ing is a charitable institution in Austria, under govern- ment control; and many pawnbroking establishments rest On endowments, and lend without interest. 1 lie trade ig forbidden to private persons.
•• In France, the relief of the poor is not compulsory. in so far as its distributors may. after making inquiry.
they were united by the strong ties ofthe same faith and hope. Thus when a multitude of Christian men and women in Xumidia had been taken captive by a horde of neighboring barbarians, and when t he churches to which they belonged were unable to raise the Bum demanded for their ransom, they sent deputies to the
Church in the metropolis of North Africa, and no Booner refuse relief, except in the case of foundlings and luna
had < 'yprian. who was at the head of it, heard the state men I of distress than he commenced a collection in he- half of the unfortunate Blaves, and never relaxed his exertions till he had obtained a sum equivalent to about £1000, which be forwarded to the Numidian churches, together with a letter full of Christian sympathy and tenderness.
•• In the Roman Catholic states of Europe at the pres- ent day. the Church still remains, to a great extent, the public almoner. In Koine, a Commission of Aids has
tics. The minister ofthe interior has a general super- intendence of the machinery of relii f. as well as the im- mediate administration of many large hospitals and refuges. He also assists a great number of private charities. The other ministers of state give assistance on the occurrence of great calamities. The depart- mental funds are called upon for the compulsory relief, but the commune is the main source of public assistance. Its duty is to see that no real suffering remains unre- lieved, and that the nature of the relief is such as can
the general direction and administration ofthe principal most easily be discontinued when the necessity C( ases. pubiic charities. It is composed of a cardinal-president The commune encourages and stimulates voluntary
and fifteen members, among whom is the pope's chap- charities, and receives gifts for the benefit ofthe ] r's
lain. The city is divided into twelve districts, over funds. Except in Paris, the administration of the hos- each of which a member ofthe central council presides, pitals, and ofthe relief given at the homes of the poor, Each parish is represented by its cure and two depu- are under different management, the communes only
interfering to supplement the funds ,,f the hospitals, when these are insufficient. The mayor is president
ties — a layman and a ilmnr <!>■ charite, named for three year- and has a secretary and a steward or treasurer, who an- paid. The alms are given in money, tools, and clothes. Requests for assistance are addressed to the parochial body, from which they are sent to the district, and thence to the central council. The more urgent Cases are referred to the cardinal-president, or the cure oi i he parish. Three brotherhoods search out cases <>i hidden poverty: and not only do all the religious asso- ciation- nveiits. and monasteries distribute relief, but
there is hardly a noble or wealthy house which does uol take a regular part in the assistance of the poor.
'•In Spain, the state supports several asylums for lunatics, the blind, and the deaf-and-dumb. It also distributes a large sum annually among the provinces for the relief of the poor— each province being bound to raise double the amount received from the state. The state also steps in for the relief of great calamities, and devotes a certain sum annually for the assistance of unfortunate Spaniards abroad. A general directory of tie- charitable ami sanitary sen ices superintends the parochial bodies charged with the distribution of assist- ance to the poor.
"In Austria, each commune is charged with the re- lief of its poor. All who have legal domicile, or. being unable to prove their domicile, are resident in the com- mune, are entitled to relief out of the general assess-
both ofthe administration ofthe hospitals and of the body for giving out-door relief (the bureau d< bienfai- sance). During industrial calamities the poor are some- times employed in workshops supported by the public, and in public works. In Paris, since 1849, there has been a responsible director set over all the charities of the city. He manages the out-door relief through the medium ofthe committees of assistance, formerly called bureaux d< bienfaisance, in i ach arrondissement. lie is under the inspection of a council, composed as follows: the prefect of the Seine (president), the prefect of po- lice, two members of the .Municipal Council, two maires or deputy-maires, two members of the committees of assistance, one councillor of state or a master ol ic- ipiests, one physician and one surgeon practicing at the hospitals, one professor of medicine, one number of the Chamber of Commerce, one member ofthe Council of Prud'hommes. ami five members taken from other classi s than those above mentioned. Begging is forbidden, and punished, wherever there are establishments for the relief of the poor" (I ihambers),
The poor-law of England, and recently of Scotland, too, i- a civil enactment. Formerly, in Scotland, many shifts were tried. Beggary was often resorted to, and a- often condemned bv statute. In Scotland, at the
it. There is no special rate, and the administration end of the 17th century, Fletcher says, there were