[Letterhead of the Kingston Penitentiary]

[stamp of the KINGSTON PENITENTIARY-CENSOR No. 1 — DEC. 3, 1924]

[stamp of the DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE-REMISSION BRANCH-DEC. 4, 1924]

DATE: December 1st, 1924

Ackd. Dec. 5th, 1924.

Honourable Solicitor General

Honourable Sir,

I am very delited to be able to writ to you, and I greatly regret not having learned that you spoke French during your visit on Novb 22, as I would hav been able to explain myself better than on paper, but I wil do my best and I hope that you will appreciat my words and that you wil grant me my request.

Dear Sir,

You seem to me to believe that I dont love children I can tell you that I dont believe there is a woman in this institution who is able to love children more than I. As proof, I am asking to be pardonned out of love for my children. It is my greatest wish and my greatest occupation,

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[stamp of the KINGSTON PENITENTIARY-CENSOR No. 1 — DEC. 3, 1924]

despite the fact that I do not have many means of protectting them here. But everything I do is to help them almost every year since I have been here one of them moves and I am the one who takes care of it if I lacked love for them I could leeve someone else to take care of it but I like to know where they are and whether they receive good care. You can wel imagine that a mother who has seven children outside and who wants to take care of them doesn't always sleep peecefully.

When I was

outside, I would do the work not just of one woman but of three women outside the house during the day and in the evening I took care of the house and the children and it was with good wil and today it is still my greatest desire to leeve and work to help with their education becauz I have a little 13-year-old boy and this is the last year he can stay at the convent without paying and he is very tallented he is learning English and French and I would like to leeve in order to help him with his studies

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[stamp of the KINGSTON PENITENTIARY-CENSOR No. 1 — DEC. 3, 1924]

and see to the care of my other children. And to prove even more the love I had for them I am sending you letters that wil proove it to you and I greatly regret not having been able to have you read them while you were here. Perhaps your words would have been more comfortting, because what you told me hurt my heart very much knowing that I didnt deserve it because this case is very terrible in the sight of men but it is very sweet in the sight of God because if the secrets of confession could be said people would soon change their minds Because if I had been as I am accused I have been locked up for over 4 years and I am certain that there is not one prison matron who can accuse me in any way when someone is that meen she can't hold in her anger for that long and in addition people here can tel you that if some girls have changed I'm the one who showed them the straight and narrow of their religion

Honourable Sir,

I hope that these words will be studied and that you will grant me I beg you this favour and I promise you and I could proove to you that you won't regret it. Your very obedient

Madame Gagnon