plied in lieu; and in August 1795, on account of a scarcity of bread, the quantity of that article was diminished for a time, but the deficiency was made up by additional pulfe or vegetables. Upon any complaint of confequence, a vifitation was made by a Commiffioner of the Board, to the fpot where the complaint arofe, for the fake of inquiring into it, and if well founded it was inftantly redreffed. As an additional check upon the agents and contractors, among the rules which were hung up within the prifon, in the language of the prifoners, was a fcheme of the rations of provifions, which were fubject to the infpection of a committee appointed by the prifoners, and felected from themfelves. A contractor at Falmouth, who had failed in his engagement, was fentenced to be imprisoned fix months in the county gaol, and to be fined 300!. The agents and furgeons at all the different prifons were furnished with inftructions, from which they were in no inftance to deviate, without applying to the Sick and Hurt Board. In addition to the prifon furgeons, others were felected by the Board from among the prifoners; and tea, fugar, fruit, and porter, having been added to the diet for fick British feamen in our hofpitals, the fame articles were added to the diet for fick French prifoners. In the prifons each man was allowed a hammock, paillaffe, bolfter, and blanket or coverlet. The straw of the paillaffe and boliter was changed as often as occafion required. The bedding in the hofpitals was the fame as in the hofpital for British feamen. In December 1795, Mr. Charretié, a Frenchman, who had refided fome years in this country, was appointed by the French government their agent for the care of French prifoners. He was furnished by the Tranfport Board with the means of inquiring into the state of the prifons, was fuffered to vifit them whenever he thought fit, and was provided with lifts of the perfons confined in them as often as he required it. On the 1st of January 1796, the care of prifoners in health was transferred to the Tranfport Board, the fuperintendance of the hofpitals ftill remaining under the Sick and Hurt Board. The fame regulations were obferved, and the fame allowance of provifions adopted, as had been formerly. Nothing particular appears to have occurred relative to the prifoners during that year. In January 1797, orders were given to captains fuperintending prifon-fhips at Portfmouth and Plymouth, to vifit them often, as well as the prifons, to hear all complaints, and to report once a week to the Admiralty. In March, the Board stated to Mr. Charretié, that the French prifoners were in want of clothing (which it had been agreed was to be provided by France), but faid that the Board, from motives of humanity, had fupplied a confiderable number with clothes, and requested him to urge his government to repay that expense. No answer feems to VOL. VII. 3 U have have been returned to this application, nor does it appear that any clothing was provided by France. In June, Mr. Charretié vifited Portchester, where, on account of the mutiny which then prevailed in the British fleet, and a fufpicion that the mutineers meant to put arms into the hands of the prifoners, who betrayed a strong difpofition to disturbance and infurrection, it was thought neceffary to enforce ftricter difcipline. It was found requifite for this end to prohibit the market which had been allowed to be held, for the purpose of putting it in the power of the prisoners, by difpofing of various articles which they manufactured, to fupply themselves with vegetables and other little comforts at their own expenfe. It must be obferved, that they had their ufual allowance of provifions; but fome complaints arofe, from impofitions in the price of bread and milk, which were clandeftinely brought into the prifon by the turnkeys, and fold. These complaints proved trivial and of no importance. He next went to Plymouth, where the only complaint he heard was of the quality of fome of the provifions; but this was redreffed by application to Captain Lane, the fuperintendant of prifoners. Your Committee beg to obferve, that Mr. Charretié states as a general obfervation, that the provifions furnished were inferior to the price paid by Government, and that at Falmouth, particularly, they were eighty per cent. below the contract price; but he produces no proof or document whatever to confirm fo extraordinary an affertion, and differs fo entirely from the other evidence before the Committee, as not to be entitled to any credit. At Falmouth, he states the treatment of the prisoners to have been negligent, and the bread made with bad corn, mixed with chaff.-In confequence of his complaint, Captain Lane was fent to investigate the matter, and reported to the Board, that the contractor had fometimes given bread of inferior quality, but never mixed with chaff:-that whenever a juft complaint had been made, the articles were always returned upon the contractor's hands, to his lofs.-In a cafe of greater importance he had been profecuted. As the agent or his clerk was always prefent at the delivery of provifions, and the fame regulation of a committee of infpectors exifted there as well as at other prifons, there is no rea fon to fuppofe that the abuse often took place. Your Committee beg to obferve, that the Falmouth prifons being thought to be too far from the fuperintendance of the Tranfport Board, the pri foners were removed from thence about the end of the year 1797. Mr. Charretić then went to Stapleton prifon, near Bristol, where he heard other complaints, which, upon investigation, proved to be but trifling quarrels, and were foon fettled by a Commiffioner fent down there. It is worthy of remark, that in the whole courfe of the war, the complaints which have been made have proceeded from the French prifoners alone; neither the Dutch nor Spanish prifoners, who were fubje&t precifely to the fame regulations, having ever fhown the leaft difcontent at the mode of treatment. About Auguft 1797, the Tranfport Board again proposed to Mr. Charretié, that each nation fhould clothe its own countrymen, and afterwards requested that a fum of money, which had been remitted from France, might be appropriated to fupplying the French prifoners with clothes, of which they were much in need. The Board even offered to fupply them at the contract prices, for his bills upon Hamburgh, or any neutral town.-Their offer was declined on account of fome objections in the colour and quality of the articles. On the 4th of September a revolution in France took place, and fince that period it feems to have been the object of the French government to irritate the minds of their countrymen against Great Britain, by mifreprefentations of the treatment which the prifoners underwent in this country. A paragraph appeared in the Poftillon de Calais of October 16, giving a falfe account of the fituation of the prifoners in Portchester Caftle: this was contradicted by the agent at that place, as well as by a certificate from the English and French furgeons employed there; and Mr. Charretié himself, being called upon by the Transport Board to refute this calumny, acknowledged the falfehood and impropriety of the paragraph. Mr. Charretié, however, appears to have wifhed to fecond thefe views of the French government; for in November he wrote to the Commiffion of Exchange at Paris, ftating, that at Norman Crofs prifon, out of nine thousand prifoners confined there, three thousand were fick for want of clothes, and other neceffaries. This reprefentation produced a strong effect in the public mind in France against this country; but upon the British agent inquiring into the truth of the statement, Mr. Charretié was induced to contradict his own affertion.-From the evidence of Captain George, Firft Commiffioner of the Transport Board, and the certificates of the furgeons at Norman Crofs, it appears that the prifon at that place was not capable of containing even fix thousand prifoners; that there were at that time about five thousand two hundred; and that the fick then amounted to one hundred and ninety-four, including twenty-four nurfes, and never had amounted to above two hundred and fixty. It must be observed, that Mr. Charretié had the means of knowing all this, and that, previous to fending this account to France, he did not apply to the Board on the fubject, though he was actually in London at the time. He acknowledged that he was furnished with a lift of 3 U 2 perfons perfons confined at each prifon, whenever he required it, fo that he might easily have afcertained the falfehood of his affertion. Your Committee fee, with much concern, the newspapers of this country lending themselves to the views of the enemy. They must recall the attention of the Houfe to the paragraph which appeared in the Courier of January 20, relative to the treatment of the prisoners at Liverpool, which produced an investigation by the mayor and magiftrates of that town, and a report, in the highest degree fatisfactory to the feelings of the perfons concerned. It was with the fame object of irritating the French against this nation, that the papers were stuck up in different towns of France, as appears in evidence before your Committee, afferting that the prifoners in England were fed with dead cats and dogs; and that when a perfon at Nantes, who was lately returned from imprifonment in England, contradicted this account, he was ordered to hold his tongue, and not difpute the affertion of his government. The British government, being aware of the mifrepresentations and groundless calumnies concerning the treatment of French prifoners in England, which were, induftriously propagated in France; and having received the most afflicting accounts of the accumulated hardfhips and fufferings of its own countrymen in the French prifons; taking alfo into confideration the circumstances of Mr. Charretié being allowed without reftraint to vifit the principal depôts of prisoners in England, while Mr. Swinburne, fo far from having accefs to his own countrymen in France, was actually confined to one fmall town; feeing no end alfo to the evalive conduct of the French government in refpect to the exchange of Sir Sidney Smith, was induced, in October 1797, to make to the French government a propofal, well calculated, in the opinion of your Committee, for remedying all the above evils; viz. That in future each nation fhould take upon itself the care of clothing, victualling, and providing medical attendance for the prifoners of its own country: this, it was added, would prevent the poffibility of any fufpicion of ill treatment on either fide. It was further fignified, that if the French returned no anfwer to this propofal, and perfifted in their mode of treatment of Sir Sidney Smith (as will be explained in the third head of this Report), his Majefty would feel himfelf under the difagreeable neceffity of reducing the allowance hitherto granted to all French prifoners (which was equal to that of British foldiers) to the limits ftrictly neceffary for their fubfiftence; even that, it was ftated, would be preferable to what too many of his subjects had in the prifons of France. No anfwer was given to this humane propofal: a fecond application was therefore made to the French government; but that being alfo attended with no effect, on the ift of December the rations of provifions of the French prifoners were reduced. The I daily daily allowance was one pound of bread, half a pound of beef, one quarter of a pound of pease, one third of an ounce of falt. When greens were iffued in lieu of pease, half a pound of cabbage, fit for boiling, was allowed for each man. This feverity feems to have produced a good effect; for the French government were at laft induced to accept the propofal; and Mr. Gallois, who came to England foon afterwards as fucceffor to Mr. Charretié, was accompanied by Mr. Nettement, to whofe fpecial care the fuperintendance of the prifoners was entrusted, the expenfe being defrayed by France. It appears from evidence, that the fame fub-agents are employed (except in one inftance), and in general the fame contractors who had been employed under the management of the British government. The daily allowance of provifions at prefent is one quart of beer, twenty-fix ounces of bread, eight ounces of beef, two ounces of cheese, or one ounce and one third of good falt butter, one third of an ounce of falt, half a pint of peafe, or half a pound of vegetables: each prifoner is allowed monthly half a pound of white foap, and three quarters of a pound of tobacco in the leaf. It is but juftice to the Commiffioners of the Tranfport Board to fay, that they have shown every difpofition to co-operate in alleviating the condition of the prifoners, and that fince this new arrangement has taken place, they have allowed Mr. Nettement the use of the bedding and clothes at the feveral prifons, and they have rendered him every affiftance in the execution of his office. In entering upon the fecond head of their inquiry, namely, the treatment of British prifoners of war in France, your Committee feel themselves under difficulties which may render this part of their Report lefs fatisfactory than what they have before stated. Thefe difficulties arife, firft, from the obftacles which the French government has always interpofed to prevent the British agent from vifiting the prifons, and which of course have prevented him from obtaining information on the fubject of the treatment of the prisoners fo accurately as might be wifhed: fecondly, from the reluctance which, from perfonal motives, fome of the evidence examined by your Committee have shown to have their names brought forward: and, thirdly, from the very delicate fituation of thofe actually in captivity, from whom alone the moft perfect teftimony could have been derived, and who, if they remained unexchanged, muft expect to have their fufferings increafed in confequence of any complaints which they might prefer, or to have them relieved upon terms incompatible with their feelings as British fubjects. But even with thefe imperfect means of information, your Committee are convinced, that fufficient will appear to prove the rigour with which their countrymen have been treated, and the uniform |