The Sun.
London, England, 1865-04-11 00:00:00

them on just and equitable grounds. There have,
no doubt, been faults on the side of civilisation as
well as on the side of the savage. We all know
that men will take advantage of inferior force, and
there has been. a grasping spirit shown with regard
to the possession of certain lands, which the natives,
rightly or wrongly, claimed. Then when a rupture
was made and open hostilities began, the superior
power was called in and conciliation was the order
of the day. If moderation had been the rule at first
amicable relations might have been preserved, but
when the natives had proceeded so far as to plunder
and murder wayfarers and outlying settlers coneilia-
-1 tion and forbearance came too late. We have alter-
nately offered them the iron hand and the velvet
glove, but never both•together. It is to be hoped
that the bitter experience of the last year will have
taught both sides a lesson, and that those who lay
down the conditions of peace will take care that all
questions likely to give rise to dispute and discus-
sion are definitely settled. It is of course very diffi-
cult to trace those who for their own purposes en-
courage the natives to prolong the conflict, but if

they could be detected they should be severely
punished, Some of the natives at Taranaki have
come forward and laid down their arms, expressing
their anxiety for peace. These should be favour-
ably dealt with to encourage others. At Wanganin
there has been a fresh attack by the natives on a
party road making. The troops were afterwards
sent to the rescue, and some lives were lost on both
sides. The struggle is not yet over, and it will need
strength of hand and coolness of head to bring it to
a satisfactory termination.

If some speedy and effectual change is not made
in the management of our Workhouses, it will not
be for want of painful and startling cases that come
under the notice of the public. One after another
the sad array of facts are disclosed, and the fearful
details are made manifest, which prove how rotten
must be the system that prevails, and how faulty
the plans upon which the business of the Union
Infirmaries is based. It is idle to say that exagge-
ration prevails, or that such descriptions are over-
drawn. The evidence is incontrpvertible, and the
witnesses cannot be gainsaid. The annals of mar-
tyrdom do not disclose more frightful sufferings
than are to be found in the harrowing records that
meet the eye from time to time regarding the treat-
ment received at the hands of the officials in these
establishments. Of course it is unfair to take one
case as a sample of the whole, and many exceptions
exist ; but there is something very wrong in a
system where such occurrences are possible. It is
not too much to say that such incidents as are re-
corded concerning the state of Thum= DALY, and
even of RICHARD GIBSON, might have been alto-
gether prevented, and no doubt would have been
so had proper attention been paid. In some
respects the particulars of this new case are even
worse than the former one, and it is to be earnestly
trusted that those whose carelessness and culpable
indifference have brought matters to such a pass
will not be suffered to escape with the immunity
that was shown to the other offenders. It is really
too bad that the law should, screen, if not sanction,
such offenders, and that year after year paupers
should sink into untimely graves after fearful suf-
ferings, while the neglectful officials proceed with
their careless work and no heed is taken. The
jury who sat on RICHARD GIBSON'S case are very
much to be commended for their decided manage-
ment of the affair, and by their steady verdict
called attention to the circumstances of the case
in a manner that could not be mistaken. The re-
sult has been an inquiry into the matter, which
has revealed some frightful truths, and more than
ever must impress the public with the conviction
that justice is not rendered to those miserable
occupants of our Union Infirmaries, who so much
require it. had any one given the same details in
a work of fiction they would not have been re-
ceived with credence, and people would have said
that the picture was greatly overdrawn. Now in
real earnest, in sober truth, the facts are presented
to notice, and out of their own mouths the witnesses
are condemned. It is really importemt that the
public should judge for themselves concerning the
details of the evidence, and all who have stood up
for the maintenance of the present system are
bound to examine for themselves into the particu-
lars presented by the evidence. The Poor Law
Board have acted wisely in ordering an inquiry into
this affair, as it has given every one an opportunity
of speaking out, and when people convict them-
selves by their own evidence it is certain that there
is great need of a change some where. The ex-
amination of the head-nurse should be carefully
looked into, as it will recall to many the condition
of our paupers when left to the tender mercies of

the Union in circumstances that call for all the care
and attention which can possibly be bestowed. The
nurse admitted that she heard the doctor order
water dressings for the leg of the patient, but that
she had never seen the ordered carried out ; these
duties were left to the pauper-nurses, and she paid
no heed to them. Indeed, the management of this
St. Giles's Infirmary appears to be about as faulty
as possible, and a proof of this given in the way in
which the distribution of beer is managed. The
entire charge of this is given to the pauper nurses,

and, therefore, none in authority know whether the

patients receive what is ordered or not. The con-

dition of the poor man is frightful to think of, and

it is only by chance that it has been revealed to the

public. Another pauper very properly wrote to Sir
THOMAS HENRY, describing his sad state, and the

worthy magistrate ordered instant attention to the

case. He had been called upon by the wretched
patient to wash his face, and he found him in a de-

plorable state. " I washed him," he writes, " and
such a sight of suffering may I never see again. He

was covered with sores from the crown of his head
to the soles of his feet." The ward in which this
afflicted man was placed was an underground
one, and so dark that it was only during some part
of the day they could discern his features. His bed

was not made for five days. His disease was scurvy,
and he was unable to attend to himself through
weakness. The head nurse admitted that she did

not know whether GinsoN's bed was made or not, but
that the " corner where he lay was very dark, so

she never noticed whether or not his person was

filthy." Also, she allowed that the deceased might

have worn a shirt for a fortnight without her
knowing it. Now, is this the course to be followed
by one in so responsible a position ?—and there is

not the shadow of an excuse, because many patients
could not have been in the same sad condition as

GIBSON was, and she ought to have made such sad
sufferers the particular objects of her notice.
This case of RICHARD GIBSON'S 18 another

powerful instance of the necessity that exists for
pauper nurses to be abolished, and for proper and
efficient ones to be substituted. What the autho-
rities in St. Giles's Workhouse were about to per-
mit such neglect to take place is also a point which
demands inquiry, and should be seen to by the
Poor-Law Board. It seems to be taken for granted
in some of these places that the sick do not require
to be kept clean, and altogether that it is of very
little consequence if anything is done for them or
not. In a Christian country it is not too much to

expect that this system should be altered, and that

when our helpless brethren pass from our sight to