DOCSLIB.ORG

Poverty, Savings Banks and the Development of Self-Help, C. 1775-1834

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text

Load more

View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Apollo Poverty, savings banks and the development of self-help, c. 1775-1834 By David Filtness, Queens’ College, University of Cambridge This dissertation is submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 1 Poverty, savings banks and the development of self-help, c. 1775-1834 By David Filtness, Queens’ College, University of Cambridge Summary This thesis examines the development of self-help as an ideology and as an organisational principle for poor relief and how it came to dominate discussions over poverty and crucially inform the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834. The continuity of self-help with earlier discussions and reviews of the poor laws is explored and emphasised, as is the continuing moral core of poor relief despite historians’ frequent ascription of de-moralisation to the new political economy that came to heavily influence poor law discourse. The thesis analyses the evolution of the poor laws and of attitudes to poverty and begins with an examination of a divergence in the discourse relating to poverty between a more formal and centralised institutional approach and a more devolved, permissive institutional approach; the latter gained precedence due to its closer proximity to a dominant mode of thinking (as analysed by A. W. Coats) about the poor that held self-betterment as offering a solution to poverty most appropriate to the governance structures of the day. The greater role given to self-betterment and the natural affinity of more devolved schemes with a macroeconomic political economy framework pushed the evolution of poor law discourse along a route of emphasising individual probity and agency over the established model of community cohesion. Parallel to this divergence was the development of distinct intellectual traditions within poor law discourse between the older natural-law tradition of a natural right to subsistence and a new ideology of the natural law of markets and of competition for resources. By analysis of the thought of writers such as Thomas Robert Malthus, Jeremy Bentham, Patrick Colquhoun, David Davies, Frederick Morton Eden, Edmund Burke, etc., it is shown that this newer conception of natural law, encompassing a less interventionist and more macroeconomic approach (involving the deployment of statistics and abstraction, as explored by S. Sherman), proved more compatible with the devolved, more permissive institutional approach and so came to take precedence over that of the natural right to subsistence, which was associated more with traditional paternalism and community-level responses to scarcity and poverty. The natural law tradition spoke more to the abstract conceptions of poverty associated at this time with the greater deployment of statistics and tables in the analysis of social problems. It is demonstrated how writers of the period utilised utilitarian conceptions and nascent political economic arguments to portray the greater good of the country as a whole as possessed of greater moral and economic authority than more traditional ‘moral economy’ responses, and that vocabularies of virtue and duty were used to illustrate and justify such a shift. This set the scene for self-betterment as an economic strategy to evolve into an ideology of self-help which was developed as the panacea of poverty and the answer to the social dislocations caused by industrialisation. Self-help came to the fore as an approach that was more politically resonant in the era of revolutionary France and which enabled a more permissive institutional apparatus to be advanced. These institutions, such as allotments, savings banks and schools of industry, came to prominence in the period 1816-1820 and pertained more to macroeconomic understandings of poverty. They were expounded using a theme, that of ‘character’, that described poverty as the result of personal 2 imprudence and hence as treatable, the most appropriate level for this treatment being that of the individual. The reforms of 1818-19 and the debates that informed them are given an extended analysis as they formed the crucial juncture in the cohering of self-help as an ideology and a paradigmatic shift in poor law policy towards greater discrimination underwritten by self-help. Finally, the 1834 Poor law Reform Act is explained in terms of the ideological development of arguments of self-help and character towards a more punitive and disciplinarian platform for enforcing self-help, with the cost-efficient and systematic institutional approach of Bentham adapted to the purpose. 3 Preface This dissertation is the result of my own work and includes nothing which is the outcome of work done in collaboration except where specifically indicated in the text. It is not substantially the same as any that I have submitted or will be submitting for a degree or diploma or other qualification at any other University. I wish to record my thanks to Dr Craig Muldrew, who has provided support, encouragement and excellent advice during the research and writing of this dissertation, and to all those at the History Faculty of the University of Cambridge and the Economic and Social Research Council, without whose support and funding this dissertation would not have been produced. I would also wish to express my gratitude to all those at Queens’ College, Cambridge for all their support and help during the research and writing process. This dissertation is dedicated to my parents, for their unwavering support, and secondly to Hayley Sae Kang, to Chihiro Watanabe and to James Brown for all their encouragement, and to my nephew Oscar – sorry there is not more material in it about anthropomorphic trains! Statement of word length: This dissertation does not exceed the University of Cambridge Faculty of History stipulated word limit for a PhD dissertation of 80,000 words. Signed: __________________________ DAVID FILTNESS DATE: 4 CONTENTS Introduction p. 6 Chapter 1: Intellectual tensions in the Poor laws p. 33 Chapter 2: The Natural Law Reformers: Self-responsibility, Virtue and Abolition p. 48 Chapter 3: Malthus p. 89 Chapter 4: The Institutions of Self-Help p. 130 Potatoes and Allotments p. 133 Savings Banks p. 144 Education and Schools of Industry p. 164 Character and Discrimination p. 185 The reform agenda of 1817 p. 193 ‘New Paternalism’ p. 203 Chapter 5: Concluding Remarks p. 207 The 1834 Poor Law reforms p. 207 Ideology and Governmentality p. 213 Bibliography p. 219 5 Poverty, savings banks and the development of self-help, c. 1775-1834 Introduction At some given period…it would be reasonable and just to treat such as become chargeable from neglecting or refusing to contribute towards their support as ‘culpable poor’. In proportion as the morals and sentiments of the labouring classes were improved and enlightened, so would the fear of disgrace operate as a punishment; and there would be, were the plan of benefit societies generally established, a fair criterion to distinguish between the meritorious and culpable poor, which does not at present exist, and which thereby renders the existing laws on that head nugatory.1 The issue of self-help is one that has captured the modern imagination. Redolent of more modern political creeds such as Thatcherism and conservative austerity rhetoric, it is perhaps principally recognised as one of the era-defining ideas of the Nineteenth Century, quintessentially Victorian with its laissez-faire overtones and replete with connotations of urban slums and associational culture. The classic text of the Victorian period on this theme is Samuel Smiles’ Self-Help, with Illustrations of Character and Conduct (1859), a didactic work designed to encourage ordinary working men to help themselves and, in the process, to improve society. Smiles (1802-1904), a biographer and writer, had been editor of the radical Leeds Times 1838-42 and first secretary of the Leeds Household Suffrage Association. A keen exponent of radical politics at this point in his life he nevertheless remained cautious of Chartism and came to see individual improvement as more important than structural change as the surest means of social progress. Self-Help was based on one (in March 1845) of a series of lectures delivered to a mutual improvement society in Leeds, with significant changes to reflect the calmer and more optimistic political mood of the 1850s. The book sold 20,000 copies in its first year, prompting Smiles to develop his ideas in subsequent texts such as Character (1871), Thrift (1875), Duty (1880) and Life and Labour (1887).2 For Smiles, self-help developed ‘character’, the attainment and deployment of a variety of desirable traits such as thrift, independence and self-reliance, which would enable workingmen to improve their own condition. This collective of individuated endeavour would in turn lead to societal development and progress 1 J. C. Curwen, Hints on the economy of feeding stock and bettering the condition of the poor (London, 1808), pp. 362-3. 2 For biographical detail on Smiles, see the entry by H. C. G. Matthew in the Oxford dictionary of national biography. For the development of his politics and its influence on his thinking see A. Tyrrell, “Class consciousness in early Victorian Britain: Samuel Smiles, Leeds politics, and the self-help creed”, Journal of British Studies Vol. 9, No. 2 (May, 1970), pp. 102-125. 6 for character was “the true antiseptic of society” and the most promising and inclusive response to social and industrial change.3 As Smiles
Recommended publications
  • Scandal, Child Punishment and Policy Making in the Early Years of the New Poor Law Workhouse System

    Scandal, Child Punishment and Policy Making in the Early Years of the New Poor Law Workhouse System

    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by University of Lincoln Institutional Repository ‘Great inhumanity’: Scandal, child punishment and policy making in the early years of the New Poor Law workhouse system SAMANTHA A. SHAVE UNIVERSITY OF LINCOLN ABSTRACT New Poor Law scandals have usually been examined either to demonstrate the cruelty of the workhouse regime or to illustrate the failings or brutality of union staff. Recent research has used these and similar moments of crisis to explore the relationship between local and central levels of welfare administration (the Boards of Guardians in unions across England and Wales and the Poor Law Commission in Somerset House in London) and how scandals in particular were pivotal in the development of further policies. This article examines both the inter-local and local-centre tensions and policy conseQuences of the Droxford Union and Fareham Union scandal (1836-37) which exposed the severity of workhouse punishments towards three young children. The paper illustrates the complexities of union co-operation and, as a result of the escalation of public knowledge into the cruelties and investigations thereafter, how the vested interests of individuals within a system manifested themselves in particular (in)actions and viewpoints. While the Commission was a reactive and flexible welfare authority, producing new policies and procedures in the aftermath of crises, the policies developed after this particular scandal made union staff, rather than the welfare system as a whole, individually responsible for the maltreatment and neglect of the poor. 1. Introduction Within the New Poor Law Union workhouse, inmates depended on the poor law for their complete subsistence: a roof, a bed, food, work and, for the young, an education.
  • A Companion to Nineteenth- Century Britain

    A Companion to Nineteenth- Century Britain

    A COMPANION TO NINETEENTH- CENTURY BRITAIN Edited by Chris Williams A Companion to Nineteenth-Century Britain A COMPANION TO NINETEENTH- CENTURY BRITAIN Edited by Chris Williams © 2004 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148-5020, USA 108, Cowley Road, Oxford OX4 1JF, UK 550 Swanston Street, Carlton South, Melbourne, Victoria 3053, Australia The right of Chris Williams to be identified as the Author of the Editorial Material in this Work has been asserted in accordance with the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, except as permitted by the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, without the prior permission of the publisher. First published 2004 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A companion to nineteenth-century Britain / edited by Chris Williams. p. cm. – (Blackwell companions to British history) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-631-22579-X (alk. paper) 1. Great Britain – History – 19th century – Handbooks, manuals, etc. 2. Great Britain – Civilization – 19th century – Handbooks, manuals, etc. I. Williams, Chris, 1963– II. Title. III. Series. DA530.C76 2004 941.081 – dc22 2003021511 A catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library. Set in 10 on 12 pt Galliard by SNP Best-set Typesetter Ltd., Hong Kong Printed and bound in the United Kingdom by TJ International For further information on Blackwell Publishing, visit our website: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com BLACKWELL COMPANIONS TO BRITISH HISTORY Published in association with The Historical Association This series provides sophisticated and authoritative overviews of the scholarship that has shaped our current understanding of British history.
  • George Canning and the Representation of Liverpool, 1812-1823 1

    George Canning and the Representation of Liverpool, 1812-1823 1

    'The Pride of my Publick Life': George Canning and the Representation of Liverpool, 1812-1823 1 Stephen M. Lee I George Canning (1770-1827) was one of the most significant figures on the Pittite side of British politics in the first three decades of the nineteenth century, and his successful campaign for a seat at Liverpool in 1812 both illustrated and contributed to the profound changes that his political career underwent during this period. Sandwiched between his failure to return to office in May-July 1812 following the assassination of Spencer Perceval and his decision to disband his personal following (his 'little Senate') in July i8i3,2 this campaign marked for Canning a turn away from the aristocratic political arena of Westminster, which he had come to find so frustrating, towards a political culture which, if at first alien, was replete with new possibilities. Moreover, Canning's experience as representative for Liverpool was indicative of wider changes in the political landscape of early nineteenth-century Britain. Before considering in detail some of the key aspects of Canning's outward turn, however, it will be useful to offer a brief description of the constituency of Liverpool and a short account of the elections that Canning fought there.3 1 This article is a revised version of chapter 3 of Stephen M. Lee, 'George Canning and the Tories, 1801-1827' (unpuh. Ph.D. thesis, Manchester Univ., 1999), PP- 93-128. 2 For a consideration of these two important episodes see Lee, 'Canning and the Tories', pp. 81-91. 1 Unless otherwise stated the following summary of the politics of Liverpool is 74 Stephen M.
  • The Poor Law of 1601

    The Poor Law of 1601

    Tit) POOR LA.v OF 1601 with 3oms coi3ii3rat,ion of MODSRN Of t3l9 POOR -i. -S. -* CH a i^ 3 B oone. '°l<g BU 2502377 2 University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. Chapter 1. Introductory. * E. Poor Relief before the Tudor period w 3. The need for re-organisation. * 4. The Great Poor La* of 1601. w 5. Historical Sketch. 1601-1909. " 6. 1909 and after. Note. The small figares occurring in the text refer to notes appended to each chapter. Chapter 1. .Introductory.. In an age of stress and upheaval, institutions and 9 systems which we have come to take for granted are subjected to a searching test, which, though more violent, can scarcely fail to be more valuable than the criticism of more normal times. A reconstruction of our educational system seems inevitable after the present struggle; in fact new schemes have already been set forth by accredited organisations such as the national Union of Teachers and the Workers' Educational Association. V/ith the other subjects in the curriculum of the schools, History will have to stand on its defence.
  • An Economic History of the English Poor Law 1750-1850

    An Economic History of the English Poor Law 1750-1850

    AN ECONOMIC HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH POOR LAW 1750-1850 GEORGE R. BOYER Cornell University The right of the University of Cambridge to print anil sell all manner of hooks was granted by Henry Vlll in 1534. The University has printed and published continuously since 1584. CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS Cambridge New York Port Chester Melbourne Sydney 1990 CONTENTS Acknowledgments page xi Introduction 1 1. The Development and Administration of the Old Poor Law in Rural Areas, 1760-1834 9 1. The Administration of Poor Relief 10 2. Timing of Changes in Poor Law Administration 23 3. Changes in the Economic Environment 31 4. Conclusion 43 Appendix A: Agricultural Laborers' Wages, 1750-1832 43 Appendix B: Labor Rate for Wisborough Green 49 2. The Old Poor Law in Historical Perspective 51 1. The Historiography of the Poor Law Before 1834 52 2. The Poor Law Report of 1834 60 3. Fabian Interpretations of the Poor Law 65 4. Polanyis Analysis of the Poor Law 71 5. The Revisionist Analysis of the Poor Law 75 6. Conclusion 83 3. An Economic Model of the English Poor Law 85 1. The Effect of Seasonally on the Rural Labor Market 86 2. Seasonality in English Agriculture 88 3. The Parish Vestry and the Financing of the Poor Rate 94 4. An Economic Model of the Rural Labor Market 99 5. The Effect of Migrant Labor on the Rural Labor Market 113 6. Conclusion 118 Appendix 119 vii viii Contents 4. The Old Poor Law and the Agricultural Labor Market in Southern England: An Empirical Analysis 122 1.
  • The Poor Law of Lunacy

    The Poor Law of Lunacy

    The Poor Law of Lunacy: The Administration of Pauper Lunatics in Mid-Nineteenth Century England with special Emphasis on Leicestershire and Rutland Peter Bartlett Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, University College London. University of London 1993 Abstract Previous historical studies of the care of the insane in nineteenth century England have been based in the history of medicine. In this thesis, such care is placed in the context of the English poor law. The theory of the 1834 poor law was essentially silent on the treatment of the insane. That did not mean that developments in poor law had no effect only that the effects must be established by examination of administrative practices. To that end, this thesis focuses on the networks of administration of the poor law of lunacy, from 1834 to 1870. County asylums, a creation of the old (pre-1834) poor law, grew in numbers and scale only under the new poor law. While remaining under the authority of local Justices of the Peace, mid-century legislation provided an increasing role for local poor law staff in the admissions process. At the same time, workhouse care of the insane increased. Medical specialists in lunacy were generally excluded from local admissions decisions. The role of central commissioners was limited to inspecting and reporting; actual decision-making remained at the local level. The webs of influence between these administrators are traced, and the criteria they used to make decisions identified. The Leicestershire and Rutland Lunatic asylum provides a local study of these relations. Particular attention is given to admission documents and casebooks for those admitted to the asylum between 1861 and 1865.
  • The Poor Law Commission and Publicly-Owned Housing in the English Countryside, 1834–47

    The Poor Law Commission and Publicly-Owned Housing in the English Countryside, 1834–47

    The Poor Law Commission and publicly-owned housing in the English countryside, 1834–47 by Roger Wells Abstract This paper addresses aspects of the Poor Law Commission’s policy of encouraging parishes to dispose of their often considerable stock of social housing, in some cases built up over many years, and a topic previously analysed in this Review by John Broad. Policy was in part conditioned by the cost of new workhouses required in many of the unions created under the 1834 New Poor Law. This fell on indi- vidual parishes’ ratepayers; sales of their real estate would lighten, and sometimes remove, the financial pain. It also arose out of the Commission’s commitment to engineering able-bodied workers’ independ- ence through the abolition of all non-medical aid funded from the poor rate, which had traditionally included the provision of domestic accommodation at no or nominal rents by overseers of the poor. But, while putting the Commission in charge of sales by parishes, parliamentarians insisted that the own- ers and occupiers of property in each parish, had to vote to sell or retain, some or all, of their housing stock. The stipulation of compulsory disposals, which Broad erroneously assumed, remained a political impossibility. In a paper published some years ago in this Review, John Broad showed how on the eve of the New Poor Law, some parishes in southern England had accumulated considerable stocks of ‘social’ housing in which they housed their poor, rent-free or at notional rents.1 In Bedfordshire 56 per cent of parishes had some housing of this sort at their disposal, in Buckinghamshire 50 per cent.
  • The Church Act

    The Church Act

    The Church Act: The expansion of Christianity or the imposition of moral enlightenment? David Stoneman A Thesis submitted as fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, University of New England, Australia, 2011. Abstract The Church Act (1836) redefined and reinvigorated the religious environment in the emerging British colony of New South Wales, which profoundly impacted on its social and political development in a period of rapid population growth. It was a popular measure that has seen Governor Richard Bourke, its principal architect, be remembered as a provider of religious freedom. The simple motivation of the Act to expand Christianity and therefore morality has been complicated by the assertion that it assisted the expansion of a ‘new faith’ called moral enlightenment. This changes the implication of the Act and redefines the motives of the people responsible for its introduction, especially Bourke, by assuming that secular Enlightenment principles overrode Christian objectives. This has provided an ideological superstructure that has been used by some nationalist historians to present a picture of New South Wales colonial life that was fundamentally irreligious verging on atheistic. This has served to diminish the importance of religious thought and belief in the early development of Australia. This thesis argues that the Church Act was conceived to counter various forms of alternative belief and synchronised Christianity, ranging from plebeian ‘folk religion’ to heterodoxical, intellectual Protestantism. It encouraged orthodox Christianity by financially supporting the denominations that had cultural as well as spiritual connections to the majority of the population. The thesis concludes that the Church Act should be categorised as being a product of the ‘Age of Atonement’ not the imposition of moral enlightenment.
  • Wage Subsidisation: Some Historical Reflections

    Wage Subsidisation: Some Historical Reflections

    THE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF WAGE SUBSIDISATION: SOME HISTORICAL REFLECTIONS ESRC Centre for Business Research, University of Cambridge Working Paper No. 201 By Frank Wilkinson Centre for Business Research, and Department of Applied Economics Austin Robinson Building Sidgwick Avenue Cambridge CB3 9DE Tel: 01223 335262 e-mail: [email protected] June 2001 This Working Paper forms part of the CBR Research Programme on Corporate Governance, Contracts and Incentives Abstract Economists explain welfare dependency of the unemployed and in-work poverty by the low labour market quality of the poor. Work can be made to pay by working family tax credits. But these might lower wages and price non- recipients out of the market, widening the eligibility for the wage supplementation and raising social welfare bills. This was precisely the effect of the Speenhamland system of wage supplementation of the early 19th Century which permanently affected labour markets, and attitudes to welfare and the poor. The possibility of working family tax credit having a similar effect cannot be ruled out. JEL Codes: J58, J78, J4, I38 Keywords: Wage supplementation, welfare to work and labour markets. 2 THE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF WAGE SUBSIDISATION: SOME HISTORICAL REFLECTIONS 1. Introduction The view in government circles is that the economy has now been bought under control by prudent macroeconomic management. A major remaining problem is the high level of poverty resulting from the persistence of high unemployment and the growth in the number of the working poor. The policy response to this is to make the payment of social welfare dependent on labour market participation by a variety of means, including topping up earnings to some minimum level by means of tax credits.
  • A History English Agricultural Labourer

    A History English Agricultural Labourer

    A HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH AGRICULTURAL LABOURER W. HASBACH Translated by Ruth Kenyon With a preface by Sidney Webb The first edition published in German by Messrs . Duncker and Humblot in 1894. TABLE OF CONTENTS. First English edition was published in 1908 by P . S . King & Son PAO E PREFACE ... ... ... ... ... v.. ... vi i . INTRODUCTION ..a ... ... ... ....... xiii . CHAPTER I . THE DEVELOPMENT OF A FREE LABOURINO CLASS ... ... Introductory ... ... ... ... ... i. The Manor as an Organisation of Labour ... ... ii . The Transition to an Organisation based on Rent ... iii . The Break-down of the Manor ... ... ... iv . The Transition Period ... ... ... ... CHAPTER I1. THE DSVELOPMENT OF AN AGRICULTURAL PROLETARIAT ... i. The Village of the Eighteenth Century before the Enclosures. the Engrossing of Farms. and the Revolution in Prices ... ... ... ... ii . The Break-up of the Village ... ... ... iii . The Position of the Labourer. 1760 to 1800 ... ... iv . Contemporary Opinion ... ... ... ... CHAPTER 111. THE DENIORALISATION OF THE LABOURER ... ... ... i. The Laws of Settlement and Removal ... ... ii . The Labourer in the period of high Corn Prices ... iii . The Labourer in the period of low Corn Prices and the old Poor Law ... ... ... ... ... iv . The Gang System ... ... ... ... ... v . Wages and Moral Conditions up to 1834 ... ... CHAPTER IV . FROM THE POOR LAW AMENDMENT ACT. 1834. TO THE EDUCATION ACTS ... ... ... ... ... i . The new Poor Law and its effects ... ... ... ii . Allotments ... ... ... ... ..a iii . The Introduction of Free Trade ... ... ... iv . The Condition of the Labourer in the Sixties ... v. The Gangs Act and the Education Acts ... ... CHAPTER V . *~RICULTURAL LABOUR UNIONS AND THE SMALL HOLDINGS MOVEMENT. 1872 to 1894 ... ... ... ... ... i . Agricult~ralLabour Unions ... ... ... (a) Introductory ... ... ... ... ... (b The Period of Triumph ..
  • TACA Article

    TACA Article

    P a g e | 1 PEEL’S OTHER REPEAL. THE TEST AND CORPORATION ACTS, 1828* Richard A Gaunt ABSTRACT This essay considers Robert Peel’s role in the repeal of the Test and Corporation Acts in 1828. Traditionally over-shadowed by the larger campaign to secure catholic emancipation in 1829, the repeal legislation assumes importance in Peel’s political career for three reasons. It was Peel’s first major challenge as leader of the house of commons in Wellington’s ministry; his handling of the issue revealed all his strengths and weaknesses in the role. Peel’s insistence on the active participation of the anglican church hierarchy in passing repeal with appropriate safeguards (through a declaration to be taken by the majority of officeholders) foreshadowed his later tactics in settling contentious church issues by negotiation with the church’s leaders (leading to the formation of the Ecclesiastical Commission in 1835). The success of Russell’s original repeal motion challenged the expectation (shared by Peel) that repeal would follow, rather than precede, emancipation. The necessity of confronting repeal head-on formed a back-drop to that ‘ripening’ of Peel’s views which commentators and historians have detected during this period. KEYWORDS Peel, Test Acts, Corporation Act, catholic emancipation, dissenters, toryism, anglicanism. P a g e | 2 I The repeal of the Test and Corporation Acts in May 1828 does not normally rank high in the list of Robert Peel’s achievements. The relative speed and unexpectedness of those Acts’ passing may be one explanation for their comparative neglect in the historiography of Peel’s career.
  • Download Waterford Poor Law Union Minutes

    Download Waterford Poor Law Union Minutes

    Repository Repository Name: Waterford County Archives Identity Statement Reference Code: IE WCA BG WTFD Titles: Papers of Waterford Board of Guardians Dates: 1848-1922 Level of Description: Fonds Extent: 182 items Creator Creators: Waterford Poor Law Union, Board of Guardians Administrative History: Waterford Poor Law Union was established under the Poor Law Union Act, 1838. Under this Act the country was divided into poor law unions each of which had a Workhouse run by elected and ex- officio guardians. These guardians were supervised by the Poor Law Commissioners and after 1872, the Local Government Board. The Poor law system has gained a dark reputation due to the fact that only the most destitute were granted „indoor relief‟ and entry into the Workhouse was contingent on it being a last resort rather than a source of hope and comfort. The Workhouses were unable to cope with the fast flood of the destitute that was a result of the famine and they became overcrowded and contributed to the death toll due to the swift spread of disease through their packed wards. Over the years the Board of Guardians acquired further duties in relation to the poor. In the 1850s they accumulated duties in the area of public health, boarding out of children in the 1860s and rural housing from 1883.The Medical Charities Act of 1851 introduced the dispensary system which provided for the appointment of a medical doctor, the provision of a dispensary and the supply of medicines and medical appliances for a number of districts in each Union. The work of the dispensary was overseen by the Dispensary Committee, which was composed of Guardians 1 and local rate payers elected on an annual basis.