§ CAPTAIN DONELAN (Cork, E.)I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether any steps have been taken to prevent the permanent concentration of convicts in Dublin which was condemned by a 28 Royal Commission 10 years ago; whether his attention has been directed to an article in The Pall Mall Gazette of 23rd March last, advocating a system of reclaiming waste lands by means of convict camps; and whether he will consider the desirability of adopting such a scheme in Ireland without interfering with free labour?
*MR. JOHN MORLEYI am informed by the General Prisons Board that much has been done to prevent the permanent concentration of convicts in Dublin, which was condemned by the Royal Commission. There are at present only 346 convicts in Mountjoy, compared with 646 in 1884, and the convicts now at Mountjoy are fully occupied in useful industries, in necessary prison work, and in building warders' cottages. There are also a number of convicts employed in building works at Cork and Maryborough Prisons. Since 1884 convict labour has been employed in various ways—for instance, the construction of a hospital; additional cells and officers' quarters at Mountjoy; the construction of warders' cottages at Maryborough; and reconstructive and sanitary works at several other prisons. The question of reclaiming waste land by means of convict camps could not now, I am advised, practically arise, as all convicts eligible for such employment are fully occupied in building at Cork, Maryborough, and Mountjoy, and will be so occupied for two or three years to come. The general question of convict camps is a matter requiring grave consideration, there being serious objections to the plan proposed, which would entail arrangements that have been condemned by some of the highest philanthropic authorities.