§ 12. Mr. GINNELLasked the Under-Secretary for War whether it was with the 1506 concurrence of the Government that a Member of this House, at a time when he had a question on the Order Paper calling attention to the unsanitary condition of Wakefield Prison, after many untried Irish prisoners had been sick and two are believed to have died there, was prevented from entering and verifying the complaints made to him regarding that prison; whether the sanitation is so bad that a Member of Parliament interested in that subject cannot be allowed to examine it; whether this Member is excluded from other prisons for the same reason; whether there are any untried Irish prisoners now in those unsanitary prisons; whether those in them are sick; and whether they will be transferred to healthy quarters as soon as able?
§ Mr. TENNANTYes, Sir; the action taken in refusing to an hon. Member admittance to the Detention Barracks under military control has the full approval of the Government. The hon. Member refused admittance was the hon. Member who puts this question. It has been found necessary to do this owing to the highly improper utterances of the hon. Member when he was allowed the usual privileges granted to Members of this House. The allegations contained in the last six lines of the question are not founded on fact, as has been found to be the case in so many of the hon. Member's previous allegations.
§ Mr. GINNELLIs the right hon. Gentleman aware that the question put on the Paper with reference to Wakefield Prison was based on a letter received from a prisoner there and bearing the mark of the Prison Censor? Is it the fact that no prohibition regarding myself was sent to Wakefield Prison until that question had appeared on the Paper?
§ Mr. TENNANTI am aware that no prohibition was made as to the hon. Gentleman's visits to prisons until he had used the opportunities afforded him in a most improper manner.