been repeatedly relieved, and but very few rejected. In dispensing relief the directors are mainly guided by the character and peculiar situation of the applicants; to the intent that the assistance afforded may be the means, as far as possible, of restoring them to the station in life from which misfortune has removed them, or of upholding them in that condition which may secure the most comfortable maintenance for themselves and their families. Aided by the liberal contribution, not only of Blues, but of many of the governors, and others who feel an interest in the welfare of Christ's Hospital, the society have been enabled to fund £2350; and it is devoutly to be wished that as the good work in which they are engaged becomes more extensively known, not a Blue, who has the means, will withhold his mite from so excellent an Institution.

While the measures for the establishment of this society were proceeding to maturity without the walls, the superintendence of the internal government of CHRIST'S HOSPITAL had been transferred into other hands. Mr. JAMES PALMER, having now occupied the treasurer's chair for a period of six and twenty years, had withdrawn from a weight of duties too arduous for his advanced age; and in his resignation the Hospital sustained a loss, which it was not easy to repair. He had filled with the most unsullied integrity the station of highest trust in the Institution; in the execution of its arduous duties his exertions were unremitting, his attention to the improvement, the comfort, and the happiness of the children was kind, affectionate, and parental; his zeal for the reputation of the Hospital was warm and sincere; in its welfare and prosperity every wish of his heart was centered. He has now gone to his reward, having departed this life on the 25th day of January, 1825. All who recollect him will cordially agree in the estimate of his character and services, drawn by one who knew him intimately, which is here subjoined :

"The early part of the nineteenth century is remarkable in the History of the English Nation, as the period during which the most extensive

endeavours have been made to communicate to the lower, and hitherto uneducated, orders of society those advantages of learning, which were considered in former times, if not incompatible with a life of labour, at least unnecessary for those, who filled the humblest walks of life. It must be acknowledged, that the first advocates of the duty of teaching the poor to read, had chiefly in view the spiritual benefits which were to be afforded by the communication of knowledge, and that the founders of the national system of education especially, regarded the intellectual improvement of the poor but as necessary to their advancement in that knowledge, the end of which is eternal life.' There were not, however, wanting those, who foresaw that the result of these pious labours would be to raise the general standard of knowledge, and that if the humblest classes of society were instructed to read and write and calculate, some higher degrees of knowledge would be required, in order that the middle classes might preserve their superiority in the scale of civilised life. To the probability of this increased demand for a superior education no one was more anxiously alive than the late respected Treasurer, Mr. Palmer; no one laboured more effectually so to adapt the system of instruction pursued in Christ's Hospital to the new state of society, that the young persons educated within its walls should find themselves qualified, on their entering into life, to compete with the younger branches of the middling and higher orders of society, in whatever business or profession they might be placed. At the period of which we are speaking this venerable man, though considerably more than seventy years of age, was found taking the lead amongst his colleagues, the members of the committee, in diligently inquiring into the comparative merits of different systems, and in devising the means by which the advantage of a classical education, hitherto confined to a few of the most promising children of the Hospital, might be extended to the whole number. The result of these labours has been the formation of a plan of instruction, combining classical knowledge with the arts most useful in mercantile life, which has now been carried into effect for many years, and of which experience has shown, that

though in detail it may be capable of greater perfection, in its general principle it cannot be improved.

"The character of Mr. Palmer exhibited a very remarkable instance of the power which virtue, combined with firmness, possesses of controlling the minds of others, and directing the counsels of bodies of men. He was a man of few words, ungifted with eloquence, and unversed in the art of public speaking; he was slow and cautious in delivering his opinion, but when the opportunity presented itself, he rarely failed in a brief sentence or two to point out the proper course, and to win to his side consent. Even at fourscore years of age he never displayed the moroseness, or indulged any of the prejudices, so common to aged men, neither speaking of former times as better than the present, nor condemning the young as inferior to their fathers in duty and obedience. This freedom from prejudice enabled him to the very last to listen with readiness to any proposals for the improvement of the Hospital. That an abuse was ancient was to him no excuse for its continuance. He possessed a remarkable faculty of addressing his mind to topics perfectly new to him; if a new scheme of education was proposed, he sedulously applied himself to become acquainted with its peculiarities or its merits; to any new proposal for the appropriation of the revenues of the House he never objected, except on the ground of parsimony or prodigality; for whilst, on the one hand, he deemed it prudent that the interior of the Hospital should possess the distinguishing characters of a charitable institution, he was also careful that those who did it service, or were in any way connected with it, should experience a just and liberal treatment. He had too much regard for the feelings of others to approve of any corporate body doing that, which in an individual would appear niggardly or unjust. Enemies he had none, for when his duty called him to administer reproof, he never laid aside that calm dignity which was to him habitual; and if the remonstrance was severe, the offending party was still conscious, that a sense of justice to the Hospital, and not a personal feeling of anger, dictated the expression. To his friends he was kind and constant; instead of bestowing his patronage with a

view of promoting his personal influence, he looked around to discover those whose claims upon himself were greatest, and whilst the course of a long life enabled him to bestow innumerable favours upon others, his own family was no otherwise benefitted than by the gratitude of those who were the objects of his care. To all the arts of popular elections he was a perfect stranger. When offices were vacant in the Hospital, he diligently compared the claims of the respective candidates, and never waited to be solicited, but gave his whole influence, unasked, to the person whom he judged it would be most just, as well as expedient, for the Court to elect. He always acted upon the opinion, that those who filled the chief places of government in deliberative bodies, were bound not merely to give their votes, honestly as individuals, but to endeavour to become such examples in their mode of giving support to candidates, as other members, who have neither leisure nor means of choosing for themselves the fittest person, might safely follow. Though himself very decided in political opinions, he always deprecated and opposed any the slightest attempts to use the influence of the Hospital as a corporation in promoting the cause of party, for he was well aware that such bodies, in endeavouring to support any particular party, soon lose their own independence, and become in return a prey to party themselves. Of his private virtues, his conduct as a man of business, a husband, a father, and a friend, this is not the place to speak; but if the absence of the love of money, in the case of one whose office as Treasurer placed large sums at his command, be a virtue, Mr. Palmer possessed that in a most extraordinary degree. When the property of others was in his hands, he never for one moment forgot that that property was not his own. Few instances perhaps have been found of men engaged in business for so long a period of life, with such opportunities of profiting by the use of capital, who have left behind them so moderate a portion of this world's goods. The hospitality of himself and his family will long be remembered; at the Treasurer's house every visitor to the Hospital found a welcome reception; but they most, who most admired the institution, and expressed the greatest interest in its welfare.”