The Sun.
London, England, 1844-07-08 00:00:00

,THE NEW POOR-LAW BILL: -•
ASrightful case has recently occurred at Beeding,
near Ilorsham, in Sussex, of accidental poisoning by
eating putrescent meat. Some circumstances of that
Me, ill connexion with the conduct of the Poor law
Guardians of the union in which, Beeding is situated,
remind us that we have hitherto omitted to notice the
subject-matter; of the " Second .Report from the
Select Committee on Medical Poor Relief, recently
issued from the Vote and Paper-office. To speak
first,bowever, of the Beeding affair.. It seems that
a labouring- man, named CHAPMAN, bought of a
farmer, among whose herds and -flocks
,the murrain
• had extensively preVailed, the carcass of a cow which
had died a few • days before. Cnarmax's object in
buying the carcass was—by his own confession—to
have fed with it the poultry (!) and the pig !)
'which he- reared around his miserable' hut, in the
neighbourhood. The chickens died. The pig, whether
it met with 'the same fate, or was slaughtered, was
Partly eaten by CITAPMAN and hit family. Alarming
Vmptorni having rapidly supervened,, the medical
officer of the union was called in, and found that the
Wretched family, the poultry, and the pigs all in-
habited one and the same room, the stench of
which was almost fatal to the medical man and those
wbo.catne to aid him. The CIIAPMANS were remoied
into a tent pitched for them at some little distance
from the hut;, the meat was burned and buried; and
every remedial treatment adopted to save the family
from the animal poison which they had too clearly
absorbed by_eating. the infected food on which they
had for some time subsisted. But these attentions'
were vairr. Culrmaic and two of his, children sunk
under the effects of their deleterious diet ; and a third
child, who laboured Under similar syMptera.s, by the
last accounts was_ not likely to survive its brethren
and parent. " What renders," says the writer of the
statement, " this extraordinary case more astonishing;
the.fact that the deceased family have• been buried,
and
nu.'notice forwarded of their deaths to the'
coroner, though we. are informed that the medical
officer• has announced it to the Poer-law Guardians of
the Horsham Union, in which the parish of- Beeding
is included." -

four cases'where coroners' juries ittaVe. sat on the bodies,
one of which occurred in this very' Kensington Union ;
and therefore:it was that I have been dissatisfied, and I
'have a righeso to be, with the manner in which he Poor-
law Commissioners have thought proper to end this itr-
quiry ;- and having those dissatisfied feelingi, I thought
it a duty I owed to the poor in general to present a pe-
tition to the House of Commons, praying them to grant
what they have granted, a Committee to inquire into my
complaint."
upoil the whole of this case we are satisfied that it
is an organic mistake in the New Poor-law to require
complaints of this kind to be carried in the first
instance before the POor-law Cominissioners—it is a
mere mockery. Their powers should be altogether.
administrative ;
.. their judicial decisions can never
tend to any other result than to bring the Poor-law
into odium, and to involve themselves in alisurdities
such as those which their Assistant, Mr.. NICHOLLS,
perpetrates in his posting reports from Ireland.
They have in some cases a positive interest in screen-
ing the misconduct of their subordinate functionaries
—in 'all cases a natural tendency to„palliate it. We
cannot understand why the Select Committee should
not be prepared to say "that these Commissioners ez
ercised an unsound discretion in not making further
inquirl" into OSMAN'S case ; still less can we attach
the weight of one feather, ,or the value of one strait,
to the quasi defence set up for them—that Mr. RYDER
was not " authorised" by' the written instructions of
'the Board of Guardians to present his petition, • or to
enter, into correspondence with the Poor-law Com-
missioners. This last • pretension of..imprial up-,
_approachability, except after due meremonial.
narks of office, is exquisitely !ridiculous. 'We have
seen it imitated on a small scale by minor "cOm-
tnissioners" clothed with a tenure of office ,adroitly
expanded by them—for the public good, of course
from a two years' duration into one of. four; but We
have never seen the Fum-Ho'grandeur of Chinese
irresponsibility so amazingly acted as, on certain oc-
casions, it is at SonierSet.House.

' A VISIT to .the CONSPIRATORS.
A letter in the Nation affords a striking picture of
Mr. O'Connell and-his companions. The visitor says—.
" I met the Great Man in the garden, -walking with his'
gifted daughter, Mrs. Fitzsimon, and followed by a bri-
gade of her sons, as manly. and gallant-looking boys as I
ever beheld. I never saw anybody look less like a beaten
man, or more like a Conqueror. I was• most anxious to
hear of his health and habits ;: for a sedentary life.would
inevitably ruin the constitution of a man who has done
more work to his own hand,' than any man in Europe.
Both go on as they ought. He rises -in .the.morning
abOut seven o'clock, and walks an hour in the garden ';
hears mass at eight, and breakfasts at nine. From
ten till .twelve• he usually devotes to his papers, and
- late* and the mid-day of. all the visiting-days is fully
Oct:Tied • with his friends.'" He dineS with the other
t Conspirators' at five o'clock, and giVes the evening to
exercise and reflection, or to reading. While I walked
'about the gardena he was waited imop by a Catholic
Bishop frOm a distant colony of England, an-Indepen-
dent. MiniSter, AM:aMunster, a Stipendiary Magistrate,
.a Presbyterian Deputation from Banbridge,:. the Mayer
of'Cork, a poor Christian-Brother, who.stole a day from
his: enerous- labours.to see • the Liberator,' a Birming-
ham merchant, and an artist froM Belgium, who came
to the country to make an•Jdatorical picture of the int-
prisonment" ,
The visitor addressed himself to Ray—" As he is
coinptroll6r-of the konSehold, I qaeationed him whether
-the extraordinary repOrts flying through town, of .pre,
seats arriVing to,the, prisoners .by every coach from the
country, .were. true.. ! Take yesterday • for -example,'
said ;he. _'.ln the. morning we breakfasted off a table
•covered with .damask, from the looms of Mr. Reed, of
Banbridge, who had just presented a table-cloth of ex-
quisite beauty, ornamented with the aims of Ireland,
and the insignia of repeal, to each of the conspirators.'
We . had • gunpowder tea from Raheny Cottage, sugar
from Castiebagget; and barnbracs from Town-councillor
Andrews. Af dinner. we had fish 'from the Bishop of
Waterford and Lord' Cioneniry,, and fruit for; the dessert,
.from the, garden of the .convicted conspirator,' Father
,Tierney,..clownin the.hlack.North. This is one day—you
may imagine therest, and guess whether we can hegloomy
with sympathy- coming .home :hourly to our-door.' As
I passsed-the gate,. the Governor, Mr. Purdon (whose'
name the• French papers • have, by a happy accident,
blitnderedinto Monsieur Pardon,. )r just arrived on a hack
car, 'and- I" witnessed the most" characteristic scene
ofthe 'day.' 'Here, my boy,' said the Governor, who is
a frank, good-humoured looking man of about fifty,
here is your fare; and you earned it' honestly—you did
not. spare' your whip"-cerd.' The driver put -.it away
haitily with his hand,. and indicated that he would' not
haVe, it. • What !: cried: the" Governor, do :you rer
fuse aoarly double your regular- fare?. -How, much do
you want?' Nothing,. sir,' replied thoyoung patriot,
but..the pleasure of serving your honour, who, they tell
roe,-ii so kind to the Liberator: "

0f,., course, we can 'reason only on the allegations,
before us' as we find them in the, Hampshire Inde-
Pendeiit:. Zit, assuming them to be true, as we are
• bnUnd-. to, dq, we should say a most flagrant case of
neglect of dutyis established against the functionaries
in questiOn ; and, we. are sorry to add, an additional.
evidence supplied of the miserably deficient machinery
of our very costly ' and very clunisy poor-lawadmil.
nistration. - It 'must not 'be fOrgotten'that this is by
no' means -a 'solitary case of official .neglect, in
re-
ference to the last sad_ scenes .of a,. miserable pauper's
•existence: We mean neglect of: those_ guarantees
.
which, so far' as solemn and, 'public
_investigation
into the causes of any-individnal death can supply
them, the law has scruPulOuslY provided foT the .
pro-
tection .Of the. pauper as well as of .the aristocrat.
This case of Ch irmAx and hiS children has, however,
"e redeeming feature in it at least.. The succour of
the medical officer of the union was prompt ; his at-
tentios' sustained; and • his removal of the unhappy
..
People to a tent at once humane and considerate. -,
Very different_is the_ impression with which we
arise from a perusal, of the evidence attached to the
Second Report • .of the •Select Committee *before us.
~
.to this' Committee, "Appointed to• inquire into the
°tie of administering Medical Relief to the Sick
°l3l under, the. Provisions of. the Poor-law Amend-
taent Act," had been "referred the petition of Mk.
Jon
-U
1-%
-1 , RYDER, of Sloane-street; Chelsea."_ The
l'e
Ikn't itself is sufficiently brief. . '
, t •
tea Your. Committee have examined several witnesses
,It:ting the case of Henry Osman, which
.waS-b!onght
ilsetee,oleir consideration: : the testimony Oven in evi. _
Disit,- 18 Very :conflicting. , Your _oeinuttee are of
0
to, ei6'"' that there was irregularity, on the: part of the
otivie7 officer of the,
.Kensington Union House, in
Lnlediemttmoved the said Henry Osman: .withoiit a
„late witbrtifieate in writing, and without having seen
i..;01412.-;
!Lo twenty-four hours of his removal ; but your
.Qol,zi. !ttei are not prepared to" say that the Poor!law
aleill'ssonera exercised -an unsound discretion-in:*
not;
.„„Ing further inquiry into the.case -of Henry Qaman.'
.I.Nlow
state the case- of HENRY OSMAN' is very clearly
desire 4
of l'Y Mc,' MiI:IRK himself, in answer to !the
then;-.: -- Committee that he should desCribe. it to
"I felt it my duty in
. . . - ,
complaint before the' the. month of July last, to lay a
lua'evinee, I suppose'. Poor-law Coniinissioners, in whose
grievances of ' this kini pectiliarly,
2_1,19,.. and whose. duty it is to investigate complain 4 ;
-.Lithe complaint is this: that on the 14th of July!lavt
Year, a pauper, named Henry. Osman, aged 56 years,
,was removed in the most hopeless and helpless state
‘rula the-Kensington to the Chelsea Workhouse; in fact,
when he arrived at:the Chelsea Workhouse he was iii an
AhMlutely dying condition ; and there was no medical
certificate granted as to the fitness and safety-for his
tenlovid, Which; I submit to the Committee, ought to
have been the case, and which, I think, the Commis-
konera theMselveS canna for a moment. deny "eltrc)-
111*y of;and; in; ad, the absolute necessity of. s a
roof that he was this extreme state -
ofsickness--inn
this dying state,--be died the following.. morning, very;
eiltrly, 2. e. about five ' o'clock, of inflammation, of the
:ungs, which I am sure I need not tell the Committee, is
" complaint above all -others -requiring 'the nicest' and
tenderest care before theytemove a man." :: • .
The evidence 'of ' Mr. J. B. GYIAZiARONI, the
'Medical officer of the Kensington ,Union, whose
e"ClUct has been impugned; we confess by no means
removes the :impression
unfavourable Which-we, on
th
.s'st public notice of OSMAN'S case, conceivediof
it •;)
en " 7Y- his own showing he does not appear to have
ev'ultdered the man to be in at all so .dangerous or
and a 'condition as other witnesses (examined),
41: as the officers 'Of the Chelsea Union evidently
at the time of the pauper's removal. His
evidence
'cliff, ''''' appears to us characterised. by a sort of in-
' absolutel47lce tothe suffering'of a patient, amounting to
ini flipp.ancy ; and there is' a tone of nonchalance
eo
of answers. to questions relative to the general
Whk of pauper treatment in the:Kensington Union,,
fo ii 3 in singular bad taste. He is . too pro-
no 4clly,Prefessional to know anything' on any subject
i°:within his awdiMmediate duties ;,.and he thinks
I:lBufficient reply to an imputation on the, ,manage-
!ntnf the one workhouse in allowing a pauper to be
lia(rif -
di,. •ed thence to another Workhouse in a filthy con-.
"°ll, that the .man had had. --
a bath at the former
when he first wentin. ..
Clilt has been stated that when he arrived at the
gtat s..,ea"'Workhonse hia rson. was in a very filthy
e r-I have no reason to believe that it so.
the 1 great care taken of- their personel-cleanlieess in
n, Kensington Workhouse ?---,-Yeit ; on 'their admission
11-"-Y always have a bath." ' .:•' . .' .
tit from
li. the
,evidence of the RelieVing=officerof the
,e!lsington Union, it is clear that. Mr...GuAxzAxozyi
a ‘4,._ guilty of a positive neglect of duty, in not 'giving
"ir, itten order or certificate for OSMAN'S removal.... . . — - ,
, •
.dri_When the medical officer gives his' certificate to the 't-iiiii;:itisirtir '!ItTItONAGE.—A rumour is afloat
bisvcx that the recipient may be removed with care, after Unit, -in consequence of the difference between
. Mr.
blouaarning the conveyance in which he shOnld .13e .:re- Milea and the Goverement on the Seger Duties Bill, the
11144, I do not think it necessary that the.medidal tHri4ol Tory party have' unexpeptestlylound themselves
glees
4hould be immediately present"at the tinie; if he denuiled-of-local paliiinage.. : , This may, he true, or ,it
4,3- a Written statement to that effect.' . . matnot:_i ..but..it
.mab e stated, in'ilart Confirmation of
illiter„t't Upon this occasion he did. not give a written the correctness of the"report, that the office of weigher
rth-4 nit '?--No, he did,not" at the Oustom-house,Bcistol, has been filled up, on the
.
tin,tle surgeon of theUnien=h9* at , Chelsea (lip- recommAidatioo, of . tkii*epber• forShrewsbury,by a
coßrightonhas
deposes having found. OSMAN in. almost_nn
ho.._ 3r. to
,native of.triat town ; a d that a. native
been appointed to the - office of tide-waiter here, on the
st:tr after his. reception into that house pi a; dying ;rec6iiirkendation'of.one of the Members „for Brighton.
re s---rapiilly sinking.: ' The "master_ of this house The': appointments ..are.not,..certitinly, of much import-
irkonstrated with the men Who brought him fr6in ariee„ hut. "straws thrown
,ap,t?w,. wjliFii way the wind
'len Singtou • : • .. ' •• linii,in ,13lows.''—__VriaraN.O.'6144, ... ., .
stiet, on the .impropriety of .removing _ LIVERPOOL FRIDAY.—Iiii man who committed
co," a State as he was, before he- assisted to help hi
•m so' many
,hordble atrocities op
(itili .hoard the.-,• Saladin, 407
vl'bnf the cart. The female nnurse.
,(MARGARET DA- counts of, which .have .been published in all the papers,
A - c!ti) deposes to the fact that she and others put
,was well known in Liverpool. His wife lives here at
.„
s'sistA.x t ' . , -., present, and 'haibeen a resident of the town 'for some
Ilitu co bed immediately, because- they thought ,rears. They did not reside together for a long time
filth in
a dying state ; and she deposes likewise to the -past •; but he allowed her Os. aiv eelc-, which she received
3' condition of his person and his clothes ; the a,t the parish office. Upon • being made acquainted with
latter,ed of which were obliged to be ' jinni' oct. Ai toy de... his. tragical deeds on board the Saladin, she, manifested
rnY little or no surprise, as she hid ofien been subjected to
41,2...__• The evidence of male • nnise-,,(JAmEi ill-treattient at his hands ; but she expressed much eon-
(l7win ON) is still more stringent and pireeise" to the Cern' at ,hearin of the fate og. her unhappy son, who, .it
con-
4yin g condition 'Of
.the, , Will, be; recollected, wax thrown, :overboard: after the
tart. -' .1, .
father,
quarai:lr 4YDRR,.'the Cli.a4rman 'of the ',of: • . .'. •' . -• .
An accident, which has proved fatal in its results,
poor., ht At. Chelsea, _brogght this case before .the, ;occurred to a boy named Lund,' at the .' Marylebone
%al. law Commissioners, struck by theentry on •the• Theatre; on 'Friday night. • The boy was, engaged in at-
b 18'4'U-took of the' WorkhOuse' th 4 the s ilan had. tending to a. water piece, entitled the Water Fiend, in
eelt. remove • • .•, ' - • . • • ' which there is a large fall of water, He was carried
liattlrall 4ul a . dying atate.. , : Ile, complains, ' overthe'fall, and in descending received such injuries as
rah.: Ye4.9ugh we think, that 'the Poor-law Conn .caused his death on Saturday night. . . .
-.eskers - .• • - - , ,
, . .....•
. Ow! Gzu ro RD SusrEragoni -RatiiGE.—Qn Friday,
se), they 0 9r instituting whet
, 44 1i,,,,,,„., .
- wooden cradles were placed at each of the pillars in the
I, with'great submission, -
el_....i_._ Aght to have centre of the river, for the' men to work in, in fixing the
done, an invest into this chains acres the river, - for, the Suspension Bridge. The
tilted instead of A public• iuquiry„ which was what' I _whole of the iron works are ready, and it is expected to be
(arta T.L.0f.,. and which would.' have satisfied all parties completed by theist of August.
fortishinlnlnk there was. nothing . unreasonable in Joy RAILWAY
TRAVELLING TO LIVERPOOL.—SeveraI
uoti4 , a public inquiry, and being' satisfied With, -correspondents of the Tinter have been' complaining, within
trek g 480* -the'y get from the Kensingtonll ' .
the y •• the arrangements of the Grand Junction
Union the last few days, of'.. t„. . . very parties theisecond-class • -
'9g. ha r ----Jaselves,-, whom, -I, Autrger as , Company, which render it impossible for.a pas-
the,. _ p icated in the removet—a,report with *blob 1 wager tago through from London .to 'Liverpool' without
4-1.42". -themselves to. be satisfied, 'are
and decline :le atopping. . One of them statei that,.start.from Birmingham,huaton-seu
trin,....‘ !in,/ farther inquiry. If this inquiry had been .what time he may, he must remain for hours in
Grandunc
letr;frit X have every reason to: believe, 'and lam pre- i unlesslie Consents. to pay, first-class fare on the
and
have swear it, that a great deal ofpublic good would ' thin line. The conduct of the Birmingham Company.uis
that it ftotn that in ' - .131' - • • 'of the Great Western, who have many second-class ,
qinry i_pu ic good in this way, •
ntr ted with that of the Grand Junction, who kw :would have prevented, I have no doubt, by ;the lg
co all
o'clock in morning,4o'clock in
itik„' • e't7: which would have bee :, 0 'two=one at 6
'do ` instances' fwhat I n given to it, other the aftensoon. It is A great: pity that this cause of reproac.
or
__ . o term gross cruelty. to . the has not long since been removed. • :We are satisfied that, it
4w:f removing them during-their. Au.;
"Immtio Ther•hi,ve fleatrigi • - •
--,-ng az their jack . would tend to the pecuniaryadvantage.of the Grand Junction
MON this case three or i. Comptuot to make Au alteratiene4eilway Record. --

INTERCOURSE; AMONG)

MEN" EN LONDON.

On Saturday a meeting of noblemen and gentlemen.
connected with Ireland was, held at the Freemasons'
Tavern; for the rweroge, of taking into conisderation the
best means of promoting social and intelleetnal inter-
- course- among Irishmen in London. The Marquis of
Clanricarde took the chair. Among 'the noble Men and
gentlemen present were—Lord Castlereagh, Lord Trim,
leston, Sir Denham Morels, M.P., Colonel Dawson
reamer,
M.P.,
Edward34,,P Emerson
Tennent, Esq., M.P.,. Morgan John O'Connell, Esq"
.M.P., Benjamin Chapman, Esq., M.P., „&e. The an-
nouncement of the names of.several.noblemen and gen-
tlemen'(among the:former • Lord. Rossmorej, who were
unavoidably absent, was made tO the meeting. • They all
inthritited their approbation of the objects of the meet.-
ing, • and-pledged themSelVes to do all they could to pro-
mote-111-Use' objects.'" .
The Noble Chairman having opened the meeting,
Mr.E. TENNENT rose to Move the firstresolition which
was to the effect thata society be formed to be called,
" The Irish Society," for,the purpose of.pronioting social
,and intellectual intercourse among Irishmen, irrespective
of religious differences.- The Ben. Gentle Map, in moving
this resolution, adverted to' the isolated condition in
wbich youpg'lrislimen of. talent found themselves when
thef.came to `l,,onden., The evils of this isolation were
'numerous and great. The remedy for those evils
would be found .in the , society it was that day in-,
tended to form.. Scotland had .a similar society-,
so had Wales—and so hadinany of the counties of Eng-
land; but there was no Irish interest.% -AU that was pro-
posed that day was :that those friendly to such is
society should enrol their names as members.
It - would be for a committee, to be subsequently
appointed, to • -frainc the rules and regulations,
and ' make the other, necessary preliminary, prepa,-,
rations for the constitution .of the society., . It was
. intended, in addition to periodical meetings of its mem-
hers:that there should be One or. two conversasiones
during the season, which would be open to all, and-at,
which 'there would be exhibitions Or Irish genius,
whether 'in science or the arts.-'There could be no
doubt that the effect. of such 'a society ' would' be-to
lend 'a helping hand to many
.a young man of supe-
rior talent, .who might otherwise have had no op-
portuniei of making his merits known to the World. It
waa intended that the yearly sum which the mem.
bers. , will have; to pay shoutd be two guineas. All
"differences in politics or religion were to be buried.in the
dust. -They wbuld,,be wholly:unknown to the
.society..
Mr. Emerson Tennent, after some further observatiOns
in a similar strain, concluded -by moving the resolution,
which,,with several others, 'chiefly of a formal kind, was
put and urranimons4e adopted. Ihe treasurer announced
that th. 6- had -already' been received in the shape of en-
trance fees, from' gentlemen who had sent. in their names
as members. A. vote of thanks having been given to the
Noble. Chairman, the meeting separated. .