truth in the table-talk at the Argyle that he
undertook to arrange the terms with the artist
who was to paint the portrait of Mr. S., and on
doing so made it a secret condition that his own
portrait should also be painted for his own use,
and be included in the price paid for the
portrait of Mr. S."

Mr. B. of course indignantly denies these
imputations; but I regret to say that his explanations
—which certainly exhibit a great variety of
statement both as to the cold meat and the
tickets—are always received with jeers.

Who is this Mr. S., whose portrait has been
painted for the vestry, and to whom the rate-
payers have presented a gold watch? We find
an interesting answer to this question in a letter
addressed to the organ by an "Inmate of the
Workhouse." It is a testimony that the poor
have some friends among the incapable and
insensible men who form the local boards of
administration. The "Inmate" is evidently a
constant correspondent of the organ, a chiel who
makes it his business to take notes of what goes
on in the workhouse and print them for the
information of the ratepayers and the public.

"From all I have written formerly, the public
must not think that the board of directors of the
poor is entirely made up of blunderers and know-
nothings. Far from it; there are still to be
found among that notorious body some hard-
working, honest-minded, and practical men,
who, having some Christian feeling for their
fellow-creatures who have been so unfortunate
as to seek a refuge in their own parish
workhouse, would be very glad if they were well
treated and properly cared for by those who
have their guardianship . . . but unfortunately
for the necessitous poor and for the ratepayers,
these men are at present in the minority at nine
out of ten of our board meetings. . . At the head
of this band of good men and true, stands Mr.
S. . . . Many a time when called upon has
Mr. S. left his own fireside and accompanied
some poor creature to the workhouse, and by
his intercession has obtained for him that food
and shelter which before had been unjustly
refused to him. Great, indeed, was the delight of
hundreds of the inmates upon reading in your
journal the account of the presentation to their
much esteemed friend, and I am only sorry that
an opportunity was not afforded them of
contributing their mites."

Our parish organ, while keeping a sharp eye
upon the expenditure of the board of directors,
displays the greatest solicitude for the condition
of the poor in the workhouse. In this respect
it seems to be a kind-hearted organ, and the
inmates, recognising its sympathetic feeling,
never fail, when they consider themselves ill
used, to address their complaints to the editor.
In former times one of the greatest hardships
of the pauper's condition was the want of any
means of making his injuries known to the
public. Niggardly directors, or a cruel master,
could do anything with him, starve him, beat
him, or lock him up in a black hole, and make a
lunatic of him. There was no appeal except to
his helpless fellows, who could only pass the
story on to the public by word of mouth—which
is slow, and wants the authority of print. But
now, in the parish organ, the oppressed pauper
finds a court of appeal always ready to hear his
cause, and, if just, to espouse it. Two inmates
of our workhouse were recently put into what
is pleasantly called the "separation ward." It
was a close dirty hole worse than any prison
cell. The men made their hard case known to
the parish organ, the organ made it known to
the public, and forthwith the men were rescued
from the black hole by order of the Poor Law
Board. Hear the indignant voice of the organ
on the conduct of the cruel directors: "It is
our duty to remind the ratepayers that parliament
is paramount, and upholds the integrity of
the Poor Law Board, whose functions have been
so judiciously administered under the guidance
of that able and distinguished statesman, the
Hon. Charles Villiers, as to make it popular
throughout the country; and it will not serve
the cause of local self-government with the new
parliament to say that the directors (of St.
Sniffens) are a pig-headed and ignorant set of
men, and scarcely conscious of the illegalities of
their conduct."

Is the editor of the Gazette justified in
applying such terms to the directors of the poor
of the parish of St. Sniffens? "Pig-headed,"
"ignorant," "unfit for their office"—these are
sweeping charges. Let us see if we can find any
warrant for these epithets in the weekly
deliberations of the board of directors as reported in
the organ of the parish.

The business, on one occasion, opens with
complaints that the chief medical officer is very
extravagant. It appears that his extravagance
consisted in using the best medicines, and giving
the patients wine and beer to assist their
recovery. The board, however, is of opinion that
inferior medicines—which are of no use whatever
—are quite good enough for paupers, and that
the consumption of beer must be decreased at
all hazards.

Presently two doctors come before the board
and begin quarrelling. One of the doctors had
neglected to attend a poor woman in child-bed;
the other had attended on being sent for, and
claimed the fee. Says the organ: "In the course
of the proceedings, some very unprofessional
language was made use of, such as 'interested
motives,' 'dirty fellow,' &c. Eventually, the
directors expressed the opinion that the omission
to attend the poor woman arose from an error,
which it was hoped would not occur again."

Errors, we know, will occur in the best
regulated establishments, but the very next matter
which comes before the board shows that
something worse than error may be charged against
the directors of the poor of this parish. "A poor
woman who applied for admission to the House
was refused, with these Christian words: 'We
have quite enough rubbish like you.' She then
wandered to Regent's Park, near Primrose-hill,
and there gave birth to a child."

When a pauper dies in our workhouse, it is