The Sun.
London, England, 1866-10-03 00:00:00

THE HACKNEY WORKHOUSE.

Yesterday Mr. Corbett, the Poor-law Board's Commission-
er, held au official inquiry at the above workhouse at Lower
Homerton, with respect to the conduct of the officials ie re-
fusing admission to an out-door cholera patient. The case
was brought• to public notice in the report of a coroner's in-
quest published in The Sun not long since upon a child
named Nichols. The depositions taken at the inquest wore
read over to the witnesses on Monday, and the further exa-
mination proceeded yesterday in the presence of many of
the guardians, who were professionally represented by
Mr. Metcalfe, the master and matron being represented
by Mr. Daniel, and Mr. East attending for Dr. 'Millar,
the medical officer of the workhouse. Though the evidence
taken was most voluminous, the simrlo facts of the case
may be very briefly stated. The child whose death was the
subject of inquiry was brought to the workhouse on his,
father's back, with an order from the district surgeon Say-
ing, " Please admit James Nichols, or send him to the Ger-
man Hospital immediately." The child was refused admis-
sion to the workhouse, and was sent to the German Hos-
pital, where ho died, and the circumstances related in
evidence before the coroner justified the jury in considering
that death had been accelerated by tho refusal of the master
to admit the boy to the workhouse. The manner in which
the child was refused admission, as told by the matron of
the workhouse, whc is the wife of the master, gives the
clue to the whole case. She stated that the child was
brought in under the gateway of the workhouse, and Mr.
Oxley, a gentleman associated with Dr. Millar, but appa-
rently having no legal standing in the house, asked what
was to beldone with the child. She replied that the master
was going to send him to the German Hospital, 'to which
Mr. Oxley rejoined, The child shall not go ;ho (the mas-
ter) is not medical officer." She believed it was about this
time that she told Mr. Oxley that the master had always
had charge of the wards. Mr. Oxley then went away and
returned in a few minutes with Mr. Summers, the legally-
appointed deputy of Dr. Millar, and he asked what was
going to be done with the child, and she told him what
she had told Mr. Oxley, that it was going to be sent to the
German Hospital. All this time the plague-stricken child
was sitting in the gateway. Mr. Summers went into the
lodge and brought out what she supposed was a written
order for the child to bo admitted to the workhouse, and
said, "Read that." She took it from him and laid it on a
form by her side, saying the master would read it, and she
then said to a pauper, " Go down and tell the master I
want him at once." When ho came she gave him the
order, and he read it ; but he sent the child to the German
Hospital. In answer to further questions, she said she
believed she used the word "officious" to Mr. Oxley, say-
ing that he was too officious, but she did not say, as Mr.
Oxley asserted she did, that if it had not been for his offi-
ciousness the child would have been admitted. The ex-
amination then turned upon alleged obstructions which
had been thrown in the way of tho medical officer and
nurses by the matron, by her neglectingto supply stores, or
delaying to supply necessities. She was always willing to
supply anything in reason. She distinctly denied the truth
of assertions made by witnesses that necessities had not been
supplied when asked for, but she allowed that on one occasion
when Dr. Millar had asked for the assistance of some women
in the iron house, the then cholera ward, she, after having
had a sort of dispute with him on the point, offered the
position to two old paupers, who refused to go. She told
Dr. Millar this, and he told her she must get somebody—
she must hire somebody from out of the house, and this she
looked upon as unreasonable. In her,further evidence she
allowed that there had boon "difficulties" with the medical
officer before Dr. Millar's time, but she maintained that she
had worked altogether harmoniously with this gentleman.
She allowed she had had words with Mr. Oxley, and she
admitted, somewhat excitedly, that the spirits for the
patients had been taken from her charge and given to the
charge of the medical officer, denying, however, that this
was done because the spirits had been found diluted with
water. The reasons assigned by the master for refusing
admission to the child were four-fold—first, that the
guardians had passed a "negative resolution" by refusing
to allow wards to be opened for out-door cholera patients ;
second, that the Poor Law Board had issued a circular
letter stating that it was inexpedient to admit such
cases ; the third, that the cholera had broken out among
the children in the house ; and the fourth was that ho
was under the impression that he was justified, from cir-
cumstances brought to his knowledge, in sending the case
to the German Hospital. After the examination of the
matron a long conversation ensued, from which it was
apparent that there was not only a want of harmony be-
tween the medical officer and the master and matron,
but that the guardians were much divided. So far
indeed was this division shown, that the Commissioner was
obliged to request the guardians to keep certain amenities
until the next Board meeting. He said he had evidence
sufficient, and should close the inquiry, and the proceed-
ings accordingly concluded.

Honours for the Lavers of the Atlantic

Cable.

_
The following is the letter of the Earl of Derby,
of which we gave a summary in our report of the
Atlantic cable banquet in yesterday's impression :--
BALmonAL, Sept. 29.
" Dear Sir Stafford,—As I understand you are to have
the honour of taking the chair at the entertainment which
is to be given on Monday next in Liverpool, to celebrate
the double success which has attended the groat undertak-
ing of laying the cable of 1866, and recovering that of 1865,
by which the two continents of Europe and America aro
happily connected, I am commanded by the Queen to make
known to you, and through you to those over whom you
are to preside, the deep interest with which her Majesty
has regarded the progress of this noble work, and to tender
her Majesty's congratulations to all of those whose energy
and perseverance, whose skill and science have triumphed
over all difficulties, and accomplished a success alike hon-
ourable to themselves and to their country, and beneficial
to the world at large. Her Maiesty, desirous of testifying
her sense of the various merits which have been displayed
in this great enterprise, has commanded me to submit to her
for special marks of her royal favour the names of those
who, having had assigned to them prominent positions,
may be considered as representing the different depart-
ments whose united labours have contributed to the final
result. Her Majesty has accordingly been pleased to
direct that the honour of knighthood bo conferred on
Captain Anderson, the able and zealous commander of
the Great Eastern ; on Professor Thompson, whose
distinguished science has been brought to boar with
eminent success upon the improvement of submarine tele-
graphy ; and on Messrs. Glass and Canning, the manager
and engineer respectively of the Telegraph Maintenance
Company, whose skill and experience have mainly
ing
contri-
buted to the admirable construction and successful
of the cable. Her Majesty is further pleased ttesrmoacrolkamyphae:
approval of the public spirit and energy of ttho
of the nies who have had successively the condutee
of the United
under-
taking by offering the dignity of a baronetcy
Kingdom to Mr. Samson, the deputy-chairman
awir,hiaonidhatos
nal company, to whose resolute s PP
spite of all discouragemonts, it uin o
groatoef
tyee
measure
sfutrhee
project,oowr ii ging.
way
so
thene d
companyi ndesp
tmlira.t iGooch,twas nM.P.,
tohneeethiamirerasb:
design. If, among the names
finally accomplished the great
vve _ y
d b her Majesty, that of
thus submitted to and I)
ear, the omission must not bo
PoPf the eminent services which
yhdasigrondored to tho cause of Transatlantic
he
athe zeal and resolution with which he has
faMrtotrmr.ibCtuyhtrucedfist
telegraphy,
and the
of this object ; but to an appre-
hensionto encroach on the province
her Majesty were advised to
of fdhh iesrodko tttFoDi'll
Government mightnld dodoor not
appear
pafdBir
offer to a citizen of the United States, for a service ren-
dered alike to both countries, British marks of honour,
which, following the example of another highly distin-
guished citizen, he feelmittiegualichtml
e to
himself unable to accept.
I will only add, on my own part, how cordially 1 con-
cur in the object of the meeting
should
haveOv ehraa vttee whichbnedee yound
in gratified areer sao
h.bouta—d
et oi r preside,
ms ta n and howr
m m
I am, dear Sir Stafford, very sincerely
yours,
(Signed) " DERBY.
"right lion. Sir Stafford N
orthcote, Bart., M.P."
[AD

tiOn, debility,
'VERTISEMENT.IDyepepsi—a eonstipa-
aanct.,c•lelleivraerced by
complaintseonsum —Dyspepsia
and all nervous, bilious, stomach
by Du Barry's everyn
health-restoring
stage, are only aggravatedta Ara and
drugs of every description, but
perfectly cur-
ableßevale
Food, as proved by thousands of oases which had been con-
sidered hopeless, such as- cough, asthma, also diarrheas,
lfxrnor •rhowis, liver complaints, flatulency, nervousness,
biliousness, fevers, sore throats, diphtheria, catarrhs, oolds,
influenza, norses in the head and earA, iheumatism, gout, im-
purities, eruptions, hysteria, neuralgia, irritability,sleepless
nese, acidity, palpitation, heartburn, headache, debility,
dropsy, cramps, spasms, nausea and sickness, even in preg-
nancy or at sea, sinking fits, bronchitis, scrofula, tightness of
the chest, pains in the pit of the stomach and between the
shoulders, &c. We quote a few :—Cure No. 46,276. MrJamea
Roberts, timber merchant, of Fernley, Surrey, of 30 years'
diseased lungs, spitting of blood, liver derangement, and par-
tial deatness.—Cure No. 47,121. Miss Elizabeth Jacob,, of ex-
treme nervousness, indigestion, gatherings; low spirits, and
nervous fancies.—Cure No 1,771. Lord Stuart de Pecies, lord
lieut. of Waterford, of many years' dyspepsia.—No. 49,832.
Fifty years' indescribable agony from dyspepsia, nervousness,
asthma, cough, constipation, flatulency, spasms, sickness, and
vomiting—Maria July.—Cure No. 51,810. The R !v. James
T. Campbell, Fakenham, Norfolk, of indigestion and torpid-
ity of the liver, which had resisted all medical treatment.—
In tins, 11b, 2s 9d; 21b, 48 61 ; 51b, Ils ; 121 b, 225; 211 b,
40s.—Barry Du Barry and Co., No. 77, Regent-street, London;
also Phillips, tea dealers, 8, King William-street ; likewise
at 61, Gracechurch-street ; 4, Chcapside ; 19, Bishopsgate-
street Within ; 63, 150, and 298, Oxford-street ; 830, Strand;
54, Upper Baker-street; It:3, Tottenham-court-road; 96,
Upper-street, Islington, N.; llarvey, -
; Close
Brothers, 65, iligh-street ; and Stubbs, Queen's-terrace, St.
John's-wood, London; and all respectable grocers and °hes
miats.—Leware of spurious imitations.

OYAL STRAND TIIEATRE.
B, sole Lessee and Manageress, Mrs. swanborough.
THIS EVENING, THE MARRIED BACIIELOR.
Jslessrs. Thorne and Price; Misses Johnstone and Hughes.
To be followed by WAI'L'ING FOR THE UNDER-
GROUND.
After which, will be produced the Latest Edition of
KENILWORTH. Messrs. Thorne, James, Fenton, and
Turner ; Mesdames Ada Swanborough, Raynham, John-
stone, and Holt.
To conclude with JACK'S DELIGHT.