The morning star and Catholic messenger., 1878-02-17
MORE PRISON REVELATIONS.
The following letter has appeared in the
Dublin Freeman:

MIrcHELsrowN Jan. 10. 1873.
Sir The jury sworn to investigate the
circumstances attending the awtully snd-
den death of Charles Mccarthy, one of the
recently released political prisoners, were
astounded at the revelations made by his
companions, Meesrs. Chambers, Davitt and
O'Brien, Of the treatment rfiicted on poor
Mccarthy in the prison helIs of England.
According to the admirable and exhaustive
report of the proceedings whicn appered in
the Freeman, some of the jurors seemed
disposed to doubt the sworn testimony of
the witnesses so incredible did it appear.
To corroborate that testimony Of corrobo-
ration were ueeded), / venture to request
space ia your columns for the following:
On Nav ID h. 1866, the Irish political pris-
oners ga. think, in ally convicted at the
Special Commission held in Cork and
Dublin a few months previously, were
removed from Pentonville to Portland,
chained together in the manner described
at the inquest by Thomas Chambers.
During the journey which occupied several
hours, the warders in charge would not
allow the prisoners to speak q single word,
nor was a single morsel of food given to
men then in robust health, and who had
but scantily breakfasted at six o'clock that
morning. The cells in PentoDville were
spacious and airy, and the political pris-
| onere were removed from thence at least
five months before their time. The change
| was not one for the better, as will be pres
ently shown. On eur arrival at Portland
| we we're thrust into cells, or rather iron
boxes, seven by four, the greater number
of which were dark. O'Donovan Rossa
had a dark cell, so had the present writer,
80 had the majority of the political pris-
| oners, and to that time no complaints had
| been made against them. Two sides OF
| the cells were of corrugated iron a mas
sive unplastered wall, without window OIL
| tokn thn I'D oiG lot
the fourth consisted partly of timber
partition and partly of a door, both strongly
sheeted with iron. The cell door openeG
into lofty hall containing five tiers o.
cells on each side, the entire number o.
cells in the hall being about three hundred
The hall was lighted by largo window al
one end, and also from the roof; its sole
ventilation was through a solitary door
which was opened by day and locked BY
night. 4 small aperture, twelve inches BY
two, beneath each door, was the sole pas
sage through which air WAS admitted to The
cells, aud your readers may judge of tht
purity of that air when they learn tina
during twelve hours of the twenty-fou
three hundred prisoners we're breathing thu
! air locked up in the hall, without AM
communication whatever with the purt
air of heaven! Our cells were flaggeC
with Portland stone, which is of an ex
ceedingly soft nature. When swept every
morning, q cloud of minute particles o
sand arose, and made the already noxiou
air so thick that for considerable time ",
could feel the minute particles of sane
cracking between our teeth. Into tn
majority of those cells a cheering ray O
Gods eunlight never entered. Yet thi
was in one sense an advantage, as We re
mained in blissful ignorance. Then on
} food often contained portions of mice ant
, the entrails of animals, and other disgust
ing appeudages, beSides being general,
filthy. These iron boxes were the abod
of the political prisoners from May, 1866
until Christmas Eve, when, for reason
best known to the authorities, they wer
removed, in the depth of winter, to