14Appointment of visiting committee of prisons
A visiting committee shall annually be appointed for every ordinary prison under this Act, consisting of such number of persons being commissioners of supply or justices of the peace of counties, and magistrates of burghs, to be appointed in such manner, and to be chosen at such time as the Secretary of State, having regard to the locality of the prison, to the prison authority heretofore having jurisdiction over such prison, and to the class of prisoners to be confined in such prison, may from time to time by any general or special rule prescribe.
The commissioners of supply of any county shall appoint members of a visiting committee when assembled at such general or special meeting as may be prescribed by the Secretary of State.
The magistrates of a burgh shall hold a special meeting at such time as may be prescribed by the Secretary of State, for the purpose of appointing any members of a visiting committee they may be required to appoint.
Nothing in this Act, or in any rules to be made under this Act, shall restrict any member of the visiting committee for any prison from visiting the prison at any time, and any such member shall at all times have free access to every part of the prison, and to every prisoner therein.