Show Treatment of Prisoners Iii flu suasa CHARLESTON S C July 8About the mid was m dle of Juno Governor Thompson I formed that the convicts employed in grading grad-ing the Savannah Valley Railway were i I I cruelly treated One convict had died inconsequence in-consequence of brutal whipping by the I i and an excessive t overworked guards They were cessive mortality prevailed among them I instructed the superintendent The Governor immediately perintendent of the Penitentiary to investi which and official report gate the charges an deaths sixteen has just been made shows I occurred since January 1st out of a total force of 120 convicts that seven are unable to work that the convicts are required to march nearly three miles to work with shackles on their legs that on account of the bad quality of food scurvy has made its appearance and there has been excessive cruelty in punishing convicts In describing the effects of the beating of Henry Porter by A W Jackson who had temporary charge of the convicts during the absence of the regular overseer Dr S Pope pejiitentiary physician says lAs evidence of the severity of the whipping inflicted I would state that the tissues have sloughed I leaving open a sore eighteen inches long by ten inches wide The punishment must have been very cruel I doubt his I complete recovery Other convicts were also cruelly beaten although the condition of those now at work is said to be very fair Jackson the inhuman guard has fled to Georgia but efforts are being made to secure his arrest There is great indignation indigna-tion at these outrages and steps will probably prob-ably be taken at the next session of the Legislature to discontinue the practice of I farming out convicts to railroad companies and phosphate miners |