fortheystillhadthedutyofcollectingandaccountingfortherates，but
thedistributionwasinthehandsofpaidguardians，oneforeachparish，
appointedbythejusticesoutofalistofnamessubmittedbytheparishioners。
Ineachsetofincorporatedparishestherewasa’Visitor’appointedbythe
justices，whohadpracticallyabsolutepowerovertheguardians。Iftheguardians
refusedrelief，theclaimantcouldstillappeal，asinthecaseoftheoverseers，
tothejustices。
Suchwastheparishmachinery。Themethodofgivingreliefvariedgreatly，
butthemaindistinctiontobedrawnisbetween(1)outrelief，oraweekly
pensionofashillingortwoathome；and(2)indoorrelief，orreliefin
aworkhouse，orpoorhouse，orhouseofindustry。Outreliefwastheearlier
institution，andithelditsownthroughoutthecentury，beingtheonlyform
ofreliefinmanyparishes。Downto1722parishesthatwishedtobuilda
workhousehadtogetaspecialActofParliament。Inthatyearagreatimpetus
wasgiventotheworkhousemovementbyanAct(71*)whichauthorisedoverseers，
withtheconsentofthevestry，tostartworkhouses，ortofarmoutthepoor，
andalsoauthorisedparishestojointogetherforthispurpose。Ifapplicants
forreliefrefusedtogointotheworkhouse，theyforfeitedtheirtitleto
anyreliefatall。Agreatmanyworkhouseswerebuiltinconsequenceofthis
Act：in1732therewerestatedtobesixtyinthecountry，andaboutfifty
inthemetropolis。(72*)
Eveniftheapplicantforrelieflivedinaparishwhichhadbuiltor
sharedinaworkhouse，itdidnotfollowthathewasforcedintoit。Helost
histitletoreceivereliefoutside，buthisfatewoulddependontheparish
officers。IntheparisheswhichhadadoptedGilbert’sActtheworkhousewas
reservedfortheaged，fortheinfirm，andforyoungchildren。Inmostparishes
therewasoutreliefaswellasindoorrelief：insomeparishesoutdoorrelief
beingallowedtoapplicantsofacertainageorinspecialcircumstances。
Insomeparishesalloutdoorreliefhadstoppedby1795。(73*)Thereisno
doubtthatinmostparishestheworkhouseaccommodationwouldhavebeenquite
inadequatefortheneedsoftheparishintimesofdistress。Itwasquite
commontoputfourpersonsintoasinglebed。
Theworkhousesweredreadedbythepoor，(74*)notonlyforthedirtand
diseaseandthedevastatingfeversthatsweptthroughthem，(75*)butfor
reasonsthatareintelligibleenoughtoanyonewhohasreadEden’sdescriptions。
ThosedescriptionsshowthatCrabbe’spictureisnoexaggeration：——
’TheirsisyonHousethatholdstheParish-Poor，Whosewallsofmudscarcebearthebrokendoor。
There，wheretheputridvapours，flagging，play，Andthedullwheelhumsdolefulthroughtheday；
ThereChildrendwellwhoknownoParents’care；
Parents，whoknownoChildren’slove，dwellthere！
Heart-brokenMatronsontheirjoylessbed，ForsakenWivesandMothersneverwed；
DejectedWidowswithunheededtears，AndcrippledAgewithmorethanchildhoodfears；
TheLame，theBlind，and，£；arthehappiestthey！
ThemopingidiotandtheMadmangay。
HeretootheSicktheirfinaldoomreceive，Herebrought，amidthescenesofgrief，togrieve，Wheretheloudgroansfromsomesadchamberflow，Mixtwiththeclamoursofthecrowdbelow；
Heresorrowing，theyeachkindredsorrowscan，Andthecoldcharitiesofmantoman：
Whoselawsindeedforruin’dAgeprovide，Andstrongcompulsionplucksthescrapfrompride；
Butstillthatscrapisboughtwithmanyasigh，Andprideembitterswhatitcan’tdeny。’(76*)
Agoodexampleofthismixtureofyoungandold，virtuousandvicious，
wholeandsick，saneandmad，isgiveninEden’scatalogueoftheinmates
ofEpsomWorkhouseinJanuary1796。(77*)Therewereelevenmen，sixteenwomen，
andtwenty-threechildren。WereadofJ。H。，agedforty-three，’always……
somewhatofanidiot，heisnowbecomequiteadriveller；’ofE。E。，aged
sixty-two，’ofasluggish，stupidcharacter；’ofA。M。，agedtwenty-six，
’afflictedwithaleprosy；’ofR。M。，agedseventy-seven，’wornoutandparalytic；’
ofJ。R。，agedseventeen，whohascontractedsomanydisorderlyhabitsthat
decentpeoplewillnotemployhim。Itisinterestingtonoticethatitwas
nottill1790thattheJusticesofthePeaceweregivenanypowerofinspecting
workhouses。
In1796，beforePitt’sschemewasbroughtin，theActof1722，whichhad
beenintroducedtostiffentheadministrationofthePoorLaws，wasrelaxed。
AnAct，(78*)ofwhichSirWilliamYoungwastheauthor，abolishedtherestriction
ofrighttorelieftopersonswillingtoentertheworkhouse，andprovided
thatclaimantscouldapplyforreliefdirectlytoamagistrate。TheActdeclares
thattherestrictionshadbeenfound’inconvenientandoppressive。’Itis
evidence，ofcourse，oftheincreasingpressureofpoverty。
Buttounderstandthearrangementsinforceatthistime，andalsothe
laterdevelopments，wemustglanceatanotherfeatureofthePoorLawsystem。
ThePoorLawswereasystemofemploymentaswellasasystemofrelief。
TheActsbefore1722areallcalledActsfortheReliefofthePoor：the
Actof1722speaksof’theSettlement，EmploymentandRelief。’ThatActempowered
parishestofarmoutthepoortoanemployer。Gilbert’sActof1782provided
thatintheparishesincorporatedunderthatActtheguardianswerenotto
sendable-bodiedpoortothepoorhouse，buttofindworkforthemormaintain
themuntilworkwasfound：theguardianwastotakethewageandprovide
thelabourerwithamaintenance。Thustheregrewupavarietyofsystems
ofpublicemployment：directemploymentofpaupersonparishwork：thelabour
ratesystem，orthesharingoutofthepaupersamongtheratepayers：the
roundsmansystembywhichpauperlabourwassoldtothefarmers。(79*)
ThiswasthestateofthingsthatPittproposedtoreform。Hisgeneral
ideasonthesubjectwereputbeforetheHouseofCommonsinthedebateon
thesecondreadingofWhitbread’sBill。(80*)Hethoughtthatpersonswith
largefamiliesshouldbetreatedasentitledtorelief，thatpersonswithout
asettlement，fallingintowant，shouldnotbeliabletoremovalatthecaprice
oftheparishofficer，thatFriendlySocietiesshouldbeencouraged，and
thatSchoolsofIndustryshouldbeestablished。’Ifanyonewouldtakethe
troubletocomputetheamountofalltheearningsofthechildrenwhoare
alreadyeducatedinthismanner，hewouldbesurprised，whenhecametoconsider
theweightwhichtheirsupportbytheirownlabourstookoffthecountry，
andtheadditionwhich，bythefruitsoftheirtoil，andthehabitstowhich
theywereformed，wasmadetoitsinternalopulence。’On22nddecemberof
thatyear，inanewParliament，heaskedforleavetobringinaBillfor
thebetterSupportandMaintenanceofthePoor。Hesaidthesubjectwastoo
extensivetobediscussedatthatstage，thatheonlyproposedthattheBill
shouldbereadafirstandsecondtimeandsenttoacommitteewherethe
blankscouldbefilledup，andtheBillprintedbeforetheholidays，’in
orderthatduringtheintervalofParliamentitmightbecirculatedinthe
countryandundergothemostseriousinvestigation。’(81*)Sheridanhinted
thatitwasunfortunateforthepoorthatPitthadtakenthequestionout
ofWhitbread’shands，towhichPittrepliedthatanydelayinbringingforward
hisBillwasduetothetimespentontakingadvice。On28thFebruaryof
thenextyear(1797)，whilestrangerswereexcludedfromtheGallery，there
occurredwhattheParliamentaryRegistercalls’aconversationuponthefarther
considerationofthereportofthePoor’sBill，’inwhichnobodybutPitt
defendedtheBill，andSheridanandJoliffeattackedit。WiththisitsParliamentary
historyends。
ThemainfeaturesoftheBillwerethese。(82*)SchoolsofIndustrywere
tobeestablishedineveryparishorgroupofparishes。Theseschoolswere
toservetwopurposes。First，theyoungweretobetrainedthere(thisidea
came，ofcourse，fromLocke)。Everypoormanwithmorethantwochildren
whowerenotself-supporting，andeverywidowwithmorethanonesuchchild，
wastobeentitledtoaweeklyallowanceinrespectofeachextrachild。
EveryallowancechildwhowasfiveyearsoroverwastobesenttotheSchool
ofIndustry，unlesshisparentcouldinstructandemployhim，andtheproceeds
ofhisworkwastogotowardstheupkeepoftheschool。Secondly，grown-up
peopleweretobeemployedthere。Theauthoritiesweretoprovide’aproper
stockofhemp，flax，silk，cotton，wool，iron，leatherorothermaterials，
andalsopropertoolsandimplementsfortheemploymentofthepoor，’and
theywereempoweredtocarryonalltradesunderthisAct，’anylaworcustom
tothecontrarynotwithstanding。’Anypersonlawfullysettledinaparish
wasentitledtobeemployedintheschool；anypersonresidinginaparish，
ableandwillingtobeemployedattheusualrates，wasentitledtobeemployed
therewhenoutofwork。Poorpersonsrefusingtobeemployedtherewerenot
tobeentitledtorelief。Theauthoritiesmighteitherpaywagesatarate
fixedbythemagistrates，ortheymightlettheemployedselltheirproducts
andmerelyrepaytheschoolforthematerial，ortheymightcontracttofeed
themandtakeaproportionoftheirreceipts。Ifthewagespaidintheschool
wereinsufficient，theyweretobesupplementedoutoftherates。
Theproposalsforoutsidereliefwerebrieflyandchieflythese。Aperson
unabletoearnthefullrateofwagesusuallygivenmightcontractwithhis
employertoworkataninferiorrate，andhavethebalancebetweenhisearnings
andanadequatemaintenancemadeupbytheparish。Moneymightbeadvanced
undercertaincircumstancesforthepurchaseofacoworotheranimal，if
itseemedlikelythatsuchacoursewouldenabletherecipienttomaintain
himselfwithoutthehelpoftheparish。Thepossessionofpropertyupto
thirtypoundswasnottodisqualifyapersonforrelief。Aparochialinsurance
fundwastobecreated，partlyfromprivatesubscriptionsandpartlyfrom
therates。Nopersonwastoberemovedfromaparishonaccountofrelief
fortemporarydisabilityorsickness。
ThemostcelebratedanddeadlycriticismcamefromBentham，whoisoften
supposedtohavekilledtheBill。Someofhisobjectionsarecaptiousand
eristical，andheisagooddeallessthanjusttothegoodelementsofthe
scheme。Pittdeservescreditforonestatesmanlikediscovery，thediscovery
thatitisbadpolicytorefusetohelpamanuntilheisruined。Hiscow-money
proposalwasalsoconceivedintherightspiritifitsformwasimpracticable。
Buttheschemeasawholewasconfusedandincoherent，anditdeservedthe
treatmentitreceived。Itwasintruthahugepatchwork，onwhichtheideas
oflivinganddeadreformerswerethrowntogetherwithoutorderorplan。
Asaconsequence，itsvariouspartsdidnotagree。Itissurprisingthat
thepoliticianwhohadattackedWhitbread’sBillasaninterferencewith
wagescouldhaveincludedinhisschemetheproposaltopaywagesinpart
outofrates。Thewholescheme，thoughitwouldhaveinvolvedagreatexpenditure，
wouldhaveproducedverymuchthesameresultastheSpeenhamlandsystem，
byvirtueofthisclause。Pittshowednomorejudgmentorforesightthan
theleastenlightenedofCountyJusticesinintroducingintoaschemefor
proddingrelief，anddealingwithunemployment，aproposalthatcouldonly
havetheeffectofreducingwages。TheorganisationofSchoolsofIndustry
asameansofdealingwithunemploymenthassometimesbeenrepresentedas
quiteanewproposal，butitwasprobablybasedonthesuggestionmadeby
Fieldingin1753inhispaper，’Aproposalformakinganeffectualprovision
forthepoor，foramendingtheirmorals，andforrenderingthemusefulmembers
ofsociety。’Fieldingproposedtheerectionofacountyworkhouse，which
wastoincludeahouseofcorrection。Hedrewupasharpanddrasticcode
whichwouldhaveauthorisedthecommittaltohisCountyHouse，notonlyof
vagrants，butofpersonsoflowdegreefoundharbouringinanale-houseafter
teno’clockatnight。Buttheworkhousewasnotmerelytobeusedasapenal
settlement，itwastofindworkfortheunemployed。Anypersonwhowasunable
tofindemploymentinhisparishcouldapplytotheministerorchurchwardens
forapass，andthispasswastogivehimtherighttoclaimadmissionto
theCountyHousewherehewastobeemployed。TheCountyHousewasalsoto
beproddedwithinstructorswhocouldteachnativeandforeignmanufactures
totheinmates。Howlett，oneofPitt’scritics，wasprobablyrightinthinking
thatPittwasrevivingthisscheme。
