CO885-(2-3) — Page 658

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

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Reference :-

C.O.885

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

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3rd. The prohibition of placing more than one prisoner in a cell.

4th. That cach cellular prisoner should work for a portion of the day in a compart- ment of a shed, thus allowing time for a thorough airing of the cells.

5th. That the shot drill and pingo work should be done under shelter.

6th. That the prisoners should be brought out of their cells at a later hour in the morning so as to avoid exposure to the cold winds prevalent in the carly morning at Welikada during the north-east monsoon.

7th. Increased facilities for bathing.

8. Directions were at once issued that the above six recommendations should be given effect to without delay.

9. The next suggestion of the Commission-that the small-pox hospital should be permanently adopted as the prison hospital, a new small-pox hospital being provided in another convenient locality—has not been adopted by Government.

10. It has been strongly urged upon me, both by the Principal Civil Medical Officer and by the Superintendent of the gaol, that the small-pox hospital is too far distant from the prison to be used with safety, as considerable risk would attend the removal thither of a prisoner taken suddenly ill during the night. It has also been considered that danger of escape would arise from the transfer of prisoners, especially by night, to the hospital, and that sickness would be simulated for the purpose of evasion.

11. A convenient and healthy site having been found close to the prison walls, the immediate construction of a hospital suitable in every respect for the purpose has been decided upon outside of, but connected with the prison by a wall, the small-pox hospital continuing to be made use of pending its completion.

12. Night clothing has also been issued to the prisoners, and the system of locking them up with tubs and chatties for the purpose of easing themselves in their cells has been definitely put a stop to.

13. Having thus put in hand the' remedial measures so urgently required for the improvement of the sanitary condition of the gaol, the next subject which received the anxious consideration of myself and the Executive Council was the question with whom rested the responsibility for the very deplorable state of things shown to have existed for some time past both in the gaol and in the hospital at Welikada—a state of things which went far to account for the absence of efficacious measures taken at once to deal with the unusual sickness and mortality which preceded the inquiry.

14. Dr. Charsley, with whom, as Inspector-General of Hospitals and visitor of the jail, lies the chief medical responsibility, and Dr. Coghill, the Superintendent, having been called upon for further explanation, in addition to their evidence given before the Commission, and these explanations having been carefully considered by the Council, a series of resolutions were adopted on the subject which form the last inclosure to this despatch.

15. It will be seen that the views entertained generally by myself and my Council were that both the Superintendent and the Principal Civil Medical Officer were to blame for not having called the attention of Government earlier to the unusual sickness and mortality prevalent in the jail.

16. That the introduction of sickly patients from Kurunegala and Kegalla Districts, which were exceptionally unhealthy at the time, was one main cause of the outbreak of sickness, but that for this the system in force must be held responsible and not these officials.

17. That the rates of sickness and of mortality were abnormally swelled by the fact of the great bulk of the able-bodied prisoners having been removed to Mannár and Hambantota, while the weak and sickly remained behind; that allowance must therefore be made for the rates of the Welikada Prison having to bear a large proportion of the rates properly belonging to these other localities.

18. That the long-continued poisoning of the cells was another primary cause of the sickness,

19. That the dampness of the floors of the cells, owing to the coir-beating carried on in them; the prisoners having no change of clothes at night; their being kept in their cells for twenty-two hours out of the twenty-four; and the use of chatties and tubs in the cells and wards during the night, were the secondary causes of the sickness.

20. That the situation of the prison and the over-crowding, which upon investigation proved to have been but of occasional occurrence during the last two years, had not been among the causes of the sickness.

21. That the mortality had been aggravated by the overcrowding of the hospital aud its deplorable insanitary state.

2. That a further important cause was the antagonism between the Prison and

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Medical Departments, in consequence of which there was no hearty co-operation (on the part of the Superintendent especially) for the purpose of grappling with the state of things, the prison being divided, as it were, into two hostile camps, one siding with the medical, the other with the prison authorities.

23 And, lastly, the disorganization of the discipline of the prison under Dr. Coghill's superintendence.

24. For the relaxation of the discipline of the prison under his management Dr. Coghill had already been severely censured by the Governor in Council, he being at the same time cautioned that he was the person in fault in respect of the disagreements which even then existed to a most undesirable extent between himself and the Principal Civil Medical Officer and the Medical Officers of the prison; but instead of taking warning by this caution Dr. Coghill's hostile attitute towards the Medical Department remained unchanged; and though there is no doubt that the adage that there must be two parties to a quarrel held good in this case, and that, after a time, the antipathy of the one side was unhappily returned by the other, the principal meed of blame still attached to the Superintendent.

25. Without, therefore, attaching to Dr. Coghill the responsibility for the causes which, in the opinion of the Government, led to the sickness, it was deemed absolutely necessary that he should be removed from the Governorship of the gaol, his unfitness for which had been fully demonstrated during his short tenure of the office.

26. At the same time, and in consideration both of Dr. Coghill's valuable services as Medical Officer of the gaol prior to his appointment as Superintendent, and of the fact that this latter appointment was conferred upon him without any solicitation on his part, and solely on account of the high opinion entertained of his activity and ability, by the late Inspector of Prisons, Mr. Duval, it did not appear to the Council to be a case calling for the extreme measure of Dr. Coghill's removal from the Service; and on the prospect of this officer's re-employment in another department, and of his replacement in the Governorship of the gaol by a properly qualified officer, I shall address your Lordship in a separate despatch.

27. A severe censure was also, it will be observed, passed by the Council upon the Chief Medical Officer for the want of energy and resource manifested by him in dealing with so serious an outburst of sickness. It is, however, but fair to Dr. Charsley to state that there was no want of care and attention on his part; his visits to the gaol were almost of daily occurrence; every ordinary remedial measure in the shape of change of diet, increased clothing, liberal use of stimulants and other medical coniforts were had recourse to; his fault-- and it is a fault for which the chief of the department can alone be held responsible, was in not duly appreciating the magnitude of the evil with which he had to cope; moreover, when it was shown by sal experience that medical treatment was wholly unavailing to check the sickness and mortality which got worse instead of better, in spite of all his efforts, he failed to go to the root of the evil, which he ought to have seen, and to warn the Government that it lay in the condition of the prison and of the hospital.

28. The walls of the prison and, of the hospital were saturated with poisonous exhalations; the infection was aggravated by the continuance of the system of locking up prisoners and patients all night with their dejections, while the great majority of the patients in hospital had to lie on mats on the floor. There was no need to go far to look for reasons for the inefficacy of medical treatment, yet the initiation of the active measures by which the sanitary condition of the hospital was so promptly changed for the better was left to the Commission and to the Government,

29. It is possible that had Dr. Charsley paid less frequent visits to Welikada, his attention would have been more specially attracted to the steady deterioration of the health of the prison and to the necessity for more decisive measures; and I venture to express a hope that in consideration of Dr. Charsley's long and valuable services to the Colony, your Lordship will consider that sufficient notice has been taken of his short- comings on this occasion by the censure passed upon him by myself and my Council.

30. I am happy to be able to report to your Lordship that though there is still a considerable amount of sickness in Welikada Prison, it is showing apparently a steady tendency to decrease, while the number of deaths which during the first quarter of 1872 amounted to fourteen, has fallen to six during the corresponding period of the current year. Much, however, remains yet to be done before the prison can be brought back to that comparative immunity from sickness which it enjoyed in 1870 and several of the preceding years.

31. For example, though for the stricter enforcement of prison discipline it may doubtless be advantageous that long-sentence prisoners should be brought into some