New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1879-07-12
FROM AYR TO PERTH.

EDlNBURGH June Line story goes tnat 10 an
inquirer to the way TO Newgate Prison. the
made: Break that window. steal
some of the jcwelry, and you'll easily fad it," So
in Scotland, otherwise than through the gateway
of crime, 1t is not an easy matter to obtain adj
mission to prison. The policy of the law is to
discourage visiting, and the perfectly in
telgbe. There is nothing to conceal, no secret
instrument of torture to be hidden away, no NAL
treatment of man or woman TO be covered by the
compulsory lying of the victims. These things,
though at one time stern realities enough are
TO be found only in the pages of the novelist
Visiting interiors; however, no matter to how
trilng extent, with the discipline OF the prison.
Ii breaks in upon the routine, and even when per-
mitted, as it is with all courtesy in the case of
person connected with the administration of prison
discipline otherwise and for good reasons DESTROYS
of observing the arrangements. every precautOn is
taken against allowing the visitor to crafty any
other feeling or to attain any other
object than those aiIordIng the ostensi-
BILE reasons of admission. Thus, between
Ayr and Perth the imprisoned City of Glasgow
Bank Directors were divided. Messrs. Stronach and
Potter having been allotted to Perth and the others to
Ayr. Let it be supposed that some individual with
a morbid curiosity has succeedcdin obtaining adnlis
sion to Ayr prison. and confdentially asks the Gov
ernor to have the directors pointed out. The
is made that to do so is contrary to the reg
ulatlons. The Governor is authorized to open every
CELL to show every prisoner and explain the nature
of his occupation and to give all information as to
diet, punishments, ETC.. but he is not allowed to
point out any notorious or In fact any individual
prisoner. The rule is based upon reason and hu-
mainly. In criminals the moral sense is so per-
verted that to show them nOtorietes has had the
unwhoesome effect of developing their self-im-
.I..t.. fi..r.f To.
stand head and shoulders above their fellow pris-
oners and obivous of the fact that their eminence
is an emnence in crime, they have been induced to
cherish sentiment akin to that which led the Mil
tonic Devil to avow his preference Of reigning in
hell TO serving I'm a better place.
The humane side of the rule is seen its applica-
ton to such prisoners as the directors. The High
Court of Justicary has prescribed the limits of their
punishment. To make show of them. to open
their cells. and point them out as the curios
of the prison, the participants in the great
est swndlc of the age, would it is very evident add
very materially to the weight of their sentence.
The latter, according to the cooler judgment Of the
community, is already sufficiently heavy.
In the same view it may possibly be considered
unfair and especially for one who had every oppor-
tunty of observing their faces at the trial. to fol-
low them into their retirement. very ordinary
services of the Governor. They are practically out
Of the world and it may seem hard to bring them
back to it before their time. Unfortunately for
them. and fortunately for Scotland. their case and
sentence supply the best tests that have been al
forded IN the course of the present generation to
applv TO the prison system of the country. The
questions having special reference TO them that oc
Cured to me on entering, several weeks ago, the
prison at Ayr were Is there any favOrtism in a
Scotch prison Is there rule for bank director
and another for a poorer felon Does money com
mand luxuries in the cell Does the law permit Of
exceptions In regard to dress, discipline or deti To
all these questions personal Investigations brought
negative answers No exception is made In favor
of one which cannot legally, on proper cause
shown, be extended to all. When a criminal enters
the prison he in measure loses his personality aud
becomes a number, and all numbers are, in defiance
of mathematics, treated as unknown quantities. In
what is hereafter SAID of prison rule it wall there
fore be understood that all the directors at Ayr are
included.
In the first place each prisoner is attred in sult
of moleskin is confined in n separate cell and de-
barred from intercourse with ms fellow prisoners
The clothes are not picturesque but they have
clearly. comfortable look. The cells are, one and
all. scrupulously clean and consist of small rooms
with whitcwashed walls and stone floors They are
wel-aired are adequately lighted, and are warm
enough to be healthy To save unnecessary furnish
ing the guard-bcd of the newly initiated is used as
n table during the day. 1t may be described as
sloping board with wooden pillow attached. and
ia divisible into two parts one of which is placed
upon the other when II is required for use as table
It's normal purpose, however is that implied in its
name, and 1t is upon such bed that every con-
yicted criminal prisoner is for the first month OF his
sentence required to sleep Having found quarters
for the prisoner the ne thing is to keep him busy
Unless specially exempted, he is called upon to do
ten hours work each day. The nature of his em-
ployment depends upon his previous calling. Al
AYR the prisoners in chiefly for short terms, and
If is thus almost impossible to teach them trades
with which they have had no PRIOR acquaintance
The Governor can generally count upon having
few shocmakeTs, and the bulk OF the other prSOhtls
are employed in making brushes and mats OF cocoa
nut fibre and tearing oalum The latter is the coy
errors final resource III supplying unskliled hahds
with work. How essential 10 Is TO the inmates
comfort 10 be kept busy may be inferred from me
fact that deprIya of work for period constitutes
the first of the authorized methods oil puhiohueHt.
OF the minor regulations, the first to be noticed Is
that all the prisoners must rise at OclOck III tio
morning and must not 20 10 bed again Tor fourteen
hours. On Sundays two hours more are allowed LOT
sleep The visits of relatives are permitted al inc
end of three months after sentence and at the end
of each succeeding period of three months DalIy
exercise consisting of walking III file round piNeu
ring is enjolned upon all healthy prisoners, anu Il
most cXtrdOruind ana ptlHCllC oEht lIVp P' ~
a. they o round the yard at the rate OF about four
miles per hour. lilo, of
study The rule appears to be- the lighter the Seh-
fence the lighter the supply OF ylctuals. A person
under Imprisonment for not more than three uafs
tares films bTcakfa one pint of Odt-Incai gruel:
dinner one pound of bread supper, one pint OF Oat-
meal cruel. This is the minimum from Wnicn thc
supplV rises in an ascending scale as may he mus
trated bv the breakfast allowances. That tor Tour
tecu-day prisoners is four ounces of oa-lneai poI
ridge and three-quarters of pint OF milk lhat lor
two months prisoners is six ounces OF Ol-lncal p@I
ridge and thTce-quartefs of "A pint OF milk hat Ior
sy month,' prisoners eight ounces of Oatmeal pOi-
rhe nnh of pint OF milk. Inc ulIcCt-