§ VISCOUNT RAYNHAMsaid, he wished to ask the President of the Poor Law Board, Whether the authorities of workhouses are not bound by law to admit at all times all persons who apply to them for admission, and, therefore, if, on the application of any person for admission into any workhouse, the portion of that establishment usually allotted to the casual poor should happen to be filled, the person in charge of such establishment is not compelled to find for the applicant accommodation in some other part of the premises, or a free lodging elsewhere, and whether it is lawful for the authorities of workhouses to place persons admitted in a clean condition in the same room with those who are not? He asked the question in consequence of poor persons having been frequently refused admission, and also on account of the bad accommodation provided.
§ MR. C. P. VILLIERSstated that, according to his apprehension of the law, the officials of workhouses were bound to admit all persons who had an order from the competent authorities, namely, Boards of Guardians, Relieving Officers, and Overseers; in cases of necessity they were bound to admit them even without orders, and if the House was full the Master was bound to refer the applicant to the Relieving Officer, whose duty it was to find relief in other quarters. With reference to putting persons in a clean condition into the same room with persons who were not clean, he had to state that all persons admitted to the workhouses were washed and cleansed before entering them, and were bound to be kept so while there.