History of Dover

Matthew Andrews, the man charged before the Borough Bench in the early part of the sitting with deserting his family and remanded for the adjudication of a County Magistrate, was brought before Mr. Finnis at the conclusion of the Borough Petty Sessions business when the following deposition was taken.

George Thurlow; I am the Master of the Dover Union. On Saturday last the prisoner and three of his children left the Union. All the three children taken away are under sixteen years of age. After prisoner got outside the gate I found he was inclined to leave them. I heard him tell them to go to their grandmother’s. I cautioned him against leaving them and told and told him that if he did not find them a proper home he would get punished.

I watched him for about half a mile and saw him leave the children on the top of the hill in the parish of Poulton. I then sent a man after the children. They could not be found but on the Sunday morning on sending to their grandmothers they were found there and brought back to the Union. The grandmother had brought the children to the Union the Friday previous saying she could not maintain them. The prisoner is able to keep his family by work if he chooses. The children while in the house have been maintained at the expense of the Parish of Hougham. They are William aged 11, James aged 7, and Ellen aged 4. The children it appears are motherless and one of them the eldest boy who was in court sobbed bitterly while the case was proceeding. The defendant on being called on to reply to the charge said it was not his doing. The children’s grandmother took them to the Union, he did not want them to go in. He was quite willing to keep them and was going home to see about them when the officer took him.

Mr. Finnis; is that all you have to say? The defendant said it was.

Mr. Finnis; if I thought you had any feeling I should hope that what I am going to do would have some effect on you. It is to send you to prison for the most wanton neglect on your family. You are entirely without excuse. You know the almost destitute state to which you have brought your father and mother. Their once comfortable home has been broken up by you. You know their cottage does not afford accommodation for your children who had to lie on the floor there. You will be sent to the House of Correction for one month with hard labour and your children will be taken back to the Union. It appeared that the fourth child of the defendant referred to by Mr. Thurlow had been leading the life of an unfortunate previous to her admission to the Union. (1861)