The Sun.
London, England, 1861-10-18 00:00:00

THE HOUSE OF DETENTION.

On the report from this prison being presented,
Mr. Sergeant PAYNE called the attention of the
Court to the fact that there was no mention in the
report of the case of a man named Ryan, who had,
by order of the governor, been forcibly thrust into
a bath with his clothes on, and held under the
water. Had the matter been investigated by the
committee, and, if it had, why was it not mentioned
in the report of the committee ?

Mr. WYATT, chairman of the committee, said
legal proceedings had been threatened against the
Governor for the matter, and, though it had been
inquired into by the committee, they did not report
upon it, as they thought it better to await the re-
sult of the action, if it was brought.

Mr. Sergeant PAYNE stated that he had been in-
formed, since he had been in court, that an offer of
£5 had been made to the poor man Ryan to settle
the affair. He thought that if the matter had been
inquired into by the committee, the result of their
inquiry ought not to be withheld from the Court.
The Court had nothing to do with any action
arising out of the affair ; what they had to deal
with was the question whether the Governor had or
had not done his duty properly. The Court had to
deal with their own officer, without considering any
legal consequences which might fall upon him
upon any charge made against him. Besides this,
there was a case of a prisoner being sent for trial
with a stone in his pocket, which he threw at the
prosecutor, and one of a warder named Morley,
who had been in the service of the county many
years, and had been a soldier 11 previously, who
committed suicide in Ramsey-fields in August last,
after having complained of the tyrannical and
severe conduct of the new Governor, Captain Codd.
The charge was one of undue severity and tyranny
against the Governor. Was it true or not ? If
it was true, it was a matter for a severe rebuke
and reprobation on the Governor; if it was not
true, the Governor ought to have received at
the hands of the committee an opportunity
of defending himself. Further, it appeared by
public accounts in the papers that the Governor had
refused permission to officers to see prisoners for the
purpose of identification to serve the ends of justice,
which had afterwards been granted by superior au-
thority.
Mr. WYATT Said that refusal was by order of the
committee.

Mr. Sergeant PAYNE said that might be. An
inquiry was required, and if the Governor was foun d
unfit far the situation he ought to be displaced ; it
was the duty of the Court to order an inquiry, and
put an efficient officer in his place.
Mcr. WYATT strongly defended the Governor and
the committee in the course they had taken. The
committee passed a resolution, for good reasons,
that no officer should see a prisoner unless he had
a certificate from the superintendent of his division;
that it was his business to attend, as there had been
cases of extortion which this regulation was to pre-
vent. With respect to the late Mr. Morley, a warder,
who it was supposed, and there was no doubt of the
fact, unfortunately lost his life by his own hands in
Hornsey fields, as appeared by published accounts
in the papers, he was a man getting into years and
was certified by the doctor as incapacitated for duty
from physical causes. The committee recommended
him for a pension or superannuation allowance of
something over £2O per year, and before he knew
it he left home and destroyed himself. Mr. Morley
was a very good officer, but, unfortunately he be-
came incapacitated, though complaint was made in
newspaper reports of the harshness and severity the
new Governor exercised towards him. The com-
mittee proposed to the Court to grant his widow a
gratuity of 120. With respect to the case of Ryan,
he hoped the Court would for the present Abstain
from requiring a report, as the Governor was undet•
a threat of law proceedings at the instance of Ryan.
Mr. KEMSHEAD said three warders had been
treated in the same way—one after 16 years' service,
because he could not read or write, though he had
done his duty.

Mr. ARMSTRONG said he had seen the published
accounts in the papers, and it appeared therefrom
that the magistrates of the county were at the bar of
public opinion in respect of these matters. It ap-
peared from the evidence of Mi. Scott, a medical
gentleman who attended Morley—evidence given
on oath—that Morley complained to him of the
cruel and severe conduct of the Governor to him.
There was also a further case for inquiry, that of a
man named Townshend, who was committed for
want of bail, having threatened to destroy his cloth-
ing, the Governor kept him in solitary confinement
72 hours, 48 of which were in irons. He thought
there should be an inquiry, into the state and
management of the prison since the new Governor
bad been appointed.
Mr. WYATT spoke in high terms of the Gover-
nor's conduct in his capacity of Governor, and said
that the committee were determined to uphold him
in the discharge of his duty, which they considered
he had properly performed. When the Governor
entered upon his duties the prison was in a very
disordered state in point of discipline, but if the
present Governor were supported the House of
Detention would speedily become the model prison
of the county of Middlesex.
Mr. liktwooD thought it very irregular for
newspaper reports to be cited in court which con-
tained
,imputations, and that magistrates ought not
to make statements upon representations made to
individual them privately by officers in the service
of the county.
Mr. P. N. LAURIE said he hoped the day was far
distant when an ()facer of
county was. not to be
allowed to see a magistrate and comJplam to him of
what be might consider a grievance? Was there
to be no appeal if an officer felt himself
As to newspaper reports, he begged 'wronged 2
t,
° say they
were of the greatest public importance. The day
was long gone by when they were disregarded •
they were acted upon in Parliament and in all pub_
lie affairs; they were the source of all information
to the public.
Mr. Turner, Mr. Kepp, and Mr. Prance having
made some few observations,
Mr. WoODWARD said he could not allow one
remark to be passed over without an observation.
It had been stated that the House of Detention
' '
was in a disorganised state of discipline when the
change of governorship took place. Asa visiting
he had
magistrate of that prison for many years,
to say that it had been well conducted for these
many years by the late governor, Capt. Hill, under
the supervision of the visiting committee.

The CHAIRMAN said he had no objection to an
officer seeing a magistrate if he, had anything to
complain Off; and Its to the newspaper reports, he
cc:ll4'ooElr his own personal testimony to the fact
that e..-great deal of good had arisen from news-
paper. NragraplAs emanating from this court.
The report waa received,
-The grant of tE2O to Mrs, Morley was agreed to.
There were no -parishes or places in the county in
arrear to the rate.
A memorial was read from Mr, Isaac Le Bra-

' ment, late a warder of the House of Detention, and,
on the motion of Mr. Wyatt, was referred back to
the committee to inquire and report, as it contained
specific charges of which the committee were not
aware. To this memorial were appende i copies of
certificates from Dr. Lavies, of the 1I use of Cor-
rection, Westminster, who had opera , d upon Mr.
Le Brument for a serious chronic disease ; and from
Mr. T. H. Mitchell, of Lowther Cottages, Holloway,
who had attended him, and also his wife. From
physical disability he was not able to continue his
duties as a warder.

l‘ir. WYATT said this petition contained certain
specific charges vulich had not been brought before
the committee, and he therefore moved that it be
referred to the committee to inquire into its allega-
tions and report to the Court.—Agreed to.

AFRICAN SOCIETY-THE COTTON
SUP.PL Y.

:....
.........

BIRMINGHAM, :WEDNESDAY.
A public meeting was held in the Music-hall here
last, the object being to consider the effects of the
cotton " famine" on Manchester and Birmingham
industries, the best mode of procuring a supply of
cotton, and the opportunity which the crisis affords
of annihilating the slave trade, by establishing the
cotton industry in Africa.

The MAYOR presided, and among the company on
the platform were Lord Stratheden Campbell, Lord
Calthorpe, Lord Alfred Churchill, M.P., Mr. D.
Seymour, Mr. Alderman Sturge, &c.

The MAYOR read a letter from Mr. Bazley, M.P,,
expressing his regret at not being able to be present.
Lord A. CHURCHILL moved the first resolution
—" That this meeting emphatically expresses its
approval of the appointment by the British Govern-
ment of an accredited agent at Abbeokuta, and
trusts that the policy which dictated this appoint-
ment may be extended to the town of Rabba, on
the Niger, and to other important places as facili-
ties arise." In enforcing this resolution his lord-
ship dilated at considerable length on the signal
success which had already resulted from the ap-
pointment of the consul at Abbeokuta, and with re-
ference to the second point referred to in the
resolution, it had already received the serious
attention of the Government. The objects of this
society were, he said, extremely practical, and now
pretty well understood. They desired, in the first
place, to introduce such an alteration of system into
Africa as they believed would bring about a great
and beneficial change—physical, political, and
social, and they proposed to do that by introducing
there families from Canada who by their skill in
the various mechanical arts and sciences would be
in a condition to raise the African to a higher state
of intelligence and usefulness, and lead him on by
degrees to a state of civilisation equal to that of any
other race. The means to this end were by the ex-
tension of consular establishments in the interior of
Africa. This would place the country under the
protection of Great Britain, and, so protected, all
its cotton, sugar, tobacco, and indigo fields would
thrive under British enterprise; a deadly blow
would be struck at the slave-grown produce of
Cuba, Virginia, and New Orleans; the supply of
slaves from the African coast would be cut off; the
Africans would be brought up to their true position
in the human race, and the whole world would
soon reap the benefit.

Mr. S. LYON NPLEOD (late consul at Mozam-
bique) seconded the resolution. He referred to
how much had been done to suppress the slave trade.
The number of slaves exported per annum had been
reduced frOm 150,000 to 50,000, but more must be
done before the trade was extinguished. One squa-
dron was of no use while slavetraders reaped a pro-
fit of 1,400 per cent. on their traffic. The best means
they could adopt was to make the traffic unprofita-
ble ; this was to be done by the cultivation of Afri-
can produce by Africans under British protection.
There were two weeds growing there—cotton and
indigo—in sufficient quantities to clothe the whole
human race, and dye it blue into the bargain; the
cultivation of these weeds would not only do good
to the country itself, but would give the whole
world a cheaper article, inasmuch as cotton from
New Orleans, which was being now sold at 9d. or
10d. per lb., could be made in Africa for 4d. All
that was required to achieve this was the infusion
of the skill of the white races among the negroes of
Africa.

The resolution was carried unanimously.
Mr. D. SEYMOUR moved :—" That this meeting
recognises in the special qualities of the African
race the promise of an African nationality, and an-
ticipates in that nationality a valuable element in
the commonwealth of nations." The hon. gentle-
man dwelt on the advantages in a commercial point
of view which had resulted from British protection
in other parts of the world. The Africans had in
them, he said, the seeds of civilization, and they
only needed cultivation to bring them up to a level
with European races. All we had to do was to
teach them the requirements of a civilized life, and
he was sure they had intelligence enough to gratify
them.

Lord STRATHEDEN said a few words in support
of the resolution, which was carried.

Lord CALTHORPE moved the third resolution. It
was, " That, while deploring the threatened cotton
famine in the manufacturing districts of the north,
this meeting cannot but see in the present crisis the
means of securing our own cotton supply for the
future, and also of destroying the African slave-
trade by the development of the vast natural cotton
fields of Western Africa." The noble lord remarked
that the American war had taught the people of
this country that which they ought to have learned
before—namely, the uncertainty of the dependence
on one field for the supply of cotton ; the only
remedy was by the cultivation of the plant in other
parts of the world. England was to some extent
responsible for the introduction of the slave traffic
into America, and was bound to do all she could to
remedy that evil.

Mr. EDWARD GEM, merchant, seconded the reso-
lution, which was carried.
The Rev. HIGHLAND GARNETT, of New York,
moved the fourth resolution, "That the introduction
of Christian coloured families from Canada into
Africa is eminently calculated to advance the influ-
ence of Christianity and civilisation in that country."
Mr. CAMPBELL (Canada) seconded the resolution.
He had, he said, just shipped in a vessel from Lon-
don about £250 worth of cotton machinery, which
be intended to follow as fast as he could and take
from Lagos up the river Ogon to Abbeokuta; when
there he should take in some land, get labourers to
plant cotton, and purchase all the cotton from the
natives that his means would allow, and ship it to
this country. To show that the negroes were a
trading race he mentioned the fact that in the in-
terior of Africa he found articles of luxury which
had been imported from Europe and by the cara-
vans across the Desert, the trader not daring, how-
ever, to approach the Western Coast of Africa for
fear of the slave dealer.

The resolution was adopted, as vas also the fol-
lowing:—
" That, considering the vast influence of commerce as an
associate of civilisation and religion, this meeting recog-
nizes in the cultivation of cotton and other natural products
of Africa the great industrial motive pswer for the raising
of,that continent, and pledges itself to support the African
Aid Society in its endeavours to promote those enterprises."
A vote of thanks to the Mayor terminated the
proceedings._

CRICKETERS
.—The going out to A
THE A lISTRALIAN English
Bridge-house Hotel, Lo Australia are to be banqueted
wion_brid
thisat the
were entertained for a sort, of "littlege, evening. They
long stop)
brother's house go," at Mortlock's (the
Dur-
ham Arms, Harleyford-road, uesdaY
evening,
at the , close to the Oval.
A favourite story ofa
illustrates the same use of the late Bishop of London
who lived quite alone an
ci mere words :—An old woman,
a little girl from the workhoanssevery helpless, had adopted
she as about sixteen, when she ijaa and brought her up till
w
become a useful help-
mate fur her in her household concert,
daughter. The child, however,was s antiwas
to her as al
persuaded to lea
the old woman, and was enticed awzy to be servant 1. leave
farm-souse. Some of the neighbours condoling wi •ii n a
ci
and expressing indignation at the ungrateful conduct of the
girl, the poor 014 woman meekly observed that such things
were only to be expected, as we were told in Scripture they
would happen. She then quoted scriptural authority to
that effect, adding, "You know it is said, 'Train up a child,
and away he do go,'" which was, in fact, the good IN/um's
reading of the well-known passage, " Train up a child in
the way he should go," &c,--.&n.iniscenccs of A.S'cottish
Life and Character.