MR. MAC NEILL (Donegal, S.)I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether it is the fact that the cells of Derry Prison are nine feet by six feet, and that the windows are carefully glazed with opaque glass, so as to exclude the prospect, and are so constructed that they cannot be opened more than three or four inches at the top; whether the walls of these cells being whitewashed, prisoners are forced during the whole period of their incarceration to be exposed to an injurious glare; and, does he propose to take any, and, if so, what, steps to secure the eyesight of the prisoners which is thus endangered?
§ MR. A. J. BALFOURThe General Prisons Board report that the dimen- 858 sions of the cells in Londonderry Prison are as stated in the question, also that the windows are of opaque glass; but that it is not the case that they cannot be opened more than three or four inches. They open inwards from the top nine inches. The cells are whitened, but the Board are not aware of any prisoner being thereby exposed to any injurious glare. The Board see no necessity for altering the existing arrangement. Did any such necessity arise the surgeon of the prison concerned would, in the ordinary discharge of his duty, have called attention to the matter.