The Portly Gentlemen's Appeal

Two portly gentlemen enter the counting-house, seeking a donation for the poor and destitute at Christmas. They explain that many thousands are in want of common necessaries and comforts. Scrooge, with cold sarcasm, asks if the prisons and workhouses are still in operation, and upon being told they are, he expresses gladness. He refuses to give anything, stating that he helps to support the establishments he has mentioned and that those who are badly off must go there. When told that many would rather die, Scrooge callously retorts that they had better do so and 'decrease the surplus population.' The gentlemen withdraw, seeing it is useless to pursue their point.