A
714,031
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
QUERIS PENINSULAM.AMO NAM
um
1812
LUN!
LIR MIND
SCIENTIA
ARTES
VERITAS
LIBRARY
OF THE
minna
thult
En
TI:XION
MINIV
SHI
CIRCUMSPICE
ti:
HIIHIIG
тн Е
H i STORY.
TO
OF THE
P O OR;
LIVERPOOL
LIBRARY
THEIR
ŘIGHTS, DUTIES, AND THE
LAWS RESPECTING THEM.
IN A SERIES OF LETTERS.
BY: THO. RUGGLES, Esq. F. A. S.
One of his Majeſty's Juſtices of the Peace
for the Counties of Eflex and Suffolk,
IN TWO VOLUMES,
VOL. I.
LONDON:
PRINTED FOR J. DEIGHTON, NO. 325, OPPOSITE
GRAY'S-INN GATE, HOLBORN.
MDCCXCIII.
Reg. stacks
tremua
stacho
Kehamn
5-4-49
65314
TO THE
movi
PU B L I C.
WHEN I at firſt determined to
reviſe the following Letters,
and to publiſh them in a volume di-
ſtinct from that uſeful Agricultural
Regiſter *, wherein they firſt ap-
peared; it was my intention to ad-
dreſs them to Mr. Pitt, under an
abſurd perſuaſion, that a miniſter of
ſtate is expected, as it were, ex officio,
to read thoſe treatiſes which are;
through the medium of the preſs, di-
rected for his peruſal; and alſo from
a belief that if he did peruſe, he
might, from the detail of what has
# The Annals of Agriculture, by A. Young, Eſq.
a 3
been
1
ii
.
1
TO. THE PUBLIC.
1
been done by the legiſlature for the
poor, has been writtef by thoſe whoſe
obfervations on the ſubject have been
preſerved in print, of from the Hints
and obſervations ſcattered through-
put the publication itſelf, find fome-
what upon the ſubject, which when
improved by his folid judgment, ma-
tured by experience, might, in the
form of an act of the legiſlature, me-
liorate and improve the ſituation of
the
poor;
,
and diminiſh the expences
of their maintenance.
But reflection foon cured me of
that preſumption ; a miniſter of ſtate
is the laſt perſon in the kingdom
who can be expected to read books ;
he has more upon his hands, to read
men, than he can eaſily get over in
the daily rotinę of buſineſs; in the
mean time with reſpect to the ardua,
regni,
7
ܪ
'TO THE PUBLIC
iii
)
regni, he cannot poſſibly attend to
a more irrefiftable monitor than the
public voice ; by which expreſſion,
neither the howling of a favage and
licentious mob, or the series of pre-
tended patriotiſm, are intended; but
the voice of that general opinion,
which arifes from general knowledge
of the ſubject, that ſpeaks always in
a tone, and with an authority, which
is irreſiſtable, and then truly is, not
the vox populi alone, it is the vox
Dei.
To the Public therefore, this hif-
tory of, and theſe obſervations on,
the police reſpecting the poor; are
properly dedicated ; if any part of
the detail contained in the following
pages; if any of the obſervations, áre
worth the attention of the Public; if
any of the hints here thrown out,
tend
a 4
w
TO THE PUB'LI C.
)
;
tend" in the leaſt degree to meliorate
the condition of the poor themſelves,
or to ſave the Public any part of the
vaſt expence which lies ſo heavy on
the ſhoulders of the landed intereſt,
conſiſtent with the general comfort
of the ſociety at large; their diſcern-
ment will ſee it, their good ſenſe will
apply it, and their voice will ſpeak
with irreſiſtible perſuaſion to our rur
lers, that it may be done.
If nothing in theſe pages are wor-
thy their attention; if no ideas can
be collected from the variety of mat-
ter treated of, which tend to throw
light on this ſubject of ſo great con-
fequence to us, and to our poſterity ;
the contrary preſumption will be
pro-
perly puniſhed by the public neglect;
and the inſignificance of the publi-
cation will doom it to that oblivion,
in
TO THE PUBLIC.
.
1
.
in which many other tracts on the
ſame topic are buried.
In ſuch a caſe, the writer would
have offended ftill more againſt the
public advantage, had he by an ad
dreſs to the miniſter taken up any of
his valuable time ; but yet he wiſhed
through the medium of the preſs to
talk with him on the ſubject; to aſk
him whither that vaft increaſe of the
poor's rate which became known to
the public by the means of the re-
turns from the overſeers in the year
1787, is not worthy his attention?
Whither the ſubject itſelf is of fo
trifling an import as to be always left
to the determination of a number of
members of the Houſe of Commons,
fcarce greater than would meet as a
corümittee on a private bill? or whi-
theç he receives any fatisfaction from
a con-
1
vi TO THE PUBLIC
ܪ
:
a conduct, fimilar to that of the dog
in the manger, doing nothing him
ſelf and not permitting any other
perſon to be active on the fubject?
The fate of Mr. Gilbert's bill and
Sir William Young's plan, fhows
fomewhat of this diſpoſition ;, the
firſt probably fell like other miſ-ſha-
pen and difproportionate buildings,
mole ruit fua; the laſt certainly con-
tained ſome good regulations; was
calculated to give a ſpur to our acti-
vity in the adminiſtration of the poor
laws;; and to recal into the execution
of them ſomewhat of their original
intent; the promotion of induſtry,
and the encouragement of labour.
But public rumor then reported,
that the miniſter intended to take
the buſineſs under his own inſpec-
pion, and for that reaſon he diſcoun-
tenanced
+
TO THE PUBLIC. vi
1
countenanced the indigeſted ſchemes
of private individuals; we know not
indeed, but at this inſtant he may
be employed in digeſting a code
which ſhall comprehend in its ſcope
every thing that can be expected
from the union of great ability with
an intimate knowledge of the ſub-
jećt ; or poſſibly his mind may be
made up; and after much inveſtiga+
tion of, and attention to the matter,
he may have come to this prudent
reſolution--- I will do nothing---leaft
done, like leaſt ſaid, is ſooneſt
mended. But yet this important
þuſineſs preſſes,---the poor rates are
ſtill riſing throughout that part of
the kingdom which cannot employ
its poor in manufactures ; and ma-
nufactures are by no means general,
but local ; beſides, while not one
quarter
Vio
TO THE PUBLIC.
im-
quarter of the iſland receives any
mediate benefit from the very flou-
riſhing ſtate of our trade and manu-
fáctures, the three fourths which are
in ſtill water, feel themſelves in dan-
ger from the very cauſe which creates
the calm and oppreſſed with an ad
tional weight by the ſurges which
circle round the pool, find it is with
difficulty they can keep the head
above water,
While the diſtant rumour of large
wages makes the poor diffatisfied with
thoſe, which agriculture can afford,
it creates a diſlike 10. that labour
which in their opinion, judging by
compariſon from vague report, how
manufacture pays its workmen; is ſo
poorly recompenſed; this gives rife
to idleneſs, which creates a call on
the fund raiſed for their ſupport;
henco
1
TO THE PUBLIC:
it
hence arife rates to which a four ſhil.
ling land-tax is a trifling objects
hence we know of inſtances where
the poor rates amount to the annual
rent of lands. Is not this a fact? Is
it not a grievance? if this is not cor-
rected in time of peace, where will
the financier find the dividends in
any future war to pay the intereſt of
an increaſed debt? does not the fub-
ject therefore on this account de
mand the attention of a miniſter du-
ring the Halcyon days of peace?
The natural and political liberty
of the maſs of the people is clogged
and diminiſhed by the law of ſettle.'
ments; and in the opinion of ſome
of the beſt writers, and ſtrongeſt rea-
foners, on this important topic, it is
unneceſſarily and unwiſely abridged ;
do not the poor laws on this account
alſo,
!
TO THE PUBLIC
alló, demand the attention of the
ftateş is it not juſt that every indi-
vidual of the kingdom ſhould enjoy
as much freedom, as is confiftent
with the fafety of the whole ? But it
may poſſibly be replied in the lan-
guage of ſtake prudence; this is not
the time; fée what-the cry of liberty,
and the call for freedom have dono
upon the continent; the anſwer is
obvious; the cafes are widely diffex
rent - the one is a temporary anar-
chy ariſing from the abolition of alt
government; the other would be a
recovery from a reſtraint inimical to
the intereſts of labour' and induſtry,
flowing from the power, and en-
lightened mind, of the legiſlature it-
ſelf; the one would be legal liberty,
the other is exceſſive licentiouſneſs;
therefore let us-not, by ſuch a ſuper-
abundant
TO THE PUBLIC
abundant caution, fuffer ſtate pru-
dence to rivet our fetters cloferji in
proportion as our neighbours acquire
a freedom; which they have not yet
learned how to uſe with proprietyg
or to exerciſe with dignity...
This language proceeds on the
preſumption, that it is a point: prové
ed in the following ſheets, that a
partial repeal of the law of ſettle-
ment, or ſuch a modification of it as
would permit the poor man to go
where he could beſt find employment,
would be beneficial to the intereſt of
the ſtate, as well as favourable to the
liberty of the ſubject; and ſurely the
point is fully and ſatisfactorily prov-
ed; if the united opinion of men of
the moſt enlightened minds, and
moſt inſtructed judgment, does in
any caſe amount to proof; or if the
wealth
xii
TO THE PUBLIC
wealth and proſperity of a kingdom
increaſes in a ratio with the aggre ..
gate of the money earned within the
kingdom by the labour and employ-:
ment of its inhabitants:
But while this claim for a greater
degree of freedom is made for the
poor,
and a melioration of their con-
dition is propoſed in this reſpect ;
care has been taken to point out the
means of preventing ſuch a degree
of liberty, generating licentiouſneſs,
by recommending the erection of
ſchools of induſtry on the baſis of
the power given by the ſtatute
of Elizabeth to raiſe by aſſeſſment
a ſum of money to purchaſe a
ſtock of wool, hemp, flax, &c. for
their employment; an object which
ſeems ſcarcely attended to by thoſe
who now carry into execution the
poor
1
1
TO THE PUBLIC.
poor laws; as appears by the very trifling
total returned to the Houſe of Com:
mons by the overſeers, as expended
on that account throughout the
kingdom; this ſurely is another ob-
ject worthy the attention of a great
miniſter; and it is an object that
cannot generally be enforced without
the aſſiſtance of the legiſlature; none
of the ſubſiſting ſtatutes pointing out
the means of doing it, diſtinct from
thoſe peſts to the morals, health, in-
duſtry, and activity of the riſing ge-
neration, work-houſes; which are
horrible, although as the police re-
ſpecting the poor is at preſent regu-
lated, neceſſary evils.
The claims of the poor ón ſociety
have alſo been glanced at in the fol-
lowing pages; by this expreſſion, no
abſtract ideas of a claim to equality,
VOL. I. b
either
Xiý
TO THE PUBLIC
1
either in legiſlation or property, has
been canvaſſed ; but ſimply that
claim to a 'fair retribution for their
ſtrength and ability to labour, which
is their only birth-right; for it is a
principle ariſing from neceſſity, that
in all-civilized ſocieties there muſt
be hewers of wood and drawers of
water ; but thoſe who fill up the
lower, though uſeful rank of our fel-
low- ſubjects, infinitely' exčeed in
number and in actual utility all the
other claſſes of ſociety put together;
their claims are therefore as ſerious
rights, and they demand from the
ftate full as ferious a conſideration,
as any other claim upon it, for ſecu-
rity of political liberty or private pro-
perty; the right to receive a com-
penſation for their labour, adequate
to their neceſſary wants, while they
have
1
TO THE PUBLIC:
XV
have a capability of labour is cer-
tainly due to them; and the right of
maintenance from the more opulent
claſſes of ſociety when that capability
to labour is paſſed, is another debt
which ſociety owes them.
In the diſcharge of this demand,
has ariſen that burthen which the
landed intereſt in particular have
great cauſe to complain of, the poor's
rates; which in many diſtricts, when
united with the land-tax, and tithes,
amount almoſt to a diſinheriſon; for,
although the occupier or tenant no-
minally pays, the tithes and
poor
rates, the land in fact bears the
weight; and the total is taken from
the landlord's pocket; therefore while
we are finking under this treble load,
is it not natural, is it not juſt," that
we ſhould enquire into the tranſac-
tions
b 2
XVI
TO THE PUBLÍ C.
tions of paſt times, and ſearch the
records of antiquity, to explore on
whał principle of légiſlation, from
what conſent, virtual, or implied, of
our forefathers, from what fyſtem of
laws, human or divine, this ruinous
fact, though apparent paradox, ſhould
happen ? that from the ſame circle
of land, the ecclefiaftics claim a tenth
of the produce, in moſt inſtances
equal to a half of the rent; the ftate
one-fifth; and the remainder of the
reſerved rent will not always fatisfy
the demand of the poor's rate.
In
the following pages, that enquiry has
been made, and the myſtery has been
in fome degree developed ; more
eſpecially as to that part of the caſe
which relates to the productiveneſs
and application of thofe eftates which
were originally given to the clergy
in
A
TO THE PUBLIC.
xvii
in truſt for eleemofynary purpoſes;
but if the laity were to claim from
the legiſlature, that equity which the
court of Chancery would decree on
a bill filed in common caſes, on
complaint of a ceſtui que truſt; that
the truſtees ſhould fulfil thoſe truſts
for the purpoſes of which the eſtate
was granted ;: à cry of, the church is
in danger, much more ſerious, and
diſtreſſing, would ariſe throughout
the land, than any attempts of the
fectaries have occaſioned. This alſo
requires the attention of the miniſter;
but the pen of no individual can ever
be expected to rouſe him to action on
this point; nothing but the public
voice is equal to that effect; ſuch an
equitable decree of the legiſlature,
claſhing with the intereſts of ſo reve-
rend a portion of our fellow-ſubjects.
b 3
Ano-
xvili
TO THE PUBLIC.
Another object worthy the atten-
tion of a miniſter of a great nation
has been comprehended in this en-
quiry; an object“not confined ſolely
to any particular code of laws; but em-
bracing all legiſlative acts whatſoever;
the whole force and the energy of
which lie entirely in the means pro-
vided for inſuring their exact- and
uniformn execution; what are all acts
of parliament, which profeſs to com-
prehend every rank and denomination
of ſubjects, but å rule of municipal
conduct which all are to guide them-
ſelves by? and the vindicatory fanc-
tion contained in them is the com-
pelling power; now, if that ſanction
is ſuch, as when called into uſe, in-
dicates a preſuppoſed depravity in
thoſe who are to be governed ; an
injury is done in the very prelude;
and
TO THE PUBLIC.
r
xix
and the teſt of the ordinance is vi-
tiated ab initio ; becauſe the moral
delinquency of the ſociety is pre-
judged; ſuch is the ſanction which
is expected to enforce the execution,
not only of the poor laws, but of
moſt of the penal clauſes in the ſta-
tutes at large; they are to be en-
forced by penalties, on the informa-
tion of fellow-ſubjects, whom the
legiſlature ſuppoſes will degrade
themſelves to become informers; not
for the good of the public, not from
patriotic, moral, or religious motives;
but from the vileft of all; from the
ſordid motive of gain, it is ſuppoſed,
that a ſubject of the ſtate will place
his neighbour under the correction
of the law; this general idea dif .
graçes the nation; and the principle
b
4
is
TO THE PUBLIC
is proved by experience to be in:
effectual.
The manufacturing and commer-
cial intereſts of the nation, ſeem to
have underſtood mankind better,
than the ſtateſman; or at leaſt they
have formed a better opinion of their
neighbours; for, in the acts of par-
liament, to prevent frauds, and abufes,
amongſt the manufacturers and arti-
zans, they have modelled the penal
ſanction on a different principle; the
whole penalty is given to the
and they are, in a committee, em-
powered, to appoint an inſpector,
whoſe duty it is to go his rounds, to
ſee the regulations enforced, lay his
informations, and ſee the penalty
diſtributed according to the act; the
ſtrict execution of theſe acts of the
legiſlature,
poor;
TO THE PUBLIC.
Ext:
legiſlature, is a proof of the efficacy
of the means uſed; but theo penal
fanction of laws, is not intended, like
cobwebs, to catch flies only, and ſuf-
fer the larger-infects to break through
the web; it is a net for all ; and
equally intended as a compulſive re-
gulation to the poor, as to the rich, to
the overſeer, as to the magiſtrate ;- a
hint therefore from theſe regulating
ſtatutes. might give energy to the
poor laws, and vigour to the execu-
tion of them; or at leaſt would in-
creaſe the revenue for their mainte-
nance, from the proper ſources ; the
pockets of thoſe who undertake an
office, but neglect the duties annexed
as
to it.
On the whole ; the public will
read in the following pages, a fum-
mary
1
TO THE PUBLIC.
a
:
mary hiſtory of the duties of the
poor to; and their claims from, for
ciety; throughout that part of this
kingdom ſubject to the poor laws;
traced from the earlieſt times, in
which the poor, and their intereſts
have been confidered by the legifla=
turę;, and continued to the cloſe.of
the laſt parliament; together with a
tranſient view of the thoughts, and
opinions, of thofe whoſe writings on
the ſubject have been handed down
to us“; interſperſed with obſerýations
as the ſubject gave riſe to them; to-
gether with ſuch reflections as have
ariſen from an attention to the
whole of the evidence here ſub-
mitted to the public, compared
with the opinions of thoſe, men,
eminent for their abilities and the
purity
TO THE PUBLIC.
xxiii
2
purity of their intentions, who have
made this enquiry an object of their
contemplation.
The preſent critical ſituation of
this kingdom, ſo different from that
peaceful and proſpering ſtate which
it occupied during the period through
which much the greateſt part of the
following treatiſe was written; calls
upon every man, whatever may be
his claſs or condition of life, to ſup-
port by all the means in his power,
the conſtituted government of his
country; which can no way be fo
effe&tually done as by promoting in,
duftry, economy, and good morals
among the poor; if in times of peace
and proſperity this is the more parti-
çular duty of the magiſtrate; in the
commencement of a war the prin-
ciple of which is as novel as its event
is
XXIV
TO THE PUBL 10:
is uncertain; it becomes a crime to
negle&that, which in times of peace
would be thought no immaterial
obligation ; and if the duty of a mi-
niſter ſhould impel him in thofe
times to make ſuch regulations in
the internal police of the kingdom,
as to call forth the greateſt poſſible
production of its induſtry, with
which the proſperity and happineſs
of all ranks in the ſtate muſt be eon.
nected; much ſtronger ſhould he
feel that impulſe in the beginning of
ſuch a war as the preſent; the con-
fequences of which to our religion,
our morals, our laws and conſtitu:
tion, no human eye can foreſee; but
the immediate effect of which on our
trade, our commerce, our eſtates and
our property, we muſt all ſoon feel;
therefore there can be no time or
ſituation
TO THE PUBLIC:
1
ſituation more proper than the pre-
ſent for an enquiry of the kind here
offered to the public; although there
may be many enlightened minds in
this kingdom whoſe abilities and
means of information may qualify
them to offer a more ſatisfactory
treatiſe.
T. R.
CLARE,
March 12, 1793.
L E T T E R S
ON THE POOR;
THEIR
RIGHTS, DUTIES, AND THE
LAWS RESPECTING THEM.
L E T T E R I.
DEAR SIR
Clare.
HEREWITH you receive the firſt letter
of a ſeries, which ſhall comprehend an
inveſtigation of the cauſes that produce ſo
much miſery and diſtreſs among our agricul-
tural poor ; which will be accompanied, du-
ring the continuation of the ſubject, with
hints tending to a plan, that it is imagined,
may render their ſituation more comfortable,
and leſſen that heavy burthen of rates, which
impoveriſh the landed intereſt, and in fact
anticipate the ſource of our political expen-
diture.
VOL.I.
B
I began
2
L E T T E R I.
ر
I began the inquiry during the former part
of the winter, with the intent of ſending it to
the Editor of the Annals of Agriculture; but
doubted with reſpect to the propriety of the
ſubject for that compilation ; until having the
pleaſure of your company at Clare, you indi-
cáted a wiſh that it might be ſent you.
It very forcibly ſtruck me, that during the
folitude of a long winter, ſpent in the coun-
try, in the lapſe of time which daily paſſes
away between the hours allotted to refreſh-
ment and repoſe; that mind muſt be torpid
and inactive, in which many ideas do not
arife that cannot be referred to perſonal
views, or ſelfiſh conſiderations, and which are
not occaſioned by objects of buſineſs or plea-
fure; but take their origin from better mo-
tives, and impulſes of a higher nature ; from
reflections on the relative ſtate our happineſs
is placed in, with reſpect to that of our friends,
and more immediate neighbours in the firt
place;. of our countrymen in the next'; and
ultimately, not only of the human race, but
of the whole animal creation.
One ſerious cauſe muſt therefore ariſe from
this ſource, tą taint the happineſs of a life
pafled,
L Ê T T E R I.
3
paſted in retirement; as our ideas take their
colour from the more immediate objects of our
obſervation, it is impoſſible but that ſome
thing of a ſombrous and unpleaſant hue muſt
tinge the mind, while it attends to what paſſes
in that claſs of ſociety which is more imme-
diately ſubject to our obſervation; and while
we perceive and feel, as it were, the fordid mi-
ſery and diſtreſs of our near, though humble
neighbours, it is impoſſible that a mind rightly
diſpoſed, whoſe beſt energy is to be alive to
the woes of others, can enjoy uninterrupted
eaſe, while ſo much miſery is ſo near the
threſhold ; charity can do much, but cannot
do every thing, nor for every body, although
ſeconded by the beſt intentions, and moſt li-
beral purſe; objects of miſery, like mountain
above mountain to the weary traveller, ariſe
to the view ; creating deſpair of attaining to
the end of their wiſhes, even in thoſe who
poſſeſs the ſtrongeſt and moſt liberal minds
and recalling neceſſary and honeſt prudence to
her feat. But ſtill one ſource of beneficence
may
be opened without fear of impoveriſh-
ment, and the powers of the mind may be
B2
called
0
1
....
4
L E T T E R I.
called to the aid of charity : Is it impoſſible
to explore the cauſes of that miſery, which we
diſcern among our poor neighbours? And the
cauſes being explored, may not a remedy be
pointed out? The attempt is worth the labour,
although the event fhould not be ſucceſsful ;
this one fact being too glaring for humanity
to be blind to; that while a tenth part of our
countrymen enjoy the comforts, or revel in
the luxuries of life, the patient and induſtri-
ous multitude are ſinking beneath a load of po-
verty and wretchedneſs.
Reflections, ſuch as the preceding, gave
riſe to this inquiry; I thought that a few of
the leiſure hours of a country life, could not
be better employed, than in an attempt to in-
veſtigate the cauſes of that miſery, which we
fee among our working poor, and to point out
fome probable and practicable means of re-
lief and amendment of their condition; con-
ceiving alſo that the ideas and hints' which
might ariſe from ſuch an inquiry, could not
make their appearance with ſo much propri-
ety in any publication as in the Annals of
Agriculture; becauſe the object of it reſpects
the
L E T T E R I.
5
7
the happineſs of a claſs of our fellow-crea-
tures, without whoſe manual labour the fruits
of the earth could neither be fowed or reaped;
and alſo recollecting that if a ray of reaſon is
elicited in the progreſs of the inquiry, it is
due to the ſhrine of Agriculture, which, if not
wiſdom herſelf, bears a ſtrong reſemblance of
her divine original : I therefore dedicate the
following pages, on this too much neglected
ſubject, to your ſervice, and your readers ja
tient candour.
The
page of hiſtory reveals to us this me-
lancholy and awful truth, that the happineſs
of millions, has, in all ages, been at the beck
and in the power of units, and thoſe often the
meaneſt and worſt of mankind; myriads have
fallen by the ſword, diſeaſe, and famine, the
victims of war, led on to their deſtruction by
wretches who have diſgraced the human race ;
but our inquiry has nothing to do with the
dire effects of zeal, deſpotiſm, or political
revolution ;
our employment lies in the
vales of peace and plenty; our purpoſe
is to inveſtigate this problem, why our
laborious poor are ſo wretched? Does the com-
plaint ariſe from phyſical cauſes, or from the
reglo
.
B 3
6
LETTERI
regulations of ſociety? Can ſociety, by laws,
regulations, example, or by any and what
means, meliorate their condition?
The unceaſing laws of nature muſt, in eve-
ry climate, have their energy; effects muſt
every where be analogous to, and flowing from
their caufe ; gradations of comfort ariſe in ci-
vilized ſociety in due proportion to the degree
of civilization 3 the ſqualid inhabitants of Ma-
gellan's Streights, although ſo wretched and
negatived in appearance, in all that makes
life ſupportable, ſhares, doubtleſs, a degree
of happineſs in proportion to his capacity of
enjoymentſ that capacity enlarges as civiliza-
tion prevails, and means of obtaining the ob-
jects of our wiſhes alſo increaſe; in this iſland
a diſpoſition to reliſh the comforts of life, the
meaneſt of us equally poſſeſſes with the great,
eſt; ſurely, therefore, thoſe comforts corre,
fpondent with our ſituation, ſhould not be re-
moved at ſuch a diſtance from the graſp of any
of us, as tobe attainable only by a breach of the
laws of ſociety.-In ſome climes, favoured by a
more direct approach of the ſolar ray, the va-
rious articles of drefs are an incunbrance;
and the native has no care what raiment he
thall
L E T T E R I.
7 :
-
1
Thall cloath himſelf with : in ſuch climate he
inay, literally, imitate the lilies of the field,
which neither toil nor, ſpin, and are cloathed
only in the attire nature prepared for them;
how different is the neceſſity in this higher la-
titude; ſcarce a natural day paſſes away, even
during the ſummer ſolſtice, but our comfort
and health require that cloathing, to obtain
which the price of many day's labour muſt be
paid; how much ſtronger does urgent necefĩity
require warmth of cloathing in the dreary leaf-
leſs winter, when every gale wafts rheuma-
tiſm and ague'; and what is aſſential to the
health and preſervation of the parent, is ſurely
not leſs ſo for the child; hence, in this coun-
try, ariſes one unceaſing call for no inconſide-
rable ſhare of the price of labour ; a call fanc-
tioned as well by an attention to the pre-
ſervation of life, as by the dictates of decency,
the reſult of ideas connected with civilization.
Another ſtrong and urgent demand on the
ſcanty revenue of the poor man, is the expenſe
of fire ; in more ſouthern latitudes the whole
year may be paſſed, and it may not be an arti,
cle effential to the life or health of the inhabi-
tant : poſſibly in climates included in go of the
180
B 4
--
8
LE T TË R I.
180 degrees of north and ſouth latitude, the
lower claſſes of ſociety fee not the blazing
hearth, or have no occaſion for it in their
domiciles throughout the year : their habits
of life are different, their ſimple food, conſiſt-
ing principally of the fruits of the earth, re-
quires not much aſliſtance from fire to make it
ſuitable to the palate, or proper for digeſtion;
we read that the inhabitants of the iſlands in
the South Sea *, knew not the uſe of hot wa-
ter; but in this iſland, fire is neceſſary, at times,
throughout the whole year ; in ſummer for
preparing the food, and in ſpring, autumn, and
winter, for the comfort alſo, if not for the
preſervation of the cottager.
Our climate alſo occaſions another demand
to ſcreen the poor man from its rigours
throughout a conſiderable part of the habitable
world, the genial warmth of the atmoſphere
is ſuch, that the human race requires ſcarce
any protection from the common air and ſky;
in thoſe climes man may wander with man,
joint tenants of the ſhade ; but here a domicil
is neceſſary; although the hardy aborigines of
i
* Cook's Voyage.
the
L L
E T T E R I.
9
I
1
1
the iſland might not require ſuch a ſhelter,
yet man, tamed and made tender by the arts of
civilization, demands a threſhold, within whoſe
ſacred bounds, the domeſtic hearth may be ſhel-
tered, as well from the aſſaults of the weather,
as thoſe of his boiſterous or impertinent neigh-
bour ; hence, therefore, ariſes another call
on his ſlender income, an income earned by
the labour of his hands and the ſweat of his
brow.
Theſe three neceſſary and unavoidable calls
on the finances of the poor have been already
ſtated, in thearticles of cloathing, fire, and dwel-
ling; but a much larger and more important de-
mand remains to be mentioned the daily ſup-
ply of food; the ſupply of ſuch meat and drink,
as ſhall enable him, day, after day, and year,
after
year, to paſs through a life of hard labour,
and conſtant fatigue ; a degree of labour which
the ſtrongeſt of us, whoſe muſcles have not
been trained to the purpoſe, would ſhrink
from in the experiment of a day, perhaps of
an hour
and the produce of this labour, the
reward of theſe toils, to be expended, not on
himſelf only, but frequently to be divided
with a wife and family of children, who often
have
;
&
10
L E T T E R I.
have no honeſt means of increaſing their huſa
band's and parent's income.
But this is not all ; the occupation of the la-
bourer, as well as the nature of his being, ſub-
jects him to acute illneſs, to chronic diſorders,
and at length to old age, decrepitude, and impo-
tence; the inſtant any of theſe unavoidable miſ-
fortunes of life attack him, the ſource of every
comfort is ſtopped, and without the aid of his
more opulent neighbours, or, what is infi-
nitely to the credit of this nation, without the
interference of the godlike laws of his coun-
try, this uſeful claſs of our countrymen would
ſink in the arms of famine or deſpair.
Theſe, I apprehend, are the phyſical cauſes
of that depth of wretchedneſs and miſery
which we too often ſee in the cottages of the
poor ; not to mention the wayward nature of
the human diſpoſition; the example and pre-
valence of vicious habits; the faſcinating
charms of intoxication; the conſequential
habits, idleneſs and diſſipation; the indo-
lence which is concomitant with a broken
fpirit; and that careleſſneſs and indiffe-
rence, to what may happen in future, which
is too apt to ariſe in the mind that can-
not ſee its way through preſent difficulties ;
there
$
L E T T E R I.
theſe are frailties inſeperable from the nature
of human beings, which increaſe and aggravate
their diſtreſs, and which nothing but a proper
ſenſe of religion can remove ; and neither the
power of the legiſlature or the wiſdom of the
philoſopher can teach to alleviate.
But it is not from climate, it is not from the
frailties of human nature alone, or the necef-
fary wants and demands which the preſervation
of life and health inculcates to the mind of man,
and the inſufficiency of the earnings of bodily
labour to attain the gratification of them, that
the appearance of the labourer indicates ſuch
wretchedneſs; the laws, the cuſtoms, and
habits of ſociety, are all contributory to this
effect; and the exceſs of civilization occaſions
diſtreſſes ſuperior, yet ſimilar to what the favage
experiences in his ſtate of nature; ſuperior,
becauſe his diſtreſs is not aggravated by a near
view of the tantalizing contraſt, the enjoy-
ments of opulence and luxury ; ſimilar in the
effects, which are, cold, hunger, and diſeaſe ;
in the one inſtance, the favage muſt be fatiſ-
fied with the order of nature, which eſtabli-
fhes no law of appropriation, but occupancy ;
he, conſequently, cannot blame the laws and
habits of ſociety, which aggravate, if they do
not
.12
L É T T E R I.
1
not, in fact, give riſe to the misfortunes of the
Engliſh labourer ; this is an aſſertion which
demands an inquiry, and if the principle is
eſtabliſhed by ſuch an inveſtigation ; ſhould
not thoſe laws, habits, and cuſtoms be modi-
fied, to correſpond with the feelings of hu-
manity
In the firſt place, it is apparent that bodily
ſtrength is the only patrimony the labourer
enjoys; this is to ſupply him and his family
with the neceſſaries of life: the fame patri-
mony, in conjunction with the opportunity
of exerting the faculties of the mind, the in-
habitant of an uncivilized country poſſeſſes ;
the firſt is reſtrained by the laws from treſ-
pafling on appropriated property, and in this
country all that can be called property, .is ap-
propriated; the other has ample ſcope for the
exerciſe of his faculties, both of body and
mind; the gifts of nature lying open to the
firſt man who has ſtrength or dexterity fuffi-
cient to occupy them ; here is a manifeſt
advantage which the ſavage poſſeſſes, and the
laws of his country have taken from the Eng-
liſh labourer : but have not the laws, the
maxims, or the benevolence of ſociety, given
ta
,
L. E T T E R I.
13
to the poor fome equivalent, inſtead of the
opportunity of obtaining property by occu-
pancy? the objects of which being, in every
inſtance, already occupied, he is reduced to
the ſole means of bartering the ſweat of his
brow for the neceſſaries of life; they ſurely
have, and an attempt ſhall be made to point
out the ſubſtitutes.
The labourer is worthy of his bire, becauſe
he gives for it his ſole property, his ſtrength
and his time, reſerving to himſelf only fuffi-
cient intervals for refreſhment and repoſe ;
what ought therefore to be his hire? The
anſwer is obvious; the neceſſaries and com-
forts of life, equal to the reaſonable wants of
that claſs of ſociety among which he ranks;
does he receive recompence for his labour
equivalent to ſuch a reaſonable expectation?
The examination of the fact ſhall be the an-
ſwer to the queſtion; and that the inquiry
may be as cloſe to the point as poſſible, let us
examine in the firſt place, how the retribu-
tions for labour were paid in days of yore;
whether they then ſtood in the ſame propor-
tion with the neceſſaries of life, in times,
when luxury was not ſo univerſally diffuſed,
and
ز
i
14.
L E T T E R I.
and the cottager not having the fight of the
rich man's enjoyments ſo immediately under
his eye, might be ſuppoſed to be better con-
tented with his homely fare, than in theſe
days, when the ſtrong expreſſions of the poet
are verified in every village :
Sævior armis
Luxuria incubuit, victum que ulciſcitur orbem.
L E T T E R II.
1
Pretioſum
FLEETWOOD's Chronicon
will affiſt us in this inquiry; and, that
the coneluſion of the argument may not be
ſuppoſed to reſt on the foundations of fancy,
fome extracts from that uſeful compilation
ſhall be produced.
The intention of the author was not much
diſimilar to that of the preſent tract, except
that he had a point to prove, we have only as
ſubject to examine ; and, to prove his point,
he has ſearched not only all the publications
then extant on the ſubject, but alſo many ma-
nuſcript accounts of different monaſteries,
where
LETTER II.
15
where the prices of the different articles of
life were regularly inſerted, and in ſome in-
Ytances where the prices of labour formed alſo
part of the account; but no certain compara-
tive view can be formed on this head until. a
bout the middle of the fourteenth century,
when by an act of parliament paſſed in the
23d year of Edward the Third, the wages of
the labourers were regulated, on account, as
the preamble of the ſtatute recites, of the great
increaſe of wages occafioned by the plague :
by the firſt chapter, every perſon able of body,
and under the age of fixty, not having means
of maintaining himſelf, is bound to ſerve thoſe
who are willing to employ him, at the wages :
which were uſually given ſix years before the
plague, and ffated to be,
s. d.
To haymakers and weeders, by the day, o i
Mowing meadows, by the acre or day, o 5
Reapers of corn, in the firſt week in
Auguſt, by the day,
2
In the ſecond week, and to the end of
the month,
03
Threſhing a quarter of wheat or rye, O 2
Threſhing
2.
16
L E T T E R II.
A
Threſhing a quarter of barley, beans,
peaſe, or oats,
Out
That excellent model for all parochial anti-
quities, Sir. John Cullum's Hiſtory and Anti-
quities of Hawſtead, will alſo aſſiſt in forin-
ing a more accurate idea of the proportional
prices of labour and proviſions in Suffolk
throughout ſome part of this century:
S. d.
1
O
O 2
1387, Wheat threſhed per quarter, 4
Other grain,
А
reaper per day,
4
Man filling dung-cart three days, o 101
1389, Wheat reaping per acre,
Mowing an acre of graſs,
o 6
Theſe prices are without meat, drink, or
other courteſy demanded *.
o 7
The prices of proviſions, and the neceſſa-
ries and cornforts of life, were, during the
ſame century, as follow :
A. D.
fo.se
à.
1309, A pair of ſhoes,
4
1314, A ſtalled, or corn-fed, ox,
0
I 4
0
* Hift. and Antiquities of Hawſtead, p.188. 190.
A graſs
L ET T E R IÍ. iz
1
o
O
f. s. d.
1 314, A graſs fed ox,
0 16 0
A fat ſtalled cow;
0 1 2
A fat ſheep unfhorn, ΟΙ
8
Á fat ſheep fhorn,
0 I 2
A fat hog; two years old, o 3 4
A fat gooſe,
• 21
Ale regulated by proclama-
tion, in reſpect to price a
gallon;
• I
1338, Wheat a quarter
3 4
Barley a quarters
Peaſe and beans a quarter,
Oats a quarter
White wine a gallon,
• 6
Red wine a gallon,
04
1387, Barley; at Leiceſter, a quar-
ter,
1388, Lactage of a cow with its
calf, one year and a hen, o 6 8
Wheat per quarter,
4
Oats per quarter,
o
An ox,
6
ΟΙ 8*
Ο ΙΟ
O I O
Ο ΙΟ
0
2
O
Ó
2
1
O 13
A boar,
* Fleetwood's Chron. Preto
Vol. I.
C
It
1
18
L E T T E R II.
It is not an eaſy matter to determine, from
the prices ſpecified in Fleetwood, what was
the average rate, at which proviſions were
fold, the year. parliament regulated the price
of labour ; for about the middle of this cen-
tury, years of dearth and plenty almoſt alter-
nately follow each other, and the peftilence alſo
occaſioned a conſiderable difference; but the
articles extracted are in thoſe years, when
none of theſe cauſes affected the price of pro-
viſions, and may therefore be eſteemed a to.
lerable exact average for the fourteenth cen-
tury.
In the beginning of the next century in the
year 1404, the pay of a labourer was fome-
times two-pence, ſometimes three-pence, as
appears from a computus of the Prior and
Canons of Burcheſter ; and in
1
koso d.
1446, Labourers without diet,
0 31
From Michaelmas to Eaſter, id. leſs.
A mower in harveft, without
diet,
A reaper and carter, without diet, o
5
o 6
1
The
L ETTER Ií.
19
OIÓ
The prices of neceſſaries and proviſions from
the ſame computus :
d.
1407, À cow,
7 0
Two buſhels of wheat,
Five buſhels and a half of ſalt, § 41
1425, Peaſe per quarter,
Gallon of ale, from id, to
o i
Gallon of red wine,
ó 8
Gallon of ſweet wine,
4
Two yards of rufſet cloth for
the ſhepherd;
Thirty pair of winter gloves for
the fervents,
4
2
2
I
2 7
1
O
0
!
I
I
The following from other computus's:
1444, Wheat a quarter,
4 4
Malt a quarter;
4
Oats a quarter,
8
Flitch bacon,
8
1445, Wheat a quarter,
Oats a quarter,
Gallon of ale;
1447, Wheat a quarter,
8
Oats a quarter
2
1448, Wheat a quarter,
6 8
C 2
4 6
2
0
f
o
1
1448,
20
L E T T E R II.
s. d.
2
O
5
.8
1
1448, Oats a quarter,
1449, Wheat a quarter,
1450, Wheat a quarter,
Oats a quarter,
Gallon of ale,
1463, Wheat a quarter,
o o o
2
O
I
1
2
o*
S. d.
o 3
In the ſixteenth century, only two inſtan-
ces are to be found of the wages of a labourer,
one in 1514, the other in 1557.
A. D.
1514, Labourers from Eaſter to Mi-
chaelmas, except in harveſt, o 4
Ditto from Michaelmas to
•
Eaſter,
A mowerin harveſt, with diet, 4d.
without,
6
A reaper and carter in harveſt,
with diet 3d. without,
A woman labourer, and other
labourers, with diet, 2 d.
without,
41
1557, Threſhing a quarter of wheat,
Ditto of
rye,
Ditto of barley,
5
O
O
5
I
I
O IO
O
* Fleetwood's Chron. Pret.
Prices
L E T T E R II.
21
O
2
2
0
o
Prices of proviſions, &c. in the 16th century:
£. s. d.
1512, Oats a quarter,
lo
Beans a quarter
04
1513, Oats a quarter,
4
Beans a quarter,
4
1515, Beans a quarter,
4
1533, Fat oxen,
I 6 8
Fat weathers,
3 4
Fat calves,
3 4
Fat lambs,
Beef in London 2 lb. or 31b. o
Mutton per quarter in Lon-
don,
8
1567, Wheat a quarter before har-
veſt,
Wheat a quarter after har-
veſt,
Malt a quarter before har-
veſt,
o 5
Malt a quarter after harveſt, o 4
8
1558, A good ſheep,
O
I
0
I
o
8 0
1
o
4 0
0
O 2 IO
1
In this inquiry there is no occaſion to enter
into an explanation of the comparative value
of money in the three centuries, through a
B 3
great,
22
L E T T E R II.
1
great part of which theſe notices have been
taken; becauſe the prices of labour and pro-
viſions have been valued by the fame ſpecies
of real or imaginary coin, and therefore the
value of ſuch, although very different from
what bears the fame denominations in this
century, is quite competent to illuſtrate the
ratio, the prices of labour bore at theſe
pes
riods to the prices of the neceſſaries of life.
L E T T E R III.
HAVING therefore, at different periods,
through a lapſe of near three hundred
years, noticed the prices of labour, and the
contemporary prices of the neceſſaries of life,
in ſuch inſtances as Fleetwood's publication
has produced, except in thoſe years where ac-
cidental dearth or plenty conſiderably raiſed
or depreſſed their price; I ſhould apprehend,
that if any perſon will be at the trouble of
comparing through theſe periods, the price
of labour, with the neceſſaries of life ; and
will alſo make the ſame compariſon in any of
the
1
L E T. T E R III.
the laſt ten preceding years ; he will not
doubt the truth of the following aſſertion ;
that in this civilized age, when riches abound,
and all the liberal and ornamental arts receive
prices and encouragement ſuperior to the ex-
perience of any æra that is paſſed, the agri-
cultural poor not only do not receive wages
equal to their ſervices, but alſo that they are
not paid in the ſame proportion to the price
of the neceſſaries of life, as they were through-
out the three firſt centuries, in which it has
been in our power to obtain any certain in-
formation of the proportional prices of labour,
proviſions, and cloathing ; how far this de-
ficiency has been ſupplied by charitable con-
tributions, uncertain, and permanent, and by
the revenue, which has for near two centu-
ries, been collected by legal authority, will be
explained by the following pages.
This fact recurs to a principle mentioned
towards the beginning of this inquiry, that
there is a tacit contract between men, when
ſocieties, ſtates, and kingdoms, are in their
infancy ; that to him whoſe only patrimony is
his ſtrength, and ability to labour, that patri-
mony ſhould be equal to his comforable ex-
iſtence
C4
241
L E T T E R III.
iſtence in ſociety, in thoſe relations in which
he may be engaged as a fon, huſband, and
father; ſince we find, as far back as the fact
can be traced in this kingdom, that it was ſo
four hundred years ago, which is an æra con-
ſiderably nearer the infancy of ſociety in Bri-
tain, than the latter part of the nineteenth
century; and we find alſo that it continued
in a parallel proportion three hundred years,
during a period when the poor were not tan-
talized by the view of luxury round their cot
tages, while themſelves and families ſtarve,
unleſs for their ſuſtenance they riſk the confe..
quence of a breach of the laws, inſtituted by
fociety for the protection of property.
Aſſuming it, therefore, as an undoubted ax-
iom, that the labour of man, who has nothing
but his labour to depend on for his ſuſtenance,
ſhould be equal to that purpoſe, when in a
ftate of health ; and that ſuch is an implied
or virtual contract with man, when he ſub-
mits to the regulations of ſociety and civili-
zation; the next topic of inquiry ſhall be,
what ſubſtitute for that ability to labour can
he claim from fociety, when deprived of the
power of earning his bread, by accident, fick
neſs,
L E T T E R III.
23
„neſs, decrepitude, or old age ? the anſwer is
obvious, and preffes itſelf on the mind, the
inſtant the attention is employed on the ſub-
ject; that charity was his only afylum, and
this in the early ages of ſociety, and in the
dawn of Chriſtianity, which eſteems it ſupe-
rior to faith and all other good works, was
a very important ſubſtitute, and probably
produced a fund equal to the demand on it;
but this fact ſhall rot reſt on aſſertion only,
but on the more ſubſtantial foundation of hif-
toric proof.
To be convinced that this was the caſe, it
will be neceſſary only to turn our attention to
the revenues of the church, in the early pe-
riods of the eſtabliſhment of the Chriſtian re-
ligion in this country, and we ſhall perceive
that they were all, or by much the greater
part, eleemofynary, and the diſtribution of
them was intruſted by the pious and cha-
ritable laity, to the clergy reſiding and
diſcharging the duties of prieſthood in their
neighbourhood, to be applied for the redemp-
tion of the ſouls of the donors and their an-
çeſtors, in the purpoſes of religion and cha-
ſity; and that under ſuch intent, and through
fuch application, they formed a conſiderable
fund
26
L E T T ER-MI
5
fund for the relief of the aged and debilitated
poor; the following notices extracted chiefly
from Selden's Treatiſe on Tithes, and Dug-
dale's Monafticon, will, if not abſolutely prove,
undoubtedly form a ſtrong foundation for our
belief of, the exiſtence of the fact :-“ Ut
ipfi facerdotes a populis ſuſcipiant decimas,
" et nomina eorum quicunque dederint ſcripta
“ habeant, et ſecundum autoritatein canoni-
“ cam coram teſtibus dividant; et ad orna-
“ mentum eccleſiæ primam eligant partem,
« fecundam autem ad uſum pauperum et pe-
“ regrinorum per eorum manus miſerecordi-
“ tur cum omni humilitate diſpenſent, tertiam
“ vero fibimet ipſis ſacerdotes reſervent *.”
The above was extracted from an antient
collection of canons, written about the time
of Henry I.
And in a volume, which belonged to the
abby of St. Auſtin, in Canterbury, there is a
.
* The prieſts themſelves may receive the tithes from the
people, and record in writing the names of thoſe who give,
and divide them in the preſence of witneſſes, according to
canonical authority, and ļet them take the firſt part for the
ornament of the church, and diftribute the ſecond, with their
own hands, compaſſionately and humbly, for the uſe of the
poor and the ſtrangers, the third part the prieſts may reſerve
for themſelves.
chapter
L E T T E R III.
27
chapter de divifone decimarum, with a fimilar
declaration; theſe ordinances appear to be
collected about the time of King Athelſtan.
And that this was not a local rule is appa-
rent from the following circumſtance; that on
an application of St. Auguſtine to Pope Gre-
gory, reſpecting biſhops, qualiter cum ſuis cle-
ricis converfentur, vel de his quæ fidelium obla-
tionibus accedant altari, quanta, debeant fieri
portiones? Whereto the Pope anſwered, that
the cuſtom is generally to make a quadripar-
tite diviſion; for the biſhop, for his clergy,
for the poor, and for reparation of churches.
Theſe, or ſimilar ideas, ſeem alſo to have
prevailed in the eaſtern churches, as their re-
venues are ſtiled by ſome of the fathers ý xrñ
015 TW 77wxwv, the poſſeſſion of the poor ;
and by the Greek lawyers 7 tüyola, or provi-
fion for the poor; and hence it is that diverſe
ſchoolmen diſpute the queſtion, whether the
dominion or property of the church be in the
clergy; and whether what they give to the
poor be due ex debito juſtitiæ, or, debito chari-
tatis.
The ſtatutes of the kingdom alſo ſtrongly
corroberate this idea ; on what other principle
of
28
L E T T E R III.
of juſtice could the fixth chapter of the fif-
teenth ſtatute of Richard the Second be for-
med? The tranſlation of which, from the
old French, follows :-Item, becauſe divers
damages and hindrances oftentimes have hap-
pened, and daily do happen, to the pariſhion-
ers of divers places, by the appropriation of
benefices of the ſame places. It is agreed
and aflented, that in every licence to be made,
from henceforth, in the chancery, of the ap-
propriation of any pariſh church, it ſhall be
expreſsly contained, and compriſed, that the
dioceſan of the place, upon the appropriation
of ſuch churches, ſhall ordain, according to
the value of ſuch churches, a convenient fum
of money, to be paid and diſtributed yearly of
the fruits and profits of the ſaid churches, by
thoſe that ſhall have the faid churches in pro-
per uſe, and by their ſucceſſors, to the poor
pariſhioners of the ſaid churches, in aid of
their living and ſuſtenance for ever, and alſo
that the vicar be well and ſufficiently endow-
ed. This ſtatute is confirmed by 4 Henry IV,
cap. 12.
Etymology alſo lends fome aſſiſtance to
prove that the pious donors had univerſal cha-
rity
L FT. T E R III.
29
rity in their contemplation, and not that more
confined idea which limits its bounties to ec-
cleſiaſtical purpoſes only. All, or by much
the greateſt part, of the endowments, ample
as they were, of which Dugdale, in his Mo-
nafticon, has preſerved copies, or abſtracts,
are declared to be in perpetuam eleemofynam ;
which, from its derivative seeû miſereor, to
compaſſionate, or take pity on, indicates fome-
thing more than a partial attention to the in-
tereſts of thoſe who take on themſelves the
ſacred office of ſpiritual directors, as does the
word itſelf enenuorurn in the firſt verſe of the
fixth chapter of St. Matthew ; but to give, if
poſſible, ſtill firmer ſanction to this idea, the
opinion of an author ſhall be referred to;
whoſe authority, on all points, reſpecting the
legal antiquities of his country is nearly con-
clufive ; he ſays thus:--. At the firſt exta-
“ bliſhment of parochial clergy, the tithes of
" the pariſh were diſtributed in a fourfold di-
• viſion; one for the uſe of the biſhop, an-
6c other for maintaining the fabric of the,
as church, a third for the poor, and a fourth
" to provide for the incumbent. When the
“ fees of the biſhops became ctherwiſe amply
" endow-
1
30
L E T T E R III.
“ endowed, they were prohibited from den
manding their uſual-ſhare, and the diviſion
was in three parts only *.”
Other authorities, venerable, as well
from the rank the writers filled in fociety,
as from the dignity of remote antiquity, might
be produced in proof of this claim for the aged
and impotent, to a ſhare of the vaſt revenues
which have been granted to the eccleſiaſtics;
were it the purpoſe of the preſent inquiry,
either to encourage the aſſertion of ſuch a right
on the behalf of the poor, or to excite a diſatiſ-
faction with their ſituation, among a claſs of
our fellow creatures, who in all civilized ſtates
enjoy a very ſcanty portion of the comforts of
life; but thoſe, by whom theſe pages will moſt
probably be read, are the immediate taſk-maſ-
ters of the poor, whoſe ſituation in ſociety,
is conſidered with no ſmall ſhare of compaſ-
fion by the writer of this inveſtigation; who
hopes that it may make ſome impreſſion on
their maſter's humanity; and if they give
credence to the affertion that the poor have a
reaſonable expectation of better wages than
1
• Blackſtone's Commentaries, Book I, Chap. ii.
they
L E T T E R III31
.
.
they at, preſent receive ; and had, in the ear-
lier days of ſociety, a claim to a portion of
what is now differently appropriated; it may
tend to make the pittance which is paid for
their labour more 'adequate to their wants ;
or under ſome charitable maſters make their
yoke eaſier, and their burthen lighter.
ز
L E T T E R IV.
INI
Nſtances of the prices of labour, and the co-
tempory prices of proviſions have been con-
tinued, by the aſſiſtance of the Chronicon Pres
tiofum, to a later æra than that in our eccle-
fiaftical hiſtory; when the 31ſt ſtatute of
Henry VIII. ch. 13. laid the axe to the root
of all monaſtic poſſeſſions in this kingdom,
and transferred their eſtates and rights to the
crown ; the effect this total change of proper-
ty had on the ſituation of the poor remains
to be conſidered.
It will, at firſt ſight, be thought, and is
indeed believed to be the fact, by thoſe who
have
32
L ETTER IV.
A
have ſuperficially inveſtigated the hiſtory of
this period, with a view to the preſent inquiry's
that this act, at once, ſtruck off many of their
comforts, and deprived them of many ſources
of aſſiſtance, which are ſuppoſed to have flowed
to the poor in numberleſs ſtreams, from the
kitchens, refectories, ſtores and cellars, of
the monaſtries; and that the different acts of
Parliament for their relief, which reflect ho-
nour on the annals of our 'hiſtory, towards
the end of the ſixteenth and beginning of the
enſuing century, aroſe from a neceſſity, occa-
fioned by this capital ſtroke of the 8th Henry's
deſpotic authority; but the hiſtory of the times
does not authoriſe the concluſion.
It rather appears that what ſtreams did, in
fact, flow from theſe eccleſiaſtical fraternities
to the poor of the kingdom, were ſhallow and
penurious ; at the beſt, the coarſe offal of a
homely board, and by no means an equivalent
for the third or the fourth of their income,
which has been already alluded to; indeed, if the
mode of life which was purſued by the nobi-
lity and gentry of this age be conſidered ; if
we recollect, that the metropolis was not then,
and, indeed, has not been till lately, that
over-
L E T T E R IV.
33
overgrown monſter, which engluts, within its
maw, a property that, ſpread on the hum-
ble board of the cottager, would feed millions ;
but, on the contrary, almoſt every village
then boaſted, as its conſtant inhabitant, one
or more ſubſtantial, if not ennobled landlord,
whoſe hoſpitable ſeat bore a ſemblance, ac-
cording to the riches and rank of the owner;
to that economic profuſion, which, by the
inſtance fe happily preſerved for the informa-
tion of poſterity, by Dr. Percy *, appears to
have graced the character of the fifth Earl of
Northumberland, who lived near the begin-
ning of this century; we ſhall not, if ſimilar
inſtances, in proportion to rank and fortune
be ſuppoſed to be prevalent, imagine the poor
to have much felt the want of ſuch aſfıſtance,
as the heads of monaſtries permitted to be
given away at their gates; which, from the
relations of modern travellers, who have late-
ly viſited thoſe countries on the continent,
where monaſtic inſtitutions are ſtill in full
force; and eſpecially from the obſervations of
* The Regulations and Eſtabliſhment of the Houſehold of
Henry Algemon Percy, 1512. Printed for Dr. Percy the pre-
fent Biſhop of Dromore, but not publiſhed.
D
Dr.
34
Ľ E T T E R IV.
Dr. Ducarel, in his tour through Normandy,
where the cuſtoms, endowments, and charis
table donations of the monaſtries and priories
may be ſuppoſed, from their former connec-
tion with, to be ſimilar to what was experi-
enced in this country, appear to be infignifi-
cant and trifling, aįways excepting thoſe in
ſtances where the particular motive of the en-
dowment was to enſure an hoſpitable reception
to the traveller, Tanner, alſo, by a role in
the preface to Notitia Monaftice, appears to
be of opinion, that it cannot be attributed to
what the poor received from the religious
houſes, that no parochial affefiments for their
relief, were found neceffary during the preva-
lence of the monaſtic inſtitutions; although
it appears that ſome of the larger priories
dignified one of their officers with the
name
pf alınoner.
But be this fact as it may; it is to be prez
ſumed, that if the poor did not ſuſtain any
great los from the abolition of the monaſtries,
in the article of any conſiderable relief, they
might have received from them, in proviſion
or almş; they certainly felt one great incon-
yeniency from the number of the neceſſitous
being
1
;
L: E T T E R IV. .
35
1
;
being conſiderably increaſed; becauſe, on the
diffolution of the ſmaller monaſtries, in the
year 1535, whoſe revenues did not exceed
two hundred pounds a year, it is ſaid, that not
leſs than ten thouſand perſons were ſent to
ſeek their fortunes in the wide world, without
any other allowance than forty ſhillings and a
new gown; and a revenue of thirty or thirty-
two thouſand pounds a year was veſted in the
crown; and when the greater monaſtries were
diffolved, in the year 1539, and a revenue of
one hundred and four thouſand nine hundred
and nineteen pounds was diverted from the
maintenance of people in idleneſs, and began
of the poor throwin upon the publick by the
diffolution of the leſſer monaſteries, be added
to the number which may alſo be ſuppoſed
to have become à bürthen to the publiek by
the diffolution of the greater monaſteries; com-
puting that number by the proportional reve-
riue veſted in the crown by the latter event
to the revenue alſo veſted in the crown by the
former; amounting to a total of near forty-
Notitia Monaſtica, Preface,
D 2
three
36
L E T T E R IV..
a
three thouſand perſons, who in the lapſe of a
few years had become additional objects of
charity; for, although many of the members
of the greater monaſtries were allowed pen-
fions, yet, if it be conſidered that they now
enjoyed the liberty of becoming fathers of
families, ſuch a calculation will not appear to
be extravagant; it will then not occaſion our
ſurpriſe, that a few years after this eyent, the
legiſlature ſhould find occaſion to interfere in
their behalf, when probably not leſs than
hundred thouſand perſons who had no viſible
means of maintenance, preſſed on the diſtri-
bution of the charitable fund veſted in truſt
with the eccleſiaſtics, now. in part wreſted
from their gripe; and alſo became importu-
nate ſuitors to the deſultory feelings of chari-
table individuals, who might naturally be
moved with compaflion at the ſight of their
father confeſſors now become needy fathers of
a young offspring
Beſides, the wars which, from the con-
queſt, had kept our population thin; a num-
ber of lives having been thrown away in the
different conteſts, within the kingdom, for
the ſceptre ; on the continent of Europe, for
foreign
.
.
Ë T T E R IV. 31
foreign poſſeſſions; and in Aſia, on romantic
principles of religious chivalry; had now, for
a conſiderable period, ceaſed; and near a cen-
tury had elapſed ſince the battle of Boſworth
had feated Henry thë Seventh on the throne,
who, by his marriage with Elizabeth, the
heireſs of the York family; had united the
claims of the two houſes in his perſon; and
no internal commotion having, ſince that
event; occaſioned any conſiderable waſte of
blood; and, except at the battle of Flodden'
Field, which ſeems, for a time, to have quel-
led the animoſity of our northern neighbours,
the nation having ſuffered no loſs of inhabi-
tants from foreign wars į peace; of courſe, and
its concomitant; population, had increaſed the
riches of thoſe who poſſeſſed the opportunity
of acquiring, and, at the ſame time, the num-
ber of thoſe, whoſe humble ſituation preclu-
ded them from ſuch attempts; the number
of inhabitants, therefore, who had no means
of ſupport, except from their labour, conſe-
quently, was conſiderably increaſed *; and, moſt
* In 1377 the number of inhabitants in England and Wales
emounted to 2,092,978.--In 1583, to 4,688,000.
CHALMERS'S ESTIMATE:
D 3
pros
:38
È T T E R V.
probably, among the crowd which preſſed on
the public from the diffolved monaſtries, few
were there who could handle the plough, the
flail, or the ſpade; but many, who, if they
could not dig, were not aſhamed to beg; a
privilege which different acts of Parliament
had already laid under certain reſtrictions.
ز
:
L E T T E R V.
THE
HE fituation of the poor, with reſpect to
the price of labour and the neceſſaries of
life, their claims alſo on the charity of thoſe
in whoſe poffeffion was centered the property
of this kingdom having been conſidered; it
will now be a topic worthy our attention to
relate; briefly as poſſible, the notice the legiſla-
türe of the kingdom has taken of them from the
period when they firſt became objects of legif-
lation; unto the preſent time when they per-
ticipate of a revenue amounting to near three
millions ſterling per annum, raiſed for their em
ployment and relief by the authority of the ſtate.
This enquirý may with great propriety,
paſs over that diſtant æra, the tranſactions of
which hiſtory has preſerved in very faint ard
doubtful
L E T T E R V.
39
0
2
doubtfuil records; and, indeed, it is not pro-
bable that, in times when this iſlind enjoyed
not any regular form of government, à great
attention thonld be paid by our governors to
the welfare of the poor; nor is it matter of
wonder that while the petty reguli of the hep-
tarchy were conteiting ile boundaries of their
inſignificant dominions į or while à foreign
family, attended by a ſwarm of inartial and
needy followers, were contending for the
throne of England, or diſputing åmoig
themſelves for the prize they had obtained,
that any humane or wiſe regulations ſhould
take place with reſpect to the poor;
then only conſidered as the means by which
the ciainis of their reſpective lords might
either be enforced or defended; and viewed
in that light, they rank in a different claſs of
citizens, and are diſtinguiſhed by epithets dif-
ferent from, but not more reſpectable in fo-
ciety, than that of huibandınen.
After the family of William, the Norman,
had been eſtabliſhed on the throne for ſeveral
generations, and Edward the Firſt, having
made the conqueſt of North Wales, turned
his attentiori to the defenceleſs ſituation of the
lower claſs of his Welch ſubjects, and pro-
duced,
who were
+
D4
40
E L E V...
a
appears of the
T T E R R
duced, with the afliſtance of his parliament,
that code of laws known in our ſtatute books
by the name of Statutum Wallia ; in which
were regulated the modes by which they
might obtain redreſs of private and public
wrongs; and in which it is enacted, that
poor man, inſtead of putting in pledges to
proſecute a fuit, on ſuing out a writ, ſhould
only pledge his faith ; from the date of this
ſtatute which was paſſed in 1284, no mention
poor
in the acts of parliament
until 1349, when the ſtatute of labourers re-
gulated their wages, as has been already
mentioned, and in ſtrong language declared
that their labour, while they were able to
work, ſhould be their only reſource, by the
following words, “ That no one, under pain
of impriſonment, by pretence of piety or cha-
rity, ſhould preſume to give any thing to
thoſe who were able to labour, to encourage
them in idleneſs and ſloth, that by thoſe means
they might be compelled to work for the ne-
ceffaries of life.” Another ſtatute paſſed in
the ſame reign, which gave
the
poor
the right
of an attaint in pleas, real and perſonal,
without fine; and the ſtatute of labourers
alla
+
L E T T E R , V.
:
1
:
alſo was confirmed, and the obſervance of it
enforced by an impriſonment of fifteen days;
and alſo by the puniſhment of burning them
in the forehead, with an iron in the form of
the letter F, if they left their work and went
away into different towns, or into another
country; and alſo obliged the officers of cities
or boroughs, in which they might reſide, to
deliver them up.
From this period, until the ad of Richard
the Second, the ſtatute book is ſilent with
reſpect to them; the parliament then, 1378,
confirmed the ſtatute of the 23d of Edward
the third, and the other ſtatutes of labourers,
and ten years afterwards repeated the confirma-
tion; and further directed that no ſervant or
labourer ſhould depart from one hundred,
rape, or wapentake to another to ſerve, or
live elſewhere, or under pretence of going ą
pilgrimage, without a letter patent, containing
the cauſe of his going, and the time of his
return, on pain of being put in the ſtocks un-
til he finds ſurety for his return ; this act of
parliament alſo regulated the wages of yearly
ſervants, in huſbandry, allowing to the bailiff
13$. 4d. and cloathing once a year į to the
maſter
42
Ľ E T T È R V.
maſter hind 10s. the carterios. Thepherd
ros. oxherd 6s. Sd. the deye 69. plough dri-
ver 9s. ; - their wages were enforced, and the
people were reſtrained from giving more by
pecuniary penalties; for the firſt tranſgreſſion,
forfeiture of the cverplus; ſecond tranſgref-
fion, double the overplus; third offence, tre-
ble the overplus, or impriſonment of forty
days; by the ſame ſtatute, thoſe who had fer-
ved in any agricultural occupation, until they
were twelve years of age, were reſtrained
from being put out to any trade or miſtery,
on penalty of the indenture, or covenant be-
ing void.; and all ſervants in huſbandry and
labourers were prohibited to wear any ſword,
buckler, or dagger, except for defence of the
realm, in the time of war, but they were
permitted to have bows and arrows and to uſe
them on Sundays, and feaſt days; all unlaw-
ful games were alſo prohibited; the ſeventh
chapter of this ſtatute alſo directed, that im-
potent beggars Thould live in the cities and
villages, where they were reſident at the time
of paſſing the act, and if the inhabitants of
the faid cities and villages, ne voilent ou ne
poient ſufir de les trover, i. e. were not willing
or
L E T T E R V.
43
1
i
or able to maintain them *, they should be
taken to other towns in the liendred, rape, or
wapentake, or to the towns where they were
born, within forty days after proclamation
of the act, where they ſhould continue for
life.
Three years after the date of this act, the
legiſlature inade that laudable provifion for the
poor, from the appropriations of benefices,
which has been already mentioned, and which
was confirmed in the beginning of the reign of
Henry the IVth ; at which time it was enac-
ted, that no labourer ſhould be retained to
work by the week; but for what reaſon it is
not eaſy, as this diſtance of time, to con-
jecture.
The legiſlature remained ſilent on the fub-
ject from this period until 1414, when, by the
-ſecond ſtatute of Henry the Vth, juſtices of
the peace are directed to ſend their writs for
fugitive labourers and ſervants, to every ſheriff ..
$
.
t
* This tranſlation may poſibly be inaccurate I have ſearch-
ed the French dictionaries and gloſſaries, in-my poffeffion, and
confeſs I cannot find ſuch a meaning affixed to t'e verb irever,
but know of none fo proper,
in
L E T T E R V.
in England, and are alſo impowered to exa
mine labourers, ſervants, and their maſters,
on their oaths, of all things done by thern
contrary to the ordinances and ſtatutes, and
to puniſh them, on their confeffion, as though
they were convicted by inqueſt, which
power
is alſo recognized in the ſecond year of
Henry the Vith, with reſpect to thoſe who
take wages ſuperior to what are allowed by
ſtatute ; and in the fixth year of the fame
reign it is enacted, that juſtices of peace,
in their counties, and the mayors and bailiffs,
in every city, borough, and town, ſhall have
power to make proclamation in every county,
city, borough, and town, in full ſeſſion, once
a year, how much every ſervant, in huſbanda
ry, Thould take for his ſervice for the year en-
ſuing; and that two proclamations ſhould be
made between the feaſts of Eaſter and
Michaelmas for that purpoſe'; which act is
confirmed in the eighth year of the fame
reign.
In the year 1436, wheat and barley being
at a ſmall price, (that is to ſay, wheat at:6s. 8d.
and barley at 3s. per quarter) are permitted,
by a ſtatute of the ſame date, to be exported
without
1
L E T T E R V.
without licence ; fix years afterwards this ſta-
tute is confirmed for ten years, and in 1444
it
is made perpetual'; and in this year the le-
giſlature alſo enacted, that the wages of huſ-
bandmen, in harveſt-time, ſhould not exceed
the following rates; a reaper, 4d. a day with
board, without board, bd.; a harveſt-man, or
driver, 3d. with board, without 5d. ; women
labourers, 21d. with board, without, 41d. :
and that the wages of ſervants in huſbandry,
by the year, ſhould not exceed the following
prices; a bailiiť, 23s. 4d, with board, and 5s.
for cloaths ; a chief hind, carter, or ſhepherd,
205. with board, and 45. for cloaths; a
.common ſervant, 155. a year, board, and
35. 4d. for cloachs ; a woman ſervant; Ios.
board, and 4s. for cloaths; a child, under
years of age, 6s. with board, and 35. for cloaths;
and alſo directed that a fervant, in huſbandry,
purporting to depart from his maſter at the
end of the year, ſhould give him half a year's
varning, or elſe ſerve him the year follow-
ing.
From this time no notice is taken of the
agricultural poor, and no new regulations
which could affect them are to be found in .
the
14
46
L E T T E R V.
the ſtatutes ať large, until the eleventh of
Henry the VIIth, 1494, except an act which
paſſed three years before, prohibiting pulling
down, or fuffering to decay, houſes of huf-
bandry, by which means, the preamble to the
ac fays, in ſome towns where upwards of two
hundred perſons were occupied, and lived by
tirir lawful labour, now only two or three
herdlines are employed, and the reſt fall into
idleneſs* ; by the ſecond chapter of the ele-
venth of Henry the VIIth, yagabonds and
idle and ſuſpected perſons ſhall be ſet in the
ftocks three days and three nights, and have
no other fuftenance but bread and water, and be
then put out of the town; and every beggar,
not able to work, ſhall reſort to the hundred
where he laſt dwelt, is beſt known, or was
born, and there remain, on pain of like pu-
niſhment: and no artificer, or labourer, ſhall
play at any unlawful games, except during
Chriſtmas. Two juſtices are alſo, by the
* The legiſlature, two centuries ago, feems to have been .
aware of the bad conſequences to population and induſtry,
that ariſe from the confolidation of ſmall farms, which,
where general, is a meaſure which ſtrikes at the root of every
ſtimulas to agricultural induſtry among the poor, by excluding
all proſpect of uſing the plough and ficklc for themſelves.
fame
Į ET T E R V.
47
fame act, empowered to reſtrain the common
ſelling of ale; it is curicus to fee how early
after the relief of the poor became an object
of the legiſlature, the regulation of alehouſes
Was alſo a ſubject of their attention, and with
what an equal ſtep the laws reſpecting vaga-
borils and atehouſ:s proceed together.
The parliament alſo, in the ſame year, cna-
bled poor perſons to ſue put writs of ſubpoena
agaist thoſe that may give them caufe of
complaint, and counſel fall be appointed
thein, taking nothing for the ſame, at the
diſcretion of the chancellor. The prices of
la hour were again regulated by the famę:par-
liament,
In the 6th year of Henry the VIIIth, the
wages of ſervants, in huſbandry, are again re-
gulated, as are the hours they ſhall work, have
for their meals, and flech; and by the twenty-
ſecond of the fame reign, juſtices of the peace
are empowered to licence, under their ſeals,
ſuch poor, aged, and iinpóterit perſons, to beg
within a certain precinct, as they ſhall think
to have inoit need; and if any beg, without
ſuc:licence, he ihall be whipped, or elſe. ſet.-
in the ſtocks; and a vagabond taken begging
Thall
48
LETTER V.
fhall be'whipped, and then ſworn to return
to the place where he was born, or laſt dwelt,
for the ſpace of three years, and there put
himſelf to labour.
All the other parliamentary regulations
which reſpect the poor labourers, between the
interval of this laſt mentioned act, and thoſe
of the 28th, and the 31ſt years of the fame
reign; the firſt of which veſted the ſmaller
monafteries, and the laſt diſſolved the whole
Itructure of monaſtic inſtitution, and veſted
all their eſtates in the crown, may be found in
a capitular of ſtatute 27th, Henry VIII.
cap. 25; which directed, that all governors of
ſhires, cities, hamlets, pariſhes, &c. Thall find
and keep every aged, poor, and impotent per-
fon, who was born or dwelt three years
within the ſame limit, by way of voluntary
and charitable alms, in every of the ſame
cities, pariſhes, &c. with ſuch convenient
alms as ſhall be thought meet by their diſcre-
tion, ſo as none of them ſhall be compelled to
go openly begging: And alſo ſhall compel
every ſturdy vagabond to be kept in continual
labour. Children under 14 years of
age,
and
above five, that live in idleneſs, and are taken
begging;
L E T T E R V.
49
begging, may
be
put to ſervice by the gover-
nors of cities, towns, &c. to huſbandry, or
other crafts or labours. A vagabond ſhall,
the firſt time, be whipped and ſent to the
place where he was born, or laſt dwelled, by
the ſpace of three years, there to get his liv-
ing, and if he continue his roguiſh life, he
ſhall have the upper part of the griſtle of his
right ear cut off, and if, after that, he is
taken wandering in idleneſs, or doth not ap-
ply to his labour, or is not in ſervice with any
maſter, he ſhall be adjudged and executed as
a felon; no perſon ſhall make any open or
common dole, nor ſhall give any money
in
alms, but to the common boxes and common
gatherings, in every pariſh, on pain of for-
feiting ten times as much ; unlawful games
are alſo prohibited.
Theſe, as far as they reſpect the ſubject of
this inquiry, are the leading points, in which
the legiſlature of other times interfered in the
regulations of the rights, claims, and conduct
of that claſs of the community, whoſe only
property is their perſonal ſtrength, and whoſe
ſole employment through life, is hard labour ;
but there alſo exiſted a deſcription of fellow-
ſubjects, whoſe rights were ſtill more cir-.
VOL.I.
E
cum-
ز
50
L E T T E R V.
cumſcribed, and the exiſtence of which claſs
of men in this iſland, is, much to the honour
of the preſent age, proved at this day only
by the page of hiſtory, and ſuch notices as
are preſerved in the black lettered law books
of paſt times.
They were called villains; the word has
reſpect to the nature of the tenure, and the
locality of their ſervices, rather than to any
particular ideas of diſgrace, which were at-
tached to their perſons; villani quia villa ad-
fcripti, ſays Lord Coke; they were in ſome
inſtances the property of the lord, were tranſ-
ferred like other property ; and that particular
deſcription of them called villains in groſs,
were in many reſpects in a ſimilar ſituation to
thoſe Africans, who are objects of our com-
merce, and tranſported to the Weſt Indies
but it appears, from Littleton's Tenures, that
their perſonal ſafety was guarded, and no in-
ſtances are to be found where they were ex-
empted from the general benefit of the laws
of their country, unleſs where the laws and
cuſtoms, of a particular tenure, interfered,
and reduced them, in thoſe inſtances, almoſt
to a ſtate of ſlavery; it may be preſumed,
there-
LET TÉR VI.
51
therefore, that in all other reſpects they had
an equal claim with the reſt of our fellow-
ſubjects, to a compenſation for their labour,
while they were able to do any, and when
they were incapacitated, they then claimed
from the hand of charity equally with their
neighbours.
L E T T ER
VI.
AT this period, ſo intereſting to the feelings
of all Engliſh Proteſtants; when that vaſt
ſuperſtructure of Papal influence and gran-
deur, reared on the foundation of fear and
ſuperſtition, which had exiſted ſo many cen-
turies, fell, as it were, by the magic touch
of Henry VIII. to the ground; and an ëdifice
more conſonant to the principles of ſober
piety and good ſenſe aroſe in its ſtead: let us
pauſe a while, and reflect on the different
ſituations the poor were in, both with reſpect
to their wants and demands on ſociety then,
and that ſtation which they now hold; the
E 2
con-
52
L E T T E R - VI,
ز
contraſt will appear ſtriking, and ſome uſeful
reflections may ariſe from it.
Their wages had uniformly hitherto born
a proportion to the neceſſaries of life; and
that ſuch proportion might be preſerved inde-
pendent of the capricious or ſelfiſh will of an
intereſted maſter, the price of labour had
frequently been regulated by the legiſlature,
which had alſo paid a conſtant attention to
the prices of proviſions, and all the neceſ-
ſaries of life had been attainable hitherto
throughout the whole period which has been
ſubject to our review (except in times of ca-
ſual dearth), by a proportion of labour which
left a ſurplus for accidents or illneſs; but at
the fame time that the legiſlature had this
equitable attention to their intereſts, it enfor-
ced the neceſſity of labour and employment,
by corporal puniſhments of the idle and wan-
derer, and by reſtraining the hand of charity
from giving perſons of ſuch deſcription any
aſſiſtance.
Through the ſame æra we alſo find that
the infirm, the aged, and the impotent, had
no legal claims for aſſiſtance from fociety, ex-
cept on that portion of the poſſeſſions of the ec-
cie.
L E T T E R
53
cleſiaſtics which has been alluded to, and which .
ſeems to have been adequate, under the ma-
nagement of the clergy, to the demand on its
and the jealouſy of the legiſlature, leaſt the
attempt made by the monaſteries on that fund,
by the appropriation of the great tithes to
themfelves, might in the end divert it from
its proper application, is very apparent, by
that act of parliament which paſſed in the
15th of Richard II. and was confirmed by
the 4th of Henry IV.
It may poſſibly ſeem ſtrange that this por-
tion of the church revenues, which appears
to have been the property of the
of the poor, ſhould
never have been confirmed to them by decrees
in Chancery, as the Chancellor has the ſuper-
intendance of all the charitable eſtates in the
kingdom ; but it is apprehended that the
wonder may ceaſe, on recollecting that as yet
the
poor
had no legal guardians of their pro-
perty, no name by which they could ſue, and
that what was the concern of all was the
particular buſineſs of no individual; and that
poverty totally prevented any application to
the courts of Chancery or law, until the 11th
of Henry VII. and then permiſſion to ſue in
E
3
forma
54
LETTER VI.
formâ pauperis was left in the diſcrétion of the
Chancellor ; and that the Chancellors, from
the conqueſt until Sir Thomas More obtained
the ſeals in the year 1530, were almoſt uni-
formly clergymen, conſequently parties inte,
reſted; and that the clergy, likewiſe, through
the remaining part of this century had at
times the poſſeſſions of the ſeals; and until
the days of Lord Verulam, no regular ſyſtem
prevailed in the practice of the court, and
decrees were, even in his time, obtained by
favour or gift, and not always on equitable,
or confcientious principles.
Another circumſtance well deſerves our
notice; the luxuries of life were hitherto but
little, if at all, in uſe among the poor; no
deleterious ſnuff or tobacco, no debilitating
tea, no liquid fire, commonly called gin, or
ſpirits ; thoſe banes of health and morals,
thoſe ſüre deſtroyers of the conſtitutions of
the preſent, and of the riſing generations ;
and it is late in the period that we find any
mention made of ale-houſes, recepticles of
vice and immorality! from whence the mo-
dern financier drains the ſubject of a con-
ſiderable revenue, and at the ſame time the
poor
LETTER VI.
55
1
poor of their property, conſtitution, and
morals.
Manufactures had alſo made but little
pro-
greſs among us, which, however they may
enrich individuals, or increaſe the ſources of
our commerce, are, to the labouring poor,
when they are the means of congregating
them to work in parties, or are introductory
of ſedentary employment, moſt ſerious evils ;
in as much, as they are by long experience
found to affect, moſt materially, the health
and morals of thoſe employed in them; and
when, which has happened in many places,
they leave the pariſhes which have, for a
time, been their reſidence, for manufacturers
are naturally deſultory; thoſe pariſhes are left
in miſerable poverty and hapleſs wretched-
neſs.
The means of intercourſe with popular ci-
ties were alſo leſs obvious; of conſequence all
thoſe crimes, which being committed in a
crowd, may eſcape cenſure, were leſs practiſed;
and that evil example, which is always to be
found where many idle people are aſſembled, ,
was leſs before their eyes; beſides, the moral
conduct of the individual was more under the
E 4
guidance
+
!
56.
L E T T ER VI.
poor, than
guidance of the eccleſiaſtical director of his
conſcience, during the exiſtence of the Ro-
man Catholic perſuaſion; which circumſtance
muſt be allowed to have been a cauſe of
ſtricter moral conduct among the
at preſent prevails.
It has been already hinted, that the popu-
lation of the kingdom, particularly among the
lower claſſes of ſociety, has conſiderably in-
creaſed ſince the abolition of monaſteries;
and that whatever alms they then received
from thoſe ſocieties of regular clergy, as well
as the crumbs which fell from the tables of
the opulent, who now expend their incomeş
in cities, and places of public reſort, are at
preſent withdrawn; and the very numerous
pcor of this kingdom are, now, left a very
heavy burthen on the landed property alone ;
while manufactures and commerce enjoy a
conſiderable portion of the benefit ariſing from
their labour
At the ſame time, a principle deſtructive to
the rights, and particularly affecting the lower
claſſes of ſociety, ſeems now to pervade the
whole ſyſtem of the management of the poor ;
a principle which is inherent to deſpotic go.
vernments,
LET TER VI.
57
vernments, but claſhes with the rights of a
ſubject under a limited monarchy, and which
has, nevertheleſs, increaſed in this country in a
direct proportion with the liberality and free-
dom of our excellent conſtitution; the prin-
ciple alluded to is that, which leaves a chaſm
between the different orders of the ſtate, and
operates to this effect, that thoſe who are
born to hard labour for their maintenance
ſhall never have an opportunity of emerging
from their low condition; the artizan or ma-
nufacturer, the farmer or tradeſman, may riſe
to the conſequence of a legiſlator: opulence
will raiſe the poffeffor to diſtinctions in ſocie-
ty; an individual of every profeſſion may look
up with the well-grounded hope of becom-
ing, in maturer age, of more importance
among the higher claſſes of the ſtate, than
when he began his career; but between the
labourer and any ſuperior ſituation among his
countrymen there is now a dreadful gulph,
which none, or ſcarce any, can paſs.Du..
ring the æra which has been examined, ſuch
a principle does not appear to have prevailed,
and yet the rights of the ſubject were not then
fo well defined as at preſent; the wages re-
ceived
58
L É T T E R VI.
ceived under fanction of ſtatute laws by the
labourer, enabled the prudent to ſave fome-
thing; that ſomething might then be applied
to profit, in ſmall occupations of land; a ſmall
buſineſs leads the way to a greater :-by theſe
means the door was open to riches and autho-
rity; and honeſt ambition was a ſpur even
to the cottager, of which he is now deprived;
for the induſtrious man in theſe days feldom
receives any aſſiſtance from the overſeer, in
the caſualties to which human nature is fub-
ject, until every farthing of his ſavings are
exhauſted, and he becomes, with reſpect to
his poverty, on a level with the idle and the
drunkard; and if he is fortunate enough, by
many years induſtry and economy, to accu-
mulate a few pounds, no ſmall buſineſs, in his
line of life, is now open to him; the conſo-
lidation of ſmall farms has precluded all hopes
of employing his money in that buſineſs with
which he has had moſt experience; all, there-
före, he can do is to buy a cottage, which the
pariſh officers too often fix their attention on,
as a ſufficient reafon why he and his fami-
ly, numerous as they may be, ſhall not re-
ceive relief, becauſe he has viſible property.
This
L E T T E R VI.
59
This chaſm between the labourer and the
other claſſes in ſociety, it is preſumed, may
do more miſchief to the ſtate, by deſtroying
every ſtimulus to induſtry, except dire neceſ-
ſity; and actually become a more ſerious cauſe
of the ſurpriſing increaſe of the poor's rates,
than even thoſe inducements to diffipation and
enervating luxury, which the poliey of the
financier holds out to them in the ſhape of
tea, fpirits; and ale-houſes.
No wonder, therefore, that thoſe who lead
a life of retirement, far from the haunts of the
ambitious or voluptuous; who retreat from bus
ſineſs or pleaſure, either to cultivate a more
intimate knowledge of themſelves, or to deceive
the paſſing hours by an attention to the im-
provement or embelliſhment of their eſtates,
ſhould have their ſenſibility wounded by being
not only hearers, but eye-witneſſes of the
miſery of their fellow-creatures ?-No won-
der that thoſe who have been nurſed in the
lap of luxury ſhould avoid thoſe ſcenes which
otherwiſe, it is probable, they would embel-..
liſh by their taſte; and deſert thoſe manſions,
now untenanted and dreary, which, when oc-
cupied by the hoſpitable owners, diffuſed a
gleam
60 LETTER VI.
gleam of chearfulneſs through the country. It
ſurely is not beneath the office of humanity, at
times, to hold converſation with the peaſant,
whoſe labour improves or embelliſhes our de-
meſnes; but the topic of ſuch converſation too
often diſtreſſes humanity, and ſends the hearer
home dejected and diſſatisfied.
Probably ſome reflections may then ariſe in
his mind, not very favourable to the preſent
fyftem of poor laws ; being a witneſs of their
wretched ſituation, he may reaſonably conclude
that the ſum, immenfe as it is, which the poor's
rate, together with the charitable donations of
our anceſtors, raiſes for them is not ſufficient,
or that it is much miſapplied; for the rate it-
ſelf is certainly an enormous burthen, riſing
from two or three ſhillings in the pound, upon
the actual rental, up to fixteen, eighteen, or
more, in ſome pariſhes ; and the whole of this
revenue has increaſed to the preſent bulk, from
nothing, in leſs than two centuries, and no
part of it is mortgaged; but the whole applied
or preſumed to be applied to their maintenance
and relief.
Their wages, it is true, are leſs in proportion
to the value of money, or the neceffaries of life,
than
L E T T E R VI.
61
!
than they were in times antecedent to the
pre-
ſent ſyſtem, probably leſs by one third ; and
they alſo in thoſe times received aſſiſtance from
the clergy, who by their advice then regulated
their religious and moral principles, which are
conſiderable preſervers of induſtry and good
æconomy; therefore, raiſing their
raiſing their wages
will not alone be of ſervice to them at pre-
Tent, becauſe the religious ſentiment ſeems
extinct throughout the multitude in general,
and morality has unawares expired with it;
.conſequently thoſe principles, which if active
would kindle a ſpark of honeft induſtry among
them, are totally inert; and additional wages,
it is feared, would only induce additional
exceffes.
If education will fix habits unconnected
with the moral ſentiment; if Mr. Pope's
maxim is true, that
Juſt as the twig is bent, the tree's inclin'd;
an opening is ſurely left, which may be applied
to the beſt of purpoſes, without raiſing the wa-
ges of the labourer, without calling for affift-
ance from the clerical poſſeſſions, or expect-
ing the clergy to attempt again the office of
ghoſtly
62
L È T'T ER VI.
ghoſtly directors with reſpect to their poot pa
'riſhioners:
Induſtry, early induſtry, keeps the riſing
age from preſent miſchief, and faſhions the
future man to a life of honeſty; and depend
on it; the religious principle, together with
évery reſpected moral virtue, may be reared
on the baſis of habitual induſtry.
“ To teach the young idea how to ſhoot,”
is among the moſt pleaſing and important of-
fices of life; how excellent muſt be a plan
formed on that ſentiment, which would com-
prehend, and in a manner inſure the future
well-being of fo large a portion of this nation';
would deliver them from a childhood and
youth, paſſed in idleneſs and theft, to a man-
hood formed from the earlieſt years to habits
of induſtry; would, in the mean time, render
their hours of ſome value to their parents,
which are now an incumbrance to them, and
a peſt to their neighbours.
Much has been done, it may be ſaid, for
the riſing generation within theſe few years by
Sunday ſchools; it is
very
far from my inten-
tion to call in queſtion either the principle on
which the patrons of Sunday ſchools proceed,
or,
L E T T E R vi.
63
or to diſpute the fact that they have done fer-
vice; but as the intention of Sunday ſchools is
to inculcate a religious principle, to give early
habits of religious duties, and to open the mind
of the poor to religious inſtruction, ſurely thöfe
ſeminaries are at preſent incomplete; fhall the
ſix days be ſpent in idleneſs, perhaps in theft
and immorality, while the ſeventh alone is ta-
ken care of? May not the child who is left to
itſelf in a ſtate of idleneſs, or poſſibly, for ſo
we know it too often happens, fent out to ſteal
firing for its parents, or encouraged to pilfer
for its ſuſtenance through the other ſix days
in the week, and who attends at the Sunday
ſchools, where from ſuperior readineſs and re-
gularity of attendance there, and at church, it
is praiſed by the maſter or miſtreſs for reading
and behaving well on the Sunday ; may not
ſuch a child, from ſuch practice imbibe habits
of hypocriſy, at the ſame time that it is
educated in a regular attendance to religious
duties ? Surely there is ſome danger that he
may in mature life make uſe of this church-
going habit, as a cloak for his conduct the reſt
of the week; beſides, it ſhould be conſidered
that the accompliſhments of reading and wri-
ting
2
64
L E T T E R VI:
ting are not eſſentially neceſſary for all people;
there muſt always be in all ſocieties of man-
kind ſome who are hewers of wood and draw-
res of water ; to whoſe ſum of happineſs, or
honeſt means of getting their bread, theſe ac-
compliſhments will not add an unit; and to
all the children of that claſs in ſociety, for
whoſe benefit Sunday ſchools have been with
ſo much well-meaning humanity encouraged ;.
ſix days induſtrious habits are recommended
as a better recommendation to a ſeventh of
religious duties and inſtruction, than ſix days
paſſed in vice or idleneſs; but this topic ſhall
be dropped for the preſent, and the utility of
Sunday ſchools acknowledged on this general
principle,
Eft quodam prodire tenus, fi non detur ultrà.
In the mean time, the inquiry into the ac-
tual ſtate and ſituation of the poor, as far as
they are affected by the prevailing habits of
the times, as well as by the laws of their coun-
try ; together with the opinion which thoſe
who have paid any attention to the ſubjects
and have laid the reſult of that attention be-
fore the public, have formed of the cauſes of
their
L E T T E R VII.
65
their énoreaſing wretchedneſs and our encreaſ-
ing expences, fhall be purſued from the period
at which this pauſe has been made, through
thể- ſucceeding years to the preſent time;. in
full confidence that ſome uſeful knowledge on
this important fübject may be.gained; and in
hopes that while we are amuſed we may be
inſtructed.
to
L ETTER VII.
WHEN I ſent you the laſt letter on this
ſubject, the difficulty of meeting with
fufficient information in reſpect to the price
of labour, and the neceſſaries of life, from the
period which has hitherto been the object of
this inquiry, unto the end of the reign of
Elizabeth, did not then occur to me; nor did
Í foreſee that I ſhould be left in the dark
on that ſubject, when Fleetwood's Chronicoiz
ceaſed to give me any longer its ſteady and
faithful light. The record of the prices of
wheat at Windſor market, which has been re-
gularly taken by the Burſer of Eton College
Vol. I,
F
to
!
66
L E T T E R VII.
K
dom;
to fix the corn rents for the year, is the only ex-
act account, fo far back as it goes, in this king-
and that extends only to the year 1595;
but not being able to accompany the price of
wheat from that period, which was only nine
years anterior to the 43d of Elizabeth, with
any certain cotemporary account of the price
of labour; although I have taken every means
in my power to obtain ſuch information as
might be depended on with reſpect to the
concurrent price of labour and proviſions to
the 43d year of Elizabeth, hitherto without
effect; and being fearful that thoſe among your
readers who have paid any attention to what has
already been ſaid on the ſubject, may conceive
it is deſerted, and my word not intended to be,
kept with them; I determined to ſend you a
few
part of the inquiry, which
my library will enable me to elucidate, and
my
reaſon is adequate to explain.
On peruſing the Engliſh hiſtorians of the
age antecedent to that when the parliament of
Elizabeth interwove the preſervation of the
poor with the conſtitution of the kingdom;
the affertion, made in a former part of this
tract, that the monks, if they could not dig,
pages on that
were
L E T T E R VII.
67
+
ز
were not aſhamed to beg, is found to be well
authoriſed by hiſtory; for it appears that the
multitude of idle people, which the diffolved
monaſteries had vomited forth on the public,
were become a ſerious burthen on ſociety, and
occaſioned the paſſing an act in the firſt par-
liament of Edward the Sixth, which is as cu-
rious in the preamble, as it is inconſiſtent in
the enacting part, with every principle of hu-
manity and juſtice: the preamble ſtates, that
“ foraſmuch as idleneſs and vagabondry is the
mother, and root of all thefts, robberies, evil
·acts, and other miſchiefs, and yet idle and diſ-
orderly perſons, being unprofitable members
or rather enemies of the commonwealth have
been ſuffered to encreaſe, and yet do ſo, whom ..
if they ſhould be puniſhed with death, whip-
ping, impriſonment, and other corporal pain,
it were not without their deſerts," be it
enacted, &c.
In ſhort, this curious piece of legiſlation
makes a man who liveth idly three days, the
Slave for two years of him who informs againſt
ſuch an idler, he being firſt branded with a
red-hot iron on the breaſt with the letter V
during which two years he ſhall be fed with
F 2
bread
1
i
68 L ET T'.E.R VII.
bread and water, and refuſe meat, and cauſed
to work by beating, chaining, and otherwiſe
in any work, be it ever ſo vile; and if he runs
away from his maſter for the ſpace of fourteen
days, he ſhall become his ſlave for life ; after
being branded on the cheek with the letter S;
and if he runs away a ſecond time, he ſhall be
adjudged a felon.
This act of parliament, ſo diſcreditable even
to that age of diſorder and deſpotiſm, aroſe, as
Rapin ſays, from the neceſſity the government
experienced, of obliging the monks to work,
who were little inured to labour, but em-
ployed themſelves in going from houſe to
houſe, inſpiring people with the ſpirit of re-
bellion; and thus much is certain, let the
cauſe of ſuch ſeverity have been what it may,
that the act itſelf was ſo diametrically oppoſite
to every juft principle of legiſlation, that it was
repealed in the third year of the ſame reign,
and during the adminiſtration of thoſe by whoſe
authority it had been paſſed, and the poor
were then left by the legiſlature, much in the
fame ſituation as before the abolition of mo-
naſtries ; although certainly deprived of a
fource of maintenance, and the number of
thein
)
L E T T E R VII. 69
1
them conſiderably increaſed by that diffo-
lution.
Thoſe to whom Henry the Eighth had left
the care of his infant ſon, even when aſſiſted
by the council, among whom many names of
reſpectable memory appear; ſeem to have
been as inſufficient to that department of go-
vernment, which reſpects the interior police of
the kingdom, as we may reaſonably ſuppoſe
the minor king could have been, had he him-
ſelf wielded the ſceptre ; what elſe but com-
plete ignorance, could have induced them to
-permit ſo unpopular and unjuſt an act to be
paſſed in the firſt
year
of their
young
ſove-
reign's reign, as has been alluded to ? which
law they were ſo foon obliged to repeal; and,
in the year following the repeal, as an en-
-couragement (as the preamble ſays) to, and
promotion of, induſtry, an act was paſſed
which obliged ſervants in huſbandry to ſerve
the whole year, and not by days wages;
the
occaſion of which curious reſtraint, it is diffi-
cult at this diſtance of time to gueſs; the
ſtatute-book, as well as hiſtory, being ſilent
on the ſubject,
That
F 3
70
L E T T E R VII.
That the poor were now in a diſtreſſed fita-
ation throughout the kingdom, is very appa-
rent; they had loſt ſuch relief, whatever it
might have been, as they had been accuſtomed
to receive from the monaſteries ; they had alſo
loft a conſiderable ſource of einployment, by
the lands of the monaſteries being granted to
the nobles and followers of the court; who
left the huſbandry of their new-acquired dan
mains to chance and neglect, which had been
more attended to, and well cultivated when
under the inſpection of the monafteries, and
their tenants; and thoſe alſo, who were lately
their confeſſors and ſpiritual directors, who
while it was their intereſt, influenced the poor
·
to a life of induſtry, and content, ſtill retained
the ſame influence over their minds, and made
uſe of it now, to incite them to faction and le-
dition ; certain conſequences of that diſtreſs,
which ariſes from idleneſs and diſtipation ;
while the legiſlature, to mitigate and allay the
turbulent and diſſatisfied fpirit then prevalent
among the lower orders of the ſtate, with an
abſurdity ſcarce credible, paſſed a law, that the
of every pariſh ſhall be relieved, “ with
that
poor of
L FT T ER VII.
71
A
that which every pariſhioner of his charitable
devotion will give,” 5th and 6th Edward VI.
cap. 2.
As a top to the climax of their abſurdities
in legiſlating for the poor, during this ſhort
and unpropitious reign, parliament firſt inſti-
tuted licenſed ale-houſes, and fanctioned them
by an act which has the following preamble,
as a reaſon for the ſtatute: * Foraſmuch as
intolerable hurts and troubles to the common-
wealth of this realm doth daily grow and in-
creaſe, through ſuch abuſes and diſorders as
are had in common ale-houſes, and other
houſes, called tippling-houſes.” A preamble
which ſhould have preceded a prohibition, not
a licenſe, or permiſſion.
The ſhort reign of Mary, was paſſed in the
regulation of what appeared to her, and her
adviſers, of much more importance than the
feeding of millions; the bending the ſtubborn
opinions of a few, in matters of religious con-
troverſy; and can it be ſuppoſed that either
legiſlators or eccleſiaſtics, who were employed
in bringing heretics to the ſtake, could elevate
their attention to the divine office of inveſti,
gating the means to preſerve the multitudes of
their
poor brethren froin idleneſs and want ?
Hova
1
F 4
72 LETTER VII.
my
However, before all the perverted faculties of
their minds were totally abſorbed in the taſk
of regulating matters of religious opinion, with
the accuracy that their cotemporary legiſlator,
Charles the Fifth *, regulated the 'motion of
time-keepers,' they had ſufficient leiſure to
leave matters in the ſame ſtate, with reſpect
to the poor, as they were in the two laſt
réigns; except that they invented the ſcheme
of expoſing thoſe who begged; which, at that
time, muſt of neceſſity have been as well the
aged and infirm as the idle ; by obliging them
to wear a badge on their breaſt and back
openly, by an act of the ſecond year of the
reign of Philip and Mary; but in theſe days,
when the rights of human nature are ſo well
underſtood, and with ſuch merited ſucceſs,
wreſted from the ſtrongeſt gripe of power ; it
will not ſtrike us with ſurpriſe, that in thoſe
times of ignorance, ſuperſtition, and deſpot-
iſm; the rights of the many ſhould be buč
little underſtood, and leſs attended to, by the
few who held the iron rod of power.
The kingdom felt; during the reigns of
theſe two children of the Eighth Henry, moſt
* Robinſon's Hiſtory of the Emperor Charles V. 4to edit.
Vol. 3. Book 12.
ſerious
-
L É T T E R VII.
783
ſerious effects from the ignorance of govern
ment; in, or its inattention to, the regulation
of the interior police; being, at times, con-
vulſed by inteſtine commotions, from its cen-
tre to its circumference; as the rebellions of
Kett, in Nolfölk, that of Arundel, in Devon.
Thire, and inſurrections in many counties in
the year 1549; and thoſe of Wyatt, in Kent
and Surrey, and Carew, in Cornwall, in 1554)
plainly evidence.
It-is-no wonder, therefore; that in an early
part of the reign of Elizabeth, after, the affairs
of religion were ſettled to the general fatiſ-
faction of the nation, by the eftabliſhment of
the Proteſtant faith, according to the ritual
of the church of England; and ſoon after
the Queen had entruſted the affairs of the
kingdom to the management of a Bacon and
a Cecil ; that we find the attention of parlia-
ment occupied on the ſubject of the poor, ,
with a ſeriouſneſs of application that proved
their conception of the importance of the ob.
ject, to the univerſal welfare of the nation;
and which gave riſe to three acts that were
paſſed in the fifth year of her reign; by the
firſt of which ; thoſe regulations made in the
ſeveral
5
74
L E T T E R VII.
ſeveral parliaments of the fourth of Henry
the Seventh, and the ſeventh and twenty-ſe-
venth of Henry the Eighth, for keeping in
repair farm houſes, and maintaining of tillage,
were enforced; and all that was' enacted du-
ring the two laſt reigns on this ſubject, was
repealed; by the ſecond act, the poor were to
be relieved by what every perſon gives week-
ly; and if any pariſhioner ſhall refuſe to pay
reaſonably towards the relief of the poor, or
ſhall diſcourage others, then the juſtices of
the peace, at their quarter ſeſſions, may tax
him a weekly ſum, which if he refuſes to pay
they may cominit him to priſon; and if any
pariſh has more poor than they are able to
relieve, juſtices of the peace may licenſe fo
many of them as they ſhall think good to beg
within the county.
The next act, which is the 5th of Eliza-
beth, cap. 4. is in force at this day; and pro-
duces many uſeful regulations, as well in re-
ſpect to what perſons are compellable to ſerve
in any crafts or trades, as in huſbandry ; the
conduct of the maſter and ſervant reciprocally
to each other is regulated; the production of
teſtimonials of a ſervant's conduct enforced by
a penalty;
LETTER VII.
75
a penalty ; the time during which labourers
ſhall continue at work; beſides many other
heads of regulation; for all which, it is bet-
ter to refer your readers to that excellent com-
pendium, Burn's Juſtice, or to the ſtatute
itſelf, than take up their time, or my own,
in recapitulating its contents : one ſection,
however, I muſt call forth to their notice, be-
cauſe I think, that as it is now, with ſome
alterations, the law of the land, it ought, in
juſtice to the poor, to be the practice of the
magiſtrates alſo: by the 15th ſection, the
wages of ſervants, labourers, and artificers,
as well by the day as year, ſhall be limited,
rated, and appointed by the juſtices of the
peace of the county, they having reſpect to
the plenty or ſcarcity of the times, &c. and
this ſection is enforced by a penalty on the
juſtices, for not attending at the time requir-
ed by the act, and alſo on the maſter for giv-
ing, and the ſervant for taking, more than
ſuch rated wages.
The wiſdom and humanity of government,
during this long and proſperous reign, en-
grafted by degrees ſome of the beſt moral
principles of the Chriſtian religion, into the
ſtatute
76
L E T TER Vti.
ſtatute law of the land. Our Saviour, in his
converſations with his diſciples, lays very
great ſtreſs on the duty of giving to the poor,
adminiſtering to the fick, and relieving the
priſoner ; as may be ſeen in the 25th chap-
ter of Matthew, and many other places in the
New Teſtament; and the parliament of Eliza-
beth fanctioned that, which was before only
a moral duty, by a law of the ſtate ;. for by
the 14th of Elizabeth, cap. 5. aſſeſſments
are directed to be made of the pariſhioners of
every pariſh, for the relief of the poor of the
fame pariſh; and a proviſion is alſo made før
the relief of priſoners in common goals';: the
mode alſo of treating that-claſs or deſcription
of our fellow-creatures, called, by the law,
vagabonds, ſeemed alſo much better under
ftood, than in former reigns; but ſtill was
tinged with too much feverity, againſt thoſe
members of ſociety, who are guilty of a ne-
gative offence only ; that of want of induſtry,
which in fact, puniſhes itſelf, and is with
juſtice puniſhed by the municipal laws, as it
is certainly a crime, and ſo conſidered by one
of the beſt writers on that ſubject this age
has produced, Beccaria *, who, in his excellent
* Beccaria dei delitti e delle penc, Sect. 24.
treatiſe
*
L E T T E R VIL
77
fourteen years
years of
treatiſe, Dei Delitti, e delle Pene, exactly de-
fcribes thoſe uſeleſs and culpable members of
ſociety, under the title of ozioſi, whom we in-
include by the word vagabonds; and indicates
an opinion, that their offence to ſociety, is
ſomewhat ſimilar to that of men who are pro-
bably guilty of crimes, but againſt whom
there is no certain poſitive proof. This ſtatute
of Elizabeth, orders vagabonds to be griev-
ouſly whipped, and burned through the griſtle
of the right ear, for the firſt offence, if above
age,
unleſs ſome creditable
perſon will take them into ſervice for a year; and
if of eighteen years of age, and he falls again
into a roguiſh life, he ſhall ſuffer death as a
felon, unleſs ſome creditable perſon will take
him into ſervice for two years; and if he falls
a third time into a roguiſh life, he ſhall be
adjudged a felon.
Government, after experiencing the effects
ariſing from what had been done in the four-
teenth year of this reign, again took up
the
ſubject; and we find in the eighteenth ſta-
tute, the firſt idea of natural children being
maintained at the expence of their mother, or
reputed father, who appear before this time to
have
78
L E T T E R - VII:
have been maintained at the expence of the
pariih; or at leaſt there was no poſitive law of
the ſtate enforcing the contrary ; this ſtatute
alſo provides for the puniſhment of the father
and mother, and has ſtood the teſt of time,
being the rule for the conduct of magiſtrates.
at this day.
In this parliament alſo aroſe the firſt idea
of providing a ſtock to ſet the poor at work ;
indeed it is ſcarcely credible, that legiſlators
ſhould for centuries have puniſhed idleneſs and
vagabondry ſo ſeverely, and not have provided
a certainty, that thoſe members of ſociety,
who, from their ſituation, are ſtrongly tempt-
ed to incur the crime, ſhould have the means
put in their power, by induſtry of avoiding it.
Houſes of induſtry are now mentioned for
the firſt time, and lands in focage are permit-
ted, during twenty years, to be given towards
their maintenance, and to provide ſtock for
the poor to work up. But what principle
could induce the parliament to prohibit build-
ing cottages, unleſs four acres of land were
laid to each of them, it is impoſſible at this
diſtance of time to tell ; the hiſtory of that
period taking no notice of the ſubject; and
the
L E T T E R VII.
79
the preamble to the act itſelf ſtating only ge-
neral inconvenience ; yet ſuch a regulation
paſſed into a law in 1589, together with a
prohibition againſt more families or houſeholds
than one, inhabiting the ſame cottage.
The parliament of this wife and happy
ära, were as progreſſive in improving the
ftuation of the poor, and in laws replete with
tenderneſs and humanity, affecting the lower
claſſes of the ſtate, as were the parliaments
under the two preceding reigns, retrogreſſive,
and deficient, in thoſe reſpects; in the thirty-
fifth year of Elizabeth, we find them turning
again their attention to huſbandry, and repeal-
ing ſeveral former ſtatutes affecting it; re-
pealing alſo that part of the ſtatute law re-
ſpecting vagabonds, which retained any un-
neceſſary, and therefore improper, ſeverity;
regulating the management of thoſe poor and
impotent perſons who are compelled to live by
alms; and enlarging the term, during which
it ſhould be lawful to give land towards the
maintenance of houſes of correction, or of
the poor : and after having tried for four years
the effect of all the laws then in force, rela-
tive to this important department of the po-
lice,
80 L'ET TER-VII
I
lice, and having called, as it were; practical
experience in aid of theoretic legiſlation ;. We
find, towards the end of the fixteenth century,
and in the beginning of the thirty-ninth year
of this reign, theſe various matters, and im-
portant regulations, taking ſomewhat the
ap-
pearance of a cođe, or ſyſtem of laws, as
they were contained in the firſt ſix and the ſer
venteenth chapters of this ſeſſion.
A recapitulation of the heads of theſe ſeve-
ral ſtatutes would be tedious, and is unneceſa
ſary to the purpoſe of this tract; which is in-
tended to enquire into the relative - ſituation
of the poor in time paſt, and at preſent: but
one circumſtance, on the revifal of the hif-
tory of theſe ſtatuteś, ſtrikes the mind ſtrong-
ly; that the 43d of Elizabeth, which is con-
fidered by many as the fountain and origin of
the poor's rate, is in fact not ſo, but is the
reſult of the collected wiſdom, obſervation,
and experience of the fame, or nearly the ſame
individual ſtateſmen; and thoſe, men of ac-
knowledged wiſdom and prudence, attending
to the ſame object, the general good of ſociety,
in this moſt important article of police, dur,
ing the term of almoſt half a century.
Although
İ ETTER VII:
81
Although ſome ſenſible and enlightened
minds have appeared to doubt, whether this
ſtatute has, in its preſent 'conſequences,
brought upon that portion of ſociety, which
by the law of the land is ſubject to its influ-
ence, more good than evil ; reaioning from
the
great burthen it impoſes on the landed in-
tereſt in particular ; the knowledge alſo that
in other countries no ſuch law ſubſiſts; that
until a certain ära it was not the law here;
till when no collections but ſuch as are volun-
tary were gathered for the poor ; knowing
withal, that miſery and diſtreſs, ariſing from
poverty, is the lot of too many; although
ſuch an immenſe revenue is raiſed for their re-
lief. Yet ſo great was the neceſſity of raiſing
a certain revenue for them; and ſo gradually.
and ſtrongly did ſuch neceſſity enforce itſelf
through the period which has juſt becn ſubject
to our attention, by a kind of divine right,
on the conſcience of the legiſlature; who diſ-
puted, and yielded, ſtep by ſtep, to its power-
ful energy, during a long reign; which all
our hiſtorians teach us to remember with re-
yerence, for the wiſdom and prudence ſo viſi-
Vol.I.
G
bly
82
L E T T E R VII.
bly prevalent throughout that
age.
This af-
ſertion may now be ventured, that a tax upon
ſociety, for the relief of the poor, was, in
the age of Elizabeth, expedient and neceſſary;
and that the regulations of the 43d ſtatute of
her reign were then the beſt modification of
ſuch a tax, and well calculated to enforce ha-
bits of induſtry, and all thoſe exertions to
maintain themſelves before they became a
burthen upon their fellow-ſubjects, which fell
within the ſcope of their power and ability;
whether they are ſo now, and whether the
preſent enormous burthen of the poor's rates,
ariſes from this ſtatute being put in force, or
from other cauſes ſhall be the object of a ſub-
fequent inveſtigation.
LE T-
}
(
83 )
L E T T E R VIII.
TO
O form an accurate judgment on any
ſubject, it is neceſſary that the mind
ſhould have been as fully attentive to the de-
ſign of each part and proportion in detail, as
to the ſpirit and effect of the whole; the fly
on the dome of St. Paul's might, with equal
reaſon, be ſuppoſed able to form a ſenſible
and critical opinion of that magnificent fabric,
as the mind of that man be conceived equal
to form an adequate conception of the intent
of the legiſlature in the ſtatute alluded to, who
has only read detached parts of it, or haſtily,
from the practice of modern days, formed a
conception of the ſpirit and intentions which
impreſſed the parliament when it became the
law of the land, in the beginning of the laſt
century.
It is neceſſary, therefore, in ſome part of
this enquiry, to declare what was the intent
of the legiſlature when they paſſed this act
and
j
G2
84
L E T T E R VIII.
and to point out the means made uſe of by
them to enforce the execution of that intent;
or, in other words, to explain the ſpirit of
this humane and wiſe code.
In the execution of this taſk, reference ſhall
be made to the ſtatute itſelf, as divided by its
ſections, that the reader may examine, if he
thinks
proper,
how far the following abridg-
ment is warranted by the words of the act it-
ſelf; which ought indeed to have been printed
in an enquiry of this nature, as moſt pro-
bably it cannot be purchaſed fingly, or un-
connected with other ſtatutes; and Burn's
Juſtice, which is in every body's hands, con-
tains only detached parts of it, and it certainly
is a ſtatute which is intimately connected with
the intereſts of all owners and occupiers of
land; was it not imagined that a long act of
Parliament, paſſed at the cloſe of the reign of
Elizabeth, would not produce much entertain-
ment to the readers of a publication, intend-
ed by the curſory and birds eye view of the
ſubject, which is here taken ; to allure and
incite thoſe to an attention and inveſtigation of
this intereſting topic, who might fly with diſ-
guſt from a more prolix and formal detail.
It
L E T T E R VIII.
85
with
1
It is remarkable that the ſtatute opens
out any preamble whatever; moſt acts of our
parliament, in the preamble, give a ſummary
· view of the evils intended by the legiſlature to
be corrected, or the good which is expected
to enſue, from the regulations to be enforced;
but here is no preamble, unleſs the title can
be called one, which is in ſo many words,
“ An act for the relief of the poor :” the
enacting part inſtantly commences. Induſtry,
and principally early induſtry, is the firſt ob-
ject under their contemplation; the ſetting to
work children, whoſe parents ſhall not be
thought able to maintain them, and alſo the
putting poor children out apprentice; ſetting
the idle, whether from choice or neceſſity, to
work; for which purpoſe a ſum was to be
raiſed by aſſeſſment, to purchaſe a ſtock of
flax, hemp, wool, thread, iron, and other ne-
ceffary ware and ſtuff:—the next conſidera-
tion was to raiſe a competent ſum of money,
by the ſame means, for the neceſſary relief of
the lame, old, impotent, blind, and ſuch others
as are poor,' and not able to work. Sect. 1.
This intent was to be carried into execu-
tion by the churchwardens and overſeers
which
;
G 3
86
L E T T E R VIIT,
which laſt were yearly to be appointed by the
peighbouring magiſtrates, whoſe particular
duty in this act is declared to be, to give order,
direct, and inſpect the proceedings of the
churchwardens and oyerſeers; and that this
plan may, in all its parts, be carried by the
overſeers under the direction of the juſtices
into execution, they are ordered to meet on
this buſineſs at leaſt once in the month, on
a ſunday, after diyine ſervice in the church;
and within four days after the year is expired,
yield up to two juſtices an account of all
things concerning their office ; proviſion is
alſo made in thoſe inſtances where pariſhes
may not be able among themſelves to levy the
neceſſary ſums of money, by calling in aid other
pariſhes. Sect. I, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7:
That the expence for the relief of thoſe
who are poor, and not able to work, may be
felt as little as poſſible by the community at
large, parental and filial affection is compelled
to do its duty, before the public is burthened;
and for that purpoſe grandfathers, fathers, and
children are reciprocally called forth to fup,
port each other if able. Sect. 7,
And,
L E T T ER VIII.
87.
And, that neceſſary habitations may
be
pro-
vided for the poor and impotent, it is made
lawful for the overſeers, with leave of the lord
of the manor, and under the controul of the
magiſtrates, to build convenient places of ha-
bitation on the waſte, and to place inmates,
or more families than one, in the ſame cottage
or houſe ; notwithſtanding an act paſſed in the
30th year of the Tame reign, which has already
been alluded to. Sect 6.
Another object was, to raiſe a ſum of money
from every pariſh by a weekly rate, not ex-
ceeding fix-pence, or under two-pence, for the
relief of the poor priſoners in the King's-Bench
and Maríhalſea ; and alſo ſuch hoſpitals and
alms-houſes as ſhall be in each county; ſo as
that there be ſent out of every county yearly
not leſs than twenty ſhillings to each of the
ſaid priſons; and the ſurplus money ſhall, at
the diſcretion of the juſtices of the peace, in
their quarter ſeſſions, be diſtributed for the
relief of the poor hoſpitals of the county; and
of thoſe who ſhall ſuſtain loſſes by fire, water,
the ſea, or other caſualties; and to ſuch other
purpoſes for the relief of the poor, as to the
molt
G_4
88 L ETTER VIII.
moſt part of the ſaid juſtices thall ſeem cont
venient. Sect. 12, 13, 14, 15, 16.
The iſland of Foulneſs, in the county of
Eſſex, being extra-parochial; it was thought
neceſſary to include it by name; and the ge-
neral regulations of the act, are alſo extended
to that iſland. Sect. 18.
The ſanction by which the legiſlature has
enforced their regulations, principally reſts in
pecuniary penalties; to which all deſcriptions
of perſons called on, to the performance of
any part of the act, are liable; theſe forfei-
tures riſe from 2os. to 51. which is the pe.
nalty to which the magiſtrates are ſubject, if
they neglect to appoint overſeers; and are di-
rected to be applied in aid of the fund, which
is ordered to be raiſed for the employment and
relief of the poor. Sect. 2, 10, 11, 14, 16.
The ſummary mode of diſtreſs, by warrant,
from two magiſtrates, enforces the payment
of the aſſeſſments, and alſo of the penalties,
except in the inſtances of the penalties in-
curred by the magiſtrates, and the treaſurer of
the county ſtock, raiſed by virtue of ſection 12;
which are directed to be levied by warrant,
from the general or quarter ſeſſions. Sect. 43
10, 13:
Impria
L E T T E Ř VIII.
89
Impriſonment, in default of ſufficient dif-
treſs, is called in aid of the revenue this to be
raiſed, for the benefit of the poor ; and alſo as
a puniſhment to thoſe who ſhall not employ
themſelves, work being firſt found for them ;
and as a puniſhment to ſuch overſeers, as may
refuſe to give account; until their contumacy
is overcome, and they have paid the arrears
due. Sect. 4, 13.
An appeal is given to the quarter ſeſſions,
to any perſon who ſhall find himſelf aggrieved
by any ceſs or tax, or by any other act, done
by the churchwardens, overſeers, juſtices of
the peace, or any other perſon. Sect. 6. "
To enforce obedience in corporate towns
and cities, the head officers within their juriſ-
dictions, ſhall have the ſame authority as
juſtices of the peace, within their reſpetive
counties; and where pariſhes extend into two
counties, or liberties, the head officers ſhall
have authority only within their reſpective
counties and liberties; and not further. Sect.
A
8, 9.
It is declared at what time this act fcall
commence, and
39
Eliz,
in force. Sect. 17
Then
cap. 3. ceaſe to be
:
1
L ET TER VIII.
Then follow directions for the defendant's
plea, in any fuit commenced againſt him on
this ſtatute, the replication of the plaintiff,
the iſſue to be joined ; and on verdict for de-
fendant; or nonſuit of plaintiff, treble damages
and coſts are given; the whole calculated to
come eaſily at the real fact, and to protect
thoſe who are employed under the act, from
being moleſted by vexatious ſuits ; and the
act itſelf is intended to be experimental only,
and declared to endure no longer than to the
end of the next feffion of parliament. Sect.
1
19, 20.
Theſe few preceding paragraphs contain a
fummary of the contents of this ſtatute; the
baſis of all future regulations, with reſpect to
the
poor, their employment, and relief; and,
to uſe the words of that excellent writer on
the laws and conſtitution of this kingdom, the
tate judge Biackſtone,“ the farther any
ſub-
ſequent plans for maintaining the
departed from this inſtitution, the more im-
practicable and even pernicious their viſionary
attempts have proved;" nor could any thing
ſhort of prophecy have foretold, in the begin-
ning of the ſeventeenth century, that, in con-
ſequence
poor hrave
?
LETTER VIII.
91
fequence of theſe wife and humane regulations,
above 2,000,000l. would, towards the cloſe of
the eighteenth century, be raiſed in England
and Wales, for the relief of the poor, excluſįve
of numerous hoſpitals, largely endowed; cha,
rity-ſchools; annual value of landed eſtates,
given to charitable purpoſes ; ſums of money
at intereſt in the funds; charities, ſupported
by voluntary contribution ; private charities;
the income of the whole probably not ſhort of
4,000,000l. a year; and after all, ſo much
miſery and diſtreſs, ariſing from extreme po-
verty, would then remain among us.
It ſurely muſt be obvious to the meaneſt
capacity, after the moft trifling attention to
the great purpoſe of the legiſlature, in this act
of parliament; that the burthen of the poor's
rates, which is with ſo much reaſon com-
plained of, and the preſent diſtreſſed ſituation
of ſo many of the poor, cannot ariſe from this
ſtatute being fully, and in every part of it,
carried into ſtrict execution ; but from a prac-
tice totally the reverſe; nor can it be aſſerted,
with truth or reaſon, that any one regulation
contained in it, is impracticable in theſe times;
.
any one is impolitic or dangerous to be
executed,
or that
98
i ETTER VIII.
executed, either to the individual, executing
it, the poor who
are the objects of it, or the
nation at large who are intereſted in the con-
ſequences ariſing from it; thoſe fections which
relate to the raiſing a ſum of money by afſeff-
ment on the occupiers, are moſt certainly exe-
cuted with all ſtrictneſs; but the firſt
great
purpoſe of the money fo raiſed, the purchaſing
ſtock to ſet to work thoſe children whoſe
pa-
rents are not able to maintain them; and alſo
the idle, whether from choice or neceflity, is
too much neglected ; although there is no
doubt but the habit of early induſtry once ob-
tained, by an application of fome part of the
money thus raiſed; and by theſe means, the
poor being inured to an induſtrious way of life,
would of itſelf amply compenſate the pariſhes
for the purchaſe of a ſtock of materials ; al-
though the manufactures thus fabricated might
not meet with a ready ſale, at a price which
will allow of a computation for much profit.
It is a well-known fact, that conſiderable
ſums are expended in every pariſh, in the pur--
chaſe of articles for the cloathing of the poor,
which are bought of the retail ſhop-keeper in
the country, at a fair average of thirty per cent,
more
L E T T E R VIII.
more than the prime coſt of the materials and
fabric to the manufacturer ; in this article,
therefore, a very great ſaving may be made,
by employing the hands of children now in
idleneſs, or miſchief, in ſuch a manufactory;
as might comfortably and neatly, although
coarſely, cloath their relations and themſelves
at a much cheaper rate, with cloathing which
would wear much longer than what is now
bought at the ſhops ; in the mean time, the
habit of induſtry would be obtained, and the
firſt great object of this ſtatute put in force,
which now is almoſt generally neglected; and
the cloathing of the poor would form no in-
conſiderable ſource of conſumption for thoſe
manufactures which might be produced by
the early induſtry of their children.
1
1
LETTER
[
94 )
>
L E T T E R IX.
Tº prove, in fome degree, that the idea
thrown out in the preceding letter is not
founded in theory, or vain fpeculation only,
one experimental inſtance ſhall be given, too
trifling it is acknowledged for the notice of
the public, but much in point.
Having ſeen in the ſummer of 1787 the
good effects ariſing from the ſchools of induſ-
tiy, throughout the ſouthern diſtrict of Lind-
ſey, in the county of Lincoln, it determined
me to try, on a very ſmall ſcale, the experi-
ment in my own pariſh; and accordingly, in
the winter of the ſame year, a perſon was per-
ſuaded to undertake the teaching fix boys, of
about the age of ſeven years, to ſpin what is
called top-work, although it was deſired the
yarn might not be twiſted ſo cloſe as in that
fabric, it being intended for knitting; a wo-
man was alſo found to teach the ſame number
of girls, of the ſame age, to knit ſtockings;
forty-two
L E T T E R IX.
95
forty-two pounds of wool were bought at Bury
for the experiment; the account when manu-
factured ſtood as follows:
£. se do
Combed wool, 421b. at ind. per lb. I 18 6
Spinning ditto, by boys, at 4žd. per
lb. fome deductions made for waſte
included,
O 14 3
Twiſting and reeling 33 lb. 1407. of
yarn, at 2 d. and 3d. per lb.
8
Knitting rolb. I 2oz, at 1s. 4d.
O 14 4
Ditto 23lb. 2oz. at is. 6d. I 14 7
Total expended,
1.
5 9 8
1
34 pair of children's ſtockings, 'and
43 pair of men's, weighing 33 lb.
1402. ſold to the workhouſe,
5 13
Ends of wool, 7lb. made into mops,
at 4d. per lb.
4
1 lb. 2oz, waſted and loft.
Total produce,
5 16 0
2
Profit
o
6 3
By
96
LET T'E-R: IX:
1
By which it appears, that a profit of above fixe
thulli:gs reſulted from the experiment, in
which only 51. gs. 81. was employed.
do
£. so
Six boys were taught to ſpin, nine
weeks, and earned
O 14
Six girls learned to knit, 27 weeks,
and earned
3
2
8 11
}
1
Suppoſing a capital of sl. employed fix
months, in this infant manufactory, on which
the clear profit was 6s. 3 d. (and five pounds
is above the ſum actually employed that length
of time), a profit of 201. 19s. 5d. will ariſe on
1ool. thus employed for one year, and one
hundred and twenty boys and an equal num-
ber of girls will be induſtriouſly employed, in
learning an occupation; ſome money will be
earned for their parents, by honeſt induſtry;
and cloathing, at a much cheaper rate than
what is bought at the ſhops, will be manú-
factured for the poor ; for it is preſumed that
under proper management no inconſiderable
quantity of the yarn produced may be wove
into
܀ :"
LETTER ix.
97
into à fabric which would make excellent,
{trong, and warm cloathing.
This experiment would have been conti-
nued; but the man who taught the boys, and
the woman who taught the girls, did not think
ſo ſmall a number worth their attention; con-
ſequently, their ſcholars were neither regular
in their attendance, or induſtrious while they
did attend.
The ſalary paid to the maſter and miſtreſs,
is not brought into the account; becauſe it is
conceived, that the price given on ſo ſmall a
ſcale, is not a rule on a large one ; and there
is reaſon to believe, that the profits of ſuch a
manufactory will more than pay the ſalary to
the inſtructors.
This idea of employing the children of the
poor would extend itſelf, under good manage-
ment, to other manufactures, belides thoſe of
wool; why not to coarſe linens; and to ſhoes,
for which the poor pay an extravagant price?
If this be the caſe; if ſo much good might
probably ariſe from putting in execution the
leading idea in this ſtatute ; of employing the
children of the poor ; which is an inconfider-
able part only, of what was wiſely enacted by
Vol. I.
H
QUT
98
L ET TER IX.
1
our forefathers, and fooliſhly neglected by our-
ſelves, it ſurely, to thoſe who complain of the
burthen of the poor's rates; and at the ſame
time neglect to execute the laws for promoting
induſtry among the poor, may be objected in
the words of Seneca, “ Sanabilibus ægrotamus
malis; ipſaque nos in rectum genitos natura,
fi cmendari velimus, juvat:" but alas ! what
is the buſineſs of all, is the employment of
none; we ſuffer an immenſe revenue to be
raiſed on us, for two good purpoſes for in-
duſtry, and charity; and permit the perverſion
of half of it; for was one half of this revenue
honeſtly and fairly applied to the purpoſes of
the act, the poor would be more creditably,
and comfortably maintained; and the other
half might remain in the pockets of that claſs
of the community, from whom the whole, is
with ſuch ſtrictneſs exacted.
If it ſhould be objected that no ſufficient
demand would be found for ſuch a manufac-
tory by children, the anſwer is obvious ; there
is a point to which the experiment might be
puſhed, and it will be time enough to ſtop
when we can go no farthermit is not a ſuffi-
cient excuſe for our doing nothing, that we
cannot
LETTER ix.
gg
cannot do every thing; an account printed by
the fociety for the promotion of youthful in-
duſtry in the county of Lincoln, has, among
many other'excellent obſervations, pointed out
the means of promoting a conſumption of this
produce of their manufactory, which may be
ſeen in the margin * ; and ſome good confe-
quences would certainly reſult to the poor
themſelves, as well as to thoſe who are ſo
heavily taxed for their maintenance; for, if
the infant poor could, by their induſtry, cloath
their parents and themſelves, by this leading
principle of the ſtatute being put in force;
the overſeers would have ſmaller bills with
the ſhop-keepers, whoſe livelihood principally
* With all thoſe who have the good of their country at heart,
it ſhould be an object of conſtant attention to promote the con-
ſumption, no leſs than the ſale of wool. A pariſh-officer who
was mindful of this would never purchaſe a cotton or linen gown
for the poor inſtead of a woolſey one, which is much ſtronger,
cheaper, and more comfortable; nor would he give them coarſe
cloath aprons, when blue woollen aprons would anſwer every
purpoſe much better, and ſave waſhing : nor, laſtly, would he
ſuffer the money of the pariſh to be laid out in thread ftockings
inſtead of worſted ones ; all which things have been but too
frequently practiſed,
H 2
ariſes
IOO
R .
L E T T E R IX.
raiſes from ſupplying the poor at exorbitant
prices with their daily wants; the riſing gene-
ration would be educated in more regular ha-
bits of induſtry; and the poor themſelves,
would be better cloathed, and at a cheaper
rate.
That the good reſulting from the execution
of that ſection of the 43d of Elizabeth which
refpects the employment of the infant poor,
may appear in a ſtronger light, it may be worth
while to call to mind what is in fact at this
day the employment of the riſing generation of
the poor in that part of England where ma-
nufactures do not thrive, and where the ope-
rations of huſbandry are the principal ſources
of induſtry and labour ; there, in ſuch diſtricts
which comprehend above a moiety of the
kingdom, the children of the parish are en-
couraged by their parents to employ them-
ſelves in every act of peculation which is in
their power, and which from the inſignificance
of the property ſtolen individually, is an object
ſcarce worthy the attention of the magiſtrate ;
and to which, if he, on complaint made did
attend, he could not correct; becauſe the lit-
tlc
.
1
L E T T E R IX. 161
3
tle culprits are not objects of legal puniſh-
ment; children of five, fix or ſeven years of
age being ſent out in parties to pilfer.
But if the individual inſtance is too trifling
for our notice; the aggregate forms no incon-
ſiderable 'miſchief done to the public, and phy
pro-
perty purloined from fociety, by theſe little
thieves; a child ſteals a turnip or two daily
for its parent's dinner, it is nothing ---but the
practice continued through a winter by hừn-
dreds of them will conſume fome acres; it
carries, with the aſſiſtance of its playmates,
the flakes from the hedges, and looſe bårs or
rails, from the fences; the value of the pro-
perty is ſmall, though to repair the miſchief
done it is expenſive; and when theſe depreda-
tions are carried on in the vicinity of a town
or pariſh where the population of this claſs of
people are hundreds or thouſands, the total of
miſchief is confiderable; and, though the crime
is an object of civil puniſhment, the child is
not; and the encouragement of connivånce of
their parents cannot fall under the magiſtrates
authority; for the property ſtolen iš inſtantly
conſumed before any ſearch-warrant can ope-
fate.
In
3
يک
ܝ ܂
H 3
10.2
L ET TER X.
In the mean time the material injury is done
to the morals; the riſing generation are in early
youth accuſtomed to habits which turn them
from the path of honeſt induſtry, to the high
road which leads through every ſpecies of dex
predation on ſociety, to the gallows,
3
L E T T E R X.
THE neceſſary relief of Soldiers and mari-
ners, which is enforced in a chapter im-
mediately following the act, that has been the
ſubject of our attention; and a liw to redreſs
the miſemployment of lands, goods, and ſtocks
of money, heretofore given to certain charita-
ble uſes, which follows chap. 4th; complete
the plan of that parliament which fat till near
the cloſe of the reign of Elizabeth; the latter
ſtatute being at preſent as neceſſary to be called
into practice; and, if executed, as well calcu-'
ļated for bringing to light any perverſion of
that vaſt property which has been left by our
forefathers for charitable purpoſes, as any plan
that the ingenuity of the legiſlature could in
theſe
L ETTER: X.
103
1
.
i
+
theſe days invent; and it ſtill remains the law
of the land; and the authority of the chancellor
might at any time call it into uſe, by an ap-
pointment of commiſſioners according to the
act, within the different dioceſes,
Theſe, with many more ſtatutes for the req
gulation of the internal police of the kingdom,
were the production of the laſt parliament
which fat in the reign of Elizabeth; an æra,
with no extravagance of metaphor, called
golden, if applied either to the glory of her
reign with reſpect to the ſucceſs of her ſub-
jects arms; the importance of it, with re-
ſpect to foreign powers; or its utility and
happineſs as it regarded thoſe who lived under
her dominion : whatever may have been her
private character as a woman; whatever in-
trigues, which may have ariſen from love,
jealouſy, or the other baſer paſſions that diſ-
graced her court; a lapſe of near two hun-
dred years has with propriety removed, as with
a veil from our eyes; and they now only re-
main in the pages of the novelliſt, or the re-
tailer of frivolous anecdote; but her laſt words
to her laſt parliament, while coupled with
fych laws as do honour to human nature, and
H4
are
!
L E T T E R X.
1
1
are a' fevere ſatire on the load.of revenue-acts;
with which our modern ſtatute-books abound,
ought to remain with grateful recollection fixed
on the minds of all poſterity. 4:6. I know that
!!. the commonwealth is to be governed for the
“. good and advantage of thoſe who are com-
mitted to me; not of myſelf to whom it is
Sentruſted, and that an account is one day to
be given before another judgment-ſeat.”
During the reign of Jaines the Firſt, very
little was done by the legiſlature in the regu,
lation of the internal police; the jcalouſy-which
aroſe. both in the mind of the King and the
Commons, occafioned that Prince to avoid, as
much as his neceſſities would permit him,
meeting his parliament; while the Houſe of
Commons, who early in the reign felt the ef
fects of thoſe high notions of prerogative which
diſturbed the repoſe, equally of the prince as
of his ſubjects, were too intent on the preſer-,
yation of their own privileges to attend to the
general welfare of the people; yet one of their
firſt acts of legiſlation related to rating the
wages of artiſts and labourers; and, by ſtat. 1.
сар.
6. paſliament enlarged the powers of juſs
țices of the peace with reſpect to the rating the
wages
:
L E T T E R X.
165
+
wages of workmen, as directed by 5th of Eliz:
cap. 4. extending the famé to all manner of
workmen whatever, “either working by the
day, week, month, or year, or taking any work
at any perſon's hand whatſoever to be done by
the great or otherwiſe," rendering alſo the re-
turn of the certificate of ſuch rates of wages
into Chancery unneceflary; by directing them
to be proclaimed, engroſſed in pārchment; and
kept by the Cuſtos Rotulorum of the county,
among the records,
This attention to, and enlargement of the
powers of the 5th of Elizabeth, is' a proof
that good aroſe to the public from the rating
of wages ; becauſe if the experience of forty
years had proved it to be replete with more
miſchief than uſe, it cannot be ſuppoſed that
the legiſlature would have extended the prac
tice, and made the power general, which had
been hitherto confined to particular claſſes of
workmen; nor would the execution of the act
have been rendered more eaſy to the magi-
ſtrates; yet there is reaſon to believe that the
juſtices feldom enforced the execution of theſe
acts; becauſe on a ſearch made in the office of
the clerk of the peace for the county of Effex,
only
1
* 196
LETTER X,
!
only one inſtance could be found; and that at
Eafter ſeſſions 1661: and Sir John Cullum, in
chis Hiſtory of Hawſtead, in the county of Suf-
folk ;; whoſe intention, in that excellent model
of parochial hiſtory, was, among other objects,
to give the reader information on the ſubject
of
wages of the poor, in times now far re-
moved, and the cotemporary prices of the ne-
ceflaries of life; mentions alſo but one inſtance,
viz, in Eaſter ſeſſions, 1682.
Other ſtatutes, affecting the lower claſſes of
our fellow-ſubjects, although not immediately
relative to the topic in queſtion, were alſo
paſſed in the beginning of this reign : the
39th of Elizabeth, with reſpect to the puniſh-
ment of rogues and vagabonds, was explained
and continued, by chap. 7th; haunting and
tippling in ale-houſes was alſo reſtrained, by
chap, the 9th of the ſame ſeſſions; an act,
the preamble to which is curious, and ſtates,
very properly, the only proper uſe of ſuch
places ;
Whereas the antient, true, and
principal uſe of inns, ale-houſes, and victual-
ling-houſes, was for the receipt, relief, and
lodging of wayfaring people, travelling from
place to place, and for ſuch ſupply of the
wants
1
L ET TER X.
107
1
wants of ſuch people, as are not able, by
greater quantities, to make their proviſion of
victuals; and not meant for entertainment,
and harbouring of lewd and idle people, to
ſpend and conſume their money, and their
time, in lewd and drunken manner. Be it
enacted, &c.
As this act puniſhes the keeper of the ale-
houſes permitting unlawful drinking, fo does
chapter the fifth, of the ſtatute paſſed in. 1606,
puniſh the tippler, or drunkard, himſelf; both
which ſtatutes, although at preſent the law of
the land, and well calculated to prevent drun-
kenneſs, the root of much evil ; yet are no
more attended to by the magiſtrate of theſe
days, than as vain and nugatory ſounds, of the
regulation of other times, which are long
paſſed away, and the memory of which re-
mains not, except in the page
of hiſtory.
In the ſeventh ſtatute of this reign, chapter
the third, directions are enacted, how the mo-
ney given for the binding poor children an
prentices, ſhall be employed; by the pream-
ble to which, it appears, that great ſums of
money had then been given, and more was
likely to be given, for the purpoſe of binding
poor
2
108
L E T T E R X.
poor children apprentices, unto needful trades
and occupations ; a purpoſe to which the cha-
rity of modern times, although in many in-
ſtances profuſe, and in ſome redundant, has
not in the leaſt attended; and, therefore, this
ſtatute, except as far as it may reſpect ſums of
money then given, and ſtill in ſtock, or lands,
bought therewith, is now not in uſe.
The fourth chapter of this ſeſſion has ſome-
what of a reference to the 43d of Elizabeth;
as that directed a ſtock to be raiſed, to ſet the
idle, whether from choice or neceſſity, to work,
fo this ſtatute directs houſes to be builded, to
receive thoſe who are idle, by choice, in which
they may be compelled to work; and gives
birth to houſes of correction, and the regula-
tións reſpecting them; for, although by the
39th ſtatute of the late reign, juſtices of the
peace were empowered to erect houſes of cor-
rection ; yet, it appears, by Lord Coke's read-
ing on this ſtatutę, that thoſe powers were not
arried into execution ; and a penalty of 51. is
now laid on every juſtice, within every county
of 'the realm, where ſuch houſe ſhall not be
crected or provided
Onc
1
109
LETTER X.
1
1
One moſt ſevere clauſe is inſerted in this
act of parliament, affecting the mothers of
baſtard children; a ſeverity totally incompati-
ble with any idea of a juſt proportion of pu-
niſhments to crimes, and diametrically oppoſite
to every principle of moral rectitude ;
that
clauſe is alluded to, which impowers magi-
trates to commit to the houſe of correction, to
be puniſhed and ſet to work, for the term of
a whole year, any woman who ſhall have a
baſtard, which may be chargeable to the
pa-
riſh; and this without any authority of miti-
gation, for the firſt offence; and for the ſe-
cond offence of this kind, “ eftfoons if ſhe
ſhall offend again,” ſhe is to be committed,
until ſhe ſhall find ſecurities not to offend again ;
fo that for the firſt inſtance of immorality, ſhe
is to ſuffer a ſeverity of puniſhment, infinitely
diſproportionate to the offence: for the ſecond,
or any future inſtance of ſimilar miſconduct,
her puniſhment, if ſhe is a proſtitute to a man
of property, may be nothing: a ſevere and
fooliſh law; one much more honoured in its
neglect, than in the obſervance.
After the diffolution of this parliament, in
1609, none other was called for fourteen years;
and,
1
tio L E T T E R XI.
and, in the mean time, James had full oppor-
tunity of giving his ſubjects a ſufficient ſpeci-
men of king-craft, as he was uſed to call it,
or art of government; but in the twenty-third
year of his reign, he found himſelf obliged to
aſſemble the parliament, which continued fit-
ting until his death; that happened in 1625.-
In this parliament, nothing was done, with
reſpect to the intereſts of the lower claſſes of
the people, except another act to repreſs drun-
kenneſs.
L E T T E R XI.
THE reign of Charles the Firſt continues
the acts already in force, with reſpect to
the poor, but produces nothing new on this
ſubject, except a farther reſtraint on tippling
in inns and ale-houſes; the former acts had
reſtrained, by penalty, his majeſty's ſubjects
only; this, which paſſed in the firſt
year
of
his reign, extended to foreigners alſo. It is
curious
LE T'TER, XI.
ز
curieus to obſerve, that as ſoon as ale-houſes
had obtained a legal fanction, under the licenſe,
of the neighbouring magiſtrates ; the bad con-
ſequences reſulting from them, in promoting
idleneſs, debauchery, drunkenneſs, and all
manner of miſchief, was ſeverely felt by the
nation, and frequent attempts were made by
the legiſlature, to reſtrain thoſe abuſes, but, it
is feared, with little effect; becauſe it may be
perceived, that additional reſtraints on perſonis:
who haunted, thoſe peſts :of all good order,
were impoſed, year after year, by the parlia-"
ment, and facility of conviction was conſulted,
almoſt at the expence of religious obligations;
theſe ſtatutes remain in full force at this day*;
and it is in the knowledge of us all, how much
ſociety hourly ſuffers in its morals and induſtry,
from theſe too frequent, and too much fre-
quented places of licenſe and ebriety; but the
$
1
By the 21ſt of James the Firft, chap, the 7th, which is
continued by an act in the third of Charles the Firſt, and again
by an act in the fixteenth of the ſame reign; the oath of a tip-
pler, having firſt confeſſed that he was tippling in an ale-houſe,
fhall be ſufficient proof againſt others, of the offence; which
incurs, to thoſe tippling, a penalty of five ſhillings; and to the
ale-houſe keeper permitting it, a diſability to keep an ale-houſe
for three years enſuing the offence.
financier
112 L È T T E R XI.
financier will tell us, that by theſe, and ſimilar
enormities, the revenue is encreaſed, and the
treaſury makes up a good account: to which,
the proper reply of a good ſubject, and a good
citizen may be.
Non tali auxilio nec defenſoribus iftis,
Tempus eget.
The ſcene of confuſion, and civil diſcord,
which followed the parliament that was held
in the 16th of Charles the Firſt, and the in-
teftine wars, which deſolated this kingdom,
during a period of near twenty years, until the
reſtoration of the ſecond Charles, forbid any
expectation of ſeparating, during their conti-
nuation, the concerns of the poor from the
miſeries of the ſoldier : inter arma filent leges,
ſays Lord Coke; and the maxim has ever
been found true by experience, which has alſo
proved to us; that in all civil commotions,
where the folly of the million has been made
fubfervient to the purpoſes of the few, the
rights of the citizen fall before the ſelf-inte-
intereſted purpoſes of individuals.
Until the Reſtoration, which was above half
a century from the 43d year of the reign of
Elizabeth,
L E T T E R Xİ:
121.
Elizabeth, the parliament had made no alteq:
ration in the laws with reſpect to the maintea
nance and employment of the poor ; and that
ſtatute remained the law in that reſpect; nor
has there been preſerved to us any pamphlet
or fugitive tract, which during that period has
reflected on this ſtatute, as being deficient ei-
ther in policy or prudential regulation ; on the
contrary, it has been continued from time to
time without any comment whatever, and
particularly by ftat. 3. Charles I. chap. 4. and
5.; a filent but a ſtrong preſumption, that it
had been hitherto found equal to the great
purpoſe expected from it; the extention of
charity, by the means of induſtry. .
Soon after the reſtoration of Charles the
Second, that is to ſay, in the 13th and 14th
year of his reign, which takes its date in the
ſtåtute-book from the death of his father ;.it
was perceived that partial inconvenience. had
riſen in a manner, from the general-good effects
of this act of Elizabeth, as an extract from
the preamble to chap. 12th of the ſtatute of
that date will plainly demonſtrate; which ſtates,
that, “ whereas poor people are not reſtrained
from going from one pariſh ito another, and
VOL.I.
I
there
+
L E T T E R XI.
122
:
fore do endeavour to ſettle themſelves where
there is the beſt ſtock and largeſt commons
and waſtes to build cottages.” It appears by
this preamble, that a good ſtock of materials
to work up, and a chance of obtaining habi-
tations, occafioned the pocr to migrate from
thoſe pariſhes where the overſeers were negli-
gen't in theſe matters, to other pariſhes where
they had a chance of a domicile, and employ-
ment; and ſurely every principle of freedom,
and every duty of reciprocal juſtice ſhould per-
mit the poor who live by their labour to re-
move ad libitum to thofe pariſhes where they
may find labour to live by; notwithſtanding
the partial inconvenience felt by particular pa-
riihes, when the general good will be ſo much
better promoted, both in principle and practice.
This is the firſtact which reſpects the ſettlements
of the poor, but does not attempt in any in-
ſtance an alteration of the 43d of Elizabeth,
and may rather be called, with no improprie-
ty, a uſeful addition to that venerable edifice;
comprehending in it the origin of ſettlements,
work-houſes, and the laws reſpecting rogues
and vagabonds, together with regulations as to
the maintenance of natural children.
The
Lo F T T E R XI.
I 23
ز
The dignity of hiſtory very feldom ſtoops to
record the diſtreffes or comforts of the bulk of
the people; the buſineſs of the hiſtorian, .is.
with wars and revolutions, treaties and the in-
fringement of them, the intrigues of party,
and the exceſſes of the higher orders of the
ſtate; but rarely does he condeſcend to re-
late,
The ſhort and ſimple annals of the poor.
It is, therefore, from other ſources our infor-
mation muſt be ſupplied; from the pamphlet,
or the newſpaper of the day; and, hitherto
but few of theſe have come to hand, of fo re-
mote a date as the middle of the laſt century;
from the only exiſting inſtance on record, that
could be found, of the juſtices rating of wages,
in the county of * Eflex, compared with the
cotemporary
* Eſſex, Eaſter Seſſions, 1661.
Common labourers, fellers, and makers up of wood, ditches
and hedges ; threſhers, and all other common labourers, by
the day (the time of harveſt excepted.)
with board.
without board,
s, de
S. d.
From the middle of March, to the
middle of September
1
z
I 2
Mowing
124
L E T T E R XÍ. .
cotemporary prices of wheat and malt, a rea-
ſonable concluſion may be drawn, that the
proportion between the ſcarcity of the neceſa-
ries of life, and labour, was by that means
more exactly preſerved than in theſe times ;
for although the price of wheat is very high,
yet
in the other articles of the conſumption of
a poor family, in candles, ſoap, beer, no ſuch
exciſe duties took place then, as' now do; nor
was tea and gin ſo much their beverage ; nor
had
with board.
without board,
se d.
so do
I
o 8
I
O
OTO
11
o 4
From the middle of September, to
the middle of March,
o 6
Man hay-maker,
Woman hay-maker,
5
Weeders of corn,
Mowers of corn and graſs,
A fallower,
Man reaper,
Woman reaper,
8
Labourers by Taſk.
o 9
6
O IO
I
I
o 6
I
3
I 0
1
I 10
0
I · 2
$. d.
I 10
1
2
Moving an acre of graſs,
Well-making, clean raking, and cocking, an acre of
graſs, ready to carry,
Reaping, or ſhearing, well-binding, cocking, or ſhock.
ing, an acre of wheat, rye, or meſlin,
4. a
Reaping, or ſhearing, an acre of barley, or bullymony,
binding and ſhocking the ſame,
6
The fame to oats,
6
Reaping
2
L E T T E R XI.
125
had paper credit fo much depreciated the va-
lue of money, by raiſing ideal riches, as at pre-
ſent; for in ſuch a proportion it is ſuppoſed
the value of gold and ſilver to be decreaſed,
and conſequently the money-price of the ne-
ceſſaries of life increaſed; that a poor family
which could, in the middle of the laſt centu-
ry, earn 201. a year, was in a better ſituation
than the faine family would be now, with
earnings amounting to gol. a year ; therefore,
the prices of labour were more adequate to
ſupply their wants *, altho' the price of wheat
3 6
I 2
I 2
!
I 2
Reaping and well-binding an acre of beans,
Mowing an acre of barley, or oats,
Making an acre of peaſe, yetches, or tares,
Making and ditching a rod of new ditch, 4 feet wide,
out of the whole ground, 3 feet deep, 1 { foot at bot-
tom, double ſet with quick, and ſetting a hedge upon
it, after the rate of 16 { feet a rod, with gatheriug ſets
for the ſame,
A rod of ditch, of like breadth and depth, without quick, o 6
Threſhing wheat and rye, the quarter,
barley and oats,
beans, peaſe, bullymony, tares,
d.
The prices of wheat, this year, as appears by Fleet-
wood's Chronicon, per quarter,
Malt, per quarter,
I i3 +
* Wants, this expreſſion is underſtood to comprehend not
neceſſațies alone, but the comforts and indulgences of life.
was
I IO
O IO
OTO
£. so de
3 10
1
?
13
1
1
126
L E T T E R XI.
was very high, than the prevailing prices in
this county at preſent; beſides, at this time, a
poor family might, without the fear of being
fent back by the pariſh officers, go where they
chooſe, for better wages, or more certain em-
ployment; whereas ſince the year 1662, the
law of ſettlements, introduced by 13th and
14th Charles II. chap. 12, has much abridged
their liberty in that reſpect; made them of
neceſſity ſtationary, and obliged them to reſt
fatisfied with thoſe wages they can obtain
where their legal ſettlement happens to be ;
a reſtraint on them which ought to inſure to
them wages in the pariſh where they muſt
remain, more adequate to their neceſſities,
becauſe it precludes them in a manner from
bringing their labour, the only marketable
duce they poſſeſs, to the beſt market; it is
this reſtraint which has, in all manufacturing
towns, been one cauſe of reducing the
ſuch a ſtate of miſerable poverty; for, among
the manufacturers, they have too frequently
found maſters who have taken, and continue
to take every advantage, which ſtrict law will
give; of conſequence, the prices of labour
have been, in manufacturing towns, in an in-
verſe
pro-
poor to
1
L E T T E R XI.
127
verſe ratio of the number of poor ſettled in the
place; and the ſame cauſe has increaſed that
number, by inviting foreigners, in times when
large orders required many workmen ; the
maſters themſelves being the overſeers, whoſe
duty as .pariſh officers has been oppoſed by
their intereſt in ſupplying the demand.
But on the other hand, the queſtion what
are the neceſſaries of life, ſhould be taken into
conîideration; and this is a point not eaſily.
ſettled; the rigid rule of juſtice ſo conſtantly
militating with the laudable but deſultory feel-
ings of humanity; when we aſſert that nothing
is a neceſſary to life but what ſupports the
ſtream of life, we confine the number of arti-
cles within a narrow limit; and poſſibly to
thofe articles alſo whoſe price is not much
riſen, or the uſe of which is trifling in a poor
family, as linen, ſoap, leather; but when with
a wider ſcope of humanity we take in the
comforts of life which were in contemplation
in the preceding paragraph, the expences
of the poor are very conſiderably encreaſed;
to ſettle our ideas on this ſubject, Adam Smith
may be thought no improper moderator ; at
leaſt his high character for ſtrong ſenſe, com-
I 4
bined
128.
L
L E T T E R XI.
1
bined with deep knowledge of the topic, point
him out as of the beſt authority.; he reckons
as neceſſaries to the poor in England, linen,
ſoap, leather ſhoes'; he claſſes beer, ale, to-
bacco, tea, ſugar, and ſpirituous liquors, among
the luxuries of life, but profeſſes he means
to throw no reproach on a temperate uſe of
them.
Although the reign of Charles II. extended
to the year 1680, and the parliament regularly
fat
every year except the 21ſt, 24th, 26th, and
28th of his reign, yet but little more' was
enacted reſpecting the poor ; in the 23d fel-
ſion, by chap. the 18th, fome further regula-
tions with reſpect to work-houſes, were thought
expedient, and paſſed into a law; and in the
19th, the 22d, and zoth ſeſſion, the ſituation
of poor priſoners was taken into conſideration,
and ſoine good regulations made to give them
means of employing themſelves while in con-
finement; to prevent the ſpreading of infec-
tious diſtempers, and to expedite the diſcharge
of priſoners, when liberated by courſe of law;
yet as they do not fall under the particular ob-
ject of this inquiry, there is no occafion to
make any obfervations on them; but let us
paſs
L E T T E R xir.
#29
"
paſs on to the enſuing reign, ſtopping only to
enquire whether any treatiſes have been printed
before the Revolution and preſerved to the
preſent time, which may throw light on this
important ſubject.
L E T T E R XII.
THE information which may be gleaned
on the ſubject of the poor of this king-
dom, from the earlieſt time, until the cloſe of
the laſt century, by tracts, pamphlets, or fu-
gitive publications, is not much more ſatisfac-
tory and particular, than what the pages of
the hiſtory of this country afford; it ſhould
feem, that excepting here and there a mind
thirſty after that information, which
may
be
ſerviceably applied to the benefit of our fel-
low-creatures; people, in general, of all de-
nominations, at all times, recede with diſguſt
from enquiries of this nature, and throw aſide
that book, whoſe periods remind them of the
miſeries attendant on the great maſs of hu-
man
2
130k
LETTER XII.
man lives, within this kingdom ; or vainly,
although with a good intent, attempt to point
out fome means to mitigate or avert thema ;
the reſult of every enquiry a country life could
afford, together with an unlimited. order to
one of the firſt bookſellors in town, to collect
every thing that has been written on the ſub-
ject, to the cloſe of the laſt century, has pro-
duced a very inſignificant lift; more tracts
muſt certainly have been publiſlied, but it is
fuppoſed not many worth notice, becauſe
fcarce any are quoted, or mentioned, in the
pages of thoſe which have been collected :
among the farrago of pamphlets publiſhed
during the laſt century, which the Britiſh
Muſeum poſſeſſes, many, it is poſſible, whoſe
titles would not otherwiſe have exiſted to this
time, have been preſerved; but neither time
or opportunity have offered, to ſearch that
immenſe arſenal of literature; in the mean
time, the ſubject itſelf preſſes on the mind;
and ſome apprehenſion leſt the illneſs of my
friend *, ſhould occaſion a temporary diſcon-
tinuance of that uſeful publication, on account
* At this time Mr. A. Young was dangerouſly ill.
{
of
A
LET T'ER XII.
131
މް
of which the enquiry was firſt begun, before
it is brought to a concluſion, which would, in
ſome reſpect, leave the Annals of Agriculture
imperfect; a work which reflectş laſting honour
on him, who, with ſuch ſucceſs, whas brought,
as it were, under a glance of the eye, a maſs of
agricultural information, that will long remain
a valuable treaſure to the kingdom ; theſe
reaſons have urged me to continue the plan
hinted at a few pages back; although at pre-
fent ſo indifferently provided with materials
on the ſubject.
It creates no ſmall degree of ſurpriſe, that
a mind fo capacious as the Viſcount St. Al-
ban's, who lived cotemporary, and was art
and part with that parliament which paſſed
the famous ſtatute of Elizabeth; among the
voluminous pages of his writings, and the vaſt
variety of ſubjects, his almoſt omnipotent abi-
lities comprehended, and his indefatigable pen
treated of; ſhould not have left a ſingle tract
on this important ſubject; one paragraph
alone can be found, a inere drop, amidſt the
ocean of five quarto volumes of his works;
and this drop is in his advice to the king,
touching
132
L ET TE'R **
touching Mr. Sutton's up eſtate; but by this
it is apparent, that his ideas were not well
digeſted on this ſubject, nor was the topic
cloſely entered on; the only paſſage worth
extracting is the following; “ But chiefly it
were to be wiſhed ſuch beneficence towards
the relief of the poor were ſo beſtowed, as not
only the mere and naked poor ſhould be ſu-
ftained, but alſo that the honeſt perſon which
has hard means to live, upon whom the poor
are now charged, ſhould be in ſome fort eaſed :
for that were a work generally acceptable to
the kingdom, if the public hand of alms might
ſpare the private hand of tax; and, therefore,
of all other employments of that kind, I com-
mend moſt, houſes of relief and correction,
which are mixed bofpitals; where the impotent
perſon is relieved, and the ſturdy beggar
buckled to work, and the unable perſon alſo
not maintained to be idle, which is ever joined
with drunkenneſs and impurity, but is ſorted
with ſuch work as he can manage and per-
form; and where the uſes are not diſtinguiſh-
+
+ The founder of the Charter Houſe,
ed
L É T T E R XII.
133
ed, as in other hoſpitals, whereof ſome are for
aged and impotent, and ſome for children, and
ſome for correction of vagabonds, but are ge-
general and promiſcuous, that may take off
poor, of every ſort, from the county, as the
county breeds them; and thus the poor them-
ſelves ſhall find the proviſion, and other peo-
ple the ſweetneſs of the abatement of the
tax: now if it be objected, that houſes of cor-
rection in all places have not done the good
expected; as it cannot be denied, but in moſt
places they have done much good; it muſt
be remembered, that there is a great difference
between that which is done by the diſtracted
government of juſtices of peace, and that which
may be done by a ſettled ordinance, ſubject
to a regular viſitation, as this
may
be.”
When Sir Francis Bacon, as Attorney Ge-
neral, drew up this letter of advice for his
maſter, James the Firſt; he muſt ſurely have
conceived in his mind ſome idea of incorpora-
ted houſes of induſtry; and anticipated, as it
were, by prophetic foreſight, ſomewhat of
thoſe excellent regulations, which, through
the auſpices of a reverend and worthy magi-
ſtrate, have brought the poor under ſuch good
order,
3)
134
LETTER XII.
order, and ſo reduced the rates in thoſe pa-
riſhes, whoſe houſe of induſtry he, with ſuch
attention, at preſent, preſides over I.
The words, diſtracted government of juſtices
of peace, are worth our notice; it is to be feared
that the , obſervation would equally apply,
through the many years that have paſſed ſince
this advice was given, as it did then; a farther
comment on this expreſſion would be inde-
corous; but it warrants this ſingle obſervation,
that as the gratis opinion of a lawyer is not
thought ſo good, as that which a fee com-
mands ; ſo poſſibly the gratis or voluntary at-
tention of the gentlemen in the commiſſion of
the
peace, is likely to be more deſultory and
diſtracted, than that which a falary might
purchaſe.
My Lord Hale is the firſt great name on
the liſt of thoſe, who have turned their atten-
tion to the employment and relief of the poor;
the
year his plan firſt appeared in, is not ap-
parent in the copy; but it certainly preceded
any other in my poffeffion; as it muſt have
been written before 1676, that being the
Thc Rev. Mr. Cooke, of Semer, in Suffolk,
year
1
L E T T E R XII.
135
1
66
00
year in which he died; it would take up too
much time to tranſcribe all in this excellent
tract, which is deſerving our attention; there-
fore thoſe parts only ſhall be taken notice of,
which are moſt to our purpoſe; he ſays,
“ The only ſtatute which provides univerſally
for the poor, is the forty-third of Elizabeth,
which generally makes two proviſions.
Firſt, for the impotent poor that are not
able to work, and for theſe it is a good and
effectual proviſion, if duly executed.
Second, for thoſe that are able; the de-
fects of this proviſion are, firſt, in the execu-
tion, the ſecond defect is in the law itſelf
which is, that there is no power in the juſtices
of peace, or ſome fuperintendant power, to
compel the raiſing of a ſtock, where the
church-wardens and overſeers neglect it.
2. The act chargeth every pariſh apart, where
it may be they are able to do little towards
it; neither would it be ſo effeétual, as if three,
four, five, or more contiguous pariſhes did
contribute towards the raiſing of a ſtock, pro-
portionable to the poor reſpectively. 3. There
is no power for hiring or erecting a common
houſe, or place, for their common work-houſe;
which
ز
136
L E T T E R XII.
which may be, in ſome reſpects, and upon
fome occaſions, uſeful and neceffary, as ſhall
be thewn.
“ The remedies are ;
“ 1. That the juſtices of the peace, at
the quarter ſeſſions, do ſet out and diſtribute
the pariſhes in their ſeveral counties, into fe-
veral diviſions, in each of which there may
be a work-houſe, for the common uſe of the
reſpective diviſions, wherein they are reſpec-
tively placed, to wit, one, two, three, four,
five, or fix pariſhes to a work-houſe, accord-
ing to the greatneſs or ſmallneſs, and accom-
modation of the ſeveral pariſhes.
2. That at the ſeſſions, the church-
wardens and overſeers of the poor of the
reſpective pariſhes, bring in their ſeveral rates
for the relief of their reſpective poor, upon
oath. And that the ſaid juſtices do aſſeſs
three, four, or five yearly payments, to be
levied and collected at one or two entire fums,
within the time prefixed by them, for the
raiſing a ſtock, to ſet the poor, within thoſe
precincts, on work; and to build, or procure;
a convenient work-houſe, for employing the
poor (if need be) in it, and for lodging ma-
terials,
LETTE Ř xii.
137
..
+
terials, and for inſtructing children in trade or
worki
3. That there be yearly choſen, by the
ſaid juſtices, a maſter for each work-houſe,
with a convenient ſalary, out of the ſaid ſtock,
or the produce thereof, to continue for three
years; and two overſeers, to ſee the iſſuing
and return of the ſaid ſtock, and to take the
accounts quarterly, or monthly, of the maſter,
as they ſhall think fit.
4. That the ſtock be delivered to the
overſeers, and by them iſſued to the maſter,
as there ſhall be occaſion; and that they alſo,
from time to time, receive the produce of the
ſaid (tock, and the accounts for the fame.
5. That at the end of every year, the maſter
and overſeers give up their accounts to the two
next juſtices of the peace, at times by them
prefixed, and publicly notified, to the inhabi-
tants of each precinct, to the end that they
may take any exceptions to ſuch accounts, if
there be cauſe.
“ 6. That the maſter and overſeers of
every reſpective work-houſe, ſtand and be in-
corporate, by the name of the maſter and over-
VOL. I.
K
ſeers,
66
1
138
L E T T E R XII.
.
ſeers of their reſpective precincts, and capable
to take in ſucceſſion by will or otherwiſe, lands,
goods, or money, or other legacies or gifts, for
the benefit of the poor within their reſpective
precincts.
7. That they alſo be accountable, as
well to their reſpective ſucceſſors, as to the
juſtices of the peace at their quarter ſeſſions,
for the benefit, and produce, and employment,
of ſuch gifts and bequeſts.
“ 8. That they be diſabled to grant any
lands to them given or bequeathed, for any
longer term than one year, and at an improved
rent.
9. That if any perſon that is able to
work, and not able to maintain himſelf, ſhall
refuſe to do ſo, he may be forced thereto, by
warrant of two juſtices of peace, by impriſon-
inent, and moderate correction in ſuch work-
houſe.
“ 10. If any perſon employed by the maſter,
ſhall' embezzle, or wilfully prejudice or ſpoil
his work; he ſhall, upon complaint and proof
thereof, by the party grieved, to any juſtice of
peace, and by warrant from him, receive im-
priſon-
L É T T E R XII.
139
1
priſonment or moderate correction, by war-
rant of ſuch juſtice.
“ Theſe are the heads of that proviſion I
could wiſh for the ſetting the poor to work,
which is but an eſſay, and may receive altera
tions or additions upon confideration.”
This excellent man then ſpeaks of the be-
nefits ariſing from his plan, and anſwers ſome
objections to it; and then concludes, that ſuch
plan, if it could be accompliſhed, would be
a work of great humanity, which would be-
come a Chriſtian and a good Engliſhman. In:
this plan, the idea ſuggeſted by Sir Francis
Bacon is improved, matured and digeſted into
ſome regularity; and under this form it
pre-
ſents to our view a prototype as it were of
Mr. Gilbert's ſcheme, which has lately at-
tracted the attention of the publick.
The next publication which has been col-
lected in point of time, is by Andrew Yarring-
ton; who appears, by his own account, to have
been a linen-draper, and afterward employed
by ſome gentlemen, to bring a' manufacture
into England, from Bohernia and Saxony,
made (to uſe his own words) of iron and tin
it
K 2
140
L E T T E R XII.
it appears alſo, that he was à ſurveyor to ſome
iron works in Ireland; he certainly poſſeſſed
great information on matters of trade, and a
clear underſtanding ; the imprimatur of his
book bears date 1676; the title is an epitome
of its motley contents, England's Improve-
ment, by Sea and Land, to outdo the Dutch
without Fighting, to pay Debts without Mo-
ney, and to ſet at work, all the Poor in Eng-
land, with the Growth of our own Lands,
cum multis aliis ; in this curious, and in ſome
reſpect inſtructive book, may be found the
firſt idea of a ſchool for induſtry, according to
the practice in Holland, and Flanders, which
the author takes great pains to prove might
with profit be carried into effect in England;
he alſo, in a viſion of future glory, anticipates,
in proſpect, the extent of our paper credit, our
numerous inland navigations, the full employ-
ment of the infant poor, and our conſequen-
tial riches; his viſion is completely verified in
the two firſt inſtances, and their conſequences,
why it may not in the other, remains probably
for another century to prove ; but ſurely as..
the complaint that the poor are not employed,
and
1
L E T T E R XII.
141
.
and that idleneſs prevails among them, may
be pow made, with at leaſt equal truth, to-
wards the cloſe.of the eighteenth century, as
it was about the middle of the ſeventeenth;
why the other part of his prophecy ſhould not
be brought to paſs, remains in nothing but
experience itſelf to ſhow; and it is to be hoped
that the Sunday Schvols will prove harbingers
to the attempt.
Mr. Thomas Firmin, a friend of Archbiſhop
Tillotſon, is the next writer on this ſubject;
his two letters to that prelate, entitled, “Some
Propoſals for the Employment of the Poor,
eſpecially in and about the City of London,"
bear date in the years 1678, and 1681 ; he
appears to have been a man of reſpectable
character, and frequently to have been em-
ployed in diſtributing private charity, in his
firſt letter he ſpeaks of his ſucceſs, attending
a plan for a kind of work-houſe in the pariſh
of Alderſgate, to employ the poor in ſpinning
flax, and hemp, at their own houſes; his ex-
perience in this buſineſs is great, and ſo is his
ſucceſs; he perceives, he ſays, by his experi-
ment, " that the only way to provide for the
poor,
I 3
142
L E T T E R XII.
poor, and to bring them to labour, is to pro-
vide ſuch work for them as they may do at
their own homes, which, though never ſo
inean and homely, is more deſired than any
other place; and the way which ſeveral per-
fons have propoſed of bringing them to a
work-houſe, will never effect the end in-
tended; for ſuppoſe a woman hath a ſick huf-
band, or child, or ſome infirmity upon herſelf,
in all ſuch caſes ſhe may do ſomething at
home, but cannot leave her own houſe; true
indeed, for vagrants, or ſturdy beggars, who
have no habitation, and muſt be held to their
labour, as galley-ſlaves are tied to their oars,
ſuch public work-houſes are very neceſſary;
and. I wiſh we had more of them, and that
thoſe we have were employed to this purpoſe
to which they were at firſt deſigned and in-
tended į but for ſuch poor people as have ha-
bitations of their own, and who are known in
the pariſh where they live, and would take
pains at home, it is altogether' unreaſonable
and unprofitable (in any judgment) to force
them to a public work-houfe.
" If any pariſh that abounds with poor
people would ſet up a ſchool in the nature of a
work,
-
*143
T
xu.
L E T T E R XII.
work-houſe, to teach poor children to work, who
wander
up
and down the pariſh, and parts
adjacent, and between begging and ſtealing
get a ſorry living, but never bring any thing
unto their parents, nor earn one farthing to-
wards their own maintenance, it would in a
Mhort time be found very advantageous, not only
to the
poor children, who by this means whilſt
young ſhould be inured to labour and taught
to get their own living, but alſo to their pa-
rents who ſhouid hereby both be freed from
any charge by keeping them, and alſo in time
be helped by their labour, as it is in 'other
places.
“ And further, the pariſh would by this
means be freed from much charge that now
they are at, either to keep theſe children or
to allow their parents ſomething toward it,
nothing being thought a greater argument for
a large penſion than that a man or woman,
hath fix or ſeven children; whereas unleſs
they were all born at one time, or come faſter
into the world than ordinarily ſo many chil-
dren do, it is very hard if ſome of them bę
not able to work for themſelves. I myſelf have
at this time ſome children working to me not
abova
K 4
144
L E T T E R XII.
*
above ſeven or eight years old, who are able
to earn 2d. a day, and ſome that are but a
little older 2s. a week, and I doubt not to
bring any
child about that age to do the iike;
and ſtill as they grow up and become profi-
cients even in this poor trade of ſpinning, they
wiu be able to get more and to ſpin better than
older people. Neither would I have theſe
ſchools confined only to ſpinning, but to take
in knitting and making of lace, or plain-werk,
Qr
any
other work which the children ſhall be
thought moſt fit for; and this is that, which
(as I ain informed) is practiſed in other coun-
tries with ſo great advantage, that there are
fe:v poor children who have attained the
of ſeven or eight years that are any charge to
the pariſh or burthen to their poor parents
and Mr. Chamberlain (in his book, intitled,
The preſent State of England, p. 137.) hath
obſerved, that in the city of Norwich, it hath
been of late years computed and found, that
(yearly) children from fix to ten years
of
age,
have gained twelve thouſand pounds more
than what they have ſpent, and that chiefly
by knitting fine Jerſey ſtockings.”
То
age
$
L E T T E R XII.
145
- To this plan he ſuppoſes objections to be
made; he anſwers them all except the latt
queſtion, which is
“ What will you do with all :he yarn theſe
poor people ſhall ſpin? If you weave it into
cloth, the commodity is brought over fo
cheap, that you will never be able to fell
without much loſs?
Anſwer. I muſt confeſs this objection
hath too much of truth in it to be wholly re-
moved; the beſt anſwer I can make to it at
preſent is this, That we had much better loſe
ſomething by the labour of the poor, than lofe
all by letting them live in Sloth and idleneſs:
for ſuppoſe you ſhould give 6d. for that work
which is really worth but 5d. hence will 5d.
really be got to the nation, though id. ſhould
be loſt to the pariſh. Yet beſides let it be
.conſidered, that if this perſon had not been
employed, there would not leſs have been
ſpent, but rather more ; foraſmuch as 6d. that
is got by labour, doth many times
go further
than ļ2d. given for doing nothing; all the
time ople are idle they will be ſpending if
they have it, and if they have it not, it is like
they will be worte employed.”
It
1
146 L E T T E R XII.
It alſo appears from this letter, that no
great good was conceived to ariſe from work-
houſes in the metropolis, of which they now
had received ſome years experience; the act
of parliament authorizing incorporated work-
houſes within the bills of mortality having
paſſed in 1662.
In this letter is alſo the idea of a badge, on
thoſe among the poor who being incapable of
labour, are maintained by the pariſh; and by
the badge it was imagined they would not be
likely to receive much from begging; it be-
ing apparent by the badge, that their pariſh
maintains them.
The ſecond letter, which appeared in 1681,
ſeems much to our purpoſe, as it contains a
plan of a School of Induſtry; but it would be
of little ſervice to give his intentions in detail,
not only on account of the length of quota-
tion, which would be neceſſary; but becauſe
it does not appear that his ſcheme was ever
carried into execution; and it is apprehended
that a more perfect plan actually is now in
practice, through many parts of Lincolnſhire ;
which, if any with to eſtabliſh ſuch a ſchool
of induſtry fortunately prevailed, might be
obtained
L ETTER XII.11
147
"
obtained from ſome of the worthy truſtees ;
and ſuch a ſchool might be applied to ſpin-
ning flax, as well as wool, knitting of ſtock-
ings, winding of ſilk, making of lace, or plain-
work, and the like; in this letter alſo Mr.
Firmin ſuppoſes objections to his plan, and
anſwers them all except the laſt, which is the
ſame as has been noticed in his firſt letter, and
which he confeſſed himſelf unable perfectly to
anſwer; and here he gives the ſame reply as
he did to the fame queſtion before ; which
has been already mentioned.
On the whole, his ſeveral ſchemes are
practicable, and they fall from the pen of an
honeſt and experienced man; his reaſons in
favour of them, anſwering the objections
which he ſuppoſes may be made, are in ge-
neral concluſive; except in the inſtance which
has been recited; and the objection itſelf, as
to the difficulty of finding a fale for the goods
manufactured, would not probably be ſo ſtrong
at preſent, as it was a hundred and twelve
years ago; nor would it apply ſo much to a
county ſchool of induſtry, as to one in London ;
the parents and relations of the poor children,
whom their pariſhes now cloath at an expence
much
48
L ETTER XIII.
1
above the prime coſt of the wares manufac,
tured, would, it is apprehended, give vent to
a conſiderable quantity of the goods ; more
efpecially if the fale was encouraged by the
pariſh officers and fariners recommending the
manufacture to their labourers.
L E T T E R XIII.
1
SIR JOSIAH CHILD, who has, in his
new diſcourſe of trade, given one chapter
on the relief and employment of the poor,
ſhall be now attended to; it does not appear,
by the edition from whence this note is taken,
which is the fourth, exactly when the firſt
edition was publiſhed ; although, as the Par-
liament which fat in 1669 was not diſſolved
until 1679, it appears moſt probable, from
the beginning of the preface, that it was pub-
liſhed about the laſt date ; and therefore does
not improperly follow Mr. Firmin's Letters.
In the chapter which relates to the poor,
Sir Joſiah begins, by intimating to the reader,
that
L E T T E R XIH.
149
that this is a calm ſubject, and thwarts no
common or private intereſt among us; except
that of the common enemy of mankind, the
devil. It muſt ſtrike every reader, that things
are ſtrangely altered ſince this tract was writ-
ten; as the ſubject is in theſe days by ng
means calm, and thwarts many private in-
tereſts, in every pariſh; although, it muſt be
confeſſed, that, in ſome reſpect, theſe are '
the intereſts of the devil; as they are oppo-
poſite to every intereſt of integrity and com
mon honeſty.
He argues for a defect in the poor laws,
from the failure in execution of thoſe ſtatutes
which relate to the poor; and reſts the proof
of his argument on this fact, that in every
change of parties this nation may have ex-
perienced, all parties had theſe laws to ſteef
by, and none of them fufficiently maintained
the impotent, and employed the indigent. .
Could this worthy merchant be a member of
parliament? Did he live in the world, and
not know, by conſtant experience, that the
maintenance of the impotent, or the employ-
ment of the indigent, is the very
laſt object
to which leaders of parties will attend? At
leaſt
A
$
150
L ET TER XIII.
leaſt the experience of the preſent æra would
prove the fact; however it might have been ,
in the reign of Charles the Second. On the
day when the Houſe of Commons debated
on the motion of Mr. Gilbert, reſpecting his
bill, which was to determine whether it ſhould
be read a ſecond time, or be rejected, about
forty-four members attended; not a member.
who ranked high on the treaſury bench, or in
the phalanx of oppoſition ; but Mr. Gilbert,
and Mr. Young, who oppoſed the bill, had
nearly the debate to themſelves; and this bill,
which involved in its conſequences the mate-
rial intereſts of the nation, was thrown out,
by a diviſion of thirty-four to ten :--the very
next day, on a motion reſpecting the
promo-
tion of a few naval officers, the number of
members who divided on the queſtion were
two hundred and eighty-three, the ſpeakers
were Meſſrs. Pitt, Fox, Dundas, Sheridan,
and many others ;-
others ;—the fact ſpeaks for itſelf.
But laying aſide this objection to Sir Jo-
ſiah's argument, and ſuppoſing that the
par-
ties in the ſtate would attend to theſe regula-
tions, and have attended to them, and that
they are ſtill badly executed; the fame ob-
fervation
1
L E T T E R XIII.
151
fervation might be made with reſpect to the
laws of the Deity, the general received rules
of morality, the Ten Commandments. All
claſſes and conditions of men have long por-
ſeſſed all that is contained in the Decalogue,
to regulate their conduct by; and all nations
experience daily the faulty execution, or ra-
ther the conſtant breach of theſe ſacred laws;
to argue from the faulty execution or breach
of a municipal rule, the inefficacy or impro-,
priety of that rule, is bad logic; it is not the,
the concluſion naturally following from the
premiſes.
He ſays, the radical error is the leaving it
to the care of every pariſh to maintain their
own poor only.
To correct this error, he propoſes a plan of
a ſociety, who are to be incorporated by act of
parliament, by the name of Fathers of the
Poor; to whom all churchwardens, overſeers,
and other officers ſhould be ſubordinate; gives
them powers fuperior to the magiſtrates; and
conſumes many pages in forming rules for
the conduct of this incorporation, which is
apparently intended, in the firſt place, for the
city of London and its vicinity, although, in
the
15e
Í T Í Ë R XIÍ.
1
the end, the whole kingdom is ſuppoſed to
embrace the plan.
Here fürely may be ſeen the outline, from
which Mr. Gilbert's late plan was filled up;
or at leaſt from hence freſh hints were taken;
which, had it paſſed into a law, would pro-
bably have introduced throughout the king-
dom general confuſion.
It would ſcarcely be worth the trouble for
he writer to tranſcribe, or the reader to per-
uſe, the plan of Sir Joſiah Child in the de-
táil; as it is conceived, it never cught to be
carried into execution, by the force of law, in
this kingdom ; ſome parts of it, which ſhall
be juſt glanced at, will be an apology for this
opinion.
iſt, That the ſaid fathers of the poor
“ may have liberty to aſſeſs all pariſhes with
“ in their diſtrict, ſo much as they yearly paid
" to that purpoſe any three years preceding.
2. That they may receive charitable
• contributions, on the Lord's day, and at any
“ other times they may think fit.
3. That they may have all the power
juſtices haye.
4. That
L ET TER XIII.
153
เ
4. That they may have power to ſend
*ſuch poor, as they ſhall think fit, into any
of his Majeſty's plantations:
5. That they may have petty banks, or
« lumbards, for the benefit of the poor ; may
“ have half what is paid at play-houſes, and a
patent for farthings."
In the ſame manner as Mr. Firmin, Sir
Joſiah aſks, and anſwers queſtions, with rex
ſpect to his propoſed plan; two of the queſ.
tions, together with part of the anſwers, are
as follow:
“ What will be the advantage to the kinga
" dom in general, and to the poor in parti-
cular, that will accrue by ſuch a ſociety of
" men; more than is enjoyed by the laws at
“ preſent ?"
Part of the anſwer---- Poor children will
" be inſtructed in learning and arts, and
thereby rendered ſerviceable to their coun-
try."
“ What ſhall all the poor of theſe cities and
“ counties, being very numerous, be employed
about?''
Part of the anſwer". The girls may be
employed in mending the cloaths of the
VOL. I.
L
aged,
154
L E T T E R XIII, ,
0
“ aged, in ſpinning, carding, and other linen
“. manufactories; and many in ſewing linen
“ for the exchange, or any houſekeepers that
“ will put out linen to the matrons, that have
“ the government of them.
“ The boys in picking oakum, making
pins, raſping wood, making hangings, or
any other manufacture of any kind, which,
whether it turns to preſent profit or not, is
“ not much material; the great buſineſs of the
“ nation being, firſt, to keep the poor from
begging and ſtarving, and enuring ſuch as
able to labour and diſcipline, that they may
* be hereafter uſeful members to the kingdom.”
· This maxim deferves to be written in let-
ters of gold, in all work-houſes, houſes of in-
duſtry, ſchools of induſtry, and to be engraved
in capitals in the overſeers books in every pa-
riſh in the kingdom; this is the great and
leading principle in the forty-third of Eliza-
beth ; it is for this purpoſe the ſtock of wool,
flax, hemp, thread, iron, is there directed to
be purchaſed; not for the view of: immediate
gain only; but for the enuring ſuch as are able,
to labour and diſcipline that they be hereafter
uſeful members to the kingdom.
Two
are
1
L ETTER XIII.
155
Two capital objections are obvious to any
one who conſiders what has been tranſcribed
of this plan.
The firſt is, that it propoſes to raiſe a re-
yenue for the maintenance and employment
of the poor, in addition to that enormous one
which we now complain of; and that by a
new tax, and by a patent for coining farthings;
church colle&tions are alſo propoſed, which were
· the very ground-work of the preſent poor's
rate.
The ſecond objection is founded on the lit-
tle regard paid to the liberty of the ſubject;
as it propoſes to give the unconſtitutional
power to this ſociety, of tranſporting the poor
to our colonies, without a crime charged;
merely from ſuch conceptions of convenience;
that might ariſe in the breaſts of theſe fa-
thers of the poor.
The tendency of opulence to táint the hom
neſteſt principles, and to operate as a draught
of the river Lethe, in producing among the
rich, a total oblivion of the rights of the poor, ,
is here well exemplified.--The merchant;
rolling in wealth, forgets that baniſhment is
a very
ferious puniſhment, for a crime of ſome
enormity; to ſuch a degree is it dreaded, that
fome
I a
156 L E T T E R XIII.
fome, criminals have preferred death, the le-
gal puniſhment of their crimes, rather than
accept of pardon, on terms of tranſportation ;
he has alſo forgot, that to tranſport a fellow-
ſubject, a crime committed, indictment, ver-
dict of their countrymen, and the ſentence of
the laws, are neceſſary.
Theſe are all the publications, which have
fallen under our obſervation, before that me-
morable æra in our hiſtory--the Revolution.
An event, taken together with thoſe laws and
regulations ſo favourable to the liberties of the
ſubject which accompanied it, as to demand
our moſt humble thanks to the Almighty
Governor of kings and ſtates; and alſo our
grateful remembrance of thoſe who were his
immediate agents, in fixing our liberties, on
their preſent folid baſis; placed in a happy
medium between deſpotiſm and licentiouſneſs ;
a medium ſo difficult to be hit on, and ſo con-
ducive to public happineſs, when eſtabliſhed;
that philanthrophy excites our wiſhes, poſſibly
at the expence of our political intereſt, in fa-
vour of ſo many millions of our fellow-crea-
tures as people the extenſive kingdom of
France; that they may at length find a haven
of
L E T T E R XIII.
157
1
I
of ſecurity to their liberties, in a conſtitution
ſimilar to what we now enjoy; equally re-
moved from the anarchy of democracy, as the
flavery of deſpotiſm. In the mean time, it
ſhall be the fixed point in view of this tract,
to continue the enquiry with reſpect to the
poor laws, and the relative ſituation of the
poor themſelves in ſociety, from this period to
the preſent day; and then offer ſome general
principles, as a reſult from the whole of this
inveſtigation ; in full confidence, that the re-
medy, as well as the miſchief, may be made
apparent; and alſo with ſome rays of hope,
that the vacant hour of a retired life may be
made conducive to a diminution of the train
of evil, fo large a maſs of our fellow-ſubjects
ſuffer under ; as well as to a prevention of the
increaſe, if not to a diminution of the preſent
load of expence attending their maintenance
and ſupport; which will ſoon preoccupy the
ſources of revenue; and, in ſome future day
of misfortune, may fall on us when we are leſs
able to ſupport it; and in falling cruſh us with
its weight; entail in its conſequences a long
and tremendous ruin on all ranks of our fel-
lows
I 3
158
L E T T E R XIV.
low-ſubjects, together with a demolition of
this much-admired conſtitution; and involve
us in a univerſal ſcene of confuſion.
L E T T E R XIV.
3
THE law of ſettlements, introduced by
parliament in, the reign of Charles the
Second, was a, ſerious abridgement of the li-
berty of our fellow-ſubjects; but was, at the
ſame time, a conſequence reſulting from that
humane conſideration, which our forefathers
felt, for their preſervation from actual want :
it became a prudential caution, from the time
that pariſh rates were firſt collected, for the
relief of the poor, that the money raiſed in a
pariſh, ſhould be applied to the relief of thoſe
only who belonged to that pariſh; hence has
ariſen a reſtraint on
reſtraint on the poor, in many in-
ſtances cruel, in all unjuſt; a great additional
expence on thoſe on whom the rate is levied,
ariſing
-
L'E T T E R XIV.
159
and reports
ariſing from coſts of law, in determining ſet-
tlements; an additional trouble to the magi-
ſtrates; and to the gentlemen of the pro-
fefſion, much buſineſs and many fees; ſettle-
ments now occupy no ſmall portion of the
attention of the King's-Bench; and
of the determinations in that court, reſpecting
them, are become voluminous, and form a
topic of no ſmall conſequence, in the com-
mon-place book of the gentlemen of the long
robe.
That a great part of the reſtraint on the
poor; or, at leaſt, that which bears hardeſt on
them, by preventing them living in pariſhes
where they may beſt get their bread, unleſs it
happens to be their place of ſettlement, or they
have a certificate of the conſent of their pariſh
to live there; may, with equal convenience
and ſafety, be removed; and that much of the
expence attending conteſts between pariſhes,
with reſpect to ſettlements, may be ſaved, is
certain; the heads of the bill brought into the
Houſe of Commons, by Sir William Young,
immediately after the diſmiſſion of Mr. Gil-
bert's plan, warrant this aſſertion; to ſpeculate
on the reaſons why fo much of that bill a's re-
lates
ز
L
160
L E T T E R XIV.
lates to certificates did not paſs; is not tho,
buſineſs of this inveſtigation ; which now pro-
ceeds to the firſt fanction the law of ſettle-
ments received from the Legiſlature, after the
Revolution.
Hitherto but little had been done, to con-
fine the poor within their own pariſhes. The
ſtatute which paſſed in the reign of Charles
the Second, empowering two juſtices; on
complaint of the overſeers, within forty days
after any poor perſon had come to inhabit in
their pariſh, in any tenement under the annual
value of ten pounds, that they were likely to
become chargeable ; to remove them to their
laſt legal place of ſettlement, was, at the Re-
volution, the only law extant on that ſubject;
and being, together with the alteration, by the
17th of James the Second; directing that the
forty days ſhould be accounted, from the time
of delivery of notice in writing ; about to ex-
pire. The 3d of William and Mary, chapter
II, again takes up the ſubject; and directs
that the notice ſhould be read in the church,
immediately after ſervice, on the next Lord's
day after it ſhall have been delivered : and
then, that it ſhall be regiſtered in the poor's
1
book;
L E T T E R XIV.
16
book; and inflicts. a penalty on the church-
warden and overſeer neglecting to read and
regiſter it; and alſo enacts, that ſerving a pa-,
riſh office, paying pariſh duties, and hiring and
ſervice for a year, of a perſon not having a wife
or child, and ſerving an apprenticeſhip, by in-
denture, ſhall alſo gain a ſettlement: in theſe
ſeveral caſes, the appeal lies from the two ma-
giſtrates adjudging the ſettlement, to the, quar-
ter ſeſſions,
A regulation, which is intended to act as a
reſtraint on the pariſh officers, in the diſtribu-
tion of the pariſh money, is alſo enacted in
this ſtatute; a regiſter is directed to be kept in
every pariſh of the names of ſuch as receive
collections; and the pariſhioners are ordered
to meet in the veſtry yearly, in Eaſter-week,
before whom this regiſter is to be produced ;
and perſons receiving collections are to be
called over, the reaſons of their taking relief
examined, a new lift made and entered, and
no other perſons but ſuch as are in the liſt
ſhall be allowed to receive collections; except
in caſe of peſtilential diſeaſes, and the ſmall
pox; ; withoựt authority, under the hand of
one
162
L E T T E R XIV.
one juſtice of the peace, reſiding within ſuch
pariſh, or the parts adjoining,
Soon did experience prove the miſchief of
the acts, with reſpect to the ſettlements of the
poor; ſo early did the hardſhip on them, and
the inconvenience to the pariſhes, ariſing from
theſe reſtrictions on their natural liberty, to
get their bread where they could beſt find em-.
ployment, appear ; that it was found neceffa-
ry, in the year 1697, to open the door a little
wider to them; and to let out of their pariſhes
ſuch as the church-wardens, overſeers of the
poor, and a neighbouring magiſtrate, ſhould
grant a certificate to; under the authority of
an act paſſed in this year, for ſupplying fome
defects in the poor law ; by which, ſuch per-
fons as may come to inhabit in any pariſh;
bringing with them a certificate, properly at-
teſted, owning them to be inhabitants of the
pariſh granting it, and engaging to provide
for them whenever they aſk relief of the
pariſh in which they reſide; ſhall not be re,
moved until actually chargeable.
This act alſo directs badges to be worn on
the ſhoulder of the right ſleeve, by all thoſe
who receive alms from the pariſh; and inflicts
a penalty on the pariſh officers relicying a
perſon
>
LETTER XIV. 163
a
perſon not wearing ſuch a badge, and a puniſh-
ment on the pauper refuſing to wear it:
good regulation, formed on wiſe principles,
but almoſt univerſally neglected.
Perſons, to whom poor children are bound
apprentice, purſuant to the 43d of Elizabeth,
are alſo, by this act, obliged to receive and to
provide for their apprentices, under a penalty
of ten pounds, to be applied to the uſe of the
poor.
The legiſlature of this reign gives us no
other regulations, with reſpect to the poor ;
and the general neglect of thoſe which have
hitherto been enacted, either as checks on the
diſhoneſty, ſelfiſhneſs, and indolence of the pa-
riſh officers; or on the impofitions, debauch-
ery, and lazineſs of the poor themſelves, ought
to be a matter of ſerious aſtoniſhment to thoſe
who reflect on the general complaint of the
expence attending their maintenance and re-
lief. What levity! what abſurdity! in our
lazy complaints of the weight of the poor's
rate ; let us but clap our ſhoulders to the
wheel; the burthen is enormous, but might
be ſhaken off, or greatly lightened, by thoſe
who adminiſter the laws; were thoſe laws, in
fact, adminiſtered, Why do we throw the
blame
1
164 L E T T E R XIV.
1
$
blame from where it ought to fall, and charge
the laws themſelves with the conſequences
flowing from a breach of them? They form,
in general, a code replete with humanity in
their principle, wiſe in their regulations,
which uniformly tend to diſcourage idleneſs,
and unneceſſary expence, throughout the whole
ſcope of their legiſlation ; and are now charged
with all thoſe deſtructive evils they were in-
tended, and are calculated, to prevent: the
burthen of the poor's rate is heavy, and daily
increaſing, by a rapid accumulation; and the
caufe does not lie in a defect of the laws for
the maintenance of the poor, but in a defect
of the execution of thoſe laws: we are affected
with a ſimilar impreſſion as thoſe weak minds,
which, while the body is haſtening to the
grave, in a deep decline, have not energy
enough to redeem returning health, by a courſe
of exerciſe and virtuous temperance; but la-
zily ſuffer the vital principle to be extinguiſh-
ed, by continuing in a habit of indolence and
debauchery: in ſhort, we are infected by the
very vices, which we fo loudly cry out againſt,
in thoſe who are ſupported at our expence.
The
! LET T E R XIV.
165
1
The ſame wretched principle, appears to
have pervaded the execution of the poor laws,
towards the end of the laſt century; and ſimi-
lar complaints of the increaſing burthen of
expence prevail; as may be ſeen in a pam-
phlet, named, Bread for the Poor, printed at
Exeter in 1698, by Samuel Darker, figned
by the initials of the author's name, R. D.;
he ſays, in a kind of introduction, that
" whoever takes the ſmall trouble of in-
ſpecting the poor accounts, of a few pariſhes,
may foon obſerve, that the charge of main-
taining them, in ſome places is, within fixty-
years paſt, advanced from forty ſhillings to
forty pounds yearly; in others, twice that
ſum; and moſtwheres double --within twenty
years paſt, and like to double again in a ſhort
time;
and notwithſtanding ſuch advance in
maintaining the poor, yet the wages they re-
ceive is greater than formerly, work more
plentiful, and proviſions cheaper.”
Where there is an effect, the author
properly ſays, there muſt be a cauſe; and that
the cauſes are,
Profuſeneſs of diet; inſtanced by the bread
they eat, being of the fineſt flour ; their drink,
ale
ز
very
166
L E-T T E R XIV.
ale and ſpirits ; ſpending their money in ale-
houſes, to the amount of an incredible fum,
as appears from the payments to the exciſe,
very little of which is ſpent by travellers, or
houſekeepers; and that they pay a price for
what they drink, in theſe places, vaſtly ſupe-
rior to its real value.
' As a remedy to this cauſe; relief in houſe-
rent, meat, drink, cloaths, and not money, is
propoſed.
The ſecond cauſe is idleneſs; this ariſes
from receiving pay from the pariſh; people
of this deſcription, foon conceiving that the
pariſh is obliged to maintain them; therefore
their work is ſo much gained from them by
the pariſh.
The remedy is; due care to employ the
poor conſtantly, and oblige them to do ſuch
work as they can perform.
Giving exceſſive pay is another cauſe; by
which is meant pariſh allowance; under this
head the common outgoings of a day-labourer
is computed; but the computation proceeds
on an idea of expences, ſo much beneath what
is neceſſary.at préſent, and ſeems to be calcu-
lated
L E T.TER XIV. 167
lated for the county of Devon only, that it
would be futile to inſert it,
The remedy propoſed is; frugal allowance
in quantity, kind, and value.
The fourth cauſe is ; living in ſeparate
houſes; whereas, did three or four families
live together, fire, candle, and attendance,
might be ſaved.
The author then explains the method of
providing diet for the poor; gives many rea-
ſons why ſuch a management ſhould take
place; and anſwers objections which he ſup-
poſes may be made to relieving them in the
neceſſaries of life rather than in money, which
enables them to purchaſe. the ſuperfluities:-
he alſo recommends badges, which, as we
have ſeen, were about this time enforced by
parliament.
It
appears from this pamphlet, that the
poor's rates for the county of Devon amount-
ed, in the year 1698, to 38,9911. 135. 5d.
a year; which is aſſerted to be 30,000l. a
year more than they were fifty or ſixty years
before; and that the whole amount of the
poor's rates in the kingdom was then above.
twenty-one times as much, or more than
819,000l.
168 L ÉTTER XIV.
819,000l. a year ; that as one age had giv
a fourfold advance in Devonſhire, it is worth
conſideration whether or not the public be in
danger: for if the rates of the whole king-
dom increaſe proportionably, they will amount
in another age to 3,276,0001.--Such is the rea-
ſoning in this pamphlet ; let us now examine
the fact.
£.
About the middle of the 17th century,
the aſſeſſment for the poor in the
county of Devon was annually about 8,291
In the
year. 1698, about
38,991
In the
year 1785, by the return of the
overſeers,
85,492
1
a
Therefore the gradual riſe in this county
was, in the firſt fifty years, about 30,000l.;
in the next eighty-ſeven years 46.501l.
1
Taking the ſame dates for the poor's rates
of the whole kingdom, the account will
ſtand:
£
About the year 1650, at
188,811
In the year 1698, about
819,000
In
•
!
İ ET TÉ Ř xiv. 169
£
In the year 1785, by the overſeers
returns,
2,184,904
Ăn the firſt fifty years the riſe is 730, 1891.;
-in the next eighty-ſeven years 1,265,904.
The fact does not turn out quite ſo deſtruc-
tive to the intereſts of the public as the writer
of this pamphlet prognoſticated; but it pre-
ſents a tremendous advancing increaſe, as well
in an individual county as throughout the
kingdom.
. Let us now examine the prices of wheat at;
theſe three ſeparate periods ;--the table of the
price of wheat at Windſor market, in vol. 14.
p. 227. of the Annals of Agriculture; will
enable us to do it accurately.
fi s. di
Average prices of wheat from 1630
to 1654, by the quarter,
Ditto, from 1687 to 17114
4
Ditto, from 1765 to 1789,
1
9.10
N. N
2
2
6 II
The expence attending the maintenance of
the poor does not, therefore, ariſe from the in-"
Vol. I.
M
creaſed
170
L ETT É Ř XIV.
creaſed price of wheat; becauſe, by this table,
wheat is cheaper on the average of the laſt
twenty-five years, ending in 1789, than in
that of the firſt, ending in 1654, and but a
little dearer than that ending in 1711.
The aſtoniſhing increaſe towards the cloſe
of the laſt century, can be accounted for much
more reaſonably than that which has ariſen in
this. When the firſt eſtimate was taken, to-
wards the middle of the century, the civil
war, and its conſequential depredations, found
employment and ſuſtenance for a very confi-
derable body of the poor; the foldier is not
maintained by the poor's rate; and the Wages
of thoſe who remained to till the lands, or
were employed in our then mouldering manu-
factures, were probably raiſed on account of
the want of hands; no ſuch cauſe exiſted in
1698 or in 1785; and the price of wheat in
1698, referring to the ſame table, was 31. 9d.
a quarter, and in 1785 1l. 16s. uid. a quar-
ter ; it appears, therefore, that the price of
wheat has no effect on the expence attending
the maintenance of the poor, and wheaten
bread is, and long has been, the principal part
of
L ET TER XIV.
174
of their food; this, although it appears a pa-
radox, is a truth. When wheat was 31. od.
a quarter, the expences of the poor
amounted
to but little more than one-third as much as in
1785, when the price of wheat was only
il. 16s. Iid. a quarter.
As, by this ſtatement, it appears, that the
price of bread has no effect on the poor's
rate; and it is believed, that, all things con-
ſidered, the expence of neceſſary cloathing is
not more increaſed, than the laſt article; an
aſſertion, the proof of which ſhall not now be
entered on; and the article of firing remains
alſo nearly at the ſame price it was a hundred
years ago ; theft ſupplying
theft ſupplying (in woodland
countries particularly) an ample ſuccedaneum
for price; it follows, that we ſhould find out
the probable cauſe of this alarming fact ; alas!
a ſuperficial obſerver may read it as he runs,
that indolence and luxury are the too obvious
cauſes; indolence forces numbers on our rates,
which induſtry would maintain; luxury uſes pro-
fuſely, what æconomic temperance would ſave;
the one adds a million paupers to be maintained
by us, the other expends, in the maintenance
of
M 2
172 LETTER XIV.
of that million, what ought to maintain dou-
ble the number; the one brings the multi-
tude, the other imaginary wants.
Juvenal exclaims, when contemplating the
decadency of the Roman empire, ſtrongly ty-
pified by Britain, in its profuſe extravagance.
Sævior armis
Luxuria incubuit, victumque ulciſcitur orbem.
The fact comes home to us, in every claſs and
deſcription of people; as well poor as rich,
the governors and the governed; the conſe-
quence is alſo approaching; and our duty will
be to ſubmit, with reſignation, to that cata -
ſtrophe which we cannot ſufficiently rouſe
our energy to oppoſe.
LETTER
( 173 )
.
1
L E T T E R XV.
NEXT, in order of time to this publica-
tion, follows an Eflay towards regula-
ting the Trade, and employing the Poor of
this Kingdom; written about the year 1700,
by John Cary, Eſq. an abſtract from which
may be ſeen in Dr. Burn's Hiſtory of the
Poor Laws; a publication which, had it been
in my poſſeſſion when this enquiry was firſt
inſtituted, would have diverted me from the
inveſtigation; as I ſhould have ſcarcely choſen
to have gone over that ground, which ſo able
a writer had beaten before me.
Mr. Caryattributes the burthen of the poor's
rates to idleneſs; and enquires,
1. What hath been the cauſe of this idle-
neſs; and how hath it crept in upon us.
2. What muſt be done to reſtrain its going
farther.
M 3
3. What
174
LETTER XV.
3. What methods are proper to be uſed
to make proviſion for thoſe who are paſt their
labour.
The cauſe of idleneſs, he ſays, is the abuſe
of the poor laws we have, and want of better;
the encouragement of ale-houſes, on account
of the revenue; but, above all, our laws to
ſet the poor at work are ſhort and defective,
tending rather to maintain them as poor, ,
than to raiſe them to a better way of liv-
ing; ' rendering the poor more bold, by their
knowing that the pariſh officers muſt either find
them work, or give them maintenance.
Nothing but good laws can reſtrain idle-
neſs; ſuch as may provide work for thoſe that
are willing, and force thoſe to work who are
able; for this purpoſe, work-houſes are re-
commended, where the poor may be em-
ployed in manufactures.
The poor ſhould alſo be employed in navi,
gation, huſbandry, and handicrafts.
The juſtices of peace ſhould have power to
aſſign youth to artificers, huſbandry, manufac-
tures, and to bind them apprentice.
As to thoſe of elder years, who will rather
þeg than work, let them be forced to ſerve
the
L E T T E R XV.
175
the king in his fleet, or the merchants on
board their ſhips.
Young people ſhould be prohibited from
hawking and ſinging ballads about the ſtreets ;
ſtage plays, lotteries, and gaming houſes, ſhould
be ſtrictly looked after.
Alms-houſes are recommended, for thoſe
who are not able to work, or whoſe work is
not ſufficient for their maintenance. Poor's
rates ſhould be aſſeſſed with greater equality
in cities and manufacturing towns, where the
poor are ſerviceable to the rich manufacturers,
by carrying on their trade; yet, when age,
fickneſs, or a numerous family, make them
defire relief, their chief dependence muſt be
on thoſe, who are but a ſtep above their own
condition.
Mr. Cary ſpeaks, with praiſe, of an act of
parliament which paſſed in the 7th and 8th
year of William and Mary, for eſtabliſhing a.
work-houſe at Briſtol, which, he ſays, was
pretty much on the plan propoſed by Sir Jo-
fiah Child, for the cities of London and Weſt-
minſtet, but as this act is calculated for cities
and great towns only, and cannot be a model
[for
M 4
176 L E T T E R 'XV.
for counties, he ſubjoins the following propa-
fal, to carry this deſign on throughout the
kingdom:
That power be given, by act of parliament,
for pariſhes to incorporate for building hoſpi-
tals, work-houſes, and houſes of correction,
for femploying the poor, under the manage-
ment of guardians of the poor; the incorpo-
ration to be by hundreds.
The guardians to be the juſtices of the
peace within the diſtrict, together with a
number of the inhabitants, choſen out of each
pariſh, in proportion to the aſſeſſment the pa-
fiſhes reſpectively pay.
The election of guardians to be every year,
or two years.
The guardians to have power to chuſe a
governor, deputy governor, treaſurer, and aſſiſt-
ants, yearly ; and be impowered to hold
courts, make bye-laws, have a common ſeal
to order aſſeſſments to be levied ; to ſummon
the inhabitants of the pariſhes within the
hundred; to compel thoſe who ſeek relief to
dwell in their hoſpitals and work-houſes; to
take in young people, and bring them up to
;
tin talo
work
L F T T E R XV.
177
work; to teach them to read and write, and
then to bind them out apprentices; to pro-
vide for the aged and impotent; to aſſiſt thoſe
whoſe labours will not maintain their families;
to apprehend rogues, vagabonds, and beggars,
and ſet them to work; to inflict reaſonable
correction.
This plan, by Mr. Cary; may probably have
given the hint to thoſe gentlemen who applied
to parliament, in the twenty-ninth year of his
late majeſty's reign, for the act for the better
relief and employment of the poor in the hun-
dreds of Colneis and Carlford, in the county
of Suffolk; whether incorporations of diſtricts
for theſe purpoſes have produced a great pro-
portion of good than evil; whether they have
tended to introduce among the lower claſſes of
this country more induſtry, better health, bet-
ter morals, more comfort, and whither on the
whole the ſum of their happineſs is encreaſed;
cannot be determined by any other means than
an examination of their effects after thoſe years
of experience which have paſſed ſince their
firſt inſtitution in the counties of Norfolk and
Suffolk where they were firſt introduced; that
they have generally tended to depreſs the
poor's
178
L E T T E R XV.
poor's rate may be granted; but gold may be
bought too dear.
It has been ſaid in a publication *, the
author of which founded,' or might have
founded, his obſervations on an actual exami-
nation of the facts after many years expe-
rience; that they have injured the principle
of induſtry, deſtroyed the health and the har-
dinefs of the adult living in, and the youth
brought up in them; have introduced bad
morals, ſhocking habits of indecency; have
occaſioned a decreaſe of population; and would,
if they became general, ſo deſtroy the moral
ſentiments and happineſs of the country, as to
affect the political liberties and patriotic ſpirit
of the nation, by bringing up the riſing gene-
ration with ſentiments and habits fo diſpirited
and debilitated, as to render them only fit
flaves of deſpotiſm; for, the author ſays, and
with much ſeeming juſtice of cbſervation :
Of what moment can it poſſibly be to a wretch
who has not the liberty of walking out be-
yond a certain boundary, that the kingdom be-
* The true Alarm, or an Effay ſhewing the pernicious In-
fuence of Houſes of Induſtry. 1787.
comcs
L E T T E R XV.
179.
comes a prey to foreign invaders, or is tofn to
pieces by an inteſtine commotion, unleſs you
may ſuppoſe that he is more likely to rejoice
at a ſcene of perfect confuſion, as he might
then entertain a hope that in a general wreck,
where he had nothing to loſe, he might ſeize
upon ſomething worth having.
But let us hope and believe that the con-
ſequences actually felt from theſe houſes of
induſtry are not ſo deplorable ; let us recollect
that when a man undertakes in the title-page
of a pamphlet to prove a point, as this writer-
does ; it is plain he has a point to prove, and
in which, if he fails in inſtances or arguments,
he may expect to meet with ſome degree of
public deriſion; the fear of this, twiſts his
facts, turns his arguments, and points his pe-
riods, and no longer is he ſo friendly to truth
as to ſyſtem.
ز
LETTER
[180]
L E T T E R XVI.
A
I
.
N expectation of finding, among the va-
rious ſubjects which fell under the
pen
of
the celebrated Mr. Locke, ſome ideas which
might ſerve as firſt principles on this intereſt-
ing ſubject; I turned over his works, and
particularly attended to thoſe tracts which he
wrote, on lowering the intereſt of money, and
raiſing its value; a ſpeculation which occu-
pied the attention of the nation towards the
cloſe of the laſt century; but the actual-fitua-
tion of the poof not coming under his conſi-
deration, nothing very applicable to the ſub-
ject is to be found; although a confuſed re-
collection ſtrikes me, that ſome modern pam-
phlet on the poor laws, or their regulation,
had ſtated Mr. Locke's ideas on the ſubject
ás erroneous; whether fo or not, it became
me, while in purſuit of this enquiry, to know
what
i
LÉTT ER XVI. 181
what thoſe ideas were, which, had they been
found among his works, whether wrong or
right, demanded, on account of his great
name, that they ſhould be noticed; for ſuch
a mind as his, on every topic which
may
have
been the object of its diſquiſition, is a polar
ſtar to the ignorant wanderer : although 110-
thing directly applicable to the police of the
poor is found; yet a compariſon which he
makes between a kingdom and a farmer, is fo
much in point with their preſent profligate
ſituation, the careleſs conduct of their over-
ſeers, and that fpirit which has unhappily got
head among our rulers, of encouraging the
commercial world, at the expence of agricul-
ture, and every principle of internal ceconomy;
while, at the ſame time, it ſo ſtrongly authen-
ticates the alarming prognoſtics of our deca-
dency, alluded to a few pages back; that the
whole paſſage, falling from the height of that
great name; muſt make an impreſſion, and oc-
wcaſion it to be worth tranſcribing.
“ A kingdom grows rich juſt as a farmer, and
no otherwiſe. Let us ſuppoſe the whole iſland
of Portland one farm ; and that the owner,
beſides what ſerves his family, carries to mar-
ket,
182 L E T T E R XVI: -
1
ket, to Weymouth and Dorcheſter, &c.cattle,
corn, butter, cheeſe, wool, or cloth, lead, and
tin, all commodities produced within his farm
of Portland, to the value of roool. yearly;
and for this, brings home in falt, wine, oil,
- fpice, linen, and ſilks, to the value of gool.
and the remaining rool. in money. It is evi-
dent he grows every year 100l. richer, and ſo
at the end of ten years will have clearly got
IQool.-If the owner be a better huſband,
and, contenting himſelf with his native com-
modities, buy leſs wine, fpice, and ſilk at mar-
-ket; and ſo bring home 500l. in money year-
ly, inſtead of 1000l. at the end of ten years,
he will have 5oool. by him, and be ſo much
richer ; he dies, and his ſon ſucceeds, a fa-
ſhionable young gentleman, that cannot dine
without champaigne and burgundy, nor ſleep
but in a damaſk bed, whoſe wife muſt ſpread
a long train of brocade, and his children be al-
ways in the neweſt French cut and ſtuff; he
being come to the eſtate, keeps on a very buſy
family, the markets are weekly frequented,
and the commodities of his farm carried out,
and fold as formerly; but the returns are made
fomewhat different; the faſhionable way
of
eating,
I E T TË Rime xyi... 1
183
eating, drinking, furniture, and clothing for
himſelf and family, requires more ſugar and
ſpice, wine and fruit, filk and ribbons, than
in his father's time; ſo that inſtead of gool.
per annum, he now - brings home, of conſu-
mable commodity, 1100l. yearly. What
comes of this ?--He lives in ſplendour it is
true, but this unavoidably carries away the
money his father got, and he is every year
rool, poorer. To his: expences; beyond his
income, add debauchery, idleneſs, and quar-
rels°among his ſervants; whereby his buſineſs
is diſturbed, his farm neglected, and a general
diſorder and confuſion prevail through his
whole family: this will tumble him down the
hill the faſter, and the ſtock, which the in-
duſtry, frugality, and good order of his father
laid
up,
will be quickly brought to an end,
and he faſt in priſon ; a farm and a kingdom,
in this reſpect, differ no more than as greater
and leſs. We may trade, and be buſy, and
grów poor by it, unleſs we regulate our ex-
pences; if to this we are idle, negligent, dif-
hóneft, malicious, and diſturb the ſober and
induſtrious in their buſineſs, let it be
upon
what
G
I
184
LET TER XVI.
what pretence it will, we ſhall ruin the fast-
er."
poor in
This compariſon of Mr. Locke's runs on
all fours, as well with the actual ſtate of the
property, applied to the ufe of the
this kingdom, as with the ſituation of the
finances belonging to the ſtate itſelf. The
reign of Elizabeth made the maintenance of
the poor compulſive, with reſpect to the laity,
which was in remoter times voluntary; what
might in thoſe days of frugality be taken from
the pockets. of her ſubjects by poor rates, we
know not; but we know, that about the mid-
dle of the laſt century; the cattle, corn, but-
ter, cheefe, wool, yarn, conſumed by this
large family coſt about 118,000l. more than
the produce of their induſtry amounted to;
fifty years afterwards their expences out-ran
their income annually 819,000l. ; in 1785, the
ſurplus of their expences, above their income,
or the produce of their induſtry; gradually
had encreaſed to the
enormous ſum of
2,184,9041. annually; here you fee plainly the
effects of the change of manners and living, ſo
forcibly inſtanced in Mr. Locke's compariſon;
ſugar,
1
I ET TER XVI: 185
in the eating, drinking, furniture, cloathings
ſugar, ſpice, wine, and fruit, otherwiſe tea and
gin ; to which may be added, the debauchery,
idleneſs, and quarrels of the individuals, which
compoſe the bulk of this numerous family;
to examine the compariſon, with reſpect to
the kingdom at large, is not the buſineſs of
this tract.
The reign of Queen Anne is not ſo memo-
rable for any laws
laws regulating the internal po-
lice of the kingdom ; as for the many blows
which the ambitious ſpirit of Louis the Four-
teenth received from the arms of the allies
nothing of material conſequence was done
with reſpect to the poor. By the 33d chapter
of the fifth parliament, the vagrant act of the
laſt.reign was continued, with ſome farther
directions; as was, by the following chapter,
an act made in the 13th and 14th year of
Charles II. for the better relief of the
poors
and continued by the legiſlature at different
times fince, and which was ultimately made
perpetual by chapter the 18th of the 12th
year of this reign; and by chapter 23d, all
the laws relating to rogues, vagabonds, ſturdy
VOL. I.
N
beggars,
3
186
LÉTTER XVI.
beggars, and vagrants, were alſo reduced into
one act of parliament.
Neither does the ſubject feem, throughout
this reign of war and conqueft, to have occu-
pied the attention of individuals; no publi-
cation of any account having lived to the pre-
fent day, except a letter to the parliament by
the author of Robinſon Cruſoe, one of thoſe
very few books which the late Dr. Johnſon
faid he had been able to read without skipping.
Daniel Defoe, in 1704, choſe to publith a de-
clamatory epiſtle, addreſſed to the parliament,
with the following title, Giving Alms no Cha-
rity, and employing the Poor a Grievance to the
Națion.
In this publication he informs his readers,
that Queen Elizabeth, in her progreſs through
the kingdom, obſerving the vaſt throngs of
poor flocking to ſee and bleſs her, being. Itruck
with the multitude, frequently exclaimed, pau-
per 'ubique jacet; and this truth, ſo terſely
expreſſed by her, occafioned a continual Itudy
in her mind how to recover her people from
poverty, and make their labour more profit-
able to themſelves in particular, and the na-
tion in general.
Не
L E T T E R XVİ. ;
P
1
1
1
1
187
He ſays down the following as fundamental
maxims :
1. There is in England more labour than
hands to perform it; and conſequently.a want
of people, not of employment.
2. No man in England, of ſound limbs
and ſerſes, can be poor merely from want
of work.
3. All our work-houſes, corporations, and
charities, for employing the poor, and ſetting
them' to work, as 'now' they are employed, or
any acts of parliament to empower overſeers
of pariſhes, or pariſhes themſelves, to employ
the poor, except, as ſhall be hereafter except.
ed, are and will be public nuiſances, miſchiefs
to the nation, which ſerve to the ruin of fa-
milies, and the increaſe of the poor.
That it is a' regulation of the poor that
is wanted in England, not a ſetting them
4;
to work.
Theſe maxims he profeffes to demonſtrate,
but does not entirely fucceed in the attempt,
although he makes ſome very ſenſible obſer-
vations in the courſe of his argument on each
of the heads.
N 2
Dearneſs
188
L E T T E R XVI.
A
Dearneſs of labour he advances as a proof
of the firſt maxim; and gives due praiſe to
Elizabeth for what ſhe did for the poor, par-
ticularly by encouraging the French manu-
factories, when the perſecution under the
Duke d'Alva drove them from the Nether-
lands; and alſo by that excellent act of
par-
liament; in the 43d year of her reign, ſo often
alluded to.
The ſtreſs of his argument lies againſt em-
ploying the poor in work-houſes, corporations,
houſes of correction, and the like; becauſe
the method propoſed to employ them is by
fpinning, weaving, and manufacturing our
Englith wool; manufactures of which are all
exerciſed in England to their full extent, and
rather beyond their vent than under it; he
therefore is of opinion, that for every ſkein
of worſted ſpun in one place, there muſt be
one leſs ſpun elſewhere: he ſuppoſes a ma-
Dufactory of baize to be erected in Biſhopf-
gate-ſtreet; unleſs a greater conſumption can
be found for nore baize than were made bea
fore, for every piece made in London, there
fruit be one leſs made at Colcheſter, and
there.
L E T T E R XVI.
189
therefore this is not increaſe, but only tranf-
poſition of manufacture.
The only thing to be done is, to introduce
ſome foreign manufactory; ſomething which
was not made here before.
He conſiders the poverty and exigence of
the
poor in England to be plainly derived from
caſualty or crime; by caſualty he means fick-
neſs, loſs of limbs, or fight, and any natural or
accidental impotence.
The crimes of the poor, and from whence
their poverty is derived, as from viſible and
direct fountains, are luxury, pride, floth; the
pride of good huſbandry is no Engliſh virtue';
it may have been imported, and in fome places
it thrives well enough.
The Engliſh labouring people eat and drink;
but éſpecially drink three times as much in
value as any foreigners.
· He accuſes us of being the moſt lazy, dili-
gent nation' in the world ; among our poor
there is a general táint of llothfulneſs, which
diſtemiper he conceives to be ſo epidemic and
deep rooted, that it is a queſtion whether an
act of parliainent will reach it; the number of
thë poor is occaſioned by the men who will not
work,
N 3
190
L E T T E R XVI.
ting the
work, not by thoſe wbo can get no work; all
the work-houſes and overſeers in England will
not reach this caſe; but if ſuch acts of parlia-
ment can be made, as will effectually cure the
floth and luxury of the poor; will make drunk-
ards take care of their wives and families ;
ſpendthrifts lay up for a wet day; lazy fellows
diligent; and thoughtleſs futtiſh men careful
and provident; if this can be done, they will
foon find work enough, and there will be leſs
poverty among us;, if it cannot be done, fet-
poor to work on woollen manufactures,
and thereby encroaching on thoſe who now
work at them, will ruin our trade, and increaſe
the number of poor.
A bill brought into parliament by Sir Hum-
phry Mackworth, for employing the poor,
which had paſſed the commons with great
approbation, gave riſe to this tract; by this
bill it was intended, as Mr. Chalmers, in his
Life of Defoe, tells us, to ſupport work-houſes
in every pariſh, with parochial capitals, for
carrying on parochial manufactures, but it was
thrown out by the peers; to which it is proba-
ble this ſenſible pamphlet very much. con-
duced ; in which he pretends, that he could
propoſe
L E T T E R XVI.
191
propoſe à regulation of the poor, which would
put a flop. to poverty, beggary, pariſh charges,
aleſments, and the like; and promoſes to do ſo,
when he has gone through the proof of his
maxims; but waives the performance, for this
very inadequate reaſon, becauſe he will not
preſume to lead a body ſo auguft, ſo wiſe, and
fo capable, as the honourable aſſembly to whom
the tract is dedicated.
There are in this tract many excellent ob-
ſervations, expreſſed with great dignity. That
part which tends to prove that giving alms is
no charity, lays down ſome ſenſible maxims,
on which he reſts the ſtrength of his argument,
which tends to prove that parochial work-
houſes ſhould not be encouraged for the pur-
poſe of parochial manufactures. After having
proved that there is more work in the king-
dom than hands to perform it, he aſſerts that
begging is a mere ſcandal; in the able, it is a
ſcandal on their induſtry; in the impotent,
upon their country; the poverty of England
does not lie among craving beggars, but among
poor families, where the children are nume-
rous, and where death or ſickneſs has deprived
them of the labour of their father; an alms ill
directed,
N 4
192
L E T T E R XVI.
directed, may
be charity to a particular perſon,
but becomes an injury to the public.
That Mr. De Foe is right in theſe prin-
ciples, there ſurely can be no doubt; and the
truth, that we have more work in the kingdom
than hands to perforon it, comes home to, and
eſtabliſhes another principle; that the poor
ſhould be trained to do all the work that the na-
ţion can find them; early habits of induſtry,
are moſt likely to effect this end; ſchools of
induſtry muſt therefore be the means.
It ſurely is no deſpotic, or ſlaviſh maxim,
that the children of individuals are in ſome
reſpect the children of the ſtate; republics,
renowned for the freedom of their government,
acted on this principle ; à fortiori, the chil-
dren of thoſe who receive their maintenance,
or any part of it, from the property of their
own citizens, by virtue of the ordinances of
the ſtate, are the children of the ſtate, which
conſequently has a right to ſuperintend their
education.
" Apply this principle to every individual wha
does not maintain his family, but has relief
from the overſeer, his children belong to the
ftate; it is the duty of the ſtate to take care
that
L ETTER XVII.
193
that they turn out induſtrious fubjects; and I
am ſure intereſt here well coaleſces with duty;
ſchools of induſtry are the means.
The firſt
ſection of 43d Elizabeth provides for their
ſupport; the end will be an induſtrious moral
poor; a bleſſed contraſt to the lazineſs and dif-
foluteneſs, ſo much, and ſo univerſally com-
plained of.
L E T T E R XVII.
IN the fifth year of George the Firſt, the
parliament empowered the church wardens
and overſeers, by warrant from two juſtices,
to ſeize fo much of the goods and chattels,
and receive ſo much of the annual-rents and
profits of the lands and tenements of ſuch
huſband, father, or mother, as ſhall run away
leaving their wives and children a burthen
upon the pariſh, as the ſaid two juſtices ſhall
direct, towards the diſburſing the pariſh where
ſuch wife and child ſhall be left, and alſo for
their future maintenance; this warrant to be
confirmed
194
L E T T E R XVII.
confirmed at the quarter ſeſſions; where a
warrant alſo for the ſale of the goods, &c,
muſt be obtained before they can be diſpoſed
of, and to which fefſions the officers are to be
accountable for the money raiſed.
Two years after this it was the opinion of
parliament, as declared in the preamble to an
act for encouraging the woollen and filk ma-
nufactures, and more effectually employing the
poor,
« Thit it is moſt evident, the wearing
of printed, painted, ſtained, and dyed calli-
coes, in apparel, houſehold-ſtuff, furniture,
and otherwiſe, does manifeſtly tend to the de-
triment of the woollen and filk manufactures
of this kingdom, and to the exceſſive increaſe
of the poor ; and if not effectually prevented,
may be the utteſ ruin and deſtruction of the
faid manufactures, and of many thouſands of
his Majeſty's ſubjects, and their families,
whoſe livelihoods do entirely depend there-
upon ;” it is therefore enacted, in the year
1720, that none ſhall wear any garment of
printed callico, or any ſtuff made of cotton, or
mixed therewith, which ſhall be painted, un-
der the penalty of 5l.; or uſe it in any houſe-
hold ſtuff or furniture, under the penalty of
201,
1
L E T T E R XVII.
195
201.; and that no tradeſman ſhall make
up
ſuch furniture, under the ſame penalty..
This act is not taken notice of, on account
of any effect it has at preſent in the manage-
ment of the poor ; but as introductory of an
obſervation, neceſſary to be attended to, by
thoſe who would with our ſtatute book to be
a collection of efficient and practical regulations
of police; and not as it in fact is, an immenſe
collection of contradictory, heterogeneous of-
dinances, militating in many inſtances with
each other, in many with the principles of
ſound policy, and in ſome with the actual ha-
bit and practice of all his majeſty's ſubjects, of
which this ſtatute is a remarkable, but no un-
common inſtance.
No longer ago than the year 1720,
this
pro-
hibition of callicoes and ſtuff, made of cotton,
or mixed therewith, paſſed into a law; and in
1790, and many years before, every woman in
the kingdom is cloathed in theſe
very
fabrics
moſt of our houſehold furniture is made of
them, this prohibition ſtill remaining the law
of the land.
The woollen manufactures of this kingdom
fertainly deſerye greater encouragement than
either
;
1
196
L E T T E R XVII.
"
either line for cotton ; becauſe wool, the ſta-
ple commodity of England, is the produce of
our own agriculture; hemp, flax, and cotton,
are at preſent generally the product of foreign
agricultures and alſo becaufe the fabric of the
woollen manufacture is ſtrong and warm,
fuited therefore to the uſe of the bulk of the
people: that of cotton and linen, weak and
thin, improper for labour and a northern cli-
mate; woollen cloathing does not require fo
much waſhing, as our printed linens and white
ſtockings; an article of great expence in poor
families; but the "revenue is thought to be a
fufficient reaſon for theſe paradoxical abſurdi-
tiës;'and, that the public treaſury may abound,
drunkenneſs, gaming, luxury, and oftentatious
cloathing are encouraged, in open defiance of
the laws of the land. Thoſe magiſtrates
would be very coolly thanked for a confcien-
tious diſcharge of their duty who, to promote
fobriety, ſhould lefſen the number of ale-
houſes; to diſcourage gaming, ſhould autho-
rize the pariſh officers to refuſe relief to thoſe
who fingly, or in clubs, buy lottery chances ;
or to promote the manufacture of wool, ſhould
encourage
L E T T E R XVII. 197
3
1
encourage informations
upon
the act of parlia-
ment juſt alluded to'; the prevailing maxim of
all financiers is rem facias, the means are but
a ſecondary object of their attention.
In the ninth year of this reign, the poor
laws again were an object of parliamentary
attention; and an act for amending the laws
relating to their ſettlements, employments, and
relief pafied; which enacted, that no poor
fhould be relieved, until an oath be made be-
fore one juffice of a reaſonable cauſe, and that
"the perſon hath applied to a veſtry, or to twó
of the overſeers, and been refuſed relief;.
ſummons is alſo directed to the overſeers to
ſhew cauſe, why ſuch relief ſhould not be
granted, before it is ordered ; and when orý
dered, the perſon's name is to be entered in a
book to be kept for that purpoſe, as one who
is to receive relief as long as the cauſe conti
nues, and no longer; and no officer of
any
pariſh ſhall bring to account (except on ſud-
den and emergent occafions), any money he
Hall- have given to any poor perſon, who is
not regiſtered in ſuch book, under the penalty
of five pounds.
It
?
t.
3
198 L ET TER XVII.
It has been ſuggeſted that one cauſe of the
bad execution of the poor laws, is the conſtant
fuperintending authority that the legiſlature
has delegated to juſtices of the peace; men
eminent for their wiſdom and reſpectable for
their opinions have attributed much of the
miſchief experienced from this code of laws
to the conduct of thoſe who are the ſupervi-
fors of their execution ; nor is the complaint
new; the great Sir Francis Bacon, it
niay
be
remembered, in the very infancy of the code
threw out an idea to this effect, when he made
the diſtinction between what was done by the
diſtracted government of juſtices of the peace,
and what might be done by a ſettled ordinance;
yet whatever of ill may have accrued in ge-
neral from the ſuperintending authority of
magiftrates, it has rather ariſen from the not
powers,
than from either the
abuſe, or miſuſe of them ; in this particular
inſtance which reſpects the pecuniary aſſiſtance
the poor are entitled to receive from the over-
feers; the interference of a magiſtrate appears
peculiarly proper, when called to action by the
complaint of the poor themſelves ; becauſe the
neareſt magiſtrate has it in his power to in-
form
uſing their
!
L E T T E R XVII.
199
form himſelf of the real circumſtances of the
caſė, and from his ſituation in life is a proper
check to any partiality, or improper, although
natural bias, the overſeer who lives more im-
mediately in the midſt of the poor, and being
frequently connected with them by the differ-
ent degrees of relationſhip, and generally as
their immediate employer,' may be influenced
by; which motives operate to a greater degree
in the diſtribution of aſſiſtance to the poor,
than at firſt fight might be imagined, and
which
gave riſe to objections of the moſt fe-
rious nature to Mr. Gilbert's Bill, and would
have cauſed an oppoſition of the moſt obſtinate
kind, from the yeomanry of this kingdom, had
that bill paſſed into a law; which ſtruck at the
root of this power, to give away the money
taken in a great meaſure immediately from the
pockets of this large and valuable claſs of our
countrymen.
Beſides, it will be found on enquiry, that
the money diſtributed in the weekly liſt forms
118 very material proportion of the expences of
a päriſh; and in the diſtribntion of money
there is no room for lucrative jobs, no knaviſh
contracts for furniſhing the various articles of
conſumption;
200
L E T T E R XVII.
conſumption; and the overſeer keeping a. fair
account can have no profit; and poſſibly as
money is the common repreſentative of all
neceſſaries of life, ſo it is the greateſt, moſt
convenient, and beſt appropriated relief to the
individual. It ſomewhat, in its univerſality of
uſe, reſembles Boniface's ale"A poor man
and his family may eat it, drink it; and ſleep
upon it."
ز
Churchwardens and overſeers, with the con-
fent of the major part of the pariſhioners in
veſtry aſſembled, are alſo, by this act, empow-
ered.to.purchaſe, or hire, houſes to lodge and
employ the poor in ; and there to keep, main-
tain, and employ them; and ſuch poor as re-
fuſe to be lodged, maintained, and employed
there, ſhall not be entitled to relief; pariſhes
are alſo. empowered to join in ſuch purchaſe,
and the officers of one pariſh may, for that
purpoſe, contract with thoſe of another ; but
the ſettlement of the poor is not to be affected
by their removal to another pariſh, in conſe-
quence of this act.
.
The acquiſition of ſettlement by purchaſe
is regulated by another ſection of the act; which
directs, that the purchaſe money muſt not be
leſs
L E T T E R · XVII.
201
leſs than thirty pounds, bona fide, paid for the
eſtate, by which a perſon ſhall gain a ſettle-
ment; and that no perſon paying to the ſca-
vengers or highway rates ſhall, on that ac-
count, be deemed to gain a ſettlement; the
other ſections regulate the notices neceſſary on
appeals, and the relief the appellant ſhall re-
ceive on undue removals.
I have not been able to obtain any tract on
the ſubject written during this reign; nor have
I ſeen any referred to, or quoted by thoſe
which have been ſince written; the conclu-
fion which follows is, that none of ſufficient
merit, to eſcape oblivion, were publiſhed; and
indeed the little that was done by the legiſla-
ture, is a proof that the ſubject did not much
attract the attention of the nation; the vene-
rable fabric received a little addition and re-
pairs only; but no material alteration was
made.
N
VOL. I.
0
LETTER
[ 202 ]
LET TER XVIII.
.
IT
(
T is with great fatisfaction, that the opi-
nion of Mr. Locke on this ſubject, al-
luded to a few pages back, has been peruſed;
by which it appears, that about the year
1696, the clamour with regard to the poor,
and the búrthen of the poor's rate, having at-
třácted the notice of the Commons, they re-
ferred it to the board of trade to conſider the
fact, and to report the remedy; on which oc-
cafion Mſ. Locke, who was one of the com-
mifioners, delivers the following opinion in
the report made by the board **. The
multiplicity of the poor, and the increaſe of
the tax for their maintenance, is ſo general
an obſervation and complaint, that it cannot
be doubted of; nor has it been only ſince the
Laff war that this evil has come upon us, it has
been a growing burther on the kingdom theſe
inany years, and the two laſt reigns felt the
31 ใ
Live
.:$]
4 Ms. Chalmer's Eximate, &c.
increaſe
L È T Ê Ř XVÍIÍ. 203
!
increaſe of it as well as the preſent. If the
cauſes of this evil be looked into, we humbly
conceive it will be found to have proceeded,
not from the
ſcarcity of proviſons *, nor want of
employment for the poor s ſince the goodneſs of
God has bleſſed theſe times with plenty no
no leſs than the former, and a long peace du-
ring three reigns gave us as plentiful a trade
as ever. The growth of the poor muſt there-
fore have ſoine other cauſe; and it can be no.
thing elſe but the relaxation of diſcipline and .
corruption; virtue and induſtry being as con-
ftant companions on the one ſide, as vice and
idleneſs are on the other. On this firſt prin-
ciple, thus clearly expreſſed by Mr. Locke,
whoſe ſtrong intellectual faculties were em-
ployed in the exact ſituation, to obtain ample
intelligence, on the fubject he has thrown
ſuch a blaze of light over, one muſt reſt with
confidence; in fact this truth has often diſa
covered itſelf to us, in faint glimmerings, du-
ring the inveſtigation of this ſubject; and the
have perceived how often this ſen-
timent has obtruded itſelf on the pen;, that it
reader may
* . By the Windfor table the prices of wheat in the years 1636,
1697, 1698, was 31. 38. id.--21. 135. 4d.-3. gs.
02
meets
204
L E T T E R XVIII.
ispit
meets with ſuch honourable confirmation from
Mr. Locke's authority, near a hundred years ago,
ſtamps a ſignal mark of propriety on the ideas
which have been hitherto ſuggeſted; and firm-
ly eſtabliſhes the following aſſertion, that un-
leſs'vice and idleneſs among our poor are de-
creaſed ſince this opinion was given, the mul-
tiplicity of the poor, and the ſtill increaſing
burthen of tax for their maintenance, ariſes
at the end of the eighteenth century, not
from "ſcarcity of proviſions, and want of em-
ployment for the poor, but from relaxation
of diſcipline and corruption of morals.
As it is poſſible that the remedy for the
diſeaſe may be diſcovered by purſuing the en-
quiry, with equal clearneſs as the cauſe" has
þeen pointed out ; we ſhall proceed in the
fame manner to relate what the legiſlature has
done, and individuals have written on the ſub-
ject to the cloſe of the laſt parliament.
The law with reſpect to 'natural children
remained on the footing the acts of the 18th
of Elizabeth and the 7th' of James the Firſt
had left the ſubject; until the ſixth year of
the reign of George the Second, when, it
having been found by long experience, that
the
5:
r
?
BE
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have property ;- from this fome inconvenience
.
LET TER XVIII. 205
the ſecurity of pariſhes was not ſufficiently
provided for ;; the legiſlature, by a ſtatute
then paffed, in the 31ſt chapter, enacted, that
the perſon charged on oath of being the-fa-
ther of a baſtard child, by any ſingle woman
who ſhall be delivered, or ſhall declare herfelf
to be pregnant, and that the child is likely to
become chargeable to the pariſh, ſhall be im-
mediately apprehended and committed to pri-
ſon, unlefs he gives ſecurity to indemnify the
pariſh; but that he ſhall be diſcharged on the
miſcarriage of the woman, or if no order be
made in purſuance of the 18th of Elizabeth
within fix weeks after the woman's delivery;
and that no woman ſhall involuntarily be
obliged to filiate the child of which the is
1.6.0
pregnant before delivery,
It ſeems alſo to have been a doubt, whe-
ther juſtices of the peace could legally act in
any caſe relating to pariſhes where ſuch juſtices
aroſe in the adminiſtration of the common
buſineſs-of, à magiſtrate ; the 18th chapter of
the truth ſtatute of this reign, therefore, clears
up the ſubject; and empowers them to enforce
the laws, with reſpect to the maintenance, re-
lief,
1.
1
1
1
102
03
206
I ETTER XVIII.
lief, and ſettlement of poor perſons; thoſe alſo
with reſpect to paſſing vagrants, repairs of
highways, and any other laws, concerning pa-
rochial taxes or rates; notwithſtanding they
themſelves may be chargeable to ſuch rates.,
The following year produces an inſtance of
the attention the legiſlature paid to the con
duct of the ovęzfeers of the poor ;,, who, acz
ding to the preamble of the act of the 17th
Geo. II. cap: 3; " on frivolous, pretences, and
private ends, frequently make unjuſt, and ille-
gal rates, in a ſecret and clandeſtine manner;"!
and the preamble to the 38th chapter of the
the ſame ſtatute ſtates, “ that the money raiſed
for the relief of the poor is liable to be mif-
applied, after it is with great difficulty and
delay raiſed;' to obviate theſe inconveniences,
the firſt act directs that public notice ſhall be
given in the church of every rate, for the res
lief of the poor, the next Sunday after the
ſame ſhall be allowed by the juſtices; and
that the oyerſeers ſhall permit ſuch rates to be
inſpected at all ſeaſonable times, on payment
of 1s. for the ſame, and copies ſhall, on de-
mand, be given, allowing 6d. for every 24
names; the rate to be void if no ſuch notice
be
L E T T E R XVIII. 207
be given, and a penalty of 20s. on refuſal of
ſuch inſpection, or copy, and the 38th chap-
ter directs that the churchwardens and over-
ſeers of the poor ſhall yearly, within fourteen
days after other overſeers ſhall be appointed,
deliver a juít, true, and perfect account, in
writing, fairly entered in a book to be kept
for that purpoſe, and ſigned by the faid
churchwardens and overſeers, of all the ſums
of money received, or rated and not received;
and alſo of all goods, chat:els, ſtock, and ma-
terials that ſhall be in their hands, or in the
hands of the poor, in order to be wrought;
and of all monies paid by ſuch churchwardeurs*
and overſeers, and of all other things concern.
ing the ſaid office; and ſhajl påy and deliver
over all ſums of money, goods and chattels,
and other things, as ſhall be in their hands,
unto the ſucceeding overſeers; and that this
account ſhall be verified on oath before one,
or more magiſtrates, who ſhall alſo fign the
faid account, without fee, and this book ſhall
be carefully preſeryed, and all perſons liable to
be aſſeſſed, ſhall be permitted to inſpect it, on
payment of 6d. and copies ſhall be given alſo-
on demand, on payment of 6d. for every 300
;
04
words
208 L ETTER XVIII.
Visa
words ; in caſe of the death of an overſeer,
two juſtices are to chooſe another; if an over-
ſeer remove from the pariſh; his-account, teks
tified as above, ſhall be delivered to the re-
maining overſeer, or churchwardens and the
répreſentatives of an overſeer ſhaļl account
within forty days after his deceaſe. Appeals
to any rates or aſſeſſments, reaſonable notice
being given; lie to the next general or quarter
ſeſſion's of the peace; where, if the whole rate
be appealed to, the juſtices may quaſh it, and
order the churchwardens and overſeers to
make a new one ; but where juſt cauſe is
Teth, to give relief only, by altering the rate,
the juſtice's are empowered to amend the rate,
in fùch manner as ſhall be neceſſary to ſuch
velief only.
"As great care'is taken by this act, that the
fra te's ſhall be fair and equal, and that the pa-
riſh officers ſhall diſcharge' their reſpective
"offices honeſtly; fo does it provide againſt
áný vexatious actions being brought againſt
them, by declaring that no want of form, ei-
"ther in the appointment of overſeers, the rate
or äffeſſment, or in the diſtreſs, ſhall render
"them unlawful';' nor ſhall the parties diſtrain:
ing
unitie
g
L E T T E R XVIII.
* 209,
??
opis
ing be accoupted treſpaſſers, ab initio, on ac-
count of any irregularity in their proceedings,
but the parties: aggrieved ſhall recover for
the ſpecial damage ſuſtained by ſuch irregu
larity.
irurgie
Succeeding overſeers , are alſo enabled to
levy any arrears due to former overſeers, and
in caſe of perſons removing out of pariſhes,
and others coming in, they ſhall pay. their
rates in proportion to the time they have re-
fpectively occupied ;. the proportion to be al-
certained by two or more magiſtrates, and
recovered by diſtreſs.
Copies of the aſſeſſments are alſo directed
to be entered in a book, to be kept for public
peruſal, the entry to be made within fourteen
days after the appeal is determined ; and all
the regulations in the act are enforced by a
penalty not exceeding 51. and the power of
overſeers, in places where there are no church-
wardens, is declared to be the ſame, as where
they are both churchwardens and overſeers ;
and they are ſubjected to the ſame penalties.
:. The ſection of this act, which directs the
overſeers account to be verified on oath before
a magiſtrate, ſeems not ſufficiently to have
explained
.
210
L ET T E R XVIII,
explained whether the magiftrate is to exa-
mine the accounts, article by article; or whe-
ther the overſeer is to ſwear to the whole aci
count only, by the lump, and is not obliged to
go through an examination, with reſpect to
the articles of his account, on an oath voir
dire; if this is the caſe, the magiſtrate acts
officially only, and the oath is but of little fer-
vice, as an appeal lies to the quarter feffions.
The 11 th chapter of the 31ſt ſtatute of this
reign makes ſome regulations in the ſettle-
ment of apprentices, and enacts, that a perſon
bound apprentice, by any deed, writing, or
contract, duly ſtamped, ſhall be entitled to a
ſettlement where he is ſo bound and has ſerv-
the other ſection of the act relates to the
power given to juſtices, in ſettling diſputes
between maſter and ſervants, and conſequently
comes not under the ſcope of our preſent diſ-
quiſition.
The laſt act of parliament in this reign,
which reſpects the poor, is ſtatute 32, chap-
ter :22, which provides for the maintenance
of the wives and families of militia men, when
in actual ſervice, by directing that the overſeers
Arall,
pay from the poor's ſate, by order of one
juſtice
ed:
LETTER XVIII.
21
juſtice of the peace, a weekly allowance to the
diſtreſſed families of militia men, embodied,
and called out unto actual ſervice, according
to the uſual price of labour in huſbandry.
within the county, or diſtrict, by the following
rule: for one child, under ten years, one day's
labour; for two under the ſame age, two' days
labour; for three children, three days labour;
for five or more, four days labour; and for
the wife, one day's labour ; but that the fa-
milies of thoſe only choſen by lot, and ņot
ſubſtitutes, ſhall be entitled to this allowance;
for which payment the overſeers are to be reso
imburſed out of the county ſtock.
To paſs over the ſtatute-book of this reign,
without mentioning the vagrant act, the 17th
Geo. II. cap. 5, would appear an inſtance of
inattention to the general deſign of theſe pa-
pers; although much the greateſt part of it
affords no inſight to the ſubject, becauſe it'in
general reſpects the treatment of thoſe, who
have forfeited the protection of ſociety, and are
to be conſidered as its outcaſts; but if, through
the fault of an improper ſyſtem of legiſlation,
or through the mal-adminiſtration of the laws,
which are in fosce reſpecting the poor, the
number
L E T T E R XVIII.
number of thoſe, who come under the de-
ſcription of vagrants is increaſed; the laws
themſelves, or the execution of them, have
thrown out of the protection of ſociety a num-
ber of people who are not vagrants from their
own fault; and ſo far the laws themſelves are
accountable for the miſchief which they have
occaſioned; while the puniſhment, ſevere to
exceſs, falls on unoffending individuals ; in
enumerating the particular offences, which
occaſion perſons to be claſſed under the de-
fcription of idle and diſorderly perſons, whom
zone juſtice may commit to the houſe of cor-
grection to hard labour for a month ; are thoſe
-who-threaten to run away, and leave their
soy.wives and children to the pariſh; this is a
4. curious offence, certainly not a heinous one,
for it may conſiſt in words only, unaccomipa-
nied with acts or intentions; but for this they
may be committed; and, if they reſiſt the
y commitment, or eſcape, are inſtantly “to' be
claſſed among rogues
among rogues and vagabonds.
nied. All perſons.who return to thë pariſli from
wwhence they have been removed, without
na certificate, ſtand in thë fame predica-
se ment"; "the law of ſettlements; therėfore,
tends
1
1
LETTER XVIII.
212
!
1
tends to increaſe the number of rogues and
.vagabonds.
All perſons who have not wherewithal to
live idle without employment, and refuſe to
work at the common uſual wages given to
other labourers in the like work, in the pariſh
wherein they then live, are alſo liable to the
ſame puniſhments, and to become vagrants.
An induſtrious handicraftſman, who has
maintained his wife and family creditably ånd
honeſtly by his induſtry, if removed from the
town where his craft is carried on, to his place
of ſettlement, a village, where there is no em-
ployment but in huſbandry, muſt of neceffity
fall under this deſcription ; becauſe not being
able, from different habits to thoſe of a la-
bourer, to do a fair day's work, he will not
eaſily find employment; a mian does not give
up a portion of his natural liberty, and his ón-
Jy property, his ability to earn his bread, for
this kind of protection from the ſocial com-
pact; this alſo ariſes in a great meaſure from
the law of ſettlements.
All perſons who run away, and leave their
wives and families, whereby' they become
chargeable to any pariſh, are, ipfo fakto, to
be
1
214 L E T T E R XVIII.
be deemed rogues and vagabonds; whoſe pus
niſhment is immediate commitment until the
quarter feffionsthen they are liable to be
committed to hard labour for a time not ex-
ceeding ſix months, and during their confine-
ment to be corrected by whipping.
In this inſtance alſo the crime againſt fo-
ciety may not be ſufficiently ſerious to deſerve
fo ſevere a puniſhment; until a poor perſon,
his wife' or family has become chargeable to
a pariſh, the reſtraining him from leaving his
home, by the fear of fo rigorous a ſentence,
does not ariſe' abſolutely from neceſſity, and
therefore the reſtraint is not juſtifiable on
principles of common juſtice ; the poſible
event, which may come to paſs from his
, leaving them, ſhould not therefore, in the firſt
inſtance, claſs him among rogues and vaga-
bonds; he ſhould not be deemed an outcaſt
of ſociety by anticipation of evil; he ſhould
have firſt been a penſioner on the public fund
of charity, before he ſhould by ſo ſevere a law,
be reſtrained of his liberty; this deſcription of
the crime, therefore, is too comprehenſive,
and occaſions many innocent ſubjects to be
claſſed with, and be ſubjected to the pu-
niſhment
0
L E T TER XVIII.
215
niſhment appropriated to rogues and vaga-
bonds.
With but a ſuperficial knowledge of the ſub-
ject, were theſe ſtrictures on the ſituation of
our poor undertaken; the purpoſe was, to in
veſtigate, and point out, the cauſe of that vaſt
expence, which every rank of ſociety with rea-
fon coinplains of, in maintaining this nume-
rous claſs of our fellow-ſubjects, and to ex-
plain the true foundation of that
very
wretch-
ed ſituation in which we ſee too many of
them; in fact, to account for this ſtriking pa.
radox, that while millions ſterling are ex.
pended in their relief, millions of the
poor
Itill.
ſtand in need of more relief than they receive;
a diſtant gleam of hope occurred alſo to the
mind, that by inveſtigating the cauſe of the
evil, poſſibly the remedy might alſo be diſco-
vered; the method choſen, was that of fixing
a foundation, in the firſt principles of ſociety,
and proceeding by an hiſtorical analyſis; this
has laid me open to ſome apparent contradic-
tions and miſtakes; theſe letters being ſent to
the preſs, as freſh information gave freſh mat-
ter, and enabled the writer to proceed in de-
veloping the hiſtory of the poor, the laws re-
fpecting
C
216 LETTER XVIII.
ſpecting them, and the opinions of thoſe who
have turned their attention to the ſubject;
which miſtakes might have been avoided by
a different mode of proceeding; but then the
communication could not have been prepared
for that very uſeful periodical magazine of
agricultural intelligence in which it firſt ap-
peared; beſides probably by this means of
treating the ſubject, dogmatic principles, or
preconceived opinions, are avoided; they at
leaſt have leſs time to eſtabliſh themſelves;
the mind which confeſſes itſelf to be employed
in obtaining information, is not likely to deal
in dogmas; and when the profeſſed purpoſe
is to digeſt annals, as a means of arriving at a
truth; it would be an aberration indeed, to
attempt the eſtablithment of a ſyſtem.
LETTER
[. 217 ]
- €
L E T T E R XIX,
7
UNTIL the eſtabliſhment of literary re-
views, the writer of the fugitive piece of
the day poſſeſſed but little chance of poſthu-
mous reputation ; his fame reſembled the life
of the Ephemeron 'in duration, as did the
pro-
duction of his ingenuity, that inſect by infig-
nificance, both foon periſhed, and were alike
forgotten; unleſs extraordinary merit, or chance
preſerved the one, in the libraries of the learn
ed; and ſcarcity, or beauty, the other, in the
collection's of the naturaliſt.
But few treatiſes on this ſubject, written
in the early part of the late reign, are now
to be found in the ſhops of the bookſellers,
Mr. Hay *, a member of the Houſe of Com-
mons, publiſhed, in 1735, fome remarks on
the laws relating to the poor, with propoſals
* Of Glynd, in Syffex, author of an agreeable Effay on
Deformity.
VOL. I.
P
for
218
L E T T E R XIX.
1
for their better relief and employment; theſe
propoſals were reduced into the form of an
act, and brought into the houſe the ſame year
the pamphlet appeared; but did not paſs into
a law; among other remarks
may
be found
in his publication the following judicious ob.
ſervations.
" It is certain that the obligation on each
pariſh to maintain its own poor, and the con-
ſequence of that, a diſtinct intereſt, are the
roots from which every evil relating to the
poor hath ſprung, and which eveſ muſt grow
up until they are eradicated. Every pariſh is
in a ſtate of expenſive war with all the reſt of
the nation, regards the poor of all other places
as aliens, and cares not what becomes of them;
if it can but baniſh them from its own fociety.
No good, therefore, is ever to be expected till
parochial intereſt is deſtroyed, till the poor are
taken out of the hands of the overſeers, and
put under the management of perſons wiſer
and more diſintereſted ; and until they be ſet
to work on a national, or at leaſt a provincial
fund, to ariſe from benefactions, and the la-
bour of the poor, as far as they will go ; and
what
L ETTER XIX. 219
what more is wanting to be levied by an equal
tax.”
On this principle, he propoſes that every
perſon be deemed legally ſettled in the pariſh
where he has continued a year, without being
chargeable ; and if he has gained no ſuch ſet-
tlement, then at the place of his birth; and if
not born in the kingdom, then where he ſhould
want relief.
The heads of the bill, which was rejected,
proceeded principally on this idea, and con-
fiſted chiefly of a plan for a county, or diſtrict
work-houſe, if the county ſhould be too large;
to be maintained by an equal rate throughout
the county, to be governed by twelve perſons
reſiding in each diſtrict, poffefſed of a certain
eſtate in land, to be drawn by lot at the quar-
ter ſeſſions, and incorporated by the name of
the guardians of the poor within the diſtrict;
ſix of them annually to go out, and fix new
ones to be choſen in the ſame manner; bene-
factors to be guardians for the time being, in
proportion to the ſum given. They ſhould
be enabled to purchaſe lands, in fee, ncar the
middle of the county, or diſtrict, thereon to
erect buildings for the uſe of the poor ; to
P 2
furnish
220
XIX.
L'E T T E R
furniſh and provide ſtock to ſet the poor at
work. To this plan many regulations are an-
nexed, which, as it never paſſed into a law, it
is unneceſſary to tranſcribe them, or any of his
reaſons for them.)
| From this period, until 1751, no other
publication, on this ſubject, has come to
hand; and in that year, Mr. Henry Fielding,
as well known to us in theſe days for his ex-
cellent novels, replete with nature, mirth, and
pathos, as he was in thoſe for his excellence
as a magiſtrate, publiſhed “ An Inquiry into
the Cauſe of the late Increaſe of Robbers, &c;
with ſome Propoſals for remedying the grow-
ing Evil.” This treatiſe is full of obſerva-
tions,' worthy a man of his abilities, and in.
timate knowledge, from extenſive experience,
as a Middleſex magiſtrate, of this important
ſubject; a few of his leading principles as far
as they relate to our preſent inquiry, ſhall be
given.
After having inyeſtigated the nature of the
conſtitution of his country, as far as it relateş
to the ſubject matter, and explained what he
intends by the word conſtitution, he divides
the ſubjects of the realm into three orders
the
ii.
L ET TÉR XIX.
221
1
the nobility, the gentry, and the commonalty';
the laſt diviſion he aſſerts to be vaſtly changed
from what they were in the days of vaſſalage,
and conceives this change to have ariſen chiefly
from commerce, which has ſuperinduced an
almoſt unbounded liberty or licentiouſneſs,
and a vaſt addition of power to that claſs of
people; while, in the mean time, the civil
power having decreaſed in the ſame propor-
tion, the lares, as at preſent adminiſtered, are
not able to govern them.
The ſubject of the firſt ſection is, the too
frequent and expenſive diverſions of which the
lower claſs of people partake; this, he ſays, is
one cauſe of thefts and robberies.
In the ſecond ſection, he conſiders drunk-
enneſs as a vice which the legiſlature has been
particularly careful to ſuppreſs, and that the
only blame in this caſe reſts in the remifſneſs
with which theſe wholeſome laws have been
executed; and adds, although I will not
undertake to defend the magiſtrates of former
days, who have ſurely been guilty of ſome
neglect of their duty, yet, in behalf of the
preſent commiſſioners of the peace, the caſe
is different; they are very different offices, to
P 3
execute
222
LE T T E R XIX.
execute a new or a well known law, or to re-
vive one which is obſolete. In the caſe of a
known law, cuſtom brings men to ſubmiſſion;
and in all new proviſions, the ill-will, if any,
is levelled at the legiſlature, who are much
more able to ſupport it than a few magiſtrates.”
He then expatiates on the terrible conſe-
quences ariſing from drunkenneſs, acquired
by drinking the ſtrongeſt intoxicating liquors,
and particularly gin ; and in a fine ſpirit of
prophecy foretels the fatal conſequences flow-
ing to poſterity from this pernicious practice.
Doth not this polluted ſource, inſtead of pro-
ducing ſervants for the huſbandman and arti-
ficer, inſtead of providing recruits for the ſea
or the field, promiſe only to fill alms-houſes
and hoſpitals, and to infect the ſtreets with
ſtench and diſeaſes?"
The third ſection is on gaming, but as this
vice has not, at preſent, been ſo directly the
cauſe of the increaſe of the poor's rates, as it
has of thefts and robberies, and is not, except
in the ſhape of an annual lottery, ſo. likely to
tempt the inhabitants of the country as of
crowded cities; our author's obſervations on
this vice need not be recapitulated.
Thc
L E T T E R XIX.
223
1
The fourth ſection contains a review of the
laws relating to the poor ; and, having before
run over the conſequences of luxury among
the lower claſſes of people, in the inſtances of
diverſions, drunkenneſs, and gaming, as tend-
ing to promote their diſtreſſes, he conſiders
the improper regulation of the poor as a fe-
cond cauſe of thefts and robberies; this, he
thinks, proceeds from three ſourcesthe abuſe
of ſome laws--the total neglect of others
and ſomewhat from a defect in the laws them-
ſelves. He adds, that it muſt be matter of
aſtoniſhment to any man to reflect, that in a
country where the poor are, beyond all com-
pariſon, more liberally provided for than in
part
of the world, there ſhould be
found more beggars, more miſerable diſtreſſed
objects, than are to be ſeen throughout all the
ſtates of Europe.
The other ſections in this tract relating only
to the ſubject immediately under his conſide-
ration, and not affecting our preſent inquiry,
no farther extracts ſhall be given of the pub-
lication.
We now.proceed to a name known to all
the civilized world, and the particular boaſt of
this
any other
P4
214
L E T T E R XIX.
1
this iſland ; not as a legiſlator, not as a
magiſtrate; but as a poet, and a pleaſant
moraliſt.
A pamphlet, entitled, « A compendious or
briefe Examination of certaine ordinary Com-
plaints of diverſe of our Countrymen in theſe
our dayes, by William Shakeſpeare, Gentle
man," imprinted in 1581, was reprinted in
1731 in London.
The Monthly Review, a valuable collection
of criticiſm on, and repoſitory of, moſt that is
worth notice in the literary productions of the
laſt forty years, preſerved the republication of
this pamphlet to my notice, which certainly,
with reſpect to the remote date of its original
publication, ſhould have ſtood foremoſt in the
liſt of tracts on the poor ; it being written
anterior to the great corner-ſtone of the
poor
laws, the 43d of Elizabeth, and to the prin-
ciple of which it might have afforded a valua-
ble hint.
Although in 1751, when this tract was re-
printed, the fame of Shakeſpeare had not riſen
to that ſtupendous height in the opinion of
mankind it now poſſeſſes; nor had the anec-
dotes of his life, and criticiſm on his beauties
and
A
LET T E R XIX. 225
and defects, ſwelled to ſuch a bulk as they
have fince arrived at, through the ingenious
comments of Johnſon, Farmer, Stephens,
Malone, and others; yet one ſhould have
imagined that enough had been known of the
poet, from Rowe's life of him, to have pre-
cluded a poſſibility of miſtaking William Shake-
ſpeare, the author of this tract, for our re-
nowned poet: this pamphlet being printed in
1581, when, by the pariſh regiſter of Strat-
ford, Shakeſpeare was not above ſeventeen
years of age, and more probably engaged in
the truant pleaſures of youth, than in writing
a ſerious dialogue between a doctor of divinity,
a merchant, a huſbandman, and a capper
in the handling of which, the reviewers ſay,
the author diſcovers a much greater know-
ledge of trade and commerce than people
would be apt to expect from a poet. The
depth of obſervation and knowledge of man-
kind, as well as of trade and commerce, which
vas pofſefled by the writer of this tract, who-
ever he may have been, may be conceived
from the following quotation from it, which
*
Capper, one who makes and ſells caps. JOHNSON.
appears
226
L E T T E R XIX.
f
--
appears to ſtrike deeper at the principle of the
poor laws, as far as it reſpects compulſive in-
duſtry, than any other argument which has
fallen under my recollection.
“ It is an old ſaying in Latin, honos alit
artes, that is to ſay, profit or advancement
nouriſheth every faculty; which ſaying is ſo
true; that it is allowed by the common
judgment of all men. We muſt underſtand
alſo, that all things that ſhould be done in a
commonwealth, be not to be conſtrayned by
the ſtraight penalties of the law; but ſome
ſo, and ſome either by allurement, and re-
wardes rather. For what law can compel
men to be induſtrious in travayle, or labour of
body; or ſtudious to learne any ſcience or
knowledge of the minde: to theſe things they
may well be provoked, encouraged, and al-
lured, if they that be induſtrious and painful
be rewarded well for their paines, and be ſuf-
fered to take gaynes and wealth as rewardes
of their labours, and ſo likewiſe they that be
learned be advanced and honoured according
to their forwardneſs in learning, every body
will then ſtudy to be induſtrious in bodily la-
bour, or ſtudious in things that pertayne to
knowledge.
L E T T ER XIX, 227
i
knowledge. Take theſe rewardes away from
them, and go about to compel them by laws
thereto, what man will. plough or dig the
ground, or exerciſe any manual arte, wherein
is any paine?"
As every act of parliament, reſpecting the
poor, proceeds on a principle of compulſion
only, and is not intermixed with rewards or
encouragement incitive to induſtry, the
pre-
ſent ſyſtem of laws militates with this humane
and ſenſible obfervation of Mr. William Shake-
ſpeare ; and it may be the price of our labour,
in a future part of this inquiry, to conſider
whether the principle of the poor laws would
not be meliorated by intermixing allurements
to induſtry with compulſion ; but as the chief
ſcope in this pamphlet was to recommend the
manufacturing our own wearing apparel, in-
ſtead of going to a foreign market, for our own
materials worked up by foreigners ; a queſtion
which ſeems to have excited the attention of
the ſenſible part of the nation, a
of the nation, a few years af-
ter the duke d’Alva's feverities had driven
manufactures and commerce from the Spaniſh
Netherlands into this iſland; the tract itſelf
con-
}
228
LETTER XIX.
}
contains little more on our ſubject worth tranſa
cribing.
Towards the end of 1751, an anonymous
publication made its appearance ; entitled,
• Confiderations on ſeveral Propoſals for the
better Maintenance of the Poor ;' the author's
deſign is, to prove that the preſent ſyſtem is
fufficient, if properly executed ; and with
great reaſon is he averſe to leaving the poor to
be maintained by voluntary contribution, or
accidental charity only; becauſe they, having
now for near two hundred years, been main-
tained by a regular ſyſtem of laws, enforcing
contribution, thouſands would periſh, trade
would greatly ſuffer, and much confuſion
would ariſe from ſuch a total change of ſyf-
tem; he thinks, that the diviſion into pariſhes
is ſufficiently large; becauſe a multitude can
be' beſt governed by a diviſion into ſubordi-
nate parts; and conceives, that the internal
police was better regulated when the counties
were divided into hundreds, theſe hundreds
into decennaries, and each man of the decen-
nary was anſwerable for the reſt; he propoſes
a more ſtrict inſpection into the conduct of
the
LFT T E R XX.
229
the poor, and of ale-houſes, by the conſtables
of the diſtrict, who ſhould make regular weekly
returns to the high conſtables, and theſe to
make monthly returns to the juſtices at their
petty ſeſſions ; on the whole, there appears to
be much good ſenſe, knowledge of, and atten-
tion to, the principles of the conſtitution in
this tract.
L E T T E R XX.
EARLY in the year 1752, Thomas Alcock,
A. M. gives his opinion on the ſubject,
and profeſſes himſelf highly diſfatisfied with
the manner of providing for the poor;
he dif-
likes compulſive relief, and thinks it hath a
tendency to hurt induſtry, care, and frugality;
the ſluggard, on the preſumption that he hath
a right to relief, is tempted to continue in
floth; and the glutton as he receives his
gains' eats them, and the drunkard drinks
them; in ſhort, men labour leſs, and ſpend
more; and the very law that provides for the
poor, increaſes the number of the poor: com-
pulſion
230 L ET TER XX.
pulfion to relieve, he ſays, is contrary to the
principle of charity, and deſtroys gratitude in
the receivers, creates "ill blood, 'murmuring,
and indignation on the ſide of the contributor:
66. it muſt be allowed, therefore, that the
poor
ław tends to deſtroy 'charity, eſpecially when
the legal exaction is ſo very high, that no leſs
a ſum than three millions yearly, at a medium,
is levied for this purpoſe, which is equal to a
land-tax at ſix ſhillings in the pound; add to
this, that the ſhameleſs, the impudent, the
idle, and leaſt deſerving, run away with this
vaſt ſum; while the modeſt, the baſhful, and
really indigent, are ſuffered to languiſh in the
moſt diſtreſsful circumſtances imaginable.”
It is impoſſible in this place to avoid ob-
ferving upon the fact ſtated, that three mil-
lions were raiſed by legal exaction yearly, about
the year '1751, for the poor ; or, in other
words, that the poor's rate at that time
amounted to three millions yearly; the fact
appears to be queſtionable; but as the account
of the poor's rates, returned by the different
pariſhes throughout the kingdom, does not go
back to this period; and no other proof to
the contrary can be at preſent advanced, Mţ,
Al.
L ETTER XX.
231
Alcock muſt be allowed credit for the affer-
tion, that three millions were raiſed by the
poor's rate annually about the year 1751 ; be-
cauſe the nature of his argument, as well as
the pointed expreſſion, legal exa&tion, preclude
the idea of his mixing the numerous charitable
funds and contributions throughout the king-
dom, to ſwell the produce to that enormous ſum.
Now the Windſor table of the prices of
wheat, which has been once before referred
to, ſtates the price in 1750, at il. 8s. rod. a
quarter ; and in 1751, at 1l. 145. 2d. ; in
1785, at 1l. 16s. IId.; but, by the overſeers'
returns to the Houſe of Commons, the poor's
rate in 1785 amounted only to 2,184,9041.;
the expences of the poor were, therefore, leſs
in that year than in 1750, above 800,000l.
and wheat 8s. a. quarter more, another proof
that the price of bread increaſing has not been
the cauſe of an increaſe in the poor's rate *.
* In 1680 a regular eſtimate was made of the poor's rate,
and it, amounted to 665,3621. and in 1772 it amounted to
3,000,000l.; in 1680 wheat was 2l. a quarter; in 1772 it was
21. 155. id. here the price of wheat is increaſed little more than
pne third, and the rates more than quadrupled. ANNUAL
REGISTER, 1773:
It
232
L E T T E R XX.
1
It would extend this enquiry to a tedious
length, if every ſcheme which has been of-
fered in print, on the maintenance and em-
ployment of the poor, were to be. detailed;
Mr. Alcock, whoſe language is rather decla-
matory than argumentative, likewiſe offers his
plan; the intent of which is, to relieve the
indigent, without oppreſſing the public in ſuch
an intolerable manner; he is not for repealing
the poor laws, but only for amending them;
and, among other matters, propoſes a plan
of hundred work-houſes, to conſiſt of three
parts, one for the impotent, the able, and the
induſtrious poor; the ſecond for the fick; and
the third for the vagrant and idle poor ; to be
built and furnifhed at the expence of the fe-
veral pariſhes, in proportion to what they paid
at a medium for maintaining the poor, the
là it four
years.
The overſeers of the pariſhes
t8-B governors thereof annually by rotation,
and all perſons that beg, or aſk' relief, to be
ſent to this houſe, and immediately admitted,
on an order ſigned by the overſeers of the re-
ſpective pariſhes; and no money but what
paſled through this houſe, to be charged to
the pariſh by the overſeers.
The;
1
L ET TER XX.
133
The ſubject ſeems now to have, attracted
the attention of ſome enlightened minds
among the higher orders in the ſtate ; the
Earl of Hilſborough and Sir Richard Lloyd
drew up two ſeparate plans into the form of
an act of parliament, but neither of them
paſſed into a law.
The Earl, by his plan, printed in 1753,
propoſes to repeal all the poor laws, and to
deſtroy every idea of ſettlements and removals;
and to re-enact, with ſome alterations, the
clauſes'appointing overſeers, the mode of le-
vying a rate, the laws reſpecting baſtard chil-
dren, binding apprentices, rendering parents
and children mutually liable to maintain each
other; and propoſes, that in every county
there ſhall be one corporation, conſiſting of
ſuch perſons who ſhall ſubſcribe and pay an-
nually not leſs than 51. towards the relief of
of the county, who ſhall be called
governors of the poor, and who may purchaſe
lands, make bye-laws, appoint officers, &c.
with falaries.
That one or two hoſpitals be, erected in
every county; in theſe hoſpitals to be three
diſtinct apartments, for the children, the aged,
the diſeaſed; the charges of the building, fur-
Vol. I.
a
niture
the poor
care
234
L ET TER XX.
be
niture, and materials to be paid out of the con-
tributions, and out of ſuch money as may
granted for that purpoſe by parliament, and
out of an aſſeſſment for two years, of 3d. in
the pound annually, and an aſſeſſment of
6d. in the pound for maintaining the poor
ad
mitted into theſe hoſpitals; the profits of any
work done in them alſo to be added to the re-
venue of the hoſpital.
Many good rules are alſo given by the Earl
for the internal regulation of theſe hoſpitals,
þut of too minute a nature to render a tranf-
cription of them neceſſary.
Sir Richard Lloyd's plan, principally con-
ſiſts of a houſe of induſtry for the education of
the children of the poor*; it is aſtoniſhing that
nearly forty years ſhould have elapſed ſince
a name of fome eminence has recommended
ſuch an inſtitution, and except part of -Lin-
colnſhire, no other conſiderable diviſion of the
illand has carried the idea into execution, al-
- The Memoir of the Board of Trade drawn up by Mr. Lock,
had not at this time fallen into my hands; and when this was
written, it was not generally known that the Memoir exiſted en-
tite; only detached parts of it had been quoted; the laſt edition,
of an Account of the Society for promoting Induſtry in the Coune
ty of Liacoin, has by the permiſſion of John Pownal, Efq; been
the means of making the whole of this important paper public.
though
-
L E T T E R XX. 235
I
were, the
though many individuals have ſhewn that the
plan is feaſible, and experience has now fe-
conded the ſtrongeſt convictions of its excel-
lence, which human reaſon alone was able to
give. Sunday-ſchools, which ſhould be as it
apex
of the ſtructure, the laſt finiſh
of the plan, will, it is to be hoped, now be
made uſe of as the ground-work; and while
charity, uniting with religión; influences us to
take care of the religious ſentiment of the rin
ſing generation of the poor, by inſtructing
thein in learning, and the duties they owe to
God and man on a Sunday; let the good prin-
ciple; the patrons of theſe 'inſtitutions are aca
tuated: by; 'influence them to attend to the in-
duftrious habits of their young pupils, through
the other days of the week.'
C.This ſcheme of Sir Richard's 'recites, that
whereas the education of the children of the
poor cannot be fo well affected, nor the poor
be ſo comfortably, nor at ſo eaſy a price;
maintained in ſmall numbers and in diſtinct
families, as in large and well-ordered houfes
ſet apart for that purpoſe, therefore the juſți-
ces, in ſeſſions;: hall divide the county intoas
many diſtricts as they ſhall think proper; and
that they, and allo other perſons of confider-
able
1
Q2
236
L E T T E R XX.
able, eſtate. Thall be choſen as jurors, are, and
ſhall be guardians of the poor within each diſ-
trict; and perſons contributing a certain ſum
fhall be alſo: guardians; they ſhall be a body
corporate, ſhall make bye-law.s, -appoint offi-
cers and ſervants, and form themſelves into
committees; ſhall purchaſe land, on which to
build a houſe of induſtry, and other conve-
nient buildings, for 'lodging and employing
the poor within the diſtrict; the expence to
be defrayed by a lottery, by voluntary contri-
butors, and by an aſſeſſment; the charges for
the relief and employment of the
poor
after.
wards, to be raiſed by an aſſeſſment on the
ſeveral pariſhes, in proportion to the number
of poor they ſend to the houſe.
No other alteration is propoſed to be made
in the poor laws, nor does this plan provide
any compulſive means to oblige the poor to
ſend their children to the houſe of induſtry;
on the whole it appears a very crude and indi-
geſted ſcheme.
Mr. Fielding, in a pamphlet entitled, “ A
Propoſal for making an effectual Proviſion
for the Poor," printed in 1753, again offers
his advice on the ſubject, and propoſes a
ſcheme, which ſeems, in Dr. Burn's opi.
nion,
L ET TER XX.
237
>
nion, as ſupplementary to the two laft men-
tioned.
Speaking of the neceſſity of ſome regula
tions, he ſays, that “ the poor are a very great
burthen, and even a nuiſance to the kingdom ;
that the laws for relieving their diſtreſſes, and
reſtraining their vices, have not anſwered their
purpoſes, and at preſent that they are very ill-
provided for, and worſe governed, are truths
which every man will acknowledge; and that
every man who hath any property muſt feel
the weight of that tax, which is levied for the
uſe of the poor ; and every perſon, who hath
any underſtanding, muſt ſee how abſurdly it
is applied. So very uſeleſs indeed is this heavy
tax, and ſo wretched its diſpoſition, that it is
a queſtion, whether the poor or the rich are
actually more diffatisfied, or have indeed greater
reaſon to be fo; ſince the plunder of the one
ſerve's ſo little to the real advantage of the
other. The ſufferings of the poor are indeed
leſs known than their miſdeeds, and therefore
we are leſs apt to pity them! They ſtarve,
and freeze, and rot among themſelves.; but
they beg, and ſteal, and rob among their
þetters,'
Не
Q: 3
+
238 LET TER XX.
He then propoſes a plan for the county of
Middleſex, which, if ſucceſsful, may be fol-
lowed in other counties'; but gives it, as his
opinion, that no divifion, 'léfs than a whole
county, will anſwer the intention. The heads
of which are :
That there be a large building erected,
conſiſting of three courts; the two outermoſt
of the courts to be called the county-horſe,
and the innermoſt to be called the county-
bouſe of correction, with a chapel, and offices.
That in thefe houſes the men and women
be kept entirely feparate from each other.
That the county-houſe ſhall conſiſt of 'lodg-
ings for the officers; of lodging-rooms and of
working-rooms for the labourers; of an infir-
mary, of a chapel, of ſeveral large ſtore-rooms,
with cellarage:
That the county-houſe of correction confift
of lodging-rooms for the officers; of lodging-
rooms and working-rooms for the priſoners ;
of an infirmary, of a fafting-room, of ſeveral
cells or dungeons, of a large room, with iron
grates, which ſhall be contiguous to, and look
into the chapel,
That there ſhall be a houſe for the gover-
mor, one for the deputy-governor, one for thç
chap
1
L'ET T E R XX.
239
muito
chaplain, one, for the treaſurer, and one for
the receiver-general of the houſe ;, and that
likewiſe there be built, on each ſide of the
county-houſe, nine houſes for providing the
labourers and priſoners with the neceſſaries of
life..
Theſe, with many other leſs important: re-
gulations, are the whole of Mr. Fielding's
plan, on which, and alſo on his ideas on the
ſubject of the poor, the following obſervations
ſhall be ventured:
ifricii : ilisor
That they are collected from an intimate
knowledge of the wretchedneſs and villainy
which prevail among the loweſt claſs of your
fellow-creatures, in the purlieus of an over,
grown metropolis ; that the picture which he
draws of them is too overcharged, the, qut-
line too hard, and, it is to be hoped, it is ra-
ther a caricature of the ſink of wretchedneſs
in London, than a natural repreſentation of
country manners, even in thoſe families whefe
lazineſs and debauchery are in league with
poverty, to render human miſery complete.
His plan is alſo of a piece with his picture,;
therefore we read of dungeons, cells, iron
grates, and faſting-rooms; although he indeed
apologizes for the laſt, on the experience of
their
Q4
280
LETTER XX.
their good effect in bridewells, and other houſes
of correction; but, beſides all this, the ex-
pence'attending building ſuch large offices, to-
gether with houſes for about half a dozen offi-
cers, and conſequently fálaries, that they may
be able to live in their houſes, is ſuch an ex-
pence-as would ſtartle any county, although
Middleſex ſhould have fet a ſucceſsful ex-
ample,
It does not appear that the legiſlature, in
conſequence of the reaſoning and plans de-
tailed in theſe ingenious tracts, māde'any alte-
rations in the ſtatute law of the kingdom'; the
arguments, as well as the plan, fell to the
ground, not having made a ſufficient impreſ-
fion on the mind of parliament, to occafion
any of them to paſs into a law, although fe-
conded by the weight of no mean ability, and
by the influence of men of conſiderable con-
ſéquence; the vagrant act, and that which re-
ſpects the regulation of the poor's rate, being
the only acts on this head of internal police,
which paſſed until towards the cloſe of the
peign of our late king; and the date of theſe
acts-is
. anterior to the pamphlets which have
juſt been noticed
The
LETTER XX:
941
3
The multitude of inſtances, affecting to
humanity and decency, which arofe from the
depravity and wretchedneſs of the numerous
proſtitutes who haunt the ſtreets of the me-
tropolis, occaſioned about the year-1758., ſome
gentlemen, of equal generoſity as humanity,
to enter into a ſubſcription, which laid the
foundation of the Magdalen-Houſe; the ſub-
ject becoming a faſhionable topic of conver-
ſation, many arguments on the good which
might be expected to ariſe from ſuch an in-
ftitution were held, and many plans were of-
fered; among others, .a -plan for eſtabliſhing
charity-houſes for expoſed and deſerted wo-
men and girls, and for penitent proſtitutes ;
together with confiderations relating to the
poor
and
poor laws of England, were written
in 1758, by J. Maſſee, who appears to have
been, on other ſubjects as well as this, a well-
meaning and enlightened projector. · Thè
principal part of this publication was occupied
on theſe inſtitutions, and conſequently not in
point with our inquiry; but he alſo threw out
ſome ſenſible hints on the ſubject of the poor
and the poor laws'; of theſe it will be proper
to take ſome notice.
Не
1
248
L E T TER XX:
1
He aflerts, that the great increaſe of un
employed poor is owing to parochial ſettle-
ments, and that the increaſe of thieves, beg-
gars, and proſtitutes is immediately cauſed by
want of employment, and in ſome meaſure by
want of proper proviſion for diſtreſſed work-
ing people, when out of the pariſhes to which
they belong; and partly to the ſeverity of our
poor laws, in affixing the fame puniſhment to
begging as to ſtealing.
He apprehends, that monopolizing farms,
and the incloſure of common lands are among
the cauſes of an increaſe of the poor.
He attempts alſo to prove, by authorities,
that ſubſtantial people have decreaſed in num-
ber; and aſſerts, that our interior weakneſs,
the precarious ſtate of our trade, and the great
increaſe of the poor ; are primarily, or princi.
pally, cauſed by removing multitudes from our
natural and
fixed baſis land, to the artificial and
Auctuating bafis trade.
A new ſyſtem is alſo propoſed by him, for
relieving, employing, and ordering the poor,
which he divides into ten propoſitions; of
theſe only the firſt three ſhall be noticed, be-
cauſe theſe only are properly fundamental,
and
..
L E T T E R XX.
243
sa i
-
and the reſt in the nature of auxiliary re-
gulations.
1
Firſt, That the charge of maintaining the
poor ſhall be equally borne by the wealthy and
ſubſtantial inhabitants; that the ſame ſhall be
aſſeſſed by the rents of houſes and lands, and
that each perſon's quota be determined by a
pound rate on the full annual value or rent.
Second, That every poor perſon, wanting
relief, ſhall be equally entitled thereto, in any
city, town, pariſh, or extra-parochial place,
without regarding where ſuch perſon was
born, or had lived.
Third, That a competent number of houſes
of maintenance and employ be eſtabliſhed for
the reception of all poor perſons, within each
county reſpectively.
With reſpect to theſe three propoſitions,
the firſt leaves the principle of the poor's rate
exactly as it is at preſent; the ſecond is in
practicable in the full extent intended; and
the third lays a foundation for an immenſe
expence in buildings,
In 1759, a ſhort anonymous tract appear-
ed; in which the writer gives it as his opinion,
that the principles are falſe on which the
poor
vi
1
244
L ET TER XX.
poor laws are founded; particularly this, that
it is reaſonable every place in the kingdom
ſhould maintain its own poor ; and afferts, that
they ought to be relieved where they are in
want of relief, and be employed where they
are moſt uſeful; and to effect this, that the
fund to ſupport them be national, not paro-
chial. This writer offers his plan alſo, and
propoſes, that all charities, hoſpitals, work-
houſes, &c. be ingrafted into a general plan
for the relief of the poor; and the ſeveral
members thereof, be united into a corporate
bödy, to take the appellation Sir Joſiah Child
gave them, and be called fathers of the
poor.
There alſo were publiſhed about this time,
fome well-intended tracts, which recommend
decreaſing the number, and regulating the
conduct of alé-houſes; a very proper, nay a
peceſſary ſtep towards a well-ordered internal
police: ale-houſes are undoubtedly at preſent
a principle origin of the evil complained o.;
but it ſurely might be poſſible to reſtrain their
bad tendency, and make them in one reſpect
a convenience to the laborious poor; inſtead of
putting it into the power of licenſed ale-houſes
10
1
L E T T E R XX.
?
245
to draw every ſixpence from their pockets, and
every good principle from their breaſts; if,
under the authority of the preſent ſubfiſting
laws, the magiſtrates would be more ſtrict in
reſtraining them from permitting tippling ;
and not licenſe any ale-houſe where there was
not kept a ſtock of beer conſtantly on ſale, to
thoſe only who carry
it home į of a ſtrength
equal to common table-beer, and at a price,
which would allow of a moderate profit only:;
the authority of magiſtrates over the conduct
of thoſe they licenſe to keep ale-houſes, is
great indeed; and every exertion of their
au-
thority to preſerve ſobriety and regularity
among the lower claſſes of the people, who
are the principal cuſtomers to theſe ſhops of
drunkennefs, is in the ſtrict line of their duty:
the leading principle in the Court of King's-
Bench, which ſuperintends the conduct of the
magiſtracy of the kingdom, is favourable to
ſuch a ſtrict diſcharge of office; and were
they, in that diſcharge, rather to exceed than
Sall ſhort of their legal authority, while the
intention was right, that court would hold
them blameleſs ; it is only when intereſted
yiews
;
1
246 L ETTER XXI.
views or ſelfiſh principles influence their con-
duct, that the Court of King's-Bench repri-
mands and puniſhes magiſtrates.
LETTER XXI.
WE
E are now arrived at an æra, when the
arms of Great Britain were carrying its
fame, and dominion, to the remoteſt parts of
the globe; an æra, when this iſland, in prof-
perity, political conſequence, and reputation,
were, by many of its moſt fanguine patriots,
conceived to have ariſen to its acme ; and
when, by many alſo, whoſe opinions carried
weight with them, it was believed to have
ſtretched its credit almoſt to its deſtruction;
and while it was riſing in fame, to be finking
in fact under the immenſe load of its national
debt : experience has now proved to us, that
both theſe conceptions of our ſituation, form-
ed at the commencement of the preſent reign,
were
L'ET T E R XXI.
247 time
equally removed from trụth ; our proſperity
and political conſequence, now that above
thirty years of his preſent Majeſty's reign has
paſſed over, continue to increaſe; and above
a hundred million has alſo been added to the
national debt
This is a paradox, which politicians may
attempt to explain ; it reſpects our ſubject no
farther, than as the internal happineſs of the
maſs of individuals, who form the population
of the kingdom, may be intereſted: has their
proſperity increaſed progreſſively with that of
the ſtate? is a queſtion of ſome importance ;
if it has, our wars, our treaties, our taxes, the
high political Gtuation this kingdom now fills,
have operated to general good; they have in-
creaſed the general ſtock of proſperity and
happineſs; but if the reverſe is fact; if among
the maſs of our fellow-ſubjects, more idleneſs,
more diffipation, worſe principles; worſe ha-
bits.; and their conſequences, greater poverty
and diftreks, prevail.among them; what is all
ourboaſted greatnefs;oor high name for wealthi,
proſperity, and political- confequences but-à
{plendid pah, to conceal from. view the hideous
appearance of mortal wretchedneſs?
That
248
L ETTER XXI.
1
That this is the caſe; that the aggregate of
miſery is greater among the poor than it was;
that the axiom, it has increaſed, is increaſing,
and ought to be diminiſhed, is to the full as true,
as ever was the ſame axiom when applied to
the influence of the crown; no one who ſees
their preſent wretchedneſs, and knows the
amount of the rates raiſed for their relief, will
heſitate to allow; and while this remarkable
ſentence is applied to their miſerable fituation ;
with equal force will it apply to the revenue
raiſed for their relief; but what has the legiſ-
lature done throughout this period to diminiſh
their diſtreſs, or our expences ?-Nothing, or
next to nothing; the legiflature has treated
the ſubject as the phyſician, whoſe humanity
exceeds his ſkill, treats his patient, whoſe caſe
he deſpairs of; he preſcribes narcotic pallia-
tives ; and exerts his knowledge to render
leſs painful that cataſtrophe which he cannot
prevent.
That this apathy, or inattention of parlia-
liament, to the fituation of the poor, has not
been exaggerated, will clearly appear by the
following notices of the ſtatutes which reſpect
them, culled from a farrago of fourteen vo-
lumes
L E T T E R XXI.
249
lumes of public legiſlative acts, containing
above one thouſand chapters, paſſed in thirty-
one years of the preſent reign; among which,
the firſt fourteen years contain not a ſyllable
upon the ſubject, except an act paſſed in the
ſecond year, cap. 22, which reſpects the re-
tropolis only; being an act for the keeping
regular, uniform, and annual regiſters of all
pariſh poor infants under a certain age, within
the bills of mortality; as a means of preſerv:
ing the lives of infants under the age of four
years.
But local inconvenience and diſtreſs, has
nevertheleſs, during this period, occaſioned
many diſtricts, hundreds, and pariſhes, to ap-
ply to parliament for aſſiſtance, and to be
pe
titioners for acts for the better relief and em.
ployment of the poor within the diſtricts re-
ſpectively applying : among a number of theſe,
we ſhall find, in the year 1764, acts for the
better relief and employment of the poor,
within the hundreds of Blything, Bofmere,
and Claydon, Samford, Mutford, Lothing-
land, and Wangford, in the county of Suffolk;
the conveniences and inconveniences, afifing
from the carrying into execution the acts of
VOL. I.
parliament,
R
250
L E T T E R XXI.
parliament in the ſeveral hundreds thus in-
corporated, at their own requeſt, by parlia-
ment, ſhall be attended to in another place,
by a digeſt of the beſt information that can
be obtained from the incorporated pariſhes;
but at preſent a detail of what the legiſlature
has done on the general ſubject ſhall be pur-
ſued.
In 1775, parliament repealed an act of Eli-
zabeth, againſt erecting and maintaining cot-
tages; which had reſtrained the building
them, unleſs four acres of land was laid to
each cottage ; and had alſo reſtrained the
owners from placing more families than one
in any cottage, or receiving any inmates; be-
cauſe it appeared, as ſtated by the preamble
to the act repealing, that it laid the induſtrious
poor under great difficulties, and tended very
much to leſſen population.
The 16th of Geo. III. cap. 40. in its pre-
amble, ſtates, that the great and increaſing
expence of maintaining and providing for the
poor, and their continual diſtreſſes notwith-
ſtanding, make it highly expedient for the
legiſlature to take this great ſubject into their
ſerious confideration. And that information
of
1
L E T T E R XXI.
251
peace, within
of the ſtate of the poor, and the nature of thoſe
expences are neceſſary to be procured, to en-
able the two houſes of parliament to judge of
proper remedies to redreſs thoſe grievances;
and that ſuch information cannot be effectually
obtained, without the aid and authority of
parliament.
Therefore it is enacted, that the overfeers
of the poor throughout that part of Great
Britain, called England and Wales, ſhall make
returns upon oath to certain queſtions ſpeci-
fied in the act, relative to the ſtate of the
poor; and that the juſtices of
their reſpective diviſions, be authorized and
requeſted to take ſuch returns on oath, and to
cauſe them to be tranſınitted to the clerk in
parliament. Then follow the ſeveral clauſes
preſcribing the means to effect this end, and
alſo a ſchedule of the queſtions to which an-
ſwers are to be returned.
There now ſeemed to be a ſerious intent in
the legiſlature to inveſtigate this important
queſtion; and a preamble better adapted to
the purpoſe, and more expreſſive of the ſe-
rious magnitude of the ſubject, the neceſſity of
inveſtigating it, and remedying the evils com-
plained
R 2
252 L E T T E R XXI.
:
1
plained of, could not have been prefixed to
the enacting clauſes; and theſe clauſes, are in
general well calculated to obtain the end re-
quired; but ſurely an omiſſion appears in the
ſchedule of queſtions annexed.
1. What was the amount of the aſſeſſments
for the relief of the poor in the
year ending at
Eaſter 1776?
II. How much of thoſe aſſeſſments was
applied for the relief, or on account of the
poor, and how much for the payment of
county rates, or any other purpoſes, diſtin-
guiſhing alſo, the amount of what was paid for
the rent of work-houſes, or paid, or allowed
for habitations for the poor; and if any poor ,
reſide in houſes built at the expence of the
pariſh, townſhip, or place, ſtate the total an-
nual value of ſuch houſes?
III. What number of poor have received
conſtant relief during that year, and what has
been the expence thereof, as near as the ſame
can be eſtimated ?
IV. Is there a work-houſe in the pariſh;
if ſo, what number of poor will it accom-
modate?
V. What
L E T T E R XXI.
253
1
1
V. What was expended in litigations about
ſettlements, removals, appeals, or other diſ-
putes concerning the poor within that year, ,
diſtinguiſhing how much of ſuch expences
aroſe from diſputes with pariſhes, townſhips,
or places, not within the county, riding, divi-
ſion, precinct, foke, franchiſe, liberty, city, or
county corporate, wherein ſuch pariſh, town-
ſhip, or place lay?
The return made from the poor rates to
parliament, ſtated to be from Eaſter 1775 to
Eaſter 1776, in anſwer to the preceding
queſtions, amounted, as appears in the An-
nual Regiſter for 1777, to the following total
reſult;
!
{
3.
S.
Money raiſed.
£,
d.
England, 1,679,585 0
Wales
40,731 14 7
County rates.
£.
d.
131,387 18 11
6,268 11 9
0
1,720,316 14 7
137,656 10
8
i
Expended on the Poor.
England, 1,523,163 127
Wales, 33,6.0 138
Rents, Litigation,
78,176 40
33,935 180
2,120 10 7- 1,136 2 S
1
1
1,556,804 63
80,296 14 7 -- 35,072 08
R 3
The
254
LETTER XXI.
Fifen
The continual. diſtreſſes of the poor, are
mentioned in the preamble to the act, as one
of the ſtrong inducements to the inquiry; and
alſo, that information of the State of the poor
is neceffary to be procured, does any one of
theſe queſtions in the ſchedule red this
point? dass any of the questions aſk, what
are the prevailing diſtreſſes arrong the poor
in
your pariſh? do they ariſe from their own ex-
travagance, or from the price of labour ? are
the neceſſaries of life rifen in price? has the
earnings of the poor
riſen proportionably?
what is the ſtate of their morals? are they
greater drunkards, more lazy, than heretofore?
is the number of ale-houſes incrcated within
the laſt fifty years? is the produce of excile
in your pariſh more than formerly, ard to what
amount? Theſe, or ſome ſimilar questione,
would have expoſed the cauſe of the freis
of the poor, and their real ſtáte ; which, if this
overſeers could not have anſwered, the reading
clergyman's knowledge of the ſubject migtit
have been called in aid, and the information,
ſtated as neceſſary in the preamble, would have
been obtained; but all this part of the inveti,
gation is forgot in the act itſelf, and the in-
quiry
1
L E T T E R XXI.
255
!
quiry goes ſolely to the quantum of the rate,
and the mode of expenditure.
And what great leading regulation followed
from this important enquiry? What was the
happy reſult from this great body of informa-
tion obtained by all the force and energy of the
conſtitutional legiſlature? 'Alas!
Parturiunt montes!
But nothing was brought forth; this maſs of
information, thus conſtitutionally obtained,
has ſerved for nothing but waſte paper
paper ; and
à neceſſary folemn enquiry, anſwered on oath,
which coſt the nation thouſands of pounds,
and the magiſtrates and overſeers of the poor
throughout the kingdom not a little trouble
and attention, tended to no one good end what-
ever. Surely when theſe great phyſicians of
the ſtate had felt the pulſe of the patient, and
weighed with due ſolemnity every ſymptom
of internal decay, they found themſelves un-
equal to attempt the cure, and gave up the
caſe as loſt.
after the return of the overfvars
had been received by the clerk in parliament;
inſtead of any code of police, affecting this
very important ſubject, we find a trivial, yet
very
Two years
)
R 4
7
256
L E T T E'R XXI.
very proper alteration in one of the ſections
of the 43d of Eliz. changing the period to
which pariſh apprentices ſhall be bound by in-
denture to the age of twenty-one years, inſtead
of twenty-four ; this is effected by 17 Geo. III,
cap. 48
Many applications from particular pariſhes,
diſtricts, and hundreds, ſtill continued to be
inade to parliament, for acts to relieve, regu:
te, and maintain the poor, within their re-
ſpective local ſituațions ; and many acts ac-
cordingly patied, greatly to the emolument of
the Speaker, and the officers of the Houſe,
and much, it is to be hoped, to the general
good of the places applying; amongſt others,
pailed in the 17th of this reign, are two, incor-
porating the hundreds of Hartſmere, Hoxne,
and Thredļing the hundred of Cosford (ex:
cept the pariſh of Hadleigh), and aļſo the
pa:
riſh of Polſted, in Suffolk. The fair conclu,
fion to be drawn from theſe inſtances, is, that
as the legiſlature felt the ſubject at large of toq
great a inagnitude for their attention ; thoſe
diſtricts, moſt preſſed by the urgency of neceſa
fity, found theinſelves obliged, at their own
expence,
/
L ETTER XXI.
257
>
expence, to apply for leave to take care of
themſelves.
By ſtat. 20 Geo. III. cap. 46. it is directed
that all perfons to whom any children ſhall be
appointed to be bound, in purſuance of any act
for the relief of the poor in any particular diſ-
trict in England, Mall be obliged to provide
for them ; but that no perſon ſhall be com-
pellable to take a poor child apprentice, ex-
cept he be an inhabitant and occupier of lands,
&c. in the pariſh to which ſuch child ſhall
belong; and that baſtards born in houſes of
induſtry ſhall belong to the mother's pariſh.
In the 22d year of this reign, a long act
paſſed, intitled, “ An act for the better relief
and employment of the poor ;” which, al-
though not ſo expreſſed in the preamble, ap-
pears to be an aggregate of all the beſt
regu-
lations, which had been brought before par-
liament by the multitude of acts which had of
late years paſſed for the incorporating pariſhes,
particular diſtricts, and hundreds, and main-
taining and employing the
poor
therein.
The conſiderable length this act is extended
to ; comprehending in it, all the neceſſary di-
rections for the proceeding of pariſhes, where
two
258
}
L E T T E R XXI.
.
fwo thirds of the owners and occupiers. of land
agree to unite; the male of appointing the
different neceſſary oficers and their duties, the
qualification of the voters at their meetings,
the application of the poor's ráte raiſed in the
different parillies uniting, together with the
multifarious directions reſpecting the internal
police of an united houſe of induſtry, would
render the moſt conciſe abridgement of this
act too long for the attention of thoſe who
may run the eye over theſe curſory obſerva-
tions ; beſides that, it would be of no real
ſervịce ; as any pariihes wiſhing to unite on
the power and principles of the act; muſt have
recourſe to the act itfelf, which appears to
have thus much uſe in it, that it renders the
expence of obtaining an act of parliament un
neceffary, provided the parties agreeing to
unite are ſatisfied with this code of regula-
tions, and can make them coincide well with
their own views and intentions,
It is not in my power to aſſert pofitively,
but it is believed, that
very few pariſhes have
taken the advantage this act lras given, and
have united for the purpoſe of relieving and
employing
A
L E T T E R XXI.
259
,
employing their poor, by virtue of the
powers,
and ſulject to the regulations of this ſtatute.
What can have been the reaſon, that ſince
the legiſlature has opened the means to an
union of pariſhes without the expence of an
act of parliament, for thoſe very purpoſes; to
obtain which many applications had been made
to parliament, at an expence of ſome hun-
dreds of pounds in the outſet of the ſcheme, ſo
Very
few inſtances ſhould have appeared, of
pariſhes uniting by virtue of the powers in
this acts
If we ſuppoſe experience to have proved,
that general good has ariſen in thoſe pariſhes
which have been incorporated by different
acts of parliament, this is a queſtion which
will not foon be reſolved; becauſe it is not eaſy
to ſuggeſt a reaſon for thoſe advantages to be
refuſed when offered gratis, which have in a
great many inſtances been obtained at a con-
fiderable expence; and in the united pariſhes
in the county of Suffolk, the fact, that the
poor rates have greatly decrealed, is generally
allowed.
Why then is not the greateſt part
of the kingdom incorporated into convenient
diſtricts, for the purpoſe of relieving and
maintaining
960
L E T T E R XXI. .
maintaining their poor by means of the pow-
ers and regulations of this act? Why have
we very few, if
any,
inſtances of this act be.
ing enforced ?
We cannot ſuppoſe that the clauſes in the
act militate in generał with the regulations
trofe pariſhes which wiſh to unite, would
chuſe to embrace, becauſe they are a ſelection
of the beſt general regulations from all the acts
applied for by the pariſhes incorporated; but
does it not ariſe from the want of a centre of
union; a man of conſequence and ability,
whoſe influence could render the fluctuating
conſents of a number of intereſted people ſtea-
dy, and fix them to the plan they have in agi-
tation, but cannot abſolutely reſolve on? The
attorney who was applied to when a bill in
parliament was to be paſſed, is this kind of
perfon ; he was intereſted in bținging the de-
termination of the leading men in the differ,
ent pariſhes to a point, and fèxing them in their
refolves; but now no one man takes any more
intereſt in the matter than as an individual
among equals; and moſt men underſtand and
feel themſelves inclined to ſupport, in all its
purity;
ز
L E T T E R XXI. 261
purity, the maxim, inter pares, equalis eſt po-
teſtas.
In the 26th year of this reign, cap. 56. another
act paſſed, to oblige the overſeers of the poor
to make a return on oath to certain queſtions
relative to the ſtate of the
poor : the preamble
to this act is the fame; and the act itſelf
pro-
ceeded on much the ſame plan and principle as
that which has been mentioned to have paſſed
in the 16th of the king, except that a penalty
of 50l. for making falſe returns is added, and
alſo a clauſe ſubjecting perſons taking falſe
oaths to the pains and penalties of thoſe con-
victed of wilful and corrupt perjury; the quel-
tions aſked are alſo fomewhat different.
And in the ſame year, by cap. 58. an ad
paſſed for procuring, on oath, returns of all
charitable donations for the benefit of
paor
perſons, throughout that part of Great Britain
called England and Wales; the returns are to
be made in writing, on oath, by the miniſter
and churchwardens of each pariſh; this act
gives ſimilar powers, and is arıned with ſimilar
penalties as the other.
LETTER
[ 262 )
L E T T E R XXII.
L
THE following queſtions were referred, by
the act of parliament which paſſed in the
26th
year of the preſent reign, to the over-
ſeers of the poor, to which they were obliged
to make returns upon oath.
Queſtion I. What money was raiſed by af-
ſeſſments for the relief of the poor in the re-
ſpective years, ending at Eaſter 1783, 1784,
and 1785?
II. What number of poor received con-
ftant, and what number occaſional relief, dur-
ing each of the ſaid years, as near as you can
aſcertain the fame?
III. How much was paid out of the ſaid
money
in each of the ſaid years, for expences of
overſeers in journies, and attendance on ma-
giſtrates and others; and how much for en-
tertainments
L ET TER XXII.
263
tertainments at meetings of the inhabitants on
affairs relative to the poor?
IV, What payments were made out of the
faid money for law buſineſs, and for orders,
examinations, certificates, and other proceed-
ings reſpecting the poor in each of the faid
.'
..
three years?
V. How much of the money collected un-
der theſe aſſeſſments, was applied for the pay-
ment of county rates, or any other, and what
purpoſes that did not concern the poor?
VI. How much of the ironey ſo raiſed, has
been expended in providing inaterials and uten-
fils for ſetting the poor to work ?
The returns made by the overſeers to theſe
queſtions, in purſuance of the act alluded to,
were digeſted into form, and an abſtract print-
ed, containing every pariſh in England and
Wales, reduced alphabetically under their re-
ſpective counties and hundreds, giving an ac-
count, under fourteen diſtinct columns, of the
name of the hundred within which the pariſh
is ſituated; the money raiſed by aſſeſſment for
the years 178.3, 1784, and 1785, and the me-
dium of thoſe three years; expeńces not ap-
plicable
264 LETTER . XXII.
plicable to the poor ; the medium of net mo-
ney annually paid for the poor ; net money
paid for the poor in 1776, taken from the re-
turns then made to parliament; and heads of
particular expences; the general totals of
which, for England and Wales, are as fol-
low :
Money raiſed by Aleſſment.
£ s. d.
For the year 1783England, 2,068,585 7
i
Wales,
63,901 5
5 1
1.
I
1
2,132,486 12
2
For the yea r. 1784.England,
Wales,
2,117,432 II
68,456 16 8
2,185,889 78
· For the year 1785.-England,
Wales,
2,115,775 2 5
69,129 16 6
2,184,904 18 11
Medium of thoſe years.-England, 2,100,587 16 11
Wales, €7,161 16 9
2,167,749 13 8
Expences
L E T T E R XXII.
265
Expences not applicable to the Poor.
to
si di
Medium of money applied for county pur-
poſes, vagrants; inilitia, bridges, gaols,
&c.
England,
Wales,
113,714 15 6
5,565 II 4
1
119,280 6 10
Medium of expences not concerning the
poory repairing churches, roadsz falaries
to miniſters, &c. England,
Wales;
43,223 Ś
1,007 15 4
44,231
O II
Medium of net money annually paid for
England, 1,943,649 15 10
Wales,
60,588 10 1
the poor.
Net expence's in 1776,
2,004,238 511
1,529,780 O
Increaſe,
474,458 5 10
Net expences for the poor in 1776, taken
from the returns then made to parlia-
ment.
England, 1,496,129 6 3
Wales,
33,650 13 10
1,529,780 0 1
VOL.I.
S
Heads
266
XXII.
LE T T ER
E R
S. d.
Heads of particular Expences.
£
Medium expences of overſeers in journies,
attendances on magiſtrates, &c.
England, 23,545 0910
Wales,
948 178
24,493 18 6
Medium expences of entertainments at
meetings relative to the poor.
England,
Wales,
II,329 15 II
383 4 10
11,713 0 9
:
Medium expences of law, orders, exami-
nations, and other proceedings relative
England,
Wales,
to the poor.
53,757 II
2,033 II
o
Q
55,791
2
6
Medium of money expended in ſetting the
England,
Wales,
poor to work.
15,680 14 9
211 14
I
15,892 8 10
The maſs of information thus obtained from
that part of the nation, ſubject to the opera-
tion
L E T T E R XXII.
267
1
tion of the poor laws; digeſted with great la-
bour by the committee of the Houſe of Com-
mons, which fat for the purpoſe, and printed
at no inconſiderable expence; muſt ſurely have
given riſe to many uſeful reflections and ob-
ſervations, in the minds of thoſe gentlemen
who were on the committee ; although their
country has not, as yet, reaped any benefit
from their very important labours: they muſt
ſurely have been ſtruck with the alarming in-
creaſe of the annual net expences of the poor
ſince 1776, when they were 1,529,780l. to
the medium of the years 1783, 1784, and
1785, which is ſtated to be 2,167,7491., a
yearly increaſe of expence amounting to near
500,000l.; if they at firſt ſight might con-
ceive this vaſt difference to have ariſen from
any extraordinary ſcarcity, prevailing through
the laſt three years, and examined into the
fact, they would have found the average price
of wheat, through this period, to have been
21. 35.7d. and that the average price for 1776
was 21. 25. 8d. being an exceſs only of ind.
per quarter, or not 21. 1os. per cent, which
will by no means account for a riſe in the ex-
S 2
pences
268 L E T T E R XXII.
pences of the poor equal to above forty-one
per cent. : to other cauſės, therefore, muſt
they attribute this amazing increaſed expence,
than thoſe which ariſe from the dearneſs of
proviſion ; aſſuming it as a fact that the price
of bread corn may be taken with ſome degree
of accuracy, as a ſign of the price of moſt of
the neceffary viands which feed our 'numerous
poor; and thoſe who know how the poor live,
know alſo, that bread, in fačt, conſtitutes near
two-thirds of the expence of a poor family for
provifions: the increaſed expence of the years
1783, 1784, and 1785 does not, therefore,
ariſe from the increment of neceſſary expences
in provifions.
Neither does it ariſe, in any great degree,
from a deficiency of work or decreaſe of the
price of labour ;--the price of labour remained
much the ſame as in 1776 ; and in this period
the American war had began to drain the na-
tion of its population and money, but no great
effects had then been felt from it: in the laſt
period, the nation was recovering from its
lofſes; manufactures were again thriving, and
the ſengible part of our countrymen were
looking
LETTER XXII. . 269
looking up to agriculture, as a means of re-
cruiting thoſe fources which the waſte of war
had diminiſhed.
Although, that an increaſe of expence, ra-
ther more than proportional, took place in the
great manufacturing towns, is plainly proved
from this abſtract, in which Birminghain,
Sheffield, Mancheſter, certainly more than keep
pace with other towns, where the poor are not
employed by manufactures ; yet to be certain
how this fact will apply, and what principle
may be collected from it, the returns from the
ſame manufacturing towns, of the expences of
the poor, ſhould be ſeen, for the laſt two or
three years, during which, our manufactures
have flouriſhed exceedingly; from many in-
ffances within the county of Suffolk, the poor
rates continue increaſing, although the poor
are, or might be in full employ; for inſtance,
Glemsford, riſing gradually from 4041. 55. 84.
in 1774, to 4561. 75. 40. in 1776, to 5511.
the ayerage of the three years 1783, 1784,
and 1785, to 10621, 6s. 4d. in 1790, as ap-
pears by Mr. Butts' account, in vol. xvii.
P. 497. of the Annals of Agriculture; and
a ſimilar riſę, but in a leſs proportion, takes
place
tieto
S 3
270
L E T T E R XXII.
place at Melford, Clare, &c.; if this is the
caſe in general, other cauſes than want of
work muſt be fought for.
Another obſervation muſt alſo have ſtruck
theſe gentlemen, or, at leaſt, thoſe among
them who act as magiſtrates in the counties
where their reſpective qualifications, as mem-
bers of parliament, lie; that the money ex-
pended in ſetting the poor to work throughout
the kingdom is but little more than what is
ſpent in entertainments at meetings relative to
the management of their affairs ; not twa-
thirds, of what comes under the article of
overſeers journies, and attendance on magiſtrates;
and about one-fourth of the ſum which is the
total under the column of law expences; they
muſt alſo recollect, that the firſt ſection of the
43d of Elizabeth, gives authority to the over-
ſeers to raiſe weekly, or otherwiſe, by taxation
of every inhabitant, a convenient ſtock of flax,
hemp, wool, thread, iron, and other neceſſary
ware and ſtuff to ſet the poor to work; and
that this application of the money, raiſed by
aſſeſſment, is the primary obje&t in view of the
legiſlature, in that act of parliament, under
the authority of which, they perceive, by their
printed
L E T T E R XXI.
271
printed abſtract, above two millions to be an-
nually raiſed on his Majeſty's ſubjects, through
that part of the kingdom ſubject to the ope-
ration of the act; they muſt alſo know that
the application of competent ſums of money,
toward the neceſſary relief of the lame, impo-
tent, old, blind, and ſuch other of them being
poor and not able to work, and alſo for putting
out children to be apprentices, was a ſecondary
conſideration of the legiſlature, and by no
means comes into the fore-ground of the
piece; and that law-expences, expences of
overſeers in attendance on magiſtrates, ex-
pences of entertainments, &c. were not in
view, or, at leaſt, like all objects in the
back-ground, where the perſpective is well
preſerved, were but dimly and indiſtinctly
ſeen; but that preſent practice has ſo reverſed
all regularity and order in the preſent ſyſtem
of the poor laws, as exhibited to the com-
mittee, that the great object of Elizabeth's
legiſlature is now thrown into the back-
ground, and the whole order of the picture
reverſed: the concluſion, that muſt be ob-
vious to every one, is, that the 43d of Eliza-
þeth, like Mr. Gamon's Act, reſpecting out-
ſide
S 4
272
L E T T E K XXII.
fide paſſengers in ſtage-coaches, although the
law of the land, is not the practice of the
land.
The total ſum falling under the column of
expences of entertainments, 11,7131. cer-
tainly is not much for the number of pariſhes
in England and Wales; but it leads to the
expences contained under the heads of law,
buſineſs, attendances on magiſtrates, journies,
&c.; theſe two columns form no inconſider-
able total, 80,2851.; when a veſtry, which
ought to 'meet and conclude the buſineſs of
their meeting in a part of the church
appro-
priated for that purpoſe, adjourns to the
neighbouring ale-houſe, the trifle which they
expend of the poor's rates is not all ; pariſh
buſineſs is the object; at a meetiug of neigh-
bouring pariſhioners, having a common topic
to converſe about, ſome foon become inte-
reſted in defending their opinions ; more talk
requires more liquor, and their determinations
are made, not like thoſe of their German an-
ceſtors, deliberant dum fingere neſciunt : conſti-
tuunt dum errare non poſſunt; but they reverſe
the order, they deliberate, while they are ſo-
ber, and determine when they are drunk
hence
;
L E T T E R XXII.
273
hence journies to magiſtrates, orders of remo-
val on doubtful ſettlements, appeals to ſef-
fions, from thence to the King's-Bench;
hence attorney's bills, and enormous affefi-
ments. Was no order of veftry good, or no
pariſh officer to be indemnified in expending
the pariſh money in law conteſts, unleſs by an
order of veftry, ſigned before noon, in the
pariſh church, after regular notice given, and
no adjournment allowed, much of the article
of
expence would diſappear.
Another uſe may alſo be made of this ab-
Itract; there are fome very able, although not
accurate, obſervers of what reſpects the poor,
who have imagined, that the great increaſe of
our expences, relating to them, has ariſen
from temporary want of work; it may be re-
collected, that this cannot happen where the
employment is agriculture, becauſe this oc-
cupation always requires nearly the ſame num-
beř of hands all years, and is independent of
any deſultory call for work; which may, as
all manufactures do, the demand of which is
uncertain, give full employment to the poor
ſome years, and leave them to fubfift on the
poor's rates when the demand for the manu-
facture
274
L E T T E R XXII.
poor, from
facture ceaſes; a compariſon being made of
the medium of net expences of the
the returns made to parliament in 1776, and
the medium of 1783, 1784, and 1785, taking
the total of five or ſix of thoſe pariſhes, which
may be known by the perſon making the
comparifon, to depend principally, or entirely,
on agriculture; the increaſe on the laſt me-
dium will be found to riſe from thirty to above
forty per cent. more than the expence was in
1776, a riſe by no means to be accounted for
on the principle of the advanced price of the
neceſſaries of life during this interval ; and
the idea of want of work in theſe pariſhes,
which are thus ſelected, as being employed in
agriculture, muſt be thrown out of the caſe ;
the effect then muſt have ariſen from ſome
other cauſe; a cauſe, I fear, neither tending
to the comfort of the poor, nor the credit of
the overſeer.
That column which contains the medium
of expences not concerning the poor, viz. re-
pairing churches, roads, &c. ſalaries to mini-
fters, &c. amounting to 44,2311. certainly
ought not have made its appearance in this
abſtract, becauſe no part of the money col-
lected
L E T T E R XXII.
275
lected by aſſeſſments for the relief of the
poor ought to have been applied to purpoſes
ſpecifically different from thoſe to which the
rate appropriated by the 43d of Elizabeth,
and which have their different funds provided
for them by other authorities; the church-
wardens rate repairs the church; the ſur-
veyors rate repairs the roads; and the eccle-
fiaſtical eſtates are amply ſufficient for pro-
viding and paying ſalaries to miniſters : it is,
therefore, ſome matter of ſurpriſe, why the
poor's rate is clogged with ſuch a conſiderable
fum, which is foreign to its proper applica-
tion ; in well regulated pariſhes ſuch charges
on the poor's rate are not admitted ; and ma-
ny blanks, conſequently, appear againſt indi-
vidual pariſhes under this column.
No abſtract of the returns made to the fe-
cond queſtion appears, which inquires what
number of poor received conſtant, and what
number received occaſional relief? A queſtion
of, at leaſt, equal importance to any of the
others, as the aggregate would have been nearly,
if not fully, a return of all the poor throughout
England and Wales; or at the leaſt it would
have informed us of the number of thoſe who
have
176
L
L E T T E R XXII.
G
have been at any time, within the three years
a burthen on the public; why the committee
did not inform themſelves of this fact; it is
no eaſy matter to gueſs ;-poſſibly the returns
were too incomplete to afford any certain ing
formation ; but if that was the caſe, the
queſtion ſhould have been repeated from year
to year, until the returns had been accurate
and full, becauſe this fact muft be known
before any radical cure can be attempted, as
it leads to a certain knowledge of the extent
of the diſeaſe.
The report from the committee, appointed
to inſpect and conſider the returns made by
the miniſters and churchwardens, relative to
charitable donations, for the benefit of poor
perſons, in purſuance of the 58th chapter of
the ſame year ; ſtates, that it appears by a for-
mer report, made under the ſaid act the 23d day
of May 1787, that out of near thirteen thou-
fand pariſhes, from which returns of charitable
donations have been required, there were only
fourteen pariſhes that had made no ſuch re-
turns.
That the committee directed an abſtract to
be made of the returns; but finding, on in-
fpection of the abſtract, tha: a great number
of
l'
L ET T E R XXII.
271
of the pariſhes had made defective returns,
ſome by not naming the perſons who gave the
charities, others by not naming the truſtees,
others by not deſcribing whether the donations
were in land or money, others by not de-
fcribing the produce of the money, lands, or
rent charges, ſo given. The committee di-
rected their chairman to write circular letters
to the miniſters and churchwardens of all the
pariſhes, &c. where ſuch omiffionis appeared,
requiring them to ſend more perfect returns.
The committee then reports, that about
4065 letters had been ſent, that anſwers had
been received to about 3376 of them, 'many
of which had given the explanation required;
and many others had ſtated that they could
give no further information.
That the committee have cauſed the
pro-
duce of the ſaid charities, in land and money,
as far as they can be collected from the ſaid
returns, to be caſt up in each county ; by
which the annual amount of the produce of
the money and land, through England and
Wales, appears to be :
3
MONEY
i
278
L E T T E R XXII.
MONEY.
England, £. 46,173 9
9 9
Wales, 2,070 0
O 8
48,243 10 5
LAND.
England, f. 206,301 8 8
Wales, 4,166 0 2
210,467 8 10
Making together a total of £. 258,710 19 3
And that the committee had reaſon to be-
lieve, very conſiderable further ſums will ap-
pear to have been given for the like charitable
purpoſes ; whenever proper means can be
found for inveſtigating and compleating thoſe
diſcoveries, by extending the inquiries to cor-
porations, companies, and ſocieties of men,
as well as feoffees, truſtees, and other per-
fons.
The committee alſo obſerves, that
face of the ſaid return, many of the charitable
donations appear to have been loſt, and many
others are in danger of being loſt, and that the
matter ſeems to be of ſuch magnitude as to call
for
upon the
L E T T E R XXII.
279
for the ſerious and Speedy attention of parlia-
ment, to amend and explain the act, by ſpeci-
fying, with certainty and preciſion; the objects
to which they may think fit to direct : their
inquiries, in order to procure full and fatiſ-
factory returns, and the eſtabliſhment of ſuch
meaſures as may be effectual for the relief of the
poor perſons who were the objects of the ſaid
donations ; and for carrying the charitable
purpoſes of the donors into execution.
The committee appears to have been ſtrong-
ly impreſſed with the idea, that much infor-
mation on the ſubject was intentionally with-
held, and that a more minute inveſtigation was
neceſſary to acquire a ſufficient inſight into
this important branch of the revenue belong-
ing to the
poor;
when it is recollected, that
the inquiry on this head, was made with a
view to the beſt of purpoſes, that of regulating
the application of theſe eſtates, which had,
from moſt diſtant times, been left by charita-
ble donors to the uſe of the poor ; and that
the information is required from thoſe who are
the proper guardians of theſe eſtates; and the
queſtions are accordingly applied to the mini-
ſters of pariſhes, and the churchwardens; it
is
280 L E T T E R XX1:1.
Í
is a matter of ſurpriſe that ſuch faulty or des
ficient returns were made ; but is-it not matter
of
greater ſurpriſe, that the committee ſhould
ſtand in need of more full and 'ſatisfactory re-
turns, in order to eſtabliſh ſuch meaſures as may
be effe&tual for the relief of the objects of the
faid donation, while the ſtatute of charitable
uſes, paſſed in the 43d of Elizabeth, is the law
of the land? and which was paſſed with a view
of ſnatching theſe eſtates from the hands of
thoſe harpies, who would then, as they will
now, if they can, divert their produce from
the poor into their own pockets. This ſta-
tute paſſed in the ſame year as the leading
ſtatute which reſpects the poor, and forms
part of a plan, at the time in contempla-
and a very prudent part it is, to make
as productive as poſſible that revenue which
the
poor could claim as their right; at the
ſame time as they took from the pockets of
their richer fellow-citizens, what that re-
venue might, when applied according to the
intention of the donors, fall ſhort of ſupplying
their abſolute neceſſities.
This ſtatute impowers the chancellor or
keeper of the great ſeal, and the chancellor
of
tion;
L E T T E R XXII.
281
of the dutchy.of Lancaſter, for the time being,
within the dutchy of Lancaſter, to award.com-
miſſions to the biſhops of every dioceſe, and
to other perſons of good and found behaviour,
or any four or more of them, authoriſing them
to inquire, as well by the oaths of twelve men,
or more, of the county, as by all other good
and lawful means, of all and ſingular ſuch
eſtates, and gifts, &c. and of all abuſes and
breaches of truſt reſpecting them; an uſeful
and neceſſary commiſſion, which, if iſſued in
thoſe inſtances where the committee ſuſpects
information to be held back, would be equal
to every good effect, and preclude all neceſſity
for more acts of parliament on this head, either
to compel a diſcovery, or to enforce an appli-
cation of the rents and profits of thoſe eſtates,
to the purpoſes for which they were originally
granted.
1
t
Vol. I.
T
LITTER
[ 282
)
L E T T E R XXIII.
THE hiſtory of the Poor Laws, with ob-
ſervations, is the firſt publication of any
conſequence on this ſubject, which appeared
in his preſent Majeſty's reign; and the fame
author's name being in the title page, as in
that well known book, Burn's Juſtice, the
reader has reaſon to expect much information
on the ſubject, nor will he be diſappointed.
Burn lays the foundation of his inquiry in re-
mote antiquity, informing us how the poor
were maintained in this country as ſoon as we
began to enjoy the firſt dawn of civilization,
and proves that the eccleſiaſtic revenue was
ſubject to the burthen as far as one fourth of
the produce at firſt, and one third afterwards ;
to this purpoſe he quotes Kennet's Impropr.
14, 15. and ſays, that the poor alſo received
fome
L E T T E R XXIII. 283
ſome portion of their maintenance from the
alms of the people, and from the monaſteries.
He then recites, rather fully, all the ſtatutes
relative to the poor, dividing them into three
heads; · ſervants, &c. vagrants, and impotent
poor.
Obſervations on the ſtatutes, form the fifth
chapter ; and here I muſt expreſs my diſap-
pointment, in not receiving any information
from this able writer ; at what time, and by
what means the poor in particular, and the
nation at large, loſt their hold on that portion
of the ecclefiaftic revenue, which he ſtates
them originally to have enjoyed. The author
of Burn's Eccleſiaſtical Law was aſſuredly able
to give full information on this important ſub-
ject; and it was a neceſſary part of his plan;
becauſe he is obliged to lay the foundation of
the compulſory maintenance, which they now
partake of, in the cuſtom of begging ; a practice
which, in his chapter on further regulations,
he
very ſtrongly deprecates, and is of opinion
it ſhould be utterly aboliſhed: whereas, the
cuſtom of begging has its moſt natural foun-
dation in the want of neceſſary relief; an ex-
igency, urgent in proportion as they were de-
prived
T 2
284 L E T T E R XXIII.
1
prived of their juſt ſhare of this eleemofynary
revenue ; which being withdrawn gradually
by the eccleſiaſtics, the poor were encouraged
from the pulpits to beg that maintenance of
the people at large, which they had a right to
from the eſtates of the church in a certain pro-
portion ; and which being exhauſted, they
then might reaſonably have been permitted to
aſk alms from the people, and not before. On
this topic he is filent, and tells us,
" that the
miniſter was to take all opportunities to exhort
the people to be bountiful :-houſes were to be
provided for them by the devotion of good
people, and materials to ſet them on ſuch work
as they were able to perform :---then the mi-
niſter, after the Goſpel, every Sunday, was
ſpecially to exhort the pariſhioners to a liberal
contribution :---next, the collectors for the
poor, on a certain Sunday in every year, imme-
diately after divine ſervice, were to take down
in writing what every perſon was willing to
give weekly for the enſuing year ; and if any
ſhould be obſtinate and refuſe to give, the mi-
niſter was gently to exhort him; if he ſtill re-
fuſed, the miniſter was to certify ſuch refuſal
to the biſhop of the dioceſe, who was to ſend
for
L E T T E R XXIII. 285
;
or and exhort him in like manner; if he ſtill
ſtood out, the biſhop was to certify the ſame
to the juſtices in ſeſſions, and bind him over to
appear there; and the juſtices at the ſeſſions
were again gently to move and perſuade him
and finally, if he would not be perſuaded, then
they were to affeſs him what they thought rea-
ſonable towards the relief of the poor : and
this brought on the aſſeſſment in the fourteenth
year of Queen Elizabeth.” Such is Dr.
Burn's deduction of the compulſory mainte-
nance.
Now, it is obſervable, that whatever
of compulſion there might be in this duty of
the miniſter, who, it is ſtated, was to take all
opportunities to exhort, it did not receive its
ſanction from the law of the land, until the
27th year of Henry the Eighth; therefore,
many centuries before that period, it was a
voluntary act on the part of the eccleſiaſtics,
who gradually withdrew that portion of their
tythes, belonging to the poor, from their uſe,
as they were able by their influence to per-
fuade the pariſhioners to reinſtate by their
alms; and hence aroſe the neceſſity of our pre-
ſent poor rates.
That the poor were, during the times of
popery,
T3
286 L E T T E R XXIII.
t
3
ز
popery, maintained chiefly by the religious
houſes, is ſtated as a vulgar error : “ their
hoſpitality was to the rich; they were great
inns ; they entertained thoſe bountifully who
could be bountiful to them again.” With this
obſervation the former part of our inquiries
perfectly agrees.
Another fact this treatiſe ſtates as reinark-
able, is, “ that every propoſal which hath
been made for the reformation of the poor laws,
hath been tried in former ages, and found in-
effectual."
The antiquity of ſettlements is deduced
from the more antient ſtatutes, and proved not
to have originated from the ſtatute paſſed in
the reign of Charles the Second; the doctrine
of removals is alſo traced from the ſame
ſources. But thus much is clear, that from
whatever ſource the idea of them originally
ſprung, they are themſelves an abundant ſource
of expenſive litigations.
The origin and progreſs of the office of
overſeer is ingeniouſly traced from the church-
wardens, who were the original overſeers, and
ſtill by ſtatute law continue fo; becauſe the
management of the poor, Dr. Burn ſays, was
1
at
L E T T E R XXIII,
287
at firſt ſolely an eccleſiaſtical matter ; another
proof that the clerical eſtates conſtituted the
principal fund of their maintenance: “ in aid
of the churchwardens, colle&tors were ap-
pointed, and afterwards the overſeer.”
Begging is traced from the firſt ſtatute in
the 23d of Edward the Third,
" when none
under the colour of pity and alms were to
give any thing to ſuch as might labour, under
pain of impriſonment,” to the laſt act of
parliament in the 17th of George the Second,
which makes it the firſt ſtep towards vagran-
cy, “ perſons begging within their own pa-
riſh, being deemed idle and diſorderly perſons,
and to be ſent to the houſe of correction."
Badging of the poor, which is directed by
the 8th and 9th of William the Third, is ſup-
poſed to have ſprung from the military inſti-
tution, when the nobility diſtinguiſhed their
followers with peculiar enſigns.
What obfervations there are in Burn's
tract, reſpecting the vagrant laws, relate
chiefly to their extreme ſeverity ; it is a matter
of ſelf-gratulation, that, in a former part of
theſe pages, the writer ſhould have fallen into
a train of ſimilar ſentiments on this head.
Rating
T 4
288
L E T T E R XXIII.
Rating the
wages of fervants by ſtatute, has
alſo fallen under our conſideration; no addi-
tional information is to be found in his ob-
fervations on theſe ſtatutes, except the affer-
tion, that by the experience of four hundred
years,
it
appears, that the
that the regulating the prices
cf work leaves no room for induſtry and inge-
nuity; “ for if all perſons, in the fame kind
of work, vere' to receive equal wages, there
would be no emulation."
The cloathing of the poor, in antient times,
is difcuffed ; and, from the argument, it ap-
pears, that the ſtatutable cloathing, in the
reign of Edward the Third, for handicrafts
and
yeomen, was not to exceed 4s. 6d. a yard,
or thereabout, eſtimating by the money of
the preſent times; for which price a ſtrong
and warm cloathing might ſtill be purchaſed.
This tract then gives an account of the dif-
ferent ſchemes for reforming the poor laws ;
and goes at ſome length into Lord Hales's,
Sir Joſiah Child's, Mr. Cary's, Mr. Hay's,
Mr. Alcock's, Anonymous, Lord Hilfbo-
rough's, Sir Richard Lloyd's, Mr. Fielding's,
and Mr. Cooper's plan ; all which have been
alrcady explained in the former pages of cur
ſtrictures
L E T T E R XXIII. 289
i
ſtrictures on this ſubject. We then come to
the ſeventh chapter, in which the author pro-
poſes farther regulations.
• Thus,” he faith, “ hath the wiſdom of
the nation, in parliament, and of individuals,
been einployed in providing properly for the
poor ; and yet they are not properly provided
for.” The fact is true; but it ought not to
induce an opinion, that it is impoſſible to me-
liorate their ſituation, and lighten our bur-
thens.
Et quoddam frodire tenus.
Two particulars, he ſays, ſhould be rectified,
until time and experience ſuggeſt further al-
teration : firſt, to prevent the nuiſance of com-
mon begging :---the means he propoſes are,
give them nothing; " if none were to give,
none would beg, and the whole myſtery and
craft would end in a fortnight:' and in order
to bring this about, he would have all who
relieve a common beggar be ſubject to a pe-
nalty. Surely the principles of liberty, po-
licy, and humanity, all equally militate againſt
ſuch a regulation ; experience alſo has proved
its inſufficiency for the purpoíe: in times of
ignorance the experiment was made, and found
ineffectual,
290
L E T T E R XXIII.
ineffectual. By the 23d of Edward the Third,
pione were permitted, under colour of alms, to
give any thing to ſuch which may labour, un-
der the pain of impriſonment. This ſtatute
was repealed by Edward the Sixth.
The other fundamental defect is, according
to this writer, in leaving the whole manage-
ment to thoſe annual officers called overſeers
of the poor; and the practical duty of ſuch am
officer is ironically pointed out with ſome hu-
mour : “ he is to keep an extraordinary look
out, to prevent perſons coming to inhabit
without certificates, and to fly to the juſtices
to remove them; and if a man brings a certifi-
cate, then to caution all the inhabitants not to
let him a farm of rol, a vear, and to take
care to keep him out of all pariſh offices; to
warn them, if they will hire ſervants, to hire
them half-yearly, or by the month, by the
week, or by the day, rather than by any way
which ſhall give them a ſettlement; or if they
do hire them by the year, then to pick a quar-
rel with them before the year's end, and ſo to
get rid of them : to maintain the poor as cheap
as poſſible they can at all events; not to lay
out twopence in proſpect of any future good,
but
L E T T E R XXIII. 291
1
but only to ſerve the preſent neceſſity; to bar-
gain with ſome ſturdy perſon to take them by
the lump, who yet is not intended to take
them, but to hang over them in terrorem; if
they ſhall complain to the juſtices for want
of maintenance, to ſend them into the country
a begging; to bind out poor children appren-
tices, no matter to whom or to what trade,
only take care that the maſter lives in another
parish; to move heaven and earth if
rth if any diſ-
pute happens about a ſettlement, and in that
particular to invert the general rule, and ſtick
at no expence; to pull down cottages, to drive
out as many inhabitants, and admit as few as
pofſibly they can;" with many other ironical
directions, reminding the reader of Swift's Ad-
vice to Servants ; by which it is apparent,
that this our great luminary in the duty of ma-
giſtrątes knew well that the office of an over-
ſeer was ſometimes neglected, ſometimes per-
verted, and but ſeldom properly executed.
He therefore is of opinion, that the office
ſhould not be entirely aboliſhed, but that a
general ſuperintendant over a certain number
of pariſhes, as the juſtices in ſeſſions ſhall find
moſt convenient, ihould be appointed; and
that
292
L ET T E R XXIII.
1
that the overſeer ſhould collect the rate, and
it ſhould be applied under the direction of the
fuperintendant, whoſe bufineſs he more par-
ticularly points out.
To aſſiſt this purpoſe, he recommends
monthly ſeſſions to the juſtices, at which the
churchiwardens, overſeers, and fuperintendant
ſhould attend, give in their report, and receive
further orders; and thoſe who think them-
ſelves aggrieved at theſe diſtrict ſeſſions ſhould
have a right of appeal to the quarter ſeſſions.
To inſure attendance, he propoſes that the
juſtices ſhould be allowed half a guinea à day
out of the county ſtock, and ſays, that theſe
monthly ſeſſions might alſo be uſeful to carry
into execution the acts of parliament reſpect-
ing the highways then in force, together with
that variety of buſineſs, which is now the
employment of juſtices at their common meet-
ings or ſpecial fefſions.
A curious inſtance is mentioned from a book
of " the Police of France," written about
1753,
which
proves, that at the ſame time
the French were anxious that their police, rer
ſpecting the poor, ſhould be put on the ſame
footing as our Engliſh poor laws, ſeveral pro-
poſals
.
L ETT ER XXIII.
293
.
poſals were publiſhed in London recommend-
ing ſuch a method of maintaining our poor as
was then practiſed in France; viz. by general
hoſpitals in provincial towns; exemplifying,
in a very ſtrong light, the truth of Horace's
maxim,
laudet diverſa ſequentes.
The French mode, he very properly ob-
ſerves, will annihilate all family connections,
and will create a populus virorum, and a populus
mulierum, which at the ſame time that it lef-
ſens the number of the poor, will tend to de-
populate a kingdom.
A county, inſtead of a påriſh ſettlement,
provided the poor could be maintained on a
county plan, he thinks might be adviſeable;
but that the idea of ſettlements ſhould not be
aboliſhed, “ only reſtrained, to the place of
birth, or of inhabitancy for one or more years,
and that ſuch a reſtriction would tend to abo-
liſh certificates by deſtroying the cauſe of re-
quiring; granting, or denying them.” Horv
this would be effected by reítraining ſettlements
to the place of birth or inhabitancy, for one
or more years, I confeſs myſelf not able to ſee ;
that the number of law ſuits, to aſcertain the
ſettlement,
:
294
L ÉTT ER xxiii.
ſettlement, might be diminiſhed, is plain, but
that certificates to authoriſe the pauper to live
elſewhere, would be as neceſſary as at preſent,
is alſo equally obvious.
A reduction of all the poor laws into one is
recommended ; as is alſo a reduction of the
highway laws into one. The laſt alteration
has heen effected by the 13th of the preſent
king, chap. 58. and has undoubtedly much
ſimplified their uſe and operation, and rendered
them, in moſt inſtances, a practicable and uſe-
ful code--equally good effects would ariſe
from a ſimplification of the poor laws. A
code of acts of the legiſlature, militating in
ſome inſtances with each other, whoſe ſeveral
dependencies and connections are not eaſy to
be diſcovered by a ſuperficial obſerver, or tem-
porary officer, who muſt pick his duty out of
the Statutes at Large, forms no bad apology
for ignorance; and ignorance, at the ſame
time that it excuſes neglect, becomes alſo a
cloak to intereſted miſtakes.
Theſe are the chief notices which the au-
thor of the Hiſtory of the Poor Laws has
made on the ſubject; there are ſome other
obſervations on the defects of the law, under
the
L E T T E R XXIII.
295
the adminiſtration of juſtices of the peace,
which do not immediately relate to the poor,
and therefore may very properly be paſſed
over, more eſpecially, as it is apparent from
the ſmall ſale of the book, although ſanctioned
by his well known name, that it is by no
means a ſubject which has excited much at-
tention, or is generally ſtudied, although it
very intimately concerns all claſſes of people.
In 1764, a pamphlet, publiſhed by Becket,
Obſervations on the Number of the Poor,
and on the heavy Rates levied for their Bene-
fit; ſtarts an idea on the ſubject, that, whe-
ther true or not, proves ſome theoretic prin-
ciples in the ſecond part of Pain's Rights of
Man, to have no claim to originality.
“ The law of primogeniture creates po-
verty; and poverty, thus created, is ſupported
by the ſtate ; therefore, however the name
and thing may be qualified, the genteel poor
being maintained by their country, is analo-
gous to the vulgar poor being caſt on the
pa-
riſh.
66 Hence ariſes all the danger to our liber-
ties, ſuch as they are, and the progreſſive re-
trenchment of them; theſe are the men whoſe
attention
296 L ETTER XXIII.
attention is continually turned to enſlave their
country, and it is a natural circumſtance,
ariſing from the circumſtances they are in,
which if they do not amount to a juſtification,
yet inuſt be admitted as an alleviation. What
is a country to thoſe who inherit from it no-
thing but an obligation to hold up an empty
rank? When ſuch are attached to the go-
vernment for bread, what is more natural
than that they ſhould exert their talents to
render their dependence as permanent as pof-
ſible, and endeavour by all adviſeable means to
ſtrengthen and enlarge the power of admini-
ſtration over the people ? As families increaſe,
the number of political geniuſes ſo fubfifted,
and ſo employed, and who fo employ them-
ſelves, in order to be ſubfifted, vaſtly out-
number thoſe attached to the cauſe of their
country by their landed poſſeſſions, and who
are but the units of their reſpective families ;
hence ariſes the neceſſity of multiplying taxes,
which, however refined and plauſible the pleas
for them may appear, ſpring in a great mea-
furc from the cbligation to provide for the nu-
merous branches thus lopped off and denied any
tharc of nouriſhment from the family ftems. '
This
L E T T E R XXIII.
297
This writer ſo entirely loſes the avowed
purpoſe of his pamphlet in the title page'; fo
neglects the intereſts of the real poor, in at-
tending to the political conſequences reſulting
from the number of genteel poor ; that it is
futile to follow him any farther in a ſubject
which opens a field of argument vaſtly too ex-
tenſive for this publication, and foreign to its
intention,
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VOL. I.
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