§ MR. FLOWERI beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether his attention has been called to the case of an insane prisoner named Edward Cox, confined in Manchester prison; and whether it is a fact that the prisoner had seven, and probably eight, of his ribs broken, that the medical inspector sent down to inquire into the case reported that only one of the man's ribs had been broken, while Mr. Dickinson, a London stipendiary magistrate, after a special inquiry, arrived at the conclusion that seven or eight of the prisoner's ribs were broken; and, if so, what action he has taken with regard to the medical inspector?
§ THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE HOME DEPARTMENTI answered a Question on this case in March last. The medical inspector had no opportunity of examining the prisoner until seven days after the injury. The prisoner was then still strapped up; and, as removal of the strapping was thought to be inexpedient, and the prisoner was unable to give any rational account of his injuries, it was impossible for the inspector to ascertain what the extent of the injury had been. His Report was that he was not convinced that more than one, or at most two, ribs were broken. In these circumstances, I do not consider that any blame attaches to him for failing to discover the full extent of the injury.