The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1858-05-13
THE PACIFIC
Commercial Advertiser.
THURSDAY, A IL.

PREVIOUS to the year 1851, there was no law
for the regulation of prisons on these islands, but
the charge of criminals was entrusted entirely to
the capricious and unsystematic regulation of the
different governors. At the session of 1851. an
Act was passed entitled san Act relating to
prisons, their government and discipline, " under
which it was intended to institute a regular pri-
son system TO supply a want which had long been
felt at the different ports of the islands. Like
four-6fths of the laws on the Hawaiian Statute
Book, the Prison Act remained for a number of
years a perfectly dead letter. with all its pro-
iected machinery of masters, inspectors, wardens
and chaplains, whose duties were fully set forth in
one hundred and fourteen sections. 1t was not
till the year 81 that a movement was made to-
wards the erection of a prison building, and the
result is the very creditable affair at Leleo. This
is the only systematically conducted prison on the
islands, and SO far as it goes under the law, we
have no fault to find with it. The degree of per-
fec ion to which its government has arrived,
should serve as an Indictment to expect still bet
ter things. Beyond the very passable lookup at
Lahaina, and the one at Leleo, there is scarcely
another prison on the islands worthy the name.
Many of the districts are utterly destitute OF any
government building, however wretched, in which
I Onen0erS can De Qctal0eu eltucI u lfIdi VI pun
ishment, and in most of those places dignifed by
the name of a Hale Paahao, the total absence of
bolts and bars prevents any disagreeable feeling
of restraint on the part of those who are supposed
to be in the custody of the law, and the conse-
quence is that they roam at large. How far this
state of things is likely to improve the morals OF
the people and secure a wholesome respect for
law, is question which we will not now discuss.
In the present state of the treasury and the CEN
tralized character of our public institutions, we
cannot perhaps look for anything better in the
remote districts. Time and experience alone can
bring about the desired results. In the meantime,
however, let us begin here, in the metropolis,
with the initiation of a proper prison system, the
results of which may gradually be developed
throughout the country.
In the first place, we should have for our object
in the conduct of prison discipline, the reforma-
ton of criminals, as well as their punishment.
We have great faith in human capabilities
for reform and Improvement, and profess no SYM
pathy in common with the austere creed of those
who, having marked one false step, one crime
even, in a man or woman, set them down from
that moment as forever lost to virtue and truth.
And we consider that government has a duty to
perform towards that crowd of men whom we see
every day passing through the streets on their
way to and from the public works, quite as i'm
portant as that of their safe-keeping. For the
more hardened class of offenders-those who,
having served one term of imprisonment, commit
the second offense ,-there is perhaps but little
hope of reformation. But it is far otherwise with
the youthful criminal, convicted of a first offense.
With such. degrading punishment is a dangerous
IL L- .,1a 1911 l.
hardened criminal, the hope of reform is e%fectu-
ally debarred lit would be more than human to
resist poIlution-the man becomes a marked one,
and when at length, his time of service expired,
hess released, it is with the thorough schooling of
contempt for law which such companionship in
variable produces. Selfrespect gone-without
which man is unfit to live-the brand of a felon
in his soul-he goes forth to prey afresh upon
society, having received the finish to his education
at the government expense.
We urge then the introduction into our prison
regime of a system of classification of criminals,
as the first and most important movement in the
direction Of reform. If it is intended that pun
ishment shall answer the purpose for which it
was designed, we must make distinctions in
criminals. As things are at present, the sending
of men to our government prison is but taking
the shortest course, nine times cut of ten, to
make confirmed, reckless scoundrels of them.
We have believed with Bulwer, that "the worst
use you can put a man to is to hang him. but
it becomes a question as to whether hanging in
the outset would not be a preferable course for
the benefit of all concerned. And thus it will be
SO long as the old principles are retained in our
prisons. and men are punished merely for the sake
of punishment, while no rItional efforts are made
for their reformation. Let there be commenced,
in our prisons and on our public works, a
thorough classifcation-a superintendent only
of the sexes, but of the young and the adult, and
these again to be classed according to the nature
of their offenses and the terms of their sentences,
in time, to be arranged into " intractable,"
" well conducted, /" and :" reformed. Thus, the
runaway sailor-though guilty of an offense
which is often an aggravated one, an offense
which justice and a regard to the interests of
commerce demands that we should punish
promptly and efectively-often well-born, we'll
educated. but deluded, should be kept apart from
the thief and the burglar. Uniformity of inter-
nal regime, coarse and scrupulously clean clothes,
with a simple fare, are all perhaps to be witnessed
to-day at Leleo. But there is fatal and dreary alb
sence of intellectual, moral and religious instruc-
tion-of that moral surveillance which is more eff
fectiye than material restraints. While the basis of
all true prison discipline is WORK, yet to give that
work a Informative effect, it should be remuner-
.ating and selfsupporting. All labor that is
punitive only, and not Informative, is worse than
useless. .sThey manage these things better
in France The labor among the French con-
victs is more varied, more amusing, more inter-
esting and intelligent than that of any other
nation. And in this connection it may be stated
that statistics prove that in Prussia, where the
prison discipline is rather punitive than reforma-
tory, the proportion of crime to the inhabitants is
twelve times greater than in France.
This subject Of prison discipline is one that has