, 1880-06-05

F"tu0G Id . Wq - ~ -
other rooms for thieves, robbers, &C.
There were also in one prison nine solitary
cells for punishment, most of which, If III
remember rightly, we're vacant! The
prisoners terms of confihenents varied
from one year to the remainder..o of their lives;
yet they, do. not generally remain long at
Tobolsk, but are sent further east to the
mines or as colonists. l did not observe
any striking difference between Tobolsk and
the Other Russian prisons, but when speak
ing subseq lently on more than one occa-
sion to released prisoners whohad travelled
across Siberia, and asking which OF, the
prisons up to Irkutsk they had found the
best, I found that two of them very de
cidedly gave the palm to Tobolsk. +
There were $40 criminals at Tomsk,
to the prison of which place allude only
to say that adjoining the prison is a most
excellent asylum for the children OF prl-
soners and the poor. The cleanliness OF
the place could hardly be surpassed any
where; the children's play-rocm even had
scarcely a scratch upon the walls, while
the children themselves In their afternoon
dress, looked as bright and CHEEKY as could
be. The girls were busy with their
needles and two English sewing machines.
some tastefully embroidering initials in
the corners Of pocket handke rchicfs to the
order of a lady in the town. The tiny
boys were..learning shoemaklng, while the
elder are sent into the prison hospital TO
help the doctors aud such progress do
some of them make that we heard OF one
who had Just left the institution to 60 as
Aootor nf n gold NINA
where the boy was to receive his board
and lodging and $50 a year. This excel
lent institution has been built by ithe exef-
tions of the IocGl prison committee, and
We found q similar asylum Tor prisoners
children at Irkutsk.
At Irkutsk, in the mems prison were
2aO criminals, who were to some extent
classified. Here was a room tor murderers,
of who N there where 81; another tor Tor
gers, of whom there were 30 u thfd
room fori2S thieves, q fourth ti 80 ''vaga-.
bonds" probably escaped convlcts, and
vet another for Is who had assumed false
names in order to personate one another
ard interchange their punlshments. The
prison hospital was particularly good-so,
at least, a prisoner told me-and 1t looked
well arranged. A hospital dinner there
cost 80 kopecks. which is two and a half
kopecks more than the total daily allow
ance at Irkutsk TO the upper-class prison
ers. At Irkutsk were u few men doing
voluntary work, but for the most part
they were unemployed. On inqulring at
To6olsk if they had any books, we were
told that they had ; but, inastnuch as
about one in ten only was educa TED, &c
was customary during the evenings for
one to read aloud to the others. AT lIkutsx
we not only heard of the books, we saw
them. But it was amid circumstances
that distressed me. There was a large case
full of New Testame nts aud other books,
which, had been provided by the commit
tee, but they appeared as fresh and new
as if, they had just come from the booksellef'
The prisoners, it was said, could have
them if they asked for them, but II did not
seem to occur to the authorities that many
might be induced. to read and get good 1t
some of the books were left in the wards
Of the unemployed. The officers were
evidently afraid Of their being torn or so'l-
ed, which was Just the old story had
heard years, before in Finland, where Books
were to some extent provided for the pri:
soners but when q friend of mine asked
that prisoners mighthavs them, the reply