LITERARY PANORAMA, AND National Begister: For FEBRUARY, 1818. NATIONAL AND PARLIAMENTARY NOTICES, (British and Foreign,) PROSPECTIVE AND RETROSPECTIVE. TH THE POOR LAWS. THE REPORT FROM THE roving disposition was, in like manner, the natural characteristic of the human SELECT COMMITTEE OF THE HOUSE species. They live, it is true, in so OF COMMONS, ON THE POOR LAWS; ciety; they form hordes; they associate for mutual defence;-yet are, nevertheless, unsettled; and find their delight as well as their advantage, in changing With Minutes of Evidence taken before the the scene of their residence, and appear it resumes. Committee. (Continued) ing and disappearing according to caprice, or to custom, or to circumstances. Most parts of Asia bear witness to this; and the tribes of Arabs, known under the name of Bedoweens, are undeniable and notorious instances. Nor let it be thought, that their opportunities for establishing themselves in fixed situations are rare, or uninviting: their brethren have taken up their abode in cities; but these free, these noble, these unpolluted tribes,-for on such distinctions they pride themselves-cannot behold their counterfeit kin without contempt and aversion. They bestow on such unworthy Arabs appellations the most scornful, and mingle their pity with inveterate contumely. WHATEVER be the character imprinted by Nature on the disposition of an animal, that it retains in spite of the utmost efforts to reclaim it; and if per force it be repressed for a while, under circumstances slightly favourable, that The dog is faithful and obedient; but the farmer well knows, that he sustains many losses among his sheep, from the irreclaimable disposition of dogs to worry the flock. The cat has passed a thousand generations in a state of domesticity, yet still continues savage, suspicious, and cruel. No repetition of cleansing can infuse the notion of neatness into the progeny of a swine, whatever paius may be taken with parent or offspring. On the first occasion, these creatures return to a state of wildness; and speedily lose all sense of restraint, with every habit of obedience. If we examine the state The Caravans, which travel on merof various nations of the earth, we cantile speculations throughout Asia, might be tempted to conclude, that apartake of this character; they afford VOL. VII. No. 41. Lit. Pan. N. S. Feb. 1. The Tartars, the Cossacks, with many different nations, have been nomades, or wanderers, from the earliest ages. They follow the custom of their ancestors the Scythians; and as their forefathers did, so do they. 2 C opportunity for men of a roving turn of mind to gratify their inclination, much as a sea-faring life does among ourselves. it remarked, of the native Irish, by Arthur Dobbs, who lived in the early part of the last century, that great numbers of them, which had houses, and small farms, in the mountainous parts of the kingdom, by which they might very well maintain themselves,-when they had sown their corn, planted their potatoes, cut their turf, and hired their cows, or sent them to the mountains, did then shut up their doors, and go a-begging, during the whole summer, till harvest. Can we wonder, now, that a statistical writer should complain of the number of strolling beggars, in Ireland, in his day, which he calculates at about 35,000 ? Even in the most civilized countries, at this day, portions of their population delight in a change of residence, according to the seasons: and herdsmen tell us, that instinct points out this as an enjoyment to the cattle and the sheep under their care. In Spain, the travels of the Maesta are well known; and some attribute the superiority of Spanish wool to this change of climate twice in the course of the year. In our own mountainous counties, the sheep which feed in the vales in winter, seek with much eagerness the higher regions, as-and these it will be remembered, were summer approaches; and their shepherds understand sufficiently well the symptoms of impatience manifested by the elders of the flock to begin the journey, from which they anticipate gratification. Is not this the feeling of the shepherds also? is it not natural to a pastoral people? This, at least, is certain, that the Antient Britons, who, to our present purpose, may be taken as the Aborigines of our island, willingly accompanied their flocks to their summer feeding stations and their winter feeding stations: they did not without reluctance, pass all the year in the same spot; the cabin witnessed their Decem-lidays more than the Protestant, in the ber enjoyments in the vale; but the Bel-tein fire of Baal] was kindled on the mountains. [at midsummer.] over and above such as were left in various places, in a state of dependence on the bounty of their neighbours; or in charge of those wretched cabins, where, no doubt, some remained,-cabins without chimney, window, or door that would shut. It may be thought, that the state of Britain, had in earlier ages, but too much resemblance to this description; nor should we overlook the consideration of the natural consequences attending a religion of wakes, processions, shews, and holidays. The Catholic religion enjoined the observance of nearly fifty ho course of the year; if we add the occasional hindrances to industry, the marriages, the funerals, &c. the total presents a prodigious mass of inducement to idleness and rambling, to reliance for good cheer and entertainment on the hospitality of others,-which is but another description of beggary in disUn-guise. Nor was this change partial, or reserved they took with them their whole families-their whole property; and they established themselves on their new abodes with little reserve of attachment to those they had quitted. doubtedly, this was favourable to health, to vigour of body, to the perfection of gacious Alfred found this unsettled It is more than possible that the sapowerful musculage, to the full and disposition too prevalent among his complete developement of the animal subjects: He therefore, devised most system. It was favourable, too, to forti-effectual means for keeping at home tude of mind; and the rising youth gradually learned insensibility to incouveniences, and took a pride and a pleasure in treating incidental misfortunes with disdain. How long this continued subsequently to events which are preserved by the page of history, we cannot say; but, we find those who else had been ramblers,-by dividing the kingdom into shires, the shires into hundreds-and the hundreds into families, of which every ten became responsible for each other's inmates. This, no doubt, was an encroachment on personal liberty; but, the consequent peace of the kingdom, as concerning the behaviour of his sub- | factures were scarcely thought of, in a jects, sufficiently proved the policy national sense. An arrangement intended and efficacy of the appointment. The for the greater convenience of teaching law of kin, of consanguinity to nine the people, was directed to the more generations, was the law of settlement embarrassing purpose of feeding the among the ancient Britons; the law of people. And now it became a question settlement under the Saxon dominion, of great importance, who were to be was that here alluded to. fed? If strangers resorted to a parish in the hope or expectation of superior teaching, the compliment was great; but the additional expense was nothing; whereas, if strangers resorted for superior feeding, the cost was felt by the parish much beyond the favour. And further, if strangers resort in the greatest numbers, as is but natural, where they may be best fed, the disadvantage of such liberality is obvious; hospitality itself becomes a vice; and in absolute self-defence, starvation takes its place, and is enforced as the order of the day. The division of the kingdom into parishes gave a new face to settlements. The influence of consanguinity had nothing in common with the boundaries of a parish and a parish had nothing in common with the connections of families, or houses, by decimals. A parish is an ecclesiastical division; consanguinity is not allowed to influence its officers; and vicinage can hardly be applied to an extent, in some parishes, of ten or twenty miles in a direct line. Under the ancient British laws, if any member of a family were guilty of a crime, the whole family paid the pen- The difficulty of determining what alty, in regular proportions, as a tine for persons were entitled to parish support, not teaching their kinsman better: un- required further directions from the der the Saxon, the vicinage suffered the Legislature, and the act of Charles II. blame, and the punishment, for being was intended to remove this difficulty. deficient in vigilance; these connexions, How far it has been a cheap and easy therefore, were interested in preventing remedy, let the parish accounts of the misdemeanors; but, what interest has a kingdom testify; let the necessity for parish? Its officers may regret ;-but, employing lawyers, as vestry clerks, their regret prevents neither misfortune testify;-let the expenses incurred by nor crime, and is too late, after the of- removals from parish to parish, with the fence is committed ;-it ceases too, with prior litigation, and consequent grumbthe cessation of their year of office.ling, testify;-let the reluctance of inTheir personal interest, then, becomes dividuals to carry their abilities to the no more than that of any other inhabi- best market for them, testify; together tant, and they transfer their feelings with the mortification and astonishment of with their accompt books, to their suc- a parish at having a whole family palmed cessors, whosoever they may be. upon it from a distance, from whose laThe power of consanguinity is still in-bours it had never derived a pennyworth fluential in Scotland; and it is acknowledged as chief among those principles which contribute to render the Poor's rate unnecessary in that part of the island. of advantage; and of whose existence it was entirely ignorant till the order of two or more of his Majesty's Justices of the Peace was duly served and executed on its murmuring and mortified officers. Parishes were first taken as the proIn fact, without decrying the wisdom per communities for maintaining the of measures devised for a kingdom, not poor, by the Act of Elizabeth; conse- a manufacturing state, at the time, it quently, as the nation was gradually ad- may be allowed us to doubt whether vancing towards a manufacturing state, those measures are equally wise, equally the maintenance of the poor had no re- applicable, equally beneficial, when apference whatever to that state, or to its plied to a state devoted to munufactures, possibilities;-but, was rendered depen-habituated to commerce, and to the thou dent on an ecclesiastical arrangement only ;—an arrangement settled when manu sand artificial modes and means of wealth practical in modern times. It is the nature of manufactures to | of it came from the land, and 2551. from the draw together a great number of hands houses. In the course of the winter half within a small space. While work is year, including that quarter, and the quarbrisk, no inconvenience is felt; but, ter preceding, 4007. was distributed from when, from whatever cause, a slackness the place; and 2667. from other beneropermament public charities belonging to ensues, and then a cessation, the acculent sources of collection. It is necessary mulation of working hands becomes a to state also that a considerable sum was burden, without incurring blame; and expended by the surveyors of the highways the natural residents are the sufferers, to men that would otherwise have been from causes to which their ancestors totally destitute of employment, on the looked for employment and prosperity. public roads, for the sake of labour; we We are acquainted with a town which had from 30 to 40 men employed a consioccupies the site of part of a parish, of the harvest till Lady-day.....It does derable part of the time, from the ceasing forming a hamlet, by itself;-the conappear to me, that a very little increase sequence is, that while this part is would render the land productive of no loaded with people, the housekeepers rent at all; it must of course be abandoned in ordinary times, pay to the poor about in that case. We have nothing rated but sixteen shillings in the pound of their what is inhabited by persons whom we rents; while the other part pays about consider in a state to pay; but the pressure three half-pence or two-pence. And we is so heavy, that a great number of those know various instances of manufacturers persons are as badly off as the paupers.being intreated—" Pray, do not come 96, or thereabouts of those assessments are Our parish rate contains about 194 names; here to settle";-Why not? we shall em51. a year, and under; 32 of them are from ploy your poor. Aye, for a while; 57. to 107; 17 from 107. to 201.; and only and then double our poor rates, by those 49 above 201 whom you collect, and leave behind you!" 66 Of this the evidence brought before the committee, affords an indisputable instance, in the case of the town of Halstead, in Essex; of which this account is given by Mr. John Vaizey. For ten years, from 1786 to 1795 inclusive, the Poor Rates were 9s. 11d. per pound, which is about 7s. 6d. an acre upon land; and for the next ten years, from 1796 to 1805 inclusive, they were 18s. 6d. in the pound, about 14s. an acre on the land; from 1806 to 1816 inclusive, they were 18s. 4d. about 13s. 10d. per acre. I should beg permission to state, in reference to the circumstances of our parish, which would apply to all parishes of the same character, that our burthen of exthat a lost manufactory has left upon the penses happen from a surplus population land. During the period of the war, a great many of those men went into the public service; during that period also of the county and kingdom, many of them wheu labourers were thinner in other parts scriptions of employment at a distance, migrated to husbandry and to other de and then we had no useful hands out of employ; but the parish of Halstead had and those who were helpless. I reckon that at that time to support the sick and aged Then they are rather less than they the land of the parish requires; we have our population is just about double what were?-Yes: that needs a little explana-just about a double population of working tion. The parish of Halstead had, twenty-men, all of whom are of course confined to five years ago, a flourishing woollen manufactory of says and baize; that manufactory than two or three hundred less than it us. Our population is probably not more about the year 1800 almost entirely ceased; and in the year that followed the harwas when the manufactory brought 13,000!. vest of 1800, corn was very dear: we or 14,000l. a year for work; and of this had a large population out of employ-where, and were drawn by the manufac two or three hundred, many belonged else. ment; we paid in that year, in four successive quarters 37s. in the pound to the poor; the following year, 1801, we paid 28s.: and those two years account for the average being swelled. Have you had any subscriptions in aid or the last year?-In the quarter ending Lady4lay 1817, we paid a rate of 7s. 6d. n the pound; it collected 1,5787.; 1,3231. tory. If something is not done, the parish where I live, and some others in the country in the same situation, must, under their surplus population, ere long have the whole value of their land absorbed. Now, it seems very hard, that when there was a demand for labour and industry, those men who were laborious |