§ 13. Colonel WEDGWOODasked the Under-Secretary of State for India whether the penal station in the Andaman Islands is now being used as a convict station, although it was closed down by his predecessor as a result of the Prisons Report on the conditions prevailing there?
§ Earl WINTERTONThe decision to abandon the Andamans as a penal settlement was arrived at with the approval of the late Secretary of State, but it was found impracticable to give complete effect to this decision until alternative accommodation had been constructed in India to accommodate not only those convicts who were to be repatriated from the Andamans, but those who were to be transported to them. It was therefore decided also, with the approval of the late Secretary of State, temporarily to reopen transportation to the settlement, except for certain classes of prisoners. The matter was explained fully in the Council of State on the 17th January of last year. I send the hon. and gallant Member a copy of the statement then made on the subject by the Government of India, if he requires it.
§ Colonel WEDGWOODWill the Noble Lord read the report of the Prison Commission on the Andaman Islands, and can we now have that report published for the information of Members?
§ Earl WINTERTONI can assure the hon. and gallant Member that I read very carefully every word of it in the train the other day. As to the publishing of the report, I will consult my Noble Friend the Secretary of State to find out whether that course is feasible.
§ Sir C. YATEAre not the Andaman Islands about the most convenient place possible for internment?