The Sun.
London, England, 1869-02-13 00:00:00

CORPORATION PROPERTY.

Lord Derby, in his speech on the Irish Church, laid
down the principle that any argument tending to the
disendowment of the Irish Church would apply with
equal weight to the "confiscation " of the property
held by the corporations of the City of London.
Mr. Maguire, appears to have been
convinced by the Earl's arguments But instead of
concluding that it would be wrong to take away the
property of the Irish Church, his " current of
thought" led him to regard corporation property as
of confiscation." At the Ministerial banquet the
being misapplied ; and therefore as being " worthy
Prime Warden of the Fishmongers called attention
to Mr. Maguire's motion for a commission of inquiry
cn the subject. Tie declared that the funds were not
Misapplied. "The company was never intended
to supply fish to the people. The charter does
not imj'cso any such duty. It empowers
us to seize and condemn unwholesome fish,
for which purpose we keep three officers.
constantly, and large quantities of unwhole-
some fish are s(.ized and condemned by them.
The charities and aid in support of the members of
the company and their widows and children, which
were the main objects in the establishment of the
company, have been carried out on a very extensive
scale. Our estates in Ireland were purchased with
our own funds, and were not a grant from the
Crown. The price paid wasthe fair market value of the
estates at the time of their purchase." Nevertheless,
it is a fact that a large portion of the corporations
spend their money in feasting
and "good living,"
having no other use for it, while their schools ars
totally inadequate to present wants.

IrErnoroLITAN PAVPERIS3I
The statistics of our metropolitan charities which
nave lately been laid before the public have naturally
attracted a good deal of attention. The Times
thinks that a survey of the figures must produce
mingled disgust and despair, but at first sight the
state of things seems beyond the reach of
remedy. Much of the money would never be
subscribed if the fancies of the subscribers were
thwarted; and as regards one of the worst features of
the case, the cost of collection, it must be remem-
bered that much of the outlay is necessary to bring
in
the
. subscriptions. The cure must rest with the
public itself, and the Times takes credit for having
supplied it with information enough to set it
social prospects,
thinking. The Daily News is more sanguine as to
our
and believes that the worst of
the crisis in the East-end has passed. Pauperism
has undoubtedly decreased in Poplar and Stepney,
though something may be due to the migration of
the vagrant population to more liberal parishes. The
state of wretchedness in many parts of the East-end,
where the mania for drink ismost strongly developed,
is past description. Alen working in the stoneyards
spend theirfew pence in beer and tobacco, rind have been
known to barter some of the loaves they receive for
pints of ale. The women are not always better, but
often spend some of their weekly dole on glasses of
gin. When we find the receipts of the publicans
undiminished by the severe distress, we must acknow-
ledge the fact to be startling. The whole ques-
tion is surrounded by difficulties, and it is
encouraging to find that a conference has
been held at the Adelphi, consisting of
persons interested in the administration of our
charities, to consider the best means of obtaining
united action. The Bishop of London presided, and
the chief points connected with the subject were dis-
cussed. The most unsatisfactory part of the matter is
that all our immense expenditure, private and paro-
chial, fails to attain its object. We pauperise
those whom we endeavour to assist ; we
encourage the worthless, and we leave many really
destitute unrelieved. Our boards of guardians
certainly deal with the question in a narrow spirit.
Either people do not require assistance, or they are
really in want which calls for relief. In the one case,
they should have no aid from parish. money; in the
other they should have enough to live upon allowed
them. .Sevenpence and 41b. of bread daily for a
man, his wife, and two children, as proposed to be
'
granted by the guardians of St. Pancras, serves
neither to discourage the idle nor to relieve the
honest poor.