Since the commencement of the Society about 60 and 1/4 per.cent of its income had been absorbed in expenses of administration: "Surely this is a most extravangt and expensive way of affording relief to our fellow-creatures. That a sum of 12s. in each pound should be first expended to procure a deserving recipient for the remaining 8s seems to me to be carrying the principles of investigation to extremes, and inclines me to think that even indiscriminate charity, much as it is to be deprecated, would be preferable" [Standerd, October];
"it is not a Society for charitable relief; and this serves it very well as an excuse when it thinks proper to deny relirf to persons who in all conscience, and on all right principle, ought to have it. ... That something is given away is, no doubt, the bait by which the thousands a year are drawn into the office at Buckingham Street. ... how much is comfortably spent upon a nice snuggery of secretaries, clerks, with easy work and good pay, and an army of scounts, spies, and private informaers, whose interest and aim it is to run down charities, and make up a report in referrence to merit and demerit, according to the arbitrary srandard of the Society" [Suburban Press].