"SIR,

"1The distressed circumstances in which many of our inferior Clergy necessarily leave their numerous families, induced the piety of our ancestors to establish a Corporation for their relief; in aid of which, the stewards of the feast of the Sons of the Clergy have promoted an annual collection for putting some of their helpless orphans apprentices to reputable trades. But there being still wanting a fund for the maintenance and education of these poor children in their more helpless infant state; some gentlemen in the year 1749, formed themselves into a Society for raising such a fund by a small annual subscription, and for seeing it faithfully applied to this very humane and necessary purpose.

2"The Society's income, small as it has hitherto proved, yet not being burthened with salaries of any kind, has enabled them in the course of nine years, to take care of 28 boys, selected out of the most numerous and distressed families that applied.

3"Of these, 13 have been placed out apprentices, and to the remaining number the Society have agreed to add two, besides filling up the vacancies that will happen, by the placing out of others who are now properly qualified.

4"The Society's general account at their last audit in February, stood as follows:

5"Total receipts 971_l._ 15_s._ 6_d._ Disbursements, for schooling and maintenance, 713_l._ 11_s._ 6_d._ Children's travelling charges 32_l._ 15_s._ 10_d._ Printing 62_l._ 12_s._ 6_d._ Balance in the Treasurer's hands 162_l._ 16_s._ 8_d._

6"The Society's circumstances have hitherto prevented them from extending their care to the poor girls, whose situation, no doubt, is full as deserving of compassion; but this they hope the benevolence of other well-wishers to the Church of England will soon enable them to do; and in the plan and management of this branch of the Charity, they shall be glad of the advice and assistance of the ladies.

7"Several Bishops and other persons of rank of both sexes have been pleased to approve of the design and conduct of the Society, and to honour the subscription with their names.

8JOHN PATERSON, _Sec._

9"Mr. Hayter (treasurer) desires I will, in his name, acknowledge the receipt of a bank-note for 20_l._ sent in a penny-post letter signed P. Q. R. and also of one guinea sent in the name of E. B. for the benefit of the above charity."

10A fire attended with many distressing circumstances occurred in King-street, Covent-garden, at the close of 1759, in consequence of which the managers of the Theatre there granted the sufferers a benefit, when every person employed on the occasion gave their salaries for the night cheerfully. The produce of another at Drury-lane was 230_l._

11A subscription in imitation of that which took place in 1745 for rewarding the soldiers with money and clothing who assisted in suppressing the Rebellion, distinguished the winter of 1760; and a very considerable sum was obtained for those then in the field.

12Another subscription, far more disinterested, amounting to 1782_l._ 17_s._ 3_d._ in January 1760, was intended for the relief of French prisoners. As the prologue spoken at the Drury-lane benefit alludes to each of the above traits of national benevolence, I think, the reader will pardon its insertion.

13"Cowards to cruelty are still inclin'd, But generous pity fills each Briton's mind. Bounteous as brave; and though their hearts are steel'd With native intrepidity, they yield To Charity's soft impulse: this their praise, The proud to humble, and th' oppress'd to raise: Nor partial limits can their bounty know;-- It aids the helpless alien, though a foe. Hear this, ye French, who urge the insidious strife That arms the Indian with the murdering knife; Who, to your foes less cruel, leave your own Starving in sad captivity to groan. Think of th' inhuman policy--and then Confess, ye fight not, nor ye feel, like men. Britons, this night your kind compassion flows For near-felt mis'ries and domestic woes; The dire distress with horror we recall;-- 'Twas death, 'twas dreadful devastation all.

14The sleepers were alarm'd with wild dismay, As lull'd in calm security they lay; While each perhaps in dreams forgot his pains, And fondly counted o'er his honest gains. But oh! the poor mechanic, scarce with life Himself escap'd, his children and his wife, Cold, naked, hungry, whither can they roam, No friend to succour, and without a home? Their little _all_ with sorrow they survive, And hardly deem it mercy, that they live. Your tender care their present wants supplies, And gives to industry new means to rise; Nor needed yet this bounteous act to prove Your wide humanity, and social love; All, all who want it, your protection find; For Britons are the friends of all mankind."

15The continued rains of May 1761 had almost ruined the haymakers assembled near the Metropolis, and compelled them to enter it as suitors for charity, which they received to the amount of 16_l._ 12_s._ from the Merchants on Change spontaneously. 129 persons shared the above sum.

16In a work of this description the thoughts of respectable writers cannot but be acceptable; one of those observed, in July 1761, "that parish charges (were) every where justly complained of; but how insupportable would they be, were it not for the hospitals erected in the Metropolis, and of late in several county towns, which, so far as they extend, for they go no farther than to relieve such sick or lame poor as there is a probability of curing, are of infinite use, not only to London and the county towns, but to the country for many miles around them.

17"In St. Bartholomew's hospital, in the year 1760, there were 3,539 in-patients cured. The number of in-patients in that hospital at that time is 405, and in Guy's and St. Thomas's about 400 in each. Supposing the numbers of in-patients cured in the two last to be the same, therefore, with that in St. Bartholomew's hospital, the total in the three will be 10,617: add to these, the number cured in the hospitals at Hyde-park corner and Westminster, the London Infirmary, the Middlesex, Small-pox, Bethlehem, and other hospitals in London, and they will amount to 15,000 at least. Add to this number the patients cured in the hospitals at Winchester, Bath, Bristol, Newcastle, Shrewsbury, Northampton, Liverpool, and the two hospitals at Exeter; I think there are fourteen of them out of London in different counties; and I believe I shall not exceed when I put the whole number, including those at London, at 20,000. All these are entirely maintained, and do nothing towards a subsistence; except that in some houses, those who are tolerably well assist in cleaning the house, making the beds, &c.

18"And it is very observable, that these hospitals for the sustenance and relief of the sick and lame poor have all of them been founded (St. Bartholomew's, St. Thomas's, &c. excepted) within these forty years: Hyde-park hospital was founded in 1733.

19"The London hospitals are so many and large, and under such prudent management, that scarce any persons are so destitute of friends, but they can procure admittance into one or other of them. In this, as in all other instances, Providence seems to have proportioned the quantity of pity and compassion to the real wants and distresses of the indigent."

20There are numbers of well-disposed persons who would contribute to the support of charitable institutions, were they introduced to their notice in a manner congenial to the bent of their inclination. A man of a grave and sedentary turn of mind may be prevailed upon by a tale of distress to open his purse, but similar methods will not succeed with the _bon vivant_; full of life and spirit, he drives care from him by every artifice in his power; and yet the governors of our hospitals and benevolent foundations have contrived a trap for him, and he cheerfully catches at the bait.--_Ecce signum!_

21_Magdalen-house charity, Prescot-street, Goodman's fields, Feb. 10, 1762._

22"The _anniversary feast_ of the Governors of this Charity will be held on Thursday, the 18th of March next, at Drapers-hall, in Throgmorton-street; after a Sermon to be preached at the parish church of St George's, Hanover-square, before the Right honourable the earl of Hertford, president, the vice-presidents, treasurer, and governors of this Charity, by the Rev. William Dodd, A. M. chaplain to the bishop of St. David's. Prayers will begin at 11 o'clock precisely.

23"_And dinner will be on the table at three o'clock._

24"N. B. A _Te Deum_ composed by Mr. Handel, for the late duke of Chandos's chapel, with _Jubilate_ and other Anthems, will be performed by Mr. Beard, and a proper band of the best performers, both vocal and instrumental.

25"Tickets for the feast may be had at the following places at _five shillings each_," &c. &c.

26The readers of the newspapers of our day will thus perceive that Solomon was right in saying, 'there is nothing new under the Sun;' from the above hour, nay long before, conviviality and charity have coalesced. Dinners, and collections after dinners, when the mind generously dilates, have relieved thousands from the deepest misery; and I hope this mode of filling the chasms of more disinterested benevolence will prevail till such methods are unnecessary.

27An occurrence happened in 1762, which places the humanity of his present Majesty in a very amiable point of view. A female infant had been left in one of the courts of the palace of St. James's; some of the officers in waiting sent it to the overseers of St. Martin's parish, who, with those of St. Margaret's afterwards applied to, refused to receive the child under the plea that the palace was an independent jurisdiction. When the King heard of the circumstance, he immediately ordered that a nurse should be provided, and the fortunate orphan was subsequently honoured with the name of Georgiana Charlotta Sophia.

28The City of London Lying-in hospital, established many years past, has served as a pattern for several others in various parts of the Metropolis. From the date of its commencement to 1762, 3655 married women had been received, 45 of whom were delivered of twins, and one of three children; including which, 1896 male and 1806 female infants were indebted for life to this humane establishment[57:A].

29Collections have been frequently made during severe weather, or on some particularly distressing occasion, from door to door in the various parishes within the bills of mortality, and considerable sums obtained. In the winter of 1763, the inhabitants of St. Anne's, Westminster, gave 169_l._ 15_s._ 3_d._ the Princess dowager of Wales 100_l._ and the duke of York 50_l._ to the poor not relieved by the regular assessments. Nor was this a solitary instance of generosity, as the duke of Newcastle gave above 400_l._ to different places at the same period; and the rich parish of St. James's relieved 1200 persons with gifts of money and coals.

30Though so much had been done to prevent the calamities of poverty, wretchedness prevailed in places where benevolence could not imagine it existed. Garrets in retired alleys and lanes always afford inmates in the last stages of disease and starvation; and the instances that might be adduced would prove very distressing in the recital; but that _supposed empty houses_ should contain wretches expiring with want, was beyond the imagination of the most exalted charity; and yet the following melancholy fact actually occurred in November 1763, the narrative of which may serve as a hint to overseers, whose duty it is, I should conceive, to prevent actual _death through want_ in their respective districts.

31A Mr. Stephens, of Fleet-market, was commissioned to shew some empty houses in Stonecutter-street intended for sale, and one day accompanied a gentleman to them, who had thoughts of purchasing the estate on which they were situated. On entering a room on the first floor, an object of horror attracted their attention, _a naked female corpse_! Stephens, alarmed beyond expression, fled from the scene; but the other more courageous ascended to the next floor, where he was soon after joined by his terrified attendant, and they discovered a second and a third woman dead, and nearly destitute of clothing; pursuing this dreadful research, they found in the upper story two women, and a girl about eighteen years of age, one of whom, and the latter, appeared emaciated beyond description, but their companion in misery was in better condition. Prudence and humanity dictated that an examination should take place as to the cause of so singular and dreadful an occurrence; in consequence, the survivors were taken into custody, and the ensuing particulars were related by them before the Coroner and his Jury.

32"It appeared on the inquisition, from the evidence of Elizabeth Stanton, one of these women, that on the Wednesday preceding the inquiry she came from Westminster, and being in want of lodging, strolled to this house, and laid herself down on the ground-floor, where she saw nobody; that about eleven that evening the woman in good condition (Elizabeth Pattent) a stranger to her, came into the room where she (Stanton) had laid herself down, and by treading on her awakened her, at the same time crying out 'Who is there?' To which Stanton replied, 'No person that will hurt you, for that she was going away in the morning.' Pattent therefore advised her to go up to the garret with her, which she did, and stayed there all that night, and the following day and night, and until she was taken into custody in the garret upon the above discovery.

33"Pattent, being out of place, attended the Fleet-market as a basket-woman; where she became acquainted with the deceased women, who were basket-women, and both known by no other names than Bet. Pattent, being destitute of lodging, was recommended to this ruinous house by the deceased women, who had lived, or rather starved, there for some time. Pattent, in the day-time, used to go to her late mistress's, who kept a Cook's-shop in King-street, Westminster, and worked for her victuals, and lodged in this house at night, where she continued till she was taken into custody. About the middle of the week preceding the inquisition, the deceased women were taken ill; and on Saturday the 12th instant, Pattent pawned her apron for sixpence, and bought some beef and plumb-pudding at a Cook's-shop in Shoe-lane, and both the deceased women on Saturday and Sunday ate heartily thereof, and on Sunday night she heard the deceased women groan. One had the itch, and the other a fever; and, being fearful of catching the one or the other, she did not go to them any more; nor did she know of their deaths till taken into custody.

34"Elizabeth Surman, the girl, was the daughter of a deceased Jeweller, in Bell-alley, Coleman-street; her parents died when she was about six years of age, and she was taken care of by Mrs. Jones, a next door neighbour, with whom she lived about four years; Mrs. Jones then dying, Surman was left destitute; and on being informed she could get employment in Spital-fields, she went there, and assisted a woman in winding quills, but she retiring into the country, Surman was again left destitute; however, she found employment in Spital-fields market, with Mrs. Bennet, in winding silk, but, not pleasing her, was discharged in a week. She then went to Mrs.

35Roach's in that market, who took in washing and nursed children, where Surman continued six years, and until she was taken ill, on which account she was discharged her service. She then went to the churchwarden of the parish where her father had been housekeeper many years, to desire relief; _but he refused, without so much as expostulating with her about her legal settlement, or informing her that she had gained a settlement by servitude_. She being very ill and weak, _lay all night at the churchwarden's door, but it had no effect on him_; and this girl was obliged to lie about in the streets, until she was informed of this empty house, where she lay every night for near two months; the deceased women being there when she came, and both then lying on straw in the two pair of stairs room.

36For the first week of Surman's being there, she lay in the room with them on straw, all which week _she was ill with an ague, and had no sustenance_ whatever; _that then Elizabeth Pattent relieved her_; and as Surman grew better, she went abroad and received alms, returning at night, and delivering her money to Pattent, who bought her victuals. Surman was afterwards received into St.

37Andrew's workhouse, where she continued a week; and, about a fortnight ago, she returned to this empty house, and lodged in the garret; and being very ill, _was assisted by Pattent_, and for the last fortnight was not out of the garret till last Friday, when she, with the two other women, were found in the garret, and taken into custody, and never saw or heard, all that time, any thing of the deceased women till she was apprehended.

38"On Pattent's being interrogated with respect to the woman's being stripped naked and selling her cloaths, she strictly denied knowing any thing of it; alledging, that as they all entered the house at the cellar, and she being mostly out in the day-time, and attending the poor girl at night, other persons might strip the deceased unknown to her.

39"There were no marks of violence about the deceased women, _but they appeared as if starved_.

40"The Jury were well satisfied with the account they had received from their most deplorable evidence. The Coroner gave them some money; and the Jury ordered them a supper, and that care might be taken of them in the Casualty-house."

41These pitiable objects, worthy of a far better fate, who starved rather than they would steal, and met death surrounded with tenfold terrors, supported by pure consciences, deserve statues to their memory; nay, Pattent would have done honour to Roman virtue, who worked the day through for a miserable subsistence, and passed the night in watching and relieving the sick--and yet I should be afraid to know the sequel of her eventful story. Is it not shocking to think on this catastrophe, when we reflect how many would have contributed to the relief of this family of misery, had they known their wants, when advertisements for relief daily appeared from the distressed and were successful. Even at the moment they were dying a thousand lingering deaths through every possible privation, Catharine Shaw, a widow, with seven children and a mother, acknowledged the bounty of the publick in the receipt of 191_l._ 13_s._ 9_d._ and presentations to Christ's hospital for two of her boys.

42The Marine Society, mentioned in "Londinium Redivivum," relieved 295 youths _a second time_ in 1763. These lads, rescued originally from ruin, and sent by the Society into the King's service, were discharged on the conclusion of peace; when they apprenticed 15 to fishermen, 71 to trades, 17 to manufacturers, 6 to public-houses, 29 to the merchant's service, 80 to naval officers for three years, one to agriculture, and nine to water and lightermen; assisted 17 to procure masters, sent 29 to their friends, and 21 provided for themselves.

43The unfavourable weather which occurred in July 1764, did infinite damage to the grain near London; and a hail-storm that fell on the 23d injured the inferior farmers' property to the amount of 4864_l._ in Middlesex only: the benevolent inhabitants of the Metropolis, touched with their misfortunes, opened a subscription, and restored their losses[64:A].

44A second scene of wretchedness and distress attracted commiseration in the above year, for certain Germans; who, deceived by splendid offers of prosperity provided they emigrated to America, were left by their inhuman deceivers to perish in the neighbourhood of London, because they found some deficiencies in their own calculations of profit. Such was the miserable situation of those poor Palatines, that they actually lay in the fields near Bow, where, it is asserted, they had not eaten for two days previous to the following generous act recorded of a baker, who should have been a Prince. This worthy man (whose name has unfortunately not been mentioned) passing along the road near the Germans with his basket on his shoulder, containing 28 two-penny loaves, perceiving their forlorn situation, threw it down, and observed, that his customers must fast a little longer that day, and immediately distributed the bread, for no other return than signs of gratitude and tears of joy.

45This affecting circumstance is the first intimation the publick received of their situation; but Mr. Wachsel, Minister of the German Lutheran church, in Little Ayliffe-street, Goodman's-fields, thus addressed the publick immediately afterwards, through the medium of the newspapers:

46"I hope you will permit me, by means of your paper, to inform those who have the power to redress it, of the very deplorable situation of the poor unhappy Palatines, lately arrived here from Germany. They are in number, men, women, and children, about _six hundred_, consisting of Wurtzburghers and Palatines, all Protestants; and were brought hither from their native country by a German officer, with a promise of being sent to settle, at his own expence, in the Island of St.

47John and Le Croix, in America; but _by inability he has been obliged to decline the undertaking_; so that, instead of their being shipped off for those places, some of them have lain during the late heavy rains, and are now lying, in the open fields adjacent to this Metropolis, without covering, without money, and, in short, without the common necessaries of life; others lie languishing under the complicated evils of sickness and extreme want, at the Statute-hall in Goodman's-fields; and more than 200 remain on board the ship which brought them over, on account of their passage not being paid for, where they are perishing for food, and rotting in filth and nastiness.

48Collections have been made at the German churches and chapels here, several times, to afford them some relief; but as the number of these poor creatures is so considerable, it is impossible, by such means, to furnish them with a regular and continued supply, adequate to their wants; so that, unless some provision is very speedily made for them, they must inevitably perish.

49These unfortunate people would think themselves inexpressibly happy, if the English Government would be graciously pleased to take them under its protection; to allow them, for the present, some ground to lie on; tents to cover them; and any manner of subsistence, till it shall be thought proper to ship them off, and settle them in any of the English colonies in America; where, I doubt not, they will give their protectors and benefactors constant proofs of their affection and gratitude for such kindness, by behaving as becometh honest, industrious, and dutiful subjects to the British government.

50I take the liberty of thus expressing the hopes and wishes of these wretched beings, as they have no friend to intercede for them who has interest sufficient for such an undertaking, or even a knowledge of the proper method of application.

51"That their distresses are unutterably great, I myself have been too often a mournful witness of, in my attendance on them to administer the duties of my function; with one instance of which I shall conclude this melancholy detail. One of the poor women was seized with the pangs of labour in the open fields, and was delivered by the ignorant people about her in the best manner they were able; but, from the injury the tender infant received in the operation, it died soon after I had baptized it; and the wretched mother, after receiving the Sacrament at my hands, expired from the want of proper care and necessaries suitable to her afflicting and truly lamentable condition.

52"That the Almighty may, of his infinite mercy, incline the hearts of the great and good of this Kingdom, distinguished for its charity and hospitality, to take under their protection these their unhappy fellow Christians, who did not intrude themselves into this country, but were invited hither, and send them whithersoever they in their wisdom and goodness shall think proper, is the most ardent prayer of