Northern Star (1837-1852), 9th December 1843, Edition 5 of 5, Page 6, "Qfyt <£ontiition ai <£tt£janft " laws giina tte poor, snd ileb men rule the 'iw!"

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  BESIITXTI 105 IN IHJE MBTS 0 P 01 JS . Ob Sunday evening , a poor half-famished and halfclad womra , rrxmpBvied by three children , was obseired tot * ulng to the gate of the Boyai Free Hospital , in the Gray * * Inn Road , where she moat earnestly implored to ie admitted . Her case wa » immediately inTesiagarsd , when it was discovered that hanger alone n the rsnra of her illness . Temporary relief wss immediately afforded , and the miserable family Mere at cn ~^ € ' . ' i ' ••> the Sefnge . Scarcely a ^ lay pases bnt a siipT ? - srjve c-tjw at the Free Hospfal ,. and illness * s simr'atsd for the purpose of paiUdpating in the lenefi *? and comforts of this noble institution . The ( rseaced and sick poor , however , already fill the avsPable wards of this establishment , while the ! TCTT" -i ! Jg ncmisrs rf out-door sick and diseased s p read ? on the books , renders the utmost < --jution
  
  nepjss'y . To the Editor of the Times . SIR , —You have in some recent articles tsprr Bsed your L-rong feeling that the relief which is now often conveyed to r ^ Bes of distress through other chapels , might ¦ be morenatc * ally and efficiently admhastered through 3 hepMoch -il clergy . As 1 ^ incumbent of a parish of above 34 , 000 souls , \ n one cf the poorest and most crowded quarters of the me t ropolis ( a parish not a mile in length in any part ) , ' I feel it to 1 > a duty loth to myself and my bretberen rrermd , who are similarly drcnrnBtanfed -with myse ) f , to make a simplB s * it £ ment of the distress by which I « m at aU tames { bnt especially in the winter se- ' Ton ) KE ^ omded , »™ i of "the endesroun made ( through With innrt 5 n&d £ gDite rid irBnffitaerit iwm ) to relieve that Ufeen ,
  
  A Irrge poiHon of or ? popnlation , andl should jndge also of this eastern quarter ofLondon generally , consists of those poor men , and the ?? families , who have been drawn together to this part , not only from other districts of £ he metropolis , but even from the country and bom Irtlsnd , is thB hope of obtaining employment at the various docks in the neighbourhood . At the gates of each of thoca docks hundreis of poor men may be seen , before daybreak in the winter , waiting for the oj 2 icj of the gates in the hope of ob'ining a day ' s Work : and when the joungest and most Able-bodied and
  
  those best known Have teen taken , hundreds still may be seen retaining to the ?? destitute families with that ** sickness of the heart" which arises Ironi " hope defejed . " In such a neighbourhood it is needless to say f > at distress most abound : hunger and insufficient focd of themselves create di :: r ~ e ; and the number of sick , -who . all apply to the minister of tbs parish to be v ' sited , 3 < i Ve * f large . There to file utmost of our power ara visited . I subjoin some esses now on our fc-nt ' s as a s ? Tiple of those whir *} are continually ocenri ^ g .
  
  A voting womsn dying * of consumption , hailng just last fcer yormgcEt child , is compelled to get up in a dying etr . Is to nuiEe . hei husband , who baa come home Xiih njSaiBUi&tion of the lungs , and has held np for his wife and children ' s sake tOl the disease has gained &reat way . She nurses Mm day and night for ten days , at the end of which he dies 1 we trust prepared ) , rid she is la £ t with two young children , without any isef na of support whatr ? er , excepting such csher parish r ^ a vEbrd to allow her , and she can earn by her needle .
  
  An r ~ ed widow , t ^ tween seventy » nd eighty years of fcre , who in consequence of Laving broken first her thl ^ h , and afterwards her collar-bcne , is confined hopeleraly to her bed . She occupies 3 small * damp room , on £ -iliiru part of which ib filled np by the one bed ^ rbich Ehe and her only daughter { also a widow ) and her grang-dangbter sleep in ; another third by a rntngte . A ester , who nsed to csaiBtter a little , is now dead , leaving her entirely dtpendtnt on what her daughter t ~ n fiirn by her needle &od mngle , and any little feelp we can throw in .
  
  A ? : si enable poor wompTi , confined to her t ; d tbigerouily fllj her hrsband sufficiently recovered te inTu a hospital , but not well enough yet to do anything towards * heir . snpport , bnt only able to nurss his tick wife . To these , and such cries as these , we are compelled to confine oar attention , both for want of time and means ; and so sssaj are these , that with what we ourselves can give , with what a few kind friends place in oni hands , and with the sarameD - ! al" » s , which the thiraifTsniens leave at onr disposal , and which , though the numtsr of the csmmunicantfl are large , yet from , their . generally hnmble means are bat iwroill , we are c-jmpeJted to leave many esses which we know of r ' moss wnanistcd , and io send many who are , we are ranTcd , both desming and nerrsntous , fid whom we ¦ would gladly help , from our door .
  
  So d- ^ p , indt =- , - s ibe poverty by which we are snrwnnded that we have just sent out s circular letter th rough the pariah lor the thixd tame , to aak for left-off apparel , to enable tse poorest children to attend onr schools ; and , by m&ins of our district vUitoa , whose weskly visits have nia 4 e them acguainted with tfeB chansiir and c * ** cuir' 5 " ^ c € s of » he people in their districts , we tave in one winter supplied 200 persons -witn the lrft-sff sppsrel , sent in to ns in answer to onr appse . I haTe knoTm nearly thirty persons apply for aid in onemoir ^ ag ; and the tickets ior tea and sugar , suow-io-jt , ego , lice , and soup , given to the families of the sick alone , by the clergy of the parish , and brought in at my house 5 n any one morning during the TkInter , nwuiy take np the rime of one person to 1-apply .
  
  I bAveramed Ssese particulars , becanse 11 Jieve that fcMsis but one case cat of a class of cf « s to which many other paiishfts in this er-tsrn qu ? it 3 of London belong . 32 ie desy have the will to help , and-the machinery for proper overs' £ ht and investigation is in onr bands by jneatM of oar fiiihdel -riniara ; but the very same causes TfMch make us htre to 1 abound in objects requiring aid J- 'ave us also without the means to aid them . Beiicveme , your faithful servant , W . WXLI > 0 S CHAilPItKTS . Sectary , WhUeehapel , Nov . 27 . DISTRESS AT grsCKTC-RY . To the EBiior of the Morning Chronicle .
  
  Sir—Ihs condition , of the pookas been repeatedly l"iid t ^ ore the public . Tha labours of the Anti-Curn Xaw X , £ 3 gne have dona great good ia tW « respect Thsy have incontestably proved that % aost rmmeroas , as well as important class of onr conntrynierL , is eaSat-Sug an sjaonnt of giatresa trnjy horriWe , aofl that in a Jr-id -whose sreat boast is iti knowledge , itsilehes , and nobla institutiBns . It has proved too , thai the miseries which disgrace our land sre not inflicted by Providence , but spring from ignorance , wickedness , or folly , end of course admit of remedy . I am a stocking-weaver , and , though young in years , am well acquainted with , so&rng . . I « m surprised that the condition of * ray fellow-T-bourers o ? t not engaged more of the public attention , espsdally as their miseries are now bo great , and they ! nve hitherty borse them with such a noble fortitude . Their patience , however , is now ^ declining , and their fortitude is giving way to feelings of hopeless despair . In August 2842 . these men thus memorialised the board of gBsriimBs for tie Hincfcley . " Union : —
  
  • ' GenUemen—Again tre approach you by a deputation , feut with a purpose very different -to our last . Then it was r ? jetum thanks;—now it is for tbe purpose of prayer . Distress , anguish , and soirow have liven out feelings , wounded onr souls , and destroyed onr csmfor * Already sre we brought to the very brink of despair . O I plnnge ns not into ita dark and over-WielmiES tide . Cat off irom the pleasures of lifecompelled to live on the parish xate^—willing to work when honourable labour is offered to ns—not wishing to be released from too , or forced to lead a life of de-^ . adisg leisure—we look upon our condition as entitled fc > commiseration , as commanding respect . Month rSer month have vra looked for a change—only to reap Fie bitterness of disappointment , and experience the
  
  £ ckEes 3 of fcesrt -jrfcich arises from hope deferred . < 33 ad us not , we beseech you ; add not to . our wretchedness ; lsy no more npon us ; , speak to us kindly ; protect us from further suffering ; pity us for our mfeeriES ; withdraw not your . support ; bnt remember l * -4 t the voice of inspiration has said « poverty will make a wise man mad . " * A change , however , has now tarns % they stb no longer 3 n tbe stone-yard , bat tbeir Bufferings are not lessened . Since lastlfBvariber Vinr vzga { miserable before ) Turn Been reduced thirty-five per cent . They sre now earning weekly , according to fie Busters' books , ( and this acoount is derived from tbe three principal manufacturers at Hinckley ) , t "" . shillings and five-pence at first hand . Out of this is to be ded acted is . tram tbB rent of the loom , 7 < L for
  
  wwing the Btockingi , 4 d . foi needles and aoap for washing , S 3 . foi coals and candles , and Is . 8 d . house xant , leaving 2 $ . zd . for food , c'othmg , education , and pleasure—3 d , and a fraction per day .- In September , 1842 , 1 was railed from home . I left them working in he stone-yard , the lanes , &c In September , 1843 , 1 "risited Jijem again . 1 fonnd them all at work at their looms , labouring irem sixteen to eighteen hours per dsy , and earning the pittance named above , I £ hall reVBT forget my fbdifigs at my returning , when I first S&TT my lather and brother ; they were so altered , haggard , ana ragged . Instead of smiling npon them with joy , I could liave wept in bitterness of spirit over their fjdei and emaciated forms . When I entered the houses of former Jrisnds , I looked axouod on the naked
  
  and dingy walls , and asked what had become of their tosSture . "Or said they , "it ia goneS " We are \ rarse off npafcsirs than down ; we hare io tads nor bed elotbes . I do not know how we shall manage this " winter : we ' shall b « starved ^ death . We have nottog but wist we « tondin ; and we hare never had a new pair of shoes in our house this four years . Whatever we » rs to do J . dont tuow . " In one house I found COS " child dyisg of eonsampUon , another covered with aiacases , and ths father Tery ill . yetlaboimng at bis loom / Aa a » woman pointed to the three mfferera she said , with a sigh , «• This has been brought on by want of sufficient food . " And let it ba borne In mind that Hds misery was not paraded . I -ahonld have-known nothing of it had I not entered their dwelling .
  
  InViU vrisiifomrJiooameTru& System has long pre-Vailed , adding additional ' suffering and wrong to this pevertyrstricken people . In many insiancis individuals arc paid v&pUy in goods , mndh after month and year sfler yearl Within the lart six weeks , however , great exertions have been made to stay this evS , many
  
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  alters having been fine 3 and a society ut- } blUhed ior ite suppression at Hinchley . A Stockinger . November 23 , 1843 . N . B . At this moment every town where stockings are made is full of work , and the mr-fcers expecting , nay , daily reaving , large orders \ were the TlUCk BjBtom pni dowa and tbe middlemen ( bagmen ) between master and framework-knitter converted into direct agents of the former , the working hands would ba gainers of 15 , in some inshincfts 20 per cen * , and when , Sir , the loaf is mafkfi , leal too much should be eaten of it at one meal , let me tell you two or three loaves a week f - j of no small importance to a family . On the above , rbe Editor of the Morning Chronicle remarks : —
  
  " In another part of oar journal will ta found a letter from a' StocMnger , ' describing , ; we have good rr"son te believe , with great truth and accuracy , the present condition and sufferings of the stocking weavers at H- ' nckley and in its neighbourhood . Now that the PEOPLE AltB Hi FULL "WOBK HEBE , Hit , amount of tcagts which they can devote io purchase subsistence doe $ not exceed 2 s . 2 d , per week . Tbeir furniture is gone , they have no change of clothing , and some of them have not had a new pair of shoes lot tout years . That is the condition , not of idle , dissolute paupers , but of industrious , frugal , skilful , and intelligent workmen ,
  
  and it demands the attention of the Government Our correspondent complains of the continuance of tbe truck system , notwishstanding the existence of several stringent enactments against it- ¦ If even in each a case Ib 9 law cannot be , or is not enforced In favour 0 / the working classes , is there not some reason to apprehend that they will wholly cease to respect it ? Their sufferings must be relieved , and they must be convinod that the law is as powerful to redress as to punish , before they can feel attachment to the institutions of the country which is necessary for tbe public peace ana tbe general welfare . ™
  
  In the Chrottide of Saturday appeared the following letter from a well-known and warm-hearted phiianthrepist : — Sib . —If it be not giving you too much trouble , I would request you to remit the enclosed Bmall sum for the relief of that 'Stockinger' of Hinckley , -whose letter In this day ' s Chronicle does too well describe the Bufferings of Mb family and craft . Tour most obedient seivant , Frederick Pigod . Brocket ' s , St . James's , Dec . 1 . [ Soib op thb Esxtob —W * bare received two sovereigns with the above letter , and will forward them fi desired by our correspondent j
  
  A TALK OF MISEET—DESTITUTION IN SHADWELL . £ ilis , the second usher of this court , made a report to Mr . Broderip , the presiding masyirtrate . . relating to the Holloway family , whose case has been already pub-Iished . It will be recollected that a poor man named HolJowsy , residing in a miserable hovel in Qtay ' sbuildings , Twine-court , Sbadwell , was unable to bury the corpse of his son , who bad died from the injuries he received by falling into the hold of a ship , and that another child of tne unfortunate man w ? n lying ill of the typhus fever in tbe Bame room where the decaying body was . Tbe corpse was immediately inteired in Shadwell churchyard by order of the magistrates , and assistance was rendered to the family . Since then about £ 5 has been sent by various benevolent individuls
  
  for the relief ol Holloway and his children , and a portion of this sum has already been expended in necessaries . Ellis now stated , that on visiting the Holloways on Sunday evening , he found the family , which consist ? of Bevenjindividuals , still huddled together in the same miserableandill ventilated apartment , tbe wiadowframe of which was filled principally with paper and wood , instead of glass , and afforded -very little either of light or ventilation . He found the boy still lying on his miserable pallet , and labouring nnder the typbvs fever . The stench was dreadful , and he could not remain in the room long . He found the mother was a verj industrious woman , and another female , named Hurley , who , fearing ccn » ? gion , first brought the cr ~ e under the notice of the magistrate , were plying their
  
  needles as hard ss they were able , and on asking them why they worked on the Sabbath , they said they were compelled to do so , and it was tbe only means of supporting their children , as tbe work they were engaged upon did not produce more thus euflieient to pnrchrse bread , and they were compelled to begin early and end late to command a bare subsistence when they were in full work , which was not often the cpw . Mr . Rom , tbe parochial surgeon of Shad- ^ ell , who had been cstducms in his attentions , said there was no chance of the lad getting well , and recovering his strength until he was provided 'with clean linen and nutritions food , and that the smell of the aecomposed body , as well rs the fever , had affected him . After purchasing some necessaries for the family , he was about to leave tbe
  
  neighbourhood , when Mr . Ross said he could introduce him to a much worse ease , and took him into the ground floor of the adjoining house j and here certainly a scene of misery and destitution presented itself quite unparalleled . There was not a vestige of furniture in the room except-an old chair , and by the light of few embers in a place where there had once been a stove , he : saw a poor Irishman , named I > aniel Noolan , mending hia trowsera . By bis aide was an idiot boy abont nine years of age , and the only garment he had on was an old pair of trowsers . The rest of his body was * uite naked . The creature , who bore none of tbe outward semblance 0 / humanity .
  
  jumped about and made strange noises when he entered lie place . There wn another boy , about eigkt years of age , in the tame miserable condition . On inquiring of the man what had red need him to such a dreadful state of distress , he said be vn a coal whipper , and that work had been very bad , and that when he was in employ be could not bring home more than ten shillings per week to support himself and two boys , who had been for several years dtprived of tbeir mother . There were only a few potatoes and part of a loaf in the place , aad be expended half-a-crown , on his own responsibility , in providing fuel and some meat for the inmates of tbe wretched habitation .
  
  Mr . Broderip—Ton have don 6 quite right j but has not rhe man applied to the parish officers ? Eilia said he had not , for he was afraid if he did bo he would be passed with his children to Ireland . The place where he Jived was unfit for tbe habitation of any human being . It was tbe ruins of what had once be en a substantial " house , and was nearly roofless . Tbe window-frame of the first floor , and a portion of the brickwork , had long since been removed . There was not a single pane of glass in the window-frame of the lower-Toom , and the xain came through the cfciling . How the lui&erable creatures managed to live there he COUid not tell—ifc was not a fit place for a dog . There were a great many dilapidated houses 0 ! the Bame description in Shadwell , called Irish freeholds , without legal owners , and no rent bad been claimed for many years . The poor Irish got into some of them , and others were inhabited by the most depraved characters , and by deatitrate creatures who had no other shelter .
  
  2 ir . Broderip directed Ellis to act in concert with Mr . Ross , the Burgeon , in relieving Holloway and his family . As for the poor boy laid up with the typhus fever , and who had been compelled for many days to breathe a poisonous atmosphere with the decomposed body of his brother by his nde , he should give orders for anotfeer bed and clean linen to be provided for him , and light and nutritions diet to be purchased . It was truly appalling to hear of such misery . With regard to the man Noolan and Mb children , further relief must fee extended to them , and if possible admission should be obtained for the idiot boy into some asylum . He should like to know if Noolan was &n industrious man aad mi willing to work . Ellis said there was no doubt of it ; but the man , when he had work to do , web obliged to consume a great part of his earnings in drink .
  
  Mr , Broderip said he knew that to be generally the case with the ooalwhippers , and he wbi very happy to think that au Act of Parliament would shortly come into operation which would materially improve their condition . He bad tbe greatest confidence in the humanity and discretion of Ellis , and should leave the cases in Mb hands . He had just received a letter from a benevolent individual , who gave the initials " M . C ., " enclosing £ 1 for Holloway and his family , which , with other Bums forwarded to him , would be liid out for their benefit . Ellis said be was afraid the boy would not f et batter until he was removed from the confined apartment where so many pers # ns ¦ were huddled together . The house was tumbling to pieces , and wob one of the numerous unclaimed houses called " Irish freeholds . " . "
  
  ... Mr . Broder ip said , if the family could be persuaded to leave the premises for a cleaner and more wholesome apartment , it would gready facilitate the boy ' s recovery , and prevent the contagion from spreading , but h « liad no power to campel them to leave , and it was not likely they would do so while they were living rent free . Mr . Boss has called the attention of the Board of Guardians of the Stepney "Union to the filthy and delapidated condition of the numerous bouses without legal owners in Sbadwell , and measures will be immediately taken to enforce the provisions of the Police Act , by cleansing , fumigating , and whitewashing some of them , and pulling down others which are in a dangerous state . Tbe typhus fever is raging in H > auy of thfecB tenements .
  
  ATTEMPTED SUICIDE FROM WANT . A youthj - named Thomas Gale , who s ^ ted that he waB oniy fifteen years ol age , was brought up charged with attempting to commit suicide , by throwing himbQli from Waterloo-bridge last night . The officer on duty at tbe bridge Btsted that he saw the prisoner mount one of the recesses of the bridge , and suspecting that he wrs going to jump oS . He seized him and conveyed Dim to the stationhouse . Mr . Jardlne asked the prisoner what he had to say for himself ? The prisoner said he was in distress , and had no place to go to . Mr . Jardine asked Mm if he bad been ferought | up to any business ? He said he had been apprenticed to an artist Mr . Jardine—Where do you come from ? The prisoner said he should decline answering that question .
  
  Mr . Jardine asked the officer if he thought tbe prisoner saw him coming up , when he got on the parapet of the bridge ? Tbe officer Bald ha thought he did .
  
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  The prisoner was remanded , in order that inquiries m ght be made respecting him .
  
  deaths trom start axjon . Death from want op food in Bethnal Gbken . —Last Saturday evening , on the occasion of an Inquest being holden at the Admiral Verapn , Bethnal Green . Mr . Baker , tbe Coroner , animadverted severely upon the conduct of Mr . Murray , the registrar of the district , for neglect of duty by not having sent to him ( the Coroner ) an account of tbe death of a person : named John Thomas ( formerly ^ during a period of tweutythree years , a clerk in Doctors' Commons ) , who was alleged to have died from the want of tbe common necessaries of life . Mr . Murray read the register of the
  
  death , which was as follows : " Died from general
  Coroner—Colonel Rowan Bent an inspector of police to see me , with the whole particulars of the death , so that the duties were performed by the Commissioners of police instead of t * ie coroner . You had better send information to me or the pariah officer , whose duty it 1 b to attend to inquests . I hive written a long letter to the registrar-general . I have no doubt you will hear from Mm . Toe unfortunate decer'idit appeared had two daughters living with him , one aged twelve , and the other twenty-six yrars . He was obliged to give up bin employment some wcekB ago , in consequence of ill-health , aad hii not been able for some time to do anything for his livelihood . His eldest daughter says that sho , her brother and father applied for relief , when they were told that their father would be taken into the house . He and the family were unwilling that be should go there . i ; DEATH FROM THE ALLEGED NEGLECT OF A
  
  Relieving Officer . ( On Friday , December the 1 st , an inquest was hold at the Black Horse Inn , Sidcup , Footcray , Kent , upon the body of Maria PJummer , aged 40 , the wife of a labouring man in the employment of the Right Hon . Lord Bexley , Who nni 8 to her death under circumstances which implicate both the husband of the do oettea and the relieving officer of tbe Bromley Union . From the evidence , which was very voluminous , it appeared that about six years since the deceased summoned her husband before the magistrates at Footscray for jii treatment , on which orc'iion he agreed to give her baif-a-crown a week , which he continued to do with great irregulrrity , the result of which was , that she was reduced to considerable distress , wandering
  
  about from one relation to another , till eaoh in turn ( t ; iDg pear 1 -reons ) were unable to support her any longer . On Wednesday night she slept in a Water-Closet in Footscray . On the morning of Thursday she went to Mr . Pritcbard , a surgeon , of Footscray , who , f idit'g her in n wretched and deplorable condition gave her a letter to Mr . Banks , the relieving officer , who lives at Ch ' iselhurst . She immediately went over to Mr . JJankes , whom she saw , and told him that she had slept in a water-closet all night , and wished him to compel her husband to find her a lodging . He promised to do so , and called to sea her husband , but was unable to meet with him . He , however , took no steps to relieve her , and when , after having h ? en spoken to on the subject
  
  by Mr . Rogers , a respectable draper of Footscray , he replied that if he relieved her without bringing her cr-e before the Board of Guardians , they would immediately reprimand him . The poor woman wandered over to Sidcup , and rilled at the Black Horse , where she asked fer a bid ; this was at first refused , but af-irtrrrds granted to her . Her husband was drinking ia the house at the time , and exhibited the utmost indifference to her m i serable condition . She retired to I : d ahont half-past nine , being so weak and feeble that she wr- abont half an hoar getting up stairs , and fell down in the bedroom . In the night she was attacked T 7 ith diBtrfcoei , and in the morning when the landlady sent np she wri fonnd in t ^ e agonies of death . Dr . Pritcbard stated , that he had made &postmortern examination and found tbe stomach entirely empty , without one pniticle of food ; the lungs were healthy , but there wn a slight effusion on the pericardium ; there was a
  
  Bcbhrous ) ndura' -3 d tumour on the right lot 3 of the liver ; the gal ] - » Iadder was much distended v > ith biliary calculi , -which entirely obstructed the passage of the bile , producing diarrt ce-. Her whole condition was one of the most wretched imr ~ inable , her clothes in the most filthy state , and she suffered dreadfully from want of proper care and attention , which in her condition must have hastened her death . The relieving officer was called io , and stated he never received Mr . Pritch&rd' B note to him . The jnry expressed their opinion that h « ought to exercise his own judgment ; and not wait for tbe opinions of the Board of Guardians . The Coroner told him that if a verdict of manslaughter was returned , it would not be against the Buard of Guardians , bat against himself ; and therefore he ought to have acted on bis own responsibility . The inquest , after nearly four hours' duration , was adjourned , to enable , tbe Jury to discover what had become of Mr . Pritcbard ' a letter .
  
  The above account we have extracted from tbe Morning Chronicle of Saturday . The Times » f the Bame day bad a more extended narrative of tbe horrible atrocity ; and on Monday the Editor drew publio attention to it in the foMowing justly indignant observations ;—It would be needless to add another stroke to the speaking hoirors of the case of starvation to DEATH which we recorded on Saturday , or to say a single word more in indication of the strong plain lesson which it bears graven on its every circumstancesupon and about and within and around it— 'were it not that its details are so intensely excruciating that we fe » very few persons could even endure to read them through , We are induced , therefore , now briefly to state the pith of the matter , in the hope that its inati active moral may be still more widely spread .
  
  Maria PJummer , the wife of a gardener in the employ of Lord Bexiey , at Footscray , in Kent , was , some weeks since , driven from her heme by her husband , who , although earning Us . a week , refused to receive or support or in any way assist her . Evidence was given that the woman bid been treated by her husband most crufelly , and had been , before Bbe was formalfy abandoned , f deprived by him even of the common necessaries of life . " In this condition the poor creature " wandered about the neighbouring fields and villages , utterly destitute , for weeks , " as it ia now , alter she has been allowed to starve to death , remembered by
  
  those yrho shw her ; and this in a country which professes to have laws for tbe " relief of tbe poor . During this length of time , ail that she had to save her from starving was the precarious bounty of her step-father , a poor man himself , and not well able t « do more than supply his own necessities . On Wednesday week last , a policeman at Footscray sent her to the " relieving " officer { so called ) et the Bromley Union . Whether she ffii * made any application is not clear ; but " about halfpast eleven o'clock on that night" the same policsman found her " knocking from deortodoor in the village , " praying to be admitted , and allowed a bed . " The policeman
  
  continues" I told her she must not do that , but go to her husband ' s lodging . She did so , and I followed her . I knocked Plninmer ( her husband ) np , and be came and put bis head out of the window . I told him the dreadful state his wife was in , and that he ought to see that she had a place to go to . He said he could not live with her , and bad no place for hat to go to . I said , What , then , am I to do with her ? I can take her nowhere bat to the station . He made no reply to this , bnt Shut down the window . I then took deceased with me np to her husband ' s father , to Bee if I could get her in there . I told him that if he would take her in tot the night , she would go before tbe
  
  relievingofficer in the morning ; but be abused me , and refused . I said , Well , you had better go with me to the statien , addressing dec :-ased ; but she begged very bard lot me not to ' ske her there , aud raid she would try to get in at some friend ' s house . I then left her . Abont half-past three o ' clock on the following morning I fonnd her sitting in an open priyy near the Church , and not far from her father-in-law ' s house . She was not asleep , and I asked her how she was , to which she replied , Oh pretty well . She at that time certainly met in a most distressed state , and appeared in want , but did not appear sufficiently ill for me to remove her . The night in question was a very wet and Btormy night . " -
  
  On the Thursday morning the poor woman again went to her stepfather ' s house at Chiselhurst . She was then quite exhausted from want of food . After being supplied by her stepfather with something to satisfy her immediate wants , she applied , at his suggestion , io the " relieving" efneer of the Bromley Union , a Mr . Baskes . This worthy ascertained frem her that she tad had no pbae to sle « p in but a privy , and he saw , or might kave seen , that she was labouring under the tortures of gaunt , hollow Btaivation , witn its attendant complication of diseem But , as it Beems , he did not conceive it his duty to " inquire" whether the
  
  Woman wn in distress or not ! Whether she bad a husband , however , he did inquire , and onjnding it to be the caBe , be took npon him to decide tiKfc . tha Board of Guardians would 'reprimand him , " [ if'tie interfered to save a woman who wrs suffering death by inches , anl would insist that the wife ought not to ybe cared for , because her m ' sery wes the consequence of the husband ' s hideous and unfeeling brutality . The relie-ring officar s ^ nt the woman away , bidding her apply Vie next day to the Board of Guardians at St . Mary ' s C ray , a place three miles distant from Cbtalhurs ! -. Before that " next day" came round , iht woman was a
  
  CORPSE ! To show in what condition the woman applied to the relieving officer , end in what condition she was referred to the next day , and a six miles' walk , we Bubjoin the evidence—first , of her Bteprather , from whose house she prorseded to uvake the application , and , secondly , ol the surgeon , Mr . Pritchard , who made the post viorteDi examination of the body . The Btfep-father , Thome s H ' smau , deposes" She came to me on Thursday week , and said she bad been tinned oat of the lodging , and that she had 1
  
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  slept in a privy , having no other place to go to but that . She had come to see Mr . Bankea to get her into the bouse- Deceased left me to go to Mr . Bankea , She wa « i at this time in the most deplorable condition and in great Want . I do not think she was in a fit state to walk about from place to place to obtain relief . Tbe impression of any one seeing her must have been that she was Ul and starving ; she looked so thin . I gave her food . Had she been a stranger to me , her condition was such , that I should at least have given her a piece of bread * Her eyes were full of water , and ready to start out of her head . ' Mr . Pritchard
  
  said" I was called to this house to scj her on Friday morning last , and found her dead . I never saw & human being in so deplorable a condition in my life . I have since made a post mortem examination of her body . The chest was generally healthy . There was a large tumour in the right lobe of the liver ; the stomach and intestines exhibited a great deal of inflammation ; no doubt produced by the severe diarrhoai to which she bad been subjected from want of sufficient bile . The stomach and bowels were perfectly empty . There was not the slightest particle of food or nourishment of any kind to be found therein . The uteras was much ulcerated , and her entire body showed that she had been a victim to neglect , dirt , and improper attention . She was the most wasted and miserably emaciated being I ever I ; held .
  
  If tbia waa not a <* -e « t plain , sheer , and direct starvation to death—of death from starvation , Bnd from that alone—it is impossible to Bay what is . We do not hesitate to say , for our own part , that a more signal , a more flagrant , or a more appalling c ^ ie of that most horrible form of death—tbe slow , creeping , wasting torture of starvation—a caca in all it ? circutust'UJcea so horribly painful , so unreel" , med . by a single Btrikipg feature of humanity or kindnesa , or even common decsney , in any one of the persons principally concerned , it has never been our lot to hear of .
  
  The cold , savage brutality ef the husband ; the [ quiet indifference with which the poor creature was allowed by the whole neighbourhood to knock from door to door in ft state of starvation and disease , in a " cold , wet , and stormy" night in November , without one single person offering her BheHer or food ; and , finally , the official reply of the Poor Law menial , referring tbe " case" to the board , " present altogether a picture which we would hope , for the sake of decency , for the Bake of human nature , for the sake of our common religion , does not often meet with ita parallel in this 01 any other civilised and Christian Country .
  
  But , we esk , could Such a case by any possibility occur under a sound and well-principled system of Poor Laws ? By what law is it that the important discretionary trust involved in the administration of " relief " is vested in hireling officialo—in a class ef persona whose station and character are scarcely above those of the M paupers" whom they oppress ? By what law is it that that relief which , according to the spirit and letter of the old common law of the realm , it was once thy right of every poor man to have at his door and in his chamber , so far at least as to prevent the public scandal of his starving in the streets—by what law has this
  
  bounty been not only completely changed in its character , but removed to a distance—to distances of three , and four , and five , and in some casea even , of ten and twenty miles , from tbe home of the faint and starving applicant ? By what law , we ask ? By the law of might , but not of rightr-of expediency , but not of justice—of cruelty , but not of caution—of selfishness , but not of foresight . The changes are those which have been made by the New Poor Law , and this is the consequence . Could there be conceived a more convincing condemnation of any law or system whatsoever ?
  
  THE MBB . DER 0 V 8 POOR LAW . The Dorsetshire Poob . —The following extrach from a letter from Mr . A . J . Daniell , published in tbe Dorset County Chronicle , exhibits the d&votednees with which the poor cling to the "homes 0 * their fathers , " wretched though those homes have become ; and the sort of feeling ent 2 rtalned by them towards the accursed baatiles : — " To whom , then , do the delapidated cottages ( for such undoubtedly they are ) belong ? I have said it before ; to the leaseholders , or ( as I now add ) to the
  
  poor themselves . Some of the veiy worst of these tenements are of the latter class ; little ( socalled ) freeholds—encroachments on the manor in ancient days . The poorer leaseholders migfet indeed te presented in court ; but to compel some of them to put tbc ' r tenements in repair woriid be a project as hopeless r ^ -the scheme of extracting sun-beams from cucuml re . Some of tbe little freeholds are in a condition equally bad ; bat all this , Sir , is no argument n addressed to yourself , who disregard causes , and only concern you--self with effects .
  
  "And yet the poor cleave to these joyless tenements , because they are their own ; they prefer—dc 3 ply and decidedly prefer—the shelter of a roof which some of them can scarcely keep in tolerable repair , to the stern though sordid protection of the walls of 'the union . ' Their fsociations ding like ivy to these rugged walls ; it wp » around these they played in the ' r infancy—it was among these banks they strolled as children—it waa in the adjacent fields they toiled or played , while life was fresh to them , and health unimpaired . Even in ol * age , therefore , they prefer to be here ; and It must be borne in mind , by any visuant who may pass a remark upon the dreariness of the
  
  1 tenement and the age of the inmate—on the decrepitude of both alike—that ( after all ) it ia their choice . They prefer their own cottage to the unaccustomed walls and blank Beourity of the union . Besides , the f ; nvment is tbeir own : ; it is something to retain , and to bequeath ; even this , in their sphere , confers a place and position ; and retain it they do with an unreiuxing grr ~ p , and bequeath more carefully than ( sometimes ; a millionaire assigns his thousands . AH these little freeholds have likewise a garden attached to them , which is the large * because < when the common wei enolosed ) considerable allotments were made to each in lieu of turbary , or the right of cutting fuel on the
  
  waste . " For all these reasons it may be fairly asserted that the poor prefer tkeir little leasehold or freehold tenements to ( that alternative which the poor cin always command ) the Union-house .
  
  THB WORKHOUSE SYSTEM . We understand that last week there were in tbe Union Workhouse , Leighton Buzz >? d , no less than 82 individuals belonging to the parish of Wing . As , however , the expense of supporting families , some of which cost from 20 s . to 30 b . weekly , pressed heavily on the ratepayers , upwards of 50 have since been taken home to their own parish , and the farmer * have agreed to employ the labourers at weekly wages of 8 s ., with an extra shilling for those who are employed on Sundays . There must surely be something wrong in the tfianriement of a parish containing between 5 . 000 and 6 , 000 ' acrea of land , to have an ? able bodied labourers in an union workhouse , where no benefit is derived from their labour ; indeed , we strongly apprehend that many of the offences which occur ia the rural districts may be traced to the poor not being properly employed , and the iuadequat 3 manner in Whioh they are paid for their labour . —dvLssbury Journal .
  
  ATROCITIES AT THE BIRMINGHAM WORKHOUSE . An inquiry of a most important nature , involving charges of a grave character against the parties immediately entrusted with the management of the Birmingham Workhouse , and more particularly with that department of it conneotsd with the relief of vagrants , or ' tramps , " and tbe casual poor , commenced in the Board Room on Friday last , before J . Weale , Esq ., one of the Assistant Poor Law Commissioners . Mr . Weale arrived in Birmingham on Thursday last , and informed the Vestry Clerk that the Commirooners had received an anonymous letter , containing a series ef charges of eruelty , && , practised towards " tramps , " and in-door paupers in the workhouse ; that it Wfs necessary those charges should 11 investigated -, and he therefore requested that tbe members of the House Committee should be summoned , to attend the inquiry on the following morning . Circulars were accordingly issued and the Committee and a number of Guardians were in att 3 ndanca at ten o ' clock , the hour appointed .
  
  Previous to the inquiry commencing , Mr . Weale , being apprised that reporters were present , informed them that he bad a communication of a private nature to make to the Guardians , which related merely to the internal mapagement ; of the establishment ; and that after he had made it , if the Guardians expressed a wish that tbe inquiry about to be instituted should be public , he should he the last to object to the representatives of the press being present . The reporters then withdrew , and after the lapse of about an hour were re-admitted into the room , ¦ where they fonnd Mr . Lucas in tDe chair , Mr Weale occupying a seat on his loft
  
  Mr . Weale , addressing the reportera , said that the guard ians had expressed a wish that they Bhould be present . He would , therefore , state to them that the Poor Law Commisj oners had received an anonymous communication , which he had laid before the Guardians , who themselves concurred in the absolute necefiaitv of an enquiry being instituted into the charges contained in it . The peinta of the enquiry would therefore 13 these : — 1 st . —As to four bays being conaned eight days and nights in a place called "the black hole , " and kept on water gruel ali the time , in a complete state of nudity , without a shirt to cover their nakedneBB , or shelter them from the inclemency of the weather . 2 nd . —That a little boy , ( name unknown , ) was put into the tramp room by the governor , and when taken out that he was obliged to be placed in a warm bath .
  
  * «« -- «» " . /<*«* -woman named Rhoda had been lui ^ n * tnUDP ™ ° bT ^ 80 Tera < * ** 4 th .-Tbat the JnBsne ward had been converted into a place of punishment by the governor , and that a woman named B— had been taken from another 'SStoSS ' "" m into tte * " ** ward ** r , n ? a ; SiS ' K L liaa " ' obseued ' a ** he could not at aU say , for he knew not , who was to be blamed m this inqmrjrrbut M the master of the worfafouBe £ , named in the charges , it was but fair on the « m EngJishprindple of justice , that everybody who was Sn ^^' ' ' ah 0 aW ^ ve an ' opportnnUy S hearing the testimony : and he therefore thonghs the governor should be present « wMgu . » me
  
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  The Governor waa then called in , and informed by Mr . Weaie of the nature of tbe charges made against him ; and asked whether he had any record , or books to bbow whether fonr boys Bad been at any time put into this ' black hole , " First , he would aak whether be keptaponisbmentbook ? , « . . « ., * The Governor replied In the negative ; he did not admit that any person had been punished . The charge had reference to foar tramps , who , having torn their clothes , bad been put into the tramp ward , ( if they obose to call it confinement ) , but he had had no orders to punish thsm . - Mr Weaie—It was necessary to take other evidence ontbispcJnt ; »«»* be wished to know . whether he bad any books or documents to ^ sbow that four . persons had been keptlfor eight days in a tramp room or black hole , or whether any persons had been confined there during the period referred to—from the 26 th of Septemlx last to the 3 rd of October following .
  
  The Governor denied that they bad any black hole , or at all events that it had ever been used for such a purpose aince he had been appointed to the management of the workhouse . Mr . Weale—As yon have stated that on one occasion four persons were confined a certain number of days in the tramp room without clothing , we will begin with the evidence of the person Who had the men in charge . ! Mr . Knight here begged to read , from the books of tbe house committee , a minute in reference to two men who had destroyed their clothing daring the night , and who had been ordered fresh clothing by the committee . He mentioned this to show that the practice wn one of frequent occurrence .
  
  The Governor stated , in answer to questions by Mr . Weale , that the four men to whom he referred were admitted on the 26 tb of Septauiber last' Their names were William Jone ? , ( 15-, ) Daniel Blyth , ( 27 ); Henry Carter , ( 19 J ) : Walter Yonng , ( 18 ); tbey were discharged on the 3 rd ! of October . William Harris , the keeper of the tramp room , in which these men had been placed , was tben sworn and examined by Mr . Weale . He said be was twenty-four years of age . He recollected the four men above referred to coming into the house in September last Tbey were placed in the regular tramp room , and during the night theylripped up their clothes , and were found in the morning quite naked , with the exception of one , who had his shirt and trousers left . On telling the
  
  governor of t 6 e cirenmstanoe , be ordered him to remove them into the other tramp room , which he accordingly did , giving each man a rug to cover him . Thev remained in the second room about ten days , during which time they bad no other clothing given them by night or day . There was no fire in the room , nor waa it warmed las the other tramp room , with heated air . They complained very much of the cold , and said that they were starved . Tbe governor visited them tb » ee or four times while they were there . Witness asked the governor for clothing , and he said that he was to give them some the last day they went out . They had no bed or straw to sleep on ; nothing but the bare boards . There « t «| no wat-jr closet iu the room , " only a tub , which was removed by witness and another keeper
  
  every morning , for tbe men never left tbeir room from the day they went in until they lefK They had no soap or water to wr ** h themselves , until the morning that they left , jwhen witness assisted in cleaning them . They were ! very filthy ; the room was cover d with filth , and it had a very offensive smell . One of the men complained of illness tbe day before he left , and the doctor was sent for , who ordered him some medicine . They had nothing but bread and gruel during the time tbey were under bis charge ; he supplied it to them tbtee times a day . It was not usual to keep tramps in the house more than one sight , but he had orders from the governor to detain these four men . They did not a * k for their discharge ; he bad fold them that he had ; orders from the governor to lock them np . The weather was rather cold at the time . There were
  
  about thirteen tramps who had destroyed their clothes before . About two days after they came in witness applied to tha governor for more clothing , and told him that the men werestaiving , and he replied " Let them stop there a day or two . " In tbree or four days after he applied aga'n , and he told him to let them stop till the next morning , and be would find them some clothes . He did give them some , and they left the house . The governor gave witness the clothes , and he gave them ! to the men . The reason the governor r 'signed for removing the men into a separate room was , that if i other tramps came in , they would also be likely to destroy their clothes . Witness had the care of the rugs , but bad none to spare for the men when he apptied to the governor : the rugs are six feet by four aud a half feet .
  
  The Governor denied that tbe witness Bad ever asked him for mote clothing , and Baid the roan was next to an i diot , and that the whole of his statement wpi much at variance with tbe facts of the case . Mr . Weale—I think such a remark quite uncalled for . The man has given his evidence in a very straightforward collected manner . Mr . Rodway—( to witness )—What is the name of the gentleman who asked you questions on this subject before ?] Mr . Weale— With great deference , S ' r , this Is a question which I cannot allow you to put . We are here to inquire into the truth of certain charges which have baen elated , i Mr . Rodway—My object is to know the person who sent this anonymous letter , and who bad not the manliness to put his name to i *
  
  Mr . Weale—Did the men complain more of * - ' ie cold at night tbau daring the day ?—Witness—They did , Sir . j Mr . Weak—The tramps have no straw allowed them to lie ! upon in the other room T—Witness—No , gir- I Mr . Weale—I took the liberty of inquiring into that fact the other day . Mr . Huntj—It wpt decided some time since that it waa more conducive to their health to be kept without straw . I
  
  Mr . Smith , the bouee surgeon , wai next examined . He deposed to having been called in to see a person in the tramp ward , in the Infirmary Passage . He found him suffering from pains in his stomach and bowels , and ordered ! him some medicine . The room was so dark that he could not see into it ; the man came to him at the door ; be was naked , or apparently so ; he believed be bad a rag round him . He did not know what state the pfaca wri in , but it must have been very filthy , for the smell was most offensive . He made no report of the case to the governor , nor did he order the man change of diet . He asked after him next day , and found he bad left the bouse . The men complained ef being kept ; there for eight or ten days . , They appeared to be young men , or boys . They said tbey had destroyed their clothing , they were so fall of vermin . He did not tninfc the patient in a state that called for his removal to the inflmary .
  
  Will'ftm Percival was next sworn and examined . He was a pauper employed in the house as wardsman , and to assist tbe governor in looking after the clothes . He never gave Harris clothes te give to the four men confined in the tramp room ; witness took the clothes himself . Harris jdid not accompany him . He found the men in a state of great wretchedness , aad -very dirty . He believed they had nothing to cover them but rugs during the time tbey were confined in the room ; There was soap and ; water allowed them , bat he did not know whether they had any . He should say that the room was clean , although it had an offensive smell . The men never complained a bit of the treatment they had received : they were very glad te get out . They said they were treated very kindly in every shape . Mr . Weale 4-Will you venture on your oath to Btate that these men stated that they were treated very kindly and that thiymade no complaint of the treatment which they revived i while in the house ?
  
  Witnes 8 ^ -They did not , sir . They made no complaint of tbe ] - * cold ; and when he brought them the clothes , they said , •« That ' s right ; we are anxious to get out . " When ; they were going out , the matron gave them some bread and meat , and they said tbey were much obliged . The matron said , ?* You are all well clothed , and you ought to very thankful that no measures have bsen taken against yon . " With that they touched their hats , and bade her good morning .-Mr . Weale-j—And that is what yen call expressing their gratitude for the treatment they received 1
  
  William Harris , the former witness , was recalled and examined . He said that he went for the clothes the morning the men left tbe house , and the governor sent them to Perciyal , who gave them to witness , aud be then took them to the tramps . He believed Percival accompanied him to the tramp room . £ This witness was cross-examined at considerable length respecting the orders he had to supply the men with , aoap and towels , bnt nothing material bearing on tbe main facts of the caw was elicited . ] The enquiry was adjourned till nine o ' clock the following morning , and the governor was desired , if he preferred that course , to prepare in the meantime a piain , 8 traigbtforward history of the whole of the transaction , as his explanation of the circumstances which led to the confinement of the men for so long a period . . Saturday!—On toe re-assembling of the Board this moming , the inquiry waa resumed .
  
  Mr . Bynner , the . Vestry Clerk , was the first witness called and examined . He stated that on Monday morning , the 25 th of September , the Governor of the workhouse called upon him afc hia office , and told him that four tramps , ! who bad been admitted the previous Saturday night , had torn their clothes , and reduced themsblvea toja state of nudity . Witness advised that they Bhould be taken before a magistrate , and he drew up an information for that purpose . The Governor stated that he had been recently before the magistrates with a similar charge , and that they were d ' aincjined to commit , aud that he would first see the House
  
  Committee . Several days after , tbe Governor told him that be had been ordered by the Committee to consult the Messrs . Whateley upon the subject ; that he had done so , and found that the information drawn np by witness would not de , as it should have been laid under a late Act , the ] 5 th and 6 th Victoria , & 57 , tea 5 , in which there waa a special clause for offences of this natnre . Witness had before taken men before the magistrates for the ] same offence , and succeeded with some difficulty in getting a conviction in two cases , when the men were sentenced to twenty-one days' hard labour . I
  
  Mr . Weale hera said that he should be ready to receive the evidence of the Governor himself , either on oath or otherwise ; or , if he preferred it , he would take
  
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  his statement in writirg . It rested with himself fo make bis choice . It was for the Governor to shew ifa * he reported the case to the Committee , and to state wH decision tbey came to . Mr . Knight suggested that they could get at the fae } . as to the diet from Mrs . Hurst , the matron . Mrs . Hurst was called , and after in the first instaom objecting to take tbe oath , she subsequently allowed hertelf tobeBWom . She said she recollected four ]* & being kept several days in the tramp room , in the It . flrmary passage . She visited them the first eveniM they went in with Harris ; and tsok them four rag ? three of which she gave to the lads , and the fourtti to a boy , abont ten ox eleven years of age , who bad bea sent into , the boom as punishment by tho relieviM officer , at the request of hia mother . ^
  
  [ Mr Weale—I would take this opportunity of pr . testing strongly against the workhouse being used si | place of punishment . I have on one or two occasion noticed that fact ; and you , as Guardians , have nothior whatever to do with punishing the children of the poor , It is an act of great illegality and cruelty , and renderi you liable to be panbbed yourselves . As the case o ( this boy has come out , I shall feel it to be my doty t < j hunt out every fact connected with it . Mr . Boucher said that tb » Belief Committee hid told the poor over and over again that they should take tbeir children to the magistrates , r :
  
  Mr . Knight also stated that he had always discouQ . tenanced eocb practices ; and if be recollected rightly , in this very case he yielded very reluctantly to tb « urgent } request of the mother to have the boy admitt >) into the house as punishment , for she could not get hba to work . A note of admission was given in the caie , bnt whether any further instructions were issued ss fe the boy ' a treatment , he was net prepared to say . }' Witness gave each of the men , with one exception , and the boy , a rag a-piece ; they were furnished at tin time with a rug , se that this made two for each . The men complained of the heat of the place , and she de . sired Harris to keep the door open . This was on a Wednesday . During the time the men were there , Harris applied to herfpr a Bhirt for one of the men ,
  
  which she gave him , and on bis taking it to the room , the man tore it in pieces before his face . Harris then said that there was no use in giving them any more clothing . Witness directed Harris to give them tht bread and broth , as well as the other tramps . To the beat of her belief , there w ? s meat sent to them on the Sunday after they were put into the room . She did UOt Rive it out herself . She ordered . Harris to do so . They had meat also given the morning that they started The boy wa * sent into the workhouse as a punishment , not to be punished when he was there ; they never punished . It waa witness who ordered him to be put in the tramp room , to tbe best of her belief , All the
  
  paupers were sent to the tramp room in the first is . stance , after being admitted , e-j a probationary ward . The boy was taken out the morning after he had tcso put there , and bad a bath . She did not know his name , nor bow long he remained in the bouse after this , ths men had bread and broth foe breakfast and dinner , and thick gruel for supper . She told Harris not to spare tbe meal , but to roaRe it good ; it was as thick as pot ridge , although it was called gruel . She gave bin particular instructions with regard to these very mea Mr . Hurst , the governor , here put in his own Btaft * ment ; but , on the suggestion of Mr . Weale , be with . drew it to correct discrepancies and omissions , which appeared upon the face of it .
  
  William Harris wes again recalled , and examined oo tbe evidence given by Mrs . Hurst He said that bt had no recollection of the matron bringing ¦•¦ foar rags to the tramp ward , where tbe men were confined . Durirj the time the men were there , he recollected a bj > j , about thirteen years of age , being brought in for punisfe . ment , and placed a ' ong with them . He could swear positively that lie never saw Mrs . Hurst at the place dcr < ing all the time tbe men were there . The men had only a rug each . He did not know that the boy had » rug at night to cover him . He did not give him ene . Never heard the men complain of the heat of thi room , and . never was desired to leave the door opes , Never took tbe men bread and broth , or a meat dinner
  
  on a Sunday while they were there , nor was he ordered to do so by Mrs . Hunt . Never asked her to give one of the men a shirt ; but on another occasion , some time before * , got a shirt for a tramp , which he tore up and trampled upon . It was the practice to give tbe resol * * * tramps bread and broth for dinner on Sundays ; never gave them meat , and never gave the four men any thing but bread and gruel . He acted by the governor '! directions . The boy was in the room with them thrco or four days ; he Was taken ont bsfore the men left The boy had bread and milk for breakfast and supper , and bread and broth for dinner . The governor bad told him that the boy was ssnt into the tramp room foi punishment .
  
  Joseph Blick , an aged pauper of weak intellect , wri next examined ; but bis evidence merely went to show that four men had been confined in the room , and thai tbe place was in a very filthy condition . Mr . Weale suggested that while tbey had sufficient light they should goat once , and inspect tbe room ( 0 which tbe boy and the men were confined . The whole of the persons present accordingly adjourned to the infirmary passp ^ e , on the left of which , at the entranr 3 , is a little nook or box , called the keepers ' s lodge , nearly opposite and a little further en , they came to tbe door of the apartment spoken of throughout tin evidence as the tramp room ; but on opening it nothing could be seen , although & sickly light was discernible in a grating at the farther end . On lights being obtained ,
  
  all present had an opportunity of judging of the giZ ? and condition of this dismal dungeon . It was a Ion vaulted cell , below the level of the infirmary passage , about six feet by ten feet in size . Elevated from the ground about twelve or eighteen inches , was a boarded platform , which sloped from the open grating at the extreme end of tbe vault towards the door ; this w ? j explained to be the guard bed provided for tramp . " Neat the door was a space of about two feet , whieh wai left for the open tub spoken of by Harris ; and the flooi near this spot was saturated with water , and cover ; 1 with fltth . A more loathsome prison could not well fci imagined even by the fertile brain of a grand iuquisitor , versed in all the arts and mystery of torturing yet prolonging human life ; and to crown all , the tf&uvia ws . bo overpowering that it was impossible to remain more than a minute within the precincts of this noisome den . This was indeed the veritable " black hole , " tbe dread 0 refractory paupers , and the terror and test of
  
  unfortunate tramps , whose evil stars might lead them to seek a night ' s shelter in tbia dismal place . The governor , the matron , the house surgeon , the keepers ! and Others , who had been , examined , were summoned to the spot by Mr . Weale , and one and all acknowledged that it was here the four unfortunate men had been confined in a state of nudity for ten days and nights , and where the little boy had I en sent to acquire hia first lessons ! n morality , and hia early experience of the miseries of hamau life . The Guardians present expressed tbeir indignation and horror at the picture presented to them , and disavowed all knowledge of the existence of such a place as a tramp room ; and Mr . Weale himself , mere familiar to scenes of this description , declared that in no prim or workhouse in England had he ever witnessed such a den for the accommodation or punishment of humai beings . Indeed , he questioned whether Howard , whei he commenced his benevolent mission ever found anything to equal it in the course of his experience .
  
  The Governor being questioned upon the subject , said he found the place fitted up in its present state , for the reception of vagrants , when he came into the workhouse . He had put persons frequently into it IS wai not unlikely that some of their own poor had bees placed there , but he could not recollect it . They were obliged to use the place when they were crowded with tramps , which was often the ease ; and they would probably be obliged to use it that very night . Mr . Knight—I am sorry to hear it ; but if I am compelled to stop here all night , I will never suffer this to occur again . If you want room , put the poot into the chapel . Mr . HollingswoTth—Yen canld not appropriate it to a better or more humane purpose .
  
  Mr . Knight—We are bound to admit that these mea were confined in this place for eight or tea days ; and upon that point , whoever may be chargeable with tha offence or consequences of illegally confining them , ** must plead guilty . We shall now set about collecting all the evidence we can , leaving the Commissioner ta < ieai with it as he pleases . If you are satisfied , Sit , with that , we shall undertake to supply yon with admissions as fall as any evidence you can obtain in tbi > establishment . Mr . Weale—I cannot pledge myself to anything . * will , if yon wish , take the statement of this committee . I shall also bftglad to see any explanation- ton
  
  Mr . Hurst ; but there are other points in the enqtw to be gone into ; and if , in their progress , snyte matter should come oat , I shall feel bound to enqoirt inte it , and any abuses which may be brought ond * my notice in the ceurse of the investigation .. 'At . P ^' sent , my wish ia to be furnished with some information respecting this boy ; for to be kept in such a placef < w | daya or four hours was a gross abusej . and one-ttlrt **^ lot explanation . The whole olyect of my enquiry & > K prevent the recurrence of abases more than w ?^ else . I came here not to criminate yon , gentlemen , W | to enquire into certain allegations which were nU" ® '!!! order that seme authority or another should con *
  
  whatever-evils may be found to exist . v » i Mr . Herbert thought , after the enquiry thatJ *» taken place , the town must feel deeply indebte lj , Mr . Weale for bringing to light such a flornw state of things , and which , had It been to »« J-JJ the Guardians , would never have been snffew exist . u { . The inquiry was then adjourned to Thursday . —»^ land Counties Herald , *? m [ We trust some of oni ? friends will to *** JZ £ remainder of tola "inquiry . " The upshot ww " " looked fpr . J RESULT IN " CRIME "!
  
  INCENDIAET FIBES . ^ FBITCHI . ET . —Oa Sunday morning la * . * ¥ " $ four and five o ' clock , the stackyard of Mr . Jow ^ Fritcbley , © f Fritchley . near Crich , was diawvereu 69 on fire . Fortunately , there was a good jnpF
  
  "Qfyt &Lt;£Ontiition Ai &Lt;£Tt£Janft " Laws Giina Tte Poor, Snd Ileb Men Rule The 'Iw!"
  
  " Qfyt < £ ontiition ai < £ tt £ janft " laws giina tte poor , snd ileb men rule the 'iw !"
  
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  6 THTil NORTHERN SW Aft . | ' .
Citation
- Northern Star (1837-1852), Dec. 9, 1843, page 6, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct958/page/6/

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"Qfyt &Lt;£Ontiition Ai &Lt;£Tt£Janft " Laws Giina Tte Poor, Snd Ileb Men Rule The 'Iw!"

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