The Sun.
London, England, 1867-03-05 00:00:00

of his Bill, while at the same time they were de-
sirous of thanking him for its general character.

The gentlemen present represented the Tower
Hamlets and Metropolitan Associations for the
Equalisation of the Poor Rates, and among them
were several guardians and others from the East-
end parishes; and these gentlemen expressed their

satisfaction with the proposed separation of some
classes of the sick poor. One of the principal ob-
jects of the visit was to request that these classes
might be increased, and to suggest that in the sec-

tion of the bill relative to medical relief the neces-

saries given to the sick under medical orders should

be included so as to come out of the common fund.

Mr. DoNOVAN, Secretary of the Tower Hamlets
Association for the Equalisation of the Poor Rates,
observed that in many cases such necessaries were
more required than medicines, and were taken in
that way so that they could be included in the bill
without infringing its principles. To this proposi-
tion, however, Mr. HARDY did not assent, as he
thought there were great difficulties in the way of
classifying nourishment of any kind with drugs.
Anodser proposal made by the deputation was for
the establishment of a rate in aid over the
whole metropolitan area, to meet cases of sudden
and exceptional distress, such as was produced by
the visitation of the cholera last summer. Mr.
HARDY, it will be remembered, when he introduced
the subject in the House himself, expressed a wish
that something of the kind might be attempted, but
he.ahrinks from appending it to the present mea-
sure. Hei evidently fears that if he proceeds too far
he will excite a powerful opposition among the
West-end ratepayers, and way possiby endanger his
whole bill. No doubt, if once the principle of a
common fund be admitted, and be proved to work
satisfactorily, it will be easy to add such
a provision 7,, but no doubt Mr. HARDY,
who has the difficult and ungracious task of
putting theory into practice, is wise not to act
hastily. The guardians present seemed to be a
little apprehensive of the cost of the new building,
and one gentleman expressed a fear that although
Bethnal-green would be relieved to the extent of
£5,000 per annum by the change, the extra cost of
the buildings would run away with nearly the
whole of the saving. Tie forgot apparently that
allowing the cost to be as great as he feared it
could not be continued, and therefore if
the savings were absorbed by it at first the
parish would still profit materially by the
change in the long run. The President,
however, showed that the case of the buildings had
been overrated. It would not, he explained, be
necessary in all cases to have new buildings, and as
for the dispensaries they were generally hired houses,
whose expense was very trifling. The hon. gentle-
man admitted that it would be necessary to con-
struct new buildings for the sick, and said that he
could not agree to charge them upon the common
fund, because several parishes had already incurred
great expense in erecting suitable establishments,
and it would be unfair to make fresh demands
upon them. There is evidently a necessity for
considerable improvement in the buildings for the
sick, since all the medical opinions coincide upon
this point, and one of the main changes insisted
upon by the inspectors is a better system of ventila-
tion. If the buildings are to be used as hospitals,
they ought to be constructed on the principles
which regulate hospitals, and though it seems hard
that the poorer parishes should have the burden of
constructing fresh establishments, yet, as we have
said, the expense will be only temporary, while the
relief will be perpetual.
There will still he many minor points to consider,
and we hope that some decisive steps will be taken
to secure a better system of nursing. One of the
greatest and most intolerable hardships of the sick
poor is the want of care and kindness. The ap-
pointment of ignorant, rough, and often drunken
women to the superintendence of the sick and
suffering is an outrage to common reason and
humanity, that, looked at in the abstract, seems
almost incredible. It is allowed on all hands that
the able-bodied persons in workhouses are generally
of the lowest class, both morally and mentally.
How, then, can they discharge the difficult and
delicate duties of a sick nurse with judgment,
skill, and tenderness? Most assuredly those
who know most of the requirements of sick-
ness would -not rank the duties of a
good and efficient nurse so low that they could be
attained by a rough, illiterate, and indifferent per-
We cannot believe that this grave abuse of
a national trust will be longer tolerated, but are
confident that the whole system of pauper nursing
will be subjected to the thorough revision and re-
formation it so urgently requires.

son.

CORRESPONDENCE FROM PARIS.

PARIS, Monday Evening,

It
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unanimously agreed to the project of law for a
grant to the Count de Flandre of 200,000 f. on the
occasion of his marriage.
The Commission charged with the examination of
the project of law for the abolition of imprisonment
for debt have given an opinion adverse to that re-
laxation of the law. It is well known that the Go-
vernment has long been desirous to abolish imprison-
ment for debt. Last year every effort was made by
it to effect that object, but the commercial interest
is opposed to the change, and at present, perhaps,
that interest is too powerful to be vanquished. M.
Josseau, the president of the Commission, says :
" The rapporteur regrets to be obliged, upon this
point, to take a different view from the Government,
but he is anxious to state that the discussion has
nothing political in it. The Chamber, which possesses
in the highest degree the knowledge of the wants and
wishes of the country, can give its final decision
upon a subject which involves such great interests."
The projects of law relative to the press and the
right of meeting will probably be presented to the
Chamber on Thursday. M. Thiers is rather indis-
posed, but should his health be improved by that
time, it is supposed he will on the same day deliver
a long harangue upon the subject of foreign affairs
generally.
Garibaldi is on a sort of tour through Italy. He
was received very enthusiastically at Venice, and
has made speeches which the Italian papers describe
as of two kinds, poetical and political. At Chioggia,
for instance, there was a procession of the wives of
boatmen, dressed in their picturesque costume, and
the General said to them, " I am a son of
the people, a child of the sea. I was born i
the midst of the waves of the bitter waters,
and more than once my face has been
washed by the sea." In talking to the electors of
Chioggia, Garibaldi changed his tone and became a
little more practical. He said that if the electors
had not got a favourite candidate, he could not
recommend them a better one than Count Lorenti
Robandi, a son of Nice, a citizen of Turin, a man
of great riches, and consequently a man of inde-
pendence. It may strike some as rather strange
that a Democrat like Garibaldi should consider
riches as an indicator of independent principles.
At the moment when the people were rushing upon
the Place St. Mari, at Venice, to receive Garibaldi,
Prince Amedee entered on foot. Ho was sur-
rounded by the crowd and greeted with immense
enthusiasm, and cries of "Long live the House of
Savoy !" " Long live the soldier of Custozza !"
The young Prince was much affected by these tokens
of affection. The crowd insisted upon accompany-
ing him home to the Palace. One of the papers in
reference to this fact urges that the union between