270
PUBLIC
PECORD OFFICE
Reference :-
C.O.882/12
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- | COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
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A transfer of the school to a smaller building would not produce any appreciable saving. The present buildings although somewhat large are exceptionally suitable, the gardens excellent and main- tained at a low cost. The staff of five Instructors is disproportionate to the present number of boys, but we understand that further legisla- tion on the subject of juvenile offenders is under consideration, and that this may have an effect on the numbers. A reduction of the staff to the extent of one Instructor would be possible if existing conditions are to continue, but we do not recommend it as a temporary measure, if on the passing of the proposed new legislation it will again be necessary to bring the staff up to its present strength.
25. As we do not contemplate any radical change in the prison system, it follows that the cost of the staff cannot be reduced to any serious extent. The total expenditure on personal emoluments is Rs.129,101 for the two prisons; each prison has a Chief Warder with an Assistant and a Store Clerk and there are in all 86 Warders. The number of warders is large, but this is partly due to the 'employment of prisoners outside the walls, and as we consider this form of work to be useful we cannot reduce the number. The rates of pay have been doubled since 1918, but though they may justifiably be reduced by ten per cent. under the general retrench- ment which we propose the rates will not then be more than adequate. Six warders are recruited from the Medical Department and are employed as compounders in the two prisons on a special rate of pay, Rs.900 rising by fourteen instalments to Rs.2,100. This makes an undesirable distinction between them and the hospital warders of the Medical Department, and makes inter- change more difficult; there is no reason why these men should be permanently detached from the Medical Department, from which they must be recruited. It would be better, as vacancies occur, to make the rates of pay correspond with those of the two higher grades of hospital warders, e.g., 2 at Rs.1,080-110-1,512 and 4 at 810-90-1,080 (i.e., on existing scales less the 10 per cent. cut), and to second hospital warders to hold these posts in the prisons; the appointments should be made by the Director in con- sultation with the Inspector-General.
26. The Inspector-General of Police is the Superintendent of Prisons, and he has no Assistant. We see no objection to the com- bination of these two posts, but we think that to make the In- spector-General alone responsible for the detailed control of two prisons is to lay an impossible burden on him. It is most necessary that the Inspector-General should have time for contant inspection of the Police Force and constant contact with his officers and men ; the need for this will be increased by the additional work which we propose to entrust to the Police. The management of the prisons also requires close supervision, and this cannot be left
ment.
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entirely to the Chief Warders, each of whom is only responsible for his own prison and is, moreover, more closely concerned with disciplinary and personal questions than with general organization · and business management. The luspector-General should have a responsible officer who should help him to guard against divergence of standards between the two prisons, and uneconomical manage- We.consider that the best solution will be to appoint a Medical Officer as Assistant Superintendent. At present the Government Medical Officer of Plaines Wilhems is in medical charge of both the prisons and the police, an undesirable arrange- ment inasmuch as he remains entirely outside the organization which provides the greater part of his work. It would be better to second one of the Government Medical Officers, on the scale Rs.6.300-9,000 for service as Assistant Superintendent of Prisons; he should receive no extra pay but, as he should be required to live at Beau Bassin, would be entitled to free quarters or to house allowance. He should be appointed by the Government in consulta- tion with the Director and Inspector-General and should be liable to be reverted in the same way to the Medical Department. He should be responsible for the management of the two prisons, under the control of the Inspector-General and of the Prisons Board, and also for the medical supervision of the police staff in the Port Louis and Plaines Wilhems districts. On medical questions he should refer to the Director through the Inspector-General.
The Inpector-General should remain fully responsible for the proper administration of the prisons, and would exercise his control by close and regular inspection, but he would be relieved by his Assistant of the details of daily management.
CHAPTER IV.-MEDICAL AND HEALTH. The estimated total cost of the Medical, Health and Quarantine Department, under Head 16 of the Budget for 1931-32 is Rs.1,837,165, to which must be added Rs.100,460 now charged to the Improvement and Development Fund for anti-malarial works, under the control of the Sanitary Engineer, whose pay of Rs.9,000 is charged to Head 16, but whose allowance of Rs.3,000 is found in Head 27, item 25. This item is for the chlorination of Port Louis water, a service which is controlled by the Medical Department. General clerks costing Rs.24,000 are attached to the department, and there is also a Medical Accounts Branch of the Treasury which works in the medical buildings and costs Rs. 20,000. The total cost is Rs.1,984,625.
Included in this amount are the cost of certain services (Rs.287,676) which in chapter XIV we propose to transfer to the local bodies, i.e., the water-supply and sanitary services of Port Louis and Curepipe, and the charge of rural cemeteries.