In this era of public distress, the attention of the public was mainly directed to the devising remedies for the various ills with which the nation was beset. Among these, none struck reflecting men, and particularly landed proprietors, with such alarm and dismay as the enormous increase of the poor rates, now risen to eight millions, and threatening farther and speedy augmentation. Notwithstanding, how ever, the most anxious endeavours of parliament, stimulated at once by patriotism and self-interest, no remedy, or even palliative, appears yet to have been discovered. We cannot boast of having made any profound researches into this subject; nevertheless, in the course of observation and inquiry, some reflections have occurred, which we do not exactly recollect to have met with elsewhere; and as the subject is so important, and one on which the nation is still involved in such deep perplexity, hints from any quarter may not be wholly unacceptable.

There are few channels by which a greater mass of valuable information has been collected, than by the reports

presented to parliament on the different branches of political economy. Yet we cannot help thinking that there is a tendency to spin out these investigations to too great a length, and to exhaust upon them that zeal, and those efforts, which might have led to the fulfilment of the object for which the inquiry was instituted. These are carried on from year to year, till all the first enthusiasm has evaporated, and till the subject has begun to pall both on the House and the public. At last, it is declared, that the utmost efforts of parliament having been employed for years without any result, the evil may fairly be considered as beyond the reach of remedy,-when, in fact, nothing has been even attempted beyond the collecting and printing these voluminous masses of evidence. Such, perhaps, has been somewhat the process followed, with regard to the very important subject of the present chapter. It has been overlaid by the very mass of the materials thus collected; the mind of the legislator has been puzzled by confused and contradictory materials, and rendered inca

pable of devising any distinct and feasible plan for the attainment of the object. Yet we are inclined to think, that the truth does not lie at any very unfathomable depth; that a few simple principles, applied to the obvious facts of the case, may afford all the materials necessary for attaining an accurate view of it.

One circumstance, which appears to us to have materially impeded the adoption of any remedial measure as to these laws, is the loud call made by their opponents for a total repeal. This is a step upon which, in the present state of society, it seems impossible to venture; and, indeed, some doubts may exist as to its absolute expediency. Perhaps, even, it may be questioned if there be such a total absence of right as is maintained by modern politicians. The casuists have decided, that the man who can by no other means obtain food to keep him from starving, is justified in seizing it by force: may not this, then, constitute some sort of natural right? May it not be too much to leave the bare existence of a great body of the community dependent upon casual charity? We are, indeed, very willing to believe, that the voluntary charity of Britons, should it be come the sole dependence of the poor, would not be wanting. Yet, it may be observed, that Ireland and Italy, two countries in which no poor rates exist, are peculiarly remarked for the misery of the lower orders, and for a system of extensive and degrading mendicity. Even as to Scotland, while we are fully disposed to claim for it the praise of superior management, we still doubt whether the former entire exemption from these burdens be not connected with peculiar circumstances in the state of society and occupancy. At the present moment, we know a parish, at the distance of only thirty miles from Edinburgh, in which there are not only no poor rates, but no

paupers. The cause lies in the poverty of the district, which has prevented it from being reached by the modern agriculturalimprovements and arrangements. It is situated on that somewhat elevated and bleak table land, which fills the greater part of the space between Edinburgh and Glasgow. The land is parcelled among small proprietors, and equally small tenants, both of whom cultivate with their own hands the spot which they inherit or rent. Both consider themselves as of a superior class to common labourers, and would think it a disgrace to allow their relations to become dependent upon public charity. In the whole presbytery of Linlithgow, of which this district forms part, assessments are known in one parish only, though this presbytery be situated in the close vicinity of the great cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow, where poor rates have been long established. Even in those richer tracts, where estates and farms were on a much greater scale, the hinds, as they were called, were anciently on a different footing from mere hired servants. They considered themselves almost as bound to the glebe, or rather the glebe as bound to them, from which their ejectment would have been contrary to the usages and established principles of society. After a life spent in the place, they expected, upon continuing to render such services as their strength afforded, to collect a subsistence, in some shape or other, from the soil which they had spent their lives in cultivating. At present, in all these districts, the farmer is a merchant, with a large capital invested in his employment, who turns every part of his produce to account, exacts work for whatever is paid, and whenever a servant can no longer perform his usual functions, turns him off, and hires another. Thus, in the low country of Scotland, the agricultural labourers have generally

been reduced to the same precarious and dependent situation as those in the large towns and manufacturing districts. From these causes, we conceive, and not from a mere error of manage ment, have arisen the assessments which have become so general over the low country of Scotland. Their growth, indeed, has been observed to take place remarkably on the English border, and has been naturally ascribed to the contagion of this vicinity. The remark, however, applies almost solely to the rich and highly improved agricultural districts of the east border. The mountainous border on the west, where old habits still continue, has exhibited little change. In general, the Scotch assessments have not yet arisen to any very serious or alarming height; nor are we inclined to share the dread so generally entertained of their indefinite and ruinous extension, provided care be taken to avoid those palpable errors which have rooted themselves in the English system.

The law upon which the present system of poor rates has been founded, is the 43d of Elizabeth, which enacts, "that the churchwardens, or overseers, shall take order from time to time, (with the consent of two or more justices,) for setting to work the children of all whose parents shall not be thought able to keep and maintain their children; and also for setting to work all such persons, married or unmarried, having no means to maintain them, and use no ordinary or daily trade of life to get their living by; and also to raise by taxation, &c. a convenient stock of flax, &c. to set the poor on work." This natural, humane, and seemingly so reasonable enactment, has been the source of all the evils with which England has been inundated.

Hoc fonte derivata clades In patriam, populumque fluxit.

The framers of this act knew not that there is in every society only a limited quantity of work to be had, which cannot be increased at pleasure; that the overseers and churchwardens are not at all likely to be the best persons for finding out, superintending, and directing this work, and for disposing of its fruits to the best advantage; and that whatever they do obtain for those under their charge must be taken from others who perhaps stand equally in need of it. The consequence has been, that since they could not give work, the laws held them bound to give the wages of work; effective claims for relief have been advanced not only by the aged and infirm, but by those who, from their own misconduct, perhaps, found difficulty in obtaining employment, as well as from those who had more than a very small number of children; in short, there remained scarcely any barrier to prevent the whole labouring population from coming upon the funds appropriated to charity.

A view of the errors in the English system, as arising out of the great fundamental one now stated, may, perhaps, afford the best clue to the discovery of a remedial process. These errors appear to be, 1. The too liberal scale of allowance. 2. The extension of relief to the labouring poor. 3. The confinement in workhouses.

1. In defending the expediency of some legislative provision for the poor, we conceive it to be indisputable, that this ought to be confined to what the French call the physique necessaire,— to that which is strictly necessary for the support of life. In laying down this principle, we should be sorry to be understood as asserting that no more ought in any case to be given. The generosity of the opulent and charitable may often be laudably employed, not in preserving the existence merely, but in bestowing comfort on

the declining years of a deserving object, who is attached to them, perhaps, by some peculiar ties. But this is the sphere of private charity, to whose discriminating and tender care it ought to be exclusively consigned. The simple preservation of life is all that comes within the cognizance of the national bounty. Thus, while the law secured all against the extremity of want, it would still leave that scope which is so desirable to the operations of private beneficence. In Scotland, the pauper considers himself amply provided for if he obtains oatmeal sufficient to satisfy the cravings of appetite, with, perhaps, the seasoning of a few vegetables. According to the report of the Edinburgh Charity Work house for 1816-17, the expence of each individual in the house was only L.6, 68.* of which not quite L.3 was for food. Now, in England, 58. a-week, or L.13 a-year, appears to be the es

tablished allowance for an individual, There are instances in and round the metropolis, where this sum rises so high as 7s. Where the expence incurred for bread is mentioned, it appears to be only about a fourth of the whole; whereas we should conceive that it ought to be about a half; but mutton, cheese, and suet pudding are mentioned as established articles in the diet of a poor-house. It cannot be denied that the English labourer is accustomed to a more generous diet than the inhabitant of Scotland; to put him upon porridge and oat cake is what we should not propose; but, surely, sound wheaten bread, with a very moderate portion of the cheapest wholesome condiment, is sufficient to maintain in health any person who has no hard labour to undergo. If any one who has a kindness for the suffering individual chuses to give more-well; but this is the utmost length, we con

ceive, that the public ought to go; and the attempt can with no propriety be made to maintain, in the same com fortable manner, the pauper, and him who supports himself upon the fruits of his own industry.

2. The second, and still more fatal error, which has taken root in the English system, is that of affording regular parochial aid to the labourer, even while able to work, and in full employment. It seems to be considered there, that a man, earning only 12s. a-week, is unable to support a family, even of moderate size, but must come more or less upon the parish. This is the most alarming part of the case, since it leaves scarcely any barrier against the whole population of the kingdom falling into a dependence upon the poor's funds. In Scotland, there does not exist even the idea of a man able to work, and having work, applying for parochial relief. If his family be large, he must, no doubt, be in penury, and, almost as in the case of the pauper, must be reduced to the simplest necessaries of life. This is an evil, but it is considered as one which the order of nature inevitably imposes, and for which it were vain to seek a remedy. Meantime, it may be observed that a large family can seldom be long thrown entirely upon the hands of the parents. At a very early period, they become fit for some little employment, either in the fields, or in manufactures; and the well disposed are anxious, if possible, to employ the members of such a family. These observations do not, of course, apply to the case of the declining strength of the labourer. When his earnings are reduced by growing infirmity, a supply must be provided, carefully modified according to the capacity for labour which he still re

tains.

We have considered the case of the employed labourer; but it may hap

pen that, retaining his full capacity for labour, he may find no one able or willing to pay him the wages of it. In the ordinary state of society, this can scarcely happen without some very decided misconduct ; but there are occasions, of late unfortunately too frequent, when a large body of the labouring community are reduced to this lamentable situation. Certainly then, abstractly speaking, they appear placed on the same footing, and to have the same claims, with the infirm pauper. At the same time, it would be infinitely desirable that this temporary distress should be provided for by temporary and voluntary means. These would not break, in the same degree, the spirit of independence; and they are usually administered with a more strict and active care than the permanent funds. The habit of the labourer applying to the parish, when out of work, opens a wide field for abuse, rendering even the having employment, or not, a matter of indifference to him. Subscriptions to relieve these masses of unemployed labourers have not in England been superseded even by the poor laws; in Scotland they have been so extensive, as almost wholly to prevent any pressure on the ordinary funds. It is laudable, in the distribution of the sums thus raised, to exact work of some kind or other. The plan suggested of digging a hole in the earth and filling it up again, is doubtless better than nothing; but greater praise seems due to the system adopted in the great cities of Scotland, of employing the labourers so relieved to make convenient roads and ornamental walks in their vicinity.

3. The next error, as appears to us, in the English system, is the plan of shutting up the poor in workhouses. We are aware, that in regarding this as a source of evil, we run counter to the report of the committee, and to the opinion of the greater part of those