Establishments for the Poor. 339 



Every town must be divided, according to its extent, 

 into a greater or less number of districts, or subdivi- 

 sions ; and each of these must have a committee of 

 inspection, or rather a commissary, with assistants, who 

 must be entrusted with the superintendence and man- 

 agement of all affairs relative to the relief and support 

 of the poor within its limits. 



In very large cities, as the details of a general estab- 

 lishment for the poor would be very numerous and 

 extensive, it would probably facilitate the management 

 of the affairs of the establishment if, beside the small- 

 est subdivisions or districts, there could be formed other 

 larger divisions, composed of a certain number of dis- 

 tricts, and put under the direction of particular com- 

 mittees. 



The most natural, and perhaps the most convenient 

 method of dividing a large city or town, for the pur- 

 pose of introducing a general establishment for the 

 poor, would be, to form of the parishes the primary 

 divisions ; and to divide each parish into so many sub- 

 divisions, or districts, as that each district may consist 

 of from 3000 to 4000 inhabitants. Though the im- 

 mediate inspection and general superintendence of the 

 affairs of each parish were to be left to its own partic- 

 ular committee, yet the supreme committee at the 

 head of the general institution should not only exer- 

 cise a controlling power over the parochial committees, 

 but these last should not be empowered to levy money 

 upon the parishioners, by setting on foot voluntary sub- 

 scriptions, or otherwise ; or to dispose of any sums 

 belonging to the general institution, except in cases 

 of urgent necessity ; nor should they be permitted to 

 introduce any new arrangements with respect to the 



