them less frugal, less industrious, and less capable of maintaining their families by the exertions of honest industry. One great cause of the growing evil is obvious; the generality of persons are willing to give their money, but they will not give their time to the poor. It must therefore necessarily follow, that in such charity there can be little inquiry, and still less discrimination; and there cannot be a truer maxim than this, that it is not what is given, but the right application of it, which constitutes its real value. Here then a society of the proposed nature will prove itself particularly useful. It will convert benevolence to better purposes; it will direct it into better channels; it will teach that the true and legitimate object of charity is moral amendment; it will urge the necessity of regular habits, of prudent economy and of improvement of character; it will hold out the most powerful motives to exertion; it will direct its efforts to eradicate the seeds of evil, and advance the practice of virtue; and, whilst it endeavours to operate on the lower classes by individual enconragement, by the prospect of honest ly acquiring property, and by every other incitement to industry and prudence, it will also point out to the rich the paths of active and useful beneficence.

"It is not necessary that your committee should enumerate the various objects which may ultimately be attained by an association like the present; they will gradually he developed with the progression of the plan. Your committee will, however, trespass a little longer upon your time, while they state what they would recommend for immediate a doption: and the grand basis of the plan, they conceive, should be inquiry and investigation. It appears to them essentially necessary to be

come acquainted with the situation and character of the resident poor in the town and neighbourhood, before any very extended good can be expected to arise from the proposed institution. However difficult, and almost impossible, the accomplishment of this may at first view appear, your committee entertain not a doubt that the investigation, it properly conducted, will not only be practicable, but easy of attainment.

"By a skilful division of labour, by a selection of respectable individuals from that class of society, who, without being liable either to impose or be imposed upon, have the best means of acquiring a competent knowledge of the poorer classes, and by assigning to each such a portion as will not interfere with his own personal pursuits, your committee are confident that the desired end may, in a great measure, be obtained; and in this confidence the experience of the past fully justifies them. This knowledge, when once acquired, may be easily preserved; and the result of such a continued inquiry will point out the best remedy for those evils so justly complained of in the loese and indiscriminate charity of individuals. The progress of imposture will be checked; the distresses of the industrious poor will be pointed out and relieved; and idleness and vice will be detected and discouraged.

The second object which your committee would recommend for immediate adoption is also one of the greatest importance. It is an undeniable truth, and it should never be forgotten as a maxim, that one shilling which the poor man earns does him more real service than two which are given him. Upon this principle your committee.would strongly urge the benefits which

would arise from the establishment of a general friendly society, under the tensteeship of the projected institution, and founded on correct principles of calculation. No measure could be devised more pulitic in its object, more practicable in its execution, or more permanent in its effects. By thus supplying the poor man with the means of making a prospective provision for himself and his family, you improve his character, you ameliorate his condition, and you preserve his independence. The great objection of the friendly societies already established is their insecurity, They are founded on incorrect calculations: with a view of encouraging subscriptions, they hold out the prospect of larger alfowances in sickness than the con tributions will justify; and the inevitable consequences is, their ultimate dissolution, and often their speedy bankruptcy. It has also not unfrequently happened that the treasurers have been fal-e to their trust; and the sums of money spent at their club-meetings tend considerably to diminish the funds. With such disadvantages it cannot be a matter of surprise if the industrious poor man, who labours hard to save sufficient to pay his contribution, should be unwilling to trust his little all to a tenure so precarious; and the obvious benefits of a society, which, from the very nature of its constitution, precludes the possibility of internal discord, which dispenses its

allowances with strict impartiality, and facilitates the means of obtaining thein; which, in short, offers such permanent security for the advantages it holds out, require no further illustration.

re

The third measure which your committee would at present commend is the building of two public kitchens, one in the northern, and the other in the southern part of the town. For (not to mention the additional expense, which is by no means trifling,) the great delay and inconvenience which have resulted upon former occasions, from the want of them, sufficiently prove the necessity of this measure; and though it is to be hoped that they will not be soon called for, yet in a town so extensive and so populous as Liverpool they never can be useless. The fluctuations of employment are at some periods great; during the long continuance of a hard frost many descriptions of the poor are thrown out of work; and in such cases the loss of time in necessary preparations entirely takes away from the value of relief, and the evil has reached its height before the remedy can be applied. Your committee would also recommend that a public shop should be attached to each of these, where the common necessaries of life, such as flour, potatoes, coals, &c. should be sold to the poor for ready money only. Let it not be understood that they mean to recommend the articles being sold at a price below their value, nor even at prime cost. That would be a dereliction of the very principles upon which the society should, in their It has been opinion, be founded. ascertained as a fact, from actual investigation, that the poor pay an advanced price for the common necessaries of life, at the rate of 25 per

cent.

beyond what the rich do; and, in addition to this, there is every

reason to suppose that they are also considerable losers in weight. The establishment of shops, therefore, where the poor might be supplied with these articles in small quantities at the same proportionate price which is given for large ones, cannot but be productive of great and lasting good. Your committee will illustrate their argument by an example. Canal coals, for instance, may be purchased by the load, at fifteen shillings per ton, or ninepence for the hundred: the poor man, who can only purchase them from week to week, as he receives his wages, can in no case procure them for less than one shilling the hundred, besides the loss in weight. This is undoubtedly a great hardship, and an adequate remedy would be productive of a twofold benefit; 1st, it would be a saving to the poor of one fourth of their wages, thus enabling them by their own industry to procure additional comforts for their families, and to lay by a small sum against the day of necessity. In the 2d place, it would improve their habits by requiring immediate payment. The facility with which the poor are enabled to contract debts is one very frequent cause of their ruin, and the instances were numberless during the last winter, in which they were prevented from participating in the general bounty, by a threat from their creditors of legal proceedings in the court of requests, whenever they ceased making their usual purchases, or were known to provide themselves with the articles furnished by the committee at reduced prices. Thus are they prevented from reaping the full enjoyment of their earnings, and labour loses its reward. An objection has been raised against the establishment of public shops, upon the ground of the injury which might result to the petty shop-keep

ers who maintain themselves by the sale of the necessaries of life in small quantities to the poor. But this objection ought not to have any great weight; for it often happens that the credit given to the poor is the cause of failure to the tradesman. Allowing it, however, to be wellfounded, yet surely there can be no hesitation in adopting a plan productive of such essential comforts and advantages to the many, whilst the few who suffer are small indeed in the balance. Besides the principle itself is erroneons! for if once admitted, there is no improvement which it would not be the means of obstructing. When, in addition to this, it is considered that these shop. keepers charge enormous profits, that they furnish very inferior ar ticles, and that there is a great deficiency in the weight, the objection must, by every reflecting mind, be dismissed as totally invalid.*

Others

"These, then, form the leading objects which your committee would recommend for adoption upon the first formation of a society for bettering the condition and increasing the comforts of the poor. of equal importance will, in the course of time, unfold themselves, But it is aboye all things necessary to caution the public, both rich and poor, from expecting too great and rapid a progress. The seed must be a long time buried in the ground, before we can look for a plentiful harvest. True benevolence must be guided by the hand of experience before its benefits can be extensively felt. Its current is like the quiet and placid stream, which spreads fertility through the surrounding country, in its slow and silent course.

"For a more extended and complete urged against the establishment of public answer to this objection which has been shops, see reports of the London society for bettering the condition of the poor.

If, however, in a work which is interesting to all, only part of the ob-ject be attained, it will be labour well applied; and your committee cannot close their report, without expressing their hopes that the proposed society may meet with that support of which, from a conviction of its usefulness, they think it so well deserving; and that long after its projectors have slept in peace, it may still survive and flourish, dispensing its blessings, encouraging the growth of every virtue, and promoting the happiness of mankind.

LAWS OF THE INSTITUTION.

I. THAT the general object of the society be to collect information respecting the circumstances of the poor, and to put in practice the most effectual means of ameliorating their condition. And as it has been found impossible, notwithstanding the large sums bestowed, to relieve all the distress that occurs in this large town, it appears desirable that particular attention should be paid to every reasonable plan of economy, so as to extend the benefits of charitable institutions to as great a number as possible. That the society ever keep in view the principle that the best relief the poor can receive is that which comes from themselves; and that the most effectual method of improving their condition is by the encouragement of industry and prudence.

II. That the business of the society shall be transacted by a committee of twenty-one members.

III. That every person subscribing ten guinea or upwards at one time, or one guinca or upwards an.

nually, be eligible as a member of the committee, and be entitled to one copy of all the publications of the society.

IV. That the committee be chosen by the subscribers at their first general meeting, and that they continue to act until the 4th of December, 1812, when seven of the number shall go out by lot, and the committee shall recommend the names of fourteen gentlemen to the annual meeting for the choice of the subscribers, (such recommendation, however, not to be binding;) the following year, seven of the former members shall go out, and seven new committee-men be chosen in like manner; and afterwards the remaining seven of the committee shall go out by rotation, after having served three years; such service, however, shall not render any person ineligible for the succeeding year, if the subscribers should think proper to re-elect him.

V. That a president, two vice-presidents, a treasurer, and secretary. shall be appointed annually by and out of the committee.

VI. That the ordinary meetings of the committee be held on the last Friday in every month, at eleven o'clock precisely, or on such day and hour as the committee may adjourn

mittee be filled up by ballot at monthly meetings only, a week's previons notice baving been given to each member of the committee, and the person so elected shall be considered as the substitute of the person whose place he fills in the committee,

XI. That all questions be decided by a majority of votes, the chairman having also the casting vote.

XII. That this committee be empowered to correspond with any other society having a similar object in view, to purchase any books which are calculated to give them information on the subject, and to print any plan or report which they may think deserving of public attention.

XIII, That the committee be al so empowered to offer such rewards for good conduct as the state of the funds will admit, so as to awaken the attention of the poor to what will promote their best interests; that they appoint such officers, with salaries as they may think necessaEy, and apply the funds of the society in such a manner as shall seem to them most conducive to the public good.

XIV. That all drafts or orders for payment on account of the society, be made by order of the committee -and entered on the minutes of the day; and that they be signed by thiee of the members present, and countersigned by the chairman or secretary.

XV. That a select committee be appointed every month, consisting of three members, (two of whom may act,) who shall meet once a week for the better dispatch of the regular business of the society, and shall report their proceedings to the general committee; but no orders of this committee shall be binding beyond the month, unless confirmed by the general committee.

XVI. That sub-committees be ap

pointed (consisting of two or more members) for such purposes, and with such powers as the committee may think fit to delegate to them.

XVII. That the mayor and acting magistrates, the rectors, churchwardens of the parish, and principal overseer of the poor, be considered as honorary members of the com mittee.

XVIII. That a general meeting of the subscribers shall be held on the first Monday in December in every year, to inspect the accounts, and transact the general business of

the society.

XIX. That a report of the state of the society be published every year, as soon as convenient after the general meeting.

XX. That no repeal of any fundamental law shall take place, except at the annual meeting of the subscribers, one week's previous notice having been given to each member of an intention to propose such repeal.

XXI. That no person shall be con sidered as a member of the society whose subscription is more than six months in arrears.

XXII. That when any money shall be placed out at interest, the stock shall be purchased and the security taken in the name of the trustees for the time being; and that when any purchase of land or buildings or any other property shall be made, such property shall be conveyed to the said trustees in trust for the society; and the trustees sball, from time to time, when requested by the committee, execute powers of attorney for receiving the dividends and interest as the same shall become due half yearly; and for receiving or recovering the principal money, or any part thereof, to such person or persons only as the committee for the time being shall by writing under the hand of