The Sun.
London, England, 1864-02-20 00:00:00

LONDON, SATURDAY, FEB. 20, 1864.

A question of very great interest and im-
portance was opened to discussion on IVednesday
evening by the motion of Mr. BERNARD. The relief
of the poor has always been a difficult subject.
That it is the duty of the State to support its poorer
members, to succour the infirm, to provide for the
aged, and to supply the wants of the utterly desti-
tute, has been unhesitatingly admitted on all sides;
but the manner of doing so has been less univer-
sally apparent. As it is, many and grievous defi-
ciencies are daily felt in our existing social arrange-
raentr, and the public are beginning to look round
t.etta for a4eteedy. Town and country alike have
their vievarccs—in the one the unjust and oppres-
-5,v0 inequality of rates is especially felt, while in
the other tho effects of the law of settlement an,
constantl:r e.--)m.piained of. Mr. BERNAItD.S motion
more particularly Referred to the agricultural dis-
tricts. lie asked leave to introduce a bill provid-
ing for the more equitable distributi 311 of the charge
on landed property for the relief of tae sick and
destitute, Rind although such a measure might cer-
tainly deal with a very comprehensive range of
topics, its principle object was to secure the substi-
tution of a union fa a county rate. After some
discassion, 'a which the President of the Poor Law
Board took a prominent part, promising his sup-
port to the measure, the bill was withdrawn, Mr.
BERNARD expressing himself satisfied that it would
be better to leave it in abeyance until another ses-
El°n. SD far, then, the matter remains where

it was. But two questions tress upon our notice.
The first whether the really destitute
1r032 whatever cause are properly cared for, C.r.4 the
second, wlA.ther the burden of supporting them is

fairly divided among the different members of the
community ? Neither of these queries can be very
satisfactorily answered. Cases are constantly
coming under our notice in which, from some cause
or another, poor persons suffer the extremes of want
and hunger, and juries have to return the melan-
choly verdict, "Died from want of the necessaries
of life." No one can attribute wilful neglect or in-
tentional cruelty to the officials of our parishes, but
tco often in poor and densely peopled localities the
natural desire to keep down the rates which press
so heavily on the ratepayers produces a reluctance
to attend to the needs of the extreme poor, and an
anxiety to discourage pauperism which sometimes
bears startling fruit. The inequalities and injustice
of the present system of rating are so manifest that
it is only surprising they should have survived to
the present day. It stands to reason that in a dis-
trict like Spitaifields or Bethnal-green, where the
largest number of poor congregate, the householders
are very unlikely to be able to pay heavy rates
with anything like ease. Very probably a great
many of them with difficulty keep off the rates
themselves. Small shopkeepers, occupiers of tene-
ments with four rooms, or little lodging-house
keepers, are not likely to be very willing to sub-
scribe for the relief of the destitute on a larger
scale than the rich merchant of the City or the mar-
quis in Park-lane or Grosvenor-equare. Why are
some parishes:rated:at:two or three shillings in the
pound, whereas in others a poor rate is almost
a thing unknown ? Which class can best afford to
contribute to the relief of the necessitous—the in-
habitants of St. George's Hanover-square or those of
Bethnal Green? The intelligent foreigner so
often referred to as the referee on matters of
social philosophy, might naturally consider that
the latter was the wealthiest of the two. A
great deal is said about the equality of our laws,
and the fairness of our system of government,
but we expect the true explanation of such a
glaring absurdity is •to be found in a remark
made by Mr. VILLIERS the other evening. "It
was difficult," said the right hon. gentleman, "to
induce parishes that were exempt, or but slightly
rated, to support the principal of equal contribu-
tion, based on the value of all the property rated;
and the resistance, on account of this interest had
always been extremely influential." Naturally so,
because it is the wealthy parishes who oppose the
reform, and the injustice of the present method,
and the hardships of the poor weigh but little
i❑ comparison. The true cure is to be found in a
national rate. The poor of the country are a
national burden which every man should assist in
bearing according to his ability. There is no rea-
son because a man lives in one street, instead of
another, that he should give six times as much
towards the relief of persons who have no real claim
on his aid, save that of common humanity which
appeals to all parishes alike. A national rate
would cure many evils. It would avoid the mani-
fest injustice of the burden as now distributed an
through the country. Witness the high rate of
Liverpool, and the ingenious arrangement by
which some country landowners contrive to keep
the very men employed on their farms off their
estates. It would take away that anxious desire
on the part of the officials of heavily rated parishes
to discourage the poor from applying for help—an
anxiety which has no effect on the hardened and
worthless, but which makes the decent and indus-
trious poor struggle on through almost any
privations rather than go to " the House." It would
relieve poor ratepayers of a heavy burden, and in
cases of a national calamity like the distress in
Lancashire end Cheshire, the weight would fall on
all alike. No one could fail to bo touched during
the worst time of the trouble by the accounts of thJ
ratepayers who were themselves reduced to the
greatest straits, yet fighting on till overpowered by
the burden of the constantly increasing rates. Had
there been a national rate a good many might have
been kept from pauperism. A line once overstepped
is hard to retrace. Such a rate would remove the
inducement to keep labourers off the land, and con-
sequently have an influence in promoting the build-
ing and improving of cottages. What says Mr.
VenniEns, who, as one of the original inquirers in
1833, and the present head of the Poor Law Board,
should be able to give a sound opinion ? " The
effect of the parochial system has been to exempt
some parishes entirely, and to cause in others every
kind of inequality and injustice besides in the dis-
tribution of the burden." With such a confession
from our Poor Law President, with deaths from
starvation continually recorded in our columns,
with the dwellings of our agricultural labourers in
a state that is a national disgrace, and with strug-
gling tradesmen of the lower class heavily taxed for
a common burden which the rich man may not pay
for at all, it is certainly time that something was
done in the matter of our parish rating.

Sir G. GREY's motion for leave to bring in
a Bill for amending the Penal Servitude Acts,
afforded occasion for some debate on the sub-
ject. It proves that the question still en-
gages the attention of the House, as it has long
engrossed the thoughts of the public. Amid
the discussion some very conflicting statements
were made, but on the whole Sir G. GREY'S
Bill appeared to receive general approbation. It
is certainly, as Lord NAAS stated it, a step in the
right direction, and it is to be hoped that having
once entered into the spirit of the task, the autho-
rities will proceed, and that whatever be the poli-
tical creed of those who occupy the Treasury
benches, the importance of this subject of penal
servitude will be duly considered, and the question
studied with reference to its bearing on the inte-
rests of society. There is one point in which many
will concur with Lord NAAS) and that is relating
to Western Australia. With all due deference to
Sir G. GREY—who is doubtless animated with the
best intentions, and thinks he sees valid grounds for
his resolve—it is to be regretted that the right hon.
baronet has come to the determination not to carry
cut the plan of sending convicts to Western Aus-
tralia. This is a mistaken concession, and one that
furnishes a bad precedent, while at the same time
it will occasion great disappointment to the colo-
nists, who sought for the convict labour, and work
incalculable mischief to the unhappy subjects of
discussion. In the first place, to take the question
upon the broad principle of justice, what right ,
have those who are so far away from the place in
dispute 1-o set rp a claim or put forward a demand
to judge of the propriety or non-propriety of such
a proceeding? C:nsistency is highly necessary,
and for the inhabitants of one place to dic-
tate to those of another as to what class of
workers they shall employ, is simply absurd. The
fact is, that prejudice has a great deal to do with
this vehement opposition, and in some cases un-
founded alarm, produe-..d by the exaggerated repre-
sentations of those whose object it is to sound au
alarm, or create a panic, until the vexed question
is withdrawn, and the attempt proves futile. There
is everything to hope for as regards the future of
the criminal who returns to liberty on that distant
soil, far away from old associates, and surrounded
by a complete change. Surely, under such in-
fluencer, wo may venture to form a well-grouuded
expectation, and to indulge in a substantial hope,
that for these outcast brethren it may be said, " old
things are passed away, 'tad all thin_s are Income

new." Those who first started the inimical idea,
and gave rise to the strenuous opposition, have much
to answer for. Inasmuch, as concerns the colony
itself, a great boon would have been conferred on it
by the acquisition of convict labour. Many of the
places which have so strongly disclaimed the notion
of allowing the ingress of convicts, have themselves
greatly benefitted by the very source which they
would now shut out from others. It seems a great
pity that these unfortunate outcasts should be con-
signed to certain destruction, by being sent back to
all their old associations, while in a new world, as
it were, fairer scenes and brighter prospects are
awaiting them. If, however, it is determined to
give up for the present all thoughts of this plan, it
is important that a right view should be taken of
the manner in which they are to bo treated at home.
Lord NAAs spoke is terms of approbation of the
Irish system, but it is proposed by Sir G. GREY to
leave things in statu quo is this respect. It is
neither one thing nor the other to carry on a
system which irritates the men without
conferring any substantial benefit upon
soeiety ; and, above all other alterations,
some very strict measures should be passed concern-
ing those who are convicted. It is not enough for
them to complete their sentence ; they should have
the full term before imposed, doubled or treb'ed,
according as their offence has been comparatively
great or small. It is greatly to be hoped that
during the discussion on this topic some very great
changes will be made relative to the manner in
which the discipline is carried on within the walls
of the prison. The days are happily gone by when
dark doings and cruel tortures disgraced the annals
of our prisons and made our gaolers a species of
barbarians. We have, however, fallen into the op-
posite extreme, and the details that have been most
unwittingly afforded relating to the management
of criminals as to diet, labour, and recreation
have been scandalous. It is downright in-
tolerable to reflect that vice should be pampered,
while honest poverty struggles on unheeded, and the
deserving sufferer often dies a cruel death without
the commonest necessaries of life. Such a course
of conduct is totally subversive of order and justice
in a State, and the dictates of sense and reason are
alike arrayed against it. By all means care and at-
tention should be bestowed upon these criminals,
but they should be given no indulgences that they
would not have had if they had kept in their own
position and done their duty faithfully to their
Creator and follow-creatures, A 9 has been ob-
served, this is a beginning that has been made;
and.the hopes and wishes of all who have the wet.
fare of the community at heart will be interested
in the furtherance of the undertaking now,so auspi-
ciously commenced. It is high time that the atten-
tion of the Legislature be called to the consideration
of a system into which serious errors have crept,
and wherein so many abuses have taken root.