London labour and the London poor : a cyclopaedia of the condition and earnings of those that will work, those that cannot work, and those that will not work. / by Henry Mayhew.

  • Mayhew, Henry, 1812-1887.
Date:
1861-1862
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: London labour and the London poor : a cyclopaedia of the condition and earnings of those that will work, those that cannot work, and those that will not work. / by Henry Mayhew. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    exclusively appropriated to tlie benefit of discharged prisoners, and tlie rest arc cliiefly eni23loyed in the rescue and reformation of destitute or criminal children.* Most of these institutions, with the exception of such as are certified by Act of Parliament, and aided by Goyernment subsidies, are supported entirely by voluntary contributions and by the earnings of the inmates, who are either admitted free on application, or by payment of a small sum towards the expense of maintenance. Such is the benevolent machinery now at work within the metropolis for the reformation of our criminal population, and for the preservation of those who are in a fair way of becoming the moral pests and aliens of society. The results, both in a religious, social, and sanatory point of view, achieved by these different agencies, are beyond all human calculation; and it is mainly to their beneficial and restraining influence that the peace, safety, and well-being of society may be attributed. The other Beformative Agencies are those adapted to the rescue and reformation of fallen women, or such as have been led astray from the paths of virtue. There are twenty-one institutions in London devoted to these objects, and unitedly providing accommodation for about 1,200 inmates. Ten of these are in connexion v/ith the Church of England, and in the remaining eleven the religious instruction is misectarian and evangelical. Three, viz., The Female Temporary Some, The IVhiity Home, and The Home of Hope, are designed for the reception of the better educated and higher class of fallen women. One, viz., The London Society for the Protection of Young Females, is limited to girls under fifteen years of age; and another. The Marylehone Female Protection Society, affords shelter exclu- sively to those who have recently been led astray, and whose previous good character will bear the strictest investigation. It may be fairly assumed that the objects of all these institutions are substan- tially the same, viz., the reformation of character, and the restoration of the indi- vidual to religious and social privileges. While, however, the end is in most cases one and the same, the methods and subordinate means adopted to insure its attainment, are often strikingly dissimilar, and present distinctive and almost opposite features. Thus one class of institutions, in imitation of our Lord's merciful forbearance towards the sinner, make their treatment pre-eminently one of love, and seek by means the most gentle and attractive to win back the stubborn wills and depraved natures of those entrusted to their care. Kindness is the only instrument used in laying siege to the hard heart, and in mollifying the seared conscience. Stern discipline, irritating restraints, and rigorous exactions, form no part of a system which is built up on the model prescribed by Him, who spake as never man spake. That a mode of treatment which affords such a remarkable coincidence, and such a striking parallel to the divine method of dealing with the sinner, so eloquently taught under the parable of the Prodigal Son, should be found by experience to be the only really efiicacious one, can hardly be a matter of surprise. The fact is too notorious to require any proof that in numberless instances ' Law and terrors do but harden' the heart which can be easily subdued by] the exhibition of Christian kindness. Here is the onmipotent weapon which has achieved such moral victories, when * Tliose wlio wish for further information respecting these Institutions are referred to a liandbook containing authentic accounts of the various Metropolitan Reformatories, Eefuges, and Industrial Schools, published by the Reformatory and Refuge Union. A magazine, edited by a clergyman, price 3cZ. monthly, designed to awaken and sustain public sympathy on behalf of the fallen, and to draw attention to the most prolific causes, contributing to the extension of the social evil.