"THE PROBLEM OF POVERTY."

Otago Witness, Issue 1319, 10 March 1877, Page 21

"THE PROBLEM OF POVERTY."

Concerning the phase whiehthia universal difficulty has assumed in New; York, the American correspondent of . the -Sydney Morning Herald writes : . ; In the city of- New York we are face» to face with/- the great .social question that troubles every civilized community — what to do with- our- poor; Until .the hard times began three years- ago, it' was* generally felt that* the -poor deserved' their . poverty, because -there was plenty of work< to be procured if > they -were only temperate- and'in--dustrious. But now, while. the pauper population of New. York > has' increased tenfold, it is also plain that most-. of the suffering springs from pure "misfortune. We have now 35,000 0rv40,000 men unemployed 'in the city of -New -York, and how- they'are going to get through the winter, neither they nor any-one elae can guess.- The revival of business,- which had been^ so. long hoped -for, ' and which had plainly- set in just before the elections,. haa now faded absolutely away,-- andi .until • the spring, merchants and -manufacturers will sail with aslitfcle exposed canvas as possible, for fear that, after all,Mfcbere ntay'be serious trouble in regard to thevPresidency. < - There i is abundant testimony -'to -show that with a 'settled government we shouldat once become Busy and <;* Labour 'has fallen to prices! whicli are 1 - little", if any i higher, ithan ■in» c England ;: i r and -mwiK ttateria&if!» n d •produce of >kinds > are,;; of •veryv muoh • ' oheaper f^lJi^Wail Btfeet ; there 3 is A a . /plethora- tfof> money ; call leans may tie \TiaA>!sto2 and 3 per cent.. • and three months' loans m»y be at 4 or 5 per cefefc sticks of r aiinbst every, thing we manufaeture'-havo; beei-'griaaaily contracted until the markefrutstead o^beme ;ghlttSd;< itf almost We. islneeded to set the wheels of indugfry agairisiinovintf Vwithitll©iroldiaclavily.except'/coiifidence>in ;the futtfte: ■« But' while confidence^ 1 'restored, tit now geems highly probable that 1 a pwceritage of the people of "the City of New York will -hay WdeathU thesepopr wretches^ will i die^quietly, l hbw« evefi'r remains to be seen.^ Rioting is a little mor^datigeroua as'-an/amusemeufcithaii-ifc is m most cities, • because 'we» have.few regimonta; of citizen soldiery, compost 'of- men whoseperaonalinterests awrdependentf uWon the'i-preaervation/ of J orders suchffaff. the seventh ■ and- the 'twenty-second— and' I©*1 ©* coarse they treat a taob.with pitiless severity. We had our: last cmtf disturbance ra«18?l and then about 300- persons -were^kffled by the/ militia, in leas' than' 10 minutes. '^Ifc'Us needless to 'add^that the r - mob-'wa* utterly | vanquished. ' Bufc-while^therefore^we have very little apprehensions of bread -riots, "we (may 'expect this winter' an unusual amount of crimes. -Already the papers- are^full -of stonesjof-burglariesand^highway robberies, and these will probably grow.- yefrmorefre. quentj no matter, how- severe f may*b*e>the measures of supression adopted; for'they are prompted by tile desperation- of necessity.^