INTERNATIONAL LIBRARY OF SOCIOLOGY British AND SOCIAL RECONSTRUCTION Founded by Karl Mannhelm Social Work Editor W. J. H. Sprott zn the Nineteenth Century by A. F. Young and E. T. Ashton BC B 20623 73 9177 A catalogue of books available In the IN'rERNATIONAL LlDRARY OF ROUTLEDGE & KEGAN PAUL LTD SOCIOLOGY AND SOCIAL RECONSTRUCTION and new books m Broadway House, 68-74 Carter Lane preparation for the Library will be found at the end of this volume London, E.C.4 UIA-BIBLIOTHEEK 111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111 11 """ ------------------------ Text continues after this page ------------------------ This publication is made available in the context of the history of social work project. See www.historyofsocialwork.org It is our aim to respect authors’ and publishers’ copyright. Should you feel we violated those, please do get in touch with us. Deze publicatie wordt beschikbaar gesteld in het kader van de canon sociaal werk. Zie www.canonsociaalwerk.eu Het is onze wens de rechten van auteurs en uitgevers te respecten. Mocht je denken dat we daarin iets fout doen, gelieve ons dan te contacteren. ------------------------ Tekst gaat verder na deze pagina ------------------------ r-= ! First published in 1956 I by Routledge and Kegan Paul Lld Broadway House, 68-74 Carter Lane London, E.C.4 Second impresszon 1963 I Third impression 1967 Printed in Great Britatn by CONTENTS Butler and Tanner Ltd Acknowledgments vu Frome and London I Introduction page I I . PART ONE I ' IDEAS WHICH INFLUENCED THE DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL WORK L I Influence of social and economic thought 7 I ConditWns-2 EcoROImc and Political Theories 2 Religious thought in the nineteenth century 28 I The Church if Engtar.d-2 The Tractarians-g Tilt Chris- tian Socialists-4 The JYonconformists-5 The Methodists- 6 The Unitarians-7 The Q.uakers-8 Conclusion 3 Influence of poor law prinClples and practice 43 I TIre problems and principles of poor law administration- 2 Criticisms by Social Workers and thezr results PART TWO MAIN BRANCHES OF SOCIAL WORK 4 Family case work-I. Thomas Chalmers 5 Family case work-H. Case work societies up to 81 1869 I Relief-2 For local necds-3 Jewish poor relief- 4 Accommodaiwn-5 Improvement-6 Suppresswn-7 Visiting 6 Family case work-Ill. Charity Organization 92 Society, 1869 7 Octavia Hill v I CONTENTS 8 Care of deprived children page 126 I Schoots-2, Orphanages-3 CoUage Iwmes-4 BQard,'ng~ out-5 Adopt"n-6 lV.S.P.C.C. 9 The Penal Services 153 Elizabeth. Fry-2 Discharged prisoners' aid societies- 3 The work of Mary Carpenter-riformatory and industrial schools-'-4 Probatton ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 10 The Handicapped WE wish to express our thanks to those who have helped us m the preparation of this book, and in partIcular to the Family Welfare I Th;: BJind-2 The Deaf-3 Mentally defective. znsane and epileptlC-4 Cripptes-5 Homes AssociatIon and its Secretary, Mr. B. E. Astbury, C.B.E., who II Moral Welfare made some valuable suggestions on the chapters on Family Case 207 Work; Miss E. Steel, B.A., Secretary of the Church of England I ContagwllS diseases acts-2 White stavery-3 White Cross i.eague-4 Rescue-5 Homes Moral Welfare AssociatIOn; Mr. G. j. Morley jacobs, j.P., Secretary of the London Police Court Missions; the Staff of the 12 Group Work-I. Settlements Central Council for the Care ofCnpples; Mr. R. E. Hughcs of the 223 Manchester Boys and Girls Refuges, who himself made some re­ Group Work-H. Youth work 235 searches into the minute books of his SOCIety for our benefit, and I Sunday schools-2 Ragged Schoots-3 Modem youth organ­ i~aiions to Rev. R. P. McAuliffe, O.B.E., M.A., for his personal memories of the early days of Probation. We WIsh to say how much we have Epilogue apprecIated the help of Professor and Mrs. Ford, and of the 259 library and clerical staff of the Department of EconomIcs of the Index Umversity. 260 A.F. Y. E. T. A. Universiry cif Southampton. vii INTRODUCTION IN this book we have attempted to fill a serious gap in the litera­ ture of British social work. Much has beeu wntten about the social reformers of the mneteenth century and about the social changes that resulted from their action, but of the methods and scope of the personal services. whether nationally or locally organized, that helped the poor and unfortunate nothing really comprehensive has yet beeu published. By socml work we do not mean social reform, though some social workers have necessarily become social reformers. Nor do we mean social services, l.e. the State or quasi-State organizations for providing a minimum standard of service as m education or health or for ensuring social security when Circumstances are adverse (Insurances, Old Age Pensions). We use the term social work as referring to the personal efforts of individuals who assist those in distress or promote the welfare of those unsuccessful in promoting their own. It IS Important to distinguish, as modern wnters have done, between case work, group work and community organization. The latter, meaning the mobilization of local or national resources to meet local or national needs, shades imperceptibly mto group work on the one hand and social reform on the other. In this book we have commented on the activities in case work and group work in the last century, even though the distinction between them was ~ not as clear as it is today. The study of community organization on the other hand has not so far been developed in this country; and though it would be untrne to say that the ni neteenth century did not provide interestmg examples (e.g. the JewiSh Board of Guardians) the written material is so far very scanty, and with some reluctance we have decided to omit separate consideration of it here. We have examined therefore the main branches of social work in Great Britain today and tried to trace their development from their rather confused beginnings to the state they reached by the INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION end of the century. In disentangling them we have often found that influenced men's minds and affected their attitude to the ourselves stepping into the sphere of social reform or considering poor and theIr approach to social work. These, wIth a discussion the machinery of the social services, but lines of demarcation are of some of the relevant events in Poor Law history, seemed to us a notoriously difficult to draw where human relatIOnships are In­ necessary background for a proper understanding of the prinCl pies volved, and as no prevIOus study of this sort has been made we and practIce of social work. have necessarily been forced to take arbitrary decisIOns. The pages that follow are based on such records as CXlSt; but these resources are scanty Just when we should have wished them to be plentiful. For although much has been written about poverty, wages, housIng and other socIal and economic conditions of the nineteenth century, too little has been left to us of the records, papers and reports of those who engaged in social work, from which we could glean theIr princIples and study their methods. Had the many unknown socIal workers of the nineteenth century wntten about themscives as much as did Chalmers, Loch and Barnett, one wonders if we wouid now be able to VIew these giants In qUIte the same perspective as we do. It was the absence l of adequate records that forced us to abandon a much cherished plan to include a sectIOn on the socIal work that working people offered to one another. The Friendly Societies must have done a great deal of personal social work, as must other offshoots of the working-class movement. But we have not been able to discover records which would tell us how and on what principles it was organized. Nordoweclaim In any way to have made an exhaustive study, but rather to have included some of the main trends of social work method and policy in the mneteenth century, as far as they can be Judged in the light of later twentieth-century standards. Our studies underlined for us the importance to the develop­ ment of socIal work of the general climate of opInion In the mne­ teenth century. It was no accident that its pace should quicken at the time when social and politIcal events were speeding up. The C.O.S.' flowered when political democracy was being established, a national system of education introduced, trade unions enJoymg a freedom they had never before experienced, and modern local government developing. In the light of this we felt it important to devote Part I of this study not only to an indication of the material changes in the conditions of life that took place in the century, but also to a brief appraisal of the philosophical and religious ideas .i Charity Organization Society. 2 3 , I PART ONE IDEAS WHICH INFLUENCED THE DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL WORK , CHAPTER I INFL UENCE OF SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC THOUGHT IT is the opinion ofTrevelyan that one of the outstanding features of the nineteenth century was the very great advance made in the sentiment and practice of humaruty.' He claims that our modern love of liberty, justice and humanity comes to us direct from the VictorIan age. It IS the purpose of this brief survey of the social conditions and mental climate of the early Victorian period to determine why, In view of this growth of human feelings, organized socIal work took more than half a century to develop from the haphazard charity and philanthropy of earlier times.