however, permitted to work at any useful occupation, but they must work hard if they are to live well. A prisoner who is in gaol for a week or under will not find it worth while to engage in any special work, and will generally prefer the discomfort for a short time. Those, however, who are sentenced for a month or more can get leave to carry on inside the prison any work they may have been doing before they came inside; if they have no occupation, they can undertake work that is specially provided for the prisoners. This consists of certain small trades such as the making of sledges, rough wheelwright work, carpentering and the making of any useful article which can be disposed of in the neighbourhood. The money which the sale of this work brings in is put to the credit of the prisoner's account by the prison officials, and he is enabled to draw up to that amount from the prison shop in order to provide himself with any comforts that he requires.
I found that the earnings of the prisoners in the six urban prisons of the Yenisei Government for 1908 was as follows:—1379 prisoners who were confined for periods of from one week to three months made total earnings of 12,770 roubles (£1419). Thus a prisoner who earns ten roubles (£1, 2s.) in a month can, in the country, where food is cheap and the standard of living low, provide himself without much difficulty with more than the necessaries of life. As far as I could judge, the disadvantages of this system were: first, that those prisoners who had no knowledge of the particular kinds of work adapted to a particular locality would not fare so well as those who had; and, secondly, that the competition of prisoners in a limited labour market has the effect
