a very great hardship, that the poor women after having washed their clothes, should be obliged to wait hours to have them effectually dried and in such a state that they could convey them home. This period of delay is intolerable to the workman or labourer's wife, who has so many domestic duties, including the care of her children, to attend to, and which call for her presence at home. Had not a remedy been found for this defect, it is to be much doubted, whether this department of the institution, which really contributes as much to the comfort, cleanliness, and healthiness of the workman's home, as the bath effects for his person, could have ever been largely adopted by the industrious classes. But thanks, again, to the exertions of the London Committee, the difficulty which at first appeared almost insurmountable, and which the French Commissioners conceived would be probably fatal to their success, has been most triumphantly surmounted; the clothes may now be dried within from twenty to thirty, or forty minutes, and that in the most complete and effectual manner. This system of drying was suggested, we are informed, by the Deputy Chairman, Mr. William Hawes. The objects to be obtained, were, as stated by Mr. Baly, firstly, rapidity of drying, so that the poor women need not after the completion of their washing, wait long for their clothes to dry; secondly, the greatest economy in the apparatus, and in the fuel used; and thirdly, separation of the clothes of the different washers, to prevent theft, and to avoid unpleasant comparisons. The chief modes of drying previously in use, however modified, consisted in exposing the clothes in a chamber to currents of heated air, for raising the temperature of which various plans were employed; they were all found objectionable, either by reason of the time required, or the impossibility of separating the clothes. Great objections likewise existed on the score of the great cost of apparatus in any of the efficient modes of drying; but the loss of time to the poor was the great and paramount difficulty. The plan of the London Committee consists in constructing a chamber, which shall admit no ingress of air; in this the clothes are exposed to the direct radiation of the heat, which is absorbed by the water in the articles to be dried, and which is thereby converted into steam, and is, in this form, allowed to escape by a valvular apparatus, its own elasticity being sufficient to expel it from the chamber. The surface from which the caloric radiates, may be heated either by a fire passing through a large iron flue, through a brick flue, covered with iron plates, or by a stream of hot water, at high pressure, constantly circulating through iron pipes. The system appears admirable in all respects: when the thermometer, which sinks on the introduction of cold wet clothes, rises again to 220° or 230°, the fire is damped, for water cannot exist as such at these temperatures, and it has been all converted into vapour, which has found its way out through the valves, and the clothes are now dry. In some of the more recently constructed wash houses, the clothes are dried in a small chamber, placed close to the wash-tub, thus securing the greatest possible economy of time, and what is of not less value, the complete separation of the different lots of articles. At a temperature of 230° degrees and upwards, which can be readily and cheaply obtained by the apparatus now in use, the clothes are dried in a

period of from 15 to 35 minutes. But the saving of time, though in itself of permanent importance to the poor, is not the only advantage thus gained; clothes dried at a low temperature, are found to have a most disagreeable, heavy, and impure smell; when dried at the higher temperature, however, it is found that they have a pure and sweet smell; they are also deprived of all infectious properties, and vermin, with their ova, which often survive the action of boiling water, are completely destroyed by an elevated dry heat. In fact, in no other possible way can such a thorough purification of clothes, including perfect sweetness of smell and good colour, be secured. Expeditious as this process is, there seems reason to hope that time may ultimately be even still more economised by improved apparatus. In the July number of the JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS, (No. VII., p. 211,) we noticed the use which is made of the centrifugal machine for drying clothes in the great Hotel St. Nicholas, at New York. A combination of the centrifugal principle, with the valvular heated air chamber of Mr. Baly, may be found practicable, and if so, we should expect the drying to be accomplished in an extremely short period. Indeed we think the whole of the American process for washing, bleaching, and drying alluded to, might suggest some improvements in washing-house arrangements generally, and we would accordingly recommend it to the notice of those immediately connected with the management of some establishment.

Nothing can be more satisfactory than the results of the working of the English establishments; profits of a considerable amount have been realised in several instances; by the Official Report of the St. Martin-in-the Fields' Establishment, for 1851, the net profits for the year were £1,000. Mr. Baly states, (p. 38,) that the experience of the committee has established it beyond a doubt, that public baths and wash-houses, if properly constructed and managed, in accordance with the economical principles now adopted, will not only repay the working expenses, but will ultimately realise a considerable profit; thus, as he well remarks, satisfying at one and the same time, the desire of the philanthropist and the requirements. of the political economist. Such is the basis on which this great social movement must ultimately rest, if we are to hope that it is to become a real permanent and practical thing in the daily lives and habits of the people, long after the first burst of enthusiasm and the ephemeral philanthropy of fashion shall have passed away. Such is the basis we have already strongly advocated for a similar movement, that of the Improvement of Dwellings. These are all great public wants; the working-classes are becoming daily more and more sensible that they are wants, and they are ready to pay for them. To have proved this, and to have shewn by experience that to furnish the means of supplying these wants, is a good, safe, and profitable investment for money, will be ever the indisputable claim to the civic crown of the philanthropist who commenced this great

movement.

The following returns will shew the vast operations of some of the chief Bathing Establishments in London and other English cities; the statements and figures are from Mr. Woolcott's Report to the Committee:

"The Return does not include the bathing and washing at the George-street and the Lambeth establishments, which are not regulated by the public acts.

"In former Reports it has been shown, by returns of the numbers of bathers and washers, how every year has afforded increasing evidence that the working classes appreciate these institutions.

"It was anticipated by some that, when the public mind should become alive to and interested in a measure of such great practical value, thousands would resort daily to the public Baths and Washhouses; but many refused to believe that, in so short a time, and with so many drawbacks and hindrances, the success of the movement would be so marked.

"It is also shown that there is a steady increase of the revenue derived from Baths and Wash-houses in London from the commencement of the undertaking in 1846 a statement which ought to satisfy every one of the practical utility of these institutions, and their effect in ameliorating the physical and social condition of the industrious classes-viz. :—

The aggregate receipts at nine establishments in the) Metropolis, inclusive of the George-street establishment, during 1853 amount to

£ s. d.

18,213 5 8

"Another important fact is, that the receipts at the Wash-houses, above enumerated, during 1853, have been £4,153 6s. 3d. against £2,449 19s. 5d. in 1852 ; and the number of washers, 269,040 against 197,641; showing an increase of £1,703 6s. 10d. in money, and 71,399 washers. In 1851 the aggregate receipts at three Wash-houses then opened were only £609 19s. 4d., and the number of the washers, only 60,154.

"These figures prove that the Public Wash-house is steadily gaining favour among the working classes, and so regular is the increasing demand for accommodation, that it is anticipated by the Boards of Commissioners of several of the existing establishments that they will soon find it necessary to extend their washing and drying accommodation."

Notwithstanding this great array of figures, much remains to be accomplished yet, before the movement will have become commensurate in extent with the requirements of the community. A statistical investigation shews that in London, in 1852, the total numbers of baths supplied, reached to the proportion of only 1 bath to every 3 of the population; in Paris, where the accommodation of swimming baths in the Seine has long afforded much greater facilities for this wholesome process than existed in England, the number of baths reached the proportion of 2-23 baths to every inhabitant; or in other words, in London only 1 out of every 3 took one bath in the whole year, while in Paris every single individual bathed at least twice in the year. Yet the commissioners, reporting on the state of things in the latter city, observe, "you are ignorant, gentlemen, that there are many persons in Paris who have never known what it was to wash their shirt, and who never take it off till it falls from them, and can be no longer used." If this applied to Paris with its numerous baths, what shall we think of the state of the poor in London, or at home here in Dublin. We are told that in the Moorish city of Cordova there were 900 Public Baths. And this brings us to speak of the condition of things in this city, and the present position of this great movement amongst us; we lately took an opportunity of inspecting the baths and wash-houses established in connection with the Mendicity Association of Dublin. An apparatus has been erected consisting of 25 baths, viz., 5 extra first class, 4 first class for males, and 2 for females, 10 second class for males, and 2 for females, and 2 second class for the use of the poor of the institution. A wash-house has been established, furnished with 40 commodious wash stalls, and apparatus for drying and ironing clothes. The total cost of the erection of the baths and wash-houses amounted to £1,860. In many respects this establishment is well adapted to meet the wants of the poor. It is on the borders of a very thickly populated and poor district. We regret to learn, however, that the institution is not in a successful condition; it is but little availed of by the class of persons who most require it, and one department, that of the wash-house, has proved all but a complete failure. Much credit is due to the gentlemen who have given their time to the establishment and working of this institution, and we regret much to be obliged to censure the proceedings of a committee composed of gentlemen who sacrifice their business or leisure hours to the management of a humane institution and the furtherance of a charitable work. But when good things are to be done, they must be done well, energetically, and effectively, or they had better be let alone altogether. Now from what we

have seen and learned, we are compelled to say that there are several radical faults in the management of the bath and wash-house department of this institution, and that it is by no means worked with proper energy. There are likewise serious defects in some of the most important parts of the apparatus. The affairs of the association at large, including the baths and wash houses, are managed by a body of officers and a committee, comprising patron, president, 16 vice-presidents, and 56 committee-men, the whole embracing many of the chief dignitaries of the land. Such a committee, it is easy to see, is badly calculated for any kind of work. Yet such is the constitution of almost all committees of societies in this city; and it is against this system, not against any individual society, that our strictures are directed. We deeply regret that they should be called forth in the case of so good and humane an institution as the Mendicity Association. The great majority of our so-called managing committee consists of gentlemen of important social position, or high mercantile standing, and who, beyond the support, whatever it be, that may be derived from the influence of their names, cannot possibly be expected to engage actively in the working details of the institutions. They wish well to this and other good projects; they will give it their countenance and support in such ways as they can; and for a year or two will take the chairs and vice-chairs, and swell the fashionable throng of annual meetings; and with, for the moment, thoroughly hearty and sincere well-wishings, will join in mutual congratulations and conglorifications on the highly satisfactory progress made within the last year," and will return each other thanks, and will laud and return thanks to honorary secretaries; while acknowledgments of "most disinterested support," and " very dignified conduct," will superabound. Meantime some cut and dry report, embodying for the hundredth time the same universal annual laudation and self-congratulation, will pass with acclamation, to be followed by the usual high-flowing newspaper account of the whole proceedings, which appears next morning, often coloured and exaggerated to the most gross and unwarrantable extent. And yet the business, the real practical matter, of which this glare, and glitter, and flash, and utter sham, make up the magnificd image, may be sadly neglected, may be, in fact, in the worst possible condition; so far from progressing it may be retrograding, and this, be it understood, with the most perfect good faith on the part of all concerned. It is the system which we have grown up in, and breathed and lived in: an atmosphere of selfcongratulation and of mutual, and what is more, of entire self-deception. And till we put an end to this, nothing will really and solidly succeed with us. We have in our eye at this instant more than one striking example of the truth of what we here state, and of the well proven and utter delusion of congratulating and self-lauding reports. Indeed, we have known societies to be startled in the midst of their congratulations with the discovery of their bankruptcy; so that we have really at last come to regard the congratulatory stage of a society as one of almost fatal portent, and to look upon conglorification as only the next step to final dissolution. If these observations give offence we cannot help it; we are convinced of the existence and extent of the evils to which they apply, and we express our