§ MR. E. H. PICKERSGILL (Bethnal Green, S.W.)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his attention has been called to the observation made in the last report of the medical officer of Aldershot Military Prison that crank labour is worse than useless, being detrimental to the mental and physical condition of the prisoners; and whether he will state in how many local and convict prisons respectively crank labour continues to be used?
§ THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE HOME DEPARTMENT (Sir MATTHEW WHITE RIDLEY,) Lancashire, BlackpoolI have seen this remark of the medical officer of Aldershot Prison. Productive crank labour is in use in nine local prisons; unproductive crank labour, which is being discontinued altogether, as other forms of hard labour can be found to take its place, still remains in eleven. Crank labour is a form of hard labour, and, therefore, not in use as labour in the convict prisons; it is occasionally resorted to, however, as a form of punishment.