The voice of freedom. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1839-1848, 1846-10-29
From the Golden Rule.
Kindness to the Poor.

hlnCneSS 10 the Poor.
Thus is duty to which we are bound b,
a multitude of considerations, to some o
which we will here direct the attention of GU,
readers.
The most distinguished friend of the poo1
that ever blessed the world with his philan
thropic labors said, in regard to this cass,nea
the close Of his earthly mission aye hay,
the poor with you always, and whatsoever v,
will, ye may do them good" The fact tina
this class are always among us, and that w,
have the ability to do them good, constitutes
an obligation on the part of those who car
do so, to endeavor to benefit them, notwith
standing the various subterfuges that are of
ten resorted to to throw off this responsibility
There are some of the poor, it is true, so sunk
In intemperance and vice that all efforts tc
promote their good may be thrown away
toward such our obligation may cease when
we have made all reasonable efforts to reclaim
them to sobriety and virtue. But there is
and probably always will be, among US a nu.
merous class of virtuOus poor to whom we
are bound by the benevolent principles OF
| christianity to extend the hand Of relief.
We are often referred with stoical GOODNESS
to the legislative provisions made for thepoor.
There IS the poor house." says one, rand
| we are taxed to support it; let the poor 90
there" Similar remarks were made to US
few days since in regard to poor widow who
was struggling almost in the jaws Of dcspera-
ton, to get bread for her innocent babes
Let her 60 to the poor house." said 1icL
widow" we are taxed to support til" The
poor house was named to the wretched wo-
man. land we shall never forget the despair
ing shudter with which she replied, " 90 to
the poor house with these children, cannot,
. cannot" And what did the poor woman
do? Christian reader, we will tell YOU what
she did. She went, in her despairing agony,
to settlement of Shakers, and left to their
kindness a bright, active boy five years of
age; having been told that he would there
find the best of care-though she protested
that she would only do that to save him
from the vile associations of the County
House.
A word here to the cool, calculatine' mot
to say miserly) financier, who says he pays
his taxes to support the poor house, &c. Let
the policy he advocates be carried out; let all
the poor who cannot provide for their own
necessities be made public paupers, and those
who now plead that they pay taxes will find
their pauper tax increase in a most undesira-
bic ratio Is it the way to cheer the despond-
ing, to awaken their energies, promote their
self-rcspect, strengthen their virtue, and lead
them to make every practicable effort to main
tam themselves-is the way to do this to send
them to pauper establishment? No, but it
is a most effectual way to extinguish every re-
naming spark Of laudable ambition take a.
way selt-respect, and render their children, if
any they have, vagabonds and pests in socie-
ty, and further charge on the public cof-
fers.
Here is poor widow with three or four
children. She has seen better DAYS. Friends
once smiled upon her, and plenty crowned
her board. But misfortune came, and sick
ness and death or worse, the demon intem-
perance, and she is now reduced to extreme
poverty, and left, with an aching heart and
entecbled hands, to earn the necessaries of
life for her dependent little ones. She struc-
giles hard (who that deserves the name Of
mother will not y to protect the objects of her
hearts love from pinching want-perhaps
from actual starvation. But her trials accu-
muiate and her strength fails, and she at last
ventures to appeal for aid to a wealthy neigh
bor "Why don't you 90 to the poor
house," is the chilling response. Wen.
when she has struggled long and vainly, till
the last vestgc of hope is extinct, she gives
up in despair, becomes a public pauper, and,
with her little ones clasped convufsively to
her heaving breast, is carried to the Door
house. Her children are there to be subject
to all its deleterious influences till they are
old enough to be "put out" What seeds of
mischief and vice will not, by that time, be
implanted; torthe poor house must, of course,
under the best provisions that have vet been
made, embrace the debased and vulgar of cv
cry age and grade.
But suppose this poor widow instead of be-
ing sent to pauper's retreat, had been met
by the kind voice and hand of charity, her
most pressing wants relieved, the balm of
sympathy and consolation poured into her
wounded heart, the charity of wages" I'M
grud1gingly afforded her, her children encour
aged to engage in such productive labor as
they were capable of performing, their atten-
dance on religious worship and the Sabbath
and day school secured, and how would that
widows heart be lightened Her better feel
lngs would gush out in gratitude to her bene-
factors, her children would be taught to lsn
their names, and would rise up to call them
bessed-they might grow up blessings to the
world and the charity thus bestowed would be
traught with rich blessings to the giver as well
as to the recipient The public, too would
not be tdned to support them in a poor house,
therefore, such method of doing good to the
poor should DO encouraged by the taxpayer