§ MR. HENRY J. WILSON (Yorkshire, W.R. Holmfirth)I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether he is aware that a recent order of the Irish Prisons Board obliges warders to wear prison uniform when off duty; whether he will state the number of hours weekly that Irish prison warders are engaged on duty, and how long in each week they are engaged on night duty and day duty respectively; whether Irish prison warders are entitled to any half-holiday except after night guard, and when they have been on duty for 16 hours continuously; whether it is a fact that warders in English prisons are allowed to wear plain clothes when off duty, and to have a half-holiday weekly; and, whether he 1815 will consider the desirability of extending to the warders in Irish prisons the same treatment in these respects as that now given to warders in English prisons?
§ THE CHIEF SECRETARY FOR IRELAND (Mr. A. J. BALFOUR,) Manchester, E.The General Prisons Board report that the recent order of the Irish Prisons Board is simply a renewal of similar instructions which were issued in February, 1879, and which it was found had, in some instances, come to be disregarded in practice. The hours of duty necessarily vary in different prisons according to circumstances. But the average number of hours of actual duty per week is about 82, of which 9 hours are night duty and 73 hours day duty. In most of the prisons the warders get a half-holiday on every second Sunday and prison holiday, in addition to the day after night guard. The period of 16 hours' duty alluded to includes intervals of about 2½ hours for meals. In both England and Ireland the practice of wearing plain clothes appears to be confined to cases where officers are on general leave of absence. There is no general half holiday allowed weekly in England, and only in the case of a public works convict prison in England are some of the officers relieved early on Saturday.