The Sun.
London, England, 1858-11-19 00:00:00

IMPROVEMENTS IN NEIVGATE.

The public is aware that the corporation of the
city of London some time back voted a considerable
sum of money for the purpose of remodelling a por-
tion of the gaol of Newgate, and carrying out the
separate system of confinement, with a view to
remedy the dreadful evils that resulted from the
prisoners associating with each other in the dif-
ferent wards, and thus enabling old and hardened
offenders too frequently to contaminate those with
whom they came into contact who were as yet
young in crime. Under the old system, forgers,
burglars, highway robbers, and, indeed, all classes
of offenders, were associated together; and, accord-
ing to the evidence of the officers of theprison, their
principal amusement was in narrating to each other
the crimes they had committed and devising fresh
schemes of plunder ; and, from the nature of the
building, it was absolutely impossible for the offi-
cials of the gaol effectually to put a stop to those
proceedings. A short description of the alterations
that have been made in the prison and which have just
been completed, will not perhaps be uninteresting to
the public. The part of the prison that has been
operated upon is what was originally called the
old north side, extending from the Old, Bailey to
the east, and within the two external walls 132
cells have been constructed for the reception of
prisoners before and after trial, and two which are
called condemned cells. The entrance in the Old
Bailey just above the governor's residence was made
under the authority of Captain Williams, the late
assistant-inspector of prisons, the object being to
enable the van containing prisoners that were
brought to the gaol to be drawn inside the building..
This was very much objected to by the gaol officials,
as it was considered that it would. have the effect
of exposing the entire interior of the prison, and
was objectionable in many respects, and particu-
larly :With regard to the safety of the prisoners,
and this entrance consequently has never been
made use of. The new cells are erected upon five
different corridors, known as A, B, C, D, and E,
which are built one over another, and extend down
each side of the building. A long row of neat and
strong iron railings extends the whole length of
each corridor, and the whole are connected by
flights of iron steps. This work was delivered up
in what is called " a rough state" by the contractors;
and the whole of the cells, staircases, and walls
have since been painted and whitewasked by the
prisoners. The flooring of the corridors and the
cells is of asphalte, and the whole building presents
a most beautifully clean appearance. On the base-
ment floor there are six reception cells, in which
every prisoner brought to the gaol is placed until he
is seen and examined by the surgeon, and he is not
allowed to be placed in his class until it is ascertained
that he is in a state of health and cleanliness to allow
of this being done with safety. On this floor there are
also bath-rooms amply supplied with hot and. cold
water, and also a steam apprratus for supply-
ing the whole of this portion of the prison
with hot air. There are also some " punishment
cells," as they are termed, but they are made upon
exactly the same principle as the others, with this
difference, that they are dark. It apperrs, however;
that since the alteration that has been made in the
prison, and the prisoners no longer having :an
opportunity of ectntaminating each other, their con-
duct has so much improved that it has only been
found necessary to make use of the punishment cell
upon one occasion and that was in the case of a
very notorious thief and bad character, who, after
repeated acts of insubordination, was placed in the
cell for a short time, and this had the desired effect.
The prisoners are classed in the following manner :
—The A corridor is appropriated to the reception of
boys and remanded prisoners, the B corridor to
convicts under sentence and awaiting the orders of
the Government for their removal, the C corridor
to prisoners who are known thieves, the D corridor
to prisoners who are not known to have been in
prison before, and the E corridor to prisoners
charged with misdemeanour, Every cell is 12ft.
long, 7ft. wide, ,and about 9ft. high. The prisoners
sleep in hammOcks which At night are strapped
across the cell, and during the day are neatly folded
up with the bedding, which consists of a mattress,
two sheets, two blankets, and a rug, and placed
upon shelves appropriated to their reception. Each
cell also contains a water-closet, and every conve-
nience for washing and cleanliness. Warm air is
forced in from the steam apparatus through a grat-
ing on the top of the cell, and there is another grat-
ing oil the opposite side, by which the external air
is admitted, and the prisoner has the power of regu-
lating the temperature of his cell by closing or
opening this grating at his pleasure. Each pri-
soner is allowed upwards of 12 gallons of water per
day. This is supplied from large tanks placed at the
top of the prison, which are divided. into separate
compartments, each holding that quantity of water,
and which has a separate connexion with every cell.
The prisoners -in the different classes are visited
every morning, and also at intervals during the day
by Mr. Weatherhead, the Governor of the gaol; the
Rev. Mr. Davis, the Ordinary; and the surgeon
or his assistant; and also by the principal warders;
and if a prisoner has a necessity for assistance of
any kind, he has only to turn a handle in his cell,
which strikes a gong, and at the same instant a
ticket with the name of the corridor and the num-
ber of the cell flies out, and the officer on duty sees
at once where his attention is required, the whole
of the corridors and the exterior of all the cells
being, f om the formlf•n o? the building, within
his view. The usual employment of the prisoners
is that 9f picking oakum, but they are also required
to clean' their several corridors and cells. A great
ninny of them, however, at their own request, have
been employed in working at painting, whitewash-
ing, &c., and for this they receive an additional
allowance of food. The operations of the prison
are conducted in perfect silence, and the change
appears W.therto -to have been attended with the
most beneficial results, old thieves, it is stated, in
particular, appearing to have a great dread of being
shut up by themselves, and they express them-
selves ready to perform any kind of labour that
may be required of them rather than endure the
monotony of separate confinement. The cost of
the alterations, that have been made is about
£15,000.

GOVERNMENT EMIGRATION.—The Government
Emigrant ship Vocalist, 1,004 tons, Captain IFlett, sailed
from Liverpool, on Tuesday, the 16th inst., for Algoa Bay,
Cape of Good Hope, in charge of Surgeon-Superintendent
Patrick Culbane, with 59 married couples, 92 single men,
81 single women, 49 boys between the ages of 1 and 12, 58
girls between the same ages, 6 male infants, and 6. female,
making a total of 413 souls, equal to 3471 statute adults,
The emigrants who embarked in this vessel were selected
by the Hon. 'William Field, the Emigration Commissioner
for the Cape of Good Hope. Her Majesty's Emigration
Commissioners have given notice of their intention to re-
ceivc,tenders next Thursday, the 25th inst., for ships to
proceed to Melbourne, Victoria, and to Sydney, New South
Wales, to be ready for the reception of passengers on such
days as the commissioners may appoint between the Ist and
15th of January.
ROYAL COLLEGE OF SURGEONS.—The following
members of the college having undergone the necessary K.•
aminatien-. were admitted licentiates in midwifery at a
meeting of Vie board on the 17th inst. :—Messi s. William
Edwin. Grindley Pearse, Marsh:iv-I-street, Westminster;
Frederick Durriaresque Ross, Guildford; Surrey; 'George
Frederick Spry, Cheltenham ; Frederick John Mason,
Wisbeich, Caxnbridgeshire • Henry James Lloyd, Morn-
ington-place ; Matthew - Blackman, Ramsgate; Charles
Wortham Pearce, Peterborough ; George Cowell, Ipswich ;
William Paul Swain, Devonpoit ; -Thomas Bowling, Irr-
min,rham ; William Freeman, New York ; John Wilson,
Simeoe, Canada West; Henry Debord Ward, Blyth,
Noy humberland ; Alexander John Balmanno Squire,
York-gate, Reg, n s `'ark; and Charles Richard Cutim •
St. Miry's Hospital.
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