,ver4#jd4bi4ic99;,,end99 ,,in ,,darkest ,,england and ,,the ,,way ,,out by ,,general ,,booth 7this ,etext comes from the #ahij #ast ed4 pub4 ,the ,salvation ,army7 ,to the memory of the companion1 counsellor1 and comrade of nearly #dj years4 ,the sharer of my every ambition for the welfare of mankind1 my loving1 faithful1 and devoted wife this book is dedicated4 ,,preface ,the progress of ,the ,salvation ,army in its work amongst the poor and lost of many lands has compelled me to face the problems which an more or less hopefully considered in the following pages4 ,the grim necessities of a huge ,campaign carried on for many years against the evils which lie at the root of all the miseries of modern life1 attacked in a thousand and one forms by a thousand and one lieutenants1 have led me step by step to contemplate as a possible solution of at least some of those problems the ,scheme of social ,selection and ,salvation which ,i have here set forth4 ,when but a mere child the degradation and helpless misery of the poor ,stockingers of my native town1 wandering gaunt and hunger-stricken through the streets droning out their melancholy ditties1 crowding the ,union or toiling like galley slaves on relief works for a bare subsistence kindled in my heart yearnings to help the poor which have continued to this day and which have had a powerful influence on my whole life4 ,a last ,i may be going to see my longings to help the workless realised4 ,i think ,i am4 ,the commiseration then awakened by the misery of this class has been an impelling force which has never ceased to make itself felt during forty years of active service in the salvation of men4 ,during this time ,i am thankful that ,i have been able1 by the good hand of ,god upon me1 to do something in mitigation of the miseries of this class1 and to bring not only heavenly hopes and earthly gladness to the hearts of multitudes of these wretched crowds1 but also many material blessings1 including such commonplace things as food1 raiment1 home1 and work1 the parent of so many other temporal benefits4 ,and thus many poor creatures have proved ,godliness to be profitable unto all things1 having the promise of the life that now is as well as of that which is to come4 ,these results have been mainly attained by spiritual means4 ,i have boldly asserted that whatever his peculiar character or circumstances might be1 if the prodigal would come home to his ,heavenly ,father1 he would find enough and to spare in the ,father's house to supply all his need both for this world and the next2 and ,i have known thousands nay1 ,i can say tens of thousands1 who have literally proved this to be true1 having1 with little or no temporal assistance1 come out of the darkest depths of destitution1 vice and crime1 to be happy and honest citizens and true sons and servants of ,god4 ,and yet all the way through my career ,i have keenly felt the remedial measures usually enunciated in ,christian programmes and ordinarily employed by ,christian philanthropy to be lamentably inadequate for any effectual dealing with the despairing miseries of these outcast classes4 ,the rescued are appallingly few--a ghastly minority compared with the multitudes who struggle and sink in the open-mouthed abyss4 ,alike1 therefore1 my humanity and my ,christianity1 if ,i may speak of them in any way as separate one from the other1 have cried out for some more comprehensive method of reaching and saving the perishing crowds4 ,no doubt it is good for men to climb unaided out of the whirlpool on to the rock of deliverance in the very presence of the temptations which have hitherto mastered them1 and to maintain a footing there with the same billows of temptation washing over them4 ,but1 alas6 with many this seems to be literally impossible4 ,that decisiveness of character1 that moral nerve which takes hold of the rope thrown for the rescue and keeps its hold amidst all the resistances that have to be encountered1 is wanting4 ,it is gone4 ,the general wreck has shattered and disorganised the whole man4 ,alas1 what multitudes there are around us everywhere1 many known to my readers personally1 and any number who may be known to them by a very short walk from their own dwellings1 who are in this very plight6 ,their vicious habits and destitute circumstances make it certain that without some kind of extraordinary help1 they must hunger and sin1 and sin and hunger1 until1 having multiplied their kind1 and filled up the measure of their miseries1 the gaunt fingers of death will close upon then and terminate their wretchedness4 ,and all this will happen this very winter in the midst of the unparalleled wealth1 and civilisation1 and philanthropy of this professedly most ,christian land4 ,now1 ,i propose to go straight for these sinking classes1 and in doing so shall continue to aim at the heart4 ,i still prophesy the uttermost disappointment unless that citadel is reached4 ,in proposing to add one more to the methods ,i have already put into operation to this end1 do not let it be supposed that ,i am the less dependent upon the old plans or that ,i seek anything short of the old conquest4 ,if we help the man it is in order that we may change him4 ,the builder who should elaborate his design and erect his house and risk his reputation without burning his bricks would be pronounced a failure and a fool4 ,perfection of architectural beauty1 unlimited expenditure of capital1 unfailing watchfulness of his labourers1 would avail him nothing if the bricks were merely unkilned clay4 ,let him kindle a fire4 ,and so here ,i see the folly of hoping to accomplish anything abiding1 either in the circumstances or the morals of these hopeless classes1 except there be a change effected in the whole man as well as in his surroundings4 ,to this everything ,i hope to attempt will tend4 ,in many cases ,i shall succeed1 in some ,i shall fail2 but even in failing of this my ultimate design1 ,i shall at least benefit the bodies1 if not the souls1 of men2 and if ,i do not save the fathers1 ,i shall make a better chance for the children4 ,it will be seen therefore that in this or in any other development that may follow ,i have no intention to depart in the smallest degree from the main principles on which ,i have acted in the past4 ,my only hope for the permanent deliverance of mankind from misery1 either in this world or the next1 is the regeneration or remaking of the individual by the power of the ,holy ,ghost through ,jesus ,christ4 ,but in providing for the relief of temporal misery ,i reckon that ,i am only making it easy where it is now difficult1 and possible where it is now all but impossible1 for men and women to find their way to the ,cross of our ,lord ,jesus ,christ4 ,that ,i have confidence in my proposals goes without saying4 ,i believe they will work4 ,in miniature many of them are working already4 ,but ,i do not claim that my ,scheme is either perfect in its details or complete in the sense of being adequate to combat all forms of the gigantic evils against which it is in the main directed4 ,like other human things it must be perfected through suffering4 ,but it is a sincere endeavour to do something1 and to do it on principles which can be instantly applied and universally developed4 ,time1 experience1 criticism1 and1 above all1 the guidance of ,god will enable us1 ,i hope1 to advance on the lines here laid down to a true and practical application of the words of the ,hebrew ,prophet3 ,loose the bands of wickedness2 undo the heavy burdens2 let the oppressed go free2 break every yoke2 deal thy bread to the hungry2 bring the poor that are cast out to thy house4 ,when thou seest the naked cover him and hide not thyself from thine own flesh4 ,draw out thy soul to the hungry-- ,then they that be of thee shall build the old waste places and ,thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations4 ,to one who has been for nearly forty years indissolubly associated with me in every undertaking ,i owe much of the inspiration which has found expression in this book4 ,it is probably difficult for me to fully estimate the extent to which the splendid benevolence and unbounded sympathy of her character have pressed me forward in the life-long service of man1 to which we have devoted both ourselves and our children4 ,it will be an ever green and precious memory to me that amid the ceaseless suffering of a dreadful malady my dying wife found relief in considering and developing the suggestions for the moral and social and spiritual blessing of the people which are here set forth1 and ,i do thank ,god she was taken from me only when the book was practically complete and the last chapters had been sent to the press4 ,in conclusion1 ,i have to acknowledge the services rendered to me in preparing this book by ,officers under my command4 ,there could be no hope of carrying out any part of it1 but for the fact that so many thousands are ready at my call and under my direction to labour to the very utmost of their strength for the salvation of others without the hope of earthly reward4 ,of the practical common sense1 the resource1 the readiness for every form of usefulness of those ,officers and ,soldiers1 the world has no conception4 ,still less is it capable of understanding the height and depth of their self-sacrificing devotion to ,god and the poor4 ,i have also to acknowledge valuable literary help from a friend of the poor1 who1 though not in any way connected with the ,salvation ,army1 has the deepest sympathy with its aims and is to a large extent in harmony with its principles4 ,without such assistance ,i should probably have found it--overwhelmed as ,i already am with the affairs of a world-wide enterprise--extremely difficult1 if not impossible1 to have presented these proposals for which ,i am alone responsible in so complete a form1 at any rate at this time4 ,i have no doubt that if any substantial part of my plan is successfully carried out he will consider himself more than repaid for the services so ably rendered4 ,,william ,,booth4 ,,international ,,headquarters ,,of ,,the ,,salvation ,,army1 ,,london1 ,e4,c41 ,october1 #ahij4 ,,contents ,,part #a4 ,,the ,,darkness4 ,,chapter #a4 ,why ,darkest ,england8 ,,chapter #b4 ,the ,submerged ,tenth ,,chapter #c4 ,the ,homeless ,,chapter #d4 ,the ,out-of-,works ,,chapter #e4 ,on the ,verge of the ,abyss ,,chapter #f4 ,the ,vicious ,,chapter #g4 ,the ,criminals ,,chapter #h4 ,the ,children of the ,lost ,,chapter #i4 ,is there no ,help8 ,,part #b4 ,,deliverance4 ,,chapter #a4 ,a ,stupendous ,undertaking ,section #a4 ,the ,essentials to ,success ,section #b4 ,my ,scheme ,,chapter #b4 ,to the ,rescue6--,the ,city ,colony ,section #a4 ,food and ,shelter for ,every ,man ,section #b4 ,work for the ,out-of-,works--,the ,factory ,section #c4 ,the ,regimentation of the ,unemployed ,section #d4 ,the ,household ,salvage ,brigade ,,chapter #c4 ,to the ,country6--,the ,farm ,colony ,section #a4 ,the ,farm ,proper ,section #b4 ,the ,industrial ,village ,section #c4 ,agricultural ,villages ,section #d4 ,co-operative ,farm ,,chapter #d4 ,new ,britain--,the ,colony ,over ,sea ,section #a4 ,the ,colony and the ,colonists ,section #b4 ,universal ,emigration ,section #c4 ,the ,salvation ,ship ,,chapter #e4 ,more ,crusades ,section #a4 ,a ,slum ,crusade4--,our ,slum ,sisters ,section #b4 ,the ,travelling ,hospital ,section #c4 ,regeneration of our ,criminals--,the ,prison ,gate ,brigade ,section #d4 ,effectual ,deliverance for the ,drunkard ,section #e4 ,a ,new ,way of ,escape for ,lost ,women--,the ,rescue ,homes ,section #f4 ,a ,preventive ,home for ,unfallen ,girls when in ,danger ,section #g4 ,enquiry ,office for ,lost ,people ,section #h4 ,refuges for the ,children of the ,streets ,section #i4 ,industrial ,schools ,section #aj4 ,asylums for ,moral ,lunatics ,,chapter #f4 ,assistance in ,general ,section #a4 ,improved ,lodgings ,section #b4 ,model ,suburban ,villages ,section #c4 ,the ,poor ,man's ,bank ,section #d4 ,the ,poor ,man's ,lawyer ,section #e4 ,intelligence ,department ,section #f4 ,co-operation in ,general ,section #g4 ,matrimonial ,bureau ,section #h4 ,whitechapel-by-the-sea ,,chapter #g4 ,can it be done1 and how8 ,section #a4 ,the ,credentials of the ,salvation ,army ,section #b4 ,how much will it cost8 ,section #c4 ,some advantages stated ,section #d4 ,some objections met ,section #e4 ,recapitulation ,,chapter #h4 ,a ,pratical ,conclusion ,,in ,,darkest ,,england ,,part #a4 ,,the ,,darkness4 ,,chapter #a4 ,,why ,,darkest ,,england8 ,this summer the attention of the civilised world has been arrested by the story which ,mr4 ,stanley has told of ,darkest ,africa and his journeyings across the heart of the ,lost ,continent4 ,in all that spirited narrative of heroic endeavour1 nothing has so much impressed the imagination1 as his description of the immense forest1 which offered an almost impenetrable barrier to his advance4 ,the intrepid explorer1 in his own phrase1 marched1 tore1 ploughed1 and cut his way for one hundred and sixty days through this inner womb of the true tropical forest4 ,the mind of man with difficulty endeavours to realise this immensity of wooded wilderness1 covering a territory half as large again as the whole of ,france1 where the rays of the sun never penetrate1 where in the dark1 dank air1 filled with the steam of the heated morass1 human beings dwarfed into pygmies and brutalised into cannibals lurk and live and die4 ,mr ,stanley vainly endeavours to bring home to us the full horror of that awful gloom4 ,he says3 ,take a thick ,scottish copse dripping with rain2 imagine this to be mere undergrowth nourished under the impenetrable shade of ancient trees ranging from #ajj to #ahj feet high2 briars and thorns abundant2 lazy creeks meandering through the depths of the jungle1 and sometimes a deep affluent of a great river4 ,imagine this forest and jungle in all stages of decay and growth1 rain pattering on you every other day of the year2 an impure atmosphere with its dread consequences1 fever and dysentery2 gloom throughout the day and darkness almost palpable throughout the night2 and then if you can imagine such a forest extending the entire distance from ,plymouth to ,peterhead1 you will have a fair idea of some of the inconveniences endured by us in the ,congo forest4 ,the denizens of this region are filled with a conviction that the forest is endless--interminable4 ,in vain did ,mr4 ,stanley and his companions endeavour to convince them that outside the dreary wood were to be found sunlight1 pasturage and peaceful meadows4 ,they replied in a manner that seemed to imply that we must be strange creatures to suppose that it would be possible for any world to exist save their illimitable forest4 ,no1 they replied1 shaking their heads compassionately1 and pitying our absurd questions1 all like this1 and they moved their hand sweepingly to illustrate that the world was all alike1 nothing but trees1 trees and trees--great trees rising as high as an arrow shot to the sky1 lifting their crowns intertwining their branches1 pressing and crowding one against the other1 until neither the sunbeam nor shaft of light can penetrate it4 ,we entered the forest1 says ,mr4 ,stanley1 with confidence2 forty pioneers in front with axes and bill hooks to clear a path through the obstructions1 praying that ,god and good fortune would lead us4 ,but before the conviction of the forest dwellers that the forest was without end1 hope faded out of the hearts of the natives of ,stanley's company4 ,the men became sodden with despair1 preaching was useless to move their brooding sullenness1 their morbid gloom4 ,the little religion they knew was nothing more than legendary lore1 and in their memories there dimly floated a story of a land which grew darker and darker as one travelled towards the end of the earth and drew nearer to the place where a great serpent lay supine and coiled round the whole world4 ,ah6 then the ancients must have referred to this1 where the light is so ghastly1 and the woods are endless1 and are so still and solemn and grey2 to this oppressive loneliness1 amid so much life1 which is so chilling to the poor distressed heart2 and the horror grew darker with their fancies2 the cold of early morning1 the comfortless grey of dawn1 the dead white mist1 the ever-dripping tears of the dew1 the deluging rains1 the appalling thunder bursts and the echoes1 and the wonderful play of the dazzling lightning4 ,and when the night comes with its thick palpable darkness1 and they lie huddled in their damp little huts1 and they hear the tempest overhead1 and the howling of the wild winds1 the grinding an groaning of the storm-tost trees1 and the dread sounds of the falling giants1 and the shock of the trembling earth which sends their hearts with fitful leaps to their throats1 and the roaring and a rushing as of a mad overwhelming sea-- oh1 then the horror is intensified6 ,when the march has begun once again1 and the files are slowly moving through the woods1 they renew their morbid broodings1 and ask themselves3 ,how long is this to last8 ,is the joy of life to end thus8 ,must we jog on day after day in this cheerless gloom and this joyless duskiness1 until we stagger and fall and rot among the toads8 ,then they disappear into the woods by twos1 and threes1 and sixes2 and after the caravan has passed they return by the trail1 some to reach ,yambuya and upset the young officers with their tales of woe and war2 some to fall sobbing under a spear-thrust2 some to wander and stray in the dark mazes of the woods1 hopelessly lost2 and some to be carved for the cannibal feast4 ,and those who remain compelled to it by fears of greater danger1 mechanically march on1 a prey to dread and weakness4 ,that is the forest4 ,but what of its denizens8 ,they are comparatively few2 only some hundreds of thousands living in small tribes from ten to thirty miles apart1 scattered over an area on which ten thousand million trees put out the sun from a region four times as wide as ,great ,britain4 ,of these pygmies there are two kinds2 one a very degraded specimen with ferretlike eyes1 close-set nose1 more nearly approaching the baboon than was supposed to be possible1 but very human2 the other very handsome1 with frank open innocent features1 very prepossessing4 ,they are quick and intelligent1 capable of deep affection and gratitude1 showing remarkable industry and patience4 ,a pygmy boy of eighteen worked with consuming zeal2 time with him was too precious to waste in talk4 ,his mind seemed ever concentrated on work4 ,mr4 ,stanley said3 -- ,when ,i once stopped him to ask him his name1 his face seemed to say1 ',please don't stop me4 ,i must finish my task4' ,all alike1 the baboon variety and the handsome innocents1 are cannibals4 ,they are possessed with a perfect mania for meat4 ,we were obliged to bury our dead in the river1 lest the bodies should be exhumed and eaten1 even when they had died from smallpox4 ,upon the pygmies and all the dwellers of the forest has descended a devastating visitation in the shape of the ivory raiders of civilisation4 ,the race that wrote the ,arabian ,nights1 built ,bagdad and ,granada1 and invented ,algebra1 sends forth men with the hunger for gold in their hearts1 and ,enfield muskets in their hands1 to plunder and to slay4 ,they exploit the domestic affections of the forest dwellers in order to strip them of all they possess in the world4 ,that has been going on for years4 ,it is going on to-day4 ,it has come to be regarded as the natural and normal law of existence4 ,of the religion of these hunted pygmies ,mr4 ,stanley tells us nothing1 perhaps because there is nothing to tell4 ,but an earlier traveller1 ,dr4 ,kraff1 says that one of these tribes1 by name ,doko1 had some notion of a ,supreme ,being1 to whom1 under the name of ,yer1 they sometimes addressed prayers in moments of sadness or terror4 ,in these prayers they say2 ,oh ,yer1 if ,thou dost really exist why dost ,thou let us be slaves8 ,we ask not for food or clothing1 for we live on snakes1 ants1 and mice4 ,thou hast made us1 wherefore dost ,thou let us be trodden down8 ,it is a terrible picture1 and one that has engraved itself deep on the heart of civilisation4 ,but while brooding over the awful presentation of life as it exists in the vast ,african forest1 it seemed to me only too vivid a picture of many parts of our own land4 ,as there is a darkest ,africa is there not also a darkest ,england8 ,civilisation1 which can breed its own barbarians1 does it not also breed its own pygmies8 ,may we not find a parallel at our own doors1 and discover within a stone's throw of our cathedrals and palaces similar horrors to those which ,stanley has found existing in the great ,equatorial forest8 ,the more the mind dwells upon the subject1 the closer the analogy appears4 ,the ivory raiders who brutally traffic in the unfortunate denizens of the forest glades1 what are they but the publicans who flourish on the weakness of our poor8 ,the two tribes of savages the human baboon and the handsome dwarf1 who will not speak lest it impede him in his task1 may be accepted as the two varieties who are continually present with us--the vicious1 lazy lout1 and the toiling slave4 ,they1 too1 have lost all faith of life being other than it is and has been4 ,as in ,africa1 it is all trees trees1 trees with no other world conceivable2 so is it here--it is all vice and poverty and crime4 ,to many the world is all slum1 with the ,workhouse as an intermediate purgatory before the grave4 ,and just as ,mr4 ,stanley's ,zanzibaris lost faith1 and could only be induced to plod on in brooding sullenness of dull despair1 so the most of our social reformers1 no matter how cheerily they may have started off1 with forty pioneers swinging blithely their axes as they force their way in to the wood1 soon become depressed and despairing4 ,who can battle against the ten thousand million trees8 ,who can hope to make headway against the innumerable adverse conditions which doom the dweller in ,darkest ,england to eternal and immutable misery8 ,what wonder is it that many of the warmest hearts and enthusiastic workers feel disposed to repeat the lament of the old ,english chronicler1 who1 speaking of the evil days which fell upon our forefathers in the reign of ,stephen1 said ,it seemed to them as if ,god and his ,saints were dead4 ,an analogy is as good as a suggestion2 it becomes wearisome when it is pressed too far4 ,but before leaving it1 think for a moment how close the parallel is1 and how strange it is that so much interest should be excited by a narrative of human squalor and human heroism in a distant continent1 while greater squalor and heroism not less magnificent may be observed at our very doors4 ,the ,equatorial ,forest traversed by ,stanley resembles that ,darkest ,england of which ,i have to speak1 alike in its vast extent--both stretch1 in ,stanley's phrase1 as far as from ,plymouth to ,peterhead2 its monotonous darkness1 its malaria and its gloom1 its dwarfish de-humanized inhabitants1 the slavery to which they are subjected1 their privations and their misery4 ,that which sickens the stoutest heart1 and causes many of our bravest and best to fold their hands in despair1 is the apparent impossibility of doing more than merely to peck at the outside of the endless tangle of monotonous undergrowth2 to let light into it1 to make a road clear through it1 that shall not be immediately choked up by the ooze of the morass and the luxuriant parasitical growth of the forest--who dare hope for that8 ,at present1 alas1 it would seem as though no one dares even to hope6 ,it is the great ,slough of ,despond of our time4 ,and what a slough it is no man can gauge who has not waded therein1 as some of us have done1 up to the very neck for long years4 ,talk about ,dante's ,hell1 and all the horrors and cruelties of the torture-chamber of the lost6 ,the man who walks with open eyes and with bleeding heart through the shambles of our civilisation needs no such fantastic images of the poet to teach him horror4 ,often and often1 when ,i have seen the young and the poor and the helpless go down before my eyes into the morass1 trampled underfoot by beasts of prey in human shape that haunt these regions1 it seemed as if ,god were no longer in ,his world1 but that in ,his stead reigned a fiend1 merciless as ,hell1 ruthless as the grave4 ,hard it is1 no doubt1 to read in ,stanley's pages of the slave-traders coldly arranging for the surprise of a village1 the capture of the inhabitants1 the massacre of those who resist1 and the violation of all the women2 but the stony streets of ,london1 if they could but speak1 would tell of tragedies as awful1 of ruin as complete1 of ravishments as horrible1 as if we were in ,central ,africa2 only the ghastly devastation is covered1 corpselike1 with the artificialities and hypocrisies of modern civilisation4 ,the lot of a negress in the ,equatorial ,forest is not1 perhaps1 a very happy one1 but is it so very much worse than that of many a pretty orphan girl in our ,christian capital8 ,we talk about the brutalities of the dark ages1 and we profess to shudder as we read in books of the shameful exaction of the rights of feudal superior4 ,and yet here1 beneath our very eyes1 in our theatres1 in our restaurants1 and in many other places1 unspeakable though it be but to name it1 the same hideous abuse flourishes unchecked4 ,a young penniless girl1 if she be pretty1 is often hunted from pillar to post by her employers1 confronted always by the alternative--,starve or ,sin4 ,and when once the poor girl has consented to buy the right to earn her living by the sacrifice of her virtue1 then she is treated as a slave and an outcast by the very men who have ruined her4 ,her word becomes unbelievable1 her life an ignominy1 and she is swept downward ever downward1 into the bottomless perdition of prostitution4 ,but there1 even in the lowest depths1 excommunicated by ,humanity and outcast from ,god1 she is far nearer the pitying heart of the ,one true ,saviour than all the men who forced her down1 aye1 and than all the ,pharisees and ,scribes who stand silently by while these ,fiendish wrongs are perpetrated before their very eyes4 ,the blood boils with impotent rage at the sight of these enormities1 callously inflicted1 and silently borne by these miserable victims4 ,nor is it only women who are the victims1 although their fate is the most tragic4 ,those firms which reduce sweating to a fine art1 who systematically and deliberately defraud the workman of his pay1 who grind the faces of the poor1 and who rob the widow and the orphan1 and who for a pretence make great professions of public spirit and philanthropy1 these men nowadays are sent to ,parliament to make laws for the people4 ,the old prophets sent them to ,hell--but we have changed all that4 ,they send their victims to ,hell1 and are rewarded by all that wealth can do to make their lives comfortable4 ,read the ,house of ,lords' ,report on the ,sweating ,system1 and ask if any ,african slave system1 making due allowance for the superior civilisation1 and therefore sensitiveness1 of the victims1 reveals more misery4 ,darkest ,england1 like ,darkest ,africa1 reeks with malaria4 ,the foul and fetid breath of our slums is almost as poisonous as that of the ,african swamp4 ,fever is almost as chronic there as on the ,equator4 ,every year thousands of children are killed off by what is called defects of our sanitary system4 ,they are in reality starved and poisoned1 and all that can be said is that1 in many cases1 it is better for them that they were taken away from the trouble to come4 ,just as in ,darkest ,africa it is only a part of the evil and misery that comes from the superior race who invade the forest to enslave and massacre its miserable inhabitants1 so with us1 much of the misery of those whose lot we are considering arises from their own habits4 ,drunkenness and all manner of uncleanness1 moral and physical1 abound4 ,have you ever watched by the bedside of a man in delirium tremens8 ,multiply the sufferings of that one drunkard by the hundred thousand1 and you have some idea of what scenes are being witnessed in all our great cities at this moment4 ,as in ,africa streams intersect the forest in every direction1 so the gin-shop stands at every corner with its ,river of the ,water of ,death flowing seventeen hours out of the twenty-four for the destruction of the people4 ,a population sodden with drink1 steeped in vice1 eaten up by every social and physical malady1 these are the denizens of ,darkest ,england amidst whom my life has been spent1 and to whose rescue ,i would now summon all that is best in the manhood and womanhood of our land4 ,but this book is no mere lamentation of despair4 ,for ,darkest ,england1 as for ,darkest ,africa1 there is a light beyond4 ,i think ,i see my way out1 a way by which these wretched ones may escape from the gloom of their miserable existence into a higher and happier life4 ,long wandering in the ,forest of the ,shadow of ,death at out doors1 has familiarised me with its horrors2 but while the realisation is a vigorous spur to action it has never been so oppressive as to extinguish hope4 ,mr4 ,stanley never succumbed to the terrors which oppressed his followers4 ,he had lived in a larger life1 and knew that the forest1 though long1 was not interminable4 ,every step forward brought him nearer his destined goal1 nearer to the light of the sun1 the clear sky1 and the rolling uplands of the grazing land4 ,therefore he did not despair4 ,the ,equatorial ,forest was1 after all1 a mere corner of one quarter of the world4 ,in the knowledge of the light outside1 in the confidence begotten by past experience of successful endeavour1 he pressed forward2 and when the #afj days' struggle was over1 he and his men came out into a pleasant place where the land smiled with peace and plenty1 and their hardships and hunger were forgotten in the joy of a great deliverance4 ,so ,i venture to believe it will be with us4 ,but the end is not yet4 ,we are still in the depths of the depressing gloom4 ,it is in no spirit of light-heartedness that this book is sent forth into the world as if it was written some ten years ago4 ,if this were the first time that this wail of hopeless misery had sounded on our ears the matter would have been less serious4 ,it is because we have heard it so often that the case is so desperate4 ,the exceeding bitter cry of the disinherited has become to be as familiar in the ears of men as the dull roar of the streets or as the moaning of the wind through the trees4 ,and so it rises unceasing1 year in and year out1 and we are too busy or too idle1 too indifferent or too selfish1 to spare it a thought4 ,only now and then1 on rare occasions1 when some clear voice is heard giving more articulate utterance to the miseries of the miserable men1 do we pause in the regular routine of our daily duties1 and shudder as we realise for one brief moment what life means to the inmates of the ,slums4 ,but one of the grimmest social problems of our time should be sternly faced1 not with a view to the generation of profitless emotion1 but with a view to its solution4 ,is it not time8 ,there is1 it is true1 an audacity in the mere suggestion that the problem is not insoluble that is enough to take away the breath4 ,but can nothing be done8 ,if1 after full and exhaustive consideration1 we come to the deliberate conclusion that nothing can be done1 and that it is the inevitable and inexorable destiny of thousands of ,englishmen to be brutalised into worse than beasts by the condition of their environment1 so be it4 ,but if1 on the contrary1 we are unable to believe that this awful slough1 which engulfs the manhood and womanhood of generation after generation is incapable of removal2 and if the heart and intellect of mankind alike revolt against the fatalism of despair1 then1 indeed1 it is time1 and high time1 that the question were faced in no mere dilettante spirit1 but with a resolute determination to make an end of the crying scandal of our age4 ,what a satire it is upon our ,christianity and our civilisation that the existence of these colonies of heathens and savages in the heart of our capital should attract so little attention6 ,it is no better than a ghastly mockery--theologians might use a stronger word--to call by the name of ,one who came to seek and to save that which was lost those ,churches which in the midst of lost multitudes either sleep in apathy or display a fitful interest in a chasuble4 ,why all this apparatus of temples and meeting-houses to save men from perdition in a world which is to come1 while never a helping hand is stretched out to save them from the inferno of their present life8 ,is it not time that1 forgetting for a moment their wranglings about the infinitely little or infinitely obscure1 they should concentrate all their energies on a united effort to break this terrible perpetuity of perdition1 and to rescue some at least of those for whom they profess to believe their ,founder came to die8 ,before venturing to define the remedy1 ,i begin by describing the malady4 ,but even when presenting the dreary picture of our social ills1 and describing the difficulties which confront us1 ,i speak not in despondency but in hope4 ,i know in whom ,i have believed4 ,i know1 therefore do ,i speak4 ,darker ,england is but a fractional part of ,greater ,england4 ,there is wealth enough abundantly to minister to its social regeneration so far as wealth can1 if there be but heart enough to set about the work in earnest4 ,and ,i hope and believe that the heart will not be lacking when once the problem is manfully faced1 and the method of its solution plainly pointed out4 ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,,the ,,submerged ,,tenth4 ,in setting forth the difficulties which have to be grappled with1 ,i shall endeavour in all things to understate rather than overstate my case4 ,i do this for two reasons3 first1 any exaggeration would create a reaction2 and secondly1 as my object is to demonstrate the practicability of solving the problem1 ,i do not wish to magnify its dimensions4 ,in this and in subsequent chapters ,i hope to convince those who read them that there is no overstraining in the representation of the facts1 and nothing ,utopian in the presentation of remedies4 ,i appeal neither to hysterical emotionalists nor headlong enthusiasts2 but having tried to approach the examination of this question in a spirit of scientific investigation1 ,i put forth my proposals with the view of securing the support and co-operation of the sober1 serious1 practical men and women who constitute the saving strength and moral backbone of the country4 ,i fully admit that them is much that is lacking in the diagnosis of the disease1 and1 no doubt1 in this first draft of the prescription there is much room for improvement1 which will come when we have the light of fuller experience4 ,but with all its drawbacks and defects1 ,i do not hesitate to submit my proposals to the impartial judgment of all who are interested in the solution of the social question as an immediate and practical mode of dealing with this1 the greatest problem of our time4 ,the first duty of an investigator in approaching the study of any question is to eliminate all that is foreign to the inquiry1 and to concentrate his attention upon the subject to be dealt with4 ,here ,i may remark that ,i make no attempt in this book to deal with ,society as a whole4 ,i leave to others the formulation of ambitious programmes for the reconstruction of our entire social system2 not because ,i may not desire its reconstruction1 but because the elaboration of any plans which are more or less visionary and incapable of realisation for many years would stand in the way of the consideration of this ,scheme for dealing with the most urgently pressing aspect of the question1 which ,i hope may be put into operation at once4 ,in taking this course ,i am aware that ,i cut myself off from a wide and attractive field2 but as a practical man1 dealing with sternly prosaic facts1 ,i must confine my attention to that particular section of the problem which clamours most pressingly for a solution4 ,only one thing ,i may say in passing4 ,then is nothing in my scheme which will bring it into collision either with ,socialists of the ,state1 or ,socialists of the ,municipality1 with ,individualists or ,nationalists1 or any of the various schools of though in the great field of social economics-- excepting only those anti-christian economists who hold that it is an offence against the doctrine of the survival of the fittest to try to save the weakest from going to the wall1 and who believe that when once a man is down the supreme duty of a self-regarding ,society is to jump upon him4 ,such economists will naturally be disappointed with this book ,i venture to believe that all others will find nothing in it to offend their favourite theories1 but perhaps something of helpful suggestion which they may utilise hereafter4 ,what1 then1 is ,darkest ,england8 ,for whom do we claim that urgency which gives their case priority over that of all other sections of their countrymen and countrywomen8 ,i claim it for the ,lost1 for the ,outcast1 for the ,disinherited of the ,world4 ,these1 it may be said1 are but phrases4 ,who are the ,lost8 reply1 not in a religious1 but in a social sense1 the lost are those who have gone under1 who have lost their foothold in ,society1 those to whom the prayer to our ,heavenly ,father1 ,give us day by day our daily bread1 is either unfulfilled1 or only fulfilled by the ,devil's agency3 by the earnings of vice1 the proceeds of crime1 or the contribution enforced by the threat of the law4 ,but ,i will be more precise4 ,the denizens in ,darkest ,england2 for whom ,i appeal1 are 7#a7 those who1 having no capital or income of their own1 would in a month be dead from sheer starvation were they exclusively dependent upon the money earned by their own work2 and 7#b7 those who by their utmost exertions are unable to attain the regulation allowance of food which the law prescribes as indispensable even for the worst criminals in our gaols4 ,i sorrowfully admit that it would be ,utopian in our present social arrangements to dream of attaining for every honest ,englishman a gaol standard of all the necessaries of life4 ,some time1 perhaps1 we may venture to hope that every honest worker on ,english soil will always be as warmly clad1 as healthily housed1 and as regularly fed as our criminal convicts--but that is not yet4 ,neither is it possible to hope for many years to come that human beings generally will be as well cared for as horses4 ,mr4 ,carlyle long ago remarked that the four-footed worker has already got all that this two-handed one is clamouring for3 ,there are not many horses in ,england1 able and willing to work1 which have not due food and lodging and go about sleek coated1 satisfied in heart4 ,you say it is impossible2 but1 said ,carlyle1 ,the human brain1 looking at these sleek ,english horses1 refuses to believe in such impossibility for ,english men4 ,nevertheless1 forty years have passed since ,carlyle said that1 and we seem to be no nearer the attainment of the four-footed standard for the two-handed worker4 ,perhaps it might be nearer realisation1 growls the cynic1 if we could only product men according to demand1 as we do horses1 and promptly send them to the slaughter-house when past their prime--which1 of course1 is not to be thought of4 ,what1 then1 is the standard towards which we may venture to aim with some prospect of realisation in our time8 ,it is a very humble one1 but if realised it would solve the worst problems of modern ,society4 ,it is the standard of the ,london ,cab ,horse4 ,when in the streets of ,london a ,cab ,horse1 weary or careless or stupid1 trips and falls and lies stretched out in the midst of the traffic there is no question of debating how he came to stumble before we try to get him on his legs again4 ,the ,cab ,horse is a very real illustration of poor broken-down humanity2 he usually falls down because of overwork and underfeeding4 ,if you put him on his feet without altering his conditions1 it would only be to give him another dose of agony2 but first of all you'll have to pick him up again4 ,it may have been through overwork or underfeeding1 or it may have been all his own fault that he has broken his knees and smashed the shafts1 but that does not matter4 ,if not for his own sake1 then merely in order to prevent an obstruction of the traffic1 all attention is concentrated upon the question of how we are to get him on his legs again4 ,tin load is taken off1 the harness is unbuckled1 or1 if need be1 cut1 and everything is done to help him up4 ,then he is put in the shafts again and once more restored to his regular round of work4 ,that is the first point4 ,the second is that every ,cab ,horse in ,london has three things2 a shelter for the night1 food for its stomach1 and work allotted to it by which it can earn its corn4 ,these are the two points of the ,cab ,horse's ,charter4 ,when he is down he is helped up1 and while he lives he has food1 shelter and work4 ,that1 although a humble standard1 is at present absolutely unattainable by millions--literally by millions--of our fellow-men and women in this country4 ,can the ,cab ,horse ,charter be gained for human beings8 ,i answer1 yes4 ,the ,cab ,horse standard can be attained on the ,cab ,horse terms4 ,if you get your fallen fellow on his feet again1 ,docility and ,discipline will enable you to reach the ,cab ,horse ideal1 otherwise it will remain unattainable4 ,but ,docility seldom fails where ,discipline is intelligently maintained4 ,intelligence is more frequently lacking to direct than obedience to follow direction4 ,at any rate it is not for those who possess the intelligence to despair of obedience1 until they have done their part4 ,some1 no doubt1 like the bucking horse that will never be broken in1 will always refuse to submit to any guidance but their own lawless will4 ,they will remain either the ,ishmaels or the ,sloths of ,society4 ,but man is naturally neither an ,ishmael nor a ,sloth4 ,the first question1 then1 which confronts us is1 what are the dimensions of the ,evil8 ,how many of our fellow-men dwell in this ,darkest ,england8 ,how can we take the census of those who have fallen below the ,cab ,horse standard to which it is our aim to elevate the most wretched of our countrymen8 ,the moment you attempt to answer this question1 you are confronted by the fact that the ,social ,problem has scarcely been studied at all scientifically4 ,go to ,mudie's and ask for all the books that have been written on the subject1 and you will be surprised to find how few there are4 ,there are probably more scientific books treating of diabetes or of gout than there are dealing with the great social malady which eats out the vitals of such numbers of our people4 ,of late there has been a change for the better4 ,the ,report of the ,royal ,commission on the ,housing of the ,poor1 and the ,report of the ,committee of the ,house of ,lords on ,sweating1 represent an attempt at least to ascertain the facts which bear upon the ,condition of the ,people question4 ,but1 after all1 more minute1 patient1 intelligent observation has been devoted to the study of ,earthworms1 than to the evolution1 or rather the degradation1 of the ,sunken ,section of our people4 ,here and there in the immense field individual workers make notes1 and occasionally emit a wail of despair1 but where is there any attempt even so much as to take the first preliminary step of counting those who have gone under8 ,one book there is1 and so far as ,i know at present1 only one1 which even attempts to enumerate the destitute4 ,in his ,life and ,labour in the ,east of ,london1 ,mr4 ,charles ,booth attempts to form some kind of an idea as to the numbers of those with whom we have to deal4 ,with a large staff of assistants1 and provided with all the facts in possession of the ,school ,board ,visitors1 ,mr4 ,booth took an industrial census of ,east ,london4 ,this district1 which comprises ,tower ,hamlets1 ,shoreditch1 ,bethnal ,green and ,hackney1 contains a population of #ijh1jjj2 that is to say1 less than one-fourth of the population of ,london4 ,how do his statistics work out8 ,if we estimate the number of the poorest class in the rest of ,london as being twice as numerous as those in the ,eastern ,district1 instead of being thrice as numerous1 as they would be if they were calculated according to the population in the same proportion1 the following is the result3 ,,paupers ,inmates of ,workhouses1 ,asylums1 and ,hospitals 44 44 44 #ag1jjj #cd1jjj #ea1jjj ,,homeless ,loafers1 ,casuals1 and some ,criminals 44 44 #aa1jjj #bb1jjj #cc1jjj ,,starving ,casual earnings between #ahs4 per week and chronic want #ajj1jjj #bjj1jjj #cjj1jjj ,,the ,,very ,,poor4 ,intermittent earnings #ahs4 to #bas4 per week 44 44 #gd1jjj #adh1jjj #bbb1jjj ,small regular earnings #ahs4to #bas4 per week 44 44 #abi1jjj #beh1jjj #chg1jjj ------- ------- ------- #cca1jjj #ffb1jjj #iic1jjj ,regular wages1 artizans1 etc41 #bbs4 to #cjs4 per week 44 44 #ccg1jjj ,higher class labour1 #cjs4 to #ejs4 per week 44 44 #aba1jjj ,lower middle class1 shopkeepers1 clerks1 etc4 44 #cd1jjj ,upper middle class 7servant keepers7 44 44 44 #de1jjj ------- #ijh1jjj ,it may be admitted that ,east ,london affords an exceptionally bad district from which to generalise for the rest of the country4 ,wages are higher in ,london than elsewhere1 but so is rent1 and the number of the homeless and starving is greater in the human warren at the ,east ,end4 ,there are #ca millions of people in ,great ,britain1 exclusive of ,ireland4 ,if destitution existed everywhere in ,east ,london proportions1 there would be #ca times as many homeless and starving people as there are in the district round ,bethnal ,green4 ,but let us suppose that the ,east ,london rate is double the average for the rest of the country4 ,that would bring out the following figures3 ,,houseless ,east ,london4 ,united ,kingdom4 ,loafers1 ,casuals1 and some ,criminals #aa1jjj #afe1ejj ,,starving ,casual earnings or chronic want 44 #ajj1jjj #a1eej1jjj ,total ,houseless and ,starving 44 #aaa1jjj #a1gae1ejj ,in ,workhouses1 ,asylums1 c4 44 #ag1jjj #aij1jjj -------- ---------- #abh1jjj #a1ije1ejj ,of those returned as homeless and starving1 #hgj1jjj were in receipt of outdoor relief4 ,to these must be added the inmates of our prisons4 ,in #ahhi #agd1ggi persons were received in the prisons1 but the average number in prison at any one time did not exceed #fj1jjj4 ,the figures1 as given in the ,prison ,returns1 are as follows3 -- ,in ,convict ,prisons 44 44 44 44 44 #aa1fjj ,in ,local ,prisons44 44 44 44 44 44 #bj1hhc ,in ,reformatories44 44 44 44 44 44 #a1bgj ,in ,industrial ,schools 44 44 44 44 #ba1dac ,criminal ,lunatics 44 44 44 44 44 #iaj ------- #ef1acf ,add to this the number of indoor paupers and lunatics 7excluding criminals7 #gh1iff--;and we have an army of nearly two million3 belonging to the submerged classes4 ,to this there must be added at the very least1 another million1 representing those dependent upon the criminal1 lunatic and other classes1 not enumerated here1 and the more or less helpless of the class immediately above the houseless and starving4 ,this brings my total to three millions1 or1 to put it roughly to one-tenth of the population4 ,according to ,lord ,brabazon and ,mr4 ,samuel ,smith1 between two and three millions of our population are always pauperised and degraded4 ,mr4 ,chamberlain says there is a population equal to that of the metropolis1--that is1 between four and five millions--which has remained constantly in a state of abject destitution and misery4 ,mr4 ,giffen is more moderate4 ,the submerged class1 according to him1 comprises one in five of manual labourers1 six in #ajj of the population4 ,mr4 ,giffen does not add the third million which is living on the border line4 ,between ,mr ,chamberlain's four millions and a half1 and ,mr4 ,giffen's #a1hjj1jjj ,i am content to take three millions as representing the total strength of the destitute army4 ,darkest ,england1 then1 may be said to have a population about equal to that of ,scotland4 ,three million men1 women1 and children a vast despairing multitude in a condition nominally free1 but really enslaved2--these it is whom we have to save4 ,it is a large order4 ,england emancipated her negroes sixty years ago1 at a cost of #dj1jjj1jjj1 and has never ceased boasting about it since4 ,but at our own doors1 from ,plymouth to ,peterhead1 stretches this waste ,continent of humanity--three million human beings who are enslaved--some of them to taskmasters as merciless as any ,west ,indian overseer1 all of them to destitution and despair8 ,is anything to be done with them8 ,can anything be done for them8 ,or is this million-headed mass to be regarded as offering a problem as insoluble as that of the ,london sewage1 which1 feculent and festering1 swings heavily up and down the basin of the ,thames with the ebb and flow of the tide8 ,this ,submerged ,tenth--is it1 then1 beyond the reach of the nine-tenths in the midst of whom they live1 and around whose homes they rot and die8 ,no doubt1 in every large mass of human beings there will be some incurably diseased in morals and in body1 some for whom nothing can be done1 some of whom even the optimist must despair1 and for whom he can prescribe nothing but the beneficently stern restraints of an asylum or a gaol4 ,but is not one in ten a proportion scandalously high8 ,the ,israelites of old set apart one tribe in twelve to minister to the ,lord in the service of the ,temple2 but must we doom one in ten of ,god's ,englishmen to the service of the great ,twin ,devils-- ,destitution and ,despair8 ,,chapter #c4 ,,the ,,homeless ,darkest ,england may be described as consisting broadly of three circles1 one within the other4 ,the outer and widest circle is inhabited by the starving and the homeless1 but honest1 ,poor4 ,the second by those who live by ,vice2 and the third and innermost region at the centre is peopled by those who exist by ,crime4 ,the whole of the three circles is sodden with ,drink4 ,darkest ,england has many more public-houses than the ,forest of the ,aruwimi has rivers1 of which ,mr4 ,stanley sometimes had to cross three in half-an-hour4 ,the borders of this great lost land are not sharply defined4 ,they are continually expanding or contracting4 ,whenever there is a period of depression in trade1 they stretch2 when prosperity returns1 they contract4 ,so far as individuals are concerned1 there are none among the hundreds of thousands who live upon the outskirts of the dark forest who can truly say that they or their children are secure from being hopelessly entangled in its labyrinth4 ,the death of the bread-winner1 a long illness1 a failure in the ,city1 or any one of a thousand other causes which might be named1 will bring within the first circle those who at present imagine themselves free from all danger of actual want4 ,the death-rate in ,darkest ,england is high4 ,death is the great gaol-deliverer of the captives4 ,but the dead are hardly in the grave before their places are taken by others4 ,some escape1 but the majority1 their health sapped by their surroundings1 become weaker and weaker1 until at last they fall by the way1 perishing without hope at the very doors of the palatial mansions which1 maybe1 some of them helped to build4 ,some seven years ago a great outcry was made concerning the ,housing of the ,poor4 ,much was said1 and rightly said--it could not be said too strongly--concerning the disease-breeding1 manhood-destroying character of many of the tenements in which the poor herd in our large cities4 ,but there is a depth below that of the dweller in the slums4 ,it is that of the dweller in the street1 who has not even a lair in the slums which he can call his own4 ,the houseless ,out-of-,work is in one respect at least like ,him of whom it was said1 ,foxes have holes1 and birds of the air have nests1 but the ,son of ,man hath not where to lay ,his head4 ,the existence of these unfortunates was somewhat rudely forced upon the attention of ,society in #ahhg1 when ,trafalgar ,square became the camping ground of the ,homeless ,outcasts of ,london4 ,our ,shelters have done something1 but not enough1 to provide for the outcasts1 who this night and every night are walking about the streets1 not knowing where they can find a spot on which to rest their weary frames4 ,here is the return of one of my ,officers who was told off this summer to report upon the actual condition of the ,homeless who have no roof to shelter them in all ,london3 -- ,there are still a large number of ,londoners and a considerable percentage of wanderers from the country in search of work1 who find themselves at nightfall destitute4 ,these now betake themselves to the seats under the plane trees on the ,embankment4 ,formerly they endeavoured to occupy all the seats1 but the lynx-eyed ,metropolitan ,police declined to allow any such proceedings1 and the dossers1 knowing the invariable kindness of the ,city ,police1 made tracks for that portion of the ,embankment which1 lying east of the ,temple1 comes under the control of the ,civic ,fathers4 ,here1 between the ,temple and ,blackfriars1 ,i found the poor wretches by the score2 almost every seat contained its full complement of six--some men1 some women--all reclining in various postures and nearly all fast asleep4 ,just as ,big ,ben strikes two1 the moon1 flashing across the ,thames and lighting up the stone work of the ,embankment1 brings into relief a pitiable spectacle4 ,here on the stone abutments1 which afford a slight protection from the biting wind1 are scores of men lying side by side1 huddled together for warmth1 and1 of course1 without any other covering than their ordinary clothing1 which is scanty enough at the best4 ,some have laid down a few pieces of waste paper1 by way of taking the chill off the stones1 but the majority are too tired1 even for that1 and the nightly toilet of most consists of first removing the hat1 swathing the head in whatever old rag may be doing duty as a handkerchief1 and then replacing the hat4 ,the intelligent-looking elderly man1 who was just fixing himself up on a seat1 informed me that he frequently made that his night's abode4 ,you see1 quoth he1 there's nowhere else so comfortable4 ,i was here last night1 and ,monday and ,tuesday as well1 that's four nights this week4 ,i had no money for lodgings1 couldn't earn any1 try as ,i might4 ,i've had one bit of bread to-day nothing else whatever1 and ,i've earned nothing to-day or yesterday2 ,i had threepence the day before4 ,gets my living by carrying parcels1 or minding horses1 or odd jobs of that sort4 ,you see ,i haven't got my health1 that's where it is4 ,i used to work on the ,london ,general ,omnibus ,company and after that on the ,road ,car ,company1 but ,i had to go to the infirmary with bronchitis and couldn't get work after that4 ,what's the good of a man what's got bronchitis and just left the infirmary8 ,who'll engage him1 ,i'd like to know8 ,besides1 it makes me short of breath at times1 and ,i can't do much4 ,i'm a widower2 wife died long ago4 ,i have one boy1 abroad1 a sailor1 but he's only lately started and can't help me4 ,yes6 its very fair out here of nights1 seats rather hard1 but a bit of waste paper makes it a lot softer4 ,we have women sleep here often1 and children1 too4 ,they're very well conducted1 and there's seldom many rows here1 you see1 because everybody's tired out4 ,we're too sleepy to make a row4 ,another party1 a tall1 dull1 helpless-looking individual1 had walked up from the country2 would prefer not to mention the place4 ,he had hoped to have obtained a hospital letter at the ,mansion ,house so as to obtain a truss for a bad rupture1 but failing1 had tried various other places1 also in vain1 win up minus money or food on the ,embankment4 ,in addition to these sleepers1 a considerable number walk about the streets up till the early hours of the morning to hunt up some job which will bring ,i copper into the empty exchequer1 and save them from actual starvation4 ,i had some conversation with one such1 a stalwart youth lately discharged from the militia1 and unable to get work4 ,you see1 said he1 pitifully1 ,i don't know my way about like most of the ,london fellows4 ,i'm so green1 and don't know how to pick up jobs like they do4 ,i've been walking the streets almost day and night these two weeks and can't get work4 ,i've got the strength1 though ,i shan't have it long at this rate4 ,i only want a job4 ,this is the third night running that ,i've walked the streets all night2 the only money ,i get is by minding blacking-boys' boxes while they go into ,lockhart's for their dinner4 ,i got a penny yesterday at it1 and twopence for carrying a parcel1 and to-day ,i've had a penny4 ,bought a ha'porth of bread and a ha'penny mug of tea4 ,poor lad6 probably he would soon get into thieves' company1 and sink into the depths1 for there is no other means of living for many like him2 it is starve or steal1 even for the young4 ,there are gangs of lad thieves in the low ,whitechapel lodging-houses1 varying in age from thirteen to fifteen1 who live by thieving eatables and other easily obtained goods from shop fronts4 ,in addition to the ,embankment1 al fresco lodgings are found in the seats outside ,spitalfields ,church1 and many homeless wanderers have their own little nooks and corners of resort in many sheltered yards1 vans1 etc41 all over ,london4 ,two poor women ,i observed making their home in a shop door-way in ,liverpool ,street4 ,thus they manage in the summer2 what it's like in winter time is terrible to think of4 ,in many cases it means the pauper's grave1 as in the case of a young woman who was wont to sleep in a van in ,bedfordbury4 ,some men who were aware of her practice surprised her by dashing a bucket of water on her4 ,the blow to her weak system caused illness1 and the inevitable sequel--a coroner's jury came to the conclusion that the water only hastened her death1 which was due1 in plain ,english1 to starvation4 ,the following are some statements taken down by the same ,officer from twelve men whom he found sleeping on the ,embankment on the nights of ,june #acth and #adth1 #ahij3- ,no4 #a4 ,i've slept here two nights2 ,i'm a confectioner by trade2 ,i come from ,dartford4 ,i got turned off because ,i'm getting elderly4 ,they can get young men cheaper1 and ,i have the rheumatism so bad4 ,i've earned nothing these two days2 ,i thought ,i could get a job at ,woolwich1 so ,i walked there1 but could get nothing4 ,i found a bit of bread in the road wrapped up in a bit of newspaper4 ,that did me for yesterday4 ,i had a bit of bread and butter to-day4 ,i'm #ed years old4 ,when it's wet we stand about all night under the arches4' ,no4 #b4 ,been sleeping out three weeks all but one night2 do odd jobs1 mind horses1 and that sort of thing4 ,earned nothing to-day1 or shouldn't be here4 ,have had a pen'orth of bread to-day4 ,that's all4 ,yesterday had some pieces given to me at a cook-shop4 ,two days last week had nothing at all from morning till night4 ,by trade ,i'm a feather-bed dresser1 but it's gone out of fashion1 and besides that1 ,i've a cataract in one eye1 and have lost the sight of it completely4 ,i'm a widower1 have one child1 a soldier1 at ,dover4 ,my last regular work was eight months ago1 but the firm broke4 ,been doing odd jobs ,since4 ,no4 #c4 ,i'm a tailor2 have slept here four nights running4 ,can't get work4 ,been out of a job three weeks4 ,if ,i can muster cash ,i sleep at a lodging-house in ,vere ,street1 ,glare ,market4 ,it was very wet last night4 ,i left these seats and went to ,covent ,garden ,market and slept under cover4 ,there were about thirty of us4 ,the police moved us on1 but we went back as soon as they had gone4 ,i've had a pen'orth of bread and pen'orth of soup during the last two days--often goes without altogether4 ,there are women sleep out here4 ,they are decent people1 mostly charwomen and such like who can't get work4 ,no4#d4 ,elderly man2 trembles visibly with excitement at mention of work2 produces a card carefully wrapped in old newspaper1 to the effect that ,mr4 ,j4,r4 is a member of the ,trade ,protection ,league4 ,he is a waterside labourer2 last job at that was a fortnight since4 ,has earned nothing for five days4 ,had a bit of bread this morning1 but not a scrap since4 ,had a cup of tea and two slices of bread yesterday1 and the same the day before2 the deputy at a lodging house gave it to him4 ,he is fifty years old1 and is still damp from sleeping out in the wet last night4 ,no4 #e4 ,sawyer by trade1 machinery cut him out4 ,had a job1 haymaking near ,uxbridge4 ,had been on same job lately for a month2 got #bs4 #f;d a day4 7,probably spent it in drink1 seems a very doubtful worker47 ,has been odd jobbing a long time1 earned #b;d4 to-day1 bought a pen'orth of tea and ditto of sugar 7produces same from pocket7 but can't get any place to make the tea2 was hoping to get to a lodging house where he could borrow a teapot1 but had no money4 ,earned nothing yesterday1 slept at a casual ward2 very poor place1 get insufficient food1 considering the labour4 ,six ounces of bread and a pint of skilly for breakfast1 one ounce of cheese and six or seven ounces of bread for dinner 7bread cut by guess74 ,tea same as breakfast1--no supper4 ,for this you have to break #aj cwt4 of stones1 or pick #d lbs4 of oakum4 ,number #f4 ,had slept out four nights running4 ,was a distiller by trade been out four months2 unwilling to enter into details of leaving1 but it was his own fault4 7,very likely2 a heavy1 thick1 stubborn1 and senseless-looking fellow1 six feet high1 thick neck1 strong limbs1 evidently destitute of ability4 ,does odd jobs2 earned #c;d4 for minding a horse1 bought a cup of coffee and pen'orth of bread and butter4 ,has no money now4 ,slept under ,waterloo ,bridge last night4 ,no4 #g4 ,good-natured looking man2 one who would suffer and say nothing clothes shining with age1 grease1 and dirt2 they hang on his joints as on pegs2 awful rags6 ,i saw him endeavouring to walk4 ,he lifted his feet very slowly and put them down carefully in evident pain4 ,his legs are bad2 been in infirmary several times with them4 ,his uncle and grandfather were clergymen2 both dead now4 ,he was once in a good position in a money office1 and afterwards in the ,london and ,county ,bank for nine years4 ,then he went with an auctioneer who broke1 and he was left ill1 old1 and without any trade4 ,a clerk's place1 says he1 is never worth having1 because there are so many of them1 and once out you can only get another place with difficulty4 ,i have a brother-in-law on the ,stock ,exchange1 but he won't own me4 ,look at my clothes8 ,is it likely8 ,no4 #h4 ,slept here four nights running4 ,is a builder's labourer by trade1 that is1 a handy-man4 ,had a settled job for a few weeks which expired three weeks since4 ,has earned nothing for nine days4 ,then helped wash down a shop front and got #bs4 #f;d4 for it4 ,does anything he can get4 ,is #df years old4 ,earns about #b;d4 or #c;d4 a day at horse minding4 ,a cup of tea and a bit of bread yesterday1 and same to-day1 is all he has had4 ,no4 #i4 ,a plumber's labourer 7all these men who are somebody's labourers are poor samples of humanity1 evidently lacking in grit1 and destitute of ability to do any work which would mean decent wages74 ,judging from appearances1 they will do nothing well4 ,they are a kind of automaton1 with the machinery rusty2 slow1 dull1 and incapable4 ,the man of ordinary intelligence leaves them in the rear4 ,they could doubtless earn more even at odd jobs1 but lack the energy4 ,of course1 this means little food1 exposure to weather1 and increased incapability day by day4 7,from him that hath not1 etc47 ,out of work through slackness1 does odd jobs2 slept here three nights running4 ,is a dock labourer when he can get work4 ,has #f;d4 an hour2 works so many hours1 according as he is wanted4 ,gets #bs41 #cs41 or #ds4 #f;d4 a day4 ,has to work very hard for it4 ,casual ward life is also very hard he says1 for those who are not used to it1 and there is not enough to eat4 ,has had to-day a pen'orth of bread1 for minding a cab4 ,yesterday he spent #c #a_/b;d4 on a breakfast1 and that lasted him all day4 ,age #be4 ,no4 #aj4 ,been out of work a month4 ,carman by trade4 ,arm withered1 and cannot do work properly4 ,has slept here all the week2 got an awful cold through the wet4 ,lives at odd jobs 7they all do74 ,got sixpence yesterday for minding a cab and carrying a couple of parcels4 ,earned nothing to-day1 but had one good meal2 a lady gave it him4 ,has been walking about all day looking for work1 and is tired out4 ,no4 #aa4 ,youth1 aged #af4 ,sad case2 ,londoner4 ,works at odd jobs and matches selling4 ,has taken #c;d4 to-day1 i4e41 net profit #a #a_/b;d4 ,has five boxes still4 ,has slept here every night for a month4 ,before that slept in ,covent ,garden ,market or on doorsteps4 ,been sleeping out six months1 since he left ,feltham ,industrial ,school4 ,was sent there for playing truant4 ,has had one bit of bread to-day2 yesterday had only some gooseberries and cherries1 i4e41 bad ones that had been thrown away4 ,mother is alive4 ,she chucked him out when he returned home on leaving ,feltham because he could'nt find her money for drink4 ,no4 #ab4 ,old man1 age #fg4 ,seems to take rather a humorous view of the position4 ,kind of ,mark ,tapley4 ,says he can't say he does like it1 but then he must like it6 ,ha1 ha6 ,is a slater by trade4 ,been out of work some time2 younger men naturally get the work4 ,gets a bit of bricklaying sometimes2 can turn his hand to anything4 ,goes miles and gets nothing4 ,earned one and twopence this week at holding horses4 ,finds it hard1 certainly4 ,used to care once1 and get down-hearted1 but that's no good2 don't trouble now4 ,had a bit of bread and butter and cup of coffee to-day4 ,health is awful bad1 not half the size he was2 exposure and want of food is the cause2 got wet last night1 and is very stiff in consequence4 ,has been walking about since it was light1 that is #c a4m4 ,was so cold and wet and weak1 scarcely knew what to do4 ,walked to ,hyde ,park1 and got a little sleep there on a dry seat as soon as the park opened4 ,these are fairly typical cases of the men who are now wandering homeless through the streets4 ,that is the way in which the nomads of civilization are constantly being recruited from above4 ,such are the stories gathered at random one ,midsummer night this year under the shade of the plane trees of the ,embankment4 ,a month later1 when one of my staff took the census of the sleepers out of doors along the line of the ,thames from ,blackfriars to ,westminster1 he found three hundred and sixty-eight persons sleeping in the open air4 ,of these1 two hundred and seventy were on the ,embankment proper1 and ninety-eight in and about ,covent ,garden ,market1 while the recesses of ,waterloo and ,blackfriars ,bridges were full of human misery4 ,this1 be it remembered1 was not during a season of bad trade4 ,the revival of business has been attested on all hands1 notably by the barometer of strong drink4 ,england is prosperous enough to drink rum in quantities which appall the ,chancellor of the ,exchequer but she is not prosperous enough to provide other shelter than the midnight sky for these poor outcasts on the ,embankment4 ,to very many even of those who live in ,london it may be news that there are so many hundreds who sleep out of doors every night4 ,there are comparatively few people stirring after midnight1 and when we are snugly tucked into our own beds we are apt to forget the multitude outside in the rain and the storm who are shivering the long hours through on the hard stone seats in the open or under the arches of the railway4 ,these homeless1 hungry people are1 however there1 but being broken-spirited folk for the most part they seldom make their voices audible in the ears of their neighbours4 ,now and again1 however1 a harsh cry from the depths is heard for a moment1 jarring rudely upon the ear and then all is still4 ,the inarticulate classes speak as seldom as ,balaam's ass4 ,but they sometimes find a voice4 ,here for instance is one such case which impressed me much4 ,it was reported in one of the ,liverpool papers some time back4 ,the speaker was haranguing a small knot of twenty or thirty men3 -- ,my lads1 he commenced1 with one hand in the breast of his ragged vest1 and the other1 as usual1 plucking nervously at his beard1 ,this kind o' work can't last for ever4 7,deep and earnest exclamations1 ,it can't6 ,it shan't7 ,well1 boys1 continued the speaker1 ,somebody'll have to find a road out o' this4 ,what we want is work1 not work'us bounty1 though the parish has been busy enough amongst us lately1 ,god knows6 ,what we want is honest work1 7,hear1 hear47 ,now1 what ,i propose is that each of you gets fifty mates to join you2 that'll make about #a1bjj starving chaps--,and then8 asked several very gaunt and hungry-looking men excitedly4 ,why1 then1 continued the leader4 ,why1 then1 interrupted a cadaverous-looking man from the farther and darkest end of the cellar1 of course we'll make a--,london job of it1 eh8 ,no1 no1 hastily interposed my friend1 and holding up his hands deprecatingly1 we'll go peaceably about it chaps2 we'll go in a body to the ,town ,hall1 and show our poverty1 and ask for work4 ,we'll take the women and children with us too4 7,too ragged6 ,too starved6 ,they can't walk it67 ,the women's rags is no disgrace1 the staggerin' children 'll show what we come to4 ,let's go a thousand strong1 and ask for work and bread6 ,three years ago1 in ,london1 there were some such processions4 ,church parades to the ,abbey and ,st4 ,paul's1 bivouacs in ,trafalgar ,square1 etc4 ,but ,lazarus showed his rags and his sores too conspicuously for the convenience of ,dives1 and was summarily dealt with in the name of law and order4 ,but as we have ,lord ,mayor's ,days1 when all the well-fed fur-clad ,city ,fathers go in ,state ,coaches through the town1 why should we not have a ,lazarus ,day1 in which the starving ,out-of-,works1 and the sweated half-starved in-works of ,london should crawl in their tattered raggedness1 with their gaunt1 hungry faces1 and emaciated ,wives and children1 a ,procession of ,despair through the main thoroughfares past the massive houses and princely palaces of luxurious ,london8 ,for these men are gradually1 but surely1 being sucked down into the quicksand of modern life4 ,they stretch out their grimy hands to us in vain appeal1 not for charity1 but for work4 ,work1 work6 it is always work that they ask4 ,the ,divine curse is to them the most blessed of benedictions4 ,in the sweat of thy brow thou shalt eat thy bread1 but alas for these forlorn sons of ,adam1 they fail to find the bread to eat1 for ,society has no work for them to do4 ,they have not even leave to sweat4 ,as well as discussing how these poor wanderers should in the second ,adam all be made alive1 ought we not to put forth some effort to effect their restoration to that share in the heritage of lab our which is theirs by right of descent from the first ,adam8 ,,chapter #d4 ,,the ,,out-,,of-,,works ,there is hardly any more pathetic figure than that of the strong able worker crying plaintively in the midst of our palaces and churches not for charity1 but for work1 asking only to be allowed the privilege of perpetual hard labour1 that thereby he may earn wherewith to fill his empty belly and silence the cry of his children for food4 ,crying for it and not getting it1 seeking for labour as lost treasure and finding it not1 until at last1 all spirit and vigour worn out in the weary quest1 the once willing worker becomes a broken-down drudge1 sodden with wretchedness and despairing of all help in this world or in that which is to come4 ,our organisation of industry certainly leaves much to be desired4 ,a problem which even slave owners have solved ought not to be abandoned as insoluble by the ,christian civilisation of the ,nineteenth ,century4 ,i have already given a few life stories taken down from the lip3 of those who were found homeless on the ,embankment which suggest somewhat of the hardships and the misery of the fruitless search for work4 ,but what a volume of dull1 squalid horror--a horror of great darkness gradually obscuring all the light of day from the life of the sufferer might be written from the simple prosaic experiences of the ragged fellows whom you meet every day in the street4 ,these men1 whose labour is their only capital1 are allowed1 nay compelled to waste day after day by the want of any means of employment1 and then when they have seen days and weeks roll by during which their capital has been wasted by pounds and pounds1 they are lectured for not saving the pence4 ,when a rich man cannot employ his capital he puts it out at interest1 but the bank for the labour capital of the poor man has yet to be invented4 ,yet it might be worth while inventing one4 ,a man's labour is not only his capital but his life4 ,when it passes it returns never more4 ,to utilise it1 to prevent its wasteful squandering1 to enable the poor man to bank it up for use hereafter1 this surely is one of the most urgent tasks before civilisation4 ,of all heart-breaking toil the hunt for work is surely the worst4 ,yet at any moment let a workman lose his present situation1 and he is compelled to begin anew the dreary round of fruitless calls4 ,here is the story of one among thousands of the nomads1 taken down from his own lips1 of one who was driven by sheer hunger into crime4 ,a bright ,spring morning found me landed from a western colony4 ,fourteen years had passed since ,i embarked from the same spot4 ,they were fourteen years1 as far as results were concerned1 of non-success1 and here ,i was again in my own land1 a stranger1 with anew career to carve for myself and the battle of life to fight over again4 ,my first thought was work4 ,never before had ,i felt more eager for a down right good chance to win my way by honest toil2 but where was ,i to find work4 ,with firm determination ,i started in search4 ,one day passed without success and another1 and another1 but the thought cheered me1 ,better luck to-morrow4 ,it has been said1 ,hope springs eternal in the human breast4 ,in my case it was to be severely tested4 ,days soon ran into weeks1 and still ,i was on the trail patiently and hopefully4 ,courtesy and politeness so often met me in my enquiries for employment that ,i often wished they would kick me out1 and so vary the monotony of the sickly veneer of consideration that so thinly overlaid the indifference and the absolute unconcern they had to my need4 ,a few cut up rough and said1 ,no2 we don't want you4 ,please don't trouble us again 7this after the second visit74 ,we have no vacancy2 and if we had1 we have plenty of people on hand to fill it4 ,who can express the feeling that comes over one when the fact begins to dawn that the search for work is a failure8 ,all my hopes and prospects seemed to have turned out false4 ,helplessness1 ,i had often heard of it1 had often talked about it1 thought ,i knew all about it4 ,yes6 in others1 but now began to understand it for myself4 ,gradually my personal appearance faded4 ,my once faultless linen became unkempt and unclean4 ,down further and further went the heels of my shoes1 and ,i drifted into that distressing condition shabby gentility4 ,if the odds were against me before1 how much more so now1 seeing that ,i was too shabby even to command attention1 much less a reply to my enquiry for work4 ,hunger now began to do its work1 and ,i drifted to the dock gates1 but what chance had ,i among the hungry giants there8 ,and so down the stream drifted until ,grim ,want brought me to the last shilling1 the last lodging1 and the last meal4 ,what shall ,i do8 ,where shall ,i go8 ,i tried to think4 ,must ,i starve8 ,surely there must be some door still open for honest willing endeavour1 but where8 ,what can ,i do8 ,drink1 said the ,tempter2 but to drink to drunkenness needs cash1 and oblivion by liquor demands an equivalent in the currency4 ,starve or steal4 ,you must do one or the other1 said the ,tempter4 ,but recoiled from being a ,thief4 ,why be so particular8 says the ,tempter again ,you are down now1 who will trouble about you8 ,why trouble about yourself8 ,the choice is between starving and stealing4 ,and ,i struggled until hunger stole my judgment1 and then ,i became a ,thief4 ,no one can pretend that it was an idle fear of death by starvation which drove this poor fellow to steal4 ,deaths from actual hunger an more common than is generally supposed4 ,last year1 a man1 whose name was never known1 was walking through ,st4 ,james's ,park1 when three of our ,shelter men saw him suddenly stumble and fall4 ,they thought he was drunk1 but found he had fainted4 ,they carried him to the bridge and gave him to the police4 ,they took him to ,st ,george's ,hospital1 where he died4 ,it appeared that he had1 according to his own tale1 walked up from ,liverpool1 and had been without food for five days4 ,the doctor1 however1 said he had gone longer than that4 ,the jury returned a verdict of ,death from ,starvation4 ,without food for five days or longer6 ,who that has experienced the sinking sensation that is felt when even a single meal has been sacrificed may form some idea of what kind of slow torture killed that man6 ,in #ahhh the average daily number of unemployed in ,london was estimated by the ,mansion ,house ,committee at #bj1jjj4 ,this vast reservoir of unemployed labour is the bane of all efforts to raise the scale of living1 to improve the condition of labour4 ,men hungering to death for lack of opportunity to earn a crust are the materials from which blacklegs are made1 by whose aid the labourer is constantly defeated in his attempts to improve his condition4 ,this is the problem that underlies all questions of ,trades ,unionism and all ,schemes for the ,improvement of the ,condition of the ,industrial ,army4 ,to rear any stable edifice that will not perish when the first storm rises and the first hurricane blows1 it must be built not upon sand1 but upon a rock4 ,and the worst of all existing ,schemes for social betterment by organisation of the skilled workers and the like is that they are founded1 not upon rock1 nor even upon sand1 but upon the bottomless bog of the stratum of the ,workless4 ,it is here where we must begin4 ,the regimentation of industrial workers who have got regular work is not so very difficult4 ,that can be done1 and is being done1 by themselves4 ,the problem that we have to face is the regimentation1 the organisation1 of those who have not got work1 or who have only irregular work1 and who from sheer pressure of absolute starvation are driven irresistibly into cut-throat competition with their better employed brothers and sisters4 ,skin for skin1 all that a man hath1 will he give for his life2 much more1 then1 will those who experimentally know not ,god give all that they might hope hereafter to have--in this world or in the world to come4 ,there is no gainsaying the immensity of the problem4 ,it is appalling enough to make us despair4 ,but those who do not put their trust in man alone1 but in ,one who is ,almighty1 have no right to despair4 ,to despair is to lose faith2 to despair is to forget ,god ,without ,god we can do nothing in this frightful chaos of human misery4 ,but with ,god we can do all things1 and in the faith that ,he has made in ,his image all the children of men we face even this hideous wreckage of humanity with a cheerful confidence that if we are but faithful to our own high calling ,he will not fail to open up a way of deliverance4 ,i have nothing to say against those who are endeavouring to open up a way of escape without any consciousness of ,god's help4 ,for them ,i feel only sympathy and compassion4 ,in so far as they are endeavouring to give bread to the hungry1 clothing to the naked1 and above all1 work to the workless1 they are to that extent endeavouring to do the will of our ,father which is in ,heaven1 and woe be unto all those who say them nay6 ,but to be orphaned of all sense of the ,fatherhood of ,god is surely not a secret source of strength4 ,it is in most cases--it would be in my own--the secret of paralysis4 ,if ,i did not feel my ,father's hand in the darkness1 and hear ,his voice in the silence of the night watches bidding me put my hand to this thing1 ,i would shrink back dismayed2-- but as it is ,i dare not4 ,how many are there who have made similar attempts and have failed1 and we have heard of them no more6 ,yet none of them proposed to deal with more than the mere fringe of the evil which1 ,god helping me1 ,i will try to face in all its immensity4 ,most ,schemes that are put forward for the ,improvement of the ,circumstances of the ,people are either avowedly or actually limited to those whose condition least needs amelioration4 ,the ,utopians1 the economists1 and most of the philanthropists propound remedies1 which1 if adopted to-morrow1 would only affect the aristocracy of the miserable4 ,it is the thrifty1 the industrious1 the sober1 the thoughtful who can take advantage of these plans4 ,but the thrifty1 the industrious1 the sober1 and the thoughtful are already very well able for the most part to take care of themselves4 ,no one will ever make even a visible dint on the ,morass of ,squalor who does not deal with the improvident1 the lazy1 the vicious1 and the criminal4 ,the ,scheme of ,social ,salvation is not worth discussion which is not as wide as the ,scheme of ,eternal ,salvation set forth in the ,gospel4 ,the ,glad ,tidings must be to every creature1 not merely to an elect few who are to be saved while the mass of their fellow are predestined to a temporal damnation4 ,we have had this doctrine of an inhuman cast-iron pseudo-political economy too long enthroned amongst us4 ,it is now time to fling down the false idol and proclaim a ,temporal ,salvation as full1 free1 and universal1 and with no other limitations than the ,whosoever will1 of the ,gospel4 ,to attempt to save the ,lost1 we must accept no ,limitations to human brotherhood4 ,if the ,scheme which ,i set forth in these and the following pages is not applicable to the ,thief1 the ,harlot1 the ,drunkard1 and the ,sluggard1 it may as well be dismissed without ceremony4 ,as ,christ came to call not the saints but sinners to repentance1 so the ,new ,message of ,temporal ,salvation1 of salvation from pinching poverty1 from rags and misery1 must be offered to all4 ,they may reject it1 of course4 ,but we who call ourselves by the name of ,christ are not worthy to profess to be ,his disciples until we have set an open door before the least and worst of these who are now apparently imprisoned for life in a horrible dungeon of misery and despair4 ,the responsibility for its rejection must be theirs1 not ours4 ,we all know the prayer1 ,give me neither poverty nor riches1 feed me with food convenient for me--and for every child of man on this planet1 thank ,god the prayer of ,agur1 the son of ,jakeh1 may be fulfilled4 ,at present how far it is from being realised may be seen by anyone who will take the trouble to go down to the docks and see the struggle for work4 ,here is a sketch of what was found there this summer3 -- ,london ,docks1 #g4be a4m4 ,the three pairs of huge wooden doors are closed4 ,leaning against then1 and standing about1 there are perhaps a couple of hundred men4 ,the public house opposite is full1 doing a heavy trade4 ,all along the road are groups of men1 and from each direction a steady stream increases the crowd at the gate4 #g4cj ,doors open1 there is a general rush to the interior4 ,everybody marches about a hundred yards along to the iron barrier--a temporary chair affair1 guarded by the dock police4 ,those men who have previously 7i4e41 night before7 been engaged1 show their ticket and pass through1 about six hundred4 ,the rest--some five hundred stand behind the barrier1 patiently waiting the chance of a job1 but less than twenty of these get engaged4 ,they are taken on by a foreman who appears next the barrier and proceeds to pick his men4 ,no sooner is the foreman seen1 than there is a wild rush to the spot and a sharp mad fight to catch his eye4 ,the men picked out1 pass the barrier1 and the excitement dies away until another lot of men are wanted4 ,they wait until eight o'clock strikes1 which is the signal to withdraw4 ,the barrier is taken down and all those hundreds of men1 wearily disperse to find a job4 ,five hundred applicants1 twenty acceptances6 ,no wonder one tired-out looking individual ejaculates1 ,oh dear1 ,oh dear6 ,whatever shall ,i do8 ,a few hang about until mid-day on the slender chance of getting taken on then for half a day4 ,ask the men and they will tell you something like the following story1 which gives the simple experiences of a dock labourer4 ,r4 ,p4 said3 --,i was in regular work at the ,south ,west ,india ,dock before the strike4 ,we got #e;d4 an hour4 ,start work #h a4m4 summer and #i a4m winter4 ,often there would be five hundred go1 and only twenty get taken on 7that is besides those engaged the night previous47 ,the foreman stood in his box1 and called out the men he wanted4 ,he would know quite five hundred by name4 ,it was a regular fight to get work1 ,i have known nine hundred to be taken on1 but there's always hundreds turned away4 ,you see they get to know when ships come in1 and when they're consequently likely to be wanted1 and turn up then in greater numbers4 ,i would earn #cjs4 a week sometimes and then perhaps nothing for a fortnight4 ,that's what makes it so hard4 ,you get nothing to eat for a week scarcely1 and then when you get taken on1 you are so weak that you can't do it properly4 ,i've stood in the crowd at the gate and had to go away without work1 hundreds of times4 ,still ,i should go at it again if ,i could4 ,i got tired of the little work and went away into the country to get work on a farm1 but couldn't get it1 so ,i'm without the #ajs4 that it costs to join the ,dockers' ,union4 ,i'm going to the country again in a day or two to try again4 ,expect to get #cs4 a day perhaps4 ,shall come back to the docks again4 ,then is a chance of getting regular dock work1 and that is1 to lounge about the pubs where the foremen go1 and treat them4 ,then they will very likely take you on next day4 ,r4 ,p4 was a non-,unionist4 ,henry ,f4 is a ,unionist4 ,his history is much the same4 ,i worked at ,st4 ,katherine's ,docks five months ago4 ,you have to get to the gates at #f o'clock for the first call4 ,there's generally about #djj waiting4 ,they will take on one to two hundred4 ,then at #g o'clock there's a second call4 ,another #djj will have gathered by then1 and another hundred or so will be taken on4 ,also there will probably be calls at nine and one o'clock4 ,about the same number turn up but there's no work for many hundreds of them4 ,i was a ,union man4 ,that means #ajs4 a week sick pay1 or #hs4 a week for slight accidents2 also some other advantages4 ,the ,docks won't take men on now unless they are ,unionists4 ,the point is that there's too many men4 ,i would often be out of work a fortnight to three weeks at a time4 ,once earned #c in a week1 working day and night1 but then had a fortnight out directly after4 ,especially when then don't happen to be any ships in for a few days1 which means1 of course1 nothing to unload4 ,that's the time2 there's plenty of men almost starving then4 ,they have no trade to go to1 or can get no work at it1 and they swoop down to the docks for work1 when they had much better stay away4 ,but it is not only at the dock-gates that you come upon these unfortunates who spend their lives in the vain hunt for work4 ,here is the story of another man whose case has only too many parallels4 ,c4 is a fine built man1 standing nearly six feet4 ,he has been in the ,royal ,artillery for eight years and held very good situations whilst in it4 ,it seems that he was thrifty and consequently steady4 ,he bought his discharge1 and being an excellent cook opened a refreshment house1 but at the end of five months he was compelled to close his shop on account of slackness in trade1 which was brought about by the closing of a large factory in the locality4 ,after having worked in ,scotland and ,newcastle-on-,tyne for a few years1 and through ill health having to give up his situation1 he came to ,london with he hope that he might get something to do in his native town4 ,he has had no regular employment for the past eight months4 ,his wife and family are in a state of destitution1 and he remarked1 ,we only had #a lb4 of bread between us yesterday4 ,he is six weeks in arrears of rent1 and is afraid that he will be ejected4 ,the furniture which is in his home is not worth #cs4 and the clothes of each member of his family are in a tattered state and hardly fit for the rag bag4 ,he assured us he had tried every where to get employment and would be willing to take anything4 ,his characters are very good indeed4 ,now1 it may seem a preposterous dream that any arrangement can be devised by which it may be possible1 under all circumstances1 to provide food1 clothes1 and shelter for all these ,out-of-,works without any loss of self respect2 but ,i am convinced that it can be done1 providing only that they are willing to ,work1 and1 ,god helping me1 if the means are forthcoming1 ,i mean to try to do it2 how1 and where1 and when1 ,i will explain in subsequent chapters4 ,all that ,i need say here is1 that so long as a man or woman is willing to submit to the discipline indispensable in every campaign against any formidable foe1 there appears to me nothing impossible about this ideal2 and the great element of hope before us is that the majority are1 beyond all gainsaying1 eager for work4 ,most of them now do more exhausting work in seeking for employment than the regular toilers do in their workshops1 and do it1 too1 under the darkness of hope deferred which maketh the heart sick4 ,,chapter #e4 ,,on ,,the ,,verge ,,of ,,the ,,abyss4 ,there is1 unfortunately1 no need for me to attempt to set out1 however imperfectly1 any statement of the evil case of the sufferers what we wish to help4 ,for years past the ,press has been filled with echoes of the ,bitter ,cry of ,outcast ,london1 with pictures of ,horrible ,glasgow1 and the like4 ,we have had several volumes describing ,how the ,poor ,live and ,i may therefore assume that all my readers are more or less cognizant of the main outlines a ,darkest ,england4 ,my slum officers are living in the midst of it their reports are before me1 and one day ,i may publish some more detailed account of the actual facts of the social condition of the ,sunken ,millions4 ,but not now4 ,all that must be taken as read4 ,i only glance at the subject in order to bring into clear relief the salient points of our new ,enterprise4 ,i have spoken of the houseless poor4 ,each of these represents a point in the scale of human suffering below that of those who have still contrived to keep a shelter over their heads4 ,a home is a home1 be it ever so low2 and the desperate tenacity with which the poor will cling to the last wretched semblance of one is very touching4 ,there are vile dens1 fever-haunted and stenchful crowded courts1 where the return of summer is dreaded because it means the unloosing of myriads of vermin which render night unbearable1 which1 nevertheless1 are regarded at this moment as havens of rest by their hard-working occupants4 ,they can scarcely be said to be furnished4 ,a chair1 a mattress1 and a few miserable sticks constitute all the furniture of the single room in which they have to sleep1 and breed1 and die2 but they cling to it as a drowning man to a half-submerged raft4 ,every week they contrive by pinching and scheming to raise the rent1 for with them it is pay or go and they struggle to meet the collector as the sailor nerves himself to avoid being sucked under by the foaming wave4 ,if at any time work fails or sickness comes they are liable to drop helplessly into the ranks of the homeless4 ,it is bad for a single man to have to confront the struggle for life in the streets and ,casual ,wards4 ,but how much more terrible must it be for the married man with his wife and children to be turned out into the streets4 ,so long as the family has a lair into which it can creep at night1 he keeps his footing2 but when he loses that solitary foothold then arrives the time if there be such a thing as ,christian compassion1 for the helping hand to be held out to save him from the vortex that sucks him downward--ay1 downward to the hopeless under-strata of crime and despair4 ,the heart knoweth its own bitterness and the stranger inter-meddleth not therewith4 ,but now and then out of the depths there sounds a bitter wail as of some strong swimmer in his agony as he is drawn under by the current4 ,a short time ago a respectable man1 a chemist in ,holloway1 fifty years of age1 driven hard to the wall1 tried to end it all by cutting his throat4 ,his wife also cut her throat1 and at the same time they gave strychnine to their only child4 ,the effort failed1 and they were placed on trial for attempted murder4 ,in the ,court a letter was read which the poor wretch had written before attempting his life3- ,,my ,,dearest ,,george1--,twelve months have ,i now passed of a most miserable and struggling existence1 and ,i really cannot stand it any more4 ,i am completely worn out1 and relations who could assist me won't do any more1 for such was uncle's last intimation4 ,never mind2 he can't take his money and comfort with him1 and in all probability will find himself in the same boat as myself4 ,he never enquires whether ,i am starving or not4 #c--;a mere flea-bite to him--would have put us straight1 and with his security and good interest might have obtained me a good situation long ago4 ,i can face poverty and degradation no longer1 and would sooner die than go to the workhouse1 whatever may be the awful consequences of the steps we have taken4 ,we have1 ,god forgive us1 taken our darling ,arty with us out of pure love and affection1 so that the darling should never be cuffed about1 or reminded or taunted with his heartbroken parents' crime4 ,my poor wife has done her best at needle-work1 washing1 house-minding1 c41 in fact1 anything and everything that would bring in a shilling2 but it would only keep us in semi-starvation4 ,i have now done six weeks' travelling from morning till night1 and not received one farthing for it1 ,if that is not enough to drive you mad--wickedly mad--,i don't know what is4 ,no bright prospect anywhere2 no ray of hope4 ,may ,god ,almighty forgive us for this heinous sin1 and have mercy on our sinful souls1 is the prayer of your miserable1 broken-hearted1 but loving brother1 ,arthur4 ,we have now done everything that we can possibly think of to avert this wicked proceeding1 but can discover no ray of hope4 ,fervent prayer has availed us nothing2 our lot is cast1 and we must abide by it4 ,it must be ,god's will or ,he would have ordained it differently4 ,dearest ,georgy1 ,i am exceedingly sorry to leave you all1 but ,i am mad--thoroughly mad4 ,you1 dear1 must try and forget us1 and1 if possible1 forgive us2 for ,i do not consider it our own fault we have not succeeded4 ,if you could get #c for our bed it will pay our rent1 and our scanty furniture may fetch enough to bury us in a cheap way4 ,don't grieve over us or follow us1 for we shall not be worthy of such respect4 ,our clergyman has never called on us or given us the least consolation1 though ,i called on him a month ago4 ,he is paid to preach1 and there he considers his responsibility ends1 the rich excepted4 ,we have only yourself and a very few others who care one pin what becomes of us1 but you must try and forgive us1 is the last fervent prayer of your devotedly fond and affectionate but broken-hearted and persecuted brother4 7,signed7 ,r4 ,a4 ,o----4 ,that is an authentic human document--a transcript from the life of one among thousands who go down inarticulate into the depths1 ,they die and make no sign1 or1 worse still1 they continue to exist1 carrying about with them1 year after year1 the bitter ashes of a life from which the furnace of misfortune has burnt away all joy1 and hope1 and strength4 ,who is there who has not been confronted by many despairing ones1 who come1 as ,richard ,o---- went1 to the clergyman1 crying for help1 and how seldom have we been able to give it them8 ,it is unjust1 no doubt1 for them to blame the clergy and the comfortable well-to-do --for what can they do but preach and offer good advice8 ,to assist all the ,richard ,o----s' by direct financial advance would drag even ,rothschild into the gutter4 ,and what else can be done8 ,yet something else must be done if ,christianity is not to be a mockery to perishing men4 ,here is another case1 a very common case1 which illustrates how the ,army of ,despair is recruited4 ,mr4 ,t41 ,margaret ,place1 ,gascoign ,place1 ,bethnal ,green1 is a bootmaker by trade4 ,is a good hand1 and has earned three shillings and sixpence to four shillings and sixpence a day4 ,he was taken ill last ,christmas1 and went to the ,london ,hospital2 was there three months4 ,a week after he had gone ,mrs4 ,t4 had rheumatic fever1 and was taken to ,bethnal ,green ,infirmary1 where she remained about three months4 ,directly after they had been taken ill1 their furniture was seized for the three weeks' rent which was owing4 ,consequently1 on becoming convalescent1 they were homeless4 ,they came out about the same time4 ,he went out to a lodging-house for a night or two1 until she came out4 ,he then had twopence1 and she had sixpence1 which a nurse had given her4 ,they went to a lodging-house together1 but the society there was dreadful4 ,next day he had a day's work1 and got two shillings and sixpence1 and on the strength of this they took a furnished room at tenpence per day 7payable nightly74 ,his work lasted a few weeks1 when he was again taken ill1 lost his job1 and spent all their money4 ,pawned a shirt and apron for a shilling2 spent that1 too4 ,at last pawned their tools for three shillings1 which got them a few days' food and lodging4 ,he is now minus tools and cannot work at his own job1 and does anything he can4 ,spent their last twopence on a pen'orth each of tea and sugar4 ,in two days they had a slice of bread and butter each1 that's all4 ,they are both very weak through want of food4 ,let things alone1 the laws of supply and demand1 and all the rest of the excuses by which those who stand on firm ground salve their consciences when they leave their brother to sink1 how do they look when we apply them to the actual loss of life at sea8 ,does ,let things alone man the lifeboat8 ,will the inexorable laws of political economy save the shipwrecked sailor from the boiling surf8 ,they often enough are responsible for his disaster4 ,coffin ships are a direct result of the wretched policy of non-interference with the legitimate operations of commerce1 but no desire to make it pay created the ,national ,lifeboat ,institution1 no law of supply and demand actuates the volunteers who risk their lives to bring the shipwrecked to shore4 ,what we have to do is to apply the same principle to society4 ,we want a ,social ,lifeboat ,institution1 a ,social ,lifeboat ,brigade1 to snatch from the abyss those who1 if left to themselves1 will perish as miserably as the crew of a ship that founders in mid-ocean4 ,the moment that we take in hand this work we shall be compelled to turn our attention seriously to the question whether prevention is not better than cure4 ,it is easier and cheaper1 and in every way better1 to prevent the loss of home than to have to re-create that home4 ,it is better to keep a man out of the mire than to let him fall in first and then risk the chance of plucking him out4 ,any ,scheme1 therefore1 that attempts to deal with the reclamation of the lost must tend to develop into an endless variety of ameliorative measures1 of some of which ,i shall have somewhat to say hereafter4 ,i only mention the subject here in order that no one may say ,i am blind to the necessity of going further and adopting wider plans of operation than those which ,i put forward in this book4 ,the renovation of our ,social ,system is a work so vast that no one of us1 nor all of us put together1 can define all the measures that will have to be taken before we attain even the ,cab-,horse ,ideal of existence for our children and children's children4 ,all that we can do is to attack1 in a serious1 practical spirit the worst and most pressing evils1 knowing that if we do our duty we obey the voice of ,god4 ,he is the ,captain of our ,salvation4 ,if we but follow where ,he leads we shall not want for marching orders1 nor need we imagine that ,he will narrow the field of operations4 ,i am labouring under no delusions as to the possibility of inaugurating the ,millennium by any social specific4 ,in the struggle of life the weakest will go to the wall1 and there are so many weak4 ,the fittest1 in tooth and claw1 will survive4 ,all that we can do is to soften the lot of the unfit and make their suffering less horrible than it is at present4 ,no amount of assistance will give a jellyfish a backbone4 ,no outside propping will make some men stand erect4 ,all material help from without is useful only in so far as it develops moral strength within4 ,and some men seem to have lost even the very faculty of self-help4 ,there is an immense lack of common sense and of vital energy on the part of multitudes4 ,it is against ,stupidity in every shape and form that we have to wage our eternal battle4 ,but how can we wonder at the want of sense on the part of those who have had no advantages1 when we see such plentiful absence of that commodity on the part of those who have had all the advantages8 ,how can we marvel if1 after leaving generation after generation to grow up uneducated and underfed1 there should be developed a heredity of incapacity1 and that thousands of dull-witted people should be born into the world1 disinherited before their birth of their share in the average intelligence of mankind8 ,besides those who are thus hereditarily wanting in the qualities necessary to enable them to hold their own1 there are the weak1 the disabled1 the aged1 and the unskilled2 worse than all1 there is the want of character4 ,those who have the best of reputation1 if they lose their foothold on the ladder1 find it difficult enough to regain their place4 ,what1 then1 can men and women who have no character do8 ,when a master has the choice of a hundred honest men1 is it reasonable to expect that he will select a poor fellow with tarnished reputation8 ,all this is true1 and it is one of the things that makes the problem almost insoluble4 ,and insoluble it is1 ,i am absolutely convinced unless it is possible to bring new moral life into the soul of these people4 ,this should be the first object of every social reformer1 whose work will only last if it is built on the solid foundation of a new birth1 to cry ,you must be born again4 ,to get a man soundly saved it is not enough to put on him a pair of new breeches1 to give him regular work1 or even to give him a ,university education4 ,these things are all outside a man1 and if the inside remains unchanged you have wasted your labour4 ,you must in some way or other graft upon the man's nature a new nature1 which has in it the element of the ,divine4 ,all that ,i propose in this book is governed by that principle4 ,the difference between the method which seeks to regenerate the man by ameliorating his circumstances and that which ameliorates his circumstances in order to get at the regeneration of his heart1 is the difference between the method of the gardener who grafts a ,ribstone ,pippin on a crab-apple tree and one who merely ties apples with string upon the branches of the crab4 ,to change the nature of the individual1 to get at the heart1 to save his soul is the only real1 lasting method of doing him any good4 ,in many modern schemes of social regeneration it is forgotten that it takes a soul to move a body1 e'en to a cleaner sty1 and at the risk of being misunderstood and misrepresented1 ,i must assert in the most unqualified way that it is primarily and mainly for the sake of saving the soul that ,i seek the salvation of the body4 ,but what is the use of preaching the ,gospel to men whose whole attention is concentrated upon a mad1 desperate struggle to keep themselves alive8 ,you might as well give a tract to a shipwrecked sailor who is battling with the surf which has drowned his comrades and threatens to drown him4 ,he will not listen to you4 ,nay1 he cannot hear you any more than a man whose head is underwater can listen to a sermon4 ,the first thing to do is to get him at least a footing on firm ground1 and to give him room to live4 ,then you may have a chance4 ,at present you have none4 ,and you will have all the better opportunity to find a way to his heart1 if he comes to know that it was you who pulled him out of the horrible pit and the miry clay in which he was sinking to perdition4 ,,chapter #f4 ,,the ,,vicious4 ,there are many vices and seven deadly sins4 ,but of late years many of the seven have contrived to pass themselves off as virtues4 ,avarice1 for instance2 and ,pride1 when re-baptised thrift and self-respect1 have become the guardian angels of ,christian civilisation2 and as for ,envy1 it is the corner-stone upon which much of our competitive system is founded4 ,there are still two vices which are fortunate1 or unfortunate1 enough to remain undisguised1 not even concealing from themselves the fact that they are vices and not virtues4 ,one is drunkenness2 the other fornication4 ,the viciousness of these vices is so little disguised1 even from those who habitually practise them1 that there will be a protest against merely describing one of them by the right ,biblical name4 ,why not say prostitution8 ,for this reason3 prostitution is a word applied to only one half of the vice1 and that the most pitiable4 ,fornication hits both sinners alike4 ,prostitution applies only to the woman4 ,when1 however1 we cease to regard this vice from the point of view of morality and religion1 and look at it solely as a factor in the social problem1 the word prostitution is less objectionable4 ,for the social burden of this vice is borne almost entirely by women4 ,the male sinner does not1 by the mere fact of his sin1 find himself in a worse position in obtaining employment1 in finding a home1 or even in securing a wife4 ,his wrong-doing only hits him in his purse1 or1 perhaps1 in his health4 ,his incontinence1 excepting so far as it relates to the woman whose degradation it necessitates1 does not add to the number of those for whom society has to provide4 ,it is an immense addition to the infamy of this vice in man that its consequences have to be borne almost exclusively by woman4 ,the difficulty of dealing with drunkards and harlots is almost insurmountable4 ,were it not that ,i utterly repudiate as a fundamental denial of the essential principle of the ,christian religion the popular pseudo-scientific doctrine that any man or woman is past saving by the grace of ,god and the power of the ,holy ,spirit1 ,i would sometimes be disposed to despair when contemplating these victims of the ,devil4 ,the doctrine of ,heredity and the suggestion of ,irresponsibility come perilously near re-establishing1 on scientific bases1 the awful dogma of ,reprobation which has cast so terrible a shadow over the ,christian ,church4 ,for thousands upon thousands of these poor wretches are1 as ,bishop ,south truly said1 not so much born into this world as damned into it4 ,the bastard of a harlot1 born in a brothel1 suckled on gin1 and familiar from earliest infancy with all the bestialities of debauch1 violated before she is twelve1 and driven out into the streets by her mother a year or two later1 what chance is there for such a girl in this world--,i say nothing about the next8 ,yet such a case is not exceptional4 ,there are many such differing in detail1 but in essentials the same4 ,and with boys it is almost as bad4 ,there are thousands who were begotten when both parents were besotted with drink1 whose mothers saturated themselves with alcohol every day of their pregnancy1 who may be said to have sucked in a taste for strong drink with their mothers' milk1 and who were surrounded from childhood with opportunities and incitements to drink4 ,how can we marvel that the constitution thus disposed to intemperance finds the stimulus of drink indispensable8 ,even if they make a stand against it1 the increasing pressure of exhaustion and of scanty food drives them back to the cup4 ,of these poor wretches1 born slaves of the bottle1 predestined to drunkenness from their mother's womb1 there are--who can say how many8 ,yet they are all men2 all with what the ,russian peasants call a spark of ,god in them1 which can never be wholly obscured and destroyed while life exists1 and if any social scheme is to be comprehensive and practical it must deal with these men4 ,it must provide for the drunkard and the harlot as it provides for the improvident and the out-of-work4 ,but who is sufficient for these things8 ,i will take the question of the drunkard1 for the drink difficulty lies at the root of everything4 ,nine-tenths of our poverty1 squalor1 vice1 and crime spring from this poisonous tap-root4 ,many of our social evils1 which overshadow the land like so many upas trees1 would dwindle away and die if they were not constantly watered with strong drink4 ,there is universal agreement on that point2 in fact1 the agreement as to the evils of intemperance is almost as universal as the conviction that politicians will do nothing practical to interfere with them4 ,in ,ireland1 ,mr4 ,justice ,fitzgerald says that intemperance leads to nineteen-twentieths of the crime in that country1 but no one proposes a ,coercion ,act to deal with that evil4 ,in ,england1 the judges all say the same thing4 ,of course it is a mistake to assume that a murder1 for instance1 would never be committed by sober men1 because murderers in most cases prime themselves for their deadly work by a glass of ,dutch courage4 ,but the facility of securing a reinforcement of passion undoubtedly tends to render always dangerous1 and sometimes irresistible1 the temptation to violate the laws of ,god and man4 ,mere lectures against the evil habit are1 however1 of no avail4 ,we have to recognise1 that the gin-palace1 like many other evils1 although a poisonous1 is still a natural outgrowth of our social conditions4 ,the tap-room in many cases is the poor man's only parlour4 ,many a man takes to beer1 not from the love of beer1 but from a natural craving for the light1 warmth1 company1 and comfort which is thrown in along with the beer1 and which he cannot get excepting by buying beer4 ,reformers will never get rid of the drink shop until they can outbid it in the subsidiary attractions which it offers to its customers4 ,then1 again1 let us never forget that the temptation to drink is strongest when want is sharpest and misery the most acute4 ,a well-fed man is not driven to drink by the craving that torments the hungry2 and the comfortable do not crave for the boon of forgetfulness4 ,gin is the only ,lethe of the miserable4 ,the foul and poisoned air of the dens in which thousands live predisposes to a longing for stimulant4 ,fresh air1 with its oxygen and its ozone1 being lacking1 a man supplies the want with spirit4 ,after a time the longing for drink becomes a mania4 ,life seems as insupportable without alcohol as without food4 ,it is a disease often inherited1 always developed by indulgence1 but as clearly a disease as ophthalmia or stone4 ,all this should predispose us to charity and sympathy4 ,while recognising that the primary responsibility must always rest upon the individual1 we may fairly insist that society1 which1 by its habits1 its customs1 and its laws1 has greased the slope down which these poor creatures slide to perdition1 shall seriously take in hand their salvation4 ,how many are there who are1 more or less1 under the dominion of strong drink8 ,statistics abound1 but they seldom tell us what we want to know4 ,we know how many public-houses there are in the land1 and how many arrests for drunkenness the police make in a year2 but beyond that we know little4 ,everyone knows that for one man who is arrested for drunkenness there are at least ten and often twenty--who go home intoxicated4 ,in ,london1 for instance1 there are #ad1jjj drink shops1 and every year #bj1jjj persons are arrested for drunkenness4 ,but who can for a moment believe that there are only #bj1jjj1 more or less1 habitual drunkards in ,london8 ,by habitual drunkard ,i do not mean one who is always drunk1 but one who is so much under the dominion of the evil habit that he cannot be depended upon not to get drunk whenever the opportunity offers4 ,in the ,united ,kingdom there are #aij1jjj public-houses1 and every year there are #bjj1jjj arrests for drunkenness4 ,of course1 several of these arrests refer to the same person1 who is locked up again and again4 ,were this not so1 if we allowed six drunkards to each house as an average1 or five habitual drunkards for one arrested for drunkenness1 we should arrive at a total of a million adults who are more or less prisoners of the publican--as a matter of fact1 ,isaac ,hoyle gives #a in #ab of the adult population4 ,this may be an excessive estimate1 but1 if we take half of a million1 we shall not be accused of exaggeration4 ,of these some are in the last stage of confirmed dipsomania2 others are but over the verge2 but the procession tends ever downwards4 ,the loss which the maintenance of this huge standing army of a half of a million of men who are more or less always besotted men whose intemperance impairs their working power1 consumes their earnings1 and renders their homes wretched1 has long been a familiar theme of the platform4 ,but what can be done for them8 ,total abstinence is no doubt admirable1 but how are you to get them to be totally abstinent8 ,when a man is drowning in mid-ocean the one thing that is needful1 no doubt1 is that he should plant his feet firmly on terra firma4 ,but how is he to get there8 ,it is just what he cannot do4 ,and so it is with the drunkards4 ,if they are to be rescued there must be something more done for them than at present is attempted1 unless1 of course1 we decide definitely to allow the iron laws of nature to work themselves out in their destruction4 ,in that case it might be more merciful to facilitate the slow workings of natural law4 ,there is no need of establishing a lethal chamber for drunkards like that into which the lost dogs of ,london are driven1 to die in peaceful sleep under the influence of carbonic oxide4 ,the ,state would only need to go a little further than it goes at present in the way of supplying poison to the community4 ,if1 in addition to planting a flaming gin palace at each corner1 free to all who enter1 it were to supply free gin to all who have attained a certain recognised standard of inebriety1 delirium tremens would soon reduce our drunken population to manageable proportions4 ,i can imagine a cynical millionaire of the scientific philanthropic school making a clearance of all the drunkards in a district by the simple expedient of an unlimited allowance of alcohol4 ,but that for us is out of the question4 ,the problem of what to do with our half of a million drunkards remains to be solved1 and few more difficult questions confront the social reformer4 ,the question of the harlots is1 however1 quite as insoluble by the ordinary methods4 ,for these unfortunates no one who looks below the surface can fail to have the deepest sympathy4 ,some there are1 no doubt1 perhaps many1 who--whether from inherited passion or from evil education--have deliberately embarked upon a life of vice1 but with the majority it is not so4 ,even those who deliberately and of free choice adopt the profession of a prostitute1 do so under the stress of temptations which few moralists seem to realise4 ,terrible as the fact is1 there is no doubt it is a fact that there is no industrial career in which for a short time a beautiful girl can make as much money with as little trouble as the profession of a courtesan4 ,the case recently tried at the ,lewes assizes1 in which the wife of an officer in the army admitted that while living as a kept mistress she had received as much as #d1jjj a year1 was no doubt very exceptional4 ,even the most successful adventuresses seldom make the income of a ,cabinet ,minister4 ,but take women in professions and in businesses all round1 and the number of young women who have received #ejj in one year for the sale of their person is larger than the number of women of all ages who make a similar sum by honest industry4 ,it is only the very few who draw these gilded prizes1 and they only do it for a very short time4 ,but it is the few prizes in every profession which allure the multitude1 who think little of the many blanks4 ,and speaking broadly1 vice offers to every good-looking girl during the first bloom of her youth and beauty more money than she can earn by labour in any field of industry open to her sex4 ,the penalty exacted afterwards is disease1 degradation and death1 but these things at first are hidden from her sight4 ,the profession of a prostitute is the only career in which the maximum income is paid to the newest apprentice4 ,it is the one calling in which at the beginning the only exertion is that of self-indulgence2 all the prizes are at the commencement4 ,it is the ever new embodiment of the old fable of the sale of the soul to the ,devil4 ,the tempter offers wealth1 comfort1 excitement1 but in return the victim must sell her soul1 nor does the other party forget to exact his due to the uttermost farthing4 ,human nature1 however1 is short-sighted4 ,giddy girls1 chafing against the restraints of uncongenial industry1 see the glittering bait continually before them4 ,they are told that if they will but do as others do they will make more in a night1 if they are lucky1 than they can make in a week at their sewing2 and who can wonder that in many cases the irrevocable step is taken before they realise that it is irrevocable1 and that they have bartered away the future of their lives for the paltry chance of a year's ill-gotten gains8 ,of the severity of the punishment there can be no question4 ,if the premium is high at the beginning1 the penalty is terrible at the close4 ,and this penalty is exacted equally from those who have deliberately said1 ,evil1 be thou my ,good1 and for those who have been decoyed1 snared1 trapped into the life which is a living death4 ,when you see a girl on the street you can never say without enquiry whether she is one of the most-to-be condemned1 or the most-to-be pitied of her sex4 ,many of them find themselves where they are because of a too trusting disposition1 confidence born of innocence being often the unsuspecting ally of the procuress and seducer4 ,others are as much the innocent victims of crime as if they had been stabbed or maimed by the dagger of the assassin4 ,the records of our ,rescue ,homes abound with life-stories1 some of which we have been able to verify to the letter --which prove only too conclusively the existence of numbers of innocent victims whose entry upon this dismal life can in no way be attributed to any act of their own will4 ,many are orphans or the children of depraved mothers1 whose one idea of a daughter is to make money out of her prostitution4 ,here are a few cases on our register3 -- ,e4 ,c41 aged #ah1 a soldier's child1 born on the sea4 ,her father died1 and her mother1 a thoroughly depraved woman1 assisted to secure her daughter's prostitution4 ,p4 ,s41 aged #bj1 illegitimate child4 ,went to consult a doctor one time about some ailment4 ,the doctor abused his position and took advantage of his patient1 and when she complained1 gave her #d as compensation4 ,when that was spent1 having lost her character1 she came on the town4 ,we looked the doctor up1 and he fled4 ,e4 ,a41 aged #ag1 was left an orphan very early in life1 and adopted by her godfather1 who himself was the means of her ruin at the age of #aj4 ,a girl in her teens lived with her mother in the ,dusthole1 the lowest part of ,woolwich4 ,this woman forced her out upon the streets1 and profited by her prostitution up to the very night of her confinement4 ,the mother had all the time been the receiver of the gains4 ,e41 neither father nor mother1 was taken care of by a grandmother till1 at an early age1 accounted old enough4 ,married a soldier2 but shortly before the birth of her first child1 found that her deceiver had a wife and family in a distant part of the country1 and she was soon left friendless and alone4 ,she sought an asylum in the ,workhouse for a few weeks' after which she vainly tried to get honest employment4 ,failing that1 and being on the very verge of starvation1 she entered a lodging-house in ,westminster and did as other girls4 ,here our lieutenant found and persuaded her to leave and enter one of our ,homes1 where she soon gave abundant proof of her conversion by a thoroughly changed life4 ,she is now a faithful and trusted servant in a clergyman's family4 ,a girl was some time ago discharged from a city hospital after an illness4 ,she was homeless and friendless1 an orphan1 and obliged to work for her living4 ,walking down the street and wondering what she should do next1 she met a girl1 who came up to her in a most friendly fashion and speedily won her confidence4 ,discharged ill1 and nowhere to go1 are you8 said her new friend4 ,well1 come home to my mother's2 she will lodge you1 and we'll go to work together1 when you are quite strong4 ,the girl consented gladly1 but found herself conducted to the very lowest part of ,woolwich and ushered into a brothel2 there was no mother in the case4 ,she was hoaxed1 and powerless to resist4 ,her protestations were too late to save her1 and having had her character forced from her she became hopeless1 and stayed on to live the life of her false friend4 ,there is no need for me to go into the details of the way in which men and women1 whose whole livelihood depends upon their success in disarming the suspicions of their victims and luring them to their doom1 contrive to overcome the reluctance of the young girl without parents1 friends1 or helpers to enter their toils4 ,what fraud fails to accomplish1 a little force succeeds in effecting2 and a girl who has been guilty of nothing but imprudence finds herself an outcast for life4 ,the very innocence of a girl tells against her4 ,a woman of the world1 once entrapped1 would have all her wits about her to extricate herself from the position in which she found herself4 ,a perfectly virtuous girl is often so overcome with shame and horror that there seems nothing in life worth struggling for4 ,she accepts her doom without further struggle1 and treads the long and torturing path-way of the streets to the grave4 ,judge not1 that ye be not judged is a saying that applies most appropriately of all to these unfortunates4 ,many of them would have escaped their evil fate had they been less innocent4 ,they are where they are because they loved too utterly to calculate consequences1 and trusted too absolutely to dare to suspect evil4 ,and others are there because of the false education which confounds ignorance with virtue1 and throws our young people into the midst of a great city1 with all its excitements and all its temptations1 without more preparation or warning than if they were going to live in the ,garden of ,eden4 ,whatever sin they have committed1 a terrible penalty is exacted4 ,while the man who caused their ruin passes as a respectable member of society1 to whom virtuous matrons gladly marry--if he is rich-- their maiden daughters1 they are crushed beneath the millstone of social excommunication4 ,here let me quote from a report made to me by the head of our ,rescue ,homes as to the actual life of these unfortunates4 ,the following hundred cases are taken as they come from our ,rescue ,register4 ,the statements are those of the girls themselves4 ,they are certainly frank1 and it will be noticed that only two out of the hundred allege that they took to the life out of poverty3 -- ,,cause ,,of ,,fall4 ,drink 44 44 44 #ad ,seduction 44 44 #cc ,wilful choice 44 44 #bd ,bad company 44 44 #bg ,poverty 44 44 44 #b ---- ,total #ajj ,,condition ,,when ,,applying4 ,rags44 44 44 #be ,destitution 44 #bg ,decently dressed #dh ---- ,total #ajj ,out of these girls twenty-three have been in prison4 ,the girls suffer so much that the shortness of their miserable life is the only redeeming feature4 ,whether we look at the wretchedness of the life itself2 their perpetual intoxication2 the cruel treatment to which they are subjected by their task-masters and mistresses or bullies2 the hopelessness1 suffering and despair induced by their circumstances and surroundings2 the depths of misery1 degradation and poverty to which they eventually descend2 or their treatment in sickness1 their friendlessness and loneliness in death1 it must be admitted that a more dismal lot seldom falls to the fate of a human being4 ,i will take each of these in turn4 ,,health4--,this life induces insanity1 rheumatism1 consumption1 and all forms of syphilis4 ,rheumatism and gout are the commonest of these evils4 ,some were quite crippled by both--young though they were4 ,consumption sows its seeds broadcast4 ,the life is a hot-bed for the development of any constitutional and hereditary germs of the disease4 ,we have found girls in ,piccadilly at midnight who are continually prostrated by haemorrhage1 yet who have no other way of life open1 so struggle on in this awful manner between whiles4 ,,drink4--,this is an inevitable part of the business4 ,all ,confess that they could never lead their miserable lives if it were not for its influence4 ,a girl1 who was educated at college1 and who had a home in which was every comfort1 but who1 when ruined1 had fallen even to the depth of ,woolwich ,dusthole1 exclaimed to us indignantly--,do you think ,i could ever1 ever do this if it weren't for the drink8 ,i always have to be in drink if ,i want to sin4 ,no girl has ever come into our ,homes front street-life but has been more or less a prey to drink4 ,,cruel ,,treatment4--,the devotion of these women to their bullies is as remarkable as the brutality of their bullies is abominable4 ,probably the primary cause of the fall of numberless girls of the lower class1 is their great aspiration to the dignity of wifehood2--they are never somebody until they are married1 and will link themselves to any creature1 no matter how debased1 in the hope of being ultimately married by him4 ,this consideration1 in addition to their helpless condition when once character has gone1 makes them suffer cruelties which they would never otherwise endure from the men with whom large numbers of them live4 ,one case in illustration of this is that of a girl who was once a respectable servant1 the daughter of a police sergeant4 ,she was ruined1 and shame led her to leave home4 ,at length she drifted to ,woolwich1 where she came across a man who persuaded her to live with him1 and for a considerable length of time she kept him1 although his conduct to her was brutal in the extreme4 ,the girl living in the next room to her has frequently heard him knock her head against the wall1 and pound it1 when he was out of temper1 through her gains of prostitution being less than usual4 ,he lavished upon her every sort of cruelty and abuse1 and at length she grew so wretched1 and was reduced to so dreadful a plight1 that she ceased to attract4 ,at this he became furious1 and pawned all her clothing but one thin garment of rags4 ,the week before her first confinement he kicked her black and blue from neck to knees1 and she was carried to the police station in a pool of blood1 but2 she was so loyal to the wretch that she refused to appear against him4 ,she was going to drown herself in desperation1 when our ,rescue ,officers spoke to her1 wrapped their own shawl around her shivering shoulders1 took her home with them1 and cared for her4 ,the baby was born dead-- a tiny1 shapeless mass4 ,this state of things is all too common4 ,,hopelessness--,,surroundings4--,the state of hopelessness and despair in which these girls live continually1 makes them reckless of consequences1 and large numbers commit suicide who are never heard of4 ,a ,west ,end policeman assured us that the number of prostitute-suicides was terribly in advance of anything guessed at by the public4 ,,depths ,,to ,,which ,,they ,,sink4--,there is ,scarcely a lower class of girls to be found than the girls of ,woolwich ,dusthole--where one of our ,rescue ,slum ,homes is established4 ,the women living and following their dreadful business in this neighbourhood are so degraded that even abandoned men will refuse to accompany them home4 ,soldiers are forbidden to enter the place1 or to go down the street1 on pain of twenty-five days' imprisonment2 pickets are stationed at either end to prevent this4 ,the streets are much cleaner than many of the rooms we have seen4 ,one public house there is shut up three or four times in a day sometimes for fear of losing the licence through the terrible brawls which take place within4 ,a policeman never goes down this street alone at night--one having died not long ago from injuries received there --but our two lasses go unharmed and loved at all hours1 spending every other night always upon the streets4 ,the girls sink to the ,dusthole after coming down several grades4 ,there is but one on record who came there with beautiful clothes1 and this poor girl1 when last seen by the officers1 was a pauper in the workhouse infirmary in a wretched condition4 ,the lowest class of all is the girls who stand at the pier-head--these sell themselves literally for a bare crust of bread and sleep in the streets4 ,filth and vermin abound to an extent to which no one who has not seen it can have any idea4 ,the ,dusthole is only one1 alas of many similar districts in this highly civilised land4 ,,sickness1 ,,friendlessness--,,death4--,in hospitals it is a known fact that these girls are not treated at all like other cases2 they inspire disgust1 and are most frequently discharged before being really cured4 ,scorned by their relations1 and ashamed to make their case known even to those who would help them1 unable longer to struggle out on the streets to earn the bread of shame1 there are girls lying in many a dark hole in this big city positively rotting away1 and maintained by their old companions on the streets4 ,many are totally friendless1 utterly cast out and left to perish by relatives and friends4 ,one of this class came to us1 sickened and died1 and we buried her1 being her only followers to the grave4 ,it is a sad story1 but one that must not be forgotten1 for these women constitute a large standing army whose numbers no one can calculate4 ,all estimates that ,i have seem purely imaginary4 ,the ordinary figure given for ,london is from #fj1jjj to #hj1jjj4 ,this maybe true if it is meant to include all habitually unchaste women4 ,it is a monstrous exaggeration if it is meant to apply to those who make their living solely and habitually by prostitution4 ,these figures1 however1 only confuse4 ,we shall have to deal with hundreds every month1 whatever estimate we take4 ,how utterly unprepared society is for any such systematic reformation may be seen from the fact that even now at our ,homes we are unable to take in all the girls who apply4 ,they cannot escape1 even if they would1 for want of funds whereby to provide them a way of release4 ,,chapter #g4 ,,the ,,criminals4 ,one very important section of the denizens of ,darkest ,england are the criminals and the semi-criminals4 ,they are more or less predatory1 and are at present shepherded by the police and punished by the gaoler4 ,their numbers cannot be ascertained with very great precision1 but the following figures are taken from the prison returns of #ahhi3 -- ,the criminal classes of ,great ,britain1 in round figures1 sum up a total of no less than #ij1jjj persons1 made up as follows3 -- ,convict prisons contain44 44 44 44 44 44 #aa1ffj persons ,local prisons contain44 44 44 44 44 44 #bj1hhc 11 ,reformatories for children convicted of crime 44 #a1bgj 11 ,industrial schools for vagrant and refractory children 44 44 44 44 44 #ba1dac 11 ,criminal lunatics under restraint44 44 44 44 #iaj 11 ,known thieves at large 44 44 44 44 44 44 #ad1gdg 11 ,known receivers of stolen goods 44 44 44 44 #a1aba 11 ,suspected persons 44 44 44 44 44 44 44 #ag1jdb 11 ------- ,total #hi1jdf ------- ,the above does not include the great army of known prostitutes1 nor the keepers and owners of brothels and disorderly houses1 as to whose numbers ,government is rigidly silent4 ,these figures are1 however1 misleading4 ,they only represent the criminals actually in gaol on a given day4 ,the average gaol population in ,england and ,wales1 excluding the convict establishments1 was1 in #ahhi1 #ae1aai but the total number actually sentenced and imprisoned in local prisons was #aec1jjj1 of whom #be1jjj only came on first term sentences2 #gf1cjj of them had been convicted at least #aj times4 ,but even if we suppose that the criminal class numbers no more than #ij1jjj1 of whom only #ce1jjj persons are at large1 it is still a large enough section of humanity to compel attention4 #ij1jjj criminals represents a wreckage whose cost to the community is very imperfectly estimated when we add up the cost of the prisons1 even if we add to them the whole cost of the police4 ,the police have so many other duties besides the shepherding of criminals that it is unfair to saddle the latter with the whole of the cost of the constabulary4 ,the cost of prosecution and maintenance of criminals1 and the expense of the police involves an annual outlay of #d1dcg1jjj4 ,this1 however1 is small compared with the tax and toll which this predatory horde inflicts upon the community on which it is quartered4 ,to the loss caused by the actual picking and stealing must be added that of the unproductive labour of nearly #fe1jjj adults4 ,dependent upon these criminal adults must be at least twice as many women and children1 so that it is probably an under-estimate to say that this list of criminals and semi-criminals represents a population of at least #bjj1jjj1 who all live more or less at the expense of society4 ,every year1 in the ,metropolitan district alone1 #ff1ajj persons are arrested1 of whom #ddd are arrested for trying to commit suicide--life having become too unbearable a burden4 ,this immense population is partially1 no doubt1 bred to prison1 the same as other people are bred to the army and to the bar4 ,the hereditary criminal is by no means confined to ,india1 although it is only in that country that they have the engaging simplicity to describe themselves frankly in the census returns4 ,but it is recruited constantly from the outside4 ,in many cases this is due to sheer starvation4 ,fathers of the ,church have laid down the law that a man who is in peril of death from hunger is entitled to take bread wherever he can find it to keep body and soul together4 ,that proposition is not embodied in our jurisprudence4 ,absolute despair drives many a man into the ranks of the criminal class1 who would never have fallen into the category of criminal convicts if adequate provision had been made for the rescue of those drifting to doom4 ,when once he has fallen1 circumstances seem to combine to keep him there4 ,as wounded and sickly stags are gored to death by their fellows1 so the unfortunate who bears the prison brand is hunted from pillar to post1 until he despairs of ever regaining his position1 and oscillates between one prison and another for the rest of his days4 ,i gave in a preceding page an account of how a man1 after trying in vain to get work1 fell before the temptation to steal in order to escape starvation4 ,here is the sequel of that man's story4 ,after he had stolen he ran away1 and thus describes his experiences3 -- ,to fly was easy4 ,to get away from the scene required very little ingenuity1 but the getting away from one suffering brought another4 ,a straight look from a stranger2 a quick step behind me1 sent a chill through every nerve4 ,the cravings of hunger had been satisfied1 but it was the cravings of conscience that were clamorous now4 ,it was easy to get away from the earthly consequences of sin1 but from the fact-- never4 ,and yet it was the compulsion of circumstances that made me a criminal4 ,it was neither from inward viciousness or choice1 and how bitterly did ,i cast reproach on society for allowing such an alternative to offer itself--'to ,steal or ,starve1' but there was another alternative that here offered itself--either give myself up1 or go on with the life of crime4 ,i chose the former4 ,i had travelled over #ajj miles to get away from the scene of my theft1 and ,i now find myself outside the station house at a place where ,i had put in my boyhood days4 ,how many times when a lad1 with wondering eyes1 and a heart stirred with childhood's pure sympathy1 ,i had watched the poor waifs from time to time led within its doors4 ,it was my turn now4 ,i entered the charge room1 and with business-like precision disclosed my errand1 viz4 that ,i wished to surrender myself for having committed a felony4 ,my story was doubted4 ,question followed question1 and confirmation must be waited4 ',why had ,i surrendered8' ',i was a rum'un4' ',cracked4' ',more fool than rogue4' ',he will be sorry when he mounts the wheel4' ,these and such like remarks were handed round concerning me4 ,an hour passed by4 ,an inspector enters1 and announces the receipt of a telegram4 ',it is all right4 ,you can put him down4' ,and turning to me1 he said1 ',they will send for you on ,monday1' and then ,i passed into the inner ward1 and a cell4 ,the door closed with a harsh1 grating clang1 and ,i was left to face the most clamorous accuser of all-- my own interior self' ,monday morning1 the door opened1 and a complacent detective stood before me4 ,who can tell the feeling as the handcuffs closed round my wrists1 and we started for town4 ,as again the charge was entered1 and the passing of another night in the cell2 then the morning of the day arrived4 ,the gruff1 harsh ',come on' of the gaoler roused me1 and the next moment ,i found myself in the prison van1 gazing through the crevices of the floor1 watching the stones flying as it were from beneath our feet4 ,soon the court-house was reached1 and hustled into a common cell1 ,i found myself amongst a crowd of boys and men1 all bound for the 'dock4' ,one by one the names are called1 and the crowd is gradually thinning down1 when the announcement of my own name fell on my startled ear1 and ,i found myself stumbling up the stairs1 and finding myself in daylight and the 'dock4' ,what a terrible ordeal it was4 ,the ceremony was brief enough2 ',have you anything to say8' ',don't interrupt his ,worship2 prisoner6' ',give over talking6' ',a month's hard labour4' ,this is about all ,i heard1 or at any rate realised1 until a vigorous push landed me into the presence of the officer who booked the sentence1 and then off ,i went to gaol4 ,i need not linger over the formalities of the reception4 ,a nightmare seemed to have settled upon me as ,i passed into the interior of the correctional4 ,i resigned my name1 and ,i seemed to die to myself for henceforth4 #ccb;,b disclosed my identity to myself and others4 ,through all the weeks that followed ,i was like one in a dream4 ,meal times1 resting hours1 as did every other thing1 came with clock-like precision4 ,at times ,i thought my mind had gone--so dull1 so callous1 so weary appeared the organs of the brain4 ,the harsh orders of the gaolers2 the droning of the chaplain in the chapel2 the enquiries of the chief warder or the governor in their periodical visits1--all seemed so meaningless4 ,as the day of my liberation drew near1 the horrid conviction that circumstances would perhaps compel me to return to prison haunted me1 and so helpless did ,i feel at the prospects that awaited me outside1 that ,i dreaded release1 which seemed but the facing of an unsympathetic world4 ,the day arrived1 and1 strange as it may sound1 it was with regret that ,i left my cell4 ,it had become my home1 and no home waited me outside4 ,how utterly crushed ,i felt2 feelings of companionship had gone out to my unfortunate fellow-prisoners1 whom ,i had seen daily1 but the sound of whose voices ,i had never heard1 whilst outside friendships were dead1 and companionships were for ever broken1 and ,i felt as an outcast of society1 with the mark of 'gaol bird' upon me1 that ,i must cover my face1 and stand aside and cry 'unclean4' ,such were my feelings4 ,the morning of discharge came1 and ,i am once more on the streets4 ,my scanty means scarcely sufficient for two days' least needs4 ,could ,i brace myself to make another honest endeavour to start afresh8 ,try1 indeed1 ,i did4 ,i fell back upon my antecedents1 and tried to cut the dark passage out of my life1 but straight came the questions to me at each application for employment1 ',what have you been doing lately8' ',where have you been living8' ,if ,i evaded the question it caused doubt2 if ,i answered1 the only answer ,i could give was 'in gaol1' and that settled my chances4 ,what a comedy1 after all1 it appeared4 ,i remember the last words of the chaplain before leaving the prison1 cold and precise in their officialism3 ',mind you never come back here again1 young man4' ,and now1 as though in response to my earnest effort to keep from going to prison1 society1 by its actions1 cried out1 ',go back to gaol4 ,there are honest men enough to do our work without such as you4' ,imagine1 if you can1 my condition4 ,at the end of a few days1 black despair had wrapt itself around every faculty of mind and body4 ,then followed several days and nights with scarcely a bit of food or a resting-place4 ,i prowled the streets like a dog1 with this difference1 that the dog has the chance of helping himself1 and ,i had not4 ,i tried to forecast how long starvation's fingers would be in closing round the throat they already gripped4 ,so indifferent was ,i alike to man or ,god1 as ,i waited for the end4 ,in this dire extremity the writer found his way to one of our ,shelters1 and there found ,god and friends and hope1 and once more got his feet on to the ladder which leads upward from the black gulf of starvation to competence and character1 and usefulness and heaven4 ,as he was then1 however1 there are hundreds--nay1 thousands--now4 ,who will give these men a helping hand8 ,what is to be done with them8 ,would it not be more merciful to kill them off at once instead of sternly crushing them out of all semblance of honest manhood8 ,society recoils from such a short cut4 ,her virtuous scruples reminds me of the subterfuge by which ,english law evaded the veto on torture4 ,torture was forbidden1 but the custom of placing an obstinate witness under a press and slowly crushing him within a hairbreadth of death was legalised and practised4 ,so it is to-day4 ,when the criminal comes out of gaol the whole world is often but a press whose punishment is sharp and cruel indeed4 ,nor can the victim escape even if he opens his mouth and speaks4 ,,chapter #h4 ,,the ,,children ,,of ,,the ,,lost4 ,whatever may be thought of the possibility of doing anything with the adults1 it is universally admitted that there is hope for the children4 ,i regard the existing generation as lost1 said a leading ,liberal statesman4 ,nothing can be done with men and women who have grown up under the present demoralising conditions4 ,my only hope is that the children may have a better chance4 ,education will do much4 ,but unfortunately the demoralising circumstances of the children are not being improved--are1 indeed1 rather1 in many respects1 being made worse4 ,the deterioration of our population in large towns is one of the most undisputed facts of social economics4 ,the country is the breeding ground of healthy citizens4 ,but for the constant influx of ,countrydom1 ,cockneydom would long ere this have perished4 ,but unfortunately the country is being depopulated4 ,the towns1 ,london especially1 are being gorged with undigested and indigestible masses of labour1 and1 as the result1 the children suffer grievously4 ,the town-bred child is at a thousand disadvantages compared with his cousin in the country4 ,but every year there are more town-bred children and fewer cousins in the country4 ,to rear healthy children you want first a home2 secondly1 milk2 thirdly1 fresh air2 and fourthly1 exercise under the green trees and blue sky4 ,all these things every country labourer's child possesses1 or used to possess4 ,for the shadow of the ,city life lies now upon the fields1 and even in the remotest rural district the labourer who tends the cows is often denied the milk which his children need4 ,the regular demand of the great towns forestalls the claims of the labouring hind4 ,tea and slops and beer take the place of milk1 and the bone and sinew of the next generation are sapped from the cradle4 ,but the country child1 if he has nothing but skim milk1 and only a little of that1 has at least plenty of exercise in the fresh air4 ,he has healthy human relations with his neighbours4 ,he is looked after1 and in some sort of fashion brought into contact with the life of the hall1 the vicarage1 and the farm4 ,he lives a natural life amid the birds and trees and growing crops and the animals of the fields4 ,he is not a mere human ant1 crawling on the granite pavement of a great urban ants' nest1 with an unnaturally developed nervous system and a sickly constitution4 ,but1 it will be said1 the child of to-day has the inestimable advantage of ,education4 ,no2 he has not4 ,educated the children are not4 ,they are pressed through standards1 which exact a certain acquaintance with ,a ,b ,c and pothooks and figures1 but educated they are not in the sense of the development of their latent capacities so as to make them capable for the discharge of their duties in life4 ,the new generation can read1 no doubt4 ,otherwise1 where would be the sale of ,sixteen ,string ,jack1 ,dick ,turpin1 and the like8 ,but take the girls4 ,who can pretend that the girls whom our schools are now turning out are half as well educated for the work of life as their grandmothers were at the same age8 ,how many of all these mothers of the future know how to bake a loaf or wash their clothes8 ,except minding the baby--a task that cannot be evaded--what domestic training have they received to qualify them for being in the future the mothers of babies themselves8 ,and even the schooling1 such as it is1 at what an expense is it often imparted6 ,the rakings of the human cesspool are brought into the school-room and mixed up with your children4 ,your little ones1 who never heard a foul word and who are not only innocent1 but ignorant1 of all the horrors of vice and sin1 sit for hours side by side with little ones whose parents are habitually drunk1 and play with others whose ideas of merriment are gained from the familiar spectacle of the nightly debauch by which their mothers earn the family bread4 ,it is good1 no doubt1 to learn the ,,abc1 but it is not so good that in acquiring these indispensable rudiments1 your children should also acquire the vocabulary of the harlot and the corner boy4 ,i speak only of what ,i know1 and of that which has been brought home to me as a matter of repeated complaint by my ,officers1 when ,i say that the obscenity of the talk of many of the children of some of our public schools could hardly be outdone even in ,sodom and ,gomorrha4 ,childish innocence is very beautiful2 but the bloom is soon destroyed1 and it is a cruel awakening for a mother to discover that her tenderly nurtured boy1 or her carefully guarded daughter1 has been initiated by a companion into the mysteries of abomination that are concealed in the phrase--a house of ill-fame4 ,the home is largely destroyed where the mother follows the father into the factory1 and where the hours of labour are so long that they have no time to see their children4 ,the omnibus drivers of ,london1 for instance1 what time have they for discharging the daily duties of parentage to their little ones8 ,how can a man who is on his omnibus from fourteen to sixteen hours a day have time to be a father to his children in any sense of the word8 ,he has hardly a chance to see them except when they are asleep4 ,even the ,sabbath1 that blessed institution which is one of the sheet anchors of human existence1 is encroached upon4 ,many of the new industries which have been started or developed since ,i was a boy ignore man's need of one day's rest in seven4 ,the railway1 the post-office1 the tramway all compel some of their employes to be content with less than the divinely appointed minimum of leisure4 ,in the country darkness restores the labouring father to his little ones4 ,in the town gas and the electric light enables the employer to rob the children of the whole of their father's waking hours1 and in some cases he takes the mother's also4 ,under some of the conditions of modern industry1 children are not so much born into a home as they are spawned into the world like fish1 with the results which we see4 ,the decline of natural affection follows inevitably from the substitution of the fish relationship for that of the human4 ,a father who never dandles his child on his knee cannot have a very keen sense of the responsibilities of paternity4 ,in the rush and pressure of our competitive ,city life1 thousands of men have not time to be fathers4 ,sires1 yes2 fathers1 no4 ,it will take a good deal of schoolmaster to make up for that change4 ,if this be the case1 even with the children constantly employed1 it can be imagined what kind of a home life is possessed by the children of the tramp1 the odd jobber1 the thief1 and the harlot4 ,for all these people have children1 although they have no homes in which to rear them4 ,not a bird in all the woods or fields but prepares some kind of a nest in which to hatch and rear its young1 even if it be but a hole in the sand or a few crossed sticks in the bush4 ,but how many young ones amongst our people are hatched before any nest is ready to receive them8 ,think of the multitudes of children born in our workhouses1 children of whom it may be said they are conceived in sin and shapen in iniquity1 and1 as a punishment of the sins of the parents1 branded from birth as bastards1 worse than fatherless1 homeless1 and friendless1 damned into an evil world1 in which even those who have all the advantages of a good parentage and a careful training find it hard enough to make their way4 ,sometimes1 it is true1 the passionate love of the deserted mother for the child which has been the visible symbol and the terrible result of her undoing stands between the little one and all its enemies4 ,but think how often the mother regards the advent of her child with loathing and horror2 how the discovery that she is about to become a mother affects her like a nightmare2 and how nothing but the dread of the hangman's rope keeps her from strangling the babe on the very hour of its birth4 ,what chances has such a child8 ,and there are many such4 ,in a certain country that ,i will not name there exists a scientifically arranged system of infanticide cloaked under the garb of philanthropy4 ,gigantic foundling establishments exist in its principal cities1 where every comfort and scientific improvement is provided for the deserted children1 with the result that one-half of them die4 ,the mothers are spared the crime4 ,the ,state assumes the responsibility4 ,we do something like that here1 but our foundling asylums are the ,street1 the ,workhouse1 and the ,grave4 ,when an ,english ,judge tells us1 as ,mr4 ,justice ,wills did the other day1 that there were any number of parents who would kill their children for a few pounds' insurance money1 we can form some idea of the horrors of the existence into which many of the children of this highly favoured land are ushered at their birth4 ,the overcrowded homes of the poor compel the children to witness everything4 ,sexual morality often comes to have no meaning to them4 ,incest is so familiar as hardly to call for remark4 ,the bitter poverty of the poor compels them to leave their children half fed4 ,there are few more grotesque pictures in the history of civilisation than that of the compulsory attendance of children at school1 faint with hunger because they had no breakfast1 and not sure whether they would even secure a dry crust for dinner when their morning's quantum of education had been duly imparted4 ,children thus hungered1 thus housed1 and thus left to grow up as best they can without being fathered or mothered1 are not1 educate them as you will1 exactly the most promising material for the making of the future citizens and rulers of the ,empire4 ,what1 then1 is the ground for hope that if we leave things alone the new generation will be better than their elders8 ,to me it seems that the truth is rather the other way4 ,the lawlessness of our lads the increased license of our girls1 the general shiftlessness from the home-making point of view of the product of our factories and schools are far from reassuring4 ,our young people have never learned to obey4 ,the fighting gangs of half-grown lads in ,lisson ,grove1 and the scuttlers of ,manchester are ugly symptoms of a social condition that will not grow better by being left alone4 ,it is the home that has been destroyed1 and with the home the home-like virtues4 ,it is the dis-homed multitude1 nomadic1 hungry that is rearing an undisciplined population1 cursed from birth with hereditary weakness of body and hereditary faults of character4 ,it is idle to hope to mend matters by taking the children and bundling them up in barracks4 ,a child brought up in an institution is too often only half-human1 having never known a mother's love and a father's care4 ,to men and women who are without homes children must be more or less of an incumbrance4 ,their advent is regarded with impatience1 and often it is averted by crime4 ,the unwelcome little stranger is badly cared for1 badly fed1 and allowed every chance to die4 ,nothing is worth doing to increase his chances of living that does not ,reconstitute the ,home4 ,but between us and that ideal how vast is the gulf6 ,it will have to be bridged1 however1 if anything practical is to be done4 ,,chapter #i4 ,,is ,,there ,,no ,,help8 ,it may be said by those who have followed me to this point that while it is quite true that there are many who are out of work1 and not less true that there are many who sleep on the ,embankment and elsewhere1 the law has provided a remedy1 or if not a remedy1 at least a method1 of dealing with these sufferers which is sufficient3 ,the ,secretary of the ,charity ,organisation ,society assured one of my ,officers1 who went to inquire for his opinion on the subject1 that no further machinery was necessary4 ,all that was needed in this direction they already had in working order1 and to create any further machinery would do more harm than good4 ,now1 what is the existing machinery by which ,society1 whether through the organisation of the ,state1 or by individual endeavour1 attempts to deal with the submerged residuum8 ,i had intended at one time to have devoted considerable space to the description of the existing agencies1 together with certain observations which have been forcibly impressed upon my mind as to their failure and its cause4 ,the necessity1 however1 of subordinating everything to the supreme purpose of this book1 which is to endeavour to show how light can be let into the heart of ,darkest ,england1 compels me to pass rapidly over this department of the subject1 merely glancing as ,i go at the well-meaning1 but more or less abortive1 attempts to cope with this great and appalling evil4 ,the first place must naturally be given to the administration of the ,poor ,law4 ,legally the ,state accepts the responsibility of providing food and shelter for every man1 woman1 or child who is utterly destitute4 ,this responsibility it1 however1 practically shirks by the imposition of conditions on the claimants of relief that are hateful and repulsive1 if not impossible4 ,as to the method of ,poor ,law administration in dealing with inmates of workhouses or in the distribution of outdoor relief1 ,i say nothing4 ,both of these raise great questions which lie outside my immediate purpose4 ,all that ,i need to do is to indicate the limitations--it may be the necessary limitations--under which the ,poor ,law operates4 ,no ,englishman can come upon the rates so long as he has anything whatever left to call his own4 ,when long-continued destitution has been carried on to the bitter end1 when piece by piece every article of domestic furniture has been sold or pawned1 when all efforts to procure employment have failed1 and when you have nothing left except the clothes in which you stand1 then you can present yourself before the relieving officer and secure your lodging in the workhouse1 the administration of which varies infinitely according to the disposition of the ,board of ,guardians under whose control it happens to be4 ,if1 however1 you have not sunk to such despair as to be willing to barter your liberty for the sake of food1 clothing1 and shelter in the ,workhouse1 but are only temporarily out of employment seeking work1 then you go to the ,casual ,ward4 ,there you are taken in1 and provided for on the principle of making it as disagreeable as possible for yourself1 in order to deter you from again accepting the hospitality of the rates1--and of course in defence of this a good deal can be said by the ,political ,economist4 ,but what seems utterly indefensible is the careful precautions which are taken to render it impossible for the unemployed ,casual to resume promptly after his night's rest the search for work4 ,under the existing regulations1 if you are compelled to seek refuge on ,monday night in the ,casual ,ward1 you are bound to remain there at least till ,wednesday morning4 ,the theory of the system is this1 that individuals casually poor and out of work1 being destitute and without shelter1 may upon application receive shelter for the night1 supper and a breakfast1 and in return for this1 shall perform a task of work1 not necessarily in repayment for the relief received1 but simply as a test of their willingness to work for their living4 ,the work given is the same as that given to felons in gaol1 oakum-picking and stone-breaking4 ,the work1 too1 is excessive in proportion to what is received4 ,four pounds of oakum is a great task to an expert and an old hand4 ,to a novice it can only be accomplished with the greatest difficulty1 if indeed it can be done at all4 ,it is even in excess of the amount demanded from a criminal in gaol4 ,the stone-breaking test is monstrous4 ,half a ton of stone from any man in return for partially supplying the cravings of hunger is an outrage which1 if we read of as having occurred in ,russia or ,siberia1 would find ,exeter ,hall crowded with an indignant audience1 and ,hyde ,park filled with strong oratory4 ,but because this system exists at our own doors1 very little notice is taken of it4 ,these tasks are expected from all comers1 starved1 ill-clad1 half-fed creatures from the streets1 foot-sore and worn out1 and yet unless it is done1 the alternative is the magistrate and the gaol4 ,the old system was bad enough1 which demanded the picking of one pound of oakum4 ,as soon as this task was accomplished1 which generally kept them till the middle of next day1 it was thus rendered impossible for them to seek work1 and they were forced to spend another night in the ward4 ,the ,local ,government ,board1 however1 stepped in1 and the ,casual was ordered to be detained for the whole day and the second night1 the amount of labour required from him being increased four-fold4 ,under the present system1 therefore1 the penalty for seeking shelter from the streets is a whole day and two nights1 with an almost impossible task1 which1 failing to do1 the victim is liable to be dragged before a magistrate and committed to gaol as a rogue and vagabond1 while in the ,casual ,ward their treatment is practically that of a criminal4 ,they sleep in a cell with an apartment at the back1 in which the work is done1 receiving at night half a pound of gruel and eight ounces of bread1 and next morning the same for breakfast1 with half a pound of oakum and stones to occupy himself for a day4 ,the beds are mostly of the plank type1 the coverings scant1 the comfort nil4 ,be it remembered that this is the treatment meted out to those who are supposed to be ,casual poor1 in temporary difficulty1 walking from place to place seeking some employment4 ,the treatment of the women is as follows3 ,each ,casual has to stay in the ,casual ,wards two nights and one day1 during which time they have to pick #b lb4 of oakum or go to the wash-tub and work out the time there4 ,while at the wash-tub they are allowed to wash their own clothes1 but not otherwise4 ,if seen more than once in the same ,casual ,ward1 they are detained three days by order of the inspector each time seen1 or if sleeping twice in the same month the master of the ward has power to detain them three days4 ,there are four inspectors who visit different ,casual ,wards2 and if the ,casual is seen by any of the inspectors 7who in turn visit all the ,casual ,wards7 at any of the wards they have previously visited they are detained three days in each one4 ,the inspector1 who is a male person1 visits the wards at all unexpected hours1 even visiting while the females are in bed4 ,the beds are in some wards composed of straw and two rugs1 in others cocoanut fibre and two rugs4 ,the ,casuals rise at #e4de a4m4 and go to bed #g p4m4 ,if they do not finish picking their oakum before #g p4m41 they stay up till they do4 ,if a ,casual does not come to the ward before #ab4cj1 midnight1 they keep them one day extra4 ,the way in which this operates1 however1 can be best understood by the following statements1 made by those who have been in ,casual ,wards1 and who can1 therefore1 speak from experience as to how the system affects the individual3 -- ,j4 ,c4 knows ,casual ,wards pretty well4 ,has been in ,st4 ,giles1 ,whitechapel1 ,st4 ,george's1 ,paddington1 ,marylebone1 ,mile ,end4 ,they vary a little in detail1 but as a rule the doors open at #f2 you walk in2 they tell you what the work is1 and that if you fail to do it1 you will be liable to imprisonment4 ,then you bathe4 ,some places the water is dirty4 ,three persons as a rule wash in one water4 ,at ,whitechapel 7been there three times7 it has always been dirty2 also at ,st4 ,george's4 ,i had no bath at ,mile ,end2 they were short of water4 ,if you complain they take no notice4 ,you then tie your clothes in a bundle1 and they give you a nightshirt4 ,at most places they serve supper to the men1 who have to go to bed and eat it there4 ,some beds are in cells2 some in large rooms4 ,you get up at #f a4m4 and do the task4 ,the amount of stone-breaking is too much2 and the oakum-picking is also heavy4 ,the food differs4 ,at ,st4 ,giles1 the gruel left over-night is boiled up for breakfast1 and is consequently sour2 the bread is puffy1 full of holes1 and don't weigh the regulation amount4 ,dinner is only #h ounces of bread and #a #a_/b ounce of cheese1 and its that's short1 how can anybody do their work8 ,they will give you water to drink if you ring the cell bell for it1 that is1 they will tell you to wait1 and bring it in about half an hour4 ,there are a good lot of moochers go to ,casual ,wards1 but there are large numbers of men who only want work4 ,j4,d42 age #be2 ,londoner2 can't get work1 tried hard2 been refused work several times on account of having no settled residence2 looks suspicious1 they think1 to have no home4 ,seems a decent1 willing man4 ,had two penny-worth of soup this morning1 which has lasted all day4 ,earned #as4 #f;d4 yesterday1 bill distributing1 nothing the day before4 ,been in good many ,london ,casual ,wards4 ,thinks they are no good1 because they keep him all day1 when he might be seeking work4 ,don't want shelter in day time1 wants work4 ,if he goes in twice in a month to the same ,casual ,ward1 they detain him four days4 ,considers the food decidedly insufficient to do the required amount of work4 ,if the work is not done to time1 you are liable to #ba days' imprisonment4 ,get badly treated some places1 especially where there is a bullying superintendent4 ,has done #ba days for absolutely refusing to do the work on such low diet1 when unfit4 ,can't get justice1 doctor always sides with superintendent4 ,j4 ,s42 odd jobber4 ,is working at board carrying1 when he can get it4 ,there's quite a rush for it at #as4 #b;d4 a day4 ,carried a couple of parcels yesterday1 got #e;d4 for them2 also had a bit of bread and meat given him by a working man1 so altogether had an excellent day4 ,sometimes goes all day without food1 and plenty more do the same4 ,sleeps on ,embankment1 and now and then in ,casual ,ward4 ,latter is clean and comfortable enough1 but they keep you in all day2 that means no chance of getting work4 ,was a clerk once1 but got out of a job1 and couldn't get another2 there are so many clerks4 ,a ,tramp says3 ,i've been in most ,casual ,wards in ,london2 was in the one in ,macklin ,street1 ,drury ,lane1 last week4 ,they keep you two nights and a day1 and more than that if they recognise you4 ,you have to break #aj cwt4 of stone1 or pick four pounds of oakum4 ,both are hard4 ,about thirty a night go to ,macklin ,street4 ,the food is #a pint gruel and #f oz4 bread for breakfast2 #h oz4 bread and #a #a_/b oz4 cheese for dinner2 tea same as breakfast4 ,no supper4 ,it is not enough to do the work on4 ,then you are obliged to bathe1 of course2 sometimes three will bathe in one water1 and if you complain they turn nasty1 and ask if you are come to a palace4 ,mitcham ,workhouse ,i've been in2 grub is good2 #a #a_/b pint gruel and #h oz4 bread for breakfast1 and same for supper4 ,f4,k4 ,w42 baker4 ,been board-carrying to-day1 earned one shilling1 ,hours #i till #e4 ,i've been on this kind of life six years4 ,used to work in a bakery1 but had congestion of the brain1 and couldn't stand the heat4 ,i've been in about every ,casual ,ward in ,england4 ,they treat men too harshly4 ,have to work very hard1 too4 ,has had to work whilst really unfit4 ,at ,peckham 7known as ,camberwell7 ,union1 was quite unable to do it through weakness1 and appealed to the doctor1 who1 taking the part of the other officials1 as usual1 refused to allow him to forego the work4 ,cheeked the doctor1 telling him he didn't understand his work2 result1 got three days' imprisonment4 ,before going to a ,casual ,ward at all1 ,i spent seven consecutive nights on the ,embankment1 and at last went to the ,ward4 ,the result of the deliberate policy of making the night refuge for the unemployed labourer as disagreeable as possible1 and of placing as many obstacles as possible in the way of his finding work the following day1 is1 no doubt1 to minimise the number of ,casuals1 and without question succeeds4 ,in the whole of ,london the number of ,casuals in the wards at night is only #a1acf4 ,that is to say1 the conditions which are imposed are so severe1 that the majority of the ,out-of-,works prefer to sleep in the open air1 taking their chance of the inclemency and mutability of our ,english weather1 rather than go through the experience of the ,casual ,ward4 ,it seems to me that such a mode of coping with distress does not so much meet the difficulty as evade it4 ,it is obvious that an apparatus1 which only provides for #a1acf persons per night1 is utterly unable to deal with the numbers of the homeless ,out-of-,works4 ,but if by some miracle we could use the ,casual ,wards as a means of providing for all those who are seeking work from day to day1 without a place in which to lay their heads1 save the kerbstone of the pavement or the back of a seat on the ,embankment1 they would utterly fail to have any appreciable effect upon the mass of human misery with which we have to deal4 ,for this reason2 the administration of the ,casual ,wards is mechanical1 perfunctory1 and formal4 ,each of the ,casuals is to the ,officer in ,charge merely one ,casual the more4 ,there is no attempt whatever to do more than provide for them merely the indispensable requisites of existence4 ,there has never been any attempt to treat them as human beings1 to deal with them as individuals1 to appeal to their hearts1 to help them on their legs again4 ,they are simply units1 no more thought of and cared for than if they were so many coffee beans passing through a coffee mill2 and as the net result of all my experience and observation of men and things1 ,i must assert unhesitatingly that anything which dehumanises the individual1 anything which treats a man as if he were only a number of a series or a cog in a wheel1 without any regard to the character1 the aspirations1 the temptations1 and the idiosyncrasies of the man1 must utterly fail as a remedial agency4 ,the ,casual ,ward1 at the best1 is merely a squalid resting place for the ,casual in his downward career4 ,it anything is to be done for these men1 it must be done by other agents than those which prevail in the administration of the ,poor ,laws4 ,the second method in which ,society endeavours to do its duty to the lapsed masses is by the miscellaneous and heterogeneous efforts which are clubbed together under the generic head of ,charity4 ,far be it from me to say one word in disparagement of any effort that is prompted by a sincere desire to alleviate the misery of our fellow creatures1 but the most charitable are those who most deplore the utter failure which has1 up till now1 attended all their efforts to do more than temporarily alleviate pain1 or effect an occasional improvement in the condition of individuals4 ,there are many institutions1 very excellent in their way1 without which it is difficult to see how society could get on at all1 but when they have done their best there still remains this great and appalling mass of human misery on our hands1 a perfect quagmire of ,human ,sludge4 ,they may ladle out individuals here and there1 but to drain the whole bog is an effort which seems to be beyond the imagination of most of those who spend their lives in philanthropic work4 ,it is no doubt better than nothing to take the individual and feed him from day to day1 to bandage up his wounds and heal his diseases2 but you may go on doing that for ever1 if you do not do more than that2 and the worst of it is that all authorities agree that if you only do that you will probably increase the evil with which you are attempting to deal1 and that you had much better let the whole thing alone4 ,there is at present no attempt at ,concerted ,action4 ,each one deals with the case immediately before him1 and the result is what might be expected2 there is a great expenditure1 but the gains are1 alas6 very small4 ,the fact1 however1 that so much is subscribed for the temporary relief and the mere alleviation of distress justifies my confidence that if a ,practical ,scheme of dealing with this misery in a permanent1 comprehensive fashion be discovered1 there will be no lack of the sinews of war4 ,it is well1 no doubt1 sometimes to administer an anaesthetic1 but the ,cure of the ,patient is worth ever so much more1 and the latter is the object which we must constantly set before us in approaching this problem4 ,the third method by which ,society professes to attempt the reclamation of the lost is by the rough1 rude surgery of the ,gaol4 ,upon this a whole treatise might be written1 but when it was finished it would be nothing more than a demonstration that our ,prison system has practically missed aiming at that which should be the first essential of every system of punishment4 ,it is not ,reformatory1 it is not worked as if it were intended to be ,reformatory4 ,it is punitive1 and only punitive4 ,the whole administration needs to be reformed from top to bottom in accordance with this fundamental principle1 viz41 that while every prisoner should be subjected to that measure of punishment which shall mark a due sense of his crime both to himself and society1 the main object should be to rouse in his mind the desire to lead an honest life2 and to effect that change in his disposition and character which will send him forth to put that desire into practice4 ,at present1 every ,prison is more or less a ,training ,school for ,crime1 an introduction to the society of criminals1 the petrifaction of any lingering human feeling and a very ,bastille of ,despair4 ,the prison brand is stamped upon those who go in1 and that so deeply1 that it seems as if it clung to them for life4 ,to enter ,prison once1 means in many cases an almost certain return there at an early date4 ,all this has to be changed1 and will be1 when once the work of ,prison ,reform is taken in hand by men who understand the subject1 who believe in the reformation of human nature in every form which its depravity can assume1 and who are in full sympathy with the class for whose benefit they labour2 and when those charged directly with the care of criminals seek to work out their regeneration in the same spirit4 ,the question of ,prison ,reform is all the more important because it is only by the agency of the ,gaol that ,society attempts to deal with its hopeless cases4 ,if a woman1 driven mad with shame1 flings herself into the river1 and is fished out alive1 we clap her into ,prison on a charge of attempted suicide4 ,if a man1 despairing of work and gaunt with hunger1 helps himself to food1 it is to the same reformatory agency that he is forthwith subjected4 ,the rough and ready surgery with which we deal with our social patients recalls the simple method of the early physicians4 ,the tradition still lingers among old people of doctors who prescribed bleeding for every ailment1 and of keepers of asylums whose one idea of ministering to a mind diseased was to put the body into a strait waistcoat4 ,modern science laughs to scorn these simple remedies of an unscientific age1 and declares that they were1 in most cases1 the most efficacious means of aggravating the disease they professed to cure4 ,but in social maladies we are still in the age of the blood-letter and the strait waistcoat4 ,the ,gaol is our specific for ,despair4 ,when all else fails ,society will always undertake to feed1 clothe1 warm1 and house a man1 if only he will commit a crime4 ,it will do it also in such a fashion as to render it no temporary help1 but a permanent necessity4 ,society says to the individual3 ,to qualify for free board and lodging you must commit a crime4 ,but if you do you must pay the price4 ,you must allow me to ruin your character1 and doom you for the rest of your life to destitution1 modified by the occasional successes of criminality4 ,you shall become the ,child of the ,state1 on condition that we doom you to a temporal perdition1 out of which you will never be permitted to escape1 and in which you will always be a charge upon our resources and a constant source of anxiety and inconvenience to the authorities4 ,i will feed you1 certainly1 but in return you must permit me to damn you4 ,that surely ought not to be the last word of ,civilised ,society4 ,certainly not1 say others4 ,emigration is the true specific4 ,the waste lands of the world are crying aloud for the application of surplus labour4 ,emigration is the panacea4 ,now ,i have no objection to emigration4 ,only a criminal lunatic could seriously object to the transference of hungry ,jack from an overcrowded shanty--where he cannot even obtain enough bad potatoes to dull the ache behind his waistcoat1 and is tempted to let his child die for the sake of the insurance money--to a land flowing with milk and honey1 where he can eat meat three times a day and where a man's children are his wealth4 ,but you might as well lay a new-born child naked in the middle of a new-sown field in ,march1 and expect it to live and thrive1 as expect emigration to produce successful results on the lines which some lay down4 ,the child1 no doubt1 has within it latent capacities which1 when years and training have done their work1 will enable him to reap a harvest from a fertile soil1 and the new sown field will be covered with golden grain in ,august4 ,but these facts will not enable the infant to still its hunger with the clods of the earth in the cold spring time4 ,it is just like that with emigration4 ,it is simply criminal to take a multitude of untrained men and women and land them penniless and helpless on the fringe of some new continent4 ,the result of such proceedings we see in the ,american cities2 in the degradation of their slums1 and in the hopeless demoralisation of thousands who1 in their own country1 were living decent1 industrious lives4 ,a few months since1 in ,paramatta1 in ,new ,south ,wales1 a young man who had emigrated with a vague hope of mending his fortunes1 found himself homeless1 friendless1 and penniless4 ,he was a clerk4 ,they wanted no more clerks in ,paramatta4 ,trade was dull1 employment was scarce1 even for trained hands4 ,he went about from day to day seeking work and finding none4 ,at last he came to the end of all his resources4 ,he went all day without food2 at night he slept as best he could4 ,morning came1 and he was hopeless4 ,all next day passed without a meal4 ,night came4 ,he could not sleep4 ,he wandered about restlessly4 ,at last1 about midnight1 an idea seized him4 ,grasping a brick1 he deliberately walked up to a jeweller's window1 and smashed a hole through the glass4 ,he made no attempt to steal anything3 ,he merely smashed the pane and then sat down on the pavement beneath the window1 waiting for the arrival of the policeman4 ,he waited some hours2 but at last the constable arrived4 ,he gave himself up1 and was marched off to the lock-up4 ,i shall at least have something to eat now1 was the reflection4 ,he was right4 ,he was sentenced to one year's imprisonment1 and he is in gaol at this hour4 ,this very morning he received his rations1 and at this very moment he is dodged1 and clothed and cared for at the cost of the rates and taxes4 ,he has become the child of the ,state1 and1 therefore1 one of the socially damned4 ,thus emigration itself1 instead of being an invariable specific1 sometimes brings us back again to the gaol door4 ,emigration1 by all means4 ,but whom are you to emigrate8 ,these girls who do not know how to bake8 ,these lads who never handled a spade8 ,and where are you to emigrate them8 ,are you going to make the ,colonies the dumping ground of your human refuse8 ,on that the colonists will have something decisive to say1 where there are colonists2 and where there are not1 how are you to feed1 clothe1 and employ your emigrants in the uninhabited wilderness8 ,immigration1 no doubt1 is the making of a colony1 just as bread is the staff of life4 ,but if you were to cram a stomach with wheat by a force-pump you would bring on such a fit of indigestion that unless your victim threw up the indigestible mass of unground1 uncooked1 unmasticated grain he would never want another meal4 ,so it is with the new colonies and the surplus labour of other countries4 ,emigration is in itself not a panacea4 ,is ,education8 ,in one sense it may be1 for ,education1 the developing in a man of all his latent capacities for improvement1 may cure anything and everything4 ,but the ,education of which men speak when they use the term1 is mere schooling4 ,no one but a fool would say a word against school teaching4 ,by all means let us have our children educated4 ,but when we have passed them through the ,board ,school ,mill we have enough experience to see that they do not emerge the renovated and regenerated beings whose advent was expected by those who passed the ,education ,act4 ,the scuttlers who knife inoffensive persons in ,lancashire1 the fighting gangs of the ,west of ,london1 belong to the generation that has enjoyed the advantage of ,compulsory ,education4 ,education1 book-learning and schooling will not solve the difficulty4 ,it helps1 no doubt4 ,but in some ways it aggravates it4 ,the common school to which the children of thieves and harlots and drunkards are driven1 to sit side by side with our little ones1 is often by no means a temple of all the virtues4 ,it is sometimes a university of all the vices4 ,the bad infect the good1 and your boy and girl come back reeking with the contamination of bad associates1 and familiar with the coarsest obscenity of the slum4 ,another great evil is the extent to which our ,education tends to overstock the labour market with material for quill-drivers and shopmen1 and gives our youth a distaste for sturdy labour4 ,many of the most hopeless cases in our ,shelters are men of considerable education4 ,our schools help to enable a starving man to tell his story in more grammatical language than that which his father could have employed1 but they do not feed him1 or teach him where to go to get fed4 ,so far from doing this they increase the tendency to drift into those channels where food is least secure1 because employment is most uncertain1 and the market most overstocked4 ,try ,trades ,unionism1 say some1 and their advice is being widely followed4 ,there are many and great advantages in ,trades ,unionism4 ,the fable of the bundle of sticks is good for all time4 ,the more the working people can be banded together in voluntary organisations1 created and administered by themselves for the protection of their own interests1 the better--at any rate for this world--and not only for their own interests1 but for those of every other section of the community4 ,but can we rely upon this agency as a means of solving the problems which confront us8 ,trades ,unionism has had the field to itself for a generation4 ,it is twenty years since it was set free from all the legal disabilities under which it laboured4 ,but it has not covered the land4 ,it has not organised all skilled labour4 ,unskilled labour is almost untouched4 ,at the ,congress at ,liverpool only one and a half million workmen were represented4 ,women are almost entirely outside the pale4 ,trade ,unions not only represent a fraction of the labouring classes1 but they are1 by their constitution1 unable to deal with those who do not belong to their body4 ,what ground can there be1 then1 for hoping that ,trades ,unionism will by itself solve the difficulty8 ,the most experienced ,trades ,unionists will be the first to admit that any scheme which could deal adequately with the out-of-works and others who hang on to their skirts and form the recruiting ground of blacklegs and embarrass them in ever way1 would be1 of all others that which would be most beneficial to ,trades ,unionism4 ,the same may be said about ,co-operation4 ,personally1 ,i am a strong believer in ,co-operation1 but it must be ,co-operation based on the spirit of benevolence4 ,i don't see how any pacific re-adjustment of the social and economic relations between classes in this country can be effected except by the gradual substitution of cooperative associations for the present wages system4 ,as you will see in subsequent chapters1 so far from there being anything in my proposals that would militate in any way against the ultimate adoption of the co-operative solution of the question1 ,i look to ,co-operation as one of the chief elements of hope in the future4 ,but we have not to deal with the ultimate future1 but with the immediate present1 and for the evils with which we are dealing the existing cooperative organisations do not and cannot give us much help4 ,another--,i do not like to call it specific2 it is only a name1 a mere mockery of a specific--so let me call it another suggestion made when discussing this evil1 is ,thrift4 ,thrift is a great virtue no doubt4 ,but how is ,thrift to benefit those who have nothing8 ,what is the use of the gospel of ,thrift to a man who had nothing to eat yesterday1 and has not threepence to-day to pay for his lodging to-night8 ,to live on nothing a day is difficult enough1 but to save on it would beat the cleverest political economist that ever lived4 ,i admit without hesitation that any ,scheme which weakened the incentive to ,thrift would do harm4 ,but it is a mistake to imagine that social damnation is an incentive to ,thrift4 ,it operates least where its force ought to be most felt4 ,there is no fear that any ,scheme that we can devise will appreciably diminish the deterrent influences which dispose a man to save4 ,but it is idle wasting time upon a plea that is only brought forward as an excuse for inaction4 ,thrift is a great virtue1 the inculcation of which must be constantly kept in view by all those who are attempting to educate and save the people4 ,it is not in any sense a specific for the salvation of the lapsed and the lost4 ,even among the most wretched of the very poor1 a man must have an object and a hope before he will save a halfpenny4 ,let us eat and drink1 for to-morrow we perish1 sums up the philosophy of those who have no hope4 ,in the thriftiness of the ,french peasant we see that the temptation of eating and drinking is capable of being resolutely subordinated to the superior claims of the accumulation of a dowry for the daughter1 or for the acquisition of a little more land for the son4 ,of the schemes of those who propose to bring in a new heaven and a new earth by a more scientific distribution of the pieces of gold and silver in the trouser pockets of mankind1 ,i need not say anything here4 ,they may be good or they may not4 ,i say nothing against any short cut to the ,millennium that is compatible with the ,ten ,commandments4 ,i intensely sympathise with the aspirations that lie behind all these ,socialist dreams4 ,but whether it is ,henry ,george's ,single ,tax on ,land ,values1 or ,edward ,bellamy's ,nationalism1 or the more elaborate schemes of the ,collectivists1 my attitude towards them all is the same4 ,what these good people want to do1 ,i also want to do4 ,but ,i am a practical man1 dealing with the actualities of to-day4 ,i have no preconceived theories1 and ,i flatter myself ,i am singularly free from prejudices4 ,i am ready to sit at the feet of any who will show me any good4 ,i keep my mind open on all these subjects2 and am quite prepared to hail with open arms any ,utopia that is offered me4 ,but it must be within range of my finger-tips4 ,it is of no use to me if it is in the clouds4 ,cheques on the ,bank of ,futurity ,i accept gladly enough as a free gift1 but ,i can hardly be expected to take them as if they were current coin1 or to try to cash them at the ,bank of ,england4 ,it may be that nothing will be put permanently right until everything has been turned upside down4 ,there are certainly so many things that need transforming1 beginning with the heart of each individual man and woman1 that ,i do not quarrel with any ,visionary when in his intense longing for the amelioration of the condition of mankind he lays down his theories as to the necessity for radical change1 however impracticable they may appear to me4 ,but this is the question4 ,here at our ,shelters last night were a thousand hungry1 workless people4 ,i want to know what to do with them8 ,here is ,john ,jones1 a stout stalwart labourer in rags1 who has not had one square meal for a month1 who has been hunting for work that will enable him to keep body and soul together1 and hunting in vain4 ,there he is in his hungry raggedness1 asking for work that he may live1 and not die of sheer starvation in the midst of the wealthiest city in the world4 ,what is to be done with ,john ,jones8 ,the individualist tells me that the free play of the ,natural ,laws governing the struggle for existence will result in the ,survival of the ,fittest1 and that in the course of a few ages1 more or less1 a much nobler type will be evolved4 ,but meanwhile what is to become of ,john ,jones8 ,the ,socialist tells me that the great ,social ,revolution is looming large on the horizon4 ,in the good time coming1 when wealth will be re-distributed and private property abolished1 all stomachs will be filled and there will be no more ,john ,jones' impatiently clamouring for opportunity to work that they may not die4 ,it may be so1 but in the meantime here is ,john ,jones growing more impatient than ever because hungrier1 who wonders if he is to wait for a dinner until the ,social ,revolution has arrived4 ,what are we to do with ,john ,jones8 ,that is the question4 ,and to the solution of that question none of the ,utopians give me much help4 ,for practical purposes these dreamers fall under the condemnation they lavish so freely upon the conventional religious people who relieve themselves of all anxiety for the welfare of the poor by saying that in the next world all will be put right4 ,this religious cant1 which rids itself of all the importunity of suffering humanity by drawing unnegotiable bills payable on the other side of the grave1 is not more impracticable than the ,socialistic clap-trap which postpones all redress of human suffering until after the general overturn4 ,both take refuge in the ,future to escape a solution of the problems of the ,present1 and it matters little to the sufferers whether the ,future is on this side of the grave or the other4 ,both are1 for them1 equally out of reach4 ,when the sky falls we shall catch larks4 ,no doubt4 ,but in the meantime8 ,it is the meantime--that is the only time in which we have to work4 ,it is in the meantime that the people must be fed1 that their life's work must be done or left undone for ever4 ,nothing that ,i have to propose in this book1 or that ,i propose to do by my ,scheme1 will in the least prevent the coming of any of the ,utopias4 ,i leave the limitless infinite of the ,future to the ,utopians4 ,they may build there as they please4 ,as for me1 it is indispensable that whatever ,i do is founded on existing fact1 and provides a present help for the actual need4 ,there is only one class or men who have cause to oppose the proposals which ,i am about to set forth4 ,that is those1 if such there be1 who are determined to bring about by any and every means a bloody and violent overturn of all existing institutions4 ,they will oppose the ,scheme1 and they will act logically in so doing4 ,for the only hope of those who are the artificers of ,revolution is the mass of seething discontent and misery that lies in the heart of the social system4 ,honestly believing that things must get worse before they get better1 they build all their hopes upon the general overturn1 and they resent as an indefinite postponement of the realisation of their dreams any attempt at a reduction of human misery4 ,the ,army of the ,revolution is recruited by the ,soldiers of ,despair4 ,therefore1 down with any ,scheme which gives men ,hope4 ,in so far as it succeeds it curtails our recruiting ground and reinforces the ranks of our ,enemies4 ,such opposition is to be counted upon1 and to be utilised as the best of all tributes to the value of our work4 ,those who thus count upon violence and bloodshed are too few to hinder1 and their opposition will merely add to the momentum with which ,i hope and believe this ,scheme will ultimately be enabled to surmount all dissent1 and achieve1 with the blessing of ,god1 that measure of success with which ,i verily believe it to be charged4 ,,part #b4--;,,deliverance4 ,,chapter #a4 ,a ,,stupendous ,,undertaking4 ,such1 then1 is a brief and hurried survey of ,darkest ,england1 and those who have been in the depths of the enchanted forest in which wander the tribes of the despairing ,lost will be the first to admit that ,i have in no way exaggerated its horrors1 while most will assert that ,i have under-estimated the number of its denizens4 ,i have1 indeed1 very scrupulously striven to keep my estimates of the extent of the evil within the lines of sobriety4 ,nothing in such an enterprise as that on which ,i am entering could worse befall me than to come under the reproach of sensationalism or exaggeration4 ,most of the evidence upon which ,i have relied is taken direct from the official statistics supplied by the ,government ,returns2 and as to the rest1 ,i can only say that if my figures are compared with those of any other writer upon this subject1 it will be found that my estimates are the lowest4 ,i am not prepared to defend the exact accuracy of my calculations1 excepting so far as they constitute the minimum4 ,to those who believe that the numbers of the wretched are far in excess of my figures1 ,i have nothing to say1 excepting this1 that if the evil is so much greater than ,i have described1 then let your efforts be proportioned to your estimate1 not to mine4 ,the great point with each of us is1 not how many of the wretched exist to-day1 but how few shall there exist in the years that are to come4 ,the dark and dismal jungle of pauperism1 vice1 and despair is the inheritance to which we have succeeded from the generations and centuries past1 during which wars1 insurrections1 and internal troubles left our forefathers small leisure to attend to the well-being of the sunken tenth4 ,now that we have happened upon more fortunate times1 let us recognise that we are our brother's keepers1 and set to work1 regardless of party distinctions and religious differences1 to make this world of ours a little bit more like home for those whom we call our brethren4 ,the problem1 it must be admitted1 is by no means a simple one2 nor can anyone accuse me in the foregoing pages of having minimised the difficulties which heredity1 habit1 and surroundings place in the way of its solution1 but unless we are prepared to fold our arms in selfish ease and say that nothing can be done1 and thereby doom those lost millions to remediless perdition in this world1 to say nothing of the next1 the problem must be solved in some way4 ,but in what way8 ,that is the question4 ,it may tend1 perhaps1 to the crystallisation of opinion on this subject if ,i lay down1 with such precision as ,i can command1 what must be the essential elements of any scheme likely to command success4 ,,section ,i4--,,the ,,essentials ,,to ,,success4 ,the first essential that must be borne in mind as governing every ,scheme that may be put forward is that it must change the man when it is his character and conduct which constitute the reasons for his failure in the battle of life4 ,no change in circumstances1 no revolution in social conditions1 can possibly transform the nature of man4 ,some of the worst men and women in the world1 whose names are chronicled by history with a shudder of horror1 were those who had all the advantages that wealth1 education and station could confer or ambition could attain4 ,the supreme test of any scheme for benefiting humanity lies in the answer to the question1 ,what does it make of the individual8 ,does it quicken his conscience1 does it soften his heart1 does it enlighten his mind1 does it1 in short1 make more of a true man of him1 because only by such influences can he be enabled to lead a human life8 ,among the denizens of ,darkest ,england there are many who have found their way thither by defects of character which would under the most favourable circumstances relegate them to the same position4 ,hence1 unless you can change their character your labour will be lost4 ,you may clothe the drunkard1 fill his purse with gold1 establish him in a well-furnished home1 and in three1 or six1 or twelve months he will once more be on the ,embankment1 haunted by delirium tremens1 dirty1 squalid1 and ragged4 ,hence1 in all cases where a man's own character and defects constitute the reasons for his fall1 that character must be changed and that conduct altered if any permanent beneficial results are to be attained4 ,if he is a drunkard1 he must be made sober2 if idle1 he must be made industrious2 if criminal1 he must be made honest2 if impure1 he must be made clean2 and if he be so deep down in vice1 and has been there so long that he has lost all heart1 and hope1 and power to help himself1 and absolutely refuses to move1 he must be inspired with hope and have created within him the ambition to rise2 otherwise he will never get out of the horrible pit4 ,secondly3 ,the remedy1 to be effectual1 must change the circumstances of the individual when they are the cause of his wretched condition1 and lie beyond his control4 ,among those who have arrived at their present evil plight through faults of self-indulgence or some defect in their moral character1 how many are there who would have been very differently placed to-day had their surroundings been otherwise8 ,charles ,kingsley puts this very abruptly where he makes the ,poacher's widow say1 when addressing the ,bad ,squire1 who drew back ,our daughters1 with base--born babies1 ,have wandered away in their shame4 ,if your misses had slept1 ,squire1 where they did1 ,your misses might do the same4' ,placed in the same or similar circumstances1 how many of us would have turned out better than this poor1 lapsed1 sunken multitude8 ,many of this crowd have never had a chance of doing better2 they have been born in a poisoned atmosphere1 educated in circumstances which have rendered modesty an impossibility1 and have been thrown into life in conditions which make vice a second nature4 ,hence1 to provide an effective remedy for the evils which we are deploring these circumstances must be altered1 and unless my ,scheme effects such a change1 it will be of no use4 ,there are multitudes1 myriads1 of men and women1 who are floundering in the horrible quagmire beneath the burden of a load too heavy for them to bear2 every plunge they take forward lands them deeper2 some have ceased even to struggle1 and lie prone in the filthy bog1 slowly suffocating1 with their manhood and womanhood all but perished4 ,it is no use standing on the firm bank of the quaking morass and anathematising these poor wretches2 if you are to do them any good1 you must give them another chance to get on their feet1 you must give them firm foothold upon which they can once more stand upright1 and you must build stepping-stones across the bog to enable them safely to reach the other side4 ,favourable circumstances will not change a man's heart or transform his nature1 but unpropitious circumstances may render it absolutely impossible for him to escape1 no matter how he may desire to extricate himself4 ,the first step with these helpless1 sunken creatures is to create the desire to escape1 and then provide the means for doing so4 ,in other words1 give the man another chance4 ,thirdly3 ,any remedy worthy of consideration must be on a scale commensurate with the evil with which it proposes to deal4 ,it is no use trying to bail out the ocean with a pint pot4 ,this evil is one whose victims are counted by the million4 ,the army of the ,lost in our midst exceeds the numbers of that multitudinous host which ,xerxes led from ,asia to attempt the conquest of ,greece4 ,pass in parade those who make up the submerged tenth1 count the paupers indoor and outdoor1 the homeless1 the starving1 the criminals1 the lunatics1 the drunkards1 and the harlots--and yet do not give way to despair6 ,even to attempt to save a tithe of this host requires that we should put much more force and fire into our work than has hitherto been exhibited by anyone4 ,there must be no more philanthropic tinkering1 as if this vast sea of human misery were contained in the limits of a garden pond4 ,fourthly3 ,not only must the ,scheme be large enough1 but it must be permanent4 ,that is to say1 it must not be merely a spasmodic effort coping with the misery of to-day2 it must be established on a durable footing1 so as to go on dealing with the misery of tomorrow and the day after1 so long as there is misery left in the world with which to grapple4 ,fifthly3 ,but while it must be permanent1 it must also be immediately practicable4 ,any ,scheme1 to be of use1 must be capable of being brought into instant operation with beneficial results4 ,sixthly3 ,the indirect features of the ,scheme must not be such as to produce injury to the persons whom we seek to benefit4 ,mere charity1 for instance1 while relieving the pinch of hunger1 demoralises the recipient2 and whatever the remedy is that we employ1 it must be of such a nature as to do good without doing evil at the same time4 ,it is no use conferring sixpennyworth of benefit on a man if1 at the same time1 we do him a shilling'sworth of harm4 ,seventhly3 ,while assisting one class of the community1 it must not seriously interfere with the interests of another4 ,in raising one section of the fallen1 we must not thereby endanger the safety of those who with difficulty are keeping on their feet4 ,these are the conditions by which ,i ask you to test the ,scheme ,i am about to unfold4 ,they are formidable enough1 possibly1 to deter many from even attempting to do anything4 ,they are not of my making4 ,they are obvious to anyone who looks into the matter4 ,they are the laws which govern the work of the philanthropic reformer1 just as the laws of gravitation1 of wind and of weather1 govern the operations of the engineer4 ,it is no use saying we could build a bridge across the ,tay if the wind did not blow1 or that we could build a railway across a bog if the quagmire would afford us a solid foundation4 ,the engineer has to take into account the difficulties1 and make them his starting point4 ,the wind will blow1 therefore the bridge must be made strong enough to resist it4 ,chat ,moss will shake2 therefore we must construct a foundation in the very bowels of the bog on which to build our railway4 ,so it is with the social difficulties which confront us4 ,if we act in harmony with these laws we shall triumph2 but if we ignore them they will overwhelm us with destruction and cover us with disgrace4 ,but1 difficult as the task may be1 it is not one which we can neglect4 ,when ,napoleon was compelled to retreat under circumstances which rendered it impossible for him to carry off his sick and wounded1 he ordered his doctors to poison every man in the hospital4 ,a general has before now massacred his prisoners rather than allow them to escape4 ,these ,lost ones are the ,prisoners of ,society2 they are the ,sick and ,wounded in our ,hospitals4 ,what a shriek would arise from the civilised world if it were proposed to administer to-night to every one of these millions such a dose of morphine that they would sleep to wake no more4 ,but so far as they are concerned1 would it not be much less cruel thus to end their life than to allow them to drag on day after day1 year after year1 in misery1 anguish1 and despair1 driven into vice and hunted into crime1 until at last disease harries them into the grave8 ,i am under no delusion as to the possibility of inaugurating a millennium by my ,scheme2 but the triumphs of science deal so much with the utilisation of waste material1 that ,i do not despair of something effectual being accomplished in the utilisation of this waste human product4 ,the refuse which was a drug and a curse to our manufacturers1 when treated under the hands of the chemist1 has been the means of supplying us with dyes rivalling in loveliness and variety the hues of the rainbow4 ,if the alchemy of science can extract beautiful colours from coal tar1 cannot ,divine alchemy enable us to evolve gladness and brightness out of the agonised hearts and dark1 dreary1 loveless lives of these doomed myriads8 ,is it too much to hope that in ,god's world ,god's children may be able to do something1 if they set to work with a will1 to carry out a plan of campaign against these great evils which are the nightmare of our existence8 ,the remedy1 it may be1 is simpler than some imagine4 ,the key to the enigma may lie closer to our hands than we have any idea of4 ,many devices have been tried1 and many have failed1 no doubt2 it is only stubborn1 reckless perseverance that can hope to succeed2 it is well that we recognise this4 ,how many ages did men try to make gunpowder and never succeeded8 ,they would put saltpetre to charcoal1 or charcoal to sulphur1 or saltpetre to sulphur1 and so were ever unable to make the compound explode4 ,but it has only been discovered within the last few hundred years that all three were needed4 ,before that gunpowder was a mere imagination1 a phantasy of the alchemists4 ,how easy it is to make gunpowder1 now the secret of its manufacture is known6 ,but take a simpler illustration1 one which lies even within the memory of some that read these pages4 ,from the beginning of the world down to the beginning of this century1 mankind had not found out1 with all its striving after cheap and easy transport1 the miraculous difference that would be brought about by laying down two parallel lines of metal4 ,all the great men and the wise men of the past lived and died oblivious of that fact4 ,the greatest mechanicians and engineers of antiquity1 the men who bridged all the rivers of ,europe1 the architects who built the cathedrals which are still the wonder of the world1 failed to discern what seems to us so obviously simple a proposition1 that two parallel lines of rail would diminish the cost and difficulty of transport to a minimum4 ,without that discovery the steam engine1 which has itself been an invention of quite recent years1 would have failed to transform civilisation4 ,what we have to do in the philanthropic sphere is to find something analogous to the engineers' parallel bars4 ,this discovery think ,i have made1 and hence have ,i written this book4 ,,section #b--,,my ,,scheme ,what1 then1 is my ,scheme8 ,it is a very simple one1 although in its ramifications and extensions it embraces the whole world4 ,in this book ,i profess to do no more than to merely outline1 as plainly and as simply as ,i can1 the fundamental features of my proposals4 ,i propose to devote the bulk of this volume to setting forth what can practically be done with one of the most pressing parts of the problem1 namely1 that relating to those who are out of work1 and who1 as the result1 are more or less destitute4 ,i have many ideas of what might be done with those who are at present cared for in some measure by the ,state1 but ,i will leave these ideas for the present4 ,it is not urgent that ,i should explain how our ,poor ,law system could be reformed1 or what ,i should like to see done for the ,lunatics in ,asylums1 or the ,criminals in ,gaols4 ,the persons who are provided for by the ,state we will1 therefore1 for the moment1 leave out of count4 ,the indoor paupers1 the convicts1 the inmates of the lunatic asylums are cared for1 in a fashion2 already4 ,but1 over and above all these1 there exists some hundreds of thousands who are not quartered on the ,state1 but who are living on the verge of despair1 and who at any moment1 under circumstances of misfortune1 might be compelled to demand relief or support in one shape or another4 ,i will confine myself1 therefore1 for the present to those who have no helper4 ,it is possible1 ,i think probable1 if the proposals which ,i am now putting forward are carried out successfully in relation to the lost1 homeless1 and helpless of the population1 that many of those who are at the present moment in somewhat better circumstances will demand that they also shall be allowed to partake in the benefits of the ,scheme4 ,but upon this1 also1 ,i remain silent4 ,i merely remark that we have1 in the recognition of the importance of discipline and organisation2 what may be called regimented co-operation1 a principle that will be found valuable for solving many social problems other than that of destitution4 ,of these plans1 which are at present being brooded over with a view to their realisation when the time is propitious and the opportunity occurs1 ,i shall have something to say4 ,what is the outward and visible form of the ,problem of the ,unemployed8 ,alas6 we are all too familiar with it for any lengthy description to be necessary4 ,the social problem presents itself before us whenever a hungry1 dirty and ragged man stands at our door asking if we can give him a crust or a job4 ,that is the social question4 ,what are you to do with that man8 ,he has no money in his pocket1 all that he can pawn he has pawned long ago1 his stomach is as empty as his purse1 and the whole of the clothes upon his back1 even if sold on the best terms1 would not fetch a shilling4 ,there he stands1 your brother1 with sixpennyworth of rags to cover his nakedness from his fellow men and not sixpennyworth of victuals within his reach4 ,he asks for work1 which he will set to even on his empty stomach and in his ragged uniform1 if so be that you will give him something for it1 but his hands are idle1 for no one employs him4 ,what are you to do with that man8 ,that is the great note of interrogation that confronts ,society to-day4 ,not only in overcrowded ,england1 but in newer countries beyond the sea1 where ,society has not yet provided a means by which the men can be put upon the land and the land be made to feed the men4 ,to deal with this man is the ,problem of the ,unemployed4 ,to deal with him effectively you must deal with him immediately1 you must provide him in some way or other at once with food1 and shelter1 and warmth4 ,next you must find him something to do1 something that will test the reality of his desire to work4 ,this test must be more or less temporary1 and should be of such a nature as to prepare him for making a permanent livelihood4 ,then1 having trained him1 you must provide him wherewithal to start life afresh4 ,all these things ,i propose to do4 ,my ,scheme divides itself into three sections1 each of which is indispensable for the success of the whole4 ,in this three-fold organisation lies the open secret of the solution of the ,social ,problem4 ,the ,scheme ,i have to offer consists in the formation of these people into self-helping and self-sustaining communities1 each being a kind of co-operative society1 or patriarchal family1 governed and disciplined on the principles which have already proved so effective in the ,salvation ,army4 ,these communities we will call1 for want of a better term1 ,colonies4 ,there will be3 -- 7#a7 ,the ,city ,colony4 7#b7 ,the ,farm ,colony4 7#c7 ,the ,over-,sea ,colony4 ,,the ,,city ,,colony4 ,by the ,city ,colony is meant the establishment1 in the very centre of the ocean of misery of which we have been speaking1 of a number of ,institutions to act as ,harbours of ,refuge for all and any who have been shipwrecked in life1 character1 or circumstances4 ,these ,harbours will gather up the poor destitute creatures1 supply their immediate pressing necessities1 furnish temporary employment1 inspire them with hope for the future1 and commence at once a course of regeneration by moral and religious influences4 ,from these ,institutions1 which are hereafter described1 numbers would1 after a short time1 be floated off to permanent employment1 or sent home to friends happy to receive them on hearing of their reformation4 ,all who remain on our hands would1 by varied means1 be tested as to their sincerity1 industry1 and honesty1 and as soon as satisfaction was created1 be passed on to the ,colony of the second class4 ,,the ,,farm ,,colony4 ,this would consist of a settlement of the ,colonists on an estate in the provinces1 in the culture of which they would find employment and obtain support4 ,as the race from the ,country to the ,city has been the cause of much of the distress we have to battle with1 we propose to find a substantial part of our remedy by transferring these same people back to the country1 that is back again to the ,garden6 ,here the process of reformation of character would be carried forward by the same industrial1 moral1 and religious methods as have already been commenced in the ,city1 especially including those forms of labour and that knowledge of agriculture which1 should the ,colonist not obtain employment in this country1 will qualify him for pursuing his fortunes under more favourable circumstances in some other land4 ,from the ,farm1 as from the ,city1 there can be no question that large numbers1 resuscitated in health and character1 would be restored to friends up and down the country4 ,some would find employment in their own callings1 others would settle in cottages on a small piece of land that we should provide1 or on ,co-operative ,farms which we intend to promote2 while the great bulk1 after trial and training1 would be passed on to the ,foreign ,settlement1 which would constitute our third class1 namely ,the ,over-,sea ,colony4 ,,the ,,over-,,sea ,,colony4 ,all who have given attention to the subject are agreed that in our ,colonies in ,south ,africa1 ,canada1 ,western ,australia and elsewhere1 there are millions of acres of useful land to be obtained almost for the asking1 capable of supporting our surplus population in health and comfort1 were it a thousand times greater than it is4 ,we propose to secure a tract of land in one of these countries1 prepare it for settlement1 establish in it authority1 govern it by equitable laws1 assist it in times of necessity1 settling it gradually with a prepared people1 and so create a home for these destitute multitudes4 ,the ,scheme1 in its entirety1 may aptly be compared to ,a ,great ,machine1 foundationed in the lowest slums and purlieus of our great towns and cities1 drawing up into its embrace the depraved and destitute of all classes2 receiving thieves1 harlots1 paupers1 drunkards1 prodigals1 all alike1 on the simple conditions of their being willing to work and to conform to discipline4 ,drawing up these poor outcasts1 reforming them1 and creating in them habits of industry1 honesty1 and truth2 teaching them methods by which alike the bread that perishes and that which endures to ,everlasting ,life can be won4 ,forwarding them from the ,city to the ,country1 and there continuing the process of regeneration1 and then pouring them forth on to the virgin soils that await their coming in other lands1 keeping hold of them with a strong government1 and yet making them free men and women2 and so laying the foundations1 perchance1 of another ,empire to swell to vast proportions in later times4 ,why not8 ,,chapter #b4 ,,to ,,the ,,rescue6--,,the ,,city ,,colony4 ,the first section of my ,scheme is the establishment of a ,receiving ,house for the ,destitute in every great centre of population4 ,we start1 let us remember1 from the individual1 the ragged1 hungry1 penniless man who confronts us with despairing demands for food1 shelter1 and work4 ,now1 ,i have had some two or three years' experience in dealing with this class4 ,i believe1 at the present moment1 the ,salvation ,army supplies more food and shelter to the destitute than any other organisation in ,london1 and it is the experience and encouragement which ,i have gained in the working of these ,food and ,shelter ,depots which has largely encouraged me to propound this scheme4 ,,section #a4--;,,food ,,and ,,shelter ,,for ,,every ,,man4 ,as ,i rode through ,canada and the ,united ,states some three years ago1 ,i was greatly impressed with the superabundance of food which ,i saw at every turn4 ,oh1 how ,i longed that the poor starving people1 and the hungry children of the ,east of ,london and of other centres of our destitute populations1 should come into the midst of this abundance1 but as it appeared impossible for me to take them to it1 ,i secretly resolved that ,i would endeavour to bring some of it to them4 ,i am thankful to say that ,i have already been able to do so on a small scale1 and hope to accomplish it ere long on a much vaster one4 ,with this view1 the first ,cheap ,food ,depot was opened in the ,east of ,london two and a half years ago4 ,this has been followed by others1 and we have now three establishments3 others are being arranged for4 ,since the commencement in #ahhh1 we have supplied over three and a half million meals4 ,some idea can be formed of the extent to which these ,food and ,shelter ,depots have already struck their roots into the strata of ,society which it is proposed to benefit1 by the following figures1 which give the quantities of food sold during the year at our ,food ,depots4 ,,food ,,sold ,,in ,,depots ,,and ,,shelters ,,during #ahhi4 ,article ,weight ,measure ,remarks ,soup 444444444 #aaf1djj gallons ,bread #aib4e tons #ajf1ifd #d-lb loaves ,tea #b4e tons #df1ihj gallons ,coffee #ae cwt4 #ac1idi gallons ,cocoa #f tons #bi1bbi gallons ,sugar #be tons 444444444444444444444 #cjj bags ,potatoes #adj tons 444444444444444444444 #b1hjj bags ,flour #ah tons 444444444444444444444 #ahj sacks ,peaflour #bh4e tons 444444444444444444444 #bhh sacks ,oatmeal #c4e tons 444444444444444444444 #cf sacks ,rice #ab tons 444444444444444444444 #abj sacks ,beans #ab tons 444444444444444444444 #bdj sacks ,onions and parsnips #ab tons 444444444444444444444 #bdj sacks ,jam #i tons 444444444444444444444 #b1hhj jars ,marmalade #f tons 444444444444444444444 #a1ibj jars ,meat #ae tons 444444444444444444444 ,milk 4444444444 #ad1cjj quarts ,this includes returns from three ,food ,depots and five ,shelters4 ,i propose to multiply their number1 to develop their usefulness1 and to make them the threshold of the whole ,scheme4 ,those who have already visited our ,depots will understand exactly what th is means4 ,the majority1 however1 of the readers of these pages have not done so1 and for them it is necessary to explain what they are4 ,at each of our ,depots1 which can be seen by anybody that cares to take the trouble to visit them1 there are two departments1 one dealing with food1 the other with shelter4 ,of these both are worked together and minister to the same individuals4 ,many come for food who do not come for shelter1 although most of those who come for shelter also come for food1 which is sold on terms to cover1 as nearly as possible1 the cost price and working expenses of the establishment4 ,in this our ,food ,depots differ from the ordinary soup kitchens4 ,there is no gratuitous distribution of victuals4 ,the following is our ,price ,list3 -- ,,what ,,is ,,sold ,,at ,,the ,,food ,,depots4 ,for a child ,soup ,per ,basin #a_/d;d ,soup ,with ,bread #a_/b;d ,coffee or ,cocoa per cup #a_/d;d ,coffee or ,cocoa ,with ,bread and ,jam #a_/b;d ,for adults ,soup 44 44 44 ,per ,basin #a_/b;d ,soup 44 44 44 ,with ,bread #a;d ,potatoes 44 44 44 44 44 #a_/b;d ,cabbage 44 44 44 44 44 #a_/b;d ,haricot ,beans 44 44 44 44 #a_/b;d ,boiled ,jam ,pudding 44 44 44 #a_/b;d ,boiled ,plum ,pudding 44 44 ,each #a;d ,rice 44 44 44 44 44 44 #a_/b;d ,baked ,plum 44 44 44 44 #a_/b;d ,baked ,jam ,roll 44 44 44 44 #a_/b;d ,meat ,pudding and ,potatoes 44 44 #c;d ,corned ,beef 44 44 44 44 #b;d ,corned ,mutton 44 44 44 44 #b;d ,coffee per cup #a_/b;d2 per mug #a;d ,cocoa per cup #a_/b;d2 per mug #a;d ,tea per cup #a_/b;d2 per mug #a;d ,bread ,butter1 ,jam or ,marmalade per slice #a_/b;d ,soup in own ,jugs1 #a;d per ,quart4 ,ready at #aj a4m4 ,a certain discretionary power is vested in the ,officers in charge of the ,depot1 and they can in very urgent cases give relief1 but the rule is for the food to be paid for1 and the financial results show that working expenses are just about covered4 ,these ,cheap ,food ,depots ,i have no doubt have been and are or great service to numbers of hungry starving men1 women1 and children1 at the prices just named1 which must be within the reach of all1 except the absolutely penniless2 but it is the ,shelter that ,i regard as the most useful feature in this part of our undertaking1 for if anything is to be done to get hold of those who use the ,depot1 some more favourable opportunity must be afforded than is offered by the mere coming into the food store to get1 perhaps1 only a basin of soup4 ,this part of the ,scheme ,i propose to extend very considerably4 ,suppose that you are a casual in the streets of ,london1 homeless1 friendless1 weary with looking for work all day and finding none4 ,night comes on4 ,where are you to go8 ,you have perhaps only a few coppers1 or it may be1 a few shillings1 left of the rapidly dwindling store of your little capital4 ,you shrink from sleeping in the open air2 you equally shrink from going to the fourpenny ,dosshouse where1 in the midst of strange and ribald company1 you may be robbed of the remnant of the money still in your possession4 ,while at a loss as to what to do1 someone who sees you suggests that you should go to our ,shelter4 ,you cannot1 of course1 go to the ,casual ,ward of the ,workhouse as long as you have any money in your possession4 ,you come along to one of our ,shelters4 ,on entering you pay fourpence1 and are free of the establishment for the night4 ,you can come in early or late4 ,the company begins to assemble about five o'clock in the afternoon4 ,in the women's ,shelter you find that many come much earlier and sit sewing1 reading or chatting in the sparely furnished but well warmed room from the early hours of the afternoon until bedtime4 ,you come in1 and you get a large pot of coffee1 tea1 or cocoa1 and a hunk of bread4 ,you can go into the wash-house1 where you can have a wash with plenty of warm water1 and soap and towels free4 ,then after having washed and eaten you can make yourself comfortable4 ,you can write letters to your friends1 if you have any friends to write to1 or you can read1 or you can sit quietly and do nothing4 ,at eight o'clock the ,shelter is tolerably full1 and then begins what we consider to be the indispensable feature of the whole concern4 ,two or three hundred men in the men's ,shelter1 or as many women in the women's ,shelter1 are collected together1 most of them strange to each other1 in a large room4 ,they are all wretchedly poor--what are you to do with them8 ,this is what we do with them4 ,we hold a rousing ,salvation meeting4 ,the ,officer in charge of the ,depot1 assisted by detachments from the ,training ,homes1 conducts a jovial free-and-easy social evening4 ,the girls have their banjos and their tambourines1 and for a couple of hours you have as lively a meeting as you will find in ,london4 ,there is prayer1 short and to the point2 there are addresses1 some delivered by the leaders of the meeting1 but the most of them the testimonies of those who have been saved at previous meetings1 and who1 rising in their seats1 tell their companions their experiences4 ,strange experiences they often are of those who have been down in the very bottomless depths of sin and vice and misery1 but who have found at last firm footing on which to stand1 and who are1 as they say in all sincerity1 as happy as the day is long4 ,there is a joviality and a genuine good feeling at some of these meetings which is refreshing to the soul4 ,there are all sorts and conditions of men2 casuals1 gaol birds1 ,out-of-,works1 who have come there for the first time1 and who find men who last week or last month were even as they themselves are now--still poor but rejoicing in a sense of brotherhood and a consciousness of their being no longer outcasts and forlorn in this wide world4 ,there are men who have at last seen revive before them a hope of escaping from that dreadful vortex1 into which their sins and misfortunes had drawn them1 and being restored to those comforts that they had feared so long were gone for ever2 nay1 of rising to live a true and ,godly life4 ,these tell their mates how this has come about1 and urge all who hear them to try for themselves and see whether it is not a good and happy thing to be soundly saved4 ,in the intervals of testimony--and these testimonies1 as every one will bear me witness who has ever attended any of our meetings1 are not long1 sanctimonious lackadaisical speeches1 but simple confessions of individual experience--there are bursts of hearty melody4 ,the conductor of the meeting will start up a verse or two of a hymn illustrative of the experiences mentioned by the last speaker1 or one of the girls from the ,training ,home will sing a solo1 accompanying herself on her instrument1 while all join in a rattling and rollicking chorus4 ,there is no compulsion upon anyone of our dossers to take part in this meeting2 they do not need to come in until it is over2 but as a simple matter of fact they do come in4 ,any night between eight and ten o'clock you will find these people sitting there1 listening to the exhortations and taking part in the singing1 many of them1 no doubt1 unsympathetic enough1 but nevertheless preferring to be present with the music and the warmth1 mildly stirred1 if only by curiosity1 as the various testimonies are delivered4 ,sometimes these testimonies are enough to rouse the most cynical of observers4 ,we had at one of our shelters the captain of an ocean steamer1 who had sunk to the depths of destitution through strong drink4 ,he came in there one night utterly desperate and was taken in hand by our people--and with us taking in hand is no mere phrase1 for at the close of our meetings our officers go from seat to seat1 and if they see anyone who shows signs of being affected by the speeches or the singing1 at once sit down beside him and begin to labour with him for the salvation of his soul4 ,by this means they are able to get hold of the men and to know exactly where the difficulty lies1 what the trouble is1 and if they do nothing else1 at least succeed in convincing them that there is someone who cares for their soul and would do what he could to lend them a helping hand4 ,the captain of whom ,i was speaking was got hold of in this way4 ,he was deeply impressed1 and was induced to abandon once and for all his habits of intemperance4 ,from that meeting he went an altered man4 ,he regained his position in the merchant service1 and twelve months afterwards astonished us all by appearing in the uniform of a captain of a large ocean steamer1 to testify to those who were there how low he had been1 how utterly he had lost all hold on ,society and all hope of the future1 when1 fortunately led to the ,shelter1 he found friends1 counsel1 and salvation1 and from that time had never rested until he had regained the position which he had forfeited by his intemperance4 ,the meeting over1 the singing girls go back to the ,training ,home1 and the men prepare for bed4 ,our sleeping arrangements are somewhat primitive2 we do not provide feather beds1 and when you go into our dormitories1 you will be surprised to find the floor covered by what look like an endless array of packing cases4 ,these are our beds1 and each of them forms a cubicle4 ,there is a mattress laid on the floor1 and over the mattress a leather apron1 which is all the bedclothes that we find it possible to provide4 ,the men undress1 each by the side of his packing box1 and go to sleep under their leather covering4 ,the dormitory is warmed with hot water pipes to a temperature of #fj degrees1 and there has never been any complaint of lack of warmth on the part of those who use the ,shelter4 ,the leather can be kept perfectly clean1 and the mattresses1 covered with ,american cloth1 are carefully inspected every day1 so that no stray specimen of vermin may be left in the place4 ,the men turn in about ten o'clock and sleep until six4 ,we have never any disturbances of any kind in the ,shelters4 ,we have provided accommodation now for several thousand of the most helplessly broken-down men in ,london1 criminals many of them1 mendicants1 tramps1 those who are among the filth and offscouring of all things2 but such is the influence that is established by the meeting and the moral ascendancy of our officers themselves1 that we have never had a fight on the premises1 and very seldom do we ever hear an oath or an obscene word4 ,sometimes there has been trouble outside the ,shelter1 when men insisted upon coming in drunk or were otherwise violent2 but once let them come to the ,shelter1 and get into the swing of the concern1 and we have no trouble with them4 ,in the morning they get up and have their breakfast and1 after a short service1 go off their various ways4 ,we find that we can do this1 that is to say1 we can provide coffee and bread for breakfast and for supper1 and a shake-down on the floor in the packing-boxes ,i have described in a warm dormitory for fourpence a head4 ,i propose to develop these ,shelters1 so as to afford every man a locker1 in which he could store any little valuables that he may possess4 ,i would also allow him the use of a boiler in the washhouse with a hot drying oven1 so that he could wash his shirt over night and have it returned to him dry in the morning4 ,only those who have had practical experience of the difficulty of seeking for work in ,london can appreciate the advantages of the opportunity to get your shirt washed in this way--if you have one4 ,in ,trafalgar ,square1 in #ahhg1 there were few things that scandalised the public more than the spectacle of the poor people camped in the ,square1 washing their shirts in the early morning at the fountains4 ,if you talk to any men who have been on the road for a lengthened period they will tell you that nothing hurts their self-respect more or stands more fatally in the way of their getting a job than the impossibility of getting their little things done up and clean4 ,in our poor man's ,home everyone could at least keep himself clean and have a clean shirt to his back1 in a plain way1 no doubt2 but still not less effective than if he were to be put up at one of the ,west ,end hotels1 and would be able to secure anyway the necessaries of life while being passed on to something far better4 ,this is the first step4 ,,some ,,shelter ,,trophies4 ,of the practical results which have followed our methods of dealing with the outcasts who take shelter with us we have many striking examples4 ,here are a few1 each of them a transcript of a life experience relating to men who are now active1 industrious members of the community upon which but for the agency of these ,depots they would have been preying to this day4 ,a4,s4--,born in ,glasgow1 #ahbe4 ,saved at ,clerkenwell1 ,may #ai1 #ahhi4 ,poor parents raised in a ,glasgow ,slum4 ,was thrown on the streets at seven years of age1 became the companion and associate of thieves1 and drifted into crime4 ,the following are his terms of imprisonment3 -- #ad days1 #cj days1 #cj days4 #fj days1 #fj days 7three times in succession71 #d months1 #f months 7twice71 #i months1 #ah months1 #b years1 #f years1 #g years 7twice71 #ad years2 #dj years #c months and #f days in the aggregate4 ,was flogged for violent conduct in gaol #h times4 ,w4 ,m4 7,buff74--,born in ,deptford1 #ahfd1 saved at ,clerkenwell1 ,march #cast1 #ahhi4 ,his father was an old ,navy man1 and earned a decent living as manager4 ,was sober1 respectable1 and trustworthy4 ,mother was a disreputable drunken slattern3 a curse and disgrace to husband and family4 ,the home was broken up1 and little ,buff was given over to the evil influences of his depraved mother4 ,his #gth birthday present from his admiring parent was a quarten o'gin4 ,he got some education at the ,one ,tun ,alley ,ragged ,school1 but when nine years old was caught apple stealing1 and sent to the industrial ,school at ,ilford for #g years4 ,discharged at the end of his term1 he drifted to the streets1 the casual wards1 and ,metropolitan gaols1 every one of whose interiors he is familiar with4 ,he became a ringleader of a gang that infested ,london2 a thorough mendicant and ne'er-do-well2 a pest to society4 ,naturally he is a born leader1 and one of those spirits that command a following2 consequently1 when he got ,salvation1 the major part of his following came after him to the ,shelter1 and eventually to ,god4 ,his character since conversion has been altogether satisfactory1 and he is now an ,orderly at ,whitechapel1 and to all appearances a true lad4 ,c4 ,w4 7,frisco74--,born in ,san ,francisco1 #ahfb4 ,saved ,april #bdth1 #ahhi4 ,taken away from home at the age of eight years1 and made his way to ,texas4 ,here he took up life amongst the ,ranches as a ,cowboy1 and varied it with occasional trips to sea1 developing into a typical brass and rowdy4 ,he had #b years for mutiny at sea1 #d years for mule stealing1 #e years for cattle stealing and has altogether been in gaol for thirteen years and eleven months4 ,he came over to ,england1 got mixed up with thieves and casuals here1 and did several short terms of imprisonment4 ,he was met on his release at ,millbank by an old chum 7,buff7 and the ,shelter ,captain2 came to ,shelter1 got saved1 and has stood firm4 ,h4 ,a4--,born at ,deptford1 #ahej4 ,saved at ,clerkenwell1 ,january #abth1 #ahhi4 ,lost mother in early life1 step-mother difficulty supervening1 and a propensity to misappropriation of small things developed into thieving4 ,he followed the sea1 became a hard drinker1 a foul-mouthed blasphemer1 and a blatant spouter of infidelity4 ,he drifted about for years1 ashore and afloat1 and eventually reached the ,shelter stranded4 ,here he sought ,god1 and has done well4 ,this summer he had charge of a gang of haymakers sent into the country1 and stood the ordeal satisfactorily4 ,he seems honest in his profession1 and strives patiently to follow after ,god4 ,he is at the workshops4 ,h4 ,s4--,born at ,a---1 in ,scotland4 ,like most ,scotch lads although parents were in poor circumstances he managed to get a good education4 ,early in life he took to newspaper work1 and picked up the details of the journalistic profession in several prominent papers in ,n4,b4 ,eventually he got a position on a provincial newspaper1 and having put in a course at ,glasgow ,university1 graduated ,b4,a4 there4 ,after this he was on the staff of a ,welsh paper4 ,he married a decent girl1 and had several little ones1 but giving way to drink1 lost position1 wife1 family1 and friends4 ,at times he would struggle up and recover himself1 and appears generally to have been able to secure a position1 but again and again his besetment overcame him1 and each time he would drift lower and lower4 ,for a time he was engaged in secretarial work on a prominent ,london ,charity1 but fell repeatedly1 and at length was dismissed4 ,he came to us an utter outcast1 was sent to ,shelter and ,workshop got saved1 and is now in a good situation4 ,he gives every promise1 and those best able to judge seem very sanguine that at last a real good work has been accomplished in him4 ,f4 ,d4--,was born in ,london1 and brought up to the iron trade4 ,held several good situations1 losing one after another1 from drink and irregularity4 ,on one occasion1 with #bj in his pocket1 he started for ,manchester1 got drunk there1 was locked up and fined five shillings1 and fifteen shillings costs2 this he paid1 and as he was leaving the ,court1 a gentleman stopped him1 saying that he knew his father1 and inviting him to his house2 however1 with #aj in his pocket1 he was too independent1 and he declined2 but the gentleman gave him his address1 and left him4 ,a few days squandered his cash1 and clothes soon followed1 all disappearing for drink1 and then without a coin he presented himself at the address given to him1 at ten o'clock at night4 ,it turned out to be his uncle1 who gave him #b to go back to ,london1 but this too disappeared for liquor4 ,he tramped back to ,london utterly destitute4 ,several nights were passed on the ,embankment1 and on one occasion a gentleman gave him a ticket for the ,shelter2 this1 however1 he sold for #b;d4 and had a pint of beer1 and stopped out all night4 ,but it set him thinking1 and he determined next day to raise #d;d4 and see what a ,shelter was like4 ,he came to ,whitechapel1 became a regular customer1 eight months ago got saved1 and is now doing well4 ,f4 ,h4--,was born at ,birmingham1 #aheh4 ,saved at ,whitechapel1 ,march #bfth1 #ahij4 ,father died in his infancy1 mother marrying again4 ,the stepfather was a drunken navvy1 and used to knock the mother about1 and the lad was left to the streets4 ,at #ab years of age he left home1 and tramped to ,liverpool1 begging his way1 and sleeping on the roadsides4 ,in ,liverpool he lived about the ,docks for some days1 sleeping where he could4 ,police found him and returned him to ,birmingham2 his reception being an unmerciful thrashing from the drunken stepfather4 ,he got several jobs as errand-boy1 remarkable for his secret pilferings1 and two years later left with fifty shillings stolen money1 and reached ,middlesbrough by road4 ,got work in a nail factory stayed nine months1 then stole nine shillings from fellow-lodger1 and again took the road4 ,he reached ,birmingham1 and finding a warrant out for him1 joined the ,navy4 ,he was in the ,impregnable training-ship three years behaved himself1 only getting one dozen1 and was transferred with character marked good to the ,iron ,duke in the ,china seas2 soon got drinking1 and was locked up and imprisoned for riotous conduct in almost every port in the stations4 ,he broke ship1 and deserted several times1 and was a thorough specimen of a bad ,british tar4 ,he saw gaol in ,signapore1 ,hong ,kong1 ,yokohama1 ,shanghai1 ,canton1 and other places4 ,in five years returned home1 and1 after furlough1 joined the ,belle ,isle in the ,irish station4 ,whisky here again got hold of him1 and excess ruined his constitution4 ,on his leave he had married1 and on his discharge joined his wife in ,birmingham4 ,for some time he worked as sweeper in the market1 but two years ago deserted his wife and family1 and came to ,london1 settled down to a loafer's life1 lived on the streets with ,casual ,wards for his home4 ,eventually came to ,whitechapel ,shelter1 and got saved4 ,he is now a trustworthy1 reliable lad2 has become reconciled to wife1 who came to ,london to see him1 and he bids fair to be a useful man4 ,j4 ,w4 ,s4--,born in ,plymouth4 ,his parents are respectable people4 ,he is clever at his business1 and has held good situations4 ,two years ago he came to ,london1 fell into evil courses1 and took to drink4 ,lost situation after situation1 and kept on drinking2 lost everything1 and came to the streets4 ,he found out ,westminster ,shelter1 and eventually got saved2 his parents were communicated with1 and help and clothes forthcoming2 with ,salvation came hope and energy2 he got a situation at ,lewisham 7#g;d4 per hour7 at his trade4 ,four months standing1 and is a promising ,soldier as well as a respectable mechanic4 ,j4 ,t4--,born in ,ireland2 well educated 7commercially72 clerk and accountant4 ,early in life joined the ,queen's ,army1 and by good conduct worked his way up4 ,was orderly-room clerk and paymaster's assistant in his regiment4 ,he led a steady life whilst in the service1 and at the expiration of his term passed into the ,reserve with a very good character4 ,he was a long time unemployed1 and this appears to have reduced him to despair1 and so to drink4 ,he sank to the lowest ebb1 and came to ,westminster in a deplorable condition2 coatless1 hatless1 shirtless1 dirty altogether1 a fearful specimen of what a man of good parentage can be brought to4 ,after being at ,shelter some time1 he got saved1 was passed to ,workshops1 and gave great satisfaction4 ,at present he is doing clerical work and gives satisfaction as a workman3 a good influence in the place4 ,j4 ,s4--,born in ,london1 of decent parentage4 ,from a child he exhibited thieving propensities2 soon got into the hands of the police1 and was in and out of gaol continually4 ,he led the life of a confirmed tramp1 and roved all over the ,united ,kingdom4 ,he has been in penal servitude three times1 and his last term was for seven years1 with police supervision4 ,after his release he married a respectable girl1 and tried to reform1 but circumstances were against him2 character he had none1 a gaol career only to recommend him1 and so he and his wife eventually drifted to destitution4 ,they came to the ,shelter1 and asked advice2 they were received1 and he made application to the sitting ,magistrate at ,clerkenwell as to a situation1 and what he ought to do4 ,the ,magistrate helped him1 and thanked the ,salvation ,army for its efforts in behalf of him and such as he1 and asked us to look after the applicant4 ,a little work was given him1 and after a time a good situation procured4 ,to-day they have a good time2 he is steadily employed1 and both are serving ,god1 holding the respect and confidence of neighbours1 etc4 ,e4 ,g4--,came to ,england in the service of a family of position1 and afterwards was butler and upper servant in several houses of the nobility4 ,his health broke down1 and for a long time he was altogether unfit for work4 ,he had saved a considerable sum of money1 but the cost of doctors and the necessaries of a sick man soon played havoc with his little store1 and he became reduced to penury and absolute want4 ,for some time he was in the ,workhouse1 and1 being discharged1 he was advised to go to the ,shelter4 ,he was low in health as well as in circumstances1 and broken in spirit1 almost despairing4 ,he was lovingly advised to cast his care upon ,god1 and eventually he was converted4 ,after some time work was obtained as porter in a ,city warehouse4 ,assiduity and faithfulness in a year raised him to the position of traveller4 ,today he prospers in body and soul1 retaining the respect and confidence of all associated with him4 ,we might multiply these records1 but those given show the kind of results attained4 ,there's no reason to think that influences which have been blessed of ,god to the salvation of these poor fellows will not be equally efficacious if applied on a wider scale and over a vaster area4 ,the thing to be noted in all these cases is that it was not the mere feeding which effected the result2 it was the combination of the feeding with the personal labour for the individual soul4 ,still1 if we had not fed them1 we should never have come near enough to gain any hold upon their hearts4 ,if we had merely fed them1 they would have gone away next day to resume1 with increased energy1 the predatory and vagrant life which they had been leading4 ,but when our feeding and ,shelter ,depots brought them to close quarters1 our officers were literally able to put their arms round their necks and plead with them as brethren who had gone astray4 ,we told them that their sins and sorrows had not shut them out from the love of the ,everlasting ,father1 who had sent us to them to help them with all the power of our strong ,organisation1 of the ,divine authority of which we never feel so sure as when it is going forth to seek and to save the lost4 ,,section #b4--,,work ,,for ,,the ,,out-,,of-,,works4--,,the ,,factory4 ,the foregoing1 it will be said1 is all very well for your outcast when he has got fourpence in his pocket1 but what if he has not got his fourpence8 ,what if you are confronted with a crowd of hungry desperate wretches1 without even a penny in their pouch1 demanding food and shelter8 ,this objection is natural enough1 and has been duly considered from the first4 ,i propose to establish in connection with every ,food and ,shelter ,depot a ,workshop or ,labour ,yard1 in which any person who comes destitute and starving will be supplied with sufficient work to enable him to earn the fourpence needed for his bed and board4 ,this is a fundamental feature of the ,scheme1 and one which ,i think will commend it to all those who are anxious to benefit the poor by enabling them to help themselves without the demoralising intervention of charitable relief4 ,let us take our stand for a moment at the door of one of our ,shelters4 ,there comes along a grimy1 ragged1 footsore tramp1 his feet bursting out from the sides of his shoes1 his clothes all rags1 with filthy shirt and towselled hair4 ,he has been1 he tells you1 on the tramp for the last three weeks1 seeking work and finding none1 slept last night on the ,embankment1 and wants to know if you can give him a bite and a sup1 and shelter for the night4 ,has he any money8 ,not he2 he probably spent the last penny he begged or earned in a pipe of tobacco1 with which to dull the cravings of his hungry stomach4 ,what are you to do with this man8 ,remember this is no fancy sketch--it is a typical case4 ,there are hundreds and thousands of such applicants4 ,any one who is at all familiar with life in ,london and our other large towns1 will recognise that gaunt figure standing there asking for bread and shelter or for work by which he can obtain both4 ,what can we do with him8 ,before him ,society stands paralysed1 quieting its conscience every now and then by an occasional dole of bread and soup1 varied with the semi-criminal treatment of the ,casual ,ward1 until the manhood is crushed out of the man and you have in your hands a reckless1 despairing1 spirit-broken creature1 with not even an aspiration to rise above his miserable circumstances1 covered with vermin and filth1 sinking ever lower and lower1 until at last he is hurried out of sight in the rough shell which carries him to a pauper's grave4 ,i propose to take that man1 put a strong arm round him1 and extricate him from the mire in which he is all but suffocated4 ,as a first step we will say to him1 ,you are hungry1 here is food2 you are homeless1 here is a shelter for your head2 but remember you must work for your rations4 ,this is not charity2 it is work for the workless1 help for those who cannot help themselves4 ,there is the labour shed1 go and earn your fourpence1 and then come in out of the cold and the wet into the warm shelter2 here is your mug of coffee and your great chunk of bread1 and after you have finished these there is a meeting going on in full swing with its joyful music and hearty human intercourse4 ,there are those who pray for you and with you1 and will make you feel yourself a brother among men4 ,there is your shake-down on the floor1 where you will have your warm1 quiet bed1 undisturbed by the ribaldry and curses with which you have been familiar too long4 ,there is the wash-house1 where you can have a thorough wash-up at last1 after all these days of unwashedness4 ,there is plenty of soap and warm water and clean towels2 there1 too1 you can wash your shirt and have it dried while you sleep4 ,in the morning when you get up there will be breakfast for you1 and your shirt will be dry and clean4 ,then when you are washed and rested1 and are no longer faint with hunger1 you can go and seek a job1 or go back to the ,labour shop until something better turns up4 ,but where and how8 ,now let me introduce you to our ,labour ,yard4 ,here is no pretence of charity beyond the charity which gives a man remunerative labour4 ,it is not our business to pay men wages4 ,what we propose is to enable those1 male or female1 who are destitute1 to earn their rations and do enough work to pay for their lodging until they are able to go out into the world and earn wages for themselves4 ,there is no compulsion upon any one to resort to our shelter1 but if a penniless man wants food he must1 as a rule1 do work sufficient to pay for what he has of that and of other accommodation4 ,i say as a rule because1 of course1 our ,officers will be allowed to make exceptions in extreme cases1 but the rule will be first work then eat4 ,and that amount of work will be exacted rigorously4 ,it is that which distinguishes this ,scheme from mere charitable relief4 ,i do not wish to have any hand in establishing a new centre of demoralisation4 ,i do not want my customers to be pauperised by being treated to anything which they do not earn4 ,to develop self-respect in the man1 to make him feel that at last he has go this foot planted on the first rung of the ladder which leads upwards1 is vitally important1 and this cannot be done unless the bargain between him and me is strictly carried out4 ,so much coffee1 so much bread1 so much shelter1 so much warmth and light from me1 but so much labour in return from him4 ,what labour8 it is asked4 ,for answer to this question ,i would like to take you down to our ,industrial ,workshops in ,whitechapel4 ,there you will see the ,scheme in experimental operation4 ,what we are doing there we propose to do everywhere up to the extent of the necessity1 and there is no reason why we should fail elsewhere if we can succeed there4 ,our ,industrial ,factory at ,whitechapel was established this ,spring4 ,we opened it on a very small scale4 ,it has developed until we have nearly ninety men at work4 ,some of these are skilled workmen who are engaged in carpentry4 ,the particular job they have now in hand is the making of benches for the ,salvation ,army4 ,others are engaged in mat-making1 some are cobblers1 others painters1 and so forth4 ,this trial effort has1 so far1 answered admirably4 ,no one who is taken on comes for a permanency4 ,so long as he is willing to work for his rations he is supplied with materials and provided with skilled superintendents4 ,the hours of work are eight per day4 ,here are the rules and regulations under which the work is carried on at present3- ,,the ,,salvation ,,army ,,social ,,reform ,,wing4 ,temporary ,headquarters-- #cf1 ,,upper ,,thames ,,street1 ,,london1 ,e4,c1 ,,city ,,industrial ,,workshops4 ,,objects4--,these workshops are open for the relief of the unemployed and destitute1 the object being to make it unnecessary for the homeless or workless to be compelled to go to the ,workhouse or ,casual ,ward1 food and shelter being provided for them in exchange for work done by them1 until they can procure work for themselves1 or it can be found for them elsewhere4 ,,plan ,,of ,,operation4--,all those applying for assistance will be placed in what is termed the first class4 ,they must be willing to do any kind of work allotted to them4 ,while they remain in the first class1 they shall be entitled to three meals a day1 and shelter for the night1 and will be expected in return to cheerfully perform the work allotted to them4 ,promotions will be made from this first-class to the second-class of all those considered eligible by the ,labour ,directors4 ,they will1 in addition to the food and shelter above mentioned1 receive sums of money up to #es4 at the end of the week1 for the purpose of assisting them to provide themselves with tools1 to get work outside4 ,,regulations4--,no smoking1 drinking1 bad language1 or conduct calculated to demoralize will be permitted on the factory premises4 ,no one under the influence of drink will be admitted4 ,any one refusing to work1 or guilty of bad conduct1 will be required to leave the premises4 ,,hours ,,of ,,work4--#g a4m4 to #h4cj a4m42 #i a4m4 to #a p4m42 #b p4m4 to #e4cj p4m1 ,doors will be closed #e minutes after #g1 #i1 and #b p4m4 ,food ,checks will be given to all as they pass out at each meal time4 ,meals and ,shelter provided at #bgb1 ,whitechapel ,road4 ,our practical experience shows that we can provide work by which a man can earn his rations4 ,we shall be careful not to sell the goods so manufactured at less than the market prices4 ,in firewood1 for instance1 we have endeavoured to be rather above the average than below it4 ,as stated elsewhere1 we are firmly opposed to injuring one class of workmen while helping another4 ,attempts on somewhat similar lines to those now being described have hitherto excited the liveliest feelings of jealousy on the part of the ,trade ,unions1 and representatives of labour4 ,they rightly consider it unfair that labour partly paid for out of the ,rates and ,taxes1 or by ,charitable ,contributions1 should be put upon the market at less than market value1 and so compete unjustly with the production of those who have in the first instance to furnish an important quota of the funds by which these ,criminal or ,pauper workers are supported4 ,no such jealousy can justly exist in relation to our ,scheme1 seeing that we are endeavouring to raise the standard of labour and are pledged to a war to the death against sweating in every shape and form4 ,but1 it will be asked1 how do these ,out-of-,works conduct themselves when you get them into the ,factory8 ,upon this point ,i have a very satisfactory report to render4 ,many1 no doubt1 are below par1 under-fed1 and suffering from ill health1 or the consequence of their intemperance4 ,many also are old men1 who have been crowded out of the labour market by their younger generation4 ,but1 without making too many allowances on these grounds1 ,i may fairly say that these men have shown themselves not only anxious and willing1 but able to work4 ,our ,factory ,superintendent reports3- ,of loss or time there has practically been none since the opening1 ,june #bith4 ,each man during his stay1 with hardly an exception1 has presented himself punctually at opening time and worked more or less assiduously the whole of the labour hours4 ,the morals of the men have been good1 in not more than three instances has there been an overt act of disobedience1 insubordination1 or mischief4 ,the men1 as a whole1 are uniformly civil1 willing1 and satisfied2 they are all fairly industrious1 some1 and that not a few1 are assiduous and energetic4 ,the ,foremen have had no serious complaints to make or delinquencies to report4 ,on the #aeth of ,august ,i had a return made of the names and trades and mode of employment of the men at work4 ,of the forty in the shops at that moment1 eight were carpenters1 twelve labourers1 two tailors1 two sailors1 three clerks1 two engineers1 while among the rest was a shoemaker1 two grocers1 a cooper1 a sailmaker1 a musician1 a painter1 and a stonemason4 ,nineteen of these were employed in sawing1 cutting and tying up firewood1 six were making mats1 seven making sacks1 and the rest were employed in various odd jobs4 ,among them was a ,russian carpenter who could not speak a word of ,english4 ,the whole place is a hive of industry which fills the hearts of those who go to see it with hope that something is about to be done to solve the difficulty of the unemployed4 ,although our ,factories will be permanent institutions they will not be anything more than temporary resting-places to those who avail themselves of their advantages4 ,they are harbours of refuge into which the storm-tossed workman may run and re-fit1 so that he may again push out to the ordinary sea of labour and earn his living4 ,the establishment of these ,industrial ,factories seems to be one of the most obvious duties of those who would effectually deal with the ,social ,problem4 ,they are as indispensable a link in the chain of deliverance as the ,shelters1 but they are only a link and not a stopping-place4 ,and we do not propose that they should be regarded as anything but stepping-stones to better things4 ,these ,shops will also be of service for men and women temporarily unemployed who have families1 and who possess some sort of a home4 ,in numerous instances1 if by any means these unfortunates could find bread and rent for a few weeks1 they would tide over their difficulties1 and an untold amount of misery would be averted1 ,in such cases ,work would be supplied at their own homes where preferred1 especially for the women and children1 and such remuneration would be aimed at as would supply the immediate necessities of the hour4 ,to those who have rent to pay and families to support something beyond rations would be indispensable4 ,the ,labour ,shops will enable us to work out our ,anti-,sweating experiments4 ,for instance1 we propose at once to commence manufacturing match boxes1 for which we shall aim at giving nearly treble the amount at present paid to the poor starving creatures engaged in this work4 ,in all these workshops our success will depend upon the extent to which we are able to establish and maintain in the minds of the workers sound moral sentiments and to cultivate a spirit of hopefulness and aspiration4 ,we shall continually seek to impress upon them the fact that while we desire to feed the hungry1 and clothe the naked1 and provide shelter for the shelterless1 we are still more anxious to bring about that regeneration of heart and life which is essential to their future happiness and well-being4 ,but no compulsion will for a moment be allowed with respect to religion4 ,the man who professes to love and serve ,god will be helped because of such profession1 and the man who does not will be helped in the hope that he will1 sooner or later1 in gratitude to ,god1 do the same2 but there will be no melancholy misery-making for any4 ,there is no sanctimonious long face in the ,army4 ,we talk freely about ,salvation1 because it is to us the very light and joy of our existence4 ,we are happy1 and we wish others to share our joy4 ,we know by our own experience that life is a very different thing when we have found the peace of ,god1 and are working together with ,him for the salvation of the world1 instead of toiling for the realisation of worldly ambition or the amassing of earthly gain4 ,,section #c4--,,the ,,regimentation ,,of ,,the ,,unemployed4 ,when we have got the homeless1 penniless tramp washed1 and housed1 and fed at the ,shelter1 and have secured him the means of earning his fourpence by chopping firewood1 or making mats or cobbling the shoes of his fellow-labourers at the ,factory1 we have next to seriously address ourselves to the problem of how to help him to get back into the regular ranks of industry4 ,the ,shelter and the ,factory are but stepping-stones1 which have this advantage1 they give us time to look round and to see what there is in a man and what we can make of him4 ,the first and most obvious thing to do is to ascertain whether there is any demand in the regular market for the labour which is thus thrown upon our hands4 ,in order to ascertain this ,i have already established a ,labour ,bureau1 the operations of which ,i shall at once largely extend1 at which employers can register their needs1 and workmen can register their names and the kind of work they can do4 ,at present there is no labour exchange in existence in this country4 ,the columns of the daily newspaper are the only substitute for this much needed register4 ,it is one of the many painful consequences arising from the overgrowth of cities4 ,in a village where everybody knows everybody else this necessity does not exist4 ,if a farmer wants a couple of extra men for mowing or some more women for binding at harvest time1 he runs over in his mind the names of every available person in the parish4 ,even in a small town there is little difficulty in knowing who wants employment4 ,but in the cities this knowledge is not available2 hence we constantly hear of persons who would be very glad to employ labour for odd jobs in an occasional stress of work while at the same time hundreds of persons are starving for want of work at another end of the town4 ,to meet this evil the laws of ,supply and ,demand have created the ,sweating ,middlemen1 who farm out the unfortunates and charge so heavy a commission for their share that the poor wretches who do the work receive hardly enough to keep body and soul together4 ,i propose to change all this by establishing ,registers which will enable us to lay our hands at a moment's notice upon all the unemployed men in a district in any particular trade4 ,in this way we should become the universal intermediary between those who have no employment and those who want workmen4 ,in this we do not propose to supersede or interfere with the regular ,trade ,unions4 ,where ,unions exist we should place ourselves in every case in communication with their officials4 ,but the most helpless mass of misery is to be found among the unorganised labourers who have no ,union1 and who are1 therefore1 the natural prey of the middleman4 ,take1 for instance1 one of the most wretched classes of the community1 the poor fellows who perambulate the streets as ,sandwich ,men4 ,these are farmed out by certain firms4 ,if you wish to send fifty or a hundred men through ,london carrying boards announcing the excellence of your goods1 you go to an advertising firm who will undertake to supply you with as many sandwich men as you want for two shillings or half a crown a day4 ,the men are forthcoming1 your goods are advertised1 you pay your money1 but how much of that goes to the men8 ,about one shilling1 or one shilling and threepence2 the rest goes to the middleman4 ,i propose to supersede this middleman by forming a ,co-operative ,association of ,sandwich ,men4 ,at every ,shelter there would be a ,sandwich ,brigade ready in any numbers when wanted4 ,the cost of registration and organisation1 which the men would gladly pay1 need not certainly amount to more than a penny in the shilling4 ,all that is needed is to establish a trustworthy and disinterested centre round which the unemployed can group themselves1 and which will form the nucleus of a great ,co-operative ,self-helping ,association4 ,the advantages of such a ,bureau are obvious4 ,but in this1 also1 ,i do not speak from theory4 ,i have behind me the experience of seven months of labour both in ,england and ,australia4 ,in ,london we have a registration office in ,upper ,thames ,street1 where the unemployed come every morning in droves to register their names and to see whether they can obtain situations4 ,in ,australia1 ,i see1 it was stated in the ,house of ,assembly that our ,officers had been instrumental in finding situations for no less than one hundred and thirty-two ,out-of-,works in a few days4 ,here1 in ,london1 we have succeeded in obtaining employment for a great number1 although1 of course1 it is beyond our power to help all those who apply4 ,we have sent hay-makers down to the country and there is every reason to believe that when our ,organisation is better known1 and in more extended operation1 we shall have a great labour exchange between town and country1 so that when there is scarcity in one place and congestion in another1 there will be information immediately sent1 so that the surplus labour can be drafted into those districts where labour is wanted4 ,for instance1 in the harvest seasons1 with changeable weather1 it is quite a common occurrence for the crops to be seriously damaged for want of labourers1 while at the same time there will be thousands wandering about in the big towns and cities seeking work1 but finding no one to hire them4 ,extend this system all over the world1 and make it not only applicable to the transfer of workers between the towns and the provinces1 but between ,country and ,country1 and it is impossible to exaggerate the enormous advantages which would result4 ,the officer in charge of our experimental ,labour ,bureau sends me the following notes as to what has already been done through the agency of the ,upper ,thames ,street office3 ,,salvation ,,army ,,social ,,reform ,,wing4 ,,labor ,,bureau4 ,bureau opened ,june #afth1 #ahij4 ,the following are particulars of transactions up to ,september #bfth1 #ahij3 -- ,applications for employment--,men 44 44 #bdfb ,women 44 #bjh ----- #bfgj ,applications from ,employers for ,men 44 #abh ,women 44 #ei ----- #ahg ,sent to ,work--,men 44 44 44 44 44 #cja ,women 44 44 44 44 #fh ---- #cfi ,permanent ,situations 44 44 44 44 44 #adf ,temporary ,employment1 viz3 --,boardmen1 ,cleaners1 c41 c 44 44 #bbc ,sent to ,workshop in ,hanbury ,street 44 44 #afe ,,section #d4--,,the ,,household ,,salvage ,,brigade4 ,it is obvious that the moment you begin to find work for the unemployed labour of the community1 no matter what you do by way of the registration and bringing together of those who want work and those who want workers1 there will still remain a vast residuum of unemployed1 and it will be the duty of those who undertake to deal with the question to devise means for securing them employment4 ,many things are possible when there is a directing intelligence at headquarters and discipline in the rank and file1 which would be utterly impossible when everyone is left to go where he pleases1 when ten men are running for one man's job1 and when no one can be depended upon to be in the way at the time he is wanted4 ,when my ,scheme is carried out1 there will be in every populous centre a ,captain of ,industry1 an ,officer specially charged with the regimentation of unorganised labour1 who would be continually on the alert1 thinking how best to utilise the waste human material in his district4 ,it is contrary to all previous experience to suppose that the addition of so much trained intelligence will not operate beneficially in securing the disposal of a commodity which is at present a drug in the market4 ,robertson1 of ,brighton1 used frequently to remark that every truth was built up of two apparent contradictory propositions4 ,in the same way ,i may say that the solution of every social difficulty is to be found in the discovery of two corresponding difficulties4 ,it is like the puzzle maps of children4 ,when you are putting one together1 you suddenly come upon some awkward piece that will not fit in anywhere1 but you do not in disgust and despair break your piece into fragments or throw it away4 ,on the contrary1 you keep it by you1 knowing that before long you will discover a number of other pieces which it will be impossible to fit in until you fix your unmanageable1 unshapely piece in the centre4 ,now1 in the work of piecing together the fragments which lie scattered around the base of our social system we must not despair because we have in the unorganised1 untrained labourers that which seems hopelessly out of fit with everything around4 ,there must be something corresponding to it which is equally useless until he can be brought to bear upon it4 ,in other words1 having got one difficulty in the case of the ,out-of-,works1 we must cast about to find another difficulty to pair off against it1 and then out of two difficulties will arise the solution of the problem4 ,we shall not have far to seek before we discover in every town and in every country the corresponding element to our unemployed labourer4 ,we have waste labour on the one hand2 we have waste commodities on the other4 ,about waste land ,i shall speak in the next chapter2 ,i am concerned now solely with waste commodities4 ,herein we have a means of immediately employing a large number of men under conditions which will enable us to permanently provide for many of those whose hard lot we are now considering4 ,i propose to establish in every large town what ,i may call ,a ,household ,salvage ,brigade1 a civil force of organised collectors1 who will patrol the whole town as regularly as the policeman1 who will have their appointed beats1 and each of whom will been trusted with the task of collecting the waste of the houses in their circuit4 ,in small towns and villages this is already done1 and it will be noticed that most of the suggestions which ,i have put forth in this book are based upon the central principle1 which is that of restoring2 to the over-grown1 and1 therefore1 uninformed masses of population in our towns the same intelligence and co-operation as to the mutual wants of each and all1 that prevails in your small town or village4 ,the latter is the manageable unit1 because its dimensions and its needs have not out-grown the range of the individual intelligence and ability of those who dwell therein4 ,our troubles in large towns arise chiefly from the fact that the massing of population has caused the physical bulk of ,society to outgrow its intelligence4 ,it is as if a human being had suddenly developed fresh limbs which were not connected by any nervous system with the gray matter of his brain4 ,such a thing is impossible in the human being1 but1 unfortunately1 it is only too possible in human society4 ,in the human body no member can suffer without an instantaneous telegram being despatched1 as it were1 to the seat of intelligence2 the foot or the finger cries out when it suffers1 and the whole body suffers with it4 ,so1 in a small community1 every one1 rich and poor1 is more or less cognizant of the sufferings of the community4 ,in a large town1 where people have ceased to be neighbourly1 there is only a congested mass of population settled down on a certain small area without any human ties connecting them together4 ,here1 it is perfectly possible1 and it frequently happens1 that men actually die of starvation within a few doors of those who1 if they had been informed of the actual condition of the sufferer that lay within earshot of their comfortable drawing-rooms1 would have been eager to minister the needed relief4 ,what we have to do1 therefore1 is to grow a new nervous system for the body politic1 to create a swift1 almost automatic1 means of communication between the community as a whole and the meanest of its members1 so as to restore to the city what the village possesses4 ,i do not say that the plan which ,i have suggested is the only plan or the best plan conceivable4 ,all that ,i claim for it is that it is the only plan which ,i can conceive as practicable at the present moment1 and that1 as a matter of fact1 it holds the field alone1 for no one1 so far as ,i have been able to discover1 even proposes to reconstitute the connection between what ,i have called the gray matter of the brain of the municipal community and all the individual units which make up the body politic4 ,carrying out the same idea ,i come to the problem of the waste commodities of the towns1 and we will take this as an earnest of the working out of the general principle4 ,in the villages there is very little waste4 ,the sewage is applied directly to the land1 and so becomes a source of wealth instead of being emptied into great subterranean reservoirs1 to generate poisonous gases1 which by a most ingenious arrangement1 are then poured forth into the very heart of our dwellings1 as is the case in the great cities4 ,neither is there any waste of broken victuals4 ,the villager has his pig or his poultry1 or if he has not a pig his neighbour has one1 and the collection of broken victuals is conducted as regularly as the delivery of the post4 ,and as it is with broken victuals1 so it is with rags and bones1 and old iron1 and all the debris of a household4 ,when ,i was a boy one of the most familiar figures in the streets of a country town was the man1 who1 with his small hand-barrow or donkey-cart1 made a regular patrol through all the streets once a week1 collecting rags1 bones1 and all other waste materials1 buying the same from the juveniles who collected them in specie1 not of ,her ,majesty's current coin1 but of common sweetmeats1 known as claggum or taffy4 ,when the tootling of his familiar horn was heard the children would bring out their stores1 and trade as best they could with the itinerant merchant1 with the result that the closets which in our towns to-day have become the receptacles of all kinds of1 disused lumber were kept then swept and garnished4 ,now1 what ,i want to know is why can we not establish on a scale commensurate with our extended needs the rag-and-bone industry in all our great towns8 ,that there is sufficient to pay for the collection is1 ,i think1 indisputable4 ,if it paid in a small ,north-country town or ,midland village1 why would it not pay much better in an area where the houses stand more closely together1 and where luxurious living and thriftless habits have so increased that there must be proportionately far more breakage1 more waste1 and1 therefore1 more collectable matter than in the rural districts8 ,in looking over the waste of ,london it has occurred to me that in the debris of our households there is sufficient food1 it utilised1 to feed many of the starving poor1 and to employ some thousands of them in its collection1 and1 in addition1 largely to assist the general scheme4 ,what ,i propose would be to go to work on something like the following plan3- ,london would be divided into districts1 beginning with that portion of it most likely to furnish the largest supplies of what would be worth collection4 ,two men1 or a man and a boy1 would be told of for this purpose to this district4 ,households would be requested to allow a receptacle to be placed in some convenient spot in which the servants could deposit the waste food1 and a sack of some description would also be supplied for the paper1 rags1 c4 ,the whole would be collected1 say once or twice a week1 or more frequently1 according to the season and circumstances1 and transferred to depots as central as possible to the different districts4 ,at present much of this waste is thrown into the dust-bin1 there to fester and breed disease4 ,then there are old newspapers1 ragged books1 old bottles1 tins1 canisters1 etc4 ,we all know what a number of articles there are which are not quite bad enough to be thrown into the dust heap1 and yet are no good to us4 ,we put them on one side1 hoping that something may turn up1 and as that something very seldom does turn up1 there they remain4 ,crippled musical instruments1 for instance1 old toys1 broken-down perambulators1 old clothes1 all the things1 in short1 for which we have no more need1 and for which there is no market within our reach1 but which we feel it would be a sin and a shame to destroy4 ,when ,i get my ,household ,salvage ,brigade properly organised1 beginning1 as ,i said1 in some district where we should be likely to meet with most material1 our uniformed collectors would call every other day or twice a week with their hand barrow or pony cart4 ,as these men would be under strict discipline1 and numbered1 the householder would have a security against any abuse of which such regular callers might otherwise be the occasion4 ,at present the rag and bone man who drives a more or less precarious livelihood by intermittent visits1 is looked upon askance by prudent housewives4 ,they fear in many cases he takes the refuse in order to have the opportunity of finding something which may be worth while picking up1 and should he be impudent or negligent there is no authority to whom they can appeal4 ,under our ,brigade1 each district would have its numbered officer1 who would himself be subordinate to a superior officer1 to whom any complaints could be made1 and whose duty it would be to see that the officers under his command punctually performed their rounds and discharged their duties without offence4 ,here let me disclaim any intention of interfering with the ,little ,sisters of the ,poor1 or any other persons1 who collect the broken victuals of hotels and other establishments for charitable purposes4 ,my object is not to poach on my neighbour's domains1 nor shall ,i ever be a party to any contentious quarrels for the control of this or that source of supply4 ,all that is already utilised ,i regard as outside my sphere4 ,the unoccupied wilderness of waste is a wide enough area for the operations of our ,brigade4 ,but it will be found in practice that there are no competing agencies4 ,while the broken victuals of certain large hotels are regularly collected1 the things before enumerated1 and a number of others1 are untouched because not sought after4 ,of the immense extent to which ,food is wasted few people have any notion except those who have made actual experiments4 ,some years ago1 ,lady ,wolseley established a system of collection from house to house in ,mayfair1 in order to secure materials for a charitable kitchen which1 in concert with ,baroness ,burdett-,coutts1 she had started at ,westminster4 ,the amount of the food which she gathered was enormous4 ,sometimes legs of mutton from which only one or two slices had been cut were thrown into the tub1 where they waited for the arrival of the cart on its rounds4 ,it is by no means an excessive estimate to assume that the waste of the kitchens of the ,west ,end would provide a sufficient sustenance for all the ,out-of-,works who will be employed in our labour sheds at the industrial centres4 ,all that it needs is collection1 prompt1 systematic1 by disciplined men who can be relied upon to discharge their task with punctuality and civility1 and whose failure in this duty can be directly brought to the attention of the controlling authority4 ,of the utilisation of much of the food which is to be so collected ,i shall speak hereafter1 when ,i come to describe the second great division of my scheme1 namely the ,farm ,colony4 ,much of the food collected by the ,household ,salvage ,brigade would not be available for human consumption4 ,in this the greatest care would be exercised1 and the remainder would be dispatched1 if possible1 by barges down the river to the ,farm ,colony1 where we shall meet it hereafter4 ,but food is only one of the materials which we should handle4 ,at our ,whitechapel ,factory there is one shoemaker whom we picked off the streets destitute and miserable4 ,he is now saved1 and happy1 and cobbles away at the shoe leather of his mates4 ,that shoemaker1 ,i foresee1 is but the pioneer of a whole army of shoemakers constantly at work in repairing the cast-off boots and shoes of ,london4 ,already in some provincial towns a great business is done by the conversion of old shoes into new4 ,they call the men so employed translators4 ,boots and shoes1 as every wearer of them knows1 do not go to pieces all at once or in all parts at once4 ,the sole often wears out utterly1 while the upper leather is quite good1 or the upper leather bursts while the sole remains practically in a salvable condition2 but your individual pair of shoes and boots are no good to you when any section of them is hopelessly gone to the bad4 ,but give our trained artist in leather and his army of assistants a couple of thousand pairs of boots and shoes1 and it will go ill with him if out of the couple of thousand pairs of wrecks he cannot construct five hundred pairs1 which1 if not quite good1 will be immeasurably better than the apologies for boots which cover the feet of many a poor tramp1 to say nothing of the thousands of poor children who are at the present moment attending our public schools4 ,in some towns they have already established a ,boot and ,shoe ,fund in order to provide the little ones who come to school with shoes warranted not to let in water between the school house and home4 ,when you remember the #dc1jjj children who are reported by the ,school ,board to attend the schools of ,london alone unfed and starving1 do you not think there are many thousands to whom we could easily dispose1 with advantage1 the resurrected shoes of our ,boot ,factory8 ,this1 however1 is only one branch of industry4 ,take old umbrellas4 ,we all know the itinerant umbrella mender1 whose appearance in the neighbourhood of the farmhouse leads the good wife to look after her poultry and to see well to it that the watchdog is on the premises4 ,but that gentleman is almost the only agency by which old umbrellas can be rescued from the dust heap4 ,side by side with our ,boot ,factory we shall have a great umbrella works4 ,the ironwork of one umbrella will be fitted to the stick of another1 and even from those that are too hopelessly gone for any further use as umbrellas we shall find plenty of use for their steels and whalebone4 ,so ,i might go on4 ,bottles are a fertile source of minor domestic worry4 ,when you buy a bottle you have to pay a penny for it2 but when you have emptied it you cannot get a penny back2 no1 nor even a farthing4 ,you throw your empty bottle either into the dust heap1 or let it lie about4 ,but if we could collect all the waste bottles of ,london every day1 it would go hardly with us if we could not turn a very pretty penny by washing them1 sorting them1 and sending them out on a new lease of life4 ,the washing of old bottles alone will keep a considerable number of people going4 ,i can imagine the objection which will be raised by some shortsighted people1 that by giving the old1 second-hand material a new lease of life it will be said that we shall diminish the demand for new material1 and so curtail work and wages at one end while we are endeavouring to piece on something at the other4 ,this objection reminds me of a remark of a ,north ,country pilot who1 when speaking of the dulness in the shipbuilding industry1 said that nothing would do any good but a series of heavy storms1 which would send a goodly number of ocean-going steamers to the bottom1 to replace which1 this political economist thought1 the yards would once more be filled with orders4 ,this1 however1 is not the way in which work is supplied4 ,economy is a great auxiliary to trade1 inasmuch as the money saved is expended on other products of industry4 ,there is one material that is continually increasing in quantity1 which is the despair of the life of the householder and of the ,local ,sanitary ,authority4 ,i refer to the tins in which provisions are supplied4 ,nowadays everything comes to us in tins4 ,we have coffee tins1 meat tins1 salmon tins1 and tins ad nauseam4 ,tin is becoming more and more the universal envelope of the rations of man4 ,but when you have extracted the contents of the tin what can you do with it8 ,huge mountains of empty tins lie about every dustyard1 for as yet no man has discovered a means of utilising them when in great masses4 ,their market price is about four or five shillings a ton1 but they are so light that it would take half a dozen trucks to hold a ton4 ,they formerly burnt them for the sake of the solder1 but now1 by a new process1 they are jointed without solder4 ,the problem of the utilisation of the tins is one to which we would have to address ourselves1 and ,i am by no means desponding as to the result4 ,i see in the old tins of ,london at least one means of establishing an industry which is at present almost monopolised by our neighbours4 ,most of the toys which are sold in ,france on ,new ,year's ,day are almost entirely made of sardine tins collected in the ,french capital4 ,the toy market of ,england is at present far from being overstocked1 for there are multitudes of children who have no toys worth speaking of with which to amuse themselves4 ,in these empty tins ,i see a means of employing a large number of people in turning out cheap toys which will add a new joy to the households of the poor--the poor to whom every farthing is important1 not the rich the rich can always get toys--but the children of the poor1 who live in one room and have nothing to look out upon but the slum or the street4 ,these desolate little things need our toys1 and if supplied cheap enough they will take them in sufficient quantities to make it worth while to manufacture them4 ,a whole book might be written concerning the utilisation of the waste of ,london4 ,but ,i am not going to write one4 ,i hope before long to do something much better than write a book1 namely1 to establish an organisation to utilise the waste1 and then if ,i describe what is being done it will be much better than by now explaining what ,i propose to do4 ,but there is one more waste material to which it is necessary to allude4 ,i refer to old newspapers and magazines1 and books4 ,newspapers accumulate in our houses until we sometimes burn them in sheer disgust4 ,magazines and old books lumber our shelves until we hardly know where to turn to put a new volume4 ,my ,brigade will relieve the householder from these difficulties1 and thereby become a great distributing agency of cheap literature4 ,after the magazine has done its duty in the middle class household it can be passed on to the reading-rooms1 workhouses1 and hospitals4 ,every publication issued from the ,press that is of the slightest use to men and women will1 by our ,scheme1 acquire a double share of usefulness4 ,it will be read first by its owner1 and then by many people who would never otherwise see it4 ,we shall establish an immense second-hand book shop4 ,all the best books that come into our hands will be exposed for sale1 not merely at our central depots1 but on the barrows of our peripatetic colporteurs1 who will go from street to street with literature which1 ,i trust1 will be somewhat superior to the ordinary pabulum supplied to the poor4 ,after we have sold all we could1 and given away all that is needed to public institutions1 the remainder will be carried down to our great ,paper ,mill1 of which we shall speak later1 in connection with our ,farm ,colony4 ,the ,household ,salvage ,brigade will constitute an agency capable of being utilised to any extent for the distribution of parcels newspapers1 c4 ,when once you have your reliable man who will call at every house with the regularity of a postman1 and go his beat with the punctuality of a policeman1 you can do great things with him4 ,i do not need to elaborate this point4 ,it will be a universal ,corps of ,commissionaires1 created for the service of the public and in the interests of the poor1 which will bring us into direct relations with every family in ,london1 and will therefore constitute an unequalled medium for the distribution of advertisements and the collection of information4 ,it does not require a very fertile imagination to see that when such a house-to-house visitation is regularly established1 it will develop in all directions2 and working1 as it would1 in connection with our ,anti-sweating ,shops and ,industrial ,colony1 would probably soon become the medium for negotiating sundry household repairs1 from a broken window to a damaged stocking4 ,if a porter were wanted to move furniture1 or a woman wanted to do charing1 or some one to clean windows or any other odd job1 the ubiquitous ,servant of ,all who called for the waste1 either verbally or by postcard1 would receive the order1 and whoever was wanted would appear at the time desired without any further trouble on the part of the householder4 ,one word as to the cost4 ,there are five hundred thousand houses in the ,metropolitan ,police district4 ,to supply every house with a tub and a sack for the reception of waste would involve an initial expenditure which could not possibly be less than one shilling a house4 ,so huge is ,london1 and so enormous the numbers with which we shall have to deal1 that this simple preliminary would require a cost of #be1jjj4 ,of course ,i do not propose to begin on anything like such a vast scale4 ,that sum1 which is only one of the many expenditures involved1 will serve to illustrate the extent of the operations which the ,household ,salvage ,brigade will necessitate4 ,the enterprise is therefore beyond the reach of any but a great and powerful organisation1 commanding capital and able to secure loyalty1 discipline1 and willing service4 ,,chapter #c4 ,,to ,,the ,,country6--,,the ,,farm ,,colony4 ,a leave on one side for a moment various features of the operations which will be indispensable but subsidiary to the ,city ,colony1 such as the ,rescue ,homes for ,lost ,women1 the ,retreats for ,inebriates1 the ,homes for ,discharged ,prisoners1 the ,enquiry ,office for the ,discovery of ,lost ,friends and ,relatives1 and the ,advice ,bureau1 which will1 in time1 become an institution that will be invaluable as a poor man's ,tribune4 ,all these and other suggestions for saving the lost and helping the poor1 although they form essential elements of the ,city ,colony1 will be better dealt with after ,i have explained the relation which the ,farm ,colony will occupy to the ,city ,colony1 and set forth the way in which the former will act as a feeder to the ,colony ,over sea4 ,i have already described how ,i propose to deal1 in the first case1 with the mass of surplus labour which will infallibly accumulate on our hands as soon as the ,shelters are more extensively established and in good working order4 ,but ,i fully recognise that when all has been done that can be done in the direction of disposing of the unhired men and women of the town1 there will still remain many whom you can neither employ in the ,household ,salvage ,brigade1 nor for whom employers1 be they registered never so carefully1 can be found4 ,what1 then1 must be done with them8 ,the answer to that question seems to me obvious4 ,they must go upon the land6 ,the land is the source of all food2 only by the application of labour can the land be made fully productive4 ,there is any amount of waste land in the world1 not far away in distant ,continents1 next door to the ,north ,pole1 but here at our very doors4 ,have you ever calculated1 for instance1 the square miles of unused land which fringe the sides of all our railroads8 ,no doubt some embankments are of material that would baffle the cultivating skill at a ,chinese or the careful husbandry of a ,swiss mountaineer2 but these are exceptions4 ,when other people talk of reclaiming ,salisbury ,plain1 or of cultivating the bare moorlands of the bleak ,north1 ,i think of the hundreds of square miles of land that lie in long ribbons on the side of each of our railways1 upon which1 without any cost for cartage1 innumerable tons of ,city manure could be shot down1 and the crops of which could be carried at once to the nearest market without any but the initial cost of heaping into convenient trucks4 ,these railway embankments constitute a vast estate1 capable of growing fruit enough to supply all the jam that ,crosse and ,blackwell ever boiled4 ,in almost every county in ,england are vacant farms1 and1 in still greater numbers1 farms but a quarter cultivated1 which only need the application of an industrious population working with due incentive to produce twice1 thrice1 and four times as much as they yield to-day4 ,i am aware that there are few subjects upon which there are such fierce controversies as the possibilities of making a livelihood out of small holdings1 but ,irish cottiers do it1 and in regions infinitely worse adapted for the purpose than our ,essex corn lands1 and possessing none of the advantages which civilization and co-operation place at the command of an intelligently directed body of husbandmen4 ,talk about the land not being worth cultivating6 ,go to the ,swiss ,valleys and examine for yourself the miserable patches of land1 hewed out as it were from the heart of the granite mountains1 where the cottager grows his crops and makes a livelihood4 ,no doubt he has his ,alp1 where his cows pasture in summer-time1 and his other occupations which enable him to supplement the scanty yield of his farm garden among the crags2 but if it pays the ,swiss mountaineer in the midst of the eternal snows1 far removed from any market1 to cultivate such miserable soil in the brief summer of the high ,alps1 it is impossible to believe that ,englishmen1 working on ,english soil1 close to our markets and enjoying all the advantages of co-operation1 cannot earn their daily bread by their daily toil4 ,the soil of ,england is not unkindly1 and although much is said against our climate1 it is1 as ,mr4 ,russell ,lowell observes1 after a lengthened experience of many countries and many climes1 the best climate in the whole world for the labouring man4 ,there are more days in the ,english year on which a man can work out of doors with a spade with comparative comfort than in any other country under heaven4 ,i do not say that men will make a fortune out of the land1 nor do ,i pretend that we can1 under the grey ,english skies1 hope ever to vie with the productiveness of the ,jersey farms2 but ,i am prepared to maintain against all comers that it is possible for an industrious man to grow his rations1 provided he is given a spade with which to dig and land to dig in4 ,especially will this be the case with intelligent direction and the advantages of co-operation4 ,is it not a reasonable supposition8 ,it always seems to me a strange thing that men should insist that you must first transport your labourer thousands of miles to a desolate1 bleak country in order to set him to work to extract a livelihood from the soil when hundreds of thousands of acres lie only half tilled at home or not tilled at all4 ,is it reasonable to think that you can only begin to make a living out of land when it lies several thousand miles from the nearest market1 and thousands of miles from the place where the labourer has to buy his tools and procure all the necessaries of life which are not grown on the spot8 ,if a man can make squatting pay on the prairies or in ,australia1 where every quarter of grain which he produces has to be dragged by locomotives across the railways of the continent1 and then carried by steamers across the wide ocean1 can he not equally make the operation at least sufficiently profitable to keep himself alive if you plant him with the same soil within an hour by rail of the greatest markets in the world8 ,the answer to this is1 that you cannot give your man as much soil as he has on the prairies or in the ,canadian lumber lands4 ,this1 no doubt1 is true1 but the squatter who settles in the ,canadian backwoods does not clear his land all at once4 ,he lives on a small portion of it1 and goes on digging and delving little by little1 until1 after many years of ,herculean labour1 he hews out for himself1 and his children after him1 a freehold estate4 ,freehold estates1 ,i admit1 are not to be had for the picking up on ,english soil1 but if a man will but work in ,england as they work in ,canada or in ,australia1 he will find as little difficulty in making a livelihood here as there4 ,i may be wrong1 but when ,i travel abroad and see the desperate struggle on the part of peasant proprietors and the small holders in mountainous districts for an additional patch of soil1 the idea of cultivating which would make our agricultural labourers turn up their noses in speechless contempt1 ,i cannot but think that our ,english soil could carry a far greater number of souls to the acre than that which it bears at present4 ,suppose1 for instance1 that ,essex were suddenly to find itself unmoored from its ,english anchorage and towed across the ,channel to ,normandy1 or1 not to imagine miracles1 suppose that an ,armada of ,chinese were to make a descent on the ,isle of ,thanet1 as did the sea-kings1 ,hengist and ,horsa1 does anyone imagine for a moment that ,kent1 fertile and cultivated as it is1 would not be regarded as a very ,garden of ,eden out of the odd corners of which our yellow-skinned invaders would contrive to extract sufficient to keep themselves in sturdy health8 ,i only suggest the possibility in order to bring out clearly the fact that the difficulty is not in the soil nor in the climate1 but in the lack of application of sufficient labour to sufficient land in the truly scientific way4 ,what is the scientific way8 ,i shall be asked impatiently4 ,i am not an agriculturist2 ,i do not dogmatize4 ,i have read much from many pens1 and have noted the experiences of many colonies1 and ,i have learned the lesson that it is in the school of practical labour that the most valuable knowledge is to be obtained4 ,nevertheless1 the bulk of my proposals are based upon the experience of many who have devoted their lives to the study of the subject1 and have been endorsed by specialists whose experience gives them authority to speak with unquestioning confidence4 ,,section #a4--,,the ,,farm ,,proper4 ,my present idea is to take an estate from five hundred to a thousand acres within reasonable distance of ,london4 ,it should be of such land as will be suitable for market gardening1 while having some clay on it for brick-making and for crops requiring a heavier soil4 ,if possible1 it should not only be on a line of railway which is managed by intelligent and progressive directors1 but it should have access to the sea and to the river4 ,it should be freehold land1 and it should lie at some considerable distance from any town or village4 ,the reason for the latter desideratum is obvious4 ,we must be near ,london for the sake of our market and for the transmission of the commodities collected by our ,household ,salvage ,brigade1 but it must be some little distance from any town or village in order that the ,colony may be planted clear out in the open away from the public house1 that upas tree of civilisation4 ,a sine qua non of the new ,farm ,colony is that no intoxicating liquors will be permitted within its confines on any pretext whatever4 ,the doctors will have to prescribe some other stimulant than alcohol for residents in this ,colony4 ,but it will be little use excluding alcohol with a strong hand and by cast-iron regulations if the ,colonists have only to take a short walk in order to find themselves in the midst of the ,red ,lions1 and the ,blue ,dragons1 and the ,george the ,fourths1 which abound in every country town4 ,having obtained the land ,i should proceed to prepare it for the ,colonists4 ,this is an operation which is essentially the same in any country4 ,you need water supply1 provisions and shelter4 ,all this would be done at first in the simplest possible style4 ,our pioneer brigade1 carefully selected from the competent ,out-of-,works in the ,city ,colony1 would be sent down to layout the estate and prepare it for those who would come after4 ,and here let me say that it is a great delusion to imagine that in the riffraff and waste of the labour market there are no workmen to be had except those that are worthless4 ,worthless under the present conditions1 exposed to constant temptations to intemperance no doubt they are1 but some of the brightest men in ,london1 with some of the smartest pairs of hands1 and the cleverest brains1 are at the present moment weltering helplessly in the sludge from which we propose to rescue them4 ,i am not speaking without book in this matter4 ,some of my best ,officers to-day have been even such as they4 ,there is an infinite potentiality of capacity lying latent in our ,provincial ,tap-rooms and the ,city ,gin ,palaces if you can but get them soundly saved1 and even short of that1 if you can place them in conditions where they would no longer be liable to be sucked back into their old disastrous habits1 you may do great things with them4 ,i can well imagine the incredulous laughter which will greet my proposal4 ,what1 it will be said1 do you think that you can create agricultural pioneers out of the scum of ,cockneydom8 ,let us look for a moment at the ingredients which make up what you call the scum of ,cockneydom4 ,after careful examination and close cross-questioning of the ,out-of-,works1 whom we have already registered at our ,labour ,bureau1 we find that at least sixty per cent4 are country folk1 men1 women1 boys1 and girls1 who have left their homes in the counties to come up to town in the hope of bettering themselves4 ,they are in no sense of the word ,cockneys1 and they represent not the dregs of the country but rather its brighter and more adventurous spirits who have boldly tried to make their way in new and uncongenial spheres and have terribly come to grief4 ,of thirty cases1 selected haphazard1 in the various ,shelters during the week ending ,july #eth1 #ahij1 twenty-two were country-born1 sixteen were men who had come up a long time ago1 but did not ever seem to have settled to regular employ1 and four were old military men4 ,of sixty cases examined into at the ,bureau and ,shelters during the fortnight ending ,august #bnd1 forty-two were country people2 twenty-six men who had been in ,london for various periods2 ranging from six months to four years2 nine were lads under eighteen1 who had run away from home and come up to town2 while four were ex-military4 ,of eighty-five cases of dossers who were spoken to at night when they slept in the streets1 sixty-three were country people4 ,a very small proportion of the genuine homeless ,out-of-,works are ,londoners bred and born4 ,there is another element in the matter1 the existence of which will be news to most people1 and that is the large proportion of ex-military men who are among the helpless1 hopeless destitute4 ,mr4 ,arnold ,white1 after spending many months in the streets of ,london interrogating more than four thousand men whom he found in the course of one bleak winter sleeping out of doors like animals returns it as his conviction that at least #bj per cent4 are ,army ,reserve men4 ,twenty per cent6 ,that is to say one man in every five with whom we shall have to deal has served ,her ,majesty the ,queen under the colours4 ,this is the resource to which these poor fellows come after they have given the prime of their lives to the service of their country4 ,although this may be largely brought about by their own thriftless and evil conduct1 it is a scandal and disgrace which may well make the cheek of the patriot tingle4 ,still1 ,i see in it a great resource4 ,a man who has been in the ,queen's ,army is a man who has learnt to obey4 ,he is further a man who has been taught in the roughest of rough schools to be handy and smart1 to make the best of the roughest fare1 and not to consider himself a martyr if he is sent on a forlorn hope4 ,i often say if we could only get ,christians to have one-half of the practical devotion and sense of duty that animates even the commonest ,tommy ,atkins what a change would be brought about in the world6 ,look at poor ,tommy6 ,a country lad who gets himself into some scrape1 runs away from home1 finds himself sinking lower and lower1 with no hope of employment1 no friends to advise2 him1 and no one to give him a helping hand4 ,in sheer despair he takes the ,queen's shilling and enters the ranks4 ,he is handed over to an inexorable drill sergeant1 he is compelled to room in barracks where privacy is unknown1 to mix with men1 many of them vicious1 few of them companions whom he would of his own choice select4 ,he gets his rations1 and although he is told he will get a shilling a day1 there are so many stoppages that he often does not finger a shilling a week4 ,he is drilled and worked and ordered hither and thither as if he were a machine1 all of which he takes cheerfully1 without even considering that there is any hardship in his lot1 plodding on in a dull1 stolid kind of way for his ,queen and his country1 doing his best1 also1 poor chap1 to be proud of his red uniform1 and to cultivate his self-respect by reflecting that he is one of the defenders of his native land1 one of the heroes upon whose courage and endurance depends the safety of the ,british realm4 ,some fine day at the other end of the world some prancing pro-consul finds it necessary to smash one of the man-slaying machines that loom ominous on his borders1 or some savage potentate makes an incursion into territory of a ,british colony1 or some fierce outburst of ,mahommedan fanaticism raises up a ,mahdi in mid-,africa4 ,in a moment ,tommy ,atkins is marched off to the troop-ship1 and swept across the seas1 heart-sick and sea-sick1 and miserable exceedingly1 to tight the ,queen's enemies in foreign parts4 ,when he arrives there he is bundled ashore1 brigaded with other troops1 marched to the front through the blistering glare of a tropical sun over poisonous marshes in which his comrades sicken and die1 until at last he is drawn up in square to receive the charge of tens of thousands of ferocious savages4 ,far away from all who love him or care for him1 foot-sore and travel weary1 having eaten perhaps but a piece of dry bread in the last twenty-four hours1 he must stand up and kill or be killed4 ,often he falls beneath the thrust of an assegai or the slashing broadsword of the charging enemy4 ,then1 after the fight is over his comrades turn up the sod where he lies1 bundle his poor bones into the shallow pit1 and leave him without even a cross to mark his solitary grave4 ,perhaps he is fortunate and escapes4 ,yet ,tommy goes uncomplainingly through all these hardships and privations1 does not think himself a martyr1 takes no fine airs about what he has done and suffered1 and shrinks uncomplainingly into our ,shelters and our ,factories1 only asking as a benediction from heaven that someone will give him an honest job of work to do4 ,that is the fate of ,tommy ,atkins4 ,if in our churches and chapels as much as one single individual were to bear and dare1 for the benefit of his kind and the salvation of men1 what a hundred thousand ,tommy ,atkins' bear uncomplainingly1 taking it all as if it were in the day's work1 for their rations and their shilling a day 7with stoppages71 think you we should not transform the whole face of the world8 ,yea1 verily4 ,we find but very little of such devotion2 no1 not in ,israel4 ,i look forward to making great use of these ,army ,reserve men4 ,there are engineers amongst them2 there are artillery men and infantry2 there are cavalry men1 who know what a horse needs to keep him in good health1 and men of the transport department1 for whom ,i shall find work enough to do in the transference of the multitudinous waste of ,london from our town ,depots to the outlying ,farm4 ,this1 however1 is a digression1 by the way4 ,after having got the ,farm into some kind of ship-shape1 we should select from the ,city ,colonies all those who were likely to be successful as our first settlers4 ,these would consist of men who had been working so many weeks or days in the ,labour ,factory1 or had been under observation for a reasonable time at the ,shelters or in the ,slums1 and who had given evidence of their willingness to work1 their amenity to discipline1 and their ambition to improve themselves4 ,on arrival at the ,farm they would be installed in a barracks1 and at once told off to work4 ,in winter time there would be draining1 and road-making1 and fencing1 and many other forms of industry which could go on when the days are short and the nights are long4 ,in ,spring1 ,summertime and ,autumn1 some would be employed on the land1 chiefly in spade husbandry1 upon what is called the system of intensive agriculture1 such as prevails in the suburbs of ,paris1 where the market gardeners literally create the soil1 and which yields much greater results than when you merely scratch the surface with a plough4 ,our ,farm1 ,i hope1 would be as productive as a great market garden4 ,there would be a ,superintendent on the ,colony1 who would be a practical gardener1 familiar with the best methods of small agriculture1 and everything that science and experience shows to be needful for the profitable treatment of the land4 ,then there would be various other forms of industry continually in progress1 so that employment could be furnished1 adapted to the capacity and skill of every ,colonist4 ,where farm buildings are wanted1 the ,colonists must erect them themselves4 ,if they want glass houses1 they must put them up4 ,everything on the ,estate must be the production of the ,colonists4 ,take1 for instance1 the building of cottages4 ,after the first detachment has settled down into its quarters and brought the fields somewhat into cultivation1 there will arise a demand for houses4 ,these houses must be built1 and the bricks made2 by the ,colonists themselves4 ,all the carpentering and the joinery will be done on the premises1 and by this means a sustained demand for work will be created4 ,then there would be furniture1 clothing1 and a great many other wants1 the supply of the whole of which would create labour which the ,colonists must perform4 ,for a long time to come the ,salvation ,army will be able to consume all the vegetables and crops which the ,colonies will produce4 ,that is one advantage of being connected with so great and growing a concern2 the right hand will help the left1 and we shall be able to do many things which those who devote themselves exclusively to colonisation would find it impossible to accomplish4 ,we have seen the large quantities of provisions which are required to supply the ,food ,depots in their present dimensions1 and with the coming extensions the consumption will be enormously augmented4 ,on this ,farm ,i propose to carry on every description of little agriculture4 ,i have not yet referred to the female side of our operations1 but have reserved them for another chapter4 ,it is necessary1 however1 to bring them in here in order to explain that employment will be created for women as well as men4 ,fruit farming affords a great opening for female labour1 and it will indeed be a change as from ,tophet to the ,garden of ,eden when the poor lost girls on the streets of ,london exchange the pavements of ,piccadilly for the strawberry ,beds of ,essex or ,kent4 ,not only will vegetables and fruit of every description be raised1 but ,i think that a great deal might be done in the smaller adjuncts of the ,farm4 ,it is quite certain that amongst the mass of people with whom we have to deal there will be a residual remnant of persons to some extent mentally infirm or physically incapacitated from engaging in the harder toils4 ,for these people it is necessary to find work1 and ,i think there would be a good field for their benumbed energies in looking after rabbits1 feeding poultry1 minding bees1 and1 in short doing all those little odd jobs about a place which must be attended to1 but which will not repay the labour of able-bodied men4 ,one advantage of the cosmopolitan nature of the ,army is that we have ,officers in almost every country in the world4 ,when this ,scheme is well on the way every ,salvation ,officer in every ,i and will have it imposed upon him as one of the duties of his calling to keep his eyes open for every useful notion and every conceivable contrivance for increasing the yield of the soil and utilising the employment of waste labour4 ,by this means ,i hope that there will not be an idea in the world which will not be made available for our ,scheme4 ,if an ,officer in ,sweden can give us practical hints as to how they manage food kitchens for the people1 or an ,officer in the ,south of ,france can explain how the peasants are able to rear eggs and poultry not only for their own use1 but so as to be able to export them by the million to ,england2 if a ,sergeant in ,belgium understands how it is that the rabbit farmers there can feed and fatten and supply our market with millions of rabbits we shall have him over1 tap his brains1 and set him to work to benefit our people4 ,by the establishment of this ,farm ,colony we should create a great school of technical agricultural education4 ,it would be a ,working ,men's ,agricultural ,university1 training people for the life which they would have to lead in the new countries they will go forth to colonise and possess4 ,every man who goes to our ,farm ,colony does so1 not to acquire his fortune1 but to obtain a knowledge of an occupation and that mastery of his tools which will enable him to play his part in the battle of life4 ,he will be provided with a cheap uniform1 which we shall find no difficulty in rigging up from the old clothes of ,london1 and it will go hardly with us1 and we shall have worse luck than the ordinary market gardener1 if we do not succeed in making sufficient profit to pay all the expenses of the concern1 and leave something over for the maintenance of the hopelessly incompetent1 and those who1 to put it roughly1 are not worth their keep4 ,every person in the ,farm ,colony will be taught the elementary lesson of obedience1 and will be instructed in the needful arts of husbandry1 or some other method of earning his bread4 ,the ,agricultural ,section will learn the lesson of the seasons and of the best kind of seeds and plants4 ,those belonging to this ,section will learn how to hedge and ditch1 how to make roads and build bridges1 and generally to subdue the earth and make it yield to him the riches which it never withholds from the industrious and skilful workman4 ,but the ,farm ,colony1 any more than the ,city ,colony1 although an abiding institution1 will not provide permanently for those with whom we have to deal4 ,it is a ,training ,school for ,emigrants1 a place where those indispensably practical lessons are given which will enable the ,colonists to know their way about and to feel themselves at home wherever there is land to till1 stock to rear1 and harvests to reap4 ,we shall rely greatly for the peace and prosperity of the ,colony upon the sense of brotherhood which will be universal in it from the highest to the lowest4 ,while there will be no systematic wage-paying there will be some sort of rewards and remuneration for honest industry1 which will be stored up1 for his benefit1 as afterwards explained4 ,they will in the main work each for all1 and1 therefore1 the needs of all will be supplied1 and any overplus will go to make the bridge over which any poor fellow may escape from the horrible pit and the miry clay from which they themselves have been rescued4 ,the dulness and deadness of country life1 especially in the ,colonies1 leads many men to prefer a life of hardship and privation in a ,city slum4 ,but in our ,colony they would be near to each other1 and would enjoy the advantages of country life and the association and companionship of life in town4 ,,section #b4--,,the ,,industrial ,,village4 ,in describing the operations of the ,household ,salvage ,brigade ,i have referred to the enormous quantities of good sound food which would be collected from door to door every day of the year4 ,much of this food would be suitable for human consumption1 its waste being next door to sinful4 ,imagine1 for instance1 the quantities of soup which might be made from boiling the good fresh meaty bones of the great ,city6 ,think of the dainty dishes which a ,french cook would be able to serve up from the scraps and odds and ends of a single ,west ,end kitchen4 ,good cookery is not an extravagance but an economy1 and many a tasty dish is made by our ,continental friends out of materials which would be discarded indignantly by the poorest tramp in ,whitechapel4 ,but after all that is done there will remain a mass of food which cannot be eaten by man1 but can be converted into food for him by the simple process of passing it through another digestive apparatus4 ,the old bread of ,london1 the soiled1 stale crusts can be used in foddering the horses which are employed in collecting the waste4 ,it will help to feed the rabbits1 whose hutches will be close by every cottage on the estate1 and the hens of the ,colony will flourish on the crumbs which fall from the table of ,dives4 ,but after the horses and the rabbits and poultry have been served1 there will remain a residuum of eatable matter1 which can only be profitably disposed of to the voracious and necessary pig4 ,i foresee the rise of a piggery in connection with the new ,social ,scheme1 which will dwarf into insignificance all that exist in ,great ,britain and ,ireland4 ,we have the advantage of the experience of the whole world as to the choice of breeds1 the construction of sties1 and the rearing of stock4 ,we shall have the major part of our food practically for the cost of collection1 and be able to adopt all the latest methods of ,chicago for the killing1 curing1 and disposing of our pork1 ham1 and bacon4 ,there are few animals more useful than the pig4 ,he will eat anything1 live anywhere1 and almost every particle of him1 from the tip of his nose to the end of his tail1 is capable of being converted into a saleable commodity4 ,your pig also is a great producer of manure1 and agriculture is after all largely a matter of manure4 ,treat the land well and it will treat you well4 ,with our piggery in connection with our ,farm ,colony there would be no lack of manure4 ,with the piggery there would grow up a great bacon factory for curing1 and that again would make more work4 ,then as for sausages they would be produced literally by the mile1 and all made of the best meat instead of being manufactured out of the very objectionable ingredients too often stowed away in that poor man's favourite ration4 ,food1 however1 is only one of the materials which will be collected by the ,household ,salvage ,brigade4 ,the barges which float down the river with the tide1 laden to the brim with the cast-off waste of half a million homes1 will bring down an enormous quantity of material which cannot be eaten even by pigs4 ,there will be1 for instance1 the old bones4 ,at present it pays speculators to go to the prairies of ,america and gather up the bleached bones of the dead buffaloes1 in order to make manure4 ,it pays manufacturers to bring bones from the end of the earth in order to grind them up for use on our fields4 ,but the waste bones of ,london2 who collects them8 ,i see1 as in a vision1 barge loads upon barge loads of bones floating down the ,thames to the great ,bone ,factory4 ,some of the best will yield material for knife handles and buttons1 and the numberless articles which will afford ample opportunity in the long winter evenings for the acquisition of skill on the part of our ,colonist carvers1 while the rest will go straight to the ,manure ,mill4 ,there will be a constant demand for manure on the part of our ever-increasing nests of new ,colonies and our ,co-operative ,farm1 every man in which will be educated in the great doctrine that there is no good agriculture without liberal manuring4 ,and here will be an unfailing source of supply4 ,among the material which comes down will be an immense quantity of greasy matter1 bits of fat1 suet and lard1 tallow1 strong butter1 and all the rancid fat of a great city4 ,for all that we shall have to find use4 ,the best of it will make waggon grease1 the rest1 after due boiling and straining1 will form the nucleus of the raw material which will make our ,social ,soap a household word throughout the kingdom4 ,after the ,manure ,works1 the ,soap ,factory will be the natural adjunct of our operations4 ,the fourth great output of the daily waste of ,london will be waste paper and rags1 which1 after being chemically treated1 and duly manipulated by machinery1 will be re-issued to the world in the shape of paper4 ,the ,salvation ,army consumes no less than thirty tons of paper every week4 ,here1 therefore1 would be one customer for as much paper as the new mill would be able to turn out at the onset2 paper on which we could print the glad tidings of great joy1 and tell the poor of all nations the news of salvation for earth and ,heaven1 full1 present1 and free to all the children of men4 ,then comes the tin4 ,it will go hard with us if we cannot find some way of utilizing these tins1 whether we make them into flowerpots with a coat of enamel1 or convert them into ornaments1 or cut them up for toys or some other purpose4 ,my officers have been instructed to make an exhaustive report on the way the refuse collectors of ,paris deal with the sardine tins4 ,the industry of making tin toys will be one which can be practised better in the ,farm ,colony than in the ,city4 ,if necessary1 we shall bring an accomplished workman from ,france1 who will teach our people the way of dealing with the tin4 ,in connection with all this it is obvious there would be a constant demand for packing cases1 for twine1 rope1 and for boxes of all kinds2 for carts and cars2 and1 in short1 we should before long have a complete community practising almost all the trades that are to be found in ,london1 except the keeping of grog shops1 the whole being worked upon co-operative principles1 but co-operation not for the benefit of the individual co-operator1 but for the benefit of the sunken mass that lies behind it4 ,,rules ,,and ,,regulations ,,for ,,the ,,government ,,of ,,colonists4 ,a document containing the ,orders and ,regulations for the ,government of the ,colony must be approved and signed by every ,colonist before admission4 ,amongst other things there will be the following3 -- #a4 ,all ,officers must be treated respectfully and implicitly obeyed4 #b4 ,the use of intoxicants strictly prohibited1 none being allowed within its borders4 ,any ,colonist guilty of violating this ,order to be expelled1 and that on the first offence4 #c4 ,expulsion for drunkenness1 dishonesty1 or falsehood will follow the third offence4 #d4 ,profane language strictly forbidden4 #e4 ,no cruelty to be practised on man1 woman1 child1 or animal4 #f4 ,serious offenders against the virtue of women1 or of children of either sex1 to incur immediate expulsion4 #g4 ,after a certain period of probation1 and a considerable amount of patience1 all who will not work to be expelled4 #h4 ,the decision of the ,governor of the ,colony1 whether in the ,city1 or the ,farm1 or ,over the ,sea1 to be binding in all cases4 #i4 ,with respect to penalties1 the following rules will be acted upon4 ,the chief reliance for the maintenance of order1 as has been observed before1 will be placed upon the spirit of love which will prevail throughout the community4 ,but as it cannot be expected to be universally successful1 certain penalties will have to be provided3 -- 7a7 ,first offences1 except in flagrant cases1 will be recorded4 7b7 ,the second offence will be published4 7c7 ,the third offence will incur expulsion or being handed over to the authorities4 ,other regulations will be necessary as the ,scheme develops4 ,there will be no attempt to enforce upon the ,colonists the rules and regulations to which ,salvation ,soldiers are subjected4 ,those who are soundly saved and who of their own free will desire to become ,salvationists will1 of course1 be subjected to the rules of the ,service4 ,but ,colonists who are willing to work and obey the orders of the ,commanding ,officer will only be subject to the foregoing and similar regulations2 in all other things they will be left free4 ,for instance1 there will be no objection to field recreations or any outdoor exercises which conduce to the maintenance of health and spirits4 ,a reading room and a library will be provided1 together with a hall1 in which they can amuse themselves in the long winter nights and in unfavourable weather4 ,these things are not for the ,salvation ,army ,soldiers1 who have other work in the world1 but for those who are not in the ,army these recreations will be permissible4 ,gambling and anything of an immoral tendency will be repressed like stealing4 ,there will probably be an ,annual ,exhibition of fruit and flowers1 at which all the ,colonists who have a plot of garden of their own will take part4 ,they will exhibit their fruit and vegetables as well as their rabbits1 their poultry and all the other live-stock of the farm4 ,every effort will be made to establish village industries1 and ,i am not without hope but that we may be able to restore some of the domestic occupations which steam has compelled us to confine to the great factories4 ,the more the ,colony can be made self-supporting the better4 ,and although the hand loom can never compete with ,manchester mills1 still an occupation which kept the hands of the goodwife busy in the long winter nights1 is not to be despised as an element in the economics of the ,settlement4 ,while ,manchester and ,leeds may be able to manufacture common goods much more cheaply than they can be spun at home1 even these emporiums1 with all their grand improvements in machinery1 would be sorely pressed to-day to compete with the hand-loom in many superior classes of work4 ,for instance1 we all know the hand-sewn boot still holds its own against the most perfect article that machinery can turn out4 ,there would be1 in the centre of the ,colony1 a ,public ,elementary ,school at which the children would receive training1 and side by side with that an ,agricultural ,industrial ,school1 as elsewhere described4 ,the religious welfare of the ,colony would be looked after by the ,salvation ,army1 but there will be no compulsion to take part in its services4 ,the ,sabbath will be strictly observed2 no unnecessary work will be done in the ,colony on that day1 but beyond interdicted labour1 the ,colonists will be allowed to spend ,sunday as they please4 ,it will be the fault of the ,salvation ,army if they do not find our ,sunday ,services sufficiently attractive to command their attendance4 ,,section #c4--;,,agricultural ,,villages4 ,this brings me to the next feature of the ,scheme1 the creation of agricultural settlements in the neighbourhood of the ,farm1 around the original ,estate4 ,i hope to obtain land for the purpose of allotments which can be taken up to the extent of so many acres by the more competent ,colonists who wish to remain at home instead of going abroad4 ,there will be allotments from three to five acres with a cottage1 a cow1 and the necessary tools and seed for making the allotment self-supporting4 ,a weekly charge will be imposed for the he repayment of the cost of the fixing and stock4 ,the tenant will of course1 be entitled to his tenant-right1 but adequate precautions will be taken against underletting and other forms by which sweating makes its way into agricultural communities4 ,on entering into possession1 the tenant will become responsible for his own and his family's maintenance4 ,i shall stand no longer in the relation of father of the household to him1 as ,i do to the other members of the ,colony2 his obligations will cease to me1 except in the payment of his rent4 ,the creation of a large number of ,allotment ,farms would make the establishment of a creamery necessary1 where the milk could be brought in every day and converted into butter by the most modern methods1 with the least possible delay4 ,dairying1 which has in some places on the ,continent almost developed to a fine art1 is in a very backward condition in this country4 ,but by co-operation among the cottiers and an intelligent ,headquarter staff much could be done which at present appears impossible4 ,the tenant will be allowed permanent tenancy on payment of an annual rent or land tax1 subject1 of course1 to such necessary regulations which may be made for the prevention of intemperance and immorality and the preservation of the fundamental features of the ,colony4 ,in this way our ,farm ,colony will throw off small ,colonies all round it until the original site is but the centre of a whole series of small farms1 where those whom we have rescued and trained will live1 if not under their own vine and fig tree1 at least in the midst of their own little fruit farm1 and surrounded by their small flocks and herds4 ,the cottages will be so many detached residences1 each standing in its own ground1 not so far away from its neighbours as to deprive its occupants of the benefit of human intercourse4 ,,section #d4--;,,co-,,operative ,,farm4 ,side by side with the ,farm ,colony proper ,i should propose to renew the experiment of ,mr4 ,e4 ,t4 ,craig1 which he found work so successfully at ,ralahine4 ,when any members of the original ,colony had pulled themselves sufficiently together to desire to begin again on their own account1 ,i should group some of them as partners in a ,co-operative ,farm1 and see whether or no the success achieved in ,county ,clare could not be repeated in ,essex or in ,kent4 ,i cannot have more unpromising material to deal with than the wild ,irishmen on ,colonel ,vandeleur's estate1 and ,i would certainly take care to be safeguarded against any such mishap as destroyed the early promise of ,ralahine4 ,i shall look upon this as one of the most important experiments of the entire series1 and if1 as ,i anticipate1 it can be worked successfully1 that is1 if the results of ,ralahine can be secured on a larger scale1 ,i shall consider that the problem of the employment of the people1 and the use of the land1 and the food supply for the globe1 is unquestionably solved1 were its inhabitants many times greater in number than they are4 ,without saying more1 some idea will be obtained as to what ,i propose from the story of ,ralahine related briefly at the close of this volume4 ,,chapter #d4 ,,new ,,britain--,,the ,,colony ,,over-,,sea4 ,we now come to the third and final stage of the regenerative process4 ,the ,colony ,over-,sea4 ,to mention ,over-,sea is sufficient with some people to damn the ,scheme4 ,a prejudice against emigration has been diligently fostered in certain quarters by those who have openly admitted that they did not wish to deplete the ranks of the ,army of ,discontent at home1 for the more discontented people you have here the more trouble you can give the ,government1 and the more power you have to bring about the general overturn1 which is the only thing in which they see any hope for the future4 ,some again object to emigration on the ground that it is transportation4 ,i confess that ,i have great sympathy with those who object to emigration as carried on hitherto1 and if it be a consolation to any of my critics ,i may say at once that so far from compulsorily expatriating any ,englishman ,i shall refuse to have any part or lot in emigrating any man or woman who does not voluntarily wish to be sent out4 ,a journey over sea is a very different thing now to what it was when a voyage to ,australia consumed more than six months1 when emigrants were crowded by hundreds into sailing ships1 and scenes of abominable sin and brutality were the normal incidents of the passage4 ,the world has grown much smaller since the electric telegraph was discovered and side by side with the shrinkage of this planet under the influence of steam and electricity there has come a sense of brotherhood and a consciousness of community of interest and of nationality on the part of the ,english-speaking people throughout the world4 ,to change from ,devon to ,australia is not such a change in many respects as merely to cross over from ,devon to ,normandy4 ,in ,australia the ,emigrant finds him self among men and women of the same habits1 the same language1 and in fact the same people1 excepting that they live under the southern cross instead of in the northern latitudes4 ,the reduction of the postage between ,england and the ,colonies1 a reduction which ,i hope will soon be followed by the establishment of the ,universal ,penny ,post between the ,english speaking lands1 will further tend to lessen the sense of distance4 ,the constant travelling of the ,colonists backwards and forwards to ,england makes it absurd to speak of the ,colonies as if they were a foreign land4 ,they are simply pieces of ,britain distributed about the world1 enabling the ,britisher to have access to the richest parts of the earth4 ,another objection which will be taken to this ,scheme is that colonists already over sea will see with infinite alarm the prospect of the transfer of our waste labour to their country4 ,it is easy to understand how this misconception will arise1 but there is not much danger of opposition on this score4 ,the working-men who rule the roost at ,melbourne object to the introduction of fresh workmen into their labour market1 for the same reason that the new ,dockers' ,union objects to the appearance of new hands at the dock gates1 that is for fear the newcomers will enter into unfriendly competition with them4 ,but no ,colony1 not even the ,protectionist and ,trade ,unionists who govern ,victoria1 could rationally object to the introduction of trained ,colonists planted out upon the land4 ,they would see that these men would become a source of wealth1 simply because they would at once become producers as well as consumers1 and instead of cutting down wages they would tend directly to improve trade and so increase the employment of the workmen now in the ,colony4 ,emigration as hitherto conducted has been carried out on directly opposite principles to these4 ,men and women have simply been shot down into countries without any regard to their possession of ability to earn a livelihood1 and have consequently become an incubus upon the energies of the community1 and a discredit1 expense1 and burden4 ,the result is that they gravitate to the towns and compete with the colonial workmen1 and thereby drive down wages4 ,we shall avoid that mistake4 ,we need not wonder that ,australians and other ,colonists should object to their countries being converted into a sort of dumping ground1 on which to deposit men and women totally unsuited for the new circumstances in which they find themselves4 ,moreover1 looking at it from the aspect of the class itself1 would such emigration be of any enduring value8 ,it is not merely more favourable circumstances that are required by these crowds1 but those habits of industry1 truthfulness1 and self-restraint1 which will enable them to profit by better conditions if they could only come to possess them4 ,according to the most reliable information there are already sadly too many of the same classes we want to help in countries supposed to be the paradise of the working-man4 ,what could be done with a people whose first enquiry on reaching a foreign land would be for a whisky shop1 and who were utterly ignorant of those forms of labour and habits of industry absolutely indispensable to the earning of a subsistence amid the hardships of an ,emigrant's life8 ,such would naturally shrink from the self-denial the new circumstances inevitably called for1 and rather than suffer the inconveniences connected with a settler's life1 would probably sink down into helpless despair1 or settle in the slums of the first city they came to4 ,these difficulties1 in my estimation1 bar the way to the emigration on any considerable scale of the submerged tenth1 and yet ,i am strongly of opinion1 with the majority of those who have thought and written on political economy1 that emigration is the only remedy for this mighty evil4 ,now1 the ,over-,sea ,colony plan1 ,i think1 meets these difficulties3 -- 7#a7 ,in the preparation of the ,colony for the people4 7#b7 ,in the preparation of the people for the ,colony4 7#c7 ,in the arrangements that are rendered possible for the transport of the people when prepared4 ,it is proposed to secure a large tract of land in some country suitable to our purpose4 ,we have thought of ,south ,africa1 to begin with4 ,we are in no way pledged to this part of the world1 or to it alone4 ,there is nothing to prevent our establishing similar settlements in ,canada1 ,australia1 or some other land4 ,british ,columbia has been strongly urged upon our notice4 ,indeed1 it is certain if this ,scheme proves the success we anticipate1 the first ,colony will be the forerunner of similar communities elsewhere4 ,africa1 however1 presents to us great advantages for the moment4 ,there is any amount of land suitable for our purpose which can be obtained1 we think1 without difficulty4 ,the climate is healthy4 ,labour is in great demand1 so that if by any means work failed on the ,colony1 there would be abundant opportunities for securing good wages from the neighbouring ,companies4 ,,section #a4--,,the ,,colony ,,and ,,the ,,colonists4 ,before any decision is arrived at1 however1 information will be obtained as to the position and character of the land2 the accessibility of markets for commodities2 communication with ,europe1 and other necessary particulars4 ,the next business would be to obtain on grant1 or otherwise1 a sufficient tract of suitable country for the purpose of a ,colony1 on conditions that would meet its present and future character4 ,after obtaining a title to the country1 the next business will be to effect a settlement in it4 ,this1 ,i suppose1 will be accomplished by sending a competent body of men under skilled supervision to fix on a suitable location for the first settlement1 erecting such buildings as would be required1 enclosing and breaking up the land1 putting in first crops1 and so storing sufficient supplies of food for the future4 ,then a supply of ,colonists would be sent out to join them1 and from time to time other detachments1 as the ,colony was prepared to receive them4 ,further locations could then be chosen1 and more country broken up1 and before a very long period has passed the ,colony would be capable of receiving and absorbing a continuous stream of emigration of considerable proportions4 ,the next work would be the establishment of a strong and efficient government1 prepared to carry out and enforce the same laws and discipline to which the ,colonists had been accustomed in ,england1 together with such alterations and additions as the new circumstances would render necessary4 ,the ,colonists would become responsible for all that concerned their own support2 that is to say1 they would buy and sell1 engage in trade1 hire servants1 and transact all the ordinary business affairs of every-day life4 ,our ,headquarters in ,england would represent the ,colony in this country on their behalf1 and with money supplied by them1 when once fairly established1 would buy for their agents what they were at the outset unable to produce themselves1 such as machinery and the like1 also selling their produce to the best advantage4 ,all land1 timber1 minerals1 and the like1 would be rented to the ,colonists1 all unearned increments1 and improvements on the land1 would be held on behalf of the entire community1 and utilised for its general advantages1 a certain percentage being set apart for the extension of its borders1 and the continued transmission of ,colonists from ,england in increasing numbers4 ,arrangements would be made for the temporary accommodation of new arrivals1 ,officers being maintained for the purpose of taking them in hand on landing and directing and controlling them generally4 ,so far as possible1 they would be introduced to work without any waste of time1 situations being ready for them to enter upon2 and any way1 their wants would be supplied till this was the case4 ,there would be friends who would welcome and care for them1 not merely on the principle of profit and loss1 but on the ground of friendship and religion1 many of whom the emigrants would probably have known before in the old country1 together with all the social influences1 restraints1 and religious enjoyments to which the ,colonists have been accustomed4 ,after dealing with the preparation of the ,colony for the ,colonists1 we now come to the preparation of the ,,colonists ,,for ,,the ,,colony ,,over-,,sea4 ,they would be prepared by an education in honesty1 truth1 and industry1 without which we could not indulge in any hope of their succeeding4 ,while men and women would be received into the ,city ,colony without character1 none would be sent over the sea who had not been proved worthy of this trust4 ,they would be inspired with an ambition to do well for themselves and their fellow ,colonists4 ,they would be instructed in all that concerned their future career4 ,they would be taught those industries in which they would be most profitably employed4 ,they would be inured to the hardships they would have to endure4 ,they would be accustomed to the economies they would have to practise4 ,they would be made acquainted with the comrades with whom they would have to live and labour4 ,they would be accustomed to the ,government1 ,orders1 and ,regulations which they would have to obey4 ,they would be educated1 so far as the opportunity served1 in those habits of patience1 forbearance1 and affection which would so largely tend to their own welfare1 and to the successful carrying out of this part of our ,scheme4 ,,transport ,,to ,,the ,,colony ,,over-,,sea4 ,we now come to the question of transport4 ,this certainly has an element of difficulty in it1 if the remedy is to be applied on a very large scale4 ,but this will appear of less importance if we consider3 -- ,that the largeness of the number will reduce the individual cost4 ,emigrants can be conveyed to such a location in ,south ,africa1 as we have in view1 by ones and twos at #h per head1 including land journey2 and1 no doubt1 were a large number carried1 this figure would be reduced considerably4 ,many of the ,colonists would have friends who would assist them with the cost of passage money and outfit4 ,all the unmarried will have earned something on the ,city and ,farm ,colonies1 which will go towards meeting their passage money4 ,in the course of time relatives1 who are comfortably settled in the ,colony1 will save money1 and assist their kindred in getting out to them4 ,we have the examples before our eyes in ,australia and the ,united ,states of how those countries have in this form absorbed from ,europe millions of poor struggling people4 ,all ,colonists and emigrants generally will bind themselves in a legal instrument to repay all monies1 expenses of passage1 outfit1 or otherwise1 which would in turn be utilised in sending out further contingents4 ,on the plan named1 if prudently carried out1 and generously assisted1 the transfer of the entire surplus population of this country is not only possible1 but would1 we think1 in process of time1 be effected with enormous advantage to the people themselves1 to this country1 and the country of their adoption4 ,the history of ,australia and the ,united ,states evidences this4 ,it is quite true the first settlers in the latter were people superior in every way for such an enterprise to the bulk of those we propose to send out4 ,but it is equally true that large numbers of the most ignorant and vicious of our ,european populations have been pouring into that country ever since without affecting its prosperity1 and this ,colony ,over-,sea would have the immense advantage at the outset which would come from a government and discipline carefully adapted to its peculiar circumstances1 and rigidly enforced in every particular4 ,i would guard against misconception in relation to this ,colony ,over-,sea by pointing out that all my proposals here are necessarily tentative and experimental4 ,there is no intention on my part to stick to any of these suggestions if1 on maturer consideration and consultation with practical men1 they can be improved upon4 ,mr4 ,arnold ,white1 who has already conducted two parties of ,colonists to ,south ,africa1 is one of the few men in this country who has had practical experience of the actual difficulties of colonisation4 ,i have1 through a mutual friend1 had the advantage of comparing notes with him very fully1 and ,i venture to believe that there is nothing in this ,scheme that is not in harmony with the result of his experience4 ,in a couple of months this book will be read all over the world4 ,it will bring me a plentiful crop of suggestions1 and1 ,i hope1 offers of service from many valuable and experienced ,colonists in every country4 ,in the due order of things the ,colony ,over-,sea is the last to be started4 ,long before our first batch of ,colonists is ready to cross the ocean ,i shall be in a position to correct and revise the proposals of this chapter by the best wisdom and matured experience of the practical men of every ,colony in the ,empire4 ,,section #b4--,,universal ,,emigration4 ,we have in our remarks on the ,over-,sea ,colony referred to the general concensus of opinion on the part of those who have studied the ,social ,question as to ,emigration being the only remedy for the overcrowded population of this country1 at the same time showing some of the difficulties which lie in the way of the adoption of the remedy2 the dislike of the people to so great a change as is involved in going from one country to another2 the cost of their transfer1 and their general unfitness for an emigrant's life4 ,these difficulties1 as ,i think we have seen1 are fully met by the ,over-,sea ,colony ,scheme4 ,but1 apart from those who1 driven by their abject poverty1 will avail themselves of our ,scheme1 there are multitudes of people all over the country who would be likely to emigrate could they be assisted in so doing4 ,those we propose to help in the following manner3 -- #a4 ,by opening a ,bureau in ,london1 and appointing ,officers whose business it will be to acquire every kind of information as to suitable countries1 their adaptation to1 and the openings they present for different trades and callings1 the possibility of obtaining land and employment1 the rates of remuneration1 and the like4 ,these enquiries will include the cost of passage-money1 railway fares1 outfit1 together with every kind of information required by an emigrant4 #b4 ,from this ,bureau any one may obtain all necessary information4 #c4 ,special terms will be arranged with steamships1 railway companies1 and land agents1 of which emigrants using the ,bureau will have the advantage4 #d4 ,introductions will be supplied1 as far as possible1 to agents and friends in the localities to which the emigrant may be proceeding4 #e4 ,intending emigrants1 desirous of saving money1 can deposit it through this ,bureau in the ,army ,bank for that purpose4 #f4 ,it is expected that government contractors and other employers of labour requiring ,colonists of reliable character will apply to this ,bureau for such1 offering favourable terms with respect to passage-money1 employment1 and other advantages4 #g4 ,no emigrant will be sent out in response to any application from abroad where the emigrant's expenses are defrayed1 without references as to character1 industry1 and fitness4 ,this ,bureau1 we think1 will be especially useful to women and young girls4 ,there must be a large number of such in this country living in semi-starvation1 anyway1 with very poor prospects1 who would be very welcome abroad1 the expense of whose transfer governments1 and masters and mistresses alike would be very glad to defray1 or assist in defraying1 if they could only be assured on both sides of the beneficial character of the arrangements when made4 ,so widespread now are the operations of the ,army1 and so extensively will this ,bureau multiply its agencies that it will speedily be able to make personal enquiries on both sides1 that is in the interest alike of the emigrant and the intended employer in any part of the world4 ,,section #c4--,,the ,,salvation ,,ship4 ,when we have selected a party of emigrants whom we believe to be sufficiently prepared to settle on the land which has been got ready for them in the ,colony over ,sea1 it will be no dismal expatriation which will await them4 ,no one who has ever been on the ,west ,coast of ,ireland when the emigrants were departing1 and has heard the dismal wails which arise from those who are taking leave of each other for the last time on earth1 can fail to sympathise with the horror excited in many minds by the very word emigration4 ,but when our party sets out1 there will be no violent wrenching of home ties4 ,in our ship we shall export them all--father1 mother1 and children4 ,the individuals will be grouped in families1 and the families will1 on the ,farm ,colony1 have been for some months past more or less near neighbours1 meeting each other in the field1 in the workshops1 and in the ,religious ,services4 ,it will resemble nothing so much as the unmooring of a little piece of ,england1 and towing it across the sea to find a safe anchorage in a sunnier clime4 ,the ship which takes out emigrants will bring back the produce of the farms1 and constant travelling to and fro will lead more than ever to the feeling that we and our ocean-sundered brethren are members of one family4 ,no one who has ever crossed the ocean can have failed to be impressed with the mischief that comes to emigrants when they are on their way to their destination4 ,many and many a girl has dated her downfall from the temptations which beset her while journeying to a land where she had hoped to find a happier future ,satan finds some mischief still for idle hands to do1 and he must have his hands full on board an emigrant ship4 ,look into the steerage at any time1 and you will find boredom inexpressible on every face4 ,the men have nothing to do1 and an incident of no more importance than the appearance of a sail upon the distant horizon is an event which makes the whole ship talk4 ,i do not see why this should be so4 ,of course1 in the case of conveying passengers and freight1 with the utmost possible expedition1 for short distances1 it would be idle to expect that either time or energies could be spared for the employment or instruction of the passengers4 ,but the case is different when1 instead of going to ,america1 the emigrant turns his face to ,south ,africa or remote ,australia4 ,then1 even with the fastest steamers1 they must remain some weeks or months upon the high seas4 ,the result is that habits of idleness are contracted1 bad acquaintances are formed1 and very often the moral and religious work of a lifetime is undone4 ,to avoid these evil consequences1 ,i think we should be compelled to have a ship of our own as soon as possible4 ,a sailing vessel might be found the best adapted for the work4 ,leaving out the question of time1 which would be of very secondary importance with us1 the construction of a sailing ship would afford more space for the accommodation of emigrants and for industrial occupation1 and would involve considerably less working expenses1 besides costing very much less at the onset1 even if we did not have one given to us1 which ,i should think would be very probable4 ,all the emigrants would be under the charge of ,army ,officers1 and instead of the voyage being demoralising1 it would be made instructive and profitable4 ,from leaving ,london to landing at their destination1 every colonist would be under watchful oversight1 could receive instruction in those particulars where they were still needing it1 and be subjected to influences that would be beneficial everyway4 ,then we have seen that one of the great difficulties in the direction of emigration is the cost of transport4 ,the expense of conveying a man from ,england to ,australia1 occupying as it does some seven or eight weeks1 arises not so much from the expense connected with the working of the vessel which carries him1 as the amount of provisions he consumes during the passage4 ,now1 with this plan ,i think that the emigrants might be made to earn at least a portion of this outlay4 ,there is no reason why a man should not work on board ship any more than on land4 ,of course1 nothing much could be done when the weather was very rough2 but the average number of days during which it would be impossible for passengers to employ themselves profitably in the time spent between the ,channel and ,cape ,town or ,australia would be comparatively few4 ,when the ship was pitching or rolling1 work would be difficult2 but even then1 when the ,colonists get their sea-legs1 and are free from the qualmishness which overtakes landsmen when first getting afloat1 ,i cannot see why they should not engage in some form of industrial work far more profitable than yawning and lounging about the deck1 to say nothing of the fact that by so doing they would lighten the expense of their transit4 ,the sailors1 firemen1 engineers1 and everybody else connected with a vessel have to work1 and there is no reason why our ,colonists should not work also4 ,of course1 this method would require special arrangements in the fitting up of the vessel1 which1 if it were our own1 it would not be difficult to make4 ,at first sight it may seem difficult to find employments on board ship which could be engaged in to advantage1 and it might not be found possible to fix up every individual right away2 but ,i think there would be very few of the class and character of people we should take out1 with the prior instructions they would have received1 who would not have fitted themselves into some useful labour before the voyage ended4 ,to begin with1 there would be a large amount of the ordinary ship's work that the ,colonists could perform1 such as the preparation of food1 serving it out1 cleaning the decks and fittings of the ship generally1 together with the loading and unloading of cargo4 ,all these operations could be readily done under the direction of permanent hands4 ,then shoemaking1 knitting1 sewing1 tailoring1 and other kindred occupations could be engaged in4 ,i should think sewing-machines could be worked1 and1 one way or another1 any amount of garments could be manufactured1 which would find ready and profitable sale on landing1 either among the ,colonists themselves1 or with the people round about4 ,not only would the ship thus be a perfect hive of industry1 it would also be a floating temple4 ,the ,captain1 ,officers1 and every member of the crew would be ,salvationists1 and all1 therefore1 alike interested in the enterprise4 ,moreover1 the probabilities are that we should obtain the service of the ship's officers and crew in the most inexpensive manner1 in harmony with the usages of the ,army everywhere else1 men serving from love and not as a mere business4 ,the effect produced by our ship cruising slowly southwards testifying to the reality of a ,salvation for both worlds1 calling at all convenient ports1 would constitute a new kind of mission work1 and drawing out everywhere a large amount of warm practical sympathy4 ,at present the influence of those who go down to the sea in ships is not always in favour of raising the morals and religion of the dwellers in the places where they come4 ,here1 however1 would be one ship at least whose appearance foretold no disorder1 gave rise to no debauchery1 and from whose capacious hull would stream forth an ,army of men1 who1 instead of thronging the grog-shops and other haunts of licentious indulgence1 would occupy themselves with explaining and proclaiming the religion of the ,love of ,god and the ,brotherhood of ,man4 ,,chapter #e4 ,,more ,,crusades4 ,i have now sketched out briefly the leading features of the threefold ,scheme by which ,i think a way can be opened out of ,darkest ,england1 by which its forlorn denizens can escape into the light and freedom of a new life4 ,but it is not enough to make a clear broad road out of the heart of this dense and matted jungle forest2 its inhabitants are in many cases so degraded1 so hopeless1 so utterly desperate that we shall have to do something more than make roads4 ,as we read in the parable1 it is often not enough that the feast be prepared1 and the guests be bidden2 we must needs go into the highways and byways and compel them to come in4 ,so it is not enough to provide our ,city ,colony and our ,farm ,colony1 and then rest on our oars as if we had done our work4 ,that kind of thing will not save the ,lost4 ,it is necessary to organise rescue expeditions to free the miserable wanderers from their captivity1 and bring them out into the larger liberty and the fuller life4 ,talk about ,stanley and ,emin6 ,there is not one of us but has an ,emin somewhere or other in the heart of ,darkest ,england1 whom he ought to sally forth to rescue4 ,our ,emins have the ,devil for their ,mahdi1 and when we get to them we find that it is their friends and neighbours who hold them back1 and they are1 oh1 so irresolute6 ,it needs each of us to be as indomitable as ,stanley1 to burst through all obstacles1 to force our way right to the centre of things1 and then to labour with the poor prisoner of vice and crime with all our might4 ,but had not the ,expeditionary ,committee furnished the financial means whereby a road was opened to the sea1 both ,stanley and ,emin would probably have been in the heart of ,darkest ,africa to this day4 ,this ,scheme is our ,stanley ,expedition4 ,the analogy is very close4 ,i propose to make a road clear down to the sea4 ,but alas our poor ,emin6 ,even when the road is open1 he halts and lingers and doubts4 ,first he will1 and then he won't1 and nothing less than the irresistible pressure of a friendly and stronger purpose will constrain him to take the road which has been opened for him at such a cost of blood and treasure4 ,i now1 therefore1 proceed to sketch some of the methods by which we shall attempt to save the lost and to rescue those who are perishing in the midst of ,darkest ,england4 ,,section #a4--;,a ,,slum ,,crusade4--,,our ,,slum ,,sisters4 ,when ,professor ,huxley lived as a medical officer in the ,east of ,london he acquired a knowledge of the actual condition of the life of many of its populace which led him long afterwards to declare that the surroundings of the savages of ,new ,guinea were much more conducive to the leading of a decent human existence than those in which many of the ,east-,enders live4 ,alas1 it is not only in ,london that such lairs exist in which the savages of civilisation lurk and breed4 ,all the great towns in both the ,old ,world and the ,new have their slums1 in which huddle together1 in festering and verminous filth1 men1 women1 and children4 ,they correspond to the lepers who thronged the lazar houses of the ,middle ,ages4 ,as in those days ,st4 ,francis of ,assissi and the heroic band of saints who gathered under his orders were wont to go and lodge with the lepers at the city gates1 so the devoted souls who have enlisted in the ,salvation ,army take up their quarters in the heart of the worst slums4 ,but whereas the ,friars were men1 our ,slum ,brigade is composed of women4 ,i have a hundred of them under my orders1 young women for the most part1 quartered all of them in outposts in the heart of the ,devil's country4 ,most of them are the children of the poor who have known hardship from their youth up4 ,some are ladies born and bred1 who have not been afraid to exchange the comfort of a ,west ,end drawing-room for service among the vilest of the vile1 and a residence in small and fetid rooms whose walls were infested with vermin4 ,they live the life of the ,crucified for the sake of the men and women for whom ,he lived and died4 ,they form one of the branches of the activity of the ,army upon which ,i dwell with deepest sympathy4 ,they are at the front2 they are at close quarters with the enemy4 ,to the dwellers in decent homes who occupy cushioned pews in fashionable churches there is something strange and quaint in the language they hear read from the ,bible1 language which habitually refers to the ,devil as an actual personality1 and to the struggle against sin and uncleanness as if it were a hand to hand death wrestle with the legions of ,hell4 ,to our little sisters who dwell in an atmosphere heavy with curses1 among people sodden with drink1 in quarters where sin and uncleanness are universal1 all these ,biblical sayings are as real as the quotations of yesterday's price of ,consols are to a ,city man4 ,they dwell in the midst of ,hell1 and in their daily warfare with a hundred devils it seems incredible to them that anyone can doubt the existence of either one or the other4 ,the ,slum ,sister is what her name implies1 the ,sister of the ,slum4 ,they go forth in ,apostolic fashion1 two-and-two living in a couple of the same kind of dens or rooms as are occupied by the people themselves1 differing only in the cleanliness and order1 and the few articles of furniture which they contain4 ,here they live all the year round1 visiting the sick1 looking after the children1 showing the women how to keep themselves and their homes decent1 often discharging the sick mother's duties themselves2 cultivating peace1 advocating temperance1 counselling in temporalities1 and ceaselessly preaching the religion of ,jesus ,christ to the ,outcasts of ,society4 ,i do not like to speak of their work4 ,words fail me1 and what ,i say is so unworthy the theme4 ,i prefer to quote two descriptions by ,journalists who have seen these girls at work in the field4 ,the first is taken from a long article which ,julia ,hayes ,percy contributed to the ,new ,york ,world1 describing a visit paid by her to the slum quarters of the ,salvation ,army in ,cherry ,hill ,alleys1 in the ,whitechapel of ,new ,york4 ,twenty-four hours in the slums--just a night and a day-- yet into them were crowded such revelations of misery1 depravity1 and degradation as having once been gazed upon life can never be the same afterwards4 ,around and above his blighted neighbourhood flows the tide of active1 prosperous life4 ,men and women travel past in street cars by the ,elevated ,railroad and across the bridge1 and take no thought of its wretchedness1 of the criminals bred there1 and of the disease engendered by its foulness4 ,it is a fearful menace to the public health1 both moral and physical1 yet the multitude is as heedless of danger as the peasant who makes his house and plants green vineyards and olives above ,vesuvian fires4 ,we are almost as careless and quite as unknowing as we pass the bridge in the late afternoon4 ,our immediate destination is the ,salvation ,army ,barracks in ,washington ,street1 and we are going finally to the ,salvation ,officers--two young women--who have been dwelling and doing a noble mission work for months in one of the worst corners of ,new ,york's most wretched quarter4 ,these ,officers are not living under the aegis of the ,army1 however4 ,the blue bordered flag is furled out of sight1 the uniforms and poke bonnets are laid away1 and there are no drums or tambourines4 ,the banner over them is love of their fellow-creatures among whom they dwell upon an equal plane of poverty1 wearing no better clothes than the rest1 eating coarse and scanty food1 and sleeping upon hard cots or upon the floor4 ,their lives are consecrated to ,god's service among the poor of the earth4 ,one is a woman in the early prime of vigorous life1 the other a girl of eighteen4 ,the elder of these devoted women is awaiting us at the barracks to be our guide to ,slumdom4 ,she is tall1 slender1 and clad in a coarse brown gown1 mended with patches4 ,a big gingham apron1 artistically rent in several places1 is tied about her waist4 ,she wears on old plaid woollen shawl and an ancient brown straw hat4 ,her dress indicates extreme poverty1 her face denotes perfect peace4 ,this is ,em1 says ,mrs4 ,ballington ,booth1 and after this introduction we sally forth4 ,more and more wretched grows the district as we penetrate further ,em pauses before a dirty1 broken1 smoke-dimmed window1 through which in a dingy room are seen a party of roughs1 dark-looking men1 drinking and squabbling at a table4 ,they are our neighbours in the front4 ,we enter the hall-way and proceed to the rear room4 ,it is tiny1 but clean and warm4 ,a fire burns on the little cracked stove1 which stands up bravely on three legs1 with a brick eking out its support at the fourth corner4 ,a tin lamp stands on the table1 half-a-dozen chairs1 one of which has arms1 but must have renounced its rockers long ago1 and a packing box1 upon which we deposit our shawls1 constitute the furniture4 ,opening from this is a small dark bedroom1 with one cot made up and another folded against the wall4 ,against a door1 which must communicate with the front room1 in which we saw the disagreeable-looking men sitting1 is a wooden table for the hand-basin4 ,a small trunk and a barrel of clothing complete the inventory4 ,em's sister in the slum work gives us a sweet shy welcome4 ,she is a ,swedish girl1 with the fair complexion and crisp1 bright hair peculiar to the ,scandinavian blonde-type4 ,her head reminds me of a ,grenze that hangs in the ,louvre1 with its low knot of rippling hair1 which fluffs out from her brow and frames a dear little face with soft childish outlines1 a nez retrousse1 a tiny mouth1 like a crushed pink rose1 and wistful blue eyes4 ,this girl has been a ,salvationist for two years4 ,during that time she has learned to speak1 read1 and write ,english1 while she has constantly laboured among the poor and wretched4 ,the house where we find ourselves was formerly notorious as one of the worst in the ,cherry ,hill district4 ,it has been the scene of some memorable crimes1 and among them that of the ,chinaman who slew his ,irish wife1 after the manner of ,jack the ,ripper1 on the staircase leading to the second floor4 ,a notable change has taken place in the tenement since ,mattie and ,em have lived there1 and their gentle influence is making itself felt in the neighbouring houses as well4 ,it is nearly eight o'clock when we sally forth4 ,each of us carries a handful of printed slips bearing a text of ,scripture and a few words of warning to lead the better life4 ,these furnish an excuse for entering places where otherwise we could not go1 explains ,em4 ,after arranging a rendezvous1 we separate4 ,mattie and ,liz go off in one direction1 and ,em and ,i in another4 ,from this our progress seems like a descent into ,tartarus4 ,em pauses before a miserable-looking saloon1 pushes open the low1 swinging door1 and we go in4 ,it is a low-ceiled room1 dingy with dirt1 dim with the smoke1 nauseating with the fumes of sour beer and vile liquor4 ,a sloppy bar extends along one side1 and opposite is a long table1 with indescribable viands littered over it1 interspersed with empty glasses1 battered hats1 and cigar stumps4 ,a motley crowd of men and women jostle in the narrow space4 ,em speaks to the soberest looking of the lot4 ,he listens to her words1 others crowd about4 ,many accept the slips we offer1 and gradually as the throng separates to make way1 we gain the further end of the apartment4 ,em's serious1 sweet1 saint-like face ,i follow like a star4 ,all sense of fear slips from me1 and a great pity fills my soul as ,i look upon the various types of wretchedness4 ,as the night wears on1 the whole apartment seems to wake up4 ,every house is alight2 the narrow sidewalks and filthy streets are full of people4 ,miserable little children1 with sin-stamped faces1 dart about like rats2 little ones who ought to be in their cribs shift for themselves1 and sleep on cellar doors and areas1 and under carts2 a few vendors are abroad with their wares1 but the most of the traffic going on is of a different description4 ,along ,water ,street are women conspicuously dressed in gaudy colours4 ,their heavily-painted faces are bloated or pinched2 they shiver in the raw night air4 ,liz speaks to one1 who replies that she would like to talk1 but dare not1 and as she says this an old hag comes to the door and cries3 ,get along2 don't hinder her work6 ,during the evening a man to whom ,em has been talking has told her3 --,you ought to join the ,salvation ,army2 they are the only good women who1 bother us down here4 ,i don't want to lead that sort of life2 but ,i must go where it is light and warm and clean after working all day1 and there isn't any place but this to come to exclaimed the man4 ,you will appreciate the plea to-morrow when you see how the people live1 ,em says1 as we turn our steps toward the tenement room1 which seems like an oasis of peace and purity after the howling desert we have been wandering in4 ,em and ,mattie brew some oatmeal gruel1 and being chilled and faint we enjoyed a cup of it4 ,liz and ,i share a cot in the outer room4 ,we are just going to sleep when agonised cries ring out through the night2 then the tones of a woman's voice pleading pitifully reach our ears4 ,we are unable to distinguish her words1 but the sound is heart-rending4 ,it comes from one of those dreadful ,water ,street houses1 and we all feel that a tragedy is taking place4 ,there is a sound of crashing blows and then silence4 ,it is customary in the slums to leave the house door open perpetually1 which is convenient for tramps1 who creep into the hall-ways to sleep at night1 thereby saving the few pence it costs to occupy a spot in the cheap lodging houses4 ,em and ,mat keep the corridor without their room beautifully clean1 and so it has become an especial favourite stamping ground for these vagrants4 ,we were told this when ,mattie locked and bolted the door and then tied the keys and the door-handle together4 ,so we understand why there are shuffling steps along the corridor1 bumping against the panels of the door1 and heavily breathing without during the long hours of the night4 ,all day ,em and ,mat have been toiling among their neighbours1 and the night before last they sat up with a dying woman4 ,they are worn out and sleep heavily4 ,liz and ,i lie awake and wait for the coming of the morning2 we are too oppressed by what we have seen and heard to talk4 ,in the morning ,liz and ,i peep over into the rear houses where we heard those dreadful shrieks in the night4 ,there is no sign of life1 but we discover enough filth to breed diphtheria and typhoid throughout a large section4 ,in the area below our window there are several inches of stagnant water1 in which is heaped a mass of old shoes1 cabbage heads1 garbage1 rotten wood1 bones1 rags and refuse1 and a few dead rats4 ,we understand now why ,em keeps her room full of disinfectants4 ,she tells us that she dare not make any appeal to the sanitary authorities1 either on behalf of their own or any other dwelling1 for fear of antagonizing the people1 who consider such officials as their natural enemies4 ,the first visit we pay is up a number of eccentric little flights of shaky steps interspersed with twists of passageway4 ,the floor is full of holes4 ,the stairs have been patched here and there1 but look perilous and sway beneath the feet1 ,a low door on the landing is opened by a bundle of rags and filth1 out of which issues a woman's voice in husky tones1 bidding us enter4 ,she has ,la grippe4 ,we have to stand very close together1 for the room is small1 and already contains three women1 a man1 a baby1 a bedstead1 a stove1 and indescribable dirt4 ,the atmosphere is rank with impurity4 ,the man is evidently dying4 ,seven weeks ago he was gripped4 ,he is now in the last stages of pneumonia4 ,em has tried to induce him to be removed to the hospital1 and he gasps out his desire to die in comfort in my own bed4 ,comfort6 ,the bed' is a rack heaped with rags4 ,sheets1 pillow-cases1 and night-clothes are not in vogue in the slums4 ,a woman lies asleep on the dirty floor with her head under the table4 ,another woman1 who has been sharing the night watch with the invalid's wife1 is finishing her morning meal1 in which roast oysters on the half shell are conspicuous4 ,a child that appears never to have been washed toddles about the floor and tumbles over the sleeping woman's form4 ,em gives it some gruel1 and ascertains that its name is ,christine4 ,the dirt1 crowding1 and smells in the first place are characteristic of half a dozen others we visited4 ,we penetrate to garrets and descend into cellars4 ,the rear houses are particularly dreadful4 ,everywhere there is decaying garbage lying about1 and the dead cats and rats are evidence that there are mighty hunters among the gamins of the ,fourth ,ward4 ,we find a number ill from the grip and consequent maladies4 ,none of the sufferers will entertain the thought of seeking a hospital4 ,one probably voices the opinion of the majority when he declares that they'll wash you to death there4 ,for these people a bath possesses more terror than the gallows or the grave4 ,in one room1 with a wee window1 lies a women dying of consumption2 wasted wan1 and wretched1 lying on rags and swarming with vermin4 ,her little son1 a boy of eight years1 nestles beside her4 ,his cheeks are scarlet1 his eyes feverishly bright1 and he has a hard cough4 ,it's the chills1 mum1 says the little chap4 ,six beds stand close together in another room2 one is empty4 ,three days ago a woman died there and the body has just been taken away4 ,it hasn't disturbed the rest of the inmates to have death present there4 ,a woman is lying on the wrecks of a bedstead1 slats and posts sticking out in every direction from the rags on which she reposes4 ,it broke under me in the night1 she explains4 ,a woman is sick and wants ,liz to say a prayer4 ,we kneel on the filthy floor4 ,soon all my faculties are absorbed in speculating which will arrive first1 the ,amen or the ,b flat which is wending its way to wards me4 ,this time the bug does not get there1 and ,i enjoy grinding him under the sole of my ,slum shoe when the prayer is ended4 ,in another room we find what looks like a corpse4 ,it is a woman in an opium stupor4 ,drunken men are brawling around her4 ,returning to our tenement1 ,em and ,liz meet us1 and we return to our experience4 ,the minor details vary slightly1 but the story is the same piteous tale of woe everywhere1 and crime abounding1 conditions which only change to a prison1 a plunge in the river1 or the ,potter's field4 ,the ,dark ,continent can show no lower depth of degradation than that sounded by the dwellers of the dark alleys in ,cherry ,hill4 ,there isn't a vice missing in that quarter4 ,every sin in the ,decalogue flourishes in that feeder of penitentiaries and prisons4 ,and even as its moral foulness permeates and poisons the veins of our social life so the malarial filth with which the locality reeks must sooner or later spread disease and death4 ,an awful picture1 truly1 but one which is to me irradiated with the love-light which shone in the eyes of ,em's serious1 sweet1 saintlike face4 ,here is my second4 ,it was written by a ,journalist who had just witnessed the scene in ,whitechapel4 ,he writes3 -- ,i had just passed ,mr4 ,barnett's church when ,i was stopped by a small crowd at a street corner4 ,there were about thirty or forty men1 women1 and children standing loosely together1 some others were lounging on the opposite side of the street round the door of a public-house4 ,in the centre of the crowd was a plain-looking little woman in ,salvation ,army uniform1 with her eyes closed1 praying the dear ,lord that he would bless these dear people1 and save them1 save them now6 ,moved by curiosity1 ,i pressed through the outer fringe of the crowd1 and in doing so1 ,i noticed a woman of another kind1 also invoking ,heaven1 but in an altogether different fashion4 ,two dirty tramp-like men were listening to the prayer1 standing the while smoking their short cutty pipes4 ,for some reason or other they had offended the woman1 and she was giving them a piece of her mind4 ,they stood stolidly silent while she went at them like a fiend4 ,she had been good-looking once1 but was now horribly bloated with drink1 and excited by passion4 ,i heard both voices at the same time4 ,what a contrast6 ,the prayer was over now1 and a pleading earnest address was being delivered4 ,you are wrong1 said the voice in the centre you know you are2 all this misery and poverty is a proof of it4 ,you are prodigals4 ,you have got away from your ,father's house1 and you are rebelling against ,him every day ,can you wonder that there is so much hunger1 and oppression1 and wretchedness allowed to come upon you8 ,in the midst of it all your ,father loves you ,he wants you to return to ,him2 to turn your backs upon your sins2 abandon your evil doings2 give up the drink and the service of the devil4 ,he has given ,his ,son ,jesus ,christ to die for you4 ,he wants to save you4 ,come to ,his feet4 ,he is waiting4 ,his arms are open4 ,i know the devil has got fast hold of you2 but ,jesus will give you grace to conquer him4 ,he will help you to master your wicked habits and your love of drink4 ,but come to ,him now4 ,god is love4 ,he loves me4 ,he loves you4 ,he loves us all4 ,he wants to save us all4 ,clear and strong the voice1 eloquent with the fervour of intense feeling1 rang through the little crowd1 past which streamed the ever-flowing tide of ,east ,end life4 ,and at the same time that ,i heard this pure and passionate invocation to love ,god and be true to man ,i heard a voice on the outskirts1 and it said this3 ,you ---- swine6 ,i'll knock the vitals out of yer4 ,none of your ---- impudence to me4 ---- your ---- eyes1 what do you mean by telling me that8 ,you know what you ha' done1 and now you are going to the ,salvation ,army4 ,i'll let them know you1 you dirty rascal4 ,the man shifted his pipe4 ,what's the matter8 ,matter6 screamed the virago hoarsely4 ---- yer life1 don't you know what's the matter8 ,i'll matter ye1 you ---- hound4 ,by ,god6 ,i will1 as sure as ,i'm alive4 ,matter6 you know what's the matter4 ,and so she went on1 the men standing silently smoking until at last she took herself off her mouth full of oaths and cursing1 to the public-house4 ,it seemed as though the presence1 and spirit1 and words of the ,officer1 who still went on with the message of mercy1 had some strange effect upon them1 which made these poor wretches impervious to the taunting1 bitter sarcasms of this brazen1 blatant virago4 ,god is love4 ,was it not1 then1 the accents of ,god's voice that sounded there above the din of the street and the swearing of the slums8 ,yea1 verily1 and that voice ceases not and will not cease1 so long as the ,slum ,sisters fight under the banner of the ,salvation ,army4 ,to form an idea of the immense amount of good1 temporal and spiritual1 which the ,slum ,sister is doing2 you need to follow them into the kennels where they live1 preaching the ,gospel with the mop and the scrubbing brush1 and driving out the devil with soap and water4 ,in one of our ,slum posts1 where the ,officer's rooms were on the ground floor1 about fourteen other families lived in the same house4 ,one little water-closet in the back yard had to do service for the whole place4 ,as for the dirt1 one ,officer writes1 ,it is impossible to scrub the ,homes2 some of them are in such a filthy condition4 ,when they have a fire the ashes are left to accumulate for days4 ,the table is very seldom1 if ever1 properly cleaned1 dirty cups and saucers lie about it1 together with bits of bread1 and if they have bloaters the bones and heads are left on the table1 ,sometimes there are pieces of onions mixed up with the rest4 ,the floors are in a very much worse condition than the street pavements1 and when they are supposed to clean them they do it with about a pint of dirty water4 ,when they wash1 which is rarely1 for washing to them seems an unnecessary work1 they do it in a quart or two of water1 and sometimes boil the things in some old saucepan in which they cook their food4 ,they do this simply because they have no larger vessel to wash in4 ,the vermin fall off the walls and ceiling on you while you are standing in the rooms4 ,some of the walls are covered with marks where they have killed them4 ,many people in the summer sit on the door steps all night1 the reason for this being1 that their rooms are so close from the heat and so unendurable from the vermin that they prefer staying out in the cool night air4 ,but as they cannot stay anywhere long without drinking1 they send for beer from the neighbouring public--alas6 never far away --and pass it from one doorway to another1 the result being singing1 shouting and fighting up till three and four o'clock in the morning4 ,i could fill volumes with stories of the war against vermin1 which is part of this campaign in the slums1 but the subject is too revolting to those who are often indifferent to the agonies their fellow creatures suffer1 so long as their sensitive ears are not shocked by the mention of so painful a subject4 ,here1 for instance1 is a sample of the kind of region in which the ,slum ,sisters spend themselves3 ,in an apparently respectable street near ,oxford street1 the ,officers where visiting one day when they saw a very dark staircase leading into a cellar1 and thinking it possible that someone might be there they attempted to go down1 and yet the staircase was so dark they thought it impossible for anyone to be there4 ,however1 they tried again and groped their way along in the dark for some time until at last they found the door and entered the room4 ,at first they could not discern anything because of the darkness4 ,but after they got used to it they saw a filthy room4 ,there was no fire in the grate1 but the fire-place was heaped up with ashes1 an accumulation of several weeks at least4 ,at one end of the room there was an old sack of rags and bones partly emptied upon the floor1 from which there came a most unpleasant odour4 ,at the other end lay an old man very ill4 ,the apology for a bed on which he lay was filthy and had neither sheets nor blankets4 ,his covering consisted of old rags4 ,his poor wife1 who attended on him1 appeared to be a stranger to soap and water4 ,these ,slum ,sisters nursed the old people1 and on one occasion undertook to do their washing1 and they brought it home to their copper for this purpose1 but it was so infested with vermin that they did not know how to wash it4 ,their landlady1 who happened to see them1 forbade them ever to bring such stuff there any more4 ,the old man1 when well enough1 worked at his trade1 which was tailoring4 ,they had two shillings and sixpence per week from the parish4 ,here is a report from the headquarters of our ,slum ,brigade as to the work which the ,slum ,sisters have done4 ,it is almost four years since the ,slum ,work was started in ,london4 ,the principal work done by our first ,officers was that of visiting the sick1 cleansing the homes of the ,slummers1 and of feeding the hungry4 ,the following are a few of the cases of those who have gained temporally1 as well as spiritually1 through our work3 -- ,mrs4 ,w4--,of ,haggerston ,slum4 ,heavy drinker1 wrecked home1 husband a drunkard1 place dirty and filthy1 terribly poor4 ,saved now over two years1 home ,a#a41 plenty of employment at cane-chair bottoming2 husband now saved also4 ,mrs4 ,r4--,drury ,lane ,slum4 ,husband and wife1 drunkards2 husband very lazy1 only worked when starved in to it4 ,we found them both out of work1 home furnitureless1 in debt4 ,she got saved1 and our lasses prayed for him to get work4 ,he did so1 and went to it4 ,he fell out again a few weeks after1 and beat his wife4 ,she sought employment at charing and office cleaning1 got it1 and has been regularly at work since4 ,he too got work4 ,he is now a teetotaler4 ,the home is very comfortable now1 and they are putting money in the bank4 ,a4,m4 in the ,dials4 ,was a great drunkard1 thriftless1 did not go to the trouble of seeking work4 ,was in a ,slum meeting1 heard the ,captain speak on ,seek first the ,kingdom of ,god6 called out and said1 ,do you mean that if ,i ask ,god for work1 ,he will give it me8 ,of course she said1 ,yes4 ,he was converted that night1 found work1 and is now employed in the ,gas ,works1 ,old ,kent ,road4 ,jimmy is a soldier in the ,boro' ,slum6 ,was starving when he got converted through being out of work4 ,through joining the ,army1 he was turned out of his home4 ,he found work1 and now owns a coffee-stall in ,billingsgate ,market1 and is doing well4 ,sergeant ,r4--,of ,marylebone ,slum4 ,used to drink1 lived in a wretched place in the famous ,charles ,street1 had work at two places1 at one of which he got #es4 a week and the other #ajs41 when he got saved2 this was starvation wages1 on which to keep himself1 his wife1 and four children4 ,at the #ajs4 a week work he had to deliver drink for a spirit merchant2 feeling condemned over it1 he gave it up1 and was out of work for weeks4 ,the brokers were put in1 but the ,lord rescued him just in time4 ,the #es4 a week employer took him afterwards at #ahs41 and he is now earning #bbs41 and has left the ground-floor slum tenement for a better house4 ,h4--,nine ,elms ,slum4 ,was saved on ,easter ,monday1 out of work several weeks before1 is a labourer1 seems very earnest1 in terrible distress4 ,we allow his wife #bs4 #f;d4 a week for cleaning the hall 7to help them74 ,in addition to that1 she gets another #bs4 #f;d4 for nursing1 and on that husband1 wife1 and a couple of children pay the rent of #bs4 a week and drag out an existence4 ,i have tried to get work for this man1 but have failed4 ,t4--,of ,rotherhithe ,slum4 ,was a great drunkard1 is a carpenter2 saved about nine months ago1 but1 having to work in a public-house on a ,sunday1 he gave it up2 he has not been able to get another job1 and has nothing but what we have given him for making seats4 ,emma ,y4--,now a ,soldier of the ,marylebone ,slum ,post1 was a wild young ,slummer when we opened in the ,boro'2 could be generally seen in the streets1 wretchedly clad1 her sleeves turned up1 idle1 only worked occasionally1 got saved two years ago1 had terrible persecution in her home4 ,we got her a situation1 where she has been for nearly eighteen months1 and is now a good servant4 ,lodging-,house ,frank4--,at twenty-one came into the possession of #gej1 but1 through drink and gambling1 lost it all in six or eight months1 and for over seven years he has tramped about from ,portsmouth1 through the ,south of ,england1 and ,south ,wales1 from one lodging-house to another1 often starving1 drinking when he could get any money2 thriftless1 idle1 no heart for work4 ,we found him in a lodging-house six months ago1 living with a fallen girl2 got them both saved and married2 five weeks after he got work as a carpenter at #cjs4 a week4 ,he has a home of his own now1 and promises well to make an officer4 ,the ,officer who furnishes the above reports goes on to say3 -- ,i can't call the wretched dwelling home1 to which drink had brought ,brother and ,sister ,x4 ,from a life of luxury1 they drifted down by degrees to one room in a ,slum tenement1 surrounded by drunkards and the vilest characters4 ,their lovely half-starved children were compelled to listen to the foulest language1 and hear fighting and quarrelling1 and alas1 alas1 not only to hear it in the adjoining rooms1 but witness it within their own4 ,for over two years they have been delivered from the power of the cursed drink4 ,the old rookery is gone1 and now they have a comfortably-furnished home4 ,their children give evidence of being truly converted1 and have a lively gratitude for their father's salvation4 ,one boy of eight said1 last ,christmas ,day1 ,i remember when we had only dry bread for ,christmas2 but to-day we had a goose and two plum-puddings4 ,brother ,x4 was dismissed in disgrace from his situation as commercial traveller before his conversion2 to-day he is chief man1 next to his employer1 in a large business house4 ,he says3 -- ,i and perfectly satisfied that very few of the lowest strata of ,society are unwilling to work if they could get it4 ,the wretched hand-to-mouth existence many of them have to live disheartens them1 and makes life with them either a feast or a famine1 and drives those who have brains enough to crime4 ,the results of our work in the ,slums may be put down as3 -- #ast4 ,a marked improvement in the cleanliness of the homes and children2 disappearance of vermin1 and a considerable lessening of drunkenness4 #bnd4 ,a greater respect for true religion1 and especially that of the ,salvation ,army4 #crd4 ,a much larger amount of work is being done now than before our going there4 #dth4 ,the rescue of many fallen girls4 #eth4 ,the ,shelter work seems to us a development of the ,slum work4 ,in connection with our ,scheme1 we propose to immediately increase the numbers of these ,slum ,sisters1 and to add to their usefulness by directly connecting their operations with the ,colony1 enabling them thereby to help the poor people to conditions of life more favourable to health1 morals1 and religion4 ,this would be accomplished by getting some of them employment in the ,city1 which must necessarily result in better homes and surroundings1 or in the opening up for others of a straight course from the ,slums to the ,farm ,colony4 ,,section #b4--,,the ,,travelling ,,hospital4 ,of course1 there is only one real remedy for this state of things1 and that is to take the people away from the wretched hovels in which they sicken1 suffer1 and die1 with less comfort and consideration than the cattle in the stalls and styes of many a country ,squire4 ,and this is certainly our ultimate ambition1 but for the present distress something might be done on the lines of district nursing1 which is only in very imperfect operation4 ,i have been thinking that if a little ,van1 drawn by a pony1 could be fitted up with what is ordinarily required by the sick and dying1 and trot round amongst these abodes of desolation1 with a couple of nurses trained for the business1 it might be of immense service1 without being very costly4 ,they could have a few simple instruments1 so as to draw a tooth or lance an abscess1 and what was absolutely requisite for simple surgical operations4 ,a little oil-stove for hot water to prepare a poultice1 or a hot foment1 or a soap wash1 and a number of other necessaries for nursing1 could be carried with ease4 ,the need for this will only be appreciated by those who know how utterly bereft of all the comforts and conveniences for attending to the smallest matters in sickness which prevails in these abodes of wretchedness4 ,it may be suggested1 why don't the people when they are ill go to the hospital8 ,to which we simply reply that they won't4 ,they cling to their own bits of rooms and to the companionship of the members of their own families1 brutal as they often are1 and would rather stay and suffer1 and die in the midst of all the filth and squalor that surrounds them in their own dens1 than go to the big house1 which1 to them1 looks very like a prison4 ,the sufferings of the wretched occupants of the ,slums that we have been describing1 when sick and unable to help themselves1 makes the organisation of some system of nursing them in their own homes a ,christian duty4 ,here are a handful of cases1 gleaned almost at random from the reports of our ,slum ,sisters1 which will show the value of the agency above described3 -- ,many of those who are sick have often only one room1 and often several children4 ,the ,officers come across many cases where1 with no one to look after them1 they have to lie for hours without food or nourishment of any kind4 ,sometimes the neighbours will take them in a cup of tea4 ,it is really a mystery how they live4 ,a poor woman in ,drury ,lane was paralyzed4 ,she had no one to attend to her2 she lay on the floor1 on a stuffed sack1 and an old piece of cloth to cover her4 ,although it was winter1 she very seldom had any fire4 ,she had no garments to wear1 and but very little to eat4 ,another poor woman1 who was very ill1 was allowed a little money by her daughter to pay her rent and get her food2 but very frequently she had not the strength to light a fire or to get herself food4 ,she was parted from her husband because of his cruelty4 ,often she lay for hours without a soul to visit or help her4 ,adjutant ,mc,clellan found a man lying on a straw mattress in a very bad condition4 ,the room was filthy2 the smell made the ,officer feel ill4 ,the man had been lying for days without having anything done for him4 ,a cup of water was by his side4 ,the ,officers vomited from the terrible smells of this place4 ,frequently sick people are found who need the continual application of hot poultices1 but who are left with a cold one for hours4 ,in ,marylebone the ,officers visited a poor old woman who was very ill4 ,she lived in an underground back kitchen1 with hardly a ray of light and never a ray of sunshine4 ,her bed was made up on some egg boxes4 ,she had no one to look after her1 except a drunken daughter1 who very often1 when drunk1 used to knock the poor old woman about very badly4 ,the ,officers frequently found that she had not eaten any food up to twelve o'clock1 not even a cup of tea to drink4 ,the only furniture in the room was a small table1 an old fender1 and a box4 ,the vermin seemed to be innumerable4 ,a poor woman was taken very ill1 but1 having a small family1 she felt she must get up and wash them4 ,while she was washing the baby she fell down and was unable to move4 ,fortunately a neighbour came in soon after to ask some question1 and saw her lying there4 ,she at once ran and fetched another neighbour4 ,thinking the poor woman was dead1 they got her into bed and sent for a doctor4 ,he said she was in consumption and required quiet and nourishment4 ,this the poor woman could not get1 on account of her children4 ,she got up a few hours afterwards4 ,as she was going downstairs she fell down again4 ,the neighbour picked her up and put her back to bed1 where for a long time she lay thoroughly prostrated4 ,the ,officers took her case in hand1 fed1 and nursed her1 cleaned her room and generally looked after her4 ,in another dark slum the ,officers found a poor old woman in an underground back kitchen4 ,she was suffering with some complaint4 ,when they knocked at the door she was terrified for fear it was the landlord4 ,the room was in a most filthy condition1 never having been cleaned4 ,she had a penny paraffin lamp which filled the room with smoke4 ,the old woman was at times totally unable to do anything for herself4 ,the ,officers looked after her4 ,,section #c4 ,r,e,g,e,n,e,r,a,tl,o,n ,,of ,,our ,,criminals4--,,the ,,prison ,,gate ,,brigade ,our ,prisons ought to be reforming institutions1 which should turn men out better than when they entered their doors4 ,as a matter of fact they are often quite the reverse4 ,there are few persons in this world more to be pitied than the poor fellow who has served his first term of imprisonment or finds himself outside the gaol doors without a character1 and often without a friend in the world4 ,here1 again1 the process of centralization1 gone on apace of late years1 however desirable it maybe in the interests of administration1 tells with disastrous effects on the poor wretches who are its victims4 ,in the old times1 when a man was sent to prison1 the gaol stood within a stone's throw of his home4 ,when he came out he was at any rate close to his old friends and relations1 who would take him in and give him a helping hand to start once more a new life4 ,but what has happened owing to the desire of the ,government to do away with as many local gaols as possible8 ,the prisoners1 when convicted1 are sent long distances by rail to the central prisons1 and on coming out find themselves cursed with the brand of the gaol bird1 so far from home1 character gone1 and with no one to fall back upon for counsel1 or to give them a helping hand4 ,no wonder it is reported that vagrancy has much increased in some large towns on account of discharged prisoners taking to begging1 having no other resource4 ,in the competition for work no employer is likely to take a man who is fresh from gaol2 nor are mistresses likely to engage a servant whose last character was her discharge from one of ,her ,majesty's prisons4 ,it is incredible how much mischief is often done by well-meaning persons1 who1 in struggling towards the attainment of an excellent end --such1 for instance1 as that of economy and efficiency in prison administration--forget entirely the bearing which their reforms may have upon the prisoners themselves4 ,the ,salvation ,army has at least one great qualification for dealing with this question ,i believe ,i am in the proud position of being at the head of the only religious body which has always some of its members in gaol for conscience' sake4 ,we are also one of the few religious bodies which can boast that many of those who are in our ranks have gone through terms of penal servitude4 ,we1 therefore1 know the prison at both ends4 ,some men go to gaol because they are better than their neighbours1 most men because they are worse4 ,martyrs1 patriots1 reformers of all kinds belong to the first category4 ,no great cause has ever achieved a triumph before it has furnished a certain quota to the prison population4 ,the repeal of an unjust law is seldom carried until a certain number of those who are labouring for the reform have experienced in their own persons the hardships of fine and imprisonment4 ,christianity itself would never have triumphed over the ,paganism of ancient ,rome had the early ,christians not been enabled to testify from the dungeon and the arena as to the sincerity and serenity of soul with which they could confront their persecutors1 and from that time down to the successful struggles of our people for the right of public meeting at ,whitchurch and elsewhere1 the ,christian religion and the liberties of men have never failed to demand their quota of martyrs for the faith4 ,when a man has been to prison in the best of causes he learns to look at the question of prison discipline with a much more sympathetic eye for those who are sent there1 even for the worst offences1 than judges and legislators who only look at the prison from the outside4 ,a fellow-feeling makes one wondrous kind1 and it is an immense advantage to us in dealing with the criminal classes that many of our best ,officers have themselves been in a prison cell4 ,our people1 thank ,god1 have never learnt to regard a prisoner as a mere convict--,a #bcd4 ,he is ever a human being to them1 who is to be cared for and looked after as a mother looks after her ailing child4 ,at present there seems to be but little likelihood of any real reform in the interior of our prisons4 ,we have therefore to wait until the men come outside1 in order to see what1 can be done4 ,our work begins when that of the prison authorities ceases4 ,we have already had a good deal of experience in this work1 both here and in ,bombay1 in ,ceylon1 in ,south ,africa1 in ,australia and elsewhere1 and as the nett result of our experience we proceed now to set forth the measures we intend to adopt1 some of which are already in successful operation4 #a4 ,we propose the opening of ,homes for this class as near as possible to the different gaols4 ,one for men has just been taken at ,king's ,cross1 and will be occupied as soon as it can be got ready4 ,one for women must follow immediately4 ,others will be required in different parts of the ,metropolis1 and contiguous to each of its great prisons4 ,connected with these ,homes will be workshops in which the inmates will be regularly employed until such time as we can get them work elsewhere4 ,for this class must also work1 not only as a discipline1 but as the means for their own support4 #b4 ,in order to save1 as far as possible1 first offenders from the contamination of prison life1 and to prevent the formation of further evil companionships1 and the recklessness which follows the loss of character entailed by imprisonment1 we would offer1 in the ,police and ,criminal ,courts1 to take such offenders under our wing as were anxious to come and willing to accept our regulations4 ,the confidence of both magistrates and prisoners would1 we think1 soon be secured1 the friends of the latter would be mostly on our side1 and the probability1 therefore1 is that we should soon have a large number of cases placed under our care on what is known as suspended sentence1 to be brought up for judgment when called upon1 the record of each sentence to be wiped out on report being favourable of their conduct in the ,salvation ,army ,home4 #c4 ,we should seek access to the prisons in order to gain such acquaintance with the prisoners as would enable us the more effectually to benefit them on their discharge4 ,this privilege1 we think1 would be accorded us by the prison authorities when they became acquainted with the nature of our work and the remarkable results which followed it4 ,the right of entry into the gaols has already been conceded to our people in ,australia1 where they have free access to1 and communion with1 the inmates while under going their sentences4 ,prisoners are recommended to come to us by the gaol authorities1 who also forward to our people information of the date and hour when they leave1 in order that they may be met on their release1 #d4 ,we propose to meet the criminals at the prison gates with the offer of immediate admission to our ,homes4 ,the general rule is for them to be met by their friends or old associates1 who ordinarily belong to the same class4 ,any way1 it would be an exception to the rule were they not all alike believers in the comforting and cheering power of the intoxicating cup4 ,hence the public-house is invariably adjourned to1 where plans for further crime are often decided upon straight away1 resulting frequently1 before many weeks are past1 in the return of the liberated convict to the confinement from which he has just escaped4 ,having been accustomed during confinement to the implicit submission of themselves to the will of another1 the newly-discharged prisoner is easily influenced by whoever first gets hold of him4 ,now1 we propose to be beforehand with these old companions by taking the gaol-bird under our wing and setting before him an open door of hope the moment he crosses the threshold of the prison1 assuring him that if he is willing to work and comply with our discipline1 he never need know want any more4 #e4 ,we shall seek from the authorities the privilege of supervising and reporting upon those who are discharged with tickets-of-leave1 so as to free them from the humiliating and harassing duty of having to report themselves at the police stations4 #f4 ,we shall find suitable employment for each individual4 ,if not in possession of some useful trade or calling we will teach him one4 #g4 ,after a certain length of residence in these ,homes1 if consistent evidence is given of a sincere purpose to live an honest life1 he will be transferred to the ,farm ,colony1 unless in the meanwhile friends or old employers take him off our hands1 or some other form of occupation is obtained1 in which case he will still be the object of watchful care4 ,we shall offer to all the ultimate possibility of being restored to ,society in this country1 or transferred to commence life afresh in another ,with respect to results we can speak very positively1 for although our operations up to the present1 except for a short time some three years ago1 have been limited1 and unassisted by the important accessories above described1 yet the success that has at tended them has been most remarkable4 ,the following are a few instances which might be multiplied3 -- ,j4 ,w4 was met at prison gate by the ,captain of the ,home and offered help4 ,he declined to come at once as he had friends in ,scotland who he thought would help him2 but if they failed1 he promised to come4 ,it was his first conviction1 and he had six months for robbing his employer4 ,his trade was that of a baker4 ,in a few days he presented himself at the ,home1 and was received4 ,in the course of a few weeks1 he professed conversion1 and gave every evidence of the change4 ,for four months he was cook and baker in the kitchen1 and at last a situation as second hand was offered for him1 with the sic ,j4 ,s4 ,sergeant-major of the ,congress ,hall ,corps4 ,that is three years ago4 ,he is there to-day1 saved1 and satisfactory2 a thoroughly useful and respectable man4 ,j4 ,p4 was an old offender4 ,he was met at ,millbank on the expiration of his last term 7five years71 and brought to the ,home1 where he worked at his trade a tailor4 ,eventually he got a situation1 and has since married4 ,he has now a good home1 the confidence of his neighbours1 is well saved1 and a soldier of the ,hackney ,corps4 ,c4 ,m4 ,old offender1 and penal servitude case4 ,was induced to come to the ,home1 got saved1 was there for a long period1 offered for the work1 and went into the ,field1 was ,lieutenant for two years1 and eventually married4 ,he is now a respectable mechanic and soldier of a ,corps in ,derbyshire4 ,j4 ,w4 ,was manager in a large ,west ,end millinery establishment4 ,he was sent out with two ten-pound packages of silver to change4 ,on his way he met a companion and was induced to take a drink4 ,in the tavern the companion made an excuse to go outside and did not return1 and ,w4 found one of the packages had been abstracted from his outside pocket4 ,he was afraid to return1 and decamped with the other into the country4 ,whilst in a small town he strolled into a ,mission ,hall2 there happened to be a hitch in the proceedings1 the organist was absent1 a volunteer was called for1 and ,w41 being a good musician1 offered to play4 ,it seems the music took hold of him4 ,in the middle of the hymn he walked out and went to the police station and gave himself up4 ,he got six months4 ,when he came out1 he saw that ,happy ,george1 an ex-gaol bird1 was announced at the ,congress ,hall4 ,he went to the meeting and was induced to come to the ,home4 ,he eventually got saved1 and to-day he is at the head of a ,mission work in the provinces4 ,old ,dan was a penal servitude case1 and had had several long sentences4 ,he came into the ,home and was saved4 ,he managed the bootmaking there for a long time4 ,he has since gone into business at ,hackney1 and is married4 ,he is of four years' standing1 a thorough respectable tradesman1 and a ,salvationist4 ,charles ,c4 has done in the aggregate twenty-three years' penal servitude4 ,was out on licence1 and got saved at the ,hull ,barracks4 ,at that time he had neglected to report himself1 and had destroyed his licence1 taking an assumed name4 ,when he got saved he gave himself up1 and was taken before the magistrate1 who1 instead of sending him back to fulfil his sentence1 gave him up to the ,army4 ,he was sent to us from ,hull by our representative1 is now in our factory and doing well4 ,he is still under police supervision for five years4 ,h4 ,kelso4 ,also a licence man4 ,he had neglected to report himself1 and was arrested4 ,while before the magistrate he said he was tired of dishonesty1 and would go to the ,salvation ,army if they would discharge him4 ,he was sent back to penal servitude4 ,application was made by us to the ,home ,secretary on his behalf1 and ,mr4 ,matthews granted his release4 ,he was handed over to our ,officers at ,bristol1 brought to ,london1 and is now in the ,factory1 saved and doing well4 ,e4 ,w4 belongs to ,birmingham1 is in his forty-ninth year1 and has been in and out of prison all his life4 ,he was at ,redhill ,reformatory five years1 and his last term was five years' penal servitude4 ,the ,chaplain at ,pentonville advised him it he really meant reformation to seek the ,salvation ,army on his release4 ,he came to ,thames ,street1 was sent to the ,workshop and professed salvation the following ,sunday at the ,shelter4 ,this is three months ago4 ,he is quite satisfactory1 industrious1 contented and seemingly godly4 ,a4 ,b41 ,gentleman loafer1 good prospects1 drink and idleness broke up his home1 killed his wife1 and got him into gaol4 ,presbyterian minister1 friend of his family1 tried to reclaim him1 but unsuccessfully4 ,he entered the ,prison ,gate ,home1 became thoroughly saved1 distributed handbills for the ,home1 and ultimately got work in a large printing and publishing works1 where1 after three years' service1 he now occupies a most responsible position4 ,is an elder in the ,presbyterian ,church1 restored to his family1 and the possessor of a happy home4 ,w4 ,c41 a native of ,london1 a good-for-nothing lad1 idle and dissolute4 ,when leaving ,england his father warned him that if he didn't alter he'd end his days on the gallows4 ,served various sentences on all sorts of charges4 ,over six years ago we took him in hand1 admitted him into ,prison ,gate ,brigade ,home1 where he became truly saved2 he got a job of painting1 which he had learnt in gaol1 and has married a woman who had formerly been a procuress1 but had passed through our ,rescued ,sinners' ,home1 and there became thoroughly converted4 ,together they have braved the storms of life1 both working diligently for their living4 ,they have now a happy little home of their own1 and are doing very well4 ,f4 ,x41 the son of a ,government officer1 a drunkard1 gambler1 forger1 and all-round blackguard2 served numerous sentences for forgery4 ,on his last discharge was admitted into ,prison ,gate ,brigade ,home1 where he stayed about five months and became truly saved4 ,although his health was completely shattered from the effects of his sinful life1 he steadfastly resisted all temptations to drink1 and kept true to ,god4 ,through advertising in the ,war ,cry1 he found his lost son and daughter1 who are delighted with the wonderful change in their father4 ,they have become regular attendants at our meetings in the ,temperance ,hall4 ,he now keeps a coffee-stall1 is doing well1 and properly saved4 ,g4 ,a41 #gb1 spent #bc years in gaol1 last sentence two years for burglary2 was a drunkard1 gambler1 and swearer4 ,met on his discharge by the ,prison ,gate ,brigade1 admitted into ,home1 where he remained four months1 and became truly saved4 ,he is living a consistent1 godly life1 and is in employment4 ,c4 ,d41 aged #fd1 opium-smoker1 gambler1 blackguard1 separated from wife and family1 and eventually landed in gaol1 was met on his discharge and admitted into ,prison ,gate ,brigade ,home1 was saved1 and is now restored to his wife and family1 and giving satisfaction in his employment4 ,s4 ,t4 was an idle1 loafing1 thieving1 swearing1 disreputable young man1 who lived1 when out of gaol1 with the low prostitutes of ,little ,bourke ,street4 ,was taken in hand by our ,prison ,gate ,brigade ,officers1 who got him saved1 then found him work4 ,after a few months he expressed a desire to work for ,god1 and although a cripple1 and having to use a crutch1 such was his earnestness that he was accepted and has done good service as an ,army officer4 ,his testimony is good and his life consistent4 ,he is1 indeed1 a marvel of ,divine grace4 ,m4 ,j41 a young man holding a high position in ,england1 got into a fast set2 thought a change to the ,colonies would be to his advantage4 ,started for ,australia with #bjj odd1 of which he spent a good portion on board ship in drink1 soon dissipated the balance on landing1 and woke up one morning to find himself in gaol1 with delirium tremens on him1 no money1 his luggage lost1 and without a friend on the whole continent4 ,on his discharge he entered our ,prison ,gate ,home1 became converted1 and is now occupying a responsible position in a ,colonial ,bank4 ,b4 ,c41 a man of good birth1 education1 and position2 drank himself out of home and friends and into gaol on leaving which he came to our ,home2 was saved1 exhibiting by an earnest and truly consistent life the depth of his conversion1 being made instrumental while with us in the salvation of many who1 like himself1 had come to utter destitution and crime through drink4 ,he is now in a first-class situation1 getting #cjj a year1 wife and family restored1 the possessor of a happy home1 and the love of ,god shed abroad in it4 ,i do not produce these samples1 which are but a few1 taken at random from the many1 for the purpose of boasting4 ,the power which has wrought these miracles is not in me nor in my ,officers2 it is power which comes down from above4 ,but ,i think ,i may fairly point to these cases1 in which our instrumentality has been blessed1 to the plucking of these brands from the burning1 as affording some justification for the plea to be enabled to go on with this work on a much more extended scale4 ,if any other organisation1 religious or secular1 can show similar trophies as the result of such limited operations as ours have hitherto been among the criminal population1 ,i am willing to give place to them4 ,all that ,i want is to have the work done4 ,,section #d4--;,,effectual ,,deliverance ,,for ,,the ,,drunkard4 ,the number1 misery1 and hopeless condition of the slaves of strong drink1 of both sexes1 have been already dealt with at considerable length4 ,we have seen that there are in ,great ,britain one million of men and women1 or thereabouts1 completely under the domination of this cruel appetite4 ,the utter helplessness of ,society to deal with the drunkard has been proved again and again1 and confessed on all hands by those who have had experience on the subject4 ,as we have before said1 the general feeling of all those who have tried their hands at this kind of business is one of despair4 ,they think the present race of drunkards must be left to perish1 that every species of effort having proved vain1 the energies expended in the endeavour to rescue the parents will be laid out to greater advantages upon the children4 ,there is a great deal of truth in all this4 ,our own efforts have been successful in a very remarkable degree4 ,some of the bravest1 most devoted1 and successful workers in our ranks are men and women who were once the most abject slaves of the intoxicating cup4 ,instances of this have been given already4 ,we might multiply them by thousands4 ,still1 when compared with the ghastly array which the drunken army presents to-day1 those rescued are comparatively few4 ,the great reason for this is the simple fact that the vast majority of those addicted to the cup are its veritable slaves4 ,no amount of reasoning1 or earthly or religious considerations1 can have any effect upon a man who is so completely under the mastery of this passion that he cannot break away from it1 although he sees the most terrible consequences staring him in the face4 ,the drunkard promises and vows1 but promises and vows in vain4 ,occasionally he will put forth frantic efforts to deliver himself1 but only to fall again in the presence of the opportunity4 ,the insatiable crave controls him4 ,he cannot get away from it4 ,it compels him to drink1 whether he will or not1 and1 unless delivered by an ,almighty hand1 he will drink himself into a drunkard's grave and a drunkard's hell4 ,our annals team with successful rescues effected from the ranks of the drunken army4 ,the following will not only be examples of this1 but will tend to illustrate the strength and madness of the passion which masters the slave to strong drink4 ,barbara4--,she had sunk about as low as any woman could when we found her4 ,from the age of eighteen1 when her parents had forced her to throw over her sailor sweetheart and marry a man with good prospects1 she had been going steadily down4 ,she did not love her husband1 and soon sought comfort from the little public-house only a few steps from her own door4 ,quarrels in her home quickly gave place to fighting1 angry curses1 and oaths1 and soon her life became one of the most wretched in the place4 ,her husband made no pretence of caring for her1 and when she was ill and unable to earn money by selling fish in the streets1 he would go off for a few months1 leaving her to keep the house and support herself and babies as best she could4 ,out of her twenty years of married life1 ten were spent in these on-and-off separations4 ,and so she got to live for only one thing--drink4 ,it was life to her2 and the mad craving grew to be irresistible4 ,the woman who looked after her at the birth of her child refused to fetch her whisky1 so when she had done all she could and left the mother to rest1 ,barbara crept out of bed and crawled slowly down the stairs over the way to the tap-room1 where she sat drinking with the baby1 not yet an hour old1 in her arms4 ,so things went on1 until her life got so unbearable that she determined to have done with it4 ,taking her two eldest children with her1 she went down to the bay1 and deliberately threw them both into the water1 jumping in herself after them4 ,oh1 mither1 mither1 dinna droon me6 wailed her little three-year-old ,sarah1 but she was determined and held them under the water1 till1 seeing a boat put out to the rescue she knew that she was discovered4 ,too late to do it now1 she thought1 and1 holding both children1 swam quickly back to the shore4 ,a made-up story about having fallen into the water satisfied the boatman1 and ,barbara returned home dripping and baffled4 ,but little ,sarah did not recover from the shock1 and after a few weeks her short life ended1 and she was laid in the ,cemetery4 ,yet another time1 goaded to desperation1 she tried to take her life by hanging herself1 but a neighbour came in and cut her down unconscious1 but still living4 ,she became a terror to all the neighbourhood1 and her name was the bye-word for daring and desperate actions4 ,but our ,open-,air ,meetings attracted her1 she came to the ,barracks1 got saved1 and was delivered from her love of drink and sin4 ,from being a dread her home became a sort of house of refuge in the little low street where she lived2 other wives as unhappy as herself would come in for advice and help4 ,anyone knew that ,barbie was changed1 and loved to do all she could for her neighbours4 ,a few months ago she came up to the ,captain's in great distress over a woman who lived just opposite4 ,she had been cruelly kicked and cursed by her husband1 who had finally bolted the door against her1 and she had turned to ,barbie as the only hope4 ,and of course ,barbie took her in1 with her rough-and-ready kindness got her to bed1 kept out the other women who crowded round to sympathise and declaim against the husband's brutality1 was both nurse and doctor for the poor woman till her child was born and laid in the mother's arms4 ,and then1 to ,barbie's distress1 she could do no more1 for the woman1 not daring to be absent longer1 got up as best she could1 and crawled on hands and knees down the little steep steps1 across the street1 and back to her own door4 ,but1 ,barbie6 exclaimed the ,captain1 horrified1 you should have nursed her1 and kept her until she was strong enough4 ,but ,barbie answered by reminding the ,captain of ,john's fearful temper1 and how it might cost the woman her life to be absent from her home more than a couple of hours4 ,the second is the case of-- ,maggie4--,she had a home1 but seldom was sober enough to reach it at nights4 ,she would fall down on the doorsteps until found by some passer-by or a policeman4 ,in one of her mad freaks a boon-companion happened to offend her4 ,he was a little hunch-back1 and a fellow-drunkard2 but without a moment's hesitation1 ,maggie seized him and pushed him head-foremost down the old-fashioned wide sewer of the ,scotch town4 ,had not some one seen his heel's kicking out and rescued him1 he would surley have been suffocated4 ,one winter's night ,maggie had been drinking heavily1 fighting1 too1 as usual1 and she staggered only as far1 on her way home1 as the narrow chain-pier4 ,here she stumbled and fell1 and lay along on the snow1 the blood oozing from her cuts1 and her hair spread out in a tangled mass4 ,at #e in the morning1 some factory girls1 crossing the bridge to their work1 came upon her1 lying stiff and stark amidst the snow and darkness4 ,to rouse her from her drunken sleep was hard1 but to raise her from the ground was still harder4 ,the matted hair and blood had frozen fast to the earth1 and ,maggie was a prisoner4 ,after trying to free her in different ways1 and receiving as a reward volleys of abuse and bad language1 one of the girl's ran for a kettle of boiling water1 and by pouring it all around her1 they succeeded by degrees in melting her on to her feet again6 ,but she came to our ,barracks1 and got soundly converted1 and the ,captain was rewarded for nights and days of toil by seeing her a saved and sober woman4 ,all went right till a friend asked her to his house1 to drink his health1 and that of his newly-married wife4 ,i wouldn't ask you to take anything strong1 he said4 ,drink to me with this lemonade4 ,and ,maggie1 nothing suspecting1 drank1 and as she drank tasted in the glass her old enemy1 whisky6 ,the man laughed at her dismay1 but a friend rushed off to tell the ,captain4 ,i may be in time1 she has not really gone back2 and the ,captain ran to the house1 tying her bonnet strings as she ran4 ,it's no good--keep awa'--,i don't want to see'er1 ,captain1 wailed ,maggie let me have some more--oh1 ,i'm on fire inside4 ,but the ,captain was firm1 and taking her to her home1 she locked herself in with the woman1 and sat with the key in her pocket1 while ,maggie1 half mad with craving1 paced the floor like a caged animal1 threatening and entreating by terms4 ,never while ,i live1 was all the answer she could get2 so she turned to the door1 and busied herself there a moment or two4 ,a clinking noise4 ,the ,captain started up--to see the door open and ,maggie rush through it6 ,accustomed to stealing and all its dodges1 she had taken the lock off the door1 and was away to the nearest public-house4 ,down the stairs1 ,captain after her1 into the gin palace2 but before the astonished publican could give her the drink she was clamouring for1 the bonnet was by her side1 ,if you dare to serve her1 ,i'll break the glass before it reaches her lips4 ,she shall not have any6 and so ,maggie was coaxed away1 and shielded till the passion was over1 and she was ,herself once more4 ,but the man who gave her the whisky durst not leave his house for weeks4 ,the roughs got to know of the trap he had laid for her1 and would have lynched him could they have got hold of him4 ,the third is the case of ,rose4 ,rose was ruined1 deserted1 and left to the streets when only a girl of thirteen1 by a once well-to-do man1 who is now1 we believe1 closing his days in a workhouse in the ,north of ,england4 ,fatherless1 motherless1 and you might almost say friendless1 ,rose trod the broad way to destruction1 with all its misery and shame1 for twelve long years4 ,her wild1 passionate nature1 writhing under the wrong suffered1 sought forgetfulness in the intoxicating cup1 and she soon became a notorious drunkard4 ,seventy-four times during her career she was dragged before the magistrates1 and seventy-four times1 with one exception1 she was punished1 but the seventy-fourth time she was as far off reformation as ever4 ,the one exception happened on the ,queen's ,jubilee ,day4 ,on seeing her well-known face again before him1 the magistrate enquired1 ,how many times has this woman been here before8 ,the ,police ,superintendent answered1 ,fifty times4 ,the magistrate remarked1 in somewhat grim humour1 ,then this is her ,jubilee1 and1 moved by the coincidence1 he let her go free4 ,so ,rose spent her jubilee out of prison4 ,it is a wonder that the dreadful1 drunken1 reckless1 dissipated life she lived did not hurry her to an early grave2 it did affect her reason1 and for three weeks she was locked up in ,lancaster ,lunatic ,asylum1 having really gone mad through drink and sin4 ,in evidence of her reckless nature1 it is said that after her second imprisonment she vowed she would never again walk to the police station2 consequently1 when in her wild orgies the police found it necessary to arrest her1 they had to get her to the police station as best they could1 sometimes by requisitioning a wheelbarrow or a cart1 or the use of a stretcher1 and sometimes they had to carry her right out4 ,on one occasion1 towards the close of her career1 when driven to the last-named method1 four policemen were carrying her to the station1 and she was extra violent1 screaming1 plunging and biting1 when1 either by accident or design1 one of the policemen let go of her head1 and it came in contact with the curbstone1 causing the blood to pour forth in a stream4 ,as soon as they placed her in the cell the poor creature caught the blood in her hands1 and literally washed her face with it4 ,on the following morning she presented a pitiable sight1 and before taking her into the court the police wanted to wash her1 but she declared she would draw any man's blood who attempted to put a finger upon her2 they had spilt her blood1 and she would carry it into the court as a witness against them4 ,on coming out of gaol for the last time1 she met with a few ,salvationists beating the drum and singing ,oh6 the ,lamb1 the bleeding ,lamb2 ,he was found worthy4 ,rose1 struck with the song1 and impressed with the very faces of the people1 followed them1 saying to herself1 ,i never before heard anything like that1 or seen such happy looking people4 ,she came into the ,barracks2 her heart was broken2 she found her way to the ,penitent ,form1 and ,christ1 with ,his own precious blood1 washed her sins away4 ,she arose from her knees and said to the ,captain1 ,it is all right now4 ,three months after her conversion a great meeting was held in the largest hall in the town1 where she was known to almost every inhabitant4 ,there were about three thousand people present4 ,rose was called upon to give her testimony to the power of ,god to save4 ,a more enthusiastic wave of sympathy never greeted any speaker than that which met her from that crowd1 every one of whom was familiar with her past history4 ,after a few broken words1 in which she spoke of the wonderful change that had taken place1 a cousin1 who1 like herself1 had lived a notoriously evil life1 came to the ,cross4 ,rose is now ,war ,cry sergeant4 ,she goes into the brothels and gin palaces and other haunts of vice1 from which she was rescued1 and sells more papers than any other ,soldier4 ,the ,superintendent of ,police1 soon after her conversion1 told the ,captain at the ,corps that in rescuing ,rose a more wonderful work had been done than he had seen in all the years gone by4 ,s4 was a native of ,lancashire1 the son of poor1 but pious1 parents4 ,he was saved when sixteen years of age4 ,he was first an ,evangelist1 then a ,city ,missionary for five or six years1 and afterwards a ,baptist ,minister4 ,he then fell under the influence of drink1 resigned1 and became a commercial traveller1 but lost his berth through drink4 ,he was then an insurance agent1 and rose to be superintendent1 but was again dismissed through drink4 ,during his drunken career he had delirium tremens four times1 attempted suicide three times1 sold up six homes1 was in the workhouse with his wife and family three times4 ,his last contrivance for getting drink was to preach mock sermons1 and offer mock prayers in the tap-rooms4 ,after one of these blasphemous performances in a public-house1 on the words1 ,are you ,saved8 he was challenged to go to the ,salvation ,barracks4 ,he went1 and the ,captain1 who knew him well1 at once made for him1 to plead for his soul1 but ,s4 knocked him down1 and rushed back to the public-house for more drink4 ,he was1 however1 so moved by what he had heard that he was unable to raise the liquor to his mouth1 although he made three attempts4 ,he again returned to the meeting1 and again quitted it for the public-house4 ,he could not rest1 and for the third time he returned to the ,barracks4 ,as he entered the last time the ,soldiers were singing3 -- ,depth of mercy1 can there be ,mercy still reserved for me8 ,can my ,god his wrath forbear8 ,me1 the chief of ,sinners1 spare8 ,this song impressed him still further2 he wept1 and remained in the ,barracks under deep conviction until midnight4 ,he was drunk all the next day1 vainly trying to drown his convictions4 ,the ,captain visited him at night1 but was quickly thrust out of the house4 ,he was there again next morning1 and prayed and talked with ,s4 for nearly two hours4 ,poor ,s4 was in despair4 ,he persisted that there was no mercy for him4 ,after a long struggle1 however1 hope sprung up1 he fell upon his knees1 confessed his sins1 and obtained forgiveness4 ,when this happened1 his furniture consisted of a soap-box for a table1 and starch boxes for chairs4 ,his wife1 himself1 and three children1 had not slept in a bed for three years4 ,he has now a happy family1 a comfortable home1 and has been the means of leading numbers of other slaves of sin to the ,saviour1 and to a truly happy life4 ,similar cases1 describing the deliverance of drunkards from the bondage of strong drink1 could be produced indefinitely4 ,there are ,officers marching in our ranks to-day1 who where once gripped by this fiendish fascination1 who have had their fetters broken1 and are now free men in the ,army4 ,still the mighty torrent of ,alcohol1 fed by ten thousand manufactories1 sweeps on1 bearing with it1 ,i have no hesitation in saying1 the foulest1 bloodiest tide that ever flowed from earth to eternity4 ,the ,church of the living ,god ought not--and to say nothing about religion1 the people who have any humanity ought not1 to rest without doing something desperate to rescue this half of a million who are in the eddying maelstrom4 ,we purpose1 therefore1 the taking away of the people from the temptation which they cannot resist4 ,we would to ,god that the temptation could be taken away from them1 that every house licensed to send forth the black streams of bitter death were closed1 and closed for ever4 ,but this will not be1 we fear1 for the present at least4 ,while in one case drunkenness may be resolved into a habit1 in another it must be accounted a disease4 ,what is wanted in the one case1 therefore1 is some method of removing the man out of the sphere of the temptation1 and in the other for treating the passion as a disease1 as we should any other physical affection1 bringing to bear upon it every agency1 hygienic and otherwise1 calculated to effect a cure4 ,the ,dalrymple ,homes1 in which1 on the order of a magistrate and by their own consent1 ,inebriates can be confined for a time1 have been a partial success in dealing with this class in both these respects2 but they are admittedly too expensive to be of any service to the poor4 ,it could never be hoped that working people of themselves1 or with the assistance of their friends1 would be able to pay two pounds a week for the privilege of being removed away from the licensed temptations to drink which surround them at every step4 ,moreover1 could they obtain admission they would feel themselves anything but at ease amongst the class who avail themselves of these institutions4 ,we propose to establish ,homes which will contemplate the deliverance1 not of ones and twos1 but of multitudes1 and which will be accessible to the poor1 or to persons of any class choosing to use them4 ,this is our national vice1 and it demands nothing short of a national remedy--anyway1 one of proportions large enough to be counted national4 #a4 ,to begin with1 there will be ,city ,homes1 into which a man can be taken1 watched over1 kept out of the way of temptation1 and if possible delivered from the power of this dreadful habit4 ,in some cases persons would be taken in who are engaged in business in the ,city in the day1 being accompanied by an attendant to and from the ,home4 ,in this case1 of course1 adequate remuneration for this extra care would be required4 #b4 ,country ,homes1 which we shall conduct on the ,dalrymple principle2 that is1 taking persons for compulsory confinement1 they binding themselves by a bond confirmed by a magistrate that they would remain for a certain period4 ,the general regulations for both establishments would be something as follows3 -- 7#a74 ,there would be only one class in each establishment4 ,if it was found that the rich and the poor did not work comfortably together1 separate institutions must be provided4 7#b74 ,all would alike have to engage in some remunerative form of employment4 ,outdoor work would be preferred1 but indoor employment would be arranged for those for whom it was most suitable1 and in such weather and at such times of the year when garden work was impracticable4 7#c74 ,a charge of #ajs4 per week would be made4 ,this could be remitted when there was no ability to pay it4 ,the usefulness of such ,homes is too evident to need any discussion4 ,there is one class of unfortunate creatures who must be objects of pity to all who have any knowledge of their existence1 and that is1 those men and women who are being continually dragged before the magistrates1 of whom we are constantly reading in the police reports1 whose lives are spent in and out of prison1 at an enormous cost to the country1 and without any benefit to themselves4 ,we should then be able to deal with this class4 ,it would be possible for a magistrate1 instead of sentencing the poor wrecks of humanity to the sixty-fourth and one hundred and twentieth term of imprisonment1 to send them to this ,institution1 by simply remanding them to come up for sentence when called for4 ,how much cheaper such an arrangement would be for the country6 ,,section #e4--;,a ,,new ,,way ,,of ,,escape ,,for ,,lost ,,women4 ,,the ,,rescue ,,homes4 ,perhaps there is no evil more destructive of the best interests of ,society1 or confessedly more difficult to deal with remedially1 than that which is known as the ,social ,evil4 ,we have already seen something of the extent to which this terrible scourge has grown1 and the alarming manner in which it affects our modern civilisation4 ,we have already made an attempt at grappling with this evil1 having about thirteen ,homes in ,great ,britain1 accommodating #cjg girls under the charge of #acb ,officers1 together with seventeen ,homes abroad1 open for the same purpose4 ,the whole1 although a small affair compared with the vastness of the necessity1 nevertheless constitutes perhaps the largest and most efficient effort of its character in the world4 ,it is difficult to estimate the results that have been already realised4 ,by our varied operations1 apart from these ,homes1 probably hundreds1 if not thousands1 have been delivered from lives of shame and misery4 ,we have no exact return of the number who have gone through the ,homes abroad1 but in connection with the work in this country1 about #c1jjj have been rescued1 and are living lives of virtue4 ,this success has not only been gratifying on account of the blessing it has brought these young women1 the gladness it has introduced to the homes to which they have been restored1 and the benefit it has bestowed upon ,society1 but because it has assured us that much greater results of the same character may be realised by operations conducted on a larger scale1 and under more favourable circumstances4 ,with this view we propose to remodel and greatly increase the number of our ,homes both in ,london and the provinces1 establishing one in every great centre of this infamous traffic4 ,to make them very largely ,receiving ,houses1 where the girls will be initiated into the system of reformation1 tested as to the reality of their desires for deliverance1 and started forward on the highway of truth1 virtue1 and religion4 ,from these ,homes large numbers1 as at present1 would be restored to their friends and relatives1 while some would be detained in training for domestic service1 and others passed on to the ,farm ,colony4 ,on the ,farm they would be engaged in various occupations4 ,in the ,factory1 at ,bookbinding and ,weaving2 in the ,garden and ,glasshouses amongst fruit and flowers2 in the ,dairy1 making butter2 in all cases going through a course of ,house-work which will fit them for domestic service4 ,at every stage the same process of moral and religious training1 on which we specially rely1 will be carried forward4 ,there would probably be a considerable amount of inter-marriage amongst the ,colonists1 and in this way a number of these girl's would be absorbed into ,society4 ,a large number would be sent abroad as domestic servants4 ,in ,canada1 the girls are taken out of the ,rescue ,homes as servants1 with no other reference than is gained by a few weeks' residence there1 and are paid as much as #c a month wages4 ,the scarcity of domestic servants in the ,australian ,colonies1 ,western ,states of ,america1 ,africa1 and elsewhere is well known4 ,and we have no doubt that on all hands our girls with #ab months' character will be welcomed1 the question of outfit and passage-money being easily arranged for by the persons requiring their services advancing the amount1 with an understanding that it is to be deducted out of their first earnings4 ,then we have the ,colony ,over-,sea1 which will require the service of a large number4 ,very few families will go out who will not be very glad to take a young woman with them1 not as a menial servant1 but as a companion and friend4 ,by this method we should be able to carry out ,rescue work on a much larger scale4 ,at present two difficulties very largely block our way4 ,one is the costliness of the work4 ,the expense of rescuing a girl on the present plan cannot be much less than #g2 that is1 if we include the cost of those with whom we fail1 and on whom the money is largely thrown away4 ,seven pounds is certainly not a very large sum for the measure of benefit bestowed upon the girl by bringing her off the streets1 and that which is bestowed on ,society by removing her from her evil course4 ,still1 when the work runs into thousands of individuals1 the amount required becomes considerable4 ,on the plan proposed we calculate that from the date of their reaching the ,farm ,colony they will earn nearly all that is required for their support4 ,the next difficulty which hinders our expansion in this department is the want of suitable and permanent situations1 ,although we have been marvellously successful so far1 having at this hour probably #a1bjj girls in domestic service alone1 still the difficulty in this respect is great4 ,families are naturally shy at receiving these poor unfortunates when they can secure the help they need combined with unblemished character2 and we cannot blame them4 ,then1 again1 it can easily be understood that the monotony of domestic service in this country is not altogether congenial to the tastes of many of these girls1 who have been accustomed to a life of excitement and freedom4 ,this can be easily understood4 ,to be shut up seven days a week with little or no intercourse1 either with friends or with the outside world1 beyond that which comes of the weekly ,church service or night out with nowhere to go1 as many of them are tied off from the ,salvation ,army ,meetings1 becomes very monotonous1 and in hours of depression it is not to be wondered at if a few break down in their resolutions1 and fall back into their old ways4 ,on the plan we propose there is something to cheer these girls forward4 ,life on the farm will be attractive4 ,from there they can go to a new country and begin the world afresh1 with the possibility of being married and having a little home of their own some day4 ,with such prospects1 we think1 they will be much more likely to fight their way through seasons of darkness and temptation than as at present4 ,this plan will also make the task of rescuing the girls much more agreeable to the ,officers engaged in it4 ,they will have this future to dwell upon as an encouragement to persevere with the girls1 and will be spared one element at least in the regret they experience1 when a girl falls back into old habits1 namely1 that she earned the principal part of the money that has been expended upon her4 ,that girls can be rescued and blessedly saved even now1 despite all their surroundings1 we have many remarkable proofs4 ,of these take one or two as examples3 -- ,j4 ,w4 was brought by our ,officers from a neighbourhood which has1 by reason of the atrocities perpetrated in it1 obtained an unenviable renown1 even among similar districts of equally bad character4 ,she was only nineteen4 ,a country girl4 ,she had begun the struggle for life early as a worker in a large laundry1 and at thirteen years of age was led away by an inhuman brute4 ,the first false step taken1 her course on the downward road was rapid1 and growing restless and anxious for more scope than that afforded in a country town1 she came up to ,london4 ,for some time she lived the life of extravagance and show1 known to many of this class for a short time--having plenty of money1 fine clothes1 and luxurious surroundings until the terrible disease seized her poor body1 and she soon found herself deserted1 homeless and friendless1 an outcast of ,society4 ,when we found her she was hard and impenitent1 difficult to reach even with the hand of love2 but love won1 and since that time she has been in two or three situations1 a consistent ,soldier of an ,army corps1 and a champion ,war ,cry seller4 ,a ,,ticket-,,of-,,leave ,,woman4 ,a4 ,b4 was the child of respectable working people--,roman ,catholics-- but was early left an orphan4 ,she fell in with bad companions1 and became addicted to drink1 going from bad to worse until drunkenness1 robbery1 and harlotry brought her to the lowest depths4 ,she passed seven years in prison1 and after the last offence was discharged with seven years' police supervision4 ,failing to report herself1 she was brought before the bench4 ,the magistrate inquired whether she had ever had a chance in a ,home of any kind4 ,she is too old1 no one will take her1 was the reply1 but a ,detective present1 knowing a little about the ,salvation ,army1 stepped forward and explained to the magistrate th at he did not think the ,salvation ,army refused any who applied4 ,she was formally handed over to us in a deplorable condition1 her clothing the scantiest and dirtiest4 ,for over three years she has given evidence of a genuine reformation1 during which time she has industriously earned her own living4 ,a ,,wild ,,woman4 ,in visiting a slum in a town in the ,north of ,england1 our ,officers entered a hole1 unfit to be called a human habitation--more like the den of some wild animal--almost the only furniture of which was a filthy iron bedstead1 a wooden box to serve for table and chair1 while an old tin did duty as a dustbin4 ,the inhabitant of this wretched den was a poor woman1 who fled into the darkest corner of the place as our ,officer entered4 ,this poor wretch was the victim of a brutal man1 who never allowed her to venture outside the door1 keeping her alive by the scantiest allowance of food4 ,her only clothing consisted of a sack tied round her body4 ,her feet were bare1 her hair matted and foul1 presenting on the whole such an object as one could scarcely imagine living in a civilised country4 ,she had left a respectable home1 forsaken her husband and family1 and sunk so low that the man who then claimed her boasted to the ,officer that he had bettered her condition by taking her off the streets4 ,we took the poor creature away1 washed and clothed her2 and1 changed in heart and life1 she is one more added to the number of those who rise up to bless the ,salvation ,army workers4 ,,section #f4--;,a ,,preventive ,,home ,,for ,,unfallen ,,girls ,,when ,,in ,,danger4 ,there is a story told likely enough to be true about a young girl who applied one evening for admission to some home established for the purpose of rescuing fallen women4 ,the matron naturally inquired whether she had forfeited her virtue2 the girl replied in the negative4 ,she had been kept from that infamy1 but she was poor and friendless1 and wanted somewhere to lay her head until she could secure work1 and obtain a home4 ,the matron must have pitied her1 but she could not help her as she did not belong to the class for whose benefit the ,institution was intended4 ,the girl pleaded1 but the matron could not alter the rule1 and dare not break it1 they were so pressed to find room for their own poor unfortunates1 and she could not receive her4 ,the poor girl left the door reluctantly but returned in a very short time1 and said1 ,i am fallen now1 will you take me in8 ,i am somewhat slow to credit this incident2 anyway it is true in spirit1 and illustrates the fact that while there are homes to which any poor1 ruined1 degraded harlot can run for shelter1 there is only here and there a corner to which a poor friendless1 moneyless1 homeless1 but unfallen girl can fly for shelter from the storm which bids fair to sweep her away whether she will or no into the deadly vortex of ruin which gapes beneath her4 ,in ,london and all our large towns there must be a considerable number of poor girls who from various causes are suddenly plunged into this forlorn condition2 a quarrel with the mistress and sudden discharge1 a long bout of disease and dismissal penniless from the hospital1 a robbery of a purse1 having to wait for a situation until the last penny is spent1 and many other causes will leave a girl an almost hopeless prey to the linx-eyed villains who are ever watching to take advantage of innocence when in danger4 ,then1 again1 what a number there must be in a great city like ,london who are ever faced with the alternative of being turned out of doors if they refuse to submit themselves to the infamous overtures of those around them4 ,i understand that the ,society for the ,protection of ,children prosecuted last year a fabulous number of fathers for unnatural sins with their children4 ,if so many were brought to justice1 how many were there of whom the world never heard in any shape or form8 ,we have only to imagine how many a poor girl is1 faced with the terrible alternative of being driven literally into the streets by employers or relatives or others in whose power she is unfortunately placed4 ,now1 we want a real home for such--a house to which any girl can fly at any hour of the day or night1 and be taken in1 cared for1 shielded from the enemy1 and helped into circumstances of safety4 ,the ,refuge we propose will be very much on the same principle as the ,homes for the ,destitute already described4 ,we should accept any girls1 say from fourteen years of age1 who were without visible means of support1 but who were willing to work1 and to conform to discipline4 ,there would be various forms of labour provided1 such as laundry work1 sewing1 knitting by machines1 c4 ,every beneficial influence within our power would be brought to bear on the rectification and formation of character4 ,continued efforts would be made to secure situations according to the adaptation of the girls1 to restore wanderers to their homes1 and otherwise provide for all4 ,from this1 as with the other ,homes1 there will be a way made to the ,farm and to the ,colony over the sea4 ,the institutions would be multiplied as we had means and found them to be necessary1 and made self-supporting as far as possible4 ,,section #g4--;,,enquiry ,,office ,,for ,,lost ,,people4 ,perhaps nothing more vividly suggests the varied forms of broken-hearted misery in the great ,city than the statement that #ah1jjj people are lost in it every year1 of whom #i1jjj are never heard of any more1 anyway in this world4 ,what is true about ,london is1 we suppose1 true in about the same proportion of the rest of the country4 ,husbands1 sons1 daughters1 and mothers are continually disappearing1 and leaving no trace behind4 ,in such cases1 where the relations are of some importance in the world1 they may interest the police authorities sufficiently to make some enquiries in this country1 which1 however1 are not often successful2 or where they can afford to spend large sums of money1 they can fall back upon the private detective1 who will continue these enquiries1 not only at home but abroad4 ,but where the relations of the missing individual are in humble circumstances1 they are absolutely powerless1 in nine cases out of ten1 to effectually prosecute any search at all that is likely to be successful4 ,take1 for instance1 a cottager in a village1 whose daughter leaves for service in a big town or city4 ,shortly afterwards a letter arrives informing her parents of the satisfactory character of her place4 ,the mistress is kind1 the work easy1 and she likes her fellow servants4 ,she is going to chapel or church1 and the family are pleased4 ,letters continue to arrive of the same purport1 but1 at length1 they suddenly cease4 ,full of concern1 the mother writes to know the reason1 but no answer comes back1 and after a time the letters are returned with gone1 no address1 written on the envelope4 ,the mother writes to the mistress1 or the father journeys to the city1 but no further information can be obtained beyond the fact that the girl has conducted herself somewhat mysteriously of late2 had ceased to be as careful at her work2 had been noticed to be keeping company with some young man2 had given notice and disappeared altogether4 ,now1 what can these poor people do8 ,they apply to the police1 but they can do nothing4 ,perhaps they ask the clergyman of the parish1 who is equally helpless1 and there is nothing for them but for the father to hang his head and the mother to cry her self to sleep--to long1 and wait1 and pray for information that perhaps never comes1 and to fear the worst4 ,now1 our ,enquiry ,department supplies a remedy for this state of things4 ,in such a case application would simply have to be made to the nearest ,salvation ,army ,officer--probably in her own village1 any way1 in the nearest town--who would instruct the parents to write to the ,chief ,office in ,london1 sending portraits and all particulars4 ,enquiries would at once be set on foot1 which would very possibly end in the restoration of the girl4 ,the achievements of this ,department1 which has only been in operation for a short time1 and that on a limited scale1 as a branch of ,rescue ,work1 have been marvellous4 ,no more romantic stories can be found in the pages of our most imaginative writers than those it records4 ,we give three or four illustrative cases of recent date4 ,a ,,lost ,,husband4 ,,enquiry4 ,mrs4 ,s41 of ,new ,town1 ,leeds1 wrote to say that ,,robert ,r4 left ,england in ,july #ahhi1 for ,canada to improve his position4 ,he left a wife and four little children behind1 and on leaving said that if he were successful out there he should send for them1 but if not he should return4 ,as he was unsuccessful1 he left ,montreal in the ,dominion ,liner ,oregon1 on ,october #cjth1 but except receiving a card from him ere he started1 the wife and friends had heard no more of him from that day till the date they wrote us4 ,they had written to the ,dominion ,company1 who replied that he landed at ,liverpool all right1 so1 thinking he had disappeared upon his arrival1 they put the matter in the hands of the ,liverpool ,police1 who1 after having the case in hand for several weeks made the usual report --,cannot be traced4 ,,result4 ,we at once commenced looking for some passenger who had come over by the same steamer1 and after the lapse of a little time we succeeded in getting hold of one4 ,in our first interview with him we learned that ,robert ,r4 did not land at ,liverpool1 but when suffering from depression threw himself overboard three days after leaving ,america1 and was drowned4 ,we further elicited that upon his death the sailors rifled his clothes and boxes1 and partitioned them4 ,we wrote the ,company reporting this1 and they promised to make enquiries and amends1 but as too often happens1 upon making report of the same to the family they took the matter into their own hands1 dealt with the ,company direct1 and in all probability thereby lost a good sum in compensation which we should probably have obtained for them4 ,a ,,lost ,,wife4 ,,enquiry4 ,f4 ,j4 ,l4 asked us to seek for his wife1 who left him on ,november #dth1 #ahhh4 ,he feared she had gone to live an immoral life2 gave us two addresses at which she might possibly be heard of1 and a description4 ,they had three children4 ,,result4 ,enquiries at the addresses given elicited no information1 but from observation in the neighbourhood the woman's whereabouts was discovered4 ,after some difficulty our ,officer obtained an interview with the woman1 who was greatly astonished at our having discovered her4 ,she was dealt with faithfully and firmly3 the plain truth of ,god set before her1 and was covered with shame and remorse1 and promised to return4 ,we communicated with ,mr4 ,l4 ,a few days after he wrote that he had been telegraphed for1 had forgiven his wife1 and that they were re-united4 ,soon afterwards she wrote expressing her deep gratitude to ,mrs4 ,bramwell ,booth for the trouble taken in her case4 ,a ,,lost ,,child4 ,,enquiry4 ,,alice ,p4 was stolen away from home by ,gypsies ten years ago1 and now longs to find her parents to be restored to them4 ,she believes her home to be in ,yorkshire4 ,the ,police had this case in hand for some time1 but failed entirely4 ,,result4 ,with these particulars we advertised in the ,war ,cry4 ,captain ,green1 seeing the advertisement1 wrote1 ,april #crd1 from #c1 ,c4 ,s41 ,m4 ,h41 that her ,lieutenant knew a family of the name advertised for1 living at ,gomersal1 ,leeds4 ,we1 on the #dth1 wrote to this address for confirmation4 ,april #fth1 we heard from ,mr4 ,p---1 that this lass is his child1 and he writes full of gratitude and joy1 saying he will send money for her to go home ,we1 meanwhile1 get from the ,police1 who had long sought this girl1 a full description and photo1 which we sent to ,captain ,cutmore2 and on ,april #ith1 she wrote us to the effect that the girl exactly answered the description4 ,we got from the parents #ae_/- for the fare1 and ,alice was once more restored to her parents4 ,praise ,god4 ,a ,,lost ,,daughter4 ,,enquiry4 ,e4 ,w4 ,age #ag4 ,application from this girl's mother and brother1 who had lost all trace of her since ,july1 #ahhe1 when she left for ,canada4 ,letters had been once or twice received1 dated from ,montreal1 but they stopped4 ,a photo41 full description1 and handwriting were supplied4 ,,result4 ,we discovered that some kind ,church people here had helped ,e4 ,w4 to emigrate1 but they had no information as to her movements after landing4 ,full particulars1 with photo41 were sent to our ,officers in ,canada4 ,the girl was not found in ,montreal4 ,the information was then sent to ,officers in other towns in that part of the ,colony4 ,the enquiry was continued through some months2 and1 finally1 through our ,major of ,division1 the girl was reported to us as having been recognised in one of our ,barracks and identified4 ,when suddenly called by her own name1 she nearly fainted with agitation4 ,she was in a condition of terrible poverty and shame1 but at once consented1 on hearing of her mother's enquiries1 to go into one of our ,canadian ,rescue ,homes4 ,she is now doing well4 ,her mother's joy may be imagined4 ,a ,,lost ,,servant4 ,,enquiry4 ,mrs4 ,m41 ,clevedon1 one of ,harriett ,p4's old mistresses1 wrote us1 in deep concern1 about this girl4 ,she said she was a good servant1 but was ruined by the young man who courted her1 and had since had three children4 ,occasionally1 she would have a few bright and happy weeks1 but would again lapse into the vile path4 ,mrs4 ,m4 tells us that ,harriett had good parents1 who are dead1 but she still has a respectable brother in ,hampshire4 ,the last she heard of her was that some weeks ago she was staying at a ,girl's ,shelter at ,bristol1 but had since left1 and nothing more had been heard of her4 ,the enquirer requested us to find her1 and in much faith added1 ,i believe you are the only people who1 if successful in tracing her1 can rescue and do her a permanent good4 ,,result4 ,we at once set enquiries on foot1 and in the space of a few days found that she had started from ,bristol on the road for ,bath4 ,following her up we found that at a little place called ,bridlington1 on the way to ,bath1 she had met a man1 of whom she enquired her way4 ,he hearing a bit of her story1 after taking her to a public-house1 prevailed upon her to go home and live with him1 as he had lost his wife4 ,it was at this stage that we came upon the scene1 and having dealt with them both upon the matter1 got her to consent to come away if the man would not marry her1 giving him two days to make up his mind4 ,the two days' respite having expired and1 he being unwilling to undertake matrimony1 we brought her away1 and sent her to one of our ,homes1 where she is enjoying peace and penitence4 ,when we informed the mistress and brother of the success1 they were greatly rejoiced and overwhelmed us with thanks4 ,a ,,lost ,,husband4 ,in a seaside home last ,christmas there was a sorrowing wife1 who mourned over the basest desertion of her husband4 ,wandering from place to place drinking1 he had left her to struggle alone with four little ones dependent upon her exertions4 ,knowing her distress1 the captain of the corps wrote begging us to advertise for the man in the ,cry4 ,we did this1 but for some time heard nothing of the result4 ,several weeks later a ,salvationist entered a beer-house1 where a group of men were drinking1 and began to distribute ,war ,crys amongst them1 speaking here and there upon the eternity which faced everyone4 ,at the counter stood a man with a pint pot in hand1 who took one of the papers passed to him1 and glancing carelessly down its columns caught sight of his own name1 and was so startled that the pot fell from his grasp to the floor4 ,come home1 the paragraph ran1 and all will be forgiven4 ,his sin faced him2 the thought of a broken-hearted wife and starving children conquered him completely1 and there and then he left the public-house1 and started to walk home--a distance of many mile-- arriving there about midnight the same night1 after an absence of eleven months4 ,the letter from his wife telling the good news of his return1 spoke also of his determination by ,god's help to be a different man1 and they are both attendants at the ,salvation ,army barracks4 ,a ,,seducer ,,compelled ,,to ,,pay4 ,amongst the letters that came to the ,inquiry ,office one morning was one from a girl who asked us to help her to trace the father of her child who had for some time ceased to pay anything towards its support4 ,the case had been brought into the ,police ,court1 and judgment given in her favour1 but the guilty one had hidden1 and his father refused to reveal his whereabouts4 ,we called upon the elder man and laid the matter before him1 but failed to prevail upon him either to pay his son's liabilities or to put us into communication with him4 ,the answers to an advertisement in the ,war ,cry1 however1 had brought the required in formation as to his son's whereabouts1 and the same morning that our ,inquiry ,officer communicated with the police1 and served a summons for the overdue money1 the young man had also received a letter from his father advising him to leave the country at once4 ,he had given notice to his employers2 and the #af salary he received1 with some help his father had sent him towards the journey1 he was compelled to hand over to the mother of his child4 ,,found ,,in ,,the ,,bush4 ,a year or two ago a respectable-looking ,dutch girl might have been seem making her way quickly and stealthily across a stretch of long rank grass towards the shelter of some woods on the banks of a distant river4 ,behind her lay the ,south ,african town from which she had come1 betrayed1 disgraced1 ejected from her home with words of bitter scorn1 having no longer a friend in the wide world who would hold out to her a hand of help4 ,what could there be better for her than to plunge into that river yonder1 and end this life--no matter what should come after the plunge8 ,but ,greetah feared the future1 and turned aside to spend the night in darkness1 wretched and alone4 ,seven years had passed4 ,an ,english traveller making his way through ,southern ,africa halted for the ,sabbath at a little village on his route4 ,a ramble through the woods brought him unexpectedly in front of a kraal1 at the door of which squatted all old ,hottentot1 with a fair white-faced ,child playing on the ground near by4 ,glad to accept the proffered shelter of the hut from the burning sun1 the traveller entered1 and was greatly astonished to find within a young white girl1 evidently the mother of the frolicsome child4 ,full of pity for the strange pair1 and especially for the girl1 who wore an air of refinement little to be expected in this out-of-the-world spot1 he sat down on the earthen floor1 and told them of the wonderful ,salvation of ,god4 ,this was ,greetah1 and the ,englishman would have given a great deal if he could have rescued her from this miserable lot4 ,but this was impossible1 and with reluctance he bid her farewell4 ,it was an ,english home4 ,by a glowing fire one night a man sat alone1 and in his imaginings there came up the vision of the girl he had met in the ,hottentot's ,kraal1 and wondering whether any way of rescue was possible4 ,then he remembered reading1 since his return1 the following paragraph in the ,war ,cry3 -- ,,to ,,the ,,distressed4 ,the ,salvation ,army invite parents1 relations1 and friends in any part of the world interested in any woman or girl who is known1 or feared to be1 living in immorality1 or is in danger of coming under the control of immoral persons1 to write1 stating full particulars1 with names1 dates1 and address of all concerned1 and1 if possible1 a photograph of the person in who the interest is taken4 ,all letters1 whether from these persons or from such women or girls themselves1 will be regarded as strictly confidential4 ,they maybe written in any language1 and should be addressed to ,mrs4 ,bramwell ,booth1 #aja1 ,queen ,victoria ,street1 ,london1 ,e4,c4 ,it will do no harm to try1 anyhow1 exclaimed he1 the thing haunts me as it is1 and without further delay he penned an account of his ,african adventure1 as full as possible4 ,the next ,african mail carried instructions to the ,officer in ,command of our ,south ,african work4 ,shortly after1 one of our ,salvation ,riders was exploring the bush1 and after some difficulty the kraal was discovered the girl was rescued and saved4 ,the ,hottentot was converted afterwards1 and both are now ,salvation ,soldiers4 ,apart from the independent agencies employed to prosecute this class of enquiries1 which it is proposed to very largely increase1 the ,army possesses in itself peculiar advantages for this kind of investigation4 ,the mode of operation is as follows3 -- ,there is a ,head ,centre under the direction of a capable ,officer and assistants1 to which particulars of lost husbands1 sons1 daughters1 and wives1 as the case may be1 are forwarded4 ,these are advertised1 except when deemed inadvisable1 in the ,english ,war ,cry1 with its #cjj1jjj circulation1 and from it copied into the twenty-three other ,war ,crys published in different parts of the world4 ,specially prepared information in each case is sent to the local ,officers of the ,army when that is thought wise1 or ,special ,enquiry ,officers trained to their work are immediately set to work to follow up any clue which has been given by enquiring relations or friends4 ,every one of its #aj1jjj ,officers1 nay1 almost every soldier in its ranks1 scattered1 as they are1 through every quarter of the globe1 may be regarded as an ,agent4 ,a small charge for enquiries is made1 and1 where persons are able1 all the costs of the investigation will he defrayed by them4 ,,section #h4--,,refuges ,,for ,,the ,,children ,,of ,,the ,,streets4 ,for the waifs and strays of the streets of ,london much commiseration is expressed1 and far more pity is deserved than is bestowed4 ,we have no direct purpose of entering on a crusade on their behalf1 apart from our attempt at changing the hearts and lives and improving the circumstances of their parents4 ,our main hope for these wild1 youthful1 outcasts lies in this direction4 ,if we can reach and benefit their guardians1 morally and materially1 we shall take the most effectual road to benefit the children themselves4 ,still1 a number of them will unavoidably be forced upon us2 and we shall be quite prepared to accept the responsibility of dealing with them1 calculating that our organisation will enable us to do so1 not only with facility and efficiency1 but with trifling cost to the public ,to begin with1 ,children's ,creches or ,children's ,day ,homes would be established in the centres of every poor population1 where for a small charge babies and young children can be taken care of in the day while the mothers are at work1 instead of being left to the dangers of the thoroughfares or the almost greater peril of being burnt to death in their own miserable homes4 ,by this plan we shall not only be able to benefit the poor children1 if in no other direction than that of soap and water and a little wholesome food1 but exercise some humanising influence upon the mothers themselves4 ,on the ,farm ,colony1 we should be able to deal with the infants from the ,unions and other quarters4 ,our ,cottage mothers1 with two or three children of their own1 would readily take in an extra one on the usual terms of boarding out children1 and nothing would be more simple or easy for us than to set apart some trustworthy experienced dame to make a constant inspection as to whether the children placed out were enjoying the necessary conditions of health and general well-being4 ,here would be a ,baby ,farm carried on with the most favourable surroundings4 ,,section #i4--;,,industrial ,,schools4 ,i also propose1 at the earliest opportunity1 to give the subject of the industrial training of boys a fair trial2 and1 if successful1 follow it on with a similar one for girls4 ,i am nearly satisfied in my own mind that the children of the streets taken1 say at eight years of age1 and kept till1 say twenty-one1 would1 by judicious management and the utilisation of their strength and capacity1 amply supply all their own wants1 and would1 ,i think1 be likely to turn out thoroughly good and capable members of the community4 ,apart from the mere benevolent aspect of the question1 the present system of teaching is1 to my mind1 unnatural1 and shamefully wasteful of the energies of the children4 ,fully one-half the time that boys and girls are compelled to sit in school is spent to little or no purpose --nay1 it is worse than wasted4 ,the minds of the children are only capable of useful application for so many consecutive minutes1 and hence the rational method must be to apportion the time of the children2 say1 half the morning's work to be given to their books1 and the other half to some industrial employment2 the garden would be most natural and healthy in fair weather1 while the workshop should be fallen back upon when unfavourable4 ,by this method health would be promoted1 school would be loved1 the cost of education would be cheapened1 and the natural bent of the child's capacities would be discovered and could be cultivated4 ,instead of coming out of school1 or going away from apprenticeship1 with the most precious part of life for ever gone so far as learning is concerned1 chained to some pursuit for which there is no predilection1 and which promises nothing higher than mediocrity if not failure--the work for which the mind was peculiarly adapted and for which1 therefore1 it would have a natural capacity1 would not only have been discovered1 but the bent of the inclination cultivated1 and the life's work chosen accordingly4 ,it is not for me to attempt any reform of our ,school system on this model4 ,but ,i do think that ,i may be allowed to test the theory by its practical working in an ,industrial ,school in connection with the ,farm ,colony4 ,i should begin probably with children selected for their goodness and capacity1 with a view to imparting a superior education1 thus fitting them for the position of ,officers in all parts of the world1 with the special object of raising up a body of men thoroughly trained and educated1 among other things1 to carry out all the branches of the ,social work that are set forth in this book1 and it may be to instruct other nations in the same4 ,,section #aj4--;,,asylums ,,for ,,moral ,,lunatics4 ,there will remain1 after all has been said and done1 one problem that has yet to be faced4 ,you may minimise the difficulty every way1 and it is your duty to do so1 but no amount of hopefulness can make us blink the fact that when all has been done and every chance has been offered1 when you have forgiven your brother not only seven times but seventy times seven1 when you have fished him up from the mire and put him on firm ground only to see him relapse and again relapse until you have no strength left to pull him out once more1 there will still remain a residuum of men and women who have1 whether from heredity or custom1 or hopeless demoralisation1 become reprobates4 ,after a certain time1 some men of science hold that persistence in habits tends to convert a man from a being with freedom of action and will into a mere automaton4 ,there are some cases within our knowledge which seem to confirm the somewhat dreadful verdict by which a man appears to be a lost soul on this side of the grave4 ,there are men so incorrigibly lazy that no inducement that you can offer will tempt them to work2 so eaten up by vice that virtue is abhorrent to them1 and so inveterately dishonest that theft is to them a master passion4 ,when a human being has reached that stage1 there is only one course that can be rationally pursued4 ,sorrowfully1 but remorselessly1 it must be recognised that he has become lunatic1 morally demented1 incapable of self-government1 and that upon him1 therefore1 must be passed the sentence of permanent seclusion from a world in which he is not fit to be at large4 ,the ultimate destiny of these poor wretches should be a penal settlement where they could be confined during ,her ,majesty's pleasure as are the criminal lunatics at ,broadmoor4 ,it is a crime against the race to allow those who are so inveterately depraved the freedom to wander abroad1 infect their fellows1 prey upon ,society1 and to multiply their kind4 ,whatever else ,society may do1 and suffer to be done1 this thing it ought not to allow1 any more than it should allow the free perambulation of a mad dog4 ,but before we come to this ,i would have every possible means tried to effect their reclamation4 ,let ,justice punish them1 and ,mercy put her arms around them2 let them be appealed to by penalty and by reason1 and by every influence1 human and ,divine1 that can possibly be brought to bear upon them4 ,then1 if all alike failed1 their ability to further curse their fellows and themselves should be stayed4 ,they will still remain objects worthy of infinite compassion4 ,they should lead as human a life as is possible to those who have fallen under so terrible a judgment4 ,they should have their own little cottages in their own little gardens1 under the blue sky1 and1 if possible1 amid the green fields4 ,i would deny them none of the advantages1 moral1 mental1 and religious which might minister to their diseased minds1 and tend to restore them to a better state4 ,not until the breath leaves their bodies should we cease to labour and wrestle for their salvation4 ,but when they have reached a certain point access to their fellow men should be forbidden4 ,between them and the wide world there should be reared an impassable barrier1 which once passed should be recrossed no more for ever4 ,such a course must be wiser than allowing them to go in and out among their fellows1 carrying with them the contagion of moral leprosy1 and multiplying a progeny doomed before its birth to inherit the vices and diseased cravings of their unhappy parents4 ,to these proposals three leading objections will probably be raised #a4 ,it may be said that to shut out men and women from that liberty which is their universal birthright would be cruel4 ,to this it might be sufficient to reply that this is already done2 twenty years' immurement is a very common sentence passed upon wrong-doers1 and in some cases the law goes as far as to inflict penal servitude for life4 ,but we say further that it would be far more merciful treatment than that which is dealt out to them at present1 and it would be far more likely to secure a pleasant existence4 ,knowing their fate they would soon become resigned to it4 ,habits of industry1 sobriety1 and kindness with them would create a restfulness of spirit which goes far on in the direction of happiness1 and if religion were added it would make that happiness complete4 ,there might be set continually before them a large measure of freedom and more frequent intercourse with the world in the shape of correspondence1 newspapers1 and even occasional interviews with relatives1 as rewards for well-doing4 ,and in sickness and old age their latter days might be closed in comfort4 ,in fact1 so far as this class of people were concerned1 we can see that they would be far better circumstanced for happiness in this life and in the life to come than in their present liberty--if a life spent alternatively in drunkenness1 debauchery1 and crime1 on the one hand1 or the prison on the other1 can be called liberty4 #b4 ,it may be said that the carrying out of such a suggestion would be too expensive4 ,to this we reply that it would have to be very costly to exceed the expense in which all such characters involve the nation under the present regulations of vice and crime4 ,but there is no need for any great expense1 seeing that after the first outlay the inmates of such an institution1 if it were fixed upon the land1 would readily earn all that would be required for their support4 #c4 ,but it may be said that this is impossible4 ,it would certainly be impossible other than as a ,state regulation4 ,but it would surely be a very simple matter to enact a law which should decree that after an individual had suffered a certain number of convictions for crime1 drunkenness1 or vagrancy1 he should forfeit his freedom to roam abroad and curse his fellows4 ,when ,i include vagrancy in this list1 ,i do it on the supposition that the opportunity and ability for work are present4 ,otherwise it seems to me most heartless to punish a hungry man who begs for food because he can in no other way obtain it4 ,but with the opportunity and ability for work ,i would count the solicitation of charity a crime1 and punish it as such4 ,anyway1 if a man would not work of his own free will ,i would compel him4 ,,chapter #f4 ,,assistance ,,in ,,general4 ,there are many who are not lost1 who need help4 ,a little assistance given to-day will perhaps prevent the need of having to save them to-morrow4 ,there are some1 who1 after they have been rescued1 will still need a friendly hand4 ,the very service which we have rendered them at starting makes it obligatory upon us to finish the good work4 ,hitherto it may be objected that the ,scheme has dealt almost exclusively with those who are more or less disreputable and desperate4 ,this was inevitable4 ,we obey our ,divine ,master and seek to save those who are lost4 ,but because1 as ,i said at the beginning1 urgency is claimed rightly for those who have no helper1 we do not1 therefore1 forget the needs and the aspirations of the decent working people who are poor indeed1 but who keep their feet1 who have not fallen1 and who help themselves and help each other4 ,they constitute the bulk of the nation4 ,there is an uppercrust and a submerged tenth4 ,but the hardworking poor people1 who earn a pound a week or less1 constitute in every land the majority of the population4 ,we cannot forget them1 for we are at home with them4 ,we belong to them and many thousands of them belong to us4 ,we are always studying how to help them1 and we think this can be done in many ways1 some of which ,i proceed to describe4 ,,section #a4--;,,improved ,,lodgings4 ,the necessity for a superior class of lodgings for the poor men rescued at our ,shelters has been forcing itself already upon our notice1 and demanding attention4 ,one of the first things that happens when a man1 lifted out of the gutter1 has obtained a situation1 and is earning a decent livelihood1 is for him to want some better accommodation than that afforded at the ,shelters4 ,we have some hundreds on our hands now who can afford to pay for greater comfort and seclusion4 ,these are continually saying to us something like the following3 -- ,the ,shelters are all very well when a man is down in his luck4 ,they have been a good thing for us2 in fact1 had it not been for them1 we would still have been without a friend1 sleeping on the ,embankment1 getting our living dishonestly1 or not getting a living at all4 ,we have now got work1 and want a bed to sleep on1 and a room to ourselves1 and a box1 or something where we can stow away our bits of things4 ,cannot you do something for us8 ,we have replied that there were ,lodging-houses elsewhere1 which1 now that they were in work1 they could afford to pay for1 where they would obtain the comfort they desired4 ,to this they answer1 ,that is all very well4 ,we know there are these places1 and that we could go to them4 ,but then1 they said1 you see1 here in the ,shelters are our mates1 who think as we do4 ,and there is the prayer1 and the meeting1 and kind influence every night1 that helps to keep us straight4 ,we would like a better place1 but if you cannot find us one we would rather stop in the ,shelter and sleep on the floor1 as we have been doing1 than go to something more complete1 get into bad company1 and so fall back again to where we were before4 ,but this1 although natural1 is not desirable2 for1 if the process went on1 in course of time the whole of the ,shelter ,depots would be taken up by persons who had risen above the class for whom they were originally destined4 ,i propose1 therefore1 to draft those who get on1 but wish to continue in connection with the ,army1 into a superior lodging-house1 a sort of ,,poor ,,man',s ,,metropole1 managed on the same principles1 but with better accommodation in every way1 which1 ,i anticipate1 would be self-supporting from the first4 ,in these homes there would be separate dormitories1 good sitting-rooms1 cooking conveniences1 baths1 a hall for meetings1 and many other comforts1 of which all would have the benefit at as low a figure above cost price as will not only pay interest on the original outlay1 but secure us against any shrinkage of capital4 ,something superior in this direction will also be required for the women4 ,having begun1 we must go on4 ,hitherto ,i have proposed to deal only with single men and single women1 but one of the consequences of getting hold of these men very soon makes itself felt4 ,your ragged1 hungry1 destitute ,out-of-,work in almost every case is married4 ,when he comes to us he comes as single and is dealt with as such1 but after you rouse in him aspirations for better things he remembers the wife whom he has probably enough deserted1 or left from sheer inability to provide her anything to eat4 ,as soon as such a man finds himself under good influence and fairly employed his first thought is to go and look after the ,missis4 ,there is very little reality about any change of heart in a married man who does not thus turn in sympathy and longing towards his wife1 and the more successful we are in dealing with these people the more inevitable it is that we shall be confronted with married couple's who in turn demand that we should provide for them lodgings4 ,this we propose to do also on a commercial footing4 ,i see greater developments in this direction1 one of which will be described in the chapter relating to ,suburban ,cottages4 ,the ,model-lodging ,house for ,married ,people is1 however1 one of those things that must be provided as an adjunct of the ,food and ,shelter ,depots4 ,,section #b4--,,model ,,suburban ,,villages4 ,as ,i have repeatedly stated already1 but will state once more1 for it is important enough to bear endless repetition1 one of the first steps which must inevitably be taken in the reformation of this class1 is to make for them decent1 healthy1 pleasant homes1 or help them to make them for themselves1 which1 if possible1 is far better4 ,i do not regard the institution of any first1 second1 or third-class lodging-houses as affording anything but palliatives of the existing distress4 ,to substitute life in a boarding-house for life in the streets is1 no doubt1 an immense advance1 but it is by no means the ultimatum4 ,life in a boarding-house is better than the worst1 but it is far from being the best form of human existence4 ,hence1 the object ,i constantly keep in view is how to pilot those persons who have been set on their feet again by means of the ,food and ,shelter ,depots1 and who have obtained employment in the ,city1 into the possession of homes of their own4 ,neither can ,i regard the one1 or at most two1 rooms in which the large majority of the inhabitants of our great cities are compelled to spend their days1 as a solution of the question4 ,the overcrowding which fills every separate room of a tenement with a human litter1 and compels family life from the cradle to the grave to be lived within the four walls of a single apartment1 must go on reproducing in endless succession all the terrible evils which such a state of things must inevitably create4 ,neither can ,i be satisfied with the vast1 unsightly piles of barrack-like buildings1 which are only a slight advance upon the ,union ,bastille--dubbed ,model ,industrial ,dwellings--so much in fashion at present1 as being a satisfactory settlement of the burning question of the housing of the poor4 ,as a contribution to this question1 ,i propose the establishment of a series of ,industrial ,settlements or ,suburban ,villages1 lying out in the country1 within a reasonable distance of all our great cities1 composed of cottages of suitable size and construction1 and with all needful comfort and accommodation for the families of working-men1 the rent of which1 together with the railway fare1 and other economic conveniences1 should be within the reach of a family of moderate income4 ,this proposal lies slightly apart from the scope of this book1 otherwise ,i should be disposed to elaborate the project at greater length4 ,i may say1 however1 that what ,i here propose has been carefully thought out1 and is of a perfectly practical character4 ,in the planning of it ,i have received some valuable assistance from a friend who has had considerable experience in the building trade1 and he stakes his professional reputation on its feasibility4 ,the following1 however1 may be taken as a rough outline3 -- ,the ,village should not be more than twelve miles from town2 should be in a dry and healthy situation1 and on a line of railway4 ,it is not absolutely necessary that it should be near a station1 seeing that the company would1 for their own interests1 immediately erect one4 ,the ,cottages should be built of the best material and workmanship4 ,this would be effected most satisfactorily by securing a contract for the labour only1 the projectors of the ,scheme purchasing the materials and supplying them direct from the manufacturers to the builders4 ,the cottages would consist of three or four rooms1 with a scullery1 and out-building in the garden4 ,the cottages should be built in terraces1 each having a good garden attached4 ,arrangements should be made for the erection of from one thousand to two thousand houses at the onset4 ,in the ,village a ,co-operative ,goods ,store should be established1 supplying everything that was really necessary for the villagers at the most economic prices4 ,the sale of intoxicating drink should be strictly forbidden on the ,estate1 and1 if possible1 the landowner from whom the land is obtained should be tied off from allowing any licences to be held on any other portion of the adjoining land4 ,it is thought that the ,railway ,company1 in consideration of the inconvenience and suffering they have inflicted on the poor1 and in their own interests1 might be induced to make the following advantageous arrangements3 -- 7#a7 ,the conveyance of each member actually living in the village to and from ,london at the rate of sixpence per week4 ,each pass should have on it the portrait of the owner1 and be fastened to some article of the dress1 and be available only by ,workmen's ,trains running early and late and during certain hours of the day1 when the trains are almost empty4 7#b7 ,the conveyance of goods and parcels should be at half the ordinary rates4 ,it is reasonable to suppose that large landowners would gladly give one hundred acres of land in view of the immensely advanced values of the surrounding property which would immediately follow1 seeing that the erection of one thousand or two thousand cottages would constitute the nucleus of a much larger ,settlement4 ,lastly1 the rent of a four-roomed cottage must not exceed #cs4 per week4 ,add to this the sixpenny ticket to and from ,london1 and you have #cs4 #f;d4 and if the company should insist on #as41 it will make #ds41 for which there would be all the advantages of a comfortable cottage--of which it would be possible for the tenant to become the owner--a good garden1 pleasant surroundings1 and other influences promotive of the health and happiness of the family4 ,it is hardly necessary to remark that in connection with this ,village there will be perfect freedom of opinion on all matters4 ,a glance at the ordinary homes of the poor people of this great ,city will at once assure us that such a village would be a veritable ,paradise to them1 and that were four1 five1 or six settlements provided at once they would not contain a tithe of the people who would throng to occupy them4 ,,section #c4--,,the ,,poor ,,man',s ,,bank4 ,if the love of money is the root of all evil1 the want of money is the cause of an immensity of evil and trouble4 ,the moment you begin practically to alleviate the miseries of the people1 you discover that the eternal want of pence is one of their greatest difficulties4 ,in my most sanguine moments ,i have never dreamed of smoothing this difficulty out of the lot of man1 but it is surely no unattainable ideal to establish a ,poor ,man's ,bank1 which will extend to the lower middle class and the working population the advantages of the credit system1 which is the very foundation of our boasted commerce4 ,it might be better that there should be no such thing as credit1 that no one should lend money1 and that everyone should be compelled to rely solely upon whatever ready money he may possess from day to day4 ,but if so1 let us apply the principle all round2 do not let us glory in our world-wide commerce and boast ourselves in our riches1 obtained1 in so many cases1 by the ignoring of this principle4 ,if it is right for a great merchant to have dealings with his banker1 if it is indispensable for the due carrying on of the business of the rich men that they should have at their elbow a credit system which will from time to time accommodate them with needful advances and enable them to stand up against the pressure of sudden demands1 which otherwise would wreck them1 then surely the case is still stronger for providing a similar resource for the smaller men1 the weaker men4 ,at present ,society is organised far too much on the principle of giving to him who hath so that he shall have more abundantly1 and taking away from him who hath not even that which he hath4 ,if we are to really benefit the poor1 we can only do so by practical measures4 ,we have merely to look round and see the kind of advantages which wealthy men find indispensable for the due management of their business1 and ask ourselves whether poor men cannot be supplied with the same opportunities4 ,the reason why they are not is obvious4 ,to supply the needs of the rich is a means of making yourself rich2 to supply the needs of the poor will involve you in trouble so out of proportion to the profit that the game may not be worth the candle4 ,men go into banking and other businesses for the sake of obtaining what the ,american humourist said was the chief end of man in these modern times1 namely1 ten per cent4 ,to obtain a ten per cent4 what will not men do8 ,they will penetrate the bowels of the earth1 explore the depths of the sea1 ascend the snow-capped mountain's highest peak1 or navigate the air1 if they can be guaranteed a ten per cent4 ,i do not venture to suggest that the business of a ,poor ,man's ,bank would yield ten per cent41 or even five1 but ,i think it might be made to pay its expenses1 and the resulting gain to the community would be enormous4 ,ask any merchant in your acquaintance where his business would be if he had no banker1 and then1 when you have his answer1 ask yourself whether it would not be an object worth taking some trouble to secure1 to furnish the great mass of our fellow countrymen1 on sound business principles with the advantages of the credit system1 which is found to work so beneficially for the well-to-do few4 ,some day ,i hope the ,state may be sufficiently enlightened to take up this business itself2 at present it is left in the hands of the pawnbroker and the loan agency1 and a set of sharks1 who cruelly prey upon the interests of the poor4 ,the establishment of land banks1 where the poor man is almost always a peasant1 has been one of the features of modern legislation in ,russia1 ,germany1 and elsewhere4 ,the institution of a ,poor ,man's ,bank will be1 ,i hope1 before long1 one of the recognised objects of our own government4 ,pending that ,i venture to throw out a suggestion1 without in any way pledging myself to add this branch of activity to the already gigantic range of operations foreshadowed in this book--,would it not be possible for some philanthropists with capital to establish on clearly defined principles a ,poor ,man's ,bank for the making of small loans on good security1 or making advances to those who are in danger of being overwhelmed by sudden financial pressure--in fact1 for doing for the little man what all the banks do for the big man8 ,meanwhile1 should it enter into the heart of some benevolently disposed possessor of wealth to give the price of a racehorse1 or of an old master1 to form the nucleus of the necessary capital1 ,i will certainly experiment in this direction4 ,i can anticipate the sneer of the cynic who scoffs at what he calls my glorified pawnshop4 ,i am indifferent to his sneers4 ,a ,mont de ,piete-- the very name 7,mount of ,piety7 shows that the ,poor ,man's ,bank is regarded as anything but an objectionable institution across the ,channel--might be an excellent institution in ,england4 ,owing1 however1 to the vested interests of the existing traders it might be impossible for the ,state to establish it1 excepting at a ruinous expense4 ,there would be no difficulty1 however1 of instituting a private ,mont de ,piete1 which would confer an incalculable boon upon the struggling poor4 ,further1 ,i am by no means indisposed to recognise the necessity of dealing with this subject in connection with the ,labour ,bureau1 provided that one clearly recognised principle can be acted upon4 ,that principle is that a man shall be free to bind himself as security for the repayment of a loan1 that is to pledge himself to work for his rations until such time as he has repaid capital and interest4 ,an illustration or two will explain what ,i mean4 ,here is a carpenter who comes to our ,labour shed2 he is an honest1 decent man1 who has by sickness or some other calamity been reduced to destitution4 ,he has by degrees pawned one article after another to keep body and soul together1 until at last he has been compelled to pawn his tools4 ,we register him1 and an employer comes along who wants a carpenter whom we can recommend4 ,we at once suggest this man1 but then arises this difficulty4 ,he has no tools2 what are we to do8 ,as things are at present1 the man loses the job and continues on our hands4 ,obviously it is most desirable in the interest of the community that the man should get his tools out of pawn2 but who is to take the responsibility of advancing the money to redeem them8 ,this difficulty might be met1 ,i think1 by the man entering into a legal undertaking to make over his wages to us1 or such proportion of them as would be convenient to his circumstances1 we in return undertaking to find him in food and shelter until such time as he has repaid the advance made4 ,that obligation it would be the truest kindness to enforce with ,rhadamantine severity4 ,until the man is out of debt he is not his own master4 ,all that he can make over his actual rations and ,shelter money should belong to his creditor4 ,of course such an arrangement might be varied indefinitely by private agreement2 the repayment of instalments could be spread ever a longer or shorter time1 but the mainstay of the whole principle would be the execution of a legal agreement by which the man makes over the whole product of his labour to the ,bank until he has repaid1 his debt4 ,take another instance4 ,a clerk who has been many years in a situation and has a large family1 which he has brought up respectably and educated4 ,he has every prospect of retiring in a few years upon a superannuating allowance1 but is suddenly confronted by a claim often through no fault of his own1 of a sum of fifty or a hundred pounds1 which is quite beyond his means4 ,he has been a careful saving man1 who has never borrowed a penny in his life1 and does not know where to turn in his emergency4 ,if he can not raise this money he will be sold up1 his family will be scattered1 his situation and his prospective pension will be lost1 and blank ruin will stare him in the face4 ,now1 were he in receipt of an income of ten times the amount1 he would probably have a banking account1 and1 in consequence1 be able to secure an advance of all he needed from his banker4 ,why should he not be able to pledge his salary1 or a portion of it1 to an ,institution which would enable him to pay off his debt1 on terms that1 while sufficiently remunerative to the bank1 would not unduly embarrass him8 ,at present what does the poor wretch do8 ,he consults his friends1 who1 it is quite possible1 are as hard up as himself1 or he applies to some loan agency1 and as likely as not falls into the hands of sharpers1 who indeed1 let him have the money1 but at interest altogether out of proportion to the risk which they run1 and use the advantage which their position gives them to extort every penny he has4 ,a great black book written within and without in letters of lamentation1 mourning1 and woe might be written on the dealings of these usurers with their victims in every land4 ,it is of little service denouncing these extortioners4 ,they have always existed1 and probably always will2 but what we can do is to circumscribe the range of their operations and the number of their victims4 ,this can only be done by a legitimate and merciful provision for these poor creatures in their hours of desperate need1 so as to prevent their falling into the hands of these remorseless wretches1 who have wrecked the fortunes of thousands1 and driven many a decent man to suicide or a premature grave4 ,there are endless ramifications of this principle1 which do not need to be described here1 but before leaving the subject ,i may allude to an evil which is a cruel reality1 alas6 to a multitude of unfortunate men and women4 ,i refer to the working of the ,hire ,system4 ,the decent poor man or woman who is anxious to earn an honest penny by the use of1 it may be a mangle1 or a sewing-machine1 a lathe1 or some other indispensable instrument1 and is without the few pounds necessary to buy it1 must take it on the ,hire ,system--that is to say1 for the accommodation of being allowed to pay for the machine by instalments-- he is charged1 in addition to the full market value of his purchase1 ten or twenty times the amount of what would be a fair rate of interest1 and more than this if he should at any time1 through misfortune1 fail in his payment1 the total amount already paid will be confiscated1 the machine seized1 and the money lost4 ,here again we fall back on our analogy of what goes on in a small community where neighbours know each other4 ,take1 for instance1 when a lad who is recognised as bright1 promising1 honest1 and industrious1 who wants to make a start in life which requires some little outlay1 his better-to-do neighbour will often assist him by providing the capital necessary to enable him to make a way for himself in the world4 ,the neighbour does this because he knows the lad1 because the family is at least related by ties of neighbourhood1 and the honour of the lad's family is a security upon which a man may safely advance a small sum4 ,all this would equally apply to a destitute widow1 an artizan suddenly thrown out of work1 an orphan family1 or the like4 ,in the large ,city all this kindly helpfulness disappears1 and with it go all those small acts of service which are1 as it were1 the buffers which save men from being crushed to death against the iron walls of circumstances4 ,we must try to replace them in some way or other if we are to get back1 not to the ,garden of ,eden1 but to the ordinary conditions of life1 as they exist in a healthy1 small community4 ,no institution1 it is true1 can ever replace the magic bond of personal friendship1 but if we have the whole mass of ,society permeated in every direction by brotherly associations established for the purpose of mutual help and sympathising counsel1 it is not an impossible thing to believe that we shall be able to do something to restore the missing element in modern civilisation4 ,,section #d4--,,the ,,poor ,,man',s ,,lawyer4 ,the moment you set about dealing with the wants of the people1 you discover that many of their difficulties are not material1 but moral4 ,there never was a greater mistake than to imagine that you have only to fill a man's stomach1 and clothe his back in order to secure his happiness4 ,man is1 much more than a digestive apparatus1 liable to get out of order4 ,hence1 while it is important to remember that man has a stomach1 it is also necessary to bear in mind that he has a heart1 and a mind that is frequently sorely troubled by difficulties which1 if he lived in a friendly world1 would often disappear4 ,a man1 and still more a woman1 stands often quite as much in need of a trusted adviser as he or she does of a dinner or a dress4 ,many a poor soul is miserable all the day long1 and gets dragged down deeper and deeper into the depths of sin and sorrow and despair for want of a sympathising friend1 who can give her advice1 and make her feel that somebody in the world cares for her1 and will help her if they can4 ,if we are to bring back the sense of brotherhood to the world1 we must confront this difficulty4 ,god1 it was said in old time1 setteth the desolate in families2 but somehow1 in our time1 the desolate wander alone in the midst of a careless and unsympathising world4 ,there is no-one who cares for my soul4 ,there is no creature loves me1 and if ,i die no one will pity me1 is surely one of the bitterest cries that can burst from a breaking heart4 ,one of the secrets of the success of the ,salvation ,army is1 that the friendless of the world find friends in it4 ,there is not one sinner in the world-- no matter how degraded and dirty he may be--whom my people will not rejoice to take by the hand and pray with1 and labour for1 if thereby they can but snatch him as a brand from the burning4 ,now1 we want to make more use of this1 to make the ,salvation ,army the nucleus of a great agency for bringing comfort and counsel to those who are at their wits' end1 feeling as if in the whole world there was no one to whom they could go4 ,what we want to do is to exemplify to the world the family idea4 ,our ,father is the keynote4 ,one is ,our ,father1 then all we are brethren4 ,but in a family1 if anyone is troubled in mind or conscience1 there is no difficulty4 ,the daughter goes to her father1 or the son to his mother1 and pour out their soul's troubles1 and are relieved4 ,if there is any serious difficulty a family council is held1 and all unite their will and their resources to get matters put straight4 ,this is what we mean to try to get done in the ,new ,organisation of ,society for which we are labouring4 ,we cannot know better than ,god ,almighty what will do good to man4 ,we are content to follow on ,his lines1 and to mend the world we shall seek to restore something of the family idea to the many hundreds of thousands--ay1 millions--who have no one wiser or more experienced than themselves1 to whom they can take their sorrows1 or consult in their difficulties4 ,of course we can do this but imperfectly4 ,only ,god can create a mother4 ,but ,society needs a great deal of mothering1 much more than it gets4 ,and as a child needs a mother to run to in its difficulties and troubles1 to whom it can let out its little heart in confidence1 so men and women1 weary and worn in the battles of life1 need someone to whom they can go when pressed down with a sense of wrongs suffered or done1 knowing that their confidence will be preserved inviolate1 and that their statements will be received with sympathy4 ,i propose to attempt to meet this want4 ,i shall establish a department1 over which ,i shall place the wisest1 the pitifullest1 and the most sagacious men and women whom ,i can find on my staff1 to whom all those in trouble and perplexity shall be invited to address themselves4 ,it is no use saying that we love our fellow men unless we try to help them1 and it is no use pretending to sympathise with the heavy burdens which darken their lives unless we try to ease them and to lighten their existence4 ,insomuch as we have more practical experience of life than other men1 by so much are we bound to help their inexperience1 and share our talents with them4 ,but if we believe they are our brothers1 and that ,one is our ,father1 even the ,god who will come to judge us hereafter for all the deeds that we have done in the body1 then must we constitute1 in some such imperfect way as is open to us1 the parental office4 ,we must be willing to receive the outpourings of our struggling fellow men1 to listen to the long-buried secret that has troubled the human heart1 and to welcome instead of repelling those who would obey the ,apostolic precept3 ,to confess their sins one to another4 ,let not that word confession scandalise any4 ,confession of the most open sort2 confession on the public platform before the presence of all the man's former associates in sin has long been one of the most potent weapons by which the ,salvation ,army has won its victories4 ,that confession we have long imposed on all our converts1 and it is the only confession which seems to us to be a condition of ,salvation4 ,but this suggestion is of a different kind4 ,it is not imposed as a means of grace4 ,it is not put forward as a preliminary to the absolution which no one can pronounce but our ,lord ,himself4 ,it is merely a response on our part to one of the deepest needs and secret longings of the actual men and women who are meeting us daily in our work4 ,why should they be left to brood in misery over their secret sin1 when a plain straightforward talk with a man or woman selected for his or her sympathetic common-sense and spiritual experience might take the weight off their shoulders which is crushing them into dull despair8 ,not for absolution1 but for sympathy and direction1 do ,i propose to establish my ,advice ,bureau in definite form1 for in practice it has been in existence for some time1 and wonderful things have been done in the direction on which ,i contemplate it working4 ,i have no pleasure in inventing these departments4 ,they all entail hard work and no end of anxiety4 ,but if we are to represent the love of ,god to men1 we must minister to all the wants and needs of the human heart4 ,nor is it only in affairs of the heart that this ,advice ,bureau will be of service4 ,it will be quite as useful in affairs of the head4 ,as ,i conceive it1 the ,advice ,bureau will be ,,the ,,poor ,,mans ,,lawyer ,,and ,,the ,,poor ,,mans ,,tribune4 ,there are no means in ,london1 so far as my knowledge goes1 by which the poor and needy can obtain any legal assistance in the varied oppressions and difficulties from which they must1 in consequence of their poverty and associations1 be continually suffering4 ,while the well-to-do classes can fall back upon skilful friends for direction1 or avail themselves of the learning and experience of the legal profession1 the poor man has literally no one qualified to counsel him on such matters4 ,in cases of sickness he can apply to the parish doctor or the great hospital1 and receive an odd word or two of advice1 with a bottle of physic which may or may not be of service4 ,but if his circumstances are sick1 out of order1 in danger of carrying him to utter destitution1 or to prison1 or to the ,union1 he has no one to appeal to who has the willingness or the ability to help him4 ,now1 we want to create a ,court of ,counsel or ,appeal1 to which anyone suffering from imposition having to do with person1 liberty1 or property1 or anything else of sufficient importance1 can apply1 and obtain not only advice1 but practical assistance4 ,among others for whom this ,court would be devised is the shamefully-neglected class of ,widows1 of whom in the ,east of ,london there are #f1jjj1 mostly in very destitute circumstances4 ,in the whole of ,london there cannot be less than #bj1jjj1 and in ,england and ,wales it is estimated there are #ajj1jjj1 fifty thousand of whom are probably poor and friendless4 ,the treatment these poor people by the nation is a crying scandal4 ,take the case of the average widow1 even when left in comfortable circumstances4 ,she will often be launched into a sea of perplexity1 although able to avail herself of the best advice4 ,but think of the multitudes of poor women1 who1 when they close their husbands' eyes1 lose the only friend who knows anything2 about their circumstances4 ,there may be a trifle of money or a struggling business or a little income connected with property or some other possession1 all needing immediate attention1 and that of a skilful sort1 in order to enable the poor creature to weather the storm and avoid the vortex of utter destitution4 ,all we have said applies equally to orphans and friendless people generally4 ,nothing1 however1 short of a national institution could meet the necessities of all such cases4 ,but we can do something1 and in matters already referred to1 such as involve loss of property1 malicious prosecution1 criminal and otherwise1 we can render substantial assistance4 ,in carrying out this purpose it will be no part of our plan to encourage legal proceedings in others1 or to have recourse to them ourselves4 ,all resort to law would be avoided either in counsel or practice1 unless absolutely necessary4 ,but where manifest injustice and wrong are perpetrated1 and every other method of obtaining reparation fails1 we shall avail ourselves of the assistance the ,law affords4 ,our great hope of usefulness1 however1 in this ,department lies in prevention1 ,the knowledge that the oppressed poor have in us a friend able to speak for them will often prevent the injustice which cowardly and avaricious persons might otherwise inflict1 and the same considerations may induce them to accord without compulsion the right of the weak and friendless4 ,i also calculate upon a wide sphere of usefulness in the direction of friendly arbitration and intervention4 ,there will be at least one disinterested tribunal1 however humble1 to which business1 domestic1 or any other questions of a contentious and litigious nature can be referred without involving any serious costs4 ,the following incidents have been gathered from operations already undertaken in this direction1 and will explain and illustrate the kind of work we contemplate1 and some of the benefits that may be expected to follow from it4 ,about four years ago a young and delicate girl1 the daughter of a pilot1 came to us in great distress4 ,her story was that of thousands of others4 ,she had been betrayed by a man in a good position in the ,west ,end1 and was now the mother of an infant child4 ,just before her confinement her seducer had taken her to his solicitors and made her sign and swear an affidavit to the effect that he was not the father of the then expected child4 ,upon this he gave her a few pounds in settlement of all claims upon him4 ,the poor thing was in great poverty and distress4 ,through our solicitors1 we immediately opened communications with the man1 and after negotiations1 he1 to avoid further proceedings1 was compelled to secure by a deed a proper allowance to his unfortunate victim for the maintenance of her child4 ,,shadowed ,,and ,,caught4 ,a-- was induced to leave a comfortable home to become the governess of the motherless children of ,mr4 ,g--1 whom she found to be a kind and considerate employer4 ,after she had been in his service some little time he proposed that she should take a trip to ,london4 ,to this she very gladly consented1 all the more so when he offered to take her himself to a good appointment he had secured for her4 ,in ,london he seduced her1 and kept her as his mistress until1 tired of her1 he told her to go and do as other women did4 ,instead of descending to this infamy1 she procured work1 and so supported herself and child in some degree of comfort1 when he sought her out and again dragged her down4 ,another child was born1 and a second time he threw her up and left her to starve4 ,it was then she applied to our people4 ,we hunted up the man1 followed him to the country1 threatened him with public exposure1 and forced from him the payment to his victim of #fj down1 an allowance of #a a week1 and an ,insurance ,policy on his life for #dej in her favour4 #fj ,,from ,,italy4 ,c4 was seduced by a young ,italian of good position in society1 who promised to marry her1 but a short time before the day fixed for the ceremony he told her urgent business called him abroad4 ,he assured her he would return in two years and make her his wife4 ,he wrote occasionally1 and at last broke her heart by sending the news of his marriage to another1 adding insult to injury by suggesting that she should come and live with his wife as her maid1 offering at the same time to pay for the maintenance of the child till it was old enough to be placed in charge of the captain of one of the vessels belonging to his firm4 ,none of these promises were fulfilled1 and ,c41 with her mother's assistance1 for a time managed to support herself and child2 but the mother1 worn out by age and trouble1 could help her no longer1 and the poor girl was driven to despair4 ,her case was brought before us1 and we at once set to work to assist her4 ,the ,consul of the town where the seducer lived in style was communicated with4 ,approaches were made to the young man's father1 who1 to save the dishonour that would follow exposure1 paid over #fj4 ,this helps to maintain the child2 and the girl is in domestic service and doing well4 ,,the ,,hire ,,system4 ,the most cruel wrongs are frequently inflicted on the very poorest persons1 in connection with this method of obtaining ,furniture1 ,sewing ,machines1 ,mangles1 or other articles4 ,caught by the lure of misleading advertisements1 the poor are induced to purchase articles to be paid for by weekly or monthly instalments4 ,they struggle through half the amount perhaps1 at all manner of sacrifice1 when some delay in the payment is made the occasion not only for seizing the goods1 which they have come to regard as their own1 and on which their very existence depends1 but by availing themselves of some technical clause in the agreement1 for robbing them in addition4 ,in such circumstances the poor things1 being utterly friendless1 have to submit to these infamous extortions without remedy4 ,our ,bureau will be open to all such4 ,,tallymen1 ,,money ,,lenders1 ,,and ,,bills-,,of-,,salemongers4 ,here again we have a class who prey upon the poverty of the people1 inducing them to purchase things for which they have often no immediate use--anyway for which there is no real necessity--by all manner of specious promises as to easy terms of repayment4 ,and once having got their dupes into their power they drag them down to misery1 and very often utter temporal ruin2 once in their net escape is exceedingly difficult1 if not impossible4 ,we propose to help the poor victims by this ,scheme1 as far as possible4 ,our ,bureau1 we expect will be of immense service to ,clergymen ,ministers of all denominations1 ,district ,visitors1 ,missionaries1 and others who freely mix among the poor1 seeing that they must be frequently appealed to for legal advice1 which they are quite unable to give1 and equally at a loss to obtain4 ,we shall always be very glad to assist such4 ,,the ,,defence ,,of ,,undefended ,,persons4 ,the conviction is gradually fixing itself upon the public mind that a not inconsiderable number of innocent persons are from time to time convicted of crimes and offences1 the reason for which often is the mere inability to secure an efficient defence4 ,although there are several societies in ,london and the country dealing with the criminal classes1 and more particularly with discharged prisoners1 yet there does not appear to be one for the purpose of assisting unconvicted prisoners4 ,this work we propose boldly to take up4 ,by this and many other ways we shall help those charged with criminal offences1 who1 on a most careful enquiry1 might reasonably be supposed to be innocent1 but who1 through want of means1 are unable to obtain the legal assistance1 and produce the evidence necessary for an efficient defence4 ,we shall not pretend authoritatively to judge as to who is innocent or who is guilty1 but if after full explanation and enquiry the person charged may reasonably be supposed to be innocent1 and is not in a position to defend himself1 then we should feel free to advise such a case1 hoping thereby to save such person and his family and friends from much misery1 and possibly from utter ruin4 ,mr4 ,justice ,field recently remarked3 -- ,for a man to assist another man who was under a criminal charge was a highly laudable and praiseworthy act4 ,if a man was without friends1 and an ,englishman came forward and legitimately1 and for the purpose of honestly assisting him with means to put before the ,court his case1 that was a highly laudable and praiseworthy act1 and he should be the last man in the country to complain of any man for so doing4 ,these remarks are endorsed by most ,judges and ,magistrates1 and our ,advice ,bureau will give practical effect to them4 ,in every case an attempt will be made to secure1 not only the outward reformation1 but the actual regeneration of all whom we assist4 ,special attention1 as has been described under the ,criminal ,reform ,department1 will be paid to first offenders4 ,we shall endeavour also to assist1 as far as we have ability1 the ,wives and ,children of persons who are undergoing sentences1 by endeavouring to obtain for them employment1 or otherwise rendering them help4 ,hundreds of this class fall into the deepest distress and demoralisation through want of friendly aid in the forlorn circumstances in which they find themselves on the conviction of relatives on whom they have been dependent for a livelihood1 or for protection and direction in the ordinary affairs of life4 ,this ,department will also be responsible for gathering intelligence1 spreading information1 and the general prosecution of such measures as are likely to lead to the much-needed beneficial changes in our ,prison ,management4 ,in short1 it will seek to become the true friend and saviour of the ,criminal ,classes in general1 and in doing so we shall desire to act in harmony with the societies at present in existence1 who may be seeking for objects kindred to the ,advice ,bureau4 ,we pen the following list to give some idea of the topics on which the ,advice ,bureau may be consulted3 -- ,accidents1 ,claim for ,administration of ,estates ,adulteration of ,food and ,drugs ,agency1 ,questions of ,agreements1 ,disputed ,affiliation ,cases ,animals1 ,cruelty to ,arrest1 ,wrongful ,assault ,bankruptcies ,bills of ,exchange ,bills of ,sale ,bonds1 ,forfeited ,breach of ,promise ,children1 ,cruelty to ,children1 ,custody of ,compensation for ,injuries ,compensation for ,accident ,compensation for ,defamation ,compensation for ,loss of ,employment1 c41 c4 ,confiscation by ,landlords ,contracts1 ,breach of ,copyright1 ,infringement of ,county ,court ,cases ,debts ,distress1 ,illegal ,divorce ,ejectment ,cases ,employers ,liability ,act ,executors1 ,duties of ,factory ,act1 ,breach of ,fraud1 ,attempted ,goodwill1 ,sale of ,guarantee1 ,forfeited ,heir-at-,law ,husbands and ,wives1 ,disputes of ,imprisonment1 ,false ,infants1 ,custody of ,intestacy1 ,cases of ,judgment ,summonses ,landlord and ,tenant ,cases ,leases1 ,lapses and ,renewals of ,legacies1 ,disputed ,libel ,cases ,licences ,marriage ,law1 ,question of the ,masters' and ,servants' ,acts ,meeting1 ,right of ,public ,mortgages ,negligence1 ,alleged ,next of ,kill ,wanted ,nuisances1 ,alleged ,partnership1 ,the ,law of ,patents1 ,registration and ,infringement of ,pawnbrokers and their ,pledges ,police ,cases ,probate ,rates and ,taxes ,reversionary ,interests ,seduction1 ,cases of ,servants' ,wrongful ,dismissal ,sheriffs ,sureties ,estreated ,tenancies1 ,disputed ,trade ,marks1 ,infringement of ,trespass1 ,cases of ,trustees and ,trusts ,wages ,kept ,back ,wills1 ,disputed and ,unproved ,women1 ,cruelty to ,workmen1 ,grievances of c41c4 ,the ,advice ,bureau will therefore be1 first of all1 a place where men and women in trouble can come when they please to communicate in confidence the cause of their anxiety1 with a certainty that they will receive a sympathetic hearing and the best advice4 ,secondly1 it will be a ,poor ,man's ,lawyer1 giving the best legal counsel as to the course to be pursued in the various circumstances with which the poor find themselves confronted4 ,thirdly1 it will act as a ,poor ,man's ,tribune1 and will undertake the defence of friendless prisoners supposed to be innocent1 together with the resistance of illegal extortions1 and the prosecution of offenders who refuse legal satisfaction for the wrongs they have committed4 ,fourthly1 it will act wherever it is called upon as a ,court of ,arbitration between litigants1 where the decision will be according to equity1 and the costs cut down to the lowest possible figure4 ,such a ,department cannot be improvised2 but it is already in a fair way of development1 and it can hardly fail to do great good4 ,,section #e4--,,our ,,intelligence ,,department4 ,an indispensable adjunct of this ,scheme will be the institution of what may be called an ,intelligence ,department at ,headquarters4 ,power1 it has been said1 belongs to the best informed1 and if we are effectually to deal with the forces of social evil1 we must have ready at our fingers' ends the accumulated experience and information of the whole world on this subject4 ,the collection of facts and the systematic record of them would be invaluable1 rendering the result of the experiments of previous generations available for the information of our own4 ,at the present there is no central institution1 either governmental or otherwise1 in this country or any other1 which charges itself with the duty of collecting and collating the ideas and conclusions on ,social ,economy1 so far as they are likely to help the solution of the problem we have in hand4 ,the ,british ,home ,office has only begun to index its own papers4 ,the ,local ,government ,board is in a similar condition1 and1 although each particular ,blue ,book may be admirably indexed1 there is no classified index of the whole series4 ,if this is the case with the ,government1 it is not likely that the innumerable private organisations which are pecking here and there at the social question should possess any systematised method for the purpose of comparing notes and storing information4 ,this ,intelligence ,department1 which ,i propose to found on a small scale at first1 will have in it the germ of vast extension which will1 if adequately supported become a kind of ,university1 in which the accumulated experiences of the human race will be massed1 digested1 and rendered available to the humblest toiler in the great work of social reform4 ,at the present moment1 who is there that can produce in any of our museums and universities as much as a classified index of publications relating to one of the many heads under which ,i have dealt with this subject8 ,who is there among all our wise men and social reformers that can send me a list of all the best tracts upon-- say1 the establishment of agricultural colonies or the experiments that have been made in dealing with inebriates2 or the best plans for the construction of a working man's cottage8 ,for the development of this ,scheme ,i want an ,office to begin with1 in which1 under the head of the varied subjects treated of in this volume1 ,i may have arranged the condensed essence of all the best books that have been written1 and the names and addresses of those whose opinions are worth having upon them1 together with a note of what those opinions are1 and the results of experiments which have been made in relation to them4 ,i want to establish a system which will enable me to use1 not only the eyes and hands of ,salvation ,officers1 but of sympathetic friends in all parts of the world1 for purposes of noticing and reporting at once every social experiment of importance1 any words of wisdom on the social question1 whether it may be the breeding of rabbits1 the organisation of an emigration service1 the best method of conducting a ,cottage ,farm1 or the best way of cooking potatoes4 ,there is nothing in the whole range of our operations upon which we should not be accumulating and recording the results of human experience4 ,what ,i want is to get the essence of wisdom which the wisest have gathered from the widest experience1 rendered instantly available for the humblest worker in the ,salvation ,factory or ,farm ,colony1 and for any other toiler in similar fields of social progress4 ,it can be done1 and in the service of the people it ought to be done4 ,i look for helpers in this department among those who hitherto may not have cared for the ,salvation ,army1 but who in the seclusion of their studies and libraries will assist in the compiling of this great ,index of ,sociological ,experiments1 and who would be willing1 in this form1 to help in this ,scheme1 as ,associates1 for the ameliorating of the condition of the people1 if in nothing else than in using their eyes and ears1 and giving me the benefit of their brains as to where knowledge lies1 and how it can best be utilised4 ,i propose to make a beginning by putting two capable men and a boy in an office1 with instructions to cut out1 preserve1 and verify all contemporary records in the daily and weekly press that have a bearing upon any branch of our departments4 ,round these two men and a boy will grow up1 ,i confidently believe1 a vast organisation of zealous unpaid workers1 who will co-operate in making our ,intelligence ,department a great storehouse of information--a universal library where any man may learn what is the sum of human knowledge upon any branch of the subject which we have taken in hand4 ,,section #f4--;,,co-,,operation ,,in ,,general4 ,if anyone asked me to state in one word what seemed likely to be the key of the solution of the ,social ,problem ,i should answer unhesitatingly ,co-operation4 ,it being always understood that it is ,co-operation conducted on righteous principles1 and for wise and benevolent ends2 otherwise ,association cannot be expected to bear any more profitable fruit than ,individualism4 ,co-operation is applied association--association for the purpose of production and distribution4 ,co-operation implies the voluntary combination of individuals to the attaining an object by mutual help1 mutual counsel1 and mutual effort4 ,there is a great deal of idle talk in the world just now about capital1 as if capital were the enemy of labour4 ,it is quite true that there are capitalists not a few who may be regarded as the enemies1 not only of labour1 but of the human race2 but capital itself1 so far from being a natural enemy of labour1 is the great object which the labourer has constantly in view4 ,however much an agitator may denounce capital1 his one great grievance is that he has not enough of it for himself4 ,capital1 therefore1 is not an evil in itself2 on the contrary1 it is good--so good that one of the great aims of the social reformer ought to be to facilitate its widest possible distribution among his fellow-men4 ,it is the congestion of capital that is evil1 and the labour question will never be finally solved until every labourer is his own capitalist4 ,all this is trite enough1 and has been said a thousand times already1 but1 unfortunately1 with the saying of it the matter ends4 ,co-operation has been brought into practice in relation to distribution with considerable success1 but co-operation1 as a means of production1 has not achieved anything like the success that was anticipated4 ,again and again enterprises have been begun on co-operative principles which bid fair1 in the opinion of the promoters1 to succeed2 but after one1 two1 three1 or ten years1 the enterprise which was started with such high hopes has dwindled away into either total or partial failure4 ,at present1 many co-operative undertakings are nothing more or less than huge ,joint ,stock ,limited ,liability concerns1 shares of which are held largely by working people1 but not necessarily1 and sometimes not at all by those who are actually employed in the so-called co-operative business4 ,now1 why is this8 ,why do co-operative firms1 co-operative factories1 and co-operative ,utopias so very often come to grief8 ,i believe the cause is an open secret1 and can be discerned by anyone who will look at the subject with an open eye4 ,the success of industrial concerns is largely a question of management4 ,management signifies government1 and government implies authority1 and authority is the last thing which co-operators of the ,utopian order are willing to recognise as an element essential to the success of their ,schemes4 ,the co-operative institution which is governed on ,parliamentary principles1 with unlimited right of debate and right of obstruction1 will never be able to compete successfully with institutions which are directed by a single brain wielding the united resources of a disciplined and obedient army of workers4 ,hence1 to make co-operation a success you must superadd to the principle of consent the principle of authority2 you must invest in those to whom you entrust the management of your co-operative establishment the same liberty of action that is possessed by the owner of works on the other side of the repudiation of the rotten and effete regime of the ,bourbons1 the ,french peasants and workmen imagined that they were inaugurating the millennium when they scrawled ,liberty1 ,equality1 and ,fraternity across all the churches in every city of ,france4 ,they carried their principles of freedom and license to the logical ultimate1 and attempted to manage their army on ,parliamentary principles4 ,it did not work2 their undisciplined levies were driven back2 disorder reigned in the ,republican camp2 and the ,french ,revolution would have been stifled in its cradle had not the instinct of the nation discerned in time the weak point in its armour4 ,menaced by foreign wars and intestine revolt1 the ,republic established an iron discipline in its army1 and enforced obedience by the summary process of military execution4 ,the liberty and the enthusiasm developed by the outburst of the long pent-up revolutionary forces supplied the motive power1 but it was the discipline of the revolutionary armies1 the stern1 unbending obedience which was enforced in all ranks from the highest to the lowest1 which created for ,napoleon the admirable military instrument by which he shattered every throne in ,europe and swept in triumph from ,paris to ,moscow4 ,in industrial affairs we are very much like the ,french ,republic before it tempered its doctrine of the rights of man by the duty of obedience on the part of the soldier4 ,we have got to introduce discipline into the industrial army1 we have to superadd the principle of authority to the principle of co-operation1 and so to enable the worker to profit to the full by the increased productiveness of the willing labour of men who are employed in their own workshops and on their own property4 ,there is no need to clamour for great schemes of ,state ,socialism4 ,the whole thing can be done simply1 economically1 and speedily if only the workers will practice as much self-denial for the sake of establishing themselves as capitalists1 as the ,soldiers of the ,salvation ,army practice every year in ,self ,denial ,week4 ,what is the sense of never making a levy except during a strike8 ,instead of calling for a shilling1 or two shillings1 a week in order to maintain men who are starving in idleness because of a dispute with their masters1 why should there not be a levy kept up for weeks or months1 by the workers1 for the purpose of setting themselves up in business as masters8 ,there would then be no longer a capitalist owner face to face with the masses of the proletariat1 but all the means of production1 the plant1 and all the accumulated resources of capital would really be at the disposal of labour4 ,this will never be done1 however1 as long as co-operative experiments are carried on in the present archaic fashion4 ,believing in co-operation as the ultimate solution1 if to co-operation you can add subordination1 ,i am disposed to attempt something in this direction in my new ,social ,scheme4 ,i shall endeavour to start a ,co-operative ,farm on the principles of ,ralahine1 and base the whole of my ,farm ,colony on a ,co-operative foundation4 ,in starting this little ,co-operative ,commonwealth1 ,i am reminded by those who are always at a man's elbow to fill him with forebodings of ill1 to look at the failures1 which ,i have just referred to1 which make up the history of the attempt to realise ideal commonwealths in this practical workaday world4 ,now1 ,i have read the history of the many attempts at co-operation that have been made to form communistic settlements in the ,united ,states1 and am perfectly familiar with the sorrowful fate with which nearly all have been overtaken2 but the story of their failures does not deter me in the least1 for ,i regard them as nothing more than warnings to avoid certain mistakes1 beacons to illustrate the need of proceeding on a different tack4 ,broadly speaking1 your experimental communities fail because your ,utopias all start upon the system of equality and government by vote of the majority1 and1 as a necessary and unavoidable consequence1 your ,utopians get to loggerheads1 and ,utopia goes to smash1 ,i shall avoid that rock4 ,the ,farm ,colony1 like all the other departments of the ,scheme1 will be governed1 not on the principle of counting noses1 but on the exactly opposite principle of admitting no noses into the concern that are not willing to be guided by the directing brain4 ,it will be managed on principles which assert that the fittest ought to rule1 and it will provide for the fittest being selected1 and having got them at the top1 will insist on universal and unquestioning obedience from those at the bottom4 ,if anyone does not like to work for his rations and submit to the orders of his superior ,officers he can leave4 ,there is no compulsion on him to stay4 ,the world is wide1 and outside the confines of our ,colony and the operations of our ,corps my authority does not extend4 ,but judging from our brief experience it is not from revolt against authority that the ,scheme is destined to fail4 ,there cannot be a greater mistake in this world than to imagine that men object to be governed4 ,they like to be governed1 provided that the governor has his head screwed on right and that he is prompt to hear and ready to see and recognise all that is vital to the interests of the commonwealth4 ,so far from there being an innate objection on the part of mankind to being governed1 the instinct to obey is so universal that even when governments have gone blind1 and deaf1 and paralytic1 rotten with corruption1 and hopelessly behind the times1 they still contrive to live on4 ,against a capable ,government no people ever rebel1 only when stupidity and incapacity have taken possession of the seat of power do insurrections break out4 ,,section #g4--;,a ,,matrimonial ,,bureau4 ,there is another direction in which something ought to be done to restore the natural advantages enjoyed by every rural community which have been destroyed by the increasing tendency of mankind to come together in huge masses4 ,i refer to that which is after all one of the most important elements in every human life1 that of marrying and giving in marriage4 ,in the natural life of a country village all the lads and lasses grow up together1 they meet together in religious associations1 in daily employments1 and in their amusements on the village green4 ,they have learned their ,a1 ,b1 ,c and pothooks together1 and when the time comes for pairing off they have had excellent opportunities of knowing the qualities and the defects of those whom they select as their partners in life4 ,everything in such a community lends itself naturally to the indispensable preliminaries of love-making1 and courtships1 which1 however much they may be laughed at1 contribute more than most things to the happiness or life4 ,but in a great city all this is destroyed4 ,in ,london at the present moment how many hundreds1 nay thousands1 of young men and young women1 who are living in lodgings1 are practically without any opportunity of making the acquaintance of each other1 or of any one of the other sex6 ,the street is no doubt the city substitute for the village green1 and what a substitute it is6 ,it has been bitterly said by one who knew well what he was talking about1 ,there are thousands of young men to-day who have no right to call any woman by her ,christian name1 except the girls they meet plying their dreadful trade in our public thoroughfares4 ,as long as that is the case1 vice has an enormous advantage over virtue2 such an abnormal social arrangement interdicts morality and places a vast premium upon prostitution4 ,we must get back to nature if we have to cope with this ghastly evil4 ,there ought to be more opportunities afforded for healthy human intercourse between young men and young women1 nor can ,society rid itself of a great responsibility for all the wrecks of manhood and womanhood with which our streets are strewn1 unless it does make some attempt to bridge this hideous chasm which yawns between the two halves of humanity4 ,the older ,i grow the more absolutely am ,i opposed to anything that violates the fundamental law of the family4 ,humanity is composed of two sexes1 and woe be to those who attempt to separate them into distinct bodies1 making of each half one whole6 ,it has been tried in monasteries and convents with but poor success1 yet what our fervent ,protestants do not seem to see is that we are reconstructing a similar false system for our young people without the safeguards and the restraints of convent walls or the sanctifying influence of religious conviction4 ,the conditions of ,city life1 the absence of the enforced companionship of the village and small town1 the difficulty of young people finding harmless opportunities of friendly intercourse1 all tends to create classes of celibates who are not chaste1 and whose irregular and lawless indulgence of a universal instinct is one of the most melancholy features of the present state of society4 ,nay1 so generally is this recognised1 that one of the terms by which one of the consequences of this unnatural state of things is popularly known is the social evil1 as if all other social evils were comparatively unworthy of notice in comparison to this4 ,while ,i have been busily occupied in working out my ,scheme for the registration of labour1 it has occurred to me more than once1 why could not something like the same plan be adopted in relation to men who want wives and women who want husbands8 ,marriage is with most people largely a matter or opportunity4 ,many a man and many a woman1 who would1 if they had come together1 have formed a happy household1 are leading at this moment miserable and solitary lives1 suffering in body and in soul1 in consequence of their exclusion from the natural state of matrimony4 ,of course1 the registration of the unmarried who wish to marry would be a matter of much greater delicacy than the registration of the joiners and stone-masons who wish to obtain work4 ,but the thing is not impossible4 ,i have repeatedly found in my experience that many a man and many a woman would only be too glad to have a friendly hint as to where they might prosecute their attentions or from which they might receive proposals4 ,in connection with such an agency1 if it were established--for ,i am mot engaging to undertake this task-- ,i am only throwing out a possible suggestion as to the development in the direction of meeting a much needed want1 there might be added training homes for matrimony4 ,my heart bleeds for many a young couple whom ,i see launching out into the sea of matrimony with no housewifery experience4 ,the young girls who leave our public elementary schools and go out into factories have never been trained to home duties1 and yet1 when taken to wife1 are unreasonably expected to fill worthily the difficult positions of the head of a household and the mother of a family4 ,a month spent before marriage in a training home of housewifery would conduce much more to the happiness of the married life than the honeymoon which immediately follows it4 ,especially is this the case with those who marry to go abroad and settle in a distant country4 ,i often marvel when ,i think of the utter helplessness of the modern woman1 compared with the handiness of her grandmother4 ,how many of our girls can even bake a loaf8 ,the baker has killed out one of our fundamental domestic arts4 ,but if you are in the ,backwoods or in the ,prairie or in the ,bush1 no baker's cart comes round every morning with the new-made bread1 and ,i have often thought with sorrow of the kind of stuff which this poor wife must serve up to her hungry husband4 ,as it is with baking1 so it is with washing1 with milking1 with spinning1 with all the arts and sciences of the household1 which were formerly taught1 as a matter of course1 to all the daughters who were born in the world4 ,talk about woman's rights1 one of the first of woman's rights is to be trained to her trade1 to be queen of her household1 and mother of her children4 ,speaking of colonists leads me to the suggestion whether something could not be done to supply1 on a well-organised system1 the thousands of bachelor miners or the vast host of unmarried males who are struggling with the wilderness on the outskirts of civilisation1 with capable wives from the overplus of marriageable females who abound in our great towns4 ,woman supplied in adequate quantities is the great moraliser of ,society1 but woman doled out as she is in the ,far ,west and the ,australian bush1 in the proportion of one woman to about a dozen men1 is a fertile source of vice and crime4 ,here again we must get back to nature1 whose fundamental laws our social arrangements have rudely set on one side with consequences which as usual she does not fail to exact with remorseless severity4 ,there have always been born into the world and continue to be born boys and girls in fairly equal proportions1 but with colonising and soldiering our men go away1 leaving behind them a continually growing surplus of marriageable but unmarried spinsters1 who cannot spin1 and who are utterly unable to find themselves husbands4 ,this is a wide field on the discussion of which ,i must not enter4 ,i merely indicate it as one of those departments in which an intelligent philanthropy might find a great sphere for its endeavours2 but it would be better not to touch it at all than to deal with it with light-hearted precipitancy and without due consideration of all the difficulties and dangers connected therewith4 ,obstacles1 however1 exist to be overcome and converted into victories4 ,there is even a certain fascination about the difficult and dangerous1 which appeals very strongly to all who know that it is the apparently insolvable difficulty which contains within its bosom the key to the problem which you are seeking to solve4 ,,section #h4--,,whitechapel-,,by-,,the-,,sea4 ,in considering the various means by which some substantial improvement can be made in the condition of the toiling masses1 recreation cannot be omitted4 ,i have repeatedly had forced upon me the desirability of making it possible for them to spend a few hours occasionally by the seaside1 or even at times three or four days4 ,notwithstanding the cheapened rates and frequent excursions1 there are multitudes of the poor who1 year in and out1 never get beyond the crowded city1 with the exception of dragging themselves and their children now and then to the parks on holidays or hot summer evenings4 ,the majority1 especially the inhabitants of the ,east of ,london1 never get away from the sunless alleys and grimy streets in which they exist from year to year4 ,it is true that a few here and there of the adult population1 and a good many of the children1 have a sort of annual charity excursion to ,epping ,forest1 ,hampton ,court1 or perhaps to the sea4 ,but it is only the minority4 ,the vast number1 while possessed of a passionate love of the sea1 which only those who have mixed with them can conceive1 pass their whole lives without having once looked over its blue waters1 or watched its waves breaking at their feet4 ,now ,i am not so foolish as to dream that it is possible to make any such change in ,society as will enable the poor man to take his wife and children for a fortnight's sojourn1 during the oppressive summer days1 to brace them up for their winter's task1 although this might be as desirable in their case as in that of their more highly favoured fellow-creatures4 ,but ,i would make it possible for every man2 woman and child1 to get1 now and then1 a day's refreshing change by a visit to that never-failing source of interest4 ,in the carrying out of this plan1 we are met at the onset with a difficulty of some little magnitude1 and that is the necessity of a vastly reduced charge in the cost of the journey4 ,to do anything effective we must be able to get a man from ,whitechapel or ,stratford to the sea-side and back for a shilling4 ,unfortunately1 ,london is sixty miles from the sea4 ,suppose we take it at seventy miles4 ,this would involve a journey of one hundred and forty miles for the small sum of #as4 ,can this be done8 ,i think it can1 and done to pay the railway companies2 otherwise there is no ground to hope for this part of my ,scheme ever being realised4 ,but ,i think that this great boon can be granted to the poor people without the dividends being sensibly affected4 ,i am told that the cost of haulage for an ordinary passenger train1 carrying from five hundred to a thousand persons1 is #bs4 #g;d4 per mile2 a railway company could take six hundred passengers seventy miles there1 and bring them seventy miles back1 at a cost of #ah #as4 #h;d4 ,six hundred passengers at a shilling is #cj1 so that there would be a clear profit to the company of nearly #ab on the haulage1 towards the payment of interest on the capital1 wear and tear of line1 c4 ,but ,i reckon1 at a very moderate computation1 that two hundred thousand persons would travel to and fro every season4 ,an addition of #aj1jjj to the exchequer of a railway company is not to be despised and this would be a mere bagatelle to the indirect profits which would follow the establishment of a settlement which must in due course necessarily become very speedily a large and active community4 ,this it would be necessary to bring home to the railway companies1 and for the execution of this part of my ,scheme ,i must wait till ,i get some manager sufficiently public-spirited to try the experiment4 ,when such a man is found1 ,i purpose to set at once about my ,sea-,side ,establishment4 ,this will present the following special advantages1 which ,i am quite certain will be duly appreciated by the very poorest of the ,london population3 -- ,an estate of some three hundred acres would be purchased on which buildings would be erected1 calculated to meet the wants of this class of excursionists4 ,refreshments would be provided at rates very similar to those charged at our ,london ,food ,depots4 ,there would1 of course1 be greater facilities in the way of rooms and accommodation generally4 ,lodgings for invalids1 children1 and those requiring to make a short stay in the place would be supplied at the lowest prices4 ,beds for single men and single women could be charged at the low rate of sixpence a night1 and children in proportion1 while accommodation of a suitable character1 on very moderate terms1 could be arranged for married people4 ,no public-houses would be allowed within the precincts of the settlement4 ,a park1 playground1 music1 boats1 covered conveniences for bathing1 without the expense of hiring a machine1 and other arrangements for the comfort and enjoyment of the people would be provided4 ,the estate would form one of the ,colonies of the general enterprise1 and on it would be grown fruit1 vegetables1 flowers1 and other produce for the use of the visitors1 and sold at the lowest remunerative rates4 ,one of the first provisions for the comfort of the excursionists would be the erection of a large hall1 affording ample shelter in case of unfavourable weather1 and in this and other parts of the place there would be the fullest opportunity for ministers of all denominations to hold religious services in connection with any excursionists they might bring with them4 ,there would be shops for tradesmen1 houses for residets1 a museum with a panorama and stuffed whale2 boats would be let out at moderate prices1 and a steamer to carry people so many miles out to sea1 and so many miles back for a penny1 with a possible bout of sickness1 for which no extra charge would be made4 ,in fact the railway fares and refreshment arrangements would be on such a scale1 that a husband and wife could have a #gj-mile ride through the green fields1 the new-mown hay1 the waving grain or fruit laden orchards2 could wander for hours on the seashore1 have comforting and nourishing refreshment1 and be landed back at home sober1 cheered and invigorated for the small sum of #cs4 ,a couple of children under #ab might be added at #as4 #f;d4--nay1 a whole family1 husband1 wife and four children1 supposing one is in arms1 could have a day at the seaside1 without obligation or charity1 for #es4 ,the gaunt1 hungry inhabitants of the ,slums would save up their halfpence1 and come by thousands2 clergymen would find it possible to bring half the poor and needy occupants of their parishes2 schools1 mothers' meetings1 and philanthropic societies of all descriptions would come down wholesale2 in short1 what ,brighton is to the ,west ,end and middle classes1 this place would be to the ,east ,end poor1 nay1 to the poor of the ,metropolis generally1 a ,whitechapel-by-the-,sea4 ,now this ought to be done apart from my ,scheme altogether4 ,the rich corporations which have the charge of the affairs of this great ,city1 and the millionaires1 who would never have amassed their fortunes but by the assistance of the masses1 ought to say it shall be done4 ,suppose the ,railway ,companies refused to lend the great highways of which they have become the monopolists for such an undertaking without a subvention1 then the necessary subvention should be forthcoming4 ,if it could be made possible for the joyless toilers to come out of the sweater's den1 or the stifling factory2 if the seamstress could leave her needle1 and the mother get away from the weary round of babydom and household drudgery for a day now and then1 to the cooling1 invigorating1 heart-stirring influences of the sea1 it should be done1 even if it did cost a few paltry thousands4 ,let the men and women who spend a little fortune every year in ,continental tours1 ,alpine climbings1 yacht excursions1 and many another form of luxurious wanderings1 come forward and say that it shall be possible for these crowds of their less fortunate brethren to have the opportunity of spending one day at least in the year by the sea4 ,,chapter ,,vii4 ,,can ,,it ,,be ,,done1 ,,and ,,how8 ,,section #a4--,,the ,,credentials ,,of ,,the ,,salvation ,,army4 ,can this great work be done8 ,i believe it can4 ,and ,i believe that it can be done by the ,salvation ,army1 because it has ready to hand an organisation of men and women1 numerous enough and zealous enough to grapple with the enormous undertaking4 ,the work may prove beyond our powers4 ,but this is not so manifest as to preclude us from wishing to make the attempt4 ,that in itself is a qualification which is shared by no other organisation--at present4 ,if we can do it we have the field entirely to ourselves4 ,the wealthy churches show no inclination to compete for the onerous privilege of making the experiment in this definite and practical form4 ,whether we have the power or not1 we have1 at least1 the will1 the ambition to do this great thing for the sake of our brethren1 and therein lies our first credential for being entrusted with the enterprise4 ,the second credential is the fact that1 while using all material means1 our reliance is on the co-working power of ,god4 ,we keep our powder dry1 but we trust in ,jehovah4 ,we go not forth in our own strength to this battle1 our dependence is upon ,him who can influence the heart of man4 ,there is no doubt that the most satisfactory method of raising a man must be to effect such a change in his views and feelings that he shall voluntarily abandon his evil ways1 give himself to industry and goodness in the midst of the very temptations and companionships that before led him astray1 and live a ,christian life1 an example in himself of what can be done by the power of ,god in the very face of the most impossible circumstances4 ,but herein lies the great difficulty again and again referred to1 men have not that force of character which will constrain them to avail themselves of the methods of deliverance4 ,now our ,scheme is based on the necessity of helping such4 ,our third credential is the fact that we have already out of practically nothing achieved so great a measure of success that we think we may reasonably be entrusted with this further duty4 ,the ordinary operations of the ,army have already effected most wonderful changes in the conditions of the poorest and worst4 ,multitudes of slaves of vice in every form have been delivered not only from these habits1 but from the destitution and misery which they even produce4 ,instances have been given4 ,any number more can be produced4 ,our experience1 which has been almost world-wide1 has ever shown that not only does the criminal become honest1 the drunkard sober1 the harlot chaste1 but that poverty of the most abject and helpless type vanishes away4 ,our fourth credential is that our ,organisation alone of ,england's religious bodies is founded upon the principle of implicit obedience4 ,for ,discipline ,i can answer4 ,the ,salvation ,army1 largely recruited from among the poorest of the poor1 is often reproached by its enemies on account of the severity of its rule4 ,it is the only religious body founded in our time that is based upon the principle of voluntary subjection to an absolute authority4 ,no one is bound to remain in the ,army a day longer than he pleases4 ,while he remains there he is bound by the conditions of the ,service4 ,the first condition of that ,service is implicit1 unquestioning obedience4 ,the ,salvationist is taught to obey as is the soldier on the field of battle4 ,from the time when the ,salvation ,army began to acquire strength and to grow from the grain of mustard seed until now1 when its branches overshadow the whole earth1 we have been constantly warned against the evils which this autocratic system would entail4 ,especially were we told that in a democratic age the people would never stand the establishment of what was described as a spiritual despotism4 ,it was contrary to the spirit of the times1 it would be a stone of stumbling and a rock of offence to the masses to whom we appeal1 and so forth and so forth4 ,but what has been the answer of accomplished facts to these predictions of theorists8 ,despite the alleged unpopularity of our discipline1 perhaps because of the rigour of military authority upon which we have insisted1 the ,salvation ,army has grown from year to year with a rapidity to which nothing in modern ,christendom affords any parallel4 ,it is only twenty-five years since it was born4 ,it is now the largest ,home and ,foreign ,missionary ,society in the ,protestant world4 ,we have nearly #aj1jjj officers under our orders1 a number increasing every day1 every one of whom has taken service on the express condition that he or she will obey without questioning or gainsaying the orders from ,headquarters4 ,of these1 #d1fjj are in ,great ,britain4 ,the greatest number outside these islands1 in any one country1 are in the ,american ,republic1 where we have #a1jah officers1 and democratic ,australia1 where we have #hjj4 ,nor is the submission to our discipline a mere paper loyalty4 ,these officers are in the field1 constantly exposed to privation and ill-treatment of all kinds4 ,a telegram from me will send any of them to the uttermost parts of the earth1 will transfer them from the ,slums of ,london to ,san ,francisco1 or despatch them to assist in opening missions in ,holland1 ,zululand1 ,sweden1 or ,south ,america4 ,so far from resenting the exercise of authority1 the ,salvation ,army rejoices to recognise it as one great secret of its success1 a pillar of strength upon which all its soldiers can rely1 a principle which stamps it as being different from all other religious organisations founded in our day4 ,with ten thousand officers1 trained to obey1 and trained equally to command1 ,i do not feel that the organisation even of the disorganised1 sweated1 hopeless1 drink-sodden denizens of darkest ,england is impossible4 ,it is possible1 because it has already been accomplished in the case of thousands who1 before they were saved1 were even such as those whose evil lot we are now attempting to deal with4 ,our fifth credential is the extent and universality of the ,army4 ,what a mighty agency for working out the ,scheme is found in the ,army in this respect6 ,this will be apparent when we consider that it has already stretched itself through over thirty different ,countries and ,colonies1 with a permanent location in something like #d1jjj different places1 that it has either soldiers or friends sufficiently in sympathy with it to render assistance in almost every considerable population in the civilised world1 and in much of the uncivilised1 that it has nearly #aj1jjj separated officers whose training1 and leisure1 and history qualify them to become its enthusiastic and earnest co-workers4 ,in fact1 our whole people will hail it as the missing link in the great ,scheme for the regeneration of mankind1 enabling them to act out those impulses of their hearts which are ever prompting them to do good to the bodies as well as to the souls of men4 ,take the meetings4 ,with few exceptions1 every one of these four thousand centres has a ,hall in which1 on every evening in the week and from early morning until nearly midnight on every ,sabbath1 services are being held2 that nearly every service held indoors is preceded by one out of doors1 the special purport of every one being the saving of these wretched crowds4 ,indeed1 when this ,scheme is perfected and fairly at work1 every meeting and every procession will be looked upon as an advertisement of the earthly as well as the heavenly conditions of happiness4 ,and every ,barracks and ,officer's quarters will become a centre where poor sinful suffering men and women may find sympathy1 counsel1 and practical assistance in every sorrow that can possibly come upon them1 and every ,officer throughout our ranks in every quarter of the globe will become a co-worker4 ,see how useful our people will be in the gathering in of this class4 ,they are in touch with them4 ,they live in the same street1 work in the same shops and factories1 and come in contact with them at every turn and corner of life4 ,if they don't live amongst them1 they formerly did4 ,they know where to find them2 they are their old chums1 pot-house companions1 and pals in crime and mischief4 ,this class is the perpetual difficulty of a ,salvationist's life4 ,he feels that there is no help for them in the conditions in which they are at present found4 ,they are so hopelessly weak1 and their temptations are so terribly strong1 that they go down before them4 ,the ,salvationist feels this when he attacks them in the tap-rooms1 in the low lodging houses1 or in their own desolate homes4 ,hence1 with many1 the ,crusader has lost all heart4 ,he has tried them so often4 ,but this ,scheme of taking them right away from their old haunts and temptations will put new life into him and he will gather up the poor social wrecks wholesale1 pass them along1 and then go and hunt for more4 ,then see how useful this army of ,officers and ,soldiers will be for the regeneration of this festering mass of vice and crime when it is1 so to speak1 in our possession4 ,all the thousands of drunkards1 and harlots1 and blasphemers1 and idlers have to be made over again1 to be renewed in the spirit of their minds1 that is--made good4 ,what a host of moral workers will be required to accomplish such a gigantic transformation4 ,in the ,army we have a few thousands ready1 anyway we have as many as can be used at the outset1 and the ,scheme itself will go on manufacturing more4 ,look at the qualifications of these warriors for the work6 ,they have been trained themselves1 brought into line and are examples of the characters we want to produce4 ,they understand their pupils--having been dug out of the same pit4 ,set a rogue to catch a rogue1 they say1 that is1 we suppose1 are formed rogue4 ,anyway1 it is so with us4 ,these rough-and-ready warriors will work shoulder to shoulder with them in the same manual employment4 ,they will engage in the task for love4 ,this is a substantial part of their religion1 the moving instinct of the new heavenly nature that has come upon them4 ,they want to spend their lives in doing good4 ,here will be an opportunity4 ,then see how useful these ,soldiers will be for distribution6 ,every ,salvation ,officer and ,soldier in every one of these #d1jjj centres1 scattered through these thirty odd countries and colonies1 with all their correspondents and friends and comrades living elsewhere1 will be ever on the watch-tower looking out for homes and employments where these rescued men and women can be fixed up to advantage1 nursed into moral vigour1 picked up again on stumbling1 and watched over generally until able to travel the rough and slippery paths of life alone4 ,i am1 therefore1 not without warrant for my confidence in the possibility of doing great things1 if the problem so long deemed hopeless be approached with intelligence and determination on a scale corresponding to the magnitude of the evil with which we have to cope4 ,,section #b4--;,,how ,,much ,,will ,,it ,,cost8 ,a considerable amount of money will be required to fairly launch this ,scheme1 and some income may be necessary to sustain it for a season1 but1 once fairly afloat1 we think there is good reason to believe that in all its branches it will be self-supporting1 unless its area of operation is largely extended1 on which we fully rely4 ,of course1 the cost of the effort must depend very much upon its magnitude4 ,if anything is to be done commensurate with the extent of the evil1 it will necessarily require a proportionate outlay4 ,if it is only the drainage of a garden that is undertaken1 a few pounds will meet the cost1 but if it is a great dismal swamp of many miles in area1 harbouring all manner of vermin1 and breeding all kinds of deadly malaria1 that has to be reclaimed and cultivated1 a very different sum will not only be found necessary1 but be deemed an economic investment4 ,seeing that the country pays out something like ,ten ,millions per annum in ,poor ,law and ,charitable ,relief without securing any real abatement of the evil1 ,i cannot doubt that the public will hasten to supply one-tenth of that sum4 ,if you reckon that of the submerged tenth we have one million to deal with1 this will only be one pound per head for each of those whom it is sought to benefit1 or say ,,one ,,million ,,sterling to give the present ,scheme a fair chance of getting into practical operation4 ,according to the amount furnished1 must necessarily be the extent of our operations4 ,we have carefully calculated that with one hundred thousand pounds the scheme can be successfully set in motion1 and that it can be kept going on an annual income of #cj1jjj which is about three and a-quarter per cent4 on the balance of the million sterling1 for which ,i ask as an earnest that the public intend to put its hand to this business with serious resolution2 and our judgment is based1 not on any mere imaginings1 but upon the actual result of the experiments already made4 ,still it must be remembered that so vast and desirable an end cannot be even practically contemplated without a proportionate financial outlay4 ,supposing1 however1 by the subscription of this amount the undertaking is fairly set afloat4 ,the question may be asked1 ,what further funds will be required for its efficient maintenance8 ,this question we proceed to answer4 ,let us look at the three ,colonies apart1 and then at some of the circumstances which apply to the whole4 ,to begin with1 there is ,,the ,,financial ,,aspect ,,of ,,the ,,city ,,colony4 ,here there will be1 of course1 a considerable outlay required for the purchasing and fitting up of property1 the acquisition of machinery1 furniture1 tools1 and the necessary plant for carrying forward all these varied operations4 ,these once acquired1 no further outlay will be needed except for the necessary reparations4 ,the ,homes for the ,destitute will be nearly1 if not quite1 self-sustaining4 ,the ,superior ,homes for both ,single and ,married people will not only pay for themselves1 but return some interest on the amount invested1 which would be devoted to the futherance of other parts of the ,scheme4 ,the ,refuges for ,fallen ,girls would require considerable funds to keep them going4 ,but the public has never been slow to practically express its sympathy with this class of work4 ,the ,criminal ,homes and ,prison ,gate ,operations would require continued help1 but not a very great deal4 ,then1 the work in the ,slums is somewhat expensive4 ,the eighty young women at present engaged in it cost on an average #abs4 per week each for personal maintenance1 inclusive of clothes and other little matters1 and there are expenses for ,halls and some little relief which cannot in anyway be avoided1 bringing our present annual ,slum outlay to over #d1jjj4 ,but the poor people amongst whom they work notwithstanding their extreme poverty1 are already contributing over #a1jjj per annum towards this amount1 which income will increase4 ,still as by this ,scheme we propose to add at once a hundred to the number already engaged1 money will be required to keep th is department going4 ,the ,inebriate ,home1 ,i calculate1 will maintain itself4 ,all its inmates will have to engage in some kind of remunerative labour1 and we calculate1 in addition1 upon receiving money with a considerable number of those availing themselves of its benefits4 ,but to practically assist the half-million slaves of the cup we must have money not only to launch out but to keep our operations going4 ,the ,food ,depots1 once fitted up1 pay their own working expenses4 ,the ,emigration1 ,advice1 and ,inquiry ,bureaux must maintain themselves or nearly so4 ,the ,labour ,shops1 ,anti-,sweating1 and other similar operations will without question require money to make ends meet4 ,but on the whole1 a very small sum of money1 in proportion to the immense amount of work done1 will enable us to accomplish a vast deal of good4 ,,the ,,farm ,,colony ,,from ,a ,,financial ,,point ,,of ,,view4 ,let us now turn to the ,farm ,colony1 and consider it from a monetary standpoint4 ,here also a certain amount of money will have to be expended at the outset2 some of the chief items of which will be the purchase of land1 the erection of buildings1 the supply of stock1 and the production of first crops4 ,there is an abundance of land in the market1 at the present time1 at very low prices4 ,it is rather important for the initial experiment that an estate should be obtained not too far from ,london1 with land suitable for immediate cultivation4 ,such an estate would beyond question be expensive4 ,after a time1 ,i have no doubt1 we shall be able to deal with land of almost any quality 7and that in almost any part of the country71 in consequence of the superabundance of labour we shall possess4 ,there is no question if the scheme goes forward1 but that estates will be required in connection with all our large towns and cities4 ,i am not without hope that a sufficient quantity of land will be given1 or1 in any way1 sold to us on very favourable terms4 ,when acquired and stocked1 it is calculated that this land1 if cultivated by spade husbandry1 will support at least two persons per acre4 ,the ordinary reckoning of those who have had experience with allotments gives five persons to three acres4 ,but1 even supposing that this calculation is a little too sanguine1 we can still reckon a farm of #ejj acres supporting1 without any outside assistance1 say1 #gej persons4 ,but1 in this ,scheme1 we should have many advantages not possessed by the simple peasant1 such as those resulting from combination1 market gardening1 and the other forms of cultivation already referred to1 and thus we should want to place two or three times this number on that quantity of land4 ,by a combination of ,city and ,town ,colonies1 there will be a market for at least a large portion of the products4 ,at the rate of our present consumption in the ,london ,food ,depots and ,homes for the ,destitute alone1 at least #ej acres would be required for potatoes alone1 and every additional ,colonist would be an additional consumer4 ,there will be no rent to pay1 as it is proposed to buy the land right out4 ,in the event of a great rush being made for the allotment's spoken of1 further land might be rented1 with option of purchase4 ,of course1 the continuous change of labourers would tell against the profitableness of the undertaking4 ,but this would be proportionally beneficial to the country1 seeing that everyone who passes through the institution with credit makes one less in the helpless crowd4 ,the rent of ,cottages and ,allotments would constitute a small return1 and at least pay interest on the money invested in them4 ,the labour spent upon the ,colony would be constantly increasing its money value4 ,cottages would be built1 orchards planted1 land enriched1 factories run up1 warehouses erected1 while other improvements would be continually going forward4 ,all the labour and a large part of the material would be provided by the ,colonists themselves4 ,it may be suggested that the worker would nave to be maintained during the progress of these erections and manufactures1 the cost of which would in itself amount to a considerable sum4 ,truer and for this the first outlay would be required4 ,but after this every cottage erected1 every road made1 in short every structure and improvement1 would be a means of carrying forward the regenerating process1 and in many cases it is expected will become a source of income4 ,as the ,scheme progresses1 it is not irrational to expect that ,government1 or some of the varied ,local ,authorities1 will assist in the working out of a plan which1 in so marked a manner1 will relieve the rates and taxes or the country4 ,the salaries of ,officers would be in keeping with those given in the ,salvation ,army1 which are very low4 ,no wages would be paid to ,colonists1 as has been described1 beyond pocket money and a trifle for extra service4 ,although no permanent invalid would be knowingly taken into the ,colonies1 it is fair to assume that there will be a certain number1 and also a considerable residuum of naturally indolent1 half-witted people1 incapable of improvement1 left upon our hands4 ,still1 it is thought that with reformed habits1 variety of employment1 and careful oversight1 such may be made to earn their own maintenance1 at least1 especially when it is borne in mind that unless they work1 so far as they have ability1 they cannot remain in the ,colony4 ,if the ,household ,salvage ,scheme which has been explained in ,chapter ,,ii4 proves the success we anticipate1 there can be no question that great financial assistance will be rendered by it to the entire scheme when once the whole thing has been brought into working order4 ,,the ,,financial ,,aspect ,,of ,,the ,,colony ,,over-,,sea4 ,let us now turn to the ,colony ,over-,sea1 and regard it also from the financial standpoint4 ,here we must occupy ourselves chiefly with the preliminary outlay1 as we could not for a moment contemplate having to find money to assist it when once fairly established4 ,the initial expense will1 no doubt1 be somewhat heavy1 but not beyond a reasonable amount4 ,the land required would probably be given1 whether we go to ,africa1 ,canada1 or elsewhere2 anyway1 it would be acquired on such easy terms as would be a near approach to a gift4 ,a considerable sum would certainly be necessary for effecting the first settlements4 ,there would be temporary buildings to erect1 land to break up and crop2 stock1 farm implements1 and furniture to purchase1 and other similar expenses4 ,but this would not be undertaken on a large scale1 as we should rely1 to some extent1 on the successive batches of ,colonists more or less providing for themselves1 and in this respect working out their own salvation4 ,the amount advanced for passages1 outfit money1 and settlement would be repaid by instalments by the ,colonists1 which would in turn serve to pay the cost of conveying others to the same destination4 ,passage and outfit money would1 no doubt1 continue to be some difficulty4 #h per head1 say to ,africa--#e passage money1 and #c for the journey across the country--is a large sum when a considerable number are involved2 and ,i am afraid no ,colony would be reached at a much lower rate4 ,but ,i am not without hope that the ,government might assist us in this direction4 ,taking up the entire question1 that is of the three ,colonies1 we are satisfied that the sum named will suffice to set to work an agency which will probably rescue from lives of degradation and immorality an immense number of people1 and that an income of something like #cj1jjj will keep it afloat4 ,but supposing that a much larger amount should be required1 by operations greatly in advance of those here spoken of1 which we think exceedingly probable1 it is not unreasonable to expect that it will be forthcoming1 seeing that caring for the poor is not only a duty of universal obligation1 a root principle of all religion1 but an instinct of humanity not likely to be abolished in our time4 ,we are not opposed to charity as such1 but to the mode of its administration1 which1 instead of permanently relieving1 only demoralises and plunges the recipients lower in the mire1 and so defeats its own purpose4 ,what6 ,i think ,i hear some say1 a million sterling6 how can any man out of ,bedlam dream of raising such a sum8 ,stop a little6 ,a million may be a great deal to pay for a diamond or a palace1 but it is a mere trifle compared with the sums which ,britain lavishes whenever ,britons are in need of deliverance if they happen to be imprisoned abroad4 ,the ,king of ,ashantee had captive some ,british subjects--not even of ,english birth--in #ahfi4 ,john ,bull despatched ,general ,wolseley with the pick of the ,british army1 who smashed ,koffee ,kalkallee1 liberated the captives1 and burnt ,coomassie1 and never winced when the bill came in for #gej1jjj4 ,but that was a mere trifle4 ,when ,king ,theodore1 of ,abyssinia1 made captives of a couple of ,british representatives1 ,lord ,napier was despatched to rescue4 ,he marched his army to ,magdala1 brought back the prisoners1 and left ,king ,theodore dead4 ,the cost of that expedition was over nine millions sterling4 ,the ,egyptian ,campaign1 that smashed ,arabi1 cost nearly five millions4 ,the rush to ,khartoum1 that arrived too late to rescue ,general ,gordon1 cost at least as much4 ,the ,afghan war cost twenty-one millions sterling4 ,who dares then to say that ,britain cannot provide a million sterling to rescue1 not one or two captives1 but a million1 whose lot is quite as doleful as that of the prisoners of savage kings1 but who are to be found1 not in the land of the ,soudan1 or in the swamps of ,ashantee1 or in the ,mountains of the ,moon1 but here at our very doors8 ,don't talk to me about the impossibility of raising the million4 ,nothing is impossible when ,britain is in earnest4 ,all talk of impossibility only means that you don't believe that the nation cares to enter upon a serious campaign against the enemy at our gates4 ,when ,john ,bull goes to the wars he does not count the cost4 ,and who dare deny that the time has fully come for a declaration of war against the ,social ,evils which seem to shut out ,god from this our world8 ,,section #c4--,,some ,,advantages ,,stated4 ,this ,scheme takes into its embrace all kinds and classes of men who may be in destitute circumstances1 irrespective of their character or conduct1 and charges itself with supplying at once their temporal needs2 and then aims at placing them in a permanent position of comparative comfort1 the only stipulation made being a willingness to work and to conform to discipline on the part of those receiving its benefit4 ,while at the commencement1 we must impose some limits with respect to age and sickness1 we hope1 when fairly at work1 to be able to dispense with even these restrictions1 and to receive any unfortunate individual who has only his misery to recommend him and an honest desire to get out of it4 ,it will be seen that1 in this respect1 the ,scheme stands head and shoulders above any plan that has ever been mooted before1 seeing that nearly all the other charitable and remedial proposals more or less confess their utter inability to benefit any but what they term the decent working man4 ,this ,scheme seeks out by all manner of agencies1 marvellously adapted for the task1 the classes whose welfare it contemplates1 and1 by varied measures and motives adapted to their circumstances1 compels them to accept its benefits4 ,our ,plan contemplates nothing short of revolutionising the character of those whose faults are the reason for their destitution4 ,we have seen that with fully fifty per cent4 of these their own evil conduct is the cause of their wretchedness4 ,to stop short with them of anything less than a real change of heart will be to invite and ensure failure4 ,but this we are confident of effecting--anyway1 in the great majority of cases1 by reasonings and persuasions1 concerning both earthly and heavenly advantages1 by the power of man1 and by the power of ,god4 ,by this ,scheme any man1 no matter how deeply he may have fallen in self-respect and the esteem of all about him1 may re-enter life afresh1 with the prospect of re-establishing his character when lost1 or perhaps of establishing a character for the first time1 and so obtaining an introduction to decent employment1 and a claim for admission into ,society as a good citizen4 ,while many of this crowd are absolutely without a decent friend1 others will have1 on that higher level of respectability they once occupied1 some relative1 or friend1 or employer1 who occasionally thinks of them1 and who1 if only satisfied that a real change has taken place in the prodigal1 will not only be willing1 but delighted1 to help them once more4 ,by this ,scheme1 we believe we shall be able to teach habits of economy1 household management1 thrift1 and the like4 ,there are numbers of men who1 although suffering the direst pangs of poverty1 know little or nothing about the value of money1 or the prudent use of it2 and there are hundreds of poor women who do not know what a decently-managed home is1 and who could not make one if they had the most ample means and tried ever so hard to accomplish it1 having never seen anything but dirt1 disorder1 and misery in their domestic history4 ,they could not cook a dinner or prepare a meal decently if their lives were dependent on it1 never having had a chance of learning how to do it4 ,but by this ,scheme hope to teach these things4 ,by this ,plan1 habits of cleanliness will be created1 and some knowledge of sanitary questions in general will be imparted4 ,this ,scheme changes the circumstances of those whose poverty is caused by their misfortune4 ,to begin with1 it finds work for the unemployed4 ,this is the chief need4 ,the great problem that has for ages been puzzling the brains of the political economist and philanthropist has been ,how can we find these people work8 ,no matter what other helps are discovered1 without work there is no real ground for hope4 ,charity and all the other ten thousand devices are only temporary expedients1 altogether insufficient to meet the necessity4 ,work1 apart from the fact that it is ,god's method of supplying the wants of man's composite nature1 is an essential to his well-being in every way-- and on this ,plan there is work1 honourable work--none of your demoralising stone-breaking1 or oakum-picking business1 which tantalises and insults poverty1 ,every worker will feel that he is not only occupied for his own benefit1 but that any advantage reaped over and above that which he gains himself will serve to lift some other poor wretch out of the gutter4 ,there would be work within the capacity of all4 ,every gift could be employed4 ,for instance1 take five persons on the ,farm--a baker1 a tailor1 a shoemaker1 a cook1 and an agriculturist4 ,the baker would make bread for all1 the tailor garments for all1 the shoemaker shoes for all1 the cook would cook for all1 and the agriculturist dig for all4 ,those who know anything which would be useful to the inhabitants of the ,colony will be set to do it1 and those who are ignorant of any trade or profession will be taught one4 ,this ,scheme removes the vicious and criminal classes out of the sphere of those temptations before which they have invariably fallen in the past4 ,our experience goes to show that when you have1 by ,divine grace1 or by any consideration of the advantages of a good life1 or the disadvantages of a bad one1 produced in a man circumstanced as those whom we have been describing1 the resolution to turn over a new leaf1 the temptations and difficulties he has to encounter will ordinarily master him1 and undo all that has been done1 if he still continues to be surrounded by old companions and allurements to sin4 ,now1 look at the force of the temptations this class has to fight against4 ,what is it that leads people to do wrong--people of all classes1 rich as well as poor8 ,not the desire to sin4 ,they do not want to sin2 many of them do not know what sin is1 but they have certain appetites or natural likings1 the indulgence of which is pleasant to them1 and when the desire for their unlawful gratification is aroused1 regardless of the claims of ,god1 their own highest interests1 or the well-being of their fellows1 they are carried away by them2 and thus all the good resolutions they have made in the past come to grief4 ,for instance1 take the temptation which comes through the natural appetite1 hunger4 ,here is a man who has been at a religious meeting1 or received some good advice1 or1 perhaps1 just come out of prison1 with the memories of the hardships he has suffered fresh upon him1 or the advice of the chaplain ringing in his ears4 ,he has made up his mind to steal no more1 but he has no means of earning a livelihood4 ,he becomes hungry4 ,what is he to do8 ,a loaf of bread tempts him1 or1 more likely1 a gold chain which he can turn into bread4 ,an inward struggle commences1 he tries to stick to his bargain1 but the hunger goes on gnawing within1 and it may be there is a wife and children hungry as well as himself2 so he yields to the temptation1 takes the chain1 and in turn the policeman takes him4 ,now this man does not want to do wrong1 and still less does he want to go to prison4 ,in a sincere1 dreamy way he desires to be good1 and if the path were easier for him he would probably walk in it4 ,again1 there is the appetite for drink4 ,that man has no thought of sinning when he takes his first glass4 ,much less does he want to get drunk4 ,he may have still a vivid recollection of the unpleasant consequences that followed his last spree1 but the craving is on him2 the public-house is there handy2 his companions press him2 he yields1 and falls1 and1 perhaps1 falls to rise no more4 ,we might amplify1 but our ,scheme proposes to take the poor slave right away from the public-houses1 the drink1 and the companions that allure him to it1 and therefore we think the chances of reformation in him are far greater4 ,then think of the great boon this ,scheme will be to the children1 bringing them out of the slums1 wretched hovels1 and filthy surroundings in which they are being reared for lives of abomination of every description1 into the fields1 amongst the green trees and cottage homes1 where they can grow up with a chance of saving both body and soul4 ,think again of the change this ,scheme will make for these poor creatures from the depressing1 demoralising surroundings1 of the unsightly1 filthy quarters in which they are huddled together1 to the pure air and sights and sounds of the country4 ,there is much talk about the beneficial influence of pictures1 music and literature upon the multitudes4 ,money1 like water1 is being poured forth to supply such attractions in ,museums1 ,people's ,palaces1 and the like1 for the edification and amelioration of the social condition of the masses4 ,but ,god made the country1 man made the town1 and if we take the people to the pictures of divine manufacture1 that must be the superior plan4 ,again1 the ,scheme is capable of illimitable application4 ,the plaister can be made as large as the wound4 ,the wound is certainly a very extensive one1 and it seems at first sight almost ridiculous for any private enterprise to attempt dealing with it4 ,three millions of people1 living in little short of perpetual misery have to be reached and rescued out of this terrible condition4 ,but it can be done1 and this ,scheme will do it1 if it is allowed a fair chance4 ,not all at once8 ,true6 ,it will take time1 but it will begin to tell on the restering mass straight away4 ,within a measurable distance we ought to be able to take out of this black sea at least a hundred individuals a week1 and there is no reason why this number should not go on increasing4 ,an appreciable impression on this gulf of misery would be immediately made1 not only for those who are rescued from its dark waters1 but for those who are left behind1 seeing that for every hundred individuals removed1 there is just the additional work which they performed for those who remain4 ,it might not be much1 but still it would soon count up4 ,supposing three carpenters are starving on employment which covered one-third of their time1 if you take two away1 the one left will have full employment4 ,but it will be for the public to fix1 by their contributions1 the extent of our operations4 ,the benefits bestowed by this ,scheme will be permanent in duration4 ,it will be seen that this is no temporary expedient1 such as1 alas6 nearly every effort hitherto made on behalf of these classes has been4 ,relief ,works1 ,soup ,kitchens1 ,enquiries into ,character1 ,emigration ,schemes1 of which none will avail themselves1 ,charity in its hundred forms1 ,casual ,wards1 the ,union1 and a hundred other ,nostrums may serve for the hour1 but they are only at the best palliations4 ,but this ,scheme1 ,i am bold to say1 offers a substantial and permanent remedy4 ,in relieving one section of the community1 our plan involves no interference with the well-being of any other4 7,see ,chapter ,,vii4 ,section #d1 ,objections47 ,this ,scheme removes the all but insuperable barrier to an industrious and godly life4 ,it means not only the leading of these lost multitudes out of the ,city of ,destruction into the ,canaan of plenty1 but the lifting of them up to the same level of advantage with the more favoured of mankind for securing the salvation of their souls4 ,look at the circumstances of hundreds and thousands of the classes of whom we are speaking4 ,from the cradle to the grave1 might not their influence in the direction of ,religious ,belief be summarised in one sentence1 ,atheism made easy4 ,let my readers imagine theirs to have been a similar lot4 ,is it not possible that1 under such circumstances1 they might have entertained some serious doubts as to the existence of a benevolent ,god who would thus allow ,his creatures to starve1 or that they would have been so preoccupied with their temporal miseries as to have no heart for any concern about the next life8 ,take a man1 hungry and cold1 who does not know where his next meal is coming from2 nay1 who thinks it problematical whether it will come at all4 ,we know his thoughts will be taken up entirely with the bread he needs for his body4 ,what he wants is a dinner4 ,the interests of his soul must wait4 ,take a woman with a starving family1 who knows that as soon as ,monday comes round the rent must be paid1 or else she and her children must go into the street1 and her little belongings be impounded4 ,at the present moment she is without it4 ,are not her thoughts likely to wander in that direction if she slips into a ,church or ,mission ,hall1 or ,salvation ,army ,barracks8 ,i have had some experience on this subject1 and have been making observations with respect to it ever since the day ,i made my first attempt to reach these starving1 hungry1 crowds--just over forty-five years ago--and ,i am quite satisfied that these multitudes will not be saved in their present circumstances4 ,all the ,clergymen4 ,home ,missionaries1 ,tract ,distributors1 ,sick ,visitors1 and everyone else who care about the ,salvation of the poor1 may make up their minds as to that4 ,if these people are to believe in ,jesus ,christ1 become the ,servants of ,god1 and escape the miseries of the wrath to come1 they must be helped out of their present social miseries4 ,they must be put into a position in which they can work and eat1 and have a decent room to live and sleep in1 and see something before them besides a long1 weary1 monotonous1 grinding round of toil1 and anxious care to keep themselves and those they love barely alive1 with nothing at the further end but the ,hospital1 the ,union1 or the ,madhouse4 ,if ,christian ,workers and ,philanthropists will join hands to effect this change it will be accomplished1 and the people will rise up and bless them1 and be saved2 if they will not1 the people will curse them and perish4 ,,section #d4--,,some ,,objections ,,met4 ,objections must be expected4 ,they are a necessity with regard to any ,scheme that has not yet been reduced to practice1 and simply signify foreseen difficulties in the working of it4 ,we freely admit that there are abundance of difficulties in the way of working out the plan smoothly and successfully that has been laid down4 ,but many of these we imagine will vanish when we come to close quarters1 and the remainder will be surmounted by courage and patience4 ,should1 however1 this plan prove the success we predict1 it must eventually revolutionise the condition of the starving sections of ,society1 not only in this great metropolis1 but throughout the whole range of civilisation4 ,it must therefore be worthy not only of a careful consideration but of persevering trial4 ,some of these difficulties at first sight appear rather serious4 ,let us look at them4 ,objection ,i4--,it is suggested that the class of people for whose benefit the ,scheme is designed would not avail themselves of it4 ,when the feast was prepared and the invitation had gone forth1 it is said that the starving multitudes would not come2 that though labour was offered them in the ,city1 or prepared for them on the ,farm1 they would prefer to rot in their present miseries rather than avail themselves of the benefit provided4 ,in order to gather the opinions of those most concerned1 we consulted one evening1 by a ,census in our ,london ,shelters1 two hundred and fifty men out of work1 and all suffering severely in consequence4 ,we furnished a set of questions1 and obtained answers from the whole4 ,now1 it must be borne in mind that these men were under no obligation whatever to make any reply to our enquiries1 much less to answer them favourably to our plan1 of which they knew next to nothing4 ,these two hundred and fifty men were mostly in the prime of life1 the greater portion of them being skilled workmen2 an examination of the return papers showing that out of the entire number two hundred and seven were able to work at their trades had they the opportunity4 ,the number of trades naturally varied4 ,there were some of all kinds3 ,engineers1 ,custom ,house ,officers1 ,schoolmasters1 ,watch and ,clockmakers1 ,sailors1 and men of the different branches of the ,building trade2 also a number of men who have been in business on their own account4 ,the average amount of wages earned by the skilled mechanics when regularly employed was #ccs4 per week2 the money earned by the unskilled averaged #bbs4 per week4 ,they could not be accounted lazy1 as most of them2 when not employed at their own trade or occupation1 had proved their willingness to work by getting jobs at anything that turned up4 ,on looking over the list we saw that one who had been a ,custom ,house ,officer had recently acted as ,carpenter's ,labourer2 a ,type-founder had been glad to work at ,chimney ,sweeping2 the ,schoolmaster1 able to speak five languages1 who in his prosperous days had owned a farm1 was glad to do odd jobs as a ,bricklayer's ,labourer2 a ,gentleman's ,valet1 who once earned #e a week1 had come so low down in the world that he was glad to act as ,sandwich man for the magnificent sum of fourteenpence a day1 and that1 only as an occasional affair4 ,in the list was a dyer and cleaner1 married1 with a wife and nine children1 who had been able to earn #djs4 a week1 but had done no regular work for three years out of the last ten4 ,we put the following question to the entire number3 -- ,if you were put on a farm1 and set to work at anything you could do1 and supplied with food1 lodging1 and clothing1 with a view to getting you on to your feet1 would you be willing to do all you could8 ,in response1 the whole #bej replied in the affirmative1 with one exception1 and on enquiry we elicited that1 being a sailor1 the man was afraid he would not know how to do the work4 ,on being interrogated as to their willingness to grapple with the hard labour on the land1 they said3 ,why should we not8 ,look at us4 ,can any plight be more miserable than ours8 ,why not1 indeed8 ,a glance at them would certainly make it impossible for any thoughtful person to assign a rational reason for their refusal--in rags1 swarming with vermin1 hungry1 many of them living on scraps of food1 begged or earned in the most haphazard fashion1 without sufficient clothing to cover their poor gaunt limbs1 most of them without a shirt4 ,they had to start out the next morning1 uncertain which way to turn to earn a crust for dinner1 or the fourpence necessary to supply them again with the humble shelter they had enjoyed that night4 ,the idea of their refusing employment which would supply abundantly the necessaries of life1 and give the prospect of becoming1 in process of time1 the owner of a home1 with its comforts and companionships1 is beyond conception4 ,there is not much question that this class will not only accept the ,scheme we want to set before them1 but gratefully do all in their power to make it a success4 ,,ii4--,too many would come4 ,this would be very probable4 ,there would certainly be too many apply4 ,but we should be under no obligation to take more than was convenient4 ,the larger the number of applications the wider the field for selection1 and the greater the necessity for the enlargement of our operations4 ,,iii4--,they would run away4 ,it is further objected that if they did come1 the monotony of the life1 the strangeness of the work1 together with the absence of the excitements and amusements with which they had been entertained in the cities and towns1 would render their existence unbearable4 ,even when left to the streets1 there is an amount of life and action in the city which is very attractive4 ,doubtless some would run away1 but ,i don't think this would be a large proportion4 ,the change would be so great1 and so palpably advantageous1 that ,i think they would find in it ample compensation for the deprivation of any little pleasureable excitement they had left behind them in the city4 ,for instance1 there would be-- ,a ,sufficiency of ,food4 ,the friendliness and sympathy of their new associates4 ,there would be abundance of companions of similar tastes and circumstances-- not all pious4 ,it would be quite another matter to going single-handed on to a farm1 or into a melancholy family4 ,then there would be the prospect of doing well for themselves in the future1 together with all the religious life1 meetings1 music1 and freedom of the ,salvation ,army4 ,but what says our experience8 ,if there be one class which is the despair of the social reformer1 it is that which is variously described1 but which we may term the lost women of our streets4 ,from the point of view of the industrial organiser1 they suffer from almost every fault that human material can possess4 ,they are1 with some exceptions1 untrained to labour1 demoralised by a life of debauchery1 accustomed to the wildest license1 emancipated from all discipline but that of starvation1 given to drink1 and1 for the most part1 impaired in health4 ,if1 therefore1 any considerable number of this class can be shown to be ready to submit themselves voluntarily to discipline1 to endure deprivation of drink1 and to apply themselves steadily to industry1 then example will go a long way towards proving that even the worst description of humanity1 when intelligently1 thoroughly handled1 is amenable to discipline and willing to work4 ,in our ,british ,rescue ,homes we receive considerably over a thousand unfortunates every year2 while all over the world1 our annual average is two thousand4 ,the work has been in progress for three years--long enough to enable us to test very fully the capacity of the class in question to reform4 ,with us there is no compulsion4 ,if any girl wishes to remain1 she remains4 ,if she wishes to go1 she goes4 ,no one is detained a day or an hour longer than they choose to stay4 ,yet our experience shows that1 as a rule1 they do not run away4 ,much more restless and thoughtless and given to change1 as a class1 than men1 the girls do not1 in any considerable numbers1 desert4 ,the average of our ,london ,homes1 for the last three years1 gives only #ad per cent4 as leaving on their own account1 while for the year #ahhi only #e per cent4 ,and the entire number1 who have either left or been dismissed during that year1 amounts only to #ac per cent4 on the whole4 ,,iv4--,they would not work4 ,of course1 to such as had for years been leading idle lives1 anything like work and exhaustive labour would be very trying and wearisome1 and a little patience and coaxing might be required to get them into the way of it4 ,perhaps some would be hopelessly beyond salvation in this respect1 and1 until the time comes1 if it ever does arrive1 when the ,government will make it a crime for an abled-bodied man to beg when there is an opportunity for him to engage in remunerative work1 this class will wander abroad preying upon a generous public4 ,it will1 however1 only need to be known that any man can obtain work if he wants it1 for those who have by their liberality maintained men and women in idleness to cease doing so4 ,and when it comes to this pass1 that a man cannot eat without working1 of the two evils he will choose the latter1 preferring labour1 however unpleasant it may be to his tastes1 to actual starvation4 ,it must be borne in mind that the penalty of certain expulsion1 which all would be given to understand would be strictly enforced would have a good influence in inducing the idlest to give work a fair trial1 and once at it should not despair of conquering the aversion altogether1 and eventually being able to transform and pass these once lazy loafers as real industrious members of ,society4 ,again1 any who have fears on this point may be encouraged by contrasting the varied and ever-changing methods of labour we should pursue1 with the monotonous and uninteresting grind of many of the ordinary employments of the poor1 and the circumstances by which they are surrounded4 ,here1 again1 we fall back upon our actual experience in reclamation work4 ,in our ,homes for ,saving the ,lost ,women we have no difficulty of getting them to work4 ,the idleness of this section of the social strata has been before referred to2 it is not for a moment denied1 and there can be no question1 as to its being the cause of much of their poverty and distress4 ,but from early morn until the lights are out at night1 all is a round of busy1 and1 to a great extent1 very uninteresting labour2 while the girls have1 as a human inducement1 only domestic service to look forward to--of which they are in no way particularly enamoured--and yet here is no mutiny1 no objection1 no unwillingness to work2 in fact they appear well pleased to be kept continually at it4 ,here is a report that teaches the same lesson4 ,a small ,bookbinding ,factory is worked in connection with the ,rescue ,homes in ,london4 ,the folders and stitchers are girls saved from the streets1 but who1 for various reasons1 were found unsuitable for domestic service4 ,the ,factory has solved the problem of employment for some of the most difficult cases4 ,two of the girls at present employed there are crippled1 while one is supporting herself and two young children4 ,while learning the work they live in the ,rescue ,homes1 and the few shillings they are able to earn are paid into the ,home funds4 ,as soon as they are able to earn #abs4 a week1 a lodging is found for them 7with ,salvationists1 if possible71 and they are placed entirely upon their own resources4 ,the majority of girls working at this trade in ,london are living in the family1 and #fs41 #gs41 and #hs4 a week make an acceptable addition to the ,home income2 but our girls who are entirely dependent upon their own earnings must make an average wage of #abs4 a week at least4 ,in order that they may do this we are obliged to pay higher wages than other employers4 ,for instance1 we give from #b #a_/b;d4 to #c;d4 a thousand more than the trade for binding small pamphlets2 nevertheless1 after the ,manager1 a married man1 is paid1 and a man for the superintendence of the machines1 a profit of about #ejj has been made1 and the work is improving4 ,they are all paid piecework4 ,eighteen women are supporting themselves in this way at present1 and conducting themselves most admirably4 ,one of their number acts as forewoman1 and conducts the ,prayer ,meeting at #ab4cj1 the ,two-minutes' ,prayer after meals1 etc4 ,their continuance in the factory is subject to their good behaviour--both at home as well as at work4 ,in one instance only have we had any trouble at all1 and in this solitary case the girl was so penitent she was forgiven1 and has done well ever since4 ,i think that1 without exception1 they are ,salvation ,soldiers1 and will be found at nearly every meeting on the ,sabbath1 etc4 ,the binding of ,salvation ,army publications-- ,the ,deliverer1 ,all the ,world1 the ,penny ,song ,books1 etc41 almost keep us going4 ,a little outside work for the end of the months is taken1 but we are not able to make any profit generally1 it is so badly paid4 ,it will be seen that this is a miniature factory1 but still it is a factory1 and worked on principles that will admit of illimitable extension1 and may1 ,i think1 be justly regarded as an encouragement and an exemplification of what may be accomplished in endless variations4 ,v4--,again1 it is objected that the class whose benefit we contemplate would not have physical ability to work on a farm1 or in the open air4 ,how1 it is asked1 would tailors1 clerks1 weavers1 seamstresses1 and the destitute people1 born and reared in the slums and poverty-hovels of the towns and cities1 do farm or any other work that has to do with the land8 ,the employment in the open air1 with exposure to every kind of weather which accompanies it1 would1 it is said1 kill them off right away4 ,we reply1 that the division of labour before described would render it as unnecessary as it would be undesirable and uneconomical1 to put many of these people to dig or to plant4 ,neither is it any part of our plan to do so4 ,on our ,scheme we have shown how each one would be appointed to that kind of work for which his previous knowledge and experience and strength best adapted him4 ,moreover1 there can be no possible comparison between the conditions of health enjoyed by men and women wandering about homeless1 sleeping in the streets or in the fever-haunted lodging-houses1 or living huddled up in a single room1 and toiling twelve and fourteen hours in a sweater's den1 and living in comparative comfort in well-warmed and ventilated houses1 situated in the open country1 with abundance of good1 healthy food4 ,take a man or a woman out into the fresh air1 give them proper exercise1 and substantial food4 ,supply them with a comfortable home1 cheerful companions1 and a fair prospect of reaching a position of independence in this or some other land1 and a complete renewal of health and careful increase of vigour will1 we expect1 be one of the first great benefits that will ensue4 ,,vi4--,it is objected that we should be left with a considerable residuum of half-witted1 helpless people4 ,doubtless this would be a real difficulty1 and we should have to prepare for it4 ,we certainly1 at the outset1 should have to guard against too many of this class being left upon our hands1 although we should not be compelled to keep anyone4 ,it would1 how ever1 be painful to have to send them back to the dreadful life from which we had rescued them4 ,still1 however1 this would not be so ruinous a risk1 looked at financially1 as some would imagine4 ,we could1 we think1 maintain them for #ds4 per week1 and they would be very weak indeed in body1 and very wanting in mental1 strength if they were not able to earn that amount in some one of the many forms of employment which the ,colony would open up4 ,,vii4--,again1 it will be objected that some efforts of a similar character have failed4 ,for instance1 co-operative enterprises in farming have not succeeded4 ,true1 but so far as ,i can ascertain1 nothing of the character ,i am describing has ever been attempted4 ,a large number of ,socialistic communities have been established and come to grief in the ,united ,states1 in ,germany1 and elsewhere1 but they have all1 both in principle and practice1 strikingly differed from what we are proposing here3 ,take one particular alone1 the great bulk of these societies have not only been fashioned without any regard to the principles of ,christianity1 but1 in the vast majority of instances1 have been in direct opposition to them2 and the only communities based on co-operative principles that have survived the first few months of their existence have been based upon ,christian truth4 ,if not absolute successes1 there have been some very remarkable results obtained by efforts partaking somewhat of the nature of the one ,i am setting forth4 7,see that of ,ralahine1 described in ,appendix47 ,,viii4--,it is further objected that it would be impossible to maintain order and enforce good discipline amongst this class of people4 ,we are of just the opposite opinion4 ,we think that it would --nay1 we are certain of it1 and we speak as those who have had considerable experience in dealing with the lower classes of ,society4 ,we have already dealt with this difficulty4 ,we may say further-- ,that we do not propose to commence with a thousand people in a wild1 untamed state1 either at home or abroad4 ,to the ,colony ,over-,sea we should send none but those who have had a long period of training in this country4 ,the bulk of those sent to the ,provincial ,farm would have had some sort of trial in the different ,city ,establishments4 ,we should only draft them on to the ,estate in small numbers1 as we were prepared to deal with them1 and ,i am quite satisfied that without the legal methods of maintaining order that are acted upon so freely in workhouses and other similar institutions1 we should have as perfect obedience to ,law1 as great respect for authority1 and as strong a spirit of kindness pervading all ranks throughout the whole of the community as could be found in any other institution in the land4 ,it will be borne in mind that our ,army system of government largely prepares us1 if it does not qualify us1 for this task4 ,anyway1 it gives us a good start4 ,all our people are trained in habits of obedience1 and all our ,officers are educated in the exercise of authority4 ,the ,officers throughout the ,colony would be almost exclusively recruited from the ranks of the ,army1 and everyone of them would go to the work1 both theoretically and practically1 familiar with those principles which are the essence of good discipline4 ,then we can argue1 and that very forcibly1 from the actual experience we have already had in dealing with this class4 ,take our experience in the ,army itself4 ,look at the order of our ,soldiers4 ,here are men and women1 who have no temporal interest whatever at stake1 receiving no remuneration1 often sacrificing their earthly interests by their union with us1 and yet see how they fall into line1 and obey orders in the promptest manner1 even when such orders go right in the teeth of their temporal interests4 ,yes1 it will be replied by some1 this is all very excellent so far as it relates to those who are altogether of your own way of thinking4 ,you can command them as you please1 and they will obey1 but what proof have you given of your ability to control and discipline those who are not of your way of thinking8 ,you can do that with your ,salvationists because they are saved1 as you call it4 ,when men are born again you can do anything with them4 ,but unless you convert all the denizens of ,darkest ,england1 what chance is there that they will be docile to your discipline8 ,if they were soundly saved no doubt something might be done4 ,but they are not saved1 soundly or otherwise2 they are lost4 ,what reason have you for believing that they will be amenable to discipline8 ,i admit the force of this objection2 but ,i have an answer1 and an answer which seems to me complete4 ,discipline1 and that of the most merciless description1 is enforced upon multitudes of these people even now4 ,nothing that the most authoritative organisation of industry could devise in the excess of absolute power1 could for a moment compare with the slavery enforced to-day in the dens of the sweater4 ,it is not a choice between liberty and discipline that confronts these unfortunates1 but between discipline mercilessly enforced by starvation and inspired by futile greed1 and discipline accompanied with regular rations and administered solely for their own benefit4 ,what liberty is there for the tailors who have to sew for sixteen to twenty hours a day1 in a pest-hole1 in order to earn ten shillings a week8 ,there is no discipline so brutal as that of the sweater2 there is no slavery so relentless as that from which we seek to deliver the victims4 ,compared with their normal condition of existence1 the most rigorous discipline which would be needed to secure the complete success of any new individual organisation would be an escape from slavery into freedom4 ,you may reply1 that it might be so1 if people understood their own interest4 ,but as a matter of fact they do not understand it1 and that they will never have sufficient far-sightedness to appreciate the advantages that are offered them4 ,to this ,i answer1 that here also ,i do not speak from theory4 ,i lay before you the ascertained results of years of experience4 ,more than two years ago1 moved by the misery and despair of the unemployed1 ,i opened the ,food and ,shelter ,depots in ,london already described4 ,here are a large number of men every night1 many of them of the lowest type of casuals who crawl about the streets1 a certain proportion criminals1 and about as difficult a class to manage as ,i should think could be got together1 and while there will be #bjj of them in a single building night after night1 from the first opening of the doors in the evening until the last man has departed in the morning1 there shall scarcely be a word of dissatisfaction2 anyway1 nothing in the shape of angry temper or bad language4 ,no policemen are required2 indeed two or three nights' experience will be sufficient to turn the regular frequenters of the place of their own free will into ,officers of ,order1 glad not only to keep the regulations of the place1 but to enforce its discipline upon others4 ,again1 every ,colonist1 whether in the ,city or elsewhere1 would know that those who took the interests of the ,colony to heart1 were loyal to its authority and principles1 and laboured industriously in promoting its interests1 would be rewarded accordingly by promotion to positions of influence and authority1 which would also carry with them temporal advantages1 present and prospective4 ,but one of our main hopes would be in the apprehension by the ,colonists of the fact that all our efforts were put forth on their behalf4 ,every man and woman on the place would know that this enterprise was begun and carried on solely for their benefit1 and that of the other members of their class1 and that only their own good behaviour and co-operation would ensure their reaping a personal share in such benefit4 ,still our expectations would be largely based on the creation of a spirit of unselfish interest in the community4 ,,ix4 ,again1 it is objected that the ,scheme is too vast to be attempted by voluntary enterprise2 it ought to be taken up and carried out by the ,government itself4 ,perhaps so1 but there is no very near probability of ,government undertaking it1 and we are not quite sure whether such an attempt would prove a success if it were made4 ,but seeing that neither ,governments1 nor ,society1 nor individuals have stood forward to undertake what ,god has made appear to us to be so vitally important a work1 and as ,he has given us the willingness1 and in many important senses the ability1 we are prepared1 if the financial help is furnished1 to make a determined effort1 not only to undertake but to carry it forward to a triumphant success4 ,x4--,it is objected that the classes we seek to benefit are too ignorant and depraved for ,christian effort1 or for effort of any kind1 to reach and reform4-- ,look at the tramps1 the drunkards1 the harlots1 the criminals4 ,how confirmed they are in their idle and vicious habits4 ,it will be said1 indeed has been already said by those with whom ,i have conversed1 that ,i don't know them2 which statement cannot1 ,i think1 be maintained1 for if ,i don't know them1 who does8 ,i admit1 however1 that thousands of this class are very far gone from every sentiment1 principle and practice of right conduct4 ,but ,i argue that these poor people cannot be much more unfavourable subjects for the work of regeneration than are many of the savages and heathen tribes1 in the conversion of whom ,christians universally believe2 for whom they beg large sums of money1 and to whom they send their best and bravest people4 ,these poor people are certainly embraced in the ,divine plan of mercy4 ,to their class1 the ,saviour especially gave ,his attention when he was on the earth1 and for them ,he most certainly died on the ,cross4 ,some of the best examples of ,christian faith and practice1 and some of the most successful workers for the benefit of mankind1 have sprung from this class1 of which we have instances recorded in the ,bible1 and any number in the history of the ,church and of the ,salvation ,army4 ,it may be objected that while this ,scheme would undoubtedly assist one class of the community by making steady1 industrious workmen1 it must thereby injure another class by introducing so many new hands into the labour market1 already so seriously overstocked4 ,to this we reply that there is certainly an appearance of force in this objection2 but it has1 ,i think1 been already answered in the foregoing pages4 ,further1 if the increase of workers1 which this ,scheme will certainly bring about1 was the beginning and the end of it1 it would certainly present a somewhat serious aspect4 ,but1 even on that supposition1 ,i don't see how the skilled worker could leave his brothers to rot in their present wretchedness1 though their rescue should involve the sharing of a portion of his wages4 7#a7 ,but there is no such danger1 seeing that the number of extra hands thrown on the ,british ,labour ,market must be necessarily inconsiderable4 7#b7 ,the increased production of food in our ,farm and ,colonial operations must indirectly benefit the working man4 7#c7 ,the taking out of the labour market of a large number of individuals who at present have only partial work1 while benefiting them1 must of necessity afford increased labour to those left behind4 7#d7 ,while every poor workless individual made into a wage earner will of necessity have increased requirements in proportion4 ,for instance1 the drunkard who has had to manage with a few bricks1 a soap box1 and a bundle of rags1 will want a chair1 a table1 a bed1 and at least the other necessary adjuncts to a furnished home1 however sparely fitted up it may be4 ,there is no question but that when our ,colonisation ,scheme is fairly afloat it will drain off1 not only many of those who are in the morass1 but a large number who are on the verge of it4 ,nay1 even artisans1 earning what are considered good wages1 will be drawn by the desire to improve their circumstances1 or to raise their children under more favourable surroundings1 or from still nobler motives1 to leave the old country4 ,then it is expected that the agricultural labourer and the village artisan1 who are ever migrating to the great towns and cities1 will give the preference to the ,colony ,over-,sea1 and so prevent that accumulation of cheap labour which is considered to interfere so materially with the maintenance of a high wages standard4 ,,section #e4 ,,recapitulation4 ,i have now passed in review the leading features of the ,scheme1 which ,i put forward as one that is calculated to considerably contribute to the amelioration of the condition of the lowest stratum of our ,society4 ,it in no way professes to be complete in all its details4 ,anyone may at any point lay his finger on this1 that1 or the other feature of the ,scheme1 and show some void that must be filled in if it is to work with effect4 ,there is one thing1 however1 that can be safely said in excuse for the short comings of the ,scheme1 and that is that if you wait until you get an ideally perfect plan you will have to wait until the ,millennium1 and then you will not need it4 ,my suggestions1 crude though they may be1 have1 nevertheless1 one element that will in time supply all deficiencies4 ,there is life in them1 with life there is the promise and power of adaptation to all the innumerable and varying circumstances of the class with which we have to deal4 ,where there is life there is infinite power of adjustment4 ,this is no cast-iron ,scheme1 forged in a single brain and then set up as a standard to which all must conform4 ,it is a sturdy plant1 which has its roots deep down in the nature and circumstances of men4 ,nay1 ,i believe in the very heart of ,god ,himself4 ,it has already grown much1 and will1 if duly nurtured and tended1 grow still further1 until from it1 as from the grain of mustard-seed in the parable1 there shall spring up a great tree whose branches shall overshadow all the earth4 ,once more let me say1 ,i claim no patent rights in any part of this ,scheme4 ,indeed1 ,i do not know what in it is original and what is not4 ,since formulating some of the plans1 which ,i had thought were new under the sun1 ,i have discovered that they have been already tried in different parts of the world1 and that with great promise4 ,it may be so with others1 and in this ,i rejoice4 ,i plead for no exclusiveness4 ,the question is much too serious for such fooling as that4 ,here are millions of our fellow-creatures perishing amidst the breakers of the sea of life1 dashed to pieces on sharp rocks1 sucked under by eddying whirlpools1 suffocated even when they think they have reached land by treacherous quicksands2 to save them from this imminent destruction ,i suggest that these things should be done4 ,if you have any better plan than mine for effecting this purpose1 in ,god's name bring it to the light and get it carried out quickly4 ,if you have not1 then lend me a hand with mine1 as ,i would be only too glad to lend you a hand with yours if it had in it greater promise of successful action than mine4 ,in a ,scheme for the working out of social salvation the great1 the only1 test that is worth anything is the success with which they attain the object for which they are devised4 ,an ugly old tub of a boat that will land a shipwrecked sailor safe on the beach is worth more to him than the finest yacht that ever left a slip-way incapable of effecting the same object4 ,the superfine votaries of culture may recoil in disgust from the rough-and-ready suggestions which ,i have made for dealing with the ,sunken ,tenth1 but mere recoiling is no solution4 ,if the cultured and the respectable and the orthodox and the established dignitaries and conventionalities of ,society pass by on the other side we cannot follow their example4 ,we may not be priests and ,levites1 but we can at least play the part of the ,good ,samaritan4 ,the man who went down to ,jericho and fell among thieves was probably a very improvident1 reckless individual1 who ought to have known better than to go roaming alone through defiles haunted by banditti1 whom he even led into temptation by the careless way in which he exposed himself and his goods to their avaricious gaze4 ,it was1 no doubt1 largely his own fault that he lay there bruised and senseless1 and ready to perish1 just as it is largely the fault of those whom we seek to help that they lie in the helpless plight in which we find them4 ,but for all that1 let us bind up their wounds with such balm as we can procure1 and1 setting them on our ass1 let us take them to our ,colony1 where they may have time to recover1 and once more set forth on the journey of life4 ,and now1 having said this much by way of reply to some of my critics1 ,i will recapitulate the salient features of the ,scheme4 ,i laid down at the beginning certain points to be kept in view as embodying those invariable laws or principles of political economy1 without due regard to which no ,scheme can hope for even a chance of success4 ,subject to these conditions1 ,i think my ,scheme will pass muster4 ,it is large enough to cope with the evils that will confront us2 it is practicable1 for it is already in course of application1 and it is capable of indefinite expansion4 ,but it would be better to pass the whole ,scheme in its more salient features in review once more4 ,the ,scheme will seek to convey benefit to the destitute classes in various ways altogether apart from their entering the ,colonies4 ,men and women maybe very poor and in very great sorrow1 nay1 on the verge of actual starvation1 and yet be so circumstanced as to be unable to enrol themselves in the ,colonial ranks4 ,to these our cheap ,food ,depots1 our ,advice ,bureau1 ,labour ,shops1 and other agencies will prove an unspeakable boon1 and will be likely by such temporary assistance to help them out of the deep gulf in which they are struggling4 ,those who need permanent assistance will be passed on to the ,city ,colony1 and taken directly under our control4 ,here they will be employed as before described4 ,many will be sent off to friends2 work will be found for others in the ,city or elsewhere1 while the great bulk1 after reasonable testing as to their sincerity and willingness to assist in their own salvation1 will be sent on to the ,farm ,colonies1 where the same process of reformation and training will be continued1 and unless employment is otherwise obtained they will then be passed on to the ,over-,sea ,colony4 ,all in circumstances of destitution1 vice1 or criminality will receive casual assistance or be taken into the ,colony1 on the sole conditions of their being anxious for deliverance1 and willing to work for it1 and to conform to discipline1 altogether irrespective of character1 ability1 religious opinions1 or anything else4 ,no benefit will be conferred upon any individual except under extraordinary circumstances1 without some return being made in labour4 ,even where relatives and friends supply money to the ,colonists1 the latter must take their share of work with their comrades4 ,we shall not have room for a single idler throughout all our borders4 ,the labour allotted to each individual will be chosen in view of his past employment or ability4 ,those who have any knowledge of agriculture will naturally be put to work on the land2 the shoemaker will make shoes1 the weaver cloth1 and so on4 ,and when there is no knowledge of any handicraft1 the aptitude of the individual and the necessities of the hour will suggest the sort of work it would be most profitable for such an one to learn4 ,work of all descriptions will be executed as far as possible by hand labour4 ,the present rage for machinery has tended to produce much destitution by supplanting hand labour so exclusively that the rush has been from the human to the machine4 ,we want1 as far as is practicable1 to travel back from the machine to the human4 ,each member of the ,colony would receive food1 clothing1 lodging1 medicine1 and all necessary care in case of sickness4 ,no wages would be paid1 except a trifle by way of encouragement for good behaviour and industry1 or to those occupying positions of trust1 part of which will be saved in view of exigencies in our ,colonial ,bank1 and the remainder used for pocket money4 ,the whole ,scheme of the three ,colonies will for all practical purposes be regarded as one2 hence the training will have in view the qualification of the ,colonists for ultimately earning their livelihood in the world altogether independently of our assistance1 or1 failing this1 fit them for taking some permanent work within our borders either at home or abroad4 ,another result of this unity of the ,town and ,country ,colonies will be the removal of one of the difficulties ever connected with the disposal of the products of unemployed labour4 ,the food from the ,farm would be consumed by the ,city1 while many of the things manufactured in the ,city would be consumed on the ,farm4 ,the continued effort of all concerned in the reformation of these people will be to inspire and cultivate those habits1 the want of which has been so largely the cause of the destitution and vice of the past4 ,strict discipline1 involving careful and continuous oversight1 would be necessary to the maintenance of order amongst so large a number of people1 many of whom had hitherto lived a wild and licentious life4 ,our chief reliance in this respect would be upon the spirit of mutual interest that would prevail4 ,the entire ,colony would probably be divided into sections1 each under the supervision of a sergeant--one of themselves--working side by side with them1 yet responsible for the behaviour of all4 ,the chief ,officers of the ,colony would be individuals who had given themselves to the work1 not for a livelihood1 but from a desire to be useful to the suffering poor4 ,they would be selected at the outset from the ,army1 and that on the ground of their possessing certain capabilities for the position1 such as knowledge of the particular kind of work they had to superintend1 or their being good disciplinarians and having the faculty for controlling men and being themselves influenced by a spirit of love4 ,ultimately the ,officers1 we have no doubt1 would be1 as is the case in all our other operations1 men and women raised up from the ,colonists themselves1 and who will consequently1 possess some special qualifications for dealing with those they have to superintend4 ,the ,colonists will be divided into two classes3 the #ast1 the class which receives no wages will consist of3 -- 7a7 ,the new arrivals1 whose ability1 character1 and habits are as yet unknown4 7b7 ,the less capable in strength1 mental calibre1 or other capacity4 7c7 ,the indolent1 and those whose conduct and character appeared doubtful4 ,these would remain in this class1 until sufficiently improved for advancement1 or are pronounced so hopeless as to justify expulsion4 ,the #bnd class would have a small extra allowance1 a part of which would be given to the workers for private use1 and a part reserved for future contingencies1 the payment of travelling expenses1 etc4 ,from this class we should obtain our petty officers1 send out hired labourers1 emigrants1 etc41 etc4 ,such is the ,scheme as ,i have conceived it4 ,intelligently applied1 and resolutely persevered in1 ,i cannot doubt that it will produce a great and salutary change in the condition of many of the most hopeless of our fellow countrymen4 ,nor is it only our fellow countrymen to whom it is capable of application4 ,in its salient features1 with such alterations as are necessary1 owing to differences of climate and of race1 it is capable of adoption in every city in the world1 for it is an attempt to restore to the masses of humanity that are crowded together in cities1 the human and natural elements of life which they possessed when they lived in the smaller unit of the village or the market town4 ,of the extent of the need there can be no question4 ,it is1 perhaps1 greatest in ,london1 where the masses of population are denser than those of any other city2 but it exists equally in the chief centres of population in the new ,englands that have sprung up beyond the sea1 as well as in the larger cities of ,europe4 ,it is a remarkable fact that up to the present moment the most eager welcome that has been extended to this ,scheme reaches us from ,melbourne1 where our officers have been compelled to begin operations by the pressure of public opinion and in compliance with the urgent entreaties of the ,government on one side and the leaders of the working classes on the other before the plan had been elaborated1 or instructions could be sent out for their guidance4 ,it is rather strange to hear of distress reaching starvation point in a city like ,melbourne1 the capital of a great new country which teems with natural wealth of every kind4 ,but ,melbourne1 too1 has its unemployed1 and in no city in the ,empire have we been more successful in dealing with the social problem than in the capital of ,victoria4 ,the ,australian papers for some weeks back have been filled with reports of the dealings of the ,salvation ,army with the unemployed of ,melbourne4 ,this was before the great ,strike4 ,the ,government of ,victoria practically threw upon our officers the task of dealing with the unemployed4 ,the subject was debated in the ,house of ,assembly1 and at the close of the debate a subscription was taken up by one of those who had been our most strenuous opponents1 and a sum of #djj was handed over to our officers to dispense in keeping the starving from perishing4 ,our people have found situations for no fewer than #a1ggf persons1 and are dispensing meals at the rate of #gjj a day4 ,the ,government of ,victoria has long been taking the lead in recognising the secular uses of the ,salvation ,army4 ,the following letter addressed by the ,minister of the ,interior to the ,officer charged with the oversight of this part of our operations1 indicates the estimation in which we are held3 -- ,government of ,victoria1 ,chief ,secretary's ,office1 ,melbourne4 ,july #dth1 #ahhi4 ,superintendent ,salvation ,army ,rescue ,work4 ,sir1--in compliance with your request for a letter of introduction which may be of use to you in ,england1 ,i have much pleasure in stating from reports furnished by ,officers of my ,department1 ,i am convinced that the work you have been engaged on during the past six years has been of material advantage to the community4 ,you have rescued from crime some who1 but for the counsel and assistance rendered them1 might have been a permanent tax upon the ,state1 and you have restrained from further criminal courses others who had already suffered legal punishment for their misdeeds4 ,it has given me pleasure to obtain from the ,executive ,council authority for you to apprehend children found in ,brothels1 and to take charge of such children after formal committal4 ,of the great value of this branch of your work there can be no question4 ,it is evident that the attendance of yourself and your ,officers at the police-courts and lock-ups has been attended with beneficial results1 and your invitation to our largest jails has been highly approved by the head of the ,department4 ,generally speaking1 ,i may say that your policy and procedure have been commended by the ,chief ,officers of the ,government of this ,colony1 who have observed your work4 ,i have the honour to be1 ,sir1 ,your obedient ,servant1 7,signed7 ,,alfred ,,deakin4 ,the ,victorian ,parliament has voted an annual grant to our funds1 not as a religious endowment1 but in recognition of the service which we render in the reclamation of criminals1 and what may be called1 if ,i may use a word which has been so depraved by ,continental abuse1 the moral police of the city4 ,our ,officer in ,melbourne has an official position which opens to him almost every ,state institution and all the haunts of vice where it may be necessary for him to make his way in the search for girls that have been decoyed from home or who have fallen into evil courses4 ,it is in ,victoria also that a system prevails of handing over first offenders to the care of the ,salvation ,army ,officers1 placing them in recognizance to come up when called for4 ,an ,officer of the ,army attends at every ,police ,court1 and the ,prison ,brigade is always on guard at the gaol doors when the prisoners are discharged4 ,our ,officers also have free access to the prisons1 where they can conduct services and labour with the inmates for their ,salvation4 ,as ,victoria is probably the most democratic of our colonies1 and the one in which the working-class has supreme control1 the extent to which it has by its government recognised the value of our operations is sufficient to indicate that we have nothing to fear from the opposition of the democracy4 ,in the neighbouring colony of ,new ,south ,wales a lady has already given us a farm of three hundred acres fully stocked1 on which to begin operations with a ,farm ,colony1 and there seems some prospect that the ,scheme will get itself into active shape at the other end of the world before it is set agoing in ,london4 ,the eager welcome which has thus forced the initiative upon our ,officers in ,melbourne tends to encourage the expectation that the ,scheme will be regarded as no quack application1 but will be generally taken up and quickly set in operation all round the world4 ,,chapter #h4 ,a ,,practical ,,conclusion4 ,throughout this book ,i have more constantly used the first personal pronoun than ever before in anything ,i have written4 ,i have done this deliberately1 not from egotism1 but in order to make it more clearly manifest that here is a definite proposal made by an individual who is prepared1 if the means are furnished him1 to carry it out4 ,at the same time ,i want it to be clearly understood that it is not in my own strength1 nor at my own charge1 that ,i purpose to embark upon this great undertaking4 ,unless ,god wills that ,i should work out the idea of which ,i believe ,he has given me the conception1 nothing can come of any attempt at its execution but confusion1 disaster1 and disappointment4 ,but if it be ,his will--and whether it is or not1 visible and manifest tokens will soon be forthcoming--who is there that can stand against it8 ,trusting in ,him for guidance1 encouragement1 and support1 ,i propose at once to enter upon this formidable campaign4 ,i do not run without being called4 ,i do not press forward to fill this breach without being urgently pushed from behind4 ,whether or not1 ,i am called of ,god1 as well as by the agonising cries of suffering men and women and children1 ,he will make plain to me1 and to us all2 for as ,gideon looked for a sign before he1 at the bidding of the heavenly messenger1 undertook the leading of the chosen people against the hosts of ,midian1 even so do ,i look for a sign4 ,gideon's sign was arbitrary4 ,he selected it4 ,he dictated his own terms2 and out of compassion for his halting faith1 a sign was given to him1 and that twice over4 ,first1 his fleece was dry when all the country round was drenched with dew2 and1 secondly1 his fleece was drenched with dew when all the country round was dry4 ,the sign for which ,i ask to embolden me to go forwards is single1 not double4 ,it is necessary and not arbitrary1 and it is one which the veriest sceptic or the most cynical materialist will recognise as sufficient4 ,if ,i am to work out the ,scheme ,i have outlined in this book1 ,i must have ample means for doing so4 ,how much would be required to establish this ,plan of ,campaign in all its fulness1 overshadowing all the land with its branches laden with all manner of pleasant fruit1 ,i cannot even venture to form a conception4 ,but ,i have a definite idea as to how much would be required to set it fairly in operation4 ,why do ,i talk about commencing8 ,we have already begun1 and that with considerable effect4 ,our hand has been forced by circumstances4 ,the mere rumour of our undertaking reaching the ,antipodes1 as before described1 called forth such a demonstration of approval that my ,officers there were compelled to begin action without waiting orders from home4 ,in this country we have been working on the verge of the deadly morass for some years gone by1 and not without marvellous effect4 ,we have our ,shelters1 our ,labour ,bureau1 our ,factory1 our ,inquiry ,officers1 our ,rescue ,homes1 our ,slum ,sisters1 and other kindred agencies1 all in good going order4 ,the sphere of these operations may be a limited one2 still1 what we have done already is ample proof that when ,i propose to do much more ,i am not speaking without my book2 and though the sign ,i ask for may not be given1 ,i shall go struggling forward on the same lines2 still1 to seriously take in hand the work which ,i have sketched out--to establish this triple ,colony1 with all its affiliated agencies1 ,i must have1 at least1 a hundred thousand pounds4 ,a hundred thousand pounds6 ,that is the dew on my fleece4 ,it is not much considering the money that is raised by my poor people for the work of the ,salvation ,army4 ,the proceeds of the ,self-denial ,week alone last year brought us in #bj1jjj4 ,this year it will not fall short of #be1jjj4 ,if our poor people can do so much out of their poverty1 ,i do not think ,i am making an extravagant demand when ,i ask that out of the millions of the wealth of the world ,i raise1 as a first instalment1 a hundred thousand pounds1 and say that ,i cannot consider myself effectually called to undertake this work unless it is forthcoming4 ,it is in no spirit of dictation or arrogance that ,i ask the sign4 ,it is a necessity4 ,even ,moses could not have taken the ,children of ,israel dry-shod through the ,red ,sea unless the waves had divided4 ,that was the sign which marked out his duty1 aided his faith1 and determined his action4 ,the sign which ,i seek is somewhat similar4 ,money is not everything4 ,it is not by any means the main thing4 ,midas1 with all his millions1 could no more do the work than he could win the battle of ,waterloo1 or hold the ,pass of ,thermopylae4 ,but the millions of ,midas are capable of accomplishing great and mighty things1 if they be sent about doing good under the direction of ,divine wisdom and ,christ-like love4 ,how hardly shall they that have riches enter into the ,kingdom of ,heaven6 ,it is easier to make a hundred poor men sacrifice their lives than it is to induce one rich man to sacrifice his fortune1 or even a portion of it1 to a cause in which1 in his half-hearted fashion1 he seems to believe4 ,when ,i look over the roll of men and women who have given up friends1 parents1 home prospects1 and everything they possess in order to walk bare-footed beneath a burning sun in distant ,india1 to live on a handful of rice1 and die in the midst of the dark heathen for ,god and the ,salvation ,army1 ,i sometimes marvel how it is that they should be so eager to give up all1 even life itself1 in a cause which has not power enough in it to induce any reasonable number of wealthy men to give to it the mere superfluities and luxuries of their existence4 ,from those to whom much is given much is expected2 but1 alas1 alas1 how little is realised6 ,it is still the widow who casts her all into the ,lord's treasury--the wealthy deem it a preposterous suggestion when we allude to the ,lord's tithe1 and count it boredom when we ask only for the crumbs that fall from their tables4 ,those who have followed me thus far will decide for themselves to what extent they ought to help me to carry out this ,project1 or whether they ought to help me at all4 ,i do not think that any sectarian differences or religious feelings whatever ought to be imported into this question4 ,supposing you do not like my ,salvationism1 surely it is better for these miserable1 wretched crowds to have food to eat1 clothes to wear1 and a home in which to lay their weary bones after their day's toil is done1 even though the change is accompanied by some peculiar religious notions and practices1 than it would be for them to be hungry1 and naked1 and homeless1 and possess no religion at all4 ,it must be infinitely preferable that they should speak the truth1 and be virtuous1 industrious1 and contented1 even if they do pray to ,god1 sing ,psalms1 and go about with red jerseys1 fanatically1 as you call it1 seeking for the millennium--than that they should remain thieves or harlots1 with no belief in ,god at all1 a burden to the ,municipality1 a curse to ,society1 and a danger to the ,state4 ,that you do not like the ,salvation ,army1 ,i venture to say1 is no justification for withholding your sympathy and practical co-operation in carrying out a ,scheme which promises so much blessedness to your fellow-men4 ,you may not like our government1 our methods1 our faith4 ,your feeling towards us might perhaps be duly described by an observation that slipped unwittingly from the tongue of a somewhat celebrated leader in the evangelistic world sometime ago1 who1 when asked what he thought of the ,salvation ,army1 replied that ,he did not like it at all1 but he believed that ,god ,almighty did4 ,perhaps1 as an agency1 we may not be exactly of your way of thinking1 but that is hardly the question4 ,look at that dark ocean1 full of human wrecks1 writhing in anguish and despair4 ,how to rescue those unfortunates is the question4 ,the particular character of the methods employed1 the peculiar uniforms worn by the lifeboat crew1 the noises made by the rocket apparatus1 and the mingled shoutings of the rescued and the rescuers1 may all be contrary to your taste and traditions4 ,but all these objections and antipathies1 ,i submit1 are as nothing compared with the delivering of the people out of that dark sea4 ,if among my readers there be any who have the least conception that this scheme is put forward by me from any interested motives by all means let them refuse to contribute even by a single penny to what would be1 at least1 one of the most shameless of shams4 ,there may be those who are able to imagine that men who have been literally martyred in this cause have faced their death for the sake of the paltry coppers they collected to keep body and soul together4 ,such may possibly find no difficulty in persuading themselves that this is but another attempt to raise money to augment that mythical fortune which ,i1 who never yet drew a penny beyond mere out-of-pocket expenses from the ,salvation ,army funds1 am supposed to be accumulating4 ,from all such ,i ask only the tribute of their abuse1 assured that the worst they say of me is too mild to describe the infamy of my conduct if they are correct in this interpretation of my motives4 ,there appears to me to be only two reasons that will justify any man1 with a heart in his bosom1 in refusing to co-operate with me in this ,scheme3 -- #a4 ,that he should have an honest and intelligent conviction that it cannot be carried out with any reasonable measure of success2 or1 #b4 ,that he 7the objector7 is prepared with some other plan which will as effectually accomplish the end it contemplates4 ,let me consider the second reason first4 ,if it be that you have some plan that promises more directly to accomplish the deliverance of these multitudes than mine1 ,i implore you at once to bring it out4 ,let it see the light of day4 ,let us not only hear your theory1 but see the evidences which prove its practical character and assure its success4 ,if your plan will bear investigation1 ,i shall then consider you to be relieved from the obligation to assist me--nay1 if after full consideration of your plan ,i find it better than mine1 ,i will give up mine1 turn to1 and help you with all my might4 ,but if you have nothing to offer1 ,i demand your help in the name of those whose cause ,i plead4 ,now1 then1 for your first objection1 which ,i suppose can be expressed in one word--impossible4 ,this1 if well founded1 is equally fatal to my proposals4 ,but1 in reply1 ,i may say--,how do you know8 ,have you inquired8 ,i will assume that you have read the book1 and duly considered it4 ,surely you would not dismiss so important a theme without some thought4 ,and though my arguments may not have sufficient weight to carry conviction1 you must admit them to be of sufficient importance to warrant investigation4 ,will you therefore come and see for yourself what has been done already1 or1 rather1 what we are doing to-day4 ,failing this1 will you send someone capable of judging on your behalf4 ,i do not care very much whom you send4 ,it is true the things of the ,spirit are spiritually discerned1 but the things of humanity any man can judge1 whether saint or sinner1 if he only possess average intelligence and ordinary bowels of compassion4 ,i should1 however1 if ,i had a choice1 prefer an investigator who has some practical knowledge of social economics1 and much more should ,i be pleased if he had spent some of his own time and a little of his own money in trying to do the work himself4 ,after such investigation ,i am confident there could be only one result4 ,there is one more plea ,i have to offer to those who might seek to excuse themselves from rendering any financial assistance to the ,scheme4 ,is it not worthy at least of being tried as an experiment8 ,tens of thousands of pounds are yearly spent in trying for minerals1 boring for coals1 sinking for water1 and ,i believe there are those who think it worth while1 at an expenditure of hundreds of thousands of pounds1 to experiment in order to test the possibility of making a tunnel under the sea between this country and ,france4 ,should these adventurers fail in their varied operations1 they have1 at least1 the satisfaction of knowing1 though hundreds of thousands of pounds have been expended1 that they have not been wasted1 and they will not complain2 because they have at least attempted the accomplishment of that which they felt ought to be done2 and it must be better to attempt a duty1 though we fail1 than never to attempt it at all4 ,in this book we do think we have presented a sufficient reason to justify the expenditure of the money and effort involved in the making of this experiment4 ,and though the effort should not terminate in the grand success which ,i so confidently predict1 and which we all must so ardently desire1 still there is bound to be1 not only the satisfaction of having attempted some sort of deliverance for these wretched people1 but certain results which will amply repay every farthing expended in the experiment4 ,i am now sixty-one years of age4 ,the last eighteen months1 during which the continual partner of all my activities for now nearly forty years has laid in the arms of unspeakable suffering1 has added more than many many former ones1 to the exhaustion of my term of service4 ,i feel already something of the pressure which led the dying ,emperor of ,germany to say1 ,i have no time to be weary4 ,if ,i am to see the accomplishment in any considerable degree of these life-long hopes1 ,i must be enabled to embark up on the enterprise without delay1 and with the world-wide burden constantly upon me in connection with the universal mission of our ,army ,i cannot be expected to struggle in this matter alone4 ,but ,i trust that the upper and middle classes are at last being awakened out of their long slumber with regard to the permanent improvement of the lot of those who have hitherto been regarded as being for ever abandoned and hopeless4 ,shame indeed upon ,england if1 with the example presented to us nowadays by the ,emperor and ,government of ,germany1 we simply shrug our shoulders1 and pass on again to our business or our pleasure leaving these wretched multitudes in the gutters where they have lain so long4 ,no1 no1 no2 time is short4 ,let us arise in the name of ,god and humanity1 and wipe away the sad stigma from the ,british banner that our horses are better treated than our labourers4 ,it will be seen that this ,scheme contains many branches4 ,it is probable that some of my readers may not be able to endorse the plan as a whole1 while heartily approving of some of its features and to the support of what they do not heartily approve they may not be willing to subscribe4 ,where this is so1 we shall be glad for them to assist us in carrying out those portions of the undertaking which more especially command their sympathy and commend themselves to their judgment4 ,for instance1 one man may believe in the ,over-,sea ,colony1 but feel no interest in the ,inebriates' ,home2 another1 who may not care for emigration1 may desire to furnish a ,factory or ,rescue ,home2 a third may wish to give us an estate1 assist in the ,food and ,shelter work1 or the extension of the ,slum ,brigade4 ,now1 although ,i regard the ,scheme as one and indivisible--from which you cannot take away any portion without impairing the prospect of the whole--it is quite practicable to administer the money subscribed so that the wishes of each donor may be carried out4 ,subscriptions may1 therefore1 be sent in for the general fund of the ,social ,scheme1 or they can be devoted to any of the following distinct funds3 -- #a4 ,the ,city ,colony4 #b4 ,the ,farm ,colony4 #c4 ,the ,colony ,over-sea4 #d4 ,the ,household ,salvage ,brigade4 #e4 ,the ,rescue ,homes for ,fallen ,women4 #f4 ,deliverance for the ,drunkard4 #g4 ,the ,prison ,gate ,brigade4 #h4 ,the ,poor ,man's ,bank4 #i4 ,the ,poor ,man's ,lawyer4 #aj4 ,whitechapel-by-the-,sea4 ,or any other department suggested by the foregoing4 ,in making this appeal ,i have1 so far1 addressed myself chiefly to those who have money2 but money1 indispensable as it is1 has never been the thing most needful4 ,money is the sinews of war2 and1 as society is at present constituted1 neither carnal nor spiritual wars can be carried on without money4 ,but there is something more necessary still4 ,war cannot be waged without soldiers4 ,a ,wellington can do far more in a campaign than a ,rothschild4 ,more than money--a long1 long way-- ,i want men2 and when ,i say men1 ,i mean women also--men of experience1 men of brains1 men of heart1 and men of ,god4 ,in this great expedition1 though ,i am starting for territory which is familiar enough1 ,i am1 in a certain sense1 entering an unknown land4 ,my people will be new at it4 ,we have trained our soldiers to the saving of souls1 we have taught them ,knee-drill1 we have instructed them in the art and mystery of dealing with the consciences and hearts of men2 and that will ever continue the main business of their lives4 ,to save the soul1 to regenerate the life1 and to inspire the spirit with the undying love of ,christ is the work to which all other duties must ever be strictly subordinate in the ,soldiers of the ,salvation ,army4 ,but the new sphere on which we are entering will call for faculties other than those which have hitherto been cultivated1 and for knowledge of a different character2 and those who have these gifts1 and who are possessed of this practical information1 will be sorely needed4 ,already our world-wide ,salvation work engrosses the energies of every ,officer whom we command4 ,with its extension we have the greatest difficulty to keep pace2 and1 when this ,scheme has to be practically grappled with1 we shall be in greater straits than ever4 ,true1 it will find employment for a multitude of energies and talents which are now lying dormant1 but1 nevertheless1 this extension will tax our resources to the very utmost4 ,in view of this1 reinforcements will be indispensable4 ,we shall need the best brains1 the largest experience1 and the most undaunted energy of the community4 ,i want ,recruits1 but ,i cannot soften the conditions in order to attract men to the ,colours4 ,i want no comrades on these terms1 but those who know our rules and are prepared to submit to our discipline3 who are one with us on the great principles which determine our action1 and whose hearts are in this great work for the amelioration of the hard lot of the lapsed and lost4 ,these ,i will welcome to the service4 ,it may be that you cannot deliver an open-air address1 or conduct an indoor meeting4 ,public labour for souls has hitherto been outside your practice4 ,in the ,lord's vineyard1 however1 are many labourers1 and all are not needed to do the same thing4 ,if you have a practical acquaintance with any of the varied operations of which ,i have spoken in this book2 if you are familiar with agriculture1 understand the building trade1 or have a practical knowledge of almost any form of manufacture1 there is a place for you4 ,we cannot offer you great pay1 social position1 or any glitter and tinsel of man's glory2 in fact1 we can promise little more than rations1 plenty of hard work1 and probably no little of worldly scorn2 but if on the whole you believe you can in no other way help your ,lord so well and bless humanity so much1 you will brave the opposition of friends1 abandon earthly prospects1 trample pride under foot1 and come out and follow ,him in this ,new ,crusade4 ,to you who believe in the remedy here proposed1 and the soundness of these plans1 and have the ability to assist me1 ,i now confidently appeal for practical evidence of the faith that is in you4 ,the responsibility is no longer mine alone4 ,it is yours as much as mine4 ,it is yours even more than mine if you withhold the means by which ,i may carry out the ,scheme4 ,i give what ,i have4 ,if you give what you have the work will be done4 ,if it is not done1 and the dark river of wretchedness rolls on1 as wide and deep as ever1 the consequences will lie at the door of him who holds back4 ,i am only one man among my fellows1 the same as you4 ,the obligation to care for these lost and perishing multitudes does not rest on me any more than it does on you4 ,to me has been given the idea1 but to you the means by which it may be realised4 ,the ,plan has now been published to the world2 it is for you to say whether it is to remain barren1 or whether it is to bear fruit in unnumbered blessings to all the children of men4 ,,appendix #a4 ,the ,salvation ,army--,a ,sketch--,the ,position of the ,forces1 ,october1 #ahij4 #b4 ,circular1 ,registration ,forms1 and ,notices now issued by the ,labour ,bureau4 #c4 ,count ,rumford's ,bavarian ,experience4 #d4 ,the ,co-operative ,experiment at ,ralahine4 #e4 ,mr ,carlyle on the ,regimenation of the ,out-of-,works4 #f4 ,christianity and ,civilization1 by the ,rev4 ,dr4 ,barry4 ,,the ,,salvation ,,army ,the position of our forces4 ,october1 #ahij4 ,corps or ,outposts ,officers or persons ,societies wholly engaged in the work4 ,the ,united ,kingdom 444 #acge --- #dejf ,france 444 444 7 #ajf #gb #ceb ,switzerland 444 7 ,sweden 444 444 444 #ajc #da #cbh ,united ,states 444 444 #cfc #eg #ajff ,canada 444 444 444 #cag #gh #ajba ,australia-- ,victoria 444 4447 ,south ,australia 7 ,new ,south ,wales 7 #bgj #dfe #ijc ,tasmania 444 4447 ,queensland 4447 ,new ,zeland 444 444 #fe #ii #ahf ,india 444 444 4447 #hj #ea #dai ,ceylon 444 4447 ,holland 444 444 #dj #h #aca ,denmark 444 444 #cc -- #hg ,norway 444 444 #de #g #acb ,germany 444 444 #af #f #ge ,belgium 444 444 #d -- #ba ,finland 444 444 #c -- #ab ,the ,argentine ,republic #b -- #ae ,south ,africa ,st ,helena #eb #ab #afb ---- ---- ---- ,total abroad #adii #hif #diaj ---- ---- ---- ,grand total #bhgd #hif #idaf ,,the ,,supply 7,,trade7 ,,department ,at ,home4 ,abroad ,buildings occupied 444 444 444 #h #bb ,officers 444 444 444 444 444 #ec #ae ,employes 444 444 444 444 444 #bjg #ee --- --- ,total #bfj #gj ,,the ,,property ,,department4 ,property now ,vested in the ,army2-- ,the ,united ,kingdom 444 444 444 #cgg1ejj ,france and ,switzerland 444 444 #aj1jjj ,sweden 444 444 444 444 444 #ac1eih ,norway 444 444 444 444 444 #aa1fgf ,the ,united ,states 444 444 444 #f1fja ,canada 444 444 444 444 444 #ih1gbh ,australia 444 444 444 444 444 #hf1bea ,new ,zealand 444 444 444 444 #ad1gih ,india 444 444 444 444 444 #e1ecg ,holland 444 444 444 444 444 #g1ahh ,denmark 444 444 444 444 444 #b1cdj ,south ,africa 444 444 444 444 #aj1dja -------- ,total #fdd1fah -------- ,value of trade effects1 stock1 machinery1 and goods on hand1 #acj1jjj additional4 ,,social ,,work ,,of ,,the ,,army4 ,rescue homes 7fallen women7 444 444 #cc ,slum ,posts 444 444 444 444 444 #cc ,prison ,gate ,brigades 444 444 444 #aj ,food ,depots 444 444 444 444 444 #d ,shelters for the ,destitute 444 444 #e ,inebriates ,home 444 444 444 444 #a ,factory for the out of work 444 #a ,labour ,bureaux 444 444 444 444 #b ,officers and others managing those branches #chd ,,salvation ,,and ,,social ,,reform ,,literature ,at home4 ,abroad ,circulation ,weekly ,newspapers 444 #c #bd #ca1jjj1jjj ,monthly ,magazines 444 #c #ab #b1djj1jjj -- --- ----------- ,total #f #cf #cc1djj1jjj -- --- ----------- ,total annual circulation of the above #cc1djj1jjj ,total annual circulation of other publications #d1jjj1jjj ----------- ,total annual circulation of ,army literature #cg1djj1jjj ----------- ,the ,united ,kingdom-- ,the ,war ,cry #cjj1jjj weekly ,the ,young ,soldier #abf1gej weekly ,all the ,world #ej1jjj monthly ,the ,deliverer #dh1jjj monthly ,,general ,,statements ,,and ,,statistics4 ,accommodation ,annual cost4 ,training ,garrisons for ,officers 7,united ,kingdom7 #bh #aa1ejj 7,abroad7 #ch #gfj ,large ,vans for ,evangelising the ,villages 7known as ,cavalry ,forts7 ,homes of ,rest for ,officers #bd #bdj #aj1jjj ,indoor ,meetings1 held weekly #bh1cea ,open-air ,meetings held weekly 7chiefly in ,england and ,colonies7 #ba1dfg ------- ,total ,meetings held weekly #di1hah ------- ,number of ,houses visited weekly 7,great ,britain only7 #ed1jjj ,number of ,countries and ,colonies occupied ,number of ,languages in which ,literature is issued #ae ,number of ,languages in which ,salvation is preached by the ,officers #bi ,number of ,local 7,non-,commissioned ,officers7 and ,bandsman #bc1jfi ,number of ,scribes and ,office ,employes #dga ,average weekly reception of telegrams1 #fjj and letters1 #e1djj at the ,london ,headquarters ,sum raised annually from all sources by the ,army #gej1jjj ,balance ,sheets1 duly audited by chartered accountants1 are issued annually in connection with the ,international ,headquarters4 ,see the ,annual ,report of #ahhi--;,apostolic ,warfare4 ,balance ,sheets are also produced quarterly at every ,corps in the world1 audited and signed by the ,local ,officers4 ,divisional ,balance ,sheets issued monthly and audited by a ,special ,department at ,headquarters4 ,duly and independently audited ,balance ,sheets are also issued annually from every ,territorial ,headquarters4 ,,the ,,auxiliary ,,league4 #a4--,of persons who1 without necessarily endorsing or approving of every single method used by thee ,salvation ,army1 are sufficiently in sympathy with its great work of reclaiming drunkards1 rescuing the fallen--in a word1 saving the lost--as to give it their ,,prayers1 ,,influence1 ,,and ,,money4 #b4--,of persons who1 although seeing eye to eye with the ,army1 yet are unable to join it1 owing to being actively engaged in the work of their own denominations1 or by reason of bad health or other infirmities1 which forbid their taking any active part in ,christian work4 ,persons are enrolled either as ,subscribing or ,collecting ,auxiliaries4 ,the ,league comprises persons of influence and position1 members of nearly all denominations1 and many ministers4 ,,pamphlets4--,auxiliaries will always be supplied gratis with copies of our ,annual ,report and ,balance ,sheet and other pamphlets for distribution on application to ,headquarters4 ,some of our ,auxiliaries have materially helped us in this way by distributing our literature at the seaside and elsewhere1 and by making arrangements for the regular supply of waiting rooms1 hydropathics1 and hotels1 thus helping to dispel the prejudice under which many persons unacquainted with the ,army are found to labour4 ,all ,the ,world posted free regularly each month to ,auxiliaries4 ,for further information1 and for full particulars of the work of ,the ,salvation ,army1 apply personally or by letter to ,,general ,,booth14 or to the ,financial ,secretary at ,international ,headquarters1 #aja1 ,queen ,victoria ,st41 ,london1 ,e4,c41 to whom also contributions should be sent4 ,cheques and ,postal ,orders crossed ,city ,bank4 ,,the ,,salvation ,,army3 ,a ,,sketch4 ,,by ,,an ,,officer ,,of ,,seventeen ,,years' ,,standing4 ,what is the ,salvation ,army8 ,it is an ,organisation existing to effect a radical revolution in the spiritual condition of the enormous majority of the people of all lands4 ,its aim is to produce a change not only in the opinions1 feelings1 and principles of these vast populations1 but to alter the whole course of their lives1 so that instead of spending their time in frivolity and pleasure-seeking1 if not in the grossest forms of vice1 they shall spend it in the service of their generation and in the worship of ,god4 ,so far it has mainly operated in professedly ,christian countries1 where the overwhelming majority of the people have ceased1 publicly1 at any rate1 to worship ,jesus ,christ1 or to submit themselves in any way to ,his authority4 ,to what extent has the ,army succeeded8 ,its flag is now flying in #cd countries or colonies1 where under the leadership of nearly #aj1jjj men and women1 whose lives are entirely given up to the work1 it is holding some #di1hjj religious meetings every week1 attended by millions of persons1 who ten years ago would have laughed at the idea of praying4 ,and these operations are but the means for further extension1 as will be seen1 especially when it is remembered that the ,army has its #bg weekly newspapers1 of which no less than #ca1jjj1jjj copies are sold in the streets1 public houses1 and popular resorts of the godless majority4 ,from its1 ranks it is therefore certain that an ever-increasing multitude of men and women must eventually be won4 ,that all this has not amounted to the creation of a mere passing gust of feeling1 may best be demonstrated perhaps from the fact that the ,army has accumulated no less than #gge1jjj worth of property1 pays rentals amounting to #bbj1jjj per annum for its meeting places1 and has a total income from all sources of three-quarters of a million per annum4 ,now consider from whence all this has sprung4 ,it is only twenty-five years since the author of this volume stood absolutely alone in the ,east of ,london1 to endeavour to ,christianise its irreligious multitudes1 without the remotest conception in his own mind of the possibility of any such ,organisation being created4 ,consider1 moreover1 through what opposition the ,salvation ,army has ever had to make its way4 ,in each country it has to face universal prejudice1 distrust1 and contempt1 and often stronger antipathy still4 ,this opposition has generally found expression in systematic1 ,governmental1 and ,police restriction1 followed in too many cases by imprisonment1 and by the condemnatory outpourings of ,bishops1 ,clergy1 ,pressmen and others1 naturally followed in too many instances by the oaths and curses1 the blows and insults of the populace4 ,through all this1 in country after country1 the ,army makes its way to the position of universal respect1 that respect1 at any rate1 which is shown to those who have conquered4 ,and of what material has this conquering host been made8 ,wherever the ,army goes it gathers into its meetings1 in the first instance1 a crowd of the most debased1 brutal1 blasphemous elements that can be found who1 if permitted1 interrupt the services1 and if they see the slightest sign of police tolerance for their misconduct1 frequently fall upon the ,army officers or their property with violence4 ,yet a couple of ,officers face such an audience with the absolute certainty of recruiting out of it an ,army ,corps4 ,many thousands of those who are now most prominent in the ranks of the ,army never knew what it was to pray before they attended its services2 and large numbers of them had settled into a profound conviction that everything connected with religion was utterly false4 ,it is out of such material that ,god has constructed what is admitted to be one of the most fervid bodies of believers ever seen on the face of the earth4 ,many persons in looking at the progress of the ,army have shown a strange want of discernment in talking and writing as though all this had been done in a most haphazard fashion1 or as though an individual could by the mere effort of his will produce such changes in the lives of others as he chose4 ,the slightest reflection will be sufficient we are sure to convince any impartial individual that the gigantic results attained by the ,salvation ,army could only be reached by steady unaltering processes adapted to this end4 ,and what are the processes by which this great ,army has been made8 #a4 ,the foundation of all the ,army's success1 looked at apart from its divine source of strength1 is its continued direct attack upon those whom it seeks to bring under the influence of the ,gospel4 ,the ,salvation ,army ,officer1 instead of standing upon some dignified pedestal1 to describe the fallen condition of his fellow men1 in the hope that though far from him1 they may thus1 by some mysterious process1 come to a better life1 goes down into the street1 and from door to door1 and from room to room1 lays his hands on those who are spiritually sick1 and leads them to the ,almighty ,healer4 ,in its forms of speech and writing the ,army constantly exhibits this same characteristic4 ,instead of propounding religious theories or pretending to teach a system of theology1 it speaks much after the fashion of the old ,prophet or ,apostle1 to each individual1 about his or her sin and duty1 thus bringing to bear upon each heart and conscience the light and power from heaven1 by which alone the world can be transformed4 #b4 ,and step by step1 along with this human contact goes unmistakably something that is not human4 ,the puzzlement and self-contradiction of most critics of the ,army springs undoubtedly from the fact that they are bound to account for its success without admitting that any superhuman power attends its ministry1 yet day after day1 and night after night1 the wonderful facts go on multiplying4 ,the man who last night was drunk in a ,london slum1 is to-night standing up for ,christ on an ,army platform4 ,the clever sceptic1 who a few weeks ago was interrupting the speakers in ,berlin1 and pouring contempt upon their claims to a personal knowledge of the unseen ,saviour1 is to-day as thorough a believer as any of them4 ,the poor girl1 lost to shame and hope1 who a month ago was an outcast of ,paris1 is to-day a modest devoted follower of ,christ1 working in a humble situation4 ,to those who admit we are right in saying this is the ,lord's doing1 all is simple enough1 and our certainty that the dregs of ,society can become its ornaments requires no further explanation4 #c4 ,all these modern miracles would1 however1 have been comparatively useless but for the ,army's system of utilising the gifts and energy of our converts to the uttermost4 ,suppose that without any claim to ,divine power the ,army had succeeded in raising up tens of thousands of persons1 formerly unknown and unseen in the community1 and made them into ,singers1 ,speakers1 ,musicians1 and ,orderlies1 that would surely in itself have been a remarkable fact4 ,but not only have these engaged in various labours for the benefit of the community4 ,they have been filled with a burning ambition to attain the highest possible degree of usefulness4 ,no one can wonder that we expect to see the same process carried on successfully amongst our new friends of the ,casual ,ward and the ,slum4 ,and if the ,army has been able to accomplish all this utilisation of human talents for the highest purposes1 in spite of an almost universally prevailing contrary practice amongst the ,churches1 what may not its ,social ,wing be expected to do1 with the example of the ,army before it8 #d4 ,the maintenance of all this system has1 of course1 been largely due to the unqualified acceptance of military government and discipline4 ,but for this we cannot be blind to the fact that even in our own ranks difficulties would every day arise as to the exaltation to front seats of those who were formerly persecutors and injurious4 ,the old feeling which would have kept ,paul suspected1 in the background1 after his conversion is1 unfortunately1 a part of the conservative groundwork of human nature that continues to exist everywhere1 and which has to be overcome by rigid discipline in order to secure that everywhere and always1 the new convert should be made the most of for ,christ4 ,but our ,army system is a great indisputable fact1 so much so that our enemies sometimes reproach us with it4 ,that it should be possible to create an ,army ,organisation1 and to secure faithful execution of duty daily is indeed a wonder1 but a wonder accomplished1 just as completely amongst the ,republicans of ,america and ,france1 as amongst the militarily trained ,germans1 or the subjects of the ,british monarchy4 ,it is notorious that we can send an officer from ,london1 possessed of no extraordinary ability1 to take command of any corps in the world1 with a certainty that he will find soldiers eager to do his bidding1 and without a thought of disputing his commands1 so long as he continues faithful to the orders and regulations under which his men are enlisted4 #e4 ,but those show a curious ignorance who set down our successes to this discipline1 as though it were something of the prison order1 although enforced without any of the power lying either behind the prison warder or the ,catholic priest4 ,on the contrary1 wherever the discipline of the ,army has been endangered1 and its regular success for a time interrupted1 it has been through an attempt to enforce it without enough of that joyous1 cheerful spirit of love which is its main spring4 ,nobody can become acquainted with our soldiers in any land1 without being almost immediately struck with their extraordinary gladness1 and this joy is in itself one of the most infectious and influential elements of the ,army's success4 ,but if this be so1 amid the comparatively well to do1 judge of what its results are likely to be amongst the poorest and most wretched6 ,to those who have never known bright days1 the mere sight of a happy face is as it were a revelation and inspiration in one4 #f4 ,but the ,army's success does not come with magical rapidity2 it depends1 like that of all real work1 upon infinite perseverance4 ,to say nothing of the perseverance of the ,officer who has made the saving of men his life work1 and who1 occupied and absorbed with this great pursuit1 may naturally enough be expected to remain faithful1 there are multitudes of our ,soldiers who1 after a hard day's toil for their daily bread1 have but a few hours of leisure1 but devote it ungrudgingly to the service of the ,war4 ,again and again1 when the remains of some ,soldier are laid to rest1 amid the almost universal respect of a town1 which once knew him only as an evil-doer1 we hear it said that this man1 since the date of his conversion1 from five to ten years ago1 has seldom been absent from his post1 and never without good reason for it4 ,his duty may have been comparatively insignificant1 only a door-keeper1 only a ,war ,cry seller1 yet ,sunday after ,sunday1 evening after evening1 he would be present1 no matter who the commanding officer might be1 to do his part1 bearing with the unruly1 breathing hope into the distressed1 and showing unwavering faithfulness to all4 ,the continuance of these processes of mercy depends largely upon leadership1 and the creation and maintenance of this leadership has been one of the marvels of the ,movement4 ,we have men to-day looked up to and reverenced over wide areas of country1 arousing multitudes to the most devoted service1 who a few years ago were champions of iniquity1 notorious in nearly every form of vice1 and some of them ringleaders in violent opposition to the ,army4 ,we have a right to believe that on the same lines ,god is going to raise up just such leaders without measure and without end4 ,beneath1 behind1 and pervading all the successes of the ,salvation ,army is a force against which the world may sneer1 but without which the world's miseries cannot be removed1 the force of that ,divine love which breathed on ,calvary1 and which ,god is able to communicate by ,his spirit to human hearts to-day4 ,it is pitiful to see intelligent men attempting to account1 without the admission of this great fact1 for the self-sacrifice and success of ,salvation ,officers and ,soldiers4 ,if those who wish to understand the ,army would only take the trouble to spend as much as twenty-four hours with its people1 how different in almost every instance would be the conclusions arrived at4 ,half-an-hour spent in the rooms inhabited by many of our officers would be sufficient to convince1 even a well-to-do working man1 that life could not be lived happily in such circumstances without some superhuman power1 which alike sustains and gladdens the soul1 altogether independently of earthly surroundings4 ,the ,scheme that has been propounded in this volume would1 we are quite satisfied1 have no chance of success were it not for the fact that we have such a vast supply of men and women who1 through the love of ,christ ruling in their hearts1 are prepared to look upon a life of self-sacrificing effort for the benefit of the vilest and roughest as the highest of privileges4 ,with such a force at command1 we dare to say that the accomplishment of this stupendous undertaking is a foregone conclusion1 if the material assistance which the ,army does not possess is forthcoming4 ,,the ,,salvation ,,army ,,social ,,reform ,,wing4 ,temporary ,headquarters #cf1 ,,upper ,,thames ,,street1 ,,london1 ,e4,c4 ,,objects4--,the bringing together of employers and workers for their mutual advantage4 ,making known the wants of each to each by providing a ready method of communication4 ,,plan ,,of ,,operation4--,the ,opening of a ,central ,registry ,office1 which for the present will be located at the above address1 and where registers will be kept free of charge wherein the wants of both employers and workers will be recorded1 the registers being open for consultation by all interested4 ,public ,waiting ,rooms 7for male and female71 to which the unemployed may come for the purpose of scanning the newspapers1 the insertion of advertisements for employment in all newspapers at lowest rates4 ,writing tables1 c41 provided for their use to enable them to write applications for situations on work4 ,the receiving of letters 7replies to applications for employment7 for unemployed workers4 ,the ,waiting ,rooms will also act as ,houses-of-,call1 where employers can meet and enter into engagements with ,workers of all kinds1 by appointment or otherwise1 thus doing away with the snare that awaits many of the unemployed1 who have no place to wait other than the ,public ,house1 which at present is almost the only house-of-call for ,out-of-,work men4 ,by making known to the public generally the wants of the unemployed by means of advertisements1 by circulars1 and direct application to employers1 the issue of labour statistics with information as to the number of unemployed who are anxious for work1 the various trades and occupations they represent1 c41 c4 ,the opening of branches of the ,labour ,bureau as fast as funds and opportunities permit1 in all the large towns and centres of industry throughout ,great ,britain4 ,in connection with the ,labour ,bureau1 we propose to deal with both skilled and unskilled workers1 amongst the latter forming such agencies as ,sandwich ,board ,men's ,society1 ,shoe ,black1 ,carpet ,beating1 ,white-washing1 ,window ,cleaning1 ,wood ,chopping1 and other ,brigades1 all of which will1 with many others1 be put into operation as far as the assistance of the public 7in the shape of applying for workers of all kinds7 will afford us the opportunity4 ,a ,domestic ,servants' ,agency will also be a branch of the ,bureau1 and a ,home ,for ,domestic ,servants out of situation is also in contemplation4 ,in this and other matters funds alone are required to commence operations4 ,all communications1 donations1 etc41 should be addressed as above1 marked ,labour ,bureau1 etc4 ,,central ,,labour ,,bureau4 ,,local ,,agents ,,and ,,correspondents' ,,department4 ,dear ,comrade1--,the enclosed letter1 which has been sent to our ,officers throughout the ,field1 will explain the object we have in view4 ,your name has been suggested to us as one whose heart is thoroughly in sympathy with any effort on behalf of poor suffering humanity4 ,we are anxious to have in connection with each of our ,corps1 and in every locality throughout the ,kingdom1 some sympathetic1 level-headed comrade1 acting as our ,agent or local ,correspondent1 to whom we could refer at all times for reliable information1 and who would take it as work of love to regularly communicate useful information respecting the social condition of things generally in their neighbourhood4 ,kindly reply1 giving us your views and feelings on the subject as soon as possible1 as we are anxious to organise at once4 ,the first business on hand is for us to get information of those out of work and employers requiring workers1 so that we can place them upon our registers1 and make known the wants both of employers and employes4 ,we shall be glad of a communication from you1 giving us some facts as to the condition of things in your locality1 or any ideas or suggestions you would like to give1 calculated to help us in connection with this good work4 ,i may say that the ,social ,wing not only comprehends the labour question1 but also prison rescue and other branches of ,salvation work1 dealing with broken-down humanity generally1 so that you can see what a great blessing you may be to the work of ,god by co-operating with us4 ,believe me to be1 ,yours affectionately for the ,suffering and ,lost1 etc4 ,,local ,,agents ,,and ,,correspondents ,,department4 ,proposition for local agent1 correspondent1 etc4 ,name44444444444444444444444444444444444 44444444444444444444444444444444 ,address44444444444444444444444444444444 44444444444444444444444444444444 ,occupation44444444444444444444444444444 44444444444444444444444444444444 ,if a ,soldier1 what ,corps8444444444444444444444444444444444 4444444444444 ,if not a ,soldier1 what ,denomination844444444444444444444444444 444444444 ,if spoken to on the subject1 what reply they have made84444444444444444 4444444444444444444444444444444444444444 4444444444444444444444444444444 4444444444444444444444444444444444444444 4444444444444444444444444444444 4444444444444444444444444444444444444444 4444444444444444444444444444444 4444444444444444444444444444444444444444 4444444444444444444444444444444 4444444444444444444444444444444444444444 4444444444444444444444444444444 ,signed444444444444444444444444444444444 44444444444444444444 ,corps4444444444444444444444444444444444 44444444444444444444 ,date4444444444444444444444444444 #ahi 4 ,kindly return this as soon as possible1 and we will then place ourselves in communication with the ,comrade you propose for this position4 ,,to ,,employers ,,of ,,labour4 ,we beg to bring to your notice the fact that the ,salvation ,army has opened at the above address 7in connection with the ,social ,reform ,wing71 a ,labour ,bureau for the ,registration of the wants of all classes of ,labour1 for both employer and employe in ,london and throughout the ,kingdom1 our object being to place in communication with each other1 for mutual advantage1 those who want workers and those who want work4 ,arrangements have been made at the above address for waiting rooms1 where employers can see unemployed men and women1 and where the latter may have accommodation to write letters1 see the advertisements in the papers1 c41 c4 ,if you are in want of workers of any kind1 will you kindly fill up the enclosed form and return it to us8 ,we will then have the particulars entered up1 and endeavour to have your wants supplied4 ,all applications1 ,i need hardly assure you1 will have our best attention1 whether they refer to work of a permanent or temporary character4 ,we shall also be glad1 through the information office of ,labour ,department1 to give you any further information as to our plans1 c41 or an ,officer will wait upon you to receive instructions for the supply of workers1 if requested4 ,as no charge will be made for registration of either the wants of employers or the wants of the unemployed1 it will be obvious that a considerable outlay will be necessary to sustain these operations in active usefulness1 and that therefore financial help will be greatly needed4 ,we shall gratefully receive donations1 from the smallest coin up1 to help to cover the cost of working this department4 ,we think it right to say that only in special cases shall we feel at liberty to give personal recommendations4 ,this however1 will no doubt be understood1 seeing that we shall have to deal with very large numbers who are total strangers to us4 ,please address all communications or donations as above1 marked ,central ,labour ,bureau1 etc4 ,,we ,,propose ,,to ,,enter ,,upon ,a ,,crusade ,,against ,,sweating4 ,,will ,,you ,,help ,,us8 ,dear ,sir1--in connection with the ,social ,reform ,wing a ,central ,labour ,bureau has been opened1 one department of which will deal especially with that class of labour termed unskilled1 from amongst whom are drawn ,,boardmen1 ,,messengers1 ,,bill ,,distributors1 ,,circular ,,addressers1 ,,window ,,cleaners1 ,,white-,,washers1 ,,carpet ,,beaters1 ,c41 ,c4 ,it is very important that work given to these workers and others not enumerated1 should be taxed as little as possible by the ,contractor1 or those who act between the employer and the worker4 ,in all our operations in this capacity we do not propose to make profit out of those we benefit2 paying over the whole amount received1 less say one halfpenny in the shilling1 or some such small sum which will go towards the expense of providing boards for sandwich boardmen1 the hire of barrows1 purchase of necessary tools1 c41 c4 ,we are very anxious to help that most needy class1 the boardmen1 many of whom are sweated out of their miserable earnings2 receiving often as low as one shilling for a day's toil4 ,,we ,,appeal ,,to ,,all ,,who ,,sympathise ,,with ,,suffering ,,humanity1 especially ,religious and ,philanthropic individuals and ,societies1 to assist us in our efforts1 by placing orders for the supply of ,boardmen1 ,messengers1 ,bill-distributors1 ,window-cleaners and other kinds of labour in our hands4 ,our charge for boardmen will be #bs4 #b;d41 including boards1 the placing and proper supervision of the men1 c4 ,two shillings1 at least1 will go direct to the men2 most of the hirers of boardmen pay this1 and some even more1 but often not more than one-half reaches the men4 ,we shall be glad to forward you further information of our plans1 or will send a representative to further explain1 or to take orders1 on receiving notice from you to that effect4 ,believe me to be1 ,yours faithfully1 etc4 ,,central ,,labour ,,bureau4 ,,to ,,the ,,unemployed4--,,male ,,and ,,female4 ,,notice4 ,a ,free ,registry1 for all kinds of unemployed labour1 has been opened at the above address4 ,if you want work1 call and make yourself and your wants known4 ,enter your name and address and wants on the ,registers1 or fill up form below1 and hand it in at above address4 ,look over the advertising pages of the papers provided4 ,tables with pens and ink are provided for you to write for situations4 ,if you live at a distance1 fill up this form giving all particulars1 or references1 and forward to ,commissioner ,smith1 care of the ,labour ,bureau4 ,name44444444444444444444444444444444444 44444444444444444444 ,address44444444444444444444444444444444 44444444444444444444 4444444444444444444444444444444444444444 4444444444444444444 ,kind of work wanted4444444444444444444444444444444444 444444 ,wages you ask4444444444444444444444444444444444444 444444444 ---------------------------------------- ----------------------------- ,i ,name ,i ,i ---------------------------------------- ----------------------------- ,i ,age ,i ,i ---------------------------------------- ----------------------------- ,i ,during past #aj years have ,i you had regular employment8 ,i ,i ---------------------------------------- ----------------------------- ,i ,how long for8 ,i ,i ---------------------------------------- ----------------------------- ,i ,what kind of work8 ,i ,i ---------------------------------------- ----------------------------- ,i ,what work can you do8 ,i ,i ---------------------------------------- ----------------------------- ,i ,what have you worked at ,i at odd times8 ,i ,i ---------------------------------------- ----------------------------- ,i ,how much did you earn when ,i regularly employed8 ,i ,i ---------------------------------------- ----------------------------- ,i ,how much did you earn when ,i irregularly employed8 ,i ,i ---------------------------------------- ----------------------------- ,i ,are you married8 ,i ,i ---------------------------------------- ----------------------------- ,i ,is wife living8 ,i ,i ---------------------------------------- ----------------------------- ,i ,how many children and ages8 ,i ,i ---------------------------------------- ----------------------------- ,if you were put on a farm to ,i work at anything you could do1 ,i and were supplied with food1 ,i lodging1 and clothes1 with a ,i view to getting you on your feet1 ,i would you do all you could8 ,i ---------------------------------------- ----------------------------- ,,how ,,beggary ,,was ,,abolished ,,in ,,bavaria ,,by ,,count ,,rumford4 ,count ,rumford was an ,american officer who served with considerable distinction in the ,revolutionary ,war in that country1 and afterwards settled in ,england4 ,from thence he went to ,bavaria1 where he was promoted to the chief command of its army1 and also was energetically employed in the ,civil ,government4 ,bavaria at this time literally swarmed with beggars1 who were not only an eyesore and discredit to the nation1 but a positive injury to the ,state4 ,the ,count resolved upon the extinction of this miserable profession1 and the following extracts from his writings describe the method by which he accomplished it3 -- ,bavaria1 by the neglect of the ,government1 and the abuse of the kindness and charity of its amiable people1 had become infested with beggars1 with whom mingled vagabonds and thieves4 ,they were to the body politic what parasites and vermin are to people and dwellings-- breeding by the same lazy neglect4--7,page #ad47 ,in ,bavaria there were laws which made provision for the poor1 but they suffered them to fall into neglect4 ,beggary had become general4-- 7,page #ae47 ,in short1 says ,count ,rumford1 these detestable vermin swarmed everywhere2 and not only their impudence and clamorous importunity were boundless1 but they had recourse to the most diabolical arts and the most horrid crimes in the prosecution of their infamous trade4 ,they exposed and tortured their own children1 and those they stole for the purpose1 to extort contributions from the charitable4--7,page #ae47 ,in the large towns beggary was an organised imposture1 with a sort of government and police of its own4 ,each beggar had his beat1 with orderly successions and promotions1 as with other governments4 ,there were battles to decide conflicting claims1 and a good beat was not unfreguently a marriage portion or a thumping legacy4--7,page #af47 ,he saw that it was not enough to forbid beggary by law or to punish it by imprisonment4 ,the beggars cared for neither4 ,the energetic ,yankee ,statesman attacked the question as he did problems in physical science4 ,he studied beggary and beggars4 ,how would he deal with one individual beggar8 ,send him for a month to prison to beg again as soon as he came out8 ,that is no remedy4 ,the evident course was to forbid him to beg1 but at the same time to give him the opportunity to labor2 to teach him to work1 to encourage him to honest industry4 ,and the wise ruler sets himself to provide food1 comfort1 and work for every beggar and vagabond in ,bavaria1 and did it4--7,page #ag47 ,count ,rumford1 wise and just1 sets himself to reform the whole class of beggars and vagabonds1 and convert them into useful citizens1 even those who had sunk into vice and crime4 ',what1' he asked himself1 'is1 after the necessaries of life1 the first condition of comfort8' ,cleanliness1 which animals and insects prize1 which in man affects his moral character1 and which is akin to godliness4 ,the idea that the soul is defiled and depraved by what is unclean has long prevailed in all ages4 ,virtue never dwelt long with filth4 ,our bodies are at war with everything that defiles them4 ,his first step1 after a thorough study and consideration of the subject1 was to provide in ,munich1 and at all necessary points1 large1 airy1 and even elegant ,houses of ,industry1 and store them with the tools and materials of such manufactures as were most needed1 and would be most useful4 ,each house was provided with a large dining-room and a cooking apparatus sufficient to furnish an economical dinner to every worker4 ,teachers were engaged for each kind of labour4 ,warmth1 light1 comfort1 neatness1 and order1 in and around these houses1 made them attractive4 ,the dinner every day was gratis1 provided at first by the ,government1 later by the contributions of the citizens4 ,bakers brought stale bread2 butchers1 refuse meat2 citizens1 their broken victuals-- all rejoicing in being freed from the nuisance of beggary4 ,the teachers of handicrafts were provided by the ,government4 ,and while all this was free1 everyone was paid the full value for his labour4 ,you shall not beg2 but here is comfort1 food1 work1 pay4 ,there was no ill-usage1 no harsh language2 in five years not a blow was given even to a child by his instructor4 ,when the preparations for this great experiment had been silently completed1 the army--the right arm of the governing power1 which had been prepared tor the work by its own thorough reformation--was called into action in aid of the police and the civil magistrates4 ,regiments of cavalry were so disposed as to furnish every town with a detachment1 with patrols on every highway1 and squads in the villages1 keeping the strictest order and discipline1 paying the utmost deference to the civil authorities1 and avoiding all offence to the people2 instructed when the order was given to arrest every beggar1 vagrant1 and deserter and bring them before the magistrates4 ,this military police cost nothing extra to the country beyond a few cantonments1 and this expense to the whole country was less than #c1jjj a-year4 ,the #ast of ,january1 #agij--,new ,year's ,day1 from time immemorial the beggars' holiday1 when they swarmed in the streets1 expecting everyone to give--the commissioned and non-commissioned officers of three regiments of infantry were distributed early in the morning at different points of ,munich to wait for orders4 ,lieutenant-,general ,count ,rumford assembled at his residence the chief officers of the army and principal magistrates of the city1 and communicated to them his plans for the campaign4 ,then1 dressed in the uniform of his rank1 with his orders and decorations glittering on his breast1 setting an example to the humblest soldier1 he led them into the street1 and had scarcely reached it before a beggar approached wished him a ',happy ,new ,year1' and waited for the expected aims4 ',i went up to him1 says ,count ,rumford1 'and laying my hand gently on his shoulder1 told him that henceforth begging would not be permitted in ,munich2 that if he was in need1 assistance would be given him2 and if detected begging again1 he would be severely punished4' ,he was then sent to the ,town ,hall1 his name and residence inscribed upon the register1 and he was directed to repair to the ,military ,house of ,industry next morning1 where he would find dinner1 work1 and wages4 ,every officer1 every magistrate1 every soldier1 followed the example set them2 every beggar was arrested1 and in one day a stop was put to beggary in ,bavaria4 ,it was banished out of the kingdom4 ,and now let us see what was the progress and success of this experiment4 ,it seemed a risk to trust the raw materials of industry-- wool1 flax1 hemp1 etc4--to the hands of common beggars2 to render debauched and depraved class orderly and useful1 was an arduous enterprise4 ,of course the greater number made bad work at the beginning4 ,for months they cost more than they came to4 ,they spoiled more horns than they made spoons4 ,employed first in the coarser and ruder manufactures1 they were advanced as they improved1 and were for some time paid more than they earned--paid to encourage good will1 effort1 and perseverance4 ,these were worth any sum4 ,the poor people saw that they were treated with more than justice--with kindness4 ,it was very evident that it was all for their good4 ,at first there was confusion1 but no insubordination4 ,they were awkward1 but not insensible to kindness4 ,the aged1 the weak1 and the children were put to the easiest tasks4 ,the younger children were paid simply to look on until they begged to join in the work1 which seemed to them like play4 ,everything around them was made clean1 quiet1 orderly1 and pleasant4 ,living at their own homes1 they came at a fixed hour in the morning4 ,they had at noon a hot1 nourishing dinner of soup and bread4 ,provisions were either contributed or bought wholesale1 and the economies of cookery were carried to the last point of perfection4 ,count ,rumford had so planned the cooking apparatus that three women cooked a dinner for one thousand persons at a cost though wood was used1 of #d #a_/b;d4 for fuel2 and the entire cost of the dinner for #a1bjj was only #a #gs #f #a_/b;d41 or about one-third of a penny for each person6 ,perfect order was kept --at work1 at meals1 and everywhere4 ,as soon as a company took its place at table1 the food having been previously served1 all repeated a short prayer4 ',perhaps1' says ,count ,rumford1 ',i ought to ask pardon for mentioning so old-fashioned a custom1 but ,i own ,i am old-fashioned enough myself to like such things4' ,these poor people were generously paid for their labour1 but something more than cash payment was necessary4 ,there was needed the feeling of emulation1 the desire to excel1 the sense of honour1 the love of glory4 ,not only pay1 but rewards1 prizes1 distinctions1 were given to the more deserving4 ,peculiar care was taken with the children4 ,they were first paid simply for being present1 idle lookers-on1 until they begged with tears to be allowed to work4 ',how sweet those tears were to me1' says ,count ,rumford1 'can easily be imagined4' ,certain hours were spent by them in a school1 for which teachers were provided4 ,the effect of these measures was very remarkable4 ,awkward as the people were1 they were not stupid1 and learned to work with unexpected rapidity4 ,more wonderful was the change in their manners1 appearances and the very expression of their countenances4 ,cheerfulness and gratitude replaced the gloom of misery and the sullenness of despair4 ,their hearts were softened2 they were most grateful to their benefactor for themselves1 still more for their children4 ,these worked with their parents1 forming little industrial groups1 whose affection excited the interest of every visitor4 ,parents were happy in the industry and growing intelligence of their children1 and the children were proud of their own achievements4 ,the great experiment was a complete and triumphant success4 ,when ,count ,rumford wrote his account of it1 it had been five years in operation2 it was1 financially1 a paying speculation1 and had not only banished beggary1 but had wrought an entire change in the manners1 habits1 and very appearance of the most abandoned and degraded people in the kingdom4--7,count ,rumford1 pages #ah-bd47 ,are the poor ungrateful8 ,count ,rumford did not find them so4 ,when1 from the exhaustion of his great labours1 he fell dangerously ill1 these poor people whom he had rescued from lives of shame and misery1 spontaneously assembled1 formed a procession1 and went in a body to the ,cathedral to offer their united prayers for his recovery4 ,when he was absent in ,italy1 and supposed to be dangerously ill in ,naples1 they set apart a certain time every day1 after work hours1 to pray for their benefactor4 ,after an absence of fifteen months1 ,count ,rumford returned with renewed health to ,munich--a city where there was work for everyone1 and not one person whose wants were not provided for4 ,when he visited the military workhouse1 the reception given him by these poor people drew tears from the eyes of all present4 ,a few days after he entertained eighteen hundred of them in the ,english garden--a festival at which #cj1jjj of the citizens of ,munich assisted4 7,count ,rumford1 pages #bd-be47 ,,the ,,co-,,operative ,,experiment ,,at ,,ralahine1 ,the outrages of the ',whitefeet1' ',lady ,clare ,boys1' and ',terry ,alts' 7labourers7 far exceeded those of recent occurrence2 yet no remedy but force was attempted1 except by one ,irish landlord1 ,mr4 ,john ,scott ,vandeleur1 of ,ralahine1 county ,clare1 late high sheriff of his county4 ,early in #ahca his family had been obliged to take flight1 in charge of an armed police force1 and his steward had been murdered by one of the labourers1 having been chosen by lot at a meeting held to decide who should perpetrate the deed4 ,mr4 ,vandeleur came to ,england to seek someone who would aid him in organising the labourers into an agricultural and manufacturing association1 to be conducted on co-operative principles1 and he was recommended to ,mr4 ,craig1 who1 at great sacrifice of his position and prospects1 consented to give his services4 ,no one but a man of rare zeal and courage would have attempted so apparently hopeless a task as that which ,mr4 ,craig undertook4 ,both the men whom he had to manage--the ,terry ,alts who had murdered their master's steward--and their surroundings were as little calculated to give confidence in the success of the scheme as they well could be4 ,the men spoke generally the ,irish language1 which ,mr4 ,craig did not understand1 and they looked upon him with suspicion as one sent to worm out of them the secret of the murder recently committed4 ,he was consequently treated with coldness1 and worse than that4 ,on one occasion the outline of his grave was cut out of the pasture near his dwelling1 and he carried his life in his hand4 ,after a time1 however1 he won the confidence of these men1 rendered savage as they had been by ill-treatment4 ,the farm was let by ,mr4 ,vandeleur at a fixed rent1 to be paid in fixed quantities of farm produce1 which1 at the prices ruling in #ahcj-ca1 would bring in #ijj1 which included interest on buildings1 machinery1 and live stock provided by ,mr4 ,vandeleur4 ,the rent alone was #gjj4 ,as the farm consisted of #fah acres1 only #bfh of which were under tillage1 this rent was a very high one--a fact which was acknowledged by the landlord4 ,all profits after payment of rent and interest belonged to the members1 divisible at the end of the year if desired4 ,they started a co-operative store to supply themselves with food and clothing1 and the estate was managed by a committee of the members1 who paid every male and female member wages for their labour in labour notes which were exchangeable at the store for goods or cash4 ,intoxicating drink or tobacco were prohibited4 ,the committee each day allotted each man his duties4 ,the members worked the land partly as kitchen garden and fruit orchards1 and partly as dairy farm1 stall feeding being encouraged and root crops grown for the cattle4 ,pigs1 poultry1 c41 were reared4 ,wages at the time were only #h;d per day for men and #e;d4 for women1 and the members were paid at these rates4 ,yet1 as they lived chiefly on potatoes and milk produced on the farm1 which1 as well as mutton and pork1 were sold to them at extremely low prices1 they saved money or rather notes4 ,their health and appearance quickly improved1 so much so that1 with disease raging round them1 there was no case of death or serious illness among them while the experiment lasted4 ,the single men lived together in a large building1 and the families in cottages4 ,assisted by ,mrs4 ,craig1 the secretary carried out the most enlightened system of education for the young1 those old enough being alternately employed on the farm and in the school4 ,sanitary arrangements were in a high state of perfection1 and physical and moral training were most carefully attended to4 ,in respect of these and other social arrangements1 ,mr4 ,craig was a man much before his time1 and he has since made himself a name in connection with their application in various parts of the country4 ,the ',new ,system1' as the ,ralahine experiment was called1 though at first regarded with suspicion and derision1 quickly gained favour in the district1 so that before long outsiders were extremely anxious to become members of the association4 ,in ,january1 #ahcb1 the community consisted of fifty adults and seventeen children4 ,the total number afterwards increased to eighty-one4 ,everything was prosperous1 and the members of the association were not only benefitted themselves1 but their improvement exercised a beneficent influence upon the people in their neighbourhood4 ,it was hoped that other landlords would imitate the excellent example of ,mr4 ,vandeleur1 especially as his experiment was one profitable to himself1 as well as calculated to produce peace and contentment in disturbed ,ireland4 ,just when these hopes were raised to their highest degree of expectancy1 the happy community at ,ralahine was broken up through the ruin and flight of ,mr4 ,vandeleur1 who had lost his property by gambling4 ,everything was sold off1 and the labour notes saved by the members would have been worthless had not ,mr4 ,craig1 with noble self-sacrifice1 redeemed them out of his own pocket4 ,we have given but a very scanty description of the system pursued at ,ralahine4 ,the arrangements were in most respects admirable1 and reflected the greatest credit upon ,mr4 ,craig as an organiser and administrator4 ,to his wisdom1 energy1 tact1 and forbearance the success of his experiment was in great measure due1 and it is greatly to be regretted that he was not in a position to repeat the attempt under more favourable circumstances4 7,history of a ,co-operative ,farm47 ,,carlyle ,,on ,,the ,,social ,,obligations ,,of ,,the ,,nation ,,forty-,,five ,,years ,,ago4 ,inserted at the earnest request of a friend1 who was struck by the coincidence of some ideas1 similar to those of this volume1 set forth so long ago1 but as yet remaining unrealised1 and which ,i had never read4 ,,extracts ,,from ,,past ,,and ,,present4 ,a ,prime ,minister1 even here in ,england1 who shall dare believe the heavenly omens1 and address himself like a man and hero to the great dumb-struggling heart of ,england1 and speak out for it1 and act out for it1 the ,god's-justice it is writhing to get uttered and perishing for want of--yes1 he too will see awaken round him1 in passionate1 burning1 all-defiant loyalty1 the heart of ,england1 and such a 'support' as no ,division-,list or ,parliamentary ,majority was ever yet known to yield a man6 ,here as there1 now as then1 he who can and dare trust the heavenly ,immensities1 all earthly ,localities are subject to him4 ,we will pray for such a man and ,first-,lord2--yes1 and far better1 we will strive and incessantly make ready1 each of us1 to be worthy to serve and second such a ,first-,lord6 ,we shall then be as good as sure of his arriving2 sure of many things1 let him arrive or not4 ,who can despair of ,governments that passes a ,soldier's ,guard-house1 or meets a red-coated man on the streets8 ,that a body of men could be got together to kill other men when you bade them3 this1 a priori1 does it not seem one of the impossiblest things8 ,yet look1 behold it3 in the stolidest of ,do-nothing ,governments1 that impossibility is a thing done4--7,carlyle1 ,past and ,present1 page #bbc47 ,strange1 interesting1 and yet most mournful to reflect on4 ,was this1 then1 of all the things mankind had some talent for1 the one thing important to learn well1 and bring to perfection2 this of successfully killing one another8 ,truly1 you have learned it well1 and carried the business to a high perfection4 ,it is incalculable what1 by arranging1 commanding1 and regimenting you can make of men4 ,these thousand straight-standing1 firm-set individuals1 who shoulder arms1 who march1 wheel1 advance1 retreat2 and are1 for your behoof a magazine charged with fiery death1 in the most perfect condition of potential activity4 ,few months ago1 till the persuasive sergeant came1 what were they8 ,multiform ragged losels1 runaway apprentices1 starved weavers thievish valets2 an entirely broken population1 fast tending towards the treadmill4 ,but the persuasive sergeant came1 by tap of drum enlisted1 or formed lists of them1 took heartily to drilling them2 and he and you have made them this6 ,most potent effectual for all work whatsoever1 is wise planning1 firm1 combining1 and commanding among men4 ,let no man despair of ,governments who looks on these two sentries at the ,horse ,guards and our ,united ,service clubs4 ,i could conceive an ,emigration ,service1 a ,teaching ,service1 considerable varieties of ,united and ,separate ,services1 of the due thousands strong1 all effective as this ,fighting ,service is2 all doing their work like it--which work1 much more than fighting1 is henceforth the necessity of these new ages we are got into6 ,much lies among us1 convulsively1 nigh desperately1 struggling to be born4--7,past and ,present1 page #bbd47 ,it was well1 all this1 we know2 and yet it was not well4 ,forty soldiers1 ,i am told1 will disperse the largest ,spitalfields mob2 forty to ten thousand1 that is the proportion between drilled and undrilled4 ,much there is which cannot yet be organised in this world1 but somewhat also which can--somewhat also which must4 ,when one thinks1 for example1 what books are become and becoming for us1 what operative ,lancashires are become2 what a ,fourth ,estate and innumerable virtualities not yet got to be actualities are become and becoming1 one sees organisms enough in the dim huge future1 and ',united ,services' quite other than the redcoat one2 and much1 even in these years1 struggling to be born6--7,past and ,present1 page #bbf47 ,an effective ',teaching ,service1' ,i do consider that there must be2 some education secretary1 captain-general of teachers1 who will actually contrive to get us taught4 ,then again1 why should there not be an ',emigration ,service1' and secretary with adjuncts1 with funds1 forces1 idle navy ships1 and ever-increasing apparatus1 in fine an effective system of emigration1 so that at length before our twenty years of respite ended1 every honest willing workman who found ,england too strait1 and the 'organisation of labour' not yet sufficiently advanced1 might find likewise a bridge built to carry him into new western lands1 there to 'organise' with more elbow room some labour for himself8 ,there to be a real blessing1 raising new corn for us1 purchasing new webs and hatchets from us2 leaving us at least in peace2 instead of staying here to be a physical-force ,chartist1 unblessed and no blessing6 ,is it not scandalous to consider that a ,prime ,minister could raise within the year1 as ,i have seen it done1 a hundred and twenty millions sterling to shoot the ,french2 and we are stopped short for want of the hundredth part of that to keep the ,english living8 ,the bodies of the ,english living1 and the souls of the ,english living1 these two ',services1' an ,education ,service and an ,emigration ,service1 these with others1 will have actually to be organised4 ,a free bridge for emigrants6 ,why1 we should then be on a par with ,america itself1 the most favoured of all lands that have no government2 and we should have1 besides1 so many traditions and mementos of priceless things which ,america has cast away4 ,we could proceed deliberately to organise labour not doomed to perish unless we effected it within year and day every willing worker that proved superfluous1 finding a bridge ready for him4 ,this verily will have to be done2 the time is big with this4 ,our little ,isle is grown too narrow for us2 but the world is wide enough yet for another six thousand years4 ,england's sure markets will be among new colonies of ,englishmen in all quarters of the ,globe4 ,all men trade with all men when mutually convenient1 and are even bound to do it by the ,maker of ,men4 ,our friends of ,china1 who guiltily refused to trade in these circumstances--had we not to argue with them1 in cannon-shot at last1 and convince them that they ought to trade8 ',hostile tariffs' will arise to shut us out1 and then1 again1 will fall1 to let us in2 but the sons of ,england--speakers of the ,english language1 were it nothing more--will in all times have the ineradicable predisposition to trade with ,england4 ,mycale was the ,pan-,ionian--rendezvous of all the tribes of ,ion--for old ,greece2 why should not ,london long continue the ,all ,saxon ,home1 rendezvous of all the ',children of the ,harz-,rock1' arriving1 in select samples1 from the ,antipodes and elsewhere by steam and otherwise1 to the 'season' here8 ,what a future6 ,wide as the world1 if we have the heart and heroism for it1 which1 by ,heaven's blessing1 we shall4 ,keep not standing fixed and rooted1 ,briskly venture1 briskly roam2 ,head and hand1 where'er thou foot it1 ,and stout heart are still at home4 ,in what land the sun does visit ,brisk are we1 what e'er betide2 ,to give space for wandering is it ,that the world was made so wide4 ,fourteen hundred years ago it was a considerable ',emigration ,service1' never doubt it1 by much enlistment1 discussion1 and apparatus that we ourselves arrived in this remarkable island1 and got into our present difficulties among others4--7,past and ,present1 pages #bbh-bcj7 ,the main substance of this immense problem of organising labour1 and first of all of managing the working classes1 will1 it is very clear1 have to be solved by those who stand practically in the middle of it1 by those who themselves work and preside over work4 ,of all that can be enacted by any ,parliament in regard to it1 the germs must already lie potentially extant in those two classes who are to obey such enactment4 ,a human chaos in which there is no light1 you vainly attempt to irradiate by light shed on it2 order never can arise there4 7,past and ,present1 pages #bca-cb47 ,look around you4 ,your world-hosts are all in mutiny1 in confusion1 destitution2 on the eve of fiery wreck and madness4 ,they will not march farther for you1 on the sixpence a day and supply-and-demand principle3 they will not2 nor ought they2 nor can they4 ,ye shall reduce them to order2 begin reducing them to order1 to just subordination2 noble loyalty in return for noble guidance4 ,their souls are driven nigh mad2 let yours be sane and ever saner4 ,not as a bewildered bewildering mob1 but as a firm regimented mass1 with real captains over them1 will these men march any more4 ,all human interests1 combined human endeavours1 and social growth in this world have1 at a certain stage of their development1 required organising and work1 the grandest of human interests1 does not require it4 ,god knows the task will be hard1 but no noble task was ever easy4 ,this task will wear away your lives and the lives of your sons and grandsons2 but for what purpose1 if not for tasks like this1 were lives given to men8 ,ye shall cease to count your thousand-pound scalps2 the noble of you shall cease6 ,nay1 the very scalps1 as ,i say1 will not long be left1 if you count only these4 ,ye shall cease wholly to be barbarous vulturous ,chactaws1 and become noble ,european nineteenth-century men4 ,ye shall know that ,mammon1 in never such gigs and flunky 'respectabilities' in not the alone ,god2 that of himself he is but a devil and even a brute-god4 ,difficult8 ,yes1 it will be difficult4 ,the short-fibre cotton2 that1 too1 was difficult4 ,the waste-cotton shrub1 long useless1 disobedient as the thistle by the wayside2 have ye not conquered it1 made it into beautiful bandana webs1 white woven shirts for men1 bright tinted air garments wherein flit goddesses8 ,ye have shivered mountains asunder1 made the hard iron pliant to you as soft putty2 the forest-giants-- marsh-jotuns--bear sheaves of golden grain2 ,a,egir--the ,sea-,demon himself stretches his back for a sleek highway to you1 and on ,firehorses and ,windhorses ye career4 ,ye are most strong4 ,thor1 red-bearded1 with his blue sun-eyes1 with his cheery heart and strong thunder-hammer1 he and you have prevailed4 ,ye are most strong1 ye ,sons of the icy ,north1 of the far ,east1 far marching from your rugged ,eastern ,wildernesses1 hitherward from the gray dawn of ,time6 ,ye are ,sons of the ,jotun-land2 the land of ,difficulties ,conquered4 ,difficult8 ,you must try this thing4 ,once try it with the understanding that it will and shall have to be done4 ,try it as ye try the paltrier thing1 making of money6 ,i will bet on you once more1 against all ,jotuns1 ,tailor-gods1 ,double-barrelled ,law-wards1 and ,denizens of ,chaos whatsoever6--7,past and ,present1 pages #bcf-cg47 ,a question arises here3 ,whether1 in some ulterior1 perhaps not far-distant stage of this ',chivalry of ,labour1' your ,master-,worker may not find it possible1 and needful1 to grant his ,workers permanent interest in his enterprise and theirs8 ,so that it become1 in practical result1 what in essential fact and justice it ever is1 a joint enterprise2 all men1 from the ,chief ,master down to the lowest ,overseer and ,operative1 economically as well as loyally concerned for it8 ,which question ,i do not answer4 ,the answer1 near or else far1 is perhaps1 ,yes2 and yet one knows the difficulties4 ,despotism is essential in most enterprises2 ,i am told they do not tolerate 'freedom of debate' on board a seventy-four4 ,republican senate and plebiscite would not answer well in cotton mills4 ,and yet1 observe there too1 ,freedom--not nomad's or ape's ,freedom1 but man's ,freedom2 this is indispensable4 ,we must have it1 and will have it6 ,to reconcile ,despotism with ,freedom--well1 is that such a mystery8 ,do you not already know the way8 ,it is to make your ,despotism just4 ,rigorous as ,destiny1 but just1 too1 as ,destiny and its ,laws4 ,the ,laws of ,god2 all men obey these1 and have no ',freedom' at all but in obeying them4 ,the way is already known1 part of the way2 and courage and some qualities are needed for walking on it4 7,past and ,present 1 pages #bda-db7 ,not a ,may-game is this man's life1 but a battle and a march1 a warfare with principalities and powers4 ,no idle promenade through fragrant orange-groves and green flowery spaces1 waited on by the choral ,muses and the rosy ,hours3 it is a stern pilgrimage through burning sandy solitudes1 through regions of thick-ribbed ice4 ,he walks among men1 loves men1 with inexpressible soft pity1 as they cannot love him1 but his soul dwells in solitude in the uttermost parts of creation4 ,in green oases by the palm-tree wells he rests a space1 but anon he has to journey forward1 escorted by the ,terrors and the ,splendours1 the ,archdemons and ,archangels4 ,all ,heaven1 all ,pandemonium are his escort4 ,the stars keen-glancing from the ,immensities send tidings to him2 the graves1 silent with their dead1 from the ,eternities4 ,deep calls for him unto ,deep4--7,past and ,present1 page #bdi47 ,,the ,,catholic ,,church ,,and ,,the ,,social ,,question4 ,the ,rev4 ,dr4 ,barry read a paper at the ,catholic ,conference on ,june #cjth1 #ahij1 from which ,i take the following extracts as illustrative of the rising feeling of this subject in the ,catholic ,church4 ,the ,rev4 ,dr4 ,barry began by defining the proletariat as those who have only one possession--their labour4 ,those who have no land1 and no stake in the land1 no house1 and no home except the few sticks of furniture they significantly call by the name1 no right to employment1 but at the most a right to poor relief2 and who1 until the last #bj years1 had not even a right to be educated unless by the charity of their betters4 ,the class which1 without figure of speech or flights of rhetoric1 is homeless1 landless1 property less in our chief cities-- that ,i call the proletariat4 ,of the proletariat he declared there were hundreds of thousands growing up outside the pale of all churches4 ,he continued3 ,for it is frightfully evident that ,christianity has not kept pace with the population2 that it has lagged terribly behind2 that1 in plain words1 we have in our midst a nation of heathens to whom the ideals1 the practices1 and the commandments of religion are things unknown--as little realised in the miles on miles of tenement-houses1 and the factories which have produced them1 as though ,christ had never lived or never died4 ,how could it be otherwise8 ,the great mass of men and women have never had time for religion4 ,you cannot expect them to work double-tides4 ,with hard physical labour1 from morning till night in the surroundings we know and see1 how much mind and leisure is left for higher things on six days of the week8 444 ,we must look this matter in the face4 ,i do not pretend to establish the proportion between different sections in which these things happen4 ,still less am ,i willing to lay the blame on those who are houseless1 landless1 and property less4 ,what ,i say is that if the ,government of a country allows millions of human beings to be thrown into such conditions of living and working as we have seen1 these are the consequences that must be looked for4 ,a child1 said the ,anglican ,bishop ,south1 has a right to be born1 and not to be damned into the world4 ,here have been millions of children literally damned into the world1 neither their heads nor their hands trained to anything useful1 their miserable subsistence a thing to be fought and scrambled for1 their homes reeking dens under the law of lease-holding which has produced outcast ,london and horrible ,glasgow1 their right to a playground and amusement curtailed to the running gutter1 and their great object-lesson in life the drunken parents who end so often in the prison1 the hospital1 and the workhouse4 ,we need not be astonished if these not only are not ,christians1 but have never understood why they should be4444 ,the social condition has created this domestic heathenism4 ,then the social condition must be changed4 ,we stand in need of a public creed--of a social1 and if you will understand the word1 of a lay ,christianity4 ,this work cannot be done by the clergy1 nor within the four walls of a church4 ,the field of battle lies in the school1 the home1 the street1 the tavern1 the market1 and wherever men come together4 ,to make the people ,christian they must be restored to their homes1 and their homes to them4