480 
JOURNAL OF THE PLYMOUTH INSTITUTION. 
PAUPERISM. 
ABSTEAOT OF REV. W. SHARMAN's PAPER. 
(Read January 27th, 1876.) 
The lecturer said he regarded pauperism as " our social sin grown 
manifest," but was chiefly concerned at that time with the inquiry, 
why our attempts to relieve it were so far failures that our private 
gifts were sources of demoralization, and our national alms were 
so hated that the criminal poor preferred the prison, and the 
proudest death. After a reference to the confessed failure of 
private charity, he called attention to the objection of the poor 
themselves to accept national relief — a reluctance entertained by 
them in proportion to the virtue of their character. So great was 
the detestation of the " house," that the Yorkshire poor called it 
" the Bastile;" and yearly three hundred great-hearted English 
souls chose death rather than its dishonour. He regarded the 
proposal to abolish out-door relief with the greatest aversion. He 
thought that relief a necessary and merciful part of our system, 
and he would use it as a means of classification, giving it often to 
a more liberal extent than was at present done. The "house test" 
was often cruel, and proved a poor economy. Separated families 
and broken pride were too heavy prices to pay for diminished rates, 
even if they could be so purchased. The immediate and imperative 
duty of the time appeared to be the organization of private benevo- 
lence, and the association of volunteer workers with the adminis- 
trators of public relief. The experiment, begun in Elberfeld in 
1853, showed what could be done in that direction. Jn 1853 the 
population numbered 50,364, and the paupers relieved were 4,224; 
in 1873 the population had increased to 78,000, and the number 
of paupers had fallen to 980. The plan by which this result had 
been effected was the division of the town into 252 sections, a 
visitor being placed over each section, and an overseer over each 
fourteen sections. All applications for relief were made in the 
first instance to the visitor, who was empowered to give relief at 
