POOR LAW.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 437, 20 February 1909, Page 5

POOR LAW.

COMMISSION'S RECOMMENDATIONS. A GIGANTIC REPORT. ' LINKING OF PUBLIC AND PRIVATE 'OHAIUTIES. (At TbtEOßiph—rfctse absociitioh—eopittroai.i (Rco. February 19, 10.20 p.m.) Lonclonj February 19. Tho, Royal Commission appointed .to. inquire into tha working of tho laws delating tb the.relief of poor peredns ili the United Kingdom has presented its report. tt rbcotomends that the, title, "Public .'As; sistance" be. adopted instead of "Poor Law Relief." Tho abolition bf guardians, worklibuses, and the present poor law areas is reoom-' mended, ani .the transferihent of' the. -work tb the borough and county-cbmciia,-with'ex-perts . hfelped from Public Assistance Co'ni-nntt-ees v wlio would. 'link.; private 'charities with public assistance. . The creation of laboUr colonies for iinemployables and labour exchanges ans also advocated. . . . . ". ■It is".a gigantic ,report; 'containing 40 volumes of evidence. HALF-A-MILLION ON THE RATES FOR 12 MONTHS.

STRIKING FIGURES.

: A n ; unusual' retufn. dealihg with ' jbor ,"1 England rthd Wales was published recently, figure beiMk. given for . the' year ended September 30, 1907. The ordir retuiis; do nbt show the: diiratibn.. of rbnef in individual cases,, br. the number of occasions oh which relief is giveil. iii Juhb, 1906, the . Poor : Law. Commission, 1 ' rbpr£ seilted tb the Local Governihent Bokird tne necessity for the jiurposes bf the coniiiiissibii of ; obtaining. more .. detailed ' ';infbrihiti'btt; Accordingly the - Lobal Government Boiird : prepared; special foriits for a register of' paupers to'bb |kept' for. the pilrpbse, of focording' diiriiig the twelve nionthi ftoin . October 1, . 1906, to Sept-ember 30,. 1907,.. ide-; :4%te partibillars., . as' to ■ eabh persoh of;, fatoily - relieved'., ih'.lthat..period,' ahd'< .tlib' riaturb.'find ;d\ifation. bf. thb relief granted.. : ■■ Summarised; ■' the ■■ returns shbw that the total huiilher of persons (excluding lunatics and casual paupers),"who."recbived;' relifef,;in the year was, br 4,9 per cent; of the. estimated jpopiiktißn.' under, sixteen years of age numbered 564,314, formihg slightly loss thari bnd-third; ; thb remainder ' consisted, bf 615,G73 females, ' and .526,449. inales.-; One ; sectio'n, hmbuhting to nearly three-fifths (995,994 persons) ■'of tile aggregate: number teiieved,; whs made hp .of I members''; ofsome'.' 305,658 families; 502,752 ; persons received ; horib blit : indbor - relief,. 1)125,507. .noneV but f outdoor relief .(liiclildiiig 216,022 persons. ,who' received medical rehef <^nly),; and 71;177 .persons received ; both indoor and outdoor, relief at different, •times.' in tho courso of 'the year..- .-. Nearly one-third of tho total mimlier 538,630 persons—were relieved for the whole of the 12 months, and .nearly 12 per cent, irerei ■ relieve^,.foi;.'? peribdsii bxceedihg months, but less than the year,. Thus, more than two-fifths -of .the aggregate pauperism or tho. year was virtually of ~a:; p ermanent' G/lttrJlotGr• . i' ;.-_v ~ Over four-fifths""of' the persons' ;" relieved were br becirae cnargeable on one .occasion :? n i y ' irrespective of tlle pdriod of ilipii; reilief.,: !Ths- total .number;of 5 persons jing and casuafs) ~wiib recoiv^l' . :lief is classified in;- tho , fbllowiag table :7rr;' ; ' • ';p

Total ' .339,236 1,370.180 1,709,436 . The proportion. ijf .pauperism in .London, with van- estitliiiteil df 4,758,218, 'was much higher than: for , the whole of England,. bdltig.equal, to oiie in 14 persons,.; or,. 7.1; per cejitv , . Classification' by fjex iSa. family shows that of the tttalj nuinMr .pf: persons :Mllev{^ : iV'p%n, cliildrfeii itef6 30.8, 36.2,- and ; 33, pbr cont. respectively r The. prpjjbrtiijhs.; kh. eomjiat-ed' #itn the'estimated' adult mile' find: femalg.ahd (1907) frbre as followv Men'—526,449, equal to 4.8 per ocnt. of mnlo population, . ■;v ..:r.< :1; ■' i. W0men—618,673, equal to 5,1 por cent, of female population.. , L-, ' Children, under' 16-H564;314j or 4i7 per oont. of population under 16. . Women * forB; the. largest ■ siction • of. • pitF . ii }s; 6uH6us:,to notii thfe difEereric6 ; betiveeh thb: t'ostilts of. the. eiifimSrfitifih : f^r' a J-ear and. the averagepaiipwJs'ih' of 1 a-single' day. Thus! — ' • Eecoiveci relief' .. in tho year., For every 100 men relieved on ono : . . . day 242 For,every 100 women 177 ; : For every 100 children . : ... ?49 ''Froni this it may be inferred that tlie relief to adult female is of'a more jnifmarieilt charactef' than in the .Other:two;6lasses. ■,<'

..: Cottparison .is. made with tho pauperism in the year ended Lady Day, ,1892! that bev iiig tho last return of a similar nature. lii relation to estimated the-ratefof, ; 1892 wis; 6*4 per • cent.,- as oompared v.-ith 4.9 per cent: for 1907. - In London tlie iooiy .responding rates wore 7.4-per cent.- arid 7.1 pet bent, respectively. Tlius', in L6ridon and in tho whole of England and Wales, thb estimated proportion to population of .persons relieved 'in l ...the s .oour'se .of tho year shows . a decrease in tho later as compared toth the earlier year.- - These h6wevfer, rn'dy be only' apparent.-..-' The earlier rpturh was not, as' .in. the case; of the • pre:' sent/return; prepared from. a specialrasorcl iilgtitntod for the- purpose, and', its- absolute acbiiracy could- not be reliqd on. j : .. . .

I . - ■:-h- tonilqit'- Iigi\doti, Total" :Meii 116,622 : 409,827' 526,449 Women 113,120 COS,547 618,673 :Children (under : : 16) 109,503 454,806 564,314