§ MR. BOWERMAN (Deptford)To ask the President of the Local Government Board whether he is aware that, on Monday night last, a number of men who entered the Paddington Workhouse had to sleep on the floor in the old condemned casual ward with only two or three inches between each man, and the walls reeking with moisture, the consequence being that some of the men have lost the use of the voice, and others are in the hands of a doctor; and whether he proposes to take any, and what, action in the matter.
(Answered by Mr. John Burns.) I have made inquiry on this subject and find that, at 9.15 in the evening of Monday the 19th October, ninety-throe able-bodied men presented themselves for admission to the Paddington Workhouse. Fifty-four of the men were accommodated in the receiving wards, and thirty-nine in the old casual wards. I am informed that the latter building is 736 in a sound condition, and that it is not correct to say that the walls were reeking with moisture. Three rooms were placed at the disposal of the men, but, as one of them had been recently scrubbed, they elected to sleep in the other two. The floor space of one is 39 feet by 18, and the other 24 feet by 18. The rooms are stated to be lofty and they are lighted with gas. There was an abundant supply of hot and cold water and other sanitary conveniences. There were not enough bedsteads on the premises for all the men, but each of them was supplied with a hair mattress, two blankets and a flock pillow. It is not stated that any of the men suffered any ill effects, and, so far as I can judge, the master seems to have made the best arrangements he could to meet the emergency caused by so large an influx of men late in the evening.