Ho had made a recent visit to the! Ward Road gaol where he found ome 4,800 Chinese in confinement and these were being discharged at the rate of about 40 per day. He was aware that the gaol was overcrowded but the Council had the matter in hand and in due course this condition would be rectified.
The speaker felt that there were two types of criminals, the first offender and the habitual-criminal who on being discharged from gaol Jound he had lost face with his friends and could not obtain em-Ployment. The only place for him was gaol and he soon took steps that would bring him back there. Tt often. happened that this type exerted an undue influence over those other prisoners of weak caracters, first offenders who were easily, swayed, ang it was to attempt prevent the first' offender. from becoming an habitual criminal that the Society was to be formed.
As to the support of such a Society, Gen. Macnaghten said that the Municipal Council would be pleated to donate $5,000 annually after it had been satisfied with the terms of the Society's constitution. In any event the Society was to ye for both sexes and irrespective nationality, It would help the foreigner as well as the Chinese and for this reason the Committee was to be compared of an equal number of Chinese and foreigners.
Gaols as Hospitals The Rey. G. W. Sheppard mad a short address and said that there was no need to go into the necessity of forming " prisoners aid society deenuse the whole case had been 0, Tucidlly set forth in the "North-China Daily News" leader of November 2. The sentiments expressed therein were ungualifiedly his and though he was sure everyone present had rend the leader, in case anyone hadn't seen it, he wanted them make a special effort and acquaint themselves with it, He said that the chief credit for the formation of the Society should go to Mr. R. Sims of.the Shanghai Municipal Police in charge of gaols, who had suggested the need of aid for the discharged prisoners in frequent talks with him. Others had come to him about the situation and the meeting was thus called as the outcome of popular demands.
He felt that prisoners of to~ needed to be regarded in the lig' of patients and the gaols should be thought of as hospitals rather thea 's_corrective institutions. Many prisoners were suffering from in-hented criminal tendencies and he thought that these could be turned to a more worthy account if they found a helping hand awaiting them on the outside rather than the indifference and distrust that is usually their lot, He made his appeal for the for-motion of the Society in the comi-mon sense of humanity. and he wanted Shanghai especially to bea model beacon at the gates of 'a great nation and hoped that the formation or such an organization hhere would be an incentive to all China and the Chinese people.
He then offered a resolution that prisoners' aid society be formel and was seconded by Mr. S.-M. Edwards who sat_on the platform with Gen, Macnaghten and Mr. H.
Briner who was elected secretary for the meeting.
The Society's Constitution Mr, Edwards had formulated a tentative constitution for the society which he read. He argued against the name Pr thought that the adjective charged" should be used to differentiate between the unfortunates at present in gaol who were being eared for by the S.M.C, and the discharged prisoners who were to be helped by the Society. This change was agreed upon and the Society was named The Discharged Prisoners Aid Society.
The tentative constitution passed by the meeting read as follows 'The name of the Society shall be the Discharged. Prisoners Aid' Society.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.