The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1867-12-10 00:00:00

WORK HOUSE.-

Mr. W. T. Hawley, Pnor.Law Inspector, attended at
the Naga Fur.t Union Workhouse on Friday to inquire
baaahmges which bevel*. n made in a printed state-
ment. Nigned " h Forester," and which woe addremed
h. the ratepayer. and guardia..2 of the union, and
circulated very elt."i•ali in the neighbourhood. Mr.
?"'""--,aoresre4 to watch theniquiry
dl. T. Johns, of Ring
an behalf of several ratepayers, Mr. F. Leigh for the
matron (Mr. and Mrs. Wells), and Mr.
C.,s well for the gasrdfans.—Tke Ant shame inquired
Into wa• as follows :—" Did • man die in the house last
winter who was oosaselled to piek .kuin while the
death struggles wore on him. or within an haw of
his death? was an old man named Naylor, who died
tact winter in the house, compelled to work within
two Of three days of hi. death out of doo-a, and
did he die from exposer, and ehhatution sad
did either of the all .ve old men, or any who
died lad winter have froshhitten limb, at the tilos of
tl eir death, and had On/ hewn oompelled to work? In
enp.eort of thi• sheep. Mr. Johns veiled Ctiarle. Shave,
George ifn4sr., •n•l John Harrison, 001-
1407.4 011 the flonth•Western Itaderay, whom evidenoe
wen, h, shoe tb,h no toe 5 h of J•naary laat, when the
snow woo thee* or toir inehe, thick on the groond,
then new ftillenes, the late porter, pushing Naylor emcee
tie Union lead to when some other inmates were en.
(sold In levelling a hank. Naylor, who appeared to be
vcry feeble, fell down, and two of the witnesses
mid Stilettos helped him up, whilst the two others
are rind thit ha dot up lihneelf. The R•v. J. T.
chap'ain of the Union, wee odied, and
al lie •••• a in., in bed with his Anger. frost.
bate 11, be, he ooul 1 hot my it 1,1•4 N., ler* In
If0•041•0141011.10/1 the raw. synth, as denied that
0, had takes any put IA lib* OW*

THE DORN

sisals made is the paper alensi by "A Fot•••••."
As tbe antes (Jam Ayles) bad died slue she left the
Union, Mr. Johns pat itt • datums, sloe bad suds to
blues Blamed, whisk was to the effect that Nayler
wee seat to work out of doors during the frosty
sad bed his fingers frost-bitten. She dressed his lagers
Irma that time sp to the day of his iltoth- H. w"
ordered to piek oakum, bet he eould not de it. His
Goon were getting bettor, end he was sent out to work
mtgs. This was about • week before his death. A
few days afterwards be was sent to die sick ward, and
be died the next day. He complained that he weld not
eat bis food, that hoe bad been severely treated, and that
lie we. • murdered man. There were sever.' eases of
frod-bitee last winter besides Naylor's. One old man
was much worm than Naylor. but they were all sent
out to work. The doctor ordered Naylor briady,
which he had. This being the evidence for
the eontPlaints, Mr. Cantwell pat in several
broke, which sheered that Naylor was repri-
manded by the hoard for his disorderly wooded
on the flth of January; bet he ma afterwards
allowed three days' leave of abuse& ; that he left at
10 o'clock on the morning of the Seed of J•nuarv, and
returned at six the mane evening intoxiseted. Thalia*
medical oftloer of the haute (Dr. Neon) ordered Naylor
Porter and brandy, which he had. He was admitted
Into the Mk ward on the 10th of February, and died oa
the 11101, sad his death was eertified ats "Natural
daisy." The nurse amerted that she left the hoe,. In
•••••Slomme of dimes, but Mr. Colwell showed that
Us
wee reprimanded by the board in eonsequenes of
her dirty habit and general inattention to duties, and
warned that unless her duties were more utidactorily
' discharged in the futon she would be called upon to
I mien her situation, and she then intimated her intone
lion of resigning at the end of the tooth. lb, 0°t••11
•ad•• that sol•Pleints were made against the sum that
she herself consumed the brandy ordered for Naylor.
Mr. Wells proved that Naylor cm • hearty and hale old
man, industrious, accustomed to out-door labour, and
always very willing to work that on the 6thJanuaryhe ramie& to work because he said halloo°,
was not his master, and that he (Kr. Wells) the.
um him another j-ls, whist he did very motile. He
never gemplained to him, he was never set to wort after
hews. taken ill, sad be observed no frost.bitee on his
Amgen or hands. Hs was quite able to fill the harrows
at the bank they were levelling. Mr. James Fletcher
stated that Naylor had never made any complaint to
him. He maw him between two and three &sleek on
the day of his death; his hands were this inusesd, and
I'. did not notice any frost bite. on them. Elisabeth
Peony, an sesistut nurse in the siek ward, washed
Naylor's hands both before and after his death, and there
was no •Polmmonee of their haring been frost-bitten. A
mast mooed Mason ma admitted Into the house and the
ladromay with froet-bitten bands, bet he we. never set
to do work of any kind. It appeared that Kr. Wells had
had to complain to the secretary of the South-Western
Railway about Shave lira the other, men calling the
porter • "Nigger driver," and Mrs. Gain had been
refused admittance to the Union chapel. The
Rev. Kr. Redhead had told the porter to admit
her, and the rev, gentleman said he had reported
It to the chairman of the board.—Mr. Hawley
stated that in going through the house there was only
one complaint rude, and that was by • mu who said
be had • pound of wet eahloage served up to him, but
that proved incorrect. Mr: Coxwell added that the
mu did not tell Mr. Hawley that he had • large pies.
of meat served up to him with the cabbage. The next
charge gone into was "Are the boys in the bones
freqnently kept without food, as a punishment, from
dinner-time one day till break-fast-time the next day,
and kept to work all the time? A boy named Wolk
aged 11 year., I stated that he had been without his
supper on one omaion sto • punishment. Alfred Chalk
(the present porter) said no sash punishment had
been awarded ainee he had been there, but Wolfe
might have been told to stand out and have his
supper after the rest had dose in order to shame him.
It seemed he was °iodinate and went out without
having it. Mr. Wells proved that the bnys were not
punished without the order of the board, and no each
punishment as that complained of !Meyer been awarded.
—The next charge—" How is it that no schoolmaster,
schoolmistress, nurse, or porter out be kept any
I time, u in other scions?' —was not gone into Mr.
Hawley oonsidering that was • matter for the
guardians to deeM, Mr. Wells adding that he
, could explain it if required to do so. The next
chugs wits—" Has an old ma named Penny
lately left the house because of ill-treatment there-
'ls, and has the quality of Use rick inmates' beet
I been lowered from is, tote!. per gallon,and the quantity,
I in some cases, been rednoed from • pint to half •
pint ?" Penny was called, and told the inspector that
be had no complaint whatever to nuke, and he had
never left th• house bemoan of illareatment. He
had never left it except when be went to take his
pension. Charge No. 9 was then gone into—" Did •
blind man (now an inmate) last winter prefer the trials
of goiog on tramp rather due submit to the treatment
of the house, and is that man now compelled to pick
oakum as thou who have their sight r 11r. Hawley
intimated that be had seen the blind man, and be
found he waa an habitual tramp. He had no complaint
to make, and did not object to pick oakum. Kr. Cox-
well mentioned that the man took • woman out of the
home with him, and went on tramp with • addle, miter
which they returned again. They took the trouble to
get him into the Bristol Asylum, and be nu turned out
of there for disorderly oonduct. —The next charge was—
Is one of the punishments of the house that gut are
pumped upon for a quarter of an hour in • state of
solidity r Mr. Hawley said be had questioned the girls;
they said they had never been pumped upon, and
laughed at the ids& if such • thing. Bias Harvey said
no girl had ever being punished by being pumped upon,
and Mr. Wells added that there was not • pump on
the establishment. Harvey &leo said that Mr.
Shorten, • former schoolmaster, beat her child, for
which he was reprimanded by the gnardians, who
reported the cue to the Poor Law Board, and they
soiled upon him to resign, which he did.—The
last charge was—" Was • woman lately sent to the
Loosotie Asylum really insane, or was it because she
struck the matron through hearing the shrieks of her
own child, and was the doctor right in giving the certi-
ficate !" Mr. Hawley said the doctor had certified that
the woman was insane, End they could not, therefore,
Impugn his judioneat. The inquiry, which lasted
upwards of nix hours, then terminated.