\ 
MEND 
felief; but we take clown their name and refidence ; and 
the overfeer whofe turn it is for the week calls the next 
day, and relieves them at their own habitation. That 
plan was firlt adopted when I was overfeer; and I think, in 
hve cafes out of ten, we found that we had falle directions, 
and that there were no fuch perfons living there. 
[Mr. G. H. Mahne, of St. John’s Wellminfter, fays, 
“ Going along the High-ftreet, Borough, I law a number 
of perfons whom, by their appearance, I knew to be iti¬ 
nerant beggars, travelling by palfes. Obferving a man 
and his family divide, dole to the church, and the woman 
take a pal's out of her pocket, I guelfed the bufinefs they 
were upon ; and, on paying a little attention to their 
further proceedings, found this family W'ere making ufe 
of two pafles : the woman went into the Ihop where one 
of the overfeers refided, taking w r ith her all the children ; 
and the man went afterwards with fome of them ; by 
which means they got double allowance.’’] 
What is your opinion Mr. Hale, of the bell means to 
prevent mendicity ?—To take every polfible means of in¬ 
forming the public of -what defcription thefe individuals 
are, and their Iheer depravity; that they are not fit objects 
of their benevolence; that in no injianceJhould an individual 
give any thing to a perfon that applied to him in the Jlreets ; 
and for the churchwardens, overfeers, conftables, and 
Other efficient officers in their refpebtive parilhes, never to 
fuller a beggar to walk the llreets, but, if they do, to warn 
them ; if they trefpafs a fecond time, take them before a 
magiftrate, who will give the neceffary inftrudions to pals 
them to their refpeftive parilhes. But the advantages 
striling from begging are fuch a temptation to the idle 
poor, not willing to work, that they would fooner be im- 
prifoned three months in the year, than be deterred from 
the practice of begging the other nine. 
The fame queftion to Mr. John Daughtry.—If the pub¬ 
lic lodging-houfes, which are the nightly refort of the 
worft of this clafs of perfons, were brought under regu¬ 
lation, and perhaps fuppreffed, it might contribute a little 
towards this objeCt; but the moll effectual preventive 
would be, to enlighten the public mind on the point, and 
Check the injudicious benevolence which fupports and en¬ 
courages fuch vagrants. But the proper oblervance of 
tire Sabbath by the lower orders of lociety, has a molt im¬ 
portant influence on the moral character and general com¬ 
fort of their families ; and it will rarely be found to happen 
that poor perfons fo brought up, and who had alfo the 
advantage of fuitable inllruCtion, have become mendicants. 
Sunday-Jcliools perhaps, above every other means, promote 
among the poor this nnich-negleCted duty : the children 
are not only taught the lacred obligation of the fabbath, 
but are habituated to obferve it, by being regularly con¬ 
ducted to public worlhip. Such is the elfeCt on the poor 
in general, of a Hated attendance on the public fervice of 
religion, that thofe w r ho are accultomed to viflt them, are 
in moll cafes able to difcern it in the very afpeCt of the fa¬ 
mily : where the fabbath is obferved, you may expeCi to 
find', in even the poorell, cleanlinefs, decency, and civil 
behaviour ; but, where it is violated, the reverie of thefe 
are often met with. Perfons who have been for many 
years connected with thefe inllitutions, and have anxioufly 
traced the deftination of many of the children that were 
formerly under their care, can point out great numbers, 
who, being grown up into life, are now good members of 
i'ociety; but they have never difcovered any inllance of 
one becoming a mendicant. Well-regulated Sunday- 
fchools are clireCtly calculated to counteract the dilpoli- 
tions and habits that might iead to mendicity.- In the 
■courfe even of a few months after the lowelt order of 
children have been admitted, their very appearance is ob- 
j’erved to undergo a decided improvement; they are uni¬ 
formly cleaner and more tidily dreifed ; and their minds 
are evidently railed a degree further from the meannefs 
and degradation of mendicants. The knowledge and 
moral influence of which the children thus partake, they 
•communicate, in a greater or lets degree, fo all their ya- 
Vot. XV. No. .1027. 
I C I T Y. 07 
rious families. Not unfrequeritly too, the benefit, which 
in this way extends to the parents, is confirmed by a word 
of counfel and admonition from a teacher, who calls per¬ 
haps to enquire after an abfent child, or to afford relief in 
cafe of ficknefs. I allude more particularly to thofe Sun- 
day-fchools where the teachers aCt gratuif.oujly, as I find, 
that no perfons who are paid do the work half lo well as 
thofe who do it from motives of real benevolence. The 
above remarks will alfo, in a great meafure, apply to thofe 
day-Jchools in which the children are afiembled on the Sun¬ 
day for moral and religious inllruCtion, and are llatedly 
conducted to public worlhip. 
In a fchool ellablilhed at Hoxton, a few years ago, where 
there were a great number of very depraved poor, the 
moral improvement in the neighbourhood is viflble to all 
the inhabitants ; and there are many inllances which can. 
be pointed out, of the molt complete reformation in the 
morals and conduCl of the parents, from the circumllance 
of the children having been introduced into the fchools. 
In fome inllances they have taught their parents to read. 
As a branch of this fchool, another has been ellablilhed at 
Haggerfone, a village at a fmall diltance, which was pro¬ 
verbial for depravity : there are a number of brickmakers 
refute there, who are a moll wretched let of beings ; and 
the face of that neighbourhood is completely changed in. 
the courfe of the lall year or two ;• and it is alcribed by all 
to the inftitution of the fchool there. 
Mr. Hale was alked if he knew any thing as to the Hate 
of the village of Haggerllone, alluded to by the lall wit- 
nefs.—Anfwer : “ It is a place inhabited chiefly by brick- 
makers,of the very lowelt clafs of lociety, and perhaps fome 
of them of the very worll characters ; 1b much lb, that no 
man or woman towards dark will walk acrofs that way to-- 
wards Hackney, though it might be fomewhat nearer 
and fo bad, that, if a thief was purfued and ran to Hag¬ 
gerllone, no conllable or runner would go beyond a cer¬ 
tain line ; it has been called The City of Refuge. To have 
any moral improvement made on the face ol lociety like 
that, fuch as has been fpoken to by the lall witnefs, mull 
afford a llriking proof of the beneficial confequences re- 
fulting from early inllruCtion.” 
On the fubjeCl of delivering the llreets from the nuifanc? 
of common beggars, we have the following evidence : 
Mr. Francis Holier, clerk to the lord-mayor, who at¬ 
tends his lordlhip daily in the jullice-room,—Are beggars 
frequently brought before him ? Not the common beg¬ 
gars very often ; but the common beggars, in general, 
unite pilfering with begging; if they have an opportunity 
of taking a door-mat, or any thing where there is no ap¬ 
pearance of danger, they attempt it, and are frequently 
caught in thole attempts. They are not lb often taken 
up for vagrancy only, as perhaps they might be. It is a 
very difagreeable thing for an officer to undertake, for he 
is fure to get a crowd about him, and to be ill-treated ; 
there is generally a ferious llruggle before any of thofe 
common beggars can betaken into cultody, and conveyed 
to a place of lecurity. 
By people of their own clafs ?—No ; by an ill-advifed 
kindnefs of individuals. Thele beggars immediately 
make a refinance, by filling down and fcreaming; and 
then good-natured people mterell themfelves, and deiira 
they will not pull the poor creature about. I lliould fee] 
that as one principal reafon of the officers not doing theii* 
duty more often. 
Do you find the fame people that have been under exa¬ 
mination at one time, and palled to their parilhes, return t 
—Yes, frequently. Some have been lent to Ireland 
more than once. There is a woman infells the city with 
three or four children, who has been lent to Ireland more 
than once, an exceffively bad woman, and very trouble, 
fome and abufive ; Ihe was found begging in a very fliorfc 
time in the fame places as before. 
Mr. Philip Holdfwortli, city-marlhal.—I have the charge 
of the police ; the police are inllrufted to prevent burgla¬ 
ries, {keet-robberies, nuifances of eyfry kind 5 and it 
C £ as. 
