The Sun.
London, England, 1834-05-12 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

NAVALSEsoTfuCHHo 2.Vho
humour,
m.Louo
rn
to
that
altt33tl4.
le do not wonder second series of this
pwuobrli-chials_oubledencalled for first luvfas clever, 50 i
1 characteristic, N
v
naturally —..--tbrheicoht comicOhae
desirousfi s t
tinned. Captain Glascock, we besliesee;ne,gtstoll:-°
author, and indulges us with a host of fragmentary
naval reminiscences, the majority of which redound
greatly to the credit of Jack's courage and simpli-
city. The comments on Smollett's sea pictures are
judicious—so far as a landsman may be qualified tO
speak—though we never heard till now that Smol
lett was apt to be incorrect in the professional me-
taphors which he put into the mouths of his sailors.
Mis-
cellany," --.0.--
BOOK OF BUTTERFLIES. —Vot 3,
Forms thean d eightiethis
q London,uai:loyl u
graving of two little fat cherubs with gauze wing°,
sitting in the front -ground of a picturesque land-
nllBe3o4
embellishedC
scape, and watching the gambols of a bright sum-
on Constable's e'asnMeis:
mer butterfly. Altogether the number is very
prettily got up.-----."'.......
---
WORK FOR THE CONVOATION.
.—....0.---
maAcie.. tuNhveyhnafotollmioswing additions to the ess, it would
If his Majesty could be prevailed upo.n to assemble
the Convocation for the despatch setin .
be advisable, for the sake of ten consciences, to
children are obliged to learn before confirmation :--.--;
..,
Q. Is it necessary that all who subscribe the article,
of religion should understand them?
eanexsp.ected from those who
AQ
..
That
shiatt ntehceeys sary
subscribe thatalulnwt
oh who
hsubscribe
the articles
of
Areligion should believe in them?
A. By no means. ate alled
affording pthareocthraiadles,
upon to subscribe them 9
rishes in the orcl, in jolt of
catechism which
7—...—.—.....eighbourhood
07Bradf
TRADES' UNIONS.—ThC overseers , ~
bsheliroen,gwt•eo understand, have come to the of
1 ow
resolut ic.s'
relief
union.i
unionists and their families.
The I have re-
bridge master tailors of Cain f rth
hence o
solved to employ no journeymen who malridge Citro-
n' 1 learn,
tailors
Tthc e says, since writing the above yr°
ursday, evenina numb of the journeynr_o,
seceded from the union,er returned to their employ'
and
ment. d ritis
rsta
Li -
NCOLN.--Letters have, ~ve un e
~5, ancl
f inecban!‘rodes,
been received by the different classes o
n no instance
workmen in Lincoln, from the counc but 0
.
unions in London, invitin, them to join them ;_,r foes
masters in Lincoln have'deterrninedly set t4.',,ev ao
against it, and given their men notice that 1 iit"titeir
joinse . the union they are immediately to (I°,
4,-, mterstand,
_ service. The masters have been given v... u_., Lincoln,
by the noblemen and gentlemen in and areal'," haying
i to all.
that they will not give their work tO those t V
unionistsn in their employ, but will rather sau.'"
i convenience.—Shdfield Mercury. ettiog
The funds of the tailors are alreacly g the
eek
low, ,the consequence of which is, that this
ows to 854
ii
of t
hto
that
titiraatit
,_9eo
allowance per man has been reduced from 1,- :ill tav
and next week a further reduction of 2s. I,‘ _ in the
place. But at the same time the other traot b
tv loa°
It is impossible to say, within a week or two,
hic)*reuni.
the " strike " may he maintained under such eiof the
union are subscribing vigorously to support the tailet*
stances, but it is calculated by the council t_stood
union that it cannot possibly be protracted
old be
two months at furthest ; for ourselves, we sh °week.
surprised if they hold out beyond the ensuing _ the
They are already beginning to feel the smart fronalsid,
strike, and the declaration they have just Put feniTtical
that they neither connect themselve with P,'"ii,,tent
matters nor political leaders, is in itself a sign 0""
repentance.— Windsor Express.

~~

MI

POOR LAWS' AMENDMENT.

REMARKS ON THE

PRESENT STATE OF THE POOR LAW

QUESTION,
!vi.
HILLUSTRATIONS OF THE ADVANTAGES ARISING TO

THE POOR BY MEANS OF THE
WORKHOUSE SYSTEM OF RELIEF.
Ve By JOHN LESLIE,
strifinan, Governor and Director of the Poor of the
Parish of St. George, Hanover-square, London.

(CONCLUDED FROM THE SUN OF SATURDAY.)

Let us now examine a few cases where the condition
of the labouring classes is in a prosperous state. And
we have an example at Thurgarton Notts, a small agri-
cultural parish, but where the wages of labour have li
not been interfered with by parochial arrange
'rent. This place is deserving of the most attentive
e°asideration, because the farmers and the labourers
have alike prospered ; forty of the labourers had, in
August,
1833, the sum of 1,215/. in the Southwell Say-
'llgs Bank, besides other sums on security, and in
other savings banks, which it is known they possess.
The rate of wages is not high, and has not varied in the
recollection of an old inhabitant ; and the labourers are
better off in food and clothing than they were twenty-
five Years ago, at which period they never ate meat,
but which they always do now. In June, 1833, there
wl!`; not a single adult pauper, male or female, charge-
; to this parish, and only three orphan children
-9
,Forted by the rates.
air he condition of the poor at Ringmer and Glynde,
J°llntig parishes in Sussex, is of great importance as
elbibiting the effects ' of varied administration of the
Poor laws on the people. In the case of Ringmer it
uas been pauperized, and Glynde has not.
Let us look at the effects on the character and
evil
of the poor where, having been debased by the
v. 'l consequences resulting from out-door relief by
money allowances, the tone of moral feeling has been
restored, the whole condition of the poor has been ame-
liorated by the discontinuance of that system of relief,
mild by returning, in the administration of the law, to the
enian pointed out in the 43d of Elizabeth. Bingham,
Notts—Rev. Mr. Lowe, the incumbent—is a strik-
ing illustration of the fact - and it is due to this gentle-
man, to say, that he was the first to employ the work-
house as an agent for a moral regeneration of the la-
bouring classes. He became the incumbent of that
Parish in 1814 ; he found the condition of the poor in a
most horrible state; in 1817 there were forty persons
in the workhouse, and seventy-eight receiving con-
Rant weekly pay out of it ; the parish was completely
Pauperized, and the expenditure in relief in that year
Was 1,2061. The state of morals was such as invariably
accompanies this manner of administering the poor
laws the labourers were turbulent, idle, and dissolute.
In 1818 Mr. Lowe undertook to remedy these evils,—
and he has done so ; the rates were reduced from
1,206/. to 600/. in three years, and the advantages are
continued to the present time, Mr. Cowell stating that
Utetbere were but twelve inmates in the workhouse when
,n visited the place in 1833. li. would be impossible
find language to describe this transition from pau-
risra to independence more appropriate than in the
7rds of G. Nicholls, Esq., probably the most intern-
nt overseer of the poor that England has ever been
;poured with. He states in his " Sixth Letter on the
Management of the Poor"—
" all I.l°w
remains for me to explain the means by which
Were
thisthis gond has been effected at Bingham. These
"` to be simple, as every thing of the kind must be,
volu .reallY effective, without complexity of detail or
„..meinous intricacy of arrangement.
h_ y. Consisted chiefly in the provision of a poor-
into which all persons belonging to the parish,
4, n could not or would ot maintain themselves, were
receivedreceived and maintained ;but then, the regulations which
• e. framed for this poor-house or workhouse by the
ilstr.ates (conformably to the powers given to them
j_ittne oOth George 111. cap. 50.) were so strict, there
so few indulgences permitted in it, and so small a
t':;tinn of those comforts which but too frequently serve
I,lre people into werecs were found within its
a"s, that its inmates generally glad to quit it, and
return to a reliance on their own endeavours after a very
th.°ll Stay ; and they were, moreover, observed to exert
inseives afterwards with redoubled energy, rather than
,I)9se themselves and their families to the dangers of
”,!li encountering its privations and restraints.
o ule poor-house at Bingham thus operated in a way
that it is most desirable for the good of the poor them-
, ',elves no less than that of society in general, that it
Should always operate as 'a kind of shield to the public
~Purse, repelling idle claimants, and those who had fallen
~into the mischievous habit of a dependance on their pa-
rish, and turning them back to a reliance on themselves
and their own industry.
~" if a person applied for relief to the overseers, they
~'eutsed other relief, but offered to receive him into the
‘, fa""4:4louse, where he was certain of obtaining what the
. Provided for him—subsistence. If he declined
ra°llln e poor-house, which, after a time was gene-
nthe case, he knew that he must perforce from that
od resign all expectation of other parochial aid, and
o 'Pend on his own exertions. His family, too, if he had
ally, were deeply interested in the success of his renewed
:4 'ndeavours for procuring their common subsistence ; as,
if
,they
he failed, knew there was no alternative but for
all to be driven into the poor-house for shelter.
thus the most powerful motives were called into action
ja.‘ stimulants to human exertions; and what seemed
,giificult, or perhaps impossible to a man half-resolute, or
half idle, became comparatively easy to him when urged
ins by the strong arm of necessity—he succeeds, and
becomes industrious and respectable ever after.
• 4, :` Such is the natural progress of a man, or the popu-
, 'ation of a village emerging from a state of pauperism
_arid returning to habits of industry and self-dependance,
Ind such has been the gradation at Bingham ; and such,
4, 4",,,raded, will be the case in every other instance
" that Perm
th a similar system shall be pursued. I am aware
`` that of e P°Pulation of Bingham differs materially from
:4nio4ific a. Populous manufacturing practice;town,—ere crtain
' still ations may perhaps be requisite in p ; but
educe
principle itself must be departed from.
of the poor-rates, and the o
resent degrading habit
" .chanceLibour on them, and force—humanly force, the
ezertiing Classes back to a dependance on their own
c,l,ons and industry.
' ana'n object ought to be kept steadily in view ; do this
" will o far towards making our population better
happier.'
p-iNham then proves the fact that a pauperized
houa4 can be dispauperized by means of the work-
• tagssystem of relief, and that too with the best advan-
iiiti ,to the poor themselves ; and if we but examine
80).tne attention with which so immensely important
titti,lftt as the condition of the poor deserves at all
rei ttsdti°, be considered ; if we lay aside all temper and •
%tracts e, and coolly and calmly investigate the mass
afford ; if h the reports of the Poor Law Commission
'net cond.we but contrast the present with the for-
here aim of the poor in the various localities
c a Clearer view of the principles on which re-
the issue will not be doubtful, but prove most advan-
--'s,lals to the poor themselves.
%311't Thong
.the many illustrations of the workhouse
eln being advantageous to the poor, Southwell
litaa
4 d out pre-eminently conspicuous Th
• Becher, the incumbent, is a valuable aedvoßceatve.
:Athis system ; his publications are well known n
preciated. He states the expenditure for theaydaeaadrt tit:ding Lady-day, 1821, to have been 2,006/.
51 year ending Lady-day, 1824, it was reducedn to
diu:, or in round numbers the expenditure had
,nnuished three-fourths, and this was occasioned by
vtan,re close adherence to, and a better system of,
;xn,s."oll4e regulation ; and Mr. Becher states that the
41liture for the year ending Lady-day, 1833, to be
I4s. oAd.*
other e .Parish of Uley, in Gloucestershire, affords an-
-1')44, IkPortant illustration of the advantages of the
the °IL* system of relief and this parish deserves
-uost
4ttend attentive consideration,—the local difficultiesi
!telice the transition from pauperism to ndepenc-
Nr, Was
great and manifold, the woollen manufa
ttet.t74s leaving that part of the country, the evil
and of pauperism were developing themselves wider
aria tvilledes, capitalists were throwing up their farms,
citypaupers were increasing in number and rapa-
*4,, in this dilemma, a well-disciplined workhouse
emi,established; the expense of the poor in the year
rtlie? Lady-day, 1830 (the last of the old system of
to 1)1, Was 3,185/. 14s. 6d. The effect of this sys-
Xpe,:s been, that in the first half year of 1833, the
_the Isi;e,,,was 400/. I Is. 10d., and it is expected that
end 'tee,dl_ll, 'e Year ending at Lady-day, 1834, would not
being about 2,400/. reduction on an ex-
iß work of 3,185/., so great are the advantages of
-tin Mr, c2°Use system to the rate-payers. But there
s°,„wol's Report, Appendix A., Part 1., p. 623,
"a 8 4c,Ctcrnent showincr that the workhouse sys-
naine of twn the poor'from the parish. It. gives
Pav'ss-ey allow erery pauper case who had received a
d„ Der to hisatlee under the old system, and traces. that
"eurnent Present condition in life. In perusino• a I
411 ° valuable, so important to the elucidation
Klatt 4t tiler •
at
(I,„' is a point of Mr. Becher's conduct, as a ma-1
"s at
'nee youth„ g general attention and imitation. He
rael,;,a 4.5,,e7,1,!, under his own immediate superintend-
-4141
.04 sue of Correction, a place for secondary punish-
kodel foadmirable system as it may be justly
r places of that description. I

of the great problem of managing the poor, it must be
remembered by thew, who will take the trouble to re-
fer to it, the peculiarly dijimit circumstances of the
parish of Uley, when this mighty advantage to the
poor commenced.
The parish of Cookham also is another splendid il-
lustration of the advantages to the poor arising out of
the workhouse system of relief, the Rev. Mr.
Whateley, the incumbent; this parish, under his judi-
cious management, is pre-eminently conspicuous, the
rates have been reduced from 12s. in the pound to 2s.
in the pound; 'but while the burdens of the rate-
payers have been so greatly diminished, the condition
of the labouring classes L:5 Len simultaneously ele-
vated. In point of food and clothing, in lodging, in
remuneration for labour, in their contributions to the
Savings Bank, in all these advantages to a labouring
population, the parishioners of Cookham are dis-
tinguished from the parishioners of every surrounding
parish.
There is a still more recent illustration of the ad-
vantages of the workhouse system in the parish of
Stoke-upon-Trent, in the northern division of the
county of Stafford, consisting of 40,00() inhabi-
tants, where the rates having increased in seven
years from 10,000/. to 18,0001., the vestry,
on the recommendation of the Rev. J. T. Becher,
of Southwell, erected a workhouse, the parish
having at the time 1,100 families receiving weekly
out-door relief in money allowance. As soon as the
new building was completed, it was resolved to admit
550 into the new establishment. Now mark the con-
sequence : not even 50 of the 550 entered the work-
house, and consequently they could do without paro-
chial aid, when the relief to be given was no longer
offered in the shape of a temptation to the poor man,
and the parish immediately saved 701. per week.
The purely agricultural parish of Sandridge ( Herts)
is another example of the beneficial effects to the poor
themselves of the workhouse system. In the last year
of the old system, 9411. 7s. 7d. was spent in relief;
the first year of the workhouse system reduced the
amount paid to 553/. 16s. 3d. ; the old practice of
" the labourers going their rounds," or being employ-
ed by the parish at merely nominal work, has entirely
disappeared, and there is but one able-bodied man in
the workhouse, and he of rather weak intellect, and
therefore objectionable as a workman. Under the old
system, the men were supported by the parish in com-
parative idleness ; the farmers then complained that
they could not get their work done—that they could
not get their wheat thrashed out in a proper manner.
Under the new system, the farmers are now obliged to
employ non-parishioners, because the whole of the
Sandridge labourers are in employment ; and the
effect of the new system is, that the whole of the
agricultural labour in the parish, by being freed from
any parochial interference, is done by independent
labourers, to the great advantage of all concerned, but
more particularly to the poor man.
It would be a useless waste of time to multiply
illustrations, they are so numerous, and from all parts
of the country ; and the closer the administration of
relief approximates to the law of Elizabeth, so is the
improvement in the moral condition and happiness of
the poor characterised, and the most rigid investigation
into these facts will prove one uniform result,—that by
such an administration of reliefthe condition of the poor
man is elevated, that the return in wages for his labour is
increased, his prudence his fore-thought are called into
action, the wants and cares of his family are not ne-
glected, the Savings Bank enrols his name among the
contributors, and the whole state of society does there
assume a moral and a healthy appearance.

We shall now give a statement of the results of the
new system in the administration of relief in the large
METROPOLITAN PARISH OF ST. GEORGE, HANOVER-
SQUARE, containing a population of 60,000, which, al-
though known to be a wealthy parish, has a much
larger portion of poor than may be generally imagined,
arising from " settlement by servitude," as most of the
nobility and gentry who are rate payers discharge
their servants while in London.

The parish is governed by a local act, 7 Geo. IV, c.
121. The vestry is composed of 100 vestrymen, the
rector, and churchwardens. The parishioners having
in 1832 adopted Sir John Hobhouse's act, in that year
the vestry became thereby a representative body,
one third of the former vestrymen being lotted out,
and their places supplied by 33 members chosen by
the rate payers.
From the moment the first vestry under the new
act took place there has been but one sentiment, a ge-
neral desire to promote the best interests of the
parishioners.
The income of the parish was inquired into ; from
the commencement of the rate to its termination such
alterations were suggested and adopted as have placed
this important branch of the parochial affairs on a bet-
ter system.

The expenditure of the parish next engaged a large
portion of the attention of the vestry, the three divi-
sions of which, viz., " The poor including the police
and county," " The paving," and " The Church," in
each of these departments a large body of evidence
was recorded, which, together with the recommenda-
tions as to the future management of the parish in its
expenditure were published in February, 1833 t. - The
consequence of the vestry confining their attention
exclusively to parochial matters cannot be better ex-
hibited than by the following scale of the parochial
rates levied•in March, 1831, compared with the paro-
chial rates levied in March, 1834.
PARIsH OF ST. GEORGE, HANOVER-SQUARE
RATES FOR ONE

Poor, including Po-
lice and County
Paving and Lighting
Church

If Macadamized ...„.I

YEAR, ON AN ASSESSMENT OF 100
Leviedin March 1831. Levied in MarchlB:34
s d. X. s. d. 8. d. X. s. d.
34 16 13 4 1 0 5 0 0
1 1 5 8 4 0 6 210 0
03 1 5 0 0 2 018 8

23 6 8 I 8 6 8
06) - 914 t? 0 3_ 1 5 0

£26 0 10

H

By the local act the vestry are directed annually on
the... 25th of March to appoint twenty householders,
either from their own body, or otherwise as they please,
who, together with the rector, churchwardens, and
overseers, shall be " the governors and directors of
" the poor," and shall have " the sole care, manage-
" meet, and direction of the poor of the said parish."
On the 25th March, 1833, twenty vestrymen were
appointed to this important duty ; four of the vestry-
men very kindly undertook the duties of overseer, and
the new system commenced on the 26th of March,
1833.

The governors and directors of the poor see all the
persons who have been admitted to the workhouse
since the former sitting, and give directions as to the
discharge or continuance in the workhouse of those
persons ; after which, they pay the casual relief, which
consists of those who are not on the " permanent fund,"
or " established relief," as it is called.

One of the earliest regulations of the new system
was to pay the applicants alphabetically. Every case
was ordered to be closely and constantly investigated
by the paid assistant overseers (four of whom were for
the first time appointed by the vestry), and the other
officers of the poor board ; and written reports of
every case investigated are produced to the governors
and directors of the poor at their next sitting. A
mighty engine to destroy imposture and pauperism
w fzs, for the first tints, made available by taking the
who le of the roads in the in-wards of the parish out of
the hands of contractors, into the management and
direction of the committee of paving, who were all
vestrymen, and the most of whom were also governors
and directors of the poor. The rates on this head of
expenditure are reduced one half, about 'Lori. ;
aa p nd,
r o instead
e of
sou Min gf the rates to contractors,
re liteefd,
serves
t toe strength
ofo
thep rionbdaitvi
dnuaarly
ape
pmlpi
claony
tm et
fn
.o
atonce the best interests of the poor and
the
ee rateleast
bodied,as
there is seeping the streets for
raoadd sand spreading
breakinga up the
s
broken granite for the more able, he
able
granite chippings for the able-bod and
applicants.
These various sources of employment do not con-
template the retaining such applicants as pauper la-
bourers but have for an object to prevent them, by
any sudden stoppage of their usual employment, eat
ing the bread of idleness ; if, in any of these sources,
it is found the applicant is incapacitated for the work,'
there is, according to his circumstances, work pro-
vided in the workhouse, under such regulations as will
not render his condition therein more desirable than as
affording him a temporary asylum, until he can regain
his station as an independent labourer.
Addedto which, it is to be hopedthere is also a great
moral reformation at work, by means of religious in-
struction to the in-door poor. The vestry having ap-
pointed; at Midsummer, 1833, a clergyman whose
whole time is devoted to the inmates of the two work-
houses, daily visiting each of the establishments, and
administering to the sick and the infirm poor the so-
lace and comfort which religion only can afford them.
The payment of " the casual poor," for the last
* See Becher's Anti. Pauper System," ed. 1834, PP.
7-9.
t 411asop, 314 New Bond-street.

Ttoottahlemoounte.y
... >
e . F.:7F,4 cs. ro n 11.,
•:' ;
.97., Z '.Z ri 1r "A' -
permanent allowances
p aido rmeoosnut
al t
,11
.t e
F. 8 E 3 F4': v 3: 05 a' Amount
!.. S '' -it 8 g 7.7,, °. paid in
1f; sfg V. 6'..-1 =.. ... casual relief.
.1 ~D
:4 . -.1, •'4 " ii: ' "dished door poor.
g z 5 se•-•,Z":0.5.,"' relief.
g I.E 8 1 .'• E
—.._ —. .......... ---
X.. s. d. £. s. d. £. s. d.
1824 722 709 8,772 3 0 6,467 8 0 15,239 11 n
1695 718 681 8,274 5.0 6,181 1 0 14,459 6 (I
1826 775 619 7,469 7 4 5,781 10 0 13,250 17 4
1827 785 593 7,365 16 10 5,997 5 0 13,303 Ilc
1828 794 541 6,929 12 '2 6,270 6 0 1:1,199 18 2
1829 815 (AO 8,227 611 6,006 7 6 $4,323 14 5
1830 82) 633 7,856 8 8 6 231 13 R .4,C90 2 2
1931 960 718 9,302 19 2 6,353 301 15,6,6 2 2
1632 866 048 1-,304 2 4 6,459 0 01 10,763 2 4
Inrst Year of the New System.
18331 001 1 437 1 5,236 9 1.10,550 13 61111,787 2 6

This table shows the immediate effect of the new system,
causing a redaction on the casual relief of nearly one-half
in number of cases, and one-half of the amount given : _

,
Parochial year, 1832, the weekly average cases was 848;
amount given, 10,304/. 2s. 4d.
Parochial year, 1833, the weekly average cases was. 437 ;
amount given, 5,236/. 9s.
But the advantages of the new system will be still more
apparent if the averages be taken twice in the last year,
because a considerable time must necessarily elapse before
any new machinery can work well.
From Lady-day to Michaelmas, 1833, 525 cases weekly,
116/. 14s. 7d. ; total half year, 3,035/.

From Michaelmas, 1833, to Lady-day, 1834, 348 cases
weekly, 84/. 13s. ; total half year, 2,1/.
In the seven weeks of the parochial year 1834, since
Lady-day last, 319 cases weekly, 651. ss.
And the following will show the state of the casual re-
lief for the seven corresponding weeks of the three last
years, commencing Lady-day :
In 1832, seven weeks, 6,157 payments, 1,493/. 3s. 6d.
The last year of the old system.
In 1833, seven weeks, 4,299 payments, 9461. 9s. 6d.
Commencement of new system.
In 1834, seven weeks, 2,196 payments, 4561. 16s. 6d.
Second year of new system.

With this great reduction of out-door applicants, it is a
most gratifying fact to state, that at this time (May 7,
1834), the in-door population is 121 less than it was at
this period in 1833.

With regard to the permanent or established relief, the
new system has not added one person to that list, and the
sum paid to the established poor during the last year of
6,5501. 13s. 6d., is a legacy left by the old system, but
which loudly calls for, and must receive, immediate in-
vestigation.
The following is the expenditure in victualling,
clothing, and coals and wood for firing, to the two work-
houses of St. George's, Hanover-square, for the paro-
chial year ending Lady-day, 1834. Average in the
two houses, 804 :

. £1721 15 2
1199 19 9
223 5 6
312 10 6
7 6 3
241 12 10 17'
163 19 3
310 1 11
193 6 9
. 25S 14 7
56 1 4
44 6 0
£4732 14 10
Firing, Wood, and Coals 394 14 8
Clothing
£5638 12 4
Can any one who rightly considers the original in-
stitution of the Poor Laws not admit that this expen-
diture of 5638/. 12s. 4d. in wholly maintaining and
clothing the poor, setting them to such- Work as they
can perform, affording them the means of religious in-
struction, is not more in accordance with the intention
of the 43d of Elizabeth, than the expenditure of
11,7871. 2s. 6d. given in out-door relief during the
year, which is the effect of the 36th George 111.,
cap. 23, the cause of all the evils Of the present system?
If the wise provisions of the 43d of Elizabeth had
been the only law and the practice throughout the
country, millions of pounds would annually have been
saved, and the effect would have been, as it invariably
has been wherever that mode of administering the
poor rates has been adopted, a great improvement in
the condition of the people.

Butchers' Meat • •••
Flour
Wheat for the Hand Mills...
Cheese
Bacon.
Milk
Grocery
Beer
Corn Chandler
Oilman . .• .....
Potatoes
Wine for the Sick

Looking again at the effect of the new system of
parochial management in the parish of St. George,
Hanover-square, that by taking the roads and streets
out of the hands of contractors, the lighting, paving,
and cleansing the in-wards of the parish, is now done
for sixpence in the pound, out of which rate above
4,0001. is paid for gas, and upwards of 2,000/. is ap-
propriated to the payment of an old debt, interest, and
annuities, on the paving account, and in comparison
with former levies in paving rates, 11,000/. per annum
is left in the pockets of the rate payers, and yet with
these diminished rates, and by the improved appro-
priation of the expenditure, there is obtained so large
a source of employment for the applicants for relief ;
reasoning from the practical experience which this
fact affords, we remark what a productive source of
beneficial employment would the whole of the roads in
England afford to a surplus population, if any there be,
and what beneficial consequences would in -all proba-
bility ensue to the labouring poor and to the public at
large from such a plan. That there are many diffi-
culties in the way of immediately making this avail-
able cannot be denied, but these difficulties are not in-
surmountable ; indeed, one parish has just now taken a
contract to maintain thirty-six miles of road in good
repair, for the sole purpose of finding employment for
their paupers.
The following will show the gross expenditure on
account of the " Poor, Police, and County" for the
parochial, ye4rs commencing at Lady-day :
X. s. d.

1824
1825
1826
1827
1823
1829
1830
1831
1832

39,519 19 10
42,675 15 3
42,484 1 0
39,278 6 71,6
39,054 10 3
48,257 8 8 *
53,773 14 8
54,739 14 0
61,326
.5 4 §
48,354 12 11

1833 New System
Anal the estimates for the current
year, 1834, having been most
carefully made, we can there-

upon sate the expenditure as
likely to be considerably short of 38,000 0 0

Just prior to the close of the parochial year at Lady-
day, 1834, the governors and directors of the poor
adopted the following resolutions :---Premising
That at the period when the annual change of paro-
chial officers takes place, there is invariably in all
parishes (in consequence of the applicants presuming their
oases are unknown to the newly appointed officers) an im-
mediate influx of imposter applicants—and while it is
equally the duty and the desire of the governors and direc-
tors of the poor to minister to the necessities of the de- •
serving applicant, it is equally the duty and the desire of
this Board to prevent even the smallest portion of the
rates of this parish from being misappropriated to wide-
serving applicants.
That as the sole care, management, and direction of the
poor iq this parish are (by the 7th and 9th sec. of the 7th
tleorge IV., chap. 121), vested in the governors and di-
rectors of the poor as a body, it is of the utmost impor-
tance that the decisions and orders of the legally consti-
* Half-year of the new police commenced and included.
§ This sum includes all the payments on account of
the old system, but subsequently paid in the first year of
Vie new system. •

tuted pieetiugs of the governors and directors of the poor
be strictly a luer.-241 to. _ _ . _

The means by which the decisions of the Beard may be
rendered ineffective, arise from.the facilities by which mo-
ney orders, orders for clothing, and orders for admission
to the workhouse, can be obtained by exparte statements
of the paupers.
To preVent which, and to guard against the possibility
of the really necessitous and deserving applicant for relief,
not being promptly attended to,
It is Resolved—l That no money order shall be paid until
the case is visited by one of the seven paid officers of this
board; which officer shall countersign the order, and be
considered personally responsible for any sum by him
paid, in violation of the orders and decisions of the go-
vernors and directors of the poor ; and further, that this
resolution shall also apply to all orders for clothing,
, Which may hereafter be given..
It is Resolved--That all admission orders be addressed to
the master of the workhouse, stating, that the party is
to be admitted, unless cause can by shown to the con-
trary. The master to be held responsible to the go-
vernors and directors of the poor for every admission t rpl
the workhouse ; and be required to add to the present
weekly return of every case admitted, a return of every
case refused, and the cause of such refusal.
And still further—to prevent improper admissions, and
consequent improper expenditure of the rates of this
parish; in every case of admission, the master of the.
workhouse shall cause the immediate examination as to
the settlement of the party ; such examination to be
taken and written down at the time, in the book kept for
examinations by the officer of the day, and in the event
of any neglect of so important a duty by the officer of
the day, the master himself to take the examination of
the party, enter the same and sign it, and report the ne-
glect of duty to the board.
And to promote good order in the workhouse, the master
be required to register the names of those who miscon-
duct themselveS ; that there be a register entitled " the
disgraced Pauper Register," and when any name is
placed upon that register, the only relief to that person
shall be an order of admission into one of the farm-
houses ; but the governors and directors of the poor,
only, to order the names to be inserted in that register,
after the misconduct has been reported to the board by
the master ; and the poor board only to have the power
to withdraw any name from that register.
These resolutions having subsequently been laid
before the vestry, they were approved of and came
into immediate operation. An office called " the
Overseers'-office" was opened at the Workhouse in
Mount-street. A paid assistant overseer in rotation,
together with a subordinate officer of the poor board,
were appointed to be in daily attendance, and every
applicant for relief is directed to that office ; conse-
quently, the profession well known in the metropolis
as "overseer hunters " is annihilated in St. George's,
Hanover-square, because there is only one place in the
parish where relief can be obtained, and at that place
are stationed experienced officers, who are made re-
sponsible for what they do, and are ready to visit in-
stanter any case of distress.
The practical results of these important regulations
are in the highest degree satisfactory, inasmuch as the
money orders given between the weekly sittings of
the governors and directors of the poor are, in the
month of April, 1834, 391 less than were given in
April, 1833 ; the admissions to the workhouse for six
weeks since Lady-day, 1834, are 131, while in the
corresponding six weeks of 1833 the number admitted
was 286. And as to the effect of the last of these re-
gulations, no pauper has as 'yet been placed on " the
disgraced pauper register."
There are s&eral'other important regulations which
have been adopted relating to bastardy cases ; but al-
though they are progressing in a most satisfactory
manner, sufficient time has not elapsed to fully develop
the effect of the new arrangements, and therefore we
delay an announcement of the very satisfactory results
for the present.
The whole advantages arising to the parish of St.
George from the new system of relief, may be summed
up in a few words, it is because the relief is now ad-
ministered in a degree approximating towards the 43d
of Elizabeth, and a still closer adherence to that
statute will more fully develope the benefits of that en-
actment.
The proposed Poor Law Amendment Bill has been
assailed by a great part of the London press, with
such virulence, with such a want of knowledge or re-
collection of the existing law, and with such a misap-
prehension of that which is proposed, that it may be
useful to state, without reference to the inflammatory
language with which it has been censured, plainly and
simply how the matter stands. It is agreed by every
one that the present administration of the poor laws
can no longer exist.
The object on all-hands is professedly-to- uaryinto
effect thtstatute of Elizabeth, and-it appears from all
the collected evidence on the subject, that the only
effqctual mode of accomplishing that object is by what
is called the workhouse system, for it has been found
that wherever this has been enforced, under proper
regulations, its effects have been uniformly beneficial,
both financially and morally.
It becomes then most important• and desirable that
this system should be established generally throughout
the country. And this is the great -object the bill has
in view ; every thing else which it contains (excepting
those parts which relate to the la:ws of settlement and
bastardy) is only subsidiary to that great purpose ;
it constitutes the agency and machinery by which it is
to be carried into effect. If a better agency and
machinery than that proposed in the bill can.be de-
vised let it be adopted, but let it not be suppoied that
the object can be effected• uniformly throughout the
country by detailed legislative enactments ; it is ire-
hp eoseseifibtl ee,f forthe isnyssttaent
nc ee,
xteheaptt si me
unionall parisheso
tChae
rn I
alcarvies
htehe
s:
but it is impossible that any statute can point out the
ad s
of case
a parish
of an
an
the statute shall point out what parts shall be allotted
i
mode in which such unions (depending, as they must do,
on varying and local circumstances) can be effected,
enclosureany more
and w
aans
td familiarin e
in severalty to each proprietor and commoner. This
is ffected in the one case as it must be in
purpose e .
the other by commissioners, what power should be
vested in them depends in the one case as in the
other, on the subject matter submitted to them.
No man can have an interest in confiding unneces-
sary powers to any body of men, and so far from the
proposed commissioners having any power (excepting
in the case 'of enlarging workhouses), or even any
temptation to put parishes to expense, THEIR WHOLE
OBJECT AND FUNCTIONS ARE fro DINIINISII PAROCHIAL
EXPENDITURE.
If the existing law.be referred to, is it possible that
the rate payers• can be exposed to danger on the sub-
ject in comparison with their present liability in this
respect? At present, in those parishes which are not
regulated by special local acts, or by Gilbert's Act,
the overseers of the poor have powers almost indefi-
nite, and arc unrestricted to raise whatever sums they
think fit in their respective parishes, and to expend
th ople sums occordtny'to their own discretion, for the
intqrference of the vestry is obsolete ; and, above all,
thelmagistracy possess the power of ordering, without
l ap+l, whatever sum they please to be given in each
parteular case, to every applicant who appeals, to them
from the parish officer.
ow what are the powers proposed to be given to
4.
th ornmissioners ?
,hey are to establish general regulations. This
; andthe expenditure in n o
they arc to do wider the immediate revision of the
Secretary
par liamencase
will
itheo
they
have
nvf e Sthtaete and
power
of orderingt
of ition.ey (except in the case before stated of enlarg-
ing'workhouses, and which power if considered ob-
jectionable might be withdrawn from them), and thus
the commissioners would be appointed to carry into
effect a most important national benefit, without the
I °wee of levying one shilling
1) on the rate payers of any
parish in England.
As the condition of the poor is most materially
affected by the administration of the poor rates,—as it
isjaso of the utmost importance that the administra-
tio should be uniform throughout the country,--as it
is impossible to expect that 15,000 parishes will agree
as to the mode by which the relief shall be adthinis-
tered, and as the subject of the condition of the poor
is of too great an importance to be trifled with,—the
legislature will no doubt, in the exercise of its wisdom,
adopt those means which it is to be hoped will insure,
a large increase of human happiness.
For these reasons, and thinking that the large
revenge arising from the poor rates ought to be so
administered as to be productive of great moral and
social improvement in the condition of the people of
England,—thinking that so large a revenue ought not
to be administered in the form of a temptation to the
poor, but that it should be expended in the, way least
exposed to fraud in its distribution,—knowing that in
the best administration of out-door relief, in trmney
allowances there must always be an immense number
who participate undeservedly of' that fluid, and there
is not a parish in the metropolis where such misap-
propriations of the poor rate are not continually being
ascertained,—seeing that the workhouse system is not
exposed to such abuses, observing that in whatever
locality the workhouse system is properly f '
en orceu that
it elevates the condition of %lie poor,—and thinking '
besides this great
desideratum that the amendments
will.
pro,poseJ . SAVe the country minim of putkrtcle

annually, it would have fexhibited' a Lreat Waal (/
moral courage to have been deterred by the dread o
any 1»,)Itlar clamour .from offei.ing a conscientious
although a very humble teAirn,my, in favour of th
proposed " PoJr Law An);:,1,1,:,