The Express.
London, England, 1846-10-01 00:00:00

THE EXPRESS, THURSDAY E.

opinion ,• and hoped, therefore, that thee would ab-ree with
him in the paramount necessity of a rigid investigatio‘s ; and
that it should be forthwith commeaced, iu order to sit.? the
matter to the bottom. (Hear.)
At the suggestion of Mr. Crouch, the letter in questio:
and another communication, both forwarded by Mr. Wnktey
to the editor of the Times, were then read at length by Mr.
Pitt, the accountant agent, in the presence of the Master.
who was brought forward by order of the Board, fur the
purpose of hearing the statement.
Mr. HOWAIMI (a churchwarden) considered that Mr.
li Wakley had taken a great deal upon himself It would ;r s-
sibly be a good thing if Mr. Wakley were made Governor-
General of the workhouse. (Much laughter.)
Mr. Caourtt requested to know from Mr. Lee whether he
had or had not dismissed the man Whitt, on account of
the evidence he gave before the Board at the time in ques-
tion? If Mr. Lee had done so, he considered it unjust
towards the man, and acting against the interest of the
Board and the parish.
Mr. HOWA RTH at once rose and defended the dismissal. He
perfectly approved of Whitt'a dismissal from his employment.
and was ids,' much disposed to object to the employmert of
paupers as workmen about the workhouse. It was true that
their local act allowed them to give such persons that which
they considered equal to one-sixth of their earnings, and
seeing that this man earned 12s. a week, he must have re-
ceived 2s. ; and in his (Mr. Howarth's) opinion, if he were
able to earn that sum, he had no right to be in the work-
house. Mr. Howarth continued to oppose the general sys-
tem of employing paupers in workhouses ; and in this parti-
cular case he thought the man Whitt ought not to have the
privilege, in consequence of his misconduct; and, lwtly, he
considered that the master had done quite right in dismissing
_ . .

Mr. Lee was then interrogated at some length by the
Chairman and various members of the Board. He assigned
as a reason for dismissing Whitt, that he had complained to
the Board of his inability to eat the food, and that being the
case, he feared that it might be considered cruel to put a
man to work when his health was so bad that be could not
eat the food there. Moreover, Whitt had scandalised rot
only himself (witness) but the establishment also. With
regard to the alleged stealing of the wood, he (witness)
threw that entirely out of the question, as he would not have
considered that a sufficient ground to justify his dismissal.
—Mr. Crouch: Then you do admit that you deprised Whitt
of his employment in consequence of the evidoice he gave
here ?—Witness replied in the affirmative.—Mr. Crouch
again denounced it as most unjust and impolitic.
Examinttion of the witness coatinazd : Could not say
that he had admitted he was a martyr to the case. With
reference to the rations which were brought forward to de-
ceive the board, witness had informed the board before they '
were produced that they were not the rations of that day,
because they were then under the process of molting; but
the beef produced was a slice of the Sunday's food. Wit-
ness declared all the rations placed before them were exactly
the same as was usually served to the paupers; there might
have been some difference in the potatoes. Sometimes they
ran larger than others. It was, however, a fair sample of
what was generally allowed.—By Mr. Douglas : The broth
was not better that day than on any other. So many gen-
tlemen had called to taste it, and had taken so much of it,
that there was only a very small portion of it left ut the
bottom, and that might have made it a little thicker than
usual.—By Mr. Crouch: Solemnly pledged himself that the
rations were not produced before the beard with the view to
deceive the public. The food in that workhouse was always
such as is good enough for any poor man's table.—Mr.
Douglas : It is alleged that since this inquiry steps have been
taken to improve the food. Have you done anything for
effecting that end ?—Witness : All I have done has been to
put two pounds more of meal in the gruel, and two quarts of
peas into the soup, besides some other little additions; but
that has been chiefly on account of the increased number of
paupers in the house. The proportion of water has been in
accordance with the increased number. .

Mr. White, the schoolmaster, was next examined: He
remembered Mr. Smith, the vestryman, having called at the
school-room, and requiring the children, 190 in number, to
hold up their hands for those who had partaken of certain
articles of diet, and but 14 out of that number held up their
hands. The second time Mr. Smith visited them, no one I
used such an expression as "The children lapped it up
now like young pigs ;" and witness had never heard the
expression until he saw it is the newspapers. He had never
told Mr. Smith that the food was better within the last ten
days than it had ever been; nor did he say the children did
not cat their gruel. Mr. Smith's statement was, hi that
respect, quite untrue.
Mr. Lee, the master, here said, that since this agitation
had been going on, Mr. Smith and Mr. Cooper had, upon
several occasions, gone over the workhouse, an' excited the
000 r to express their dissatisfaction of the dietary.—Mr.
Fllonglav : It has been alleged that when Mr. Cooper orders
wine for the sick, they are prohibited from having it on your
authority. Have you any power with respect to the diet of
the sick ?—Tho witness Lee: I am the chief butler, as it
were, of the workhouse, and I give out the wine to Mrs.
Had:lige, the matron of the infirmary ; and, in case Mr.
Cooper orders wine, it does not come from me to the patient,
but from Mrs. Ilildrige.—Bv Mr. Bray : Had never altered
the diet in the house in the slightest degree since this inquiry
had commenced.

John Bradley examined: His duty was to Berra out
various articles to make broth, &c. &c. I)uring the Ia
three weeks there hid been no alteration in the diet, except
an addition for the increased number of pauper+, which was
about 25. This witness gave corroborative evidence to the
above.

Mr. Lee said the charges against him certainly came with
very bid grace from Mr. Cooper, for it must be recollected
that when he (Mr. Cooper) came into oltice, he reduced ,
rations of the sick poor, such as wine, porter, &c., softie:int
to induce him to boast that he had saved the parish 400!.
n year. He could also prove to the board that Mr. Cooper ,
did not keep his books quite so close as he ought to do, and
in fact he knew no more about those who have wine and
spirits in the infirmary than an entire stranger.
Robert Hayeroft : Ilia duty was to make soup and
gruel for the house. He had not increased the strength of
the soup within the last few days. There had been a
greater number of persons in the house, and there had been
water in proportion. There had been no alteration what-
ever,, only in seem dance with the number of persons there.—
1 By Mr. Crouch: Never said the amount of meat had been
increased from 28 to 35 pounds.
Mrs. Ifildrige, matron of the infirmary, then produced
a book, and said her attention was directed to the name of
George Stockbridge, who was entered as having been ordered
a gill of wine on the 4th of September, the day of his death.
Witness had heard it was alleged that the deceased did not
have the wine as desired. She begged to contradict this
statement.—By Mr. Crouch: When the wine is ordered it
is given to the nurses to administer to the patient. Witness
had not in this case seen the wine administered herself.—By
Mr. Douglas: Witness moat solemnly pledged herself to
what she had stated.
Anne Stockbridge, widow of deceased—Witness's husband
was attended by Mr. Cooper the day before his death, and
that gentleman ordered some wine, and, as witness believed,
in about ten minutes after, he received it. Witness could
undertake to say that deceased, at the period of his death,
wag in a condition to iyeak. She never left his bedside that
afternoon. Never heard Mr. Cooper come and ask him if he
had had the wine ordered, nor did she (witness) hear her
husband say he had not.
Mr. Lee, in addressing the directors, said he trusted that
they would do him he Justice to take steps in the matter,
and go into a more rigid inquiry than had been done into his
(Mr. Lee's) conduct. He had been the master of alit work-
house for a period of forty years, and this was the first time
he hid ever had the slightest imputation against his charac-
ter, either for humanity or otherwise, and he had never even
met with a rebuke from the board, and he now therefore felt
very acutely the attacks made upon him, especially by the
public press. He begged to assure the board that he felt
much grieved. He would however only call upon them fur

justice.
Isle. DOUGLiS thought Mr. Lee, being a public character,
and an officer of the hoard, could not feel himself in a worse
position than the directors, who, as far as regards the attacks
of the press, were placed in the same dilemma. The proba-
bility was, a farther and much more rigid inquiry would still
take place. The board then adjourned for a short time.
On the re-assembly of the Board of Directors in the hoard-
room, they proceeded with an investigation into the circum-
stances attending the death of a pauper named George
Abrahams, urn whom as inquest was held by Mr.
Wakley, M.I . The deceased, it may be remembered,
was alleged to have died from the improper administration of
medicine in the infirmary, owing to the improper labeling of
the bottles containing mixtures despatched from the surgery
The chairman having taken his seat, a sealed packet was
placed on the table ; and Mr. Cooper, in reply to a question
from Mr. Crouch, said that was the packet which had been
sealed up by Mr. Pitt, and he bad not the slightest objection
to its being opened in the presence of the board.
Mr. Pitt was then called, and he deposed that the bottles
had been sealed by him after the inquest held by Mr. Wak-
ley, on the bode of the deceased. They had bon in posses-
sion of Tiffin, the summoning officer, who had informed him
(witness) that he had been called upon by Mr. Mills, the
deputy-coroner, to desire him to deliver them up to Mr.
Cooper. Tiffin asked his (witness's) advice as to whether
he should give them up or not, to which witness replied, he
would offer no opinion upon the matter.—Mr. Cooper:
Would swear that that was the parcel sealed—Mr. llowarth:
Whose seals are on them ?—Mr. Pitt: Mine.
The Chairman then opened the packet, which contained
two six ounce bottles, both bearing labels upon them, one
containing the name of " Coombes" upon it, which seas
slightly erased, and also contained the words " Two table
spoonfuls of this mixture every three or four hours." The
other bottle had written on it, " Two table spoonfuls every
night and morning "
Mr. Cooper was then called on to explain the contents of i
the bottles. The former one was an injection, and consist: El
of a solution of eatAteu, two ounces ; tincture of opium, two
drachms; gum acacia, two drachms; and water. The
second bad one grain of the powder of kin°, and mixture
cretr, six ounces.
Mr. Douglas wished to know if it was the practice at that
establishment to send medicine to the patients with erroneous
labels upon them ? Was it customary to send a clyster in
bottles which were labeled for other medicines.—Mr.
Cooper: It was oat the practice generally with respect to
injections, unless it were an " enema," which was not used
once in six months.—By Mr. Crouch: When injections are
poisonous they invariably labeled them " injection."—Mr.
llowarth : The deceased was evidently affected with an un-
governable diarrhira from the first, which his treatment had
proved—he had pills of acetat, of lead and opium, and with I
regard to the medicines now produced it was a matter of
perfect indifference whether the deceased had taken them
the contrary way or otherwise.
Tiffin,the summoning officer, then deposed to his receiving
the b mks; he had them in his pocket when the inquest
was held. and the reason he did not produce them was be-
cause Mr. Wakley never asked for them.—By Mr. Howarth:
He bad been complained ()flu' Mr. Wakley on that occasion,
; but it was in his (witness's) absence, having gone to procure

:VE

NING, OCTOBER 1, 1846,

, some evidence.—By Mr. Crouch : After the inquest was over
he detained the bottles so as in the event of u sub,equent
enquiry he should not he blamed for having part' d with
them.—By Mr. Howarth: Witness first heard ol the deceased's
. thath by a 1. tter from the coroner's office; he (witness,
' then forthwith mad: enquiri,s at that house and ascertained
:hat the deceased's death was the result of the improper
',A:ministration of certain medicine. It reached the coroner's
ear, he b.'liesed by a letter from some attached to the insti•
tutiot,.—Mr. Howarth: How came you to give up those
bottles ?—Witner.:: I was asked for them by Mr. Coop r,
sir, hut i refused to do co, and kept them for my own pro.
tection. ) heard nothing more of the matter until the next
inquest helsi by Mr. Mills. when Mr. Cooper broached the
Suhj,,ct to hie:. and Mr. Mills told me that they were the
property of the coroner after the inquest was over, and I had
no right to have de'ained them. He then desired me to
hand them over to Mr. Cooper, wl'ich I did accordingly.
Mr. Cooper, in n few remarks in explanation, disapproved
of the course that was adopted by Tiffin.
A GENT LEY .I.N found fault with Mr. Cooper's conduct,
and certainly thought that under no circumstances could it
have anything to do with the coroner, inasmuch as it was
not even brought forward &011ie inquest.
Mr. DOUGLAS, considering the bottles belong to the parish,
he could not think what Mr. Mills had to do with them.
Mr. Maund, assistant to Mr. Cooper, was here call:4 and
examined : Ile admitted that there was no fixed rules for
the use of bottles in cases of injection. He believed that
the bottles now produced were sent in that state from Mr.
Cooper's surgery, and that the instruction: for their use was
only given verbally to the men, Savoury er Allen, two of
the male nurses. Witness was quite aware that the de-
ceased had taken it as a dose, and nit as an injection.
Mr. Cooper was not at all aware that the injection had
been improperly administered until after the deceased's
death, but the medicine was of that nature that it might be
taken with safety either way, without endangering life.
Mr. Cain-cit.—The board appeared to be in po.session of
all the facts of the case. It was clearly established that the
medicine had been sent without bang properly labelled, and
that thus the mistake arov.

Mr. DOVOLAA was r.ot satisfied; he wanted to know the
reason it was given ? It was quite clear that proper caution
was not taken at that workhouse in the administration of
medicine, and very FeriJus consequences might result. Mr.
Douglas then woke as to the un‘atisfictory manner in which
the medical officer appeared to perform his duty. lie (Mr.
Douglas) thought the board ought to adopt some measures
to remedy so great as evil. After some further discussion
the following resolution was agreed to:
" That the board of directors cannot help expressing their surprise
regret at the lii awl inedicient mode of administering medicines
to the pour of that srorishouse, ailuiged by Mr. Cooper, and request
that in future all medicines ;Administered should be properly labelled."
The board then adjourned, the proceedings having occu-
pied nearly nine hours.

INAUGURATION OF THE NEW SHERIFFS.

Yesterday, being the day after the Feast of St.
Michael, the newly-elected sheriffs, Mr. Alderman Challis
and Mr. Kennard, according to ancient custom, entertained
the Lord Mayor, aldermen, and members of the corporation,
as well as the livery of their respective esrupanies,
the butchers and carpenters, to a public breakfast at the
London Tavern, after which they came in procession to
Guildhall, from whence they again started for Westminster-
hall, tor the purpose of being sworn in h, fore the Cursitor
Baron (a. Banks, Esq., M.P.) of the Court of Exchequer.
The procession took water at the City-pier, Blackfriars,
but owing to the state of the tide did not arrive at its
destination until long after the expected time. The civic
functionarit,s at length were ushered into the Court of Exche-
quer, where the Recorder presented the newly-elected sheriffs
to the learned tzaron, who, he said, from their position in so-
ciety, their probity, and honourable conduct, had been called
upon by the independent voice of the livery of the City ot
London to take upon themselves the high and important
office of sheritfs of London and Middlesex. The learned
recorder then proceeded to give a detailed account of the
career of Mr. Ald. Challis and his colleague, stating that while
they would maintain the rights, charters, and privileges of
their fellow-citizens unimpaired, they would, at the same
time, maintain the peace and dignity of the crown.
From the experience which Mr. Alderman Challis already
possessed as a magistrate of the city of London, he had no
hesitation in saying that the rights, privileges, and charter:
of the city of London would remain unimpaired in their
hands—The Cursitur Baron said he bad the pleasure to in-
form the Lord Mayor and Corporation of the City of London
that her Ntsjesty had graciously deputed him to state that
she fully concurred, in the choice which the citizens of Lon-
don bad made, that while they maintained the dignity and
independence of their office, her l'slajesty was fuffy sati•fisd
that they would also maintain the right and dignity of the
crown. The learned baron then proceeded to compliment
the two shoals on hosing been chosen br the unanimous
voice of their fellow e.t'zens, was satisfied that the, high
privilege which the citizens possessed in electing their own
sheriffs would not be impaired by any act of theirs doling
their year of office.—The necessary oaths and forma ities
having been gone through, his lordship was invited to par-
take of the entertainment which the sheriffs would give.—
The Cursitor Baron having accepted the invitation, the
civic procession retired in the same order as it had entered
the court.