Mendicity Society.
The Times, 1824-01-30T00:00:00

TO.THE EDITTORQF THE TNVIES. Sir,-I have perused the letter ili your paper signed" Flien-dto the- Poor," with considerable interest, also your own observations ont the management of the A i3di'cty Society. By the-account.'copied ftrom thelast report, there dods-appear suificient4o'ltify'tbe obserF. vations-.adle; but there ;re'ericumrstancesawhich the wrifer appearx to be'4uite unacquainted vwit}i I beaprvied to bave in mfy posses- sion one'of' Ar. Bedi-in's begging letters to-have-his.salary-coriti- nued'wittzirt r cstrirtions' --Iat it seems the mtanagers had foutld ;llk. Bodlkin a very expensive Honorary Secretary and Assistant Manager, and therefore his petition was-rejected, and a MIr. 1ralk-er electedi nto thbtoffice, of whom I hive heard a veryhigh character,'atid.trus5 that the next accouint 4urrent, will slhow-a great difference iir the expense of coducting the busines5 of that'institution, the'Lconstitution 0g whbidh is excellent. That Alr. Bdlkin 'shouldj lie allowed, to con. tnue -tlhe title of *' htnorary,'s when, under another'designdtion, he yas rece*ing a salary, is ccrtainlW a rcflection on the Bo.rd$ - if the reports 'I :ave heard arc true as to what transpired in; tfifi ai well as the Houseless Poor Seciety," where he acted in that ingti- stuion uihdcr the same title, I think that his h6norary titLe ought to: hfave bee n withdrawn; hut I am told that it was owing-tO the:zeal of two, or tfiree of Mfr. Bodkin's advocatesi- that he ywas-sllos ed to; be. -propased again at the last annual meeting. - I believd'tias 1311r; Bod. kmi s 6bject, from the commencement, was to obtain nosce: and though le may' have done some good, he has, no doubt, donen, uch harm. I have had it from authority, that he laid a deep sche6i for transferring the whole funds of the 'I Homseless Poor Society"' 1o Red Lion-square. and proposedl that some of the meinlerk of tle Housele,s Committed (whem he 'thought likely to join him in the room) should be introdaced, ws managers to the lUendicity Society, unlider the impression that he should-hold an office at a very high salary. Ilowever, hit scheme excited-faspi- nnn, and he was obliged to givd it up, I h-ave been a subscriber to the lendicity-Society-from mencenienrt, althougl - I have dtubted that 'unnecessary ex;p*&t have been incurred and it 'will depend on'the resalt of the ensatng annual ineetijig. whether I continue my supvort. By Mr. Bodkini's own printed letter to the Patrniis, Vice-Pretsi_ dent, and Ilanagers, it appears that the Managers ft not take thut active part which they formerly did * bit Thope that siill be contra- tlicted: at any rate, f thinlk you wvill do right to make it known that the "' Friend to 'the Poor wva unacquainted Wlith illr. WI'alker's el-etion to succeed MIr. Bodkin in February last, prior tb the an- nual meeting. - 1 ai11, Sir, your obetlient servant, AiN WItlilNAL UB6UC.UItB3EA COPY OF 711. 1O3lEfIN'S LETTER ABOVE ALLUDED TO. "To the Patron, President, Vice-Presidents, a-id Mlanagers of the - Sodetv tbr Suppressing Alendicity. M"ay it please your'Royal 13ighness, mn Lords, and Gentlemen,- A -deep sense of' duty impels me to address you, in reference to the pLoCedin`gs noW pelLding for the appointment of an Assistant2 lak nager. - It will be recollected, that having been mainly instrumental in founding the society, I was induced to accept the office of Secretary, and in tiat capacity gratuitously to render whatever services 'were in MY power, until its increasing importance made it-evident that the ethectnal control and direction-of its multifariouis concerns could only be sccured by such an absolute and entire elevotion of time as no ho- - norary officer could be expected to. make. 'rhe appointment of n sti peidiaxy manager was theretorc proposed, and f- undertook the ofhice for a limited period, as an experimient, the result of xvltichi miglht deternmine the propriety of adopting it as a permanent measure. "W'hen it is considered that during this experiment the casee miid been reduced fromi' 4,.ite to 2,339,-and -a saving of nearly 1,000l.' effeeted in the annual expenditure, I trust it will be allok ed that the interests of the Society were not neglected or compromisedI whi3st irtrustedl to rue. 1 should have been happy, from my-attachment to the institution, to have given it nry continued attention * -but when it was proposed to place the assistant-manager-under restric.- tions incompatible weith the feelings ot' an individual connected as' had been withi the establistiment, I could not hesitate to bdieoe that misy retirement was considered desirable ; and Utnder this imprcssion I intimated to thie Boatd, that I shouildwish to tecline afterthe ex, piration of the current year, * i3 easures have since b'een taken for s;curing a successor, by ald vertising in the public papers for candidates. iThe advertisements issued by- the Sub-Commirtee stated, that a knowledge of the habita of the poor, and of the laws for their rplief and government, was indispensably necessarv; and it is no dispa- ragement of the gentlemen whom dthe Board have selectet- that their previous pursuits have not been of a nature to aflord them opporth. nities of acquiring any such knowledge, either in theory or practice. They are military nmen. and have caididlv adlnitted their entire ignorance-of those subjects, a knowvledge of which tht Committee, from the conviction of their importar.ce, declared to be indispensable. I ami shr fronm insinuating that the most fit of those wlho offeeed have not been nominated; but I incline to think they were selecteJi by the Committee because no alternative presented itself, antl rere adopted by the Board for the same reasoin. "It is upon this presumption, and from an anxiety for-t'he welfare of the institution, that I now come forward. I was led to believe that a very general epinton as to the iueligibility of't-he candidates was entertained, and I shoald have addressed the Board oni the sub- ject at its last meeting, but that I viished to avoid assuming such a fact. I address them now, because I have reason-to believemv silence has beer itise nsrtrued, thotugh I Ieel it to be verY difficult for-me to adopt any course which will nat expose me to miirepresentationis. If the Board, iunlder all the circumstances. resolve to proceetl to the ballot, they -will of course take no notice of this letter; but if their intentiou of confiding the afrairs of the Society to a stranger has arisen from wliac may have appeared to be the Decessitv of the cmee then I beg respectfully to assure them of my wil.-ingness to continue to devote my attention to those dueles, in the per- formiance at' which I have hitherto felt pleasure, and I trust given satisfaction. I have the honour to be, "lay it pleasc yourRoyal Hlighness, my Lords,and Gentlemeti, oit&r most obedient and faithful servant, M''. H. BODK-IN. "Mendicity-office, Red Lion-square, Jan. 30, I823." e PoUnd faIse. TO THIE EDITOR OF THE TIMES. Sir,-Tn reply to .Ir. Tooke's letter. published in vour paperof to-day, I beg VGou will do me tisei jstice to believe, that I am as in- capable of want3nly or designedly inflicting a Tiound on any un- pretending honeurable and ddicate mind, as I now.most fully, cor- dially, and- conscientiously exonerate that gentleman from all participation in the MUendicity job ; the error, if. any, was not mine; it mnust be attributed solely to the very jesuitical manner of mixing and arranging theitens in the account to which he refers; adopted, no doubt, fer the sake of mystification. Instead, therefere, of incurring M.r. Tonke's displeasure, I considler myself entitled to his best thanks, for affording him so proud an opportunity, not only of rescuing his character froru the silent Etigina which otherwise would have been inseparable from it, but also of fixing the odium so unequivocally and inidignantly, as he does, upon thereal offenders. With great deference, however, tnMr. Tool-e's '' unimpeached pro- fessional chaiacterof tive-and-twenty yesrs' standing," and giving :him, therefore; the fullest credit for a well-earned volumne; and, if he pleases, an imtnease circle of lame, I must, notwithstatuding, de- dare the simple truth, that I was, and am, in as profound ignorance of him, and everv other "officer" connected with, or belongin%to the Mendicity Society, as I amn of the secret of the " North MWest Passage;" all I know, either '-di ectly or indirectly," they have disclosed theinselves; for' the only mnedium of "intelligence and apparent means of information" possessed by mie, was their owhs report. Under these circumstances, I trust to the candour of i'lr. Tooke for excusing the query whichi unintentionally. gaave him offence, and for al explicit answer to one or two more. Did he, or did lie not,-see the report alluled to? Seeing, did he appr6ve of the vote of' iOOL ? If he saw and approved, did he not identifv himself with its character and consequences ? And finallv, if he did not ayprove, was it not his, imperative duty, as a man of honour, ,to leave the association to the scorn and contempt thus merited ? Your canduct, Sir, on this as wdellindeed as pn.zeyry occasion of public utility, is far above ty feeble praise. Your noticeiaud sanb- tiou of the observations contained in my letter of Saturday, alone render them valuable, and from. your publication alone, great and good restalts mav be expected; for-by licitin trurh now, yoa will effectuaDly prevent future offences. I have the hoibur to renmain, Sir, your obligedri~ - jan. 20, 1824. A FRIEND Tb THE POFWC --i he ie iave to point ou!t a typographical- error which occurred in nmy letter df Saturday, i?n the mididle of the 2(rth line frol tdie top. I amn made to say " rejectedl" instead of rjgardted by them, &c. ., AIENMEDlCITY SOCIETY.-