Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1856-12-04
THE POOR on NEW YORK.

The annual report of the New York Associa-
ton FOR improving the condition of thepoor, gives
a statistical view of what has been accomplished
during the year just closed;
Number of families relieved, from Nov lst ts
1856, to Nov lst, 1856, l0,879
Number of persons, 43,5l6
Number of visits, 43,244
This shows decrease Of relief compared with
the previous year, of about thirty per cent. The
number of visitors is tlreee hundred and eighty
one ~ l.E- a5a
During the year, the Association has made
rigid examination of those psrtsking Of their
charity, in order to detect impostare and more
efeetualy relieve the deserving. We quote the
report in the Journal of Commerce:
sin this winnowing process, many cases of vir.
tuous poverty were brought u the knowledge of
the visitors, which justified more liberal provision
than had before been given, while, on the contrary,
there were numerous disclosures of the fraudulent
articles of the unscrupulOus-some to subsist on
aims without work, and some on the bounty of
Others in order to save their own earnings. In
one section, for example, it was found, that out of
seventeen families that had been fed by the expert
mental relief Efforts Of the previous wiater, nine
at this time, had deposits in the Savings Bank; ia
another section, out OF nineteen families thus as
sisted eleven had similar depnsits and so of many
other sections, of which these are only samples
Nay il was ascertained that some owners OF real
estate, and numerous other persons possessing the
means of comforta Bile support, had their names on
the charitable list aforesaid, and We're very bitter
in their complain Of the inhumsnity which cut
them off from gratuitous relief
The report calls sttenton to the alarming in
crease of paupeii,m in the State The report of
the Secretary of State shows that during the year
ending December l, 1855, 2O4, l6l paupers were
relieved at the public expense, by outlay of ST.,
379 954 exhibiting an increase over the preceding
| year of 658l4 psupers AMI expense of S258,O00.
0In 1881 there was one lpauper to every 123
| persons; in l84l there was one to every p per-
cons; and this year there is one to every II per-
sons. Let the same ratio continue fifteen years
longer, and there will be one pauper to every five
persons that is, every five persons in the State
! must support one psuper.
eff the foregoing statements were not establish
ed by official statistics, they might appear ncredi-
Bile; but appse as they are they fall snort ofthe
actual Indulgence relieved in this city and State.
ave have deeply sympathized with the suffer
ings of Inflated Ireland, justly regarding it the
poorest country in Europe. "Ireland" and "psu-
persm" were 80 associated, a5 TO present to the
mind only scenes Of suen discomfort and wretch
edRess. w at shall we then say to the fact, that
the ratio CT pauperism to Pc pulation is far less
there than in the prosperous aud wealthy State Of
New York; In Ireland, with population about
double that of this State, the total number of per-
sons publicly relieved, in door and out door, du-
ring the year ending September. 1856, was 30i,-
100, against BAG 5l8 in this 0tate-of which note,
259s8l, or more than Is per cent were of foreign
BIRTH In other words, there were, according to
the respective ratios of population, about two
paupers in this State to one ia Ireland And there,
rapidly decreasing having fallen off ten per cent.
since the preceding year; here, the contrary, as
has been shown, they are rapidly augmenting
ga further analysis ofthe pauperism ofthe State,
shows how large part falls upon this city
The receipts of the Society during the past year
were S4S8l1.