§ SIR JAMES RANKINI beg to ask the President of the Local Government Board what is the total accommodation for indoor paupers in the workhouses in the various unions of England and Wales, and what is the total number of indoor paupers at the present time.
§ THE PRESIDENT OF THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT BOARD (Mr. H. CHAPLIN, Lincolnshire, Sleaford)From inquiries which I have caused to be made quite recently the total number of paupers (except vagrants) for whom there was accommodation in the workhouses, work-house infirmaries, and separate schools, other than district schools, may probably be estimated at between 230,000 and 240,000. The number of occupants on 1st February last was nearly 198,000, but the number of course varies considerably from time to time.