Sidor som bilder
PDF
ePub

pelled by those feelings to seek a refuge in the temporary, but fatal oblivion of intoxication.

7th. PAWNBROKERS. The establishment of these offices is considered as very unfavourable to the independence and welfare of the middling and inferior classes. The artifices which are often practised to deceive the expectations of those who are induced through actual distress, or by positive allurement, to trust their goods at these places, not to mention the facilities which they afford to the commission of theft, and the encouragement they give to a dependence on stratagem and cunning, rather than on the profits of honest industry, fairly entitle them, in the opinion of the committee, to a place among the causes of Poverty.

Open

8th. HOUSES OF ILL FAME. The direful effects of those sinks of iniquity, upon the habits and morals of a numerous class of young men, especially of sailors and apprentices, are visible throughout the city. abandonment of character, vulgarity, profanity, &c. are among the inevitable consequences, as it respects our own sex, of those places of infamous resort. Their effects upon the several thousands of females within this city, who are ingulphed in those abodes of all that is vile, and all that is shocking to virtuous thought, upon the miserable victims, many of them of decent families, who are here subjected to the most cruel tyranny of their inhuman masters-upon the females, who, hardened in crime, are nightly sent from those dens of corruption to roam through the city, "seeking whom they may devour," we have not the inclination, nor is it our duty to describe. Among "the causes of poverty,' ," those houses, where all the base-born passions are engendered--where the vilest profligacy receives a forced culture, mu hold an eminent rank.

9th. THE NUMEROUS CHARITA

BLE INSTITUTIONS IN THIS CITY. The committee by no means intend to cast an indiscriminate censure upon these institutions, nor to implicate the motives, nor even to deny the usefulness, in a certain degree, of any one of them. They have unques

tionably had their foundation in motives of true Philanthropy; they have contributed to cultivate the feelings of christian charity, and to keep alive its salutary influence upon the minds of our fellow-citizens; and they have doubtless relieved thousands from the pressure of the most pinching want, from cold, from hunger, and probably in many cases, from untimely death.

But, in relation to these societies, a question of no ordinary moment presents itself to the considerate and real philanthropist. Is not the partial and temporary good which they accomplish, how acute soever the miseries they relieve, and whatever the number they may rescue from sufferings or death, more than counterbalanced, by the evils that flow from the expectations they necessarily excite; by the relaxation of industry, which such a display of be-nevolence tends to produce; by that reliance upon charitable aid, in case of unfavourable times, which must unavoidably tend to diminish, in the minds of the labouring classes, that wholesome anxiety to provide for the wants of a distant day, which alone can save them from a state of absolute dependence, and from becoming a burden to the community?

To what extent abuses upon our present system of alms are practised, and how far the evils which accompany it are susceptible of remedy, we should not, at present, feel warranted in attempting to state. The pauperism of the city is under the management of Five Commissioners, who, we doubt not, are well qualified to fulfil the trust reposed in them, and altogether disposed to discharge it with fidelity. But we cannot with-hold the opinion, that without a far more extended, minute, and energet ic scheme of management than it is possible for any five men to keep in Constant operation, abuses will be practised, and to a great extent, upon the public bounty; taxes must be increased, and vice and suffering perpetuated..

LASTLY. Your committee would mention WAR during its prevalence, as one of the most abundant sources of poverty and vice, which the list of

'human corruptions comprehends. But as this evil lies out of the immediate reach of local regulation, and as we are now happily blest with a peace which we hope will be durable, it is deemed unnecessary further to notice it.

The present tranquil state of the public mind, and the almost total absence of political jealousy, indicate a period peculiarly favourable to internal improvement and reformation.

We therefore proceed to point out the means, which we consider best calculated to meliorate the condition of the poorer classes, and to strike at the root of those evils which go to the increase of poverty and its attendant miseries.

1st. To divide the city into very small districts, and to appoint from the members of the society, two or three visiters for each district, whose duty it shall be, to become acquainted with the inhabitants of the district, to visit frequently the families of those who are in indigent circumstances, to advise them with respect to their business, the education of their children, the economy of their house, to administer encouragement or admonition, as they may find occasion; and in general, by preserving an open, candid, and friendly intercourse with them, to gain their confidence, and by suitable and well timed counsel, to excite them to such a course of conduct as will best promote their physical and moral welfare. The visiters to keep an accurate register of the names of all those who reside within their respective districts, to notice every change of residence, whether of single or married persons, and to annex such observations to the names of those who claim their particular attention as will enable them to give every needful information with respect to their character, reputation, habits, &c.

It may fairly be presumed, that if this scheme of inspection can be carried into full effect; if visiters can be found, who will undertake the charge, from the pure motive of philanthropy, and if, on the principles of active concert, a reference be always had to the books of the visiters, before charitable relief is extended to any indi

vidual, by any of the institutions already established, and due notice taken of the information they afford, a change will soon be perceived in the aspect of the poor. Finding that they have real friends, that their conduct is an object of solicitude, that their characters will be the subject of remark, a sense of decency, and a spirit of independence will be gradually awakened, the effects of which, must eventually be perceived in the diminution of the poor rates of the city.

2nd. To encourage and assist the labouring classes to make the most of their earnings, by promoting the establishment of a Savings Bank, or of Benefit Societies, Life Insurances, &c. The good effects of such associations have been abundantly proved in Europe and in America. Boston, Philadelphia, and Baltimore have each a Savings Bank.

3rd. To prevent, by all legal means, the access of paupers who are not entitled to a residence in the city. The plan of inspection before described will furnish the mears of entirely preventing those disgraceful encroachments upon the charity of the city, which it is believed have been practised to no inconsiderable extent.

4th. To unite with the corporate authorities in the entire inhibition of street begging. There can be no reasonable excuse whatever, for this practice, more especially if the course of inspection, now recommended, be kept in operation.

5th. To aid, if it shall be deemed expedient, in furnishing employment to those who cannot procure it, either by the establishment of houses of industry, or by supplying materials for domestic labour.

6th. To advise and promote the opening of places of worship in the outer wards of the city, especially in situations where licentiousness is the most prevalent. This subject is considered as one of vital importance. If, as we believe, nine tenths of the poverty and wretchedness which the city exhibits, proceeds directly or indirectly from the want of correct moral principle, and if religion is the basis of morality, then will it be admitted, that to extend the benefits of re

[ocr errors]

ligious instruction, will be to strike at the root of that corrupt tree which sheds dreariness and penury from all its branches. That there is a lamentable deficiency of religious observance, is extremely obvious. It is questionable whether one man or woman in fifty, of the indigent, enters a place of worship three times in a year. The means are not provided for them, and they are unable to provide them for themselves. Now it has been remarked, that in the immediate vicinity of a church, it is rare to find a house devoted to lewdness or depravity. One half of the sum annually expended in the maintenance of the poor, would, be sufficient to build three houses of public worship.

Further, if wretchedness proceed from vice, and vice, among the poor, be generally the offspring of moral and intellectual darkness, is it not a most reasonable, social duty, which the enlightened portions of society owe to the ignorant, to instruct be fore they condemn, to teach before they punish? Can there be a more painful reflection in the mind of a humane juror, than the thought of consigning to death, or to perpetual exclusion from the enjoyments of virtuous society, a fellow-creature, for crimes that have evidently resulted from that condition of vicious ignorance, to which he has ever been exposed, without any attempts on the part of the community to rescue him from it?

The committee would, therefore, submit to the society, the proposition of endeavouring to effect, as the means may accrue, the gradual erection of buildings for public worship, in those parts of the city where they are the most needed, until every citizen may have an opportunity of attending divine worship.

7th. To promote the advancement of First day, or Sunday School Instruction, both of children and adults. We cannot but regard this kind of instruction as one of the most powerful engines of social reform, that the wisdom and benevolence of men have ever brought into operation.

8th. To contrive a plan, if possible, by which all the spontaneous charipies of the town may flow into one

channel, and be distributed in conformity to a well regulated system, by which deception may be prevented, and other indirect evils arising from numerous independent associations, be fairly obviated.

It appears highly probable, that if

the administration of the charities of the city were so conducted, as to obviate all danger of misapplication and deception; these charities would flow with greater freedom, and that funds might occasionally be obtained, which would afford the means of erecting houses for worship, opening schools, and employing teachers, and thus direct, with greater efficacy, those materials which alone can ensure to the great fabric cf society, its fairest proportions, and its longest duration."

9th. To obtain the abolition of the greater number of shops, in which spirituous liquors are sold by license.

We trust that four fifths, if not the whole of the intelligent portion of our fellow-citizens will unite in opinion, that the present extension of licensed retailers, is equivalent, or very nearly so, as it respects the morals of the city, to the entire abrogation of the law which requires a dealer in liquors to take out a license. While the number of places in the city remain so excessively great, which afford to the poor and ignorant, not only so many facilities, but so many invitations and temptations to spend their money

66

over the maddening bowl," reformation will be greatly impeded; poverty and ruin must increase and abound.

If each of the 1600 retailers in the city, sell, upon an average, to the amount of 250 cents per day, an estimate which we presume all will consider within the truth, the aggregate amount for the year, is $1,160,000. This enormous sum, extorted from the sweats of labour, and the tears and groans of suffering wives and children, would be sufficient to build annually, 50 houses of worship at $20,000 each, and leave a surplus that would be more than sufficient to erect school houses, and amply provide for the education of every child in the city. When, with a single glance of the mind, we contrast the difference in moral effect, between the appropri

ation of this sum to the support of the buyers and sellers of strong drink, and its appropriation to the support of honest and industrious mechanics, employed in the erection of buildings, which would improve and ornament the city, and to the diffusion of religion and useful learning, who will not rise and exert his strength against the encroachment of so mighty an evil?

CHRISTIAN UNION.

From the London Magazine for Dec.

last.

Berlin, Oct. 11.-His Majesty the King of Prussia has been pleased to address the following invitation to the Consistories, Synods, and Superintendencies of the Monarchy :--

"My illustrious ancestors reposing in God, the Elector John Sigismund, the Elector George Williain, the Great Elector King Frederick 1., and King Frederick William I. as is proved by the history of their reigns and lives, endeavoured with pious zeal to unite the two separate Protestant Churches, the Reformed and the Lutheran, in one Evangelic Christian Church in their dominions. Honour ing their memory and their salutary views, I willingly join them, and wish to see a work agreeable to God, which met with insuperable obstacles in the unhappy sectarian spirit of those times, to be brought about in my dominions, to the honour of God and the weal of the Christian Church, under the influence of a better spirit, which disregards what is not essential, and holds fast what is the vital part of Christianity, in which both Churches are agreed; and I desire to see the beginning made upon the approaching secular festival of the Reformation. Such a truly religious union of the above-mentioned Protestant Churches, who are separated only by external differences, is conformable to the great objects of Christianity; it answers the first views of the Reform, ers; it lies in the spirit of Protestantism; it promotes religious spirit; it is salutary to domestic piety; it will be the source of many useful improve ments in churches and schools, which have been often hindered hitherto, merely by the difference of religion.

To this salutary union, so long desired, and now again so loudly called for, and so often sought in vain, in which the Reformed Church does not go over to the Lutheran, nor the latter to theformer,but both unite in one new animated Evangelic Christian Church, in the spirit of their Holy Founder, there is no longer any obstacle in the nature of the thing itself, if both parties seriously and honestly desire it in a true Christian spirit; and if produ ced by this, it will worthily express the gratitude which we owe to Divine Providence for the invaluable blessings of the Reformation, and honour the memory of its great authors in the continuance of their work.

"But much as I must wish that the Reformed and Lutheran Churches in my dominions may share with me this my well tried conviction, I have far too much respect for their rights and their liberty to force it upon them, or to order or decide any thing in this affair.

"This union, besides, can have real value only, if neither persuasion nor indifferentism have a part in it; if it proceed from the unbiased liberty of self conviction, and is not only a union in external form, but has its roots and vivifying service in unity of heart, according to the genuine principles of Scripture.

"As I shall myself celebrate in this spirit the approaching secular festival of the Reformation, in the union of the late Reformed and Lutheran congregation at Potsdam, in one Evangelical Christian congregation, and take the holy Sacrament with them, I hope that this my own example will have a beneficial influence on all the Protestant congregations in my coun try, and that it may be generally followed in spirit and truth. To the. wise direction of the Consistories, to the pious zeal of the Clergy and their Synods, I leave the exteriour coinciding form of the union, convinced that the Congregations will readily follow in a true Christian spirit, and that every where when the attention is directed seriously and sincerely without any interested secondary views, to what is essential to the great sacred cause itself, the form will be easily found, and the external will naturally

result from the internal, simple, dignified, and true. May the promised period be no more remote, when under one common Shepherd, all united in one faith, one charity, and ane hope, shall form only one flock!

FREDERICK WILLIAM. Postdam, Sept. 27, 1817. "To the Consistories, Synods, &c." "The undersigned Minister, charged with the publication of this expres sion of his Majesty's wishes, does not doubt of the desired and happy success; because, as it has been accepted since the 1st of this month by the clergy of this city, of both Evangelic Confessions, united in one Synod, with unanimous joy and grateful respect for his Majesty's sentiments and views therein expressed, it will certainly be received in the same manner by all the Evangelic Clergy and congregations in the kingdom.

Minister of the Interior,

VON SCHUCKMANN."

Ukase of the Emperor Alexander, addressed to the Legislative Synod, Moscow, Oct. 27, 1817.

DURING my late travels through the Provinces, I was obliged, to my no small regret, to listen to speeches pronounced by some of the Clergy in different parts, which contained unbecoming praises of me; praises which can only be ascribed unto God. And as I am convinced in the depth of my heart of the Christian truth, that every blessing floweth unto us through our Lord Jesus Christ alone, and that every man, be he whom he may, without Christ is full only of evil, therefore to ascribe unto me the glory of deeds, in which the hand of God had been so evidently manifested before the whole world, is to give unto man that glory which belongeth unto the Almighty God alone.

I account it my duty, therefore, to forbid all such unbecoming expressjons of praise, and recommend to the Holy Synod to give instructions to all the Diocesan Bishops, that they themselves, and the Clergy under them, may, on similar occasions, in future refrain from all such expressions of praise, so disagreeable to my and that they may render unto the Lord of Hosts alone, thanksgiv

ears;

ings for the blessings bestowed upon us, and pray for the outpouring of His Grace upon all of us; conforming themselves in this matter to the words of Sacred Writ, which requires us to render to the King Eternal, Immortal, Invisible, the only wise God, honour and glory for ever and ever. ALEXANDER.

The Newspapers have given another article relating to Alexander which is perhaps as worthy of imitation as the preceding; it is contained in an extract of a letter from a gentleman in England to his friend in Philadelphia and given in the Religious Remembrancer as follows:

"The Emperor has lately given a fine mark of a purified taste, in withdrawing from a company of French Comedians, an annual grant of 190,000 roubles, about 90001. sterling, and transferring it to a Philanthropic institution. Surely this may be viewed as a substantial evidence of improvement.”

Extract of a letter from Peacham,

Vermont, dated Jan. 27.

"Since I wrote you in September, the attention to divine things among this people has been truly wonderful, and the power and grace of our Lord has been manifested to be exceedingly great. Forty-four new members were received to our communion on the first Sabbath in October, and 69 on the first in December; 18 had been previously received, since the first of August; one was received the last Sabbath, und 19 now stand propounded. There are between 50 and 60 more within my knowledge, who hope that they have tasted and seen that the Lord is good. The work, we think, still goes on, though it may be less powerfully. Of the 69 received to communion on the first Sabbath in December, 35 were young men and boys, under 24 years."

TRANSPORTATION OF CONVICTS FROM ENGLAND.

FROM the official return of the number of persons transported since the first of January 1812, it appears that the total number of males is 3988, and of females, 671; and of male convicts under the age of twenty one,

« FöregåendeFortsätt »