course becomes necessary that other means should be devised for the support of the children. The country could tell us a great deal about how this is done. The millions expended upon poors' rates, juvenile reformatories, orphan asylums, ragged schools, &c., are just doing what, in nineteen cases out of twenty, the father of the family could do quite easily himself.

But, much as is done by the country, it is still little in comparison with what is left to be done by the wives and mothers. Necessity, in the first place, drives many married women out to work. The development of certain kinds of manufacture in this country has made way for women's labour. In many departments of industry a woman's hands are as valuable, or even more so, than a man's, and as the services of the former can be procured at a less cost, it is the interest of the employer to encourage them in going out to work.

The love of earning money, and having it to spend as they like, has been gaining ground amongst women for many years past. Whatever any of us learn to do well we prefer to what we do badly; and as the attention of girls is generally from an early period of life directed to remunerative work, and not to the skilful performance of the quiet duties of domestic life, it has come to pass that what might, in the first place, have had its origin in necessity, is in the end preferred. Then, whether needed or not, the washing-tub, the ironing-table, and the factory are chosen, rather than the caring for home and children.

Of late years, the wages of men in most departments have been steadily rising. Probably, there was never so little of positive necessity for mothers of families to go out to work as now; and yet we have reason to believe that never were neglected and forsaken homes so numerous as at the present time.

All deviation from God's established laws must, sooner or later, bring us into a state of confusion, disorder, and distress. The present difficulty in the country, arising from the crowded state of the labour market, can be traced as a natural effect from a certain cause. Those kind and humane ladies who are interesting themselves so energetically to obtain employment for women, tell us that they are at their wit's end to know where to find work for them to do; and those of us who are daily walking in and out of deserted homes, and looking with eyes filled with tears on the intolerable suffering and degradation endured by neglected children, are thinking almost day and night how the working mother is to be restored to her own place. In every street of London, inhabited by the working classes, hundreds of women are wanted to do the mother's work in the family, and no substitute for their presence will ever be found.

From out of the number of poor mothers with whom I am constantly brought in contact, I have been able to persuade many to leave the washing-tub and ironing-table, and devote themselves to their families. I have, in many cases, taken the trouble to keep very exact account of the profit and loss connected with this change

of administration, and the result of this moral gain has never, in any instance, been attended with pecuniary loss. The mother who stays at home seldom fails to keep decent clothes and furniture about her, and by so doing she becomes a customer to the labourmaking trades: she thus indirectly assists other families to obtain a livelihood as well as her own. I was surprised at being told one day that I was taking an antagonistic position to the Ladies' Society for finding employment for women. I replied: "So far from that, I considered myself one of their best friends, for whilst they complained that they were constantly stopped in their career by coming up against dead walls, my plan would bring down these walls and enable them to pass on." In other words, if men's wages were brought home, instead of being taken to the public-house, and all married women removed from the labour-market, besides the advantage of having their places to fill, there would be such an immense demand for crockery, clothes, ironmongery, and furniture of all descriptions, that the difficulty would be transferred to the other side, and labourers, instead of labour, would be in demand.

But we have hitherto been speaking of the family. We have not yet touched upon the effect which working abroad has upon the woman herself. As we have said, the motive which sends many a woman, in the first place, out to work, is to provide bread for her children, which the drunkenness or indifference of the husband prevents him from doing. For some time, it may be, the money is brought home and expended upon the children, but she finds, alas! that she has only a woman's strength. While the man returns from his labour to rest, nothing more, being expected from him, she comes back to her home to find another day's work awaiting her there. It is the custom for all laundry work to be paid for by the day: the hireling returns in the evening with her wages in her hand; she cannot go many steps, unfortunately, without coming to a house offering every temptation to go in and take the very thing she seems so much to need. She is exhausted with heat and fatigue; she knows that no refreshing meal awaits her at home; nothing but dirt, confusion, crying children, and, it may be also, an angry husband. Is it any wonder that the temptation should prove too strong for her to resist, and that the hard-earned money is spent in the attempt to drown the perception of all this intolerable wretchedness? and in this way it comes to pass that she, who was intended to be known as the honoured wife and mother, comes to be called instead, the "drunken woman."

From many years' observation and long sustained, though most imperfect, efforts to improve the home life of the working classes, I have arrived at the conclusion, that though something may be done by the advocacy of improved plans applied to the outward condition, the root of the mischief will not be reached until our minds are brought more directly under the influence of God's standard of truth. Within a few verses of the 18th chapter of Matthew, we are told of the Father's love for the little ones: it is not His will

that one should perish: of the Son coming to seek and to save them: and of the awful punishment denounced upon those who offend or cause them to sin. When we compare these words with the world's standard of parental responsibility, with the opinion which the working man gathers from speeches delivered both in and out of Parliament, viz., that he has a right to do as he likes with his money and his time, regardless of the most sacred and solemn duties of life: when we think of all this we feel that truth must exist in our minds, more as it does in God's mind, before we can hope for much improvement in the outer life.

Those grand and fearful words which terminate the first sermon that Christ preached before multitudes of people-" and the ruin of that house was great"-simply mean that one person went wrong instead of right. This shows us Christ's estimate of the importance of individual character. Upon these truths we believe we must rest the lever by which we hope to raise the standard of parental responsibility. When the thoughts of people generally are in unison with the scriptural teaching, fathers will not dare to stand in the public-houses and waste that substance on riotous living which is due to the support of their families. Mothers will not dare to wash and gossip and drink whilst they have left their children exposed to every conceivable evil. Government will not dare to legalize a trade which is the cause of the perishing of millions of souls, each one of whom, we are told upon authority, which a professedly Christian nation cannot dispute, is of more value than the wealth of the whole world. I not unfrequently hear persons regret that they cannot do more in the way of assisting to remove some of the many evils which press upon society. The field for work is so large that no labourer of any kind must be sent back as not wanted, and it is so varied that no earnest-hearted persons need wait long without discovering the peculiar niche which God has qualified them to fill. But this paper has been dealing with public opinion this something which exists amongst us, so powerful for evil or for good, that the word "omnipotent" is frequently applied to it. There is no person, however apparently insignificant, who cannot bring some influence to bear upon this. Of late years it has been no uncommon thing for poor women to call upon and tell me that they have given up going out to work, and that they are getting a deal better off. Men stop me in the street, in the winter, and tell me that they have tried everywhere to get work, but have not succeeded, and that their wives are obliged to undertake a little charing or washing, but they will take care that shall not go on after they get into work. If we, each of us, do what we can in our own immediate neighbourhood to promote a different kind of thought, we may hope, in course of time, to see a different kind of practice.

We are thankful to live in a country which has its great associations for the discussion of scientific subjects; its musical festivals; its competitive shows for the best contrived implements, and for the

finest cattle: for all these purposes tend to the perfection of our outer life, and many of them increase our knowledge of the profound wisdom and beneficence of our great Creator. But these things will not constitute the strength of our nation. God's word will stand, that "Righteousness exalteth a nation." It is some influence which proceeds direct from our home life, from which we have the most to hope or to fear, and we have never wondered that, after many years of banishment, when Ezra was returning to his beloved country, bright with hope of being able to restore her to her former high position, that he should have paused on his way, and that we read-" Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river of Ahava, that we might afflict ourselves before our God; to seek of Him a right way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance."

EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN.

Report of the Irish Society for the Employment of Educated Women. By A. B. CORLETT.

THIS

HIS is the second report presented to the Association by the Irish Society for the Employment of Women. Hitherto the society in Dublin has been strictly a training institution, and devoted its actual work to the office of preparing women of the middle ranks, or in reduced circumstances, to undertake with confidence various occupations of a remunerative character. For two years it has steadily and perseveringly followed this course; it established classes for different pursuits, and even when these were maintained at heavy pecuniary loss still persevered in the effort to finish at least a few ladies in the work each had selected. By pursuing this plan popular sympathy and support was gained, the society recognised as occupying a useful position; and it is now acknowledged as a public benefit to the city, entirely free at the same time from the charge of having interfered with the occupation or emoluments of men, or of having caused even individual diminution of means to them. It is no trifling satisfaction that, closing the second year of its existence last week, the society should be enabled to enter on a more enlarged sphere of usefulness, and add employment to training; that it has succeeded in overcoming prejudice, and has advanced so far on its course without once falling into the wrong position with any portion of the public.

The classes have amounted to seven, namely:-Sewing machine, in which is taught the neglected art of cutting out clothing, and in which also overseers of workrooms, where women are employed, are trained; commercial classes for writing, arithmetic, bookkeeping; for law writing, and ornamental writing; telegraph clerks; and art

classes for practising engraving on wood and metal; lithographingboth drawing and writing. At the suggestion of some members of the society, a Latin class was commenced for the purpose of teaching Latin to governesses, it being the experience in Ireland for some years, that junior schools, where boys can learn the elements of Latin, without serious sacrifice of time among great boys, have ceased to exist, and it has been ascertained that governesses who can supply this want are much more highly remunerated.

It may be permitted to add the figures of the two years together, as results training-it being first stated, that a considerable number of applications have been rejected, partly from the persons not reaching the standard of "Middle Class," and so not within the scope of the society's action, and also as being hopeless subjects for the experiment of teaching. Thus, in the sewing machine and overseers, the pupils amounted to 152; commercial, 89; telegraph, 19; law writing, 38; engraving, 16; Latin, 3; lithography, 6; total, 323. The employments for the two years number 142, all of whom have been trained in the society. There is also a system of certificates, already looked upon as valuable by the public, and in time it is hoped a certificate from the society will be regarded as a prize, as it is even now as a guarantee of competency by employers. The registry, hitherto, has chiefly been used as a feeder to the classes, all pupils passing through it to them, and though it is proposed to extend its functions by opening it to governesses, matrons, and sick nurses, as well as for the society's pupils, it is primarily employed for the pupils, and as the responsible office for transferring them to situations. The Magnetic Telegraph Company has been so well satisfied with the conduct of the clerks trained by the society, as to advance considerably the salaries awarded at first entrance on the appointments. The law copying office has kept six clerks constantly at work during the terms, and it is expected that a large increase of business, of late executed in London and elsewhere, through the facilities afforded by the post-office, will henceforward be entrusted to the ladies taught in the classes.

Having succeeded in obtaining a convenient and well situated house, the society is about to try an experiment which has been successful in many instances of a co-operative shop, the shares (10s. each) being intended for investment by the pupils as a means of training them to unite their resources, often too slender individually to enable them to be turned to account, and to show them how to enter into business for themselves. The stationery trade has been chosen as the one most suitable to the work. It is intended to carry out the scheme with business like precision, so that it shall exhibit a lesson for thorough management of an experiment which it is hoped may be worthy of being imitated.* A provident society with medical advices and sick list pensions is also projected, so that through both,

An experiment of this kind, begun by Miss Bessie Parkes, has been in operation for upwards of two years at 19, Langham Place, with perfect success.