Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1907-02-14
PENtL 81 LL-,.IUN y.
where Prisoners who Are DepOrted
Go For Life.

Go For Life.
France, Spain, Portugal Russia and
Turkey are today the only European
countries which transport their criml
mails. and there are signs that this form
Of punishment will not he 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 a matter of fact, it Is the
best managed convict island in the
world. The climate is not bad, and the
convicts can gain 10y 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 little wine The
better class act as BARRIERS, walters. en-.
gineers and stokers and can earn about
fvepence n day.
Tie birch and the cat o. 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
like lambs. Bad as is the lash, it is
nothing compared with sentence Of
five years in the "cachot," with only
one hour of light in each thirty days.
Cayenne is very different. The eli
mate is about as bad as bad can be.
The work is principally masonry and
clearing land In case Of mutlny hoses
are ready charged with scalding water.
The least infringement of the rigid dis
cipline Is visited with cruel punish
mcnt. One Of the cOmmoncst IS to re-
duce nlaG t. one meal day, and
that nothing bat bread and water
Death follows any attack on wardcr.
whether injury IS Inflicted or not. The
food all except the bread is wretchcd
The most horrible OF the penal col
onies in existence at present are un
doubtedly those of Spain at Ceuta ana
Fernando Pc. The latter place is ~
island in the hight of Biatla The aver
age temperature all the year round is
nearly so degrees, and the heat is n
damp kind. most trying to Europeans
The horrors which Cuban patriots un-
derWcnt in Fernando Pc are not to he
matched in Siberia itself. Three out
of five died before they had been there
two years.
Oddly enough, Portugal manages
these matters much better than does
Spain. Sic 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
donla, but is less strict. In fact, Por-
tuguese conv!cts do very little hard Ia.
Dor. They nre allowed almost COM
plete liberty so long as they do not
leave the limits of the settlement to
which they are assigned. At Moznm-
bique you may see government officials
playing billiards with convcts Of good
birth
When Turkish political prisoner f.
sentenced to he Geported 10 Tripol or
to the Euphrates. his friends bid him
farewell, They know that they will
never see him again alive and in MI
probability never hear of him again
unless enormous sums are fOrthcom,
Ing to bride scores of different officials
In fact. the only difference between 4,
death sentence in Turkey and one Of
transportation Is that the former /.
more rapid and mercful. The govern.
ment prefers the latter. because it Is
less public. Now and then. however
news leaks through-of poor Midhah
Pasha. for instance. It Is known that
near Bagd9d his brutal guards boat
out his brains with the butt ends o.
their rifles. London Answers.
IOOpiiOyc,