with his allowance of hominy, and one pound of bread* The doctor thus relates the conclusion of the case :—“ At first a small portion of the hominy and sugar disappeared, but for 21 days CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 189

F------evidently scarcely touched the food.^ During all the time he was under surveillance, he was carried to and from the cell, undressed at night and put to bed, and dressed in the morning. I directed that he should not be undressed at night, but be left in his cell, and the next morning he was found dressed as he had been left, and the blankets folded up as if unused. This went on for several nights. I then directed a warder to visit him silently in the middle of the night, the cell door being purposely left unlocked. The warder found him snugly wrapped up in his blankets, and left him silently. The next morning the prisoner was found dressed, and his blankets neatly folded up as if they had not been used. On another occasion the warder on the wall, who was usually removed at the dinner hour, only withdrew to the next yard, and there by means of a small ladder, looked into F------’s yard without being observed, and he saw him walk along the yard to the end where the drinking water was kept and take a long drink. These two inspections made his malingering clear. After fasting the 21 days he was wasted to an alarming extent, having lost weight to the extent of 27 lbs. I then gave him daily several injections of concentrated beef tea, by which means his weight was increased by 81bs. in one week. All danger of starving was thus at an end, and shortly after he gave in, dropped on his knees one morning and begged to be forgiven.” F------was kept under strict supervision until he had sufficiently recovered his strength, when the visiting justice sentenced him to six month’s additional imprisonment in irons. . I will just give one more instance, which shows, perhaps, an unparalleled case of self control and endurance of privation. A prisoner of the name of Stewart was sentenced in 18G5 to five years for horse-stealing. Upon his admission to Collingwood Stockade it soon became evident that he was set upon obtaining his liberty at all hazards. He first showed symptoms of lunacy by refusing to talk to any one or to take any food. Dr. McCrea, on examining him, came to the conclusion that he was merely feigning insanity, and tlierefore placed him on low diet and gave strict orders for his supervision^ After the lapse of a few weeks, Stewart pretended to have lost the 190 CRIME AND CRIMINALS.

use of his limbs, and so had to be carried from his cell to the yard, where he would sit all day, to all appearance a helpless lunatic. He confessed afterwards that all this time he was watching every action of the warders and listening to their remarks to learn if there were any likelihood of his being sent to a lunatic asylum, which would have suited his hopes of escape. His long continued malingering was proved at last in a very singular manner. A lay preacher named Brown was in the habit of visiting the Stockade, and one day asked for permission to see Stewart, which was granted. On leaving the stockade Mr. Brown at once laid the matter, as he regarded it, before the editor of the Eventing Herald, Mr. G. C. Levy. In the next issue of this paper a leading article appeared commenting on the case, and severely censuring Dr. McCrea for his treatment of the prisoner, who was described as being in a most pitiable state, while Dr. McCrea was referred to as the inventor of a most refined species of torture. As the result, a Medical Board was appointed by the Government to investigate this case. In the meantime, Stewart wTas visited by two medical men, one of whom was Dr. Bowie, who had an animosity against Dr. McCrea, because a short time previously that doctor’s evidence had assisted to bring home to Dr. Bowie several charges of mismanagement, which led to his being dismissed from the office of Superintendent of the Yarra Bend Lunatic Asylum. Dr. McCrea had, therefore, everything against him except the facts of the case. During the daytime Stewart was closely watched by a warder, and the night-sentry had to enter in a book every change that took place in his demeanour, especially how he slept. On the day before the final meeting of the Medical Board, the warder left the platform for a few minutes. Taking advantage of his absence, Stewart climbed the stone wall, eight feet in height, -and made signs to the prisoners to bring him some food. Two of the warders were all the time, un­ known to him, watching his movements, and reported what they had seen. At the meeting of the Board, Dr. Bowie was asked by Dr. McCrea. , “Under what circumstances did you visit the prisoner, and in what state did you find him ?v CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 191

Answer: “Asa medical man; and I thought him to be in a dying state.” “ Do you think it would be possible for the prisoner to climb on to the wall of his yard ? ” Answer : “ It would be quite impossible, and I am of opinion that the prisoner cannot last long under such treatment.” The two warders were then called in and gave their evidence, which being corroborated by the evidence of other officers, the Board sent in their report entirely exonerating Dr. McCrea from all blame. This affair at once placed Dr. McCrea at the head of his profession, with respect to the. detection of malingering, and was no small dis­ comfiture to the smaller fry. Stewart was ultimately sent to Pentridge, where he remained a patient in the prison hospital for more than twelve months. He was allowed to amuse himself with a fiddle, which he had rudely constructed, and from which he extracted the most hideous sounds, to the horror of his hearers. He still refused either to stand or walk, would sit all day with his legs crossed, or occasionally crawl like an infant. This same man, the day after his discharge, came to Coburg, walked up the Sydney road, and standing in front of the1 Pentridge Stockade, waved his hat with an air of triumph, exulting over his success in duping the authorities. 192 CRIME AND CRIMINALS.

ASSAULTS BY PRISONERS.

In October, 1859, the most cowardly and unprovoked assault since the murder of Mr. Price, was committed at the “Crystal Palace,”- Pentridge. At this time the building had been removed from its original position to the centre of the stockade reserve, where the prisoners were employed in quarrying stone for the boundary wall and for other purposes. Here the long sentenced men were confined, and only by the constant vigilance of the authorities were held in com­ parative security, the interior being commanded by four armed sentries placed on platforms at each corner of the prison. During the day the guard consisted of one overseer, a sergeant, and five warders. Nearly all the prisoners here were Imperial convicts, who had previously served sentences in Norfolk Island and Tasmania. One of them, named Rowly, was then serving a sentence of 32 years, passed upon him in jthis colony. The overseer (Mr. Kilmartin) had always treated this man with kindness, and although he had on several occasions had to reprimand him for breaches of the regulations, he had no reason for supposing that Rowly bore him any ill-will. However, one morning, when Mr. Kilmartin was standing on the top of the quarry giving directions to the men working below, Rowly came behind him, and without any warning, struck him a violent blow on the head, knocking him to the bottom of the quarry, a depth of 19 feet. He then rushed at Sergeant Mattie, and would no doubt have attacked him but that Gately (afterwards public executioner) happened to be near, and seizing Rowly held him fast until the sergeant got inside the gate. By this time the sentries had covered CRIME ANI) CRIMINALS. 193

>with their rifles-the, prisoners working in the* quarries. They were . ordered to fall in as if for muster, .which after some reluctance they , did. It was thought that . Mr. Kilmartin was dead, as he had not spoken since he fell; when picked up there, seemed very little hope , of his recovery. He was taken to his quarters, and Dr. McCrea .summoned from Melbourne. . Upon examination it was found that . he was suffering from compound fracture of the right leg, together with some fearful wounds on the head and other parts of the body. . When Rowly was asked, his motive, he replied that he had no par­ ticular. dislike to Mr. Kilmartin, but being tired of life, he wished to . leave the world. He was sent to Melbourne gaol, and as soon as Mr. Kilmartin was able to give evidence he was tried and executed without showing any signs of remorse. The sad result to Mr. Kil­ martin was that he never recovered, but was a cripple for the rest of ; his days and in continual pain. He died in 1877, leaving behind him the reputation of having been one of the most courageous and efficient overseers. The murder of the Rev. Mr. Hill, Wesleyan, Minister, on May 14th, 1869, at Pentridge, by a convict named James Ritson, will long be remembered as one of the most cold-blooded that has ever ; been committed. The subjoined account I am indebted for to Senior- warder Moran, who was on duty that day in the B division. Early in the afternoon Mr. Hill made his usual visit to the prison. Having signed his, name in the book he proceeded through the upper tier of cells to TTo. 56, where Ritson was confined. Warder Ryan unlocked the door, the rev. gentleman entered, and the door was closed behind him, but not locked. In a few minutes the senior-warder hearing a noise, called to Ryan to; see what was the matter, but, unfortunately, , he did not appear to notice the order ; had he done so the minister’s life might have been spared. Moran seeing this rushed upstairs himself and hurried to the cell. Placing his shoulder to the door he pushed it open, when a horrible sight met ,liis view. Mr. Hill was lying on his back covered with , blood, the floor and walls of the cell being also bespattered with it. Ritson was standing in one , .corner with the heavy irondiinge of his bed, about 14 inches long, 194 CRIME AND CRIMINALS. raised above his head as though to strike the first who entered. Moran exclaimed:—“My God, you villain, you have killed the minister,” upon which Ritson aimed a blow with his murderous weapon, reeking with the blood of his victim, at Morain’s head, who, however, received it on his arm and closing with him threw him down, when he was soon secured and taken to one of the solitary cells. Dr. Reed was quickly in attendance, but just as he entered poor Mr. Hill breathed his last. The Rev. Mr. Hill had only lately succeeded to the duties at Pentridge, which were previously performed by the Rev. Mr. Dare, but his kind and loving manner had won the esteem of both officers and prisoners, and the deepest sorrow was felt by the whole com­ munity when this tragic event became known. Ritson had been the year before sentenced to death for firing at Mr. Kinsella, inspector at the eastern market, but this sentence, unfortunately, was commuted to imprisonment for life. At his trial for the second murder the plea of insanity was raised, but dissallowed both by the jury and executive. He was executed in Melbourne gaol in the following July. Ritson was a native of Manchester, and was only 25 years of age when executed. He confessed that he had made up his mind to commit the murder on the morning of the day, and that lie murdered the Rev. Mr. Hill because he was always upbraiding him for his past crime^ The next instance of assault which, out of . many others, I will mention is that committed by Andrew Scott, alias Captain Moonlight, which for sheer foolhardiness surpassed anything that has come under my eye within a gaol. On the 17th February 1877, this refractory criminal actually had the impudence to “stick up ” the chief warder in the B division at Pentridge. I happened to be on duty in the corridor at the time, and shortly after mid-day Mr. Kelly came to me from his office and said, “ Have you seen Scott.” I replied, “ Yes ; he came here and took the key of the bathroom to have a bath.” “Yes,” said Mr Kelly, “ he came into my office armed with a knife, and said, ‘ I want your watch, and I must have it,’ at the same time advancing towards me. I said, CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 195

‘What do you mean?’ He replied, ‘ Keep silent,’ and the next, moment snatched my watch from my pocket, breaking the chain. He has now locked himself in the bathroom.” The chief warder, Mr. Kelly, was so cool and collected in his manner that I at first supposed him to be joking, but to convince me he held up a portion of the broken chain, and smilingly remarked, “ He has got the best part of it.” On that I went immediately to the bathroom, and looking through the small iron grating in the door I saw Scott close to it with a knife in his hand, and a look of defiance on his face. I said to him, “ What do you mean by this ?” He exclaimed, “ Don’t come near me, I am well armed and pretty well victualled too for a few days. I don’t wish to injure any one, but I intend to have satisfaction for the slanderous reports that have been circulated about me.” I replied, “ You are acting a very foolish part ; take my advice, unlock the door and come out, and then I will say what I can in your favor when you are brought before the magistrates.” He then asked me if I were the writer of an article in the Argus wherein he was denounced as a “ scoundrel and a robber.” I answered in the negative, and still tried to persuade him to open the door. He partly consented, and then drew back, saying “No, I will not; the warders are in the corridor, and they will give me a hammering with their batons.” 1 told him that there was only one warder there, and that if there were 50 none would think of attack­ ing him. He obstinately refused, and it seemed that the door would have to be forced, when Dr. Reed, who was a great favorite with both officers and men, arrived, and by his kind persuasion Scott was induced to open the door and come out, when he was quickly escorted to his cell. During the following week lie was brought before the visiting justice and sentenced to one month’s additional imprisonment. Passing from the more serious assaults committed by prisoners, there is one of the minor ones (an account of all these would fill a volume) which remains in my memory on account of the very lenient sentence passed on the offender. A prisoner named H------rushed up to the overseer, Mr. Mattie, and without any \ revocation stiuck 196 CRIME AND CRIMINALS. him several times in the face, and would, no doubt, have severely injured him but that another prisoner interfered. The culprit was subsequently brought before the visiting justice, Mr. Call, P.M., and sentenced to 20 days’ solitary confinement, with bread and water. For a similar offence in the army a man would have been either shot or imprisoned for a long term. CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 197

HOW “THE VAGABOND” BECAME DISPENSER TO PENTRIDGE GAOL.

In the year 1877 Mr. Julien Thomas, under the nom-de-plume of /'‘ The Vagabond,” contributed a series of articles to the Melbourne Argus. His mode of gaining information was to,enter some of the public institutions of the city, either as a lodger, a patient, or an official, remaining at each place visited a sufficient time to acquire a knowledge of its internal arrangements, and the efficiency or other­ wise of its staff of officials. He would usually conclude each article with suggestions as to how he considered matters could be improved at the several institutions which came under his notice. The most popular of his literary productions in this line were those written on the Alfred Hospital, the Benevolent Asylum, and the Kew Lunatic Asylum. During the time that he remained in these institutions his object was never anticipated by the officials employed therein, and, therefore, when these articles from his pen appeared in print they became quite the rage, taking the public completely by storm. The keen satire, the descriptive power, and the ready wit of the writer, gained for him at once a wide reputation throughout the Australian colonies. “The Vagabond” had passed through nearly all the public establishments of importance in and around Melbourne with the exception of the prison at Pentridge, or Coburg as it is now called, and it was thought that there were far too many difficulties in the way of obtaining admission thereto, except as an inmate, with any chance of making his report a literary success,. 198 CRIME AND CRIMINALS.

In those days I held the position of correspondent to the Argus for the district of Coburg, and I was also a warder at the prison, and had a thorough knowledge of the internal manage­ ment. I was most anxious that “The Vagabond ” should enter Pentridge, nor was I particular whether it should be in the capacity of an inmate or an official. I had conceived almost every possible plan for his admission, but was always met with some “ red-tape ” obstacle in the way. However, I thought I saw an opportunity looming in the distance, and so determined to communicate with the proprietors of the Argus. On the following day, being in the office of Mr Hugh George, who was then general manager of that journal. I said to him, “ Could you tell me where ‘The Vagabond’ is ?” “Why do you wish to know,” queried he. 4tI want to get him into Pentridge,” said I. Mr George replied to the effect that he was also very anxious to accomplish that object, but from the strict course of discipline pursued at that establishment he was of opinion it could not be done. I told him that if he left the matter with me I would undertake to bring it to a successful issue. I must here mention that at this time the dispenser at Pent­ ridge, who was only appointed shortly before, had frequently appeared on duty under the influence of liquor, and I therefore suspected that his stay there would be of short duration. I lost no time in communicating my suspicions to Mr. George, and suggested that Mr. Thomas might be appointed dispenser in the event of the position becoming vacant. He asked me if Mr. Thomas would have to pass an examination prior to receiving the appointment. I replied that he would have to go before Dr. Reed, the medical officer to the gaol, and I promised to see the doctor in reference thereto, and let Mr. George know the result as soon as possible. The next day I called upon Dr. Reed, and informed him that I wished to con­ fide an important matter. I then related the substance of my conversation with Mr. George, and enquired of him if he could give us any assistance in carrying out our object. Dr. Reed replied in the affirmative, and said he would endeavor to obviate any difficulty CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 199 regarding the qualification for the appointment, as it would be neces­ sary for Mr. Thomas to be examined by him. Shortly after my interview with Dr. .. Reed the resident dispenser was suspended from duty, so I went immediately to Mr. George and told him there was no time to be lost, as the charge against the delinquent would be investigated on the day following, and that there were already several applicants, for the position in the event of his dismissal. Mr. George desired me to let him know the result of the enquiry as soon as possible, adding at the same time, “Never mind the expense so long as you can give us the first information.” The next morning I attended at the gaol office, and also instructed my wife to remain near the outside of . the main entrance gates, and if the dispenser were dismissed, she was to take the first cab available and proceed with all haste to the Argus office. As soon as the dispenser passed out of the office he informed me that, unfortunately for him, he was dismissed from the service. I then made a preconcerted signal to my wife, and the next minute she was speeding on her way to Mel­ bourne. On receipt of the intelligence Mr. George wrote a note to the Hon. the Chief Secretary, which he handed to Mr. Thomas, requesting him to be the medium of communication between them. The Chief Secretary, Mr. McPherson, after perusing the letter, informed the bearer that he was appointed, “ under rather peculiar circumstances,” dispenser to Pentridge Gaol, adding “that no doubt he would see many things to condemn in the general management of that establishment, but he trusted Mr. Thomas would temper his criticisms with moderation.” “ Fair comment,” said Mr. Thomas, “can never be objected to, and that feeling has always guided my actions as a public writer.” On his arrival at Pentridge, Mr. Thomas presented himself at the main entrance gates, and said to the officer on duty, “ Lagged for five years !” to which a warder replied, not knowing him, “ Well if you conduct yourself properly we'll let you off with two years and a half.” “ All right,” said Mr Thomas, “ I am appointed resident dispenser here, and I wish to see Dr. Reed.” He was at once con­ ducted to his quarters, where he handed in his appointment from the 200 CRIME AND CRIMINALS.1 '

Chief Secretary. “You are appointed dispenser to this prison,” said the doctor, “so come with me, and I will show you the dis­ pensary.” Upon entering the place Mr. Thomas glanced at the labels on the bottles, and turning to the doctor said, “ Have you gox —,” naming several drugs so familiarly as to suggest the idea that he was a practical chemist. “No,” replied the doctor, “ we do not require drugs of that description here.” “They are used in great quantities in many parts of America,** said Mr Thomas.” “ True,” replied the doctor, “ but they are used for diseases which are far more prevalent in that country than in Australia.” ' * This conversation was interrupted by a message from the A division, stating that Gately, the hangman, was suffering great agony from toothache. The doctor, addressing Mr. Thomas, said, “ I suppose you can draw teeth ?” “ A capital hand,” replied Mr. Thomas. “ Then go,” said the doctor, “ and take it out.” With a case of instruments under his arm, the newly appointed dispenser proceeded to the A division, where he met Mr. Regg, the officer in charge, and said, “ Which is the fellow that wants a tooth extracted ?” “ Oh,” replied Mr. Begg, “ It is Gately, the hang­ man.” “ Very well,” said Mr Thomas, “ let me see him.” When the cell door was opened Mr. Thomas exclaimed in an austere manner, “ Let me see that tooth of yours,” at the same time taking hold of his patient’s head and opening a pair of jaws resembling a gorilla’s more than those of a human being. “I see the one,” said the operator, and going to the instrument case he selected a pair of forceps with all the skill of an experienced dentist, remarking, “ I’ll soon have that tobacco chewer out.” The instrument beinn O fastened upon the tooth, Mr. Thomas moved it slightly to ascertain if it were firm, and Gately shouted out loudly. “ If you don’t be quiet I shall break your jaw,” said Mr. Thomas. Then he gave another turn of the instrument of sufficient strength to draw the tooth of a bullock, and the hangman was minus one of his grinders. Mr. Thomas then, with the greatest composure, replaced the instru­ ments in the case, but prior to leaving the division he said to Mr. Begg, “ Are there any more teeth to extract while I am here ?” Mr. CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 201

Begg replied in the negative, and added that he had never previously seen a tooth drawn with such despatch. On his return to the hos­ pital Dr. B-eed said, “Weil, did you extract the tooth?” “Cer­ tainly,” replied Mr. Thomas, “ and it was not an easy operation.” “ There,” said, the doctor,” handing him a paper, “ is a prescription to make up for one of the Misses D------•” Mr Thomas quickly mastered the: contents, and it was soon accurately prepared, the bottle being; wrapped up and sealed. Thus ended “The Vagabond’s ” first day at Pentridge, and it was to some extent an illustration of the saying that extremes some­ times meet, for he had not only extracted a tooth from the public executioner, but he had also dispensed a prescription for an accom­ plished young lady. It was on the next day that I first made the acquaintance of Mr. Thomas, and I took the opportunity of putting him on his guard with reference to the object of his mission. I told him he should be very careful, as it was already rumored that some of the officials believed him to be the literary “ Vagabond.” “ Oh,” said he, “ that does not trouble me much ; just let me know their names, and I will give them a dose of poison that will very quickly put them out of the way.” After this jest we conversed on more serious topics, and parted with the understanding that so long as he remained in the prison we were to appear as strangers to one another. Nothing of any importance occurred until a day or two after this, when I met Chief Warder Warrick, who, after some desultory talk, produced from his pocket a copy of the Melbourne Budget, and showed me an engraving therein, evidently intended to represent “ The Vagabond,” although it was a very feeble effort of the artist. The chief asked me if I had ever seen the original of that carica­ ture ? I answered that I had not. He then said, “Well, if that is not the man who is now at the hospital as dispenser then I am greatly mistaken. I remarked that there were a great many vaga­ bonds in Pentridge. He said that he had warned all the warders from giving any information to Mr. Thomas, and he was anxious to 20 2 CRIME AND CRIMINALS. get him away from the station as soon as possible. During this conversation I could hardly refrain from smiling at his brazen effrontery, knowing, as I did, that he had outwardly shown the greatest courtesy to Mr. Thomas whenever they met. .

On the following morning the Inspector-General (Mr. Duncan) called at Mr. Warrick’s office, which was near the guard-room. After passing the compliments of the day, Mr. Warrick abruptly changed the conversation by saying, “ You will be surprised to hear, sir, that the person who is at present dispenser in the hospital is no less than ‘ The Vagabond ’ of the Argus.” On hearing this Mr. Duncan remarked that if so, it was strange the Goyernment had not informed him, but he would make enquiry when he went to Melbourne. During that day, whenever any of the officials met, the first question asked was, “ Have you seen ‘ The Vagabond ?’ ” In the guard-room, that “school for scandal,” he was metaphorically wounded and mangled by every weapon fair and foul, some being of opinion that he ought to be treated as a spy and at once expelled from the station, while others expressed themselves in terms of commendation of his mission, and thought that he should be afforded every facility to obtain the fullest information concerning the management of the prison.

For the first week of Mr. Thomas’ stay, I had my share of enquiries as to his identity, both inside and outside the walls of the establishment. . To all of these questions I returned the same answer, namely, that “ The Vagabond,” being only human, could not possibly be in half-a-dozen places at the one time. “At present,” I said, <4 he is engaged in one of the public institutions around Melbourne, consequently how can he be at Pentridge ? ” On several occasions, however, I could scarcely keep my countenance, especially when some of the men were speaking about the certainty of his identity with the dispenser. Casually meeting an official, the man exclaimed, “ Begorra, I’m tould the rale ‘ Vagabone’ is up at the hospital, but whoever he is, he is a dacent looking chap, and I believe a good tooth-drawer ; he pulled one out for the hangman the first day he CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 203 came here, and I only wish he had pulled the head off the scoundrel.” . The warder in charge of the hospital, when Mr. Thomas was appointed, acted in such a discourteous manner when giving up duty to his successor, that Mr. Thomas, in his first article on Pentridge, called him the “terrier warder,” which subjected . the object of that remark to much ridicule among his comrades.

. As I was anxious to have a short chat with the “new dispenser ” in reference to his mission, I made an excuse to call at the hospital and get some medicine. Mr. Thomas, who pretended not to know me, roughly enquired, “ What is the matter with you ? ” I told him I was suffering from a severe headache. “ How long have you been ill?” said he. I replied, “about a week.” He said, “ Put out your tongue ! I see you are bilious and will give you some pills that will put you all right in a few days.” Giving me half-a-dozen in a box, lie said, “Take two of those to-night, and if you are no better to-morrow, call again—now be off, I have plenty more patients to attend.” That night I met him by appointment, and in course of our conversation about the department and the officials, he mentioned Chief Warder Warrick, and remarked what a polite and agreeable man he was. I then related the chiefs actions with reference to Mr. Thomas, including the manner in which he had cautioned all the warders to be sure and not give him any information about the prison. I also desired him to notice next day with what a gracious condescension the chief would address him on parade, something after this fashion :—“ Good morning, Mr. Thomas ; how do you do ? ” The following morning they met, and as I predicted, Mr. Warrick addressed him precisely as described. I could discern a slight indication of merriment in the eyes of Mr. Thomas as, no doubt, he realised the truth of my prognostication. I also gave my opinion of the officers, and their qualifications for the positions they h$ld. Without being egotistical, I thought it best to act in this manner, because Mr. Thomas would then be better able to study their 20 £ CRIME AND CRIMINALS. ' individual characters during the short period that he intended remaining in the gaol.

But “ murder will out,” and in the week ensuing, when Mr. Thomas was recognised and inderitified as “ The Vagabond,” he was subjected to various petty annoyances by the Inspector-General and the superintendent (Mr. Gardner). Mr. Duncan was at the time about to visit Europe, but prior to leaving he acted in a most injudicious manner •towards Mr. Thomas. In the first place, the latter held a high reputation among literary men in Victoria, and he also repre­ sented one of the most important and influential journals published in Australasia. It might therefore be reasonably conjectured that he would not indulge in any offensive remarks concerning the officials, nor undeserved criticism respecting tbe general management of the department. However, an incident occurred in which Mr. Duncan exhibited a great deficiency of judgment and good taste. This was on the occasion of the Rev. Joseph Dare visiting the prison, accompanied by the Inspector-General. Mr. Thomas was standing in front of the hospitals when the two gentlemen passed along, and they appeared to be engaged in an interesting conversation. Mr. Duncan suddenly stopped and, pointing to Mr. Thomas, said to Mr. Dare, “ There’s ‘The Vagabond,”1 which exclamation was followed by some uncomplimentary remarks referring to him. The next issue of the Wesleyan Journal contained an article informing its readers that “The Vagabond” was then acting as dispenser to the Pentridge Stockade, and commenting in severe terms on his mode of obtaining information. To this effusion Mr. Thomas retaliated in a sarcastic manner, and resuscitated a public performance of the rev. gentle­ man’s on the gallows, where he took an active part in kicking the drop from under a notorious criminal. Mr. Duncan was also severely and : deservedly castigated for the action he took in the matter. A fitting opportunity was shortly offered to Mr. Thomas to show his opponents that they were made of penetrable stuff, and this CRIME AND CRIMINALS. £05 was on the occasion when the officers and warders of the prison invited Mr. Duncan to a banquet previous to his. departure for Europe. In replying to the address presented to him the Inspector-General spoke in the most flattering terms of all ranks of the service (which, to a certain extent,, were deserved) and the superior discipline maintained in the prison. In the course of his reply , he said he was about to visit some of the • principal prisons in the United Kingdom, in America, and on the continent of Europe. He also purposed attending the conference to be held at Stockholm, where some of the most experienced men in the management of prisons and prisoners would be present, and where the great question would be fully dis­ cussed. From the tenor of his speech it was inferred that instead of obtaining information from the great men of the day on that ail important matter, he was going to tell them that he could enlighten the world on that much vexed question, and that the institution under his control had attained the highest state of discipline. Al­ though it might perhaps have been said at the time that Pentridge Gaol was as well managed as most prisons in these colonies, yet it was neither discreet nor judicious of Mr. Duncan to sound his own trumpet. He should have left that delicate subject to disinterested persons, and Mr. Thomas was quite as competent as Mr. Duncan to express an opinion regarding the course: of discipline pursued at Pentridge. The Inspector-General sailed next day, and as a gentle reminder of his self-constituted authority on penal discipline a leacMng article appeared in the Argus disapproving of Mr. Duncan’s comments on so important a subject, more especially in the presence of his subordinates. However, affairs on the station soon assumed a different aspect, and Mr. Call, visiting justice, was appointed acting Inspector- Genera] during the absence of Mr Duncan. It was generally under­ stood that Mr. Call did not wish to act in an unfriendly manner towards Mr. Thomas, although every week when he visited the station the superintendent, Mr Gardner, would pour a series of com­ plaints into his ears about the conduct of the dispenser. The latter said he could not maintain discipline in the prison so long as Mr. 206 CRIME AND CRIMINALS.

Thomas remained within its walls. It was evident that Mr. Call was not desirous of showing any personal feeling against the dispenser, for he paid but little attention to the reports of the superintendent. But, unfortunately, the feeling of resentment between these two officers continued to increase. Mr. Thomas stood upon his dignity, and considered that he was under the direct orders of the medical officer, Dr. Beed, to whom he was responsible for the management of the hospital. He accordingly treated Mr. Gardner with cool civility, which only intensified the dislike that had already existed between them.

One night the dispenser was engaged in his room at the hos­ pital until after midnight. The superintendent happened to be making his weekly visit to the sentries on night duty at that par­ ticular time, and seeing a light in the dispenser’s room, he called the officer of the watch and said, “What has that fellow got a light burning for ? Go and tell him to put it out.” The officer knocked at Mr. Thomas’ door and delivered the message, whereupon Mr. Thomas replied that he considered it a great piece of impertinence on the part of the superintendent to dictate to him as to what time he should extinguish his light, as he was paying for his quarters, and concluded by consigning him to the care of the evil one.

Mr. Gardner spoke to me a few days afterwards in reference to the behaviour of Mr; Thomas, and remarked that he would show him that he was the superintendent, a title, as may be supposed, Mr. Thomas had no desire to dispute. Some trifling matter now fre­ quently occurred to widen the breach between “ literary ability ” and “ assumed arrogance, ” so much so that on one occasion Mr. Gardner sent a warder to Mr. Thomas with a message, saying he wished to see him at the office. To this Mr. Thomas replied by writing a note to the effect that if the superintendent had any com­ plaint against him he would perhaps be good enough to put it in writing ; but Mr. Gardner was far too cautious a man to commit his- ideas to writing for the criticism of Mr. Thomas. CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 207

In fact, daily the superintendent found some cause for complaint against the dispenser, and one morning when he was visiting the hospital a pot containing flowers happened to be placed near the bed occupied by Power, the bushranger. This he immediately objected to, and gave orders for its removal, but the dispenser interjected that “ Before doing so it would be necessary to consult the medical officer, Dr. Reed.” But the doctor, when consulted, declined to allow Mr Gardner to interfere in any way with the management of the hospital. This action on the part of the medical officer considerably widened the breach between the contending parties. All kinds of reports were circulated by the superintendent and chief warder in reference to the dispenser’s familiarity with the prisoners under his care. Mr Gardner said he found him on several occasions in conversation with Harry Power, the bushranger, and other notorious criminals ; also with Supple, who, though in prison dress, still retained the manner of a scholar and a gentleman. And here, let it ha said to the credit of Mr Thomas, he was partly instru­ mental at a subsequent period in obtaining this man’s release from Pentridge. While the storm was raging I had to remain a silent observer of all that was passing, but there were others who were u willing to wound but afraid to strike.” It has ever remained a mystery to me why any of the warders should have objected to the presence of Mr. Thomas in the prison. They were always complaining of a multi­ tude of grievances for which they had hitherto failed to obtain redress, and surely a moment’s reflection should have taught them that, there was no better medium for ventilating their complaints and bringing them under the notice of the Government than the columns of the Melbourne Argus! It must have been evident to the readers of “ The Vagabond” papers that the author never intended injuring the employees In any of the institutions which he visited, for in all his writings he rendered an impartial and interesting account of their management. It was admitted by the Government of the day that his published articles afforded ample information on all matters relating to their 208 CRIME AND CRIMINALS.

discipline, and if faults existed remedies were suggested, which, in several instances, were adopted by the authorities. Mr. Thomas had by this time spent about a month in Pentridge, . when his period of captivity was somewhat abruptly brought to a close. One Saturday afternoon a telegram was despatched to the Chief Secretary (it was supposed) by the acting Inspector-General, requesting him to remove Mr. Thomas from the prison. The Chief Secretary wired immediately to the Argus office, “Withdraw your correspondent from Pentridge at once,” and in a few minutes after­ wards the dispenser had severed his connection with the gaol hospital. • After returning to his sanctum and resuming literary duty, in the first article that emanated from his pen concerning the prison he gave a faithful description of all that occurred during the first week of his residence therein. He also appeared to have realised all that I had stated in reference to Chief Warder Warrick, for he saddled him with the rather appropriate title of “ Oily Gammon,” and which he is likely to retain so long as he remains in the service. The schoolmaster (Mr. Wilson) was quite indignant that Mr. Thomas, when mentioning him, should have been so devoid of courtesy as to omit the necessary prefix of “Mr.” to his name, as he considered his position ought to have distinguished him from the ordinary ranks of the department. • Mr. Thomas, when writing about Mr. Gardner, stated amongst other matters that, like Lord Brougham, he had a prominent and inflexible nose. But the superintendent took exception to this harmless remark, and even complained to some of the officials of the want of judgment exhibited on the part of Mr. Thomas in alluding thus rudely to his nasal organ, especially as he himself had no part in its construction. At a subsequent period, when Mr. Gardner mentioned the subject to me, I said that a prominent nose was usually considered by physiognomists as indicating the superior intelligence of its proprietor, and I added that Napoleon I, who was an excellent judge of character, would invariably select for promotion in his army an officer with a hooked nose in preference to all others ; CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 209 and further, that Lord Byron, in speaking of the Duke of Wellington, said, Proud Wellington with eagle beak so curled, That nose, the hook, where he suspends the world. After my mentioning these distinguished personages, Mr. Gardner seemed involuntarily to raise his hand to his face to ascertain if there was, after all, any marked peculiarity in the particular shape of his nose, and this joke was kept alive for many a long day afterwards. In the sentry-boxes and other places around the establishment numerous fancy sketches of the superin­ tendent’s inflexible feature were to be found, which finally resulted in the boxes all being thoroughly re-painted. After Mr. Thomas left Pentridge, it was considered almost as imprudent to mention his name (unless adversely) as to hold a red rag before an infuriated bull, and an instance of this kind occurred in which I was the victim of a most unwarrantable and unjust attack. One day in the guard-room the conversation turned upon “ The Vagabond,” and a corporal there present said Mr. Thomas was a “liar” when he stated that “trafficking” was carried on between some of the prison officials and their prisoners. I replied that the statement was quite true, but what amount of business was trans­ acted in that manner I was not prepared to say. The corporal concluded by saying that he would soon compel me to prove my assertion. Shortly afterwards a consultation took place between the chief warder and the corporal, and that evening I was informed by some of the men that I should have to appear before the Inspector- General to give an explanation of my conduct. In addition to this, I was told that every effort would be made to have me removed from the station. At this time Mr. Call was still acting Inspector-General, and I anticipated that he would take a common-sense view of the case. The day when I appeared at the office there were several witnesses in attendance for, the prosecution. As soon as the charge was read to me by Mr. Call I frankly admitted it, and stated in support of my 210 CRIME AND CRIMINALS. allegation that it w;as a matter of notoriety that several officers and warders had already been dismissed from the service for trafficking with prisoners ; moreover, I had no doubt about it being still practised on the station. Mr. Call said if I knew such to be the case, it was my duty to act the part of a detective and find out the guilty, parties ; and he further stated that when the expression made use of by me was not limited to any particular rank, it must naturally be supposed to include and reflect upon all ranks of the service. At this point he was about to give his decision, when the chief warder interjected the remark, “I have several witnesses to call, sir, to prove that the accused is in the habit of making these unfounded charges.” Mr Call retorted, “But that has nothing to do with the present one!” He Avas again attempting to proceed, when the corporal, who had evidently been prompted to fire the last shot, said he believed it was only through Warder W------’s anxiety to defend the Argus. Whereupon Mr. Call turned sharply with the reproof, “ What has the Argus to do with the case ? I want to hear no more on that subject.” Then returning, he quietly said to me, “ Be careful for the future not to make these sweeping assertions unless you can prove them.” There is but one more incident to record in connection with the sojourn of Mr. Thomas at Pentridge. A few days after the termination of his career as dispenser he returned, accompanied by two ladies, to visit the prision, and when going over the C division he was charged by the warder, who was conducting the party through the establishment, with dropping two figs of tobacco in the mess-room. He was immediately brought before the superintendent, who was about to hand him over to the police, when Mr Call fortu­ nately appeared on the scene, and permitted Mr. Thomas to depart in peace, with the remark that the police could take up the matter. The latter, as usual in cases of a trivial nature, especially when a man of culture is involved, quickly availed themselves of the opportunity, and eventually Mr. Thomas was summoned to attend at the Police Court. I subsequently had an interview with Mr Hugh George, to CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 211 whom I stated the fficts of the case, but he decided not to interfere in the matter, and said that if Mr. Thomas, committed such foolish actions the proprietors of the Argus were not going to use their influence, to get Yi\m out of trouble. I replied that there were some joints, connected, with, the charge which, placed in able hands, might clear him altogether. Mr. George then gave me a note addressed to Mr. Clayton, the legal adviser of the firm, and that gentleman prepared a brief and instructed Mr. Purves to defend the case, who afterwards discovered that he could not attend the court on account of a prior engagement elsewhere. However, Sergeant Sleigh, Q.C., who was visiting Melbourne at the time, was ultimately retained for the defence, the case being heard at the Brunswick Police Court. As an instance of the interest taken in the matter, there were a dozen magistrates on the bench, and every part of the court was crowded to excess. When the case was called on, Sergeant Sleigh rose and said lie appeared for the defendant, and he wished to know under what section of the Act his client was charged ? The chair­ man of the bench gave the number of the clause, which states— “ That any person conveying tobacco or any other prohibited article into any gaol or place of detention, shall be liable to be fined in the sum of £10 or three months’ imprisonment.” The learned counsel, per­ ceiving the fallacy of the clause, said it was reasonable to suppose that some of the officials connected with the establishment were in the habit of smoking, and doubtless brought into the prison not only tobacco, but might, if they thought proper, introduce any or all of the articles mentioned in the act as prohibited. And, if so, the sergeant contended they were equally liable to a similar prosecution. In all probability this interpretation of the clause would not have been accepted in a higher court, but when submitted to the local magistrates, the majority of whom had, perhaps, never read the act, and when confronted by an eminent barrister, a doubt apparently arose in their minds as to the legality of the proceedings. The bench then retired for consultation, and were absent about 2d minutes. On their return a death-like silence prevailed for a few seconds, when the chairman informed Sergeant Sleigh that the 212 CRIME AND CRIMINALS.

magistrates had decided to dismiss the case, which announcement was received with manifest signs of approval from the large assembly in court. At the end of this “act” the curtain dropped on the last “ scene ” of “ The Vagabond” experiences in and around Pentridge Gaol. Weechurch,

CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 213

SKETCHES OF SOME REMARKABLE CRIMINALS

No one among our Victorian criminals lias, perhaps, gained a more unenviable reputation than John Taylbr, alias John Wee- church. There have been those indeed who have endeavored to show that he was driven to commit the crimes which he did by the treatment received during his confinement in Pentridge, and it is with the hope of placing the facts in a true light that I refer to deeds of iniquity which would be much better consigned to oblivion. John Weechurch (by which name he was known in Victoria) was born in 1829, at Nottingham. At an early age he became an adept at thieving, and being convicted was sent to a reformatory. This establishment, however (like many others of that name), failed to reform him, for in 1850 he was transported to Van Dieman’s Land for seven years. He completed his term of servitude, and came to Victoria in 1860. In the same year he was convicted at Beech- worth and sentenced to six years with hard labor. While, serving this sentence he received a long term of additional imprisonment for bad conduct. This lie argued was illegal, contending that the six years passed upon him by the judge comprised the full term of his sentence, and in consequence he considered himself justified in com­ mitting any kind of crime to obtain his liberty. In appearance he was a very insignificant looking creature, with a rather remarkably prominent forehead, while his physiognomy was such as to cause him to be singled out as capable of any kind of crime. During the years 1871-73 he made three daring attempts to escape from gaol, and on one of these charges he was sentenceddo six months’ addi­ 214 CRIME AND CRIMINALS.

tional imprisonment. While serving this sentence he pretended to be suffering from giddiness, which caused him to stagger about like a drunken man. This, together with the discordant sounds of his chains, was the source of some amusement to the other prisoners, but at last his case assumed so strange an aspect that he was ex­ amined by several medical men ; their opinion was that he was merely feigning insanity;, which proved afterwards to be correct# Finding himself foiled in this scheme, Weechurch began the de­ liberate commission of a series of crimes, which have seldom been equalled in cowardice and brutality. On the 7th July, 1871, he attempted to burn down the Inspector-General’s quarters, worth from three to four thousand pounds, but in this he was unsuccessful. In July of the next year he set fire to the shoemakers’ shop, which was completely destroyed and all its contents which were of value. Upon this he was ordered to be confined in the A division and kept under close surveillance. On the 8th August of the same year (1872) he requested the Inspector-General, Mr Duncan, to grant him an interview in his cell, and accordingly that officer, who. was always willing to comply with any reasonable request, visited him on the following Sunday afternoon. Upon entering the cell he said to the prisoner, £k You wish to speak to me.” “Yes, sir,”, replied Wee- church, and advancing stabbed Mr. Duncan in the groin with a piece of iron sharpened as a knife. Mr. Duncan staggered backward, and before Weechurch could make another blow he was seized by one of the warders and secured. Mr. Duncan fortunately was wearing a heavy overcoat, thanks to which the wound was not of a very serious nature. For this offence Weechurch was tried, found guilty of attempting to murder, and sentenced to death. This sentence, partly through Mr. Duncan’s expressed wish, was commuted to im­ prisonment for life with three years in irons. From; this period Weechurch became more troublesome than ever, and;.as it.was feared that he would endeavor to injure some of the officials, the following measures were adopted for their safety at the suggestion of the visiting justice:—“Rules to be observed in the treatment of the convict Weechurch.” (1) To be sent first out to exercise and to be CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 215

brought in last, and to be escorted on each occasion by two warders to see that he does not obtain or pick up anything. (2) To be sent out when there are few prisoners to exercise, so as to have several yards vacant between him and the other prisoners. (3) To be searched daily on his return from exercise, and the exercise yard to be minutely searched before he is sent out for exercise. (4) To be dressed in a fresh suit of clothes once a week. (5) To be locked fast and no other prisoner to be in the bath-room at the same time; bath-room to be carefully searched before he is taken there. (6) Tub to be most minutely examined before being put into his cell ; rations and spoon also ; hominy and soup to be stirred up. (7) When examining his irons make him sit on his stool. (8) When the cell door is opened never less than two warders are to be present. (9) The trap-door is always to be opened to see how prisoner is engaged before the cell door is unlocked. (10) Clergymen visiting Weechurch are to be warned as to his character.” However, to render it impossible for him to injure others, on the 5th July, 1873, a cell for his reception was fitted with strong iron bars before the door in the form of a cage, and so constructed that anyone could speak to him through the bars. The warders also were instructed that whenever he rang his bell it was to be immediately attended to; on no account to hold any conversation with him, but to communi­ cate what he wanted to the officer in charge of the division, who must attend on him personally. He was not allowed to attend Divine service because of the danger of his there obtaining knives or other dangerous material. Towards the latter part of 1874 he com­ plained to the visiting justice that the confinement in his cell was injuring his health, the result of which complaint was that he, together with two other dangerous prisoners, was employed to cut the weeds in the adjoining paddock. Each prisoner was provided with a small hoe for his work. Warder Coghlan took them to work, and lie had no reason to suppose that Weechurch had any animosity against him. However, on 24th November, the warder happened to sit down to rest on a stone, when Weechurch, coming behind him, struck him a fearful blow with his hoe, causing a gash 21(> CRIME' AND CRIMINALS.

from the forehead / half way down the cheek, and felling the warder senseless to the ground. Weechurch hurried to the division, and meeting one of the officers exclaimed, “I have killed Warder Coghlan in the paddock.” Dr. Eeed, on being sent for, pronounced the wound to be dangerous, though the skull was not fractured. After the prisoner had been secured in his cell he sent for the chief warder, and in the most unconcerned manner enquired whether Coghlan lived long after the blow, stating clearely his murderous intentions. However, on being again tried for attempt to murder he was again acquitted, mainly through the powerful defence made by Mr. It. D. Iieland, Q.C. Weechurch was, therefore, sent back to Pentridge to continue his life sentence, and, as might be expected, his conduct was more outrageous than ever, using the vilest language to the officials and complaining about the most trivial matters. His career was, however, not long after this in being brought to its just end. In October, 1876, when Senior-warder Moran, accompanied by Warder Gay nor, went to examine his cell and the irons he wore, Weechurch quickly drew his hand from behind his back and struck the senior warder with the iron handle of his tub in the face a. little below the eye. He had evidently aimed at the eye, and Dr. Deed’s opinion was that if the weapon had struck him there it might have been fatal. Being once more tried for attempt to murder, Weechurch made a rambling and incoherent statement respecting things quite apart from the charge ; he was sentenced to death, Justice Stephens holding out no hope of reprieve. Even now, so marvellous is the infatuation for crime of a certain section of the community, a large meeting was held in the Boval Park, denouncing the decision of the Government. On the gallows, when asked the usual question by the sheriff, Weechurch said, “ I stand before you a poor criminal who is about to be. launched into eternity. I must call you all friends, for we must forgive our enemies. I did not intend to commit murder at Pentridge, though I said so at the time, but it was for the purpose of bringing my case before the public. The law does not demand my body in a literal sense, but in a perverted sense does it demand my body, as Jesus CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 217

Christ will demand my soul.” The bolt was drawn, and he who had attempted the lives of three worthy officers was at last sent to receive the just reward of his deeds. It is refreshing to leave the records of this revolting criminal and turn to the career of one who displayed no such bloodthirsty instincts, and was at last able to reform and maintain himself honorably by his artistic skill. William Stamford, at a very early age, commenced a career of crime, and formed one of the second batch of criminals sent to the Crystal Palace in 1855. During his imprisonment he displayed a considerable amount of skill as a sculptor. After serving his first sentence he was released on ticket of leave for one of the suburban districts. Unfortunately, he had while in prison become acquainted with some of the worst characters there, many of them being noted horse stealers. It is, therefore, not surprising to hear that he had not been long at liberty before he was arrested on several charges of horse stealing, of which he was found guilty, and sentenced to 30 years’ imprisonment with hard labor. Shortly before this the Panopticon, or B division as it is now termed, had been opened for long-sentenced prisoners, and when Stamford was placed there he looked round at the high walls, the massive iron doors, and the stone cells, so different from the wooden huts in which he was previously confined, and exclaimed, “ Adieu for ever to liberty.” One afternoon some years after his conviction, while working at stone cutting where the A division was being built, he managed to conceal himself on the works till night, when he emerged from his hiding place, and though observed and fired at by the warders, he effected his escape in the darkness. He was soon afterwards arrested in Bussell street by Detective Eason. He was on horseback at the time, and when the detective seized the bridle Stamford struck him a severe blow on the head with a hatchet, in­ flicting a serious wound. For this offence and attempting to escape he was sentenced to 12 months’ additional imprisonment in irons. After this Stamford seemed to give up all thoughts of escape, and turned his attention to sculpture, readily obtaining permission from Colonel Champ to execute several ingenious designs in bluestone. 218 CRIME AND CRIMINALS.

The most remarkable of these was a fountain representing a number of eagles in the act of seizing fish in their talons, while in the centre of the group stands a youth with arms upraised supporting a basket of flowers. This work, which occupied nearly two years in com­ pletion, was pronounced by some of the ablest connoisseurs worthy of being placed in the vicinity of some public building. It was, therefore, removed from Pentridge to the Treasury Gardens, Bourke street, where it still remains, a specimen of undoubted genius, though untutored mind. A brighter sequel remains, for through the persistent efforts of Dr. L. L. Smith, who had frequently brought his case before Government, Stamford obtained his liberty^ and bade a final farewell to Pentridge. Subsequently he established himself as a monumental mason at Prahran, where he executed many beautiful works of art, several of which may be seen in the Melbourne Cemetery. He died in January, 1877. An allusion has been made to the disorderly state of the hulk “President,” after Mr Price’s death, and to “ Gipsy Smith ” as one of the most intractable prisoners. The reformation of this man shows how much a few kind words at Ihe right moment may do, even with the habitual criminal. When Mr. Champ first visited the “President,” a day or two after his arrival in the colony, he found the ship, as described elsewhere, in an utter state of disorganisation, the convicts shouting, singing, knocking at their cell doors, and making the most hideous noises. On the day of his visit one of the men was particu­ larly uproarious, and on enquiring of the officer in charge, Mr. McPherson, who it was hp replied, “ Oh, that’s Gipsy Smith ; he always goes on like that.” “Well, but he is punished, I suppose for his misconduct,” remarked the Inspector-General. “ Oh, yes, but he does not mind it, and we can do nothing with him.” “Well,” said the Inspector-General, “ open his door.” This was done, and going in, a dialogue ensued to the following effect:— Inspector-General : “ What are you making that noise for ?” Gipsy Smith (insolently) : “ Because I choose ; I shall make as much as I like ; why shouldn’t I ?” I. G. : “ Because it is contrary to the regulations of the ship.” CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 219

G. S. : “ Pooh ! what do I care for the regulations of the ship ? I shall do as I please.” I. G. : “Well, but now listen to me for a few minutes. I speak to you as a friend, desirous of doing you a good turn if possible, -and perhaps I may be able to convince you that by acting as you are doing you are only injuring yourself and no one else. What is your sentence ?” G.S. : “ Ten years ?” I. G. : “ Well, I suppose you know that if your conduct is good and you are favorably reported you will get a mitigation of your sen­ tence, and will be released some time before it expires.” G. S. : “Yes, I know that.” I. G. : “I suppose yon also know that every time you are brought before the visiting justice you get an additional sentence. Now, don’t you think it will be much pleasanter to be released in a few years than to spend your life in irons in a cell.” G. S. (more respectfully) : “May I ask, sir, to whom I am speaking.” I. G. : “Yes, I am the new Inspector-General; perhaps you have heard of me before ?” G. S. : “ Oh, yes, sir, often.” I. G. : “Then, perhaps, you may have heard that whenever I find a prisoner by good conduct deserving of indulgence I extend it‘to him as far as I can ?” G. S. : “Yes, sir, I have heard that also.” I. G. : “Well, I do not speak to you now as Inspector-General, but as a friend, and I recommend you to think over what I have been saying.” “ G. S. : “ All right, sir, I’ll drop it; I’ve done with it, and there shall be no more complaints against me.” And there never Were ; his behaviour henceforth was quiet and reasonable, and soon after he was transferred from the hulk to Pentridge, and his irons removed. His conduct continuing to be favorably reported on, he was released on ticket of leave at the 220 CRIME AND CRIMINALS. appointed time. Mr, Gideon Lang then took him into his service, with whom I believe he remained until he died. In conclusion, one of the most interesting careers is that of Henry Power, alias Henry Johnston. He escaped from custody in Van Dieman’s Land in the year 1848, and shortly after landed in Victoria. After committing numerous crimes, he was convicted and sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment with hard labor. He was sent on board the hulk “ Success,” where he formed one of the gang that seized the boat in Melville’s rush, October, 1856, when Owens, the boatman, was murdered. Having completed this sentence, he returned to a criminal life, and in December, 1868, was convicted at Beechworth and sentenced to eight years’ imprisonment with hard labor. This time he was sent io Pentridge, from whence he managed to escape, February 16th, 1869. Several warders were sent in pursuit, but Power hid in the bush till night, when he succeeded in reaching the Plenty Ranges. From that time until 1871 he kept the up-country districts in a constant state of alarm. While he was at large the Government had to bear the expense of a small standing army of police, who, however, seldom managed to come in contact with him. It is estimated that he stuck up about 114 people, without using any violence, and was especially polite to females. He gave me the following account of what occurred after his escape from Pentridge :—“ For the first few weeks I felt sadly the want of firearms, clothing, and food. I found I could do nothing without the former, and was, therefore, resolved to procure them at all hazards. One morning I called at the station of a Mr. B------, in the Beechworth district. On knocking at the door a lady opened it. Raising my hat and bowing, I said, ‘ Good morn­ ing, madam, I must tell you that I am the unfortunate Power, who has escaped from Pentridge ; I am about to lead a reckless life, and would be thankful if you would find me something I require and must have.’ I then stepped into the house, but as this appeared to frighten her I said, ‘You must not be alarmed, madam, as I don’t want to harm anybody, but if there are any men about the place who attempt to show resistance I will shoot them. I then asked her for CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 221 something to eat. She said, ‘ Oh, yes, Mr. Power, you shall have the best I can find.’ It was not very long before she had an excel­ lent breakfast on the table. 4 Now, help yourself, Mr Power,’ said my hostess. While I was satisfying the inner man, she commenced reading the Bible in the most reverent manner. ‘You are a good woman, madam,’ I said, ‘and may God bless you. I wish there were many more in the, colony like you. If you. would go .down to Pentridge and read the Bible to the prisoners there it might do them some good, but as for myself I am afraid it is only loss of time.’ After breakfast Mrs. B------packed up some tea, sugar, and bacon, which she handed to me, and also provided me with blankets. I was at a loss for a pack horse, and could see no prospect of getting one. Mrs. B------had told me that her husband was out on the run with two of the stockmen, and as luck would have it I soon saw the party coming down the side of the ranges, so I went as far as the front gates to meet them, and hid behind a tree. Mr. B------was riding in front, and as soon as he came close to me I stepped out, and pointing a gun at him said, ‘ Bail up, I am Power ; get off those horses.’ This order was promptly obeyed, and I was about to tell him what I wanted when Mrs. B------came running down from the house in a very excited state. ‘Now, John,’ she said, ‘ Mr. Power has been at the house, and has taken a few things, but has done no harm ; for God’s sake give him what he wants and let him go.’ The swag I got from Mrs. B------was brought down from the house and packed on one of the horses ; so mounting the other, I thanked Mrs. B------for her kindness and wished them all good-bye.” Power told me that some time after­ wards Mrs. B------bought the horse back from him, as it was her favorite. At Mount Battery Station Power was very near being taken prisoner while in company with Ned Kelly. They were on the side of the ranges, and had no way of descending without pass­ ing near where Dr. Rowe, with a party of police, was stationed. Being observed by the police, several shots were exchanged, and Kelly wanted to surrender, but Power told him to follow him, and galloping down the side of the ranges, they made for the only place 222 CRIME AND CRIMINALS. of. exit. A ball struck Power’s horse, but it was only a flesh wound, and they were soon out of range. Soon after this Power was one day skinning one of Dr. Rowe’s sheep, which he had killed, when Dr. Rowe and one of his men rode up. “ Who are you,” ho cried, “that is killing my sheep ?” Power, picking up his gun, said* “ I’ll soon let you know who I am ; get off those horses.” “ Oh !” said Dr Rowe, “you are Power; I suppose from the life you are leading you can find no other way of getting food, but I would advise you to give it up.” “I wish .you would give me a cheque on the bank at Mansfield for £200,” retorted Power ; “ you can send your man for it.” After some further talk Power cautioned the doctor against giving information to the police, and mounting the doctor’s- horse rode off for the ranges. As an instance of Power’s consum­ mate daring, he once stuck up the mail coach near Beechworth,. with 16 passengers. He expected to get a good haul of money, but was disappointed in that. There were several men among the pas­ sengers, but none offered any resistance. Power opened the mail bags, and made the passengers hand over their money and vabiaoies. One young lady, on handing him her gold wTatch, remarked that she- did not like parting with it, as it was a present from her father. Power at once handed it back, hoping she might live long to wear it. His presence of mind also was remarkable. One day he stuck up a Mr. C------, who was driving along the road near Seymour while talking to him Powder saw a trooper riding in that direction. He at once said to Mr C------“ I’ll get behind that log fence, and if you give any information I’ll shoot both you and the trooper.’ “ Good morning, Mr. C------,” said the trooper, “ you are driving into town, I suppose.” “ Yes,” said Mr C------, “ The sergeant has received information that that scoundrel Power is somewhere about. I wish I could drop across him ; I would try to put an end to his bushranging. Good morning, Mr C------.” The constant exposure to all weathers and privations began to tell upon Power’s^ health, and so in April, 1871, he resolved to run up to Melbourne.. Arriving there, he put up at the Robert Burns Hotel, Smith Street, Collingwood, and wTalked about Melbourne in the day time without . CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 223 being recognised. However, soon after his arrival the authorities were informed that he was there, the police watched both trains and coaches leaving for the country, and Warder P------, who knew Power well, was selected to perambulate the streets in hope of identi­ fying him. The Volunteer Encampment was being held at Little River at this time, and as many of the warders and officers of Pent­ ridge belonged to the Rifles, many of them were present. Power visited the camp, remained there most of the day, had his glass of brandy in the presence of Mr. Latchford (chief clerk at the stockade), Captain Grylls, and two of the warders. Not caring for a close acquaintance, he quietly left and cleared out for the country dis­ tricts. He was next heard of near Wangaratta. The Government had offered a reward of £200 for his capture, and the police were anxious at all hazards to effect his arrest. His hiding place was at last discovered in a mountain at the head of the King River, and by the help of a guide he was pounced upon in a bark hut and secured before he could make use of a double-barrelled gun and six-chambered revolver, both of 'which were loaded and at his side. He was sentenced to 15 years’ hard labor in Pentridge. The latter part of his life was, however, brightened by benevolence, and reads like a tale of romance. A few years before he was entitled to his discharge, two ladies, well-known for their charitable deeds, pleaded with the Government to release him, and offered to provide a home for him in his old age and ill health. Rumour has it that some years previously these two ladies were travelling up-country in their private carriage, and that Power, who intended to stick up the carriage, when lie saw that they were only ladies, bowed and rode away. Shortly after his release, Sir W. J. Clarke offered him a home on one of his stations, which was thankfully accepted. 224 CRIME AND CRIMINALS.

A RIDE WITH NED KELLY.

So much, has already been said, in other publications, about the notorious “Kelly gang ”—their “sticking up” and robbing the banks at Euroa and Gerilderie, their horrible murder of Sergeant Kennedy and two constables in the Wombat ranges, and their villainous but fortunately futile attempt to wreck the train at Glen- rowan, together with their miserable end—that it seems scarcely necessary to make further reference, in these pages, to their infamous career of crime. There is, however, an incident (related to me by Police-Sergeant Hall, of Ballarat) concerning Ned Kelly, which has not previously been published ; and as that officer played rather an unpleasantly prominent part in the affair, I will now endeavour to produce it:— Sergeant Hall was, for several years, stationed in what was after­ wards known as the “Kelly country,” and had the reputation of being one of the coolest and most determined members of the police force. He had had several encounters with Ned Kelly and his associates, and on one occasion was nearly killed by a blow on the head from a stirrup-iron, administered by one of these worthies. Some little time after this occurrence, it would appear that Mr. H. N. Simpson, a well-known squatter, had lost two of his best blood horses, and offered Sergeant Hall £25 for their recovery. Riding out one day, the sergeant happened to meet Ned Kelly, and in the course of conversation said, “Come Ned,, you know where those horses are, so if you will tell me where to find them, I will give you £25—the reward offered?” “All right,” replied Kelly, “they are near the King river, about 25 miles from here.” It was agreed that CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 225

they should go there together, and accordingly that same evening, both being well mounted, they started.. During the ride hardly a word passed between them, although their horses kept side by side ; which, as Hall thought, seemed somewhat strange. When they came to the paddock where the missing horses were “ planted,” Kelly, pointing to a light in the bush, said, “ There they are, go and take them out! ” “ Oh, no ! ” replied Hall, “ You go for them ! ” After some hesitation Kelly went, and shortly returned leading the two horses ; but, having to cross a running creek, he tried to persuade the sergeant to dismount in order to get them across. This Hall refused to do, as he suspected his companion had some sinister motive in view. Evidently foiled in his design, whatever it might have been, Kelly handed over the horses to the sergeant, who, as soon as he got hold of the halters, set off at full gallop. Kelly quickly followed, and when he came up with him, dashed between the horses, forcing Hall to let go the halters, and the animals broke away. After some considerable trouble they were caught, and both men and beasts being pretty well exhausted, Kelly proposed that they should make a fire and camp in the bush till daylight. The fire burnt briskly, and Hall, feeling fatigued, laid down to rest himself and pretended to fall asleep, at the same time closely watching the movements of his companion. In the meantime Kelly was continually poking at the fire with a long pole, and causing sparks innumerable to ascend high into the air. “ What are you doing that for ? ” en­ quired Hall. “ To make it burn up,” replied Kelly. The sergeant was now convinced that Kelly had some nefarious scheme on hand, so he determined to get away with the horses as quickly as possible. He accordingly sent Kelly to the creek for some water to make a pot of tea, before starting on their homeward journey. As soon as Kelly was out of sight, Hall mounted his horse, and leading the other two, galloped off in the direction of Evans’ station. It was then nearly daylight, and he knew that Kelly would soon overtake him ; but that did not trouble him much, as he was not afraid of any man single­ handed. On turning round in the saddle, when nearing his desti­ nation, the sergeant, to his surprise, saw four horsemen instead of one, 226 CRIME AND CRIMINALS.

following him. This accounted for Kelly’s assiduous attention to the camp-fire ; the sparks being sent up as a signal for his mates to join him. Hall spurred his horse and rode on as hard as he could. On arriving at the station he quickly got the horses inside the gates, and with a revolver in each hand, waited for the gang to come up. When they had come within pistol-range Hall showed his weapons, and pointing them at his pursuers said, “ Come on, and I’ll take one off each horse ! ” The men appeared surprised at this stubborn resistance, but they knew it was useless attempting to interfere with the sergeant, who would certainly have shot every one of them rather than surrender ; so, after a few bush expressions of disappointment, they turned rein and were soon out of sight in the ranges. Shortly after this adventure Ned Kelly was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment for horse stealing. He was confined in Beech­ worth gaol, and hearing that Sergeant Hall was visiting the prison, requested an interview with him, which was granted. During the conversation that ensued, Kelly said, “ Well, sergeant, we’ve had many a ride together in the bush, and we’ve known each other for many years ; do you remember the night we made the fire when we camped with the horses ? ” Hall replying in the affirmative, Kelly, with an oath, continued, “Well, I intended to have burnt you that night, but I was afraid to attack you alone ; but if I could, I would have roasted you like a sucking pig.” Sergeant Hall has lately (1889) been promoted to the rank of sub-inspector, a well-merited position, and one that he is calculated most ably to fulfil. CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 227

POEM BY A PRISONER.

The following poem, written by a prisoner in the Pentridge Stockade some years ago, will we think, on that account interest the reader, who will no doubt remember that the same subject has been chosen by the noble bard of Newstead Abbey, and in making any comparisons will also make all allowances for the disadvantages of education and position in the convict poet :—

BELSHAZZAR’S FEAST. The King sat on the throne where his fathers sat of eld, A thousand sacred vessels, made of gold and silver, held His wine, and ranged in rows around, o’er thousand lamps shone bright, Whose rays through colored glasses blend in softened mellow light. His drunken satraps shouted, and his shameless women sang, Until with godless revelry the ancient palace rang, . And then upon the painted wall came forth a living hand, And wrote upon the plaster, as if it wrote on sand. The Monarch saw and trembled, and his knees each other smote, As with a fixed and vacant stare he viewed the hand that wrote. “Announce ! ” the frightened tyrant cried ; “ Quick ! issue my command To Chaldeans, soothsayers, sages, the wisest in the land, That hither they repair with speed, and in the royal hall Expound to me these boding words inscribed upon the wall: And he who reads the writing and makes its meaning plain ' Shall wear a robe of purple and a massive golden chain, At all the royal councils shall sit on my right hand, And be while I am Emperor third ruler in the land.” The Chaldeans, soothsayers, sages, thronged to the marble hall, And saw, but could not read, the mystic writing on the wall. The learned men were silent, the sages lost their skill, And the unknown letters stood untold and awful still. 228 CRIME AND , CRIMINALS.

Then came Belshazzar’s mother, who had heard her son’s command, And cried, “ Be comforted my son, a stranger in the land, A man who spurns our idols of gold, and brass, and stone, Can read that awful writing—can read it—he alone ; For excellence and wisdom and truth in him are found, He can unravel mysteries and hidden things expound. Yes, aided by the living God, who dwells in Heaven high, The God who made the teeming earth, the sun, and starry sky. This holy man predicted once, and in this very hall, Prognosticated from a dream your royal father’s fall. *Baltassar ’ named, or * Daniel’—let him be summoned here, And he will soon explain to you these words of fate and fear.” Now Daniel, at the King’s command, stood in the banquet hall, And scanned the hieroglyphs inscribed upon the wall. “ Art thou the man ? ” the King enquired, “ who fears one God alone, Despising all the other Gods of gold and brass and stone. O Daniel, I have heard that thou art loved by Him on high, The God who made the teeming earth, the sun, and starry sky : That excellence and wisdom and truth in thee abound, That thou canst fathom mysteries and hidden things expound. Now, if you’ll read that writing and make its meaning plain You shall wear a robe of purple and a solid golden chain; At all the Royal councils shall sit on my right hand, And be while I am Emperor third ruler in the land.” “ Oh, keep your gifts unto yourself,” the prophet stern replied, “ Give your rewards to others, or lay your bribes aside ; For I will read that writing and make its meaning plain, Without your robe of purple or the massive golden chain. Mene ! Mene ! Tekel, Peren! ’—these are the words of fear, Fearful words of warning, and the event is near. This is the interpretation—Oh, mark it, King dismayed— ‘ Mene ! Mene ! ’—In the balances of heaven thou art weighed And found wanting. ‘ Tekel,’ taken !—from thy brow the crown is liven, Peren ’ to the Persian thy life and state are given.” Belshazzar bent his head, for while the prophet spoke, The angry Mede and Persian into his presence broke, And then upon his idols he fell without a tear, Unrepented and unheeded—beneath the. Persian spear. CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 229

VERSES WRITTEN BY A PRISONER,

Ths following verses were written by a prisoner in one of the gaols in England. The reference to the treatment of criminals in the home country is so true to our colonial system of discipline that I must beg leave to introduce them here :—

I. I cannot take my walks abroad, I am under lock and key, And much the public I applaud For all their care for me. II. Not more than others I deserve ; In fact much less than more, Yet I have food while others starve And beg from door to door. III. The honest pauper in the street, Half naked I behold, While 1 am clad from head to feet, And covered from the cold. IY. Thousands there are who scarce can toll Where they may lay their head, ~ But I have a warm and well aired cell, A bath, good books, good bed.

Y. While they are fed on workhouse fare, And grudged their scanty food, Three times a day my meals I get, Sufficient, wholesome, good. YI. Then to the British public health, Who all our care relieves, And while they treat us as they do They will never want for thieves. 280 CRIME AND CRIMINALS.

EMPLOYMENT OP PRISONERS.

The - employment of prisoners at remunerative labor is one of the principal items in their management, which has hitherto proved extremely perplexing to the Legislature and the Penal Department of this colony ; in fact, any attempt that has been made in this direction, from the time of Mr. John Price to the advent of the pre­ sent Inspector-General, Mr. Brett, has invariably met with the strongest opposition from public opinion. In the evidence of Colonel Champ, before the Royal Com­ mission in 1870, he stated that he proposed to the Government to have the graving dock at Williamstown constructed by prison labor. This proposal was not objected to, even on public grounds, but Colonel Champ was subjected to so much personal abuse, accom­ panied by false representations, that the project was ultimately abandoned. At this time there were excellent stone-quarries at the Collingwood Stockade, and for several years the prison was nearly self-supporting ; but in the year 1865, when the population of Mel­ bourne commenced extending in this direction, public meetings were held, requesting the Government to remove it elsewhere, which was subsequently effected. If the system adopted at Collingwood could have been continued in any other part of the colony where good quarries existed, combined with a ready market for the stone, lb would always have afforded profitable work for, a certain class of prisoners. The last public work on which prisoners were employed was CRI>IE AND CRIMINALS. 231

the construction of the breakwater frpm the mouth of the River Yarra to Williamstown, which occupied several years in completion, the work being of a somewhat difficult nature. According to present regulations, all male prisoners under sentence of one year and upwards are transmitted to the penal establishment at Pentridge. Here various kinds of employment are provided for them, although this has been opposed by certain sections of the community, because it was contended that some of the industries canied on were in competition with free labor outside. We learn from the yearly statistics that crime of every description is increasing, and consequently the employment of our prisoners in the future, with a view to their reformation, becomes a matter of vital importance to all interested in the welfare of the colony. How, one of the principal obstacles in the way of any attempt at innovation in this direction is the centralisation of those prisoners (before alluded to), without distinction of crime or class, at Pentridge. Here are to be found working in association the professional burglar, the petty larcenist, the murderer, the violator of women and children, and the lowest criminals, who never work, but live on the proceeds of prostitution. Amongst this crowd may be seen raw country youths, who are perhaps serving sentences of two or three years for horse or cattle stealing. On entering the prison many of these juvenile offenders seem quiet and well conducted, and usually are so during the time that they are kept in separate treatment, namely, three months. But after a few weeks, in the gangs they soon become proficient in almost every conceivable crime, through the able tuition of those with whom they are compelled to associate. Their future career is, therefore, generally still more criminal, for as soon as they are discharged from gaol they resort to the lowest dens of vice in the back slums of Melbourne, there to meet some of their former com­ panions in crime, and with whom they became acquainted while in Pent­ ridge. The consequence is that few of them ever return to a country life, the majority preferring to descend lower and lower in the social scale, until at length they are recognised as fully developed habitual criminals. 232 CRIME AND CRIMINALS.

To alleviate in some measure this very defective state of tilings, I would suggest that all prisoners sentenced to any term of imprison­ ment, not exceeding three years, should be confined in the gaols of the districts where they were convicted, and kept in separate treat­ ment, experience having proved that this is the only method of punishment likely to deter them from again lapsing into crime. There is yet another remedy which, if adopted, would probably have a beneficial effect on those prisoners, chiefly drunkards, who are continually being sent to gaol for short periods. They should be put on low diet, allow7ed meat twice a week only, and invariably be kept in separate treatment. If this system vTere pursued it would, in course of time, considerably diminish the number of this disrepu­ table and worthless class of people, both male and female, wTho at present are so constantly inmates of our penal establishments. I have no doubt that among the prisoners at Pentridge and the various gaols of the colony there could be found at least 100 men, serving sentences of from one to three years’ imprisonment, who are not habitual criminals ; and with regard to their employment and moral improvement I would suggest that the Government should select, in some suitable part of the country, a block of good agricul­ tural land for the purpose of establishing a farm, where the labor of these men might be turned to a profitable account. No prisoner should be selected for this experimental occupation but of the class mentioned, and preference should certainly be given to those who are- married and have property in the coloi^y, for then it may be reason­ ably assumed that they have made this the land of their adoption. For these and other reasons it may also be anticipated that there would be no great temptation for them to escape, but rather a stronger inducement for good conduct on their part, in order to obtain such remission of sentence as is set forth in the prison regula­ tions. The first few years would be the most expensive, and conse­ quently the least profitable to the institution, as the land would have to be prepared for cultivation, but according as this progressed the annual expenditure would be gradually reduced. As a matter of C^IME AND CRIMINALS. 233 course there would be many difficulties and incidental expenses in connection with this project, which can neither be foreseen nor enumerated. One of the principal objects in the selection of the land for farming purposes should be to secure a plentiful supply of water, so that the most improved system of irrigation might be adopted, and the ground cultivated in accordance with the newest and best methods of agriculture. As already stated, the prisoners destined for this undertaking should be carefully selected, and every encouragement given them in order to influence their moral conduct. They should be allowed tobacco and tea, besides other privileges, as circumstances might permit. The clerical duties of the establish­ ment should be performed by prisoners, under the supervision of the general manager of the station. The prisoners should be confined in separate cells at night, but in the day-time, and when not at labor, they should be allowed to associate. I fully expect that many objections will be raised to This scheme, as in fact would be the case with any proposed innovation regarding the employment of prisoners, the principal of which, I can readily imagine, may be the cost of supervision. But I contend that even this will not be a very serious matter if conducted on the same principles which existed when prisoners were employed for several years in making and repairing the public streets at Williamstown ; for, according to the report of the Inspector-General, the men were well conducted, and very few attempted to escape. It therefore appears to me quite feasible that farming operations could be carried on by prisoners in a somewhat similar manner, /.

HOW HE GOT THE TOBACCO.

“ There are more ways of killing a dog, &c.,” says the old adage, and which is equally applicable to the various “ dodges ” resorted to by prisoners for obtaining that much-coveted sedative, tobacco. Some years ago a prisoner, known in most of the country gaols by the name of “ Scotty,” was serving a sentence at one of them. Prior to this, however, he was in Pentridge, during the time that Mr. Julian Thomas was fulfilling the duties of dispenser, and subse­ quently figured somewhat conspicuously in “ The Vagabond Papers.” It was said that he originally belonged to H.M.S. “ Galatea,” on board of which vessel he was employed in the cook’s galley, and in that capacity sailed with H.R.H. the Duke of Edinburgh on his visit to Australia in 18G8. At Pentridge “Scotty” was cook for the prison hospital, and I had many conversations with him in reference to his voyage round the world. I certainly thought he desired to be honest, provided that temptation was not placed in his way, although he admitted that he did not possess sufficient self-denial to resist a favorable opportunity of appropriating to his own use that which did not belong to him. While in gaol his constant trouble was how to get tobacco, and to obtain it he would run any risk or give any­ thing he could in exchange for the “ weed.” When on shore he appears to have been continually in custody, for he was no sooner discharged from one gaol than he turned up at another. The incident I am going to relate occurred whilst “ Scotty ” was serving a sentence, in one of the up-country gaols, where he was frequently employed in the store, and was looked upon as a useful kind of man about the prison. On this particular occasion, while engaged in cleaning out the place and arranging the various 236 CHIME AND CRIMINALS.

articles on the shelves, he was thinking how he could possibly con­ trive to obtain, without being detected, some of the tobacco which was placed for security in the corner of the topmost shelf, and partly concealed from view by a pile of blankets. The officer who had charge of the store, prided himself on his knowledge—it may almost be said—of the thoughts, and designs of even the most astute “gaol-birds.” A bright idea suddenly possessed “Scotty,” and which he determined to act upon without further delay. He went on dusting the shelves, his ardour occasionally elicting a word of commendation from the officer, who little suspected the ulterior motives of the prisoner. “Scotty” told the officer that he had acquired habits of tidiness and order on board the “Galatea,” and that H.R.H., the commander, was very particular in these matters. Having finished his work in the lower tiers, “Scotty” ascended to the top shelves, but every time he moved in the direction of the tobacco, the officer would check his progress by saying, “Now, boy, that will do. Come down ; it looks remarkably well.” “All right, sir,” replied the prisoner, “but just let me straighten-up these blankets! ” The wary official continued to keep a watchful eye on “ Scotty,” who, in approaching the forbidden corner, let fall some article of clothing, in order to attract his notice. The scheme succeeded, for the officer immediately stooped to pick it up, and while in that position, “Scotty” threw down a bundle of blankets which, falling on the officer, laid him flat on the floor. Before the latter could extricate himself from his unpleasant surroundings, “ Scotty ” had grabbed a pound of tobacco, and hidden it in his clothes. Emerging from the blankets and dust, the officer could stand it no longer, and angrily exclaimed, “Come down, sir ! What do you mean by such conduct?” “ I beg your pardon, sir,” .replied the culprit, “I lost my balance and was falling, so I clutched at the blankets to save myself, and they accidentally came down.” Work in the store was suspended for that day, but “ Scotty” got clear with the tobacco. The following amusing anecdote was related to me by a prisoner, and will show what some of them will do in order to obtain tobacco: CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 237

—A young greyhound had got inside the stockade reserve and was killed by the prisoners—or, as some said, was thrown over the boundary wall dead. An old Tasmanian convict, who knew the value of tobacco and appreciated it accordingly, told two or thre* of the prisoners engaged in the workshops that he had killed a fine hare in the reserve, and would sell it for three figs of tobacco. The men were quite delighted at the prospect of so sumptuous a repast, and at once concluded the bargain. Several contributions of the much-prized “ weed” were soon collected to make up the amount, and the three figs were duly paid down. The purveyor of the delicacy, to prevent being detected by the warders while conveying it to the purchasers, proposed that the animal should be cut into small pieces. He also very generously said that as there might not be sufficient for all his customers, he would throw into the bargain a pair of young rabbits which he had caught in the quarries. These were two young cats, and to prevent discovery, like the hare, he cut them in pieces also. The bill of fare was quite sufficient to tempt the appetites of the prisoners, many of whom had not, in all probability, tasted any other kind of food for years than the prison rations. The next thing was to arrange for cooking the savory dish without attracting the notice of the officials. The cook was in­ structed to procure the necessary ingredients, such as onions, herbs, and a little flour, all of which were obtained from the officers’ ser­ vants. Some of fhe men proposed that so delicious a repast should not be consumed at one meal, and added that the weather being cool, it would keep fresh for a few days. However, the more influen­ tial of the subscribers objected to this arrangement, as they thought it quite possible to obtain a further supply of game. On the follow­ ing day, the vendor of hares and rabbits was requested to procure some more, and at the same time was told that the hare was con­ sidered to have been slightly tainted. To this insinuation he replied, that when he was gamekeeper to a gentleman in England, it was the proper thing to keep game for several days before cooking, so that it should acquire the necessary flavor ! It was then remarked that the rabbits seemed unusually fat, but this was easily 238 CRIME AND CRIMINALS. explained away, because they had ample opportunities of feeding in the prison garden. Some time afterwards, a Chinaman prisoner, who was employed in the garden, happened to find out the full particulars of the swindle, and meeting with one of the participators in the plunder, he exclaimed, with a smile that w^as childlike and bland—“ Englishce no good— too muchee dog—too muchee cat !” The cat was now “ out of the bag” with a vengeance, and it was cuirently reported that the heathen Chinee got a fig of tobacco to keep his own counsel. CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 28 9

THE AUSTRALIAN LARRIKIN.

Another very objectionable specimen of humanity abounds in this colony, to which I think some slight reference might not be out of place in these pages, namely the genus “larrikin.” This fraternity is chiefly composed of lads and young men who have been permitted, through defects in the administration of the laws for the protection of society, to assume much too formidable a position, more particularly in the metropolis and the large provincial towns. They may be considered as the “Thugs ” of Australia, and are not only dangerous to peaceful citizens, but their presence has, for some years past, caused a material increase in the expenditure of the police department. They are generally known by their peculiar style of dress, viz., the broad-brimmed, low-crowned felt hat, the coat dotted with buttons in every conceivable spot, the tight-fitting bell-bottomed trousers, and the heels of the boots or shoes, which are disproportionately small, being placed almost under the instep, while the uppers are usually studded with brass eyelet-holes. Their mode of fighting resembles that of the wolf, as they perambulate the streets for that purpose in packs. Their prey principally consists of drunken men, visitors from the country, and defenceless Chinese, all of whom they will, when opportunity offers, rob and ill-use with impunity. I have seen over 100 of these larrikins attack a single policeman, with all the ferocity and brutality of savages.' On Saturdays especially they are to be seen standing in groups at the corners of the streets, with the thumbs stuck in the pockets of the trousers, the hat inclined to the back of the head, and a pipe in the mouth. They are also intrusive in the public places for recreation, their language being extremely offensive, particularly to, females and children Taking 240 CRIME AND CRIMINALS. all of these elements into account it may be truly said that the Australian larrikin is, perhaps without exception, the most cowardly and contemptible specimen of civilised mankind. Each successive year finds this pest to society increasing, and so it will surely continue unless put down by strong legislative measures. When I was at Pentridge in 1884, the majority of the prisoners there were of this class. If the advantages to be gained by settling on the lands of the colony had been pointed out to these men in their early youth, they should now, according to the pre­ vailing customs of other countries, form a large proportion of our rural population. I have often asked many of these young men why they would not try to obtain employment in the country districts, where they were sure of getting employment and fair wages ? The answers in every case were very muchfalike ; some belonged to cricket and football clubs, and therefore could not think of leaving their friends and companions ; while others objected to carry a swag through the country, with the prospect of having to sleep in some old hut, or perhaps under a gum tree, after the toil of the day. It cannot be denied that the apathy shown by many of the inhabi­ tants of our thickly populated towns in not rendering assistance to the police in preventing those disgraceful scenes in the streets which are of almost daily occurrence, especially in the metropolis, contributes in no small degree to the large increase of the criminal element in the colony. I will give an illustration of this, from an incident which came under my observation in Melbourne. One day, while walking along Swanston Street, I noticed a large crowd of people, and in this confused assemblage, which was chiefly composed of larrikins, drunkards, and the lowest women of the town, I saw two policemen struggling with a couple of determined ruffians about 20 years of age, who were endeavoring to assault tlie officers. The crowd was yelling, hooting, and throwing stones and other missiles at the police, and also encouraging the offenders to resist being arrested. However, a cab was procured, and as one of the prisoners was being put into it, he attempted to kick the constable who held him in the face, which the latter resented by pushing him head foremost into CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 241 the cab. At this moment a man of respectable appearance drove up in a buggy, and calling to the police, exclaimed, “I am a magistrate and will be on the Bench to-morrow, and if you strike that man I will have you dismissed the force!” These remarks, which were cheered to the echo by the crowd, increased the excitement to such an extent that it was with difficulty the two prisoners were conveyed to the lock-up. The usual punishment awarded to ruffians of this class is from one to three months’ imprisonment, and for an aggravated case, perhaps two years ; but sentences such as these, unless accompanied by “flogging”—which alone strikes terror into the hearts of these criminals—are totally inadequate to the repression of the larrikin class. After sentence they are usually transferred to Pentridge, where they are well fed, clothed, and supplied with a sufficient number of clean blankets to sleep in. They can generally manage to obtain the indispensable “weed,” which causes them almost to forget their seclusion within the walls of a prison, and being allowed to work in association they have every opportunity of gaining further criminal experience. As soon as they are discharged from gaol, the majority of them return to their old haunts and companions, and in all probability, at no distant date, again become inmates of Pentridge. Thus they proceed from bad to worse, and will continue to add to our criminal population until their progress is checked by some stringent enactment of the Legislature. Among some of the strange vicissitudes of the rising generation of this colony, one may notice the mere youth, who, but a few years previously, was an inmate of our reformatories or industrial schools, standing in the ranks at Pentridge, and may therefore conjecture that when the present generation has paid the debt of nature, hundreds of these will be found—with grey heads—occupying our prison cells. The eradication of the larrikin element has been a source of anxiety and perplexity to some of our ablest statesmen ; indeed it is still surrounded with numerous difficulties. An effort was made some years ago to pass a Bill through Parliament, empowering magistrates 242 CRIME AND CRIMINALS.

to inflict the punishment of flogging upon offenders of this class, but unfortunately—and from experience I say this advisedly—it was rejected. This mode of punishment is regarded by some as one of the relics of a barbarous age, and doubtless the horrible narratives of Norfolk Island and Yan Dieman’s Land have created a strong prejudice against its renewal; but experience proclaims, in undeniable argument, the fallacy of so weak a doctrine.

“ SWAGMEN.”

The itinerant “ swagmen,” when visiting the towns of the colony are a most objectionable class, and form a large proportion of our criminals. During the time that I was second officer at the Ballarat Gaol, I had frequent opportunities of ascertaining their mode of life, and how they became inmates of a prison. . The number of prisoners that passed through this prison in five years was nearly 4,000, and a large majority of them were swagmen. These men tramp about the colony, stopping occasionally with squatters and farmers in order to earn a few pounds. As little cash is kept on hand by their employers, they are-generally paid by cheque on the nearest bank. Should the recipient, however, arrive in town after bank hours, or on a holiday when the office is closed, the usual place of resort, for the purpose of converting his cheque into coin, is the nearest public-house. If he is successful in so doing—and it is rarely that he is not—drinking commences in earnest, all the “ loafers” in the bar, who live by robbing drunken men, participating in the “ spree” at the expense of the new-comer. Next morning, in all probability, finds the swagman minus all his hard-earned money, and without the faintest idea as to how he became relieved of it. In a drunken and wretched st ate of filth h e wanders about the town CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 243

until arrested by the police for drunkenness, larceny, or perhaps some more serious offence, and his next domicile is the gaol. When admitted into this establishment, all of them, with but few exceptions, are infested with vermin, and their clothing—such as it is—saturated with filth. Hundreds of these men have told me that they brought into the town sums varying in amount from £1 to £80, and that in a few days they were without a shilling. I may state that from an approximate calculation, the amount of money brought into Ballarat (during the five years' referred to) by those swagmen who were unlucky enough to become inmates of the prison, may be estimated at from £12,000 to £15,000, nearly all of which was squandered in drink. 244 CRIME AND CRIMINALS.

EMPLOYMENT AND REFORMATION OF CRIMINALS.

One of the most difficult problems that devolves upon modem society for solution is the management and disposition of its criminal element. Until within a very few years the question may be said to* have scarcely been raised. Prior to the time of Howard, the phil­ anthropist, the scope and object of all criminal legislation in Great Britain seems to have been merely to catch the offender, and to get him as speedily as possible out of society, either by confinement within the walls of a cell, subjected to severe rules and regulations, or by transportation beyond the seas. The idea of reforming malefactors by the influence of religion, industry, and mental culture in prison, appears not to have occurred to the legislators of the last century, and it was not until Howard had cast the light of the “ bull’s-eye” into the dark cells and terrible hulks into‘which the outcast of society had been thrown in his day, and had revealed to mankind the startling horrors of the prison- house, as it then existed, that public attention was effectually directed to the subject. At length, after the lapse of many years, it began to dawn upon the minds of the most enlightened, that the criminal laws might, with advantage, not only to the criminal classes but to the com­ munity at large, be more reformatory as well as repressive. Then came the heroic and self-sacrificing labors of Elizabeth Fry, which not only showed the possibility of reclaiming fallen women, and re­ storing them to liberty, industry, and a better mode of life, but also—what was far more important—how this might be accom­ plished. CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 245

It thus came about that during the last half century the tendency of ail legislation in Great Britain, in reference to the criminal classes, has been in the direction of reforming the criminal. To that end the penal regulations have been from time to time modified, so that the entire system of treatment has been changed completely. In all these matters the Australian colonies have followed in the footsteps of the mother country, and in some respects they are at the present day rather in advance of the humanising tendencies of the age. It has already been stated that when Colonel Champ retired from the service he left the Penal Department in the most perfect state of efficiency compatible with the resources at his command ; but the subsequent changes of responsible officers, all of whom differed as to j the management of convicts, had to a great extent nullified many of the beneficial effects produced by the strict system of discipline enforced during the preceding twelve years. The re­ tirement of Colonel Champ (Inspector-General) and Dr. Youl (Visiting Justice) unfortunately affected, in no small degree, the proper control of this important institution, and towards the end of 1870 the relaxation of discipline was apparent on several occasions by the conduct of the prisoners at Pentridge. The Government, therefore, decided that a material change was necessary in the management of the prisoners, with the object of lessening the expenses of their supervision, of making their terms of imprisonment more of a reformatory nature, and their labor profitable to the State. Accordingly, a Royal Commission on prison and penal discipline consisting of Sir William F. Stawell, Messrs. Archibald Michie, Samuel H. Bindon, W. W. F. Mitchell, Charles McMahon, David Blair, Richard Youl, William Templeton, and C. E. Sturt, was appointed to take evidence and report on Pentridge Piison. The first witness examined was Colonel Champ, who gave a detailed account of the department when he took charge, and the alterations effected during his term of office. Some of the more important questions submitted to him were as follow :— 246 CRIME AND CRIMINALS.

Question 31 : 44 Do you think it possible, knowing the prisoners as you do, and the means of obtaining work for them in the colony, to make a prison self-supporting under any circumstances ? ” Answer: 44 Not such a prison as Pentridge. I am certain it could not be done by any human being —that is, under existing colonial circumstances.” Question 32 : 44 Have you always had difficulties in getting suitable employment for them ? ” Answer : 44 When I first came here the cost of labor was very much higher than it is now, and there was a pretty good demand for stone. The roads then were all under the direction of the Central Road Board, and I had no difficulty in disposing of the stone broken by prison labor. I used to sell large quantities of stone, both from Collingwood and Pentridge, and to get a higher price for everything produced; and I certainly did think, and said that it would be possible to m ake the establishment self-supporting ; but the prices of all colonial manufactures are now very much re­ duced, and I believe that this would be impossible. My whole attention, during the time I was at the head of the department, was directed to the reduction of the expenditure as much as possible, and to make useful the labor of the prisoners, but I found insuperable difficulties in the way of the latter object. I did effect a large saving.” When Mr. Brett was appointed Inspector-General and Mr. Gale Governor of Pentridge in July, 1884, they had many difficulties to encounter in their endeavors to bring the pri­ soners under a proper system of discipline. At this period a most unwarrantable statement obtained currency to the effect that the previous relaxation in the control of the prisoners at Pentridge was mainly due to the apathy displayed by the waiders, while the facts clearly proved that had it not been for the strict attention of these officials to the discharge of their duties, often under most discourag­ ing circumstances, affairs would, in all probability, have terminated to the serious discredit of the department, CRIME AND CRIMINALS. 247

The two most important factors in connection witli the possible reformation of criminals, and the consequent diminution of crime are —a proper system of classification, and wherever practicable separate treatment. To effect this much to be desired end associated treat­ ment must eventually be dispensed with, and separate treatment of all classes of prisoners adopted in lieu thereof as speedily as circum­ stances will permit. Separate or individual treatment prevents familiarity, the rehearsal of past deeds of crime, and the concoction of others for the future, all of which tend to frustrate anything and everything attempted in the way of reformation. It has been shown from most reliable statements, and by those who have long been connected with the management of prisoners, that separate treatment is the only remedy for the repression of crime, especially amongst the rising generation of the criminal class in this colony. The ordinary prison life presents no terrors to these young men, the majority of whom are of an indolent and vicious nature ; in fact they appear perfectly indifferent to it; but they certainly dislike the “ model,” i.e., sepa­ rate treatment, and are terribly afraid of the “cat,” i.e., flogging. In this class of criminals there is, I fear, but little hope of reform ; still, is that any reason why they should be fed and clothed for the greater part of their lives at the public expense ? It must be borne in mind that these men look upon Pentridge as a home, and so long as they can get tobacco, are allowed to work in association, and are well fed and housed they care very little for their temporary seclusion from the outer world. To make our prisons self-supporting has always been regarded * as the principal object of legislation in this direction but I-main­ tain that it would be of little or no benefit to the country even if they were so, because the great majority of criminals discharged therefrom, instead of having a wholesome dread of prison life, immediately commence again to prey upon the public. Under such circumstances, I believe that every right-thinking person will admit that the self supporting question, so far as our prisons are concerned, should be quite a secondary consideration. Crime must be repressed 248 CRIME AND CRIMINALS. at any cost, and if accompanied by the reformation of the criminal so much the better. But in order to make imprisonment a terror to -evildoers, let sentences be shortened, let all prisoners be kept in separate treatment, wherever practicable, even while working at a trade, and above all things, prohibit the use of tobacco. When this system prevails—and not till then—our prisons will cease to be filled, as they now are, with habitual criminals. I may here remark that from long experience I have but a very remote hope of reformation in any “twice-convicted ; criminal— under our existing penal system—and none whatever in those known as “habitual;” in which opinion I am supported by such thoroughly experienced authorities as Colonel Champ and Dr. Youl, both of whom have, on several occasions, expressed themselves in a similar manner. . But while we have to adopt such repressive measures, at an enormous expense to the country, for the detention of our criminals, we ought, at the same time, to endeavor to instil in the minds of the rising generation, so as to influence their career in life, nobler aspirations than those of kicking a football or knocking down a wicket. Of what avail is our grand education system when it does not teach them their first duty to their Maker and mankind ? They can watch the rising and setting of the sun, but they are not taught by whom it was created, nor who ransomed man ! A purely secular education will never conduce to the diminution of crime in 'any community, no matter how advantageous it may prove in other respects. Introduce the Bible into our State Schools, so that some religious instruction may be given to all classes of our children, thousands of whom, at present, have little or no opportunity of reading the Scriptures, which has been, in all ages of the world, the grand prerogative of man, and which has distinguished him alone from all the rest of the wonderful works of the Almighty.

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