§ MR. COWAN (Surrey, Guilford)To ask the President of the Local Government Board whether he will, by administrative order, require all boards of guardians to clothe the inmates of unions with garments of a colour and pattern as the wearers may select, so long as the cost of the material is within contract prices.
(Answered by Mr. John Burns.) The Local Government Board in a circular, which they issued in January 1895, referred to the question of the clothes to be supplied to inmates of workhouses. They drew attention to a previous circular, in which it had been pointed out. that the clothing need not be uniform either in colour or material. They specially suggested that the clothing worn by inmates when absent on leave from the workhouse should not be in any way distinctive or conspicuous in character.