The Sun.
London, England, 1854-10-06 00:00:00

iympathy. which have been evinced. by the British public for this
most unhappy class of women, suddenly deprived of the help of their
husbands.

"R. P. DOUGLAS, Colonel, Assist. Acg. Gen.,
" Chairman of Committee."

•
Extract from the Manchester and Salford Local Committee:—
" Salford Barracks, 29th August.

" I send you a statement of a few cases, which strike ins as being
unusually distressing. There are many nearly as bad, 140 in num-
ber. Very few of the women who have young children (and the
children are nearly all too young to work) can earn anything worth
noticing, 2s. or 3s. a week at the most. Of course those who enjoyed
the privileges of livirg In the barracks, &c., as being married with
leave, are in the worst circumstances, and they suinr severely.
They lose the lodging and advantages of fuel, company's and officers'
washing, say 55. or6s. a week, and the assistance of their husbands'
pay. Lodging here of a very indifferent sort costs them 2s. and 3s.
a week, and they will be far worse lodged than when in barracks. I
send you the cases of four women all married with leave,. one with
six children, another five, fulfiller four, another three; there are
many others married with leave having two or three children nearly
as destitute. There is no employment that they are .capable of,
hampered as they arc with young children for whose care they must
pay if they leave them at home and seek employment elsewhere.
"A.. F. BOND, Major and Staff ()dicer."
Extract from the Report of the Woolwich Local Committee :
" Woolwich Rectory. 4th September, 1854.
"The women were left in very many cases, I am sure I may say
in almost all, without any means for themselves and their children.
Many were on the eve of conanerneut. Their only resource would
have been to become t aupers on the parish, and their only asylum
would have been the workhouse. A generous provision on the part
of a gratetul country for the wives and families of those ort whom
they depended, under God, for a successful issue of the war in which
we have been compelled to engage has prevented this. But suppose
this had not been the case—how hardly would the maintenance;of So
many have pressed upon the poor-rate payers; and in many in-
stances how unfairly. Take Woolwich, for instance, and the case
would be similar with respect to all garrison towns. We have up-
wards of 200 women, besides their chilrren, to be maintained some-
how. I think it quite possible that the burden would have been felt
so heavily, that a memorial might have been sent to the Government ;
but however this might be, the expense would have been unfairly
thrown upon parishes such as our own ; but this is a trifling mktter
when compared with the pauperization of respectable wives of sol-
diers of our army.

" HENRY BROWN, Rector of Woolwich."

Extract from the Report of the Dublin Local Committee : •
" September, 40854.

" I find that since the Ist of July to the 2d inst. I have made about
3,400 payments (in small sams varying from Is. to 1/. 55.), to about
400 women (soldiers' wives). We have granted several women free
passages.to their friends and relatives, released clothes from pawn
offices for women going into situations, set up numbers in a small way
of business, defrayed the funeral expenses of a few children, and in
numberless other ways have been the means of conferring sub Sta-
n benefits upon these poor people, &c. Had it not been for the
small weekly payments the majority would have been in the poor-
honse. Many women, although they only received 3s. 6d, a-'reek,
were thus kept going, and encouraged to work far themselves and
children, Ike.

"CHARLES HORT, Senior Garrison Chaplain,
Honorary Secretary to Committee."

"Extract from the Report of another Local Committee :—,
"We have hardly relieved any that were not married with leave
and on the s'rengtn. By the timely aid rendered by your Society,
is much distress was of course prevented, as, as soon as they wer ' left,
your excellent Society took them by the hand. But timely as th aid
was offered, it was not before, in many cases, the poor creature had
parted with nearly everything, even In two cases to their wed ing-
rings. What would-have been the condition of these poor crea urea
if no such society as yours had existed ? Many of them, far too high-
spirited to have become the inmates of a workhouse,would havelbeen
plunged into a s ate of misery fearful to contemplate. But eventas it
is, much misery is to be found. A pour delicate creature, with' two
children, married with leave, to whom your society grants a wiiekly
adowance, has been compelled to part with her furniture. So distres-
si
ng is this woman's case, and so respectable a character doe she
appear to be, that some of the other women have helped her o t of
their small pittance, &c. Every day I feel more thankful fo the
good your society is doing; upwards of 30 are receiving help fro you
at this place. I only wish those who have contributed largo sus to
your society could witness the gratitude of these poor women I the
help they receive; they would, indeed, feel more titan repaid f all
they have done." i

SOLDIERS WIVES at VARNA.
Mr. Ray, formerly the active and intelligent Inspecting Offlc
this Association, writes from Varna to the following effect : 111
" Varna, August 4, 181
" Sir,—l beg to draw your attention to the condition of the,
women here. Many of them have died, and others are dying ;01
who are in a state of convalescence, are not able to proceed futi
with their regiments, and the men are espectgd .o leave th
about 14 days; and these poor creatures, emaciated and dried
the sun, wilt be left in a foreign land without any protection
,
borne whatever. What I thought of was, to provide a house;
'el and to enco
cook, and s,
food for such as have none ; most of them have blankets, but tol
thosew- o h,avxhreoa notre
ablewould
to
gpropose u
about
etnodwi nagi
wait
them
the nts osui
If your Committee is pleased to approve of this plan, I shall be
happy to superintend the whole matter, arid I am quite su
would relieve many a poor man,of intense anxiety. The cold
titer will be soon setting in, then what will these poor women
If the ladies in England would send us a little flannel, a few blan
and left-off garments, they ;would be renderisg us a great se
&c. 'flee great work that is going on for the wives and famili
the so diers by means 01 the Association in which. you take so
minent and energetic a part, causes abundant joy to the hus
and fathers here ; and when I remind them of what is doing,
seem overjoyed, and many thanks are expressed both to you
and the Committee, and benevolent friends, for the sympathy
them. Numerous are the deaths from cholera and fevers, and d
less many who are cared for by your Association are really vvi;
but news of the fact may not have reached them. They hiv •
yet entered the field, but every day the order for embarkatlo
the Crimea is expected, where doubtless many will fall, and
poor fellows have their eyes upcn your Association to protect
wives and children. I am happy to say I have been we
ceived by the men generally; to point them to the "Lai
God that taketh away the sins of the world,' is my oste
work, and to tell them of the great work going on in En.
for the good of those who have been left behind, is in perfect koe
itis indeed good news. The poor women who have followed the;
bands to this plus are in a most pitiable condition, and when th
pediation sails for the Crimea ti,ey will be left here. Woul 1 tits
it could ,
wild,de b
sep
eortahteer.
1"oolsletin g with
fellsoume.s such
, a
armedeetgi.
had an Association here tor these poor objects ! Varna is In pe
confusion;
nations, nl9 eoreew
teeth, anxiously waiting for the signal to summon them to the I
May you long be spared in your glorious work, of all work
most enviable, to care for the poor, Pee."

!r of

,!poor

and
t'hose
i'age
rash.
post
e

Immediately on the receipt of time letters the Committee plet,
and decided that a donation of blankets, shawls, &c., should imme-
diately be sent to Varna, and the sum of 1001. should be granted for
the use of these women. On the let September goods to the amount
of 341. were sent by steam to Constau Inept; addre,sed to the care
of the Consul-General, whowas requested to use his discretion in
forwarding them to Varna. A bill of exchange for 100/. was! also
sent to the same authority, witq instructions and authority to Mr.
Ray to act as the almoner of the Association.
Private letters received by the Committee fully corroboral the
fact of tne distress of these poor women, for though they re eive
what are called rations, no other female comforts can be proVided
for them.
"Camp near Varna, August 24, 18b4.

"Dearest,—Yours dated August 3, came to hand on the 16th. I
have received all your letters except one. You did tell me, my
dear, that7s. a week was what you received from the Association ;
and although that is a mere trifle in a place like . London, yet we
ought to be,very thankflil for it. You say you deeply regret yon did
not go with me; indeed, my dear wife, much as I desire to be :with
you, I think it one of the most providential things ever happendd for
you to be where you are, instead of beinz here ; badly off as yogi are
now, you would be utterly miserable here. We have lost altleady
two married men of cholera. I sleep in the staff tent ever al ce I
got better of the cholera. Everything is enormously high be e; a
mouthful of white bread and cheese for supper costs sd. Ono ]zingi
lately we can always get, a pint of ale for 2d., or porter lid.; thifact,
it is the only thing we relish; for the bread is very bad, and we get
nothing but the nasty beet, which we cannot eat, but boil down) and
make soup of. I get, as I said before, Is. 10d. a day pay. Out °kilts,
4 k, d. is stopped for rations, and 2d.a-day for mess-money, so that to, the
time I pay for something fit to eat, there is not much left ; still I shall,
please God, send you all I can, &c. The women here have noway
of making money by washing, the water is too. far off, &C.
" I am sorry to say I have been very ill, and as it is tar the belt for
me to let you know the whole truth, 1 must inform you that 1 have
bad the cholera; I was very bad while it lasted, but thank. the' God
of all goodness for his great mercy, He has restored me. The doctors
have been very kind indeed to me; everything I could wish for was
got for me; almost all the ofll2ers and the colonel came to me and
inqu ired about me constantly. Poor L. M., J. Kg an E.
and Mrs. L., have all died since my last; also J. It. and, S. F. In-
deed, my dearest wife, I rely in perfect confidence In my Rede iner,
and feel myself quite unworthy of Ills mercy ; and during the orst
of my illness, I felt humble before Him in whom alone my sal Lion
is Pure.

" Your ever loving husband, ;

The wife of the writer of this letter (a most excellent noncom-
missioned officer) was left nearly dest tute with five young children.
She bears a most irreproachable character, and is most anxious to
exert heraetf to obtain her own livelihood ; but what can she do with
five young children? Her two eld,st girls are entirely provided for
by the Association, and she receives a
weekly allowance of 73.
The Committee perceive with pleasure that the authoiities are
gradually sending them home from the East. Three arrivals of sol-
diers' families have airready been brought before the Committee,
for no sooner do they land than they apply to the Association, and
it is needless to add how readily their application is always re-
sponded to. .

The first efforts of this Association were limited
WIDOWS and ORPHANS.
relief of the wives of soldiers ordered on active service, who, in
consequence of their having families, were lett behind utterly desti-
tute
done their sad work, and many of these poor outdoor parish
of all means of existence, save the temporarY
relief. Since that time, the sword and the pestilence have too fa-
tallyto the immediate
come more hopelessly destitute by the death of their husbands.
magnificent contri-
The Committee, however, encouraged by the magi,
butions received iron all parts of the world, have found themselves
In a position to make the following scale of donations for widows,
people have
which is is the same that was adopted by the administrators of the
waterloo Fund, in 1815:—.
Unanimously resolved,—" That relief in the shape of a donation
net exceeding the und rmentioned sums, being the same as agreed to
by the Waterloo Committee on the 28th of June,
1815, be adopted as
a scale for the widows of non-commissioned officers and soldiers
now serving against Russia.
"A pension may be granted in the place of the whole or part
of such et:nation, should it appear expedient to the Committee.
and
Scale of Donation for Widows Children Dependent for Sup-
port :