15

B.—3b

61. Mr. Bush.] Was there nothing to sleep in?— Upon being questioned Brother Loetus said that a mattress lying outside the cell was thrown in at night. 62. Mr. Wardell.] Did he use the word " thrown " or " put in " ?—I think he used the word " thrown." lam almost sure he did. 63. Mr. Harley.] Did you examine the bedding ?—No; there was a mattress stuffed in a recess outside the cell. 64. Can you say whether the cell was light or dark ?—Well, it was sufficiently light to read in during the greater part of the day if you stood by the opening. The rest of the cell was of course fairly dark. 65. What was about the height of the cell?— About 6 ft. 6 in. or 7 ft. 66. How far was the opening from the ground?— About 3ft. or 4ft. 67. Did you speak to the boy ?—Yes; he began to cry as soon as the door was opened. 68. Did you ask him questions?—We asked him his name and age. He said his name was James Maher, that he was fourteen years of age, that he had been in the cell day and night for eight days, since the previous Wednesday, We asked him what he had to eat. He said, " Bread and water for breakfast and tea, and the same as the other boys for dinner." 69. Did you ask him if he was punished in any other way ?—Yes; he said he had been thrashed over the hand, I think. 70. Did you ask him how many times ?—Yes; he said four or six times during the time he had been in the cell. 71. Did he say what with?— Yes; a supplejack. 72. Did you examine his hands ?—No. 73. Did you see any bread there? —Yes; I saw a piece in the cell. 74. What was it like ? —lt was about three-quarters of an inch thick, and had the appearance of having had something spread upon it. 75. Mr. Bush.] Was it brown bread?—No ; white bread. 76. .Mr. Harley.] Was it treacle spread over it?—lt may have been, but there was very little of it; it was slightly brown. 77. And Brother Loetus was there all the time ?—Yes. 78. Did you see the dinner brought in while you were there ?—Yes. 79. Did you notice what the dinner was ?—lt looked like boiled potatoes mashed up, with a few pieces of meat in it. 80. Mr. Wardell.] Did you examine it ?—No ; Brother Loetus told the Brother who brought it to take it away. 81. Mr. Harley.] What is that dish commonly known as ?—lrish stew, I suppose. 82. Mr. Wardell.] You would describe it as Irish stew, I suppose?— Yes. 83. Mr. Bush.] Did you say Brother Loetus ordered the food to be taken away?— Yes. He said, " Take it away for a few minutes; do not interrupt. Put it in the store-room." 84. Mr. Harley.] You do not intend to imply that the boy was not fed that day ?—No; I do not know whether he had dinner or not. 85. Did Brother Loetus make any observations as to the boy being there ?—No. The boy made his answers to our questions while Brother Loetus was there. Brother Loetus said the boy's whereabouts had been discovered through a letter sent, and opened at the institution. He also said that boys were confined for a period equal to the time they had been away as absconders. 86. Was there any other cell in this room ?—No. 87. Was there any other boy in the cell ?—No. 88. Mr. Wardell.] Did you ask the boy whether he had been out at all during the week ? I said : " How long have you been in this cell ? " He said he had been in day and night since the previous Wednesday. I assume that he must have been taken out to be caned. 89. But there was no direct question on this point ?—No. I told Brother Loetus we wished to see any other boys who were confined. He took us to another cell on the ground-floor, some considerable distance from the cell already mentioned. 90. Mr. Harley.] Did he open the door of this cell?—I think it was already unlocked. There were two or three Brothers standing round it. '91. What was inside the cell? —Another boy, named Albert James. 92. How was this cell built ? —One side of it was the side of the building. The first cell was built like a box—in the corner of the room. 93. Might this cell have been used for a cupboard ?—I do not know. It had a window with iron bars ; but I do not think it was a full-sized window, though it was larger than the opening in the first one. 94. Was there no furniture ?—No; nothing but a tin bowl. The boy was fully clothed, but without boots. 95. Did you ask him how long he had been there ?—Yes; he said he had been there the same period as Maher—since the previous Wednesday. 96. Was he the companion of Maher in the runaway ?—Yes. 97. Did you ask him if he had been thrashed ?—Yes ; his answers were similar to those given by Maher. 98. Mr. Wardell.] Did you ask him how he had been thrashed ?—Yes , he said he had been caned over the hands with a supplejack. 99. Mr. Harley.] Did anything further occur there ?—Yes; the name of the boy Skiiton was brought up. He had runaway on several occasions. I said to Brother Loetus, " I understand Skiiton has been locked up for four months." He turned to some Brothers standing near and said, " Would it be that long?" One Brother, whose name Ido not know, replied, " No; it would be a little over two months."