Milford chronicle., 1907-02-22
PENAL SETTLEMENTS.
Where Prisoners Who Are DepOrtea
Go For Life.

10 TOT AAAGs
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
sia 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 a sort Of
inferno. AS Il matter of fact, 1t 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-
kled and unguarded. They can smoke
cigarettes and buy little wine. The
better class act as BARRIERS. walters, en-
glneers and stokers and can earn about
fivepence a day.
The 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, 1t is
nothing compared with a sentence of
five years In the "cachot," with only
one hour of light in each thirty daysl
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 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 a man to one meal 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
Onles in existence at present are un-
dOubtedly those of Spain at Ceuta and
Fernando Po. The latter place is an
island in the blight of Biafla. The aver
age temperature all the year round is
nearly 80 degrees, and the heat is
damp kind. most trying to Europeans.
The horrors which Cuban patriots un-
derwent in Fernando Po are not to be
matched in Siberia itself Three out
of five died before they had been there
two years.
Oddly enough Portugal manages
these matters II lch better than does
Spain. She mis- 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 convicts do very little hard Ia
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 convicts Of good
birth.
When a Turkish political prisoner is
sentenced to be deported to Tripoli or
to the Euphrates, 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 a |
death sentence in Turkey and one Of
transportation is that the former is
more rapid and merciful. The govern
ment prefers the latter, because 1t 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 rifies.-London Answers.