Otheradvocatesofthepolicyofgivingthelabourerslandpleadedonly
forgardensinarabledistricts；’agarden，’wroteLordWinchilsea，’may
beallottedtotheminalmosteverysituation，andwillbefoundofinfinite
usetothem。Incountries，whereithasneverbeenthecustomforlabourers
tokeepcows，itmaybedifficulttointroduceit；butwherenogardenshave
beenannexedtothecottages，itissufficienttogivetheground，andthe
labourerissuretoknowwhattodowithit，andwillreapanimmediatebenefit
fromit。OfthisIhavehadexperienceinseveralplaces，particularlyin
twoparishesnearNewportPagnell，Bucks，wherethereneverhavebeenany
gardensannexedtothelabourers’houses，andwhere，uponlandbeingallotted
tothem，theyall，withoutasingleexception，havecultivatedtheirgardens
extremelywell，andprofessreceivingthegreatestbenefitsfromthem。’(99*)
’Afewroodsofland，atafairrent，’wroteacorrespondentintheAnnals
ofAgriculturein1796，(100*)’woulddoalabourerasmuchgoodaswages
almostdoubled：therewouldnot，then，beanidlehandinhisfamily，and
themanhimselfwouldoftengotoworkinhisrootyardinsteadofgoing
tothealehouse。’(101*)Theinterestingreportonthe’Inquiryintothe
GeneralStateofthePoor’presentedattheEpiphanyGeneralQuarterSessions
forHampshireandpublishedintheAnnalsofAgriculture，(102*)a
documentwhichdoesnotdisplaytoomuchindulgencetotheshortcomingsof
labourers，recommendsthemultiplicationofcottageswithsmallpiecesof
groundannexed，sothatlabourersmightlivenearertheirwork，andspend
thetimeoftenwastedingoingtoandfromtheirwork，incultivatingtheir
plotofgroundathome。’Asitischieflythispracticewhichrenderseven
thestateofslaveryintheWestIndiestolerable，whatanadvantagewould
itbetothestateoffreeservicehere！’(103*)
Theexperimentsintheprovisionofallotmentsofanykindwerefew，and
theyarechieflyinterestingforthelighttheyreflectonthecharacter
ofthelaboureroftheperiod。Theyshowofwhatthosemenandwomenwere
capablewhosedegradationinthemorassoftheSpeenhamlandsystemisthe
lastandblackestpageinthehistoryoftheeighteenthcentury。Theirrulers
putastoneroundtheirnecks，anditwasnottheircharacterbuttheircircumstances
thatdraggedthemintothemire。Invillageswhereallotmentsweretried
theagriculturallabourerisanuprightandself-respectingfigure。Theimmediate
moraleffectswerevisibleenoughatthetime。SirThomasBernard’saccount
ofthecottagersonLordWinchilsea’sestatecontainsthefollowingreflections：
’IdonotmeantoassertthattheEnglishcottager，narrowedashenowis
inthemeansandhabitsoflife，maybeimmediatelycapableoftakingthat
activeandusefulstationinsociety，thatisfilledbythosewhoarethe
subjectofthispaper。Toproducesogreatanimprovementincharacterand
circumstancesoflife，willrequiretimeandattention。Thecottager，however，
ofthispartofthecountyofRutland，isnotofadifferentspeciesfrom
otherEnglishcottagers；andifhehadnotbeenprotectedandencouraged
byhislandlord，hewouldhavebeenthesamehopelessandcomfortlesscreature
thatweseeinsomeotherpartsofEngland。Thefarmer(withtheassistance
ofthesteward)wouldhavetakenhisland；thecreditor，hiscowandpig；
andtheworkhouse，hisfamily。’(104*)
Wehaveseen，indiscussingenclosures，thatthepolicyofsecuringallotments
tothelabourersinenclosureActswasdefeatedbytheclassinterestsof
thelandlords。Why，itmaybeasked，wereschemessuchasthoseofLordWinchilsea’s
adoptedsorarelyinvillagesalreadyenclosed？Thesearrangementsbenefited
allparties。Therewasnodoubtaboutthedemand；’inthegreatestpartof
thiskingdom，’wroteonecorrespondent，’thecottagerwouldrejoiceatbeing
permittedtopaytheutmostvaluegivenbythefarmers，forasmuchland
aswouldkeepacow，ifhecouldobtainitatthatprice。’(105*)Thesteadiness
andindustryofthelabourers，stimulatedbythisincentive，wereanadvantage
bothtothelandlordsandtothefarmers。Further。itwaswellknownthat
inthevillageswherethelabourershadland，poorrateswerelight。(106*)
Whywasitthatapolicywithsomanyrecommendationsnevertookroot？Perhaps
thebestanswerisgiveninthefollowingstory。Cobbettproposedtothe
vestryofBishopsWalthamsthattheyshould’asktheBishopofWinchester
tograntanacreofwastelandtoeverymarriedlabourer。All，however，but
thevillageschoolmastervotedagainstit，ontheground……thatitwould
makethemen“toosaucy。”thattheywould“breedmorechildren“
and“wanthigherwages。”’(107*)
Thetruthisthatenclosuresandthenewsystemoffarminghadsetup
twoclassesinantagonismtoallotments，thelargefarmer，whodislikedsaucy
labourers，andtheshopkeeper，whoknewthatthemorefoodthelabourerraised
onhislittleestatethelesswouldhebuyatthevillagestore。Ithadbeen
totheinterestofasmallfarmerintheoldcommon-fieldvillagetohave
anumberofsemi-labourers，semi-ownerswhocouldhelpattheharvest：the
largefarmerwantedapermanentsupplyoflabourwhichwasabsolutelyat
hiscommand。Moreover，theroundsmansystemmaintainedhislabourersfor
himwhenhedidnotwantthem。Thestrengthofthehostilityofthefarmers
toallotmentsisseeninthelanguageofthosefewlandlordswhowereinterested
inthispolicy。LordWinchilseaandhisfriendswerealwaysurgingphilanthropists
toproceedwithcaution，andtotrytoreasonthefarmersoutoftheirprejudices。
TheReportofthePoorLawCommissionin1834showedthattheseprejudices
wereasstrongasever。’Wecandolittleornothingtopreventpauperism；
thefarmerswillhaveit：theypreferthatthelabourersshouldbeslaves；
theyobjecttotheirhavinggardens，saying’Themoretheyworkforthemselves，
thelesstheyworkforus。’(108*)ThiswastheviewofBoys，thewriterin
agriculturalsubjects，who，criticisingKent’sdeclarationinfavourofallotments，
remarks：’Iffarmersingeneralweretoaccommodatetheirlabourerswith
twoacresofland，acowandtwoorthreepigs，theywouldprobablyhave
moredifficultyingettingtheirhardworkdone——asthecow，land，etc。，
wouldenablethemtolivewithlessearnings。’(109*)ArthurYoungandNathaniel
Kentmadeagreatappealtolandlordsandtolandlords’wivestointerest
themselvesintheirestatesandthepeoplewholivedonthem，butlandlords’
bailiffsdidnotlikethetroubleofcollectinganumberofsmallrents，
andmostlandlordspreferredtoleavetheirlabourerstothemercyofthe
farmers。Therewas，however，oneformofallotmentthatthefarmersthemselves
liked：theywouldletstripsofpotatogroundtolabourers，sometimesat
fourtimestherenttheypaidthemselves，gettingthelandmanuredanddug
intothebargain。
TheSelectVestryActofempoweredparishestobuyorlease
twentyacresofland，andtosettheindigentpoortoworkonit，ortolease
itouttoanypoorandindustriousinhabitant。AlaterActof1831(112*)
raisedthelimitfromtwentytofiftyacres，andempoweredparishestoenclose
fiftyacresofwaste(withtheconsentofthosewhohadrightsonit)and
toleaseitoutforthesamepurposes。LittleusewasmadeoftheseActs，
andperhapstheclearestlightisthrownontheextentoftheallotmentmovement
byasignificantsentencethatoccursintheReportoftheSelectCommittee
onAllotmentsin1843。’Itwasnotuntil1830，whendiscontenthadbeenso
painfullyexhibitedamongstthepeasantryofthesoutherncountiesthatthis
methodofalleviatingtheirsituationwasmuchresortedto。’Inotherwords，
littlewasdonetilllabourersdesperatewithhungerhadsetthefarmers’
ricksblazing。
Thehistoryhasnowbeengivenoftheseveralproposalsmadeatthistime
thatforonereasonoranotherfelltotheground。Aminimumwagewasnot
fixed，allotmentswereonlysprinkledwithasparinghandonanestatehere
andthere，therewasnorevolutionindiet，theproblemsoflocalsupply
anddistributionwereleftuntouched，thereconstructionofthePoorLaw
wasabandoned。Whatmeansthendidthegoverningclasstaketotranquillise
apopulationmadedangerousbyhunger？Theansweris，ofcourse，theSpeenhamland
Act。TheBcrkshireJ。P。’sandsomediscreetpersonsmetatthePelicanInn
atSpeenhamland(113*)on6thMay1795，andthereresolvedonamomentous
policywhichwasgraduallyadoptedinalmosteverypartofEngland。
Thereisastrangeironyinthestoryofthismeetingwhichgavesuch
afatalimpetustothereductionofwages。Itwassummonedinordertoraise
wages，andsomakethelabourerindependentofparishrelief。AttheGeneral
QuarterSessionsforBerkshireheldatNewburyonthe14thApril，Charles
Dundas，M。P。，(114*)inhischargetotheGrandJury(115*)dweltonthemiserable
stateofthelabourersandthenecessityofincreasingtheirwagestosubsistence
level，insteadofleavingthemtoresorttotheparishofficersforsupport
fortheirfamilies，aswasthecasewhentheyworkedforashillingaday。
HequotedtheActsofElizabethandJameswithreferencetothefixingof
wages。TheCourt，impressedbyhisspeech，decidedtoconveneameetingfor
theratingofwages。Theadvertisementofthemeetingshowsthatthiswas
theonlyobjectinview。’AttheGeneralQuarterSessionsofthePeacefor
thiscountyheldatNewbury，onTuesday，the14thinstant，theCourt，having
takenintoconsiderationthegreatInequalityofLabourers’Wages，andthe
insufficiencyofthesameforthenecessarysupportofanindustriousman
andhisfamily；anditbeingtheopinionoftheGentlemenassembledonthe
GrandJury，thatmanyparisheshavenotadvancedtheirlabourers’weekly
payinproportiontothehighpriceofcornandprovisions，do(inpursuance
oftheActsofParliament，enablingandrequiringthemsotodo，eitherat
theEasterSessions，yearly，orwithinsixweeksnextafter)earnestlyrequest
theattendanceoftheSheriff，andalltheMagistratesofthisCounty，at
aMeetingintendedtobeheldatthePelicanInninSpeenhamland，onWednesday，
thesixthdayofMaynext，atteno’clockintheforenoon，forthepurpose
ofconsultingtogetherwithsuchdiscreetpersonsastheyshallthinkmeet，
andtheywillthen，havingrespecttotheplentyandscarcityofthetime，
andothercircumstances(ifapprovedof)proceedtolimit，direct，andappoint
thewagesofdaylabourers。’(116*)
Themeetingwasdulyheldon6thMay。(117*)Mr。CharlesDundaswasin
thechair，andtherewereseventeenothermagistratesanddiscreetpersons
present，ofwhomsevenwereclergymen。Itwasresolvedunanimously’that
thepresentstateofthepoordoesrequirefurtherassistancethanhasbeen
generallygiventhem。’Ofthedetailsofthediscussionnorecordshavecome
downtous，nordoweknowbywhatmajoritythesecondandfatalresolution
rejectingtheratingofwagesandsubstitutinganallowancepolicywasadopted。
AccordingtoEden，theargumentsinfavourofadoptingtheratingofwages
were’thatbyenforcingapaymentforlabour，fromtheemployers，inproportion
tothepriceofbread，someencouragementwouldhavebeenheldouttothe
labourer，aswhathewouldhavereceived，wouldhavebeenpaymentforlabour。
Hewouldhaveconsidereditashisright，andnotascharity。’(118*)But
theseargumentswererejected，andapiousrecommendationtoemployersto
raisewages，coupledwithdetaileddirectionsforsupplementingthosewages
fromparishfunds，adoptedinstead。(119*)Thetextofthesecondresolution
runsthus：’Resolved，thatitisnotexpedientfortheMagistratestogrant
thatassistancebyregulatingthewagesofdayLabourersaccordingtothe
directionsoftheStatutesofthe5thElizabethand1stJames：ButtheMagistrates
veryearnestlyrecommendtotheFarmersandothersthroughoutthecounty
toincreasethePayoftheirLabourersinproportiontothepresentPrice
ofProvisions；andagreeabletheretotheMagistratesnowpresenthaveunanimously
Resolved，Thattheywillintheirseveraldivisions，makethefollowingcalculations
andallowancesforthereliefofallpoorandindustriousmenandtheirfamilies，
who，tothesatisfactionoftheJusticesoftheirparish，shallendeavour
(asfarastheycan)，fortheirownsupportandmaintenance，thatistosay，
whenthegallonloafofsecondflour，weighing8lbs。11oz。shallcostone
shilling，theneverypoorandindustriousmanshillhaveforhisownsupport
3s。weekly，eitherproducedbyhisownorhisfamily’slabouroranallowance
fromthepoorrates，andforthesupportofhiswifeandeveryotherofhis
family1s。6d。Whenthegallonloafshallcostls。4d。，theneverypoorand
industriousmanshallhave4s。weeklyforhisown，and1s。10d：forthesupport
ofeveryotherofhisfamily。
