The cost of maintenance of persons sent by a judicial authority to the Depot or House of Refuge is borne, in equal shares, by the State, the Provinces, and the Communes in which the persons have their settlement, but infirm persons are maintained altogether by their settlement communes, which likewise bear the whole cost in the case of persons detained in a House of Refuge at their own request. Where a person, detained by judicial decision, has no settlement, the costs of maintenance fall on the province in which he was arrested or brought before the Court; in the case of _souteneurs_ the cost is borne by the Communes in which they pursued their practices. Costs of maintenance can, however, be recovered from the persons concerned, or those legally liable for their support. The following were the admissions in the Beggars' Depots and the Houses of Refuge for the first fifteen years after the Act came into force:-- ADMISSIONS TO BEGGARS' DEPOTS. -------+--------------------------------+------------ | Number of Admissions. | Mean | | Number Year. +---------+-----------+----------+ of | Male. | Female. | Total. | Inmates. -------+---------+-----------+----------+------------ | | | | 1892 | 6,147 | 666 | 6,813 | 3,564 1893 | 3,482 | 352 | 3,834 | 4,324 1894 | 4,141 | 393 | 4,534 | 4,193 1895 | 3,722 | 333 | 4,055 | 4,529 1896 | 3,224 | 292 | 3,516 | 4,430 1897 | 3,115 | 266 | 3,381 | 4,076 1898 | 3,339 | 284 | 3,623 | 4,208 1899 | 3,018 | 215 | 3,233 | 4,248 1900 | 3,547 | 253 | 3,800 | 4,058 1901 | 4,348 | 275 | 4,623 | 4,542 1902 | 4,514 | 252 | 4,766 | 4,865 1903 | 4,649 | 386 | 5,035 | 5,054 1904 | 4,615 | 275 | 4,890 | 5,132 1905 | 4,624 | 260 | 4,884 | 5,450 1906 | 4,426 | 268 | 4,694 | 5,351 -------+---------+-----------+----------+------------ ADMISSIONS TO HOUSES OF REFUGE.