12 MINUTES OF EVIDENCE BEFORE SELECT COMMITTEE Do they most frequently attend him in his visits ; is their attendance the rule, or is it the exception?— They were required to do so by the order of the grand jury ; and I believe that the physician interfered, and said that the requiring the apothe- cary to attend him in his visits would be rather a nuisance than otherwise. Are you aware of the law which directs the apothecary to attend the physician in his visits ?— I am. So far as that enactment goes, the apothecary, in not attending the physician in his visits, does not comply with the law ?— He does not. Are you acquainted with the surgeon of the prison?— I am. By the attendance book, directed to be kept by the last Act, you know what attendance the surgeon has given ?— I do; he has been ill for some time ; he has been ill for two months, and confined to bed. During his illness who attends for him ?— Surgeon Taggart. Have you brought the attendance book with you?— I have not; but I have brought an extract from it. [ The witness delivered in the same.] How often in a week does the surgeon attend ?— I should consider him as attending twice a week, and oftener, if required. Does he regularly attend at those times?— Surgeon Read has been lately appointed, and it has not come to me to make an official return of his attendance as one of the officers, but I believe he regularly attended till his illness. Did surgeon Read's predecessor attend regularly twice a week?— Surgeon Read's predecessor laboured under an infirmity, which rendered him incapable of attending for a year and a half before he resigned. Who attended for him?— Surgeon Stokes. Did either the surgeon, or his deputy, attend twice a week regularly ?— Surgeon Stokes did, most regularly. Are you acquainted with the number of surgical cases which rendered his attendance necessary; were there many ?— The surgeon and the physician make regular weekly reports to me of all the prisoners under their care, and of the prisons. Here are some returns, which I will produce to the Committee. [ The witness delivered in the same.'] How is the whitewashing of the prisons carried on ?•— The whitewashing of Newgate and Smithfield penitentiary, and the bridewell, is done by the prisoners. The whitewashing of the City Marshalsea is sometimes done by the prisoners of Newgate. Is there any charge made for that?— No; I believe it rather goes under the head of Newgate. The City Marshalsea has been whitewashed, and charged for; in some half years there is a charge made for whitewashing that and the sheriff's prison, which is a debtor s prison. Do you conceive, that the present constitution of the grand juries, composed exclusively of the members of the corporation, offers any difficulty to a fair and open competition in the way of contract ?— I conceive that it does not offer any difficulty to the fair competition of contract, because I know that the grand juries have exercised a most judicious choice in selecting those contracts. Are you aware, whether many of the contractors are, in point of fact, connections of the grand jurors themselves ?— I am not aware as to the number. You do not know whether they are or are not ?— No; I have heard that some are. Do you think, that if a contract were to be advertised for by the county of Dublin grand jury, and a similar contract to be advertised for by the city of Dublin grand jury, that there would be likely to be as open competition for the city contract as for the county contract?— I should think so. Who is the Roman Catholic chaplain of Newgate?— The Reverend Lawreace Morrissy. Does he discharge his duty as chaplain in the prison ?— He does discharge all the duties that the law points out, and is very punctual in his attendance. What are they ?— He attends at the distribution of provisions, constantly, and he attends to exhort the prisoners on each Sunday. When he administers his sacred functions, do the prisoners attend ?— In some prisons they do, in others they do not. In