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Senior - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Statement of the Provision for the Poor, and of the Condition of the Labouring Classes in a Considerable Portion of America and Europe - Being the preface to the foreign communications contained - in the appendix to the Poor-Law Report - -Author: Nassau W. Senior - -Release Date: October 18, 2016 [EBook #53316] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PROVISION FOR THE POOR *** - - - - -Produced by Bryan Ness and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This book was -produced from scanned images of public domain material -from the Google Books project.) - - - - - - -</pre> - - -<p class="transnote">Transcriber’s Note: Suspected printer’s errors -have been corrected. Upper-case accents weren’t used in the original, -and differences of spelling (etc.) between the different reports have -been preserved.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_i" id="Page_i">[i]</a></span></p> - -<p class="titlepage"><span class="larger">STATEMENT</span><br /> -<span class="smaller">OF THE</span><br /> -<span class="larger">PROVISION FOR THE POOR,</span><br /> -<span class="smaller">AND OF THE</span><br /> -CONDITION OF THE LABOURING CLASSES,<br /> -<span class="smaller">IN A CONSIDERABLE PORTION OF</span><br /> -AMERICA AND EUROPE.</p> - -<p class="titlepage"><span class="smaller">BY</span><br /> -<span class="smcap">NASSAU W. SENIOR, Esq.</span></p> - -<p class="titlepage"><span class="smaller">BEING THE</span><br /> -PREFACE TO THE FOREIGN COMMUNICATIONS CONTAINED<br /> -IN THE APPENDIX TO THE POOR-LAW REPORT.</p> - -<p class="titlepage">LONDON:<br /> -B. FELLOWES, LUDGATE STREET.<br /> -(<i>Publisher to the Poor-Law Commissioners.</i>)<br /> -MDCCCXXXV.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_ii" id="Page_ii">[ii]</a></span></p> - -<p class="titlepage smaller">LONDON:<br /> -<span class="smcap">Printed by William Clowes and Sons</span>,<br /> -Stamford Street.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_iii" id="Page_iii">[iii]</a></span></p> - -<h2>ADVERTISEMENT.</h2> - -<p>The following pages were prepared for the sole purpose -of forming an introduction to the foreign communications -contained in the Appendix to the Poor-Law -Report. Their separate publication was not -thought of until they had been nearly finished. -When it was first suggested to me, I felt it to be objectionable, -on account of their glaring imperfections, -if considered as forming an independent work, and -the impossibility of employing the little time which -can be withdrawn from a profession, in the vast task -of giving even an outline of the provision for the poor, -and the condition of the labouring classes, in the -whole of Europe and America. But the value and -extent of the information which, even in their present -incomplete state, they contain, and the importance -of rendering it more accessible than when -locked up in the folios of the Poor-Law Appendix, -have overcome my objections. The only addition -which I have been able to make is a translation of -the French documents.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_iv" id="Page_iv">[iv]</a></span></p> - -<p>I cannot conclude without expressing my sense of -the zeal and intelligence with which the inquiry has -been prosecuted by his Majesty’s diplomatic Ministers -and Consuls, and of the active and candid assistance -which has been given by the foreign Governments.</p> - -<p class="right"><span class="smcap">Nassau W. Senior.</span></p> - -<p class="smaller"><i>Lincoln’s Inn, June 10, 1835.</i></p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_v" id="Page_v">[v]</a></span></p> - -<h2>CONTENTS</h2> - -<table class="contents" summary="Contents"> - <tr> - <td></td><td class="tdr smaller">Page</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td><span class="smcap">Introduction</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_1">1</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>AMERICA</td><td class="tdr"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level2">Pennsylvania</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_13">13-18</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level2">Massachusetts</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_14">14-17</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level2">New Jersey</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_18">18</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level2">New York</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_19">19</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>EUROPE</td><td class="tdr"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level2">Norway</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_20">20</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level2">Sweden</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_24">24</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level2">Russia</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_29">29</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level2">Denmark</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_33">33</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level2">Mecklenburg</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_44">44</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level2">Prussia</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_45">45</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level2">Saxony</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_53">53</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level2">Wurtemberg</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_53">53</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level3">Weinsburg House of Industry</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_65">65</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level2">Bavaria</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_68">68</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level2">Berne</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_74">74</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>CAUSES favourable to the Working of a Compulsory Provision</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_84">84</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level2">Hanseatic Towns</td><td class="tdr"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level3">Hamburgh</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_95">95</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level3">Bremen</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_96">96</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level3">Lubeck</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_98">98</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level2"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_vi" id="Page_vi">[vi]</a></span>Frankfort</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_101">101</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level2">Holland</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_101">101</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level3">Poor Colonies of</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_109">109</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level4">Frederiks-Oord</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_110">110</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level4">Wateren</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_113">113</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level4">Veenhuisen</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_113">113</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level4">Ommerschans</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_115">115</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level2">Belgium and France</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_117">117</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level3">French Poor-Laws:</td><td class="tdr"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level4">Hospices et Bureaux de Bienfaisance</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_118">118</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level4">Foundlings and Deserted Children</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_120">120</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level4">Mendicity and Vagrancy</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_122">122</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level2">Belgium</td><td class="tdr"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level3">Monts-de-Piété</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_126">126-138</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level3">Mendicity</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_126">126</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level3">Foundlings and Deserted Children</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_133">133</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level3">Antwerp</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_139">139</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level3">Ostend</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_143">143</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level3">Gaesbeck</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_145">145</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level3">Poor Colonies</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_148">148</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level2">France</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_154">154</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level3">Havre:</td><td class="tdr"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level4">Hospital</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_155">155</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level4">Bureau de Bienfaisance</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_156">156</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level3">Rouen:</td><td class="tdr"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level4">Workhouse Regulations</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_157">157</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level3">Brittany</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_160">160</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level3">Loire Inférieure:</td><td class="tdr"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level4">Nantes</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_163">163</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level3">Gironde:</td><td class="tdr"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level4">Bourdeaux</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_170">170</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level3">Basses Pyrenées:</td><td class="tdr"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level4">Bayonne</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_176">176</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level3">Bouches du Rhone:</td><td class="tdr"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level4"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_vii" id="Page_vii">[vii]</a></span>Marseilles</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_178">178</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level2">Sardinian States:</td><td class="tdr"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level3">Piedmont</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_181">181</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level3">Genoa</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_186">186</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level3">Savoy</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_187">187</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level2">Venice</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_189">189</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level2">Portugal:</td><td class="tdr"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level3">Oporto</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_194">194</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level3">The Azores</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_196">196</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level3">The Canary Islands</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_199">199</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level2">Greece</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_201">201</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level2">European Turkey</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_203">203</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level2">General Absence of a Surplus Population in Countries not affording Compulsory Relief</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_204">204</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level2">Agricultural Labourers in England.</td><td class="tdr"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level3">Wages of</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_206">206</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level3">Subsistence of</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_208">208</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level2">Wages and Subsistence of Foreign Labourers.</td><td class="tdr"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level3"><i>Vide</i> Tables</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_210">210-235</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level2">Comparison between the state of the English and Foreign Labouring Classes</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_236">236</a></td> - </tr> -</table> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_viii" id="Page_viii">[viii]</a></span></p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[1]</a></span></p> - -<h1>STATEMENT<br /> -<span class="smaller">OF THE</span><br /> -PROVISION FOR THE POOR,<br /> -<span class="smaller">AND THE</span><br /> -CONDITION OF THE LABOURING CLASSES,<br /> -<span class="smaller">IN A CONSIDERABLE PORTION OF</span><br /> -AMERICA AND EUROPE.</h1> - -<p>The Commissioners appointed by His Majesty to -make a diligent and full Inquiry into the practical -operation of the Laws for the relief of the Poor, were -restricted by the words of their Commission to England -and Wales. As it was obvious, however, that -much instruction might be derived from the experience -of other countries, the Commissioners were authorized -by Viscount Melbourne, then His Majesty’s -Principal Secretary of State for the Home Department, -to extend the investigation as far as might be -found productive of useful results. At first they endeavoured -to effect this object through their personal -friends, and in this manner obtained several valuable -communications. But as this source of information -was likely to be soon exhausted, they requested -Viscount Palmerston, then His Majesty’s Principal -Secretary of State for the Foreign Department, to -obtain the assistance of the Diplomatic Body.</p> - -<p>In compliance with this application, Viscount -Palmerston, by a circular dated the 12th of August, -1833, requested each of His Majesty’s Foreign<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[2]</a></span> -Ministers to procure and transmit, with the least -possible delay, a full report of the legal provisions -existing in the country in which he was resident, for -the support and maintenance of the poor; of the -principles on which such provision was founded; of -the manner in which it was administered; of the -amount and mode of raising the funds devoted to -that purpose; and of the practical working and -effect of the actual system, upon the comfort, character, -and condition of the inhabitants.</p> - -<p>The answers to these well-framed inquiries form a -considerable portion of the contents of the following -volume. They constitute, probably, the fullest collection -that has ever been made of laws for the relief -of the poor.</p> - -<p>But as a subject of such extent would necessarily -be treated by different persons in different manners, -and various degrees of attention given to its separate -branches, the Commissioners thought it advisable -that a set of questions should also be circulated, -which, by directing the attention of each inquirer -and informant to uniform objects, would enable the -influence of different systems on the welfare of the -persons subjected to them to be compared.</p> - -<p class="tbreak">For this purpose the following questions were -drawn up:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>The following Questions apply to Customs and Institutions -whether general throughout the State, or peculiar to certain Districts, -and to Relief given:</p> - -<ul> - -<li>1st. By the Voluntary Payment of Individuals or Corporate -Bodies.</li> - -<li>2nd. By Institutions specially endowed for that purpose.</li> - -<li>3rd. By the Government, either general or local.</li> - -<li>4th. By any one or more of these means combined.</li> - -</ul> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[3]</a></span></p> - -<p>And you are requested to state particularly the cases (if any) -in which the person relieved has a legal claim.</p> - -<h2>QUESTIONS.</h2> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Vagrants.</span></h3> - -<ul> - -<li>1. To what extent and under what form does mendicity prevail -in the several districts of the country?</li> - -<li>2. Is there any relief to persons passing through the country, -seeking work, returning to their native places, or living by -begging; and by whom afforded, and under what regulations?</li> - -</ul> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Destitute Able-bodied.</span></h3> - -<ul> - -<li>1. To what extent and under what regulations are they, or -any part of their families, billeted or quartered on householders?</li> - -<li>2. To what extent and under what regulations are they boarded -with individuals?</li> - -<li>3. To what extent and under what regulations are there district -houses of industry for receiving the destitute able-bodied, or -any part of their families, and supplying them with food, clothes, -&c., and in which they are set to work?</li> - -<li>4. To what extent and under what regulations do any religious -institutions give assistance to the destitute, by receiving them as -inmates, or by giving them alms?</li> - -<li>5. To what extent and under what regulations is work provided -at their own dwellings for those who have trades, but do -not procure work for themselves?</li> - -<li>6. To what extent and under what regulations is work provided -for such persons in agriculture or on public works?</li> - -<li>7. To what extent and under what regulations are fuel, clothing, -or money, distributed to such persons or their families; at -all times of the year, or during any particular seasons?</li> - -<li>8. To what extent and under what regulations are they relieved -by their children being taken into schools, and fed, clothed -and educated, or apprenticed?</li> - -<li>9. To what extent and under what regulations, and to what -degree of relationship are the relatives of the destitute compelled -to assist them with money, food, or clothing, or by taking charge -of part of their families?</li> - -<li>10. To what extent and under what regulations are they assisted -by loans?</li> - -</ul> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[4]</a></span></p> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Impotent Through Age.</span></h3> - -<ul> - -<li>1. To what extent and under what regulations are there almshouses -or other institutions for the reception of those who, through age, -are incapable of earning their subsistence?</li> - -<li>2. To what extent and under what regulations is relief in food, -fuel, clothing, or money afforded them at their homes?</li> - -<li>3. To what extent, and under what regulations, are they boarded -with individuals?</li> - -<li>4. To what extent and under what regulations are they quartered -or billeted on householders?</li> - -<li>5. To what extent and under what regulations, and to what degree -of relationship, are their relatives compelled to assist them with -money, food, or clothing, or by taking part of their families?</li> - -</ul> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Sick.</span></h3> - -<ul> - -<li>1. To what extent and under what regulations are there district -institutions for the reception of the sick?</li> - -<li>2. To what extent and under what regulations are surgical -and medical relief afforded to the poor at their own homes?</li> - -<li>3. To what extent and under what regulations are there institutions -for affording food, fuel, clothing, or money to the -sick?</li> - -<li>4. To what extent and under what regulations is assistance -given to lying-in women at their homes, or in public establishments?</li> - -<li>5. To what extent and under what regulations are there any -other modes of affording public assistance to the sick?</li> - -</ul> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Children</span>:</h3> - -<h4><i>Illegitimate.</i></h4> - -<ul> - -<li>1. Upon whom does the support of illegitimate children fall; -wholly upon the mothers, or wholly upon the fathers; or is the -expense distributed between them, and in what proportion, and -under what regulations?</li> - -<li>2. To what extent and under what regulations are the relatives -of the mothers or fathers ever compelled to assist in the -maintenance of bastards?</li> - -<li>3. To what extent and under what regulations are illegitimate -children supported at the public expense?</li> - -</ul> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[5]</a></span></p> - -<h4><i>Orphans, Foundlings, or Deserted Children.</i></h4> - -<ul> - -<li>4. To what extent and under what regulations are they taken -into establishments for their reception?</li> - -<li>5. To what extent and under what regulations are they billeted -or quartered on householders?</li> - -<li>6. To what extent and under what regulations are they boarded -with individuals?</li> - -<li>7. To what extent and under what regulations, and to what -degree of relationship, are their relatives compelled to support -them?</li> - -</ul> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Cripples, Deaf and Dumb, and Blind.</span></h3> - -<ul> - -<li>1. To what extent and under what regulations are there establishments -for their reception?</li> - -<li>2. To what extent and under what regulations are they billeted -or quartered on householders?</li> - -<li>3. To what extent and under what regulations are they boarded -with individuals?</li> - -<li>4. To what extent and under what regulations, and to what -degree of relationship, are their relatives compelled to support -them?</li> - -</ul> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Idiots and Lunatics.</span></h3> - -<ul> - -<li>1. To what extent and under what regulations are there establishments -for their reception?</li> - -<li>2. To what extent and under what regulations are they billeted -or quartered on householders?</li> - -<li>3. To what extent and under what regulations are they boarded -with individuals?</li> - -<li>4. To what extent and under what regulations, and to what -degree of relationship, are their relatives compelled to support -them?</li> - -</ul> - -<h3><span class="smcap">Effects of the foregoing Institutions.</span></h3> - -<p>You are requested to state whether the receipt, or the expectation -of relief, appears to produce any and what effect,</p> - -<ul> - -<li>1st. On the industry of the labourers?</li> - -<li>2nd. On their frugality?</li> - -<li>3rd. On the age at which they marry?</li> - -<li>4th. On the mutual dependence and affection of parents, -children and other relatives?<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[6]</a></span></li> - -<li>5th. What, on the whole, is the condition of the able-bodied -and self-supporting labourer of the lowest class, as compared -with the condition of the person subsisting on alms or public -charity. Is the condition of the latter, as to food and freedom -from labour more or less eligible? <i>See</i> p. 261 and 335 of the -Poor Law Extracts.</li> - -</ul> - -<p>You are also requested to read the accompanying volume<a name="FNanchor_1" id="FNanchor_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a>, -published by the English Poor Law Commissioners, and to state -the existence of any similar mal-administration of the charitable -funds of the country in which you reside, and what are its -effects?</p> - -<p>You are also requested to forward all the dietaries which you -can procure of prisons, workhouses, almshouses and other institutions, -with translations expressing the amounts and quantities -in English money, weights and measures, and to state what -changes (if any) are proposed in the laws or institutions respecting -relief in the country in which you reside, and on what -grounds?</p> - -<p class="tbreak">In reply to the following Questions respecting Labourers, you -are requested to distinguish Agriculturists from Artisans, and the -Skilled from the Unskilled.</p> - -<ul> - -<li>1. What is the general amount of wages of an able-bodied -male labourer, by the day, the week, the month or the year, with -and without provisions, in summer and in winter?</li> - -<li>2. Is piece-work general?</li> - -<li>3. What, in the whole, might an average labourer, obtaining -an average amount of employment, both in day-work and in -piece-work, expect to earn in a year, including harvest-work, -and the value of all his advantages and means of living?</li> - -<li>4. State, as nearly as you can, the average annual expenditure -of labourers of different descriptions, specifying schooling for -children, religious teachers, &c.</li> - -<li>5. Is there any, and what employment for women and -children?</li> - -<li>6. What can women, and children under 16, earn per week, -in summer, in winter and harvest, and how employed?</li> - -<li>7. What, in the whole, might a labourer’s wife and four -children, aged 14, 11, 8 and 5 years respectively (the eldest a -boy), expect to earn in a year, obtaining, as in the former case,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[7]</a></span> -an average amount of employment?</li> - -<li>8. Could such a family subsist on the aggregate earnings of -the father, mother and children, and if so, on what food?</li> - -<li>9. Could it lay by anything, and how much?</li> - -<li>10. The average quantity of land annexed to a labourer’s habitation?</li> - -<li>11. What class of persons are the usual owners of labourers’ -habitations?</li> - -<li>12. The rent of labourers’ habitations, and price on sale?</li> - -<li>13. Whether any lands let to labourers; if so, the quantity to -each, and at what rent?</li> - -<li>14. The proportion of annual deaths to the whole population?</li> - -<li>15. The proportion of annual births to the whole population?</li> - -<li>16. The proportion of annual marriages to the whole population?</li> - -<li>17. The average number of children to a marriage?</li> - -<li>18. Proportion of legitimate to illegitimate births?</li> - -<li>19. The proportion of children that die before the end of their -first year?</li> - -<li>20. Proportion of children that die before the end of their -tenth year?</li> - -<li>21. Proportion of children that die before the end of their -eighteenth year.</li> - -<li>22. Average age of marriage, distinguishing males from -females?</li> - -<li>23. Causes by which marriages are delayed?</li> - -<li>24. Extent to which, 1st, the unmarried; 2nd, the married, -save?</li> - -<li>25. Mode in which they invest their savings?</li> - -</ul> - -<div class="footnotes"> -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_1" id="Footnote_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> Extracts from the information on the Administration of the Poor Laws.</p> -</div> -</div> - -</div> - -<p>These questions, together with the volume to which -they refer, of Extracts of Information on the Administration -of the Poor Laws, were transmitted by -Viscount Palmerston to His Majesty’s Foreign Ministers -and Consuls on the 30th November, 1833.</p> - -<p>The replies to them form the remaining contents -of the following pages.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[8]</a></span></p> - -<p>It will be perceived, therefore, that this volume -contains documents of three different kinds:</p> - -<ul> - -<li>1. Private Communications.</li> - -<li>2. Diplomatic Answers to the general inquiries -suggested by Viscount Palmerston’s circular of the -12th of August, 1833.</li> - -<li>3. Diplomatic Answers to the Questions framed -by the Commissioners, and contained in Viscount -Palmerston’s circular of the 30th November, 1833.</li> - -</ul> - -<p>Unfortunately, only a small portion of these documents -had arrived when the Commissioners made -their Report to His Majesty on the 20th February, -1834. The documents then received are contained -in the first 115 pages of this volume, and were printed -by order of the House of Commons, and delivered to -Members in May, 1834. Those subsequently received -were transmitted to the printers as soon as the -requisite translations of those portions which were -not written in English or French could be prepared. -If it had been practicable to defer printing any portion -until the whole was ready, they might have been -much more conveniently arranged. But to this -course there were two objections. First, the impossibility -of ascertaining from what places documents -would be received; and secondly, the difficulty of -either printing within a short period so large a -volume, containing so much tabular matter, or of -keeping the press standing for six or seven months. -The Parliamentary printers have a much larger stock -of type than any other establishment, but even their -resources did not enable them to keep unemployed -for months the type required for many hundred -closely-printed folio pages. The arrangement, therefore, -of the following papers is in a great measure<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[9]</a></span> -casual, depending much less on the nature of the -documents than on the times at which they were -received. The following short summary of their -contents, may, it is hoped, somewhat diminish this -inconvenience.</p> - -<p>I.—The Private Communications consist of,</p> - -<table class="contents" summary="Private communications"> - <tr> - <td></td><td class="tdr smaller">Page</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>1. Two Papers by Count Arrivabene, containing an account of the labouring population of Gaesbeck, a village about nine miles from -Brussels (p. 1.); and a description of the state of the Poor Colonies of Holland and Belgium in 1829</td><td class="tdr">610</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>2. A Report, by Captain Brandreth, on the Belgian Poor Colonies, in 1832</td><td class="tdr">15</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>3. A Statement, by M. Ducpétiaux, of the Situation of the Belgian Poor Colonies, in 1832</td><td class="tdr">619</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>4. An Essay on the comparative state of the Poor in England and France, by M. de Chateauvieux</td><td class="tdr">2</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>5. Notes on the Administration of the Relief of the Poor in France, by Ashurst Majendie, Esq.</td><td class="tdr">34</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>6. A Report made by M. Gindroz to the Grand Council of the Canton de Vaud, on Petitions for the Establishment of Almshouses</td><td class="tdr">53</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>7. A Report by Commissioners appointed by the House of Representatives, on the Pauper System of Massachusetts</td><td class="tdr">57</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>8. A Report by the Secretary of State, giving an Abstract of the Reports of the Superintendents of the Poor of the State of New -York</td><td class="tdr">99</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>9. A Report by Commissioners appointed to draw up a Project of a Poor Law for Norway</td><td class="tdr">701</td> - </tr> -</table> - -<p>II.—The following are the answers to Viscount -Palmerston’s Circular of the 12th August, 1833.</p> - -<p>Some of these Reports were transmitted to the Commissioners without -signatures. The names of the Authors have been since furnished by the -Foreign Office, and are now added.</p> - -<p class="center"><span class="smcap">America</span>.</p> - -<table class="contents" summary="Responses to circular, from America"> - <tr> - <td>1. <i>New York</i>—Report from James Buchanan, Esq., his Majesty’s Consul</td><td class="tdr">109</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[10]</a></span>2. <i>New Hampshire and Maine</i>—Report from J. Y. Sherwood, Esq., Acting British Consul</td><td class="tdr">111</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>3. <i>The Floridas and Alabama</i>—Report from James Baker, Esq., his Majesty’s Consul</td><td class="tdr">113</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>4. <i>Louisiana</i>—Report from George Salkeld, Esq., ditto</td><td class="tdr">115</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>5. <i>South Carolina</i>—Report from W. Ogilby, Esq., ditto</td><td class="tdr">117</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>6. <i>Georgia</i>—Report from E. Molyneux, Esq., ditto</td><td class="tdr">123</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>7. <i>Massachusetts</i>—Report from the Right Hon. Sir Charles R. Vaughan, his Majesty’s Minister</td><td class="tdr">123</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>8. <i>New Jersey</i>—Report from ditto</td><td class="tdr">673</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>9. <i>Pennsylvania</i>—Report from Gilbert Robertson, Esq., his Majesty’s Consul</td><td class="tdr">135</td> - </tr> -</table> - -<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Europe.</span></p> - -<table class="contents" summary="Responses to circular, from Europe"> - <tr> - <td>1. <i>Sweden</i>—Report from Lord Howard de Walden, his Majesty’s Minister</td><td class="tdr">343</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>2. <i>Russia</i>—Report from Hon. J. D. Bligh, ditto</td><td class="tdr">323</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>3. <i>Prussia</i>—Report from Robert Abercrombie, Esq., his Majesty’s Chargé-d’Affaires</td><td class="tdr">425</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>4. <i>Wurtemberg</i>—Report from Sir E. C. Disbrowe, his Majesty’s Minister</td><td class="tdr">483</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>5. <i>Holland</i>—Report from Hon. G. S. Jerningham, his Majesty’s Chargé-d’Affaires</td><td class="tdr">571</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>6. <i>Belgium</i>—Report from the Right Hon. Sir R. Adair, his Majesty’s Minister</td><td class="tdr">591</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>7. <i>Switzerland</i>—Report from D. R. Marries, Esq., ditto</td><td class="tdr">190</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>8. <i>Venice</i>—Report from W. T. Money, Esq., his Majesty’s Consul-General</td><td class="tdr">663</td> - </tr> -</table> - -<p>III.—Answers to the Questions suggested by the -Commissioners, and circulated by Viscount Palmerston -on the 30th November, 1833, have been received -from the following places:</p> - -<p class="center"><span class="smcap">America.</span></p> - -<table class="contents" summary="Responses to questions, from America"> - <tr> - <td>1. <i>Massachusetts</i>—by George Manners, Esq., his Majesty’s Consul</td><td class="tdr">680</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>2. <i>New York</i>—by James Buchanan, Esq., ditto</td><td class="tdr">156</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>3. <i>Mexico</i>—R. Packenham, Esq., his Majesty’s Chargé-d’Affaires</td><td class="tdr">688</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[11]</a></span>4. <i>Carthagenia de Columbia</i>—by J. Ayton, Esq., British Pro-Consul</td><td class="tdr">164</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>5. <i>Venezuela</i>—by Sir R. K. Porter, his Majesty’s Consul</td><td class="tdr">161</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>6. <i>Maranham</i>—by John Moon, Esq., ditto</td><td class="tdr">692</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>7. <i>Bahia</i>—John Parkinson, Esq., ditto</td><td class="tdr">731</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>8. <i>Uruguay</i>—by T. S. Hood, Esq., his Majesty’s Consul-General</td><td class="tdr">722</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>9. <i>Hayti</i>—by G. W. Courtenay, Esq., ditto</td><td class="tdr">167</td> - </tr> -</table> - -<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Europe.</span></p> - -<table class="contents" summary="Responses to questions, from Europe"> - <tr> - <td>1. <i>Norway</i>—by Consuls Greig and Mygind</td><td class="tdr">695</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>2. <i>Sweden</i>—by Hon. J. H. D. Bloomfield, his Majesty’s Secretary of Legation</td><td class="tdr">372</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level2">(<i>a</i>). <i>Gottenburg</i>—by H. T. Liddell, Esq., his Majesty’s Consul</td><td class="tdr">384</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>3. <i>Russia</i>—by Hon. J. D. Bligh, his Majesty’s Minister</td><td class="tdr">330</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level2">(<i>a</i>). <i>Archangel</i>—by T. C. Hunt, Esq., his Majesty’s Consul 337</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level2">(<i>b</i>). <i>Courland</i>—by F. Kienitz, Esq., ditto</td><td class="tdr">339</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>4. <i>Denmark</i>—by Peter Browne, Esq., his Majesty’s Secretary of Legation</td><td class="tdr">263</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level2">(<i>a</i>). <i>Elsinore</i>—by F. C. Macgregor, Esq., his Majesty’s Consul</td><td class="tdr">292</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>5. <i>Hanseatic Towns:</i></td><td class="tdr"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level2">(<i>a</i>). <i>Hamburgh</i>—by H. Canning, Esq., his Majesty’s Consul-General</td><td class="tdr">390</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level2">(<i>b</i>). <i>Bremen</i>—by G. E. Papendick, Esq., British Vice-Consul</td><td class="tdr">410</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level2">(<i>c</i>). <i>Lubeck</i>—by W. L. Behnes, Esq., ditto</td><td class="tdr">415</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>6. <i>Mecklenburgh</i>—by G. Meyen, Esq., ditto</td><td class="tdr">421</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>7. <i>Dantzig</i>—by Alexander Gibsone, Esq., his Majesty’s Consul</td><td class="tdr">459</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>8. <i>Saxony</i>—by Hon. F. R. Forbes, his Majesty’s Minister</td><td class="tdr">479</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>9. <i>Wurtemberg</i>—by Hon. W. Wellesley, Chargé-d’Affaires</td><td class="tdr">507</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>10. <i>Bavaria</i>—by Lord Erskine, his Majesty’s Minister</td><td class="tdr">554</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>11. <i>Frankfort on the Main</i>—by —— Koch, Esq., his Majesty’s Consul</td><td class="tdr">564</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>12. <i>Amsterdam</i>—by R. Melvil, Esq., ditto</td><td class="tdr">581</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[12]</a></span>13. <i>Belgium:</i></td><td class="tdr"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level2">(<i>a</i>). <i>Antwerp and Boom</i>—by Baron de Hochepied Larpent, his Majesty’s Consul</td><td class="tdr">627</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level2">(<i>b</i>). <i>Ostend</i>—by G. A. Fauche, Esq., ditto</td><td class="tdr">641</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>14. <i>France:</i></td><td class="tdr"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level2">(<i>a</i>). <i>Havre</i>—by Arch. Gordon, Esq., his Majesty’s Consul</td><td class="tdr">179</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level2">(<i>b</i>). <i>Brest</i>—by A. Perrier, Esq., ditto</td><td class="tdr">724</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level2">(<i>c</i>). <i>La Loire Inferieure</i>—by Henry Newman, Esq., ditto</td><td class="tdr">171</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level2">(<i>d</i>). <i>Bourdeaux</i>—by T. B. G. Scott, Esq., ditto</td><td class="tdr">229</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level2">(<i>e</i>). <i>Bayonne</i>—by J. V. Harvey, Esq., ditto</td><td class="tdr">260</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level2">(<i>f</i>). <i>Marseilles</i>—by Alexander Turnbull, Esq., ditto</td><td class="tdr">186</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>15. <i>Portugal</i>—by Lieut. Col. Lorell, ditto</td><td class="tdr">642</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>16. <i>The Azores</i>—by W. H. Read, Esq., ditto</td><td class="tdr">643</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>17. <i>Canary Islands</i>—by Richard Bartlett, Esq., ditto</td><td class="tdr">686</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>18. <i>Sardinian States</i>—by Sir Augustus Foster, his Majesty’s Minister</td><td class="tdr">648</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>19. <i>Greece</i>—by E. J. Dawkins, Esq., ditto</td><td class="tdr">665</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level2">(<i>a</i>). <i>Patras</i>—by G. W. Crowe, Esq., his Majesty’s Consul</td><td class="tdr">668</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>20. <i>European Turkey</i>—</td><td class="tdr">669</td> - </tr> -</table> - -<p>It is impossible, within the limits of a Preface, to -give more than a very brief outline of the large mass -of information contained in this volume, respecting -the provision made for the poor in America and in -the Continent of Europe.</p> - -<hr /> - -<h2>AMERICA.</h2> - -<p>It may be stated that, with respect to America, a -legal provision is made for paupers in every part of -the United States from which we have returns, excepting -Georgia and Louisiana; and that no such -provision exists in Brazil or in Hayti, or, as far as is -shown by these returns, in any of the countries -originally colonized by Spain.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[13]</a></span></p> - -<p>The system in the United States was of course derived -from England, and modified in consequence, -not only of the local circumstances of the country, -but also of the prevalence of slavery in many of the -States, and of federal institutions which by recognising -to a certain extent each State as an independent -sovereignty, prevent the removal from one State of -paupers who are natives of another. Such paupers -are supported in some of the northern districts not -by local assessments, but out of the general income -of the State, under the name of state paupers.</p> - -<p>The best mode of treating this description of paupers -is a matter now in discussion in the United -States.</p> - -<p>The following passage in the report of the Commissioners -appointed to revise the civil code of Pennsylvania, -shows the inconveniences arising from the -absence of a national provision for them: (pp. 139, -143.)</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>We may be permitted to suggest one alteration of the present -law, of considerable importance. In Massachusetts and New -York, and perhaps in some other States, paupers who have no -settlement in the State are relieved at the expense of the State. -In this commonwealth the burthen falls upon the particular -district in which the pauper may happen to be. This often occasions -considerable expense to certain counties or places from which -others are exempt. The construction of a bridge or canal, for -instance, will draw to a particular neighbourhood a large number -of labourers, many of whom may have no settlement in the -State. If disabled by sickness or accident, they must be relieved -by the township in which they became disabled, although their -labour was employed for the benefit of the State or county, as the -case may be, and not for the benefit of the township alone. If -provision were made for the payment of the expenses incurred by -the township in such case out of the county, or perhaps the State -treasury, we think that it would be more just, and that the unhappy -labourer would be more likely to obtain adequate relief, -than if left to the scanty resources of a single township. A case<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[14]</a></span> -which is stated in the second volume of the Pennsylvania Reports -(<i>Overseers v. M’Coy</i>, p. 432), in which it appeared, that -a person employed as a labourer on the State Canal, and who -was severely wounded in the course of his employment, was -passed from one township to another, in consequence of the disinclination -to incur the expense of supporting him, until he died -of the injury received, shows in a strong light the inconvenience -and perils of the present system respecting casual paupers, and -may serve to excuse our calling the attention of the legislature -to the subject.</p> - -</div> - -<p>On the other hand, the Commissioners appointed -to revise the poor laws of Massachusetts, after stating -that the national provision in their State for the -unsettled poor has existed ever since the year 1675, -recommend its abolition, by arguments, a portion of -which we shall extract, as affording an instructive -picture of the worst forms of North American pauperism: -(pp. 59, 60, 61.)</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>It will appear (say the Commissioners), that of the whole -number more or less assisted during the last year, that is, of -12,331 poor, 5927 were State’s poor, and 6063 were town’s -poor; making the excess of town’s over State’s poor to have -been only 497. The proportion which, it will be perceived, that -the State’s poor bear to the town’s poor, is itself a fact of startling -interest. We have not the means of ascertaining the actual -growth of this class of the poor. But if it may be estimated by -a comparison of the State’s allowance for them in 1792-3, the -amount of which, in round numbers, was $14,000, with the -amount of the allowance twenty-seven years afterwards, that is, -in 1820, when it was $72,000, it suggests matter for very serious -consideration. So sensitive, indeed, to the increasing weight of -the burthen had the legislature become even in 1798, when the -allowance was but $27,000 that “an Act” was passed, “specifying -the kind of evidence required to accompany accounts exhibited -for the support of the poor of the Commonwealth.” In -1821, with a view to still further relief from the evil, the law -limited its allowance to 90 cents a week for adults, and to 50 -cents for children; and again, for the same end, it was enacted,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[15]</a></span> -in 1823, that “no one over twelve, and under sixty years of age, -and in good health, should be considered a State pauper.” The -allowance is now reduced to 70 cents per week for adults, and -proportionally for children; and in the cases in which the poor -of this class have become an integral part of the population of -towns, and in which, from week to week, through protracted -sickness, or from any cause, they are for the year supported by -public bounty, the expense for them is sometimes greater than -this allowance. But this is comparatively a small proportion of -the State’s poor: far the largest part, as has been made to appear, -consists of those who are but occasionally assisted, and, in -some instances, of those of whom there seems to be good reason -to infer, from the expense accounts, that they make a return -in the product of their labour to those who have the charge of -them, which might well exonerate the Commonwealth from any -disbursements for their support. Even 70 cents a week, therefore, -or any definable allowance, we believe, has a direct tendency -to increase this class of the poor; for a charity will not generally -be very resolutely withheld, where it is known that, if dispensed, -it will soon be refunded. And we leave it to every one to judge -whether almsgiving, under the influence of this motive, and to -a single and defined class, has not a direct tendency at once to -the increase of its numbers, and to a proportionate earnestness -of importunity for it.</p> - -<p>It is also not to be doubted, that a large proportion of this -excess of State’s poor, more or less assisted during the year, -consist of those who are called in the statements herewith presented, -“wandering or travelling poor.” The single fact of the -existence among us of this class of fellow-beings, especially considered -in connexion with the facts, that nearly all of them are -State’s poor, and that, to a great extent, they have been made -what they are by the State’s provision for them, brings the subject -before us in a bearing, in which we scarcely know whether -the call is loudest to the pity we should feel for them, or the self-reproach -with which we should recur to the measures we have -sanctioned, and which have alike enlarged their numbers and -their misery. Nor is it a matter of mere inference from our -tables, that the number is very large of these wandering poor. -To a considerable extent, and it is now regretted that it was not -to a greater extent, the inquiry was proposed to overseers of the -poor, “How many of the wandering, or travelling poor, annually<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[16]</a></span> -pass under your notice?” And the answers, as will appear in -the statements, were from 10 to 50, and 100 to 200. Nor is -there a more abject class of our fellow-beings to be found in our -country than is this class of the poor. Almshouses, where they -are to be found, are their inns, at which they stop for refreshment. -Here they find rest, when too much worn with fatigue to -travel, and medical aid when they are sick. And, as they choose -not to labour, they leave these stopping places, when they have -regained strength to enable them to travel, and pass from town -to town, <i>demanding</i> their portion of the State’s allowance for -them as <i>their right</i>. And from place to place they receive a -portion of this allowance, as the easiest mode of getting rid of -them, and they talk of the allowance as their “rations;” and, -when lodged for a time, from the necessity of the case, with -town’s poor, it is their boast that they, by the State’s allowance -for them, support the town’s inmates of the house. These unhappy -fellow-beings often travel with females, sometimes, but not -always their wives; while yet, in the towns in which they take -up their temporary abode, they are almost always recognized and -treated as sustaining this relation. There are exceptions, but -they are few, of almshouses in which they are not permitted to -live together. In winter they seek the towns in which they hope -for the best accommodations and the best living, and where the -smallest return will be required for what they receive. It is -painful thus to speak of these human beings, lest, in bringing -their degradation distinctly before the mind, we should even for -a moment check the commiseration which is so strongly claimed -for them. We feel bound therefore to say, that bad as they are, -they are scarcely less sinned against in the treatment they receive, -than they commit sin in the lawlessness of their lives. Everywhere -viewed, and feeling themselves to be outcasts; possessed -of nothing, except the miserable clothing which barely covers -them; accustomed to beggary, and wholly dependent upon it; -with no local attachments, except those which grow out of the -facilities which in some places they may find for a more unrestrained -indulgence than in others; with no friendships, and -neither feeling nor awakening sympathy; is it surprising that -they are debased and shameless, alternately insolent and servile, -importunate for the means of subsistence and self-gratification, -and averse from every means but that of begging to obtain them? -The peculiar attraction of these unhappy fellow beings to our<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[17]</a></span> -Commonwealth, and their preference for it over the States to the -south of us, we believe is to be found in the legal provision which -the State has made for them. Your Commissioners have indeed -but a small amount of direct evidence of this; but the testimony -of the chairman of the overseers in Egrement to this fact, derived -from personal knowledge, was most unequivocal, and no doubt -upon the subject existed in the minds of the overseers in many -other towns. But shall we therefore condemn, or even severely -blame, them? Considered and treated, in almost every place, as -interlopers, strollers, vagrants; as objects of suspicion and dread, -and, too often, scarcely as human beings; the cheapest methods -are adopted of sending them from town to town, and often with the -assurance given to them that <i>there</i>, and not <i>here</i>, are accommodations -for them, and that <i>there</i> they may enjoy the bounty which -the State has provided for them. Would such a state of things, -your Commissioners ask, have existed in our Commonwealth, if a -specific legal provision had not been made for this class of the -poor? Or, we do not hesitate to ask, if the Government had -never recognized such a class of the poor as that of State’s poor,—and, -above all, if compulsory charity, in any form, had never -been established by our laws, would there have been a twentieth -part of the wandering poor which now exists in it, or by any -means an equal proportion of poor of any kind with that which is -now dependent upon the taxes which are raised for them? Your -Commissioners think not.</p> - -</div> - -<p>Either an increase of the evils of pauperism, or a -clearer perception of them, has induced most of -the States during the last 10 years to make, both -in their laws for the relief of the poor and in the -administration of those laws, changes of great importance. -They consist principally in endeavouring -to avoid giving relief out of the workhouse, and in -making the workhouse an abode in which none but -the really destitute will continue. Compared with -our own, the system is, in general, rigid.</p> - -<p>In the detailed account of the workhouses in -Massachusetts, (pages 68 to 93,) the separation of -the sexes appears to be the general rule wherever<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[18]</a></span> -local circumstances do not interfere: a rule from -which exceptions are in some places made in favour -of married couples. And in the returns from many -of the towns it is stated that no relief is given out -of the house.</p> - -<p>The following passages from the returns from -New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York, are also -evidences of a general strictness of law and of administration.</p> - -<p>By the laws of New Jersey,</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>The goods and chattels of any pauper applying for relief are to -be inventoried by the overseer before granting any relief, and -afterwards sold to reimburse the township, out of the proceeds, all -expenses they have been at; all sales of which by the pauper, -after he becomes chargeable, are void.<a name="FNanchor_2" id="FNanchor_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>The same rule prevails in Pennsylvania. When -any person becomes chargeable, the overseers or -directors of the poor are required to sue for and -recover all his property, to be employed in defraying -the expense of his subsistence.<a name="FNanchor_3" id="FNanchor_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a></p> - -<p>By the laws of the same State,</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>No person shall be entered on the poor-book of any district, or -receive relief from any overseers, before such person, or some one -in his behalf, shall have procured an order from two magistrates of -the county for the same; and in case any overseer shall enter in -the poor-book or relieve any such poor person without such order, -he shall forfeit a sum equal to the amount or value given, unless -such entry or relief shall be approved of by two magistrates as -aforesaid. (p. 142.)</p> - -</div> - -<p>Nor is the relief always given gratuitously, or -the pauper always at liberty to accept and give it -up as he may think fit; for by a recent enactment<a name="FNanchor_4" id="FNanchor_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a> -the guardians are authorized—</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[19]</a></span></p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>To open an account with the pauper, and to charge him for his -maintenance, and credit him the value of his services; and all -idle persons who may be sent to the almshouse by any of the said -guardians, may be detained in the said house by the board of -guardians, and compelled to perform such work and services as the -said board may order and direct, until they have compensated by -their labour for the expenses incurred on their account, unless -discharged by special permission of the board of guardians; and -it shall be the duty of the said board of guardians to furnish such -person or persons as aforesaid with sufficient work and employment, -according to their physical abilities, so that the opportunity -of reimbursement may be fully afforded: and for the more complete -carrying into effect the provisions of this law, the said board -of guardians are hereby authorized and empowered to exercise -such authority as may be necessary to compel all persons within the -said almshouse and house of employment to do and perform all -such work, labour, and services as may be assigned to them by the -said board of guardians, provided the same be not inconsistent -with the condition or ability of such person.</p> - -<p>And whereas it frequently happens that children who have been -receiving public support for indefinite periods are claimed by their -parents when they arrive at a proper age for being bound out, the -guardians are authorized to bind out all children that have or may -receive public support, either in the almshouse or children’s -asylum, although their parents may demand their discharge from -the said institutions, unless the expenses incurred in their support -be refunded.</p> - -</div> - -<p>In New York the administration of the law is -even more severe than this enactment:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>With respect to poor children, (says Mr. Buchanan,) a system -prevails in New York, which, though seemingly harsh and unfeeling, -has a very powerful influence to deter families from resorting -to the commissioners of the poor for support, or an -asylum in the establishment for the poor; namely, that the commissioners -or overseers apprentice out the children, and disperse -them to distant parts of the State; and on no account will inform -the parents where they place their children. (p. 110.)</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnotes"> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_2" id="Footnote_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> New Jersey Revised Laws, p. 679.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_3" id="Footnote_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> Act of 1819, p. 155.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_4" id="Footnote_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> Act of 5th March, 1828, p. 149.</p> -</div> - -</div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[20]</a></span></p> - -<h2>EUROPE.</h2> - -<p>It appears from the returns that a legal claim to -relief exists in Norway, Sweden, Russia, Denmark, -Mecklenburg, Prussia, Wurtemberg, Bavaria, and -the Canton de Berne; but does not exist in the -Hanseatic Towns, Holland, Belgium, France, Portugal, -the Sardinian States, Frankfort, Venice, -Greece, or Turkey. The return from Saxony does -not afford data from which the existence or non-existence -of such a claim can be inferred.</p> - -<p>The great peculiarity of the system in the North -of Europe is the custom of affording relief by quartering -the paupers on the landholders in the country -and on householders in the towns.</p> - -<hr /> - -<h3>NORWAY.</h3> - -<p>Consuls Greig and Mygind, the authors of the -return from Norway, state, that the—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>Impotent through age, cripples, and others who cannot subsist -themselves, are, in the country districts, billeted or quartered on -such of the inhabitants (house and landholders in the parish) as -have the means of providing for them. By them they are furnished -with clothing and food, and they are in return expected to -perform such light services as they can. In the distribution, -respect is had to the extent or value of the different farms, and -to the number of the indigent, which varies greatly in different -parishes. In some they have so few poor that only one pauper -falls to the lot of five or six farms, who then take him in rotation; -whilst in other parishes they have a pauper quartered on -every farm or estate all the year round, and on the larger ones -several. (p. 696.)</p> - -</div> - -<p>It is to be regretted that the information respecting -the existing poor laws of Norway is not more full -and precise. The return contains two projects of -law, or in other words, bills, for the relief of the poor -in the country and in towns, drawn up in 1832, in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[21]</a></span> -obedience to a government commission issued in -1829; and also the arguments of the commissioners -in their support; but it does not state how far -these projects have been adopted.</p> - -<p>In treating of the modes of relief, the bill for the -country states that,</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>Section 26. The main principle to be observed everywhere in -affording relief is to maintain “lœgd,” or the outquartering of -the paupers, wherever it has existed or can be introduced, taking -care to avoid the separation of families. The regulation of -“lœgd,” where it has been once established among the farms, -should be as durable and as little liable to alteration as possible; -so that a fresh arrangement should be made only in instances -where there exists a considerable decrease or increase in the -number of the paupers quartered out, or a marked alteration in -the condition of the occupiers upon whom they are so quartered. -In the event of a fresh arrangement, it is desirable that the existing -paupers hitherto provided for should, in as far as may be -consistent with justice towards the parties to whom they are -quartered, continue to have “lœgd” upon the same farm or -farms where they have hitherto been relieved. Families not belonging -to the class of peasants are bound to have paupers quartered -upon them in “lœgd” in case they cultivate land; however, -the overseer of the district is competent to grant permission to -them as well as to other “lœgds-ydere,” to let out the “lœgd” -when he finds that they individually are unable to provide for the -pauper on their own lands, and the letting out can be effected -without any considerable inconvenience to the latter. (p. 704.)</p> - -<p>27. When a new regulation of “lœgd” takes place, or new -“lœgd” is established, a statement in writing of the “lœgd,” or -outquartering intended, is to be issued by the commission, or by -the overseer on its behalf, containing the name of the pauper to -be outquartered, and the farm or farms on which he shall receive -“lœgd,” and in case it is on several, the rotation, and for what -period, on each. In case the “lœgd” is only to be during the -winter, or during a certain part of the year, this likewise is to be -stated. In like manner the houseless and others, who are provided -with relief in kind from particular farms, are to be furnished -with a note setting forth the quantity the individual has to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[22]</a></span> -demand of each farm, and the time at which he is entitled to demand -the same. In default of the furnishing of these contributions -in proper time, they are to be enforced by execution, -through the lensmand. (p. 705.)</p> - -<p>5. In case the house poor, and other poor who are not quartered -out, conduct themselves improperly, are guilty of idleness, -drunkenness, incivility, obstinacy or quarrelsomeness, the overseer -is entitled to give them a serious reprimand; and in case -this is unattended with any effect, to propose in the poor commission -the reduction of the allowance granted to the offender, to -the lowest scale possible. Should this prove equally devoid of -effect, or the allowance not bear any reduction, he may, in conjunction -with the president of the commission, report the case, at -the same time stating the names of the witnesses, to the sorenskriver<a name="FNanchor_5" id="FNanchor_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a>, -who on the next general or monthly sitting of the court, -after a brief inquiry, by an unappealable sentence shall punish the -guilty with imprisonment not exceeding 20 days, upon bread and -water.</p> - -<p>In case of a like report from the superintendent of the “lœgd,” -of improper conduct on the part of the pauper quartered out, the -overseer shall give the said offending pauper a severe reprimand; -and in case this likewise proves devoid of effect, the mode of proceeding -to be the same as has been stated already in reference to -the house poor.</p> - -<p>36. In case the person with whom a pauper has been quartered -out do not supply adequate relief, or ill use the pauper so quartered -upon him, and is regardless of the admonitions of the overseer, -an appeal to the sorenskriver is to take place, and in other -respects the mode of proceeding is to be the same as is enacted in -s. 35: when all the conduct complained of can be proved, for -which purpose, in default of other witnesses, the combined evidence -of the superintendent of the “lœgd,” and of the overseer, -is to be deemed sufficient, the offending party to be fined, according -to his circumstances and the nature of the case, from 2 to 20 -specie dollars, and in case of ill-usage, to be imprisoned on bread -and water for from 5 to 10 days; and in the event of a repetition -of the offence, for from 10 to 20 days.</p> - -<p>39. None may beg, but every person who is in such want that -he cannot provide for himself and those belonging to him, shall<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[23]</a></span> -apply for aid to the competent poor commission, or to the overseer. -In case any one is guilty of begging, for the first offence -he is to be seriously admonished by the overseer of the district in -which he has begged, who is likewise to point out to him what -consequences will follow a repetition of the offence. In case he -offends afterwards, he is to be punished according to the enactments -set forth in s. 35; and afterwards, in case of a repetition -of the offence, with from two months’ to a year’s confinement in -the house of correction.</p> - -<p>A person is not to be accounted a beggar who asks only for -food, when it appears that his want of sustenance is so great that -unless he tried to procure immediate relief he would be exposed to -perish of hunger, provided he immediately afterwards applies to -the overseer of the district for relief; or in case the poor administration -is unable to relieve all the poor in years of scarcity, -save in a very scanty manner, and the hungry mendicant then -confines himself to the soliciting of food. (p. 706.)</p> - -</div> - -<p>The bill directs that the poor-fund shall consist, -in the country,</p> - -<p>1. Of the interest of legacies, and other property -belonging to it.</p> - -<p>2. An annual tax of 12 skillings (equal according -to Dr. Kelly, Univ. Cambist, vol. 1, p. 32, to -2<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i> sterling,) on each hunsmand or cottager, and -on each man servant, and six skillings on each -woman servant.</p> - -<p>3. A duty on stills equal to half the duty paid to -the State.</p> - -<p>4. Penalties directed by the existing laws to be -paid over to that fund.</p> - -<p>5. The property left by paupers, if they leave no -wife or children unprovided for.</p> - -<p>6. An annual assessment on the occupiers of -land, and on all others capable of contributing, -such as men servants, clerks, tutors, and pilots.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[24]</a></span></p> - -<p>In towns,</p> - -<p>Of all the above-mentioned funds, except No. 2, -and of a tax of one skilling (2½<i>d.</i> sterling) per pot -on all imported fermented liquors.</p> - -<p>We have already remarked that the report does -not state how far this bill has passed into a law, or -how its enactments differ from the existing law: -they appear likely, unless counteracted by opposing -causes, to lead to considerable evils. The relief -by way of lœgd resembles in some respects our -roundsman system. It is, however, less liable to -abuse in one respect, because the lœgd, being -wholly supported by the lœgd-yder, must be felt -as an incumbrance by the farmer, instead of a -source of profit. On the other hand, the situation -of the country pauper cannot be much worse than -that of the independent labourer; and in towns, -though this temptation to idleness and improvidence -may be avoided by giving relief in the workhouse, -the temptation to give out-door and profuse -relief must be considerable, since a large portion -of the poor-fund is derived from general sources, -and only a small part from assessment to which the -distributors of relief are themselves exposed. It is -probable that the excellent habits of the population, -and the great proportion of landowners, may -enable the Norwegians to support a system of relief -which in this country would soon become intolerable.</p> - -<div class="footnotes"> -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_5" id="Footnote_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_5"><span class="label">[5]</span></a> Sorenskriver, an officer in the country, whose duties are chiefly those of -a registrar and judge in the lowest court.</p> -</div> -</div> - -<hr /> - -<h3>SWEDEN.</h3> - -<p>The fullest statement of the pauperism of Sweden -is to be found in a paper by M. de Hartsmansdorff, -the Secretary of State for Ecclesiastical Affairs, -(p. 368); an extract from Colonel Forsell’s<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[25]</a></span> -Swedish Statistics, published in 1833, (p. 375); -and Replies to the Commissioners’ Queries from -Stockholm, (p. 372), and from Gottenburgh, (p. -384.)</p> - -<p>M. de Hartsmansdorff states that every parish is -bound to support its own poor, and that the fund -for that purpose arises from voluntary contribution, -(of which legacies and endowments appear to form -a large portion,) the produce of certain fines and -penalties, and rates levied in the country in proportion -to the value of estates, and in towns on the -property or income of the inhabitants. Settlement -depends on residence, and on that ground the inhabitants -of a parish may prevent a stranger from -residing among them. A similar provision is considered -in the Norwegian report, and rejected, -(p. 718,) but exists in almost every country adopting -the principle of parochial relief, and allowing a -settlement by residence. An appeal is given, both -to the pauper and to the parishioners, to the governor -of the province, and ultimately to the King.</p> - -<p>M. de Hartsmansdorff’s paper is accompanied by -a table, containing the statement of the persons relieved -in 1829, which states them to have amounted -to 63,348 out of a population of 2,780,132, or -about one in forty-two. This differs from Colonel -Forsell’s statement, (p. 376,) that in 1825 they -amounted to 544,064, or about one in five. It is -probable that Colonel Forsell includes all those -who received assistance from voluntary contributions. -“In Stockholm,” he adds, “there are 83 -different boards for affording relief to the poor, independent -one of the other, so that it happens -often that a beggar receives alms at three, four, or<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[26]</a></span> -five different places.” There is also much discrepancy -as to the nature and extent of the relief -afforded to the destitute able-bodied. We are told -in the Stockholm return, (p. 372,) that no legal -provision is made for them; but by the Gottenburgh -return, (pp. 384 and 386,) it appears that they are -relieved by being billeted on householders, or by -money.</p> - -<p>The following severe provisions of the law of -the 19th June, 1833, seem directed against them. -By that law any person who is without property -and cannot obtain employment, or neglects to provide -himself with any, and cannot obtain sureties -for the payment of his taxes, rates, and penalties, -is denominated unprotected (förswarlös). An unprotected -person is placed almost at the disposal -of the police, who are to allow him a fixed period -to obtain employment, and to require him to proceed -in search of it to such places as they think fit.</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>Should any person, (the law goes on to say,) who has led an -irreproachable life, and has become unprotected, not through an -unsteady or reprehensible conduct, but from causes which -cannot be reasonably laid to his charge, and who has obtained -an extension of time for procuring protection, still remains -without yearly employment or other lawful means of support, -and not be willing to try in other places to gain the means of -support, or shall have transgressed the orders that may have been -given him, and (being a male person) should not prefer to enlist -in any regiment, or in the royal navy, or should not possess the -requisite qualifications for that purpose, the person shall be sent -to be employed on such public works as may be going on in the -neighbourhood, or to a work institution within the county, until -such time as another opportunity may offer for his maintenance; -he shall however be at liberty, when the usual notice-day arrives, -and until next moving-time, to try to obtain legal protection with -any person within the county who may require his services, under<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[27]</a></span> -the obligation to return to the public work institution in the event -of his not succeeding. Should there be no public work to be had -in the neighbourhood, or the person cannot, for want of necessary -room, be admitted, he shall be sent to a public house of correction, -and remain there, without however being mixed with evil-disposed -persons or such as may have been punished for crimes, -until some means may be found for him or her to obtain a lawful -maintenance.—(p. 362.)</p> - -<p>Servants or other unprotected persons who have of their own -accord relinquished their service or constant employ, and by -means of such or other reprehensible conduct have been legally -turned out of their employ, or who do not perform service with -the master or mistress who has allowed such person to be rated -and registered with them, or who, in consequence of circumstances -which ought to be ascribed to the unprotected person himself, -shall become deprived of their lawful means of support, but -who may not be considered as evil-disposed persons, shall be -bound to provide themselves with lawful occupations within 14 -days, if it be in a town, and within double that number of days if -it be in the country. Should the unprotected person not be able -to accomplish this, it shall depend on Our lord-lieutenant how -far he may deem it expedient to grant a further extended time, -for a limited period, to a person thus circumstanced, in order to -procure himself means for his subsistence.—(p. 363).</p> - -<p>Such persons as may either not have been considered to be -entitled to an extension of time for procuring lawful maintenance, -or who, notwithstanding such permission, have not been able to -provide themselves with the same, shall be liable to do work, if a -man, at any of the corps of pioneers in the kingdom, and if a -woman, at a public house of correction. If the man is unfit for -a pioneer, he shall in lieu thereof be sent to a public house of -correction.—(p. 363.)</p> - -</div> - -<p>It appears that pauperism has increased under -the existing system. Mr. Bloomfield states that -since its institution the number of poor has increased -in proportion to the population (p. 368). -The Stockholm return states that—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>The main defect of the charitable institutions consists in a -very imperfect control over the application of their funds, the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[28]</a></span> -parish not being accountable for their distribution to any superior -authority. This is so much felt, that new regulations are contemplated -for bringing parish affairs more under the inspection of -a central board. Another great evil is, that each parish manages -its affairs quite independently of any other, and frequently in a -totally different manner; and there is no mutual inspection -among the parishes, which, it is supposed, would check abuses. -Again, parishes are not consistent in affording relief; they -often receive and treat an able-bodied impostor (who legally has -no claim on the parish) as an impotent or sick person, whilst -many of the latter description remain unaided.</p> - -<p>The Swedish artizan is neither so industrious nor so frugal as -formerly; he has heard that the destitute able-bodied are in -England supported by the parish; he claims similar relief, and -alleges his expectation of it as an excuse for prodigality or indifference -to saving.—(p. 375.)</p> - -<p>That the number of poor (says Colonel Forsell) has lately increased -in a far greater progression than before, is indeed a -deplorable truth. At Stockholm, in the year 1737, the number -of poor was 930; in 1825 there were reckoned 15,000 indigent -persons. Their support, in 1731, cost 9000 dollars (dallar). In -1825, nearly 500,000 rix dollars banco were employed in alms, donations, -and pensions. Perhaps these facts explain why, in Stockholm, -every year about 1500 individuals more die than are born, -although the climate and situation of this capital is by no means -insalubrious; for the same may be said of almshouses as is said -of foundling hospitals and similar charitable establishments, that -the more their number is increased, the more they are applied to.</p> - -<p>In the little and carefully governed town of Orebro, the number -of poor during the year 1780 was no more than 70 or 80 individuals, -and in the year 1832 it was 400! In the parish of -Nora, in the province of Nerike, the alms given in the year 1814 -were 170 rix-dollars 4 sk.; and in 1832, 2138 rix-dollars 27 sk.; -and so on at many other places in the kingdom. That the case -was otherwise in Sweden formerly, is proved by history. Botin -says that a laborious life, abhorrence of idleness and fear of -poverty, was the cause why indigent and destitute persons could -be found, but no beggars. Each family sustained its destitute -and impotent, and would have deemed it a shame to receive support -from others.</p> - -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[29]</a></span><div class="sidenote">The price of -8 kappar = -1½ doll., or -2<i>s.</i> 5<i>d.</i></div> - -<p>When the accounts required from the secretary of state for -ecclesiastical affairs, regarding the number of and institutions for -the poor, shall be reduced to order, and issue from the press, they -must impart most important information. By the interesting -report on this subject by the Bishop of Wexio, we learn, that the -proportion of the poor to the population is as 1 to 73 in the -government of Wexio, and as 1 to 54 in that of Jönköping. -The assessed poor-taxes are, on an average, for every farm -(hemman,) eight kappar corn in the former government, and 12½ -in the latter. With regard to the institutions for the poor, it is -said, the more we give the more is demanded, and instead of the -poor-rates being regulated by the want, the want is regulated -by the profusion of charities and poor-taxes.</p> - -<p>In the bishopric of Wisby (Island of Gottland), the proportion -between the poor and those who can maintain themselves, is far -more favourable than in that of Wexio; for in the former only 1 in -104 inhabitants is indigent, and in 22 parishes there is no common -almshouse at all. Among 40,000 individuals, no more than 17 -were unable to read.—(p. 377.)</p> - -</div> - -<hr /> - -<h3>RUSSIA.</h3> - -<p>A general outline of the provision for the poor in -Russia, is contained in the following extracts from -Mr. Bligh’s report, (pp. 328, 329, 330).</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>As far as regards those parts of the empire which may most -properly be called Russia, it will not be necessary for me to -detain your Lordship long, since in them (where in fact by far -the greatest portion of the population is to be found), the -peasantry, being in a state of slavery, the lords of the soil are -induced more by their own interest, than compelled by law, to -take care that its cultivators, upon whom their means of deriving -advantage from their estates depend, are not entirely without the -means of subsistence.</p> - -<p>Consequently, in cases of scarcity, the landed proprietors frequently -feel themselves under the necessity (in order to prevent -their estates from being depopulated) of expending large sums, -for the purpose of supplying their serfs with provisions from more -favoured districts. There is no doubt, however, (of which they -must be well aware) that in case of their forgetting so far the dictates -of humanity and of self-interest, as to refuse this assistance to -the suffering peasantry, the strong hand of a despotic government<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[30]</a></span> -would compel them to afford it.</p> - -<p>The only cases, therefore, of real misery, which are likely to -arise, are, when soldiers, who having outlived their 25 years’ -service, and all the hardships of a Russian military life, fail in -getting employment from the government as watchmen in the -towns, or in other subordinate situations, and returning to their -villages, find themselves unsuited by long disuse to agricultural -pursuits, disowned by the landed proprietors, from whom their -military service has emancipated them, and by their relations and -former acquaintances, who have forgotten them.</p> - -<p>I am led to understand, that in all well-regulated properties, in -order to provide for the contingencies of bad seasons, the peasants -are obliged to bring, to a magazine established by the proprietor, -a certain portion of their crops, to which they may have recourse -in case of need.</p> - -<p>In the estates belonging to the government, which are already -enormous, and which are every day increasing, in consequence -of the constant foreclosing of the mortgages by which so many -of the nobility held their estates under the crown, more special -enactments are in vigour; inasmuch as in them, all serfs incapable -of work are supported by their relations, and those whose -relations are too poor to afford them assistance, are taken into -what may be termed poor-houses, which are huts, one for males, -the other for females, built in the neighbourhood of the church, -at the expense of the section or parish, which is also bound to -furnish the inmates with fuel, food, and clothing.</p> - -<p>The parish must, moreover, establish hospitals for the sick, for -the support of which, besides boxes for receiving alms, at the -church and in the hospitals themselves, all fines levied in the -parish are to be applied.</p> - -<p>The clergy are compelled to provide for the poor of their class, -according to an ordonnance, regulating the revenues set apart -for this object, and enacting rules for the distribution of private -bequests and charities.</p> - -<p>In <i>Courland</i>, <i>Esthonia</i>, and <i>Livonia</i>, the parish (or community) -are bound to provide for the destitute to the utmost of -their means, which means are to be derived from the common -funds; from bequests, or from any charitable or poor fund which -may exist; and in Esthonia, from the reserve magazines of corn, -which, more regularly than in Russia, are kept full by contributions<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[31]</a></span> -from every peasant.</p> - -<p>When those are inadequate, a levy is made on the community, -which is fixed by the elders and confirmed by the district authorities; -and when this rate is levied, the landowners or farmers -contribute in proportion to the cultivation and works they carry -on, or to the amount of rent they pay; and the labourers according -to the wages they receive.</p> - -<p>The overseers consist of the elder of the village, (who is -annually elected by the peasantry) and two assistants, one of -whom is chosen from the class of landholders or farmers, and the -other from the labourers, and who are confirmed by the district -police. One of these assistants has to give quarterly detailed -accounts to the district authorities, and the elder, on quitting -office, renders a full account to the community.</p> - -<p>Those who will not work voluntarily may be delivered over to -any individual, and compelled to work for their own support, at -the discretion of the elder and his assistants.</p> - -<p>Those poor who are found absent from home, are placed in the -hands of the police, and transferred to their own parishes.</p> - -<p>All public begging is forbid by very strict regulations.</p> - -<p>In the external districts of the <i>Siberian Kirghese</i>, which are -for the most part peopled by wandering tribes, the authorities are -bound to prevent, by every means in their power, any individual -of the people committed to their charge from suffering want, or -remaining without superintendence or assistance, in case of their -being in distress.</p> - -<p>All the charitable offerings of the Kirghese are received by the -district authorities, and as they consist for the most part of cattle, -they are employed, as far as necessary, for the service of the -charitable institutions; the surplus is sold, and the proceeds, -together with any donations in money, go towards the support of -those establishments; when voluntary contributions are not sufficient -for that purpose, the district authorities give in an estimate -of the quantity of cattle of all sorts required to make up the deficiency, -and according to their estimate, when confirmed by the -general government, the number of cattle required in each place -is sent from the general annual levy made for the service of the -government.</p> - -<p>In the <i>Polish Provinces</i> incorporated with the empire, as the -state of the population is similar to that of Russia Proper, the -proprietors in like manner, in cases of need, supply their peasantry<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[32]</a></span> -with the means of existence; under ordinary circumstances, -however, the portions of land allotted to them for cultivation, -which afford them not only subsistence, but the means of paying -a fixed annual sum to their lords, and the permission which is -granted to them of cutting wood in the forests for building and -fuel, obviate the necessity of their receiving this aid.</p> - -<p>The same system existed in the <i>Duchy of Warsaw</i> prior to -1806, and every beggar and vagabond was then sent to the place -of his birth, where, as there was not a sufficiency of hands for -the cultivation of the soil, he was sure to find employment, or to be -taken care of by his master, whilst there were enough public establishments -for charity to support the poor in the towns belonging -to the government, and those, who by age, sickness, or natural -deformities, were unable to work.</p> - -<p>But when the establishment of a regular code proclaimed all -the inhabitants of that part of <i>Poland</i> equal in the eye of the -law, the relations of the proprietor and the peasant were entirely -changed; and the former having no power of detaining the latter -upon his lands, except for debt legally recognised, was no longer -obliged to support them.</p> - -<p>So great and sudden a change in the social state of the -country soon caused great embarrassment to the government, -who being apprehensive of again altering a system which involved -the interests of the landed proprietors, the only influential -class in the country, for a long time eluded the consideration of the -question, by augmenting the charitable institutions; but at length -the progressive expense of this system compelled the Minister of -Finance to refuse all further aid to uphold it, and by an arbitrary -enactment, recourse was had to the former plan of passing -the poor to the places of their birth. As this arrangement is only -considered as provisional, and as the population has not hitherto -more than sufficed for the purpose of agriculture, and the manufactories -which were established prior to the late insurrection, it -has not been much complained of, though the necessity for some -more precise and positive regulations respecting the poor is -generally acknowledged.</p> - -<p>In <i>Finland</i>, there are no laws in force for the support of the indigent, -nor any charitable establishments, except in some of the -towns. In the country districts it is expected that reserve magazines -of corn should be kept in every parish, but I cannot ascertain -that the adoption of this precautionary measure is imperative<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[33]</a></span> -upon the landed proprietors and peasantry.</p> - -</div> - -<p>On comparing, however, Mr. Bligh’s statement -as to the law in Courland with that made by -M. Kienitz His Majesty’s Consul, it does not seem -that the provision afforded by law is often enforced, -excepting as to the support of infirmaries. It -appears from his report that the government provides -expeditiously for vagrants by enrolling them -as soldiers or setting them on the public works; -and that the proportion of the population to the -means of subsistence is so small, and the demand -for labour so great, that scarcely any other able-bodied -paupers are to be found.</p> - -<hr /> - -<h3>DENMARK.</h3> - -<p>The information respecting Denmark is more -complete and derived from more sources than any -other return contained in this volume.</p> - -<p>The Danish poor law is recent. It appears -(p. 278) to have originated in 1798, and to have -assumed its present form in 1803. The following -statement of its principal provisions is principally -extracted from Mr. Macgregor’s report (pp. 280, -283, 284-7, 288, 273-285, 289, 290).</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<div class="sidenote">Poor districts.</div> - -<p>Each <i>market town</i>, or kiöbstœd, (of which there are 65 in -Denmark,) constitutes a separate poor district, in which are also -included those inhabitants of the adjacent country who belong to -the parish of that town. In the <i>country</i>, each parish forms a -poor district.</p> - -<p>The poor laws are administered in the <i>market towns</i> by a -board of commissioners, consisting of the curate, of one of the -magistrates (if any), of the provost (byefoged) in his quality of -policemaster, and of two or more of the most respectable inhabitants -of the place.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[34]</a></span></p> - -<p>In the <i>country</i> this is done in each district by a similar board, -of which the curate, the policemaster, besides one of the principal -landholders, and three to four respectable inhabitants, are members, -which latter are nominated for a term of three years.</p> - -<p>All persons are to be considered as destitute and entitled to -relief, who are unable, with their own labour, to earn the means -of subsistence, and thus, without the help of others, would be -deprived of the absolute necessaries of life.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Classification -of -paupers.</div> - -<p>The poor to whom parochial relief may be awarded, are -divided into three classes. To the <i>first class</i> belong the aged -and the sick, and all those who from bodily or mental infirmity -are wholly or partially debarred from earning the means of subsistence. -In the <i>second class</i> are included orphans, foundlings, -and deserted children, as well as those, the health, resources, or -morals of whose parents are of a description which would render -it improper to confide the education of children to their care. -The <i>third class</i> comprises families or single persons, who from -constitutional weakness, a numerous offspring, the approach of -old age or similar causes, are unable to earn a sufficiency for the -support of themselves or children.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Relief to -first class.</div> - -<p>Paupers of the first class who are destitute of other support, are -to be supplied by the proper parish officers:</p> - -<p>(<i>a</i>) With food (or in market towns where the necessary establishments -for that purpose are wanting, with money in lieu -thereof); to which, in the agricultural districts, the inhabitants -have to contribute, according to the orders issued by the commissioners, -either in bread, flour, pease, groats, malt, bacon, -butter or cheese, or in corn, or in money, or by rations, or in -any other manner, which, from local circumstances, may be -deemed most expedient:</p> - -<p>(<i>b</i>) With the necessary articles of clothing:</p> - -<p>(<i>c</i>) With lodging and fuel, either by placing them in establishments -belonging to the parish, or in private dwellings:</p> - -<p>(<i>d</i>) With medical attendance, either at their own dwellings, or -in places owned or rented by the parish.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">To second.</div> - -<p>The children belonging to the second class are to be placed -with a private family, to be there brought up and educated at the -expense of the parish, until they can be apprenticed or provided -for in any other manner.</p> - -<p>The commissioners are carefully to watch over the treatment -and education of the children by their foster-parents, and that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[35]</a></span> -such of them as have been put out to service are properly brought -up and instructed until they are confirmed.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">To third.</div> - -<p>The paupers of the third class are to be so relieved that they -may not want the absolute necessaries of life; but avoiding mendicity -on the one hand, they must at the same time be compelled -to work to the best of their abilities for their maintenance. To -render the relief of paupers of this description more effectual, care -must be taken that, if possible, work be procured for them at the -usual rate of wages; and where the amount does not prove sufficient -for their support they may be otherwise assisted, but in -general not with money, but with articles of food and clothing, -to be supplied them at the expense of the parish.</p> - -<p>In cases where families are left houseless, the commissioners are -authorized to procure them a habitation, by becoming security -for the rent; and where such habitation is not to be obtained for -them, they may be quartered upon the householders in rotation, -until a dwelling can be found in some other place.</p> - -<p>Should the rent not be paid by the parties when due, such persons -must be considered as paupers, and be removed to that district -where they may be found to have a settlement. The house-rent -thus disbursed must in this case be looked upon as temporary -relief, and be borne by the parish that advanced it. Where -parish-officers refuse to obey these injunctions, they may be compelled -by a fine, to be levied daily until they comply.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Liabilities -of pauper.</div> - -<p>The Danish law has established the principle, that every individual -receiving relief of any kind under the poor-laws, is bound, -either with his property or his labour, to refund the amount so -disbursed for him, or any part thereof; and authority has therefore -been given to the poor-law commissioners, “to require all -those whom it may concern, to work to the best of their ability, -until all they owe has been paid off.”</p> - -<p>On relief being awarded to a pauper, the commissioners of -the district have forthwith to take an inventory of, and to appraise, -his effects, which are only to be delivered over to him for his use, -after having been marked with the stamp of the board.</p> - -<p>Any person receiving goods or effects so marked, either by way -of purchase or in pledge, shall be liable to the restitution of the -property, to the payment of its value, and besides to a fine.</p> - -<p>The same right is retained by the parish upon the pauper, if he -should happen to acquire property at a later period, as well as it<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[36]</a></span> -extends to his effects at his demise, though he should not have -received relief at the time of his death.</p> - -<p>An ordinance of the 13th of August, 1814, expressly enacts, -that wherever a person absolutely refuses either to refund or to -pay by instalments the debt he has so contracted with the parish, -he shall be forced to pay it off by working for the benefit of the -same, and not be allowed to leave the parish; but that if he do so -notwithstanding, he is to be punished by imprisonment in the -house of correction. The commissioners are further authorized -to stipulate the amount such individual is to pay off per week, in -proportion to his capability to work, to the actual rate of wages -and other concurring circumstances, and that where such person -either refuses to work, or is idle or negligent during the working -hours, he is to be imprisoned on bread and water until he reform -his conduct.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Begging.</div> - -<p>The poor having thus been provided for, begging is prohibited, -and declared to be liable to punishment.</p> - -<p>In adjudging punishment for begging, it is to be taken into -consideration whether the mendicant was in need of support or -not. In the first case he shall, the first time, be imprisoned fourteen -days; the second time, four weeks; and the third time, work -for a year in the house of correction. For every time the offence -is committed, the punishment to be doubled. But if the mendicant -is able to work, and thus not entitled to support from the -parish, he shall, the first time, be imprisoned four weeks; the -second time, eight weeks; and the third time, work for two years -in the house of correction, which last punishment is to be doubled -for every time the offence is committed. When the term of -punishment is expired, the beggar is to be sent to his home under -inspection, and his travelling expenses by land in every parish -through which he passes to be paid by the poor-chest of the -bailiwick in which the parish lies; but his conveyance by water -to be paid by the parish bound to receive him.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Duty of the -poor to seek -service.</div> - -<p>In the market-towns, all persons belonging to the working -classes are obliged to enter into fixed service, unless they have -some ostensible means of subsistence, which must be proved to -the satisfaction of the magistrates, if required.</p> - -<p>In the agricultural districts, every person belonging to the class -of peasants, who is not a proprietor or occupier of land, a tacksman -(<i>boelsmand</i>), or cottager (<i>huusmand</i>), or subsists upon<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[37]</a></span> -some trade or profession, is to seek fixed service, unless he be -married and permanently employed as a day-labourer.</p> - -<p>Where a single person of either sex belonging to the labouring -class is not able to obtain a place, he (or she) shall within two -months before the regular term when regular servants are changed -(Skiftetid) apply to the parish-beadle, who, on the Sunday following -at church-meeting, is publicly to offer the services of his -client, and inquire amongst the community if any person is in -want of a servant, and will receive him (or her) as such. Should -the said person not get a place within a fortnight, a similar inquiry -is to be made in the neighbouring parish.</p> - -<p><i>All those that have not followed the line of conduct pointed -out in the preceding regulation, and are without steady employment, -shall be considered as vagrants, and punished accordingly.</i></p> - -<p>It is also provided, that where parents, without sufficient reason, -keep more grown up children at home than they absolutely require -for their service, it shall be considered indicative, either of their -being in comparatively good circumstances, or that their income -has been improved by the additional labour of their children, and -their poor and school-rates are to be raised in proportion.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Mode of -raising -fund.</div> - -<p>It is not only made obligatory upon the house and landowners -to contribute to the parochial fund, but also upon servants and -labouring mechanics; in short, upon all persons, without distinction -of religion, who are not on the parish themselves, and whose -circumstances are such that they can afford to pay the contribution -in proportion to their incomes, without thereby depriving themselves -of the necessaries of life.</p> - -<p>The only exception are the military, and persons receiving pay -from the military fund, who are only liable to contribute in so far -as they have private means.</p> - -<p>The receipts of the parochial fund are derived from various -sources, which may be classed under the following heads, viz.—</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1. Parochial -fund.</div> - -<p>1ᵒ. An annual contribution in money, either voluntary or levied -upon the inhabitants, according to the assessment of the board of -commissioners in each parish, and in proportion to the amount -annually required for the relief of the poor.</p> - -<p>This contribution is recovered in four quarterly instalments, -each of which is payable in advance. The commissioners have -to transmit a list of those persons that are in arrears to the bailiff<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[38]</a></span> -of the division, who may levy the amount by distress.</p> - -<p>2ᵒ. A contribution assessed upon the produce of the ground-tax -in the townships.</p> - -<p>3ᵒ. One-quarter per cent. of the proceeds of goods and effects -sold by public auction in the townships.</p> - -<p>4ᵒ. Fines and penalties adjudged to the parochial fund by the -courts of justice, and the commissioners of arbitration in the -townships.</p> - -<p>5ᵒ. Produce of collections in churches and hospitals on certain -occasions; of the sale of the effects of paupers deceased; of the -sale of stray cattle having no owner; voluntary donations on the -purchase or sale of houses and lands; contingencies.</p> - -<p>6ᵒ. Interest on capital, and rent of lands or houses bequeathed -to, or otherwise acquired by, the poor administration.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">2. Bailiwick -fund.</div> - -<p>The receipts of the separate poor fund of the bailiwick consist -chiefly,—1ᵒ. In a proportion of certain dues levied in each of its -jurisdictions; 2ᵒ. In fines and penalties adjudged to the fund by -the tribunals and the commissions of arbitration in the agricultural -districts; 3ᵒ. In ¼% of all goods and effects sold by public -auction in the country; 4ᵒ. In the interest on capital belonging -to the fund.</p> - -<p>This fund has been established for the following purposes:—1ᵒ. -Of contributing to the support of paupers who, although not -properly belonging to the poor of the district in which they have -become distressed, must still be relieved; 2ᵒ. Of assisting the -parochial fund in extraordinary cases; 3ᵒ. Of defraying all expenses -of a general nature that ought to be assessed upon the -several parish funds within the jurisdiction of the bailiwick.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="sidenote">Effects of -these institutions.</div> - -<p>With respect to the effects of these institutions -the evidence is not consistent. Mr. Macgregor’s -opinion is, on the whole, favourable.</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>Be the management (he says) of the poor-laws good or bad, -yet the system itself seems to have answered an important object, -that of checking the rapid growth of pauperism. I admit that -paupers have increased in Denmark these last thirty years, in the -same proportion with the increase of population (<i>pari passu</i>); -but I am far from believing that the proportion which they bear -to the whole population is <i>much</i> greater now than it was in 1803, -namely, 1:32, although some of the townships, from particular<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[39]</a></span> -circumstances, may form an exception. I have diligently perused -all the different reports that have been published for the last five -years upon the present state of the rural economy of the country, -and they all concur in stating that there is a slight improvement -in the value of land; that idle people are seldom found; and that -there is sufficient work in which to employ the labouring population.—(p. 291.)</p> - -<p>Pauperism is chiefly confined (especially in the country) to the -class of day-labourers, both mechanic and agricultural, who, when -aged and decrepit, or burdened with large families, throw themselves -upon parish relief whenever they are distressed from sickness -or from some other casualty. But happily the allowance-system, -which is productive of so much mischief, is not acted -upon here to the same enormous extent as in England, and as the -able-bodied can expect nothing beyond the <i>absolute</i> necessaries -of life, they have no inducement for remaining idle, and they -return to work the moment they are able, and have the chance of -obtaining any. Relief, therefore, or the expectation of it, has -hitherto not been found to produce any sensible effect upon the -<i>industry</i> of labourers generally, nor upon their <i>frugality</i>, although -it is more than probable that any relaxation in the management of -the system would stimulate them to spend all their earnings in -present enjoyment, and render them still more improvident than -they already are. Nor are the poor-laws instrumental in promoting -early marriages among the peasants; but it being their -custom to form engagements at a very early period of life, this, -in the absence of all moral restraint in the intercourse between -the two sexes, leads to another serious evil, <i>bastardy</i>, which has -so much increased of late years, that out of <i>ten</i> children, <i>one</i> is -illegitimate.</p> - -<p>A pauper in this kingdom lives in a state of degradation and -dependence; he only receives what is absolutely necessary for his -subsistence, and must often have recourse to fraud and imposition -to obtain that, what is reluctantly given.</p> - -<p>The working labourer, on the other hand, enjoys a certain -degree of freedom and independence, although his means may be -small, and that sometimes he may even be subject to great privations.</p> - -<p>Should it ever so happen that the labouring population readily -submit to all the restrictions imposed upon them by the parish -officers, and that this is found not to be owing to any transitory<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[40]</a></span> -causes, such as a single year of distress or sickness, <i>then</i>, in my -humble opinion, the time is arrived and no other remedy left to -correct the evil than for the government to promote emigration. -(p. 292.)</p> - -</div> - -<p>Mr. Thaloman states that,</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>Hitherto these institutions have had a salutary and beneficial -effect on the nation, inasmuch as many thousand individuals have -been prevented from strolling about as beggars, and many thousand -children have received a good education, and have grown -up to be useful and orderly citizens. Neither as yet have any -remarkable symptoms of dissatisfaction appeared among the wealthier -classes. But we cannot be without some apprehension for -the future, since the poor-rates have been augmented to such a -degree that it would be very difficult to collect larger contributions -than those now paid. And as sufficient attention has not -been paid to this circumstance, that the farmers are continually -building small cottages, in which poor people establish themselves, -since the government have been unwilling to throw any -restraint on marriages between poor persons; there seems reason -to fear, that in the lapse of another period of twenty years, the -poor in many districts will to such a degree have multiplied their -numbers, that the present system will yield no adequate means -for their support.</p> - -<p>In the towns much embarrassment is already felt, the poor -having increased in them to a much greater extent than in the -country.</p> - -<p>All the taxes of a considerable merchant of Dram in Norway, -who owns eight trading vessels actually employed, amounted during -last year to not more than the school and poor-rates of one -large farm in the heath district which you visited last year. -(p. 279.)</p> - -</div> - -<p>M. N. N., a correspondent of Mr. Browne’s, and -the author of a very detailed account of the existing -law, after stating that,</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>Benevolent as the Danish poor system will appear, it is generally -objected to it that the too great facility of gaining admittance, -particularly to the third class, encourages sloth and indolence, -especially in the country, where the means are wanted to establish -workhouses, the only sure way of controlling those supported:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[41]</a></span></p> - -</div> - -<p>And that,</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>It is further objected to the present system, that it already -begins to fall too heavy on the contributors, and that in course of -time, with the constant increase of population, it will go on to -press still more severely on them, inasmuch as their number and -means do not by any means increase in a ratio equal to the augmentation -of the number wanting support: (p. 274.)</p> - -</div> - -<p>Adds, in answer to more specific inquiries,</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>Before the introduction of the present poor law system, the -distress was much greater, and begging of the most rapacious and -importunate kind was quite common in the country. This was -not only a heavy burthen on the peasantry, but was in other -respects the cause of intolerable annoyance to them; for the beggars, -when their demands were not satisfied, had recourse to -insolence and threats, nay, even to acts of criminal vengeance. -This is no longer the case, and <i>in so far</i>, therefore, the present -system has been beneficial.</p> - -<p>It is a fact that poverty now appears in less striking features than -it did before the introduction of the poor law system. This may, -however, proceed from causes with which that system has no connexion; -for example, from the increased wealth of the country in -general, from improvements in agriculture, from the large additions -made to the quantity of arable land, which have been in a -ratio greatly exceeding that of the increased population. If the -clergyman, who is, and will always be the leading member of the -poor committee, was able to combine with his other heavy duties, -a faithful observance of the rules prescribed for him in the management -of the poor, I am of opinion that the system would -neither be a tax on industry nor a premium on indolence. But -it rarely happens that the clergyman can bestow the requisite -attention on the discharge of this part of his duty; and therefore -it is not to be denied that the present poor law (not from any -defect inherent in the system, but merely from faulty management) -does occasionally act as a tax on industry and a premium -on idleness. (p. 275.)</p> - -</div> - -<p>On the other hand, Mr. Browne thus replies to -the questions as to the effects of the poor laws on<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[42]</a></span> -the, 1. industry, 2. frugality, 3. period of marriage, -and 4. social affections of the labouring -classes, and on the comparative condition of the -pauper and the independent labourer. (pp. 266, -267.)</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>1. On the industry of the labourers?—On their industry, most -injurious, involving the levelling principle to a very great degree, -lowering the middleman to the poor man, and the poor man who -labours to the pauper supported by the parish. It tends to harden -the heart of the poor man, who demands with all that authority -with which the legal right to provision invests him. There is no -thankfulness for what is gotten, and what is given is afforded -with dislike and reluctance.</p> - -<p>2. On their frugality?—The poor laws greatly weaken the -frugal principle.</p> - -<p>3. On the age at which they marry?—Encourage early and -thoughtless marriages. The children are brought up with the -example of indolence and inactivity before their eyes, which must -be most prejudicial in after-life. I have often remarked amongst -the people, who are naturally soft, susceptible and sympathizing, -an extraordinary insensibility towards those who voluntarily -relieve them, even at the moment of relief, and no gratitude whatever -afterwards. I can attribute this most undesirable state of -feeling, so contrary to what might be expected from the natural -character of the people, solely to the perpetual association of right -to relief. Thus does the system always disturb and often destroy -the moral and kindly relation which should subsist and which is -natural, between the higher and lower orders. The poor man -becomes stiff and sturdy; the rich man indifferent to the wants -and sufferings of the poor one. He feels him a continual pressure, -at moments inconvenient to relieve, and under circumstances -where he would often withhold if he could, partly from dislike to -the compulsory principle, and often not regarding the case as one -of real charity, and disapproving, as he naturally may, of the -whole system of poor laws’ administration. From all I have -observed, I feel persuaded (and I have lived a good deal in the -country, having had much connexion with the lower orders, and -not having been indifferent to their condition either moral or -physical) that a more mischievous system could not have been<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[43]</a></span> -devised—that poverty has been greatly increased by weakening -the springs of individual effort, and destroying independence of -character—that the lower orders have become tricky, sturdy and -unobliging, the higher orders cold and uncharitable; and in short, -that ere long, unless some strenuous steps are taken, Denmark -will drink deep of the bitter cup of which England, by a similar -system, has been so long drinking to her grievous cost. Were -there no other objection, the machinery is wanting to conduct so -delicate and complicated a system. And were it the best possible, -and had the managers no other occupation but the one, the ingenuity -of idleness to escape from action is so great, that it would -often, very often, defeat eyes less actively open to detect it. I -have spoken with few who do not object to the system from first -to last, or who do not press an opinion that the state of the population -before the existence of the poor laws was more desirable by -far than at present.</p> - -<p>4. On the mutual dependence and affection of parent, children, -and other relatives?—No doubt it materially disturbs the natural -dependence and affection of parent and child. The latter feels -his parent comparatively needless to him; he obtains support -elsewhere; and the former feels the obligation to support the -latter greatly diminished. In short, being comparatively independent -of each other, the affections must inevitably become -blunted.</p> - -<p>5. What, on the whole, is the condition of the able-bodied and -self-supporting labourer of the lowest class, as compared with the -condition of the person subsisting on alms or public charity; is -the condition of the latter, as to food and freedom from labour, -more or less eligible?—Were I a Danish labourer, I would endeavour -to live partly on my own labour, and partly on the parish, -and I feel persuaded that a labourer so living in Denmark will be -better off than one who gets no help from the parish; that is, the -former, from a knowledge that he may fall back on the parish, -will spend all he earns at the time on coffee, spirits, tobacco, -snuff, &c., whereas the latter, who certainly can live on his -industry (except under extraordinary and occasional emergencies, -sickness, &c.) is debarred from such gratifications. Under such -circumstances, the <i>poorer</i> labourer is better off than the <i>poor</i> one.</p> - -</div> - -<p>And his views are supported by the following -observations of Count Holstein:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[44]</a></span></p> -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>1st. The dread of poverty is diminished, and he who is half-poor -works less instead of more, so that he speedily becomes a complete -pauper. Those who are young and capable of labour are -less economical, always having the poor rate in view, as a resource -against want; likewise marriages are contracted with much less -forethought, or consideration as to consequences.</p> - -<p>2d. The morality of the poor man suffers, for he looks upon his -provision as a right, for which he, therefore, need not be thankful; -and, 3d, the morality of the rich man suffers, for the natural -moral relation between him and the poor man has become completely -severed; there is no place left for the exercise of his benevolence; -being obliged to give, he does it with reluctance, and -thus is the highest principle of charitable action, Christian love, -exposed to great danger of destruction.</p> - -<p>4th. As the clergyman of the parish is the president of the poor -committee, he becomes involved in transactions peculiarly unsuited -to his sacred calling, sometimes even compelled to resort to the -extremity of distraint to compel his own parishioners to pay the -allotted proportions; and thus does the moral influence of him, -who should be a picture of the God of love, become every day less -and less powerful. (p. 276.)</p> - -</div> - -<p>We have entered into this full statement of the -Danish poor laws, and of their administration, -because they exhibit the most extensive experiment -that has as yet been made in any considerable -portion of the Continent of a system in many respects -resembling our own.</p> - -<hr /> - -<h3>MECKLENBURG.</h3> - -<p>The following passage, at the conclusion of M. -Meyen’s report, gives a short summary of the -poor laws of Mecklenburg: (p. 424.)</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>Every inhabitant is obliged to pay certain poor rates, with the -exception of military men, up to a certain rank, students, clerks -in counting-houses and shops, assistant artisans and servants.</p> - -<p>When the crown lands are let, there is always a clause in the -contract, to regulate what the farmer, the dairy farmer, the smith -and the shepherd, are to give. A day labourer pays 8<i>d.</i> yearly.</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[45]</a></span> -<p>The inhabitants of higher situation and public officers pay voluntarily. -They ought to pay one per cent. of their income. If -any one pays too little, the overseers of the poor rates can oblige -him to pay more. The overseers are chosen by the inhabitants -of the district.</p> - -<p>In the towns all inhabitants pay a voluntary subscription; it -ought to be one per cent. of their income. If they pay too little, -the overseers can demand more. The overseers are chosen by -the magistrate.</p> - -<p>With respect to estates belonging to private individuals, the -subsistence of the poor falls entirely to the charge of the proprietor, -who is entitled to levy a trifling tax from all the inhabitants -of the estate, equal to a simple contribution amounting to -8<i>d.</i> for a day labourer per annum, and 4<i>d.</i> for a maid servant. -Few proprietors, however, levy such a tax.</p> - -<p>Every one has a legal claim to assistance, and there are to -be distinguished,</p> - -<p>1st. Able-bodied persons. Work and a dwelling <i>must</i> be -provided for them; the former at the usual rate, in -order not to render them quite destitute, if through -chicane work should be denied to them.</p> - -<p>2d. People, impotent through age, must perform such work -as they are capable of, and so much must be given to -them that they can live upon it, besides a dwelling -and fuel.</p> - -</div> - -<hr /> - -<h3>PRUSSIA.</h3> - -<p>There is some difficulty in reconciling Mr. Abercrombie’s -report and Mr. Gibsone’s. The following -is Mr. Abercrombie’s statement: (pp. 425, -426.)</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>Throughout the whole kingdom of Prussia, the funds for the -maintenance and support of the poor are raised from private -charity. No law exists enabling either the government of the -country, or the subordinate provincial regencies, to raise funds -explicitly appropriated for the provision of the poor, and it is -only when private charity does not suffice for the exigencies of -the moment, that the government, or the regency, advance money -for that purpose. But to enable them to do so, the amount must -be taken from those funds which had been destined for other<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[46]</a></span> -purposes, such as, for improvements in paving, lighting, or for -the public buildings of a town, or for the construction of roads, -or other public works.</p> - -<p>In Prussia, each town, and each commune, is obliged to take -charge of the poor that may happen to reside within them; and -consequently there is no passing from one parish to another, or -refusal to maintain an individual because he belongs to another -parish.</p> - -<p>In each town there is a deputation (called armen-direction) or -society for the poor, who undertake the collection and distribution -of funds raised by charity. In small towns, of under 3,500 inhabitants, -exclusive of military, this society is composed of the burgomaster, -together with the town deputies (forming the town senate) -and burghers chosen from the various quarters of the town.</p> - -<p>In large and middle-sized towns, including from 3,500 to -10,000 inhabitants, exclusive of military, to the afore-mentioned -individuals is always added the syndic (or town accomptant), -and if necessary, another magistrate. Clergymen and doctors -are likewise included in the society; and where the police of the -place has a separate jurisdiction from the magistrate, the president -of the police has always a seat as a member of the society.</p> - -<p>Under this armen-direction the care of the poor is confided to -different sub-committees formed of the burghers, and for this -purpose the town is divided into poor districts (or armenbezirke). -In small and middle-sized towns, these districts are again divided -into sub-districts, containing not above 1,000, or less than 400 -souls. In large towns the sub-districts are to comprise not above -1,500, or less than 1,000 souls; and in these last towns several -sub-districts may, if requisite, be united into one poor district or -armenbezirke.</p> - -<p>From each armenbezirke must be elected one or more of the -town deputies, or burghers, according to necessity, for the -management of the affairs of the poor; and it is also required -that at least one of those elected should be a member of the -society for the poor (or armen-direction), and these individuals -are required to find out and verify the condition of the poor of -their own district.</p> - -<p>The direction of the affairs of the poor is therefore, as thus -established, confided entirely to the burghers of the town, and -the provision of the funds rests upon the charity and benevolence<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[47]</a></span> -of the inhabitants.</p> - -<p>As regards hospitals and public charities, one or more of the -members of the armen-direction undertake to watch that the funds -are expended according to the provisions made by the founders.</p> - -<p>In the villages, the direction of the funds for the poor is confided -to the mayor (or schûltze), assisted by individuals chosen -for that purpose from amongst the principal inhabitants of the -commune.</p> - -<p>This body is accountable to the councillor of the district (or -land rath), who is in like manner under the jurisdiction of the -provincial regency, and the whole is under the inspection of the -1st section of the home department.</p> - -<p>I have now specified the authorities who control the maintenance -for the poor, and who are likewise charged with the care -of administering to their wants.</p> - -<p><i>As regards the manner of obtaining the necessary funds, -everything is done by donations and private charity. Each -house proprietor, each inhabitant of a floor or apartment, is in -his turn visited by some of the members of the sub-committee of -the armenbezirke, who, in return for the donation, deliver a -receipt for the amount.</i></p> - -<p><i>The donations from residents are generally monthly, and vary -in amount according to the number of individuals in the family, -or to the feelings of generosity of the donor. No rate or calculated -fixed table exists, regulating the sum to be given by each individual -or head of a family.</i></p> - -<p>Each town being governed by its own particular laws and customs -with regard to the management of its poor, and each from -accidental circumstances differing from its neighbour, it is impossible -to particularize any other general principle that is followed, -than the establishments of the armen-direction, and of the -sub-committees; which detailed information I have extracted as -above from the Städte Ordnüng, or town laws, as revised in 1831.</p> - -<p>As regards the practical working of this system, I have no hesitation -in affirming, that it is found universally to succeed; that -the effect upon the comfort, character, and condition of the inhabitants, -is, first, to afford speedy and sufficient means of relief -when necessary; that it prevents in a great degree false applications, -inasmuch as that the districts being small, the really needy -are more easily discovered; and secondly, that as no tax is fixed -for the maintenance of the poor, it renders all classes more willing<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[48]</a></span> -and anxious to assist, according to their respective means, -in sustaining the funds required for the support of the poor. -(p. 426.)</p> - -</div> - -<p>On the other hand, the following is the statement -of Mr. Gibsone: (pp. 460, 461, 463, 464.)</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>In general it is the duty of the police authority in every community, -where any person in distress may come, to render him -the needful assistance for the moment, which must be repaid,</p> - -<p><i>a</i>) by the provincial pauper fund, if the person be a foreigner, -or have no domicile; or,</p> - -<p><i>b</i>) by the community, or owner of the estate (called the -dominium), he belongs to, if a native of the country.</p> - -<h4><i>Destitute Able-bodied.</i></h4> - -<p>Every pretended needy person is duly examined by a medical -man, whether he be bodily and mentally able to maintain himself -(it is the same with families) by work, and in this case he is -required by the police to do so, and to conduct himself properly. -Any one who does not, is sent to the poor-and-workhouse (the -work is compulsive) of the province, where he is taught to earn -a livelihood. If the distress be temporary, the proprietor of the -estate (called the dominium), or the community in which the -indigent person has acquired a settlement, is bound to afford the -requisite relief; yet having the right to claim restitution, upon -the assisted person becoming able to make it. When this is not -the case, and the relief has been afforded by a community, the -members of it must bear the expense, if in a town, out of its -general funds; if in the country, in the proportions they pay the -land-tax to the king, called war-contribution. The support is -rendered in giving a dwelling, (with a garden, if in the country), -fuel, salt, money, &c., wholly or partly, sometimes by boarding -the pauper, according to the necessity of the case.</p> - -<p>There is in every province a poor-and-workhouse (the work -compulsive), for receiving the following persons:</p> - -<p><i>a</i>) such as have indeed a fixed place of abode in the country, -yet seek their livelihood by begging, although able -to work;</p> - -<p><i>b</i>) actual paupers, who receive a fixed maintenance or aid -from communities, benevolent institutions, &c., yet, notwithstanding,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[49]</a></span> -wander about the country begging;</p> - -<p><i>c</i>) invalid soldiers, found begging, as every soldier who has -been rendered invalid in war enjoys a pension from the -state (a very small one);</p> - -<p><i>d</i>) travelling handicraftsmen, as none are permitted to travel -in their profession who have not the means of subsistence, -or are above 30 years old;</p> - -<p><i>e</i>) foreign vagabonds, until they can be transported over the -borders;</p> - -<p><i>f</i>) those who have been punished for crime, in the fortress -or house of correction, and after expiration of their -term of punishment, are unable to show how they can -earn an honest livelihood;</p> - -<p><i>g</i>) such as by particular sentences are, or by future laws -may be, declared subjects for the compulsive workhouse.</p> - -<p>It is left to every proprietor of an estate (called the dominium), -to every town and village community, to provide and select, at -their option, a livelihood for those individuals, having a settlement -under their jurisdiction, who cannot procure such for themselves. -<i>Should a proprietor of an estate, or a community, not -fulfil this obligation, it is compelled to do so, but which seldom is -necessary.</i></p> - -<p>It is to be observed, that when, from bad crops, inundations, -&c., a general scarcity occurs in particular parts of the country, -works of public utility, such as turnpike-roads, drains, and the -like, are ordered by government, in order to afford the inhabitants -the means of subsistence, which work is paid for with -money, grain, salt, or other articles, as most suitable, according -to circumstances.</p> - -<p><i>No person, able-bodied or capable of earning a livelihood, has -a legal claim for support, but he can only, when misfortune -befals him, receive a temporary aid in the way of an advance.</i> -For further answers to this question, see the preceding answers.</p> - -<p>All children capable of going to school are obliged to attend it. -Those whose parents are unable to pay the expense, must be sent -thither at the cost of the community to which they belong, which -must also do the needful for clothing, feeding, educating, and -apprenticing them. Such children also frequently receive assistance<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[50]</a></span> -from private benevolent societies and individuals.</p> - -<h4><i>Impotent through Age.</i></h4> - -<p>In the towns, the community must provide for all the absolute -wants of the poor out of the municipal funds, and in every town a -board is established for directing the management of these -affairs.</p> - -<p>In the country, the proprietors of the estates, or the village -authorities, must provide for these wants, for which, in the latter -case, the members of the village community must contribute in -the proportions as they pay the taxes to the king, say the land-tax, -called war contribution.</p> - -<p>In Dantzig, the poor, besides being placed in the poor-house, -or, otherwise assisted, receive alms at their homes from a charitable -society of the citizens, whose funds arise partly from private -contributions, and partly from an annual supply out of the -municipal funds. From this society about 1000 persons -yearly receive support (about one-third males and two-thirds females), -but not above about 3<i>s.</i> to 4<i>s.</i>, and not under 1<i>s.</i> monthly, -for the time the support is required. In winter, when severe, -they get also firing, partly in fir-wood, but chiefly in turf. -The sum thus disbursed is now considerably less than before, -from the control on the part of the magistracy being much -stricter. The whole annual expense of the society is about 1200<i>l.</i> -sterling.</p> - -<h4><i>Sick.</i></h4> - -<p>The law prescribes that every town and every village community -must support its own members when in distress, provided -there be no relations able to do so, and the owners of estates are -under a similar obligation; hence the sick stand under the same -regulations as the impotent through age.</p> - -<h4><i>Effects of the foregoing Institutions.</i></h4> - -<p>The regulations for the support of paupers operate beneficially -on industry. Every proprietor of an estate, every community of -a town or village has unquestionably the most correct knowledge -of the bodily condition, of the moral conduct, of the expertness, -of the capability to earn a livelihood in whole or in -part, and of the pecuniary circumstances of the needy persons -under their jurisdiction, whom they are bound to support, as well<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[51]</a></span> -as of the circumstances of their relatives. The pauper knows -that aid must always be given when necessary, <i>and he applies to -the proper authority for it, when not duly afforded</i>; while he is, -on the other hand, deterred from making exorbitant claims by -his situation being so thoroughly known in every respect, and -from ungrounded demands not being complied with. In general, -therefore, neither the party called upon for assistance, nor that -requiring it, inclines to let the authority interpose, but an -amicable arrangement usually takes place between them, according -to existing circumstances. The pauper must perform what -service or work he can for those who assist him, or for himself, -towards contributing to his own support as far as in his -power; while those rendering assistance can seek only in themselves -the means to do so, of course in the least expensive and -most suitable manner. The paupers are employed at various -kinds of work and service, accordingly as such is wanted and as -they are able to perform it, and this as well for their supporters, -privately, as in the public workhouses.</p> - -<p>It is, in general, to be observed that the right of settlement of -individuals is established in the following manner:—</p> - -<p>If any person acquires the right of citizenship in a town, or a -possession (house or lying-ground) in the country, or if he is -permitted by the local authority to form a regular domicile by -becoming a householder, he then is considered as an expressly -accepted member of the community, and the obligation to support -him, when reduced to want, immediately commences. So soon, -therefore, as any person shows an intention to settle, or to -become a householder, in a place, it is the business of the community, -or of those interested, to ascertain, through the medium -of the proper local authority, whether or not the emigrant possesses -sufficient means to maintain himself there. Should this -not be the case, and he is evidently unable to earn a livelihood, -then must the support of the individual (or family) be borne by -the community where he has previously dwelt, and it is not -advisable to permit the change of domicile. Thence is the rule -justified, that upon any person being regularly received as member -of a community, with the express consent of its magistracy, that -community becomes bound to render him support, when his -situation requires it. Minors belong to the community in which -their parents were settled, even after the death of these. With -regard to other inhabitants, only that town or village community<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[52]</a></span> -is bound to maintain a pauper where he last contributed to its -public burthens.</p> - -<p>A person who is of age, and has resided three succeeding years -in a place (for instance, as servant,) acquires by that the right of -settlement, but which he again loses by leaving the place for one -year. Privileged corporations, that possess a particular poor-fund, -or raise among themselves, pursuant to their laws, the -means to provide for their needy members, are specially bound to -maintain them.</p> - -<p>In conformity with the rules before stated, must also the -wives, widows, and destitute children of paupers be supported -by the communities or corporations, or the owners of the -estates.</p> - -<p>Paupers for whom communities, corporations, proprietors of -estates, or relatives are not bound to provide, according to the -foregoing rules, or when these are unable to do so, have to be -maintained in provincial poor and workhouses. These are established -at the expense of government, and supported by contributions -from the whole province.</p> - -</div> - -<p>We are inclined to suspect that the practice -corresponds with Mr. Abercrombie’s account, and -the general law with Mr. Gibsone’s, and that the -pauper possesses a legal right to assistance, though -that right is seldom enforced, because the impotent -are voluntarily provided for, and the able-bodied -would probably be sent to a penal workhouse. It -is probable indeed that the law itself is vague as -respects the relief of the able-bodied. The difficulty -in framing a poor-law, of either expressly admitting -or expressly rejecting their claim, is such that -almost all who have legislated on the subject have -left their legal right undecided. Mr. Gibsone’s -statement, that no person able-bodied <i>or</i> capable of -earning a livelihood has a legal claim for support, is -inconsistent with his general account of the law, -unless we change <i>or</i> into <i>and</i>.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[53]</a></span></p> - -<h3>SAXONY.</h3> - -<p>But little information has been received from -Saxony.</p> - -<p>Some of the modes in which relief is administered -appear, as they are nakedly stated in the Report, to -be liable to great abuse. We are told that persons -receive from the parishes to which they belong -assistance in proportion to their inability to maintain -themselves; that a sum is fixed as necessary to -support a man, and that if he cannot earn the -whole, the difference is given to him as relief; and -that with respect to lodging, the parish interferes -in cases where ejectment takes place on account of -non-payment of house-rent, and guarantees payment -for a short time to those who agree to receive the -houseless (p. 479). These customs, as they are -mentioned, resemble the worst forms of English mal-administration,—allowance -and payment of rent.</p> - -<p>Mr. Forbes, however, states that more relief than -is strictly necessary is never given; and that it has -been the steady determination of every government -to render the situation of those receiving parochial -relief too irksome for it to proceed from any other -than the merest necessity. It is probable, therefore, -that a strict administration prevents the customs -which have been mentioned from being sufficiently -prevalent to produce what have been their consequences -with us.</p> - -<hr /> - -<h3>WURTEMBERG.</h3> - -<p>The information respecting Wurtemberg is remarkably -full and precise, having been collected -with great care by Sir Edward Disbrowe and Mr. -Wellesley, assisted by the provincial authorities<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[54]</a></span> -and the government.</p> - -<p>The kingdom of Wurtemberg consists of about -8000 square English miles, inhabited by 1,578,000 -persons, being about 200 persons to a square mile. -It is divided into 64 bailiwicks, which are subdivided -into civil communities or parishes, containing -each not less than 500 individuals. Each parish -constitutes a separate corporation, and the parishes -in each bailiwick also constitute one superior corporation.</p> - -<p>A large proportion of the parishes appears to -possess a fund called <i>pium corpus</i>, arising partly -from voluntary contribution and other casual receipts, -but principally from funds which previously -to the Reformation had been employed for the -purposes of the Roman Catholic worship, and instead -of being confiscated by the government, as -was the case in England, were directed to be employed -for charitable purposes.</p> - -<p>Many of them also have almshouses, or, as they -are called in the Reports, hospitals for the residence -of the poor, and other endowments for their use; -and almost all possess an estate called an allemand, -which is the joint property of the persons for the -time being having bürgerrecht, or the right of -citizenship in the parish, and is, together with the -<i>pium corpus</i> and endowments, the primary fund for -the relief of the poor. Subject to the claims of the -poor, the allemand is divided among the bürghers, -without reference to their wealth or their wants, -but apparently in equal proportion to each head of -a family, and enjoyed in severalty, but inalienably, -either for life or for a shorter period.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[55]</a></span></p> - -<p>Sir E. Disbrowe states (p. 485) that the government -of the parish is vested in the mayor and a -certain number of counsellors for life (who appear -to be appointed by the government), and an equal -number of representatives chosen by the bürghers, -half of whom go out by rotation every second year.</p> - -<p>About nine-tenths of the population appear to be -bürghers; the remainder are called beisitzers or -settled non-freemen, and differ from the bürghers -by having no claim on the allemand, or vote in the -election of the parochial authorities.</p> - -<p>Bürgerrecht is obtained by inheritance, or by -purchase at a sum regulated by law, but varying -according to the allemand and the population of -each parish.</p> - -<p>It is lost by emigration or misconduct. 1st, A -person who has lost his bürgerrecht is entitled to -purchase that right in the parish in which he formerly -possessed it: a person who never possessed -that right is entitled to purchase it; 2dly, In the -parish in which he spent the last five years. In -default of this claim, 3dly, in the parish in which -he obtained his marriage license. 4thly, If unmarried, -in the parish in which he was born; or -5thly, if he have none of these claims, in the parish -to which the police thinks fit to assign him. If -he cannot or will not pay the requisite purchase-money, -he is bound by payment of half the previous -sum to constitute himself a beisitzer, and has similar -claims to admission as a beisitzer. If he cannot -pay this sum he is assigned by the police to a -parish, as a beisitzer, without payment.</p> - -<p>Having given this outline of the mode in which -the population is distributed, we proceed to state, -from the report furnished by the government, the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[56]</a></span> -degree and mode in which the poor are relieved. -(Pages 524, 525, 537, 538, 539, 540, 541, 542, -543, 547.)</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>39. He who cannot derive the necessaries of life either from -his property, his labour, or his trade, nor be supported by his -nearest relations and other persons bound to it by private right, -has a claim on the support of the (political or civil) <i>community</i> in -which he has the right of a burgher or of a beisitzer.</p> - -<p>In times of particular distress, not only those who are absolutely -poor, but those also who are indeed not without property, -but, by the unfavourable circumstances of the times, are rendered -incapable of providing the necessaries of life for themselves and -their children, have a right to require, from the communities of -which they are members, the necessary support. Thus, in the -year of scarcity in 1817, the spiritual and temporal overseers of -the communities were expressly made responsible by the government, -that none of those who were confided to their superintendence -and care should be exposed to suffer want; with the -threat, that if, for want of care on the part of the overseers, any -person should perish, the guilty should be prosecuted with all the -rigour of the law.</p> - -<p>If a person belonging to one or more communities has need of -public support, the share to be borne by each is determined by the -government authorities, having respect to the merely personal or -family connexion with the several communities.</p> - -<p>Each of the three religious persuasions prevailing in the kingdom -has the full enjoyment of its poor fund. Poor members of -the community, however, who belong to a religious persuasion -different to that which prevails in the place, cannot be denied the -necessary relief from the poor fund of the place, on account of -the difference of religion.</p> - -<h4><i>Of the Bailiwick Corporations.</i></h4> - -<p>40. If a community has so many poor, or is so limited in its -resources, that it is not in a condition properly to support its poor, -the <i>other communities of the bailiwick, particularly the towns, so -far as they are better able, and have few or no poor</i>, are bound -by the law to assist such a poor community with their alms. A -general obligation of the bailiwick corporation to assist those -communities of the bailiwicks which are not able to afford the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[57]</a></span> -necessary assistance to their poor inhabitants, is not ordained by -the laws, unless such assistance is to the interest of the bailiwick -corporation as such.</p> - -<p>In the year 1817, however, the bailiwick corporations were -enjoined, so long as the dearth lasted, and with reference to old -laws, in case single communities should be unable sufficiently -to provide for all the inhabitants, to give them credit so far -as to answer either partly or entirely for the debt, but always -with the reservation of repayment by the receivers of the aid. -And with respect to the support of the poor, which are assigned -to a community, it is expressly ordered, that if the assignment is -founded on one of the titles to a right of settlement enumerated -under 1, 2, and 3<a name="FNanchor_6" id="FNanchor_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_6" class="fnanchor">[6]</a>, the community against which the right is -established is to bear only one-third, and the whole of the bailiwick -the other two-thirds; but if the assignment is founded on one of -the other titles, the whole bailiwick has to take upon itself this -support. The expense which is hereby incurred by a bailiwick, -constitutes an object of what is called <i>amtsvergleichung</i>, and is -imposed on the whole old and now rateable <i>cadastre</i> of the -bailiwick.</p> - -<h4><i>Of the Duty of the State.</i></h4> - -<p>41. The public Exchequer affords, partly on account of the -previous sequestration of the church property, and of some other -funds and revenues destined for pious and charitable purposes, and -partly without any such special legal ground, contributions for the -foundation and support of various public beneficent institutions, -and it sometimes assists single bailiwicks, communities, and individuals -in particular cases, by contributions for charitable purposes. -But a general obligation of the public Exchequer to -intervene, in case of the inability of the communities or bailiwicks, -is no where enacted in the laws of Wurtemberg, and is also not -recognised by the government, because too great liberality on its -part, and the grant of a distinct head of expenditure for this purpose, -as in general the transferring of local burthens to the public -exchequer, might lead to very extensive consequences, and might -gradually give rise to always increasing claims, which, in the -impossibility of ranging single cases under general points of view,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[58]</a></span> -it might not be always possible successfully to meet.</p> - -<h4><i>Amount of Relief to the Poor.</i></h4> - -<p>42. What is <i>necessary</i> for a poor person or a poor family, and -how much such a person or family may require for their <i>necessary -support</i>, is not expressed in the laws of Wurtemberg; on the contrary, -the answer to this question is left to the judgment of the -magistrate in every particular case. In fact, it is not well susceptible -of a general answer, because the wants of men are so -very different, according to their constitutions and inclinations, -and the means of satisfying these wants depend too much on -personal, local, and temporary circumstances.</p> - -<h4><i>Support and Employment of the Adult Poor.</i></h4> - -<div class="sidenote">Relief of -the able-bodied -out-doors.</div> - -<p>75. With respect to the adult poor, it is enacted by our oldest -laws, that such grown-up poor who would willingly work, but -cannot find employment, <i>shall</i>, as far as possible, <i>have means -found them by the magistrates</i> to earn a livelihood by their -labour; but that lazy idlers who are strong and healthy <i>shall be -compelled to work</i>; and, according to a recent ordinance, the -able-bodied who claim support from the public funds are bound to -take any work for which they have adequate strength, whether it -be public or private, which is assigned to them by the local overseers, -receiving for it proportionate moderate wages. If they -refuse to do the work assigned them, and cannot allege that they -can earn something by other work, or produce some other excuse, -the overseer is authorized to employ towards them means of compulsion.</p> - -<p>According to old laws, poor persons who still have a house and -lands, or at least some little portions of land, and who have suffered -by failure of the crops, frost, &c., or who cannot sow their -lands, or are unable to dispose of them without great loss, but are -still able to work, and have hopes of retrieving their losses in the -harvest and autumn, shall be assisted by the communities, which, -according as the case may be, shall lend to them from the public -fund a sufficient sum, to be repaid as they may be able to do it in -course of time, or shall at least give security for them.</p> - -<p>The laws also order that in public works which the communities -have executed by daily labourers, able-bodied poor who have a claim -to support from the public funds shall be employed in preference. -In places where the hospitals have lands of their own, and farm<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[59]</a></span> -them on their own account, poor persons are also employed in -preference, at suitable wages.</p> - -<p>Not only in the year of scarcity, 1817, and subsequently, many -adult poor have been employed at suitable wages on the public -account in other hard work, such as forest labours, planting trees, -cultivating waste lands, turf-digging, working in the quarries, lime-pits, -or excavating for antiquities, pulling down old buildings, -cutting down avenues of old trees, levelling ground, laying out -new public walks or churchyards, draining marshes, cleaning -common sewers and streets, working at bridges, roads, and -canals, &c.</p> - -<p>79. According to the ancient laws, the communities are bound -to advance money on loan according to the ability of the poor -fund, and to the circumstances of the persons, to poor mechanics -who cannot begin or carry on their trade, without assistance, which -sum they are to repay as they may be able to do in time.</p> - -<p>81. But the indirect support of the poor by employment and -loans has, however, its limits.</p> - -<p>The extraordinary expense incurred in 1817, for <i>public works</i>, -was indeed justified at that time by the extraordinary distress; but -for the constant prosecution of such works, there would be wanting, -in most places, occasion and opportunity, and at all events the -necessary means; nor could the communities well be expected, -merely for the sake of employing the poor, to have such works -done by them if they are not absolutely necessary, or at least -urgently required at the moment, or if they could be performed at -a cheaper rate by contract or by statute labour.</p> - -<p>In many places there is not always an opportunity to obtain -work for daily wages, with private persons, especially in winter, -and for women and children; or at least the wages at different -times of the year, and for many kinds of work, are too small to -support a family, and when public institutions for giving employment -are in question, great prudence is necessary, that while one -person is provided with work and wages, another may not find the -source of gain interrupted or cut off by which he has hitherto -obtained a livelihood without the assistance of the magistrates.</p> - -<p>But when due attention is paid to these very important considerations, -it is extremely difficult, in Wurtemberg at least, to find -means of employing the poor capable of work, by the intervention -of the magistrates, when they are themselves not able to obtain -suitable employment, and this difficulty must increase from year to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[60]</a></span> -year, in which the number and extent of the public institutions for -employing children increase, and as the employment of the -prisoners in the penal establishments (police and workhouses, and -houses of correction) is extended.</p> - -<p>On this account, there are indeed in the capital, and in some -other places, where for the sake of the moral gain a small -pecuniary sacrifice is not regarded, particular public establishments -for employing the adult poor in spinning, and other such -work; but they nowhere extend to a whole bailiwick. Wherever -they still exist, though the poor in them are not fed and clothed, -but only employed, their support requires considerable annual aid -from public funds; and in most places the establishments formerly -opened for the employment of the adult poor have been entirely -broken up, with the exception of a part of the inhabitants of the -poor-houses (s. 91).</p> - -<p>Consequently, and especially till the new institutions for the -better education of the youthful poor shall have been able to produce -their entire effect, there will still remain in Wurtemberg a -very considerable number, not only of poor unable or unwilling to -work, but also of such as are both able and willing, who cannot -be supported otherwise than directly.</p> - -<p>82. In many places the local poor are, with this view, allowed -<i>themselves to collect</i> gifts in money, food, &c. from the wealthier -inhabitants of the place; but in most of these places this kind of -collecting of such gifts is limited to the houses of certain of the -richer inhabitants, who have given them express permission to do -so, and to fixed days and hours, and it is likewise subject to the -superintendence of the police: but as a general rule, the poor are -prohibited from personal collecting of gifts, even in their own -place of residence. On the other hand, those poor persons in -whose cases the above-described indirect means of relief are not -applicable, or not sufficient for their necessary support, regularly -receive everywhere out of the <i>public funds of the community to -which they belong</i>, and under different names, such as alms, -gratuity, pension, board, &c., partly weekly, monthly, quarterly, -or annually, partly without any fixed time, as need may be, gifts -according to the wants of the individuals relieved, and the ability -of the community, sometimes amounting to only one or a few -florins, sometimes to 20, 50, 70, and even 100 and more florins, -for each person or family in a year. With respect to the extent of -these gifts, there is nowhere any general, legal ordinance; but<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[61]</a></span> -the question, how much is requisite for the necessary support of -each individual or of each family, remains entirely for the consideration -of the authorities which have to give the relief.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">In-door -relief.</div> - -<p>67. Adult poor who, on account of their great age, or of weakness, -infirmity, and sickness of body or mind, or on account of -immoral conduct, cannot be left to themselves, and who have no -relations legally bound and able to superintend and take care of -them, and who consequently would not be sufficiently relieved -merely by a present in money or in kind, are even now, especially -in small towns, taken in by all the members of the community in -their turn, from house to house, by the day or by the week, or else -put out to board in a fixed private house at the expense of the -local funds.</p> - -<p>But as nobody readily determines to admit such persons to his -table and his house, particularly persons affected with the itch and -other contagious disorders; and as even the most careful selection -of such private boarding-houses, with the best superintendence -which is possible in such cases, frequently answers neither the expectations -of those who provide such accommodation, nor the -wants of those intended to be provided, it is very fortunate that, -partly so far back as the 14th and 15th centuries,—partly in modern -and very recent times, almost in every large and small town, and -even in some villages,—partly by particular endowments for the -purpose,—partly at the expense of the local funds, a distinct public -poor-house, or even several such poor-houses, have been built, or -purchased, or taken from debtors in lieu of payment, which were -not precisely intended to provide for persons of the above description, -but rather to receive foreign vagabonds, and also for fear -of the leprosy, plague, or cholera; which establishments, founded -under various denominations, such as poor-house, beggars’-house, -hospital, lazaretto, infirmary, leprosy-house, cholera-house, &c., &c., -now that the entrance of foreign vagrants is prevented, and the -fear of plague, leprosy, and cholera is past, can be made use of for -the reception of the native poor belonging to the above classes.</p> - -<p>Many of these houses can, indeed, accommodate only 10, 20, -30, or 40 persons, but many of them are calculated for a hundred -or several hundred persons.</p> - -<p>Formerly it was usual to receive also poor children, with or -without their parents, into these houses, but latterly the children -are otherwise disposed of, and only <i>married persons, without -children</i>, or single adult poor, are admitted, who for the most part<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[62]</a></span> -are, as far as possible, kept separate according to their sex, and -partly according to other circumstances, especially as prescribed -by existing ordinances. Separate rooms for insane and sick persons, -particularly for those who have the venereal disease and the -itch, are fitted up in these poor-houses, so as to answer, as much -as possible, this particular object; and in some cases separate -buildings are allotted for this purpose.</p> - -<p>90. In many of these poor-houses, those who are admitted into -them have only free lodging and firing, and sometimes clothing; -and to provide for their other wants, a weekly, monthly, or annual -allowance in money or in kind.</p> - -<p>In others, they are directly provided with every thing; that is, -they have in the house free lodging, candles, firing, bedding, -clothes, food, and in case of sickness, medical care, medicine, and -attendance. In general, in this case, each of the two sexes, or a -great number of such persons, nearly of the same class, have a -<i>common sleeping-room</i>, and a <i>common eating</i> and <i>working-room</i>. -Sometimes however only two, three, or four poor persons together, -and often even individual poor have their separate rooms.</p> - -<p>In the common sleeping-rooms, every person has his separate -bed, generally feather beds, such as are usually found in poor independent -families.</p> - -<p>The clothing is mostly warmer and stronger, but not so good-looking -and more old-fashioned than that of the poorer independent -citizens.</p> - -<p>The food consists, generally, in the morning of soup, at noon a -farinaceous dish and vegetables, and once, twice, rarely three -times in the week, of a quarter or half a pound of meat; in the -evening of soup, together with milk or potatoes. There are, however, -poor-houses where they get no breakfast in the morning; at -dinner only farinaceous food or vegetables (not both together), -and once a week only, or even but a few times in the year, on certain -holidays, or even not at all, meat, and in the evening nothing -but <i>soup</i>.<a name="FNanchor_7" id="FNanchor_7"></a><a href="#Footnote_7" class="fnanchor">[7]</a> When this diet is furnished by contract, 5, 5½, 6, 7, -8 to 8½ kreutzer daily per head are at present paid for it; besides -which, however, the contractor mostly has lodging and firing -gratis, and the use of a garden.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[63]</a></span></p> - -<p>Besides this, every person receives in most of these houses, 3, -3½, 4, 5, 6, and even 7 pounds of bread weekly, and in some -places a few kreutzer every week for snuff; wine is given only -where there are special endowments for that purpose, mostly on -certain holidays. The sick have better and lighter food and wine, -as the physician thinks fit to prescribe in every case.</p> - -<p>In some of these houses, more, and in others less, care is taken -that the inmates of them do not unnecessarily go out, and that -those who are able to do some work are not idle. Some hospitals -have lands which they keep in their own hands, and in this case -the inmates are employed as much as possible in assisting in the -agricultural operations. Where there is no land, they must at least -prepare the necessary firewood, carry wood and water, help in -washing, cooking, and other domestic employments; they must -spin, wind yarn, knit, sew, make clothes and shoes for the house, -&c. In some poor-houses they are also employed in making -wooden pegs for shoemakers and tilers, matches, &c.</p> - -<p>On the whole, however, the employment of these people in the -poor-houses does not produce much.</p> - -<p><i>In the year 1817, and during the dearth which prevailed at -that time, an old law which had fallen into desuetude was revived; -according to which, the rich and opulent who, after -having been previously applied to for voluntary contributions, -should not come forward in a manner suitable to their property, -are to be taxed by the magistrates in a sum conformable to their -income, and according to all the circumstances of their -situation.</i></p> - -</div> - -<p>The comparative situation of the pauper and the -independent labourer is thus stated at the conclusion -of the Government Report:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>If we now compare the situation of one of the poorest of the -Wurtemberg poor who support themselves independently by their -labour without external aid (<i>see</i> § 40.), with that of one of the -more favoured of the Wurtemberg poor who lives by public -charity, for instance, the inmate of an hospital, and even of a -prison, it might certainly appear that the condition of the latter -is preferable to that of the former.</p> - -<p>In fact, we often see such hospital inmates, and even prisoners, -attain the most advanced age, while many a poor day-labourer -and artisan sinks at a much earlier age under the weight<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[64]</a></span> -of his cares and the want of necessaries. In fact, many an -inmate of an hospital, and many a prisoner, even with bodily infirmities -and sufferings, still seems to find his condition quite -comfortable, and shows himself thankful for the good which he -enjoys, while many a day-labourer or artisan, in the enjoyment of -good bodily health, feels himself miserable, and curses his -existence; in fact, many a one seeks admission into the hospital -who would be very well able to provide himself with necessaries -by his work at home. In fact, the man often separates from his -wife, or the wife from her husband, or from the children, to be received -into the hospital. In fact, many a one does not economize, -but squanders what he has, and does not work in order to earn -something, because he thinks that he always has the right of -being received into the hospital as a last resource. <i>In fact, in -many places where there are rich hospitals and other foundations, -the number of the poor is proportionably greater than in -places where less is done for their support. In fact, many a -one continues to beg and to steal, who has already been frequently -imprisoned for these offences, because he finds his -situation in the workhouse very tolerable in comparison with the -laborious life of a poor man at liberty.</i></p> - -<p>However, the situation of the inmates of an hospital, even of -those which are the most liberal to their inmates, is by no means -so enviable as from the above comparison it might seem to be. -Frequently their residence is embittered by their being obliged to -live together with rude, quarrelsome, mad, silly, and disgusting -persons. Many embitter their own lives by a discontentedness, -which may either be natural to them, or communicated by others. -Many dislike the kind or the quantity of the work allotted to them, -the restrictions with respect to the time of going out and returning -home which are prescribed by the regulations of the house. -Prisoners, in particular, consider the loss of their freedom as an -intolerable burden. Besides this, too, the treatment is by no -means in general and in <i>every</i> poor-house so good as it is represented -in the above comparison; hence it is not the case with all -the poor received into a poor-house, that they have voluntarily -sought admission there, or that they voluntarily and willingly remain -in it; hence, too, the applications for admission to these -houses are not everywhere equally pressing; hence the assertion -that the existence of such houses increases the numbers of -prodigals, idlers, and poor, cannot be taken as generally correct.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[65]</a></span></p> - -<p>At all events, the above comparison applies to the actual inmates -of the hospital, rather than to those poor who are relieved -only by money and commodities, or by finding them employment; -for the relief which they receive in this manner is in most places -dealt out with so scanty a measure, that their situation is little or -not at all better than that of a healthy poor person, who maintains -himself independently by the labour of his hands, without external -assistance. The independent poor man always has the cheering -consciousness of maintaining himself and his family by his own -exertions, and of enjoying the respect of his fellow-citizens, which -is always lost in a greater or less degree by the poor man who -receives relief, to whom, in the eyes of the better classes, a kind -of disgrace attaches, which must often fall on the idle, who is -excluded from elections of the community, &c., restricted in -marrying, &c.</p> - -</div> - -<p>And the authors go on to express a belief that -pauperism is diminishing, and that the number of -paupers, which in 1820 amounted to 64,896, does -not now exceed 50,000, or about 1-30th of the -whole population.</p> - -<p>The preference which the government reporter -appears to give to out-door relief is opposed to the -preface to the rules of the Weinsburg House of -Industry.</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>The former mode of providing for the wants of the poor by -weekly relief in money or in bread, by giving them clothes, or -providing them small apartments, or by paying their rent or their -board, entrained many abuses, and therefore little effected its end; -in fact, it wanted the superintendence essential to the management -of a class of men for the most part of irregular and dissipated -habits. Employment was not furnished to those who were yet in -a state to work; and there were no means of repressing mendicity -and vice.—(p. 500.)</p> - -</div> - -<p>The object of this establishment is said to be,</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>Art. 1.—To provide a common habitation, and all other necessaries, -for all those who, whether sick or in health, need assistance.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[66]</a></span></p> - -<p>Art. 2.—As far as it may be possible, to furnish them with -employment, according to their capability of work.</p> - -<p>Art. 3.—Not only to provide work for those who ask for it, but -to enforce it from those who, being without property, neither engage -in trade nor in service, but endeavour to live at the expense -of others.</p> - -<p class="center">2. <i>Conditions of Admission.</i></p> - -<p>The persons who need assistance are, with few exceptions, men -of vicious, or careless, or improvident habits, who are now unable -to earn their bread. The old practice was, to pay their rent, -furnish them with fuel, or give them weekly allowances in money -or bread; but there was no certainty that these gifts were well -employed. For this reason, only persons worthy of assistance -are received, clothed, and fed in this institution: for, in our -country, well-disposed people, even with little talent, can always -earn their own maintenance.</p> - -<p>The aged or impotent poor may be admitted at their own -request.</p> - -<p>Art. 7.—The Directors of the establishment, as well as the -President of the Committee of Founders, can order the admission -of poor people if they are fully persuaded of its necessity. The -person so admitted must promise, in writing, to obey the laws of -the establishment. This admission requires to be confirmed at -the next sitting of the Committee of Founders. The same rules -apply to the admission of the indigent sick.</p> - -<p>Art. 8.—<i>But in no case is this charitable institution to become -the periodical abode of persons not accustomed to a fixed trade, -or of those who will not remain with their masters, or who would -like to pass there the winter when the demand for labour is slack, -or who have wasted their summer wages by spending the earnings -of one day’s toil in two days of idleness and debauchery.</i></p> - -<p>Art. 9.—<i>Whoever then is once admitted, enters the establishment -with all that he possesses, and engages himself to work and -remain there for ever.</i></p> - -<p>Art. 10.—In all cases, those who enter voluntarily, as well as -those who are forced to enter, are, from the moment of admission, -considered as paupers, and whatever they possess becomes the -property of the foundation.</p> - -<p>Art. 11.—In case of extraordinarily good conduct on the part -of a pauper, when there is reasonable hope that he can support<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[67]</a></span> -himself, or if he wishes to enter the service of a respectable -family, the Council of Foundation may permit him to leave the -Institution. In this case his property is restored to him, after -deducting, from a person capable of work, 58f., and from one incapable -of work 88f. The expense of their residence is deducted -from the property of the sick.</p> - -<p>All persons of the age of fourteen, who cannot prove that they -are in the service of a respectable family, may be forced to work -in the Institution.</p> - -<p>Art. 12.—All persons of either sex, who are not in a state to -maintain themselves, either from their property or by industry, -and who become chargeable to others may be admitted; but, -before the police can require their admission, it must be shown -that they have been punished three times, either for mendicity or -theft—(p. 501.)</p> - -</div> - -<p>Regulations of this severity prove that the able-bodied -paupers at least are a small and degraded -class, exciting little sympathy, for whom enough is -supposed to be done if they are prevented from -starving. As far indeed as can be collected from -the Weinsberg regulations, the undeserving may be -utterly refused relief, since it does not appear that -relief is to be given out of the house, and the applications -for admission by undeserving objects are to -be rejected.</p> - -<p>The actual working of the system may be best -inferred from the detailed accounts supplied by -Sir Edward Disbrowe of 18 parishes.</p> - -<p>Of these four, that is Obertürkheim, Osweil, -Necker Weihingen, and Egolsheim, provide for their -poor by rates levied on all the inhabitants. During -each of four years, from 1829 to 1832 inclusive, the -persons receiving relief in Obertürkheim were three -out of a population of 842, at an annual expense of -5<i>l.</i> 0<i>s.</i> 3<i>d.</i>, or about 1½<i>d.</i> per head on the whole -population. In Osweil the average number was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[68]</a></span> -eight, out of a population of 1608; average annual -expense 25<i>l.</i>, or about 3½<i>d.</i> a head. In Necker -Weihingen, of which the population is 1070, the -persons relieved were, in 1829, one man; in 1830, -one man and one woman; in 1831, one man and -one woman; and the annual expense in 1829 was -5<i>l.</i>; and in each of the years 1830 and 1831, -4<i>l.</i> 3<i>s.</i> 4<i>d.</i>, or about 1<i>d.</i> a head. The number relieved -in Egolsheim, of which the population is -618, is not mentioned; but it must have been very -trifling, since the average annual expense is stated -at 2<i>l.</i> 1<i>s.</i> 8<i>d.</i>, which is less than 1<i>d.</i> per head.</p> - -<p>In those places in which the relief of the poor is -wholly or principally supplied from endowments, the -annual expenditure is, as might have been expected, -much larger. But even in these it seldom amounts -to 1<i>s.</i> per head on the whole population, being -about one-twelfth of the average expenditure in -England. And in the whole bailiwick of Ludwigsberg, -containing 29,068 inhabitants, in the year -1831 only 372 persons received regular, and 371 -persons irregular (and indeed merely medical) -relief. The kingdom of Wurtemberg, therefore, -appears to have been, as yet, eminently successful -in reconciling a recognition of the right to relief -with economy in its distribution.</p> - -<div class="footnotes"> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_6" id="Footnote_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_6"><span class="label">[6]</span></a> See above for the statement of the different grounds on which a man -may claim the right to obtain a settlement in a parish.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_7" id="Footnote_7"></a><a href="#FNanchor_7"><span class="label">[7]</span></a> The word “<i>suppe</i>,” here and elsewhere translated by the word <i>soup</i>, has, -however, a far more general signification; the proper definition of it being -“<i>boiled fluid food</i>, eaten alone, warm, with a spoon.” Thus the Germans -have water-soup, beer-soup, milk-soup, bread-soup, flour-soup, wine-soup, &c.</p> -</div> - -</div> - -<hr /> - -<h3>BAVARIA.</h3> - -<p>With respect to the Bavarian institutions we -have little information excepting the text of the -law. The following extracts will show its general -law tendency: (pp. 556, 557, 558, 559, 560, 562, 563.)</p> - -<div class="blockquote"><div class="sidenote">Poor Law -authorities.</div> - -<p>Each town, market, and village, is to have an institution for the -poor; but if several villages wish to unite in forming one of these<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[69]</a></span> -institutions, it is not only to be permitted, but every facility is to -be afforded it.</p> - -<p>Each provincial district (landgericht) must have an institution of -its own.</p> - -<p>All the inhabitants of such district are obliged, according to -their means, to contribute to that purpose; each person is, besides, -bound to continue to support those poor relations whom the laws -direct him to maintain.</p> - -<p>The claims for relief are to be fixed according to the laws of -their district (heimath gesetz.) Sometimes, in cases of great -necessity, relief is allowed to strangers who do not belong to the -parish.</p> - -<p>The overseers consist (unless it is otherwise determined) of the -directors, of the police, commissaries, and magistrates.</p> - -<p>In cases where medical aid is necessary, they are to be attended -by physicians, who are appointed by the state.</p> - -<p>In towns and larger market towns, besides the above-named -overseers, a council is to be formed, consisting of the clergyman -and the mayor and persons deputed by the magistrates and all -classes of the people, in proportion to the number of inhabitants -of each place.</p> - -<p>In smaller market-towns the clergyman and deputies from the -peasants form this council.</p> - -<p>When several villages join together to form one of these institutions, -a general committee is to be formed.</p> - -<p>The members of the council for the institutions for the poor -are to be elected in the same way as the magistrates and mayors -(burgermeister).</p> - -<p>When several parishes are joined together, a deputy is to be -chosen from each, and again, several are elected from among -these, who are to take immediate charge of the affairs. Each -deputy is chosen for three years, and is obliged to perform his -duties without remuneration; no inhabitant is allowed to refuse -to perform his functions the first time he is elected; extraordinary -merits in the service of the poor are to be publicly distinguished.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Mode of relief.</div> - -<p>The public charge is brought into action in the following -manner:</p> - -<p>1st. By institutions for working.</p> - -<p>2d. By institutions for taking care of people who are unable -to work.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[70]</a></span></p> - -<p>3d. By institutions for alms.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1. Finding -work.</div> - -<p>1. Materials and tools are to be distributed to those paupers -who, notwithstanding all inquiries and interference, cannot obtain -the necessary work, to be used at their houses until the required -situation can be obtained. If in larger towns the number -of these is very great, houses are to be opened and maintained at -the expense of the institution for the poor, in which the paupers -who are unoccupied are to work.</p> - -<p>The choice among the different sorts of work in these houses -is settled according to the local circumstances, and chiefly according -to the facility with which either orders from private -persons can be received, or with which the material is obtained -and worked; then accordingly as the material can be used for -the wants of the poor or can be usefully employed for any other -purpose.</p> - -<p>The houses for the employment of the poor are always to -retain their original destination, namely, an employment, for the -present, of poor men who would otherwise be without work, and -therefore do not admit any such persons whose names are not -down on the above-named register. Therefore those persons -are no longer allowed to work in this house after they have had -an offer of work from any other quarter.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">2. In-door -relief.</div> - -<p>2. Houses of nourishment are to be erected for those poor -who, besides having no fortune or means of obtaining their -livelihood, are in an extraordinary degree helpless, namely, -children, sick people, old persons, and cripples.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">3. Money -relief.</div> - -<p>3. Poor people who do not require extraordinary care, and -who are not fit to be admitted into the particular houses of -nourishment, or cannot yet be received into them, but are unable -to gain their livelihood, are to be assisted by alms, which, however, -are not to be given without the most complete proof of -want.</p> - -<p>The alms are to be given in the form of gifts of money. These -gifts are sometimes to be increased, according to the price of -provisions; and from time to time a maximum is to be fixed, -which is on no account to be exceeded.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Relief by -quartering -on householders.</div> - -<p>These gifts of money may, either in part or entirely, be substituted -by provisions, if this sort of aid is more easily afforded -with regard to lodging, nourishment, and clothing.</p> - -<p>Their lodging is to be changed every day among the different -members of the parish, but the poor who are lodged are obliged -to repay this lodging by work. Where there are opportunities,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[71]</a></span> -rooms are to be warmed, to which the poor may bring their work.</p> - -<p>The nourishment of the poor can be facilitated and insured by -the equal division of them amongst the public, to be maintained -in turn, being obliged to partake of the work of their host, or by -voluntarily offered days for food, or lastly, by distribution of -bread and other nourishment. Where circumstances permit, -kitchens are to be erected on purpose for preparing nourishing -soups, partly gratis, partly very cheap.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Liabilities -of pauper.</div> - -<p>No pauper who partakes of the benefactions of the poor institutions -may go away from his dwelling without the knowledge -and leave of the head of the village, to stay for some time, or -permanently in another village, even if it is in the same district.</p> - -<p>The same leave from the police direction is necessary when a -pauper wishes, for some good reason, to go out of his police -district; the leave is only to be given in both cases on well-grounded -reasons, and on proofs that the poor will not be burdensome -to other villages and districts; also he must give in a -declaration to the same, in which, besides his name and village, -and the duration of his absence, the villages to which he intends -to go must be expressed.</p> - -<p>Paupers who have been warned in vain concerning bad conduct -and idleness shall be proceeded against without favour, by -the power of magistrates, and be punished accordingly.</p> - -<p>The poor institutions can claim repayment from those hypocrites -who, although they possess private means, embezzle and -grasp at the gifts and assistance which are only intended for true -poverty, which shall be fully repaid. The poor institutions can -make the same claim from those persons who have renounced -their duty of supporting those relations whom they are obliged -to support, either by law or by contract.</p> - -<p><i>No marriage between people without capital shall be allowed -without the previous permission of the poor institutions. Directors -who do not follow these orders, nor pay attention to the -Act of the 12th of July, 1808 (Government Paper, page 1506), -concerning marriages in the country, have to answer for the -maintenance of the new families, should they not be able to -maintain themselves. In the same manner, the priests and other -churchmen shall be responsible for the support of such persons -as they have married without leave from the authorities, besides -other fines which are imposed on this breach of the rules of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[72]</a></span> -marriage ceremony.</i></p> - -<div class="sidenote">Sources of -poor fund.</div> - -<p>Besides the extraordinary sources, which consist partly in the -restitution which hypocrites and relations who avoid their duty -are obliged to make, and partly out of fines which are given to -the poor fund, or may be hereafter given, are sources for charity -from donations from the district fund, and from loans or from -taxes.</p> - -<p>The yearly produce of all charities belongs to the poor institutions, -and is used for their purposes. With the establishments -for the poor are united the already existing or still accumulating -capitals of one or other of the poor institutions; the gain on -mortgages or on those possessions whose owners cannot be discovered; -the legacies for the poor, when by the will of the deceased -they are to be laid out in a regular yearly income, and -the fourth part of such legacies as are destined in general for -pious purposes.</p> - -<p>The voluntary donations consist of casual gifts in money and -food which have been given by philanthropic persons of their -own accord, for the use of the poor institutions, and in this -manner are to be employed for their daily use. Besides these, -are the legacies which are meant for immediate division among -the poor, and those subscriptions which are collected either by -single persons or by companies and corporations.</p> - -<p>General and extraordinary collections, in the name of the institutions -for the poor, are to be made monthly from house to -house, when the members of the parish have bound themselves to -a certain subscription; also in the churches on the great holidays, -and in the public-houses by means of private poor-boxes; and -lastly, on all important and joyful occasions of the state, or -companies.</p> - -<p>According to the circumstances of the place, certain accidental -funds can be appropriated to the uses of the poor institutions, -which particularly on great joyful occasions, namely, great -marriages in the taverns, the permission to have music, particularly -past the stated times, processions of the apprentices, -shooting matches, &c. &c., at shows, balls, masquerades, and so on.</p> - -<p>When all the aforesaid sources do not suffice to cover the -wants of the poor institutions, it will be supplied out of the funds -of the district, or through loans, and then only when all these -means cannot be put in practice, or do not suffice to cover their<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[73]</a></span> -wants, compulsory contributions or poor-taxes are to be resorted -to. The manner and amount of these are to be according to the -calls of the villages and districts, and are only to be levied for a -certain time. It is to be observed, however, that these taxes are -to be imposed with the greatest equality, and without any exception -among all classes.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Central -control.</div> - -<p>The poor institutions and committees in such towns as have -no police directors or commissaries, also in the market towns -and parishes, are directly under the control of the district tribunal, -and under their guidance and inspection.</p> - -<p>The inspection of the poor institutions of the whole kingdom -is given to the ministry for the interior, which is to receive regularly -the report of the state of this branch of administration from -the annual accounts and other proper sources, and which is to -issue the necessary general orders and regulations, and is to judge -of the proposals for the establishment, the arrangement and -fitting up of workhouses, and others in which the poor are taken -care of, for single districts, whole circles, or for the entire kingdom, -which decides with the ministry of finance all proposals for -allowing certain taxes and poor subscriptions, decides the complaints -brought against the general circle and local commissaries, -if such do not belong to the private council, and causes the election -of certain poor directors where it may be found advisable.</p> - -</div> - -<p>It will be observed, that these institutions bear a -considerable resemblance to those of Wurtemberg. -Their effects are thus summed up by Lord Erskine:</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>Upon carefully examining and considering these poor laws of -Bavaria. I have come to the conclusion in my own mind that -they are useful, and well adapted to the purposes for which they -were intended, because by the establishment of the poor institutions -(as they are called), by districts over the whole kingdom -of Bavaria, with sufficient power by law to carry their provisions -into execution, the great and important object is attained of -giving relief and support to the aged, helpless, and sick, and finding -work in workhouses or at their own homes, at a moderate payment, -for those who cannot otherwise obtain it; for which purpose -a register is to be kept by the guardians of the poor of all those -persons who are in want of work, and who are therefore either a -burthen upon the parish, or are likely to become so, as also a list<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[74]</a></span> -of those who wish to employ workmen, in order to endeavour to -arrange between them the terms of employment; and that this -object may be the more easily attained, the directors are required -to be in continual communication with the overseers of public -works, the masters of manufactories, with individual proprietors, -and societies; in order that where there are a quantity of hands -capable of work, they may be passed into that part of the -country where they are most wanted; but whenever it may -happen that, notwithstanding all inquiries and exertions, the -necessary work cannot be obtained, in such cases materials and -tools are to be distributed to those paupers who may be in want -of them, to be used at their own houses; and if in larger towns -the number of those paupers should be very great, houses are to -be opened and maintained at the expense of the institutions for the -poor, in which the paupers who are out of work are to be employed; -but the number of paupers to be so employed is always -limited to those who have not had a reasonable offer of work -from any other quarter. But the great cause why the number -of the poor is kept so low in this country, arises from the prevention -by law of marriages in cases in which it cannot be proved -that the parties have reasonable means of subsistence; and this -regulation is in all places and at all times strictly adhered to.</p> - -<p>The effect of a constant and firm observance of this rule has, -it is true, a considerable influence in keeping down the population -of Bavaria, which is at present low for the extent of country, but -it has a most salutary effect in averting extreme poverty and consequent -misery. (p. 554.)</p> - -</div> - -<p>The last of the countries subject to a system of -compulsory relief, from which we have a return, is -the ancient part of the</p> - -<hr /> - -<h3>CANTON DE BERNE.</h3> - -<p>It appears from that return, that the inhabitants -of that part of the Canton, which is subject to the -laws which we are going to describe, consisted, in -1831, of 321,468 persons, divided into three classes, -heimathloses, aubains, and bourgeois.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[75]</a></span></p> - -<p>The first class, which appears to be so small as -to be inconsiderable, consist of foreign refugees or -their descendants. The second comprises all those -who have not a right to bourgeoisie in any commune: -their number amounted, in 1780, to 3482 -persons. It is said to have subsequently increased, -but it is not probable that it has more than doubled; -and we believe that 10,000 persons, or less than -1-32nd part of the whole population, exceeds the -whole number of those who are not entitled to -bourgeoisie; but it is to be observed that the word -“aubain,” though strictly meaning a person who -has no settlement in the Canton, is also applied to -persons who, though bourgeois, are not entitled to -bourgeoisie in the commune in which they reside. -The support of the heimathloses and of the aubains, -properly so called, that is, of those who have no -right whatever to bourgeoisie, falls on the government.</p> - -<p>The third class is composed of the descendants -of those who, in the sixteenth century, were held -entitled to the public property of each commune, -and those who by themselves or their ancestors have -purchased bourgeoisie in any commune. Bourgeoisie -appears to be personal and hereditary. It -is not gained by residence, or lost by absence; and -may therefore, in fact, belong to persons having -little other connexion with the commune.</p> - -<p>At a period, of which the precise date is not -stated, but which appears to belong to the seventeenth -century, it became the law that every one -was entitled to support from the commune of which -he was bourgeois, and that the sums necessary were -to be supplied from the public property of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[76]</a></span> -commune; and so far as that was insufficient, from -landed property, to whomsoever belonging, situated -in the commune, and from the personal property of -the bourgeois whether resident or not.</p> - -<p>To this hereditary bourgeoisie the raising and -administration of the poor-fund was and still is -confided; and apparently with most unfortunate -results.</p> - -<p>The following is the conclusion of the official -answer of the government of Berne to the questions -proposed by Mr. Morier (p. 207):—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p><i>What are the abuses complained of?</i></p> - -<p><i>Do they arise from the principle of the law, or from the character -and social position of its administrators?</i></p> - -<p><i>What remedies have been applied?</i></p> - -<p><i>What have been their results?</i></p> - -<p>The abuses in the administration arise both from the principle -of the law, and from the character and social position of its administrators: -from the law, because it abandons all administration -to the communes; from the administrators, because they neglect -improvement, distribute relief without discrimination or real -inquiry, and generally provide only against the exigences of the -moment.</p> - -<p>The separate parishes, being, for the most part, too small to -establish schools and workhouses, want means of coercion, and are -in general more busied in providing relief for those actually indigent -than in diminishing their number, either as regards the present -or future generations. Besides, although the practice is not -sanctioned by law, many parishes, in order to prevent the return -of their bourgeois who are domiciled elsewhere, forward to them -relief without being able to ascertain their conduct.</p> - -<p>The government has long felt that these abuses could not be -remedied except by a law founded on a principle totally different -from that of abandoning the administration to the parishes: but -from a mistaken solicitude for the poor, it always hesitated to -take this course.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[77]</a></span></p> - -<p><i>What has been the influence of the system?</i></p> - -<p>1. <i>Statistically?</i></p> - -<p>2. <i>Morally?</i></p> - -<p>1. <i>Has the number of the indigent augmented, diminished, or -remained stationary?</i></p> - -<p>2. <i>Does the law appear to have encouraged imprudent marriage -or illicit intercourse?</i></p> - -<p>The answers are implied in our previous statements. The existing -system favours imprudent marriage and illicit intercourse,—but, -precisely because it encourages marriage, probably does not -augment the proportion of illegitimate to legitimate births. But -the final result is, that it encourages, in an extraordinary degree, -the increase of the indigent population. The abuses which have -followed this fatal system are too numerous to be here detailed. -It is easy to conceive what must have been its results on a populace -whom education, or rather the want of education, has deprived -of all honourable feeling, and of all preference of independence to -public charity. Idleness, carelessness, improvident marriage, and -illicit intercourse, have been encouraged by the prospect of making -others support their results. All means and opportunities of acquiring -knowledge, or skill, or regular occupation, have been -neglected. Thence have arisen not only a constantly increasing -burden upon society, but obstacles to the development of the physical -and intellectual faculties, to moral improvement, and in short -to the advancement of civilization. <i>Experience has clearly -proved, that the number of paupers increases in proportion to -the resources created for them, and that the bourgeois population -is least industrious and least active, and endeavours least to be -useful to society in those parishes which have the largest public -property and public revenue.</i></p> - -<p>This state of things, and above all the constantly increasing -burden in some parts of the country, and the demands urged by -parishes on the State for protection against the claims and the insolence -of the really and the pretended indigent, have determined -the government to strive to remedy the evil at its source. We -are still ignorant of the proposed principles of the new law. The -plan, or at least the preparatory inquiry, is now going on in the -offices of the Department of the Interior. It is nearly certain, -however, that compulsory charity will be, if not entirely abolished, -at least restricted to those poor who are incapable of work. But -if assessment for the indigent is put an end to, the revenue of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[78]</a></span> -properties appropriated to them will remain for their support.</p> - -<p>The administration of the poor-laws in the Canton of Berne is -therefore on the eve of a radical reform.</p> - -</div> - -<p>The same views are more fully developed in a -long and very able supplement to these answers, -which immediately follows them, and bears the same -official character—(pp. 220-222, and 225.)</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>The administration of parochial property has not been properly -audited by any parochial authorities: frequently and for -many years it has remained in the hands of the same family; -those to whom it has been intrusted have received little or no -salary: a capricious and dishonest management were the obvious -and almost the inevitable consequences. The mere nature of the -transaction led to mal-administration. The poor who had a -right to bourgeoisie had a right to relief. How could their conduct -or their wants be ascertained, if they dwelt in other parishes, -with whose authorities their own parish had no relation? Was -it not almost inevitable that relief would be demanded with insolence -and spent in idleness and debauchery?</p> - -<p>In some places in the mountains (such as Sieventhal and -Grindelwald), the relief was given in kind; but with the increased -circulation of money, money-relief has become general, -and is exclusively afforded to out-parishioners. The facility with -which such relief is mis-applied has favoured mis-management, -and may be said to engender pauperism.</p> - -<p><i>These fatal results have become more strongly felt as the -number of the poor has augmented. In many places the growing -embarrassment occasioned great and praiseworthy remedial -efforts. The administration was made more regular, and -inspectors and other officers appointed. Some country parishes -erected alms-houses at an expense apparently beyond their -means. But many of these fine institutions disappointed the -hopes of their founders: we shall presently see why. These -new measures and institutions were each the private affair of -each parish; they failed because they were isolated. The -beneficial measures of one parish were not supported by its -neighbours. They followed their old routine, and opposed improvement -by obstacles and dislike. Superintendence, which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[79]</a></span> -is essential to the administration of poor laws, was ineffectual, -because it was applied only to the parishioners of the single -commune which enforced it.</i></p> - -<p>During the last half century, other countries have acquired -knowledge relative to alms-houses for the poor, and have adopted -the results of the inquiries and experience of their neighbours. -This has not been the case with our own establishments: their -very origin was erroneous. They were the products of a philanthropy -which proposed entirely to remedy all human misery. -They were founded in villages, and proportioned each to the -existing wants of the village. Their resources seldom permitted -the adoption of the first condition of good administration, namely, -classification. And even when we find a spacious building, we -see heaped, pell-mell, children by the side of the old and infirm, -and the sick mixed with able-bodied idlers. Even whole families -are found in this assemblage of the good and bad, the sick and -the healthy, the useful and the mischievous. In such establishments -provision ought to have been made for the education of the -children, the cure of the sick, the support of the aged, and the -employment of the able-bodied. Each class of inmates required -a separate treatment. The instant this principle is neglected, -and classification abandoned, the institution not only loses its -utility, but becomes actually mischievous. But each single -establishment was governed by a single authority, unfit for the -management of several dissimilar classes of inmates. In general, -one uniform system was applied to them all. A further obstacle -to the success of these establishments was the frequent change of -their governors. As they were ill-paid and often subject to disagreeable -contests with the local authorities, it was difficult to -get good officers, and still more so to keep them. (p. 221.)</p> - -<p>Unfavourable as our representation of these establishments has -been, the picture of the treatment of the poor in the other parts -of the canton is still more gloomy and painful. In these districts -(superintendence being absent) all that is not left to accident is -regulated by habit, or by a routine without apparent motives.</p> - -<p>In such places no regular system is to be looked for. The most -usual modes of affording relief are allowances in money, or payment -of board. In some places, as in Emmenthal, the parochial -charges are thrown on the large estates, and the proprietors are -forced in turn, and gratuitously, to maintain the paupers who are -allotted to them. In many other places it has long been the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[80]</a></span> -custom to send round the poor to be maintained in turn by the -settled inhabitants (bourgeois), some of whom, though forced to -receive paupers, are themselves in indigent, or even in distressed -circumstances.</p> - -<p>Not less sad or even revolting is the practice which prevails in -some poor and ill-judging parishes of getting rid of their poor by -allotting them to those who will take them on the lowest terms. -The parochial authorities offer an allowance to those who will -receive such and such paupers. The allowance at first proposed -is very small; but it is ready money, and public competition -enables the parish to make it still smaller. The poor victim falls -into the hands of a rapacious and needy family. We may conceive -how deplorable his situation must always be. That it is -sometimes supportable can be attributed only to a benevolence -not yet entirely stifled in the hearts of our people. Cases even -have occurred in which the proprietors, by allowing their inmates -to work for themselves, have given them habits of industry, and -bred up their children to be good workmen. But these exceptions -only render the general rule more apparent.</p> - -<p>Relief in money produces effects equally pernicious. It is the -result of the law which enables every family which is, or believes -itself to be, in want, to demand a relief which cannot be refused. -Small sums are given sometimes for payment of rent, sometimes -to meet other wants, whether the applicant live in the parish or -elsewhere—and without control or superintendence. What can, -what must be the consequences? (p. 222.)</p> - -<p>We cannot wonder, then, that the administration of the poor -laws in the canton of Berne has become so irregular and so mischievous. -The effects of the subdivision of the inhabitants into -so many corporations have become more and more apparent. -The principle of permanent and hereditary unions necessarily -clashed with the principle of mobility and change which governs -all our social relations. The welfare of the public necessarily -gave way to that of the particular corporations, and the private -interests of the corporations or parishes rendered them selfish and -mutually hostile. <i>Obstacles were opposed to every change of -residence, and consequently the industry and enterprise of the -labouring classes were paralyzed, and the parishes felt the results -of their own measures when an unemployed and dispirited population -was thrown upon them. It was to be expected that in -time this population would look for support to the relief to which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[81]</a></span> -they had a legal right; it was natural that in time they would -get a taste for an idle and consequently vicious existence.</i> We -could support our remarks by many instances of whole families -which have subsisted like parasites from year to year, and from -generation to generation, on the parochial funds; whose status it -is to be paupers; and the cases in which they have emerged from -this condition are few.</p> - -</div> - -<p>The government appears to have been struggling -with these evils ever since the beginning of this -century. The first ordonnance which has been forwarded -to us is that of the 22d December, 1807.</p> - -<p>The following are its most material enactments -(pp. 191, 192):—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>The parishes and parochial corporations (bourgeoisies) in the -town and in the country are required, as heretofore, to afford protection -and relief to their needy fellow-citizens.</p> - -<p>No one can claim parochial relief unless he is without property, -and either physically incapable of work, or out of employ -without his own fault.</p> - -<p>Parishes may continue their previous modes of regulating and -fixing their accounts with respect to the poor.</p> - -<p>They may likewise relieve their poor as they think fit, by regular -money relief, by putting them out to board, by collecting them -in a single establishment, or placing them in hospitals, or distributing -among themselves the children of the indigent. But it is -forbidden for the future that, except in cases of emergency, and -with the sanction of the district authorities, they should be sent -round from house to house to be maintained. Persons arrested for -begging, and taken to their parish, shall be sentenced by the -parochial authorities, after having given notice to the district -judge. The punishment may be eight days’ imprisonment on -bread and water, or fifteen days’ hard labour<a name="FNanchor_8" id="FNanchor_8"></a><a href="#Footnote_8" class="fnanchor">[8]</a>.</p> - -<p><i>An equally rigorous treatment is to be applied to those who, -being in the receipt of parochial relief, are disobedient, or give -rise to well-founded complaint. They may be forbidden to enter<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[82]</a></span> -inns, or drinking-shops, and punished in the above-mentioned -manner if they disobey.</i></p> - -<p>Parishes may require their overseers to watch the conduct of -those who, from extravagance, drunkenness, debauchery, or -other misbehaviour, are in danger of poverty, and to proceed -legally to have them placed under restrictions. Such persons -may be forbidden by the prefect, on the application of the parish, -to frequent, for a certain period, inns and drinking-shops.</p> - -<p>If a person who has received relief subsequently obtains any -property, his parish may demand to be reimbursed their expenditure -on his behalf, but without interest; and though they may -not have exercised their right during his life, they may proceed -against his estate after his death.</p> - -<p><i>No pauper can marry without the consent of his parish, nor -without having reimbursed it for the relief which he has -received.</i> The same law applies to widowers, who, while married, -had received relief for themselves or their children. None -who are relieved in consequence of sickness or infirmity should -be allowed to marry, except in extreme cases.</p> - -<p>No minister, unless with the permission of the parish, ought to -announce from the pulpit the intended marriage of one whom he -knows to be in the receipt of relief.</p> - -<p>If children, in consequence of the idleness, debauchery, gambling, -or voluntary desertion of their father, become chargeable to -the parish, and it is alleged that the father if he had been industrious -and frugal could have supported them, the overseers -may bring an action against him for the amount of the relief -which has been afforded to his children; and if he do not pay he -may be suspended from the exercise of all civil rights and claims -as a bourgeois, <i>or be sentenced to not exceeding two years’ imprisonment -in a house of correction</i>. A second offence is to be -more severely punished.</p> - -<p>A mother wilfully abandoning her children shall be taken back -to her parish and there kept to work. If she refuse, or attempt -to escape, she may, on the requisition of her parish, and subject -to an appeal to the Council of State, be sentenced to not exceeding -three years’ imprisonment in a house of correction.</p> - -<p>Women who have had several bastards chargeable to the -parish may, on the requisition of their parishes, be similarly -punished. -No one receiving, or who has received, parochial assistance,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[83]</a></span> -either on his own account or on that of his children can, unless -specially authorized so to do by his parish, be present at parochial -meetings, until he has repaid all the sums advanced to him.</p> - -<p>If any person entitled to parochial relief shall be refused, or -insufficiently relieved, he may complain to the Prefect, who shall -thereupon hear the allegations of the parish, and ascertain the -condition of the complainant, with the assistance, if he has any -doubt as to the existence or degree of his bodily infirmities, of a -physician. The Prefect may then order such relief as may -appear to him necessary, but no part of it is to be given in -money.</p> - -</div> - -<p>It appears, however, to have been unsuccessful; -for 12 years after, the government, after having in -vain offered rewards for good advice on the subject -(p. 225), by an ordonnance dated the 14th April, -1819, absolutely forbade the levying of rates -higher than the average of those of the years 1813, -1814, and 1815. The failure of so coarse a remedy -might have been predicted, and accordingly -we find the present state of the country thus described -in the official report (p. 214):—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>It is evident that, with respect to pauperism, the present situation -of the Canton de Berne is in the highest degree painful. -The evil is not temporary or partial: it arises from no external -or accidental sources: a considerable portion of the population is -attacked by it, and it is spreading itself, like a moral blight, over -the whole community.</p> - -<p>Some districts, or some classes, may perhaps suffer less than -others, but the malady continues its progress and its extension: -if it decrease in one place, it grows in another. It is indeed -evident that it contains within itself the elements of its own -increase. Not merely the annual augmentation of the number -of paupers, but their constantly increasing misconduct, their -carelessness, and insolence, and above all, their utter immorality, -prove the augmenting force of the evil; an evil which must -destroy all benevolent feelings, and swallow up, without being -satisfied, all that charity can supply. -The contagious nature of the disease carries it beyond the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[84]</a></span> -indigent, to invade and destroy the classes immediately above -them. Those whose daily labour ought to have supported them, -and those small proprietors whose properties ought to have -enabled them to maintain their families, satisfy their engagements, -and contribute to the relief of the poor, even these classes -throw themselves among the really indigent, and add weight to -the load which oppresses those who cannot escape the poor tax.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnotes"> -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_8" id="Footnote_8"></a><a href="#FNanchor_8"><span class="label">[8]</span></a> It is not easy to say what is meant by the original; whether labour in -irons, “enchainement au bloc,” is a necessary part of the punishment or not.</p> -</div> -</div> - -<hr /> - -<h2>Causes favourable to the working of the above institutions.</h2> - -<p>We have now given a very brief outline of the -institutions of those portions of the Continent -which appear, from the returns, to have adopted -the English principle of acknowledging in every -person a right to be supported by the public. It -will be observed that in no country, except, perhaps, -the Canton de Berne, has compulsory relief -produced evils resembling, either in intensity or in -extent, those which we have experienced; and that -in the majority of the nations which have adopted -it, the existing system appears to work well.</p> - -<p>These opposite consequences from the adoption -of the same principle, may be accounted for on several -different grounds.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1. Villenage.</div> - -<p>1. Among some of the nations in question villenage -still exists. Now where slavery, in any of -its forms, prevails, the right of the slave or villein -to support is a necessary and a safe consequence. -It is necessary, because a person who is not a free -agent cannot provide for himself. It is safe, because -one of the principal evils of pauperism, improvidence, -can scarcely exist among slaves, and -the power of the master enables him to prevent -idleness and fraud. The poor laws of Russia,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[85]</a></span> -therefore, if they can be called poor laws, are -merely parts of her system of slavery.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">2. Recency -of the -system.</div> - -<p>2. Among most of the other nations in question -the compulsory system is in its infancy. Denmark -has only lately got rid of slavery, and her poor -laws date from 1798. Those of Sweden, in their -present form, of Mecklenburg, Saxony, Wurtemberg -and Bavaria, all bear the appearance of recency. -In Wurtemberg assessments had been long -obsolete, until they were re-introduced during the -famine of 1817. The only country in which the -compulsory system appears to have continued as -long as it has in England, is that in which it has -produced effects resembling those which have followed -it with us, namely, the Canton de Berne.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">3. Small -number of -persons -wholly dependent -on -wages.</div> - -<p>3. Another circumstance which renders compulsory -relief less dangerous in the countries which -we have been considering than in our own, is the -economical situation of their labouring population. -In England the great mass of the people are day-labourers, -enjoying, where they have escaped the -oppression of poor law abuses, high wages and -steady employment, but possessed of little visible -property, and seldom living under their masters’ -roof. Such persons are not deterred from demanding -relief by the fear of losing their property, since, -where they have any, it is capable of concealment; -and they need not always even fear degradation, -since the fact of their receiving it may often be -concealed. There are many instances in the Poor -Law Evidence in which the masters, and even the -companions of paupers, were not aware of their receiving -allowance. But the class of persons without<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[86]</a></span> -visible property, which constitutes the bulk of -English society, forms the small minority of that of -the north of Europe. The Norwegian return states, -(698 and 699) that at the last census in 1825, out -of a population of 1,051,318 persons, there were -59,464 freeholders. As by 59,464 freeholders -must be meant 59,464 heads of families, or about -300,000 individuals, the freeholders must form -more than a fourth of the whole population. Mr. -Macgregor states (p. 300) that in Denmark (by -which Zealand and the adjoining islands are probably -meant), out of a population of 926,110, the -number of landed proprietors and farmers is -415,110, or nearly one-half. In Sleswick Holstein, -out of a population of 604,085, it is 196,017, -or about one-third. The proportion of proprietors -and farmers to the whole population is not given -in Sweden; but the Stockholm return estimates -the average quantity of land annexed to a labourer’s -habitation at from one to five acres -(p. 375); and though the Gottenburg return gives -a lower estimate, it adds, that the peasants possess -much of the land. (p. 387.) In Wurtemberg -we are told that more than two-thirds of the labouring -population are the proprietors of their own -habitations, and that almost all own at least a -garden of from three-quarters of an acre to an acre -and a half. (p. 511.)</p> - -<p>All the returns concur in stating the number of -day-labourers to be very small.</p> - -<p>The Norwegian report states, that “by law servants -should never be hired for a shorter period -than a twelvemonth. Employing labourers by the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[87]</a></span> -day, though often done in and about towns, is -consequently illegal.” (p. 695.) Few day-labourers -are to be met with. (p. 698.) The Gottenburgh, -that “strictly speaking there are in Sweden -few labourers on the same footing as in England.” -(p. 387.) The Russian, that “the labourers are almost -all slaves,” and that “the average quantity of -land allowed by a proprietor to his slave is 15 -acres.” (p. 334.) The Danish report, that “the -day-labourers form in Zealand and the adjoining -islands less than one-fifth, and in Sleswick Holstein -less than one-third of the agricultural population.” -(p. 300.) The Wurtemberg report states -the labourers to amount to 41,913 (meaning of -course heads of families, or about 210,000 individuals) -out of a population of 1,518,147, being in -fact less than 1-7th. (p. 514.) The Bavarian, that -“in the country there are very few day-labourers, -as almost every person has some ground of his own, -and few are rich enough to hire labour.” (p. 556.)</p> - -<p>It is probable therefore that the class of persons -who in the north of Europe and Germany would -be exposed to the temptation of applying for public -relief if it were granted on the same terms as in -England, would be a small minority instead of a -large majority, and would be perhaps a seventh, -fifth, or at most a third instead of three-fourths, -or even a larger proportion of the whole community.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">4. The situation -of the -pauper -being made -less eligible -than that -of the independent -labourer.</div> - -<p>4. But the conditions on which parochial assistance -is afforded in the countries in question, form -perhaps the principal difference between their systems -and that which we have adopted. In England,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[88]</a></span> -where the scale and the allowance system -prevail, no condition whatever can be said to be -imposed on the pauper. What he receives is a mere -gratuitous addition to his income. Even where -work is required, the hours are in general fewer, -and the labour less severe than those of the independent -labourer. And the workhouse, the most -powerful of our instruments of repression, affords, -in general, food, lodging, clothing and warmth, -better than can be found in the cottage, <i>and may -be quitted at a day’s notice</i>.</p> - -<p>But in all the countries which we have been considering, -except the Canton de Berne and perhaps -Denmark, the great object of pauper legislation, -that of rendering the situation of the pauper less -agreeable than that of the independent labourer, -has been effectually attained.</p> - -<p>On recurring to the statements which we have -extracted, it will be seen that he loses all right to -property; that he becomes incapable of contracting -marriage while receiving relief, and in many countries, -if he have once received relief, cannot marry -until he has reimbursed the parish, or has procured -security that his future family shall not become -chargeable, or till three years have elapsed since -he last received relief. If married, he loses control -over his children, he cannot choose his residence or -his occupation, and if he once becomes the inmate -of a workhouse <i>he incurs the risk of imprisonment for -life</i>. When such are the terms offered by the public, -it is easy to understand that none but the really -destitute will accept them.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[89]</a></span></p> - -<div class="sidenote">5. Restraints -imposed -on -the labouring -classes.</div> - -<p>5. The prevalence of habits productive of pauperism -is repressed by subjecting the whole labouring -population to superintendence and restrictions, -which we should consider vexatious. As they are -in a great measure interwoven with the laws for the -relief of the unemployed, and have been in general -already stated, it is not necessary to repeat them.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">6. Prevention -of improvident -marriage.</div> - -<p>6. In almost all the countries which have been -mentioned, endeavours are made to prevent the existence -of a redundant population, by throwing obstacles -in the way of improvident marriage. Marriage -on the part of persons in the actual receipt of -relief, appears to be everywhere prohibited, and -the marriage of those who are not likely to possess -the means of independent support, is allowed by -very few.</p> - -<p>Thus we are told that in Norway no one can -marry without “showing, to the satisfaction of the -clergyman, that he is permanently settled in such -a manner as to offer a fair prospect that he can -maintain a family.” (p. 697.)</p> - -<p>In Mecklenburg, that “marriages are delayed -by conscription in the 22d year, and military service -for six years; besides, the parties must have a -dwelling, without which a clergyman is not permitted -to marry them. The men marry at from 25 -to 30, the women not much earlier, as both must -first gain by service enough to establish themselves.” -(p. 423.)</p> - -<p>In Saxony, “that a man may not marry before -he is 21 years old, if liable to serve in the army.” -In Dresden, “professionists, (by which word artizans -are probably meant,) may not marry until they<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[90]</a></span> -become masters in their trade.” (p. 482.)</p> - -<p>In Wurtemberg, “that no man is allowed to marry -till his 25th year, on account of his military duties, -unless permission be especially obtained or purchased: -at that age he must also obtain permission, -which is granted on proving that he and his wife -would have together sufficient to maintain a family, -or to establish themselves; in large towns, say -from 800 to 1000 florins, (from 66<i>l.</i> 13<i>s.</i> 4<i>d.</i> to -84<i>l.</i> 3<i>s.</i> 4<i>d.</i>;) in smaller, from 400 to 500 florins; -in villages, 200 florins, (16<i>l.</i> 13<i>s.</i> 4<i>d.</i>) They must -not be persons of disorderly or dissolute lives, -drunkards, or under suspicion of crime, and they -must not have received any assistance from their -parish within the last three years.” (p. 511.)</p> - -<p>And we have seen that a similar law prevails -and is strictly enforced in Bavaria.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">7. Provision -for the -education -of the -labouring -classes.</div> - -<p>7. Another means by which the extension of pauperism -is opposed in the countries which we have -described, is the care taken by the government to -provide for the education of the labouring classes. -We are told (pp. 695 and 698) that in Norway -their children have free access to the parish schools, -and that the poor pay for the education of their -children, and for religious teachers, nothing or -nearly so. The general report from Russia states -(p. 332) that every parish in every town has a -school which is open to children of all classes, -under the direction of the clergyman; and this is -borne out by the consular return from Archangel. -(p. 337.) The Gottenburg report states (p. 385) -that in Sweden gratuitous education is provided for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[91]</a></span> -children of the indigent, and that it is asserted -that there is not one person out of 1000 who cannot -at least read. The Danish reports state (pp. -264, 293) that the children of all poor persons are -educated gratuitously: that the parish is taxed for -the payment of the schoolmaster, the repairs of the -schoolhouse, books, papers, pens, ink, &c.; and -that parents are bound under a penalty to send -their children regularly to school until they have -passed the age of 14, and been confirmed. Gratuitous -education is also afforded in Mecklenburg -(p. 491) and in Prussia. Mr. Gibsone states, as -the general law of the country, that “all children -capable of going to school are obliged to attend it. -Those whose parents are unable to pay the expense, -must be sent thither at the cost of the community -to which they belong” (p. 460); “the expense -of school-money and religious instruction is about -1<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i> yearly for each child.” (p. 466.) In the detailed -regulation for the relief of the poor in Berlin, -(p. 455,) it is laid down that “the period of children -being sent to school regularly commences at -the beginning of the child’s seventh year, and terminates -when the child, according to the testimony -of the minister, has acquired the knowledge necessary -for his station in life, which generally occurs -on his attaining his 14th year. If parents allow -their children to grow up without instruction, the -commissioners for the relief of the poor are to -remonstrate with them, and should this be of no -avail, the commissary of police is to interfere.” In -Saxony, “the local poor commission supports free -schools.” (p. 480.)</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[92]</a></span></p> - -<p>The care which has been bestowed on this subject -in Wurtemberg is remarkable. The government -report, after stating the recent introduction -and success of infant schools, adds that—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>For older children, from the age of 6 to 14, there has long -existed in Wurtemberg in every, even the smallest community, -supported chiefly at the expense of the local church estate and -community fund, and of the parents, with the co-operation, however, -of the public treasury, a <i>German or elementary school</i>, -which all children of that age, both boys and girls, must attend, -and in which, with the exception of short holidays during the -time of haymaking, harvest and vintage, they receive throughout -the year every day, with the exception of Sundays and holidays, -in winter for five and in summer for at least two hours, instruction -in religion, morality, singing, the German language, reading, -writing, arithmetic, and the elements of natural philosophy, -natural history, geography and history. In summer, in consideration -of the work in the fields, the instruction is given as much -as possible in the morning; and at the season when the labours -of the field are the most urgent, and in cases of great poverty, -an exception is made in favour of those children, where it is -required, who, on application, are excused two or three times a -week from coming to school. With this exception, every illegal -neglect of school is punished by a fine of two or three kreutzers, -and if the neglect of attending is continued, from four to six -kreutzers; and no child, even if it has completed the 14th year, -is suffered to leave the elementary school till it has acquired sufficient -knowledge of what is taught there. (p. 528.)</p> - -<p>As, however, many poor children endeavour notwithstanding -to avoid attending the elementary schools, and in all cases the -instruction in these elementary schools occupies only the smaller -portion of the day, so that those poor children who are not properly -attended and employed by their parents have still plenty of -time for idleness and beggary; attempts have latterly been made -in some places to put such children under special superintendence, -as, for instance, by appointing a guardian for each poor -child in the person of an overseer or other public officer of the -community, or of a neighbour, who has to observe it every -where, at home, at work, at play; or by periodical general summons -to the several parents; or by periodical visitations in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[93]</a></span> -houses of poor families, especially of those who are suspected of -not paying proper attention to the education of their children; -or by the periodical exhibition of the work done at home; or by -the public performance of some work as a specimen; or by gratuitously -providing the poor children with tools and materials; -by the distribution of rewards among the most diligent and skilful -of the children; and by exhorting, summoning, and punishing -negligent parents; by these means to acquire the certainty that -such children are kept to the constant attendance of the church -and school, and to doing their tasks; that they are sufficiently -employed in a suitable manner; that they are not ill-treated, -either by being overworked or by unmerited corporal chastisement; -that they are not neglected with respect to clothing and -cleanliness; and that they are not abandoned to idleness, beggary -and other vices, &c. (p. 529.)</p> - -<p>Partly to retain, by practice, what they have learnt in the elementary -schools, and partly to promote the further improvement -of the grown-up youth, a <i>Sunday School</i> is kept in every community -in Wurtemberg, in the common school-room, where every -youth and girl above 14 years of age, in the Protestant places to -their 18th, and in Catholic places to their 21st year, must go every -Sunday, or where there is only one school-room the youths and -girls every Sunday alternately, and attend the lessons for at least an -hour and a half, on pain of paying four kreutzers, and if the neglect -is of long continuance, six kreutzers, for every time that they remain -away. It may be added, that, according to the existing laws, -more care has lately been taken that young persons of this age, -unless they are wanted to assist their parents in their domestic and -field-work, particularly those who are educated at the public -expense, and the poor girls and youths discharged from the penal -establishments, <i>do not remain at home with their families</i>, or, -out of love to a more unrestrained way of life, endeavour to -gain a livelihood as <i>Eigenbrödler</i><a name="FNanchor_9" id="FNanchor_9"></a><a href="#Footnote_9" class="fnanchor">[9]</a>, as they are called, merely by -sewing, knitting, &c., but that they try either to engage as -servants or learn a trade. (p. 534.)</p> - -</div> - -<p>The Bavarian poor law enacts, that all the children -of the poor shall, without favour and without -regard to the usual pretexts, be kept to the practice -of the public school and religious instructions, as<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[94]</a></span> -also of frequenting the work and industry schools, -and of learning a trade. The school money is to be -paid from the poor institutions. (p. 559.)</p> - -<p>Among all the Continental communities which -recognize in the poor the right to relief, the only -one which does not appear to provide the means of -education, and to enforce their being made use of, -is that in which pauperism has become absolutely -intolerable, namely, the Canton de Berne; and -even there any aubain (or person not entitled to -bourgeoisie in the parish in which he resides) may -be summarily ejected (unless possessed of landed -property in it), if it can be proved that he does not -either send his children to school or provide otherwise -for their education. (p. 199.)</p> - -<div class="sidenote">8. Central -superintendence.</div> - -<p>8. Lastly, in most of the countries which have -been considered, the local administration of the -laws for the relief of the poor is controlled by a -central superintending authority.</p> - -<p>The only countries, the reports from which state -that this is not the case, are Sweden, Denmark, -and Berne; and we have seen both that these are -the three countries in which the poor laws are the -worst administered, and that in all of them the mal-administration -which the reporters deplore is mainly -attributed by them to the absence of a central -control.</p> - -<div class="footnotes"> -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_9" id="Footnote_9"></a><a href="#FNanchor_9"><span class="label">[9]</span></a> “<i>Eigenbrödler</i>” means one who endeavours to earn a livelihood independently.</p> -</div> -</div> - -<hr /> - -<p>We now proceed to give a short outline of the -institutions for the relief of the poor in those countries -which do not appear, from the reports in this -Appendix, to acknowledge a legal right in the -applicant.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[95]</a></span></p> - -<h3>HANSEATIC TOWNS.</h3> - -<h4><i>Hamburgh.</i></h4> - -<p>1. <span class="smcap">Hamburgh.</span>—The situation of Hamburgh, a -large commercial town, with a small territory and -few manufactures, exposes it to a considerable -influx of foreign poor; and the number of charitable -establishments appears to have fostered and -still to encourage pauperism to an extent exceeding -the average of the north of Europe. It appears -from the Consul-general’s return, that besides many -endowed schools, hospitals, and almshouses, the -city possesses a general institution for the poor, -supported by the interest of its own capital and by -some voluntary contributions, and considerable -advances from the treasury of the State. A report -has been furnished of the proceedings of that institution -during the year 1832.</p> - -<p>It appears by that report (pp. 397, 398) that in -1832, 141,858 current dollars, or about 25,000<i>l.</i> -sterling, was distributed in money, by way of -weekly relief among registered or regular poor, -amounting at an average to 2,900 individuals, or -heads of families; the smallest weekly relief being -8 schillings or 7<i>d.</i> sterling; the largest for an individual, -2 dollars or 7<i>s.</i> sterling; and for family, -3 dollars or 10<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i> Half of the adult paupers -appear to have been foreigners. Besides the -amount of money relief, considerable sums were -expended in the distribution of soup, clothing, beds -and bed clothing, and fuel, and in the education -and maintenance of poor children, and in medical -relief to the sick. Both the Consul’s report and -that of the institution, lament the absence of a -workhouse. “Of those who are capable, but will<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[96]</a></span> -not work,” says the latter, “a great number to be -sure will be found: the only help against this -would perhaps be an institution, under a strict -superintendence of the police, for compelling them -to work; the want of which, from the undeniably -increasing degeneration of our lowest class of people, -is sensibly felt from year to year.” (p. 402.) -This statement is borne out by the progressive -increase of the registered paupers, from 2,332 in -May 1826 to 2,969 in May 1832, and by the large -amount of the regular out-door relief in money, -amounting, on a population of 130,000, to very -nearly 4<i>s.</i> a head. Further evidence of the extent -of pauperism is afforded by the number of persons -buried in 1832 at the expense of the institution, -which was 459, or nearly one-tenth of the average -number of deaths.</p> - -<p>No means exist of forcing parents to educate -their children; a defect deplored by the institution. -(p. 403.)</p> - -<h4><i>Bremen.</i></h4> - -<p>2. <span class="smcap">Bremen.</span>—The poor institutions of Bremen -seem to resemble those of Hamburgh; but the general -enforcement of education, the use of a workhouse, -and perhaps other circumstances not mentioned -in the report, appear to have rendered their -results more beneficial. The following answers to -questions 3, 4, 5, 7, and 8 of the Commissioners’ -questions, give a short outline of the existing -system:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>3. To what extent and under what regulations are there district -houses of industry for receiving the destitute able-bodied, or any -part of their families, and supplying them with food, clothes, &c., -and in which they are set to work?—There exists but one poor-house -in Bremen, in which the destitute able-bodied are received,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[97]</a></span> -to the number of 220, lodged, fed, and clothed, for which they -are bound to work, for the benefit of the institution, as far as -they are able.</p> - -<p>4. To what extent and under what regulations do any religious -institutions give assistance to the destitute, by receiving them -as inmates, or by giving them alms?—Independently of three -houses for the lodging and partly providing for poor widows, -free of expense, there are other buildings set apart for the reception -of poor superannuated or helpless women; but chiefly a number -of private institutions for the relief of poor deserving persons -by testamentary bequests. Such are the Rheden, the Tiedemann, -the Nonnen, the Von Bühren, &c., so called.</p> - -<p>5. To what extent and under what regulations is work provided -at their own dwellings for those who have trades, but do -not procure work for themselves?—This is done, but in a very -limited degree, at the public expense, as those who have trades -come under the care and superintendence of their respective -guilds, whose duty and credit it is to prevent any of their fraternity -coming upon the parish, and who can easily afford the -means of providing them with work. Females, on application to -the poor-house, may receive hemp and flax for spinning, and are -remunerated accordingly.</p> - -<p>7. To what extent and under what regulations are fuel, clothing, -or money distributed to such persons or their families; at -all times of the year, or during any particular seasons?—Those -who are registered in the poor-house list, and thus come under -the superintendence and control of the parish officers, receive, as -long as they may require assistance,—1. A small monthly allowance -in money. 2. Clothing for themselves and their families. -3. If necessary, bedding. 4. In the winter, during severe frost, -fuel.</p> - -<p>8. To what extent and under what regulations are they relieved -by their children being taken into schools, and fed, clothed, and -educated or apprenticed?—Means are not only afforded to the -poor for sending their children to school and for giving them -religious instruction, but they are here compelled to do so, on -pain of forfeiting all claim to parochial relief, or by other modes -of punishment. <i>That every child in the State, of whatever -descent, shalt be subjected to school discipline and tuition</i>, is -founded upon the principle, that no means so effectually obviates -that general poverty, among the lower classes in particular, as<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[98]</a></span> -an attention to the development of their minds, by which they -acquire that self-confidence that stimulates exertion, and that -proper spirit of independence that keeps them above want, whilst -by religious instruction they are impressed with a sense of the -duties and advantages of good moral conduct through life. It -has ever been the prevailing opinion in this Republic, that the -principal duty of the State towards bettering the condition of -its poorer classes, rests upon a due regard to this school discipline, -and that it tends in its practice to prevent the frequent -recurrence of application for relief in the same family; the -descendants of which, without such control, would habitually -and irrecoverably become, in their turn, dependents upon public -charity. When such children have arrived at the age of 14 or -15 years, after having been taught reading, writing, arithmetic, -and any other acquirement consistent with their situation, books, -and other materials being furnished them by the poor-house, -gratis; they are, after confirmation, generally put out to service, -and thus prevented from returning to the idle habits of their -parents. Girls are, in like manner, often provided for. They -are taught reading, writing, knitting, and needle-work. (pp. -410, 411.)</p> - -</div> - -<h4><i>Lubeck.</i></h4> - -<p>3. <span class="smcap">Lubeck.</span>—If the statistical returns respecting -Lubeck, which however do not appear to rest on -enumeration, can be depended on, the proportion of -deaths, births, and marriages to the whole population -is less than in any other part of Europe. The deaths -being stated to be 1 in 56; the births 1 in 53½; -and the marriages 1 in 177. And, what is perhaps -the strongest indication of the general welfare -of a community, the deaths under the age of one -year are stated to be only 1 in 7. The following -answers to questions 3, 4, 5, 7, and 8, may be -compared with the corresponding answers from -Bremen:</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>3. To what extent and under what regulations are there district -houses of industry for receiving the destitute able-bodied, or any -part of their families, and supplying them with food, clothes, &c.,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[99]</a></span> -and in which they are set to work?—No other institution of this -kind exists here but the work and poor-house, called the Cloister, -into which, however, none are admitted but persons totally incapable -of contributing to their own support, whether from -drunkenness or other incapacitating causes.</p> - -<p>4. To what extent and under what regulations do any religious -institutions give assistance to the destitute, by receiving them as -inmates, or by giving them alms?—We have none such, but a -collection is made in all our churches every Sunday for the poor; -this, however, being a regular matter-of-course thing, yields comparatively -small sums, which are privately distributed to poor persons -by the churchwardens and deacons.</p> - -<p>5. To what extent and under what regulations is work provided -at their own dwellings for those who have trades, but do -procure work for themselves?—or for such persons in agriculture -or on public works? Every able-bodied man is supposed -capable of providing for himself, and no such work or relief is -afforded him. In winter, many poor women are supplied with a -little work by the overseers of the workhouse, who give them flax -to spin. The average annual quantity thus spun is about 6000 -to 6500 pounds, the pay for which, amounting to about 130<i>l.</i> -annually, relieves about 300 poor women. The linen yarn thus -spun is disposed of by lottery among the wealthier classes. No -work is supplied at the public expense or by public institutions -to able-bodied men, merely because they are destitute; they must -seek and find it themselves, and are of course accepted and employed -on public works, as far as there is a demand for them. -Having no relief to expect elsewhere, they are of course spurred -on to exertion, and if sober and of good character, it may be -generally assumed that they find work, at least sufficient for their -bare existence, since, if a man can earn but a few pence daily, it -will suffice to support him in this country.</p> - -<p>7. To what extent and under what regulations are fuel, clothing, -or money, distributed to such persons or their families; at all -times of the year, or during any particular seasons?—As above -stated, no relief of this kind is afforded to able-bodied men; their -families, if considered destitute, may perhaps obtain the relief -afforded by the poor-board to the poor generally, by means of -portions of cheap food daily during the five winter months, and -four times a week during the other part of the year. About -230,000 such portions are distributed annually, and bread to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[100]</a></span> -value of about 60<i>l.</i> Fuel is distributed during the severer part of -the winter, but money is rarely given, and only in extreme cases, -never exceeding one mark, or about 14<i>d.</i> sterling a week, to the -same party. Clothing forms no part of the relief afforded. In -Lubeck these various kinds of relief are partaken of by about 850 -persons annually.</p> - -<p>8. To what extent, and under what regulations, are they relieved -by their children being taken into schools, and fed, clothed, and -educated, or apprenticed?—Not only are all the children of the -poor admitted into the poor-schools for instruction gratis, but -when relief is afforded by the poor-board, it is on the positive -condition that they shall send their children to such schools. -Neither food, clothing, nor any further provision is afforded them, -in these schools, excepting in a very few extreme cases, in which -the maintenance of very young children is undertaken by the poor-board. -The number of children in our poor-schools averages -about 300. (p. 415, 416.)</p> - -<p>The allowance in our poor and workhouse for every individual, -is—</p> - -<table summary="What the workhouse inhabitants get to eat"> - <tr> - <td>Daily:—</td><td>1½</td><td>lb.</td><td>of coarse rye bread.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td></td><td>2½</td><td>—</td><td>vegetables or porridge, such as potatoes, yellow peas, green peas, dried white -beans, carrots, peeled barley, cabbage, &c., according to the season, and sometimes rice.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td></td><td>1</td><td>bottle</td><td>of weak beer.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Monthly:—</td><td>1½</td><td>lb.</td><td>of meat, and</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td></td><td class="tdr">½</td><td>lb.</td><td>of butter, lard, or fat, to cook the food with. (p. 420.)</td> - </tr> -</table> - -<p>Marriages among the poor are delayed by the necessity a man -is under, <i>first</i>, of previously proving that he is in a regular employ, -work, or profession, that will enable him to maintain a wife; and -<i>secondly</i>, of becoming a burgher, and equipping himself in the -uniform of the burgher guard, which, together, may cost him -nearly 4<i>l.</i> (p. 419.)</p> - -<p>The condition of the labouring classes living on their own -earnings is considered by themselves to be far superior to that of -the paupers maintained in our poor-house. The partial assistance -afforded by the poor-board is chiefly directed towards aiding those -who are not devoid of honest pride, and have some feelings of -independence left, who consequently earn their own maintenance<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[101]</a></span> -as far as they can, and are thus assisted in their endeavours to -support themselves, and keep out of the workhouse. The aid -they receive is proportioned to their age and families, and is -mostly granted to females; it is gratefully received, and no idea -exists of ever thinking it a right. As a rule, no persons fully able -to work can receive assistance; they are therefore forced to seek -out employment, and may be generally presumed to succeed. If -they get but a moderate portion of work, very trifling earnings -place them in a situation much more eligible than that of the -pauper maintained in the poor-house. (p. 418.)</p> - -</div> - -<hr /> - -<h3>FRANKFORT ON THE MAIN.</h3> - -<p>The institutions for the relief of the poor in Frankfort -do not appear to require much notice.</p> - -<p>The most striking circumstance mentioned in the -report is, that the orphans and deserted children -brought up in the public establishments are so -carefully and successfully educated, that on an -average they turn out better than those merely -kept to school and living at home. (p. 567.) Permission -to marry is not granted to a person who -cannot prove his ability to support a family.</p> - -<hr /> - -<h3>HOLLAND.</h3> - -<p>As the Canton de Berne appears to be the portion -of continental Europe in which the burthen of -legal relief is most oppressive, Holland appears to -be that in which pauperism, unaided by a legal -claim, is the most rapidly advancing. The Appendix -contains an official communication from the -Dutch government, and answers from His Majesty’s -Consul in Amsterdam, to the Commissioners’ questions.</p> - -<p>The clearest general view of the mode in which -relief is administered, is contained in the following<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[102]</a></span> -extract from the Consul’s report: (p. 581.)</p> - -<div class="blockquote"><div class="sidenote">General -view of the -Dutch -system.</div> - -<p>The main support of the poor is derived from religious communities -and charitable institutions. Every denomination of -Christians, as well as the Jews, relieve their own members; -and for this purpose have, for the most part, orphan and -poor-houses, and schools connected with them, which are supported -by property belonging to them, and by voluntary contributions -at the church-doors, and collections at the houses of the -members: the Jews being permitted occasionally to make a general -collection throughout the city for their own purposes. These -establishments, among the Protestants (the most numerous community), -are called Deaconries; and they provide not only for the -support of their indigent members, but also for their relief in sickness. -The deacons, who have the immediate superintendence of -the poor, limit the assistance given according to the exigency of -the case, which they investigate very narrowly; and by becoming -particularly acquainted with the situation of the applicants, are -enabled to detect any imposition. The pecuniary relief afforded -is very small, and can only be considered as in aid of the exertions -of the poor to earn their own support, being limited to a -few pence in the week; a weekly donation of 2 florins (or 40<i>d.</i>) -being looked upon as one of the largest. In winter, provisions, -fuel, and clothing, are given in preference to money. The aged -and infirm are admitted into the poor-houses, where, and at the -schools, the children are educated, and afterwards put out to different -trades, till they are able to provide for themselves. The -deacons act gratuitously; and being of the most respectable class -of citizens, elected by the churches to that office, the conscientious -discharge of it is ensured, and in consequence, malversations -seldom take place. The general poor (being inhabitants), including -persons who are and are not members of religious communities -(Jews excepted), are relieved at their own houses from -the revenue of property, long since appropriated to that use, -administered by commissioners appointed by the magistrates, and -acting without emolument (as is the case with most similar -offices in this country), and in aid of which public charitable collections -at private houses are permitted, while any eventful deficiency -is supplied from the funds of the city; but the relief -afforded by these means is very small, and is confined chiefly to -bread, with the addition of fuel in winter. Without other resources,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[103]</a></span> -therefore, or the assistance of private charity, the -claimants could hardly subsist upon what they obtain in this -way. By a decree passed in the year 1818, it was enacted, that -the domicile of a male pauper is the place of his birth, superseded -by the place where he has resided four years and paid taxes; and -that of a child, the residence of his father, or of his mother, if a -widow. That the domicile of a stranger is the place where he -has resided six years; of married women and widows, the place -of their husband’s residence; of legitimate minors, that of their -fathers’, and of illegitimate, that of their mothers’. This decree, -fixing the domicile of paupers for the purpose of obtaining relief, -and a subsequent one, by which gratuitous legal advice is allowed -them, if they apply for it, implies that they have a claim to support, -which can be enforced at law; but as the funds from which -this support must be obtained are uncertain, the amount of the -relief that can be given depends upon their extent, and it is in fact -left at the discretion of the overseers, who have the faculty of -withholding it on the proof of bad conduct of the recipients, or -when their children do not properly attend the school, or have -been neglected to be vaccinated. Those not members of churches -are, moreover, admonished to join some religious community, and -must promise to do so the first opportunity. The decree above -alluded to also regulates the proceedings of one town against another, -and of religious and charitable institutions at the same -place, in respect to paupers. There are at Amsterdam, besides, a -variety of private establishments for the poor of different religious -denominations, endowed by charitable persons, in which the poor -are relieved in different ways, according to prescribed regulations. -<i>In general, the funds of all the public charitable institutions have -greatly diminished, while the number of claimants has much increased, -which causes frequent and urgent appeals to the public -benevolence.</i> In the country, the same system prevails, and the -deacons or office-bearers of the churches are often called upon -during the winter to assist in the support of indigent labourers -with families, till the return of spring enables them to find work; -but there are few permanent poor there, except the old and infirm, -who are generally boarded in poor-houses in the adjoining town. -(p. 582.)</p> - -</div> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[104]</a></span></p> - -<p>It will be observed that the Consul considers the -law which fixes the domicile of a pauper, and -entitles him to legal advice, as implying in him a -legal right to relief. We understand, however, -that no such right is in practice acknowledged. -And as a large proportion of the fund for the relief -of the poor arises from endowments, the law may -fix the legal settlement of every person, that is, his -right to participate in the endowments of a particular -parish, and allow him legal assistance in -establishing it, without giving to him that indefinite -claim which exists in those countries in which -every person has a right to receive from the public -subsistence for himself and his family.</p> - -<p>The official report contains the following details -respecting the funds from which public relief is -afforded: (pp. 573, 574, 575.)</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>The principle which invariably has been acted on is, that the -charge of relieving the poor should in the first place rest on the -overseers of the poor of the religious sects in each parish; but -when the means of the administration of the poor are not sufficient, -they can indiscriminately (without reference to the sect to -which such poor belong) apply to the local administration for -relief, which, after due investigation, generally grants it, according -to the means of the municipal administration, which is regulated -by its direction.</p> - -<p>Paupers, however, who are not members of any congregation, -or any religious sect, in the place where they live and receive relief, -or where no ecclesiastical charity for the poor exists, are -supported by the municipal administration of the place where they -live and obtain their support; for which purpose, in several -cities and parishes, a separate administration for the poor is established -responsible to the municipal administration; whereas in -the remaining cities and parishes such relief is granted either by -the burgomaster, or by an overseer of the poor nominated by him.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[105]</a></span></p> - -<p>The hospitals, which in many cities exist, are for the greater -part government establishments, which are administered on account -of the local magistracy, by a number of directors appointed -thereto, in which hospitals all inmates, without any distinction as -to religion, are taken in; some of these hospitals are however -separate foundations, which exist wholly, or in part, on their own -revenues.</p> - -<p>Amongst the orphan houses and charities for children and old -people, there are several establishments which exist wholly or in -part on their own revenues; whereas the remainder are generally -the property of particular church administrations of the poor, which -in great cities is almost generally the case in orphan houses, or -charities for children.</p> - -<p>Foundlings and abandoned children, at the charge of the place -in which they are abandoned, are provided for in the establishment -for children of the society for charitable purposes; by which -institution the beggars are also provided for in the establishments -appropriated for that purpose, and acknowledged by the government, -at the charge of the place where they have a claim for -relief.</p> - -<p>There exist three local workhouses, one at Amsterdam, one at -Middleburgh, and one in the commonalty Nieuwe Pekel A., in the -province of Groningen, in which paupers, generally those who -apply of their own accord, are taken in, upon condition that -they contribute to their support as much as possible by labour: further, -there are in several places twenty-one charitable houses of -industry, which procure work for paupers who are in immediate -want of work, either in the houses of industry, or at their own -dwellings.</p> - -<p>Besides the before-mentioned institutions, there are also various -places, unions, and societies, the intentions of which are to grant -relief in some way or other; namely, some for the relief of very -indigent poor; others for granting relief to poor lying-in-women; -and the commissions or societies which during the winter distribute -provisions and fuel.</p> - -<p>For the twelve years from 1820 to 1831, the receipts of the -administration for the established charity houses, and those of the -hospitals, taken on an average for each year, amount together;</p> - -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[106]</a></span> - -<table summary="Receipts from charity houses and hospitals"> - <tr> - <td colspan="3"></td><td colspan="2" class="tdc">Guilders.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="3">1. The revenues of properties and acknowledged rights</td><td class="tdr bl">2,461,883</td><td class="tdr">26</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="3">2. Proceeds of collections</td><td class="tdr bl">1,320,551</td><td class="tdr">48</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="3">3. Subsidies granted by</td><td class="tdr bl"></td><td class="tdr"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level2"><i>a.</i> The parishes</td><td class="tdr">1,779,719</td><td class="tdr">67</td><td class="tdr bl"></td><td class="tdr"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level2"><i>b.</i> The provinces of the State</td><td class="tdr">38,642</td><td class="tdr">78</td><td class="tdr bl"></td><td class="tdr"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td></td><td colspan="2" class="tdr total"></td><td class="tdr bl">1,818,362</td><td class="tdr">45</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">Making</td><td colspan="2" class="tdr">Guilders</td><td class="tdr total bl">5,600,797</td><td class="tdr total">19</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="3">By which all the disbursements of these institutions are covered.</td><td class="tdr bl"></td><td class="tdr"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="3">And if to the above-mentioned sum are added, for the same period of twelve years, the following, viz.:</td><td class="tdr bl"></td><td class="tdr"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="3">1. For the local workhouses and charitable houses of industry:</td><td class="tdr bl"></td><td class="tdr"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="3" class="level2"><i>a.</i> Revenues of properties</td><td class="tdr bl">7,458</td><td class="tdr">50</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="3" class="level2"><i>b.</i> Collections</td><td class="tdr bl">7,971</td><td class="tdr">63</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="3" class="level2"><i>c.</i> Subsidies of the parishes</td><td class="tdr bl">99,083</td><td class="tdr">87</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="3">2. For the new erected beggars’ workhouses:</td><td class="tdr bl"></td><td class="tdr"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="3" class="level2"><i>a.</i> Daily wages paid by the parish for the beggars placed therein</td><td class="tdr bl">41,090</td><td class="tdr">40</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="3" class="level2"><i>b.</i> Provincial subsidies</td><td class="tdr bl">871</td><td class="tdr">49</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="3">3. For the society for charitable purposes:</td><td class="tdr bl"></td><td class="tdr"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="3" class="level2"><i>a.</i> Contributions and voluntary donations by individuals</td><td class="tdr bl">48,893</td><td class="tdr">55</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="3" class="level2"><i>b.</i> Monies for stipulated contracts</td><td class="tdr bl">208,651</td><td class="tdr">69</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="2" class="tdr">Consequently, the whole sum is</td><td class="tdr bb">Guilders</td><td class="tdr bl total bb">6,014,818</td><td class="tdr total bb">32</td> - </tr> -</table> - -</div> - -<p>It appears from this statement that rather more -than 6,000,000 guilders (equal, at 20<i>d.</i> the guilder, -to 500,000<i>l.</i> sterling) has, on an average of the last -12 years, been annually expended on the relief of the -poor, being an expense per head, on an average population -of 2,292,350, of about 4<i>s.</i> 4¼<i>d.</i>—an expenditure -small compared with our own, but very large -when compared with the average expenditure of -Europe.</p> - -<p>The official report does not state the progressive -increase of the annual expenditure; but it contains -a table of the progressive increase of the number -of persons receiving relief, from which we extract -the particulars of the 10 years ending with 1831. -(p. 580.)</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[107]</a></span></p> - -<p class="center">HOLLAND.—Statement of the Number of Persons who have received Relief, or to whom Work has been given, by the Civil or Ecclesiastical Charitable -Institutions in North Netherland, during 10 years, from 1822 to 1831 inclusive.</p> - -<table class="big" summary="Statement, as above"> - <tr> - <th class="first-col" rowspan="3"></th> - <th rowspan="3">Population of North Netherland on the 31st Dec.</th> - <th colspan="3">Institutions for Relief.</th> - <th colspan="12">INSTITUTIONS FOR GIVING OR PROCURING WORK.</th> - <th rowspan="3">General Total Persons who have received Relief, or to whom Work has been given.</th> - <th class="last-col" colspan="3">Statement for the Population of North Netherland of 100 Persons.</th> - </tr> - <tr> - <th rowspan="2" class="row2">Number of Persons relieved by the direction of the Poor-House.</th> - <th rowspan="2" class="row2">Population of the Hospitals.</th> - <th rowspan="2" class="row2">Number of Persons.</th> - <th colspan="3" class="row2">Number of Persons who have worked in and for the local Workhouses and Charitable Workplaces.</th> - <th colspan="3" class="row2">Population of Paupers’ Workhouses.</th> - <th colspan="5" class="row2">Population of the Colonies, and Establishments of the Society for Charitable Purposes.</th> - <th rowspan="2" class="row2">Number of Persons.</th> - <th rowspan="2" class="row2">Of the Total Number of Persons relieved or maintained by the Institution for granting Support.</th> - <th rowspan="2" class="row2">Of the Total of Persons by the Institution for providing Work.</th> - <th class="row2 last-col" rowspan="2">Of the general Total of Persons who have participated in the Relief, or to whom Work has been given.</th> - </tr> - <tr> - <th class="row2">Fed and lodged in the Institutions.</th> - <th class="row2">Those only who have worked in the same, or at their own Houses.</th> - <th class="row2">Together.</th> - <th class="row2">At Hoorn.</th> - <th class="row2">At Veere.</th> - <th class="row2">Together, or in the whole.</th> - <th class="row2">Poor Families making the number of Persons.</th> - <th class="row2">Orphans, Foundlings, or abandoned Children.</th> - <th class="row2">Beggars.</th> - <th class="row2">Persons, Veterans’ families, making together.</th> - <th class="row2">Together, or in the whole.</th> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col">1822</td> - <td class="tdr">2,190,171</td> - <td class="tdr">174,802</td> - <td class="tdr">20,501</td> - <td class="tdr">195,303</td> - <td class="tdr">id.</td> - <td class="tdr">id.</td> - <td class="tdr">3,227</td> - <td class="tdr"><span class="fnpad">750</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><span class="fnpad">..</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><span class="fnpad">750</span></td> - <td class="tdr">1,979</td> - <td class="tdr">456</td> - <td class="tdr">300</td> - <td class="tdr">..</td> - <td class="tdr">2,735</td> - <td class="tdr">6,712</td> - <td class="tdr">202,015</td> - <td class="tdr">8,914</td> - <td class="tdr">0,306</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">9,220</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col">1823</td> - <td class="tdr">2,219,982</td> - <td class="tdr">193,633</td> - <td class="tdr">17,430</td> - <td class="tdr">211,063</td> - <td class="tdr">id.</td> - <td class="tdr">id.</td> - <td class="tdr">4,358</td> - <td class="tdr"><span class="fnpad">750</span></td> - <td class="tdr">273<a name="FNanchor_10" id="FNanchor_10"></a><a href="#Footnote_10" class="fnanchor">[10]</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><span class="fnpad">1,023</span></td> - <td class="tdr">2,295</td> - <td class="tdr">475</td> - <td class="tdr">1,053</td> - <td class="tdr">..</td> - <td class="tdr">3,823</td> - <td class="tdr">9,202</td> - <td class="tdr">220,265</td> - <td class="tdr">9,507</td> - <td class="tdr">0,415</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">9,922</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col">1824</td> - <td class="tdr">2,253,794</td> - <td class="tdr">196,786</td> - <td class="tdr">19,955</td> - <td class="tdr">216,741</td> - <td class="tdr">id.</td> - <td class="tdr">id.</td> - <td class="tdr">4,271</td> - <td class="tdr"><span class="fnpad">700</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><span class="fnpad">200</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><span class="fnpad">900</span></td> - <td class="tdr">2,614</td> - <td class="tdr">1,214</td> - <td class="tdr">1,061</td> - <td class="tdr">..</td> - <td class="tdr">4,889</td> - <td class="tdr">10,060</td> - <td class="tdr">226,801</td> - <td class="tdr">9,617</td> - <td class="tdr">0,446</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">10,063</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col">1825</td> - <td class="tdr">2,281,789</td> - <td class="tdr">240,400</td> - <td class="tdr">17,943</td> - <td class="tdr">222,343</td> - <td class="tdr">862</td> - <td class="tdr">2,982</td> - <td class="tdr">3,844</td> - <td class="tdr"><span class="fnpad">323</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><span class="fnpad">136</span></td> - <td class="tdr">459<a name="FNanchor_11" id="FNanchor_11"></a><a href="#Footnote_11" class="fnanchor">[11]</a></td> - <td class="tdr">3,227</td> - <td class="tdr">2,174</td> - <td class="tdr">1,377</td> - <td class="tdr">..</td> - <td class="tdr">6,778</td> - <td class="tdr">11,081</td> - <td class="tdr">233,424</td> - <td class="tdr">9,744</td> - <td class="tdr">0,486</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">10,230</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col">1826</td> - <td class="tdr">2,296,169</td> - <td class="tdr">227,501</td> - <td class="tdr">18,731</td> - <td class="tdr">246,232</td> - <td class="tdr">920</td> - <td class="tdr">3,199</td> - <td class="tdr">4,119</td> - <td class="tdr"><span class="fnpad">380</span></td> - <td class="tdr">82<a name="FNanchor_12" id="FNanchor_12"></a><a href="#Footnote_12" class="fnanchor">[12]</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><span class="fnpad">462</span></td> - <td class="tdr">2,724</td> - <td class="tdr">2,233</td> - <td class="tdr">1,581</td> - <td class="tdr">231</td> - <td class="tdr">6,769</td> - <td class="tdr">11,350</td> - <td class="tdr">257,582</td> - <td class="tdr">10,724</td> - <td class="tdr">0,494</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">11,218</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col">1827</td> - <td class="tdr">2,307,661</td> - <td class="tdr">232,426</td> - <td class="tdr">19,775</td> - <td class="tdr">252,201</td> - <td class="tdr">670</td> - <td class="tdr">4,001</td> - <td class="tdr">4,671</td> - <td class="tdr">378<a name="FNanchor_13" id="FNanchor_13"></a><a href="#Footnote_13" class="fnanchor">[13]</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><span class="fnpad">..</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><span class="fnpad">378</span></td> - <td class="tdr">2,560</td> - <td class="tdr">2,059</td> - <td class="tdr">1,763</td> - <td class="tdr">401</td> - <td class="tdr">6,783</td> - <td class="tdr">11,832</td> - <td class="tdr">264,033</td> - <td class="tdr">10,929</td> - <td class="tdr">0,513</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">11,442</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col">1828</td> - <td class="tdr">2,329,934</td> - <td class="tdr">217,343</td> - <td class="tdr">17,928</td> - <td class="tdr">235,271</td> - <td class="tdr">607</td> - <td class="tdr">4,017</td> - <td class="tdr">4,624</td> - <td class="tdr"><span class="fnpad">..</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><span class="fnpad">..</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><span class="fnpad">..</span></td> - <td class="tdr">2,510</td> - <td class="tdr">2,358</td> - <td class="tdr">1,826</td> - <td class="tdr">562</td> - <td class="tdr">7,256</td> - <td class="tdr">11,880</td> - <td class="tdr">247,151</td> - <td class="tdr">10,098</td> - <td class="tdr">0,510</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">10,608</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col">1829</td> - <td class="tdr">2,427,206</td> - <td class="tdr">235,771</td> - <td class="tdr">17,884</td> - <td class="tdr">253,655</td> - <td class="tdr">672</td> - <td class="tdr">4,077</td> - <td class="tdr">4,749</td> - <td class="tdr"><span class="fnpad">..</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><span class="fnpad">..</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><span class="fnpad">..</span></td> - <td class="tdr">2,626</td> - <td class="tdr">2,340</td> - <td class="tdr">1,942</td> - <td class="tdr">543</td> - <td class="tdr">7,451</td> - <td class="tdr">12,200</td> - <td class="tdr">265,855</td> - <td class="tdr">10,450</td> - <td class="tdr">0,503</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">10,953</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col">1830</td> - <td class="tdr">2,444,550</td> - <td class="tdr">244,503</td> - <td class="tdr">17,870</td> - <td class="tdr">262,373</td> - <td class="tdr">733</td> - <td class="tdr">4,263</td> - <td class="tdr">4,996</td> - <td class="tdr"><span class="fnpad">..</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><span class="fnpad">..</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><span class="fnpad">..</span></td> - <td class="tdr">2,619</td> - <td class="tdr">2,288</td> - <td class="tdr">2,111</td> - <td class="tdr">473</td> - <td class="tdr">7,491</td> - <td class="tdr">12,487</td> - <td class="tdr">274,860</td> - <td class="tdr">10,733</td> - <td class="tdr">0,511</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">11,244</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col last-row">1831</td> - <td class="tdr last-row">2,454,176</td> - <td class="tdr last-row">248,380</td> - <td class="tdr last-row">17,887</td> - <td class="tdr last-row">266,267</td> - <td class="tdr last-row">973</td> - <td class="tdr last-row">4,637</td> - <td class="tdr last-row">5,610</td> - <td class="tdr last-row"><span class="fnpad">..</span></td> - <td class="tdr last-row"><span class="fnpad">..</span></td> - <td class="tdr last-row"><span class="fnpad">..</span></td> - <td class="tdr last-row">2,694</td> - <td class="tdr last-row">2,297</td> - <td class="tdr last-row">2,406</td> - <td class="tdr last-row">456</td> - <td class="tdr last-row">7,853</td> - <td class="tdr last-row">13,463</td> - <td class="tdr last-row">279,730</td> - <td class="tdr last-row">10,849</td> - <td class="tdr last-row">0,549</td> - <td class="tdr last-row last-col">11,398</td> - </tr> -</table> - -<div class="footnotes"> - -<h4>OBSERVATIONS.</h4> - -<p><i>General Observations.</i>—Although the persons who have only worked in or for the charitable -work-places, and are not lodged or fed in them, are probably already included -amongst the number of those who have been relieved by the direction of the Poor-house; -it was, however, thought proper not to exclude them from this Table, because the expenses -of procuring work belong likewise to these persons.</p> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_10" id="Footnote_10"></a><a href="#FNanchor_10"><span class="label">[10]</span></a> This being the first year in which the establishment at Veere was opened.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_11" id="Footnote_11"></a><a href="#FNanchor_11"><span class="label">[11]</span></a> This decrease is occasioned by the removal of able paupers to the Ommerschans.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_12" id="Footnote_12"></a><a href="#FNanchor_12"><span class="label">[12]</span></a> This establishment was done away with on the 20th June, and the able paupers were -removed to the Ommerschans, and the invalid paupers to Hoorn.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_13" id="Footnote_13"></a><a href="#FNanchor_13"><span class="label">[13]</span></a> This establishment was done away with on the 15th October, all the paupers in it were -removed to the Ommerschans.</p> - -</div> - -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[108]</a></span></p> - -<p>It appears from this table that the number of persons -relieved has steadily increased from 202,015, -the number in 1822, to 279,730, the number in -1831; and that the proportion of paupers to independent -members of society has also increased from -9²³⁰⁄₁₀₀₀ per cent., the proportion in 1822, or rather -more than one-eleventh, to 11⁸⁹⁸⁄₁₀₀₀ per cent., or -rather more than one-ninth, the proportion in 1831: -a proportion exceeding even that of England.</p> - -<p>And it is to be observed that the greater part of -this great positive and relative increase of pauperism -has taken place during a period of profound -peace, internal and external; only one of these -years being subsequent to the Belgian revolution. -It is probable that if the years 1832 and 1833 had -been given, the comparison with the earlier period -would have been still more unfavourable.</p> - -<p>We have omitted in the statement of the expenditure -for the relief of the poor a sum of 200,000 -guilders, or about 16,666<i>l.</i> sterling, annually employed -on the gratuitous instruction of poor children: -the number thus instructed in 1831 was 73,609. It -does not appear, however, that any persons are compelled -to attend to the education of their children, -except by its being made (as is the general rule on -the Continent of Europe) one of the conditions on -which relief is granted: and the Consul states that -the labourers in general think it beneath them to -let their children go to school for nothing; and that -some, when unable to pay, prefer keeping them at -home.</p> - -<p>It is remarkable that neither the official nor the -consular report dwells on that portion of the Dutch -poor institutions which has excited the greatest<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[109]</a></span> -attention in Europe, namely, the Poor Colonies.</p> - -<h4><span class="smcap">Poor Colonies.</span></h4> - -<p>The following statements are extracted from the -narrative of Count Arrivabene, who visited them in -1829: (pp. 610, 611, 612, 613, 614.)</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>The dearths of 1816 and 1817, and the consequent distress, occasioned -the establishment, in the northern provinces of the Low -Countries, of a Philanthropic Society (<i>Société de bienfaisance</i>), to -whose funds each subscriber was to pay one halfpenny a week. -The subscribers soon amounted to 20,000. One of its projects was -the foundation of poor colonies among the heaths, with which this -country abounds. The Colonies were to be divided into Colonies -for the Repression of Mendicity, Colonies for Indigent Persons -and Veterans, Free Colonies, Colonies for Inspectors of Agricultural -Works, Colonies for Orphans and Foundlings, and Colonies -for Agricultural Instruction.</p> - -<p>In the first year of its formation the Society established the -Free Colony, called Frederiks-Oord, on the heaths between the -provinces of Drenthe, Friesland, and Over-Yssel. It consisted of -52 small farms, part of which had been previously cultivated by -the Society, of a store-house, of several workshops, a school, &c. -It was peopled with families, indigent, but not dependent altogether -on alms. The expense of its foundation amounted to 68,000 -flor. (5666<i>l.</i> 13<i>s.</i> 4<i>d.</i>), and was defrayed out of the annual -subscriptions and donations of the members of the <i>Société de -bienfaisance</i>; and in order to give employment to the colonists -during the dead season of the year, the Society engaged to purchase -from them 26,000 ells of linen.</p> - -<p>In 1819, the Society proposed to the directors of the Orphan -Institutions throughout the kingdom, to take charge, at a fixed -annual payment, of any number of orphans of the age of six years, -leaving to those institutions the right of superintending their treatment. -To meet this expense, the society borrowed 280,000 flor. -(23,333<i>l.</i> 6<i>s.</i> 10<i>d.</i>). The orphans were for a time placed in separate -dwellings, six orphans with two elderly persons, to act as -their parents, in each. But afterwards almost all were collected -into large buildings. In the same year the members of the society -had increased to 22,500, and their subscriptions to 82,500 -flor. or 6875<i>l.</i>, and the society was enabled to establish two other<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[110]</a></span> -free colonies, and to place in them 150 families.</p> - -<p>In 1820, the society borrowed 100,000 flor. more, or -8333<i>l.</i> 6<i>s.</i> 8<i>d.</i>, which, with donations to the amount of 78,000 flor. -or 6500<i>l.</i>, enabled it during that year to settle 150 more families.</p> - -<p>In 1821, the society by means of loans and subscriptions had -collected a sum of 421,000 flor. or 35,083<i>l.</i> 6<i>s.</i> 8<i>d.</i>, of which -300,000 flor., or 25,000<i>l.</i> was borrowed, and 121,000 flor., or -10,983<i>l.</i> 6<i>s.</i> 8<i>d.</i> subscribed, and was possessed of seven free colonies, -consisting of 500 small farms, with the public buildings to -which we have alluded.</p> - -<p>In 1822 the society founded the first colony for the repression -of mendicity; and engaged with the Government to receive and -settle on its colonies 4000 orphans, 2500 indigent persons, and -1500 mendicants, the Government engaging to pay for each -orphan 45 florins, or 3<i>l.</i> 15<i>s.</i> a year, for 16 years, but nothing for -the others. As yet the society has fulfilled only a part of its -engagements. It has, however, established every kind of colony -which we have enumerated.</p> - -<h5><i>Frederiks-Oord.</i></h5> - -<p>In August, 1829, we visited all the colonies of the society. -Those of Frederiks-Oord are spread over a space of two leagues. -The small farms, containing each about 9 English acres, extend -along the sides of roads, bordered with trees, and of canals, -which intersect the colonies in different directions. Each house -is composed of one great room, round the walls of which are -placed the large drawer-like beds, in which, according to the custom -of the Dutch peasantry, the family sleep. A cow-house, a -barn, and every building necessary for an agricultural family, is -annexed to the farm. Near the house is the garden; beyond it -the land to be cultivated.</p> - -<p>Upon his admission into the colony, each colonist makes a -declaration, by which he binds himself to obey its rules, as respects -subordination to its officers, moral and religious conduct on the -part of himself and his family, modes of working, wearing the colonial -uniform, &c.</p> - -<p>When a family of 8 persons (the number usually adopted by -the society) has been settled in a farm, the society opens an -account with them, in which they are debited in the sum of 1700 -florins, or 141<i>l.</i> 13<i>s.</i> 4<i>d.</i>, which is considered as having been -advanced for their use under the following heads:—</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[111]</a></span></p> - -<table summary="What the colonists get"> - <tr> - <td></td><td class="tdr">flor.</td><td class="tdc"></td><td class="tdr"><i>£</i></td><td class="tdr"><i>s.</i></td><td class="tdr"><i>d.</i></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Purchase-money of 9 acres of land</td><td class="tdr">100</td><td class="tdc">or</td><td class="tdr">8</td><td class="tdr">6</td><td class="tdr">8</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Labour previously expended on it</td><td class="tdr">400</td><td class="tdc">”</td><td class="tdr">83</td><td class="tdr">6</td><td class="tdr">8</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Two cows and some sheep</td><td class="tdr">150</td><td class="tdc">”</td><td class="tdr">12</td><td class="tdr">10</td><td class="tdr">0</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>The house</td><td class="tdr">500</td><td class="tdc">”</td><td class="tdr">41</td><td class="tdr">13</td><td class="tdr">4</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Incidental expenses</td><td class="tdr">50</td><td class="tdc">”</td><td class="tdr">4</td><td class="tdr">3</td><td class="tdr">4</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Furniture and clothing</td><td class="tdr">250</td><td class="tdc">”</td><td class="tdr">20</td><td class="tdr">6</td><td class="tdr">8</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Reserved fund for extraordinary occasions</td><td class="tdr">250</td><td class="tdc">”</td><td class="tdr">20</td><td class="tdr">16</td><td class="tdr">8</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td></td><td class="tdr total">1700</td><td class="tdc"></td><td class="tdr total">141</td><td class="tdr total">13</td><td class="tdr total">4</td> - </tr> -</table> - -<p>The sum advanced for furniture and clothing is stopped out of -the wages of the colonist; and as soon as the farm has been completely -brought under cultivation, the head of the family is -annually debited 60 florins, or 5<i>l.</i>, as the interest of the remainder -of the capital, and the rent of the farm.</p> - -<p>During three years at the least, the colonists cultivate the land -in common, and receive wages, but are allowed to make use of no -part of the produce of the farm; though that of the garden and -the cows is their own. The farm produce (and it appeared to us -to be very trifling), consisting principally of rye, potatoes, and -buck-wheat, is taken to the storehouses of the society to be preserved -for subsequent distribution, either as prepared food or -otherwise, among the colonists, in payment or on account of their -wages.</p> - -<p>As long as a family cannot provide its own subsistence, it receives -food daily from the society; but when it can provide for -itself (as it can when it earns 4 flor., or 6<i>s.</i> 8<i>d.</i> a week), it is -allowed to prepare its food at home.</p> - -<p>The society distributes medals of copper, of silver, and of gold. -The first are the rewards of those who distinguish themselves by -regular labour and good conduct, and confer the right to leave -the colony on Sundays and holydays without asking permission. -The second are bestowed on those whose industry supplies their -whole subsistence; they confer the right to leave the colony without -permission, not only on Sundays and holydays, but on every -day of the week, at the hours not devoted to labour. The golden -medals are distributed to those who have already obtained silver -ones, when their farms produce the annual value of 250 flor. -(20<i>l.</i> 16<i>s.</i> 8<i>d.</i>), and upon obtaining them the colonist is no longer -subjected to the strict colonial regimen, though some restrictions -still distinguish him from an ordinary farmer. The medals which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[112]</a></span> -have been obtained by good conduct may be lost or suspended, -with their privileges, by misbehaviour. They are solemnly distributed, -and withdrawn every fifteen days.</p> - -<p>After a residence of three years in the colony, the colonists are -distributed into three classes:—1st, That of industrious men who -have received the silver medal: they may continue to cultivate -their farms in common, as before, or, after having discharged their -original debt to the society, may manage them on their own account, -at a rent payable to the society. 2nd. That of colonists -who have received the copper medal: they may manage their -own farms, and dispose of a part of the produce; the other part -must be sent to the magazines of the society, to be applied in -payment of the rent of the farm, in discharge of the original advances, -and in creating a common fund. A portion of it, however, is -returned to them in bread. But if in any year a colonist does not -raise a given quantity of potatoes, or if he requires from the society -extraordinary assistance, he is forced to restore his medal, and to -return to the third class. 3. This last class, which is composed of -those who have obtained no medal, must, in addition to what is -required from the others, render to the magazines of the society a -greater amount of produce, and have therefore less for their own -use.</p> - -<p>A certain extent of ground is cultivated in common by the -colonists, each head of a family being required to work on it three -days in the year, at wages paid in a colonial paper money. The -produce of this common land is employed in supplying the deficiencies -of the harvests of the separate farms, and meeting the -expenses of the school, the hospital, and the general Administration. -The colonists are also allowed in summer to pasture -their cattle in the common pastures of the colony. There are -several shops for the sale, at prices fixed by the Administration, -of whatever the colonists are likely to want, except spirituous -liquors, the use of which is prohibited.</p> - -<p>Whatever may have been the length of time during which the -colonist has resided in the colony he can never become the proprietor -of his farm. He may, however, acquire the ownership of -his furniture, and sell it or remove it when he quits the colony.</p> - -<p>No colonist is allowed to marry unless he be a widower, or the -son of a widower, and in possession of a farm. When his -children have attained 16 or 18 years of age, they choose a trade<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[113]</a></span> -(etat) with the consent of their parents and the colonial authorities, -and may follow it either in the colony or elsewhere.</p> - -<p>To every 25 farms there is a superintendent, who visits them -daily, and directs and distributes among the colonists the labours -of the day; and to every 100 farms a sub-director, who gives -instructions to the superintendent, keeps the registers, and -manages the manufactures.</p> - -<p>In selecting the occupiers of each subdivision of 25 farms, -care is taken that persons of different trades shall be included. -The superintendence to which a family is subjected diminishes -day by day with its good conduct, and ceases almost entirely as -soon as the colonist has repaid the value of the advances which -have been made to him. Those who are idle or disorderly are -taken before a council of superintendence, of which some colonists -are members, and may be sent on to a council of discipline, which -has the power to transfer them to Ommerschans, a colony for the -repression of mendicity; of which we shall speak hereafter. -They are detained there for a fixed period, in a place set apart for -them, and kept to more than usually hard labour. The industrious -and well-disposed colonists are appointed superintendents of -the works in the colonies for the repression of mendicity, and in -those for the reception of orphans and indigent persons.</p> - -<p>Most of the inhabitants of Frederiks-Oord are Protestants; -there are, however, several Catholic and two Jewish families.</p> - -<h5><i>Wateren.</i></h5> - -<p>In the morning of the 3d day we went to Wateren, which is -two leagues from Frederiks-Oord. Wateren is the colony of -Agricultural Instruction, to which are sent the orphans who most -distinguish themselves in their colonies. They amount to 60, -and acquire agricultural knowledge from a master, and from the -practice of working at a farm of 42 bonniers (nearly 103 acres) -in arable, nursery grounds, and pasture. They are instructed by -the same master in the Bible, the history of Holland, land surveying, -natural-history, botany, mathematics, chemistry, and -gymnastics. They are better dressed than the others, and wear a -hat with a riband, on which is written the name of the privileged -colony to which they belong. Their destination is to become -superintendents in the free colonies. The society derives from -this colony an annual profit of about 900 flor. or 75<i>l.</i></p> - -<h5><i>Veenhuisen.</i></h5> - -<p>On the same day, after a journey of three leagues, we arrived -at Veenhuisen, which contains one colony for the repression of -mendicity, two for orphans, one for indigent persons and veterans,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[114]</a></span> -and one for inspectors of agricultural works. They are intersected -by high ways, bordered by trees and by canals communicating -with Amsterdam. Two great square buildings, at the distance of -a half mile from each other, contain, in the part which looks into -the interior quadrangle, the one mendicants, the other orphans, -and each contains, in the rooms on the exterior, indigent persons -and veterans. Another similar edifice, at two miles distance, -contains all these three classes of individuals. In the midst of the -three edifices are situated two churches, one Catholic, the other -Protestant; twenty-four houses forming a colony of inspectors of -agricultural works, and an equal number of houses inhabited by -the officers of the colonies.</p> - -<p>The children and grown-up persons have been placed thus near -one another for convenience, with respect both to their agricultural -and manufacturing employments.</p> - -<p>The interior of each of the three great edifices is divided into two -sides, one for the males, the other for the females, separated by the -kitchen. On the ground-floor are large rooms, containing each -forty or fifty individuals. The upper floors are mere lofts, and -used as store-rooms.</p> - -<p>The persons placed in the colonies for the repression of mendicity -receive a new and uniform dress, and for some time are -maintained without reference to the value of their work. Their -out-doors employment consists of agricultural labor, brick-making, -or turf-cutting: in-doors they work as artizans, generally by piece -work. The society fixes the amount of their wages.</p> - -<p>The lands of these colonies are divided into farms of thirty-two -bonniers, or about eighty acres each, half arable, half pasture. To -each of these farms are attached forty or fifty colonists, who work -under the orders of a superintendent, who himself follows the instructions -of a sub-director. The annual expenditure on each of these -farms is fixed at 1680 flor., or 140<i>l.</i></p> - -<p>The accounts between the society and the colonists are kept in -the military form. Each colonist carries a book, in which is -entered the work which he has performed each day, the supplies -and paper money which he has received, and his share of the -general expenditure. If his earnings exceed what has been laid -out on him, which is said to be commonly the case, a third of the -excess is given to him in paper money, another third is placed in -a savings’ bank, to be given him on his leaving the colony, and -the remaining third is retained by the society to meet contingent<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[115]</a></span> -expenses.</p> - -<p>Horse-patrols round the colonies, rewards to such as bring -back colonists who have attempted to escape, and a uniform dress -are the means employed to prevent desertion. The colonists are -detained for 6 years, unless they have previously saved 12½ flor. -(1<i>l.</i> 10<i>d.</i>), which entitles them to immediate discharge.</p> - -<p>Orphans are admitted in the orphan colonies at the age of six. -They work, either in-doors or in the fields, for a part of the day, -another part is employed in elementary instruction, drawing, -and singing. They leave the colonies at the age of 18, generally -for the sea or land service.</p> - -<p>The colonies for indigent persons and veterans serve as preparatory -residences for those who are to be placed in the free colonies. -These colonists dwell with their families in the outer apartments -of the great buildings, the interior quadrangles of which are inhabited -by the mendicants and orphans. Like the mendicants, -they are considered day labourers, and paid according to their -work.</p> - -<p>In every colony the supplies and wages vary according to the -difference of age, strength, or sex. The men are divided into -5 classes, the women into 7. The first class of men is supposed -to earn 1 flor. 70 cents, or 2<i>s.</i> 10<i>d.</i> per week; the second, 1 flor. -35 cents, or 2<i>s.</i> 3<i>d.</i>; the third, 1 flor. 6 cents, or 1<i>s.</i> 11<i>d.</i>; the -fourth, composed of children from 8 to 16 years, 1 flor. 1 cent, or -1<i>s.</i> 8½<i>d.</i>; the fifth, composed of children under that age, 67½ -cents, or 1<i>s.</i> 1½<i>d.</i> The first class of females is supposed to earn -per week 1 flor. 51 cents, or 2<i>s.</i> 6¼<i>d.</i>; the second, 1 flor. 26 cents, -or 2<i>s.</i> 1<i>d.</i>; the third, 98 cents, or 1<i>s.</i> 7½<i>d.</i>; the fourth and fifth, -composed of children, 95 cents, or 1<i>s.</i> 7<i>d.</i>, and 75 cents, or -1<i>s.</i> 3<i>d.</i> respectively; the sixth and seventh, composed also of -children, but still younger, 63 cents, or 1<i>s.</i> 0½<i>d.</i>, and 55 cents, -or 11<i>d.</i>, respectively.</p> - -<h5><i>Ommerschans.</i></h5> - -<p>On the morning of the fourth day we went to Ommerschans, -which is seven leagues from Veenhuisen.</p> - -<p>At Ommerschans there is a colony for the repression of mendicity, -and one for indigent persons and veterans. The first is -composed of men and children; and has a separate division for -the free colonists who have been sent thither as a punishment. -The building can contain 1000 persons, and resembles in several -respects those in Veenhuisen, except that its moat, and the iron-bars -to its windows give it more the appearance of a prison;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[116]</a></span> -and that it has a story above the ground floor. Nor does it differ -as to its interior arrangement, or the employment or treatment of -its inmates. In the middle of the quadrangle there are shops for -locksmiths, joiners, and other trades; and for the manufacture of -thread and linen. On the outside stands the church, which serves -for both Catholic and Protestant worship, and as a school; the -house of the sub-director, the hospital, and other public edifices; -and 20 houses scattered about the lands, form a colony of inspectors -of agricultural works. Nearly 150 persons are annually -discharged from this colony for the repression of mendicity.</p> - -</div> - -<p>On recurring to the official statement of the total -number of persons relieved during the ten years -ending 1831, it will be seen that in 1831 the population -of the poor colonies consisted of 7853, -being an increase of 402 from the time of Count -Arrivabene’s visit, arising solely from an increased -number placed in the repressive or most severe of -the penal colonies; and that this population was -thus distributed: 2297 in the colony assigned to -orphans and abandoned children; 456 in the preparatory -colony; 2694 in the colonies called free; -and 2406 in the repressive or mendicity colonies.</p> - -<p>The nature of these institutions appears to have -been imperfectly understood in England. They -are in fact large agricultural workhouses; and superior -to the previous workhouses only so far as -they may be less expensive, or, without being oppressive, -objects of greater aversion.</p> - -<p>It is scarcely possible that they can be less expensive.</p> - -<p>The employing persons taken indiscriminately -from other occupations and trades, almost all of -them the victims of idleness and misconduct, and -little urged by the stimulus of individual interest -in farming the worst land in the country, (land so<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[117]</a></span> -worthless that the fee-simple of it is worth only -24<i>s.</i> an acre,) at an expense for outfit, exclusively -of the value of the land, of more than 130<i>l.</i> per -family, and under the management of a joint-stock -company of more than 20,000 members, cannot but -be a ruinous speculation.</p> - -<p>Nor does the institution appear to have repressed -pauperism by the disagreeableness of the -terms on which it offers relief: we have seen, on -the contrary, that it has not prevented its steady -increase. It will be shown subsequently that a -similar establishment has signally failed in Belgium, -and we cannot anticipate a different result in -Holland.</p> - -<hr /> - -<h3>BELGIUM AND FRANCE.</h3> - -<p>M. Lebau, the Belgian Minister of Justice, has -furnished a detailed report on the poor laws of -Belgium, together with a considerable number of -printed documents. Of the latter, we have printed -only the regulations of the schools for the poor in -Louvain, and of the out-door relief in Tournay; -the laws of August, 1833, respecting the Dépôts de -Mendicité; and some statistical papers respecting -the relief afforded in different manners in 1833, and -in some of the preceding years. The others were -too voluminous for this publication; and though we -have consulted them (particularly the Code Administratif -des Etablissemens de Bienfaisance, -M. Quetelet’s statistical works on the Netherlands -and Belgium, and M. Ducpétiaux’s on Indigence,) -with great advantage, we have been forced to omit -them. Baron de Hochepied Larpent and Mr. Fauche,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[118]</a></span> -His Majesty’s Consuls in Antwerp and Ostend, have -given valuable replies to the Commissioners’ questions; -and Count Arrivabene a detailed account of -the state of Gaesbeck, a village a few miles from -Brussels. And we have inserted three reports as -to the state of the Belgian poor colonies; one from -Count Arrivabene, who visited them in 1829, and -one from M. Ducpétiaux, and another from Captain -Brandreth, both dated in 1832.</p> - -<p>The union and subsequent separation of Belgium -and France, and afterwards of Belgium and Holland, -occasion the Belgian laws on this as on every -other subject to be divisible into three heads:</p> - -<p>First, those which she received when incorporated -with France; secondly, those which were -made during the union with Holland; and thirdly, -those which have been passed since the revolution -of 1830.</p> - -<p>By far the largest portion of the Belgian poor -laws is derived from the first of these sources.</p> - -<h4><span class="smcap">French Poor Laws.</span></h4> - -<p>The government of the Directory, by three laws -passed in the autumn of 1796, established the -system under which the principal portion of the -relief afforded by the public is now regulated in -most of the countries which constituted the French -empire.</p> - -<h5>Hospices and Bureaux de Bienfaisance.</h5> - -<p>By the first of these, that of the 16 Vendémiaire, -An v. (7th October, 1796), the property belonging -to the hospices (or almshouses) was restored to -them, and their management was entrusted to a -commission appointed by the municipal authorities.</p> - -<p>By the second, that of the 23 Brumaire, An v. -(13th November, 1706), it was enacted, that all the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[119]</a></span> -revenues of the different hospices in one commune -should be employed as one fund for their common -support.</p> - -<p>And by the third, that of the 7 Frimaire, An v. -(25th November, 1796), that in every commune -there should be appointed one or more bureaux de -bienfaisance, each bureau consisting of five members, -to administer out-door relief; and that the -funds at the disposition of the bureau de bienfaisance -should consist of one-tenth of the receipts -from all public exhibitions within its district, and -of whatever voluntary contributions it could obtain. -By the same law all able-bodied beggars were required, -under pain of three months’ imprisonment, -to return to their place of birth, or of domicile, if -they had subsequently acquired a domicile.</p> - -<p>By the law of the 3 Frimaire, An vii. (23d November, -1798), the additional sums necessary to -provide for the hospices, and the secours à domicile -(or out-door relief), of each commune, are directed -to be raised by the local authorities in the same -manner as the sums necessary for the other local -expenses.</p> - -<p>By that of the 4 Ventose, An ix. (23d February, -1801), all rents belonging to the State, of which -the payment had been interrupted, and all national -property usurped by individuals, were declared the -property of the nearest hospitals. By that of the -5 Prairial, An xi., the commissaires des hospices -and bureaux de bienfaisance were authorized to -make public collections in churches, and to establish -poor-boxes in public places; and by a train -of subsequent legislation they were enabled to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[120]</a></span> -acquire property by testamentary dispositions.</p> - -<p>It is to be observed that under these laws the -members of the commissions des hospices, and of -the bureaux de bienfaisance, are frequently, but not -necessarily, the same persons. The maire (or principal -civil officer) of each commune is a necessary -member of every charitable board. The other members -go out by lot, one every year, but are re-eligible.</p> - -<p>By the law of the 16 Messidor, An vii., the inmates -of the hospices were to be set to work, and -two-thirds of the produce of their work was to -belong to the hospice, the other third to be given -to them either periodically or when they quitted -the hospice. We mention this enactment, because -it has afforded a precedent for many similar regulations.</p> - -<p>And partly for the purpose of increasing the -funds for charitable purposes, and partly with a -view to reduce the rate of interest in the mode of -borrowing usually adopted by the poor, by two -arrêtés of the 16 Pluviose and 24 Messidor, An xii. -(6th February and 13th July, 1804), all pawn-broking -by individuals was prohibited, and public -establishments for that purpose, under the name of -Monts-de-Piété, were directed to be established and -conducted for the benefit of the poor.</p> - -<h5>Foundlings and deserted children.</h5> - -<p>The French legislation respecting foundlings and -deserted children is of a very different kind, and -appears to us to be the portion of their poor laws -deserving least approbation.</p> - -<p>A law of the 27 Frimaire, An v. (17 Dec., 1796), -enacted, that all recently-born deserted children<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[121]</a></span> -should be received gratuitously in all the hospices -of the Republic, at the expense of the State so far -as those hospices had not a sufficient revenue specially -destined to that purpose; and an arrêté of -the Directory, of the 30 Ventose, An v., (20th -March, 1791), founded on the previous law, directed -that as soon as possible after children had been received -in any hospice they should be sent out to be -nursed, and brought up in the country until the age -of 12; and then either left to those who had brought -them up, if they chose to take charge of them, or -apprenticed to farmers, artists, or manufacturers, -or, if the children wished it, to the sea service.</p> - -<p>The law on this subject received nearly its -present form from an Imperial decree of the 19th -Jan., 1811.</p> - -<p>By that decree, the children for whom the public -became responsible were divided into three classes: -1. Enfans trouvés; 2. Enfans abandonnés; 3. Orphelins -pauvres. The first class comprises children -of unknown parents, found exposed, or placed in -foundling hospitals. The second, children whose -parents are known, but have abandoned them, and -cannot be forced to support them. The third, -children without father or mother, or means of -subsistence. For the first class a hospice was -directed to be appointed in every arrondissement, -with a tour (or revolving slide) for their reception, -without the detection of the person bringing them. -All the three classes of children were to be put out -to nurse until six years old, and then placed with -landholders (cultivateurs) or artizans until 12, subject -to any mode in which the Ministre de la Marine<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[122]</a></span> -might dispose of them. If not wanted by him, -they were at 12 to be apprenticed for periods not -exceeding their attaining the age of 25.</p> - -<p>The annual sum of four millions (160,000<i>l.</i>) in -the whole was to be contributed by the State towards -these expenses. The remainder to be supplied by -the hospices out of their own revenues or out of -those of the communes.</p> - -<p>Relatives claiming a foundling were to repay all -that it had cost, as far as they had the means.</p> - -<p>The last clause of this decree directs that those -who make a custom of taking infants to hospitals -shall be punished according to law. It is not easy -to reconcile this clause with the rest of the decree. -If taking an infant to a foundling hospital were an -offence, it seems strange that the law should itself -prescribe a contrivance (a tour), the object of which -is to prevent the detection of the person committing -the offence. In fact, however, no such punishment -“according to law” seems to exist. If a nurse -or other person entrusted with a child take it, in -breach of duty, to a foundling hospital, the offence -is punishable by the code pénal; but no punishment -is denounced against a parent for doing so, -however often the act may be repeated. Nor does -the “making a custom of taking children to a hospital” -appear as an offence in the detailed “Compte -général de l’administration de la justice criminelle -en France.”</p> - -<h5>Mendicity and Vagrancy.</h5> - -<p>The following is an outline of the French regulations, -as far as they affected Belgium, for the repression -of mendicity and vagrancy. A decree of -the Convention, 27 Vendémiaire, An ii. (15th Oct.,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[123]</a></span> -1798), fixed the settlement, or domicile de secours, -of every person, 1st, in the place of his birth; 2dly, -of his residence for six months in any commune in -which he should have married, or for one year in -any in which he should have been registered as an -inhabitant, or for two years in any in which he -should have been hired by one or more masters. -Every person found begging was to be sent to his -place of domicile; if he could not prove any domicile -he was to be imprisoned for a year in the -maison de repression of the department, and at the -end of his imprisonment, if his domicile were not -then ascertained, to be transported to the colonies -for not less than eight years. A person found again -begging after having been removed to his domicile, -was also to be imprisoned for a year: on a repetition -of the offence the punishment was to be -doubled. In the maison de repression he was to -be set to work, and receive monthly one-sixth of -the produce of his labour, and at the end of his -imprisonment another sixth, the remaining two-thirds -belonging to the establishment. On the -third offence he also was to be transported. A -transport was to work in the colonies for the benefit -of the nation, at one-sixth of the average wages of -the colony: one-half of that sixth to be paid to him -weekly, and the other half on the expiration of his -sentence. No person was to be transported except -between the ages of 18 and 60. Those under 18 -were to be detained until they arrived at that age, -and then transported; those above 60, to be imprisoned -for life.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[124]</a></span></p> - -<p>The local authorities were authorized to employ -their able-bodied poor on public works, at three-fourths -of the average wages of the canton. Every -person convicted of having given to a beggar any -species of relief whatever was to forfeit the value -of two days’ wages; to be doubled on the repetition -of the offence.</p> - -<p>The provisions of this law were, as might have -been anticipated, far too severe for execution. After -having remained, though inoperative, on the statute -book for nearly 15 years, it was replaced by the -Imperial decree of the 5th July, 1808.</p> - -<p>By that decree a depôt de mendicité was directed -to be established in each department, at the expense -partly of the nation and partly of the department. -Within 15 days after its establishment, the -Prefect of the department was to give public notice -of its being opened, and all persons without means -of subsistence were bound to proceed to it, and all -persons found begging were to be arrested and -taken to it.</p> - -<p>By a subsequent arrêté of the 27th October, -1808, it was ordered that all beggars should on -their arrest be placed in the first instance in the -maison d’arrêt of the district; and transferred from -thence, if guilty of vagrancy, to the maison de detention, -or prison; if not vagrants, to the depôt de -mendicité. In the depôt they were to be clothed -in the house dress, confined to regular and very -early hours, the sexes separated, subject to severe -punishments (rising to six months’ solitary imprisonment -(cachot) on bread and water) for disobedience -or other misconduct, or attempts to escape; -deprived of all intercourse, except by open letters<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[125]</a></span> -with their relations or friends, and kept to work at -wages to be regulated by the Prefect, two-thirds of -which were to belong to the establishment, and the -remaining third was to be paid to them on their -quitting the depôt.</p> - -<p>The conditions on which a person might obtain -his release from a depôt de mendicité are not -stated.</p> - -<p>The provisions of the code pénal appear to leave -that question to the discretion of the Executive.</p> - -<p>Section 274 of that code enacts that every person -found begging in a place containing a public -establishment for the prevention of mendicity, shall -be imprisoned for from three to six months, and -then removed to the depôt de mendicité. Under -section 275, if there be no such establishment in -the place where he is found begging, his imprisonment -is to last only from one to three months; if, -however, he has begged out of the canton in which -he is domiciled, it is to last from six months to two -years.</p> - -<p>After having suffered his punishment, he is to -remain (apparently in the depôt de mendicité) at -the disposition of Government.</p> - -<hr /> - -<h3>BELGIUM.</h3> - -<h4>Monts-de-Piété.</h4> - -<p>Such was the state of the law respecting purely -charitable, and what may be called penal, relief at -the time of the establishment of the kingdom of -the Netherlands. We have stated these provisions -at some length, because they form, with little material -alteration, the existing law on the subject in -France. No change of any importance appears to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[126]</a></span> -have been made by the late Government of the -Netherlands, or by the present Belgian Government, -with respect to the hospices or the bureaux -de bienfaisance; but with respect to foundlings, -an arrêté of the 2nd June, 1825, declared that the -expense of their maintenance ought to be supplied -by the hospices, and so far as these were unable to -meet it, from the local revenues of the commune or -the province in which they had been abandoned—a -provision which has been the subject of much -complaint, as imposing a heavy and peculiar burthen -on the few towns which possess foundling -hospitals. And with respect to monts-de-piété, an -arrêté of the 31st October, 1826, directed the local -authorities of towns and communes to prepare -regulations for the management of their respective -monts-de-piété, their support, and the employment -of the profits, subject to certain general rules; -among which are,—</p> - -<p>1. That the administration shall be gratuitous.</p> - -<p>2. That the interest shall not exceed 5<i>l.</i> per cent. -per annum, and that no farther charge shall be -made on any pretext whatever.</p> - -<p>3. That they shall be open every day.</p> - -<p>4. That the pledges may be redeemed at any -time before their actual sale.</p> - -<p>5. That they shall not be sold until the expiration -of 14 months from the time of the loan.</p> - -<h4>Mendicity.</h4> - -<p>The following are the most material alterations -made in the laws respecting mendicity. By a law -of the 28th November, 1818, the period of residence -necessary for acquiring a settlement, or -domicile de secours, was extended to four years:<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[127]</a></span> -and by a law of the 12th October, 1819, the expense -of supporting a person confined in a depôt -de mendicité was thrown on the commune in which -he had his domicile de secours.</p> - -<p>In 1823 the Belgian Société de Bienfaisance -was established, on the model of that which existed -in Holland, and contracted with the Government -to receive in its colonies de repression 1000 -paupers, at the annual sum of 35 florins (2<i>l.</i> 18<i>s.</i> -4<i>d.</i>) per head. In consequence of this arrangement, -all the regulations which required a beggar -to be removed to a depôt de mendicité were varied -by the introduction of the words “or to a mendicity -colony;” and by an arrêté of the 12th October, -1825, the governors of the different provinces were -directed to give notice that all persons in want of -employment and subsistence would obtain them in -the depôts de mendicité, or the mendicity colonies, -and had only to apply to the local authorities in -order to be directed to the one or the other; and -that consequently no begging at any period of the -year, or under any pretext whatever, could in future -be tolerated. Persons arrested for begging were -allowed on their own request, if their begging were -not accompanied by aggravating circumstances, to -be conducted to one or the other of these establishments -without suffering the previous imprisonment -inflicted by the penal code.</p> - -<p>By another arrêté of the same date, the local -authorities were directed to prepare new codes for -the regulation of the different depôts de mendicité, -based on principles of which the following are the -most material:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[128]</a></span></p> - -<p>1. That the depôts should be confined to the -reception of those who, from age or infirmity, -should be unfit for agricultural labour.</p> - -<p>2. That all above the age of six, and under that -of 70, and capable of working, should be kept to -work, at average wages; that each person should be -charged per day 17 cents (about 3½<i>d.</i>) for his maintenance, -being its average cost, and retain the -remainder of his earnings; and be allowed nothing -beyond strict necessaries (mere bread is specified -for food), if his earnings were under that sum.</p> - -<p>That a portion of each person’s surplus earnings -should be reserved and paid over to him on leaving -the house, and the other portion paid to him from -time to time in a local paper money.</p> - -<p>3. That cantines should be established in the -house, to enable the inmates to spend their surplus -earnings.</p> - -<p>4. That those who had voluntarily offered themselves -for reception should be at liberty to quit the -house, after having repaid the expenses of their -maintenance there.</p> - -<p>5. That those arrested and sent thither as beggars -should not be set free until, 1st., they had -repaid all expenses; and 2ndly, had fitted themselves -to earn an independent livelihood, or been -demanded by their commune or relatives, and security -given for their future conduct.</p> - -<p>6. That in each house there should be an ecclesiastic -to perform divine service, and give moral -and religious instruction, frequently in private, and -twice a week in public; and that, where the inmates -should consist of Protestants and Catholics, -there should be both a Catholic and a Protestant<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[129]</a></span> -ecclesiastic.</p> - -<p>7. That in each house there should be a daily -school for the young, and a school for the adult, -open for four hours on Sundays, and for an hour -two evenings of the week. The attendance on these -schools to be compulsory.</p> - -<p>8. That so far as the confined paupers did not -earn their own subsistence, each commune should -pay for the support of those having in it their domicile -de secours, at the above-mentioned rate of -17 cents. (3½<i>d.</i>) per day, but be allowed a discount -of 2 cents. per day (reducing the daily payment -to 3<i>d.</i>) on prompt payment.</p> - -<p>A decree of the 9th April, 1831, by the Regent, -abolished that discount, the sum of 3<i>d.</i> a day having -been found insufficient, except in the depôt of -Bruges, in which the decree states that it covers -every expense.</p> - -<p>The existing Government has passed two very -important laws, dated the 13th & 29th of August, -1833.</p> - -<p>The first of these enacts, that until the laws on -mendicity shall have been revised, the daily charge -for the subsistence of each detenu in the depôt de -mendicité, instead of being fixed at 17 cents., shall -be determined annually by the Government. The -commune bound to repay the expense is to be -assisted, if incapable of meeting it, by the province, -the King deciding if the matter is disputed. If -payment is not made, a personal remedy is given -against the receiver of the commune.</p> - -<p>By the second, a conseil d’inspection des depôts -de mendicité is to be elected in each province.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[130]</a></span> -Each conseil is to propose a scheme,—</p> - -<p>1. For dividing the inmates of the depôts into -three classes, comprising, 1st, the infirm; 2d, the -able-bodied who have voluntarily entered them; -3d, those sentenced to them as beggars or vagrants.</p> - -<p>2. For obviating the abuses which might follow -from the power given to the indigent of voluntarily -entering the depôts.</p> - -<p>And as a general rule, a pauper who requests -admission without any authority from his commune, -may be received; but in that case his commune is -to be immediately informed of what has occurred. -If it offers to support him at home, he is to be sent -back to it: if it refuses, he is to remain in the -depôt at the expense of the commune: and the -communes are to be informed that it depends on -themselves to diminish the expense of supporting -their poor in the depôts, by the judicious distribution -of out-door relief, by the organization of committees -for the purpose of watching over the indigent, and -inquiring into the causes of their distress; by the -erection of asylums for lunatics, the deaf and dumb, -the blind and the incurable; and by the establishment -of houses of employment (d’ateliers libres de -travail) in winter, and infant schools. For all -which purposes they are recommended to assess -themselves. M. Lebeau says in his report, “Enfin -chez, nous nul ne peut exiger de secours en -vertu d’un droit.”<a name="FNanchor_14" id="FNanchor_14"></a><a href="#Footnote_14" class="fnanchor">[14]</a> (p. 594.) But it must be admitted -that these provisions, if not constituting a -right in the pauper to relief, give at least a right -to the managers of the depôts to force the parishes -to relieve, either at home or in the depôt, any pauper<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[131]</a></span> -who presents himself: and M. Lebeau himself -felt the danger to which the parishes are exposed. -In his circular of the 13th September, 1833, addressed -to the provinces in which depôts are established, -he urges the importance of adopting regulations -respecting the reception and dismission of -the poor voluntarily presenting themselves, which -may preserve parishes from “the indefinite burden -which would follow the too easy admission of -applicants.” “These establishments,” he adds, -“must not be considered by the poor as places of -gratuitous entertainment, (des hôtelleries gratuites.) -One of the best methods of preventing this will be -the strict execution of the law which prescribes -work to all those who are not physically incapable -of it; and for those who are incapable, the ordinary -hospices and hospitals are the proper receptacles. -It is true that in some depôts work has been discontinued, -because the results did not repay the -expenditure; but this consideration ought not to -prevail over the moral advantages which follow its -exaction. Labour is the essential condition which -must be imposed on the pauper; and if it require -the sacrifice of some expenditure, that sacrifice must -be made.”</p> - -<p>In a subsequent circular, dated the 4th July, -1834, and addressed to the governors of the different -provinces, M. Lebeau states, that one of the -causes assigned for the prevalence of mendicity, is -the facility with which persons obtain release from -the depôts. “I invite you, M. le Gouverneur,” -says the Minister, “when a pauper requests his -release, to consider his previous history, to ascertain<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[132]</a></span> -whether he has the means of subsistence, or -the local authorities have engaged to provide for -him; and to treat with great suspicion the solicitations -of parishes, as they are always interested in -obtaining the release of the paupers for whose maintenance -they pay.”</p> - -<p>With respect to the general working of these -institutions we have not much information. It appears -from the report of M. Lebeau that there are -in Belgium six depôts de mendicité; one at Hoogstraeten -for the province of Antwerp, at Cambre for -Brabant, at Bruges for the two Flanders, at Mons -for Hainault, at Namur for Namur and Luxembourg, -and at Reckheim for Limbourg and Liege; -that the hospices for the old and impotent, and the -hospitals for the sick, are very numerous, and that -nearly every commune possesses its bureau de bienfaisance -for the distribution of out-door relief. In -1832 the annual income of the different bureaux de -bienfaisance was estimated at 5,308,114 francs -(equal to about 212,325<i>l.</i> sterling), and that of -the hospices at 4,145,876 francs (equal to about -165,835<i>l.</i> sterling), altogether about 378,160<i>l.</i> -But the report contains no data from which the -whole expenditure in public relief, or the whole -number of persons relieved, or the general progress -or diminution of pauperism, can be collected.</p> - -<p>An important paper, however, is contained in the -supplement to M. Lebeau’s report, stating the -number of foundlings, deserted children and orphans, -in the nine provinces constituting the kingdom -of Belgium, in the years 1832 and 1833; of -which we subjoin a copy, having added to it the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[133]</a></span> -population of the different provinces, as given in -the official statement of 1830.</p> - -<p class="center">YEAR 1832.</p> - -<table summary="Foundlings, etc. in the year 1832" class="borders"> - <tr> - <th rowspan="2">Population.</th> - <th rowspan="2">PROVINCES.</th> - <th colspan="2">Average number of</th> - <th rowspan="2">TOTAL NUMBER.</th> - <th rowspan="2">TOTAL EXPENSES.</th> - <th colspan="3">Subdivision of those Expenses among</th> - <th rowspan="2" class="last-col">OBSERVATIONS.</th> - </tr> - <tr> - <th class="row2">Foundlings.</th> - <th class="row2">Deserted<br />Children and<br />Orphans.</th> - <th class="row2">The Hospitals,<br />Charitable<br />Institutions<br />or Foundations.</th> - <th class="row2">Towns or Communes.</th> - <th class="row2">Provinces.</th> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">354,974</td> - <td>Anvers</td> - <td class="tdr">886</td> - <td class="tdr">566</td> - <td class="tdr">1,452</td> - <td class="tdr">71,300</td> - <td class="tdr">..</td> - <td class="tdr">31,300</td> - <td class="tdr">40,000</td> - <td class="tdc last-col">a</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">556,146</td> - <td>Brabant</td> - <td class="tdr">2,244</td> - <td class="tdr">286</td> - <td class="tdr">2,530</td> - <td class="tdr">197,550</td> - <td class="tdr">..</td> - <td class="tdr">147,050</td> - <td class="tdr">50,500</td> - <td class="tdc last-col">b</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">601,678</td> - <td>Flandre Occidentale</td> - <td class="tdr">35</td> - <td class="tdr">461</td> - <td class="tdr">496</td> - <td class="tdr">34,123</td> - <td class="tdr">15,600</td> - <td class="tdr">18,523</td> - <td class="tdr">..</td> - <td class="tdc last-col">c</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">733,938</td> - <td>Flandre Orientale</td> - <td class="tdr">688</td> - <td class="tdr">219</td> - <td class="tdr">907</td> - <td class="tdr">64,479</td> - <td class="tdr">..</td> - <td class="tdr">..</td> - <td class="tdr">64,479</td> - <td class="tdc last-col">d</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">604,957</td> - <td>Hainault</td> - <td class="tdr">1,870</td> - <td class="tdr">333</td> - <td class="tdr">2,203</td> - <td class="tdr">172,792</td> - <td class="tdr">..</td> - <td class="tdr">25,072</td> - <td class="tdr">147,720</td> - <td class="tdc last-col">e</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">369,937</td> - <td>Liége</td> - <td class="tdr">41</td> - <td class="tdr">153</td> - <td class="tdr">194</td> - <td class="tdr">15,550</td> - <td class="tdr">9,665</td> - <td class="tdr">4,694</td> - <td class="tdr">1,191</td> - <td class="valign tdc last-col" rowspan="3"><span class="bracket">}</span> f</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">337,703</td> - <td>Limbourg</td> - <td class="tdr">11</td> - <td class="tdr">123</td> - <td class="tdr">134</td> - <td class="tdr">12,056</td> - <td class="tdr">10,658</td> - <td class="tdr">1,398</td> - <td class="tdr">..</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">292,151</td> - <td>Luxembourg</td> - <td class="tdr">13</td> - <td class="tdr">12</td> - <td class="tdr">25</td> - <td class="tdr">1,841</td> - <td class="tdr">232</td> - <td class="tdr">1,609</td> - <td class="tdr">..</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">212,725</td> - <td>Namur</td> - <td class="tdr">653</td> - <td class="tdr">9</td> - <td class="tdr">662</td> - <td class="tdr">44,533</td> - <td class="tdr">..</td> - <td class="tdr">25,533</td> - <td class="tdr">19,000</td> - <td class="tdc last-col">g</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr total last-row">4,064,209</td> - <td class="tdr last-row">TOTAL</td> - <td class="tdr total last-row">6,441</td> - <td class="tdr total last-row">2,162</td> - <td class="tdr total last-row">8,603</td> - <td class="tdr total last-row">614,224</td> - <td class="tdr total last-row">36,155</td> - <td class="tdr total last-row">255,179</td> - <td class="tdr total last-row">322,890</td> - <td class="last-col last-row"></td> - </tr> -</table> - -<p>(a) There is a tour at Antwerp, and also at Mechlin.</p> - -<p>(b) A tour in Brussels and one in Louvain.</p> - -<p>(c) No tour.</p> - -<p>(d) A tour at Ghent.</p> - -<p>(e) A tour in Mons, and one in Tournay.</p> - -<p>(f) No tour.</p> - -<p>(g) A hospital, but no tour.</p> - -<p>N.B. There are tours at Antwerp, Mechlin, Brussels, Louvain, Ghent, Mons, and -Tournay; seven in all.</p> - -<p>N.B. A tour is a horizontal wheel, with a box for the reception of the infant, which, -when empty, is open to the street, and when full is turned into the interior of the house.</p> - -<p class="center">YEAR 1833.</p> - -<table summary="Foundlings, etc. in the year 1833" class="borders"> - <tr> - <th rowspan="2">PROVINCES.</th> - <th colspan="2">Number of</th> - <th rowspan="2">Total.</th> - <th colspan="4">Expenses of</th> - <th rowspan="2" colspan="2" class="last-col">TOTAL EXPENSES.</th> - </tr> - <tr> - <th class="row2">Foundlings.</th> - <th class="row2">Deserted Children.</th> - <th class="row2" colspan="2">Foundlings.</th> - <th class="row2" colspan="2">Deserted Children.</th> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Anvers</td> - <td class="tdr">886</td> - <td class="tdr">578</td> - <td class="tdr">1,464</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">37,107</td> - <td class="tdr">65</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">26,927</td> - <td class="tdr">61</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">64,035</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">26</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Brabant</td> - <td class="tdr">2,648</td> - <td class="tdr">318</td> - <td class="tdr">2,966</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">182,321</td> - <td class="tdr">69</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">23,081</td> - <td class="tdr">84</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">205,403</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">53</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Fl. Occidentale</td> - <td class="tdr">39</td> - <td class="tdr">460</td> - <td class="tdr">499</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">3,258</td> - <td class="tdr">67</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">31,841</td> - <td class="tdr">89</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">35,100</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">56</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Fl. Orientale</td> - <td class="tdr">752</td> - <td class="tdr">242</td> - <td class="tdr">994</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">49,874</td> - <td class="tdr">81</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">14,902</td> - <td class="tdr">67</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">64,717</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">48</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Hainault</td> - <td class="tdr">1,969</td> - <td class="tdr">382</td> - <td class="tdr">2,351</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">123,368</td> - <td class="tdr">71</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">23,533</td> - <td class="tdr">18</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">146,901</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">89</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Liége</td> - <td class="tdr">38</td> - <td class="tdr">162</td> - <td class="tdr">200</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">2,899</td> - <td class="tdr">0</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">12,857</td> - <td class="tdr">04</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">15,756</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">04</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Limbourg</td> - <td class="tdr">14</td> - <td class="tdr">157</td> - <td class="tdr">171</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">913</td> - <td class="tdr">96</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">11,054</td> - <td class="tdr">44</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">12,968</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">40</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Luxembourg</td> - <td class="tdr">7</td> - <td class="tdr">31</td> - <td class="tdr">38</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">880</td> - <td class="tdr">94</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">3,212</td> - <td class="tdr">80</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">4,093</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">74</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Namur</td> - <td class="tdr">615</td> - <td class="tdr">7</td> - <td class="tdr">622</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">41,082</td> - <td class="tdr">0</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">467</td> - <td class="tdr">60</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">41,549</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">60</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="last-row"></td> - <td class="tdr total last-row">6,968</td> - <td class="tdr total last-row">2,337</td> - <td class="tdr total last-row">9,305</td> - <td class="tdr total last-row last-col">442,647</td> - <td class="tdr total last-row">43</td> - <td class="tdr total last-row last-col">147,879</td> - <td class="tdr total last-row">07</td> - <td class="tdr total last-row last-col">590,526</td> - <td class="tdr total last-row last-col">60</td> - </tr> -</table> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[134]</a></span></p> - -<h4>Foundlings.</h4> - -<p>It appears from this statement that in the provinces -of Antwerp, Brabant, and Hainault, containing -a population of 1,514,072 persons, and possessing -each two public receptacles for foundlings, -the number of foundlings in 1833 was 5,404, or 1 in -278: that in Flandre Orientale and Namur, containing -a population of 946,663, and possessing -each a single public receptacle, the number of -foundlings was 1367, or 1 in 699; and that in -Flandre Occidentale, Liége, Limbourg and Luxembourg, -containing a population of 1,601,469, but -having no such establishment, the number of foundlings -was 98, or less than 1 in 16,000. Nor does -this difference arise from an increased number of -deserted children in those provinces in which -foundling hospitals do not exist: on the contrary, -the numbers in the second column, comprising both -orphans and deserted children, in the four provinces -in which no foundling hospitals exist, amount to -910, out of a population of 1,601,469, being 1 in -1649, whereas those in Antwerp, Brabant and -Hainault amount to 1356, out of a population of -1,514,077, or 1 in 116; and when it is recollected -that the proportion of orphans can scarcely differ -in the different provinces, and that in the second -column they are mixed with the deserted children, -the superiority of the four former provinces over -the three latter will be found to be really much -greater than it appears.</p> - -<p>Nor does the difference arise from the prevalence -of infanticide.</p> - -<p>It appears from the statistique des tribunaux de -la Belgique, that in the years 1826, 1827, 1828, -and 1829, there were in the provinces of Antwerp,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[135]</a></span> -Brabant, Flandre Orientale, Hainault, and Namur, -containing 2,450,740 inhabitants, and possessing -foundling establishments, 13 convictions for infanticide; -and in Flandre Occidentale, Liege, Limbourg, -and Luxembourg, containing 1,601,469 inhabitants, -and no such establishments, only nine -convictions, being a proportion slightly inferior. So -far, therefore, from foundling hospitals having had -a tendency to prevent desertion of children, or infanticide, -it appears that their tendency is decidedly -to promote the former, without preventing in any -degree the latter. The real infanticides, strange as -it may sound, are the founders and supporters of -foundling hospitals. The average mortality in -Europe of children during the first year does not -exceed one in five, or 20 per cent. In England -and Holland it is less: in Belgium it is 22⁴⁹⁄₁₀₀, per -cent. But in the foundling hospitals of Belgium -(and their mortality is below the average of such -establishments), it is 45 per cent.<a name="FNanchor_15" id="FNanchor_15"></a><a href="#Footnote_15" class="fnanchor">[15]</a></p> - -<p>In the foundling hospital in Brussels it is now 66 -per cent., having been from 1812 to 1817, 79 per -cent.</p> - -<p>Nor is the fate of those who escape from these -receptacles much preferable to that of those who -perish there. M. Ducpétiaux, the inspector of -prisons, states that, small as is their number relative -to the rest of the population, they form a considerable -proportion of the inmates of gaols and prisons, -and a still larger proportion of the prostitutes.<a name="FNanchor_16" id="FNanchor_16"></a><a href="#Footnote_16" class="fnanchor">[16]</a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[136]</a></span></p> - -<p>Such having been the legislation, and such being -its results, an attempt towards its improvement was -made by a law, dated the 30th July, 1834. That -laws enacts, that from the 1st of January, 1835, the -maintenance of foundlings and of deserted children -whose place of settlement is not known, shall be -supplied one half by the communes in which they -shall have been exposed or deserted, with the assistance -of their bureaux de bienfaisance, and the -other half by the province of which those communes -form a part, and that an annual grant shall be made -by the State in aid of this expenditure; and that the -expense of maintaining deserted children whose -place of settlement is known, shall be supported by -the hospices and bureaux de bienfaisance of their -place of settlement, with the assistance of the -commune.</p> - -<p>The object of this law is stated in a circular from -the Minister of Justice, dated the 23d January, -1834.</p> - -<p>He directs, in the first place, the local authorities -to provide for the subsistence of the foundlings -with whom they may be charged, without reference -to the proposed annual grant, since neither the -amount of that grant, nor the mode of its distribution, -is laid down by the law; and urges them to -prevent the increase of their own burthens by -endeavouring to prevent the abandonment of children -born within their jurisdictions, and the exposure -within their jurisdictions of children born -elsewhere; and for that purpose to procure the -punishment by law of those convicted of having -exposed infants, or made a custom of taking them -to hospitals. He admits, however, that the necessary<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[137]</a></span> -investigations are matters of great delicacy; -and he might have added that the punishment by -law to which he refers does not exist, unless punishment -by law means the arbitrary interference of the -police, so much tolerated in continental Europe.</p> - -<p>“These,” he adds, “are the wishes of the Government -and of the Chambers; and this declaration -will enable you to understand the motives of -the silent repeal of the law, directing the establishment -of tours for the reception of foundlings. The -Legislature could not at the same time prescribe -measures intended to diminish the exposure of -children, and an institution by which it is favoured -and facilitated. It did not venture to pronounce the -suppression of the existing tours; but the silence -of the law on this subject is the expression of its -earnest desire that this institution should be discontinued; -the mode of discontinuing it is left to the -local authorities. The Government will require -from you an annual report on these subjects, before -it decides on the distribution of the annual grant; -and the favour shown to each district may depend -on its endeavours to comply with these instructions.”</p> - -<p>This circular is a curious instance of an attempt to -undermine an institution which the Government and -the Legislature disapprove, but which they do not -venture directly to grapple with. All that the Legislature -ventures directly to do is to express its earnest -desire (désir formel), <i>by the silence of the law</i>. The -Government however goes further, and holds out -hints, though it does not venture to hint very clearly, -that the fewer the foundlings in any district, the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[138]</a></span> -larger will be the share of that district in the government -grant. Under the influence of these -double motives we may expect the tours soon to be -closed.</p> - -<p>We have also inserted (p. 607) a paper respecting -the operation of the monts-de-piété, of which -the following is the result:—</p> - -<table summary="Money pledged to monts-de-piété" class="borders"> - <tr> - <th colspan="2">Average of Nine Years,<br />from 1822 to 1830<br />inclusive.</th> - <th colspan="2">1831.</th> - <th colspan="2" class="last-col">1832.</th> - </tr> - <tr> - <th class="row2">Pledges.</th> - <th class="row2">Amount.</th> - <th class="row2">Pledges.</th> - <th class="row2">Amount.</th> - <th class="row2">Pledges.</th> - <th class="row2 last-col">Amount.</th> - </tr> - <tr> - <td></td> - <td class="tdc">Francs.</td> - <td></td> - <td class="tdc">Francs.</td> - <td></td> - <td class="tdc last-col">Francs.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">1,271,122</td> - <td class="tdr">3,778,286</td> - <td class="tdr">1,185,834</td> - <td class="tdr">3,268,104</td> - <td class="tdr">1,129,373</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">3,939,219</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td></td> - <td class="tdc">or</td> - <td></td> - <td class="tdc">or</td> - <td></td> - <td class="tdc last-col">or</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr last-row"></td> - <td class="tdr last-row">£151,131</td> - <td class="tdr last-row"></td> - <td class="tdr last-row">£130,124</td> - <td class="tdr last-row"></td> - <td class="tdr last-row last-col">£157,548</td> - </tr> -</table> - -<p>The number of pledges redeemed is stated only -for 1832, in which year 1,124,115 pledges, on which -3,162,399 francs, or 126,495<i>l.</i> sterling, had been -lent, were redeemed. It is to be observed that the -pledges are for small sums, amounting, on an -average, to about three francs, or less than half-a-crown -per pledge; and that the amount of the redemption -in 1832 nearly corresponds with the -amount lent in 1831. On the whole, considering -the low rate of interest exacted by the Belgian -monts-de-piété, as compared with that taken by our -pawnbrokers, the small aggregate amount of deposits, -being about 150,000<i>l.</i> for four millions of -people, is a strong indication of the generally provident -habits of the labouring population.</p> - -<p>As further illustrations of the general working of -the Belgian system, we extract the following particulars -from the reports from Antwerp and Ostend.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[139]</a></span> -(pp. 627, 628, 629, 630, 634, 636, 637, and 639.)</p> - -<div class="footnotes"> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_14" id="Footnote_14"></a><a href="#FNanchor_14"><span class="label">[14]</span></a> “With us no one has a right to relief.”</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_15" id="Footnote_15"></a><a href="#FNanchor_15"><span class="label">[15]</span></a> Quetelet, Recherches sur la Population, &c., p. 38.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_16" id="Footnote_16"></a><a href="#FNanchor_16"><span class="label">[16]</span></a> Des Modifications, &c. de la Loi sur les Enfans Trouvés, p. 13.</p> -</div> - -</div> - -<h4><span class="smcap">Antwerp.</span></h4> - -<div class="sidenote">Population, 11,328.</div> - -<h5><i>Vagrants.</i></h5> - -<p>Indigent travellers, foreigners, or denizens, who pass through -Antwerp, are received there at an establishment called St. Julien’s -Hospital, where they are lodged and boarded for three nights at -the expense of the establishment, which provides their wants for -the moment.</p> - -<p>The foundation of this hospital, which yearly receives about -1000 individuals, dates from the beginning of the 14th century. -It subsists by itself, under the direction of a private charitable administration, -by means of some fixed revenues, and also by the -liberal donations of philanthropic persons.</p> - -<p>The same poor travellers, when Belgians, receive at Antwerp -an indemnity of 15 centimes, or 1½<i>d.</i> sterling, per league per -head for travelling expenses to the first town in the neighbourhood, -where this relief is continued to them. These travelling expenses -are at the charge of the town, and paid out of the municipal funds, -in virtue of a Royal Act of the 10th May, 1815.</p> - -<h5><i>Destitute Able-bodied.</i></h5> - -<p>Necessitous individuals of the labouring and indigent class, who -do not attempt to go a begging, and who, for want of work, are -without means of providing for the necessaries of life, and also -the members of their families, are provided for at their own -dwellings, by the care of the bureau de bienfaisance, by the means -or revenues of this establishment, and the subsidies which the -town grants it yearly out of the municipal funds, in order to supply -what may be necessary to continue its service. The amount of -this grant varies annually, according to the real wants of the establishment, -by reason of the circumstances that either augment or -reduce its expenses.</p> - -<p>The succours distributed by this establishment consist in money, -bread, potatoes, fuel, and clothing, &c.</p> - -<p>Besides, there exists at Antwerp, under the direction of the -same bureau de bienfaisance, a workhouse, where carpets of cow-hair -and other articles are made. This workhouse is established -especially to procure work to the indigent and working class who -are without employ. The population of this establishment varies<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[140]</a></span> -according to the different seasons and other circumstances. It is -most frequented during the winter, when the navigation is interrupted, -and the stagnation of several branches of industry causes -the number of indigent to augment. Those who come to work in -this establishment remain there the whole day, and receive their -meals, besides a salary in cash, proportioned to the work they are -employed at.</p> - -<p>If, through the effects of a hard winter, the wants of the labouring -and indigent class are excessive, there are formed at Antwerp -private societies for relief, which, by means of donations, collections, -and voluntary subscriptions, efficaciously assist the unfortunate -by distributions of money, food, fuel, &c.</p> - -<p>The depôt of mendicity in the province of Antwerp is situated at -Hoogstraeten, in an ancient manor bought for that purpose by the -former department administration. It is a spacious establishment -of agriculture, possessing a great number of acres of arable, pasture, -and wood land, and a still greater number of heath (bruyère).</p> - -<p>Those individuals who are destitute, and who desire to be -admitted into this establishment, are received as free men; the -vagrants are brought there by force. Both are employed there at -sundry works of agriculture, of manufacture, or in the household -establishment, according to their physical strength. The impotent -and aged alone are kept without working in a separate place.</p> - -<p>For several years the expense for the maintenance of individuals -of the depôt at Hoogstraeten has not amounted to more than 32 -centimes per individual, (or 3<i>d.</i> sterling.)</p> - -<p>On the 1st January, 1834, the number of persons entertained -at the provincial depôt, on account of the city of Antwerp, was -153. The population of this establishment generally amounts to -250 or 300 individuals, all belonging to the province.</p> - -<p>The children of the working class or indigent are received, -without any distinction, in the public schools established gratis. -Those children abandoned to the public charity, or of whom the -parents are entirely unable to bring them up, and who request to -be relieved of them from inability to maintain them, are sent to an -hospital established for that purpose, or else placed in the country -under the direction of the civil hospital, or the bureau de bienfaisance.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[141]</a></span></p> - -<h5><i>Impotent through Age.</i></h5> - -<p>There are at Antwerp 26 private hospitals, founded and established -for many centuries by charitable persons in favour of a -stated number of aged persons, of both sexes, and of decent and -respectable families; but in preference for the members of the -founders’ family, and which persons, without being entirely destitute, -have, notwithstanding, no sufficient means to provide for -their subsistence. Those persons inhabit a small house in the -hospital, where they keep their own household separately, and -subsist by what they can earn personally by any hand-work, and -by the weekly succour which they receive from the revenue of the -foundation. These men and women reside in separate hospitals.</p> - -<p>Destitute persons, of both sexes, who are impotent through age, -but have not claims to be admitted into the before-mentioned private -hospital, are maintained by the administrations of the poor, the -sick, incurable, and impotents, in the civil hospital, and the others -in the country, where they are boarded with the farmers at the -expenses of the public establishment of charity; that is to say, of -the administration of the civil hospitals and bureau de bienfaisance. -Besides, there is at Antwerp a special establishment as a refuge -to the impotent through age, of decent and respectable families, -who are without means of procuring a livelihood.</p> - -<h5><i>Sick.</i></h5> - -<p>In Belgium every town has its civil hospital for the maintenance -of destitute sick. That of Antwerp is open to all the unfortunate, -without distinction, whenever their social position does not afford -them the means of being attended by a physician at their dwellings, -who are deemed proper objects for admission.</p> - -<p>Are also admitted, in a private room in this hospital (upon -payment of a small daily retribution), all individuals who, although -not entirely destitute, prefer to be treated in the hospital rather -than at their own houses; such as men and female servants, who -are commonly sent there by the persons who have them in their -employ.</p> - -<p>Indigent persons, born at Antwerp, are treated at the hospital -at the expense of the establishment. Those who are not of the -town, but are of the country, are treated there at the expense of -the commune where they have their domicile de secours.</p> - -<p>These expenses are fixed at the rate of 62 cents., or 1 franc 31 -centimes (1<i>s.</i> 0½<i>d.</i> sterling) per diem, whatever may be the sickness.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[142]</a></span> -The expenses, for the treatment of those who have no -domicile de secours, are repaid by government out of the treasury -funds. The town provides for the insufficiency of the private -revenue of this establishment, in the same manner as it does for -the bureau de bienfaisance, by means of “subsidies in aid,” paid -out of the municipal funds. This amount of “subsidies” varies -annually according to the wants of the administration of the -hospital.</p> - -<p>Persons of the indigent and necessitous class, whose sickness -or complaint is not severe enough to require their entering the -hospital, receive medical and surgical relief at their own homes. -To that effect, there are several physicians and surgeons appointed -and attached to the bureau de bienfaisance, who give their assistance -to the sick who require it, every one in the district or section -for which he is appointed. These physicians and surgeons, who -receive a fixed salary from the administration of the poor, also -receive at their domicile, at fixed hours of the day, indigent -persons who want to consult them on the state of their health; -and it is on a ticket delivered by them, that such sick persons are -received at the hospital. The bureau de bienfaisance has a special -pharmacy, situated in the centre of the town, where medicine is -given gratis to the indigent, on a prescription signed by a physician -of the poor establishment.</p> - -<p>The indigent persons relieved by the bureau de bienfaisance -receive only the strict necessaries of life to feed and support their -families, and no more, so that they have nothing to satisfy their -private wants or fancies, nor can they procure themselves any -luxuries or other comforts; and they always lead a life, that, -although protected against the most pressing wants, is notwithstanding -a very miserable one. It is thus the interest of those -individuals that are able to work (and this they perfectly comprehend) -to seek to maintain themselves. It is only those persons -who are totally depraved, and who give themselves entirely up to -drunkenness and every other excess, who feel assured that, after -having wasted and spent the little they possess, and abandoned -the work that maintained them, there always remains to them the -resource of the distributions made by the administration of the -poor.</p> - -<p>In Antwerp, the situation of a workman, whatever may be the -class he belongs to, and who maintains himself solely by his work, -is by all means preferable and better than that of a person who only<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[143]</a></span> -subsists by relief or public charity. The existence of those who -reside in the depôts of mendicity, excepting only the loss of their -liberty, is even in many respects preferable to the situation of the -latter, who are maintained by general charity.</p> - -<h4><span class="smcap">Ostend.</span></h4> - -<div class="sidenote">Population, 11,328.</div> - -<h5><i>Destitute Able-bodied.</i></h5> - -<p>The only legal mode of lodging the destitute able-bodied is to -send them to the depôt of mendicity, where they are treated as -paupers. There existed formerly agricultural colonies on the -same principles as those in Holland, to which the parishes could -send their able-bodied, destitute, and their families; it was found in -vain to attempt making cultivators or proprietors of them.</p> - -<p>The destitute able-bodied, but quite indigent, of the two Flanders, -and the vagrants who have been tried as such, compose altogether -a population of about 300 persons (the destitute able-bodied of -Ghent excepted.) For each of these 300 poor, his parish pays a -contribution of 32 centimes (3<i>d.</i>) per day (men and women -equally.) The depôt for both the Flanders established at Bruges, -by the mildness of its administration, has gradually overcome the -dread which it inspired at its origin. The directors have banished -all rigour, not even enforcing work on the destitute; but as they -are paid according to their industry, that inducement to work is -found sufficient. This establishment is remarkably prosperous, -having already saved fr. 80,000 (3200<i>l.</i>), all expenses paid. It is -not found necessary to have any armed force in the neighbourhood -to keep this large number of destitute in order, this being -attained by gentleness and good usage. On any of the poor -leaving the establishment, improved in their moral conduct, they -receive a part of their own earnings, which enables them to seek -some employment.</p> - -<p>Besides this depôt, there is at Ghent a workhouse where employment -is given to the destitute, but without their being maintained. -The number of labourers in this establishment, which was -erected by voluntary subscription, has been as many as 1900 in -time of great distress.</p> - -<p>Every church has its masters of the table of the poor, or distributors -of assistance. Such funds proceed from collections made -in the church, voluntary alms, and assignments from the “bureau -de bienfaisance.” Weekly distributions of bread or fuel, sometimes<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[144]</a></span> -money or clothing, are made; but this assistance is generally -discontinued in the summer months, on account of the abundance -of work during that season. In the towns the relief consists -principally in money (about 32 centimes per man and per day, or -3<i>d.</i> sterling.) In the country the rule is not to give money, but -assistance in kind.</p> - -<p>Generally their children may be educated gratuitously; but they -take little advantage of it, as they prefer employing them in -gathering up firewood, &c.; and, generally, there is felt a want of -coercive measures to force the parents to send their children to -school, and to allow them to be put out as apprentices.</p> - -<h5><i>Impotent through Age.</i></h5> - -<p>There are almshouses throughout the kingdom, where the -impotent through age are maintained and taken care of. These -institutions are so far profitable to the parishes, as that it would -cost them more money to assist these persons separately. Some -have been endowed by deeds of gift, others are supported by the -inhabitants of the towns. The number of them is increasing in -the country, and most towns are well provided in that respect.</p> - -<p>The assistance afforded to those relieved at home is in clothing, -bread, fuel twice a week, and 75 centimes in money (7<i>d.</i>) every -Sunday.</p> - -<p>There exists between the self-supporting labourers and the persons -subsisting exclusively on alms or public charity, a very -numerous intermediate class, consisting of those who live partly -on relief and partly on labour, so that the two extremities only of -the scale can be compared. An able-bodied but not labouring -man receives only about the half what the last of those who do -labour and are not assisted would earn; the legal relief being 32 -centimes (3<i>d.</i>), and the lowest day’s work more than 64 centimes -(6<i>d.</i>) As to liberty, nobody is forced to work, not even at -the depôt of mendicity; they are only not allowed to go out at -will. Food is almost equally distributed, and many destitute poor -prefer the depôt to free labour, when they are not sure of being -employed every day; but in no other instance.</p> - -<p>The grievances which result from this system arise from the -neglect, the ignorance or the corruption of the local authorities, -and although numerous, they are not very striking.</p> - -<p>2dly. Grievances arise from the want of proper conditions with -which lands or houses are bequeathed to the bureaux de bienfaisance.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[145]</a></span> -Wherever a revenue is bequeathed it is shared equally by -the poor, even when they may be beyond need; for instance, a -beggar will receive 1 fr. 50 c. (1<i>s.</i> 2<i>d.</i>) per day for her maintenance, -which would not have cost more than the fifth part of that -sum if paid by the depôt of mendicity. To obviate this abuse, -and to increase the power of useful charity, the revenue of the -bureau de bienfaisance of each parish should be added to the sum -principal of the province when the revenue of the bureau exceeds -the wants of its locality. 3dly. Grievances arise from the liberty -of parents to neglect their children, and allowing them to beg -alms for their own benefit. This last appears to be the root of the -evil, and the great cause of the augmentation of pauperism in -these towns.</p> - -<h4><span class="smcap">Gaesbeck.</span> (page 1.)</h4> - -<p>But the most interesting portion of the Belgian -details is Count Arrivabene’s account of Gaesbeck, -a small village about nine miles from Brussels, containing -about 857 acres, inhabited by 364 persons, -forming 60 families, or separate menages, constituted -of 13 comparatively large farmers, occupying -each from 30 to 150 acres, 18 small proprietors or -small farmers, 21 day-labourers, and 8 artizans. The -commune possesses a property producing an annual -revenue of 556 francs, or nearly 23<i>l.</i> sterling, managed -by its bureau de bienfaisance, of which the -curé is the acting member. It expended in the year -1832, on the relief of the poor, (including the salary -of the schoolmaster and clothing for the poor children -who were to be confirmed,) 625 francs, or about -25<i>l.</i> 2<i>s.</i>, being rather less than 1<i>s.</i> 4½<i>d.</i> per head. -How the extra 2<i>l.</i> 2<i>s.</i> was obtained is not mentioned; -but as the bureau is stated to have always -nearly a year’s revenue in hand, it was probably -taken from the receipts of a previous year. The -heaviest item of expense is the support of one old -man, at the annual expense of 72 francs, (rather<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[146]</a></span> -less than 3<i>l.</i>) Ten other individuals, or heads of -families, appear to have received nearly regular -relief, amounting in general to about 6<i>d.</i> a week; -and four others to have been assisted at times -irregularly; the largest sum being 1<i>l.</i>, given to L. -Maonens, “pour malheur.” There has been only -one illegitimate birth during the last five years. -The average age of marriage is 27 for men, and 26 -for women; the average number of births to a marriage, -3½. As these averages are taken for a -period of 23 years, ending in 1832, during which -the population has not increased, they may be -relied on. Of the whole 60 families, only 11 are -without land; all the others either possess some, or -hire some from the proprietor. The quantity generally -occupied by a day-labourer is a bonnier, or -about 2½ acres, for which he pays a rent of from 60 -to 80 francs. With this land the labourers keep in -general a cow, a pig, and poultry. To be without -land is considered the extreme of poverty. The -number of labourers is precisely equal to the demand -for their services. Daily wages are 6<i>d.</i>, with -some advantages equal to about 1<i>d.</i> more; and, as -might be expected under a natural system, with -no preference of the married to the unmarried. -Labourers are generally hired by the year, and -remain long in the same service. Crime is exceedingly -rare: for the last 12 years no one has been -committed to prison. Offences against the game -laws are unknown. There are three houses of -entertainment in the village, but they are not -frequented by the labourers. “Are the labourers -discontented; do they look on the farmers with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[147]</a></span> -envy?” asked the Count of his informant. “I do -not believe,” was the answer, “that the labourers -envy the farmers. I believe that the relation between -the farmers and labourers is very friendly: -that the labourers are perfectly contented in their -situation, and feel regard and attachment for their -employers.” (p. 14.)</p> - -<p>What a contrast is exhibited by this picture of -moral, contented, and (if the term is permissible) -prosperous poverty, supported by the frugality and -providence of the labourers themselves, and that of -the population of a pauperized English village, -better fed indeed, better paid, better clothed, and -better lodged, and, above all, receiving 10, or perhaps -20 times the amount of parochial alms, but -depraved by profligacy, soured by discontent, their -numbers swelled by head-money and preference of -the married to double the demand for their labour, -their frugality and providence punished by the refusal -of employment, and their industry ruined by -the scale; looking with envy and dislike on their -masters, and with hatred on the dispensers of relief!</p> - -<p>And it is to be observed that the independence -of the Belgian peasantry does not arise from any -unwillingness to accept of relief. Out of the 60 -families forming the population of the village, 19 -appear to have received it in 1832; and a fact is -related by Count Arrivabene, which shows that -indiscriminate alms are as much coveted there as -with us. In 1830 (the year of the revolution) -many persons applied for charity at the gate of the -castle of Gaesbeck, the residence of Marquis Arconati, -and something was given to each. The next<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[148]</a></span> -year the applications were renewed: the sum given -to each applicant was fixed at 1<i>d.</i>, and a single day in -the week was fixed for its distribution. On the first -of these days there were 50 applicants; the second, -60. The sum given was reduced to ½<i>d.</i> to a man, -and a farthing to a child; but towards the end of -the season the weekly assemblage had risen to 300 -and 400 persons; they came from 10 and 12 miles -distance, and it became necessary to abolish the -allowance, trifling as the amount appears.</p> - -<h4><i>Poor Colonies.</i></h4> - -<p>The last portion of the Belgian institutions requiring -notice are the poor colonies. We have already -stated, that in 1823 the Belgian Société de Bienfaisance -was established on the model and for the -purposes of that already existing in Holland. In -the beginning of that year the society purchased -522 bonniers (rather less than 1,300 statute acres), -at Wortel, for the establishment of two colonies, -called free, and divided them into 125 farms, of 3½ -bonniers (about 9 statute acres) each; 70 in the -colony No. 1, and 55 in the colony No. 2. In -1823 they purchased 516 bonniers (about 1,280 -acres), at Mexplus and Ryckevoorsel, for the establishment -of a mendicity colony. The first estate -cost 623<i>l.</i>, the second 554<i>l.</i>, or less than 10<i>s.</i> an -acre, from which the quality of the land may be -inferred.</p> - -<p>Families placed in the free colonies were provided -each with a house, barn, and stable, a couple of -cows, sometimes sheep, furniture, clothes, and other -stock, of the estimated value, including the land, -of 1,600 florins (133<i>l.</i> 6<i>s.</i> 8<i>d.</i> sterling), which was -charged against them as a debt to the society.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[149]</a></span> -They were bound to work at wages fixed by the -society, to wear the uniform, and conform to the -rules of the colony, and not to quit its precincts -without leave. A portion of their wages was retained -to repay the original advance made by the -society; a further portion to pay for the necessaries -furnished to them from time to time, and the -food for their cattle; and a portion paid to them in -a base money of the colony, to be expended in -shops established by the society within its limits.</p> - -<p>At first each family of colonists worked on its -own farm, and managed its own cattle, but it was -found that the land was uncultivated, and the cattle -died for want of attention or food; and in 1828 the -society took back the cattle, and employed all the -colonists indiscriminately in the general cultivation -of the land of the colony. “From this time,” says -M. Ducpétiaux (p. 624), “the situation of the -colonist who is called free, but is in fact bound to -the society by restrictions which take from him -almost the whole of his liberty for the present, -and deprive him of all hope of future enfranchisement, -has resembled that of the serfs of the middle -ages or of Russia. It is worse than that of the -Irish cottiers, who, if they are fed like him on potatoes -and coarse bread, have at least freedom of -action and the power of changing their residence.”</p> - -<p>Those colonists who had obtained a gold or silver -medal, as a testimony that they could support -themselves out of the produce of their own farms, -were excepted from this arrangement, and allowed -to retain the management of their farms, paying a -rent to the society; but at the date of M. Ducpétiaux’s<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[150]</a></span> -communication (10th December, 1832), the -greater part even of them had been forced to renounce -this advantage, and to fall back into the -situation of ordinary colonists. Four families were -all that then remained in this state of comparative -emancipation.</p> - -<p>The inhabitants of the mendicity colony were -from the first subjected to the regulations ultimately -imposed on the free colonists, with the additional -restriction of being required to live in common on -rations afforded by the society; the only respect in -which, according to M. Ducpétiaux, they now differ -from the free colonists.</p> - -<p>Count Arrivabene visited these colonies in 1829, -and then predicted their failure. The three years -which elapsed between his visit and the report of -M. Ducpétiaux were sufficient to prove the accuracy -of this prophecy.</p> - -<p>It appears from the statement of M. Ducpétiaux -(p. 621), that on the 1st of July, 1832, the debts due -from the society amounted to 776,021 florins (about -64,661<i>l.</i> sterling); the whole value of its property -to 536,250 florins (about 44,698<i>l.</i> sterling); leaving -a deficit of 239,771 florins, or nearly 20,000<i>l.</i> -sterling. And this deficit was likely to increase -every year; the expenses, as they had done from -the beginning, greatly exceeding the receipts, a -fact which is shown by the following table:—</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[151]</a></span></p> - -<table summary="Receipts and expenses" class="borders"> - <tr> - <th></th> - <th>Free Colonists.</th> - <th>Beggars.</th> - <th colspan="2">Expenditure.</th> - <th colspan="2" class="last-col">Receipts.</th> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>1822</td> - <td class="tdr">127</td> - <td class="tdr"><span class="fnpad">..</span></td> - <td class="tdr last-col">38,899</td> - <td class="tdr"><span class="fnpad">50</span></td> - <td class="tdr last-col">..</td> - <td class="tdr last-col"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>1823</td> - <td class="tdr">406</td> - <td class="tdr"><span class="fnpad">..</span></td> - <td class="tdr last-col">93,532</td> - <td class="tdr"><span class="fnpad">07</span></td> - <td class="tdr last-col">..</td> - <td class="tdr last-col"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>1824</td> - <td class="tdr">536</td> - <td class="tdr"><span class="fnpad">..</span></td> - <td class="tdr last-col">106,102</td> - <td class="tdr"><span class="fnpad">72</span></td> - <td class="tdr last-col">12,339</td> - <td class="tdr last-col"><span class="fnpad">31</span></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>1825</td> - <td class="tdr">579</td> - <td class="tdr">490<a name="FNanchor_17" id="FNanchor_17"></a><a href="#Footnote_17" class="fnanchor">[17]</a></td> - <td class="tdr last-col">102,983</td> - <td class="tdr"><span class="fnpad">73</span></td> - <td class="tdr last-col">25,740</td> - <td class="tdr last-col"><span class="fnpad">74</span></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>1826</td> - <td class="tdr">563</td> - <td class="tdr"><span class="fnpad">846</span></td> - <td class="tdr last-col">163,933</td> - <td class="tdr"><span class="fnpad">45</span></td> - <td class="tdr last-col">56,476</td> - <td class="tdr last-col"><span class="fnpad">88</span></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>1827</td> - <td class="tdr">532</td> - <td class="tdr"><span class="fnpad">899</span></td> - <td class="tdr last-col">168,754</td> - <td class="tdr"><span class="fnpad">61</span></td> - <td class="tdr last-col">50,677</td> - <td class="tdr last-col"><span class="fnpad">38</span></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>1828</td> - <td class="tdr">550</td> - <td class="tdr"><span class="fnpad">774</span></td> - <td class="tdr last-col">144,645</td> - <td class="tdr"><span class="fnpad">28</span></td> - <td class="tdr last-col">54,994</td> - <td class="tdr last-col"><span class="fnpad">62</span></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>1829</td> - <td class="tdr">565</td> - <td class="tdr"><span class="fnpad">703</span></td> - <td class="tdr last-col">174,611</td> - <td class="tdr"><span class="fnpad">44</span></td> - <td class="tdr last-col">98,523</td> - <td class="tdr last-col"><span class="fnpad">57</span></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>1830</td> - <td class="tdr">546</td> - <td class="tdr"><span class="fnpad">598</span></td> - <td class="tdr last-col">127,358</td> - <td class="tdr"><span class="fnpad">72</span></td> - <td class="tdr last-col">67,718</td> - <td class="tdr last-col"><span class="fnpad">72</span></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="last-row">1831</td> - <td class="tdr last-row">517</td> - <td class="tdr last-row"><span class="fnpad">465</span></td> - <td class="tdr last-row last-col">135,405</td> - <td class="tdr last-row">81<a name="FNanchor_18" id="FNanchor_18"></a><a href="#Footnote_18" class="fnanchor">[18]</a></td> - <td class="tdr last-row last-col">82,578</td> - <td class="tdr last-row last-col">81<a name="FNanchor_19" id="FNanchor_19"></a><a href="#Footnote_19" class="fnanchor">[19]</a></td> - </tr> -</table> - -<div class="footnotes"> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_17" id="Footnote_17"></a><a href="#FNanchor_17"><span class="label">[17]</span></a> During the four last months.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_18" id="Footnote_18"></a><a href="#FNanchor_18"><span class="label">[18]</span></a> These sums do not include many of the expenses of administration. -They consist simply of the sums remitted to the director for current expenses.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_19" id="Footnote_19"></a><a href="#FNanchor_19"><span class="label">[19]</span></a> These sums include not only every species of net profit, but in fact the -value of the gross produce.</p> - -</div> - -</div> - -<p>M. Ducpétiaux’s statement may be compared -with that of Captain Brandreth, who visited the -colonies at about the same period. (pp. 19, 20.)</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>Among the colonists there were a few whose previous habits -and natural dispositions disposed them to avail themselves, to the -best of their ability, of the benevolent provisions thus offered for -their relief, and who had worked industriously, and conducted -themselves well during their residence in the colony. Their land -was cultivated to the extent of their means; and their dwelling-houses -had assumed an appearance of greater comfort, order, -and civilization than the rest. But these were too few in number, -and the result too trifling to offer the stimulus of emulation to -others.</p> - -<p>Those farms that I examined, with the above exceptions, were -not encouraging examples: there were few evidences of thrift and -providence, the interior of the dwellings being, in point of comfort, -little, if at all removed from the humblest cottage of the most -straitened condition of labourers in this country.</p> - -<p>A clause in the regulations allows certain of the colonists, -whose good conduct and industry have obtained them the privilege, -to barter with the neighbouring towns for any article they -may want.</p> - -<p>The nearest towns to the establishment, of any note, are -Hoogstraten and Tournhout; but on inquiry I could not find -that any intercourse was maintained with them; and the country<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[152]</a></span> -round offered no evidences of the existence of a thriving community -in its centre, exercising an influence on its traffic or occupations. -In the winter I should think the roads to the colonies -scarcely practicable for any description of carriages.</p> - -<p>From what I saw of the social condition of the colonists, I am -disposed to insist much on the inexpediency of assembling, in an -isolated position especially, a large community of paupers for this -experiment.</p> - -<p>Admitting the physical difficulties to have been much less than -they are, and the prospect of pecuniary advantage much greater -and more certain, the moral objections to the system would -outweigh them. Without the example of the better conditions of -society, there can be no hope of such a community gradually acquiring -those qualities that would fit the members of it for a better -condition. One or two families established in the neighbourhood -of an orderly and industrious community would find the stimulus -of shame, as well as emulation, acting on their moral qualities and -exertions; but in the present case, where all are in a condition of -equal debasement, both of those powerful stimuli are wanting. -The reports of the progress of the Dutch free colonies up to the -year 1828 are certainly encouraging; and as the same system -has been adopted in the free colonies of Belgium as in Holland, -and the experiment in both cases tried on similar soils, they might -lead to the inference that some peculiar cause has operated in favour -of the Dutch colonies, and against those of Belgium. Not -having had an opportunity of visiting the Dutch colonies, I cannot -offer an opinion on the subject; but reasoning from what I -personally witnessed, I should be disposed to think, that either -some greater encouragement has been granted in Holland, or -some improvement of the system adopted; or that the habits, -dispositions, and character of the Dutch fit them better for this -experiment.</p> - -<p>The same authorities that I have quoted in the case of these -colonies, speak favourably also of the Belgian colonies up to the -same period; and on the part of the latter experiment it may be -asserted, that the unsettled state of the country since that period -ought very much to qualify any condemnation of its principle. -But notwithstanding this disadvantage (which is much less, I fear, -than has been insisted on), there would still have remained evidences -of the probable success of the experiment. Those evidences -were not satisfactory to my mind; and I may further observe,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[153]</a></span> -that while the people in general recommended the colonies to -foreigners as especially worthy of their notice, I do not remember -meeting with one individual who could point out any specific results, -and few who would distinctly assert that there was any -increasing and permanent benefit to the community from them.</p> - -<p>It is probable that unless some great change is made in the -present system, the colonies will be ultimately abandoned, or -merge into the establishments for compulsory labour: in other -words, the society will become the farmers, and the present colonists -merely agricultural labourers, differing only from the ordinary -labourer, inasmuch as they will work under the penalty of -being treated as vagabonds in case of contumacy.</p> - -<p>The observations I have hitherto made apply only to the free -colonies. In the mendicity or compulsory colonies, the poor are -assembled in large establishments, and cultivate the ground, either -by task or day labour, and attend the cattle, &c., under the direction -of certain officers; it is, in fact, a species of agricultural -workhouse.</p> - -<p>The following is a Return of the compulsory establishment at -Merxplas. (p. 20.)</p> - -<table summary="Return of the compulsory establishment at -Merxplas" class="borders"> - <tr> - <th></th> - <th colspan="2">1826.</th> - <th colspan="2">1827.</th> - <th colspan="2">1828.</th> - <th colspan="2">1829.</th> - <th colspan="2">1830.</th> - <th colspan="2" class="last-col">1831.</th> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Present on the 1st January</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">604</td> - <td></td> - <td class="tdr last-col">919</td> - <td></td> - <td class="tdr last-col">816</td> - <td></td> - <td class="tdr last-col">722</td> - <td></td> - <td class="tdr last-col">658</td> - <td></td> - <td class="tdr last-col">519</td> - <td class="last-col"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Admitted during the year</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">422</td> - <td></td> - <td class="tdr last-col">247</td> - <td></td> - <td class="tdr last-col">172</td> - <td></td> - <td class="tdr last-col">147</td> - <td></td> - <td class="tdr last-col">97</td> - <td></td> - <td class="tdr last-col">5</td> - <td class="last-col"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Brought back from desertion</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">6</td> - <td></td> - <td class="tdr last-col">25</td> - <td></td> - <td class="tdr last-col">12</td> - <td></td> - <td class="tdr last-col">23</td> - <td></td> - <td class="tdr last-col">27</td> - <td></td> - <td class="tdr last-col">18</td> - <td class="last-col"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Born</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">5</td> - <td></td> - <td class="tdr last-col">3</td> - <td></td> - <td class="tdr last-col">3</td> - <td></td> - <td class="tdr last-col">3</td> - <td></td> - <td class="tdr last-col">1</td> - <td></td> - <td class="tdr last-col">..</td> - <td class="last-col"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td></td> - <td class="last-col total"></td> - <td class="tdr">1,037</td> - <td class="last-col total"></td> - <td class="tdr">1,194</td> - <td class="last-col total"></td> - <td class="tdr">1,003</td> - <td class="last-col total"></td> - <td class="tdr">895</td> - <td class="last-col total"></td> - <td class="tdr">783</td> - <td class="last-col total"></td> - <td class="tdr last-col">542</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Enlarged</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">7</td> - <td></td> - <td class="tdr last-col">159</td> - <td></td> - <td class="tdr last-col">135</td> - <td></td> - <td class="tdr last-col">116</td> - <td></td> - <td class="tdr last-col">82</td> - <td></td> - <td class="tdr last-col">18</td> - <td class="last-col"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Deserted</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">14</td> - <td></td> - <td class="tdr last-col">42</td> - <td></td> - <td class="tdr last-col">35</td> - <td></td> - <td class="tdr last-col">37</td> - <td></td> - <td class="tdr last-col">65</td> - <td></td> - <td class="tdr last-col">66</td> - <td class="last-col"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Died</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">91</td> - <td></td> - <td class="tdr last-col">166</td> - <td></td> - <td class="tdr last-col">104</td> - <td></td> - <td class="tdr last-col">37</td> - <td></td> - <td class="tdr last-col">81</td> - <td></td> - <td class="tdr last-col">23</td> - <td class="last-col"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Entered the military service as volunteers</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">..</td> - <td></td> - <td class="tdr last-col">..</td> - <td></td> - <td class="tdr last-col">2</td> - <td></td> - <td class="tdr last-col">39</td> - <td></td> - <td class="tdr last-col">28</td> - <td></td> - <td class="tdr last-col">..</td> - <td class="last-col"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Entered the militia</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">4</td> - <td></td> - <td class="tdr last-col">9</td> - <td></td> - <td class="tdr last-col">4</td> - <td></td> - <td class="tdr last-col">8</td> - <td></td> - <td class="tdr last-col">4</td> - <td></td> - <td class="tdr last-col">3</td> - <td class="last-col"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Brought before justice</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">2</td> - <td></td> - <td class="tdr last-col">2</td> - <td></td> - <td class="tdr last-col">1</td> - <td></td> - <td class="tdr last-col">3</td> - <td></td> - <td class="tdr last-col">8</td> - <td></td> - <td class="tdr last-col">..</td> - <td class="last-col"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td></td> - <td class="last-col total"></td> - <td class="tdr">118</td> - <td class="last-col total"></td> - <td class="tdr">378</td> - <td class="last-col total"></td> - <td class="tdr">281</td> - <td class="last-col total"></td> - <td class="tdr">240</td> - <td class="last-col total"></td> - <td class="tdr">268</td> - <td class="last-col total"></td> - <td class="tdr last-col">110</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level2 last-row">Total, 31st Dec.</td> - <td class="last-col last-row"></td> - <td class="tdr total last-row">919</td> - <td class="last-col last-row"></td> - <td class="tdr total last-row">816</td> - <td class="last-col last-row"></td> - <td class="tdr total last-row">722</td> - <td class="last-col last-row"></td> - <td class="tdr total last-row">655</td> - <td class="last-col last-row"></td> - <td class="tdr total last-row">515</td> - <td class="last-col last-row"></td> - <td class="tdr total last-row last-col">432</td> - </tr> -</table> - -</div> - -<p>The number of deaths is very striking. It -amounts to 502 in six years, or 83⅔ per year, the -average population during that time having consisted -of 708 persons; so that the average annual -mortality was nearly 12 per cent. The proportion -of desertions appears also to have progressively increased,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[154]</a></span> -until in the last year 66 deserted out of -542.</p> - -<p>On the whole the Belgian poor colonies appear to -be valuable only as a warning.</p> - -<hr /> - -<h3>FRANCE.</h3> - -<p>The information contained in this Appendix -respecting the poor-laws of France, and their -administration, consists of a paper by M. Frederic de -Chateauvieux, on the comparative state of the poor -in France and England (p. 21); a report by Mr. -Majendie, from Normandy (p. 34); and reports by -his Majesty’s Consuls from Havre (p. 179), Brest -(p. 724), Nantes (p. 171), Bourdeaux (p. 229), -Bayonne (p. 260), and Marseilles (p. 185).</p> - -<p>We have already stated (pp. 117-125) the general -outline of the French establishments for the -relief of the poor, consisting of hospices for the impotent, -hospitals for the sick, depôts de mendicité -for vagrants and beggars (constituting the in-doors -relief), and bureaux de bienfaisance for the secours à -domicile, or out-doors relief. But this comprehensive -and discriminative system of public relief appears -to have been carried into effect in France -with a far less approach to completeness than in -Belgium. The number of hospices and hospitals is -indeed large in the towns, and not inconsiderable in -the country: but of the depôts de mendicité, of -which the decree of 1808 ordered the establishment, -very few were in fact organized, and of those -the greater part have since been suppressed; and -the bureaux de bienfaisance are almost confined to -the towns. As more than three-fourths of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[155]</a></span> -population of France is agricultural, only a small -portion of that population therefore is capable of -participating in public or organized relief. M. de -Chateauvieux estimates that portion, or, in other -words, the population of the towns possessing institutions -for the relief of the poor, at 3,500,000 -persons, and the value of the public relief annually -afforded at 1,800,000<i>l.</i> sterling. (p 25.) If this -approximation can be relied on, the expenditure -per head in that portion of the French population -nearly equals the expenditure per head in England.</p> - -<p>The following are the most material portions of -the consular reports:—</p> - -<h4><span class="smcap">Havre.</span></h4> - -<div class="sidenote"><span class="smcap">Seine Inferieure.</span> Population -of the Department, -693,683. -Population -of Havre, -23,816.</div> - -<p>The provisions for the relief of the poor in Havre -may be collected from the following statement of -the principal regulations of the hospitals, the bureau -de bienfaisance, and the depôt de mendicité for the -department, which is situated in Rouen. (pp. 182, -183, 184, 185, 186.)</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<h5><i>Hospital Regulations at Havre.</i></h5> - -<div class="sidenote"><span class="smcap">Hospital.</span></div> - -<p>Aged persons of 60, without distinction of sex, are admitted -into the hospital upon a certificate of indigence delivered by the -mayor of their district, and a ticket of admission signed by one of -the directors of the establishment.</p> - -<p>The sick are admitted if they can produce a certificate of indigence -from the mayor or curate of their parish, and every care -is taken of them at the expense of the establishment.</p> - -<p>Orphans, foundlings, or deserted children are admitted, provided -they are under 12 years; they are then engaged as servants -or apprentices; but should they get out of employment from no -fault of their own, they are at liberty to return until the age of 21 -years.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[156]</a></span></p> - -<h5><i>Regulations of the Establishment of the Bureau de Bienfaisance, -of Havre.</i></h5> - -<div class="sidenote">Bureau -de Bienfaisance.</div> - -<p>1. None are admitted but those whose poverty is well known, -and who have lived 12 months in the town. The number of persons -to be relieved is fixed by the bureau, whose names must be -entered in a register, stating their age, date of application, place -of residence, number and age of their children.</p> - -<p>2. There is a second register for such poor who, having resided -one year in Havre, shall apply after the closing of the register -mentioned in the above article. This inscription is made in -order of their dates, and the paupers carried upon it will only be -entitled to relief in turn, and as vacancies occur in the first list, -by departures, deaths, or discharge.</p> - -<p>3. No poor of either sex can receive relief if more than 15 years -old, and under 50. This exclusion is not applicable to widows -with young children, or with four children under 15 years. In -all cases they must produce a certificate that their children attend -the free school, and are diligent.</p> - -<p>4. The inscription in the register mentioned in No. 2, can only -take place after inquiry has been made respecting the claimant, -and it has been authorized by the bureau, which meets for this -purpose once a month.</p> - -<p>5. No children can be admitted to the assistance of the bureau, -nor into the classes of instruction and work, above the age of 15, -or without having been vaccinated.</p> - -<p>6. If the number of children attending the classes and work -shall be too many, either on account of the size of the building -or the attention of the instructors, preference will be given to the -children whose parents are already on their lists, and who are -known to require assistance for the education of their children.</p> - -<p>7. Every year, at the period of the first communion, a certain -number of children shall be clothed. But to be admitted to this -assistance they must produce a certificate from the clergyman -appointed to give religious instruction, or from the nuns of the -convent, that they have been attentive and are deserving. The -boys are clothed in brown cloth; the girls in coloured calico.</p> - -<p>8. Every year the sum of 653 fr. (26<i>l.</i>) shall be given to the -clergymen of the town, in tickets of 1 fr. (9<i>d.</i>), 50 c. (4½<i>d.</i>), to be -distributed where they think proper, of which only those who are -past 60 or under 15 can participate.</p> - -<p>9. Each person shall receive 3 lbs. of bread, two in the same<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[157]</a></span> -family 6 lbs. of ditto, three to five persons in the same family, -whose children are under 15, 12 lbs. of ditto, for 15 days. The -number admitted to this relief to be regulated each year, so that -the distribution shall not exceed 3,000 lbs. a month. These distributions -will take place to the most needy each Monday and -Friday, from 9 to 12 o’clock, after which no more will be given.</p> - -<p>10. In the distribution of clothing, which will be made once a -year, each individual will only be clothed once in two years.</p> - -<p>11. When the establishment is enabled to give woollen clothing, -it will only be to such as are above 60 years, or to children under -seven years, and those the most destitute; this relief once in two -years.</p> - -<p>12. If any one who receives bread and clothing from the bureau -sells or pawns the same, he shall be struck off.</p> - -<p>13. All clothes given by the establishment shall be marked, so -that they may be known.</p> - -<p>14. Assistance to lying-in women, new-born children, and sick, -will be rendered at their houses; those who are not on the lists -cannot be assisted until their case is examined; money will not -be given to women in labour but when absolutely necessary; soup -is distributed on Mondays and Wednesdays, from two to three -o’clock.</p> - -<p>15. There is attached to the establishment a doctor, at 400 fr. -(16<i>l.</i>), and two assistants, at 500 fr. (20<i>l.</i>) each per year, who -attend such as are named by the bureau; and also women in extraordinary -cases of labour.</p> - -<p>16. A midwife is attached, at 200 fr. (8<i>l.</i>) a year, who attends -all women designated by the bureau.</p> - -<p>17. In hard weather, if it should be thought expedient to make -a subscription, the poor who are upon the second list (article 2) -will be relieved from it.</p> - -</div> - -<h4><span class="smcap">Rouen.</span></h4> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<h5><i>Rouen Depôt of Mendicity.</i><br /> -<span class="smcap">Regulations.</span></h5> - -<h6><span class="smcap">Section</span> 1.—<i>Duty of the Porter of the Outside Gates.</i></h6> - -<p><span class="smcap">Art.</span> 1st. All the gates shall be kept constantly shut.</p> - -<p>3. The porter shall not allow any one to enter or go out -during the day without a permission or passport from the Governor.</p> - -<p>6. The porters and other officers are expressly forbidden, on<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[158]</a></span> -pain of dismissal, to allow the inmates to send any message or -commission, or have any correspondence whatever beyond the -walls of the establishment. Letters to and from them must be -laid before the governor before they are forwarded.</p> - -<h6><span class="smcap">Section 2.</span>—<i>In-doors Porter.</i></h6> - -<p><span class="smcap">Art. 3.</span> To prevent all communication between the mendicants -of different sexes and ages, the porter is ordered to keep locked -the doors of the dormitories, the work-shops, the courts for recreation, -and other places to which the inmates have access, as -soon as they have quitted them, in pursuance of the regulations -of the place.</p> - -<p>4. It is the duty of the porter and other officers and servants -to see that the inmates are carefully kept to the apartments provided -for them respectively. The porter must go the rounds -from time to time to ascertain this.</p> - -<h6><span class="smcap">Section 3.</span>—<i>Dormitories.</i></h6> - -<p><span class="smcap">Art. 1.</span> The bell is to announce the hour of rising from the -1st of March to the 30th of September at 4 o’clock in the morning, -and from the 1st Oct. to the 28th Feb. at 6. The inspectors -must take care that the inmates immediately rise.</p> - -<p>3. After prayers at 6 o’clock in summer, and 7 in winter, the -inmates, accompanied by the inspectors, are to proceed to their -respective workshops. The dormitories are to be swept and -cleaned by two inmates, selected by turns for this employment -out of each dormitory, and then to be kept locked.</p> - -<p>4. At 9 in the evening, in all seasons, the bell is to announce -bedtime. The inmates are immediately to proceed to their -respective dormitories; the roll is to be called by the inspector, -and prayers (not lasting more than a quarter of an hour) are to -be said, and listened to attentively; after prayers each shall go -quietly to bed, and perfect silence be kept in every dormitory.</p> - -<h6><span class="smcap">Section 4.</span>—<i>Refectories.</i></h6> - -<p><span class="smcap">Art. 1.</span> Breakfast shall take place during the summer six -months precisely at 8 in the morning, and during the six winter -months at 9, and last half an hour. Immediately after breakfast the -inmates are to return to work until precisely half-past 12 o’clock, -the dinner hour at all seasons.</p> - -<p>5. From half-past 12 till 2 is allowed for dinner and for recreation, -under the inspection, in each division, of a servant. At -2 o’clock precisely the bell is to summon the inmates to return to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[159]</a></span> -work, and the inspectors are to call the roll in each workshop.</p> - -<p>6. At 8 in the evening, in all seasons, the bell is to be rung for -supper; the inmates may remain in the refectory till nine.</p> - -<p>7. The same regulations shall be observed in the dormitories -and refectories of each sex, except that as respects the aged, sick, -and infirm.</p> - -<h6><span class="smcap">Section 4.</span>—<i>Workshops.</i></h6> - -<p><span class="smcap">Art. 1.</span> The inspectors are to see that every workman is busily -employed, and loses no time.</p> - -<p>2. The workshops are to be kept locked during the hours of -work, and the inmates not allowed to leave them.</p> - -<p>3. Each able-bodied inmate is to have a task set him, proportioned -to his strength and skill. If he do not finish it, he is to be -paid only for what he has done, put on dry bread, and kept to -work during the hours of recreation.</p> - -<p>4. Every workman, who for three consecutive days fails in -completing his task, is to be kept during the hours of meals and -of recreation, and during the night, confined in the punishment-room -upon bread and water, until he has accomplished his task.</p> - -<p>5. Every workman who wilfully or negligently spoils the materials, -tools, or furniture in his care, shall pay for them out of the -reserved third of his earnings, besides still further punishment as -the case may deserve.</p> - -<p>6. Every workman doing more than his task is to be paid two-thirds -of the value of his extra labour.</p> - -<p>7. With respect to every inmate who shall have been imprisoned, -5 centimes for each day of imprisonment shall be deducted -from the reserved third of his earnings. The amount of these -deductions, and of all fines and other casual sources of profit, is to -form a reserved fund for the purpose of rewards for those inmates -who may distinguish themselves among their companions by good -conduct and industry.</p> - -<h6><span class="smcap">Section 7.</span>—<i>Religious Instruction.</i></h6> - -<p><span class="smcap">Art. 1.</span> Religious and moral instruction is to be given in the -chapel twice a week—on Sundays and Thursdays, at 7 in the -evening.</p> - -<p>All the able-bodied inmates are to be present, in silence and -attention, under the inspection of their respective superintendents. -On Sundays, and the holidays established by the Concordat, all -the inmates and the officers of the depôt shall hear mass at half-past -8 in the morning, and vespers at half-past 1 in the afternoon.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[160]</a></span></p> - -<p>2. At periods determined by ecclesiastical authority, the children -who are to be confirmed are to be instructed for two months.</p> - -<p>7. When any of these regulations are broken, the inspectors -and other officers are to report to the Governor, and he is to -pronounce sentence on the inmates.</p> - -</div> - -<h4><span class="smcap">Britany.</span></h4> - -<p>Mr. Perrier’s report from Brest, and Mr. Newman’s -from Nantes, give a very interesting account -of the state of Britany. We will begin by Mr. -Perrier’s, as the more general view. (pp. 728, 729.)</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<table summary="Population, possibly? Who knows."> - <tr> - <td>Finisterre</td><td class="tdr">524,396</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Côtes-du-Nord</td><td class="tdr">598,872</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Morbihan</td><td class="tdr">433,522</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Ille-et-Vilaine</td><td class="tdr">547,052</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Loire Inférieure</td><td class="tdr">470,093</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td></td><td class="tdr total">2,573,935</td> - </tr> -</table> - -<p>It is extremely difficult to obtain any statistical information in -Britany, all inquiries being received with distrust, not only by -the authorities, but also by the inhabitants. This has been the -principal cause of my delay in replying to the series of questions. -The answers, imperfect as they may appear, are the result of -patient and persevering inquiry.</p> - -<p>The state of society in Britany, and its institutions, differ so -widely from those of any other civilized country, that few of the -questions are applicable. In order, therefore, to convey the information -which they are intended to elicit, it is necessary to -enter into a description of the population, which I shall endeavour -to do as briefly as possible.</p> - -<p>The population of Britany may be classed under the following -heads:</p> - -<ul> - -<li>Old noblesse, possessing a portion of the land.</li> - -<li>Proprietors, retired merchants, and others, who have -vested their money in landed property.</li> - -<li>Peasants, owners of the ground they till.</li> - -<li>Farmers.</li> - -<li>Daily labourers and beggars.</li> - -</ul> - -<p>The abolition of the right of primogeniture causes a daily<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[161]</a></span> -diminution of the two first classes. As property, at the demise -of the owner, must be divided equally amongst his children, who -can seldom agree about the territorial division, it is put up for -sale, purchased by speculators, and resold in small lots to suit -the peasantry. Farmers having amassed sufficient to pay a part, -generally one-half, of the purchase-money of a lot, buy it, giving -a mortgage at five or six per cent. for the remainder. Thus petty -proprietors increase, and large proprietors and farmers decrease.</p> - -<p>A man, industrious enough to work all the year, can easily get -a farm.</p> - -<p>Farms are small. Their average size in Lower Britany does -not exceed 14 acres. Some are so small as two acres, and there -are many of from four to eight. The largest in the neighbourhood -of Brest is 36 acres. The average rate of rent is 1<i>l.</i> 5<i>s.</i> per -acre for good land, and 8<i>s.</i> for poor land (partly under broom -and furze).</p> - -<p>The farmers are very poor, and live miserably: yet, their wants -being few and easily satisfied, they are comparatively happy. -Their food consists of barley bread, butter, buck wheat (made -into puddings, porridge, and cakes). Soup, composed of cabbage-water, -a little grease or butter and salt poured on bread. Potatoes; -meat twice a week (always salt pork).</p> - -<p>A family of 12, including servants and children, consumes -annually about 700 lbs. of pork and 100 lbs. of cow beef; the -latter only on festivals.</p> - -<p>The class of daily labourers can only be said to exist in towns. -In the country they are almost unknown.</p> - -<p>The inmates of each farm, consisting of the farmer’s family, -and one, two, or three males, and as many female servants -(according to the size of the farm), paid annually, and who live -with the family, suffice for the general work. At harvest some -additional hands are employed. These are generally people who -work two or three months in the year, and beg during the remainder. -Daily labourers and beggars may, therefore, in the -country, be classed under the same head.</p> - -<p>Farmers’ servants are orphans or children of unfortunate -farmers.</p> - -<p>The conditions of the poorer farmers, daily labourers and -beggars, are so near akin, that the passage from one state to -another is very frequent.</p> - -<p>Mendicity is not considered disgraceful in Britany. Farmers<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[162]</a></span> -allow their children to beg along the roads. On saints’ days, -especially the festivals of celebrated saints, whose shrines attract -numerous votaries (all of whom give something, be it ever so -little, to the poor), the aged, infirm, and children of poor -farmers and labourers, turn out. Some small hamlets are even -totally abandoned by their inhabitants for two or three days. All -attend the festival, to beg.</p> - -<p>The Bretons are hospitable. Charity and hospitality are considered -religious duties. Food and shelter for a night are never -refused.</p> - -<p>Several attempts to suppress mendicity have been unsuccessful. -District asylums were established. No sooner were they filled -than the vacancies in the beggar stands were immediately replenished -by fresh subjects from the country; it being a general -feeling that it is much easier and more comfortable to live by -alms than by labour.</p> - -<p>In towns where the police is well regulated, the only mendicants -permitted to sojourn are paupers belonging to the parish. -They are known by a tin badge, for which they pay at the police -office.</p> - -<p>No such thing is known as a legal claim for assistance from -public or private charities.</p> - -<p>In towns, destitute workmen or other persons in distress must -be authorized by the municipality previous to soliciting public or -private assistance. To this effect, the pauper makes known his -case to the commissary of police of the quarter he inhabits, who -makes inquiry among the neighbours. Should the destitute case -of the applicant be established, the mayor grants him a certificate -of indigence, which authorizes him to apply for relief to the -public institutions, and to solicit private charity. It also exempts -him (or rather causes his exemption) from the payment of taxes.</p> - -<p>The principal cause of misery is inebriety; its frequency among -the lower orders keeps them in poverty. The “<i>cabaret</i>” (wine -and brandy shop) absorbs a great portion of their earnings. -This vice is not confined to men; the women partake of it. It -has decreased within the last five or six years, but is still considerable.</p> - -</div> - -<p>We now proceed to give some extracts from the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[163]</a></span> -more detailed report of Mr. Newman, who writes, -it must be recollected, from Nantes. (pp. 171, 172, -173, 174, 178, 175, 176, 177.)</p> - -<h4>LOIRE INFERIEURE.</h4> - -<h5><span class="smcap">Nantes.</span></h5> - -<div class="sidenote"> -Population -of the Department, -470,093. -Population -of Nantes, -87,191.</div> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<h6><i>Vagrants.</i></h6> - -<p>In the department Loire Inférieure there is no asylum for -mendicants; but Nantes has a species of workhouse, “St. Joseph’s -House,” supported entirely by private subscriptions. To this -house the tribunals often send vagabonds, in virtue of the 274th -article of the Penal Code, although the directors of the establishment -have contested, and still contest, the right assumed by the -judges to do so; and they never receive any person so sent as a -criminal to be detained a certain number of days at labour as if -in a prison, but merely give him a refuge as an act of charity, -and liberty to leave the place, if he likes to go before the time -expires. The number of vagrants that formerly infested Nantes -(strangers to the department as well as to the city) have decreased -to about a tenth part since begging in the streets was -prohibited, and the paupers sent to this establishment.</p> - -<p>The hospitals of Nantes receive all workmen, travellers, and -needy strangers, that fall sick in the city (if foreigners, at the -charge to their consuls of 1<i>s.</i> 3<i>d.</i> sterling per day for men, and -10<i>d.</i> for women.) If a man, (and his family also,) being destitute, -wishes to return to his native place, and has not rendered -himself liable to be committed as a vagrant, the préfet has the -power to give a passport to him for that place; on the production -of which at the mairie of the commune from which he sets -out he receives from the public funds of the department three -halfpence per league for the distance from thence to the next -place he is to be relieved at, and so on to the end of his journey, -each place he has to stop at being set down on his passport; if -he deviates from the route designated, he is arrested as a vagabond.</p> - -<p>There is in France throughout the whole country a general -union for each of several trades, the carpenters, bakers, masons, -tailors, &c. In each city or town of consequence, each society -has a member who is called “the mother,” who receives the -weekly contributions of those who reside in that place, affords -relief to all of its members passing through it, and is obliged to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[164]</a></span> -procure work for the applicant, or support him at a fixed rate, -established by their bye-laws, until a situation be provided for him -there or elsewhere. Those unions sometimes assume a very -dangerous power, by compelling masters to hire all their members -that are without work, before they engage one man who does not -belong to them.</p> - -<h6><i>Destitute Able-bodied.</i></h6> - -<p>In times of political commotion, of unforeseen events, of rigorous -seasons, when the usual courses of labour are stopped, -the civil administrations create temporary workshops, furnish -tools, &c., to the labourers, and enter into contracts for repairs to -the streets, quays, bridges, roads, &c., from which a large city, -as well as the country parishes, can always draw some advantages -for the money so distributed, to employ those persons who -would otherwise be supported without work by the same funds. -The money required on those occasions is furnished by the -treasury of the city or commune, assisted by private subscriptions -from nearly all persons in easy circumstances. The want of -regular or parish workhouses for labourers, unemployed, is in -some measure supplied by private charities, for a great number of -wealthy families, and others of the middling class, give employment -to old men, women, and children, in spinning, and in -weaving of coarse linen, at prices far beyond those that the -articles can be purchased at in the shops; but this plan is adopted -to prevent a disposition to idleness, although at a greater sacrifice, -perhaps, than would be made by most of the promoters of it, -in a public subscription.</p> - -<p>The bureau de bienfaisance distributes annually about 80,000 fr.; -the chief part, or very nearly the whole, to poor families at their -homes, in clothes, food, fuel, and sometimes money; but of the -latter as little as possible. Les dames de charité (ladies of the -first families, who are appointed annually to visit and give relief -to the poor, each having a fixed district) distribute about three-fourths -of that sum, which would be insufficient for the indigent -if it were not assisted by distributions made by the priests of the -different parishes and other persons employed to do so by private -families, who give their alms in that manner, and not at their own -residences. It is generally supposed that, in the whole, not less -than 250,000 fr. are so distributed annually in the city of Nantes. -In making this distribution care is always taken to prefer invalids<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[165]</a></span> -to those in health.</p> - -<h6><i>Impotent through Age.</i></h6> - -<p>In the city of Nantes there is a general hospital, called the -“Sanitat,” for the reception of the old and impotent; at present it -contains about 800; it answers to an English workhouse; the -inmates are lodged, fed, clothed, and are taken care of in every -way: they are employed about trifling work, but the average gain -by it does not exceed 20 fr. per annum for each. The average -cost appears to be about 11 to 12 sous per day for each person. -The establishment of St. Joseph’s, already alluded to, is, in fact, -a sort of assistant to the Sanitat (although supported by private -charity) for the 100 to 120 old people it contains. The Sanitat -has a ward for dangerous as well as ordinary lunatics; is under -the same board and direction as the Hôtel Dieu (the general -hospital for the sick); but each is supported by its own funds, -arising from bequests and donations from private persons, and -from the city funds; yet if either hospital should require any -assistance, the money wanted would be voted by the city treasury.</p> - -<p>The general council for the department votes about 1200 to -1250 fr. annually to the Sanitat from the departmental funds.</p> - -<h6><i>Sick.</i></h6> - -<p>Nantes has a general hospital (Hôtel Dieu) for the sick, containing -600 beds, 300 of which are reserved for the indigent of -the city. The expense of this establishment is about a franc to -25 sous per day to each person. The military are received at -20 sous per man per day, which is paid by the government. It -is supported by its own funds, arising from bequests and donations, -and grants made from time to time by the city; is under -the same board and direction as the Sanitat. If a poor person -becomes sick in the country, he is either relieved by the curé of -the parish or by some of the more wealthy neighbours, or he -comes into Nantes and resides there for a week or ten days before -he makes an application to the mayor to be admitted into the -hospital; he is then sent there as an inhabitant of the city. The -authorities in the country have not the right to send a patient to -the Hôtel Dieu, yet a great number arrive at the hospital, sent -by country practitioners, who have not the skill, or perhaps the -leisure or inclination, to attend to them; and <i>they are always -received</i>, if it be possible to take them in. The students at the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[166]</a></span> -hospital are ever ready to admit any difficult cases or fractures -from the country, for their own improvement.</p> - -<p>There are also hospitals for the sick at the following places in -the Loire Inférieure: Ancenis, for the town and commune; Chateaubriand, -Paimbœuf, Savenay, and Clisson, for the towns only.</p> - -<p>Besides the succour afforded to the poor at their homes by the -bureau de bienfaisance, there are three dispensaries supported by -that establishment, for administering relief to the sick, who are -attended at their homes, if necessary, by the nuns of St. Vincent -de Paule, 12 or 14 of whom are kept in the pay of, and are -wholly supported by the bureau. They carry to them soup and -other victuals, remedies, &c., and lend them linen and clothes, if -wanted. There are a number of young men, who are either -studying, or have just completed their study of medicine, who are -anxious to give their assistance gratis, and who are in constant -attendance on those who are receiving relief from the dispensaries. -It is impossible to state the extent to which such relief is given. -The nuns are paid by the bureau de bienfaisance, which also pays -for the medicines, &c. they distribute; but the sum that is thus -expended bears but a small proportion to the amount that is distributed -by the hands of those sisters, who, from the accurate -knowledge they possess of the real situation and condition of -each person they visit, are employed by numerous wealthy persons -to distribute privately such charities as they feel disposed to give; -and can thus be well applied in providing those little comforts for -the invalids, which cannot be sent from the bureau to all those who -require them, although the funds are increased from time to time -by the proceeds of representations at the theatre, public concerts, -&c. given for that purpose.</p> - -<p>Independent of the foregoing, there are several tradesmen’s -societies on the plan of benefit societies in England, the members -of which pay five or six sous per week, and receive, in case of -sickness, all necessary assistance in medicines, &c., besides an -indemnity of a franc to a franc and a half per day during the -time they are unable to work.</p> - -<h6><i>Orphans, Foundlings, or Deserted Children.</i></h6> - -<p>The law requires an establishment (a tour) in each department, -for the secret reception of children. Every arrival is particularly -noted and described in a register kept for that purpose, -that the infant may be recognised if it should be claimed. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[167]</a></span> -children, after having received all necessary assistance and baptism, -are confided to women in the country (a regulation of this -department only), to dry-nurse them (au biberon); they are paid -eight francs per month for the first year, seven for the second -and third, six until the ninth year, and four francs per month -from that time until the child is 12 years old; when the nurse -who has taken care of one from its birth to that age receives a -present of 50 fr. for her attention. A basket of requisite linen is -given with the child, and a new suit of clothes annually for seven -years. These regulations are observed for orphans and foundlings. -The registers for the last 20 years give an average of -360 to 370 admissions annually; <i>more than one-half of them -die under one year old</i>; therefore, with the deaths at other ages, -and the claims that are made for some of them before they attain -12 years, the establishment has seldom at its charge more than -from 1200 to 1300, of all ages, from 0 to 12.</p> - -<p>The parents being unknown when they place their infants in -the “tour,” cannot be traced afterwards, unless they acknowledge -themselves; they are, however, as has been observed before, -liable for the expenses of their offspring; and whenever they are -discovered, whether by claiming their children or otherwise, the -right to make them repay the costs they have occasioned is always -maintained, and they are compelled to pay the whole, or as much -as their finances will admit of.</p> - -<p>Deserted children of the city, or the children of poor persons, -who cannot support them, are received and treated in a similar -manner, without being placed in the “tour;” they are admitted -according to the state of the finances appropriated to such branch -of the establishment, which in general permits from 80 to 100 to -be on it. Certificates are required that the parents are dead, the -child abandoned, or that the mother is totally unable to support -it, or that she has a number of young children. Independent of -the 1400 children thus received by the Hôtel Dieu, the bureau de -bienfaisance supports 200 <i>legitimate</i> children, and the société -maternelle from 60 to 80, until they attain the age of 18 years.</p> - -<p>The number of deaths in 1832 was 11,999; the number under -one year old, 1970, or one in 6¹²⁄₁₉₇. Chateauneuf states, <i>for all -France</i>, 33 deaths, under one year old, out of every hundred -births, which is nearly double the number of deaths of that description -for this department; but the mortality is much greater -amongst the orphans, foundlings, and deserted children of this<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[168]</a></span> -city received at the hospital. An account, made up to the year -1828, gave an average of 52 deaths, under one year old, of every -hundred children received there; and since that date it has increased -considerably.</p> - -<p>There are women in the city who make it their business to -place infants in the “tour,” and who afterwards attend the delivery -of them to the country nurses, and thus, knowing where -certain children are placed, give notice to the parents, who can -visit them without being discovered. Children thus recognised -are frequently demanded by their parents for servants, in the -ordinary way; and by this plan they screen themselves from the -payment of the child’s support.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Effects of -these institutions.</div> - -<p>There can be no doubt that the prospect of an asylum for the -indigent creates amongst the working class a disposition to idleness -and debauchery, whilst at the same time there are those who -look down with disgust on their miserable brothers who are compelled -to accept a public charitable support; and the shame -which they consider attaches to a man who does it stimulates -them to avoid the doors of an hospital by industry and sobriety. -The number of these, however, is very small, whilst the applications -for admittance to the Sanitat and to St. Joseph’s are so -very numerous, so far beyond the accommodation that can be -granted, that after the name of an applicant is registered he has -(frequently) to wait 18 to 24 months for his turn. For the -sick, however, at the Hôtel Dieu it is not so; for arrangements -are made that no delay takes place with any case requiring immediate -relief or treatment.</p> - -<p>The shades between the healthy labourers of the lowest class -that support themselves, and those who obtain relief from charitable -institutions, are so slight, that it is almost impossible to -state the difference in their conditions. <i>No man</i> has a <i>legal claim</i> -upon any of the charities; in the distribution of which, however, -there is but one fixed rule that governs the distributors, and that -is, to compel the applicants for relief to work to their utmost -power, and to give such relief only in each individual case as -they suppose to be necessary with the wages he can or ought to -earn, according to the demand for labourers at the time.</p> - -<p>According to the price of lodgings, victuals and clothing in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[169]</a></span> -Nantes, a steady labourer at the highest rate of wages, 1<i>s.</i> 3<i>d.</i> -per day, supposing he had 300 days’ employment in the year, is -considered to be able to support a wife and three young children; -if he has a larger family, is out of employ, or is at a lower rate -of wages, without his wife and children being able to gain a little, -he is regarded as indigent, and in need of succour. A labourer, -his wife, and three children consume in the day from 8 to 10 lbs. -of bread, which is their chief food, and will cost him 240 fr.; his -cabbages and other vegetables, butter or fat for his soup, 90 fr.; -his room, 50 fr.; leaving 70 fr. or 2<i>l.</i> 18<i>s.</i> 4<i>d.</i> for clothes, fuel, -&c.; which make up the sum of his wages for 300 days at 1½ fr., -or 1<i>s.</i> 3<i>d.</i> per day. The wife in general adds a little to the husband’s -earnings by spinning, and sometimes weaving; but it is -not much when the family is young.</p> - -<p>To prevent the increase and lessen the present state of disorder -into which the greater part of the labouring class and mechanics -of Nantes has fallen, a number of master tradesmen and proprietors -of factories will not employ those men who do not agree to -allow a certain sum weekly to be retained from their wages for -the use of the wife and family. The example spreads, and will -no doubt become more general; but this circumstance shows -forth, in strong colours, the immoral state of the working class in -France.</p> - -<p>There are no cottages for labourers, as are seen in England: -the chief part of the work on farms in this part of France is done -by servants in the house of the farmer, or by married labourers, to -whom an acre or two, sometimes as high as 10, according to the -quality, is fenced off from the estate for the use of the man and -his family; for which he has to give a certain number of days’ -work. If such patch of land requires to be ploughed, the farmer -does it for him, for an additional number of days’ work. Besides -those, there are an immense number of little proprietors, having -from an acre and a half to 10 or 15 acres; and they give their -labour also to the farmers of larger estates, receiving in return -either assistance with oxen, carts, ploughs, &c., or an equivalent -in some produce which they do not raise on their own land. Very -little money, if any, passes between them. These little properties -have sprung up from labourers and others fencing in small patches -of commons or waste lands. Nearly all the vineyards in the -Loire Inférieure are cultivated by labourers, who have a small -spot of ground partitioned off from the main estate: it is for -married men only that ground is so divided; the single men live<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[170]</a></span> -with their families in the villages, or in public-houses, but generally -in the latter. In regard to these questions, it must be observed -that almost every farmer who hires an estate takes such a one as -will just sustain his family, without the aid, or with the assistance -only of a man or a man and woman servants, and that therefore -very few daily labourers find employment. Few estates run to -200 acres, and if so large, a daily labourer is only hired during -harvest, so wretchedly is the husbandry of the country managed.</p> - -<p>The cottages or houses in villages for labourers are in general -the property of the owners of the large estates in the neighbourhood, -as well as those that are built on the patches of land for -the use of those who are married; some of the latter, however, -are built at the joint expense of the farmer and labourer. A cottage -or cottages in a detached place from a village, or a house in -such a situation, with a little plot of ground for a garden for each -apartment, lets for about 20 to 30 francs a year per room, whether -the building consists of one or of four rooms. In the villages -the rent is a little higher, from 30 to 50, and sometimes as high -as 80, if the garden be large to a cottage with only one room. -These buildings are so seldom on sale, that the price cannot be -stated with accuracy.</p> - -</div> - -<p>We now proceed to the</p> - -<h4>GIRONDE.</h4> - -<h5><span class="smcap">Bourdeaux.</span> (pp. 229, 230, 231, 232, 233, 235.)</h5> - -<div class="sidenote">Population -of the Department, -554,225. -Population -of Bourdeaux, -109,467.</div> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>There are no houses of industry in this department for the -destitute able-bodied, except that known as the <i>Depôt de Mendicité</i>.</p> - -<p>This institution was first established in the year 1827, with a -view to suppress the great number of professed beggars who -infested the streets and public walks, taking advantage of any -defect of conformation, &c. to attract the notice of passengers. -By law all persons found begging in the streets are liable to be -taken up, and imprisoned; but instead of imprisonment, those -arrested are conveyed to the <i>Depôt de Mendicité</i>, where, if able, -they are made to work. The good effects of this institution are -visible; for instead of the number of professed beggars amounting -to 800, which it did before the institution of the establishment, -it does not now amount to above 150 or 200.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[171]</a></span></p> - -<p>This institution is supported by private contribution. The -King and the town contribute a certain portion to make up what -may be wanting. The average number of the population of the -depôt amounts to 350 souls.</p> - -<p>Generally speaking, owing to the want of population, employment -is to be found in commerce, trade or agriculture. The high -price of wages in the towns and in the country proves that work -is always to be found.</p> - -<p>When any unforeseen circumstances have arisen to interrupt -the common order of things, the local authorities have come to -the assistance of the population, by giving work to those out of -employment. Public subscriptions are also resorted to on these -occasions.</p> - -<p>All indigent families, and in which there are those capable of -working, but who are not able to obtain it, or whose numbers -are so great that all cannot be subsisted, are relieved by the <i>Bureaux -de Charité</i>.</p> - -<p>The same relief is given to those who, having a habitation, are -unable of themselves, through age or infirmity, to support themselves.</p> - -<p>The mode of obtaining this relief is by petition, signed by some -credible person, and attested by the priest or protestant clergyman. -It is proportioned to the number of the family, and to the -number of those able to work, and whose wages go to the maintenance -of the family. The relief consists in bread, soup, wood -for fuel, and sometimes, though rarely, blankets and woollen -clothing; medicines for the sick, and broth.</p> - -<p>Generally speaking, these distributions of food would be insufficient; -but most indigent families are assisted by private persons, -so that, on the whole, they have wherewithal to sustain life.</p> - -<p>The annual <i>distribution à domicile</i> (domiciliary relief) amounts -to the sum of 100,000 francs (4,000<i>l.</i>).</p> - -<p>3,520 families are relieved. The number of impotent in these -families, father and mother included, though able to work, amounts -to 9,634, or less than a franc per head per month.</p> - -<p>It is in proportion to these numbers that the relief is given, but -it is greater in winter than the other parts of the year.</p> - -<p>As to the medicines and broth, whenever there are sick in these -families a sufficiency is given. Physicians are attached to each -auxiliary bureau of every district, who visit the sick, prescribe the -remedies, &c., all of which are distributed by the <i>Sœurs de Charité</i> -(Sisters of Charity, an order of nuns who devote themselves to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[172]</a></span> -the care of the poor and sick, and who undertake, gratuitously, -the elementary education of their children). It is a most respectable -and praiseworthy institution.</p> - -<p>The same Sisters receive in their houses the little girls of these -families who are old enough to read. Books are supplied by the -instructors.</p> - -<p>In extraordinary cases, recourse is had to subscriptions and -collections, which increase the means of the <i>Bureaux de Charité</i>; -so that during long and hard winters, more clothing, &c. is distributed. -It seldom happens that money is given.</p> - -<p>There are, however, no positive regulations on these points. -The whole is in the hands of the directors of this establishment. -A responsible receiver is attached to it, whose accounts are submitted -to the examination of the <i>Cours des Comptes</i> (audit office). -Thus, though the distributions are left to the judgment of the -directors, they are subjected to control.</p> - -<p>The above details relate to the city of Bourdeaux. There are, -however, proportionate institutions in most of the larger towns of -the department, but in the poorer parishes and rural districts the -<i>Bureaux de Charité</i> are merely nominal. These parishes being -without a revenue, are unable to assist their poor, who subsist on -the alms they may receive at the different dwelling-houses, and -who when ill, if possible, come to the nearest hospital, generally -to that of Bourdeaux.</p> - -<p>In this department there are no schools in which indigent children -are received to be fed and clothed gratuitously, but there are -those in which they receive a certain degree of instruction.</p> - -<p>For Boys.—The institution of <i>Freres des Ecoles Chrétiennes</i> -(Brothers of the Christian Schools), and two Lancasterian schools, -which have been lately instituted.</p> - -<p>For Girls.—A Lancasterian school, a few boarding schools, in -which a certain number of indigent girls are taught gratuitously; -and also the Sisters of Charity attached to the administration of -the <i>Bureaux de Charité</i>.</p> - -<p>The <i>Ecoles Chrétiennes</i> are at the charge of the town. The -sum appropriated to those establishments amounts annually to -about 14,000 francs (560<i>l.</i>). Admissions are granted by the -town. The number of children instructed in reading, writing, -and a little arithmetic, amounts to about 1,800 for the town. At -the Lancasterian school, the instruction is on a more extended -scale. Grammar, drawing and surveying are taught, in addition<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[173]</a></span> -to what is taught at the <i>Ecoles Chrétiennes</i>.</p> - -<p>There are at present in these latter schools 300 boys and 150 -girls in all.</p> - -<p>The department pays the expenses of these schools.</p> - -<p>The girls received in the private boarding schools, where they -learn to read, to write, and to sew, amount to the number of about -600. This is entirely a private act of charity.</p> - -<p>The number of girls received by the Sisters of Charity amounts -to about 900.</p> - -<p>There has also been established within the last year a model -infant school, founded by private subscriptions, for the children of -labourers and journeymen artisans. At present, however, it is so -little known, that it is of very little importance.</p> - -<h6><i>Impotent through Age.</i></h6> - -<p>Bourdeaux is the only town of the department which possesses -any establishments of this kind, viz., the Hospital of Incurables -(<i>Hospice des Incurables</i>), and that of the old people (<i>Hospice -des Vieillards</i>).</p> - -<p>These two establishments support 300 old people. This number -falls very short of that which the population requires. The -requisite qualifications for admission are, to have passed the age of -60, and to prove that the candidate has no means of subsistence.</p> - -<p>It may be added, that at Bourdeaux the number of old people -who are candidates for admittance to these hospitals amounts to -300, and that on an average a vacancy occurs for each at the end -of four years at the <i>Hospital des Incurables</i>, and two years at -<i>Hospice des Vieillards</i>, and that all these claimants find either in -their families, the <i>Secours à Domicile</i>, or private charity, means of -subsistence.</p> - -<h6><i>Sick.</i></h6> - -<p>The department possesses, for the reception of the sick, a small -hospital at Bazas; one at St. Macaire, and one at La Réole; a -more extensive one at Blaye and Libourne, and the great hospital -at Bourdeaux.</p> - -<p>The great hospital of Bourdeaux contains always from 600 to -650 sick. The daily admittances average 30; the discharges, 28, -and the deaths two.</p> - -<p>No distinction is made as to country, &c. either in admittance,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[174]</a></span> -treatment, or discharge.</p> - -<p>The inmates of this hospital are generally composed of inhabitants -of the town, who are too poor to be treated at home, or who -prefer the care that is taken of them there to that which they -would experience at home; of workmen, &c. from the neighbouring -departments employed in the town, and who have nowhere -else to go; of peasants, even in easy circumstances, who, from -illness or accidents, have not the same resources at home.</p> - -<p>Bourdeaux possesses a <i>Hospice de la Maternité</i>, or Lying-in -Hospital, and a society, founded by private benefactions, for the -same purpose.</p> - -<p>The Lying-in Hospital is an asylum in which any woman who -presents herself in the ninth month of her pregnancy, whatever -may be her state, her country or condition, is admitted without -difficulty, without question or inquiry, under the name she pleases, -and in such a manner, that the fear of being known or discovered -may not prevent those who wish to remain unknown from benefiting -by the institution.</p> - -<p>Women admitted at the ninth month remain in the establishment -till they have completely recovered their lying-in. (p. 231.)</p> - -<p>The number of those women, either lying-in or subsisted in the -hospital, varies from 35 to 60, and their stay is about 30 days. -The births amount annually from 400 to 450; upon this number, -30 or 40 at most are kept and suckled by their mothers; the rest -are abandoned and sent to the Foundling Hospital.</p> - -<p>Among these inmates, about one-fifth is composed of married -women, who have no means of being confined at home; two-fifths -of young girls of the town, chiefly servants; the rest of peasants, -who leave their homes in order not to be discovered.</p> - -<p>Illegitimate children deserted by their parents, and which are -deposited at the Foundling Hospital, are clothed and nourished by -women in the institution, till a nurse out of it can be procured.</p> - -<p>These children, after being suckled, remain with their nurses -till the age of 12 years. At this age, if the individuals who have -brought them up do not wish to keep them gratuitously till their -majority and give them a trade, they return to the hospital, and -they then cease to be at the charge of the special funds. The establishment -itself provides for their expenses; and until they can -be placed as apprentices, they receive, in the Bourdeaux hospital, -the rudiments of reading and writing, and they are taught some -trade.</p> - -<p>Once placed as apprentices, they remain with the master till the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[175]</a></span> -age of 21, when they are to shift for themselves.</p> - -<p>Those that cannot be placed, or are infirm, remain in the hospital, -and form a sort of permanent population there.</p> - -<p>Children whose parents are known, and who are living, but -have either disappeared or are confined, are received in the same -way as foundlings, the mode of admission differing only. This -must be granted by the prefect after an inquest. For the remainder, -they enjoy the same advantages as the foundlings.</p> - -<p>As to orphans, they are also admitted into the Foundling Hospital, -upon the order of the administrative commission, after information -as to the state of the family. At Bourdeaux the orphans -of the town alone are received. Those of the rest of the department -remain at the charge of their parishes, and generally live by -alms. The orphans received into the hospital enjoy the same -privileges as the foundlings and deserted children.</p> - -<p>The annual exposal of children amounts at Bourdeaux to 900, -comprising all those abandoned at the Lying-in Hospital, those of -the town, and those sent from the various parts of the department, -as well as from the neighbouring departments.</p> - -<p>From 10 to 15 deserted children, and the same number of orphans, -are annually admitted.</p> - -<p>The population of the hospital amounts generally to 40 new-born -infants, waiting to be sent to nurse; 150 children beginning -their apprenticeships, and waiting to be placed; about 150 infirm -of all ages forming the permanent part of the population.</p> - -<p>The number of children from the age of one month to that of -12 years, amounts to 3,600; and that of children above 12 and -below 21 apprenticed out, amounts to above 1,500.</p> - -<p>The expenditure of the hospital, comprising the clothing for the -children brought up out of the establishment, amounts to 110,000 -francs per annum (4,400<i>l.</i>) That for the nurses or board in the -country, to 240.000 francs (9,600<i>l.</i>), of which</p> - -<p>104,000 fr. (4,160<i>l.</i>) is given by the government upon the -common departmental fund.</p> - -<p>27,000 fr. (1,080<i>l.</i>) taken from the revenue of the town of -Bourdeaux.</p> - -<p>60,000 fr. (2,400<i>l.</i>) voted by the general council on the <i>Centimes -Facultatifs</i>.</p> - -<p>49,000 fr. (1,960<i>l.</i>) on the revenue of the other parishes of -the department.</p> - -</div> - -<p>Owing to the extreme carelessness and entire absence of frugality<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[176]</a></span> -on the part of the peasantry and other classes of labourers, it -is impossible to give an accurate account of their expenditure. They -live entirely from hand to mouth; and nine-tenths are in debt for -the common necessaries of life. The men are addicted to gambling, -and the women spend the greater part of what they earn in -useless articles of dress. As to the expenditure for schooling and -religious teaching, no provision is thought of.</p> - -<h4>BASSES PYRENÉES.</h4> - -<h5><span class="smcap">Bayonne.</span></h5> - -<div class="sidenote">Population -of the Department, -428,401. -Population -of Bayonne, -14,773.</div> - -<p>On recurring to the statistical statements respecting -this department, it will be seen that it supports -its population with a smaller number of deaths, -births, and marriages, than any other extensive district -in Europe. Compared with the countries which -have been lately considered, its provisions for public -charity are trifling, as will appear by the following -extracts from Mr. Harvey’s report. (pp. 260, 261, -262.)</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<h6><i>Vagrants.</i></h6> - -<p>Mendicity, under the head of vagrancy, is not prevalent in the -department of the Lower Pyrenees; the relief afforded to French -subjects passing through the department, seeking work (which seldom -occurs), or returning to their native places, is at the rate of -three sols per league, or ½<i>d.</i> per mile; but this relief is more -frequently granted to foreigners in distress, and is paid by the -several mayors at certain stations or towns on their route. There -is no public relief granted to vagrants living by begging.</p> - -<h6><i>Destitute Able-bodied.</i></h6> - -<p>There are no public or private establishments or relief afforded -to the destitute able-bodied or their families; but this description -of pauper is seldom or ever to be met with in this department.</p> - -<h6><i>Impotent through Age.</i></h6> - -<p>There are no public or religious institutions or regulations for -the relief of the poor in general; they subsist by begging; and -when no longer able to do so, they receive a trifling relief from -“The Ladies of Charity” (Dames de la Charité), who make -quarterly collections from the respectable inhabitants, which these<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[177]</a></span> -ladies distribute in food, fuel, or money, to the <i>pauvres honteux</i>, -or infirm, as the case may be; but this private voluntary subscription -is very inadequate.</p> - -<p>The inhabitants of Bayonne (and it is hoped and expected that -the example will be followed in other places) are now occupied in -forming, by voluntary annual subscriptions, an establishment -for the relief of the poor; a commission of gentlemen has been -appointed, and there is every prospect that this charitable undertaking -will be crowned with success.</p> - -<h6><i>Sick.</i></h6> - -<p>In the towns there are public hospitals for the sick and wounded; -but when convalescent, they are obliged immediately to quit the -hospital, destitute or not.</p> - -<h6><span class="smcap">Children.</span></h6> - -<p class="center"><i>Illegitimate.</i></p> - -<p>Illegitimate children (infants only) are received into the hospitals -established by the famous St. Vincent de Paul, but where the -parents have no communication with or control over them; these -children are placed out to nurse in the country at about 5<i>s.</i> a -month, and are afterward provided for by the hospital, if in the -course of seven years they are not claimed by the parents.</p> - -<p>When not deposited in the hospitals, the mothers have invariably -been found to bestow upon their infants the most scrupulous care -and attention, the natural consequence of having had the firmness -and humanity not to abandon their offspring, notwithstanding the -facility of concealment held out to them by the hospital.</p> - -<p class="center"><i>Orphans or Deserted Children.</i></p> - -<p>There are no public or private institutions or regulations for -orphans.</p> - -<p><i>Deserted Children.</i>—There are no public or private regulations -or institutions under this head; but I have not heard of a case in -question in this department.</p> - -<h6><i>Cripples, Deaf and Dumb, and Blind.</i></h6> - -<p><i>Cripples.</i>—Obliged to beg if destitute, there being no public or -private institutions or regulations for cripples.</p> - -<p>The deaf and dumb, if poor and destitute, are obliged to beg; -there are excellent establishments in the large towns for their -instruction, for those who have the means.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[178]</a></span></p> - -<p><i>Blind.</i>—Obliged to beg, there are no public or private institutions -for them.</p> - -<h6><i>Idiots and Lunatics.</i></h6> - -<p>There are no public or private institutions for idiots.</p> - -<p>There is an institution (Maison de Force) for the admission of -lunatics at the Chef Lieu of the department only (at Pau).</p> - -<p>The questions relative to hired country labourers are not altogether -applicable to this department, which is invariably divided into -small farms, not exceeding from 20 to 30 English acres each, the -families on each farm sufficing for the cultivation thereof, the proprietors -or the farmers being themselves the labourers of the soil, -the neighbours assisting each other in time of harvest; consequently -it seldom occurs that a hired labourer is called in; but -when employed they are paid at the rate of about 1<i>s.</i> per diem, -without food. The women, and the children from the age of 10 -years, constantly work on the land. The children generally -receive a primary education at the village day schools, where there -is always a schoolmaster or mistress appointed by the authorities; -price of education, 2 francs (about 1<i>s.</i> 7<i>d.</i>) per month. At these -schools the children are prepared for their first communion; they -learn reading, writing, and calculation. The food of the proprietor -or farmer labourer chiefly consists in vegetable soups, -potatoes, salt fish, pork, bacon, &c., and seldom or ever butcher’s -meat, and invariably Indian corn bread, homebaked. These -persons (who are generally the owners of the soil) procure for -themselves a comfortable subsistence, but they are seldom able to -lay by anything. The equal division of the land prevents in a -great measure mendicity. The families on each farm in the -whole department consist on an average of about five persons.</p> - -<p>It is calculated that persons attain a more advanced age in this -department than in any other in France.</p> - -</div> - -<h4>BOUCHES DU RHONE.</h4> - -<h5><span class="smcap">Marseilles.</span></h5> - -<div class="sidenote">Population -of the Department, -359,473. -Population -of Marseilles, -145,115.</div> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<h6><i>Vagrants.</i></h6> - -<p>It has been calculated that the average number of beggars in -this department (the Mouths of the Rhone) is 1060, whereof 900 -are natives and 105 strangers, besides 240 who traverse the -department. The calculation having been made some years ago, -the numbers may have increased with the population, which was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[179]</a></span> -then 313,000, and is now 359,000.</p> - -<p>The only relief granted to the poor travelling is by giving them -a “passport d’indigent,” furnished by the local authorities, in -which their exact route is designated, and not to be deviated from; -they receive, as they pass through each commune, three sous for -every league of distance, equal to a halfpenny per mile, and -lodging for the night: beggars have no relief but private charity.</p> - -<h6><i>Destitute Able-bodied.</i></h6> - -<p>The principal establishment at Marseilles for their relief is -the bureau de bienfaisance, whose revenues, arising partly from -the remnant property of some charitable institutions existing -before the revolution, partly from an annual allowance granted by -the budget of the commune, partly by a tax on theatrical admissions, -and from private subscriptions, amount altogether to about -140,000 francs, or 5600<i>l.</i>, of which the major part is distributed -in money to the “pauvres honteux” (those who have seen better -days), and in providing necessaries and medical assistance for the -poor in general, by five directors, and at their sole discretion. -Similar establishments exist in the other arrondissements of this -department, but, with the exception of Aix, with very small -means, principally dependent on the commune budgets, which, in -many cases, furnish nothing. I am informed that in this commune, -with a population of 140,000 inhabitants, the bureau relieves, -more or less, 800 families of “pauvres honteux” and 4000 -families of indigent poor. There is also at Marseilles a société de -bienfaisance, supported principally by private charity, whose chief -object is the establishment of soup kitchens and dispensaries for -the relief of the poor, and a school for the education of their -children from four to nine years of age. No relief is ever given -in money. Their annual revenue is about 40,000 francs, or -1600<i>l.</i>; and in times of great distress the local administration -increases its funds, and supplies the poor with soup through its -means.</p> - -<p>The number of children received in the school above-mentioned -is about 200: they receive two meals a day and sleep at home; -they are taught various trades, and apprenticed at the expense of -the commune; there are also several gratuitous day-schools for -children of the age of seven years and upwards, and who bring -their own food.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[180]</a></span></p> - -<h6><i>Impotent through Age.</i></h6> - -<p>The only public establishment for the reception of this class is -that called “La Charité,” in which those are admitted who have -attained the age of seventy, and none before; the number of those -individuals at present is about 350; they are there boarded, -clothed, and fed.</p> - -<h6><i>Sick.</i></h6> - -<p>There are no district institutions for the reception of the sick, -except the general hospitals. The average number of sick in the -hospital of Marseilles may be about 450.</p> - -<h6><i>Children.</i></h6> - -<p>One large branch of the administration of hospitals of Marseilles -is “La Charité,” which receives, as before mentioned, old -men, and also all children under twelve years of age, whether -illegitimate, orphans, foundlings, or deserted; they are there -received, and, when infants, principally nursed in the country. At -this time there are 2240 infants in this situation, and on their -return they are boarded, lodged, and educated.</p> - -</div> - -<hr /> - -<h3>SARDINIAN STATES.</h3> - -<p>The information respecting the Sardinian States -consists of answers from Piedmont, Genoa, and -Savoy, obtained by Sir Augustus Foster from the -Minister of the Interior, from M. de Vignet, a -Senator of Chambery, from Marquis Brignole Sale, -Syndic of Genoa, and from the Marquis Cavour, -Syndic of Turin, and his son, Count Camille -Cavour.</p> - -<p>The following extracts comprise their most material -contents. (Pages 653, 654, 655, 656, 657, 659, -660, 661, 662.)</p> - -<p>The general system appears to resemble that of -France, except that in Piedmont mendicity is not an -offence.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[181]</a></span></p> - -<h4><span class="smcap">Piedmont</span>.</h4> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<h5><i>Mendicants.</i></h5> - -<p>Mendicity is not forbidden by law; every person who is considered -unable to obtain by his own industry subsistence for himself -and his family may station himself in the streets, and ask -charity of the passers by. The government and the local authorities -have often, but in vain, endeavoured to repress the innumerable -abuses which have followed. But the regulations which -have been made for this purpose have been ineffectual and even -nugatory. The law, however, which forbids the poor to beg out -of their parishes, is frequently put in force. When a great number -of strangers are found begging in a town, the municipal -authorities drive them out <i>en masse</i>, leaving it to the gendarmerie -to oblige them to return to their country, or to the places considered -to be their homes. But as the law in question is not -enforced by any punishment, if they find any difficulty in living -at home, they soon return to violate it afresh.</p> - -<p>There are no means of ascertaining, even by approximation, -the total number of mendicants. It depends, too, in part on -many causes continually varying; such as good or bad harvests, -hard or mild winters, and the changes of employment in those -trades which afford subsistence to many hands. It is spread, -however, over the whole country, but in different degrees. In -the valleys of the Alps it scarcely exists; in those of the Apennines -it is considerable, as is generally the case where chestnuts -are the ordinary food of the lower orders.</p> - -<p>If a labouring man, not domiciled in the place of his residence, -finds himself, from accident or illness, unable either to earn his -living, or to reach his home, the authorities, both of his temporary -residence, and of the places that lie in his route homewards, -are required to supply to him the means of travelling. In -Turin, a small pecuniary assistance is given to all workpeople -who wish to return to their own homes, but this is not a general -practice.</p> - -<h5><i>Destitute Able-bodied.</i></h5> - -<p><i>Are there any establishments for the reception of the destitute -able-bodied and their families, in which they are set to work, -and furnished with food and clothes?</i></p> - -<p>There are none. The only attempt of the sort was one made -some years ago at Raconis, and it failed almost immediately, -among difficulties and bad consequences of every description.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[182]</a></span> -An establishment called Ergastolo exists near Turin, in which -young vagrants are confined and kept to constant work; but -although a person may be committed to it without trial on a -simple order from the police, it is considered rather as a house -of correction than a workhouse.</p> - -<p>There are still convents at whose doors soup, bread, and other -kinds of food are distributed. But this deplorable practice is not -now sufficiently prevalent to produce a sensible effect except in -some parts of the Genoese coast, where the mendicant orders are -the most numerous, and the poverty the greatest.</p> - -<p>Many charitable institutions have ecclesiastical forms and -names, but their attention is almost confined to the sick and the -impotent. When a bad harvest or a hard winter occasions much -distress, the municipal authorities, either spontaneously or on the -suggestion and with the aid of the government, undertake public -works in order to give employment to the able-bodied. This is -more frequent in the large towns, such as Turin and Genoa.</p> - -<h6><i>To what extent do they obtain relief in kind and in money?</i></h6> - -<p>They never receive either from the government or from the municipal -authorities; what they get is from private charity. But -on some great occasions, such as the anniversary of the Restoration -of the Monarchy, or the celebration of the King’s Birth-day, food -and clothes are distributed among some of the most needy families.</p> - -<p>Many of the towns have <i>Monts-de-piété</i>, which lend on pledges -at 6 per cent., but under very rigorous rules. If the unhappy -borrower cannot redeem the pledge before the fixed time, it is sold, -whatever may be its value, for the amount of the debt. In spite of -this, the number of people who have recourse to them is immense. -I do not think I exaggerate in saying that there are very few poor -housekeepers some of whose furniture or clothes is not thus in -pawn.</p> - -<h5><i>Impotent through Age.</i></h5> - -<p>1. <i>Are there hospitals for the reception of those who through -age are incapable of earning their subsistence?</i></p> - -<p>There are none avowedly for this purpose, but there are several -intended for incurables, into which those whose only infirmity is -old age, manage to get received.</p> - -<p>2. <i>Do they receive relief in kind and in money at their own -homes?</i> -They receive none from the government or the municipal authorities, -but such relief is afforded by many charitable institutions.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[183]</a></span> -In Turin, for example, the congregation of St. Paul has large -revenues; and by law, there ought in every parish to be a charitable -association. But, in fact, none are to be found excepting in -some villages and towns; almost all the rural parishes are without -them. The resources of those which exist arise from endowments, -from donations, and from periodical collections made in churches, -or from house to house. <i>These associations certainly do much -good, but being subjected to no general rules or central control, -their proceedings are neither uniform nor regular; a source of -enormous abuse, which, in the present state of things, it is impossible -to correct or even to verify.</i></p> - -<p>Much charity is also given through the hands of the clergy. -This is, without any doubt, the best distributed, and the most -effectual; much of it is devoted to the aged and impotent.</p> - -<h5><i>The Sick.</i></h5> - -<p>In all the towns, and in many of the large villages, there are -hospitals in which any individual suffering under acute sickness, -or casualty, may be nursed until his perfect recovery. The -principal acute complaint is fever. But there are few hospitals -for chronic or incurable cases, and few such patients can obtain -access to them: they are, therefore, in general left to private -charity.</p> - -<p>The hospitals have in general property in land, in the public -funds, or lent on mortgage, and when these revenues are insufficient, -they are assisted from the local assessments of the parishes -and provinces, and by charitable persons. The management of -the different hospitals is not uniform; it is in general much under -the influence of the government. In some towns, the ecclesiastical -authorities and the chapters interfere, and it is in such cases in -general that there is most of disorder and abuse. In most parishes -the indigent sick receive gratuitous treatment from the physicians -and surgeons, who are paid an annual salary by the municipal -authorities, or the charitable associations. In Turin, and in -some other places, there are dispensaries, distributing gratis, -to those who have a certificate of poverty from their clergyman, -the most usual and necessary remedies, whenever medically ordered. -In general, the sick who cannot procure admission to the -hospitals are in a pitiable state of poverty and distress. -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[184]</a></span></p> - -<h5><span class="smcap">Children</span>.</h5> - -<h6><i>Illegitimate.</i></h6> - -<p>If an unmarried woman has a child by an unmarried man, she -has recourse to the ecclesiastical tribunal, that is to say, to the -episcopal court of the diocese to compel him to marry her. If -she succeeds in proving her previous good conduct, and that promises, -or other means of seduction were employed against her, -the tribunal orders the marriage. The defendant may refuse; -but in that case the cause is carried before the civil judges, who -admitting the seduction as already proved, award to her damages, -regulated by the circumstances of the case.</p> - -<p>The child is by law entitled to an allowance for its maintenance, -which may be demanded from either parent.</p> - -<p>It is to be observed that, in consequence of the constant inclination -of the ecclesiastical tribunal, in favour of the female plaintiff, -in order that the harm done may be repaired by marriage, -and the ease with which children are disposed of in the Foundling -Hospitals, few illegitimate children are brought up at home, -even in the lowest classes of society.</p> - -<p>If the seducer is a member of the family, and under the authority -of his father, the girl in general has recourse to his parents -for the damages awarded to her. The illegitimate child may claim -its allowance from its paternal or maternal grandfather; and if -its father and mother have died without leaving it any provision, -may claim one from those who have succeeded to their property.</p> - -<h6><span class="smcap">Foundlings, Orphans, and Deserted Children</span>.</h6> - -<p>Many towns have hospitals for foundlings. Their parents may -remain perfectly unknown; they have only to deposit the child at -night in a wheel which in all these hospitals communicates with -the street and with the interior of the house, ring a bell to warn -the person on the watch, and go away. The wheel turns, the -child is received into the hospital, and numbered, and no further -trace remains of the transaction.</p> - -<p>Genoa possesses a splendid orphan establishment; and there is -one in Turin for girls only. But they are far from being sufficient -for this numerous and interesting class. There is no further -public assistance for orphans and deserted children; they are -thrown on private charity.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[185]</a></span></p> - -<h5><span class="smcap">Cripples, Deaf and Dumb, and Blind</span>.</h5> - -<p>There is no establishment for persons maimed or deformed. -Even in the surgical hospitals, as soon as a patient no longer -requires the assistance of art, he is dismissed, even if he should -have lost the use of his limbs.</p> - -<p>In Genoa there is an establishment for the deaf and dumb, -which enjoys a well-founded celebrity. On certain conditions -poor children are gratuitously admitted. There is no institution -for the blind, or any further public relief for any of the classes in -question: they are left to private charity.</p> - -<h5><i>Idiots and Insane.</i></h5> - -<p>There are two large establishments for the insane, one at Turin, -the other at Genoa. In each a small payment is made, in respect -of the lunatic, either out of his own property, or, if he has none, -by his parish or province. In some rare cases insane persons are -received gratuitously.</p> - -<p>Some mountain districts, and particularly in the valley of Aoste, -contain many of the idiots, commonly called Cretins. They are -in general gentle and inoffensive, and the objects of the pity and -zealous assistance of all around them, so much so that it is never -necessary to place them in an hospital. The interesting popular -belief that a special protection of heaven is attached to the house -inhabited by a Cretin is well known.</p> - -<h5><i>Effects of these Institutions.</i></h5> - -<p>It is not to the encouragement given by public charity that the -great number of premature and improvident marriages contracted -in this country is to be imputed. With the exception of those -between professional beggars, we owe the greater part of them, -first, to the natural disposition of ignorant and rude persons to -follow, without reflection, the passions of the moment, and, -secondly, to the blind zeal with which the clergy and bigotted -people encourage all kinds of marriages, with the erroneous idea -of thus preventing the immorality and scandal of illegitimate -connexions. Nor are family ties affected by the charitable institutions. -Whatever those may be, the poor man ever considers his -relations as his sole support against adversity. Besides, as the -Roman law with respect to paternal authority has been preserved -among us unimpaired, family union is more easy and common -than anywhere else.</p> - -<p>Though some individuals, skilled in working on the public<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[186]</a></span> -compassion, may gain more than the average wages of labour, -we cannot compare the results of the honest and independent -labourer’s industry with the mendicant’s profits: so immense is the -difference between the honourable existence of the one, and the -humiliation, debasement, and moral degradation of the other.</p> - -</div> - -<h4>GENOA.</h4> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>1. Public mendicity not being at present forbidden, it is difficult -to ascertain the number of professed mendicants. Those -on the town of Genoa may however be estimated at, at least, 200. -If we add to these their families, or at least those members of -their families who exist on the profit of their begging, the whole -mendicant population may amount to from 600 to 700<a name="FNanchor_20" id="FNanchor_20"></a><a href="#Footnote_20" class="fnanchor">[20]</a>.</p> - -<p>2. The unemployed poor, not being mendicants, are relieved at -their own homes by the “magistrat de misèricorde,” the “dames -de misèricorde,” and by other governors of charities, out of the -revenue of many pious bequests, with the administration of which -they are charged.</p> - -<p>3. The children of the poor, to whatever class they may belong, -are gratuitously instructed in the primary public schools, under -the direction of the municipal authorities. Six of these schools -are for boys, and two for girls.</p> - -<p>4. There is a mont de piété in Genoa, from which the poor can -borrow on pledge; at 8 per cent. interest.</p> - -<p>5. The poor of all ages, from the earliest childhood, who are -natives of the town of Genoa, are gratuitously received, lodged, -and fed, in the poor hospital, as far as the means of that establishment -will go. The poor of the other parts of the duchy are also -received there on payment of a small allowance.</p> - -<p>6. There are two large hospitals in Genoa, one for the treatment -of acute disorders, the other for the incurables and insane. -Another lunatic asylum has been just begun, and there is a small -establishment in the suburbs for leprosy and other diseases of the -skin.</p> - -<p>7. The “Conservatoire des Sœurs de St. Joseph,” and a charitable -institution, called “Notre Dame de la Providence,” furnish -in pursuance of their rules, medical and surgical advice, and -remedies to the poor who do not publicly solicit relief [pauvres -honteux].</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[187]</a></span></p> - -<p>8. Poor lying-in women, born in the town, or domiciled there -for the three previous years, are received and nursed gratuitously -in the great hospital, called “de Pammatone.”</p> - -<p>9. The same hospital receives illegitimate and deserted children, -if secretly placed on the turning box. The hospital takes the -charge of the boys until 12 years old, and of the girls until their -marriage or death. Ten poor lunatics and idiots, natives of Genoa, -are gratuitously received in the hospital for the incurables and -insane. Those of the other parts of the duchy, and those who are -not poor, are also received there, on paying a sum proportionate to -the sort of food given to them.</p> - -<div class="footnotes"> -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_20" id="Footnote_20"></a><a href="#FNanchor_20"><span class="label">[20]</span></a> The population of Genoa exceeds 80,000.</p> -</div> -</div> - -</div> - -<h4>SAVOY.</h4> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>1. Mendicity is very common in the environs of Chambery -and the Haute Tarentaise. In the other provinces it is not more -extensive than in Florence, and much less so than in Italy. In -1789, the total number of mendicants was 3688. Under the -French dominion it rose to 4360. Since that time it has much -diminished, partly from the diminution of the public taxes, and -partly from the discontinuance of the sales of property which were -enforced by the French treasury against the relations of refractory -conscripts, and by Genoese creditors against their debtors. It -cannot now be estimated at more than 2500.</p> - -<p>2. Vagrant mendicity being prohibited by law, beggars have -no right to relief. The town of Chambery contains a depôt de -mendicité, in which 100 paupers are endeavoured to be kept to -work.</p> - -<p>3. The duchy possesses nearly 250 charitable establishments, -possessing funds distinct to the relief of the poor of the place in -which they are situated. Their resources are very far from being -sufficient for that purpose, especially in years of bad harvests. But -poor families are assisted by their neighbours, their relations, the -clergy, and other charitable persons in their parishes. This relief -is distributed in the town of Chambery, according to a simple -and excellent system. The poor are divided into 24 districts, -each confided to a committee consisting of three ladies of charity -(dames de charité), belonging in general to the highest class of -society. Each committee seeks out, registers, and superintends -the poor of its district, gives secret assistance to those families<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[188]</a></span> -who would be disgraced by the publicity of their situation, and -withdraws relief from the unworthy. The resources of the dames -de charité consist only of one tenth of the price of the theatrical -tickets, of the great public collections (quêtes) made at Easter and -Christmas, and of some secret gifts from individuals. If this establishment -were rich enough to provide employment for indigent -families at their own homes, it would be far superior to all other -charitable institutions.</p> - -<p>We have as yet spoken of the relief given to those who have no -plea beyond that of mere poverty. For those who have some -other claim there are several institutions. The Hospice de Charité -of Chambery receives 171 persons, consisting of orphans, infirm -persons, and old men. The “Asyle de St. Benoit” in the same -town is destined to the old of both sexes who once were in easy -circumstances; and the Orphan House educates young girls without -fortune belonging to the middling classes, in such a manner as -to enable them to earn an independent subsistence.</p> - -<p>4. The Duchy of Savoy now possesses a great number of gratuitous -religious schools, receiving, among others, the children of -the poor. At Chambery the two schools de la Doctrine and de -St. Joseph provide education for more than 700 children of both -sexes, four-fifths of whom could not pay for it.</p> - -<p>5. There is no Mont-de-Piété in Savoy.</p> - -<p>6. Chambery contains a hospital with 80 beds, all constantly -occupied. There are also institutions for the relief of those suffering -under incurable or contagious disease, and for sick travellers. -There are also hospitals for the sick at Annecy, Thonon, St. Jean-de-Maurienne, -Montmelian, Moûtiers, Yenne, la Roche, la Motte-Servolex, -and Thônes.</p> - -<p>7. Many establishments of sisters of charity have been founded, -either by parishes, or by opulent individuals, for the relief of the -sick at their own homes. But with respect to the poorest classes -it has been necessary to abandon this kind of relief, as they either -neglected to use the remedies supplied to them, or used them with -fatal imprudence. It can safely be bestowed on those only whose -situation is raised above actual poverty.</p> - -<p>8. Lying-in women, married or unmarried, are received at -Chambery in the Hospice de Maternité.</p> - -<p>9. In Chambery, and in Thonon, the greater part of the illegitimate -children, whatever be the circumstances of their parents, -are taken, the first night after their birth, to the foundling hospitals, -which receive them, though clandestinely deposited. Those born -in the distant provinces are generally brought up by their mothers,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[189]</a></span> -and partake their fortune, or their poverty.</p> - -<p>10. At some distance from Chambery a hospital has been established, -intended for the gratuitous reception of 60 lunatics. But -as yet it has had room for only 20. The others are at the charge -of their parishes.</p> - -<p>The class of day labourers, such as it exists in England, is not -at all numerous in Savoy, almost all the population consisting of -proprietors. Out of 102,000 families in the Duchy, 85,000 heads -of families are owners of some portion of land; 80,000 of them -subsist by agriculture. There is therefore little employment for -day labourers. According to the enumerations of 1789 and 1801 -the number of persons, including both sexes, and artisans, as well -as agriculturists, employed in day labour in that part of Savoy, -which formed after 1789 the departement de Mont Blanc, did not -exceed from 9000 to 10,000 individuals, which would make for the -whole Duchy more than from 14,000 to 15,000 such individuals. -The day labourers in general hire, from a small proprietor, part of a -cottage, and half an acre, or an acre of land, at the rent of from -60 to 100 francs, which they work out. Saving is a thing almost -unknown in Savoy. With the rich people and with the poor, -from the gentleman to the peasant, it is unusual and even strange -to put a revenue to any other use than that of spending it. A -few men of business, and usurers, are the only persons who think -of augmenting their patrimonies. Sometimes indeed a merchant -or a manufacturer will economise something from his profits, but -with no other object than that of procuring a country-house, which -from that time swallows up all that he can spare.</p> - -<p>The poor never apply for relief to the authorities, but always to -private charity; and it is inexhaustible, for (except during the -famine of the year 1817) no one has ever perished from want. -Vagrants are forced to return to their parishes, or, if foreigners, -driven out of the country.</p> - -</div> - -<hr /> - -<h3>VENICE.</h3> - -<div class="sidenote">Population -about -112,000.</div> - -<p>Mr. Money’s Report from Venice is so concise -that we insert the whole (pp. 663, 634). We cannot -perfectly reconcile the statement at the beginning, -that there is no compulsory legal provision for the -poor; and that at the end, that every commune is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[190]</a></span> -bound to support the poor and indigent within its -limits. Perhaps Mr. Money uses the word “bound” -in a moral, not a legal sense.</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>1. Is there any compulsory legal provision for the poor in -Venice?—None.</p> - -<p>2. In what manner are the funds arising from voluntary donations -collected in Venice?—There is a commission of public -charity, composed of the laity of the first rank and consideration -in Venice, at the head of which is the patriarch.</p> - -<p>All sums destined for the relief of the poor and the indigent, -from whatever source, are placed at the disposal of this commission.</p> - -<p>These funds arise from bequests, which are numerous, from -voluntary contributions, from collections made by lay associations -in each of the 30 parishes, which hold their meetings either at the -church or at the house of the priest; sometimes from the produce -of a lottery; and by a singular contrivance of the late patriarch, -to render an old custom of complimentary visits on New Year’s-day -contributory to the purposes of charity, he had it announced, -that all who would subscribe to the funds of the commission of -public charity should have their names published, and be exempted -from the costly ceremony above adverted to.</p> - -<p>3. By what authority are they distributed?—By that of the -same commission, which receives the reports of the state of the -poor in the several parishes, and particularly inquires into the -circumstances of every case.</p> - -<p>4. What constitutes a claim to relief, and how is that claim investigated?—Among -the lower classes, extreme poverty without -the means of obtaining subsistence, or incapability from age or -sickness to labour for it. This is certified by the parish priest to -the association mentioned in answer to query No. 2, which makes -itself acquainted with every case of distress. But there is great -distress to be relieved among those who once constituted the -higher classes of society, but whose families, since the fall of the -Republic, have, from various causes, fallen into decay; these -make their application direct to the commission, and are relieved -according to their necessities and the state of their funds. -5. What is the amount of relief usually given in each case, and -for what length of time is it usually continued?—The amount of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[191]</a></span> -relief given, according to the class and circumstances of the distressed, -is from 10 cents. to 65 cents. per head per day (or from -3<i>s.</i> 4<i>d.</i> to 5<i>s.</i> 4<i>d.</i> sterling.)—[<i>Sic in orig.</i>]</p> - -<p>These alms are continued as long as the parish priest certifies -the need of those of the lower classes, or the commission, through -its inquiries, are satisfied of the necessities of the others.</p> - -<p>6. Is relief given by taking the poor into almshouses or houses -of industry, or by giving them relief at home; and in the latter -case, is it given in money or in food and clothing?—There are no -almshouses in Venice, but there are houses of industry, where -work of various descriptions is provided for those who are able to -work. Relief is given to many at home, but to most upon their -personal appearance before some of the members of the commission.</p> - -<p>In winter, relief is afforded by the commission, both in food and -clothing.</p> - -<p>7. What is the number of persons in Venice usually receiving -relief, and what is the least and greatest number known during -the last 10 years?—The number usually receiving relief, and -which is the least number during the last 10 years, is about -47,000; the greatest number in the last 10 years was about -50,000. The last year 42,705<a name="FNanchor_21" id="FNanchor_21"></a><a href="#Footnote_21" class="fnanchor">[21]</a> received relief, either at home or -by personal application to the commission, and the number in -houses of industry and hospitals was 4667.</p> - -<p>8. Is there much difficulty in procuring sufficient funds for the -support of the poor in times of distress, or is the supply so large -as at all to diminish the industry and providence of the working -classes?—It has been found impossible to procure sufficient -funds for the support of the poor at Venice, and there never was -so large a supply as at all to diminish the industry and providence -of the working classes. When the funds prove insufficient, the -commune contribute, and after their contributions, whatever is -deficient is supplied by the Government.</p> - -<p>9. Do cases of death by starvation ever occur?—Do the poorer -classes afford much assistance to one another in time of sickness -or want of employment?—Cases of death by starvation never -occur. Even during the great distress caused by the blockade in -1813, and the famine in 1817, no occurrence of this kind was -known. In fact, the more urgent the circumstances are, the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[192]</a></span> -more abundant are the subscriptions and donations.</p> - -<p>The poorer classes are remarkable for their kindness to each -other in times of sickness and need. Many instances of this have -fallen under my own observation.</p> - -<p>10. Is there a foundling hospital at Venice, and if so, what is -the number of infants annually admitted into it?—There is a -foundling hospital in Venice, which was instituted in 1346, and -the number received into it annually is between 400 and 500. I -have known seven found in the receptacle in one morning.</p> - -<p>Each child is immediately given to a wet nurse; at the end of -seven or eight days it is vaccinated, and sent to nurse in the -country.</p> - -<p>11. Do members of the same family, among the poorer classes -in general, show much disposition to assist one another in distress, -sickness, or old age?—There is much family affection in all -classes of the Venetians, and in sickness, distress, and old age, -among the poorer classes, they show every disposition to assist -and relieve each other.</p> - -<p>The clergy, who have great influence over the lower classes, -exert themselves much to cultivate the good feeling which subsists -among them towards one another.</p> - -<p>12. Have you any other observations to make on the relief -afforded to the poor at Venice?—Besides the voluntary contributions -and the assistance of the commune and the Government, the -several charitable institutions (of which there are no less than 10) -in this city, have annual incomes derivable from various bequests -in land and other property, amounting to 483,000 Austrian livres -(or 16,000<i>l.</i> sterling). Last year the commune contributed -359,000 Austrian livres (or 11,970<i>l.</i> sterling) and the Government -460,000 Austrian livres (or 15,330<i>l.</i> sterling). The Government -contributes annually for the foundlings and the insane -of the eight Venetian provinces, 1,000,000 of Austrian livres -(33,000<i>l.</i> sterling). I should remark, that among other resources -which the commission of public charity have at their command, is -a tax upon the theatres and other places of public amusement.</p> - -<p>The total expenditure of the commission of public charity may -be taken approximately at 3,000,000 of Austrian livres, or -100,000<i>l.</i> sterling annually, for the city of Venice alone, which is -now declared to contain a population of 112,000.</p> - -<p>Mendicity is not permitted in the streets of Venice, and although<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[193]</a></span> -distress does force mendicants to appear when they can escape -the vigilance of the police, yet I do not believe that 20 beggars -are to be met with in this large and populous city.</p> - -<p>The poor in every parish in Venice have the benefit of a physician, -a surgeon and medicines gratis; the expense of these is paid -by the commune.</p> - -<p>Every commune in the Venetian provinces is bound to support -the poor and the indigent within its limits, whether they be natives -of the commune or not. No commune or parish can remove -from it a pauper, because he may have been born in another. Ten -years’ residence entitles a man to a settlement in a different parish -from that of his birth. When a commune to which a pauper does -not belong affords him relief, it is always reimbursed by his own -parish.</p> - -<p>Every commune derives funds from local taxes; the communes -of towns from taxes on certain articles of consumption; the communes -in the country, where articles of consumption are not taxed, -from an addition to the capitation tax, which is levied by the -State, but all communes have, more or less, sources of revenue -from land, houses, and charitable bequests, which are very frequent -in these states.</p> - -<p>The number of foundlings at present in the country under the -age of 12 years is 2300. After that age the child is transferred -from the family who have the charge of it, and apprenticed to learn -some craft or trade, or servitude; but so kind-hearted are the people -in the Venetian provinces, that in numerous instances, from attachment -to the child which they have reared, they have begged, when -the time arrived for its removal, to be allowed to keep it as their -own.</p> - -<p>Venice, March 24, 1834.</p> - -<div class="footnotes"> -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_21" id="Footnote_21"></a><a href="#FNanchor_21"><span class="label">[21]</span></a> This amounts to nearly one-half of the supposed population.</p> -</div> -</div> - -</div> - -<hr /> - -<h3>PORTUGAL AND ITS DEPENDENCIES.</h3> - -<p>The information from Portugal and its dependencies -consists of answers from Oporto, the Azores -and the Canary Islands, to the Commissioners’ -questions. The following extracts show the general -state of these countries. (pp. 642, 643, 644, -645, 647, 686, 687.)</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[194]</a></span></p> - -<h4>PORTUGAL.</h4> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>Although poverty prevails to a great extent in Portugal, still -the frugal habits and very limited wants and desires of the lower -classes of the population in the northern provinces prevent mendicity -from showing itself in those offensive and distressing forms -which it assumes in many other countries. The very limited provision -which has been made for the poor by the Government, or by -public regulation, throws them on their own resources, and makes -them careful and provident. Although, during the late siege of -Oporto, we issued at one period gratuitously, from a soup society, -upwards of 6,000 rations of soup each day, the number of absolute -mendicants who were relieved fell greatly short of 1,000. -The remainder of the applicants were principally families reduced -to distress by the circumstances of the times, who withdrew their -claims as soon as the termination of the blockade opened to them -other resources and means of support.</p> - -<p>Persons destitute of resources, who may be travelling in search -of work or otherwise, can claim no pecuniary relief; but the different -religious establishments are in the habit of affording a temporary -asylum and succour to strangers. There are also houses -of refuge for the poor, called “Misericordias,” at various places, -which are supported by royal gifts, bequests by will, and private -donations.</p> - -<p>None but the military can be billeted on private houses; and -even this right is now contested by the camara (municipality) of -Oporto, as contrary to the constitutional charter. Nor are there -any houses of industry for receiving destitute able-bodied, or their -families, except at Lisbon, where I understand there are royal manufactories -in which the poor are employed, as well as at a rope-walk -called the Cordoario. The different religious establishments -are, as I have already observed, in the habit of affording pecuniary -relief, as well as of giving food and medical aid to the destitute of -every description; but the political changes, by suppressing some -and diminishing the resources of all these establishments, must -have greatly reduced this description of charity.</p> - -<p>In most towns and large villages there are schools to which the -poor may send their children free of expense; but they receive -neither food nor clothing, and the instruction is extremely limited. -The masters are allowed a small stipend by the Government.</p> - -<p>Relatives are forced to aid each other, in the degrees of father,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[195]</a></span> -mother, child, brother and sister, in cases of want: for persons -impotent through age, there are houses of charity, called “Recolhimentos,” -in most cities and considerable towns, where a limited -number of aged or infirm poor of both sexes are lodged, clothed, -and fed. These establishments are supported in part by royal -gifts, and in part by the different municipalities; but no provision -is made for the attendance of the sick poor at their own dwellings, -nor are they in any case boarded with individuals, or billeted on -private houses; but if they have relatives in the degrees above-mentioned, -these are bound to assist them, if able to do so.</p> - -<p>There are public hospitals in most cities and towns, where the -sick poor are received and treated gratis. There are also lying-in -hospitals, which receive pregnant women (without inquiring as -to their being married or not) without any charge; but I am not -aware of the existence of any regulation which obliges the medical -officers of these establishments to deliver women at their own -dwellings, although this is frequently done voluntarily.</p> - -<h5><i>Children.</i></h5> - -<p>A law or decree, issued in 1772, imposes equally on both -parents the duty of maintaining their children, whether legitimate -or illegitimate, where they have the means of doing so; and -the parentage in the latter case, if the father can be ascertained or -is acknowledged. Brothers and sisters are equally bound to assist -each other.</p> - -<p>But in cases where the parents either have not the means or -want inclination to support their illegitimate child, a ready resource -is offered by the “Casas dos Expostos” which exist in most -towns. These establishments for foundlings are provided with -rodas, or revolving boxes, into which the infant is placed, and is -received without inquiry. The practice of thus abandoning infants -to be reared by public charity, prevails, I am assured, to a painful -extent in Portugal.</p> - -<h5><i>Cripples, Deaf and Dumb, and Blind.</i></h5> - -<p>At Lisbon there is, I understand, an establishment for the -reception of the deaf and dumb.</p> - -<h5><i>Idiots and Lunatics.</i></h5> - -<p>At Lisbon there is an establishment for lunatics, called the -Hospital of St. Joseph, where lunatics and idiots are received and -supported gratuitously, if without means. Better treatment and -greater comforts may be obtained for patients ably to pay for the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[196]</a></span> -same. This institution is partly supported by the Government, -and partly by voluntary contributions, in the same manner as the -misericordias in provincial towns.</p> - -<p>It may be observed generally, that in Catholic countries, the -care of administering to the wants, both physical and moral, of the -poor, being left in a great degree to the clergy and religious establishments, -the action of the civil government, as well as of -private benevolence in their favour, is much less visible, and far -more confined than in Protestant states.</p> - -<p>Oporto, April 24, 1834.</p> - -</div> - -<h4><span class="smcap">The Azores.</span></h4> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<h5><i>Vagrants.</i></h5> - -<p>In the Azores mendicity is limited to the aged and infirm poor, -and to the crippled and blind, for whom there is no legal provision; -they are therefore dependent on the charity of the wealthy, -to whom they make a weekly application and receive alms. There -are no houses for their reception, or asylum of any description, but -they obtain a distribution of victuals from the convents, of whatever -surplus food remains after the friars and nuns have dined.</p> - -<p>Vagrants are not allowed; such people are liable to be imprisoned, -and on conviction may be shipped off to India, Angola, -&c., or employed on public works, by decrees of the 16th May, -1641, 19th May, 1684, 4th March, 1688, 7th March, 1691, and 4th -November, 1755. Those decrees, though severe, have had a good -effect in exterminating vagrancy in the Azores. No relief is -given to persons seeking work.</p> - -<h5><i>Destitute Able-bodied.</i></h5> - -<p>There are no laws for granting relief to the poor of any description, -excepting the sick. Able-bodied men in want of work can -always find employment on seeking it.</p> - -<p>Public schools for teaching reading and writing are established -in each municipal district, where the children of the poor are -taught gratis. A small tribute on the wine produce of the country -is levied for payment of these schools, called the Literary Subsidy, -and public professors are paid out of it also, who teach Latin, -grammar, rhetoric and philosophy to all who choose to attend.</p> - -<p>The laws of Portugal oblige the proprietors of entailed property -to give alimentary allowances to their children and brothers -and sisters, in proportion to their own means and the wants of the -applicants. Children coming into possession of property are<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[197]</a></span> -obliged to assist their parents and brothers, if in necessity. The -poor, however, are left to themselves, and to the stimulus of natural -affection; and cases are very rare in which appeals are made in -vain; but lawsuits are very common to oblige the rich heir of -entailed property to give aliments to a brother or sister, as the -elder brother takes the whole estate, and the younger branches -are entirely dependent on him, if the father has not left money or -unentailed property to distribute amongst his other children.</p> - -<h5><i>Sick.</i></h5> - -<p>In every municipal district there is a public hospital called the -Misericordia, <i>i.e.</i> house of mercy, for the reception of the sick -poor, supported by endowments of land and bequests of money -from pious people long since deceased, and voluntary contributions -of living persons, where the sick are well treated, and when -cured are sent to their families, and if in great distress a small sum -of money is given to assist them. These hospitals contain generally -from 200 to 300 sick, and are, generally speaking, well -conducted by the governors, stewards, medical attendants, and -nurses. Foreign seamen are also admitted on the respective consuls -paying 1<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i> per diem for diet and attendance.</p> - -<p>In cases where the hospitals are full, and cannot accommodate -any more patients, medicines are given to applicants, and surgical -and medical advice gratis from the hospital practitioners.</p> - -<h5><span class="smcap">Children.</span></h5> - -<h6><i>Illegitimate.</i></h6> - -<p>The mother must support it in case she chooses to suckle the -child herself; if, on the contrary, the sense of shame overcomes -her maternal feelings, and she takes it to the misericordia, where -there is a private place to receive the infant, it is immediately -taken care of, and put out to nurse at the expense of the municipality -until seven years of age, when it is apprenticed (if a male) -to some trade or handicraft, or to a farmer; if a female to -domestic service in some family, where it is fed and clothed -until of an age to earn wages. In nine cases out of ten, -the practice is to take the child to the misericordia, as pregnancy -is more easily concealed here than in other countries, by the peculiar -dress of the common class of women. The municipality are -at the expense of maintenance of the children, and if their funds -are scanty, the State pays the deficiency.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[198]</a></span></p> - -<h6><i>Orphans, Foundlings, and Deserted Children.</i></h6> - -<p><i>Orphans.</i>—Various laws have been promulgated in favour of -orphans, for whom the respective local magistrates were appointed -judges and protectors, which duty now devolves on the justices of -the peace. If any property belongs to them, proper guardians -are appointed to take care of it, and to educate the children; if -none, they are under the municipal protection until of age to be -put to some trade or calling, service, &c., in cases where their relatives -are unable to take charge of them.</p> - -<p><i>Foundlings.</i>—Foundlings are taken charge of and treated as -orphans; there are several funds set apart for their support by -express decrees of former sovereigns of Portugal; they are received -into the misericordias, and supported by the chamber of -municipality.</p> - -<p><i>Deserted Children whose Parents are known.</i>—Deserted -children are also reputed as foundlings or orphans, and have -similar care taken of them by the municipal authorities; the instances -are extremely rare of children being deserted by their parents, -which is justly held in abhorrence by all classes of persons.</p> - -<h5><i>Cripples, Deaf and Dumb, Blind, Idiots and Lunatics.</i></h5> - -<p>There are no establishments whatsoever of any kind; they live -on the alms bestowed weekly by the benevolent.</p> - -<p>In general there prevails much love and affection between parents -and children, and from the children much obedience and -respect towards their parents, to which they are exhorted by the -clergy, who inculcate great subjection to their parents on all -occasions.</p> - -<p>The poorest able-bodied labourer abhors begging; his utmost -exertions are therefore employed to support himself and family; -and it is only in cases of sickness, or other corporeal impediment, -that he ever has recourse to alms.</p> - -<p>In the Island of St. Mary’s wheat and barley are chiefly cultivated, -but little Indian corn; much waste land is to be seen, -arising from the absence of the great proprietors, who live in St. -Michael’s or at Lisbon.</p> - -<p>At Terceira more wheat than Indian corn is to be seen under -cultivation; much land lying waste from the want of capital or -enterprise in the proprietors.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[199]</a></span></p> - -<p>At St. George’s, being a volcanic soil, there are more vineyards -and pasture land than arable.</p> - -<p>Gracioza being flat in surface, and having a strong clay soil, -much barley and wheat is grown, but little Indian corn; the poor -subsist chiefly on barley-bread, pulse, &c.; it also produces much -brandy from the low-priced wines.</p> - -<p>Pico being very mountainous and volcanic, the whole island is -one continued vineyard; little soil for corn; the inhabitants depend -upon the other islands for the supplies of bread.</p> - -<p>Fayal, partly vineyard, the rest corn land and pasture: all the -principal proprietors of Pico living at Fayal, the poor of Pico are -chiefly supplied from thence by their landlords.</p> - -<p>Corvo produces grain, &c., for its consumption only.</p> - -<p>Flores: some wheat and Indian corn is exported from thence, -also bacon and hams, as large quantities of hogs are bred in that -island.</p> - -<p>A great deal of land is still uncultivated throughout the Azores, -so that no able-bodied labourer can want employment, and for two -centuries to come there will be employment for the increasing population. -The temperature of the climate, ranging from 55° to 76° -of Fahrenheit, reducing the physical wants of man as to clothing, -fuel, &c.; and the abundance of vegetables, fruits, &c., renders the -poor man’s lot easier than in colder climates. In the hospitals -there is no limit of rations to the sick patients; they have bread, -meat, poultry, milk, &c., in abundance. The state of criminals in -the prisons is however dreadful; they are not fed by government, -and must die if not succoured by relatives, and the casual supply -of bread sent them from the misericordia in cases of extreme need: -this however is not obligatory on the part of the hospital. Criminals, -after sentence to the galleys, are allowed a loaf of bread per -day, but nothing more.</p> - -<p>St. Michael’s, April 20, 1834.</p> - -</div> - -<h4><span class="smcap">Canary Islands.</span></h4> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<h5><i>Mendicity, Vagrants, Destitute Able-bodied, Impotent through -Age.</i></h5> - -<p>Mendicity does prevail to a great extent in the Canary Islands. -There is no legal provision whatever for the relief or support of the -poor included in the denominations stated above; casual charity is -the only resource; but as the natives for the most part remain in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[200]</a></span> -the places where they were born, there are very few who have not -some relations and acquaintance, from whom they receive occasional -assistance. From the nature of the climate, the wants of -the poor, when not suffering from sickness, are very limited; -having food sufficient to satisfy their hunger, they are scarcely -affected by the privations so sensibly felt by the poor in northern -climates. “Goffro,” (which is maize, barley or wheat, roasted, -and ground by the hand between two stones,) mixed with water or -milk, potatoes and other vegetables, with sometimes a small piece -of salt fish, constitute the general food of the peasantry throughout -the islands. In the towns the artisans live better, obtaining bread, -potatoes, salt fish, and sometimes butcher’s meat.</p> - -<h5><i>Sick.</i></h5> - -<p>In Santa Cruz there is one hospital for the poor, but the accommodation -is very limited (24 beds), in no degree proportional -to the wants of the population.</p> - -<p>In the town of Laguna is one also, larger than Santa Cruz, -and tolerably maintained.</p> - -<p>At Las Palmas, the capital of the island of Canary, is the -largest and best hospital in the islands; near that town also, is the -hospital of St. Lazarus, exclusively for lepers, of which there are -considerable numbers. This hospital is well kept up, and the -building in a good state of repair, with a garden walled round. -The unfortunate inmates are said to be comfortably provided for.</p> - -<h5><i>Children, Illegitimate; Orphans, Foundlings, Deserted -Children.</i></h5> - -<p>There are no legal regulations as to illegitimate children; their -support therefore falls on the mother. There is a foundling hospital -at Laguna in Teneriffe, and another at Las Palmas in Canary; -in each a turning-box, and a great number of children are -by this means disposed of. In the hospital of Santa Cruz is also -a turning-box; the infants left are understood to be sent to Laguna. -Children placed in the box have usually some mark by -which they may be recognised, and they are given up to parents -when claimed. There is no other provision for children.</p> - -<h5><i>Cripples, Deaf, Dumb, and Blind.</i></h5> - -<p>Live with their parents or relations, or subsist by casual -charity. No provision.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[201]</a></span></p> - -<h5><i>Idiots and Lunatics.</i></h5> - -<p>No particular establishment; live with their relations. When -violent, they are placed in the hospitals or gaols.</p> - -<p>Almost all the land in the Canary Islands is cultivated by agreement -between the owners of the land and a class of persons called -“medianeros” (middlemen), intelligent husbandmen; the conditions -are simple: that the medianero shall cultivate the land, and -find half the seed, he retaining half the produce; the other half -is delivered to the landlord in kind.</p> - -<p>The peasantry are a robust and hardy race, laborious and -frugal. There is a great deal of family affection among them. -Considerable numbers emigrate to the Havannah and Puerto -Rico ostensibly, but it is believed that they are taken to Caraccas -and other American countries, once dependencies of the Spanish -crown.</p> - -</div> - -<hr /> - -<h3>GREECE.</h3> - -<p>There are two sets of answers from Greece to -the Commissioners’ questions. One a general one, -by the Secretary of State for the Interior, the other -from Patras, by Mr. Crowe, His Majesty’s Consul. -It will be seen from the following extracts from the -Government report, (pp. 665, 666, 667,) that there -are scarcely any charitable institutions.</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<h4><i>Vagrants.</i></h4> - -<p>Before the Revolution, two classes of vagrants existed in -Greece; of these, one class consisted of those individuals who, -having no property of their own, and being averse to labour, lived -by robbery; the other class consisted of those persons who were -indeed destitute, but refusing to labour, did not at the same time -resort to robbery: the latter existed by the charity of their relations, -and of other benevolent individuals, the former were constantly -pursued by the Turkish police.</p> - -<p>In two provinces only of the new Greek State, viz. Thravari in -Acarnania, and Cloutzinas of Kalavryta, does systematic beggary -exist; in these places, many persons mutilated their new-born -children for the express purpose of exciting the compassion of the -public; but neither before the Revolution, during the Revolution,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[202]</a></span> -nor even now, is there any public establishment for the relief of -either of the above two classes of vagrants; and notwithstanding -that during the Revolution the number of these vagrants increased -it is now certain that their numbers have sensibly diminished -and it is to be hoped that as soon as the municipalities are regularly -established, all these individuals will be obliged to labour for -their subsistence.</p> - -<p>There exists no public institution or decree organizing the -relief to be granted to the poor in Greece; neither did anything -of the kind exist before the Revolution, although the country was -formed into municipalities. It was feared that the Ottoman authorities -would appropriate to themselves any resources which -might be set apart for the poor. Charitable subscriptions were -therefore the only means by which the poor, sick, &c. obtained -relief.</p> - -<h4><i>Impotent through Age, and Sick.</i></h4> - -<p>No regulations ever existed on these heads. The aged who -were destitute received, and still receive, assistance from the charitably -disposed, and from the monasteries; but this assistance is -voluntary, not obligatory.</p> - -<p>With regard to hospitals, there are only two, one at Nauplia -and one at Syra; the first is at present given up to the military -service, and the second, belonging to the municipality of Syra, is -maintained by a small duty levied on merchandize; the one at -Nauplia was formerly supported in the same manner.</p> - -<h4><i>Children.</i></h4> - -<p>The support of bastards falls upon their fathers. With regard -to foundlings, who are generally left clandestinely at the church -doors, the local authorities take charge of them, and intrust them -to nurses, whose expenses are defrayed by the government; -benevolent individuals likewise frequently take charge of them, -and bring them up at their own expense. The number of foundlings -supported by the government barely exceeds forty throughout -the whole State, by which it appears that depravity of morals -in Greece is not great.</p> - -<p>For the support of destitute orphans, an establishment (the -Orphanotropheion) exists at Ægina, where many are brought up -at the expense of the government, and are taught to read and -write, and various trades. However, the nearest relations of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[203]</a></span> -orphans generally consider it to be a religious duty to take care -of them; so that, in consequence of this praiseworthy feeling, -they are seldom left entirely destitute, unless they have no relations, -or unless the latter have no means of assistance at their -disposal. Moreover, there are numerous benevolent persons who -are in the habit of taking orphans into their houses, and bringing -them up at their own expense.</p> - -<p>Labour hitherto has not much increased in Greece; the labourers -are industrious, frugal, and attached to their relations.</p> - -<p>I may add, that in consequence of the vast extent of land in -Greece in comparison with the number of its inhabitants, the -latter apply themselves mostly to agriculture and the care of -flocks, by which means they procure ample means of subsistence; -and the few manufactures which exist in Greece being all made -by hand, sufficient employment is to be procured by every individual. -These are the reasons why the number of the poor is so -limited, notwithstanding that late events were so much opposed -to the progress of arts and industry.</p> - -</div> - -<hr /> - -<h3>EUROPEAN TURKEY.</h3> - -<p>The only remaining portion of Europe which has -furnished answers to the Commissioners’ questions -is European Turkey; with respect to which it may -be enough to say, that the only charitable institutions -mentioned in the return are religious establishments -and khans, in which vagrants are allowed -to remain a few days, and receive food; and schools -attached to the mosques, in which children of every -description receive gratuitous instruction in reading -and writing.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[204]</a></span></p> - -<h2>ABSENCE OF SURPLUS POPULATION.</h2> - -<div class="sidenote">General -absence, in -the countries -not -subject to -compulsory -relief, of a -surplus -population.</div> - -<p>One of the most striking circumstances connected -with the countries which we have last considered is -the accuracy with which the population seems to be -regulated with reference to the demand for labour. -In the ill-administered parts of England there is in -general no approach to any such regulation. That -sort of population which, from our familiarity with -it, has acquired the technical name of a surplus -population, not only continues stagnant in places -where its services are no longer required, but often -springs up and increases without any increase of -the means of profitable employment. The parochial -returns, forming part B. of this Appendix, are -full of complaints of a want of labourers in one -parish, and of an over-supply in another; without -any tendency of the redundancy to supply the deficiency. -In time, of course, the deficient parish is -filled up by natural increase; but in the mean time -the population of the redundant parish does not -seem to diminish. In general, indeed, it goes on -increasing with unchecked rapidity, until, in the -worst administered portions of the kingdom, a state -of things has arisen, of which the cure is so difficult, -that nothing but the certainty of absolute and -almost immediate ruin from its increase, or even -from its continuance, would have induced the proprietors -to encounter the dangers of the remedy. -Nothing like this, indeed, exists in any of the -countries affording compulsory relief, except Berne, -which have given us returns. But they provide -against its occurrence, as we have already observed, -by subjecting the labouring classes, indeed all classes -except the opulent, to strict regulation and control,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[205]</a></span> -by restraining their marriages, forcing them to take -service, and prohibiting their change of abode unless -they have the consent of the commune in which they -wish to settle. By a vigilant exertion of these -means, the population of the north of Europe and -Germany seems in general to be proportioned to -the means of employment and subsistence; but in -the countries which have not adopted the compulsory -system the same results are produced without -interference or restriction. Complaints are often -made in the different returns of the idleness, the -drunkenness, and the improvidence of the labouring -classes, but never of their disproportionate number.</p> - -<hr /> - -<h2>Condition of the labouring classes.</h2> - -<p>Another and a very interesting portion of the -information which the intelligence and industry of -His Majesty’s foreign Ministers and Consuls have -enabled us to submit to the public, consists of the -answers to the questions respecting labourers. In -order to facilitate a comparison between the state of -the English and foreign populations, the questions -proposed were in general the same as had been -already answered in England, either by the population -returns, or by the returns to the questions -circulated in England by the Poor Law Commissioners.</p> - -<p>The following questions, being 1, 3, 7, and 8, -correspond to the English questions 8, 10, 13, and -14, of the rural queries:—</p> - -<p>1. (8 of English questions.) What is the general -amount of the wages of an able-bodied male -labourer, by the day, the week, the month, or the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[206]</a></span> -year, with and without provisions, in summer and -in winter?</p> - -<p>3. (10 of English questions.) What in the whole -might an average labourer, obtaining an average -amount of employment, both in day-work and in -piece-work, expect to earn in a year, including -harvest work, and the whole of all his advantages -and means of living?</p> - -<p>7. (13 of English questions.) What in the whole -might a labourer’s wife and four children, aged 14, -11, 8, and 5 years respectively, (the eldest a boy), -expect to earn in a year, obtaining, as in the former -case, an average amount of employment?</p> - -<p>8. (14 of English questions.) Could such a -family subsist on the aggregate earnings of the -father, mother, and children; and if so, on what -food?</p> - -<p>The following is a digest of the answers from all -the agricultural parishes in England which have -given returns to the corresponding questions circulated -by the Poor Law Commissioners:—</p> - -<h3>Agricultural wages in England.</h3> - -<p>Q. 8. Weekly wages, with or without beer or -cider, in summer and winter?</p> - -<p>254 parishes give an average in summer, with -beer or cider, of per week, 10<i>s.</i> 4¾<i>d.</i></p> - -<p>522 parishes give an average in summer, without -beer or cider, of per week, 10<i>s.</i> 5½<i>d.</i></p> - -<p>200 parishes give an average in winter, with beer -or cider, of per week, 9<i>s.</i> 2¼<i>d.</i></p> - -<p>544 parishes give an average in winter, without -beer or cider, of per week, 9<i>s.</i> 11¾<i>d.</i></p> - -<p>Q. 10. What in the whole might an average<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[207]</a></span> -labourer, obtaining an average amount of employment, -both in day-work and piece-work, expect to -earn in the year, including harvest work, and the -value of all his other advantages and means of -living, except parish relief?</p> - -<p>Q. 13. What in the whole might a labourer’s -wife and four children, aged 14, 11, 8, and 5 years -respectively, (the eldest a boy,) expect to earn in -the year, obtaining, as in the former case, an average -amount of employment?</p> - -<table summary="Earnings"> - <tr> - <td>856 parishes give for the man, an average of</td><td class="tdr">£27</td><td class="tdr">17</td><td class="tdr">10</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>668 parishes give for the wife and children an average of</td><td class="tdr">13</td><td class="tdr">19</td><td class="tdr">10</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Average annual income of the family</td><td class="tdr total bb">£41</td><td class="tdr total bb">17</td><td class="tdr total bb">8</td> - </tr> -</table> - -<h3>Subsistence of agricultural labourers in England.</h3> - -<p>Q. 14. Could such a family subsist on the aggregate -earnings of the father, mother, and children; -and if so, on what food?</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[208]</a></span></p> - -<table summary="The answers from each county" class="borders"> - <tr> - <th></th> - <th>Number of<br />Parishes<br />answering<br />Q. 14.</th> - <th>No. (simply).</th> - <th>Yes. (simply).</th> - <th>Barely,<br />or without<br />Meat.</th> - <th class="last-col">With Meat.</th> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Bedford</td> - <td class="tdr">15</td> - <td class="tdr">1</td> - <td class="tdr">3</td> - <td class="tdr">0</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">11</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Berks</td> - <td class="tdr">24</td> - <td class="tdr">2</td> - <td class="tdr">1</td> - <td class="tdr">2</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">19</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Bucks</td> - <td class="tdr">27</td> - <td class="tdr">2</td> - <td class="tdr">5</td> - <td class="tdr">5</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">15</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Cambridge</td> - <td class="tdr">33</td> - <td class="tdr">2</td> - <td class="tdr">11</td> - <td class="tdr">3</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">17</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Chester</td> - <td class="tdr">12</td> - <td class="tdr">0</td> - <td class="tdr">5</td> - <td class="tdr">2</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">5</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Cornwall</td> - <td class="tdr">24</td> - <td class="tdr">0</td> - <td class="tdr">1</td> - <td class="tdr">2</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">21</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Cumberland</td> - <td class="tdr">33</td> - <td class="tdr">0</td> - <td class="tdr">7</td> - <td class="tdr">13</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">13</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Derby</td> - <td class="tdr">7</td> - <td class="tdr">0</td> - <td class="tdr">2</td> - <td class="tdr">0</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">5</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Devon</td> - <td class="tdr">18</td> - <td class="tdr">1</td> - <td class="tdr">7</td> - <td class="tdr">1</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">9</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Dorset</td> - <td class="tdr">16</td> - <td class="tdr">1</td> - <td class="tdr">4</td> - <td class="tdr">2</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">9</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Durham</td> - <td class="tdr">30</td> - <td class="tdr">0</td> - <td class="tdr">6</td> - <td class="tdr">4</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">20</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Essex</td> - <td class="tdr">38</td> - <td class="tdr">9</td> - <td class="tdr">9</td> - <td class="tdr">6</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">14</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Gloucester</td> - <td class="tdr">19</td> - <td class="tdr">0</td> - <td class="tdr">7</td> - <td class="tdr">5</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">7</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Hereford</td> - <td class="tdr">16</td> - <td class="tdr">2</td> - <td class="tdr">1</td> - <td class="tdr">5</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">8</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Hertford</td> - <td class="tdr">16</td> - <td class="tdr">0</td> - <td class="tdr">2</td> - <td class="tdr">6</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">8</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Huntingdon</td> - <td class="tdr">9</td> - <td class="tdr">2</td> - <td class="tdr">0</td> - <td class="tdr">1</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">6</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Kent</td> - <td class="tdr">43</td> - <td class="tdr">5</td> - <td class="tdr">12</td> - <td class="tdr">2</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">24</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Lancaster</td> - <td class="tdr">14</td> - <td class="tdr">0</td> - <td class="tdr">8</td> - <td class="tdr">1</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">5</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Leicester</td> - <td class="tdr">14</td> - <td class="tdr">0</td> - <td class="tdr">6</td> - <td class="tdr">3</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">5</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Lincoln</td> - <td class="tdr">14</td> - <td class="tdr">1</td> - <td class="tdr">5</td> - <td class="tdr">0</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">8</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Middlesex</td> - <td class="tdr">2</td> - <td class="tdr">0</td> - <td class="tdr">0</td> - <td class="tdr">0</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">2</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Monmouth</td> - <td class="tdr">7</td> - <td class="tdr">0</td> - <td class="tdr">2</td> - <td class="tdr">1</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">4</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Norfolk</td> - <td class="tdr">27</td> - <td class="tdr">2</td> - <td class="tdr">8</td> - <td class="tdr">0</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">17</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Northampton</td> - <td class="tdr">14</td> - <td class="tdr">0</td> - <td class="tdr">2</td> - <td class="tdr">1</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">11</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Northumberland</td> - <td class="tdr">18</td> - <td class="tdr">0</td> - <td class="tdr">2</td> - <td class="tdr">0</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">16</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Nottingham</td> - <td class="tdr">19</td> - <td class="tdr">0</td> - <td class="tdr">7</td> - <td class="tdr">1</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">11</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Oxford</td> - <td class="tdr">21</td> - <td class="tdr">0</td> - <td class="tdr">8</td> - <td class="tdr">3</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">10</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Rutland</td> - <td class="tdr">4</td> - <td class="tdr">0</td> - <td class="tdr">3</td> - <td class="tdr">0</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">1</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Salop</td> - <td class="tdr">19</td> - <td class="tdr">0</td> - <td class="tdr">1</td> - <td class="tdr">0</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">18</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Somerset</td> - <td class="tdr">22</td> - <td class="tdr">2</td> - <td class="tdr">0</td> - <td class="tdr">6</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">14</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Southampton</td> - <td class="tdr">43</td> - <td class="tdr">3</td> - <td class="tdr">7</td> - <td class="tdr">6</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">27</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Stafford</td> - <td class="tdr">12</td> - <td class="tdr">1</td> - <td class="tdr">1</td> - <td class="tdr">0</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">10</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Suffolk</td> - <td class="tdr">26</td> - <td class="tdr">4</td> - <td class="tdr">9</td> - <td class="tdr">3</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">10</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Surrey</td> - <td class="tdr">20</td> - <td class="tdr">0</td> - <td class="tdr">5</td> - <td class="tdr">2</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">13</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Sussex</td> - <td class="tdr">68</td> - <td class="tdr">21</td> - <td class="tdr">18</td> - <td class="tdr">7</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">22</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Warwick</td> - <td class="tdr">31</td> - <td class="tdr">1</td> - <td class="tdr">4</td> - <td class="tdr">4</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">22</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Westmorland</td> - <td class="tdr">17</td> - <td class="tdr">3</td> - <td class="tdr">4</td> - <td class="tdr">5</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">5</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Wilts</td> - <td class="tdr">24</td> - <td class="tdr">1</td> - <td class="tdr">7</td> - <td class="tdr">4</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">12</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Worcester</td> - <td class="tdr">18</td> - <td class="tdr">1</td> - <td class="tdr">6</td> - <td class="tdr">2</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">9</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>York</td> - <td class="tdr">65</td> - <td class="tdr">4</td> - <td class="tdr">16</td> - <td class="tdr">17</td> - <td class="tdr last-col">28</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>(40)</td> - <td></td> - <td></td> - <td></td> - <td></td> - <td class="last-col"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="level2 last-row"><span class="smcap">Total</span></td> - <td class="tdr total last-row">899</td> - <td class="tdr total last-row">71</td> - <td class="tdr total last-row">212</td> - <td class="tdr total last-row">125</td> - <td class="tdr total last-row last-col">491</td> - </tr> -</table> - -<hr /> - -<h2>Wages and subsistence of foreign labourers.</h2> - -<p>We now add a digest of the foreign answers to -the corresponding questions, and also to Question 6: -“What can women and children under 16, earn -per week in summer, in winter, and in harvest, -and how employed?” a question as to which the -English answers do not admit of tabular statement.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[209]</a></span></p> - -<p>We have arranged the answers under seven -heads: 1. Wages of artisans; 2. of agricultural -labourers; 3. of labourers whom the author of the -return appears not to have included in either of the -other two classes; 4. of women; 5. of children; -6. of the labourer’s wife and four children; and -7. the food on which the supposed family could -subsist, on their average annual earnings and means -of living.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[210]</a><br /> -<a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[211]</a></span></p> - -<h3>DIGEST OF FOREIGN ANSWERS</h3> - -<table class="big" summary="Digest of the foreign returns"> - <tr> - <th class="first-col"></th> - <th>ARTISANS, Per Day.</th> - <th>AGRICULTURISTS.</th> - <th>OTHER LABOURERS.</th> - <th>WOMEN.</th> - <th>CHILDREN.</th> - <th>WIFE and Four Children.</th> - <th class="last-col">SUBSISTENCE.</th> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col">AMERICA:</td> - <td></td> - <td></td> - <td></td> - <td></td> - <td></td> - <td></td> - <td class="last-col"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col">MASSACHUSETTS, p. 683</td> - <td>First-rate, 2 to 3 dollars, others, 1½ dollars, 6<i>s.</i> 9<i>d.</i>; overseers, per year, 1500 to 3500 dollars.</td> - <td>Per day, in harvest, 1 to 1½ dollars; per month, with board and - lodging, 14 to 18 dollars during summer and autumn (six months,) some - all the year; others during the other six months, 10 to 12 dollars a - month.</td> - <td>Per year, 250 to 300 dollars, i.e. 56<i>l.</i> 5<i>s.</i> to 67<i>l.</i> 10<i>s.</i></td> - <td>At factories per week, 2½ to 5 dollars.</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td class="last-col">There are very few who do not eat meat, poultry, or fish twice or three times a day.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col">NEW YORK, p. 158</td> - <td>Dollar and a half; one-fourth less in winter and dull times.</td> - <td>Per month, 1<i>l.</i> 10<i>s.</i> to 2<i>l.</i> 5<i>s.</i>, with board, washing, and mending; per day, in harvest, 4<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i> with board</td> - <td>3<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i> per day; 44<i>l.</i> per year.</td> - <td>Per day, 1<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i> to 3<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i></td> - <td>Early enfranchised</td> - <td>The children quit their parents and shift for themselves. The wife may earn 1<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i> to 3<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i> a day.</td> - <td class="last-col">A family united could subsist well on their aggregate earnings have tea, coffee, and meat twice a day.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col">MEXICO, p. 690</td> - <td>Double the wages of the agriculturists.</td> - <td>1<i>s.</i> to 1<i>s.</i> 4<i>d.</i> per day</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>Enough for their support.</td> - <td>Enough for their support.</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td class="last-col">Most certainly. The common food of working people in Mexico is maize or - Indian corn, prepared either as porridge (atole,) or in thin cakes - (tortillas,) and beans (frijoles,) like the white beans so much in use - in France, with addition of chile, a speckle of the hot pepper, of which - they eat enormous quantities by way of seasoning. In the town wheaten - bread forms a part of the food of the lower classes, and meat - occasionally.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col">CARTHAGENA DE COLUMBIA, p. 166</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>Per day, town, 2<i>s.</i>, country, 1<i>s.</i> to 1<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i>; in year, about 12<i>l.</i></td> - <td>As servants, about one-third a man’s wages.</td> - <td>Under 16, as servants, about one-third a man’s wages.</td> - <td>Per year about 50<i>l.</i> (supposed to include a man’s wages, but even then apparently excessive.)</td> - <td class="last-col">Very comfortably; chiefly on animal food.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col">VENEZUELA, p. 163</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>Per day, 1<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i> with usual provisions.</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>1<i>s.</i> 1½<i>d.</i> to 1<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i> per day.</td> - <td>Under sixteen 1<i>s.</i> 1½<i>d.</i> to 1<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i> per day.</td> - <td>15<i>l.</i> per year.</td> - <td class="last-col">Maize cakes, with vegetables and fruit, form the chief aliments of the - peon and his family; and they can with little difficulty subsist, if - they choose to work, on their aggregate earnings.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col">MARANHAM, p. 693</td> - <td>Per day, 1<i>s.</i></td> - <td>Generally slaves; where hired they earn about 17<i>s.</i> a month, and food.</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td class="last-col">The necessaries of life are few, and easily obtained.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col">BAHIA, p. 731</td> - <td>2<i>s.</i> per day; 25<i>l.</i> per year.</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td colspan="2">Women and children, nothing</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td class="last-col">. . . .</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col">URUGUAY, p. 723</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>Herdsmen, slaves, or guachos, 8 dollars a month, by the year.</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td class="last-col">A family may subsist on the labour of the husband alone, and have a meal with meat three times a day.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col">HAYTI, p. 168</td> - <td>Per day, from 2<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i> to 3<i>s.</i>; per year, 38<i>l.</i></td> - <td>Per day, 7<i>d.</i>; per year, 9<i>l.</i> 10<i>s.</i></td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>As servants, from 10<i>s.</i> to 20<i>s.</i> a month.</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td class="last-col">A family can easily subsist on the earnings of their parents. Their food - consists of what are termed “ground provisions,” i. e., plantains, sweet - potatoes, and other vegetables and fruits, which if not raised by - themselves are obtained at a cheap rate.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[212]</a></span>EUROPE:</td> - <td></td> - <td></td> - <td></td> - <td><br /><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[213]</a></span></td> - <td></td> - <td></td> - <td class="last-col"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col">NORWAY, p. 698</td> - <td>Per week, 5<i>s.</i> 4<i>d.</i> to 7<i>s.</i> 2<i>d.</i>, with food and lodging and tools.</td> - <td>Per day, 3<i>d.</i> to 5½<i>d.</i>, with food.</td> - <td>Per day, in or near Christiania, summer, 10½<i>d.</i>; winter, 8½<i>d.</i>; per year, 11<i>l.</i> 10<i>s.</i> 9<i>d.</i></td> - <td>Per week, summer, and occasionally in winter, 3<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i></td> - <td>Per week, above 14, and under 16, 17<i>d.</i></td> - <td>Per year, about 6<i>l.</i> 4<i>s.</i> 3<i>d.</i></td> - <td class="last-col">Except in illness, it can subsist on its aggregate earnings. The - labourers live on very simple food: salt herrings, oatmeal porridge, - potatoes, coarse oatmeal bread, may-be twice a week a piece of bacon or - salt beef, and along the coast, and the rivers and lakes, on fresh fish. - Corn brandy is in general use.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col">SWEDEN:</td> - <td></td> - <td></td> - <td></td> - <td></td> - <td></td> - <td></td> - <td class="last-col"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col"><span class="smcap">Stockholm</span> (Mr. Bloomfield’s Return), p. 374</td> - <td>Per day, during nine months, 1<i>s.</i> 7<i>d.</i>; winter, indoors, 1<i>s.</i> 7<i>d.</i> nearly; outdoors, nothing.</td> - <td>Per day, skilled, 7<i>d.</i> to 8<i>d.</i>, unskilled, 3<i>d.</i> to 4<i>d.</i>; average the year, about 11<i>l.</i></td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>Per day, as agriculturists, in summer, 4<i>d.</i></td> - <td>Per day, as agriculturists, in summer, 2<i>d.</i></td> - <td>Per year, as agriculturists: - <table summary="Wages"> - <tr> - <td class="sub"></td> - <td class="sub tdr">£.</td> - <td class="sub tdr"><i>s.</i></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="sub">Wife</td> - <td class="sub tdr">5</td> - <td class="sub tdr">0</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="sub">Boy of 14</td> - <td class="sub tdr">2</td> - <td class="sub tdr">10</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="sub">Children of 11 and 8</td> - <td class="sub tdr">1</td> - <td class="sub tdr">0</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="sub"></td> - <td class="sub-total tdr">£8</td> - <td class="sub-total tdr">10</td> - </tr> - </table> - As artisans: - <table summary="Wages"> - <tr> - <td class="sub"></td> - <td class="sub tdr">£.</td> - <td class="sub tdr"><i>s.</i></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="sub">Wife</td> - <td class="sub tdr">8</td> - <td class="sub tdr">0</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="sub">Boy of 14</td> - <td class="sub tdr">4</td> - <td class="sub tdr">10</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="sub">Children 11 and 8</td> - <td class="sub tdr">2</td> - <td class="sub tdr">0</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="sub"></td> - <td class="sub-total tdr">£14</td> - <td class="sub-total tdr">10</td> - </tr> - </table> - </td> - <td class="last-col">It could subsist. The agriculturists in the southern provinces on - potatoes and salt fish, in the northern, on porridge and rye bread; the - artisans on better food than the agriculturists, with coffee, and - occasionally fresh meat.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col">Count Forsell’s Statement, p. 380</td> - <td colspan="7" class="last-col"><p>The support of a cottager’s household, consisting of husband, wife, and - three children, in the middle part of Sweden, costs yearly about - 146⅔<i>r.d.</i>, according to the prices of last year; the husband being - occupied during the whole year, and his wife having enough to do with - the care of her children, so that neither she nor her husband can - calculate on any additional earnings.</p> - - <p>The labourer receives 2½ barrels of rye, or in money 16<i>r.d.</i> - 32<i>sk.</i>; 1 barrel of corn, 5<i>r.d.</i> 16<i>sk.</i>; half barrel of pease, - 3<i>r.d.</i> 16<i>sk.</i>; half ditto of malt, 2<i>r.d.</i> 32<i>sk.</i>; 2 ditto potatoes, - 2<i>r.d.</i>; 1½ lb. salt, 32<i>sk.</i>; 4 lbs. herrings, 2<i>r.d.</i> 16<i>sk.</i>; - 1 lb. of butter, 4<i>r.d.</i> 16<i>sk.</i>; 3 lbs. of hops, 1<i>r.d.</i>; 1½ - pint of sweet milk per day, 10<i>r.d.</i> 16<i>sk.</i>; 3 pints of sour milk - during the summer, 4<i>r.d.</i> 16<i>sk.</i>; 9 gallons of bränvin (a kind of - whiskey), 5<i>r.d.</i> 16<i>sk.</i>; lodging and fuel, 16<i>r.d.</i> 32<i>sk.</i>; annual - wages in money, 44<i>r.d.</i>; earnest, 3<i>r.d.</i> 16<i>sk.</i>; contributions, - 3<i>r.d.</i> 16<i>sk.</i>; sundries, 6<i>r.d.</i> 34<i>sk.</i>; total banco, 146<i>r.d.</i> - 32<i>sk.</i> That is, on an average, 29<i>r.d.</i> 16<i>sk.</i> annually for every - individual; and daily, 3<i>sk.</i> 10½<i>rst.</i></p> - - <p>On a gentleman’s estate in the neighbourhood of Stockholm, the following - was given last year: Annual pay in money, 33<i>r.d.</i> 16<i>sk.</i>; ¼ - barrel of wheat, 2<i>r.d.</i> 32<i>sk.</i>; 4 barrels of rye, 24<i>r.d.</i>; 2 barrels - of corn, 9<i>r.d.</i> 16<i>sk.</i>; 2 ditto potatoes, 2<i>r.d.</i>; 10 heads of white - cabbage, 32<i>sk.</i>; ½ barrel of herrings, 4<i>r.d.</i> 32<i>sk.</i>; 1 lb. - salt, 21 <i>sk.</i>; 2 lbs. of meat, 2<i>r.d.</i>; 1 lb. of bacon, 2<i>r.d.</i> - 32<i>sk.</i>; 1 lb. of hops, 16<i>sk.</i>; 2 pairs of shoes, 3<i>r.d.</i> 16<i>sk.</i>; - sweet milk, 10<i>r.d.</i>; sundry expenses, 5<i>r.d.</i>; lodging, wood, earnest, - taxes, 25<i>r.d.</i>; equal to 123<i>r.d.</i> 21<i>sk.</i> Were that sum divided among - five persons, 25<i>r.d.</i> 29<i>sk.</i> would accrue to each; and daily, 3<i>sk.</i> - 3<i>rst.</i></p> - </td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col"></td> - <td colspan="3"><p>The household of a cottager belonging to this estate, about 10 English - miles from Stockholm, was bound, according to a written contract, for 10 - years to perform the following labour for the estate or landowner; - namely,</p> - <table summary="Labour due to the estate"> - <tr> - <td class="sub"></td> - <td class="tdr sub"><i>r.d.</i></td> - <td class="tdr sub"><i>sk.</i></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="sub">208 days’ work for a man, at 21<i>sk.</i> 6<i>rst.</i></td> - <td class="tdr sub">93</td> - <td class="tdr sub">8</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="sub">40 ditto for a woman at 10<i>sk.</i> 8<i>rst.</i></td> - <td class="tdr sub">8</td> - <td class="tdr sub">42</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="sub">14 journeys to Stockholm, 1<i>r.d.</i></td> - <td class="tdr sub">14</td> - <td class="tdr sub">0</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="sub">To mow and get in 14 acres of meadow</td> - <td class="tdr sub">10</td> - <td class="tdr sub">32</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="sub">To cut down and carry home 5 sawn timbers</td> - <td class="tdr sub">2</td> - <td class="tdr sub">32</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="sub">Ditto ... ditto ... 4 fathoms of firewood</td> - <td class="tdr sub">5</td> - <td class="tdr sub">16</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="sub">Ditto ... ditto ... 100 pairs of stakes</td> - <td class="tdr sub">2</td> - <td class="tdr sub">0</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="sub">To put out fishing-lines</td> - <td class="tdr sub">3</td> - <td class="tdr sub">0</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="sub">To keep in order a portion of the main road</td> - <td class="tdr sub">2</td> - <td class="tdr sub">0</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="sub">Ditto ... ditto ... bye-road</td> - <td class="tdr sub">6</td> - <td class="tdr sub">0</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="sub">To spin for wages</td> - <td class="tdr sub">2</td> - <td class="tdr sub">0</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="sub">To gather berries</td> - <td class="tdr sub">0</td> - <td class="tdr sub">32</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="sub">Sundry accidental jobs</td> - <td class="tdr sub">3</td> - <td class="tdr sub">0</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="sub">Total <i>r.d.</i> banco</td> - <td class="tdr sub-total">143</td> - <td class="tdr sub-total">18</td> - </tr> - </table> - </td> - <td colspan="4" class="last-col"><p>In Stockholm, a poor mechanic’s household, consisting of husband, - wife, and four children, can hardly be supported on less than - 546<i>r.d.</i> banco annually, as follows:</p> - <table summary="Mechanic’s expenditure"> - <tr> - <td class="sub"></td> - <td class="tdr sub"><i>R.d.</i></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="sub">Bread, meal, salad, potatoes and other vegetables</td> - <td class="tdr sub">120</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="sub">Meat, butter, cheese, herrings and other fish</td> - <td class="tdr sub">176</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="sub">Milk, beer, bränvin (or whiskey)</td> - <td class="tdr sub">26</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="sub">Candles, coals, wood</td> - <td class="tdr sub">24</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="sub">Clothes</td> - <td class="tdr sub">60</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="sub">Rent and furniture</td> - <td class="tdr sub">50</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="sub">Taxes, medicines, and sundries</td> - <td class="tdr sub">24</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="sub">Total</td> - <td class="tdr sub-total"><i>R.d.</i> 546</td> - </tr> - </table> - - <p>Hence will be seen that the master of such a family must earn - daily, during the whole year, nearly 2<i>r.d.</i> banco, and - consequently no masons, carpenters, smiths, &c. can be included in - this class. If the husband, wife, or children are sick for any - length of time, the state of such a family is far more deplorable - than that of the agricultural peasantry of Sweden.</p> - </td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col"></td> - <td colspan="7" class="last-col"><i>Note.</i>—146⅔<i>rds.</i> = 11<i>l.</i> 1 lb. = 20 lbs. English. 1 dollar = - 48 skillings. 1 skilling = 1½ farthing. A dollar therefore is - worth 72 farthings, or 1<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[214]</a></span><span class="smcap">Gottenburgh</span> (Consul’s Return), p. 386</td> - <td>Per day, 1<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i> to 2<i>s.</i></td> - <td>Per day, 6<i>d.</i> to 9<i>d.</i>; per year, 7<i>l.</i> 13<i>s.</i> (Few such - labourers).</td> - <td>Per day, 10<i>d.</i> to 1<i>s.</i><br /><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[215]</a></span></td> - <td>In towns, per week, summer, 6<i>s.</i> to 9<i>s.</i>; winter, 4<i>s.</i> to 6<i>s.</i> (This - seems too large).</td> - <td>Under 16, in harvest, per day, 2<i>d.</i> to 3<i>d.</i></td> - <td>Per year, about 3<i>l.</i></td> - <td class="last-col">Yes; on the following food, viz., 11 bushels of rye, cost 1<i>l.</i> 5<i>s.</i>; - 4¾ bushels of barley, 8<i>s.</i>; 4¾ ditto of peas, 5<i>s.</i>; - 4¾ ditto of malt, 4<i>s.</i>; 9½ ditto of potatoes, 3<i>s.</i> - 2<i>d.</i>; 19 lbs. of salt, 1<i>s.</i>; 75 lbs. of herrings, 3<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i>; 19 lbs. - of butter, 6<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i>; 3 lbs. of hops, 1<i>s.</i>; 19 lbs. of stockfish, - 2<i>s.</i> 3<i>d.</i>; 19 lbs. of pork, 4<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i>; half a cow, 15<i>s.</i>; about - three pints of sweet milk daily, 15<i>s.</i> 2<i>d.</i>; and six pints of sour - milk, in summer, daily, 6<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i>; 42 bottles of potatoe brandy, 8<i>s.</i> - 3<i>d.</i>; lodging and wood, 1<i>l.</i> 5<i>s.</i>; taxes, 5<i>s.</i>; sundries, 10<i>s.</i> - Wages, about 3<i>l.</i> 10<i>s.</i>, or in the whole, say, 10<i>l.</i> 18<i>s.</i> 10<i>d.</i> - The above statement applies to a small farmer; reduce it about - one-third, and it may apply to a common (married) labourer in the - country.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col">RUSSIA:</td> - <td></td> - <td></td> - <td></td> - <td></td> - <td></td> - <td></td> - <td class="last-col"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col">General Return, p. 334</td> - <td colspan="3">(No distinction of classes given). The pay of labourers varies in - different parts of Russia. In Georgia, it is 3½<i>d.</i> per day, which - is the lowest; in St. Petersburg, it is 1<i>s.</i> 3<i>d.</i> per day, which is - the highest.</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td class="last-col">It would subsist. On rye bread, buck wheat, and sour cabbage soup, well - seasoned with salt, and occasionally a little lard.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col" rowspan="2"><span class="smcap">Archangel</span> Return, p. 338</td> - <td>Summer, 10<i>d.</i>, winter, 8<i>d.</i>; often doubled.</td> - <td>Summer, 8<i>d.</i>, winter, 6<i>d.</i>; often doubled.</td> - <td rowspan="2">...</td> - <td rowspan="2">...</td> - <td rowspan="2">...</td> - <td rowspan="2">Per year, 10<i>l.</i> to 15<i>l.</i> (This is supposed to be the meaning of the - answers to queries 6 and 7).</td> - <td rowspan="2" class="last-col">Decidedly yes. Their food consists of fish, rye bread, gruel, kvas, - occasionally meat and turnips. A great deal of tea is also drunk by the - peasants of this neighbourhood.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="2" class="center">Per Year: 18<i>l.</i> to 30<i>l.</i></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col"><span class="smcap">Courland</span> Return, p. 341</td> - <td>Per day, skilled, 3<i>s.</i> to 4<i>s.</i>; unskilled, 1<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i> to 2<i>s.</i></td> - <td>Paid by land for subsistence.</td> - <td>Per day, summer, 1<i>s.</i>; winter, few pence less.</td> - <td>Per week, summer, 3<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i>; winter, 2<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i></td> - <td>Per week, under 16, summer, 3<i>s.</i>, winter 2<i>s.</i></td> - <td>Per year, 30<i>l.</i> to 35<i>l.</i>, (supposed to include man’s earnings).</td> - <td class="last-col">They can subsist on the aggregate earnings, in most cases, however, but - needy; on bread, potatoes, salted fish, &c., seldom beef.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col">DENMARK:</td> - <td></td> - <td></td> - <td></td> - <td></td> - <td></td> - <td></td> - <td class="last-col"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col"><span class="smcap">Copenhagen</span> Return, p. 267</td> - <td>One-third more than agriculturists.</td> - <td>Per day, 6<i>d.</i> to 8<i>d.</i> (with, in harvest, provisions of poor quality); - per year, 15<i>l.</i> (Sunday nearly a day of work).</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>Per day, 4<i>d.</i>, all the year.</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>Man, wife, and four children, working on the Sundays, about 12<i>s.</i> a week.</td> - <td class="last-col">It is frequently done. The food wholesome rye bread, bad milk, cheese, - shocking butter, coffee (as it is called), profusion of tobacco and - snuff, and too much spirits, which are unfortunately cheap and very bad.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col"><span class="smcap">Elsinore</span> Return, p. 296</td> - <td colspan="3">No subdivision. Per day, summer, 9<i>d.</i> to 10<i>d.</i>, or 6<i>d.</i> to 7<i>d.</i> with - food: winter, 6<i>d.</i> to 7<i>d.</i>, or 4<i>d.</i> to 5<i>d.</i> with food; per year, - 12<i>l.</i> to 15<i>l.</i></td> - <td>Summer, four months, 2<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i> to 3<i>s.</i> per week; winter, 8 months, - 1<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i> to 2<i>s.</i> a week.</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>Per year, about 6<i>l.</i></td> - <td class="last-col">With prudence and economy, which, however, are no characteristics of the - peasantry of this country, I doubt not it might be done. Their principal - food consists of rye bread, groats, potatoes, coffee, butter, cheese, - and milk, in which articles a family consisting of man, wife, and three - children, would expend about 15<i>l.</i> per annum in this neighbourhood; in - other parts of the country they fare worse. Food is cheap.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[216]</a></span>Further statement, by Cons. Macgregor, p. 299</td> - <td>Per week, with food, 4<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i> to 6<i>s.</i> 9<i>d.</i>; without food, 11<i>s.</i> to - 11<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i> In manufactories, per week, male, 4<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i> to 12<i>s.</i>; - female, 4<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i> to 5<i>s.</i>; children above 14, 3<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i> to 4<i>s.</i>, - or under 14, 1<i>s.</i> 9<i>d.</i> to 2<i>s.</i> 3<i>d.</i>; ropemakers, 1<i>s.</i> 9<i>d.</i> to - 2<i>s.</i> 3<i>d.</i> per day.</td> - <td>Per year, with food and lodging, males, 4<i>l.</i> to 5<i>l.</i>; females, 3<i>l.</i> - 10<i>s.</i> to 3<i>l.</i> 15<i>s.</i>; boys, 2<i>l.</i> 10<i>s.</i> to 3<i>l.</i> 15<i>s.</i></td> - <td>Per day, in towns, 1<i>s.</i> to 1<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i> Agriculture, males, 6<i>d.</i> to - 10<i>d.</i>; females, 5<i>d.</i> to 7<i>d.</i>; with food, one-half less.</td> - <td>. . . .<br /><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[217]</a></span></td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td class="last-col">. . . .</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col">HANSEATIC TOWNS:</td> - <td></td> - <td></td> - <td></td> - <td></td> - <td></td> - <td></td> - <td class="last-col"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col"><span class="smcap">Bremen</span>, p. 413</td> - <td colspan="3">No subdivision. Per day, in the country, summer, 1<i>s.</i>, winter, 9<i>d.</i>; - per year, 17<i>l.</i> 10<i>s.</i> to 22<i>l.</i> In towns, about 25 per cent. higher; - per year, 17<i>l.</i> 10<i>s.</i> to 25<i>l.</i></td> - <td>Per day, country, summer, 6<i>d.</i>; winter, 4<i>d.</i>, town, 4<i>d.</i></td> - <td>Per week, from 12 to 16, in tobacco manufactories, 3<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i></td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td class="last-col">Can very well support itself. They can subsist upon potatoes, beans, - buck wheat or grits, and rye bread, and twice a week meat or bacon.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col"><span class="smcap">Lubeck</span>, p. 415</td> - <td>Per week, 7<i>s.</i> to 14<i>s.</i>, or if constantly employed, and with board and - lodging, 2<i>s.</i> 4<i>d.</i> to 4<i>s.</i>; per year, 30<i>l.</i></td> - <td>Per day, summer, 9<i>d.</i>; winter, 7<i>d.</i>; harvest, 1<i>s.</i> Per year, 12<i>l.</i></td> - <td>Per day, in the town, 14<i>d.</i>; per year, 18<i>l.</i></td> - <td>Town, 7<i>d.</i> a day; country, in harvest, 7<i>d.</i> a day.</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td class="last-col">Even comfortably, on the usual food of the poorer classes here, namely, - coarse rye bread, potatoes, bacon, fat or dripping, milk, porridge made - of peas, groats or peeled barley, herrings or other cheap fish, butter - and lard, but very seldom meat. Greatest luxury, a cup of coffee in the - morning.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col">MECKLENBURG, p. 422</td> - <td>Per week, in towns, 7<i>s.</i> to 10<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i>, and free boarding. In the - country, about two-thirds.</td> - <td>Per week, in country, 3<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i>, a dwelling, garden, and pasture - for a cow and two sheep in summer, and provender for them in winter.</td> - <td>Per week, in towns, 5<i>s.</i> 3<i>d.</i> to 7<i>s.</i></td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td class="last-col">Could subsist on good sound food, and occasionally meat.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col">DANTZIG, p. 465</td> - <td>Per day, summer, 13½<i>d.</i>; winter, 23<i>d.</i></td> - <td>Per day, summer, 4⅔<i>d.</i> to 7<i>d.</i>; winter, 3½<i>d.</i> to 4⅔<i>d.</i>, - besides a dwelling, either free of, or at a small rent, pasture for a - cow in summer, and a small load of hay in winter, and fuel.</td> - <td>Per day, summer, country, 8¼<i>d.</i> to 11¾<i>d.</i>; town, - 8½<i>d.</i> to 16<i>d.</i> Winter, country, 4¾<i>d.</i> to 7<i>d.</i>; town, - 7<i>d.</i> to 12<i>d.</i> Yearly, country, 8<i>l.</i> 10<i>s.</i> to 9<i>l.</i>; town, 10<i>l.</i> to - 10<i>l.</i> 10<i>s.</i></td> - <td>Per day, country, summer, 3½<i>d.</i> to 4⅔<i>d.</i>; winter, - 2½<i>d.</i>, to 3<i>d.</i> Towns, 4⅔<i>d.</i> to 7<i>d.</i></td> - <td>Per day, from 12 to 16, country, 2⅓<i>d.</i> to 3<i>d.</i>; towns, about 2½<i>d.</i></td> - <td>Per year, country, woman, 3<i>l.</i> 15<i>s.</i>; boy, 12 to 16, 3<i>l.</i> Towns, - women, 4<i>l.</i> 10<i>s.</i>; boy, 12 to 16, 3<i>l.</i></td> - <td class="last-col">Very well; living in the country on rye bread, potatoes, and other - vegetables, fruit, food of wheat, flour, lard, milk, meat once or twice - weekly, and fish; but chiefly on rye bread and potatoes.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col">SAXONY, p. 481</td> - <td class="center" colspan="3">The average amount of wages is not more than 9<i>d.</i> a day.</td> - <td>A woman can earn on an average 3<i>d.</i> daily, a child, 1<i>d.</i></td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td class="last-col">Parents with four children, with management, abstemiousness and - diligence, can earn their livelihood.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[218]</a></span>WURTEMBERG</td> - <td></td> - <td></td> - <td><br /><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[219]</a></span></td> - <td></td> - <td></td> - <td></td> - <td class="last-col"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col">(Mr. Wellesley’s Return), p. 510</td> - <td><p>Per week, in towns, 1 to 2½ <i>fl.</i>, fed and lodged. In villages, - 20<i>kr.</i> to 1 <i>fl.</i>, fed and lodged.</p> - <p><i>Note.</i>—1 <i>fl.</i> is equal to 60<i>kr.</i>, or to 20<i>d.</i> sterling.</p></td> - <td>Per year, with food and lodging, in towns, 50 to 60 <i>fl.</i>; in - villages, 20 to 40 <i>fl.</i>; without food and lodging, 150 <i>fl.</i>, but - with food and wood under market price in winter.</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>Per week, 42 <i>kr.</i> to 1<i>fl.</i> 30 <i>kr.</i>; in manufactures, 1 <i>fl.</i> 40 - <i>kr.</i> to 2 <i>fl.</i> 30 <i>kr.</i></td> - <td>Per week, 20 to 40 <i>kr.</i>; in manufactures, 1 <i>fl.</i> 12 <i>kr.</i> to 2 <i>fl.</i></td> - <td>Per year, from 40 to 50 <i>fl.</i> The children too much in school to earn - much (supposed to include man’s wages.)</td> - <td class="last-col">They could. In the morning, soup and potatoes and bread; dinner, - vegetables or pudding; between dinner and supper, bread; supper, - potatoes and milk or soup; once or twice a week, meat.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col">Government Return, p. 525</td> - <td colspan="7" class="last-col"> - <ul> - <li><i>A</i>) A grown-up female—<br /> - <ul> - <li><i>a</i>) By spinning and ordinary knitting can seldom gain more than 4, 6, - or 8 <i>kr.</i> daily; by finer knitting, embroidery, lace-making, and - other such female work, which are paid by the piece, can seldom gain - more than from 10 to 25 <i>kr.</i> one day with another.</li> - - <li><i>b</i>) A sempstress receives, in the country, in small places, from 4 to - 6 <i>kr.</i>, in larger places and towns, from 12 to 15 <i>kr.</i>; in the - capital, a dress-maker, an ironer, a plaiter, from 24, 36 to 48 <i>kr.</i> - daily, besides board.</li> - - <li><i>c</i>) A washerwoman or charwoman receives in the country only 8, 10, - 12, 15 to 18 <i>kr.</i>; in the capital, 36 <i>kr.</i> daily, with board; or - without board, from 1 <i>fl.</i> to 1 <i>fl.</i> 12 <i>kr.</i></li> - - <li><i>d</i>) A maid servant receives, in money and money’s worth, annually, - besides board, in the country only 16, 18, 20, to 24 <i>fl.</i>; in the - capital, 24, 30, 36 to 40 <i>fl.</i>; to which, according to circumstances, - vails are to be added, especially in the capital.</li> - </ul> - </li> - - <li><i>B</i>) A male adult receives, namely—<br /> - <ul> - <li><i>a</i>) A journeyman workman—<br /> - <ul> - <li><i>aa</i>) In the country, with the shoemakers and tailors, 20, 24, to 30 - <i>kr.</i>; with the bakers, 48 <i>kr.</i> to 1 <i>fl.</i>; with the smiths, 48 <i>kr.</i> - to 1 <i>fl.</i> 12 <i>kr.</i>; with calendrers and tanners, 48 <i>kr.</i> to 2 <i>fl.</i> - weekly, with board; a journeyman carpenter or bricklayer, from 30 to - 36 kr. daily, with bread and something to drink.</li> - - <li><i>bb</i>) In the capital, with board, from 1 <i>fl.</i> 12 <i>kr.</i> to 2 <i>fl.</i> 42 - <i>kr.</i> weekly; without board, 36 <i>kr.</i> to 1<i>fl.</i> daily; on Sunday, - nothing.</li> - </ul> - </li> - - <li><i>b</i>) A man servant receives, in the country, 20, 30, 36, to 40 <i>fl.</i>; - in the capital, 50 to 60 <i>fl.</i> and more per annum, with board.</li> - - <li><i>c</i>) A farmer’s labourer or other day labourer in the country, 12, 15, - 18, 20, to 24 <i>kr.</i> daily, with board, or, instead of the latter, 10 - or 12 <i>kr.</i> in money; in the capital, in winter, from 24 to 30 <i>kr.</i>; - in summer, from 36 to 48 kr. for everything.</li> - - <li><i>d</i>) A wood-cleaver can gain daily in all only from 20 to 24, and at - the most, 30 <i>kr.</i></li> - </ul> - </li> - </ul> - - <p>All these rates of wages rise or fall according as the work requires - more or less dexterity or exertion, as the individual workman is more - or less distinguished by skill, strength, or diligence, as the - scarcity and the supply of workmen is greater or less, as the days are - longer or shorter, &c.</p> - </td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col">BAVARIA, p. 556</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>Good labourers, 8<i>d.</i> per day; generally provisions at harvest time. - There are very few day labourers in the country.</td> - <td>In towns, from 8<i>d.</i> to 16<i>d.</i> a day.</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td class="last-col">. . . .</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col">FRANKFORT, p. 567</td> - <td>Per day, summer, 1<i>s.</i> 4<i>d.</i> to 1<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i>; winter, 2<i>d.</i> less; 2<i>d.</i> - a day extra for drink-money. Per year, 14<i>l.</i> to 28<i>l.</i></td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>Per day, 10<i>d.</i> to 1<i>s.</i></td> - <td>Per day, 8<i>d.</i> to 1<i>s.</i> 4<i>d.</i></td> - <td>Per day, under 16, 2<i>d.</i> to 4<i>d.</i></td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td class="last-col">Yes. Meat twice a week; soup, vegetables, potatoes, bread, coffee and - beer daily.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col">HOLLAND (General Return), p. 585</td> - <td colspan="4">Not classified. From 150 to 225 florins, or from 12<i>l.</i> 10<i>s.</i> to 18<i>l.</i> 15<i>s.</i> a year.</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>From 20 to 30 florins, (from 1<i>l.</i> 13<i>s.</i> 4<i>d.</i> to 2<i>l.</i> 10<i>s</i>.)</td> - <td class="last-col">They could subsist thereon, and live upon bread, principally rye, - cheese, potatoes, vegetables, beans and pork, buttermilk, with buck - wheat, meal, &c.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[220]</a></span><span class="smcap">Amsterdam</span> Return, p. 586</td> - <td>Per day, summer, 1<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i> to 2<i>s.</i> 8<i>d.</i>; winter, 1<i>s.</i> 3<i>d.</i> to - 2<i>s.</i> 8<i>d.</i> Shoemakers and tailors, from 8<i>s.</i> 4<i>d.</i> to 20<i>s.</i> per - week.</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>. . . .<br /><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[221]</a></span></td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td class="last-col">. . . .</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col"><span class="smcap">Haarlem</span>, p. 587</td> - <td>Per week, summer, 4<i>s.</i> 4<i>d.</i> to 10<i>s.</i> 10<i>d.</i>; winter, one-fourth - less. Weavers, from 10<i>s.</i> to 13<i>s.</i> 4<i>d.</i></td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>Per week, summer, 4<i>s.</i> 4<i>d.</i> to 5<i>s.</i>; winter, one-fourth less.</td> - <td>Per week, summer, 8<i>d.</i> to 3<i>s.</i>; winter, one-fourth less.</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td class="last-col">. . . .</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col">NORTH HOLLAND, p. 587</td> - <td>Per week, 3<i>s.</i> 4<i>d.</i> to 15<i>s.</i>; firewood free.</td> - <td>Per year, 3<i>l.</i> 6<i>s.</i> 8<i>d.</i> to 8<i>l.</i> 6<i>s.</i> 8<i>d.</i>, with board and lodging.</td> - <td>Per day, first class, 20<i>d.</i></td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td class="last-col">. . . .</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col"><span class="smcap">Vriesland</span> and <span class="smcap">Groningen</span>, p. 587</td> - <td>Per week, 2<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i> to 10<i>s.</i></td> - <td>Per year, 3<i>l.</i> 6<i>s.</i> 8<i>d.</i> to 8<i>l.</i> 6<i>s.</i> 8<i>d.</i> with board and - lodging. Per day, summer, 10<i>d.</i> to 20<i>d.</i>; winter, 8<i>d.</i> to 1<i>s.</i></td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td class="last-col">. . . .</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col">BELGIUM:</td> - <td></td> - <td></td> - <td></td> - <td></td> - <td></td> - <td></td> - <td class="last-col"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col"><span class="smcap">Boom</span>, p. 634</td> - <td>Per year, brickmakers, summer, 10<i>l.</i> 16<i>s.</i> 8<i>d.</i>; winter, 3<i>l.</i> - 10<i>s.</i> 10½<i>d.</i>; total p’ year, 14<i>l.</i> 7<i>s.</i> 6½<i>d.</i></td> - <td>Per year, farming labourers, summer, 4<i>l.</i> 14<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i>; winter, 1<i>l.</i> - 19<i>s.</i> 4½<i>d.</i>; total, 6<i>l.</i> 13<i>s.</i> 10½<i>d.</i>, with food.</td> - <td>Per week, waterman, 5<i>s.</i> 8¾<i>d.</i>, with food.</td> - <td>Per week, in the brick manufacture, summer, 3<i>s.</i> 1½<i>d.</i></td> - <td>Per week, under 16, summer, 2<i>s.</i> 9½<i>d.</i></td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td class="last-col">Such family can subsist by their earnings only, bread, potatoes, and milk.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col"><span class="smcap">Ostend</span>, p. 639</td> - <td>Per day, skilled, summer, 1<i>s.</i> 2<i>d.</i> to 1<i>s.</i> 5<i>d.</i>; winter, 10<i>d.</i> to - 1<i>s.</i> 2<i>d.</i> Yearly, 20<i>l.</i> in a town. Unskilled, summer, 7<i>d.</i> to - 1<i>s.</i>; winter, 5½<i>d.</i> to 8<i>d.</i></td> - <td>Per day, summer, 1<i>s.</i>; winter, 10½<i>d.</i>; when boarded, - 5½<i>d.</i> is deducted. Yearly, 14<i>l.</i></td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>Per day, in towns, 10½<i>d.</i>, with food, 1<i>s.</i> 5<i>d.</i> without. In - the country, summer, 8½<i>d.</i>, winter, 7½<i>d.</i>, without - food; summer, 4¼<i>d.</i>, winter, 3½<i>d.</i>, with food.</td> - <td>Per day, of 11, summer, 1½<i>d.</i> and food; winter nothing.</td> - <td>Yearly, women and two eldest children, food in summer, and from 6<i>l.</i> - 8<i>s.</i> to 7<i>l.</i> 4<i>s.</i> in the year; the third child its food.</td> - <td class="last-col">It can, in the towns, eating only potatoes and rye bread; the father - being an unskilled artisan, and the towns possessing no manufacture. - In the country, the same family would consume a little butter, some - vegetables, and perhaps sometimes a piece of pork.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col"><span class="smcap">Gaesbeck</span> pp. 7, 8</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>Per day, summer and winter, 6<i>d.</i> with beer, and sometimes coffee - and bread and butter, of the value of 1<i>d.</i> more. Occasional - labourers, 1<i>d.</i> more.</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>Per day, 6<i>d.</i> in summer, and 5<i>d.</i> in winter, without food.</td> - <td>Same as a woman.</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td class="last-col">Rye bread, cheese, butter or fat, bacon, vegetables, coffee, and very weak beer.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col">FRANCE:</td> - <td></td> - <td></td> - <td></td> - <td></td> - <td></td> - <td></td> - <td class="last-col"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col"><span class="smcap">Havre</span>, p. 181</td> - <td colspan="3">Labourers (not stated of what description) per day, town, 2<i>s.</i>; - country, summer, 1<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i>; winter, 1<i>s.</i> 2<i>d.</i></td> - <td>Per day, 10<i>d.</i> with food.</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td class="last-col">Families do subsist, and are respectable upon these earnings. Their - food is bread, a few vegetables, and cider; never animal food, or very - rarely. Coffee and treacle are also used.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[222]</a></span><span class="smcap">Brittany</span>, p. 726</td> - <td>Per day, summer and winter, 15<i>d.</i> per year 18<i>l.</i></td> - <td>Per day, summer, 10<i>d.</i>; winter, 7<i>d.</i> per year, 11<i>l.</i></td> - <td>. . . .<br /><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[223]</a></span></td> - <td>Per day, as artisans, 5<i>d.</i> to 7<i>d.</i>; as agriculturists, 3<i>d.</i></td> - <td>Per day, as artisans, 2½<i>d.</i>; as agriculturists, during at - other times very little.</td> - <td>Per year, as artisans, 10<i>l.</i>; as agriculturists, 8<i>l.</i></td> - <td class="last-col">Artisans.—Yes; bread and a small quantity of meat (perhaps 5 - lbs. a week), vegetables and fish, which are very cheap. Agriculturists.—Yes; the principal - articles of food are buck wheat made into porridge and cakes, barley - bread, potatoes, cabbages, and about 6 lbs. of pork weekly. A little - grease for the cabbage soup, which is poured on barley bread.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col"><span class="smcap">La Loire Inferieure</span>, p. 176</td> - <td>Per day, summer and winter, 1<i>s.</i> 8<i>d.</i> to 2<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i> Per year 26<i>l.</i> - 10<i>s.</i>, in Nantes.</td> - <td>Per day, summer and winter, 7½<i>d.</i> to 10<i>d.</i> Per year, 12<i>l.</i> - to 12<i>l.</i> 10<i>s.</i> If lodged and boarded, from 5<i>l.</i> to 8<i>l.</i> 6<i>s.</i> - 8<i>d.</i></td> - <td>Per day, summer and winter, 1<i>s.</i> ½<i>d.</i> to 1<i>s.</i> 3<i>d.</i> - Per year, 13<i>l.</i>—<i>s.</i> 5<i>d.</i> to 15<i>l.</i> 12<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i> in Nantes.</td> - <td>Per day, summer and winter, 4<i>d.</i> to 8<i>d.</i> in the country, 6<i>d.</i> to - 10<i>d.</i> in towns.</td> - <td>Per day, summer and winter, 3<i>d.</i> to 6<i>d.</i>, under 16, in Nantes.</td> - <td>Per year, in Nantes, sometimes from 15<i>l.</i> to 16<i>l.</i> 13<i>s.</i> 4<i>d.</i>; in - the country considerably less.</td> - <td class="last-col">If the father obtains constant employment and applies the whole of his - earnings to the support of his family, and his wife and children are - enabled to add 200 or 300 francs thereto, he may have in his power to - buy a little bacon or other meat now and then, and maintain his family - without assistance from the bureau de bienfaisance, but that allows - only 70 francs to provide fuel and clothes for the whole family, after - the hire of a room. The bread and vegetables had been paid for out of - the father’s wages.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col"><span class="smcap">Bourdeaux</span>, p. 235</td> - <td>Per day, 1<i>s.</i> 7½<i>d.</i> to 2<i>s.</i> 5<i>d.</i></td> - <td><p>Daily labourer, 1<i>s.</i> 4½<i>d.</i></p> - <p>Yearly labourer:</p> - <table summary="Yearly"> - <tr> - <td class="sub">Money</td> - <td class="tdr sub">£17</td> - <td class="tdr sub">0</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="sub">Other advantages,</td> - <td class="tdr sub">4</td> - <td class="tdr sub">12</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="sub">Annual inc.</td> - <td class="tdr sub-total">£21</td> - <td class="tdr sub-total">12</td> - </tr> - </table> - </td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td colspan="2">Per week, 3<i>s.</i> 4½<i>d.</i>; in harvest, 4<i>s.</i> 2½<i>d.</i>; in the - vine districts, except during harvest, 2<i>s.</i> 10<i>d.</i></td> - <td>Per year, 12<i>l.</i></td> - <td class="last-col">Certainly. The food varies in different districts. Throughout the - district called Landes (heath) occupying alone one-third of this - department, the food consists in rye bread, soup made of millet, cakes - made of Indian corn, now and then some salt provision and vegetables, - rarely if ever butchers’ meat; their drink water, which for the most - part is stagnant.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col"><span class="smcap">Bayonne</span>, p. 261</td> - <td>Per day, average workmen, 1<i>s.</i> 3<i>d.</i> to 1<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i>; best workmen, - 2<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i> to 3<i>s.</i></td> - <td colspan="2">Per day, town and country, 1<i>s.</i> Very few in the country.</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td class="last-col">The food of the proprietor or working farmer chiefly consists of - vegetable soups, potatoes, salt fish, pork, bacon, &c., &c., - seldom or ever butchers’ meat, and invariably Indian corn bread, - home-baked.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col"><span class="smcap">Marseilles</span>, p. 188</td> - <td colspan="3">Labourers (of what description not stated) per day, 15<i>d.</i> to 18<i>d.</i>; - by the year, 7<i>l.</i> to 8<i>l.</i>, with board and lodging; 16<i>l.</i> to 20<i>l.</i> - without board and lodging.</td> - <td>Per day, 7<i>d.</i> to 9<i>d.</i>, all the year.</td> - <td>Per day, aged 11 and under 16, same as woman; under 11, nothing.</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td class="last-col">They could subsist on the aggregate earnings of the father, mother, - and children. Their food is generally composed of vegetables, bread, - and farinaceous substances made into soup, &c.; and meat soup or - bouillie probably once a week.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col">PIEDMONT, pp. 657, 658</td> - <td>From 1<i>s.</i> 8<i>d.</i> to 4<i>s.</i> 2<i>d.</i> The first sum forming the wages of a - carpenter or mason, the second those of a clever goldsmith.</td> - <td>Per day, summer 10<i>d.</i> to 12<i>d.</i>; winter 6<i>d.</i> to 7½<i>d.</i>; - intermediate seasons, 7½<i>d.</i> to 10<i>d.</i> Per Year, 8<i>l.</i> to - 12<i>l.</i> The piece labourer obtains about 20 or 30 per cent. more than - the day labourer. Almost every family earns from 1<i>l.</i> 13<i>s.</i> 4<i>d.</i> - to 2<i>l.</i> 8<i>s.</i> 4<i>d.</i> by breeding silk- worms.</td> - <td>Something more than those of the country.</td> - <td>During eight months, 2<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i> a week; other four months (winter) - 1<i>s.</i> 8<i>d.</i> per week, at most.</td> - <td>Per day, 5<i>d.</i> in silk-mills; little other employment.</td> - <td>Per year, inclusive of produce of silk-worms, rather less than 10<i>l.</i> - to 12<i>l.</i></td> - <td class="last-col">I think it can, but on the simplest and coarsest food; no meat, little - wine, and twice as much maize flour as wheat flour. And with all - possible economy, if there has been a bad harvest, and consequently - dear provisions, he must apply to the charity of his neighbours or of - the inhabitants of his parish. If his character is good, he cannot - fail of obtaining it.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[224]</a></span>GENOA, p. 660</td> - <td>In fine manufactures, from 25<i>l.</i> to 28<i>l.</i> a year; in ordinary - manufactures, from 16<i>l.</i> to 20<i>l.</i> a year.</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>From 12<i>l.</i> to 14<i>l.</i> a year, without food.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[225]</a></span></td> - <td>A little.</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td class="last-col">. . . .</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col">SAVOY, p. 661</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>Per day, 15<i>d.</i> in summer; 12<i>d.</i> or 10<i>d.</i> in winter, without food, - or 6<i>d.</i> with food, and a pint of wine.</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>One-third of a man’s earnings.</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td class="last-col">. . . .</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col">PORTUGAL, p. 642</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>In the cultivation of the vine and in the vintage, from 1<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i> to - 2<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i> per day, with food.</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>In harvest, from 3½<i>d.</i> to 6<i>d.</i> per day, with coarse food.</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td class="last-col">Salt fish, vegetable soup with oil or lard, and bread made of maize.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col">THE AZORES, p. 645</td> - <td>Per day, skilful, 15<i>d.</i> to 20<i>d.</i></td> - <td>Per day, 6<i>d.</i> to 8<i>d.</i>; or yearly, 6<i>l.</i> to 8<i>l.</i>, with breakfast and - dinner on certain occasions, such as harvest, vintage, hoeing corn, or - cutting wood on the mountains.</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td colspan="2">Children under 16; field to 5<i>d.</i> per day; boys from 10 to 14, 3<i>d.</i> - to 4<i>d.</i> per day; boys from 7 to 10, 2<i>d.</i> to 3<i>d.</i> per day.</td> - <td>If employed for 250 days, 13<i>l.</i> 10<i>s.</i></td> - <td class="last-col">With the above earnings they may subsist pretty well with sufficiency - of Indian corn, bread, vegetables, potatoes, and fruit; seldom any - meat, but in the summer time fish, when abundant, such as mackerel, - sardinhas, smelts, bonitas, abacore, and dolphin.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col">THE CANARY ISLANDS, p. 687</td> - <td>Per Day, 3<i>s.</i></td> - <td>Per day, 14<i>d.</i> to 18<i>d.</i></td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>Per day, as sempstresses, at Santa Cruz, 6<i>d.</i> with food; 10<i>d.</i> without.</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td class="last-col">They are satisfied with the commonest food and their other wants are - very limited from the nature of the climate.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col">GREECE, p. 666 (General Return)</td> - <td colspan="3">Labourers not distinguished. Per day, 17<i>d.</i>, without food; per year, - 18<i>l.</i> 1<i>s.</i> 2<i>d.</i></td> - <td colspan="2">Children under 16, per week, 4<i>s.</i> 9½<i>d.</i></td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td class="last-col">. . . .</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col">PATRAS, p. 668</td> - <td>Per day, 1<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i> to 2<i>s.</i> 3<i>d.</i></td> - <td><p>Per day, summer, 1<i>s.</i> 2½ <i>d.</i>, winter, 11<i>d.</i> without food; - per year, 12<i>l.</i>; with food and shoes, per month, 9<i>s.</i></p> - <p>N.B. Only 248 working days.</p></td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td colspan="2">Children under 16, per day, in harvest, 6<i>d.</i>; something less in - winter.</td> - <td>23<i>l.</i> (supposed to include the man’s wages.)</td> - <td class="last-col">They do so, living temperately, as these persons almost all do, using - both maize and wheaten bread olives, pulse, vegetables, salt fish, and - occasionally meat on great festivals. Their usual drink is water, but - the men take wine also moderately.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col last-row">EUROPEAN TURKEY, p. 671</td> - <td colspan="3" class="last-row"><p>Near Towns: Skilled, per month, 1<i>l.</i> with provisions; 1<i>l.</i> 10<i>s.</i> - without provisions; unskilled summer, per month, 9<i>s.</i> with - provisions; 1<i>l.</i> without provisions; winter, one-third less.</p> - - <p>Distant from Towns, a little more than half. Common labourer, near - towns, per year, about 18<i>l.</i>; in other districts, about 8<i>l.</i></p> - - <p>Wages of artisans, about double those of common labourers.</p></td> - <td class="last-row">Per week, spinners and weavers, and in the field, 2<i>s.</i></td> - <td class="last-row">Under 16, apprenticed labourers and shepherds, about half as much as women.</td> - <td class="last-row">Wife, 4<i>l.</i>; eldest child, 2<i>l.</i>; together 6<i>l.</i>; (the children under - 14 being employed at home.)</td> - <td class="last-row last-col">Such a family can subsist on their aggregate earnings. Their food - principally consists of bread, rice, greens, dried beans and peas, - olives and onions, and meat about once a week.</td> - </tr> -</table> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[226]</a></span></p> - -<div class="sidenote">English -Statistics.</div> - -<p>The answers to the following eight purely statistical -questions may also be compared with the -results respecting England and Wales, obtained by -the Enumeration of 1831.</p> - -<p>14. The proportion of annual deaths to the -whole population?</p> - -<p>15. The proportion of annual births to the whole -population?</p> - -<p>16. The proportion of annual marriages to the -whole population?</p> - -<p>17. The average number of children to a marriage?</p> - -<p>18. Proportion of legitimate to illegitimate births?</p> - -<p>19. The proportion of children that die before -the end of their 1st year?</p> - -<p>20. Proportion of children that die before the -end of their 10th year?</p> - -<p>21. Proportion of children that die before the -end of their 18th year?</p> - -<p>The average annual proportion, since 1820, of -births and deaths, to the whole population of England -and Wales, is thus stated by Mr. Rickman:</p> - -<table summary="Births and deaths"> - <tr> - <td>Deaths</td> - <td>1 in 49<a name="FNanchor_22" id="FNanchor_22"></a><a href="#Footnote_22" class="fnanchor">[22]</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Births</td> - <td>1 in 28<a name="FNanchor_23" id="FNanchor_23"></a><a href="#Footnote_23" class="fnanchor">[23]</a></td> - </tr> -</table> - -<p>The average annual proportion during five years -preceding 1831, of marriages to the whole population -of England and Wales, is stated by Mr. Rickman -to be 1 to 128<a name="FNanchor_24" id="FNanchor_24"></a><a href="#Footnote_24" class="fnanchor">[24]</a>.</p> - -<p>The average annual proportion in England and -Wales, during ten years preceding 1831, of births -to marriages, to be 441 to 100<a name="FNanchor_25" id="FNanchor_25"></a><a href="#Footnote_25" class="fnanchor">[25]</a>.</p> - -<p>The proportion in England and Wales, in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[227]</a></span> -year 1830, of legitimate to illegitimate births, to be -19 to 1<a name="FNanchor_26" id="FNanchor_26"></a><a href="#Footnote_26" class="fnanchor">[26]</a>.</p> - -<p>The proportion in England and Wales of deaths -of persons under 1 year to the whole number of -deaths during 18 years, ending in 1830, to be -778,803 out of 3,938,496, or 1 in 5¹⁄₁₇, or more -nearly 1 in 5²⁄₃₅.</p> - -<p>The proportion of deaths under the age of 10 -years to be 1,524,937 out of 3,938,496, or 1 in 2⅗, -or more nearly 1 in 2²⁹⁄₅₀.</p> - -<p>The proportion of deaths under the age of 18 -years to be 1,703,941 out of 3,938,496, or 1 in 2⅓, -or more nearly 1 in 2⁵³⁄₁₇₀<a name="FNanchor_27" id="FNanchor_27"></a><a href="#Footnote_27" class="fnanchor">[27]</a>.</p> - -<div class="footnotes"> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_22" id="Footnote_22"></a><a href="#FNanchor_22"><span class="label">[22]</span></a> Preface to Enumeration Abstract, p. 25.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_23" id="Footnote_23"></a><a href="#FNanchor_23"><span class="label">[23]</span></a> Ib., p. 44, 25.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_24" id="Footnote_24"></a><a href="#FNanchor_24"><span class="label">[24]</span></a> Ib., p. 34.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_25" id="Footnote_25"></a><a href="#FNanchor_25"><span class="label">[25]</span></a> Ib., p. 45.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_26" id="Footnote_26"></a><a href="#FNanchor_26"><span class="label">[26]</span></a> Preface to Enumeration Abstract, p. 44.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_27" id="Footnote_27"></a><a href="#FNanchor_27"><span class="label">[27]</span></a> Ib., p. 36.</p> -</div> - -</div> - -<p class="tbreak">The following is an Abstract of the Foreign Returns -contained in this Appendix. Those marked -thus (*) appear to have been derived from enumeration; -the others to depend on estimation.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[228]</a><br /> -<a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[229]</a></span></p> - -<h3>DIGEST OF ANSWERS.</h3> - -<table class="big" summary="Abstract of the foreign statistical returns"> - <tr> - <th class="first-col" rowspan="2">PLACE.</th> - <th rowspan="2">Proportion of Annual<br />DEATHS<br />to the whole Population.</th> - <th rowspan="2">Proportion of Annual<br />BIRTHS<br />to the whole Population.</th> - <th rowspan="2">Proportion of Annual<br />MARRIAGES<br />to the whole Population.</th> - <th rowspan="2">Average Number of<br />CHILDREN<br />to a Marriage.</th> - <th rowspan="2">Proportion of<br />LEGITIMATE<br />to<br />ILLEGITIMATE<br />Births.</th> - <th colspan="3" class="last-col">PROPORTION OF CHILDREN<br />That Die before they attain their</th> - </tr> - <tr> - <th class="row2">First Year.</th> - <th class="row2">Tenth Year.</th> - <th class="row2 last-col">Eighteenth Year.</th> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col">AMERICA:</td> - <td></td> - <td></td> - <td></td> - <td></td> - <td></td> - <td></td> - <td></td> - <td class="last-col"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col">MASSACHUSETTS, p. 684</td> - <td>About 1 in 40</td> - <td>About ⅛ per cent. more than the deaths.</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>5</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td class="last-col">. . . .</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col">BOSTON, p. 685</td> - <td>1 in 41⁷⁄₁₁*, ascertained by dividing the average population - during 20 years, ending 1830, by the average deaths.</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>Nearly 1 in 5*</td> - <td>⁶¹¹⁄₁₄₇₆*</td> - <td class="last-col">. . . .</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col">NEW YORK, p. 159</td> - <td>1 in 30</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>5</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>27 per cent. in the city*.</td> - <td>49 per cent. in the city*.</td> - <td class="last-col">53 per cent. in the city*.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col">MEXICO, p. 691</td> - <td>Not known; but the Population increases very slowly, and the average - duration of life is short.</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td class="last-col">. . . .</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col">CARTHAGENA DE COLOMBIA, p. 166</td> - <td>Probably 6 to 8 per cent.</td> - <td>Probably 8 to 10 per cent.</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>4 to 5</td> - <td>As 5 to 6 probably</td> - <td>Say one-half.</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td class="last-col">. . . .</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col">HAYTI, p. 166</td> - <td colspan="2">Not known, but supposed that births and deaths are about - equal, and the Population stationary.</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>3 to 4</td> - <td>Probably 1 to 1000</td> - <td>Comparatively large proportion.</td> - <td>Comparatively large proportion.</td> - <td class="last-col">. . . .</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col">MARANHAM, p. 693</td> - <td>1 in 25</td> - <td>1 in 20</td> - <td>Comparatively small</td> - <td>5</td> - <td>Proportion of illegitimates great.</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td class="last-col">. . . .</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col">EUROPE:</td> - <td></td> - <td></td> - <td></td> - <td></td> - <td></td> - <td></td> - <td></td> - <td class="last-col"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col">NORWAY, p. 699</td> - <td>1 in 54*</td> - <td>1 in 28*</td> - <td>1 in 119*</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>14 to 1*</td> - <td>Under 5 years, rather more than 1 in 3*.</td> - <td>Under 10, nearly 1 in 2⁴⁄₇*.</td> - <td class="last-col">Under 20, nearly 1 in 2⅜*.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col">SWEDEN:</td> - <td></td> - <td></td> - <td></td> - <td></td> - <td></td> - <td></td> - <td></td> - <td class="last-col"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col"><span class="smcap">General Return</span>, p. 374</td> - <td>1 in 41½*</td> - <td>1 in 29*</td> - <td>1 in 117½*</td> - <td>3⁶⁄₁₀ to 4⅙</td> - <td>In 1749, 49 to 1<br /> - From 1775 to 1795, 27 to 1<br /> - — 1795 to 1800, 20 to 1<br /> - — 1800 to 1805, 17 to 1<br /> - — 1805 to 1810, 15 to 1<br /> - — 1810 to 1820, 14 to 1<br /> - — 1820 to 1825, 13³⁄₁₀ to 1<br /> - — 1825 to 1830, 16 to 1*. - </td> - <td>1st year, legitimate, 1 in 6¹¹⁄₁₃; illegitimate, 1 in 3¹⁵⁄₁₇*.</td> - <td colspan="2" class="last-col">¹³⁄₂₉ die before their 16th year*.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col"><span class="smcap">Gottenburg</span> Return, p. 387</td> - <td>Average of 5 years ending in 1830, 1 in 40.</td> - <td>Average of 5 years ending in 1830, 1 in 30.</td> - <td>Average of 5 years ending in 1830, 1 in 131.</td> - <td>Average of 5 years ending in 1830, about 4¹⁄₁₆.</td> - <td>Average of 5 years ending in 1830, 16 to 1.</td> - <td>Average of 5 years ending in 1830, 1 in 5.</td> - <td>Average of 5 years ending in 1830, 1 in 2¾.</td> - <td class="last-col">. . . .</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[230]</a></span>RUSSIA:</td> - <td></td> - <td></td> - <td></td> - <td><br /><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[231]</a></span></td> - <td></td> - <td></td> - <td></td> - <td class="last-col"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col"><span class="smcap">General Return</span>, p. 334</td> - <td>In the year 1831, 1 in 25⁹²⁄₁₀₀*.</td> - <td>In the year 1831, 1 in 23³⁶⁄₁₀₀*.</td> - <td>In the year 1831, 1 in 132*.</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>One-half*.</td> - <td class="last-col">. . . .</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col"><span class="smcap">Archangel</span> Return, p. 339</td> - <td>Annual average of 5 years, excluding 1831, (the cholera year), in which - one-tenth of the population died, 1 in 45; average of 5 years, - including the cholera year, 1 in 25*.</td> - <td>Average of 5 years, 1 in 24*.</td> - <td>Average of 5 years, 1 in 100*.</td> - <td>3 or 4.</td> - <td>Nearly 34 to 1*.</td> - <td>1 in 16⁸⁄₁₀*.</td> - <td>One-half*.</td> - <td class="last-col">1 in 1⁸³⁄₁₀₀*.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col"><span class="smcap">Courland</span> Return, p. 342</td> - <td>In healthy times, 1 in 28⁵⁷⁄₁₀₀.</td> - <td>1 in 26³⁄₁₀.</td> - <td>1 in 100.</td> - <td>4.</td> - <td>In town, 5 to 1; in country, above 20 to 1.</td> - <td>1 in 8.</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td class="last-col">. . . .</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col">DENMARK, p. 297</td> - <td>Average of 5 last years (3 unhealthy) 1 in 36*. Usual proportion, 1 in 40.</td> - <td>1 in 34*.</td> - <td>1 in 123*.</td> - <td>3²⁷⁄₄₀*.</td> - <td>9⁶⁶¹⁄₁₀₀₀ to 1*.</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>1 in 3⁵⁸¹⁄₁₀₀₀*.</td> - <td class="last-col">. . . .</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col">HAMBURGH, p. 394</td> - <td>Within a small fraction, 1 in 29*.</td> - <td>Within a small fraction, 1 in 27*.</td> - <td>1 in 75⁵⁄₁₀*.</td> - <td>About 2⅕*.</td> - <td>4⅚ to 1*.</td> - <td>1 in 6⁷²⁄₃₈₅*.</td> - <td>Rather more than 1 in 3*.</td> - <td class="last-col">Rather less than 1 in 2½*.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col">BREMEN, p. 410</td> - <td>From 1 in 43 to 1 in 40.</td> - <td>From 1 in 37 to 1 in 33.</td> - <td>About 1 in 124½.</td> - <td>About 4.</td> - <td>About 11 to 1.</td> - <td>About 1 in 4.</td> - <td>About 1 in 3.</td> - <td class="last-col">. . . .</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col">LUBECK, p. 419</td> - <td>About 1 in 56.</td> - <td>About 1 in 53½.</td> - <td>1 in 177.</td> - <td>3⅓ to whole number of marriages, but of legitimates 2¹¹⁄₁₆ to each - marriage.</td> - <td>Rather less than 6 to 1.</td> - <td>About 1 in 7.</td> - <td>About 1 in 3¾.</td> - <td class="last-col">About 1 in 3⁵⁄₁₆.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col">MECKLENBURG, p. 423</td> - <td>Nearly 1 in 46½*.</td> - <td>Nearly 1 in 27*.</td> - <td>1 in 124*.</td> - <td>4</td> - <td>9 to 1.</td> - <td colspan="2">Before the 14th year, one fourth.</td> - <td class="last-col">. . . .</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col">DANTZIG, p. 466</td> - <td>Nearly 1 in 24½*, ascertained by dividing the population by the - average deaths of 3 years, one of which was 1831, the cholera year.</td> - <td>Nearly 1 in 29*.</td> - <td>Nearly 1 in 134*.</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>Nearly 6½ to 1*.</td> - <td>Rather more than 1 in 5.</td> - <td>About 1 in 2½.</td> - <td class="last-col">Under 20, about 1 in 2⅓.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col">SAXONY, p. 479</td> - <td>1 in 34½.</td> - <td>1 in 24⁸⁄₁₀.</td> - <td>1 in 131⁸⁄₁₀.</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>7 to 1.</td> - <td colspan="2">Rather more than one-half die under 14*.</td> - <td class="last-col">. . . .</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[232]</a></span>WURTEMBERG, p. 507</td> - <td>1 in 31¹¹⁄₃₇*.</td> - <td>1 in 27⅒*.</td> - <td>1 in 147*.<br /><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[233]</a></span></td> - <td>4³⁄₁₀*.</td> - <td>7⅒ to 1*.</td> - <td>34⅔ in 100*.</td> - <td>From 1 year to 7, 1 in 10*.</td> - <td class="last-col">From 7 to 14, 1 in 45*.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col">FRANKFORT, p. 564</td> - <td>1 in 43½.</td> - <td>1 in 48²⁄₁₀.</td> - <td>1 in 188⁷⁄₁₀.</td> - <td>5 to 6.</td> - <td>6⁷⁄₁₀ to 1.</td> - <td>1 in 6½*.</td> - <td>Under 6 years, 1 in 4⁶⁷⁄₂₅₄*.</td> - <td class="last-col">Under 19, 1 in 3¹²⁶⁄₃₁₉*.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col">NORTH HOLLAND, p. 581</td> - <td>In 1832, 1 in 30⁶⁄₁₀*. Nearly ¹⁄₁₅ of the deaths were of cholera. In - Amsterdam 1 in 28¹⁴⁄₁₀₀*.</td> - <td>In 1832, 1 in 30⁷⁄₁₀*.</td> - <td>1 in 122²⁄₁₀*.</td> - <td>5⅒*</td> - <td>15 to 1*.</td> - <td>Nearly 1 in 7⁸⁄₁₁*.</td> - <td>Nearly 1 in 4⁴⁄₁₀*.</td> - <td class="last-col">Nearly 1 in 2¾*.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col">BELGIUM:</td> - <td></td> - <td></td> - <td></td> - <td></td> - <td></td> - <td></td> - <td></td> - <td class="last-col"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col">The following are the results of the official enumeration in 1830</td> - <td>1 in 43.</td> - <td>1 in 30.</td> - <td>1 in 144.</td> - <td>4⁷²⁄₁₀₀</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>1 in 4⁵¹⁄₁₀₀.</td> - <td>³³⁄₈₀.</td> - <td class="last-col">¹⁷⁄₃₈.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col"><span class="smcap">Boom</span>, p. 635</td> - <td>1 in 28⁵⁄₁₀*.</td> - <td>1 in 36*</td> - <td>1 in 95²⁄₁₀*.</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>21 to 1*.</td> - <td>1 in 5*.</td> - <td>1 in 4*.</td> - <td class="last-col">1 in 2⁴⁄₂₁*.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col"><span class="smcap">Ostend</span>, p. 640</td> - <td>1 in 35⁴⁄₁₀*.</td> - <td>1 in 31*</td> - <td>1 in 146⁵⁄₁₀*.</td> - <td>4⁷²⁄₁₀₀*.</td> - <td>9 to 1*.</td> - <td>1 in 5⁷⁄₁₀*.</td> - <td>1 in 2⁴⁄₁₀*.</td> - <td class="last-col">45 per cent.*</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col">FRANCE:</td> - <td></td> - <td></td> - <td></td> - <td></td> - <td></td> - <td></td> - <td></td> - <td class="last-col"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col">The following are the results of the official enumeration of 1831</td> - <td>1 in 39⁶⁄₁₀.</td> - <td>1 in 32⁴⁄₁₀.</td> - <td>1 in 131⁶⁄₁₀.</td> - <td>4⁷⁄₁₀₀; legitimate 3⁷⁷⁷⁄₁₀₀₀.</td> - <td>13¹⁶⁴⁄₁₀₀₀ to 1.</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td class="last-col">. . . .</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col"><span class="smcap">Havre</span>, p. 182</td> - <td>1 in 34.</td> - <td>1 in 25.</td> - <td>1 in 110.</td> - <td>About 3</td> - <td>About 9 to 1.</td> - <td>About 1 in 6.</td> - <td>About 1 in 3.</td> - <td class="last-col">. . . .</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col"><span class="smcap">Brittany</span>, <span class="smcap">Lambezellec</span>, (adjoining Brest; population 8460), p. 727</td> - <td>1 in 28*.</td> - <td>1 in 22¹⁴⁄₁₀₀*</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>In the whole province, 3*.</td> - <td>In the whole province, 8⁵⁄₁₀ to 1*.</td> - <td>Under 5 years, 1 in 2¹²⁄₄₄*.</td> - <td>Under 10 years, 1 in 2*.</td> - <td class="last-col">Under 20 years, rather more than 1 in 2*.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col"><span class="smcap">Plousane</span> (inland, population 2452)</td> - <td>1 in 43*.</td> - <td>1 in 35*.</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>3*.</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>Under 5 years, 1 in 2⅜*.</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td class="last-col">Under 20 years, 1 in 2⅓*.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col"><span class="smcap">Conquet</span> (inland, population 1294)</td> - <td>1 in 44⁵⁄₁₀*.</td> - <td>1 in 30*.</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>3*.</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>Under 5 years, 1 in 9⅔*.</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td class="last-col">Under 20 years, 1 in 7¼*.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col"><span class="smcap">La Loire Inferieure</span> (in 1832), p. 177</td> - <td>1 in 39*.</td> - <td>1 in 34*.</td> - <td>1 in 147*.</td> - <td>3⅔ legitimate*</td> - <td>In Nantes, 8 to 1; in country, 12 to 1.</td> - <td>1 in 6¹²⁄₁₉₇*.</td> - <td>1 in 2¾*.</td> - <td class="last-col">1 in 2⁵⁄₁₄*.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col"><span class="smcap">Bourdeaux</span>, p. 236</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>3*.</td> - <td>18 to 1.</td> - <td>1 in 7.</td> - <td>1 in 4.</td> - <td class="last-col">1 in 3.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col"><span class="smcap">Basses Pyrenees</span>, p. 260</td> - <td>1 in 50³⁰⁄₈₅*.</td> - <td>1 in 38¹⁄₁₂*.</td> - <td>1 in 165³⁵⁄₄₁*.</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>14½ to 1*.</td> - <td>Under 4 years, 1 in 2⁷⁄₁₂*.</td> - <td colspan="2" class="last-col">Under 20 years, 1 in 1¾*.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[234]</a></span><span class="smcap">Marseilles</span>, p. 189</td> - <td>1 in 80*, in 1831</td> - <td>1 in 34*, in 1831</td> - <td>1 in 156*, in 1831<br /><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[235]</a></span></td> - <td>4½*.</td> - <td>Department, 9 to 1; Marseilles, 5 to 1*.</td> - <td>1 in 4⅓*.</td> - <td>1 in 2⅙*.</td> - <td class="last-col">. . . .</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col">THE AZORES, p. 643</td> - <td>1 in 48.</td> - <td>1 in 19.</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>3 to 4.</td> - <td>About 7 to 1.</td> - <td>Nearly one-half.</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td class="last-col">. . . .</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col">GENOA, p. 660</td> - <td>About 1 in 28⁴⁄₇.</td> - <td>About 1 in 20.</td> - <td>About 1 in 166.</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>About 1 in 4.</td> - <td>45 per cent.</td> - <td class="last-col">48 per cent. die before the age of 16.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col">SAVOY, p. 662</td> - <td>General average 1 in 42; but in some marshy districts 1 in 28; in some - mountainous districts 1 in 52.</td> - <td>1 in 29.</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>4½.</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td class="last-col">. . . .</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col">GREECE, p. 666</td> - <td colspan="6">Nothing ascertained, but that the deaths are far fewer than the births: -average number of children to a marriage 4: very few illegitimate.</td> - <td>. . . .</td> - <td class="last-col">. . . .</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col last-row">EUROPEAN TURKEY, p. 672</td> - <td class="last-row">In healthy years about 1 in 50<a name="FNanchor_28a" id="FNanchor_28a"></a><a href="#Footnote_28" class="fnanchor">[28]</a>.</td> - <td class="last-row">About 1 in 31<a name="FNanchor_28b" id="FNanchor_28b"></a><a href="#Footnote_28" class="fnanchor">[28]</a>.</td> - <td class="last-row">About 1 in 66<a name="FNanchor_28c" id="FNanchor_28c"></a><a href="#Footnote_28" class="fnanchor">[28]</a>.</td> - <td class="last-row">4.</td> - <td class="last-row">Few illegitimate born, and few of those allowed to live.</td> - <td class="last-row">About 1 in 5⁹⁄₁₀.</td> - <td class="last-row">About 1 in 4.</td> - <td class="last-col last-row">About 1 in 3³⁄₁₀.</td> - </tr> -</table> - -<div class="footnotes"> -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_28" id="Footnote_28"></a><a href="#FNanchor_28a"><span class="label">[28]</span></a> These numbers cannot be correct.</p> -</div> -</div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[236]</a></span></p> - -<h2>Comparison between the state of the English and Foreign Labouring -Classes.</h2> - -<p>On comparing these statements respecting the -wages, subsistence, and mortality of those portions -of Continental Europe which have furnished returns -with the corresponding statements respecting England, -it will be found, that on every point England -stands in the most favourable, or nearly the most -favourable, position. With respect to money wages, -the superiority of the English agricultural labourer -is very marked. It may be fairly said that his wages -are nearly double the average of agricultural wages -in the Continent. And as fuel is generally cheaper -in England than in the Continent, and clothing is -universally so, his relative advantage with respect -to those important objects of consumption is still -greater.</p> - -<p>On the other hand, as food is dearer in England -than in any other part of Europe, the English -labourer, especially if he have a large family, necessarily -loses on this part of his expenditure a part -of the benefit of his higher wages, and, if the -relative dearness of food were very great, might -lose the whole. On comparing, however, the answers -to the 14th English and 8th Foreign question, -it appears probable, that even in this respect -the English family has an advantage, though of -course less than in any other. Of the 687 English -parishes which have given an answer, from which -the diet of the family can be inferred, 491, or about -five-sevenths, state, that it could obtain meat; and -of the 196 which give answers implying that it -could not get meat, 43 are comprised in Essex and -Sussex, two of the most pauperised districts in the -kingdom. But in the foreign answers, meat is the -exception instead of the rule. In the north of -Europe the usual food seems to be potatoes and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[237]</a></span> -oatmeal, or rye bread, accompanied frequently by -fish, but only occasionally by meat.</p> - -<p>In Germany and Holland the principal food appears -to be rye bread, vegetables, the produce of -the dairy, and meat once or twice a week.</p> - -<p>In Belgium, potatoes, rye bread, milk, butter and -cheese, and occasionally pork.</p> - -<p>The French returns almost exclude fresh meat, -and indicate a small proportion of salted meat. -Thus we are told, that in Havre they live on bread -and vegetables; never animal food, or very rarely. -In Brittany, on buck wheat, barley bread, potatoes, -cabbages, and about 6 lbs. of pork weekly. In the -Gironde, on rye bread, soup made of millet, Indian -corn, now and then some salt provision, and vegetables, -rarely if ever butcher’s meat. In the Basses -Pyrenées, on vegetable soups, potatoes, salt fish, -pork and bacon, seldom or ever butcher’s meat. In -the Bouches du Rhone, on vegetables, bread, and -farinaceous substances made into soup, and bouillie -about once a week. Their food in Piedmont is said -to be the simplest and coarsest; no meat, and twice -as much maize flour as wheat flour. In Portugal, -salt fish, vegetable soup, with oil or lard, and maize -bread.</p> - -<p>Further evidence as to the relative state of the -bulk of the population of England is afforded by -the ratio of its mortality.</p> - -<p>The only countries in which the mortality appears -to be so small as in England, are, Norway, -in which it is ¹⁄₅₄, and the Basses Pyrenées, in which -it is ¹⁄₅₆<a name="FNanchor_29" id="FNanchor_29"></a><a href="#Footnote_29" class="fnanchor">[29]</a>. In all the other countries which have -given returns it exceeds the English proportion,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[238]</a></span> -sometimes by doubling it, and in the majority of -instances by more than one fourth.</p> - -<p>A portion of our apparent superiority arises from -the rapidity with which our population is increasing; -but though the proportion of our births exceeds -the average proportion of Europe, the difference -as to births is small when compared with the -difference as to deaths, and in a great part of the -north of Europe and Germany the proportion of -births is greater than our own, and therefore the -longevity of the population still more inferior to -that of England than it appears to be.</p> - -<div class="footnotes"> -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_29" id="Footnote_29"></a><a href="#FNanchor_29"><span class="label">[29]</span></a> We exclude Lubeck, the Azores, and European Turkey, as the Returns -from them appear to be mere guesses.</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class="titlepage">London: Printed by <span class="smcap">William Clowes</span> and <span class="smcap">Sons</span>, Stamford-street.</p> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Statement of the Provision for the -Poor, and of the Condition of the , by Nassau W. 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