ments was framed by Henry VIII's parliament, though without in any way checking the increase of pauperism. One of these, passed in the 22nd year of this sovereign's reign, cap. 12, was 66 to grant licences to such poor people as they might consider 66 most in need, to beg alms within certain districts;" and another, that "sturdy vagabonds and valliant beggars may "be kept to continual labor;" with the provision that "a sturdy "beggar is to be whipped the first time, his right ear cropped "the second, and if he again offend to be sent to the next gaol "till the quarter sessions, there to be indicted for wandering, loitering and idleness; and if convicted shall suffer execu"tion as a felon and an enemy to the commonwealth." 66 66 In the reign of Edward VI, 3, 4, cap. 16, we find it enacted-"That in Whitsun week, the Minister or Church"wardens shall appoint collectors to gently ask every man " and woman what they, of their charity, will give towards the "relief of the poor, and if any obstinately or frowardly "refuse to give, the bishop is to send for him to induce and persuade him by charitable ways and means." 66 From the various causes enumerated in a previous paragraph, the "rogues, vagabonds and sturdy beggars" continued to increase, until, at the time of Elizabeth, in the 14th year of her reign, a really practical remedy was attempted by an act, which ran thus-" The Justices of the Peace were to tax "and assess all the inhabitants dwelling within the said "division to a certain weekly charge, according to the circumstances or incomes of parties, to be applied in support of the poor." 66 Subsequently the wars in the Low Countries, Spain, Italy, &c., had so reduced the productive industry of the land, that in the 43rd Elizabeth, the Magistrates were empowered to indemnify those that suffered by fire, water, internal commotion, or other casualties; but however much we may praise the humane and charitable motives that induced this legislation, it was found in practice that only those received assistance who had influence with the local authorities, and that it merely touched the surface of the great evil it sought to check. From this period until that of the Revolution the state of the poor in this country was wretched in the extreme. Civil war, with its train of misfortunes, having done its worst, after the lull that took place after the Restoration, we find, from tables prepared by Gregory King, in 1684, that the amount of poor's rate collected in England and Wales amounted to £699,000. If we take into account that the population of the country was less than one-fourth of what it is now, and the value of money about five times the present rate, a mechanic only earning 5d. per day, we may imagine that the poverty in the country was very great. However, during the reign of William and Mary and their successor, we find less indigence, owing, no doubt, to the impetus given to trade by the successful wars carried on by these sovereigns. During the reign of George I, through the good government and economy practised by the ministers of that king the poor's rate for the three years previous to the Spanish war of 1739 was but £520,000 on an average; but in 1750, owing to disasters both on sea and land, the cess advanced to £690,000; in 1760 to £960,000; in 1770 to £1,306,000; in 1776, at the commencement of that war which we to this day have cause to regret, viz., with the American colonies, it advanced to £1,520,000; and at the conclusion, in 1783, to £2,132,000. In the year 1800 it amounted to £3,861,000; in 1810 to £5,407,000; in 1812 to £6,680,000; and in 1818 to £7,516,000. The effects of the wars with Napoleon having ceased, we find the country regaining itself, and in 1823 the sum became reduced to £5,772,962, and in 1824 to £5,736,968. The prosperity of the country being somewhat checked, we find, in 1832, the cess again advancing to £7,036,968. Dividing the amount into persons, we find in 1813, 971,913 persons relieved; in 1814, 953,995; in 1815, 895,973, being about 1 in 10 to the population. We have made 1832 a halting point until the last year, 1868, because in both these years a change in the constitution took place, largely affecting the population in general; and whether it was the result of this particular legislation or not, we have every reason to congratulate ourselves upon the great improvement which then took place in our social condition. A mere superficial observer would remark that we have quite enough wretchedness, poverty and pauperism, and that there were no times like those "when George "the third was king;" but they who trouble themselves a little with statistics will readily perceive that whilst we have not been able to conquer the great monster of pauperism, we have been able to grapple with it and to keep it in check, and if we have yet much to do it is pleasing to know that much has been done. We had, on the 1st of January, 1869, paupers of all to the amount of £7,498,061, being, on a population of about 21,540,000, 6s. 111⁄2d. per head; whilst in 1813, with a population of about 13,000,000, we had 971,913 paupers, at a cost of about £7,000,000. Between the years 1832 and 1869, the smallest amount required for the poor was in 1837, at the accession of her majesty to the throne. We had then, with a population of about 15,000,000, an expenditure of £4,044,741. We shall now examine the statistics of the present timethe latest obtainable being for the year 1868. We find, with a population of about twenty millions, we have expended in poor relief £7,498,061, being an increase of £538,220 upon the preceding year, the rate per head on the entire population being 6s. 11d. For this sum 168,417 obtained in-door relief, and 878,152 obtained out-door relief: total number of paupers 1,046,569, or rather more than 5 per cent. of our population. Of this number 316,460 were adult, able-bodied paupers, exclusive of vagrants; 145,750 of these adult able-bodied were in-door paupers; and 170,710 out-door. The increase of pauperism on the year was 61,054, or about 6 per cent. Relief in aid of wages is given to a greater extent in Lancashire than in any other county. The separate statistics for Lancashire are as follows: Receipts from poor rates in Lancashire Receipts from Government ............. Total receipts................. Expended in relief to the poor In law expenses................ Salaries, &c. £1,038,753 17 0 43,616 12 0 Sundry expenses not connected with relief.. The population of Lancashire at the last census was 2,453,910. These consisted of In-door paupers, not able-bodied— Males.................................................................. 3815 Females... 3601 The total amount expended in Lancashire for emigration purposes (that is to say connected with the Poor Law Board) in 1868 was £5, to send one adult from Bolton to Canada. The total for the entire kingdom was £167, being for twenty-two persons, of whom twelve were sent to Canada, two to Australia, and eight to New Zealand. Having examined these statistics, compiled from Government sources, and which are as reliable as any that can be obtained, we cannot but be astonished at the great world of want staring us in the face; and were we only taxed for those persons that are really needy we might have no great reason for complaining, but our system breeds a mass of imposture, and tends to keep alive generations of persons who have lost the honourable pride of self-maintenance. At the commencement of my paper I divided the three classes. 1. Those that will work but can obtain none. poor into 2. Those who from physical causes are unable to work. |