The Express.
London, England, 1856-01-12 00:00:00

described the other day to Sir R. W. CARDEN by a
shopniao. We are thinking of a very poor basket-
maker, who can busty clothe and feed his own
children. His wife, while hei hey 4 is aching:at the
family wants, gives a half s*/ vow and:a Itolf.
penny then to little creature:l(lol44M asagi4dlfion-
some it in the shape ot gyn.Winervmaidutsgaip; are
the weakest ot the weak in thlsasatter. Their duty
keeps them much out of doors ; and their walks and
haunts are iu'ested by beggars who know and profit
by the softness of thole hearts. Thty, too, "know it
is stay wrong;" but they always have halfpeuce in
their pockets, anu they never cm keep them there.
It would be a startling rory were it known bow
much goes in haltrence in this mischievous way out
ot the ten pounds a nnrsery-eraid has wherewith
to elothe herself, and mike /monition for sickness and
misfortune.

Is it not possible to persuade some of all these
offenders—ladies, shopkeepers, nursery-maids, or
whoever they may be—to put into a bag the
same pence they would give away, and look
at It at the end of the month or the quarter. Then
they car give it away if they like. We are very
sure that it they do, it will be in a different way.
Whea the money amounts to silver and gold,
there is every chance of its being well, or at least
carefully bestowed. The baker's shopman the other
day said that he had repeatedly seen one child
of a batch of beggars receive is. 6d. or 21. in
the coarse of an hour-tied-a-halt At this rate
what might not be done for the relief of
social misery by such a charity fund as now
sends a multitude of men and women to the
ginahop and the grave, and plunges a crowd of
children through prdligrcy into heinous crime!,
Among our readers there are too, probably,
many who are guilty of this " offence" of
street almsgiving. We call upon them for a re-
solution never to do it opens. There are plenty of
ways of being beneficent. Let them be as charitable
as they will hot never again let a street or road
beggar tempt them into what they must know to be
• grave sin.

CIVIL SERVICE SUPERANNUATION.-PETI-

TION TO PARLIAMENT.

Mr. Roebuck, who, wears glad to find, has returned
to town with renew( d health, has undertaken the
esuse of the public employee, and will present this
petition from the civil servants who entered since
1829, praying to be put upon an equality with their
fello w-servuc to w ho e n tercel before t hat year, as respects
the scale of superannuation, and the abolition of the
oppressive tax upon salaries. This imposition, along
with the income tux, exactly doubles direct taxation
in the case of the government clerk as compared with
all other classes, and weighs with peculiar hardship
at a time when high prices, which bring compensat-
ing advantages to the trading orders, only still
farther reduce the purchasing value of his fixed in-
come. _ . .

—iirt petition is in course of signature, and has
already been signed by 9,300 out of the 11,000 civil
servants who are interested. It will, therefore, h 2
a very unanimous expression of the wishes of the
government employes.

THE ROYAL ALBERT.

We have received the following communications
respecting ILM S. the Royal Albert, for the safety
of which somo apprehensions had been entertained:

"Admiralty, Jao. 11.
"The following information has this day boon
received :
" The Royal Albert sailed, on the 3d inotant, from
Zia to Malta."

" Admiralty, Jan. 12.
"Her Majesty's ship Royal Albert arrived at
Malta on the ith of January, all sate."