The Monmouth inquirer. [volume] (Freehold, N.J.) 1865-1933, 1907-01-24
PENAL SETTLEMENTS.
Where Prisoners who Are DeDorte6
GO FOR Life.


where Prisoners who Are Deportea
Go For Life.
France, Spain, Portugal, Russia and
Turkey are today the only European
countries which transport their crimi-
nails, and there are signs that this form
Of punishment will not be continued
much longer by civilized nations. Rus
STA has already diminished the number
Of offenses for which Siberia Is the
penalty
France has two penal settlements,
one the island OF New Caledonia, which
lies northeast Of Australia, the other in
French Guiana Caledonia, or lie Nou,
has often been described as sort of
inferno AS matter of fact, it is the
best managed convict island in the
world. The climate is not bad, and the
convicts can gain By good conduct
pleasures and privileges unheard of in
British prisons
Convicts form the working classes of
the island. They stroll about unshac-
killed. and unguarded. They can smoke
cigarettes and buy a little wine. The
gineers and stokers and can earn about
fiyepence day.
The birch and the cato -nine-tails are
unknown in the island. the punishment
being the "cachot,' or black cell A
few hours or days in this living tomb
is usually enough for any of them,
however refractory. They come out
lo he to f1tr, Ina 81, 10.
nothing compared with sentence of
Ave years IN the ''cachot,v with only
one hour of light in each thirty days!
Cayenne Is very different The ell
mate Is about as bad as bad can be.
The work is principally masonry and
clearing land. In case of mutiny hoses
are ready charged with scalding water.
The least infringement of the rigid dis
cipline is visited with cruel punish
ment. One Of the commonest Is to re-
duce man to one meal a day, and
that nothing but bread and water.
Death follows any attack on a warder,
whether injury is inflicted or not The
food, all except the bread. is wretched
The most horrible OF the penal col
doubtedly those of Spain at Ceuta and
Fernando Pc. The latter place Is an
island In the blight of Biafia. The aver
age temperature all the year round is
nearly so degrees, and the heat is q
damp kind, most trying to Europeans
The horrors which Cuban patriots I'M
derwent in Fernando 20 are not to be
AL. ~
of FIVE died before they had been there
two years.
Oddly enough, Portugal manages
these matters much better than does
Spain. She sends most of her con
victs to Goa, on the coast of India. or
to her East African possessions. Her
system resembles that of New Gale
donna, but is less strict. In fact. Por-
tuguese convicts do very little hard la
Dor. They are allowed almost com
plete liberty SO long as they do not |
leave the limits of the settlement to
which they are assigned At Mozam-
bique you may see government officials |
playing billiards with conyicts of good
birth.
When Turkish political prisoner is
sentenced to be depOrted to Tripoli or
to the Euphafes, his friends bid him
farewell They know that they will
never see him again alive and in all |
probability never hear of him again
unless enormous sums are forthcom
ing to bribe scores Of different officials.
In fact the only difference between
death sentence in Turkey and one Of
transportation Is that the former is
more rapid and merciful. The govern
ment prefers the latter, because it is
less public. Now and then, however,
news leaks through-of poor Midhab
Pasha, for instance it Is known that
near Bagdad his brutal guards beat |
out his brains with the butt ends Of
their rides.-London Answers.