The Express.
London, England, 1866-08-31 00:00:00

BENSON, J. W., by Special Appointment to
HILL Uri hind of Wales.

BENSON'S SILVER and ELECTRO-PLATE.
Prize Medal. 1162.

TIENSONI3 GOLD JIIVELLERY, Novel
- -

INFA tlitiNzii:dreetandWestbournagrove:'
Steiak Facta and City Show Um..

'

MAPPIN BROTHERS.

. A. D. 1810.

CHESTS of SILVER PLATE for the COLONIES,

CUTLERY and SILVER PLATE for
FI7ILNIBIIIIIO.

MAPPIN BROTHERB, LONDON-BRIDGE.

MAPPLN BROTHERS, 222, REGENT-
-8111.6.1T.

AFTER WHAT 7—After Mellon's Promenade
Coucerta. ItVANS' to map. We shall mast therm

eke 11
rarrtol4.

TO MAIM PONDEN Tft.
dvertleententa Intended for "The Expreep," London Ewan(
Par, mast be at the °face, 10, liouvereattreet, by Two
edock on the day of publication.

PILINCIOWS.
TEM ZWIFING, HUGUE.NOT CAPTAIN. Meows. Thing,
Ind CL Hooey: Maws Mensal, Augusts Theeomoo, sod Mrs.
Ilking.—And QUIET LODGING&

BRIT/

Trap Immo, TFIIMUIt;IY AT TIM MORK—Mr. F.
Ivan., Mies Rosa Had& Mu Latimer: Mr. H. Maearthy : M
rHE C.
Woodman Master IL Mandan.—And JACK MLNOO,
LONDON Isnuner BOY.

HIGH RATIN AT LONDON 13.IDEL
MP DAT —morning. 6b. Hoo Aft noon, BIL 37k
IDMOi&OV—Morning. OIL Om Ailankoos, eh. 24w.

LONDON, FRIDAY, AUGUST 31.

Ammo the graver subjects that occupy the at-
tention and excite the anxious solicitude of states-
men who care to look beyond the political exigencies
of the hour, our national pauperism probably holds
the first place. The far-sighted advocates of constitu-
tional reform—such as Mr. MILL and Mr. GOLD-
WIN SMlTH—have, indeed, expressly signalised this
as one of the gravest subjects which a Reformed
Parliament would have to consider, and for the
consideration of which reform in Parliament is espe-
cially desirable. However this may be, there can
be no doubt that the mass of chronic pauperism
which, throughout the length and breadth of the
land, weighs down the springs of local industry, is
a public evil of the most serious and menacing
kind—the black and ominous spot on the fair
escutcheon of our national prosperity. And,
whatever may be the immediate fate of reform, it
isan obvious duty, independently of all party coned-
derations, and on the broadest grounds of pa-
triotism, to keep the subject before the public,
and endeavour to awaken the nation to a sense of
its magnitude and importance. If the question
cannot yet be taken up as a whole, it may still be
possible to deal with it in parts, and make, at all
events, some commencement in the work of re-
form. While it would be premature to expect
that the evil will be directly attacked by any imme-
diate parliamentary revision of the existing system,
it may still perhaps be successfully assailed
by improvements in the detail of its administra-
tion. And whatever can be fairly done in this
way will be a great public gain, morally as well
as materially. Ally enlightened attempt to reduce
the class of permanent or professional paupers by
well-considered reforms of administration, even
though only partially successful, would have the
beneficial effect of directing public attention to the
weak points of the existing system, and thus pre-
paring the way for its legislative revision.

There is one considerable section of the pauper
class, the tramps and vagrants that, after infesting
our streets and highways by day, pollute the
•workhouse casual wards at night, which it seems
quite possible to begin with at once. They con-
stitute not only a very troublesome but a very nu-
merous class of professional paupers, the number of
tramps and vagrants in the country being, ac-
cording to recent statistics, upwards of thirty-
three thousand. This large guerilla force of idlers
and vagabonds wages silent but unceasing
warfare against settled industry, invades
its prosperous fields, levies heavy contri-
butions on its hard-won earnings, and
lives from birth to death at its expense. For the
important fact is that with the great majority of
this class vagrancy is a profession or calling in
which they have been reared, or which they have
early chosen as a preferable alternative to daily
work. According to the testimony of those who
know them most intimately—the master' of work-
houses and the police—" most of them are idle pro-
" tiigates—a worthless set of vagabonds that never
" work, but tramp from one place to another, stealing
" or begging in the day, and applying for lodging
"in the workhouse at night." This testimony
will be abundantly confirmed by all who have had
any opportunity of observing the habits of the
class, especially in country towns and the rural
districts. A party of tramps scarcely ever passes
through a town without some articles of value
being missed from the houses they have visited.
They are for the most part thieves as well as
beggars, the plea of destitution being the
mask under which their systematic robberies, often
audacious enough, are successfully carried ou.
The welfare of society demands that this class
should be discouraged by all legitimate means, and if
possible suppressed, and it should obviously be the
aim of any discriminating system of pauper relief
to exclude the professional tramp, or strolling thief
front its benefits. Instead of doing this, however,
the existing plan of casual ward relief affords this
class just the kind and amount of systematic help
which enables them to pursue their professional
career in comparative ease and comfort. The
master of the workhouse is bound to admit indis-
criminately all who profess to be destitute, to give
them a night's lodging, with a supper and a break-
fast, at the expense of a nominal labour payment,
which is at best carelessly exacted, and in many
cases not exacted at all. The result is that the
number of tramps seeking habitual relief in
the workhouse casual wards has so in-
creased as to have become a serious practical
evil, and to have forced itself upon the atten-
tion of the Poor-law Inspectors, and roused them
to consider how it may be most effectually
checked. One of them, Mr. Dort; has very
seasonably recalled attention to the scheme for
the purpose suggested eighteen years ago in a cir-
cular issued by the late Mr. C. Bolus. In that
circular Mr. Boum stated, what is still more
true now than it was then, that the
casual wards were almost monopolised by the
habitual tramp, who simulates destitution,
while the most fitting objects of public charity
were subjected to the discomforts that were in-
tended to repel the worthless. The great point
of course is to devise some scheme for disconnecting
the deserving from the undeserving objects of
pnblic relief—the destitute labourer or artisan
travelling in search of work from the professional