No. 5.— 1849.] PRISON DISCIPLINE, 167 



continued to assist in carrying on the remainder of the work. 

 Within a year from this time the convicts had become 

 such good artificers, that the Civil Engineer was enabled to 

 dispense with hired labour, and rely upon them for the 

 completion of the buildings. 



This proved not only a great saving, but it also prevented 

 hurtful communications from being kept up between the 

 prisoners and their friends outside, by means of the usual 

 hired labourers. 



Not long after this it was determined to bring from Kandy 

 about forty of the most troublesome prisoners there, in order 

 that they might be turned to better account and reap the 

 advantage of the new system. Amongst these convicts 

 was the noted Puran Appu, since shot at Kandy during the 

 late rebellion. 



To keep the prisoners at continuous labour is a difficult 

 task ; on the one hand, the natural repugnance to toil in- 

 herent in the native of the tropics has to be contended 

 with ; on the other, the physical powers of overseers and 

 others in charge of working parties are liable to be weakened, 

 and their interest to flag in the same proportion as those 

 of the workmen, in long continued monotonous tasks ; hence 

 will naturally follow among men deficient in energy and 

 activity, a desire to get through the day as easily as possible, 

 and their ideas of usefulness in their vocation are bounded 

 by the simple effort to avoid censure or dismissal; from 

 these and similar causes arises the necessity for strict and 

 unceasing vigilance on the part of the prison government. 



A great obstacle to the profitable employment of prisoners 

 consists in their unwillingness to afford by their labour 

 any benefit to Government, whom they consider as their 

 enemy, in depriving them of their liberty. To such an 

 extent was this feeliug carried among them, that on the 

 introduction of the system of trades instruction into the 

 prison, only a few were found willing to avail themselves of 



