Mr. O'Donnell, on Thursday, brought a very grave question, •
to the notiCe of the House. He asked if Lord Hartington was aware that the death-rate in some of the gaols of Bengal had risen in 1880 to 220 and 280, and even in one,case 360 per 1,000;. that this was due to insufficieut diet, and that 8,223 prisoness. had beeu flogged for insufficient work. Lord Hartington, in reply, admitted and regretted the facts, and stated that he had culled the atteution of the Government of India to there, which in its turn bad ordered all floggings to be reported, and a special inquiry to be made into the spare diet. Lord Hartingtou should. write more sharply. This horrible abuse has reappeared again. and again, always in the same way, a local official ordering low diet, a general refusal to work, a series of floggings, and a hideous mortality. There was a frightful instance in Guttack, in 1857-1859. We believe the explanation is twofold ; that the prisoners are always below the mark of health, and therefore,
when hard work is exacted on insuffithent food, die off like flies ; and. that . the. native purveyors do manage somehow to take toll of the rations, which are not lower than ryots' ordinary quantities. The remedy is simple. Let the Bengal prisoners do profitable labour, as the northern prisoners do. The super- intendent will then keep them in health ; and abstain from flogging, to make his factory pay. The carpet-weavers of Mirzapore do not die.
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