My people have learned to save for themselves; I have not to run about collecting their pence, or sit at home for the purpose of receiving and entering their contributions; the purchasers are so well aware of their savings in time and money,-in the former by not being compelled to go to the neighbouring town, and the latter by getting all they require at two-thirds of the cost price,-that the habit of laying by is now become familiar to them, and as the benefit they receive is further contingent on their steadiness, sobriety, and attention to their religious duties, I have reason to believe that I am laying the foundation for a generation, in every sense of the word, reformed and civilized. P. Q.

CLOTHING CLUBS.

SIR,-I have read with great attention and interest the communications of your two correspondents on the subject of " Clothing Clubs;" and as I am convinced one common cause prompts both writers, (namely, the earnest wish to benefit the lower classes,) it is interesting to see how admirably each writer advocates his own view of the question.

I have been anxiously watching, in the hope that some further communication might have appeared from the pen of one of these able writers, touching on one subject in these valuable institutions which my own experience in club which I have now formed for some time (and also some surrounding ones in the neighbourhood,) makes me feel a very essential one,-I mean the manner in which the money is laid out at the end of the year.

It is a very usual practice, (to save trouble to the treasurer, and also from the idea that the poor would please themselves better in their purchases,) to make out tickets for each individual, on which they put down the amount of money due to each member, allowing them to take that to some appointed shop, which has directions to let them select articles to such an amount as their tickets name. Various are the disadvantages to the poor people of this system. To the treasurer and conductors of the club, I allow, it holds out every temptation; but as I am convinced no persons ever undertook to establish a "clothing club" without first allowing every indolent and selfish feeling to be entirely superseded by the one sole idea and wish-that of benefiting their poor parishoners,-I am certain those who have adopted the plan of tickets will pardon me for pointing out to them the disadvantages of this system. Were it not that I feel I should be trespassing too much on your valuable pages, which would otherwise be filled by much abler hands, I would detail many facts that have fallen under my own cognizance, in confirmation of my own experience and opinion. Where country villages have what is called a "general shop," by way of encouragement to that, the tickets are generally given to be laid out there. Now we all know the very inferior articles that are sold at these village shops, and those for the highest prices at which you can purchase the best articles of the same description at large town shops. Of course, therefore, here is one great deduction in

the value of the goods the poor people purchase; and how much further would their money go if differently laid out? In confirmation of this I must here be allowed to mention what occurred to an inti mate friend of mine, a clergyman in a neighbouring county, who had with much attention and assiduity established a " Clothing Club," and adopted the ticket plan of disposing of the money. But this was only for the first year. Finding the goods that had been sold the poor people were of a very indifferent quality, and very dear, and that the shopkeeper had thereby been making an unreasonable profit, my friend determined the next year to purchase the goods himself, at the large shops, and have them sent up to a room in the village appointed for that purpose, for a day of sale, attended by my friend and his family. This plan appeared to give the poor people such an increase of satisfaction as was very gratifying to my friend to hear them express, "how much further their money had gone that year." This made him anticipate an increase of members at the opening of the club; but, to his astonishment and mortification, many made excuses that they could not renew their payments, at the same time expressing great regret for it, but would assign no reason until much urged, when they confessed, that the shopkeeper had been so piqued by the expenditure of the club money being withdrawn from him, that, in consequence, he refused to let them have a single article of shop goods without bringing their money in their hands, which they could not always do. Far be it from me to advocate the running up a score— it is a ruinous plan to every class. But this fact alone is an indisputable proof of the unreasonable profit made by the tradesman on this plan; and all who have had much intercourse with the lower classes must know that some weeks, from various causes, they are enabled to pay the arrears of a former one, if allowed a week's credit. Another conviction of the disadvantages of the ticket plan occurred to my own family. The system I have followed from the first of my establishing my club, (and which experience allows me to recommend,) has been the purchasing and selecting the goods myself, at the wholesale price, and by whole pieces, at such times throughout the year when opportunity offered any articles useful to the club at a particu larly cheap price. One day in the year, (generally in the month of November,) I open shop at my own house, under the superintendance of the females of my family. By this mode, the members of the club have every advantage; the best articles are selected for them, at the lowest prices, during the course of the year. And in retail quantities, they make their purchases at wholesale prices; also having the advantage of any extra measure in the pieces of goods.

The circumstance I allude to as occurring to my own family was, that at a large linen draper's shop that we had dealt with for ourselves for years, when my wife and daughters went to select a large assortment of whole pieces of goods of various kinds, (choosing them from a great number,) the master of the shop asked "if he might take the liberty of suggesting to them a plan that, perhaps, they were not aware of, and that would save them infinite trouble," for, he said, "they knew not what they undertook, in opening shop and selling to the poor people

themselves." My wife said she "was aware it was done in some places, but we did not wish to follow it." The extreme chagrin and disappointment depicted in the countenance of the tradesman at this reply made my wife and daughters still better satisfied with our own plan, as being of greater benefit to the poor. And when we recollect that it is always the inferior pieces of goods that are in cut on the counter for retail customers, and, I fear, particularly for the poor people, and that from these the amount of their tickets would be given, we can easily see from what source arose the tradesman's disappointment., Another reason why I disapprove the plan is, the very thing that appeared to give satisfaction to a zealous young clergyman in my neighbourhood, who had given tickets to the members of his club-" that he was pleased to see how many different small articles they had purchased with the amount of their ticket." Now, it appears to me, that one of the great advantages of "clothing clubs" is the enabling the poor people, by the accumulation of their money, to purchase those large articles either of clothing, sheets, or blankets, for which they could not advance a sufficient sum at once. If, therefore, they are allowed to flitter it away in numerous small articles, here is, in my opinion, one of the greatest advantages of these valuable Institutions at once done away with. By purchasing for them, though they have a choice, yet only such articles are brought before them as it would be judicious for them to purchase; and we all know, when left to themselves, how very injudicious the poor people often are in the laying out of their money.

My daughters have lately adopted a plan that appears to have given great additional satisfaction to the members of the club, particularly to the juniors. As, after they have made their large purchases, there are generally some smaller sums they wish to lay out to make up their money in small articles, for that purpose my daughters have, at various times in the course of the spring and summer, purchased large lots of remnants of prints at very reduced prices, cut them out to the best advantage in frocks of various sizes, pinafores and aprons, and under their superintendance have had them made up at their schools: by this means furnishing their children with work, who would otherwise sit idle, and also teaching them to make their own clothes. And it likewise makes the purchase afterwards at a very easy rate. They also have a large quantity of shirts made on the same plan, ready for the day of sale. We have found this system a great motive of emulation and industry in the schools. The children feel a laudable pride in having their work exhibited and purchased on the day of sale and the purchasers find it a most advantageous way of laying out their small sums, as they have the article at the cost price of the print, all the little extras to complete them being furnished by my daughters, as an encouragement to the plan. I must apologize for trespassing so far in your valuable pages, and will only add, that if any of your readers can suggest any improvements on the plan, they will be gratefully adopted by

Sir, your obedient servant, F. W. C.

LADY HEWLEY'S CHARITY.

SIR,-On reviewing the arguments of the present claimants of Lady Hewley's Charity, I cannot help being struck at their ready assumption of a fact which none but themselves, perhaps, would so readily concede. Mr. Cooper, the advocate for the Unitarians, at p. 5 of his speech, speaks thus-"No one alleges that ministers of the church of England were intended. It is admitted on all hands, the information states, the witnesses of the relators prove, that by poor and godly preachers' was intended dissenters from the established church. But the instruments creating this charity do not point out, in express terms, any particular sect or class; and it will, as it appears to me, be requisite to consider what were the sects or classes of dissenters prevalent in England at the time when the charity was founded, &c.' That the persons who filed the information, being dissenters, should admit that the church of England has no claims, that they should in 1834 bring forward witnesses to prove the intentions of Lady Hewley, who died in 1710, is not very surprising; but the degree of credibility to be attached to such admissions is another thing, upon which I intend to offer a few remarks.

In Thoresby's Diary there are some interesting remarks upon this charity, which, as they do not appear to have attracted notice, I shall here transcribe :

"Evening [June 26, 1702] visited Mr. Hodgson, the good old Lady Hewley's chaplain, who has now actually endowed her lately-erected Hospital with £60 per annum, for ten widows."

"[Oct. 20, 1710.] Made a visit or two to Mr. Norton and Mr. Hodgson, the charitable and pious Lady Hewley's chaplain, to obtain an account of her benefactions, which see elsewhere." [This account, unfortunately, cannot now be found in the Diary.]

"[June 18, 1711.] I visited Dr. Colton [a presbyterian divine, of whom see vol. i. p. 245.] about the late pious Lady Hewley's benefactions; was sorry to hear that there are endeavours to frustrate them, and Chancery suits commenced already."

Now it appears from these and other remarks, that Lady Hewley's chaplains were presbyterians, and intimate with Thoresby; which is a sufficient proof that they were mild and moderate men. For Thoresby, after conforming to the church of England, was extremely persecuted by the dissenters in and about Leeds, as were all the conformists of those times. See the same diary, vol. i. p. 201, 312, 313, 318, 323, 324, 434. Nor is it likely that a man of Thoresby's mildness and piety, and who generally comments upon the exclusive spirit of party, would have spoken so highly as he does of this charity if it had been restricted to any particular religious class. This is further confirmed by some remarks of Mr. Hunter, the Yorkshire antiquary, in his pamphlet,* written expressly to support the claims of the Unitarians, and whose researches in this part of history makes him a very competent witness. He tells us that Lady Hewley was in the habit of assisting poor clergymen of the established church,—that she left a legacy for a public charity, of which all the partakers must needs be of the church

Unfortunately, I have not this pamphlet by me, nor do I know where to get it in

Oxford.

of England. It might be expected then, that her charity would not be restricted to any particular sect of Christians, nor was it, if we may judge from the terms of the legacy itself, which appears to state nothing more, than that this charity was created for the benefit "of poor and godly preachers, for the time being, of Christ's holy gospel, and of poor and godly widows of such preachers, and for the encouragement and promoting of the preaching of Christ's holy gospel in poor places, and for exhibitions for educating young men designed for the ministry of Christ's holy gospel, and for relieving godly persons in distress, and a preference is given to objects resident in Yorkshire and in the northern counties." The question then is, who are these poor and godly persons? To solve which I shall again refer to Mr. Cooper's words, p. 19.-"The foundation instruments affording little internal evidence, inquiry has naturally been made to what class Lady Hewley and the original trustees belonged. Now, it is remarkable, that upon this point the information is silent. The fact, however, is put beyond a doubt, by the evidence of the relator's own witnesses, that Lady Hewley was a presbyterian, and that the original trustees were presbyterians." He then proceeds to state that the injunction requires that the alms-people should be able to repeat the Lord's Prayer, the Apostles' Creed, and the Decalogue. At p. 23, he says, "Indeed, it is not a little remarkable, and certainly is not a circumstance very favourable to the narrow and sectarian view taken of this case by the relators, that the alms-people are not only not required to belong to any particular class of dissenters, but they need not be dissenters at all; the comprehensive benevolence of the foundress required only that they should be piously disposed, and of the protestant religion, and should on the Lord's day repair to 'some religious assembly of the protestant religion.' But the rules enjoin, as a qualification for admission into the hospital, that the alms-people should be able to repeat Bowles' catechism."

Now Lady Hewley's fixing upon Bowles' catechism, instead of that of the Assembly of Divines, is somewhat remarkable, especially when it is remembered that Bowles was a very active instrument in the restoration of Charles II.and was very intimate with Stillingfleet and Tillotson, and it is questionable, at least, whether he would not have conformed had he outlived Bartholomew's-day. By her fixing upon Bowles' catechism, it appears that Lady H. did not intend to restrict her charity to the dissenters; for the objection that she rather fixed upon this as in more general use among the people of Yorkshire is but of little weight, when it is remembered that Philip Lord Wharton, in his charity instituted for natives of Yorkshire, and at this time, requires all those who are partakers of his charity to learn the Assembly's catechism.

It is further to be noticed that Lady H. gives a preference to the northern counties. Now, in her time, I believe, there was no regular chapel of Calvinistic Independents either at York or Leeds, much less in the northern counties; nor can that party shew that, during her lifetime she extended her charity towards them. And when it is further

And see Thoresby, as quoted above: the same thing is stated by Drake, in his History of York. Published 1736.