The Sun.
London, England, 1868-02-28 00:00:00

MIDDLESEX SESSIONS.—Feb. 27.

The February sessions for the transaction of
county business was held to-day at Clerkenwell ;
Mr. Pownall in the chair.
THE HOUSE OF CORRECTION AND THE HOME
SECRETARY. _ _

Mr. Nicholson, the Clerk of the Peace, read the
following letter from the Home Secretary as to the
condition of the House of Correction, Coldbath-
fields :

" Horne-office, Whitehall, Jan. 13, 1868.
" Sir—l am directed by Mr. Secretary Hardy to
acquaint you for the information of the Court of
Quarter Sessions for the county of Middlesex, that
it appears by reports which have been submitted
to him by the Inspectors of Prisons that no effec-
tual measures have been taken for rendering the
county prison of Coldbath-fields efficient under the
provisions of the Prison Act, 1865, and that de-
fault has been made in this prison in not complying
with the requisitions of the said act in the fol-
lowing r espects—namely, the number of certified
cells is still far from sufficient for the number of
prisoners. I am, therefore, to request that the
Court will furnish Mr. Hardy with any explana-
tion which it may have to offer on the subject, and
to add that, unless some satisfactory reason is as-
signed for non-compliance with the provisions of
the law in regard to this prison, he will feel it to
be his duty t..) certify such default to the Lords
Commissioners of her Majesty's Treasury, in order
that no contribution shall henceforth be paid out
of moneys provided by Parliament towards the ex-
penses of maintaining any prisoners in such pri-
son until it has been brought into conformity with
the requisitions of the said act.—l am, sir, your
obedient servant,
" ADOLPHUS F. 0. LIDDELL.
" The Clerk of the Peace for the County of

Middlesex, Sessions-house, Clerkenwell-green."
Mr. KEMSIIEAD said this communication was not
very courteous to the magistrates of this county,
and he thought it would have been well had they

been first asked what they proposed to do—any-
thing or nothing—before such a threat had been
held out to them.

Mr. TURNER thought these observations unjust,
as there was a large expenditure then going on in
this prison ; and the magistrates of the county had
neither stinted their own trouble nor the money of
the ratepayers to effect this object.

The communication was referred to the Commit-
tee of Visitors of Coldbath-fields Prison for consi-
deration and report.

THE LATE FENIAN OUTRAGE IN CLERKENWELL.

The following communication was received from
the Secretary of State for the Home Department,
containing suggestions for securing prisons from
attacks from without :

" Whitehall, Feb. 12, 1868.

" Sir,—l am directed by Mr. Secretary Hardy to
transmit to you the accompanying suggestions for
more effectually securing prisons against attacks
from without, and I am to request that you will
submit the same to the next Court of Quarter, Ge-
neral, or Gaol Sessions for your jurisdiction, with
Mr. Hardy's recommendation for their adoption, so
far as the Court may consider them applicable to
existing circumstances or necessary for the object
in view.

" I am, Sir, your obedient servant,
" ADOLPHUS F. 0. LIDDELL.
" The Clerk of the Peace for the County
of Middlesex.
"Suggestions for more effectually Securing Prisons
against Attacks from Without.

" Precautions for this purpose are applicable to
two conditions :

" 1. Where a military guard is stationed. —ln
this case the period of relief, the distribution of the
force, the posting of the sentries, the piercing of
loopholes for musketry, &c., must depend upon the
judgment of the military officer in command; the
division of supervision, upon the agreement at which
the civil and military authorities may jointly arrive.
The portions of the prison more immediately en-
trusted to the protection of the military should be
defined and distinguished.
" 2. Where no military assistance is called for,
or where the military guard is kept in reserve.—
In this case the following precautions are recom-
mended :

" The space between the outer gate and the
prison door should be made more secure by the ad-
dition of an inner open iron gate, or safety gate, as
it is usually termed.
" A door of iron, or of wood plated with steel,
should in all cases be placed on the prison side of
the governor's private door of entrance.
" All windows giving upon points without the
prison walls should be strongly barred internally,
and, if possible, provided with iron shutters readily
closed.

" The drains should be carefully barred in diffe-
rent places, and examined daily.
"The prison should be provided with reflecting
lamps and tin candlesticks, kept in good order, and
regularly inspected, in a place readily accessible.
"The interior of the prison should be invariably
kept securely closed, the yards or spaces inter-
vening within the exterior walls being regarded as
altogether outside of the prison itself ; and the ad-
mission of strangers into these yards or spaces
without a NN ritten order should be forbidden.

" Where firearms are in possession of the prison
authorities they should be kept within the interior
prison, unless actually in the hands of officers on
duty, and then loaded.
" In case of an actual assault being apprehended,
and when the outer grounds of the prison are of
considerable size, the force of warders, &c., should
be kept within the prison, and those without be
withdrawn to the interior on the first alarm. The
force should not be weakened by patrols without
the external walls, but should be told off to sta-
tions from which all points between those walls and
the prison can be best commanded."

Mr. N. LAURIE thought it was extremely com-
plimentary on the part of the Home Secretary that
such precautions should be brought under the no-
tice of the magistrates.
Mr. PAYNE thought it would have been well if at
the same time suggestions had been made for the
protection of the outside of the prison.
This communication was referred to the visiting
justice 3 of the prisons.