The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1870-07-09 00:00:00

BOARD OF GUARDIANS.

The weekly meeting of this Board was held
I yesterday: Mr. B. Brooks in the chair. There
were also present :—Messrs. Bali:Them, Bird, ,
Darby, Fereday, Griffin, Guest, Haskew, Higgs,
Oliver, Pardoe, P. Pargeter, Paskins, Plant,
' Powell, Rhodes, and Weston. Admitted into
the house during the week, IS; discharged, 19;
I remaining, 395. Corresponding week last year,
1 422. Out.cloor relief, Kingswinford district,
.542 Ss id; Stourbridge district, £25 4s 7d;
Halesowen district, 1:24 15s 10d ; total, £92 Ss
lid, against £9l Is Od last year.
The Clerk said the question to come on was
the boarding-out of the pauper children of the
Workhouse, which was discussed on the 3rd of
June, and adjourned until yesterday.
Mr. P. Pargeter enquired whether the law
would be required to be altered to enable them
to board out pauper children.
The Clerk, in reply, read the following extract
from the last report of the Poor Law Board :
‘' We should shortly be prepared to re-consider
the whole question, and if, as we have every rea-
son to hope, the difficulties attending the adop-
tion of the practice in England on is more ex-
tensive scale on a regularly organised form
though services insurmountable, it will be our
duty to issue rules and regulations for its con-
trol. We quite believe that the system, if well
conducted, is likely to benefit pauper children
in the highest degree ; but if not watched with
I unremitting care, abuses of adeplorable charac•
1 ter must surround it, and result in moral and
I social evils of the greatest magnitude.
Mr. Pargeter observed as he had moved the
adjournment for the discussion of the question,
it was incumbent on him to open the subject
again. He thought it would be desirable to
board out the children. He had heard of conic
persons applying there for servant girls. A
gentleman wanted a girl out. She seemed very
reluctant to leave. The gentleman asked her if
she would go, and she said she would sooner stay
in the house. If many of the boys end girls
were like her, they would have great trouble in
getting them to leave the Workhouse. He was
very much in favour of the system of boarding
out the children.
Mr. Plant said he was very much pleased to
see so many members of the Board present when
such an important measure was to be brought
forward—again—that of boarding out the chil-
dren of the Workhouse. He had had much to
do in Ireland, and remembered a woman 99
years of age going up to the side of the coach
and begin to beg. He had occasion to get down,
and inquired of her her age. She told him pp
years. He asked her what she had been in her
younger days, and she said a beggar. Her
father, mother, and grandmother were all beg-
gars. They ni-iver did anything but beg. Thei
hail been bred beggars, and it suited then.
Their object was to elevate the mind as well as
to strengthen the body. He had enquired of
the Governor, Mr. Hill, that morning the habits
of the Workhouse, just for his own satisfaction,
and was informed that the boys rose at a quarter
to six in the morning, breakfasted at half-past
seven, went into school at nine, left at twelve,
dined at twelve, went to school again at two,
and left at five, had supper at seven, and went
to bed at eight; went to church on a Sunday
morning at nine o'clock, and came out at teii
o'clock. It seemed to him like a cog-wheel, the
same thing every day all the year round That
was all the pool creatures had. They would not
get up in the morning the same as other people
do to breathe the fresh air and walk about. They
had every comfort and were well cared for aster
as theirbodily wants go, and in reference to their
education, Dl'. Moore examined the children in
spelling, and said it was very well rendered.
They wanted l'houi to be able to fight their own
way through Cie world. They wanted to teach
them the habit sof life. It was a subject for
discussion. H a would read them a copy of a
lettes he had fc rwarded to the Poor Law Board
on the subject :

Poste r House, Wordsley, June 6th, 1870.
I'o the Right I lon. the Poor Law Board.
My Lords and Gent leruen,—l herewith hand you a
local newspaper, in whioh you will see that on Feder
last I introduced Ao or Board of Guardians (for cot;-
sideration) a proble tot great importance; not as regards
the future well bein, ; of the poor children alone, but also
that of our count ry. It will be observed that the chair.
luau and vice oh air man spoke of having rent children
out to the Quid N;ettivol, at a higher cost than would hare
taken to keep thf on at the Workhouse, and of unsatis•
factory results. The poor children we have to deal with
are illegitimate ii aserted, or orphan children, and a few
whose parents are driven with them to our house of re •
fuge by ill health., poverty, or otherwise, anti it strikes me
that while it is oi or duty to ace that these children are
fed, clad, and ed seated, we ought not to forget their
probable deatinat ion as soon as they leave the workhouse
viz., the pits, trot marks, farms, blacksmiths, carpenters.
boatmen, &c. .

It will be seen lin the few remarks I made at the Board
that I compared our Workhouse children to hothouse
plants, because ti ley are reared with such restrirtens,
care, and comfort up to the time of their removal tsay
12 or 14 years of I get, that they never see, feel, or know
anything of the our ter world or relatives of life, and when
sent out and called' upon to do as other boys and girls do
who have grown up without Workhouse restraint, they
find themselves un eqnal in mental and physical power :
in addition to whi, th they fancy themselves without a
friend save in the place from whence they came (the
Workhouse) to will, :h they too frequently return, or take
to the roads or a treets as beggars, or worse. Under
these circumstance. I have been induced to make a move.
and hope with the I/ elp of your Honourable Board to see
them taken from tit, e Workhouse, and placed one by one
with the working pa ople of the country, in which event
we may hope they • ill grow up with other children iti
the world in which they will have to fight the battle of
life, and find their p lace and level according to merit.
The consideration of this subject was adjourned for
five weeks to enable us to collect information. I there-
for beg you will be pleased at your earliest convenience
to favour me with si tch information as in your opinion
may be of use. I beg to say that Ido not consider send-
ing a lot of children from the Workhouse to • school
provided for them a degren better than the Workhouse.
The children are pa opera as before, and grow up with
dependant notions. 1 dy idea is to let them see the world,
and work from day tr, day with other poor children, and
learn that ere long they will have to work before they
eat. Unless I obtain information to induce me to alter
my views on this impt >dant subject, I intend proposing
as under

Isl.—That we advet tile for foster parents for the chil.
dren. -

2nd.—That care be taken not to place them with
paupers, or where the fa wily M large, or known to be
immoral.

Ord.—That liberal pay be given, and that in CaBC of
sickness our medical gen Heinen attend them.
4th.—That our reliev lag officer call upon them at
stated periods, and report to the Board; and in any case,
if discovers or suspects anything unsatisfactory between
the child and its forter.parent, they shall be called before
the Board, which shall have power to order the child to
return to the house, as the case may be.
sth.—That the el did when put out shall not wene any
mark of distinction or badge, lint dress 114 children with
whom they grow up.
I believe this then may be carried into effect with great
benefit to the childmen, and when grown up to men and
women they will fill places in the ranks of society, and
not become :beggars who go into the Workhouse or pri.
seo

It will be observed that some remark was made by the
Chairman of our Beard of Guardians respecting the new
building recently pnt up for schools, which as yet have
not been called into use. My view on the subject is that
it would be better to put the children out, as before sag.
Rested, than keep them there and cause them to feel
their dependance in the Union. Not having nay desire
to do anything moro than they do, I beg year Honour-
able Board will pardon me for no long a letter, which Las
far exceeded my intention when I began to write. At
the same time I bo I; your kind conaideration of a reply
at your earliest convenience, and beg to remain, my lords
and gentlemen,
-

Yours most respectfully,
REUBEN PLANT.
itlilognit b
ebfeofroer e
the thfleitt he
esklHi should
comelu.igwhHoitiul,eoffodh-r(lia.o
d those who would discuss the
gel!
xuaepev
question
.'d)
upon it in a favourable
manner. He would rather have his childien
without shoes or stockings. and be out in the
open world than they should the reared in a
Workhouse, and shut up year after year. If a
child is let out of the house that has bees
brought up withi n its precincts, he will come
back; but the child that was bred out of the
Workhouse would dread the sight of it after he
had once been in They must have them out
with working men and women. They were not
going to find a gentleman's house for every
child. If they thought so they were mistaken.
He should like them to be brought up ins work-
ing man's family, where they would learn to
work. If it was tried they would find it would
succeed. Bring up the children in the quarter
in which they will have to live, and bring them
up in that way of life. Aftor sonic other re-
tnal'ks on the subject, the speaker resumed his
seat
Mr. Billinghani said as his name hail been
mentioned, it would he as well for him to rise at
that period of the dismission, and thought that
any member of the Board would see the the de-
sirability of carrying out the boarding-out of the
pauper children, if they could find places for the
children. He did not consider a child ought to
he boarded on a family with less than 50s per
week corniog in. Thut would be in the manu-
facturing districts, where he considered the
children learned better trades than in the agri.