The notice taken of the Dublin house of industry in the above Report, as well as the real importance of the institution, renders some account of it here necessary. The house of industry was established in 1772, by the _11th and 12th George 3rd, cap. 11_,[31] under the provisions of which Act it was separated from the foundling hospital, of which it had before formed a part; and was thenceforward applied to the maintenance of such helpless men and helpless women as from age and infirmity were deemed fitting objects for admission, for the confinement of men who were committed as vagabonds or sturdy beggars, and for the punishment of such idle strolling and disorderly women as the magistrates might commit thither. Considerable additions were made to the building, and after a time some changes and modifications took place in the management, which ultimately led to the house of industry being used for the reception of poor aged and infirm men and women, idiots and incurable lunatics removed from the Richmond Lunatic Asylum, the sick poor and persons labouring under acute chronic and surgical complaints, for whom appropriate hospitals had been provided, and lastly strolling beggars thither committed by the magistrates of police. From the year 1773 to 1776 inclusive, the house of industry was supported by subscriptions, donations, and charity sermons, and afterwards by annual parliamentary grants, voluntary contributions, the profits (so called) arising from the labour of the poor, and a small sum of interest accruing on certain legacies. The voluntary contributions became less after aid was obtained from parliament, and as might be expected, soon ceased altogether. In 1776 the parliamentary grant to the institution was 3,000_l._—In 1786 it was 8,600_l._—In 1796 it was 14,500_l._—In 1806 it was 22,177_l._—In 1814 it was 49,113_l._—In 1820 it was 26,474_l._, and in 1827 it was 23,000_l._[32] At first the house of industry was managed and governed by the corporation for the relief of the poor in the county of the city of Dublin, under the provisions of the Act of 1772—afterwards by seven persons balloted for and appointed “acting governors of the house of industry,” in conformity with the _39th George 3rd, cap. 38_. In 1800 the number of governors was reduced to five, and in 1820 the management was vested in a single governor, with a salary of 500_l._ a year. The number of admissions in 1803 was 4,468, and the average number in the house was 1,313. In 1807 the admissions were 5,900, and the average number in the house was 1862. In this latter year 271 of the admissions were by committal. ----- [31] Ante, p. 45. [32] The grants were made annually, and these years are selected as indicating the average amount. The whole is abstracted from a return made to parliament in 1828, and from Warburton Whitlaw and Walsh’s History of Dublin, published in 1818. ----- [Sidenote: Dublin Foundling Hospital.]