§ MR. ASHLEY (Lancashire, Blackpool)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether his attention has been called to the numerous cases of enteric which have been reported in His Majesty's prison, Wandsworth, during the last few years; whether he is aware that six cases have been notified this year; and what steps he proposes to take to safeguard the health of the prisoners.
§ *MR. GLADSTONEIt is the fact that some cases of enteric fever of a mild type have occurred at Wandsworth Prison during the past few years, and that during the present year there have been six such cases. All possible precautions were taken on each occasion to prevent a spread of the disease. Inquiry showed that some of the cases were imported from outside, as must occasionally occur in prisons with a large floating population. As, however, there was reason to believe that certain of the later cases originated within the prison, a thorough investigation into their origin has been made, with the result that steps are now being taken to remedy certain sanitary defects which have been discovered, and to reconstruct the old drainage of the prison.