Chapter II: The Westminster Infirmary (3)

At the conclusion of our examination, which lasted nearly three hours, we returned to my room, where the master promptly joined us. On seeing him Dr. Mouatt asked that the matron should be sent for. On her arrival he addressed them both as follows: "I have been over the sick wards and have seen all the sick that should be sent away and taken the number; this I shall report to the Local Government Board. I see that your House is kept clean and in good order, but there is one thing I notice which must at once be altered, and that is, the large number of patients sitting up in bed without anything over their shoulders. I have called Dr. Rogers' attention to it, and he tells me that the Board gave an order three months ago for jackets and shawls to be provided, but that they have never been supplied." Both immediately began to throw the blame on the contractor, but he cut them short by stating, "That excuse, master and matron, will not do for me; you know as well as I do you could have got them if you had chosen. I shall report the omission to supply them to the Board of Guardians and also to the Local Government Board." On hearing this they were dreadfully put out, and expressed an earnest hope that, as it was not their fault, he would not be so severe. "Well," he said, "I shall request the medical officer to report to me when they are supplied, and if every person needing them is not furnished with them before the end of the week, I shall carry out what I have said." By the following Wednesday all my patients were provided with them. At his death the master left some L4,000, notwithstanding he had a large and expensive family. After his decease I learned that he had signed a quantity of blank orders for my attendance, and had given them to the porter with the instructions that if any person was admitted who either looked ill or complained of being so, he was at once to send for me. His death led to the diminution of second calls by at least two-thirds. He was nearly always out in the after-part of the day. For several weeks after his death the duties of master were performed by the labour master. At last the Board advertised for a master and matron, the appointment of matron having come to an end when the late master died. As the Guardians were fully alive to the bad discipline which had prevailed for so many years, they resolved to appoint two officers who should more strictly exercise their authority. The choice of the Board fell upon Mr. John Bliss, a corporal-major of the Life Guards, and a Miss Heatley, lately assistant matron of the Manchester Workhouse. Both of these officers were strict disciplinarians, and something besides, as the sequel will show. For the first two or three years, indeed, during the whole Chairmanship of Mr. Cooper, the surgeon, they were kept in their places and behaved fairly well, but unfortunately for them, for the inmates, and the Board, Mr. Cooper was taken ill and died, and another Chairman being elected, serious results soon followed, for this Chairman was always in the House, and when so was constantly closeted with the master and matron in their rooms. Speedily after that the master began to dispute my orders, and the matron did the same, and as the Chairman again began to obstruct my sending the acutely sick inmates away to the Sick Asylum, the House became full of sick people, who were detained in it through the restrictions put in my way. At last the obstruction to the performance of my duty, by both master and matron, became almost unbearable, especially as Mr. Bliss thought fit to accompany his refusals by telling me to go to h--l, and sundry other coarse and blasphemous expressions; and to such an extent was it carried, that I felt I could not put up with it. To complain to the Board would have been perfectly futile, the majority would most assuredly have gone against me. At last the loud-mouthed, coarse, and outrageous blasphemy of the master quite appalled me; and this, coupled with his refusal to obey my orders and his general interference with me in my treatment of the sick, by deriding my judgment and by openly stating that I did not know my profession, caused me to speak to Mr. Fraser, a Guardian, in reference to the annoyance I was being daily subjected to. He advised that I should go to the Local Government Board and confer with the Poor Law Inspector. I did so, but got very little encouragement by my action. Some time after, in a letter to the Department, I did not hesitate to refer to it, and state as much. One result, however, accrued from this visit, which I foresaw was in the near future imminent, and I accordingly took steps forthwith to get some influence in the House of Commons so as to secure a proper inquiry. On my return I again saw Mr. Fraser, and told him of the way I had been treated. Just about this time this Guardian came into collision with Mr. Bliss. It happened in this way: there was a lady living on Wandsworth Common, the wife of the chaplain of a public institution, and, being very benevolent, she had constantly visited the Union school, and had interested herself in the future welfare of the girls. A girl she was much interested in had gone to a situation some months before, and, not being kindly treated, had left and returned to the Workhouse, when she wrote to this lady, who at once came up to the House to see her and some other girl. The master refused to allow her to do so, whereupon she went round to Soho Square and saw Mr. Fraser, whom she had known as a Guardian, and told how she had been treated, whereupon he wrote to the master, stating who the lady was, and asking him to allow her to see the girls. The master read the letter and replied, with a coarse oath, "I have already told you you shall not see the girls, and you shall not." On reporting this conduct to Mr. Fraser, he was much incensed, and at the next meeting of the Board brought the master's behaviour before the Guardians. To his astonishment, the majority of the Guardians absolutely howled him down. Mr. Fraser then formulated a series of charges against Mr. Bliss, among them his constant refusal to obey my orders, his swearing and generally violent treatment of the inmates, and moved that these charges should be sent to the Local Government Board, and an inquiry into the master's conduct asked for. This proposition was rejected, but, at the suggestion of the Chairman, it was resolved that the Board would conduct an inquiry themselves. This was done evidently with the intention that the whole matter as against the master should be quashed. The inquiry was held, and I was ordered by the Board to attend. At the inquiry by the Guardians the Chairman presided, and proceeded to ask questions; but finding he was no match for the solicitor, Baron H. de Worms, an _ex-officio_ guardian, put in an appearance and conducted the inquiry for them, and as I declined to recognize his or the Board's right to put questions to me, the Baron threatened to report my behaviour to the Local Government Board. I said to him, however, that if it were a regular legal inquiry, conducted by a properly constituted authority, I would answer on oath, and prove all the charges I had ever made against the master and matron. One of my charges was that I had discovered that my Medical Relief Book had been tampered with, and that entries for wines and spirits, neither ordered by me or given to the sick, had been placed against certain names. When this was gone into by the Baron the master's clerk was sent for and insolently denied the allegation.

The Guardians completely exonerated the master and matron, his clerk, and all concerned with them; but the matter did not end there. During the progress of this so-called inquiry the matron brought before the Guardians eight of the very worst characters in the House, in order to depose to her and the master's continuous kindness and consideration to all the inmates, and that Mr. Bliss never swore at all. After they had given their evidence they were entertained by the matron in the store-room, a hot supper and brandy-and-water being provided. As she knew I was keeping a sharp look-out on my books to prevent any additional frauds, the next morning she was at her wits' end to make up the deficiency in the brandy, but at last she managed it by adding some water; but in her hurry she forgot to add clean water. She put what she wanted to increase the quantity into a jug which had contained milk, and so gave a cloudy appearance to the whole of it. On my arrival at the House I was informed of the entertainment that had been given to these witnesses to character, and on going into the women's sick ward, the head nurse showed me the brandy which had been tampered with, and I was further told by her that the brandy given out on the male side had the same appearance--indeed, that the nurse on that side had just called her attention to it. I directed that she should carry it down into my room. On going through to the male side, I requested the nurse to show me her brandy. At first she objected to do so, but on my insisting she reluctantly did so, when I took it away. On reaching my room I sent for a large bottle and mixed it all together and sealed down the cork. I then wrote to the contractors, Messrs. Hedges and Butler, of Regent Street, and asked them to examine it and write me word whether the brandy sent was the same as that supplied by them under the contract. It was taken by one of the officers. In the course of an hour he came back with the brandy and a statement from the firm proving that it had been lowered by the addition of so much water, and that the water that had been used was not clean. I then wrote to the Board giving the history now related, and enclosed Messrs. Hedges and Butler's certificate. I wrapped all up together in a piece of brown paper and addressed it to the Board of Guardians. I called the clerk into my room and having in his presence sealed up the parcel, I requested him to take charge of it and not to let it go out of his hands until the Board met. I then ordered a fresh supply for my sick. I had hardly left the House when the Chairman came, and, going to the clerk, demanded to see the parcel. The clerk gave it to him, when he immediately broke it open and read my letter and the spirit-merchant's certificate. Of course his supporters passed over this abominable transaction when the subject was brought before the Board, and the matron was not even censured; at least, so I was told.

There was, however, a Nemesis. Just as they were rejoicing at the success of their proceedings a letter was on its way to the clerk from the Local Government Board, stating that, in consequence of certain information having been sent to the Department, an official inquiry into the master's management of the House had been determined on, and that Mr. Robert Hedley had been directed to hold it. I immediately went down to the House of Commons, saw some Members, and begged that they would see Sir Charles Dilke, who was then the President, and ask him to send some other Inspector instead. A day or so afterwards I heard that as his name had been mentioned it could not be changed, but that another Inspector, Mr. Taylor, a barrister-at-law, would be appointed with him in the inquiry.

In due course the inquiry took place, Mr. Robert Hedley presiding, Mr. Taylor sitting on his right, Mr. Fraser, the solicitor, one of the Guardians, on the left. Mr. Fraser conducted the proceedings against the master, who was defended by Mr. Ricketts. The proceedings lasted several days. During the progress of the inquiry Mr. Hedley rendered no assistance whatever, and if it had not been for the conscientious conduct of Mr. Taylor, not one-half of the evidence which was given would have been brought out. Nearly all the evidence which was tendered was voluntary--that is, inmates and officers came forward to testify to Mr. Bliss's continual refusal to comply with my orders, to his swearing at me and the inmates, and his general harshness and positive cruelty to many of them. When the master's clerk was examined, he swore that he had never made false entries in my Medical Relief Book; but when my attendant, who had assisted in making up the book, gave evidence and stated that he had seen him make them, his tone altered, and eventually he confessed to sixty-three fraudulent entries of wines and spirits, amounting in the whole to a very considerable quantity of stimulants, presumably supplied to my sick but in reality consumed by other people. When called as a witness, I deposed to the continued refusal of Mr. Bliss to comply with my orders, as to his swearing at me and at others, and to the fact that he derided my judgment, and had intimated to the sick inmates under my charge his disbelief in my knowledge of my profession, &c.

When Bliss was called on for his defence he contented himself with giving a general denial to everything that had been given in evidence against him. At last Mr. Hedley said that he should close the inquiry. I do not know whether at that time he had communicated to Mr. Bliss that he intended to report in his favour, but I had a suspicion of it, as no one could possibly be in better spirits than Mr. Bliss was that day, and it was clear from Mr. Hedley's manner and Mr. Bliss's familiarity with the Inspector what his decision would be.

I was therefore not surprised on going down to the House some three weeks after to make some inquiries that certain Members, whose names I am precluded even now from mentioning, informed me confidentially that it had oozed out that Mr. Hedley and the other Inspector had recommended to the President that Mr. Bliss should be allowed to remain as master. On my expressing my astonishment at such a monstrous decision, I was informed that, to a great extent, the President was powerless in such matters--that, having appointed an Inspector to conduct an inquiry, he was by the rules of the Department bound by his decision, and that if he made a report in favour of the individual into whose management he was deputed to inquire, and reported favourably or the reverse of that, the President was compelled to accept it, however much he felt that the evidence did not support the view taken by the Inspectors.

I lay stress upon this assumption that Inspectors cannot by any possibility err in their judgment, or be guilty of favouritism in their conduct of such inquiries, because ere long, if we are to have County Government Boards, the obligations of these Inspectors will be largely increased, and if the official inquiries of the future are to be conducted by men such as I have had experience of, Heaven help the unfortunate officials whose actions are being inquired into, unless there are some special reasons why they should be officially befriended, such as evidently held good in Mr. John Bliss's case.

Having regard to the fate that always attends crooked courses, I am very much disposed to think that a different line would have been followed could it have been foreseen that Mr. Bliss would have acted as he did three weeks after the inquiry was ended, when a woman was brought in a cab so very ill that I decided to send her away forthwith to the Asylum Hospital; but, as she was blue in the face from difficulty of breathing and from general exhaustion, I told the receiving wards woman to come into my room, and then gave her a written order for some brandy and beef-tea to be given to the woman before she went away. I addressed the order to the matron. Shortly afterwards the nurse came back and told me that this woman had refused to supply what I had ordered. I then said, "Take the order to the master." After a minute or so she returned, telling me that the master would see me d----d before the woman should have it. I then left the House, and on the next day heard that, exhausted as she was, the woman was taken to Cleveland Street without anything being given to her. That morning I wrote to the medical superintendent of the Sick Asylum, and asked him to let me have a copy of any remarks he had made on her admission (of course, stating the refusal of both master and matron to give her anything at all before she left the Westminster Workhouse). His reply bore out the view I had formed of her condition, and he further said that if I had not written to him he should have made a special report to the managers showing her exhausted condition when admitted. A copy of this letter and a formal complaint against the matron and Bliss for their refusal to give the poor woman anything, was sent to the Board of Guardians, who simply ignored it. I also sent a similar statement to the Local Government Board, but no acknowledgment of its ever having been received was sent to me. Knowing what I do, from many years' experience, what this Department is, I very much regret that I did not send this complaint under cover (privately) to Sir Charles Dilke. It is a curious fact that, although the suppression of my statement at the Local Government Board, and the refusal of the Chairman and his party to make any inquiry into my complaint caused Mr. Bliss to keep his appointment a twelvemonth longer, yet this refusal, having been subsequently conclusively proved, ultimately led to his being called on to resign his appointment, as will be shown hereafter, after the Chairman had in the interval been ejected from office by an overwhelming vote of the indignant ratepayers.

No report of the inquiry having been forwarded to the Board, the Chairman, after the lapse of about three months, caused a letter to be written to the Local Government Board asking that the result of the inquiry should be forwarded. The President sent a copy of the evidence given on oath to the Guardians, thinking that after the Board had read it through they would surely concur with him in thinking that Mr. Bliss was not a fit person to remain as master. But he reckoned wrongly. Sir Charles Dilke did not know the Chairman. This man simply induced his dozen followers to utterly ignore all the evidence, and to assert that it proved nothing.

Meeting one of these Guardians in the House two or three mornings after, he came up to me, and, in a loud tone of voice, he said, "I have been reading your disgraceful evidence against our master." To which I quietly replied, "It was given on oath, and every word of it is true;" when, in a towering passion, he said, "You have disgraced yourself, I tell you; you have disgraced yourself:" and then, before I could reply to this outburst of vulgar vituperation, he went on to say, "I see the Local Government Board have directed us to pay you five guineas for your attending to give evidence: I am the Chairman of the Board, and not one penny shall you ever be paid for your disgraceful evidence." Had this outburst been indulged in some few years before I cannot answer for the form which my resentment would have taken; but I kept my temper, as I knew no credit could accrue from any squabble with this man. The cheque was subsequently paid. The Chairman was far too wise to enter into a struggle with the Local Government Board over such a matter.

At the next meeting of the Board of Guardians he, or one of his followers, moved that a letter be written to the Local Government Board, stating that they had considered the evidence and were of opinion that it in no way affected the character of their master, and requesting that the Board should forthwith send its opinion of the evidence and what charges they considered proved, whereupon there was forwarded to them a list of thirteen charges which the Local Government Board held had been proved against Bliss. It is probable that if the Chairman and the majority had remained quiet, these serious charges against the master would never have seen the light. As it happened, the publication of them gave the opponents of Mr. Bliss the opportunity of conclusively showing up the action of the Board. The letter of the Local Government Board, containing particulars of the charges proved, was as follows--

"LOCAL GOVERNMENT BOARD,
"WHITEHALL,

"_August 28, 1883_.

"SIR,--I am directed by the Local Government Board to acknowledge
the receipt of your letter of the 10th inst. respecting the
decision communicated to the Guardians of the Westminster Union in
the letter which we addressed to them by the Board on the 18th ult.
upon the charges preferred against Mr. Bliss, the master of the
Workhouse, and recently investigated by their Inspectors, Mr.
Hedley and Mr. Taylor.

"The Board direct me to state, in reply, that the charges to which
they referred in that letter were the following--

"That Mr. Bliss twice threw water from a bucket over an inmate
named Ellen Coleman.

"That he kicked a woman named Ann Lane on the back of the thigh
[she was sixty-eight years old], the bruise caused thereby was
about four inches across.

"That he kicked a boy named James Daley twice on the back [he was
about thirteen years old, and was a very good boy].

"That he was in the habit of swearing, and of using expressions of
an objectionable character when irritated.

"That he had exercised no supervision as regards the entries in his
portion of the Workhouse Medical Relief Book.

"That he had not entered in the Provision Accounts as absent
inmates who were in fact absent on leave from the Workhouse.

"That he had contravened the Board's regulations by placing
Caroline Barber, aged sixty-four years, upon bread and water.

"That there had been undue delay in the registration of four births
in the Workhouse.

"That in the cases of two females, named Caroline Clegg and
Elizabeth Jacob, who died in the Workhouse, he did not take
sufficient care to give notice of their decease to their respective
relatives.

"That through want of due care, a mistake was made as to a body
sent for burial.

"That he allowed Elizabeth Farquharson to leave the Workhouse for
four days to go to work, and that he charged in his accounts
rations for her during that period.

"That his behaviour towards Mrs. Casher, on her visiting the
Workhouse to see two girls in whom she was interested, was
discourteous; and that he used very improper language to Emily
Brown on her visiting the Workhouse to see her husband, an inmate
[who was on his deathbed].

"I am, Sir,
"Your obedient servant,
"(_Signed_) C. N. DALTON,

"_Assistant Secretary_."

I have been informed that the reading of the above letter was received by the Chairman and his followers with much exasperation, which exhibited itself in threats of vengeance against all those, whether inmates or officers, who had given evidence against the master. One of the first to feel the wrath of the Chairman was Thomas Bailey, a man seventy years of age, who was discharged from his employment in aiding me and the master in keeping the Medical Officer's Relief Book, which he had done for nearly twenty years, because of his wickedness in bringing under my notice the fraudulent entries made in my portion of the Medical Book by the master's clerk at the instance of the matron, an irregularity which it is reasonable to suppose could only have been condoned by the majority of the Board on the supposition that some of them had helped to get rid of what had been falsely entered against the names of my sick patients.

Although this fraud had been clearly proved, no attention had been drawn to it in the report, but a mere misty reference was made to the subject in the fifth charge proved.

Here let me observe that I believe this inquiry would have been absolutely nugatory of any beneficial results if it had been conducted without an assessor being present, and, considering the bearing and physique of the two Inspectors, it seems to me that the assessor modified his own judgment, which would have been entirely adverse to Mr. Bliss, in deference to the manifest wish of the Inspector to screen an old soldier from the proved charges of blasphemy and unmanly violence to an aged woman and a small boy, for which two latter offences Mr. Bliss would have been taken before a magistrate and severely punished if the miserable victims had had the necessary means.

The Chairman thought, in flouting the Local Government Board by his protection of his friend the master, that he would triumph; but at that time he was wholly unaware of what was in store for him and the party he had so long led.

The Inspector was not, indeed, an acceptable person to all Boards of Guardians, as the following letter from the Holborn Board indicates--

"_February 28, 1884._

"_Re_ STANTON. Official Inquiry.

"MY LORDS AND GENTLEMEN,--I am directed by the Guardians of the
Poor of the Holborn Union to acknowledge the receipt of your letter
of the 26th inst., stating that you have instructed your
Inspector, Mr. Hedley, to hold an inquiry into the charges
preferred against Mr. Stanton, and that Mr. Hedley will give the
Guardians due notice of the time and place in which he intends
holding the inquiry, and to inform you that the following
Resolution was passed upon your communication being submitted to
the Guardians, viz.--

"'That the clerk write to the Local Government Board and inform
them that the Guardians are of opinion that an official should be
appointed to conduct the inquiry who has not already expressed an
opinion on the subject, which Mr. Hedley has publicly done, and
that if the Local Government Board adhere to the appointment of Mr.
Hedley to hold the inquiry, the Guardians must decline to take part
therein.'

"I am further directed to inform you that this Resolution was
carried with only one dissentient at the Board last evening.

"I have the honour to be,
"My Lords and Gentlemen,
"Your obedient servant,

"JAMES W. HILL, _Clerk_.

"THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT BOARD."

I do not know whether it was at the meeting of the Board when the decision of the Department was first read, or on the occasion when the Guardians heard their clerk read out the list of charges which the Department considered were proved against Mr. Bliss, but it is certain that the Chairman rose in his seat and moved that I be called on to resign my appointment forthwith. Of course it was carried, and the clerk was directed to forward me a copy of the resolution. I briefly acknowledged its receipt. I understood that at this time this person was much put out at my not at once complying with his request, and threatened all sorts of vengeance on me. He was so ignorant that, in his rage, he forgot that he could not so summarily get rid of me, and therefore I waited patiently for his next move; indeed, I applied for and took my usual autumn holiday. At this time there appeared in _The Standard_ daily newspaper an article commenting on the evidence given at the official inquiry, on the charges found to be proved, and the conduct of the Chairman and his docile followers.

It was republished and sent to every ratepayer in both parishes. And here I may be allowed to call attention to the fact, that in the reforms which I have tried to secure, I have had the assistance of papers of all parties. The article was as follows--

"WESTMINSTER UNION. THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT BOARD, THE GUARDIANS OF
THE POOR, AND J. D. BLISS, MASTER OF THE WORKHOUSE, POLAND STREET.

"Defend the poor and fatherless; see that such as are in need and
necessity have right."--PSALM lxxxii. 3.

"The Local Government Board, in an official communication to the Guardians of the Westminster Union, say they have 'entertained very great doubt whether, consistently with their public duty,' they could 'properly allow' the present master of the Poland Street Workhouse to retain his post. It is likely that the public will go all the way with the Local Government Board, and even a little further. The Board, having instituted a long and searching inquiry into sundry charges brought against the master, have arrived at the conclusion that several of the accusations have been established. They told the Guardians so much as this some little time back; but these authorities wished to know more precisely what were the charges considered to be proved. It is fortunate that these gentlemen were so far disposed to challenge the conclusions arrived at by the central power, for the answer they received puts the public in possession of some notable facts which otherwise might have remained in obscurity. We now learn that the demonstrated delinquencies of this Workhouse master include such peccadilloes as twice emptying a bucket of water over an inmate named Ellen Coleman, and kicking a woman named Ann Lane, as well as a boy named James Daley, the latter twice. He also contravened the Board's regulations by placing an old woman upon bread and water. There might be some economy in this, but it was more than counterbalanced by an awkward habit in which the master indulged, of charging rations for paupers absent on leave. Another irregularity consisted in a 'mistake as to a body sent for burial,' coupled with which we hear of 'undue delay in the registration of four births.' Then there was confusion in the Medical Relief Books, and a neglect to give notice when people were dead. To all this must be added a 'habit of swearing and using expressions of an objectionable character when irritated.' This model master of a Workhouse is further proved to have been discourteous to the wife of a clergyman, and to have 'used very improper language to Emily Brown,' a poor woman who came to see her husband. For all this he is master of the Workhouse still, and, as he retains 'the confidence of the Guardians,' the Local Government Board 'refrain from adopting the extreme course of requiring his resignation.' But, at the same time, this redoubtable official is warned that if any further complaints are substantiated against him he will be most certainly asked, with all due politeness, to relinquish his responsible office. There is, for the moment, nothing more to be done, except, perhaps, for the Guardians to present him with a testimonial."--_Extracted from "The Standard,"_ September 14, 1883.

(It should be clearly understood that this inquiry was instituted by a minority of the Board, who have steadily voted for Mr. Bliss's resignation.)

On my return to town I found that the Board generally had also gone away, but the Chairman had given notice that when the Guardians met in September he should move that I be suspended from my office; which in due course he did, and, having a passive majority, carried it. This did not alarm me at all. It was not then as it was some years ago. There was a new Secretary at the Local Government Board, who was the worthy successor of a most estimable father, the late Hugh Owen. Added to this I had several friends in the House of Commons, and most assuredly Sir Charles Dilke was not prejudiced against me. Besides this, the Chairman could not get up a case against me. So, being aware that it would take some weeks before any decision could be come to, as the head officials at the Central Department would be certainly out of town, and that it was a task beyond the intelligence of the Chairman to draft an indictment, I again went into the country.

So soon as it became known that this Chairman had moved my suspension simply for having resented the conduct of Bliss in cursing and swearing at me, and disobeying my orders for the sick, numerous friends wrote to me, and the medical journals vied with each other in denouncing the conduct of this Board, and called on my professional brethren to rally round me as I had been called on to resign, and was now suspended for interfering with Bliss in his treatment of my sick poor. The action of the Chairman and his supporters turned to my advantage, and eventually led to his and their complete and signal expulsion from office.

Among other annotations and leading articles which appeared at this date, I will here insert one from _The Lancet_, bearing date October 27, 1883--

"THE SUSPENSION OF DR. ROGERS.

"The suspension of Dr. Rogers from his duties by the Guardians of
the Westminster Union because of his honest testimony in an
inquiry into the conduct of the master, is an event of very great
consequence. It is impossible that the Local Government Board can
sanction the action of the Board, or disregard the memorial signed
by fifty-four of the most respectable inhabitants of St. Anne's,
including the rector, the Catholic priest, &c.; and another, signed
by ninety-four of the ratepayers of St. James's. Dr. Rogers is a
representative man. He represents not only the Poor Law medical
service, but the independence of the members of that service, and
no greater misfortune can befall the poor or the ratepayers than
that he should be persecuted by the Guardians of Westminster for
doing his duty. We cannot believe that Sir Charles Dilke will allow
such a misfortune to happen. The Local Government Board have acted
with a strange inconsistency in retaining the master of the
Workhouse. It is inconceivable that they will play into his hands,
and those of the Guardians who assist him, by sanctioning the
dismissal of Dr. Rogers. But the profession and the members of the
Poor Law service, should lose no time in organizing a proper
movement for vindicating Dr. Rogers' claims and position."

After my suspension I went to Bournemouth, and whilst there heard of the above movement in my support, and also saw that my friends in the profession were organizing a testimonial in my favour, subscriptions to which came from all parts of the kingdom. So that, instead of injuring me, the action of the Guardians secured me three months' holiday, a testimonial worth L200, and gave me that leisure which enabled me to work up a party that some six months after drove the Chairman and his followers from office.

On my return from Bournemouth I set to work to get up a list of candidates for Guardians for the ensuing year. It was necessary to get thirteen, as I had only five supporters. It is true that they were the most respectable men on the Board. I was not very long in getting three respectable ratepayers to stand for St. Anne's; but the great difficulty was in St. James's, where ten were required; and if it had not have happened that the Rev. Henry Sheringham, Vicar of St. Peter's, Great Windmill Street, exerted himself most earnestly, we could not have succeeded at all. He not only came forward himself, but he induced a colleague, the Vicar of St. John's, Great Marlborough Street, and four very wealthy and well-known gentlemen in St. James's to do likewise. The obtaining of four others ceased to be a matter of difficulty. The Rev. H. Sheringham took the greatest interest in the election, and it was through his help that the Bishop of London, the Marquis of Waterford, and a large number of the nobility and gentry, bankers, and others who were ratepayers in St. James's, and up to that date had never voted in any election of Guardians, were, on this occasion, secured.

Mr. Sheringham was the incumbent of the poorest district in St. James's, and consequently he was constantly brought into contact with those who had either been inmates, or had friends in the House, and for a long time he had been cognisant of Mr. Bliss's management, and of the Chairman's support of the master. When I was suspended, Mr. Sheringham showed his feeling by going round to some of the leading people in St. James's and getting them to sign the testimonial in my favour, and at the election in the following April he worked hard all day long to get rid of the Chairman and his party.

It may be thought by those who have followed this narrative of Poor Law management in 1883, that I had not sufficiently referred to the action of Mr. W. J. Fraser, solicitor, of Soho Square, and of 191, Clapham Road, but it does not arise from want of gratitude to this gentleman, who has known me for many years, who asked me to see poor Watson in 1872, who induced me to become a candidate for the office the same year, and whose worthy father used to take an honest pride in bringing him to my house nearly thirty years before, to show me how he had got on during his half-year's schooling. If it had not been for the high sense of conscientiousness, and his invariable hatred of such wrong-doing as was implied in the support of such a person as J. Bliss, as a young solicitor he could not have made so great a sacrifice of time, of labour, and of money.

The fact of Mr. Bliss being no longer master of the Westminster Workhouse, and his chief supporter no longer in power as the Chairman of the Westminster Union, with all its possible advantages, is owing almost entirely to Mr. W. J. Fraser, who, recognizing the wrong-doing of both, exerted himself untiringly to get rid of both, which he achieved with singularly complete success.

It was not until just before Christmas that one of the Guardians who was friendly to me, told me that a letter had just been received from the Local Government Board, directing me to resume my duties, thereby removing my suspension; at the same time saying there was an oblique reference to me at the end of the letter. "Oh," I replied, "I understand all about that; but I can afford to let that pass so long as the President supports me."

I returned to my duties, but had it not been for the fact that my nurses (one woman excepted, who was Bliss's confidant, and whom I would have got rid of months before for incompetence and worse qualities) welcomed me back, as did the sick inmates, whose friend I had tried to be, I really should have hesitated to continue in my office, for every form of petty obstructiveness was exhibited by the master, matron, the master's clerk, the Chairman, and his followers. The only retaliation in my power was to draft questions and get them put in the House. This process made the names and doings of the majority of the Westminster Board of Guardians come out rather awkwardly before the public and the ratepayers of the Union; the extraordinary circumstance being that both parties, or rather I may state all parties, in the House assisted me in getting these questions put to Ministers.

At last the election took place. I feel pretty well convinced that when the Chairman saw our list of candidates and who were the nominators, consisting as they did of most of the nobility, gentry, bankers, clergy, and leading ratepayers in both parishes, he felt that his reign was over, but he did not think, even then, that his defeat could have been so complete and overwhelming, for not only was he left in an absurd minority, but his twelve followers were left also.

Subjoined is a copy of the address sent to the ratepayers of both parishes.

"ELECTION OF GUARDIANS.

"_To the Ratepayers of the Parish of St. James, Piccadilly, and St.
Anne, Soho._

"MY LORDS, LADIES, AND GENTLEMEN,--Having been nominated to be
Guardians to represent St. James's Parish as well as that of St.
Anne's, Soho, at the Westminster Union, by many of the nobility,
clergy, gentry, and leading tradesmen and large ratepayers of both
parishes, we confidently solicit your votes and support at the
approaching election.

"We wish it to be understood that, in offering ourselves as
candidates, we are actuated by no personal motives or
considerations whatever, but solely by a desire to secure the
faithful, humane, and economical administration of the laws
relating to the relief of the poor in the Westminster Union.

"Public attention has, during the past year, been frequently drawn
to serious complaints respecting the treatment of inmates,
subordinate officials and others in, and visitors to, the Poland
Street Workhouse, and it is very widely felt that a searching and
careful investigation should be instituted without delay into
matters vitally affecting the comfort, happiness, and welfare of a
large body of poor and helpless people, such as inhabit our
workhouses.

"We beg to draw your attention to the accompanying copies of two
letters addressed by the Local Government Board to the late
Guardians; and also to the enclosed copy of an article which
appeared in _The Standard_ newspaper.

"Many of the ratepayers will learn with surprise that,
notwithstanding the serious and grave charges substantiated against
the master of the Workhouse, at the Local Government Board inquiry,
held by two of their Inspectors, a large majority of the late
Guardians felt themselves able formally to record their confidence
in the master.

"It should be clearly understood that this inquiry was demanded by
a small minority of the Guardians, who found themselves powerless
to bring to light or redress in any other way the flagrant abuses
of which they had been informed. And at the same time it should be
known that those Guardians upon whom devolved the duty of
conducting the inquiry, were denied, both by the majority of the
Board, who were opposed to any action being taken, and also by the
master, both before and at the time of the inquiry, all access to
inmates and resident officers, whose evidence was essential to
establish the charges alleged. It was, therefore, only with the
greatest difficulty that the necessary evidence could be collected.

"We have further to state that, after the decision of the Local
Government Board was communicated to the Guardians, and when all
the facts of the case were fully before them, the Chairman and the
majority of the Board presented to Mr. Bliss, in the Board-room of
the Poland Street Workhouse, a testimonial, in the form of a sum of
money, ostensibly for the purpose of defraying the expenses of his
professional adviser in conducting his defence during the inquiry
into his conduct.

"It may be added that the Chairman, when compelled to admonish Mr.
Bliss, in accordance with the directions of the Local Government
Board, did so with reluctance, entertaining, it would seem, the
belief that the master was not guilty of all or any of the charges
proved against him; and, when so admonished, the master himself
expressed no regret that the charges set forth in the Local
Government Board's letter should have been held to be established
against him, and gave no assurance whatever that he would comport
himself differently in future.

"Thus the official inquiry was rendered practically abortive,
owing, as we believe, to the action of the majority of the
Guardians in virtually upholding the master, in the face of such
overwhelming evidence of misconduct.

"Various complaints have since been made both by inmates and
officers respecting their treatment, and, notwithstanding the
recent inquiry, the internal condition of the Workhouse remains up
to the present time unaltered and unimproved.

"It is for these reasons that we feel it our duty to offer
ourselves as candidates at the present election, believing that the
ratepayers of St. James's and of St. Anne's, Soho, will no longer
be able to place confidence in the Board as lately constituted, and
that they will demand a searching inquiry into the whole system of
the management of the Poland Street Workhouse.

"If, therefore, it be your pleasure to elect us as your
representatives on the Board, we shall address ourselves, without
fear or favour, promptly and impartially to the consideration of
every matter requiring attention; and with the co-operation of the
Local Government Board, which we doubt not will readily be given,
we shall make it our chief aim and endeavour to remove all
legitimate grievances, and to secure humane and kindly treatment
for the many aged sick and helpless inmates of our Workhouse.

"We have the honour to remain,

"Your most obedient servants,

"----."

As the election had mainly turned on the conduct of Mr. Bliss, one of the first things done by the new Board when it met was to suspend Mr. Bliss from his office, which being done, shortly afterwards a committee of the Board met and drew up an indictment against him; but as the Department had condoned the whole of the thirteen charges which were considered proved, they could not raise any of these again; but as Mr. Fraser was aware that the complaints I had made subsequent to the inquiry had been ignored by the late Chairman and his friends, and that the duplicate copy had never been acknowledged by the Department, I, and the nurse of the receiving wards, and the head nurse on the female side, were called to prove the order given by me, the refusal of the matron and the master to comply with it, the woman's condition when admitted, her state on her arrival at Cleveland Street Asylum, the remarks as to her exhausted condition when carried by the porter in his arms, she being too ill to walk; all these facts were shown to be absolutely true, and were completely borne out by evidence. Other matters against Mr. Bliss were also gone into and forwarded to the Local Government Board, and with it an intimation that it was the desire of the new Board that he should not be permitted to return to his duties. Whilst away in Belfast, where I went in the month of August to deliver my customary annual address on Poor Law Medical Relief, I received a telegram that Sir Charles Dilke had called on Mr. J. Bliss to resign.

When the master was suspended I can hardly describe the relief I experienced, it was so great. No longer did I dread loud-mouthed expressions of dissent from me in my treatment of the sick, no longer did I fear that he would stalk, unannounced, through the female sick wards when I was examining the poor women; but instead of it there was respectful quiet and orderly behaviour. The matron, who ought to have been sent away also, kept out of my way and was obsequiously obliging when I gave a necessary order. One person only did I at once bring to book--it was the head nurse on the male side. After the formation of the new Board, I immediately drew up and sent in a list of charges against her, comprising refusal to obey my orders, complicity in and support of certain malingerers who she falsely informed me were ill. One of these I had discovered some months before to be an impostor, and ordered his discharge, but the nurse got her friend Bliss to direct his return, thus flouting my authority. She did not stop to meet my charges, but sent in her resignation, and, it being accepted, these complaints were not investigated. I speedily got rid of the malingerer also, and during the remainder of the time I held office the man remained out of the sick ward. What was the tie between the nurse and this malingerer I was never able to divine.

During the latter part of April, the whole of May, and the first part of June, 1884, there had been an outbreak of fever at the Union schools on Wandsworth Common, and it appeared that the medical officer of the schools, the Visiting Committee, and the Poor Law Medical Inspector, could throw no light on the causes of it, when it was suggested at the Board that I should be sent down to examine into the matter and report to the Board thereon. I wrote to the medical officer informing him of the Board's wish, and asked him to arrange a time to meet me and we would go into the subject together. He was not sufficiently courteous even to acknowledge my letter. I then asked a member of the Board (a builder) to accompany me, which he did.

On my arrival at the schools I requested the attendance of the superintendent and matron, as I wished to state the object of my visit and to obtain from them certain information as regards the commencement of the outbreak, the symptoms presented by the sick, &c. I also elicited from them that the medical officer had said that he would not meet me--an act of discourtesy to the Board, whose joint officers we were.

I speedily ascertained that the outbreak commenced amongst the girls, and had been almost entirely limited to the female side of the House, and of these girls those mainly who were employed in the laundry. But as I wanted to make a complete examination of all the water supply, I asked the Guardian to pioneer the way in our general survey. With this object I got out upon the roof of the main building and peered into all the cisterns. I did not discover anything vastly amiss in these, and nothing wrong at all on the male side. I then proceeded with my examination of the cistern supply in the laundry and kitchen, and that on the roof which furnished the kitchen and part of the laundry supply, when I came upon the source of the mischief; for, on lifting the lid of a large cistern there containing many gallons of water, my sense of smell was assailed by one of the most horrible odours I had ever encountered, and I saw a large mass of thick scum floating there which was evolving offensive gases and in constant motion from the activity of innumerable forms of the lowest type of animal life. I asked my friend to hand me up a stick, and with it I took out a large piece of it and spread it out upon the roof of the building. I also requested the Guardian to come up and judge for himself. I did this because I knew that any statement I might make would most assuredly be denied by the parties who are responsible for looking into and examining the condition of the cisterns and keeping them cleansed, a circumstance which, as I expected, did subsequently occur, but which could not be controverted by them as I had the gentleman in question as my witness.

Before leaving I left a written instruction that every cistern throughout the building should be emptied and disinfected, additional care to be taken with the offending one.

On my return home I drew up and forwarded to the Board my opinion as to the cause of the outbreak, and the orders I had given to the superintendent. As no other cases of fever occurred after my visit, it was clear I had discovered the cause and the remedy. The Board wrote me, through their clerk, a handsome acknowledgment of my success, and voted me five guineas for my visit, and informed me that they had directed the clerk to send a copy of my report and the results that had followed it to the Local Government Board. This was somewhat of a rebuke to those permanent officials who had placed that addendum to the letter directing me to resign my duties some six months before, as I had discovered and stopped the outbreak, the cause of which they had utterly failed to ascertain; but then these aforesaid permanent officials never throw any heart or intelligence into the work they are so handsomely paid to do.