Northern Star (1837-1852), 14th May 1842, Edition 2 of 3, Page 6, THE NORTHERN STAR SATURDAY, MAY 14, 1842.

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- THE NORTHERN STAR SATURDAY, MAY 14, 1842.
- Untitled Article
- Untitled Article
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  The Northern Star Saturday, May 14, 1842.
  
  THE NORTHERN STAR SATURDAY , MAY 14 , 1842 .
  
  Untitled Article
  
  THE POORj AND POOR LAWS . ARTICLE I . The qnestion of Poor Laws has again become one of the immediate questions of the day . The Ministers of the Crown are appealing to the Parliament to legislate on ihe subject ; having given notice , through the Secretary of State for the Home Department , of a motion for leave to bring in a Bill v > continue the lately-established Poor Law Commi ^ : oa for-ano : ber limited period . No question that eau be mooted ,, or to which the mind of man can be directed in connection with civ ; l and sociil interests , is deserving of greatei attention , or is of more intrinsic importance ;
  
  and go class of society is . more deeply interested -in aright settlement of the principles and details of thai which alone makes the social compact valid , or in a dne understanding of the momentous matter-in all its bearings and aspects , than the working class ; those who liv * by the labour of their hands . It is for the especial benefit and instruction of this clas 3 that we dtvote our labours and time ; and we . think that those labours cannot be better directed , at the present , than to an examination of this Poor Law qnestion ; so that the working people may apply the information laid before them to the governmental
  
  measures of the day . The verj first step , then , in this examination ; the very first inquiry that presses itself npon oar notice , when tre come to treat of Peor Laws , is , "WHAT 13 SOCIETT ? . Or , to put the question in another shape , XtSAT IS THE AUXl'SE OF THE SOCIAL COMPACT ? Tnen society was first instituted , property ; firs ; began . Before that period , whenever it was , there was no such thing as hine and thine . All things ¦ were _ holden in common . " First come , first serred , " applied to all the fruits , all the animals , all the birds , all the fish ; a \\ that wss produced spontaneously Hpon the earth j and all that was produced in ihc ¦ waters under t ^ e earth . The word owner then had no being or pjgnificauon . The whole . soil , with its
  
  holes and its caverns , its trees and its root ? , . its bnshes and its berries , then belonged to all the people , just as the borrows now belong to the rabbit * , or the woods to the birds ; and each man had'the good things of this world in a greater or less degree , in proportion to his skill , his strength , and his valor . It was in this state that that which has been rightly called the first law of nature , .-elf-pbe-SERVAiiox , mainly and immediately applied - ; for the law of Xatcre teaches every lining creature to prefer the preservation of its own life to all oxh ' things . In this state , men enjoyed the riiiht to liberty and life . In this state there were no bo ^ ind * to self-enjoy men : ; for Ken \ % L-re free to take where ' er they found . There was no restraint imposed upon any one by a regard to the good of his neighbour .
  
  At len < rta tnis state of things becams changed . Men iniered into society . From some cause or ether , no matter what , they made among themselves a coznpaeE , or an agreement , to restrain individual ? from foiiowinjr , in certain ca > es , the dictates of their own will . They agreed to divide the earth and its products in such a manner that each should . have a Ehare to his own exclusive "use , and that each should be protected in the exclusive enjoyment of his share by the united power of all the rest ; and in order to give dae eaect and a right appl cation to this united power , they cade laics by which the whole agreed to be bound . Thus arose civil society . Thu ? arose properly . Thus arose the t ^ rms mine and thine , ¦ which mean my ows and thy ow > % and designate a property in things .
  
  Civil society was thus formed for the benefit ' of the whole . The whole gave np their na ; ural right to take , that rhey might enjoy their lives in greater securry . But , to have . that security , it was neo . fsa-. y that oDe provision should be made : a provision chat no one should ppruh lor want . " Without this provision , it is plainly apparent thai no security of private possession can be bad ; for the law ot nature bids every necessitous starving man to go and take . ' That law i 3 js to him , " Wherever there is food , it is for thee : ta ^ e and be f . ll-d ' 1 The 1 e . \ s cf civil society , however , puts forward another m 3 a , whj says , " No ; this is not thme ; this is mine ; I am i-o have the exclusive uf e of k ; it is secured to me by the law . ' But " secured'' on what condition I On the condition that the man tha : has contributes to the necessities of the man that has not ' . There can be no security ¦ without th s provision ; for the law cf ca'UTe is before the law of civil suektv ¦
  
  The social compact , then , must include a provision for the destitute ; a provision for the impotent , the halt , the lame , the blind , the aged , and the otherwise poor ; the social compact must make due provision for the sustentation and preservation of all these , or it is . null and void 1 The rights of nature cannot be set a « ide without a due equivalent . To contend otherwise wonld be to" contend for , and justify , the rankest tvranny and the grossest fraud ! ; . The conclusion , then , we come to is—that a provision / or the destitute is essential to the lairfu / ness of civil society 1 If society dots not care to act upoa this principle ; if it neglects to stcure the j ^ gal means of preserving the life of the iniigentpoor , then society itself , in as far as that indigent person is concerned , cea .-es to have a legal existence I
  
  This doctrine has been holden and distinctly laid down by the wisest and most eminent of the lawyers and jurists , both English and foreign . Geotics , Pcfpesdorf , CovA-Rjsrvics , Bacon , Hale , Paley , Coke , and Blackstose , all maintain that nnless this principle be fully recognised and acted on , society forfeits it 3 character of legality ! thai it has , npon the destitute , no longer any claim for submission to its laws ! that , to them , the right 3 of nature n tarn in fu : 2 force ! that v . is their duly to obey the law of selfpreservation , and take food and raiment / to supply their necessities , wherever they can find them ! Having ascertained on what principles the civil compact must be founded , to be binding , let us next endeavour to find out what are the means that have been taken by the English people at different periods of their history to work out the mxin principle of all ; that npon which all the rest is gronnded—a provision for the destitute .
  
  As far back as the historical records of our country Teach , they > how that there ha 3 existed amongst the inhabitants of this island some sort of provision or other , for the snstentation of tha destitute . At all events such has , undeniably , been the case , ever since the establishment amongst U 3 of the Christian Church . There is evidence to prove that a provision of this nature existed amongst our ancestors even before the introduction of Christianity . ; aye , even before the Roman invasion . There ia evidence to
  
  show that even the Druids , the " rude , " " uncouth , " " ignorant , " " savage , " *• un"ivilised" Druids , had law ? which provided thai peop ' e should not be starved to death ! . ' . ' Tne laws of this peonle were collected snd put into writing 691 years before the birth- of Christ ; and those laws fnily prove that the moment civil society becan to exist , that moment it took care that provision should be made for the des-itufe ; . or that , ia case of extreme necessity , men were to preserve themselves from ceaih * by taking Jrom those who Tied to spare ! !!
  
  We shall , however , confine onrselve ? , at the present , to the practieb of Chrislinn England ; and especially to the practice of the early English Christian Church . That C . ourcb , from its first establishment np to the period called the Refoksaiio > , is well known to have been possessed of large amounts of property . Indeed , for a verv long period before the Reformation-event , full ' O ^ -E THIRD part , and indeed more , of the real property of tha country belonged to the Church . BuiYne Church did not hold and pos .-ess tnar-property * or its own use alone . In fact , that property was only holden in trust , for the hoaosr of God , and for the relief cf the poor . The aneient laws of the realm the canons of the Church , and the practice of the Church in other lands , undeniab ' . y prove this to have been the case .
  
  Before the eTent . called the" Pbotesta ^ t RrroRiiatio . n , ' there never had existed 5 n the world even an idea that the tithes or the other propert ' v called church property , was the propertv of the clergy . ' Iso m 3 n living had , until ihen , entertained a thought of ihe kind 1 The very first institution of tiibes , nnder the Mosaic law , placed these thhes in the hands of the tribe of Levi , tfmf they ssitht therewith provide j or the wants of the poor ! ' it U well to observe , too , that thai same tribe of Levi , who were the dep- > .-iraries of the tithes thus instituted by Moses , was to hive no private possessions in the land ! was to INHERIT > -othi * g !! and was , therefore , to shire with the poor in the enjoyment of the tithe . Of that tithe they were to give a tenth—( mind ! a
  
  testh oxly : ! not the WHOLE , as now ::: )—to the priests : that is to say , to A-ibo > " and his successors . Tbe priests were originally to have only a tenth of tha tenth ; and not a tenth of the whole produce of the land , as now J ! In the Christian Church , after fh ? first ages , the priests were invested with the two capacities , and acted as Levites and priests at the same time . But in no case whatsoever was erer tithe granted or instituted ; in no case whatsoever was chnrch or monastery bnilt or founded , bui was granted or S ^ IHl ^ built or founded , in the name of charity . JfiTerjtniag that
  
  was granted , was granted is trust S * P $ fc ? thood ' for the honour of God , and for the J ™ JK- «;>« e poor . In accordance with" this priniSfetifre , ¦ & t ^\ Chnrch of England , and the Entail Qrarch which succeeded that ; and thus , for to ^ epaee j £ -mne hundred years , the whole of the 4 *? y ^ V * y g » ° d contain enactments , or customs , all ? OTS ^ alrOn"ftug one and the same principle : that f@fi ^** te of tjbat proper ty , which is ca lled C 3 ua | S || prBpeny , had no foundation other than ^ ? J | -Jw ! 5 M * wa 3 Property granted in tru ? t to ihe v « eijgr ?/ or the purposes of public worship ; and , espetfffll y fo ? the purpose of giving "relief to ihe necessitous . The tithes of that Church were
  
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  ordered by the 24 th Canon of Elfbic , to be disposed of in the following manner : — M Let the priests set apart the first share for the building and ornament of the church ; let them distribute THB SECOND TO THE P 00 B AND STIUHGEKS , with their own hands , in mercy and humility ; and let them reserve tha third part for themselves . ' At a later period , when the tithes had , m some places , been appropriated to Convents , Acts of Parliament were passed , compelling the impropriators to leave in the hands of their Vicar a sufficiency for the maintenance of the poor . The Act Uth Richard II . c . 6 , is so apposite to this point , and so completely sets the question at rest , as to the way in which the poor of that day were maintained and provided for ; and it . moreover , so completely proves that the property of the Church was used for this purpose amoc-st others , that we here insert the whole of it entire . It ia " short and sweet , " and much to the
  
  purpose : — " Item , Because divers damages and hinderances oftentimes have happened , and daily do happen to the parishioners of divers places by tne appropriation of benefices of the same place : It is agreed anJ assented , That in every iiceBse from henceforth to be made in the chancery , of the appropriation of any parish church , it shall be expresly contained and comprised , that the diocesan of the place , upon the appropriation of such churches shall ordain , according to the value of such churclies , a convenient sum of money to be paid and distributed yearly of the fruits and profits of the same churches , by those that will have the Baid churches in proper use . and by their succ * s 3 ora , to ihe poor parish ioittrs of ihe said diurches , in aid of their living and sustenance for ever ; and ^ also that the vicar be well and sufficiently endowed . "
  
  In this short and pithy , but simple and plain , Act of Parliament , the whole praciice of the Church in the disposi ; ion of the tithes is fully set forth . The reader will see that the disposal of the yearly ' fruits and profits of the same Churches , " is just that set forth in tho extract from the Canons of Elfric given above ; first ,, the churches are to be had in " proper use ; '' next , the poor parishioners are to hava their share of those" fruits and profits" distributed to them '" in aid of their living and sustenance for ever ;" and , lastly , the minister is to be duly and sufficiently provided for . The modern practice , ia this respect , differs very essentially from the ancient one !
  
  The Act 4 ' . h Henry IV , c . 12 , confirms the statute above given ; and , moreover , provides that if any church sna ' l have been appropriated contrary to the spirit and intent of the said Act ; that is tc say , if in such appropriation , care had not been had to leave siiffiderit property in the hands of the Vicar for the rehet" the poor ; " sue i appropriation , unless it be reformed according to the effect of the said Ac ? , between now and the Easter next following , shu . il be held 10 be , and is , void , utterly repealed , and annulled for ever . " It also provides thai in every church so appropriated , or to be appropriated , " a secular person shall be appointed to do divine servue , and to keep hospitality there . "
  
  The canons of the Church and the acts of Parliament-just quoted , prove beyond the power of dispue , that the prop ^ -ny of the church was available ? or th ^ relief of tha po or ; that that property was not b-. s : owed upon any person , or any body of persons , for their own possession , or for tlieirown use , in any way whp . tsce ^ er ; but merely holden i « trust for the upholding of religion and the maintenance of the poor , exactly in the same manner that lands aiid houses are bequeathed by individuals for the purpose of di-tributing bread , or of taking care of the sick . The clergy of that day bad no more rii ; ht to scply the revenues of the Church to their own private u-e , than the trustees of St . Thomas's Hospita l , for instance , have , at the present day , a right to apply the lands belonging to lLat institution to their own privateuse .
  
  This , then , was the law regarding the Church and tee poor . The Church was bound to take charge of , and provide for , ail the poor of the parish . Th : s was the Jaw , and , if the clergy neslected their duty ; if tht-y bitrayed their trus : ; if they 7 nizaj ; piied the revenues committed to theL * charge , tne iaw interfered ! The two acts of Parliament we have quoted sufficiently show this . There hardly ue ? ds another word on this head , the matter is already so plain . There is , however , another Act of Parliament , so full and complete
  
  so directly to the point , as to the law s interfering when the clergy did not do their auty to the poor ; that we cannot refrain from giving it . We are anxious to make this branch of our subject plain be-sond the possibility of cavil or mi ? take . The importance cf the points we are here establishing will be sufficiently seen , when we come to consider what the nation ought to do with the property now in ! he hands of our bloated "Mother" ! * Then their application will be fully apparent , as well to the questi ¦ : of church property as to the subject now more immediately in hand .
  
  The act just alluded to is the " 2 nd Henry V . c . l . It is as follows : — " Piiit , Forasmuch as many Hospitals -within the Realm of England , founded as well by the noble Kings of this Realm , and lords and ladies both spiritual and temporal , as by divers others estates , to the honour of God and of his glorious mother , in aid and merit . of the seals of the said founders , to which hospitals the same ionnders have given a great part of their mcveable goods for the buildings of the same , and a great part of thtir lands and tenements , therewith to sustain impotent men and imwn , lazcrs , wen out of their wi ! s . and poor women icilh . child , and to nourish , relieve , and refresh other poor people in the same , b 3 now fur the most part ceciyed , and tho goods an / i profits of the same by divers persons as well spiritual as temporal withdrawn and spent in other use , "whereby maay men and women have died in great misery for defaait of aid , living , and succour , to the displeisure of God , and perils cf the
  
  souls of such manner ef disposers : the King our Soverai ? n Lord , considering the meritorious and devout intents of the founders aforesaid , and the unaccustomed government in the same , hath by the advice and assent aforesaid , ordained and established , that as to the hospitals which be of the patronage and foundation of the King , the Ordinaries by virtue of the King ' s commissions to them directed , shall enquire of the manner and foundation of the said hospitals , and of the governance and estate of the same , and of ali other matters necessary and requisite in this behalf and the inquisitions thereof taken shall cerlifie in the King's chancery And as to other hospitals which be of another foundation and patronage than of the King , the Ordinaries shall inquire of the manner of the foundation , estate and governance of the same , and of all other matters and things necessary in this behalf : and upon that make thereof correction sad reformation , according to the laws of holy Church , as to them belongeth . "
  
  This , then , is conclusive . Let the reader look well at the causes assigned for the erection of these hospitals ; these religious houses ! Let him bear in mind that the founders of them had given a great part of iheir moveable goods for the buildings of the same ; and li a great part of their lands and tenements th £ B £ with to sustain impotent men and womeD , hz rs , men out of the . ir wits , and poor women with child ; and to nourish , relieve , and refresh other poor people-. " Let him also note well the parties who are hereby directed to make the necessary inquiries , and reformation , as to the appropriation of the funds
  
  arising from the said bequeathed Jands and tenements . Let him note we ' . l that these parties are the Ordinaries of the Church ! and let him couple the instruction given , tha ' - " they shall make thereof correction and reformation according to the laws of holy Church , " with the reason assigned for such reformation being needed , because , " many men and women have died in great misery in default of aid , living , and succour ; " let him couple these things together , and let him ansicer those who affirm that the property of the Church was never applied to the relief and sustentation of the indigent poor !
  
  The revenues of that Church were so applied ! and those revenues soon became more than sufficient for the purpose . The law was this ; as proved both by the canons of the Church and the common and statute law of the re _ alm : that the incumbent of every parish should relieve the poor , and build , repair , sr beautify his Church from the t-ame source ; and have the other part of the " fruits and profits of his Church , " vrhere ^ ith to live constantly in his parsonage house , there to keep hospitality ! This was thelaw , and this was the practice in England for nine hundred years ! And during that period
  
  England was England ' .: During that period her name was famed and renowned amongst all other nations Daring that , period the power and glory of England were at their highest point ! During that period the stately and substantially-builded churche 3 that everywhere scud our isle , were erected ! During that period the magnificient English Cathedrals , which are at onee the pride and glory of architecture , had their Ti £ « i These edifices but remain now to remind in of the height from which we have fallen i and the rights ivhif-h have been taken from us : !
  
  Let any one go to the cities of * York or Winchester . Let him view the immen ; . ' | e pile of buildings that there meet his eye ! Let him * sk if the English people are capable , sow , either of ^ onceiviiig , or of executing , Euch a work of mind a < id art , as the ancient and ever-enduring cathedrals of those two places ( and many others ) which are an / mperishable record I Let him go and view the ruins o / £ i * fcs » all , or of Fountain's Abbey , —stately and splen did , even in decay I—and compare them with the gingv ^ oread and jim- crack erections of the present day and let him blush for his own and his land ' a dee'sneracy !!!
  
  -Before we come to speak of that great chant' © m&da in the disposition of the property called church property , in the reign of Henry VIII ., which swept j away the patrimony of the poor , and gave it to a set of greedy , needy , and sycophantic courtiers and 1 toadies , it will be of use to glance at another impor- tant effect upon the condition of the people of ' England , arising from the fact of so large a portion j of the land being in the possession of tne church . We have before said , that for a long period before j the " Reforjiation , " more than one-third part of I the real property of the Realm of England was so possessed ; indeed it approached to very nearly odc half . From the very nature of that possession , and j
  
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  from the nature of the Church institution itself , this state of ihinga gave the common people great advantages . The Church teas a easy landlord ! None of the priests of that Cbarch , or the inmates of the monasteries , had more than a life-interest in the lands belonging to the Church . They had no wives or families to provide for ; they could have no motive to accumulate undue heaps of property ; for they could not inherit or bequeath . They could not indeed , possess private properly at all ; what they did possess , and what did accumulate in their bands , was only placed there , as we hav « before seen , for the purposes of religion , the maintenance of the poor , and the keeping of themselves . There was
  
  every reason , therefore , why they should let their lands on easy terms , on long leases ; and every reason why they should hot practice the extortions and iniquities that follow the track of the rack-renterccuntry-gentleman of England ( present tim&U ' . lj . Iu fact their lands were let on leases for lives , and descended from generation to generation , just as if the farmers of them had been the actual proprietors . Indeed they were all but actual proprietors : and hence arose the term Yeoman . This term is still retained in our law-forms ; but it has now no application . The " Reformation" swept away the race of English Yeomen , just as it swept away , " confiscated , " the patrimony of the poor !!
  
  This practice of the Church necessarily had its influence and effect upon the other owners of the land . The nobility were compelled to follow the example of ( he Church ; and thus the commons were , in fact , the joint-proprietors of the whole country They acknowledged the lord as owner of the soil ; but they held the estates for lives ! They had rents or fines to pay ; but the estates were theirs They could not be turned out of their holdings at the mere whim / or pleasure of the owner , like the rack-renterd of the present day ! and of course they were independent ! free ! ! and bold ! ! ! Just the reverse of their descendants of the present times !
  
  Another great cause of public happiness necessarily arising out of this distribution of property , was , that these great landlords , the clergy , always from the very nature of their institutions , resided in the midst of their estates , and , of course , expended their revenues there ; returning to those who laboured the fair share of tha fruits of their labour . And , though the aristocracy had no such positive ties with regard to residence , example must have had , in this respect also , great effect upon them . Is it so now ? Are the revenues arising to the lords of the soil from its cultivation by the hand of labour , spent among those who have given them being 1 ¦ Such was the state of England for some hundreds of years previous to the- ascer . s ' on of the VIIIth . Hartot ! Such were tho laws and regulations relating to the poor ; and . such was the . -state of society necessarily arising from the then instituted Church .
  
  At lepg'h came the " Reformation" ! Harry the VIII . came to the Throne ; and he cared more for the lusts and carnal desires of his own brute nature , than he cared tor the welfare and happiness of the people over whom he ruled 1 The Church would no : countenance him in his divorce ? , and his murders , and his beheadings . She anathamatized him ; pronounced him an adulterer ; and promulgated her curses against him . Tins Harry would not brook ! He determined , therefore , to combat her power , and , if needs were , to put her down !
  
  The struggle began ! It was a hard and desperate one . Harry succeeded ! By offering to the sycophants of Ms court the property of the Church , he secured their aid in his acts of confiscation . He did confiscate !!! The property of the poor was taken from them ! They'veve left nearly destitute ! The misery and suffering consequent on the violent change of proprietorship in the soil , greatly aggravated their sorry condition . If they dared to complain , the gibbet was there to silence them ! and numbers of them were so silenced ! Harry ' s struggle with the Church wa 3 one of time . It was not over in a year or so ; but lasted for a considerable period .
  
  vvhen he first proclaimed himself " Supreme Lord on earth , under God , of the Church ot Kngland , " the people refused to pay their tithes : To punish them for what he called their " contumacy , " the Act 27 < h Henry VIII . c . 20 , was passed ; enncting that if any one should so transgress in future , he should be committed to ward , there to remain without bail or nsainprize , until ha had satisfied th « demands made on him . The next step of the b ! uft monarch was to suppress all monasteries , priories , and other religious houses , that had not lands above the then value of two hundred pounds by the year ; and the property of the houses so suppressed was given over to the King , " to do therewith his own will , to the pleasure of Almighty God , aad to the
  
  honour and profit of this realm" ! This was accomplished by the Act 27 th He . nry VIII . c . 28 . Four yeavs afterwards another and more complete step of confiscation was taken . Another Act was then passed for the dissolution of all monasteries and abbeys , and for the giving of their lands and chattels , moveabks and valuables , to the King , to be by him given to those who had aided him in his acts of plunder and robbery . This last-men » ioned Act of Parliament , which was the crowning robbpry commixed npon the poor , is entitled the -31 st Henry VIII . o . 13 . It was the most disastrous law , as far as the poor was concerned , passed in that a-re !
  
  These things soon had their tffect ! The miseries consequent on Harrv ' s doings drove the people into actual rebellion ! To put . down the " revolts , " " strong'' and " vigorous" laws wero passed . A coutinual struggle was kept up between the starving people and their rulers , during the remainder of Harry ' s reign , and during the entire reign of Edward the Sssth . Law upon law was passed to suppress vagabondism ; until at length , by the 1 st Edward VI . c . 3 , it was enacted that : — " If any person shall bring to two Justices of Peace
  
  any runnagate servant , or any other which hveth idle and loiteringly by the space of three days , the said Justices shall cause the said idle and loitering servant or vagabond to be marked with an hot iron on the breast with the mark of V . and adjudge him to be slave to the same person that brought or presented him , to have to him , bis executors or assigns , for two years after , who shall take the said slave , ; in < ' give him bread , water , or small drink , and refniaa meat , and cause him to work by beating , chaining , or othtrwise , in such work or labour as he shall put him unto , be it never so vile : And if such , slave absent himself from his said
  
  master witnin the said term of two years , by the space of fourteen days , then he shall be aojudged by two Justices of Peace to be marked on the forehead , or the ball of the cheek , with an hot iron , with the sign of an S . and further shall be adjudged to Jbe a slave to his said master for ever : Ana if the said slave shall run away the second time , " be shall be adjudged a felon . " No clerk convict sball make his purgation , but shall be a slave for one year to him who will become bound with two sureties in twenty pound to the ordinary , to the King ' s use , to take him into service : And he shall be used in all respects as is aforesaid like to a vagabond . A clerk attainted or convict , which by the law cannot make his purgation , may by the Ordinary be delivered to any man , who will become bound with two sufficient sureties , to keep him as his slave for five > ears : And then he shall be used in all respects as ie aforesaid for a vagabond , saving for burning in the breast .
  
  " it skall be lawful to every person to whom any shall be atijuoged a slave , to put a ring . of iron about his neck , arm or leg . '' It is necessary to remark that in that day all felony was punishable with death ! Therefore th is law enacted that every poor person reduced to vagabondism through the robberies committed on him by Henry VIII . and who should have been adjudged by a Justice of the Peace to bo branded with a hot iron and to be a stave , should , for absconding from his slavery a second time , be hanged by the neck till he was dead !! And this was the savage and merciless equivalent that , the mild and merciful authors of the " Reformation ' accorded to the labouring . people for their third share of nearly one half the entire property of the kingdom ! By virtue of this law , thousands upon thousands of them were hanged ! ! Thousands upon thousands of them were strung up to gibbets , like so many carrion crows !
  
  Siill vagabondism did not cease . Still poverty and misery were not put down . The red-hot irons , the scourge , and the halter , failed to fill the hungry bellies of the poor , who had been turned out , of their holdings ; and who had been robbed of their patrimony . And still the savage and iron-hearted enactments went on . The Act just recited , tho 1 st Edward VI . c 3 , was continued from time to time , ami rendered more and more " vigorous" and " strong" ; until at last , by the 14 : h Elizabeth , c . 5 , the bare Act , of begging was made felony punishable with death ! By virtue of this statute more than
  
  72 , 000 persons were strung np to gibbets in one year ! ! ! And yet poverty was not suppressed ; nor were the turbulencics , and disaffections , and risings , and revolt , consequent on a state of aeneral poverty in any land , kept under in this case ! Contemporaneously with these savage enactments , were several others , providing that the poor should be relieved by the charitable donations of the wealthy . These were found , however , to be utterly insufficient . To remedy this , such contributions were , by the Act 5 th Elizabeth , c . 3 , made compulsory . That statute enacted : —
  
  : " The poor and impotent persons of every parish shall be relieved of that which every person will of their { charity give weekly : And the same relief shall be ! gathered In every parish by collectors assigned , and I distributed to the poor : for none of them shall openly % o or sit begging . And if any parishioner shall obstin ^ ly lefuBe to pay reasonably towards the relief of the sail ¦* poor , or shall discourage others ; then the Justices of tt e Peace at the Quarter Sessions may tax him to a reason , ^ le weekly sum , which if he refuse to pay , they may con . 1 niit him to prison . And if any parish have in it more i . 'upotent poor persons than they are able to relieve , the . 1 the Justices of the Peace of the county may license i" * o many of them as they shall think good , to beg in one OT more hundred * of the same county . And if any poo . " beg in any other place than he ia licensed , he shall be punished as a vagabond . "
  
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  Still this was found inadequate to meet the circumstances of the case . -It was found insufficient . The compulsory charitable donation or tax , did not amount to what was needed for the necessitous poor . Vagabondism was etill rife in the land ; begging was not put down ; revolts and tumults were constantly apprehended and had ; and at length matters assumed such an alarming aspect , that it was deemed prudent and necessary to mett the exigence fully and completely , and give the poor an equivalent for the patrimony of which they had been robbed . This was accomplished by the famous 43 rd of Elizabeth ; by which it-was ordained and appointed that a tax on all the property of the Kingdom should be duly and regularly laid and raised , and applied M to the setting of the poor on work , " and in relieving the necessities ef the impotent , aged , blind , and lame .
  
  Before we give the famous Act 5 u 8 t referred to ^ we must first allude to the 18 th of Elizabeth , c . 3 ; for that is the statute relating to Bastardy which obtained in England from the date of its passing up to the date of the enactment of the recent Poor Law Amendment Bill . The 2 nd section of that statute is as follows : — "II . Concerning bastards begotten ' / and born out « f lawful matimony ( an offence against God ' s law or man ' s law ; the Baid bastards being now left to be kept at the charges of the parish where they be born , to be the great burden of the said parish , and in defrauding of the relief of the impotent and aged true poor of the same parish , and to the evil example and encouragement of lewed life : it is ordained and enacted by the
  
  authority aforesaid , that two Justice * of the Peace , ( whereof one to be of the quorum , in or next unto the limits where the parish church is , within which parish such bastard shall be born , upon examination of the cause and circumstance ) shall and may by their discrttion take order , as well for the punishment of the mother and reputed father of such bastard child , as also for the better relief of every such pariah in part or in all ; and shall and may likewise by like discretion take order for the keeping of erery such bastard child , by charging such mother or reputed father with the payment of money weekly , or other isustentation for the relief of such child , in such wise as they ahall thinkmeet and convenient : and if after the same order by them
  
  subscribed under their bands , any the said persons , viz ., mother or reputed father , upon notice thereof , shall not fur their part observe and perform the said order , that then every such party so making default in not performing of the said order , to be committed to ward to the common gaol , there to remain without bail or mainprize , txcept he , she , or they shall put in sufficient surety to perform the said order , or else personally to appear at the next General Sessions of the Peace to be holden in that county where such order shall be taken , arid also to abide such order as the said Justices of the Peace , or the more part of them , then ; and there shall tike in that behalf ( if they then and there shall take any ) . "
  
  This-was the law of Elizabeth relating to bastardy . What next follows iR that famous Act for the Relief of the Poor which has been dwelt upon wi h admiration by the greatest ornaments of the Bench , and by the mott eminent -jurists , as the most perfect and mo ^ t com plete law of the kind ever devised : inasmuch as it is a full recognition and complete practical application of the principle they one and all lay down as being essential to the legal constitution and existence of society itself . Here it is : '—
  
  "AN ACT FOR THE RELIEF OF THE POOR . " Be it enacted by the authority of this present Parliiimeiit , that the churchwardens of every parish , and four , three , or two substantial householders there > as shall be thought meet , haying respect to the proportion nntl greatness of the same parish and parishes , to bo nominated yeavly in Easter "week , or "within one month after Easter , under the hand and seal of two or more Justices of the Peace in the same ccunty , whereof one to be of the-quorum , dwelling ' in or near the same parish or division where the same parish doth lie , shall be called overseers of the poor of the same parish : and they ; or tho greater part of them , shall take order frora time to time , by anil with the consent of two or more such Justices of Peace , as is aforesaid , for setting ~ to work -tiio children of all such whose parents shall not by the said churchwardens and overseers , or the greater part of them , 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 , a ' nd use no ordinary and daily trade of life to get their living by : and also to raise weekly , or otherwise ( by taxation of every inhabitant , parson , vicar , and other , and of every occupier of lands , houses , tithes impropriate , propriations of tithes , coal-mines , salt-able underwoods in the said parish , in euch competent sum and sums of money as they shall think fit , ) a convenient stock of flix , hemp , wooll , thread , iron , and other ware and stuff to set the poor on work : and also competent Bums of money for and towards the necessary relief of the lame , impotent , old , blind , and such other among them , being poor , and not able t' ) workj and also for the putting out of such children to be apprentices , to' .-be-gathered out of thu same parish , according to the ability of the same parish , and to do and execute all other things , as weli for the disposincj of the Baid stock , as otherwise concerning the premisses , as to them * baJ ] feel convenient .
  
  " 11 . Which said churchwardens and overseers to be nominated , or such * tf them as shall not be let by 8 ickne « 3 , or other just excuse , to be allowed by two such Justices of Peace , or more , as aforesaid , shall meet together at the least once every month , in the church- ' of the said parish , upon the Sunday in the afternoon , after divine service , there , to consider of some good course to be taken , and of some meet order to be set down in the premisses ; and shall within four days after the end of their year , and after other overseers norninattid , as aforesaid , make and yield up to such two Justices of Peace , as is aforesaid , a true and perfect accompt of all suras of money by them received , or
  
  rated and seased , and not received , and also of such stock as shall be in their hands , or in the hands of any of the poor to work , and of all otber things- concerning their said effico ; and such Bum or sums of money » s shall be in thtir hands , shall pay and deliver over to the said churchwardens and overseers nawly nominated and appointed , aa aforesaid , upon pain that evtry onp-of them absenting themselves without lawful cause , as aforesaid , from such monthly meeting for the purpose aforesaid , or being negligent in their office , or in the execution of the orders aforesaid , being made by and with the assent of the said Justices of the Peace , or any two of tbeni before-mentioned , to forfeit for every such default of absence or negligence , twenty shillings .
  
  " III ! And be it also enacted , that if the said Justices of Peace do perceive , that the inhabitants of any parish are not able to levy among themselves sufficient sums qf nionej for the purpose aforesaid ; that then the said two Justices shall and may tax , rate and assess , as aforesaid , auy other of other parishes , or out of any pariah within tho hundred where the said parish i » , to pay such sum and sums of money to the churchwardens and overseers of the said poor parish for the said purposes , iv ) the said Justices shall think fit , acccording to the intent of this law : and if the said hundred snail not be thought to the said Justices able and fit tj relieve the said several parishes nor able to provide for themselves , as aforesaid ; then the Justices of Peace at their General Quarter Sessions , or the great number of them , shall rate and assess , as aforesaid , any other of other parishes , or out of any parish witlirn the said county fcr the purposes aforesaid as in their discretion shall set m fit .
  
  " IV . And that it shall be lawful , as well for the present as subsequent churchwardens and overseers , or any of them , by warrant from any two such Justices of Peace , as is aforesaid , to levy as well tho said Bums of money , and all arrearages , of every one that shall refuse to contribute according as they shall be assessed , by distress and sale of the offender ' s goods , as the sums of nioiioyor stoctt which shall be behind upon any accompt to be made , as aforeaaid , rencieringto the parties the overplus ; and in defect of such distress , it shall be lawful for any such two Justices of thu Peace to commit him or them to the common gaol of the . county , there
  
  to remain without bail or inaicpnze , until payment of the said Mini , arrearages , and block ; and the said Justices of Peace , or any one of them , tasend to tho House of Correction or Common Gaol , such as shall not imploy themselves ; to work ,, being appointed thereunto , as afort-said ; and ; ilso any such two Justices of Peace to commit'to the said pi isou every one of the said churchwardens and overseers which shall refuse to accompt , there to remain without bail or riiainpWza , until he have made a tr . ua accompt , ' and satisfied mid paid so much , as upon tac said accompt shall be remaining in nis hands .
  
  • ' V . And be it further enacted , that it shall be . lawful for tbe said churchwardens and overseers , or the greater pan of them , by the assent of any two Justices of tjhe Peace- aforesaid , to ' bind any such children , as aforesaid , to be apprentices , where they shall see convenient , till such muu-child shall came to tho age of four and twenty years , and such woman-child to the age of one and twenty years , or the time oMiet marriage , the same , to be as effectual to all purposes , as : if such child were of full age , and by indenture of covenant bound him or her self . And to the intent that necessary places of habitation may more conveniently be provided for poor impotent people , be it enacted by the authority aforesaid , that it shall ami may be lawful for the said churchwatdena and . overseers , or the greater part of them , by the leave of the Lord or Lords of the Manor , "whereof any "waste or common within their parish ii or ehall be parcel , and upon agreement before
  
  with him or them made in writing , under the hands and seals of the said Lord or Lords , or otherwise , according to any order to be set down by the Justices of Peace of the said county at thir General Quarter Sessions , or the greater part of them , by like leate and agreement of the said Lord or Lords , in writing , under his or their hands and seals , to erect , build , and set up in fit and convenient places of habitation in such waste or common , at the general charges of the parish , or otherwise of the hundred or county , as aforesaid , to be taxed , rated , and gathered in manner before expressed , convenient hoases of dwelling for the said impotent poor , and also to place inmates , or more families than one in one cottage or house ; one Act made in the xxxi . year of her Majesties reigri , intituled ' An Act against the erecting and maintaining of : Cottages / or any thing therein contained to the conttary notwithstanding : which cottages and places for inmates BbBll not at any ttine after be used or employed to or for
  
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  any other habitation , but only for the impotent and poor of the same parish , that ahall be there placed from time to time by the churchwardens and overseers of the poor of the same parish , or the most part of them , npon the pains and forfeitures contained in the Baid former act made in the said xxxl year of her Majesties reign . ' . " VI . Provided always , that if any person or persons shall find themselves grieved with any seas or tax , or other act done by the said churchwardens , and other persons ; or by the said Justices of Peace ; that then it shall be lawful for the Justices of Peace , at their General Quarter Sessions , or the greater number of them , to take such order therein , as to them shall be thought convenient ; and the same to conclude and bind all the said parties . '¦ ¦ : ¦ ' : - ;/ .. ¦ ¦ ¦ . ¦'¦ ' '¦ - ¦ ^ - ¦ - ¦ ' ' . ¦ ¦/¦ / ' ¦ ' '¦ ¦¦ - •• . /¦ :
  
  " VII . And be it further enacted , that the father and grandfather , and the mother and grandmother , and the children of every poor , old , blind , lame , and impotent person , ot other poor person not able to work , being of a sufficient ability , shall at their own charges relieve and maintain every such poor person in that manner , and according to that rate , as by the Justices of Peace of that county where such sufficient persons dwell , or the greater number of them , at their General Quarter Sessions shall be assessed , upon pain that every one of theni shall forfeit twenty shillings for every month which they shall fail therein . V
  
  " VIII . And be it further hereby enacted , that the Mayors , Bailiffs , or others head officers of every town and place corporate / and city within this realm , being Justice or Justices of Peacei shall have the same author « ty by virtue of this act , within the limits and precincts of their jurisdictions , as well out of sessions , as at their sessions , if they hold any , as is herein limited , prescribed , ' and appointed to Justices of the . Peace of the county , or any two or more of them , or to the Justices of Peace in their Quarter Sessions , ta do and execute for all the uses and purpose in this Act prescribed , and no other Justice or Justices of Peace to . enttr or meddle there : and that every Alderman of the City of London within hia ward , shall and may do arid execute in every respect , so much as ia appointed and allowed by this ait to be done and executed by one or ' two Justices of Peace of any county with this realm .
  
  " IX . And be it also enacted , that if it shall happen any parish to extend itself into more counties than one , or part to lie within the liberties of any city , town , or place-corporate , and part without , that then as well tb . 3 Justices of Peac < j of every dunty , as also the head officers of such city , town , or place'corporate , shall deal and intermeddle only in so much of the said parish as lietb . within their liberties , and not any further : and every of them respectively within their several limits , wards , and jurisdictions , to execute the ordinances before-mentioned , concerning the nomination of overseers , the consent to binding apprentices , the giving
  
  warrant to levy taxations unpaid , the taking accompt of churchwardens aud overseers , and the committing to prison such as refuse to accompt , or deny to pay the arrearages dne upon their accompts : and yet nevertheV less , the said churchwardens and overseers , or the most part of them , of the said parishes that do extend into such several limits and jurisdictions , shall without dividing themselves , duly execute their office in all places within the said parish , in all things to them belonging , and . shall duly exhibit &ti 4 make oce acsonipt before the said head-officer of the town or place corporate , and one other , bafore the saiii . Justices of Peace , or any siich two of them , as is aforesaid .
  
  "X . And further be it enacted by the authority aforesaid , that if in any place within this realm , there happen to be hereafter no such nomination of overseers yearly , as is before appointed ^ that then every Justice of Peace of the county , dwelling within the division where such default of nomination shall happen , and every Mayor , Alderman , and head-ofiicer of city , town , or place-corporate where such default shall happen , shall lose and forfeit for every such default £ 5 . to . ba imployed towards the relief of the poor of the said parish or place corporate , and to be levied , as aforesaid , of their goods , by warrant from the General Sessions of the Peace of the said county , or of the same city , town , or place-corporate , if they keep Sessions .
  
  X [ . And bo it also enacted by the authority aforesaid , that all penalties and forfeitures before-mentioned in this Act , to be forfeited by any person or persons , * hall go and be imployed ta the use of . the ' , poor-. of ' . the same parish , and towards a stock and habitation for them , and other necessary uses and relief , as before in this act are mentioned and expressed ; and shall be levied by the said churchwardens and overseers , or one of them , by warrant from any two such Justices of Peace , or Mayor , Alderman , or head officer , of city , town or place-corporate respectively within their several limits , by distress and sale thereof , as aforesaid ; or in defect thereof , it shall be lawful for any two such justices of Peace , and the said Aldermen and head officers within their several limits , to commit the offeri - der to the said prison , there to remain without bail-or niainprize , till tbe said forfeitures shall be satisfied and paid . ¦
  
  XII . And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid , that the Justices of Peace of every County or place-corporate , or the more part of them , in their general sessions to be holden next aftsr the feast of Easter next , and so yearly as often as they shall think meet , shall rate every parish to such a weekly sum of money as they ehall think convenient , so as no piitish be rated above the sum of sixpence , nor under the sum of a halfpeny , weekly to be paid , anc \ so as the total sum of such taxation of the parishes in every County , amount not above the rata of two-pence ; for every parish within the said county : which sums so taxed , shall be yearly assessed by the agreement of the parishioners within themselves , or in default thereof , by the Churchwardens and pbtty Constables of the same parish , or the more part of them : or in default of their' agreement , by the order of such Justice or Justices of Peace as shall dwell in the same parish , or ( if none be there dwelling ) in the parts next
  
  adjoining . » XIII ; And if any person shall refuse or neglect to pay any such portion of money so taxed , it shall be lawful for the said Churchwardens and Const'ibles , or any of theni , or in their default , for any Justice of Peace of the said limit , to levy the same by distress , and sale of the goods of the party so refusing or rieg ' lecting , rendering to the party the overplus : and in default of such distress , it shall be lawful to any Justice of that'limit , to commit such person to the said prison , thereto abide without bail or mainpriza , till he have paid the same .
  
  " XIV . And be it also enacted , that the said Justices of the Peace at their general Quarter Sessions to be holden at the time of such taxation , shall set . down what competent sums of money shall be sent quarterly out of every county or place-corporate , for the relief of tho poor prisoners of the King ' s Bench or Marshalsea , and also of such hospitals and aims-houses as shall be in the said county , and what suras of niouey shall be sent to every one of the said hospitals and almsbcuae ' s , so as there be sent out of every county yearly rr . b . ai the last to each of the said prisons of the King'SBench aud Marshalsea , which sums ratebly to be assessed upon every parish , the churchwardens of every parish shall truly collect and pay over to the highconstables in whose division such parish shall be situate ,
  
  from time to time , quarterly , ten days before the end of every quarter , and every such constable at every such Quarter Sessions in such county , shall Bay over the same to two such treasurers , or to one of them , as shall by the more part of the Justices of the Peace of the county be elected the said treasurers to be chosen by the Justices of Peace of the said county , eity , or town , or place corporate , or of others which wera sessed and taxed at £ 5 lands , er £ 10 . goods at the least , at the tax of subsidy next before the time of the same elec tion to be made ; and the said treasurers so elected , to continue for the space of one whole year in their office , and then to give lip their charge , with a due Accompt of their receipts and disbursements , at the Quaiter Sessions to be holden next after after the feast of Easter in every year , to such others as shall from year to year , in form aforesaid , euccessively be elected
  
  treasurers for thr said county , city , town , or place corporate , whieU said treasurer , or one of them , shall pay overthe same to the Lord Chief-Justice of England ; and Knigbt-Marshal for the time being , equally to be divided to the use aforesaid , taking their acquitanee for the same , or in default of the said Chief-Justice ; to tho next ancientesb Justice of the King ' s B 9 nch , -a ' a aforesaid : And if any churchwarden or high-ewiiitable , or his executors or administrators shall fail to make payment in form above specified , then every church warden , his executors , or administrators so offending , sball forfeit for every time , the sum 108 . the same forfeitures ; together with the sums behind , to be levied by tho said treasurer and treasurers , by way of distress and sale of goods , as aforesaid , in form aforesaid , and by them to be imployed towards the charitable uses comprised in this act ¦
  
  " XV . And be it further enacted , that all the surplusage of money which shall be remaining in the / said stock of any county , shall by discretion of the more part feftheJuatices of Peace in their Quarter Sessions be ordered , distributed , and bestowed , for . the relief of the poor hospitals of that County , and of those that shall sustain losses by fire , water , the sea or other calsualitiea , and to such other charitable purposes , fot the relief of the poor , as to the more part of the said Jastices of the Peace shall seem convenient . " XVI . —And be it further enacted , that if any
  
  treasurer elected , shall wilful ' y refuse to take upon him the said office of treasurership , or refuse to distribute or give relief , or to accompt , according to such form as shall be appointed by the more part of the said Justices' of the Peace , that then it shall be lawful for the said Justices of the Peace in their Quarter Sessions , or in their default , for the Justices of the Assizs , at the Assizes to be holden in the same county , to fine the same treasurer by their discretion ; the same fine not to be under three pounds , and to be levied by sale of his goods , and to be prosecuted by any two of the paid ^ J ustices of the Peace whom they sball authorise . ; < ' ;¦ ¦
  
  Provided also , thu act shall not take effect until the feast of Easter next . : '" ¦ , . ; : ' . ' " / ; ,.- ' ; ; " " XVII . —And be it enacted , that the statute made in the nine and thirtieth year of her Majesties reign , intituled , An act for the relief of the poor , shall continue and stand in force until the feaat of Easter next ; and that a 1 taxations heretofore imposed and not paid , nor that shall be paid before the said feast of Easter next ; and that all taxes hereafter before the said feast , to be taxed by virtue of the said former act , which shall not be paid before the said feast of Easter , shall and may after the said feast of Easter , be levied by the overseera and other persens in this act respectively appointed to levy taxations by distress , and by such
  
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  warrant hi every respect , as if they had been taxed anJ imposed by virtue of this act , and were not paid . XVtll . Provided always , that whereas the Iatani of Fowlness , in the County of Essex , b ^ Ing environed with the sea , and having a Chapel of Ease for the inhabitants thereof , and yet the said Island is no parish , but the lands in the same are situated within divers parishes far distant from the said Island , be it therefore enwsted by the authority aforesaid , that tha said Justices of Peace shall nominate and appoint inhabitints within the said Island , to be overseers for the poor people dwelling within the said Island , and that both they the said Justices and tae said overseers , shall have the same ppwer and authority to all intents , considerations , and purposes , for the execution of the parts and articles of this act , and shall be subject to
  
  the same pains and forfeitures , and likewise that the inhabitants and occupiers of the lands there , shall be liable and chargeable ta tne same payments , charges , expences , and orders , in such manner and form as if the same Island were a parish . In considsratibn whereof , neither the said inhabitants or occupiers of land within the said Island , shall hot be compelled to contribute towards , the reViet ot tie poor of those parishes wherein the houses or lands which they occupy within the said Island are situated , for or by reason of their said habitations or occupyings , othet than for the relief of the poor people within the said Island , neither yet shall the other inhabitants ot the parishes wherein such houses or lands are situated , be compelled , by reason of their reliancy or dwelling , to contribute to the relief of the poor inhabitants within tha said Island . : - .
  
  « . ' XIX . And be it further enacted , that if any action of trespass , or other suit , shall happen to be attempted and brought against any person or persons , for taking of any distress , making cf any sale , or any ether thing doing , by autnority of this present act , the defendant or defendants in any such action or suit , shall and may either plead not guilty or buherwise make avowry , cognizmce , or justification for the taking of the said distresses , making of sale , or other thing doing by virtue of this act , aliedgiug in such avewry , cognizance , or jus-tification , that the said distress , sale , trespass , or other thing , whereof the plaintiff or plaintiffs complained , was done by authority of this act , and according to the tenor , purport , and effect of this act , without any expressing or reneareal of any other matter or circumstance contained in this present act . To
  
  which avo wry , cognizance , or justification , the plaintiff shall be admitted to reply , that the defendant did take the said distress , niade the said sale , or did any other act or trespass supposed in his declaration , of his » own wrensr , without anjr such cause alleged by the said defendent ; whereupon the issue in every such action shall be joyned , to be tried by verdict of twelve men , and not otherwise , as is accustomed in other personal actions ; and upon the trial of that issue , the whole matter to-be given on both parties in evidence , according to the very truth of the same , and after such issue tried for the defendant , or nonsuit of the plaihtiff after appearance , the same defendant to recover treble damages , by reason of his wrongful vexation in that behalf , with his costs also in that part sustained , and that to be assessed by . the same jury or writ to enquire of the damages , as the same shall require . "
  
  Such was the famous Poor Law of Elizabeth . The reader now has it , every word , Ttranscribed from the Statute Roll of the nation . "Ana is this the law , of the ' abuses' of which I have heard so much J" wb fancy we hear the reader exclaim . "Is this th law which ijave . to idleness and vice that which was earned by honest industry ? Why , I find nothing here respecting wages being partly paid out of the rates . I find nothing here about workhouses , and the inmates in them living an idle life , at theexpence of the more industrious . I find nothing here about women and men being harnessed to sand-carts , and made to draw them backwards and forwards , like beasts of burden ! I find nothing here of men and women being set to dig holes one day , and set to fill them up again ta « next ! / I find nothing here about the 'free' and 'independent' labourers of
  
  England , being put up to public auction , and their labour , for a time , sold to the highest bidder ! I find nothing here of select vestkies , nor ''• of 'hired overseers , 'nor of ' assistant overseers , ' norof masters * or ' matrons' of workhouses . I find nothing here that would at all act as a premium to idleness and vice , and discourage industry and frugality 1 Mr . Editor , you cahiiot have given us the old system You must have kept in the back-ground those part 8 of the ' old law ' which permitted and authorised the ehormous abuses that existed prior to the Poor Law Amendment Act . You caunot , Mr . Editor , have given us the whole . The Act just read contains nothing that ^ could by possibility be made to engender such a state of / things with regard to the poor as existed some ten years ago . . Surely , Mr . Editor , there must be some mistake . "
  
  No ! good reader ; there is is no mistake ! We have given the ichole of the" old law . " You have it just as it appears in the Statute Book . But , in thai law , you certainly find nothing that you have heard attributed to it . You certainly find nothing of select vestries , and auctions , and hired overseers , and part wages out of the rates ; you certainly find nothing of these things , apy more than you find in it a justification of the present Leeds practice of breaking stones or sweeping the streets , before relief is aiSForded to the starving poor . You certainly find nothing in the " old law" respecting workhouses , either with or without separation of husband or wife , any more than you find in it a justification of the hasdmill in Leicester
  
  Union-House , which has so lately thrown that city into riot and confusion . You certainly find none of these things ; but you do find that all the property of the coun try was ordered to be assessed , " to set the poor on work ; " and for" the relief of the lame , impotent , blind , / and- such other among them being poor . " You certainly find none of the " ABUSES" you hare heard so much talked of j but you do find that the overseers of the poor and the justices of the peace had power to levy rates upon all the property in every parish in the kingdom ; and that if the property of one parish was not
  
  sufficient for the purposes of relief , they could go > and assess , and raise rates on the property in the adjoining parish ; and so on , till they had assessed the entire county . You certainly do not find in the old law , any of the " monstrosities" that have been attributed to the ' old system ; " but you do find that unless the , holder of property paid the rate assessed upon him , his property could be seized ; and in case of that property failing to satisfy the demands of the poor , the person eduld be seized and ¦ " commicted to the common goal of the county , there to remain without bail or mainpriz 9 until payment" was made . You certainlv do find that that
  
  OLD LAW GAVE THE POOR- A MORTGAGE UPON all the property of the Kingdom ! / Read the first section of the Act . See What the framers of it contemplated , ! " / Not a bastile ! with a gruel test . Not a workhouse , with a distinctive and dsgradins : dress ! Not separation of man from wife , and childven from ' . -b ' qtn ! Not the punishment , but the relief of , poverty ! The authors and framers of the oldlaio contemplated " ' the setting to work all persons , married and ' unmarried , having no means to maintain them ; and it directed th at the overseers should provide stocks of " flax , hemp , wool ) , thread , iron , andf other ware and stuff , to set such poor on work . " Not work in a workhouse : but work at HO 5 JE ! Not work at a rate
  
  like that in the Sfcockport Union stone-yard ; but work at the regular wages of the time I And let it be borne in mind that at the time this old Poor Law was passed , the " wages of labour Were protected ! The minimum rate at which labour should be paid was fixed by Act Of Parliament ! There were several statutes passed in this very reign , Elizabeth ' s , providing for this ; ordaining that at certain periods the Justices should proclaim the prices of labour , according to the price of provisions ; and also ordaining , that if any employer offered less , or / any labourer accepted less thani the sum so fixedj they should b- > severely punished !! The overseers , therefore , pave the poor work to do at their own homes , and paid them for the work done at tha regular rate .- ; ¦/' . . ' : ¦/ . . - ¦ ¦ - ; - . -
  
  [ We find we have exhausted the spaoeat ourcommand at the present . The subject must therefore litf over for another week or so , when we shall resume it , and trace the introduction of the " abuses" so feelingly deplored by the authors and apologists of the New Poor Law . We shall then contrast the two systems together—the new one and the old-r-and apply the whole subject in the way of advice to ihe starving poor , as to the way they should act at the present to secure themselves from perishing for want of food .
  
  . ; / Before we lay down the . pen we must acknow * ledge , in justice to the memory of the illustrious dead , that for by far tho greater , portion of the matter of this ar tide , we are indebted to the works of that able and stedfast friend of the labourer , the late Mr . Cobbett . No man has done more to plaM the question of Poor Law 3 in its right light than that truly great man ; and wo freely declare that we have freely availed ourselves of his writings We have done so , because it was impossible to do ¦ better . ] - ; :- . -.:. . ¦; ' . , /¦ ¦' / . // ¦; . ;' . - - . //// '¦ . ; . : ' /¦'¦ : ' -- ' :-.
  
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  WVVVVwVV ^^ A ^ A'Vt ^ l ^^ Wir ^ V ^ A ^^ Psalms » . Hims . — -A maiden lady , Buspeeting bet female servant was regaling her beau upon the cold inHtton of her larder , called Betty , and in quired whether she did not hear some one speaking with her down stairs— " Qh , no , Ma ' am , " replied tbe gir '» " it was only me singing a psalm . " " You may amuse yourself , Betty , * ' replied the maiden law * " with psalms ; but let ' a have ^ no : hims , Betty—i have a great objection to him . '' Betty curt 3 ie «» withdrew , and took the hint . Stow and S 6 re . — - "Celsus has justly remarked that 'Diseases slow m their progress , go off very slowly » and that time is necessary to remove the deep ly rooted evils which time has occasioned . ' This should be bornein mind by all suffering from chronio disease , deebly-rooted ia the system , in order to impart Patiehce and perseverance in the use of Parr ' s Lua . ' Pills ; forhowever obstinate the disorder may aPP ^' they may rest fully assured that time will effect a radical and perfect cure . "
  
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  '6 - ' THE- NORTHEBN STABv ^ : ;/ v % x - . . ; , / ^^ r \ : % y \ : . % ^ ^ - : ^ m ' " - ¦¦¦ - - ' ' _ ' ' ' " ' . I . . ' . * .. ' . " ' ' .. '' . ¦ ' .. '¦ -.... . "' . ' . ' ....... ' ¦• - '! .,- — ^ —^
Citation
- Northern Star (1837-1852), May 14, 1842, page 6, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct430/page/6/

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The Northern Star Saturday, May 14, 1842.

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