COLONEL KNOXsaid, he would beg to ask the President of the Poor Law Board whether, among the exceptions to the entrance into the workhouse, the following was one, namely, "where any such person shall be the wife or child of any ablebodied man, who shall be in the service of Her Majesty as a soldier, sailor, or marine;" and whether, therefore, the wife or child of a soldier might not demand relief without being compelled to enter the workhouse.
§ MR. BAINESIn reply, Sir, to the question of the hon. and gallant Gentleman, I beg to state that poor persons of this class cannot legally insist upon outdoor relief if the guardians for any particular reason think it right to administer relief in the workhouse. On the other hand, however, the guardians in every union in England and Wales are at perfect liberty to give them outdoor relief if they think fit to do so. Even in those unions where the prohibitory order, as it is called, renders outdoor relief to the ablebodied generally illegal, there is an express exception in favour of the wife or child of any soldier, sailor, or marine, in Her Majesty's service. The same rule applies to the wife or child of any militiaman on duty. The result is, that the discretion of the guardians in giving outdoor relief to poor persons of this class is wholly unfettered either by the general law or by any order of the Poor Law Board; and I am happy to be able to add that, so far as my information goes, the guardians throughout the country are exercising this discretion in a very considerate and humane spirit.