Prison conditions

The first gaol housing sentenced prisoners on
the mainland was built in New Westminster in
1860, It was located on Clarkson Street and had
12 cells measuring approximately five feet by
seven, as well as living quarters for the warden.
Until this time, offenders who received a
sentence of imprisonment were sent to the
Victoria Gaol at Bastion Square.

Following construction of the New
Westminster Gaol, there were administrative
difficulties. Although the gaol was completed in
September, with a capacity for about 30
inmates, prisoners from the colony of British
Columbia were still held in Victoria.

Resentment surfaced because Victoria was
utilizing these prisoners on its chain gang, while
B.C. paid for their support. Meanwhile, New
Westminster needed these prisoners to clear
land and build roads.'* The municipal council at
New Westminster decided to ask the governor
to order the immediate transfer of all British
Columbia prisoners in the Victoria Gaol to the
New Westminster Gaol.’? The need to appoint
a gaoler for this facility was also mentioned in
the letter.'*

Added pressure came from the Grand Jury’s
Report for November 1860, reported in the
Colonist. It suggested that British Columbia
criminals be brought from Victoria to New
Westminster where their labour could be used
to construct roads.

There were more complaints about conditions
at the Victoria Gaol in February 1861. It had
not been renovated or replaced, and could no
longer meet the requirements of the colony.
The Britssh Columbian described the gaol at
Victoria, located in the centre of the city’s
business district, as a “miserable wooden
rookery.”

In July 1861, the Grand Jury reported a need
for designated accommodation for females and
the insane. One year later, on July 23, 1862, it
was teported that there were 19 people in gaol,
four of whom were lunatics, and one a “raving
madman.”

An extension was eventually built in the winter
of 1862-63 that increased capacity by 50 people.
The extension included 10 new cells and an
upper room, 22 by 32 feet, for use as a chapel.
The building of a chapel shows the importance
placed on providing inmates with religious
programs when funds were not available for
other purposes.

During the summer of 1861, it became evident
that the gaol at New Westminster was also too
small to suit conditions in the expanding
colony. Chartres Brew wrote to the colonial
secretary proposing an expansion. The
renovation would add four to six cells, a room
to accommodate the assistant gaoler, and a
separate kitchen for the prisoners.

12 Prom an editorial in the New West Times, September 22, 1860.
13 According to a letter from Chartres Brew to the colonial secretary dated October 31, 1860.

14 James Douglas appointed Captain John Pritchard as gaoler on the recommendation of Chartres Brew.

10

Corrections in British Columbia