LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.
[Letters of the length of one of our leading paragraphs are often more read, and therefore more effective, than those which fill treble the space.]
A. RING OF FRIENDSHIP.—THE C.O.S. IN THE POLICE COURT.
[To THE EDITOR OP THE " SPECTATOR.")
SIa —I suppose no great Society has been more misunderstood and maligned than the Charity Organization Society. As a working barrister I was associated in a humble way with the early days of the Society, when it was being established by that genius of heart and mind Sir Charles Loch, and I had the privilege of living for many years with the late Mr. W. A: Bailward, whose practical demonstration of the principles of the C.O.S. was a liberal and lasting education. When I was appointed in 1899 to the Clerkenwell Police Court I was asso- ciated with Mr. James Bros, who was a member of the C.O.S., and learnt from him how important it was for a magistrate to be guided on. the benevolent side of his work by the Society's principles, and to take advantage of the help and advice of their local committee in the conduct of inquiries and the dis- tribution of relief from the poor-box. I have ever since followed this course in every district where I have worked as a magistrate. It is perhaps insufficiently realized that, as administrator of the fund known as the poor-box at his court, every metropolitan magistrate is charged with the grave responsibility of an almoner, and requires to know and observe the rules of charitable effort, such as have been laid down by the C.O.S., based upon years of practical experience in their local committees. By following these rules it is possible to make a small fund of some ..t250 to £300 a year do the work of double that amount when carelessly administered. By them also we protect ourselves from fraud and prevent the over- lapping of one agency with another; end, so far as possible, we see to it that the help which we give is effective in pro- moting self-reliance; if that is not possible, we allow the case to be dealt with by the Poor Law.
That is my first and great obligation to the Society. But a magistrate has a great deal to do in the way of "charitable effort" beyond the distribution of money. Every case which is put on probation, and every released prisoner who comes back to the court for advice, are objects of direct charitable effort. In dealing with them I never forget Sir Charles Loch's advice: "Let it always be your aim to surround anybody whom you wish to help with a ring of friendship, beginning with the family, if possible, and, if that fails, extending your efforts to neighbours, shopmates, and even strangers." It is pleasant to remember how many lost children, by follow- ing this rule, I have restored to their parents, and how many relations, who were supposed to be dead, I have unexpectedly brought to life again. The work is often extremely difficult. A girl, for instance, is charged with an -offence of which she is rightly ashamed. She begins by giving a false name, and subsequently confesses who she is. I then offer to help her if she will give me the name and address of her parents, and she informs me that she has none and would rather go to prison. I tell her that is what I want to avoid, but I will remand her until she finds her parents. At the end of a week she has given the information or a clue which leads to it, and the parent is sent for to attend the court, and the first link of a ring of friendship is formed, and an effort is made by the parent, the court missionary, and the girl herself to find the rest. Probation work is full of experiences, which make the life of a probation officer, hard as it is, one of constant encouragement and hope. The test of well-administered justice is the diminution of recidivists, or persons who make a business of crime. We magistrates must be judged by statistics; but, apart from the excellent reforms passed in recent years for children and first offenders, I feel a deep sense of gratitude
to the C.O.S. for their teaching with regard to all work for improving the conditions of the poor : " No charitable assist- ance is worthy of the name which does not involve personal service and aim at promoting self-reliance on a permanent basis."
There are two other matters to which I must refer, namely, the problems of the houseless and the unemployed. There is no difficulty more perplexing for a magistrate to deal with, and no duty more painful, than having to make orders of ejectments for non-payment of rent, for overcrowding, or for some other irresistible claim by a landlord. What becomes of these people when they leave the court, as they often do, with a look of despair? What I should like to do is to refer them to the C.O.S. committee of their district, but I am afraid most of these committees are overworked and insufficiently supported with funds. From experience I know how often they save the rates by sympathetic dealing with a case, by reasonable temporary support, and by the invocation of family ties, not to speak of the countless times they assist the ignorant to discover some unknown form of assistance they have a right to claim. The same remarks apply to the seemingly never- ending numbers of the unemployed. They often come before me as beggars because they refuse to go into the workhouse, and in many cases they are not the sort of people who ought to cone under the Poor Law. But who is to unravel the skein of their misfortunes except some person trained by experience in one of these local committees? And when the skein is unravelled, who is to find a solution but one who has leisure for personal service and experience to suggest the wisest course to take? It is in times of crises like the present that the evil spirit of impatience suggests that such large problems are too big for personal service—they had better be handed over to the State. Those who are trained in C.O.S. principles will deny this with an emphatic "Retro me, Satanas." If every city and borough had its Social Service Association, supported by private endeavour and voluntary contributions, the necessity for public assistance would gradually disappear, and not °iffy would rates and taxes be diminished, but all the demoralizing influences of public doles would be avoided. The Westminster poor-box has no funds to spare for the local committees of the C.O.S., but what an excellent thing it would be if such com- mittees web recognized and generously supported by the public as the authority to which all such cases of difficulty might be referred. For these and many other reasons, due as much to inspiration as to material help, I am glad to have this oppor- tunity of expressing something of what I owe to the C.O.S., and of recommending it with sincere confidence to all who have the heart and means to assist their country by improving the condition of the poor and increasing their independence.—I
Westminster Police Court.
[No man knows the destitute of London better than Mr. Cecil Chapman, the well-known Police Magistrate, and it is therefore with special satisfaction that we find him supporting as strongly as does the Spectator the claim of the C.O.S. to the attention and the gratitude of the British public. His is a noble vindication of noble work.—En. Spectator.]
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