Paternalistic, Parsimonious Pragmatists: The Wigan Board of Guardians and the Administration of the Poor Laws 1880-1900 by Jonathan Pratt A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment for the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Central Lancashire June 2011 1 Student Declaration I declare that whilst registered as a candidate for the research degree, I have not been a registered candidate or enrolled student for another award of the University or other academic or professional institution I declare that no material contained in the thesis has been used in any other submission for an academic award and is solely my own work. 2 Abstract This thesis analyses poor law administration in Wigan Union from 1880-1900. The late- nineteenth century is fertile territory for poor law historians, and this study intends to further enhance our understanding of the period. Local studies are vital given that the weakness of central authority ensured a wide variety of practice amongst unions, and are essential to the development of a better informed national picture. With that purpose, the thesis focuses on the important Lancashire industrial town of Wigan. Analysis addresses selected themes that require greater attention from historians in order to facilitate a more developed understanding of the poor law. Chapter one analyses politics in relation to guardians‟ elections before and after the democratisation of the boards in 1894. Chapter two explores the role of boards of guardians, both individually and collaboratively, as active political agencies and defenders of the public interest in relation to removal of Irish paupers and in battles over rating with canal and railway companies. Chapters three and four focus on what was arguably the greatest poor law controversy of the period – the „Crusade‟ against outdoor relief, initiated nationally in 1870. Wigan Union was an apparent supporter of this „reform‟ movement, but appearances were deceptive. Chapter five addresses the problem of the „casual poor‟, another major national concern of the period. Analysis illustrates the detail of local practice and the nature of central-local relations between the guardians and the LGB. Chapter six examines the themes of dismissal of union officers and superannuation for those deemed to have given good public service, further illustrating conceptions of professionalism and central-local relations. From this analysis, the Wigan board emerges as a politically engaged institution; financially cautious but with a paternalistic sense of obligation to the poor and pragmatic rather than ideologically driven in its policy and practice. Strong local conceptions of identity, professionalism and public service are evident within a nuanced context of central-local relations. 3 Table of contents Acknowledgements (p. 6) List of tables and illustrative material (p. 7) Abbreviations (p. 9) Introduction (p. 10) Chapter 1: A Vibrant Local Democracy? The Importance of Poor Law Electoral Politics in Wigan Union i) Poor Law elections before the 1894 Local Government Act (p. 37) ii) Pressures for Reform (p. 43) iii) „We question the wisdom of any political party in working to disturb a condition of things which has hitherto worked so well for the common good‟: Politics and Guardians elections in Wigan Union (p. 49) Chapter 2: Defenders of the Public Interest? The Poor Law Union as Political Agency i) „There is no doubt the Irish paupers will be only too glad to get over‟: The Irish Poor Removal Bills, 1880-84 (p. 70) ii) „Slippery Customers‟? The Combined Unions versus the Leeds and Liverpool Canal Company 1890-1892 (p. 87) iii) „The gentleman who attends to this matter is at present away for his holidays‟: The Wigan Board of Guardians, the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (LYR) and the London and North Western Railway Company (LNWR), 1882-1887 (p. 98) Chapter 3: The Outdoor Relief Controversy (1) i) Introduction (p. 108) ii) The „Crusade‟ against Outdoor Relief (p. 111) iii) Statistical Overview: Outdoor Relief levels in Wigan Union (p. 114) iv) The „Manchester Rules‟ in Wigan Union (p. 120) v) The Guardians and „Exceptional Distress‟ (p. 138) vi) The Wigan Charity Organisation Society (p. 147) Chapter 4: The Outdoor Relief Controversy (2) i) Introduction (p. 152) ii) „In the Wigan union they claimed to have rather exceptional circumstances‟: „Economic‟ explanations (p. 156) iii) „This is the effect of a lavish administration of out-relief, and not the cause of it‟: Internal inquiries into relief administration (p. 160) iv) „They were certain that the amount set down to their section was not unreasonable or exaggerated‟: Other administrative factors (p. 168) v) „They ought to have a building and surrounding land upon which the inmates could do some labour which would be profitable to themselves and the ratepayers‟: The workhouse factor (p. 179) 4 vi) Conclusions (p. 188) Chapter 5: Increasing deterrence, asserting independence? The treatment of the casual poor in Wigan Union i) Statistical Overview (p. 195) ii) „It did seem to him that there was no right to withhold the vagrant‟s breakfast until he had done his task‟: Local policy and practice (p. 201) iii) „They are not justified in deferring to the opinion and directions of an irresponsible official‟: The guardians, the auditor and the LGB (p. 214) Chapter 6: Punishment and Reward? The dismissal of Union Officers and the provision of Superannuation in Wigan Union i) „The Guardians consider Mr Smith‟s statements entirely unreliable‟: The relieving officers (p. 232) ii) „He is I am sorry to say an unsatisfactory officer, and the Guardians are an unsatisfactory Board‟: The workhouse master (p. 249) iii) „I respectfully ask your board to make a suitable retiring provision for my declining days‟: The provision of superannuation (p. 261) Conclusion (p. 269) Bibliography (p. 281) 5 Acknowledgements I would like to thank a number of people for their help and support in the preparation of this thesis. My Director of Studies, Dr Keith Vernon, for his advice, constructive criticism and encouragement; the other members of my supervisory team, my friend and colleague Dr Steve Cunningham and Professor John Walton for his contribution in the early stages of preparation; the late Professor Brian Corby, for allowing me a crucial semester of research time, without which this project would have been abandoned; Mr Alan Davies, formerly Borough Archivist at Wigan Archives Service, Leigh Town Hall, for his help and support in using the Board of Guardians‟ records; to my Dad, Dr Alan Pratt for being an ex officio member of my supervisory team and for his constant advice, encouragement and support. 6 List of tables and illustrative material Tables Table 1: Guardian Representation by township, Wigan Union 1892 (p.39) Table 2: Contested elections by township in Wigan Union, 1880-1894 (p.50) Table 3: Occupational status of guardians in Wigan Union, 1880 and 1894 (p.53) Table 4: Contested election results in Wigan (Borough) 1880-1898 (p.57) Table 5: Percentage of Outdoor Paupers to Total Number (less lunatics and vagrants): 1875-1905 (p.116) Table 6: Indoor and outdoor relief expenditure in Wigan union, 1880-1899 (p.117) Table 7: Number of paupers relieved in Wigan union 1880-96 (p.118) Table 8: Stated reasons for allowance of outdoor relief in Scholes, Michaelmas 1894 (p.128) Table 9: Total number of non-able bodied (NAB) and able-bodied paupers (AB) in receipt of outdoor relief in Wigan union, Michaelmas quarter 1895 (p.129) Table 10: Number of non-able bodied adult paupers by gender in receipt of outdoor relief in Wigan union, Michaelmas quarter 1895 (p.130) Table 11: Number and classification of able bodied adult male paupers in receipt of outdoor relief in Wigan union, Michaelmas quarter 1895 (p.130) Table 12: Number and classification of able bodied adult female paupers in receipt of outdoor relief in Wigan union, Michaelmas quarter 1895 (p.131) Table 13: Total number of able bodied and in-health male paupers in receipt of outdoor relief in Wigan union, Michaelmas quarter (partial) and Christmas Quarter 1893 (p.143) Table 14: Number and type of cases recorded by Wigan COS 1882-1889 (p.149) Table 15: Total subscriptions to Wigan COS, 31st January 1882-31st January 1889 (p.150) Table 16: Amount recovered from paupers‟ relatives 1880-1896: selected examples (p.172) Table 17: Numbers of vagrants and tramps lodged and relieved during the half year: Wigan Union 1878-1896 (p.196) 7 Table 18: Admissions to the vagrant wards in the 3 months ending March 30th 1893 (p.198) Table 19: Number of casual paupers relieved per week, Michaelmas quarter, Wigan union, 1895. (p.200) Figures Figure 1: Poor Law Unions in North-West England (p.16) Figure 2: Wigan Poor Law Union, depicting the twenty individual townships (p.17) Figure 3: The Manchester Rules on outdoor relief (p.122) 8 Abbreviations PP – Parliamentary Papers LGB – Local Government Board COS – Charity Organisation Society NWPLC – North Western Poor Law Conference RO – Relieving Officer 9 Introduction This is a work of historical enquiry focusing on the politics and administration of the poor law in late-Victorian Wigan. It was not begun with any preconceived position to defend, nor is it motivated by ad hominem attacks against the ideas of particular historians. More positively, this thesis developed organically, stimulated by a passionate interest in both local history and the historical development of social policy. Local history offers particularly important opportunities for valuable original research in the case of the poor law - local variation in all aspects of administration was an indelible feature of the poor law, and there is a need for more local studies to help fill in the many gaps in our existing knowledge. A rationale for research into late-Victorian Wigan will be provided shortly, but first, why focus on the poor law at all and secondly, why during this period? A fascination with the poor law has developed over the years through teaching the „fundamentals‟ of the 1834 Poor Law Report and subsequent Poor Law Amendment Act to undergraduates.