#droxford

Firhill House in Droxford, Hampshire, England

Sir, -- I was looking over the rules and regulations of the Droxford Union yesterday -- a union which, as many of your readers may remember, acquired a bad notoreity two or three years ago, when the evidence before the Parliamentary committee was published, and I find the following among the rules which are now in force:--

“No pauper [in the workhouse] shall be allowed to have or use any wine, beer, or other spirituous or fermented liquors, unless by the direction in writing of the medical officer, who may also order for any individual pauper such change of diet as he shall deem necessary.”

So far all is well; but you will hardly believe the remainder of the regulation -- “and the master shall report such allowance or change of diet so made to the next meeting of guardians, who may sanction, alter, or disallow the same at their discretion,” -- that is, the guardians, and not the medical officer, are ultimately to determine the diet of the sick, and I know that when meat and wine have been entered by the medical officer as necessary for a sick pauper, the order has been at the next meeting contemptuously erased by the guardians; and even when they do not proceed to this extreme, yet the certainty in the mind of the poor parish doctor that he will be subject to an angry cross-examination for every ounce of additional meat or drop of wine which he recommends, must oftentimes hinder him, from ordering that which in his heart he may believe would be good for his patients.

I remain, Sir, your obedient servant,

A RATEPAYER IN DROXFORD UNION.

March 11.