The Sun.
London, England, 1835-06-12 00:00:00

PUBLIC CHARITIES.

Mr. HARVEY rose to move for a Select Committee to in-
quire into the state of the public charities in England and
Wales, with a view to render them more efficient for the educa-
tion of the people and the comfort of the poor. It was more
than seventeen years since a distinguished individual, who had
since merged his personal greatness in the accident of rank,
had brought under the notice of this House the state of the
public charities in England and Ireland, in a motion which led
to the appointment of a select Committee to examine into the
condition of the poor, and the disposition of the charitable
funds throughout the kingdom. A Bill was subseqnently in-
troduced of such a nature, and with such provisions as were
best calculated to give efficiency to the designs of the honour-
able individual who brought the subject forward. It so hap-
pened, however, that, after that Bill had passed through this
House, it was materially impaired in its importance, and
nearly all its utility destroyed, in its passage through another
place. A clause was there introduced into the Bill, restricting
the inquiries of the Commission which it appointed strictly to
the charities which had immediate reference to the educa-
tion of the poor, and excluding from their notice all those
institutions and endowments to which visitors belonged, and
which very institutions it so happened most loudly called
for the salutary interference of Parliament. The Honour-
able Member then reverted to earlier periods in the history
of these charities, and particularly to the reign of Queen
Elizabeth, hi the forty third year of whose reign an Act
was passed appointing Commissioners to inquire into the
flagrant abuses which even then existed in their ma-
nagement ; and also to the time of Cromwell, when upwards
of 900 Commissions were issued for similar purposes. In
later times, however, these charities had been less rigidly at-
tended to, and their funds, in many instances, totally per-
verted from their intended objects. Things went on in this
way till 1818, when the Act was passed to which he had
previously referred. In 1831 another Act, founded on the
Report of the Committee of 1816, was brought in ; but here
also the same fault of exclusion was continued, and the en-
dowments of Universities and other public schools which had
visitors were exempt from its operation. There was one re-
port, voluminous beyond reason, drawn up with great labour
and skill, submitted to the House on this subject. There was
no subject of any great national interest that was not sub-
mitted to Committees of that House, and there was no part
of the present question that bad not been sifted before them
That man formed but a poor estimate of the labours of a
Member of that House, who judged of him by his exhibition
on its floor as a speaker. The Member who was often the
most useful was the least ostentatious, as, in place of figur-
ing in public, making speeches, his days and nights were
devoted to the scrutiny of public questions, which required
much research, much patience and discrimination. They had
already the twenty-eighth report in a folio volume of 800
pages, and the next report would soon be printed. These
reports will be an expense to the country of about 210,0001.
Each volume costa about 6001. or 7001. ; arid when the re-
port is completed, it will be at no less than a quarter of a
million expense to the nation. Now, one great object of the
Committee was to make the Commission useful to the pub-
lic, and it would, on inquiry, be found that this object was not
effected. He ( Mr. Harvey) would not go through all the details
the question presented, though all of them were important ;
they were not familiar to the House, and might not be inte-
resting. However, lie would state some. One of them was
Huntington (as we understood the Hon. Member, who, from
his rapid and low tone occasionally, and his position, was very
imperfectly heard by us.) Ir. that case what was done ? A
suit was instituted in Chancery, in 1818, and the case was
now in the Master's office. Thus a question of great impor-
tance to the cause of public education, and the habits and
morals of the rising generation, were kept as it were in abey-
ance for several years. There was next the case of the Pot-
tingham school (as we understood.) There the estates were
given for the support of five boys, to be sent to St. John's,
Oxford. At the time the endowment was given, It 4s. 10d.
was considered sufficient for the support of each boy in Col-
lege, and that sum was in proportion for each individual to
the capacity of the estate. But since, the estate had in-
creased to 8001. a year, and yet not more than thesoriginal
stipend of IL 4s. 10d. was allowed to each boy. Now it
was stated that each boy was to have his fair proportion of the
estate, and that the estate was to be evenly distributed for the
maintenance of a certain number of pupils in that school, yet
it was contended by learned and pious Doctors of the Uni-
versity that no more than five boys were admissible from
that school, on that foundation, and that each was to. have
no more than the original 1/. 4s. 10d., notwithstanding
the vastly-increased value of the property, and that the
rest was to be held in trust for the benefit of the Fel-
lows of the College._( Hear, hear, hear.) That case was
also brought into the Court of Chancery. The next case
he would mention was that of the Croydon Charity, which was
brought tinder the notice of the House and the public by the
Noble Lord. That case, flagrant as it was, was to this hour
unredressed, the master was still receiving his salary without
giving any labour for it—there were no pupils. There was
also the College of Pollington. The estates of that estab-
lishment yielded 14,0001. a year, which was now monopolised
by a few persons and for the worst purposes. There a provi-
sion was made that no boy who had not five pounds a year
could be received. Thus, then, it appeared that the rich boy
who could procure education elsewhere, and who did not stand
in need of this charitable aid, and who, in fact, ought in justice
to be sent to other schools, was supported out of this establish-
ment. Was not this a grievous perversion of charity ? He
would next beg to give an account of the proceedings of the
Committee, and the information laid before it, which would
show the country the rapidity of the progress made by infor-
mation. There were twenty-eight counties investigated by
the Committee, and the charities in these counties were laid

before them. These twenty-eight counties contained 26,751,
charities, having property of various descriptions. There
were six other counties partly investigated, containing 1,734
charities. They had heard much of the lack of education, of
the wretchedness and ignorance of the poor, with pathetic ap-
peals to the country to make some provision for rescuing the
people from the darkness that besets them. Now, it appeared
that there were funds sufficient, if properly applied, for that
purpose. In twenty-four of these counties the actual rental
from land, houses, and other kinds of property was 331,7331.,
in connection with the charitable funds left for the purposes of
education. Altogether the funds left for charitable education
in the twenty-eight counties was 2,288,530/. Middlesex was
not included in this return. Including the twelve Welsh coun-
ties, of which he said nothing, he would not hesitate to say that
it would be found that there was an available capital of over
five millions sterling for the purposes of education, which if
properly directed, in place of being a bonus to certain indi-
viduals and bodies, would scatter benefits and blessings over
the country. Of the thirty-three counties which were in
whole or part brought under the cognizance of the Com-
mittee (and in the inquiry then proceeded with, the Member
for Calne took an active . and prominent part) there was a po-
pulation of ten millions of persons—there were 2,257 infant
schools, 2,311 day schools, and 982,744 children attending.
This, it would be seen, following up the calculation of the re-
lative proportion of population and profits, that in these