The Sun.
London, England, 1841-11-19 00:00:00

THE LATE BRUTAL OUTRAGE 1N
A UNION WORKHOUSE.
At the meeting of the Board of Guardians of the
Croydon Union, on Tuesday, Mr. Currie, who is en-
titled ar officio to take his seat at the Board, brought
before the notice of the Guardians the circumstances
connected with the complaint against the master of the
workhouse, of having brutally assaulted one of the in-
mates, which came before him in his magisterial capacity
a few days previous.
It will be remembered that upon the inquiry before
Mr. Currie, at .the Town-hall, it appeared that a poor
labouring man, on his way borne, applied for a shelter
at the workhouse ; and in the morning, when he was
about to leave, he was told that he must have his hair
cut off. He would not allow this to be done, fearing
that the persons who he expected would employ him on
his arriving at home would refuse to do so if his
hair bore the appearance of having been cut
in a gaol ; and he requested the master of
the workhouse to allow him to leave without cutting
his hair, but he would not do so, and with the assistance
of the porter and some other persons, the poor fellow
was forced into a chair, and after a violent struggle,
during which he received the most brutal treatment, his
hair was cut off, and he was then turned out of the
workhouse. He immediately went to the police station
and Inspector Collier, who was on duty, after hearing
his sta'ement, directed him to accompany him before
Mr. Currie, who was then sitting at the Town-hall,
and to that gentleman he repeated the story, and upon
the master of the workhouse being sent for, and a
full inquiry heina gone into, the Magistrate expressed
his opinion that. the conduct which had been pursued
towards the man was most improper and illegal, and at
the same time said he should take care that the matter
was brought before the notice of the Board of Guardians.
Accordingly, on Tuesday, Mr. Currie attended at
the meeting of the Board, and an application was made
on behalf of a correspondent to be allowed to be pre-
sent at the proceedings, but after considerable discussion,
the following answer was sent to the appplication :
" Resolved—That this being a private Board-room,
no reporter to the public press can be admitted."
Nothwithstanding, however, the desire 'of the majo-
rity of the Board to keep their proceedings secret, our
correspondent has been enabled to obtain, from an
authentic source, a detail of what took place.
Mr. CURRIE briefly alluded to the circumstances of
the case, as above de'ai!el. He alluded to the appear.
ance of the man when he came before him, and said
tbre, in his opinion, the subject was a matter well worthy
the consideration of the Board, for he considered the
master of the workhouse bad acted most illegally and
improperly in the conduct he pursued towards the man.
The CHAIRMAN intimated his opinion that the case
should be fully gone into, and all the witnesses re-exa-
mined, in order that the Board might be made ac-
quainted with the real facts of the case.
Mr. CURRIE said he agreed w;th the Chairman that
this would be the proper course.
Mr. S. PENFOLD, the clerk to the Magistrates at
Croydon, was then called upon to produce the minutes
taken upon the former occasion.
Inspector Collier was examined. He said, that on
the morning of Monday, the 6th inst., the complainant
came to the police station. He appeared tehave been
very much ill wed. His clothes hung in rags about him,
his face was bleeding, and his hair new cut, and torn in a
strange manner. He wished to see a Magistrate, and the
appearance of the poor fellow causing a good deal of ex-
citement among the by.standers, he called him on one
side, and he then told him that he had been violet,tly
assaulted by the master of the workhouse, because he
refused to have his hair cut before he left the work-
house, and he wished to apply to a Magistrate for re-
drew. In consequence of what the man told him, he
advised him to go at once to the Town-hall and make
his complaint to Mr. Currie, who was then sitting.
Mr. CURRIE confirmed the it Itement of the Inspector
as to the appearance of the man when he came before
him, and also detailed what took place on that occasion.
The CHAIRMAN then directed the master of the
workhouse to be sent for, and he was called up to an-
swer the charge.
His defence was of the same character as that he
made on the former occasion. He considered that as
one of the regulations of the workhouse directed that all
persons admitted into it should have their hair cut, that
he was justified in acting as he did.
A Guardian observed that this regulation only re-
ferred to the pariod of the admission of a pauper. For
the purpose of cleanliness this might be very well, but
it was ridiculous to perform the act is the morning
when the man was about to go away, and when all the
mischief would have been effected.
Mr. CURRIE expressed his opinion that the master
had acted most improperly, and his conduct- when
before the Magistrates on the former occasion did him
no credit.
Several witnesses were then examined, but their tes-
timony did not at all place the matter in any other
light. It appeared that the man drew a knife and de-
clared he would lose his life rather than submit to the
threatened outrage upon him, and that the master of
the workhouse sent for a strait-waistcoat, but there
was not the slightest evidence to show that he attempted
to open the knife, or to make use of it in any manner
to injure his assailants. It also appeared that when
before the Magistrates, the master of the workhouse
said that while he vas master et* the workhouse be
would carry out all the rules and regulations, however
arbitary they might be, to the letter, and that he did
not care what the consequences might be.
In compliance with a suggestion made by Mr.
Currie, the whole of the evidence was taken down in
writing, and just as the examination of the witnesses
was concluded, Sir Edmund Head, one of the Assistant
Poor-law Commissioners arrived, for the purpose of
attending the inquiry, and the whole of the evidence
that had been taken was read over to him.
A long discussion then took place, the result of
which was, that the Board unanimously condemned the
proceeding that bad been adopted, and it was under-
stood that a resolution was passed in order to prevent
its recurrence.
It is hardly necessary to say, that the extraordinary
proceeding which occasioned this inquiry has caused
very great excitement, and has been a general topic of
conversation throughout the parish and neighbourhood
of Croydon.

EMIGRATION.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

read the article in your Paper of the 16th in-
stant, on the subject of emigration, and highly do I ap-
prove of the determination expressed therein, to oppose
the system about to be adopted as a panacea against all the
evils complained of in this country, such as Corn-laws,
Vote by Ballot, extent of the suffrage, and free trade,
&c., which require first to be attended to—the other will
follow, of course, as people's inclinations may lead them ;
but in no other way should they be interfered with. To
illustrate this, I take leave to give you a case in point, of
the danger of Government interfering in a scheme of
this sort.

It has been asserted, and is believed, by the many con-
versant in the matter of Governor Gawler's expenditure
of money in Adelaide, that it was indispensably neces-
sary that a large outlay should be made in this colony,
in order to keep people, who were dependent on their
labour, together, by making employment for them, since
the capitalists that were there had not the means in
themselves of paying for such labour ; and if Govern-
ment had not stepped in as they did, these poor people
must have starved, or have strolled elsewhere to seek
employment, leaving the small capitalists behind them,
who had over-speculated in land, to have let,'..:ed after it.
Now, - Sir, the point is, if such misery as is her ex-
plained, which must inevitably have taken place if. Go-
vernment had not come forward at a time when it did to
have relieved the immediate wants of the poor settlers,
what is to be the fate of those poor creatures should Go-
vernment here take it into their heads to follow out the
scheme as propounded for an excess of emigration to re-
lieve the wants of the poor of this country, by increasing
the wants of those poor creatures in the wilds of Aus-
tralia or elsewhere, by pouring in an excess of poor to
those parts, without providing capital for their support?
for this is deserving of the first consideration of Govern-
ment before entering into an emigration scheme. Can
they insure at all times an amount of capital to give full
employment to the labour sent ? If not, the thing will
fall to the ground, and Government must- not interfere.
This is my idea on the subject, which I have thrown to-
gether hurriedly, and which you will make what use you
please of.---Iretnaie a sincere well-wisher to the .poor
of this country, and
Nov. 18, 1841. NO JOBBER.

ritEE TRADE.
TO THE EDITOR OP THE SUN.
Sin,—l read With great pleasure the articles whick
you put forward in your paper daily in the cause of free-
trade, and I would not presume to offer any suggestions,
Where;the subject is handled with so much ability, did I
i
not and*, ling the attisenessi or apathy', or indolence,
or whatever quality or abseiled of qualities it is can the
part of the public, that dooms them to oppression' was of
that impeittlflidble hind, that reiteration of the sub-
jett and exposure of the oppression in every possible
variety and shape was the only means by which their
intellects could be enlightened and their slothfulness
shaken off. If the English people are made clearly to
understand the nature of the oppression they are sub-
jected to by landlord rule and colonial monopoly, theft,
will be no -e'ditliculty in overthrowingthe oppressors, let
their nurnbors in Parliament be what they will. The
suggestion I would offer to the merchant, to the artisan,
to the labourer, to the professional man, to the man of
fortune, to speculators, to the whole community em-
ployed in industrious pursuits, is, that they should con-
sider not what is the present cause of their want of
profits, their want of work, their loss of fortune, or their
abortive speculations, but why these unprosperous times
have marred 0:31 OfCcil Anci Pic §l4ch shortly intervening
Why have intervals within the last twenty ytitil, . Why did the
South
capitalAericiannl
sr.s2tsa states .__.nnw n‘nthesommlitu,clth :ft.
,72 g r
countypr ls e s
5 2,fr MA.... '...
' ' • . of
America embarked in enterprises
the growth and wealth cf thedisproportionate to
of property go to Spain i•? 'Why did massea
was the more name of an
Why did knaves in Cornw'alloand Portugal? Why
a signal for every man a railroad in England
Let men ask themselves theseciPus become a. gambler ?
knaves ijs London.,
joint--stock enterprise
And dupes fur every atro '
Restrictions upon trade have Gione
it
tnod b.UtToitite
capital of
England was, I hope is itii) pke'-
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