The riots have died away in London, under the pressure
of opinion and the police; but they will revive again with the first appearance of continued frost. It would be well to take advan- tage of the hill to form volunteer committeee to work with the relieving officers, to settle decisively on some relaxation as to outdoor relief, and to remedy what we must say seems to us an abuse in the management of cranial wards. Those wards must not be made tempting, and it is fair to make those who use them earn their meals ; but the prompt system is too severe. Why should a man who wants a night's lodging be made to stop—that is, imprisoned—for thirty-six hours as a minimum He should go when he has done his task, and his task should not be more than the value of his meals. Surely breaking seven hundredweight of granite into bits that can be thrown through the wires of a trellised window is more than that. The ratepayers must be considered as well as the poor, and casuals are often not estimable persons ; but it is possible to push rigidity so far that the spirit of a law is lost sight of.
