193701-1932-Supplementary-Bills-read-a-first-time--Opium-Amendment-Police-Force-Prisons — Page 19

Reduction of

imprisonment

portion of fine.

4 & 5 Geo. 5,

c. 58, s. 3.

1524

(2) Such visiting justices shall when visiting prisons hear any complaints which may be made to them by the prisoners, and shall report on any abuses within the prisons or any repairs that may be required, and shall further take cognizance of any matters of pressing necessity and within the powers of their commission as justices, and do such acts and perform such duties in relation to prisons as they may be required to do or perform by the Governor, but subject to the rules with respect to the duties of visiting justices to be made by the Governor in Council.

19. Where a person is committed to prison for non- on paying of payment of a sum adjudged to be paid by the conviction of any court, then, on payment to the Superinten- dent of Prisons, or to such person as the Superintendent of Prisons may authorise, or to the first clerk at a Magistracy, of any sum in part satisfaction of the sum so adjudged to be paid and of any charges for which the prisoner is liable, the term of imprisonment shall be reduced by a number of days bearing as nearly as possible the same proportion to the total number of days for which the prisoner has been sentenced as the sum so paid bears to the sum for which he is so liable: Provided, nevertheless, that the provisions of this section shall not apply to any sum of money which is ordered to be paid to any person aggrieved by way of compensation or amends for any injury, damage or loss to his person or property.

Repeal of Ordinances No. 4 of 1899 and No. 26 of 1927.

20. The Frisons Ordinance, 1899, and the Prisons Amendment Ordinance, 1927, are hereby repealed.

Objects and Reasons.

This Ordinance consolidates and amends the law relating to Prisons. The source of each section and the nature of the amendments are shown in the attached Table of Correspon- dence. The principal amendments are the following:-

1. In section 4 a new sub-section (s.s. 4) has been introduced to aliow of the transfer of a prisoner from and to a prison to and from any place at which his attendance is required for the purposes of any form of statutory procedure, e.g., in the case of a convicted prisoner, for examination at the Secretariat for Chinese Affairs under the Deportation Ordinance, or to give evidence before a Magistrate, etc.

2. Sub-section (5) of section 7 has been omitted, the view of the Superintendent of Prisons being that "a modern prison cannot be run on the 'silent' system. At work, at exercise and in hospital prisoners talk. To prevent them communicat- ing with one another is impossible. Talking in reason is not objected to by the prison administration, and excessive talking can be dealt with under the Rules."

3. (a) In section 8 the latter half of s.s. (1) and the whole of s.s. (2) have been omitted as unnecessary. Except for one or two cells in Victoria Gaol, which are larger than the average and are almost invariably used to accommodate three or more prisoners, the cells are all of much the same size. In the new

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