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Owing to the very short time the greater part of the prisoners remain in gaol no attempt is made to instruct them; but I believe the services of a warder-schoolmaster to teach those who speak English a simple prayer, morning and evening, would not be thrown

away.

The Chaplain's Reports are appended. Mr. Slater's suggestion of the creation of legal machinery to compel the payment of fines by immigrants who come into gaot wearing jewels and strings of coins, is a valuable one, but the reverend gentleman's proposal to "substitute a few firm blows with a rod over the bare back," as an alternative for impri- sonment in cases of non-payment of fines, will not, I think, find favour either here or in England, however efficacious it might be; nor will the instructions contained in the Secretary of State's circular despatch of the 12th September, 1872, permit the "shearing of women's heads " for breaches of contract under Immigration Acts.

The statement of the Reverend Chaplain of the Church of England that "youths of comparatively tender year's are forced in gaol to associate with those much further advanced in crime than themselves and subjected to the laborious punishment of shot drill, which seems to overtax their strength," is not within the knowledge of myself, of the keeper, or of the Gaol Surgeon who daily inspects the prisoners put to this description of labour, and whose Report on the subject I attach.

Punishments.-376 prisoners were punished in 1874, namely, 106 by solitary con- finement and reduced rations, and 270 by the stocks.

Bakery. The Gaol Bakery supplied :-

Bread as Prison rations..

To the Public Hospitals

To the Alms House

To the Orphan Asylum. .

Sold to the Prison officers

Total, at a cost of 44 cents per lb.

Lbe.

100,802

124,759

30,015

8,926

20,342

293,244

District Prisons at Mahaica and Fellowship.-Prisoners.-The number of prisoners committed to Mahaica in 1874, was 550, and to Fellowship, 635, as compared with 495 and 674 committed to those prisons respectively in 1873. Of these 11 had been convicted once before, 3 twice, and 4 thrice and oftener at Mahaica, and 44 once before, and 9 twice at Fellowship.

They were all male immigrants under sentence for breaches of the labour laws, and were employed at work on the sugar estates in the neighbourhood of the prisons.

The prisoners' carnings at Mahaica in 1874 were 1,052 dol. 55 c., and the expenses of the prison 1,036 dol. 30 c. At Fellowship the earnings were 1,109 dol. 52 c. and the There has, however, been expenses, which are heavier than at Mahaica, 1,985 dol. 68 c.

a marked improvement latterly in the working of this prison.

Escapes. There were four escapes from the field at Mahaica, and 12 from Fellow- ship; most of the prisoners were recaptured.

Sanitary State of the Prisons.-The health of the prisoners at the district prisons has been good. There were no deaths at Mahaica, and only one at Fellowship; the I have to apologise for the delay in sending Reports of the Medical Officers are laid over.

in this Report, but the prison records to be referred to in preparing it were very voluminous, as many as 9,001 prisoners having passed through the gaols in 1874, as shown by the recapitulation at the foot of Return No. 1.

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4. They will patrol the corridors of the brick and wooden prisons, and round the associated warda, frequently inspecting the prisoners in the latter, through the inspection holes, or the gratings.

5. Each night guard on patrol will, at intervals of a quarter of an hour, strike a bell (of which there are three in the warda, each having a different tone).

6. In case of any tathing or misconduct on the part of the prisoners in the cells or rooms, which the officers themselves cannot check, they will at once report to the turnkey on duty, who, if necessary, will call the keeper.

7. The gas in the prison will be lighted from 6 P.M. to 5 A.M. The keeper, the first turnkey, the turnkey on night duty, and each of the night guard, will have a master key, which will open all the locks of the cells and rooms.

8. In case of a fire occurring in the prisons, the first object of the officers is to save the lives of the prisoners, and on the first alarm, after ringing the fire bell, they will repair to the ward in which the fire may be, and unlock the doors of all the cells-proceeding afterwards to unlock the doors of all the other cells and rooms in the same building. The prisoners will be mustered in the yard, and, if necessary, marched in charge of a police guard to the chief police station.

9. On the alarm of fire it will be the duty of the first turnkey and the turnkey on night duty to apply the hose (with which each storey of the wooden prison is now supplied) to the extinction

of the fire.

10. After the safety of the prisoners is assured and they are placed in charge of the police, the gaol officers will assist in putting out the fire.

11. In order that the gaol officers may be trained to the duties detailed above, they will practice once a fortnight, under the keeper, at unlocking the doors of the cells, and using the water

(Signed) J. BRUMELL, Sheriff of Demerara.

hose.

Georgetown, October 16, 1874.

(Return No. 1).-SHOWING the number of Prisoners committed to Her Majesty's Gaol, George- town, their Native Countries and Offences, the greatest and smallest number of Prisoners in Gaol on any one day of the year 1874, also the number of Deaths and Punishments inflicted during the above year:—

Calcutta

Madras

China

Countries.

British Guines Africa

Barbadoes...

Other West Inda Islanda

Madars

America

1,990

| 17 | 1

Europe

Total

...5,07

proaches of the Labour

נק

ཨཝཾསོརཊྛཡཧྨན==་ །སྐྱུ

|1,16

Breach of the Peace.

$ =_==ĒLESK |

Laing Obscene and

Profhao Langongs.

465

349

Petty Thefts.

Branches of Revenue.

8. - - i -5 | Merchant Shipping Act.

St.

(her Ofences under

979

7324

1

441,091 913

17

Civil Proces

* Maliny and Military

1

M.

1,900

148

144

381,910

Lotal.

MER :EPORT 11

|6,090 |1,754 †188

M

Y.

Total.

"

H

Greatest number in any one day of the year, 29th August, 1974 Balical

617

783

16th February, 1874

50

(Signed)

H

Empreme Court.

For Trial.

Inferior Court.

A. F. PILE, Keeper.

I have, &c. (Signed)

JOHN BRUMELL, 'Sheriff of Demerara.

The Hon. W. A. G. Young,

Government Secretary.

January 1.

Moses Patrick April 29. Moonscram May 2. Gopaul

May 31. Jaunky June 22. Dailcah

August 23. Quow Bone

August 23. Rameshur

DEATHS DURING THE YEAR.

Sept. 1. Henry Mayers.

Sopt 5. Bhoosie

October 1. Enayot Nov. 19. Subrutty

APPENDIX.

Instructions to the Officers forming the Night Guard at the Georgetown Gaol.

1. The night guard at the Georgetown Gaol will be under the immediate orders of the turnkey

on duty at the prison.

2. The night guard, consisting of six men, will take their turn of duty as follows:-Three men from 6 to 9 r..; three men from 9 to 12 midnight; three first again from 12 to 8 A.M.; three others again from 3 to 6 A.M.

8. The beats of these officers will be changed every night.

March 7

December 12 December 12

(404)

EXECUTIONS.

Diarrhoea.

Debility.

Pneumonia.

Inflammation of the bowels.

Congestion of the lungs.

Remittent fever.

Fever and epilepsy. Fever and dysentery. Fever and bronchitis. Fever and epilepsy- Congestion of the lungs.

Baany.

Fowdar.

Abdool.

2 G

:::

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

Reference -

C.O. 885

4 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC-

COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO