Corpun file 18594

Manchester Guardian, 8 January 1851

Court House, New Bailey, Salford, 6th January, 1851.

(extracts)

The visiting justices of the House of Correction at Salford, in reporting to the sessions held at Salford in January, 1851, have to remark, that during the last quarter they have accepted the resignation of Miss Ann Protheroe [...] Mr. R.Brandt said that the first thing arising from the report of the visiting justices was, to take the opinion of the court upon that part of it referring to the salary of the surgeon of the prison. [...]

Mr. William R.Wood said that an important responsibility and a very delicate duty devolved on the surgeon; for, in consequence of the extreme difficulty of dealing with juvenile delinquents of a certain class, parliament had largely extended the power of inflicting corporal punishment during the last two or three years. Now the infliction of that punishment required to be carefully superintended by the medical officer. He had thought it his duty to be present during the infliction of that punishment, and he could bear testimony to the manner in which that was regulated by Mr. Stott. It was necessary that the punishment should not be inflicted without the inspection of the medical officer, in order that no more might be inflicted than the criminal could bear; while, at the same time, the punishment should be efficient.

He had spoken to the governor on the subject, and that officer said that the punishment could not be inflicted without the superintendence of a medical officer. And for that purpose they must have, not a common surgeon, competent to deal with ordinary cases, but one competent to advise in a matter which the legislature had justly been so careful about, as the infliction of corporal punishment. [...]