HC Deb 14 February 1899 vol 66 c853
MR. M'LAREN () Leicester, Bosworth

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether a male prisoner can by good conduct earn one-third of his sentence while in a convict prison; and whether the same rule has been applied in the case of female prisoners; and, if not, whether he will, in the exercise of the powers he now possesses, give to female prisoners a similar privilege?

THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE HOME DEPARTMENT (Sir M. W. RIDLEY,) Lancashire, Blackpool

A man under sentence of penal servitude can, by industry and good conduct, obtain his discharge from prison on licence after he has served three-fourths of his sentence; a woman after she has served two-thirds. Under the proposed rules, a draft of which has been laid before the House, a somewhat analogous privilege will be allowed to prisoners serving a term of more than six months' imprisonment. In this case men and women will be treated alike.