The Sun.
London, England, 1844-05-29 00:00:00

ONE CHARGE.

died, aged forty-two, on.the 24th of December, 1843.
6. A charge against Mary Dunn, the nurse, for cruel
conduct towards the sick children-generally,- end more
particularly for having beaten a boy, named James Al-
derson, to death in 1840; and for having also beaten an-
other boy, named William Roe, so severely in the same
year, as to ruin him totally, causing the loss of his
limbs, and his subsequent death. Those were the
charges which were framed iu the presence of Thomas-
King, of the master of the workhouse, and of the other
officers implicated. I then ca:led upon Thomas King
to state whether he was prepared to go into
these charges. He stated that he was per-
fectly prepared to go into them. and all the
witnesses he suggested were subsequently examined upon
oath by myself. Their depositions are all here ; but as
the papers are rather voluminous, perhaps the Commit-
tee would wish me shortly to state the course which I
pursued.
" You had better go on with the investigation, as you
appear to• have it before you.—Having framed those
charges, I called upon Thomas King to give his evi-
dence in support of the fourth charge (namely, the
charge against the nurse, matron, and medical officer,
for having grossly neglected John Garrod), as the me-
dical officer was anxious to be released, and the copy of
his deposition, which I will put in, will show the pur- '
port of such evidence :
" Thomas King, having been sworn and examined,
saith :—John Garrod, an old pauper of eighty-four
years of age, went into the sick ward on or about the
end of October, 1843, the same day as' myself. Nurse
stripped him and put -him to bed. At that time Garrod
said he had s bag containing 16s. 6d. in his pocket ; on
the 280,. November, Garrod, who had previously got
something better, became worse, and took to hiS bed
again. From the 28t11 November till the 3d Decem'ber,
Garrod had no clean linen at all. I told nurse of the,
want of the linen -every morning. She answered that,
she could not trouble the matron for clean linen, as Gar-
rod had hid his linen only a fortnight, and there was
none allowed for a shorter period than a month. Gar-
rod's son, William, came in the afternoon of Sunday the
3d December afore Said; I told him the state his father
was in, and advised him to call upon Mr. Shawe, the
chairman, and I requested him not to mention it down
stairs. Shortly after William Garrod had left the ward
the matron and nurse came into it; the matron said,
What for is all this. piece of work about
clean linen? I won't be blamed for nurse's ne-
glect. I laid out the shirts on Saturday, and
nurse having neglected to - come for them
the porter put them back again. As for you, men, I will
report you all to Mr. Edgar, and William Garrod shall
never come and see his father as long as he lives ;' and
turning to the nurse; she added, Give all these -men a
clean shirt ; they shall strip in my presende before I
leave the room.' (This was about four o'clock, p.m., on
• the aforesaid Sunday.) As we had had only one candle
for the six days from the 28th November to the 3d
December, Linstead said 'n my presence to the matron,
have one favour to ask of you—allow us a candle in
the room at night, as • Garrod and King are often out of
bed, and fall on us and hurt us ;' to which the matron
replied, that nurse vas to give them one candle a night
till she ordered her to leave it off. • .
" John G arrod required constant attendance, as from the
character of his affliction he could not perform the duties
of nature without assistance ; and from watering his bed
he required clean sheets every morning.
" About 10 days before he died, a gathering which
Garrod had broke, and I told nurse that she had better
inform Mr. Wilkin of it. It is of no use,' she answered,
• ' to tell Mr. Wilkin about it, as Garrod is an old man,
and he can de him no good.' replied, It is
your duty, nurse, at any rate, to inform Mr. Wilkin
of it.
" On the following day, which was the next medical
day, Mr. Wilkin did not come himself, but his assistant,
Mr. Smith did, and - inquired how the old man was.'
When, as I was going to speak, nurse said, I have told
him, King, about Garrod ; ' upon which Mr. Smith di-
rected that he should be washed and kept clean.
" On the next medical day, viz., Monday, the 18th De-
cember, Mr. Wilkin came ; and when he got to the bed
said,' Well, how is old Garrod getting on?' No reply
that I heard was made, and Mr. Wilkin said, He has •
got a great deal of fever, nurse, and you must not al-
low him any beer.'
"After Mr. Wilkin went, nurseealled me into a sepa-
rate room and said, As you have been attending to
Garrod, who :must not have beer, you shall have his
meat and beer, and let him have your broth.'
"And it was so arranged. At the same time, viz.,
about ten days before he died, William Garrod's wife
brought him a cake, and on the Thursday before he
died a loaf of bread, which he could not eat, and which
nurse told me to take.

On the Sunday before he (J. Garrod) died, William
Garrod, John's son, came with two other men, and
brought the old man half a pint of port wine with some
biscuits and oranges. Nurse told me to take care of
the biscuits and oranges, and she took care of the port

wine.
" The old man had some biscuit soaked in wine,
which I gare him three times a day, about two table-
spoonfuls a time. This I told nurse was not enough to
support him, and that she should ask for soma sago for
him. She said there was none in the house. As he got
worse, I told nurse he required more attendance at
night, and she answered, that then I must attend to him
myself, for she could not. I said to her that the nights
were cold, and begged that she would ask for some fire.
She at first refused, but afterwards went down, and on
her return said the governor had company, and she
could not speak to him. This was three days before
Garrod died. On the following morning, viz., Friday,
the 22d December, I told nurse that Garrod was worse,

and she answered, I shall be glad when he is dead, as
old men are so much trouble, that they ought to die
when they can't do for themselves.' I said, Nurse, I
wm astonished at you.' And she then said, You
know what I mean, King ; I mean, that when they can't
do for themselves, it is a good thing when it pleases
God to take them.'

" From about ten days before, I and Anne Davy used
to wash him every morning till he died, and nurse was
only present on two occasions whilst Davy and I were
washing him.
4 " On the Friday morning, the morning before Garrod
died, nurse said, when we were putting on Garrod's clean
shirt, I hope this is the last clean shirt you'll want.'
" On the same day Mr. Edgar read the prayers for the
sick in the ward, being the only day on which I have
heard the chaplain read prayers in the ward. I used to
read the Scriptures three times ' day to Garrod myself.
" On Saturday morning, the 23d of December, Garrod
died about two o'clock, Ain. I went and told nurse
about twenty minutes past two, and I helped her to lay
him out. •
" Some time before Garrod's death, when his daugh-
ter-in-law was present, he told nurse that he wanted his
money, to which she answered, The governor has got it;
you can't have it.' Garrod said then, If you don't go
down for it, I'll see the governor myself.' A few mi-
nutes afterwards nurse asked how much there was. lie
answered, There was 16s. 6d. when I came on the
room. To which nurse replied, There is only 10s.
now;' and on his exclaiming, Then you have robbed
me,' nurse said, I have not told it, but you shall have
what there is;' and, turning the money out before him,
she counted it, and there was 13s. 6d. Garrod then told
his daughter-in-law to give the nurse 6d., which she did,
and he gave 10s. to the daughter-in-law to take home
with her, leaving 3s. in his pocket. William Garrod also
told me he would give me is. when his father died, and
he gave me this shilling, by nurse's permission, I having
first refused. On the Sunday after the old man's death,-
nurse told William Garrod, who had more than once of-

fered to give me something, that he ought to bring, me
some tobacco, and he did bring me an ounce. • ;
(Signed) " THOMAS KINO-1
" Sworn before me,
(Signed) " JOHN WALSIIAM,
We have no room for Sir J. Walsham's further
evidence ; but we pray attention to the premises, and
the conclusion from those premises, of the intelligent
and merciful Poor-law Commissioners finding on Sir
J. W.'s report to them. The notion of leaving it to
such men to decide whether or not cruel charges are
proved, is an absurdity of which we desire no better
proof than their meek suggestion " of the views"
they entertain to such delinquents as Constable and
his wife, who had so long tolerated—and, but for
King, would probably still have done so to this'day—
the fiendish brutality of the nurse, Mary Dunn.
"Poor-law Commissioners Office, Somerset House,
'42oth ,February, 1844.
" Sir,—The Poor-law Commissioners have had under
their consideration the report of the Assistant Commis-
sioner, Sir John Walsham, informing them of the facts
elicited at an inquiry which he held at the Nacton work-
house on the 24th ultimo, and on subsequent days,when
certain charges against the officers of that workhouse,contained in a letter which an inmate of the house,
Thomas King, had addressed, on the 15th ultimo, to
Mr. Shawn, the chairman, were investigated by the As-
istant Commissioner.
" The charges, framed from Thomas King's letter,
were these :
" 1. A charge against Mary Dunn, the nurse,. for
having neglected to watch William Haggar, whilst dying,
and for having called on Thomas King to assist her in
fastening the old man's bed-clothes over him with a rope,
so that she might not have to sit up with him during
the night on which he died, viz., the 14th January, 1844.
" 2. A charge against the porter for having seduced
female inmates of the workhouse, and for having had a
child, then in the workhouse, by,:oue of theta.
"3. A charge against the mater, for having connived
at the immoral acts of thon-porter, because that officer
was able to ruin him ; and for having neglected, for a
similar reason, to report the Vorter's absence on one
occasion, for two or three days, trom the workhouse.
"4. A charge, Against Mary Dunn, the nurse, Mrs.
Constable, the' 'matron, and Mr. Wilkin, the medical
officer, for the gross neglect of John Garrod, an old man,
who die&on the 23d December, 1843.
5. A charge against Mary Dunn, the nurse, for gross

„ f

neglect of William Chilton, who died, aged 42, on the
24th December, 1843.
"6. A charge against Mary Dunn, the nurse, fur
cruel conduct towards the sick children generally, and
more particularly for having beaten a boy, named James
Alderson, to death in 1840 ; and for having also beaten
another boy, named William Roe, so severely, in the
same year, as to ruin him totally, causing the loss of his
limbs, and his subsequent death.
"The Commissioners, on looking to the evidence, and
to the statement of circumstances submitted to them,
have arrived at the following conclusions :---
" 1. That with regard to the first, fourth, and fifth
charges (irrespective of the fact that some of Garrod's
money was alleged to be missing, and of the circumstance
that Haggar died when the bed-clothes were fastened
over him by a cord), Mary Dunn, who then held the office
of nurse, has been proved to have very culpably neglected
Garrod, Haggar, and Chilton. Having reference to the
sixth charge, the Commissioners think it proved that_
Mary Dunn struck with her band a sick child, six years
old, a short time before its death. 'The Con-unissioners,
therefore, entirely. concur in the course taken by the
guardians in dismissing Mary Dunn frOM the .efliee of
nurse.
• " 2. Adverting to the fourth charge, the Commissioners
desire to state that the allegations against the matron,
medical Officer, and chaplain, have 'not been proved. • '
" 3. The second charge, that brought against the porter.
of having seduced women in the workhouse, was not
proved. The evidence of Mary !tattle is unsupported
and contradictory, and the tale derived from two name-
less prostitutes at Woodbridge, and told by Thomas
King, is wholly unworthy of credit.
"4. The Commissioners feel bound to express their
opinion that the third charge, that brought against the
master, was not proved.
" The Commissioners desire, however, to add that
they have not failed to notice that the master and matron
seem to have been ignorant of the gross neglect of the
'nurse in the oases before alluded to.
" The Commissioners are assured that Mr. and Mrs..
Constable are generally efficient and trustworthy officers,
and that they have discharged their respective duties so.
as to merit the confidence and approbation of the guar-
dians ; still, the Commissioners think that the facts dis-
closed by.the recent inquiry show that the master and
matron havebeen, to some extent, wanting in vigilance
and that blame must be imputed to them fur not fully;
satisfying themselves, by personal supervision and in-.
spectton, that the _nurse's duties were properly per-.
formed, that the last moments of the sick were aceom--
panied by that attention which ought to have beensen-
dered, and that fires and lights were duly provided in the
sick wards whenever they were necessary. The Commis-
sioners wish the guardians to mahe Mr. and Mrs. Constable
aware of the view. taken of their conduct, and at the same
time to admonish them to a general and unceasing watch-
fulness over every class of inmates in the workhouse,
and especially over those who occupy the ward for the
sick. The Commissioners: trust that the ,disposition for
kindness and consideration which the niaSter and matron
have hitherto shown, will prompt them (now their deli-.
cieney has been expressly pointed out) carefully:to avoid
any justground for future complaints, of which (if any
should hereafter arise) the Commissioners would feel
bound to take much more serious notice."

We blush for the public officers who could, upon
such a ease, subscribe such a document.

COLONEL STODDART AND
CAPTAIN CONOLLY.
Captain Grover Ilia received a letter from Dr.
Wolff, dated Meshed, March 24th, 1844. The Doctor
strangely enough fell in with Saleh Mahommed,
called
,Akhoondzadeli, whose statement of what he
said people had told him of the execution of Colonel
Stoddart and Captain Conolly was published in all
the papers, and on the faith of which, her Majesty's
Government erased the name of Lieut.-Colonel
Stoddart from the list of the army, and the East
India Company that of Brevet Captain Conolly from
their list. The latter officer has, however, it appears
from the last. accounts from India, been promoted to
a troop in the 6th Light Cavalry. The Doctor thus
writes :
" Saleh Mahommed -told me, that the two persons
who were put to death, and of whom he gave a cir-
cumstantial account to Colonel Shiel, may have been
two other persons, and the executioner who told him
the story may have belied him. Besides this, I must
confess that two things are suspicious to me in the
extreme : he, first of all, told me that the executioner
Who told him the story had been the executioner of
Stoddart; on another day, when I asked him again
which of the two executioners had put Stoddart to
death, he replied that he did not know. He, more
over, makes a claim upon Colonel Shiel for 120 to-
mauns, which I have learnt from different quarters
he has received from Major Todd." •-•
Dr. Wolff takes presents to the King of Bokhara,
to the value of between 500 and 600 gold tomauns ;
and he,appears to have acquired the good wishes and
assistance of all the people with whom he has been
brought in contact. He thus relates a remarkable
,circumstance
"I have written a most respectful letter to the
Ameer of Bokhara, which I shall deliver myself ; in
this letter I remind his Majesty of the hospitable re-
ception he granted to me, when at Bokhara twelve
years ago, and of myiboldly having defended him in
England, and throughout Europe; when I heard him
accused of being the murderer of guests. I also pe-
tition his Majesty most humbly to allow ire to take
back my friends to their native country ; or should
they have died on account of some fault committed,
to inform me of the nature of their crime, and to per-
mit me to carry their corpses to England, to be buried
by their relations. I gave this letter into the hands of
the Sheik at Islam of Meshed, who read it in the
mosque of Gowker-Shah, in the presence of 5,000
people there assembled."
The Doctor also says :
" A caravan arrived here some days ago from Bok-
hare, and ask whom you please, the invariable answer
is—they may be alive, for nobody has seen them
executed; and the Goosh Bekee, or Prime Minister,.
who for five years was supposed to have been put to,
death, has suddenly come forth alive and well from
prison.
" The chief of the caravan of Bokhara, Mullah
Kereen by name, who leaves that city every two
months, and has a wife there, told me two days-ago,
that if any one asserts that he has seen the execution
of the two elchies (ambassadors), he is a liar."

THE JUNE NUMBER OF

C 0 L BURN' S NEW MONTHLY MAGA-
iINE AND HUMORIST,

Will contain the following int :Testing articles

RECOLLECTIONS OF THE AUTHOR OF " VATHEK."
With a fine Portrait of
THE LATE WILLIAM BECKFORD, ESQ.
A Dreamer Awakened. By Barry Cornwall.
Unpossessed Possessions. By Horace Smith, Esq.
Mr. D'lsraelfs " Coningsby."
Arabella ; or, the Moral of " The Partie Fine," by Titmarsh.
MEMOIRS OF A GENTLEMAN ON HALF-PAY. No. I.

By W. H. MAXWELL, Esq.
Author of " Stories of Waterloo," Bcc.
• One More Savoy Ramble. By Mrs. Trollope.
Finishing with a Dinner. By the Author of " Peter Priggins."
How to make a Long Day. By Laman Blanchard, Esq.
Recreations in Natural History ; Elephants, concluded.
THE ROYAL ACADEMY EXHIBITION.
The Emperor Nicholas; his Nobles, Serfs, and Servants.
The Lost Ship.
The Voyages and Services of "The Nemesis" in China.
The Winds, &c.
Henry Colburn, Publisher, 13, Great Marlborough-street.

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" C ONINGS BY ;
OR,
THE NEW GENERATION,"
IS NOW READY AT ALL THE LIBRARIES.
Henry Colburn, Publisher, 13, Great Marlborough-street.

ILLUSTRATED BY LEECH.
The JUNE NUMBER, Price Half-a-Crown, of
BENTLEY'S MISCELL ANY
Will contain :
THE FORTUNES OF THE SCATTERGOOD FAMILY,
By ALBERT SMITH.
With an Illustration by Leerh.
Chap. XVlll.—Vincent is led by MEißolt to the edge of a precipice.
Chap. XIX.—Mr. Joe Joint becomes joyous at Graysend, where Mr.
Snarry relieves his mind.
Chap. XX.—Frederick arrives at the' end of his journey.
Chap. XXl.—The meeting of Vincent and Amy Grantham—The
_ . _

burning of Brabants.
The Whims of a Water-Drinker. By Ilal Willis.
The Last Gathering. •
My Creole Cousin. By Albany Poyntz, with an Illustration by

Leech.
The Whig and Tory. An Universal Newspaper to suit all Tastes and

Opinions, composed by Steam.
Benjamin of Breslau, and how he learnt the World. A German Tale.
A Ramble through Styria, the Tyrol, and Illyria, in 1841, By C. F.
Fynes Clinton. Vienna—Journey through Styria—Salzburgh—
Valley of the Pinzgau—Falis of the Sabza—lnnsbruck.
Love and Reason, By Anna Savage.
A Fashionable Gaming House--Confessions of a Croupier.
The Manxman and his Visitor.
The Coryphee. By Menander.
The Vetturino. By Dudley Costello. The Cabaret—Disclosures.
A Song for the Sorrowflil. By W. Law Gene.
Queen Elizabeth's Visit to Sandwich. By Henry Curling.
A song.
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Richard Bentley, Nevi Burlington-street.

HER MAJESTY'S THEATRE.
The Nobility, Subscribers to the Opera, and the Public, are re-
spectfully informed that there will be an extra Night (not included
in the Subscription)
TO MORROW EVENING, TUESDAY, MAY SO,
When will be performel Rossini's Opera of IL BARBIERE DI
SIVIGLIA, by Madame Grist, Signor Mario, Signor Lablache,
signor F. Lablache, and Signor Fornasari.
After which be produced, a New Divertissement, composed
by Mdlle. Cerito, ettitied LA VI VAN DIERE, introducing La
Bedowa Polka, bynidlle. Cerito and M Et. Leon.
To be followed b' ,the last scene of Rossini's Opera LA CENE-
RENT OLA. Ls Cenerenr ola, Mdlle. Favanti.
To conclude with the Grand Ballet entitled ALMA (omitting the
Dint Tableau), in which Mdiles. Cerito and Frassi, and Mons. M.
St. Leon and Perrot will appear.
Applications for Boxes, Stalls, and Tickets to be made at the Box
Office„Opera Coknnade. Doors open at Seven. The Opera will
commence at Half-past Seven.