Centre Democrat. [volume] (Bellefonte, Pa.) 1848-1989, 1861-10-31
Beefn Centre County, Penna Thursday Morning, oct 81 1861
TFrom the London Telegraph
The Unseen Poor of England.

On the condition of he pauper classes we
have descanted over and over again. To-day
our theme is once more the needy whom we
have always with as but we wish to turn
the public gaze neither to paupers indoor
nor outdoor, neither to tramps, nor beggars,
nor houseless creatures on doorstops or on
1 dustheaps Those whom We wish the public
to commiserate are the poor who are not
seen. the poor who do rot complain, the
poor who do rot cry for aims, who do not
beseige the relieving officers count1ng-honse
or the work house gate. These are the quiet
poor. They are not given either to GIN
drinking or to cutting each others heads
open with saucepans or bottles. They live
in remote hooks and corners, of which they
strive to paw the rent, and which they keep
as clean as they can. They work when they
can get work; but when employment is
scarce, and times are hard, the quiet poor
TRANQUILITY starve and die. We say that
they starvc and die, quite meekly and un,
murmuringly as things consequent to their
cond dition, and naturally to be expected
But where are the clergy and the missiona
ries-the philanthropists and deaconesses :?
our readers will ask. Somehow it happens
quiet poor people. They are not noisy. they
are not demonstrative. Theirs are not sea
ses" that would look we'll in report =
They don't beat their children; they are not
wives who have been jumped upon; they
don't ask for tracts they are not too conf
dent that all their miseries have not arisen
| from the incorporate habits of their grand
mothers. They are merely decent, orderly
working people, keeping themselves in
curiously secretive way. and lying down to
dic-God help them-without making any
| fuss whereas that drunken Irish baske
woman. with her callow brats. will fill
whole court with her yells when bread is
scarce. Sometimes it will occur however,
that the hunger is too sharp. and the misery
| too appalling to be endured, and Death will
not come " hen summoned Then the quiet
poor become desperate. Then the famished
man thrusts his lean arm through the bakers
window, and, captured with loaf in his
bleeding hand, he is brought before the JUS
| tice as a thief--he, poor honest creature, who
until maddened by famine, never robbed
human being of half penny Then the
gaunt girl who can get no more work. and
has no food, no friend, and no hope filings
herself into the river or canal with prayer
that the dark waterswil close over her and
that she may hereafter be Yardoned for the
crime of Staying herself because she can get
no bread to eat save the bitter crust that is
obtained by shame.
Let our charitable readers ponder over the
most lamentable and heart rending case of
Mary Arm Hamer, wis was brought before
the magistrate at Worship street, charged
with an attempt to commit suicide. She
had been unable to obtain employment at
Der trade as boot filter for machine work.
The cause given for her inability to procure
occupation is almost inexpressiby painful.
The wretched girl had no proper clothing,
whcrewith to seek it. One sees in magma
tion the dreary catalogue of garments sent
to the pawnbrokers-the gown, the shawl,
extra petticoats. the very under linnen sue
cessively parted with for food the pile of
duplicates on the mantleplece the dreadful
day when there is nothing more to sell or
pawn-nOthing left. 9 Oh, men, with sis
ters dear ! oh, men, with mothers and wives
no; hing Left oh, women with rustling
silks and glossy shawls, but rag and
tatter, just enough to cover ones nakedness
not enough 10 go 10 the shcpkeeper's tcare
house tn," but sufficient in VIII ch amid dark
ness to steal away TO the waters edge, and
fling herself into the Regents canal, as Ma
ry Ann Hammer did. By Heavens mercy
the girl was not drowned. She was rescued
by young seamstress whose window over
looked the water, having seen her body
floating, and called assistance. The pitious
tale she told proved. after she had been re
manded for inquiry, to be perfectly rue
The officers of the police court discovered
b.r {ot L. ao;t,
very clean, bit destitute of every necessary
The man bore good character among his
ne!ghbors, but his hand had become paralyz-
ed from following his occupation as CON
position doll max err" one of his two sons
had been run over, and was a cripple; the
other was too young to work. He was
widower. In fact, the whole family belong
ed to the 'tquiet poor" The mother dead,
the father paralyzed after . composition
doll making one crippled and one helpless
child; and grown-up daughter with no
work and nothing to wear but those nnwom-
anly rags of which Thomas Hood sings in
the undying Song of the Shirt" Let it
not be thought that we regard Mary Ann
Hammer S attempt to commit suicide as en-
tirely blameess. Let it not be imagined
that we dissent from the wise caution given
TO the girl by tie sitting magistrate, Mr.
Leigh, on setting her at liberty; or that we
deprecate the supervision which he proposed
to exercise over the subscriptions which
kind hearted persons had forwarded to the
Worship street Police court for the relief OF
the family. 1t is even possible that half the
funds SO sent would place the girl, her father
and brothers in comparative comfort; but
might 1t not be possible, with the consent of
the benevolent donors, to use the residue as
a nucleous for the reliefo the ''quiet poor" !"
Would it not be worth the while of some
true philanthropist to leave the vagrants
and the cripples to their many friends for
season, and strive to find out the wretched
who are not depraved; the meek, unresist- :
ing and forlorn beings who are not strong
enough to struggle with the battle of life.
and who lie down and die by the wayside,
too often without any good Samaritan to
aid them.
H9- Infdels are generally credulous.-
They believe everything but the Word o.
God