Governesses, as a class, come to poverty and dependence not from extravagance or self-indulgence, but from sheer self-sacrifice, in unselfish devotion to the claims of relatives, and to no class is thrift more difficult. The effort to make it possible was from the first one of the leading impulses of Miss Buss’ work. As early as 1866, a letter from Dr. Hodgson shows that she had then discussed the subject with him—
... “You may remember the tenor of my remarks in Camden Street on the ‘Reports of the Governesses’ Benevolent Institution.’ When I spoke of saving for one’s self, I wished merely to give, for completeness’ sake, the other side of your phrase ‘saving from our friends.’ The duty and advantage of saving are common to both sexes. Individual cases might be dealt with, or judged, according to circumstances; but the general doctrine must be preached without reserve.
“It would be much nearer my notion to say: ‘Earn sixpence a day (if you cannot earn more), and save out of it a penny, or, if that be not possible, then a halfpenny, or if that be not possible, then a farthing. In any amount, however small, let the claims of the future be recognized.... Let the general duty and wisdom of saving be taught and recognized. Then let the needful allowances be made in individual cases. It may be more meritorious, because more difficult, for one person to save £5 than for another to save £500. Let each judge himself as he would another.”
No subject was more constantly present to Miss Buss’ mind, but no practical steps were taken till, on December 2, 1881, the Women’s Education Union appointed a special committee to consider the question of establishing a Teachers’ Provident Association, of which Miss Buss was a member, with Mr. G. C. T. Bartley, Mr. Rowland Hamilton, and Mr. Shaen; Mrs. Burbury acting as honorary secretary.
In 1882, a plan was submitted to the Head-mistresses’ Association, of which Miss Buss thus writes to me—
“Our Provident Association is not yet started, but I do not despair. A lady is at work getting up figures, and if all is well in October, we shall go at it again. By ‘we’ I mean the Association of Head-mistresses. We want a sensational article for our Provident movement. Will you write it? I mean, we want the fact of death in the workhouse, misery known to the Ladies’ Guild, etc., brought out.”
As member of one of the Relief Committees of the Working Ladies’ Guild—a society founded by Lady Mary Feilding for the help of distressed gentlewomen—I had heard much of the sufferings of governesses, and had discussed with Miss Buss the best ways of giving relief. At her request, I now wrote a paper on “Thrift for Teachers,” in which I suggested some co-operation between the Ladies’ Guild and “some possible Guild of Teachers.” This paper appeared in November, 1882, in Miss L. M. Hubbard’s Work and Leisure, a magazine containing the germ of many now important works. In August, 1881, Miss Hubbard had published a paper on “Co-operation among Governesses,” which was followed, in December, by a meeting to consider the scheme finally taking form as the “Women Teachers’ Self-Help Society”; with a Provident Fund and Free Registry.
Miss Hubbard suggested printing off some copies of my paper, which Miss Buss circulated among the School-mistresses’ and Head-mistresses’ Associations; but no immediate practical results followed, nor did anything come of a consultation with Mr. Heller to consider amalgamation with his Provident Association of Elementary Teachers.
It was not till December 1 that Miss Buss wrote—
“I think something might come of the notion of the ‘Guild.’ The only thing is that it does not seem sufficiently definite and practical.... We have secured the services of a very able woman, Miss Beth Finlay, as lecturer on ‘Savings.’ She is ready to take the matter up as soon as we shall have arrived at some conclusion.”