Empire (Sydney, NSW : 1850 - 1875), Tuesday 29 March 1864, page 4


, SYDNEY. TUESDAY, MARCH 29, 1864.

THE subject of fcW lodging for the homeless poor must not be lost sight of. Jt requires no very. labourious research ? into the. calamities which chequer human life to discover the ne;d of such a refuge for some of those who are for a while inhabitants of this city. Nor is there any ground for expecting that a supply of this kind ? of poor will ever cease altogether bere. To the

metropolis, where the wealth of a country con. ' centrâtes, the moat helpless poverty will by a

natural law find its way. Blind and wretched is . that possessor of wealth «ho does not recognise

in this providential arrangement a call to charity.

At the annual meeting in connection with the Sunday morning breakfasts, briefly reported in both the daily pipers of yesterday, some , account is given of a private effort which has . been carried on for the last nine months to meet

as far as possible the form ol distress in question. Tbe history of that effort affords both an example and incentive to active personal beneficence, and an argument for the necessity of a public pro-vision to meet the distress thus pa-'ially. re-lieved. To those whose benevolence stays at tbe exercise of melancholy reflections on the sorrows of the poor, it would be a useful lesson, if they would honestly accept it, to know how < naturally one right step ia the way of doing good to one's suffering fellow-oroatures leads to others,' and so effectually alleviates miseries that at first sight' looked insurmountable. Kind-hearted men going to bretkfast together, and consult about their Christian work observed, poor half-starved creatures who, in all probability bsd no means of getting a breakfast at all. They determined to provide a comfortable breakfast once a week for those who could not supply, them-selves with that luxury ; and they did so. When they saw, week after week, poor people come shivering into tho . Temperance Hall on Sunday morning to get'their breakfast, they felt the necessity of some nightly asylum for the homeless. Consultations were held with

the view of providing such an asylumThe first plan for thia end was unsuccessful. Borne were disheartened, and months passed before anything was effected. But the project was not abandoned. In June last, Mr. GEOROE LUCAS, of Francis-street, Woolloomooloo, opened tho Juvenile Temperance Hall as a nightly refuge where fifty-five needy persons have each found shelter, a pillow, and a blanket, with a. breakfast of half a pound of bread and a pint of te» to start with. That this kindness is not thrown away hes been most happily proved. Some who came in abject misery, and almost in despair, to this friendly asylum have taken courage to make a new effort to earn their own bread, and have become useful and happy members of society. A regts'er is kept of those who avail themselves of this refuge, and a record made of facts in their subsequent career whioh come under the notice of those who aided them. By this register, ic appears that in several oases those who. wore thus relieved have, after obtaining employment, returned to give something from their earnings for tho relief of others passing through trials ; similar to what they themselves experienced.

[ One young man, who went to labour in<thc bush

?a few miles away from town, was allowedtoUke with'him pair of blankets, for which he waa to pay twelve shillings as soon as he could. After' some weeks, this yoong roan came back and gave one pound, and half a crown besides for one of the poor mea. ' Though such a result was not anticipated at the outset, the fact is, that in the operation of this charity gratitude is the rale, and not, as pro-verbially affirmed, the exception ; for, in moro than thirty cases out of the fifty-five, thore'is positive evidence that the kindness shown has been productive of real good. Among those whose extreme poverty constrained them to seek a night's lodging in this refuge were some who had moved in spheres of ranch comfort an! respectability. Like many other charities, it has furnished illustrations of the fact, that the company of the utterly de9'itute comprises representatives of all . classes-a faoV'that enforces the appeal to general sympathy. This refuge is designed not- merely to sàvè the abjectly poor from present distress, but to pro-mote'their improvement. For this purpose a few simple rules are laid down as a condition bf

enjoying the aid provided, Sobriety, regular

boura and cleanliness, alone are exacted ; and as the distegard of any oneof these wou'ddes'roy the comfort of alb who shara thé lodging, they are aa light a yoke as could bo imposed. And the combination of reasonable and gentle discipline, witbmoat welcome kindness, has had very happy results.' " ? *.. ." . ;

It is high time that a more extonsiyè änd ! public prorisíon be made for the relief bf the homeless. The aged and infirm are received at

tho Benevolent Asylums, But many who'are' not disqualified by age or sickness for ordinary

labour ate sometimes by their own ' imprudence, i sometimes by untoward events over which they had no control, thrown out of employment, and reduced for a time to BB helpless a condition as

the infirm. It is a loss to the community if j

such men are brought promattirely to the grave, or to a total incapacity for labour by exposure, which might have been avoided. And ? it is a reproach to any people if their humanity is at so low aa ebb as to Buffer such estreme wretchedness, such a sacrifice of life, rather than make the slight effort necessary to prevent it.' If in nine month> fifty-five personB were impelled by dire want to avail themselves of private liberality, how many would be found in need of similar aid if it were known that publicprovision waB made for snob, distress. Night refuges have been established in most of the large cities of Britain, and the results have proved that these institutions are necessary and are adapted to thé end in view. The private effort above referred to is confined to men. As many of the weaker sex are'in similar destitution, it is requisite that a second, asylum be open to them. As in the case of mon, aged women are entitled to relief at the Benevolent Asylum ; and for the 'young,, who have erred from the path of virtue, and desire protection from the .temptations by which they have been ensnared; ? there is refuge aleo. But these leave a large number of destitute females unprovided foh Then the experience of a

few months shows that in some cases of extreme destitution 4he recipient of a temporary help may bo enabled to recover a position of independence. And for the encouragement and protection of those who aim at such an improvement'of their lot by submission to discipline it is neoessary that they should be separately lodged from those whose only qualification for charity is abject misery. It ÍB to be desired that none, however devoid of all hopelul qualities and averse to the effort of self-recovery, should tte loft to'perish of cold and hunger. But a different treatment may be secured for those who, in the midst of their destitution, retain some of the energy of hope, and may be put in the way of Belf improvement. It is'necessary for the sake of such to exercise>a discipline which may operate to exclude others. A division, therefore, should be made between those whom hope renders willing to submit to discipline, and those whose only qualification for the receipt nf oharity is the wretchedness of their forlorn condition. . ?>?

FOXIB months 'ago it was announced to. the pablic-and the news elicited comments and congratulations in the Press of Britain-that the several sections of the widespread denomination of Presbyterians were about to enter inte a Union. The subject had already been enter-tained for years by many'members of the denomination, and since November, 1862, had been matter of negotiation and conference. When, therefore, it was stated that a Basis of Union bad been finally agreed upon, and the necessary preliminary resolutions passed in the bodies- about to unite, the announce-ment-excited gratnlatica' but no surprise. Those who took an interest ia tho progress of the Union movement-as many did on common Christian grounds without being ecclesiastically

connected with the bodies between whom Union

was'proposed-having read in . ihe Pieabytetian Magazine and the daily papers the excellent record of the proceedings of the Synods and Committee engaged : in the ¡ negotiation?, might natarally;look for the early announcement'of the full consummation of the Union. But instead

of this, the subject has dropped out of the public view, nqt without some indignant explanations of the reason why an undertaking so fully ripe for execution was- suddenly arrested on the eve of its completion. The question of Union bas now, ofter some months' abeyance, been . again brought into publia notice in Sydney through a resolution unanimously passed by the congregation of St. A'ndrow's Church, Sydney,-at their annual meeting; on the 22ad instant.' In order' to see the full significance of the resolution, it must ba borne in mind that, in November last the negotiations for Union, which were carried on by three sections of the Church here, in correspondence, respectively with the three great parties of Presbyterians in Scotland', led to the entire agreement of those who, in con-ference, represented the three parties, as to the basis and the terms on whioh they should unite; and also (o their pledging themselves to go forward, to an incorporating, union.""("Others," 'who were not included in any of theso three parties, expressed their wish, as' Presbyterians, to take part in the negotiations for unión;, hut were not received or heard by ' the Conference. The. congregation of St. Andrew's Church is identifi.tl with ' the Synod of Australia, and is therefore, included in all tho prospective benefits of the proposed Union. But they have publicly recorded their dissatisfadtion1 at. a proposition which, while duly recognising them, excluded others who ought, in their opinion, to be asso-ciated in the movement. : The resolution unani-mously passed by them on Tuesday last is" That, in the opinion of ibis congregation, no Union can ba complete willi "ut at once in-cluding all Presbyterians io the colony desirous of joining." , The resolution proclaims by implication what otherwise could scarcely have bern supposed By the general public-that there is a

heceisity Tor suchran expressionrot opinion. One would * have thought that; no -Presby-terians would have regarded any movement for union ns satisfactory which was not open to all members of that communion in the colony desirous of joining. But the revolution indicates the fact, in other ways also apparent, that there

h BB beon an effort to form an exclusive Union, and in the very act of uniting to place a barrier against the accession of some who would willingly take part in a movement regarded on all Bides as fraught with blessings to the common cause. The resolution of the St. Andrew's congregation ia a protest against such exclusiveness ; and it is to their credit that' they have^thus spoken out. In a more isolated manner, many others have expressed a similar opinion. '?' Some who signed mémorial» to the Synod, by whioh they were represented;urging the prosecution of the work of Unión,' did so'under the impression that the'' Union contemplated by all who were engaged in conference was to comprehend all members of- the: Presbyterian 'denomination throughout th'e'coloriy' who were willing to joip. And when they found that - one section bf the Church was .'actually rejected from Conference, they indignantly complained of the hesitating and, OB it seemed, crooked policy of the leading men in the Union movement. Those who in private entertain such sentiments would do well to follow" the example of the Rt. Andrew's congregation, .whose decision will probably corftribute not a little to the a tie edy and happy settlement of the question. Those ministers in the denomination who are averse to any union with Dr.TANG, and those who for the salce of postponing a difficulty until they ' may find themselves in a better position to grapple ' with ' it, must learn that no scheme for Union will be acceptable to the main body of the laity which does no% . at the outtet.Jinvite the cooperation of all who are will' iner. to join in . this auspicious movement ; and the sooner the several congregations who desire a comprehensive union, express their views in a public and formal manner the better for the cause. The theory of Presbyterian Church government makes full. provision for the repre-sentation of the Christian people in the Church courts; but the apathy of the laity, and the un-due assumption of authority on the part of the clergy, often hinder thé proper development of that theory in practice. The desire to make the proposed Unión exolusive. is .almost, or al together, confi ned to some office-bearers i n the' Church, The present "crisis, therefore, affords one of the'móst fitting occasions for the ,ifirm assertion, of the recognised privilege of the laity ,to make their voice heard in the decision of a question deeply affecting them and their children. '.'

The premature exultations of sanguine advocates of. union may have, suggested some', contemptuous criticisms on the reiterated - delays which have taken place in the course of the movement. Bat when it is considered that, the Union sought after is designed, for all time coming, to endure as long as any of the political institutions of the colony, and to promote much higher ends; when it is remembered tbat tbe formation of an Elective Upper House, which has for years beon recognised almost unanimously as a political necessity, is still in abeyance, and that other in-dispensable reforms are approached by tardy and intermittent step3 ; it will no longer appear unaccountable that negotiations for the reunion of a"*"'divided Church should be delayed by successive difficulties. Th

peculiarity of the position of.New South Wales as the Oldest colony hf tim Auatratnaism group has a twofold bearing on this.movement. On the Jone hand, the lapse of years has given scope for the growth of unhappy personal dissensions such as had not time to take deep root in neighbouring colonies before the subject of Union was brought under discussion. But, on the other hand, this colony has an advantage which neither Victoria, New Zealand, nor Qaéensland. enjoys to an equal degreethe large proportion, in the Presby-terian, as in other denominations, of native born members. TbeBe, of course, view Church interests more from an Australian than a Scottish point pf view. Those who have lately come from scenes where great historioal oonflicts havo left clearly marked divisions and ingrained habits of mutual protest, unavoidably bring with them to the colonies they have se-lected as the scenes of their future labours muon of the spirit of those divisions. But families which have been foi a generation or two settled in their adopted country have learned very much to -overlook the sharp outline of recent separations, while, retaining their reverence for the principles long and faithfully maintained by .their fathers. The very fact, therefore, of seniority ia colonisation, which has retarded Presbyterian, Union, in New South Wales until after its successful accomplishment in other colonies, gives strong assurance that the consummation of Union is sure, and will, when it comes,-be hailed most cordially as a permanent boon by all concerned.

SUICIDES.-An ioquept on the body , o( a . married woman, aged fifty-five years, named Susan Maria Franoks, was held before tbe City Coroner, yesterday, ot tba Hero oí Waterloo Inn, Lower Fort.etresti Deoeased was tba wife of Edward Frinoke, landlcr 1 of the Hero ei Water, loo len, Lower Foit-atreet, whioh house they have oeooi. pied only , (or a few monlh&V Deoeaaod was given to babita bf intemperanbp, and! was excitable at the losses they wera meeting ia business. < On Sundty she waa intoxicated and exolled in tbo, afternoon ; abe.tpob some atryobnia from a bottle in a drawer of which ehe had tbe ker, and went' tb bod. The atryobnia 'had .'been kept by ? the baa-band! while in the oonntry, to kill vermin. About a quarter aller eleven o'olock in tbe evening the busbind,, waa informed that she bad taken the poieoD. aod sent for Dr, Sba« ¡ bat ehe died before he came. Verdiot-Committed euiuide, by tabing an overdose of etryobnine ; bat what Btate of mind sba waa in at iho lima we have no evidenoa. to show.An inquest on the body of the late Mr John Hordern was held before the City Coroner yesterday. The deceased was married, and 41 years oi age. ' He was in independent circumstances, and lived at O'Connell Town. For several months his mind had been impaired, and his friends had him placed in the private asylum at Regentvllle. A short time ago it, was thought that he was sufficiently recovered, and he was taken home. On Thursday last he laboured under nervous excitement, and during the last few days stopped at tbe house of his brother, Mr. Libbius Hordern. On Sunday he appeared quite rational at the breakfast table, and afterwards he was accompanied by his brother to a front room, where he shaved himself. After doing so, he closed the razor, and walked with it in his hand into the back room. He was there scarcely a moment, when he drew the razor across his throat, inflicting a frightful gash. Mr. Libbius Hordern hearing a splashing noise in the room, ran in and saw what had occured. Dr. Eichler was called in at once and Drs. Bland and Warren were subsequently in attendance. Dr. Eichler, on examining deceased's throat, found two distinct wounds on both sides, severing the windpipe, gullet, and several arteries. He united both superficially, and kept the wound open as much as he could to allow breathing. One of the small arteries commenced suddenly to bleed again, when the blood ran into the windpipe, and before be oould secure it seffo-cation took place, such being the immediate cause of death. Had the sudden recurrence of the bleeding not taken place his life might have been saved. Verdict, "Committed suicide by cutting his throat with a razor, while labouring under a fit ot temporary insanity"