1815. Philpotts reports that, by the early 19th century, most debtors spent only months in the prison; on 19 April 1826 it held 105 debtors, 99 of whom had been there for less than six months and the other six for less than a year. The barracks was less than 10 yards wide and 33 yards long (9 m × 30 m) and was divided into eight houses, each with three floors, containing 56 rooms in all. Each floor had seven rooms facing the front and seven in the back. There were no internal hallways. The rooms were accessed directly from the outside via eight narrow wooden staircases, a fire hazard given that the stairs provided the sole exit and the houses were separated only by thin lathe and plaster partitions. Women debtors were housed in rooms over the tap room. The rooms in the barracks (the men's rooms) were square and high, with a window, wooden floors and a fireplace. Each housed two or three prisoners, and as the rooms were too small for two beds, prisoners had to share. Apart from the bed, prisoners were expected to provide their own furniture. The anonymous witness complained in 1833: Much of the prison business was run by a debtors' committee of nine prisoners and a chair (a position held by Dickens' father). Appointed on the last Wednesday of each month, and meeting every Monday at 11 am, the committee was responsible for imposing fines for rules violations, an obligation they met with enthusiasm. Debtors could be fined for theft; throwing water or filth out of windows or into someone else's room; making noise after midnight; cursing, fighting or singing obscene songs; smoking in the beer room from 8–10 am and 12–2 pm; defacing the staircase; dirtying the privy seats; stealing newspapers or utensils from the snuggery; urinating in the yard; drawing water before it had boiled; and criticizing the committee. As dreadful as the Marshalsea was, it kept the creditors away. Debtors could even arrange to have themselves arrested by a business partner to enter the jail when it suited them. Historian Margot Finn writes that discharge was therefore used as a punishment; one debtor was thrown out in May 1801 for "making a Noise and disturbance in the prison". Garnish and chummage Upon arrival, new prisoners were expected to pay garnish, a donation to the prisoners' committee. When the