ABSTRACT
The government established convict or public works prisons at Portland, Dartmoor, Portsmouth, and Chatham. They were integral parts of the progressive stage system of penal servitude, the intent of which was reform through inculcation of the habit of work. A considerable degree of uneasiness, amounting almost to alarm, has been occasioned to the officials of the convict prison, St. Mary’s, Chatham, during the last few days, in consequence of the disaffection and mutinous conduct of the convicts confined in that establishment. An official report of the circumstances has been made by Captain Powell to the Home Secretary, who has directed Captain Gambier, the director of convict establishments, to institute an immediate investigation.
