The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1815-09-08 00:00:00

it

I

MENDICI7'Y.

NEPORT ritam TIIE HOUSE OF COMMONS UPON
'IIIE SrAY'F. OF MENDICITY IN THE METROPOLIS.

i,(:otititimed from oar Paper of Yesterday.)

The Rey. Win. Gurney's Examination continued. I
What is the police establishment of your parish ?
W'r have four beadles and six constables, besides
special constables occasionally; but there is a great
terror and alarm on the minds of the parish officers
of all the parishes lest the work-house should be
overstocked, and lest the parish should be burden-
ed ; and as lone as persons get their livelihood
without lookiug to them, though it is by pilfering,
unless they actually know that they are pilfering,
they idkl! 110 notice. I lime often thought that if
many of our poor laws were imperative, instead of
permissive, it wroth] be useful; and I am afraid
maul' of the lowish officers are ignorant of their
duty, us well as the beadles and constables.
1)o sun know whether persons confined in the
worklsonass, and relieved there, are ever let out of
those workhorses for the purpose of begging, in
the coarse of the day ?—They go out on the Sun-
day generally, and I believe many of them beg,
instead I am pretty sure of it ; I do not mean the
poor mat of our own workhouse, for they generally
come to church.
Do sou farm ymir poor ?---Tco; we take care of
them urstives.. The children, particularly when
infants, h,ud till a certain age, were liormerly seta
to Enfield, to the care of different curses; the
overseers used to go down, frequently, to visit the
children, and supply them with shoes and clothing,
and pas the mines, I believe, once a nionth. Thar
'atilt, and &lane,. on these oreasimis, and settling
their accounts, and so am, COSt a considerable sous
of moues' ; the parish *lid nut like it, toad they
thought the children were not well taken care of;
.11i$41 here item reat complaints from the neigh-
bouring gentry ut Enfield, that they were pulling
down their hedges mid doing inischief.
Illssa tinsels was paid for those eh !siren ?—I think
four or lire shill hgt. We found the children-look-
ed as ir th, were in a half-starved state ; and we,
beard enstiplassits of tlwir rusositig with their hats to
carriages begging, instead of going to scoft, for.
which we -aid so snatch a month. We found
they seldom or never Went ; alai the nurses
dressed their own children in our parish dresses,
and let our children go ragged. This was
tanked of ht many overseers, but they said
they wale old% in fora year, and dial not choose to
try any scheme : however, two or three
with %%11..111 I trims'• ate, torn of cooscience amal
activity, being nominated, said they woold not fine,
but serve the office; amid wheu they came iti, they
began to consider of a plan. I said to diem, sou
must get than altogether, and then you may 410
good. 'Hwy were at first afraid of the expense :
lost i thought they might, its fact, save expesase.
knew, from what T heard Sir Thomas Bernard
ray (white Foundling Hospital, that the expense wits
oast greater when they came unto the foundling llos-
pital than that which a child costs when nut at nurse'.
1 knew very well, that one good matron might su-
perstar-sod the whole of a concern of Iliat sort ; and
they might all have regular instruction ; anal they
might also be easily superintended by the elerg3 man
of the parish where the house was. At Ism, with
great difficulty (there being great opposition from
the old gentlestiets of the parish) it was carried ;
and tee determined to take a house ; and we Isaias
tasked one at llenduu, what ars have as maw: as
ninety of these children, pinicipally bastard
drew. WC have a large garden mid yard com-
pletely behissd the house, with no optliting to the
11061A1; we haven very good inatrea, and six masses,
stases out of Ilse workhouse. I leave no &haalt,it,
froth the appearance of the children, of the great
improvement in the plan; ali those who are old
enough isle regularly tafight.
Do you think there has been an increased con-
auloist• of gin within these few years ?—1 huts
no doubt of it, as the increase of these penons
is
visible : ;vomit all these henna about the streets
allitik, and they train op their children in 'kiosk-
ing. I have seen them at the doors of'the
girr-
shops, giviog 'hair children, iit atoms the draining
or a ;;'ass. There are five large gin-shops, or wine-
vault.. as tiny are called, close to Seven Dials,
which are co woody frequented. There is one
where they go in at one door and out at another,
to preveut the inconvenience of dash returning the
same way, where there are SO many. A trivial of
mine, who lived opposite, hail the curiosity to count
how many went iu in the course of one Sunday
morning, before lie went to church : and it was
320. There are some of the huggers of whom I
must Idly, that they are of a more descent descrip-
tints, and are not given to drinking. There is one
lodging-house in St. Giles's, kept by a Mrs. M';l'-
thy, a very respectable woman ; she would not ad-
mit any who drank, anal she has always a great
many who sleep at her house. I wrist there one
evening, to inquire respecting a hid,- tat the desire
of Land Exeter, in consespience of his having ap-
plied to his Lordship by lefts r. I f I lie was
a very well behaved, orderly, :filler : Ise was
manned. Ileing there. I reitsaissed the caseating to
asse them come in to tsar.% and I saw above forty
come sit. Tillie was a large candlestick stood on
the table, coistsaiising pieces of mushlighl : as each
a ante in, she asked them, " Double or single ?" if
they said single, " Four-pence." They lout alma is
the four-pence, she put it into her sack, and then
they took a bit of risslilight, anal went to bed.
1)41 she point out the room ?—They were mostly
constant tenants. This lad I refer to was there re-
stilrasly every night. Thrie is au eating-house op-
posite, where they have a kind of table d'hote; they
base leg of beef, perhaps, for supper; they take it
there, and then come across to their lodging.
What is the charge of the eating-house ?—I lw-
lieve, very rearonable; but they get a great deal of
~,,,, ry In et.
Is there tiny great proportirm of the beggar!, whit
sirtv Ulltily of thttll get near to the
ho. k kilos; they are generally the gill drinkers;
the'. wassail all their money in gin drinking, and
have isothiag left for Iss:lgnig,

mended, and wanted immediate relief front some
pressing calamity ; I do not know that I ever met
with any Scotchmen who Caine its that way, whom
I suspected of misapplying the money given them.
Have you made any remark as to the north-
country people in general P—Yes; I think, in ge-
neral, they inquire more for work than for charity;
I have seta great many to work.
That they have more habits of industry?—Yes;
I refer to men coming from Yorkshire, and North-
umberland and Durham ; I suppobe they have been
principally manhfacturers; I have set several up
with baskets of fruit and things of that sort.
'Have you many from the West?--I tlo not think
we have many.
Mr. Thomas Tipple, culled in, and examined.
AVhere do you reside ?—At Iloxton.
In what line of life a►e you ?—1 farm the poor.
What poor do you farm P—A great many from
different parishes in the City ; parishes not of con-
siderable size enough to have houses of their own ;
one or two ut the west end of the town, and one at
Wapping.
flow many parishes do you farm for P—The num-
ber is about se%eoteen ; some are so small, that fur
a length of time together I have none : we have
sometimes had some sent from the country.
What is the whole untidier you generally have,
upon the average ?—The average is somewhere
about in the winter time nearly 300.
(lave those parishes, of which you farm the poor,
any poor-housca of their owl, ?—No.

What payment have yon for those ?—lt is regu-
lated by the price of bread ; when the quartein loaf
is*about a shilling, we have six shillings, subject to
au advance when the quartern loaf advances.
You take the price of six quurtern loaves ?—Yes.
yon iise and fuII in proportion to the price of
the quartern loaf?—Yes. •
If the quartein liiaf is -pence, do you tuke
4s. 6.1. ?—No, we cannot fake then] under six Mai-
lings now ; for every two-pence in'tlie quartet% loaf
we take an advance of three-pence ; the. quantity of
bread allowed each day is fourteen ounces.
Yon have now six shilliogs a week ?—Yeti.
IF a quarterti loaf was luwe'etil to ten-pence,
should you lower the price ?-1 Should perhaps be
culled upon in that case by the punish.
Have you uny other profit than the six shillings a
week ? -There is a little profit for clot hut;; them.
Is the six shillings a week for any thing but the
isiuns?—No.
How does any advantage arise to VOU from the
clothing ?—When they are io want of clothes, the'
givrs us an order, and we supply them, and
from that we desire some profit. . .

D4I you keep a stop slam ?—No ; hut we tits bu-
siness for the I.lu') shops ; that is the only practica-
ble stork that we can eitiploy the poor ;we have
saner little advantage ftnin their labour, il' there
is any knot of labom or ran iiitiodoce, such as
silk %%tinting : we allot% theist one-third of the whole
receipts.
The other two-thirds ga to your,elves
of the slop work, tltrrr an expense nti.,cliett
to it, such as threads and tapes, :nal so on; u*e
allow theta one-third of shat ae estimate a; the
refit.
Cali von recollect what your profit amounts to,
one year with another ?—The profits have been eery
inmii abridged lately ; the wtok Itas laaxone, in
consequence of there not hriug Mild' expo' tation,
so very slack, that it has abrolt;eil our profits eery
much ; itiatiy of the slop shops taus scod erty little
employ to woekhouses, they vier it to those who
make a lieellhoild of it ; they do nut give it to us till
thee me all slipplied.
tin those poor people derive any lithantage what-
ever front and other mode, thaii that c MI have stated I
—Some of them that are respected by the parish
officers; the parish alloat. an addition ton, fur some
little comforts, soinettilies a pint or porter.
'Hwy have no other soot t!e of iorutit than ‘N hat
they get from the parish, and the one-third of their
earnings ?—Soine of tlttlis have relatives who give
them assistance.

%V hat is the, nrtler in wbirls yntt keep lir4t.
pie ; what time tin they up in ihr morma!4
Tl:cre ate bo inaily very infirm, that ttt, liilVt• uu
direct order ism any pail "I' tht. thry nisi at
different times.

.....
At whet times are their provisiiinv given thew ?
--The dinner is at a eritani time ; the bread is

given them up in the morning for the tiny.

Are you sure that every pauper in your house is
present at breakfast, d r onil vuowr, every
day?—At the breakfast 1 know they are all there,
and at dinner again.
You know that none of them are alniitit from
their meals ?—Soinetitues they are almetit with leave,
sometimes they are sent. iii temporarily ; where the
parish officers expect that-they shill go out to srt-k
tinploynient, and we have toilets from the parish
offivvrs that they shall he permitted to go to seek
employ; those persons seldom remain fun*

Can they go out of your premises without your
permission?—No.
'What restraint do yoU put on giving permission,
if they ask leave to ge out for three or four hours ?
-Unless we have a direct order from the parish of-
ficers, we do nut object to their going, provided
they give us such an account o here the are going
that we can account for thou, in ease any of the
parish officers ensile to inquire after them.
flow often do the parish officers visit your pre-
mises?—Seine of them once a osiontli, some once
tan months; once in a month is the general
practice. . . . .

When they visit your houw do they examilw the
people ?—Yea, separately ; ae put the churchwar-
dens or overseers into a room, and bead the people
iu one by one; we never know when they come,
there is scarcely a week that passes, hut we have
visitations from one or other.

You ure sure those peuplr have no ineuns of get-
inn.; out in the comm.., of the day, without your ac-
tual pen/n0...n0n ?—Nn.

flow many are out to-day ?---I cannot tell really,
being called here.
How many were out yep•nallay 1.1111110. till
the *umber; I know the ',topic.
Twenty ?—l'erisapn fifty.
Did von ever hear of ally pci,no renident in your
begging in the streets?---1 eN that in a (14-
,1 that will Inslopta; snitietinics.
that happened ?—.-Wheii they are gone
always ancettaiu where they are gone to;

aty may impose upon us sometitticsi it is disco-
vered by the officers themselves.
Has that happened often ?—Nut often.
Have any means been taken to know whether
they acquired money while they. have been out
—When I have gone out differently dressed from
what I appeared in at home, I have been stopped in
the streets by persons, who hold we a deplorable
story, who have received, to my knowledge, their
dog's allowance before they came tout.
Do you ever take measures to know whether the
inhabitants of your house beg ?—Yes, if ever I
have received horirtnation of a case, I have taken
every possible means to discover the truth, and to
put a stop to it.
You have not known whether they got much
money °—No. Though I know the practice of
begging has {wen gone into by the itiLtbitants of
our house, I do not think it has been by any
frequent ; I have heard of its being done, awl I
have been accused of soaking all aolvantage of let-
ting them go out to save their provisions, but I have
always been able completely to refute it, for we
serve their days provisions too soon in the morning
for it to have any effect : they have in all instances
had them when they came to our house. I have
orders of different complexions ; if the people are
ill disposed the parish officers wish them to be pot
under restraint; in other instances they direct that
they should have indulgencies of going out for the
air, aiod so on.

Rave you any lunatic?—No, we are not autho-
rised to take them.

have sou any inedieal advice for these poor two-
pie ?—Yes ; n doctor appointed with the approba-
tion of the parishes; sometimes the parishes have
thought proper to send their own.
Is he provided at your expense, or that of the
parishes ? We pay him so much a sear.
Does lie bring a bill in at the end of the year ?
Yes ; if there .are any eases that mire very partionl:u•
Mat very expensive, the parish in general will as-
sist me.

What proportiou of children are there among
those at your house ?—We send our children to
Tottenham.

IS that a ph•ce of your own ?—Yes ; it was from
u suggestion of one of the parishes, that the chil-
dren should be kept separate.
%Ilea care is taken of those childr-n ?—There is
a person paid for looking after them ; a woman
who lets brought up u
At what age sire they sent there it—Generally nt
two 3e.iis uld, and kept there till they are ap..ren-
ticed.
At what ate are they apprenticed ?—That de-
pends *spins the I.ari.ls officer,.

instrilentm do those children receive ?
They go to a day-sehoul in the neighbourhood,
What are they taught ?—They are taught read-
ing : there are 'mile of an age to go to school at
present; but if they remain lung enough they wit
he tntr2-ht renthog. -
Are the girls taught any thins ?—Yes. to work.
Who pays for the school ? —The parish.
At what age are they put nut apprentices T— V&
hove a woman in our Work-house now, who, contrary
to the iodination of the parish officers, will send her
child out at Muse yeOrs aids
. .
Dd you charge 64. a week for
.the children ?
No, not so much; but there are extras making it
pretty much tile same.
Do you separate the children from Hair parents
—We have but two who have parrots iu the house.
When you have persons who have children, do
you separate the parents f their childreti?—No,
we do not scud them without .nut order from time
parish olfiers.
Those children at Tottenlaun are mostly deserted
by their parents, or kr•tanis ?—Yes.
%Villa means have those persons in your honse of
attendiog public worship ?—The church is at no
great distance, and there are two chattels near.
Hitiv you any worship in the house ?—We hare
oecasimially ; amid in case of sickness the clergyman
of the parish comes to visit them.
Yon have no regular worship on a Sunday ?
No.

If a !Hw ',prow wished to pee a elertryniao
I;bre he diet, vould the e:eip moo etotie?—%Ve
never had -uch a thing refuted, the clef;;; matt has
ulways come.

At what vOn 1114111,er She laovisions in the
morning ?.—Getteraily befort I have iny own iiretik-
fas.t.

Those :ore the provisioos fur the day I)—Yot.
What is iutu• dinner hour'—Prow twelve to one
ov two.

Alter having received the provis:ons in the morn-
ing, a Manlier, by absenting hnusrlf at breakfast and
slimier, slurs nut occasion you any profit at all ?
No, none at all.

bo you relieve the pour at their own houses ?
No, I hate nothing to do with tat.
!low nraoy persous are there in a room in your
Louse ?—,According to the size• of the room ; in
some not more than five, and if the loom is very
large, tetelve or fourteen.
11'hut is the size of those rooms where there are
twelve or fourteen?—There is about the same space
in our rooms as in the rooms in the hospitals ; we
allow sufl'ic•ient room between each bedstead for a
chair to stand.

Is there its much space in your rooms as in St.
Bartholomew's Hospital ?-1 think nearly.
Do they sleep two in a led, or singly ?—Some
two together, and some singly; at this time of the
yeah when the house is thinner and the. weather
warm, we endeavour to let as many sleep singly as
we iskiibly can.
1/o old and young sleep together ?—We endea-
vour to prevent that as much as possible; we have
seventeen wards in the house, and some are snitch-
vided ; there are about twenty-six rooms, sod the
way we class them is according to character; not to
put the persons of this and that parish together be-
cause they are parishioners, but because they are
orderly, clean, and so on.
!lave you any private Act of Parliament, by
which you have a power over the poor under your
care

IN this a building for the purpose?—^o; it i 4 a
very old and roomy 110111 W.
Are they ever very.riulous in their conduct ?
SinnetieneA.

W ha t finale have you of punishing thew ?
Taking them before a soagiatrate yve have !io
lamer of punishing theip.
You hove no black hole?-No; we go to ■ Ina-

gistrate, and state the ease ; and if lie saw
Ile win] Id grant a warrant, and sometimes a plont. is
amfficietit.

In ease of illoeits, what course tin you pursne ?
We send them to the hospital, if we conceive that
there will be uny danger of nib etioo.
[lave ou infirmary?—Yes; in the most airy
part of the premises.
11'hat extent of ground have you ?—We have
some ground, I do not know the extent i. it.
The persons in your house have that plot of
ground to walk in ?—Yes, it is a large yar4l.,
the situation behind is very touch open, and, the
ground behind is lower than the ground on which
the house snouts.

What is the diet ; • tvlott do von give them besides
bread 1-1 have.% ith me a copy of my bill of fare :
" Bread, every day, fourteeii ounces best wheaten;
break Fast, every morning, one lint :and n half of
gruel ; meat on Sittidays, Tuesdays, and Thurs-
days, twelve ounces if uncooked, or eight ounces if
cooked, without hone, with vegetables; broth,
s!ienever the meat i. boiled ; butler three miners,
on Mondays and Fridays; cheese three ounces, on
Wednesdays and Saturdays; small beer, two pints
each day ; the choice of tea or cottip, in lieu of the
gruel." •In case of sickness, in lieu of the' above,
such diet as the doctor orders.

When persons ;.TO out to work, what do you sup-
'vise they do with the food you deliver to them ?
We are authorized by the parishes, in some cases,
to. let the persons out ; if there are any persons
likely to remain stationary, Inn who will do work,
the parish authorize us to let them out to work.
You never let them nut in such case, without
pecitic authority ?—No.
What is dune with their food ?—They generally
return to their meals.

Dave they ouy employment or amusement in the
house ?—They have generally us much employ-
ment as they wish.
Are there any books ?—Yes, we have sometimes
twenty, thirty, or fort• Bibles about the house,
sometime► not one ; for there me so 111411 y SO fund
of that pernicious liquor gin, that a Bible or nothing
else would be valued by them; they wake away
with every thing.
Do they paw their Bibles ?-IVe have had some
persons in our house who have had Bibles 4iven to
them, with the came of the institution marked le-
gibly upon them, and we have" known theni to be
paw ord.
Vhat is the employment you give them ?—The
only one we have, is the slop-work.

Are lily of the chil•lren sent to the cotton in:ititi-
factories have been sent lately to Min:-

At what age are they generally sent ?—Eleven or
twelve in general; in the case I have referred to,
the mother wished to apprentice her child at g years
old, the parish officers were unwilling, and they
applied to the Magistrates to know whether they
could prevent it, and they were Wormed that they
could not.

(To he rontinved )

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have swum% ten tor outlook cow ilea yr
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Mitt' )ote 010 served troer Scotch ',tiltrotor thou house Geggio
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