The Express.
London, England, 1866-04-20 00:00:00

rrIIRTLE, TURTLE, TURTLE.
Clear Thick, and Invalid TURTLE SOUPS silvan fir•
ST. JAILEB'B-ILaLL, REGENT4STREET, PICCADILLY.
WY. DONALD, Proprietor.

910 WEST-END DINERS.—The WELLING-
-E- TON, itt. James's-street, Piccadilly. Saloon
Dining-room on the first Boor. The mthemiption rooms are now
open. Terms, twelve months, 41 Ils. 6d. ; six mouths, 4115.
49Ply to D. Cameron, 41), M. Jambes-street

LONDON mutt have a SUPPER and MUSIC
PAWL for Oentlemea—ltemember, we wait for you at
" AMAMI'," atier the Coyest Gorden Opera sad the Theatres.

Eke erpretSgi.

TO 001.11.ESPONDENTIL
dvertiatenenta Mended for "The itxprese," louden Evening
must be at the Mice, 10, bouverteatreet, by Two
papery
on the day of publication.

HAYMARKIrr.

Tins sviirrso, A ROMANTICiirTACITKIDTT. Mews.
=so:lW. Tamen ; Miss Adseavendish.—THlC 'PAYOUTS
TUNE. Seem Backstone,Chlppengials, sod Sofia=
Mrs. Chippendele, tte.—And A DAUGHTUC TO MARRY.

PRINCERES

TEN Everne. A OHUBT IN dial OF HIMSELF.—After
which THE STREETS OF LONDON. Hesse► Vlnlm, T. Mead,
D. Messy, Bless, sad Fillies ; Mrs H. Huston, and Mem L
Bowe add L Bodges

LYCEITY
TEM ETEMPO, SIMPSON AND CO.—And THE MASTER 07
RAVENSWOOD. Messrs, Yachter, G. Jordan, Veda, Emery,
Wkidloomb, Fitzpatrick, ; Madame Taman, Elzworthy,
Lynn, and C. Lecierect.

RitITANNIA.

Ten WINING, THE DASJETC6iti OF THE BLACK MOUN-
TAIN/. Mies Clara St Care, Mrs. & Lane.—Master L Madera
—The lehasse Family.—And THE SCOTTISH CHUM Mr.
James AMIWOOIL

HIGH-WATER AT LONDON-BRUM&
Tan DAY —Morning, sh. 3001 Afternoon. Mt. 5601.
To-MoitsoM—Morning. eb. 20m Afternoon, Mx 48in.

LONDON, FRIDAY, APRIL 20.

TEE Guardians of St. Pancras have received a
letter from one of their ratepayers which, if they
have the common feelings of men, will bring
blushes to their cheeks. The writer is a lady

whose public benefactiona,wide as the empire, have
exceeded the scale even of that noble gift of which
we have all been talking of late, and which has
been acknowledged by the QUIZN as more than
princely. Miss BunnErr Courrs has been pain-
fully affected, as every newspaper reader has been,
by the recent disclosures respecting the manage-
ment of the poor of St. Pancras, and she has
undertaken to speak, not only on her own account,
but also on behalf of that large class of ratepayers
whose hard-earned money is taken by the Guardians,
and not strictly applied to the benefit of the paupers
for whom it is contributed, while the character of
the parochial management is such as to surround
with new horrors the thought of their last days
being spent in dependence on public relief. Miss
Courrs points out that the endeavour to keep
down the assessments at a cruel sacrifice
of the necessities, sometimes of the lives, of the
paupers, is a kind of economy which proves in the
end most expensive ; for, "putting aside all con-
" siderations of Christian duty and kindly feeling,
" a sick pauper is a costly burden on the rates,
" and a more liberal workhouse management would
" prevent the crowding of infirmary wards, while
" a wise administration of out-door relief would
" save many poor persons in temporary need from
" sinking to confirmed and burdensome pauperism."

General considerations, however, are easily evaded
by those to whom they are inconvenient, and Miss
Courre, therefore, bases her remonstrance chiefly
on the mismanagement of the sick wards of the
parish workhouse. The recent inquest on the
child prematurely laid out for dead proved conclu-
sively that the officers paid to look after the work-
house are too few for its 2,000 inmates, and proved
further that they were not fitted for the duties for
which they were paid. Miss Courrs writes :

As a ratepayer. I feel the position in which I em placed
very keenly. The law compels me to pay a rate for the
benefit of the poor, but in its administration the law not
merely fails to secure the object of the rate, but exposes
the recipient of parochial relief, according to the evidence
before the coroner, to being "laid out" before death,
whenever the nurses, matron, or Lady superintendent, or
whatever the designation of the responsible persons may
be, may choose to think the victim of their neglect cannot
" last long," or ie " nearly gone." Against such a system
of administration, which actually exposes paupers to the
danger of being buried alive, I must enter my protest.
It may be said, however, that this was altoge-
ther an exceptional case, and that accidents cannot
be absolutely prevented even in the beat regulated
establishments. TE we admit this,we must add, that

in such establishments they will be deplored, and
means will be taken effectually to guard against
them in future. But what happened in St. Pan-
cras when the poor child's fate, which ought to have
excited sorrow and sympathy, became known 1 Miss
Corns observes that the conduct of the officials

under those circumstances seems chiefly to have ,
been marked by " all absence of any sense what-
" ever that the occurrence was one at all calcu-
" lated to shock the commonly decent and hu-
" mane. Such a hideous instance of callousness
" makes those shudder who feel they are forced by
" law to pay a rate which places the sick in similar
" hands." This is true, but it is not the worst of
the case. Miss Courrs, in writing to the Guardians,
forbore to dwell upon their own conduct, but those
who write for the public need not practise the same
reserve. The sympathy expressed for the poor
child, far from arousing them to a sense of their
duties, kindled their resentment, as they showed
by excluding from the house the Scripture Reader
who discovered the condition of the poor child and
became the means of making it known. The
public men who have ventured to express the
general opinion as to the management of the work-
house have been treated as if they had been guilty
of impertinence. Instead of those indications of
regret and intentions to do better in time to
come, for which Miss Courrs tells us she looked,
the Guardians have given themselves up to demon-
strations of an impenitence which we trust is not
true. The sermon that does not melt hardens; and
the St. Pancras Guardians, like some hearers of old
listening to the preacher, have been " cut to the
" heart," and " have gnashed upon him with their
" teeth." It sometimes happens, however, that
the most abandoned characters, who will accept no
remonstrance from a man, will listen with shame
and respect to the voice of woman. Let us
hope that it will be so in the present case. The
public have, indeed, read in the newspapers a com-
position, purporting to be the reply of the St.
Pancras Guardians to Miss Cocrrs' letter, but we
prefer to wait for further evidence before believing
in its genuineness. And besides, it is not letters
which the public want to see, but some solid rea-
son to hope that the relief of the poor of that
important parish is likely to be administered in
future with a firm hand, upon the principles of
humanity and enlightened economy.

ROYAL COMMISSION ON THE LAWS OF MAle
SLAGS. —The commissioners met at 32, Abingdon street,
on the 14th and 18th instant. Present—Right Hon. the
Lord Chelmsford, Right Hon. the Lord NW, Right Hon.
the Lord Lyveden, the Right Hon. William Morrell, M.P.,
the Right Hon. Mr. Justice O'Hagan, Vice-Chancellor Sir
William Page Wood, the Attorney-General, Sir Hugh M.
Cairns, Q.C.. M.P., the Solicitor-General for Scotland,
Mr. Travers Twiss, Q.C., D.C.L. Mr. Alexander Murray
Dunlop, M.P., and Mr. John Fraser Macqueen, Q.C.,
Secretary. The catholic bishop, Dr. Moriarty, and the
Right Hon. J. Napier, gave evidence.