The Sun.
London, England, 1866-05-26 00:00:00

Metropolitan Poor•law Guardians,

The second public meeting of metropolitan guar
dians was held in St. James's Hall yesterday after.
noon. Major Lyon was called to the chair.

The CHAIRMAN, in opening the proceedings,
alluded to the objects which they had in view in
calling these meetings. There recently had been
considerable agitation on the subject of metropoli-
tan infirmaries, but a great many of the statements
made at the various public meetings had not been
made according to fact. (Hear, hear.) One of
those meetings had been presided over by Lord
Carnarvon, who, he believed, had the welfare of the
sick poor at heart. At that assemblage the Arch-
bishop of York also made a speech, but he had
acknowledged that he was almost ignorant of the
subject on which he had been treating. (Applause.)
Adverting to the president of the Poor-law Board,
he (the chairman) was afraid that Mr. Villiers
looked at the board of guardians very much through
the spectacles of Mr. Farnall, who looked upon them
as a poor body of men--(hear)—men of such nar-
row minds and in such a situation in life that they
did not deserve the name of gentlemen. (Applause.)
In conclusion he stated that the Archbishop of York
had promised to introduce a bill in reference to the
matter, and it was on this account they had been
called together. The chairman then introduced

Mr. BREWER, who moved the following resolu-
tion :—" That the removal of paupers from the emi-
r trol of parochial management, and placing them
under a central or imperial authority, would be sub-
versive of the principles of local self-government,
and that the collecting together of the sick paupers
in large hospitals, containing 1,000 beds each, would
not be conducive either to the cure or the wellbeing
of the inmates." He supported the motion at some
length, and contended that there was no evidence to
show that local self-government had been or was
justly obnoxious, or that there was any truth in the
charges of cruelty or perverseness which had lately
been brought against its public management. He
deprecated the idea of placing paupers under the
management of a self-elected body of commissioners
and was of opinion that no advantages would accrue
from such a course.

Mr. TAVERNER, of Marylebone, seconded the
motion.

The Rev. S. HANSARD, rector of St. Mary's,
Bethnal-green, said that, as a newly-elected guar-
dian, he thought the new association had done much
good, and his vestry had adopted some of its
recommendations with great success. He thought
it was time some alteration should be made in
the present system of poor-law administration, when
St. George's paid 4d. in the pound, and Deptford
7s. 7d. He moved, as an amendment, 44 That the
meeting considers the present system of administer-
ing relief to the sick poor is capable of reform, and
holds it to be the duty and interest of all guardians
to give unprejudiced consideration to any plan of
reform which may be proposed by the Poor-law
Board."

After a long discussion, the amendment was lost,
as was another of a similar character, and the original
motion was carried amid some laughter.
The meeting then broke up.