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Leader (1850-1860), 19th July 1851, Edition Country of 2, Page 8, ORANGE RIOT IN LIVERPOOL. The 12th of Ju...

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      Public Feasts And Shows. The Gaiety Of T...

      learned often contained only comparisons between Snorthorns , Herefords , and Devona ( laughter ); and carried , perhaps , a specimen of wools , long and short . ( Laughter . ) Happy the country , and happy the times where diplomatists were so employed !** The proceedings closed with the health of " The President Elect , " Earl Dude , who , unhappily , was absent from indisposition .

      676 ©Fje Tltftitt. [Sattbdat,

      676 © fje tLtftitt . [ Sattbdat ,

      A Prudish Lord. In The Dismal District O...

      A PRUDISH LORD . In the dismal district of Spitalfields , a society of benevolent gentlemen have erected a large pile of buildings , intended for the use of the working-classes , and known as " Metropolitan Chambers . " The whole thing is founded on the principle of concert , and is in most respects an admirable institution . There is a large and handsome hall used as a coffeeroom beside other accommodations ; and the tenants , amounting to 130 , are single men paying each three shillings a week .

      The other day , Lord Ebrington , one of the directors of the institution , called in ; and we may judge of his terror and disgust when we learn that he actually discovered two or three females sitting publicly in the coffee-room . This was not to be endured . Women were not to be trusted in a hall frequented by single working-men . Full of holy horror of the possibilities of this contiguity of the sexes , he is understood first to have forbad it on his own authority , and to have brought the momentous question before the board , who , after full deliberation doubtless , issued a ukase forbidding the admission of women within the walls of Metropolitan Chambers , or what would be more properly called Lord Ebrington ' s Metropolitan Abbey .

      It was not to be expected that this order would be silently endured . The " single men" boldly protested and met the arguments of the directors with a moderate but manly reply . The authorities urged that , if females were admitted to visit any lodger , they must be admitted to visit all , should such a contingency arise ; and as there were above a hundred forlorn young men the thing was impossible . To this it was sensibly replied , that the contingency never would arise ; that there never had been above three or four female visitors at one time in the building , and that the consequence of excluding them would be , that the young men and their friends or relatives must resort to a public-house . Further , they said , in the fourth section of their protest : —

      " The exclusion of female visitors under such circumstances is inconvenient , offensive , and absurd , inasmuch as , by invading the proper freedom of social intercourse , it subjects the tenants to a prison-like treatment of a degrading character , while , at the same time , it treats their female relatives and friends , not as Englishwomen living in a free country , but after the manner and according to the barbarous customs of Eastern nations . " The protest was signed by eighty-four inmates . The directors had very prominently put forward the argument of inconvenience , from lack of accommodation ; but at the end they stealthily inserted half a sentence , containing the real grounds upon which they had decided to prohibit female visitors . In their resolution , after reciting the above argument as to lack of accommodation , the following admirably illogical conclusion is slipped in : —

      " They think they need say no more to demonstrate the impossibility of allowing tenants to introduce female visitors into the chambers , without the certainty of the character of the establishment being traduced , and great danger of irregularities actually occurring . " The inmates reply in this energetic fashion : — " The increasing numbi tb of t ! ie tenants , instead of creating apprehensions as to female visits leading to irregularities , is . in fact , a security against them . It ia erroneous to Hay , that the presence of female visitors under such circumstances cannot be permitted , ' without

      the certainty of the character of the establishment being traduced , and great danger of irregularities actually occurring . ' Men are guilty of ' irregularities' with women chiefly in hiding-places , and not in public meetings of persons mostly of sonic age and experience , and many of them fathers of families . ' No females admitted here , ' if inscribed over the doors of the chambers , far from being deemed creditable in the neighbourhood , would Htamp a disreputable name upon the establishment , and would direct fingers of scorn to be pointed at the inmates .

      • ' Without pursuing the subject further , the tenants desire to say , that the now ruin will be chiefly inconvenient to many of their number who are separated for u time from their families ; and that it will exclude mothers , wives , daughters , and sweethearts . More than that , it is an insult to J ' jiiglishworm'ii ; and further it says , in so many plain words to the tenants themselves , ' You ling-Hem working-men , who belong to that class which created the wonder * of the Crystal Palace , are not lit to * eit in the society of virtuous Knglish women . "

      It is obvious thut this absurd order -will seriously compromise the success , of an establishment in which all who havtt the welfare of the working-classes at heart take a deep interest . Instead of meeting the wishes of the- working-men , the directors have , taken it into their heads to be " offended " at the " bold languago " of the initiates ! No doubt tho directors have a right to make what regulations they please ; but surely they are responsible for the wisdom of those regulations , and must not expect to escape from the criticisrn either of the inmates or tho public .

      Private Lunatic Asylum. In The Beginning...

      PRIVATE LUNATIC ASYLUM . In the beginning of the present year the visiting magistrates in Gloucestershire discovered some suspicious appearances in some entries in the official book of a lunatic asylum kept by Dr . Henry Hawes Fox , at Northwoods . Patients were discharged on the day previous to their visit , and readmitted on the day after that visit . On being asked for explanations ) Dr . Fox merely replied that he had been advised to have the process effected . Upon this the visitors requested to see the original

      orders and certificates of admission , which was refused on the ground that the papers were all correct except some " trivial inaccuracies , " " such as the t ' s not tailed nor the i's dotted . " Ultimately the documents were produced ; and as they did not accord with the description Dr . Fox had given of them , the visitors determined on further inquiry . " The result of this inquiry was that " as regarded the six cases first investigated , in two there were originally no orders ; that in three the orders were illegal ; that at least four of the certificates were so : as was the

      admission of at least three of the patients upon the authority of one , instead of two certificates , without cause assigned in the orders . " This led to an inquiry into the whole of the documents connected with the admission of patients . The visitors made a detailed entry of their search in the book kept at the asylum for that purpose , and arrived at results of which we present the following : — " Of orders and their statements filled by Dr . H . H . Fox , there are not legal 43 ; of those filled by Mrs . Hawke there are not legal 4 ; total , 47 . Of orders and statements there are altogether not legal 80 . Of the medical certificates there are filled by Dr . H . H . Fox , and not hf the certifiers , 77 ; partly filled by him , 20 ; and by Mrs . Hawke , 3 ; total so filled , 100 . Of medical certificates there are not legal , 50 . Of orders and of medical certificates , there are altogether not legal , 130 .

      " Of patients illegally received by Dr . H . H . Fox , upon the authority of one certificate only , without due cause assigned for the same by the person making the order , there are 54 . Altogether of patients illegally received there are 105 . A wife has been admitted into the asylum upon the order of her husband , and upon the authority of one certificate only , and that certificate signed by her husband . A letter from Dr . H . H . Fox to a person making an order states— ' If there be any inconvenience in getting a second certificate , it can be dispensed with until after admission . ' And to another—1 The second ( certificate ) can , be procured at my house if more convenient . '

      " Of notices of the admission of patients which the act directs should be sent to the clerk of the visitors , Dr . Fox had only signed 19 himself . Of such notices filled in and signed Henry Hawes Fox , proprietor , Northwoods , by Mrs . Hawke , there are 125- Of such notices purporting to be signed by Dr . H . H Fox , but so signed by Mrs . Hawke and others of his establishment , there are 144 . [ Dr . Fox had authorized Mrs . Hawke to sign for him . ] " There were not altogether 112 true copies of orders and statements . There were 25 medical statements of the health of the patients on admission , made by Mrs . Hawke , and signed by her ' Henry Hawes Fox . '" Irregularities abounded on every side , and the forms prescribed by law had been almost entirely ignored or violated in the admission , discharge , and death of patients . The entry of the visitors Bums up thus : —

      " The visitors have benrd Dr . H . H . Fox , since the Epiphany Quarter Sessions , refer to past laxity in his attention to the forms of the act , in extenuation of what they have found to be illegal . But they cannot but remark , that they consider the term laxity to be inapplicable to the system which has been pursued by him . A system in which all the barriers created by the law against illegal and improper orders and certificates , and against the illegal reception and detention of patients , have been broken through and utterly disregarded . A system in which what he should sedulously have avoided , has been principally performed by Dr . II . II . Fox ; what by law he should himself have

      done , has been principally performed by others ; a system in which patients have been received and detained for various periods upon illegal and invalid documents , but a system in which the forms of the act have been fully complied with in the copies of such documents transmitted by him to the visitors , in which all the illegalities of the originals have been carefully made good , inducing the inference that such originals , which w « re never referred to , were in all respects perfect and according to law . A syntcm , then , which they fed compelled to dein it

      signate as one having less of laxity than of deception , and one which they regretted to observe continued uince his last licence in the examinations on March 1 , though not subsequently . By his acts , Dr . H . II . Fox has rendered himself amenable to prosecution for misdemeanours , especially created by the act to the number of above 280 . It seems astonishing that such a system should not have been long since exposed , but that appearancea disarmed suspicion , prevented inquiry , and induced a mere superficial inspection at the hurried visitations of past times . "

      The whole ciiho was heard at the last Gloucestershire Trinity SetmionB , before seventy magistrates upon the application of Dr . Fox for a renewal of hia licence . IIo defended himself chiefly on the ground that the legal informalities were such an would not subject him to a penal prosecution ; that ho Imd pructiaed no " wilful deception ; " that the documents had been oxamiued and passed by the Lunaov Commissioners and tho viflitwg jueticca ; that tho

      irregularities and informalities had ceased j and that it was well known how highly his establishment had been spoken of . Ultimately the Court granted a licence to Dr . Fox , as proprietor of Northwooda , fo » the reception of insane patients , and his son * Dri William Fox , and Dr . Green , as superintendents and medical attendants thereof ( they alone to carry out the provisions of the act of Parliament in regard to the funds and books in the house ) . This 'was o \ y , viously a compromise * and so * the matter rests .

      Orange Riot In Liverpool. The 12th Of Ju...

      ORANGE RIOT IN LIVERPOOL . The 12 th of July , the anniversary of the battle of the . Boyne , is a sacred festival , religiously kept by the extreme Orange party . As is well known , it is but too often the occasion of desperate conflict ? , attended with fatal results . The Orangemen of Liverpool met as usual on Monday , in the large space in the London-road , where stands the statue of George III . The aggregate number could not be less than 2000 , and were probably nearer 3000 . The banners were fixed in " lorries , " a species of long low cart , that , being readily turned , can be formed into an impassable barricade , at a cross-street , without a moment ' s delay . The officers of each lodge had an orange and blue scarf , und each member was decorated with the same colours in festoons and rosettes . Eight bands of music -were engaged .

      The ** tylers of the various lodges had each a drawn sword , and as these altogether amounted to upwards of a hundred , and many of the Orangemen had halberds , and others truncheons , while some carried pistols in their pockets . The procession was met on its way by a body of Irishmen , armed only with stones , and assaulted the Orangemen , who repelled the attack with their fatal weapons . The conflict was fatal to some . A great many were wounded ; but , strange to say , there is a mystery and confusion about the accounts . Riot reigned in many places ; people wearing orange colours were insulted and beaten . It is said that the pistols of the Orangemen were loaded , but there is much doubt about it . The swords were certainly used , as one of the wounded , an Irishman , was carried to the

      hospital with a desperate sabre cut in his head . After the first conflict the Orangemen again formed and marched off " , the bands playing triumphantly " Boyne Water , " and a body of 200 police following . The authorities did not interfere to stay the procession . It was anticipated that a serious riot would commence when the dock labourers returned from work ; but happily those anticipations were disappointed .

      Travellers' Troubles. That Ingenious Con...

      TRAVELLERS' TROUBLES . That ingenious contrivance of the Continental authorities for trying the temper , wasting the time , and getting hold of the money of travellers—the passport system—is , every now and then , subjected to a fierce or a humorous attack from some indignant or spoliated Briton . Thus " Scotua" sends the following lively letter to the Times : — " I shall give you a small bit of my travels as now fresh in my memory . On leaving Florence , a few mornings ago , en route for Home , by sea , I observe in my hotel-bill a charge of 10 pauls ( about 4 s . 6 d . ) , as being paid to the police for visiing my passport . I reached Leghorn the same day at two p . m . ( having stayed three hours at Pisa ) . Here I had to go to the British Consul and Papal Nuncio to get my passport visdd . The former

      charged 5 paula , the latter 6 pauls , for this work . I embarked at Leghorn for Civita Vecchia at five P . M . the same day , and arrived in Civita Vtcchia harbour at six o ' clock next morning ; detained on board for two hours i . e ., till eight o ' clock , till the police could examine our passports . At eight o'clock a police authority came on board , and gave a printed paper to each passenger in lieu of his passport . We now Unled , and were oonducted to the Custom house to hare cur luggage examined , i e . when it should be the pleasure of this department to perform that duty , which was not soon . In the mean time I sent a messenger with tho printed paper received on board to the

      police-omce for my passport . He returned some time afterwards , informing me that a mistake had been committed by the police in the said paper in designating me as proceeding to Naples instead of Borne , and that I must myself go to the police-office and get it rectified . I went accordingly , under a very Lot sun , to the police-office , which was at some distance , and « ai there told that I must first go to the British Consul for his signature , and that then the police would si « u it . Accordingly , conducted by a guide , I proceeded to the ofhee of the hnftlish Consul

      , where ( it being now nine o clock ) I found nobody , and no proceeded to the Consul * * House , aa the diligence was ahorlly to start for Roma . I asked the Consul to sign it in his house ; but he could not do bo irregular a thing ; and , though I told him I had already been at his office and found nobody , herequested me to return again to his office . I did 80 , and now found tho clerk , who visit ! the passport , demanding « pauls for this ceremony . The passport was again taken to the police-office , where it was viatld , and a furt her payment made . At eleven a . m . the diliirenee started for

      ltomo , at one of the gates of which we arrived at eight I ' M . the same day . We were thero detained for more than an hour by the Custom * ' officers , ostensibly examining tho luggage to see whether it had been opened during the day ' s journey , but obviously with the object of getting money from us ; for , finding nobody offered aoy , they cam * o each , of us and demanded some . "

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), July 19, 1851, page 8, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_19071851/page/8/