The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1824-09-03 00:00:00

Y 4 6
13 1

SOCIETY or iramosOF POREICNERS IN

DISTRESS.

Yesterday a General Con rilmtrie Governors of this excellent
Institution was held at the City of London Tavern, and immedi-
ately afterwards a Meeting of the Directoni took place, for the tam-
pers: of confirming tile minutes of the lAN: General Court, and
adopting additional nteasures for the benefit of the Institution.
, li•Stur El. 'WEBS, I:sq. in the Chair,
A desultory converaatien took place upon the stiggeation thrown
out by one of the Governors, that it would Le advisable to appoint
ten or twelve ',hectors. to visit the abodes of applicants for relief.
as a nicest. of more correctly aaciataining the degree of assistance
which it would be necessary to afford • and it was agreed to sub.
mit the proposition to the next general meeting. It was also pro-
posed to appoint some proper person to make inquiries with respect
to those claimant, fur relief, who might have parochial claims in
this country.
i It was mentioned F. one of the Directors, that this latter ditty
would not readily be iliaevokers by one of their body, es it would
clouirdeas be attended yeah considerable sacrifice of time and
trould a and a parish officer, who war probably the most coniprent
i to act on such an occasion, would perhaps make such a demand foe
his trouble as the Institution enuld not afford.
It was reao:ved that this paint also should be submitted to tb•
general meeting.
The report of the Board of Ihreetors to the Annual General
Court was then confirmed. It stated that, to addition to the list of
Royal subscribers, his Majesty the Hite of the Netherlands had
lately appeared, having transmitted a &nation 0(2001. and heconts
I one of the protectors of the establishment. By meal.. of the sea. sonable supply bestowed on the institution in the past year. tie
Directors had been enabled to carry on their proceedings with FORIC.-
j what less emb•rrasament than was previousit experienced, and to
alleviate • great mart of the most coniplicated truinan.mithry. The
!sum expended in the last year in relieving the objets of the been
city, amounted to 1,1411. 'The benefit of weekly pensions :fad been
continued to forty aged and helpless persons; aasistance lac.l beets
Oita casually in 1.1139 instances of other destitute foreignets and
their families. and 719 of them had been helped to return to their
native Our.tries. The Directors have, by strict examination at
their meetings, and other imoirini,endeavoured to form r. true esti-
mate of the nier;ts and wants of the applicants: and though they
have from thirty to forty petitions at each of their weekly meetings,
!all those who aeceived assistance, with very few exceptions, were
; reduced to want by misfortune alone. The funds were, however, LP
limited, that in many cases of great distress but very slight relief
could be given.
Mr. Milo x•r, the Secretary, in enumerating the rations easy
which had been relieved, mentioned that of a Gentian, sixty-eight
years of age, whom the Directives had found quite helpless, and
unable to support himself, being deprived of the nse of his Intbs
by paralysis, and his intellect being considerably impaired. The
papers of this unfortunate 6reiamer proved hit., to have been pos-
sessed of.great abilities and inicomnion acquirements. At College
he was lurid it the highest estimation, as r. appeared Instr. several
testimonials. At • later period he was employed in diplomatic af-
fairs, and held the rank of privy counsellor under some of the fire-
man government*, and his name had been mentioned honeurably in
the public journals of that time. In Igtal he came to reside sigh
a relation in London, where his property gradually diminished
and his health declined. After the death of this relative, 1t
11:14, he went to France, but not succeeding he returned to
England five or six years ago, to realise the property which
had been left to hint by his deceased relative. He then dos.
covered that there was not enough to satisfy the creditors. Body
and onto.' sunned front repeated p-valytic strokes, but, uncon-
arious of his forlorn condition, he was recommended to etc notice of
the Directors, from whom he received as liberal an allowance sate
their means permitted, and the case becoming known to the patrons,
the ocher gelded by them now enabled the object of their charity he
enjoy, during the rentaioder of his days, all the comforts that his
infirmities allow. It was to be hoped that a Society, which pro./
reined and accomphshed so noble an object as that to which its
name bore testimony, would speedily improve so mach in its recta.
rainy condition a, to enable die, Directors to enlarge their sphere of
anion. lvdertl, as way justly abhorred the other day by toe Lord
Mayor, in tha case of a use trout Lubeck, who would compel the
Society to ct:ntribute to his relief, Cie Institution exceeded the
limits which the regulations' had prescribed. It appeared from hiss
Lordship's observations cm the subject, that he cerotinly had •
favourable disposition towards the Society. llis Lordship disap•
proved of the narrow omstruction, which he contended was
placed upon the rule of the majority of charities, red tools
some objection to that Which required that a foreigner sliculel
be in this country six months before lie could be recog. 'sea
as a claimant; iut when he considered the facilities, in time
of peat:: particularly, which foreigners had of chatting to this
country, and the great variety of deceptions capable of being pear.
tined by them, he candidly admitted the necessity of the rule. for the
recreation of that legree of importation which would be likely 11
overwhelm it. In case. of taMlalty the rule was completely relaxed.
Shipwrecks spoke for themselves with the Society, but with respect
to candidates who were not sufferers front shipwreck or other nut.
fortunes. and destitute in c,)r.sequence, it was necessary to make
them abide by certain tegulations. The lard Mayor had °hearted
upon the fact that there was ro parochial provision for English seta
)eats born in our Coloilies. Ile (Mr. Murray) regretted that there
was not ; but he did not mean to throw any imputation upon the
Legislature. Ile merely stated, that if there was any fault with
respect to the regulations about British l'obtoial subjects, it sat
that such penes:, had no claim upon any fund for defraying their
expenses home.
One of the Directors said, that If the regulation alluded to in
the tint instance was ran adhered to, except in cases of casualty
avid unavoidable dulness, the funds would be very soon anniht•
hated. A Dutchman told him the other slay, that his countrymeet
insured bins that a man might almost pick up gold In the streets of
London (a laugh); and the general belief on the Continent war.,
that an adventurer, if he failed in speculations here, need rot care
about that, as there was d Society that would send him home.
Now this belief must be put an end to, and the above regulation
was necessary for that purpose.
The (*HAW MAN said, that the regulation counteracted who had
been said against the Soviets formerly, that it would encourage
foreigners to conic over and depend upog our benevolence, lie
had waited upon the Lord Mayor, of whose benevolent views, ant
of the cleantess of whose untleistanding he had the highest opinion,
and pointed out to hint that very rule as an unfailing rebutment et
the report.
The minutes were then agreed to, and thanks having been voted
to the Chairman, the 31eetiog broke up.
h is almost peculiar to this Institution, that when any case of
great distress appears, the patrons dip thelr hands into their pockets
as if there were no claim upon the funds. A few days ago, in ad.
dition to the relief afforded by the Society, • few of the supear.
tendenta gave M. to the family of a poor Italian.