An Earnest Appeal For Mercy To The Children Of The Poor

This document is a plea for mercy on the part of the government towards the children of the poor in eighteenth century London. The author, Jonas Hanway, uses data from registers to show that the mortality rates for orphans in care are high, and calls for reform in the care system. This work was instrumental in the passage of the 1767 act, which resulted in a dramatic fall in the number of infant deaths in London.

In eighteenth-century London, abandoned children were one of the social groups most affected by the harsh living conditions. Several charitable initiatives had endeavoured to alleviate the problem, not least the Foundling Hospital, of which Jonas Hanway (c.1712-86) was a governor. His tireless philanthropy and campaigning resulted in the 1762 Registers Bill, which required parishes to keep records of the poor children they looked after. In this tract, first published in 1766, Hanway uses information collected from these registers to demonstrate the appalling mortality rates of orphans in care in London, calling for radical reform. This work was instrumental in the passage of the 1767 act that resulted in a dramatic fall in the number of infant deaths over the following decade. It is a powerful expose of the failures of the capital's care system, as well as a testament to the influence of philanthropic activism.