The Sun.
London, England, 1863-11-10 00:00:00

THE SUN. LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, NOVEMBER 10, 1863.

TO THE EDITOR OF TIIE NORFOLK NEWS.

Sitt,—l beg space in your journal to make public a matter
that I feel requires the utmost consideration.
In my vocation as sanitary officer it is not unfrequent
that I have to witness most appalling scenes of filth and
poverty, some brought on by neglect and folly, whilst in
others the parties are blameless for their forlorn state ; and
I feel that I should be wanting in humanity were I to allow
such cases to pass unnoticed.
I have always been greatly assisted by the magistrates in
matters of this description, when I have brought them
under their notice ; but I regret that cases arise which they
do not consider come legally within their jurisdiction.
I would particularly draw attention to the following
cases, which I brought under the notice of the bench on the
17th instant, by direction of the Sanitary Committee. The
annexed is an extract from the report --
" I beg to bring under the notice of the committee the
state of a cottage situated in Chapel-street, Pe.,field, occu-
pied by a man named Trett, his wife, and four children.
The stench of the place is exceedingly bad. One of the
children, a little girl, is an imbecile and subject to fits, and
presents a most lamentable appearance ; dirty, without
shoes or stockings, and appears to have sores about her.
The imbecile daughter lay on dirty rags on the floor, inside
the frame of an old bedstead, and two smaller children sleep
on the same lot of rags. The man is a jobbing gardener,
and the woman is of dirty habits. The state of the children
requires attention."

" My attention was also called to the state of a family
consisting of a wan named John Culley and his four children,
living in the Queen of Hungary-yard, St. Benedict's-street.
This is the same family that a few months back I found at
Heigham, all suffering from itch. They are now living in
part of an old tenement, in a dirty state, and the children
are neglected and appear half-starved. They all lay on raga
on the floor in the same room where the father works. The
stench of this place is very bad. The man is a shoemaker,
but can earn but little. I found all the house refuse and
filth deposited in an attic over their living room."

In alluding to the first case I stated that I was informed
that the man earned sufficient to keep his family in a much
better state. In the other case the man is a widower, who
left London in search of employment in his native county,
and his four children were passed home to him. This so-
called home was devoid of furniture, and they laying on
rags were all suffering with itch. The man left London
with only 84d. in his pocket, and slept two nights in a hay-
stack. His earnings are 10s. a week, out of which Is. 6d.
per week is paid for rent, and ls. for shoemakers' grindery,
leaving 7s. 6d. for the maintenance of himself and four
children. The man's master corroborated the statement.
I also stated that I had written to the relieving officer
asking him to be present to hear my statement, but he was
not there.

The bench decided that there was nothing in the case as
brought before them in which they could interfere, and that
it was for the Sanitary Committee to take proceedings in a.
legal form; so the children slept again in rags and dirt,
convalescent and sick together.

I would now allude to the following cases amongst a
considerable number of others that have come under my
notice :

My attention was called by Miss B. to a case of great
poverty and wretchedness. The family consisted of a man
named Wilson, his wife, and six children, residing in an
old tenement in a yard in Rosemary-lane. I inspected the
place, and found that the whole family lay on the boor on
a quantity of loose shavings, without any bedding what-
ever, and the rags they wore in the day-time formed their
covering at night. One of the children slept in a cup-
board on a few shavings, like a dog in a kennel, This child
was ill, and the husband had been under medical treatment.
I reported the case to the magistrates, and was referred by
them to the guardians. They appealed to the guardians
for some bedding, but an order was given for the work-
house, which the family would not accept, as the woman
disliked being parted from her little ones. In this state
they remained for months. In the meantime I obtained a
few shillings for them, till at last I lost sight of them. The
man is a labourer with unblemished reputation. _ _

Typhus fever reigns at the present time in a yard noted
for dirt, poverty, and disease—St John's Head Yard, St.
Michael, at Coslany. There the old tenements are fur-
nished with a few articles of broken furniture, and let at 2s
and is 6cl per week as " Ready-furnished Lodgings." To
these, for the want of better and cheaper accommodation,
the poor of all classes resort, and when disease makes its
appearance there, it is no small difficulty to check its
spread. On Monday last I found in a small, low, damp
room with a small casement, an Irish family, consist-
ing of a widow, her daughter nineteen, son nine, and
daughter five, the size of the room being only 12 feet
by 10 feet. The medical officer had scarcely
called my attention to it ere the eldest daughter
died of malignant typhus, 'and the son lay ill with fever
also, on shavings and rags on two chairs near his dead sis-
ter—the dead, the sick, and the well lying together in this
wretched abode. This family is reported as sober and in-
dustrious.

At another part of the town I found in a room of about
the same dimensions a man, his sick wife, and daughter of
15, all sleeping in one bed, the woman being afflicted with
a loathsome disease of which she is dying, and the bed and
old clothing were a filthy mass, making the room sickening
to enter. The man frequently came home drunk, and left
his wife neglected.
In the two latter cases slight relief was given by the
guardians, but not sufficient, as the mother had to pawn the
gown and stays of her dead daughter.
I might go on describing very many painful cases. In
making this statement I do not intentionally find fault with
the guardians or their officers, as they are legally relieved
of all responsibility by offering the workhouse to those who
apply for relief ; and I am not aware whether it is their
duty or not to prosecute in any case of neglect.
I would respectfully ask who is to administer immediate
relief pending inquiry, with a view to ulterior proceedings,
and by what means are children to be cared for under simi-
lar circumstances as I have detailed above.
I can only say, in conclusion, that for many years past
I have taken some trouble in cases of this description, and
I feel that I am now doing my duty in placing before the
public the difficulty in which I now find myself, in the
hope that some steps may be taken to ensure speedy relief
under similar circumstances,--I am, sir, your very obedient
servant,
SAMUEL Cmatxt, Sanitary Inspector.
Inspector's Office, 24, Castle Meadow, Norwich,
October 29, 1863.

-n sorne years since,
rang his door•
iv a heavy
-nb,

A well-known scientific mh.
found himself annoyed by boys who -
bell and ran away. So the doctor made rea.,
charge of electricity, placed a wire to the door-bell Im,
and sat down to wait. Shortly afterwards there was a hor-
rible howl, a bumping, and a falling backward down the lips,
front steps. The boy was half murdered by the shock, and the Polish que
d RilmerOon
cousiiferen
the doctor's troubles from that source were definitely state of things eXisth,„
ended. • Lor