The Sun.
London, England, 1840-12-31 00:00:00

PRICE sd.

THIS ADMINISTRATION OF THE
POOR LAWS IN THE CITY OF LONDON.

Alderman WILSON having made an appointment to
sit yesterday at the Mansion-house, attended at the
usual hour, and disposed of all the cases on the list.
The Commissioner of the City Police immediately
afterwards made his appearance, in consequence of the
publication of the Report relative to the administration
of ti-! PoOr-laws in the City, upon which subject he
supposed some observations would be made ; and in
compliance with the suggestions in which he conjectured
orders "might be issued to those who were in immediate
contact with the destitute objects:about the streets. At

the equest of Alderman Wilson, Mr. Pewtress, the
Deputy of Bridge ward, who objected in the PJlice
Committee to the manner in which the law lies been

bit herto admiaistered, attended, and Mr.Thwaios, one

of the relieving officers of the City of London Union,
who was in waiting on other business, remained in the
room at the desire of the Alderman during the conver-
sation, which took place relative to the future course
which it might be deemed advisable to adopt with re-
gard to the masses of poor which crowded into the City
at this severe season.
Alderman WILSON said that he had read Mr.
Pewtress's statement, and acquiesced in the propriety
of many of the observations with-respeet—ttrttie -admi-

nistration of the law. He was quite prepared to say
that the Relieving Officer was compclable to give shelter
and covering, as welt as bread, to the destitute, and
that all those things were comprehended 'in the word
" which some people frittered' away into a-very.
small and inadequate meaning indeed. If, therefore,
the City Police Commis'ioner thought it right to give
advice to his men to take any destitute person who
should be in the streets to the Relieving Officers, and
to insist that such destitute persons should be supplied
with shelter, as well as what were called the necessaries

of life ; and if the Relieving Officers should refuse to
comply, he (Alderman Wilson) upon being applied to
would grant a summons to such Relieving Officers, and
upon proof of their non-compliance levy the heavy pe-
nalties named in the Act. if subsequently the Guar-
dians of the Poor thought proper to defend such refusal
upon the part of the Relieving Officers, they might, if
they pleased, issue a mandamus or any other process

against him, and let the matter come far decision before
the highest tribunals. It was decidedly time to settle a
question so completely matter of life and death with the
poor, to whom a piece of a loaf and a sixpence could net,

THE COMMERCIAL
LERS' SOCIETY.

particularly at this seyere season, be deemed to be relief.
Mr. THWAITES (the Relieving Officer of the City
of London Union) said that he had considered it to be
his duty to follow up the si:ggestions given by Alder-
man Wilson when Lord Mayor, but he and Mr. Jopp,
his brother Relieving O'licer, were placed in consider-
able difficulty in havip, no workhouse nearer than Peck-
ham to which to semi the numerous destitute persons
who applied to thew for shelter. At all hours of the
night application was made to them, and they had no
alternative ; whatever might be the hour, the season,
or the weather, they could only give orders of admis-
sion to Peckham. Something certainly ought to be done.
Alderman WILSON said that it was one of the greatest
blots upon the character of a very large district of the
City of London that there was no place of shelter for
the poor. To be sore there was a refuge for the house-
less open to receive wretched Wanderers at this despe-
rate season.

Mr. PEWTRESS—And such a place there aught not
to be. The establishment of such a refuge is calculated
to do great injury. The poor can be, and must be,
otherwise provided for.
Alderman WILSON said he knew well the evil effect
of such a refuge, but the fact was, present circum-
stances rendered it imperative upon the Committee to
throw open the doors, or the poor would perish. He was
astonished that, although the Poor-laws were now three
years in operation in the City, the Guardians of the
City of London Union had no place of shelter for those
who stood in such need of it.
Mr. HOBLER. said that there were two, and he be-

lieved those workhouses were in the district at the time
the Poor-law Amendment Act camp into operation in the
City, any one of which workhouses was extremely well
adapted to the emergency. That of All- Hallow's Bark-
ing, for instance, could have been made a very conve-
nient place of reception, instead of Peckham work-
house, to which poor exhausted creatures could not
walk.

Mr. HARVEY (the Commissioner) said that the ob-
servations of Alderman Wilson were well deserving of
attention, and the Alderman's determination to act,
could not be too highly commended. It was not suffi-
cient at a time of such extremity to express the feelings
of humanity. A substantia) amount in the shape of relief
must be made. What excuse bad the Guardians of

the Poor of the City of London Union for not ad-
ministering the relief enjoined by law ? They hid no
place for the reception of the destitute nearer than
Peckham—why did they not provide a place ? What
did the law enjoin ? Not that the Relieving Officers
should give a poor creature a piece of bread or a six-
pence, and then a dismissal ; but that they should give
him food and shelter, and medicine, if required, and
keep him in supply until the next meeting of the Board
of Guardians, when, if he was found to be an impos-
tor, the Magistrate would deal with him, but if he was
found to be merely destitute, and not criminal, he
should be passed to his legal settlement. Now, was
such the case with the City of London Union? Just
the reverse. The law was constantly violated in that
extensive district, and the violation afforded a most
dangerous precedent, which might be acted upon to a
frightful extent. He begged to call the attention of
the Alderman to the returns made by him to the Po-
lice Committee. It appeared from that return that a
number of individuals had been brought as destitute
poor to Mr. Jopp and Mr. Thwaites, the Relieving
Officers of the City of London Union. He did
not mean at all to reflect upon the conduct
of these Officers—it was the system he must
be understood as objecting to. Of these 182
were relieved with pieces of bread, 90 relieved with
money, 83 received into the house, and '2.0 refused ; so
that, out of 275 persons, no more than 83 were dealt
with according to law. To be sure, they were all told
that if they wished they might go to the workhouse,
but the idea of giving an invitation to destitute crea-
tures to walk four or five miles, and then go to bed,
was mere mockery. It was nothing better than offering
an insult to misery, and it was in the teeth of the law at
the same time. It happened that there was a case on
the preceding night which was illustrative of the effect of
such gross violations of the law as he complained of.
A Scotch girl was in a destitute state, and upon appli-
cation to Mr. Jopp she received her quantum of relief
—a piece of bread. That relief was to serve her ne-
cessities, and after having eaten it she might have sat
down and perished, or fallen a victim in any other way,
if it had not been for a policeman wbo pitied and pro-
tected her. Now, how was that poor girl, fatigued, and
ignorant, and inexperienced, to be expected to set off in
the dead of the night for Peckham ? Why it was
monstrous to permit such an inhuman practice as thepre-
scription of a journey to Peckham after the exhaustion and
starvation of the day. It was proper to notice ttre system
adopted in the East London Union, of which the Relieving
Officer was Mr. Roberts, who relieved none with bread,
none with money, refused none, but received eighty •one,
all who applied. In that Union there was a house, and the
coarse pursued was unexceptionable. In the West London
Union too, of which Messrs. Miller and Carvill are the
Relieving Officers, 300 were received into the house, and
although there were some violations of the law in relieving
with bread, they were so few as to be mentioned as mark-
ing the contrast. It was quite clear that the plan of send-
ing to Peckham was adopted to prevent parochial expense.
Perhaps it was calculated that the hand of death might
lend its assistance more speedily on unseasonable journeys
to those who were unable undertake them. At all events,
the voice of humanity cried aloud for a change. The City
ought not to hesitate in such a case. The rates in the City
were very trivial. Some parishes were without any rates
at all, and he was convinced that the subject would be
taken up actively by those who were not only to pay rates
but to compassionate the poor. For his part he should in-
struct his officers to insist that the Relieving Officers shall
give shelter to the destitute, and in the event of refusal to
charge them with the offence before the Lord Mayor.
Mr. PEWTRESS said that if the Commissioner adopted
that plan he had no doubt as to the remedy of the evil,
which was a fearful one. If the Commissioner were met
with refusal to act according to law from the relieving
overseers, and applied at the Mansion-house for sum-
monses, the penalties would soon produce a workhouse—
. 4/ might be inflicted for a first offence, 101. for a second,
and 20/. for a third.
Alderman WILSON stated that he apprehended there I
existed differences of opinion as to the extent of relief
which it was lawful to administer. Ile:believed that the
word meant clothing as well as shelter and food. Surely
in such weather as put the glass eighteen below the
freezing point, clothing, was a necessary of life. He
agreed with the Commissioner that the City Poor-rates
were exceedingly low, and he was perfectly convinced that
the humane inhabitants who paid so little would, upon
reading the statement of facts, melancholy as they were,
and not at all overcharged, take the matter into their
serious consideration at a time when the claims upon
general humanity were so powerful.
Mr. PEW TRESS observed that the average of the Poor-
rates through the city was not more than eighteen pence
in the pound. He trusted that the City of London Union
would not much longer have the discreditable distinction
of being without a place for the reception of the poor, and
he looked to the City Magistracy and the Commissioners
to see that the law Was carried fully into effect.
Alderman WILSON asked Mr. Thwaites what his direc-
tions were ?
Mr. THWAITES said that he was obliged' to get up at
all hours of the night, and to give orders to those who ap-
plied to be admitted into the Peckham workhouse, and jf any
of the applicants were unable to go to that place, he had to
appeal to the humanity of the police for assistance to them.

. .
EVENTN G .E D IT! ON
IHe did not belieie that the Mardi-is; fositated shim the
expense of cenveyiug them there. He bi..g-gm fell:4 al.: •
r f' , ..•
lowed to say, that the Report of ?he toliniissioner did not
... comprehend a tithe of the cases which were broug.ht,to
. ,
,: -,... the Relieving Officers. He aua 'his colleague had list
-
.. -' j f quarter relieved 2,300 cases, and the inquiry into tie mats
of applications occupied a vast deal' of time and'attention.
What could they do if they were required to fiad'abelfer
--5‘5................ for those who henceforward applied to. Oral ? It was
quite impossible that they could retain their /Satiation& ..
Mr. PEWTRESS—Make the representation to the Bei id
of Guardians, and they will provide a.place. They won't
like b/. 10/. and 201. penalties. The' City' SAititor bas
been consulted by the Cominittoe, and he-is dccidecity of
opinion that the Board of Guardians are bound by -law to
provide food,' shelter, and medicine if requiredi to the
, .
destitute.
Alderman WILSON—I shall, Mr. Comniisiigner, if any
case come before me, such as you have represent-A, inflict
the penalty. lam willing to be taken into ecotill'of law
upon such an important matter. The very pinching of the
weather is sufficient to give a man an addltionar iiiipulse.
The Commissiosaa—Yes. If it were in Nue or July,
to remain in the streets all night would be no intro than a
mere " Midsummer Nights' Dream" ; but gnat' rights as
we now have rc7lize all the horrors of a " Winters Tale.'"

--- ---
SPORTING INTELLIGENCE.

MANCHESTER.—TUESDAY EVININO.
There are so many attractions at Christmas, that it may
reasonably be expected that the turf market, as well as
others, may be somewhat dull. We have nothing p offer
in the way of comment upon the Chester Cup, the entry
for which closes on Friday. All parties seem,deterinintit •
to wait its appearance ; 20 to 1, by way of sounding, was
offered on the field, in a limited circle at noon, but no one
ventured to name terms on which he was disposed to break
the ice; 15 would have been given against the field.
Tits DERBY.—Another second favourite (with prorpec.t
of the leadership) appears in Tatimmon, noticed—brut lti"
having, during-tiitr'past fortnight, been for a provincial
market so very largely betted upon. He bad the es4ll to-
day of &tilt, and the top offer was 17 ponies to. 1 ; whilst
a point more was offered in many quarters v. Marshal Souit,
and in one or two instaAces 20 to 1 was got. Palmmon
was coupled to Eringo at 9 to 1, and would gladly have
teen so to -Sault, but 8 to 1 was the top offer. - Actoibeil
feature in the doings, was the Duke of Wellington being
backed at 40 to 1 in hundreds, and afterwards several oilers
of 40 to 1 having been made, the• same parties- pencilled,
down fifty hundreds to one. Both gentlemen seemed
" cock-sure" that they bad made " a hit," the one in lay-
ing the copious odds and the other in accepting the same,
even in the face of no disposition to increase the market
price to any moment against the Duke's stable companion
Marshal Soult. The Duke would have been backed against
either Yen Amburgh or the colt out of Rattle's ebi ; a
101. note was adventured on the last-named son of- Veloci-
pede, the figure being 40 to 1 ; 20 to 1 was freely ofered
v. Cameleon : the same against Eringo, with an ofFer en
the latter, in a good quarter, to take 500 to'2o ; 1,000 to
7 was laid v. Sycophant, and offered to 10 v Warlock.
The Nob was friendless at 50 to 1, and also 11r. Strdler'a
lot at 331 to 1, 40 score to one was wanted.

TRAVEL..

FORTY-FIRST ANNIVERSARY DINNER.
The forty-first anniversary of the Comniereial Tra-
vellers' Society was celebrated on Tuesday by a dinner
at the London Coffee House, to which a smaller num-
ber than usual of the friends of the Society sae dawn,
but at which, proportionately, a very large sum .was,
during the evening, announced, in donations and sub-
scriptions. The Lord Mayor was to have presided on
the occasion, but was prevented by indisposition e-.and
the ex. Lord Mayor, Sir Chapman Marshall, the Presi-
dent of the Society, took the chair in his stead.
After the usual loyal toasts,
The CHAIRMAN again rose, and said the toast which
he had now the honour to propose, related entirely to
the interests of this excellent institution.e4 Hear, bear,)
He would be as brief as possible in stating to those
who could not be considered as immediate friends of the
Society, but who had honoured the present •Ineeting
with their company, a few of the outlines of its history.
They had this day assembled to celebrate the forty-first
anniversary of its institution.—(Hear, hear.) In taking
a retrospect of past events, it was hardly possible to con-
ceive that from a beginning so small as the erigia7Of
this Society, they should have been able to .extend're-
lief during that period to members, widows, and or-
phans, a sum amounting to no less than 67,330/.17812d,
—(Loud cheers)—and what was more remarkable still'
was, that those who had been claimants upon the
funds of the Society'to this amount, had only contri-
buted towards them the sum of 9,4001.—(L0ud
cheers.) The worthy Chairman then proceeded to al-
lude to the old and staunch friends of the institution,
one of whom (Mr. Chapman) sat on his left, who had,
with Mr. Dennison, been particularly active in its
interests. He need net remind them of the kind as-
sistance they had received from Mr. Chapman and
his coadjutors, for of that they were fully aware. -=
(Cheers.) The present number of claimants upine
their fund was 199, namely, 62 members, 108 widOws,..
24 children, and five orphans. They had lost during
the last year seeee members, nine widows, six child':
ren, and one orphan ; and admitted to their funds
ten ineeihers and seven widows. With regaid to their .
financial statement, they had had an increase upon their
funds during the year 1840 of 309/.—(Cheers)—and the
increase in the claims was 24/. Is. Although he (Sir
Chapman Marshall) did not anticipate any difficulty in
making up the wiles and means of the Society, the
active exertions of the friends and members of the
Society were still required.—( Hear.) There was one
remarkable feature connected with their institution,
which was, that although these was a funded capital of
twenty thousand pounds, not one shilling of which could
be touched, so few new members joined their ranks.—
( Hear.) He called upon the young particularly to re-
gard the advantages of this Society. He trusted none -
who now heard him might ever find it necessary to be-
come claimants upon their fund ; but such was the un-.
certainty of human affairs, and so unexpectedly did ad•
versity overtake us, that there were many now upon tue _
funds who never expected it to be their lot.—( Hear.) '
One of their friends; Mr. Walton, had proposed a .plan
of increasing their funds, which they should have '
adopted bad they thought it practicable. But although •• •
they had not thought it advisable to press upon the
City of London, the Committee had not been tie-
mindful of his suggestion with regard to the country,
and they had already received donations from banking
establishments to the amount of 33/. odd ; and to the
honour of a great many of the Banki throtighout the._
country, they had responded to their call with. the
greatest alacrity. The average age of their claimants
ww—of members 671, and of widows 631 years. Dur-
ing the epace of forty years, which the Society had
been established, death had removed all the original
members but about 100—(Hear)—end when lie saw
what large sums of money had been distributed during
that period, he could not but think that he bad very
strong grounds upon which to call on his young friends '
present to assist them in the benevolent work they had
in hand.—(Bear, hear.) This call, he knew, would •'
not be made in vale:, as the stevvierdN' lists would doubt- a
less prove, in the course of the evening.—(Cheers.) -,
He would not now longer detain them, but conclude by
proposing—" Prosperity and perpetuity to the Commer-
cial 'Frave!lers' Society."
The toast wAi drank with enthusiasm.
la the course of the evening the Chairman proposed
the health of Thomas Chapman, Esq., an old and con-
sistent friend of the Society, who was one of its flounders; , •
and was now with them after a period of forty years. •
Mr. CHAPMAN returned thanks for the honour con-
ferred upon him, as well by the manner in which the
company had responded to the toast, as by the terms in
which it had been proposed by his friend, Sir Chapman
Marshall.—(Cheers.) They might suppose it was a
most pleasing thing for him to meet them after a con-
nection with their Society of 41 years ; but it was
not without some emotion that he did so.—(Hear, •
hear.) It was with peculiar pleasure that he first met
the members of the Society, and that feeling had not
in the slightest degree abated.—(Cheers.) When he
had the honour of founding this institution, in connec-
tion with other gentleilien, who had so ably assisted him,
he had anticipated great. things, and did lie now sly he
had been disappointed ? When he looked round the
room, and found that he could hardly plant his ct•e
upon a person whom he knew 4 i years ago, it Was sit ii
peculiar pleasure that he saw near him Mr. Berteard,
one of those who had co-operated with him at that pe-
riod. He did say this Society had done great thine.,
and had gone on inareasiiig in prosperity to a high de'.
i '
gree. Tney must not look at the funds with dissatis.
faction, but should rather rejoice at the large aintnt t.
of relief which they had been able to confer,—
(Loud cries of " Hear, hear.") 'racy had been
net-
#f
ing on the principle of benefiting their distressed fellow-.
creatures, and they must not repine that it had run
away with their tunds.—(Hear, hear.) He wished to >
say a word or two in reference to the plan proposed by
Mr. Walton. In the infancy of this Society it was ad-
vised that a small deputation of their body should wait '
on the different commercial houses to solicit support. A.' :
deputation of three persons, of whom he (Mr. Chap- •
man) was one, was accordingly appointed, proceeded
with their task two days a week, and erased not their
exertions until they had raised 2,000 guineas.—
(Cheers.) He was of opinion that by similar means
they might accomplish the same now. An allusion had
been made to the donation which he had this evening
begged to assure them that
presentedh
e ir,,s stiitioasthmernu;h
andlie
devoted as ever to the interests of
the Society, and that he should probable,' do the same
every year as long as his hie were spared.—(Cheers.)
He would couelude by giving them a sentiment which
had originated with himself, and which he had proposed
at the first formation of the institution : it was this—
May the young traveller labour, and the old one rest."
After some other toasts and speeches, the Meeting
separated. The collection for the evening amounted
to 7761.

CURIOUS INSTANCE OF LONGEVITY.+OII
the 25th of last November there died in n commune be-
tween chat" and St. Yrjeiz. in France, a centenairew
lose
dcw:se presented this remarkable circumstance.
He war, born on the 25th of November, 1740, and died on
the 26th of November, 1840, having
thus lived ezact
century and a day,