ON TIIE LOCAL TAXATION OF THE CITY OP DUBLIN. 243 of the case required, and the expense of maintaining prisoners in gaol never - amounted to less than five- pence a day, and yet they were extremely ill supplied ; a constant- system of commutation of food took place for spirituous and fermented liquors; illegal fees were constantly taken; and the whole system was one of mal- administration and of wasteful expenditure. Are you satisfied, that all those defects have been remedied in the arrangement of the new gaol?— I conceive that all the defects to which I have alluded, have been remedied in the new prison; and the expense of maintaining the prisoners under the improved system, has been very little more than one half of what it cost the public to maintain them under the old objectionable system of administration. Are you aware what the average number of prisoners confined in the Limerick- gaol may be ?— During the year 1822, the total number of persons committed, amounted to 753 ; the total number of persons acquitted by the verdict of a jury, 317 ; no bills found against 39 ; no prosecution of 216; and those bailed, and not tried, amounted to 14. The average number of prisoners daily within the prison, amounting to 135. Can you ascertain what the expense per diem per man in the gaol of Limerick is, including all the necessary supplies of food, clothing, & c. for each person ?— I am not enabled to give a full answer to that question, but I can inform the Committee what the expense of maintaining the prisoners in food has amounted to; it has been, within the year, 573/. 9 s. d. which would give an average of a little more than l^ d. a day each; the former expense, under the old system, having been always 5 d. What is the description of dietary established in the prison ?— The dietary esta- blished in the county of Limerick prison, is the following: For breakfast, oatmeal porridge, or as it is called stir- about, and new milk ; for dinner, potatoes and sour milk. All the rations are cooked in one common kitchen, and delivered out regularly to all the persons entitled to receive them, and without the establishment of a central kitchen and the delivery of rations so prepared, I conceive it next to impossible to introduce a due system of economy in the supplies of food, or a proper system of internal discipline within the gaol, it being obvious, that if you allow the prisoners to cook for themselves, it is next to impossible to limit them, as to hours and times, so as to enable them to apply themselves to labour of any kind, with the regularity and precision which is necessary. Was there any introduction of animal food in your dietary ?— Animal food is introduced in the hospitals, under medical directions only; and I shall be able to inform the Committee what the hospital expenses have been in themselves. Do the prisoners all retain a vigorous state of health under that system of dietary?— The most perfect; the average number of hospital prisoners never having exceeded three out of 135. Then you are satisfied that with this dietary, introducing animal food for the description of prisoners generally confined in Irish gaols, is not necessary ?— I con- sider it not only unnecessary but objectionable, because I should think it is the first duty of those who manage prisons to take care that those who are committed for offences should not be, in any respect, better provided within the prison than they would be by their own industry out of doors; and the limit of diet which we have always kept in view was, never to exceed the amount or quality of diet which was actually necessary to keep the prisoners in full health. Are you aware what the expense of the hospital establishment in the gaol of Lime- rick is ?— The expense of the hospital diet and medicines for the year to which I have alluded, amounted only to 361. 17 s. d.; and it may be right to inform the Committee how this economy in medicines has been produced; the former expenses for medicines having infinitely exceeded the sum which I have now stated, under the former regulations, we procured all our supplies of medicines from a retail apo- thecary, and the bills amounted to very considerable sums, both on account of medicines, and on account of the necessaries which the apothecary undertook to furnish ; we found that there was no sufficient check upon the apothecary's account by this system, for the only check which is provided by law is by reference to the Apothecaries Hall, which, " from a remote county, and from other circumstances appeared to us scarcely sufficient to counteract the augmentation of expense; we therefore, under the new act, laid in a supply of necessary medicines for ourselves, and have paid a small sum to the apothecary of the neighbouring hospital to com- pound them, and the result has been such as I have stated to the Committee, 549. namely, T. S. Rice y Esq. a Member. ( 31 May,) I ! I .- I I