the last twenty years, have been foreigners. And the State has appropriated $100,000, this year, for the erection of an additional building for the reception of prisoners, which would have been unnecessary were it not for the great increase of foreign criminals. In the Boston Lunatic Hospital, 327 inmates were received, from the time it was opened, in 1839, to 1845, of whom 160, or 48.93 per cent., were foreigners. For the nine years, 1837-1845, inclusive, the Boston Dispensary had under its care 21,908 cases; of these, 15,522, or 70.56 per cent., were those of foreigners and children of foreigners, and 1,876 only of Bostonians. And during the year ending September 30, 1849, it had 3,950 cases, of which 3,487, or 88 per cent., were those of foreigners, and 463, or 12 per cent., only were those of Americans. At the Boston almshouse establishment, on Deer Island, 4,816 persons were admitted, from the time it was opened, in 1847, to January 1, 1850, of whom 4,661, or 97 per cent., were foreigners; and 155, or 3 per cent. only, were Americans. The number who were sick when admitted were 4,069, of whom 759 have died; 402 remained January 1, 1850, of whom 369 were foreigners, and 33 Americans. In 1849 there died of cholera, in Boston, 707 persons, of whom 572, or 81 per cent., were foreigners; and 135, or 19 per cent. were Americans; 42 only were Bostonians. 5,079 persons died in Boston in 1849, of whom 2,982, or 59 per cent., were foreigners. Similar facts might be multiplied; but if these will not command attention, it would be a work of supererogation to go farther. As long ago as 1834, the commissioners for revising the poor laws of England, among other measures, "recommend that the vestries of each parish be empowered to order the payment, out of the rates raised for the relief of the poor, of the expenses of the emigration of any persons having settlements within their parish." This recommendation was embodied in the 62d section of the Poor Law amendment act, and there 1 Report of Commissioners on Poor Laws, 1834, p. 357. is no doubt, that, in very many instances, it has been carried into practical operation. Some poor-houses have been emptied, and their inmates have been transported to America,-to Massachusetts! The stream of emigration has continued to increase, and seems to gain a new accession of strength in every passing year. Massachusetts seems to have resolved itself into a vast public charitable association. Into her institutions are admitted the emigrant pregnant woman at her lying-in; the child to be nursed and educated; the pauper to be supported; the criminal to be punished and reformed; the insane to be restrained and cared for; the sick to be nursed and cured; the dead to be buried; the widow to be comforted; the orphan to be provided with a substitute for parental care; and here ten thousand offices of social and personal kindness and charity, not recognized by the public laws of the State, costing thousands upon thousands of dollars, are bestowed. The doors of these great institutions have been thrown wide open; the managers of the pauper-houses of the old world, and the mercenary ship-owners who ply their craft across the Atlantic and pour their freight freely in, each smile at the open-handed, but lax system of generosity which governs us, and rejoice at an opportunity to get rid of a burden, or make a good voyage. And a yet greater calamity attends this Our own native inhabitants, who mingle with these recipients of their bounty, often become themselves contaminated with diseases, and sicken and die; and the physical and moral power of the living is depreciated, and the healthy, social and moral character we once enjoyed is liable to be forever lost. Pauperism, crime, disease and death, stare us in the face. monstrous evil. We will not attempt to suggest a remedy for this most pregnant anomaly. It requires to be more carefully studied, and more thoroughly surveyed than the present occasion allows. The State should pass suitable laws on the subject, and the general and local Boards of Health should carefully observe these evils in all their sanitary bearings and relations. We would, however, suggest, 1. That emigration, especially of paupers, invalids, and criminals, should, by all proper means, be discouraged; and that misrepresentation and falsehood, to induce persons to embark in passenger-ships, should be discountenanced and counteracted. 2. That ship-owners and others should be held to strict accountability for all expenses of pauper emigrants, and that existing bonds for their support should be strictly enforced. 3. That a system be devised by which all emigrants, or those who introduce them, by water or by land, should be required to pay a sufficient sum to create a general sinking fund for the support of all who may require aid in the State, at least within five years after their arrival. 4. That such a description of each emigrant be registered as will afford the means of identification of any one, at any time, and in any place, within five or more years after arrival. 5. That encouragement be given to emigrate from places in this State, where there is little demand for labor, to other places; and that associations be formed among the emigrants for settling on the public lands of the United States. 6. That efforts be made, by all proper means, to elevate the sanitary and social condition of foreigners, and to promote among them habits of cleanliness and better modes of living. 7. That our system of social and personal charitable relief should be revised and remodeled, and that a general plan be devised which shall bring all the charities of the city, county and state, under one control, and thus prevent injudicious almsgiving and imposition. 8. That an establishment for paupers, including a farm and workshops, be formed in each county in the State, to which State paupers might be sent, and where they should be required to labor, as far as practicable, for their support. II. Most of these recommendations may be carried into effect without any special legislative authority, State or municipal. XXXVII. WE RECOMMEND that a sanitary association be formed in every city and town in the State, for the purpose of SOCIAL AND PERSONAL MEASURES RECOMMENDED. collecting and diffusing information relating to public and personal health. The subject of sanitary improvement is comparatively new. Few minds, in this country at least, have as yet been led to examine it, to see its bearing upon the welfare and progress of humanity. Those, however, who have looked at it with any considerable degree of care, have been convinced of its importance; and it only requires to be generally understood to be universally regarded as the great subject of the age. Public opinion needs to be educated, and in no way can it be more effectually done than by associated effort. If a Metropolitan Sanitary Association existed in Boston, as a central agency, and a Branch Sanitary Association in every city and town in the State, they might do much to effect this object, by collecting and diffusing useful information; and, by their coöperation with the public authorities, render the discharge of their duties comparatively more easy. Inestimable benefits might thus be secured to the cause and to the people. To aid those who may wish to form such associations, we suggest the subjoined form of a constitution :1 XXXVIII. WE RECOMMEND that tenements for the better accommodation of the poor, be erected in cities and villages. I. This association shall be called the Sanitary Association. [here insert the name of the place] II. The object of the association shall be,-1. To institute and promote local and personal sanitary inquiries and improvements. 2. To correct misconception and misrepresentations of the nature and design of sanitary measures. 3. To promote the passage of useful laws, ordinances and regulations, relating to public health. 4. To aid the public authorities, by cooperation and assistance, in carrying them into effect. And 5. To collect and diffuse, by personal intercourse, public lectures, printed works, or otherwise, information, especially as to the sanitary condition of this town and its inhabitants, and generally as to the sanitary condition of this State and other places, and their inhabitants; to the end that among all persons the laws of health and life may be better understood, the causes of disease known and avoided, the term of life extended, the vital force and productive power increased, and the greatest possible amount of physical and sanitary happiness enjoyed. III. Any subscriber paying - annually shall be a member for one year; and any subscriber paying at any one time shall be a member for life. IV. The officers of the association shall be, a president, vice president, secretary, treasurer, and auditor, who shall be chosen at the stated meeting in January, or at any other time when a vacancy shall have occurred; and who together shall constitute the Board of Directors. V. Committees may be appointed to investigate and report upon local or general subjects embraced in the objects of the association. VI. The association shall meet statedly on the second Thursday of each month, and at such other times as the Board of Directors shall appoint. At the meeting in January a report shall be made of the proceedings during the next preceding year. VII. By-laws for the more particular government of the association may be made by the Board of Directors. VIII. No alteration of this constitution shall be made, except at a stated meeting, on recommendation of the Board of Directors, and by a vote of two thirds of the members present. The condition of dwelling-houses has a most intimate and important relation to the health of the inmates; and there is no doubt that the diseases of the laboring classes and the poor, are often produced and accelerated to fatal results, from defects in these respects, which are removable. In 1846, a meeting of the citizens of Boston was held, and a valuable "Report of the committee on the expediency of providing Better Tenements for the Poor," was adopted and published. After stating many interesting particulars relating to the subject, the committee came to the conclusion: "1st. That property invested in well-constructed and wellsituated houses, to be leased to the poorer classes of tenants, by apartments and by the week, is as safe as any other real estate excepting the best, and far more so than the average. "2d. That it yields as much as any real estate which is equally safe. "3d. That, by putting a portion of his funds into such buildings, the capitalist may confer an immense benefit on his fellow-citizens, which must soon react upon himself or his children. "4th. That he would thereby incur no risk of doing a collateral injury, such as, in many forms of charity, goes so far to offset the most obvious benefits." And they recommend to accomplish such an object: "1st. To form a company to hire buildings and let rooms to poor tenants under direction of a paid agent; and "2d. To take such steps as may seem to them best, by the establishment of chartered or private companies, to procure the construction of large, well-fitted buildings, especially designed for the use of such tenants." Wishing to learn what had been done, and how far the experiment had succeeded, we addressed inquiries to Stephen H. Perkins, Esq., of Brookline, the author of the Report above referred to, and obtained from him the communication which appears in the appendix. We have also given, immediately following that communication, extracts from the able Report of Dr. Simon, "On the sanitary condition of the city of London," presented November 6, 1849. These documents |