The Sun.
London, England, 1861-01-18 00:00:00

COURT OF COMMON COUNCIL.

The members of the Common Council of the city
of London held a Court yesterday in the Council
Chamber, Guildhall. The Right Hon. the Lord
Mayor presided.
DISTRESS OF THE LABOURING POOR.

Mr. CONNELL then proposed that the sum of
£l,OOO be voted by the Court towards a general
fund for the relief of the suffering poor of the city
of London, inclusive of the coalwhippers and fel-
lowship porters, the same to be placed at the dis-
posal of the Coal, Corn, and Finance Committee,
and that the citizens generally be invited to con-
tribute to the amount to be distributed. He said
that he felt gratified that the Court had allowed
the motion to be taken out of its order, and he felt
assured that the matter was one which would
commend itself to every member, and that it was
quite unnecessary for him to go into the subject at
any length. They were all aware of the great and
almost general distress that prevailed at the present
moment among the labouring classes owing to the
inclemency of the weather, and he was sure that in
this Court, which was perhaps celebrated above all
other things for its sympathy for distress and a
desire to alleviate it, he should have no difficulty on
the present occasion in inducing it to come forward
and alleviate . that wide-spread misery which
unhappily prevailed at the present moment in the
city of London. He had himself been that day to
some of the water-side districts, and he could
assure the Court that the state of destitution in
which large numbers of working men were placed
was quite dreadful to witness.. He had also received
a letter from the Rev. Mr. Atherton, incumbent of
St. James's parish, Ratcliff, in which he stated that
in that neighbourhood the state of distress was so
great that many shops where provisions were sold
had been plundered, and that a great many other
shops were being closed by their owners for fear
they should be similarly treated.
Mr. COCKERELL seconded the motion, and said
he felt it unnecessary to add anything to what had
been stated by-Mr. Connell, as he was sure that
every member 'of the Court must be aware of the
great amount of distress that prevailed. They
all knew how his lordship and his brother aldermen
in their magisterial capacity had exerted themselves
to alleviate this distress, and he felt assured that
this court would not be behindhand with them in
such a matter. He could bear testimony, from his
own knowledge, to the great distress that prevailed
among the coalwhippers, and their committee had
voted £4OO for their relief, which was all that the
state of their finances allowed them to offer, but
this sum was greatly insufficient for the required
purpose.
Deputy ELLIOTT said that while admitting the
existence. of distress to a great extent at the pre-
sent moment, and entertaining an anxious desire to
alleviate it as much as possible, still he could not
help feeling that the proposal for giving so large a
sum as £l,OOO was one that ought not to be enter-
tained. He must look at the question as any prac-
tical man would, and he was satisfied that broad-
handed charity like this was calculated to do more
harm than good. He must at the same time state
his opinion that the distress was not so extensive
as it was alleged to be. He had made inquiries at
one of the City unions, and was informed that the
number of inmates was only twenty-seven larger
than for the corresponding period of last year, and
one of the officials, a man of great experience,
stated to him, in reference to the money that was
being expended in charity, that it was sufficient to
demoralise the entire working population. He
believed that the Poor Laws were quite sufficient
to meet the emergency if they were properly ad-
ministered. (so, no.) If anything additional was
required let it be done upon a moderate scale, and
not scatter money about in this manner. The dis-
tress was to a great extent occasioned by the frost,
but in all probability the frost would not last much
longer, and then there would be an enormous demand
for labour, and they might not be able to obtain it
if the labouring population got money by the means
now proposed. He had no desire to stop the cur-
rent of benevolence, but he did wish that the
court should look at the matter as practical
men would do, and that they would act
in reference to it, as they would in any important
question having reference to their own affairs. He
said that many of the men now out of employment
had been earning from thirty to forty shillings per
week when at work, and it was their duty to have
laid by some portion of their earnings. He con-
cluded by proposing as an amendment that £lOO
per week be granted by the Court for the pur-
poses stated in the motion, so long as the frost lasts.
Mr. JoriNsoN seconded the motion.
Mr. Deputy PEWTRESS supported the amend-
ment, and at the same time observed upon the
system that had been adopted of turning their
courts of justice into relieving offices which he said
he considered most objectionable. No doubt a great
number of people were out of employ at the present
Limo from aceident.l eireumstane.s, hut he belie-v(4
that if the Poor-law was properly carried out it
would be found quite sufficient to remedy the evil.
Mr. REED, in supporting the original motion,
said that the object of it was to prevent the neces-
sity of compelling. an honest labouring man front
becoming a pauper and applying for parish relief.
(Hear, hear.) Many a respectable working man
who was now suffering the greatest privations
would do anything rather than apply to the
parish; and the fund that was now proposed to be
raised was intended to be devoted to the relief of
such persons. As to what had been said by the
honourable member about the police courts being
turned into relieving offices, it appeared to him
that, instead of being any discredit, it was an
honour to any magistrate who assisted in relieving
the distresg of the people in his district who were
deserving.of such a course of proceeding, and that
Mr. Alderman Mechi and Mr. Alderman Allen,
and other magistrates of the city of London who
had interested themselves in this• wanner, were
deserving of the thanks of their fellow-citizens for
so doing. (Hear, hear.)
Deputy HARRISON then suggested that the better
course would be for the Court, instead of granting
£l,OOO at once, to consent to give 1:50 or 1:100 a-week
to the Minsion-house and the Guildhall Police
Courts for as long a period as the Lord Mayor
should consider necessary. Arrangements were
made at both these courts for dispensing relief, and
he believed the course he proposed would be found
a satisfactory one.
Alderman HALE said he thought the Court ought
to be careful not to take any steps that might be
calculated to stop the flow of public benevolence,
and he suggested that £5O per week to each court
would proeably be found sufficient.
Mr. BO;NE objected to the money being dispersed
through the medium of the police courts. There
was a sort of general scramble for it,.and the result
Was most unsatisfactory. •
Mr. LAWLER supported the original motion.
Alderman ROSE said he was of opinion, that the
course proposed by the amendment would not have
the desired effect. There was an extraordinary
and sudden pressure, and this could not be met by
doling out £5O or £lOO per week. •
Mr. Alderman and Sheriff ABBISS said that, as
the chairman of the City of London Union, he could
state that the Board of Guardians did all in their
.power to alleviate the distress that prevailed. They
were, no doubt, empowered to levy rates to any
amount they considered necessary, but he could
state that: a great deal of the distress that now
existed was among persons who never would apply
for relief as paupers, and it was to relieve such per-
sons as these that was the object the court now had
in view. (Hear, hear.)
Deputy BOWER said he could speak from his per-
sonal knowledge of the very great distress that
prevailed among the coal whippers at the present
time. The men and their families were starving
by hundreds, and it was impossible that any Poor.
law couldineet 'such a state of things. .
Alderman DAKIN said that the Court were all
agreed in granting relief, and the only question
was how to do so in the most judicious manner.
With regard •to the coal-whippers, he said it
ought not' to be forgotten that at a period when
there weie public disturbances, and the peace
of the City of London was endangered, these men
came forward in a body, and volunteered to be
sworn in rrs special constables. (Hear, hear.)
Mr. H. L. TAYLOR said he should be most anxious
to assist in, any proposition for.alleviating the pre-
sent distress; but he doubted whether either of the
propositions that had been made would have that
effect ; and he suggested that-the Lord Mayor, as
the head of the Corporation, should convene a public
meeting of bankers and merchants to consider the
subject. He was sure, from his known character,
that he would be too happy to takeany course that
was for the benefit of his poorer brethren, and the
effect of such a meeting would be, that large-sums
would be raised.

Mr. CONNELI then replied, and the original
motion for the grant of £l,OOO was put to the Court,
and carried by a large majority.
It was then proposed and seconded, and carried
unanimously, that the Chamberlain should be
appointed treasurer to receive the contributions of
the public in aid of the grant.
The Lord Mayor subsequently announced that
the Coal, Corn, and Finance Committee would meet

in the evening at the Mansion-house, to consider
what steps should at once be taken to carry out the
views of the Court in alleviating the existing
distress.

A report
__
and City was made by the Law, Parliamentary,
Courts Committee, by which it appeared
that a rule nisi had been obtained in the Court of
Exchequer, calling upon the authorities of the Lord
Mayor's Court to show cause and establish their