The Sun.
London, England, 1849-01-17 00:00:00

insufficient tc accommodate this large number, and ing animals. The proprietor was equally indifferent to
consequently, as successive additions were contributed the express order of the Poor-law Commissioners,
by various r arishes, n: w buildings were erected. In Messrs. Tufnell and Hall, limiting the number of chil
the construe lion of these buildings none of the sani- dren both in the school for boys and in that for girls—a
Lary preeaut .ons so urgently demanded by the circum- most momentous pint with such an overcr oNded
stances were observed ; no effective ventilation was lishment. I must also state that the proprietor ob-
provided; ate d especially it must be pointed out that the strutted my inquiry by sharply rebuking one of the
space allowo 1, both in the dormitories and school- under-masters whom I was questioning respecting
rooms, was :altogether inadequate to the number of the prevalence of premonitory diarrhoea among the boys.
inmates they- :subsequently received. It is one of the best It is the concurrent opinion of all the five medical
ascertained facts in the construction of hospitals, that gentlemen who have attended the children that the
wards containing a large number of patients in epidemic is true Asiatic cholera. All these gentlemen
each, as rieen so often in continental cities, are acquainted with the disease, and one of them
exert a most prejudicial influence over the pa- has had an opportunity of observing it extensively at the
tients lodged within them, and never can be ren General Hospital of Calcutta. I may also state that my
dered so healthy as smaller wards. The same principle own experience is entirely in accordance with their
strictly applies to the case of apartments designed for opinion.
children, especially those of tender age. In the present I have, in conclusion, to state that the several profes-
instance this injurious system has been carried to the sional gentlemen sent to attend the sick, Mr. Popham,
utmost extreme, and has, by inducing a highly sus- Mr. Bailey, Mr. Penny, and Mr. Phillips, have been
ceptible state of the system, enabled the efficient cause most zealous and earnest in the discharge of their ar-
of cholera, at a time when that epidemic gave so many duous duties; that they have not only acted as medical
plain indications of its existence, to operate with intense men by visiting night and day those actually attacked,
energy among the crowded inmates of this establish- and by sedulously watching over the safety of those still
ment. It may be affirmed that in no public institution free from seizure, but they have endeavoured by their
in the kingdom, however well contrived and regulated, own unceasing exertions to supply the want of nurses by
could so large a number of children, with the existing administering medicines with their own hands and other-
defective sanitary arrangements, be received without an wise attending the patients. I have already noticed the
injurious influence being excited on their state of health. conduct of the two nurses, Sarah Sellers and Mary
This being so, what but the most evil results could be Anne Keith, which is above all praise.
anticipated by the collection of nearly 1,400 children Jan. 8, 1849. B. D. GRAINGER.
in an establishment formed upon no plan, expanded Henry Austin, Esq.
hastily to receive the repeated influx pouring in
from so many parishes, supervised by no compe-
tent authorities, and freed from the wholesome
control deemed essential to the safety and well-being
of every parochial establishment in the kingdom?
If there be any one part of the pauper population re-
quiring, more than another, watchful and solicitous
care, it is assuredly that large part of it comprised of
children of tender age. To these, much more than to
adults, whose vital powers are fully developed, a free
supply of pure air, a provision of spacious and well-
warmed rooms, and of dry and airy premises, are, in
addition to a suitable diet and proper clothing, indispen-
sable to the maintenance of health. If any of these con-
ditions be violated, not only will the general stamina of
the children be in many instances permanently
lowered, but the danger of violent and destructive epi-
demics will be ever impending.
As indicative of the evil and pernicious influence of
the overcrowding and improper diet, it is important and
interesting to state that out of 56 adults employed in
various capacities in the establishment, only one case of
cholera bad occurred up to Sunday, Jan. 7.
In concluding the report it is my duty to call the at-
tention of the General Board of Health to some facts
connected with this distressing case. It is, in the first
place, certain, that if the various instructions contained
in the several notifications of the board had been duly
observed and efficiently carried into execution, a large
part, if not all, the evils that have occurred would have
been avoided.
It has been shown, for example, by the evidence of
Mr. Lovick, that a fortnight before the outbreak one of
the foul ditches near the premises was emptied and the
filthy mud thrown on the banks, in contravention of the
following clear directions contained in the second noti-
fication of the General Board, bearing date October 31,
1848:
" With reference to the larger works of cleansing, such
as the cleansing out of long lines of ditches, or the re-
moval of large masses of decomposing refuse, much mis-
chief has sometimes been occasioned when the ope-
ration has been so ignorantly and unskilfully con-
ducted as to increase the extent of the eva-
porating surface ; as, when the contents of foul
ditches have been spread out on the banks and allowed to
remain there, and when cesspools have been emptied
into drains or sewers having no proper fall, or no run
for the discharge of the contents from beneath inhabited
houses. Works of this kind should be conducted under
the superintendence of a person who possesses some
' knowledge of the nature of the gases evolved, the atmo-
spheric and other conditions that promote their copied's
evolution; their probable effects on susceptible persons
and the mode of diminishing or averting them, either by
the proper use of deodorising fluids, or by other means.
The medical officer who may be expected to be the best
informed in these respects, should, therefore, as before
stated, be required to take the general superintendence
of such operations."
Again, with respect to the premonitory diarrheas, not
only was no attention paid to the purging, which it had
been shown became so prevalent a week before the de-
cided attack of cholera as to attract the notice of the
school- master, but even the occurrence of three well-
marked cases of vomiting, purging, and collapse,
occurring fourteen days before the outbreak,
awakened no suspicion of the approaching evil.
Upon this point the General Board has been most so-
licitous to diffuse correct information. In the first noti-
fication, dated October 5, 1848, in addition to other
cautions of a similar kind, occurs the following pas

LAW INTELLIGENCE.
COURT OF QUEEN'S BENCH, Jan. 16.

''Sittings in Banco, at Westminster, before Lord Chief
Justice Denman, Mr. Justice Patteson, Mr. Justice
Coleridge, and Mr. Justice Wightman.)
COBBETT V. HUDSON.

This was a demurrer to certain pleas put upon the re-
cord by the defendant, in an action brought against him
by the plaintiff for false imprisonment. The facts of the
case are very generally known to the public, Mr. Cob-
bett, who is son of the late William Cobbett, the poli-
tical writer, has been long a prisoner in the Queen's
prison, under an alleged charge of contempt of Court, in
not answering certain allegations at the suit of Mr. Jesse
Oldfield, executor to his father, the late William Cobbett.
He alleges that he has not been guilty of any contempt;
that he is wrongfully detained by the defendant, Captain
Hudson, who is keeper of the Queen's prison, and has
brought his action against that gentleman for false im-
prisonment. The defendant's case is, that he detains
Mr. Cobbett under authority of a warrant, which trans-
ferred him, with other persons, from the Fleet prison,
where he was then confined, to his custody.
Mr. Cobbett appeared this day in person, under a writ
of habeas, and argued in support of his demurrer.
Mr. Unthank appeared for the defendant.
The Court took time to consider.

Lord DENMAN, i❑ a communication to the bar, said
that it was desirable, as a general rule, that all motions
for new trials should be made within the last four days
of term, and that the Court would not be acting wisely
in giving sanction to the practice of deferring such mo-
tions to the fifth day, to which, for various reasons, it
was not desirable to extend the time.

BAIL COURT, Jan; 16.
(Sittings at Nisi Prius—Common Juries.)

THE DERBYSHIRE, STAFFORDSHIRE, AND WORCESTER-
SHIRE JUNCTION RAILWAY COMPANY v. REV. E. WOOD-

LAND.
This was an action to recover 151., being the amount
of a call of 11. per share, on 15 shares held by the de-
fendant in the above company.
Mr. Sergeant Shee and Mr. Bagley were counsel for
the plaintiffs, and Mr. Ball for the defendant.
Evidence was adduced to the effect that the number
of shares mentioned had been allotted to the defendant,
and that the call of 11. per share was duly advertised in
a newspaper and the letter sent.
Mr. BALL argued that the Act of Parliament obtained
by the company provided that 21 days should elapse
before the call could be determined on .
Mr. Justice ERLE remarked that he did not take that
view of the case, as it appeared more time than 21 days
had elapsed from the service of the letter of call to the
time at which the amount claimed was to be paid.
The jury returned a verdict for the plaintiffs for the
full amount.

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.
WESTMINSTER.

Agreeably with the directions he had received from
Mr. Broderip, with respect to the frightful case of des-
titution and distress in York-street, Westminster, de-
tailed in The Sun of yesterday, the chief usher of the
Court set about executing the commission entrusted to
him with praiseworThy zeal. After unsuccessful appli-
cations at the residences of two of the overseers of St.
John's, who were from home, he at once proceeded to
the abode of wretchedness, and there found that the
landlord had drawn but a feeble picture of the distress-
ing reality. In a noisome attic lay the deceased sufferer
in his clothes as he had expired; by his side his stricken
wife, who was weeping convulsively. She was lying
upon a miserable dirty mattress, and appeared for
acme time unconscious of the chief usher's presence.
She appeared very ill, and articulated feebly ;
and, in reply to an inquiry from the usher,
stated that some time ago they had had a little relief
from the parish, but of late had been reluctant to ap-
, ply for any assistance, hoping that some favourable
change might occur in their circumstances. The whole
of the furniture the attic contained consisted of one
broken chair, a form, and an old table, with the mat-
tress before alluded to, upon which the woman was
stretched, without a morsel of rug or bed covering
of any description. Her children, pictures of squalid
misery, were sitting near her. There was no covering
of any description to shield the children from the in-
clemency of the weather, and their whole stock of ap-
parel consisted of the clothes they had on. The usher
learned from the eldest child that they had had no food
of any description on Sunday, and that for some days
previously the only thing that had passed her father's
lips was weak tea or cold water, a small jug of which
was found in the wretched apartment, and there ap-
peared but little doubt that he had died from starvation.
Having given the afflicted woman and children some
food, of which they partook but very sparingly,
the usher proceeded to Mr. Thomas, one of the
relieving officers, who immediately returned with him,
supplied some blankets and a bolster, gave an order for
the doctor to visit the poor woman immediately, and
evinced in every respect the greatest kindness. As Mr.
Broderip had given very strict directions that the
greatest possible attention should be applied to the case,
the officer visited the pour creatures three times yes-
terday, and found that the poor woman had been insen-
sible during the night, and so extremely ill at one por-
tion of it that it was thought she would have breathed
her last. She, however, rallied slightly in the morning
and during the day. She has been supplied with flan
nels, and such other comforts as the shortness of the
time would permit, and was up to last evening pro-
gressing favourably, but slowly. The deceased and his
wife have been both very well brought up, and the hus-
band, who is described as the son of an eminent solicitor
named Williams, possessed some talent as an author and
artist.

sage:—
" It must be repeated, however, that whenever Asiatic
cholera is epidemic, the slightest degree of looseness of
the bowels ought to be regarded and treated as the com-
mencement of the disease, which at this stage is capable
of being arrested by simple means, but if neglected
only for a few hours, may suddenly assume a fatal
form." _ .

These notifications were widely diffused, and ought
to have come to the knowledge both of Mr. Drouet, and
of the various boards of guardians that had children in
the Tooting establishment ; they were inserted in the
Gazette, copied into the newspapers, and moreover, were
expressly sent to each board of guardians throughout the
kingdom, and also to the medical officers of the various
unions and parishes.
These facts relate to the circumstances antecedent
to the fatal outbreak. On its actual occurrence there
appears from the evidence to have been even more
reprehensible neglect. No means of separating the
healthy from the sick were taken for seven days after
the first cases.
The directions of the General Board, of the date of
November 6, 1848, upon this point are to the following
effect :
" And we'also authorise and require the said guardians,
where it shall appear needful, to provide rooms or places
of refuge, to which may be removed the families of such
necessitous persons as have been attacked with cholera,
and also such necessitous persons living under the same
roof with, or in the vicinity of, persons so attacked, as
the medical officers acting under the authority of the
said guardians may deem it necessary to remove ; and
the houses, room, or dwellings from which persons may
have been so removed to the houses of refuge, shall be
cleansed and purified by the owners or persons having
the care or ordering thereof, or, in their default, by the
said guardians."
If under the ordinary circumstances attending an out-
break in a town or city this measure is, as it is recog-
nised to be, of primary importance to break the force of
the epidemic, how infinitely more imperative was it in
the case of this establishment, overcrowded to excess,
and with few or none of the appliances demanded for
the treatment of the sick ! That the sudden removal of
nearly one thousand for hundred children under such
cireumstances was a difficult procedure, and one which
could only be justified by the urgency of the occasion, is
self-evident; but with children falling into collapse every
minute, with such an awful and rapid mortality, and
with such a state of things as that described in the
cholera wards, there was but one step to be adopted by
the guardians—the instant removal, under medical ad-
vice, of all the children not yet seized, to properly-pre-
pared and sufficiently spacious premises unconnected
with any other building. This was the recommendation
made by me to the general board, and by it communi-
cated to the local authorities of the parishes interested.
Seeing the distinct evidences of a general poisoning
among the children, and knowing that they were all
still subjected to the same pernicious agencies, which
had caused all the mischief, my conviction is that if they
had not been taken out of the establishment and re-
moved to a purer atmosphere, and uncrowded rooms, the
epidemic would have continued to rage among them until
hundreds had been destroyed. That many must, not••
withstanding this measure, still be attacked and perish,
was foreseen and explained to the parochial authorities,
for the children were already poisoned, and whether they
remained, or whether they were removed, the result
must have been the same, except that in the latter case
a larger number, passing into a more favourable atmos-
phere, would be enable to resist the noxious influences
and escape.
The interests both of truth and humanity compel me
to affirm that no effort or attempt was made on the part
of the proprietor to carry into execution some of the
most essential of my recommendations given on Friday,
the sth of January, and which were capable of speedy
execution. Among the foremost of these, next to ob-
taining further medical aid, was the provision of a suf-
ficient number of competent nurses. I expressly stated
to Mr. Drouet and to his medical attendant, Mr. Kite,
that to each of the wards containing more than 12 cholera
patients four nurses should be allotted, and in wards
with less than 12 patients three nurses. On Sunday,
January 7, as already stated, I found in all only two ad.
ditional nurses, and yet, if my reccommendation had been
carried into effect, as there are eight wards, there would
have been in attendance on the poor' sufferers at least 32
nurses. On my remonstrating with Mr. Drouet upon
this gross neglect, he replied that he had understood me
to say that I recommended four new nurses for all the
wards, and in this he was supported by his medical
officer. Fortunately, in addition to my own distinct
and certain conviction, there is the testimony of Mr.
Hall, the Poor-law Commissioner, who, in his report
addressed to the Poor-law Commissioners dated January
6, 1849, states:—
" Mr. Grainger required that he should at once en-
gage three additional medical officers to remain on his
premises, and arrange with a physician of eminence
conversant with cholera to visit his establishment daily;
ward
fro i
ant twe
mh i
pc
th t toh
re
or em
ewcie}r.
es m
evilan ye
aa us sle2d
he also required him to appoint four nurses to every'
ethasbi cyk children.inattention
"
to my directions, children still unattacked, as already
mentioned, were brought into the cholera wards to act as
nurses, thus periling their lives by greatly increasing
the danger of an attack, affected as they must already
have been by the poison. Another consequence of this
neglect was, that the few nurses in attendance were ex-
hausted by fatigue; two of them from St. Pancras had
been in attendance on the sick from Friday night, and
were thus placed in a most dangerous condition, perilous
to their lives, by being exposed to the epidemic with the
vital powers debilitated by long watching and incessant
fatigue. I also urged the vast importance of placing each
cholera patient in a separate bed, but on Sunday I found
almost every bed still occupied by two children.
It cannot escape the notice of the board that in other
important respects Mr. Drouet has
he evinced
greatbonteh-
glect. Notwithstanding the warning received
'
from his former and present medal attendant, he icper-
sisted in introducing 150 children into the new building
alluded to above whilst the air in its immediate vicinity
was poisoned by the exhalations from the yard contain.