We have also inserted (p. 607) a paper respecting the operation of the monts-de-piété, of which the following is the result:--
------------------------+---------------------+--------------------- Average of Nine Years, | | from 1822 to 1830 | 1831. | 1832. inclusive. | | -----------+------------+----------+----------+----------+---------- Pledges. | Amount. | Pledges. | Amount. | Pledges. | Amount. -----------+------------+----------+----------+----------+---------- | Francs. | | Francs. | | Francs. 1,271,122 | 3,778,286 |1,185,834 | 3,268,104| 1,129,373| 3,939,219 | or | | or | | or | £151,131 | | £130,124 | | £157,548 -----------+------------+----------+----------+----------+----------
The number of pledges redeemed is stated only for 1832, in which year 1,124,115 pledges, on which 3,162,399 francs, or 126,495_l._ sterling, had been lent, were redeemed. It is to be observed that the pledges are for small sums, amounting, on an average, to about three francs, or less than half-a-crown per pledge; and that the amount of the redemption in 1832 nearly corresponds with the amount lent in 1831. On the whole, considering the low rate of interest exacted by the Belgian monts-de-piété, as compared with that taken by our pawnbrokers, the small aggregate amount of deposits, being about 150,000_l._ for four millions of people, is a strong indication of the generally provident habits of the labouring population.
As further illustrations of the general working of the Belgian system, we extract the following particulars from the reports from Antwerp and Ostend. (pp. 627, 628, 629, 630, 634, 636, 637, and 639.)
[14] “With us no one has a right to relief.”
[15] Quetelet, Recherches sur la Population, &c., p. 38.
[16] Des Modifications, &c. de la Loi sur les Enfans Trouvés, p. 13.
Indigent travellers, foreigners, or denizens, who pass through Antwerp, are received there at an establishment called St. Julien’s Hospital, where they are lodged and boarded for three nights at the expense of the establishment, which provides their wants for the moment.
The foundation of this hospital, which yearly receives about 1000 individuals, dates from the beginning of the 14th century. It subsists by itself, under the direction of a private charitable administration, by means of some fixed revenues, and also by the liberal donations of philanthropic persons.