The Irish standard., 1906-06-23

The Dublin Freeman publishes the
following account of Michael Davitts
prison life. 1t was written by tho
Irish hero himself:
Mr.. Duvitt was arrested in Lon
don on the 1ith of May. 1870 From
Saturday night to Monday morning he
was confined in IL darkcncd ccll--in
which there was Il smelling water
closcl-without bed or bedding. and
without light, except when eating his
meals. ON Monday, in Clcrkcnwcll
House of Detention. to which he was
taken he was stripped naked and
himself, "almost too disgusting to de-
scribe" One wardcr watched his face,
while another searched, lest / should
resent the insult" Taken five or six
times before II magistrate, on each re.
turn to prison To be submitted to the
same search in a. state of nudity. 81
governor told him. you must clean
these traps while you remain here
pointing to the water closet traps AND
the other utensils in the cell His bed
ding was Il dirty blanket ana rug and
an unnElttrcSscd hammock. He de-
scribrs his Identification uS follows
when tn" infnrmcr Corydon wns
brought to identify me. | was taken
from the cell in which | was located,
and marched along the ward in sight
of the informcr ana the detectives .;lu
accompanied him ;,nd placed in IL cell
for itlcntilication The "infurmcr" was
then supposed to look through the ii-
| to find me" The instructions he gave
To his solicitor for his defence were de-
t;lincd by the governor on the bogus
ground that he was supposed to have
| been seen drawing Il plan of the pris-
on ON a piece of paper. On the strength
of this suspicion. sensational para
papcrs that another plot to blow up
| Clcrkenwell Prison had been dis
covered. An English partisan, John
Wilson, Il gunsmith by trade. was ar
| rested at the same time. Il may be
| permitted to say again what ] con-
scicntiousIy declared to Lord Chief Jus
sentenced. that Wilson was innocent
Of the crime for which he was found
guilty. This Wilson underwent in part
while John Bright was II cabinet min
lister and Mr.. Gladstone was premier OF
| England.' Mr.. Davitt pending t,in.
was subsequently taken to Ncwgltc
an Irish political offender did not ca,lsc
his punishment to be loss severe on
that account. The trial commenced on
| the 5th of July, 1870. ana ended on the
evening Of the 18th of July, when he
Was sentenced to fifteen years penal
srrvitudc. and Wilson to seven years.
| form. his hair ana beard were closely
| cropped, and he was made to feel, even
in the first few days, that prison life
was "a vcritablc infcrno.' lie was
removed from Ncwgntc to Millbank on
the 29th of July, and he describes the
journey: "Chains were fastened round
my ankles In such Il manner that I
could only stride some twelve or 1lf-
| teen inches when walking, and to en-
sure my Offering no resistance, ! was
| compelled to hold the end of the chain
| with which my feet were bound" Thus
mhnnclcd he was driven from Ncwgatc
to Mllbank. Arrived at Milbank he
was again stripped naked and com-
| PEELED to submit to n revolving search =
| ing OF his body, Il disgusting and al
! most maddcning ordeal Ten months
| were spent i'm Millbank as "prOba- :
tioncr" under these conditions A cell
nine feet by eight, stone floor white
washed wall, no fire, n bcdstcad Of three
pIanks raised above the floor six inches
at the head and three inches at the
foot; the only seat in the day time a
bucket fourteen inches high used for
washing purposes, sitting on which he
was obliged to work picking oakum
ten hours at least each day for ten
months. The effect Of this cramping
posture at work was to reduce his