The Sun.
London, England, 1860-03-19 00:00:00

(LEFT SPEAKING•)

HOUSE OF COMMONS.—(THis DAY
The SPEAKER took the chair at 4 o'clock.
PRIVATE BUSINESS.
The following bills were read a third time and passed :
Great Westerjßailwav, lledon Corporation and Borough
Improvement, Wein and Brouygarth Roads, and York Im-
provement, .Cc.
The following bills were considered and ordered for third
reading :—Ambergats, Nottingham, and Boston and Ea-
tern Junction Railway and Canal Company ; Cheshire
Mid-
land Railway ; East Somerset Railway ; Glossop and
Marple Bridge Road; London and North-Western Rail-
way (No. 1) ; London and North-Western Railway (No:
rent
Branchesuiictionand l e
2) ; Marple New Mills and Hayfield J • Railway;
i •.
Midland Railway (Burton-upon..T
viations) ; Airfield Gas; North British and Peebles and
Oxford,
Jedburgh Railway Companies; Worcester, and

ADJOURNMENT OF THE HOUSE FOR EASTER.
In reply to Mr. SPOONER,
Lord PALMERSTON said that hon. members had been
called together earlier than usual this session, and no doubt
were anxious to adjourn for the holidays as soon as possible.
However, that adjournment must depend upon the business
of the house, itnd there were some bills of a very urgent
character to be disposed of. Under these circumstances,
he could not say on what day the house would adjourn for
the holidays.

REFORM BILL.

On the motion for the second reading of this bill,
Mr. DISRALI objected to the principle of the bill, which
he concluded proceeded on the bases of members, not in-
telligence.

(LEFT SPEAKING.)

MILITARY PRISONS.

The report on the discipline and management of
the military prisons for 1858 has been presented to
both Houses of Parliament by command of her Ma-
jesty, and contains the following statistical infor-
mation :—The military prisons in operation in 1858
were as follows : England—Chatham, Gosport,
Weedon, Devonport, and Aidershott ; Scotland—
Greenlaw (near Edinburgh) ; Ireland —Dublin,
Cork, Limerick, and Athlone. Abroad—Gibraltar,
Quebec, Halifax (Nova Scotia), Bermuda, Vide
(lonian Islands), St. Elmo (Malta), Mauritius, Bar-
badoes, and Montreal; making a total of 19 military
prisons, of which ten are in the United Kingdom,
and nine at different foreign stations, the whole
being capable of accommodating about 1,500 pri-
soners. The report exhibits a considerable varia-
tion in the prison statistics of 1858 as compared
with those of 1857; the number of men punished
for minor offences in 1858 has, in comparison, been
smaller than in any previous year, except 1857, in-
dicating an improvement in discipline, and, it may
be hoped, a progressive tendency as regards the
moral condition of the soldier. The average length
of sentences was 99 days in 1849, and 87 in 1854,
but it was reduced in 1855 to 77 days, in 1856 to
53 days, in 1857 to 49 days, and in 1858 to 47 days.
The statistical tables of the report also announce
that although the tendency to desertion has in-
creased, drunkenness and other crimes in the army
have decreased since 1857. The expenditure for
• military prisons in the year 1858 was no burden to
the country, as the amount of unissued pay and beer
money exceeded the prison expenditure by £1,452;
the total expenditure being £18,125, and the un-
issued pay and beer money, which is stopped when
the men are in prison, £19,577. The number of
corporal punishments inflicted last year was 918,
among 219,739 effective men, being 042 per cent.;
and the number of deserters branded 2,371,
or 1.09 per cent., which unfortunately exhibits
an increase for the same offence, when the
numbers were—flogged, 545, or 0.34 per cent. ;
branded, 1,090, or 0.76 per cent. From the
medical returns of the military prisons at
home, it appears that the health of the pri-
soners has improved since 1854. The pro-
portion of numbers treated for sickness to the total
numbers in confinement in 18C4 was nearly 21 per
cent., whereas in 1855 it decreased to about 15 per
cent. ; in 1857, 16 per cent. ; and in 1858, 15 per
cant. This result is at. least a sufficient proof that
the reduced scale of diet adopted in August, 1850,
and in general operation throughout the yearsBrB
1851, 1852, 1853, 1854, 1855, 1856, t
180 i,and o ,
combined with the system of requiring he secondland third class prisoners to sleep accoutred as if on
guard, although it hass isincreasedhown in ttthee loss of
has
signhott
among the prisoners as
as a general rule had any injurious effect on their
health. Notwithstanding the apparent effect of the
punishment in caesing a considerable average loss
of weight, it is remarkable and satisfaFtory that the
number treated for sicknessduring the year
1855 was proportionately less than in any year
since 1848, with the exception of the year 1855.
The following statistics are then given upon punish-
ments in the army, and with them the report con-
cludes. In 1843 the number of soldiers imprisoned.
at any one time
exclusive
vseenottetnhe:sebNyv
hcoolimritgmhtabrtelailr;
in civil prisons, x
confinement by order of commanding officers, was
in the ratio of- 20 in 1,000, and at the same time.
the number of corporal punishments amounted to
annually about 5.2, making 25.9 per 1,000. In the
three years from 1851 to 1854 the number of im-
prisonments was reduced t o 11 per 1,000, an d in
the four years from 1850 to 1854 the average %lum-
ber of corporal punishments had been reduced to
2.5 per 1,000, being a little more than one-he If in
both Cases, and making a total of 13.5 as corny eared
with 25.2. During the year 1858 the average num-
ber undergoing imprisonment at any one t' Line in
the military prisons and barrack cells are ated to
11.9 in 1,000, and the total corporal ptulit .hments
in the year amounted to 4.2, making a totw:t of 16.1
per 1,000 for 1858 as comae-- ,v;sh 9.5.2 in 1843.

The Jireekly Register annouuces that a rim ge
to Rome has been organised. A number or Eng' 'ieh (
tholies leave London on the 2.tih inst.