A large meeting, presided over by Lord Herschel, attended by
Earl Compton, Cardinal Manning, and many influential persons, was held in Farringdon Street on Monday, to discuss remedies for the distress of the unemployed ; but it did not lead to much result. There was a general consensus of those present that voluntary registration would benefit men out of work, but nobody showed exactly how. The majority of the meeting were also in favour of local works of relief, on which the unemployed of the locality only were to find work, and it was asserted that this scheme succeeded in Chelsea, while it was approved by the Bishop of Bedford, speaking from his practical experience. For the rest, however, the speakers were either undecided or vague, and Cardinal Manning's suggestion that relief should be extended to the aged and infirm in their own homes is, we see, condemned by many Guardians. They say that, if carried out, the ratepayers would have to maintain the great body of aged poor. We confess we doubt, if every case were carefully inquired into, whether that would be the result. We must not run the risk of diminishing the obligation of every man to support his own household; but we cannot help the suspicion that the law in this respect is too stringently administered. As we accept the Poor-Law, with the comparative thriftlessness which is its drawback, we ought to make it work effectively. All speakers, we are pleased to observe, expressed dread of any schemes which would attract new masses of paupers to the Metropolis.
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