ART. XX.-Thoughts on the Church Here we find, in the very head quarters of the Established Church, a full and complete acknowledgment of the necessity of a reform of the church, a necessity which is admitted, too, to have arisen from some radical defects. The author of this pamphlet sets out with an inquiry into the objects for which the various orders of the clergy were originally instituted, and describes the advantages of the system which prevailed in Catholic times, when the Bishops were required to reside in their dioceses, the vigilant personal inspection of the churches being left to their charge. But in those times the vicious custom of pluralities was acted on, and though the Reformation abolished the the dispensing power in name, yet was that power retained in all its fulness by the Protestant primate. The present writer acknowledges that the mode in which the Canons were evaded ever since has been much more offensive than it was before; for though the actual sale of indulgencies had been discontinued, still the peculiar privileges conceded to the Chaplains of the King and the nobles, and the fiction by which benefices have been allowed to be holden in commendam, have afforded increased facilities to pluralities and non-residence. Having traced the whole series of abuses which now exist in the Church, the author then proceeds to show the necessity of enforcing the residence of the Clergy. With respect to the Bishops, he would insist on this conditition particularly. to The author does not hesitate propose the total extinction of objects for which they were deDeans and Chapters, since the signed have long sunk into oblivion. He would have every benefice actually occupied by a resident minister, and there was no benefice in the country which should not immediately be provided with a house, which the adequate income, to keep; and in minister should be able, by his order that he may be able to do so, an arrangement should be forthwith made, whereby all inshould be raised to that sum, comes of ministers below 3001. vanced. and afterward gradually ad The author is anxious to renamely, the negociations which move one source of disquietude, with the people for their tempothe clergy are compelled to make ral rights. He says that the property of the Church is sacred, but that it is capable of being so realised for the benefit of the clergy, as to do away with the necessity of their making pecuniary demands on the people. The pamphlet contains many details of the process by which a thorough reform could be effected on the principles which we have just explained. 423 MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. Curious Phenomenon.-Some eight or nine years ago, after a heavy gale from the north west, a chrystalline deposit was observed upon the windows of several houses in this neighbourhood, which had a saline taste, and was pronounced by Dr. Dalton to be muriate of soda, or common sea salt, mixed with sand. As similar deposits are not at all unusual near the sea coast, the only solution that could be given of this singular fact was, that a portion of the spray of the ocean had been carried by the force of the wind thus far inland. We are not aware whether the attention of any individual has been drawn to this subject since that period; but after the heavy storm of the 29th of Nov. Mr. Bentley, of St. Mary's Gate, Manchester, thought he perceived on his windows a deposit which had the appearance of a chrystal, and on applying a powerful microscope to it, he found he was correct in his supposition. In order to ascertain with more precision the nature of this deposit, he collected as much of it as he could on a clean sponge, dissolved it in pure water, and on evaporating it, the residuum was a brownish powder, strongly impregnated with saline particles. This residuum has not been submitted to chemical analysis; but there is very little doubt that it has been brought from the sea. The distance from the sea, in the direction from which the wind blew during the storm, cannot be less than than thirty miles. Pasquinades.-As newspapers in Italy are always examined before they are printed, the true characters of people do not often appear to the public; but when they want to lampoon, it is done by sticking a written paper against the door of the person aimed at, which is called a pasquinade. In 1796, when the King and Queen of Naples were accustomed to absent themselves from court, pursuing their separate pleasures, the cares of the state centred generally in his Excellency M. Acton, an Englishman, though it was known that the Queen sometimes interfered in affairs of state. The Neapolitans disliking a foreigner to be Prime Minister, caused the following to be affixed to the gate of the palace-Hic Regina, Hæc Rex, Hic Hæc. et Hoc Acton. Omnibuses. The establishment of these vehicles, which are a copy from the French, furnish, it is calculated, employment to no less than 5740 persous at the present time. Although previous to the 11th October, 1832, taking up and setting down passengers within the stones by a vehicle carrying a stage-coach license, was illegal, yet these longbodied conveyances have since that time increased to such a degree, that there are not less than 287 of of them plying daily in the metropolis and the suburbs. Each one finds employment, partial or entire, for more than 20 persons, in the way of journeymen coachbuilders, wheelwrights, smiths, painters, gilders, harness-makers, driver, conductor, stable-keepers, ostlers, and proprietor, making a total of at least 5740 of the working class who benefit directly or indirectly from the employment of these machines.These 287 omnibuses make, on an average, six journeys one way and the other, and their passengers, including changes, average seven persons each per journey, presenting the astonishing number of 12,054 persons who are daily lifted off their legs by these misnamed sixpenny nuisances; so that until the alteration in the law which enabled omnibuses to ply within the stones, upwards of 5000 of the working class were denied partial employment, and upwards of 12,000 of the middle class were denied this cheap and convenient conveyance for the benefit of about 1100 hackney coaches and their dependants. Vegetable Silk.-This name is given to a substance now used plentifully in the manufacture of carpets, and other articles of general use. It is much used in France. The following is a summary of the meteorlogical observations made at the Paris Observatory during 1833-The greatest elevation of the barometer was on January 4, when it rose to 113 m. 93 sec., and its lowest point was on the first of April when it went down to 732 min. The thermometer on June 29 was up at 29 deg. centigrade, and on Jan. 10 was as low as 8 deg. centigrade. There were 164 days of rain, 163 days of fog, 45 of frost, 11 of snow, 10 of hail and sleet, and 9 of thunder. The wind blew 47 times from the north, 39 times from the north-east, 22 times from the east, 31 times from the southeast, 44 times from the south, 68 times from the south-west, 89 times from the west, and 25 times from the north-west. There fell 580 millimetres, 35 centimetres of rain in the court-yard of the Observatory, and 487 millimetres 10 centimetres on the roof. Facilities for Studying History.— A measure of great importance to persons engaged in historical researches, and to the public at large, has recently been carried into effect by the exertions of the commissioners of the Public Records of the Realm, and their secretary, Mr. Cooper. The accounts rendered into the Exchequer by the sheriffs, and by other persons, ministers, and bailiffs of the crown, are entered on record in rolls, which, for some reason not at present well understood, are called pipe rolls. There is now in existence a series of these annual rolls, commencing with the second year of King Henry II. (A.D. 1155), and reaching to the present year. It cannot but be regarded as highly creditable to the officers of the Court of Exchequer that this series should have descended unbroken, exeept by the loss of two rolls only. A few months ago thirteen were understood to be lost. The commission issued under the auspices of the present Chancellor were not satisfied with this information; they directed that very strict search should be made in all the depositories of Exchequer records, and the result has been that eleven out of thirteen have been discovered, and are restored to the use of the public; leaving only two still wanting to complete a series of 677 annual rolls. The commissioners have found out a means of opening much of the information to be found in these rolls to the public; and, with the concurrence of the officers, the Chancellors rolls have been removed to the British Museum, where they are regarded as other manuscripts contained in that great repository, and where they may be consulted by every one who chooses, subject only to the same regulations as affect the use of any other books or manuscripts there. THE MONTHLY REVIEW. APRIL, 1834. ART. I.-Report from his Majesty's Commissioners for Inquiring into the Administration and the Practical Operation of the Poor Laws.-Printed by Order of the House of Commons. 1834. WE have scarcely yet recovered from the overwhelming sensations which have been excited in us by the perusal of the terrible picture in this document. As we read from page to page the tale of enormities that make up its contents, we frequently turned instinctively to the title page, to be satisfied that this history was meant for England, for its character was so foreign to all that we knew, it was so marked with demonstrations of savage life, that we were beguiled occasionally into the illusion that the people of whom we were reading, belonged to some extinct race which had lived beyond the limits of civilization, and had substituted the impulse of their brutal passions for the common forms of national government. But the fatal truth stares us in the face, and the dark catalogue of guilt to be found in this volume lies at the door of this civilized and enlightened nation! It appears that this is the final report intended to be made by the Commissioners: it contains a general summary of the results to which they have come upon the great question, and also the means by which they propose to redress the evils disclosed to them by the inquiry. The digest which they have here given is arranged in a regular series, so as that each branch of the subject is considered by itself in the order of its importance. In the early part of the Report, after giving an account of the manner in which their proceedings were conducted, the Commissioners present to us a complete history of the progress of the law relating to the poor. The chief features of this history have been frequently laid before the public. Some new illustrations are supplied by the Commissioners, which however are not of sufficient importance to detain us. VOL. I. (1834) NO. IV. 2 G The first great division of the subject on which they dwell, is the administration of the Poor Law generally. This head is then subdivided into three others, namely, I. Out of door relief of the able bodied paupers : II. Out of door relief of the impotent: III. In door relief of both. In With respect to the first head, the relief of the able-bodied out of doors, the Commissioners declare that it is the greatest source of abuse. It is usually afforded in kind, and principally consisting of money given to the pauper for the purpose of relieving him either wholly or partially from the expense of house room. It is the practice of parishes to make this allowance to poor persons who are exempted on the ground of poverty from the payment of rates. This system is almost universal, but is particularly prevalent in the parishes of North Wales. In some of these districts nearly the whole of the married labourers have their rents paid out of the poor rates, and at Llanidloes out of 2000l. spent yearly on the poor, nearly 800l. are devoted to these rents. Indeed, in many cases, the overseers have become guarantees for paupers to landlords, and so certain is the payment of the tenant under such circumstances, that men of property have actually speculated in the building of small houses for the habitation of paupers. the towns, too, where this system prevails, the owner of a house is now enabled to quadruple the rent he pays his landlord, such are the advantages enjoyed from a system securing to the person letting the premises, the guarantee of the parish. The officers belonging to the latter, it so happens, are very particulary interested in seeing that the paupers' rent is regularly paid, because if a distress is put into the house by the landlord, and the furniture and other property is sold, then the parish must take the pauper and his family into the workhouse. In the parish of Steyning, which contains a population of 1436, nearly 1207. was paid last year for paupers' rent; and it is the custom there, always, for the parish to pay a shilling per week for his rent to a man who has two children, and eighteen pence when he has three. This allowance is said to be given in kind, although it actually consists in money, as it is only an allowance and not an actual payment in many instances, but independent of it, the paupers are actually supplied by the parish with different articles, which really come under the denomination of kind, such as fuel, bread, and wearing apparel. Out of door relief in the next place is given to able bodied paupers in money, and that, too, where there is no sort of disposition shown by the parishioners or their representatives, the overseers, to exact any thing like compensation in labour. The consequence is, that the idle and profligate must prefer this revenue, small as it is, because accompanied by an idle life, during which they may carry on the trade of gentlemen thieves, to a life of labour which might bring them in twice as much. The parochial officers in the abundance of their wisdom, either leave the paupers to do as they like, thinking that the latter will the more |