The state of the prisons in England and Wales, with preliminary observations, and an account of some foreign prisons and hospitals / By John Howard, F.R.S.
- John Howard
- Date:
- 1792
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: The state of the prisons in England and Wales, with preliminary observations, and an account of some foreign prisons and hospitals / By John Howard, F.R.S. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Library & Archives Service. The original may be consulted at London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Library & Archives Service.
25/596 page 11
![vife a more effectual method, than to confine them fo long in our prifons, thofe feats and feminaries (as they have been very properly called) of idlenefs and every vice. Shall thefe irregularities, the fources of mifery, difeafe, and wickednefs, be endured in a nation celebrated for good fenfe and humanity; and who from thefe principles, do treat one fort of prifoners with tendernefs and generofity ? I mean prifoners of war. Thefe have provifion in plenty; fome to fpare and fell to the foldiers on guard*; we frequently faw their Hated allowance hung up for their infpection. Some prifons have large areas for them to walk in; and at night every man had a hammock to himfelf. It is the farther! thing in the world from my wim to deprive captives of any one of thefe benefits—I am only defirous of feeing the fame humanity fhewn to our own countrymen in diftrefs: fo that a confiftent and uniform practice may prove our benevolence to be a firm and fteady principle; and that thofe who are cenfo- rious may find no occafion for afcribing our kind ufage of foreigners to a lefs amiable motive. Here it will be faid, prifoners of war are not felons, nor yet debtors; and govern- ment is fometimes, at the end of a war, reimburfed the expence of maintaining them. This latter I believe is fact; and the former is true without diipute: we do not look upon foreign enemies, nor they upon us f, as either debtors or felons : we cut one another to pieces in battle, but when that is over we grow cool and companionate. I grant there is a material difference in the circumftances of foreign and domeftic * I am now fpeaking of the practice of the war before Iaft The daily allowance, to fix prifoners was, nine pounds of bread—four pounds and a half of beef—three pints of peafe, four days in a week—fix quarts of beer.—On Friday they had not the beef; but a pound and a half of butter inftead of it.—On board the men of war, indeed, they were upon fhort allowance. f I muft not be underftood here to mean a compliment to the French. How they then treated Englifh prifoners of war, I knew by experience in 1756; when a Lifbon packet (the Hanover) in which I went pafien- ger, in order to make the tour of Portugal, was taken by a French privateer. Before we reached Breft, I fufFered the extremity of thirfl, not having for above forty hours one drop of water; nor hardly a morfe] of food. In the caftle at Breft, I lay fix nights upon ftraw: and obferving how cruelly my countrymen were ufed there, and at Morlaix, whither I was carried next; during the two months I was at Carhaix upon parole, I correfponded with the Englifh prifoners at Breft, Morlaix, and. Dinnan : at the laft of thofe towns were feveral of our fhip's crew, and my fervant. I had fufficient evidence of their being treated with fuch bar- barity, that many hundreds had perifhed; and that thirty-fix were buried in a hole at Dinnan in one day. When I came to England, fti'll on parole, I made known to the commifliohers of fick and wounded feamen, the fundry particulars: which gained their attention, and thanks, Remonilrance was made to the French court: our failors had redrefs: and thofe that were in the three prifons mentioned above, were brought home in the firfl; cartel-lhips. —A Lady frem Ireland, who married in France, had bequeathed in trull with the magiftrates of St. Malo's, fundry charities ; one of which was a penny a day to every Englifh prifoner of war in Dinnan. This was duly paid; and faved the lives of many brave and ufeful men.—Perhaps, what I Suffered on this occafion, increafed my fympathy with the unhappy people, whofe cafe is the fubjecl; of this book. prifoners,](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b2136493x_0025.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
