The fonds consists of the commission's report. It contains extracts from Department of Justice, Penitentiary Branch, file 292/1896 and file 42/1897 in which the various charges against officials of the institution were made. It also includes the Commissioner's remarks concerning the officials and the administration of the penitentiary.
Commission to Investigate, Inquire into and Report upon Charges Preferred against Certain Officers and Guards Connected with the Stony Mountain Penitentiary (Canada) : The Commission to Investigate, Inquire into and Report upon Charges Preferred Against Certain Officers and Guards Connected with the Stony Mountain Penitentiary was mandated by its terms of reference to inquire into and report on charges of offensive partisanship during the dominion general election of 1896 and also of dereliction of duty preferred against certain officers and guards connected with the Stony Mountain Penitentiary. The Commissioner was Frederick Coate Wade. (Order in Council P.C. 242, 9 February 1897, under An Act Respecting Inquiries Concerning Public Matters (R.S.C., 1886, c.114) and on the recommendation of the minister of justice).
In July 1896, when the Liberals came to power under the leadership of Wilfrid Laurier, charges of political partisanship were made against the Warden, A.G. Irvine, and some of the officers and guards of Stony Mountain Penitentiary. Also, it was alleged that irregularities existed in the administration of the penitentiary. These allegations included the following: the use of using convict labour, prison farm machinery and materials for personal use; the practice of favoritism in the treatment of prisoners, including the release of a convict before the expiration of his sentence, and the detention of a convict beyond the expiration of his sentence; the renewal of a contract with the Oxford Manufacturing Company; and the system of selling prison goods to the staff of the institution. On the recommendation of the minister of justice, these charges, which were enumerated in Department of Justice, Penitentiary Branch, file 292/1896 and file 42/1897, were ordered to be investigated and reported on. (See "Manitoba Penitentiary Investigation, Commissioner's Report, 1897" in the Commission's records.) RG25 General Inventory
