The trial of the West Ham Guardians and officials was
concluded on Friday week. Of the ten defendants, only one, Richard Tarrant, was acquitted. Two—Crump, a Guardian, and Lewis Hill, the steward of the West Ham infirmary— received the maximum penalty of two years' imprisonment with hard labour, and the remaining seven were sentenced to terms of imprisonment varying from six to eighteen months. The defendants were found guilty, under the count of con- spiracy, of combining to give contracts for the delivery of coal to the Union to one particular contractor named Bond; and in several cases, notably that of Crump, they were also proved to have corruptly solicited and taken rewards from candidates for various appointments under the West Ham Union. Not only Guardians, but workhouse officials, were made accomplices in order to secure the successful working of the scheme, which, was carried on for three years until the fraud was detected by, the auditor of the Local Government Board. Mr. Justice Jelf, who tried the case, described the state of affairs as "a downright system of fraud and robbery" and "a hotbed of corruption," and his language was fully justified by the evidence.
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