第18章

IntheneighbourhoodofMollington(WarwickshireandOxon)thepoorrates

variedfrom2s。to4s。inthepound。’Thedifferenceintheseveralparishes，

itissaid，arises，inagreatmeasure，fromthefacilityordifficultyof

obtainingsettlements：inseveralparishes，afineisimposedonaparishoner，

whosettlesanewcomerbyhiring，orotherwise，sothataservantisvery

seldomhiredforayear。Thoseparisheswhichhaveforalongtimebeenin

thehabitofusingtheseprecautions，arenowverylightlyburthenedwith

Poor。Thisisoftenthecase，wherefarmsarelarge，andofcourseinfew

hands；whileotherparishes，notpoliticenoughtoobservetheserules，are

generallyburthenedwithaninfluxofpoorneighbours。’(34*)Anotherexample

ofthisisDeddington(Oxon)whichlikeotherparishesthatpossessedcommon

fieldssufferedfromaninfluxofsmallfarmerswhohadbeenturnedoutelsewhere，

whereasneighbouringparishes，possessedbyafewindividuals，werecautious

inpermittingnewcomerstogainsettlements。(35*)Thispracticeofhiring

servantsforfifty-oneweeksonlywascommon：Edenthoughtitfraudulent

andanevasionofthelawthatwouldnotbeupheldinacourtofjustice，(36*)

buthewaswrong，forthe1817ReportonthePoorLawmentionsamong’the

measures，justifiableundoubtedlyinpointoflaw，whichareadoptedvery

generallyinmanypartsofthekingdom，todefeattheobtainingasettlement，

thatofhiringlabourersforalessperiodthanayear；fromwhenceitnaturally

andnecessarilyfollows，thatalabourermayspendtheseasonofhishealth

andindustryinoneparish，andbetransferredinthedeclineoflifeto

adistantPartofthekingdom。’(37*)Wehearlittleaboutthefeelingsof

theunhappylabourerswhowerebroughthomebytheoverseerswhentheyfell

intowantinaparishwhichhadtakentheminwiththeircertificate，but

itisnotdifficulttoimaginethescene。ItissignificantthattheAct

of1795(towhichweshallreferlater)，containedaprovisionthatorders

ofremovalweretobesuspendedincaseswherethepauperwasdangerously

ill。

FromtheRulesfortheGovernmentofthePoorintheHundredsofLoes

andWilford，alreadyalludedto，welearnsomeparticularsoftheallowance

madefortheremovalofpaupers。Twentymileswastobeconsideredaday’s

journey；2d。wastobeallowedforonehorse，andsooninproportionper

mile：butifthedistancewereovertwentymiles，ortheoverseerwereobliged

tobeoutallnight，then2s。wastobeallowedforhim，1s。forhishorse，

and6d。foreachpauper。(38*)Itisimprobablethatsuchascaleofpayment

wouldinducetheoverseertolookkindlyonthecausesofhistrouble：much

lesswouldapauperbeapersonagrataiflitigationoverhissettlement

hadalreadycosttheparishlargesums。

IthasbeennecessarytogivetheseparticularsoftheLawofSettlement

fortworeasons。Inthefirstplace，theprobabilityofexpulsion，’exile

byadministrativeorder，’asithasbeencalled，threwashadowoverthe

livesofthepoor。Inthesecondplace，theoldLawofSettlementbecame

animmenselymoreimportantsocialimpedimentwhenenclosureandthegreat

industrialinventionsbegantoredistributepopulation。Whenthenormallabourer

hadcommonrightsandastripandacow，hewouldnotwishtochangehis

homeonaccountoftemporarydistress：afterenclosurehewasreducedto

apositioninwhichhisdistress，ifhestayedoninhisownvillage，was

likelytobepermanent。

ThewantandsufferingrevealedinDavies’andEden’sbudgetscameto

acrisisin1795，theyearofwhatmaybecalledtherevoltofthehousewives。

Thatyear，whenexceptionalscarcitysharpenedtheedgeofthemiserycaused

bythechangeswehavesummarised，wasmarkedbyaseriesoffoodriotsall

overEngland，inwhichaconspicuouspartwastakenbywomen。Thesedisturbances

areparticularlyinterestingfromthedisciplineandgoodorderwhichcharacterise

theconductoftherioters。Therioterswhentheyfoundthemselvesmasters

ofthesituationdidnotusetheirstrengthtoplundertheshops：theyorganised

distribution，sellingthefoodtheyseizedatwhattheyconsideredfairrates，

andhandingovertheproceedstotheowners。Theydidnotrob：theyfixed

prices，andwhentheownerofprovisionswasmakingforadearermarketthey

stoppedhiscartsandmadehimsellonthespot。AtAylesburyinMarch’a

numerousmob，consistingchieflyofwomen，seizedonallthewheatthatcame

tomarket，andcompelledthefarmerstowhomitbelongedtoacceptofsuch

pricesastheythoughtpropertoname。’(39*)InDevonshiretheriotersscoured

thecountryroundChudleigh，destroyingtwomills：’fromthegreatnumber

ofpetticoats，itisgenerallysupposedthatseveralmenweredressedin

femaleattire。’(40*)AtCarlisleabandofwomenaccompaniedbyboysparaded

thestreets，andinspiteoftheremonstrancesofamagistrate，enteredvarious

housesandshops，seizedallthegrain，depositeditinthepublichall，

andthenformedacommitteetoregulatethepriceatwhichitshouldbesold。(41*)

AsIpswichtherewasariotoverthepriceofbutter，andatFordingbridge，

acertainSarahRogers，incompanywithotherwomenstartedacheapbutter

campaign。SarahtooksomebutterfromHannahDawson’withadetermination

ofkeepingitatareducedprice，’anescapadeforwhichshewasafterwards

sentencedtothreemonths’hardlabourattheWinchesterAssizes。’Nothing

buttheageoftheprisoner(beingveryyoung)preventedtheCourtfrompassing

amoreseveresentence。(42*)AtBaththewomenactuallyboardedavessel，

ladenwithwheatandflour。whichwaslyingintheriverandrefusedtolet

hergo。WhentheRiotActwasreadtheyretortedthattheywerenotrioting，

butwereresistingthesendingofcornabroad，andsangGodsavetheKing。

AlthoughtheownertookanoaththatthecornwasdestinedforBristol，they

werenotsatisfied，andultimatelysoldierswerecalledin，andthecorn

wasrelandedandputintoawarehouse。(43*)Insomeplacesthesoldiershelped

thepopulaceintheirworkoffixingprices：atSeaford，forexample，they

seizedandsoldmeatandflourinthechurchyard，andatGuildfordtheywere

theringleadersinamovementtolowerthepriceofmeatto4d。apound，

andweresentoutofthetownbythemagistratesinconsequence。(44*)These

spontaneousleaguesofconsumerssprangupinmanydifferentparts，forin

additiontotheplacesalreadymentionedthereweredisturbancesofsufficient

importancetobechronicledinthenewspapers，inWiltshire，Suffolk，and

Norfolk，whistEdenstatesthatatDeddingtonthepopulaceseizedonaboat

ladenwithflour，butrestoreditonthemiller’spromisingtosellitat

areducedprice。(45*)

Theseriotsareinterestingfrommanypointsofview。Theyarearising

ofthepooragainstanincreasingpressureofwant，andtheforcesthatwere

drivingdowntheirstandardoflife。Theydidnotamounttoasocialrebellion，

buttheymarkastageinthehistoryofthepoor。Totherichtheywerea

signalofdanger。Daviesdeclaredthatiftherulingclasseslearntfrom

hisresearcheswhatwastheconditionofthepoor，theywouldinterveneto

rescuethelabourersfrom’theabjectstateintowhichtheyaresunk。’Certainly

themiseryofwhichhisbudgetspainttheplainsurfacecouldnotbedisregarded。

Ifcompassionwasnotastrongenoughforcetomaketherulingclassesattend

tothedangerthatthepoormightstarve，fearwouldcertainlyhavemade

themthinkofthedangerthatthepoormightrebel。Someofthematanyrate

knewtheirVirgilwellenoughtorememberthatinthedescriptionofthe

thresholdofOrcus，while’senectus’is’tristis’and’egestas’is’turpis，’

’fames’islinkedwiththemoreominousepithet’malesuada。’Ifaproletariat

werelefttostarvedespairmightteachbadhabits，andthisimpoverished

racemightbegintolookwithravenouseyesonthelotofthosewholived

onthespoilsandsinecuresoftheState。Thusfearandpityunitedtosharpen

thewitsoftherich，andtoturntheirmindstothedistressesofthepoor。

CapelLofft；followerofFox；writerofpoemsandtranslations

fromVirgilandPetrarch；patronofRobertBloomfield，authorofFarmer’s

Boy。CalledbyBoswell’ThislittleDavidofpopularspirit。’ThomasRuggles(1737-1813)，authorofHistoryofthePoor，published

in1793，Deputy-LieutenantofEssexandSuffolk。

SirHenryGould，1710-1794。

TheAnnualsofAgriculture(vol。xvii，p。293)containsacurious

apologybyagleanerin1791totheownerofsomefields，whohadbegunlegal

proceedingsagainstherandherhusband。’WhereasI，MargaretAbree，with

ofThomasAbree，ofthecityofNewSarum，blacksmith，did，duringthebarley

harvest，inthemouthofSeptemberlas，manytimeswilfullyandmaliciously

gointothefieldsof，andbelongingto，MrEdwardPerry，atClarendonPark，

andtakewithmemychildren，anddidthereleaze，collect，andcarryaway

aquantityofbarley……Nowwedoherebydeclare，thatwearefullyconvinced

oftheillegalityofsuchproceedings，andthatnopersonhasarightto

leazeanysortofgrain，ortocomeonanyfieldwhatsoever，withoutthe

consentoftheowner；andarealsotrulysensibleoftheobligationweare

undertothesaidEdwardPerryforhislenitytowardsus，inasmuchasthe

damagesgiven，togetherwiththeheavycostincurred，wouldhavebeenmuch

greaterthanwecouldpossiblyhavedischarged，andmusthaveamountedto

perpetualimprisonment，aseventhosewhohaveleastdisapprovedofourconduct，

wouldcertainlynothavecontributedsolargeasumtodeliverusfromthe

legalconsequencesofit。Andwedoherebyfaithfullypromisenevertobe

guiltyofthesame，oranylikeoffenceinfuture。ThomasAbree，Margaret

Abree。Her+Mark。’Itisinterestingtocomparewiththisjudge-madelaw

ofEnglandtheMosaicprecept：’Andwhenyereaptheharvestofyourland，

thoushaltnotmakecleanriddanceofthecornersoftheyfieldwhenthou

reapest，neithershaltthougatheranygleaningofthyharvest：thoushalt

leavethemuntothepoor，andtothestranger。’(Leviticusxxiii，

Kent，Hints。p。238。

p。34；cf。MarshallontheSouthernDepartment，p。9，’Yorkshirebacon，

generallyoftheworstsort，isretailedtothepoorfromlittlechandlers’

shopsatanadvancedprice，breadinthesameway。’

NotesontheAgricultureofNorfolk，p。165。

LargeandSmallHoldings，p。11。

Young’sPoliticalArithmetic，quotedbyLecky，vol。vii，p。

Anexampleofaparishwheretheinterestsoftheemployerandof

theparishofficersdifferedisgivenintheHouseofCommonsJournalfor

February4，1788，whenapetitionwaspresentedfromMrJohnWilkinson，a

masterironfounderatBradley，nearBilston，intheparishofWolverhampton。

Thepetitionerstates’thatthepresentDemandfortheIronofhisManufacture

andtheImprovementofwhichiscapable，naturallyencourageaveryconsiderable

ExtensionofhisWorks，butthattheExperiencehehashadofthevexation

Effect，aswellasoftheconstantlyincreasingAmountofPoorRatestowhich

heissubject，hasfilledhimwithApprehensionsoffinalRuintohisEstablishment；

andthattheParishOfficers。areconstantlyalarminghisWorkmenwith

ThreatsofRemovaltothevariousParishesfromwhichtheNecessityofemploying

skilfulManufacturershasobligedhimtocollectthem。’Hegoesontoask

thathisdistrictshallbemadeextra-parochialtothepoorrates。

Theunbornwerethespecialobjectsofparishofficers’dread。At

Derbythepersonssentoutunderordersofremovalarechieflypregnantgirls。

(Edenvol。ii，p。126)。Bastards(seeabove)withsomeexceptionsgained

asettlementintheirbirthplace，andHodge’slegitimatechildrenmightgain

onetooiftherewasanydoubtabouttheplaceoftheirparents’settlements。