Report of the Royal Commission on the Poor Laws and Relief of Distress. : Appendix Volume XXI. Report to the Royal Commission on the Poor Laws and Relief of Distress on an inquiry in certain unions into cases of refusal of out=relief / By Miss G. Harlock.

  • Royal Commission on the Poor Laws and Relief of Distress 1905-09
Date:
1910
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Licence: In copyright

Credit: Report of the Royal Commission on the Poor Laws and Relief of Distress. : Appendix Volume XXI. Report to the Royal Commission on the Poor Laws and Relief of Distress on an inquiry in certain unions into cases of refusal of out=relief / By Miss G. Harlock. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Library & Archives Service. The original may be consulted at London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Library & Archives Service.

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    I, PRELIMINARY INQUIRY INTO CASES OF REFUSAL OF OUT-RELIEF BY THE BRADFORD GUARDIANS. Objects of the Inquiry. This investigation was undertaken at the request of the Royal Commission in order to ascertain what had been the result of the refusal of Out-Relief ; i.e., whether as a consequence the applicants had either by self-help or the help of friends, raised themselves from the condition of destitution, or whether on the other hand the result had been to involve the applicant in suffering, or in physical, mental, or iDoral deterioration. Method of Investigation. 1. The names and addresses of the persons to be visited were obtained from the clerk to the Bradford Board. He had kindly arranged them in districts. On the receipt of these lists, with the aid of a map and street director)^, I further sub-divided them into streets, and courts or yards, leading out of them. On going to a house I en- quired whether Mrs. lived there. On being answered in the affirmative I asked permission to go in, and, entering the house, sat down and chatted to the person to be interviewed in a friendly way. Soon many persons seemed to feel that there was some ulterior motive to my call, and if they asked I explained to them that I had come because I knew they had applied for out-relief, but that it had been refused them, and I wanted to know how they were getting on. When they clearly realised that I had nothing to do with the Bradford Board, they talked freely to me. 2. After leaving the house I made hasty notes of the visit and then found the next house. In cases where the persons to be visited were employed in the mills, another call had to be made in the evening. 3. On returning to the hotel the hasty notes which had been taken outside a liouse were gone through and amplified. These notes are given on pages 7 [7] to 28 [_28j of this Report. When all the homes had been visited I went through the cases with the two secretaries of the Guild of HeliD. They were most kind in giving me all the information at their disposal. We checked my informatioii by their case books, and I was often able to give them some facts about a person or family with which they were not previously conversant. Then I saw the secretary of the Charity Organisation Society, and we went through the same procedure. Finally I interviewed the Lady Cross Visitor under the Bradford Board, and obtained from Mr. Crowther the jjarticulars of each case which the relieving officers had presented to the guardians when the application for relief was made. These particulars are attached to my notes on pages 7 [7j to 28 T--^]. 4. On submitting my notes to these tests I was more than satisfied with their accuracy. In no case had T been deceived as to the main outlines, e.g., rent, inconie, etc., while my information was more complete from the personal side. Bradford Inquiry into Forty-one Cases op Persons who were refused Out-relief BY THE Guardians, and Six Cases where All Relief was refused. 67^55 /.—Cases where Out-relief was re/used. 5. 18 widows without children dependent. 3 widowers without children dependent. 7 married couples without children dependent. 3 married women with children. In two cases the husbands are ill in the workhouse hospital; in the other case he is in prison. 3 deserted women with children. I deserted woman without children. 6 single women. Total - 41 429. 2,000—Wt. T.L. 313. 6/10. Wy. & S. 4339r. A 2 tl
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