The Statesman.
London, England, 1818-08-25 00:00:00

disposed to earn his living by labour, from the long
continued idleneis in which be has indulged doting ..
his imprisonnient. The Keeper saps; that there are ' -
various kinds of useful labour in whith prisoners
could be employed; and Oar Ennuisittee wish ,to
ptese strong ispbh the attention of the Magistrates,
the ithmerrie importance of this great subject. They
'have no doubt, ender proper management; the pri.
.soneri bald be unibled to do meth mote by their
labour towards their daily support ; and efiur Coin.
mitt." are decidedly of opiniori that plenty of pliln
food, such as pod *heaters bread; shodid he fur.
niched to the prisoners • but-that all IndolgenCei be.
yohd that ought to be the result sif thaic nob litho*.
In i' pecuniary point of Slew, a saaterlal *Meg
would thereby be made to she t'oenty ; but limiting '
lon labeler le a house of correction sea Mont regiiidy,
they hove ne hesitation todiclarit it ti be their ..pinion,
that without_ regdlar sod • crintnint ticcepateeti 'heir*
afforded to each prisoner, no reasonable [rife do be
entertained of his amendment.
Fooo. The allowance of food ii if foliose!: end -
pound of the -best wheaten bread a ay, a pint of
good water gruel in the morniiig, sod iis bootie of
meat, when boiled, every other day; and the days
they have not meat, they have a quart of coop each t
the bread is given oat early in the therningi the gruel
at eight, and the meat or soap at two o'clock. The
prisoners ire allowed to porches/ potatoes, Ohl&
are cooked lothe kitchen for them; end their friends
are permiltel to bring whit fbod they please, pro.
'Tided it is dressed; no malt liquor is allowed, stiles.
ordered by the Doctor, viewing to the debtors,
and to the prisoners under tmesatifinatiOn. Your
Committee are informed, that this regulation id Strict.
ly attended to; hot they cannot avoid remarking,
that the quantity consumed in the prison is very
great, supposing only the two classes of pereette
above mentioned are in the habit of purchasing the
same : the porter is brought into the prison three
puncheons at a time, and one of the turnkeyi hag
the sale of it, at the same price as out of doors, tot
the profit of Mr. Shepherd, of Clerkeewell.green.
110SPITAL11.—There are several hospitals in fhbn
prison, and they appear to be clean, well ventilated
and proper accommodation provided for the sick.
On the female division of the prison, a wooden'
staircase has been made on the outside, by which
weans all communication is closed, and the Sorrell
expresses a hope, in which your Committee join,
that if practicable, a similar arrangement may take
place in the infirmariewfor.the males.
Your Committee wish to remark here, thdt there
-12 f*Veeettritag- piece in the prlsonalts which' prbower
en his ordeal con;.be pieced berate ke is eisodnied 'by
tbe.,,Sergeon. At present the tees from 111esigate
are, on their commit Meet, 0111,In a yard with other
primmer.; a practice which 4 its the opinion of year
Committee, it- highly -objectionable. In the. first
place, it is contrary to law; as In all tooms of• cot.
rection a receiving doom ne yard is expressly tom-
mended by the 17 G. 111. c. 74. s. 37: and secood•
ly, the state in which prisoners are committed from
Newgate, renders them liable to introduce disease,
into the prison. The Surgeon says, " They are go.
nerally in a filthy state; indeed so much so, that
their flesh is so much grained in with filth, that we
are under the necessity of potting -them into a hot
bath or slip, and having them washed all over, other-
wise it would be imposaibler to discover whether they
had the itch, or any other disease upon them."
Your Committee have beers informed, that the'
nurse in each hospital -is a prisoner, who gives the
medicines which are prescribed : one of these, a con-
' vict, states, that in his hands are left drags whith„
to say the least, are most hazardous to be so In..
trusted to an ignorant man; vitriolic acid and opium
being certainly medicines which persons who are net
medical practitioners, are unqualified to prescribe.—
On the female side of the prison, your Committee
think a matron ought to be appointed, who would
be a fitter person to direct the administration of the
medicines than a female convict.
• FUEL AND Itants.—The allowance of coals it
stated by the Keeper to your Committee, to be am.
pie; no regular quantity is apportioned to each fire,
but the prisoners have as much as they can burn : at
the same time your Committee think it their duty to
state that they heard from the prisoners some corn.
plaints of the want of fuel, and that they 'offered
severely from cold. The prisoners are shut op in their
respective cells, in the winter, at foot o'clock; mud is
the summer, at eight o'clock in the evening ; they
are not permitted to have the use of candles in their
cells ; none are furnished, and they have no liberty
to boy any ; the lights are all pat out, except those
in the Infirmaries and the Officers' rooms, as soon as
the prisoners are shot up.
CLEANLINtss.—The general appearance of the pri..:
son is remarkably clean, the interior well ventilated.
The small number of sick and the little morality de-
monstrates the healthiness of the situation; the good
discipline of the • establishment; 'and the result is
highly creditable to the 'medical treatment of the
house.
CLoTuirre.--The convict prisoners ere ell clothed
at the espence of the county, ; the males have a
jacket, breeches, shoe., stockings, and shirt ; the
females, jacket, blue petticoat outside, flannel pet-
ticoat underneath, shoes, stockings, and shift. The
Ilisten is changed weekly. This allowance of cloth-
ing is aivee to all prisoners who come in for more
than seven or fourteen days: if those who are thus
committed, excepting the felon convicts, have good
clothing and • linen, they have permission to wile
them) and their linen is washed for: them in the
prison.
laoss.None are ironed except throe who are
committed for re-examination on capital charge' :
your Committee object to this practice of potting risers
in irons, eke are notate committed for trial; the
.