A recent visitor was very desirous of seeing the district. prison, After securing permission from the magistrate the visit was made yes~ terday afternoon. The warden, a Kuangei man who has had charge of the prison for ten years, showed every courtesy, The buildings are old and the grant for maintenance altogether inadequate. Notwith~ standing these handicaps there was a degree of cleanliness about the place that gave promise of better things whenever an adequate building can be secured. 'The warden, however, was not optimistic about. securing' such a building at an eay-date as Hangchow is the only district in Chekiang which has a modern building. In Ningpo a modern building is being erected near the North Gate, According to government rating Shaohsing will be the fifth district to. secure a new building. In the meantime such devices as can be used on an cid building ave invoked to. give ight and air. Ventilator shafts have been placed in all the cells and also small openings along the floor to. allow for the circulation of air, The upper half of the doors fave of open work thereby admitting. sunlight and One of the interesting things case ever coming into court, Which we saw was a Teeture hall ju which were sented some 30 odd men listening to a lecture by a Buddhist, The warden explained that since there were so many Buddhists in Shaohsing he had decided to have these Buddhist lee tures with a view to improving the moral life of the prisoners, My friend, who is a professor of sociology' and much interested in prison reform, was impressed by the plan whereby: prisoners ave paid work done in. prison.
ug being a rear contre for the manufacture of spirit-money thas made it possible for the warden. to open a shop for the beater product fy marketed in the to two fifths of earnings are saved for him. A part these wages is given to him.for Important nevels while in prison oF to be hix family and the remaind sd for him as a nest: egg when he goes out. After a nan Jeaves the prison the authoriies keep track of him through the police until they are satisfied that he has established himself economie= ally.
beh term may Senter Xt for good be reduced to four by good conduct, Only the more serious offenders are shackled on the legs and none of the prisoners are bound at the wrists It is significant that in a district with a population of 1,119,000 there should be only 190 odd prisoners in the district prison, One explana. tion must be found in the inherent good nature of the Chinese and" further explanation may be in the fact that 0 many matters are settled locally by the parties "immediately concerned without the eave ever coming into court, 7
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.