Kentucky Irish American. (Louisville, Ky.) 1898-1968, 1898-07-23
RNGLAND's PRISON BRUTALITY
Irish Political Prisoners Subjected to
the Most Savage Cruelties-A
Scathing Arrangement.

Mr.. Davltt moved the following
amendment: "Where a person is un
dergoing sentence for treason, felony
or high treason, he shall be allowed tc
associate while at work and at exercise
with prisoners convicted Of similar Of
lenses. Such prisoner shall likewise
have the option of wearing his own
dress, and shall also while observing
prison rules be allowed to write and
receive letters and to receive visi,
from relatives or friends at least once
each month while his imprisonment
continues. He said the amendment
was practically the same as that before
the Grand Committee on Law, and
although the amendment on that &C.
casion was rejected by large majority,
yet he hoped that that judgment might
be reversed by the House Of Com
mons. He hoped that the moderation
of his amendment would be one of its
strongest recommendation to the
house. At the present time in Eng
fish prisons burglars, forgers, gar
rioters, thieves, etc., were allowed to
associate together if they were con-
victed for the first time. Therefore,
he was only asking for men convicted
of political crime the same treatment
as was melted out to the class of Of
tenders he had referred to.
There could be only one answer to
the question he was raising, and that
was that political prisoners who hap
pened to be Irishmen were treated
with spirit of vindictiveness unparal-
leled in any other country with which
he was acquainted. When it came to
the Irish political prisoners they were
to be dealt with differently from any
other class of prisoners while under
going penal servitude = yes, the
brutal prison system demanded that it
should have its pound Of flesh. He
also asked in his amendment that
sfreeddhd nave tth hee
option of wearing their own dress
while working out their sentences.
He believed on both sides of the
house it would be admitted his de-
mand was not very extravagant one.
He merely asked that political offend
ers might be saved wearing the badge
of infamy and shame. He also pro-
posed in his amendment that letters
should be permissible to prisoners once
a month, and he did not believe any
member of the house would find fault
with giving this discretion to governors
of the prisons. He believed that if
this course wrs adopted it would have
most beneficial effect on those pris-
oners when they came out of prison.
He mentioned that he himself for
seven years and seven months, while
undergoing penal servitude and OBJ
serving the prison rules, was not al
lowed visit from single friend.
Such treatment under the prison rules
could not have taken place in the case
of burglars, murderers, thieves or gar
rioters, or prisoners convicted of the
vilest offenses. 1t was we'll known
and had been frequently stated in the
House that England stood alone
among the other nations in the vim
dictive treatment of her political
prisoners. In Russia, he asserted, the
treatment of political prisoners was far
more humane than in England. He
concluded by expressing the hope that
the Home Secretary would accept this
very moderate amendment
Mr.. Burns supported the amend
ment.
Captain Norton said the Irish po-
litical prisoners we're treated worse
than political prisoners in any other
country in the world. He did not
think the amendment went far enough.
Mr.. Tully contended that these
brutalizing provisions were meant
solely for Irishmen.
Mr.. Dillon said he did not think he
ever listened to lamer excuse than
that which the Home Secretary had
given in reference to this amendment.
Surely the Home Secretary must know
when he asked for definition of a
political offender that any person con-