§ SIR WALTER GREENE (Bury St. Edmunds)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he can state how many pauper alien lunatics are known to be at present maintained at public expense within the Metropolitan area, and whether there has been any, and what, increase in the number of such persons during the last five years; and whether he can state how many alien convicts are at the present time confined in convict prisons, and whether he can state the number of aliens who were during the year 1903 confined in local prisons.
§ MR. COCHRANEInquiry is being made as regards the pauper alien lunatics, and if the information desired can be obtained it will be communicated to the hon. Member. The number of aliens in convict prisons on 23rd April, 1904, was; 182. The number confined in local prisons on conviction during the year ended 31st March, 1903, was, 3,449. These are the latest dates for which information is available; and it is impossible to obtain fresh statistics without an exanrnation c f the prison records, which would involve considerable time and labour.