THE "DARKEST ENGLAND" FUND.

Waikato Times, Volume XL, Issue 3210, 21 January 1893, Page 2 (Supplement)

THE "DARKEST ENGLAND" FUND.

On Tuesday night "General" Booth issued a general statement of income and expenditure in connection with his social scheme for two years, from October 1, 1890, to September 30; 1592, According to this the total contributions received (less .£IO4O cost of collecting, printing, etc.) wort £109,100; the total promises still unpaid were £4050 ; the legacy, of Mr Fowler was £SOOO. Flence the total income was £118,750. Tlio expenditure wasOn capital account, ,£{24,355; over-sea colony reserve fund, £24,44S j expenses of working the social scheme for the : two years, £32,415 j total,' £181,218. Thus there was a deficiency of £G2,4GB, Answering the question, "What has been done for the £32,410 spent in commencing and working the scheme during the two years?" the " General" mentions, among other things, that 4000 poor people nightly sleep under the roof of the shelter provided, that during tho two years tlio .food depots have supplied 5,000,000 cheap meals, while the shelters' had received nearly 1,000,000 otherwise homeless lodgers.' The total cost of all this was £58,992, of which the people themselves had piid £53,520,- leaving'the cost to tho fund, including the rents of the buildings, £SIGG. The labour factories involved not only a large expenditure of capital iu their purchase and fitting up, but a considerable loss in their working. Over 20 different industries had Wen established, and some 5000 "out-of-works" employed, who had produced goods worth £54,162, which hart been sold, leaving a cost to I lie fund of £3516. The labour bureau had registered 23,159 unemployed aud obtained employment for 10,000. This cost the fond £539. ; A home for' criminals-with : workshops received 407 criminals, many of them direct- from prison. Of these 134 had ..situations, found them, and others were otherwise helped. J'liis, including criminal investigation and police-court ivork, cost the fund £1,405. The cost of the rescue department was £3032. Tho total cost to the fund of tho farm colony in management and organisation was £3oi>S.