{12} The following instance, among others, which show forcibly the necessity of caution in this respect on the part of Residents and Subscribers, appears in a communication from a Visitor to the Secretaries:—“I have this day refused to give any relief in Mrs. —. Firstly, because she appears to be forming a habit of making a regular weekly application, on each Saturday. Secondly, because anything given in the District seems to be considered by her as justifying her in making application. Thirdly, because she uses bad language to her children, and shows violence of conduct and temper. Without naming other reasons, it may suffice to say, that I have seen no one feature in her case entitling it to so much attention, on account of character, conduct, or circumstances, but the reverse. She told me that she had acquainted a lady yesterday, that I had not been in the District during the last fortnight; I have been there _three times this week_, and given relief where required. A glance at the accounts will show that the —’s have, when occasion has demanded it, participated largely in the funds of the District Visiting Society; and that great caution is necessary to prevent them and others from obtaining a regular winter allowance.” {13} “The present demoralizing system of begging—a thing so ruinous in its effects, that the major part of the delinquents with which our prisons are filled, owe their progress in crime to the encouragement given to idle habits by the false feeling of charity acted upon by the public, in the promiscuous dispensation of alms to those who are seldom, if ever, deserving of them.”—_Report on Poverty_, _Mendicity_, _and Crime_, _to the House of Lords in_ 1839, _by_ W. A. MILES, Esq. {14} In some districts the greatest inconvenience has been felt from their unsettled condition. The following is but one out of several similar complaints on the part of Visitors:—“I have found the people thankful for the little they receive. But they are such a moving race, that before I get acquainted with their habits they are off to another quarter, and new people fill their places; this to me is most unsatisfactory.” {15} “The present month, has afforded further evidence of the discontent and disappointment produced by undiscriminating bounty. The gift of bread or coals to a certain _number_ of families taken indiscriminately, or to _every_ poor person, in such a locality, is not only indiscreet but unjust, and impedes the exertions of a society whose principle is to discover and encourage the good, to deter the bad.”—_Report of a Visitor_, _February_, 1845.