The Press.
London, England, 1858-01-02 00:00:00

purely military—why, we don't know. Such
a system iu the midst of popular and free in-
stitutiona is a strange anomaly, and such an
anomaly as requires either to be justified or

given up.
There are three autocratic directors of
convict prisons -- three criminal triumvirs
—Colonel Jona, Captain GAMBLER, and Captain
O'BRIEN. The governors of convict prisons
are, of course, military men. What on earth
there is in the education, habits, or experience
of a smart martinet in the army or navy to fit
him for the office of governing convicts—an
office requiring for its proper discharge a sin-
gular combination of high qualities—we have
not the remotest means of conjecturing ; but
such is Jebbism.
To come, however, to one or two
cases in point of the irresponsibility of the
present system. The Governor of Lewes
Convict Prison is a Captain WARREN, a young
man who has smelt powder in India, both in
the cavalry and infantry. He has, therefore,
a double claim on Colonel JEBB'S admiration.
The Deputy-Governor of that favoured prison
is a Mr. FINNIE. The Deputy-Governor dwells
in the prison, whereas the Governor comes in
only at certain times. The Deputy is the
person on whom the management of the con-
victs depends quite as much as. perhaps even
more than, on the Governor. Mr. FINNIE was
lately a Woolwich bombardier ! These are
the two principal officers of the convict prison
at Lewes, where an " Inquiry" has just taken
place. This was instituted by tue senior
schoolmaster of the gaol, named TuwArrEs.
That gentleman thought he had reasonable
ground of complaint against the Governor,
Captain WARREN, and complained accordingly
An " Inquiry" took place. Of course, Colonel
JEBB, Captain GAMB I ER, and Captain O'BRIEN,
together with an independent multitude of
subordinates in the prison, all under the con-
trol and fear of Captain WARREN, came to the
rescue of that imperilled warrior. Mr.
T lIIVAIT ES was voted calumnious, and Sir G.
GREY has just dismissed him—a severe and
cruel step, only to be justified by excessive
ill-conduct. But such is the military system !
Mr. TxwAITES is the second civil officer who
has been dismissed by Colonel JEBB within
the last twelve months. In December, 1856,
Colonel JEBB dismissed the Rev. J. K. WAL-
POLE from the chaplaincy of the Defence con-
vict-ship, on the ground that " he had given
"just and repeated offence to the superior
" officers of the ship." Captain WARREN was
the governor of the Defence, and Mr. FINNIE
the deputy. The Defence was set fire to in
June last, and the prisoners, being smoked
out, were sent partly to Millbank-prison and
partly to the Unite convict-ship at Woolwich,
from which ship Captain WARREN and his cargo
of convicts were removed to Lewes in Sep-
tember last. Mr. WALPOLE has acted as chap-
lain to criminals ifor twenty years. He is a
man of excellent character ; yet he was dis-
missed by Colonel JEBB—deprived of his
bread by that humane gentleman—for "having
" given ()Irene° to the superior officers of the
" ship."
His offence was as follows :—He had felt it his
duty to " repel t" Captain WARREN for taking
the convicts out boating on Sunday, when they
ought to have been attending the service of
the church. He also " reported " Mr. FINNIE,
for that he, the said Mr. FINNIE, being firelrik
mand of the Defence, did on a certain Saturday
night in September, 1856, get exceedingly
drunk, in company with the steward of the
same ship. The uproar created by these two
Bacchanalians was such, according to Mr.
WALPOLE'S statement, that it woke him. From
potations, according to Mr. WALPOLE, they
proceeded to cantations, and it was some way
on in the small hours of Sunday morning
before the revelry of the commander and
steward of the ship was quiet. The chap-
lain very properly " reported " this ex•
traordinary specimen of convict govern-
ment. The result of this second report, added
to the enormity of his first, was that he was
dtsmissed !—turtwd adrift with his wife and
eight children to fare as ho might—by Colonel
J Ell B.
Now, we make no doubt our readers will
not believe this story. We admit it to be
so improbable as to be almost incredible. Yet

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