The Chester Courant and Advertiser for North Wales

CHESTER SEPTUAGENARIAN'S DEATH. .0 ALLEGATIONS AGAINST THE INFIRMARY STAFF. REMARKABLE EVIDENCE. DOCTORS DIFFER. On Monday night, at the Chester Workhouse, Mr. J. C. Bate, coroner, held an inquest touch- ing the death of John Williams, aged 78 years, who was the tenant of an almshouse in Pepper- street, and who died at the Workhouse on Friday. The Coroner mentioned that the inquest was adjourned from Saturday evening, when the evidence taken was to the effect that the deceased fell in Newgate-street, opposite to the residence of Elizabeth Davies, on the 1st October. With the assistance of a neighbour. Mrs. Davies removed him to his house in Pepper-street, where Dr. Hamilton, jun., saw him. About three o'clock in the afternoon Williams was removed to the Chester Infirmary. Dr. Herbert Markby, resident surgeon at the Infirmary, was now called. He said Williams was admitted to the Infirmary about four o'clock in the afternoon, when the assistant house surgeon saw him. He (witness) examined him in the evening. Williams was then in a very dangerous condition, and could not answer any questions coherently. His assistant told him that as far as he could ascertain it was a fractured thigh. The Coroner Did you ascertain this beyond any doubt?—Witness: As far as one could ascertain. It was a fracture you could not swear to; it was what is called an impacted fracture, the two ends of the bone jammed in one another. And it was close to the socket P- Yes. And that would make it difficult to ascertain? —Yes. What was done for the man, doctor P-I con- sidered the best plan was to leave him quietly alone, leave it entirely at it wae. And this was what was done ?—Yes. Any means of keeping his leg in position ?- No. Mr. Hamilton saw him next morning. Of course he was admitted under his care. I told him I had done nothing beyond leaving him quietly alone, and he said he thought it was much the best plan. Continuing, Dr. Markby said about the second day after Williams came into the Infirmary he became very collapsed indeed, and they thought he was going to die. But he began to pick up again, and later on he became very troublesome. The Coroner: When was it he became troublesome ?—Witness: About the seventh or eighth day. Tell us what this troublesomeness was P-He would not keep quiet in bed; he would sit up and sit on the edge of the bed. He would shout and disturb the other patients in the night- time. What was the cause of that ?—Well, I should say an old man's senile imbecility. You put it down to senile decay P-Yes, being a troublesome old man. Wasshe troublesome wilfully-we want to know exactly what it was-or was it something over which he had no control ?—I don't think he had any control over himself. Was it the result of the pain P—Oh, no, x because he had no pain except when one tried to move him. He did not complain of pain except when he was touched. On the 12th inst. he was moved here. Who was it suggested he should be moved here.- I told Mr. Hamilton, senr., he was becoming very troublesome and noisy, and disturbing other patients, and he said Well, better remove him to the Workhouse, I really thought of sending him there first. You had better make arrangements for his removal. Who made the arrangements ?—I did; I wrote to the relieving officer. When did Dr. Hamilton suggest that he should come here P-I think it was Thursday morning. And that was the day he was removed ?-No, he was removed on the Friday, I think. At any rate, it was the day before he was re- moved. Did Dr. Hamilton ask you whether he was fit ?-He would not have given his consent if he did not think so. Did you both consider that he was fit to be moved ?—Yes, quite fit. I think you certified to the Relieving Officer that he was fit to be removed P-Yes, I did. Was there anything else the matter with him except this fracture P—No. Did you hear that he was suffering from apoplexy ?—No, I never heard that. Did Dr. Hamilton say anything about that or epilepsy ?—No. And you did not think the noise he made was the result of something wrong with his brain ? No, sir. It was not suggested to you and you saw no sign of it ?—No. And the only thing wrong with the man was this fracture P- Yes. and old age. Suppose he had died at the Infirmary, would you have given him a certificate ?—Oh, dear no. Hear the Coroner handed a letter to the doctor and asked him to say whether he agreed with the contents or not. The doctor replied in the affirmative. The Coroner (quoting): "The injury to the hip had nothing to do with his death, which in my opinion was the result of a fall." Do you agree with that F-Witness: "From," if you will follow it up, "an apoplectic or epileptic—" The Coroner: It is said the injury to his hip had nothing to do with his death?— Witness: I don't think it had anything to do with his death; I think it might have hastened on death, but I don't think it caused his death. What do you think he died of ?—Old age, accelerated by the fracture. You said you had in hand his removal. Did you see him put into the cab ?-No sir. What were your orders F-That he was to be carried down and put into a cab. Would it not be a painful thing for a man with his hip broken to be put in a sitting position ?—I did not think it would with him, because he had been sitting up by the side of the bed quite comfortably, and not complaining at all. For any length of time P-No. When he was found sitting on the edge of the bed he was promptly put back again; but if it had hurt him he would not have sat there. Would it not be quite certain that any heal- ing of the bone would be entirely undone by the removal.—Oh, no. Not at all ?—No, not if carefully removed. A fracture-board was put right across the seat, so that he could be put comfortably on that. You did not think it necessary that he should be sent on a stretcher ?-No. A man who is approaching 80 years of age does not recover very readily ifrom fracture of any kind, therefore you did not expect him to get better ?—I did not expect him to get better. I thought when he became troublesome he might have been so many weeks. Was there anything you could have done to have relieved his pain in the way of tying his legs together, or anything like that ?--He was carried down on a stretcher, and then his two legs were held together while he was lifted into the cab and put on the board. Our head porter and a nurse went with him, and I enquired how he travelled, and they said he travelled very comfortably in fact, that he was dozing the whole of the way. Mr. J. Hewitt (a juror): How was he troublesome, doctor ?—Shouting and trying to get out of bed in the night time, calling out and disturbing other patients, and using bad language. Mr. Hewitt. With regard to his pain, could you not have relieved him P—Witness He had no pain. Do you think it possible that a man of 78 years of age with a broken hip had no pain P— You find patients brought in with broken legs comfortable enough; they don't, as a rule, suffer pain. Mr. Hewitt: I think it enough to make any man noisy.—Witness s If he had been in pain and could not have slept, we should have given him a sleeping draught. The only time he complained of pain was when we were trying to thoroughly examine his leg. Did you give him a sleeping draught then ?— No, because the pain was soon over. Another Juror: Would he keep awake at nights to annoy other patients for pleasure ?— No, sometimes during the night he would wake up and become troublesome for a little time and perhaps settle down to sleep again. Would he not'have been better in a lying position P The bringing of him in a cab in an upright position, would not that cause him greater pain than on an ambulance stretcher I did not think it would, if I had thought it would have been, I should have tried to arrange for a stretcher. because, of course, the body way (practically upright and the jogging would act upon it ?— His leg was straight out. Yes, but the working of the body ?—Well, if you call the porter or the nurse you can get evidence from them that the old man dozed the whole of the way down practically. Was he unconscious with the pain ?-If he was given any pain he would have called out at once. Mr. Hewitt: That is from a doctor's point of view, of course, but from a human point of view ? You did not see the patient sent to the Workhouse. You gave orders for him to be w removed, but you did not trouble yourself how he went. You did not bind his limb up in such a way as to relieve him from any pain he might have been subject to. Witness: I considered he would travel quite comfortably, as I bad arranged for a fracture board to be placed and, with the porter to look after him, I thought he would be more com- fortable in that way than any other. Mr. Hewitt remarked that he was once a member of an ambulance class, and Dr. Markby's idea and what he was taught at that time were two different things. Asked by another juror whether it would not have been better to have had the injured leg in splints, witness replied that it was an impacted fracture, and a great many medical men con- sidered it best to treat such an injury without splints. The Coroner: Can you tell me the rules about the admission and removal of patients ? Aren't they kept there until the injury is cured? —Witness: As a general rule. Any distinction between poor men and rich men ?-No, all treated alike. Supposing this man had been in a position to have paid for his maintenance, would you have sent him to the Workhouse P—No, I should have told his friends to come and take him. As you could not do with his noise ?— Suffering, as we considered this old man was, from senile decay, and causing noise, I should have told his friends. The fact that he was an old man assisted you in getting rid of him ?-No., his mental con- dition. Supposing he had not been an old man ?— One would have known that it was the result of delirium tremens, and that he would have either died or got over it in a few days. Mr. Hewitt: If he had been able to pay for a private room, would you have put him into a private room ?-No, I should have told his friends. Witness, replying to further questions, said they could not keep patients who were noisy and riotous, as they could not isolate cases of that kind. Mr. Hewitt: The dead man's only fault was that he was troublesome. Witness: You seem to forget that the Infirmary is not for one patient, but for others. This patient became very troublesome and noisy, and was doing harm to other patients. When P—About the end of the first week. We had to consider other patients, and Mr. Hamilton agreed with me that it was the best plan for him to be removed here. The Coroner: When he gets here you know there are patients. Witness: This is the place where they are supposed te be sent to. Mr. Hewitt: That is for the ratepayers to say. The Coroner: Why send them here to disturb other patients here. What object had you ? Witness: I was quite under the impression you had accommodation for patients like that. The Coroner (to Dr. Archer) Have you ? Dr. Archer: No. The Coroner (to witness) You did not make enquiries whether they had ? Witness: No. Another juror mentioned that the old man was a Forester and in receipt of sick pay, and asked if the Infirmary had had any of that money ? Witness: Not a penny so far as I know. Nurse Ada Beeson, one of the nurses who attended the deceased at the Infirmary, said Williams was restless when he first came in, and then for two days he became quiet, and afterwards again became restless and tried to get out of bed. She did not ask why he was removed. The Coroner; Was there any reason ?—Yes, he was restless. Had you any other patients in the ward P— Yes, one boy. And how many more slept in the ward ?— Two besides the boy. Why was he removed P—He was not a fit patient to be kept with other patients. Will you tell us why ?—His conversation and his talk were not fit. Was he noisy ?—Yes. Did he shout at night ?—Yes. Did he disturb the other patients ?—I was not in charge. Was he quite conscious of what he was doing ? —Yes, he seemed to be, but not always. Continuing, witness said Williams was very quiet in the cab and did not complain. The Coroner: Did he know where he was going ?—Well, we did not tell him until we got him here. Did he ask where he was going ?-No. Witness further stated that Williams did not seem to be in any pain, and, in answer to Mr. Chas. Harrison, she said he was not uncon- scious. Dr. Archer, medical officer of the Union, said he was told during Friday that a man was coming to the Workhouse from the Infirmary. He (witness) saw him a few minutes past eight o'clock the same night. He made an examina- tion and found that his body was filthy. The Coroner Do you mean dirty P—Yes. His body was ?—Yes. Continuing, Dr. Archer said there was a large bruise up the right side of the hip joint. His left leg was shortened from two to three inches, and the foot in- verted. That was a sign of impacted fracture. He had two or three sores on the right knee. He was in a delirious state and uncon- scious of what was going on around him. His pulse was very weak. The Coroner a From that did you consider him in a condition to be removed t—I did not. Can you say certainly not f—I should say certainly not. Do you agree with what Dr. Markby said that the only thing was to keep him quiet P-Yes. Then it was the worst thing they could do to put him in a cab and drive him ?—I consider it extremely dangerous. He had told Dr. Markby that it was a most inhuman thing to do. The raising of the man and the putting of him in a sitting position would be a very painful thing P—I should say so. And to ride with his weight on the thigh-bone which was fractured would be a still more painful thing P—It is a matter of common sense and not for an expert to give that opinion. Did you have any complaints at the Work- house ?-Not after the first day. Suppose it was absolutely necessary to remove him from the Infirmary, how would you have removed him?—I should certainly have removed him in a recumbent position. In reply to further questions by the Coroner, Dr. Archer said there was no more convenience at the Workhouse for such a patient than there was at the Infirmary. The only place they could put him was where there were other patients, and if he had been objectionable and noisy he would have annoyed eight or nine other patients. He was not asked whether there was accommodation for the man before he was sent. He had ha<f similar cases. If there was any chance of their recovering one expected them to be sent to the Workhouse, but not if they were in a critical condition. The Coroner: You think that moving him here accelerated his death P-l do. He died on the 19th. As to the cause of death P—Senile decay first cause, and fracture and shock secondly. You saw no apoplectic or epileptic seizures?— No. Do you agree with Dr. Markby, that the injury to the thigh had nothing to do with the death ?—I do not. You say death was accelerated by it P—I say death was caused by fracture of the thigh acting upon an old man. The man had a prospect of living except for this fracture ?—Yes. By Mr. Hewitt. He did not think it would have been better had he been called to attend the man as soon as he got to the Workhouse, because the patient was sleeping, and he could have done nothing for him. Mr. Hewitt: But you could have done some- thing for him ?—I don't think I should have touched him. Mr. Hewitt was proceeding to make some observations, when the Coroner remarked that jurors should not express individual opinions. They could express a unanimous opinion after they had considered their verdict. Mr. Hewitt: I am new to this job, but I hare heard enough to sicken me of another. The Coroner, in summing up, said they had got abundant evidence as to what was the cause of death. They would come to the conclusion that the fall was accidental. The only thing he could sug- gest to them as likely to cause the fall was that being an old man he was liable to giddiness, which was a common thing among men of great age. They had heard the medical evidence, which shewed them pretty clearly that a man of anything approaching the age the deceased was, was not very likely to recover from a fractured thigh. If he were extremely quiet and easy to manage, and his vitality survived a good length of time, he might have recovered sufficiently to be convalescent; but under the circumstances- his removal from the Infirmary to the Work- house-there did not seem to have been any chance of his recovering. Dr. Markby. had stated that the reason for his removal was that he was noisy and objectionable. Well, he (the Coroner) could not help feeling that if he were objectionable at the Infirmary, he would be just as objectionable at the Workhouse. There was no reason why pauper patients should be annoyed by men any more than patients at the Infirmary. The deceased was a man known in Chester-he (the Coroner) had known him many years—and he had no doubt that he gave his voluntary contribution to the institu- tion. He thought the deceased man was quite entitled to the benefits of the voluntary surgical aid provided at the Infirmary. However, he seemed to have been brought to the workhouse because he was noisy and objectionable, and he was at that time in a condition about which the doctors differed. It was not the only case in which doctors had differed. Dr. Markby was satisfied that the deceased was in a fit condition to be removed. He might be of that opinion, but he (the Coroner) was not of that opinion. A man who had had a fractured leg for twelve days, and had been in a restless condition during those twelve days, was cer- tainly not in a fit condition to be sent in a cab in an upright position in the way in which he was sent to the Workhouse. Dr. Archer had told them that when he saw him at the Work- house his pulse was very feeble, and he could see in a moment that the man was dying. It did appear to him (the Coroner) that if he had been a man in a good position he would never have been sent to the Workhouse, and it was simply due to the fact that he was a poor man, and unable to pay for his board and lodging at the Infirmary, that he was sent to the Workhouse. The case was one in which they could not help expressing their feelings a little strongly. Nevertheless, there was nothing like an enquiry of that kind to put such matters as that with which they had to deal then before the public and get them righted. If they had anything to say with regard to the conduct of any person since the 1st October, it was quite right and proper for them to express their opinion. As to the cause of death, they would accept the evidence of Dr. Archer, the last medical nun who saw him. The jury retired to consider their verdict, and, on returning, the foreman (Mr. D. Dickson) said the jury were of the unanimous opinion that death was caused by shock from a fractured thigh, and they were also of opinion that the deceased was not in a fit condition to be removed from the Infirmary on the day he was brought to the Workhouse, and they con- sidered that if it were absolutely necessary to remove such patients proper appliances should be provided. DISCUSSION AT THE WORKHOUSE. At the fortnightly meeting of Chester Board of Guardians yesterday (Tuesday) morning, when Mr. J. Pover presided, Mr. A. W. Jones directed attention to a report in the newspapers of an inquest held at the Workhouse the previous evening, on a man named John Williams, 79 years of age, who was a patient at the Chester Infirmary, and in consequence of his noisy and troublesome behaviour was sent to the Workhouse, where he died. The Coroner said some very strong remarks about the pro- priety or rather about the want of humanity on the part of the Infirmary authorities in sending the man to the Workhouse as they did in a cab. Dr. Archer said it was most inhuman to send the man there. He understood there wete two reasons for the course of action adopted by the Infirmary authorities, one being that there was no pay for the man being kept there, and the other that he was troublesome and noisy. If he was troublesome and noisy he would be equally so in the Workhouse ho&pital, and why should the poor have to put up with what the other part of the community would not tolerate. But the reason he brought the matter forward at all was for the purpose of asking the Clerk by what authority the Infirm- ary doctors should send patients who were troublesome to the Workhouse. Mr. Rowe Morris: I asked the question five years ago, and it has never been answered yet. 1he Clerk (Mr. W. Turnock) said the only thing he could say was that the Infirmary Board had no power to send any cases there, and they were not compelled to admit them, but it seemed to have been a kind of usage there for many years, long before he became clerk, that if there had been a_case at the Infirmary that they could not properly deal with, they made an application to the re- lieving officer, and the officer transferred the case to the Workhouse, as in the instance under discussion. He quite agreed with what Mr. Jones said, that if a patient was troublesome at the Infirmary, there was no reason why he should be brought to the Workhouse to be equally troublesome and noisy, and disturbing to the patients in that institution. It was competent for the Board to give instructions to the officers not to take in such cases, because as long as the man was a patient in the Infirmary he was not destitute. Mr. A. W. Jones said he begged to move that such cases be not accepted, and he quite thought, with Dr. Archer, that it was most inhuman to put a man who had broken his thigh to such torture as to sit bolt upright in a cab. The least that could have been done was to send him on an ambulance. Mr. M. Kennedy said he had known the deceased for many years, and for a long time he was a porter at Bolland's, and latterly he was employed by Messrs. Churton, Elphick and Co. If all that had been stated was true and Hnexaggerated it was a very serious charge to bring against the Infirmary, and he hoped that when the circumstances were investigated they would not turn out so bad as had been repre- sented. It had been stated that the man was sent there with a broken leg without either splint or bandage. If such a thing had happened in any foreign country they would know what a very dreadful thing it was. He should like to ask the Master whether it was a fact that he came there without splint or bandage. The Master (Mr. R. C. Turner) said it was perfectly true. The man was put to sit upright in the cab, but a fracture board was put under him fer the purpose of holding the leg in posi- tion; but the fractured part was the thigh, and the whole weight of the body was upon it. (" Shame. ) He received the man himself at the entrance, and immediately had the case sent round to the hospital, and the old man was lifted out of the cab and carried upstairs on a stretcher. When they got him upstairs he went to sleep. There was no splint used what- ever, but he should like to say this, that when the relieving officer came to him and informed him that the patient was going to be sent from the Infirmary he gave him to understand that Dr. Markby had said that he was going to put a splint on the man's leg. The man, however, came without any splint, and the reason why was not explained. Mr. Kennedy said he had great pleasure in seconding the resolution, but he should also like to call the attention of the Infirmary Board to this matter. It was such a serious charge to bring against an institution of that kind, that unless the charge was replied to it might have a very serious effect upon the income of the Infirmary, which was largely supported by the contributions of the working classes on Hospital Saturday. They would say "If this is the treatment our poor fellow-creatures get,we will not contribute any more. It was desirable, in the interests of the institution, that there should be some explanation. The Clerk explained tthat Mr. H. Ander- son was acting for Mr. Harrop at the time of this removal, and Mr. Anderson called upon him (the Clerk) with Dr. Markby's letter, which stated that the Infirmary had a patient named John Williams, 79 years of age, who was admitted a week age with a fracture of the thigh, and who had been so troublesome and noisy that he appeared to be a suitable case for the Workhouse Infirmary. He (the Clerk) advised Mr. Anderson to get a certificate from the medical officer, which would state that the man was in a fit state to be removed, and the certificate obtained was as follows The Infirmary, Chester, Oct. 12th.-I hereby certify that John Williams is a Atf;cme toltbe Iremoved to the: Workhouse Infirmary," so the Board could see by that that its officer, Mr. Anderson, protected himself in the action he took. (Hear, hear.) Mr. Kennedy I am very glad he did. Mr. Anderson explained that Dr. Markby promised at first to send a temporary splint, but when the cab went down he expressed the opinion that the patient being in the cab a splint would be the worse thing that could be put on him, so instead of a splint being used the man was placed on a fracture board and a nurse and the Infirmary head porter went with him. Every- thing was done for him that could be done, and he could not have had a more comfortable journey. Mr. Butler: The man died the next morning after he came here. Mr. A. W. Jones: It does not matter what Mr. Anderson says. Our own medical officer said it was most inhuman to bring the man here in a cab, and he ought to know. Mr. Butler: I think we ought to write for an explanation. The Master: I hope and understand that the Workhouse authorities were exonerated at the inquest. (Hear, hear). The Rev. F. Edwards suggested that the motion submitted by Mr. A. W. Jones should be allowed to remain in abeyance, and that before further steps were taken the clerk should communicate with the Board of Manage- ment of the Infirmary, asking for an explana- tion. Mr. Jones agreed to withdraw his motion in favour of this amendment, which was put to the meeting and unanimously carried.

THE RURAL EXODUS AND CHESHIRE DAIRY FARMING. » It becomes, writes a correspondent, a greater problem and more evident every year that if the promising youth are to be kept in the country where they are born, some greater attraction must be held out in the future than in the past to stop the ever-increasing flow into our large towns. There you may spend your life in shabby gentility, wearing a black coat, grinding away at a counter or desk, breathing the impure atmosphere of a crowded commercial warehouse or city counting-house, and the reward is that at night you may walk out with the latest style of choking cravat, or snatch the fearful joy of a cheap cigar, or applaud the gushing serio in a music hall, and the result is that you are weak, sickly and pale. On the other hand, by remaining in the country where you are born you form one of the three partners in the present land system of England, which is the best in the world as regards the feeling existing between landlord, farmer, and labourer. There is no other system in the world which could have kept agricultural depression, when it has appeared, from being felt by those most dependent on the soil, than our system of large estates owned by private individuals, who, owing to a connection lasting sometimes for generations, sometimes for centuries, are bound up in such an inseparable bond of union with the dwellers on their soil, so that we have to-day many examples of men such as the Duke of Bedford, who for a large number of years not only did not receive any balance from the rent at the end of the year but the estate was managed at a very considerable loss, and during the whole of that time the charities and schools were supported to just the same extent as if he had been receiving the full rental value of every acre; whereas if an estate were worked on a commercial system as some people advocate, the charities, schools, pensioners, and local institutions would be the very first to feel the baneful result. We have in Cheshire many brilliant examples of good and excellent landlords, whose estates have such a high prestige as to favourably compare with any body of estates in the United Kingdom. We have some landlords who have possessed, and do possess, the will and the means to develop their property to such an extent that it affords a very great inducement to good husbandry* besides being a source of very great pride to our county. But we have other landlords in Cheshire who have not the means of carrying out all those repairs to their property which in many cases they would earnestly wish to see done, and yet owing either to the individual personality of the landlord, or to a fair renown for good and liberal treatment which, for generations, tradition has attached to the owner of the soil, the prestige of their estate is so high that it is difficult to say which is the higheral the, two. If we have good landlords in Cheshire we have also good tenant farmers. The Cheshire farmers' establishments are one of the most brilliant examples of uncorrupted industry on the face of the earth, and it is right on such an occasion as this that we should pay a tribute of respect to their wives, daughters, and sisters, who day after day, in dull monotony, spend the best hours of the morning in the heavy and arduous toil of the dairy. When we consider the lot of the third party, the agricultural labourer, if their hours of labour are long they are all the more happy; if their lives are dull they are all the more healthy. It is undoubtedly their duty to remain in the country and carry on unimpeached and hand down unsullied the proud and honourable traditions delivered to them by their forefathers, in whose breasts has dwelt the loyal spirit of the English yeoman- that spirit which stands up for Queen and country and their country's freedom, of which we have seen such a remarkable example in our day in the equipment of a large force of yeo- manry, who left their homes at their country's call, and undertook a journey of several thousand miles across the sea to defend a dis- tant portion of the Queen's dominions. By their gallant behaviour they have done for Cheshire what no other power on earth could do in removing the feeling of something akin to dislike for the army which for so long has held sway among the agricultural community in Cheshire-the feeling that when a man enlists in Her Majesty's Army he goes altogether to the bad. Owing to their heroic spirit that feeling has disappeared never more to return' and Cheshire, which for centuries has been celebrated for its skill snd industry in agri- culture, has become at the close of the nine- teenth century renowned throughout the world for its wonderful devotion to the Queen. If the supply of youth of the labouring agricultural community of Great Britain and Ireland were to fail, it would materially affect every department of naval and military service as well as every industry and commercial enterprise throughout the empire of the Queen. It therefore becomes the duty of every loyal subject of Her Majesty and of everyone who has at heart the country's welfare, to do what in them lies to make the life of the agricultural labourer not only tolerable but attractive, and to endeavour to make them understand how much truer their interests will be served by remaining in the country than by going into the town which nature never intended to be the permanent home of man.

[COPYRIGHT.] POSTS AND POSTMEN. PAST AND PRESENT. CHESHIRE JOTTINGS ON MATTERS POSTAL. By ALFRED MOORE. » SECOND PAPIER.1 « It may not be generally known that in the Cheshire of the eighteenth century, postal business was greatly impeded by the badness of the roads throughout the shire. While they were nowhere in the kingdom good, certain western counties seem to have held a record for the extreme indifference of their highways, Cheshire being among them. A Manchester bagman" or commercial traveller of the period, of very wide experience, is reported to have said that, let the night be ever so dark, whenever he entered Cheshire he was always made aware of it either by the additional jolting of the coach, by the decrease in its speed, or by the greater slush, slush, slush, from its labouring wheels. And even a young and inexperience girl of seventeen (Miss Jane Hester Reilly, in her interesting fragment entitled "A Young Lady's Journey from Dublin to London in 1791 "j notices the same fact, since—after describing Chester—she remarks that on setting out from the city London-wards we found the roads very bad." This was between Chester and Tarvin, but the road from Tarporley to Nantwich" she adds is better than the others which appear to have been in a generally wretched condition through- out the county. Being so, it is small wonder that lotml posts were slow and uncertain, and communica- tion between place and place in Cheshire itself difficult and costly. from north to south of the county seems to have been comparatively easy, but cross-country posting from West to East Cheshire was a work of time and trouble! We are writing, of course, of a century ago, but must now pass to the years immediately preceding the introduction of the penny post." One wonders if it is generally known that the interesting incident said to have been the cause of Rowland Hill directing his attention to the study of Post Office statistics happened less than seventy miles from Cheshire soil. The peculiar anecdote is worth telling. Colebridge, the poet, when in the Lake District in Westmorland, while taking a walk one morning, happened to see a poor woman refuse to accept a letter from the postman because she could not afford to pay its postage, which was a shilling. On inquiry Coleridge found that the letter was from her brother, upon which he at once good-naturedly insisted upon paying the fee, notwithstanding the woman's evident reluctance to his doing so. No sooner, however, was the postman's back turned than she shewed Coleridge tha.t the letter consisted of nothing but a blank sheet. It had been agreed between her and her brother that he should send her such a blank sheet once a quarter so long as things went well with him, marking the cover with a cross—at sight of which she would know she need not accept the letter; and in this way she got his mute message without having to pay postage." Upon the little story being related to Hill he at once detected the errors of postal management which encouraged such innocent roguery," as he is said to have styled it, and he also at once set about devising a means of remedy, advancing what was then con- sidered the strange proposition that the smaller the fee charged for carrying letters the greater would be the multiplication of cor- respondence and the larger the profit to the Government. Mr. Hill proposed a uniform charge upon letters of one penny per half ounce, prepayable, and irrespective of distance. The then Postmaster-General (Lord Lichfield) spoke of the matter (in the House of Lords) as "the wildest and most extravagant scheme of all the wild and extravagant schemes" he had ever listened to. But the "Penny Post" was established nevertheless, and for over sixty years we have been in the enjoyment of a boon the starting-point of which seems to have been Coleridge's anecdote from the Lake Country. On the adoption of the penny system, corres- pondence increased by leaps and bounds. One old Chester house of business which had but 961 letters in 1838, received no fewer than 3,121 in 1842, and others had a similar experience. In the House of Commons it was proved (before the Committee which considered Mr. Hill's scheme) that five out of every six letters sent from Manchester to London were smuggled through by means other than the post, one great Manchester firm having dispatched 65 letters by an unlawful agency for every one that went through the Post Office." We men- tion these facts because—although not actually within the county-Manchester is but a stone's throw across the border of the shire, and its postal matters may well be inoluded among these Cheshire jottings. There is a tradition that a Nantwich gentle- man, who often went to London, always managed to pay his travelling and hotel expenses out of the sugar "-as it was called —given him for secretly conveying letters from Cheshire to the Metropolis, and vite versa. He carried them sewn into a kind of long breast- plate or chest-and-stomach-protector worn under his clothing for the purpose of a hidden letter-bag. And many a similar and amusing tit-bit is probably somewhere or other remem- bered. But to come now to the legitimate postmen of the past-the ripe-apple-faced old celebrities who blew The echoing horn adown the Cheshire vales, and of whom we made mention in a former paper. Old David was one of them, and as genial a piece of humanity as could be found upon either side of the Dee-which is saying much you know. Boy and man he had carried the letters of the Cheshire folk for fifty years and more, continuing his humble task till one of the severe winters of the early years of this present century proved too much for him. Spite of his rheumatism he was always cheery—even about it itself he would have his joke. For there was a cure for rhoomatics," David would affirm with a smile; one cure certain and infallible. And, when pressed to tell it, Churchyard earth I" he used to answer, as he turned upon his heel. Those were not days when Romeo could cor- respond with Juliet-the cost was too great, and in their earlier years they were net seldom very poor. Often, with old-world faith, she would remain faithful even for a score of years, but letters were an impossibility. Some- times, however, circumstances compelled communication or it might be the but-once-a-year-yet-never-forgotten Feast of Saint Valentine-and then perhaps, just when the letter arrived, Mary was without the money to pay for it. But old David was the ready friend of such, and many a shilling from his hard-earned wage paid the postage of the letter from some distant sweetheart. And blessings on his memory for the kindly act, not once nor twice but oft-repeated! In the closing years of the last century there were hard knocks pretty generally going some- where, for Great Britain was usually at war. David was patriotic, and at every news of fresh victory he decorated his horn with ribbons of red and white and blue. 'Twas enough to look at Davie's horn, men said; for the old postman was a walking advertisement of the success of our forces. He was down upon those who complained of the weather. There were but few foul days, though many were churlish," he would say, and the weather was "like people, none but had some, redeeming quality." He who would give-in to the weather would give-in to any- thing" and to complain about it was "like finding fault with your mother's milk," as he quaintly phrased it. His sayings must have seemed an echo of the Roman poet's verse Si numeres anno soles et nubila toto, Invenies nitidum ssftpius isse diem; and for years he had kept a kind of weather- record, and could give accurate information about any particular summer or winter. One of the Chester Canons of the day in kindly fashion nicknamed him" Page Two," because in the Gentleman's Magazine "—the principal peri- odical of the day-the second page was each month devoted to a weather diary. I suppose the good man regarded Old David" as its living equivalent. It was during David's postal lifetime that the slang saying to get the sack was imported from our cousins across the Atlantic; and Cheshire—probably from its proximity to Liverpool-was one of the first counties to r adopt its use. Now David was a bit of a purist in language, d el k ng any thingjalangy, and he determined to have his joke with som6 of those who began to employ the new expression. The postmen of the period generally carried their letters in a kind of leathern wallet, which, for additional protection from the weather and for greater ease in carrying, was enclosed in a long canvas bag or sack, which the man twisted at the neck and then threw over his shoulder. One morning David went his rounds with visage downcast and woebegone, the very opposite of his usual cheery look. Everybody noticed it and many asked the cause. Was he ill ? In trouble ? Had bad news ? What wss it ? To one and all Davie simply said he'd got the sack," and he shook his head sadly. It was all the information he would give. By next morning the whole neighbourhood was in genuine concern. Got the sack, David ? Never ? Why, man, whatever for P greeted him at every turn. His bright old smile returned again as, with roguish twinkle in his eye, he answered quietly Why, to carry the letters in He was a wit, bubbling over with genial humour. And, as was well said by one of his contemporaries, if a letter brought good news its value was the greater for Davie's smile, while if it contained bad the mere remembrance of the postman's face helped one to bear it. And so-rest him well. For although Old times have changed, old manners gone, the world, we think, must needs be the better that such kindly-hearted old boys have lived in it, Plying their daily task with busier feet because of the genial souls they carried. And so again-rest old Postman David well. 19th October, 1900. A. M.

alunting, Notes. THE CHESHIRE BEAGLES. On Saturday these hounds met at the Headless Woman, Duddon Heath. Among those present were Mr. Alfred Blain (master), Mr. Percy Roberts (whip), Mr. Geo. Stewart, Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Potts, Mr. G. W. Morrison, Mr. J. Linnel, Miss Madge and Miss Theo. Linnel, Mr. A. G. Schwabe, Mr, Jack Robinson, Mr. H. Sutton, Mr. S. Timmins, Mr. G. Cope, Mr. A. Caswall, Ac., and a large number of villagers. After a long draw we found a hare upon a field of Mr. John Lea's, near to Priors Hayes, and after hounds had been running for about ten minutes there were several more on foot. Scent was good, and after hunting her for 50 minutes they ran her into a small hedge- row spinney, where they killed. This hare was presented to Mr. John Lea, upon whose land she was found. We found again in a turnip field close by, and away puss went nearly to Tarvin Church, when she lay up, and hounds working up to her ran her in view. Just before reaching the Chester-road she turned left-handed through the strawberry gardens, and gave us a sharp spin back to Priors Hayes, where hounds checked in a fallow field upon Mr. Will Lea's farm. After a cast round our hare jumped up in front of the pack, which coursed her for some distance, and then bowled her over, about one hundred yards ahead of the foremost of the field, and had nearly broken her up by the time we reached them. We next tried some fresh ground, and after a long walk found a straight-necked hare upon Mr. Sherwin's farm at Stapleford, which made straight away to the Chester-road, which she crossed, and lay up among some cabbages. Upon being put up, she went up the hill, and, getting upon the road, ran along it for nearly a mile to Oscroft, where for a time we were completely at fault. After searching the cottage gardens on either side of the road for her unsuccessfully, hounds at last began to feather at the side of sotue wire netting in a poultry run, and when they were taken to the other side of it they opened upon her line, but scent had by this time grown cold, and they had to work it out patiently across a couple of big pasture fields in the direction of the road leading from Tarvin to Kelsall. After a while they hunted up to her clapped near a hedgerow. From this point they took her straight back again, a distance of quite three miles, and at last ran into her close to Burton Hall, after a capital run of one hour and fifty minutes. LEVERET.

HOUNDS ON THB RAILWAY.—On Monday Sir Watkiu Wynn's hounds had a very narrow escape of being partially exterminated. During a fait run reynard crossed the railway half a mile from Broxton station, and as the whole pack were on the line an engine came along. There was a bend in the line, and not until 20 yards from the hounds did the driver see them. Grasping the situation, he used every exertion to stop the engine, and only just in time, as several hounds were knocked off the line without being actually injured but one had his tail cut off. The escape of the other hounds was simply marvellous, several being under the engine.

SIR W. W. WYNN'S HOUNDS MEET ON Thursday, October 25, Burton's Wood .at 9.30 Saturday, Oct. 27, Wynnstay Kennels .at 9.30

LIGHTING-UP TABLE. » All cycles and other v3hicles in the Chester district must be lighted up as stated in the following table:— P.M. Wednesday, October 24 5.55 Thursday, October 25 5.53 Friday, October 26. 5.51 Saturday, October 27 6.49 Sunday, October 28 6.47 Monday, October 29 5.45 Tuesday, October 30 5.43

WEEKLY STATE OF THE CHESTER INFIBMABY EMDID SATURDAY LAST. I N P A T I E N T S. In-patients are admitted on Tuesday mornings at Eleven o'clock. IN-PA TO DISCHABSXD. I..PATIDrTS. Cowd 15 Admitted 2* J&elievod 5 ]Zeraain in the House cq, Made Out-Patients 0 t Unrelieved 0 Dead 0 House Visitors-Mr. T. G. Burrell and Mr. H. Ellis. OUT-PATIENTS. Medical caaes are oeeifoa Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday mornings at Eleven o'clock. Surgical oases are seen on Thursday mornings at Eleven o'clock Ophthalmic oases are seen on Friday mornings at Eleven o'clock. Dental oases are seen on Tuesday and Saturday mornings at Ten o'clock. Out-Patients admitted since Saturday last 93

antt eatfjg. BIBTHS, MARRIAGES, and DEATHS are charged at the rate of 28 words for is. (prepaid). If not prepaid, the charge will be 2s. 6d. The announcement must be authenticated by the Signature and Address of the Sender. BIBTHS. CHESSHIRE-October 13, at St. Catherine's Vicarage Higher Tranmere, the wife of the Rev. Howard S. Chesshire, of a son. JrhREDITH-october 21, at 3, Abbot's Hayes, Liverpool- road, Chester, the wife of Major E. S. Meredith, Royal Engineers, of a daughter. J MARRIAGE. EDISBURY-MURLESS-October 17, at Bersham Private Chapel, by the Rev. A. L. Taylor, Ruabon, assisted by the Bev. B. J. Hopkins, Vicar of St. Mark's. Wrexham. Stonley D. Edisbury, sohcitor, Wrexham, only son of J.P.i to Bessie, elder daughter of Mr. Charles Murless, J.P., of Bersham Hall. D EAT H S. DAREYSUIRE-October 17, at Stamford New-road. Altrincham, Sarah Ellen, wife of John Darbyshire. aged 55 years. JONE:S-Oetober 10, at Gatehouse Farm, Gresford, Eliza- beth, widow of William Jones, aged 78 years. McGREGOR-Octobor 9, at New-street, Mold, Alexander McGregor, aged 37 years. WELCH—October 13, at Pentre, Mold, Elizabeth Welch, aged 83 years.

MEMORIALS. AT ALL PBICES, IN MARBLE, GRANITE, STONE A ALABASTER. On View, and to Order. W. HASWELL & SON. MASONS, KALETARDS, CHEKTEE. Estimates and Designs Free on application. Telephone No. 161A. The betrothal of Queen Wilhelmina to Duke Henry of Mecklenburg-Schwerin was announced officially at The Hague on Tuesday. c RAWFORD'S I E L Jp I N G E B S FOR A FTERNOON T EA.

A. DANGEROUS RANGE.—The Parish Council of Weaverham, near Northwich, have resolved Jjo memorialise the War Office respecting the to the public which exists when firing is Joking place at the Owley Wood Rifle Range. *oi8 range has been provided at considerable by the 2nd and 3rd Battalions of the "heshire Volunteer Regiment, and is considered one of the most perfect of its kind. It is in 41most daily use by Volunteers, as well as by Recruits from Chester Castle. LOCAL WILL.-Probate of the will, dated 2211d May, 1897, of Mr. William Henry Gascoyne, Reaver, of Tilstone, Malpas, and formerly of -Fymaen, Oswestry, who died on the 18th July 1àst, leaving personalty of the nett value of £35,971 15s. lid., and the gross value of the ^hole of whose estate is £ 50,192 10s. Id., has been granted to his daughter Winifred Harriet, wife of Mr. Harold Mead Joynson, of Tilston, Margaret Owen and John Owen, of Oswestry. The testator bequeathed to his Nephew, Frederick Sharpe, 9500, and to his daughter, Mrs. Joynson, his furniture and household effects, and he left his residuary estate in trust for her and her children. OISATH OF A MOLD BANK MANAGER.—The death of Mr. W. H. R. M. Johnson, for many years manager of the Mold Branch of the National Provincial Bank of England, occurred Sunday afternoon, at his residence in Sigh-street. The deceased gentleman, who Was in the prime of life, was greatly respected Flintshire, and he will be much missed by a *&ffge circle of acquaintances. About twelve Months ago he obtained leave of absence and visited Russia. While there he contracted a distressing internal complaint, the nature of which medical men found it difficult to dia nose. The deceased gentleman was attended by specialists in the medical profession, but he gradually sank in health. He had only recently dergone an operation. Much sympathy is felt for his wife and only daughter, whom he leavea behind. Mr. Johnson was a staunch Churchman, and took a great interest in local affairs. TRYDDTN LICENSING PROSECUTION. The Mold Magistrates on Monday heard a charge of belling intoxicants to a drunken person pre- ferred against John Williams, landlord of the Hand Inn, Tryddyn. Mr. J. B. Marston appeared for the police, who prosecuted, and hlr. A. E. Lewis, of Wrexham, was for the defence.—Mr. Marston said this case was the sequel to an assault case heard at the previous Sessions. On that occasion it was shewn that on the 4th inst. a Mrs. Mary Jane Williams went to the Hand Inn to seek her husband, and found him there in a state of intoxication. Some Words arose between her and the wife of the landlord, which resulted in the latter assaulting her. The landlord's wife was fined for this "Sault a fortnight ago. It transpired in the ^ourse of evidence then given that Lewis Williams had been in the house about five hours, and had been drinking and sleeping there. He did not reach home until after closing time, although his wife had previously called. A number of witnesses were after- vrarcis called for the defence to shew that Lewis Williams was not what might be called drunk. Mr. Lewis said this was a well-known house, about 200 years old, and his clients were respectable people, who had kept it for 18 months in a satisfactory manner. He claimed that on the evidence it was shewn that Lewis Williams was not drunk.—The Bench fined the landlord £1 and costs, including advocate's fee, the total amount being XZ 19s. NANTWICH ISOLATION HOSPITAL.—A special meeting of the Nantwich Rural District Council was held at the Lamb Hotel, on Satur- day afternoon, under the presidency of Canon ^lackburne, to pass a resolution in respect of the proposed joint isolation hospital.—The Chairman moved: "That an application be Blade to the Local Government Board, under Section 279 of the Public Health Act, 1875, for j. provisional order constituting the rural district of Nantwich and the urban district of ^"antwich a united district, for the purpose of the provision and maintenance by the joint districts of an isolation hospital to accommodate sixteen patients; that the structural and establishment expenses of such hospital be borne in the following proportions, 'l.iz. :-By the rural district of Nantwich, twelve- Sixteenths; by the urban district of Nantwich, tour-sixteenths; that the constituent authori- ties be liable for the patients' expenses of the js«es sent from their respective districts. And that the representations of the constituent authorities on the joint board be in proportion to the structural expenses borne by each Authority."—Mr. J. Wood seconded.—Mr. S. Jackson, junr., objected to the apportionment of the cost on the ground that the people in the country by being healthier than townspeople *ere not likely to use the hospital so much.- But the Chairman pointed out that the number of cases of infectious disease in the country was a little larger than that from the town of Nant- wich.—The resolution was carried unanimously. NORTH WALES LICENSED VICTUALLERS.—The ^embers of the Carnarvonshire, Anglesey, and Merionethshire Licensed Victuallers' Associa- tion held their annual banquet on Wednesday At the British Hotel, Bangor. The chair was Occupied by Mr. F. Thompson (Burton-on-Trent) and the vice chair by Mr.W. S. Smith(Wrexham). Replying to the toast of the National Trade defence and Kindred Associations," Mr. J. R. **ae (Chester) said that as a trade organisation they had come out very successfully after the general election, and they had every reason to Congratulate themselves upon the result. They had helped to return to power a Government which would, at least, be fair and square to them. When the General Election began they bla4a up their minds to be patriots first, but Afterwards to return to power a Government that would be fair to their trade. When they found a man who promised to be fair to their trade, they decided to offer no opposition to him. When they looked at the position of the Opposition in the House of Commons they need have no fear of the bogey of Local Veto coming up to to disturb their equanimity. They had done with Local Veto As a piece of practical politics, but they had not quite done with a great many fads and fancies which would be brought before them. They watch those bills very carefully, such as those with regard to the extension of the Sunday Closing Act and the serving of children ^JUder sixteen years of age. Mr. Herbert Lewis, Mr. Maclaren, and others, all teetotallers, told the tied-house tenant that he was an oppressed j^an, and that he sacrificed himself to the in- terest of the great brewers. If there were differences within their own ranks they could Settle them without the assistance of such men. TEMPERANCE MISSION AT CHESTER.—Under the auspices of the National British Women's temperance Association, a three days' mission Was opened in Chester on Sunday, under the hCOIlductorship of two able lady missioners, who have on a former occasion appeared before a jocal temperance audience, Misses Vincent and Cummins, from Australia. These ladies, who e world missionaries of the National British Women's Temperance Association, have gained a reputation as exceptionally clever advocates of the cause, and have been received with much ehthusiasm in all parts of England. On Sunday Evening the missionaries addressed a crowded feting in the Primitive Methodist Chapel, yeorge-street, under the presidency of the Rev. J^mes Travis. On Monday evening, at the temperance Hall, Miss Vincent addressed an flowing audience on the subject of her life stopy, which was of a thrilling character. Mr. 4. H. Spencer (president of the C.C.T.S.) ^ficupied the chair, and in introducing the Tweaker, remarked that the temperance party rejoice that in these dayB women had de- nted themselves to the work with an earnestness rfd-ac energy as they had never done in former They had to depend in a great measure °r fehefadvance of temperance work in Chester SPon ladies and bands of hope, and the was doing a great and excellent ork. Miss Vincent, who illustrated her Address bp s. number of beautiful lantern views, eld the attention of her audience to an loquent sketch of a remarkable life story in hich the speaker figured as a victim of the *^86 of intoxicating liquor. In the course of J?* Address Migg Vincent took the opportunity jtv denouncing grocers' licences, which, she jL~°ught, were one M the greatest curses which j^d ever been introduced into any country. er in the historyof any nation could there -.s found so much drunkenness among women n vailed at the present day. (Hear, hear). K .wAa a disgrace to our country and our ij^jfrslatiire that the accursed drink traffic was t If the womanhood of the country was h l!led what would become of it P They often **d it ggjd that the hand that rocked the ^le ruled the world," and if there was a og^uken mother, she would have drunken jSpring, and thus the country would be ruined jL»ond au qUe8tion of getting a sober people in future. (Hear, hear).—During the eyening were gives by Migs Warxneley .asd Mis# <hj?d. Last (Tuesday).evening the missioners eam in the TomperanceiEwl-I