Report by the Superintendent of Victoria Gaol.
VICTORIA GAOL,
HONGKONG, 13th May, 1885.
I have perused and considered the Report of the Committee appointed by His Excellency the Governor to enquire into the subject of Destitutes in this Colony.
2. I am as yet so unfamiliar with the general conditions of the Colony that any observations of mine on the general scheme proposed would be useless, and I assume are not required.
3. As far as the suggestions made affect the Gaol administration, there seems to me to be no difficulty in carrying out the arrangements suggested.
4. It must be borne in mind however that the Gaol is already somewhat over- crowded, and may be more so, when it would become highly inconvenient to afford sleeping accommodation to such casuals. I think therefore it would be a much more satisfactory arrangement if sleeping accommodation for such destitutes could be provided elsewhere-perhaps a room for this purpose might be made available in the Police barracks-while their meals would be supplied to them in the Prison.
5. The suggestion in para. 7 that after two days' shelter destitutes should be made liable to work seems to me not sufficiently stringent, and I think it would be better to adopt the practice of English Casual Wards, that every able bodied person who obtains food and shelter should perform a moderate amount of work, say three hours work in the day. The plan proposed of giving two days food and lodging without exacting labour would perhaps tend rather to encourage the idle. Such persons would very likely accept food and shelter only for the two days during which no work was assigned them, and would then leave, to return again for another two days after a short interval.
A. GORDON, Supt. Victoria Gaol.
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