The Sun.
London, England, 1856-03-13 00:00:00

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know how to vet a living. No mon in London
lien more troub!e than he had.

The, next speaker, a black.mi'h, of eted with lame-
ness, th n nsrrated his experience, bitterly inveighing
againet brutalities which, he aliegti, were practised at
the Dartmoor Penal Establishment, where, he added, the
rankling sense of injustice rendtred the reformation of
the inmates impassible.

[Pismiz 4D. STAMPED .fD•

MEETING OP TICKET-OF-LEAVE MEN.

A meeting of tick-et-of-leave men, convened by Mr.
H. Mayhew, the anther of " London Labour and the
London Poor," was held at the National Hall, Holborn,
last evening, with the view of affording to persons of
this class who are anxious to lead a reformed life an op-
portunity of stating the difficulties they have to encoun-
ter in their endeavours to obtain an honest livelihood.
About 50 members of the body responded to Mr. May-
hew's invitation. The men were admitted on piasent-
in, their tickets-of•leave, and were required on entrance
to fill up the columns of a register, setting forth their
ape, their occupations, the offences for which they were
last convicted, their sentences, and the amount of in-
struction they had -severally received. From the infor-
mation thus collected it appears that only three out: of
the 50 present were above the age of 40, the large ma•
jority ranging between 18 and 35, the highest age of all
being 63 ; that they consisted of labourers, hawkers,
costermongers, blacksmithe, shoemakers, carpenters, and
other handicraftsmen : that their previous punishments
varied from two years' to 14 years' transportation ; and
that more than one half of them had been educated either
at day-schools or Sunday schools. Suspecting that the
men would be unwilling to attend if the police presented
themselves at the ball or at its entrance, Mr. Mayhew
took the precaution to apply beforehand to the Metro•
politan Commissioners on the subject. The authorities
at once acceded to the request thus made to them, and
not a solitary constable was permitted to overawe the
meeting.
Mr. MATEESW opened the proceedings by exp'aining at
some le• g',ll the object for which he had called them to-
gether. He was anxious, he said, that the public should
be made bitter acquainted than it was with the condi-

Mr. Mi'szew closed the proceedings by informing th
men that he would tnieavour to form a committee of
philanthropic gentlemen with the view of establishing a
society and raising a fund for their encouragement. At
the same time he impressed on them the necessity o
their exerting themselves in their own behalf, and show-
ing to the world by their good behaviour that the effort
made by others to serve them would not be wholly
thrown away.
This singular meeting, which was of the most orderly
character, then quietly dispersed.

THE LITERARY FUND.

The annual annual general meeting of the members of this
society took place at their moms, 72, Great Russell.
street, yesterday. Much interest was excited in the pro.
ceedings in =sequence of the previous circulation of
the following intimation amongst the members :
" London, March 1, 1856.
" We, the undersigned, beg to acquaint you that it is
our intention, at the annual general meeting of the Lite-
rary Fund, to be held at the rooms of that society on
Wednesday, the 12th inst., at two o'clock, to propose
and support the resolution of which we now forward you
a copy. You may perhaps he aware that at the last
general meeting a similar resolution was proposed, and
was left in a minority of four.
"Resolved,—That whereas doting the 11 years from
1844 to 1854, boar inclusive, the cost of as-fisting 477
applicants to the Literary Fund amounted to 5,6011.
13e. 7d. (exclusive of collector's poundage, advertise-
ment% and expenses attending the anniversary dinner) ;
and whereas the cost of assisting 624 applicants to the
Artists' General Benevolent Fund within the same 11
years amounted to 994/. 4s. 10d. (also exclusive of col-
lector's poundage, advertisements, and expenses attend.
ing the anniversary dinner), this meeting is of opinion
that the expenses of managing the Literary Fund are
unreasonable, and that a great change must be made in
the administration of its affairs.—We hare the honour
to be, your obedient servants,
" CHARLES DICKENS. " NEIL ARNOTT.
W. B. PROCTOR. PETER CUNNINGHAM.
JOHN FORSTER. HEPWORTH DIXON.
C. W. DILKE. D. T. ANSTED,
WHITWELL ELWYN. C. W. PA iLEY.
MARK LEMON. C. WENTWORTH D/LEE."
Mr. B. B. Cabbell, M.M., presided, and there were
also present Mr. C. Dickens, the Rev. Dr. Whewell,
Master of Trinity College. Cambridge, the Rev. Dr.
Croly, Mr. Albert Smith, Mr. Mark Lemon, the Rev.
Thomas Hartwell Borne, Mr. Oliveira, M.P., Mr. John
Forster, Dr. Forbes Winslow, Mr. Charles Baldwin,
Mr. C. W. Dilke, Mr. Tooke, Mr. Webster, Q.C.,
Mr. R. Bell, the Rev., W. Cureton, the Rev. J. H.
Gurney, Mr. M. Milnes, M P., Mr. Twining, M. J.
Ivatt Briscoe, Mr. Bentley, Mr. Webster, of the
Adelphi, Dr. A. Guest, Mr. Thornton, &c.
The treasurer's report having been received,
Mr. DILKE said that be intended moving the same
resolution substantially that he proposed last year, when
he and the party with whom he acted appeared to le in
a minority ; but that result was brought about by the
gentlemen whose conduct was impugned, namely, the
committee, voting in their own favour. He trusted the
committee would not vote on this occasion. After going
through the society's statistics, he moved the resolution
above-mentioned.
Mr. Psocron (Barry Cornwall) seconded the motion.
Mr. R. BELL thought the committee ought not to lee
disfranchised. They bad subscribed 1,3001. to the funds
of the society, and should not be called upon to refrain
from voting, even if their services were not taken into
consideration. It would be a strange thing if, when in
Parliament, a motion were subinirted inculpating the
Government, the members of the Government were not
allowed to vote. Some statements had been made in re-
ference to the manner in which the fund had been die-
tributed, and a comparison had been instituted between
the manner in which this fund was administered, and
the manner in which the committee of the Artists' Be-
nevolent Fund disposed of their resources. It should be
remembered that artists formed a inure compact body
than literery men composed, and that consequently re-
lief could be administered to that body at much less coot
than it could be to the latter. Mr. Bell cited many of
the London societies for the purpose of showing, by
comparison, that their expenses for management were far
higher than those of the Literary Fund. He showed also
that the salary of the secretary had been from time to time
increased by general meetings, and presents made to him
in consequence of his extraordinary eiertions in behalf of
the society. He was of opinion that if these who dis-
approved of the proceedings of the society objected to
giving 201. a-year to the secretary, or paying 140/. a-year
for a house, it was but fair that they should put their
views in the form of specific resolutions.
Mr. DICKENS said it might be assumed from the
speech of Mr. Bell that the committee co.isidered they
had not spent sufficient money, and were now about to
awake to the great reform of how they could spend
snore. The members were told last yea: that this was
a model sort of concern, and that only about 40/. out of
every 1001. were spent in carrying on its machinery.
He objected altogether to the manner in which the
affairs of the society were conducted. Last year he went
to Willis's Rooms, to attend a special meeting of the
' society, and, with tks exception of the younger of the
fairer sex, it wag very much like Altuack'e in the morn.
ins. (Laughter.) A noide marquis walked through a
minuet with very great decorum, and was succeeded by
a lord, then by the son of a lord, then by a bishop— after
that the minor Church rose, and the bar, and other t ro-
!elisions were afterwards represented. He did not like
that system of toadyism. (Hear, hear.) At the het
meeting, towards the small hours, a distinguished lite-
rary man, who occupied the chair, said he felt something
like a servant in plrseh who was left to sweep the stage
when there were no more distinguished people to come
on. (Laughter.) The house in Bloomsbury-square, and
the stsnding secretary, were a species of the same sorb
of show. He said this openly and plainly, because this
fend wrs pompously and unnaturally administered,
whereas it ought to be modestly and quietly adminis-
tered at a small expense. The members of the Literary
Fund had now been told for the second time during
the last twelve months that the charges upon the
society wore unreasonable, and it. was now for them to
say whether or not they would act upon the matter. At
present the fund seemed to rely upon its annual dinner
arid upon toadying once a year to a number of persons
of distinction.

tion and the aspirations of ticket-of leave men. He bad
himself frosted and tried many of them in various ways,
and had never been wronged one farthing by them, and
he wished society to feel as strongly persuaded as he
was that there was a latent spark of good left in every
one of them, however degraded, which only required
developing to raise them to the position which all must
desire to see them fill. Having described the nature of
the ticket-of-leave system, and eulogied its introduction,
Mr. Meyhew proceeded to contend that it had worked
most successfully, inasmuch as statistical returns proved
that only 5?.: per cent. of the total number of tickets of
lease crewed between Septeml.er, 1353, and December
31, 1355, (gamely 4,612) hal been followed by relapses
on the part of their recipients into their former courses ;
whereas the average proportion of recommittals within
the United Kingdom was 33 per cent. of the entire num-
ber of prisoners tried. Various obstacles, however, in-
terposed to check the benefits that must otherwise flow
from the recent change. Among these were the roving
and unsettled habits of the men, Which indigented them
for steady, monotonous employment. To do anything
effectual for their nermauent amelioration society must
as far as possible work in consonance with their nature,
and not in npp )mith nto it. In this respect tradine af-
forded a good outlet for their industry, requiring as it
did no certificate of character from those who em-
barked in it, and all that they war t"rl was a little
stock-money to start wit'. The formation of a society
which should advise and help them in the work of self-
elevation was most desirable, and the establishment of
street ira-kets conducted under proper regulations to-
gether wi'h lodgMg-house and other adjuncts would
ale, be of essential service towards the same end. After
some other remarks Mr. Mayhew invited several of the
men to 'veers(' the platform, and express their opinions
as to the beet mode in which their class might be
eosieted.
The first to answer this summons was a young man
of neat and comparatively respectable a ,peeranee, who
seemed to he known to the rest by the nerne of "Peter."
With great fluency and remarkable propriety of expres-
sion he proceeded to narrate his own past career.
Having, be sail, been transported for seven years, he
was sent to Milbank Prins, where he was put to the
tailoring business. Being find of books, he was enabled
while there to improve his previous education, and even
began to " tackle " algebra. After the lapse of 14
months he went to Port•mouth, where he was employed
in wheeling barrows from morning to night. During
the whole of his confinement his perpetual source of
anxiety was what was to become of him when he should
he liberated. He applied for counsel and encouraee-
meat to the chaplain, but that gentleman refused to do
anything for him unless he became a communicent, a
thing which he was obliged conscientiously to decline.
He succeeded better with the second clergyman of the
prison, who was a man of mo-e liberal ideas than his
predecessor; and he frequently expn seed to him his
fears that no other resource was open to him, on regain-
ing his liberty, but to return to London, where he had
been first transported from, and that, being a marked
man and known to the police, and baying no character
to offer as a security to any employer, he would never
find work, but must go back to thieving to save him-
self from starvation. (Applause.) When released he had
61. 12s. in his pocket, and when he got to Southampton
the officer of the penal esteblishment, in whose company
ho woe, kindly offered him a drop of brandy. He took
a little, which, as he had not tasted spirits for 4 years
before, immediately got into his head, so that with the
help of a glass or two more afterwards he became quite
intoxicated, and spent all his money the same night, and
not only so, but he got looked up into the bargain.
(Laughter.) At least, if ho net spend it all himself
somebody else assisted him to spend it. (Laughter.)
'Arriving in Loudon without a farthing. and without
tfriend in the world,with no prospect of employment, and
' with no one, if he wanted a meal, to say, "Here it is for
you," what was a man to do I Before he could bring
himself to thieve he walked the streets in a vain search
for work for three months, until be were out two pair of
shoes, and grew emaciated from having nothing better
to eat than a bit of bread and a herring. In this despe-
rate state of things he mat with his old associates, and
for a period of 2 months he did vet y well as far as money
went, for he made 51. or 61. a-week. This, however, was
earned by practices which he sincerely disliked; but then,
if the public would not allow him to make 1/. by bonester
means, what was a men to do 1 This course, as might
have been expected, anon led to his apprehe :sion, an I
lie was sentenced to another 12 months' imprisonment,
which expired only last M. nday. Htariog that this
meeting was to be held, he had eagerly attended it, in
the hope that it would result in some permanent bene-
fit to hint and those like him, who were struggling,
amid the greatest difficulties and s gereA nersecutiop,
to become honest members of society. (Hear, hear.)
Knocked about by the police on •vrry side, sine
coldly received by the public, he was at OW moment in
a condition in which he did not knew where to g't his
next meal without stearin); it ; 'out 'f the encouragement
held out to his oppressed class by the benevolent gentle-
men who hal come for war.] that evening in their behalf
was only realised, from that time forward he was deter-
mined not again to put his hand to a ray dishonest
action. (Cheers,)
The next [sleeker was a costermonger, of about 25
yesre of age and rather diminutive stature, who said
that, having bean left an orphan when only 10 year;
old, he took to selling oraugas about the streets to get
a living ; but after spending a year so in that way he fell
into the society of a few Westminster boys, wish whom
be went a-thieving, until he got seven years' transporta-
tion at Ns nate. Three years and seven months of his
sentence were passed at the Isle of Wight, and 11 months
more at Portsmouth. He was pressed to take the Sacra-
merit while in orison, but not lilting to play the hypocrite
he refused. When released he returned to London and
traded for twoor three weeks in bareskine and r sbbitskine.
While gassing through Tothill-street, Westminster, one
day, two policemen came up to him and wanted to search
his sack, which was full of skins, because they said be
was a ticket-of-leave man, and suspected that he had
something not come honestly by. Rather than allow
them to look into his sack ho went to the police court in
their custody, and insisted on seeing the magistrate.
Before he could say a word to his worship about the
treatment he had received, the inspector spokefirst, called
him a " ticket-of-leave," and stated that he had been very,
violent and saucy. Instead of listening, under such cir-
cumstances, to what he had to say for himself, the magis-
trate also burst out, " Oh, you are an insolent fellow and a
disgrace to society—if the Secretary of State knew of
your doings he would banish you ;" and, as his worship
also muttered something about sending him to " quod "
for contempt of Court, he thought it best to " hook it."
(Laughter.) Having learnt something of shoemaking
while at the Isle of Wight, although not enough to en-
able him to get a living, he next tried to get work in
that line at Northampton, but, having no tools, be
failed. He then went on to Derby in a state bordering
on starvation, and he obtained an interview with a ma-
gistrate in that town, whom he asked to assist him in
getting back to London. This gentleman would scarcely
believe his tale and thought him a returned convict.
Another person at Derby, of whom he had before this
begged alms, gave him is. At length be reached Lon-
don in a most miserable state, and by the help of his
cousin he got into the market again. He then did
better, and last Christmas 12 months he got married.
His trade had been very low for the last six weeks, and
he just managed to "crack a crust;" but please God he
would never go back again to thieving. (Cheers.) He
was not much of a talker ; and therefore he would only
add that he hoped the kind gentlemen who had taken
up their cause would continue to exert themselves until
something satisfactory was done to give fair play to the
ill-used ticket-of-leave men. (Applause.)
A stonemason next addressed the assemblage, bearing
similar testimony to the hardships endured by his class.
He was not, however, so ill off as those who preceded
him, as since his liberation he had obtained employment
at his trade, and was now earning a comfortable liveli-
hood. At the same time, he had been anxious to be
present to show his sympathy for the body of men to
wham he belonged, many individual members of which
he knew to be at this moment ground down by
.the
heaviest distress.
An elderly man, who described himself as a dock
labourer, next recited his tale of misery. He had been,
he said, convicted of robbery at the Old Bailey, and sen-
tenced to 14 years' transportation, although entirely in-
nocent. He had been sent to Milbank, toWoolwich, and
to Gibraltar, and at the latter place was subjected to the
harshest treatment. Flogging went on there from before
daylight till late at night. 21. 10F. out of the sum of
41. 14s. 6d. allowed him en leaving Gibraltar was stopoed
to pay his passage heme. He had worked for 15 or 16
months at the docks, but he was now out of work, and

Mr. BLACKMORE contended that if the affairs of the
society were conducted by purely litrrary men it must
inevitably fail. It was perfectly untrue that the affairs of
the society were mismanaged, and that it was unworthy
of public patronage.
Mr. J. FORITER said the society was formed for the as-
sistance and social elevation of men of letters. ansi that
they had a right, according to the intention of its foun-
der, to haves a voice in the administration of its affairs,
Mr. M. Mruczs, M.P., thought the course taken by
Mr. Dickens and his friends was not in the spirit of men.
whose sole object wee the improvement of the institu-
tion. Theirs was the attitude of men whose desire evi-
dently was to turn the society to something else, or, fail-
ing in that, to ruin it altogether. He thought that it
would be highly undesirable that the committee should
be composed exclusevely of literary men, in whose hands
he believed it would soon beco ne a C:iVie or a coterie.
Mr. Muattar, of Albemarle-street, moved the follow-
ing amendment :
" That the two items of expenditure which constitute
the principal charge upon the Literary Fund consists of
the rent of a house and the salary of the secretary, and
that these charges have beeo incurred under the recom-
mendation and continued sanction of successive general
meetings ; that the maintainance of a house was always
considered indispensable from the earliest period of the
existence of the institution, and that a fund, called the
' House Fund,' amounting to 0,541/. 25., wastexpressly
funded for that purpose hva separate subscription, which
was opened in the year 1805 ; that with reference to the
zeal and ability with which the duties of the office of
secretary are discharged by the gentleman who new
holds that appointment, the salary attached to
which was raised to its present amount by the unani-
mous votes of general meetings, hi not excessive ; that
the increasing prosperity of the institution during the
11 years affords satisfactory evidence of the judgment
and efficiency with which its affairs have been adminis-
ter, I, and that whilst this meeting recognises the neces-
sity and importance of a wise economy, it is of opinion
that that object will be best attained by confiding to
the consideration of the committee the adoption of such
retrenchments in the general expenditure as may be
consistent with the security of the fund and the exten-
sion of its resources."
Mr. ITAuersotr seconded the amendment.
The CHAIRMAN then took the votes of the meeting,
and there appeared—
For the original motion 30
For the amendment

Majority for the amendment 21
The amendment was declared to ba carried
A committee for the ensuing year baying been elected,
thanks were unanimously awarded to the chairman, and
the meeting separated.

The funeral of Madame Marrast, mother of the ex-
Pre-ielent of the Constituent Assembly, took place on
Monday. Among the mourners were MM. Carnot,
Goudchaur, Martin (de Strasbourg), and other former
rep eseLtatives and political friends of Armand Ms:riot
FESTIVAL OF TER SAMARITAN INSTITLITION.—The
anniversary festival of this institution was celebrated
last night at the Lbedon Tavern by a party, small, but
select. Lord L-ndeeborough was to have presided,
butj he sent a medical certificate at the last moment
to the effect that indisposition precluded his attend-
ance. The chair was, therefore, taken by Mr. C.
Sueyd Edgeworth (brother of the authoress), and
the list of stewards included the names of Mr. D.
Ker, M.P., iMr. Wo!Tetley Attwood, Mr. Cband,,e
Pole, Mr. J. Penn, ecc. The report of the society
shows the great extent of ,benefit which it has con
ferred, and still confers, on thee lower orders, seeing that
during last winter no less than 75,632 destitute persona
were relieved by thus "good Samaritans," while 15,431
attended Divine service, and received Scripture instruc-
tion at the institution, and 20,28 houseless poor made
use of the freelsaths and lavatories. A.subscriptio* of AU.
was announced at the close of the chairnsan's speech,
proposing success to the charity. The arrangements of
the festival, under the supervision of Mr. range and
Mr. ?almer, gave every satisfaction. 'Tke vocallete
present were Miss Lucy Escott, Mr. Leffler, Signer
Mr. Pad Mr. W. Lee.

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