A LONDON MARRIAGE LOTTERY.

Evening Post, Volume XLVI, Issue 132, 2 December 1893, Page 2 (Supplement)

A LONDON MARRIAGE LOTTERY.

' ' Michael Harris and Nancy Jacobs having polled the highest number of votes, were duly elected to receive a dowry of £25 and marriage fees, and a vacancy was again declared for a couple." So ran a paragraph in a Jewish paper recently, and a PaH Mall reporter was fired with an ambition to learn more about these folks who give couples dowries, and more about the conditions under which such dowries are won. The benevolence, it appeared, emanated from the Society for Allowing Marriage Pees and a Portion to Young Men and Virtuous Girls of the Jewish Faith. Tho President of this society, one would imagine, would be a patriarchal sage with grandchildren in scores about his knees. But Mr. A. Swaab, who is the head of the society, is a young man with a slight moustache, a cleanshaven chin, and certainly no grandchildren. When not hymeneally occupied, he is engaged in his bueinesa as a diamond merchant in Hatton Garden. "The society," he stated, in reply to the interviewer, "has been in existence nearly fifty years, and has done no small amount of good. It was started among a few friends in a small way, and a dowry of £10 only was all that could be afforded at first. But £10, if not exactly a drop in the ocean, was not sufficient to answer the purpose in view, and as the funds grew the dowry was increased to £25." " Are the operations of the society confined to London?" "No, they extend all over England. The funds are recruited by subscriptions of all amounts from a penny a week upwards, and by donations." "It gives them a prior claim on the dowry, perhaps ?" " No, it doesn't. I will make that clear in a moment. We assist about a dozen couples every year, the dowries and marriage fees coming to over £300. The object in giving the dowry is to enable the young couples to start a little business together. Before becoming candidates for the dowry (towards which they need not have subscribed a farthing), they have to be possessed of all home necessaries and furniture, and the man has to prove to the satisfaction of the committee that he is in a position to maintain his wife." j THE 'NEED OP TACT. " Only virtuous girls are to be befriended by the society, I gather from its title. Does it not become rather a delicate matter to adjudicate upon the qualifications of young lady applicants ?" '* Every case is investigated by two members of the committee, appointed annually for that purpose. They make their inquiries with proper tact and discretion, and they also investigate the character of the man. Let us go through the entire procedure. Say a vacancy has been declared, which means that we have sufficient in hand to put another dowry up for competition. We send out notices to that effect, and supply forms for application. We get four, five, six, and perhaps a dozen couples contesting for the prize. They all come before the committee in couples, and we ask questions concerning the money they have saved, the naturo of the man's work, and so on. Once, I suppose, I must have been pressing the prospective bridegroom pretty hard, for the young lady spoke up, sorrowfully, ' Well, sir, you got married once, and we want to, too !' " " Well, as soon as they have been admitted as candidates, what follows ?" "We give them a book of members, and tell them to go and canvass for votes, the members possessing votes in proportion to the amount of their subscriptions." " Have you yourself many votes ?" " Yes, I hold something like eighty votes." "Then you are the target of plenty of baseeching brown eyes and persuasive glances ?" " No, nothing out of the way, because as President I take no part in choosing the recipients of the dower." "Can't you give me a specific' instance of the good the society has done ?" "I can, and a striking one, I think. There are three members of the committee of the society, now men of position and well-to-do, who were embarked upon life with dowries from the society " " And the young men and maidens do not resent the inquiries of your investigators, or regard them as at | all inquisitorial ?" " Oh, no ! They know the rules of the society, and the conditions under which they enter into the competition ; and, of course, the inquiries are made diplomatically. I forgot to tell you that the marriage must take place within six months of the decision of the poll. It may interest you also to learn that Lord Rothschild has been a subscriber for years."