“Which I shall.”
“Should a royal commission be appointed to sit here, I should naturally wish to consult you as to the component members of the commission; and it is my wish to pay you the compliment usual in such cases of selecting one of the three commissioners from your body. But one question, gentlemen, before you go. Have you complied with No. 1 of these your rules? Have you visited every prisoner in his or her cell once a month?”
“Certainly not!”
“I am sorry to hear it. Of course, at each visit, you have closely examined this the jailer's book, a record of his acts and the events of the jail?”
“Portions of it are read to us; this is a form which I believe is never omitted—is it, Mr. Hawes?”
“Never, gentlemen!”
“'Portions!' and 'a form!' what, then, are your acts of supervision? Do you examine the turnkeys, and compare their opinions with the jailer's?”
“We would not be guilty of such ungentlemanly behavior!” replied Mr. Williams, who had been longing for some time to give Mr. Lacy a slap.
“Do you examine the prisoners apart, so that there can be no intimidation of them?”
“We always take Mr. Hawes into the cells with us.”