In putting forth, for the information and satisfaction of the
Parishioners of St. Mary Abbott’s, the Ninth Annual Report of the
KENSINGTON CHURCH OF ENGLAND DISTRICT VISITING SOCIETY, the Committee
feel constrained to call the serious attention of all residents blessed
with the will and power of exercising a discriminating charity to the
several subscription lists annually put forth from the date of its
foundation. A comparative view of the balance sheets of its receipts and
expenditure, from the time that the several Ecclesiastical Districts were
separated from the Mother Church will reveal facts, which no impartial
person can consider in creditable keeping with the progress that has
taken place in the numbers and respectability of the population. Large
areas of formerly vacant ground, both in the New Town and on Campden
Hill, are now covered with houses, in the occupation of tenants who must
possess competent, if not abundant, means. In Palace Gardens, mansions
have sprung up, which, in all the appliances of a luxurious and tasteful
civilization, throw into the shade the neighbouring Royal residence. The
value of rateable property is now assessed at a sum that very largely
exceeds its registered amount six years ago. From such data, and arguing
from the general benevolence of the English character it would not have
been unreasonable to expect a corresponding advance in the sums set apart
for Christian Almsgiving. This natural hope has not been justified. The
reverse is the case. Year by year the contributions have been falling
off, until between the revenues of 1846 and 1852, there exists no less a
difference than 150_l._, being considerably more than a third of the
entire income from those sources. Nor must it be supposed that the
continued erection of habitations adapted to the requirements of families
moving in the upper and middle walks of life has been unaccompanied by
any provision for the accommodation of the numerous classes who wait upon
and minister to their wants. In one street alone a considerable number
of small dwellings, containing from six to eight rooms, have recently
been built, by which comfortable lodgings are secured to upwards of five
hundred new inhabitants, of whom a large majority, on any failure of
health or employment, would become eligible candidates for temporary
relief. Under the pressure of circumstances thus doubly adverse, with a
sphere of usefulness steadily increasing, yet decreasing supplies
wherewith to occupy it profitably, it may be a matter of surprise to
some, that the operations of the Society have been so efficiently and
perseveringly maintained. But the solution of the problem is to be
sought in the tendency of those operations themselves. The alleviation
of physical misery was but one, and not the most important one, amongst
the many objects, which engaged the attention of its first managers. To
forestall the occurrence of distress, by stimulating and encouraging
provident habits, was, in temporal affairs, their main purpose. The
principle of forethought was systematically wrought into the mind of each
applicant for help. Hence, in proportion as the love of the rich waxed
cold, the energy of the poor strengthened; and though the bounty of the
former diminished, the savings of the latter augmented until the Deposits
in the Coal, Clothing, and Winter Clubs have more than doubled the
amounts collected by subscription. These constitute a reserve fund
always available to its members, in seasons of unlooked for privation.
Ordinarily, the man who has money in each of these Clubs requires no
extraneous assistance; he is sufficient for himself. His three grand
winter wants, fuel, raiment, and rent, are all provided for. This
independence enables him to understand the pleasures of an honest
industry; raises him above the influence of any trifling fluctuation in
his trade, and educes at once and fosters the invaluable characteristic
of consistent self-respect. The establishment of safe and remunerating
investments for the earnings of the prudent artizan is a boon, which soon
returns an ample interest to a neighbourhood. As their intention and
working becomes known and comprehended, they are thankfully appreciated
by the more thoughtful portion of the operative body, who soon learn that
by the exercise of a due economy and regular apportionment of their
wages, it is quite possible to anticipate the ordinary exigencies of the
future, and live independent of eleemosynary aid. That this result has
taken place in Kensington is demonstrable from the subjoined table, which
shows the sums spent by the Visitor in a district where the population
has increased an eighth in three years before and after the introduction
of the Clubs. It would probably be found a fair type of the system.
Money expended. Money deposited.
1847 £13 12 9 £11 16 3
1850 7 0 0 18 18 3
1852 10 5 6 26 0 10
The Winter Club deposits amounting last year to £8 1_s._ 6_d._ are not
included in the summary. Enough however will have been adduced to
indicate in what way the reduced resources of the Institution have
hitherto sufficed for its actual necessities. But the causes that have
led to the deficiency in its income are yet to be explained.
These may be stated as arising first from the death or change of
residence of many original supporters; and, secondly, from want of
acquaintance on the part of new comers with its existence. Nor should
this be a matter of much surprise; since, in every populous parish, so
many Institutions for the temporal and spiritual advantage of the
working-classes are necessary to be maintained, that comparatively few of
those, who do not make a conscience of inquiring into their condition,
are aware of either their number or relative importance. This remark
applies with peculiar force to suburban districts such as Kensington,
where a large proportion of the heads of families proceed early in the
morning to transact their daily business in London, and do not return
until the evening. The fault of their ignorance is not however to be
charged to the Committee of the Society, who do all in their power to
make known its title to assistance, both by the publication of Reports,
and the appointment of a collector, whose business it is not merely to
gather old, but also to solicit new subscriptions. But in many
instances, the servants are prohibited from receiving printed appeals by
a general order, which, of course, renders nugatory any communication
that might be addressed to their masters through the medium of the Press.
This is a hardship on both parties, in that the very individuals who are
the first to complain of the apparent omission, are the involuntary
victims of their own direction, and continue deprived of a satisfactory
channel for the administration of their alms; while the Charity advocated
in the pamphlet intended to be left at their houses suffers in the full
amount which might otherwise have been placed at its disposal. There are
some cases on the other side, in which the clergy have been requested by
persons immediately on their entrance into the Parish to supply them with
a list of the benevolent Institutions requiring succour. It would be
well were this example more universally followed. None would then
complain of being overlooked.
With these preliminary observations the Committee proceed to the more
grateful task of giving an account of their stewardship in the past year;
and as the best means of exhibiting the organisation now existing in St.
Mary Abbott’s, and informing the public of the comprehensive scheme of
charity, to which they are invited to take a part, the present Report
will bring in order under notice, the graduated agencies of beneficence
that are exerted upon the poor throughout the several stages of their
lives.
As that which refers to its very earliest period, it may be advisable to
commence with some account of the