LONDON CHARITIES.
When Guizot visited London the principal thing that struck him was the
nature and the extent of London Charities. Undoubtedly the English are a
more charitable people than the French. When the ruinously low prices of
the Funds forbade a loan, the loyalty-loan brought forth the name of a
Lancashire cotton-spinner, the father of the lamented statesman, Sir
Robert Peel, who subscribed 60,000 pounds; and when George the Third sent
the Minister Pitt to compliment him on this truly loyal and patriotic
subscription, he simply replied that another 60,000 pounds would be
forthcoming if it was wanted for the defence of the country. Did
Napoleon, or any French monarch, ever possess such a patriotic subject?
The spirit is still the same. What sums the nation subscribed for the
relief of the wives and widows and orphans of the Crimean heroes. What
an amount was raised at once for the victims of the Indian mutiny. An
Englishman likes to make money, and makes many a sacrifice to do it; but
then how lavishly and with what a princely hand he gives it. And in this
respect the Londoner is a thorough Englishman--his charity covers a
multitude of sins. I am aware some of this charity is of a doubtful
character. A draper, for instance, may subscribe to the funds--of such
an institution as that for early closing--a very handsome sum, merely as
a good business advertisement; other tradesmen may and undoubtedly do the
same. There is also a spirit of rivalry in these matters--if Smith saw
Jones' name down for 50 pounds, he, thinking he was as good as Smith any
day, and perhaps a good deal better, puts his name down for 100 pounds.
Somehow or other we can scarce do good things without introducing a
little of the alloy of poor human nature; but London charities
undoubtedly cover a multitude of sins.
Associations for the voluntary relief of distress, the reclamation of the
criminal, and diffusion of Christian truth, are a noble characteristic of
the English people. There is no city in the world possessing an equal
number of charitable institutions to those of the British capital.
Taking the whole of London, and not exempting, from their distance, such
as may be correctly classed as metropolitan institutions, as Greenwich
Hospital, &c., we find there are no less than 526 charitable
institutions, exclusive of mere local endowments and trusts, parochial
and local schools, &c.
According to Mr. Low, the charities comprise--
12 General medical hospitals.
50 Medical charities for special purposes.
35 General dispensaries.
12 Societies and institutions for the preservation of life and
public morals.
18 Societies for reclaiming the fallen, and staying the
progress of crime.
14 Societies for the relief of general destitution and
distress.
35 Societies in connection with the Committee of the
Reformatory and Refuge Unions.
12 Societies for relief of specific description.
14 Societies for aiding the resources of the industrious
(exclusive of loan funds and savings' banks).
11 Societies for the deaf and dumb, and the blind.
103 Colleges, hospitals, and institutions of almhouses for the
aged.
16 Charitable pension societies.
74 Charitable and provident societies, chiefly for specified
classes.
31 Asylums for orphan and other necessitous children.
10 Educational foundations.
4 Charitable modern ditto.
40 School societies, religious books, Church aiding and
Christian visiting societies.
35 Bible and missionary societies.
526 (This includes parent societies only, and is quite
exclusive of the numerous "auxiliaries," &c.)
These charities annually disburse in aid of their respective objects the
extraordinary amount of 1,764,733 pounds, of which upwards of 1,000,000
pounds is raised annually by voluntary contributions; the remainder from
funded property, sale of publications, &c.
The facility with which money can be raised in London for charitable
purposes is very astonishing. A short time back it was announced that
the London Hospital had lost about 1,500 pounds a year by the falling in
of annuities. It was, therefore, necessary, if the Hospital was to
continue its charities to the same extent as heretofore, that additional
funds should be raised. In an incredibly short space of time 24,000
pounds were collected. The _Times_ makes an appeal about Christmas time
for the refuges of the destitute in the metropolis, and generally it
raises somewhere about 10,000 pounds--a nice addition to the regular
income of the societies. The Bishop of London, since he has been
connected with his diocese, has consecrated 29 new churches,
accommodating 90,000 persons, erected by voluntary subscriptions. We may
depend upon it the various sects of dissenters are equally active in
their way. During last year the Field Lane Refuge supplied 30,302
lodgings to 6,785 men and boys, who received 101,193 either six or eight
ounce loaves of bread. At the same time 840 women were admitted during
the year, to whom were supplied 10,028 lodgings, averaging 11 nights
shelter to each person, by whom 14,755 loaves were consumed. On the
whole it appears that 10,000 persons annually participate in the
advantages of this institution, and 1,222 of the most forlorn and
wretched creatures in London were taken from the streets and placed in a
position where they might earn their own bread, and all this at the cost
of 3s. 6d. each per annum. In 1851 the original Shoeblack Society sent
five boys into the street to get an honest living by cleaning boots
rather than by picking and stealing, and now their number is about 350.
Mr. Mayhew calculates the London charities at three millions and a half
per annum. In estimating London charities we must not be unmindful of
those required by law. According to a return published a couple of years
since, I find, in the districts of the metropolis, the average amount
expended for the relief of the poor was 1s. 6.75d. in the pound. The
total number of casual destitute paupers admitted into the workhouses of
the metropolitan districts during the year amounted to 53,221 males,
62,622 females, and 25,716 children. The quantity of food supplied to
these paupers varies much in the several districts, as also the nature of
the work required. In some cases no work at all is exacted from the
casual poor, but where it is, the demand appears to be chiefly for
picking oakum and breaking stones. In some cases the dietary includes
bread and cheese, with gruel, and sometimes even the luxury of butter is
added. In other cases bread and water (very meagre fare, and
insufficient to support life for any length of time), are all that is
allowed. Women suckling infants are supplied tea, broth, or gruel in
lieu of water; we can scarce wonder the poor prefer going to jail. I
have seen in jails, and convict establishments, dinners better served
than are earned even by many of the industrious poor. I find during the
last year the 339 agents of the London City Mission had paid 1,528,162
visits during the year; 117,443 of these visits being to the sick and
dying. By their means a large number of Bibles and Tracts had been
distributed, 11,200 children had been sent to school, and 580 fallen
females restored to virtue. At the annual meeting of the Ragged School
Union it was stated that in 170 Ragged School institutions, there were
199 Sunday Schools, with 24,860 scholars; 146 day schools with 15,380
scholars, and 215 evening schools, with 9,050 scholars: of teachers 400
were paid, and 9,690 were voluntary. There were fifteen refuges in which
600 inmates were fed, lodged, clothed, and educated. The midnight
meeting movement, of which we have heard so much, and respecting which
opinions so much differ, according to its report, has been very
successful; through the instrumentality of the committee seven meetings
had been called; 1700 women had been addressed; 7500 scriptural cards and
books had been circulated; and 107 had been reclaimed and placed in
homes, through the agency of which, they would, it was hoped, be restored
to society. In addition to these five had been restored to their
friends, one to her husband, two placed in situations, and one had been
married. In the general charities of England London has its share. It
not merely takes the initiative but it subscribes by far the larger part.
When the Crimean war broke out a fund was raised for the wives and
families of the soldiers engaged in it, amounting to 121,139 pounds;
260,000 pounds were subscribed for the relief of the victims of the
Indian mutiny. Well it was in London that the most liberal donations
were made. Again, look at the Religious Societies. In last year the
income of the Church Missionary Society was 163,629 pounds 1s. 4d.; of
the Bible Society 162,020 pounds 13s. 5d. Of the Wesleyan Missionary
Society, 141,000 pounds 5s. 11d. Of the London Missionary Society,
93,000 pounds. Thus gigantic and all-persuading are the charities of
London. The almshouses erected by private individuals or public
subscriptions are too numerous to be described, except we refer to the
London Almshouses erected at Brixton to commemorate the passing of the
Reform Bill; nor would I forget the Charter House with its jovial and
grateful chorus:--
"Then blessed be the memory
Of good old Thomas Sutton,
Who gave us lodging, learning,
And he gave us beef and mutton."
Nor Christ's Hospital, with its annual income of 50,000 pounds; nor the
Foundling Hospital, with its 500 children; nor Alleyn's magnificent gift
of Dulwich; nor the Bethlehem Hospital, with its income of nearly 30,000
pounds a year; nor the Magdalene. But we must say a few words about the
Hospitals; of the more than 500 Charitable Institutions of the
metropolis, one quarter consists of general medical hospitals, medical
charities for special purposes, dispensaries, &c. In 1859, in
Bartholomew's, I find there were patients admitted, cured, and
discharged, 5,865 in, 86,480 out; in St. Thomas's 4,114 in, 44,744 out;
the Charing Cross Hospital has, I believe, on an average 1,000
inpatients, 17,000 out. Guy's, with its annual income of 30,000 pounds,
has an entire average of in and outpatients of 50,000. But we stop, the
list is not exhausted, but we fear the patience of the reader is.