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question of liberating any prisoner until he had served at least two thirds of his time; and that his liberation then would really depend upon himself, - as steady good conduct in prison would be the only means of getting rid of any portion of the last third of the lawful sentence.
Some persons thought that this new rule, or rather the return to the only rule as to the remission of sentences which had been authorized by the Secretary of State, would cause an overcrowding of the prison. Five months' experience of it however has not led to that result.
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5. See Despatch no 126 of 77, 213. Another fact in connection with the number of prisoners now in Gaol is that the Governor's Magistrates, acting upon a minute of the 15th of September 1874, have been committing for trial all cases of second or subsequent felonies. In consequence of this Your Lordship will see in the enclosed returns that twenty-seven out of 387 prisoners are now awaiting trial.
6. Of course if a criminal who has committed a second or third felony gets a proper sentence instead...