BRITAIN'S POOR.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 434, 17 February 1909, Page 7

BRITAIN'S POOR.

INSPECTORS' REPORT. CONSUMPTION OF ALCOHOL. EFFECT ()F THE UNEMPLOYED ACT. lot TELEQUAPU —I'll ESP ASSOCIATION—COPTUIonT.) - London, February. 15. ;. . Inspectors of tho Local Government Board state that, though the inmates of the asylums for. the poor increased during 1908,.. the indoor cost of the paupers in London has fallen by £50,000 a year, whereof one-half, repre-" sonts the, saving in tho. Poplar Union. The: inspectors comment on, the consumption of alcohol in tho provinces. Ono sick ward.cost 535. yearly per head. . The inspectors agree that* the Unemployed Act has produced a badoffeet, in the shape of a growing dependence on the public funds instead of individual efforts being made, ' . .

THE PROBLEM OF POVERTY. In a recent .article on London's poor the ''Chroniclo" says:—"The problem of poverty j 1 ? -.London ;has,seldom been, more .urgent than it'is at this moment. At . this Christmas season, 130,543 ■ more than 27 out of every 1000—wore in receipt of Poor-law relief. In ten years London has added; 26,000 units to its . pauper army. The total" number' htis not been higher for.3B'years; and we must go back to .1874 to find a higher rati 6 of paupers ,to population. "\Ve v take, these figures from the review-of 'The.Legal Poor of London,' in 'The Times,! ah 'annual statement which always conveys the impression of being written with full, inside knowledge, and-which often anticipates ■by", many', months .the -report of the Local Government, Board. Tho figures are painfully arresting. : They seem -to warrant a very gloomy view .of the state of .things' in London. ; Close, consideration makes tho facts look not less serious, but serious in other ways than might at first sight bo supposed. . "When it is said that pauperism in London is more extensive/ both .absolutely and relatively' to population, than , it has been for: a generation,, the natural cbnclusion might seem to be that poverty and distress "must be similarly '-greater." Poverty,, however, is one. Thing;. and legal pauperism; is another. Largely, of course,- they coincide, and-the increase of pauperism this, . year reflects a condition of /distress. : , Largely,, but. not- entirely; for tho . first 'fact, which the'.analysis in- -'The -Times' brings out is j that the - increase of pauperism is confined- to a few. unions, whilst in more than half there has been a deorease. The Poplar Union, alone is for. 41 per cent. of . the increase in East-end pauperism, and. Islington, for "almostall .the. increase in' the north. Lax Administration. "The. second'fact to be noted is that where the. increase is. large, a particular kind of lax: administration exists. The social conditions of Poplar aro. similar: to..,those .in neighbouring unions. What is differont is the Poor-law'ad-ministration. The , conclusion is irresistible, and .it 'is supported by facts otherwise notorious, that the administration is at fault, The first problem of., Poor-law refbrm is to abolish tli© diversity of ; treatment which is " favoured' by the existence ofjl'different boards of guard-ians.-.Tlio-: 'pauper-factories' .must in some way be. closed..

•. " La . x administration (especially in the matter of out-relief) is not, however, the "'.only forni in which tlio niantifacturo of paupers is ■earned.oil in London. Misguided philanthropy w '.another; The pauper army in Xondon is recruited from all over tlio country.f it is the Mecca of the ivork-sliy/ because nowhere else is .the provision of 'shelters and the like so' ""f i ln other hunt . i ngsround are the profitsi of ; begging: so ample. The . person who is most busily engaged in- the pauper-tnak-lng trade of London is tue indiscriminate alms-' giver.;; He it is- who attracts: tlio ' sturdy beg. fits tlmeS attraots them mow