Northern Star (1837-1852), 14th May 1842, Edition 3 of 3, Page 6

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- ** *^-M* M "^^^MM ¦ I.—. THE NORTHERN STAR.-SATURDAY, MAY 14, 1842.
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  THE POOR ; AND POOR LAWS , ARTICLE I . The question of Poor Laics has again become one of the immediate questions of the day . The Ministers of the Crown are appealin . to the Parliament to legisla-teon the subject ; having given notice , through the Secretary of Siate for the Home Department , of a motion for leave to bring ia a Bill : ¦> continue the lately-established Poor Law Commission for another limited period . No question that can be niuot ^ d , or to ¦ which the mind ot man can be directed in connection wiih civil and sociil interests , is deserving of greater attention , or is of more intrinsic importance ;
  
  and no class of society i& more deeply interested m a right settlement of the principles and details of thai which alone makes the social compact valid , or in a due understanding of the momentous matter in &U its bearings and aspects , than the working class ; those who live by the labour of their hands . It is for the especial beneSt and instruction of this class that we devote our labours and time ; and we thhik that those labours cannot be better directed ,- at the present , than to an examination of this Poor Law question ; so that the working people may apply the information laid before them to the governmental measures of the day . - " .
  
  The very first step , then , in this examination ; the very first inquiry that presses itself upon oar notice , when we come to treat of Peor Laws , is ^ WHAT 13 SOCIETT ! Or , to put the question in another shape , WHAT IS THE NATURE OF THE SOCIAL COMPACT ? When society was firs : instituted , properly first began . Before that period , whenever it was , there was no such thing as jii > e and thi > "e . All things were holden in common . '" First come , firs : served , " applied to all the fruits , all the animals , all the birds , all the fish ; all that was produced spontaneously upon the earth ; and all that was produced in the waters under tLe earth . The word owner then had no being or signification . The whole eo : 1 , with its ho ! e 3 and i ; s caverns , its trees and its roots , its
  
  bushes and its berries , then belonged to all the people , just as the burrows now belong to the rabbits , or the woods to the birds ; and each m 3 n had the good things of this world in a greater or less degre ^ , 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 , self-pkeservation , mainly and immediately applied ; for ihe xaw of Siiras teaches every living creature to prefer the preservation of its own life to all other things . In this state , men enjoyed the rinhr to liberty and life . In this staie there were no bounds to self-enjoyment ; for nen were free to take where'er they found . There was no restraint imposed upon auy one by a regard to the good of his neighbour .
  
  At kngth this state of things became changed . Men intered into society . From some cause or other , no mauer what , they made among themselves a compact , or an agreement , to restrain individuals from following , in certain eases , the dictates of their own will . They agreed to divide the earth and its products in such a manner that each should have a share to his own exclusive use , and that eachVnould be protected ia the exclusive enjoyment of his share by the united power of all the rest ; and in order to give due effect and a right application to this united power , they made laws by which the whole agreed to be bound . Thus arose civil society . Thus arose properly . Thus arose the tsrnis mine and thine , which mean my ows and thv ows ,- and designate a properly in things .
  
  Civil society was thus formed far the benefit of the whole . The whole gave up their natural rigfrt to take , thai they might enjoy their lives in greater security . But , to have that secnrity , it was nect ssary that one provision should be made : a provision that no one should perish tor tcant . Without this provision , it is plainly apparent that no securjty of private possession can be had ; for the law-O ? nature bids every necessitous starving man to go and take . ' That- law savs to him , ' Wherever there is food , it is for thee : take and be filled " . ' The law of e : v : l society , however , puts forward another man , whj says , *• 2 so ; this is not ih ' mc ; this is mine ; I am to have the exclusive u ? e of it : it is secured to me
  
  by the law . ' Bus "secured" on what condition \ On the condition that the man that has contributes to the necessities of the man that has pot ! There can be no security without th s provision ; for the law of nature is beto&e the law of civil society ! The social compact , then , must include a provision for the destitute ; a provision for the impotent , the halt , the lame , the blind 1 the aged , and tie otherwise poor ; the social compact must make due provision for the sustentation and preservation of all these , or it is null and void I The rights of . nature cannot be set aside without a due equivalent . To contend otherwise would be to contend for , and justify , the rankest tyranny and the grossest fraud I
  
  The conclusion , then , we come " to is—that a provision for lh : destitute is essential to the lawfulness of civil society ' If society does not care to act npoa this principle ; if it neglects to secure the legal means of preserving the life of the iniigem poor , then society itself , in S 3 far as that indigent -person is concerned , ceases to have a legal existence ! This doctrine ha 3 been holden and distinctly laid down by the wisest and most eminent of the lawyers and jurist ? , both English and foreign . GboticSjPcpte-tdohp , Cov ^ KEuvirs , Bacos , Hale , Palet , Coke , and Blackstone , all maintain that unless this principle be fully recognised and acted on , society forfeits its character of legality ! that it has , upon the destitute , no longer any claim for submission to its laws j that , to them , the rights of nature return in full force ! that is is their duty to obey the law of self-3 > eeservatic »' , and take food and raiment , to supply their necessities , wherever they can find them ¦
  
  Having ascertained on what principles the civil compa < rt 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 main principle of all ; that upon which all the rest is grounded—a provision for the destitute . As far back as the historical records of our country reach , they ihow that there has existed amongst tne inhabitants of this island some sort of provision or other , for the snstentation of the destitute . At all « vents such has , undeniably , been the case , ever since the establishment amongst xn 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 is evidence to show that ev
  We shall , however , confine ourselves , at the present , to the practicb of Christian Ensland ; and especially to the practice of the early English Christian Church . That Church , from its first establishment up to the period called the Reforhatios , is well known to have beea possessed of large amounts of property . Indeed , for a very-long period before ihe Reformation-event , fail . ONE THIRD part , and indeed more , of the real property of ihe country belonged to the Church . Bui the Church did net hold and possess that property ' or its own use alone . In fact , that ' property was only holden in trust , for the honour of God , and for the renefof the poor . The ancient laws of the realm , the canons of the Church , and the practice of the Church in other lands , undeniably provo thi 3 to have been the case .
  
  Before the event called the " Psotestaxt Retoematios , " there never had existed in the world even an idea that the tithes or the other property called church property , was the property -of the clergy 1 No man living had , until thenjentertained a thought of the kind I The very first institution of tithes , tinder the Mosaic law , placed these tithes in the hands of the tribe of Levi , that they m ' xpht there-¦ tcith provide Jor ihe wants of the poor ' . ' It 5 s well to observe , too , that that ~ same tribe of Levi , who were the depositaries of the tithes thas instituted by Moses , teas to have no private possessions in the land ! was to INHERIT x&thixg I ! and was , therefore , to share with the poor m the enjoyment of the tithe . Of that tithe they were to give a tenth—( mind ! a , T 2-VXH oxlt . 'I not the WHOLE , as now V . l)—to the priests : that is to say , to Aabox and his succes .-ors . Tfce priests were originally to have only a tenth of the tenth ; and > -ot a tenth of ihe whole produce of the land , as now !!
  
  In the Christian Church , after f he first ages , the priests were invest / d with the tico capacities , and feted as Levites and priests at the same time . But in no case whatsoever was ever tithe granted or instituted ; in no case whatsoever was church or Monastery built or founded , bnt was granted or xasatnted , built or founded , in the name of charity Everything that was granted , was granted in trust to the pnesthopd , for the honour of God , and for the renet of tUe | k > or . In accordance with this priniS&SffcKtS - ?!^ Chnrch of Engird , and the ia ^ lHataOTafc-which succeeded that ; and thas , for V ^ ^ SSS ^ 9 hundl > ed years , the whole of the 2 » w » s « riSBgftaia contain enactments , or customs , all : % BHkgyfflJ * aJS # » e and the same principle : that gffiBSBSJP- . ^ fcfey Property , which is called € a ? f » 4 # « 9 >?** yti , naa no foundation other than tM& ^ rtJJII ^ if ^ -property granted in trust to \ tb& ~ clargj ^ £ ag& $ fc purposes of public worship ; ^ aM- espeei * lm 3 « r - the purpose of giving relief : to 4 li | , nee ^^ Se ^ -Tho tithes of that " Church were '¦??¦ . v r s - - .- * -- % r 3 * '
  
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  ordered by the 24 th Canon of ELFKic . to be disposed of in the following manner : — " Let the priests set apart the first share for the building and ornament of the church ; let them ; distribute THE SECOND TO THE POOR AND STRANGERS , with their own bands , in mercy and humility ^ ; " and let them reserve the third part for themselves . At a later period , when t he tithes had , in some places , bf en appropriated to Convents , Acts of Parliament were passed , compelling the impropriators to leave in the hands of their Vkar a sufficiency for the maintenance of the poor . The Act 15 th Richard II . c . 6 , is so apposite to this point , and so completely sets the question at rest , as to the way in whioh the poor of that day wero maintained and provided for ; and it , moreover , so comp letely proves that the proper : y of the Church was used for this purpose amount others , that we here insert the whole of it entire . It is " short and sweet , " and much to the purpose : —
  
  " Item , Because divers damages and hmderances oftentimes have happened , and dailf do happen to the parishioners of divers places by the appropriation of benefices of the same place : It is agreed and assented . That in every license from henceforth to be made in the chancery , of the appropriation of any parish church , it shall be exDresly contained and comprised , that the diocesan of the place , npoa the appropriation of such churchfcs shall ordain , according to the value of such churcbes , 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 said churches in proper use , and by their successors , to Ike poor parishioners of the said cfiurc&es , itt aid of their living and sustenance for ever ; and . also that the Ticar bewelland sufficiently endowed . "
  
  In this short and pithy , but simple and plain , Act of Parliament , the whole practice of the Church in the disposition of the tithes is fully set forth . The reader will see that the disposal of the yearly " fruits and profits of the same Ctrarehes , " is just , that set forth ia tha extract from the Canons of Elfric given above : first , the churches are to be had in " proper use ; '' nesc , the poor parishioners are to have their share of those" fruits and profits" distributed to them 4 > in aid of their living and sustenance for ever ;" and , lastly , the minister is to be duly and sufficiently provided for . The modern practice , in 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 sha-1 have been appropriated contrary to the spirit and intent of the said Act ; that is to say , if in snch appropriation , care had not been had to / eave sufficient property in the hands of the Vicar for the relief the poor ; " hic i appropriation , unless it be reformed according to the effect of the said Acf , between now and the Easter nexs following , shall be held to be , and is , void , utterly repealed , and annulled for ever . " It also provides that , in every church so appropriated , or to be appropriated , " a secular person shall be appointed to do divine serri :-e , asd to keep hospitality these . "
  
  The canons of the Church and the acts of Parliament just quoted , prove beyond the power of dispu e , that tne property of the cliurch was available tor th ? relief of the poor ; that that property was not bes'owed upon any person , or any body of persons , for their own possession , or for their own -use , in any way whatsoever ; but merely holden iw trust for the upholding of religion and the maintenance of the poor , exactly in the same manner that lands and houses are bequeathed by individuals for the purpose of distributing bread , or of taking care of the sick . The clergy of thai day had no more risjht to apply the revenues of the Church to their own private u * e , than the trustees of St . Thomas ' s Hospital , for instance , have , at the present day , a right to apply the lands belonging to that institution to their own private use .
  
  Thi ~ , then , was the law regarding the Church and toe poor . The Church was bound to take charge of , and provide for , all th ' e poor of the parish . Tfr . s was the law ; and , if the clergy neglected th .-ir duty ; if they betrayed their trusi ; ii they misapplied the revenues committed to their charge , me law interfered . ' The two acts of Par liamtnt we have quoted sufficiently Ehow this . There hardly ue ^ ds another word ou this head , the matter is already so plain . There is , however , another Act of Parliament , eo full and complete ;
  
  50 directly to the point , as to the law ' s interfering when the clergy did iiol do their fluty to the poor ; that we cannot refrain from giving it . We are anxious to make thfs branch of our subject p ? am bevond the possibility of cavil or mistake . The impoit 3 nce of 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 the hands of our bloated "Mother" ! Then their application will be fully apparent , as well to the qaesti-r . of church property as to the subject now mure immediately in hand .
  
  The act just alluded to is the 2 nd Henry V . c . 1 . It is as follows : — " First , Forasmuch as many Hospitals within the Realm of England , founded as ¦ well by the nob ' . e Kings cf 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 seuls of the said founders , to which hospitals the same founders have given a £ reat part of their nioveable goods _ for the baildines of the same , and a great part of their lands and tenements , therewith to susta ' . u impotent men and women . lasers , men oitl of Uieir tcits and poor women iriih child , and to nourish , re / icre . and refresli other poor pcop ' e in the s-ime , hi now for the most part
  
  decayed , a . r ; d tne goods and profits of the same by divcra persons as well spiritual as temporal withdrawn and spent in other use , whereby many men and women hare died in great misery for default of aid , living , and succour , to the displeisure o ! God , and perils of the souls of such manner « f disposers : the King our Soverai ; n Lord , considering the meritorious and dovout intents of the founders aforesaid , and the unaccustomed goYernmeDt 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 all other matters
  
  necessary and requisite in this behalf and the inquisitions thereof taken shall certifle 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 npon that mate thereof correction and reformation , according to the la'ws of holy Church , as to them belongetb . " This , then , is conclusive . Let the reader look well at the causes assigned for the erection of these iospitals ; these religious houses ! Let him bear in mind that the founders of them had given a great part of their moveable goods for the buildings of the same ; and " a great part of their lands and tenements therewith to sustain impotent men and women , laz-rs , men out of their wits , and poor women with
  
  cnild ; and jo nourish , relieve , and refresh other poor people . " Let h : m also note well the parlies who are hereby directed to make the necessary inquiries , andreformation , as to the appropriation of the funds arising from the said bequeathed lands and tenements . Let him note we . l that these patties are the Ordinaries of the Church ! and let him couple the instruction given , thai "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 nave 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 aud 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 canoes of the Church and the common and statutelawof the realm : that the incuxbent of every parish should relieve the poor , and build , repair , or beautify bis Church from the same source ; and have the other pan of the * ' fruits and profits of his Church , " wherewith to live constantly in his parsonage house , there to keep hospitality . ' This was the law , and this was the practice in-England for n ' . ce hundred years ! And during that period
  
  England was Ea ^ Jand ! I During that period her name was famed and renowned amongst all other nations During that period the power and glory of England were a : their highest point ! During that period the stately and substantially-builded ehurche 3 that every where stud our isle , were erected ! During that period the magnificient English Cathedrals , ¦ wh ich are at once tne pride and glory of architecture , had tfctirnse ! These edifices but remain now tir remind u ? of the height from which we have fallen ! and the rights which have been taken from us ! !
  
  Let any one go to the cities of York or Winchester . Let him view the immense pile of buildings that there meet hie eye ! Let him ask if the English people are capable , . vow , either of conceiviug , or of executing , such a work of mind and art , as the ancient and ever-enduring cathedrals of thosa two places ( and many others ) which are an imperishable record J Lei him go and view the ruins of Kirkstall , or of Fountain's Abbey , —stately and splendid , even in decay J—and compare them with the gingerbread and jim-crack erections of the present day ; and let him blush for his own and his land ' s degeneracy . ' .
  
  Before we come to speak of that great change made in the disposition of the property called church property , in the reign of Henry YIIL , which swept away the patrimony of the poor , and gave it to a set of greedy , needy , and sycophantio courtiers and toadies , it will be of use to glance at another important effect upon the condition of the people of England , arising from the fact of so large a portion of the land being in the possession of the church . We have before said , that for a long period before the " Reformation , " more than one-third part of the real property of the Realm of England was so possessed ; indeed it approached to very nearly one half , From the very nature of that possession , and
  
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  from the nature of the Church institution itself , this stare of things gave the common people ereat advantages . The Church was a easy landlord I None of the priests of that Church , 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 ofjiroperty ; for they could not inherit or bequeath . They could not indeed , possess private property at all ; what they did possess , and what did accumulate in their hands , 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 Bhould let their lands on easy terms , on long leases ; and every reason why they should not practice the extortions and iniquities that follow the track of the rack-rentercountry-gentleman of England ( present time !' . ! j . In fact their lands were let on leases for lives , and descended from generation to generation , just as if the farmers of them bad 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-fofms ; 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 nobilily were compelled to follow the example of the Church ; and thus the commons were , in fact , the joint-proprietors of the whole country . ' They acknowledged the lord as owner of the Boil ; but they held the estates for lives I They had rents or fines to pay ; but the estates were theirs ! They could not be turned out ef their holdings at the mere whim or pleasure of the owner , like the rack-renters of the present day ! and of course they were independent ! free ! ! and bold ! 1 ! Just tho reverse of their descendants of the present times !
  
  Auother 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 thj 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 Iord 3 ofihe soil from its cul . ivation by the hand of labour , spent among those who havi-given them being ? Such was the state of England for some hundreds of years previous to the ascenson of the VIIIth . Harry 1 Such were tho laws and regulations relating tu the poor ; and such was the state of society necessarily arising from tho then instituted Church .
  
  At lepg . h came tho " Reformation" ! Harry the VIII . came to the Throne ; aud he cared more for the lusts and carnal desires of his own brute nature , than lie cared for , tho welfare and happiness of the people over whom he rulod ! Tne Church would not countenance him in his divorces , and his murders , and his beheadings . She anathamatized him ; pronounced him an adulterer ; and promulgated her curses against him . This 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 his court the property of the Church , he secured their aid in his acts of confiscation . He
  
  did confiscate !!! The property of tho poor was taken from them ! They were left neariy destitute ! The misery aud suffering consequent on the violent change of proprietorship in tho soil , greatly aggravated their sorry condition . If they dared to complain , the gibbet was there to silence them ! and numbers of them were ? o silenced ! Harry ' s struggle with the Church was one of time . It wai not over in a year or so ; but lasted for a Considerable period . When he first proclaimed himself "Supreme Lord on earth , under God , of the Church ot England , " the people refused to pay their tithes . To punish them for what he called their " contumacy , " the Act 27 ih Henry VIII . c . 20 , was passed ; enacting that if any one should fo transgress in future , he should bo committed to ward , there to remain without bail or mainprize , « ntil ha ha'i satisfied tho demands made on him . The next step of the bluft
  
  monarch was to . suppress all monasteries , priories , aud 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 hjs own will , to the pleasure of Almighty God , and to the honour and profit of this realm" ! This was accomplished by the Act vlih He ^ ry VIII . c . 28 , 1 ' our years afterwards another aud more complete step of confi ~ cauon was taken . Another Act was then passed for tho 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 aud robbery . This last-men'ioncd Act of Parliament , which was the crowning robbery committed upon the poor , is entitled the 31 st Henry VIII . c . 13 . It was the most disastrous law , as far a 3 the poor was concerned , passed in that ago !
  
  These things soon had their effect ! The miseries consequent on Harry ' s doings drove the people into actual rebellion ! To put down tho " revolts , " "strong' * and "vigorous" laws were passed . A continual struggle was kept up between the starving people and their ^ ulers , during t : o remainder of Harry ' s reign , and during the entire reign of Edward the Sixth . 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 pereon shall bring to two Justices of Peace
  
  any runnagate servant , or any other which Jiveth 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 , his executors or assigns , for two years aftjr , -who shall take the said slave , nn-A give him bread , water , or small drink , and reffus « meat , and causa him to work by b :-ating , chaining , or otherwise , in such work or labour us ho shall put him unto , be it never so vile : And if such slave absent himself from his said
  
  matter witnin the said term of two years , by the space of fourteen days , then he shall be adjudged by two Justices of Peace t 6 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 be a slave to his said master for ever : And if the said slave shaU run away the second time , he shall be adjudged a felon . " No clerk convict shall 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 Mai as his slave for five j ears And then he shall be used in all respects ns is aforesaid for a vagabond , saving for burning iu the breast .
  
  "It shall be lawful toevery person to whom any shall be adjudged a slave , to put a ring of iron about his neck , arm or leg . '' It is necassary to Temark 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 VI 11 / and who should have been adjudged by a Justice of the Peace to be branded with a hot iron and to be a slave , 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 gtrnng up to gibbets , like so many carrion crows 1
  
  Still 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 beeu turned out of their holdings ; and who had been robbed of their patrimony . And still the sava ^ o aud iron-hearted enactments went on . The Act just recited , the 1 st Edward VI . c . 3 , was continued from time to time , and rendered more and more " vigorous" and " strong" ; until at last , by the I 4 ih Elizabeth , c . 5 , the bare Act of begging vf as made felony punishable with death I By virtue of this statute more than
  
  72 , 000 persons were strung up to gibbets in one year . ' . ' I And yet poverty was not suppressed ; nor were the tHrbulencies , and disaffections , and risings , and revolt , consequent on a state of general poverty in any land , kept under in this case ! Contemporaneously with these savage enactments , were several other ? , 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 tho 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 p « son will of their charity give weekly : And the lame relief shall be gathered in every parish by collectors assigned , and distributed to the poor -. for none of them shall openly go or sit begging . And if any parishioner shall obstinately refuse to pay reasonably towards the relief of the said poor , or shall discourage others ; then the Justices of the Peace at the Quarter Sessions may tax him to a reasonable weekly sum , which if he refuse to pay , they may commit him to prison . And if any parish have in it more impotent poor pera&ns tban they are ab ! e to relieve , then the Justices of the Peace of the county may lieense eo many of them as they shall think good , to beg in one or more hundreds of the same county . And if any poor beg in any other place than he is licensed , he statt 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 > still rife in the land ; begging waa 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 meet the exigence fully and completely , and give the "'• pdor . 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 , . land ' - . applied - " to the setting of the poor on work , " and in relieving the necessities of the impotent , aged , blind , and lame . Before we give the famous Act just 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 ad section of that statute is as follows :- :
  
  " II . Concerning bastards begotten and born out ; .-ef lawful matimony taa offence against God ' s law or man ' s law ; the staid bastards being now left to be -kept : at ' the charges of the parish where they be bom , 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 Justices of the Peace , ( whereof one to be of the quorum , in or next unto ^ he 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 discretion 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 parish in part or in all ; and shall arid may likewise by like discretion take order for the keeping of erety such bastard child , by . charging
  
  such mother or reputed father with the payment of money weekly , or other sustentation for the relief of such child , in such wise as they Bball think meet" arid convenient : and if after the same order by themsubscribed under their hands , any the eaid persons , viz ., mother or reputed father , upon notice thereof , shall not for their part observe and . perform the said order , that then overyeuch party so makingdefault in not performing of the said order , to be committed to ward to the common gaol , there to remain without bail or mainprize , except 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 , and also to abide eucli order as the said Jusiices of the Peace , or the more part of them , thon arid there shall take ia that behalf ( if they then and there shall take any ; ; " . . : ¦¦¦ ¦ . •¦ - ¦
  
  This was the law of Elizabeth relating to bastardy . What next follows is that famous Act for tho Relief of the Poor which Has been dwelt upon wih admiration by the greatest ornaments of the Bench , and by the moit eminent jurift-i , as the most perfect and most complete 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 BELIEF OF THE POOR . "Be it t-iiacted by the authority of this present Parliament , that the churchwardens « f every parish , and four , three , or two substantial householders there , as shall be thought meet , having respect to the proportion and greatness of the snme parish and parishes , to bo nominated yearly in Easter ¦ week , tir "within one month after' Easttr , under the hand and sealof two or more Justices of the Peace in the same county , 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 pariah : and they , or tho greater . part-of them , shall take order from time to time ; by and with the consent of two or more such Justices of Peace , as is aforesaid , for setting to work tne ohildten of all such whose patents shall not by the said churchwardens and overseers , or the greater part of them , be thought able to keep and maintain thefr
  
  children ; and also for setting to work all such persons , married or unmarried , having no means to maintain them , and 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 , or saleable underwoods in the said parish , in euch competent sum and sums of money , as they shall think fit , ) a convenient stock of fltx , hemp , wooll , thread , iron , and other ware and stuff to set the poor on work : and also competent earns 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-y \ toik , arid also far tho putting out of such children to be apprentices , to be gathered out of the same t parisb , according to the ability of the same parish , and to tlo and execute all other things , as well for the disposing of the said stock , as otherwise concerning the premisses , as to them shall feel convenient .
  
  " 11 . Which said churchwardens and overseers to be nominated , or such of them as shall not be let by sicknea 3 , or other just excuse , to be allowed by two such Justices of Peace , or more , as aforesaid , shall meiet together at the least once every month , iii 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 y ear , and after other . overseers nominated , as aforesaid , make and yield up to such two Justices of Peace ,: & 3 is aforesaid , a true and perfect accompt of all sums of money by them received , or
  
  rated and sessed , 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 other things concerning their said effice ; and such sum or sums of money aa shall be in their hands / shall pay and deliver over to the said churchwardens and overseers newly nominated aud appointed , as aforesaid , upon pain that every one of them absenting themselves without lawful cause , as aforesaid , from such monthly meeting forthe purpose aforesaid , or being negligent in their office , or in the execution of the orders aforesaid , being made by and with the assent of tho said Justices of the Peace , or any two of them 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 aniong themselves sufficient sums of money for the purpose aforesaid ; that then the said two Justices shall and may tax , rate and assess , as aforesaid , any othar i | of other parishes , or out of any parish within the hundred where the said parish ia , to pay such sum arid sums of money to the ( Churchwardens and overseers of the said poor parish for the saulpurposes , as the said Justices shall think fit , acccording to the intent of this law : ami if the said hundred shall 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 ef any parish within the said county for the purposes aforesaid as in their discration shallsefciii fit .
  
  " IV . And thatitshall be lawful , as well for the preseut 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 the said sunis of money , and all arrearages , Gf 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 money or stock which ahull be bthirid upon any accompt to lie made , as aforesaid , rendering to the parties the overplus ; and in defect of such distress , It shall be lawful for any such two Justices of the Peace to commit him or them to the common saol of the county , there
  
  to remain without bail or uiainprizs , until payment of the said > um , arrearages , and stock ; and the said Justices of Peace ,. or any one of them , to send to the House of Currtetion or Common Gaol ,. such as shall not imploy themselves to work , being appointed there unto , as aforesaid ; and also any such two Justices of Peace to commit to the : said prison every one of the . said churchwardens and overseers which shall refuse to accompt , there to remain without bail or mainpriz 9 , until he have made a tiua accompt , and satisfied and paid so much , as upon tae said accompt shall be remaining in his hands .
  
  " V . And tieit further enacted , that it shall te . lawful for tue said churchwardens and overseers , or the greater part of them , by the asseut of any two Justices of the Peace aforesaid , tj bind any such children , as aforesaid , to be apprentices , where they shall see convenient , till such wan-chilli shall ceme to the age of four and twenty years , and auch ^ woman-child to the age of one and twenty years , or the time of her marriage ; the same to be as effectual to all purposes , as if such child we . » et 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 piovided for poiV impotent people , be it enacted by the authority afore 9 a | d , that it shall and may be lawful for the said church wardens and overseers , or the greater part of them , by the leave of the Lord or Lords of the Manor , whereof . Viy waste or common within their parish ii or shall be parcel , and upon agreement before and
  
  with him or them ma de in writing , under the hands seals of the said Lord «* Lords , or otherwise , according to any order to be * et down by the Justices of Peace of the said coui / ty at their General Quarter Sessions , or the greater pa tt of them , by like leare and agreement of the said Lord Or Lords , in writing , under his or their bands and seals , to erect , build , and . set up invfitaiid convenient plat ^ of b ^ 1 ^ 0 " 10 8 ? 0 . waste or common , at the genera * charges of the parish * or otherwise of the hundred or county , as aforesaid , to De taxed , rated , and gathere : * ^ . ™^ ' ^™ expressed , convenient houses of d ^ Ung forthe said impotent poor , and also to place inma tes , or more families than one in one cotta ge or bonse ; ' one Act ^ made in the xxxi . year of her Majesties r ^ gn , intituled An Act against the erecting ; and mainta i ning of Co * - tages / or any thing therein contained to vae contrary notwithstanding ; which cottages and places i ' or inmates shall not at any time 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 shall bo there placed from time , to time by the churchwardens and overseers of the poor of the same parish , or the moat part of them , upon the pains and forfeitures contained in the said former act made in the Bald xxxi year of her Majesties reign ; - 'V-VL Provided always , that if any person or personB shall find themselves grieved with any sess 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 forthe Justices of Peace , at their General Quarter Sessions , or the greater number of them , to take such order therein , ns to them shall be thought convenient ; and the same to conclude and bind air the said parties . ¦ ¦; . - . ¦ ' ¦; . : ' . ' . ' \ - ; l ¦ ¦¦ - . / ¦ : - ''¦ . .: ;' '
  
  V VII . And be it further enaeted , thatthe father and grandfather , and the mother and grandmother , and the children of every poor , old ; blind , lame * and impotent person , or 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 , aa 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 them shall forfeit twenty shillings for every month which they shall fail therein .
  
  .. " ytir . 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 Peace ; shall have the same authority 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 t wo or more of them , or to the Justices of Peace in their Quarter Sissions , t » do and execute for all the uses and purpose in this Act prescribed , and no other Justice or Justices of Peace to enter or meddle there : and that every Alderman of the City of London within his ward , shall and may do and execute in every respect , so much aa is appointed and allowed by this act to he done and executed by one or two Justices of Peace of any county with this realm .
  
  11 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 thri Justices of Peace of every c .-unty , 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 lieth 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 and overseers , and the committing to prison such as refuse to accompt , or deny to pay the arrearages due upon their acconipts : and yet nevertheless , the said churchwardens and overseers , or the moat part « f them , of the said parishes that do extend into such several limits and jurisdictions , shall without dividing themselves , duly execute thefr office in all places ¦ within the said parish , in all things to them belonging , and shall duly exhibit and make one accompt before the said head-officer of the town or place covporate , and one other , bsfore the said Justices of Peace , or any such two of them , as is aforesaid .
  
  ¦ ' . ' ¦ X . And fuithflr 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 6 f Peace of the county , dwelling within the division ¦ where such default of nomination shall happen , and every Mayor , Alderman , and head-officer of city , town , or place-corporate -where iuch default shall happen , shall lose and forfeit for every such default £ 5 . to ba iniployed 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 tke Ganeral Sessions of the Peace of the said county , or of the same city , town , or place-corporate , if . they keep SesaionsV
  
  XI , And bo it also enacted by the authority aforesaid , that all penalties and forfeitures before-meutioned in this Act , to be forfeited by imy person or persons , shall go and be imployed to the use of the poor of the same parish , and towards a stock and habitation for them ; aud other necessary uses and relief , as before in this act are mentioned and expressed ; aud shall be levied by the said church wardens and overseers , or one of them , by warrant front any two such Justices of Peacej 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 snail be iawful for any two such Justices of Peace , and the said Aldermen and head officers within their several limits , to coromifc the offender to the said prison , there to remain without bail or mainprize , till the said forfeitures shall be satisfied and piid .
  
  XII . And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid , that the Justices of Peace of every County or place-corporate , or the niore part of them , in their general sessions to be holden next after the feast wf 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 shall think convenient , so as no parish be rated above the sum of sixpence , nor under the sum of a halfpeny , weekly to be paid , and so as the total sum of such taxation of the parishes in every County , amount not above the rata . of twe-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 petty 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 pariah , 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 Constables , or any of them , 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 neglecting , 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 prieon , there to 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 arid slms-houses as shall be in the Baid county , and what sums of money shall be sent to every one of the said hoBpitals and alttiBhouses , so as there be sent out of every county yearly rr . s . at the last to each of the said prisons of the King ' s-Bench and 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 pariah 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 cay over the same to two such treasurers , or to one of them ; as Bball by the more part of the justices of the Peace of the county be elected the 8 « aid treasurers to be chosen by the Justices of Pe&ce of the said county , eity , or town , or place corporate , or of others which were aessed and taxed at £ 5 lands , er £ 10 . goods at the least , at the tax of subsidy next before the time of the same election 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 up thoir charge , with a clue accompt of their receipts arid disbursements , at the Quarter 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 , successively be elected
  
  treasurers for thr said county , city , town , or place corporate , whish said treasurer , or one of theih , shall pay oVer the same to the Lord Chief Justice of England , and Knight-Marshal for the time being , equally to be divided to the use aforesaid , taking their acquitauee forthe same , or in defau . lt of the said Chief-Justice , to the next ancientest Justice ef the King's Bench , as aforesaid : And if any churchwarden or ; high-c < 9 ubtuble , or his executors or administrators shall fail to make payment . in form above specified , then every churchwarden , his executors , or administrators so offending , shall forfeit for every time , the sum 10 s . the same forfeitures , together with the suras behind , to be levied by the said treasurer -and treasurers , by way of distress and sals of goods , as aforesaid , in form aforesaid , and by them to be ; imployed towards the charitable uses comprised in this act .
  
  "XV . Arid be it further enacted , that all the surplusage of money which shall be remaining in the said stock of any county , ehall by discretion of tbfl more part ef the Justices 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 Bustaia losses by fife , water , the sea or other casualities , and to such other' charitable purposes > for the relief of the poor , as to the more part of the said Justices of the Peace shall Beein convenient . ¦ ¦ ¦ . - ¦¦ ' .: ¦ ' XVI . —And be it further enacted , that if any
  
  treasurer elected , shall wilfully refuse to take upon him the said office of treaaurership , or refuse to distri bute or give relief , or to accompt , according to such form as shall be appointed by the more part of the said Jus ' tices of the Peace , that then it shall be lawiul for the said Justices of the Peace in their- Quarter Sessions , or in their default , for the Justices of the Assize , at the Assizas 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 said Justices of the Paace whom they shall authorise .
  
  Provided also , this act ehall not take effect until the feast of Easter next " . " : -. . ' .- ' ; : ,- :. : . ¦ ¦' •' " ¦ '¦ ¦ ' ¦'" ' ¦ ' ¦ " ¦ '" - . . " , ' " XVIL—And ^ it enacted , that tho 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-tine said former acfc , which shall not be paid before the said feast of Easter , shall and may after the said feaat of Easter , be levied by the overseers and other persons in this act respectively appointed to Jevy taxations by distress , and by such
  
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  warrant In every respect , as if they had been taxed and imposed by virtue of this act , and were not paid . XVIII . ProTlded always , that whereaa the Island , of Fowlness , in the County of Essex , being environed with the sea , and having a Chapel of Eaae for th& Inhabitants thereof , and yet the said Island ia a » parish , bnt the lands in the same are situated withia divers parishes fat distant from the said Island , belfe therefore enacted by the authority aforesaid , that the said Justices of Peace shall nominate and appoint in . habitants within the said Island , to be overseers for the poor people dwelling within the said Island , an * that both they the said Justices and the said overseers shall have the same power and authority to all intents considerations , and purposes , for the execution of the partB 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 to tne same payments , charges , expences , and orders , in such manner and form as if the same Island were a pariah . In consideration whereof , neither the said inhabitants or . occupiers of land within the said Island , shall not be compelled to contribute towards the relief of the 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 hahitationa or occupyings , cither than for the relitf of the poor people within the said island , neither yet shall the other inhabitants of 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 the 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 of ariy sale , or any other thing doing , by authority of this present act , the defendant or defendants in any such action or auit , shall and may either plead not guilty or otherwise make avowry , cogniz-ince , or justification for the taking of the said distresses , making of sale , or other thing doing by virtue bf this act , aliedging in snch avewry , cognfzmce , or justification , that the said distress , sale , trespass , Or other thing , whereof the plaintiff or plaintiffs complained , was done by arithority of this act , and according , to the tenor , purport , and effect of this act , without any expressing or rehearsal of any other matcer or circumstance contained in this present act . To
  
  wnich avowry , cognizance , or justification , the plaintiff shall be admitted to reply , that the defendant did take the said distress , made the said sale , " or did any other act or trespass supposed in his declaration ,, of his own wrong , without any auch cause alleged by the Baid deferident ; whereupon the issue in every such action shall be joyned , to be tried by verdict of twelve men , and not otherwise , as is aciustomed 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 otihe plaintiff after appearance , the same defendant to recover treble damages ^ by reason of his wrongful vexation in that behalf , with his coats also in that part sustained , and that to be assessed by the same jury or writ to enquire of rhe damages , as the same shall require . "
  
  Such was the famous Poor Law of Elizabeth . The reader now has it , every word , transcribed from the Statute Roll of the nation . " And is this the law , of the ^ ' abuses' of which I have heard so much ? " we fancy we hear the reader exclaim . " Is this th law . which gave 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 inntates in them living an idle life , a , t the expence of the more industrious . I find nothing here about women and men being harnessed to sand-cartB , arid made to draw them backwards and forwards , like beasts of burden ! I find nothing here ok' men and women being set to dig holes one day , and set to fill them up again the 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 1 I find nothing here of select vestries , nor of 'hired overseers , ' nor of ' assistant overseers , ' nor of ' masters * or ' matrons' of workhousps I find nothing here that would at all act as a premium to idleness and vice , and discourage industry and frugality ! Mr . Editor , you cannot have given us the old system ! You mu 9 t have kept in the back-ground those parts of the ' old law' which perm i Wed and authorised the enormous abuses that existed prior to the Poor Law Amendment Act * You cannot , Mr . Editor , have given us the whole . The Act just read contains nothing that could by possibility bo made to engender such a state of things with regard to the poor as existed 8 bme ten years a » o . Surely , Mr . Editor , there must be some mistake . "
  
  No ! good reader ; there is is no mistake ! We have given the whole of the " old law . " You have it just as it appears in the Statute Book . But , in that law , you certainly find nothing that you have heard attributed to it . You certainly find nothing of select VESTHiES , and auctions , and hired overseers and part wages put of the rates ; you certainly find nothing of theso things , any more than you find in it a justification of the present Leeds practice of breaking stones or sweeping the streets , before relief is afforded 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 hand mill in Leicester
  
  Union-House , which has so lately thrown that pity into riot and confusion . You certainly find none Of these things ; but you do find that all the property of the country was ordered to be assessed , " ; to set the pqor on woftK ; " and for " the relief of the lame , impotent . ' - 'blind-, aud such other among them being poor . " You certainly find none of the ? ABUSES" you have heard so much talked of ; 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 vfas 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 , tiny of the " monstrosities" that have been attributed to the ' old system j" 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 could be seiz 9 d and" committed to the common goal of the county , there to remain without bail or mainprize until payment" was made . You certainly do find that that OLD LAW GAVE THR POOR A MORTGAGE UPON all the property of the Kingdom ! .
  
  . Read thefirst section of the Act . See what the framers of it contemplated ! Not a bastUe 1 with a ^ ru el teat . Not a workhouse , with a distinctive and degrading dress . 'Not separation of man from , wife , and children from both ! Not the punishment ^ lyjT the relief of poverty ! The authors and framera oftheold law ^ contemplated "the setting to w 6 rk all persons , married and unmarried , having no means t > maintain them ; and it directed that the overseers should provide stocks of " flax , hemp , wnpll , thread , iron , arid other ware and stuff , to set such poor en work . " Not work in a workhouse : but work at home ! Not work at a me like that in the Stockport Union stone-yard ; but
  
  work at the regular wages of the time i And let it be borno in mind that at the time this olid Poor Law was passed , - "the wages of labour were protected ! The minimum rate at which labour should be , paid was fixed by Act of Parliameat 1 There were several statutes passed in this very reign j Elizab 8 th ' s , providing for this ; ordaining that at certain periods the Justices should proclaim the prices of labour , according tothe price of provisions j and also ordaining , that if any employer offered less , or any labourer accepted less than the sum so fixed , they Bhould b ? severely punished ! ! The overseers , therefore , gave the poor work to do at their own homes , and paid them for the worfc done ; at the regalar ' rate . ¦¦ '¦¦¦" . ¦ ¦ ' : / ; ,-.
  
  -[ We find we have exhausted the space at our command at tb . 7 present . The subject must therefore lie over for another week or so , when we shall resume it , and trace the introduction of the " abuses" so feelingl y 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—and apply the whole subject in the way of advice to the 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 peri we must acknowledge , in justice to the memory of the illustrious dead , that for by far tho greater portion of the matter of this article , we are iiidebced to the works of that able and stedfast friend of the labourer , the late Mr , Cobbett . No man has done more to place the question of Poor Laws in its right light than that truly great man ; and we freely declare that we have freely availed ourselves of his writings . We . have done bo , because it wda impossible to do better . 1 ' . .. ¦ -: ; ; - : .:-v ' : -. ' ¦¦ ¦; - .: '¦ ¦ / ' . ¦"¦ ' . : ¦ . ¦ - ¦ . ¦ ¦' - . ¦ ' .
  
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  Psaims v . Hims . ~ A maiden lady , suspecting her female servant was regaling her beau upon the cold mutton of her larder , called Betty , and inquired whether she did not bear some one speaking with her down stairs— " Oh , no , Ma ' am , ' * replied tKe girl , " it was only me singing a psalm . " " You may amuse yourself , Betty , " replied the maiden lady , "with psalms ; but let ' s have no Mm , Betty—I have a greatV objection to Mnis . " Betty curtsiedj withdrew , and took the hint . " Slow and Sckk . — "Celeus has justly remarked that Diseases slow in their progress , go off very slowly ; and that time is neoesRary to remove the deeply rootedevils which time has occasioned . ' This should be borne in mind by all suffering from chrouic disease , deebly-rootsd ia the system , in order to impart patience and perseverance in the use of Parr ' s Life Pill ' s ; forhowever obstinate the disorder may appear , they may rest fully assured that time will efieota radical and perfect cure . "
  
  ** *^-M* M "^^^Mm ¦ I.—. The Northern Star.-Saturday, May 14, 1842.
  
  ** *^ -M * M " ^^^ MM ¦ I . — . THE NORTHERN STAR .-SATURDAY , MAY 14 , 1842 .
  
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  6- ¦'" ' - THEN O RT HE B N ST A R . ^ y / . ; ' : ; . . ' : ¦ ... I ...... ; - . y . ^ . . ^ '' . < : . : ; , " '¦ - ¦; ¦^; 3 :- ; :: ^ : ^ . C ^ O ^^ 7 : ~ ^^ SK
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-ncseproduct598/page/6/

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** ^-M M "^^^Mm ¦ I.—. The Northern Star.-Saturday, May 14, 1842.

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** *^-M* M "^^^Mm ¦ I.—. The Northern Star.-Saturday, May 14, 1842.

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** ^-M M "^^^Mm ¦ I.—. The Northern Star.-Saturday, May 14, 1842.