Joseph Rogers, M.D.: Reminiscences of a Workhouse Medical OfficerRogers, Joseph
History
Joseph Rogers, M.D.: Reminiscences of a Workhouse Medical Officer
Rogers, Joseph
Charities, Medical -- Great Britain; Poor laws -- Great Britain
Of course my brother had the sympathy of his profession and the support
of the medical papers. But he resolved to perfect and extend the
organization which he had founded. The result was the formation of the
Poor Law Medical Officers' Association. In order to give strength and
stability to this agency he visited most of the principal towns in
England. He made several journeys to Ireland, the infirmary system of
which he highly commended, and went once at least to Scotland, where
indeed reform was greatly needed. And in these places he inculcated the
important truth, that where medical relief was abundantly and generously
accorded by the Guardians, pauperism decreased and rates were lessened.
In my frequent communications with him, I urged him to insist on this as
a matter of principle and a matter of fact. Generous relief to the poor,
if it be discriminating and founded on a few intelligible rules, is the
truest economy in the end. Owing to his efforts, many towns voluntarily
adopted the principle of the Metropolitan Act, and with the best
results. In the earlier years of his campaign he obtained great
assistance in Parliament from the late Dr. Brady, Member for Leitrim,
and from Dr. Lush, Member for Salisbury.
Four years after his expulsion from office in the Strand Union, he was
elected to a similar office in the Westminster Union. His career here
was not one of incessant and unavailing remonstrance. The Poor Law
Board, subsequently the Local Government Board, began to awake to a
sense of its duties, and to see, though reluctantly and haltingly, that
Boards of Guardians sometimes need supervision. But soon his troubles
recommenced. The inferior officials were harsh, violent, and dishonest,
and they were abetted by a majority of the Guardians. The inevitable
consequences followed. My brother undertook the cause of the poor, and
the Guardians and their tools or accomplices turned on him. They tried
their old trick of suspending him, in hopes that the Poor Law or Local
Government Board would endorse their ruling. My brother employed his
enforced leisure in extending the organization which he had founded. In
due course he was reinstated by the Department, and his enemies were
baffled.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account