§ 62. Sir C. YATEasked the Under-Secretary of State for India what are the 1196 offences for which men when convicted are treated as special class prisoners in gaol with all the consequent concessions?
§ Earl WINTERTONI would refer my hon. Friend to his own questions of the 27th March, the 11th April and the 15th May and the question of the hon. Member for Newcastle-under-Lyme (Colonel Wedgwood) of the 21st March and the answers to them. The Government of India in making suggestions to Local Governments referred to offenders convicted under the Acts of 1908 and 1911. But certainly in the Punjab and Bombay, and, perhaps, in other provinces also, the order for special treatment is made by the convicting court upon a consideration of various matters of which the nature of the offence is only one. The orders vary considerably, it is understood, from province to province. Bihar is the only province, so far as information goes, where the special treatment is made applicable exactly upon the lines suggested by the Government of India.
§ Sir C. YATEIs there any reason for this special treatment in this case?
§ Earl WINTERTONI have already explained, in my previous answers to questions, at considerable length, the reasons which led the Government of India to make these suggestions. I think those reasons are based on the practice which has been followed in various countries in recent years.
§ Sir C. YATEWill the Noble Lord ask the Government of India to reconsider that?
§ Earl WINTERTONI cannot undertake to do that. It seems to me a matter most essentially which rests within the purview of the Government of India.