To open an account with the pauper, and to charge him for his maintenance, and credit him the value of his services; and all idle persons who may be sent to the almshouse by any of the said guardians, may be detained in the said house by the board of guardians, and compelled to perform such work and services as the said board may order and direct, until they have compensated by their labour for the expenses incurred on their account, unless discharged by special permission of the board of guardians; and it shall be the duty of the said board of guardians to furnish such person or persons as aforesaid with sufficient work and employment, according to their physical abilities, so that the opportunity of reimbursement may be fully afforded: and for the more complete carrying into effect the provisions of this law, the said board of guardians are hereby authorized and empowered to exercise such authority as may be necessary to compel all persons within the said almshouse and house of employment to do and perform all such work, labour, and services as may be assigned to them by the said board of guardians, provided the same be not inconsistent with the condition or ability of such person. And whereas it frequently happens that children who have been receiving public support for indefinite periods are claimed by their parents when they arrive at a proper age for being bound out, the guardians are authorized to bind out all children that have or may receive public support, either in the almshouse or children’s asylum, although their parents may demand their discharge from the said institutions, unless the expenses incurred in their support be refunded. In New York the administration of the law is even more severe than this enactment:-- With respect to poor children, (says Mr. Buchanan,) a system prevails in New York, which, though seemingly harsh and unfeeling, has a very powerful influence to deter families from resorting to the commissioners of the poor for support, or an asylum in the establishment for the poor; namely, that the commissioners or overseers apprentice out the children, and disperse them to distant parts of the State; and on no account will inform the parents where they place their children. (p. 110.) [2] New Jersey Revised Laws, p. 679. [3] Act of 1819, p. 155. [4] Act of 5th March, 1828, p. 149. EUROPE. It appears from the returns that a legal claim to relief exists in Norway, Sweden, Russia, Denmark, Mecklenburg, Prussia, Wurtemberg, Bavaria, and the Canton de Berne; but does not exist in the Hanseatic Towns, Holland, Belgium, France, Portugal, the Sardinian States, Frankfort, Venice, Greece, or Turkey. The return from Saxony does not afford data from which the existence or non-existence of such a claim can be inferred.