PRISON VISITORS [To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.]
SIR,—I was much interested in the valuable article you pub- lished in your issue of August 7th on Prison Visiting. Your contributor rightly observes that the demand for these visitors exceeds the supply, and it is unfortunately true that there is, by reason of the isolated position of the prison, a particular dearth of visitors at some of the prisons where their presence would be the mast helpful. I have in mind the prisons of Parkhurst and Camp Hill in the Isle of Wight and of Dartmoor. Camp Hill has, I believe, one unofficial visitor, but I think I am right in saying that there are none at either Parkhurst or Dartmoor. Only men with long sentences are sent to these prisons, and prison regime necessitates that they should spend a large part of the day confined to their cells. It is not sur- prising that many of them should spend their time in brooding over what they often feel is the unjust inequality of life and that they should become despondent and embittered in doing so. If there are any of your readers, blessed with sympathetic and cheerful souls, who live in the neighbourhood of these prisons, and who feel that they might succeed in bringing comfort to these men and in putting new interests and new hopes into their lives, they could not perform a more valuable social service than to offer themselves to the Prison Commis- sioners, Home Office, Whitehall, as unofficial visitors or
voluntary teachers at the prison in their district. am, 28 Charing Cross, Whitehall, S.W. 1.
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