ENGLAND'S DESTITUTE.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1687, 1 March 1913, Page 18

ENGLAND'S DESTITUTE.

4 ONE HUNDRED DEATHS FROM STAR- . V4TION. ; During 1911 110 fewer than 100 persons died, ill Englaiid and Wales from starvation or death accelerated by privation. This number is furnished by a return issued recently by the Local Government Board, ba'sed upon particulars supplied by ■the .coroners. Of the 100 deaths 44 occurred in the County of London, and 56 in the pro- . In 11 cases, a verdict wpS reiufni ed by'the jury that death' was duo "to starvation or to starvation in conjunction with some other cause—disease, exposure, ; "or. neglect. • For the most part the deaths appeario have been dite to'disease consequent upon, or accelerated by, wajit or exposure, or both, or to self-neglect. In 11 cases the deceased were in receipt of old age pensions, at the time of death, and in four of theso cases tho deceased had been in Teceipt of out-door relief previous tq a grant of an old-ago pension. In 82 of the 100 cases 110 application had beeh made for poor relief, or application was only made when the deceased was in a dying condition. In three cases the deceased persons were in receipt of out-door relief at tho time of deqth, and in. 12 other cases relief had been received at some period previous ,to death. ,In tho remaining cases the deceased had received relief .in tho casual wards' or medical relief, or relief had been offered but not accepted. Two'iof the deceased were childron, and the parent or parents were prosecuted for neglecting them, and wore convicted and punished. In tho provinces tho causes of death from starvation or accelerated by, privation were:—Men 37, women 14, and children 5. At an inquest in the Sittingbourne district a verdict of manslaughter was returned against the mother of a three months ■. old son, whose death was attributed, to starvation, caused by her wilful default by failing to procure proper food and medical attention through tho Poor Laws.