deeply interested'; and there the eldest daughter figured as the one slight girl on whom the whole family depended. In these appeals she gave again as her referee her husband, under the name of a 'Rev. Dr.'

6

This year appeals under two other names were received; they were made on behalf of a poor invalid solicitor and his wife, whose ndustry and cheerfulness she commends-whose only prospect was a bare existence; that love of art or a yearning for the gratification of artistic tastes had all been crushed out of her;' but she had taken up the burthen of life in a brave unmurmuring spirit.' The wife in question was in league with the writer of the letters, and was a confirmed drunkard. Subsequently the hero of the story, after having, through the kindness of a friend, obtained occasional duty in London, was found acting as a locum tenens in a country parish under a false

name.

It may be added that probably the cause of distress-for there was undoubtedly the distress that comes of a perennial lack of money—was mismanagement, extravagance, and intemperance.

It may be interesting to read the letter of instructions sent by How to write a this person to her last friend and colleague:

'I am desirous of helping you out of your troubles, and I think it can be managed, if you will do as I wish you to. I have written a draft of a letter which I think will do ("Appeal to the Feelings," etc.). I was not quite sure as to all my facts, but you can amend that, add to, or deduct. I want you to copy the letter yourself for people I should prefer not writing to, and I enclose a list of names for the envelopes. Do these as soon as you can, and send them off by post here for me to forward. It will be easier to obtain money out of London, as there is always a suspicion of London letters. You will understand. Use plain white paper and envelopes, and write your very neatest hand. It will not take long to get answers from some of them.'

It is a pity that such cleverness cannot be turned to better account. With regard to street begging, it may be mentioned that the New York Society, who have just made a special investigation of the subject, which quite confirms the conclusions arrived at in England, state that their 'past year's experience with the problem of street begging convinces them that there is absolutely no need or justification for it, and that to pander to it is an unmixed evil. For the five per cent. possibly worthy and needy, there is abundant provision, which may be reached by application to any relief agency, to the police, or to any office of this Society; and to them inadequate alms is a cruel aggravation. For the 95 per cent. of dissolute and shiftless, such doles but intensify their degradation and hinder their rescue.'

begging letter.

No need or justification' of street begging. Experience of the

New York

Society.

The South St. Pancras Committee on cripple children exposed in the streets.

Decrease in the general funds

of the Council.

Appeal for funds.

Plan of combined

collection for

charitable institutions.

Not a few cases of street beggars-men, women, and children-have passed through the hands of the officers of the Council. And a quotation from the Report of the South St. Pancras Committee will show that the same evils, so easily curable, if those who created them cared to cure them, are met with here:

'We cannot,' they write, 'too earnestly urge upon the public the necessity of dealing properly with afflicted cases. To see persons parading their deformities in the streets is horrible in the extreme. There are many poor cripple children who are dragged about the streets by inhuman parents, in order to excite pity, and thereby to obtain money destined to be spent, not in the relief of the suffering child, but in gratifying the dissipated tastes of the parents. It is for the public to stop this by refusing to give in the streets, and by supporting the efforts of this and other charities in their endeavours to place the children in Homes.'

FINANCE.

The finances of the Society have been in the past year a matter of continual concern to the Administrative Committee. There has been an increase in the subscriptions, but a decrease, amply accounted for by the depression, in the donations of the Council for general purposes. Perhaps also the expansion of the Society's work in the organisation of convalescent and surgical relief and in the 'special cases' of the District Committees, has, for a time at least, the result of diminishing the Society's income for general purposes. The fact that the total of the Society's income (i.e. including amounts raised for relief of cases) has increased, points to this conclusion. The Council are very desirous of raising at least £1,000 extra this year, so that they may not have to obtain an advance from their bankers. Every item of expenditure has been most carefully considered, and the members of the Society may rest assured that their contributions are used with the utmost care and economy.

At the end of this Report will be found a tabular statement of the receipts and expenditure of the District Committees; and, besides the balance sheet of the Council, there is printed on p. xxix., an abstract of the receipts and expenditure of the whole Society, 'adjusted' so as to avoid the cross entry of sums that are transferred from the Council to the District Committees and vice versa. As the financial year of the Council and of the District Committees has been made the same, this has now become possible.

COMBINED COLLECTION.

The plan of combined collection, based upon the scheme successfully adopted in Liverpool, has progressed in the last year. There are

now 11 charitable institutions included in the Collection Union. The receipts of several Societies have been augmented by it, and the cost of collection has been at a minimum. One Society, in recognition of the advantages which have accrued to it, has, unasked, sent to the Council a payment of 5 per cent. on the contributions collected on its behalf. The total collection in 1883-4 was £2,478; in 1884-5, £3,203. The Council determined to introduce the plan slowly and by degrees; and it is hoped that a larger group of Societies may have the benefit of it in the coming year. Papers containing full particulars regarding it can be had on application. The "Transfer Account: Combined Collection" will be found on p. 119.

CHANGES IN COUNCIL.

Cavenagh.

The Council have to thank General Sir Orfeur Cavenagh for having Sir Orfeur served as their Chairman for two years. This is, however, but a small part of the service which he has rendered the Society. Since its institution, he has acted year after year as a Vice-Chairman; he has constantly assisted in all important deliberations by his advice and long experience; and he has rendered the Society conspicuous assistance by his Chairmanship of the Blind Committee, the report of which remains a document of permanent value. Sir Orfeur Cavenagh has now accepted the post of a Vice-President, but the Council trust that he will take as active a part in the work of the Society as he has done hitherto.

Mr. Albert Pell has been elected the Chairman of Council for the Mr. Albert Pell. year 1886. The large experience which Mr. Pell has had in Poor-law

questions and matters concerning local government generally, lead the Council to believe that his help as their Chairman will be of very great service to the Society.

Lord Brabazon has been elected a member of the Council as a re- Lord Brabazon. presentative of the Metropolitan Playground, Boulevard, and Public Garden Association; and Mr. W. B. Paton, the Hon. Secretary of the Mr. W. B. Paton. Central Emigration Society, as representative of that society.

Mr. Hornsby Wright was for so long a member of the Council, as one of the Hon. Secretaries of the St. Marylebone Committee, that a reference to the great loss which the Society has sustained by his death must needs find a place in the Report of the year. Those who knew him will deeply sympathise with the following words from the report of the St. Marylebone Committee, which contain so sincere a tribute to his memory and so just an appreciation of his character:

"The Committee record, with profound sorrow, the death of their much loved and respected Honorary Secretary, Mr. J. Hornsby Wright. 'Those who are acquainted with his work, published in 1878, "Thoughts and Experiences of a Charity Organisationist," will have

The late Mr.

Hornsby

Wright.

The late Lord
Shaftesbury.

gained some insight into the mind of the writer, and the spirit in which he laboured, as a brave and patient soldier of the Cross, to promote the cause of organised charity. The motive is apparent in the opening sentences, where he avers that "After eight years of active connection with the St. Marylebone Committee of the Society, he knows, next to work directly and distinctly evangelistic in its object, nothing which so thoroughly satisfies the religious instincts of his nature as identification with charity organisation."

'Such words as these, speaking from the grave of one whose whole life was devoted to the good of his fellow creatures, should be sufficient answer to those who brand this Society as hard and unchristian. He had learned by personal experience that an open hand and a warm heart may do more harm than good, unless guarded by careful inquiry, and controlled by clear judgment and consistent principle; and he exemplified in his own person the beau ideal of a beneficent almsgiver. His character was well known and justly estimated in the Society; but those only who were brought into close contact with his genial nature, who witnessed the loving sympathy which he bestowed on all applicants who proved worthy of it, and the pains which he took to sift the truth and arrive at a right judgment in every case that came before him during the fifteen years that he acted as Hon. Secretary (frequently devoting many hours of every day in the week to this labour of love), can rightly appreciate the loss which this Committee have sustained in such a friend and colleague.'

The Council have also to record the loss of a Vice-President-the late Earl of Shaftesbury, who, as the Chairman at an annual meeting and on other occasions, helped greatly to promote a knowledge of the Society by his powerful speeches on its behalf.

AUDITORS.

The Council have to thank Mr. A. R. Barrett and Mr. T. J. Bradley, of Her Majesty's Exchequer and Audit Office, for again auditing their accounts.

THE DISTRICT COMMITTEES.

Sub-Committees.

One of the most important Committees of the Society is the The Districts Districts Sub-Committee. To them is entrusted all the detailed work of supervision. Reports of visits to District Committees are brought before them; the estimates, balance-sheets, and loan accounts are passed, and the grants to District Committees are voted, on their recommendation; and all complaints against District Committees are submitted to them in the first instance.

The following is a comparative statement of the cases dealt with by the District Committees during the past three years :—

Cases.

The following notes and extracts will give some idea of the work Statement of of the Committees.*

District Office.

Of the daily work of an office the Hackney Committee gives some The work of a account. In a previous Report they described the familiar work of 'taking down an application.' It is a very fair statement of the manner, time, and trouble which is required, and in most Committees expended, in each 'case.'

The first step when we hear of anyone in trouble is to find out all about him, because without doing so one cannot possibly tell how to help. The applicant must come, if it be in his power, to the office; he will there find pleasant, comfortable rooms, and a sympathetic listener, who will invite him to explain his position fully and privately. Much tact is often required to get at the indispensable facts without wearying people needlessly; it will take perhaps half an hour to do

80.

This is a work for high skill and delicate sympathy, and one for which ladies are specially qualified. A form is then filled up, which shows the state of affairs at one glance, on one side the income, on

the other the expenses. We have to enter into a good many details, *The Reports of the several District Committees can be had separately on application.

A tabular statement of the cases dealt with in the past year will be found on p. 60.