Various preparations made for putting an end to mendicity in bavaria. Cantonment of the cavalry in the country towns and villages. Formation of the committee placed at the head of the institution for the poor at Munich. The funds of that institution.
As soon as it was determined to undertake this great and difficult work, and the plan of operations was finally settled, various preparations were made for its execution.
The first preliminary step taken, was to canton four regiments of cavalry in Bavaria and the adjoining provinces, in such a manner that not only every considerable town was furnished with a detachment, but most of the large villages were occupied; and in every part of the country small parties of threes, fours, and fives, were so stationed; at the distance of one, two, and three leagues from each other; that they could easily perform their daily patroles from one station to another in the course of the day, without ever being obliged to stop at a peasant's house, or even at an inn, or ever to demand forage for their horses, or victuals for themselves, or lodgings, from any person whatever. This arrangement of quarters prevented all disputes between the military and the people of the country. The head-quarters of each regiment, where the commanding officer of the regiment resided, was established in a central situation with respect to the extent of country occupied by the regiment;--each squadron had its commanding officer in the centre of its district,-- and the subalterns and non-commissioned officers were so distributed in the different cantonments, that the privates were continually under the inspection of their superiors, who had orders to keep a watchful eye over them;--to visit them in their quarters very often;--and to preserve the strictest order and discipline among them.
To command these troops, a general officer was named, who, after visiting every cantonment in the whole country, took up his residence at Munich.
Printed instructions were given to the officer, or non-commissioned officer, who commanded a detached post, or patrole;--regular monthly returns were ordered to be made to the commanding officers of the regiment, by the officers commanding squadrons;-- to the commanding general, by the officers commanding regiments;-- and by the commanding general, to the council of war, and to the Sovereign.
To prevent disputes between the military and the civil authorities, and, as far as possible, to remove all grounds of jealousy and ill-will between them; as also to preserve peace and harmony between the soldiery and the inhabitants, these troops were strictly ordered and enjoined to behave on all occasions to magistrates and other persons in civil authority with the utmost respect and deference;--to conduct themselves towards the peasants and other inhabitants in the most peaceable and friendly manner;-- to retire to their quarters very early in the evening;-- and above all, cautiously to avoid disputes and quarrels with the people of the country. They were also ordered to be very diligent and alert in making their daily patroles from one station to another;-- to apprehend all thieves and other vagabonds that infested the country, and deliver them over to the civil magistrates;-- to apprehend deserters, and conduct them from station to station to their regiments;--to conduct all prisoners from one part of the country to another;--to assist the civil magistrate in the execution of the laws, and in preserving peace and order in the country, in all cases where they should be legally called upon for that purpose;--to perform the duty of messengers in carrying government dispatches and orders, civil as well as military, in cases of emergency;-- and to bring accounts to the capital, by express, of every extraordinary event of importance that happens in the country;--to guard the frontiers, and assist the officers of the revenue in preventing smuggling;--to have a watchful eye over all soldiers on furlough in the country, and when guilty of excesses, to apprehend them and transport them to their regiments;--to assist the inhabitants in case of fire, and particularly to guard their effects, and prevent their being lost of stolen, in the confusion which commonly takes place on those occasions;--to pursue and apprehend all thieves, robbers, murderers, and other malefactors;--and in general, to lend their assistance on all occasions where they could be useful in maintaining peace, order, and tranquillity in the country.
As the Sovereign had an undoubted right to quarter his troops upon the inhabitants when they were employed for the police and defence of the country, they were on this occasion called upon to provide quarters for the men distributed in these cantonments; but in order to make this burden as light as possible to the inhabitants, they were only called upon to provide quarters for the non-commissioned officers and privates; and instead of being obliged to take THESE into their houses, and to furnish them with victuals and lodgings, as had formerly been the practice, (and which was certainly a great hardship,) a small house or barrack for the men, with stabling adjoining to it for the horses, was built, or proper lodgings were hired by the civil magistrate, in each of these military stations, and the expense was levied upon the inhabitants at large. The forage for the horses was provided by the regiments, or by contractors employed for that purpose; and the men, being furnished with a certain allowance of fire-wood, and the necessary articles of kitchen furniture, were made to provide for their own subsistence, by purchasing their provisions at the markets, and cooking their victuals in their own quarters.
The officers provided their own lodgings and stabling, being allowed a certain sum for that purpose in addition to their ordinary pay.
The whole of the additional expence to the military chest, for the establishment and support of these cantonments, amounted to a mere trifle; and the burden upon the people, which attended the furnishing of quarters for the non-commissioned officers and privates, was very inconsiderable, and bore no proportion to the advantages derived from the protection and security to their persons and properties afforded by these troops[4].
Not only this cantonment of the cavalry was carried into execution as a preliminary measure to the taking up of the beggars in the capital, but many other preparatives were also made for that undertaking.
As considerable sums were necessary for the support of such of the poor as, from age or other bodily infirmities, were unable by their industry to provide for their own subsistence; and as there were no public funds any way adequate to such an expence, which could be applied to this use, the success of the measure depended entirely upon the voluntary subscriptions of the inhabitants; and in order to induce these to subscribe liberally, it was necessary to secure their approbation of the plan, and their confidence in those who were chosen to carry it into execution. And as the number of beggars was so great in Munich, and their importunity so very troublesome, there could have been no doubt but any sensible plan for remedying this evil would have been gladly received by the public; but they had been so often disappointed by fruitless attempts from time to time made for that purpose, that they began to think the enterprize quite impossible, and to consider every proposal for providing for the poor, and preventing mendicity, as a mere job.
Aware of this, I took my measures accordingly. To convince the public that the scheme was feasible, I determined first, by a great exertion, to carry it into complete execution, and THEN to ask them to support it. And to secure their confidence in those employed in the management of it, persons of the highest rank, and most respected character were chosen to superintend and direct the affairs of the institution; and every measure was taken that could be devised to prevent abuses.
Two principle objects were to be attended to, in making these arrangements; the first was to furnish suitable employment to such of the poor as were able to work; and the second, to provide the necessary assistance for those who, from age, sickness, or other bodily infirmities, were unable by their industry to provide for themselves. A general system of police was likewise necessary among this class of miserable beings; as well as measures for reclaiming them, and making them useful subjects. The police of the poor, as also the distribution of alms, and all the economical details of the institution, were put under the direction of a committee, composed of the president of the council of war,--the president of the council of supreme regency,--the president of the ecclesiastical council,--and the president of the chamber of finances; and to assist them in this work, each of the above-mentioned presidents was accompanied by one counsellor of his respective department, at his own choice; who was present at all the meetings of the committee, and who performed the more laborious parts of the business. This committee, which was called The Armen Instituts Deputation, had convenient apartments fitted up for its meetings; a secretary, clerk, and accountant, were appointed to it; and the ordinary guards of the police were put under its immediate direction.
Neither the presidents nor the counsellors belonging to this committee received any pay or emolument whatever for this service, but took upon themselves this trouble merely from motives of humanity, and a generous desire to promote the public good; and even the secretary, and other inferior officers employed in this business, received their pay immediately from the Treasury; or from some other department; and not from the funds destined for the relief of the poor: and in order most effectually remove all suspicion with respect to the management of this business, and the faithful application of the money destined for the poor, instead of appointing a Treasurer to the committee, a public banker of the town, a most respectable citizen[5], was named to receive and pay all monies belonging to the institution, upon the written orders of the committee; and exact and detailed accounts of all monies received and expended were ordered to be printed every three months, and distributed gratis among the inhabitants.
In order that every citizen might have it in his power to assure himself that the accounts were exact, and that the sums expended were bona fide given to the poor in alms, the money was publicly distributed every Saturday in the town-hall, in the presence of a number of deputies chosen from among the citizens themselves; and an alphabetical list of the poor who received alms;--in which was mentioned the weekly sum each person received;--and the place of his or her abode, was hung up in the hall for public inspection.
But this was not all. In order to fix the confidence of the public upon the most firm and immoveable basis, and to engage their good will and cheerful assistance in support of the measures adopted, the citizens were invited to take an active and honourable part in the execution of the plan, and in the direction of its most interesting details.
The town of Munich, which contains about 60,000 inhabitants, had been formerly divided into four quarters. Each of these was now subdivided into four districts, making in all sixteen districts; and all the dwelling-houses, from the palace of the sovereign to the meanest hovel, were regularly numbered, and inscribed in printed lists provided for that purpose. For the inspection of the poor in each district, a respectable citizen was chosen, who was called the commissary of the district, (abtheilungs commissaire,) and for his assistance, a priest; a physician; a surgeon; and an apothecary; all of whom, including the commissary, undertook this service without fee or reward, from mere motives of humanity and true patriotism. The apothecary was simply reimbursed the original cost of the medicines he furnished.
To give more weight and dignity to the office of commissary of a district, one of these commissaries, in rotation, was called to assist at the meetings of the supreme committee; and all applications for alms were submitted to the commissaries for their opinion; or, more properly, all such applications went through them to the committee. They were likewise particularly charged with the inspection and police of the poor in their several districts.
When a person already upon the poor list, or any other, in distress, stood in need of assistance, he applied to the commissary of his district, who, after visiting him, and enquiring into such the circumstances of his case, afforded him such immediate assistance as was absolutely necessary; or otherwise, if the case was such as to admit of the delay, he recommended him to the attention of the committee, and waited for their orders. If the poor person was sick, or wounded, he was carried to some hospital; or the physician, or surgeon of the district was sent for, and a nurse provided to take care of him in his lodgings, If he grew worse, and appeared to draw near his end, the priest was sent for, to afford him such spiritual assistance as he might require; and if he died, he was decently buried. After his death, the commissary assisted at the inventory which was taken of his effects, a copy of which inventory was delivered over to the committee. These effects were afterwards sold;--and after deducting the amount of the different sums received in alms from the institution by the deceased during his lifetime, and the amount of the expenses of his illness and funeral, the remainder, if any, was delivered over to his lawful heirs; but when these effects were insufficient for those purposes; or when no effects were to be found, the surplus in the one case, and the whole of these expences in the other, was borne by the funds of the institution.
These funds were derived from the following sources, viz.
First, from stated monthly allowances, from the sovereign out of his private purse,--from the states,--and from the treasury, or chamber of finances.
Secondly, and principally, from the voluntary subscription of the inhabitants.
Thirdly, from legacies left to the institution, and
Fourthly, from several small revenues arising from certain tolls, fines, etc. which were appropriated to that use[6].
Several other, and some of them very considerable public funds, originally designed by their founders for the relief of the poor, might have been taken and appropriated to this purpose; but, as some of these foundations had been misapplied, and others nearly ruined by bad management, it would have been a very disagreeable task to wrest them out of the hands of those who had the administration of them; and I therefore judged it most prudent not to meddle with them, avoiding, by that means, a great deal of opposition to the execution of my plan.
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