by a layman as well as by a cleric. An eminent churchman has said that the greatest danger of clergymen lay in their "constant temptation to exaggerate." Exaggeration is not permitted to the disciple of the Charity Organisation Society, whether in the pulpit or elsewhere. Indeed it may be doubted whether we have not commonly gone too far in the other direction; and in our anxiety to avoid exaggeration held our own mouth with bit and bridle, and repressed that fire and feeling without which no general enthusiasm is possible. There is place then for all preachers, men and women also, in all companies. The cause has but to be rightly explained, and it will prove attractive. To convince and keep adherents to the cause is a first function of charity organisation; and as for the "ways and means," gain the men, and you are sure to gain access to their pockets.

Finance. One of the surest ways of getting money from the public is to show that what has been already given has been used generously, but with prudence, care, and sound method. The annual report will, of course, contain a balance sheet, but this will be of little service unless it is based upon accounts rigorously kept, and unless it is framed upon a system which will readily show whence the money has been received and how it has gone. The immediate entry of every item of receipt and expenditure should be treated as a religious duty, and truly it is no less, for this is the money of the charitable for the poor.

All entries should be made in a large ledger, and each under its proper head, thus:

The general fund is that for the general purposes of the committee; including office expenses, salaries, printing, postage, etc. When there is no relief fund, grants made by the committee come out of the general fund; and a distinct relief fund is not recommended. But it is convenient to have a column for relief fund, because such a fund may have to be created, for example, to meet some exceptional distress, and should then be separately entered. The special fund consists of money paid in for special cases, and should be kept most carefully distinct from the general fund. No general expenses should ever, on any pretext, be paid or even advanced out of the special or loan funds, or out of the relief fund, if there be any.

By this means the actual state of the finances at any time can be seen almost at a glance. Beyond this suggestion it is unnecessary to enter into details, as to account books, etc., all of which may be found in Charity Organisation Paper, No. 9, "On Finance." It may be convenient, however, to apply for the form of the annual balance sheet, now used by the Charity Organisation Society, which has been adopted in order to show clearly what moneys have been received and expended for general purposes, and what for relief only. This may be obtained from the Secretary of the Charity Organisation Society.

I

CHAPTER VIII.

ON SOME MODES OF RELIEF.

A VOLUME on the 'Method of Relief' is concerned with the modes of relief chiefly by way of illustration. Our business has been to explain the advantages of system in the work, rather than to attempt setting out in detail the endless variety of ways in which assistance may be given. It was, however, impossible to avoid touching upon the other side of the question, and while it has been shown how committees should be constituted and how they should receive, examine, and investigate cases, we have here necessarily alluded to some of the ways in which assistance can be given. Some of these have been sufficiently described, but others could not be more than indicated without introducing unwieldy digressions into the body of the book. It seemed best, therefore, to add a supplementary chapter, in which further details might be given on points of interest to helpers, but which could not conveniently be introduced earlier. For example, when treating of "employment" we had to consider the ordinary practice of the London Charity Organisation Society, and what cases would usually be entered under this head. There remains the large question of, not finding, but making work for applicants. A discussion of this

would have been like an unsightly wen in Chapter IV., and yet is too important for omission. So there is still something to be said about medical relief, especially in regard to convalescent work, for which space could not be found when we were considering the entries in the application and decision book, and the section devoted to grants is too long already although nothing has been said of grants in kind. There is much else, which would swell this volume beyond our limits, and the few remarks here offered are in the nature of an appendix.

Of making Work.-All institutions concerned with men and women in a state of compulsory idleness, whether penally or accidentally excluded from labour, have to consider whether it is possible and desirable to provide work for these people. It seems almost absurd to maintain in idleness those who are quite capable of exertion, yet to manufacture employment for them often means injury to free labourers, and is by no means always a real benefit to the subjects of the experiment. Here we have only to do with one side of the problem relating to those out-of-work cases of which something has already been said. The different committees of the London Charity Organisation Society do not all adopt the same methods of treating these cases, but all seem to agree that it is impossible or undesirable to find work for them, as a rule. It is generally held that an able-bodied, out-of-work case should not be assisted unless there are exceptional circumstances, the commonest instance of which would be reasonable probability that work will shortly be obtained, and that assistance to tide over a moderate interval only is