The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1872-03-16
THE AMERICAN IN ENGLAND.

of the original farm once possessed by oul
common ancestor.
THE AMERICAN IN ENGLAND.
There are many things with which Eng
fish people are so familiar that they look
upon them as something quite necessary tc
the order of Nature, but which strike al
American traveller with greater surprise
than any thing that an Englishman sees te
blame in the United States.
An American, for example, on reach
ing London, and walking along any of its
streets, is painfully astonished at the
wretchedness and rags that are constantly
before his gaze. He is annoyed by ragged
and even by well-dressed beggars that meet
him everywhere-not only in the streets,
but in the hotels, dining-rooms, theatres,
and places of amusement. Everywhere,
too, by night and by day, he meets with
drunken men and women, and dirty, ragg-
ed children.
The number of public houses and drink
ing shops seems enormous. The newspa-
pers every day contain numerous reports
of cases of drunkenness and its consequent
ces, and philanthropists deplore the excess
sive drinking habits of the people. Yet no
successful attempts are made to reduce the
number of places licensed to sell intoxica-
ting liquor.
The number of policemen also seems ex-
traordinary. Disorder and crime must
abound when so many officials for their
repression are required.
The hotel-keeper is expected to charge
for attendance in his bill; yet well-dressed
beggars, in the shape of walters, demand
additional money from the guest who is
leaving. An American learns that there
are in the world strong, able-bodied men
who actually pay money for, and work
hard in situations, in order to obtain good
opportunities for begging. 1t is the same
in theatres and places of amusement. Pay
ment is made for the entertainment; but
respectfully dressed beggars, in the shape
of box-keepers and other attendants, are
not ashamed to beg on their own account.
1t is the same in travelling; the guards and
railway porters beg for money, if not in
words, by Hsigns' equally ineligible,
and, if not satisfied, will give only grudg-
ing attendance. Even in churches the
similar system of begging from strangers
is practised.
On seeing the number of blind and other
afflicted people in the Streets foreigner is
astonished to learn that the National Gov
eminent, which is so lavish Of its money to
many who neither deserve nor need it,
gives nothing towards erecting or support
ing asylums for the blind, the deaf and
dumb, and others hopelessly afflicted
There are hospitals " sustained by volun-
tary contributions protesting to give re
relief to the poor, but, with very few excep-
tions. it is with the utmost difficulty that
any benefit can be derived from them
Accidents are attended to, but other cases
of distress can obtain relief only through
letters of recommendation and troublesome
processes of canvassing and voting. Crimi
nails are treated in a princely way, but the
honest poor have hard lives.
The English bankruptcy laws, and also
the marriage laws, seem scandalous and
disgraceful to any foreigner who has the
misfortune to acquire the slightest knowl-
edge of them. They seem made for the
express purpose Of giving bad men the
legal right to wrong their fellow creatures.
When an American sees in the public re-
ports of the proceedings of the Bankruptcy
Court case headed elm re-" because
the bankrupt if too highly connected to
have his name appear before the people
when he learns that much Of the crime in
the land is committed by men whose time
for previous convictions has not yet ex-
Dred-and when he sees that great crimes,
such as theft, wife beating, and the adul-
terations of food, are but lightly punished,
while such triflng offenses as an aged pau
per refusing to work in the workhouse is
punished with inhuman severity, he reads
with smile of contempt the criticisms Of
"Our own Correspondent y of the London
P4pefs.
If an intelligent EDgiishmau should
know of a family named Smith, who in
their own opinion monopolized all the viz
tues of Eng land, vino were ever applying
the family name to every quality good and
great in human nature, and who were ever
sueak,.g Of 'strne Smith courage, Smith
HONOR" ''Smith generosity" g smith love
of fair play" and so on, ne would be near
" as much amused as foreigner is at
hearing a whole nation do the same thing,
and assuming to itself all the virtues of
the civilized world, by the boasts of Eng
lisl courage, English honor and English
love of fair play.
4 foreigner while amused at the idea of
all the virtues being thus qualified by the
word " English also observes that many
crimes are stigmatiZed as 'un-English,'
and that this is often the case with crimes
that are seldom committed by any people
except her Majesty's subjects.
An American is amused by seeing judges
and lawyers in the English courts dressed
as though they were going to represent the
character of Mrs. Darlington on the stage.
An American cannot imagine how it is pos
sble for others to think that such an attire
confers the slightest dignity. With him it
commands anything but respect, when
seen with 4 beard.
With regard to pecuIiarities of speech,
whether of dialet or accent, in travelling
through England there is found larger
proportion of the population who speak
English untelligihiy, in fact far worse than
any people in Canada, the United States,
i us ,t."alia. Ireland, OF any part OF the
wn' ID where the English language IS spon-
en-. Yet Englishmen are about the only
people in the world who ridicule foreigners
Eho cannot speak their language correctly.
igp.eton'2 ,teprnGt.