§ MR. E. H. PICKERSGILLI beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he is aware that at the last Quarter Sessions at Hereford the Chairman, Sir Richard Harington, stated that, at the prison on the occasion of his last visit, he found there was little or no employment for the prisoners in the way of second-class labour, and another Magistrate, Captain De Winton, said that a prisoner in Hereford Prison told him, "I am dying for something to do"; and, if these statements are true, will he take steps to remedy this state of things in Hereford Prison?
§ SIR MATTHEW WHITE RIDLEYIt is the case that, in consequence of the discontinuance of mat-making at this prison, and the difficulty of obtaining work from the agricultural district in which the prison is situated, there was a scarcity last autumn of suitable hard labour of the second class for the prisoners. The Prison Commissioners have now, however, overcome this difficulty, and it is anticipated that in future the supply of work of this kind will be fully sufficient for all requirements.