Extract from an Account of a Society establish- ed at New Ross, under the denomination of An Account of an attempt to relieve some of the Female Poor of Silvermines, by em- ploying them in spinning linen yarn. Com- Shewing the Weekly Allowances during In- capacities of Labour produced by Sickness or Accidents; and the corresponding Week- Shewing the Weekly Allowances to Persons in Old Age after 65 and 70; and the cor- Shewing the Fines, or Composition-Money, payable at Admission by the Contributors in the First Class, who have commenced their Contributions at ages above 21; and who may prefer the payment of a Fine to an increase of Weekly Contribution, on Extract from an Account of a Benevolent or Charitable Loan for lending small Sums of Money (to be repaid by weekly instalments) to Industrious Labourers and others, in the parish of Killishee and district of Swordles- 1 PRELIMINARY ADDRESS. To improve the morals and condition of the la bouring classes of the community; to encourage industry, temperance, cleanliness, and good order amongst them; and to relieve their distresses without damping the spirit of exertion, must appear to every reflecting mind objects of manifest and unquestionable importance: - they not only affect the comforts and well-being of the poor themselves, but that of every order of society. The suggestions of self-interest concur with the precepts of religion and the dictates of humanity, to enforce the necessity of attending to this important subject:-A deep conviction springing from the combined influence of all these causes, a sense of the difficulties with which the pursuit is attended, and, above all, the example held out by a similar institution in England, have given birth to that Society which now solicits the attention of the public. In England, the concerns of the poor * have long been a subject of laborious investigation:- the causes of poverty have been patiently explored; the I different modes of relief which have been resorted to, examined, and their effects upon the morals and *We beg to be understood (like the Editor of the English Reports) as ufing the word "Poor" as a general and known term, and not as the subject of any odious or invidious distinction. There is no disgrace attached either to poverty or wealth, whatever there is (and we trust ever will be) to vice and idleness. B industry of the people canvassed; the character and disposition of the poor have been studied; existing facts and actual experience have been the groundwork of all their conclusions; and they have led to the formation of a Society (established in the year 1796)" for bettering the Condition, and encreasing the Comforts of the Poor." This institution proposes, "to apply the prin"ciple of all modern improvements in natural phi"losophy, agriculture, and medicine, in every thing "in which the industry of man has extended the narrow limits of human knowledge, viz. a search "after facts; an enquiry as to what use and experi ence have given their sanction to; as to what has "really augmented the happiness and virtue of the "lower orders;" to the concerns of the poor; and thus to make the promotion of their happiness and virtue a science. Having been the offspring of experience, it proposes to make experience the guide of all its fu ture operations; theory and speculation, however plausible, are excluded; and to make the result of their inquiries as extensively useful as possible, plainness and brevity are indispensable requisites of every paper which offers itself as a candidate for publication. Such are the outlines of an institution, whose example we humbly propose to follow :-The beneficial influence of their labours has been extensively felt through every class of society in Great Britain. Animated by their success, and instructed by their experience, we are desirous to impart the same benefits to our native country, and, "imitating their zeal and diligence,"-to search for and disseminate useful and practical konwledge with regard to the poor; to give immediate circulation to every plan * Preliminary Address to first vol. of Reports of the English Society for bettering the Condition of the Poor. (p. 10.) |