Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1860-02-16 00:00:00

REPORT._

" Nearly- eleVen Tears- having....now elapsed since the
'lndustrial' Ragged. 'Schools in Soho-street. were estab-
lished. the committee, in laying before the public-their
annual report, deem it well to review their labours since
the opening of the institution, and to state anew -what
the charity, .in the first instance, proposed to do, what it
has done, what is its present position, andwhat, in their
opini4,- :may still 'be done to make the work they
haVe undertaken more efficient and More useful. The
chief object the founders of the-- schools had in view
was, to premat children, already destitute and neglected,
from:also becoming criminal. Although charity schools
are now numerous in all large towns, it is well known
that in towns like Liverpool there-are many children
such as no ordinary school, not even, those attached. to-
the Workhouse, can reach,• or bring. effectually within
their influence. These children have been well styled
"city Arabs :!' they live a life always of vagraney,..anki
too often of petty tlaieyin:g ; and unless rescued hy:such
an agency as the Industrial Ragged Schools offer,..will
almost inevitably fall into the.. criminal class,: and
become a disgrace and a burden to society at
large. This object has, from- the, first, been kept
steadily in view, and the committee are happy.
to feel- thatdclias in no small measure been aeheived..
Since the schools have been opened 1,388 boys, and. G 22
girls in ally have been admitted,: and have mere, or
less participated in the training. they afford. .The
total expenses• during the eleven years haire- been
£9,996 19s._3d. The average daily attendance has been
111. Thus.the gross cost per head ;per annum- is-about
£8 2s. 9d..; :but, as net earnings-of thschildren,realised
by their own labour, amounted.to £1,292 4s. 8d,,0r £1
ls. 2d. perbeati, the-net cost per head was only £1 7d.
It may be well to mention thatbeforen child is received
into the schools, its individual case is always specially
enquired, into) and that none are admitted excepting
those as- to whom the committee are convinced that
they are net getting, and not likely to get; either
educatio-ft,er moral training eliewhere.:' The schools are
in fact, strictly preventive. As the committee have
no pow ,w- of detention, the time each child- remains
in-the school varies according to age :and other cir-
cumstances.. The average period of stay seams to be
about two-years. Those children, therefore, who remain,
and may be said to receive • the full benefit of the
institution, cost from £l5 to •£2O each and. as there,
is no dill:Wu* in-obtaining-:situations for alid whO thus
retnalitat the-school, it maybe reasonably inferred that
a criminal in il:-brgo is - most, if not all; of these
cases,, converted into a Self-supporting: member of
society, and that at the stva outlay above stated. It-
may be useful, as it seems to the committee to be
just,. to contrast this With the £S9O which forms
the -estimated ultimate cost to the Government of each
criminal to whom Crime, has been suffered to become
habitual. At present there are eighty-eight boys
and seventy-two, girls. in the school.. Last year
there was received' fin-5.. 19s. , 6d.. in. subscriptions,
.Wt ,Bs. sd. in donations, and £599, 10s. 4d. from
the Government. _ This year the subscriptions amount
to £306 '
16s. 6d., the- donations t0:£297 10e. 2d.
_and
the Government grant only £119.145. 11d. If, there-
fore, the institution is to be maintained at its present
ilevel,..and, still more, if, the area of its. operations is to
be extended, it is -et%ident that its-income must be aug-
mented, and that feom the only source from which such
augmentation can be looked fOr—the contributions of
the public. In order to word. an opening forsuch:
additional contributions, it hasbeen arranged by th eladi es'
committee to hohl a.bazaar, under the patronage of the
Mayor, for the sale of fancy work, in ;..it.-George's-hall,
-sometime during the ensuing autumn. Should the-fiinds
realised on that occasion warrant theoutlay, itis proposed,
in thc'flrst instance, to bay or build more suitable premises
than those in which the schools are now carried on, and
which are held, by the committee• at-au annual rent. It
is to be hoped that all who feel an interest in the work
of rescuing the neglected, the ignorant, and the destitute,
and therefore, dangerous, children of Liverpool will on this
occasion, come forward and give their- assistance, how-
ever humbly, according to their means. The-committee
trust it will be borne in mindthat these schools belong to
no particular Congregation; that their benefits are limited
to no particular locality; that- they are, in truth, the
only schools adapted 'for the litterly destitute, and there-
fore most pitiable, of the children of LiverpoOl; and
hence that their claim for support addresses itself, not
to any sect or class in particular, but emphatically to
the thoughtful and benevolent throughout the whole
town. The Committee desire to express heir continued
satisfaction with the energy and attention of the
Superintendent and the Matron, Mr. and Mrs. "erriss.
To the unwearied watchfulness, coupled with the high
religious and moral tone carried into every depart-
ment by these invaluable teachers must be attributed,
under God's blessing, the great success of the Institution.
During the past year the net earnings of the children
amounted to £136 10s. 10d., but this result of their
labours is independent of a largnamount of needlework
done in the girls' school for their own use and that of
the boys. The committee are glad to be. able to assure
the public that a large majority Of the children who
have been inmates of the schools, and are now in situa-
tions, are giving general satisfaction to their employers.
The committee desire to express their acknowledgments
to the executors of the late Agnes Jameson, for a
legacy of £27; to "William Preston, Esq.; late Mayor
of Liverpool, for a donation of £25 ; to Mrs.
Henry. Christian, for a dona:ion of £59 ; to the
managing committee fOr the celebration of the Burn-
. Centenary, for £125, being a portion• of the fund re-
' alised on that occasion ;' to T. 13; Horsfall, Tsq., MIP„
for the children's Christmas dinner; to 0, IL -Dolton,