634
THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE.
[No. 24

CLASSIFICATION.
PRISONERS sentenced to imprisonment with hard labour for five years and upwards (except life) will require to pass through the following classes:—

Minimum Periods with Good Conduct and Industry.
121. Probation Class: One year, during which they must earn 2,192 marks, none being credited for the first three months.
Third Class: One year, during which they must earn 2,920 marks.
Second Class: One year, during which they must earn 2,920 marks.
After which they will be eligible for promotion to the first class.
122. Every prisoner is thus required to remain in the probation class for a minimum period of one year reckoned from the date of conviction, of which three months will be passed without any remission being granted. No gratuity will be given in this class.
If his conduct and industry are good he will then be promoted to the third class, and so on to the second, remaining in each a minimum period of one year.
The remainder of the term of his imprisonment will be spent in the first class, unless he is promoted to the special class, or degraded to any lower class.
These classes will, as far as practicable, be kept quite separate from each other in prisons.
123. Prisoners sentenced to hard labour for a less period than five years will serve one-fourth of their whole sentence in each class, instead of one year, and earn marks accordingly.
124. Prisoners in probation, third, or second classes may, for misconduct, be subjected to serve an additional period in the class in which they may then be serving; and, if in third, second, or first class, may be degraded to any lower for any stated period, and, when so degraded, they must remain therein until they have earned the full number of marks allotted to such period—viz., the whole number of days multiplied by eight. Such number of marks is not, however, to be added to the original number the prisoner has to earn for remission, but it represents the number of marks he must earn before he can return to his original class.
125. Prisoners undergoing cumulative sentences will be treated as if sentenced to one term equal to the total award, except that they will serve a probation of three months without remission for each sentence, the probations to be consecutive at the commencement of the sentence.

Probation Class.
126. Prisoners in the probation class will wear the ordinary prison-dress, without any facings. They will be allowed to receive a visit of twenty minutes’ duration within the first month of their conviction, provided their conduct is good, and again after they have served three months, their conduct being good for the two previous months; and, under the same conditions, they will be allowed to write and receive a letter within the first month of their conviction, and again after they have served three months; the visits to be of twenty minutes’ duration. They will be allowed one period of exercise on Sundays.

Third Class.
127. Prisoners in this class to wear the prison-dress, with black facings. To receive a visit of thirty minutes’ duration, and to write and receive a letter, once in two months, provided conduct has been good at least one previous month. To receive a gratuity of twelve shillings, being at the rate of one shilling per month for the time passed in this class, to be earned by marks. To be allowed one period of exercise on Sundays.

Second Class.
128. Prisoners in the second class will wear the prison-dress, with yellow facings. They will be allowed to receive a visit of thirty minutes’ duration, and to receive and write a letter, once in six weeks, provided their conduct has been good for at least one previous month. To receive a gratuity of eighteen shillings, calculated at the rate of one shilling and sixpence per month for twelve months, to be earned by marks in this class. To have two periods of exercise on Sundays.

First Class.
129. Prisoners in the first class will wear the prison-dress, with red facings. They will be allowed to receive a visit of thirty minutes’ duration, and to write and receive a letter, once every month, provided conduct has been good for one month previous. To receive a gratuity of thirty shillings, being at the rate of two shillings and sixpence per month for twelve months, to be earned by marks according to scale. To be allowed three periods of exercise on Sundays. No prisoner to be promoted to the first class unless he can read and write, or has done his best to learn to do so.

Special Class. (A Reward for Industry and Good Conduct.)
130. Prisoners under sentences as above may obtain the advantages of the special class on release, providing their conduct has been exemplary.
No prisoner is to be promoted to the special class till he is within twelve months of becoming due for release, and having passed through his sentence with exemplary conduct. Prisoners in the special class will wear a blue dress.
They will be allowed to be recommended for an extra remission not exceeding one month; to be recommended for an extra gratuity on discharge not exceeding two pounds; to receive a visit of thirty minutes, and to receive and write a letter, once a fortnight; to have baked instead of boiled meat twice a week, or dinner prepared in such other way as the circumstances will admit.
One punishment for misconduct in special class forfeits the privileges of this class, which cannot be restored.
131. For practical purposes in granting the gratuities the following scale will be adopted:—
In third class, 20 marks are equal to 1d.
In second " 20 " " 1½d.
In first " 20 " " 2½d.
132. The case of a convict whose conduct has been bad, and who has earned no gratuity, is to be submitted to the Minister of Justice one month before his discharge is due.
133. Prisoners sentenced to parti-coloured dress, cross-irons, or any other special treatment shall be placed in the probation class whilst under such treatment, but on release therefrom will return to the class from which they were degraded, unless their sentence for the misconduct specifies the contrary.

FOR PRISONERS SENTENCED TO IMPRISONMENT WITH HARD LABOUR FOR LESS THAN FIVE YEARS.
134. The time which every prisoner must pass in prison shall be represented by a certain number of marks, which he must earn by actual labour performed to entitle him to any remission of sentence.
135. No remission will be granted for conduct except on Sundays. It is only on condition of good conduct and strict obedience that prisoners will be allowed to earn by their industry a remission of a portion of their sentences.
136. If, therefore, their conduct is indifferent or bad, they will be liable to be fined a certain number of marks, according to the nature and degree of the offence, and will thus forfeit by misconduct the remission they may have gained by their industry.
137. The scale of marks shall be: Eight marks per diem for steady hard labour and full performance of the allotted task; seven marks per diem for a less degree of industry; six marks per diem for a fair but moderate day’s work.
138. No remission will be granted for the first three months of a sentence, which shall be looked upon as a period of probation; a prisoner’s marks are therefore to be calculated at the rate of six per diem as commencing three months from the date of conviction: Provided that no prisoner whose conduct has not been good and industrious during the first three months of his imprisonment shall be entitled to marks until he has passed a further period of three months’ probation. Should his conduct during this second period of probation be good and industrious, his marks shall be calculated as commencing six months from the date of conviction; but, if not, the prisoner shall not be entitled to marks until his conduct has been reported good and industrious for a period of three months prior to the date from which they are calculated.
139. If by his industry the prisoner gains eight marks per diem, and does not forfeit any for misconduct, he will earn the full remission of one-fourth of the time for which his marks were calculated.
140. When a prisoner is sentenced to forfeiture of time, a number of marks equal to the number of days forfeited multiplied by six is to be added to the whole number of marks he has to earn. As he can by his industry earn eight, he may thereby gain a remission of one-fourth of such forfeiture.
141. Prisoners sentenced to separate confinement shall be credited only with six marks per diem during that period.
142. Prisoners in hospital shall be credited with only six marks per diem, which may be increased on the special recommendation of the Gaoler and Gaol Surgeon by the Inspector.
143. A prisoner during his term of imprisonment will be required to pass through the following classes, viz.:—
Probation Class: One-fourth of his whole sentence, on the first three months of which he will be granted no remission;
Third Class: One-fourth of his whole sentence;
Second Class: One-fourth of his whole sentence; after which he will be eligible for promotion to the first class.