The Sun.
London, England, 1859-01-14 00:00:00

MILITARY PRISONS.

A report on the discipline and management of
military prisons, from the prolific pen of Col. Jebb,
C. 8., the Inspector-General of those prisons, ap-
peared on Wednesday in print, forming a neat
pocket bluebook of 27 pages. The report, which re-
fers to the year 1857, is dated from Parliament-
street the 26th of July, 1858. Its brevity is ac-
counted for by the fact that Col. Jebb had already
fully discussed the system of discipline established
in the military prisons in former reports. He ad-
duces the statistics, which we shall presently cite,
as well as the experience of another year, in proof
of the beneficial effects which have resulted from an
organised system of discipline, specially adapted
for the due correction of military offenders and

the repression of crime in the army. The great
improvement in the condition of the soldier and his
comforts which has been gradually introduced into
the service, and which is in steady progress, cannot
fail to lead to the most beneficial results in raising
the moral standard of the army. The necessity
which has arisen for enlisting so large a number in
a very short time for service in India may have de-
layed any marked alteration in this respect ; but if
the causes which have deterred many of the best
men in a parish from enlistment be removed, and
the army is held by the public in the honourable
estimation which is justly due to it, a better class
of recruits will eventually offer ; and it may fairly
be expected that drunkenness, which continues to
be the parent of most of the crimes, and desertion,
which may be fairly attributed to a temporary
cause, will rapidly decrease. In 1857, 5,572 pri-
soners were " admitted" into the military gaols
(against 6,376 in 1856), being a proportion of 5.62
per cent. to the force. The average length of sen-
tences was 49 days; only five endured the ignomi-
nious punishment of the lash, while 12 were con-
signed to solitary, and three to separate confine-
ment. 723 prisoners were under 20 years of age,
4,339 between 20 and 30, 488 between 30 and 40,
and 22 above 40. 1,958 had served two years and
less, and 2,746 under seven years. 3,422 of the
culprits were English, 438 Scotch, and 1,712 Irish.
3,600 were Protestants, 338 Presbyterians, and
1,634 Papists. The prison character of 5,353 was
good, that of 124 indifferent, and that of 95 bad.
The number of persons punished for minor
offences has greatly diminished, having been
smaller than in any previous year. The crimes in
1857 included 1,888 cases of desertion, 1,734 of
absence without leave, 619 of drunkenness, 277 of
disgraceful conduct, and 1,038 of other crimes. The
expenses incurred included £18,232 for salaries of
officers, and for the maintenance of the prisoners,
while £16,008 was the amount of full pay and beer
money of prisoners in confinement not issued, so
that the difference against the Government was
£2,224. 122 was the average number of prisoners
immured in barrack cells in 1857, being a propor-
tion of o'l7 per cent. to the force. There were
1,548 cases of recommittal in 1857. The number
has but slightly increased since 1851.
The number of committals for drunkenness in
1857 was 397, being 1.98 per cent. of the average
force. The health of the prisoners has improved,
and the reduced scale of diet adopted in 1850 has
not, as a general rule, had any injurious effect on
the prisoners. The ordinary reduced scale, now in
operation, includes Boz. of oatmeal at breakfast,
9oz. of Indian meal at dinner, and Boz. of bread at
supper, with half-a-pint of milk to each meal. It
was found expedient, however, to adopt a better
scale in the prisons at Aldershott, Devonport, and
Malta.
The measures for the improvement of the con-
dition of the soldier which have been and still
are in progress, and the discharge of many of
the worst characters from the army, must be
allowed their due weight in judging of the
present state of discipline by the amount of punish-
ment. But a comparison of the number of sen-
tences, previous to the establishment of military
prisons, and at the present time, affords a very
favourable indication of the change that has taken
place. In 1843 the number of soldiers imprisoned
at any one time under sentence by court-martial, in
civil prisons, exclusive of those who might be in
confinement by order of commanding officers, was
in the ratio of 20 in 1,000, and at the same time the
number of corporal punishments amounted annually
to about 5.2 making 25.2 per 1,000. In the three
years from 1851 to 1854 the number of imprison-
ments was reduced to 11 per 1,000 ; and in the four
years from 1850 to 1854 the average number of
corporal punishments had been redueed to 2.5 per
1,000, being a little more than one-half in both
cases, and making a total of 13.5 as compared with
25.2. During the year 1857 the average number
undergoing imprisonment at any one time in the
military prisons and barrack cells amounted to
11.3 in 1,000, and the total corporal punishments
in the year amounted to 3.4, making a total of 14.8
per 1,000 for 1857 as compared with 25.2 in 1843.
I