end of September. The number of
temporary fever hospitals established under the Act 10 Vic., c. 22,
amounted at the date of the fifth report to 326.

The Relief Commissioners published their sixth report on the 11th of
September. It was a hopeful one. The crops were abundant, and a rapid
decrease in the number of rations issued was the result, more especially
from the middle of August. Out of 127 Unions, which were under the Act,
fifty-five had had no advances made to them, on estimate, for any period
after the 15th of August; twenty-six more ceased to call for advances on
the 29th of August; and the remainder were to cease on the 12th of
September, with the exception of the advances to the fever hospitals,
which were continued to the 30th of September.

The Commissioners expressed the opinion that the discontinuance of
relief had not been attended by the suffering which might have been
apprehended. They say the relief "was made a system of bonus rather than
of necessity, which increased the expenditure in an enormous degree."

We learn from this sixth report that the Commissioners had expended a
sum approaching L2,000.000 within a period of eight months, through the
agency of upwards of two thousand committees, constituted by general
regulation, and subject only to a very general control. Such being the
case, the testimony borne by the inspecting officers to those
committees, is highly creditable to them; the inspecting officers, says
the report, "express their belief that there has been almost a total
absence of misappropriation of _money_ by committees."

On the 28th of August the number of daily rations issued was down to
967,575.

The seventh and last report of the Commissioners under the Relief Act,
bears date the 15th of October. In it they say, they have the
satisfaction of believing, that the Act was thoroughly successful in its
primary object; and they did not consider the expenditure excessive in
proportion to the object. The entire outlay under the Act was L1,676,268
11s. 7d.,[267] a part of which was a free gift from the State, the
remainder a charge to be repaid by the Unions, by a percentage on the
rateable property, which, in the opinion of the Commissioners, should in
no case exceed three shillings in the pound. The summary of the accounts
department informs us that the rations issued on the 11th of September,
the day previous to the final stoppage of relief under the Act, were
442,739, being a dec