Darkest India: A Supplement to General Booth's "In Darkest England, and the Way Out"Booth-Tucker, Frederick St. George De Lautour
History
Darkest India: A Supplement to General Booth's "In Darkest England, and the Way Out"
Booth-Tucker, Frederick St. George De Lautour
India -- Social conditions; Poor -- India
8. Result of action of salvation Army on prisoner, roughly estimated.
_Superintendent Convict Establishment._
_Commdt. Salvation Army, Colombo._
That the work of the Colombo Prisoners' Home is highly appreciated in
Colombo is further proved by the fact that most of the leading
Government officials subscribe to its funds, including the Colonial
Secretary, Sir E. Noel Walker, the Chief Justice Sir Bruce Burnside,
and many others. Again, it is not an uncommon thing for us to receive
such letters as the following from the Magistrate:--
From the POLICE MAGISTRATE, Colombo,
To the CAPTAIN OF THE PRISON GATE BRIGADE.
_Dated, Colombo, October 30th, 1889._
_Subject--Habitual Offender, Dana._
Sir,
I have the honour to inform you that a man named Dana, produced
before me this day, charged with being a habitual thief, has
expressed a wish to be admitted into the Prison Brigade Home.
I shall be glad if you afford him an opportunity to redeem his
character.
I am, Sir,
Your obedient Servant,
E.W.M.,
_Police Magistrate._
The past year was suitably finished up by providing a special feast to
which only ex-convicts were admitted. No less than 150 accepted the
invitation.
About this branch of our work a leading daily paper, the Ceylon
_Independent_, writes as follows.--
Most of our readers have read in our columns of the good work the
Army is doing at the Prison Gate, in reclaiming from criminal
courses the discharged prisoners who have served their time of
confinement. In that critical moment, when the wide world is once
more before the newly discharged culprit, when he emerges from
confinement to overwhelming temptation, big it may be with fresh
schemes of crime, armed with enlarged experiences to aid in its
accomplishment, to be met, taken kindly by the hand, and led gently
to the pleasanter and more peaceful path of honesty, industry, and
virtue, is a surprise that is calculated to disarm temptation at
least for a moment, and thus virtue gains time for thought.
The success of the Prison Gate Brigade has hitherto been surprising, and
quite beyond its founders' anticipation. It has been especially useful
in reclaiming juvenile offenders, of whom a large number have been
induced to take to the honest means of livelihood, chiefly carpentry,
which the Home provides.
OUR BOMBAY PRISON GATE BRIGADE.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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