Prisoners Their Own Warders - free ebook by W. D. Bayliss

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Prisoners Their Own Warders

W. D. Bayliss

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PRISONERS THEIR OWN WARDERS

PRISONERS THEIR OWN WARDERS

A RECORD OF THE CONVICT PRISON AT SINGAPORE IN THE STRAITS SETTLEMENTS ESTABLISHED 1825, DISCONTINUED 1873, TOGETHER WITH A CURSORY HISTORY OF THE CONVICT ESTABLISHMENTS AT BENCOOLEN, PENANG AND MALACCA FROM THE YEAR 1797 BY MAJOR J. R A. McNAIR Late Royal Artillery, C.M.G., A.M.I.C.E., F.L.S., and F.R.G.S Late Colonial Engineer and Surveyor General and Comptroller of Indian Convicts Straits Settlements from 1857 to 1877 Author of "Perak and the Malays" (Sarong and Kris) Assisted by W. D. BAYL

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Preface

Preface

Some explanation appears to be due from us for writing this account of the Singapore Convict Jail so long after the date of its final abolition. The truth is, that for several years it has been our opinion that it ought to be written by some one, and the same suggestion had often been made to one of us by the late Doctor Mouat, Inspector General of Jails, Bengal, and others who were well acquainted with its administration. An opportunity lately occurred to bring us into communication on the subj

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Chapter I EARLY RECORDS OF BENCOOLEN AND OBSERVATIONS ABOUT CONVICTS

Chapter I EARLY RECORDS OF BENCOOLEN AND OBSERVATIONS ABOUT CONVICTS

In opening this account of the old convict jail at Singapore, it will be necessary to refer, as we have said, in some little detail to the history of the settlements of Bencoolen, Penang, and Malacca, to which convicts from India were first sent, prior to their reception into the Singapore prison. The first penal settlement was Bencoolen, the Banka-Ulu [1] of the Malays, to which they were transported from India about the year 1787, much about the same time that transportation to Australia for E

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Chapter II A SLIGHT SKETCH OF PENANG AND THE TREATMENT OF THE CONVICTS THERE

Chapter II A SLIGHT SKETCH OF PENANG AND THE TREATMENT OF THE CONVICTS THERE

Penang, also named "Prince of Wales" Island as a compliment to the then Prince of Wales, afterwards George IV. This name for the island has become almost obsolete, and the Malay name Pi'nang, for the "Areka Palm," which flourishes there, is that by which it is now always known. It is situated at the northern extremity of the Malacca Straits, and was ceded to us by the Rajah of Kedah in 1785, when we gave up, but only for a time, our British settlement on the North Andaman, which we had acquired

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Chapter III OLD MALACCA AND THE FIRST INTRODUCTION OF CONVICTS THERE

Chapter III OLD MALACCA AND THE FIRST INTRODUCTION OF CONVICTS THERE

Authorities differ very considerably as to the origin of the name of this place. Some attribute it to the Malay name for a shrub which largely abounded near the shore, a sort of "Phyllanthus emblica" of the spurge order; others, again, ascribe it to a plant called the "Jumbosa Malaccensis," or "Malay apple tree" of the myrtle bloom order; others, again, say that the Javanese were the first to colonize the place about the year 1160 of our time, and that they gave it the name "Malaka," which in th

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Chapter IV A RUNNING HISTORY OF SINGAPORE: ITS JAIL SYSTEM AND ADMINISTRATION

Chapter IV A RUNNING HISTORY OF SINGAPORE: ITS JAIL SYSTEM AND ADMINISTRATION

The origin of the name of this island it is difficult to trace, but the generally accepted derivation is from the Sanscrit words, "Singh," a lion, and "Pura," a city or town; and if so, it would not have been given by the Malays, but more probably by the Indians, who, according to native history, came over with one, Rajah Suran, and conquered Johore and this island in about the year A.D. 1160. "Singh" is a title adopted by the Hindus, and by several military castes of Northern India, and the wor

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Chapter V SINGAPORE (Continued)

Chapter V SINGAPORE (Continued)

There were then about 1,100 or 1,200 Indian convicts in Singapore, divided into six classes, and employed in various ways as already narrated, but the following extract from The Anecdotal History is worth quoting verbatim: "Singapore, Malacca, Penang, and Maulmein were the Sydneys of India. There are upon an average about 1,100 to 1,200 native convicts from India constantly at Singapore. These are employed making roads and digging canals; and, undoubtedly, without them the town, as far as locomo

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Chapter VI SINGAPORE (Continued)

Chapter VI SINGAPORE (Continued)

During the year 1845 the Bukit Timah Road was opened up by convict labour between Bukit Timah and Kranji, so that the produce hitherto carried by water to Singapore from the neighbouring country of Johore could now be brought into town by road, while at the same time land was thus opened up for cultivation. The convicts were also employed in this year in constructing a road to the summit of Telok Blangah Hill, now called Mount Faber, for the purpose of building there a signal station, that upon

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Description of the Singapore Convict Jail.

Description of the Singapore Convict Jail.

We have already incidentally referred to the plans of Captain Man for the erection of a permanent jail for the Indian convicts, which he had agreed to construct wholly by convict labour. The enclosure wall already existed, within which the original temporary buildings and thatched huts had been run up for their shelter. Only one solid building was within it, part of which was used as a hospital and the remainder for the confinement of convicts in irons. The next permanent building to be erected

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Chapter VIII DIVISION INTO CLASSES, TRADES, FOOD, AND CLOTHING

Chapter VIII DIVISION INTO CLASSES, TRADES, FOOD, AND CLOTHING

We now come to deal with perhaps not a very inviting part of our subject, viz. the division of the convicts into classes, their supervision, artificer trades, hours of work, food, and clothing, but it must be told in brief in order to make the narrative of this jail complete. They were divided into six classes, but since the year 1857, when Major McNair took charge, sec. A of the third class, and sec. A of the fifth class were added to the classification. The First Class consisted of trustworthy

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Cathedral[10] (see Plate XVI.).

Cathedral[10] (see Plate XVI.).

In preparing the designs of this ecclesiastical edifice, Colonel Macpherson had to select as simple and easy a form of architecture as he could, and with as little ornament as possible, and therefore within the capacity of his workpeople; so he chose the Gothic, or rather, we should say, the Early English style of about the 12th century, and in so doing he said he had somewhat reproduced the character of old Netley Abbey. [11] He laid the foundations, and saw it built up to about three feet abov

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Government House (see Plate XIX.).

Government House (see Plate XIX.).

We have already mentioned that the transfer of the Straits Settlements from the direct control of India to the Crown was effected on the 1st April, 1867. The first Governor under the new régime was Colonel Sir Harry St. George Ord, R.E., who, upon his arrival in Singapore, had to take up his abode in a hired house. He therefore lost no time in issuing orders to purchase land, and to erect a suitable residence for himself and for the future Governors of the colony. Plans were accordingly called f

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Industries (Intra-mural).

Industries (Intra-mural).

We have already enumerated the various trades that were taught to these Indian convicts, and shall therefore confine our remarks here to a brief description of some of those productive occupations upon which we employed their labour both within and without the main jail. We must, however, make known beforehand, in connection with intra-mural works, that, attached to the main jail, yet distinctly separated from it by high walls and a guarded gateway, was a "work-yard," in which were built shops f

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Industries (Extra-mural).

Industries (Extra-mural).

It will be quite superfluous to give an account in detail of the method pursued in brick and tile making, for the process is known to every one. Suffice it to say that Colonel Faber, R.E., as previously noted, was the first to introduce the manufacture on Government account; he opened a place at Rochore, near the present gasworks, and employed free labour. The system was what is known as the "dry" and sand-moulding system, and the bricks were burned in clamps. All that could be said of these bri

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Stone Quarrying (see Plate XX.).

Stone Quarrying (see Plate XX.).

The stone we used for all our building operations was procured from an island between Singapore East and the mainland of Johore, and was named Pulo Obin. It is about three miles long and three-quarters of a mile broad. The stone was the best possible form of crystallised granite, fine grained, very compact and durable, grey in colour, with here and there black patches or nodules of hornblende. It occurs in large fluted boulders, and was wrought by the convicts by fire, or by blasting with gun-po

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Well Digging.

Well Digging.

It is known to everyone how capable the Indians are in the sinking of wells, and that with many Orientals it is a work of great merit to build one. As two were required for Fort Canning, we were soon able to select men fitted for this special work amongst the third class convicts, who, many of them, begged to be allowed to take part in their construction. After a careful set of borings, we came upon water at a depth of 180 and 120 feet respectively. They were eventually dug out to these depths,

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No. 1

No. 1

Most of the convicts sentenced to the Straits Settlements for short periods of transportation were, as we have said, usually retained in the convict jail at Malacca. Amongst these, in the sixties, was a very remarkable man, and known to both of us, of the name of "Tickery Banda," who was a native of Ceylon, and had received a sentence of seven years in transportation for a crime committed in that island, though of which he declared, like many of his congeners, he was perfectly innocent. A story

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No. 2

No. 2

It was remarkable what a wide difference there was between the accounts given by the convicts themselves, of the circumstances which were the cause of their transportation, and the summary of them given in the warrants sent with them. Although many of them did not deny having committed what the law looked upon as a crime, they, under the circumstances, either considered that the act was justifiable, or perhaps that it was the result of accident. Here is the case of a convict who was sentenced to

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No. 3

No. 3

As late as the year 1863 piracy had not been wholly suppressed in the Straits of Malacca, and cases were by no means rare of native trading craft being attacked by them. During this year a number of piratical boats infested the mouths of the rivers Prye, Juroo, and Junjong on the Malay Peninsula, and the South Channel between Penang Island and the mainland of Province Wellesley; and many a tongkong belonging to Chinese traders between Penang and Laroot was attacked by them and plundered, and som

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No. 4

No. 4

We have referred elsewhere to the numerous races of India which went to form the convict body in the old Singapore jail. We found this admixture of castes and tribes a very valuable corrective against a possible chance of insurrection, and for the discovery of plots of escape; and, indeed, sometimes as a means of finding out any serious mischief that might be brewing in the jail. It seems to delight many a native of India to be a spy upon another; and though intrigues were never encouraged, nor

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No. 5 "FUNNY JOE"

No. 5 "FUNNY JOE"

His surname need not be mentioned, but he went by the name of "Funny Joe." He was the son of a clergyman of the Church of England, sharp witted, and well educated; but his moral character, from some cause or another, became quite disorganised, and to the grief of his parents he left his home and took to the sea. His education there stood him in good stead, and under new surroundings he improved for the time, and eventually rose to be chief mate of a ship. Had he persevered in this good course, h

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No. 6 CONVICTS WITH A COBRA AND A CROCODILE

No. 6 CONVICTS WITH A COBRA AND A CROCODILE

It is well known that the Cobra di Capello is one of the most deadly of the snakes of India and the East. The palish yellow cobra of India is perhaps more dangerous and surely fatal in its bite than the black "cobra" or "kala samp," which is more frequently found in the Straits Settlements, but neither of them is very pleasant to be in close proximity to. The Cobra. —As we have noticed elsewhere, some of the convicts were very expert in catching these reptiles and extracting their fangs. The fol

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No. 7

No. 7

The Chinese have one superstition amongst many in regard to tigers. They believe that when a person is killed by a tiger his "hantu," or ghost, becomes the slave of the beast and attends upon it; that the spirit acts the part of a jackal, as it were, and leads the tiger to his prey; and so thoroughly subservient does the ghost become to his tigerish master, that he not infrequently brings the tiger to the presence of his wife and family, and calmly sees them devoured before his ghostly face. A v

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No. 8

No. 8

As we have already intimated, the house of correction at Singapore was under the management and control of the Convict Department; and there were frequently from thirty to forty Europeans confined in this prison, chiefly seamen on short sentences for neglect of duty on board ship. When Sir Robert McClure was commanding a vessel of war [18] in Chinese waters about 1859, his ship was on the Singapore station for some little time; and upon his arrival he sent in to the house of correction a very in

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Chapter XI ABOLITION OF THE CONVICT DEPARTMENT AND DISPOSAL OF THE CONVICTS

Chapter XI ABOLITION OF THE CONVICT DEPARTMENT AND DISPOSAL OF THE CONVICTS

On the separation of the Straits Settlements from British India in 1867, it was arranged that the Indian life convicts at Singapore should be transferred to Port Blair in the Andaman Islands. In the course of correspondence which took place on the subject, His Excellency the Governor of the Straits Settlements proposed, in respect of those convicts who were to continue in the Straits, that a liberal use of the power of pardon should be made in the case of such convicts, the nature of whose crime

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Feigned Diseases

Feigned Diseases

The question of feigned diseases should find a place in a work treating upon convicts, for amongst a number of natives in confinement—and indeed also amongst European prisoners where—regular work is insisted upon, and idleness in any is severely punished, it is but natural that some should be found to resort to expedients to escape work, or, in other words, to malinger. Perhaps the most frequent cases of convicts in irons was the encouraging of sores round the ankles, where the iron rings of the

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Chapter XIII CONCLUSION

Chapter XIII CONCLUSION

We have now given a full, and, as far as we could, a succinct account of the system pursued in the old Singapore jail. We have traced the history of the convict establishments in all the penal settlements in those seas, and have shown the progressive improvements in the convict prisons up to the time when, as was acknowledged by many competent authorities, a system of organization and discipline had been satisfactorily attained to, especially at the headquarter jail at Singapore. We have also sh

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APPENDIX I

APPENDIX I

Statement of the expenses of the convict jail in Singapore for the years 1862-63 and 1863-64, showing the average cost per prisoner:— The above table gives a fair average of the annual cost of maintenance of each prisoner as taken from the records of the jail....

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APPENDIX II

APPENDIX II

Return of the Hospital Department of prisoners in jails in Singapore, Penang and Province Wellesley, and Malacca, from 1st May, 1863, to 30th April, 1864, exhibiting the average strength, number of admissions of sick, number of deaths, etc., in each jail during the year, and the rate per cent.:— The rate per cent. of the total deaths to strength at the three settlements may appear high, but it is accounted for by the number of old convicts dying off....

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APPENDIX III

APPENDIX III

The following table gives the value of materials manufactured by convict labour; the money expenditure in addition to the convict labour on each item, and the difference in favour of the State for the years 1862-63 and 1863-64:—...

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APPENDIX IV

APPENDIX IV

The following is a tabulated account of the cost of the brick kilns to the State, and the value of these convict-made bricks in the local market. The output of bricks per month when four tables were at work was 230,000, and their value at $45.00 per 10,000 would be $1,035. The cost of manufacture was as follows:— Bricks were debited to Government Works at $20 per laksa. The size of a Government brick mould was 10¼ x 5¼ x 3 ins. The bricks when burnt measured 9 x 4½ x 2¾ ins., and weighed about 7

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APPENDIX V

APPENDIX V

Number and nature of defaults committed by Indian convicts:— This table gives the number and nature of the defaults committed by the Indian convicts for the years 1846, 1856 and 1866, but it is doubtful whether the list for 1846 is complete, as the prison records do not appear to have been fully kept up; anyhow they are not to be found, and at that time the inquiry room had not been established. The number of convicts under discipline and on ticket of leave during the twenty years was between 1,

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APPENDIX VI

APPENDIX VI

Extracts from letters from T. Church, Esq., Resident Councillor, Singapore, addressed to the Honourable the Governor of the Straits. 15th September, 1849. Transmits copy of letter from Captain Man, dated August, 1849, forwarding account of value of labour of the convicts for the year ending 30th April last. In my last report I adverted to the efficient state of this department, and the importance of the work performed by convicts under the zealous and active supervision of the Superintendent. Th

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APPENDIX VII

APPENDIX VII

The head of the Madras Medical Department Dr. Edward Balfour, visited this jail in August, 1863, and thus recorded his opinion:— The point that most struck me in the management of this jail were the diversified occupations and evident industry of its inmates, and their complete employment. The mass were actively working, and the few were superintending those engaged in labour. I have not before seen the various labouring industries of artizans so largely introduced in any jail, nor have I seen s

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APPENDIX VIII

APPENDIX VIII

Extract from the Singapore Free Press , October, 1884:— To this day many of the released convicts are living in Singapore, cart owners, milk sellers, road contractors, and so on. Many of them are comfortably off, but are growing fewer year by year, and their places will never be filled by that class again. The name of Major McNair is a password to their good feelings, and all their disputes used to go to him as a matter of course. When the Major wrote the Sarong and Kris, Perak and the Malays ,

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APPENDIX IX

APPENDIX IX

From the Singapore Free Press , February 2nd, 1899. Given to show how very lately this "head scare" superstition is entertained:— The "Head-Cutting" Scare. To the Editor of the Free Press Pao . Most Powerful Sir ,—Permit thy humble servant to approach thee by the way of my friend Tan Tan Tiam, who knoweth the Ang Moh's speech, and kindly consenteth to write to him who moveth the Government to influence the Tye Jin to have compassion upon the exiled sons of China. Thy servant is a humble puller o

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