The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1822-09-18 00:00:00

The Committee of laat year ahavr•al is, whit reaps d the

(l) ris —131,-10 /1,300•514
1819 ?O.
112041

progress of the etpeadieure is the several ceuritin bad
differed from that of Enabled sod Wiles enerrelly. Year
Committee do not thiuk it menses., te,
tails, except as tar as they relate in the third trinomial
period. They will onlk loiters whether tl,e cnentlee,
which formed en eseep•tou to the reseal statement, of
diminution is 181940, as enewpared with 1818.19, ham/sauce
conformed to the genetsl lute of dirolioti•ou ; and wbetber
an other twenties baveexhibited a deviation.
la nine coestirs and ?idiots en the expeoditure of 1819-10
was grnter thee in 1818 19. lit every one of these, thee
has hems a reduction in 192021 • mad II every one, 'stein
the West Riding of Yorkshire, Sisal reductiou has besiege&
the expenditure not only below the pieta bug year, bat
below the average of the two preceding yearn.
Berkshire, Norfolk. sod Salop, are still distinguished, by
the exhibition of a their...tins in the third period of snoop,
as compared wish the secreted. To ime.ore Dow en be added
Lanesabire, Noilinghamsbire, Wiltshire, sod Worcester-
shire.
On the other head, In two con titles only, 11 netingdon and
Northemberlsod, dues there., 1920.31 'hew ite excessehowe'
191950. The innate! has been by es some, considerable,.
age 1. velars sweaty has tie alimditare she yew
1610-111 equalled the oversleep( the toe preceding years.
The general rate of diminution between 1619.20 and
1820 21 is 6ve per emit. Nottinghamshire exhibits the
highest rate of semesters per ceot. sod Cambridgeshire the
lowest, or oar percent.; compared with 1817.18, the decree*
has bees at the rate of twelve per cent.
The Committee of last year appeeded to their Report, se
account of the average price of wheat, in perrods curreapond.
log with those of iherto eras. Your Committee cannot avoid
noting, without comment, a remarkable coincidence between
the fluctnstioes in the price of wheat and is the Poor Rate,.
lo the int period, both declined aunsally; both ruse is the
second ; both fell is the third.
But, though it appears 'het s rise or (all in the pricer of
wheat is accompanied by a rise or fall in the @meow of the
Poor Rates, it Is mot to be etidentood that tbe variations
'have occurred at a corresponding rate.
la the last year, a separate statement was given of the
sums ascend and expended in Ilion places which in the
Popuisi too Abe ambers distinguished as towns. Your Com-
mittee have not preserved this distioctioe, because they have
found that it is far from really exhibiting a distinction be-
tween towTe and country parishes.
la conformity with' the recomnsealation of the former
Committee, your Committee annex as accoeat of the sem
expended for the relief of the pour la every parish, Israeli of
the six year. which have elapsed since the 25th March 1816,
to which period the last Parochial Abstract extends.
On the 26th March 1820, 2,008 parishes bad constituted
Select 'feeble'; it, the subsequent year the return is 2,145,
making as increase of 139.
'Ube number of seststaot overseers mentioned is the Re-
turns, we., in 1820, 2,257, and In 1821, only 1,979; bet it
is not clear that the number has been reduced, aloce it is
possible that the Returns of 1820 skew the total number of
asaistatit overseers then existing, sod that those of 1821,
comprise only the number appointed under the Act of 1819;
many places having bad soda officers before tee pasting of
that Act.
As it appears upon an examloation of the etveral Returns
that that part of the orJer of July 2, 1821, which required
the number of persons malnialaed in soy workbags( or other
poorhouse, has been obytously iciatersond in the &airiest
parishes as not to furnish nay result that can be depended
upon, your Committee have sot intend thine Re ens In
their Abstract.

From " the olisersattoes" which the parish 'Seers were
footled to furoldo. year asiaMstee hero oduerod sod Is-
*tried Is Ike Appendix Goose aikido toll4lliS YON kifiliff/W.
Ilun or soggestioas.

The Act of the 50th of Geo. 3, c. 49, has been referred
to your Committee, with as iestrumin " to consider of new
provision fur lieepieg cod passiog sensate of mantes ex.
pended upon the poor."
Various provisions have from time to time bun made by
Parliament, with respect to the books which Facial officers
are to keep, sad the accounts which they are to render.
slome of these have been eoacted for the prevention of em.
bezzlement, and ISM* have bad Is view a cheek epos freed,.
lent demands, or wasteful expenditure. Parlismeot, and the
House of Commons, have also repeatedly called, by epeeist
acts or orders, for access's, frequently in much detail, of
the asseemiteot and expeoditors of every parish; bet it ap-
pears to your Committee that them 'pictorials are cot et
rectos' fur those winch to their opines ought So be the ob-
jects of such accounts sad retails..
The protection of the interests to the payer' of rates, by
preventing or deteetihg embezzlemest by the overseer, or
the uusuiborioed expenditure of the money of the parish, is,
unquestionably an important object. Your Committee are
bet satisfied that the existing law has sufficiently provided
eves for the local isterestif of the 'wrist is ibis respect; but
they apprehend that the State has also so interest is tbe re.
prissier' of wasteful expenditure, which interest has wont,
until eiithia • few years, bees is the contemplation of those
who have legislated upon the Poor Rates. This interest of
the State awaits I. dm importance of counteracting, to the
almost, lbe evil teadeacies of the Poor Laws is relatioo to
society; their erect diseettragiog itidestry sad frugality,
arid introducing bad feeliugsised habits among the people.
With this view, it may sometimes be necessary to reprees
even the benevolent iateaboas of those by whom the rates
ire paid; and still Snore the incautious beneleeste of these
who leave the power of disposing of the money of others.
Tbue, even if it could be supposed that those ipso whom
'the snowy is levied would not onamesearily expend it, and
that, therefore, an effectual audit of accounts would be suf-
ficient to pretest improvident expenditure by vestries or
overseer., that check would be quite inoperative epos Jos-
tins of the Peace.
Expenditure, whether extravagant in amorist or misdi-
rected in its objects, cutout he effectually checked, wiles* it
be subjected, sot only tu.s correct audit, but to • vigilant
superintendence. It is !wither wittiest the precise., nor cos.
stoical with the opiniono, of your Committee, to suggest
the estsblitlament of any tech soperintestlence, while the
expenditure to in progress;' hut they are strongly imprrasrd
with the belief, that whatever may make, Doi only tb- higher
local authorities, but the Kiiog's Guterument, Parliament,
and the public, acquainted will' the system sod 'moon' of
expenditure; in every district and parish, will operate as one
of the must effectual checks whisk can be adopted fur cots.
trolling the expenditure.
It i• obviously impossible that even the resident Janice*
of • (imolai', or any tribunal higher than the vestry of a
parish, can take cogairinco of the case of every person re-
lined; bet there is a lour interval betweeu an eximiiterion
an infante as to consider the case of each pauper, and one au
general as to contemplate only the gross sure expended upon
all the paupers in a parish.
Your Committee cuuceive,tbat if the persons relieved, sad
the causes of relief, were distingoisleed its classes, informs.
lion of the greatest utility would be obtained, not only for
checking the expenilitnertif particular partition, bat for tom.
mitmeating to Parliament a much more accurate hope/ledge
than they now pesetas of the nature and amen of the yams_
tints in the amount of the Poor Rates. Such information
would be particularly serial if the Hoare .oreetoios any
meaaw,e for amending the Poor laws, since they would
thereby be enabled to form rums eniiniate of the effect of
any partisl'reguliiiiue. For ittatauce, it has been proposed,

(2) Cheater, Cumberland: Derby, Durham, Leic►ster, Lin-
coln, Nottiagbam, Warwick, Waal Riches ut Yurkah,re.
Lincoln is mentiontd here, beton., it was included in the
■tatenseut of .1821, but ibis courtly can hardly be Mated to
hire exhibited either &diminution ur an tar r the amount
hnvio(bren, in each ti[ the arra yeais, 172,A1tr1. anal auntie
huudreds.

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