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amount than that given by the nearest Friendly Society (supposing one to have been establis ed), or (if none) than such as may be established by the Quarter Sessions, and which shall not be increased without authority of Parliament.

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The pauper in this case would be better off than the man refusing to contribute, inasmuch as to him, the allowance ordered must be less than that given by the Society.

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The repeal of the clause in the Act of 1815, and the new provisions respecting work, and former earnings, ( may perhaps be ge neral.

There are two propositions concerning Saving Banks, upon which I will here take the liberty of observing.

Mr. H., with the view of encouraging the poor to make and retain their deposits, has suggested, that a man who has, for a stated number of years, been a regular depositor, should be entitled to a bonus in the shape of increased interest. I am indisposed to this suggestion, by an unwillingness to alter the character of these institutions from that of a Bank in its usual sense. They were intended to give to the poor man as ready and secure an investment for his savings, at interest, as those have who have easy access to the public securities: the depositor ought to feel himself as independent, and as little under an obligation, in the one case as in the other.

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Saving Banks, too, ought to furnish the experiment of what may be done by the unaided earnings of the poor. My suggestion proceeds avowedly upon the apprehension that those earnings are of themselves insufficient; and it might therefore be very expedient to apply Mr. H.'s suggestion to the Friendly Societies, by providing, that any man who has been a member for a given (but certainly not inconsiderable) number of years, without having made upon it any claim, or any claim beyond a certain point, should be entitled either to a sum of money or to a small annuity.

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The other proposition is that which has already attracted much attention in and out of the House, and which, in my humble opinion, ought to be referred to our Committee. Mr. R.'s clause, I mean, for declaring that property vested in a Saving Bank shall not be considered as barring the claim of an individual to be relieved as a pauper. This suggestion seems to me not only to be liable to the objection which I have urged against Mr. H.'s, but to operate against one of the leading purposes of the Institutions themselves, which is to bring parish rehef into disrepute, and to contrast the depositor in a Saving Bank with the pauper.

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It would moreover tend to place the pauper, most unjustly, up on a footing of superiority to the poorer among those who pay the

rates, some of whom it is to be feared are even now more indigent than the man for whose relief they are assessed. To my mind, the operation of the Poor Laws upon that class is one of the most crying evils which they produce...

I have hitherto taken no notice of illegitimate children;-the Friendly Societies, of course, could take no cognizarce of them; nor can I at present suggest any thing respecting them, except that their treatment ought to be, if possible, rather less favourable than the children of the lowest married parents. The subject, however, must come separately before the Committee.

Casual and Foreign Poor too, I merely mention by way of memorandum.

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I shall now advert to one or two topics less immediately connected with the question of relief.

The alteration in the law of settlement, which, upon your motion, the Committee has determined to recommend to the House, will, I believe, be found to be an improvement; though it is certainly not free from objections.

Its effect perhaps will be most questionable, in parishes partly agricultural and partly manufacturing, where, in the event of a sudden failure of the manufactory, a numerous body of workmen may be thrown upon a district of a very limited extent; whereas under the present system, the burthen will in most cases be more widely diffused.

The simplicity, however, of the principle (even though the details should be more troublesome than we expected) and its consistency with an obvious and natural policy, are with me strong inducements for establishing it. The parochial establishment of Friendly Societies, will obviously be facilitated by a measure tending to identify the legal and actual settlement.

I think it very doubtful, whether any proposition will be discussed in the Committee, for assessing to the Poor's Rate, any other property than that which is now usually brought into charge; and I shall trouble you only with two observations upon that head ;first, that I most earnestly deprecate any peculiar tax upon the Public Funds for this or any other purpose: and secondly, that if all personal property were charged, and much of the fund therefore should cease to be local, the establishment through the means which I have proposed, of general rules of relief, would assuredly facilitate the execution of that great change of system,

The appointment of a permanent, or of an assistant Overseer, would in many parishes, no doubt, be highly useful, and a power to make such appointment ought to be given. In reference to Lord C.'s suggestion for adding to their power, an obligation to

make periodical reports, I shall observe that it has been suggested to me, from more quarters than one, that the accounts which the Overseers are required to submit to the Magistrates under the Act of 50 Geo. III. cap. 49, ought to be arranged in a settled form, and might be accompanied with any information which Parliament or the Sessions might prescribe.

I have now to apologize for the length, and I fear for the desultoriness also of this letter; I am fully aware, that it is not such as you expressed your willingness to receive from me; I have perhaps not only introduced topics upon which my opinion has no value, but have stated, with too little of method and precision, the suggestions to which the Committee was ready to listen.

This deficiency I shall endeavour to supply, by preparing some resolutions for effectuating my suggestions. But I shall not venture to propose them to the Committee unless the view which I have taken of the subject appears to accord with the sentiments of a considerable portion of its Members.

I can assure you that however much I may have seemed to regard with the partiality of a projector, the scheme which I have detailed, no man can be more thoroughly impressed than I am, with a conviction of its insufficiency; or more alive to the objections, theoretical and practical, which may be urged against my propositions. If I have appeared to expect, that I could counteract principles by machinery, I have, in the eagerness of statement, done injustice to my own opinions.

But I am not so firmly convinced of the truth of any of the principles to which our difficulties have been referred, as to be assured that by the pursuit or abandonment of one theory or another, those difficulties will be overcome.

I suspect, that there is a mixture of good with the evil; and that much of the mischief is connected with the causes of our prosperity and strength, if not with the defences of our freedom.

At this particular moment I believe that this is eminently true; or rather, perhaps, that we are now in a situation more sensibly to feel the noxious tendencies of the system, while its blessings and wholesome excitements are in abeyance,

I have much consolation in believing, that the "small measures" by which, under this impression, I propose to mitigate acknow"ledged evils, have no tendency adverse to the theories which I have doubtingly rejected.

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I think it extremely probable, that in the course of my exposition, I may have appeared guilty of inconsistencies; and while I acknowledge that some of them may be owing to the inaccuracy of my own judgment, and the unsettled state of my opinions, I

think that you will recognize in others, only the inherent mystification of political economics.

I have the honour to be,

My dear Sir,

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