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by the Archbishop of York, seconded by Mr. T. Hughes, M.P.; by Mr. Hart, seconded by Mr. W. H. Smith; by Mr. Davenport Bromley, M.P., seconded by Sir J. K. Shuttleworth. This meeting had great effect. The desultory feelings of interest which had been evoked by previous recitals were brought to a focus, and before the deputation which was there appointed had arranged to wait on Mr. Villiers, he had desired Mr. Farnall (Metropolitan Poor Law Inspector) and Dr. Smith to commence that official investigation of which the results are now made known. Mr. Villiers could no longer deny that a case had been made out-he confessed that "he had yet to learn that there was any exaggeration in the statements;" but he had to leave office before the plans suggested could be embodied in a Bill and brought before Parliament; from the delay which had occurred in noticing the reports of the previous year, he was compelled to allow his successors the credit

of doing the work of which he himself saw at last the necessity.

To those who have not been led to look into the question, and have only the vaguest ideas as to the work and scope of Poor Law administration, it may be of interest to give some of the figures and statistics as to the numbers of persons who pass under its jurisdiction in the metropolitan district alone. Mr. Farnall stated in his report that the forty workhouses were capable of accommodating 28,550 inmates, and that annually upwards of 23,000 persons were lodged in them. The inmates might be classified as follows: viz. temporarily disabled, 6000; old and infirm, 10,300; imbeciles and idiots, 1800; able-bodied, 1850; children, 3000. Amongst all these varied classes there might be said to have been little or no classification as far as management was considered; and it was suggested by Mr. Farnall that any attempts to improve the treatment of the sick poor should

be based upon the principles and suggestions given by the eminent medical men who gave evidence on the committee appointed by Mr. Villiers.

We cannot but suppose that the result which followed these publications and investigations was the Bill which was brought forward in the following year, 1867, to counteract the evils and reform the system of management by introducing the very principle which had been all along urged, viz. the classification and separation of the various and heterogeneous population of workhouses. While these institutions were compelled to admit and treat in one building the sick and incurable, the able-bodied and vicious, under the same management and by nearly the same rules, it was evident that the best personal administration must fail to produce anything like satisfactory results. The completeness of the reforms suggested will be best conveyed in the words of the President,

who "explained the provisions of his Bill for the improved accommodation of the sick poor of the metropolis, prefacing it by an elaborate review of past legislation, and of the various inquiries into the subject, including those of the Lancet commissioner and of the commission of medical men appointed by himself last recess. From these he showed that the chief improvements requisite were, greater cubical space, increased ventilation, and more complete classification of the poor; and assuming that he had to deal with 34,000 persons, including children, he proposed to obtain these improvements by placing all the imbeciles in separate establishments, by removing all children above two years to separate schools, and by providing new accommodation for 2000 lunatics, and for 700 or 800 fever and small-pox patients, either by erecting new buildings or hiring old ones. The infirmaries for the remaining sick poor would be placed under separate Boards of Management,

for many of the evils in their condition sprang from their being managed under a system originally intended for the ordinary poor. By this means he hoped to secure more efficient inspection, and to give facilities for training nurses, and for educating medical officers."

A leading article in the Times appeared on the same day (Feb. 9, 1867), endorsing these views, and, to the great joy of all who had been urging these reforms for many years, it advocated all that they had been striving for. We cannot do better than quote some of the words: "It opens questions which have engaged the attention of thinking men and experienced administrators for a long time, and which, as the spirit of humanity increasingly pervades society, will tend to become more and more matters of public concern. It is an attempt to remedy a deeply felt evil, a national disgrace, a too real grievance of the metropolitan poor. For the last two years the world has heard more than

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