London, 14th June, 1816. MY DEAR SIR,

On the 3d instant, I had the pleasure of receiv-
ing your esteemed and acceptable letter of the 5th
ultimo.—No doubt can be entertained of the benevo-
lence and good disposition of our nation, where the
charity of all ranks, who have any thing to spare,
ramifies in all directions. Besides the relief afforded
at home, nearly half a million of money has been sent
to Spain

, Portugal, Germany, and Russia, during and
since the war, for the relief of the sufferers. In the
course of the last and the present year, nearly a mil-
lion more has been raised from individuals for the re-
lief of the wives, and families, and relations, of the
soldiers who fell at the great battle of Waterloo; be-
sides a reward to those who survived this great strug-
gle, which terminated a war of unexampled length,
and which desolated the greatest part of Europe.
But this benevolence is not confined to one object.
It has ramified in all directions. The sums subscri-
bed to the Bible Society, has been immense; and no
doubt is entertained of its being supported in prefer-
ence to charities of every kind.

I trust that you and I shall never, in our days, see
the sword of war unsheathed. There appears now
a strong disposition on the part of the sovereigns and
rulers of all the great powers in Europe, to cultivate
the arts of peace. The still perturbed and unhappy
state of France

is now the only circumstance that is
likely to disturb our tranquillity.

Our legislature, now freed from the distresses of
war, is sedulously devoting itself to the state of our
police and internal policy. Mendicity, mad houses,
saving banks, the pauper system, &c. &c., at present
engage their attention: and the leading object is to
promote humanity, and to improve the state of soci-
ety by education, provident habits, and good laws, for
the prevention of moral and criminal offences.

A penitentiary house, on a very large scale, is part-