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ESCAPE OF JAMES STEPHENS. 33
prisons and bridewells; and their other duties, although they are various, comprehensive,
and onerous, as detailed hereafter, are wholly unconnected with the exercise of immediate
powers of government.
Ireland is divided into two circuits or districts, the northern and southern; and each of
the Inspectors General alternately goes round such circuit, and inspects every gaol, bride¬
well, and house of correction situated therein, once in every year; so that in the course of
two successive years both have visited every part of the kingdom. (7 Greo. IV.,
cap. 74, sec. 55.)
They furnish a special report upon the state of each gaol and bridewell, as well to the
Secretary of the Grand Jury of each county as to the Chief Secretary of the Lord Lieu
tenant, together with an annual report, to be laid before both Houses of Parliament,
containing a general statement of the progress of prison discipline in each district.
(7 Geo. IV., cap. 74, sec. 56.)
The number of gaols and houses of correction amount to 40, and of bridewells to 111 ;
and with regard to these latter, it is right to observe, that they consist of three cate¬
gories, viz., " district bridewells" which are minor prisons designed for the fulfilment of
short terms of imprisonment, the limit being four months; " certified brideioells," in
which, upon the fulfilment of certain prescribed conditions, prisoners sentenced for any
period not exceeding " one week," may be detained; and " ordinary hridexoells" in which
no sentence, except for drunkenness, under a special statute, the 24th & 25th Vict.,
cap. 49, can be legally carried out. The inspection of bridewells, it is to be remembered,
is not exacted from the Inspectors of Prisons in Great Britain, but involves here a very
laborious duty, situated as many of them are in very remote and inaccessible localities.
Further, besides their annual inspection, they visit specially and judicially," whenever and
so often, as they shall see fit" every gaol, &c., &c„ and examine on oath all persons con¬
cerned therein, or holding any office or emolument therein, and also all other persons
whom they shall think proper so to examine, touching any matters concerning any such
gaol, bridewell, or other prison, and they report thereon to the Lord Lieutenant " when¬
ever they shall see occasion so to do" (7 Geo. IV., cap. 74, sec. 59.)
They prepare and alter dietary tables for gaols, &c., to be approved by the Executive.
They regulate and determine the establishment of every gaol, bridewell, &c., as to dresses,
beds, bedding, and other necessaries to be rated in respect to its complement of prisoners;
and in case of any deficiency of such articles, they order peremptorily a supply of the
same, to be certified according to the forms prescribed by the Act; an invidious duty,
from which the Inspectors of Prisons in England are exempt.
They are bound to report upon the plans, site, and specifications for the building, re¬
building, alteration, and enlargement of every gaol, house of correction, and bridewell, to
be laid before and approved by the Lord Lieutenant; responsibilities which are vested in
a distinct office in England, that of the Surveyor General of Prisons.
There are many Acts of Parliament, that, for instance, for putting in force tlie " separate
system," which assign various duties and requirements to the Inspectors General; but
sufficient has been already stated to show the extent of their jurisdiction.
Independently of these functions, thus prescribed by different Acts, they have ever felt
it their duty in all cases, in which the Executive has authority over the regulations and
by-laws, voluntarily to give their time and their earnest consideration to the preparation
of amendments, &c. ; in proof of which they have succeeded in establishing throughout
this kingdom, not without considerable labour, an uniform system of books, relating to all
matters of registration, discipline, consumption, and expenditure; thus providing, not only
a coniplete check ujion' malversation, but affording an 02)portunity of comparing the
administration of the several gaols one with another, which is impossible in England from
the diversity which prevails.
They further, throughout the year, keep open and attend, when they are not engaged
in their . parliamentary inspections, and in special investigations held out of Dublin, a
central office in Dublin Castle, while no such duty is imposed upon or discharged by the
Inspectors of Prisons in England.
To this office are referred all communications relating to prison discipline and manage¬
ment, &c., by the Executive, the judicial body, the Boards of Superintendence, Local
Inspectors, the governors and keepers of all gaols and bridewells, necessarily involving tlie
consideration of important legal questions, and the preparation of cases to be submitted,
and a very extensive and daily increasing correspondence, to be attributed in a great
measure to the provisions of the amended Prisons Act, 19 & 20 Vict. c. 68, by which,
inter alia, the Local Inspectors are bound to report quarterly on the state of the gaols and
bridewells under their inspection, the appointments of all gaol officers, &c. These duties,
it is to be remarked, give employment to a considerable department of the Home Office
at a large expenditure, whereas in Dublin the Inspectors General alone perform them.
Again, the Inspectors General are charged with the auditing of the accounts of the
maintenance of convicted prisoners in county gaols, a difficult and responsible duty, in¬
volving the disbursement of nearly 10,000 I per annum, and a duty which in England is
discharged by the department of Examiners of Criminal Law Accounts.
Lastly, they collect the material for the annual gaol statistics, which they publish, with
their report for Parliament.
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