Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1852-04-10
NATIONAL INTELLIGENCER.
FROM ouRL0 NDoN CORRESPONDENT
LONDON. MARcH Is, 1852.

polls been in so comfortable a condition as they
at present and the same, think, may be said Of
the population of the United Kingdom at large with
very few trifing exceptions. 1t must be admitted,
however that the congregating together nearly two
millions and half of human beings within the Rar-
row compass Of the metropolis and its PRECINCTS, is
such departure from all nssural modes Of exist
ence as must unavoidably be attended with or give
rise to the infection of some of those penalties which
always arise from any infracton Of the laws of Ma
ture, any departure from the common-sense rules
of society and the manifest requirements of humaa
beings Certainly the shutting up of a large mass
of men, women, and children in space where they
breathe nothing but an atmosphere of coal smoke
and other mere villanous ingredients, and drink
water any thing rather than pure; where the sun
seldom shines upon shem; and where tens of thou
sands never are refreshed with the sight Of green
field is such terrible infracon Of some of tc first
laws of our being at least Of webeing, that we
need not wonder at finding IN London, notwfhstand-
ing the blessings of peace and plenty, great mass
of vice and sorrew and Suffering. Yet few persons
perhaps, even in London itself are prepared to re-
ceEe and to credit thedollowing terrible statistics
Of London society Is 1T not most hor,ifying re-
suit that upon average one person cot of every
twenty, five per cert, of the population of this
luxurious metropolis every morning without any
tanty of food employment ard every night close
in upon him without knowing certain place of shelter and
repose Bat it is There very few even of these
who have passed long life in London, who know all hen
don; there few of the most charitable seekers
out Of suffering for the purpose of relieving it, who know
whore the greatest of that suffering are csrgre
gated And amongst those who are best informed upon
the subject many consider the misery OF Bethnal
Green and Spittal6eds and de sation of theSeven
Dials and the profgaoy of Field Lane and Saffron HILL
as the normal condition of mankind, and unavoid
able unceasng sin end su eng and struggle fer
which human experience can suggest no remedy human
exerton produce no aevation. The Times, in alluding
to this melancholy subject says.
tits not that we need gnorant Of snch sub
iects if we choose be at the aims of inquiry The po
ce the boards guardians ae select committees of the
Commons the phanthropists have all something to tell
us if choose to open our ears to their reports But
the waves Of unceasing labor An Engshman has
things which ought be done countrynen at least
many of them are rich and liberal. Charity with them
must be transacted like other business efficiently but
quickly and then its exigenciss may be forgotten until
next audit-dey Let not be Interpreted as casting
slur upon English charity in its manifold Developments
its schools it, hospitals and its benevolent institutions
our neighbour; but judge by results the conclusion
is inevitable there is charity like English charity
there no country the world where such strenuous
forts have been relieve the destituon and minis
ter to the of the suffering classes Notwithstand-
ing al these efforts it is iamentabe fact that in this
very town London alone the centre and core OF British
civilization enc hundred thousand persons every day
without food be the precarous produce Of pass
ing job crime. Since England was England the gen.
era prosperity Of the country has reached high
a point at the present moment We mark with COM
pacency the gradual rise of this swelling tide Of wealth
and luxury; take notice Of the recedng wave
Many schemes have been devised by polite or humane
persons to remedy this acknowledged evil The states
man erects his Poer Law Unions and the philanthropist
his houses of refuge; but still the restitution continues
Ii s stated in the Registrar Generals annual report for
1919 that nearly human being died weekly in this
wealthy metropolis from actual starvation In the cor
responding report for 1851 find that twenty
adults died from Starvation and 2o2 from want OF
breast-milk want of food"
II is however a oonsoling that man, woman, or
child in England need perish for want of food sarv-
ing has but apply casual pauper at the door
of any workhouse enter police court or station
house and dire necessities of nature would be on the
instant supplied 1t is painful fact on the other hand
that in so large population that Of London instances
too frequently occur of persons who carefully hide their
shame and their suffering from every eye until they sink
down exhausted and die What remedy be proposed
for these affecting events An excellent society has been
formed in London for the purpose of establishing ayums
throughout the metropolis in which the destitute may meet
with one other of the four following forms Of relief ls
soup kitchen ID refuge fer nightly shelter 3D. free
registry for procuring situations and work for
and abo-ers Ath free laraory, &C. The report Of the
society already established m Leicester Square shows that
during the year fewer than 81 persons shared
the comforts ana advantages which
pense and that 25 473 men, women and children were
on Christmas day. Toasted with good dinner of roast beef
and plum-puddng who probably otherwise would have
lacked the means Of procuring dinner of any kind on
tina. universal Christian hoyday Lord SHArTsBuRY one
OF the most benevolent and active Of phanthropsts in
late address upon the subject of this and similar institu
tions gives the following affecting statements argu-
ments for the necessity of their establishment:
Thirty thousand naked lawless children roam about
the Of the metropolis constituting the seedpot of
1e20ths Of the metropolitan crime Every year about
sixteen Thousand persons turned loose from prison
the Of London rithout and without cha
racter."
But we need not multiply quotations to prove so
extensive an evil the sin and suffering even in these
days Of comparative prosperity which exist in rich en-
ghtened Free beaevolen and rapidly Lon
don For this evil or least for its great mitigation
we can see remedy but the organization Of the charity
Of the country the employment Of Government funds
in the promotion Of emigration. The Times concludes
very clever article upon the ssbject as follows:
at NAV be said fresh crop Of destination and
Zine xond soon arise when the old one had been
"a We answer the operation contemplated is eontnu~
ous operation II annual fund Of vast amount Is to be
Tor the relief Of dest1nton at least let not
lose sight on the most effective remedy Of all"
N.rt TO the secfsl condition Of people, the most i'm
phase Of their being their political position and
= rainly the latter Will in great measure flow from,
"A be dependant upon, the former 30 people either
"a, erstand or be DESTROYS Of possessing political free