The Sun. — 1861-10-15 (London, England)

THE GAOL OF NETVGATE.  The public is aware that during the last twelve months very extensive alterations and improvements have been going on in the interior of the gaol of Newgate, and they have now been brought to a conclusion, and it is hoped that this prison, to which offenders are sent from a district comprising nearly three millions of souls, will in future be found better suited to the humane spirit of the age than it has been for a great many years. The alterations that have just been completed have reference to the 'female side of the prison, which is now made to correspond with the male, each prisoner being confined separately, and thus all chance of mutual contamination is avoided. Until very recently the male prisoners awaiting their trial were all mingled indiscriminately together; and, although possibly a prisoner, charged with some atrocious murder or other heinous offence, was kept apart from his companions in crime, yet the general, and:, indeed unavoidable practiee,was for all the prisoners to be mixed together, and it frequently happened that burglars, ticket-of-leave men, and old and hardened criminals of every description, were placed in. the same ward with young men who were charged. with a first offence ; and as there was no means of preventing them from conversing together, the principal amusement of the gaol consisted in old offenders giving an account of their various plans of plundering the public, their escapes from justice,, and devising fresh schemes of villany. This, of course, had a most mischievous effect, and repeated. representations were made to Government and to the Corporation of London who had the immediate charge of the gaol, upon the subject ; and these representations at length had the effect of inducing the Corporation to interfere, and the whole of that portion of the gaol devoted to the reception of male prisoners has, within the last three years, been completely remodelled, every prisoner having a separate cell, and thus no opportunity was offered for the old offender to contaminate a noviciate in crime. This alteration was found to work so well that earnest endeavours were made to effect a corresponding alteration on the female side of the prison, and happily these endeavours have at length been crowned. with success. It appears that the average number of female prisoners confined in the gaol is 35, but accommodation has been provided for 50 prisoners, each of whom have a separate cell, and they will have no opportunity of communicating with or contaminating each other. Under the old system ali the female prisoners occupied the same ward, prostitutes and women of notoriously bad character being mingled with servant girls, or prisoners charged. with a first offence, and here, as with the male prisoners, the old offenders appeared to take a wicked. delight in endeavouring- to bring their more innocent companions to their own level, and thus extinguishing every hope of their reforming or becoming good members of society. The arrangements, which appear most admirably calculated to effect the object sought for, have been effected under a contract with Messrs, Brown and Robinson, at a cost of something like £lO,