Penal servitude has taken the place of transportation in Great Britain.  Every person sentenced to a term of five years and over undergoes what is called penal servitude.  The sentence is divided into three stages.  In the first stage the offender passes nine months of his sentence in one of the local prisons in solitary confinement.  In the next stage he is allowed to work in association with other prisoners; and in the last stage he is conditionally released before his sentence has actually expired.  If a prisoner conducts himself well, if he shows that he is industrious, he will be released at the expiration of about three fourths of his sentence.  If, on the other hand, he is idle and ill-conducted, he will have to serve the full term.

During the first nine months of his confinement the convict sentenced to penal servitude is treated in exactly the same way as a person sentenced to a month’s imprisonment; the only difference being that he is provided with better food.  During the period of detention in a Public Work’s Prison the convict may, if well-conducted, pass through five progressive stages; each of these stages confers some privileges which the one below it does not possess.  The first stage of all is called the Probation Class.  In this, as well as in every succeeding class, a man’s industry is measured by a process called the Mark system.  This system is somewhat similar to the method adopted for rewarding industry in our public schools.  In those schools a boy’s diligence is recognised by his receiving so many marks per day, and he would be an ideal pupil who received the maximum number of marks.  In convict prisons, on the other hand, the maximum number of marks, which is eight per day, can easily be earned by any person willing to do an average day’s work.  If a convict earns the maximum number of marks per day for three months he is promoted at the end of that time out of the Probation Class into a higher stage called the Third Class.  He must remain in the third class for at least a year; while in this class he is permitted to receive a visit and to write and receive a letter every six months.  He is also rewarded at the rate of a penny for every 20 marks, which enables him to earn twelve shillings in the course of the year.

After the expiration of one year in the Third Class the prisoner, if he has regularly earned eight marks a day, is advanced to the Second Class.  In this stage he can receive a visit and write and receive a letter every four months.  He is allowed a little choice in the selection of his breakfast; the value attached to his marks is also increased, and he is able in the Second Class to earn 18 shillings a year.  At the termination of a year, if a prisoner continues his habits of industry, he is promoted to the First Class.  Persons whose education is defective are not permitted to enter the First Class, unless they have also made progress in schooling.  In the First Class a man is allowed to receive a visit and to write and receive a letter every three months.  He is also given additional privileges in the choice of food.  In the First Class he can earn 30 shillings a year.