Arrangements of the " Convict Settlement r 167 



degree to the preservation of their health, by its beneficial 

 and refreshing action upon the frame. 



Some of the convicts are also employed in manufacturing 

 cordage, ropes, twine, &c., of the fibres of the wild plantain 

 {MuBa textilis)^ the Rame-shrub [Boehmeria nivea\ and the 

 wild pine-apple [Bromelia Ananas or Ananassa Sativa). All 

 these textures are of excellent quality, and possess all the 

 best properties of Russian hemp-fabrics, at a considerable 

 reduction of cost. 



In the dormitories the convicts are not classified by nation- 

 alities as during the labours of the day, but according to the 

 nature of the ofi*ences for which they are incarcerated, so that 

 in one division all the thieves are together, in another all the 

 homicides, in a third all those convicted of arson, &c. Al- 

 though from a psychological point of view much might be 

 urged against the judiciousness of such a system, yet, as we 

 were informed, this method of confinement by classification of 

 offences exercises no prejudicial effect upon the moral ameli- 

 oration of the convicts, but on the contrary most enco^u'aging 

 results have been observed to arise from its operation. Among 

 others we were told of a Hindoo from the Malabar coast, a 

 convict for life, who after sixteen years' confinement received 

 permission to settle on the island as a free colonist. By 

 industry, ability, and some fortunate speculations, this man 

 in the course of years acquired a large fortune. He now felt 

 an intense yearning to revisit his own home, and expressed his 

 willingness to present a large portion of his newly acquii-ed 



