The Express.
London, England, 1868-01-24 00:00:00

BREAKFAST.-EPPS'S COCOA.

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TO ODDIDSPONDLNTIL
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NIGH NAT= AT LONDON DROWN%
TO DAy —Morning. th. 112.—..Aftersoos. 2h. 20a.
TO-KohiON—Mcgolog, 2h. 37m— ..Attenwon, 2h. :Am

LONDON, FRIDAY, JANUARY 24.

Tut: abolition of the local act under which the
parish of Clerkenwell has been so long mis-
governed,
places the election of the guardians in
the hands of the ratepayers, and an animated
contest is now in progress for the first time. A
parochial association has been formed, the avowed
object of which is to exclude the class which has
hitherto made Clerkenwell a byeword, and to secure
that the guardian-board shall represent something
else besides the ignorance, prejudice, and cruelty
of the parish. Hitherto the Clerkenwell guar-
dians have been selected by the vestry from among
their own number, and a guardian once appointed
held office for life. The result has been an inde-
pendence which was both shameful and disastrous.
The more rational members were swamped by
their brawling colleagues. Readers of this journal
will remember the obstinate perversity with which
the Houseless Poor Act was opposed them ; the
foul and wretched cellars and lofts in which casuals
were tortured for presuming to ask for shelter,
and the insolent indifference by which remon-
strance and reproof were met. Public opinion,
Parliament, and the Poor-law Board, to say
nothing of common humanity, were on one side,
and the irremovable guardians on the other, and
improvement was declared impossible. Week after
week these guardians met to ridicule those advo-
cating the claims of the poor, to defy the powers
of the Poor-law Board, and not unfrequently to
belabour their critics and each other with
foul phrases and hard words. It is not too
much to say that to Clerkenwell belongs the equi-
vocal honour of having had the worst-condi-
tioned board of guardians in the metropolis.
Bermondsey has been known to gravely miscon-
duct itself and to repent. The Strand Union has
an unenviable notoriety wherever parochial mis-
management is named ; Shoreditch has driven its
wandering pauper lunatics into the streets ; Poplar
has refused to comply with humane and sensible
suggestions ; and other London parishes have
defended their right of wrong-doing in our courts
of law. But for downright persistence in evil,
for coarse speech and cruel policy, for callousness
to reproach and shameless rejoicing in ill repute,
the vestry-elected board at Clerkenwell has sur-
passed them all. Not long ago two members of
this vestry concluded a discussion on parochial
matters by a hand-to-hand tight in the vestry-hall,
in which blood was drawn ; and for orators to
si;::natize each other in the "vigorous Saxon"
familiar i 1 the London rough, is at ClerkenweU a
common incident of debate.
These truths being thoroughly known, as well as
some other and even more awkward facts bearing
upon the granting of parish contracts and the
bestowal of parish offices, it is now asked
whether it is absolutelynecessary that the guardians
about to be elected should be chosen exclusively
from the old materials. The board is to be greatly
reduced, and will henceforth consist of eighteen
members, or about a fourth its previous number,
and the aim of the local association is to introduce
new blood which shall work harmoniously with
the more rational and respectable members of the
old board, whose re-election is to be also promoted,
as well as with the Government nominees when
appointed. As a matter of course many of the
persons losing office are anxious, in proportion to
their unfitness, to regain it, and an eager canvass
is being carried on, in which the paid officers of
the parish do not hesitate to take part in favour of
their relatives and friends. The advocates for
reform in the parochial representation maintain
that the wealth and respectability of Clerkenwell
have been seriously underrated, and point to the
handsome squares and streets of the parish, all
filled with substantial householders, as furnishing
the class to whom the administration of the rates
might be reasonably entrusted, and who should be
called upon to take part in local affairs.
There can be no question but that the put
management of Clerkenwell has been a disgrace
to England and a blot upon the New Poor-law,
which it will take years of careful working to
efface ; and it is encouraging to find its inhabi-
tants even partially roused to the fact. The re-
sult of the election will not be without its signifi-
cance for our parochial system generally, as by it
wo shall see how far the ratepayers have been
affected by the misconduct of the men supposed to
represent them, and how deeply their feelings
have been touched by the proved sufferings of
the poor ; for it is noteworthy that the new party
not merely rest their claims upon their superior
zeal for " the well-being of the poorer classes,"
but allege " narrow-minded selfishness " and " a
" want of legislative capacity " against the old
guardians in proof of their unfitness. Any change
from the old Clerkenwell board must, one would
think. be a benefit to the parish ; but the condi-
tion of parochial politics and the charges which
have been openly made against the authorities of
corruption, jobbery, suppression of votes, chica-
nery, and fraud, suggest some curious reflections
concerning those to whom local self-government
has entrusted the bitter fortunes of the poor.

THREZ winters ago the state of our streets, ren-
dered almost impassable by the number of beggars
who occupied the footways and beset the passers
by with their importunities, called loudly for
reform. Newspapers exposed and Parliament
discussed the evil ; and when, in deference to the
general complaint, some new arrangements hail
been made in this and that parish, we were assured
that the evil had been effectually remedied, that
street beggars had been deprived of their last excuse,
and that they might in future be left to be dealt
with by the law. For a time there was some im-
provement, and it was possible for the busy to pass