The National Register. — London, England, 1818-01-12 00:00:00

fi r /1/- 2( z 4( 1 9 ' of 4' .444 i4 l efts Li/br it 'ationat 1 No. 518.--VoL. XI. POLITICAL DISQUISITION. measun! io lie ;twit) renders rate." I vetting to, tt;cii caked 1t to --...m.- ON THE RELIEF OF THE DISTRESSED POOR. "A doe care for the relief of tho Poor is an set, first, of " great piety towards Almighty God, who requires it of you ; " he !lath left the poor as hi 4 pupils, and the rich as his Stew " ards to provide for them : it is one of those great tributes " that he justly requires from the rest of mankind, which, " because they cannot pay to him, he bath scattered the poor " among them art his snbatitntes and receivers. Second, it 14' "an act of the createst .humanity among men. Mercy and " benignity is due to the very beasts that serve its, much more " to those that are partakers of the same common nature " with us. Third , it is an act of great civil prudence and " wisdom ; for poverty itself is apt to emasculate the minds " of null_ or at least it makes them tumultuous and unquiet. •' 11'hu•e there are many very poor, the rich cannot safely " contittne such. Necessity renders men of phlegmatic and " dull natures, stupid anti intlisciplinAble.amd men of inure " fiery or active constitutions, rapacious and desperate." " SIR MATTIIF.W HALE." IN the course of the past week, two Public Meet ing have been held, the one in the City for the pur pose of adopting some means of affording relief to distressed seamen, and the other, at the Crown and Anchor, "to consider the most advisable steps to be pursued for the immediate relief of the destitute, aad the ultimate suppression of mendicity - in the me tropolis. ' The reflection that will most forcibly strike the minds of many on this occasion, will doubt less be that of surprise, that no measure of the kind has been resorted to, by the Magistracy and the heads of parishes, 'whose duty it was to have shewn a sense of feeling for the distresses of their fellow counts poen, our brave defenders and others, before the approach of a season, when the greatest inclemency of weather was naturally to be expected. Many of these perems joining in the cry of the multitude, have been apt meter -to - pans eyesore efr . the Government, and to ' call upon 7.linisters to come forward with some med. eure to alleviate the (listless of those neglected beings, little considering that a great degree of culpability might be fairly attached to themselves for a remiFsness of duty, an inattention to the strong appeals of suffer ing humanity presented .to the eyes and ears of every one, for months past, in the scenes of wretch edness and misery which have so long pervaded the streets and avenues of the metropolis. Had the Churchwar lens and Overseers of parishes attended to these calls in a manner be.zovaing the duty of their office, we should not have hail our feelings harrowed by the frequent accoun:s which have been detailed in the puldic journals, of poor seamen and others, literally starving and dying in the streets, from a w nit of the common necessaries of life. Government has long since shown a laic! ile example (ant which ought to have proved a slinedes to persons filling those offices,) by the adv.ince of a sum, of great magnittule, consider ing the state of the National nuances, for promoting the employment of the poor in the carrying on and completing works of public utility and conveni ence : this has, doubtlees, been the me.ms of affording provision to many, who weold otherwise have been thrown upon the public, and added to the already exu berant muss of pauperism and wretchedness. . . It is certainly not lefs the duty than the interest of the powerful and the affluent to afford, not merely casual, but substantial rolief to the dsstressed poor, who by misfortune; or even by some degree of miscon duct, may have been the - , wn upon the wide world. The learned and upright Jude, whose wonls we have quoted at the head of this artivie, 4,:ars us out in this opinion, by an observation witi..ll is tantamount to this, that the safety of the nub no in the comfort of the Rim.' We know, Itufn;nnatcl.•. too well, the great increase of :rime: which has tit. 1 , place among us, and which, there ...;n IQ :la 01. u , in a great ng which . anti despe- WWI ad- enlier I nurabers of ~. ,~ P ~~ ~.i 4 ~,~ y~~ iOttr+ Our /ding, Concititution and 3t aI3A. MONDAY, JANUARY 12, 1818. lives would have been spared to society, crimes would have been prevented, and the duty of the Recorder at the Old Bailey would have been rendered much lighter than it has been fur many of the preceding Sessions. We trust that yet much good may be done, and hope the Mag,istrates, and Parish Officers, and others in au thority, will follow up the efforts of the late Meetings . jsLttipit4kg an object so congenial to every feeling mfitr s To this end the Laws already in force, and which have been but partially, and in many instances improperly administered, are fully sufficient atul ought to be carried into effect on a more liberal and compre hensive scale. The rigorous and more coercive part of the system has been executed to the very letter, in the imprisonment for seven days, and then passing to their parishes hundred of wretched beings, who in many in stances have thus been driven from the only spot where they were likely to obtain employment, and fixed in re mote parts of the country, where they must remain in a state of pauperism, being driven from the place were work was to be obtained, and where with the aid of a little temporary relief, they would ere long have been enabled to obtain an honest livelihood. We would address ourselves, on another part of this subject, to the Officers and Vestrymen of the parishes, particularly in and about the Metropolis, where an ex traordinary increase of poor has of late been experienced. What in the name of common sense, could have induced these people, day after day, to behold the most wretched miserable and famishing objects of their own parishes as well as casualties, crowding their, doors and their Vestry Meetings, without determining' to put the law in rime, in its most 6enevoiesttltißtirm, fur their assis-, ‘ tance and relief?—Can it be founded on any rational principle that the inhabitants of •Bilston, Wednesbury, or %Wolverhampton, should be paying a rate of fifteen or twenty shillings in the pound, because the situation and numbers of their poor required it, while the rich and populous districts of Bloomsbury, Mary-le-bone, !sling ' ton, &c., where the same cause existed, have been mode rately assessed at Ss. Gd. or 4s. 61. in the pound, mean while numbers of poor, honest, yet distressed persons, not without claim upon, them, have been reduced to the lowest ebb fur want of a trifling allowance, and the streets of these parishes crowded with poor Sailors and Mendicants of every discription. It is in vain for these persons to say that their rates arc higher than they ever were before, •that the parishioners will murmur at any further increase, that the Woridiouse is already full, &c. The plain and simple matter is this,—the poor )LUST be supported, even though you should be obliged to raise your rates from Ss. Gd. to 10s Gd., or even more, in the pound.—That they should be rescued from their present wretched condition is absolutely INDISPENSIDLE —your duty is imperative—the nation calls for it— the voice of suffering humanity donands then your houses of reception, youriWerkhouses, your Asylums—extend your alms, your pensions, your gra tuities—the law of the land will bear you out—it au thorises you to raise supplies in proportion to the exi gencies of your ease.—To delay this is trifling with a serious and important duty; a duty which lies with heavy responsibility on every person placed in the situa tions of Guardian, Guveraor, or Overseer, of the poorand indigent part of the Community. 'This extention of re lief will be required only for a short period: The day of amelioration we are persuaded cannot be far distant ; and there is little doubt that there will ere long be a considerable demand for labourers and mechanics of every description ; there is indeed at the present time, more general employment, than has been at any period since the termination of the war. Already the manu facturers of Spitalfields, Manchester, and other weaving districts, (notwithstanding the cheek which they have received by a late unfortunate event) find abundant employ, for their looms; the Iron %Veils and other PRICE 9id Mining operations of the country have been consider ably extended, and the price of their produce is advanc ing in the market; While the docks, the quays, and water-side parts of the metropolis, exhibit a scene of bustle and business strongly indicating a growth and increase in the general trade and prosperity of the coun try: These considerations will, we are persuaded, be an inducement, (if any inducement be wanting) to lead the persons we hare been addressing' to a more liberal and benevolent exercise of their functions as Parish Of ficers in the protection and relief of those indigent and unfortunate beings whom mischance and not their own misconduct has driven to the sad necessity of seeking their assistance. N, FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE. FRANCE. i'eßts, JAL. I.—The law on the Journals, adopted by the two Chambers, and Ranciiimed by the King on the 30th "f December, was pnhltsheil yemerdey., in the bulletin (Ira lois, in to following worth:— " Louis, by the Grace of God, &c. We have propoiA, the Chambers have adopted—We have or dained, and do ordain u follows: " The Journals, and other periodical works, which treat of poli tical matter and intelligence, shall not appear without the King's authority, until the end of the Session of the Chamber. of ISIS.' 'rise day before yesterday the Duke of Wellington scut to the Tuileries, anti had an interview with his Majetdv. His Grace afterwards paid a visit to Monsieur and the • Ptinces and Princesses of the Royal Faintly. He then returned to the Tuileries at 5 o'clock. _ The Duke of Wellington appeared at Court on the 2d inst. with a considerable number of Englishmen of distinction. The King, by an ordinance of the 3 lst December, estiblished a preparatory i,ehoul for youths who might be destined to the French military service. The sons of such °Civets us are more distinguished by merit than fortune will be instructed at the peak expense. The esincsuon Ohms io babe pied 'for by tfelf tnailies, The whole number of pupils will be 500, of whom 300 are to be supported by the state. Those who pay, will be charged 1,000 trs. per annum, 111. Its..ld. After completing their preparatory course of instruction, the pupils will be received into u more advanced school, w bleb is altogether of a military character, and will contain 300 stn. duns. Those who answer sittlsllietorily their examination here will be appointed to subaltern commissions lu the army. SPAIN. MADRID, DEC. IR.—By the Royal decree, which ordain a levy of 18,090 men a_year, for four year., to replace the military who have received leave of absence, it im ' , market" that IL great part ofthe exceptions consecrated by the ancient ordinances, are no longer maiatained in this key. The NW- Wes are to be drawn by lot, and to serve as disting.nishistl soldiers or cadets, bat it' they will be exempted, they shall pay a sum of 20,000 reals de action. There are no longer es. empted front service, Ist, Ecclesiastics who do not possess benefices; 2d, Novices in religions orders; 3d, Persons em ployed in the Inquisition who have Dot a Royal diploma; 41h, The hatchelors ; sth. The alcaldes of the holy Broth,': h OO 4 ; Oth, 'I he suns of officers ; 7th, The city militia : dth, The shepherds, ihc. GERMANY. I)rc.l9,—The Government, for the purpose of affording a vent for the produce of Austria by the /WIWI! Sea to the North American States, Ims ant orders to Baron Charles do Stunner, the Imperial Commissioner at St. Hole.. na, to proceed to Philadelphia in quality of Coustil.Generall of Austria. The appointments of this new charge are lined at 21,000 francs in specie. M. de Stormer Iraq besides a *a. Lary of 12,00 francs, and 10,000 ducats, for his first esta• [Alain:neut. SOUTH AMERICA. The Marattt le . lioey, (Cadiz) of the, 19th, contains the ex tract of a letter heir the city of lexico, kited the 291 b of September, which, slier confidently expressine the expecta tion (since shown by De 1 nsos dispatches to Emile) that Mina and his colleagues had been captured In (Alma*, this prueceds : '• This day arrived the convoy from San Luis, with Cl 3 large, and' p small hers of silver, and some ingots of cold.-- Armintin has gone from Tolancingo to Puebla, where Ids Court-martial, .ordered In consequence of thu intim Innate action of Pentillos, is to be held." The same paper contains the following extract of a Idle, from Vera Croz, dated Sept. 22 :-- " Ye:%tertlay a very valuable evlivoy, ronsistintt of 1400 nudes. left this place tior the interior. The Chieftain, Men. dez, has surrendered, tinder the di erce iif itinuesty, to the Commandant of Minimills, Siemer Marques, together with 300 of his armed followets. 1. ' ricers of artillery, lit) barrels of powder, some other warlike stores, and a kis muskets. A cotnpany of infantry and another of cavalry were expected te follow his example." 15.tronT pi - TT ou SI , GAR..-The import du ynn Mu:Toyed(' s uzae will from this tone be svs. in place or F7s. per cr. t. ; tht MT. cliants were SO et/Wu:col of thy. ertait hapuernig, that at the Cus:tms llotow the amount pant for sugar dun; 3 only. for the week ending on Monday. was 851.7811. sterhnr. The (hay of 30s. has now too rnencal : the arr.-rep:att.:aver:we of the ;agar for the four a:tonal pis. caging sth Januiry, oat K.. f•id. excluene of duty. \ fall/, , A : 0 !AV , 3111