§ Mr. MILLSasked the Home Secretary if he is aware of grave unrest among the staff and prisoners at Dartmoor prison as a result of a rigid application of the silence rule; if, since the appointment of the Honourable Major French, the new deputy-governor, stern military discipline is being imposed by authority of the Prison Commissioners0; if the Commissioners have received a protest from a meeting of the staff and petitions by prisoners against the deputy-governor, whether the Commissioners recently expressed regret to the staff in reference to the matter; whether the chairman of the Prison Commissioners has only visited this prison two or three times during the last 20 years; and whether military methods of discipline are being applied to Durham and Camphill prisons?
§ Mr. SHORTTI am satisfied that the allegations against the deputy-governor to which the hon. Member refers are entirely without foundation and emanate, so far as can be ascertained by careful inquiry, from only a few members of the staff. Discipline at the prison had become slack in some respects in consequence partly of War conditions and partly of the ill-health of the governor, and in the opinion of the Commissioners of Prisons, with which I entirely concur, credit is due to the deputy-governor for his zeal and discretion in circumstances of considerable difficulty. Any regret the Commissioners may have felt with regard to certain incidents that have occurred, was certainly not on account of the122W deputy-governor's methods or behaviour. It is no part of their chairman's duty to visit convict prisons regularly; this duty is specially assigned to one of the directors and to the inspectors of prisons. Discipline is essential for the proper management of a large convict prison, and among a large staff of warders there will always be some who resent it, but I have no reason at all for thinking it has been enforced with too great severity at Dartmoor. At Durham steps were taken a few months ago to guard against the possibility of an attack on the prison, but neither there nor at Camp Hill have any military methods been adopted in the prison discipline and administration.