disgrace of this Christian country. The greater number of workmen pledge their clothes on Monday and redeem them on Saturday night. The law grants pawnbrokers twenty per cent. on small loansthat is to say, on sums from one shilling to to five pounds; but less interest when the loan is above that sum. Besides this, if the pledge be for five shillings, one halfpenny is charged for the ticket; a penny for ten shillings; two-pence for one pound, and so on as high as four-pence: this secures the lender a second interest on the loan.. Again if any person pledge an an article to-day and redeem it to-morrow, he must still pay a whole month's interest. Thus, the working class pays nearly one hundred and twenty per cent.! My readers will perhaps exclaim, How so? I answer by an example :-It has been already stated that the persons spoken of pledge and redeem their clothes weekly, thus paying four months' interest, besides the price of four tickets. Suppose, then, a man pledges articles for five shillings, he will pay four-pence interest in addition to twopence for the tickets; these sums united,

will, in one year, amount to six shillings and sixpence! Is it not scandalous to allow such usury without any risk to the lender? The pawnbrokers always prefer small pledges the reason is but too evident. On plate, gold, or jewellery, they advance as little as possible, hoping that these precious things will become their own property; for the pawnbroker is authorized by Government to sell by public auction every unredeemed pledge at the expiration of one year, at the same time enforcing that the surplus of such sale should be handed over to the original proprietor. But, when a really valuable article is pledged, the pawnbroker seldom fails to purchase it in for himself, always endeavouring to prove that he is the loser. People will say that many honest persons, being unfortunately in pecuniary difficulties, find those establishments very useful. In order to be really so, the price of the ticket ought to be done away with, and the interest reduced to eight or ten per cent., which is more than is given by the "Mont de Piéte " on the Continent. It is much to be desired that, in every parish and district,

benevolent persons should form a fund to lend on pledge, either gratuitously or at a merely nominal interest, in cases of truly distressing circumstances. A society of this nature is at present in beneficial operation in the vicinity of Brixton and Streatham. I am fully convinced that, by the abolishing of pawnbrokers, the poorer classes would be compelled to be more temperate it may be that, in a short time, they would learn to be more economical, and this would ensure the happiness and prosperity of their families, and be one great means of banishing pauperism from England.

Among the many philanthropic members of the British Parliament, will there not be found one to introduce a bill for the suppression of pawnbrokers, as being prejudicial to the welfare of this country? If Government withhold its support to such a measure, it would be the imperative duty of every member of the House to insist on the abolition of ticket-money and the reduction of interest; but, if neither the suppression of pawnbrokers nor the reduction. of interest can be obtained, let the Savings Banks be empowered to begin to lend on

pledge as the pawnbrokers do. At present the servants or workmen, who put their money into these banks, scarcely receive three per cent.; when, by obtaining eight or ten per cent. on pledges, they would reap more fruit, and so their economy and diligence would be better rewarded. A second great advantage desirable from this proposed plan would be, that the Savings Banks would be better consolidated; and the poor would not be exposed to lose all their little earnings by the too-often recurring failure of these banks, or by some one of the directors decamping with their money.

FREE-TRADE, LANDLORDS, AND

FARMERS.

IN the Italian Republics of the middle ages, hospitality was so universally practised that it drew forth Macchiavelli's maxim, "That when exile robs cities of men with their riches and industry, the State that receives the expelled patriots aggrandizes itself." Venice, in her most glorious days, evinced the soundness of this maxim; and England, which, by the vast extent of her commerce and by her empire over the sea, is the Venice of modern times, has experienced for several centuries the truthfulness of this axiom. In fact, when commerce declined in Italy, and tyrannical princes persecuted the opulent merchants, many of these last sought and found a refuge in England: the present Lombard-street was the place of abode of those wealthy bankers, by whom the