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RECORD OFFICE
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C.O. 885
4 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
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(i) That the presence of free labour in the gaol allows communication to take place between the prisoners and their friends outside, and that facilities are thus afforded for mutiny and escape.
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(k) That a false security reigned at the gaol, at the time of the outbreak, and that the prisoners were encouraged thereby; that the warders were prohibited from wearing the revolvers supplied for them, and were instructed to retain them in their quarters; and that, at the time of the outbreak, the revolvers were lodged in the magazine, owing to the action taken by the Executive, in relation to its requirements in the Malayan States.
(1) That the Executive should not interfere with the protective force of the gaol on any outside emergency whatsoever.
(m) That the Superintendent of the gaol should be well acquainted with the habits and customs of the prisoners and conversant with the Malay language.
4. In my despatch to your Lordship, No. 169, dated 4th June, 1875, on the system of penal diet, I mentioned that I would furnish your Lordship with further information on this subject, when I received the Report of the Committee appointed to inquire into the causes of the outbreak.
5. Your Lordship will observe that the result of the inquiries of the Committee leads to the conclusion, "that the prisoners had no just cause of complaint either in quantity or quality of diet."
6. Looking, therefore, to the reports on the subject of penal diet received from Ceylon and Hong Kong, copies of which were inclosed in my despatch to your Lordship, No. 169; and looking to the concurrent testimony of the medical authorities here, that the low scale of food supplied does not in any way act prejudicially to the health of the prisoners under sentence of rigorous imprisonment, and subject to it, I see no reason for interfering with the system, as enforced in this Colony.
7. As regards point (e) stated in paragraph 3 of this despatch, I have already informed your Lordship in my despatch, No. 175, dated 11th June, 1875,† that with the unanimous advice of the Executive Council, I released the whole of the European prisoners whose periods of imprisonment had not then expired.
I inclose copy of a letter from the Committee recommending that gratuities should be given to certain warders, and that Warder Lamb should be granted an annuity of 351. sterling as a reward for the valuable services which he rendered in suppressing the outbreak. beg to submit this recommendation, which 1 fully endorse, for your Lordship's approval, I have appointed a special Committee to inquire into the conduct of Gaoler McDonald, who is stated to have quitted the prison at the time of the outbreak, on the plea that he was in pursuit of certain prisoners.
8. l'oint (g), stated in paragraph 3 of this despatch, has been brought forward by the Committee in consequence of my having, very shortly after my arrival in Singapore, raised the question: whether the position, construction, and interior arrangements of the present Criminal Gaol are such as are adapted for the number and class of prisoners there under confinement.
9. Upon visiting the gaol, I could not but be struck with the features prejudicial to safety which exist in all three particulars. These faults briefly enumerated, appeared to me to be as follows:-
(1) The position of the gaol, situated as it is in the midst of Singapore, with its large native population, is most detrimental to the prison discipline of a class of prisoners with dispositions easily excited by the noise and confusion prevailing outside the prison precincts.
(2) The walls surrounding the gaol are, owing to the necessity for avoiding the exclu- sion of air, so low, that the prisoners can, and do, have intercourse with their friends outside, and receive from them tobacco, opium, and even tools.
(3) The buildings of the prison itself are so confined (plan of the gaol inclosed), that in the event of any disturbance, there are numerous spots in which the prisoners could resist to the last. In fact, I regard, at any time, the existence of buildings so cramped together, as prejudicial to the safety of the warders and the security of the prisoners.
(4) The crowded state of the wards is a crying evil. In each of these wards over a hundred of the very worst of characters are crowded together to such an extent that, when sleeping on the benches, they are packed together as closely as possible. The conse- quence is that morality is at the lowest ebb; smoking is preyalent; and plans may be discussed or projects hatched for escape or disturbance.
(3) So difficult would the gaol be to defend were an attack made upon it, that a rising of the prisoners, in connection with a preconcerted attack from without, would, in all probability, entail the escape of the prisoners, the murder of the warders, and the destruction of the gaol, if not further disaster.
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10. I convened and personally attended a special meeting of the Committee of Inquiry into the causes of the outbreak, and expounded to them my views on the subject.
The Committee agreed, upon my representation, that incasures should be taken to remedy the present condition of affairs. I discussed with them the means by which this could be effected, and I gave directions that the scope of their inquiries should be extended to the general question of the position and construction of the Singapore Gaol.
11. The points on which I invited their attention are stated in the first section of their Report, dated 19th August, which I have now the honour to forward.
The Committee have arrived at the conclusion that, should the transport of the lite and long-sentenced prisoners to the Andamans (a point on which I have communicated with the Indian Government) be impossible, it is the duty of the Colony to build a new ghol, suitable for the enforcement of prison discipline, on a new site. They recommend that the site selected should be that on which the Civil Gaol now stands, and that the design in alternative plan (3), attached to their Report, should be adopted.
The approximate estimate for this work, after deducting the value of the site occupied by the present gaol, is 150,000 dollars. The report and plans (the latter prepared in the Colonial Engineer's Office) have been furnished to me too recently to go at present into the details of the proposal, but I am of opinion that the conclusion which the Committee have arrived at is a right one. It is, indeed, in accordance with the views which I myself impressed upon the Committee, and I beg to submit it for your Lordship's general approval.
12. With reference to sections (4) and (i) of paragraph 3 of this despatch, the super- vision, as now carried on, is very superior to that which prevailed at the time of the outbreak. Sixteen military warders are now employed in the prison, in addition to the former establishment. Six of these warders are always on duty during the day and three > at night, whilst those not on duff are lodged with their arms in quarters over the work- yard gate (see inclosed plan). From this position, where they can always act as a reserve, they can command both the work-yard and the native gaol, and would be able to render most valuable aid in suppressing any disturbance that may take place in either division.
13. The prisoners in the work-yard were, at the time of the outbreak, watched by native warders only, and they were not searched upon entering the prison precincts. Now, however, a sentry is always on duty at the work-yard gate, and every prisoner, as he passes through, is searched to see that he does not convey any tool or weapon concealed about him. Three of the six military warders on duty in the day-time are now employed, in addition to the native warders, watching the prisoners in the work-yard, and every precaution is taken to prevent communication being carried on between the prisoners and the free labourers employed in prison and friends without.
14. With reference to the sections (k) and (/), it does not appear to me that the "Executive" should be blamed for the revolvers not being forthcoming at the time of the out- break. From what has been represented to me, it seems that the late Captain Dent directed that arms should not be carried in the prison; he himself was never armed, and the warders were ordered to retain the revolvers in their quarters. In case of an outbreak, therefore, the warders would have to disperse to their quarters, leaving the mutineers in possession of the gaol. The revolvers do not appear ever to have left the prison; and, although I fully endorse the opinion of the Committee that the Sikh sub-warders should never have been under orders to leave the prison, and that on any outside emergency the "Executive" should not interfere with the protective force of the gaol, yet I think that the fact that the revolvers were not forthcoming rests rather on the action adopted by the late Captain Dent than on that adopted by the "Executive." I am not sure, moreover, that it was not preferable that the arms should have been in the magazine than distributed in the warders' quarters, where they were generally deposited.
15. Finally, in section (m) of paragraph 3, your Lordship will observe that the Committee remark that the Superintendent of the Gaol should be conversant with the Malay language.
I may observe, however, that a gentleman may possess the qualifications which would suit him for the position of Superintendent and yet be unable to speak the Malay language. I may mention that this is the case with Lieutenant Hodgson, 1-10th Regiment, who has been holding the acting appointment of Superintendent of Prisons since the,, deccase o Captain Dent. This officer is not conversant with the Malay language, but the general opinion is that he has fulfilled the duties most efficiently, and from my personal observation I endorse this view.
I should state that Lieutenant Hodgson-so he informs me-was offered the appoint-