( 107 )
A-Oh no. I have always stopped a man for a second if he showed the slightest excitement and then said "go on steadily."
Q-Do the floggers vary the force of their strokes as far as you can see?
A-You see one man prepares his stroke in a different way from another man. He swings it round and I tell him-"Now just give him what you can-a fair, sharp stroke and don't whirl the rattan round your head."
Q-Do they vary the force of their strokes?
A-Oh yes, it varies with a man's strength and experience and so on.
Q-But would one man thrash a prisoner with one force one day and a different force another ?
A-Hardly. Usually in the Indian gaols the flogger is an inferior officer. Q-Do they flog, do you think, with too much force?
A--Sometimes. A heavy stroke makes too much contusion, less by a sharp
stroke.
Dr. ATKINSON-Keeps on one spot all along?
WITNESS-Keeps on one spot.
THE CHAIRMAN-Do they exert their utmost strength ?
WITNESS-No, never in my experience.
Q-Have you ever noticed any difference between the floggers here and the floggers in India in regard to the way the flogging is administered?
A--You cannot get them to flog with the same sharp cut. The Indians bring t down with a sharp cut, and it does not appear to make so much contusion as it does here, but it cuts.
Q-Is there any regulation mode of thrashing or way of wielding the rattan?
A-No. Only the measurement of the rattan is given-4 feet long and about as thick as the base of your forc-finger, so that it is not too cutting and at the same time the blow is severe.
Is there any recognised way of inflicting the flogging itself? Is there any recognised way for a warder to wield the rattan and the height to which he shall raise it ?
A-No; it can only be regulated by the Medical Officer's directions to the warder flogging.
Q-And the way they shall bring it down?
A-No. In the old days, when the "cat" was put on by different warders, it was a relief to a man to have a change. It was a relief for this reason. Say twenty strokes have been given and the second man who comes on may be lighter than the
other.
Q-Then I suppose the way a man wields a rattan varies as much as the way a man wields a cricket bat ?
A-Quite as much.
Do you not think it would be a good thing never to use the same rattan a
second time?
A-They are usually kept clean.
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.