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Northern Star (1837-1852), 20th January 1849, Edition 3 of 3, Page 7, THE RATIONAL MODE OP PPr MANENTLY AND PE...

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      The Rational Mode Op Ppr Manently And Pe...

      JANUARY 20 , 1849 . _7 u _, __ - THE NORTHERN STAR . 7 1 -- _^ ° 1 _Ari ' ___ - ~_ L _

      The Rational Mode Op Ppr Manently And Pe...

      THE _RATIONAL MODE OP PPr MANENTLY AND _PEACEABLY ADJUSTING THE PRESENT DIS ORDERED STATE OF EURO PE _JHE _RATIONAL mode OF _^ p MANENTLY ANT > pea _™ - _^

      SECTION FOURTH . Law 22 . « In these townshi ps , after the children shall have been trained-within them to acquire new habits a ad new feelings , derived from the laws of God , there shall be no useless private property . Seasons f » r this law . Private property is one of the great _demoralising and repulsive powers , arising- from the laws of men , and is the cause of innumerable crimes and gross injustice . So long as private property shall be maintained , mau

      will be trained through its natural influence to be ignorantly selfish ; that is , to desire to grasp every thing that may be converted into private property for himself ; and , all bein 2 educated in this princi ple , all will openly or more covertly oppose their fellows , with a " viewto obtain the largest share in the _scramble ( of life . The principle of this selfishness , thus implanted in childhood and youth , tends to eteate a most vicious and unfavourable character for the adult . It has an _isolating and individualising influence upon each , that checks

      and stultifies tbe finest and best feelings of humanity . It is strongly calculated to make man look upen his fellow man as his enemy , and to create general suspicions of the motives and actions of strangers , and even of neighbourseach being thus taught to endeavour to overreach others , and to take _advantage in feargain-making even of those called friends to eaeh other . The evils of private property extend in < . U directions ; it _prodsoes a most unfavourable , unjust , and artificial character in those men and women whose wealth is large , and most

      unpleasant feelings of hatred and jealousy in those who are suffering the innumerable evils of poverty . It fills prisons , and aids to fill lunatic asylums , stands in the way Often of great general publio improvement 8 , and increases the expenses of society , to protect itself , to an extent that few know how to estimate . It accumulates immense useless property for a small portion of society , and compels the greater mass to live in poverty , or , which is nearly as bad , in the constant dread ofit . It is now deemed b y the laws of men an essential element of society , under tbe laws of

      God , it will he discovered to be an evil of incalculable magnitude , and a never-failing cause of disunion among all classes in all countries Volumes would be unequal to _detaiKthe loss and unnecessary sufferings wbich it creates to the human race . It is said to be a stimulus to individual exertion ; and such a stimulant is required under the irrational system which has

      necessarily emanated from the laws of man ; but , under the new arrangements which will arise iu a system based on the laws of God , a far more powerful stimulus will perpetually exist , which , instead of stimulating to action for individual gain and isolated advantages , will call forth the daily exercise of all the higher faculties of humanity , for the godlike purpose of benefitting aU , to the utmost healthy extent of those _posers .

      Law 23 . ' As soon as the members of these townships shall have been educated from infancy in a knowledge of the law of God , trained to act in obedience to them , and surrounded by external objects all in unison with them , and thus made te acquire a true knowledge of their nature , there shall he no punishment or reward of individuals . '

      Reasons for this Late . It is known to those who have studied nature , that the general and individual qualities of all things created are given to them by the Great Creating Power of the Universe ; and that not THE THINGS CREATED , but THE CREATOR , is the sole author of one and all , whether animate or inanimate , whether mineral , vegetable , or animal , whether rational or irrational existences ; and _; of course , that whatever compound of the general qualities of

      humanity any may have , the general qualities and particular combination of them in each one is alone the work of that Creating Power , and for which it is insanity to blame , and the essence of injustice to punish the poor , passive , created being , whether man or any other animal , except in self-defence , or to obtain the means of sustaining life which could not be otherwise supported ; and that every act of unnecessary cruelty is an act in opposition to the laws of God .

      For man , then , to make laws to punish man by man , instead of traiBms * them frem birth to know the laws of God , and to act uniformly in accordance with them , hr to make it certain that man Las not yet acquired a knowledge of humanity , or learned to know himself , or how to act like a reasonable or rational being . And from the past history of r aan , it is now made evident that he has been created with powers to progress slowly , throug h unnumbered generations , from the most ignorant unreasoning savage , toward a state in which , at length , he begins to approach to a condition in wbich circumstances are forming to advance tbe growth of his creation , that he may become , for the first time in his history , a full formed

      man , or a rational being . It is now only that he is beginning to acquire the knowledge that kindness , directed by a knowledge of what human nature has been made to be , is far more powerful for good than force of anv character or description * that by kindness , wisely and judiciously directed . man from birth may be now easily trained and educated in accordance with the laws 01 God , to become , in every instance , to tbe extent that his created faculties will admit , good , wise , usefiJ , and happy ; while the government of force and punishment , m accordance with the laws of men , can never train one

      individual to be good , wise , or happy , " * _comparison with the goodness , wisdom , and Happiness , which aH will attain and enjoy under tne government of tbe laws of God-laws which will produce continually , and without exceptions , charity , due consideration for all createa or trained differences , consequent forbearance , and illimitable kindnesa . Lnderthis chan n

      The good effects ofthe decrease of punishment in lunatic asylums and schools _Rrebeginnin-rtobe seen and acknowledged , in tne best of both , physical punishments scarcely now exist . 01 etime approacheswhenitw . il be discovered that the speediest mode to _terfitt _^ _- _^ men du ; f their irrational state ° f e _ZT _^ rVor \ rttt towards rationality , will be _¦ to governortrea all _societv as the most advanced physicians l

      govern and treat their pa _*»?*» _™ _£ rb _^ _Irranged lunatic _Lospitek " _^ * JJj _»™™ _g ance an kindness , and full allowance for every _imrnxvsm of the peculiar disease of eacn , _PvSThe 0 f conduc ? of all whe . have the car of tbese unf ortunates—of unfortunates ge tally made to become m * _£# _* irrationality and _mjustic _> ° f the F « g * most i rrational system of _™ cie _£ ' . _^ _"T _^ _-m' _^& iSrto pun ish man V rant , system contrmaw p strongest man is , at this day one _« J _^ evidences of the extent ui . * rather , to speak correctly . an _^_ _fJZl , right insanity , to which the laws or , and the daily incarcerations and _™ f er private and public , and wars between na on . are _unmistakable " _^^ _ri _^ _llTsence the low state of intellect and the tote absence of ri g ht reason among the people of all nations , climes , and colours . i „ * _*„„ One of the first measures of the population ofthe world , as soon as the present veil ot ig-

      The Rational Mode Op Ppr Manently And Pe...

      noranc e can be removed so as to _^ _r _^ _mTrir _" _^ become rational , will be to adopt _-JSE _^ L _™\^ necesait y for » «» tin ££ _Tof pverning by force and fraud , and of punish c rfat ed and eate ' _™** _* T ther _^ _u > created and as ignorant as itself . While men shall be so _ignorantl y trained and educated as to make laws , or maintain laws , in opposition o God ' s laws , and thus make man _ther eof thoughts and actions which he _comprehend no , and therefore blames and puniE hi fellow-men according to his notions ThimI and limited faculties , there can _beTs _^ pro - gress only made towards a rational LTZ n t state of terrestrial _happiJss and __ _£ & enjoym ents , _"Hi-ijjr'ous ranftt . _E " Ce . _" be removed so _aal _^ permit it ? _.

      Ihe writer bad the peculiar opportunity of _iiunareo * souls , by principles of kindness for _strong ? and - COntinued m _** _™* y men _? L ? ° r ! rcumstHnceB , created by _S ! f ' vet _Vas lfc successful in producing kno , vied e , morality _. and happiness , far beyond h s most sanguine expectations . And _whenever an attempt shall be made to uut i

      govern on , > . ~ w u . , , v curciu uu the same principles , in accordance with the laws ot God , the _necessity to resort to human punishments will soon cease , and happiness win speedily produce goodness throughout any population that shall be tlms wisely governed . Ihe true way , being the shortest and most pleasant to produce goodness , is , first to adopt measures to make the parties rational and happy . "Wh en they are made happy , goodness will be easily created .

      The laws of men are the causes of crime ; and when they have created the crimes , they endeavour , by endless unavailing laws , to remove the evil effects proceeding from those laws ; and thus are causes for punishments created by the crimes _^ being continually reproduced . The lawg of God prevent the creation of the causes which produce crime , and render punishments thereby not only useless , but highlyinjurious ; and the new constitution , emanating from these laws , may justly be termed a

      constitution for the prevention of crime and misery , and for the creation of virtue and happiness . Robert Owen .

      A Treat Kir The Savages. • Church And Ki...

      A TREAT KIR THE SAVAGES . CHURCH AND KING' JfOR NEW ZEALAND . The firat number of the Canterbury Colonist makes us somewhat better acquainted with the pro posed scheme of emi gration on Church of England princi ples . It has many points of interest . It is founded on the Grecian model , and claims a sort of ' classical' character . Every reader of history knows how the ancients colonised . They organised everythin g beforehand . The movement was a Btate matter . The adventurers constituted a complete segment of the parent society . From the commencement they were a body politic with fixed laws—a social community perfect in themselves . Everyone

      is astonished at the rapid success and development of the colonies so formed . In Southern Italy , in C y rene , in the Grecian _Islest and in A 6 ia Minor , these settlements formed about the most active and most cultivated portions of the Hellenic world . Art . commerce , and philosophy flowed thence to Corinth and Athens , —and the capital of the civilised world perhaps owed its intellectual supremacy as much as its physical abundance to the supplies furnished from these sources . The English—we may say the European—system of colonisation contrasts very unfavourably with this—that is , when superficially considered . It is not _coaductive to such rapid and brilliant results . Neither arts nor

      philosophy find cultivators for a long time . A good deal of the exterior civilisation is even lost- Not a little of the refinement—nearly all the respect for prestige , traditional ranks , royalties , and * glorious institutions' which marks the _Ewglishman _, or i 3 supposed lo mark him , at home—vanishes with the white cliffs . The Greek colonies were always Greek , — -the English colonies are not English . What they become when they emerge from the chaos in which their character is formed we see in the United States . The same tendencies are im . pressed upon our settlements in all parts of the world . The same elements are present—the same elements are absent—in each and all . The friends

      of New Canterbury desire to bring about a new system ; one wbich sball perpetuate the parent institutions—particularly hereditary rank and church supremacy—in the new states in process of creation . To this end they adopt the Greek plan of carrying out with them at first all the elements for complete society . They propose to transport rank , letters , refinement , religion , loyalty , priests , lawyers , rulers , doctors , and labourers . There is novelty ( for modern times ) in all this ; and we feel an interest in the experiment , _though convinced that it will fail signally . New Zealand is the land fixed upon for the mode ! trial ; the southern portion of the islandhut the precise spot has still to be determined . A

      million of acres ate to be purchased from the hew Zealand Company at 10 s . an acre ( this is the price at which an ordinary emigant could buy it : ) and to be re-sold to tbe ' " model" settlers at a minimum of 60 s . an acre ! The surplus 50 s . will be thus applied : —20 s . to build churches : 20 s . to encourage immigration ; 10 s . to other expenses . We shall be curious to see English farmers investing tbeir money in this fashion . But zeal is not nice at arithmetic , —and perhaps a few may be found who will do it . In these days of free opinions , it will be something to live in the midst of a population every man of which is sworn to the thirty-nine articles . The promoters of the scheme quote Latin for their clients , and tell them it is a ' classical

      colony' to which they are going . We do not know what the sturdy yeomen of Yorkshire think of this ; but an hour ' s reading of classical authors might suggest some reasons for thinking that mere organisation is not the only thing wanting in order to parallel ancient with modern modes of colonisation . Tbe ' classic' nations did not pay 60 s . aa acre for _larid . They seized the soil by force : it cost them nothing—except perhaps a battle . They had a large slave population to do all the work for them . They went out generally independent . These ** ere the elements of their success . With all his enterprising spirit , the Hellene would hardly have faced a colonial life with land at £ 3 . an acre and no slaves to cultivate it . There are , besides , other difficulties in the plan . —Atheneum .

      [ The _concoctors of tbis most precioHs scheme must suppose that the people of this country are remarkably green , if they imagine they can find fiats to purchase _ten-shillings-an-acre land at tbe cost of sixty shillings an acre , and all for the pleasure of building churches , and supporting useless and miEChievous priests , lawyers , and hereditary drones . We have no objection to the deportation of the ' higher _clashes' from this country to New Zealand , or auy other part of the world . We should be only too happy to witness the embarkation of tbe * superior orders ' , to carry ' civilisation * and ' refinement' to tbe Cannibal Islands . Were that day arrived , the masses would have good cause to shout O be joyful 1 the good time has come ! _'Ed . N . S . _

      Crim.Co**. In High Life..—In An Aetion W...

      Crim . Co ** . in High Life .. —In an aetion which has been brought against a noble duke for criminal conversation , wbich has formed the topic of much discussion in tbe hig her circles , and which ha g given birth to many rumours , an application was made on Friday to a judge at chambers , by Mr Edwin James , as counsel fer his grace , for further particulars in respect of the dates and the occasions upon which the alleged offences were stated to have been committed . after discussion

      The learned judge , a lengthened , intimated his opinion that the information which was afforded by the Statement in the declaration wa . « very vague and inaccurate ; but added that the me of practice in such cases prohibited him from making the order app lied for . The case will , in all probability _, come on for trial at the _. _ittings after tbe present term . The damages are lad at an unusually farge sum-s everal thousands . - _^ _mr have voted the abolition

      The Frankfort Parliament of public gambling establishments , games of bazard , public lotteries , and lotto , frora tha 1 st of May , 1849 . The June _INSOBBECTION . -Tbe trial of the persons charged with the assassination of General Brea and his aide-de-camp , Mangin , commenced on Monday before the Second Council of _^ ar , under the presidency of Colonel _Comemuse ¦ the accused were twenty-five in number . Oa tbe table placed , n iron 0 _? Se tribunal were deposited an epaulet of Genera Brea , _andthe epaulets , uniform , andflannel waistcoat of Captain Mangin . The first sitting presented _^ _interesting incident , and was entirely taken up with SfS of the bill of indictment and the interrog atories of the accused .

      Crim.Co**. In High Life..—In An Aetion W...

      IN TTr _£ _2 _JF CHttDBEN REMOVED ASYLUM T 00 mG - ° "MT PAUPER mo _^ n _, ui _- _V en 00 n the * 2 th inst ., thejury snm-1-1 _ni- "" l " * 0 "' to the deaths ofthe four children m < 5 _tfl . Holbor " Unio » . au < l who whro _rc-Infonf _n ' "' _- * £ lie 5 th iust fvom J *> - Drouet ' s ?'"' J P ° ' Establishment , at Tooting , under _n _•„! _! T S that excited _P" _** _PuWUs interest and il \ ° Ro 'al Froe Hospital , at GravVinnjaue , where they expired within a d . ' iv or two after their amval _, from , as it is _alleged , Asiatic cholera , ic-fls « cmblt 'd to resume the investigation at the Koval Free Hospital , agreeably to adjournment . Mr . IVakley , M . P ., acted as coroner , " having recovered from his recent indisposition . The jury having proceeded to examine the different wards ' in the _licmpital mto whieh the children removed from looting had been received , returned to the inquest room , when _^ - _^ —

      The Coboxer _oWi-ved that , with a view to institute as full au _lm-uivy n _« possible into the circumstances of this very distressing ease , it was desirable that they should determine their course of procedure , and , if Mr . Drouet had been present , he would have requested Mm to furnish thejury with tne names of any persons he proposed to cull as witnesses . The inquiry upon wlnoh they were about to enter would not be conducted as a prosecution against any board or person , and it must not be assumed that tho deplorable calamity which had occurred m the Tooting establishment was attributable to any culpable neglect , At the same time the calamity that had occurred was one calculated to strike terror into the public mindand he believed

      , it had occasioned more alarm than anv event which had occurred iu this country within " his memory . The communications he had * received from a great variety of persons showed that a degree of terror had been excited which was calculated to produce a most depressing effect , and might bo attended with great mischief . He must observe thatit wasnot the least extraordinary feature of this case that thoy were now holding an inquiry in Middlesex connected with events which had , iu a great measure , occurred in the county of Surrey . There had , he believed , been upwards of 100 deaths in the _cstablislunent at Tooting , and yet no inquest hud boon held at that place . Tbey might probably ascertain in the course of their inquiries how this had _ooenrreoV-whethei

      the coroner tor Surrey had not received notice of the death- ) , or whether any public bonnl or authority had interfered to prevent an inquiry before a coroner ' s jury . It might be that the coroner for Surrey had received notice , and that he considered there were not sufficient grounds to institute an ino / iirv ; but , for his own part , he ( Mi-. Wakley ) oould only say that it * be had refused to bold an inquest under such circumstances , ' he would have never have felt justified in holding an inquest again in any ease of sudden death . So jealous were our forefathers for the preservation of human life that they had provided centuries ago that no criminal , however vile , should die in gaol without an inquest being hold to ascertain that his death was not caused

      by the misconduct of those under whose cam he was placed ; and if the law was so tender with regard to criminals , surely the same consideration should be extended to these infant hel pless eliildrcn , who wero not free agents , but who , ih these pauper establishments , were , more or less , hi a state of confinement . He could not understand how it was that no inquiry had yet been instituted before a coroner ' s jury with regard to the number of deaths which had recently occurred in the Tooting establishment He saw that it was publicly announced in the rime * of Thursday , that eighty children who had died in that establishment had been interred in Tooting churchvard . - A Juror . —Within what period ?

      The Couo . ver . —Since the disease broke outwithin a fortni ght . Altogether the circumstances were most extraordinary ; but it would be unjust to assume that the coroner for Surrey had not good grounds for the course he had pursued . He ( Mr . Wakley ) had been out of town in consequence of indisposition , and almost all the information he possessed on the subject was derived from tho public journals . He considered that Mr . Grainger had acted with great kindness and propriety in recommending the immediate removal of the children from Tooting . He ( Mi-. Wakley ) could not , however , but feel strongly for thc situation of the poor children who still remained in the establishment . What must be their _foelincs when ther saw yan

      loads and coaches full of other children removed from the abode of disease , while they were still left exposed to its fiercest ravages ! To leave them in such a position , so calculated to excite their fears , was but too likely to predispose them to receive the epidemic . Without imputing thc slightest blame to Mr . Drouet , or to the p arties who " hail conducted big establishment , he ( Mr . Wakley ) certainly thought it most desirable that the children __ should bo removed as s p eedily as possible . The investigation iu this case ought to be searching and complete . The public were entitled to know all that could be ascertained with regard to the nature of cholera . If tho disease were contagious , it was well it should be known , and then measures might be taken to

      prevent its spread ; while , it it appeared from the experience of those best capable of forming an opinion , that the disease was not contagious , much , needless fear and apprehension would be prevented . It appeared impossible that the inquiry could be concluded to-day , but he thought it most desirable that with a desire to allay public apprehension , it should be terminated as speedily as was consistent with a full and searching investigation . Before the next meeting of the jury , he would request Mr . _Ih-ouet to attend before them , and if he showed any unwillingness to eome , he ( Mr . Wakley ) would take care that a summons should he served upon him . The following witnesses were then called : — Catukmxe kiuiT , a nurse belonging to the Holborn Union , deposed , —The number of children

      brought to the Free Hospital from Tooting was 154 . Johnson was taken ill between five and six o ' clock on ( Saturday morning ; complained of thirst , and vomited . The children arrived here between seven and eight on Friday nig ht . Johnson also complained of pain in the stomach ; she was purged once . Mr Whitfield , surgeon to the union , saw Tier about halfpast seven . She did not eonrplain of cramp . She cried out for water , and I gave her a little toastaud-watcr . She died about a quarter past two . She complained of pain across the bowels , but not of difficulty of breathing , or pressure on the chest . Mr . Whitfield continued with her about two hours after he first came . Bridget Quin was taken ill between eleven and twelve on Saturday night . She complained of sickness , and vomited .

      Mr Whitfield wished to say that the nurse was mistaken a . s to thc time of his attendance . He remained witli Johnson until her death , with the exception of occasional absences for a few minutes . Witness continued . —The symptoms were the same in Quiu _' s as in thc other case , except that Quin was not purged . She died on Sunday morning , between seven and eight . Keziaii Dimond . —I was present when James Andrews died , on Saturday , the Oth of January , at half-past eleven . He was taken ill at six o ' clock in the morning , with purging and vomiting . Mr . Whitfield attended him . He was put within hot blankets , and medicine was administered . His skin was verv cold . He had no cramps . Ho was purged five or six times . Mart Harms proved the death of Harper . He was not _purffcd , but vomited three or four times . His skin and breath were very cold .

      Mr . It . D . Grainger , member of the Council of tlie Royal College of Surgeons , and one of the superintending medical inspectors of the General Board of Health was then sworn . —I visited Mr Drouet ' s establishment at Tooting , on Friday , January 5 , at the request of the Board of Health , for thc purpose of inquiring into the causes of the extraordinary mortality that had occurred there . I also went again on Saturday , the 6 th , Sunday , the 7 th , and on Wednesday , the " 10 th . I have prepared a report in consequence of what I saw on those visits , which I have presented to the General Board of Health . I have that report with me , and it is the wish of thc Board that it should be produced , along with any other official documents in then- possession bearing upon this case , before thejury . Mr . Waklkt . —Has anything taken place with reference to holding an inquest at Tooting ?

      Mr . GiiAiKGEn . — -A verbal communication took p lace between the Board of Health and myself on the subject . I suggested thc importance and necessity of an immediate inquest being held ; in that view thc Board concurred . Thc Board arc anxious that an inquest should take place , and , if it is in their power to enforce an inquest , I have no doubt an inquest will yet take place in Surrey . I believe a communication has taken plaee between the Board of Health and the Secretary for the Home Department with reference to the holding of an

      inquest in Surrey ; and that the General Board of Health acted under the authority of two acts of Parliament . The first was the Public Health Act , which gave the General Board of Health very considerable powers in all parts of England , except London , and a circle of ten or twelve miles round the metropolis . Mr . Drouet ' s establishment , therefore , did not come under the operation of that act of Parliament . There was another measure , thc . Nuisances' Prevention Act , which g ave the Board very limited powers .

      Mr . Warlbi observed , that he had seen it stated that the Poor Law Commissioners had no authority over Mr . Drouet ' s establishment , _^' ow , if it should appeal' that these children had lost their lives tliruu !* h any neglect or mismanagement , a most important question would arise as to where the responsibility lay . He believed it would be proved tliat the children had been removed from the Holborn Union , which was under the authority of the Poor Law Commissioners , to an establishment in the Wandsworth Union , whieh was also under their authority . He could not understand , therefore , how it could be stated that thc _Commissionors had no power over this e » t * d _* liBhmcnt ,

      Crim.Co**. In High Life..—In An Aetion W...

      c 9 !™ ya 8 thc l / ith section ofthe Poor Law Act oi ltui provided that the Commissioners should trom time to time make and issue _regulations for he manag ement of the poor , for the government ot work houses , for the education of children therein , ™ ,, ' » 1 : _»*« cnt of parish poor children . He Aould think it his dut y , it * it should be deemed necessary , to summon Mr . Hall , or one of the Poor Law Commissioners , to attend the inquest , for tho purpose ot affording some explanation ou this

      Mr . Grmsoer then proceeded to read the following report : — " Sib , —I beg respectfunv to state , for the mlormation of the General Board of Health , that in accordance with the instructions 1 received , I visited , on Friday , the Oth inst ., the establishment of Mr . Drouet for pauper children , at Lower Tootiii" - ; I made a caretul inspection of the various rooms occupied as cholera wards for tho reception of the sick children . It is _ueccssarv , however , to premise that as the powers of the General Hoard are limited , under the provision of the . _\ uisances Removal and Disease Prevention Act , to the issuing of _regulations and to institute inquiries , no authority existed for enforcing any measure which in consequence of this investiation mi ght appear to the

      g General Board to be desirable . Itirst entered those on the females' side , when I was struck by a sense of the extre me closeness , oppression , and foulness of the air , far exceeding in offensivenoss anything I have ever yet witnessed in apartments , in hospitals or elsewhere , occupied by the sick . ' Thero was , especially , in the hi g hest degree , that peculiar and sickening smell familiar to all who are acquainted with close , unventilated , and heated rooms overcrowded with children . The rooms were crowded with beds utterl y _dispvoportioned in number to the space allotted to them . In a room , for example , sixteen feet long , twelve feet wide , and lessthan eight feet high , there were five beds , occupied by eleven children , all ill with cholera . In

      another room ofthe same dimensions there were four beds , with thirteen cholera patients , of whom tour were in one bed , and three in each of the others . In a third room , eighteen feet long , sixteen feet wide , and eight feet high , there were nine beds , with sixteen children in cholera , two of the beds having _tln-ce patients in each—a circumstance which I observed likewise in other wards . The lighting and ventilation of thc whole of these wards was totally insufficient . " On the boys' side there " was a room containing eighteen beds , nearly touching each other , in which were thirty-five boys ill with cholera , twentv-five

      being in bed , ( two in each bed ) , and ten sitting round thc fire , being convalescent . One boy had just died on my entrance . In this ward , which is an example of the arrangement of all the main buildings of this establishment , there were windows only on one side—a construction totally _incomparable with a due supply of light and air . "On thc female side I found only one regular nurse , who was passing in and out to attend to the children in several wards ; and on the boys' side , in the room above described , containing thirty-five patients , there was only one nurse ( a male ) in attendance .

      " To those who are acquainted with the nature of cholera , with thc violent and most sudden evacuations both by vomiting and purging , it is needless to point out the utter inefficiency of such attendance . I found that tlie children were continually vomiting in the beds and on the floor , and that , consequently , the sheets , bedding , and floor were covered with the discharges ; that no efficient aid was in a single case afforded to those suffering children ; that some of them were getting out of bed ; and that all needed , not only for decency and comfort , but for actual safety , that careful ' and watchful attention which cholera patients in the stage of collapse so urgently demand .

      " The various appliances found in ' all properly regulated institutions for administering relief to patients suffering under cholera , and especially for applying continued heat to the surface of thc body , a point deemed by all authorities to be one of the most essential means for the treatment of collapse , were either totally wanting or quite inadequate . " In passing through the female cholera rooms I observed some small apartments containing unoccupied beds , and on inquiry why those were not used , in order immediately to relieve the overcrowded beds , I was informed that they were unprovided with fire places or other means of heating .

      " As a medical man it is my duty to state that it is impossible to conceive a state of things more entirely unsuitcd as to the construction of the buildings and tho overcrowding of the inmates , the absence of aU efficient _nuTPiug , and the want of tho recognised means of medical and other treatment , than was presented in this establishment . "From the evidence of Mr . Popham , one of thc parochial surgeons of St . Pancras , who was sent down on Friday evening by tlie board of guardians of that parish , it appears the evils described above had become greatly aggravated , in consequence of the increased and rapidly increasing number of the sick .

      " This gentleman says— ' Found everything in very great confusion ; found , in the cholera wards for boys , with two exceptions , four boys in each bed . Some were dying ; others in a state of collapse ; some recently brought in and plaeed in the beds with others . In the girls' cholera wards , found five patients in one bed . In the other beds generally four in each . A foul stench in all the wards . The floors were wet from the matters vomited , owing to the total insufficiency of nurses and attendants . In the boys' side there are two rooms communicating so as to form one ward . In this ward there were on his arrival sixty-four boys , all suffering with cholera . The number of beds was twentyeight , of which some were empty , hi order to receive , as lie supposes , fresh cases . 111 As to the arrangements and attendants , found all defective and in confusion ; one male nurse only

      to the _bovs' ward , and occasionally a female , who was for the most part in bed , owing to fatigue and being unwell . Thero was only one candle in this ward , and the boys were crying out for assistance in all directions . ' There were no means of applying heat ; only two or three hot bottles to his knowledge could be procured . *'' As to thc surgery , there was only one pair of scales , one spatula , and some of the medicines were not labelled at all ; in consequence of this total insufficiency , little efficient assistance could be afforded to the patients last ni g ht . Thc great crowding , the noxious atmosphere of tho wards , the impossibility of procuring and putting up thc proper medicines , and of attending to ho many patients with so few nui _' soB , were most adverse circumstances . Am of opinion , as a medical practitioner , the mortality has been considerably increased by all these causes . ' "

      "Mr . Grainger then recommended thc obtaining the assistance of three surgeons , a physician , and additional nurses , and proceeds : —In connexion with the arrangements for the sick , it may here be stated that on Sunday , January 7 th , I again visited Mr . Drouet's establishment ; and on inspecting tho cholera wards , I was much concerned and surprised , after the explicit recommendations I had made on Friday , to find that some of the more important of them had been so imperfectly carried into effect . In each of tho beds there are for the most part still two patients ; thus , in the room for the female children of St . Pancras parish , there were ten beds y . nd nineteen children many of whoin were in a state of the extremest collapse As regards the

      provision for nurses , I am called upon to express my strongest disapproval . On Friday evening four additional nurses were sent down by the authorities of St . Pancras ; two of these returned on Saturday evening—a promise having been g iven , according to thc statement of Mr . Popham , that six additional nurses should be sent to Tooting on the same evening ; which , however , was not realised . I find on Sunday that the proprietor of the establishment had not added a single nurse ; so that the only addition made since Friday consisted of the two women who still remained from St . Pancras ; aud yet at this time there were one hundred and seventy-eight cholera patients under treatment , being an increase since Friday of no less than sixty-four . On a more

      close examination the results of this lamentable and reprehensible neglect were most apparent . I found four of the female wards under the care of one nurse —a woman belonging to the establishment , and whom I had seen on my previous visit . In the ward with the St . Pancras female patients , nineteen in number , there was but one nurse , who informed me that she had been up since she came on Friday ovening . On the boys' side I found that in a small ward , containing , besides several children labouring under ordinary complaints , one eholera patient and eig ht with diarrhoea , was a nurse of tlie establishment , who had been up on Friday night , the greater

      p art of Saturday , all Saturday ni ght , and on Sunday , till the time of my visit . In the adjoining larger ward , with nineteen patients , some of whom were convalescent , was one male nurse ; whilst in a third room , with thirty-two beds , I found only one female nurse , sent by St . Pancras parish , who informed me that she had one young woman to help her in the daytime , but sho herselt had been up all the time since her arrival on Friday evening without five minutes' rest . It is rig ht that thc names of these two young women from St . Pancras , who have thus hazarded their own lives in the attempt to save that of others , should be recorded they are Mary Anne Keith and Sarah Sellers .

      "An attempt was made to make up for the insufficient supply of nurses , by employing some of the older pauper boys and girls still free from attack . In one of the boys' wards , I found , for examp le , four boys , ofthe average age of 13 , thus assisting : even some of the children recovering from cholera were so employed . This is a most objectionable procedure , inasmuch as to bring children , already acted on by the cholera poison , and perhaps on the very verge of an attack , into the contaminated atmosphere of sucli sick wards as these , was to expose them to imminent danger ; whilst , us regards those who were recovering , it was of pri-

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      mary importance that they , instead of being detained in attendance on thb sick , should have been removed as early as possible into properly prepared convalescent wards-. " The consequences of all this inexcusable neglect was that on Sunday the bed clothes were " still soaked with tho evacuations of the suffering children , and that the few nurses who were in the wards were obliged to run from one bod to another , and that the patients were most inefficiently attended ou . "With reference to the medical assistance for thc sick , 1 found one resilient medical officer , twentyfive vears of _aue , a member of the College of

      Surgeons and Apothecaries-hall , who had been the medical officer of tho establishment during the last two months , having to take tlie charge of 1 , 370 children , at thc remuneration of . _HSO a year , with board and lodging . This gentleman states that he had visited the hulks at Woolwich , where he had seen some cases of cholera ; and also that he had , in two previous situation * , had the charge of pauper patients . " It seems that a significant wavnin « of the . ap proaching outbreak was given fourt eeh \ lavs before a single case of cholera had occurred . _Tfn-ee girls were on Friday , December 15 , attacked with vomiting , diarrhoea , " and collapse ; but this warninc * was not understood bv the resident medical officer ?

      " If at this time , fourteen days beforo the fatal outbreak , due and proper measures had been carried into effect , a large part of tbe evil that has since occurred , it is certain , would have beon averted . " It is further evident from the evidence , tliat after the attack of cholera no efficient means were adopted either to discover the existence of the premonitory diarrhoea , or for it * treatment when it was _broue-h ' t under the notice of the resident medical officer . Thus the mistress ofthe girls says ' she had received no direction to question the children whether they have diarrhoea , ' and a similar statement is made by

      the master and one of the under-masters , tlie onl ' v officials of this clas . j questioned by me : whilst as regards the medical officer , he could not undertake this duty if it had ever been contemplated , being overcharged with attendance on the sick . With _regard to the treatment of the _pvemouitoi-v dumiitea , although all the medical authorities of the Hoard of Health in England , Ireland , and Scotland , have , in their published instructions , advised the use ef some preparation of opium , that medicine had not been administered in a single case of diarrhoea up to my visit on Friday , the medical offieer relying oil _astringents .

      "That there has beon , as in all similar circumstances , a large amount of diarrhaia prevailing among the children at this cstablislmwnt , both before and since the outbreak of cholera , is abundantly proved . One of thc assistant-masters stated to me , 'he had observed that the boys had been purged during the Last fortnight , and especially _sinue yesterday week . ' "The schoolmistress also states , that ' many of thc children have been taken with pain hi ' the bowels . ' " Mr . Grainger then complains of thc ovcr-croAvdiug of the children . " In the schoolroom for boys the master informed me thero were , when all were present , 500 ; the length of this room being 91 feet , the width 21 feet , and the height 11 feet . " The ventilation is most defective , and entirel y incompatible with the maintenance of health .

      " In connexion with these schoolrooms , it is necessary to state that Mr . Hall , thc Assistant Poor Law Commissioner , informed me that inthe ben-inning of the month of November last he and Mr Tufnell gave Mr . Drouet a written order , limiting the number to be received in thc boys' schoolroom to ' 100 , and in the girls' schoolroom to 160 . This order , whieh ought , under the ordinary _dreumstanccs of health , to have been immediately carried into operation , was neglected , and , as it must be presumed , to the injury of the children ' s health .

      " Iho y ard or playground was damp and wet , owing , as it appeared , to its limited size , and to the buildings by which it is more or less surrounded . Mr . Semple , one ofthe medical officers of Islington , stated to me that ho had complained ol" the wet and damp condition of the premises . All this is most unfavourable to the health of young children , for , as there are no day rooms , the children must either go into thc ( Lamp yard , or remain in the schoolrooms or dormitories , which , on other grounds , is equally objectisnable . "

      Mr . Grainger proceeds to complain of the keeping of p igs , horses , and other animals in a long range of buildings in the vicinity of the yard , and of the ditches , canals , and pieces of water in the neighbourhood ; at tlie same time adding , that the injurious locality only played an indirect part in the epidemic , as in the village of Tooting not a case of cholera had occurred . " This being the ease , tho essential causes of the outbreak must bo sought iu the establishment itself ; and , first , as regards the diet" This consists of meat three times a-weck , ' pudding once , and pea-soup three times a-week . On inquiry , and questioning a considerable number of children , I am bound to state that , in many instances , the food has been defective in quality ; the kind and quality of the diet also have been of an objectionable character , and liable , especially in a season like the present , to have exerted an injurious influence on the system .

      " Under these circumstances , it is to be much rogretted that the proprietor did not , in accordance with the recommendations issued by tho General Board , discontinue tho use ofa vegetable diet . If , instead of feeding these children so often on a kind of food , p ea-soup ( known to exert , iu many cases , a relaxing influence on the alimentary canal ) , a diet consisting more of solid and dry and farinaceous food , had been substituted for green vegetables when the cholera approached the metropolis , there are sufficient grounds for inlevring that the stamina of the children would have been better maintained , and that , consequently , more resistance would have been offered to the attack of the epidemic influence of cholera .

      " With respect to the clothing , this is insufficient , particularly as concerns the provision of flannel next the skin , a point of primary importance in maintaining the health of all young children . " After maturely considering all the cireumstanccs connected with the painful occurrence , I am induced to express my firm conviction that the essential cause of all the mischief has been the inordinate over-crowding of this establishment . * * * " In concluding the report it is my dut y to call the attention of " thc General Board of Health to some facts connected with this distressing case . It is , in the first place , certain , that if the various instructions contained in the several notifications of the board had been duly observed and efficiently carried into execution , a large part , if not all , the evils that have occurred , would have been avoided . * * * " Jan . _$ , 1810 . " K . D . Grai . voeb . " Henry Austin , Esq . "

      Mr . _Ghaikoeu then read a supplementary report , dated January 11 , which he had submitted to the Board of Health after his visit to Mr . Drouet ' s establishment on Wednesday . In this document he stated that , being desirous to obtain more express evidence ofthe epidemic being true Asiatic cholera , he had procured further information from , the medical gentlemen , who were cither in attendance on the sick , or who had visited them officially on behalf of the London parishes to winch the children respectively belonged . Mr . Semple , one of tho surgeons

      of Islington parish , had visited Mr . Drouet _s establishment almost daily since the disease broke out , and Mr . Popham and Mi-. Bailey , who had been in attendance on the sick children , expressed their decided conviction that tho cases wore those of true Asiatic cholera . Mr . Kite , tho resident medical offieer at the establishment , found that in the state of collapse the urine was suppressed—a material symptom of cholera ; and air . Penny , who had had much experience in Calcutta , had also remarked the total absence of the urinary secretions in these eases . Mr . Grainger

      adds" Since my former report , I have myself made several careful observations , microscopic and others , and I may state that 1 have in no case of cholera which I have examined , either in this country or in Germany , seen ths special characters of the disease more distinctly developed . No mark was wanting . " # * # Tho report further stated , that Mr . Grainger had found that thc dormitories had been greatly overcrowded , and that so large a number of children had been placed in one dormitory as to be entirely incompatible with health . Iu the boys' dormitories there had been as many as sixty-six , or more in one apartment , the beds being mostly about six inches apart ; while on the girls' side , which was inordinately overcrowdedtho beds were placed in

      , every possible space , and touching each other . The fire-places in the girls' dormitories were also closed , so that at night there could he scarcely any . _« iti ! ation . Mr . Grainger then proceeded to describe the new dormitory for boys , whieh is clow u > tho farmyard , in which were crowded , within a very sm . iJ _) space , ten or twelve sties full of p igs , and where there were also twelve cows , some horses , and a large number of fowls . __ Mr . Grainger states tliat lie considered it a most unjustifiable procedure on the part of thc proprietor , especially after the advice he had rcccivedfrom his medical attendants , to introduce 150 bovs into apartments built upon a spot close to such ail accumulation of animals , and also hi the immediate vicinity of several foul ditches .

      The report of Mr . _Lovick , a surveyor , was then read by Mr . Grainger . The report went into considerable detail respecting thc ditches and sewers , and concluded with suggestions for effecting a temporary improvement in the defective drainage of this locality . The CoHONEit observed , that he was sure thc opinion of thejury would coincide with his , when he said that Mr . Grainger had performed an i » p » r-

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      taut public service hi the examinations he had made , and in the preparation of his report , which appeared to be a very valuable and comprehensive document . ( Hear , hear . ) L Mr . GnAixc . En , in rc ]> lv to questions from the ooroner described the premonitorv svmntoms of the disease . All the symptoms ho had described were more or less observable in the cases which had occurred at Tooting . Without wishing to create any unnecessary alarm , he might say that tlie cholera was liable to break out at anv moment in any part of London , nnd it was , therefore , ofthe utmost importance that the first outbreak of diarrhwa should tie at once attended to . In tho month of December out of 100 children in the Mile-end Workhouse sixty were seized with violent purging and vomiting , but medical treatment was immediately adopted by the surgeon , and not one of the children passed through eholera .

      Mr . Wakley . —Do you deem cholera ordinarily , or under any circumstances , to be contagious ? Mr . Gh . uxokp .. —1 believe it under no form or eiivi _' . nietances whatever to be a contagious disease . 1 have never met with any fact which lias led me to believe it to be communicable from man to man . The CoRO . VEii . —To what cause or causes do you distinctly and unequivocally refer the spread of cholera at tho Tooting establishment i Mr . _Gkaixoeh . ¦— B-sides the general causes _operating upon the children , tho only two special to

      causes opor . iling within the house appeared me to be the clothing and diet of the children , and their condition with regard to overcrowding . I think , if children similarly fed and clothed to those at Tooting , had boen divided over the country in healthy districts , they would not have been affected by the disease . 1 think the principal special cause of the disease was the inordinate overcrowding of the establishment : but it is to the svstem which permits this state of things that all the mischief must eventually be referred . I do not know what number of deaths has taken place .

      flic clerk of the Holborn Union said there had already been 12 *! deaths at 'footing alone . Mr . WAKi . i : r . —Do you believe the disease can be taken by emanations from a dead body ? Mr . Gb . unoui :. —No ; I bave seen nothing to induce me to believe that the disease can be communicated from the dead to the living . Mr . Wari . ky had asked the question in consequence of seeing in Thc 7 V » i _« of Monday an order issued by Mr . Chapman , a medical officer of the ¦\ Vandsworth and Clapham Union . That order was in _thesB terms : — " Lower Tooting , Surrey , Jan . 6 . " I hereby command that the " _corpses ' of all the children now at Mr . Drouet ' s who have died of cholera be buried to night , and that every child who ( lies of cholera be buried within twenty-tour hours of its death in Tooting churchvard .

      " Wai . tkk _Cuao . max , Medical Officer . " Wandsworth and Clapham Union for the Tooting District . " That was , without exception , the most frightful document he had ever seen or read . Persons who had been poisoned by arsenic presented many ofthe appearances of those who died from cholera : and , it such an order as this were to be enforced , it was almost like holding out an inducement to murder and a shield to cruelty . He hoped the circumstance would be brought under tho notice of * the Board of Health , and that measures would be taken to prevent the issue of orders of such a nature .

      Mr . GitAixoEii said , he must take the share of responsibility which fairly devolved upon him with regard to the _circumr-tances to which the coroner had alluded . He had expressed to Mr . Chapman his conviction that thc bodies of those who died from cholera should be interred as speedily as possible consistent with safety ; and such was still his opinion . He was satisfied that Mr . Chapman , in issuing that order , had been actuated by a conviction that it was necessary , as a precaution for the safety ofthe living , that thc dead should not remain too long vmburicd . Mr . GnAiNGKR begged now to read a communication with which he had been charged by the Board of Health , and which concludes as follows : —

      " That the present system of contracting for the maintenance of paupcr _' childron is destitute of real and proper securities , and at variance with tho spirit and intention of tho special provisions of the Legislature in respect to tfio care of parish poor children—namely , that thoy should be . subject to responsible controul ; and , therefore , in the judgment of the Board of Health , the system ought , as _speedily as possible , to bo put an end to . " The CoitoxiiK wished to nut another question to Mr . Grainger—whether he had examined the general bodily condition of the children ?

      Mr . Graixgur . — -1 did examine many of them . A very large number of them were , on the whole , generally in a good strong stato of health . There were various indications of great pallor , soreness of the eyes , and a number of them seemed to be labouring under the itch : but many of the children had red cheeks , and appeared to be perfectly healthy . My impression is , however , that you could under no possible known arrangements secure the health of 1 , 400 children collected together in one building , and especially if that building was not arranged for the purpose . In hospitals , where there were 150 patients in a large ward , there would be much greater mortality than in smaller wards , where there were only twenty or thirty . As to the diet , . some of the children said they had not enough to eat , and others that they had . The inquest was then adjourned .

      ADJOUBXKD IXQUEST . On Tuesday the inquest on tho bodies of thc four children who died in the Free Hospital , Gray ' s-innroad , was resumed before Mr . Wakley , M . P . The jury assembled in tbe secretary ' s office , at the Hospital , but it being found inconveniently small , they adjourned to the Globe Tavern , in Derby-street . As the proceedings wove about to he commenced , Mv . _Baliavuxu ( the barrister ) said he had been _, instructed to appear on behalf of Mr . Drouet , not with the view of defending him or any one under

      accusation , but of assisting in tlie investigation which had been very properly entered into . Mr Warley said he could not permit counsel lo appear as such . But thc case was one of so important a nature—one in which it was so desirable that the truth should be arrived at—he should be glad if Mv . Ballantine would remain in the room and assist Mr . Drouet upon any matters he mi g ht _tlunk essential for the administration of justice . Mr Ballantine wished to lay before the jury a report signed by four medical men , now attending the sick at Tooting .

      Mr . Wakley took the report , and said he would , at a later period , lay it before the jury ; but the course of proceeding he wished to adopt was , first of all , to call some person connected with the board of guardians of the Holborn Union , for the purpose of ascertaining what was really tlie nature and terms of the contract entered into between them and Mr . Drouet , of Tooting—whether there had been any violation of it on Mr . Drouet ' s part—any looseness in thc conditions of it ; and whether it gave him any undue licence with regard to tho children . Then they would come to tlie legal point as to whether the Poor Law Commissioners could exercise any authority over the establishment—whether , if they could , they were bound to do so , and , if bound , whether there had been any neglect or remissness on their part in not doing so . Then thejury would be in a position to examine into the actual state of the asylum and the children previous to the breaking out of disease .

      Mr W . 11 . James , clerk to the board of guardians-, Holborn Union examined . —Is a solicitor , and held the office of clerk to the board since _IS 3 S . tho _ye-. _aof the formation ofthe union . The board of _guardians entered into an engagement with Mr . Drouet to send some of the children to his establishment in 16 t 7 , and in the beginning of November in that year some of the boys were sent there . There was no distinct or written contract , otherwise than by letters , but they showed fully the terms of the engagement with Mr . Drouet . The board kept minutes _" o £ all the proceedings on the subject , and these contained the conditions on whieh the children were sent . One of these minutes , dated 25 th October , ( as read by witness ) contained Mr . Drouet ' s statement of dietary and general treatment of the

      children , oi his terms , which were Is . ( Id . per head per week , and of his being licensed for 1 , 200 , and <> f their being then only a little over 800 children hi the asylum . The same * minutes contained a report ofa committee of the board of guardians , expressing their fullest satisfaction with thc asylum which they had visited , of thc diet , whieh they considered most ample and healthy , and of the course of instruction pursued , observing that there was scarcely one child so ill as to require medical aid , and that the asylum itself was better situated tban that at Norwood .

      and less exposed to the cold and cutting winds ; tho guardians were at this time negotiating with Mr Drouet , and they sent about eighty boys to him some days after . This witness proceeded to read several reports , by whieh it appeared tliat the guardians placed at Drouet ' s establishment 211 children , at ¦ K Od . per week , andthat they were visited monthly by tlie guardians , who wero satisfied with their treatment . Tlie report , howevor , dated Oth May , btate-. that the ix > tiitoo . s were had , and on tlie boys being questioned as to the supply of food , forty of tiiein said the supply was insufficient . Mr . Drouet ' s conduct thereupon became violent . He Baid the

      boys who did so were liars ; that they were the worst boys in the school ; and that if lio did thorn justice , lie would follow out the suggestion of Mr . James , and thrash them well . Some of the boys complained of not having a sufficiency of bread for breakfast , on which Mr . Drouet ' s conduct became more violent ; he said that they ( the visitors ) were actually unfair ; that thoy ought to be satisfied to rely upon his character ; that they had no right to pursue inquiry after that fashion , and that he would 1 ) 0 glad to get rid of tho children who complained . The report concluded by stating that the viators left without completing their inquiry . On tlie 17 th the children were again _visitinf by a committee of the board . They inspected , the ; t » _ead _, meat , aad

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), Jan. 20, 1849, page 7, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns3_20011849/page/7/