’Severalinstanceshavebeenmentionedtous，ofparishesnearlydepopulated，
inwhichalmostallthelabourisperformedbypersonssettledintheneighboring
villagesortowns；drawingfromthem，asallowance，thegreaterpartoftheir
subsistence。’(15*)Thismethodisdescribedmoreatlengthinthefollowing
passage：——
’Whenaparishisinthehandsofonlyoneproprietor，orofproprietors
sofewinnumberastobeabletoact，andtocompeltheirtenantstoact，
inunison，andadjoinstoparishesinwhichpropertyismuchdivided，they
maypulldowneverycottageasitbecomesvacant，andpreventthebuilding
ofnewones。Byasmallimmediateoutlaytheymayenableandinduceaconsiderable
portionofthosewhohavesettlementsintheirparishtoobtainsettlements
intheadjoiningparishes：byhiringtheirlaborersforperiodslessthan
ayear，theymaypreventtheacquisitionofnewsettlementsintheirown。
Theymaythusdepopulatetheirownestates，andcultivatethembymeansof
thesurpluspopulationofthesurroundingdistrict。’(16*)Aclergymanin
Reading(17*)saidthathehadbetweentenandtwentyfamilieslivinginhis
parishandworkingforthefarmersintheiroriginalparish，whosecottages
hadbeenpulleddownovertheirheads。Occasionallyabigproprietorofparish
A，inordertolessenthepoorrates，would，withunscrupulousingenuity，
takeafarminparishB，andtherehirefortheyearabatchoflabourers
fromA：theseattheendoftheirtermhewouldturnoffontothemercies
ofparishBwhichwasnowresponsibleforthem，whilsthesentforafresh
consignmentfromparishA。(18*)
TheReportoftheCommissionisaremarkableandsearchingpictureof
thegeneraldemoralisationproducedbytheSpeenhamlandsystem，andfrom
thatpointofviewitismostgraphicandinstructive。Butnobodywhohas
followedthehistoryoftheagriculturallabourercanfailtobestruckby
itscapitalomission。TheCommissioners，intheirsimpleanalysisofthat
system，couldnottaketheireyesofftheSpeenhamlandgoblin，andinstead
ofdealingwiththatsystemasawronganddisastrousanswertocertaindifficult
questions，theytreatedthesystemitselfastheoneandoriginalsource
ofallevils。Theysighedforthedayswhen’thepauperswereasmalldisreputable
minority，whoseresentmentwasnottobefeared，andwhosefavourwasof
novalue，’and’allotherclasseswereanxioustodiminishthenumberof
applicants，andtoreducetheexpensesoftheirmaintenance。’(19*)Theydid
notrealisethatthegoverningclasshadnotcreatedaFrankensteinmonster
forthemerepleasureofitscreation；thattheyhadnotsetouttodraw
upanidealconstitution，asRousseauhaddoneforthePoles。In1795there
wasafearofrevolution，andtheupperclassesthrewtheSpeenhamlandsystem
overthevillagesasawetblanketoversparks。TheCommissionersmerely
isolatedtheconsequencesofSpeenhamlandandtreatedthemasiftheywere
theentireproblem，andconsequently，thoughtheirreportservedtoextinguish
thatsystem，itdidnothingtorehabilitatethepositionofthelabourer，
ortorestoretherightsandstatushehadlost。ThenewPoorLawwasthe
onlygiftoftheReformedParliamenttotheagriculturallabourer；itwas
animprovementontheold，butonlyinthesensethattheeastwindisbetter
thanthesirocco。
Whatwouldhavehappenedifeitheroftheothertworemedieshadbeen
adoptedfortheproblemtowhichtheSpeenhamlandsystemwasapplied，it
isimpossibletosay。Butitiseasytoseethatthepositionoftheagricultural
labourer，whichcouldnothavebeenworse，mighthavebeenverymuchbetter，
andthatthenation，asapartfromthelandlordsandmoney-lords，wouldhave
comeoutofthiswhirlpoolmuchstrongerandmuchricher。Thiswasclear
toonecorrespondentofthePoorLawCommission，whosememorandum，printed
inanAppendix，(20*)ismoreinterestingandprofoundthananycontribution
tothesubjectmadebytheCommissionersthemselves。M。Chateauvieuxset
outanalternativepolicytoSpeenhamland，which，ifthegoverningclass
of1795orthegoverningclassof1834hadbeenenlightenedenoughtofollow
it，wouldhavesetupaverydifferentlabouringclassinthevillagesfrom
thehelplessproletariatthatwascreatedbytheenclosures。
’Maissiaulieud’opé；rerlepartagedesbienscommunaux，l’administration
delacommunes’é；taitborné；eà；louerpourquelquesanné；es
desparcellesdesterresqu’ellepossè；deenvainepâ；ture，et
celaà；trè；sbasprix，auxjournaliersdomicilié；ssur
sonterritoire，ilenseraitresulté；：
Quelecapitaldecesterresn’auraitpointé；té；alié；né；
etabsorbé；danslaproprié；té；particuliè；re。
Quececapitalauraité；té；né；anmoinsutilisé；
pourlareproduction。
Qu’ilauraitservià；l’amé；liorationdusortdespauvres
quil’auraientdé；friché；，detouteladiffé；renceentre
leprixduloyerqu’ilsenauraientpayé；，etlemontantdurevenu
qu’ilsauraientobtenudesarecolte。
Quelacommuneauraitencaissé；lemontantdesesloyers，et
auraitaugmenté；d’autantlesmoyensdontelledisposepourlesoulagement
decespauvres。’
M。ChateauvieuxunderstoodbetterthananyoftheCommissioners，dominated
astheywerebytheextremeindividualisteconomyofthetime，themeaning
ofBolingbroke’smaximthatawiseministerconsidershisadministration
asasingledayinthegreatyearofGovernment；butasadaythatisaffected
bythosewhichwentbeforeandmustaffectthosewhicharetocomeafter。
AGovernmentofenclosinglandownerswasperhapsnottobeexpectedtounderstand
allthattheStatewasindangeroflosingintherecklessalienationof
commonproperty。
Whatoftheprospectsoftheotherremedythatwasproposed？Atfirst
sightitseemsnaturaltoarguethathadWhitbread’sMinimumWageBillbecome
anActofParliamentitwouldhaveremainedadeadletter。Theadministration
dependedonthemagistratesandthemagistratesrepresentedtherent-receiving
andemployingclasses。Acloserscrutinywarrantsadifferentconclusion。
AtthetimethattheSpeenhamlandplanwasadoptedthereweremanymagistrates
infavourofsettingaminimumscale。TheSuffolkmagistrates，forexample，
putpressureonthecountymemberstovoteforWhitbread’sBill，andthose
members，togetherwithGreyandSheridan，wereitsbackers。TheParliamentary
supportfortheBillwasenoughtoshowthatitwasnotonlyinSuffolkthat
itwouldhavebeenadopted；thereweremenlikeLechmereandWhitbreadscattered
aboutthecountry，andthoughtheyweremenoffarmoreenlightenedviews
thantheaverageJ。P。，theywerenotwithoutinfluenceintheirownneighbourhoods。
Itisprettycertain，therefore，thatiftheBillhadbeencarried，itwould
havebeenadministeredinsomepartsofthecountry。Thepublicopinionin
supportoftheActwouldhavebeenpowerfullyreinforcedbythepressure
ofthelabourers，andthiswouldhavemeantamoreconsiderablestimulus
thanmightatfirstbesupposed，fortheReportofthePoorLawCommissioners
showsthatthepressureofthelabourerswasaveryimportantfactorinthe
retentionoftheallowancesysteminparisheswheretheoverseerswished
toabandonit，andifthelabourerscouldcoercethelocalauthoritiesinto
continuingtheSpeenhamlandsystem，theycouldhavecoercedthemagistrates
intomakinganassessmentofwages。Thelabourerswereablebyashowof
violencetoraisewagesandtoreducepricestemporarily，asisclearfrom
thehistoryof1816and1830。Itisnottoomuchtosupposethattheycould
haveexercisedenoughinfluencein1795toinducemagistratesinmanyplaces
tocarryoutalawthatwasontheStatuteBook。Further，itisnotunreasonable
tosupposethatagriculturallabourers’unionstoenforcetheexecutionof
thelawwouldhaveescapedthemonstrousCombinationLawof1799and1800，
forevenin1808theGlasgowandLancashirecotton-weaverswerepermitted
openlytocombineforthepurposeofseekingalegalfixingofwages。(21*)
Ifassessmenthadoncebecomethepractice，therealstrugglewouldhave
arisenwhenthegreatprosperityofagriculturebegantodecline；atthe
time，thatis，whentheSpeenhamlandsystembegantoshowthosesymptoms
ofstrainthatwehavedescribed。Wouldthecustomarywage，establishedunder
themorefavourableconditionsof1795，havestoodagainstthatpressure？
Wouldthelabourershavebeenabletokeepupwages，ascriticsoftheWhitbread
Billhadfearedthattheywould？Inconsideringtheanswerstothatquestion，
wehavetoreckonwithaforcethatthedebatersof1795couldnothaveforeseen。
In1795CobbettwasengagedinthepoliticsandpolemicsofAmerica，and
ifanymemberoftheHouseofCommonsknewhisname，heknewitasthename
ofafiercechampionofEnglishinstitutions，andafierceenemyofrevolutionary
ideas；aherooftheAnti-Jacobinitself。In1810Cobbettwasrapidly
makinghimselfthemostpowerfultribunethattheEnglishpoorhaveever
known。Cobbett’sfaultsareplainenough，fortheyareallonthesurface。
Hisegotismsometimesseducedhisjudgment；hehadastronglyperverseelement
inhisnature；hisopinionofanyproposalsnothisownwasapttobepetulant
andpeevish，anditmightperhapsbesaidofhimthathegenerallyhada
waspinhisbonnet。ThesequalitiesearnedforhimhistitleoftheContentious
Man。TheywouldhavebeenseriouslydisablinginaCabinetMinister，but
theydidnotaffecthispowerofcollectingandmobilisingandleadingthe
spasmodicforcesofthepoor。
Letusrecallhiscareerinordertounderstandwhathisinfluencewould
havebeenifthelabourershadwontheircustomarywagein1795，andhad
beenfightingtomaintainitfifteenortwentyyearslater。Hisadventures
beganearly。Whenhewasthirteenhisimaginationwasfiredbystoriesthe
gardeneratFarnhamtoldhimofthegloriesofKew。Heranawayfromhome，
andmadesogoodanimpressionontheKewgardenerthathewasgivenwork
there。HislastcoppersonthatjourneywerespentinbuyingSwift’sTale
ofaTub。Hereturnedhome，buthisrestlessdreamsdrovehimagaininto
theworld。Hetriedtobecomeasailor，andultimatelybecameasoldier。
Heleftthearmy，wherehehadmadehismarkandreceivedrapidpromotion，
inordertoexposeafinancialscandalinhisregiment，butondiscovering
thattheinterestsinvolvedinthecountenanceofmilitaryabuseswerefar
morepowerfulthanhehadsupposed，heabandonedhisattemptandfledto
France。AfewmonthslaterhecrossedtoAmerica，andsettleddowntoearn
alivingbyteachingEnglishtoFrenchrefugees。Thispeacefuloccupation
herelinquishedforthecongenialexcitementsofpolemicaljournalism，and
hewassoonthefiercestpamphleteeronthesideoftheFederals，whotook
thepartofEngland，intheircontroversieswiththedemocrats，whotook
thepartoftheRevolution。Sofarasthewarfareofpamphletswent，Cobbett
turnedthescale。Thedemocratscouldnotmatchhiswit，hissarcasm，his
graphicandpointedinvectives，hispowerofcleverandsparklinganalysis
andridicule。Thiswarfareoccupiedhimfornearlytenyears，andhereturned
toEnglandintimetohavehiswindowsbrokenforrefusingtoilluminate
hishouseincelebrationofthePeaceofAmiens。In1802hestartedthePolitical
Register。AtthattimehewasstillaTory，butacloserstudyofEnglish
lifechangedhisopinions，andfouryearslaterhethrewhimselfintothe
Radicalmovement。TheeffectofhisdescentonEnglishpoliticscanonly
becomparedtotheshockthatwasgiventothemindofItalybytheFrench
methodsofwarfare，whenCharlesVIIIledhisarmiesintoherplainstofight
pitchedbattleswithoutanyoftheetiquetteorpoliteconventionsthathad
gracedthecombatsofthecondottieri。HegavetotheReformagitationan
uncompromisingrealityanddaring，andamovementwhichhadbecomethedying
echoofasmotheredstrugglebrokeintostormandthunder。Hazlittscarcely
exaggeratedhisdaemonicpowerswhenhesaidofhimthatheformedafourth
estateofhimself。
NowCobbettmaybesaidtohavespenttwentyyearsofhislifeinthe
efforttosavethelabourersfromdegradationandruin。Hewastheonlyman
ofhisgenerationwhoregardedpoliticsfromthisstandpoint。Thismotive
isthekeytohiscareer。Hesawin1816thatthenationhadtochoosebetween
itssinecures，itsextravagantarmy，itsrulers’madschemeofborrowing
atahigherratetoextinguishdebt，forwhichitwaspayinginterestat
alowrate，itshugeCivilListandprivilegedestablishments，theinterests
ofthefundholdersandcontractorsontheonehand，anditslabourerson
theother。Inthatconflictofforcesthelabourercouldnotholdhisown。
