No. 216.] 425 



ed, produces a want of neatness and personal cleanliness. A single 

 fact will show some of the evils of the one room system. As a 

 tract visitor knocked at the door of a room, he was invited in; he 

 opened the door and entered, when, to his astonishment, he found a 

 man entirely naked, sitting with his wife and children; the former 

 was washing the shirt which the man had taken off. This was on a 

 Sabbath day. 



Answer 2d. Physical distress often prevents the poor, or indeed, 

 any class, from being benefited by religious instruction. But on 

 the other hand, it often softens and prepares the mind for its more 

 ready reception; I believe the possession of the ability, judiciously 

 to relieve the pressing wants of the poor, and to alleviate their bod- 

 ily ailments, would be of great service in the attempt to elevate their 

 moral and social condition. 



Answer 3d. I should presume that recklessness of character gen- 

 erally precedes negligence and filthiness; for instance, I have known 

 a man who had a happy home to become a drunkard; this vice soon 

 reduced him from an industrious, cleanly man, to a reckless, loath- 

 some being. His wife, too, having become discouraged, falls into 

 the snare. Now the once happy home is a scene of filth and con- 

 fusion. Go to work with that family, become instrumental in restor- 

 ing them to sobriety and industry, and the change will be as appa- 

 rent in the second instance as it was in the first. 



As it respects the latter part of this question, I would add, that 

 much, very much, depends upon the manner in which individuals are 

 brought up. Some families will with six dollars per week, appear 

 more respectable, and possess more self-respect than others with ten 

 dollars, with an equal number in the family. The difficulty in most 

 cases, is in the training. Hence the importance of educating the 

 young. 



Answer 4th. In my opinion, constraint by law ought to be on the 

 landlord. No landlord ought to be allowed to let a place which is 

 known to be unhealthy under a heavey penalty. There are thousands 

 in this city, who are pent up in cellars with ground for the floor, into 

 which I would not put a hog, if I wanted him to thrive. Last win- 

 ter, I visited a place in Washington street, where in one such hole, 

 thirteen persons were staying, four adults and nine children. At 

 times the tide came in; it was always damp, and there was a woman 

 sick with pleurisy. 



