1838. other old pernicious modes of relief, the allowance system, the roundsman system, the labour-rate system, had ceased. That the Poor Law Commission had thus far executed its task, could not be denied; but the habits which were engendered by such practices could hardly be eradicated in five years, and might revive if the power which put them down were withdrawn. This likewise appeared to be the view taken by the boards of guardians in the addresses they presented, which for the most part declare or imply that the superintending authority of the central board, and the instruction and local aid of the Assistant Commissioners, are essential to the well-working of the law. I have somewhat overstepped the order of date in Poor Relief the above citations, and must return to the 31st of 1 & 2 Vict. July 1838, on which day the 1 & 2 Victoria, cap. 56, Act. cap. 56. "For the more effectual Relief of the destitute Poor in Ireland," received the royal assent. This measure was introduced after long and elaborate inquiry, and was discussed in two successive sessions, and its execution was deliberately confided to the Commissioners, who had thus the administration of the Poor Law in Ireland as well as in England placed under their charge. In England an organisation for administering the law had long existed, but in Ireland the whole machinery had to be created by Commissioners, without whose intervention the Irish Poor Relief Act would be altogether inoperative. That Act was founded on a report by the present author, and its administration was confided to his colleagues and himself for the express purpose of introducing the English amended system of relief into Ireland, and thus to secure a unity of management in both countries. The author proceeded to Ireland for this purpose, taking with him certain of the English Assistant Commissioners, in order that the experience acquired in one country might be made available in the other. If matters had so continued, it might have been desirable to interweave the proceedings under the Irish Poor Law with the proceedings in England; but as the Irish law was afterwards1 placed under a separate Commission, and was thenceforward separately administered, it will, I think, be better to omit them altogether from the present narrative, the Irish Poor Law, and the proceedings under it, constituting a subject sufficiently important for a separate description.2 Amount of the number relieved. The Commissioners, in their supplemental report, 1839. give a summary of the expenditure for relief of the relief, and poor in the five years previous to the passing of the of persons Amendment Act, and also in the five subsequent years. In the first period, from 1830 to 1834, both years inclusive, the average annual expenditure amounted to £6,754,590; in the latter period, from 1835 to 1839, both years inclusive, it amounted to £4,567,988; showing an average annual saving of £2,186,502; which, for the five years after the passing of the law and the creation of the Commission, amounts to an aggregate saving of £10,932,510. The result of this summary, it will be seen, differs little from the comparative statement which is given at page 337. The number of persons relieved in the workhouses at the end of 1839 is stated to be about 98,000; the number in receipt of out-door relief about 560,000; exhibiting a total receiving relief of 658,000 persons. Both of these numbers are approximations only, the returns not having yet attained exactitude, and both probably fall short of the truth, the latter number especially. The number of persons thus relieved no doubt consisted of the most improvident and helpless in every part of 1 In 1847, by the 10 & 11 Vict. cap. 90. 2 See History of Irish Poor Law, pp. 153-234. See also the life of the Author, prefixed to the first volume of the present work. the country, which rendered their enumeration uncertain, unless under a complete system of uniform returns; and this had not yet been fully organised. That some cases of neglect and hardship should occur under such circumstances, ought not to excite surprise, it being in fact impossible altogether to prevent them; but their occurrence never failed to be made the grounds of charge and accusation against the law and its administrators, and many benevolent and well-intentioned persons were influenced by false statements of cruelty and neglect, to become for a time. adverse to the law, and opponents to the renewal of the Commission. This hostile feeling was very strong in 1842, when the Commission was continued for five years; but this was not effected without much opposition, although the numerous complaints which had been investigated by the parliamentary committees, nearly all turned out to be without foundation. But for this, and the large number of persons engaged as guardians in administering the law, it is far from improbable that the whole measure, including both the law and the Commission, might have been so cut down as to destroy its efficiency. Harsh, however, as the law was said by some to be, it was yet seen that it provided and organised the most extensive system of public relief the world had ever known, and this too in a country where, as compared with other countries, wages were high, and the working classes generally in a state of greater respectability and comfort. The principle on which this extensive system of relief was administered under the provisions of the Poor Law Amendment Act amounted to this-that whilst the necessitous are adequately relieved, their condition should be less eligible than that of the relief is ad- independent labourer. If this principle is violated, ministered and the condition of the pauper made equally or more The prin ciple on which ministered amended law. eligible than that of the labourer, the strongest incen tive to industry and frugality will be destroyed, and the poor-rates would be applied in rewarding idleness and improvidence, instead of relieving destitution. Now, out-door relief, whether in money or provisions, given to be spent or consumed at the paupers' own option, is inconsistent with this principle, not being accompanied by any condition or restraint; and the principle is fulfilled, when the relief is administered in a well-regulated workhouse, where, although there might be a larger amount of bodily comforts than ordinarily fall to the lot of the labouring man, the discipline to which the inmates must conform would counterbalance this advantage, and render the pauper's position the less eligible of the two. This is the workhouse principle, which as respects the able-bodied had, at the period at which we are now arrived, been very generally acted upon; and the Commissioners declare their intention of carefully watching the effect on the labouring classes, and if they find that the workhouse regulations are so strict as to deter persons really destitute from seeking relief therein, they will make the modifications necessary for preventing such a result; but if on the contrary they find the workhouses becoming over attractive, they will not shrink from the duty of so strengthening the regulations as to preserve the efficiency of the workhouse principle. From this point the particular annual report of the Commissioners will not be specified, the dates being a sufficient guide to the events as they as they severally occurred, and the narrative will thus be left unbroken and continuous. The pressure of commercial difficulties, high price of provisions, and very general and in some cases great distress which prevailed in 1838, continued with more or less severity throughout the five following years, occasioning much hardship and privation to the people, A period of difficulty and dis tress. and much anxiety to the administrators of the Poor Law; for much of the discontent and angry feeling which always accompany seasons of distress was 1838-1842. directed against them and against the law. We have commercial seen that the unpopularity to which it was exposed caused the Commission to be intrusted with only a precarious existence from year to year in 1839, 1840, and 1841;1 and although in 1842 it was continued for a period of five years, this was not accomplished without considerable opposition and difficulty. These indications of hostility, although proceeding from a minority both in parliament and in the country, could hardly fail of weakening the authority of the Commission, and causing a less strict and energetic administration of the law. Partly owing to this circumstance, and partly or rather principally to the circumstances of the times, the expenditure for relief of the poor went on progressively increasing after 1837. The amount expended in the Increase of expenditure. These figures exhibit a steadily progressive increase of expenditure, and notwithstanding that it was still a million and a half under what it had been under the old system, the increase might well create some misCauses of giving. The pressure of the times, and the clamour of expendi- raised against the law and the Commission, are however ture. sufficient to account for the increase, although there the increase 1 Ante, p. 340. 2 This is the parochial year, extending from Lady-day to Lady-day 1836-37, and therefore including three-quarters of the first year and one quarter of the last. It is necessary always to bear this in mind, in connection with the Poor Law expenditure of any year. |