do I exclude the reft from fuppofing them deficient, but because there is no poffible way of guefling at the amount of what they give. Their exertions are highly laudable, and conducted with great good fense. There are focieties of persons who fubfcribe one penny per week, and by that, fupport from twenty to thirty deftitute children. The fubfcribers are generally the lowest class of those who can fupport themselves, nay, I have repeatedly known thofe, who had no rational affurance of food for twenty-four hours, take in the out-caft, with whom they had no connexion but fellowship in mifery; and if furprife was betrayed at fuch conduct, they would fay, they hoped it would bring a bleffing from heaven. I hope nothing that I fay of the diftreffes of the poor, will be understood as implying a want of charitable zeal in the wealthy, but merely as defigned to point out the principal fources of thofe diftreffes, in order that their zeal may be applied in a manner which I cannot help thinking would be more permanently useful.

I shall now ftate fome modes of relief which have not been noticed, and which I am convinced are at least worth trial: The firft is the removal in many cafes of the poor to the country; this I fhall confider with refpect, firft, to deftitute infants, fecondly, to fingle perfons incapable from fome infirmity of fupporting themfelves, thirdly, to vagrants compelled to labour, fourthly, to families willing to remove, fifthly, to individuals, who are prevented from returning to

their friends, from want of money for travelling

expences.

As to the first class I am decided, that no means of fupport for deftitute children is for a moment to be compared to this of hiring at once a fofter mother in the country, until the child is twelve years old ; this is nearly the method taken by thofe focieties of the very poor for this purpose which I spoke of. They pay the nurse two guineas a year, only as long as the child ftays with her. As to its education it is fent to the beft country school in the neighbourhood, and they have found by continual experience, that children fo managed are better educated than in town fchools, which they attribute to the encouragement, and authority of the adopted parents. The advantage with refpect to health is unqueftionable, as, from the facts I have already flated, it appears that the medium value of the life of a child educated in the country, is above twelve times as much as that of one reared in town. In two refpects however thefe fmall focieties appear to me to err; they take the children from their foster parents about nine or ten years old, and fettle them with tradefinen in town; I would leave them with their fofter parents and pay for them until twelve years old, after which they could in fome degree pay for their fupport, and in a year or two more would do it entirely; there is no danger whatever of their being difcarded, I will truft the good-nature of the peafantry against that. The children of the Foundling-Hofpital are often nurfed in the country; and fo ftrong a mutual attachment

tachment often arifes, that the adopted parents choose rather to forfeit their arrears than bring in the child. You may hire a nurse for an infant in an Hospital, but in the cottage it will find itfelf

a mother.

The next class who ought rather to be removed, than fupported in town, is that of fingle perfons of good character difabled from fupporting themfelves, these should be fettled with Cottiers or Farmers, as lodgers; they will not be totally ufelefs there, and they will have better health, will be maintained cheaper by the economy of a private family than in any public inftitution, and cheaper in country than in town.

If it be neceffary to compel vagrants to work, it would be much eafier to fupport thefe men, where provifions were cheaper, and I cannot but fuppofe that there might be found benevolent perfons, to fuperintend fuch an inftitution in the country. Forced labour fhould be employed in fuch a manner, that the value of the material fhould bear as finall a proportion as may be to that of the produce, and fuch a material is the ground.

The fourth clafs I mentioned confifted of families willing to remove, thefe might be well felected by the fociety for the relief of diftreffed room-keepers, who from their fyftematic knowledge of the poor, could both judge beft of their likelihood to be induftrious on removal, and could beft detect their return. Whoever recommended a family for this purpose, should pafs a promiffory note for a certain fum with a tacit agreement, that, if the imple

ments

ments of industry given to the pauper were honestly employed, and if he and his family ftayed from town for a certain time, the money fhould not be fued for fome benevolent perfon fhould be chosen to undertake the infpection of the paupers after removal. The place to which they might be removed, fhould be determined by the following confiderations; firft, the vicinity of proper infpectors; fecondly, the virtue and industry of the neighbourhood; thirdly, the cheapness of provifions; fourthly, vicinity of reclaimable land; fifthly, a confiderable diftance from town. When a number of families were felected, they fhould be fent to the place fixed on in the cheapest manner, boarded at first with the pooreft Cottiers, and given an allowance in provifions and clothes gradually diminifhing. Yet the infpector fhould have fome dif cretion in this alfo; he fhould keep a register of the paupers, and make regular returns of their conduct thofe who were particularly diligent, fhould get fmall patches of coarse land, and when fettled on them would be, as far as human forefight could go, prevented from becoming a burthen on the community. Settlements of this kind fhould be made in different parts of the country, and the progrefs, which it would appear by the returns the poor made in different places, would afford the best mode of judging of the relative fuitablenefs of dif ferent fituations.

The fifth clafs are easily relieved, they should kave money lent, or given on the note of the recommender,

commender, with a tacit condition fimilar to that above mentioned.

The great objection to this fcheme is, that the paupers will return, and fo the scheme will operate as a bounty on going through Dublin, but much of this may be prevented by a correct regifter, and by convincing the reafon of the poor by direct addreffes, that Dublin is to them a scene of misery. After all this objection although it feems peculiar to this scheme, is not, for all charities given in Dublin, are bounties on coming to Dublin, and that is the evil.

Among the various modes, which have been propofed of employing the poor in town, one of the best appears to be the diftribution of wheels, for spinning flax and fpinning wool, on fecurity from the recommender. This was found by the fociety for relieving room-keepers to answer well with regard to wheels for flax, and many who were before a burthen on the public became able to fupport themfelves.

It would be of great confequence to have a list made out, of the coarfer kinds of labour for which there is a price in town, what time and expence are required to learn them, and what may be earned. But of all the modes propofed for giving employment to the poor the worst is that of public workinghalls, thefe are the rapid means of producing and diffeminating every difeafe of the mind and body.

There is one method of reducing the exceffive population, which I hefitated in mentioning at all;

but,