The Story of Charity.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XIX, Issue 6047, 12 September 1894, Page 1

The Story of Charity.

The charitable bequests in London every year exceed LI, 000,000. The soup kitchens of Franco annually assist 1,778,000 persons. Russia has 350.000 paupers in the various refuges provided for them. The principal Paris foundling asylum receives over 3000 infants every year. The English asylums and homes for the aged and infirm cost annually L 2,600,000. An organised system of charity prevailed among the Egyptians 2500 years before Christ. Over L 2,000,000 is annually given in Great Britain to maintain the Bible Societies. The charity schools of Great Britain are maintained at an annual expenditure of L 4,200,000. In England over L 200,000 worth of medicine is annually distributed gratis at the dispensaries. Charitable organisations in England and Scotland own and rent out L 154,000 acres of land. The value of property now held in France for charitable purposes amounts to the enormous sum of L 70,000,000. The orphan and foundling refuges of France have accommodation for 16.700 children ; the asylums, for 79,400 aged and infirm persons. The Children's Aid Society of New York takes out of the streets over ten thousand children every year, and makes them self-supporting by teaching them trades. During the great. Irish famine of 1847, and the following years, it was computed that over L 2,000,000 were sent to that country to relieve the sufferings of the people. One foundling asylum in Moscow receives twelve thousand infants every year. The boys are trained for the navy, the girls receive manual training, are taught to read, and are married to peasants or artisans. The charitable endowments of the European countries have not kept pace with the increase of wealth. In 1887 the endowments of Great Britain amounted to L 42,000,000; and the wealth was L 4,100,000,000. In 1876 the wealth had risen to L 8.050,000,000 ; the endowments to L 51,000,000 There is a Government fund in Italy for providing marriage portions for poor - young girls. Without a dower it would be almost impossible for a girl to be married, and this form of charity is said to be highly appreciated. The annual sum available for this purpose and distributed every year among the marriageable girls is L 400,000. To be a recipient it is necessary for the applicant to prove her ' good reputation and character by a uum 1 ber of witnesses, to show that she has no ' means available, and that the young man who wishes to marry her has a trade. 1 Organised charity was unknown in the Roman Empire until after the Christian era. I he large donations given by the Emperors to the population of Rome were not charity in the proper sense of the word. The Emperors found that it was cheaper to keep the Roman populace quiet by feeding them than by fighting them, and so regular provision was made for supplying the Roman rabble with wheat from Egypt. The people regarded this provision as their right, and conducted themselves accordingly, frequently becoming very riotous when the ships failed to arrive in time, or when the wheat was of poor quality.