Prison labour, &c. : correspondence and communications addressed to His Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for the Home Department, concerning the introduction of tread-mills into prisons : with other matters connected with the subject of prison discipline / by Sir John Cox Hippisley.

  • Hippisley, John Cox, 1748-1825.
Date:
1823
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Prison labour, &c. : correspondence and communications addressed to His Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for the Home Department, concerning the introduction of tread-mills into prisons : with other matters connected with the subject of prison discipline / by Sir John Cox Hippisley. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    its use for more than a quarter of an hour at a time ;* while at the House of Correction at Edinburgh, seven minutes and a half, or just half this period, is the utmost that is risked. III. That in consequence hereof a most distressing thirst, debilitating perspiration, and actual loss of flesh, are often produced, and especially in warm weather, during every successive round of working, short as the period is ; as has been frequently experienced in the Prison in Cold Bath Fields, and is admitted to have oc- curred at Edinburgh -J- and various other places; and that in order to support such exhaustion, a fuller and richer diet has been humanely allowed in several Pri- sons, particularly at Edinburgh,^ and North Allerton.§ IV. That not only severe exhaustion but strains upon the organs and muscles immediately called into exercise, in many cases highly injurious to health, have actually taken place on various occasions, and in the opinion of a large body of physicians and surgeons of the highest rank and respectability who have minutely examined into the subject, are necessarily threatened at all times. V. That in consequence of such straining and over * At Gloucester alone, the prisoners appear to be worked for a longer term than this. + “ It has been thought reasonable and proper to grant an extra allowance of Bread and Beer to Prisoners so employed.” Account of Edinburgh Bridewell by the Prison Discipline Com- mittee., Report IV. P. 71. + “ The Dieting of this Prison probably surpasses any other “ in the kingdom in point of variety and quality. The cost for “ bread alone is sufficient to excite surprise.” Idem. ^ Report IV. P. 71,— and compare with the official Returns from Devon, as also the Letter from the Rev. Mr. Dent, to Sir J. C. Uippisley.