Mar. 3.
'A WRiTER in a recent issue of the "Contemporary Review" hag a, searching. article on the "Financing of Charities' io 'England. He estimates the amount of capital—investe: for charitable purposes—apart from the value of "house pro-potty, offices, alms houses,: or-plun' homes, ete.—at nearly £100,000,000.' The annual income of charities from yoluntary sources he reckons °618,000,000. Both sums tend] to increase from year to year. 'These charitable fufids belong to societies which issue annual reports and so can be tabulated. (hey do not include what may ho called' casual - charity, individual gifts of which no record! in kept nor the amounts collected by the begging fraternity on, the streets or by house to house solicitation. These contributions, though separately small, must, in the Aggregate, amount to a vast sum.
Six James Denham, who was! a friend of King Edward VII, tells in his reminiscences of erossing: sweeper to whom he!
8 in the habit of giving a contribution from time to time during a long course of years. Naturally: enough, a friendly word was spoken snow and thei by the wealthy non to the hutnbie sweeper and one day the atter "took the liberty" of informing Sir James that_he was giving up his pitch. "Business was not what it used to be'" and ho finally asked whether his wealthy patron would honour him by taking dinner with his to mark the end of their acquaintance. Sir James goodhumouredly agreed to do so and] was rather struck by the fact that the address given was in wealthy neighbourhood. found himself knocking at the! oer of a mansion, was admitted by a footman and entertained to one of the best dinners he had over eaten, The crossing sweep-was evidently as wealthy as} his honoured guest. Now, it is not at all likely that, many beggars hava the good fortune of the one who entertained the friend of a king. Nor is it at all certain that the whole of the cross ing sweeper's wealth was amassed by his labours with the broom. But, making allowance! for ull thole considerations, there is yet enough in the story' to lead tis to believe that a good beggar is master of one of the best paying professions in existence. He has spells of good and seasons of bad luck but he has no business losses, is never out of work, and must be coitwtitutionally " ill-adapted to that} tation in life to which he was called, if ho does not make, at least, comfortable living at the trade, "'And now abide th these! three, Faith, Hope and Charity, and the greatest of these is But charity is fallen on evil} days. She is no longer the chief!
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.