§ MR. O'DOWD (Sligo, S.)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department to state the scale of salaries, dietary, rules of boarding, etc., at present applying to assistant matrons employed in English prisons; and will he say why, in case these conditions do not apply to Ireland, a uniform scale should not be adopted applicable to the assistant prison matrons of both countries.
§ *MR. AKERS DOUGLASThe scale of pay for assistant female warders in English prisons is £50, rising by £1 10s. a year to £65 in convict prisons and £45, rising by £1 to £50 in local prisons. Official quarters are provided in the prisons, with a fixed amount of free washing, and fuel and light. The officers board themselves, though they are allowed to have their food cooked by female prisoners. I can give no opinion with regard to Ireland, where the prisons are not under my control; but I can understand that the circumstances may differ so much as to make uniform rules as to these matters in the two countries unnecessary, if not impossible.