The Sun.
London, England, 1867-01-26 00:00:00

L OND ON, SA 7 URDAY, JAN. 26, 18c7.

A very important deputation yesterday waited
upon Mr. G.,ATI-lORNE HARDY, at Whitehall, to
urge upon him the pressing necessity for an equa-
lisation of the metropolitan poor rates. The ques-
tion is without doubt a very extensive and important
one ; but, like many other necessary reforms, its
consideration has already been too long delayed.
We in England are very apt to talk over a matter
and delay action until some great and pressing ne-
cessity arises. It requires too often some imminent
danger or terrible catastrophe to arouse indifference
and break through prejudice ; and such has been

the case with the long-existing grievance which the

deputation yesterday complained of. The wide-spread
and severe distress now existing among a large pro-
portion of the working classes of the metropolis will,
it may be hoped, at least have the effect of stimulat-
ing the required reform in the administration of the
Poor-law. For some time past there has been a good
deal of dissatisfaction created by the accounts of the
treatment of our sick poor in some of the London
infirmaries, and the revelations from the casual
wards have not improved matters. A new measure
for the amendment of the Poor-law was one of the
first things promised by the Government, who were
conscious of the strong feeling existing on the subj eat.
Events, however, have moved quicker than opinions,
and the growing need of some more comprehensive sys-
tem is now forced upon the recognition of the most
unwilling. The inconsistency of taxing the parishes
least able to pay the rates at an amount five or six
times heavier than the wealthiest districts is so
glaring, so opposed to common sense, as well as to
justice and humanity, that one can only be sur-
prised it should so long have been tolerated. The
poor in London, as in most other great cities, reside
chiefly in certain districts ; the rich and affluent in
quite another direction. It might be even claimed
with some show of reason that the rich
west- end parishes should pay in heavier
proportion than the struggling districts of the East,
but no one asks this. All that is claimed is that
there should be a nominal equality all over Lon-
don. We say nominal advisedly, because a rate
of two or three shillings in the pound would be
very different in its pressure on a rich house-
holder in Grosvenor-square or Prince's-gate, and
on a small shopkeeper in Poplar or St. George's-in.
the-East. Nevertheless, suck is the value of house
property in London that the equalisation would
make an immense difference. As it is the land-
loads of the East-end suffer as well as the tenants, as
a member of the deputation yesterday clearly showed.
Comparatively few persons taking a house at the
West-end would stop to consider the rates, but in
the East they make the difference between taking a
house and a room. The value of property is con-
sequently affected, and hundreds of houses which
were formerly occupied by one family have now a
family in every room. As Mr. BUXTON, M.P., re-
marked, it is useless to hope for effective measures
for improving the dwellings of the poor in those
parts while the rates are so high. In some dis-
tricts they come up to five and six shillings in the
pound, amounting, of course, to a quarter or
third of the rent. Even this is totally in-
adequate to the necessities of the case,
and, as a memorial yesterday presented to
Mr. RAnDY showed, the poor are in many cases
very insufficiently relieved, not because the guar-
dians are hard-hearted, but because they dare not
increase the rates for fear of pauperising the rate-
payers themselves. What other result could follow
from increased rates when Ratcliff, who has few
inhabitants above the rank of artisans, has to pay
nearly 6s. in the pound already. The rates in many
other districts range from 4s. to 65., while parishes
like Paddington and St. George's, llanover-square,
do not pay 6d. The parish of St. George-the-Martyr,
Southwark, pays a rate of 4s. 6d. in the pound ; the
population is 5,600, and one person in every 20 is
a pauper. The Rev. Mr. M‘GILL, who made an
eloquent and forcible appeal to the President of the
Poor-law Board, reminded him that from statistics
of the Board itself it had been shown that of 39
parishes and unions in Loudon, five would lose by
an equalised rating. It is not of course difficult to
discover those five. They are St. George's (Han-
over-square), Paddington, Islington, Kensington,
and the City of London. Contrasting those five
with Bethnal-green, Whitechapel, St. George's-in-
the-East, Shoreditch, and Stepney, we shall come
upon some startling figures. The rateable value
of the first five is £4,641,773, and in 1865 they
expended for the purposes of the poor-rates
£127,423. The rateable value of the last five is
£1,140,970, and there was raised upon that for the
poor-rate the sum of £136,664. That is to say,
nearly ten thousand more was paid by the parishes
whose rateable value is just one quarter of the others.
The rates in many of the eastern parts are at pre-
sent crushing, and as Mr. M‘GILL observed, if the
rich parishes took their share of the burden, the poor •
parishes would stand in less need of charity. Eleven
deputations had, he said, gone up to the Lord
Mayor the day before to ask for charity, but that
day they came to the Pour-law Board. to ask for
justice.

The memorial presented to Mr. HARDY expressed
succinctly and forcibly the facts of the case. It
pointed out very strongly the grievous inequalities
at present existing, St. George's-in-the-East, in
which the number of persons relieved in one week of
this present January was nine per cent., as an
example. The memorialists pleaded that it was un-
fair the poorest parishes should be called upon ex-
clusively to pay for the support in times of sickness
and destitution of those who labour in all parts of the
metropolis, and who consequently have an equitable
claim, when labour fails, upon the places where
they work as well as where they live. They
showed that an equal rate of ls. 3d. in the pound
would not only greatly relieve the suffering parishes,
but produce a sum fully adequate to all require-
ments. This is certainly a reasonable sum, and
need not frighten the 'West-end householders. If
the charge were once made no burden would be
felt, but many are alarmed at the sound of such an
alteration. Mr. G.-kTHORNE HARDY did not, of
Course, commit himself, but he said he

was preparing a comprehensive measure.
He has a great opportunity for carry-
ing out a reform from which his prede-
cessor, Mr. VILLIEIis, always shrunk ; and we hope
that, notwithstanding the difficulties which it must
be admitted might attend the carrying out of the
details of such a measure, he will not hesitate to
submit it to the consideration of the common sense
and justice of the public.

Mr. BRIGHT last night met a large number of his
workpeople in the public hall, Rochdale, who pre-
sented to him an address expressive of their " entire
sympathy with, and sincere respect for, him under
the malignant slanders which bad been urged
against him as their employer." After the affair of
the presentation, &c., was over Mr. BRIGHT made
a short speech, partly in his own favour, and partly
to explain his views on the matter. First of all, he
stated that the meeting in question was one of an
" unusual and noteworthy character," and indeed
he was not aware that at any previous time
such a thing had occurred. The object of
the slanders, in Mr. BRIGIIT'S opinion, is to
" damage his political influence," and thereupon
as might have been expected, he waxed very
indignant, and treated his hearers to a few of
his empathic sentences. " There are," he says,
" 500 firms in the country, who carry on business,
and may have small or great differences with their
men, but the 499 are left untouched, and he
alone is singled out and assailed by these
men !'" Why is this? he asks." It is worth your
while to consider the question, " Whence came
these charges and these slanders? They came, as
you hear, openly and chiefly from obscure men iu
the Tory ranks. Occasionally you hear
of them from some obscure man who by