Part 35

“_Bedding._—In many gaols, and in most bridewells, there is no allowance of _bedding_ or straw for prisoners to sleep on; and if by any means they get a little, it is not changed for months together, so that it is offensive and almost worn to dust. Some lie upon rags, others upon bare floors. When I have complained of this to the keepers, their justification has been: ‘the county allows no straw; the prisoners have none but at my cost.’”

Since Howard succeeded in gaining national attention to the condition of prisoners, the evils of prison management have been removed. A large proportion of the prison population is taken from the worst regulated and most confined neighbourhoods, which have been the subject of examination; and, with the view to judge what might be effected by sanitary regulations, I have made frequent inquiries as to the effects of sanitary measures on the worst class of persons, the larger proportion of whom are taken from the worst neighbourhoods, that is, as to the effects of living in the same atmosphere, on a less expensive diet than that of the general labouring population, but provided with clean and tolerably well-ventilated places of work and sleeping-rooms, and where they are required to be cleanly in their persons.

I have obtained through Mr. Hill, the prison inspector of Scotland, an accurate return of the number of days which the prisoners had been absent from labour on the ground of ill health in the celebrated prison at Glasgow, where the separate system of confinement has been tried (Return No. 1); a similar return from the Edinburgh prison, (No. 2). I also obtained a careful examination of the amount of sickness prevalent amongst the prisoners at Salford prison, (No. 3). The average cost of the diets, (principally vegetable,) at Salford, varied from 1_s._ 4_d._ to 1_s._ 6_d._ per week; at Edinburgh, 1_s._ 9_d._ per week; and at Glasgow, 1_s._ 7_d._ per week. _Vide_ Appendix.

The medical practitioners, who are well acquainted with the general state of health of the population surrounding the prisons concur in vouching to the fact, upon their own knowledge, that the health of the prisoners is in general much higher than the health almost of any part of the surrounding population; that the prisoners, as a class, are below the average of health when they enter the prisons; that they come from the worst neighbourhoods; that many of them come from the lodging-houses, which, in those towns, as will be shown, are the constant seats of disease; that they are mostly persons of intemperate habits; that many of them come in in a state of disease from intemperance and bad habits; and notwithstanding the depressing influence of imprisonment, the effect of cleanliness, dryness, better ventilation, temperance, and simple food, is almost sufficient to prevent disease arising within the prison, and to put the prisoners in a better working condition at the termination than at the commencement of their imprisonment. At the Glasgow bridewell, the prisoners are weighed on their entrance and at their discharge, and it is found that, on the average, they gained in weight by their imprisonment.[33] At Edinburgh, there were instances of poor persons in a state of disease committed from motives of humanity to the prison, that they might be taken care of and cured. The tables are to be taken as showing imperfectly the comparative effects of the different circumstances; because, when a labourer is obliged to leave work he loses wages; and it is known of large classes of them, that they often work improvidently and injuriously to their chances of recovery by continuing at work in impaired health too long; the prisoner, on the contrary, by absence on the sick list, gains ease and exemption from slave labour; and the officers have constantly to contend against feigned sickness to avoid task-work and punishment. It should also be noted that a large proportion of the sickness of the prisoners is of a character that is excluded from all tables of insurance, from the benefit societies as being specially excluded from their benefits. The numbers imprisoned at the lower ages, or above 36 years of age, were too few to form any comparison:—

┌────────┬─────────────────────────────┬──────────────────────────────────┐ │ │ Average Annual Sickness of │ │ │ │ Male Prisoners in the │ Labourers and Operatives. │ ├────────┼─────────┬─────────┬─────────┼───────────┬───────────┬──────────┤ │ │ │ │ │ │ No. 5. │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ Average │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │duration of│ │ │ │ │ │ │ No. 4. │ Sickness │ No. 6. │ │ │ No. 1. │ No. 2. │ No. 3. │Employed in│ per annum │ Males of │ │ │ Glasgow │Edinburgh│ Salford │East-India │ of every │ Families │ │ │ Prison. │ Prison. │ Prison. │ Company’s │ person │ in Wynds │ │ │ │ │ │Warehouses.│employed in│ of │ │ │ │ │ │ │ Cotton │Edinburgh.│ │ │ │ │ │ │ Factories │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ of │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │Lancashire.│ │ ├────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┼───────────┼───────────┼──────────┤ │ AGE. │ Days & │ Days & │ Days & │ Days & │ Days & │ Days & │ │ │Decimals.│Decimals.│Decimals.│ Decimals. │ Decimals. │Decimals. │ │Under 16│ │ │ │ │ │ 3·5│ │ Years │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │16 to 21│ 3·05│ 4·01│ 3·10│ 4·02│ 4·42│ 2·3│ │21 to 26│ 1·83│ 2·04│ 1·64│ 5·40│ 4·91│ 5·1│ │26 to 31│ 2·65│ 2·33│ 2·72│ 4·49│ 6·88│ 11·0│ │31 to 36│ 2·83│ 3·10│ 2·63│ 4·55│ 3·85│ 8·3│ │36 to 41│ 9·00│ 5·10│ ·85│ 5·57│ 4·13│ 4·1│ │41 to 46│ ·49│ 2·75│ ·51│ 5·18│ 5·69│ 15·1│ │46 to 51│ │ │ │ 5·43│ 7·18│ 30·0│ │51 to 56│ │ │ │ 6·80│ 3·47│ 16·2│ │56 to 61│ │ │ │ 7·21│ 12·68│ 30·4│ │61 to 66│ │ │ │ 10·24│ │ 42·7│ │66 to 71│ │ │ │ 9·93│ │ 64·2│ │71 to 76│ │ │ │ 10·60│ │ 41·0│ │76 to 81│ │ │ │ 12·67│ │ 83·6│ └────────┴─────────┴─────────┴─────────┴───────────┴───────────┴──────────┘

┌────────┬─────────┬─────────┬──────────┐ │ │ │ │ No. 8. │ │ │ │ │ Average │ │ │ │ │ Annual │ │ │ │ No. 7. │ Sickness │ │ │ │ Average │ of │ │ │ │ Annual │provident │ │ │ │Sickness │portion of│ │ │ │ of │ Working │ │ │ │ Members │ Classes │ │ │ │ of │throughout│ │ │ │ Benefit │ Great │ │ │ │Societies│ Britain, │ │ │ │ in │according │ │ │ │Scotland.│ to the │ │ │ │ │experience│ │ │ │ │ of Mr. │ │ │ │ │Finlaison.│ ├────────┼─────────┼─────────┼──────────┤ │ AGE. │Years of │ Days & │ Days & │ │ │ Age. │Decimals.│Decimals. │ │Under 16│ │ │ │ │ Years │ │ │ │ │16 to 21│ 18│ 2·5│ 5·18│ │21 to 26│ 23│ 3·8│ 6·75│ │26 to 31│ 28│ 4·6│ 6·78│ │31 to 36│ 33│ 5·6│ 6·33│ │36 to 41│ 38│ 6·2│ 7·86│ │41 to 46│ 43│ 8·8│ 9·02│ │46 to 51│ 48│ 9·1│ 11·76│ │51 to 56│ 53│ 14·8│ 16·77│ │56 to 61│ 58│ 17·8│ 23·57│ │61 to 66│ 63│ 20·0│ 33·22│ │66 to 71│ 68│ 36·0│ 61·22│ │71 to 76│ 73│ 38·6│ 101·44│ │76 to 81│ 78│ 70·9│ 164·72│ └────────┴─────────┴─────────┴──────────┘

The total number of male prisoners in the three prisons from which the returns were compiled was 7,328; of which number, in the Glasgow prison there were 1,796, in the Edinburgh prison 1,256, and in the Salford prison 4,276 prisoners. The columns inserted in the above table from the prisons give only the amount of sickness prevalent amongst the males. The returns which are given in full in the Appendix contain the amount of sickness prevalent among the female prisoners also.

The information as to the actual amount of sickness prevalent amongst the labouring classes is at present extremely defective for the purposes of insurance. One of the most authentic tables is that compiled by Dr. Mitchell, from returns we obtained under the Factory Commission of Inquiry, of the experience of sickness amongst the labourers employed by the East India Company in their warehouses in London. The experience was from 2461 workmen employed during ten years. (Return No. 4.)

This is a highly favourable table, inasmuch as the men were, in the first instance, select, nearly as much so as recruits in the army; care was also taken to give men who became infirm such labour as they could perform without exertion; but, above all, they had the benefit of medical advice without any expense, and being thereby induced to make early application, disease was cut short at once on its first appearance. Moreover, they were not allowed to return to work until they had a medical certificate of their cure.

Another table (No. 5) given is one of the amount of sickness experienced by the male operatives in the cotton mills in England, also deduced from the returns directed to be made under the Factory Commission of Inquiry. But these returns do not include the experience of the mills in Manchester, which was not collected by the district commissioners.

The table (No. 6) is that made up by Mr. Tait, surgeon, from his inquiries of the experience of sickness in the wynds of Edinburgh.

The next table (No. 7) is made up from the experience of benefit societies in Scotland, subsequent to the experience tables which were compiled by the Highland Society; but this is the experience of a select class, which appears to me to be too favourable for general use in Scotland.

The next table (No. 8) is one in use by Mr. Finlaison, the actuary at the National Debt Office, prepared from various sources of information. It has been tried by the experience of a large benefit society in Bethnal Green, and the allowance for sickness was found to be low as compared with the sickness occurring amongst the labouring classes in that district.

The account given by Mr. Tait, of his investigation of the sickness which had prevailed amongst 335 persons in 180 families, exhibited in column No. 5, is as follows:—

“The parts visited may be considered a fair specimen of the Edinburgh wynds and closes. They consist of Gillon’s and Gibb’s Closes, Canongate, Blackfriars’ Wynd, Bremot’s and Skinner’s Closes, High Street, and Meal-market Stairs, Cowgate. The drainage of all these places is bad; the sewers are without exception open, and those in Gillon’s and Gibb’s Closes being nearly on a dead level, keep these places constantly in a filthy condition. The poverty of the inhabitants who reside in Gibb’s Close, especially, is also extreme, five out of seven families living in apartments without furniture. The ventilation in general is also bad: several apartments are so close that it is difficult for a person when he first enters them to breathe. In several instances I had to retreat to the door to write down my notes, as I found the stench and close atmosphere produce a sickening sensation which, on one occasion, terminated in vomiting. Although some of the apartments visited were tidy and clean, in general they were the reverse. It is impossible to conceive or describe the filthy condition of some of them. Many of them were very small, and others rather capacious, considering the quantity of furniture they contained. The diseases mentioned were such as to throw the persons affected out of employment. There were many cases of slight and continued ailment of which no notice was taken. No case of rheumatism was taken down unless so severe as to lay the person entirely off work.

“About 180 families were visited, but only 117 of them had been one year and upwards in their present dwelling: all the cases of sickness occurred between Martinmas, 1840, and Martinmas, 1841, and none of the patients,” _i. e._ of whom any account was taken, “were under ten years of age,” those under that age being intentionally excluded.

Mr. Hill states, that he has no doubt the results, which will be apparent from the examination of the several tables which are placed in juxta-position, would be corroborated by similar returns obtained from other well-regulated prisons in Scotland. The returns from the prisons in England up to the year 1834–5 (which do not, however, give the days of sickness, but only the number of prisoners attacked with sickness during the period for which the return was made) further corroborate these results. Even in the Milbank Penitentiary, the situation of which is insalubrious, the average annual amount of sickness to the prisoners who are confined two years and a half is only about eight days to each person, which, for the average ages, is little above the standard obtained from the experience of the East India Company’s labourers. The sickness amongst the metropolitan police is about 10½ days per annum for each of the force, 2¾ per cent. being constantly on the sick-list. The sickness in the army is on the average 14½ days each soldier. Mr. Finlaison informs me he can venture to state, that were any benefit society to use scales of premiums founded on the prison experience, they would inevitably be insolvent in less than three years.

M. Villermé has shown the diminution of mortality that has taken place in the prisons of France, chiefly from stricter attention to cleanliness, ventilation, and diet, to be equally striking. At Lyons, from 1800 to 1806, the annual mortality in the prisons was 1 in 19; from 1806 to 1812, it was 1 in 31; from 1812 to 1819, it was 1 in 34; and from 1820 to 1826, 1 in 43: a similar amelioration has also been remarked in the prisons of Rouen, and some other large towns in that kingdom.

The following is a summary return of the diseases of the duration of each, amongst the population of the wynds, examined by Mr. Tait:—

┌───────────────────────────┬──────┬────────┬───────┬────────┬────────┐ │ NATURE OF DISEASE. │No. of│Average │No. of │ No. of │ No. of │ │ │Cases.│duration│Deaths.│Families│Persons │ │ │ │ of │ │visited.│visited.│ │ │ │Disease.│ │ │ │ ├───────────────────────────┼──────┼────────┼───────┼────────┼────────┤ │ │ │ Weeks. │ │ │ │ │Disease of Lungs │ 23│ 5½│ 1│ 117│ 335│ │Rheumatism │ 9│ 9│ │ │ │ │Accidents │ 9│ 4½│ │ │ │ │Erysipelas │ 3│ 8│ │ │ │ │Inflammation of Throat │ 3│ 5│ │ │ │ │Fever │ 15│ 5¼│ 1│ │ │ │Palsy │ 4│ │ 1│ │ │ │Dropsy │ 1│ 7│ │ │ │ │Disease of Liver │ 1│ │ │ │ │ │Jaundice │ 1│ 4│ │ │ │ │Carbuncle │ 1│ 5│ │ │ │ │Affection of Urinary Organs│ 1│ 17│ │ │ │ │Acute affection of Brain │ 2│ 3│ 1│ │ │ │Small-pox │ 2│ 5│ 1│ │ │ │Opthalmia │ 1│ 6│ │ │ │ │Whitlow │ 1│ 3│ │ │ │ │Lumbago │ 2│ 7│ │ │ │ │Eruptive disease │ 1│ 9│ │ │ │ │Inflammation of Stomach │ 1│ │ │ │ │ │Ague │ 1│ 4│ │ │ │ │Abscess of Loins │ 1│ 5│ │ │ │ ├───────────────────────────┼──────┼────────┼───────┼────────┼────────┤ │ Total │ 83│ │ 5│ 117│ 335│ └───────────────────────────┴──────┴────────┴───────┴────────┴────────┘

It may be safely pronounced that if such an amount of sickness were known to prevail in a prison containing between 300 and 400 prisoners, the circumstance would excite public alarm and attention.

Any of the preceding tables of the lower amounts of sickness may be taken as practicable standards of the extent to which it were possible, by the removal of the causes of disease, to bring the health of the labouring population.

I may here observe, that the tables of sickness above referred to exhibit the very unsatisfactory footing on which the means of insurance against sickness and mortality within the reach of the labouring classes are now placed. An artisan of the condition of the East India Company’s labourers who insures for an allowance for sickness between the age of 61 and 66 years, which, according to the experience of his own class, would be a period of 10 days, would have to pay for 20 days, or 10 days in excess if he insured on the tables of the experience of benefit societies in Scotland, or 23 days in excess if he insured on tables founded on the experience collected by Mr. Finlaison. On the other hand, were a benefit society composed of members living under depressed circumstances, as in close courts or ill-drained districts, to adopt the table of the experience of the East India Company’s labourers, and to take members, living under the circumstances indicated by the Highland societies or Mr. Finlaison’s tables, the allowance on such a rate of insurance would be fraught with certain and speedy loss of the funds of the contributors. Having received contributions for an allowance on the chances of 10 days’ sickness, they would, upon insurances from the wynds of Edinburgh, have to pay for 40 days. The range of variation in the chances of life in different districts, such as have been shown in the returns from the different towns, exhibiting the mortality amongst the different classes, all present instances of the ruin to which benefit societies are exposed in acting upon tables calculated only for select classes, or on the mean experience of large classes, or of many classes differing widely in their circumstances. The probabilities of life at infancy for the whole population of Liverpool, as deduced from the actual ages of deaths of the whole population, would be 17 years; but on the Northampton tables of probability, payment would be required for the insurance of 25 years at infancy; for 38 years according to the Carlisle table; and if a male, for 37 years, according to the Swedish table. Yet such are the data and their applications on which large masses of savings and property are frequently invested and made dependent in various forms of insurance in benefit societies. The ruin of such societies is, I lament to say, by no means an unfrequent occurrence. The most painful spectacle that is presented in a painful and difficult service is that of a hardworking, industrious labourer, who has lived frugally and saved rigidly, who in his old age is stripped of his savings and reduced to destitution. One such example is enough to destroy the frugality of a whole village, and of all the labourers to whom it is presented. The necessity of a revision of all the tables which govern the subscriptions to friendly societies and the allowances from them, is strongly suggested by the evidence. It is to be lamented that, before giving tables of sickness or mortality to the members of benefit societies, many of the actuaries who have advised them have made no inquiries as to the condition of the neighbourhoods where the members reside or as to their general circumstances. The best advice to the labourers for the future will, however, be proved to be, that the most safe, economical, and efficient outlay as an insurance, will be in their own contributions, in rates or extra rent where needful for the execution of sanitary measures.

The further example adverted to as to the efficiency of preventive measures, is furnished by the naval medical service.

So dreadful was once the condition of the navy that, in the year 1726, when Admiral Hosier sailed with seven ships of the line to the West Indies, he buried his ships’ companies twice, and died himself of a broken heart. Amongst the pictures then presented, as in Anson’s Voyages, 1740–44, were those of deaths to the amount of eight or ten a-day in a moderate ship’s company; bodies sewn up in hammocks and washing about the decks, for want of strength and spirit on the part of the miserable survivors to cast them overboard. Dr. Johnson, in the year 1778, thus describes a sea life:—“As to the sailor, when you look down from the quarter-deck to the space below, you see the utmost extremity of human misery; such crowding, such filth, such stench!” “A ship is a prison, with the chance of being drowned,—it is worse, worse in every respect; worse air, worse food, worse company.”

_Dr. Wilson_, in his preface to the Medical Returns, observes that, within the limits of the South American command, the Centurion, exactly a century ago, lost in a few weeks 200 out of 400 men by scurvy. During the years from 1830 to 1836, the British _squadron_ employed in South America, lost by diseases of every description only 115 out of 17,254 men. He observes—