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diff --git a/old/64825-0.txt b/old/64825-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 7150f87..0000000 --- a/old/64825-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,11341 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of Practicable Socialism, by Samuel Agustus -Barnett - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: Practicable Socialism - New Series - -Author: Samuel Agustus Barnett - Henrietta Octavia Weston Barnett - -Release Date: March 15, 2021 [eBook #64825] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -Produced by: Fay Dunn and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at - https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images - generously made available by The Internet Archive) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PRACTICABLE SOCIALISM *** - - - - -[Transcriber's note: Italic font is indicated by _underscores_.] - - - SOCIOLOGY, SOCIALISM, ETC. - -THE ANNUAL CHARITIES REGISTER AND DIGEST: being a Classified Register of -Charities in or available for the Metropolis, together with a Digest of -Information respecting the Legal and Voluntary Means for the Prevention -and Relief of Distress and the Improvement of the Condition of the Poor. -8vo, 5s. net. - -UNEMPLOYMENT: a Problem of Industry. 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Fcap. 8vo, paper covers, 1s. net; gilt top, cloth, 2s. -net; leather, 3s. net. - - - LONGMANS, GREEN AND CO., 39 PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON, E.C., - NEW YORK, BOMBAY, CALCUTTA, AND MADRAS. - - - - - PRACTICABLE SOCIALISM - - - - - +------------------------------------------------------+ - | THE MAKING OF THE BODY. | - | | - | BY MRS. S. A. BARNETT. | - | _With 113 Illustrations._ _Crown 8vo_, 1_s._ 9_d._ | - | | - | ---------- | - | | - | LONGMANS, GREEN AND CO., | - | LONDON, NEW YORK, BOMBAY, CALCUTTA, AND MADRAS. | - +------------------------------------------------------+ - - - - - [Illustration: PORTRAITS OF CANON AND MRS. S. A. BARNETT - - Painted by Sir Hubert von Herkomer, R.A.; given to them by many - friends, and presented by the Right Honourable Herbert H. Asquith, - K.C., M.P., at Toynbee Hall, on November 20th, 1908.] - - - - - PRACTICABLE SOCIALISM - - _NEW SERIES_ - - BY - CANON S. A. BARNETT (THE LATE) - AND - MRS. S. A. BARNETT - - _WITH FRONTISPIECE_ - - - LONGMANS, GREEN AND CO. - 39 PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON - FOURTH AVENUE & 30TH STREET, NEW YORK - BOMBAY, CALCUTTA, AND MADRAS - 1915 - - - - - INTRODUCTION. - - -The first edition of PRACTICABLE SOCIALISM was printed in 1888, the -second in 1894. Now, twenty-one years afterwards, a new series is -issued, but the most important of the two authors, alas! has left the -world, and it therefore falls to me to write the introduction alone. - -In selecting the papers for this volume, out of a very great deal of -material, the principle followed has been to print those which deal with -reforms yet waiting to be fully accomplished. It would have been easier -and perhaps pleasanter to have taken the subjects dealt with in the -previous volumes, and by grouping subsequent papers together, have shown -how many of the reforms then indicated as desirable and “practicable,” -had now become accepted and practised. But so to do would not have been -in harmony with our feelings. My husband counted the sin of “numbering -the people” as due to a debased moral outlook, and the contemplation of -“results” as tending to hinder nobler efforts after that which is deeper -than can be calculated. Of him it is truthful to quote “His soul’s wings -never furled”. - -The papers have been grouped in subject sections, and though the ideas -have for many years been set forth by him in various publications, in -most instances the writings here reproduced are under six years old. In -a few cases, however, I have used quite an old paper, thinking it gave, -with hopeful vision, thoughts which later lost their freshness as they -became accomplished facts. - -The book begins with _The Religion of the People_ and _Cathedral -Reform_, for Canon Barnett held with unvarying certainty that--to quote -his own words--“there is no other end worth reaching than the knowledge -of God, which is eternal life,”--and that “organizations are only -machinery of which the driving power is human love, and of which the -object is the increase of the knowledge of God”. To this test our plans -and undertakings were constantly brought. “Does our work give ‘life’ by -bringing men nearer to God and nearer to one another.” “In the knowledge -of what ‘life’ is, let us put our work to the test.” “Do the Church -Services release divine hopes buried under the burden of daily cares?” -“Do the new buildings refine manners?” “Does higher teaching tend to -higher thoughts about duty?” “Does our relief system help to heal a -broken dignity as well as to comfort a sufferer?” “Do our entertainments -develop powers for enjoying the best in humanity past and present?” - -That the Church should be reformed to make it the servant of all who -would lead the higher life, was the hope he cherished throughout many -years spent in strenuous efforts to obtain a social betterment. He -writes: “The great mass of the people, because they stand apart from all -religious communions, may have in them a religious sense, but their -thought of God is not worked through their emotions into their daily -lives. They do not know what they worship, and so do not say with the -psalmist, ‘My soul is athirst for the living god,’ or say with Joseph, -‘How can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?’ The -spiritualization of life being necessary to human peace and happiness, -the problem which is haunting this generation is how to spiritualize the -forces which are shaping the future.” - -My husband urged that the reform of the Church would tend to solve that -problem. “The Church by its history and organization has a power no -other agency can wield. If more freedom could be given to its system of -government and services, if it could be made directly expressive of the -highest aspirations of the people, it is difficult to exaggerate the -effect it might have. In every parish a force would be brought to bear -which might kindle thought, so that it would reach out to the highest -object; which might stir love, so that men would forget themselves in -devotion to the whole; and which might create a hope wherein all would -find rest. The first need of the age is an increase of Spirituality, and -the means of obtaining it is a Reformed Church.” - -The papers under _Recreation_ might almost as well have been placed in -the Education Section, so strongly did my husband feel that recreation -should educate. Only a few months before his illness he wrote: “The -claim of education is now primarily to fit a child to earn a living, and -therefore he is taught to read and write and learn a trade. But if it -were seen that it is equally important to fit a child to use well his -leisure, many changes would be made.” And such changes he argued would -increase, not lessen, the joy of holidays, an opinion which my -experience as Chairwoman of the Country-side Committee of the Children’s -Country Holiday Fund abundantly supports. - -In the Section for _Settlements_ and their work, only three papers will -be found, for so much has been written and spoken of Toynbee Hall and -kindred centres of usefulness, that it seems almost unnecessary to -reproduce the same thoughts. Yet in view of the fact that questions are -often asked as to the genesis of the idea, I have put in one of the -first papers (1884) that my husband wrote after we had had nine years’ -experience of the work of University men among the poorest and saddest -people, in which he suggested the scheme of Toynbee Hall, and also a -paper of mine written nine years after its foundation, in which I chat -of the _Beginnings of Toynbee Hall_. - -Between the first and the third paper there is a stretch of twenty-one -busy years, 1884-1905, and the article bears the marks of Canon -Barnett’s intense realization of the need of higher education, and his -almost passionate demand for it on behalf of the industrial classes. -“Social Reform,” he writes, “will soon be the all-absorbing interest as -the modern realization of the claims of human nature and the growing -power of the people will not tolerate many of the present conditions of -industrial life.... The well-being of the future depends on the methods -by which reform proceeds. Reforms in the past have often been -disappointing. They have been made in the rights of one class, and have -ended in the assertion of rights over another class. They have been made -by force, and produced reaction. They have been done for the people, not -by the people, and have never been assimilated. The method by which -knowledge and industry may co-operate has yet to be tried, and one way -in which to bring about such co-operation is the way of University -Settlements.” - -So many are the changes which affect _Poverty and Labour_, so rapidly -have they come about, and so keen and living an interest did Canon -Barnett feel with every step that the great army of the disinherited -took towards social justice, that it has been difficult to select which -papers on which subject to reprint, but I have chosen the most -characteristic, and also those connected with the reforms which most -influenced character and life. In this Section also some of the many -papers which Canon Barnett wrote on Poor Law Reform have been admitted. -I know that the activities of the Fabian Society and the “Break up of -the Poor Law” organization have rendered some of the ideas familiar, but -many of the Reforms he advocated are not yet accomplished, and to those -who are conversant with the subject, his large, sane, unsensational -statement of the case, as it appeared to him, will be welcome,--all the -more so because for nearly thirty years he was a member of the -Whitechapel Board of Guardians, the Founder of the Poor Law Conferences, -and had both initiated and carried out large administrative reforms. He -also had a very deep and probing tenderness for the character of -individual paupers, and a sensitive shrinking from wounding their -self-respect or lowering the dignity of their humanity, an attitude of -mind which influenced his relation to schemes sometimes made by paper -legislators who considered the poor in “the lump” instead of “one by -one”. - -Of the Social Service Section there is but little to say. _The Real -Social Reformer_ contains guiding principles, _The Mission of Music_ is -an interesting and curious output from a man with no ear for tune or -time or harmony, and _The Church on Town Planning_ is but an example of -how eagerly he desired that the Church should guide as well as minister -to the people. _Where Charity Fails_ is another plea that the kindly -intentioned should not injure the character of the recipient, and that -the crucial question, “Is our aim the self-extinction of our -organization,” should be borne in mind by the Governors and enthusiastic -supporters of even the best philanthropic agencies. - -The _Educational_ Section might have been much larger, but the papers -selected bear on the three sides of the subject which my husband in -recent years thought to be the most important. _The Equipment of the -Teachers_ but carried on the ideals towards which he ever pressed, from -the days when as a Curate at St. Mary’s, Bryanston Square, he taught the -monitors of the Church Schools, through the days when the first London -Pupil Teachers’ Centre had its birthplace in Toynbee Hall, through the -days when he established the Scholarship Committee whose work was to -select suitable pupil teachers and support them through their University -careers in Oxford and Cambridge, through the days when he rejoiced at -the abandonment of the vast system of pupil teachers,--to the days when -he demanded that teachers for the poorest children should be called from -the cultivated classes, and take their calling as a mission, to be -recognized and remunerated, as an honoured profession undertaken by -those anxious to render Social Service. - -The article _Justice to Young Workers_ deals with the vexed question of -Continuation Schools, attendance at which Canon Barnett thought should -be compulsory, since he believed that economic conditions would more -readily change to meet legally established educational demands than was -possible, when, in the interwoven complexity of business, one unwilling -or ten indifferent employers could throw any complicated voluntary -organization out of gear. - -The two articles on _Oxford and the Working People_ and _A Race between -Education and Ruin_ only inadequately represent the thought he gave to -the matter, or the deeply rooted, great branched hopes he had entwined -round the reform of the University,--but for many reasons he felt it -wiser to stand aside and watch younger men wield the sword of the pen. -So his writings on this subject are few, but that matters less than -otherwise it would have done, because the group of friends who have -decided to establish “Barnett House” in his memory are among those in -Oxford who shared his work, cared for his plans, and believed in his -visions, created as they were on knowledge of the industrial workers and -the crippling conditions of their lives. So as “Barnett House” is -established and grows strong, and in conjunction with the Toynbee Hall -Social Service Fellowship will bring the University and Industrial -Centres into closer and ever more sympathetic relationship, it is not -past the power of a faith, however puny and wingless, to imagine that -the reforms my husband saw “darkly” may be seen “face to face,” and in -realization show once more how “the Word can be made flesh”. - -In some Sections I have included papers from my pen, not because I think -they add much to the value of the book, but because my husband insisted -on the previous volumes of PRACTICABLE SOCIALISM being composed of our -joint writings as well as illustrative of our joint work, or to use his -words in the 1888 volume: “Each Essay is signed by the writer, but in -either case they represent our common thought, as all that has been done -represents our common work”. - - HENRIETTA O. BARNETT. - - _17 July, 1915._ - - - - - CONTENTS - - - PAGE - RELIGION. - - 1. Religion of the People _Canon Barnett_ 1 - - 2. Cathedral Reform _Canon Barnett_ 17 - - 3. Cathedrals and Modern Needs _Canon Barnett_ 32 - - RECREATION. - - 4. The Children’s Country Holiday Fun’ _Mrs. S. A. Barnett_ 41 - - 5. Recreation of the People _Canon Barnett_ 53 - - 6. Hopes of the Hosts _Mrs. S. A. Barnett_ 70 - - 7. Easter Monday on Hampstead Heath _Canon Barnett_ 74 - - 8. Holidays and Schooldays _Canon Barnett_ 77 - - The Failure of Holidays _Canon Barnett_ 83 - - 9. Recreation in Town and Country _Mrs. S. A. Barnett_ 89 - - SETTLEMENTS. - - 10. Settlements of University Men in _Canon Barnett_ 96 - Great Towns - - 11. The Beginnings of Toynbee Hall _Mrs. S. A. Barnett_ 107 - - 12. Twenty-one Years of University _Canon Barnett_ 121 - Settlements - - POVERTY AND LABOUR. - - 13. The Ethics of the Poor Law _Mrs. S. A. Barnett_ 132 - - 14. Poverty, Its Cause and Cure _Canon Barnett_ 143 - - 15. Babies of the State _Mrs. S. A. Barnett_ 150 - - 16. Poor Law Reform _Canon Barnett_ 167 - - 17. The Unemployed _Mrs. S. A. Barnett_ 178 - - 18. The Poor Law Report _Canon Barnett_ 184 - - 19. Widows with Children under the Poor _Mrs. S. A. Barnett_ 203 - Law - - 20. The Press and Charitable Funds _Canon Barnett_ 215 - - 21. What is Possible in Poor Law Reform _Canon Barnett_ 222 - - 22. Charity up to Date _Canon Barnett_ 230 - - 23. What Labour Wants _Canon Barnett_ 241 - - 24. Our Present Discontents _Canon Barnett_ 246 - - SOCIAL SERVICE. - - 25. Of Town Planning _Mrs. S. A. Barnett_ 261 - - 26. The Mission of Music _Canon Barnett_ 276 - - 27. The Real Social Reformer _Canon Barnett_ 288 - - 28. Where Charity Fails _Canon Barnett_ 294 - - 29. Landlordism up to Date _Canon Barnett_ 297 - - 30. The Church and Town Planning _Canon Barnett_ 301 - - EDUCATION. - - 31. The Teachers’ Equipment _Canon Barnett_ 307 - - 32. Oxford University and the Working _Canon Barnett_ 314 - People - - 33. Justice to Young Workers _Canon Barnett_ 320 - - 34. A Race between Education and Ruin _Canon Barnett_ 327 - - - - - SECTION I. - - RELIGION. - -The Religion of the People--Cathedral Reform--Cathedrals and Modern -Needs. - - - - - THE RELIGION OF THE PEOPLE.[1] - - BY CANON BARNETT. - - July, 1907. - - [1] From the “Hibbert Journal”. By permission of the Editor. - - -The people are not to be found in places of worship; “the great masses,” -as Mr. Booth says, “remain apart from all forms of religious communion”. -This statement is admitted as true, but yet another statement is -continually made and also admitted, that “the people are at heart -religious”. What is meant by this latter statement? The people are -certainly not inclined to assert their irreligion. Mr. Henderson, who as -a labour leader speaks with authority, says, “I can find no evidence of -a general desire among the workers to repudiate the principles of -Christianity”. And from my own experience in East London I can testify -to the growth of greater tolerance and of greater respect for the -representatives of religion. Processions with banners and symbols are -now common, parsons are elected on public bodies, and religious -organizations are enlisted in the army of reform. But this feature of -modern conditions is no proof that men and women are at heart religious. -It may only imply a more respectful indifference, a growth in manners -rather than in spiritual life. Does the statement mean that the people -are kind, and moved by the public spirit? This again is true. There is -widely spread kindness: rough lads are generous--one I knew gave up his -place to make room for a mate whose need was greater; weak and weary -women watch all night by a neighbour’s sick-bed; a poor family heartily -welcomes an orphan child; workmen suffer and endure private loss for the -sake of fellow-workmen. The kindness is manifest; but kindness is no -evidence of the presence of religion. Kindness may, indeed, be a deposit -of religion, a habit inherited from forefathers who drew into themselves -love from the Source of love, or it may be something learnt in the -common endurance of hardships. Kindness, generosity, public spirit -cannot certainly be identified with the religion which has made human -beings feel joy in sacrifice and given them peace in the pains of death. - -Before, however, we conclude that the non-church-going people are -religious or not religious, it may be well to be clear as to what is -meant by religion. I would suggest as a definition that religion is -thought about the Higher-than-self worked through the emotions into the -acts of daily life. This definition involves three constituents: (1) -There must be use of thought--the power of mental concentration--so -that the mind may break through the obvious and the conventional. -(2) There must be a sense of a not-self which is higher than -self--knowledge of a Most High whose presence convicts the self of -shortcoming and draws it upward. (3) There must be such a realization -of this not-self--such a form, be it image, doctrine, book, or life--as -will warm the emotions and so make the Higher-than-self tell on every -act and experience of daily life. These constituents are, I think, to -be found in all religions. The religious man is he who, knowing what -is higher than himself, so worships this Most High that he is stirred -to do His will in word and deed. The Mohammedan is he who, recognizing -the Highest to be power, worships the All-powerful of Mohammed, whom in -fear he obeys, and with the sword forces others to obey. The Christian -is he who, recognizing the Most High to be love, worships Christ, -and for love of Christ is loving to all mankind. Are these three -constituents of religion to be found among the people? - -1. They are using their powers of thought. There is a distinct -disposition to think about unseen things. The Press which circulates -most widely has found copy in what it calls Mr. Campbell’s “New -Theology”. The “Clarion” newspaper has published week after week letters -and articles which deal with the meaning of God. There is increasing -unrest under conditions which crib and cabin the mind; men and women are -becoming conscious of more things in heaven and earth than they can see -and feel and eat. They have a sense that the modern world has become -really larger than the old world, and they resent the teaching which -commits them to one position or calling. They have, too, become -critical, so that, using their minds, they measure the professions of -church-goers. Mr. Haw has collected in his book, “Christianity and the -Working Classes,” many workmen’s opinions on this subject. Witness after -witness shows that he has been thinking, comparing things heard and -things professed with things done. It is not just indifference or -self-indulgence which alienates the people from church or chapel or -mission; it is the insincerity or inconsistency which they themselves -have learnt to detect. Huxley said long ago that the greatest gift of -science to the modern world was not to be found in the discoveries which -had increased its power and its comfort, so much as in the habit of more -scientific thinking which it had made common. - -The people share this gift and have become critical. They criticize all -professions, theological or political. They criticize the Bible, and the -very children in the schools have become rationalists. They also -construct, and there are few more interesting facts of the time than the -strength of trades unions, co-operative and friendly societies, which -they have organized. Even unskilled labour, ever since the great Dock -strike, has shown its power to conceive methods of amelioration, and to -combine for their execution. The first constituent of religion, the -activity of thought, is thus present amid the non-church-going -population. - -2. This thought is, I think, directed towards a Higher-than-self; it, -that is to say, goes towards goodness. I would suggest a few instances. -Universal homage is paid to the character of Christ. He, because of His -goodness, is exalted above all other reformers, and writers who are -bitter against Christianity reverence His truth and good-will. Popular -opinion respects a good man whatever be his creed or party; it may not -always be instructed as to the contents of goodness, but at elections -its votes incline to follow the lead of the one who seems good, and that -is sometimes the neighbouring publican whose kindness and courtesy are -experienced. In social and political thought the most significant and -strongest mark is the ethical tendency. Few proposals have now a chance -of a hearing if they do not appeal to a sense of justice. Right has won -at any rate a verbal victory over might. In late revivals there has been -much insistence on the need of better living, on temperance, on payment -of debts and fulfilment of duty, and the reprints which publishers find -it worth their while to publish are penny books of Seneca, Marcus -Aurelius, and other writers on morals. - -People generally--unconsciously often--have a sense of goodness, or -righteousness, as something which is higher than themselves. They are in -a way dissatisfied with their own selfishness, and also with a state of -society founded on selfishness. There is a widely spread expectation of -a better time which will be swayed by dominant goodness. The people have -thus, in some degree, the second constituent of religion, in that they -have the thought that the High and Mighty which inhabits Eternity is -good. - -3. When, however, we come to the third constituent, we have at once to -admit that the non-church-going population has no means of realizing the -Most High in a form which sustains and inspires its action. It has no -close or personal touch or communion with this goodness; no form which, -like a picture or like a common meal, by its associations of memory or -hope rouses its feelings; nothing which, holding the thought, stirs the -emotions and works the thought into daily life. The forms of religion, -the Churches, the doctrines, the ritual, the sacraments, which meant so -much to their fathers and to some of their neighbours, mean nothing to -them. They have lost touch with the forms of religious thought as they -have not lost touch with the forms of political thought. - -Forms are the clothes of thought. Forms are lifeless, and thought is -living. Unless the forms are worn every day they cease to fit the -thought, as left-off clothes cease to fit the body. English citizens who -have gone on wearing the old forms of political thought can therefore go -on talking and acting as if the King ruled to-day as Queen Elizabeth -ruled 300 years ago, but these non-church-going folk, who for -generations have left off wearing the forms of religious thought, cannot -use the words about the Most High which the Churches and preachers use. -They have breathed an atmosphere charged by science--they are -rationalists, they have a vision of morality and goodness exceeding that -advocated by many of the Churches. They have themselves created great -societies, and their votes have made and unmade governments. When, -therefore, they regard the Churches, the doctrines of preachers, and all -the forms of religion, not as those to whom by use they are familiar or -by history illuminated, but as strangers, they see what seem to them -stiff services, irrational doctrine, disorganized and unbusinesslike -systems, and the self-assertion of priests and ministers. They, with -their yearnings to touch goodness, find nothing in these forms which -makes them say, “There, that is what I mean,” and go on stirred in their -hearts. They who have learnt to think turn away sadly or scornfully from -teaching such as that of the Salvation Army about blood and fire, where -emotion is without thought. Those who manage their own affairs resent -membership in religious organizations where all is managed for them. -They want a name for the Most High of whom they think as above and -around themselves, but somehow the doctrines about Christ, whom they -respect for His work 2000 years ago, do not stir them up as if He were a -present power. The working classes, says Dr. Fairbairn in his “Religion -in History and Modern Life,” are alienated because “the Church has lost -adaptation to the environment in which it lives”. - -Perhaps, however, some one may say, “Forms are unimportant”. This may be -true so far as regards a few rarely constituted minds, but the mass of -men are seldom moved except through some human or humanized form. The -elector may have his principles, but it is the candidate he cheers, it -is his photograph he carries, it is his presence which rouses -enthusiasm, and it is politicians’ names by which parties are called. -The Russian peasant may say his prayers, but it is the ikon--the image -dear to his fathers--which rouses him to do or to die. The Jews had no -likeness of Jehovah, but the book of the law represented to them the -thought and memories of their heart, and they bound its words to their -foreheads, their poets were stirred to write psalms in its praise, and -by the emotions it raised its teaching was worked into their daily acts. -A non-religious writer in the “Clarion” bears witness to the same fact -when he says, “All effective movements must have creeds. It is -impossible to satisfy the needs of any human mind or heart without some -form of belief.” The Quaker who rejects so many forms has made a form of -no-form, and his simple manner of speech, his custom of dress or -worship, often moves him to his actions. - -Mr. Gladstone bears testimony to the place of form in religion. “The -Church,” he says, “presented to me Christianity under an aspect in which -I had not yet known it, ... its ministry of symbols, its channels of -grace, its unending line of teachers forming from the Head a sublime -construction based throughout on historic fact, uplifting the idea of -the community in which we live, and of the access which it enjoys -through the living way to the presence of the Most High.” - -Mr. Gladstone found in the Anglican Church a form of access to the Most -High, and through this Church the thoughts of the Most High were worked -into his daily life. Others through the Bible, the sacraments, humanity, -or through some doctrine of Christ have found like means of access. -Forms are essential to religion. Forms, indeed, have often become the -whole of religion, so that people who have honoured images or words or -names have forgotten goodness and justice--they wash the cup and platter -and forget mercy and judgment; they say “Lord, Lord,” and do not the -will of the Lord. Forms have often become idols, but the point I urge is -that for the majority of mankind forms are necessary to religion. “Tell -me thy name,” was the cry of Jacob, when all night he wrestled with an -unknown power which condemned his life of selfish duplicity; and every -crisis in Israelitish history is marked by the revelation of a new name -for the Most High. The Samaritans do not know what they worship; the -Jews know what they worship,--was the rebuke of Christ to a wayward and -ineffective nation. Even those Athenians to whom God was the Unknown God -had to erect an altar to that God. - -The great mass of the people, because they have no form and stand apart -from all religious communions, may have in them a religious sense, but -their thought of God is not worked through their emotions into their -daily lives. They do not know what they worship, and so do not say with -the Psalmist, “My soul is athirst for the living God,” or say with -Joseph, “How can I do this wickedness, and sin against God?” They have -much sentiment about brotherhood, and they talk of the rights of all -men; but they are not driven as St. Paul was driven to the service of -their brothers, irrespective of class, or nation, or colour. They have -not the zeal which says, “Woe is me if I preach not the Gospel”. They -endure suffering with patience and meet death with submission, but they -do not say, “I shall awake after His likeness and be satisfied”. The -majority of English citizens would in an earthquake behave as brave men, -but they have not the faith of the negroes who in the midst of such -havoc sang songs of praise. - -The three constituents I included in the definition are all, I submit, -necessary. Thought without form does not rouse the emotions. Form -without thought is idolatry, and is fatal to growth. Emotion without -thought has no abiding or persistent force. Religion is the thought of a -Higher-than-self worked through the emotions into daily life. - -With this definition in mind I now sum up my impressions. The religion -of the majority of the people is, I think, not such as enables them to -say, “Here I take my stand. This course of life I can and will follow. -This policy must overcome the world.” It is not such either as keeps -down pride and egotism, and leads them to say as Abram said to Lot, “If -you go to the right I will go to the left”. It does not make men and -women anxious to own themselves debtors and to give praise. It does not -drive them to greater and greater experiments in love; it does not give -them peace. It is not the spur to action or the solace in distress. It -has little recognition in daily talk or in the Press. One might, indeed, -live many years, meet many men, and read many newspapers and not come -into its contact or realize that England professes Christianity. - -When I ask my friends, “How does religion show itself in the actions of -daily life?” I get no answer. There seems to be no acknowledged force -arising from the conception of the Most High which restrains, impels, or -rests men and women in their politics, their business, or their homes. -There are, I suggest, three infallible signs of the presence of -religion--calm courage, joyful humility, and a sense of life stronger -than death. These signs are not obvious among the people. - -The condition is not satisfactory. It is not unlike that of Rome in the -first century. The Roman had then forsaken his old worship of the gods -in the temples, notwithstanding the official recognition of such worship -and the many earnest attempts made for its revival. There was then, as -now, something in the atmosphere of thought which was stronger than -State or Church. There was then, as now, an interest in teachers of -goodness who held up a course of conduct far above the conventional, and -the thoughts of men played amid the new mysteries rising in the East. -The Romans were restless, without anchorage or purpose. They were not -satisfied with their bread and games; they walked in a dense shadow, and -had no light from home. Into their midst came Christianity, giving a new -name to the Most High, and stirring men’s hearts to do as joyful service -what the Stoics had taught as dull duty. - -In the midst of the English people of to-day there are Churches and -societies of numerous denominations. Their numbers are legion. In one -East-London district about a mile square there were, I think, at one -time over twenty different religious agencies. Their activity is -twofold. They work from without to within, or from within to -without--from the environment to the soul, or from the soul to the -environment. - -1. The work from without to within, resolves itself into an endeavour to -draw the people to join some religious communion. The environment which -an organization provides counts for much, and influences therefrom -constantly pass into the inner life. Membership in a Church or -association with a mission often brings men and women into contact with -a minister who offers an example of a life devoted to others’ service. -It opens to them ways of doing good, of teaching the children, of -visiting the poor, and of joining in efforts for social reform. It -affords a constant support in a definite course of conduct, and makes a -regular call on the will to act up to the conventional standard, and it -brings to bear on everyday action an insistent social pressure which is -some safety against temptation. Sneers about the dishonesty of religious -professors are common, but, as a matter of fact, the most honest and -reputable members of the community are those connected with religious -bodies. - -Those bodies have various characters, with various forms of doctrine and -of ritual. Human beings, if they are true to themselves, cannot all -adopt like forms; there are some men and women who find a language for -their souls in a ritual of colour and sound, there are others who can -worship only in silence; there are some who are moved by one form of -doctrine, and others who are moved by another form. Uniformity is -unnatural to man, and the Act of Religious Uniformity has proved to be -disastrous to growth of thought and goodwill. Progress through the ages -is marked by the gradual evolution of the individual, and the strongest -society is that where there are the most vigorous individualities. If -this be admitted, it must be admitted also that the growth of vigorous -denominations, and not uniformity, is also the mark of progress. - -But, it may be said, denominations are the cause of half the quarrels -which divide society, and of half the wars which have decimated mankind. -This is true enough. The denominations are now hindering the way of -education, and it was as denominations that Catholics and Protestants -drowned Europe in thirty years of bloodshed. It is, however, equally -true to say that nationalities have been the cause of war, and that the -way of peace is hard, because French, Germans, and British are so -patriotically concerned for their own rights. Nationalities, however, -become strong during the period of struggle, and they develop -characteristics valuable for the whole human family; but the end to -which the world is moving is not a universal empire under the dominance -of the strongest, it is to a unity in which the strength of each -nationality will make possible the federation of the world. In the same -way denominations pass through a period of strife; they too develop -their characteristics; and the hope of religion is not in the dominance -of any one denomination, but in a unity to which each is necessary. - -The world learnt slowly the lesson of toleration, and at last the strong -are feeling more bound to bear with those who differ from themselves. -There is, however, dawning on the horizon a greater lesson than that of -toleration of differences: it is that of respect for differences. As -that lesson prevails, each denomination will not cease to be keen for -its own belief; it will also be keen to pay honour to every honest -belief. The neighbourhood of another denomination will be as welcome as -the discovery of another star to the astronomer, or as the finding of a -new animal to the naturalist, or as is the presence of another strong -personality in a company of friends. The Church of the future cannot be -complete without many chapels. The flock of the Good Shepherd includes -many folds. - -The energy of innumerable Churches and missions is daily strengthening -denominations, and they seem to me likely to stand out more and more -clearly in the community. One advantage I would emphasize. Each -denomination may offer an example of a society of men and women living -in reasonable accord with its own doctrine--not, I ask you to reflect, -just a community of fellow-worshippers, but, like the Quakers, -translating faith into matters of business and the home. Mediaeval -Christians sold all they had and lived as monks or nuns. Nineteenth -century Christians were kind to their poorer neighbours. Twentieth -century Christians might give an example of a society fitting a time -which has learnt the value of knowledge and beauty, and has seen that -justice to the poor is better than kindness. Every generation must have -its own form of Christianity. - -The earnest endeavour of so many active men and women to increase the -strength of their own denomination has therefore much promise: provided -always, let me say, they do not win recruits by self-assertion, by -exaggeration, or by the subtle bribery of treats and blankets. Each -denomination honestly strengthened by additional members is the better -able to manifest some aspect of the Christian life, and, in response to -the call of that life, more inclined to reform the doctrines and methods -which tend to alienate a scientific and democratic generation. - -Such denominations are, I submit, those most likely to reform -themselves, and as they come to offer various examples of a Christian -society, where wealth is without self-assertion, where poverty is -without shame, where unemployment and ignorance are prevented by just -views of human claims, and where joy is “in widest commonalty spread,” -all the members of the community will in such examples better find the -name of the Most High, and feel the power of religion. “If,” says Dr. -Fairbairn, “religion were truly interpreted in the lives of Christian -men, there is no fear as to its being believed.” “What is wanted is not -more Christians but better Christians.” - -2. The activity of ministers and missionaries is, as I have said, -twofold. Besides working from without to within by building up -denominations, it also works from within to without by converting -individuals. Members of every Church or mission are, in ordinary phrase, -intent “to save souls”. Their work is not for praise, and is sacred from -any intrusion. Spirit wrestles with spirit, and power passes by unknown -ways. Souls are only kindled by souls. Conversion opens blind eyes to -see the Most High, but it is not in human power to direct the ways of -conversion. The spirit bloweth where it listeth. There are, however, -other means by which eyes may be opened at any rate to see, if only -dimly, and some of these means are under human control. Such a means is -that which is called higher education or university teaching, or the -knowledge of the humanities. - -I would therefore conclude by calling notice to the much or the little -which is being done by this higher education. The people are to a large -extent blind because of the overwhelming glory of the present. They see -nothing beyond the marvellous revelations of science--its visions of -possessions and of power, and its triumphs over the forces of nature. -They are occupied in using the gigantic instruments which are placed at -the command of the weakest, and they are driven on by some relentless -pressure which allows no pause on the wayside of the road of life. They -see power everywhere--power in the aggressive personalities which heap -money in millions, power in the laboratory, power in the market-place, -power in the Government; but they do not see anything which satisfies -the human yearning for something higher and holier; they cannot see the -God whose truth they feel and whose call they hear. Many of them look to -the past and surround themselves with the forms of mediaeval days, and -some go to the country, where, in a land of tender shades and silences, -they try to commune with the Most High. - -But yet the words of John the Baptist rise eternally true, when he said -to a people anxiously expectant, some with their eyes on the past, and -some with their eyes on the future, “There standeth one among you”. The -Most High, that is to say, is to be found, not in the past with its -mysteries, its philosophies, and its dignity of phrase or ritual, and -not in the future with its vague hopes of an earthly Paradise, but in -the present with its hard facts, its scientific methods, its strong -individualities, and the growing power of the State. The kingdom of -heaven is at hand; the Highest which every one seeks is in the present. -It is standing among us, and the one thing wanted is the eye to see. - -Mr. Haldane, in the address to the students of Edinburgh University, has -described the character of the higher teaching as a gospel of the wide -outlook, as a means of giving a deeper sympathy and a keener insight, as -offering a vision of the eternal which is here and now showing its -students what is true in present realities, and inspiring them with a -loyalty to the truth as devoted as that of tribesmen to their chief. -This sort of teaching, he says, brings down from the present realities, -or from a Sinai ever accompanying mankind, “the Higher command,” with -its eternal offer of life and blessing--that is to say, it opens men’s -eyes to see in the present the form of the Most High. Higher education -is thus a part of religious activity. - -I am glad to know that my conclusion is shared by Dr. Fairbairn, who, -speaking of the worker in our great cities, and of his alienation from -religion, says, “The first thing to be done is to enrich and ennoble his -soul, to beget in him purer tastes and evoke higher capacities”. - -I will conclude by calling notice to the much or the little which is -being done to open the people’s eyes by means of higher education. I -fear it is “the little”. There are many classes and many teachers for -spreading skill, there are some which increase interest in nature; there -are few--very few--which bring students into touch with the great minds -and thoughts of all countries and all ages--very few, that is, classes -for the humanities. For want of this the souls of the people are poor, -and their capacities dwarfed; they cannot see that modern knowledge has -made the Bible a modern book, or how the bells of a new age have rung in -the “Christ that is to be”. - -For thirty-four years my wife and I have been engaged in social -experiments. Many ways have been tried, and always the recognized object -has been the religion of the people--religion, that is, in the sense -which I have defined as that faith in the Highest which is the impulse -of human progress, man’s spur to loving action, man’s rest in the midst -of sorrow, man’s hope in death. - -With the object of preparing the way to this religion, schools have -been improved, houses have been built and open spaces secured. Holidays -have been made more healthy, and the best in art has been made more -common. But, viewing all these efforts of many reformers, I am prepared -to say that the most pressing need is for higher education. Where such -education is to begin, what is the meaning of religious education in -elementary schools, and how it is to be extended, is part of another -subject. It is enough now if, having as my subject the religion of the -people, I state my opinion that there is no activity which more surely -advances religion than the teaching which gives insight, far sight, -and wide sight. The people, for want of religion, are unstable in -their policy, joyless in their amusements, and uninspired by any sure -and certain hope. They have not the sense of sin--in modern language, -none of that consciousness of unreached ideals which makes men humble -and earnest. They have not the grace of humility nor the force of a -faith stronger than death. It may seem a far cry from a teacher’s -class-room to the peace and power of a Psalmist or of a St. Paul; but, -as Archbishop Benson said, “Christ is a present Christ, and all of us -are His contemporaries”. And my own belief is that the eye opened by -higher education is on the way to find in the present the form of the -Christ who will satisfy the human longing for the Higher-than-self. - - SAMUEL A. BARNETT. - - - - - CATHEDRAL REFORM.[1] - - BY CANON BARNETT. - - December, 1898. - - [1] From “The Nineteenth Century and After”. By permission of the -Editor. - - -Cathedrals have risen in popular estimation. They represent the past to -the small but slowly increasing number of people who now realize that -there is a past out of which the present has grown. They are recognized -as interesting historical monuments; their power is felt as an aid to -worship, and some worshippers who would think their honesty compromised -by their presence at a church or a chapel, say their prayers boldly in -the “national” cathedral. A trade-union delegate, who had been present -at the Congress, was surprised on the following Sunday afternoon to -recognize in St. Paul’s some of his fellow delegates. No reformer would -now dare to propose that cathedrals should be secularized. - -But neither would any one who considers the power latent in cathedral -establishments for developing the spiritual side of human nature profess -himself satisfied. It is not enough that the buildings should be -restored, so that they may be to-day what they were 400 or 500 years -ago, nor is it enough that active deans should increase sermons and -services. - -A cathedral has a unique position. It holds the imagination of the -people. Men who live in the prison of mean cares remember how as -children their thoughts wandered free amid the lights and shadows of -tombs, pillars, arches, and recesses. Worshippers face to face with real -sorrow, who turn aside from the trivialities of ritual, feel that there -is in the solemn grandeur a power to lift them above their cares. - -A cathedral indeed attracts to itself that spiritual longing which, -perhaps, more than the longing for power or for liberty, is the sign of -the times. This longing, compared with rival longings, may be as small -as a mustard-seed, but everywhere men are becoming conscious that things -within their grasp are not the things they were made to reach. There is -a heaven for which they are fitted, and which is not far from any one of -them. They like to hear large words, and to move in large crowds. They -see that “dreaming” is valuable as well as “doing”. They feel that there -is a kinship between themselves and the hidden unknown greatness in -which they live. The ideal leader of the day is a mystic who can be -practical. - -Men turning, therefore, from churches or chapels which are identified -with narrow views, and from a ritual which has occupied the more vacant -minds, are prepared to pay respect to the cathedral with its grand -associations. - -And the cathedrals which thus attract to themselves modern hope, and -become almost the symbol of the day’s movement, are equipped to respond -to the demand. They have both men and money. They have men qualified to -serve, and a body of singers qualified to make common the best music, -and they have endowments varying from £4000 to £10,000 a year. - -A cathedral is attractive by its grandeur and its beauty, but it ought -to be something more than an historic monument. Its staff is ample, and -is often active, but it ought to be something more than a parish church. - -Its government, however, is so hampered that it can hardly be anything -else, and the energies of the chapter are spent in efforts to follow the -orders of restoring architects. The building is cleared of innovations -introduced by predecessors, who had in view use and not art. Its -deficiencies are supplied, the dreams and intentions of the early -builders are discovered, and at last a church is completed such as our -ancestors would have desired. - -The self-devotion of deans or canons in producing this result provokes -admiration from those who in their hearts disapprove. Money is freely -given, and, what is often harder to do, donations are persistently -begged. The time and ability of men who have earned a reputation as -workers, thinkers, or teachers, are spent in completing a monument over -which antiquaries will quarrel and round which parties of visitors will -be taken at 6d. a head. - -The building has little other use than as a parish church, and the -ideal, before a chapter, anxious to do its duty, is to have frequent -communions, services, and sermons, as in the best worked parishes. In -some cases there is a large response. The communicants are many, but, -being unknown to one another and to the clergy, they miss the strength -they might have derived by communicating with their neighbours in their -own churches. The sermons are sometimes listened to by crowded -congregations, but the people are often drawn from other places of -worship, and miss the teaching given by one to whom they are best known. -But in most cases the response is small. The daily services, supported -by a large and well-trained choir of men and boys, preceded by a -dignified procession of vergers and clergy, often help only two or three -worshippers. Many of the Holy Communions which are announced are not -celebrated for want of communicants, and the sermons are not always such -as are suitable for the people. - -There are, indeed, special but rare occasions when the cathedral shows -its possibilities. It may be a choir festival, when 500 or 600 voices -find space within its walls to give a service for people interested in -the various parishes. It may be some civic or national function, when -the Corporation attends in state, or some meeting of an association or -friendly society, when the church is filled by people drawn from a wide -area. On all those occasions the fitness of the grand building and fine -music to meet the needs of the moment is recognized, and the citizens -are proud of their cathedral. - -But generally they are not proud. They think--when they care enough to -think at all--that a building with such power over their imagination -ought to be more used, and that such well-paid officials ought to do -more work. “One canon,” a workman remarked, “ought to do all that is -done, and the money of the others could be divided among poor curates.” -The members of the chapter would probably agree as to the need of -reform. It is not their conservatism, it is the old statutes which stand -in the way. - -These statutes differ in the various cathedrals, but all alike suffer -from the neglect of the living hand of the popular will which in civil -matters is always shaping old laws to present needs. Their object seems -to be not so much to secure energetic action as to prevent aggression. -Activity, and not indolence, was apparently the danger which threatened -the Church in those old days. - -The Bishop, who is visitor and is called the head of the cathedral, -cannot officiate--as of right--in divine service; he is not entitled to -take part in the Holy Communion or to preach during ordinary service. - -The Dean governs the church, and has altogether the regulation of the -services; but he can only preach at the ordinary services at three -festivals during the year. - -The Canons, who preach every Sunday, have no power over the order or -method of the uses of the church. - -The Precentor, who is authorized to select the music and is required to -take care that the choir be instructed and trained in their parts, must -not himself give instruction and training. - -The Organist, who has to train and instruct the boys, has to do so in -hours fixed by the Precentor, and in music chosen by him. - -An establishment so constituted cannot have the vigour or elasticity or -unity necessary to adapt cathedrals to modern needs. It affords, as -Trollope discovered, and as most citizens are aware, a field for the -play of all sorts of petty rivalries and jealousies. No official can -move without treading on the other’s rights. Bishops, Deans, and Canons -hide their feelings under excessive courtesies. Precentors and Organists -try to settle their rights in the law courts, and the trivialities of -the Cathedral Close have become proverbial. - -The apparent uselessness of buildings so prominent, and of a staff so -costly, provokes violent criticism. Reformers become revolutionists as -the Dean, Chapter, and choir daily summon congregations which do not -appear, and the officials become slovenly and careless as they daily -perform their duties in an empty church. Sacraments may be offered in -vain as well as taken in vain, and institutions established for other -needs which go on, regardless of such needs, are self-condemned. - -If the army or navy or any department of the civil service were so -constituted, the demand for reform would be insistent. “We will not -endure,” the public voice would proclaim, “that an instrument on whose -fitness we depend shall be so ineffective. It is not enough that the -members of the profession are prevented from injuring one another. Our -concern is not their feelings, but our protection.” It is characteristic -of the indifference to religious interests that an instrument, so costly -and so capable of use as a cathedral establishment, has been left to -rust through so many years, and that the troubles of a Chapter should be -matter for jokes and not for indignant anger. - -A Royal Commission, indeed, was appointed in 1879. It was in the earlier -years presided over by Archbishop Tait, who showed, both by his constant -presence and by his lively interest, how deeply he had felt and how much -he had reflected on this subject. The Commissioners had 128 meetings, -and issued their final report in 1885; but notwithstanding the humble -and almost pathetic appeal that something should be “quickly done” to -remedy the abuses they had discovered, and forward the uses which they -saw possible, nothing whatever has been done. The position of the -Cathedrals still mocks the intelligence of the people they exist to -serve, and the hopes which the spread of education has developed. - -The Commissioners recognized the change which had been going on in the -feeling with regard to the tie which binds together the cathedral and -the people, and their recommendations lead up, as they themselves -profess, to “the grand conception of the Bishop of a diocese working -from his cathedral as a spiritual centre, of the machinery there -supplied being intended to produce an influence far beyond the cathedral -precincts, of the capitular body being interested in the whole diocese, -and of the whole diocese having claims on the capitular body”. - -This conception, apart from its technical phraseology, may be taken as -satisfactory. “A live Cathedral in a live Diocese” is, in the American -phrase, what all desire. It may be questioned, however, in the light of -thirteen years’ further experience of growing humanity, whether their -recommendations would bring the conception much nearer to realization. - -Their recommendations are somewhat difficult to generalize. The -peculiarities and eccentricities in the constitution of each cathedral -are infinite. Some are on the old foundation, with their Deans, -Precentors, Chancellors, and Prebendaries. Some date from Henry VIII, -and have only a Dean and a small number of residentiary Canons. Some -possess statutes which are hopelessly obsolete, and one claims validity -for a new body of statutes adopted by itself. Some are under the control -of the chapter only, some have minor corporations. Some have striven to -act up to the letter of old orders, some have statutes which are of no -legal authority. But the difference of constitution of the several -cathedrals was by no means the only difficulty with which the -Commissioners had to contend. - -There is the difference in their local circumstances. Some, as Bristol -and Norwich, are in the midst of large populations; some, as Ely and St. -David’s, are in small towns or amid village people. St. Paul’s, London, -stands in a position so peculiar that it does not admit of comparison -with any other cathedral in the kingdom. - -There is, further, the difference in wealth and the provision of -residences for the capitular body; some are rich, and endowed with all -that is necessary for the performance of their duties; some are -comparatively poor. - -The Commissioners have met these difficulties by considering each -cathedral separately, and by issuing on each a separate report with -separate recommendations. There is, however, a character and a principle -common to all their recommendations, by which a judgment may be formed -as to how far they would, if adopted, fit cathedrals to the needs of the -time. - - - I.--CENTRAL AUTHORITY. - -The Commissioners were at the outset met by the fact that cathedral -bodies are stationary institutions in a growing society. They remain as -they had been formed in distant days: ships stranded high above the -water-line, in which the services went on as if the passengers and cargo -had not long found other means of transit. They felt that even if by the -gigantic effort involved in parliamentary action the cathedrals were -reformed in order to suit the changed society of the nineteenth century, -the reforms would not necessarily suit the twentieth century. They saw -that there must be a central authority always in touch with public -opinion, which would, year by year, or generation by generation, shape -uses to needs. - -They at once therefore introduced the Cathedral Statutes Bill, by which -a Cathedral Committee of the Privy Council was to be appointed. The Bill -did not become law, but the provision was admirable. By this means, just -as the Committee of Council year by year now issues an Education Code, -by which changes suggested by experience or inquiry are introduced into -the educational system of the country, so this new Committee of Council -was, as occasion required, to issue new statutes to control or develop -the use of cathedrals. - -A living rule was to take the place of the dead hand. Representative -men, and not the authority of an individual or of an old statute, were -henceforth to control this State provision for the religious interests -of the people, as a similar body, with manifest advantage, controls the -State provision for the secular interests. A Committee of the Privy -Council made up of the Ministers of the day, being professed Christians, -together with some experts, is probably the best central authority to be -devised. - -But when the Commissioners further proposed that after the expiration of -their commission it should remain with Deans and Chapters to submit -proposals for reform in the use of their cathedrals, they at once -limited the utility of that central authority. Is it to be conceived -that Deans and Chapters will promote necessary reforms? Can they be said -to be in touch with the people? Will they, if they make wise and -far-reaching suggestions, be trusted as representatives? - -The Commission aimed to create a living authority, and then proposed to -bind it hand and foot; it set up a body of representative men capable of -daring and of cautious action, and then limited the sphere of such -action by the decisions of Chapters sometimes concerned for inaction. - -The obvious criticism is a testimony to the progress of the last few -years. Education and the extension of local government have made all -parties recognise that the voice of the people ought to be trusted, and -can be trusted. Checks and safeguards are no longer thought to be so -necessary. Interests once jealously preserved by the classes are now -known to be safe in the hands of the masses. The Crown, property, order, -are all safe grounded on the people’s will. - -It seems therefore out of place, in the eyes of the present generation, -to safeguard every change in the use of the cathedral by trusting to -those proposed by Dean and Chapter. The basis of government must be -democratic. The people, and not any class, must have the chief voice in -their control. The County Councils, by means of a committee of professed -Christians, the Diocesan Council, or any body to which the people of the -neighbourhood have free access, should be that empowered to bring -suggestions before the central authority. In the Church of England, of -which every Englishman is a member, and whose Prayer Book is an Act of -Parliament, there is no new departure in making the County Councils the -originating bodies to suggest uses for the cathedral. - -With the growing interest to which allusion has been made, it is not -hard to conceive that the call for suggestions would evoke deeper -thought and remind members of secular bodies that progress without -religion is very hollow. Parliament was never more dignified, or better -fitted for foreign or home policy, than when it held Church government -to be its most important function. County Councils, called on through -their committees to submit suggestions for the better use of the -cathedrals to the Committee of Privy Council, might be elevated by the -call, and at the same time offer advice valuable in itself, and approved -by the people as coming from their representatives. - -The first essential cathedral reform is therefore a central authority as -recommended by the Commission, which, on the initiative of really -representative bodies, shall have power to make statutes and publish -rules of procedure in the several cathedrals. - - - II.--THE BISHOP AND HIS CATHEDRAL. - -The Commissioners were evidently struck by the need of promoting -“earnest and harmonious co-operation between the Bishop of the Diocese -and the Cathedral Body”. They have endeavoured, as they reiterate, “to -define and establish the relation in which the Bishop stands to the -cathedral, and have made provision for assuring to him his legitimate -position and influence”. When, however, reference is made to the -statutes by which they carry out their intention, they seem very -inadequate: the Bishop, for instance, is to “have the highest place of -dignity whenever he is present”; “to preach whenever he may think fit”; -“to hold visitation and exercise any function of his episcopal office -whenever it may seem good”. He is also empowered to nominate a certain -number of preachers, and is constituted the authority to give leave of -absence to the Dean or Canons. The Dean, however, is left responsible -for the services, in control of the officials, and at liberty to develop -the use of the church. - -It is difficult to see how, by such changes, the cathedral will become -the spiritual centre from which the Bishop will work his diocese, and -at the same time have harmonious relations with the Dean and Chapter. -If he uses his full powers: gathers week by week diocesan organizations -for worship, for encouragement, and for admonition; if he is often -present at the services, if he arranges classes for the clergy, -devotional meetings for church workers; if he institutes sermons and -lectures on history or on the signs of the times--what is there left -for the Dean and Canons to do? If he does not do such things, how can -he make the cathedral the centre of spiritual life? - -The Commission was evidently hampered in its recommendation by the -presence of two dignitaries with somewhat conflicting duties. The simple -solution is to make the Bishop the Dean. He would then have, as by -right, all the powers it is proposed to confer upon him; he would -exercise them at all times, without fear of any collision, and he would -be in name and fact the sole authority in carrying out the statutes, and -in controlling all subordinate officials. He would then be able to make -the cathedral familiar to every soul in his diocese, associate its -building and services with every organization for the common -good--secular and religious--with choral societies, clubs, governing -bodies, friendly societies, missionary associations, and such like. He -would, in fact, make the cathedral the centre of spiritual life, and he -would for ever abolish the petty rivalries and jealousies which grow up -under divided control, and which bring such discredit on cathedral -management. He would be master, and it is for want of a master that each -official is now so disposed to magnify the petty privileges of his own -office. There must be some one who is really big, that others may feel -their proper place. - - - III.--THE CANONS AND THEIR UTILITY. - -The Commission has little to suggest, save that they should be compelled -to reside for eight months of the year in the neighbourhood of the -cathedral, and during three months attend morning and evening service, -each one “habited in a surplice with a hood denoting his degree”. They -are also, if called on, “to give instruction in theological and -religious subjects, or discharge some missionary or other useful work”. -These functions seem hardly sufficient for men who are to receive £800 a -year, and it is difficult to see what virtue there is in mere technical -residence, or how daily attendance at service is compatible with the -performance of regular duties as citizens or teachers. - -The Canons would better help in making the cathedral the centre of -spiritual life if they were the Suffragan Bishops of the diocese. They -would in this case have to receive appointment by the Bishop, and take -duties assigned by him. One might be responsible for the order of the -services, for the care of the property of the cathedral, and for the -proper control of the officials. He might, indeed, be called the Dean. -Another might be a lecturer or teacher for the instruction of the -clergy, and the others might assist the Bishop in those functions which -now so largely intrude on his time. - -The Bishop of the twentieth century looms large in the distance. He has -a place not given to any of his predecessors, as a democratic age has -greater need of leaders. He is called to new duties and new functions, -and the danger is that he who might be lifting his clergy on to a higher -plane, meeting them soul to soul, and comforting them by his contagious -piety, will be absorbed in organizing, in business, or in the -performance of functions. Suffragan Bishops attached to the cathedral -would relieve him from “such serving tables,” and leave him more free to -be a father in God to the clergy. - - - IV.--THE FABRIC AND FINANCE. - -The care of the fabrics is more and more recognized as a national -concern. Not long ago there was a proposal put forward by non-Christians -for their preservation out of local or national resources. The -Commissioners’ suggestion that a report on their condition should be -published at frequent intervals shows trust in the readiness of a -voluntary response, but it is hardly a businesslike recommendation. - -The suggestion, already made in this paper, that some local -representative body, such as the County Council, should be the body -authorized to initiate reforms in the use of the building, would -naturally lead to the same body becoming responsible for its proper -care. It is not hard to conceive of such a growing interest as would -lead to a ready expenditure under the direction of the best advisers. -The mass of the people are now shut out from contribution; their pence -are not valued, and even if their gift “be half their living,” it opens -to them no place on the restoration committee. - -If the cathedral is to be the people’s church, its support must rest on -the people, and this is only possible by means of the local bodies which -they control. - -Finance, as might be expected in a commercial country, takes up a large -portion of the report. Failure is again and again attributed to poverty, -and a schedule shows what is wanting in each cathedral for the proper -payment of officials. The total per annum is an increase of £10,876. The -Commissioners’ happy thought was, “Why not get this amount from the -Ecclesiastical Commissioners, who have profited largely from cathedral -property?” They forthwith made application and were duly snubbed. - -But the suggestion already made in this paper, for the more harmonious -management of cathedrals by the absorption of the Dean’s functions in -that of the Bishop, at once solves the financial difficulty. The -salaries now given to the Deans--probably on an average at least £1000 a -year--would then be ready for redistribution, and might follow the lines -suggested by the Commissioners, and would supply other gaps due to the -depreciation of agricultural values. - - - CONCLUSION. - -The Commissioners take into view many details connected with the other -officials, with the rivalry of Precentor and Organist, with the meeting -of the greater chapter, and with the abolition of the minor corporations -existing in some cathedrals alongside of the chapter corporation, which -are in their way important, but which would all fall into place under a -large scheme of reform. - -The essentials of such a scheme are, it is submitted, (1) control by a -distinguished body, like that of the Committee of the Privy Council, -which takes its initiative from a representative body like that of the -County Council; (2) the reinstatement of the Bishop as the chief officer -of the cathedral, with the Canons as his suffragans. - -The cathedrals seem to be waiting to be used by the new spiritual force -which, amid the wreck of so much that is old, is surely appearing. There -is a widespread consciousness of their value--an unexpressed instinct of -respect which is not satisfied by the disquisitions of antiquarians or -the praises of artists. Common people as well as Royal Commissioners -feel that cathedrals have a part to play in the coming time. What that -part is none can foretell, but all agree that the cathedrals must be -preserved and beautified, that the teaching and the music they offer -must be of the best, offered at frequent and suitable times, and that -they must be used for the service of the great secular and religious -corporations of the diocese. - -Under the scheme here proposed this would be possible. The Bishop, as -head of the cathedral, would direct the order of the daily worship and -teaching, arrange for the giving of great musical works, and invite on -special occasions any active organization. He would have as coadjutors -able men chosen by himself, who, by lectures, meetings, and conferences, -would make the building alive with use. He would have behind him the -committee of the County Councils or other local authority, empowered to -suggest changes in the statutes as new times brought new needs, and -ready with money as their interest was developed. The scheme, at any -rate, has the merit of utilizing two growing forces--that of the Bishop, -and that of local government. No scheme can secure that these forces -will work to the best ends. That, as everything else, must depend on the -extent to which the growing forces are inspired by the spirit of Christ. - -A cathedral used as a Bishop would use it would receive a new -consecration by the manifold uses. Just as the silence of a crowd which -might speak is more impressive than the silence of the dumb, so is the -quiet of a building which is much used more solemn than the quiet of a -building kept swept and clean for show. Our cathedrals, being centres of -activity, would more and more impress those who, themselves anxious and -careful about many things, feel the impulse of the spiritual force of -the time. Workmen and business-men would come to possess their souls in -quiet meditation, or to join unnoticed in services of worship which -express aspirations often too full for words. - - SAMUEL A. BARNETT. - - - - - THE CATHEDRALS AND MODERN NEEDS.[1] - - BY CANON BARNETT. - - 1912. - - [1] From “The Contemporary Review”. By permission of the Editor. - - -This generation is face to face with many and hard problems. Perhaps the -hardest and the one which underlies all the others is that which -concerns the spiritualizing of life. Discoveries and inventions have -largely increased the attractions of the things which can be seen and -heard, touched, and tasted. Rich and poor have alike found that the -world is full of so many things that they ought to be all as happy as -kings, and the one ideal which seems to command any enthusiasm is a -Socialistic State, where material things will be more equally divided -among all classes. - -But even so, there is an underlying consciousness that possessions do -not satisfy human nature. Millionaires are seen to miss happiness, and -something else than armaments are wanted to make the strength of a -nation. There is thus a widely-spread disposition to take more account -of spiritual forces, and people who have not themselves the courage to -forsake all for the sake of an idea speak with sympathy of religion and -patronize the Salvation Army. There is much talk of “rival ideals -dominating action,” and the prevalent unrest seems to come from a -demand, not so much for more money as for more respect, more recognition -of equality, more room for the exercise of admiration, hope, and love. -Modern unrest is, in fact, a cry for light. - -The problem which is haunting this generation is how to spiritualize the -forces which are shaping the future; how to inspire labour and capital -with thoughts which will both elevate and control their actions; how to -enable rich and poor to move in a larger world, seeing things which eyes -cannot see; how to open channels between eternal sources and every day’s -need; how to give to all the sense of partnership in a progress which is -fitting the earth for man’s enjoyment and men for one another’s comfort. -The spiritualization of life being necessary to human peace and -happiness; its accomplishment is the goal of all reformers, and every -reform may in fact be measured by its power to advance or hinder -progress to that goal. - -I would suggest that the cathedrals are especially designed to help in -the solution of the problem. Their attractiveness is a striking fact, -and people who are too busy to read or to pray seem to find time to -visit buildings where they will gain no advantage for their trade or -profession, not even fresh air for their bodies. They are recognized as -civic or national possessions, and working people who stand aloof from -places of worship, or patronize meeting-houses, are distinctly -interested in their care and preservation. They have an unfailing hold -on the popular imagination, so that it is always easy to gather a -congregation to take part in a service, or to listen to a lecture. - -“It was not so much what the lecturer said,” was the reflection of Mr. -Crooks after a lecture in Westminster Abbey on English History, “as the -place in which it was given.” - -The cathedrals have thus a peculiar position in the modern world, and if -it be asked to what the position is due I am inclined to answer: to -their unostentatious grandeur and to their testimony to the past. They -are high and mighty, they lift their heads to heaven, and they open -their doors to the humblest. They give the best away, and ask for -nothing, neither praise nor notice. They are buildings through which the -stream of ages has flowed, familiar to the people of old time as of the -present, bearing traces of Norman strength and English aspirations, of -the enthusiasm of Catholics and Puritans, of the hopes of the makers of -the nation. The cathedrals are thus in touch with the spiritual sides of -life, and make their appeal to the same powers which desire before all -things to see the fair beauty of the Lord, and to commune with man’s -eternal mind. - -But the cathedrals which make this appeal can hardly be said to be well -used. There are the somewhat perfunctory services morning and afternoon, -often suspended or degraded during holiday months when visitors are most -numerous; there are sermons rarely to be distinguished from those heard -in a thousand parish churches; there is a staff of eight or ten clergy -who may be busy at good works, but certainly do not make their cathedral -position their platform; and there are guides who for a small fee will -conduct parties round the church. Among these guides are indeed to be -found men who have made a study of the building, and are able to talk of -it as lovers, but the guides for the most part give no other information -than lists of names and dates, sometimes relieved by a common-place -anecdote. The cathedrals are treated as museums, and not so well as the -Forum of Rome. The question is: Can they be made of greater use in -spiritualizing life? I would offer some suggestions:-- - -1. Cathedrals might, I think, be more generally used for civic, county -and national functions, for intercession at times of crisis, and for -services in connexion with meetings of conferences and congresses. The -services might be especially adapted by music and by speech to deepen -the effect of the building with its grandeur and memories. The use in -this direction has increased of late years, and even when the service -seems to be little more than a church parade, those present are often -helped by the reminder that their immediate concern has a place in a -greater whole. But the use might be largely extended, so that every -example of corporate life might be set in the framework which would -give it dignity. Elections to civic councils might be better understood -if the newly-elected bodies gathered in the grand central building -where vulgar divisions would be hushed in the greatness, and the -ambitions of parties lifted up into an atmosphere in which the rivals -of past days are recognized in their common service to the State. -The meetings of congresses and conferences--of scientific and trade -societies--of leagues and unions for social reform would be helped by -beginning their deliberations in a place which would both humble and -widen the thoughts of the members. - -Intercessional services, when guided by a few directing words, at which -men and women would gather to fix their minds on great ideals--on -peace--on sympathy with the oppressed--on the needs of children and -prisoners, would gain force from the association of a building where -generations have prayed and hoped and suffered. And if, as well as being -more frequent, such use were more carefully considered the effect would -be much deeper. It is not enough, for instance, that the service should -always follow the old form, and the music be elaborate and the sermon -orthodox. Consideration might be given so that prayers, and music, and -speech might all be made to work together with the influences of the -building to touch the spiritual side of the object interesting to the -congregation. The soul of the least important member of a civic council -or a society is larger than its programme. The cathedral service might -be, by much consideration, designed to help such souls to realize -something of the vast horizons in which they move--something of the -infinite issues attached to their resolutions and votes, something of -the company filling the past and the future of which they are members. -The cathedrals, by such frequent and well-considered uses, might do much -to spiritualize life. - -2. There are, as I have said, usually eight or ten clergy who form the -cathedral staff. Many of them are chosen for their distinction in some -form of spiritual service, and all have devoted themselves to that -service. They may be in other ways delivering themselves of their -duties, but they as spiritual teachers cannot as a rule be said to -identify themselves with the cathedral. They do not use all their powers -to make the building a centre of spiritual life. - -I would suggest, therefore, that these clergy attached to the cathedral -should have classes or lectures on theological, social, and historic -subjects. They should give their teaching freely in one of the chapels -of the cathedral, and the teaching should be so thorough as to command -the attention of the neighbouring clergy and other thoughtful people. -They would also, on occasions, give lectures in the nave designed to -guide popular thought to the better understanding of the live questions -of the day, or of the past. - -And inasmuch as many of the clergy have been chosen for their skill in -music, which often at great cost holds a high place in cathedral -worship, I would suggest that regular teaching be given in the relation -of music to worship. Words, we are often told, do not make music sacred, -and religion has probably suffered degradation from the attachment of -high words to low music. There is certainly no doubt that the music in -many churches is both bad in character and pretentious. If teaching were -freely given by qualified teachers in the cathedrals, if examples of the -best were freely offered, and if the place of music in worship were -clearly shown, then music might become a valuable agent in -spiritualizing life. - -Perhaps, however, the clergy might urge that they could not by such -teaching deliver themselves of their obligation to do spiritual work. -They would rather wrestle with souls and unite in prayer. But surely -if their teaching has for its aim the opening of men’s minds to know -the truth--the enlistment of men’s hearts in others’ service and the -bringing of the understanding into worship, then their teaching will -end in the knowledge of others’ souls and in acts of common devotion. -The cathedral staff might, through the cathedral and the position it -holds in a city, do much to spiritualize life. - -3. The great spiritual asset of the cathedral is, however, its -association with the past, and its living witness that the present is -the child of the past. This may be called a spiritual asset, because it -is this conception of the past which, as is evident among the Jews and -Japanese, is able to inspire and control action. The people who see as -in a vision their country boldly standing and suffering for some great -principles and hear the voices of the great dead calling them -“children,” have power and peace within their reach. - -It is, as I have said, because of some dim consciousness of this truth -that crowds of visitors flock into the buildings and spend a rare -holiday in hanging upon the dry words of the guides. It is easy to -imagine how their readily-offered interest might be seized, how guides -with fresh knowledge and trained sympathy might make the building tell -and illustrate the tale of the nation’s growth, how the different styles -of architecture might be made to express different stages of thought, -how the whole structure might be shown to be a shell and rind covering -living principles, how every one might be lifted up and humbled as the -building told him of England’s search for justice, freedom, and truth. -It is easy to imagine how such a living interpretation might be given to -the message of the building, but much work would first be necessary. - -The cathedral staff would have to be constant learners, and take up -different sides of interest. They would themselves frequently accompany -parties and individuals, so that in intimate talk they would learn the -mind of the people, and they would be continually instructing the -regular guides. Their special duty would be to give at certain times -short talks on the history, the architecture, and the art, so that -visitors might be sure that at these times they would learn what light -new knowledge was throwing on the familiar surroundings. - -The power of the past is dormant, it is buried beneath the insistent -present, but it is not dead, and it is conceivable that thoughtful and -devoted effort might rouse it to speak through the buildings which have -witnessed the highest aspirations of successive ages. If such effort -succeeded, and if the people of to-day could be helped to know and feel -the England of old days, they would be conscious of a spiritual force -bearing them on to great deeds. They would begin to understand how -things which are not seen are stronger than things which are seen. The -cathedrals have in themselves a message which would help to spiritualize -life, but without interpreters the message can hardly be heard. - -4. I would add one other suggestion arising from the monuments which in -every cathedral attract so much notice. They are the memorials of men -and women notable in national or local history who belonged to various -parties and classes, to different forms of faith and different -professions representing divers qualities and diverse forms of service. - -It would not be difficult for each cathedral to make a calendar of -worthies. A lecture every month on one such worthy would give an -opportunity for taking the minds of modern men into the surroundings of -the past, where they would see clearly the value of character. -Familiarity with the lives of Saints has been doubtless a great help to -many lonely and anxious souls, but this hardly applies to those who hear -sermons on St. Jude, and St. Bartholomew, and other Saints of whom -little can be known. If, however, from its great men and women each -cathedral selected twelve, for one of whom a day should be set apart -each month, the people in the locality would gradually become familiar -with their characters and gain by communion with them. - -Thoughts are best revealed through lives, and the attraction of -personality was never more marked than at the present day. Through the -lives of the great dead, and through the persons of those who walked or -worshipped within familiar walls, it would be possible to make people -understand great principles, and gradually become conscious of the -Common Source from which flows “every good and perfect gift”. The dead -speak from the walls of the cathedral, but they have no interpreter, and -the mass of the people who are waiting for their message go away -unsatisfied. A power which would help to spiritualize life is unused. - -But perhaps it may be urged that if all were done which has been -suggested, if the minds of visitors were kindled to admiration, if the -past were made to live and the dead to speak, much more would be -necessary to spiritualize life. Certainly the “spirit bloweth where it -listeth,” and only they who feel its breath are born again and enter a -world of power, of peace, and of love. - -But it may be claimed that some attitudes are better than others in -which to feel this breath, and that people whose pride has been brought -low by the beauty of a great building, or whose ears have been opened to -the voices of the past, will be more likely to bow before the Holy -Spirit than those who have no thought beyond what they can see, hear, or -touch. - -The age, we sometimes say, is waiting for a great leader--a prophet who -will make dead bones to live. It is well to remember that for all -redeemers the way has to be prepared, and the coming spiritual leader -will be helped if through our cathedrals people have developed powers of -communion with the Unseen. - - SAMUEL A. BARNETT. - - - - - SECTION II. - - RECREATION. - -The Children’s Country Holiday Fun’--Recreation of the People--Hopes of -the Hosts--Easter Monday on Hampstead Heath--Holidays and School -days--The Failure of Holidays--Recreation in Town and Country. - - - - - THE CHILDREN’S COUNTRY HOLIDAY FUN’.[1] - - BY MRS. S. A. BARNETT. - - April, 1912. - - [1] From “The Cornhill Magazine”. By permission of the Editor. - - -Five thousand two hundred and eighty Letters, 872 Sketches, 199 -Collections, all in parcels neatly tied up, the name, age, and sex of -the writer, artist, or collector clearly written on the first page of -the covering paper. There they lie, all around me, stack upon stack. The -sketches are crude but extraordinarily vivid and unaffected; the -collections are very scrappy but show affectionate care; the letters are -written in childish unformed characters, and are of varying lengths, -from a sheet of notepaper to ten pages of foolscap, but one and all deal -with the same subject. What that subject is shall be told by a maiden of -nine years old:-- - -“On one Thursday morning my Mother woke me and said, ‘To-day is Country -Holiday Fun,’ so I got up and put my cloes on”. - -On that Thursday morning, 27 July, 22,624 happy children left London and -its drab monotonous streets, and went for a fortnight’s visit into the -country, or by the sea. Oh! the joy, the preparation, the excitement, -the hopes, the fears, the anxieties lest anything should prevent the -start; but at last, by the superhuman efforts of all concerned, the -Committee, the ladies, the teachers, and the railway officials, the -whole gay, glad, big army of little people were successfully got off. It -is from these 22,624 children, and 21,756 more who took their places two -weeks later, that my 5,280 letters come; for only those who really -choose to write are encouraged to do so. - -In almost all cases the journey is fully described, the ride in the -’bus, the fear of being late, the parcel and how “it fell out,” the -gentlemen at the station, the porter who gave us a drink of water -“cause we were all hot,” the gentleman who gave the porter 6d. because -he said: “This 6d. is for you for thinking as how the children would -be thirsty”. The number that managed to get in each carriage, the boy -who lost his cap “for the wind went so fast when my head was outside -looking,” the hedges, the cows, the big boards with ---- Pills written -on them, how “it seemed as if I was going that way and the hills and -cows and trees were going the other way”. It is all told with the fresh -force of novelty and youth. The names of the Stations and the mileage -is often noted, as well as the noise. “We shouted for joy,” writes a -boy of eleven. “We told them it was rude to holler so,” writes a more -staid girl. “I got tired of singing and went to sleep,” records a boy -of eight; but the journey over there follows the description, often -given with some awe, of how,-- - - “We all went and were counted together, and there were the ladies - waiting for us, and the gentleman read out our names and our lady’s - name and then we went home with our right ladies,” - -and then, almost without exception, comes the bald but important -statement, “and then we had Tea”. Indeed, all through the letters there -is frequent mention of the gastronomic conditions, which appear to -occupy a large place among the memories of the country visit. Evidently -the regularity of the meals makes a change which strikes the -imagination. - - “I got up, washed in hot water and had my breakfast. It was duck’s - egg. I then went out in the fields till dinner was ready. I had - a good dinner and then took a rest. We had Tea. My lady gave us - herrings and apple pie for tea, then we went on the Green and - looked about and then came home and had supper and went to bed.” - -Some letters, especially those written after the first visit to the -country, contain nothing but the plain unvarnished tale of the supply of -regular food. One girl burns with indignation because - - “We girls was sent to bed at 7·30 and got no supper, but the boys was - let up later and got bread and a big thick bit of cheese”. - -A boy of eight chronicles that - - “I had custard for my Tea and some jelly which was called corn flour”. - -One small observer had apparently discovered the importance of -meal-times even to the sea itself, for he writes: “The sea always went -out at dinner time and came back when Tea was ready”. I can see my -readers smile, but to those of us who know intimately the lives of the -poor, the significance of meals and their regularity occupying so large -a place in a child’s mind is more pathetic than comic. - -From all the letters the impression is gathered of the generosity of the -poor hostesses to the London children. For 5s. a week (not 9d. a day) a -growing hungry boy or girl is taken into a cottager’s home, put in the -best bed, cared for, fed three or four times a day, and often -entertained at cost of time, thought, or money. - - “I like the day which was Bank lolyiday Monday because it was a - very joyafull day. My Lady took me to a Flower Show. It was 3d. to - go in but she paid, and I had swings and saw the flowers, and then - we had bought Tea, and a man gave away ginger beer.” - -Another girl of eleven writes:-- - - “My lady took me to Windsor Castle. The first thing I saw was the - Thames. I went and had a paddled and then I went in the Castle and saw - a lot of apple trees.” - -The visits to Windsor are modern-day versions of the old story of the -Cat who went to see the King and saw only “Mousey sitting under the -Chair,” for another child records:-- - - “There were plenty of orchards with apple trees in it. But we would - not pick them, or else we would be locked up but I went in the - Castle and I saw a very large table with fifty chairs all round it - and a piano and a looking glass covered up on the wall.” - -One boy who was taken to the lighthouse, though only ten, was evidently -eager for useful information. He writes:-- - - “I asked the man how many candlepowers it was but I forgot what he - said----” - -an experience not unknown to his elders and betters! - -This child records that “when playing on the beach I made Buckingham -Palace but a big boy came along and trod it and so we went home to -bed”--an unconscious repetition of the often-recorded conclusion of -Pepys’ eventful days. - -One of the small excursionists was taken by her hostess to see -Tonbridge, and writes: “We went to the muzeam wear we saw jitnoes of -different people”. - -The hospitality of the clergymen and their families and the goodness of -doctors is also often mentioned. Some of the children write so vividly -that the country vicarage and its sweet-smelling flowers, the hot curate -and the active ladies, rise up as a picture, the “atmosphere” of which -is kindness and “the values” incalculable. Other children merely record -the facts--in some cases anticipating time and establishing an order of -clergywomen. - - “We asked the Vicar Miss Leigh if we could swim and she said No - because one boy caught a cold.” - - “We all went to the Reveren to a party.” “Saturday mornings we went - to the Rectory haveing games, swings, sea sawes and refreshments.” - “The party by the Church was fine.” “They had a Church down there - called the Salvation Army. I thought there was only one Salvation - Army.” - -One of the Vicars hardly conveyed the impression he intended, for the -boy writes:-- - - “We went to Church in the morning and in the afternoon for a walk - as the Clergyman told us not to go to Sunday School as he wanted us - to enjoy ourselves”. - -One wonders if the Sunday School organization and the “intolerable -strain” which would be put on it by London visitors was in that vicar’s -mind. - -The letter that is sent by the Countryside Committee to the children -before they leave London tells them in simple language something about -the trees and flowers and creatures which they will see during their -holiday, and asks them to write on anything which they themselves have -observed or which gave them pleasure to see. This request is granted, -for the children wrote:-- - - “The trees seemed so happy they danced”. - - “The wind was blowing and the branches of the trees was swinging - themselves.” - - “The rainbow is made of raindrops and the sun, tears and smiles.” - - “It was nice to sit on the grass and see the trees prancing in the - breeze.” - -These extracts show, in the four small mortals who had each spent the -ten years of their lives in crowded streets, an almost poetic capacity, -and the beginning of a power of nature sympathy that will be a source of -unrecorded solace. The sights of the night impress many children, the -sky seen for the first time uninterrupted by gas lamps. - - “When I (aged eleven) looked into the sky one night you could hardly - see any of the blue for it was light up with stars.” - - “I saw a star shoot out of the sky and then it settled in a different - place.” - - “One night I kept awake and looked for the stars and saw the Big Bear - of stars.” - - “At night the moon looked as if it were a Queen and the stars were her - Attendants.” - - “The clouds are making way for the moon to come out.” - -The sun, its rising and setting, is also frequently mentioned. One child -had developed patriotism to such an extent as to write:-- - - “One day I looked up to the Sky and saw the sun was rising in the - shape of the British Isles”. - -Alas! What would the Kaiser think? - -Another of my correspondents expressed surprise that “the moon came from -where the sky touched the Earth,” an evidence of street-bound horizon. - -In other letters the writers record:-- - - “I saw the sun set it was like a big silver Eagle’s wing laying on a - cliff”. - - “When the sun was setting out of the clouds came something that looked - like a County Council Steamer”. - -That must have been a rather alarming sunset, but hardly less so than -“the cloud which was like Saint Paul’s Cathedral coming down on our -heads”. - -The animals gave great pleasure and created wonder:-- - - “The cows made a grunting noise, the baa lambs made a pretty little - shriek”. - - “The cows I saw were lazy, they were laying. One was a bull who I - daresay had been tossing somebody.” - - “I heard a bird chirping it was make a noise like chirp chirp twee.” - - “I saw a big dragon fly. It was like a long caterpillar with long - sparkling transparent wings.” - - “The birds are not like ourn they are light brown.” - - “There were wasps which was yellow and pretty but unkind.” - - “I (aged eleven) saw a little blackbird--its head was off by a Cat. I - made a dear little grave and so berreyed it under the Tree.” - -The flowers, of course, come in for the greatest attention and after -them the trees are most usually referred to:-- - - “I (aged nine) know all the flowers that lived in the garden, but not - all those who lived in the field”. - - “Stinging nettles are a nuisance to people who have holes in their - boots.” - - “The Pond is all covered with Rushes. These had flowers like a rusty - poker.” - - “I picked lots of flowers and always brought them home--” - -shows influence of the Selborne Society in teaching children not to pick -and throw away what is alive and growing. - - “The Cuckoo dines on other birds.” - - “There was one bird called the squirrel.” - - “Only gentlemen are allowed to shoot pheasants as they are expensive.” - - “We caught fish in the river some were small others about 2 feet - long.” - - “Butterflies dont do much work.” - - “The trunk of the oak is used for constructing furniture, coffins and - other expensive objects.” - -But my readers will be weary, so I will conclude with the pregnant -remark of a little prig, who writes:-- - - “I think the country was in a good condition for _I_ found plenty of - interesting things in it.” - -One or two of my small correspondents show an early disposition to see -faults and remember misfortunes. - -“There was no strikes on down there but there was a large number of -wasps,” was the reflection of one evidently conscious of the fly in -every ointment. Another (aged ten) writes:-- - - “DEAR MADAM,--When I was down in the country I was lying on the - couch and a wasp stung me. As I was on the common a man chased me, - and I fell head first and legs after into the prickles, and the - prickles dug me and hurt me.... I was nearly scorched down in the - country.... One day when I fed the Pigs the great big fat pig bit - a lump out of my best pinafore. One morning when I was in bed the - little boy brought the cat up and put it on my face. When I was - down in the country the Common caught a light for the sun was - always too hot. So I must close with my love.” - -Was there ever such a catalogue of misfortunes compressed into one short -fortnight? Still, in the intervals she seems to have noticed a -considerable number of trees, of which she makes a list, and adds: “I -did enjoy myself”. Poor little maiden! Perhaps her elders had graduated -in the school of misfortunes, and she had learnt the trick of -complaining. - -A good many children, both boys and girls, were very conscious of the -absence of their home responsibilities. - - “I did not see a babbi. I mean to mind it all the time.” - - “The ladys girl dont mind the baby as much as me at home. It stops in - the garden.” - -It opens up a whole realm of matters for reflection: the baby not -dragged hither and thither in arms too small and weak for its comfort, -and then plumped down on cold or damp stones while its over-burdened -nurse snatches a brief game or indulges in a scamper; the clouding of -the elder child’s life by unremitting responsibilities, and the -effortful labour which sometimes wears out love, though not so often as -could be expected, so marvellous is human nature, and its capacity for -care and tenderness. “I didn’t have to mind no twins,” writes one small -boy of nine, “I think thems a neusence. I wish Mother had not bought -them.” But the baby left in a garden! opening its blinking eyes to the -wonders of sky and flowers and bees and creatures, while its elder -brothers and sister do their share of work and play. This makes a -foundation of quiet and pleasure on which to build the strenuous days -and anxious years of the later life of struggle and effort. - -The reiteration of the kindness of the cottage hostesses would be almost -wearisome if one’s imagination did not go behind it and picture the -scenes, the hard-worked country woman accepting the suggestion of a -child guest with a lively appreciation of the usefulness of the 5s.’s -which were to accrue, but that thought receding as the enjoyment of the -town child became infectious, until the value given for the value -received became forgotten, and generous self-costing kindnesses were -showered profusely. - - “My lady she was always doing kind to me.” “Mrs. P. washed my clothes - before I came home to save Mother doing it.” “My lady told Mr. S. to - shake her tree for our apples.” “The person that Boarded me gave me - nice thing to bring back.” - -In some cases the thrifty, tidy ways of the country hostesses conveyed -their lessons. - - “She use to make browan bread and She use to make her own cakes and - apple turn overs and eggloes and current cake.” “The wind came in my - room and blew me in the night.” “We always had table clothes where I - was.” “I washed myself well my lady liked it.” “We cleaned our teeth - down in the country ever morning.” - -Sometimes examples on deeper matters were observed and approved of. - - “Every morning and dinner and tea we say grace.” “The lady told us - Sunday School was nice and we went.” “We had Church 3 times. Morning - noon and night”-- - -is not reported with entire approval, but the letter ends:-- - - “I loved my holidays very much and hope that I can go next year to - live with the same lady”. - -A boy writes:-- - - “The lady was very kind she never said any naughty words to me”. - -And another lad reports:-- - - “I was fed extremely well and treated with the best respect”. - -One little girl had clear views on the proper position of man. - - “My ladie,” she writes, “had a big pig 4 little ones, 2 cats. some - hens a bird in a cage a apple tree a little boy and a Huband.” - -Sometimes the history of the place has been impressed on the children. - - “I (aged eleven) was very glad I went to Guildford because Sir - Lancelot and Elaine lived there but its name was then Astolat.” - - “When I (aged eleven) reached Burnham Thorp I felt the change of - air and I heard the birds sing--and then I knew that I should see - the place where our great English sailor Lord Nelson was born,”-- - -he being a character so indissolubly associated with innocent country -joys. - -The letters both begin and end in a variety of ways, for though I do not -write all the letters which are issued to the children by the -Countryside Committee of the Children’s Country Holiday Fund, it is -considered better for me as Chairwoman to sign them, so as to give a -more personal tone to the lengthy printed chat, which the teachers -themselves open, kindly read and talk about to the children, and a copy -of which each child can have if it so wishes. Thus the reply letters are -all sent to me, and the vast majority begin “Dear Madam”; but some are -less conventional, and I have those commencing, “Dear Mrs. Barnett,” -“Dear Country Holdday Site Commtie,” “Dear friend,” “Dear Miss,” while -the feeling of personal relation was evidently so real to one small boy -that he began his epistle with “Dear Henrietta”--I delight in that -letter! Among the concluding words are the following: “Your affectionate -little friend,” “Your loving pupil,” “From one who enjoyed,” “Yours -gratefully,” “Yours truly Friend”. - -Some of the regrets at leaving the country are very pathetic:-- - - “I wish I was in the country now”. “I shall never go again; I am - too old now.” “I think in the fortnight I had more treats than - ever before in all my life.” “The blacking berries were red then - and small. They will be black now and big.” “I wish I was with my - lady’s baker taking the bread round.” “I enjoyed myself very much, - I cannot explain how much. Please God next year I will come again. - As I sit at school I always imagine myself roaming in the fields - and watching the golden corn, and when I think of it it makes me cry.” - -And those tears will find companions in some of the hearts which -ache for the joyless lives of our town children, weighted by -responsibilities, crippled by poverty, robbed of their birthright of -innocent fun. The ecstatic joy of children in response to such simple -pleasures tells volumes about their drab existence, their appreciation -of adequate food, their warm recognition of kindness, represent -privation and surprise. In a deeper sense than Wordsworth used it, -“Their gratitude has left me mourning”. - -I know, and no one better, the countless servants of the people who are -toiling to relieve the sorrows of the poor and their children, but until -the conditions of labour, of education, and of housing are fearlessly -faced and radically dealt with, their labour can only be palliative and -their efforts barren of the best fruit; but articles, as well as -holidays, must finish, and so I will conclude by another extract:-- - - “We had a bottle of Tea and cake and it was 132¾ miles. I saw all - sorts of things and come to Waterloo Station and thank you very much.” - - HENRIETTA O. BARNETT. - - - - - THE RECREATION OF THE PEOPLE.[1] - - BY CANON BARNETT. - - July, 1907. - - [1] From “The Cornhill Magazine”. By permission of the Editor. - - -Work may, as Carlyle says, be a blessing, but work is not undertaken for -work’s sake. Work is part of the universal struggle for existence. Men -work to live. But the animal world early found that existence does not -consist in keeping alive. All animals play. They let off surplus energy -in imitating their own activities, and they recreate exhausted powers by -change of occupation. Man, as soon as he came into his inheritance of -reason, recognized play as an object of desire, and as well as working -for his existence, and perhaps even before he worked to obtain power and -glory, he worked to obtain recreation. A man, according to Schiller’s -famous saying, is fully human only when he plays. - -Work, then, let it be admitted, is undertaken not for work’s sake but -largely for the sake of recreation. England has been made the workshop -of the world, its fair fields and lovely homesteads have been turned -into dark towns and grimy streets, partly in the hope that more of its -citizens may have enjoyment in life. Men toil in close offices under -dark skies, not just to increase the volume of exports and imports, and -not always to increase their power, or to win honour from one another; -they dream of happy hours of play, they picture themselves travelling in -strange countries or tranquilly enjoying their leisure in some villa or -pleasant garden. Men spend laborious days as reformers, on public boards -or as public servants, very largely so as to release their neighbours -from the prison house of labour, where so many, giving their lives “to -some unmeaning taskwork, die unfreed, having seen nothing, still -unblest”. - -Recreation is an object of work. The recreations of the people consume -much of the fruit of the labour of the people. Their play discloses what -is in their hearts and minds and to what end they will direct their -power. Their use of leisure is a sign-post showing whether the course of -the nation is towards extinction in ignorance and self-indulgence, or -towards greater brightness in the revelation of character and the -service of mankind. By their idle words and by the acts of their idle -times men are most fairly judged. - -The recreation of the people is therefore a subject of greater -importance than is always remembered. The country is being lost or saved -in its play, and the use of holidays needs as much consideration as the -use of workdays. - -Would that some Charles Booth could undertake an inquiry into “the life -and leisure of the people” to put alongside that into their life and -work! Without such an inquiry the only basis for the consideration which -I invite is the impression left on the minds of individuals, and all I -can offer is the impression made on my mind by a long residence in East -London. - -People during the last quarter of a century have greatly increased their -command of leisure. The command, as Board of Trade inspectors remind us, -is not sufficient as long as the rule of seventy or even sixty hours of -work a week still holds in some trades. But the weekly half-holiday has -become almost universal, some skilled trades have secured an eight or -nine hours’ day, many workshops every year close for a week, and the -members of the building trades begin work late and knock off early -during the winter months. There is thus much leisure available for -recreation. What do the people do? How do these crowds who swarm through -the streets on Saturday afternoons spend their holiday? - -Many visit the public-houses and try to drink themselves out of their -gloom. “To get drunk,” we have been told, is “the shortest way out of -Manchester,” and many citizens in every city go at any rate some -distance along this way. They find they live a larger, fuller life as, -standing in the warm bright bar, they drink and talk as if they were -“lords”. The returns which suggest that the drink bill of a workman’s -family is 5s. or 6s. a week prove how popular is this use of leisure, -and they who begin a holiday by drinking probably spend the rest of it -in sleeping. The identification of rest with sleep is very common, and a -workman who knows he has a fair claim to rest thinks himself justified -in sleeping or dozing hour after hour during Saturday and Sunday. -“What,” I once asked an engineer, “should I find most of your mates -doing if I called on Sunday?” His answer was short: “Sleeping”. - -Another large body of workers as soon as they are free hurry off -to some form of excitement. They go in their thousands to see a -football-match, they yell with those who yell, they are roused by the -spectacle of battle, and they indulge in hot “sultry” talk. Or they -go to some race or trial of strength on which bets are possible. They -feel in the rise and fall of the chance of winning a new stirring of -their dull selves, and they dream of wealth to be enjoyed in wearing a -coat with a fur collar and in becoming owners of sporting champions. Or -they go to music halls--1,250,000 go every week in London--where if the -excitement be less violent it still avails to move their thoughts into -other channels. They see colour instead of dusky dirt, they hear songs -instead of the clash of machinery, they are interested as a performer -risks his life, and the jokes make no demands on their thoughts. The -theatres probably are less popular, at any rate among men, but they -attract great numbers, especially to plays which appeal to generous -impulses. An audience enjoys the easy satisfaction of shouting down -a villain. The same sort of excitement is that provided on Sunday -mornings in the clubs, where in somewhat sordid surroundings, a few -actors and singers try to stir the muddled feelings of their audience -by appeals, which are more or less vulgar. - -There is finally another large body of released workers who simply go -home. They are more in number than is generally imagined, and they -constitute the solid part of the community. They are not often found at -meetings or clubs. Their opinions are not easily discovered. Large -numbers never vote. They go home from work, they make themselves tidy, -they do odd jobs about the house, they go out shopping with their wives, -they walk with the children, they, as a family party, visit their -friends, they sleep, and they read the weekly paper. All this is -estimable, and the mere catalogue makes a picture pleasant to the -middle-class imagination of what a workman’s life should be. The workers -get repose, but from a larger point of view it cannot be said they -return to work invigorated by new thoughts and new experiences, with new -powers and new conceptions of life’s use. Repose is sterilized -recreation. - -These, it seems to me, are the three main streams which flow from work -to leisure--that towards drink, that towards excitement, and that -towards home repose. - -There are other workers--an increasing number, but small in comparison -with those in one of the main streams--who use their leisure to attend -classes, to study with a view to greater technical skill or to read the -books now so easily bought. There are some who take other jobs, -forgetting that the wages which buy eight hours’ work should buy also -eight hours’ sleep and eight hours’ play. There are many who bicycle, -some it may be for the excitement of rapid motion, but some also for the -joy of visiting the country and of social intercourse. There are many -who play games and take vigorous exercise. There are a few--markedly a -few--who have hobbies or pursuits on which they exercise their less used -powers of heart or head or limb. - -Such is the general impression which long experience has left on my mind -as to the recreations of the people. It is, however, possible to give a -closer inspection to some popular forms of amusement. - -Consider first one of the seaside resorts during the month of August. -Look at Blackpool, or Margate, or Weston. On the Saturday before Bank -Holiday £100,000 was drawn out of the banks at Blackburn and £200,000 -from the banks at Oldham, to be spent in recreation, mostly at -Blackpool. How was it spent? - -The sight of the beach of one of these resorts is familiar. There is the -mass of people brightly coloured and loudly talking, broken into rapidly -changing groups. There are the nigger singers, the buffoons, the -acrobats; there are the great restaurants and hotels inviting lavish -expenditure on food. There are bookstalls laden with trashy novels. -There are the overridden beasts and the overworked maid-servants; there -is the loafing on the pier, and the sleep after heavy meals. Nothing -especially wicked, much that shows good-nature, but everything so -vulgar--so empty of interest, so far below what thinking men and women -should enjoy, so unworthy the expenditure of hundreds of thousands of -pounds earned by hard work. - -Consider again the music hall. Mr. Stead has lent his eyes. “If,” he -says, “I had to sum up the whole performance in a single phrase I should -say, ‘Drivel for dregs’. For three and a half hours I sat patiently -listening to the most insufferable banality and imbecility which ever -fell on human ears. There was neither beauty nor humour, no appeal to -taste or to intelligence, nothing but vulgarity and stupidity to -recreate the heirs of a thousand years of civilization and the citizens -of an empire on which the sun never sets.” And in one year there are -some 70,000,000 admissions to music halls in London! Consider, too, the -football fields or the racecourses. The crowd of spectators is often -100,000 to 200,000 persons. What can they find worthy the interest of a -reasonable creature? Would they be present if it were not for the -excitement of gambling, the mind-destroying pleasure of risking their -money to get their neighbours’ money? “If,” as Sir James Crichton-Browne -says, “you would see the English physiognomy at its worst, go to the -platform of a railway station on the day of a suburban race meeting when -the special trains are starting. On most of the faces you detect the -grin of greed, on many the leer of low cunning, on some the stamp of -positive rascality.” - -Consider once more the crowds who go to the country in the summer. “One -of the saddest sights of the Lake District during the tourist season,” -says Canon Rawnsley, “is the aimless wandering of the hard-worked folk -who have waited a whole year for their annual holiday, and, having -obtained it, do not know what to do with it. They stand with Skiddaw, -glorious in its purple mantle of heather, on one side and the blue hills -of Borrowdale and the shining lake on the other, and ask ‘Which is the -way to the scenery?’” The people, according to this observer, are dull -and bored amid the greatest beauty. The excursionist finds nothing in -nature which is his; he reads the handwriting of truth and beauty, but -understands not what he reads. - -But enough of impressions of popular recreations. There are brighter -sides to notice. There is, for instance, health in the instinct which -turns to the country for enjoyment. There is hope in the prevalent good -temper, in the untiring energy and curiosity which is always seeking -something new. There are better things than have been mentioned and -there are worse things, but as a general conclusion it may, I think, be -agreed that the recreations of the people are not such as recreate human -nature for further progress. The lavish expenditure of hardly earned -wages on mere bodily comfort does not suggest that the people are -cherishing high political ideals, and the galvanized idleness which -characterizes so much popular pleasure does not promise for the future -an England which will be called blessed or be itself “merrie”. - -England in her great days was “Merrie England”. Many of our forefathers’ -recreations were, judged by our standard, cruel and horribly brutal. -They had, however, certain notable characteristics. They made greater -demands both on body and mind. When there were neither trains nor trams -nor grand stands people had to take more exertion to get pleasure, and -they themselves joined in the play or in the sport. Their delight, too, -was often in the fellowship they secured, and “fellowship,” as Morris -says, “is life and lack of fellowship is death”. Our fathers’ sports, -even if they were cruel--and the “Book of Sports” shows how many were -not cruel but full of grace--had often this virtue of fellowship. Their -pageants and spectacles--faithfully pictured by Scott in his account of -the revels of Kenilworth, were not just shows to be lazily watched; they -enlisted the interest and ingenuity of the spectators, and stirred their -minds to discover the meaning of some allegory or trace out some -mystery. - -The recreations which made England “merrie” were stopped in their -development by the combined influence of puritanism and of the -industrial revolution. Far be it from me to consider as evil either the -one or the other. In all progress there is destruction. The puritan -spirit put down cruel sports such as bull baiting and cock fighting, and -with them many innocent pleasures. The industrial revolution drew the -people from their homes in the fields and valleys, established them in -towns, gave them higher wages and cheaper food. Under the combined -influence work took possession of the nation’s being. It ruled as a -tyrant, and the gospel of work became the gospel for the people. - -In the latter part of the nineteenth century signs of reaction are -apparent. Sleary, in Dickens’s “Hard Times,” urges on the economist the -continual refrain: “The people, Squire, must be amused,” and Herbert -Spencer, returning from America in 1882, declares the need of the -“Gospel of Recreation”. Recreation has since increased in pace. The -right to shorter and shorter hours of labour is now admitted, and the -provision of amusement has become a great business. The demand which has -secured shorter hours may safely be left to rescue further leisure from -work; but demand has not, as we have seen, been followed by the -establishment of healthy recreation. A child knows a holiday is good, -but he needs also to know how to enjoy it or he will do mischief to -himself or others. The people also need, as well as leisure, the -knowledge of what constitutes recreation. - -The subject is not simple, and Professor Karl Groos, in his book “The -Play of Man,” has with Teutonic thoroughness analysed the subject from -the physiological, the biological, and the psychological standpoints. -The book is worthy of study by students, but it seems to me that -recreation must involve (1) some excitement, (2) some strengthening of -the less used fibres of the mind or body, (3) the activity of the -imagination. - -(1) Recreation must involve some excitement, some appeal to an existing -interest, some change, some stirring of the wearied or sleeping -embers of the mind. Routine work, tending to become more and more -routine, wears life. It is “life of which our nerves are scant,” and -recreation should revive the sources of life. Most people, as Mr. -Balfour, look askance at efforts which, under the guise of amusing, -aim to impart useful culture. Recreation must be something other than -repose--something more stirring than sleep or loafing--it must be -something attractive and not something undertaken as a duty. - -(2) Recreation must involve the strengthening of the less used fibres of -the mind and the body; the embers which are stirred by excitement need -to be fed with new fuel, or the flames will soon sink into ashes. -Gambling and drink, sensational dramas, and exciting shows stir but do -not strengthen the mind. Mere change--the fresh excursion every day, the -spectacle of a contest--wears out the powers of being. “The crime of -sense is avenged by sense which wears with time.” On the other hand, -games well played fulfil the condition, and there is no more cheering -sight than that of playing-fields where young and old are using their -limbs intent on doing their best. Music, foreign travel, congenial -society, reading, chess, all games of skill, also fulfil the condition, -as they make a claim on the activity of heart or mind, and so strengthen -their fibres. A good drama is recreation if the spectator is called to -give himself to thought and to feeling. He then becomes in a sense a -fellow creator with the author, he has what Professor Groos says -satisfies every one, “the joy of being a cause,” or, as he explains in -another passage, “it is only when emotion is in a measure our own work -do we enjoy the result”. Recreation must call out activity, it fails if -it gives and requires nothing. We only have what we give. He that would -save his life loses it. - -(3) The last and most notable mark of recreation is the use of the -imagination. Recreation comes from within and not from without the man. -It depends on that a man _is_ and not upon what a man _has_. A child -grows tired of his toys, a man wearies of his possessions, but there is -no being tired of the imagination which leaps ahead and every day -reveals something new. Sleary was wrong when he said, “People must be -amused”. He should have said, “People must amuse themselves”. Their -recreation must, that is, come from the use of their own faculties of -heart and mind. “The cultivation of the inner life,” it was truly said -in a discussion on the hard lot of the middle classes, “is the only cure -for the commercial tyrannies and class prejudices of that class.” The -Japanese are the best holiday takers I have ever met; they have in -themselves a taste for beauty, and they go to the country to enjoy the -use of that taste. A man who because he is interested in mankind sets -himself on his holiday to observe and study the habits of man; or, -because he cares for Nature, looks deeper into her secrets by the way of -plants or rocks or stars; or, because he is familiar with history, seeks -in buildings and places illustrations of the past; a holiday maker who -in such ways uses his inner powers will come home refreshed. His -pleasure has come from within; he, on the other hand, who has lounged -about a pier, moved from place to place, travelled from sight to sight, -looking always for pleasure from outside himself, will come home bored. - -If such be the constituents of recreation one reflection stands out -clearly, and that is the importance of educating or directing the demand -for amusement. Popular demand can only choose what it knows; it could -not choose the pictures for an art gallery or the best machines for the -workshop, neither can it settle the amusements which are recreative. -Children and young people are with great care fitted for work and taught -how to earn a living; there is equal need that the people be fitted for -recreation, and taught how to enjoy their being. They must know before -they can choose. Education, and not the House of Lords, is the safeguard -of democratic government. - -Mr. Dill’s “History of Social Life in the Towns of the Roman Empire -during the First and Second Centuries” shows that there is a striking -likeness between the condition of those times to that which prevails in -England. The millionaires made noble benefactions, there were -magnificent spectacles, there were contests which roused lunatic -excitement as one of the combatants succeeded in some brutal strife, -there was lavish provision of games and great enjoyment in feasting. The -amusement was provided by others’ gifts, and, as Mr. Dill remarks, the -people were more and more drawn from “interest in the things of the -mind”. The games of Rome were steps in the decline and fall of Rome. - -The lesson which modern and ancient experience offers is that people -must be as thoughtfully and as seriously prepared for their recreation -as for their work. - -The first illusion which must, I think, be destroyed is that a holiday -means a vacation or an empty time. It is not enough to close the school -and let the children have no lessons. It is not enough to enact an eight -hours’ day and leave the people without resources. If the spirit of toil -be turned out of men’s lives and they be left swept and garnished, there -are spirits of leisure that will return which may be ten times worse. It -is a pathetic sight often presented in a playground, when after some -aimless running and pushing, the children gradually grow listless, -fractious, and quarrelsome. They came to enjoy themselves and cannot. -Many a boy for want of occupation for his leisure has taken to crime. It -is not always love of evil or even greed which makes him a thief, it is -in the pure spirit of adventure that he stalks his prey on the coster’s -cart, risks his liberty and dodges the police. It is because they have -no more interesting occupation that eager little heads pop out of -windows when the police make a capture, and eager little tongues tell -experiences of arrests which baby eyes have seen. The empty holiday is a -burden to a child, and every one has heard of the bus driver who could -think of nothing better to do on his off day than to ride on a bus -beside a mate. The idea that, given leisure, the people will find -recreation is not justified. A kitten may be satisfied with aimless -play, but a spark disturbs mankind’s clod and his play needs direction. - -The other illusion which must be dissipated is that amusement should -call for no effort on the part of those to be amused. It is the common -mistake of benevolence that it tries to remove difficulties, rather than -strengthen people to surmount difficulties. The gift which provides food -is often destructive of the powers which earn food. In the same way the -benevolence which, as among the Romans, provides shows, entertainments, -and feasts, destroys at last the capacity for pleasure. Toys often -stifle children’s imaginations and develop a greed for possession; -children enjoy more truly what they themselves help to create, so that a -bit of wood with inkspots for eyes, which they themselves have made, is -more precious than an expensive doll. Grown people’s amusements to be -satisfying must also call out effort. - -The shattering of these two illusions leaves society face to face with -the obligation to teach people to play as well as to work. It is not -enough to give leisure and leave amusement to follow. Neither is it -enough to provide popular amusement. James I was not a great King but he -was a collector of wisdom, and he laid down for his son a guide for his -games as well as for his work. Teachers and parents with greater -experience might, like the King, guide their children. - -(1) It is not, I think, waste of time to watch infants when at play, to -encourage their efforts, to welcome their calls to look, and to enter -into their imaginings. This watching, so usual among the children of the -richer classes, is missed by the children of the poorer and often leaves -a gap in their development. - -(2) It would not either be wasted expenditure to employ game-teachers in -the elementary schools, who, on Saturdays and out of school hours would -teach children games, indoor and outdoor, conduct small parties to -places of interest, and organize country walks or excursions such as are -common in Swiss schools. - -(3) It is, I think, reasonable to ask that the great school buildings -and playgrounds should be more continually at the children’s service. -They have been built at great expense. They are often the most airy and -largest space in a crowded neighbourhood. Why should they be in the -children’s use for only some twenty-five hours a week? Why should they -be closed during two whole months? The experience gained in the vacation -schools advocated by Mrs. Humphry Ward gives an object lesson in what -might be done. During the afternoon hours between five and seven, and in -the summer holidays, the children, with the greatest delight to -themselves, might be drawn to see new things, to use new faculties of -admiration or develop new tastes. Every child might thus be given a -hobby. Recreation means, as we have seen, change. If the children ended -their school days with more interests, with eyes opened to see in the -country not only a nest to be taken but a brood of birds to be watched, -with hands capable not only to make things but to create beauty, the -limits within which they could find change would be greatly enlarged. - -If I may now extend my suggestion to parents I would say that those of -all classes might do more in planning holidays for their children. There -is now a strong disposition to leave all responsibility to the teachers, -and parents are in the danger of losing parental authority. In the -holidays is their chance of regaining authority; for every day they -could plan occupation, put aside time to join in some common pursuit, -arrange visits, and make themselves companions of their own children. -The teacher may be held responsible, but his work is often spoiled in -the idle hours of a holiday, when bad books are read, vulgar sights -enjoyed, low companions found, and habits of loafing developed. But it -is not only teachers and parents by whom children are guided. There is a -host of men and women who plan treats, excursions, and country holidays. -Their efforts could, I think, be made more valuable. The monster day -treats, which give excitement and turn the children’s minds in a -direction towards the excitements of crowds and of stimulants from -without, might be exchanged for small treats where ten or twenty -children in close companionship with their guide would enjoy one -another’s company, find new interests, and store up memories of things -seen and heard. Tramps through England might be organized for elder boys -and girls in which visits might be paid to historic fields and scenes of -beauty, and objects of interest sought. Children about to be sent to the -country by a Holiday Fund might, as is now very happily done by a -committee in connexion with the Children’s Country Holiday Fund, by -means of pictures and talk be taught what to look for and be encouraged -to tell of their discoveries. Habits of singing might be developed, as -among the Welsh or the Swiss. And in a thousand ways thought might be -drawn to the observation of nature. Good people might, if I may say so, -give up the provision of those entertainments which now, absorbing so -much of the energy of curates and laywomen, seem only to prepare the -children to look for the entertainment of the music halls. They might -instead teach children one by one to find amusement, each one in his own -being. - -The hope of the future lies obviously in the training of the children, -but the elder members of the community might also have more chances of -growth. Employers, for instance, might more generally substitute -holidays of weeks for holidays of days, and so encourage the workpeople -to plan their reasonable use. They might also enlarge their minds by -informing them about the material on which they work, whence it comes -and whither it goes. Miss Addams tells of a firm in Ohio where the hands -are gathered to hear the reports of the travellers as they return from -Constantinople, Italy, or China, and learn how the goods they have made -are used by strange people. In the same firm lantern lectures are given -on the countries with which the firm has dealings, and generally the -hands are made partners in the thoughts of the heads. “This,” as Miss -Addams says, “is a crude example of the way in which a larger framework -may be given to the worker’s mind,” and she adds, “as a poet bathes the -outer world for us in the hues of human feeling, so the workman needs -some one to bathe his surrounding with a human significance.” Employers -also, following the example of Messrs. Cadbury, might require their -young people not only to attend evening classes to make them fitter for -work, but also to attend one class which will fit them to ride hobbies, -which will carry them from the strain and routine of work into other and -recreating surroundings. Municipal bodies have in these latter days done -much in the right direction by opening playing fields, picture -galleries, and libraries, and by giving free performances of high-class -music. They might perhaps do more to break up the monotony of the -streets, introducing more of the country into town, and requiring -dignity as well as healthiness in the great buildings. Such variety adds -greatly to the joy of living, diverts the minds of weary workers, and -stimulates the admiration which is one-third of life. - -But, after all, improvement starts from individuals, and it is the -action of individual men and women which will reform popular reaction. -They must, each one as if the reform depended on him alone, be morally -thoughtful about the amusements they encourage or patronize, and be -considerate in preparing for their own pleasure. Each one must develop -his own being, and stir up the faculties of his own mind. Each one must -practise the muscles of his mind as a racer practises the muscles of his -legs. - -The most completely satisfying recreation is possibly in the intercourse -of friends, and it is a sad feature in English holidays that men and -their wives, who are naturally the closest friends, seem to find so -little pleasure in one another’s company. They walk one behind the other -in the country, they are rarely found together at places of -entertainment, and they are seldom seen talking with any vivacity. The -fault lies in the fact that they have not developed their own being, -they have neither interests nor hobbies nor ideas, and so have nothing -to talk about save wages, household difficulties, and the shortest way -home. - -Enough, however, in the way of suggestion as to what may be done in -guiding people towards recreation. Under guidance recreations would take -another than their present character. People, having a wider range of -interests, would find change within those interests, and cease to turn -from sensation to sleep and from sleep to sensation. People having -active minds would look to exercise their minds in a game of skill, in -searching Nature’s secrets, in spirited talk, in some creative activity, -in following a thought-provoking drama, in the use, that is, of their -highest human faculties. The forms of recreation would be changed. Much -of the difficulty about what seems Sunday desecration would then vanish. -The play of the people would no longer be fatal to the quiet of the day, -or inconsistent with the worship which demands the consecration of the -whole being. It is not recreation so much as the form of recreation -which desecrates Sunday. This, however, is part of another subject. - -As a conclusion of the whole matter I would say how it seems to me that -Merrie England need be not only in the past. The present time is the -best of times. There are to-day resources for men’s enjoyment such as -never existed in any other age or country. There are fresh and pure -capacities in human nature which are evident in many signs of energy, of -admiration, and of good will. If the resources were used, if the -capacities were developed, there would soon be popular recreations to -attract human longings, and encourage the hope of a future when the -glory of England shall not be in its possessions of gold and territory, -but in a people happy in the full use of their powers of heart and of -head. - - SAMUEL A. BARNETT. - - - - - THE HOPES OF THE HOSTS.[1] - - BY MRS. S. A. BARNETT. - - January, 1886. - - [1] From “The Toynbee Journal”. - - -Certainly a great deal of entertaining goes on in Toynbee Hall. From the -half-hours spent in the little room, where its Entertainment Committee -meets, there issue some prominent if not exactly big results, and, -perhaps, its members are not without a hope that deep consequences as -well may follow. This method of helping people has not been without its -critics, one of whom uttered the opinion, “that the Toynbee Hall plan -was to save the people’s souls alive by pictures, pianos, and parties,” -and though the remark was made derisively, there may be some doubt if it -was altogether without truth: only the speaker should have added that it -was _one_ of the Toynbee Hall plans, instead of using only the definite -article. - -If the Toynbee Hall aim is to help to make it possible that men should -carry out the command given long ago of “Be ye perfect,” and if, as a -modern lover of righteousness has put it, “the power of social life and -manners is one of the great elements in our humanization, and unless we -cultivate it we are incomplete”; then it is not an error that “pictures, -pianos, and parties” should be pressed into service to fill up some of -the incompleteness in the East London dweller’s life, and to help him to -“save his soul alive”. - -It is one of the saddest facts of life in this crowded, busy, tiring, -and hurried part of London that it is more difficult to keep one’s soul -(like one’s plants) alive than it is in gentler places, where folk get -the aid of some of nature’s beauties, and some moments of that outside -quiet which help to make it possible to fancy “the peace which passeth -all understanding”. But because Whitechapel is Whitechapel and Toynbee -Hall is in its midst, more artificial methods for gaining and keeping -life must be adopted. - -It is true that the Entertainment Committee prefer those gatherings -which can take place out of doors in the country, where the guests gain -all that comes from the charm of being graciously entertained under “the -wider sky”; but still town parties are not to be despised, and, judging -from the glad acceptance of those many who “cannot bid again,” they are -generally enjoyed. - -The method of food entertainment is very simple, so simple that it -sometimes wars against the generous instincts of the hosts; but, after -careful thought, it has been decided that the object of Toynbee Hall -entertainments and parties will be more surely gained if “plain living -and high thinking” can be maintained--not to mention the more mundane -consideration that more friends can be welcomed as guests, if each is -not so expensive. So the pleasure to be gained from rich or dainty food -is neglected, and the guests are summoned in order to give them -pleasures by increasing their interests. And among the means of doing -this may be reckoned the fine thoughts of the great dumb teachers, the -artists, of which those who care can learn as they turn over the -portfolios, look at the photograph books, or study the gift pictures on -the walls. The great in the musical world are called upon for offerings -as the musically generous among the friends of Toynbee Hall pass on the -plaintive ideas of Schumann, or the grand soul-stirring aspirations of -Beethoven and Mozart. - -To give pleasure is now almost universally considered to be a righteous -duty, and when it is taken into consideration that the homes of most -East Londoners are too narrow, their daily labour too great, and their -resources too limited to permit them taking pleasure by entertaining in -their own houses, it cannot but be considered as a gladdening sight when -the Toynbee reception rooms are full of a happy, an amused, and an -enjoying company. - -To increase interests is not perhaps as yet recognized as so deep a -human need, but it may be so, none the less for this; and to the young -or to the much tempted, this opportunity of increasing their interests -is of untold value. - -Most young folk are better educated than their parents, and, with a keen -sense of enjoyment, a belief in their own powers of self-guidance, and a -happy blank on their page of disappointments, they are eager for “fuller -life,” and will take its pleasure in some guise, warn their elders never -so wisely. To give it them free from temptation, and in such a form that -when the first novelty is worn off, it will still be true that “the best -is yet to be”; to increase interests, until a self-centred and -self-seeking existence shows itself in its true and despicable colours; -to increase scientific interests with microscopes, magic lanterns, and -experiments; literary interests with talks on books, recitations from -the poets, scenes from Shakespeare; to increase musical interests with -the aid of glee clubs, string quartettes, and solo and chorus songs; to -increase interests on all sides is the aim of the Entertainment -Committee, hoping that thus for some “all earth will seem aglow where -’twas but plain earth before”. - -“The cultivation of social life and manners is equal to a moral impulse, -for it works to the same end.... It brings men together, makes them feel -the need of one another, be considerate of one another, understand one -another.” So teaches Matthew Arnold. And the introduction of the guests -to each other is no neglected feature in the Toynbee Hall gatherings. It -is for this reason that guests of all classes are summoned together, -that the hand-worker may have sympathy with the head-labourer, that the -eager reformer may gather hints from the clear-visioned thoughts of the -untried lad, or that the boy living a club life far removed from women’s -power, may be introduced to a “ladye faire,” who may (if she will) -become to him a “sheltering cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night,” -guiding him safely through stonier wastes than ever the old Israelites -weathered. It is no slight duty this, to introduce one human being to -another--to help them to pass quickly along the dull road of -acquaintanceship and out into the sweet valley of knowledge and -friendship, and there gain, the comfort, refreshment, and inspiration, -without which it almost seems impossible to believe in and hold on to an -ideal good. - -The highest and noblest thing yet revealed to man is the human -creature’s soul, “the very pulse of the machine,” and if Toynbee Hall -parties do something to reveal the depths of one creature to another; if -they do a little to keep alive and weld into solidarity the floating -hopes and aspirations, which idly live in every human heart, but, alas! -so often die from loneliness; if they do something to help people to -care for one another and to see the higher vision; and if those thus -caring are stirred to take thought for the growth and development of the -larger, sadder world, then, perhaps, the “pictures, pianos, and parties” -will not so ill have played their part in the work of Toynbee Hall. - - HENRIETTA O. BARNETT. - - - - - EASTER MONDAY ON HAMPSTEAD HEATH.[1] - - BY CANON BARNETT. - - April, 1905. - - [1] From “The Westminster Gazette”. By permission of the Editor. - - -Bank Holiday on Hampstead Heath sets moving many thoughts. No -drunkenness, no bad temper, no brutal rowdiness--but where are the -family parties? Three-quarters of the people seem to be under twenty -years of age. Where are the family groups such as are found in France -or in the colder Denmark making pleasure by talk, or by gaiety, -singing, or dancing, or acting--finding interest in things beautiful or -new? There were, indeed, some families at Hampstead, and perambulators -were driven through the thickest crowd, every one making room for the -baby. But the father often looked bored and the mother worried. They -were doing their duty, giving the children pleasure, and getting fresh -air. The crowd was a young persons’ crowd--boys by themselves, girls by -themselves, and a smaller number paired. They had come to be amused, -and the caterers of amusement had established by the roadside the shows -and shooting-galleries and swings such as are to be found within the -reach of most crowded neighbourhoods. Organ-grinders played, sweets -were exposed for sale, and the Heath Road was as packed with people as -Petticoat Lane on a Sunday morning. The people wandered over the Heath, -but while they wandered they seemed listless, or on the watch for -anything to occupy their attention. A few children dancing as every day -they dance in Whitechapel at once drew together a crowd. Golder’s Hill -Park, which was never more radiant in its beauty, was comparatively -empty. The road outside, where public-houses had provided various -attractions, was packed, not by people who were customers but by people -watching one another and waiting for something to happen. But inside -the park, where the County Council’s restaurant had spread its tables -for tea, where from the Terrace there is a view of unequalled beauty, -where the gardens are rich in flowers, there were only a few scattered -groups. - -The holiday is not a feast of brutality or drunkenness. No one need have -been offended by sight or sound. The Shows, thanks to the County Council -regulations, were all decent, and there was everywhere the courtesy of -good temper. An observer, thinking of twenty years ago, would say, “What -an improvement!” but his next thought would be, “How much better things -are possible!” In the first place, the arrangements for the supply of -food might be different. In Golder’s Hill itself the regulation that no -teas should be served on the grass for fear of its injury shows a -curious ignorance of relative values when, for the want of very slight -protection, boys are allowed to tear away the banks on the side of -Spaniard’s Road. The injured grass would revive in a month; the torn -banks are irreparably damaged. There is no reason why the London County -Council’s restaurants both on Golder’s Hill and in other parts of the -Heath should not attract people by the daintiness of their display, and -why the people should not be held by music and singing. Family parties -would be more likely to frequent the place if the elders could be -assured of pleasant resting-places. How differently, how very much -better, they manage feeding abroad! People are always hungry and thirsty -on holidays, and from the public-house to the whelk-stall, from the -tea-gardens to the coffee-stand, there was evidence of English -incapacity to supply the most persistent of holiday needs. The first -improvement possible is, therefore, more dainty and more frequent -provision of refreshment. The next improvement, which especially applies -to Golder’s Hill, is the addition of objects of interest. There might be -an aviary, the greenhouses might be filled with flowers and opened, -rooms in the house might be decorated with pictures of the neighbourhood -or with a collection of local objects. People who are unconsciously -taking in memories through their eyes need some illusion; they must -think they are going to see something they understand, if they are to be -led to see the better things beyond their understanding. Then, surely, -some more care might be taken of the tender places on the Heath--there -are acres of grass on which boys may play, who might thereby be kept -from scouring the surface of the light sand soil, making highways -through the gorse, opening waterways to starve the trees. - -These improvements are possible at once. There are others longer in the -doing which are also necessary. People must be educated not only to be -wage-earners but to enjoy their being. They too much depend on -stimulants, on some outside excitement always liable to excess. They -might find pleasure in themselves, in the use of their own faculties, in -their powers of observation or activity, in their own intelligence and -curiosity. They might with better education be “good company” for -themselves and for one another. The people possess in Hampstead Heath a -property a king might envy, but they only partially enjoy its -opportunities. - - SAMUEL A. BARNETT. - - - - - HOLIDAYS AND SCHOOLDAYS.[1] - - BY CANON BARNETT. - - July, 1911. - - [1] From “The Daily Telegraph”. By permission of the Editor. - - -Holidays, as well as schooldays, help to form the minds of the citizens. -Habits, tastes, friendships, are fixed in the hours when restraints are -relaxed, and the Will takes its shape when it is most free. Our school -holidays, when in play we commanded or obeyed, when we learnt to know -the country sights and objects, when, with different companions, we -travelled to new places, have been largely responsible for such -satisfaction as we have found in life. - -Men and women are what their holidays have made them, and a nation’s use -of its holidays may almost be said to determine its position in the -world’s order of greatness. A nation whose pleasures are coarse and -brutal, whose people delight in the excitement of their senses by -actions in which their minds take no part, and where solitude is -unendurable, can hardly do great things. It is not likely that it will -be remembered, as the poets are remembered, by its care for any -principle of action. It will hardly be generous in its foreign policy or -happy in its homes. - -The use of holidays is thus most important, and everywhere there are -signs of their increase. The schools for the richer classes lengthen the -period of their vacations till they extend, in some cases, to a quarter -of the year. The King asked that his Coronation year may be marked by an -extra week of exemption from school. Business people shorten hours of -business, and workmen’s organizations demand more time for holidays. -Seaside resorts grow up which live mainly by the pleasures of the -people, and a vast and increasing body of workers find employment in the -provision of amusement. - -More time and more money are being given to holidays. Their use or -misuse is a matter of importance, and it is reasonable to demand that -more thought should also be given to this subject. People--this fact is -often forgotten--need to be taught to play as they need to be taught to -earn or to love. Leisure is as likely to produce weariness as joy, and -the Devil still finds most of his occupation among the idlers. - -The public schoolboy who has eight weeks’ vacation, and this year an -extra week, will hardly be happy if he acquires habits of loafing at the -seaside shows or picks up acquaintance with despisers of knowledge, or -comes to think that learning is a “grind,” and he certainly will not in -after years bless his holiday givers. The workman who obtains holidays -and shorter hours will hardly be the better if he spends them in eating -and sleeping, or in exciting himself over a match or race where he does -not even understand the skill, or in watching an entertainment which -calls for no effort of his mind. - -Rich people, who can do what they like in the time they themselves -choose, add excitement to excitement; they invent new methods of -expenditure; they go at increasing speed from place to place; they come -nearer and nearer to the brinks of vice; they have what they like; and -yet, like the millionaire in the American tale, they are not happy. -People need to be taught the use of leisure. The question is, how is -such teaching practicable?... I would offer two suggestions: one which -may be applied to the schools of the rich and of the poor, and the other -to the free provision of means of recreation:-- - -1. As to schools. The authorities may, it seems to me, keep in mind the -fact that the children are meant to enjoy life as well as to make a -living. Enjoyment comes largely by the use of the power of imagination. -We enjoy ourselves before the beauty of nature, before a work of art, in -listening to music, and in imagining the life of other climes and -countries. How little is done in any school to develop this power of -imagination! The great public schools, though often they are established -in buildings of much beauty, rarely do anything to develop in the boys -any understanding of the beauty. There is but little art in the -schoolrooms and little attempt to teach the value of pictures. There are -few flowers about the windows and very often the time given to music is -grudged by the chief authorities. - -The elementary schools have not even the advantage of beauty in their -buildings, and although the children may be taught art, they have their -lessons in rooms made ugly by decorations, or wearying by untidiness. -What wonder is it that boys and girls become destructive of the beauty -in the admiration of which they and others might have found pleasure? - -The authorities might thus do something by the curriculum to make -leisure time a happy time, but they might do more by making holiday -arrangements. Richer parents may justly be expected to care for their -own children, and many seize the opportunity of becoming their -playmates, so that holiday times develop the memories that bind together -old and young. But few parents can take themselves from business for -eight or nine weeks together, and not all parents have the knowledge or -the sympathy to lead the young in their pleasures. A solution might be -the arrangement by the school authorities of travelling parties--such as -those organized at Manchester Grammar School; or of walking tours with -some object, such as the collection of specimens or the investigation of -places of interest,--or of holiday homes in the school houses or -elsewhere, where, under the guidance of sympathetic teachers, the -children could enjoy freer life and more varied interests than are -possible in school, or of the interchange of visits between the children -of English and foreign homes. Once let it be realized that the long -holiday period--if necessary for the teachers--is full of danger for the -children, and something will be done to make that period healthy as well -as happy. - -For the children in elementary schools it is easy to make arrangements. -During the three summer months the curriculum might be like that of the -Vacation Schools. The buildings, often the only pleasant place in a -crowded neighbourhood--would thus be in continuous use, while the -children and teachers could get away for their country or foreign -holiday, without breaking into any school routine. The children would -then go into the country prepared to see and enjoy its interests, not -only in the month of August, but at times when they might play in the -hayfields, pick the spring flowers, and hear the birds sing. The -teachers could have, not four, but six weeks’ vacation, in which there -would be time for a foreign visit when the hotels were less crowded. The -children, at the end of their fortnight in the country, would return, -not just to loaf about the streets amid the dirt and the noise and -degrading temptation, but to take their places in the open and pleasant -surroundings of the school, with its manifold interests. - -The end of the summer would, if this arrangement could be carried out, -find teachers and children alike refreshed and ready for the hard work -of the ordinary school routine; and, greatest gain of all, the children -would have learned how to enjoy their leisure. They would have planted -memories which would call for refreshment; they would have developed -powers of admiration which would need to be used; they would have found -interests to occupy their thoughts, and they would look forward to -holidays in which to go to the country--not to play “Aunt Sally,” or -even to find fresh air from town pursuits, but to visit old haunts, -discover more secrets of nature and taste its quiet. They would, as men -and women, make “good company” for one another, and learn to require -some distinction of quiet or beauty to make a British holiday. They -would find, in the appreciation of English scenery, new reasons for -being patriots. - -Satisfying pleasure, it must always be remembered, comes from within, -and not from without a man. Outside stimulants always fail at last, -whether they be drink, shows, sensational tales, or games of chance; but -the pleasures which come from the activity of head, or heart, or of -limbs last as long as strength and life last. - -This leads to the other practicable suggestion which I would offer. The -Community might provide freely the means which would give the people the -pleasures which come from culture. Much has been done in this direction. -Open spaces in our great towns have been made more common, but their use -has not been developed as has been done in American cities, where -superintendents teach the children how to play, and the playgrounds -become centres of common enjoyments. Museums and picture galleries are -sometimes provided, but they are still rare and often dull. Personal -guidance is necessary if the objects in a museum are to have any meaning -for the ordinary visitor, and the pictures in a gallery need to be -changed frequently if attention is to be held. The Japanese wisely, even -in their private rooms, have a succession of pictures, relegating those -not hung to the seclusion of the “Godown”. Music is given in the parks -and sometimes in the town halls, but the best is not made common, and -much is so poor that it fails to reach or express the thoughts which, if -deeply buried, are to be found in the hearts of common people. - -No attempts are made to open dull ears, to listen to good music, though -teachers in public schools report how it is possible by a few talks to -make athletes enthusiastic for Beethoven. The total amount of good free -music is very small and certainly not enough to raise the common taste -and attract minds capable of thought and admiration. - -The duty of the Community to provide means of recreation is recognized, -but too often it has seemed enough if it provides amusement which can be -measured by popular applause. The duty should, I submit, have for its -aim the provision of such recreation as would gradually lead the people -in the way of enjoyment, and raise the character of all holidays by -making them more satisfying to the higher demands of human nature. - - SAMUEL A. BARNETT. - - - - - THE FAILURE OF HOLIDAYS.[1] - - BY CANON BARNETT. - - May, 1912. - - [1] From “The Daily Telegraph,” May, 1912. By permission of the -Editor. - - -Eight hundred thousand children are every August turned out of the airy -and spacious Schools which London has built for their use, and for -four weeks they can do what they like. To the people whose opinions -form public opinion, “to do what one likes” seems the very essence of -a holiday. The forgotten fact is that the majority of these children -do not know what they like. All children, indeed, need to be taught -to enjoy themselves, just as they are taught to earn for themselves; -and children whose parents are without money to take them to the -country or the seaside, where nature would give them playmates, and -without leisure to be referees in their first attempts at games, miss -the necessary teaching. They get tired of trying to find out what they -like, tired of waiting for the sensation of a street fight or accident, -tired of aimless play in the parks, tired even of doing what they had -been told not to do. A few--40,000 of the 800,000--are sent by the -Children’s Country Holiday Fund to spend a fortnight of the month in -country cottages; a few others go to stay with friends or accompany -their parents, but the greater number--it is said that 480,000 children -never sleep one night out of London during the year--have no other -break than a day treat, which, with its intoxicating excitements and -its distracting noises, can hardly claim to be a lesson in the art of -enjoyment or to be a fair introduction to country pleasures. The August -holiday under present conditions, cannot be described as a time in -which working-class children store up memories of childhood’s joys, nor -does it prepare them as men and women to make good use of the leisure -gained by shorter hours of labour. - -The use of leisure has not, I think, been sufficiently considered from a -National point of view. It concerns the happiness, the health, and also -the wealth of the nation. If their leisure dissipates the strength of -men’s minds, leaves them the prey to stimulants, and at the same time -absorbs the wages of work, there is a continual loss, which must at last -be fatal. The children’s August holiday, with its dullness and its -dependence on chance excitements, prepares the way for Beanfeasts where -parties of men find nothing better to do amid the beauty of the country -than to throw stones at bottles, or for the vulgar futilities of Margate -sands, Hampstead Heath and the music hall, or for the soul-numbing -variety of sport. - -The recent report issued by the London County Council tells the result -of an experiment in a better use of the holiday by means of Vacation -Schools. The word “School” may suggest restraint, and put off some of my -readers, who are apt to think of “heaven as a place where there are no -masters”. They will say, “Let the children alone”. But they do not -realize what “letting alone” means for children whose homes have no -resources in space or interests. They do not remember that the -schoolhouse is the Mansion of the neighbourhood, and that the Vacation -School curriculum includes visits to the parks and to London sights, -such as the Zoological Gardens, Hampton Court, and the Natural History -Museum; manual occupations in which really useful things are made, -painting and cardboard modelling, by which the children’s own -imaginations have play; lessons on nature, illustrated by plants and by -pictures, readings from interesting books, about which the teachers are -ready to talk, and organized games. When relieved from the trouble of -having to choose at what to play, the children find untroubled -enjoyment. Vacation Schools thus understood have no terror, but let the -children themselves give evidence whether they prefer to be let alone. - -In a Battersea Vacation School there was an average attendance of 91·6 -per cent, and on one day 153 children out of 154 on the roll voluntarily -attended. “The high rate of actual attendance at the Vacation Schools, -which compares not unfavourably with that of the ordinary day schools, -in spite of the fact that compulsion is completely absent from the -former, may be taken as an indication that the London child does not -know what to do during the long vacation, and is anxious and ready to -take advantage of any opportunity that may be afforded for work and play -under conditions more healthy and congenial than the street or his home -can offer.” In another school the teachers report: “We had been asked to -do our best to keep up the numbers. Our difficulty was to keep them -down.” “The discipline of the boys specially surprised the staff; a hint -of possible expulsion was quite sufficient in dealing with two or three -boys reported during the month.” - -The children, by their attendance, give the best evidence that the -Vacation School is in their opinion a good way of spending a holiday and -the report gives greater detail as to the reason. The teachers tell how -“listless manners give place to animation and energy, and how the -tendency prevalent among the boys to loaf or aimlessly to idle away -their holidays was checked by the introduction of an objective, the -absence of which is chiefly responsible for the loafing tendency.... The -absence of restraint appears to lead to more honourable and more -thoughtful conduct, and little acts of courtesy and politeness increased -in frequency as the holidays drew to an end.... Educationally the -children benefit in increased manual dexterity, by the creation of -motive, the training of the powers of observation, and the development -of memory and imagination.... In many cases ... new capabilities were -discovered, and talents awakened by the more congenial surroundings. -Some children, who at first appeared dull and inattentive, brightened up -and became most interested in one or more of their varied -occupations.... Little chats on the Excursions revealed a marked -widening of outlook.” - -In such testimony as this it is quite easy to find the reason why the -children so greatly enjoyed themselves. They had a variety of new -interests and they had the sense of “life” which comes in the exercise -of new capacities. They were never bored and they felt well. The -parents, whose burden during holidays is often forgotten, seem to have -expressed great appreciation at the provision for the children’s care, -and as for the teachers, one goes so far as to say that “the kind of -experience gained is a teacher’s liberal education and training”. - -The Report as a result of such testimony, naturally recommends an -extension of the plan of Vacation Schools, so that this summer a greater -number may be provided. I would, however, submit that the testimony -justifies something more thorough. - -The proposals of the Report assume that holidays must fall in the month -of August. Now there are many parents whose occupation keeps them in -town during that month, and who cannot therefore take their children -to the country. August too, is the period when all health resorts are -most crowded and expensive. And lastly, if holidays are taken only -in this autumn season the country of the spring and summer, with its -haymaking, its flowers and its birds, remains unknown to the children. -The obvious change--so obvious that one wonders why it has not long -ago been adopted--is to let some schools take their holidays in the -months of June and July. But I would myself suggest the best plan -would be to keep all, or most, of the school in session during the -whole summer, establishing for the three months a summer curriculum -on the lines of those adopted in the Vacation Schools. The children -would then be able to go with their friends, or through the Children’s -Country Holiday Fund for their Country Holiday without any interference -with the regular school regime; and all, while they were at home, -would have those resources in the school hours which have proved to -be powerful to attract them from the streets. The teachers, free at -last to take some of their holidays in June or July, would be able to -benefit by the lower charges, to get, perhaps, a recreative holiday in -the Alps instead of one at the English seaside in the somewhat stale -companionship of a party of fellow-teachers. - -This more thorough plan would do for all London children everything -which Vacation Schools attempt, and it has the further advantage that it -would put refreshing country visits within the reach of more children -and teachers. - -Middle-class families recognize the necessity of an annual visit to the -sea or country, as a consequence of which great towns exist almost -wholly as holiday resorts. The necessity of the middle class is much -more the necessity of the working class, whose children have less room -in their houses and fewer interests for their leisure. A pressure which -cannot be resisted will insist that for their health’s sake and for the -child’s sake, who is the father of the man, the children shall have each -year the opportunity of breathing for at least a fortnight country air, -and of learning to be Nature’s playmates. The only practicable way in -which such holidays may be provided is by the extension of the holiday -period to include other than the month of August. - -The plan I have suggested would make such extension practicable with the -least possible interference with school work, while it would secure for -all children some guidance in the use and enjoyment of the leisure, -which the experiment of Vacation Schools has proved to be so acceptable. -That guidance, by widening children’s minds and awakening their powers -of taking notice, would make the country visits more full of interests, -and develop a love of Nature, to be a valuable resource in later life. -If the Council’s Report succeeds in moving London opinion it may mark a -new departure in the use and enjoyment of holidays. - -It almost seems as if the education given at such cost ran to waste -during the holidays. There is a call for another Charles Booth, to make -an inquiry into “the life and leisure of the people” which might be as -epoch-making as that into “the life and labour of the people”. Such an -inquiry would show, I believe, the need of energetic effort if leisure -is to be a source of strength and not of weakness to national life, a -way to recreation and not to demoralization. - - SAMUEL A. BARNETT. - - - - - RECREATION IN TOWN AND COUNTRY.[1] - - RECREATION AND CHARACTER. - - BY MRS. S. A. BARNETT. - - October, 1906. - - [1] A paper written for the Church Congress, and read at its meeting -at Barrow-in-Furness by the Right Reverend the Lord Bishop of Truro, the -late C. W. Stubbs. - - -A people’s play is a fair test of a people’s character. Men and women in -their hours of leisure show their real admiration and their inner faith. -Their “idle words,” in more than one sense, are those by which they are -judged. - -No one who has reached an age from which he can overlook fifteen or -twenty years can doubt but that pleasure-seeking has greatly increased. -The railway statistics show that during the last year more people have -been taken to seaside and pleasure resorts than ever before. On Bank -Holidays a larger number travel, and more and more facilities are -annually offered for day trips and evening entertainments. - -The newspapers give many pages to recording games, pages which are -eagerly scanned even when, as in the case of the “Daily News,” the -betting on their results is omitted. - -Face to face with these facts we need some principles to enable us to -advise this pleasure-seeking generation what to seek and what to avoid. -To arrive at principles one has to probe below the surface, to seek the -cause of the pleasure given by various amusements. Briefly, what persons -of all ages seek in pleasure is (1) excitement, (2) interest, (3) -memories. These are natural desires; no amount of preaching or scolding, -or hiding them away will abolish them. It is the part of wisdom to -recognize facts and use them for the uplifting of human nature. - -May I offer two principles for your consideration? - -1. Pleasure, while offering excitement, should not depend on excitement; -it should not involve a fellow-creature’s loss or pain, nor lay its -foundation on greed or gain. - -2. Pleasure should not only give enjoyment, it should also increase -capacities for enjoyment. It should strengthen a man’s whole being, -enrich memory and call forth effort. - - - THE QUALITY OF ENGLISH PLAYING. - -If these principles have a basis of truth, the questions arise, “Are the -common recreations of the people such as to encourage our hope of -English progress? Do they make us proud of the growth of national -character, and give us a ground of security for the high place we all -long that England shall hold in the future?” The country may be lost as -well as won on her playing fields. - -Recreation means the refreshment of the sources of life. Routine wears -life, and “It is life of which our nerves are scant”. The excitement -which stirs the worn or sleeping centres of a man’s body, mind or -spirit, is the first step in such refreshment, but followed by nothing -else it defeats its own ends. It uses strength and creates nothing, and -if unmixed with what endures it can but leave the partaker the poorer. -The fire must be stirred, but unless fuel be supplied the flames will -soon sink in ashes. - -It behoves us then to accept excitement as a necessary part of -recreation, and to seek to add to it those things which lead to -increased resources and leave purer memories. Such an addition is skill. -A wise manager of a boys’ refuge once said to me that it was the first -step upwards to induce a lad to play a game of skill instead of a game -of chance. Another such addition is co-operation, that is a call on the -receiver to give something. It is better for instance to play a game -than to watch a game. It may, perhaps, be helpful to recall the -principle, and let it test some of the popular pleasures. - - - POPULAR PLEASURES. - -Pleasure, while offering excitement, should not depend on excitement; it -should not involve a fellow-creature’s loss or pain, nor lay its -foundation on greed or gain. - -This principle excludes the recreations which, like drink or gambling, -stir without feeding, or the pleasures which are blended with the -sorrows of the meanest thing that feels. It excludes also the dull -Museum which feeds without stirring, and makes no provision for -excitement. Tried by this standard, what is to be said of Margate, -Blackpool, and such popular resorts, with their ribald gaiety and inane -beach shows? Of music halls, where the entertainment was described by -Mr. Stead as the “most insufferable banality and imbecility that ever -fell upon human ears,” disgusting him not so much for its immorality as -by the vulgar stupidity of it all. Of racing, the acknowledged interest -of which is in the betting, a method of self-enrichment by another’s -impoverishment, which tends to sap the very foundations of honesty and -integrity; of football matches, which thousands watch, often ignorant of -the science of the game, but captivated by the hope of winning a bet or -by the spectacle of brutal conflict; of monster school-treats or -excursions, when numbers engender such monopolizing excitement that all -else which the energetic curate or the good ladies have provided is -ruthlessly swallowed up; shooting battues, where skill and effort give -place to organization and cruelty; of plays, where the interest centres -round the breaking of the commandments and “fools make a mock of sin”. - -Such pleasures may amuse for the time, but they fail to be recreative in -so far as they do not make life fuller, do not increase the powers of -admiration, hope and love; do not store the memory to be “the bliss of -solitude”. Of most of them it can be easily foretold that the “crime of -sense will be avenged by sense which wears with time”. Such pleasures -cannot lay the foundation for a glad old age. - -Does this sound as if all popular pleasures are to be condemned? No! -brought to the test of our second principle, there are whole realms of -pleasure-lands which the Christian can explore and introduce to others, -to the gladdening, deepening, and strengthening of their lives. May I -read the principle again? - -Pleasure should not only give enjoyment, it should also increase the -capacity for enjoyment. It should strengthen a man’s whole being, enrich -memory and call forth effort and co-operation. - -Music, games of skill, books, athletics, foreign travel, cycling, -walking tours, sailing, photography, picture galleries, botanical -rambles, antiquarian researches, and many other recreations too numerous -to mention call out the growth of the powers, as well as feed what -exists; they excite active as well as passive emotions; they enlist the -receiver as a co-operator; they allow the pleasure-seekers to feel the -joy of being the creating children of a creating God. - -As we consider the subject, the chasm between right and wrong pleasures, -worthy and unworthy recreations, seems to become deeper and broader, -often though crossed by bridges of human effort, triumphs of dexterity, -evidences of skill wrought by patient practice, which, though calling -for no thought in the spectator, yet rouses his admiration and provides -standards of executive excellence, albeit directed in regrettable -channels. - -Still, broadly, recreations may be divided between those which call -for effort, and therefore make towards progress, and those which -breed idleness and its litter of evils; but (and this is the inherent -difficulty for reformers) the mass of the people, rich and poor alike, -will not make efforts, and as the “Times” once so admirably put -it--“They preach to each other the gospel of idleness and call it the -gospel of recreation”. - -The mass, however, is our concern. Those idle rich, who seek their -stimulus in competitive expenditure; those ignorant poor, who turn to -the examples of brute force for their pleasure; those destructive -classes, whose delight is in slaying or eliminating space; they are all -alike in being content to be “Vacant of our glorious gains, like a beast -with lower pleasures, like a beast with lower pains”. - - - OUR CHURCH AND RECREATION. - -What can the clergymen and the clergy women do? It is not easy to reply, -but there are some things they need not do. They need not promote -monster treats, they need not mistake excitement for pleasure, and call -their day’s outing a “huge success,” because it was accompanied by much -noise and the running hither and thither of excited children; they need -not use their Institutes and Schoolrooms to compete with the -professional entertainer, and feel a glow of satisfaction because a low -programme and a low price resulted in a full room; they need not accept -the people’s standard for songs and recitations, and think they have -“had a capital evening,” when the third-rate song is clapped, or the -comic reading or dramatic scene appreciated by vulgar minds. Oh! the -waste of curates’ time and brain in such “parish work”. How often it has -left me mourning. - -What the clergymen and women can do is to show the people that they have -other powers within them for enjoyment, that effort promotes pleasure, -and that the use of limbs, with (not instead of) brains, and of -imagination, can be made sources of joy for themselves and refreshment -for others. Too often, toys, playthings, or appliances of one sort or -another are considered necessary for pleasure both of the young and the -mature. Might we not concentrate efforts to provide recreation on those -methods which show how people can enjoy _themselves_, their own powers -and capacities? Such powers need cultivation as much as the powers of -bread-winning, and they include observation and criticism. “What did you -think of it?” should be asked more frequently than “How did you like -it?” The curiosity of children (so often wearying to their elders) is a -natural quality which might be directed to observation of the wonders of -Nature, and to the conclusion of a story other than its author -conceived. - -“From change to change unceasingly, the soul’s wings never furled,” -wrote Browning; and change brings food and growth to the soul; but the -limits of interest must be extended to allow of the flight of the soul, -and interests are often, in all classes, woefully restricted. It is no -change for a blind man to be taken to a new view. Christ had to open the -eyes of the blind before they could see God’s fair world, and in a -lesser degree we may open the eyes of the born blind to see the hidden -glories lying unimagined in man and Nature. In friendship also there are -sources of recreation which the clergy could do much to foster and -strengthen, and the introduction and opportunities which allow of the -cultivation of friendship between persons of all classes with a common -interest, is peculiarly one which parsons have opportunities to develop. - -And last but not least, there are the joys which come from the -cultivation of a garden--joys which continue all the year round, and -which can be shared by every member of the family of every age. These -might be more widely spread in town as well as country. Municipalities, -Boards of Guardians, School Managers, and private owners often have -both the control of people and land. If the Church would influence -them, more children and more grown-ups might get health and pleasure -on the land. I must not entrench on the subject of Garden Cities and -Garden Suburbs--but the two subjects can be linked together, inasmuch -as the purest, deepest, and most recreative of pleasures can be found -in the gardens which are the distinctive feature of the new cities and -suburbs. - - - THE CLERGY AND THE PRESS. - -If the clergy knew more of the people’s pleasures they would yearn more -over their erring flocks and talk more on present-day subjects. Take -horse-racing for instance, who can defend it? Who can find one good -result of it, and its incalculable evils of betting, lying, cheating, -drinking? Yet the clergy are strangely loth to condemn it! Is it because -King Edward VII (God bless him for his love of peace) encourages the -Turf? The King has again and again shown his care for his people’s good, -and maybe he would modify his actions--and the world would follow his -lead--if the Church would speak out and condemn this baneful national -pleasure. - -It is not for me to preach to the clergy, but they have so often -preached to me to my edification, that I would in gratitude give them in -return an exhortation; and so I beg you good men to give more thought to -the people’s pleasures; and then give guidance from the Pulpit and the -Press concerning them. - - HENRIETTA O. BARNETT. - - - - - SECTION III. - - SETTLEMENTS. - -Settlements of University Men in Great Towns--Twenty-one Years of -University Settlements--The Beginning of Toynbee Hall. - - - - - SETTLEMENTS OF UNIVERSITY MEN IN GREAT TOWNS.[1] - - BY CANON BARNETT. - - [1] A paper read at a meeting in the rooms of Mr. Sidney Ball at St. -John’s College, Oxford, November, 1883. - - -“Something must be done” is the comment which follows the tale of -how the poor live. Those who make the comment have, however, their -business--their pieces of ground to see, their oxen to prove, their -wives to consider, and so there is among them a general agreement -that the “Something” must be done by Law or by Societies. “What can -I do?” is a more healthy comment, and it is a sign of the times that -this question is being widely asked, and by none more eagerly than by -members of the Universities. Undergraduates and graduates, long before -the late outcry, had become conscious that social conditions were not -right, and that they themselves were called to do something. It is nine -years since four or five Oxford undergraduates chose to spend part of -their vacation in East London, working as Charity Organization Agents, -becoming members of clubs, and teaching in classes or schools. It is -long since a well-known Oxford man said, “The great work of our time is -to connect centres of learning with centres of industry”. Freshmen have -become fellows, since the Master of Balliol recommended his hearers, at -a small meeting in the College Hall, to “find their friends among the -poor”. - -Thus slowly has men’s attention been drawn to consider the social -condition of our great towns. The revelations of recent pamphlets have -fallen on ears prepared to hear. The fact that the wealth _of_ England -means only wealth _in_ England, and that the mass of the people live -without knowledge, without hope, and often without health has come home -to open minds and consciences. If inquiry has shown that statements have -been exaggerated, and the blame badly directed, it is nevertheless -evident that the best is the privilege of the few, and that the -Gospel--God’s message to this age--does not reach the poor. A workman’s -wages cannot procure for him the knowledge which means fullness of life, -or the leisure in which he might “possess his soul”. Hardly by saving -can he lay up for old age, and only by charity can he get the care of a -skilled physician. If it be thus with the first-class workman, the case -of the casual labourer, whose strength of mind and body is consumed by -anxiety, must be almost intolerable. Statistics, which show the number -in receipt of poor relief, the families which occupy single rooms, the -death rate in poor quarters, make a “cry” which it needs no words to -express. - -The thought of the condition of the people has made a strange stirring -in the calm life of the Universities, and many men feel themselves -driven by a new spirit, possessed by a master idea. They are eager in -their talk and in their inquiries, and they ask “What can we do to help -the poor?” - -A College Mission naturally suggests itself as a form in which the idea -should take shape. It seems as if all the members of a college might -unite in helping the poor, by adopting a district in a great town, -finding for it a clergyman and associating themselves in his work. - -A Mission, however, has necessarily its limitations. - -The clergyman begins with a hall into which he gathers a congregation, -and which he uses as a centre for “Mission” work. He himself is the only -link between the college and the poor. He gives frequent reports of his -progress, and enlists such personal help as he can, always keeping it in -mind that the “district” is destined to become a “parish”. Many -districts thus created in East London now take their places among the -regular parishes, and the income of the clergyman is paid by the -Ecclesiastical Commissioners, the patronage of the living is probably -with the Bishop, and the old connexion has become simply a matter of -history. Apart from the doubt whether this multiplication of parochial -organizations, with its consequent division of interests, represents a -wise policy, it is obvious that a college mission does not wholly cover -the idea which possessed the college. The social spirit fulfils itself -in many ways, and no one form is adequate to its total expression. - -The idea was that all members of the college should unite in good work. -A college mission excludes Nonconformists. “Can we do nothing,” -complained one, “as we cannot join in building a church?” - -The idea was to bring to bear the life of the University on the life of -the poor. The tendency of a mission is to limit efforts within the -recognized parochial machinery. “Can I help,” I am often asked, “in -social work, which is not necessarily connected with your church or -creed?” A college mission may--as many missions have done--result in -bringing devoted workers to the service of the poor--where a good man -leads, good must follow--but it is not, I think, the form best fitted to -receive the spirit which is at present moving the Universities. - -As a form more adequate, I would suggest a Settlement of University men -in the midst of some great industrial centre. - -In East London large houses are often to be found; they were formerly -the residences of the wealthy, but are now let out in tenements or as -warehouses. Such a house, affording sufficient sleeping rooms and large -reception rooms, might be taken by a college, fitted with furniture, and -(it may be) associated with its name. As director or head, some graduate -might be appointed, a man of the right spirit, trusted by all parties; -qualified by character to guide men, and by education to teach. He would -be maintained by the college just as the clergyman of the mission -district. Around such a man graduates and undergraduates would gather. -Some working in London as curates, barristers, government clerks, -medical students, or business men would be glad to make their home in -the house for long periods. They would find there less distraction and -more interest than in a West-End lodging. Others engaged elsewhere would -come to spend some weeks or months of the vacation, taking up such work -as was possible, touching with their lives the lives of the poor, and -learning for themselves facts which would revolutionize their minds. -There would be, of course, a graduated scale of payment so as to suit -the means of the various settlers, but the scale would have to be so -fixed as to cover the expense of board and lodging. - -Let it, however, be assumed that the details have been arranged, and -that, under a wise director, a party of University men have settled in -East London. The director--welcomed here, as University men are always -welcomed--will have opened relations with the neighbouring clergy, and -with the various charitable agencies; he will have found out the clubs -and centres of social life, and he will have got some knowledge of the -bodies engaged in local government. His large rooms will have been -offered for classes, directed by the University Extension or Popular -Concert Societies, and for meetings of instruction or entertainment. He -will have thus won the reputation of a man with something to give, who -is willing to be friendly with his neighbours. At once he will be able -to introduce the settlers to duties, which will mean introductions to -friendships. Those to whom it is given to know the high things of God, -he will introduce to the clergy, who will guide them to find friends -among those who, in trouble and sickness, will listen to a life-giving -message. Honour men have confessed that they have found a key to life in -teaching the Bible to children, and not once nor twice has it happened -that old truths have seemed to take new meaning when spoken by a man -brought fresh from Oxford to face the poor. Those with the passion for -righteousness the director will bring face to face with the victims of -sin. In the degraded quarters of the town, in the wards of the -workhouses, they will find those to whom the friendship of the pure is -strange, and who are to be saved only by the mercy which can be angry as -well as pitiful. As I write, I recall one who was brought to us by an -undergraduate out of a wretched court, overwhelmed by the look and words -of his young enthusiasm. I recall another who was taken from the police -court by a Cambridge man, put to an Industrial School, and is now -touchingly grateful, not to him, but to God for the service. Some, whose -spare time is in the day, will become visitors for the Charity -Organization Society, Managers of Industrial and Public Elementary -Schools, Members of the Committees which direct Sanitary, Shoe Black, -and other Societies, and in these positions form friendships, which to -officials, weary of the dull routine, will let in light, and to the -poor, fearful of law, will give strength. Others who can spare time only -in the evening will teach classes, join clubs, and assist in -Co-operative and Friendly Societies, and they will, perhaps, be -surprised to find that they know so much that is useful when they see -the interest their talk arouses. In one club, I know, whist ceases to be -attractive when the gentleman is not there to talk. There are friendly -societies worked by artisans, which owe their success to the inspiration -of University men, and there is one branch of the Charity Organization -Society which still keeps the mark impressed on it, when a man of -culture did the lowest work. - -The elder settlers will, perhaps, take up official positions. If they -could be qualified, they might be Vestry-men and Guardians, or they -might qualify themselves to become Schoolmasters. What University men -can do in local government is written on the face of parishes redeemed -from the demoralizing influence of out-relief, and cleansed by -well-administered law. Further reforms are already seen to be near, but -it has not entered into men’s imaginations to conceive the change for -good which might be wrought if men of culture would undertake the -education of the people. The younger settlers will always find -occupation day or night in playing with the boys, taking them in the -daytime to open spaces, or to visit London sights, amusing them in the -evening with games and songs. Unconsciously, they will set up a higher -standard of man’s life, and through friendship will commend to these -boys respect for manhood, honour for womanhood, reverence for God. Work -of such kind will be abundant, and, as it must result in the settlers -forming many acquaintances, the large rooms of the house will be much -used for receptions. Parties will be frequent, and whatever be the form -of entertainment provided, be it books or pictures, lectures or reading, -dancing or music, the guests will find that their pleasure lies in -intercourse. Social pleasure is unknown to those who have no large rooms -and no place for common meeting. The parties of the Settlement will thus -be attractive just in so far as they are useful. The more means of -intercourse they offer, the more will they be appreciated. The pleasure -which binds all together will give force to every method of good-doing, -be it the words of the preacher, spoken to the crowd, hushed, perhaps, -by the presence of death, or be it the laughter-making tale told during -the Saturday ramble in the country. - -If something like this is to be the work of a College Settlement, “How -far,” it may be asked, “is it adequate to the hope of the college to do -something for the poor?” Obviously, it _affords an outlet for every form -of earnestness_. No man--call himself what he may--need be excluded from -the service of the poor on account of his views. No talent, be it called -spiritual or secular, need be lost on account of its unfitness to -existing machinery. If there be any virtue, if there be any good in man, -whatsoever is beautiful, whatsoever is pure in things will find a place -in the Settlement. - -There is yet a fuller answer to the question. A Settlement enables men -to _live within sight of the poor_. Many a young man would be saved from -selfishness if he were allowed at once to translate feeling into action. -It is the facility for talk, and the ready suggestion that a money gift -is the best relief, which makes some dread lest, after this awakening of -interest, there may follow a deeper sleep. He who has, even for a month, -shared the life of the poor can never again rest in his old thoughts. If -with these obvious advantages, a Settlement seems to want that something -which association with religious forms gives to the mission, I can only -say that such association does not make work religious, if the workers -have not its spirit. If the director be such a man as I can imagine, and -if there be any truth in the saying that “Every one that loveth knoweth -God,” then it must be that the work of settlers, inspired and guided by -love, will be religious. The man in East London, who is the simplest -worker for God I know, has added members to many churches, and has no -sect or church of his own. The true religious teacher is he who makes -known God to man. God is manifest to every age by that which is the Best -of the age. The modern representatives of those who healed diseases, -taught the ignorant, and preached the Gospel to the poor, are those who -make common the Best which can be known or imagined. Christ the Son of -God is still the “Christ which is to be”--and even through our Best He -will be but darkly seen. - -That such work as I have described would be useful in East London, I -myself have no doubt. The needs of East London are often urged, but they -are little understood. Its inhabitants are at one moment assumed to be -well paid workmen, who will get on if they are left to themselves; at -another, they are assumed to be outcasts, starving for the necessaries -of living. It is impossible but that misunderstanding should follow -ignorance, and at the present moment the West-End is ignorant of the -East-End. The want of that knowledge which comes only from the sight of -others’ daily life, and from sympathy with “the joys and sorrows in -widest commonalty spread,” is the source of the mistaken charity which -has done much to increase the hardness of the life of the poor. - -The much-talked of East London is made up of miles of mean streets, -whose inhabitants are in no want of bread or even of better houses; here -and there are the courts now made familiar by descriptions. They are few -in number, and West-End visitors who have come to visit their -“neighbours” confess themselves--with a strange irony on their -motives--“disappointed that the people don’t look worse”. - -The settlers will find themselves related to two distinct classes of -“the poor,” and it will be well if they keep in mind the fact that they -must serve both those who, like the artisans, need the necessaries for -_life_, and also those who, like casual labourers, need the necessaries -for _livelihood_. They will not of course come believing that their -Settlement will make the wicked good, the dull glad, and the poor rich, -but they may be assured that results will follow the sympathy born of -close neighbourhood. It will be something, if they are able to give to a -few the higher thoughts in which men’s minds can move, to suggest other -forms of recreation, and to open a view over the course of the river of -life as it flows to the Infinite Sea. It will be something if they -create among a few a distaste for dirt and disorder, if they make some -discontented with their degrading conditions, if they leaven public -opinion with the belief that the law which provides cleanliness, light -and order should be applied equally in all quarters of the town. It will -be something, if thus they give to the one class the ideal of life, and -stir up in the other those feelings of self-respect, without which -increased means of livelihood will be useless. It will be more if to -both classes they can show that selfishness or sin is the only really -bad thing, and that the best is not “too good for human nature’s daily -food”. Nothing that is divine is alien to man, and nothing which can be -learnt at the University is too good for East London. - -Many have been the schemes of reform I have known, but, out of eleven -years’ experience, I would say that none touches the root of the evil -which does not _bring helper and helped into friendly relations_. Vain -will be higher education, music, art, or even the Gospel, unless they -come clothed in the life of brother men--“it took the Life to make God -known”. Vain, too, will be sanitary legislation and model dwellings, -unless the outcast are by friendly hands brought in one by one to habits -of cleanliness and order, to thoughts of righteousness and peace. “What -will save East London?” asked one of our University visitors of his -master. “The destruction of West London” was the answer, and, in so far -as he meant the abolition of the influences which divide rich and poor, -the answer was right. Not until the habits of the rich are changed, and -they are again content to breathe the same air and walk the same streets -as the poor, will East London be “saved”. Meantime a Settlement of -University men will do a little to remove the inequalities of life, as -the settlers share their best with the poor and learn through feeling -how they live. It was by residence among the poor that Edward Denison -learned the lessons which have taken shape in the new philanthropy of -our days. It was by visiting in East London that Arnold Toynbee fed the -interest which in later years became such a force at Oxford. It was -around a University man, who chose to live as our neighbour, that a -group of East Londoners gathered, attracted by the hope of learning -something and held together after five years by the joy which learning -gives. Men like Mr. Goschen and Professor Huxley have lately spoken out -their belief that the intercourse of the highest with the lowest is the -only solution of the social problem. - -Settlers may thus join the Settlement, looking back to the example of -others and to the opinions of the wise--looking forward to the grandest -future which has risen on the horizon of hope. It may not be theirs to -see the future realized, but it is theirs to cheer themselves with the -thought of the time when the disinherited sons of God shall be received -into their Father’s house, when the poor will know the Higher Life as it -is being revealed to those who watch by the never silent spirit, when -daily drudgery will be irradiated with eternal thought, when neither -wealth nor poverty will hinder men in their pursuit of the Perfect life, -because everything which is Best will be made in love common to all. - - SAMUEL A. BARNETT. - - -This paper was reprinted in February, 1884, when the following words and -names were added. - -The following members of the University have undertaken to receive the -names of any graduates or undergraduates who feel disposed to join a -“Settlement” shortly or at any future time:-- - - The Rev. the Master of University. - The Hon. and Rev. W. H. Fremantle, Balliol. - A. Robinson, Esq., New College. - A. H. D. Acland, Esq., Christ Church. - A. Sidgwick, Esq., C.C.C. - W. H. Forbes, Esq., Balliol. - A. L. Smith, Esq., Balliol. - T. H. Warren, Esq., Magdalen. - S. Ball, Esq., St. John’s. - C. E. Dawkins, Esq., Balliol. - B. King, Esq., Balliol. - M. E. Sadler, Esq., Trinity. - H. D. Leigh, Esq., New College. - G. C. Lang, Esq., Balliol. - - _Names should be sent in as soon as possible._ - - OXFORD, Feb., 1884. - - - - - THE BEGINNINGS OF TOYNBEE HALL.[1] - - BY MRS. S. A. BARNETT. - - 1903. - - [1] From “Towards Social Reform”. By kind permission of Messrs. Fisher -Unwin. - - -“How did the idea of a University Settlement arise?” “What was the -beginning?” are questions so often asked by Americans, Frenchmen, -Belgians, or the younger generations of earnest English people, that it -seems worth while to reply in print, and to trundle one’s mind back to -those early days of effort and loneliness before so many bore the burden -and shared the anxiety. The fear is that in putting pen to paper on -matters which are so closely bound up with our own lives, the sin of -egotism will be committed, or that a special plant, which is still -growing, may be damaged, as even weeds are if their roots are looked at. -And yet in the tale which has to be told there is so much that is -gladdening and strengthening to those who are fighting apparently -forlorn causes that I venture to tell it in the belief that to some our -experiences will give hope. - -In the year 1869, Mr. Edward Denison took up his abode in East London. -He did not stay long nor accomplish much, but as he breathed the air of -the people he absorbed something of their sufferings, saw things from -their standpoint, and, as his letters in his memoirs show, made frequent -suggestions for social remedies. He was the first settler, and was -followed by the late Mr. Edmund Hollond, to whom my husband and I owe -our life in Whitechapel. He was ever on the outlook for men and women -who cared for the people, and hearing that we wished to come Eastward, -wrote to Dr. Jackson, then Bishop of London, when the living of St. -Jude’s fell vacant in the autumn of 1872, and asked that it might be -offered to Mr. Barnett, who was at that time working as Curate at St. -Mary’s, Bryanston Square, with Mr. Fremantle, now the Dean of Ripon. I -have the Bishop’s letter, wise, kind and fatherly, the letter of a -general sending a young captain to a difficult outpost. “Do not hurry in -your decision,” he wrote, “it is the worst parish in my diocese, -inhabited mainly by a criminal population, and one which has I fear been -much corrupted by doles”. - -How well I remember the day Mr. Barnett and I first came to see it!--a -sulky sort of drizzle filled the atmosphere; the streets, dirty and ill -kept, were crowded with vicious and bedraggled people, neglected -children, and overdriven cattle. The whole parish was a network of -courts and alleys, many houses being let out in furnished rooms at 8d. a -night--a bad system, which lent itself to every form of evil, to -thriftless habits, to untidiness, to loss of self-respect, to unruly -living, to vicious courses. - -We did not “hurry in our decision,” but just before Christmas, 1872, Mr. -Barnett became vicar. A month later we were married, and took up our -life-work on 6 March, 1873, accompanied by our friend Edward Leonard, -who joined us, “to do what he could”; his “could” being ultimately the -establishment of the Whitechapel Committee of the Charity Organization -Society, and a change in the lives and ideals of a large number of young -people, whom he gathered round him to hear of the Christ he worshipped. - -It would sound like exaggeration if I told my memories of those times. -The previous vicar had had a long and disabling illness, and all was out -of order. The church, unserved by either curate, choir, or officials, -was empty, dirty, unwarmed. Once the platform of popular preachers, Mr. -Hugh Allen, and Mr. (now Bishop) Thornton, it had had huge galleries -built to accommodate the crowds who came from all parts of London to -hear them--galleries which blocked the light, and made the subsequent -emptiness additionally oppressive. The schools were closed, the -schoolrooms all but devoid of furniture, the parish organization nil; no -Mothers’ meeting, no Sunday School, no communicants’ class, no library, -no guilds, no music, no classes, nothing alive. Around this barren empty -shell surged the people, here to-day, gone to-morrow. Thieves and worse, -receivers of stolen goods, hawkers, casual dock labourers, every sort of -unskilled low-class cadger congregated in the parish. There was an Irish -quarter and a Jews’ quarter, while whole streets were given over to the -hangers-on of a vicious population, people whose conduct was brutal, -whose ideal was idleness, whose habits were disgusting, and among whom -goodness was laughed at, the honest man and the right-living woman being -scorned as impracticable. Robberies, assaults, and fights in the street -were frequent; and to me, a born coward, it grew into a matter of -distress when we became sufficiently well known in the parish for our -presence to stop, or at least to moderate, a fight; for then it seemed a -duty to join the crowd, and not to follow one’s nervous instincts and -pass by on the other side. I recall one breakfast being disturbed by -three fights outside the Vicarage. We each went to one, and the third -was hindered by a hawker friend who had turned verger, and who fetched -the distant policeman, though he evidently remained doubtful as to the -value of interference. - -We began our work very quietly and simply: opened the church (the first -congregation was made up of six or seven old women, all expecting doles -for coming), restarted the schools, established relief committees, -organized parish machinery, and tried to cauterise, if not to cure, the -deep cancer of dependence which was embedded in all our parishioners -alike, lowering the best among them and degrading the worst. At all -hours, and on all days, and with every possible pretext, the people came -and begged. To them we were nothing but the source from which to obtain -tickets, money, or food; and so confident were they that help would be -forthcoming that they would allow themselves to get into circumstances -of suffering or distress easily foreseen, and then send round and demand -assistance. - -I can still recall my emotions when summoned to a sick woman in Castle -Alley, an alley long since pulled down, where the houses, three stories -high, were hardly six feet apart; the sanitary accommodation--pits in -the cellars; and the whole place only fit for the condemnation it got -directly Cross’s Act was passed. This alley, by the way, was in part -the cause of Cross’s Act, so great an impression did it make on Lord -Cross (then Mr. Cross) when Mr. Barnett induced him to come down and -see it. - -In this stinking alley, in a tiny dirty room, all the windows broken and -stuffed up, lay the woman who had sent for me. There were no bedclothes; -she lay on a sacking covered with rags. - -“I do not know you,” said I, “but I hear you want to see me.” - -“No, ma’am!” replied a fat beer-sodden woman by the side of the bed, -producing a wee, new-born baby; “we don’t know yer, but ’ere’s the -babby, and in course she wants clothes, and the mother comforts like. So -we jist sent round to the church.” - -This was a compliment to the organization which represented Christ, but -one which showed how sunken was the character which could not make even -the simplest provision for an event which must have been expected for -months, and which even the poorest among the respectable counts sacred. - -The refusal of the demanded doles made the people very angry. Once the -Vicarage windows were broken, once we were stoned by an angry crowd, who -also hurled curses at us as we walked down a criminal-haunted street, -and howled out as a climax to their wrongs “And it’s us as pays ’em”. -But we lived all this down, and as the years went by reaped a harvest of -love and gratitude which is one of the gladdest possessions of our -lives, and is quite disproportionate to the service we have rendered. -But this is the end of the story, and I must go back to the beginning. - -In a parish which occupies only a few acres, and was inhabited by 8,000 -persons, we were confronted by some of the hardest problems of city -life. The housing of the people, the superfluity of unskilled labour, -the enforcement of resented education, the liberty of the criminal -classes to congregate and create a low public opinion, the -administration of the Poor Law, the amusement of the ignorant, the -hindrances to local government (in a neighbourhood devoid of the -leisured and cultured), the difficulty of uniting the unskilled men and -women, in trade unions, the necessity for stricter Factory Acts, the -joylessness of the masses, the hopefulness of the young--all represented -difficult problems, each waiting for a solution and made more -complicated by the apathy of the poor, who were content with an -unrighteous contentment and patient with an ungodly patience. These were -not the questions to be replied to by doles, nor could the problem be -solved by kind acts to individuals nor by the healing of the suffering, -which was but the symptom of the disease. - -In those days these difficulties were being dealt with mainly by good -kind women, generally elderly; few men, with the exception of the clergy -and noted philanthropists, as Lord Shaftesbury, were interested in the -welfare of the poor, and economists rarely joined close experience with -their theories. - -“If men, cultivated, young, thinking men, could only know of these -things they would be altered,” I used to say, with girlish faith in -human goodwill--a faith which years has not shaken; and in the spring of -1875 we went to Oxford, partly to tell about the poor, partly to enjoy -“eights week” with a group of young friends. Our party was planned by -Miss Toynbee, whom I had met when at school, and whose brother Arnold -was then an undergraduate at Pembroke. Our days were filled with the -hospitality with which Oxford still rejoices its guests; but in the -evenings we used to drop quietly down the river with two or three -earnest men, or sit long and late in our lodgings in the Turl, and -discuss the mighty problems of poverty and the people. - -How vividly Canon Barnett and I can recall each and all of the first -group of “thinking men,” so ready to take up enthusiasms in their boyish -strength--Arnold Toynbee, Sidney Ball, W. H. Forbes, Arthur Hoare, -Leonard Montefiore, Alfred Milner, Philip Gell, John Falk, G. E. -Underhill, Ralph Whitehead, Lewis Nettleship! Some of these are still -here, and caring for our people, but others have passed behind the veil, -where perhaps earth’s sufferings are explicable. - -We used to ask each undergraduate as he developed interest to come and -stay in Whitechapel, and see for himself. And they came, some to spend a -few weeks, some for the Long Vacation, while others, as they left the -University and began their life’s work, took lodgings in East London, -and felt all the fascination of its strong pulse of life, hearing, as -those who listen always may, the hushed, unceasing moans underlying the -cry which ever and anon makes itself heard by an unheeding public. - -From that first visit to Oxford in the “eights week” of 1875, date many -visits to both the Universities. Rarely a term passed without our going -to Oxford, where the men who had been down to East London introduced us -to others who might do as they had done. Sometimes we stayed with Dr. -Jowett, the immortal Master of Balliol, sometimes we were the guests of -the undergraduates, who would get up meetings in their rooms, and -organize innumerable breakfasts, teas, river excursions, and other -opportunities for introducing the subject of the duty of the cultured to -the poor and degraded. - -No organization was started, no committee, no society, no club formed. -We met men, told them of the needs of the out-of-sight poor; and many -came to see Whitechapel and stayed to help it. And so eight years went -by--our Oxford friends laughingly calling my husband the “unpaid -professor of social philosophy”. - -In June, 1883, we were told by Mr. Moore Smith that some men at St. -John’s College at Cambridge were wishful to do something for the poor, -but that they were not quite prepared to start an ordinary College -Mission. Mr. Barnett was asked to suggest some other possible and more -excellent way. The letter came as we were leaving for Oxford, and was -slipped with others in my husband’s pocket. Soon something went wrong -with the engine and delayed the train so long that the passengers were -allowed to get out. We seated ourselves on the railway bank, just then -glorified by masses of large ox-eyed daisies, and there he wrote a -letter suggesting that men might hire a house, where they could come for -short or long periods, and, living in an industrial quarter, learn to -“sup sorrow with the poor”. The letter pointed out that close personal -knowledge of individuals among the poor must precede wise legislation -for remedying their needs, and that as English local government was -based on the assumption of a leisured cultivated class, it was necessary -to provide it artificially in those regions where the line of leisure -was drawn just above sleeping hours, and where the education ended at -thirteen years of age and with the three R’s. - -That letter founded Toynbee Hall. Insomnia had sapped my health for a -long time, and later, in the autumn of that year, we were sent to -Eaux Bonnes to try a water-cure. During that period the Cambridge -letter was expanded into a paper, which was read at a college meeting -at St. John’s College, Oxford, in November of the same year. -Mr. Arthur Sidgwick was present, and it is largely due to his -practical vigour that the idea of University Settlements in the -industrial working-class quarters of large towns fell not only on -sympathetic ears, but was guided until it came to fruition. The first -meeting of undergraduates met in the room of Mr. Cosmo Lang now (1908), -about to become Archbishop of York. Soon after the meeting a small but -earnest committee was formed; later on the committee grew in size and -importance, money was obtained on debenture bonds, and a Head sought who -would turn the idea into a fact. Here was the difficulty. Such men as -had been pictured in the paper which Mr. Knowles had published in the -“Nineteenth Century Review” of February, 1884, are not met with -every-day; and no inquiries seemed to discover the wanted man who would -be called upon to give all and expect nothing. - -Mr. Barnett and I had spent eleven years of life and work in -Whitechapel. We were weary. My health stores were limited and often -exhausted, and family circumstances had given us larger means and -opportunities for travel. We were therefore desirous to turn our backs -on the strain, the pain, the passion and the poverty of East London, at -least for a year or two, and take repose after work which had aged and -weakened us. But no other man was to be found who would and could do the -work; and, if this child-thought was not to die, it looked as if we must -undertake to try and rear it. - -We went to the Mediterranean to consider the matter, and solemnly, on a -Sunday morning, made our decision. How well I recall the scene as we sat -at the end of the quaint harbour-pier at Mentone, the blue waves dancing -at our feet, everything around scintillating with light and movement in -contrast to the dull and dulling squalor of the neighbourhood which had -been our home for eleven years, and which our new decision would make -our home for another indefinite spell of labour and effort. “God help -us,” we said to each other; and then we wired home to obtain the refusal -of the big Industrial School next to St. Jude’s Vicarage, which had -recently been vacated, and which we thought to be a good site for the -first Settlement, and returned to try and live up to the standard which -we had unwittingly set for ourselves in describing in the article the -unknown man who was wanted for Warden. - -The rest of the story is soon told. The Committee did the work, bought -the land, engaged the architect (Mr. Elijah Hoole), raised the money, -and interested more and more men, who came for varying periods, either -to live, to visit, or to see what was being done. - - ------------------------------------ - -On 10 March, 1883, Arnold Toynbee had died. He had been our beloved and -faithful friend, ever since, as a lad of eighteen, his own mind then -being chiefly concerned with military interests and ideals, he had -heard, with the close interest of one treading untrodden paths, facts -about the toiling, ignorant multitude whose lives were stunted by -labour, clouded by poverty, and degraded by ignorance. He had frequently -been to see us at St. Jude’s, staying sometimes a few nights, oftener -tempting us to go a day or two with him into the country; and ever -wooing us with persistent hospitality to Oxford. Once in 1879 he had -taken rooms over the Charity Organization Office in Commercial Road, -hoping to spend part of the Long Vacation, learning of the people; but -his health, often weakly, could not stand the noise of the traffic, the -sullenness of the aspect, nor the pain which stands waiting at every -corner; and at the end of some two or three weeks he gave up the plan -and left East London, never to return except as our welcome guest. His -share of the movement was at Oxford, where with a subtle force of -personality he attracted original or earnest minds of all degrees, and -turned their thoughts or faces towards the East End and its problems. -Through him many men came to work with us, while others were stirred by -the meetings held in Oxford, or by the pamphlet called the “Bitter Cry,” -which, in spite of its exaggerations, aroused many to think of the poor; -or by the stimulating teaching of Professor T. H. Green, and by the -constant, kindly sympathy of the late Master of Balliol, who startled -some of his hearers, who had not plumbed the depths of his wide, wise -sympathy, by advising all young men, whatever their career, “to make -some of their friends among the poor”. - -The 10th of March, 1884, was a Sunday, and on the afternoon of that day -Balliol Chapel was filled with a splendid body of men who had come -together from all parts of England in loving memory of Arnold Toynbee, -on the anniversary of his death. Dr. Jowett had asked my husband to -preach to them, and they listened, separating almost silently at the -chapel porch, filled, one could almost feel, by the aspiration to copy -him in caring much, if not doing much, for those who had fallen by the -way or were “vacant of our glorious gains”. - -We had often chatted, those of us who were busy planning the new -Settlement, as to what to call it. We did not mean the name to be -descriptive; it should, we thought, be free from every possible savour -of a Mission, and yet it should in itself be suggestive of a noble aim. -As I sat on that Sunday afternoon in the chapel, one of the few women -among the crowd of strong-brained, clean-living men assembled in -reverent affection for one man, the thought flashed to me, “Let us call -the Settlement Toynbee Hall”. To Mr. Bolton King, the honorary secretary -of the committee, had come the same idea, and it, finding favour with -the committee, was so decided, and our new Settlement received its name -before a brick was laid or the plans concluded. - -On the first day of July, 1884, the workmen began to pull down the old -Industrial School, and to adapt such of it as was possible for the new -uses; and on Christmas Eve, 1884, the first settlers, Mr. H. D. Leigh, -of Corpus, and Mr. C. H. Grinling, of Hertford, slept in Toynbee Hall, -quickly followed by thirteen residents, some of whom had been living in -the neighbourhood of Whitechapel, some for a considerable length of -time, either singly or in groups, one party inhabiting a small disused -public-house, others in model dwellings or in lodgings, none of them -being altogether suitable for their own good or the needs of those whom -they would serve. Those men had become settlers before the Settlement -scheme was conceived, and as such were conversant with the questions in -the air. It was an advantage also, that they were of different ages, -friends of more than one University generation, and linked together by a -common friendship to us. - -The present Dean of Ripon had for many years lent his house at No. 3, -Ship Street, for our use, and so had enabled us to spend some -consecutive weeks of each summer at Oxford; and during those years we -had learnt to know the flower of the University, counting, as boy -friends, some men who have since become world-widely known; some who -have done the finest work and “scorned to blot it with a name”; and -others who, as civil servants, lawyers, doctors, country gentlemen, -business men, have in the more humdrum walks of life carried into -practice the same spirit of thoughtful sympathy which first brought them -to inquire concerning those less endowed and deprived of life’s joys, or -those who, handicapped by birth, training, and environment, had fallen -by the way. - -As to what Toynbee Hall has done and now is doing, it is difficult for -any one, and impossible for me, to speak. Perhaps I cannot be expected -to see the wood for the trees. Those who have cared to come and see for -themselves what is being done, to stay in the house and join in its -work, know that Toynbee Hall, Whitechapel, is a place where twenty -University men live in order to work for, to teach, to learn of the -poor. Since 1884 the succession of residents has never failed. Men of -varied opinions and many views, both political and religious, have lived -harmoniously together, some staying as long as fifteen years, others -remaining shorter periods. All have left behind them marks of their -residence; sometimes in the policy of the local Boards, of which they -have become members; or in relation to the Student Residences; or the -Antiquarian, Natural History, or Travelling Clubs which individuals -among them have founded; or by busying themselves with classes, debates, -conferences, discussions. Their activities have been unceasing and -manifold, but looking over many years and many men it seems to my -inferior womanly mind that the best work has been done by those men who -have cared most deeply for individuals among the poor. Out of such deep -care has grown intimate knowledge of their lives and industrial -position, and from knowledge has come improvement in laws, conditions, -or administration. It is such care that has awakened in the people the -desire to seek what is best. It is the care of those, who, loving God, -have taught others to know Him. It is the care of those who, pursuing -knowledge and rejoicing in learning, have spread it among the ignorant -more effectively than books, classes or lectures could have done. It is -the care for the degraded which alone rouses them to care for -themselves. It is the care for the sickly, the weak, the oppressed, the -rich, the powerful, the happy, the teacher and taught, the employed and -the employer, which enables introduction to be made and interpretation -of each other to be offered and accepted. From this seed of deep -individual care has grown a large crop of friendship, and many flowers -of graceful acts. - -It is the duty of Toynbee Hall, situated as it is at the gate of East -London, to play the part of a skilful host and introduce the East to the -West; but all the guests must be intimate friends, or there will be -social blunders. To quote some words out of a report, Toynbee Hall is -“an association of persons, with different opinions and different -tastes; its unity is that of variety; its methods are spiritual rather -than material; it aims at permeation rather than conversion; and its -trust is in friends linked to friends rather than in organization”.... - -It was a crowded meeting of the Universities Settlements Association -that was held in Balliol Hall in March, 1892, it being known that Dr. -Jowett, who had recently been dangerously ill, would take the chair. He -spoke falteringly (for he was still weakly), and once there came an -awful pause that paled the hearers who loved him, in fear for his -well-being. He told something of his own connexion with the movement; of -how he had twice stayed with us in Whitechapel, and had seen men’s -efforts to lift this dead weight of ignorance and pain. He referred to -Arnold Toynbee, one of the “purest-minded of men,” and one who “troubled -himself greatly over the unequal position of mankind”. He told of the -force of friendship which was to him sacred, and “some of which should -be offered to the poor”. He dwelt on his own hopes for Toynbee Hall, and -of its uses to Oxford, as well as to Whitechapel; and he spoke also of -us and our work, but those words were conceived by his friendship for -and his faith in us, and hardly represented the facts. They left out of -sight what the Master of Balliol could only imperfectly know--the -countless acts of kindness, the silent gifts of patient service, and the -unobtrusive lives of many men; their reverence before weakness and -poverty, their patience with misunderstanding, their faith in the power -of the best, their tenderness to children and their boldness against -vice. These are the foundations on which Toynbee Hall has been built, -and on which it aims to raise the ideals of human life, and strengthen -faith in God. - - HENRIETTA O. BARNETT. - - - - - TWENTY-ONE YEARS OF UNIVERSITY SETTLEMENTS.[1] - - BY CANON BARNETT. - - June, 1905. - - [1] From “The University Review”. By permission of the Editor. - - -Twenty-five years ago many social reformers were set on bringing about a -co-operation between the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge and the -industrial classes. Arnold Toynbee thought he could study at Oxford -during term time and lecture in great cities during the vacation. -Professor Stuart thought that University teaching might be extended -among working people by means of centres locally established. There were -others to whom it seemed that no way could be so effective as the way of -residence, and they advocated a plan by which members of the University -should during some years live their lives among the poor. - -Present social reformers have, however, other business on hand. They -think that something practical is of first importance, some alteration -in the land laws, which would make good houses more possible--some -modification of the relation between labour and capital, which would -spread the national wealth over a larger number of people. They see -something which Parliament or the municipal bodies could do, which seems -to be very good, and they are not disposed to spend time on -democratizing the old Universities or on humanizing the working-man. - -The present generation of reformers claim to be practical, but one who -belongs to the past generation and is not without sympathy with the -present, may also claim that much depends on the methods by which good -objects are secured. There is truth in the saying that means are more -important than ends. Many present evils are due to the means--the force, -the flattery, the haste--by which good men of old time achieved their -ends. “God forgive all good men” was the prayer of Charles Kingsley. - -Reformers may to-day pass laws which would exalt the poor and bring down -the rich, but if in the passing of such laws bitterness, anger, and -uncharitableness were increased, and if, as the result, the exalted poor -proved incapable of using or of enjoying their power--another giant -behaving like a giant--where would be the world’s gain? The important -thing surely is not that the poor shall be exalted, but that rich and -poor shall equally feel the joy of their being and, living together in -peace and goodwill, make a society to be a blessing to all nations. - -Co-operation between the Universities and working men, between -knowledge and industry, might--it seemed to the reformers of old -days--make a force which would secure a reform not to be reformed, a -repentance not to be repented of, a sort of progress whose means would -justify its end. - -The Universities have the knowledge of human things. Their professors -and teachers have, in some measure, the secret of living, they know that -life consists not in possessions, and that society has other bonds than -force or selfishness, and they offer in their homes the best example of -simple and refined living. They have studied the art of expression, and -can put into words the thoughts of many hearts. They look with the eye -of science over the fields of history, they appreciate tradition at its -proper value, and are familiar with the mistakes which, in old times, -broke up great hopes. Their minds are trained to leap from point to -point in thought. They have followed the struggles of humanity towards -its ideals, they know something of what is in man, and something of what -he can possibly achieve. - -If these national Universities, with their wealth of knowledge, felt -at the same time the pressure of those problems which mean suffering -to the workmen, they would be watch-towers from which watchmen would -discern the signs of the times, those movements on the horizon now -as small as a man’s hand but soon to cover the sky. If by sympathy -they felt the unrest, which all over the world is giving cause for -disquietude to those in authority, they would give a form to the wants, -and show to those who cry, and those who listen, the meaning of the -unrest. If they were in touch with the industrial classes, they would -adapt their teaching to the needs and understandings of men, struggling -to secure their position in a changing industrial system, and better -acquainted with facts than with theories about facts. A democratized -University would be constrained to give forth the principles which -underlie social progress, to show the nation what is alterable and -unalterable in the structure of society--what there is for pride or -for shame in its past history, what is the expenditure which makes or -destroys wealth--it would be driven to help to solve the mystery of the -unemployed, why there should be so much unemployment when there must -be so great a demand for employment if people are to be fitly clothed -and fed and housed. It would, at any rate, guide the nation to remedies -which would not be worse than the disease. - -“How,” it was once asked of an Oxford professor, “can the University be -adapted to take its place in modern progress.” His answer was “By -establishing in its neighbourhood a great industrial centre.” The -presence, that is to say, of workmen would bring the Universities to -face the realities of the day, raise their policy to something more -important than that of compulsory Greek, and direct their teaching to -other needs than those felt by the limited class, whose children become -undergraduates or listeners to an “extension lecturer”. A committee of -the University dons has been described as a meeting where each member is -only a critic, where nothing simple or practical has a chance of -adoption, and only a paradox gets attention. If labour were heard -knocking at its doors, and demanding that the national knowledge, of -which the Universities are the trustees, should be put at its service, -the same committee would cease criticizing and begin to be practical. -Knowledge without industry is often selfishness. - -If Oxford and Cambridge need what workmen can give, the workmen have -no less need of the Universities. Workmen have the strength of -character which comes of daily contact with necessity, the discipline -of labour, sympathy with the sorrow and sufferings of neighbours with -whose infirmities they themselves are touched. The working classes -have on their side the force of sacrifice and the power of numbers. -They have the future in their hands. If they had their share of the -knowledge stored in the National Universities they would know better -at what to aim, what to do, and how to do it. They, as it is, are -often blind and unreasoning. Blind to the things which really satisfy -human nature while they eagerly follow after their husks, unable to -pursue a chain of thought while they readily act on some gaudy dogma, -inclined to think food the chief good, selfishness the one motive of -action, and force the only remedy. The speeches of candidates for -workmen’s constituencies--their promises--their jokes--their appeals are -the measure of the industrial mind. How would a Parliament of workmen -deal with those elements which make so large a part of the nation’s -strength--its traditions--its literature--its natural scenery--its art? -What sort of education would it foster? Would it recognize that the -imagination is the joy of life and a commercial asset, that unity -depends on variety, that respect and not only toleration is due to -honest opponents? How would it understand the people of India or deal -reverently with the intricate motives, the fears and hopes of other -nations? How would workmen themselves fulfil their place in the future -if well-fed, well-clothed, and well-housed, they had no other -recreation than the spectacle of a football match? Industry without -knowledge is often brutality. - -Workmen have the energy, the honesty, the fellow feeling, the habit of -sacrifice which are probably the best part of the national inheritance, -but as a class they have not knowledge of human things, the delicate -sense which sees what is in man--the judgment which knows the value of -evidence--the feeling which would guide them to distinguish idols from -ideals and set them on making a Society in which every human being shall -enjoy the fullness of his being. They have not insight nor far-sight and -their frequent attitude is that of suspicion. If sometimes I am asked -what I desire for East London I think of all the goodness, the -struggles, the suffering I have seen--the sorrows of the poor and the -many fruitless remedies--and I say “more education,” “higher education”. -People cannot really be raised by gifts or food or houses. A healthy -body may be used for low as for high objects. People must raise -themselves--that which raises a man like that which defiles a man comes -from within a man. People therefore must have the education which will -reveal to them the powers within themselves and within other men, their -capacities for thinking and feeling, for admiration, hope and love. They -must be made something more than instruments of production, they must be -made capable of enjoying the highest things. They need therefore -something more than technical teaching, it is not enough for England to -be the workshop of the world, it must export thoughts and hopes as well -as machines. The Tower of London would be a better defence for the -nation if it were a centre of teaching, than as a barracks for soldiers. -The working class movement which is so full of promise for the nation -seems to me likely to fail unless it be inspired by the human knowledge -which the Universities represent. Working-men without such knowledge -will--to say nothing else--be always suspicious as to one another and as -to the objects which they seek. - -The old Universities and industry must, if this analysis be near the -truth, co-operate for social reform. There are many ways to bring -them together. The University extension movement might be worked by -the hands of the great labour organizations--legislation might adapt -the constitution of the Universities to the coming days of labour -ascendancy--workmen might be brought up to graduate in colleges, and -they might, as an experiment, be allowed to use existing colleges -during vacations. - -But the subject of this paper is the “way of Settlements”. Members of -the Universities, it is claimed, may for a few years settle in -industrial centres, and in natural intercourse come into contact with -their neighbours. There is nothing like contact for giving or getting -understanding. There is no lecture and no book so effective as life. -Culture spreads by contact. University men who are known as neighbours, -who are met in the streets, in the clubs, and on committees, who can be -visited in their own rooms, amid their own books and pictures, commend -what the University stands for as it cannot otherwise be commended. On -the other hand workmen who are casually and frequently met, whose idle -words become familiar, whose homes are known, reveal the workman mind as -it is not revealed by clever essayists or by orators of their own class. -The friendship of one man of knowledge and one man of industry may go -but a small way to bring together the Universities and the working -classes, but it is such friendship which prepares the way for the -understanding which underlies co-operation. If misunderstanding is war, -understanding is peace. The men who settle may either take rooms by -themselves, or they may associate themselves in a Settlement. There is -something to be said for each plan. The advantage of Settlement is that -a body of University men living together keep up the distinctive -characteristics of their training, they better resist the tendency to -put on the universal drab, and they bring a variety into their -neighbourhood. They are helped, too, by the companionship of their -fellows, to take larger views of what is wanted, their enthusiasm for -progress is kept alive and at the same time well pruned by friendly and -severe criticism. - -But whether men live in lodgings or in Settlements, there is one -necessary condition besides that of social interest if they are to be -successful in uniting knowledge and industry in social reform. They must -live their own life. There must be no affectation of asceticism, and no -consciousness of superiority. They must show forth the taste, the mind -and the faith that is in them. They have not come as “missioners,” they -have come to settle, that is, to learn as much as to teach, to receive -as much as to give. - -Settlements which have been started during the last twenty years have -not always fulfilled this condition. Many have become centres of -missionary effort. They have often been powerful for good, and their -works done by active and devoted men or women have so disturbed the -water, that many unknown sick folk have been healed. They, however, are -primarily missions. A Settlement in the original idea was not a mission, -but a means by which University men and workmen might by natural -intercourse get to understand one another, and co-operate in social -reform. - -There are many instances of such understanding and co-operation. - -Twenty years ago primary education was much as it had been left by Mr. -Lowe. Some University men living in a Settlement soon became conscious -of the loss involved in the system, they talked with neighbours who by -themselves were unconscious of the loss till inspired, and inspiring -they formed an Education Reform League. There were committees, meetings, -and public addresses. The league was a small affair, and seems to be -little among the forces of the time. But every one of its proposals have -been carried out. Some of its members in high official positions have -wielded with effect the principles which were elaborated in the forge at -which they and working men sweated together. Others of its members on -local authorities or as citizens have never forgotten the inner meaning -of education as they learnt it from their University friends. - -Another instance may be offered. The relief of the poor is a subject on -which the employing and the employed classes naturally incline to take -different views. They suspect one another’s remedies. The working men -hate both the charity of the rich and the strict administration of the -economist, while they themselves talk a somewhat impracticable -socialism. University men who assist in such relief, are naturally -suspected as members of the employing class. A few men, however, who as -residents had become known in other relations, and were recognized as -human, induced some workmen to take part in administering relief. -Together they faced actual problems, together they made mistakes, -together they felt sympathy with sorrow, and saw the break-down of their -carefully designed action. The process went on for years, the personnel -of the body of fellow-workers has changed, but there has been a gradual -approach from the different points of view. The University men have more -acutely realized some of the causes of distress, the need of preserving -and holding up self-respect, the pressure of the industrial system, and -the claim of sufferers from this system to some compensation. They have -learnt through their hearts. The workmen, on the other hand, have -realized the failure of mere relief to do permanent good, the importance -of thought in every case, and the kindness of severity. The result of -this co-operation may be traced in the fact that workmen, economists and -socialists have been found advocating the same principle of relief, and -now more lately in the establishment of Mr. Long’s committee which is -carrying those principles into effect. Far be it from me to claim that -this committee is the direct outcome of the association of University -and working-men, or to assert that this committee has discovered the -secret of poverty, but it is certain that this committee represents the -approach of two different views of relief, and that among some of its -active members are workmen and University men who as neighbours in -frequent intercourse learnt to respect and trust one another. - -There is one other instance which is also of interest. Local Government -is the corner-stone in the English Constitution. The people in their own -neighbourhoods learn what self-government means, as their own Councils -and Boards make them happy or unhappy. The government in industrial -neighbourhoods is often bad, sometimes because the members are -self-seekers, more often because they are ignorant or vainglorious. How -can it be otherwise? If the industrial neighbourhood is self-contained, -as for example in East London, it has few inhabitants with the necessary -leisure for study or for frequent attendance at the meetings. If it is -part of a larger government--as in county boroughs--it is unknown to the -majority of the community. The consequence is that the neighbourhoods -wanting most light and most water and most space have the least, and -that bodies whose chief concern should be health and education waste -their time and their rates arranging their contracts so as to support -local labour. In a word, industrial neighbourhoods suffer for want of a -voice to express their needs and for the want of the knowledge which can -distinguish man from man, recognize the relative importance of spending -and saving, and encourage mutual self-respect. - -University men may and in some measure have met this want. They, by -residence, have learnt the wants, and their voice has helped to bring -about the more equal treatment which industrial districts are now -receiving. They have often, for instance, been instrumental in getting -the Libraries’ Act adopted. They have as members of local bodies learnt -much and taught something. They have always won the respect of their -fellow-members, and if not always successful in preventing the -neighbourly kindnesses which seem to them to be “jobs,” or in forwarding -expenditure which seems to them the best economy, they have kept up the -lights along the course of public honour. - -There are other examples in which results cannot be so easily traced. -There have been friendships formed at clubs which have for ever changed -the respective points of view affecting both taste and opinion. There -have been new ideas born in discussion classes, which, beginning in -special talk about some one subject, have ended in fireside confidences -over the deepest subjects of life and faith. There have been common -pleasures, travels, and visits in which every one has felt new interest, -seeing things with other eyes, and learning that the best and most -lasting amusement comes from mind activity. The University man who has a -friend among the poor henceforth sees the whole class differently -through that medium, and so it is with the workman who has a University -man as his friend. The glory of a Settlement is not that it has spread -opinions, or increased temperance, or relieved distress, but that it has -promoted peace and goodwill. - -But enough has been said to illustrate the point that by the way of -residence the forces of knowledge and industry are brought into -co-operation. The way, if long, is practicable. More men might live -among the poor. The effort to do so involves the sacrifice of much which -habits of luxury have marked as necessary. It involves the daring to be -peculiar, which is often especially hard for the man who in the public -school has learnt to support himself on school tradition. - -Nothing has been said as to the effect of Settlements on Oxford and -Cambridge. There does not seem to be much change in the attitude of -these Universities to social reform, and they are not apparently moved -by any impulse which comes from workmen. But judgment in this matter -must be cautious as changes may be going on unnoticed. It is certain, at -any rate, that the individual members who have lived among the poor are -changed. If a greater number would live in the same way that experience -could not fail ultimately to influence University life. - -Social reform will soon be the all-absorbing interest as the modern -realization of the claims of human nature and the growing power of the -people, will not tolerate many of the present conditions of industrial -life. The well-being of the future depends on the methods by which -reform proceeds. Reforms in the past have often been disappointing. They -have been made in the name of the rights of one class, and have ended in -the assertion of rights over another class. They have been made by force -and produced reaction. They have been done for the people not by the -people, and have never been assimilated. The method by which knowledge -and industry may co-operate has yet to be tried, and one way in which to -bring about such co-operation is the way of University Settlements. - - SAMUEL A. BARNETT. - - - - - SECTION IV. - - POVERTY AND LABOUR. - -The Ethics of the Poor Law--Poverty, its Cause and Cure--Babies of the -State--Poor Law Reform--The Unemployed--The Poor Law Report--Widows -under the Poor Law--The Press and Charitable Funds--What is Possible -in Poor Law Reform--Charity Up To Date--What Labour wants--Our Present -Discontents. - - - - - THE ETHICS OF THE POOR LAW.[1] - - BY MRS. S. A. BARNETT. - - October, 1907. - - [1] A Paper read at the Church Congress at Yarmouth. - - -For the purpose of this paper, I propose to divide the history of the -Poor Laws into five divisions, and briefly to trace for 500 years the -growth of thought which inspired their inception and directed their -administration. - -During the first period, from the reign of Richard II (1388) to that of -Henry VII, such laws as were framed were mainly directed against -vagrancy. There was no pretence that these enactments, which controlled -the actions of the “valiant rogue” or “sturdy vagabond,” were instituted -for the good of the individual. It was for the protection of the -community that they were framed, the recognition that a man’s poverty -was the result of his own fault being the root of many statutes. - -Against begging severe penalties were enforced: men were forbidden to -leave their own dwelling-places, and the workless wanderer met with no -pity and scant justice. Later, as begging seemed but little nearer to -extinction, the justices were instructed to determine definite areas in -which beggars could solicit alms. - -Thus was inaugurated the first effort to make each district responsible -for its own poor. Persons who were caught begging outside such areas -were dealt with with a severity which now seems almost incredible. For -the first offence they were beaten, for the second they had their ears -mutilated (so that all men could see they had thus transgressed), and -for the third they were condemned to suffer “the execution of death as -an enemy of the commonwealth”. Later, the further sting was added, -“without benefit of clergy”. - -_Put briefly, these laws said, “Poverty demands punishment”._ - -But men could not deny that all the dependent poor were not so by -choice. In the reign of Henry VIII (1536), discrimination was made -between “the poor impotent sick and diseased persons not being able to -work, who may be provided for, holpen, and relieved,” and “such as be -lusty and able to get their living with their own hands”. For the -assistance of the former, the clergy were bidden to exhort their people -to give offerings into their hands so that the needy should be -succoured. This began what I may call the second period, when pity -scattered its ideas among the leaves of the statute book. In the reign -of Edward VI (the child King), the first recognition of the duty of -rescuing children appears to be the subject of an Act whereby persons -were “authorized to take neglected children between five and fourteen -away from their parents to be brought up in honest labour”. This was -followed by the declaration that the neglect of parental duties was -illegal, and punishments were specified for those who “do run away from -their parishes and leave their families”. - -_Put briefly, these laws said, “Poverty demands pity”._ - -During the fifty years (1558-1603) when Elizabeth held the sceptre, -important changes took place. Her realm, we read, was “exceedingly -pestered” by “disorderly persons, incorrigible rogues, and sturdy -beggars,” while the lamentable condition of “the poor, the lame, the -sick, the impotent and decayed persons” was augmented by the suppression -of the monasteries and other religious organizations which had hitherto -done much to assuage their sufferings. The noble band of men, whom that -great woman attracted and stimulated, faced the subject as statesmen, -and the epoch-making enactment of 1601 still bears fruit in our midst. -Broadly, the position of the supporters in relation to the supported was -considered, and for the advantage of both it was enacted that “a stock -of wool, hemp, flax, iron, and other stuff” should be bought “to be -wrought by those of the needy able to labour,” so that they might -maintain themselves. “Houses of correction” were established, to which -any person refusing to labour was to be committed, where they were to be -clothed “in convenient apparel meet for such a body to weare,” and “to -be kept straitly in diet and punished from time to time”. In this Act -the duty of supporting persons in “unfeigned misery” was made -compulsory, power being given to tax the “froward persons” who “resisted -the gentle persuasions of the justices” and “withheld of their -largesse”. - -Thus the system of poor rating was established, and the maintenance of -the needy drifted out of the hands of the Church into the hands of the -State. - -Neither of the motives which had ruled action in the previous centuries -was disclaimed. That the idle poor deserve punishment, and that the -suffering poor demand pity, were still held to be true, but to these -principles was added the new one that the State was responsible for -both. In order to ease the burdens of the charitable, the idle must be -compelled to support themselves, and in the almost incredible event of -any one who, having this world’s goods, yet refused to be charitable, -provision was made to compel him to contribute, so as to hinder -injustice being done to the man who gave willingly. - -_Put briefly, these laws said, “Poverty demands scientific treatment”._ - -During the next two centuries great strides were made in the directions -indicated by each of these three principles. The right to punish persons -who would not work “for the ordinary wages” was extended from that -legalized in Elizabeth’s time of being “openly whipped till his body was -bloody,” to the drastic statute of the reign of Charles II, when it -became lawful to transport the beggars and rogues “to any of the English -plantations beyond the seas,” while the effort to create the shame of -pauperism was made by the legislators of William III, who commanded that -every recipient of public charity should wear “a large ‘P’ on the -shoulder of the right sleeve of his habilement”. Pity was shown to the -old, for whom refuges were provided and work such as they could perform -arranged; the lame were apprenticed; the lives of the illegitimate -protected; the blind relieved; the children whose parents could not or -would not keep them were set to work or supported; lunatics were -protected; and infectious diseases recognized. - -The whole gamut of the woes of civilization as they gradually came into -being were brought into relation with the State, whose sphere of duty to -relieve suffering or assuage the consequences of sin was ever enlarging, -until, in the reign of George III, we find it including penitentiaries, -and the apprenticing of lads to the King’s ships. The organization to -meet these needs grew apace; guardians were appointed, unions were -formed, workhouses were built (the first erected at Bristol in 1697), a -system of inspection was instituted, relieving officers were -established, areas definitely laid down, and the function of officials -prescribed. But abuses crept in, and in 1691 we find that an Act recites -“that overseers, upon frivolous pretences, but chiefly for their own -private ends, do give relief to what persons and number they think fit”. -And yet another Act was passed to enable parish authorities to be -punished for paying the poor their pittances in bad coin. - -Still, it is probable that out of the two principles (roughly consistent -with the unwritten laws of God in nature) there would have been evolved -some practicable method of State-administered relief, had it not -happened that the high cost of provisions (following the war with -France) and the consequent sufferings of the “industrious indigent” so -moved the magistrates at the end of the eighteenth century, that in 1795 -they decided to give out-relief to every labourer in proportion to the -number of his family and the price of wheat, without reference to the -fact of his being in or out of employment. The effect was disastrous. -The rich found no call to give their charity, and the poor no call to -work. The rates ate up the value of the land, and farms were left -without tenants, because it became impossible to pay the rates, which -often reached £1 per acre. But an even worse effect was the -demoralization of society. The stimulus towards personal effort and -self-control was removed, for the idle and incompetent received from the -rates what their labour or character failed to provide for them; and -wages were reduced because employers realized that their workmen would -get relief. Drink and dissipation, deception and dependence, cheating -and chicanery, became common. - -Society threatened in those years to break up. It is a curious comment -that a humane poor law stands out as chief amid the dissolving forces, -so blind is pity if it be not instructed. - -This condition of things pressed for reform, and in 1832 a Poor Law -Commission was appointed, which has left an indelible mark on English -life. - -The Commissioners, like able physicians, diagnosed the disease, and -dealt directly with its cause, prescribing for its cure remedies which -may be classed under two heads:-- - -_I.--The Principle of National Uniformity._ - -_II.--The Principle of Less Eligibility._ - -The principle of national uniformity--that is, identity of treatment -of each class of destitute persons from one end of the kingdom to the -other--had for its purpose the reduction of the “perpetual shifting” -from parish to parish, and the prevention of discontent in persons who -saw the paupers of a neighbouring parish treated more leniently than -themselves. - -The principle of less eligibility, or, to put it in the words of the -report, that “the situation of the individual relieved” shall not “be -made really or apparently so eligible as the situation of the -independent labourer of the lowest class,” had for its purpose the -restoration of the dignity of work and the steadying of the labour -market. - -_Put briefly, the Commission said, “Poverty demands principles.”_ - -The workhouse system, with all its ramifications, has grown out of these -two principles, and in its development it has, if not wholly dropped the -principles, at least considerably confused them. National uniformity no -longer exists, even as an ideal. Less eligibility is forgotten, as -boards vie with each other to produce more costly and up-to-date -institutions. Out-relief is still given, after investigation and to -certain classes of applicants and under particular conditions; but the -creation of the spirit of institutionalism is the main result of the -1834 commission. - -And now, to-day, what do we see? An army of 602,094 paupers, some -221,531 of whom are hidden away in monster institutions. Let us face the -facts, calmly realize that one person in every thirty-eight is dependent -on the rates, either wholly or partially. - -Where are the old, the honoured old? In their homes, teaching their -grand-children reverence for age and sympathy for weakness? No; sitting -in rows in the workhouse wards waiting for death, their enfeebled lives -empty of interest, their uncultivated minds feeding on discontent, often -made querulous or spiteful by close contact. - -Where are the able-bodied who are too ignorant and undisciplined to earn -their own livelihood? Are they under training, stimulated to labour by -the gift of hope? No; for the most part they are in the workhouses. Have -you ever seen them there? Resentment on their faces, slackness in their -limbs, individuality merged in routine, kept there, often fed and housed -in undue comfort, but sinking, ever sinking, below the height of their -calling as human beings and Christ’s brothers and sisters? - -Where are the 69,080 children who at the date of the last return were -wholly dependent on the State? In somebody’s home? Sharing somebody’s -hearth? Finding their way into somebody’s heart? No; 8,659 are boarded -out, but 21,366 are still in workhouses and workhouse infirmaries, and -20,229 in large institutions; disciplined, taught, drilled, controlled, -it is true, often with kindliness and conscientious supervision, but for -the most part lacking in the music of their lives that one note of love, -which alone can turn all from discord to harmony. - -Where are the sick, the imbecile, the decayed, worn out with their -lifelong fight with poverty? Are they adequately classified? Are the -consumptive in open-air sanitoria? the imbeciles tenderly protected, -while encouraged to use their feeble brains? No; they are in -infirmaries, often admirably conducted, but divorced from normal life -and its refreshment or stimulus, deprived of freedom, put out of sight -in vast mansions; all sorts of distress often so intermingled as to -aggravate disorders and embitter the sufferer’s dreary days. - -And yet we all know that the rates are very heavy, and that the -struggling poor are cruelly handicapped to keep the idle, the old, the -young, the sick. We have all read of the culpable extravagance and -dishonest waste which goes on behind the high walls of the palatial -institutions governed by the “guardians,” who should be the guardians of -the public purse as well as of the helpless poor. - -The village built for the children of the Bermondsey Union has cost over -£320 per bed, and last year each child kept there cost £1 0s. 6½d. per -week. It is said that the porcelain baths provided for the children of -the Mile End Union were priced at from £18 to £20 each, while it is -stated that the cost of erecting and equipping the pauper village for -the children chargeable to the Liverpool Select Vestry worked out at -£330 per inmate. For England and Wales the pauper bill was in 1905 -£13,851,981, or £15 13s. 3¼d. for each pauper. - -And are we satisfied with what we are purchasing with the money? Is even -the Socialist content with the giant workhouses--“’Omes of rest for them -as is tired of working,” as a tourist tram-conductor described the -Brighton Workhouse? With the children’s pauper villages composed of -electrically-lit villa residences? With the huge barrack schools, -oppressively clean and orderly, where many apparatus for domestic -labour-saving are considered suitable for training girls to be workmen’s -wives? - -Are we, as Londoners, proud to reply to the intelligent foreigner that -the magnificent building occupying one of the best and most expensive -sites on a main thoroughfare of West London is the “rubbish heap of -humanity,” where, cast among enervating surroundings, a full stop is put -to any effortful progress for character building? - -No; and I know I shall find an echo of that emphatic “No” in the heart -of each of my hearers. We, as Christians, are _not_ satisfied with the -treatment of our dependent poor. The spirit of repression which was -paramount before Elizabeth’s time is with us still; the spirit of -humanitarianism which arose in her great reign is with us still; but -both have taken the form of institutionalism, and with that no one who -believes in the value of the individual can be rightfully satisfied; for -while the body is pampered no demands are made on the soul, no calls for -achievement, for conquest of bad tendencies or idle habits. - -Broadly speaking, the repression policy failed because it was not -humanitarian; the humanitarian policy failed because it was not -scientific; the scientific policy is failing because by institutionalism -individualism is crushed out. - -What is it we want? There is discontent among the thoughtful who -observe; discontent among the workers who pay; discontent among the -paupers who receive. But discontent is barren unless married to ideals, -and they must be founded on principles. May I suggest one? - -“All State relief should be educational, aiming by the strengthening of -character to make the recipient independent.” - -If the applicant be idle, the State must develop in him an interest in -work. It must, therefore, detain him perhaps for years in a workhouse or -on a farm; but not to do dull and dreary labour at stone-breaking or -oakum-picking. It must give him work which satisfies the human longing -to make something, and opens to him the door of hope. If the applicant -be ignorant and workless, it must teach him, establishing something like -day industrial schools, in which the man would learn and earn, but in -which he would feel no desire to stay when other work offers. - -We must revive the spirit of the principle of 1834, and see that the -position of the pauper be not as eligible as that of the independent -workman; there must always be a centrifugal force from the centre of -relief, driving the relieved to seek work; but this force need not be -terror or repression. A system of training, a process of development, -would be equally effective in deterring imposition. Scientific treatment -of the poor need not, therefore, be inconsistent with that which is most -humane. - -The same principle as to the primary importance of developing character -must be kept in view, though with somewhat different application, when -the people to be helped are the sick, the old, and the children. - -Thus the sick, by convalescent homes, by the best nursing and the most -skilled attention, should be as quickly as possible made fit for -work.[2] - - [2] How does this harmonize with the practice of turning the lying-in -mother out after fourteen days? - -The children should be absorbed into the normal life of the population, -and helped to forget they are paupers.[3] - - [3] How does this harmonize with the practice of keeping them in -barrack schools, in pauper villages? - -The aged should be left in their own homes, supported by some system of -State pensions, unconsciously teaching lessons of patience to those who -tend them, and giving of their painfully obtained experience lessons of -hope or warning.[4] - - [4] How does this harmonize with the fact that there are thousands -of people over sixty years of age in our State institutions? Has it ever -occurred to the statistical inquirers to ascertain the death-rate of -babies in relation to the absence of their grand-parents? - -The revelation to this age is the law of development, and it can be seen -in the laws which govern Society as well as those which govern Nature. -Slowly has been evolved the knowledge of the duty of the State to its -members. Repression of evil, pity for suffering, systematizing of -relief; each has given place to the other, and all have left the -Christian conscience ill at ease. Development of character is before us, -and it is for the Church to “see visions” and to open the eyes of the -blind to its ideals. What shall they be? As teachers of the reality of -the spiritual life I would ask you, as clergy, first, to serve on -poor-law boards, and, secondly, to consider each individual as an -individual capable of development; each drunken man, each lawless woman, -each feeble-minded creature, each unruly child, each plastic baby, each -old crone, each desecrated body: let us place each side by side with -Christ and their own possibilities, and then vote and work to give each -an upward push, remembering that to allow freedom for choice and to -withhold aid are often duties, for on all individual souls is laid the -command to “work out their _own_ salvation in fear and trembling”. - -_Put briefly, Christians must say, “Poverty demands prayer”._ - - HENRIETTA O. BARNETT. - - - - - POVERTY, ITS CAUSE AND ITS CURE.[1] - - BY CANON BARNETT. - - [1] A Paper read at the Summer School for the Study of Social -Questions held at Hayfield, June 22nd to 29th, 1907. - - -Poverty is a relative term. The citizen whose cottage home, with its -bright housewife and happy children, is as light in our land, is poor in -comparison with the occupant of some stately mansion. But his poverty is -not an evil to be cured. It is a sign that life does not depend on -possessions, and the existence of poor men alongside of rich men, each -of whom lives a full human life in different circumstances, make up the -society of the earthly paradise. The poverty which has to be cured is -the poverty which degrades human nature, and makes impossible for the -ordinary man his enjoyment of the powers and the tastes with which he -was endowed at his birth. This is the poverty familiar in our streets, -more familiar, we are told, than in the streets of any foreign town. -This is the poverty by which men and women and children are kept from -nourishment and sent out to work weak in body and open to every -temptation to drink. This is the poverty which makes men slaves to work -and uninterested in the magnificent drama of nature or life. This is the -poverty which lets thousands of our people sink into pauperism. - -What is the cause and the cure of this poverty? - -The cause may be said to be the sin or the selfishness of rich and poor, -and its cure to be the raising of all men to the level of Christ. The -world might be as pleasant and as fruitful as Eden, but so long as some -men are idle and some men are greedy, poverty and other evils are sure -to invade. Man is always stronger than his environment. He may be a -prisoner in the midst of pleasures, and he may prove that walls cannot a -prison make. Character may thus be truly said to be the one necessary -equipment for climbing the hill of life, and every remedy which is -suggested for those who stumble and fall must be judged by its effect on -character. The dangers of the relief which weakens self-reliance have -been recognized, the kindness which removes every hindrance from the way -has been seen to relax effort; but even so there is no justification for -law and custom to intrude obstacles to make the way harder or to bind on -life’s wayfarer extra burdens. - -Our subject thus presents two questions: 1. How is character to be -strengthened? 2. How are the obstacles imposed by law and custom to be -removed? - -1. Character largely depends on health and education. Children born of -overworked parents; fed on food which does not nourish; brought up in -close air and physicked over-much cannot have the physical strength -which is the basis of courage. The importance of health is recognized, -and every year more is done to spread knowledge and enforce sanitary -law. But the neglect of past generations has to be made up, and few of -us yet realize what is necessary. The rate of infant mortality is a safe -index of unhealthy conditions, and until that is lowered we may be sure -of a drift towards poverty. - -There are two directions in which energy should push effort: (_a_) More -space should be secured about houses so that in the fullest sense every -inhabited house might be a “living” house, with a sufficiency of air and -space and water to enable every inmate to feel in himself the spring of -being. (_b_) The Medical Officer of Health should be responsible for the -health of every one in his district. He should be at the head of the -Poor Law Medical Officers, of the Dispensary, of the Hospitals, and of -the Infirmary. He should be able not only to report on unhealthy areas -but to order for every sick person the treatment which is necessary. -Medical relief and direction should be a right, not a favour grudgingly -given through Relieving Officers. He should be able to prevent mothers -working under conditions prejudicial to the health of their children. He -should be the authorized recognized centre of information and direct the -spread of knowledge. Disraeli, years ago, set up as a Reform cry, -_Sanitas sanitatum, omnia sanitas_. Much money has been spent in the -name of health, and hospitals have been doubled in efficiency, but -because of physical weakness recruits are unfit for the army, and family -after family drop into poverty. The need is some authority to bring the -many efforts into order, and that authority should be, I submit, a -Medical Officer responsible for the health of every person in his -district. - -But when children are strong in body they do not necessarily become -strong characters. They must be educated. Perhaps it might be said that -it would be a fair division of labour if, while the school developed -children’s minds, the home developed their characters. But the fact -must be faced that either through neglect or greed the home has largely -failed in its part. The schools of the richer classes recognize this -fact and set themselves to develop character. They produce, as a rule, -self-reliant men and women, wanting, perhaps, in sympathy and moral -thoughtfulness, careless, perhaps, of others’ poverty, not always -intelligent, but strong in qualities which keep them from poverty. -The schools of the industrial classes are models of order, the -teachers teach admirably and work hard, the children satisfy examiners -and inspectors, their handwriting is good, their pronunciation--in -school--is careful, they can answer questions on hygiene, on thrift, -on history, on chemistry, and a half a dozen other subjects. But they -have not resourcefulness, they are without interests which occupy their -minds, they shun adventure and seek safe places, they have not the -character which enjoys a struggle and resists the inroads of poverty, -they have little hold on ideals which force them to sacrifice, they -soon become untidy, they are an easy prey to excitement, and depend on -others rather than on themselves. The problem how to educate character -is full of difficulties. Happily there are workmen’s homes where, by -the example of the parents and by the order of the household, children -enter the world well equipped, and become leaders in industry and -politics, but how in the twenty-seven hours of school time each week -to educate mind _and_ character is a problem not to be solved in a few -words. - -Perhaps the first thing to be done is to extend the hours of school -time; children might come to the school buildings on Saturdays, and -daily between five and seven, to play ordered games, and learn to take a -beating without crying; boys and girls might be compelled to attend -continuation schools up to the age of eighteen, and experience the joy -of new interests; the age of leaving might be raised; the classes in the -day schools might be smaller; the subjects taught might be fewer; the -teachers might be left more responsible; and the recreation of the -children might be more considered. Persons, not subjects, make -character. The teachers in our elementary schools must, therefore, be -more in number, have more time to know their pupils, and feel more -responsible for each individual. - -Religion is, of course, the great character former, but our unhappy -divisions put the subject outside friendly discussion. All that can be -said is that the religious teacher who recognizes in all his ways that -he is “under Authority” unconsciously moulds character, and all we can -wish is that he may have more time and a smaller class. We, who set -ourselves to root out poverty, will do well to look above the cries and -claims of religious denominations, while we consider how our national -schools may help to form the character, without which neither health nor -wealth, nor even denominational equality, will avail much. - -2. It is time, however, to consider the second question. Character may -overcome every obstacle, and our memories tell of men like Adam Bede or -Abraham Lincoln or some of the present labour members, who have -triumphed in the hardest circumstances. Circumstances must always be -hard. God has so ordered the world; but there is no justification for -law and custom to make them harder. Many men might have strength to get -over what may be called natural difficulties, but fail upon those which -have been artificially made. - -Our second question, therefore, in considering the cure of poverty is: -How are the obstacles imposed by law and custom to be removed? I take as -an example the laws which govern the use of land. The land laws were -made by our forefathers, because in those days such laws seemed the best -to force from the land its greatest use to the community. These laws -made one man absolute owner, so that by his energy the land might become -most productive. But times have changed, and now these laws, instead of -making wealth, seem to help in making poverty. The country labourer may -have strong arms; he may have some ambition to use his arms and his -knowledge to make a home in which to enjoy his old age; but he sees land -all around him which is serving the pleasures of the few, and not the -needs of the many; he is shut out from applying his whole energy to its -development, for he cannot hope to get secure tenure of a small plot. He -leaves the country and goes to the town, where his strong arms are -welcomed. But here, again, because the land is in the absolute control -of its owner, house is crowded against house, so that health and -enjoyment become almost impossible; and here, also, because so large a -portion of profit must go to the owner who has done no share of his -work, his wage must be reduced. He gives in, and his wife lets dirt and -untidiness master his home, and he at last comes into poverty. Law, with -good intention, created the obstacle which he could not surmount. Law -could remove the obstacle. Law for the common good could interfere with -that absolute ownership which for the common good it in the old days -created. Country men might have the possibility of holding land, with -security of tenure, which they could cultivate for their own and their -children’s enjoyment. Town municipalities might be given the right to -take possession of the land in their environment, on which houses could -be built with space for air and for gardens. - -The subject is a large one, but the point I would make is that poverty -is increased by the obstacles which our land laws have put in the man’s -way. The landlord prevents the application of energy to the soil, and so -taxes industry that a large share of others’ earnings automatically -reach his pocket. The change of law may involve great cost to -individuals, or to the State. But patriotism compels sacrifice, and a -people which willingly gives its hundreds of millions to be for ever -sunk in a war, may even more willingly surrender rights and pay taxes, -so that its fellow-citizens may develop the common-wealth, and escape -poverty. - -Custom is perhaps as powerful as law in putting obstacles in the way of -life’s wayfarers. It is by custom that the poor are treated as belonging -to a lower, and the rich to a higher class; that employers expect -servility as well as work for the wages they pay; that property is more -highly regarded than a man’s life; that competition is held in a sort of -way sacred. It is custom which exalts inequality, and makes every one -desirous of securing others’ service, and to be called Master. Many a -man is, I believe, hindered in the race because he meets with treatment -which marks him out as an inferior. He is discouraged by discourtesy, or -he is tempted to cringe by assertions of inferiority. Charity to-day is -often an insult to manhood. Many of our customs, which survive from -feudalism, prevent the growth of a sense of self-respect and of human -dignity. Men breathe air which relaxes their vigour, they complain of -neglect, they seek favour, they follow after rewards, they give up, and -thus sink into poverty. - -It may not seem a great matter, but among the cures for poverty I may -put greater courtesy; a wider recognition of the equality in human -nature; a more set determination to regard all men as brothers. It is -not only gifts which demoralize; it is the attitude of those who think -that gifts are expected of them, and of those who expect gifts. Gifts -are only safe between those who recognize one another as equals. - -The subject is so vast that one paper can hardly scratch the surface, -but I hope I have suggested some lines of thought. In conclusion, I -would repeat that for the cure of poverty, nothing avails but personal -influence. He does best who turns one sinner to righteousness, that is, -who helps to make one poor man more earnest of purpose, and one rich man -more thoughtfully unselfish. But circumstances also are important, and -he does second best who helps to alter the laws and customs which put -stumbleblocks in the ways of the simple. - - SAMUEL A. BARNETT. - - - - - THE BABIES OF THE STATE.[1] - - BY MRS. S. A. BARNETT. - - July, 1909. - - [1] From “The Cornhill Magazine”. By permission of the Editor. - - -Without organization and without combination a widespread and effective -strike has been slowly taking place--the strike of the middle and -upper-middle class women against motherhood. - -Month by month short paragraphs can be seen in the newspapers -chronicling in stern figures the stern facts of the decrease of the -birth rate. At the same time the marriage rate increases, and the -physical facts of human nature do not change. The conclusion is, -therefore, inevitable that the wives have struck against what used to be -considered the necessary corollary of wifehood--motherhood. - -The “Cornhill Magazine” is not the place to discuss either the physics -or the ethics of this subject, but it is the place to suggest thoughts -on the national and patriotic aspects of this regrettable fact. - -The nation demands that its population should be kept up to the standard -of its requirements; the classes which, for want of a better term, might -be called “educated” are refusing adequately to meet the need; the -classes whose want of knowledge forbids them to strike, or whose lack of -imagination prevents their realizing the pains, responsibilities, and -penalties of family duties, still obey brute nature and fling their -unwanted children on to the earth. “Horrible!” we either think or say, -and inclination bids us turn from the subject and think of something -pleasanter. But two considerations bring us sharply back to the point: -first, that the nation, and all that it stands for, needs the young -lives; and, secondly, that the babies, with their tiny clinging fingers, -their soft, velvety skins, their cooey sounds and bewitching gestures, -are guiltless of the mixed and often unholy motives of their creation. -They are on this wonderful world without choice, bundles of -potentialities awaiting adult human action to be developed or stunted. - -How does the nation which wants the children treat them? The annals -of the police courts, the experience of the attendance officers of -the London County Council, the reports of the National Society for -Prevention of Cruelty to Children, the stories of the vast young army -in truant or industrial schools, the tales of the Waifs and Strays -Society and Dr. Barnardo’s organization are hideously eloquent of the -cruelty, the neglect, and the criminality of thousands of parents. -For their action the State can hardly be held directly responsible (a -price has to be paid for liberty), but for the care of the children -whose misfortunes have brought them to be supported by the State -the nation is wholly responsible. Their weal or woe is the business -of every man or woman who reads these pages. To ascertain the facts -concerning their lives every tax-payer has dipped into his pocket -to meet the many thousands of pounds which the Royal Commission on -the Poor Laws has cost, and yet the complication of the problem and -the weight of the Blue-books are to most people prohibitive, and -few have read them. Even the thoughtful often say: “I have got the -Reports, and hope to tackle them some day, but----,” and then follow -apologies for their neglect owing to their size, the magnitude of the -subject, or the pressure of other duties or pleasures. Meanwhile the -children! The children are growing up, or are dying. The children, -already handicapped by their parentage, are further handicapped by the -conditions under which the State is rearing them. The children, which -the nation needs--the very life-blood of her existence, for which she -is paying, are still left under conditions which for decades have been -condemned by philanthropists and educationists, as well as by the Poor -Law Inspectors themselves. - -On 1 January, 1908, according to the Local Government Board return: -234,792 children were dependent on the State, either wholly or -partially. Of these:-- - 22,483 were in workhouses and workhouse infirmaries; - 11,602 in district and separate, often called “barrack,” schools; - 17,090 in village communities, scattered, - receiving, and other Guardians’ homes; - 11,251 in institutions other than those mentioned above; - 8,565 boarded out in families of the industrial classes; and - 163,801 receiving relief while still remaining with their parents. It -is a portentous array, of nearly a quarter of a million of children, -and each has an individual character. - -Pageants are now the fashion. Let us stand on one side of the stage (as -did Stow, the historian, in the Whitechapel children’s pageant) and pass -the verdict of the onlooker, as, primed with the figures and facts -vouched for by the Royal Commissioners, we see the children of the State -exhibit themselves in evidence of the care of their guardians. - -First the babies. Here they come, thousands of them, some born in the -workhouse, tiny, pink crumpled-skinned mites of a few days old; others -toddlers of under three, who have never known another home. - -“What a nice woman in the nurse’s cap and apron! I would trust her with -any child. The head official, I suppose. But her under staff! What a -terrible set! Those old women look idiotic and the young ones wicked. -The inmates told off to serve in the nurseries you say they are! Surely -no one with common humanity or sense would put a baby who requires wise -observation under such women!” - -“Alas! but the Guardians do.” - -The Report states:-- - - “The whole nursery has often been found under the charge of a - person actually certified as of unsound mind, the bottles sour, the - babies wet, cold, and dirty. The Commission on the Care and Control - of the Feeble-minded draws attention to an episode in connexion - with one feeble-minded woman who was set to wash a baby; she did so - in boiling water, and it died.” - -But this is no new discovery made by the recent Royal Commission. In -1897 Dr. Fuller, the Medical Inspector, reported to the Local Government -Board that - - “in sixty-four workhouses imbeciles or weak-minded women are - entrusted with the care of infants, as helps to the able-bodied or - inferior women who are placed in charge by the matron, without the - constant supervision of a responsible officer”. - -“We recognise,” acknowledges the Report of the Royal Commissioners, -“that some improvement has since taken place; but, as we have ourselves -seen, pauper inmates, many of them feeble-minded, are still almost -everywhere utilized for handling the babies.... As things are, the -visitor to a workhouse nursery finds it too often a place of intolerable -stench, under quite insufficient supervision, in which it would be a -miracle if the babies continued in health.” - -“How thin and pale and undersized many of them are! Surely they are -properly fed and clothed and exercised!” - -“In one large workhouse,” writes the Commissioners, “it was noticed that -from perhaps about eighteen months to two and a half years of age the -children had a sickly appearance. They were having their dinner, which -consisted of large platefuls of potatoes and minced beef--a somewhat -improper diet for children of that age.” “Even so elementary a -requirement as suitable clothing is neglected.” “The infants,” states a -lady Guardian, “have not always a proper supply of flannel, and their -shirts are sometimes made of rough unbleached calico.” “Babies of twelve -months or thereabouts have their feet compressed into tight laced-up -boots over thick socks doubled under their feet to make them fit into -the boots.” “In some workhouses the children have no toys, in others the -toys remain tidily on a shelf out of reach, so that there may be no -litter on the floor.” - - “In another extensive workhouse it was found that the babies of one - or two years of age were preparing for their afternoon sleep. They - were seated in rows on wooden benches in front of a wooden table. - On the table was a long narrow cushion, and when the babies were - sufficiently exhausted they fell forward upon this to sleep! The - position seemed most uncomfortable and likely to be injurious.” - -In another place it was stated:-- - - “That the infants weaned, but unable to feed themselves, are - sometimes placed in a row and the whole row fed with one spoon ... - from one plate of rice pudding. The spoon went in and out of the - mouths all along the row.” - -“We were shocked,” continues the Report, “to discover that the infants -in the nursery of the great palatial establishments in London and other -large towns _seldom or never got into the open air_.” - - “We found the nursery frequently on the third or fourth story of - a gigantic block, often without balconies, whence the only means of - access even to the workhouse yard was a flight of stone steps down - which it was impossible to wheel a baby carriage of any kind. There - was no staff of nurses adequate to carrying fifty or sixty infants - out for an airing. In some of these workhouses it was frankly - admitted that these babies never left their own quarters (and - the stench that we have described), and never got into the open - air during the whole period of their residence in the workhouse - nursery.” - -In short, “we regret to report,” say the Commissioners, “that these -workhouse nurseries are, in a large number of cases, alike in structural -arrangements, equipment, organization, and staffing, wholly unsuited to -the healthy rearing of infants”. - -“See, here come the coffins!” - -Coffins--tiny wooden boxes--of just cheap deal; some with a wreath of -flowers, and followed by a weeping woman; others just conveyed by -officials--unwanted, unregretted babies. - -As far as one’s eye can reach they come. Coffins and coffins, and still -more coffins; almost as many coffins as there were babies? - -Not quite. The Report repeats the evidence of the Medical Inspector of -the Local Government Board for Poor-Law purposes, who some years ago -made a careful inquiry and found that one baby out of every three died -annually. “A long time ago,” did I hear you murmur, “and things are -better now”? - -Would that it were so, but a more recent inquiry made by the -Commissioners shows that “out of every thousand children born in the -Poor-Law institutions forty to forty-five die within a week, and out of -8483 infants who were born during 1907, in the workhouses of the 450 -Unions inquired into, no fewer than 1050 (or 13 per cent) actually died -on the premises before attaining one year.” “The infantile mortality in -the population as a whole,” writes the authors of the Minority Report, -“exposed to all dangers of inadequate medical attendance and nursing, -lack of sufficient food, warmth, and care, and parental ignorance and -neglect, is admittedly excessive. The corresponding mortality among the -infants in the Poor-Law institutions, where all these dangers may be -supposed to be absent, is between two and three times as great.” - -“It must be the fault of the system, it is often said, that children, -like chickens, cannot for long be safely aggregated together.” - -“It is difficult to say whether it is the system or the administration -which is most to blame, but the facts are incontrovertible. In some -workhouses 40 per cent of the babies die within the year. In ten others -493 babies were born, and only fourteen, or 3 per cent, perished before -they had lived through four seasons. In ten other workhouses 333 infants -saw the light, and through the gates 114 coffins were borne, or 33 per -cent of the whole.” - -This variation would appear to point to faults of administration. On the -other hand, the system is contrary to nature; for the natural law limits -families to a few children, and usually provides that King Baby should -rule as sole monarch for eighteen months or two years. On this the -Report says:-- - - “It has been suggested to us by persons experienced in the peculiar - dangers of institutions for infants of tender years, that the - high death rate, especially the excessive death rates after the - first few weeks of life, right up to the age of three or four, - may be due to some adverse influence steadily increasing in its - deleterious effect the longer the child is exposed to it. In the - scarlet fever wards of isolation hospitals it has been suggested - that the mere aggregation of cases may possibly produce, unless - there are the most elaborate measures for disinfection, a dangerous - ‘intensification’ of the disease. In the workhouse nursery there is - practically no disinfection. The walls, the floors, the furniture, - must all become, year after year, more impregnated with whatever - mephitic atmosphere prevails. The very cots in which the infants - lie have been previously tenanted by an incalculable succession of - infants in all states of health and morbidity.” - -“Is the long undertaker’s bill to be deplored, considering the parentage -of this class of children and the way the Guardians rear them?” - -The nation wants the babies; indeed, to maintain its position it must -have them, and “the tendency of nature is to return to the normal”--a -scientific fact of profound civic importance. Besides, the Report -says:-- - - “We find that it is generally assumed that the women admitted - to the workhouse for lying-in are either feeble-minded girls, - persistently immoral women, or wives deserted by their husbands. - Whatever may have been the case in past years, this is no longer - a correct description of the patients in what have become, in - effect, maternity hospitals. Out of all the women who gave birth to - children in the Poor-Law institutions of England and Wales during - 1907, it appears that about 30 per cent were married women. In the - Poor-Law institutions of London and some other towns the proportion - of married women rises to 40 and even to 50 per cent.” - -As to how the Guardians rear the babies that is another matter. But let -us leave Institutions with the high walls, the monotony which stifles, -the organization which paralyses energy, the control which alike saps -freedom and initiation, and the unfailing provision of food no one -visibly earns, so that we may go and visit some of the homes which the -Guardians subsidize, and where they keep, or partially keep, out of the -ratepayers’ pockets 163,801 children. - -I.--A clean home this, mother out at work, earning 4s. 6d. by charing; -the Guardians giving 7s. 6d. Four children (thirteen, nine, six, four), -left to themselves while she is out, but evidently fond of home and each -other. A small kitchen garden which would abundantly pay for care, but -fatigue compels its neglect. No meat is included in her budget, and but -3d. a week for milk; but 12s. a week, and 4s. 6d. of it depending on her -never ailing and her employers always requiring her, is hardly adequate -on which to pay rent and to keep five people, providing the children -with their sole items of life’s capital--health, height, and strength. - -II.--A dirty home this, in a filthy court. The mother is out; the -children playing among the street garbage. Their clothes are ragged, -their heads verminous, their poor faces sharp with that expression which -always wanting and never being satisfied stamps indelibly on the human -countenance. One bed and a mattress pulled on to the floor is all that -is provided for the restful sleep of six people; and 3s. a week is what -a pitiful public subscribes via the rates to show its appreciation of -such a home life. Waste and worse. The Majority Report quotes with -approval the words of Dr. McVail: “In many cases the amount allowed by -the Guardians for the maintenance of out-door pauper children cannot -possibly suffice to keep them even moderately well”. This could be -applied to Case I. “Many mothers having to earn their living ... cannot -attend to their children at home, so that there is no proper cooking, -the house is untidy and uncomfortable, and the living rooms and bedrooms -unventilated and dirty.” This could be applied to Case II. - -III. A disgraceful home this, best perhaps described in the words of the -Majority Report:-- - - “A widow with three children, a well-known drunken character, - was relieved with 3s., one of her children earning 7s. making a - total of 10s. It was urged by the relieving officer that it was - no case for out relief, as it was encouraging drunkenness and - immorality.... It was held that the relief having been suspended - for a month, she had suffered sufficient punishment. The officer - said: ‘She still drinks,’ and that 4s. relief was given on 13 - December, ‘to tide her over the holidays’. She had been before the - police for drunkenness. It was considered (by the Guardians) to - meet the disqualification of the case by reducing the relief to 3s. - instead of 4s.” - -IV. An immoral home this, again best described in official words:-- - - “I saw in one instance out-relief children habitually sent out - to pilfer in a small way, others to beg, some whose mothers were - drunkards or living immoral lives.... These definitely bad mothers - were but a small minority of the mothers whom we visited, but - there were many of a negatively bad type, people without standard, - whining, colourless people, often with poor health. If out relief - is given at all ... those who give it must take the responsibility - for its right use.” - -In 1898, when Lord Peel was the Chairman of the State Children’s -Association, its Executive Committee brought out a chart which showed -that there were children nationally supported under the Local Government -Board, under the Home Office, under the Education Department, under the -Metropolitan Asylums Board, under the Lunacy Commissioners, each using -its own administrative organization. At that time the same children were -being dealt with by what may be called rival authorities, without any -machinery for co-operation or opportunities of interchange of knowledge -or experience. Since then there has been but little change, the Reports -point out forcibly the existence of the same conditions only worse, -inasmuch as more parents now seek free food and other assistance for -their children from official hands. - -Face to face with such a serious confusion of evils, affecting as they -do the character of the people--the very foundation of our national -greatness; confronted with the complicated problem how to simplify -machinery which has been growing for years, and is further entangled -with the undergrowth of vast numbers of officials and their vested -interests; distressed on the one hand by the clamour of that section of -society who think that everything should be done by the State, and on -the other by the insistent demand of those who see the incalculable good -which springs from volunteer effort or agencies, the bewildered -statesman might be sympathized with, if not excused, if he did feel -inclined to agree with Mr. John Burns’s suggestion, and leave it all to -him. - -“I care for the people,” in effect he said, “I know their needs. I have -the officials to do the work. I am the President of the Local Government -Board. Be easy, leave it all to me, I will report to the House once in -three months. All will be well.” - -It sounds a simple plan, but, before it can be even seriously advocated, -it would be as well to survey the recent history of the Local Government -Board, and see if, even under this President, its past record gives hope -for future effective achievement. Once more let us begin with-- - -(_a_) _The Babies._--Sir John Simon, Chief Medical Officer of the Local -Government Board, wrote forcibly on the subject more than a generation -past. Dr. Fuller’s Report was made years ago. Again and again reform has -been urged by Poor Law Inspectors and workhouse officials, who have -asked for additional powers to obtain information or classification or -detention. What has the Local Government Board done? The following -extract from the Minority Report can be the reply:-- - - “Alike in the prevention of the continued procreation of the - feeble-minded, in the rescue of girl-mothers from a life of - sexual immorality, and in the reduction of infantile mortality in - respectable but necessitous families, the destitution authorities, - in spite of their great expenditure, are to-day effecting no - useful results. With regard to the two first of these problems, at - any rate, the activities of the Boards of Guardians are, in our - judgment, actually intensifying the evil. If the State had desired - to maximize both feeble-minded procreation, and birth out of - wedlock, there could not have been suggested a more apt device than - the provision, throughout the country, of general mixed workhouses, - organized as they are now to serve as unconditional maternity - hospitals.... While thus encouraging ... these evils they are doing - little to arrest the appalling preventible mortality that prevails - among the infants of the poor.” - -(_b_) _The Children in the Workhouses._--“So long ago as 1841 the -Poor-Law Commissioners pointed out forcibly the evils connected with the -maintenance of children in workhouses.” In 1896 the Departmental -Committee, of which Mr. Mundella was chairman, and on which I had the -honour of sitting, brought before the public the opinion of inspectors, -guardians, officials, educationists and child-lovers, all unanimous in -condemning this system. “In the workhouse the children meet with crime -and pauperism from day to day.” “They are in the hands of adult paupers -for their cleanliness, and the whole thing is extremely bad.” “The -able-bodied paupers with whom they associate are a very bad class, -almost verging on criminal, if not quite,” is some of the evidence -quoted in the Report, and the Committee unanimously signed the -recommendation “that no children be allowed to enter the workhouse,” and -now, thirteen years afterwards, the same conditions prevail. The -Majority Report thus describes cases of children in workhouses:-- - - “The three-year-old children were in a bare and desolate room, - sitting about on the floor and on wooden benches, and in dismal - workhouse dress. The older ones had all gone out to school ... - except a cripple, and a dreary little girl who sat in a cold room - with bare legs and her feet in a pail of water as a ‘cure’ for - broken chilblains.... The children’s wards left on our minds a - marked impression of confusion and defective administration.... - In appearance the children were dirty, untidy, ill-kept, and - almost neglected. Their clothes might be described with little - exaggeration as ragged.... The boys’ day-room is absolutely dreary - and bare, and they share a yard and lavatories with the young - men.... An old man sleeps with the boys. It is a serious drawback - (says the inspector) that every Saturday and Sunday, to say nothing - of summer and winter holidays, have for the most part to be spent - in the workhouse, where they either live amid rigid discipline and - get no freedom, or else if left to themselves are likely to come - under the evil influence of adult inmates. The Local Government - Board inspectors point out that, even if the children go to the - elementary schools for teaching, the practice of rearing them in - the workhouse exposes them to the contamination of communication - with the adult inmates whose influence is often hideously - depraving.” - -“Terrible!” my reader will say; “but surely the reform requires -legislation, and the Poor Law is too large a subject to tinker on, it -must be dealt with after time has been given for due thought.” To this I -would reply that even if it did require legislation there has been time -enough to obtain it during all these years that the evils have existed; -but to quote the Majority Report: “So far as the ‘in-and-out’ children -are concerned it is probable that no further power would be needed, -since the Guardians already have power under the Poor Law Act, 1899, to -adopt children until the age of eighteen.” This Act, I may say in -passing, was initiated, drafted, and finally secured, not by the -responsible authorities but by the efforts of the State Children’s -Association. - -Why, then, has not the Local Government Board removed the children from -the workhouses? Why, indeed? - -(_c_) _The Ins and Outs._--In 1896 the Departmental Committee quoted the -evidence of Mr. Lockwood, the Local Government Board Inspector, who -referred to “cases of children who are constantly in and out of the -workhouse, dragged about the streets by their parents, and who -practically get no education at all,” and he puts in a table of -“particulars of eleven families representing the more prominent ‘ins and -outs’” of one Metropolitan West-end workhouse of whom “one family of -three children had been admitted and discharged sixty-two times in -thirteen months.” Other cases were given, for instance:-- - - “D----, a general labourer, who has three boys and a girl, who come in - and out on an average once a week. - - “A family named W----. The husband drunken, and has been in an asylum; - the wife unable to live with him. He would take his boys out in the - early morning, leave them somewhere, meet them again at night, and - bring them back to the workhouse; they had had nothing to eat, and had - wandered about in the cold all day.” - -“This state of things is cruel and disastrous in every respect,” writes -the Committee in 1896, appointed, be it remembered, by the Department to -elicit facts and “to advise as to any changes that may be desirable”. -Yet we find that in 1909 the same conditions exist. To quote the -Report:-- - - “Out of twenty special cases of which details have been obtained, - twelve families have been in and out ten or more times; one child - had been admitted thirty-nine times in eleven years; another - twenty-three times in six years. The Wandsworth Union has a large - number of dissolute persons in the workhouse with children in the - intermediate schools. The parents never go out without taking the - children, and seem to hold the threat of doing so as a rod over the - heads of the Guardians. One mother frequently had her child brought - out of his bed to go out into the cold winter night. One boy who - had been admitted twenty-five times in ten years had been sent more - than once to Banstead Schools, but had never stayed there long. - Whenever he knew he was to go there he used to write to his mother - in the workhouse, when she would apply for her discharge and go out - with him.” - -In the thirteen years which have passed since the issue of the two -Reports, what has the Local Government Board done? It has induced some -of the Boards to establish receiving or intermediary houses at the cost, -in the Metropolis, of about £200,000, but that is but attacking the -symptom and leaving the disease untouched. Without an ideal for -child-life or appreciation of child-nature, it has been content to let -this hideous state of things go on. Again to quote the Report:-- - - “It has done nothing to prevent the children from being dragged - in and out of the workhouse as it suits their parents’ whim or - convenience. The man or woman may take the children to a succession - of casual wards or the lowest common lodging-houses. They may go - out with the intention of using the children, half-clad and blue - with cold, as a means of begging from the soft-hearted, or they may - go out simply to enjoy a day’s liberty, and find the children only - encumbrances, to be neglected and half-starved.... The unfortunate - boys and girls who are dragged backwards and forwards by parents - of the ‘in-and-out’ class practically escape supervision. They pass - the whole period of school age alternately being cleansed and ‘fed - up’ in this or that Poor Law institution, or starving on scraps - and blows amid filth and vice in their periodical excursions in - the outer world, exactly as it suits the caprice or convenience of - their reckless and irresponsible parents.” - -And the Local Government Board has stood it for years and stands by -still and lets the evils go on. Meanwhile it is the children who suffer -and die; it is the children who are being robbed of their birthright of -joy as they pass a miserable childhood in poverty in workhouses or in -huge institutions; it is the children whose potentialities for good, and -strength, and usefulness are being allowed to wither and waste and turn -into evil and pain. It is the children who are needed for the nation; it -is the nation who supports them; and it is the nation who must decide -their future. - -Speaking for myself (not in any official capacity), twenty-two years’ -experience as manager of a barrack school, two years’ membership of the -Departmental Committee, twelve years’ work as the honorary secretary of -the State Children’s Association have brought me to the well-grounded -opinion that the children should be removed altogether from the care of -the Local Government Board and placed under the Board of Education. This -Board’s one concern is children. Its inspectors have to consider nothing -beyond the children’s welfare, and its organization admits the latest -development in the art of training, both in day and boarding schools. - -However much courtesy demanded moderation, the fact remains that both -the Reports are a strong condemnation of the whole of the Poor-Law work -of the Local Government Board, both in principle and administration. The -condition of the aged, the sick, the unemployed, the mentally defective, -the vagrant, the out-relief cases, as well as the children, alike come -in for strong expressions of disapproval or for proposals for reform so -drastic as to carry condemnation. If such a report had been issued on -the work of the Admiralty or the War Office, the whole country would -have demanded immediate change. “They have tried and failed,” it would -be said; “let some one else try”; and a similar demand is made by those -of us who have seen many generations of children exposed to these evils, -and waited, and hoped, and despaired, and waited and hoped again. But -once more some of the best brains in the country have faced the problem -of the poor, and demanded reforms, and so far as the children are -concerned almost the identical reforms demanded thirteen years ago; once -more the nation has been compelled to turn its mind to this painful -subject, and there is again ground for hope that the lives of the wanted -babies will be saved, and their education be such as to fit them to -contribute to the strength and honour of the nation. - - HENRIETTA O. BARNETT. - - - - - POOR LAW REFORM.[1] - - BY CANON BARNETT. - - November, 1909. - - [1] From “The Contemporary Review”. By permission of the Editor. - - -A compromise between kindliness and cruelty often stands--according to -Mr. Galsworthy--for social reform. The Poor Law is an example of such -compromise. In kindliness it offers doles of out-relief to the destitute -and builds institutions at extravagant cost. In cruelty it disregards -human feelings, breaks up family life, suspects poverty as a crime, and -degrades labour into punishment. - -The Poor Law, however, receives almost universal condemnation. Its cost -is enormous, amounting to over fourteen millions a year. The incidence -is so unfair that its call on the rich districts is comparatively light, -and in poor districts inordinately heavy. Its administration is both -confused and loose. Its relief follows no principle--out-relief is given -in one district and refused in others;--its institutions sometimes -attract and sometimes deter applications, and its expenditure is often -at the mercy of self-seeking Guardians, whose minds are set on securing -cheap labour or even on secret commissions. - -The poor, whom at such vast cost and with such parade of machinery it -relieves, are often demoralized. There is neither worth nor joy to be -got out of the pauper, who has learned to measure success in life by -skill in evading inquiry. And, what is most striking of all, the Poor -Law has allowed a mass of poverty to accumulate which has led to the -erection of charity upon charity, and is still, by its squalor, its -misery and hopelessness, a disgrace and a danger to the nation. The -public, recognizing the failure of the Poor Law, has become indifferent -to its existence, and now only a small percentage of the electors record -their votes at an election of the guardians of the poor. - -The case for reform is clear. - -What that reform should be is a question not to be answered in the -compass of a short article. The best I can do is to offer for the -consideration of my readers some principles which I believe to underlie -reform. Those principles once accepted, it will be for every one to -consider with what modifications or extensions they may be applied to -the different circumstances of town and country, young and old, weak and -strong. - -The last great reform of the Poor Law was in 1834. The Reformers of -those days took as their main principle _that the position of the person -relieved should be less attractive than that of the workman_. They were -driven to adopt this principle by the condition to which the Elizabethan -Poor Law had brought the nation. When, under that Poor Law, the State -assumed the whole responsibility “for the relief of the impotent and the -getting to work of those able to work,” and when by Gilbert’s Act in -1782 it was further enacted that “out-relief should be made obligatory -for all except the sick and impotent,” it followed that larger and -larger numbers threw themselves on the rates. Relief offered a better -living than work. The number of workers decreased, the number receiving -relief increased. Ruin threatened the nation, and so the Reformers came -in to enforce the principle that relief should offer a less attractive -living than work. - -The principle is good; it is, indeed, eternally true, because it is not -by what comes from without, but by what comes from within that a human -being is raised. It is not by what a man receives, but by that he is -enabled to do for himself that he is helped. This principle was applied -in 1834 by requiring from every applicant evidence of destitution, by -refusing relief to able-bodied persons, except on admission to -workhouses, and by making the relief as unpleasant or as “deterrent” as -possible. - -This harsh application of the principle may have been the best for the -moment. The nation required a sharp spur, and no doubt under its -pressure there was a marvellous recovery. Men who had been idle sought -work, and men who had saved realized that their savings would no longer -be swallowed up in rates. The spur and the whip had their effect, but -such effect, whether on a beast or a man, is always short-lived. - -The tragedy of 1834 is that the reforming spirit, which so boldly -undertook the immediate need, did not continue to take in other needs as -they arose. It is, indeed, the tragedy of the history of the State, of -the Church, and of the individual, that moments of reform are followed -by periods of lethargy. People will not recognize that reform must be a -continuous act, and that the only condition of progress is eternal -vigilance. Indolence, especially mental indolence, is Satan’s handiest -instrument, and so after some great effort a pause is easily accepted as -a right. - -After the reform of 1834 there was such a pause. New needs soon came to -the front, and the face of society was gradually changed. The strain of -industrial competition threw more and more men on to the scrap heap, too -young to die, too worn to work, too poor to live. The crowding of house -against house in the towns reduced the vitality of the people so that -children grew up unfit for labour, and young people found less and less -room for healthy activities of mind or body. Education, made common and -free, set up a higher standard of respectability and called for more -expenditure. A growing sense of humanity among all classes made poverty -a greater burden on social life, provoking sometimes charity and -sometimes indignation. - -These, and such as these, were the changes going on in the latter part -of the nineteenth century, but the spirit of the reformers of 1834 was -dead, and in their lethargy the people were content that the old -principle should be applied without any change to meet new needs. -Institutions were increased, officials were multiplied, and inspectors -were appointed to look after inspectors. Any outcry was met by -expedients. Mr. Chamberlain authorised municipal bodies to give work. -Mr. Chaplain relaxed the out-relief order. New luxuries were allowed in -the workhouse, the infirmaries were vastly improved, and the children -were, to some extent, removed from the workhouses and put, often at -great cost, in village communities or like establishments. But reliance -was always placed on making relief disagreeable and deterrent. One of -the latest reforms has been the introduction of the cellular system in -casual wards, so that men are kept in solitary confinement, while as -task work they break a pile of stones and throw them through a narrow -grating. Poverty, indeed, is met by a compromise between kindliness and -cruelty. - -The reformers of 1834 looked out on a society weakened by idleness. They -faced a condition of things in which the chief thing wanted was energy -and effort, so they applied the spur. The reformers of to-day look out -on a very different society, and they look with other eyes. They see -that the people who are weak and poor are not altogether suffering the -penalty of their own faults. It is by others’ neglect that uninhabitable -houses have robbed them of strength, that wages do not provide the means -of living, and that education has not fitted them either to earn a -livelihood or enjoy life. The reformers of to-day, under the subtle -influence of the Christian spirit, have learnt that self-respect, even -more than a strong body, is a man’s best asset, and that willing work -rather than forced work makes national wealth. - -Sir Harry Johnson, who speaks with rare authority, has told us how -negroes with a reputation for idleness respond to treatment which, -showing them respect, calls out their hope and their manhood. Treat -them, he implies, as children, drive them as cattle, and you are -justified in your belief in their idleness. Treat them as men, give them -their wages in money, open to them the hope of better things, and they -work as men. - -The relief given in the casual ward may be sufficient for the body of -the casual, but the penal treatment, the prison-like task and the -solitary confinement make him set his teeth against work, and he becomes -the enemy of the society which has given him such treatment. - -The Reformers of to-day, with their greater knowledge of human nature, -and in face of a society the fault of which is not just idleness, will -do well then to take another principle as the basis of their action. -Such a principle is _that relief must develop self-respect_. They will -have, indeed, to remember that the form of relief must still be less -attractive than that offered by work, but less attractiveness must be -attained not by an insolent inquisition of relief officers into the -character of applicants, not by treating inmates as prisoners, and not -by making work as distasteful as possible. It might possibly be -sufficient if relief, so far as regarded the able-bodied, took the form -of training for work. There is no degradation in requiring men and women -to fit themselves to earn,--no loss of self-respect is brought on anyone -by being called to be a learner;--but, at the same time, opportunities -for learning are not attractive to idlers, nor are they likely to -encourage the reliance on relief which brought disaster on the nation -before 1834. - -The Whitechapel Guardians, many years ago, determined that the workhouse -should more and more approximate to an adult industrial school. They did -away with stone breaking and oakum picking, they abolished cranks turned -by human labour, they instituted trade work and appointed a mental -instructor to teach the inmates in the evening. They had no power of -detention, so the training was not of much use, but as a deterrent the -system was most effective, and fewer able-bodied men came to Whitechapel -Union than to neighbouring workhouses. Regard for the principle that -relief must develop self-respect is not, therefore, inconsistent with -the principle that relief must offer a position which is less attractive -than that offered by work. - -But let me suggest some further application of the principle. - -1. It implies, I think, the abolition of Boards of Guardians and of all -the special machinery for relief. It implies, perhaps, the abolition of -the Poor Law itself. There is no class of “the poor” as there is a class -of criminals. Poverty is not a crime, and there are poor among the most -honourable of the people. Poverty is a loose and wide term, involving -the greater number of the people. There must, therefore, be some loss of -self-respect in those of the poor who feel themselves set apart for -special treatment. One poor man goes to the hospital, his neighbour--his -brother, it may be--goes to the Poor Law infirmary. Both are in the same -position, but the latter, because he comes under the Guardians, loses -his self-respect, and has acquired a special term--he is “a pauper”. - -Those men and women who through weakness, through ignorance or through -character are unable to do their work and earn a living are, as much as -the rich and the strong, members of the nation. All form one body and -depend on one another. Some for health’s sake need one treatment and -some another. There is no reason in putting a few of them under a -special law and calling them “paupers,” the use of hard names is as -inexpedient for the Statute Book as it is for Christians. Reason says -that all should be so treated that they may, as rapidly as possible, be -restored to economic health by the use of all the resources of the -State, educational and social. There is no place for a special law, a -specially elected body of administrators and a special rate. - -A further objection to Boards of Guardians is that an election does not -involve interests which are sufficiently wide or sufficiently familiar. -Side issues have to be exalted so as to attract the electors’ attention. -Such a side issue was found in the religious question, which gave -interest to the old School Board elections; no such side issue has been -found in Guardian elections, and so only a small minority of ratepayers -record their votes. Experience, therefore, justifies the proposal that -with a view to encouraging the growth of self-respect in the -economically unhealthy members of the nation, the present system of Poor -Law machinery should be abolished. - -2. The principle further implies that the same municipal body which is -responsible for the health, for the education, and for the industrial -fitness of some members of the community should be responsible in like -manner for all the members, whatever their position. - -(_a_) _The Sick._--The County Council appoints a medical officer of -health and itself administers many asylums. It establishes a sort of -privileged class which receives its benefits and, unless it extends its -operations so that all who are sick may be reached, must lower the -self-respect of those who are excluded and driven to beg for relief. - -The medical officer might be in fact what he is in name, responsible for -the health of the district, and as the superior officer of the visiting -doctors see that ill-health was prevented and cured. The interest of the -community is universal good health; how unreasoning is the system which -deters the sick man from trying to get well by making it necessary for -him to endure the inquisition of the relieving officer before getting a -doctor’s visit! The strength of the community is in the self-respect of -its members; how extravagant is the system which offers relief only on -condition of some degradation. - -(_b_) _The Children._--The County Council is responsible for the -education of the children; it must--unless one set of children is to be -kept in a less honourable position--extend its care over all the -children. There must be no such creature as a “pauper child,” and no -distinction between schools in which children are taught or boarded. The -child who has lost its parents, the child who has been deserted, the -child who has no home, must be started in life equipped with equal -knowledge and on an equal footing with other children. Every child must -be within reach of the best which the State can offer. The inclusion of -the care of all children under the same municipal authority would help -to develop in all a sense of self-respect, and at the same time enable -the authority to make better use of the existing buildings in the -classification of their uses, apportioning some, _e.g._, as technical -schools, some as infirmaries, and some for industrial training. Dr. -Barnardo, who has taught the nation how to care better for its children, -adopted some such method. - -(_c_) _The Able-Bodied._--A greater difficulty occurs in applying the -principle to the care of the able-bodied. How, it may be asked, is the -County Council to deal with the unemployed and with the loafer so as to -relieve them and at the same time develop their sense of respect? The -County Council has lately been made responsible for dealing with the -unemployed, and experience has shown that at the bottom of the problem -lies the custom of casual labour, the use of boys in dissipating work, -and the ignorance of the people. The Council has in its hands the power -of dealing with these causes. It can establish labour registers, it can -prevent much child labour, and it can provide education. It may be -necessary to increase its powers, but already it can do something to -prevent unemployment in the future. - -The need, however, of the present unemployed is training. The Council -might be empowered to open for them houses or farms of discipline, in -which such training could be given. The man with a settled home could be -admitted for a short period, the loafer could be detained for three or -four years. The work in every case, while less attractive than other -work, could be such as to interest the worker; the discipline, such as -to involve no degradation; and the door of hope could be studiously kept -open. The farms or houses could indeed be adult industrial schools -offering a livelihood, not indeed as attractive as that offered by work, -but such as any man might take with gain to his sense of self-respect. - -The County Council might thus take over the duties performed by -Guardians. The same body which now looks after the housing and the -cleanliness of the streets, would possibly realize the cost of neglect -in doing those duties, if they also had the care of the broken in body -and in heart. In other words, a more scientific expenditure of the rates -might be expected to ensue if the body responsible for the relief of -poverty were the same body as is now responsible for its prevention. The -claims of education would perhaps become more popular. - -Enough, perhaps, has now been said to suggest a line of reform, and -hours might be spent in discussing a thousand details, each of which -has its importance. But not even a slight article could be complete -without some reference to the mass of charity--£10,000,000 is said to -be spent in London alone--which is annually poured out on the poor. -Charity, unless it be personal--from a friend to a friend--is often as -degrading as Poor Law relief. Attempts have been made at organization, -and much has been done to bring about personal relationships between -the Haves and the Have-nots. Years ago it was suggested that the -Charity Organization Society might take as a motto, “Not relief, but a -friend”. - -Much has been done, but with a view to putting a further limit on the -competition of charities and on the fostering of cringing habits, some -reformers suggest that a statutory body of representatives of charities -should be formed in each district. Over these a County Council official -might preside. At weekly meetings cases of distress which have been -noticed by the doctors, the school officers or any private person could -be considered. These cases would then be handed over to individuals or -charities, who would report progress at the next meeting, or they would -be undertaken by the presiding officer and dealt with efficiently by one -of the committees of the County Council. - -“The strength of a nation,” according to a saying of Napoleon quoted by -Mr. Fisher, “depends on its history.” No reform is likely to endure -which does not fit in with the traditions of the past. It might be -possible to elaborate on paper a perfect scheme for the care of the weak -and the sickly, but it would not avail if it disregarded history. Here -in England the State has, during many centuries, recognized its -obligation for the well-being of all its members, and it has performed -its obligations by the service of individuals. The State, in more senses -than one, is identified with the Church. In the new times, in the face -of new needs and with the command of new knowledge, it is still the -State which must organize the means to restore the fallen and it must -still use as its instruments the willing service of individual men and -women. The sketch of Poor Law reform which I have presumed to offer in -this article fulfils, I believe, these requirements. - - SAMUEL A. BARNETT. - - - - - THE UNEMPLOYED.[1] - - BY MRS. S. A. BARNETT. - - November, 1904. - - [1] A Paper read at a meeting in a West-End drawing room and -afterwards printed by request. - - -I am often asked to speak publicly, and when I express wonder as I open -my letters at my breakfast-table, my family (with that delightful -candour which is so good for one’s character) say, “Oh, they ask you -because you always make them hear and sometimes make them laugh”. -Ladies, to-day I shall, I hope, make you hear, but I cannot make you -laugh. - -Those of us who have lived among the poor, as my dear old friend Emma -Cons and I have done, in Lambeth and Whitechapel for over thirty years, -know that there is no joke connected with the unemployed. Those of us -who went through the awful winter of 1886, and saw the sad suffering -which caused the still more sad sin, as the people lied and cringed and -begged and bullied to get a share--(what they considered a lawful share, -some called it “The ransom of the rich”) of the Mansion House Fund, know -that this condition of want of employment is not only an economic -question, but one involving deep and far-reaching moral issues, and it -is this problem that is before us now. - -The number of unemployed in London is variously estimated, some say -30,000 some 100,000, no one can tell, for it so much depends on what is -meant by unemployed. Do we mean those workers in seasonal trades, such -as the painters whose labour ceases in the winter? and the bricklayers’ -labourers who are stopped by a frost? Do we mean those thousands which -Mr. Charles Booth calculates never have an income sufficient to keep -the family in health, who are always partially unemployed because their -labour is of so inefficient a kind that they are not worth a “living -wage”. “Why,” one may ask the frequenters of the Relief Office, “have -you come to this?” the answer in a hundred different forms will be the -same. “I fell out of work owing to bad trade--I struggled for a year, -but things got worse and worse--I am no longer fit for continuous work -and I couldn’t do it if I got it”. They have, that is, lost their -power, which makes efficient labour. - -On this matter there is need of clear thinking, but leaving for a moment -or two the task of defining and classifying the unemployed, let us -realize the large army of men, with the still larger army of women and -children dependent on them, who, on this cold, cheerless day are out of -work--what do they want? Food, fire, shelter,--on this we all agree, and -the plan of some kind persons is to supply their needs. Thus Soup -Kitchens, Free Breakfasts, Shelters for the Homeless, Meals for the -Children, Blankets for the Old, Coals for the Cold, Clothing for the -Destitute, Doles of all kinds for all kinds of people are begged for, -and we are told, often with regrettable exaggeration, that to support -this charity or that organization will relieve the suffering which -(whatever our politics) we all combine to deplore. - -But those of us who have thought with our brains, as well as with our -hearts, know that to ease the symptoms is not to cure the disease, and -that this social ulcer needs first an exhaustive diagnosis by the most -experienced social physicians, and then infinite patience and great -firmness as we build up again the constitution of the unfit, which, -through long years has become physically weakened and morally -deteriorated. - -I seem to hear my listeners say: “But at least it cannot do harm to feed -the children,” and there I confess my economics break down! I have lived -long enough in Whitechapel to see three generations, and I have watched -the underfed boy grow into the undersized man, pushed aside by stronger -arms in the labour market. I have seen the underfed girl grown into the -enfeebled woman, producing in motherhood puny children. But, and it is a -big but, if you feed the children, you must feed them adequately, and -feed them as individuals by individuals. The practice of giving children -two or three dinner tickets a week is bad economy, bad for the -children’s digestion, bad for the mother’s housekeeping, and bad for the -father’s sense of responsibility. We should not like our own children to -be fed thus, and indeed if we would consider each child of the poor as -we consider our own, the problem of feeding the children would soon be -solved. I know you will think me Utopian, but if every one of us here -were to have two or three children as kitchen guests daily! Well! It -perhaps would not do much, but once we were told ten righteous men might -have saved the city. - -This is a long digression, but the individual treatment of children is a -subject that occupies much of my thought, and one which I would ask you -to consider carefully as throwing light on many loudly voiced schemes of -reform, which, lacking the personal touch, are apt to miss the deeper -and spiritual forces by which character must be nourished if it is to -grow. - -Now to return to the unemployed. Briefly they can be put into four -classes:-- - - 1. The skilled mechanic. - - 2. The unskilled labourer. - - 3. The casual worker. - - 4. The loafer. - -Concerning the first, the Chart published in the “Labour Gazette” shows -that the number approaches 7 per cent as against nearly 5 per cent last -year. This is the only class about which we have accurate figures, but -the returns of pauperism, and the experience of charitable agencies -combine in agreeing that there is more want of employment in the other -three classes than is usual at this time of the year, and that there are -fewer “bits of things” to go to the pawnshop than usual, because, owing -to the war, and some think to the fiscal agitation, the summer trade has -been slack, and wages low and uncertain. - -No one can read the daily papers without seeing how many schemes are -now being put forward to aid the unemployed, and in the space of -time given to me it is impossible to name all these, let alone to -discriminate between them, but certain principles can be laid down. -(1) The form of help should be work. (2) The work should be such as -will uplift and not degrade character. (3) The work should be paid -sufficiently to keep up the home and adequately feed the family. (4) -The work, if it be relief work--i.e., that not required in the ordinary -channels by ordinary employers--should not be more attractive than the -worker’s normal labour. - -It should never be forgotten that provision of work may become as -dangerous to character as doles of money have proved to be. Work is of -so many sorts; that which is effortful to some men may be child’s play -to others, or it might be so carelessly supervised as to encourage the -casual ways and self-indulgent habits which lie at the root of much -poverty. Human nature in every walk of life has a tendency to take the -easiest courses, and many men are tempted to relax the efforts which the -higher classes of employment demand. - -“Why,” I said to a butler who had taken £80 a year in service, “did you -become a cabman?” “Well, madam,” he said, “in service one has always to -be spruce.” In other words he had resented the control of order, and so -he had sunk from a skilled trade to a grade lower. - -“Why,” I asked an old friend, a Carter Paterson driver, “did you leave -your regular work?” “’Tis like this,” he said, “it means being out in -all weathers, now I can go home if things is too nasty outside.” He had -yielded to the temptation of comfort and gone down a grade lower to -casual work. - -“Why did you go on the tramp?” was asked of a man in the casual ward. -“If yer takes to the road,” he said with perfect candour, “yer never -knows what’s before yer. Yer may be in luck or yer mayn’t but it’s all -on the chance.” The spirit of gambling had got the better of him and he -had gone down a grade lower. - -These examples illustrate the importance of the principles laid down. -The help must be work and the work must be steady and continuous, and -capable, by drawing forth each man’s best powers, to uplift him in -character and maintain his own self-esteem. The work must be of many -kinds. It is folly to expect the tailor, the cigarette-maker, the -working jeweller, to do only road sweeping and that badly, and lastly -the work, while always strengthening character, must be given only under -such conditions as will not attract men to leave their regular calling, -which makes demands on their powers of self-discipline, and throw -themselves on what is charity, even though offered in the form of -labour. - -Last year the Mansion House Committee carried out on a small scale an -experiment in relief, which in many ways followed these principles. It -sent the men to Labour Colonies, where they had good food and honest -work, away from the attractions of the streets, and while they were away -it provided the women and children with sufficient money for the upkeep -of health and home. It brought to individuals the care of individuals, -as week by week superintendents reported on the workers’ work, and -visitors carried the money to the families. It offered facilities for -training men for emigration to the colonies, or for migration to the -country. It provided employment which was not so attractive as to draw -men from their regular work, nor the loafer from the streets, and it -offered to every one hope and a way out in the future. The experiment -has shown what is possible, and encourages those who worked it to -believe that some year, if not this year, there will be humane and -scientific dealing with the problem of unemployment. - -“Oh, yes,” I was told by a young married woman the other day, “people -talk so much of the unemployed now. It is all the fashion, but I think -quite half of them could get work if they wanted to.” - -“Really,” I said, recalling the hopeless eyes, gaunt figures, and worn -boots of many an out-of-work friend, the pathetic patience of their -women and white faces of the children, “Is that your experience?” - -“Oh, no!” she replied, “but I am sure I have heard it said--and I expect -it is true.” - -I could have shaken her--but I did not--only that sort of thing is what -discounts women’s opinion so often with the men (the governing sex), and -as it is, I fear, not uncommon, it behoves us, the thinking, caring -women, to think more clearly, and to care more deeply. If we bore more -continuously this sad suffering in mind, if we studied, and read, and -thought in the effort to probe its cause to its roots, if we resolved by -personal effort to find or provide labour for at least one family during -the winter, the problem would be nearer solution, but we must see to it -that reforms go on lines which recognize that character is more -important than comfort, and that a man is more wronged if Society steals -his responsibility than if it steals his coat. - - HENRIETTA O. BARNETT. - - - - - THE POOR LAW REPORT.[1] - - BY CANON BARNETT. - - April, 1909. - - [1] From “The Contemporary Review”. By permission of the Editor. - - -The Poor Law has too long blocked the way of social progress, and its -ending or its mending has become a matter of urgent necessity. The -Report just issued may thus mark the beginning of a new age. The -“condition of the people” is, from some points of view, even more -serious than it was in 1834, when the first Commissioners brought out -the Report which called “check” to many processes of corruption. In -those days a lax system of relief had so tempted many strong men to -idleness and so reduced incentives to investment, that the nation was -threatened with bankruptcy. In these days, when a confusion of methods -alternates between kindliness and cruelty in their treatment of the -poor; when begging is encouraged by gifts, public and private, said to -reach the amount of £80,000,000 a year; when giving provokes distrust -and leaves such evidence of human starvation and degradation as may -daily be seen amid the splendours of the Embankment, it sometimes seems -as if the nation were within measurable distance of something like a -bankruptcy of character. - -The present Poor Law system, valuable as it was in checking “various -injurious practices,” has been applied to conditions and people who were -not within its makers’ range of vision, and is now responsible for more -trouble than is at once apparent. It preaches by means of palatial -institutions which every one sees, and of officials who are more -ubiquitous and powerful than parsons. Its sermon is: “Look outside -yourselves for the means of livelihood; grudge if you are not -satisfied”. It preaches selfishness and illwill; it encourages a -scramble for relief; it discounts energy and trust. The present Poor Law -does not really relieve the poor, and it does tend to weaken the -national character. - -The admirable statistical survey which introduces the Report represents -the failure of the present system in striking figures. The number of -paupers--markedly of males--is increasing. In London alone 15,800 more -paupers are being maintained than there were twenty years ago, and the -rate of pauperism through the country has reached 47 in the 1000. The -cost has also increased, and the country is now spending more than -double the amount on each individual which was spent in 1872, “making a -total which is now equivalent to nearly one half of the present -expenditure on the Army”. The increase goes on, as the Commissioners -remark, notwithstanding the millions of money now spent on education and -sanitation, and notwithstanding the rise in wages, affording clear proof -“that something in our social organization is seriously wrong”. - -The Commissioners are unanimous in their condemnation of the system -which produces such results. They have gathered evidence upon evidence -of its failure, and, while they praise the devoted service of many -Guardians and officials, both the Majority and Minority Reports agree -recommending radical changes. - -The revelation of the abuse is itself a valuable contribution to the -needs of the time. The public, unless they know the extent of the -mischief, will never be moved to the necessary effort of reform; and -teachers of the public, through the Pulpit and the Press, could hardly -do better than publish extracts from the Report showing the waste of -money, the demoralization, the ill-will, which gathers round workhouses, -casual wards and out relief. - -The ordinary reader of this evidence might naturally inquire, “What has -the Local Government Board been doing to prevent the abuses which it -must have known? Why, if conviction was not possible, was not Parliament -asked for further powers or for some reform? What is the use of -inspectors? Why should a controlling department exist if the nation is -to stand convicted of such neglect, and to be brought into such danger?” -The Report implies, indeed, some slight blame to the Local Government -Board, because it did not at all times afford sufficient direction; and -the Minority Report, in its more trenchant way, sometimes emphasizes the -confusion it has caused by its varying decisions; but the thought -naturally occurs that if the Board had not been so strongly represented -on the Commission, or if a body representative of the best guardians -were called on to render a report, the supreme authority which has so -long known the evil and done so little for its reform would have been -roundly condemned. - -The Commissioners, however, pass their judgment on the system, and -proceed to make their recommendations. There are two sets, those of the -Majority and those of the Minority. They extend over 1238 large pages, -and deal with thousands of details. A close examination is therefore -impossible in a short article, but there are certain tests by which the -principal recommendations may be tried. I would try just two such tests: -(1) Do they make it possible to relieve needs without demoralizing -character? (2) Do they stimulate energy without raising the devil in -human nature? - -The people who need relief are roughly divided into two great classes, -“the unable” and “the able”. The recommendations of the Report--Majority -and Minority--as they affect these two classes may be tried by the -suggested test. - - - THE UNABLE. - -I. “The unable” include the sick, the old, the children and infirm, -and--although on this matter the Local Government Board gave uncertain -guidance--widows with children. The present system, starting from the -principle laid down in 1834, aims at deterring people from application -by a barbed-wire fence of regulations. The sick can only have a doctor -after inquiry by the relieving officer. The old and infirm are herded in -a general workhouse together with people whose contact often wounds -their self-respect. The children are isolated from other children, and -treated as a class apart. Widows with children can only get means of -maintenance by applying at the relief table in company with the -degraded, by enduring the close inquisition of the relieving officer, -and then by attendance at the Board of Guardians, where, standing in the -middle of the room, they have to face their gaze, answer their -questions, and at the end be grateful for a pittance of relief. - -This system does not, in the first place, relieve the necessities of the -poor. Many of the sick defer their application till their condition -becomes serious, or they set themselves to beg for hospital letters. -Many of the old and infirm, rather than submit to the iniquities of the -workhouse, live a life of semi-starvation. Few of the widows who receive -a few shillings a week for the maintenance of their families, are able -unaided to look after their children and give them the necessary care -and food. - -“A few Boards,” says the Minority Report, “restrict to the uttermost the -grant of out relief to widows with children; many refuse it to the widow -with only one child or with only two children, however young these may -be; others grant only the quite inadequate sum of 1s. or 1s. 6d. a week -per child, and nothing for the mother. Very few Guardians face the -problem of how the widow’s children ... can under these circumstances be -properly reared.... In at least 100,000 cases their children are growing -up stunted, under-nourished, and to a large extent neglected, because -the mother is so hard driven that she cannot properly attend to them. -The irony of the situation appears in the fact that if the mother -thereupon dies the children will probably be ‘boarded out’ with a -payment of 4s. or 5s. per week each, or three or four times as much as -the Guardians paid for them before, or else be taken into the Poor Law -school or cottage homes at a cost of 12s. to 21s. per week each.” - -The vast sum of money--this £20,000,000 a year--which is spent misses -to a large extent its object to give relief, and, further than this, -causes widespread demoralization. The sick who have overcome their -shrinking to face the relieving officer to ask for a medical officer, -are found readily treading the same path to ask for other relief. The -workhouses--one of which, lately built, has cost £126,612, or £286 a -bed--“are,” we read, “largely responsible for the considerable increase -of indoor pauperism,” and evidence is given “that life in a workhouse -deteriorates mentally, morally, and physically the habitual inmates”. -It must be so, indeed, when young girls are put “to sleep with women -admitted by the master to be frequently of bad character”. - -Out relief has been the battlefield of rival schools of administrators, -and the Commissioners find in the system “of trying to compensate for -inadequacy of knowledge by inadequacy of relief” two obvious points: -“First, that when the applicants are honest in their statements they -must often suffer great privations; and, second, that when they are -dishonest, relief must often be given quite unnecessarily”. Evidence, -too, is given of instances where out relief is being applied to -subsidize dirt, disease and immorality, justifying the conclusion that -it is “a very potent influence in perpetuating pauperism and propagating -disease”. - -When the Commissioners have admitted that much has been done by wise -Boards of Guardians in providing infirmaries for the sick which are as -good as hospitals, and in administering out relief with sympathy and -discrimination, the conclusion must still remain that the present system -does not relieve the necessities of the poor, while it tends to spread -demoralization. It fails under the suggested test. - -The Commissioners’ proposed reforms must be tried by the same tests. -Their proposals include (1) the constitution of a new authority, -and (2) the principles on which that authority is to act. The -principles--keeping in mind for the moment the class of “the -unable”--recommended by the Majority and Minority are practically -identical. In the words of the Majority:-- - -1. The treatment of the poor who apply for public assistance should be -adapted to the needs of the individual, and if constitutional should be -governed by classification. - -2. The system of public assistance thus established should include -processes of help which would be preventive, curative and restorative. - -3. Every effort should be made to foster the instincts of independence -and self-maintenance amongst those assisted. - -The same principles appear when the Minority Report urges the (1) -“paramount importance of subordinating mere relief to the specialized -treatment of each separate class, with the object of preventing or -curing its distress”. - -(2) “The expediency of ultimately associating this specialized treatment -of each class with the standing machinery for enforcing both before and -after the period of distress the fulfilment of personal and family -obligations.” - -The differences between the Reports are manifest in that the Minority -is more anxious to secure a co-ordination of public authorities, but -both alike agree that relief must be thorough and regard primarily the -necessities of the individual. The general workhouse is therefore to -be broken up, and separate institutions set apart for children, the -old, the sick, mothers, and feeble-minded. Out relief is to be given -on uniform principles and under strict supervision, whether by skilled -officials or by a registrar. (The majority make the interesting--if it -be practicable--suggestion that there shall be proscribed districts -in which no out relief shall be given, on account of their slum -character.) The sick are to have the means of treatment brought within -their reach, whether it be by the officer of the Health Committee or by -means of provident dispensaries. The two Reports often differ as to the -means by which the ends are to be reached, and the consideration of the -means they propose would make matter for many articles. But their main -difference is as to the constitution of the authority which will apply -their principles to practice. - -They both agree in making the County Council the source of the authority -and in taking the county as the area. The Majority would create, by a -somewhat intricate system of co-optation and nomination, a “Public -Assistance Authority,” with local “assistance committees,” to deal with -all cases of need. The Minority would authorize the existing committees -of the Council--the Education, the Health, the Asylums, and the Parks -Committees--to deal with such cases of need as may meet them in their -ordinary work. The Majority would create an _ad hoc_ authority, for the -purpose of giving such relief; the Minority would leave relief to the -direction of committees whose primary concern is education or health, -the feeble-minded or the old. The Majority is, further, at great pains -to establish a Voluntary Aid Council, which shall be representative of -the charitable funds and charitable bodies of the area. This council is -to have a recognized position, and to work in close co-operation with -the Public Assistance authority. The Minority, though willing to use -voluntary charity, suggests no plan for its control or organization. -This omission in a scheme otherwise so complete is somewhat remarkable. -The administration of the Poor Law may account for most of the mischief -in the condition of the people, but the administration of charity is -also to a large extent responsible. This extent of charity is unknown. -In London alone it is said to amount to more than £7,000,000 a year, and -much money is given of which no record is possible. Hitherto all -attempts at organization have failed, and it is quite clear that no -organization can be enforced. The Majority Report suggests a scheme by -which charitable bodies and persons may be partly tempted and partly -constrained to co-operate with official bodies. Mr. Nunn, in an -interesting note, suggests a further development of a plan by which they -might be given a more definite place in the organization of the future. -The establishment of Public Welfare Societies in so many localities is a -proof that charitable forces are drawing together, and gives hope that -if a place is found for them in the established system they may become -powerful for good and not for mischief. - -The recommendations, however, which we are now considering are not -dependent on the establishment of a Voluntary Aid Council; they depend -on the principles, as to which both Reports agree. Those principles -satisfy the suggested test. If relief in every case be subordinate to -treatment, if it be given with care and with full consideration for each -individual, there must be good hope that the relief will help and not -demoralize, stimulate and not antagonize the recipient. Everything, -however, depends on securing an authority and administrators who are -willing and able to apply the principles to action. The Majority aim, by -the substitution of nomination and co-optation for direct election, to -get an authority which will do with new wisdom the old duties of Boards -of Guardians. The Minority evidently fear that, if any body of people is -established as a relief agency, no change in the method of appointment -will prevent the intrusion of the old abuses. The Majority believe that -it is the persons on the present Boards which have caused the breakdown, -and that if all Boards were as good as the best Boards there would have -been no need for the Commission. The Minority, on the other hand, -believe that it is the system which is at fault, and that a single -authority created to deal with destitution only must fail when it is -called on to deal with many-sided human nature in its various struggles -and trials. - -The difference is one on which much may be said on both sides. It may be -argued that a committee and officials whose special and daily duty it is -to deal with cases of distress will become experts in such dealing; and -it may be equally argued that experts tend to think more of the -perfection of their system than of the peculiar needs of individuals, so -that their action becomes rigid and incapable of growth. The Charity -Organization Committees are such experts, and although they have done -service not always recognized, they have become unpopular because they -have seemed to be more careful as to their methods than as to the needs -of the poor. It may be argued that the Education and Health and other -committees have neither the time nor the experience to administer relief -to the cases of distress with which their duties bring them into -contact; and it may equally be argued that it is because they have in -view education or health that their ways of relief will be elastic and -human, and therefore guided to the best ends. It may be argued that, as -the important matter is to check the use of public funds by necessitous -persons, therefore it is the better plan to have in each county one -authority skilled in dealing with such persons. It may, on the other -hand, be argued that as the more important matter is to prevent any one -becoming a necessitous person, therefore it is the better plan to let -those authorities which have dealings with people as to education, or -health, or any other object, deal with them also when they are -threatened or overtaken by distress. Knowledge is more necessary than -skill, and the people who need their neighbour’s guidance do not form a -special class in the community. Society is better regarded as a body of -co-operators than as a community divided into “an assistance body” and -“the assisted”. - -The Majority Report in its recommendation is discounted by the fact that -the Boards of Guardians--an _ad hoc_ body--have failed; and the Minority -Report is discounted by the fact that there is a science of relief for -which long training is necessary. Both alike seem conscious that success -must really depend on the character of the administrators; the Majority -therefore recommend many precautions as to the appointment of clerks and -relieving officers; the Minority frankly leave the control of relief in -the hands of a registrar, whose duty it will be to register every case -of relief recommended by any committee, to assess the amount which ought -to be repaid, and to proceed to the recovery of the amount. The -registrar would therefore, by means of his own officials, make inquiries -into the circumstances of every case, and would put his administration -of out relief or of, as it is called, “home aliment” on a basis of -uniform and judicial impartiality. - -The Minority Report has the advantage of scientific precision, but it is -somewhat hard on the spirit of compromise so long characteristic of -English procedure, and it takes small account of the disturbance which -may be caused by the vagaries of weak human nature, and it leaves -charity without any control. The Majority has the advantage of securing -some continuity with present practices, but in the ingenious attempt to -conciliate diverse opinions and to put new pieces on to the old garment, -some rents seem to have been made which it will be hard to fill. - -The public will, during the next few months, be called upon to decide as -to the authority to direct the relief of the poor. The decision cannot -be easily made, and ought not to be attempted without much time and -thought. One of the tests by which the two systems may be tried during -the necessary delay is, I submit, whether (1) an _ad hoc_ committee with -its subject expert officials or (2) committees appointed for special -objects with an independent expert official, are the more likely to -administer relief without spreading demoralization, and to stimulate -energy without rousing animosity. - - - THE ABLE. - -II. The failure of the present system with the able, the vagrant, the -loafer, and the unemployed, who are physically and mentally strong, is -the most marked; and reform is an immediate necessity. The Government -can hardly go through another Session without doing something to prevent -the growth of pauperism among comparatively young men, to check the -habit of vagrancy which threatens to become violent, and to meet the -demands of the honest unemployed. - -The present system deals with the able-bodied by means of the -workhouse--the labour yard, the casual ward, the test workhouse--and -also by means of out relief and the Unemployed Workmen’s Act. The -Commission--Majority and Minority--condemn each of these means. - -_The workhouse_, we are told, creates the loafer. “The moment this -class of man”--i.e., the easy-going, healthy fellow who feels no call -to work--“becomes an inmate so surely does he deteriorate into a worse -character still”; and we read also that “the features in the present -workhouse system make it not only repellent (as is perhaps necessary), -but also, as is unnecessary, degrading. Of all the spectacles of human -demoralization now existing in these islands, there can scarcely be -anything worse than the scene presented by the men’s day ward of a -large urban workhouse during the long hours of leisure on week-days -or the whole of Sundays. Through the clouds of tobacco-smoke that -fill the long low room, the visitor gradually becomes aware of the -presence of one or two hundred wholly unoccupied males, of every -age between fifteen and ninety--strong and vicious men, men in all -stages of recovery from debauch, weedy youths of weak intellect, old -men dirty and disreputable ... worthy old men, men subject to fits, -occasional monstrosities or dwarfs, the feeble-minded of every kind, -the respectable labourer prematurely invalided, the hardened, sodden -loafer, and the temporarily unemployed man who has found no better -refuge. In such places there are congregated this winter certainly more -than 10,000 healthy, able-bodied men.” - -_The labour yard_, we learn, tends to become the habitual resort of the -incapables, and “a stay there will demoralize even the best workmen”. -“In short,” says the Minority Report, “whether as regards those whom it -includes or those whom it excludes for relief, the labour yard is a -hopeless failure, and positively encourages the worst kind of -under-employment.” The expense of this failure is so great that in one -yard the stone broken cost the Guardians £7 a ton. - -_Casual wards_ have long been known as the nurseries of a certain class -of vagrant--men and women who become familiar with their methods and -settle down to their use. They fail as resting-places for honest seekers -after work as they travel from town to town, and they fail also--even -when made harsher than prisons--to stimulate energy. Poor Law reformers, -like Mr. Vallance, have through many years called for their abolition. - -_Test workhouses_ represent the supreme effort of the ingenuity of Poor -Law officials, and are still recommended to Guardians. In these -establishments everything which could possibly attract is excluded. The -house is organized after the fashion of a prison, although the officials -have neither the training nor the knowledge considered to be necessary -for men who hold their fellow-men in restraint; hard and uncongenial -work is enforced; the diet is of the plainest, and no association during -leisure hours is permitted. The test is so severe that the house is apt -to remain empty till the Guardians, overborne by the expense, admit -inmates too weak to bear the strain, who therefore break down the -system. The inspectors claim credit for success, because applications -are prevented, but the Minority Report deals with this claim in an -admirably written examination of the whole position. It is no success, -for on account of the severity more men are driven on to the streets to -provoke the charity of the unthinking; and it is a failure if such -treatment adds to the sum of envy, hatred and malice. - -The Commissioners of 1834 aimed at abolishing _out-door relief_ for the -able-bodied, and to this end the central authority and its inspectorate -has worked, but exceptions have been allowed “on account of sudden or -urgent necessity,” and now it is reported that 10,000 different men, -mostly between the ages of twenty-five and fifty-five, receive such -relief in the course of the year, while at least 10,000 or 20,000 more -able-bodied men are allowed out relief by the special authority of the -Local Government Board. These numbers tend to increase, and will go on -increasing, because nothing is done to give them “such physical or -mental restorative treatment as will fit them for employment”. - -The means, therefore, by which the Poor Law has attempted to deal with -the able-bodied may be said to have disastrously failed. Distress has -grown, and the people have been demoralized. Ill-will threatens to -become violent. The nation, in a hurry to do something, passed the -Unemployed Act of 1905, and the Commissioners deal faithfully with the -work of the Distress Committees created under that Act. There is much in -the work which is suggestive, and many recommendations, such as those -which affect the use of labour and farm colonies, are founded on their -experience. But the Commissioners are unanimous in the conclusion that -relief works are economically useless. “Either,” they say, “ordinary -work is undertaken, in which case it is merely forestalled ... or else -it is sham work, which we believe to be even more demoralizing than -direct relief.” “Municipal relief works” (to which the work given by -district councils has approximated) “have not assisted, but rather -prejudiced, the better class of workman ... they have encouraged the -casual labourers by giving them a further supply of the casual work -which is so dear to their hearts and so demoralizing to their character. -They have encouraged and not helped the incapables; they have -discouraged and not helped the capables.” - -The present system of dealing with the able-bodied, whether by the means -adopted by the Poor Law or by those introduced under the Unemployed Act, -fails under our test. It does not relieve those who need relief, it -spreads wide demoralization, and it stirs ill-will. - -The Commissioners recognize the failure, and recommend a new system. The -two Reports agree in their main recommendations. There is need for a -check to be placed on the employment of boys “in uneducative and -blind-alley occupations,” and for the better education of children, both -in elementary and continuation schools. There should be a national -system of labour exchanges working automatically all over the country, -so that workers permanently displaced might easily pass to new -occupations, travelling expenses, if necessary, being paid or advanced -out of the common purse, and so that the need of work might be tested by -the offer of a situation. The Minority Report would enforce on certain -employers the use of the register. Both Reports agree that the work -given out by Government departments and by local authorities might be -regularized, so that most public work would be done when there was least -demand for labour by private employers. If at any time afforestation was -undertaken, this also might be put on the market as the labour barometer -showed labour to be in excess of the demand. Both agree also that there -should be some scheme of unemployment insurance, and that with this -object subsidies might be given to the unemployment funds of trade -unions. - -These recommendations, if adopted, might be expected to do much to -prevent many of the evils of casual labour and unemployment from falling -on future generations; but to meet existing needs the Commissioners -recommend emigration and industrial training in institutions, some close -to the homes of the workers, some in the country, some farm colonies -from which workers would be free to come and go, some detention colonies -in which they would be detained for more or less long periods. - -There would thus be established, says the Majority Report, in every -county four organizations with the common object of maintaining or -restoring the workmen’s independence: (_a_) An organization for -insurance against unemployment, (_b_) a labour exchange, (_c_) a -voluntary aid committee, (_d_) an authority which will deal with -individuals, according to their needs, by emigration, by migration, or -by means of day training institutions, farm colonies and detention -colonies. The Minority would secure the same provision by means of one -organization in each county. - -The workman who, being out of work or unfit for any work on the labour -register, or for whom no work is possible, would be referred to the -official who, by inquiry, would decide whether he should be trained, -mentally or physically, in some near institution, or whether he should -be sent to some special and more distant labour colony, his family -receiving sufficient money for their daily support. If, having had a -fair opportunity, he refused to work, or if he resumed the practice of -mendicity or vagrancy, he would, by a magistrate’s order, be committed -to a detention colony, where, again, he would be given the opportunity -during three or four years of gaining the power of self-support. - -This in a few words represents the dealing practically recommended by -both Reports. It meets the test which the present system fails to meet. -The relief is in every case provided which need demands, and, as it is -accompanied by training, demoralization is prevented. At the same time, -as no relief is given without training, every one is stimulated, while -no one can have a sense of injustice. Even those committed to detention -colonies are so committed that they may have a chance of restoration. -The scheme, it will be observed, deals only with those mentally and -physically fit to earn their own living. Those not so fit must be -classed among the “unable,” and receive treatment which may be compared -with that recommended for the feeble-minded. - -The two Reports thus agree in their main recommendations, though there -are important differences which demand subsequent consideration. The -principal difference is that, whereas the Majority Report would make the -authority controlling the use of training institutions subject to the -county council, the Minority would make it subject only to a central -department, such as the Board of Trade or a Labour Minister, who would -appoint an official in every county who would superintend the labour -registry, the organization for insurance against unemployment, and also -the use of the training institutions. - -The weight of argument would seem to lie with the Minority’s -recommendation. One authority--with whom might easily be associated an -advisory board from the employers and workmen of the district, and a -council representing local charities--having the control of the labour -registry, would be best fitted to deal with individuals wanting work; -and a national authority, having knowledge of training institutions all -over the country, would have the best opportunity for putting a man in -the institution most likely to meet his needs. - -It might, indeed, be said in conclusion of the whole matter that the -recommendations of the Majority Report as to the able-bodied might be -adopted, with the substitution of a national for a local authority in -the control of the use and management of the training institutions; or -that those of the Minority might be adopted, with certain modifications -and additions suggested in the Majority Report. - - - THE FIRST THING TO BE DONE. - -When there is such a body of agreement, when that body of agreement -applies to the treatment of the able-bodied whose needs are most -pressing, and when the recommendations can be adopted with very little -interference with existing machinery, the obvious course seems to be the -immediate dealing with the unemployed. - -There is always a danger lest public interest should be diverted to -discuss principles, and it may be that the advocates of a “new Poor Law” -and those advocating “no Poor Law” may fill the air with their cries -while nothing is done for the poor, just as the advocates of different -principles of religious education have prevented knowledge reaching the -children. The first thing to do before this discussion begins, and -before the Guardians and their friends, obtrusively or subtly, make -their protest felt, is, I submit, to take the action which affects the -able-bodied. There is no doubt that there should be some form of more -continuous education enforced on boys and girls up to the age of -eighteen. There is no doubt that there should be labour registries, some -form of unemployment insurance, and some regularization of industry, -which must be undertaken by a national authority. It would not be -unreasonable to ask that the same national authority should organize -training institutions, and through its own local official select -individuals for training. The Guardians, inasmuch as they would be -relieved of the care of casual wards and of provision in their -workhouses for the physically and mentally strong, might fairly be -called on to provide the necessary payment to keep the families during -the period when the wage-earners were in training. This treatment of the -able-bodied in a thorough way is suggested by the Report, and offers a -compact scheme of reform, which may be carried through as a whole -without dislocating existing machinery. - -If this be successfully done, then another step might later be taken in -dealing with the children or with the sick; and, last of all, when the -public mind has become familiar with the respective needs of different -classes, it might be decided whether, as the Majority recommend, there -should be a special relieving body, or whether, as the Minority -recommend, relief should be undertaken by other bodies in the course of -their own particular work. - -The public, or at any rate the political, mind is always most interested -in machinery, and when the cry of “rights” is raised passion is likewise -roused. If proposals are now made to abolish Guardians the interest -excited will distract attention, and many forces will be moved for their -protection. - -The chief thing at present is, it seems to me, to draw the public mind -to consider the condition of the people as it is laid bare in this -Report, to make them feel ashamed that the Poor Law has allowed, and -even encouraged, the condition, and to be persistent in insisting on -reform. The way to reform is never the easy or short way; it always -demands sacrifice, and the public will not make the hard sacrifice of -thought till they feel the sufferings and wrongs of the people. The -public will, I believe, be made both to feel and to think if the first -thing proposed is a complete scheme for dealing with the able-bodied on -lines recommended by both Reports. - - SAMUEL A. BARNETT. - - - - - WIDOWS WITH CHILDREN UNDER THE POOR LAW.[1] - - BY MRS. S. A. BARNETT. - - September, 1910. - - [1] A Paper read at the Church Congress, Cambridge. - - -The last time that I addressed this Congress of “discreet and learned -persons” was three years ago at Yarmouth, when I read a paper on “The -Ethics of the Poor Law”. It was not a specially good nor interesting -paper, but it brought me both letters and interviews, with the result -that now the lives of many people, both children and old folk, are -better and happier. God grant that this evening’s discussion may be as -fruitful. - -First let us face the magnitude of the subject for discussion--“Widows -with Children,” not out-of-works, not illegitimate, not deserted wives, -all these classes are excluded, and our subject narrowed down to married -women, with their legitimate offspring, who have lost the family’s -bread-winner. Of these, to quote the Poor Law Commissioners’ Report,[2] -in January, 1907, there were 34,749 widows and 96,342 children in -receipt of relief. The large majority of these persons were receiving -assistance in their own homes, there being only 1240 widows and 2998 -children in receipt of indoor relief in the workhouses. - - [2] Majority Report, pp. 35, 36. - -Let us, then, follow some of these 96,342 children into their homes, and -see what the nation is paying for:-- - -The first case is quoted from the Majority Report:[3]-- - - (4) “Widow with seven children, none working. Received 10s. per - week relief. Rent £5 10s. Said to be paid by friends. I visited the - home, and found it in a very dirty, I might say filthy, condition. - The woman is a sloven. She went about the house in a dazed manner. - I tried to get particulars of the way she spent her money, but - found it impossible. One of the children was at home from school - ill, but had not been seen by a doctor. It is obvious ... that a - family of eight persons could not live on 10s. per week.” - - (5) “Mrs. W., a widow with five children, receives 10s. per week. - She is a notorious drunkard, and has lately been turned out of - a house in a street where drunkards abound, because her drunken - habits disturbed the whole street. When we called she refused to - open the door; the relieving officer concluded she was drunk.” - - [3] Majority Report, p. 150. - -That the Local Government Board inspectors are and have been fully aware -that such conditions exist is shown again and again by their own words. - -Mr. Baldwyn Fleming said:[4]-- - - “There were many cases receiving outdoor relief where the - circumstances ... were very undesirable.... The relieving officers - were well acquainted with the cases.” - - [4] _Ibid._, p. 151. - -Mr. Wethered reported:-- - - “Some were clean and tidy, but in very many instances the rooms were - dirty, ill kept, and sometimes verminous”. - -Mr. Bagenal’s experience speaks of the out-relief class as “Bankrupt in -pocket and character,” and describes their homes in these words:-- - - “Cleanliness and ventilation are not considered of any account. - The furniture is always of the most dilapidated kind. The beds - generally consist of dirty palliasses or mattresses with very - scanty covering. The atmosphere is offensive, even fetid, and the - clothing of the individuals--old and young--is ragged and filthy. - The children are neglected, and furnish the complaints of the - National Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Children.” - -Mr. Williams said:-- - - “I found far too much intemperance, and sometimes even drunkenness, in - cases in which out-relief was being granted.... Closely allied to it - were filth, both of persons and surroundings, and sadder even was the - neglect and resultant cruelty to the children, who were ill-fed and - ill-clad.” - -“Exceptional cases!” I hear you say; “why dwell on them?” So I will read -you the words of the Majority Report, ever ready to take the lenient -view of the work of the Guardians. Such cases, it reports, “occur with -sufficient frequency to be a very potent influence in perpetuating -pauperism and propagating disease”. - -Perhaps, however, figures will convey more startlingly the facts. In -order to classify the investigators divided the mothers into four -classes[5]--I., good; II., mediocre; III., very unsatisfactory, i.e., -slovenly and slipshod; IV., bad, i.e., drunkards, immoral, wilfully -neglecting their children. - - [5] Minority Report, p. 753. - -The percentages in the rural districts were 19 per cent in the third -class, 6 per cent in the fourth. “In the towns conditions were, as a -rule, much worse.” In one urban union 18 per cent came under Class IV. -In another great union the appalling percentage rose to 22 per cent. To -sum up, the number of children on out relief on 1 January, 1908, in -“very unsatisfactory” homes in England and Wales, was more than 30,000; -while 20,000 were being paid for in homes “wholly unfit for children”. -“We can add nothing,” say the Commissioners, “to the force of these -terrible figures.” - -Neither are the evils only moral ones. “Investigation,” write the -authors of the Minority Report, “as to the physical condition of these -outdoor relief children in London, Liverpool, and elsewhere brings to -light innumerable cases of untreated sores and eczema, untreated -erysipelas and swollen glands, untreated ringworm, heart disease, and -phthisis,” a seed crop the products of which are the unemployed and -unemployable. - -But now I would propose that we leave these haunts of evil and go to see -the home of a respectable widow who is endeavouring to bring up her -children to be God-fearing and industrious. - - “Mother a seamstress, earning about 9s. a week, and the Board of - Guardians granting another 6s. Four children (eleven, nine, six, - and two) made happy by the motherly love of a steady, methodical - and careful woman, who, however, cannot support them except by - working unceasingly, as well as by getting charitable help towards - their clothes from the Church, country holidays from the Children’s - Country Holiday Fund, official help in dinners from the Educational - Authority, and medical help from the health visitor or nurse - engaged by the Town Council.” - -What a confusion of sources, what want of inquiry, what danger of -overlapping; five organizations to aid the same family, three of them -State supplied, two supported by religious or philanthropic persons. On -this confusion, which is not only extravagant to the ratepayers, but -corrupting to the character of the recipients, the Minority Report lays -great stress. - -Time forbids me to give more examples, but with this vision of wholesome -family affection let us read with attention the following words from the -Minority Report:--[6] - - “In the vast majority of cases the amount allowed by the Guardians is - not adequate”. “The children are under-nourished, many of them poorly - dressed, and many barefooted.... The decent mother’s one desire is - to keep herself and her children out of the workhouse. She will, if - allowed, try to do this on an impossibly inadequate sum, until both - she and her children become mentally and physically deteriorated.”... - “It must be remembered,” adds a medical expert, “that semi-starvation - is not a painful process, and its victims do not recognize what is - happening.” - - [6] Minority Report, p. 747. - -Do not all of us who know our parishes know that woman? Her poverty, her -strenuousness, her patience, her fatigue, her hopefulness, her periods -of hopelessness, and above, below, around all her Mother-love and her -faith in God--and what is the result of her efforts, her heroism? -Children strong, healthy, skilled, able to support her in her old age -and themselves rear a family worthy of such noble moral ancestry? No! -her reward will be to see her children weakly men and undergrown girls, -all alike in having no stamina, among the first to be pushed out of the -labour market. All the love, all the industry, all the heroism ever -showered by devoted mothers cannot take the place of milk and bread and -air and warmth. - -But, it may be asked, “Why does this careful mother so dread the -workhouse; there, at least, although she herself would be deprived of -her freedom, she would know that her children were well cared for!” To -reply to this question it will be necessary once more to turn to the -ponderous Blue Book and search the 1238 pages for descriptions of what -goes on behind the great walls of those pauper palaces. - -It is true that the widow has not read the reports nor even heard of the -Poor Law Commission and its colossal labours, worthy of the gratitude -and reverence of all who love their country. But these things filter out -though not couched in official language. “I can’t a-bear of them to go, -ma’am,” says some work-beaten mother. “There’s Mrs. Jones, she lost her -baby when they had to go in, as her husband was took with galloping -consumption, and her Billy got bad eyes and Susie seemed to lose all her -gaiety like.” “No! I’d rather go hungry than see them that way and not -be able to kiss ’em when they cries.” But is it true? It is -understandable that individual homes which the Guardians only subsidize -may not always be all that they could wish, but when the children are -entirely under their care surely what this poor woman alleges cannot be -true. Alas! it is far less than the truth. Let us read again and see how -the children, not being babies, fare when they are kept in the -workhouses. - -The following are extracts:[7]-- - - “The children are not kept separate from the adult inmates. The - children’s wards left on our minds a marked impression of confusion - and defective administration.... The eyes of some of the children - seemed suspiciously ‘weak’ and in two or three cases to be - suffering from some serious inflammation.” - - “The chief defect here, as in so many workhouses, is in the - accommodation for the children. The girls use the sewing-room as - a day-room. The older children go to school one and a half miles - distant, taking bread and butter or jam with them, and dining on - their return when the other inmates have their tea. The dining-hall - is used by all inmates at the same time.... Altogether, there is - great need for reform in the treatment of the children.” - - [7] Majority Report, pp. 186, 187. - -It is true that children of school age maintained in the workhouses -attend the public elementary schools, save for 651 who are still -educated within workhouse walls, but the school hours account only for -about one-third of the children’s waking existence, and during the other -two-thirds, which include the long winter evenings, Saturdays and -Sundays, and all school holidays, the workhouse is still their only -home. - - “We cannot,” says the Minority Report,[8] “too emphatically express - our disagreement with those who accept this [the attendance of - children reared in workhouses at public elementary schools] as any - excuse for retaining children in the workhouse at all.... We paid - special attention to this point of the provision for children on - our visits to workhouses, large and small, in town and country, in - England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. We saw hardly any workhouse - or poorhouse in which the accommodation for children was at all - satisfactory. We unhesitatingly agree with the Inspector of the - Local Government Board, who gave it to us as his opinion that ‘no - serious argument in defence of the workhouse system is possible. - The person who would urge that the atmosphere and associations of - a workhouse are a fit up-bringing for a child merely proves his - incapacity to express an intelligent opinion upon the matter.’” - - [8] Minority Report, pp. 802, 803. - - “We are strongly of opinion,” says the Majority Report,[9] “that - effective steps should be taken to secure that the maintenance of - children in the workhouse be no longer recognized as a legitimate - way of dealing with them.” - - [9] Majority Report, p. 187. - -This evil is of long standing; for a dozen years the pressing necessity -for the removal from such surroundings of these State-dependent children -has been represented to successive Presidents of the Local Government -Board, and to Boards of Guardians, and the saddest fact of all is that, -at the date of the latest Local Government Board Return, 24,175 children -(more than one-third of the total number who are entirely maintained out -of the rates) are still being reared in this unsuitable environment, -actually a larger number than in any preceding year since 1899. - -To all those gentlemen who have read the Royal Commissioners’ Report I -must apologize for quoting it so largely. Those who have not read it -will recognize something of the extreme interest of its contents and -take it for their winter’s reading. - -But to return again to the Widows and Children on out relief. The -Majority Report says:-- - - “The Guardians give relief without knowing whether the recipients - can manage on it; they go on giving it without knowing how they are - managing on it.” “In short, there is a widespread system of trying - to compensate for inadequacy of knowledge by inadequacy of relief.” - -This is a severe condemnation both of the Guardians and the Local -Government Board, whose inspectors we know had been long aware of the -facts. Moved by the outcry caused by the publication of these -revelations, a circular on the “Administration of Outdoor Relief” was -issued by the Central Authority last March to the Boards of Guardians, -calling on them for greater discrimination in the selection of cases and -the adoption of uniform principles. - -That these demands were not unnecessary is shown by the following -instances of unequal treatment given in the Reports:-- - - “In one case a widow with four dependent children, and one boy - earning 15s. a week, with a total income to the family of 25s., - received 7s. from the Guardians, bringing their total up to 32s. a - week for six persons. One Board gives 6d. and 5 lb. of flour per - week for each child; another family received 5s. a week, bringing - their total to 51s. 6d. per week; another 6s. a week for the mother - and three children (all little tots) with ‘no other known income’.” - -The action of Boards on this circular has been varied. Some have -declared themselves “satisfied with their proceedings,” and that “no -alteration is required”. Others have set to work to settle a scale of -payments for certain defined cases; but though every one must rejoice -that a circular (though a belated one) has been issued from the Local -Government Board, and that the Guardians are moving, yet the proposals -do not seem to me to meet the case. The world cannot be divided into -good or bad, white or black--infinite are the shades of grey. More, much -more, than adequacy or uniformity of payment is required. Many classes -of help are needed. I would suggest as possible solutions of this -difficult problem (and my long experience of thirty-three years’ life in -Whitechapel does not allow me to minimize the difficulty) the following -plans:-- - -I.--The children could be boarded out with their own mothers. We have to -travel back to Egypt to see how well it succeeded when tried on Moses, -and it succeeded because it obtains for the child the one essential -basis of all education--i.e. Love. The plan is based on quite a simple -principle. - -Women have to be engaged by the State to rear children--it is done in -workhouses, barrack schools, scattered homes, village communities, and -in boarding-out. Why should not some of the women so engaged be the -children’s own mothers? The mother so employed must be of good -character, and have thrifty, home-making virtues, the same sort of -qualities, in short, as are sought for in the foster parents of -boarded-out children. She would be moved into the country, or into a -healthy suburb, and, if her own family is not large enough adequately to -employ her, she could have one or two more children or babies sent to -her. She would be under close inspection, and the Boarding-out Committee -would make her feel that, though the children were her own, yet it was -the duty of the State to see that she did her duty to them on a high -plane. - -For some families this seems to me the best of all possible solutions, -but I have to recognize that it is not practicable except for -self-respecting worthy women. - -II.--To suit those affectionate mothers who are too untutored to do -without set tasks of employment and daily supervision, there might be -some sort of modification of the plan. Some twenty of these women could -be placed in small cottages, or tenements in a quadrangle, and employed -for part of the day at one of the giant official institutions for the -infirm or imbecile which are scattered all over the country. The -children could be kept at school for dinner, and care taken that the -women’s hours of labour were short enough to enable them to home-make -morning and evening when the children return from school. - -III.--For other women, who, as the Report says, are “too ignorant to -be effective mothers,” and yet whose only thought is their children, -teaching colonies might be established, the mothers putting themselves -into training, with the hope of being ultimately counted as worthy to -rear their own children at the expense of the State--a goal to strive -for when they have mastered the skilled trade of “mothering”. - -IV.--For women who are already employed at suitable work, special -arrangements could be made as the condition of their receiving -out-relief, either concerning their hours of labour or to secure the -household assistance necessary to maintain their children as children of -every class ought to be kept. I can imagine certain employers, such as -the ever public-spirited Mr. Cadbury, being willing to arrange shifts of -labour to suit these needs. - -V.--From other mothers the children should be removed altogether, and -for these children I should counsel emigration, for all workers can -cite cases of the ruin of young people, when they reach wage-earning -ages, by bad parents claiming their rights over them. - -To turn these suggestions into facts would take much work, thought, -patience, prayer. “Each case,” as the Majority report says, “seems to -call for special and individual attention.” But is it not worth while? -Can we as Christians allow the present condition of things to go on? - -Gentlemen, there are 178,520 children in your parishes being more or -less supported by the State. Do the clergy know them? What have the -clergy done about them? Have many joined the Board of Guardians? Have -they remonstrated at the inadequacy of the relief given? Have they made -themselves even acquainted with the facts of Poor Law administration in -their unions? The other day, I, by chance, met a clergyman--a nice man, -vicar of a big church in a large watering-place. His conversation showed -he was alert and up-to-date on all controversial matters, even to the -place of a comma in the Lord’s Prayer, but to my questions as to how the -Poor Law children were dealt with in his parish he had to reply, and he -did so unashamed, “I don’t know”. I remember as a child thinking that it -was a cruel injustice to punish the man for breaking the Sabbath, when -he did not know that there was a law to command him to keep it, and now, -looking back down the vista of many years’ experience, I understand that -Moses but expressed in a detail the law of God which affects the whole -of social life. The man was punished because he did not know. At least -he bore the penalty of his own ignorance, but in this case it is the -children who are punished because of our ignorance. - -No! the clergy have not known hitherto; but now they can know. The facts -are before them in that vast and fascinating storehouse of knowledge -bound in blue, and, having learnt, they can speak; and speaking, what -will they say? - -Will they blame the Guardians? Will they scold the Local Government -Board? Will they shrug their shoulders and talk about “the difficulties -of social problems in a complex civilization,” or will each say to -himself, “Thou art the man” whose fault this is, and then speak and work -to get things altered? - -Gentlemen, you tell us often that children, child-bearing, -child-teaching, child-rearing, child-loving is the vocation of my sex. -I agree with you. I want no better calling myself than home-making and -child protection, and therefore you will not take it amiss that I, a -woman, speak boldly for the children’s sake. You have joined in the -neglect of these State-dependent children hitherto. You have allowed -them by your ignorance to be injured. Are you now going to injure them -further by sitting helplessly down before these terrible revelations? -The whole world knows how England treats State-supported children, its -national assets, the representatives of those the Master took up in -His arms--the whole world waits to see what England will do. It is for -you to lead. Are you going to accept the facts as irremediable, or by -getting them altered thus pay your vows to the Lord? - - HENRIETTA O. BARNETT. - - - - - THE PRESS AND CHARITABLE FUNDS.[1] - - BY CANON BARNETT. - - July, 1906. - - [1] From “The Independent Review”. By permission of Messrs. Fisher -Unwin & Co. - - -The Press had been the Church’s ablest ally in its effort to fulfil the -apostolic precept, and teach the nation to remember the poor. The social -instinct may be native to humanity, but it requires an impulse and a -direction. The Press has again and again stirred such an impulse and -given such direction. Charity was never more abundant, and methods of -relief were never more considered. - -The Press has been the ally of the Church in creating the better world -of the present. But the Press, caught in these later years (as so many -persons and bodies have been caught) by the lust of doing and the praise -thereof, has aspired to be an administrator of relief. It has not been -content with the rôle of a prophet or of a teacher, it has taken a place -alongside of Ladies Bountiful, Relief Committees, and Boards of -Guardians. It has invaded another province, and rival newspapers have -had their own funds, their own agents, and their own systems of relief. - -The result is probably an increase in the volume of money given by the -readers of the papers. A large fund may, however, be a fallacious test -of sympathy. The money subscribed under the pressure of appeal may have -been diverted from other objects; and gifts are sometimes made, not for -the relief of the poor so much as for the relief of the givers. People -have been known to give, that they may enjoy themselves more -comfortably; and they may relieve their feelings by a gift, so as to be -free to spend a family’s weekly income on their own dinner. A large fund -is not, therefore, a sufficient evidence of increased sympathy. - -But let it be granted that the Press action has brought more money to -the service of the poor. The question is: Has it been for good? - - - I. - -The first characteristic of a Press fund is that, when a newspaper -undertakes the administration of relief, it has to create its own -machinery. It may begin by sending down to the distressed district a -clever young man with a cab-load of tickets. Nothing seems easier than -to give to those who ask, and so money is poured into the hands of -applicants, or sent to the clergy for distribution. A rough experience -soon enforces the necessity of inquiry and organization. In West Ham, in -the winter of 1904-5, when the Borough Council was spending £28,000 on -relief, when the Guardians had 20,000 persons on their out-relief lists -and 1300 men in the stone yard, the Press funds were distributed without -any inquiry or any attempt at co-operation. I gather a few notes from -reports made at the time by a resident in the district. - - “Mr. C---- received a large sum from the _D. T._ He relieved 400 - regularly; and there was no interchange of names.” - - “I found one street in which nearly every one had relief.” - - “I was asked to visit a starving case on Sunday; and found a good - dinner stowed away under the table.” - - “One man in receipt of 47s. a week in wages received twelve tickets - from the _D. N._ on Christmas Eve, and did not turn up to his work for - four days, though extra pay was offered for Boxing Day.” - - “A man,” says a relieving officer, “came to me on Friday and had - 3s. He went to the Town Hall and got 4s. His daughter got 3s. from - the same source; his wife 5s. from a Councillor, and late the same - night a goose.” - -Another relieving officer reported:-- - - “Outside my office a 4-lb. loaf could be bought for 1d., and a 2s. - relief ticket for two pots of beer.” - - “The public-houses did far better when the relief funds were at - work.” - - “My impression is, that more than 500 people who were in receipt of - out relief in my district received relief from the funds; but we - were never consulted.” - - “The relieving officers had to be under police protection for four - months.” - -Such an experience naturally forced the newspapers to consider their -ways. The system of doles was abandoned, and local organizations were -established to give relief in some approved method. Let it be granted, -without prejudice, that the administration was made so effective as to -justify a report of good work to the subscribers to the fund. Let it be -granted that a large number of the unemployed were given work, that -families were emigrated, and that the hands of existing agencies were -strengthened. There are still two criticisms which may be directed -against the Press position as an administrator of relief. The first is, -that the experience by which it learns wisdom is disastrous to the -people. The waste of money is itself serious, but that is a small matter -alongside of the bitter feeling, the suspicion, the loss of heart, the -loss of self-respect, the lying, which are encouraged when gifts are -obtained by clamour and deceit. Gifts may be poisons as well as food, -and gifts badly given make an epidemic of moral disease. - -The second criticism is, that the organization, when it is created, -disturbs, displaces, and confuses other organizations, while it is not -itself permanent. The Press action leaves, it may be said, a trail of -demoralization, and does not remain sufficiently long in existence to -clear up its own abuses. - - - II. - -Another characteristic of a Press fund is, that a newspaper raises its -money by word pictures of family poverty. Its interviewers break in on -the sacredness of home. They come to the poor man’s house without the -sympathy of long experience, without any friendly introduction, with an -eye only to the “copy” which may best provoke the gifts of their -readers. They write about the secrets of sorrow and suffering. They make -public the bitterness of heart which is precious to the soul, and thus -intermeddle with the grief which no stranger can understand. Their tales -lower the standard of human dignity; they make the poor who read the -tales proud of conditions of which they should be ashamed, and they make -the rich think of the distress rather than of the self-respect of their -neighbours. - -The effects of the Press method of raising money by uncovering the -secrets of private sorrow may be summed up under three heads. - -(_a_) It increases poverty. Poverty comes to be regarded as a sort of -domestic asset. The family which can make the greatest show of suffering -has the greatest chance of relief, and examples are found of people who -have made themselves poor, or appear poor, for the sake of the fund. - -(_b_) It degrades the poor. A subtle effect of this advertisement of -private suffering is, that people so advertised lose their self-respect. -They, as it were, like to expose themselves, and make a show of what -ought to be hidden; they glory in their shame, and accept at others’ -hands what they themselves ought to earn. They beg, and are not ashamed; -they are idle, and are not self-disgraced. They are content to be -pitied. - -(_c_) It hardens the common conscience. A far-reaching effect of these -tales of suffering heaped on suffering is, that the public demands more -and more sensation to move it to benevolence. The natural human instinct -which makes a man care for a man is weakened; and he who yesterday -shrank from the thought of a sorrowing neighbour, is to-day hardly moved -by a tale of starvation, anguish, and death. - -Feeling, we are taught, which is acted on and not actively used, becomes -dulled; and the Press tales which work on the feeling of their readers -at last dry up the fountain of real charity. The public in a way finds -its interest, if not its enjoyment, in the news of others’ suffering. - - - III. - -A third characteristic of a Press fund is, the daily bold advertisement -of the amount received. Rival funds boast themselves one against -another; and rivalry is successful in drawing in thousands and tens of -thousands of pounds. The magnitude of these sums is, however, always -misleading; and people for whom the money is subscribed think there is -no end to the resources for their relief. The demand is increased; -people pour in from the country to share the benefit; workmen lay down -their tools to put in their claims; energy is relaxed; greed is -encouraged; and, when it is found that the relief obtained is small, -there are suspicion and discontent. The failure of the funds which -depend on advertisement suggests the wisdom of the Divine direction, -that charity should be in secret. - -Such are some of the criticisms which I would offer on the Press funds. -I grant that they apply to all “funds”; and most of us who have tried to -“remember the poor” have seen our work broken by the intrusion of some -outside and benevolent agency. The truth is, that the only gift which -deserves the credit of charity is the personal gift--what a man gives at -his own cost, desiring nothing in return, neither thanks nor credit. -What a man gives, directed by loving sympathy with a neighbour he knows -and respects, this is the charity which is blessed; and its very -mistakes are steps to better things. A “fund” cannot easily have these -qualities of charity. Its agents do not give at their own cost; its -gifts cannot be in secret; it cannot walk along the path of friendship; -it is bound to investigate. When, therefore, any “fund” assumes the ways -of charity, when it claims irresponsibility, when it expects gratitude, -when it is unequal and irregular in its action, it justifies the strange -cry we have lately heard: “Curse your charity”. - -A “fund,” voluntary or legal--it seems to me--should represent an effort -to do justice, and should follow the ways of justice. Its object should -be, not to express pity, or even sympathy, and it should not ask for -gratitude. Its object is to right wrong, to redress the unfairness which -follows the triumph of success, and give to the weak and disherited a -share in the prosperity they have done their part to create. A “fund” -because its object is to do justice, ought to follow scientific lines; -it ought to be guided by sound judgment; it ought to be administered by -skilled officials; and it ought to do nothing which can lower any man’s -strength and dignity. On the contrary, it ought to do everything to open -to the lowest the way of honourable living. Its action must be just, and -seem to be just; it must represent the mind, not of one class only, but -of all classes. - -There have been “funds” which more or less approach this ideal. The -Mansion House Fund of 1903-4 issued a Report which stands as a model of -what is possible; and its ideal is that of the ablest Poor Law -reformers. Press funds created by excitement, and directed in a hurry, -will hardly reach such an ideal. They will neither by their genesis nor -by their action represent the ways of justice. - -The Press, I submit, deserts its high calling when it offers itself as a -means by which its readers may easily do their duty to the poor. The -relief of the poor can never be easy--the easiest way is almost always -the wrong way. The Press, when it makes it possible for rich people to -satisfy their consciences by a donation to its “funds” lets them escape -their duty of effort, of sacrifice, and of personal sympathy. It spoils -the public, as foolish parents spoil children by taking away the call to -effort. - -The Press has great possibilities in teaching people to remember the -poor. It might educate the national conscience to make a national -effort to remove the causes of want of employment, physical weakness, -and drunkenness. It might rouse the rich to the patriotism which the -Russian noble expressed, when he said that “the rights of property must -give way to national needs”. It might set the public mind to think of -a heart of the Empire in which there should be no infant of days, no -young man without hope, and no old man without the means of peace. -The Press has done much. It seems to me a loss if, for the sake of the -immediate earthly link, if for the sake of creating a “fund” to relieve -present distress, it misses the eternal gain--the creation of a public -mind which will prevent any distress. - - SAMUEL A. BARNETT. - - - - - WHAT IS POSSIBLE IN POOR LAW REFORM.[1] - - BY CANON BARNETT. - - 22 September, 1909. - - [1] From “The Westminster Gazette”. By permission of the Editor. - - -The Archbishop of Canterbury did good service in the House of Lords in -forcing upon public attention the condition of the people as has been -revealed by the Poor Law Commission. There was only a small attendance -of Peers to hear his statement, and the public mind has hardly been -stirred. The imagination is not trained in England. For want of it, as -Lord Goschen used to say, our fathers lost America, and for want of it -we are likely to blunder into social trouble. The Lords, who are so keen -in defence of property, do not realize that there are greater dangers to -property in the presence of the unemployed than in the weapons forged by -the Budget, and the public mind forgets in the summer the “bitter cries” -which every winter rise from broken homes and shattered lives. - -But the facts remain as they have been stated by the Archbishop. There -is poverty; there is distress; the community suffers grievous loss while -strong men lose their power to work and hearts are hardened by want. All -the time “out relief is administered so as to foster and encourage dirt, -disease, and immorality, and the workhouse accommodation for the aged is -in some cases so dreary as to be absolutely appalling, while in others -it is palatial”. The Archbishop “absolutely challenged the statement -that these difficulties could be met except by a new system under a new -law”. The whole evidence showed that things are radically wrong, and -rendered it impossible to argue that “we are getting on well enough”. - -Mr. Burns rests in the progress under the Guardians’ administration -during the last sixty years. “In-door pauperism has dropped from 62 to -26 per 1000, out-door pauperism from 54 to 16, and child pauperism from -26 to 7 per 1000,” while “the cost per head of in-door paupers has risen -from £7 18s. to £13 5s. and out-door pauperism from £3 11s. to £6 1s. -5d.” Striking figures, but they do not alter the facts which the -inquiries of the Commissioners have brought to light. There are still -workhouses which are hot-beds of corruption; there are still thousands -of children brought up under pauper influences, which the boasted -education for a few hours a week in an elementary school cannot stem; -there are still feeble-minded people of both sexes who, for want of -care, increase the number of lunatics and criminals; there are still -thousands of children who cannot be properly clothed or fed on the -pittance of out relief; there are still strong men and women, stirred by -a deterrent system to become enemies of society, and to defy, by -idleness, the authority which would, by severity, force them to work. -Let any one whose mind Mr. Burns’s figures satisfy dip into the pages of -the Poor Law Commission Report, and certainly his heart will be -indignant. - -“No greater indictment” it has been truly said, “has ever been published -against our civilization.” - -Progress indeed cannot be judged by comparative figures. In 1850 it -would have marked a great change if pauperism had dropped from 62 to 26 -per 1000, but in 1910 it may be that 26 per 1000 constitutes as heavy a -burden. Truth depends on relation. The social conscience has become much -more sensitive. This generation cannot brook wrongs which previous -generations brooked. Our self-respect is wounded by the thought of -poverty which our care might remove. Poverty itself is recognized to be -something worse than want of food. Every citizen is necessary, not only -that he may work for the commonwealth, but that he may contribute by his -thoughtful interest to make government efficient and human. The standard -by which individual value is judged has been raised. Figures are not by -themselves measures of progress, because every unit in the course of -years changes its value, and to-day, as compared with sixty years ago, -each man, woman and child may be said to have a worth which has -increased tenfold. Official figures do not recognize worth and are -therefore irritating; they increase and do not allay bitterness. - -Something then must be done, and the debate in the House of Commons -suggests something which might be done immediately. The Prime Minister -and the Government might at once adopt certain recommendations on which -there is general agreement, and which would not involve the immediate -substitution of a new body of administration in the place of the -Guardians. It might, for instance, 1. establish compulsory continuation -schools; 2. make adequate provision for the feeble-minded; and 3. -develop some method of training for the able-bodied and able-minded who -have lost their way in the industrial world. - -There is general agreement as to the treatment of the feeble-minded, as -to the training of the young, and as to the way of discipline for the -unemployed. - -The public has hardly recognized what is involved in the neglect of the -measures recommended for the care of the feeble-minded. They do not know -how much crime, how much poverty, and how much drunkenness may be traced -to this cause, or they would not expect the laws which assume -strong-mindedness to be effective. What effect can prison have on -characters too feeble to resolve on reformation? What appeal to -independence can have weight with those who cannot reason? Evidence -abounds in the pages of Reports, and the best thought of the times has -agreed on the recommendations. If these recommendations were put into a -Bill and adopted a reform would be achieved which would cut deeply into -the burden of unemployment and vice under which the nation now labours. - -Then again as to the training of the young. Compulsory continuation -schools might be established. - -It is grievous to reflect that while the country is expending -£23,000,000 on education, there should be a large body of men and women -without any resource other than that of the mechanical use of their -hands and without any interest to satisfy their minds. It may be that -something is wrong in our elementary schooling, but it is hard to -realize how the boy who leaves school to-day, a good reader and writer, -and of clean habits, can become the dull, ignorant, and almost helpless -man of thirty or thirty-five who stands among the unemployed at the -table of the Relief Committee. Nevertheless it is so, and the tale of -his descent has been often told. The boy, free of school, throws off -school pursuits as childish things. He will have no more to do with -books or with learning. He takes a situation where he can get the -largest wages, and where least call is made on mental effort. He has -money to spend and he spends it on the pleasures which give the most -excitement. At the age of eighteen or twenty he is no longer wanted as a -boy, and he has no skill or intelligence which would fit him for -well-paid work as a man. He becomes a casual labourer, or perhaps gets -regular employment in some mechanical occupation. Before he is forty, he -is very frequently among the “unemployed,” his hands capable only of -doing one sort of work, and his head incapable of thinking out ways or -means. His schooling has been practically wasted and he is again a -burden on the community. - -All inquiry goes to show that neglected boyhood is the chief source of -“the unemployed”. Care in securing good places for boys when they leave -school, and offers of technical teaching may do something, but these -means do not serve to create the intelligent labourer, on whom, more -than on the skilled artisan, the wealth of the country depends. “No -skilled labourer,” Mr. Edison is reported to have said, “is better than -the English, and no unskilled labourer is worse.” The intelligent -labourer is one who does common work so as to save money; one who can -understand and repeat instructions; one who can rise to an emergency; -one who serves others’ interests and finds others’ interests. - -Our labourers have not this intelligence because the boy’s mind, just -opened at school, has been allowed to close; he has been taken away from -learning just when it was becoming interesting. The obvious remedy is -compulsory continuation schools, and these have been recommended again -and again by investigators and committees. - -Let it be enacted that young persons under eighteen cannot be employed -unless their employers allow time for attendance at such schools on -three days a week, and receive a certificate of attendance--let it be -made obligatory on all young persons engaged in industrial work that -they attend such schools. Great employers like Messrs. Cadbury have -found it in their interest to make such attendance compulsory on the -young persons they employ. A Departmental Committee would soon discover -the best way of enforcing compulsion, and the Government by this simple -means would do much to stop unemployment and poverty at its source. - -Some method of training the able-bodied and able-minded unemployed might -be developed. - -These form a distinct class. They cannot be helped by relief, and they -are demoralized by relief works. They passed through boyhood without -getting the necessary equipment for life; they have, in a sort of way, a -claim for such equipment, and failing such they must be a burden to the -community. There are some ready to respond at once; there are others -who, by long neglect, have become indolent and defiant. The first need -to be put on farms or in shops where they will receive training. - -Hollesley Bay is an example of such a farm, though the experiment has -unfortunately been confused by the introduction of men who receive -simple doles of work. But among the hundreds of married men with decent -homes, and bearing good reports from employers, there are many in whom -capacity is dormant. Pathetic indeed is their appeal, as worn in body -and mind, ragged in clothing, they tell of work lost “because motors -have taken the place of horses,” “because machinery has been -introduced,” because “boys do men’s work”; pathetic is the appeal of men -who, having lost their way in life, can see nothing before them but -endless casual jobs, in which they will lose any strength they gain by -the fresh air and food of Hollesley. If only they could be told that by -learning to work and use their brains, they would be given a chance on -the land or in the Colonies. If only they could realize that they might, -as others have done, become fit to occupy one of the cottages on the -estate, how surely they would throw their hearts into the work and feel -the joy of seeing things grow under their hands. There is no need of -controversial legislation. Training farms or shops could be provided, -and if the decision be deferred as to whether the control of the -training farm or shops should be local or national, it might be agreed -that the experiment should be made by the Board of Trade or the Board of -Agriculture. - -If the latter department took charge of the Colony, admitted only -unemployed men fitted for agriculture, trained them, and put them in the -way of taking up holdings, an experiment would be tried of immense value -for future legislature. - -Then, as to the other able-bodied and able-minded unemployed who have -become idle and almost enemies of society. It has long been agreed that -it is necessary to detain them for periods of three or four years, -during which they would be given the opportunity of learning to work. -The place of detention would not be a prison, but a School of Industry, -in which their capacities would be developed and their self-respect -encouraged. The organization of such a place of discipline might involve -thought, but its establishment need involve the Government in no long -controversy. The Poor Law Commission and the Vagrancy Commission are at -one in urging the necessity, and it must be obvious to anyone that until -some means is discovered for removing from “the unemployed” the “idle -and vagrant class,” the public mind will never AGREE TO WISE DEALING -WITH THE PROBLEM. - -Here then is something possible, something which even a Government so -burdened as the present might accomplish. The direct effect would be -great, if boys were checked on their way to the ranks of the unemployed; -if some untrained men and women were taken from the streets and restored -trained to the labour market; if the feeble-minded and the idle were -removed from unwise sympathy and unfair abuse. The indirect effect would -also be great, as the conviction would spread that the Government was -indeed taking a matter in hand which has been year by year postponed. -There would be more hope of peace and good-will between rich and poor. -When so much is at once possible, is it reasonable that nothing should -be done till a complete scheme has been devised? - -It does not seem to be over-sanguine to believe that there are earnest -men among the younger M.P.’s who, putting party aside, will agree to do -what has been shown to be possible for the young people, the -feeble-minded, and the unemployed. - - SAMUEL A. BARNETT. - - - - - CHARITY UP TO DATE.[1] - - BY CANON BARNETT. - - February, 1912. - - [1] From “The Contemporary Review”. By permission of the Editor. - - -The tender mercies of the thoughtless, as of the wicked, are often -cruel, and charity when it ceases to be a blessing is apt to become a -curse; A Mansion House fund we used in old days to count among the -possible winter horrors of East London. The boldly advertised details of -destitution, the publication of the sums collected, the hurried -distribution by irresponsible and ignorant agents, and the absence of -any policy, stirred up wild expectation and left behind a trail of -bitterness and degradation. The people were encouraged in deception, and -were led on in the way which ends in wretchedness. - -In 1903 a Committee was formed which used a Mansion House fund to -initiate a policy of providing honourable and sufficiently paid work -which would, at the same time, test the solid intention of unemployed -and able-bodied applicants. The report of that Committee has been -generally accepted, and has indeed become the basis of subsequent action -and recommendations. It seemed to us East Londoners as if the bad time -had been passed, and that henceforth charitable funds would flow in -channels to increase fruitfulness and not in floods to make devastation. - -The hope has been disappointed. Funds inaugurated by newspapers, by -agencies, or by private persons have appeared in overwhelming force, and -have followed in the old bad ways. The heart of the public has been torn -by harrowing descriptions of poverty and suffering, which the poor also -read and feel ashamed. The means of relief are often miserably -inadequate. A casual dinner eaten in the company of the most degraded -cannot help the “toiling widows and decent working-men,” “waiting in -their desolate homes to know whether there is to be an end to their -pains and privations”. Two or three hours spent in fields hardly clear -of London smoke, after a noisy and crowded ride, is not likely to give -children the refreshment and the quiet which they need for a recreative -holiday. - -Much of the charity of to-day, it has to be confessed, is mischievous, -if not even cruel, and to its charge must be laid some of the poverty, -the degradation, and the bitterness which characterize London, where, it -is said, eight million sterling are every year given away. Ruskin, forty -years ago, when he was asked by an Oxford man proposing to live in -Whitechapel what he thought East London most wanted, answered, “The -destruction of West London”. Mr. Bernard Shaw has lately, in his own -startling way, stated a case against charity, and we all know that the -legend on the banner of the unemployed, “Curse your charity,” represents -widely spread opinion. - -But--practically--what is the safe outlet for the charitable instinct? -The discussion of the abolition of charity is not practical. People -are bound to give their money to their neighbours. Human nature is -solid--individuals are parts of a whole--and the knowledge of a -neighbour’s distress stirs the desire to give something, as surely -as the savour of food stirs appetite. But as in the one case the -satisfaction of the appetite is not enough unless the food builds up -the body and strength, so in the other case the charity which relieves -the feelings of the giver is not enough unless it meets the neighbour’s -needs. Those needs are to-day very evident, and very complex. Our rich -and ease-loving society knows well that a family supported on twenty -shillings a week cannot get sufficient food, and that even forty -shillings will not provide means for holidays--for travel or for study. -There will be children whose starved bodies will never make strong -men and women; and there will be men and women who live anxious and -care-worn lives, who cannot enjoy the beauties and wonders of the world -in which they have been placed. - -There are ghastly facts behind modern unrest, which are hardly -represented by tales of destitute children and the sight of ragged -humanity congregated around the free shelters. The needs are obvious, -and they are very complex. The man whose ragged dress and haggard face -cries out for food, has within him a mind and a soul fed on the crumbs -which fall from the thoughts of the times, and he is a member of society -from which he resents exclusion. Relief of a human being’s need must -take all these facts into account. It must not give him food, at the -expense of lowering his self-respect; it must not provide him with -pleasure at the expense of degrading his capacity for enjoying his -higher calling as a man, and it must not be kind at the expense of -making independence impossible. The man who is stirred by the knowledge -of his neighbour’s needs must take a deal of trouble. - -The only safe outlet for the charitable instinct is, it may be said, -that which is made by thinking and study. The charity which is -thoughtless is charity out of date. It is always hard to be up to date, -because to be so involves fresh thinking, and it is so much easier to -say what has been said by previous generations, and to imitate the deeds -of the dead benefactors. They who would really serve their neighbour’s -needs by a gift must bring the latest knowledge of human nature to bear -on the applicant’s character, and treat it in relation to the structure -of society as that structure is now understood. They must be students of -personality and of the State. They must consider the individual who is -in need or the charitable body which makes an appeal, as carefully as a -physician considers his case; they must get the facts for a right -diagnosis, and bring to the cure all the resources of civilization. The -great benefactors of old days were those who thought out their -actions--as, for instance, when Lady Burdett-Coutts met the need of work -by building amid the squalor of East London a market beautiful enough to -be a temple, or as Lord Shaftesbury when he inaugurated ragged -schools--but new ages demand new actions, and the spiritual children of -the great dead are not they who act as they acted, but those who give -thought as they gave thought. - -The charity which does not flow in channels made by thought is the -charity which is mischievous. People comfort themselves and encourage -their indolence by saying they would rather give wrongly in ten cases -than miss one good case. The comfort is deceptive. The gift which does -not help, hinders, and it is the gifts of the thoughtless which open the -pitfalls into which the innocent fall and threaten the stability of -society. Such gifts are temptations to idleness, and widen the breach -between rich and poor. When people of good-will, in pursuit of a good -object, do good deeds which are followed by cries of distress and by -curses there is a tragedy. - -Charity up to date, whether it be from person to person or through -some society or fund, must be such as is approved by the same close -thinking as business men give to their business, or politicians to -their policy. The best form of giving must always, I think, be that -from person to person. Would that it were more used--would that those -whose feelings are stirred by the sight of many sick folk were content -to try and heal one! There are always individuals in need at our own -door--neighbours, workpeople, relatives, servants; there is always -among those we know some one whose home could be made brighter, or -whose sickness could be lightened; there are tired people who could -be sent on holiday, boys or girls who could be better educated. Gifts -which pass from person to person are something more than ordinary -gifts. “The gift without the giver is bare,” and when the giver’s -thought makes itself felt, the gift is enriched. The best form of -charity, therefore, is personal, and if for some reason this be -impossible, then the next best is that which strengthens the hands of -persons who are themselves in touch with neighbours in need, such as -are the almoners of the Society for the Relief of Distress, the members -of the Charity Organization Committees, or the residents in Settlements. - -The personal gift, inspired by good-will and directed by painstaking -thought, is the best form of charity, but people who have learnt what -organizations and associations can do will not be content unless those -means also are applied to the relief of their neighbours. The -consequence is the existence of numberless societies for numberless -objects. “Which of them may be said to represent charity up to date?” -The answer I submit is, “Those which approve themselves to thoughtful -examination”. - -Appeals which touch the feelings of the readers, with well-known names -as patrons and hopeful forecasts, should not be sufficient to draw -support. The would-be subscriber must leisurely apply his mind, and -weigh the proposals in the light of modern knowledge. The giving a -subscription involves a large responsibility; it not only withdraws from -use money which, as wages, would have employed useful labour, but it may -actually be a means of doing mischief. As one familiar with the working -of many charities, I would appeal for more thoughtfulness on the part of -all subscribers. People must think for themselves and judge for -themselves; but perhaps, out of a long experience, I may suggest a few -guiding principles. - -I. Charities should aim at encouraging growth rather than at giving -relief. They should be inspired by hope rather than by pity. They should -be a means of education, a means of enabling the recipient to increase -in bodily, mental, or spiritual strength. If I spend twenty shillings on -giving a dinner or a night’s lodging to twenty vagrants, I have done -nothing to make them stronger workers or better citizens, I have only -kept poverty alive; but if I spend the same sum in sending one person to -a convalescent hospital, he will be at any rate a stronger man, and if -during his stay at the hospital his mind is interested in some -subject--in something not himself--he will probably be a happier man. -Societies which devote a large income to providing food and clothing do -not in the long run reduce the number of those in want, while Societies -which promote the clearing of unhealthy areas, the increase of open -space about town dwellings, greater accessibility to books and pictures, -gradually raise people above the need of gifts of food and clothing. -Hospitals which do much in restoring strength to the sick would do more -if they used their reputation and authority to teach people how to avoid -sickness, and to make a public opinion which would prevent many diseases -and accidents. The distinguished philanthropist who used to say she -would rather give a poor man a watch than a coat was, I believe, wiser -than another philanthropist who condemned a poor woman for spending her -money on buying a picture for her room. It is more important to raise -self-respect and develop taste than just to meet physical needs. - -Charities intruding themselves upon the intimacies of domestic life have -by their patronage often dwarfed the best sort of growth. Warnings -against patronizing the poor are frequent, but many charities are by -their very existence “patronizing,” and many others, by sending people -to collect votes, by requiring expressions of their gratitude, and by -the attitude of their agents, do push upon the poor reminders of their -obligations. They belong to a past age, and have no place in the present -age, where they foster only a cringing or rebellious attitude. It has -been well said that, “a new spirit is necessary in dealing with the -poor, a spirit of humility and willingness to learn, rather than -generosity and anxiety to teach”. This is only another form of saying -that charities must be educational, because no one can educate who is -not humble. Our schools, perhaps, will have further results when the -teachers cease to call themselves “masters!” - -II. Charities should, I think, look to, if not aim at, their own -extinction. Their existence, it must be remembered, is due to some -defect in the State organization or in the habits of the people. -Schools, for instance, were established by the gifts of good-will to -meet the ignorance from which people suffered, and when the State itself -established schools the gifts have been continued for the sake of -methods and experiments to meet further needs which the State has not -yet seen its way to meet. Charities, in this case, have looked, or do -look, to their own extinction when the State, guided by their example, -may take up their work. They have been pioneers, original, daring by -experiment to lead the way to undiscovered good. Relief societies have, -in like manner, shown how the State may help the poor by means which -respect their character, by putting work within their reach, by -emigrating those fit for colonial life, by giving orphan children more -of the conditions of a family home. There are others which have looked, -or still look, to their extinction, not in State action, but in -co-operation with other societies with which they now compete. -Competition may be the strength of commerce, but co-operation is -certainly the strength of charity, and wise are those charities which -are content to sink themselves in common action and die that they may -rise again in another body. The Charity Organization Societies in some -of the great cities have in this way lost themselves, to live again in -Social Welfare Councils and Civic Leagues. There are, finally, other -charities which, by their own action, tend to make themselves -unnecessary. The Children’s Country Holiday Fund, for instance, by -giving country holidays to town children, and by making the parents -contribute to the expense, develop at once a new desire for the peace -and beauty of the country and a new capacity for satisfying this desire. -When parents realize the necessity of such holiday and know how it can -be secured, this Fund will cease to have a reason for existence. - -Charities are many which fulfil this condition, but charities also are -many which do not fulfil it. They seem to wish to establish themselves -in permanence, and go on in rivalry with the State and with one another. -There is waste of money, which might be used in pioneer work, in doing -what is equally well done by others; there is competition which excites -greed and imposition, and there is overlapping. Very little thought is -wanted to discover many such charities which now receive large incomes -from the public. - -A wise observer has said: “A charity ought every twenty-five years to -head a revolution against itself”. Only by some such means can it be -brought into adjustment with the new needs of a new time, only by some -such means will it clear off excrescences and renew its youth. But, -failing such power of self-reform, it is worthy of consideration whether -every twenty-five years each charity should not be compelled to justify -its existence before some State Commission. - -III. Charities should keep in line with State activities. The -State--either by national or by municipal organization--has taken over -many of the duties which meet the needs of the people. Ignorance, -poverty, disease and dullness have all been met, and the means by which -they are being met are constantly developed. The Church, it may be said, -has so far converted the State, and a cheerful payer of rates may -perhaps deserve the same Divine commendation as the cheerful giver. But -State organizations, however well considered and well administered, will -always want the human touch. They will not, like the charities, be -fitful because dependent on subscribers and committees, but they will -not, like charities, temper their actions to individual peculiarities -and feelings. Charities, therefore, I think, do well when they keep in -line with State activities. They may, for instance, working in -co-operation with the Guardians, undertake the care of the families when -the bread-winner is in the infirmary, or superintend the management of -industrial colonies to which the unemployed may be sent, or provide -enfeebled old people with pensions until the age when they are eligible -for the State pension. They may, in connexion with the School and -Education authorities, support the Care Committees who look after the -interest of children in elementary schools, or, like Mrs. Humphry Ward’s -society, give guidance in play during the children’s leisure hours. They -may also, in conjunction with the Sanitary Authorities, work for the -increase of health and the wiser use of playgrounds and means of -recreation. Men and women of good-will may, I believe, find boundless -opportunities if they will serve on Municipal bodies or on the -Committees appointed by such bodies to complement their work. - -It may, indeed, be a further indictment against charities that much of -the good-will which might have improved and humanized State action has -by them been diverted. If, for instance, the passion of good-will which -now finds an outlet in providing free shelters and dinners for the -starving, or orphanages for destitute children, had gone to improve -Casual Wards and Barrack Schools, many evils would have been prevented. -At any rate, it may be said that charities working alongside of the -State organizations would become stronger, and State organizations -inspired by the charities would become more humane. It costs more, -doubtless, to work in co-operation with others, and to subject self-will -to the common will as a member of a Board of Guardians, than to be an -important member of a charitable committee, but in charity it is cost -which counts. - -Charity--to sum up my conclusion--represents a very important factor in -the making of England of to-morrow. The outbreak of giving, of which -there has been ample evidence this Christmas, may represent increased -good-will and more vivid realization of responsibility for those -afflicted in mind, body, or estate, or it may represent the impatience -of light-hearted people anxious to relieve themselves and get on to -their pleasures. Society is out of joint because the wealth of the rich -and the poverty of the poor have been brought into so great light. It -seems intolerable that when wealth has to invent new ways of -expenditure, there should be families where the earnings are -insufficient for necessary food, where the children cannot enjoy the -gaiety of their youth, where the boys and girls pass out through -unskilled trades to pick up casual labour and casual doles. The needs -are many, but the point I wish to urge is that charity which intends to -help may hinder. No gift is without result, and some of the gifts are -responsible for the suffering, carelessness, and bitterness of our -times. Charity up to date is that which gives thought as well as money -and service. The cost is greater, and many who will even deny themselves -a pleasure so as to give a generous cheque cannot exercise the greater -denial of giving their thought. “There is no glory,” said Napoleon, -“where there is no danger;” and we may add, there is no charity where -there is no thought, and thought is very costly. - - SAMUEL A. BARNETT. - - - - - WHAT LABOUR WANTS.[1] - - BY CANON BARNETT. - - May, 1912. - - [1] From “The Daily News”. By permission of the Editor. - - -Working men have become, we are often told, the governing class. They -form a large part, perhaps the majority, of the electorate, and theirs -is the obligation of making the laws and directing the policy on which -depend the safety and honour of the nation. They have come into an -inheritance built up at great cost, and on them lies the responsibility -for its care and development. - -Working-men, in order that they may fulfil their obligation and deliver -themselves of their responsibility, may rightly, I think, urge a moral -claim on the community for the opportunities by which to fit themselves -for the performance of their duties. They enjoy by the sacrifice of -their ancestors the inestimable privilege of freedom, but the value of -freedom depends on the power to take advantage of its possibilities: the -right to run in a race is all very well, but it is not of great use if -the runner’s legs and arms are crippled. Freedom, in fact, implies the -capacity to do or enjoy something worth doing or enjoying. The working -classes, who, as members of a free nation, have been entrusted with the -government of the nation, cannot do what is worth doing or what they are -called to do if their bodies are weakened by ill health and their minds -cribbed and cabined by ignorance. How can they whose childhood has been -spent in the close, smoky, and fœtid air of the slums, whose bodies have -been weakened in unhealthy trade, take their share in the support or -defence of the nation? How can they who have learned no history, whose -minds have had no sympathetic training, whose eyes have never been -opened to the enjoyment of beauty, understand the needs of the people or -grasp the mission of the Empire? Working men have thus a moral claim -that they shall have the opportunity to secure health and knowledge, -sanitary dwellings, open spaces, care in sickness and the prevention of -disease, schools, university teaching, and easy access to all those -means of life which make for true enjoyment. - -But when such opportunities have been provided, poverty often prevents -their use. This excuse does not, indeed, hold universally, and it is -much to be wished that the Labour Press and other makers of Labour -opinion would more often urge the importance of taking advantage of -the provided means for health and knowledge. They may have reason for -stirring men against the unfairness of an economic system and uniting -them in a strike against the ways of capital, but success would be -of little value unless the men themselves become stronger and wiser. -Many workmen--for example, those engaged in the building trades--have -abundant leisure during the winter. It would be well, if they, as well -as those who consume hours in attending football matches, would spend -some time in developing their capacities of mind and body. Labour -indeed needs a chaplain who will preach that power comes from what a -man is, and not only from what a man has. The Labour Press, with its -voice reiterating complaints, and its eyes fixed on “possessions,” -makes reading as dreary as the pages of a society or financial journal. - -But this is digression, and the fact remains that poverty does in the -case of thousands and hundreds of thousands of families prevent the -possibility of using the means necessary for the development of their -capacities. A wage of 20s. a week cannot permit schooling for the -children up to the age of fifteen; it will not, indeed, provide -sufficient food for the healthy life even of a small family. It can give -no margin for the little recreations by which the powers of the mind are -renewed, and does not allow for the leisure during growing years which -is necessary to the making of the mind. It leaves the breadwinner -fretted by anxiety lest in days of sickness or unemployment the wolf may -enter the door and destroy the home. - -The mass of labourers are, in a word, too poor to be healthy or wise; -they are not fit to take a part in government, and they have not the -opportunity to make themselves fit. Their work is often costly though it -is cheap, and their votes are worthless though gained by much -canvassing. Wages which are not a living wage unfit workmen for their -duty in the government of the nation. - -Does this fact justify a moral claim for a living wage to be fixed and -enforced by the community? Ought a wage sufficient for the support of -manhood to be a first charge on the product of labour and capital? The -answer has in effect been given by the establishment of Wages Boards. -There are now four trades in which a wage judged by a representative -committee to be a living wage is enforced, and the same principle has -lately been applied to the mining industry. The extension to other -trades--if the experiment succeeds--can only be a matter of time. The -claim of labour has been admitted, and the immediate question is, what -is likely to be the result. Employers who are forced to give a higher -wage will certainly require a higher standard of work. From one point of -view this is all to the good. The acceptance of low-class work is as -costly to the nation as it is degrading to the worker; it is a common -loss when workers make constant mistakes for want of intelligence, and -prove themselves to be not worthy a living wage. Every one is the better -for the discipline which is required by the service of men; it is likely -to make the nation richer and the workers more self-respecting, if they -are free to fit themselves to take their part in government. It will, in -economic language, probably tend to decrease the cost of production, and -therefore the cost of living. - -But there is another point of view. The raising of the standard of work -will at once throw out the less able, the unskilful, the ignorant, and -the lazy. Is this for good or for evil? “For good,” is the answer I -offer. It is well to face facts. Legislation and philanthropy have often -done mischief by treating the unemployed as one class. If they are -recognized as those not worth a living wage then it is clear that either -they must be fitted to earn such a wage, or be segregated in colonies -where their labour will be subsidized. They have a claim on such -treatment. Some by the want of care in their youth, or by some change of -fashion, have no marketable skill. It seems only fair that they should -have the chance of acquiring some other skill. Some, because they are -lazy and work-shy, are inclined to prey upon their poor working -neighbours. It seems only fair that they should be taken off the market -and shut up till they learn habits of industry. Some, because they are -weak in body or mind, can never earn sufficient for their upkeep. It -seems only fair that they should be kept, not in workhouses or on -inadequate out relief, but in colonies where their labour would go -towards their own support, and sympathetic guardianship, by necessary -subsidies, prevent them from starving. - -Labour has a moral claim that labourers be given the opportunity of -becoming free men--free to use and enjoy their manhood. English people -made great sacrifices to secure freedom for the negroes, and religious -people, to accomplish this object, dared to interfere in politics. The -position to-day is more serious when those who are not free are called -on to be governors of the nation, and religious people may again do well -to interfere in politics to secure that working men may have the -opportunity of developing the capacities which they have received for -the service of mankind. - - SAMUEL A. BARNETT. - - - - - OUR PRESENT DISCONTENTS.[1] - - BY CANON BARNETT. - - February, 1913. - - [1] From “The Nineteenth Century and After”. By permission of the -Editor. - - -“History,” we are told, “has often been the record of statesmen’s -illusions,” and to one into whose mind over thirty years’ memories of -East London have been burnt, it seems as if this generation concerning -itself about foreign aggression, and the grouping of European Powers, -were walking in the vain shadow of such an illusion. It is spending -millions annually on armaments against a possible enemy, and grudges a -comparatively small sum against the evils which are even now eating into -the strength of the nation. - -Strikes and rumours of strikes are shaking the foundations of the wealth -by which our Dreadnoughts are built and our great Empire -secured--political apathy and indifference to the commonwealth mock -fervid appeals for patriotic self-sacrifice--railing accusations are -hurled by the rich that workmen loaf and drink, and by the tyranny of -trades unions ruin trade; and the equally railing accusations are urged -by workmen that the rich in their luxury are content to plunder the poor -and live in callous indifference to the wrongs they see; and to crown -all the other evidences of discontent, violent speeches and lawless -conduct are weakening the old calm confidence in the stability of the -social structure which has been built up by the elaborate care of many -generations. - -An enemy has got a footing in the heart of the Empire, and is causing -this disturbance. He has evaded our fleet and our forts, and he has the -power to destroy our power. The nation, like a dreamer awakening, is -shaking itself as it becomes conscious of another danger than that of -foreign fleets and armies. It is beginning to be anxious about its -social condition and is asking somewhat fitfully, What is to be done? -What is the cause of the present discontent? What are the remedies? - -Many causes are suggested. It may be that education, having developed -the people’s capacities for enjoyment, has increased the area of -discontent, and those who used to sit placidly in the shadow now demand -a ray of the abundant sunshine. It may be that the frantic pace at -which the modern world moves has stimulated the demand for excitement -and made men impatient for change; it may be that the popular -philosophy of the street and the Press, eclipsing older philosophies -of the Church and the chair, impels men and nations to put their own -interests before other interests--to retaliate blow for blow, and to -become proud of pride. When nations, classes, or individuals seek first -to protect themselves, then the other things, greed, panic, suspicion, -and strife, are soon added. - -All these causes may operate, but they would not, I think, be dangerous, -if it were not for the fact of poverty. Ideas, philosophies, and -feelings have only stirred mankind when they have been able to appeal to -facts, and agitators would now agitate in vain if conditions did not -agitate more eloquently. Mean streets and ailing bodies jar upon the -more widely spread sense of joy, and the long hours of labour and the -small wages stir an anger which becomes ready to upset society in order -that the greater number might profit in the scramble. Poverty, as far as -I can see, is the root cause of the prevailing discontent, the door by -which the enemy enters and the fortress from which he sends out -suspicion and strife to compass the nation’s ruin. Poverty! And our -national income is £1,844,000,000, and the nation’s accumulated wealth -is the almost inconceivable sum of £13,762,000,000. - -The voice of the times--would that it had a Gladstone for its -interpreter--is one that calls every one, be he patriot or business man, -or even a pleasure-lover, to set himself to help in the eviction of -poverty. If there be any fighting spirit--any chivalry left, here is the -object for its attack; if there be any enlightened selfishness, here is -the field for its exercise. Poverty, if it be not destroyed, will -destroy the England of our hopes and our dreams. - -The curious thing is that the public mind which speaks through the -Press hardly realizes what is meant by poverty. There is much talk -on the subject--numberless volumes are issued, and charities are -multiplied, but what is in the minds of speakers, writers, and givers -is obviously destitution. They think of the ragged, broken creatures -kept waiting outside the doors of the shelter, and they have mental -pictures of squalid rooms and starving children. Many and many a time -visitors have come to Whitechapel expecting to see whole streets -occupied by the ragged and the wretched, and they have been almost -disappointed to find such misery the exception. There are, indeed, many -thousands of people destitute, but they form only a fraction of the -poor, and could, as the Poor Law Commissioners have shown, be lifted -out of the condition by action at once drastic and humane. Why that -action has not even been attempted is one of the many questions which -the Local Government Board has to answer. But my present point is that, -if all the destitute were removed, the poverty which is at the back of -our present discontent would remain. - -Mr. Seebohm Rowntree, whose opinion has been supported by subsequent -social explorers and by scientific research, concludes that 3s. a week -for an adult and 2s. 3d. for a child is necessary to keep the body in -physical repair, the food being chosen simply to get the most nutrition -for the least money, without any regard to appetite or pleasure. The -rent for a family, even if one room be considered sufficient, can hardly -be less than 4s. a week in a town, and if household sundries are to -include fuel, light, and clothing for a family of five persons, 4s. 11d. -is a moderate sum. It thus seems as if the smallest income on which it -would be possible for an average family to exist is 21s. 8d. a week. - -Mr. Charles Booth, Mr. Rowntree, and other subsequent investigators have -shown that 30 per cent. of the town population have an income below or -hardly above that sum, and as the wages of agricultural labourers -average in England 18s. 3d. a week, in Scotland 19s. 3d., and in Ireland -10s. 11d., it is fair to conclude that the estimate of the towns may be -applied to the whole kingdom, and that at least 12,000,000 of the -45,000,000 people are living on incomes below the poverty line. - -Mr. Chiozza Money, in his “Riches and Poverty” approaching the subject -from another side, justifies the conclusion. He shows that a population -amounting to 39,000,000 persons is dependent on incomes of less than -£160 a year--say 60s. a week, and absorbs £935,000,000 of the national -income; that 4,100,000 persons depend on incomes between £160 and £700 -per annum, and absorb £275,000,000 of the national income; and that the -comparatively small number of 1,400,000 dependent on incomes over £700 a -year absorb the mighty sum of £634,000,000. In other words, more than -one-third of the entire income of the United Kingdom is enjoyed by -one-thirtieth of its people. - -In the light of these facts it is not incredible that 30 per cent of the -population live in the grip of actual poverty. “The United Kingdom -contains,” it may be said in truth and shame, “a great multitude of poor -people veneered with a thin layer of the comfortable and rich.”[2] - -The broad fact which stands out of these figures is that, when 21s. 8d. -is taken as the sum necessary so that an average family may keep body -and soul together, 12,000,000 people must give up in despair, and many -other millions, depending on wages of 30s. or even 40s. a week, live -anxious days. And this despair or anxiety is not on account of life, in -all its multitudinous aspects, but only as to the maintenance of simple -physical efficiency. - - [2] These and other figures are put together very lucidly by Mr. Will -Reason in a little shilling book, “Poverty” published by Headly Bros., -which I commend to all as a good introduction to the subject. - - Let us, says Mr. Rowntree, clearly understand what physical - efficiency means. A family living upon the scale allowed for in - this estimate must never spend a penny on railway fare or omnibus. - They must never go into the country unless they walk. They must - never purchase a halfpenny newspaper or buy a ticket for a popular - concert. They must write no letters to absent children, for they - cannot afford to pay the postage. They must never contribute - anything to their church or chapel or give any help to a neighbour - which costs them money. They cannot save nor can they join sick - clubs or trade unions, because they cannot pay the necessary - subscriptions. The children must have no pocket-money for dolls, - marbles, and sweets. The father must smoke no tobacco and must - drink no beer. The mother must never buy any pretty clothes for - herself or for her children. Should a child fall ill, it must be - attended by the parish doctor; should it die, it must be buried by - the parish. Finally, the wage-earner must never be absent from his - work for a single day. - -A few parents of heroic mould may have succeeded in bringing up children -to healthy and useful manhood and womanhood on small wages. Tales of -such are repeated in select circles, but these families generally belong -to a generation less open to temptation than the present. There are now -few, very few, parents who, with an uncertain wage of 30s. a week, never -spend a penny for the sake of pleasure, taste, or friendship. The result -is that their own or their children’s physical health and well-being are -sacrificed. The boys are rejected when they offer themselves as -soldiers, the infant mortality is high, and the girls unprotected are -more ready to become the victims of vice. The saddest of all experiences -of life among the poor is the gradual declension of respectable families -into the ranks of the destitute, when loss of work finds them without -resources in body or skill. - -It is the poverty of the great multitude of the working people and not -the destitution of the very poor which is the force of the present -discontent. This is not realized even by Mrs. George Kerr, whose book, -“The Path of Social Progress,” seems to me one of the best of those -lately published on the subject. She speaks of Dr. Chalmers as having -advocated a policy “which still holds the field,” and is the “only -scheme which actually did diminish poverty”. But this policy aimed at -diminishing a poverty which was practically destitution, and its method -was to strengthen the people in habits which would enable them to live -independent lives on wages of 20s. a week. Mrs. Kerr herself talks of -the importance of a wife averaging her husband’s wages, so that if her -husband as a painter earns 36s. a week for four months the family -expenditure ought to be limited within 18s. a week, and she evidently -condemns as waste the purchase of a perambulator or bicycle. The methods -she advocates by which character may be raised and strengthened are -admirable, and the lead given by Dr. Chalmers cannot be too closely -followed, but they have reference to destitution and not to the poverty -from which working people suffer whose wages reach a more or less -uncertain 30s. or 40s. a week. - -Destitution, in the crusade against which philanthropists and Poor Law -reformers are so well engaged, does not indeed affect the present -discontent, except in so far as the presence of the destitute is a -warning to the workman of his possible fate. A mechanic is, perhaps, -earning 30s. a week, or even more; he, by great frugality on his own -part, or by almost miraculous management on his wife’s part, just -succeeds in keeping his family in health; he sees the destitute in their -wretchedness, he hears of many who are herded in the prison-like -workhouses, and he feels that if he loses his work, if illness overtakes -him or his wife, their fate must be his fate. The destitute may be a -burden to the nation, but they are also a danger, in so far as they by -their examples rouse a dangerous mood in thousands of workpeople whose -wages hardly lift them out of the reach of poverty, and give them no -opportunity by saving to make the future secure. - -The cure of destitution, necessary though it be on humane and economic -grounds, is not the remedy for the present discontent. If all people -incapable of earning a living were cared for under the best conditions, -if by careful selection according to the straitest sect of the eugenists -all the people engaged in work were fit for their work, if by better -education and more scientific physical training every child were fully -developed, or if by moral and religious impulse all citizens were to -become frugal and self-restrained, there would still be the poverty -which is the source of danger so long as the share of the national -income which comes to the workers is so small. The greatest need of the -greatest number is a larger income. - -It is, I think, fair to say that on their present income the majority of -our people can neither enjoy themselves rationally nor give an -intelligent vote as joint governors of the nation. They have not the -freedom which takes pride in self-government. - -There are, it must be evident, few signs of rational enjoyment in the -vastly increased pleasure-seeking of to-day. The people crowd into the -country, but only a few people find anything in nature which is theirs. -They pass by the memorials of great men and great events, and seldom -feel a thrill of national pride. They wander aimlessly, helplessly -through museums and picture-galleries, the things they see calling out -little response in their minds. They have a limited and often perverted -taste for music, and have so little conversation that on holidays they -are silent or shout senseless songs. They get a short-lived excitement -out of sport, so that for a whole countryside the event of a year is a -football match and the chief interest of a Press recording the affairs -of the Empire is the betting news. The recreations of the people and -their Bank Holiday pleasures, at a time when the universal mind is -stirring with a consciousness of new capacity, and the world is calling -more loudly than ever that its good things should be enjoyed, give cause -for some anxiety. Where there is no rational enjoyment there is likely -to be discontent and mischief. - -The people cannot enjoy themselves so as to satisfy their nature because -of poverty. They began to work before they had time to enjoy learning -and before they had become conscious of their capacities and tastes. -They have been crushed from their youth upwards by the necessity of -earning a livelihood, and have never had the leisure to look at the -beautiful world in which they have been placed. They have from their -childhood been caught in the industrial machine, and have been swept -away from the things which as men and women they were meant to enjoy. -They have been too poor to find their pleasure in hope or in memory, -enough for them if they have been able to snatch at the present and -passing excitement. - -Poverty is the enemy of rational enjoyment, and it also prevents the -freedom which has pride in self-government. The people cannot be said to -be keen to take a part in the government of their country, they are -almost ready to accept a despot if they could secure for themselves more -health and comfort. There is evident failure to grasp great principles -in politics, and a readiness to accept in their stead a popular cry. -Parties are judged by their promises, and national interests are often -put below private interests; motives which are untrue to human nature -are charged against opponents, and the “mob spirit” has an easy victory -over individual judgment. The votes of the people may be at any moment -fatal to the commonwealth. - -Poverty is to a large extent the cause of this weakness in -self-government and of the consequent danger to the nation. People whose -minds have been crushed under the daily anxiety about the daily bread -have little thought for any object but “how to live,” and thus they are -apt to lose the power of vision. They see money as the only good, and -they are disposed to measure beauty, tradition, and work in its terms. -The pictures of “the happy homes of England” and the tales of her -greatness have for them little meaning. “What are our homes that we -should fight for them?” “What has England done for us?” The welfare of -the nation is nothing alongside that of their own class; their chief -want is security from starvation. - -Some conception of the nation as a whole is necessary to kindle interest -in self-government, and modern poverty is gradually blotting out the old -conception which grew up when people loved the countryside, where the -fields laughed and sang with corn and the cottages nestled in gardens, -and when they had leisure to enjoy the tales of their fathers’ great -deeds. Some knowledge is also necessary if those who give votes have to -decide on policies which affect international relations, and hold firmly -to principles in dark as well as in bright times. But how can the men -and women have such knowledge who have been driven by the poverty of -their homes to go to work as children, and have had no leisure in which -to read history or to dream dreams? Of course they vacillate and of -course they fall victims to shallow philosophy. - -The people, in a word, because of poverty, are not free. They are “cogs -in a great machine which uses human lives as the raw stuff out of which -to fashion material wealth”. They are by fear of starvation compelled to -be instruments of production almost as much as if they were under a law -of slavery. They do not live for an end in themselves, but for an end -for which others desire to use them. - -The poverty of the multitude of workpeople, which limits their -capacities for enjoyment and for self-government, and is divided only by -a very thin partition from the destitution of squalor and starvation, -is, I believe, the chief source of our present discontent, and of the -bitterness which makes that discontent dangerous. The “cares of this -life” equally with “the deceitfulness of riches” are apt to choke that -communion with an ideal which is the source of healthy progress. - -Schemes of relief and charity do not aim to reach this poverty. What, -then, is to be done? “Give more education, and better education,” is the -reply of the best reformers. “Let there be smaller classes in the -elementary school, so that each child’s personality may be developed by -the teacher’s personality.” “Let more attention be given to physical -training.” “Let compulsory continuous education prevent the appalling -wastage which leaves young people to find their interests in the -excitement of the street.” Yes, a system of more and of better education -would send out men and women stronger to labour and more fit both for -the enjoyment and business of life. But poverty still stands in the way -of such a system of education. The family budget of the mass of the -people cannot keep the boy or girl away from work up to the age of -fifteen or sixteen, nor can it allow the space and leisure necessary for -study, for reading, and for intellectual recreation. - -What, then, is to be done? The answer demands the best thought of our -best statesmen. There are, doubtless, many things possible, and no one -thing will be sufficient. But by some means or other the great national -income must be so shared that the 39,000,000 of poor may have a larger -proportion. - -We have lately been warned against careless talk about rights. It may, -therefore, be inaccurate to say that 39,000,000 out of 45,000,000 -citizens have a right to more than half of the eighteen hundred million -pounds of income. But it is as inaccurate to say that 6,000,000 citizens -have a right to the half of the eighteen hundred million pounds which -they now receive. What are called “rights” have been settled by law on -principles which seemed to the lawmakers of the time the best for the -commonwealth. It is law made by our ancestors by which it is possible to -transfer the property of the dead to the living, providing thereby a -foundation on which stands the mighty accumulation of £13,762,000,000. -It is, indeed, by such laws that the capitalist who has saved a small -sum is able to go on increasing that sum to millions. There is no -natural right by which the poor may be said to have a claim on wealth or -the rich to possess wealth. - -Law which has determined the lines which the present distribution of the -national income follows might determine others which would make the poor -richer and the rich poorer. Law has lately, by a system of insurance and -pensions, given some security for illness, old age, and unemployment; it -has in some trades fixed a minimum wage. - -This principle might be extended. The consequent better organization of -labour and its improved capacity would secure larger wages for efficient -workers and probably reduce the cost of production for the benefit of -consumers, but doubtless the number of the unemployed would be -increased. Their inefficiency would not earn the minimum wage. For -these, training or a refuge would have to be provided in farm colonies, -industrial schools, or detention colonies, in accordance with the -suggestion of the Poor Law Commissioners. - -The law might, by taxing the holders of the accumulated wealth of the -nation, subsidize education, so that no child by want of food and -clothing should be driven from school before the age of fifteen or -sixteen. It might, by securing for the poor as well as for the rich an -abundant provision of air-space and water for the healthy and adequate -care and attention for the sick, reduce the death-rate among the -39,000,000 poor people to the level of that which now obtains among the -6,000,000 richer people. “Health before all things” has long been on the -banner of politicians, and though much has been done much more remains -to be done. There is no reason why the death-rate of a poor district -should be higher than that of a rich district. - -Law, to offer one other example, might do more “to nationalize -luxuries”. In an article on “Practicable Socialism,” which, as the -first-fruits of an experience gained by my wife and myself in ten years -of Whitechapel life, the Editor of this Review accepted in April, 1883, -I suggested that legislation might provide for the people not what they -_want_ but what they _need_. Much has been done in this direction during -the last thirty years; but still there is not the free and sufficient -provision of the best music in summer and winter, of the best art, of -the best books--there is not even the adequate supply of baths and -flower-gardens, which would bring within the reach of the many the -enjoyments which are the surest recreations of life. - -It is thus possible to give examples of laws which would bring to the -poor the use of a larger share of the national income. It is not easy to -frame laws which, while they remove the burden and the danger of -poverty, may by encouraging energy and self-respect develop industrial -resourcefulness. But it ought not to be beyond statesmen’s power to -devise such measures. - -The point, however, which I desire to make clear is that if the poor are -to become richer the rich must become poorer. Increase of production -followed by an increased national income has under the present laws--as -has been shown in the booming trade of recent years--meant that the rich -have become richer. The present income is sufficient to assure the -greater health and well-being of the whole population, but the rich must -submit to receive a smaller proportion. - -This proposition rouses much wrath. Its advocates are charged with -preaching spoliation and robbery, with setting class against class, and -with destroying the basis on which national prosperity is settled. The -taxation which compels the rich to reduce their expenditure on holidays -and luxuries may seem hard, and the fear lest the tax which this year -takes 5 per cent of their income will be further increased may induce -panic among certain classes; but it is harder for the poor to go on -suffering for want of the means of life, and there is more reason for -panic in the thought that the mass of the people remain indifferent to -the national greatness. The tax, it must be remembered, which reduces -the expenditure of the rich on things which perish in their using--on -out-of-season foods, on aimless locomotion, and the excitements of -ostentation--and at the same time makes it possible for the poor to -spend more on food and clothing, increases the work of working people. -The millions of money, for example, taken from the rich to supply -pensions for the poor have enabled the old people to spend money on -food and clothing, which has been better for the nation’s trade than -money spent on luxuries. It is a striking fact that if the people used -what is held to be a bare sufficiency of woollen and cotton goods, the -demand for these goods would be increased threefold to sixfold. The -transference, therefore, of more of the national income from the few -rich to the many poor need not alarm patriots. - -The tax-collectors’ interference with the use of the accumulated wealth, -now controlled by a comparatively small number of the people, is much -less dangerous to the national prosperity than the discontent which -arises from poverty. A proposition which offers security for the nation -at the cost of some sacrifice by a class should, it might be expected, -be met to-day by the more powerful members of society as willingly as in -old days the nobles met the call to battle. But the powerful members of -modern society hate the doctrine of taxation, and the hatred becomes a -sort of instinct which draws them towards any alternative policy which -may put off the evil day. If they give, their gifts are generous, -frequently very generous, but often unconsciously they have regarded -them as a sort of ransom which they threaten they will not pay if taxes -are imposed, doing thereby injustice to their generosity. The rich do -not realize the meaning of poverty, its wounds to human nature, or its -dangers to the nation. - -Poverty, I would submit is at the root of our present discontent, not -the poverty which the Poor Law and charity are to relieve, but the -poverty of the great mass of the workers. Out of this poverty rises the -enemy which threatens our peace and our greatness, and this poverty is -due not to want of trade or work or wealth, but to the want of thought -as to the distribution of our enormous national income. When the meaning -of poverty is realized, the courage and the sacrifice which in the past -have so often dared loss to avert danger will hardly fail because the -loss to be faced is represented by the demand-note of the tax-collector. -Gifts cannot avert the danger, repression will increase the danger, and -the preachers who believe in the coming of the Kingdom must for the old -text, “God loveth a cheerful giver,” substitute as its equivalent, “God -loveth a cheerful taxpayer”. - - SAMUEL A. BARNETT. - - - - - SECTION V. - - SOCIAL SERVICE. - -Of Town Planning--The Mission of Music--The Real Social Reformer--Where -Charity Fails--Landlordism Up-to-date--The Church and Town Planning. - - - - - OF TOWN PLANNING.[1] - - BY MRS. S. A. BARNETT. - - January, 1911. - - [1] From “The Cornhill Magazine”. By kind permission of the Editor. - - -Much has been said lately about town planning. Conferences have been -held, speeches have been made, articles have been written, papers have -been read, and columns of newspaper-notices have appeared, and yet I am -daring to occupy eleven pages of the CORNHILL MAGAZINE to try and add a -few more remarks to what has already been so well and so forcibly put -forth. - -But in apology for the presumption, it can be said that what I want to -say does not entrench upon the province of the architect, the surveyor, -or the artist. The questions of traffic-congestion, density of -population, treatment of levels, arrangement of trams, water or gas, -relation of railway termini or docks to thoroughfares, organization of -periodic excess of street usage, relative positions of municipal -buildings, harmony of material and design, standardization of streets -and road grading, appreciation of scale; on these matters I will not -write, for on them contributions, interesting, dull, suggestive, or -learned, have been abundantly produced, and “are they not written in the -Book of the Chronicles” of the great Conference held last month under -the auspices of the Royal Institute of British Architects? And are not -their potentialities visible beneath the legal phraseology of Mr. John -Burns’ Town-planning Act of last Parliament? - -It is so delightful to realize that some of the best brains of this and -other countries are turning their thoughts to the solution of what Mr. -T. S. Horsfall (who for many years was a voice crying in the wilderness) -demanded as the elemental right of every human being, “the conditions of -a healthy life”. It is comforting to know that others are doing the -thinking, especially when one is old, and can recall one’s passionate, -youthful indignation at the placid acceptance of stinking courts and -alleys as the normal homes for the poor, when the memory is still vivid -of the grand day when one portion of the network of such courts, in St. -Jude’s parish, was swept away, and a grave, tall, carefully planned -tenement building, erected by the public-spirited kindness of the late -Mr. George M. Smith, arose in its stead, “built to please Barnett as an -experiment”. - -Some five-and-twenty years ago, when old Petticoat Lane was pulled down, -my husband sent in to the Local Authority a suggestion of laying the -area out so that Commercial Road should be continued right through to -Bishopsgate; the letter and plans were merely acknowledged and the -proposal ignored. Five years ago we filled one of the rooms in the -Whitechapel Exhibition with plans of how East London might be improved, -but it elicited only little interest, local or otherwise; and now last -month, but a few years later, all the walls of Burlington House were -covered with town-planning exhibits, drawings, plans, and designs, and -its floor space amply supplied with models from all parts of the world. - -And the thought given is so fresh, so unconventional, and so full of -characteristics, that one came away from a careful study of that great -Exhibition with a clear sense of the individualities of the various -nations, as they had stated their ideals for their towns. Some in broad -avenues, great piazzas, parallel streets, careful to adopt Christopher -Wren’s ideal, that “gardens and unnecessary vacuities ... be placed out -of the town”. Some in fairy cities, girt with green girdles of open -space, tree-lined roads, parks designed for quiet as well as for play, -waterways used for pleasure locomotion as well as for business traffic, -contours considered as producers of beauty, the view as well as the -shelter planned for. Some with scrupulous care for the history of the -growth of the city, its natural features, the footmarks left by its -wars, each utilized with due regard to modern requirements and the -tendencies of the future. Some glorying in the preservation of every -scrap which could record age or civic history, others blatantly -determined to show that the old was folly, and that only of the -brand-new can it be said “the best is yet to be”. - -The imagination is stirred by the opportunities which the Colonies -possess, and envy is mixed with gratitude that they will have the chance -of creating glorious cities warned by the Old Country’s mistakes, and -realizing by the progress of economic science that the flow of humanity -is ever towards aggregation. The “Back-to-the-land” cry falls on ninety -irresponsive ears to ten responsive ones, for the large majority of -human beings desire to live in juxtaposition with mankind. It behoves -thinkers all the more, therefore, to plan beautiful cities, places to -live as well as to work in, and enough of them to prevent a few becoming -so large as to absorb more than a healthy share of national life and -wealth. - -But if all of us may think imperially, it is given to most of us only to -act locally, and, therefore, I will convey your minds and mine back from -the visions of town planning amid the plains of Canada, the fiords and -mountains of British Columbia, the high lands and broad velds of Africa, -the varied beauties of wood, hill, and sea of Australia and New Zealand, -back from the stimulating, almost intoxicating, vision of the work lying -before our great Colonies, to the sobering atmosphere of a London or a -Manchester suburb, with its miles of mean streets already built, or its -open fields and new-made roads, laid out as if under the ruler of the -office-boy. - -Whoever undertakes the area to be laid out, whether it is the -municipality or a public land company, should see that the planning is -done on a large scale. The injury wrought to towns hitherto has been -often due to the narrowness of personal interests and the limitation of -the acres dealt with, both of which dim the far sight. The almost -unconscious influence of dealing with a wide area is shown in existing -schemes, which have been undertaken by owners of large estates, whether -the area be planned for an industrial village, such as Mr. Lever’s at -Port Sunlight, or for a housing-reform scheme like Mr. Cadbury’s at -Bournville; or to accommodate the leisured, as the Duke of Devonshire’s -at Eastbourne, or the artistic, as Mr. Comyns Carr’s at Bedford Park; or -to create a fresh commercial city, as conceived by Mr. Ebenezer Howard -at Letchworth; or to house all classes in attractive surroundings as at -the Hampstead Garden Suburb. Whatever be the purpose, the fact of a -large area has influenced them all. It has had, as it were, something of -the same effect as the opportunity of the Sistine Chapel had on Michael -Angelo. The population to be accommodated was large enough to require -its own places of worship, public halls, or clubs, its schools, and -recreation-grounds. So the lines were drawn with a generous hand, and -human needs considered, with a view to their provision within the -confines of the estate, instead of being treated as the organ-grinder, -and advised to seek satisfaction in the next street--or accommodation on -neighbouring land. - -The idea of town or suburb planning has not yet found its way into the -minds which dominate local Public Authorities, but a few examples will -doubtless awaken them to the benefits of the Act, if not from the -æsthetic, yet from the economic point of view, and then borough or ward -boundaries will become as unnoticeable for town-planning purposes as -ecclesiastical parish ones now are for educational administration. - -Foremost among the problems will be the allotment of different positions -of the area under consideration to different classes of society, or -perhaps it would be better to say different standards of income. - -No one can view with satisfaction any town, whether in England, America, -or the Colonies, where the poor, the strenuous, and the untutored live -as far as possible removed from the rich, the leisured, and the -cultivated. The divorce is injurious to both. Too commonly is it -supposed that the poor only suffer from the separation, but those who -have the privilege of friendships among the working-people know that the -wealthy lose more by not making their acquaintance than can possibly be -computed. - -“I often advise you to make friends,” said the late Dr. Jowett to a body -of undergraduates assembled in Balliol Hall to hearken to my husband and -Mr. C. S. Loch, as they spoke of the inhabitants of East or South London -in the early ’seventies, but “now I will add further advice: Make some -of your friends among the poor.” - -Excellent as the advice is, it is hardly possible to follow when certain -classes live at one end of the town, and other classes dwell in the -extreme opposite district. It may be given to the few to create -artificial methods of meeting, but to the large mass of people, so long -as they live in separate neighbourhoods, they must remain ignorant of -each other to a very real, if undefinable, loss--the loss of -understanding, mutual respect, and that sense of peace which comes when -one sits in the parlour and knows the servants are doing their best, or -works in the kitchen and knows that those who govern are directed by a -large-hearted sympathy. Again and again in 1905-6, when the idea of -provision being made for all classes of society in the Hampstead Garden -Suburb was being submitted to the public, I was told that the cultivated -would never live voluntarily in the neighbourhood of the industrial -classes, but I was immensely surprised when I laid the scheme before a -leading workman and trade-unionist to be told:-- - -“It is all very nice as you say it, Mrs. Barnett, but I’m mistaken if -you will find any self-respecting workman who cares to bring his family -to live alongside of the rich. They’re a bad example with their -pleasure-loving sons and idle, vain daughters, always thinking of -dressing, and avoiding work and natural duties as if they were sins.” - -The acceptance of society newspaper paragraphs and divorce reports as -accurate and exhaustive accounts of the lives of the leisured, even by -thinking workmen, serves as an additional evidence of the need of common -neighbourhood to correct so dangerous and disintegrating a view. - -There can be no doubt but that Part III of the Housing Act of 1890 is, -in so far as it affects recent town development, responsible for much of -this lamentable ignorance, for under its powers provision can only be -made to house the industrial classes, and thus whole neighbourhoods have -grown up, as large in themselves as a small provincial town occupied by -one class, or those classes the range of whose difference is represented -by requiring two or three bedrooms, a “kitchen,” or a “parlour cottage”. - -That this segregation of classes into distinct areas is unnecessary as -well as socially dangerous, is evidenced by many small English towns, -such as Wareham, Godalming, Huntingdon, where the grouping together of -all sorts of people has taken place under normal conditions of growth, -as well as in the Garden Suburb at Hampstead, where the areas to house -people of various degrees of income were clearly defined in the original -plan, and have been steadfastly adhered to. In that estate the rents -range from tenements of 3s. 3d. a week to houses standing in their own -gardens of rentals to £250 a year, united by cottages, villas, and -houses priced at every other figure within that gamut. The inhabitants -can dwell there as owners, or by renting their dwellings, or through the -welcoming system and elastic doors of the co-partners, or as weekly -tenants in the usual way. No sort of difficulty has arisen, and the -often-expressed fears have proved groundless. Indeed, the result of the -admixture of all classes has been a kindlier feeling and a richer -sympathy, as people of varied experience, different educational -standards, and unequal incomes feel themselves drawn together in the -enjoyment of good music, in the discussion of social problems, in the -preparation by their children of such a summer’s day festival as the -“Masque of Fairthorpe,” or to enjoy the unaffected pleasure of the -public open spaces and wall-less gardens. - -In England we have not yet reached the gorgeous, riotous generosity of -the Americans, who plan parks by the mile, and cheerfully spend, as -Boston did, £7,500,000 for a girdle of parks, woods, meadows, sea and -lake embankments; or vote, as Chicago did, £3,600,000 for the creation -of a connected system of twenty-two parks; but we in humbler England -have some ground for congratulation, that, as a few years ago a -flowerless open space was counted adequate, now a well-kept garden is -desired; but on the definition of their uses and the difficulties of -their upkeep something has yet to be said. - -Every one has seen derelict open spaces, squares, crescents, -three-angled pieces of ground deliberately planned to create beauty, but -allowed to become the resting places of too many weary cats or disused -household utensils, the grass neither mown, protected, nor re-sown. “The -children like it kept so,” people say, but I doubt if they do. In -Westminster there are two open spaces, one planted and cared for, the -other just an unkept open space. Both face south, both overlook the -river, both are open free, but the children flock into the garden, -leaving the open space drearily empty. It is to be regretted, for their -noise, even when it is happy shouting and not discordant wrangling, is -disturbing to those whose strenuous lives necessitate that they take -their exercise or rest without disturbance. But, on the other hand, the -children are entitled to their share of the garden, and those -“passionless reformers,” order, beauty, colour, may perhaps speak their -messages more effectually into ears when they are young. - -The solution of the difficulty has been found by the Germans in their -thoughtful planning of parks, and few things were more delightful in the -Town-planning Exhibition than the photographs of the children paddling -in the shallow pools, making castles (I saw no sign of fortifications!) -in the sand, playing rough running games on gravel slopes, or quieter -make-believes in the spinneys, all specially provided in specially -allocated children’s areas. Isolated instances of such provision are -existent in our English parks, but the principle, that some people are -entitled to public peace as well as others to public play, is not yet -recognized, and that there should be zones in which noise is permitted, -and zones in which silence must be maintained is as yet an inconceivable -restriction. So the children usually shout, race, scream, or squabble -amid the grown-ups, kept even in such order as they are by the fear of -the park-keeper, whom their consciences encourage them to credit with -supernatural powers of observation. He is usually a worthy, patient man, -but an expensive adjunct, and one who could sometimes be dispensed with -if the children’s “sphere of influence” were clearly defined. The -promiscuous presence of children affects also both the standard of cost -of the upkeep of open spaces, although the deterioration of their -standard is more often due to the lapse of the authority who created -them. - -It is because the changes of circumstances so frequently affect -disastrously the appearance of public spaces that I would offer for -consideration the suggestion that they should be placed under the care -of the municipality, under stringent covenants concerning their uses, -purposes, maintenance, and reservation for the inhabitants of special -dwellings. This step would not, of course, be necessary where the owner -or company still holds the land, but in cases where the houses for which -the square or joint garden was provided have each strayed into separate -ownership, and their ground-rents treated only as investments, then -everyone’s duty usually becomes no one’s duty, and the garden drops into -a neglected home for “unconsidered trifles”. I could quote instances of -this, not only in East London, but in Clifton, Reading, Ventnor, York, -or give brighter examples of individual effort and enthusiasm which have -awakened the interest of the neighbours to take pride in the appearance, -and pay towards the upkeep, of their common pleasance. - -The arguments in favour of the municipality having the care of these -publicly enjoyed or semi-private open spaces would be the advantages of -a higher gardening standard, the economy of interchange of roots, seeds, -and tools, the benefit of a staff large enough to meet seasonal needs, -the stimulating competition of one garden against another, and the -additional gift of beauty to the passers-by, who could thus share -without intrusion the fragrance of the flowers and the melody of -symphonies in colour. - -“But how can the public enjoy the gardens when they are usually behind -walls?” I hear that delightful person, the deadly practical man, murmur; -and this brings me to another question, “Are walls round open spaces -necessary?” - -English people seem to have adopted the idea that it is essential to -surround their parks and gardens with visible barriers, perhaps because -England is surrounded by the sea--a very visible line of demarcation; -but, in the stead of a dancing joy, a witchful barrier, uniting while it -separates, they have put up grim hard walls, ugly dividing fences, -barriers which challenge trespass, and make even the law-abiding citizen -desire to climb over and see what is on the other side. - -It is extraordinary how firmly established is the acceptance of the -necessity of walls and protection. Nearly thirty-five years ago, when -the first effort was made to plant Mile End Road with trees, and to make -its broad margins gracious with shrubs and plants, we were met by the -argument that they would not be safe without high railings. I recall the -croakings of those who combated the proposal to open Leicester Square to -the public, and who of us has not listened to the regrets of the -landowner on the expense entailed by his estate boundary fences? - -If you say, “Why make them so high, or keep them up so expensively, as -you do not preserve your game? Why not have low hedges or short open -fences, over which people can see and enjoy your property?” he will look -at you with a gentle pity, thinking of you as a deluded idealist, or -perhaps his expression will change into something not so gentle as it -dawns on him that, though one is the respectable wife of a respectable -Canon, yet one may be holding “some of those--Socialist theories”. - -Not long ago I went at the request of a gentleman who owned property, -with his agent to see if suggestions could be made to improve the -appearance of his estate and the happiness of his tenants. The gardens -were small enough to be valueless, but between and around each were -walls, many in bad repair. - -“The first thing I should do would be to pull down those walls, and let -the air in; things will then grow, self-respect as well as flowers,” I -said. - -“What!” exclaimed the agent, “pull down the walls? Why, what would the -men have to lean against?” thus conjuring up the vision one has so often -seen of men leaning listlessly against the public-house walls, a sight -which the possession of a garden, large enough to be profitable as well -as pleasurable, ought to do much to abolish. - -It is difficult to find arguments for walls. In many towns of America -the gardens are wall-less, the public scrupulously observing the rights -of ownership. In the Hampstead Garden Suburb all the gardens are -wall-less, both public and private. The flowers bloom with the -voluptuous abundance produced by virgin soil, but they remain untouched, -not only by the inhabitants, which, of course, is to be expected, but by -the thousands of visitors who come to see the realization of the -much-talked-of scheme, and respect the property as they share its -pleasures. - -In town-planning literature and talk much is said about houses, roads, -centre-points to design, architectural features, treatment of junctions, -and many other items both important and interesting; but the tone of -thought pervading all that I have yet read is that it is the healthy and -happy, the respectable and the prosperous, for whom all is to be -arranged. It takes all sorts to make a world, and the town planner who -excludes in his arrangements the provision for the lonely, the sick, the -sorrowful, and the handicapped will lose from the midst of the community -some of its greatest moral teachers. - -The children should be specially welcomed amid improved or beautiful -surroundings, for the impressions made in youth last through life, and -on the standards adopted by the young will depend the nation’s welfare. -A vast army of children are wholly supported by the State, some 100,000, -while to them can be added nearly 200,000 more for whom the public purse -is partly responsible. In town planning the needs of these children -should be considered, and the claims of the sick openly met. - -Hospitals are intended to help the sick poor, so, in planning the town -or its growth, suitable sites should be chosen in relation to the -population who require such aid; but in London many hospitals are -clustered in the centre of the town, are enlarged, rebuilt, or improved -on the old positions, though the people’s homes and workshops have been -moved miles away; thus the sick suffer in body and become poorer in -purse, as longer journeys have to be undertaken after accidents, or when -as out-patients they need frequent attention. - -The wicked, the naughty, the sick, the demented, the sorrowful, the -blind, the halt, the maimed, the old, the handicapped, the children are -facts--facts to be faced, facts which demand thought, facts which should -be reckoned with in town planning--for all, even the first-named, can be -helped by being surrounded with “whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever -things are lovely, and whatsoever things are of good report”. - -Every one who has been to Canada must have been struck with the evidence -of faith in educational appreciation which the Canadians give in the -preparation of their vast teaching centres. - -“What impressed me greatly,” said Mr. Henry Vivian in his speech at the -dinner given in his honour on his return from the Dominion, “was the -preparation that the present people have made for the education of the -future people,” and he described the planning of one University, whose -buildings, sports-grounds, roads, hostels, and gardens were to cover -1300 acres. Compare that with the statement of the Secretary of a -Borough Council Education Authority, who told me the other day, with -congratulatory pleasure, that long negotiations had at last obtained one -acre and a quarter for the building of a secondary school and a -hoped-for three acres some distance off for the boys’ playground. - -The town planning of the future will make, it is to be hoped, generous -provision for educational requirements, and not only for the inhabitants -of the immediate locality. As means of transit become both cheaper and -easier, it will be recognized as a gain for young people to go out of -town to study, into purer air, away from nerve-wearing noise, amid -flowers and trees, and with an outlook on a wider sky, itself an -elevating educational influence both by day and night. - -The need of what may be called artificial town addition can only concern -the elder nations, who have, scattered over their lands, splendid -buildings in the centre of towns that have ceased to grow. As an -example, I would quote Ely. What a glorious Cathedral! kept in dignified -elderly repair, its Deans, Canons, Minors, lay-clerks, and choir, all -doing their respective daily duties in leading worship; but, alas! there -the population is so small (7713 souls) that the response by worshippers -is necessarily inadequate--the output bears no proportion to the return. -Beauty, sweetness, and light are wasted there and West Ham exists, with -its 267,000 inhabitants, its vast workshops and factories, its miles of -mean streets of drab-coloured “brick boxes with slate lids”--and no -Cathedral, no group of kind, leisured clergy to leaven the heavy dough -of mundane, cheerless toil. - -If town planning could be treated nationally, it might be arranged that -Government factories could be established in Ely. Army clothiers, -stationery manufactories, gunpowder depôts would bring the workers in -their train. A suitable expenditure of the Public Works Loans money -would cause the cottages to appear; schools would then arise, shops and -lesser businesses, which population always brings into existence, would -be started; and the Cathedral would become a House of Prayer, not only -to the few religious ones who now rejoice in the services, but for the -many whose thoughts would be uplifted by the presence in their midst of -the stately witness of the Law of Love, and whose lives would be -benefited by the helpful thought and wise consideration of those whose -profession it is to serve the people. - -Pending great changes, something might perhaps be done if individual -owners and builders would consider the appearance, not only of the house -they are building, but of the street or road of which it forms a part. A -few months ago, in the bright sunshine, I stood on a hill-top, facing a -delightful wide view, on a newly developed estate, and, pencil in hand, -wrote the colours and materials of four houses standing side by side. -This is the list:-- - -No. 1 HOUSE.--Roof, grey slates; walls, white plaster with red brick; -yellow-painted woodwork; red chimneys. - -No. 2 HOUSE.--Roof, purpley-red tiles; walls, buff rough cast; -brown-painted woodwork; yellow chimneys. - -No. 3 HOUSE.--Roof, orangey-red tiles; walls, grey-coloured rough cast; -white-painted woodwork; red chimneys. - -No. 4 HOUSE.--Roof, crimson-red tiles; walls, stone-coloured rough cast; -peacock-blue paint; red chimneys. - -This bare list tells of the inharmonious relation of colours, but it -cannot supply the variety of tones of red, nor yet the mixture of lines, -roof-angles, balcony or bow projections, one of which ran up to the top -of a steep-pitched roof, and was castellated at the summit. The road was -called “Bon-Accord”. One has sometimes to thank local authorities for -unconscious jokes. - -My space is filled, and even a woman’s monologue must conclude some -time! But one paragraph more may be taken to put in a plea for space for -an Open-air Museum. It need not be a large and exhaustive one, for there -is something to be said for not making museums “too bright and good for -human nature’s daily food”. There might be objects of museum interest -scattered in groups about the green girdle which the young among my -readers will, I trust, live to see round all great towns; or an open-air -exhibit on a limited subject might be provided, as the late Mr. Burt -arranged so charmingly at Swanage; or the Shakespeare Gardens, already -started in some of the London County Council parks, might be further -developed; or the more ambitious schemes of Stockholm and Copenhagen -intimated; but whichever model is adopted the idea of open-air museums -(which might be stretched to include bird sanctuaries) is one which -should find a place in the gracious environment of our well-ordered -towns when they have come under the law and the gospel of the -Town-planning Act. - - HENRIETTA O. BARNETT. - - - - - THE MISSION OF MUSIC.[1] - - BY CANON BARNETT. - - July, 1899. - - [1] From “International Journal of Ethics”. By permission of the -Editor. - - -“We must have something light or comic.” So say those who provide music -for the people, and their words represent an opinion which is almost -universal with regard to the popular taste. The uneducated, it is -thought, must be unable to appreciate that which is refined or to enjoy -that which does not make them laugh and be merry. - -Opinions exist, especially with regard to the tastes and wants of the -poor, by the side of facts altogether inconsistent with those opinions. -There are facts within the knowledge of some who live in the East End of -London which are sufficient, at any rate, to shake this general opinion -as to the people’s taste in music. - -In Whitechapel, where so many philanthropists have tried “to patch with -handfuls of coal and rice” the people’s wants, the signs of ignorance -are as evident as the signs of poverty. There is an almost complete -absence of those influences which are hostile to the ignorance, not, -indeed, of the mere elements of knowledge (the Board Schools are now -happily everywhere prominent), but to the ignorance of joy, truth, and -beauty. Utility and the pressure of work have crowded house upon house; -have filled the shops with what is only cheap, driven away the -distractions of various manners and various dresses, and made the place -weary to the body and depressing to the mind. - -Nevertheless, in this district a crowd has been found willing, on many a -winter’s night, to come and listen to parts of an oratorio or to -selections of classical music. The oratorios have sometimes been given -in a church by various bodies of amateurs who have practised together -for the purpose; the concerts have been given in schoolrooms on Sunday -evenings by professionals of reputation. To the oratorios men and women -have come, some of them from the low haunts kept around the city by its -carelessly administered charity, all of them of the class which, working -for its daily bread, has no margin of time for study. Amid those who are -generally so independent of restraint, who cough and move as they will, -there has been a death-like stillness as they have listened to some fine -solo of Handel’s. On faces which are seldom free of the marks of care, -except in the excitement of drink, a calm has seemed to settle and tears -to flow, for no reason but because “it is so beautiful!” Sometimes the -music has appeared to break gradually down barriers that shut out some -poor fellow from a fairer past or a better future than his present: the -oppressive weight of the daily care lifts, other sights are in his -vision, and at last, covering his face or sinking on his knees, he makes -prayers which cannot be uttered. Sometimes it has seemed to seize one on -business bent, to transport him suddenly to another world, and, not -knowing what he feels, has forced him to say, “It was good to be here”. -A church filled with hundreds of East Londoners, affected, doubtless, in -different ways, but all silent, reverent, and self-forgetful, is a sight -not to be forgotten or to be held to have no meaning. To the concerts -have crowded hard-headed, unimaginative men, described in a local paper -as being “friends of Bradlaugh”. These have listened to and evidently -taken in difficult movements of Beethoven, Schumann, and Chopin. The -loud applause which has followed some moments of strained, rapt -attention has proclaimed the universal feeling. - -With a knowledge of the character of the music, the applications for -admission have increased, and the announcement of a hope that the -concerts might be continued the following winter, and possibly also -extended to weekday evenings, has brought from some of those present an -expression of their desire for other high-class music. The poor quarters -of cities have been too long treated as if their inhabitants were -deficient in that which is noblest in human nature. Human beings want -not something which will do, but the best. - -If it be asked what proof there be that such music has a permanent -effect on the hearers, the only answer is that people do not always know -how they have been most influenced. It is the air unconsciously breathed -which affects the cure much more often than the medicine so consciously -taken. Music may most deeply and permanently affect those who themselves -can express no appreciation with their words or show results in their -lives. Like the thousand things which surrounds the child and which he -never notices, music may largely serve in the formation of character and -the satisfaction of life. That the performance of this music in the East -End is not followed by expressions of intelligent appreciation or by -immediate change of life is no proof of its failure to influence. The -fact that crowds come to listen is sufficient to make the world -reconsider its opinion that the people care only for what is light or -laugh-compelling. There is evidently in the highest music something -which finds a response in many minds not educated to understand its -mysteries nor interested in its creation. This suggests that music has -in the present time a peculiar mission. - -“Man doth not live by bread alone,” expresses a truth which even those -will allow who profess themselves careless about present-day religion. -There is in human beings, in those whom the rich think to satisfy by -increased wages and improved dwellings, a need of something beyond. The -man who has won an honourable place, who by punctuality, honesty, and -truthfulness has become the trusted servant of his employer, is often -weary with the very monotony of his successful life. He has bread in -abundance, but, unsatisfied, he dreams of filling quite another place in -the world, perhaps as the leader daring much for others, perhaps as the -patriot suffering much for his class and country, or perhaps as the poet -living in others’ thoughts. There flits before him a vision of a fuller -life, and the vision stirs in him a longing to share such life. The -woman, too, who in common talk is the model wife and mother, whose days -are filled with work, whose talk is of her children’s wants, whose life -seems so even and uneventful, so complete in its very prosaicness, she, -if she could be got to speak out the thoughts which flit through her -brain as she silently plies her needle or goes about her household -duties, would tell of strange longings for quite another sort of life, -of passions and aspirations which have been scarcely allowed to take -form in her mind. There is no one to whom “omens that would astonish -have not predicted a future and uncovered a past”. - -Beyond the margin of material life is a spiritual life. This life has -been and may still be believed to be the domain of religion, that which -science has not known and can never know, which material things have not -helped and can never help. It has been the glory of religion to develop -the longing to be something higher and nobler by revealing to men the -God, Who is higher than themselves. - -Religion having abdicated this domain to invade that of science has -to-day suffered by becoming the slave of æsthetic and moral precepts. -Her professors often yield themselves to the influence of form and -colour or boast only of their morality and philanthropy. - -It is no wonder, therefore, that many who are in earnest and feel that -neither ritualism nor philanthropy have special power to satisfy their -natures, reject religion. But they will not, if they are fair to -themselves, object to the strengthening of that power which they must -allow to have been a source of noble endeavour and of the very science -whose reign they acknowledge. The sense of something better than their -best, making itself felt not in outward circumstance but inwardly in -their hearts, has often been the spring of effort and of hope. It is -because the forms of present-day religion give so little help to -strengthen this sense, that so many now speak slightingly of religion -and profess their independence of its forms. Religion, in fact, is -suffering for want of expression. - -In other times men felt that the words of the Prayer Book and phrases -now labelled “theological” did speak out, or at any rate did give some -form to their vague, indistinct longing to be something else and -something more; while the picture of God, drawn from the Bible history -and Bible words, gave an object to their longing, making them desire to -be like Him and to enjoy Him for ever. - -In these days, however, historical criticism and scientific discoveries -have made the old expressions seem inadequate to state man’s longings or -to picture God’s character. The words of prayers, whether the written -prayers of the English Church or that rearrangement of old expressions -called “extempore prayer,” do not at once fit in with the longings of -those to whom, in these later days, sacrifice has taken other forms and -life other possibilities. The descriptions of God, involving so much -that is only marvellous, jar against minds which have had hints of the -grandeur of law and which have been awed not by miracles but by -holiness. The petitions for the joys of heaven do not always meet the -needs of those who have learnt that what they are is of more consequence -than what they have, and the anthropomorphic descriptions of the -character of God make Him seem less than many men who are not jealous, -nor angry, nor revengeful. - -Words and thoughts alike often fail to satisfy modern wants. While -prayers are being said, the listless attitude and wandering gaze of -those in whose souls are the deepest needs and loftiest aspirations, -proclaim the failure. Religion has not failed, but only its power of -expressing itself. There lives still in man that which gropes after God, -but it can find no form in which to clothe itself. The loss is no light -one. Expression is necessary to active life, and without it, at any -rate, some of the greater feelings of human nature must suffer loss of -energy and be isolated in individuals. Free exercise will give those -feelings strength; the power of utterance will teach men that they are -not alone when they are their best selves. - -The world has been moved to many a crusade by a picture of suffering -humanity, and the darkness of heathenism calls forth missionaries of one -Church and another. Almost as moving a picture might be drawn of those -who wanting much can express nothing. Here are men and women, bone of -our bone, flesh of our flesh: they have that within them which raises -them above all created things, powers by which they are allied to all -whom the world honours, faculties by which they might find unfailing -joy. But they have no form of expression and so they live a lower life, -walking by sight, not by faith, giving rein to powers which find their -satisfaction near at hand, and developing faculties in the use of which -there is more of pain than joy. The power which has been the spring of -so much that is helpful to the world seems to be dead in them; that -sense which has enabled men to stand together as brothers, trusting one -another as common possessors of a Divine spark, seems to be without -existence. A few may go on walking grimly the path of duty, but for the -mass of mankind life has lost its brightness. Dullness unrelieved by -wealth, and loneliness undispersed by dissipation, are the common lot. -In a sense more terrible than ever, men are like children walking in the -night with no language but a cry. He that will give them the means once -more to express what they really are and what they really want will -break the bondage. - -The fact that the music of the great masters does stir something in most -men’s natures should be a reason for trying whether music might not, at -any rate partially, express the religious life of the present day. - -There is much to be said in favour of such an experiment. On the one -side there is the failure of existing modes of expression. The -prettinesses of ritualism and the social efforts of Broad Churchism, -even for the comparatively small numbers who adopt these forms of -worship, do not meet those longings of the inner life which go beyond -the love of beauty and beyond the love of neighbours. The vast majority -of the people belong to neither ritualism nor Broad Churchism; they -live, at best, smothering their aspirations in activity; at worst, in -dissipation, having forsaken duty as well as God. Their morality has -followed their religion. In the East End of London this is more -manifest, not because the people of the East are worse than the people -of the West, but because the people of the East have no call to seem -other than they are. Amid many signs hopeful for the future there is -also among East Londoners, unblushingly declared at every street-corner, -the self-indulgence which robs the young and weak of that which is their -right, education and protection; the vice which saps a nation’s strength -is boasted of in the shop and flaunted in the highways, and the -selfishness which is death to a man is often the professed ground of -action. - -Morality for the mass of men has been dependent on the consciousness of -God, and with the lack of means of expression the consciousness of God -seems to have ceased. On this ground alone there would be reason for -making an experiment with music, if only because it offers itself as a -possible means of that expression which the consciousness of God -supports. And, on the other side, there is the natural fitness of music -for the purpose. - -In the first place, the great musical compositions may be asserted to -be, not arrangements which are the results of study and the application -of scientific principles, but the results of inspiration. The master, -raised by his genius above the level of common humanity to think fully -what others think only in part, and to see face to face what others see -only darkly, puts into music the thoughts which no words can utter and -the descriptions which no tongue can tell. What he himself would be, his -hopes, his fears, his aspirations, what he himself sees of that holiest -and fairest which has haunted his life, he tells by his art. Like the -prophets, having had a vision of God, his music proclaims what he -himself would desire to be, and expresses the emotions of his higher -nature. - -If this be a correct account of the meaning of those great masterpieces -which may every day be performed in the ears of the people, it is easy -to see how they may be made to serve the purpose in view. The greatest -master is a man with much in him akin to the lowest of the human race. -The homage all pay to the great is but the assertion of this kinship, -the assertion of men’s claim to be like the great when the obstructions -of their mal-formation and mal-education shall be trained away. Men -generally will, therefore, find in that which expresses the thoughts of -the greatest the means of expressing their own thoughts. The music which -enfolds the passions that have never found utterance, that have never -been realized by the ordinary man, will somehow appeal to him and make -him recognize his true self and his true object. Music being itself the -expression of the wants of man, all who share in man’s nature will find -in it an expression for longings and visions for which no words are -adequate. It will be what prayers and meditations now so often fail to -be, a means of linking men with the source of the highest thoughts and -efforts, and of enabling them to enjoy God, a joy which so few now -understand. - -More than this, the best existing expression of that which men have -found to be good has been by parables, whose meanings have not been -limited to time or place but are of universal application. Heard by -different people and at different times, parables have given to all -alike a conception of that which eye cannot see nor voice utter; each -hearer in each age has gained possibly a different conception, but in -the use of the same words all have felt themselves to be united. The -parable of the prodigal son has represented the God who has been won to -love by the sacrifice of Christ and also the God who freely forgives. -Such forms of expression it is most important to have in an age when -movement is so rapid that things become old as soon as they are new, -separating to-morrow those who have stood together to-day, and when at -the same time the longing for unity is so powerful that the thought of -it acts as a charm on men’s minds. - -In some degree all art is a parable, as it makes known in a figure that -which is unknown, revealing the truth the artist has felt to others just -in so far as they by education and surroundings have been qualified to -understand it. Titian’s picture of the Assumption helped the mediæval -saint to worship better the Virgin Mother, and also helps those of our -day to realize the true glory of womanhood. - -But music, even more than painting and poetry, fulfils this condition. -It reveals that which the artist has seen, and reveals it with no -distracting circumstance of subject, necessary to the picture or the -poem. The hearer who listens to a great composition is not drawn aside -to think of some historical or romantic incident; he is free to think of -that of which such incidents are but the clothes. Age succeeds to age; -the music which sounded in the ears of the fathers sounds also in the -ears of the children. Place and circumstance force men asunder, but -still for those of every party or sect and for those in every quarter of -the world the great works of the masters of music remain. The works may -be performed in the West End or in the East End--the hearers will have -different conceptions, will see from different points of view the vision -which inspired the master, but will nevertheless have the sense that the -music which serves all alike creates a bond of union. - -Music then would seem fitted to be in this age the expression of that -which men in their inmost hearts most reverence. Creeds have ceased to -express this and have become symbols of division rather than of unity! -Music is a parable, telling in sounds which will not change of that -which is worthy of worship, telling it to each hearer just in so far as -he by nature and circumstance is able to understand it, but giving to -all that feeling of common life and assurance of sympathy which has in -old times been the strength of the Church. By music, men may be helped -to find God who is not far from any one of us, and be brought again -within reach of that tangible sympathy, the sympathy of their -fellow-creatures. - -There is, however, still one other requisite in a perfect form of -religious expression. The age is new and thoughts are new, but -nevertheless they are rooted in the past. More than any one acknowledges -is he under the dominion of the buried ages. He who boasts himself -superior to the superstitions of the present is the child of parents -whose high thoughts, now transmitted to their child, were intertwined -with those superstitions. Any form of expression therefore which aims at -covering emotions said to be new must, like these emotions, have -associations with the past. A brand new form of worship, agreeable to -the most enlightened reason and surrounded with that which the present -asserts to be good, would utterly fail to express thoughts and feelings, -which, if born of the present, share the nature of parents who lived in -the past. It is interesting to notice how machines and institutions -which are the product of the latest thought bear in their form traces of -that which they have superseded; the railway carriage suggests the -stage-coach, and the House of Commons reminds us of the Saxon -Witanagemot. The absolutely new would have no place in this old world, -and a new form of expression could not express the emotions of the inner -life. - -Music which offers a form in which to clothe the yearnings of the -present has been associated with the corresponding yearnings of the -past, and would seem therefore to fulfil the necessary condition. Those -who to-day feel music telling out their deepest wants and proclaiming -their praise of the good and holy, might recognize in the music echoes -of the songs which broke from the lips of Miriam and David, of Ambrose -and Gregory, and of those simple peasants who one hundred years ago were -stirred to life on the moors of Cornwall and Wales. - -The fact that music has been thus associated with religious life gives -it an immense, if an unrecognized power. The timid are encouraged and -the bold are softened! When the congregation is gathered together and -the sounds rise which are full of that which is and perhaps always will -be “ineffable,” there float in, also, memories of other sounds, poor -perhaps and uncouth, in which simple people have expressed their prayers -and praises; the atmosphere, as it were, becomes religious, and all feel -that the music is not only beautiful, but the means of bringing them -nearer to the God after Whom they have sought so long and often -despaired to find. - -For these reasons music seems to have a natural fitness for becoming the -expression of the inner life. The experiment, at any rate, may be easily -tried. There is in every parish a church with an organ, and arrangements -suitable for the performance of grand oratorios; there are concert halls -or schoolrooms suitable for the performance of classical music. There -are many individuals and societies with voices and instruments capable -of rendering the music of the masters. Most of them have, we cannot -doubt, the enthusiasm which would induce them to give their services to -meet the needs of their fellow-creatures. - -Money has been and is freely subscribed for the support of missions -seeking to meet bodily and spiritual wants; music will as surely be -given by those who have felt its power to meet that need of expression -which so far keeps the people without the consciousness of God. Members -of ethical societies, who have taught themselves to fix their eyes on -moral results, may unite with members of churches who care also for -religious things. Certain it is that people who are able to realize -grand ideals will be likely in their own lives to do grand things, and -doing them make the world better and themselves happier. - - SAMUEL A. BARNETT. - - - - - THE REAL SOCIAL REFORMER.[1] - - BY CANON BARNETT. - - January, 1910. - - [1] From “The Manchester Weekly Times”. By permission of the Editor. - - -The world is out of joint. Reformers have in every age tried to put it -right. But still Society jerks and jolts as it journeys over the road of -life. The rich fear the poor, the poor suspect the rich, there is strife -and misunderstanding; children flicker out a few days’ life in sunless -courts, and honoured old age is hidden in workhouses; people starve -while food is wasted in luxurious living, and the cry always goes up, -“Who will show us any good?” - -The response to that cry is the appearance of the Social Reformer. -Philanthropists have brought forward scheme after scheme to relieve -poverty, and politicians have passed laws to remove abuses. Their -efforts have been magnificent and the immediate results not to be -gainsaid, but in counting the gains the debit side must not be -forgotten. Philanthropists weaken as well as strengthen society; law -hinders as well as helps. When a body of people assume good doing as a -special profession, there will always be a tendency among some of their -neighbours to go on more unconcerned about evil, and among others to -offer themselves as subjects for this good doing. The world may be -better for its philanthropists, but when after such devotion it remains -so terribly out of joint the question arises whether good is best done -by a class set apart as Social Reformers. - -There is an often-quoted saying of a monk in the twelfth century: “The -age of the Son is passing, the age of the Spirit is coming”. He saw that -the need of the world would not always be for a leader or for a class of -leaders, but rather for a widely diffused spirit. - -The present moment is remarkable for the number of societies, leagues, -and institutions which are being started. There never were so many -leaders offering themselves to do good, so many schemes demanding -support. The Charities Register reveals agencies which are ready to deal -with almost any conceivable ill, and it would seem that anyone desiring -to help a neighbour might do so by pressing the button of one of these -agencies. The agencies for each service are, indeed, so many, that other -societies are formed now for their organization, and the would-be -good-doer is thus relieved even from inquiring as to that which is the -best fitted for his purpose. - -The hope of the monk is deferred, and it seems as if it were the -leaders and not the spirit of the people which is to secure social -reform. The question therefore presses itself whether the best -social reformers are the philanthropists. Specialists always make -a show of activity, but such a show is often the cover of widely -spread indolence. Specialists in religion--the ecclesiastics--were -never more active than when during the fifteenth century they built -churches and restored the cathedrals, but underneath this activity -was the popular indifference which almost immediately woke to take -vengeance on such leaders. Specialists in social reform to-day--the -philanthropists--raise great schemes, but many of their supporters are -at heart indifferent. It really saves them trouble to create societies -and to make laws. It is easier to subscribe money--even to sit on a -committee--than to help one’s own neighbour. It is easier to promote -Socialism than to be a Socialist. Activity in social reform movements -may be covering popular indifference, and there is already a sign of -the vengeance which awakened indifference may take in the cry dimly -heard, “Curse your charity”. - -Better, it may be agreed, than great schemes--voluntary or legal--is the -individual service of men and women who, putting heart and mind into -their efforts, and co-operating together, take as their motto “One by -One”; but again the same question presses itself in another form: Should -the individual who aspires to serve his generation separate himself from -the ordinary avocations of Society, and become a visitor or teacher? -Should the business man divide his social reforming self from his -business self, and keep, as he would say, his charity and his business -apart? - -The world is rich in examples of devoted men and women who have given -up pleasure and profit to serve others’ needs. The modern Press -gives every day news of both the benefactions and the good deeds of -business men who, as business men, think first, not of the kingdom of -heaven, but of business profits. This specialization of effort--as the -specialization of a class--has its good results; but is it the best, -the only way of social reform? Is it not likely to narrow the heart of -the good-doer and make him overkeen about his own plan? Will not the -charity of a stranger, although it be designed in love and be carried -out with thought, almost always irritate? Is it not the conception -of society, which assumes one class dependent on the benevolence of -another class, mediæval rather than modern? Can limbs which are out -of joint be made to work smoothly by any application of oil and not -by radical resetting? Is it reasonable that business men should look -to cure with their gifts the injuries they have inflicted in their -business, that they should build hospitals and give pensions out of -profits drawn from the rents of houses unfit for human habitation, and -gained from wages on which no worker could both live and look forward -to a peaceful old age? Is it possible for a human being to divide his -nature so as to be on the one side charitable and on the other side -cruel? - -The question therefore as to the best Social Reformer, still waits an -answer. Before attempting an answer it may be as well to glance at the -moral causes to which social friction is attributed. Popular belief -assumed that the designed selfishness of classes or of individuals lies -at the root of every trouble. Bitter and fiery words are therefore -spoken. Capitalists suspect the aspiring tyranny of trade unions to be -compassing their ruin, workmen talk of the other classes using “their -powers as selfish and implacable enemies of their rights”. Rich people -incline to assume that the poor have designs on their property, and the -poor suspect that every proposal of the rich is for their injury. The -philosophy of life is very simple. “Every one seeketh reward,” and the -daily Press gives ample evidence as to the way every class acts on that -philosophy. But nevertheless experience reveals the good which is in -every one. Mr. Galsworthy in his play, “The Silver Box,” pictures the -conflict between rich and poor, between the young and the old. The pain -each works on the other is grievous, there is hardness of heart and -selfishness, but the reflection left by the play is not that anyone -designed the pain of the other, but that for want of thought each -misunderstood the other, and each did the wrong thing. - -The family whose members are so smugly content with the virtue which has -secured wealth and comfort, whose charities are liberally supported, and -kindness frequently done, where hospitality is ready, would feel itself -unfairly charged if it were abused because it lived on abuses, and -opposed any change which might affect the established order. The labour -agitator, on the other hand, feels himself unfairly charged when he is -attacked as designing change for his own benefit and accused of enmity -because of his strong language. It may be that his words do mischief, -but in his heart he is kindly and generous. There are criminals in every -class, rich men who prey on poor men, and poor men who prey on rich men, -but the criminal class is limited and the mass of men do not intend -evil. The chief cause of social friction is, it may be said, not -designed selfishness so much as the want of moral thoughtfulness. The -rogue of the piece is not the criminal, but--you--I--every one. - -The recognition of this fact suggests that the best Social Reformer is -not the philanthropist or the politician so much as the man or the woman -who brings moral thoughtfulness into every act and relation of daily -life. - -There is abundance of what may be called financial thoughtfulness, and -people take much pains, not always with success--to inquire into the -soundness of their investments and the solvency of their debtors. The -Social Reformer who feels the obligation of moral thoughtfulness will -take as much pains to inquire whether his profits come by others’ loss. -He may not always succeed, but he will seek to know if the workers -employed by his capital receive a living wage and are protected from the -dangers of their trade. He will look to it that his tenants have houses -which ought to make homes. - -There is much time spent in shopping, and women take great pains to -learn what is fashionable or suited to their means. If they were morally -thoughtful they would take as much pains to learn what sweated labour -had been used so that things might be cheap; what suffering others had -endured for their pleasure. They might not always succeed, but the fact -of seeking would have its effect, and they would help to raise public -opinion to a greater sense of responsibility. - -Pleasure-seekers are proverbially free-handed, they throw their money to -passing beggars, they patronize any passing show which promises a -moment’s amusement; greater moral thoughtfulness would not prevent their -pleasure, but it would prevent them from making children greedy, so that -they might enjoy the fun of watching a scramble, and from listening to -songs or patronizing shows which degrade the performer. Gwendolen, in -George Eliot’s “Daniel Deronda,” did not realize that the cruelty of -gambling is taking profit by another’s loss, and so she laid the -foundation of a tragedy. Pleasure-seekers who make the same mistake are -responsible for some of the tragedies which disturb society. - -The Social Reformers who will do most to fit together the jarring joints -of Society are, therefore, the man and woman who, without giving up -their duties or their business, who without even taking up special -philanthropic work are morally thoughtful as to their words and acts. -They are, in old language, they who are in the world and not of the -world. If any one says that such moral thoughtfulness spells bankruptcy, -there are in the examples of business men and manufacturers a thousand -answers, but reformers who have it in mind to lead the world right do -not begin by asking as to their own reward. It is enough for them that -as the ills of society come not from the acts of criminals who design -the ills, but from the thousand and million unconsidered acts of men and -women who pass as kindly and respectable people, they on their part set -themselves to consider every one of their acts in relation to others’ -needs. - -The real Social Reformer is therefore the business man, the customer, -the pleasure-seeker, who in his pursuits thinks first of the effect of -those pursuits on the health and wealth of his partners in such -pursuits. The spirit of moral thoughtfulness widely spread among rich -and poor, employers and employed, better than the power of any leader or -of any law, will most surely set right a world which is out of joint. - - SAMUEL A. BARNETT. - - - - - WHERE CHARITY FAILS.[1] - - BY CANON BARNETT. - - January, 1907. - - [1] From “Pearson’s Weekly”. By permission of the Editor. - - -I do not think that anyone will dispute the fact that our charity, taken -as a whole, is administered in a somewhat wasteful and haphazard -fashion. At the same time, however, I question whether the public is -alive to the full extent of the evil arising from the utter lack of -system in our administration of charity. - -For it is not merely the question of the waste of the public’s money, -though that is bad enough; it is the far graver matter of the -depreciation of our greatest national asset, character, by injudicious -and indiscriminate philanthropy. - -Owing to the absence of any supreme charitable board or authority, and -the lack of co-operation between charitable bodies, it is very tempting -to a poor man to tell a lie to draw relief from many sources. He gets -his food and loses his character. - -Indeed, I have no hesitation in saying that the present system directly -encourages mendacity and mendicity, and, unless remedied, must -inevitably affect the moral fibre of the nation. - -The want of co-operation already alluded to is, of course, at the root -of the evil, so far as waste of money is concerned, and I am often asked -why charitable bodies will not co-operate. My answer is that it is very -often a case of pride in results. Officials do not wish to share the -credit of their work; they want to be able to claim to their subscribers -that they have spent more money or relieved more cases than their rival -round the corner, just as hospitals are led to regard the number of -patients they treat as the criterion of their usefulness. - -However, although I hold that hospitals might well extend their sphere -from the cure to the prevention of disease, by taking more part in -teaching people the laws of health and influencing them to keep such -laws in their homes, I am not concerned with that question here, and -mention hospitals only to introduce my first suggestion for charity -reform. - -The operations for the King’s Hospital Fund have shown what can be done -to check waste by bringing about a saving of £20,000 a year in the -hospitals’ bills for provisions, etc. - -Until the King’s Hospital Fund was instituted there was no general -knowledge of the comparative expenditure of hospitals on food, etc., -with the result that some paid exorbitant prices for certain articles -and some for others. The action of the King’s Fund has equalized -expenditure, with the result I have stated. - -Now it occurs to me that another board like the King’s Hospital Fund -would be able to bring about a similar saving in the administration of -other charities which now compete to the loss of money subscribed by the -public for the public, and, as I have said, to the detriment of -character. - -Such a Board would check waste and extravagance engendered by -competition, and it could be brought into being as swiftly and -effectively as was the King’s Hospital Fund. - -So much for an immediate measure, but I suggest as a more certain method -that every twenty-five years or so there should be an inquiry by some -authority, either national or local, into every philanthropic -institution. - -The terms of reference of such inquiry might be: firstly, the economic -and business-like character of the management; secondly, the way in -which co-operation was welcomed, and whether something more could not be -done for further co-operation; and lastly, the institution might be -tried by the standard of its usefulness to its surroundings. For, -remember, every charity which really exists for the public good ought to -test itself by this question, “Is our aim that of self-extinction?” The -truest charity, that is to say, should aim to remove the causes, not the -symptoms of evil. - -But many shirk this self-inquisition, and linger on breeding mendicity, -after their place has been taken by State or municipal organizations, or -after they have ceased to fulfil any useful purpose. - -It may be that this public authority I suggest would not at once effect -very much, but a public inquiry provides facts for public opinion to -work upon, and thus inevitably brings reform. - -My final words, however, must again be as to the mischief liable to be -done to character by thoughtless charity. People should think most -carefully and solemnly before they give, lest they do more harm than -good, and until our charity is properly organized and supervised, I fear -that much money will be wasted on undeserving cases and in unnecessary -and extravagant expenses of administration. - - SAMUEL A. BARNETT. - - - - - LANDLORDISM UP TO DATE.[1] - - BY CANON BARNETT. - - August, 1912. - - [1] From “The Westminster Gazette”. By permission of the Editor. - - -“The position of landlord and tenant is often one of opposing -interests.” This remark from the first number of the “Record” of the -Hampstead Garden Suburb must commend itself as true to all readers of -the daily Press. The “Record,” however, in two most interesting -articles, shows that with landlordism up to date it need no longer be -true. The Hampstead Garden Suburb Trust, of which Mr. Alfred Lyttelton -is president, and Mrs. S. A. Barnett hon. manager, is the landlord of -263 acres--shortly to be increased by another 400 acres, most of which -will be worked in conjunction with the Co-Partnership Tenants. To meet -the needs of the 25,000 people who will ultimately be housed on this -unique estate the whole has been laid out with a view to the comfort of -the people, including in the idea of “comfort” not only well-built -houses with gardens, but also the opportunities for the interknowledge -of various classes which alike enriches the minds of rich and poor. A -visit to the estate suggests the multitudinous interests which have been -considered. The houses are grouped around a central square, on which -stand the church, the chapel, and the institute, and it is so planned -that from the cottages at 5s. 6d. a week, as from the mansions with -rentals of from £100 to £250 a year, the inhabitants alike enjoy beauty -either of gardens, tree-planted streets, public open spaces, or glimpses -over the distant country. - -The Hampstead Garden Suburb Trust, as the leading article in the -“Record” says, “has done what any other far-seeing and enlightened -landlord has done,” with the difference that its pecuniary interest in -the financial success of the scheme is limited by a self-obtained Act of -Parliament to 5 per cent. In a summary, which it is well to quote, the -doings of this up-to-date landlord are gathered together:-- - - “As a landlord the Trust has laid out and maintains the open - spaces, the tennis courts, the wall-less gardens with their - brilliant flowers, the restful nooks, the village green, which, - with the secluded woods, can be enjoyed in common by rich and - poor, simple and learned, young and old, sources of ‘joy in widest - commonalty spread’. - - “As a landlord the Trust has given the sites for both the - Established Church and the Free Church, each standing on the - Central Square in equally prominent positions, worthy of the - beautiful buildings their respective organizations have erected. - - “As a landlord the Trust has given the site for the elementary - school, and has spared no pains to obtain a building adapted to the - best and most carefully thought-out methods of modern education. - - “As a landlord the Trust has built the first section of the - Institute, with the conviction that their hope of bringing into - friendly relations all classes of their tenants will be furthered - by the provision of a centre where residents and neighbours can be - drawn together by intellectual interests. Although the Institute - is not yet two years old, the Trust has already organized and - maintained many activities, a full report of which is to be found - in subsequent pages of the ‘Record’. - - “As a landlord the Trust has built three groups of buildings which - they counted necessary towards the completion of their civic - ideal: (_a_) Staff cottages, so that the men employed on the estate - should be housed suitably and economically; (_b_) a group of homes - where the State-supported children and others needing care and - protection should live under suitable and adequate administration, - and share the privileges and pleasures of the suburb; (_c_) - motor-houses, with dwellings for the drivers, so that the richer - people may have their luxury, and the poorer their habitations near - their work. - - “As a landlord the Trust conceives ideas for the public good - and presses them on companies and others in the hope of their - achievement. It was thus that the Improved Industrial Dwellings - Company, Limited, built (from Mr. Baillie Scott’s designs) the - beautiful quadrangle of Waterlow Court, where working ladies find - the advantages of both privacy and a common life. - - “As a landlord the Trust is pushing forward negotiations with a - view to obtaining a first-rate Secondary School, the directors - believing that the provision of high-class education meets a need - not usually considered when an estate is being developed, and that - the school site should not be limited to the minimum necessary - ground subsequently bought at an inflated price. - - “As a landlord the Trust welcomes the public spirit and civic - generosity of any of their tenants, taking special pride, perhaps, - in the beautiful shops, the ‘Haven of Rest’ for the old and - work-weary, and the club house (so admirably planned and alive with - social and pleasurable activities), the tennis courts, the bowling - greens, the children’s gardens, the skating rink--each and all - established and held for co-operative pleasure and joint use by - their chief tenants, the co-partners.” - -This record of what has already been done prepares the reader to read -with new interest the second article, “An Ideal--and After,” by Mr. -Raymond Unwin, who now stands at the head of “town-planners”. He shows -the great principles which have to be considered in planning town -extensions, which principles have generally been forgotten in the growth -of London suburbs. He then gives a plan of the 412 acres which lie -between the Finchley and the Great North Road, and are about to be -incorporated in the Hampstead Garden Suburb. He shows what direction the -roads should take so as to secure readiness of access to the railway -stations, and at the same time leave the Central Square with its fine -buildings dominating and giving beauty to the whole neighbourhood. He -shows also how other heights should be occupied by churches or public -buildings, and he proposes that another centre (and another will be -needed when it is remembered that the estate is nearly four miles long) -“should approximate more nearly to the Market Place or Forum, where the -main lines of traffic will meet, and to which access from all parts will -be made easy”. The articles make fascinating reading and lay hold of -that pioneer instinct which has helped to make Englishmen such good -Colonists. If the reading arouses some indignation at the lost chances -of London, the fact that Mr. Unwin, on behalf of the Trust, and the -co-partnership tenants are dealing with this great estate, in -conjunction with the Finchley District Council, gives some hope. In -years to come our children will see that the Hampstead Garden Suburb -Trust as a pioneer landlord did notable work in avoiding current -mistakes and in pointing the way for other metropolitan districts to -follow. Out of eighty-two authorities in Greater London only -twenty-seven have so far started to avail themselves of the powers of -the Housing and Town-Planning Act, and meanwhile the jerry-builder is at -large, uncontrolled, and very actively at work. - - SAMUEL A. BARNETT. - - - - - THE CHURCH AND TOWN PLANNING.[1] - - BY CANON BARNETT. - - August, 1912. - - [1] From “The Guardian”. By permission of the Editor. - - -Every year we are told that so many churches have been added to London. -Every year a volume is published by the Bishop of London’s Fund with -pictures of these churches--buildings of conventional character, showing -in their mean lines and sterile decoration the trail of the order to -limit their cost to £8000 or £9000. Every year we see London extending -itself in long straight ranks of small houses, where no tower or spire -suggests to men the help which comes of looking up, and no hall or -public building calls them to find strength in meeting together. - -Town-planning is much discussed, and the discussion has taken shape in -an Act of Parliament; but meantime the opportunities are being lost for -doing what the discussions and the Act declare to be necessary for -health and happiness. Hendon is probably the most highly favoured -building land nearest to London. It has undulating ground, where gentle -hills offer a wide prospect towards the west; it has fine trees whose -preservation might secure grace and dignity to the neighbourhood; and it -has also a large sheet of water, the reservoir of the Brent, whose banks -offer to young and old recreation for body and for spirit. A few years -ago town-planning might have secured all these advantages, and at the -same time provided houses and buildings which would have helped to make -social life a fair response to the physical surroundings. But while talk -is spent on the advantages of variety in buildings, of the importance of -securing a vista which street inhabitants may enjoy, and of the value of -trees and open spaces, straight roads are being cut at right angles -across the hills, trees are being felled, and nothing has been done to -prevent what will soon become slum property extending alongside the -lake. Willesden, as it may be seen from Dollis Hill--a chess-board of -slate roofs--is an object lesson as to the future of London if builders -and owners and local authorities go on laying out estates with no -thought but for the rights of private owners. - -What, however, it may be asked, can the Church do? “Agitate--protest?” -Yes, the Church, familiar with the lives of inhabitants of mean streets, -can speak with authority. It can tell how minds and souls are dwarfed -for want of outlook, how pathetic is the longing for beauty shown in the -coloured print on the wall of the little dark tenement, how hard it is -to make a home of a dwelling exactly like a hundred other dwellings, how -often it is the dullness of the street which encourages carelessness of -dirt and resort to excitement--how, in fact, it is the mean house and -mean street which prepare the way for poverty and vice. The voice of joy -and health is not heard even in the dwellings of the righteous. The -Church might help town-planning as it might help every other social -reform, by charging the atmosphere of life with unselfish and -sympathetic thought. But the question I would raise is whether the -Church is not called to take more direct action in the matter of -town-building. Its policy at present seems to build a church for every -4,000 or 5,000 persons as they settle on the outskirts of London. The -site is generally one given by a landlord whose interests do not always -take in those of the whole neighbourhood. The building itself aims -primarily at accommodating so many hundreds of people at a low cost per -seat, and outside features are regarded as involving expenses too great -for present generosity. This policy which has not been changed since -Bishop Blomfield set the example of building the East London district -churches, is, I believe, prejudicial to Church interests, as it -certainly is to the dignity of the neighbourhood in which they stand. - -The Church might help much in town-planning if it would change its -policy, and, instead of dropping unconsidered and trifling buildings at -frequent intervals over a new suburb, build one grand and dominant -building on some carefully chosen site to which the roads would lead. -The Directors of the Hampstead Garden Suburb as a private company have -shown what is possible. They have crowned the hill at the base of which -20,000 people will soon be gathered, with the Church, the Chapel, and -the public Institute. This hill dominates the landscape for miles round, -and is the obvious centre of a great community of people. The Church by -adopting a like policy would at once give a character to a new suburb, -the convergence of roads would be marked, and order would be brought -into the minds of builders planning out their different properties. The -architects would be conscious of the centre of the circle in which they -worked, and the houses would fall into some relation with the central -building. Every one would feel such a healthy pride in the grandeur of -the central church that it would be more difficult for things mean and -unsightly to be set up in its neighbourhood. The church buildings in the -City of London, or those which are seen towering over some of the newer -avenues in Paris, or those familiar in our country towns and in -villages, often seem as if they had brought together the inhabitants and -were presiding over their lives. They look like leaders and suggest that -the world is a world of order. The Bishop of London’s Fund, or the -authorities who direct the principal building policy, and spend annually -thousands of pounds in its pursuit, have thus a great opportunity of -giving direction to the expansion of London. They might by care in the -selection of sites, and by generous expenditure at the direction of a -large-visioned architect, do for the growing cities or towns of to-day -what the builders of the past did for the cities and towns of their -time. The Church by its direct action might thus give a great impetus to -town planning, the need of which is in the mouths of all reformers. - -But it may be asked whether the Church ought to contribute to the making -of beauty at the cost of its own efficiency. Has not the State one duty -and the Church another? Without answering the question it is I think -easy to show that a new policy would cost less money, and be more -efficient in promoting worship. It is obviously no more costly to build -one magnificent building for £25,000 or £30,000 than to build three -ordinary buildings at £8000 or £9000 each, while the maintenance of the -three, with the constant expense of repairs, must be considerably -greater. - -And if it be asked whether one grand and generous and dignified building -will attract more worshippers than three of the ordinary type, my answer -is “Yes, and the worshippers will be assisted to a reverent mind and -attitude”. I speak what I know as a vicar for thirty years of a district -church in East London. The building was always requiring repair, its -fittings were oppressively cheap, and there were twelve other churches -within much less than “a Sabbath day’s journey”. There is no doubt that -the people preferred and were more helped by worship in the finer and -better served parish churches. I used to feel what an advantage it would -have been if the parish church, endowed and glorified with some of the -money spent on the district churches, could have been the centre of a -large staff of clergy, and have offered freely to all comers the noblest -aids to worship. A feeling of patronage is incompatible with a feeling -of worship, and the district church, with its constant need of money and -its mean appearance, is always calling for the patronage of the people. -The grandly built and imposing building, which gives the best and asks -for nothing, provokes not patronage but reverence. There is, I believe, -great need for such places of worship, as there is also need for meeting -halls where in familiar talk and with simple forms of worship the clergy -might lead and teach the people; but I do not see the need for the cheap -churches, which are not dignified enough to increase habits of -reverence, and often pretend to an importance which provokes -impertinence. - -The Church has been powerful because it has called on its members to put -their best thought and their best gifts into the buildings raised for -the worship of God. It owes much to the stately churches and sumptuous -cathedrals, for the sake of which men of old made themselves poor; and -to-day the hearts of many, who are worn by the disease of modern -civilization, are comforted and uplifted as in the greatness of these -buildings they forget themselves. The Church is as unwise as it is -unfaithful when it puts up cheap and mean structures. It is not by -making excuses--whether for its members who keep the best for their own -dwellings or for itself when it takes an insignificant place in the -streets--that the Church will command the respect of the people. It must -prove its faith by the boldness of its demand. But I have said enough to -show that the Bishop of London’s Fund would serve its own object of -providing the best aid to worship, if it would respond to the call of -the present and seize the opportunity of taking a lead in town-planning. -Church policy--as State policy--is often best guided by the calls which -rise for present needs, and if our leaders, distrusting “their own -inventions,” would set themselves to assist in town-planning it might be -given them to do the best for the Church as well as for the health and -wealth of the people. - - SAMUEL A. BARNETT. - - - - - SECTION VI. - - EDUCATION. - -The Teacher’s Equipment--Oxford University and the Working People, _two -articles_--Justice to Young Workers--A Race between Education and Ruin. - - - - - THE TEACHER’S EQUIPMENT.[1] - - BY CANON BARNETT. - - March, 1911. - - [1] From “The Westminster Gazette”. By permission of the Editor. - - -Liberals must be somewhat disappointed that a Liberal Government has -done so little for education. The reforms for which they stand--their -hopes for the nation--depend on the increase of knowledge and -intelligence among the people. The establishment of Free Trade, wise -economy and wise expenditure, and the support of the statesmanship which -makes for peace, all presuppose an instructed electorate. But the -present Government has passed no measure to strengthen the foundation on -which Liberalism rests; attempts, indeed, were made to settle the -religious difficulty, but ever since those attempts were wrecked by the -House of Lords, Ministers have been content to do nothing, although -outside the religious controversy they might have launched other -attempts laden with important reforms and safe to reach their port. The -administration of the law as it stands has doubtless been vigorous; able -and public-spirited officials have seen that everything which the law -requires has been done, and every possible development effected, but the -Liberal Government has done nothing to improve the Law. Minister of -Education succeeds Minister of Education, years of opportunity roll by, -while children still leave school at an age when their education has -hardly begun, while compulsory continuation schools still wait to be -started, while great--not to say vast--endowments are absorbed in the -objects of the wealthier classes, while the provision for the equipment -of teachers is unsatisfactory. - -The equipment of the teachers is confessedly the most important item in -any programme of education, as it is upon the teacher rather than upon -the building or the curriculum that the real progress of education -depends. That equipment, as far as elementary schools are concerned, is -now given in training colleges, and especially in residential colleges. -Young men and women, that is to say, who have been through a secondary -school, and also shown some aptitude for teaching, receive, largely at -Government expense, two years’ instruction and training in colleges -which are managed either by religious denominations or by local -educational authorities. In the colleges the staff is mostly occupied in -giving the knowledge which forms part of a general education, and very -little time is spent in training or in the study of problems of the -child life. - - - TRAINING COLLEGES. - -The system is unsatisfactory on many grounds. (1) The rivalry between -denominational and undenominational colleges stirs the keenest -partisanship. When in his annual statement Mr. Runciman began to talk -about the number of students in the different colleges he had, he said -with some irony, “to drop the subject, knowing how far the religious -controversy is likely to interest this House”. (2) The system is most -costly, and every year, including building grants, an amount of -something like half a million of money is paid for the training--or, to -speak more accurately, for the ordinary education of young men and women -who may feel no call for teaching and cannot be really bound to take it -up for their life’s work. (3) It breeds a feeling of indignation among -those who do not get employment, and there is now an agitation because -the State does not find work for those whom it has selected to receive a -special training, and bound, even though it be by an ineffective bond, -to follow a particular calling. (4) It brings together a body of -students whose outlook to the future is identical, it encourages, -therefore, narrow views, and breeds the exclusive professional spirit in -a profession whose usefulness depends on its power to assimilate the -thought of the time and to sacrifice its interest for wider interests. -The training college system as a means of equipping teachers for their -work is not satisfactory, and the Archbishop of Canterbury was well -justified when he said: “The thing which mattered most in the -educational work in England to-day was the question of the training -colleges”. - - - THEIR REFORM OR THEIR ABOLITION. - -The reforms suggested generally follow the lines of further expenditure -on buildings or on staff, but such expenditure would not remove the -objections. The money annually spent is very large--equal to the -gross income of Oxford University--and if more were spent there is no -very effective way of securing that the best among the teachers so -trained would remain in the profession; the men would still take up -more remunerative work, and the women would still marry. The rivalry -between denominational and undenominational would continue, and the -protest of conscientious objectors--religious or secular--as each -further expense was proposed would increase difficulties. If the number -turned out of the training colleges were larger there would be a more -widely spread sense of wrong among the unemployed, who would with -difficulty recognize that something else was wanting in a teacher than -the certificate of a training college. But most fatal of all to the -proposed extension or improvement of the system, is the objection that -the more and the stronger the colleges become, the more deeply would -the professional spirit be entrenched, and the more powerful would be -the influence of the teaching class in asserting its rights. - - - SUBSTITUTION OF A BETTER WAY OF TRAINING. - -The reform might, I submit, follow the line of restriction and proceed -towards the ultimate abolition of the residential colleges in their -present form. The way is comparatively simple. Let the children from -elementary schools be helped--as, indeed, they now are--by scholarships -to enter secondary schools, and go on to University colleges, or to the -Universities. Equal opportunity for getting the best knowledge would -thus be open to children of all classes. Let any over the age of -nineteen who have passed through a college connected with some -University, or otherwise approved as giving an education of a general -and liberal character, be eligible to apply for a teachership, and if, -after a period of trial in a school--say for three or six months--they, -on the report of the inspector and master, have shown an aptitude for -teaching, then let them, at the expense of the State, be given a year’s -real training in the theory and practice of teaching. Teachers are, it -must be remembered, born and not made. One man or woman who, without any -experience, is placed over a class will at once command attention, while -another with perhaps greater ability will create confusion. Those who -are not born to it may indeed learn the tricks of discipline, and, like -a drill-sergeant, command obedience and keep order. Many of the -complaints which are heard about the unintelligence and the want of -interest in children who have come from schools where to the visitor’s -eye everything seems right are due, I believe, to the fact that the -teachers have not been born to the work. They have trusted to the rules -they have learnt and not to the gift of power which is in themselves. -They teach as the scribes and not with authority. Let, therefore, the -men and women who have this power be those whom the State will train; -let it give them not, as at present, a few weeks in a practising school, -but experience in a variety of schools in town and in country, and under -masters with different systems; let them be made familiar with the last -thoughts on child life, and with all the many different theories of -education. The State will in this way draw from all classes in the -community the men and the women best fitted to teach, and it will give -them a training worthy the name. The teachers will have the best -equipment for their work. - -The advantages of this proposal to get rid of the training colleges as -they now are may be summarized: (1) There will be an end of the -religious difficulty where at present it is most threatening. The -children with scholarships will go to the schools and University -colleges they elect just as do the children who are aiming at other -careers. The State in the training it provides will have nothing to do -with the special training required for giving religious knowledge--as -such training would naturally be given by the different denominations at -their own expense. (2) The half million of money annually spent on -training colleges would not be required for the training now proposed. -It cannot, however, be said that the money would be returned to the -taxpayers; education--if the nation is to be saved--must become more and -more costly, but it may be said that the greater part of this sum and -the existing buildings would be used for the general education of -persons taken from all classes of the community and preparing to walk in -all sorts of careers. (3) There would be no body of men and women with -the grievance that, having been selected at an early age, trained as -teachers, and bound to a profession, no work was provided. Every one -would have had the best sort of education for any career, and only one -year, after a fair time for choice and probation, would have been given -to special training. (4) The danger of professionalism would be -lessened. Men and women educated in schools and colleges alongside of -other students with other aims, would, by their association, gain a -wider outlook on life, and would be freed from the influences which tend -now to force them into an organization for the defence of their rights. -If afterwards they did join such organizations they would do so with a -wider consciousness of their relation to a body larger than their own, -and to a knowledge greater than they themselves had acquired. - -A substantial number of young persons do even under present conditions -spend their three years with the Government scholarship at Universities -or University colleges, and the experience thus gained illustrates the -advantage to intending students of mixing with persons intended for -other careers. - -Here, then, I submit, is a way of reform in what is confessedly the most -important part of our system of education. It might be undertaken at no -extra expense, and with small dislocation of existing institutions. The -one thing necessary is zeal for education among our political leaders. -The best students of the social problem tell us the remedy for the -unrest is education, and anyone considering the signs of the times in -England will say also that there must be more education if employers and -employed, if statesmen and people, if the pulpit and the pew are to -understand one another. The chief Minister in any Government, the -Minister on whose zeal and ability all the others depend for the -ultimate success of their work, is the Minister of Education. If he is -zealous he will find a way of equipping the teachers. - - SAMUEL A. BARNETT. - - - - - OXFORD UNIVERSITY AND THE WORKING PEOPLE.[1] - - BY CANON BARNETT. - - FIRST ARTICLE. - - February, 1909. - - [1] From “The Westminster Gazette”. By permission of the Editor. - - -Oxford last year invited seven working men to act with seven members of -the University on a Committee appointed to consider what the University -can do for the education of working people. The step is notable--Oxford -and Cambridge have long done something to make it possible for the sons -of workmen, by means of scholarships, to enter the colleges, to take -degrees, and, as members of the University, to climb to a place among -the professional classes. Oxford, in appointing this Committee, has -taken a new departure, and aimed to put its resources at the disposal of -people who continue to be members of the working classes. - -The report of the Committee, of which the Dean of Christ Church was -Chairman, and Mr. Shackleton, M.P., Vice-Chairman, forms a most -interesting pamphlet, which may be obtained for a shilling from any -bookseller or the Clarendon Press. It tells of the purpose, the history, -and the endowments of the University, and it also gathers together -evidence of the demand which is being raised by working people for -something more than education in “bread and butter” subjects. This -evidence is summed up in the following report:-- - -The ideal expressed in John Milton’s definition of education, “that -which fits a man to perform justly, skilfully, and magnanimously, all -the duties of all offices,” is one which is, we think, very deeply -embedded in the minds of the working classes, and we attribute part of -the failure of higher education among them in the past, to the feeling -that, by means of it their ablest members were being removed to spheres -where they would not be available for the service of their fellows. What -they desire is not that men should escape from their class, but that -they should remain in it and raise the whole level. The eleven millions -who weave our clothes, build our houses, and carry us safely on our -journeys demand university education in order that they may face with -wisdom the unsolved problems of their present position, not in order -that they may escape to another.... To-day in their strivings for a -fuller life, they ask that men of their own class should co-operate as -students with Oxford in order that, with minds enlarged by impartial -study, they in their turn may become the public teachers and leaders, -the philosophers and economists of the working classes. The movement, -which is thus formulated in a report signed by seven representative -workmen, is fraught with incalculable possibilities. - -The sum of happiness in the nation might be vastly increased, and -politics might be guided by more persistent wisdom. The great sources of -happiness which rise within the mind and are nourished by contact with -other minds are largely out of reach of the majority of the people. -These sources might be brought within their reach. The working classes -whose minds are strengthened by the discipline of work, might have the -knowledge which would interest them in the things their hands make; they -might, in the long monotonies of toil, be illuminated by the thoughts of -the great, and inspired by ideals; they might be introduced to the -secrets of beauty, and taught the joy of admiration. They might be -released from the isolation of ignorance, so that, speaking a common -language, and sharing common thoughts, they would have the pleasure of -helping and being helped in discussions with members of other classes on -all things under the sun. - -The workman knows about livelihood; he might know also about life, if -the great avenues of art, literature, and history, down which come the -thoughts and ideals of ages, were open to him. He might be happy in -reading, in thinking, or in admiring, and not be driven to find -happiness in the excitement of sport or drink. The mass of the people it -is often said are dumb, so that they cannot tell their thoughts; deaf, -so that they cannot understand the language of modern truth; and blind, -so that they cannot see the beauty of the world. - -The speaker, in Mr. Lowes Dickenson’s dialogue, condemns this generation -when he says, “their idea of being better off is to eat and drink to -excess, to dress absurdly, and to play stupidly and cruelly”. - -The majority of the people, it must be admitted, cannot have the best -sort of happiness, that which comes from within themselves, from the -exercise of their own thoughts, and from the use of their own faculties. -For want of knowledge the sum of happiness is decreased, and for want of -the same knowledge the dangers of war and social troubles are increased. -The working people have now become the governing class in the nation. Up -to now, the acting governors--the majority which controls the -Government--have cajoled them by party cries, by appeals to passion, and -by the familiar blandishments of expert canvassers, to fall in with -their policy. But every year working people are forming their own -opinions, and making their opinions felt, both in home and foreign -policy. They will break in upon the international equilibrium, so -delicately poised amid passions and prejudices; they will decide the use -of the Dreadnoughts and the armies of the world; they will settle -questions of property and of tariff; they will form the authority which -will have to control individual action for the good of the whole. How -can they possibly carry this responsibility if they have no wider -outlook on life, no greater knowledge of men, no more power of -foresight, no more respect for tradition than that which they already -possess? - -How shortsighted is the policy which spends millions on armaments, and -leaves them to become destructive in ignorant hands. How important for -national security is a knowledge “in widest commonalty spread”. Oxford, -to a large extent, possesses this knowledge and the means of its -distribution. - -“The national Universities, which are the national fountainheads of -national culture,” as one workman has said, have been regarded as the -legitimate preserves of the leisured class. They have helped the rich to -enjoy and defend their possessions, they have given them out of their -resources the power to see and to reason; they have made them wise in -their own interests; they have given to one class, and to the recruits -who have been drawn to that class from the ranks of the workman, the -knowledge in which is happiness and power. The question arises, should -Oxford, can Oxford, give the same gifts to working people while they -remain working people? The answer of the report is an unequivocal “Yes”. - -In the first place the University has inherited the duty of educating -the poor. Its colleges have in many cases been founded for poor -scholars, and its tradition is that poverty shall be no bar to learning. - -In the next place its long-established custom, of bringing men into -association in pursuit of knowledge, is one which peculiarly fits it -to help workmen, whose strength lies in that power of association -which has covered some districts of England with a network of -institutions--industrial, social, political, and religious. Men who -have joined in the discussions of the workshop, been members of the -committee of a co-operative store, and acted as officials of a -friendly society, have had in some ways a better preparation for -absorbing the teaching of the University on life, than is given in the -forms and playing field of a public school. The tutor of a class of -thirty-nine working people at N---- who read with him, the regular -session through, a course of Economic History, reports that the work -was excellent, and a visitor from Oxford was impressed “by the high -level of the discussion and the remarkable acumen displayed in asking -questions”. - -In the last place, the University has the money. The total net receipts -of the Universities and colleges--apart from a sum of £178,000 collected -from the members of the Universities and colleges--is £265,000. Of this -sum, £50,000 is given in scholarships and exhibitions to boys who for -the most part have been trained in the schools of the richer classes, -and of this sum £34,000 is given yearly without reference to the -financial means of the recipient. The report does not analyse the -expenditure of this large income, except in so far as to suggest that -some of the scholarship and fellowship money might be diverted to the -more direct service of working people’s education. Common sense, -however, suggests that there must be many possible economies in the -management of estates, in the overlapping of lecturers, and in the -expense on buildings. The experience of the Ecclesiastical Commission -has shown how much may be gained if estates are removed from the care of -many amateur corporations, and placed under a centralized and efficient -management. The knowledge, too, that some colleges have ten times the -income of others, without corresponding difference in the educational -output, suggests that money may be saved. - -Oxford seems to be compelled, both by its traditions, its customs, and -its money to do something for the education of the working people. The -question whether it can do so, is answered by the scheme which the -report recommends; that a committee be formed in Oxford, consisting of -working-class representatives, in equal numbers with members of the -University; that this Committee should draw up a two years’ curriculum, -select the tutors, who must also have work in Oxford, and settle the -localities in which classes shall be held; that students at these -classes be admitted to the diploma course; that half of the teachers’ -salary be paid by the University, and the other half by the Committee of -the locality in which the classes are held. The report, with a view to -bringing working people under the influence of Oxford itself, further -recommends that colleges be asked to set aside a number of scholarships -or exhibitions, to enable selected students from the tutorial classes to -reside in Oxford, either in Colleges, in University Halls, as -non-collegiate students, or at Ruskin Hall. - -These recommendations have certain advantages and certain shortcomings, -the consideration of which must be deferred to another article. - - SAMUEL A. BARNETT. - - - - - OXFORD UNIVERSITY AND THE WORKING PEOPLE.[1] - - BY CANON BARNETT. - - SECOND ARTICLE. - - February, 1909. - - [1] From “The Westminster Gazette”. By permission of the Editor. - - -The points in the scheme which Oxford proposes to adopt for bringing its -resources to the services of working people are: The appointment of -representative workmen on the Committee responsible for the object. The -offer of a working University tutor to a locality where a class of -thirty workpeople has been formed, willing to adopt one of the two -years’ courses which the committee has approved. The recognition of the -students of these classes as eligible for a diploma in Economics, -Political Science, etc. The open door, so that students selected from -the classes may be able to enter and to reside in the University. - -Two questions arise: Will the scheme attract workmen? Will it get the -sympathetic, if not the enthusiastic, support of the University? - -1. Will it attract workmen? Workmen, apart from the demand that they, as -a class, should share in the joy and the power of knowledge, have learnt -that they must have educated men of their own class to direct their own -organizations. There are 1,153 trade unions, 389 friendly societies, -2,646 co-operative societies, and many other councils or congresses, -most of which employ paid officers who are daily discharging duties of -the utmost responsibility and delicacy, and which make demands on their -judgment of men and knowledge of economic and political principles, as -great or greater than those made on the Civil servant in India or in -this country. Workmen want officials who, familiar with their point of -view, will have the knowledge and experience to convince educated -opponents of the justice of their contentions. The education which -Oxford can give by broadening a man’s knowledge and strengthening his -judgment, would make him a more efficient servant of his own society, -and a more potent influence on the side of industrial peace. - -Will workmen accept the offer which Oxford makes? Much shyness and -prejudice have to be overcome. Oxford is often associated with opinions -foreign to the democratic ideal. The manners of University men sometimes -suggest that they are superior persons, and a reputation for expensive -trifling is widely spread. Workmen are afraid that their young men in -the University atmosphere may be alienated from their class, grow -ashamed of their belongings, and put on artificial manners. They doubt -whether the teaching may not be of a kind directed in the interest of -property, and they fear lest there may be too many temptations to -idleness and to play. They do not want, as one Labour leader has said, -“good democratic stuff spoiled by Oxford lecturers, who may give our -people a shoddy notion of respectability, and a superficial idea of -things which can be shown by the airs and graces of book learning”. - -Oxford is thus suspect; but, on the other hand, the place has immense -attraction, as is proved by the fact that so many Trade Unions send -their men to study at Ruskin College. - -“What,” it was asked of one of their students, “do you get here you -could not have got in a college in your own town?” - -“I get Oxford,” was his reply; and it is evident in much talk that, even -when Oxford is “suspect,” it has a great hold on the workman’s mind. -There may be shyness, but it is only shyness that may be overcome by -trust. - -The place of workmen, therefore, on the University committees must be an -assured place, and not one allowed as a favour or on sufferance. Their -voices must be heard as to the subjects to be taught, and as to the -teachers who are chosen; they must be able to make their influence felt -in the University, which, as it is national, is their University. The -local centres where classes are given must, in the same way, be locally -controlled and independent of University control. The committees of -these centres must have full choice of the place and time of their -meetings, select from the list the courses of study to be followed, and -approve the tutor. They must, indeed, have the same character as club or -co-operative classes, while, through the Oxford tutor, the course of -studies and the examination, light is let in from the University. The -life must be in the local centres, but it must draw its air from Oxford. - -The problem as to the admission of working people to residence is more -difficult. The proposal is that, by means of scholarships, they should -be enabled to live in colleges or in halls, or as non-collegiate -students. The difficulty would be got over if enough students could come -to be a support to one another. There must always be a fear lest, if -they be few in number, they may either lose their independence or else -go to the extreme of protest. The University can, however, get over this -difficulty by providing sufficient money to bring up a sufficient number -of men, who will strengthen one another and influence the corporate life -of the place. The question whether students should reside in colleges, -in halls, or in lodgings may be left to solve itself. If they are to -reside in colleges, the present system of erecting new buildings, with -suites of expensive rooms, might well be checked. Simpler buildings, -adapted to the needs of workmen students, would save money, bring -together types of men in one community, and not detract from the beauty -of the city. - -The schemes will, I believe, attract workmen if the University -takes pain to subordinate itself, and trusts to truth rather than -to power. Workmen, if once their suspicion--justified, it must be -allowed--be allayed, will find that there is in Oxford more sympathy -with their point of view than can possibly be found in any other -English community. Oxford men have, as a rule, open minds, and many -of their younger Fellows are close and devoted students of social -questions. Many working men have already experienced what Mr. Crooks -experienced when, at a meeting in a college hall, having hurled some -stinging sentences at the superiority which University men assumed, -his remarks were received, “not with boot-jacks, but with cheers” -Friendships between working men and members of the University are soon -formed--both are used to living in associations, both have a love of -free discussion, both, to a larger extent than other Englishmen, are -believers in equality. The scheme, if the University wishes it, will -attract workmen. - -2. The other question is, Will the scheme win the support of the -University? A statute has already been passed appointing a committee -consisting of working-class representatives, and it has been agreed that -tutorial-class students may be admitted to the diploma course. The -University can hardly do more. It cannot alter its constitution, which -to a large extent leaves the government in the hands of college -nominees, with an ultimate appeal to members of the University, -scattered throughout the country. Its total income is only £24,000 a -year, and it has no power to enforce adequate contributions from the -colleges, although their total income from endowments is £265,000 a -year. The University itself, unless it be reformed by Act of Parliament, -or unless the colleges voluntarily endow it with the power and the -means, can do very little to carry out the scheme. - -Will the Colleges act in the matter? Will they pass over to the control -of the University a fair portion of the money they now spend either on -scholarships and fellowships confined to boys from a few schools, or on -the maintenance of choirs and tutors, or on new buildings? It is not -enough that one or two colleges make a grant to support some workmen’s -centre. Workmen will resent the patronage of a college. The money must -be transferred to the University, the tutors must have a University -standing, and the scholarships, which enable men to reside in Oxford, -must be both ample and numerous. The University has, so far as it can, -acted on the recommendation of the report. Will the Colleges rise to the -opportunity, and enable Oxford to give the people the knowledge they -need, for the satisfaction of their own lives and the security of the -nation? - -The Colleges as yet have given little sign of a will to do anything but -strengthen their own independence, and make provision for students -prepared in the public schools. In one or two instances, fellowships -have been given to men who have become lecturers under the University -Extension Scheme, but the example has not been followed. - -For many years pupil teachers from the elementary schools have come to -Oxford for their training; one or two colleges have given scholarships; -but again the example has not spread, and the inspector has had to -complain of the scant provision which has been made for the men’s -advantage. - -A plan was once initiated by which parties of teachers and others were -accommodated in colleges during the long vacation, and tasted some of -the advantages of Oxford life and teaching. The plan worked excellently; -it removed the reproach that for six months in the year the greatest -educational capital of the nation is allowed to lie idle. But there was -little enthusiasm; the energy of the few residents who were responsible -was, after a few years, worn out, if not by opposition, by apathy. - -The colleges have as yet shown little power of adapting themselves to -the education of the new governing class. It may be that they will be -roused by this report, and that something adequate may be done. - -The point I would urge is that the something be adequate--a few classes -scattered about the country, a few men admitted to Oxford, will court a -failure, and justify condemnation of the attempt. - -The colleges have their opportunity, but beyond the colleges is my -friend Bishop Gore, now Bishop of Oxford, with his demand for a -Commission, and beyond the Bishop is the rising power of labour, with -its tendency, if it be not checked by University influence, to use all -national endowments for material rather than spiritual ends. - -The Bishop’s case for a commission is broadly based on the impossibility -of working the present constitution of the University for its efficient -government; on the mischievous waste which spends the resources of fine -minds and unique surroundings on boys, many of whom are capable of doing -little more than play; on the folly of subsidizing with scholarships and -fellowships one set of schools, and one or two types of knowledge; on -the expensive habits which the system fostered. The case was not -answered, and cannot be answered. The report of the committee is the -first response to its call, and, as the Bishop said in a speech at -Toynbee Hall, it has given him a hope for which he has long waited. - -The next response ought to be an appeal from the University itself for a -Commission which will enable it to order the resources of Oxford as a -whole, and apply its powers so as to carry out fully the recommendations -of the report. - - SAMUEL A. BARNETT. - - - - - JUSTICE TO YOUNG WORKERS. - - BY CANON BARNETT. - - 8 November, 1909. - - -Thirty years ago the “bitter cry” of the poor disturbed the public mind. -Housing has since been improved. Technical teaching has since been -established. The expenditure on the Poor Law has been greatly increased. -General Booth has raised the money for his social scheme. Philanthropy -has redoubled its efforts, and taken new forms. But still the “bitter -cry” is raised. The number of the unemployed is greater than ever. There -is more vagrancy, which the Prison Commissioners complain is adding to -the inmates of the prisons, and the amount spent on poor relief goes up -by leaps and bounds. Royal Commissions, Departmental Committees, -philanthropic conferences, scientific professors have been facing the -problem which every year becomes more threatening to the national -welfare. Their recommendations are many. The striking fact is that in -one recommendation they all concur. The one thing which they agree to be -necessary is further training for young people between the ages of -thirteen and seventeen. - -The report of the Consultative Committee of the Board of Education, -lately published, gives the final word on the subject. The reports begin -by showing that out of the 2,000,000 children in England and Wales who -have passed their fourteenth birthday, and are still under seventeen -years of age, only one in four receives on week-days any continued -education. “The result is a tragic waste of early promise.” The children -go out of the elementary schools, which have been built up at immense -expense, and before they reach the age of seventeen, when the technical -schools may be entered, many have acquired desultory habits, and lost -the power of study. Released from school, they become idle and lawless, -or they enter “blind alley” employments, and for the sake of high -immediate wages, miss the chance of ultimate responsible employment. The -Committee agree with the Poor Law Commissioners, “that the results of -the large employment of boys in occupations which offer no opportunity -of employment as men are disastrous,” and go on to quote the Minority -Report: “The nation cannot long persist in ignoring the fact that the -unemployed, and particularly the under-employed, are thus being daily -created under our eyes out of bright young things, for whose training we -make no provision”. - -The Committee having brought out this extravagant waste of money and -effort and young life, sets itself to consider a remedy. It suggests -improvements in the day schools by giving a larger place in the -curriculum to subjects which train the hand and eye, and develop the -constructive powers. It further suggests that steps should be taken to -prolong the school life of children, and it will be a surprise to many -readers that under the age of thirteen years 5,300 every year pass out -of school, and that the extension of the age to fourteen would involve -the addition of 150,000 children to the registers. These numbers do not -include the scholars now partially exempted from school attendance by -the wisdom or unwisdom of managers, who may be estimated as numbering -some 48,000 children, between thirteen and fourteen years of age. The -Committee add their opinion that the law which permits half-time in the -textile districts should be materially changed, and it goes on to -recommend that “no children under sixteen should be allowed to leave the -day school unless they could show to the satisfaction of the local -education authority that they were going to be suitably occupied, and -that such exemptions should only continue so long as they remained in -suitable employment”. - -This recommendation follows on evidence of how large a proportion of -boys and girls enter forms of employment “which discourage the habit of -steady work, lessen the power of mental concentration, and are -economically injurious to the community, and deteriorating in their -effect on individual character”. Employment or apprenticeship Committees -have been formed, whose members spare no pains in advising the older -scholars, and the parents of such scholars, in the choice of an -occupation. They have done enough to show how much more might be done -could the advice be driven home with more system and authority. If the -recommendation were made the law, no child under sixteen would be -allowed to enter upon industrial life without sufficient guidance, both -as to the choice of a place, and as to continued education. - -“Continued education,” whatever be the improvements in the day school or -the laudation of exemption from attendance, comes thus to be regarded as -the one thing necessary. “It is clear to the Committee that the lack of -continued educational care during the years of adolescence is one of the -deeper causes of national unemployment.” - -Continuation schools have greatly developed during late years. They are -more frequent, they offer teaching which is more attractive and more -adapted to the social needs of the neighbourhoods in which they have -been opened. Educational authorities and private organizations have -taken pains to commend the schools and make them known. Employers have -in some cases required attendance at continuation schools as a condition -of employment, and in other cases have encouraged attendance by giving -off-time, by payment of fees, and by the offer of prizes. Workpeople -have taken pleasure in visiting the schools, and when they are -represented on the management, get rid of some suspicions, often to -become enthusiastic supporters. - -Continuation schools may thus be said to have passed the period of -experiment, and it is now recognized that the curriculum should neither -be that of the old night-school, nor of the modern recreation evening. -It should aim rather at providing a good general education, to equip men -and women for intelligent citizenship, as well as to supply workers with -technical knowledge, and with that adaptability which is one of the most -valuable possessions of workpeople under modern conditions. It cannot -too often be repeated that the aim of education is not to make machines, -but to make men and women. People who know how to think and to reason, -who have capacities for enjoyment which do not need the stimulus of -excitement, will be more valuable citizens, and when they lose one form -of work, will more readily take to another. - -The right sort of continuation school is now known. Such schools -increase yearly in number, and the attendances also increase, but the -Committee has been led to the conclusion that voluntary methods alone -will not solve the problem. There must be recourse to compulsory powers. -In many districts the authorities are apathetic, in other districts -voluntary methods are powerless against the ignorance and indifference -of the people. The majority of employers, moreover, are indifferent, -failing to recognize that closer care for the educational interest of -their young employés would enhance their own profit, and the pupils are -often too tired to attend any school. The law at present says, “Children -are compelled to attend school till the age of thirteen,” it therefore -creates the impression that at the age of thirteen the obligation -ceases. The law alone can remove this impression, and it must in the -future say: “Young people are compelled to attend continuation schools -till the age of seventeen”. - -The Committee, in coming to the conclusion that a compulsory system is -necessary, has been confirmed in the conclusion by the elaborate -organization of day and evening schools (continuation) in Germany and -Switzerland, and by the movement in France for the extension of -educational opportunities during the years following the conclusion of -the day-school course. The Committee has also discovered signs of the -growth of opinion in England in favour of such a course, and this -Government has already adopted it in the Scotch Act of 1908. Out of -eighty-nine witnesses examined on this question sixty declared -themselves in favour of this compulsion, and of the twenty-nine who -objected, many modified their objections. The Committee felt themselves -justified in recommending that the example of the Scotch Act be -followed, and that every local education authority should be required to -establish suitable continuation classes, and that attendance should be -made compulsory for all young persons under seventeen, when the local -education authority make by-laws to that effect. - -The obligation for the satisfactory working of the compulsion would be -thrown primarily on the employer. Every employer would be bound to -supply the officer of the education authority with the names of young -people in his employ; to arrange the hours of work so as to make it -possible for them to attend classes on certain days or nights without -causing the overstrain of their bodies; it would be his duty to inspect -the attendance cards of pupils at the classes; and he would be forbidden -under penalties to keep in his employment anyone not in regular -attendance. - -The local authority would be called on to draw up its by-laws with due -regard to the character of the employment in various districts, so as to -cause as little inconvenience as possible to trade, and avoid any -physical overstrain to pupils. All street selling by boys and girls -under seventeen would be prohibited, except in the case of those who -were formerly licensed, and this licence would be forfeited unless the -holders’ attendance card proved the necessary attendance at the -continuation school. - -The Committee make special suggestions as to girls in urban districts, -and generally as regards rural districts. Various needs demand various -provisions. The point, however, which stands out most clearly is that -after all needs have been weighed, and after all objections have been -considered, a system of compulsory continuation classes is recommended -both in the interests of the young people, who, for want of such -classes, miss the fruit of their education, and in the interest of the -community, who have to bear the burden of the unemployed. - -Germany and Switzerland have established compulsory continuation -schools; Scotland has now followed their example. The Consultative -Committee has now shown that England is ready, and has suggested a -practicable scheme. Will the men and women whose hearts are torn, and -whose national pride is wounded by the sight of so many workers unable -to earn a living wage, and whose reason tells them that their unemployed -are often incompetent, because their training stopped and licence began -at thirteen years of age, and whose minds have now been informed by -figures that it is for want of care during the most critical period of -their lives that loafers and vagrants are made--will the men and women -who thus feel and know make the Government understand that this one -thing it is necessary shall be taken in hand without further delay? - - SAMUEL A. BARNETT. - - - - - A RACE BETWEEN EDUCATION AND RUIN.[1] - - BY CANON BARNETT. - - March, 1912. - - [1] From “The Westminster Gazette”. By permission of the Editor. - - - I. - -“Twenty years too late” is the reflection suggested by the report of the -success of the Universities’ Experiment of Tutorial Classes for Working -People. The present industrial situation needs, it may be agreed, a -working-class able to take large and generous views, capable of shaping -not only a class but a national policy, trained to separate the -essential from the unessential, and to act consistently on principles -tried and proved in the history of the past. The old Universities have -the resources for giving the people this equipment. They have wealth; -they have teachers penetrated by the traditions accumulated in Oxford -and Cambridge; they exist, we are told, to give liberal culture a -broader outlook, a historical perspective. The Universities, roused by -the Workers’ Education Association, have, by means of the Tutorial -Classes, achieved notable success. They have offered to groups of twenty -or thirty working people in the great towns means by which they might -enter a larger life, feel the years which are behind, and get a grasp of -eternal principles. The means have been seized with surprising -eagerness. Men after a hard day’s work have been found week after week -at the tutors’ tables for the study of economics, political philosophy, -or history; they have kept up attendance for three years, and they have -learnt, to quote the words of some who attended a summer meeting in -Balliol College, “the wonderful development which has taken place in my -mind” now “that my prejudices have been dispelled and mental horizon -widened”--that “study is a pleasure rather than a task”. - -The students, in a word, receive a share of that larger education which -the Universities exist to give. But success over so small an area, -affecting only a few thousand men, but serves to show what might have -been if the movement had commenced twenty years earlier. - -The working people have now come into power, and they have many wrongs -to put right. The anxious question is, Will they use their power more -wisely and more generously than the capitalist class? There is not much -sign of a wide and generous outlook in a policy which assumes that war -is the necessary attitude of employed and employers. There is not much -evidence of an inspiring vision of society when there is so little -recognition of the interdependence of all sorts and conditions of men. -There is not much grasp of principle among those who begin a strike, -which must involve untold suffering, as if it were a holiday. The -working people may have wrongs to bear, they may have splendid qualities -of faithfulness to comrades and endurance under hardships, but they can -hardly be said to have that knowledge of humanity which makes them -humble before the best, with a capacity for judgment and a standard by -which to apply it. - -The race in all nations seems to be one between Education and Ruin. The -Universities who are especially responsible for national education have -too late begun to share their resources with working people, and the -success of their long-delayed start has only served to encourage the -formation of the rival Central Labour College. This College is thus -described by Mr. Rowland Kenney: “It makes no pretence of giving a -‘broad’ education.... Its teaching is frankly partisan. History is dealt -with as a record of the struggles which have taken place in social -groups, because of the conflicting interests of the various classes that -have from time to time divided society.... Its key to the interpretation -of Sociology is class interest; dividing the social groups into the -owners and non-owners of property, it points out the common interest of -all those who work for wages.... It absolutely cuts out any idea of -conciliation as a final solution of labour problems.” The College, in -the name of education, appears to be using its forces to block the way -to peace and goodwill which it is largely the object of education to -keep open. It preaches a class war, treats every member of the middle -class as “suspect,” and bitterly opposes the Workers’ Education -Association because its Council includes University men. This College is -said to supply the brains behind the labour revolt. - -The Universities, hating to be reformed, and allowing the misuse of -their resources by undergraduates, sometimes described by Rhodes -scholars as “British babes,” have been unable to do their part for the -nation. They have stood aside from elementary education, only coldly -tolerating the establishment of training colleges in their -neighbourhood, and only timidly following a few of their members when -they have led the way in the extension of University teaching. It may -almost be said that they have lost influence over public opinion, and -that their mission of raising the tone of democracy, of clarifying human -sympathies and elevating human preferences have passed to other hands. A -recent visitor to India remarked on his return that many of its -difficulties seemed due to its government by “unreformed Oxford,” and -reflecting on the strike, one is led to say that some of its most -disturbing features are due to unreformed Universities. - - - II. - -There is something more needed, if not demanded, than a rise of wages. A -few more shillings a week would soon be absorbed by men whose first use -of leisure is in the enjoyment of somewhat sordid forms of sport. The -men are hardly to be blamed for what are condemned as low tastes and -brutal pleasures. They are what their environment has made them, and a -mining village is not likely to develop a love of home-making, a taste -for beauty, or any joy in the use of the higher faculties of admiration, -hope, and love. The long, grimy rows of houses, without any distinctive -features by which a man might recognize and become proud of his home. -The absence of gardens which would call him to enjoy nature and be its -fellow-worker; the want of a bathroom other than a tub in the -sitting-room, by which to feel clean from the dirt of the day; the -meanness of such public buildings as are provided--the church, the -library, or the meeting-hall--do not provoke his soul to admiration or -stir up a thirst for knowledge; such surroundings are likely to make the -miner content with his pigeons, his dogs, and his football matches. Why, -it may be asked, have not more owners done what some owners have done, -and make a Bournville or a Port Sunlight for the workpeople. If out of -the average 10 per cent profits, it is impossible to provide an -appreciable addition to the men’s weekly wages, it is not impossible to -provide better and pleasanter housing. Why is it that owners and -managers, who by many acts have shown themselves to be people of -goodwill, have been content that workmen should live under conditions -which unfit them to enjoy the best things: why is it that with all their -charity they miss their opportunity? The fault lies, I believe, largely -with the Church--Established and Free. The Church has too often gone on -preaching a mediæval system, it has not moved with the times, and does -not recognize that goodwill to-day must find other ways of charity than -those trodden by our fathers, when they built almshouses and provided -food or clothing. It has allowed a business man to be hard in his -business, if he is easy in response to charitable appeals. But times -have changed, and we no longer hope for a society in which rich people -are kind to poor people; we rather think of a society where employers -and employed share justly the profits of work; where there is no -dependent class, and all find pleasure in the gifts of character which -follow the full growth of manhood in rich and poor. If the Church -recognized some such conception of society it would aim to humanize -business relations and teach investors to ask, as Bishop Stubbs (whose -“Social Creed,” lately published in the “Times,” well repays study) -suggests, “Not only whether a business is _safe_ to pay, but whether the -business _deserves_ to pay”. Coal-owners, under the Church’s influence, -might substitute for such villages as Tonypandy, villages such as -Earswick, and then every increase of wages would mean that widening of -human interests which helps to satisfy the individual and to increase -the stability of the nation. - - ------------------------------------ - -The strike is doing vast mischief, as it dislocates trade, spreads -poverty, and embitters class relationships. But all its mischief may be -outweighed if it forces people to think. Our prosperity, the triumphs of -machinery, the daily provision of opinions by an ubiquitous Press, have -encouraged a self-satisfied and easy-going spirit. We do not take pains -to make up our minds; we do not try to think our rivals’ thoughts; -employers do not put themselves in the men’s place, and the men do not -put themselves in the employers’ place; none of us put ourselves in the -Germans’ place when they are angry at our policy. The greatest danger of -the time is the forgetfulness of danger, the light-heartedness of the -people, and the want of seriousness which prefers enjoyment to study, -and the carelessness which, for example, goes on refusing to consider -the Insurance Act, saying, “It will never come into force”. People will -not think. The Tariff Reform agitation has done untold good in making, -at any rate, a few people think out the meaning of Free Trade. The -strike will do good if it makes people--masters and men--think out the -interdependence of trade--whence it is that profits come--what is the -relation between home and foreign trade--what is the duty which a trade -bears to the State--what is the justification for a strike or a lock-out -which cripples the State--and what are the calls for State interference. -Professor William James declares that the secret and glory of our -English-speaking race “consists in nothing but two common habits carried -into public life--habits more precious, perhaps, than any that the human -race has gained.... One of them is the habit of trained and disciplined -good temper towards the opposite party when it fairly wins its innings. -The other is that of fierce and merciless resentment towards every man -or set of men who break the public peace.” The strike and its sufferings -will not be in vain if by making us think it strengthens our hold on -those heirlooms. - - SAMUEL A. BARNETT. - - - PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN BY THE UNIVERSITY PRESS, ABERDEEN - - - - - TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES - - -The following changes have been made to the text as printed: - - 1. Footnotes have been placed close to their respective markers and - renumbered sequentially within each chapter. - 2. Page 5: 'When, however we come to the third constituent' ... A - comma has been inserted after 'however'. [There is extra space - in the line as printed, where a comma would be expected.] - 3. Page 32 (footnote): 'Fom' changed to 'From'. - 4. Page 50: Changed ’ to ” after 'respect'. [Quote opens with “] - 5. Page 54: Changed 'some unmeaning task, work die unfreed,' to '... - taskwork, die unfreed'. [The reference is to the poem 'A - Summer Night' by Matthew Arnold: 'Their lives to some unmeaning - taskwork give,' ...] - 6. Page 95 (bottom line): 'Henrietta A. Barnett' changed to - 'Henrietta O. Barnett'. - 7. Page 137: 'labouror' changed to 'labourer'. [The spelling has - been checked in a facsimile (not e-text) of the 1834 document - being quoted] - 8. Page 141: 'satifies' changed to 'satisfies'. - 9. Page 156: 'The corresponding mortality ... it between two and - three times' changed to 'is between ...'. - 10. Page 205: Removed quote mark before 'Mr. Williams said:' - 11. Page 212: 'motthering' changed to 'mothering'. - 12. Page 230: Footnote index 1 inserted in front of 'From “The - Contemporary Review”'. - 13. Page 249: 'between £160 and £200 per annum' changed to 'between - £160 and £700'. [Figures verified from the work cited: Riches - and Poverty, by E. Chiozza Money (1905), p. 42.] - 14. Page 271: Inserted comma after 'Why' in 'Why what would the men - have to lean against?' - 15. Page 328: '5·300' changed to '5,300'. - 16. Page 332 (bottom line): 'Samuel H. Barnett' changed to 'Samuel A. - Barnett'. - -The following anomalies in the printed text are noted, but no change has -been made: - - 1. Inconsistent hyphenations, spellings and punctuation have been - retained as printed, where not definitely erroneous. [These are - discrete essays, written at different times by two hands and - reprinted from a range of publications.] - 2. In the children’s writings quoted in Chapter 4, all non-standard - spelling, punctuation and grammar have been retained as - printed. - 3. Table of contents: Chapter 33 begins on page 327, not 320 as - printed. Chapter 34 begins on page 333, not 327. - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PRACTICABLE SOCIALISM *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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