The Sun.
London, England, 1867-06-27 00:00:00

RAILWAYS.

For Account.
Orleans BB2 50
Northern l2lB 75
Lyons and Mediterranean.. 892 50
Southern 578 75
Western
Eastern —
Sardinian
Austrian
Lombard 398 75
North of Spain lOO
S aragosm
Roman

85 --

THE LABOURING CLASSES.

The Society for Improving the Condition of the
Labouring Classes held its 23d annual meeting yes-
terday at Willis's Rooms, St. James's, the Earl of
Shaftesbury presiding. Among the gentlemen
present were Sir Walter Stirling, the Rev. Mr.
Nisbett, rector of St. Giles's, the Rev. Mr. Owen,
Canon Conway, Dr. Trench, the medical officer of
the Board of Health of Liverpool, and the Rev. Mr.
Pelham. The object of the society is to afford to
the labouring classes convenient and healthy dwell-
ings at reasonable rents. Buildings belonging to
the society are situate in localities where the work-
ing classes chiefly congregate, and the report, which
was read by Mr. Payne, the secretary, stated that
the house in George-street, Bloomsbury, for the
accommodation of single men, had 100 inmates,
producing a rent of £715 6s. 6d., which, after de-
ducting £445 17s. ld. for expenses, left a balance
of £269 9s. sd. ; the house in Streatham-street
had 54 families, consisting of 237 persons, pro-
ducing £790 175., and leaving a balance of £ll3
13s. 4d.; the model building in Gray's-inn-road
had 166 occupants, yielding a rent of £479 125.,
and leaving a balance of £283 18s. 4d. ; the num-
ber of washings at the public washhouse was 13,652,
producing £326 18s., but in consequence of repairs
the washhouse was closed for several weeks, so that
the return was less than it would have been. The
Hatton-garden house accommodated 54 single men;
the rents amounted to £309 45., and after deduct-

ing expenses there was left a balance of £24 9s. 81,
au exceptional outlay for painting having been
necessary. The renovated lodginghouse in Charles-
street, Drury-lane, had an average of 80 single men
lodgers; the rents were £409 4s. 1.d., and a balance
was left of £136 6s. 6d. Clark's-buildings, Broad -
street, St. Giles's, had a population of 260 ; the rents
being £576 35., and leaving a balance of £lollBs. Bd.
The building in Wilde-court, Drury-lane, had 360

inmates; the rents amounted to £63185. 2d., leaving
a balance of £lO2 9s. hi. At Tyndall's-buildings,
Gray's-inn-road, the occupants were 361, and
the lodginghouse had 28 inmates ; the rents were
£989 Bs. 3d., which, after deducting expenses, as
in the former cases, left a balance of £136 Is. The
secretary then read an abstract of the cash account
up to December, 1866,which showed the receipts to
be £6,120 10s. 6d., which, with the balance in hand,
made a total of £6,421 13s. 14. The expenses dur-
ing the year amounted to £3,580 12s. Bd. Loans
repaid, and interest on other loans, £1,607 ss. sd. ;
salaries, rent of offices, printing, &c., £795 11s.
110. leaving a balance in the hands of the trea-
surer of £474 3s. ld. The value of the real property
belonging to the society (at cost) was £44,524 14s.
91d., and the general liabilities amounted to £20,446
14s. 4d., leaving assets in the hands of the society to
the amount of £24,078 2s. sid. On the motion of Sir
Walter Stirling, seconded by the Rev. Mr. Nisbett,
the report was received and adopted. The Rev. Mr.
Owen then moved the reappointment of the com-
mittee for the ensuing year, which was seconded by
Canon Conway, and agreed to. Dr. Trench, in mov-
ing a vote of thanks to the chairman, said that the
corporation of Liverpool had 'expended a large sum
of money for the purpose of affording lodging-houses
for the poorer classes of the people, and the ques-
tion was, how they were to reimburse themselves for

the outlay. A work of this description could not
be conducted on a merely philanthropic principle ;
it must be conducted solely on a commercial basis,
and he had come to that meeting as a pupil to learn
from the society in what manner the Liverpool
corporation was to proceed to make the undertaking
in which they had embarked remunerative. To
evince their earnestness in this cause, the corpora-
tion had offered a prize of £2OO for the best plan
that could be devised for enabling them to carry
out such a work by which they might realise a re-
turn of 5 per cent. upon the capital invested. The
vote was seconded by the Rev. Mr. Pelham, and
carried by acclamation. Lord Shaftesbury returned
thanks, and while expressing his regret at the little
progress which had been made in mitigating the
evils which it was the object of the society to
lessen, he at the same time felt that there
were agencies at work which, while on the one
hand they tended to remove closely pent-up build-
ings, and so far made open spaces where hitherto
there had been narrow and unhealthy districts, un-
happily, on the other hand, were displacing thou-
sands from their dwellings, while their numbers
were being continually increased by other thousands
coming from the provinces. Great remedial mea-
sures had been proposed with regard to the cubic
area that was to be allowed for the poor in the hos-
pitals and workhouses of the metropolis ; and if such
a scheme were to be carried out in the dwellings of
the working classes, he knew not where they could
rest themselves unless they tabernacled in the open
streets. Nevertheless, he would not speak with dis-
paragement of the scheme, for to a certain extent he
thought it ought to be put in force. With regard to
supplying cheap dwellings to the poorer classes, he
did not conceive it possible in a commercial point
of view by the erection of new buildings. It could
only be done remuneratively by being put into re-
pair buildings already erected ; bearing in mind
that the main object of the society was to provide
dwellings for the large masses of the people who
lived from hand to mouth by their daily labour, and
who do not realise more than from 12s. to 14s. a
week. It was perfectly clear that Is. 3d. a week
was as much as such people ought or could pay for
their lodgings. The duty, therefore, as well as the
principal object of the society, was to do everything
it could to facilitate the adaptation of existing build-
ings to the accommodation and means of that large
portion of the community.

INCORPORATED LAW SOCIETY.—The under-named
gentlemen have been honourably distinguished by the
examiners among the candidates who have passed during
the Trinity Term for admission on the roll of attorneys
and solicitors of the superior courts :—Ralph Hutchinson
Young, Charles Mylne Barker, Walter Gardiner, Albert
Lewis, to each of whom the Council of the Incorporated

Law Society has awarded a prize of books;
Archer, Ellery Arthur Bennett, John Copland, Francis
Nathan Drake, Charles Godfrey Esam, Jasper Gibson,
Williams Harper, Robert Hunter, M.A., Hugh Stirling,
M.A., and Charles Henry Turner. One hundred and thirty
candidates came up, of whom oue hundred and eighteen
passed.

THE REFORM LEAGUE.—At the meeting of the
Council of the Reform League last night, at the offices,
Adelphi-terrace, the president, Mr. A. Beales, M.A., took
the opportunity of stating that he thought certain mem-
bers of the League had done well to attend the recent meet-
ing at St. James's Hall. He felt that it was his duty as
president to defend those friends and members of the
League who had taken part in that meeting.