NOTES UPON CERTAIN BAVARIAN PRISONS. BEING Extracts from a Report made in 1856, upon many German Prisons, by a Commission appointed by the Minister of the Interior of Saxony. Dresden, 1857. Page 11.-The visit to the three Bavarian prisons of St. Georgen near Bayruith, Kaisheim near Donauwörth and Munich was convincing, that the Bavarian prisons are still governed and are still developing in the same spirit, in which Obermayer most meritoriously changed the old form of prison discipline at Kaiserslautern into a well organized and benevolent system, which was most carefully based upon a consideration of the bodily and mental wants of the prisoners. Page 14.-The prison at Munich contains only male prisoners, and these are criminals of the worst kind, sentenced to the chain, or to detention from a period of 8 years, up to imprisonment for life, or to hard labour for 4 years or more— at present about 500. There are only some 20 women detained here, under a female overseer, to attend to the laundry. Supervision is exercised by 18 unmarried Overseers, and a picket of 20 soldiers is in guard of the prison. The Director leaves it to the option of the overseers, whether they will keep themselves armed or not. He himself is unarmed, but in his office and in his rounds is accompanied by a large fierce dog. Obermayer objects to labour in the open air, and to agricultural employment of the prisoners, though not especially for the reason of the possibility of their being at any time left unguarded. This objection of Obermayer's however appears only to be dependent upon the peculiar condition of his prison, which more especially contains young, rough, malicious criminals, drafted from an agricultural population, for whom of course that kind of employment would be but little punishment. Obermayer moreover requires strict discipline with incessant supervision, which in his opinion would not be possible outside the precincts of the prison. Aged or delicate prisoners-fathers of families-about one-fourth of all the prisoners, he occupies in the courts of the prison with household labour. The kind of work done in the rooms is especially cloth manufacture, linen weaving, &c., the power being produced by four wheels, turned by hand labour. The population, which recruits his prison, is robust. When there are more convicts than he has room for, he gives some of his prisoners up to other prisons. Discipline is enforced by moderate punishinent, such as reduction of food, and cellular incarceration, but never by corporal punishments. The Overseers exercise their function over a division of several work halls or rooms, which are not closed from the corridor. Within the work rooms, even if there be only 2 prisoners at work, one of them is a watcher.* These watchers are substitutes for Overseers, and have to a great extent the rights and duties of the "Elders" in the prisons of Saxony. On the whole, and in every case, one prisoner is made personally responsible for the other. Talking during work hours is prohibited. During the hours of rest, conversation, within the limits of decency and propriety and without noise, screaming or indecent gestures and signs, is permitted. Obermayer manages also by means of monthly visits the establishment for youthful criminals at Wasserburgh. Against self-pollution he has used there successfully reduction of food and hand cuffs. During the last 14 years, Obermayer has discharged 1,468 prisoners (not including removals.) Of these, 1200 have shown themselves reformed during the two years, which in Bavaria is the term of control. How many of them however have after the two years relapsed into crime is not ascertained, or more properly speaking "no account is taken of such"; and Obermayer merely stated, that such relapsed crimina's had been re-admitted into the prison. Other competent authorities also affirm, that frequent Aufpasser in the original, not spion, the term adopted by Mittermaier, which answers precisely to our word spy, whereas I am informed by Mr. Leipner that aufpasser has no such invidious meaning, and he is supported by Hilpner-see his English and German Dictionary ¡n vocibus.-M. D. ÎI. escapes occur; one case indeed had been detected, in which one of the prisoners had been murdered by some fellowprisoners, who intended to escape, and had made it appear as a case of suicide. As regards the state of health of the prisoners, experience is here unfavourable; mortality also is particularly great here. (According to Obermayer's statement in the year 1855, from 70 to 80 died, according to official statement 91, which is 1-7 of the average prison population. This appears to be partly an after-effect of the cholera.) The ground floor of the prison is very damp. But Obermayer mentioned also, as a special cause of this high rate of mortality, the imprisonment during trial in unhealthy prisons, which has also been confirmed by others. Obermayer expressed his well-known opinion on separate imprisonment, but stated also, that he did not object to it, but would use it in cases of prisoners sentenced to short terms of imprisonment under one year. The ministerial offices of the Interior, and of Justice, gave also full and explicit information on every point connected with prisons. The Referendary of the ministerial department of the Interior gave special information on the control over the discharged prisoners, as existing in Bavaria, upon which the statements of relapses and reforms are founded. All prisons, and all police establishments for detention keep a list based upon the information, which the local magistracy annually (i.e. after the expiration of one year from the time of the discharge of the prisoners) has to forward to these establishments, concerning their behaviour. The local authorities divide in their reports the discharged into the following three classes: Relapsed, Doubtful and Reformed. Whoever is reported as Reformed, is struck from the list of control, but the Doubtful continue thereon. A criminal who afterwards falls into police detention (which in Bavaria must not exceed the term of two years,) is not considered a relapsed criminal, but is merely continued on the list as Doubtful. In the sense of the criminal law the term "Relapse," is never used. In statistical accounts, those mentioned as reformed, include consequently all such, as did not relapse within the space of 12 months after their discharge. That many of the so-called reformed after • Under this head would be included, most, if not all, such of our English gaols as are not Government prisons for convicts. Tr. wards return to the prison is notorious, but is not noticed in the statistical accounts. Nor does the figure for relapses contain those, which relapsed after one year's good conduct. The uumber stated as reformed is consequently too high, and that of relapsed too low. Page 55.-Obermayer's principles are professed in all Bavarian prisons; they were at that time (1856) expressly adopted, and had been introduced into the prisons by means of officials, who had served with or under Obermayer at Kaiserslautern. If at the present day various modifications and deviations may be observed, and moreover an essentially different rule for measuring the success of the Munich prison has been adopted, or seems to have been adopted, this can in nowise reduce the merit of Obermayer's fundamental ideas. For they have stood their test at Kaiserslautern under different circumstances, than are existing at Munich, And when afterwards the success of the prison at Munich was overrated, because the special circumstances in force there-long, mostly life-long periods of detention, the provincial character of the criminals and of the crimes were lost sight of, so now the opposite mistake would be made, were we to estimate Obermayer's merits only by the somewhat limited success he has had at Munich. Granted that Obermayer be labouring under a slight delusion as regards the success of the Munich prison, yet he is the last who should be reproached with it, he who is its reformer, and that too from a perfectly dilapidated condition. Besides, there is a special cause to be found for this delusion in the peculiar sense, in which the word "Reformed" has been adopted by the Bavarian Government of prisons. It was probably M. Widmer (Page 52) who first prominently and firmly showed and proved against all the hostile critics (both against the well-meaning and against those whose desire it was to insult) that Obermayer's idea is founded upon a proposition, which is psychologically correct and proved by every day's experience. Anyhow, a well-regulated and efficient government of an extensive prison in which the inmates are kept together, cannot be conceived without the essential part of Obermayer's system, unless the cost be disproportionately increased, or the essence of discipline be changed into a mere appearance. That the unfavourable rate of mortality at Munich and in some other establishments in Bavaria, cannot be attributed to Obermayer's system, but is partly owing to the unfavourable positions of these prisons and partly to other external causes, is proved by the reports of the Bavarian Ministry, in which prisons, situated in isolated and elevated positions, but governed on the same principles, show as low a rate of mortality as in all likelihood can ever be attained in prisons. The Bavarian prisons possess one great advantage over almost all others, which is that they consist of edifices which were formerly convents or chapter-houses, which by their grandeur, their regularity, their internal arrangements, supply all the wants of a prison for confinement of prisoners in association. All crowding together of the workers can be avoided there, and arrangements can be made for the prisoners sleeping in smaller detachments in moderately-sized apartments, which are open on two sides for inspection and control. If the supervision of the prisons of Bavaria were exercised with the same care as in Saxony, and if there were a more immediate supervision of the prisoners themselves, these establishinents would then possess all the preliminary conditions necessary for conducting "imprisonment in association" in its best and most efficient form. The want of appliances for isolation as a means for discipline is, however, felt everywhere in that country. Obermayer's institution of "watchers," i.e. prisoners intrusted with supervision, has subjected him to bitter but unreasonable reproaches, especially from such as have not examined the matter practically, but only from a distance and only by having it called a spy-system. The partisans of the "isolated imprisonment" more particularly have tried to deduce from it the greatest possible harm to the morality of the prisoners. This institution in the form and with the name of "Elders" in the Saxon prisons, "Seniors" in the prisons of Würtemberg, has proved itself an efficient organ of control; the superior physical force of the bad class is kept in check by the authoritative elevation of the better disposed. The exclusive supervision by the better prisoners is however in Saxony limited to but few cases, direct supervision by warders is still as much as possible in force. And this latter arrangement seems to be the preferable and more efficient one, as has been proved more especially by a comparison with the prison at Cologne. The constant presence of the warder, far from causing fear or exasperation or irritation, accustoms the prisoners to the consciousness of being observed and is pro |