42 APPENDIX TO TWENTY-FIFTH REPORT OF NOBTH DlSTBICT.
County of Donegal Gaol, at Lifford.
Dietary.
Books and Accounts.
Officers and Salaries.
'Dietary.
Breakfast—Eight ounces oatmeal stirabout and one pint buttermilk.
Dinner—One pound bread and one pint new milk.
Prisoners take their meals in day-rooms.
Books and Accounts.
The proper books and accounts are very well kept, and judicious checks placed upon the expenditure.
All accounts are regularly laid before the Board of Superintendence at their monthly meetings, when orders are issued for payment, after strict investigation into each item.
Officers and Salaries.
Rev.
E.
M.
Clarke, Local Inspector,
Do.,
Protestant Chaplain, Rev.
W.
M'Crea, Presbyterian do.,
Rev.
W.
Brown, Roman Catholic do.,
30 Mr.
"William Fenton, Governor, John Birnie, 1st Turnkey, William Colhoun, 2nd do.,
James Shorkey, 3rd do.,
Patrick M'Fall, 4th do.,
£ s.
d.
100 0 0 30 0 0 30 0 0
, 30 0 0 150 0 0 40 0 0 30 0 0 30 0 0 20 0 0
James Baird, 5th Turnkey, Andrew Robinson, 6th do.,
David M'Namin, Schoolmaster, Jane Ash, Matron, Mary Birnie, Hospital Nurse,
.
Apothecary,
£ 5.
d.
20 0 0 20 0 0 25 0 0 30 0 0 10 0 0 15 0 0 560 0 0
Hospitals.
Lunatics.
Bridewells.
Officers on gaol allowance.
Governor, 6 Turnkeys, Schoolmaster, and Matron.
The male sub-officers all wear a well arranged uniform dress.
Visits paid by Officers during past year.
Local Inspector, 151 Roman Catholic Chaplain, 113 Protestant Chaplain, ] 151 Surgeon, 134 Presbyterian do.,
121
Hospitals.
There is both a male and female hospital—one in the centre of the new or male part of the prison, the other in part of the old gaol, upon which I have before observed.
Medicines are bought in Dublin and compounded in surgery by Apothecary, who receives £15 per annum, and attends regularly to follow up the directions of the Surgeon.
Lunatics.
The male lunatics, seventeen in number, are extremely well attended to, and comfortably clad.
They have a turnkey and two orderlies (prisoners) to take care of them, and every kindness shown to them that their deplorable condition calls for.
The female lunatics are-also well attended to, notwithstanding that tho Matron has no assistant, who, although she cannot devote the time she ought to the other heavy duties devolving upon such an officer, never neglects the helpless and too often unheeded lunatics.
Board of Superinten¬ dence.
Sir Edmond Hayes, bart.
Sir James Steuart, bart.
Rev.
William Knox.
James Johnston, esq.
Board of Superintendence.
John V.
Stewart, esq.
Alexander R.
Stewart, esq.
Francis Mansfield, esq.
William Fenwick, esq.
Johnston Mansfield, esq.
Benjamin Geale Humphry, esq-William Sinclair, esq.
Robert Geo.
Montgomery, esq.
General observations.
The Board meet the first Monday in each month, and at other times when required.
General Observations.
I have said so much in my preliminary remarks, that little remains to comment upon.
It has been stated to me by the Governor, that this gaol (and consequently the county of Don¬ egal) is_peculiarly circumstanced with respect to debtors, owing to Lifford, the county town, being situated so near the populous town of Strabane, in the county of Tyrone, and from which fact it is supposed that many debtors, having their homes, or families living, in Strabane, prefer being imprisoned in Lifford, not one mile distant, to that of Omagh, fifteen miles.
I allude to this matter merely to bring it before the proper authorities, who will, doubtless, take such measures to correct the evil as common justice suggests.
I am informed that there is a sort of nondescript lunatic prison or ward, or any other name such a place deserves, situated under the court-house, which, doubtless, will be attended to by those now more par¬ ticularly placed over lunatic asylums; in this there are throe males and four females.
Bridewells.
Donegal, Glentees, Letterhenny, and Buncrana, all of which, the very active and zealous Local Inspector reports to me, are in very good order; but a severe and dangerous illness prevented me, in so inclement a season, from visiting them.
A prisoner is reported to have escaped from Letterkenny bridewell some months since, but I find that an efficient turnkey has been sent from the county gaol to replace the one from whose charge the prisoner effected his escape.
Edward Cottingham, Inspector-General.
