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staff in his despatch 81.75 of the 11th of April 1877. I caused a list to be made of the Turnkeys and Guards employed at the date of his despatch with extracts from the Gaol Books showing any offences recorded against them; and I have the honour to lay a copy of return before Your Lordship.
2.
this
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Though the majority of these Officers had been convicted of drunkenness on duty or of assaulting prisoners, and in some instances fined repeatedly for such conduct, yet I found them all in the Government employment, and constituting the Gaol Staff on my arrival on 15th April 1877.
3.
The demoralization of the Gaol staff may always be traced to various causes.
The theory having been adopted here that no Chinese should be employed on this duty, the authorities appear to have been driven to select such Europeans as had been discharged from ships or turned out of other employment. When I dismissed first-class Turnkey McCutcheon for having within the just nine months been twice guilty of drunkenness and five times guilty of striking prisoners, the latter offence having been committed by him twice since my arrival, the